New Yorkers seek to shed pandemic pounds

NEW YORK - As fitness-conscious New York emerges from the pandemic, many residents are hitting the gym to get back in shape, but without putting too much pressure on themselves after the psychological stresses of the past 15 months.

Thirty-year-old Benny Maidenbaum comes from a family of sportsmen and said he's always been "very active." Basketball twice a week and pounding sidewalks as a real estate agent kept him fit.

But in March 2020, all that stopped.

"I had no activity, was sitting at home. I gained weight, like 15-20 pounds (7-9 kilograms). They call it 'corona weight,'" he tells AFP at TS fitness studio on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Health journals and articles have indeed talked about "Quarantine 15" -- unwanted extra pounds gained from the upheaval of our daily routines, including lack of activities and emotional eating caused by the anxiety of the pandemic.

About 42 percent of American adults said they had gained more weight than they intended -- an average of 29 pounds -- during the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by the Harris Poll for the American Psychological Association.

Angela Thuman, a 42-year-old bank worker, lost 32 pounds over the winter before the pandemic struck. She put it back on during the COVID crisis.

"It made me depressed and my anxiety was sky high. I had no motivation whatsoever," said Thuman, who lives in Maryland. 

Maidendaum said he found himself stuck at home eating junk food, without any interest in healthy options.

"It's like you're in a hole. There is no way out," he said.

Maidenbaum says TS Fitness has helped him "break the cycle" of unhealthy living.

Founder Noam Tamir says the studio has seen attendance increase significantly in recent weeks.

"With summer coming, being outside more, not fitting into the clothes they used to and obviously revealing more of their body, they want to get into a fitness routine," he said.

The studio has offered Zoom classes throughout the pandemic but people "crave that human-to-human contact," Tamir added.

Khristel Rhoades, a 40-year-old stay-at-home mother, notes that there are more people in Central Park now than during the pandemic's early days.

"People are more comfortable. Initially, people would kind of jump when they thought you were coming by," she said while walking on the paved loop that goes around Manhattan's green lung.

'STIGMATIZATION'

Rhoades is among those who found exercise helped them through the pandemic.

"It's kept me sane for sure," she said.

Many specialists warn against stigmatizing weight gain, particularly at a time when people are still feeling extremely fragile psychologically.

"The very last thing we need right now is a diet," warned author Virginia Sole-Smith in her Burnt Toast newsletter.

"It's so much more important to have compassion for everything your body has gone through in the past year. And maybe even pride, for everything your body has helped you survive," she added.

But for Thuman, she said she had "a little bit of motivation" to lose weight as the pandemic dragged on, after separating from her husband.

Thanks to steady walks, a new diet and Facebook groups, Thuman has lost 22 pounds and is almost down to the weight she was pre-pandemic.

"I like the way that I feel now," she told AFP.

Like many, Maidenbaum refuses to set a target for his weight loss.

"If you put a timeframe, I realize you're building up a lot of pressure on yourself," he said, choosing to focus instead on a healthy lifestyle.

"As long as you show up and put in the work, that's really all that matters."

Agence France-Presse

Fil-Am Olympia champ Jeremy Buendia sets the bar high for men’s physique

Most people could only ever dream of joining Olympia, the most prestigious bodybuilding event in the world. To even qualify to compete, you need to beat hundreds of competitors. From hundreds of hopeful bodybuilders, few will ever make it to Olympia and only one will win.

Among all the Olympia titleholders in recent history, Jeremy Buendia is one to watch. He has set the bar high for men’s physique. He has won the Men’s Physique Olympia Showdown not once or twice, but four times running.

Jeremy is half-Filipino on his father’s side, as his grandfather was from Bulacan. His dad played a huge role in his career.


“He raised me to be an athlete and he started training me at the age of six doing various speed drills, pushups and other calisthenics-type exercises,” Jeremy shares. “My dad introduced weights to me at 10 or 11 years old and it became a part of my everyday life.”

His first sport wasn’t actually bodybuilding but football. He played until high school when injury caused him to stop. Unwilling to cease his drive to compete, Jeremy found his calling in competitive bodybuilding.

At 19 years old, he won his first bodybuilding title at 2010 NPC Costa California. When he was 21, he switched to the Men’s Physique division, winning multiple shows throughout 2012 and 2013. He beat 150 of the best amateurs to win overall at the NPC Jr. USA’s to earn his Pro Card. Three months later, he won his first pro show and qualified to compete in Olympia 2013. He took second place that year.

That wasn’t enough. He trained with trainer and nutritionist Hany Rambod and worked harder than ever. The next year, and for the three succeeding years, he returned to the Olympia stage and won. No other man has won repeat Olympia men’s physique championships, let alone four in a row. This gives Jeremy the title of the best men’s physique athlete in the world.

Jeremy and his trusted coach, Hany share their winning secrets with Flex magazine.

“My approach to weight training changed significantly when I began working with Hany Rambod on my contest prep in 2014,” Jeremy says.

“Jeremy went from 170 pounds at the 2014 Olympia to 175 pounds in 2015, all while coming in more conditioned. Jeremy’s prep centered on adding size. Because the guys in his division are getting bigger, we targeted a five to seven-pound muscle gain since last year. To keep his waist as small as possible we stay away from exercises that will cause his obliques to grow,” Rambod shares.

When it comes to training, the winning duo has it all figured out. In 2014, Hany became the first coach to have three athletes win first at their Olympia events in the same year. His secret weapon? A specialized training method called FST-7. “Hany introduced FST-7, and it has been something that I’ve grown to trust,” Jeremy says.

Rambod developed Fascia Stretch Training, to boost workout intensity. This training technique involves extending the last workout for a body part to seven sets instead of the usual three or four. “We emphasize optimizing pumps in the gym,” Buendia explains. “The elements include tempo manipulation, rep-range manipulation, and minimizing rest in between sets.” This infuses targeted muscles with a better pump, improving blood flow and circulation. It also stimulates more growth and makes your workout a lot more interesting.

“We incorporated FST Super 7 supersets done with 45 seconds’ rest, which increased intensity fourfold. FST Super 7 is a variation of my standard FST (fascia stretch training), a protocol that calls for the use of medium or heavy weight for seven intense sets and 30 to 45 seconds’ rest between sets.” Rambod explains.

Today, Jeremy graces countless international fitness magazines and has an active social media base. He is currently training for the next Olympia where he is vying for a historic fifth title.

Meanwhile, IFBB Pro Card hopefuls in the Philippines are now preparing for Musclecontest Philippines, their first chance to get an IFBB Pro Card without leaving the country. The historic date is set on Sept. 8 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.

source: philstar.com

One in eight adults obese - global survey

PARIS -- Over one in eight adults are now obese -- a ratio that has more than doubled since 1975 and will swell to one in five by 2025, a major survey reported Friday.

Of about five billion adults alive in 2014, 641 million were obese, the data showed -- and projected the number will balloon past 1.1 billion in just nine years.

The research warned of a looming crisis of "severe obesity" and disease brought on by high-fat, high-sugar diets causing blood pressure and cholesterol to rise.

"There will be health consequences of magnitudes that we do not know," author Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London told AFP.

The survey, published in The Lancet medical journal, claimed to be the most comprehensive of its kind conducted to date.

People are divided into healthy or unhealthy weight categories based on a universally-adopted measure dubbed Body Mass Index -- a ratio of weight-to-height squared.

A healthy BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9.

One is considered underweight below 18.5, overweight from 25 up, and obese from 30 -- when the risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and some cancers escalates massively.

With a BMI of 35, one is categorized as severely obese, and from 40 upward as morbidly so.

Among men globally, obesity tripled from 3.2 percent of the population in 1975 to 10.8 percent in 2014 (some 266 million), and among women from 6.4 percent to 14.9 percent (375 million), said the survey -- 12.9 percent combined.

This was equivalent to the average adult, 18 and older, being 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) heavier every decade.

"If the rate of obesity continues at this pace, by 2025 roughly a fifth of men (18 percent) and women (21 percent) will be obese," according to a statement by The Lancet.

More than six percent of men and nine percent of women will be severely obese.

Weighty flip-flop

The ratio of underweight people in the world declined at a slower rate than obesity grew, said the authors -- from about 13.8 percent in 1975 to 8.8 percent for men, and 14.6 percent to 9.7 percent for women.

"Over the past 40 years, we have changed from a world in which underweight prevalence was more than double that of obesity, to one in which more people are obese than underweight," said Ezzati.

At current rates, more women will be severely obese (a BMI of 35 or more) than underweight by 2025, and the world will miss its stated target of halting obesity at 2010 levels.

In 2014, the world's fattest people lived in the island nations of Polynesia and Micronesia, where 38 percent of men and more than half of women were obese, said the study.

Nearly a fifth of the world's obese adults (118 million) lived in six high-income countries -- the United States, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The US was home to one in four severely obese men and almost one in five severely obese women in the world.

Surgery as a solution? 

At the other extreme, the paper said, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia and Eritrea had the lowest BMI numbers in the world, with averages as low as 20.1

More than a fifth of men in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and a quarter of women in Bangladesh and India, were underweight.

"The global focus on the obesity epidemic has largely overshadowed the persistence of underweight in some countries," the research paper said.

"To address this problem will require social and food policies that enhance food security in poor households, but also avoid overconsumption of processed carbohydrates and other unhealthy foods."

Like being underweight, severe and morbid obesity has many health risks.

"We can deal with some of these, like higher cholesterol or blood pressure, through medicines," said Ezzati.

"But for many others, including diabetes, we don't have effective treatment."

The paper says stomach-shrinking bariatric surgery may become the "most effective intervention for weight loss and disease prevention" as waistlines continue expanding.

The data was compiled from 1,698 studies involving 19.2 million adults from 186 countries which are home to 99 percent of the world's population.

Unlike earlier research, studies were only included if the participants' height and weight had been measured -- not self-reported.

The data did not include statistics on children and teenagers.

source: interaksyon.com

WHO says cancer report not calling for people to give up meat

GENEVA - The World Health Organization stressed Thursday that an explosive report this week linking the consumption of processed meat to cancer was not calling for people to stop eating meat altogether.

The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) caused shockwaves Monday when it released a report analyzing 800 studies from around the world, concluding that processed meats such as sausages, ham, and hot dogs cause bowel cancer, and red meat "probably" does too.

Meat producers slammed the report, with Australia's agriculture minister calling it "a farce", and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) saying IARC "tortured the data to ensure a specific outcome".

The United Nations agency cited research attributing about 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide to diets high in processed meat.

The agency acknowledged this was dwarfed by the estimated one million cancer deaths attributed to tobacco smoking, 600,000 to alcohol use, and more than 200,000 to air pollution every year.

But it warned its data did "not permit" the determination of a safe meat quota.

The WHO however stressed Thursday that IARC's review merely confirmed the UN health agency's 2002 diet and nutrition recommendations, urging people "to moderate consumption of preserved meat to reduce the risk of cancer."

"The latest IARC review does not ask people to stop eating processed meats but indicates that reducing consumption of these products can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer," WHO said in a statement.

It pointed out that it has a standing group of experts who regularly evaluate the links between diet and disease.

"Early next year they will meet to begin looking at the public health implications of the latest science and the place of processed meat and red meat within the context of an overall healthy diet," WHO said.

source: interaksyon.com

Stress may sabotage diets by short-circuiting self-control

People are less likely to resist tasty, unhealthy foods when they’re under stress because the promise of immediate reward trumps longer-term goals to eat well, a Swiss study suggests.

Using brain scans, researchers found that circuits in the brain associated with reward are amped up and those linked to self-control are dialed down in participants under stress. The more stressed people felt themselves to be, the stronger the effect.

“We find that stress increases reward signaling and thus may boost a craving for getting the instantaneously rewarding option,” which ties in with earlier studies of stress and decision circuits in the brain, said lead author Silvia U. Maier at the University of Zurich.

“The more stressed you feel, the less likely you become to override your own taste preferences when we present you with a really tricky challenge, say: your favorite chocolate bar versus a portion of broccoli,” Maier told Reuters Health by email.

“You could say it’s almost like stress is turning up the dial on signals about taste, and turning down the signal on health goals,” she said.

For the study, the researchers recruited 51 young adult men who reported making an effort to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, but also still enjoyed junk foods with some frequency.

First, each participant used a computer questionnaire to rate images of 180 food items for healthiness, tastiness and their overall appeal.

Then 29 of the men were randomly selected to undergo the stress induction procedure, in which they immersed a hand in an ice bath for three minutes while they were videotaped and monitored. Social evaluation is one of the most potent human stressors, Maier noted.

All the participants were put in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, which measures brain activity by mapping blood flow changes in the brain, and asked to complete several seven-minute computer-based decision trials, selecting from pairs of the foods they had previously rated on healthiness and taste.

In addition to the fMRI measures, the researchers also collected saliva samples from the men to measure the stress hormone cortisol.

As reported in Neuron, the researchers found that men who had undergone the stressful situation were more likely to favor taste rather than health in their food choices, compared to the men who had not been stressed.

“What's exciting about this work is that it identifies specific mechanisms for how stress affects self control: by amplifying the influence of short-term rewards on choices, and by impairing the influence of a brain region known to be important for self-control,” said Molly Crockett, an expert in neuropsychology at University College London in the U.K.

“When you're faced with an unhealthy food that's not very tempting, stress won't affect your self control much,” Crockett, who was not part of the new research, told Reuters Health by email. “But when you're faced with your most favorite tempting foods, stress will make it more difficult to resist those temptations.”

In studies of rats, a high-fat diet appears to blunt the stress response, and some researchers speculate that humans may change their diets to “self-medicate” the stress response in the brain, although that is still a hypothesis, Maier said.

“One very stressful day will most likely not sabotage your diet completely if the stress ends after this day and you return back to your routine of eating a healthy, balanced diet,” she said. “However, we find that even moderately stressful events may promote these lapses of self-control, and moderate stress may occur more often during your day or week.”

One way to combat this effect is to use pre-commitment, removing temptations before they occur, for example removing snacks, cigarettes or alcohol from the home if you know you will have trouble resisting later, Maier said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/1P6Cr0S Neuron, online August 5, 2015.

source: interaksyon.com

The unflattering side effect of a low-carb diet

You’ve been wanting to lose weight so you can fit into that lovely red dress you’re eyeing to wear on your special date. So, you’ve decided to eliminate carbohydrates in your meal believing you will not gain extra pounds before the date. Yes, low-carb diets may be good for your waistline, but it may not be the same for your breath.

Bad breath from low or no-carb diets is often caused by chemicals called ketones that are released in the breath as the body burns fat. An example of this effect occurs especially in the popular Atkins diet. Carbohydrates aren’t readily available, so the body starts consuming other fats and proteins as its source of energy. As a result, one gets a breath problem.

It’s not an oral hygiene problem. Brushing, flossing, and scraping the tongue may not be able to hide the bad breath. Instead, reconsider your diet and modify it to avoid this embarrassing condition. There may be some ways to mask bad breath by (using mouthwash, for instance), but the basic problem still exists—so, better introduce complex carbohydrates (found in whole grains and vegetables like broccoli and spinach) in your diet instead.

What to do

Though this is not an oral hygiene problem, certain remedies can help banish the bad breath or at least mask the odor.

• Drink more water. Drinking water and swishing it around your mouth after your mouth after you eat helps moisten the mouth and gets the food particles that may contribute to odor, out. Chewing fresh parsley can also help.

• Chew sugarless gum or suck on sugarless mints. In particular, those that contain Xylitol also kill bacteria and can prevent cavities.

Optimum nutrition means having a well balanced meal—the greatest percentage for energy source should come from carbohydrates. The key is on the amount and kinds of foods that we eat. Complex carbohydrates may be good for dieters and with people who have diabetes because they are rich in fibers and makes one feel full at once. So, before you blame carbohydrates for any added inches in your waistline and decide to eliminate them altogether, think again. The downside could be unattractive, too.

• Want to know more? Manila Doctors Hospital’s resident nutritionists and dieticians at the PROHEALTH Center offer diet counseling services that are tailor-fit to your lifestyle. They also offer nutrition and disease education on common medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

PROHEALTH is open from Mondays through Saturdays from 8:00am to 5:00 pm and is located at the ground floor of Manila Doctors Hospital, No. 667 United Nations Ave., Ermita, Manila. You may reach them at these numbers (02) 524-3011 local 4718. For more information, visit the Manila Doctors website here.

source: interaksyon.com

Gym not for you? Easy home tasks also help heart - study

PARIS - Mowing the lawn or washing the car are among simple activities that can reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by almost 30 percent in people over 60, researchers said Tuesday.

A study in Sweden found that older people who were physically active around the house stayed healthier longer than couch potatoes -- regardless of whether they also did any kind of "formal" exercise like jogging or going to the gym.

"A generally active daily life was, regardless of exercising regularly or not, associated with cardiovascular health and longevity in older adults," said the study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

While the health risks of prolonged sitting and the benefits of regular exercise have both been well documented, the contribution to good health of "non-exercise physical activity (NEPA)" is not fully understood.

For the study, researchers screened nearly 4,000 Swedish 60-year-olds in 1997-99 and tracked their health for an average 12.5 years.

The participants recorded how frequently they performed certain activities, including doing home repairs, cutting the lawn or hedge, car maintenance, going hunting or fishing, cycling, and gathering mushrooms or berries.

The researchers found that people with high levels of physical activity, excluding formal exercise, had a 27 percent lower risk of contracting cardiovascular disease compared with inactive people, and a 30 percent lower risk of death from all causes during the study period.

The results were "not significantly different" from those for people who did do regular formal exercise but had low NEPA levels, the study said.

Those who did both had the lowest risk.

"Promoting everyday NEPA might be as important as recommending regular exercise for older adults" -- boosting individual and population health as the demographic shifts towards an ever-older population in many parts of the world, the study said.

The researchers factored in other lifestyle factors that could influence the results, including alcohol intake, education level, smoking habits, and diet.

And they warned that care should be taken applying the findings in cultures that may have different physical activity habits and levels.

source: interaksyon.com

Blast, suction, melt, and liquify: New non-invasive treatments to lose your belly fat now

With bikini season over a lot of women, and yes, men too, have gotten complacent about going to the gym. Heavy rains usually bring the desire binge on comfort food. Unfortunately, this almost always leads to rolls of shame around the tummy area to develop, and which is often difficult to shed off with exercise and diet alone.

Getting a fab and fit body often comes with a price, whether it’s membership fees at the local gym or surgery, which health cards don’t cover. Time, on the other hand, may be an issue for others. So unless you’re willing to spend hours at the gym building that sleek, sexy body then the current wave of non-invasive slimming treatments is the answer you’re looking for.

The latest option for busy individuals is Allura Body Contour and Slimming Center’s Ultrashape V3 and Thermolipolysis, a surgery-free body contouring treatment that promises to reduce fat deposits minus the down time.

“Utrashape V3 is a synergy of three machines. It has ultrasound designed to blast the fat cells and RF (radio frequency) that emits heat and acts as a suction to gather fat in one area,” says Mari Lumahan, Operations Manager of Allura Body Contour and Slimming Center.



Ultrashape V3 is the more advanced version of lipocavitation, which usually takes 1 to 3 months for results to be visible. With Ultrashape V3, you can get the same effect in less time, as Lumahan explains, “one session of Ultrashape V3 is equivalent to 10 to 15 treatments of lipocavitation.

“This is designed for clients who can’t wait to lose the fats fast because you will see results in as little as five days.”

The procedure takes a maximum of two hours and is best suited for people in fairly decent shape but with certain unsightly bulges.

Along with Ultrashape V3, Lumahan recommends Thermolipolysis for maintainance. Thermolipolysis is a fully integrated metabolic weight loss solution that makes cold wraps obsolete. The process uses high performance thermic bands that are wrapped around the body, which then causes a rise in one’s body temperature. The process breaks down cellulite and fatty tissues, which are then liquefied and eliminated by the body later on.

it burns up to 1,500 calories per treatment, reduces unsightly cellulite, increases metabolic rate, reduces water retention, and increases energy and vitality.

* For more information about Ultrashape V3 and Thermolipolysis, call (+632) 352-7876, (+632) 352-7679, (+632) 384-5502 and (+63) 9178-ALLURA.

source: interaksyon.com

Diets rich in fruits and veggies great for the body - but are they harmful to Earth?

A nutritious diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables might be healthier for humans but not necessarily healthier for the environment, according to a French study.

After analyzing the eating habits of about 2,000 French adults, and the greenhouse gas emissions generated by producing the plants, fish, meat, fowl and other ingredients, researchers concluded in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that such a diet might not be the greenest in environmental impact.

"When you eat healthy, you have to eat a lot of food that has a low content of energy. You have to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables," said Nicole Darmon, the study's senior author from the National Research Institute of Agronomy in Marseille, France.

Growing fruits and vegetables doesn't produce as much greenhouse gas as raising cattle or livestock, but food production - including the use of farming equipment and transportation - is estimated to be responsible for 15 percent to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in development countries, the authors said.

Scientists have long advised people to switch to a plant-based diet to benefit the environment and their own health.

To more closely examine that premise, Darmon and her colleagues used food diaries from 1,918 French adults to compare the nutritional quality of people's real-world diets and how much greenhouse gas they produced.

From the diaries that were kept for seven days between 2006 and 2007, the researchers identified the 400 most commonly consumed foods. They then used a database to find out how much greenhouse gas was emitted to produce each one, measured as the grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per 100 grams of food.

All aspects of a food's lifecycle were taken into account, including how it was cooked, Darmon said.

"The only step that wasn't taken into account was the transport from the supermarket to the home," she added.

Overall, about 1,600 grams of carbon dioxide were emitted for every 100 grams of meat produced. That's more than 15 times the amount of greenhouse gas emitted during the production of fruits, vegetables and starches and about 2.5 times as much greenhouse gas as that from fish, pork, poultry and eggs.

That gap narrowed, however, when the researchers looked at how many grams of carbon dioxide were emitted per 100 kilocalories (kcal) - a measure of energy in food.

The most greenhouse gas - 857 grams - was still emitted to produce 100 kcal of meat, but only about three times the emissions from a comparable amount of energy from fruit and vegetables.

Greens also ended up emitting more gas for the calories than starches, sweets, salty snacks, dairy and fats. It was also about as much gas as pork, poultry and eggs.

When Darmon and her colleagues looked at what people actually ate to get a certain amount of energy from food every day, they found that the "highest-quality" diets in health terms - those high in fruit, vegetables and fish - were linked to about as much, if not more, greenhouse gas emissions as low-quality diets that were high in sweets and salts.

Overall, the documented diets were responsible for around 5,000 grams of greenhouse gas emissions per day per person.

Darmon said that's because people who eat a plant-based diet need to eat more produce to get the amount of energy they'd have in a piece of meat.

Roni Neff, the director of research and policy at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for a Livable Future, cautioned against taking the findings too literally. For example, according to the study's calculations, people would need to eat about four kilograms (nine pounds) of fruit and vegetables to make up for a smaller serving of meat.

"I think they're raising a lot of important questions that need further investigation," she said.

source: interaksyon.com

Saturated fat tied to sinking sperm counts in Danes

(Reuters Health) – Saturated fats, like those found in rich cheeses and meats, may do more than weigh men down after a meal – a new study also links them to dwindling sperm counts.

Researchers found that young Danish men who ate the most saturated fats had a 38 percent lower concentration of sperm and 41 percent lower sperm counts in their semen than those who ate the least fat.

“We cannot say that it has a causal effect, but I think other studies have shown that saturated fat intake has shown a connection to other problems and now also for sperm count,” said Tina Jensen, the study’s lead author from Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen.

The new research is not the first to connect diet and other lifestyle factors to sperm production and quality.

In 2011, Brazilian researchers found eating more grains - such as wheat, oats or barley – was associated with improved sperm concentration and motility, and fruit was also linked to a speed and agility boost in sperm (see Reuters Health story of November 18, 2011 here: reut.rs/TBfCrA).

But that study and most others looked at these associations using data on men seeking fertility treatments, which may not be representative of all men.

For the new study, Jensen and her colleagues surveyed and examined 701 young Danish men who were about 20 years old and getting checkups for the military between 2008 and 2010.

They were asked about the food they ate over the prior three months, and then asked for a semen sample.
Jensen told Reuters Health the young men’s main motivation to participate in the study was the $85 it paid – not to see if they were fertile.

The researchers then broke the results into four groups, depending on how much of the men’s energy intake came from saturated fats, and compared how much sperm the men in each group produced.

The men who got less than 11.2 percent of their energy from saturated fats had an average sperm concentration of 50 million per milliliter of semen and a total sperm count of about 163 million.

That compared to 45 million sperm per milliliter of semen and a 128 million count in men who got more than 15 percent of their energy from saturated fats, the researchers report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The World Health Organization defines anything over 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen as normal. In the study, 13 percent of men in the lowest-fat group and 18 percent of men in the highest-fat group fell below that level.

Although the study cannot determine whether other lifestyle factors might account for the link, Jensen said her team’s findings may partially explain studies that have found sperm counts decreasing around the world.

Last year, French researchers reported that the number of sperm in one milliliter of the average 35-year-old Frenchman’s semen fell from about 74 million in 1989 to about 50 million in 2005 (see Reuters Health story of Dec 4, 2012 here: reut.rs/Vzg2NU).

“I think obesity is another cause, but (saturated fats) could also be a possible explanation,” she said.

Jensen said that the next step is to find the mechanism by which saturated fat could influence sperm count, and then to see whether sperm counts improve when men cut down on saturated fat in their diets.

Until then, she said it’s still too early to tell men with low sperm counts to cut back on saturated fat, but added it’s still probably a good idea since it’s also linked to other problems, such as heart disease and cancer.

SOURCE: bit.ly/UL3VhP The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online December 26, 2012.

Vegetables for children

It is often quite difficult to encourage children to eat vegetables. But there are exceptions. There is this young girl, now eight years old who, when she was four, took a bite of ampalaya like she was relishing hotdogs and hamburgers. She has just arrived from the US, and the ginisang bitter gourd must have looked strange to her. Yet, when we asked her to try the dish, she liked it and continued to eat her meal. We have another four-year-old who likes the sayote in tinolang manok, mashed into her rice with the broth. Then recently she tried and enjoyed Chinese cabbage.

Well and good, but not all kids take to vegetables as easily. Vegetables are now being produced into a variety of refreshing beverages and  delicious food. Among these are bottled four-in-one juice, with four types of veggies, sold in supermarkets.

Now comes “The Malunggay Book,” which predictably will be a big help to homemakers who need to supplement their families’ diet with healthy nourishment.

Until recently, malunggay’s usefulness was limited to making soup for pregnant women or those who are lactating. Today it is called “the miracle vegetable.”

Our friends Jimmy and Becs Galvez-Tan, who co-authored the book “Medicinal Fruits and Vegetables,” through their research, found that malunggay has high levels of beta-carotene, Vitamins C and E, calcium and iron and is a good source of potassium and ascorbic acid. Its medicinal attributes are good for maintaining wellness and can help those suffering from rheumatism.

There are now many ways to include its leaves in our daily diet through the recently published “The Malunggay Book” of healthy and easy-to-do recipes. Its authors are chefs Day Salonga and Mon Urbano, who are successful partners in a culinary consultancy.

Try the scrambled green egg and bacon, M vinaigrette dressing, Thai-style curry, chicken roulade, even M cookies and crepes. They may sound strange, but they are healthy and have been made flavorful by the creative duo.

Those who have missed the Italian restaurant Buona Vita on Daang Hari, Molino, Bacoor would be pleased to know that their favorite restaurant has moved to the Molito Mall in Alabang, which is more accessible.

It is bigger and continues to serve all the dishes that have captured the palette of discriminating foodies in the area and beyond. Their paella is what we always go there for. On a recent visit, we tried to venture away from our usual second course of lengua and chose the fish fillet (cream dory) with lemon. Very good choice. It was perfectly crispy, very soft and tasty and came with a small mound of mashed potatoes.

We got a complimentary copy of the “Korean Cuisine” book from the Palms Country Club where  Korean food was recently  featured in their main dining hall. It says the culinary treasures of the country have “hansik,” an energy source with philosophy and science, meaning it goes beyond providing physical strength but also that of the mind and soul.

It is a comprehensive guide to dining in Korea from table setting, to street food to royal cuisine and temple food to table manners. And yes, it gives instructions on how to prepare kimchi, considered the country’s most popular dish made of fermented cabbage and lots of spices plus what the locals call  “healthy bacteria” (lactobacilli), supposed to  help digestion. The latest info is that it contains some elements that may prevent cancer.

Observe the elderly Koreans in the streets of Seoul or any other city. The generation is old, no offense meant, but senior men and women walk alone, no alalays, a testimony to their well-being, indeed.

Eat healthy.

source: philstar.com

Acai: Berry good for the liver

MANILA, Philippines - Did you know that the liver is a vital organ within your body because it breaks down and removes harmful toxins from the blood? Having a healthy liver means you shouldn’t have difficulty maintaining your weight. A fatty liver, however, does the exact opposite — it stores fat when it should be burning it. So, instead of removing excess fat from the body, the liver essentially becomes a warehouse of fat.  Many people don’t  even think about  cleansing their liver, that is, until something in their body malfunctions as a result of developing fatty liver disease (FLD) .

Can fatty liver be reversed?  While traditional medicine provides no specific therapy or drug treatment that actually reverses the fatty liver, there is a natural approach that has been proven to work effectively in reversing the damaging effects of a fatty liver. Studies have shown how the Organique Acai diet  is designed to actually help “sweep” and cleanse the body’s entire system to replenish the body with what it needs. Acai provides our body with the necessary nutrients and tools to begin fixing itself and allow it to do what it was originally intended to do: cleanse the system of harmful toxins and allow our immune system to function as it was designed to do. 

Grown in the Amazon rainforest, the Acai berry is rich in berry-cocoa flavor and taste. It is packed with antioxidants, loads of omega fat, protein, dietary fiber, and a lot more.

Organique Acai is now available at Mercury Drug, Robinsons Supermarket, Three Sixty Pharmacies. For more details, call/text 09228887883 or visit www. organique.asia.

source: philstar.com

Summer Skincare Tips

The summer is right around the corner. That means longer days and more time spent outside. Summer is indeed a lot of fun, but people should make sure that they take the steps necessary to protect their skin from the harsh summer sun. Below are five of the most important summer skin care tips:

Avoid sun during its peak hours

Many people enjoy spending time outside, but the harsh ultraviolent rays from the sun can do serious damage to the skin. People who spend too much time in the sun also have a tendency to age more quickly. Studies have also shown that exposure to ultraviolent rays can also make a person more susceptible to developing skin cancer. The sun is at its peak during the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sun exposure should be limited during those times.

Put on sunscreen

It is not possible to completely avoid the sun during the wintertime. However, people should always make sure that they apply sunscreen when they go outside. This includes the times before 10 A.M. and after 4 P.M. Sunscreen helps protect the skin from the harsh ultraviolent rays.

Cleanse the skin

This may seem like a given, but it is one of the most important things that people can do to keep their skin healthy during any season. Washing helps remove the toxins that can build up and rob the skin of its beauty. However, people should not bathe or shower more than twice per day. Over washing the skin removes many of its protective oils.

Drink plenty of water

Water also helps flush out toxins in the body and helps keep the complexion smooth and radiant. Drinking water also helps prevent dehydration, which is very common during the hotter months. People should carry a water bottle with them at all times to make sure that they are drinking enough water.

Eat a healthy diet

Eating diet that is filled with fruits and vegetables will allow a person to get plenty of antioxidants. Antioxidants are nutrients that help keep the skin looking youthful. People should also make sure that they get plenty of whole grains and lean protein.

Limiting sun exposure, applying sunscreen, cleansing the skin, drinking water and eating a healthy diet are the keys to keeping the skin healthy during the summer.

Brian Rebula is a skin care writer and Skin Care Center consultant focusing on homeopathic remedies for facial rejuvenation.

Article Source:
http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051549487-1-summer-skincare-tips/