Too Fat to Exercise?

By Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness

MSN Health & Fitness Exclusive

Q: I am severely obese—I am 5 feet 4 inches and weigh 300 pounds. I stand all day at work and by 5 p.m. my knees are screaming. I would like to start exercising, but I don't want to damage my knees. What should I do and how do I begin?

A: It's not easy to decide to start exercising when you are in pain and feel physically limited. But it's great that you've decided to do so, since you can improve many aspects of your health by becoming more physically active.

It's likely that your extra weight is putting more pressure on your knees, and with an all-day, on-your-feet job, you could be standing in such a way that your knees are out of alignment (either hyperextended—locked out straight—or rotated), which can add more stress to the joints. Often, doctors recommend weight loss as a way to reduce knee pain. While this is a good idea, sometimes overweight and obese people feel that they should only start exercising after they have first lost some weight. Others think exercise isn't as important as dieting, so they skip the workouts.

But exercise plays a major role in healthy weight loss—and, most importantly, in improving health, strength and stamina regardless of whether weight is lost. A 2009 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine profiled 430 obese, sedentary women who exercised for three to four days a week for six months. Some of the women were doing very minimal, very-low intensity exercise (around 18 to 25 minutes of easy walking per session). Even so, not only did the women lose an average of 6 to 8 pounds from the exercise alone, but even these small amounts of exercise improved their heart health and quality of life. And the more exercise the women were able to do, the more improvement they saw in areas of mental and physical functioning.

Because you are very overweight and already experiencing pain, you're right to proceed cautiously. Your first step should be to get the okay from your physician. Ask if you qualify for a prescription to a physical therapist or exercise physiologist rehab program for obesity-related conditions. If so, you can get expert guidance to start an exercise program and possibly have some or all of it paid for by insurance if you have it.

You may feel out of breath quite easily, not only from being out of shape, but from the increased oxygen demands from being very overweight. Also, you may need to monitor your blood pressure and glucose levels. Your physician can help you determine any special needs you may have.

Once you have the go-ahead, if you are not consulting with a health-care professional, then you need to figure out what you can do and what you like to do. Even though there may be some activities that you don't feel comfortable doing, you have plenty of options.

Since you have knee pain when standing, you may want to start very conservatively with a workout that's low-impact, or even done while seated. Here are some ideas:

Chair exercises. There are many workout videos that offer chair routines. These are a great starting point; one such workout is Sit and Be Fit.

Swimming and water aerobics. Water workouts are a great option, and you can find swimming classes at local pools. Many overweight people feel fantastic in the water because the buoyancy helps them move freely. Of course, it's common to feel shy about wearing a bathing suit, but you'll likely find many other overweight people in aqua-aerobics classes. If you can get over the initial hurdle, you are likely to find great joy in this workout.

Walking. It's easy and you can do it anywhere—outside, or on a treadmill inside—as long as it doesn't aggravate your knee pain. You might need to put this off until you've become stronger from other types of exercise.

Cardio machines. Bikes, elliptical trainers, steppers and other cardio machines at a gym can give you a low-impact workout that can burn lots of calories and improve your stamina. If you can't afford a home machine, you may be able to find an inexpensive one online or at a garage sale. You can also join a local health club, or community center with a gym. Or you may have friends with apartment gyms or their own home equipment that you could use.

Dancing. Here's one you can do at home to your favorite tunes. Exercising is all about moving, so really, any way you can fit in some movement is going to rev your body up and improve your fitness. Work your way up until you're filling up a solid 30 minutes or more of dancing.

Fitness classes. You may want to try a gentle exercise class as you start to build up fitness. Look for a Silver Sneakers class near you; they're designed for seniors, but are also appropriate for those looking to lose a good deal of weight. Curves gyms offer beginner-level women's only workouts. You can also inquire at your local community centers or YMCA for beginner classes.

At first, any class is a good idea, so you should try a variety of cardio and weights workouts. Workouts that incorporate weights, especially at a beginner level, will help you to become stronger and develop more muscle endurance, but may not provide a sufficient cardiovascular boost, so make sure you include more aerobic activities such as water exercise, walking, cardio machines, dancing or cardio classes.

Monitoring your effort level

If you haven't been exercising, it is very easy to work harder than you should. Instinctively judging your individual effort by using what is known as rate of perceived exertion is a common way to gauge intensity during exercise. To work at a moderate level it's suggested that the exercise feel like it's "somewhat hard." Higher intensities and more vigorous workouts will feel hard or even very hard. As a novice person, it's a good idea to avoid working out hard or very hard when you first start out.

To stay on the safe side, rather than gauge how you feel with the perceived-exertion approach, use your heart rate to gauge your intensity. First you need to figure out what your "target" heart rate should be during a workout. There are several ways to estimate this, but a 2008 study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise evaluated ways to determine exercise intensity in obese people. They found that using a formula that takes resting heart rate into account is the preferred approach for overweight to severely obese individuals.

Here is the recommended formula to determine your target heart rate:

Step 1. Estimate your maximum heart rate, or HRmax. This is your age subtracted from 220. For example, if you are 40, your HRmax is 180.

Step 2. Determine your resting heart rate: When you wake up in the morning, while still in bed, measure your resting heart rate by placing two fingers on the inside of your wrist, or just off-center from the front of your neck. (Don't use your thumb, as it has its own pulse.) Pause until you feel a pulse. Then, start counting at zero for 30 seconds. Multiply the number by two, and that's your resting heart rate.

Step 3. Choose the target range of your desired exercise intensity, or how hard you want to work. Research shows that cardiovascular improvements come from exercising at 50 percent or more of your maximum heart rate. Since you aren't fit yet, stick to this low end of the range. After a period of three to six months or longer, once you are fit and in shape, you may want to push yourself to exercise at higher levels.

Use the 50- to 60-percent intensity range to determine your target heart rate. This is the heart rate that you want to stay at, or below, during your workouts. If you go above this number, you may be pushing yourself too hard.

Step 4. Plug the numbers into the following formula:

Target Heart Rate = [Intensity x (HRmax - resting HR)] + resting HR

Here is an example:

Step 1. A 46-year-old person has a HRmax of 174 beats per minute. (Theoretically, this is the maximum number of beats per minute that the heart will beat; this is just an estimate and varies with individuals, however.)

Step 2. Let's say her resting heart rate is 80.

Step 3. We're aiming for a target intensity of 55 percent, or 0.55.

Step 4. So we plug the numbers into the formula:

Target Heart Rate = [Intensity x (HRmax - resting HR)] + resting HR

Target Heart Rate = [0.55 x (174 - 80)] + 80

Target Heart Rate = [0.55 x 94] + 80

Target Heart Rate = 132 beats per minute

This person should then work out at a level where she stays at 132 beats per minute or fewer.

Once you've gotten your doctor's approval and you've figured out which activities to try, you can start adding exercise according to your level. During each cardio workout, slow down, but do not stop, and periodically assess your heart rate. If you find it difficult, purchase a heart rate monitor. Some cardio machines also have heart-rate monitors built in.

Once you start, play close attention to how you feel. If something hurts, modify or stop what you are doing. Don't think that just because you are out of shape means you need to work through any pain or severe discomfort. If your knees or other joints bother you, you may need to try another type of exercise. In the days after your workouts, if your muscles feel sore or your joints hurt, you may need to work a little easier next time, or change to a different type of workout.

After you have become used to your workouts, you will get fitter and you will find that you can do harder workouts without feeling as if they're as difficult. You can increase the intensity, or your heart rate, as you get fitter, too. Eating more healthfully will help provide the energy to exercise and can definitely help you to lose weight. But even without weight loss, exercise can make you stronger and healthier. Good luck!

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Posted in: Exercise,Fitness

The Ultimate Over-40 Fat Fighter

By Selene Yeager, Prevention

Prevention

Is your wardrobe suddenly shrinking? If you're over 40, it's probably not your clothing (or an overactive dryer) but, rather, an underactive metabolism that's to blame. It can dip by as much as 200 calories per day from your mid-20s to your mid-50s—enough to pack on nearly an extra 30 pounds in that time. And that old weight loss strategy of crash dieting will just make it worse. What you need is a smarter approach to losing fat while building muscle, which powers your calorie burn and is key to reversing a slow metabolism.

We combed through the very latest research and talked to top experts to create our Ultimate Over-40 Fat-Fighting Workout. It's a unique blend of calorie-blasting cardio, supercharged strength-training, and lifestyle tips that will help you burn calories at a higher rate (even while you're sleeping) than you did in your 20s—up to an extra 500 calories a day! That's enough to double your weight loss and drop a size this month. Soon, your only wardrobe worry will be buying smaller sizes.

The latest research shows that simple changes to your cardio workouts can boost calorie burn by 25 to 50 percent. Our routines include these four rules to guarantee a high calorie burn with every workout.

Always warm up

It raises your core body temperature and increases the activity of fat-burning enzymes, says Chip Harrison, exercise physiologist, director of strength and fitness at Pennsylvania State University, and co-author of The Female Athlete. For each degree your body temp goes up, the metabolic rate inside your cells increases by about 13 percent. Warm up by doing your activity at an easy to moderate intensity for at least five minutes to gradually raise your heart rate, send blood to your working muscles, ramp up your respiration, and get the maximum boost in calorie burn.

Do at least 12 minutes

Any amount of cardio will burn calories, but to really fight off post-40 pounds, you need at least 12 minutes (beyond a warm-up) of continuously moderate to high-intensity activity (where you're breathing somewhat hard) most days a week. That's the amount necessary to "create a training effect, which improves your body's ability to use oxygen and generate more fat-burning enzymes, such as lipase, so you can blast more flab during exercise and other activities all day," says Harrison.

Commit to intervals

Studies show that workouts with bursts of high-intensity activity can boost your calorie burn more than steady-paced training. "Interval training increases the mitochondrial activity in the muscle, which is a scientific way of saying it increases your cells' fat-burning capacity," says exercise physiologist Jason Talanian, Ph.D., formerly of the University of Guelph, Ontario.

Because intervals are harder than one-speed workouts, it takes more time for your body to return to normal afterward, so your calorie burn stays elevated longer. In a College of New Jersey study of 48 men and women, researchers found that those who rode stationary bikes at varying intensities, such as pedaling just a little harder for five minutes and then a little easier for five minutes over a half-hour workout, burned about 15 percent more calories for about 30 minutes after their sessions than their peers who stuck to one moderate pace the entire time.

Devote one hour once a week

Going longer gives you a big metabolic boost because your body has to reach into its reserves and expend a lot of energy replenishing its fuel stores and repairing broken-down muscle fibers when you're finished. In one small study, researchers at the University of Victoria in British Columbia found that exercisers who chugged along for 60 minutes burned nearly five times as many calories postworkout as those who did only 30 minutes of activity.

Program at a glance

Fire up metabolism: Cardio

You'll walk or do aerobic exercise such as jogging, swimming, or cycling every day, alternating three different routines to maximize fat burn.

Three times a week: 30-Minute Interval Fat Blast

Alternate two-minute bursts of high-intensity activity with two-minute bouts of moderate intensity to boost calorie burn during and after exercise.

Three times a week: 20-Minute Steady Cardio

After a five-minute warm-up, exercise at a pace that keeps your heart rate in an aerobic zone (where you're breathing somewhat hard) for 12 minutes, then slow your pace for three minutes to cool down. You'll burn extra calories while allowing your body to recover from the more intense interval days.

Once a week: 60-Minute Endurance Builder

Warm up for five minutes, then increase to a moderate intensity for the rest of the workout. Going longer will crank up your post-exercise calorie burn and increase stamina so all your workouts feel easier.

Fire up metabolism: Strength

Three times a week: On days you do the steady cardio workout, you'll also do our 20-minute high-energy dumbbell routine to build more metabolism-stoking muscle and firm up all over.

Fire up metabolism: Cardio tips

The latest research shows that simple changes to your cardio workouts can boost calorie burn by 25 to 50 percent. Our routines include these four rules to guarantee a high calorie burn with every workout.

Quick tip: Swing your arms

Bend your elbows 90 degrees and pump your arms as you walk. It not only automatically speeds up your pace but helps you burn up to 15 percent more calories every time you work out.

Fire up metabolism: Strength tips

Strength-training is essential—lean muscle tissue burns about three times as many calories as fat and is the power behind your metabolism. But how you do it can speed your calorie burn by up to an extra 25 percent.

Break up your sets

Instead of performing two or three sets of a single exercise before moving to the next one, do a circuit: Complete just one set and then immediately move to the next exercise, repeating the circuit two or three times. When researchers had 10 men do either standard strength-training (three sets of six exercises with two minutes of rest in between) or circuit-training (moving through a series of six exercises three times, with 30 seconds of rest in between), the circuit-trainers burned nearly twice as many calories post-workout as the standard-style lifters. "Because your heart rate stays elevated longer after circuit-training, you continue burning fat as though you were still exercising," says researcher Anthony Caterisano, Ph.D., of Furman University.

Grab the heavy dumbbells

Even when exercisers lifted identical volumes (such as 10 pounds 10 times or 20 pounds five times), those using the heavier dumbbells burned about 25 percent more calories when they were finished. "Heavy weights create more protein breakdown in the muscle, so your body has to use more energy to repair and recover—that's how lean muscle tissue is built," says Caterisano. And the boost can last even longer. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine found that working out with heavy weights even for as few as three to six reps increased exercisers' sleeping metabolic rate—the number of calories burned overnight—by nearly 8 percent. That's enough to lose about 5 pounds in a year, even if you did nothing else.

The strength circuit

What to do: Complete the circuit three times, moving immediately from one exercise to the next with minimal to no rest between moves. The first time through, do eight to 12 reps of each move with a lighter weight as a warm-up. For the second and third sets, use an amount that you're able to lift no more than eight to 10 times.

How often: Three nonconsecutive days a week, preferably when you do the Steady Cardio workouts

What you'll need: One pair of light weights (5 to 10 pounds), one set of heavier dumbbells (10 to 15 pounds; for some exercises, you may need even heavier weights), stability ball (optional)

Step Squat

Firms glutes and thighs

Hold dumbbells at sides, palms in, and stand with a low step about 2 feet behind you.

Extend left leg behind you and place top of foot on step. Bend right leg and lower hips, keeping front knee behind toes, until right thigh is about parallel to floor.

Return to start. Complete a full set, then switch sides.

Plank Row

Firms shoulders, back, and abs

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and assume a modified push-up position (hands beneath shoulders, knees on floor, ankles crossed in air).

Keeping torso steady, bend left elbow and pull dumbbell up toward rib cage.

Lower and repeat with right arm. Alternate arms for a full set.

For a challenge, perform move with legs extended, balancing on toes.

Wall Sit Arm Curl

Firms arms, glutes, and thighs

Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward, and stand with back against wall.

Slide down wall until legs are bent 90 degrees. Bend elbows and lift weights toward shoulders, then lower.

Complete full set of arm curls before returning to standing position.

Ball Chest Press

Firms shoulders, chest, arms, and glutes

Holding dumbbells, lie on stability ball (head, shoulders, and upper back supported) so body forms a straight line (like a tabletop) from head to knees.

Position weights at chest height, elbows pointing to sides, palms facing toes. Keeping torso steady, straighten arms and press weights toward ceiling. Lower weights. Repeat for a full set.

No stability ball? Perform move off the edge of a bed, sofa, or deep-seated chair.

Pendulum Lunge

Firms glutes and thighs

Hold dumbbells at sides, palms in, and stand with feet close together.

Take a giant step back with right leg, bend knees, and lower until left thigh is parallel to floor, keeping front knee behind toes (as shown).

Press into left foot to stand back up and bring right leg forward, stepping into a front lunge.

Continue stepping back and front for a full set with right leg, then repeat with left.

30-Minute Interval Fat Blast

This workout is the first portion of our three-part, metabolism-boosting cardio plan.

Choose your favorite form of aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, or swimming—just be sure to pay attention to the changes in workout intensity, which is key to reaping the full benefits.

The expert: Valerie Waters, a certified trainer in Brentwood, Calif., and author of Red Carpet Ready, designed this workout.

Your seven-day sample schedule

Monday	Steady Cardio & Strength (40 minutes total)
Tuesday	Interval Fat Blast (30 minutes total)
Wednesday	Steady Cardio & Strength (40 minutes total)
Thursday	Interval Fat Blast (30 minutes total)
Friday	Steady Cardio & Strength (40 minutes total)
Saturday	Interval Fat Blast (30 minutes total)
Sunday	Endurance Builder (60 minutes total)

This workout is the first portion of our three-part metabolism-boosting cardio plan.

Choose your favorite form of aerobic exercise, such as walking, cycling, or swimming—just be sure to pay attention to the changes in workout intensity, which is key to reaping the full benefits.

Time	Activity	Intensity*
0:00	Warm-up	3, working up to 6 (rhythmic breathing; can speak easily)
5:00	Brisk pace	7 to 8 (harder breathing; can speak in very short sentences only)
8:00	Moderate pace	5 to 6 (breathing somewhat hard; can speak in full sentences)
10:00	Fast pace	9 (no speaking; just hard but controlled breathing)
12:00	Do 2-minute moderate and 2-minute fast intervals 3 more times
24:00	Moderate pace	5 to 6
26:00	Brisk pace	7 to 8
28:00	Cool down	Work down to a 3
30:00	Finished
*Based on a 1-to-10 scale, with 1 being as easy as lounging on the couch and 10 as hard as sprinting to catch a bus as it pulls away

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Posted in: Exercise,Fitness

The Most Sugar-Packed Foods in America

By Dave Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, Men's Health

Men's Health

Think your sweet tooth is harmless? Well, it just might bite you back. The average American is wolfing down 460 calories from added sugars every day. That's more than 100 pounds of raw sugar per person per year (enough to make 3,628 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!).

What's at risk with all this sugar intake isn't just another cavity; refined carbohydrates cause spikes in your blood sugar levels, tell your body to store fat, and put people at increased risk for diabetes. That's another way of saying that it puts people at increased risk of blindness, sexual malfunction, heart attack, and premature death.

All that from a simple candy bar or soda? Consider this: A dollar will buy you about 75 calories' worth of fresh broccoli, but food manufacturers can use that same dollar to purchase 1,815 calories of sugar. And thanks to government subsidies, high fructose corn syrup, the synthetic sweetener found in so many of the foods in our grocery stores, is even cheaper.

It should come as no surprise, then, that added sugars are sabotaging nearly ever packaged and prepared food we put in our bodies—pasta sauces, smoothies, even whole-grain breads. It's why we created the Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide, the brand-new follow-up to our national bestselling nutrition books.

To help you avoid the impact of stealth sugars that run rampant through our food supply, we've sifted through all the nutritional data to name the eight biggest sugar bombs in America. Keep them from blowing up in your neighborhood.

Most sugar-packed breakfast cereal

Quaker Natural Granola: Oats, Honey & Raisins (1 cup)

30 g sugars

420 calories

Warning: Granola's healthy reputation is way overrated. The problem is those healthy-sounding oats are invariably bathed in a variety of sweeteners, making it not only one of the sweetest cereals in the aisle, but also a caloric overload. In fact, one cup of this stuff has more sugar than two servings of Lucky Charms.

Most sugar-packed salad

Uno Chicago Grill's Spinach, Chicken and Gorgonzola Salad

38 g sugars

720 calories

The candied walnuts on this salad help to make it sweeter than a double-scoop cone of Ben & Jerry’s Butter Pecan ice cream. Choose a more sensible meal and save the sugar calories for dessert (which you'll share, right?).

Most sugar-packed side dish

Boston Market's Cinnamon Apples

42 g sugars

210 calories

This apple dish is right up there with the one Eve served to Adam, and you know how that worked out. Boston Market's sickly sweet side consists of apples overwhelmed with sugar, brown sugar, soybean oil, and cornstarch. Oh yeah, and a pinch of cinnamon—which is about the only healthy thing about it. If you want this dish done right, make it at home.

Most sugar-packed sandwich

Subway's Foot-Long Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

38 g sugars

740 calories

The most distressing part: this sandwich finds its way onto Subway's "healthy" menu. Ignore the claims of low fat that adorn the menu board; the teriyaki sauce contributes nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar to the sandwich, which will soon find their way to your waistline. Before you go out next, be warned about the 20 worst restaurant foods in America.

Most sugar-packed "healthy" food

Panera’s Pumpkin Muffin

47 g sugars

530 calories

Stop thinking of muffins as health food and start thinking of them as cake. They're made from refined flour, contain only trace amounts of fiber, and can pack more sugar than two ice cream bars. Have one of these for breakfast, and you've sabotaged your diet for the whole day.

Most sugar-packed kids' meal

Oscar Mayer Maxed Out Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Combo Lunchables

61 g sugars

680 calories

Kids love Lunchables, and for the usual reason: It's a candy box. Too bad so many busy parents use them to fill empty lunchboxes. But this kids' meal has more calories than a Whopper and more sugar than two Snickers bars; suddenly, packing their lunches becomes more of a priority. Anything to avoid that prepackaged candy and sugary drink.

Most sugar-packed breakfast

Bob Evans' Stacked & Stuffed Strawberry Banana Cream Hotcakes

102 g sugars

1,200 calories

Despite the fruity name, this is truly one of the worst breakfast entrées in America. Each stack has 25.5 teaspoons of sugar—that's more sugar than six funnel cakes. This is their diabetic special—one that contributes to the disease, instead of curing it.

The most sugar-packed food in America

Baskin Robbins Large York® Peppermint Pattie Shake

281 g sugars

2,210 calories

Baskin Robbins' line of candy-based beverages are horrendous on so many accounts: Each large shake has a day's worth of calories, up to three day's of saturated fat, and an ingredient list so long—some more than seven inches—it requires an advanced degree in chemistry to decipher. This particular caloric catastrophe has more sugar than 11 Peppermint Patties.

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Posted in: Diet

You're Eating … What?

A guide to 7 sketchy additives that may be lurking in your food.

Want some dead bugs with your dinner? Well, that's just one of the freaky ingredients involved in making some popular processed foods. And while all seven of these sound incredibly icky—though presumably used to help make your food tastier or look better—some additives are decidedly more disturbing than others. Here's what you're eating—which may inspire you to start contemplating those ingredient labels a lot more closely.

Carmine

According to the FDA, this red food coloring (also known as cochineal extract) is made from dried, ground bugs . The Dactylopius coccus costa insect is native to Peru and the Canary Islands, where it feeds on red berries. The berries accumulate in the females' stomachs and in their unhatched larvae—which is what gives the extract its red coloring. Carmine is one of the most widely used coloring agents, and food manufacturers routinely use it to turn foods shades of pink, red or purple. Chances are it's what makes the color of your strawberry yogurt or that cranberry drink look so appealing.

But the problem is that at the moment, you have no way of knowing if you're ingesting these little red bugs. Instead, the label will simply read, "artificial color" or "color added." But the Vegetarian Legal Action Network petitioned the FDA to disclose the presence of carmine, and in 2010, that requirement will go into effect. "But it will still be listed only as carmine or cochineal extract, with no mention of the ingredient's source," says Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "The onus will be on the consumer to know what carmine is, and that's asking a lot."

Carrageenan
This is a fancy way of saying seaweed, and it's used as a thickening agent in foods such as ice cream, pudding and other dairy products. According to Jacobson, it's extracted from red seaweed that's plentiful on the Irish coast. It meets the FDA's GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) criteria and it's vegetarian, unlike some other gelling agents.

Shellac
Just in case you haven't eaten your fill of bugs, here's another opportunity for insect consumption. Shellac—which is used to make that shiny coating on jelly beans and to give fresh fruits and vegetables that perfect, glossy finish—is made from the excretions of Kerria lacca insects that are native to Thailand. Again, vegetarian lobbyists have urged the FDA to require that labeling indicate if fruits and vegetables are coated with an insect-derived substance. The FDA wouldn't go that far, but, according to Jacobson, it did require produce packers to disclose whether any coating used is animal- or vegetable-derived. "But it would be on a placard or on the box of produce, not in bold type on the fruit or vegetable itself," says Jacobson, and not necessarily displayed to grocery shoppers. "And I don't know that the regulation is very strongly enforced," he adds.

Gelatin
Gelatin is used in many packaged foods as a thickening agent. In addition to gummy candy, gelatin is found in Jell-O, ice cream and yogurt. But those innocent-looking little Gummi Bears are hiding a somewhat distasteful secret. According to the USDA, the gelatin that gives them their kid-pleasing texture is created at the expense of several different animal parts, including ligaments, skin, tendons and bones. Though some non-animal versions of gelatin are available, vegetarians know to avoid packaged foods containing gelatin, unless it's specifically labeled as being derived from a vegetarian source.

Bacteriophages
This is a case of an additive that sounds perfectly disgusting, but experts reassure that it's also perfectly safe—and even smart. Cold cuts and cheeses are often sprayed with a mixture of viruses (known collectively as bacteriophages) that work to help prevent listeria—a microorganism that can be lethal when eaten. "The viruses attack the bacteria and prevent bacterial growth on the food," says Jacobson. "It's actually better than harmless; it's a very clever way to prevent illness."

Xanthan gum
While we're on the subject of bacteria, here's another one. Xanthan gum is a microbial polysaccharide that's derived from the bacteria Xanthomonas campestris. It's used to thicken liquids, and since it takes very little for it to accomplish that goal (concentrations of 0.5 percent or less), it is generally considered safe for use. You'll find it in most bottled salad dressings to help stabilize keep the oil from separating out. But what you may not know is that Xanthomonas campestris is responsible for the plant disease known as black rot.

"Natural" flavors
Natural flavors are the mystery meat of the food-additive world. And while they sound like a good thing—who doesn't want to eat something that's "natural?"—the term can be misleading and confusing. You will find these so-called natural flavors in just about every sort of processed food. They're used to give a "smoked" meat a smoky flavor; give canned peaches back their peachiness; and give an almond-flavored cookie its advertised nuttiness. The mystery is always that when the ingredient isn't specified—and it usually isn't—you don't necessarily know if that "natural flavor" is coming from something you want to eat.

For example, you might assume that if canned peaches list "natural flavoring" in the ingredients list, the flavor would be derived from a peach. But according to Jacobson, it could just as likely be referring to apricot extract. Which is fine, unless perhaps you are allergic to apricots. And according to the current Federal Code of Regulations, a natural flavor could be extracted from meat but does not have to specify that if "the function in the food is flavoring rather than nutritional." Once again, it's a case of consumer beware.

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Posted in: Diet

Drinking Raises Cancer Risk for Middle-Age Women

By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter

"Even relatively low levels of drinking -- on the order of one alcoholic drink per day -- increase a woman's risk of developing cancer," said lead researcher Naomi Allen, from the cancer epidemiology unit at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. "Because a high proportion of women drink low amounts of alcohol regularly and because most of the increased risk is for breast cancer, the risk among women associated with drinking alcohol is of particular importance."

In fact, the study found that moderate drinking accounts for 13 percent of breast, liver, rectum and upper respiratory/digestive tract cancers among women.

The association between moderate alcohol intake and breast cancer in women is well-known, the researchers point out. What's new here, they say, is the finding that even low levels of drinking can raise a woman's risk of developing cancer of the liver and rectum. For women who smoke, cancers of the mouth and throat were also linked to high alcohol consumption.

The report is published in the Feb. 24 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

For the study, Allen's team collected data on more than 1.2 million middle-age British women participating in the Million Women Study. The researchers used the National Health Service Central Registries to identify cancer cases among these women.

Most women in the study had about a drink a day, and a smaller percentage had three or more drinks a day, the researchers found. Over more than seven years of follow-up, 68,775 women developed cancer.

"These findings are robust, and alcohol consumption was assessed several times before women were diagnosed with cancer, making these estimates reliable," Allen said.

Overall, the risk of cancer increased as alcohol consumption increased. The type of alcohol consumed appeared to make no difference.

Women who drank and also smoked faced increased risk of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, and larynx (voice box), the researchers found.

The study suggests "that in developed countries, where women typically consume low-moderate amounts of alcohol, we estimate that for every additional drink regularly consumed each day, there would be about 15 extra cases of cancers of the breast, liver, rectum and mouth and throat diagnosed for every 1,000 women up to the age of 75," Allen said. "Most of this excess risk is due to breast cancer."

Susan M. Gapstur, vice president of epidemiology at the American Cancer Society, said the findings confirm and expand on those from previous studies in men and in smaller cohorts of women.

But several questions remain unanswered, she said. "For example, researchers remain concerned about the pattern of consumption," Gapstur said. "It is unclear, for example, whether someone who drinks several glasses of wine on one day during the week has the same risk as someone who drinks one glass of wine per day with a meal. In addition, the effects of quitting or reducing drinking on cancer risk are also unclear."

The American Cancer Society currently recommends limiting intake to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men, Gapstur said.

On the other hand, numerous studies have suggested that alcohol, especially red wine, might help deter heart disease -- complicating decisions around drinking and health.

"If you do not drink, there is no reason to start drinking," Gapstur reasoned. "However, in light of the findings from the Million Women Study, women who are concerned about their cancer risk versus their risk of cardiovascular disease might want to discuss the potential risks and benefits of even low alcohol intake with their health-care providers."

In an accompanying journal editorial, Dr. Michael Lauer, director of the Division of Prevention and Population Sciences at the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, said he believes the risk for cancer might outweigh any perceived benefit in terms of heart disease.

"People who are not drinkers should not start drinking to prevent heart disease, and even people who are drinking should discuss this with their physicians," he said. "And as part of that conversation, they should consider other conditions than heart disease. We cannot just focus on heart disease."

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Posted in: cancer,Diet,Women's Issues

Eating for a Better Mood

By Joy Bauer, PARADE Magazine

PARADE

The next time you feel blue or irritable, you may want to take a look at what's in your fridge. Researchers who study the food-mood connection have found that certain vitamins and other compounds in food can change brain chemistry. Foods influence the activity of neurotransmitters, the chemicals that convey information from one neuron to the next. Anything that affects these chemical messengers affects your mood—making food a pretty powerful "drug" when it comes to how you feel and act.

For example, several studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids may be effective at combatting depression. One study found that a group of pregnant women taking 3.4 grams of omega-3s per day had significantly fewer depressive symptoms than those taking a placebo. And a review of 10 clinical trials showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms among subjects taking omega-3s. The best food sources are fatty fish such as wild salmon, sardines, and herring. You may also want to consider taking a daily fish-oil supplement.

Three B vitamins—B-6, B-12 and folic acid—have been studied for their role in mood regulation. Some studies show that people with low blood levels of folic acid have higher rates of depression.

Foods rich in folic acid (which is called folate when it's found naturally in food) include leafy green vegetables, sunflower seeds, soybeans, beets, and oranges. Multivitamins typically contain 400 micrograms of folic acid, which is generally thought to be enough to keep your body sufficiently stoked. (Pregnant women require more.)

Vitamin D plays a role in reducing the risk of osteoporosis, various cancers, and autoimmune diseases. Recent research indicates that it also may help alleviate seasonal affective disorder (SAD). More than 10 million Americans are thought to suffer from SAD, which leaves them feeling anxious, fatigued and blue during the dark days of winter. Scientists believe that SAD may be due in part to low body stores of vitamin D, which is caused by the shortened days and limited sunlight of winter. (Why? Because our bodies manufacture vitamin D when exposed to the sun.)

Unlike omega-3 fats and folic acid, vitamin D is hard to come by in food form, so I usually recommend supplements. Most multivitamins contain 400 IU of vitamin D, but some experts feel that we should be getting at least 1,000 IU per day. If you can't find a multivitamin that contains enough D, you can always take a separate supplement. Check labels to make sure you get the most potent form of the vitamin, which is D-3 or cholecalciferol.

A carbohydrate overhaul is another way to help banish the blues. Cut back on sugar and other refined carbs. Sugar-rich foods (soda, candy, cookies, cake and fruit juice) and refined carbs (white-flour bread, bagels and crackers) are digested and absorbed very quickly by your body. This leads to a short-lived blood-sugar high, followed by a tumble that may leave you irritable, tired and shaky.

On the other hand, high-quality carbohydrates that are metabolized slowly result in stable blood-sugar levels and fewer mood swings. The best carbs are ones that contain lots of soluble fiber, such as oats, barley, lentils, beans and sweet potatoes.

You can even satisfy your sweet tooth without crashing by choosing fruit for dessert or as a snack. (Try apples, pears, oranges, sweet cherries, strawberries, watermelon, pineapple and blackberries.)

Lastly, when you eat has as much of an impact on your mood as what you eat. If you routinely go for long stretches between meals, rethink your schedule and plan ahead accordingly.

Feel-good foods

Beans (rich in soluble fiber and folate)

Wild salmon (rich in omega-3 fats and vitamin D)

Skim milk (fortified with vitamin D)

Blackberries (rich in soluble fiber and folate)

Happy meals

A hungry brain is an unhappy brain. Try eating every four to five hours and see how much better you feel. Here's a one-day meal plan that's brimming with good-mood foods.

Breakfast: Scramble one or two omega-3 fortified eggs (in nonstick cooking spray) and stuff into a small whole-grain tortilla. Add 1/4 cup black beans, 2 Tbsp reduced-fat cheese, and a dollop of salsa for a breakfast burrito.

Lunch: Enjoy a wild-salmon salad over greens: Fresh or canned wild salmon mashed with reduced-fat mayo, Dijon mustard, minced onion and black pepper to taste. Serve over leafy greens drizzled with a low-calorie vinaigrette.

Dinner: Pick up your mood at the end of the day with a salad and turkey-bean chili over brown rice.

Snack options: (Have one or two each day.) Try 6-8 ounces plain nonfat yogurt with a scoop of strawberries; 1/4 cup lightly toasted walnuts; 1 sliced apple with 1 level Tbsp peanut butter; 1 cup boiled soybeans in the pod; or sliced pepper with 1/4 cup hummus.

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Posted in: Diet

Feed Your Face

 

Healthier skin starts with these five foods.

Here's a beautiful reason to stop by the supermarket today: Certain foods have powerhouse ingredients that keep skin supple and smooth and help fight age-related damage, says Nicholas Perricone, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and author of Ageless Face, Ageless Mind(Ballantine, 2006). Wondering what to eat and what to smooth on? These skin-saving foods help both ways. (Be sure to do a skin-patch test first, and wait 24 hours to see if you have an allergic reaction.)

Strawberries

Strawberries have more anti-aging vitamin C per serving than oranges or grapefruit. And research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that people who eat foods rich in C have fewer wrinkles and less age-related dry skin than those who don't. C helps fight free radicals, which damage cells and break down collagen, leading to those dreaded fine (and not-so-fine) lines. For smoother, better-hydrated skin, apply a natural-berry mask like the one below once or twice a week, and eat C-rich foods daily, says Ramona Ionescu, primary aesthetician at New York City’s Cornelia Day Resort.

Sip it: Strawberry Smoothie Mask

In a food processor or blender, combine 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries

(or a mix of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries—they're all antioxidant stars). Stir together blended berries, 1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt, and 1 1⁄2 tablespoons honey (a great moisturizer) in an 8-ounce glass. Enjoy smoothie, setting aside enough to coat your face.

Smooth it on:

Apply remaining smoothie to your face over a sink (it's a little drippy at first, but a smooth layer will stay put), and leave it on for about 8 minutes before rinsing off.

By Rachel Grumman, Health.com

 

Olive oil

The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of olive oil don't just benefit you on the inside—they soften your skin, too. "Ancient Romans massaged olive oil into their skin," Perricone says. "When used topically, olive oil results in smoother, more radiant skin." Plus, consuming olive oil, a staple in the healthy Mediterranean diet, provides antioxidants to disarm free radicals and reduce inflammation. "Remember, inflammation is not just linked to disease—it's a major cause of wrinkling and sagging in the skin," Dr. Perricone explains. In addition to working olive oil into your daily diet, apply as a lip gloss and skin soother, as needed. If you have dry skin, you'll particularly benefit from topical application.

Smooth it on: Olive Oil Quencher

Dab a pea-size amount of extra-virgin olive oil on lips to hydrate a parched pucker; or use it on rough patches (think elbows and heels) as needed.

Eat it:

At dinner, drizzle a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil into a small bowl, and dip whole-grain bread in it to improve your skin from the inside out.

 

Green tea

Curling up to a cup of green tea does a lot more than relax you. Green tea is filled with inflammation-fighting antioxidants, Perricone says. What's more, research from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that drinking green tea may reduce your risk of skin cancer. (And when you add a generous squeeze of citrus juice—like lemon, lime, or orange—the tea's antioxidants get a boost of staying power, so they remain in and benefit the body longer, rather than being digested quickly and having much of the goodness go down the drain, according to Purdue University researchers.) 

Press it on: Easy Green Tea Eye Treatment

Chill damp tea bags in the fridge and put on eyes for 10–15 minutes. Green tea contains tannins, which act as an astringent when applied to skin and can help reduce puffiness, Perricone notes.

Drink it: Sip at least three big mugs of green tea every day for an antioxidant boost, Fernstrom says.

 

Pumpkin

Pumpkin's orange hue is from carotenoids, wrinkle-fighting plant pigments that help neutralize free radicals in the skin, keeping them from damaging the cells that fast-forward aging. "Pumpkin is filled with vitamins C, E, and A, as well as powerful enzymes that help to cleanse the skin," explains dermatologist Kenneth Beer, author of Palm Beach Perfect Skin. Plus, pumpkin has hydrating properties, Ionescu adds. Although the seeds make a great fiber-filled snack, you get the skin-saving antioxidants from the pulp. Eat and apply the facial below once a week, Ionescu says. 

Smooth it on: Pumpkin Pudding Facial

In a food processor or blender, combine 2 cups canned pumpkin, 4 tablespoons low-fat vanilla yogurt, 4 tablespoons honey, and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Coat face; leave on for 10 minutes, then rinse. "It's good for hydrating and softening skin," Ionescu says. 

Eat it: Make a sweeter pudding by adding these ingredients to the recipe above: 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese and 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

 

Pomegranates

"Pomegranates are one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits," says Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., founding director of the Weight Man agement Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Research shows this fruit's juice has more inflammation-fighting anti oxi dants than red wine or green tea.

Eat some fresh pomegranate or, use it in the age-fighting scrub recipe below; apply once or twice a week to remove dead skin cells, suggests Cleo Londono, aesthetician and owner of Meta mor­phosis Day Spa in New York City.

Scrub it on: Pomegranate Exfoliating Scrub

Cut off pomegranate crown, and score rind in sections, without cutting all the way through. Place in a bowl of water for 5–10 minutes. Break rind away from seeds, which will sink; strain seeds. In a food processor, combine 2 tablespoons seeds and 1 cup uncooked oatmeal. Transfer to bowl; stir in 2 tablespoons honey (an antiseptic) and 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Apply to face for a few minutes, then rinse. For rough patches (like elbows), add 3⁄4 cup turbinado sugar.

Eat it: Enjoy remaining pomegranate seeds au naturel or with your favorite cheese.

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Posted in: Diet,Skin Care