GUIDELINES FOR A HEALTY DIET

Many of the diseases that occur as we grow older can be prevented or modified by a life-style that includes good nutrition and daily exercise. You should always eat a variety of foods by selecting foods each day from the Four Food Groups–the Meat Group, the Milk Group, the Fruit and Vegetable Group, and the Bread Group. Also, avoid too much fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Large amounts of these have been linked to a greater risk of heart disease.

Being overweight increases your chances of developing some chronic disorder, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, or heart disease. If you need to lose weight, a reduction in calories and an increase in activitiy is recommended. Long-term success is achieved through a gradual change in life-style that includes better eating habits and regular exercise. Also, you should increase the use of foods such as whole grain cereals and breads, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables. Not only does this increase your intake of grains and fiber, but it also helps with healthy, gradual weight loss. This helps to maintain an ideal body weight and an appropriate body mass index which is needed to maintain a happier, healthier life-style.

You should limit the use of sugar of ALL kinds (white, brown, honey), and also foods high in sugar. Also, cut back on the amount of table salt you use. Use other salt-free spices and herbs instead. The key is moderation. All foods should be consumed in MODERATION!

Exercise as a Coping Tool for Menopause

More than 1.5 million U.S. women, generally between the ages of 45 and 55, reach menopause each year.  Of these, roughly 80 to 85 percent are plagued with the mood swings, irritability, hot flashes, and night sweats that seem to come along with the change.  Now a study by researchers at Penn State University suggests that regular exercise diminishes the impact of certain of these menopausal symptoms.  Some 160 primarily sedentary female subjects were divided into three sections.  One batch never exercised at all; a second batch participated in twice-weekly 90-minute yoga sessions; the third group walked for one hour three times a week.

Results?  The women in both the walking group and  the yoga group reported significant improvements in mood and general quality of life, while the women who did no exercise at all reported no such benefits.  (It should be pointed out that the study’s results in terms of hot flashes and night sweats were less clear.  Roughly half of the subjects reported some alleviation of hot flashes and night sweats; most, but by no means all, were in the exercising non-sedentary groups.)

Moral of the story?  Regular exercise seems to be an important and as-yet largely untapped tool in coping with menopause, as well as an important vehicle for achieving and maintaining overall physical and mental health for all persons, male and female alike.

The ideal Cancer Prevention Diet

Cancer has been touted to be one of the biggest reasons why there have been so many deaths in the world today, and while this disease has shared the spotlight with AIDS, the other killer-disease, they both have confounded medical experts for decades now.

But with the discovery of the compound known as DIM, the cure for cancer has intensified since then. Of course, this compound has gotten a lot of attention from the medical community for its unique anti-cancer properties.

And if that’s not enough, the early stages of research has also revealed that this compound (also known as Diindolylmethane) is also useful when it comes to finding a cure for several bacterial and viral diseases that are the cause for so much grief in the world.

This compound is being used along with other compounds in clinical trials to find out whether it will go the distance in curing cancer amongst other diseases, and while this is happening, experts have also found that it also works optimally as a cancer prevention diet as well.

One can only imagine if this compound turns out to be a successful cure just as this diet has turned out to in reducing one’s chances of getting breast and prostate cancer by almost 40 to 60 percent. There’s no doubt that you will see smiles on the faces of the millions that until now have had no hope in finding a cure for cancer among other diseases.