Thursday, July 05, 2007
Count Down Your Age
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Look, feel, and live better than you ever have with Count Down Your Age. Co-author and renowned cardiologist Dr. Frederic Vagnini shares his top ten tips for optimal health from his best-selling book. Amazon.com, $24.95. |
Never have fruit juice for breakfast. A 6oz. glass of orange juice has 248 calories, 48 grams of sugar, no fiber, and almost no nutrients. Opt for an orange instead – it has 62 calories, 12 grams of sugar and an abundance of nutrients, including beta-carotene, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and folate.
Make yogurt part of your daily meal plan. Yogurt contains lactic acid producing bacteria that is essential to maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria in the body. This balance can assist in digestion, absorb fats and carbohydrates, fight bacterial infections, boost immune system and even fight bad breath!
Stop eating when you can no longer taste something. Savor each bite of food and recognize when your taste buds are satisfied.
Tap into your work ethic as exercise motivation. Make exercise as routine as getting up and going to work everyday. Similar to your attitude about work, you will feel better about yourself if you work hard and get more accomplished.
Aerobics for your brain. Use your non-dominant hand to perform routine tasks, such as brushing your teeth and shaving. This can increase brain vitality and allows you to better remember new information and retrieve old information.
Avoid the hospital if you can. Hospitals are full of extremely ill people, which increases your exposure to germs. Ask your doctor to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before he/she performs an examination.
Stop kicking the dog! Control your anger, anxiety and stress by simply removing yourself from irritating situations. An easy way to do this is to focus on taking deep, healing breaths. Also, relax the muscles in areas that carry the most tension, such as the eyes, jaw, back and forehead.
Regularly examine your skin and breasts for unusual lumps, moles and freckles. See a dermatologist if you spot moles that you’ve never seen before.
Know your LDL, HDL, and cholesterol counts. Compute your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol by dividing the total cholesterol number by the HDL number. LDL cholesterol can be lowered by reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet, while aerobic exercise is the key to increasing HDL.
Take notes when visiting your doctor. Ask your doctor the following:
- Cause @ What triggers your symptoms?
- Severity @ Is your ailment horrible, moderate or slight?
- Previous/current treatments @ Have you tried any over-the-counter drugs, dietary changes, etc.?
Friday, June 01, 2007
Lose Weight the Medical Way
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If you’ve tried every diet in the book and just can’t seem to shed the pounds or keep it off, then you haven’t visited The Center for Medical Weight Loss. Founded by Dr. Michael S. Kaplan, The Center for Medical Weight Loss is the first national network of physicians that takes a medical approach to losing weight.
The good thing about this program is that every client receives individualized treatment with one-on-one care that includes nutrition, fitness, medication, motivation and counseling. Whether you want to drop a few pounds or suffer from obesity, there are three different plan options that are catered to your individual needs. These include the low calorie diet, appetite suppressants, and the food diet. All options also incorporate counseling and exercise. |
Since it’s already swimsuit season, you may want to lose weight fast. No, they’re not psychics, but Dr. Kaplan and his team can predict how much weight you can lose in a given amount of time. Of course you have to follow the program for it to work. But we can tell you that the average weight loss experienced by his clients is 21 pounds in four weeks.
Still have questions – that’s why we asked Dr. Kaplan all the questions you want answers to.
FUSN: Who’s a good candidate for treatment at your centers?
MK: Candidates vary, half my practice is cosmetic with people wanting to lose a few pounds and have normal BMI’s (18.5-24.9). The other half are obese (BMI of 30 or greater) or overweight (25-29.9) patients, so it’s a real range. As long as someone has a few pounds to lose we treat everyone.
FUSN: How do you treat someone with pre-existing health conditions – don’t they require special attention?
MK: Most obese patients have some sort of medical problem associated with it. Often times when someone loses weight, problems like diabetes disappear. If the patient wants, we also correspond with their doctors and let them know what treatments we are giving them. We treat men and women 18 years of age and over.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Save Your Skin
May is National Melanoma/Skin Cancer and Prevention Month. Every year, too many women die from skin cancer because they don’t take the right precautions. Here are the top 3 things you can do to save your skin and your life:
Do monthly skin self-exams. Check for new moles or anything that looks suspicious including spots that resemble bug bites and pimples that are overstaying their welcome. And make sure to examine your body from head to toe, which includes your ears, lips, and the bottom of your feet.
Never leave the house without SPF, even in the winter. Just sitting in your car unprotected can accumulate in sun damage and result in skin cancer. Use sunscreens that protect against both UVA and UVB rays 30 minutes before you go outside. And don’t forget to use SPF on your lips.
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Olay Complete All Day UV Defense Moisture Lotion Sensitive Skin SPF 15 ($9.99 at drugstores) |
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Banana Boat Aloe Vera with Vitamin E Sunscreen SPF 30 ($1.99, drugstore.com) |
Must Try
| Fitness Expert, Michael Thurmond claims you can transform your body in only 12 days if you follow the steps outlined in his new book 12-Day Body Shaping Miracle ($23.95). How? Because of his blueprint questionnaire that lets you identify your body type, then customize a plan that pinpoints your problem areas. He even takes into account special medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure when designing a system for you. |
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