Promote Health & Wellness

This post is a summary of an exercise guide written for men and women ages 18 to 64 and is based on the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This important guide explains how any type of physical activity is beneficial to our health, and it’s a good read for anyone looking to improve their health by exercising. This includes activities such as brisk walking, running, dancing, swimming and more. Resistance training is also beneficial in building muscle mass. [Read the rest of this entry...]

The question of, “what should I be eating in order to eat healthier”, is actually pretty simple, but it’s made much more difficult because of all of the various diets out there confusing the public on what is actually healthy. The bottom line is that all the evidence of points to a plant-based diet as being the healthiest choice. This would include vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It’s also important to eat healthy fats, such as that in olive or canola oil. Red meats and saturated fats should be eaten very sparingly. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Although most people understand the fact that exercise burns calories, many do not realize how exercise and diet affects our bodies. Many experts now believe that while exercise alone is not an efficient way to lose weight, it can; however, help you maintain a healthy weight once you have already shed the pounds.
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An Italian study of 47,749 adults, including 15, 171 men and 32,578 women, concluded that a diet consisting largely of certain high-carbohydrate foods can increase the chance of heart disease by up to 50% in women. A diet rich in foods with a high glycemic index (i.e., white bread, sweets) increases the levels of blood glucose and triglycerides (harmful fats) in the blood stream. Furthermore, this food seems to reduce levels of HDL (good cholesterol), and thus increasing the chance for heart disease. This study concluded that men were far less affected by these types of foods than women. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Losing weight is one of the toughest endeavors anyone could every take on, but it is also one of the most important components of living a long and healthy life. Though exercise can help reduce body fat and build muscle mass when done correctly, eating healthy is actually a more effective weight loss tool than exercise alone. The whole concept of losing weight is really just a simple numbers game; burn more calories than are consumed each day and positive weight loss results will follow. Correcting bad dietary habits will not only benefit those looking to shed a few pounds, but eating better can also help to improve overall health and wellness in other areas of the body as well.
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My recent five page report on the negative health effects associated with drinking high-calorie beverages showed how drinking these types of beverages can lead to massive weight gain and a plethora of other diseases and conditions. Obesity is no joke in 2010; it’s a problem that affects nearly 1/3rd of the adult population in the United States. Simply by cutting out non-diet sodas, energy drinks and sugar-filled drinks, you can greatly reduce your daily caloric intake, and even lose weight in the long term. However, if you plan to lose weight this year, the five drinks below had better NOT be in your diet plan:
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So far in the first four parts of this series on the health effects of consuming empty calories in drinks, we’ve discussed how obesity and empty calories relates, as well as how to determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR). In this final installment, I’d like to discuss the quantities of empty calories and other “bad stuff” that can be found in some of the most popular drinks today.

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The amount of calories you should be consuming each day as part of a healthy diet varies from person to person. Some of the factors which affect the amount of calories you need include: age, gender, activity level, and your overall muscle mass. It’s important to know your recommended daily caloric intake.

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In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on the negative health effects of consuming empty calories, we discussed how obesity rates have been effected over the years due to the rise in consumption of unhealthy drinks since 1985. So what exactly is an empty calorie and what foods and drinks are full of them? Let’s find out…

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In Part 1 of this series, we discussed what obesity is and how widespread the problem is in the U.S. Let’s continue on this topic by taking a look at obesity rates from 1985 and how they compare to obesity rates in 2008 (according to statistics provided by the CDC).

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