Twinkie Diet – A Junk Food Diet
Suparna Chakraborty
Thursday, November 11, 2010, 9:54[IST]
'The Twinkie Diet' is a new discovery by Dr. Mark Haub. He claims that 'Twinkie Diet' is one of the most effective ways of weight loss. The motive of introducing 'The Twinkie Diet' is to challenge the debate of junk food versus healthy food diet. According to Dr. Mark Haub, The whole process of weight loss solely depends on intake of calories. Junk food, can be as nutritious as so called diet food and also lead to weight loss.
To proves his point, Dr.Mark Haub, himself followed the Twinkie Diet. For breakfast he ate Little Debbie Pecan Spin Wheels, Hostess Twinkies was his lunch diet, birthday cake for dinner and for his sweet tooth
, he had Doritos. This diet went on for 10 weeks and at the end of that Dr. Mark Haub's saw a significant difference in his health.
1.Body weight reduced from 200.8 to 174.2
2.Body fat percentage dropped from 33.4% to 24%
3.Good Cholesterol increased from 37 to 46
4.Bad cholesterol dropped from 153 to 123
5.Blood Sugar dropped from 94 to 75
Dr.Mark Haub says, "These foods are consumed by lots of people," he said. "It may be an issue of portion size and moderation rather than total removal. I just think it's unrealistic to expect people to totally drop these foods for vegetables and fruits. It may be healthy, but not realistic."
'Twinkie Diet', aims to eradicate the believe that junk is bad and fruits& vegetable diet is good. He says it all depends on how moderate are you in your diet. Excess of fruits, vegetables and lean protein can also led to weight gain. Whereas moderate intake of junk food may just keep you healthy. When he was on the diet, he said he used to eat till the time his hunger was quenched. This is moderate eating. This kind of diet process, controls calories and thus lead to weight loss.
Weight loss consecutively treats many other health disorders like high blood pressure, diabetes etc.
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Monday, December 6, 2010
CRAZY DIET TIPS IN HISTORY
Crazy Diet Tips In History
anjana
Friday, November 12, 2010, 14:52[IST]
Many people including celebrities get desperate to drop a few pounds. Fad diets are so alluring with their promises of fast weight loss and their skinny celebrity followers. The problem is that they're often unhealthy and make outrageous claims that are untrue. There have been some crazy diet tips published over the years and have been followed by many in the history, but none can be as silly these. Take a look at these most weirdest and crazy diet tips implemented by many in history.
Crazy Diet Tips In History
1.Chewing Diet: Chewing diet was popularized in the Edwardian Era by Horace Fletcher. To properly implement the chewing diet, a person must chew each bite over 32 times, which takes approximately 30 seconds. The diet has certain disadvantages as it might cause a sore jaw and may also be annoying for those who sit next to.
2.Baby Food Diet: Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Lily Allen are all rumored to be fans of the Baby Food Diet. The fad diet is built on the idea that substituting one or two meals a day by baby food. The baby food diet isn't safe if you don't get enough calories every day; even a low calorie diet requires a minimum number of calories.
3.Cotton Diet: Cotton ball diet is nothing but eating cotton balls. Some people eat them dry and others soak them in gelatin first. Obviously the idea is that cotton balls are low in calories but very filling, so you won’t want to eat anything that is fattening. But eating cotton is exceptionally boring, dry and disgusting. A lack of needed vitamins and other nutrients. Major digestive problems.
4.Caveman Diet: This diet is also called the Paleolithic diet because the focus is based on food available to cavemen during the Paleolithic Era. Food can be cooked but is limited to lean meat, fish, veggies, fruit, roots and nuts. But the disadvantage is that dieters may have a hard time getting their daily calcium intake.
5.Cabbage Soup Diet: This diet consists of eating a low-calorie cabbage soup for 7 days. Most of the weight lost on this diet is water, so it’s not permanent. It’s also problematic because of a high sodium content, extremely low protein.
6.Tapeworm Diet: A tapeworm can sure help eat all of that excess food. Around the turn of the century, these little parasites were sold in a simple pill form claiming to help you shed inches from your waist. Jockeys are amongst the many people purported to have used tapeworms as a diet. But having a worm inside stomach may cause nausea, headaches, infections and diarrhea
.
7.Vision Diet: If your food looks disgusting, you’re less likely to eat it. So wearing glasses of colored lens would result in less eating. Johnny Depp is a big fan of blue glasses, although it’s hard to say if he just likes their look or if he actually feels the effects from the lens color. But prolonged usage of glasses may lead to vision problems.
8.Ear Piercing: If you pierce the cartilage of your inner ear and it supposedly suppresses your appetite. You can only leave it for a few weeks because once your body gets used to the staple it will lose its effectiveness. The most common explanation involves the piercing’s similarity to acupuncture. But piercing often may be painful and may even lead to infections and nerve damage
9.Sleeping Diet: You can’t eat while you sleep. So naturally, if you sedate yourself for days and neglect to eat as a result, this starvation diet may actually work for you. Many celebrities including Elvis are said to have followed this crazy diet tip of history. But a severe pill hangover can leave you with a headache, nausea and fatigue.
10.Shower Diet: If you’re showering everyday, you might as well lose weight while doing it. That’s the theory behind diet soaps. These soaps contain seaweed that will penetrate skin and breakdown fat. But some people have had allergic reactions to the soap’s ingredients.
Although these crazy diet tips of history promise quick results, these diets are virtually impossible to follow and often have many side effects. Stick to a healthy eating regime and you’ll never be tempted into an unhealthy and unproductive extreme fad diet.
......................................................................................................................................................
anjana
Friday, November 12, 2010, 14:52[IST]
Many people including celebrities get desperate to drop a few pounds. Fad diets are so alluring with their promises of fast weight loss and their skinny celebrity followers. The problem is that they're often unhealthy and make outrageous claims that are untrue. There have been some crazy diet tips published over the years and have been followed by many in the history, but none can be as silly these. Take a look at these most weirdest and crazy diet tips implemented by many in history.
Crazy Diet Tips In History
1.Chewing Diet: Chewing diet was popularized in the Edwardian Era by Horace Fletcher. To properly implement the chewing diet, a person must chew each bite over 32 times, which takes approximately 30 seconds. The diet has certain disadvantages as it might cause a sore jaw and may also be annoying for those who sit next to.
2.Baby Food Diet: Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Lily Allen are all rumored to be fans of the Baby Food Diet. The fad diet is built on the idea that substituting one or two meals a day by baby food. The baby food diet isn't safe if you don't get enough calories every day; even a low calorie diet requires a minimum number of calories.
3.Cotton Diet: Cotton ball diet is nothing but eating cotton balls. Some people eat them dry and others soak them in gelatin first. Obviously the idea is that cotton balls are low in calories but very filling, so you won’t want to eat anything that is fattening. But eating cotton is exceptionally boring, dry and disgusting. A lack of needed vitamins and other nutrients. Major digestive problems.
4.Caveman Diet: This diet is also called the Paleolithic diet because the focus is based on food available to cavemen during the Paleolithic Era. Food can be cooked but is limited to lean meat, fish, veggies, fruit, roots and nuts. But the disadvantage is that dieters may have a hard time getting their daily calcium intake.
5.Cabbage Soup Diet: This diet consists of eating a low-calorie cabbage soup for 7 days. Most of the weight lost on this diet is water, so it’s not permanent. It’s also problematic because of a high sodium content, extremely low protein.
6.Tapeworm Diet: A tapeworm can sure help eat all of that excess food. Around the turn of the century, these little parasites were sold in a simple pill form claiming to help you shed inches from your waist. Jockeys are amongst the many people purported to have used tapeworms as a diet. But having a worm inside stomach may cause nausea, headaches, infections and diarrhea
.
7.Vision Diet: If your food looks disgusting, you’re less likely to eat it. So wearing glasses of colored lens would result in less eating. Johnny Depp is a big fan of blue glasses, although it’s hard to say if he just likes their look or if he actually feels the effects from the lens color. But prolonged usage of glasses may lead to vision problems.
8.Ear Piercing: If you pierce the cartilage of your inner ear and it supposedly suppresses your appetite. You can only leave it for a few weeks because once your body gets used to the staple it will lose its effectiveness. The most common explanation involves the piercing’s similarity to acupuncture. But piercing often may be painful and may even lead to infections and nerve damage
9.Sleeping Diet: You can’t eat while you sleep. So naturally, if you sedate yourself for days and neglect to eat as a result, this starvation diet may actually work for you. Many celebrities including Elvis are said to have followed this crazy diet tip of history. But a severe pill hangover can leave you with a headache, nausea and fatigue.
10.Shower Diet: If you’re showering everyday, you might as well lose weight while doing it. That’s the theory behind diet soaps. These soaps contain seaweed that will penetrate skin and breakdown fat. But some people have had allergic reactions to the soap’s ingredients.
Although these crazy diet tips of history promise quick results, these diets are virtually impossible to follow and often have many side effects. Stick to a healthy eating regime and you’ll never be tempted into an unhealthy and unproductive extreme fad diet.
......................................................................................................................................................
HEALTHY EATING HABITS
Healthy Eating Habits During Holiday
courtsey : Agencies
Thursday, November 25, 2010, 16:44[IST]
At the time when six packs and size zero are in trend, everyone is health conscious. But doesn't it get a bit boring to regulate eating every day? It is to all of us. We may keep control on our diet during regular days but what happens when we go on a holiday?
Holiday is for fun. Who cares what weight we gain or that we look fat. And tha'ts the reason why, we gain excess weight while on holiday and holiday weight gain is much difficult to loose than on regular days. The only way to maintain your perfect self in holiday is to continue practice of healthy eating habits even during holiday.
Brittany Glassett, registered dietitian says, "Attitude and commitment are so important to eating healthy habit any time of year. There is no need to deny yourself all ''treats'' this time of year, but if you are mindful of what you are eating and practicing moderation, then you can be successful in your weight management goals - and know that you are sticking with your healthy eating habits.”
Here are 10 tips for healthy eating
during the holidays:
1.Don't Skip Meals – Never skip meals. It is understood that you may want to wake up late while on holiday but avoid skipping meals. This can be the major reason for weight gain. Eat small, frequent meals and healthy snacks during the day to help avoid overeating at holiday parties.
2.Don't Stress – It is quite likely that on holidays you might indulge a bit more on delicacies but don't spoil the fun by stressing. Just regulate your next meal. Stress during holiday spoils the whole reason of a vacation.
3.Count Calories – Diet does not mean leaving out on delicacies just be careful of avoiding intake of calories. Alcohol and soda are high on calories. So, stay away from them. Regulate your drinking
to two glasses.
4.Substitute – Substitute all the killer delicacies with more healthy food, like use yogurt for cream, sour cream for mayonnaise, herbs
for fat and apple sauce for butter. These ingredients will make your dish tasty as well as healthy.
5.Skip the appetizers – For appetizers stick to soup and salad but avoid fried dishes. You can also try low fat dips and salsa.
9.Trim back the trimmings – If at a time you cannot access low fat food just avoid eating the dressing of the dish. The dressing is usually of creme, butter etc. Avoiding the dressing will help you to cut down on a huge amount of fat.
10.Exercise – On holidays you may not have access to gym
but you can surely go for jogging. If your holiday location is near a beach or on outskirts. They are best locations to go for a walk. Never miss out on exercise even in holidays.
Enjoy your holiday maintaining healthy eating habits to keep up your perfect healthy self. Healthy eating habits during holiday will also save you from feeling guilty of putting on weight after the vacation
.........................................................................................................................................................
courtsey : Agencies
Thursday, November 25, 2010, 16:44[IST]
At the time when six packs and size zero are in trend, everyone is health conscious. But doesn't it get a bit boring to regulate eating every day? It is to all of us. We may keep control on our diet during regular days but what happens when we go on a holiday?
Holiday is for fun. Who cares what weight we gain or that we look fat. And tha'ts the reason why, we gain excess weight while on holiday and holiday weight gain is much difficult to loose than on regular days. The only way to maintain your perfect self in holiday is to continue practice of healthy eating habits even during holiday.
Brittany Glassett, registered dietitian says, "Attitude and commitment are so important to eating healthy habit any time of year. There is no need to deny yourself all ''treats'' this time of year, but if you are mindful of what you are eating and practicing moderation, then you can be successful in your weight management goals - and know that you are sticking with your healthy eating habits.”
Here are 10 tips for healthy eating
during the holidays:
1.Don't Skip Meals – Never skip meals. It is understood that you may want to wake up late while on holiday but avoid skipping meals. This can be the major reason for weight gain. Eat small, frequent meals and healthy snacks during the day to help avoid overeating at holiday parties.
2.Don't Stress – It is quite likely that on holidays you might indulge a bit more on delicacies but don't spoil the fun by stressing. Just regulate your next meal. Stress during holiday spoils the whole reason of a vacation.
3.Count Calories – Diet does not mean leaving out on delicacies just be careful of avoiding intake of calories. Alcohol and soda are high on calories. So, stay away from them. Regulate your drinking
to two glasses.
4.Substitute – Substitute all the killer delicacies with more healthy food, like use yogurt for cream, sour cream for mayonnaise, herbs
for fat and apple sauce for butter. These ingredients will make your dish tasty as well as healthy.
5.Skip the appetizers – For appetizers stick to soup and salad but avoid fried dishes. You can also try low fat dips and salsa.
9.Trim back the trimmings – If at a time you cannot access low fat food just avoid eating the dressing of the dish. The dressing is usually of creme, butter etc. Avoiding the dressing will help you to cut down on a huge amount of fat.
10.Exercise – On holidays you may not have access to gym
but you can surely go for jogging. If your holiday location is near a beach or on outskirts. They are best locations to go for a walk. Never miss out on exercise even in holidays.
Enjoy your holiday maintaining healthy eating habits to keep up your perfect healthy self. Healthy eating habits during holiday will also save you from feeling guilty of putting on weight after the vacation
.........................................................................................................................................................
AVOID WEIGHT GAIN IN CHRISTMAS
Avoid Weight Gain In Christmas
Suparna Chakraborty
Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 13:59[IST]
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Christmas is a time of celebration and is full of cakes, candies, sweets, turkey and loads of calories. Christmas is for fun and frolic and terms like weight loss and diet seem to spoil all the fun. But Christmas weight gain is going to make you feel guilty after the party is over. To avoid Christmas weight gain, it is not necessary that you have to follow a strict diet or giving up your favourite dessert or your portion of stuffed turkey. To avoid weight gain in Christmas all it needs is a well chocked out pleasant plan.
Here are tips to avoid weight gain in Christmas -
1.Walking – After all the hefty feast and dessert, just go for a walk around. Avoid using cab or a bus, walk down till the distance you can. So, that you burn all the calories you have consumed. For girls the best way to burn calories would be mall hopping. The huge area of the malls and the stairs you don't mind climbing can be the best way to avoid putting on weight in Christmas.
2.Increase Metabolism
– Eat your hefty meals within four hours of walk in the mall. At this time your metabolism (know more) is at it's peak of burning calories. So, what ever you eat won't lead to fat accumulation. Thus helping you avoid getting fat in Christmas.
3.Avoid Over Eating – Most of the time the main reason for weight gain
is over eating. Over eating is, consuming more than our stomach can digest. This leads to undigested food, which leads to weight gain and other health disorders. Eat till the time your hunger is met.
4.Include Salads – Include vegetable salads in your diet along with all the delicious oily and buttery food. Green vegetable salads are a good source of vitamins
, which improves metabolism. This is one of the best ways to avoid weight gain in Christmas as well as taking care of other health factors.
5.Drink
Hot Water – After every meal and even through out the day, drink hot water. Hot water helps to burn fat and also to avoid accumulation of fat.
These five ways to avoid putting on weight in Christmas will make your Christmas 2010 healthy, happy and devoid of all the after party guilt. Go, ahead and flaunt your beautiful self this Christmas 2010.
....................................................................................................................................................
Suparna Chakraborty
Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 13:59[IST]
Follow us on
Christmas is a time of celebration and is full of cakes, candies, sweets, turkey and loads of calories. Christmas is for fun and frolic and terms like weight loss and diet seem to spoil all the fun. But Christmas weight gain is going to make you feel guilty after the party is over. To avoid Christmas weight gain, it is not necessary that you have to follow a strict diet or giving up your favourite dessert or your portion of stuffed turkey. To avoid weight gain in Christmas all it needs is a well chocked out pleasant plan.
Here are tips to avoid weight gain in Christmas -
1.Walking – After all the hefty feast and dessert, just go for a walk around. Avoid using cab or a bus, walk down till the distance you can. So, that you burn all the calories you have consumed. For girls the best way to burn calories would be mall hopping. The huge area of the malls and the stairs you don't mind climbing can be the best way to avoid putting on weight in Christmas.
2.Increase Metabolism
– Eat your hefty meals within four hours of walk in the mall. At this time your metabolism (know more) is at it's peak of burning calories. So, what ever you eat won't lead to fat accumulation. Thus helping you avoid getting fat in Christmas.
3.Avoid Over Eating – Most of the time the main reason for weight gain
is over eating. Over eating is, consuming more than our stomach can digest. This leads to undigested food, which leads to weight gain and other health disorders. Eat till the time your hunger is met.
4.Include Salads – Include vegetable salads in your diet along with all the delicious oily and buttery food. Green vegetable salads are a good source of vitamins
, which improves metabolism. This is one of the best ways to avoid weight gain in Christmas as well as taking care of other health factors.
5.Drink
Hot Water – After every meal and even through out the day, drink hot water. Hot water helps to burn fat and also to avoid accumulation of fat.
These five ways to avoid putting on weight in Christmas will make your Christmas 2010 healthy, happy and devoid of all the after party guilt. Go, ahead and flaunt your beautiful self this Christmas 2010.
....................................................................................................................................................
CONTROL WEIGHT GAIN WITH AGE
Control Weight Gain With Age
Suparna Chakraborty
Friday, December 3, 2010, 12:55[IST]
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After the age of 40 a person has a tendency of weight gain and for a middle aged person weight gain becomes inevitable even while following a diet. To avoid weight gain with age, we generally, lessen our calorie intake, walk an extra mile and eat less. Well, research has proved that all these practices to avoid weight gain is faulty and may end up creating a problem to our health. Lets look at the reasons of weight gain with age -
1.Lack Of Testosterone – With age men lack in the testosterone hormone which leads to loss of lean muscle tissues and decline in the metabolism rate. Lack of metabolism thus, means less calories being burnt, which leads to accumulation of fat and weight gain. For women it is lack of the estrogen hormone.
2.Less Activity – Muscular body is not for the young alone. With age a man needs to build more muscles, to avoid fat accumulation. With age we lack in physical activities in comparison to what we did when we were young. With less physical activities, the muscle mass decreases, thus putting on weight.
3. Body Process – With age, the process in which your body works also slows down, thus, it may not be able to burn as much fat content at one time as it did earlier. This may lead to weight gain.
Ways to control weight gain with age
1.Physical Activities – Make sure you are involved in physical activities. You need to increase your metabolism, to burn calories. The best way to increase metabolism
is to exercise. Exercise regime should be decided by a well trained instructor, as exercise also changes with age. Your body may not be able to provide as much supply of energy like before, so, your exercises has be to according to it. Increased metabolism will help you to avoid fat accumulation.
2. Dieting Won't Help – Dieting
while aging is a bad option. It only leads to more weight gain and health disorders. (Read how)You need to plan your diet and include a lot of fiber, fruits, vegetables, nuts and juices in your diet.
3.Protein Diet – Avoid hard core protein diet as with age your digestive system becomes slow and protein maybe difficult to digest. But include some protein in your diet. Proteins help to build muscles
by using fat for it. It also enhances our metabolism.
4.Calories – Intake of excess calories have to be controlled but cannot be avoided completely. A person in the process of aging should have a minimum of 1200 calories intake. Calories work up your metabolism and is also a source of energy.
Control your weight gain with age, in the above mentioned points and lead a healthy life. You can also try the Japanese diet to control weight gain with age.
........................................................................................................................................................
Suparna Chakraborty
Friday, December 3, 2010, 12:55[IST]
Follow us on
After the age of 40 a person has a tendency of weight gain and for a middle aged person weight gain becomes inevitable even while following a diet. To avoid weight gain with age, we generally, lessen our calorie intake, walk an extra mile and eat less. Well, research has proved that all these practices to avoid weight gain is faulty and may end up creating a problem to our health. Lets look at the reasons of weight gain with age -
1.Lack Of Testosterone – With age men lack in the testosterone hormone which leads to loss of lean muscle tissues and decline in the metabolism rate. Lack of metabolism thus, means less calories being burnt, which leads to accumulation of fat and weight gain. For women it is lack of the estrogen hormone.
2.Less Activity – Muscular body is not for the young alone. With age a man needs to build more muscles, to avoid fat accumulation. With age we lack in physical activities in comparison to what we did when we were young. With less physical activities, the muscle mass decreases, thus putting on weight.
3. Body Process – With age, the process in which your body works also slows down, thus, it may not be able to burn as much fat content at one time as it did earlier. This may lead to weight gain.
Ways to control weight gain with age
1.Physical Activities – Make sure you are involved in physical activities. You need to increase your metabolism, to burn calories. The best way to increase metabolism
is to exercise. Exercise regime should be decided by a well trained instructor, as exercise also changes with age. Your body may not be able to provide as much supply of energy like before, so, your exercises has be to according to it. Increased metabolism will help you to avoid fat accumulation.
2. Dieting Won't Help – Dieting
while aging is a bad option. It only leads to more weight gain and health disorders. (Read how)You need to plan your diet and include a lot of fiber, fruits, vegetables, nuts and juices in your diet.
3.Protein Diet – Avoid hard core protein diet as with age your digestive system becomes slow and protein maybe difficult to digest. But include some protein in your diet. Proteins help to build muscles
by using fat for it. It also enhances our metabolism.
4.Calories – Intake of excess calories have to be controlled but cannot be avoided completely. A person in the process of aging should have a minimum of 1200 calories intake. Calories work up your metabolism and is also a source of energy.
Control your weight gain with age, in the above mentioned points and lead a healthy life. You can also try the Japanese diet to control weight gain with age.
........................................................................................................................................................
Sunday, December 5, 2010
HEALTHY WEIGHT
U.S. Study confirms what a healthy weight really is
Enlarge Photo Pedestrians walk across the street near Times Square in New York in this August 28...
What is the healthiest weight to be? People hoping for a little jiggle room may be disappointed -- it is the weight already identified by public health experts using body mass index or BMI.
There had been some suggestion that it may be healthier to be pleasantly plump, but the team at the U.S. National Cancer Institute crushed any such idea with a study of 1.5 million adults published on Wednesday.
The healthiest BMI is 22.5 to 24.9, they found -- at the upper end of where the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups have said people should be.
Body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI of between 25 and 30 is overweight and a BMI of 30 or over is obese.
A person 5 feet 5 inches tall (165 cm) is classified as overweight at 150 pounds (68 kg) and obese at 180 pounds (82 kg). A 5-foot-10 inch (1.8 meteR) tall person who weighs 209 pounds (95 kg) has a BMI of 30 and is obese.
Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and arthritis. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirms that having a BMI of 25 or more also makes a person more likely to die than someone the same age who is slimmer.
"There is a small increased risk of all-cause mortality associated with being overweight -- about 10 percent compared to having a normal BMI," Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
But the severely obese -- those with a BMI of 40 or more -- have 2.5 times the risk of dying than people of a healthy weight who are the same age.
The original BMI guidelines were set using some data on health, but Berrington said several recent studies had suggested that people considered overweight may be less likely to die of cancer and other conditions. So she and an international team of experts took another look at the data.
NOT TOO FAT, NOT TOO THIN
"We used 19 studies that had been conducted all over the world," Berrington said. One caveat -- they were all in mostly white, westernized populations in Europe, Australia and the United States.
Their studies included 1.46 million white adults and 160,087 deaths.
WHO guidelines say the lowest "normal" BMI is 18.5 but Berrington's team found it is not healthy to be too thin.
"What we found was that a low BMI -- below 20 -- was also associated with an increased risk of death," Berrington said. This could be because people that thin already have disease, she said, and added that her team will check.
The researchers took into account smoking and other factors that are known to raise the risk of death, and found the association between weight and death was consistent across age, sex and where people lived.
"Previous studies led some to imply that being a little bit overweight might actually be beneficial, with some headlines suggesting that 'putting a little meat on your bones' was good for you," Dr. Michael Thun, of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement.
"This study concludes it is not, if the meat on your bones happens to be fat."
Obesity and overweight are a growing problem for U.S. policymakers. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, with 72 million U.S. adults, or 26.7 percent having a BMI of 30 or more.
.......................................................................................................................................................
Enlarge Photo Pedestrians walk across the street near Times Square in New York in this August 28...
What is the healthiest weight to be? People hoping for a little jiggle room may be disappointed -- it is the weight already identified by public health experts using body mass index or BMI.
There had been some suggestion that it may be healthier to be pleasantly plump, but the team at the U.S. National Cancer Institute crushed any such idea with a study of 1.5 million adults published on Wednesday.
The healthiest BMI is 22.5 to 24.9, they found -- at the upper end of where the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups have said people should be.
Body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI of between 25 and 30 is overweight and a BMI of 30 or over is obese.
A person 5 feet 5 inches tall (165 cm) is classified as overweight at 150 pounds (68 kg) and obese at 180 pounds (82 kg). A 5-foot-10 inch (1.8 meteR) tall person who weighs 209 pounds (95 kg) has a BMI of 30 and is obese.
Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and arthritis. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirms that having a BMI of 25 or more also makes a person more likely to die than someone the same age who is slimmer.
"There is a small increased risk of all-cause mortality associated with being overweight -- about 10 percent compared to having a normal BMI," Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
But the severely obese -- those with a BMI of 40 or more -- have 2.5 times the risk of dying than people of a healthy weight who are the same age.
The original BMI guidelines were set using some data on health, but Berrington said several recent studies had suggested that people considered overweight may be less likely to die of cancer and other conditions. So she and an international team of experts took another look at the data.
NOT TOO FAT, NOT TOO THIN
"We used 19 studies that had been conducted all over the world," Berrington said. One caveat -- they were all in mostly white, westernized populations in Europe, Australia and the United States.
Their studies included 1.46 million white adults and 160,087 deaths.
WHO guidelines say the lowest "normal" BMI is 18.5 but Berrington's team found it is not healthy to be too thin.
"What we found was that a low BMI -- below 20 -- was also associated with an increased risk of death," Berrington said. This could be because people that thin already have disease, she said, and added that her team will check.
The researchers took into account smoking and other factors that are known to raise the risk of death, and found the association between weight and death was consistent across age, sex and where people lived.
"Previous studies led some to imply that being a little bit overweight might actually be beneficial, with some headlines suggesting that 'putting a little meat on your bones' was good for you," Dr. Michael Thun, of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement.
"This study concludes it is not, if the meat on your bones happens to be fat."
Obesity and overweight are a growing problem for U.S. policymakers. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, with 72 million U.S. adults, or 26.7 percent having a BMI of 30 or more.
.......................................................................................................................................................
Saturday, December 4, 2010
WEIRDEST FRUITS
weirdest fruits
As you walk through the street markets of Mumbai, you’re bound to stumble upon some unfamiliar fruits, with vendors trudging their carts along in search of willing buyers.
You'll want to look in Crawford Market, Dadar (West) station market, Parle (East) station market and Santacruz (West) station market. Another sure way to find them would be in the vicinity of schools after the closing bell, where kids flock to get their sour fruit fix.
1. Karonda (karvanda): India's answer to cranberries. These pinkish-white fruits with a few tiny seeds in the center have a sourish taste. The flesh is firm with a crisp bite when the fruit is raw. It is also filled with a sticky white fluid which stains like nobody’s business.
Biting into a Karonda, you will experience a strange, dry astringent-like feeling in the mouth. Although it definitely tastes weird, it’s really fun to eat with a little sea salt sprinkled on. The raw berries are commonly used for pickling. When ripe they turn purple and soft with a tart, juicy interior.
Here's a tip: Don't bite into the seed -- that’s what gives it that weird taste. Oh, and I haven’t tried but I hear that they are fantastic for making wine.
2. Star fruit: Also known as Carambola, this fruit has a waxy skin and a green to golden yellow color. As the fruit ripens, the color becomes distinctly yellow, while the ribs turn slightly brown.
All you have to do is slice them crosswise, and you have a terrific looking star-shaped piece of fruit that makes for an excellent garnish.
With a flavor that ranges from tart to mildly sweet, star fruits are best eaten when sliced and sprinkled with a mixture of salt and chili powder, just like the way it is served on the street carts near Juhu beach. They also lend themselves beautifully to a tropical fruit jam paired with pineapple or pomegranate.
3. Wood apple (kabit, kavat, bel fruit): As the name suggests, wood apples have a woody exterior that you need to break open with a pestle or hammer. Inside, you will find a sticky, fibrous pulp, speckled with hundreds of edible seeds. Its taste ranges from very tart to sweet-and-sour when fully ripe.
Commonly eaten with a little jaggery to temper the acidity, but if you’re not up for eating the fruit as is, you could make a jam, chutney or sherbet from the pulp.
To make a quick drink, blend the pulp with some jaggery and water or coconut milk. Strain it, mix it, and drink up.
4. Indian gooseberry (avla, amla) The Indian gooseberry is known more for its Ayurvedic properties than for anything else. With benefits ranging from diabetes to anti-ageing, the Indian gooseberry wins hands down as an elixir in the form of a fruit.
It has a shiny greenish-yellow skin and is the size of a lemon, with a crisp bite, and a central seed.
The Indian gooseberry is used extensively in pickles, chutneys and jams that alleviate its sourness.
5. Purple jamun (jambuls, jambun or java plums): I'm sure every child who grew up in the subcontinent has a fond jamun story to tell.
The purple jamuns are seasonal fruits that appear in late April and are around till the monsoons. Jamuns have a blackish-purple skin, but can be whitish on the inside with a purple seed, or deep purple all together.
Word of caution: They stain too!
When they’ve just begun entering the market they’re usually quite tart, but as they mature, they still have the characteristic zing but are much sweeter. They’ve got an astringent aftertaste that will keep reminding you of the fruit's flavor, which means you will end up eating a lot more of these than you intended!
The best way to enjoy jamuns is to pound them gently until slightly mushy, and eat with a pinch of rock salt. Some general stores also stock dried jamun chips that make for an interesting, healthy snack.
6. Water Chestnut (singhada, songoda)
Fresh: The fresh water chestnut isn't a fruit, but a knobby vegetable with a soft, spongy stem that grows in the marshes. It has a firm green skin that is easy to snap off with the meekest of hands. The inside is white, tender, and has a watery yet crunchy core. When dried, singhadas are ground to a flour (kuttu ka atta) to make bread.
Boiled: Boiled water chestnuts have a chalky taste, while the texture can vary from tender to very firm. When it is boiled with a pinch of hirakasi, a type of vegetable dye, it attains a dark black rind. This is done mostly for cosmetic value without affecting the water chestnut’s taste, because plain boiled water chestnuts attain an unappetizing, moldy brown color. The boiled variety is more extensively available than the fresh variety.
7. Tamarind (imli): A brittle exterior held together by fibrous strands, the pulp is sticky and dark brown in color when ripe, while the seeds are shiny black.
Tamarind is usually exploited for its sour flavor that is enhanced with spices and jaggery, and used in street chaat.
The name tamarind, in fact, means "Indian date." Its claim to Western fame can be found in bottles of HP Sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
It is popularly used in chutneys and sauces that make an excellent accompaniment with seafood.
8. Ber (Indian Jujube): The ber has a firm, shiny skin, and a color that ranges from golden yellow to earthy brown. The fruit is mostly sweet, with a hint of sourness and a sharp crunch to it. It has a pointed stone-like central seed. It is cultivated throughout the country, and is so easily available it has come to be known as the poor man’s fruit.
9. Chanya Manya bor (jhar-beri): From the same family as the ber, these berries are available fresh as well as dried. They are large pea-sized, brick red berries that are typically sold in small cones by the street-side vendor.
The dried variety can be eaten as is, or can be refreshed by soaking in water for a few minutes. Of late, the cottage industry is making these popular in the form of concentrates that can be diluted with water for a refreshing drink.
10. Jackfruit (fanas): The jackfruit is a huge, prickly, oval fruit that has an inedible exterior and a soft, sweet, fibrous interior.
It is a sweetish fruit that has a distinct, pungent odor.
It has shiny yellow bulbs that can easily be separated from one another, making it easy for consumption. Each bulb has a central seed that acquires a delicious nutty flavor when dry roasted. When raw, the jackfruit is used in cooking. Cutting and preparing the jackfruit can be quite a task, given how sticky they are, thus it is best to buy them freshly cut from the vendor.
11. Pink Guava (peru, amrood): Flavor-wise, it's just like the regular white guava, but it's much prettier! The vendors will almost always cut them up in a zig-zag fashion across the center to entice customers. The fruit has a firm, dark green skin that lightens and softens as it ripens. The skin is thin and edible, while the interior is pulpy and dotted with tiny edible seeds.
Yummy when cut up and sprinkled with a little rock salt and chili powder. Pink guavas are harder to find than their white counterpart, with Crawford Market being your best bet.
12. Chikoo (sapota/sapodilla): Chikoos are easily among the ugliest of tropical fruits, but also among the most highly underrated, possibly because they are so widely available.
Every other street in the city will have a vendor selling the chikoos at very affordable prices. Eating chikoos is an experience that will always be full of surprises -- will the fruit be buttery smooth, or will it be gritty and pear-like? Will it be intensely sweet or will it be bland and boring?
Perfectly ripe chikoos are very fragrant and will yield to a gentle squeeze. If you’re lucky you will experience a creamy, rich, almost toffee-like taste. They are also delicious when blended into a milkshake with some vanilla ice cream and honey.
13. Targola (tadgola, toddy palm, palmyra): The targola is a type of palm fruit that grows in clusters, and has a coconutty, brown exterior. On cutting open, each fruit had three to four jelly seeds that have a soft yellowish skin that darkens to a light brown when exposed to air. This can be quite a pain to remove, but the effort is well worth it.
If you are averse to spending that time peeling the seed, you can safely eat it with the skin which, although bitter, is known to have medicinal properties.
The soft seeds have a texture similar to lychees, and biting into a targola, you will be hit by a refreshing sweet juice that resides in the center of each seed.
............................................................................................................................................................
As you walk through the street markets of Mumbai, you’re bound to stumble upon some unfamiliar fruits, with vendors trudging their carts along in search of willing buyers.
You'll want to look in Crawford Market, Dadar (West) station market, Parle (East) station market and Santacruz (West) station market. Another sure way to find them would be in the vicinity of schools after the closing bell, where kids flock to get their sour fruit fix.
1. Karonda (karvanda): India's answer to cranberries. These pinkish-white fruits with a few tiny seeds in the center have a sourish taste. The flesh is firm with a crisp bite when the fruit is raw. It is also filled with a sticky white fluid which stains like nobody’s business.
Biting into a Karonda, you will experience a strange, dry astringent-like feeling in the mouth. Although it definitely tastes weird, it’s really fun to eat with a little sea salt sprinkled on. The raw berries are commonly used for pickling. When ripe they turn purple and soft with a tart, juicy interior.
Here's a tip: Don't bite into the seed -- that’s what gives it that weird taste. Oh, and I haven’t tried but I hear that they are fantastic for making wine.
2. Star fruit: Also known as Carambola, this fruit has a waxy skin and a green to golden yellow color. As the fruit ripens, the color becomes distinctly yellow, while the ribs turn slightly brown.
All you have to do is slice them crosswise, and you have a terrific looking star-shaped piece of fruit that makes for an excellent garnish.
With a flavor that ranges from tart to mildly sweet, star fruits are best eaten when sliced and sprinkled with a mixture of salt and chili powder, just like the way it is served on the street carts near Juhu beach. They also lend themselves beautifully to a tropical fruit jam paired with pineapple or pomegranate.
3. Wood apple (kabit, kavat, bel fruit): As the name suggests, wood apples have a woody exterior that you need to break open with a pestle or hammer. Inside, you will find a sticky, fibrous pulp, speckled with hundreds of edible seeds. Its taste ranges from very tart to sweet-and-sour when fully ripe.
Commonly eaten with a little jaggery to temper the acidity, but if you’re not up for eating the fruit as is, you could make a jam, chutney or sherbet from the pulp.
To make a quick drink, blend the pulp with some jaggery and water or coconut milk. Strain it, mix it, and drink up.
4. Indian gooseberry (avla, amla) The Indian gooseberry is known more for its Ayurvedic properties than for anything else. With benefits ranging from diabetes to anti-ageing, the Indian gooseberry wins hands down as an elixir in the form of a fruit.
It has a shiny greenish-yellow skin and is the size of a lemon, with a crisp bite, and a central seed.
The Indian gooseberry is used extensively in pickles, chutneys and jams that alleviate its sourness.
5. Purple jamun (jambuls, jambun or java plums): I'm sure every child who grew up in the subcontinent has a fond jamun story to tell.
The purple jamuns are seasonal fruits that appear in late April and are around till the monsoons. Jamuns have a blackish-purple skin, but can be whitish on the inside with a purple seed, or deep purple all together.
Word of caution: They stain too!
When they’ve just begun entering the market they’re usually quite tart, but as they mature, they still have the characteristic zing but are much sweeter. They’ve got an astringent aftertaste that will keep reminding you of the fruit's flavor, which means you will end up eating a lot more of these than you intended!
The best way to enjoy jamuns is to pound them gently until slightly mushy, and eat with a pinch of rock salt. Some general stores also stock dried jamun chips that make for an interesting, healthy snack.
6. Water Chestnut (singhada, songoda)
Fresh: The fresh water chestnut isn't a fruit, but a knobby vegetable with a soft, spongy stem that grows in the marshes. It has a firm green skin that is easy to snap off with the meekest of hands. The inside is white, tender, and has a watery yet crunchy core. When dried, singhadas are ground to a flour (kuttu ka atta) to make bread.
Boiled: Boiled water chestnuts have a chalky taste, while the texture can vary from tender to very firm. When it is boiled with a pinch of hirakasi, a type of vegetable dye, it attains a dark black rind. This is done mostly for cosmetic value without affecting the water chestnut’s taste, because plain boiled water chestnuts attain an unappetizing, moldy brown color. The boiled variety is more extensively available than the fresh variety.
7. Tamarind (imli): A brittle exterior held together by fibrous strands, the pulp is sticky and dark brown in color when ripe, while the seeds are shiny black.
Tamarind is usually exploited for its sour flavor that is enhanced with spices and jaggery, and used in street chaat.
The name tamarind, in fact, means "Indian date." Its claim to Western fame can be found in bottles of HP Sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
It is popularly used in chutneys and sauces that make an excellent accompaniment with seafood.
8. Ber (Indian Jujube): The ber has a firm, shiny skin, and a color that ranges from golden yellow to earthy brown. The fruit is mostly sweet, with a hint of sourness and a sharp crunch to it. It has a pointed stone-like central seed. It is cultivated throughout the country, and is so easily available it has come to be known as the poor man’s fruit.
9. Chanya Manya bor (jhar-beri): From the same family as the ber, these berries are available fresh as well as dried. They are large pea-sized, brick red berries that are typically sold in small cones by the street-side vendor.
The dried variety can be eaten as is, or can be refreshed by soaking in water for a few minutes. Of late, the cottage industry is making these popular in the form of concentrates that can be diluted with water for a refreshing drink.
10. Jackfruit (fanas): The jackfruit is a huge, prickly, oval fruit that has an inedible exterior and a soft, sweet, fibrous interior.
It is a sweetish fruit that has a distinct, pungent odor.
It has shiny yellow bulbs that can easily be separated from one another, making it easy for consumption. Each bulb has a central seed that acquires a delicious nutty flavor when dry roasted. When raw, the jackfruit is used in cooking. Cutting and preparing the jackfruit can be quite a task, given how sticky they are, thus it is best to buy them freshly cut from the vendor.
11. Pink Guava (peru, amrood): Flavor-wise, it's just like the regular white guava, but it's much prettier! The vendors will almost always cut them up in a zig-zag fashion across the center to entice customers. The fruit has a firm, dark green skin that lightens and softens as it ripens. The skin is thin and edible, while the interior is pulpy and dotted with tiny edible seeds.
Yummy when cut up and sprinkled with a little rock salt and chili powder. Pink guavas are harder to find than their white counterpart, with Crawford Market being your best bet.
12. Chikoo (sapota/sapodilla): Chikoos are easily among the ugliest of tropical fruits, but also among the most highly underrated, possibly because they are so widely available.
Every other street in the city will have a vendor selling the chikoos at very affordable prices. Eating chikoos is an experience that will always be full of surprises -- will the fruit be buttery smooth, or will it be gritty and pear-like? Will it be intensely sweet or will it be bland and boring?
Perfectly ripe chikoos are very fragrant and will yield to a gentle squeeze. If you’re lucky you will experience a creamy, rich, almost toffee-like taste. They are also delicious when blended into a milkshake with some vanilla ice cream and honey.
13. Targola (tadgola, toddy palm, palmyra): The targola is a type of palm fruit that grows in clusters, and has a coconutty, brown exterior. On cutting open, each fruit had three to four jelly seeds that have a soft yellowish skin that darkens to a light brown when exposed to air. This can be quite a pain to remove, but the effort is well worth it.
If you are averse to spending that time peeling the seed, you can safely eat it with the skin which, although bitter, is known to have medicinal properties.
The soft seeds have a texture similar to lychees, and biting into a targola, you will be hit by a refreshing sweet juice that resides in the center of each seed.
............................................................................................................................................................
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