Our bodies require so many nutrients to function optimally that filling our daily diet with empty calories will gaurantee nutritional deficiencies. Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped junk food manufacturers from filling their foods with both refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup. What’s worse, the industry behind these foods has launched expensive ad campaigns claiming their priducts are “natural” and “harmless.” Dr. Mercola recently wrote an excellent article regarding the true dangers of consuming sugar and high fructose corn syrup. An excerpt from teh article can be found below. To read the entire article, just follow the link below.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/23/nutrition-experts-battle-industry-groups-over-sugar.aspx
“There’s a heated debate going on over the health risks of consuming too much sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and other caloric sweeteners.
On one side are leading nutrition experts, who believe that these sweeteners add empty calories to people’s diets and promote weight gain.
Emerging scientific research indicates that consuming too much of these sweeteners may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems.
On the other side are industry groups representing sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They claim that their products are natural and don’t cause weight gain or health problems. And they have launched advertising and marketing campaigns to spread this idea.
The American Heart Association is on the nutrition experts’ side. The group recently issued a scientific statement saying that high intake of added sugars is implicated in many poor health conditions, including obesity, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke.” – www.mercola.com
Obesity is a national epidemic. It is estimated the one out of every three children is obese. With the long list of health problems associated with obesity it is simply a gaurantee that if these children remain obese they will face huge health problems in their lives. In an effort to raise awareness about the obesity epidemic and offer some solutions, First Lady Michelle Obama launched her “Let’s Move” campaign in February. The American Academy of Pediatrics also has a simple formula for helping prevent childhood obesity.
It’s 5-2-1-0, and it breaks down like this:
5: Eat five vegetables and fruits a day (the majority of this should be vegetables).
2: Limit screen time — TV in particular — to 2 hours or less a day. The AAP says to avoid any screen time for children under the age of 2.
1: Do one hour of physical activity a day.
0: Have zero sugar-sweetened drinks.
Dr. Mercola recently wrote an excellent article about the obesity epidemic and gave specific suggestions for how parents can deal with it. You can find it at the following link.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/06/how-to-win-the-food-battle-with-your-child.aspx
Maintaining your exercise program can be a challenge during the winter months – freezing temperatures, rain and snow can deplete anyone’s motivation for staying in shape. As tempting as it might be to stay on your couch during the winter months, one of the best things you can do for yourself is exercise. During the winter months especially our bodies need the activity and fresh air. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola (www.mercola.com) some of the benefits to maintaing your exercise program are:
1. Exercise helps boost your immune system, which means fewer colds and flu during the winter months.
2. Exercise has been shown to decrease your risk of diseases as wide ranging as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, there is evidence regular workouts can cause healthy structural changes in your heart.
3. Exercise is also a great way to relieve tension and manage the dangerous physical symptoms of stress. When you exercise, endorphins are released in your brain. Endorphins are all natural tranquilizers and mood elevators which create feelings of relaxation and renewal.
Dr. Mercola has written an excellent article about how to beat the winter blues with exercise. We’ve included the link below.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/23/Winter-Workouts-Can-Boost-Your-Mood.aspx
