healthy body tips

John Memmer said his light bulb moment occurred when he couldn't fit on an amusement park ride with his son.

The 39-year-old auto insurance underwriter from Bloomington, Illinois, was on a family outing at a theme park in Missouri and his son, Alex, desperately wanted him to share a seat next to him.

"The attendant tried to push and squeeze me into the seat, but to no avail. I was too big to fit," said Memmer. "So there I was with hundreds of people staring at me as all of this was going on, and then I heard my son start to cry as I had to climb off the ride," he said.

A stranger in line agreed to sit with his son, but at that moment, Memmer knew it was finally time to lose weight.

"All the shoulda, coulda, wouldas catalyzed into an intense desire to finally do something about it," he said.

Memmer had noticed before the trip to the amusement park that he would get winded walking up the stairs in his home and had trouble keeping up with his kids while they were playing. And this depressed him. But the incident at the theme park was the "straw that broke the camel's back."

He started his weight loss program during the summer of 2009 and eventually lost about 115 pounds over the course of a year. His initial weight was 300 pounds. Memmer said he kept his plan simple: eating less and consuming fewer calories.

"While I was losing the weight, hunger was always a factor," he said. "So to counter that, I worked in lots of fruits and vegetables, as they provide lots of nutrients and have a lot of fiber and bulk per serving -- it really helped to satisfy me when I was hungry."

Memmer rediscovered his love for soup during his weight loss campaign and has learned his local grocery store stocks a large variety of options to prevent him from getting bored. Although many soups contain a high amount of sodium, Memmer says "this does not weigh on his mind and a recent check with the doctor showed a clean bill of health."

It took some time to adjust to his new eating habits. Snacking became a rare event because he knew he was eating fewer calories and wanted to make each calorie count.

He didn't want to go on a crash diet, so instead he decreased his daily caloric intake so he'd shed about two pounds a week, which many dietitians consider safe.

Memmer changed his mind-set about food, too.

"I realized early on that I would just eat absent-mindedly, and all those calories have to go somewhere," he said. He now makes a conscious effort to be aware of what he's consuming and mostly selects nutritious foods to eat.

"I'm not on quite as strict a regimen as I was when I was losing my weight, but I've found a nice balance that has allowed me to maintain my current weight level and I don't feel deprived at all."

The main staples of his diet are vegetables, whole grains and lean meats, but nothing is forbidden.

"I may have a cookie here and there, or even a piece of pie, but I consider it a special treat instead of a daily food item."

Memmer does not think in terms of "going on a diet" when he eats, either.

"Dieting implies that you're making a temporary change, and what is essential is making a commitment to a different way of living," he noted. "Once you've made the mental leap over that hurdle, you've taken the hardest step."

In moments of weakness, Memmer reminds himself to try to stay focused on his goals -- and thinks of his family and how he wants to stay healthy for them.

Memmer does not consider himself an athlete and doesn't have a regular workout routine. But he has found ways to incorporate activity into his life. He'll use the stairs at work and parks his car farther away from his office than before his weight drop. Work in his garden keeps him active, too.

"If you want an upper body workout, I highly recommend wrestling with a gas-powered tiller on unbroken ground," he chuckled.

He enjoys taking walks and appreciates the fact he can get around without his knees hurting or back aching, which wasn't the case before he shed pounds.

Memmer says his weight loss has inspired those around him and sparked a lot of conversation around his workplace. In fact, some of his colleagues have started their own campaigns to lose weight and achieve a healthier lifestyle.

"Sometimes, all it takes is a spark, someone you can point to and say -- if he can do it, so can I," he said.

As for amusement park rides, Memmer has "upped his game" and recently spent a family vacation at Walt Disney World's theme parks in Orlando where he was able to comfortably get on any ride he wanted with his children.

"Space Mountain and Tower of Terror were my favorite rides."

Allergies affect approximately 40 percent of children in America and allergic disorders rank #1 among children’s chronic diseases. Food allergies, which affect 5 percent of children, can be one of the more dangerous types, and in some cases requires constant vigilance of every bite of food a child takes. But help may be on the way for those with milk allergies, and maybe even those who suffer from reactions to peanuts, eggs, and other common foodstuffs.

Xolair, manufactured by Genentech, is an asthma drug that is in trials to test the effects of allergy desensitization. A small preliminary study was conducted simultaneously at Stanford University Hospital and Children’s Hospital Boston, where they found that the drug helped to quiet an overactive immune response to dairy. Due to its success, a larger study has already been launched and is currently ongoing.

The initial study involved eleven children with severe dairy allergy. On an allergy scale of 1 to 100, the children ranked at the high end, all in the 90th percentile, which equates to severe allergic—and possibly life-threatening—reactions. Over the course of nine weeks, the children received injections of Xolair, which blocks the immune protein IgE. They then took the medication for an additional two to three months, while slowly increasing their intake of milk, working up to two ounces per day. For two more months, the children had a daily milk intake of two ounces.

At the end of the study, with nine of eleven children finishing the course of treatment, they were tested with an eight-ounce glass of milk. All nine children were able to drink the entire amount without any side effects.

Milk allergies affect 2 to 3 percent of infants in the United States and is the most common allergy in infants and small children. Typical symptoms of dairy allergies include respiratory (asthma, wheezing, constriction of throat), gastrointestinal (severe gas, diarrhea, vomiting), and dermatological (hives, rashes), as well as serious anaphylaxis, which requires immediate medical attention.

Milk allergy sufferers need to be very careful about checking ingredients in everyday products: there are the obvious ones like milk, ice cream, yogurt and cheese, but dairy can also be hidden in bread, cereal, instant soups, powdered breakfast drinks, margarine, lunch meats, pancake/biscuit/cake mixes, and more. Look not only for milk in the ingredient list, but also casein, whey, rennet, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoglobulin, lactoferrin, lactulose, hydrolysates, and even things like cheese flavoring and artificial butter flavor.

It is always hard to predict the front end of a trend, and never more so than in the diet realm. But we seem to like to celebrate, talk about, embrace, and test out diet programs. Given that it is time to get ready for shorts and bathing suit weather, it just may be time to jump on a new bandwagon, hopefully finding success in something new. And will that new be the Dukan Diet?

According to magazine Marie Claire, Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen both reportedly turned to the new French Dukan Diet, to help shift those post-pregnancy pounds. And now rumors are swirling that princess-to-be Kate Middleton may be turning to this diet plan to prepare for her upcoming nuptials. This diet, which originated in France by nutritionist Dr. Pierre Dukan, is living large in over 1. 5 million French households, where women appear to be finding success.

There are four stages to the Dukan Diet, which incorporate some of the best of the best diet strategies. Phase one, the Attack Stage, is a high-protein, no-carb approach, a stricter version of Atkins Diet Plan and South Beach Diet Plan. There is a list of 72 protein-rich foods to choose from during this week of dieting.

The second phase alternates a high-protein diet with a vegetarian diet on alternate days (also call the Cruising Stage). In addition to the aforementioned 72 protein-rich foods, there is the addition of 28 low-carb vegetables.

Next up is a Consolidation Stage in which carbs are added back into your daily diet in small amounts to avoid weight gain. You are allowed two celebration meals per week and the goal is 1 pound for every 5 days in this stage.

Finally, once you have reached your goal weight, the Stabilization Stage kicks in. This fourth and final phase has a bit of a twist: you can eat what you want every day except one day per week (designated as Thursday) when you revert to the Attack Stage and eat a high-protein, no-carb regimen. Dr. Dukan believes that by taking off the weight this way and remaining true to the Stabilization Stage, that you can remain at your goal weight for life.

A book, based on the diet, is available in French in Europe and has been translated into 10 other languages. An English U.K. version was released in May of 2010, and had already hit the #1 spot in the diet, women’s health, and men’s health categories before even being released.Amazon U.S. shows that the book should be available any day.

While you wait for this book to become available and become part of a trend in 2011, you can find similar diets that can help you on your weight loss journey with a few quick clicks. Visit the Diet Reviews and test out our Individual Diet Selection tool, which can help find the right diet for your lifestyle.

Erika Valente, founder and editor of the popular Makeup Bag blog, was named by Women’s Wear Daily as one of the top ten hottest beauty blogs on the internet. Erika does regular beauty product reviews, shares industry tips and trends, and provides gratuitous advice for the beauty obsessed. She is lending her experienced voice to Health News, sharing her thoughts and views on favorite beauty products and services.

Throughout history, dogs have been hailed as man’s hunter, shepherd, watchdog, or warrior, and now there is evidence that the dog really is man’s best friend. A new study from Michigan State University has discovered that people who own a dog enjoy better general health than those who don’t. Why? Because walking Fido is good for you.

The study found that dog owners have a tendency to be more fit that non-dog owners because of their dog-walking routine. Results of the study showed that dog owners who regularly exercise their canine buddies, and themselves in the process, have a 34 percent greater likelihood of reaching the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. The researchers found that among those who own a dog, about two thirds of them walk their four-legged friends regularly.

Lead author, Dr. Matthew Reeves, an associate professor of epidemiology at Michigan State, says that dog ownership may lead to healthier lifestyles. He pointed out, “Walking is the most accessible form of physical activity available to people,” and that “promoting ownership of a dog and dog-walking may be a logical way to increase physical activity.” In addition, he noted that owning a dog can improve a person’s quality of life through social aspects, as well as through human-animal bonding.

The findings of the study also indicated that dog owners who walk their pets get about one hour of additional exercise each week in comparison to those who own dogs but don’t walk them. In addition, the study revealed that those who own larger dogs walk more than those who own small dogs.

For their study, the researchers monitored the exercise habits of 5,900 Michigan residents, among whom 2,170 owned dogs. Findings showed that 60 percent of dog owners walked their pets on a regular basis for at least 10 minutes, meeting the federal criteria for regular moderate or vigorous exercise. In addition, almost half of dog walkers got an average of 30 minutes of exercise per day at least five days weekly, whereas, only about one-third of non-dog owners got that much exercise on a regular basis.

The study also tracked other forms of exercise to help to answer Reeves’ question as to whether dog walking “adds significantly to the amount of exercise you do, or is it simply that it replaces exercise you would have done otherwise?” In general, dog walkers were found to higher levels of moderate and vigorous physical activity overall than non-dog walkers, and were also more likely participate in other leisure-time physical activities such as sports and gardening.

Walking is a “doggone good” form of exercise, and we all need to do more of it. If you’re considering the purchase of a new piece of exercise equipment, maybe you should skip the treadmill and get a dog instead.

Sudden bursts of moderate to intense physical activity -- such as jogging or having sex -- significantly increase the risk of having a heart attack, especially in people who do not get regular exercise, US researchers said.

Doctors have long known that physical activity can cause serious heart problems, but the new study helps to quantify that risk, Dr. Issa Dahabreh of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The team analyzed data from 14 studies looking at the link between exercise, sex and the risk of heart attacks or sudden cardiac death -- a lethal heart rhythm that causes the heart to stop circulating blood.

They found people are 3.5 times more likely to get a heart attack or have sudden cardiac death when they are exercising compared to when they are not. And they are 2.7 times more likely to get a heart attack when they are having sex or immediately afterward compared with when they are not. (These findings do not apply to sudden cardiac death because there were no studies looking at the link between sex and cardiac death.)

Jessica Paulus, another Tufts researcher who worked on the study, said the risk is fairly high as such studies go. But the period of increased risk is brief. "These elevated risks are only for a short period of time (1 to 2 hours) during and after the physical or sexual activity," Paulus said in a telephone interview.

Because of that, the risk to individuals over the course of a year is still quite small, she said. "If you take 10,000 people, each individual session of physical or sexual activity per week can be associated with an increase of 1 to 2 cases of heart attack or sudden cardiac death per year," Paulus said. She said it is important to balance the findings with other studies showing that regular physical activity reduces the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death by 30 percent.

"What we really don't want to do is for the public to walk away from this and think exercise is bad," she said. What it does mean is that people who do not exercise regularly need to start any exercise program slowly, gradually increasing the intensity of the workout over time

You might like this :

• Tips to healthy Heart
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You might like this :

• Tips to healthy Heart
• Indication of Heart attack and Stroke
• 20 Facts for living longer
• Heart Healthy Foods

You might like this :

• Tips to healthy Heart
• Indication of Heart attack and Stroke
• 20 Facts for living longer
• Heart Healthy Foods

On World TB Day, WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Stop TB Partnership are calling on world leaders to step up their commitment and contributions to meet the goal of diagnosing and treating one million people with multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) between 2011 and 2015. 

Today WHO has released a report, Towards universal access to diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB and XDR-TB by 2015, which presents progress in the MDR-TB response in the countries with the highest burden of drug-resistant TB. "Many countries have made progress, but despite the recent scale up in efforts, the world needs to do much more to get care to all MDR-TB patients who need it," says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. "We cannot allow MDR-TB to spread unchecked." 

Leaving MDR-TB untreated increases the risk of spread of drug resistant strains of TB. WHO estimates there will be more than 2 million new cases of MDR-TB between 2011 and 2015. 

Programmes financed by the Global Fund and following WHO treatment standards are expected to diagnose and treat about 200 000 people for MDR-TB by 2015, a fourfold increase from those 50 000 patients who are currently undergoing treatment. 

It is anticipated that the Global Fund will provide 84% of all international investments in TB in 2011. However, both domestic and international resources need to be scaled up to cope with MDR-TB and continue to make progress in the fight against TB. 

"MDR-TB is a threat to all countries as it is difficult and expensive to treat. Unless we make an extraordinary effort to tackle this problem our ability to finance and secure continued progress against TB in general will be threatened" says Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund. 

"It is time for countries with rapidly growing economies and a heavy burden of MDR-TB to step up their commitment and financing for their own MDR-TB programmes. Several have the capacity to show new leadership on south-south cooperation and aid to neighbouring countries that are also affected," says Dr Jorge Sampaio, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Stop TB. 

Since 2009, the 23 countries most heavily affected by TB drug resistance have nearly doubled their budgets for MDR-TB. From 2002 through 2010, Global Fund-financed TB programmes around the world have provided treatment to 7.7 million people and saved the lives of 4.1 million. 

"The Global Fund's success can be measured in the number of lives that have been saved through care provided by the TB pro-grammes it finances," says Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership. "Every TB patient should have access to proper care. We advocate on behalf of millions of patients worldwide and our strong partners such as WHO and the Global Fund. To reach a million people with effective care for MDR-TB over the next five years, we will need to work closely with all partners, especially with affected communities." 

MDR-TB is a form of TB that fails to respond to standard first-line drugs. In 2009, WHO reported that 9.4 million people became ill with TB and 1.7 million died, including 380 000 people with HIV-associated TB. There were some 440 000 cases of MDR-TB and 150 000 deaths in 2008, the latest year for which estimates are available.

A pill taken once a day in the morning prevented type 2diabetes in more than 70 percent of individuals whose obesity, ethnicity and other markers put them at highest risk for the disease, U.S. scientists have reported. 

The team also noted a 31 percent decrease in the rate of thickening of the carotid artery, the major vessel that supplies blood to the brain. The study, which enrolled 602 participants through The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and seven collaborating centers, is described in the New England Journal of Medicine and has direct implications for the care of 40 million Americans who are pre-diabetic. 

"It's a blockbuster study," said senior author Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., professor in the School of Medicine and chief of the diabetes division at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. "The 72 percent reduction is the largest decrease in the conversion rate of pre-diabetes to diabetes that has ever been demonstrated by any intervention, be it diet, exercise or medication." 

Dr. DeFronzo led the trial of pioglitazone, which is marketed as Actos® by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The Japanese company provided an independent investigator grant to Dr. DeFronzo to conduct the ACT Now study. Some patients were followed for as long as four years; the average follow-up was 2.4 years. 

Pioglitazone is widely used as an insulin sensitizer in patients with type 2 diabetes. In the ACT Now study, participants were chosen because of their high risk for diabetes, including obesity, family history and impaired glucose tolerance as demonstrated by a glucose test. 

"The drug shows outstanding results," said Robert R. Henry, M.D., president, medicine and science, of the American Diabetes Association. "It is the most efficacious method we have studied to date to delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes." A study co-investigator, Dr. Henry is professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and chief of the section of endocrinology and diabetes at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. 

Robert Chilton, D.O., FACC, a UT Health Science Center San Antonio cardiologist who was not involved with the study, said the slowing of carotid artery thickness indicated that the participants' glucose was well controlled, preventing blood vessel damage that leads to heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular disease.