7 Stupid Health Mistakes

By Emily Battaglia, Lifescript Staff Writer

Published December 21, 2009

 

Do you always go to bed at 1 a.m. and wake up feeling groggy, or insist on fake tanning during the winter?

If so, you could be one of many smart people still making stupid health mistakes.

Find out exactly what you’re risking and how to make smarter decisions starting today.

Plus, are you ready to quit smoking? Take our quiz...
You’re educated, well-read and are the go-to person for solving your family’s and friend’s problems.

You consider yourself pretty knowledgeable on many topics but somehow you still manage to make stupid health mistakes.

Your health should be one of your top priorities.

 

Skimping on much-needed sleep or avoiding the doc aren't going to help you be the best you can be.

If the one area you’re lacking in expertise is how to maintain proper health - or if you're just ignoring what you know to be true - it’s time to wise up.

Here are 7 stupid health mistakes even the smartest of people are making:

1. Skipping Breakfast.

 

Breakfast is too easy and beneficial a meal to pass up in the mornings.

As you sleep, your body’s metabolism slows down, so when you wake up, your body needs food to get your metabolism going again.

After fasting for about eight hours, your body is starving. So when you skip breakfast, your energy levels suffer.

 

Although you may skip breakfast in an attempt to cut some calories, you actually will eat more throughout the day to compensate for your hunger. Weight gain here you come.

In fact, of the 4,000 participants in the National Weight Control Registry who maintained at least a 30-pound weight loss for about 5.5 years, almost all said they ate breakfast daily.

Studies have also shown that eating breakfast increases your ability to perform better mentally.

For more information on healthy breakfasts visit Eating a Healthy Breakfast – Part I and Eating a Healthy Breakfast – Part II.

2. Sabotaging Your Skin for a Little Color.

We all know that too much sun damages our skin, so why do we continue frying ourselves in the pursuit of a golden tan?

Sun tanning and skipping the sunscreen both increase your exposure to the sun’s harmful rays, which can cause premature aging and, even worse, skin cancer.

 

Tanning is simply not worth it, especially when so many good self-tanners are available. (See related article: The Dangers of Tanning)

3. Smoking.

 

If you don’t know by now that smoking is bad, I mean deadly, you’re either in denial or have been living under a rock for the past 30 years.

Consequences of smoking include lung and throat cancer, premature wrinkles, an increase in men’s risk of impotence, and complication of pregnancies for women. And these are just some of smoking's effects.

The repetitive puckering of lips around a cigarette causes wrinkles. Plus, the habit deprives your skin of necessary nutrients - smoking dehydrates and kills elasticity.

While smoking is addictive and quitting can be challenging, it’s one of the best things you can do for your health today.

For more reasons to quit smoking, read 10 Reasons Why Smoking Stinks.

 

4. Skipping the Weights.

Contrary to popular myth, lifting weights won't necessarily make you bulk up, an effect that many people, especially women, want to avoid.

In fact, women actually lack the testosterone and often the time it takes in the gym to really get beefy.

It’s true that when you start lifting weights or using a resistance training program, you generally gain a bit of weight before you start to lose it, but that’s simply because muscle weighs more than fat.

If you want to get in shape, “pumping iron” will make you look trimmer and more toned, and will help you burn more calories even after your workout is over.

Studies have shown that weight training in the morning boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day.

5. Avoiding the Dreaded Doc.

Nobody likes going to the doctor. In fact, the whole experience can be time-consuming, require tons of paperwork and be somewhat embarrassing, depending on why you’re there.

Even so, having a checkup can mean detecting a problem and treating it early enough to avoid further complications.

Women should visit the gynecologist yearly for a pap smear and breast exam, as well as a yearly mammogram once over the age of 40.

Men should have their testicles examined for irregularities and should also be checked for colon cancer.
You should also be seeing your dentist and general practitioner yearly.

These doctor visits may be uncomfortable, but they can potentially save your life.

6. Not Getting Enough Sleep.

Doctors have been telling us for years that most people need at least 8 hours of sleep a night to function at their fullest the next day, so why are you going to bed so late?

Sleep deprivation not only makes you feel less than your usual perky self, but has been linked to weight gain, depression, anxiety, heart disease, and insulin resistance, not to mention accidents from limited mental alertness.

Many people find that there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get things accomplished, so sleep is sacrificed.

Yet you should be giving up less important tasks and setting a regular bedtime to get a full 8 hours instead. (See related article: 7 Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep)

7. Drinking your Calories.

Starbucks lattes and Jamba Juice smoothies might be a fixture in your day, but you could be consuming nearly all of your calories for the day in just one cup.

Coffee drinks, smoothies, sodas, juices, and alcohol are all notorious calorie-bombs.

If you’re drinking these regularly and not cutting back on your calories from food, you could be consuming up to an extra 1,000 calories a day, which leads to weight gain.

Try limiting yourself to one liquid treat once a week and drink plenty of water.

You're now armed with practical tips, so no more excuses when it comes to making stupid health mistakes!

 

Are You Ready to Quit Smoking?

By now you should know that smoking increases your risk for heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, and more. You know you should quit, but do you have a clear game plan of how you'll overcome your addiction? Find out if you're really ready to quit smoking once and for all. Take this smoking quiz now.

Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!

 

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Ways to Lower Cholesterol with Diabetes

 10 Ways to Lower Cholesterol When You Have Diabetes

By Carly Young, Special to Lifescript

Published February 22, 2012

 

What’s the nation’s No. 1 killer of women? Heart disease. It causes one death every 35 seconds. Janet Bond Brill, a registered dietitian and author of Cholesterol Down, says you can reduce the bad stuff, without the help of pills. She shares 8 super-foods to eat. Plus, how much do you know about heart health? Take our quiz to find out...

Cholesterol and Heart Disease

In the annual physical, your doctor checks your cholesterol levels.

But what is it? And what do the numbers say about your health?

Cholesterol is a type of lipid or fat. In our bodies, it travels through our blood stream in particles called lipoproteins.

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are bad because they can lead to a buildup of plaque in arteries.

A mass of plaque can narrow your arteries and restrict blood flow – much like trying to sip juice through a clogged straw.

Eventually, the plaque ruptures and a blood clot forms, cutting off the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Hello, heart attack and stroke!                                   

High-density lipoproteins (HDL), on the other hand, are good because they pick up the LDL clogging your arteries and take it to the liver, where it’s processed and eventually excreted.

A total blood cholesterol level of 200 and above is cause for concern, especially if you have type 2 diabetes, according to the American Heart Association.

Chow Down

“Lowering your cholesterol reduces your risk of contracting heart disease and dying from a heart attack,” Brill says.

What you eat can affect the amounts of HDL and LDL flowing through your bloodstream, and Brill has a cholesterol-lowering eating plan that’s tasty and effective.

“My diet is about what you can eat – not what you can’t,” she says.

What’s on her list? Try these 8 super-foods to reduce diabetic hyperlipidemia.

Aim to eat all eight daily and heed the two bonus tips as well:

 

 

1. Oatmeal

  

Oats are rich in beta-glucan, a soluble fiber that acts like a sponge to soak up cholesterol.

How to sneak it in: Add cinnamon or dried cranberries to your morning oatmeal for a flavor boost. Oat-bran is a highly concentrated source of beta-glucan and it’s easy to mix into homemade bread, muffin and pancake batter.

Check out these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Brill’s daily Rx: 3 grams of beta-glucan, found in a half cup of dry oatmeal or oat bran.

2. Almonds

 

Almonds contain two powerful antioxidants – vitamin E and flavonoids – which prevent the oxidation of LDL, a precursor to plaque buildup.

How to sneak it in: Eat almonds with their skins, which pack a hefty dose of flavonoids. Stir a handful into yogurt or spread two tablespoons of almond butter on whole-wheat bread.

Make these Spiced Spanish Almonds for a snack.

Brill’s daily Rx: One ounce of dry-roasted, unsalted almonds.      

                             

 

3. Flaxseeds

 

Flaxseeds contain lignan and soluble fiber, which block the production of LDL and increase your body’s ability to get rid of cholesterol.

How to sneak it in: Eat ground flaxseeds rather than whole ones, because your body can better absorb its nutrients. Brill likes to sprinkle them into her morning oatmeal. New studies also show that whole flaxseeds are better than flaxseed oil for lowering cholesterol.

Use whole flaxseed in these Blueberry-Maple Muffins.

Brill’s daily Rx: 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds.

4. Garlic

Garlic impedes the liver’s ability to make cholesterol.

How to sneak it in: Chop garlic into small pieces to release its flavor. Sauté it with steamed spinach, add it to sauces and soups or purée roasted garlic with cooked potatoes and olive oil for a heart-healthy version of everybody’s favorite: mashed potatoes.

Or try this Creamy Cauliflower Puree.

Brill’s daily Rx: One clove and one Kyolic One Per Day Cardiovascular aged garlic extract supplement. 

                                  

 

5. Phytosterol-Containing Foods

Phytosterols are a fat found in plant foods such as fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. They interfere with cholesterol absorption by blocking it from your intestinal cells.

How to sneak it in: Even a vegetarian diet provides no more than 300-400 mg of plant sterols a day, well below Brill’s recommendation.

So supplement this with foods containing added phytosterols – chocolate bars, margarine, cheese, granola bars and cookies, to name a few – but keep an eye on saturated fat and trans-fat content.

Check out this Cranberry-Almond Granola.

Brill’s daily Rx: 2-3 grams of phytosterols a day spread over two meals.

6. Apples

Apples, particularly the skin and outer flesh, are rich in polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that help prevent plaque buildup.

How to sneak it in: Chop, slice or dice ’em, but leave the peel on for maximum health benefits.

Try this Jicama-Apple Slaw recipe.

Brill’s daily Rx: One apple – to keep the doctor away, of course.        

 

                         

7. Beans

 

Beans contain a special soluble fiber that’s fermented in the colon. Healthy bacteria eat the fiber and bean sugars to form short-chain fatty acids, which travel to the liver and inhibit LDL cholesterol production.

How to sneak it in: Brill loves Adzuki beans, which are used in Japan to make sweet red bean paste.

She also recommends cannelloni beans (try them in Tuscan soups, an Italian bean-based soup) and kidney beans, perfect in Southwestern chili.

Make this Pasta Bean Soup.

Brill’s daily Rx: 1/2 cup of legumes (beans, peas or lentils).

8. Soy Protein

Soy protein contains phytoestrogens – compounds that increase the number and effectiveness of LDL cholesterol receptors, improving the liver’s ability to get rid of cholesterol in your bloodstream.

How to sneak it in: Order a soy latte at your favorite coffeehouse, throw tofu into a fruit smoothie, use soy flour when baking, or mix a handful of roasted soy nuts with dried fruit for an energy-boosting trail mix.

Try this TLT (Tofu, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich) for lunch.

Brill’s daily Rx: 20–25 grams.  

                                 

 

Two More Tips
A healthy diet isn’t your only defense against cholesterol.

“Every step works to lower cholesterol in a specific way,” Brill says. “By combining them all, you get an extremely powerful LDL-lowering approach.”

Here are two of her favorite non-food-related tips:

9. Work Up a Sweat
Brisk exercise speeds blood flow in your arteries, reducing your chances of inflammation and clogging (two precursors to hardening of your arteries).

How to sneak it in: You don’t have to hit the gym to get some exercise. Clip on a pedometer while you run errands and aim for 10,000 steps a day.

Brill’s daily Rx: 30 minutes of exercise.          

                         

 

How Much Do You Know About Heart Health?

Sure, you know that your heart is the vital organ that pumps blood throughout the body. But can you separate fact from fiction when it comes to heart-smart living? Find out with this heart-health quiz.

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Give It Up: Top 10 Worst Foods

There’s No Saving These Frankenfoods

By Lisa Mosing, MS, RD, FADA, Special to LifeScript

Published October 21, 2011

Why do we crave creamy, crunchy, fried dishes that cause bulging waistlines, higher cholesterol and rising blood pressure? Because they taste good! Read on for the 10 worst foods you’re eating and the healthy substitutes to reach for when you just have to indulge. Chances are, you'll feel more satisfied, eat less, and boost your overall health. It's just a matter of retraining your taste buds. Plus, what’s your diet downfall? Take our quiz to find out...
More than half of all Americans say they're in good or excellent health, according to a survey by Cigna HealthCare, a Philadelphia-based health care company.

The other half thinks they need to lose only about 10 pounds.

Yet, two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The bottom line: Americans eat too much and exercise too little. And the calories we consume usually aren’t from nutritious, low-cal, high-fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables, or whole grains, or from healthy proteins such as lean meat and low-fat dairy foods.         

  Instead, we reach for artery-cloggers: processed cheese that squirts from a can, frosted pastries filled with sugary jam, snack bags of cookies or crackers and anything deep-fried.

But you don’t have to say no to them – that’ll only derail your healthy efforts. Instead, get to know the worst choices and their savory substitutes:

1. Chips
One ounce of potato chips has 152 calories and 10 grams of fat (three grams saturated).

If you eat just three ounces a week, in one year you'll have consumed 23,400 calories and added about seven pounds to your waistline. And that’s from just a couple handfuls – which barely constitutes a full and satisfying snack for most of us.

Substitute:
Rice and popcorn cakes are no longer Styrofoam-like snacks.

Now they’re available in many flavors, so you can satisfy a salty craving without hitting the chips.

Try Quaker’s Quakes Rice Snacks or Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn Cakes instead – both have less than 100 calories per serving.

For a more exotic crunch, try dry roasted edamame, which are usually lightly salted and have a satisfying crunch. Thirty grams of the Trader Joe’s brand provides 14 grams of protein and 20% of your daily iron in only 140 calories.                                                           

2. Non-Dairy Toppings
As luscious as they are, Cool Whip and its kin are mostly corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil − stuff you don’t want floating in your arteries.

One tablespoon is 32 calories, but who stops at just one?

Substitute:

Top desserts with low-fat vanilla yogurt. The same amount has half the calories, plus a healthy dose of calcium.

3. Doughnuts
White flour, vegetable shortening, white sugar… and deep-fried to boot.

One glazed Krispy Kreme packs 200 calories and 12 grams of fat, including heart-stopping saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol.

An old-fashioned cake doughnut has 300 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrates and a whopping 19 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fat and 4 grams of trans fat.

Only 30% of our calories should come from fat, says the American Heart Association. That’s about 65 grams in a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

Nosh on a couple doughnuts with your coffee, and you’ve reached your daily fat quota.

Substitute:

Keep down the carbs with whole-grain bagels. Half a Pepperidge Farm multi-grain bagel has 125 calories, just 3 grams of fat and less than 4 grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber.                                   

4. Fettuccine Alfredo
Strips of pasta drenched with butter, cream and parmesan cheese – what’s not to love?

How about its fat and calories! A 3-ounce serving (about the size of your fist) has 543 calories and 33 grams of fat (19 of which are saturated).

Substitute:

Request whole-wheat fettuccine with marinara sauce. One cup of whole-wheat pasta has 197 calories and almost 4 grams of fiber. And half a cup of marinara sauce has just 92 calories.

If whole-wheat pasta isn’t available, ask for spinach pasta instead – it's popular and nutrition-rich.

Click here for 10 healthy pasta recipes.

5. Sausages
Whether you fry them for breakfast or boil 'em in beer, sausages are a health hazard.

A single pork link packs 217 calories and 19.5 grams of fat.

Substitute:
Chicken or turkey sausage. Five links of Aidell’s chicken apple sausage have only 100 calories and 8 grams of fat (2.5 saturated).

Or go vegetarian: Boca Italian sausage made from soy protein contains 130 calories in each 2.5-ounce serving, plus 6 grams of fat and 13 grams of lean protein.                                   

6. Fried Chicken
A fried chicken breast has nearly 400 calories and 22 grams of fat. The Colonel wouldn’t be happy to hear this, but those platters of fried fowl have to go.

What do you expect when you batter and fry chicken, skins and all?

Substitute:

Grilled, skinless chicken breasts are finger-lickin’ good. Rub them with a fiery spice rub – try a green chile-lime seasoning – throw them on the barbecue, and you have great flavor for 189 calories per 4-ounce breast.

7. Imitation Cheese in a Can
Some people love this stuff.

But they ignore their protesting hearts: Two tablespoons – about the amount you’d put on two crackers – packs 276 calories and 21 grams of fat, 13 grams of which are saturated.

Substitute:
Go for the real thing. Soft cheeses like brie have about 100 calories an ounce.

Goat cheese is even better: One ounce has 76 calories and 5 grams of protein.  

8. French Fries
One large order (6 ounces) of fast-food fries from a typical commercial restaurant contains roughly 570 calories, half of which are from fat. (That's probably why we love them, and usually polish off the serving!)

If your restaurant order includes a large hamburger (such as Burger King’s Whopper), tack on 670 calories and 39 grams of fat.

Substitute:

Order kid-size fries instead, which have only 230 calories and 13 grams of fat.
At home, try sautéed tempeh, a fermented rice and soy mixture found in the refrigerated health-food section of your grocery store.

Just slice the tempeh, sprinkle with soy sauce, and sauté in a little olive oil until brown. A half cup – about three or four half-inch slices – contains only 197 calories.

And, unlike the starch-and-fat content of fries, tempeh is loaded with protein and offers a good source of iron, magnesium, zinc and vitamin B6.

9. Soft White Bread
You may as well have a candy bar.

A slice of white bread offers little more than 65 calories of white flour, a simple and rapidly digested carbohydrate that causes your blood sugar to rise and crash, like any simple sugar.


And, because it has so few nutrients, white bread leaves you feeling hungry for the fiber and vitamins your body needs.

Substitute:
For the same number of calories, a slice of whole-wheat bread offers nutty flavor, 2 grams of heart-healthy fiber, protein and nutrients like selenium, magnesium and potassium.

You can also substitute whole grain bagels, English muffins, scones, and muffins.

It's the fiber that fills up your stomach so you eat less of it, too.  

                                
10. Fried Wontons
These delicate triangles, often filled with meat, shrimp or cream cheese, are deep-fried to a crispy crunch.

Often served as appetizers, these bite-size morsels seem harmless, but pop a few too many in your mouth and they’ve added up to a whole meal.

Unfortunately, just four crab and cream cheese-filled wontons have 311 calories and 19 grams of fat - too greasy a treat for anyone trying to stay fit.

Substitute:

For a little crunch, try brown-rice sesame crackers. Five have just 140 calories and 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber and a hefty dose of calcium.

They’ll also satisfy that salty snack craving.

Just don’t eat the whole bag.                                   

What's Your Diet Downfall?

You already know if you're a junk food junkie or a sucker for bread and butter. You know if you've got a sweet tooth or a salty incisor. So what else is there to know about why your diet isn't working? Find out if you're unwittingly sabotaging your weight-loss plan and adding inches to your waistline with this diet quiz.

Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!

      The information contained on www.lifescript.com (the "Site") is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for advice from your doctor or healthcare professional. This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition. Information and statements provided by the site about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Lifescript does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, third-party products, procedures, opinions, or other information mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by Lifescript is solely at your own risk.
                        

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