CDC: U.S. teens not eating enough fruits, vegetables
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – U.S. teens are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The findings, based on data complied from nearly 10,800 students in grades nine through 12 who took part in the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study 2010, found median consumption was 1.2 times per day for both fruits and vegetables.
Median fruit consumption was much higher among males than females, and much higher among grade nine students than among students in grades 10 and 12.
A little more than 28.5 percent, or one in four, of the high school students ate fruit less than once a day, and 33.2 percent ate vegetables less than once a day.
Only 16.8 percent of students ate fruit at least four times a day, and only 11.2 percent ate vegetables at least four times a day.
Vegetable consumption was lowest among Hispanic and black students, the study found.
Researchers said the findings show that most high school students do not meet the daily fruit and vegetable recommendations, and more needs to be done to see the recommendations are met.
The researchers wrote in the Nov. 25 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, “The infrequent fruit and vegetable consumption by high school student highlights the need for effective strategies to increase consumption.”
Steps have already been taken at schools throughout the country to remove sugary snacks, sodas, high fat, high salt and low nutrient dense foods. New programs such as farm-to-school initiatives, school gardens and salad bars aim to improve access to both fruits and vegetables.
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Nutritional Eating is a Key to Any Weight Loss.
Like the old adage goes, you are what you eat. If your typical diet consists of fat and a cholesterol-rich substance; you might run the chance of developing secondary diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Many nutritional experts recommend sensible nutritious healthy eating plans, which begin with finding out the correct skill to eat smart. It is not simply what you eat, but exactly how much nutritious food you take in each day. The food you select to take in could lower your cholesterol and prevent you getting conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease in some cases.
Discover how to prepare your own nutritious diet plan from my website, and learn how to develop your own array of healthy food alternatives too. Like the old saying goes, you are what you eat. If your typical diet consists of fat and a cholesterol-rich substance; you might run the chance of developing secondary diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Many nutritional high-level advisers recommend sensible nutritious healthy eating plans which begins with finding out the correct skill to eat smart. It is not simply what you consume, but exactly how much nutritious food you take in each day. The food you select to take in could lower your cholesterol and prevent you getting conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease in some cases.
Discover how to prepare your own nutritious diet plan from my website, and learn how to develop your own array of healthy food alternatives too. Allow me to share quite a few beneficial strategies for planning a healthy diet.Don’t start too fast, steadily reduce your nutritional consumption and behaviour over time
The quest to obtaining a healthy nutritious diet should be a gradual phase. The method for organizing and developing a healthy diet requires a reduction in quantity and not quality with small and feasible steps. Forget about the “Yo – yo” diets, they do not work and the best diet should be attempted gradually, and you will be able to obtain a healthy nutritious diet and maintain the weight loss longer.
Having said that, instead of fussing over checking calories or calculating serving sizes, place your sights on looking for the food you can appreciate, choose simple and easy nutritious recipes which include fresh products which should include plenty of bright food colours. Try adding more salads to your regular diet, or use olive oil instead of butter. Ensure That You Continually Serve Yourself scaled-down portions of food and each portion size shouldn’t be larger than your own fist. For example, an adults man’s hand will be larger and his individual portion size will also be larger than his wife or child.
These days, serving sizes get blown out of all proportion; in particular in restaurants and fast food outlets are keen to super size your order. If you are dining out, decide on a light starter or share the dish with your friend and never binge on the buffet bar, just because it is free or reduced down in price should not turn you into a pig. The crucial element to a healthy nutritious eating lies not in precisely what you consume, but in how you eat. Knowing to develop a nutritional and healthy eating behavior can quickly be reached, since eating seriously isn’t just related to gulping down large amounts of food, but in viewing food as a base of nourishment and a social interaction. try eating a broad range of fruits and vegetables daily. Most nutritionists continually stress that the brighter and deeper colors in the fruits and vegetables, contain highest concentrations of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
On top of that, ensure that you eat healthy, a good selection of healthful carbohydrates, protein, and roughage, specifically from whole grains will reduce your hunger pains and reduce the time the food takes from mouth to anus to reduce the possibility of bowel cancer in later life. Aside from being tasty and nutritional, soya and whole grains are also rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, which in turn fortify the immunity process, and defend towards cardiovascular diseases. A range of experiments have indicated that individuals who consume sizable portions of whole grains currently have healthier hearts.
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Lowering Cholesterol Through Eating Right
Although most people believe that the trend towards cutting off cholesterol in diets is brought on by the fact that the young generation is dieting themselves to death; it is not so. Limiting the body’s cholesterol levels is not only for appearance’s purposes but also for health reasons. Cholesterol levels in the body, when at a certain level, can cause a host of body complications and disease that can even eventually cause death.
Problems like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes come in mind. This is especially true with people who are already old and in their middle ages because of the slowing down of the bodily processes particularly the digestive system and the body’s ability to convert fats to energy. This is perhaps why most older people, especially those that have weight issues, are being asked by their doctors to lessen their cholesterol intake.
What is cholesterol?
People have been talking about cholesterol but do they what it is and how it affects the body. Because of news about rising cases heart problems in the country, cholesterol has become an overnight antagonist. Everybody thinks that cholesterol is bad.
Actually, not all cholesterol is bad for the body. In fact, our bodies need cholesterol to make bile salts. It is also a major ingredients in maintaining hormonal balance as well as in the production of Vitamin D. Things become troubled when the levels become too high that the cholesterol already clog the arteries, making it hard for the blood to flow and the heart to pump.
There are two kinds of cholesterol, the good and the bad. The LDL, which is the bad kind, adhere to the arterial walls, forming plaques that eventually clog the passageway. Saturated fats and the trans fatty kind are sources of this kind of cholesterol. This is frequently found in pre-packed foods like potato snacks and canned goods.
The HDL, on the other hand, can lower the levels of LDL cholesterol. This is because the good HDL helps transport the LDL cholesterol from the arterial walls back to the liver where it is excreted out. These are found in nuts and in seafood particularly fishes.
People who want to lower their LDL levels are also advised to eat a lot of fruits because of the fiber that they bring to the body. Oats, cereals, and legumes are also great sources of fibers that can help combat the rise of LDL cholesterol, eventually decreasing the risk of heart disease.
Factors that affect cholesterol levels
Contrary to popular opinion, it is not just the diet that should be taken into consideration when dealing with high cholesterol levels. There are actually a lot of factors that affect the condition. One of these is the age and the gender. Older people are more affected by increased levels of cholesterol because of their bodies’ slowing processes. Another factor is the level of physical activity. Exercise can actually help in lowering down of LDL cholesterol. Also, it can help in strengthening the body and in toning the muscles.
Lowering cholesterol levels
From what was mentioned above, it seems remarkably simple to lower the body’s cholesterol levels… that is if one has the discipline to see it through. Just eat right and exercise regularly, avoid canned and pre-packed foods and you are on your way to lower cholesterol levels.
Visit Cholesterol Guidelines to learn about normal cholesterol levels and high cholesterol foods.
Eating A Cholesterol Lowering Diet For Heart Disease Prevention
Balancing the ratios of LDL and HDL cholesterol is the aim of any cholesterol lowering diet because lowering the bad (LDL) cholesterol is a large factor in reducing the risk of coronary artery disease. The effect of lowering cholesterol has been medically shown to reduce the mortality risk associated with heart disease.
Cholesterol levels, which are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), naturally rise as men and women age and are determined through chemical analysis of a blood sample taken via a finger prick or from a blood draw from a vein. For a healthy person cholesterol intake should less than 300 milligrams daily while someone with an elevated cholesterol level should consume less than 200 milligrams per day. One thing to remember is that although dietary cholesterol can raise your blood cholesterol levels, the bigger culprit in elevated cholesterol levels is saturated fat. Foods that originate from animals are the only source of dietary cholesterol.
The basis of a cholesterol lowering diet revolves around eating a mostly plant based diet rich in cholesterol-lowering foods. In fact this approach has been shown to as effective as using statin drugs to lower cholesterol. This was proved out during a recent study showing that people who ate a rich diet of cholesterol lowering foods, such as soy protein, almonds, plant sterol-enriched margarines and natural fiber from oats, psyllium, okra, and eggplant for one year resulted in a 20% decrease in cholesterol, which is comparable to taking statins.
After starting a cholesterol lowering diet your levels will generally begin to recede after two to three weeks. When starting this type of diet the first thing you need to do is increase your fiber intake. This can be done by increasing the amounts of fruits, lots of vegetables, and whole grain products. The other thing that needs to be closely watched is the intake of saturated fat.
The reason for this is simple; nothing increases cholesterol levels quite like saturated fat. There are four main types of fat. The first two increase LDL cholesterol and need to be avoided.
1. Saturated fat found in most animal products, fast foods, and some vegetables should be avoided or at the least limited. Saturated vegetable fats include hydrogenated shortening, palm oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter.
2. Hydrogenated or Trans-Fat is found in margarine and vegetable shortening.
The two fats that can be eaten in moderation and can help decrease total cholesterol and keep levels of the good cholesterol (HDL) high include:
3. Monounsaturated Fat is found in olive and canola oil.
4. Polyunsaturated Fat is found in safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn and sesame oils.
The best foods for a cholesterol lowering diet are high in starch and fiber and are a good substitute for foods that contain high amounts of saturated fat. You do have to be careful because although foods from plants do not contain cholesterol some do contain saturated fat, such as avocados. Recently the American Heart Association began to recommend that people who have high LDL cholesterol eat foods fortified with plant sterols. These foods that have been fortified with sterols or stanols help block the body\’s absorption of cholesterol.
The thing to remember when undertaking a cholesterol lowering diet is that foods that contain high amounts of complex carbohydrates, if eaten plain, are low in saturated fat and cholesterol and contain the vitamins, minerals, and fiber you body needs. A healthy diet is the first step to successfully lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease that is associated with high levels.
To learn more about a Cholesterol Lowering Diet please visit the websiteLowering Cholesterol by clicking here.
