Why we're so fat

8 Reasons Our Waistlines Are Expanding

The government

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In 1998, 29 million people suddenly became overweight without gaining an ounce. That summer, the U.S. government announced new guidelines lowering the threshold of what classifies a person as overweight. Previously, if your body mass index (BMI) was less than 28 for men, or 27 for women, you were considered "normal." Now only BMIs of 25 or below are considered healthy. (BMI is a ratio of weight to height, and is considered an indicator of how much body fat a person has.)

Sources of Vitamin D

9 Good Sources of Disease-Fighter Vitamin D

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Sunlight: A whopping 80 percent or more of the vitamin D we need could come from the sun — if we let it. Sunscreen blocks about 97 percent of our body's vitamin D production, according to Dr. Mark Hyman, founder and medical director of the UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Mass. But we needn't endanger ourselves to take advantage of the sun's benefits: Fair-skinned people need less than 30 minutes of casual exposure on bright days to meet their daily requirement, while darker-skinned individuals need about two hours, Hyman said.

6 Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

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The new food plate unveiled by the Department of Agriculture today (June 2) sends a clear message: eat more fruits and vegetables. Chances are, you've heard this message before. And chances are, you're guilty of not heeding it. But meeting the daily requirement for fruits and vegetables need not be such a struggle.

Here are six easy ways to get more of these important foods into your diet, according to Heather Mangieri, a nutrition consultant and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

Exercise Routine

How to Stick to an Exercise Routine

Many people struggle to adhere to an exercise routine. Researchers are beginning to unravel what makes us more likely to stick to a workout regime and what strategies we can employ to boost our willpower.

A key is having the confidence that you can do it, a new study shows. The researchers call this type of focused confidence "self-efficacy."

"You can apply the concept of self-efficacy to every single health behavior you can think of, because in many ways that really is what gets us through the day, gets us through the tough times," said Edward McAuley, a University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor who led the research. "People who are more efficacious tend to approach more challenging tasks, work harder and stick with it even in the face of early failures."

Radiation Exposure

Human Body Might Adapt to Radiation Exposure

Doctors who are regularly exposed to X-ray radiation may undergo changes in their cells that protect them from the radiation they encounter, a new study suggests.

These physicians have higher levels of a particular antioxidant called glutathione inside their red blood cells than physicians who don't use X-rays regularly, the study showed. In addition, some of these cells may be better able to self-destruct, which would be protective if they turned cancerous.

However, it's still not clear whether these changes will be beneficial in the long run, or reduce the physicians' cancer risk, said study researcher Dr. Gian Luigi Russo, a senior research scientist at the National Research Council (CNR) in Pisa, Italy. Instead, these alterations might be early indicators of a disease, Russo said.

Vitamin D

D for Vitamin D

First of all, vitamin D is very important for bone health. Vitamin D enhances calcium absorption. Together they keep bones strong and prevent breakdown of bone. Vitamin D decreases our risk for osteoporosis. Low blood values of vitamin D have been associated with hip fractures, vertebral fractures, and wrist fractures. With adequate calcium and vitamin D in all ages of people, bone loss would be prevented as well as tooth loss.

5 Ways To Avoid Rain Diseases

Avoid Rain Diseases

Rain diseases are a common seasonal inconvenience. Just as the first showers hit the earth, everybody starts saying 'now we are going to get sick!' However, there are ways to avoid these diseases. The rains are unpredictable and it is only human to forget your rain apparel once in a while. That does not mean that you will have to become a victim of rain diseases. You can actually prevent sickness if you take a few simple measures.

 

Ordinary vegetables with extraordinary benefits

Ordinary vegetables with extraordinary benefits

We absolutely love veggies here and we do have our reasons. And once you read this list of veggies and why you must have them, we are sure you'll agree.

Here are 10 anytime vegetables that are easy to cook, delicious, add colour to any meal and most importantly - provide you with the best of nutrition required in our daily lives. Here they are: 10 vegetables with extraordinary benefits.

Coffee's Mysterious Benefits Mount

Coffee's Mysterious

Scientists have yet to determine what compounds are responsible for coffee's weird -but wonderful- health benefits. Credit: sxc.hu

From lowered cancer risks to a sharper memory, more studies are showing that coffee is good for you – but why?

Regular coffee drinkers have a 39 percent decreased risk of head and neck cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Those who drank an estimated four or more cups a day had significantly fewer cancers of the mouth and throat than non coffee drinkers, the study found.

Four Cups of Coffee a Day Slash Diabetes Risk in Half

Cups of Coffee a Day Slash Diabetes

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Drinking four cups of coffee every day can decrease a woman's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by more than half, according to a new study.

And the researchers say they've uncovered the reason why the new findings and other research have suggested a link between java and diabetes. They found that coffee raises the amount of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in the blood, and higher levels of SHBG are known to lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

It's likely something in the coffee besides the caffeine — or something about coffee drinkers that confers these protective effects, said James D. Lane, an associate research professor at Duke University Medical Center, who was not involved with the study.

Can Eating Less at Breakfast Help You Lose Weight?

Lose Weight

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We've heard time and time again about the importance of eating breakfast but a new study suggests cutting back on what you eat in the morning might help you eat less during the rest of your waking hours.

The results show that, the more calories people eat at breakfast, the higher their total daily calorie intake is. This finding was true of both obese and normal weight people.

Participants ate around 500 to 550 calories for lunch and dinner, regardless of how much they ate for breakfast — it didn't matter whether they skipped it entirely or had a hearty morning meal, the researchers said.

Vitamin D Levels Don't Decline During Progression of Parkinson's Disease: Study

Parkinson's Disease: Study

People recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are more likely than healthy people to have vitamin D insufficiency, but their vitamin D levels don't appear to decline during the progression of the disease as was previously thought, according to a new study.

At the beginning of the study, 69.4 percent of people with recently diagnosed Parkinson's disease had vitamin D insufficiency and 26.1 percent of people had vitamin D deficiency. (Vitamin D insufficiency was defined as having less than 30 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood, and vitamin D deficiency was defined as having less than 20 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood.)

For Smokers, Vitamins Don't Cancel Out Harmful Habit

Vitamins Don't Cancel Out Harmful Habit

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Taking vitamins gives smokers a false sense of safety when it comes to their health, a new study shows.

Smokers who took multivitamins believed they were reducing their risk of cancer, and therefore allowed themselves to smoke more, the study said.

"Smokers who take dietary supplements can fool themselves into thinking they are protected against cancer and other diseases," lead author Wen-Bin Chiou, of the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan, said in a statement.

4 Common Skin Woes, and How to Fix Them

4 Common Skin Woes

To trim extra fat from the body, experts say exercise and a healthy, balanced diet is the best solution. But for cosmetic imperfections, like cellulite, spider veins and skin discoloration, the solution is less obvious.

Creams that claim to have a quick fix aren't always effective, and many times they just cover up the appearance of things like cellulite, said Dr. Shasa Hu, an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Miami in Florida.

Hu explains why we get these common imperfections, and the best ways to be rid of them (or at least disguise them) in time for beach season.

Lose Weight Smartly: 7 Little-Known Tricks that Shave Pounds

7 Little-Known Tricks that Shave Pounds

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Say no to numbers

When the ingredient list on packaged food includes numbers, put it down. Ingredients that include numbers as part of their names usually identify an item as a "convenience food" that’s full of fat and preservatives, said Dr. Carson Liu, a Los Angeles-based bariatric surgeon.

"If you're trying to lose weight, it's very, very difficult to do so with processed foods," Liu said, “because they have so many carbs, sugars and hidden ingredients."

Move It: Sitting Boosts Your Risk of Chronic Diseases

Sitting Boosts Your Risk of Chronic Diseases

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An inactive lifestyle may put you at risk for chronic diseases, even if you find time to hit the gym, researchers say.

"If people spend the majority of their time sitting, even with regular periods of exercise, they are still at greater risk for chronic diseases," said John Thyfault, assistant professor of nutrition and physiology at the University of Missouri. "If people can add some regular movement into their routines throughout the day, they will feel better and be less susceptible to health problems."

6 Foods That Are Good for Your Brain

Foods That Are Good for Your Brain

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Walnuts

They even look like little brains, so maybe that's Mother Nature's way of telling us what walnuts are good for.

Indeed, a 2009 study in the Journal of Nutrition found that diets in which nuts made up as little as 2 percent reversed signs of aging in the brains of old rats, including the ability of the brain to function and process information.

Music Can Soothe Cancer Patients' Anxiety

Music Can Soothe Cancer Patients' Anxiety

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Listening to music or playing an instrument may reduce anxiety and pain in cancer patients and improve their quality of life, according to a new review.

The findings suggest music therapy could be used in conjunction with other cancer treatments to improve patients' daily lives.

"I think it's definitely worth offering to patients [to] see if it works for them," said study researcher Joke Bradt, a music therapist and associate creative arts professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia. In contrast to anxiety-reducing medications, music therapy comes with almost no risk of adverse side effects and is cheaper, Bradt said.

Exercise Keeps Memories Safe from Infection's Effects

Exercise Keeps Memories Safe from Infection's Effects

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Exercise counteracts the memory decline that can occur after an infection, a new study of mice suggests.

The research adds to a growing body of evidence that exercise may help preserve cognition in the elderly. It may be that exercise reduces inflammation in the body that would otherwise contribute to cognitive decline, however the exact reason for the link remains unclear, the researchers said.

Researchers at the University of Colorado experimented on elderly mice, some of which they infected with a strain of E. coli. The mice were then tested to see how well their memories worked.

5 Diets That Fight Diseases

Diets That Fight Diseases

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Low-glycemic index diet

The glycemic index diet is based on the idea that carbohydrates that can lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar levels should be avoided.

The diet focuses on consuming the "right" carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar balanced.

Foods that are emphasized include low-glycemic index breads such as pumpernickel and rye, large flake oatmeal, oat bran, pasta, parboiled rice, quinoa, beans, peas, lentils and nuts. People are also encouraged to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and few potatoes.