Why Women's Health Matters

Women start out with a lower average blood pressure than men have. But as women go through menopause, hormonal changes can cause them to lose this advantage.

What most of us call 'mood swings' can be normal, or they may be a symptom of a serious mood disorder. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference, but there are certain things to be on the lookout for that can signal a problem.

Burning mouth syndrome is a frustrating and elusive disorder that is far more common in women. Its symptoms can include a feeling of burning on the lips, tongue, and throat, as well as changes in taste.

Relationships can be positive or negative influences in our lives. Either way, they form an important part of who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we interact with the world. One Ontario-based organization is empowering girls and young women by letting them take part in a research project on healthy relationships.

Healthy Foods

Good food categories 
Fruits and olive oil;
Raw Vegetables / Cooked Vegetables; 
Grains and Pasta;
Nuts & Seeds;
Unrefined sugars (often brown).

Health: Why fruit?
 Sugar
 Health food
 Unhealthy food
 Guava
 Olive oil
 1. FRUITS & OLIVE OIL 

- Acid Fruit 
oranges - pineapples - sour apples - sour plums - lemons - grapefruits - sour peaches - limes - tangerines - sour grapes - tomatoes

These are the most detoxifying fruits and excellent foods. They should be avoided when you have the flu because the body could overreact detoxifying and make you even more sick. 

Some people may have problems with these fruits because of their acid content. The acid though is a healthy and organic nutritional element (for instance: ascorbic acid is vitamin c, found especially in citrus fruits and vegetables).  

Sometimes one type of fruit from this category can irritate a particular part of the body. This can be caused by an allergic reaction caused by cow milk. There is a good chance that after staying away from dairy this reaction disappears. 

- Low-acid Fruit 
apricots - blueberries - huckleberries - strawberries - nectarines - raspberries - blackberries - gooseberries - mangos - elderberries - olives - fresh figs - sweet apples - cherries- sweet peaches - sweet plums - persimmons

These fruits are less detoxifying than acid fruits and can be handled well in any amount. 

- Sweet Fruit 
dates - sweet grapes - pears - prunes - raisins - dried figs

Rehydrate dried fruit by soaking it overnight in a jar of water. 

- Melons 
watermelons - cantaloupes - honey dew - galia

Are like all other fruits excellent food. What's very special about watermelons is that they contain as much iron as spinach. Eat as much of them as you like. 

- Starchy Fruit 
bananas - peanuts - pumpkins - winter squashes

Don't eat more than one banana a day if you gain weight easily. 

- Non-starchy Fruit 
cucumber - sweet pepper - zucchini - egg plant - yellow squash

- Protein containing Fruit 
olives - avocadoes

Extremely healthy fruits. Olives and avocadoes contain a lot of different nutritious elements and even scientists don't know what they exactly contain! 
Read more 

- Olive oil 
Olive oil is very healthy. Use olive oil from today on instead of animal based fat. If you don't want to use olive oil use a different plant based oil. If you still want to use butter use real butter and not margarine. olives and olive oil
 
 2. VEGETABLES 
After fruit the most important of all foods. Along with fruits, vegetables are the only right nutrition for the human body. Vegetables contain amino acids and antioxidants in forms that do not occur in other foods. You can eat unlimited amounts. Vegetables are most nutritious when eaten raw. They are especially important to eat for their protein contents. We don't offer more information about vegetables because this is a fruit site.
For more information on fruits vegetables click here. 

- Non-Starchy (usually green) Vegetables 
alfalfa sprouts - asparagus - bamboo sprouts - beet greens - broccoli - cabbage - celery chard - Brussels sprouts - chive - collards - dandelion greens - endive - garlic - green beans - kale - leeks - lettuce - mustard greens - okra - onions - parsley - radishes - rhubarb - scallions - spinach - wax beans - turnips - watercress - turnip greens

- Mildly Starchy Vegetables 
carrots - green peas - rutabagas - cauliflower - beets

- Starchy Vegetables 
corn - dried beans - artichokes - potatoes

- Protein containing Vegetables 
dried beans - dried peas - soybeans - lentils
 
 3. GRAINS  
Grains consist of equal amounts of starch and protein.  

pasta - organic whole wheat - brown rice - spelt - millet - oats - rye - barley
 
 4. NUTS & SEEDS 
Nuts and seeds are a good source of protein. Nuts are always best when eaten raw right out of their shell. Nuts are an excellent source of rare amino acids that are destroyed in cooked protein. Seeds are a good source of essential minerals and beneficial oils. As with nuts, do not overeat.  

- Nuts 
almonds - Brazil nuts - pecans - filberts

- Seeds 
sesame - pumpkin - sunflower
 
 6. NATURAL, UNREFINED SUGARS 
It is very important to use natural, unrefined, often brown sugars instead of white sugars or sweetners. To digest refined white sugar your body has to use a lot of energy and it works as a stimulant. Sweetners make you crave for sugar about 30 minutes after consumption so you end up robbing the cookie jar. Unrefined brown sugars are natural and provide you with energy. 

brown sugar - cane sugar

Unhealthy Foods

Replace these foods by fruits or vegetables as often as you can. Your body will function better and you'll have more energy.
 
 Wrong food categories 
Animal food;
White flour;
Refined Sugar;
Stimulants;
 
Health: Why fruit?
 Sugar
 Health food
 Unhealthy food
 Guava

 Olive oil

 1. ANIMAL FOOD 
Animal foods are: meat, milk, yoghurt, cheese, bouillon, butter, fish, shellfish, eggs e.g.  
If you look into it you'll be amazed how much products in the supermarket contain some kind of animal based product. If you want to become a strict vegan it is not easy. The food pattern of the Western civilisation is based on animal products. In fact this is very strange since we know that many modern diseases are caused by an overconsumption of animal food. 

If you want to lose weight quickly it is a must to stay away from animal products. There are two reasons why you have to abstain from animal food if you want to slim down fast: 
The energy animal foods contain consists of proteins. Proteins take a longer time to digest and are burnt in a different, more cumbersome way than fruits and vegetables. Burning proteins is a body polluting process so it will not contribute to a healthy functioning of the cells. For more about this subject see the burning process.
Animal products contain a lot of fattening cholesterol whereas fruits and vegetables do not contain any cholesterol.

2. WHITE FLOUR 
White flour forms a sticky substance in the intestines and cardiovascular vessels, causes constipation and deregulates the digestive system. For a proper burning process you have to stay away as much as you can from white flour. 
Products that contain white flour are: white bread, pizza, buns, pancakes, crepes e.g. 


3. REFINED WHITE SUGAR 
Refined white sugar is a stimulant and therefore mentioned at 4 but we treat white sugar here because allmost every product you buy at the store contains some kind of refined white sugar. Check those labels! If you consume refined white sugar your body will start craving for more. This effect is not known with the consumption of natural sugars. Try to avoid products that contain this worldly accepted stimulant. Examples: sodas, icecream, candy, ketchup, other sauces and literally thousands of other products in the supermarket. Inform yourself and check the labels. 


4. STIMULANTS 
Characteristic for stimulants is that they can quickly change a mental or bodily state but that the change is never made permanently and is only a temporary solution. We use stimulants to make us feel good. If you try to control a symptom with stimulants, the cause of that symptom will remain. So try to stay away from stimulants as much as you can. The most well known stimulants are: 
Refined white sugar;
Coffee,
Alcohol;
Cigarettes;
Spices;
Red meat;
Diet pills;
Drugs. 

Heart Healthy Living

How To be Healthy For Life

Following these tips can help you focus on the following areas to live a healthier life, be healthy and improve the quality of your life.

1. Balance and Moderation
2. Healthy Foods
3. Enough Sleep
4. Aging Healthfully
5. Lifestyle Choices
6. Time to Unwind
7. Time to Unwind
8. Health Checks
9. Youthful Thought

 More and Better Health TipsBalance and Moderation

Keeping in balance means making sure that the number of calories you eat during a day equals the number of calories you use during a day; this balancing helps to maintain body weight. Balance also refers to keeping one’s professional, family and personal life being equally represented.

Moderation is eating your indulgence foods occasionally. Focus on eating healthy most of the time, but still having a little room in your daily calories for indulgences.
Exercise for the Body and the Brain

Physical Activity can be helpful for maintaining a healthy body weight and body composition. Being physically active helps in lowering one’s risk for cardiovascular diseases, improves risks of diabetes, improves mood and lowers one’s risk for depression. Being active also includes involving others whether a human or an animal companion on your walks.

The brain also needs to be kept active. Keeping the brain active involves using the brain daily by solving crossword puzzles or math equations, reading, writing, imagining and creating. Volunteering and being socially active is also a good way to keep the brain energized and active.
Healthy Foods

Focus on eating a variety of healthy foods. "Healthy Foods" include eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, cereals, breads and other grain products and legumes (beans). With dairy and meats the emphasis is on choosing lower-fat milk products, leaner meats and foods prepared with little or no fat. In addition limit the intake of salt, alcohol and caffeine.
Enough Sleep

Sleep is important for people of all ages. Getting enough sleep has been shown to increase one's ability to fight off diseases, improve your cardiovascular health and improve mood. Sleep can also help with improving one's ability to concentrate, learning and memory in addition to reducing irritability and impatience.

The average amount of sleep needed by people is 8 hours a night but many people can do well on 6 hours, where others need as much as 10. The absolute amount of sleep needed varies from person to person.

Perhaps the best thing for many people about getting enough sleep is having more energy to do what they like to do.
Aging Healthfully

Aging healthfully includes, among others, finding ways to reduce and manage stress, being physically active, getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, making good lifestyle choices, staying socially active, watching for changes and nurturing the spirit as well as the mind.
Lifestyle Choices

Since 70 – 80 % of longevity depends on lifestyle choices, it is important to emphasize the good lifestyle choices and de-emphasize the poor ones.

Good lifestyle choices include eating healthy food, participating in daily physical and mental activity, getting enough sleep and minimizing stress.

Poor lifestyle choices to de-emphasize include limiting or reducing high fat foods, limiting the number of empty calories – those from sugar, fat and alcohol, quit smoking and using tobacco and limiting the amount of inactivity.
Time to Unwind

Stress can impact a person over a lifetime. Whether the stress comes from the environment or personal sources all forms cause a stress response in the body, which over time drains the body reserves making the person more susceptible to illness and disease.

Taking the time to unwind and reducing, removing and de-stressing helps lessen the negative impact on the body and improves overall health and well being.
Health Checks

Yearly routine exams are an important part of monitoring for potential diseases. Getting blood pressure checked, cholesterol and lipids screenings, being evaluated for risks of osteoporosis and getting basic cancer screenings (mammogram, colonoscopy and prostate exams) can to help a person “BE HEALTHY.”

In addition, it is important to watch for any changes and signs of disease and seek prompt treatment if something arises.
Youthful Thoughts

Author Ellen Glasgow once noted "Though it sounds absurd, it is true to say I felt younger at sixty than I felt at twenty." There is a lot of truth in the expression, "You're as young as you feel" so to feel young, remember to think young thoughts.
Final Thoughts

Remember that following these simple tips, making daily healthy food and lifestyle changes over a lifetime can greatly improve a person’s longevity* or your total years of life lived and also the quality of living.

To Stay Healthy as you age, you have to BE HEALTHY for life.

How to Lose Weight

Despite what you may think, losing weight isn't a mysterious process. In fact, weight loss doesn't even have to involve strange diets, special exercises or even the 'magic' of pills or fitness gadgets. Want the secret to weight loss? Make small changes each and every day and you'll slowly (but surely) lose those extra pounds.

Rules of Weight Loss
To lose one pound, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. Whew...that sounds impossible doesn't it? Here's how it works.
Calculate your activity level. Use a calorie calculator to figure out how many calories you burn while sitting, standing, exercising, lifting weights, etc. throughout the day.
Keep track of how many calories you eat. Use a food journal to add up what you eat and drink during the day. If you're eating less calories than you're burning, you'll lose weight.
Example:Mary's BMR is 1400 calories and she burns 900 calories in daily activity. To maintain her weight, she should be eating 2300 calories but, after keeping a food journal, Mary finds that she's eating 2550 calories every day. By eating 250 more calories than her body needs, Mary will gain one pound every 2 weeks.
This example shows how easy it is to gain weight without even knowing it. But it's also easy to lose weight. In fact, you can start losing weight right now by making a few simple changes. If you can burn an extra 500 calories each day, you'll lose a pound a week and you won't even have to change your clothes.

Focusing on daily changes is the best way to reach your goals. No, you won't lose weight overnight but isn't it better to permanently change your life for the better? Say it with me: My Health Is More Important Than My Appearance. Repeat that 10 times a day and you're on your way to better health.

Weight loss drugs
The first described attempts at producing weight loss are those of Soranus of Ephesus, a Greek physician, in the second century AD. He prescribed elixirs of laxatives and purgatives, as well as heat, massage, and exercise. This remained the mainstay of treatment for well over a thousand years. It was not until the 1920s and 1930s that new treatments began to appear. Based on its effectiveness for hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone became a popular treatment for obesity in otherwise healthy people. It had a modest effect but produced the symptoms of hyperthyroidism as a side effect, such as palpitations and difficulty sleeping. Dinitrophenol (DNP) was introduced in 1933; this worked by uncoupling the biological process of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria, causing them to produce heat instead of ATP. The most significant side-effect was a dramatic rise in body temperature, frequently causing death. By the end of the 1930s DNP had fallen out of use.

Obesity

Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected.It is commonly defined as a body mass index (BMI = weight divided by height squared) of 30 kg/m2 or higher.[1] This distinguishes it from being overweight as defined by a BMI of between 25-29.9 kg/m2.

Excessive body weight is associated with various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. As a result, obesity has been found to reduce life expectancy. The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. If this fails, anti-obesity drugs and (in severe cases) bariatric surgery can be tried.

Obesity arises from too much energy intake compared with a person's basal metabolic rate and level of physical exercise. Excessive caloric intake and a lack of physical activity in genetically susceptible individuals is thought to explain most cases of obesity, with purely genetic, medical, or psychiatric illness contributing to only a limited number of cases. With rates of adult and childhood obesity increasing, authorities view it as a serious public health problem.

Although obesity is currently associated with stigmatization in the Western world, it has been perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history.

Causes
Most researchers agree that a combination of excessive calorie consumption and a sedentary lifestyle are the primary causes of obesity.[40] In a minority of cases, increased food consumption can be attributed to genetic, medical, or psychiatric illness. Generally however the rising prevalence of obesity is attributed to the availability of an easily accessible and palatable diet,[41] car culture and mechanized manufacturing. A 2006 review identifies ten other possible contributors to the recent increase of obesity:

(1) insufficient sleep
(2) endocrine disruptors - food substances that interfere with lipid metabolism
(3) decreased variability in ambient temperature
(4) decreased rates of smoking as smoking suppresses appetite
(5) increased use of medication that leads to weight gain
(6) increased distribution of ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier
(7) pregnancy at a later age, (8) intrauterine and intergenerational effects
(9) positive natural selection of people with a higher BMI
(10) assortative mating, heavier people tending to form relationships with each other.

Treatment

Weight loss drugs
The first described attempts at producing weight loss are those of Soranus of Ephesus, a Greek physician, in the second century AD. He prescribed elixirs of laxatives and purgatives, as well as heat, massage, and exercise. This remained the mainstay of treatment for well over a thousand years. It was not until the 1920s and 1930s that new treatments began to appear. Based on its effectiveness for hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone became a popular treatment for obesity in otherwise healthy people. It had a modest effect but produced the symptoms of hyperthyroidism as a side effect, such as palpitations and difficulty sleeping. Dinitrophenol (DNP) was introduced in 1933; this worked by uncoupling the biological process of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria, causing them to produce heat instead of ATP. The most significant side-effect was a dramatic rise in body temperature, frequently causing death. By the end of the 1930s DNP had fallen out of use.

Amphetamines (marketed as Benzedrine) became popular for weight loss during the late 1930s. They worked primarily by suppressing appetite and had other beneficial effects such as increased alertness. Use of amphetamines increased over the subsequent decades, culminating in the "rainbow pill" regime. This was a combination of multiple pills, all thought to help with weight loss, taken throughout the day. Typical regimens included stimulants, such as amphetamines and thyroid hormone, diuretics, digitalis, laxatives, and often a barbiturate to suppress the side effects of the stimulants. In 1967/1968 a number of deaths attributed to diet pills triggered a Senate investigation and the gradual implementation of greater restrictions on the market. This culminating in 1979 with the FDA banning the use of amphetamines, then the most effective of the diet drugs, in diet pills.

Meanwhile, phentermine had been FDA approved in 1959 and fenfluramine in 1973. The two were no more popular then other drugs until in 1992 a researcher reported that the two caused a 10% weight loss which was maintained for over two years. Fen-phen was born and rapidly became the most commonly prescribed diet medication. Dexfenfluramine (Redux) was developed in the mid-1990s as an alternative to fenfluramine with less side-effects, and received regulatory approval in 1996.

Overweight

Overweight is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. As much as 64% of the United States adult population is considered either overweight or obese, and this percentage has increased over the last four decades. A series of graphics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the trend in which the prevalence of obesity has increased in the U.S. during the past three decades: Obesity Epidemic: U.S. Temporal Trends 1985-2004 Excess weight has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults being either overweight or obese. Increases have been observed across all age groups.

A healthy body requires a minimum amount of fat for the proper functioning of the hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems, as thermal insulation, as shock absorption for sensitive areas, and as energy for future use. But the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement and flexibility, and can alter the appearance of the body.

Health-related implications
While the negative health outcomes associated with obesity are accepted within the medical community, the health implications of the overweight category are more controversial. The generally accepted view is that being overweight causes similar health problems as obesity just to a lesser degree. Adams et al. estimated that the risk of death increases by 20 to 40 percent among overweight persons and the Framingham Heart Study found that being overweight at age 40yrs reduced your life expectancy by three years.

Flegal et al., however, found that the mortality rate for individuals who are classified as overweight may actually be lower than for those with an "ideal" weight

Being overweight has been identified as a cause of cancer, and is projected to overtake smoking as the primary cause of cancer in developed countries as cases of cancer linked to smoking dwindle.

Psychological well-being is also at risk in the overweight individual. Discrimination against fat persons is common socially and legally. This may affect their ability to find a mate or employment.

Causes
Being overweight is generally caused by the intake of more calories (by eating) than are expended by the body (by exercise and everyday living). Factors which may contribute to this imbalance include:

Limited physical exercise and sedentary lifestyle
1. Overeating
2. Poor nutrition
3. Genetic predisposition
4. Hormonal imbalances (e.g. hypothyroidism)
5. Metabolic disorders, which could be caused by repeated attempts to lose weight by weight cycling,
6. Eating disorders (such as binge eating)
7. Alcoholism
8. Stress
9. nsufficient or poor-quality sleep
10.Psychotropic medication (e.g. olanzapine)
11.Smoking cessation and other stimulant withdrawal

Treatment
A large number of people undergo some form of treatment to attempt to reduce their weight, usually either in an attempt to improve their health, to improve their lifestyle, or for cosmetic reasons. The generally recommended treatment for being overweight is a modified or controlled diet in conjunction with increased physical exercise. For those who are obese rather than overweight, more intensive therapies such as anti-obesity drugs and/or bariatric surgery are sometimes used.

Studies suggest that reducing calorie intake by itself (dieting) may have short-term effects but does not lead to long-term weight loss, and can often result in gaining back all of the lost weight and more in the longer term. For this reason, it is generally recommended that weight-loss diets not be attempted on their own but instead in combination with increased exercise and long-term planning and weight management.

The health benefits of weight loss are also somewhat unclear. While it is generally accepted that for significantly obese patients, losing weight can reduce health risks and improve quality of life, there is some evidence to suggest that for merely overweight patients, the health effects of attempting to lose weight may actually be more detrimental than simply remaining overweight. Moreover, for all individuals, repeatedly losing weight and then gaining it back (weight cycling or "yo-yo dieting"), is believed to do more harm than good and can be the cause of significant additional health problems. This is caused by the loss of more muscle than fat.

There is no healthy, short-term solution for solving obesity, or being overweight. Changes in lifestyle, such as more exercise or dieting, must be permanent changes.