Weekly Wellness
Issue 233
Featured Article
Joint Pain -- One of the most common problems faced by strength training. (Repeated by request).
Fitness Tip
Do You Watch Your Diet Carefully Enough?
All too often, people think they can eat anything they want as long as they workout. They try to balance a bad behavior with a good one. But that is a little like allowing yourself to smoke because you do aerobic exercise. You are still putting yourself at risk for heart disease. People still need to limit their intake of saturated fats or trans-fats because your body tends to make cholesterol from them. While saturated fats are now listed on food labels, trans fat will not be included until 2006.
For now, read the ingredients and look for "hydrogenated" fats, which are trans-fats. In addition, eating complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and vegetables instead of refined ones like white bread may lower the risk of diabetes because they do not increase blood sugar as rapidly. Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease. Nuts are also healthy to eat because they provide unsaturated fat.
Nutrition Tip
Tidbit
Pre-Diabetes
Health experts do not routinely recommend medication as treatment for pre-diabetes. Instead, some simple lifestyle changes are just what the doctor ordered. In a recently completed Diabetes Prevention Program research study, people ate healthier and exercised to lose five to seven percent of their body weight lowered their incidence of type 2 diabetes by nearly 60 percent. They lost weight by cutting back on fat and calories and by increasing their activity level, mostly by walking, to at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quote:
"Preach not to others what they should eat, but eat as becomes you, and be silent". -- Epictetus
Quick Recipe
Fruit Shake
Here's a fruit shake that's simple, fast and yummy. Also very filling in
the morning.
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup (approx.) frozen strawberries
Blend all ingredients in the blender. The frozen fruit makes it thick; there is no need for ice. Try experimenting with different juices and fruits.
Food Fixes
When a recipe calls for crumbled bacon, dice it before frying for more even cooking.
Don't have a fat separator? Get rid of the extra fat in broth by slightly cooling the broth before pouring it into a large heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. After a few minutes, the fat will collect at the top of the bag. Cut off a lower corner of the bag and let the broth flow back into the pan. Pinch the hole closed as the fat nears the bottom of the bag.
Store honey at room temperature. Storing honey in the refrigerator accelerates crystallization.