How To Read Nutrition Labels: Eat Smart With These 6 Pointers

How To Read Nutrition Labels: Eat Smart With These 6 Pointers
If you are like most people then you probably glance at the
Nutrition Facts label on foods once in a while. Maybe you
check for the number of calories or fat grams that an item
contains, or maybe you are watching something specific -
like your sodium intake. Whatever the case, it has been
proven that those who pay attention to the Nutrition Facts
label end up eating healthier.

The more familiar you are with the Nutritional Facts label,
the more likely you will be fit and healthy.

Each Nutritional Facts label has been designed to quickly
and efficiently give you all of the important facts about a
food item. You just need to know what you are looking for.
Read on as we break down the Nutritional Facts label into 6
important facts.

Fact #1: Serving Size
This small detail skews the entire label if you don't read
it closely. An item may seem like it is only one serving,
but the Nutritional Facts label will consider it to be 2 or
3 servings. If the label says 100 calories, but there are
actually 3 servings, then you are getting a total of 300
calories. Pay close attention to what makes a serving.

Fact #2: Calories
Most people don't have the time to count every calorie that
they put in their mouth - this is understandable. However,
you probably have a pretty good idea about the amount of
food that you eat each day. When you approach a new item,
read the calorie totals on the Nutritional Facts label, and
factor the new calories into your daily intake. Steer clear
of high calorie items - especially in the form of snack
foods.

Fact #3: Fat
By now you have undoubtedly heard that all fats were not
created equal. Here is a quick 1-2-3 breakdown.

1. Limit your intake of Saturated Fats - this deadly fat
contributes to heart disease.

2. Avoid Trans Fats at all costs - not only does it
contribute to heart disease, it also raises LDL cholesterol
(the bad one).

3. Focus on eating monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
- these don't raise LDL cholesterol and can even help lower
blood cholesterol.

As you decide what food to include in your diet, keep your
eye on the type and amount of fat included in each item.
Remember, all fats were not created equal.

Fact #4: Carbohydrate
Though zero carb diets are losing their momentum, you may
have been influenced by the idea that all carbohydrates
will make you fat. That is simply not true. It is true,
however that some carbohydrates are healthier than others.
In fact, medical experts think that excess consumption of
refined carbohydrates (such as soda pop, white rice, and
white flour) are one of the reasons behind the rise of
obesity we see today.

Choose fibrous, complex carbohydrates over sugary, simple
carbohydrates.

Fact #5: Protein
The fact stands that most of us are getting plenty of
protein in our diet. The problem arises when we examine the
source of this protein. Meats and dairy products that are
high full of fat may be filled with protein, but they
aren't the healthiest form of protein. Choose protein from
lean meats, dry beans, poultry, and low fat/fat free dairy
products.

Fact #6: The Good Stuff
Directly beneath the protein count on the Nutritional Facts
label you will see the percent daily value of Vitamin A,
Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron that the food item contains.
These numbers are easily overlooked, but hold great
importance to your overall health. The more nutrient-rich
food items provide you with the greatest benefit per
calorie. Compare food brands and choose the most
nutrient-rich option.

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Machelle Lee owns and operates The Invisible Gym in Santa
Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become
physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced,
healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you
can visit her website.

http://www.the-invisible-gym.com/

Psoriasis Basics - Quality of Life With Psoriasis

Psoriasis Basics - Quality of Life With Psoriasis
Though neither contagious nor a threat to life, Psoriasis
is a chronic skin disorder that flares and remits
throughout the life span of its victim. The inflammatory
skin condition is triggered off by faulty signals in the
immune system. Psoriasis occurs when some of the white
blood cells cause the body to fight the normal skin-tissue
(and sometimes the joints). Most common symptoms of
Psoriasis encompass patches of raised, reddish skin covered
by silvery-white scale, as well as, burning sensation,
irritation, inflammation, itching and bleeding. In severe
cases, the itching and discomfort may keep a person awake
at night, and the pain can make everyday tasks difficult.
The inflammation is caused by the abnormal discharge of
"healing" chemicals by the white blood cells. The red and
flaky patches mostly appear on scalp, elbows, knees, and
lower back.

Psoriasis is not taken as a serious ailment as it is not
life threatening to the victim. Nevertheless, being
inflicted with Psoriasis has extremely serious
repercussions on the patient's quality of life.

To begin with, Psoriasis is a chronic disease. This means
that it is a lifelong condition because currently there is
no cure. Under the circumstances, a patient of Psoriasis
struggles helplessly all his life without any respite.
According to a study, the patients of Psoriasis considered
the general appearance of their skin to be the worst part
of having the disease. Another study revealed that the
patients found itching and scaling especially agonizing..
No doubt, the patients of Psoriasis are therefore seen
depressed, angry and irritated both during flares and
remissions. The incessant itching, scaling, irritation and
inflammation keeps them arrested in negativity and
disinterest.

Apart from the piercing physical pain and irritation,
patients of the skin disorder undergo an emotional trauma
on daily basis. They become reclusive as they experience
low self-esteem and lack of confidence. They feel dejected,
as the response from the society is disdainful. So much so
that many patients, especially men take up heavy smoking
and intake of alcohol, to relieve themselves from the
emotional torture. However, experts relate smoking and
drinking to be one of the possible reasons for the onset of
this skin disease.

The society fails to realize the pain behind the dejected
faces, going through an ugly experience. Most of the people
who meet them look down upon their miserable physical
appearance without empathy. The feeling of social rejection
keeps strengthening within the victim.. A study reveals
that most of the patients of Psoriasis experienced stress
due to reaction of others to their sorry physical state. It
has also been observed that most of the people suffering
from Psoriasis suffer from sexual recession because of the
painful realization of their physical symptoms.

In a nutshell, the irritating skin condition called
Psoriasis brings down the quality of life of its patients
considerably. They are deprived of their social, emotional
and physical well-being and robbed off their rightful
happiness.

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To learn more about psoriasis come join us at
http://www.psoriasistoday.com where you can find more
information on the disease. Also check out the skin care
information source at http://www.healthtm.com/skin_care/

The Wonders of Omega-3 Fish Oil

The Wonders of Omega-3 Fish Oil
Omega-3 fish oil, is fish oil that contains Omega-3 fatty
acids. Fatty acids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty
acids. Three of these omega-3 fatty acids are of important
nutritional value and are beneficial to our health. Who
among us does not want to be healthy? Among other things
Omega 3 is said to improve circulation, help with diabetes,
arthritis and depression. Aid the immune system, help with
learning and behavioural problems and improve memory in old
age. Omega-3 in fish oil has recently also been shown to be
beneficial during pregnancy. Omega-3 is now thought to be
so beneficial to the development of unborn babies that it
is being re-recommended that pregnant women eat a small
amount of fish each week to assure a small omega-3 intake.
It is believed the benefits outweigh the dangers of the
presence of trace amounts of heavy metals such as mercury
which until now have stopped most pregnant women from
eating fish or seafood. Omega-3 fish oil tablets offer a
safe alternative as manufacturers of omega-3, tablets and
gel, process the oil to remove any base metals (not all
manufacturers remove base metals be sure to check before
buying). These are just a few of the potential health
benefits being looked into. Perhaps one of the most
interesting areas of research regarding Omega-3 fatty acids
is the possibility that they are actually necessary to our
mental health, and can help reduce the incidence of
depression.

Omega-3 supplements are processed from fish oils which are
found naturally in some fatty fish. The fish do not make
the omega-3, they collect it from algae they eat in the
water. The most common source of omega-3 rich fish oils are
from salmon, herring, anchovies, mackerel and sardines.
Tuna also contains Omega-3 fatty acids but only in small
amounts. By far the easiest way to include omega-3 in your
diet is to take omega-3 tablets or gel capsules.

It sounds great but is any of this hype true? As with all
medical claims it can take some time to verify each
individual claim and research into these areas of medicine
and psychology can take years to release conclusive
results. However, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration,
USA) in 2006 recognized two types of Omega-3 fatty acids as
having valid health merit, those were eicosapentaenoic acid
and docosahexaenoic acid. In short they admitted that
Omega-3 fatty acids were shown to be beneficial in the
treatment of coronary artery disease. More recently, as
mentioned above, the FDA have reversed an older
recommendation for pregnant women not to eat seafood for
fear of heavy metals, claiming that the benefits of omega-3
outweigh the risk of harm from a small intake of fish.

Contrary to popular belief Omega-3 fish oil capsules and
tablets do not taste like fish, they taste like any other
natural vitamin supplement, so for those of you out there
that don't like the taste of fish you need not worry. There
are several different sources of omega-3 fatty acids, the
most common and readily available is in capsules and
tablets, but you can also get omega-3 from regular dietary
intake of fish, flax seeds or walnuts.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be easily damaged essentially
voiding their nutritional value. Omega-3 fatty acids can go
rancid on contact with air, heat or oxygen. That is why you
should never cook with fish oil, flax seed oil or walnut
oil. They are in-fact best consumed raw. Because of the
sensitive nature of omega-3 fatty acids they need to be
stored carefully in cool, dry and dark places such as the
fridge or freezer. Purchasing omega-3 oil with added
vitamin E is recommended if possible as vitamin E protects
the omega-3 as it is an antioxidant.

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Omega-3 Fish oils are easy to obtain and cheap, why not try
some and see if they do infact make you feel a little
better! For more information on Omega-3 fish oil please
visit http://www.omega-3-fish-oil.info

Ten Highlights from the Aspen Institute Forum on Health, Wellness and Medical Science

Ten Highlights from the Aspen Institute Forum on Health, Wellness and Medical Science
The Aspen Health Forum just gathered an impressive group of
around 250 people to discuss the most pressing issues in
Health and Medical Science.

1- Global health problems require the attention of the
scientific community. Richard Klausner encouraged the
scientific community to focus on Global Problems: maternal
mortality rates, HIV/ AIDS, clean water, cancer...

2- "Let's get real...Ideology kills". Mary Robinson, former
President of Ireland, on what it takes to stop HIV/ AIDS:
"I am from Ireland, a Catholic country. And I am Catholic.
But I can see how ideology kills..we need more empathy with
reality, and to work with local women in those countries."
This session included a fascinating exchange where Bill
Frist rose from the audience to defend the role of US aid,
explaining how 60% of retroviral drugs in African countries
have been funded by the American taxpayer. Which made Nobel
Prize Laureate Peter Agre, also in the audience, stand up
and encourage the US to really step up to the plate and
devote 1% of the GDP to aid, as a number of European
countries do, instead of 0.1%.

3- Where is the new "Sputnik"?: Many of the speakers had
been inspired by the Sputnik and the Apollo missions to
become scientists. Two Nobel Prize Laureates talked about
their lives and careers trying to demystify what it takes
to be a scientist and to win a Nobel Prize. Both are
grateful to the taxpayers dollars that funded their
research, and insist we must do a better job at explaining
the scientific process to society at large. Both are proud
of having attended small liberal arts colleges, and having
evolved from there, fueled by their great curiosity and
unpredictable, serendipitous paths, into launching new
scientific and medical fields.

4- We need a true Health Care Culture: Mark Ganz summarized
it best by explaining how his health provider group
improved care when they redefined themselves from "we are
7,000 employees" to "we are a 3 million strong community",
moving from being a cost controller with a paternalistic
attitude to a health facilitator, looking underneath
symptoms to identify and deal with underlying patterns.

5- You can't manage what you can't measure. We heard many
times how defining and measuring outcomes, so common in the
private sector, is critical to ensuring a good allocation
of resources in the health and scientific fields, that use
so much taxpayer money. For example. NIH funding grew from
$9B in 1994 to $29B in 2007, yet the results are not clear.
The same happened with health care as a whole, a sector
that now consumes 16% of the US GDP with health outcomes
(infant mortality, patient deaths in hospitals) worse than
other countries that invest far less.

6- The rising role of public-private partnerships: There
are multiple initiatives launched to bridge the increasing
gap between academia and industry. The Foundation for the
NIH has facilitated key conversation between the FDA and
pharma companies. The Gates and Clinton Foundations have
launched innovative partnership models to tackle global
health problems.

7- From Lifespan to Health-span. Population distribution in
developed countries is shifting from a "population pyramid"
to a "population rectangle". The point of much ongoing
research is not "how to spend more time on the nursing
home" but how to slow down the process of aging, so we can
live healthier longer.

8- Patient-advocacy groups are having an impact. We heard
many examples on how small groups of motivated individuals
have built large patient advocate movements that influence
public policy. Michael Milken talked about the Cancer
March, that helped increase NIH funding from $1.5B to 5$B.
Hala Moddelmog, from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure,
explained how they have 1 million people engaged in
promoting cancer research and prevention. Robert Klein, key
advocate of the California Proposition 71 (that will
provide $6B for stem cell research through long-term bonds)
explained how the proposition was passed, including
engaging over 80 patient-advocacy groups.

9- There's a new emphasis on understanding "how systems
work" instead of "how isolated genes make things happen on
their own": Genomics is starting to help predict
susceptibility to disease and to therapies. Now, we must
keep in mind the role of our experience and environment in
turning some genes on or off.

10- The importance of our Lifestyle-Each of us owns our own
health. 70% of heathcare costs derive from
lifestyle-related diseases (such as smoking-induced
cancer). We heard several calls to action for insurance
companies to incentivize behavior modification to promote
good lifestyle habits that improve quality of life and can
delay disease symptoms, resulting in billions of dollars of
cost savings.

In short, a very stimulating inaugural 3-day conference. I
hope the one next year is even better.

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Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of
SharpBrains.com, which provides the latest science-based
information for Scientific Brain Training and Brain
Exercise, and has been recognized by Scientific American
Mind, MarketWatch, CBS, Forbes, and more. Alvaro holds MA
in Education and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches
The Science of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong
Learning Institute. You can learn more at
http://www.sharpbrains.com/

Energy Crisis!

Energy Crisis!
There's currently a major energy crisis. Everyone knows it;
you'd have to be hiding your head in the sand not to hear
the dreaded predictions for the world as a result of our
wasting our energy resources. I absolutely agree that we
need to conserve for the sake of our planet. However, I
want to talk about a more personal kind of energy crisis,
for a different (but no less pressing) cause.

What about our emotional and psychological resources? The
resources we waste wondering: am I eating the right foods?
Am I doing the right exercises? Do I exercise enough? Do I
look the way the magazines say I'm supposed to?

My cousin once told me at her work the employees discuss
their diets and their bodies on a regular basis. They will
sit at meals, talk about the foods they have brought, and
the reasons they should be eating something else. They
talk about how they wish they could fit into their old
clothes, and how they don't like the way their bodies look.
This struck me as so very sad, and all I could think was,
"What a waste of energy!"

Why do people do this to themselves? I'm afraid we are
caught up in a vicious cycle. We are caught in thinking
about the way we are "supposed to look, supposed to eat" -
and when we possibly deviate from a given, we have
committed a sin, and there is no going back. Why is it we
are unable to simply allow ourselves to do the best we can
with the resources we have, including time to cook, to buy
food, to be active, and accept ourselves?

Why does it seem to be easier to criticize what we haven't
done, rather than congratulate ourselves on what we have
managed to accomplish in a society where we are rushed,
rushed, rushed? Why are we unable to congratulate ourselves
for the ten-minute walk we fit in during break instead of
criticizing ourselves for not jogging for 45 minutes?

I don't know the answer to this yet, but I do like to
imagine what could be done with the time and energy saved
on not being critical of ourselves.

One way we can save energy is by learning to be at peace
with food. You need to learn about yourself and why you
have the relationship you do with the food you eat. Once
you are able to do this, you will not need to waste time
wondering about your food choices, or your exercise
activities, or the way you are "supposed to" be.

Imagine if you discussed with your friends and colleagues
life, politics (okay, everyone isn't like me and won't do
that), travel, good restaurants, and books. Think of the
lively discussions about the latest Harry Potter (spoiler
alert!). Didn't you just know that Snape was a good guy all
along?

Think of all the things you would learn about yourself and
your friends if you just weren't wasting energy.

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For free tips to becoming At Peace With Food, articles, and
links to nutritional resource websites, visit
http://www.AtPeaceWithFood.com/freetips.html