Carotenoids: Help Prevent Cancer: Health Tips

Foods that rich in Carotenoids help prevent cancer.

PHYTOSTEROLS OR PLANT sterols, which are fats that are part of plant cell membranes, have the ability to lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol. This has been subject of studies for more than 50 years in over 40 clinical trials. The unique action of these sterols is that while they lower LDL, they do not affect HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol. HDL is beneficial to the body because it prevents cardiovascular disease.

Natural sources include cold pressed oils like rice bran, flaxseed, olive, sesame and wheat germ. nuts and seeds, algae, seaweed, spirulina, vegetables, fruits, cereals, legumes (beans).

Remember the expression "Five almonds a day will save my heart"? It's true While almonds contain 141 mg/100g of phytosterol, rice bran oil being the highest at 1190 mg/100g, it's enough for the heart health, just like pistachios at 214 mg/100g. If you want to to lower your cholesterol by 10 percent the natural way, consume 1-3 g or 2-3 tsp of nuts or vegetables daily.

TIPS

1. Eat vegetables and fruits daily-- the fresh kind, not the canned variety. While canned fruit may be convenient, it is also high in sugar.
2. Try a serving of nuts daily. Sprinkle on your salad and oatmeal/cereals.
3. Use cold-pressed vegetable oil.
4. Increase intake of carrots, pumpkin, broccoli, mangoes, apricots. These are high in carotenoids.
Eat a rainbow, nutritionists say, Carotenoids, which are also responsible for the color of fruits, vegetables and foods, provide ultraviolet protection and ensure eye health.
The colors yellow, orange, and red are converted into Vitamin A, which body uses as antioxidant to protect the skin and eyes. So eat more guavas, tomatoes, grapefruit, yellow peppers, corn, orange, marigold flowers, avocado, strawberries, blueberries, salmon, lobster, prawns, leafy dark green vegetables . Carotenoids also help prevent cancer.

Best-known carotenoids are identified by their colors: Orange for beta-carotene; yellow for lutein, and zeaxanthin; red for lycopene; pink for astaxanthin.

Women's Health: PCOS Review: Causes and Symptoms of PCOS

Hi Gals! I know your following my articles about PCOS (to those women who have this syndrome). This time I'm sharing it with you on what my doctors telling me about the symptoms and the causes of PCOS.

What are the Causes of PCOS?

There is disagreement and uncertainty as to what causes polycystic ovarian disease. Polycystic ovaries and polycystic ovary syndrome have been associated with one or more of these factors:

• Genetic predisposition.
• Insulin resistance or hyperinsulinism (high blood levels of insulin).
• Obesity.
• Hyperandrogenism (excessive production of male hormones).
• Abnormality of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (organ/hormonal disorder).
• Environmental chemical pollution (hormonal disruptors)
• Food adulterantion (excitatory amino acids, for example)
• Chronic inflammation.

Some of these causal factors may also be consequences of polycystic ovary disease. In other words, we have an amazingly complex network of interacting variables, each of which influences the other. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is not a simple disease with a single cause.

PCOS SYMPTOMS:

Polycystic ovarian syndrome presents a complex and baffling array of symptoms, consisting of some combination of the following symptoms that vary with each individual:

• Multiple ovarian cysts
• Irregular or absent menses
• Infertility
• Acne
• Obesity or inability to lose weight
• Excessive body or facial hair (hirsutism)
• Insulin resistance and possibly diabetes
• Thinning of scalp hair
• Velvety, hyperpigmented skin folds (acanthosis nigricans)
• High blood pressure
• Polycystic ovaries that are 2-5 times larger than healthy ovaries.
• Multiple hormone imbalances, commonly including:
  • Androgens (testosterone)
  • Cortisol
  • Estrogens
  • FSH (follicle stimulating hormone)
  • Insulin.
  • LH (luteinizing hormone)
  • progesterone
  • Prolactin.
  • Thyroid hormones.
• Impaired lung function.
• Sleep apnea.
• Fatty liver degeneration (NAFLD).
• Depression

Read more about the PCOS review here.

Women's Health: PCOS Review

I have this syndrome also since my single years until now I got married for 2 years. I don't know what to do and I don't understand this syndrome. I research this and my OB-Gyne explained to me what is PCOS, how to get this and what are the symptoms because I really really want to have a child. In this article, I am sharing it with you to those women who have this syndrome also.

WHAT IS PCOS?

In each menstrual cycle, follicles grow on the ovaries. Eggs develop within those follicles, one of which will reach maturity faster than the others and be released into the fallopian tubes. This is "ovulation". the remaining follicles will degenerate.

In the case of polycystic ovaries, however, the ovaries are larger than normal, and there are a series of undeveloped follicles that appear in clumps, somewhat like a bunch of grapes. Polycystic ovaries are not especially troublesome and may not even affect your fertility.

However, when the cysts cause a hormonal imbalance, a pattern of symptoms may develop. This pattern of symptoms is called a syndrome. These symptoms are the difference between suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome and from polycystic ovaries.

So we can have polycystic ovaries without having PCOS. However, nearly all women with PCOS will have polycystic ovaries. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is the name given to a metabolic condition in which a woman will have polycystic ovaries, along with a certain pattern of other symptoms that reflect imbalances in reproductive and other hormones.

Let’s define some terms:

• "Syndrome" simply means a set of symptoms that occur together, in a pattern.
• "Polycystic" means there is an accumulation of incompletely developed follicles (cysts) in the ovaries.
• "Polycystic ovarian syndrome" refers to a health disorder where there may be many cysts in the ovaries, accompanied by a distinctive pattern of symptoms.
• "Metabolic" refers to the physical and biochemical processes required for the body to function.

"Polycystic ovary syndrome" is the name given to a metabolic condition in which a woman will have cystic ovaries, along with a certain pattern of other symptoms that reflect imbalances in reproductive and other hormones.

They referred to polycystic ovary syndrome as a “metabolic disorder”. By this they mean that there are numerous factors in basic body processes that have gone awry. Because our body is a unified whole, a problem or dysfunction in one area causes dysfunction in other areas. Polycystic ovary syndrome is a dysfunction that is related in some way to our whole body, not just our ovaries.

I'm so sorry to stop my articles about PCOS here because I need to go my aerobics class. Find out the next article about the causes and symptoms of PCOS...

Turbocharge Diet Recipe

Snacks and meals for our pick-and-choose plan.

The tasty snacks, lunches and dinners here are sure to satisfy your hunger while also helping to whittle your waist. They're perfect when you need to whip up something fast, too--preparation times are 12 minutes or less.

Here are the turbocharge diet recipe for you:

1. Better Than Deli Tuna Salad. Preparation time 10 minutes.

---Fresher, leaner, and full of crunch--you'll swear off deli tuna salad after enjoying this slimmed-down version. Serve on a bed of crisp mixed greens spritzed with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, or spread the salad on GG Scandinavian Bran Crispbreads.

1 can (3 oz) water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
1 hard-boiled egg white, chopped
1/4 c each finely chopped red and green bell peppers
1/4 c chopped celery
2-3 Tbsp. chopped dill pickle
1 1/2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. chopped red onion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

In salad bowl, combine all ingredients and stir with fork to blend well. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 1 serving (1 1/2 cups)
Per Serving: 230 cal, 25 g pro, 9 g carb, 10 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 45 mg chol, 1 g fiber, 180 mg sodium

2. Mustard-Crumbed Chicken. Preparation time: 8 minutes, cook 17 minutes.

---Good with steamed vegetables. Try a colorful and healthful assortment including carrots, turnips, green beans, and red peppers.

1 Tbsp. grainy mustard
1 Tbsp. plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 4-oz boneless, skinless, chicken breast half
3 GG Bran Crsipbreads, crumbled, put in a resealable plastic freezer bag, and crushed fine with a rolling pin (about 1/4 c)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Coat small baking pan with olive oil and cooking spray.
2. In a small shallow bowl, mix mustard, yogurt, and seasoning. Turn chicken in mixture to coat both sides. Put crumbs on sheet of wax paper and roll chicken in crumbs.
3. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Mist chicken with olive oil cooking spray. Bake until chicken is no longer pink in thickest part, 15-17 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 1 serving.
Per serving: 230 cal, 30 g pro, 18 g carb, 3 g fat, 0.5 g sat fat, 65 mg chol, 3 g fiber, 440 mg sodium

3. Scallop and Vegetable Packets. Preparation time: 12 minutes. Cooking time: 20 minutes.

--- Makes great dish for busy people. In short order the scallops and veggies are on the table--with no stirring and no pots to wash!

2 c packed yellow spinach
2 c slice yellow summer squash
1 lb sea scallops, rinsed about patted dry, tough tendon at sides removed
20 slender asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off, cut in 2" lengths (about 2 c)
4 slices sweet onions, rings separated
4 slices tomato
1/3 c chopped Italian parsley
4 tsp vermouth or dry white wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven 425 F. Set out 2 rimmed baking sheets.
2. Tera off 4 20"-long sheets of heavy-duty foil. Fold each piece crosswise like a book, then open up. Coat one half of each sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
3. In center of each sprayed half, arrange 1/2 cup spinach, 1/2 cup squash, one quarter (4 ounces) of the scallops, 1/2 cup asparagus, 1 slice onion, and 1 slice tomato, Sprinkle with heaping tablespoon parsley. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon vermouth, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
4. Fold other side of foil over food. Crimp edges tightly to seal. Place packets on baking sheets.
5. Bake until scallops are opaque in thickest part and vegetables are tender about 20 minutes. Transfer contents of each pocket to a heated dinner plate and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings:
Per serving: 140 cal, 22 g ro, 10 g carb, 1 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 35 mg chol, 2 g fiber, 510 mg sodium

4. Roasted Sage-Lemon Salmon. Preparation time: 4 minutes. Cooking time: 12 minutes.

---This is a super recipe that goes together in minutes any leftovers are terrific cold for lunch next day.

1 1/4 lb skinned salmon fillet, cut in 4 5-oz portion.
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried sage, crumbled
3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
lemon wedges

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat rimmed baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
2. Place salmon on baking sheet. Drizzle evenly with lemon juice. In cup, mix sage, pepper and salt with your fingers. Sprinkle evenly over salmon.
3. Roast salmon until just opaque in thickest part, 9 - 12 minutes, depending on thickest.
4. Transfer to warmed dinner plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 260 cal, 28 g pro, 2 g carb, 15 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 85 mg chol, 0 g fiber, 320 mg sodium

12 Ways to stay slim

Here are the 11 behavior and one shift in thinking that make up the 12 most important ways to keep weight off. the first four are most critical.


Here are the 12 ways to stay slim:


1. Wear form-fitting clothes. --- The fit of your pants is the first warning that you need to get back to your healthy eating habits. For added motivation to keep your weight in check, throw out your older, larger-size clothes. If you save them, you make it too easy to just switch to a larger size instead of acting to rein in a growing waistline.

Use what you wear as your weight loss guide.

2. Keep problem foods out of the house. --- Almost all people who regin weight start the slide at home. The process is usually achieved by food you tend to overeat but managed to avoid while losing weight. The two out of three people who lose weight and keep it off permanently banish problem foods from their house. Be ware that although they might not tempt you today, you'll always be capable to the foods that made you mistake in the past.

3. Set a weight ceiling and stick to it. --- Pick a number and don't let your weight go above it by more than 3 pounds. If you see the scale creeping past that number, return to your weight loss habits immediately. Keep in mind though, that you can expect increases in in your weight weekends because of eating high-calorie meals. Monday is typically the "high-number" day of the week, but friday, you should be back down to your goal weight. Weight gain is a slow, subtle process that often goes unnoticed at first. Most people don't get too alarmed if they gain back pound or two. Before too long, those 2 pounds have morphed into 5, 8 and then 10. This is why you should set--and abide by--a weight ceiling.

4. Step on the scale every day. --- Doing so well help you to distinguish between normal weight fluctuations and true gain. For instance, hit the scale the monring after a big meal, the number may be up a bit. If it's water weight, it will dissipate in 24 to 48 hours. You should expect slight scale variations during the week. But if you gain 3 or more pounds and they stick over a period of several weeks, that's your cue to get back on track with your weight control efforts.

5. Quiz yourself. --- The 10-questions quiz will help you know when you're starting to slip back into the bad habits that caused your weight gain. Take the quiz weekly to catch yourself before you backslide too far.

Click here to answer the 10 quiz for yourself.

6. Keep exercising. --- Dieters who exercise regularly succeed the longest at keeping weight off. In a survey of more than 32,000 dieters found that "regular exercise was the number one successful weight loss maintenance strategy" of more than 81% of the long-term maintainers. In second place, at 74%, was the related strategy of increasing activity in daily routines.

7. Always have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. --- Perhaps bigger weight loss maintenance mistake is skipping meals or going too long without eating. This habit, which some people engage in to loss weight, will cause your blood sugar to dip and can increase your appetite and cravings.

8. Display a photo of yourself at your heaviest weight. --- You may want to put the photo in a place where you feel most vulnerable to overeating--the refrigerator door or kitchen counter, for example. For added emphasis, place it next to a picture of yourself at your lightest weight. If you find it upsetting to stare constantly at yourself at your heaviest, keep only a picture of yourself a slimmest weight. You may find it motivates you more protect your accomplishments than to be reminded of what you looked like before you loss weight.

9. Keep a food diary. --- A diary serves to remind you of extra food you eat and any bad eating habits you fall into. There are few things that can undo your good eating habits faster than mindlessly nibbling foods you tend to overeat or foods you happen to encounter during the day. Most people don't count what they nibble and pick on toward their calorie budget. A food diary makes it easy to keep track. It's also wise to use your diary to write out your meals and snacks a day in advance to help you steer clear of potential trip ups. planning makes maintaining your new weight easier because it helps you avoid pitfalls and establish boundaries.

Look back to see what you can do better.

10. Set clear boundaries. --- Boundaries help to control your eating. A major study of people who kept the weight off found that 88% limited some type of food. Another 45% limited the quantities of the foods they ate. If you're prone to overeat a particular food, then you should avoid it.

11. Set limit on "good" foods, too. --- Many people get into trouble by eating too much of the "right foods" such as chicken, beef, and even fruit--particularly when they're snacking from bowls of cut-up fruit or bowls grapes and cherries. Some eat too much beacause it is an "allowed" food, and so they assume that portion size doesn't matter. Even if you choose nutritious foods such as whole wheat bred, brown rice, and fruit, you need to balance your calorie budget by subtracting any extra foods you consume.

Go ahead and treat yourself to a lean body.

And the final ways on how to stay slim.

12. Remember that being slim is the best reward. --- People who lose weight permanently still enjoy the pleasure of fine food. But they no longer use food as a reward or a treat. they realize that no matter how enticing a food is, if it's something they have a history of overeating, indulging in it is no reward at all.
That's not to say that you can't treat yourself. Some people reward themselves with new clothes. Others enjoy a trip to a spa, jewelry, or a weekend get-away with friends. Just remember that a far more meaningful reward occurs when you look in the mirror and see a trim body.

10 Questions quiz to monitor the behavior that keeping the pounds off

This 10-quiz monitors the behaviors that decrease your chances of keeping the pounds off. Take this quiz once a week. If your answer "yes" to four questions, it's an early warning that you're slipping back into bad habits. Answering "yes" to five questions means you're an danger of regaining the weight (even if the scales hasn't started to rise yet).

ARE YOU...

1. Indulging in any foods that you have a consistent history of overeating?

2. Getting sloppy about your behavior strategies or failing to plan?

3. Eating too much of the right (healthy) foods?

4. Nibbling on whatever foods are around?

5. Forgetting to weigh yourself regularly and guard your weight ceiling?

6. Keeping problem foods in the house?

7. Skipping meals or snacks or going longer than 4 hours without eating?

8. Noticing that your clothes are tight?

9. Allowing your methods to dictate what you eat?

10. Slipping exercise frequently?

10 Steps To Drop Your Pounds

Believing that you're ready take off those extra pounds may not be enough to ensure weight loss success. You also need to be willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary to actually lose the weight.

Here are the 10 steps to drop your pounds in easy way.

Step 1: Learn from your mistakes. --- Studies show that most people who lose weight and successfully keep it off are hardly diet novices--they've lost 10,20 or more pounds many times before. What finally turned things around? They learned from their mistakes. You need to look at past attempts as a learning experience, not a failure. Say to yourself, "I've done this three or four times--what's the pattern here?" If you can see it, then you don't have to repeat it.
If particular weight loss approach doesn't work for you, there's nothing wrong with starting from scratch.

Steps 2: Do it for yourself. --- Trying to lose weight to gain something else's approval rarely leads to success. But doing it because you want to feel in control of your life often does. Each time you turn down a piece of chocolate cake or step on the treadmill, you are taking control of your life, and that continual stream of positive reinforcement will help you stay motivated over time. And the feeling of regaining control of their lives through exercise and learning new skills such as portion control gave the women who were successful a sense of empowerment that helped them stay the course to long-term weight loss.

Steps 3: Identify your overeating triggers. --- Cleaning out your kitchen does reduce temptation. But the chips in your cup-board and the Haagen-Dazs in your freezer aren't the only things that can trip you up. A much better way to prepare is to go about life as usual and document it for a week or so: Keep a food diary, chart the events and emotions that lead you to eat, and log your workouts--even wear a pedometer to see how much incidental activity you get each day. You'll learn what riggers you to overeat and the shortcuts you're taking to cheat yourself on physical activity. "Reach the phone instead of ice cream."

Steps 4: Develop strategies for coping with triggers. --- When you're angry, what else could you do besides eat? Or when you're bored, fearful, or tense? It's good idea to make a list of options. It could be journaling, calling a friend, reading a book, taking a walk, pounding a pillow, or nurturing yourself in other, nonfood ways.

Steps 5: Change your thinking. --- Most people will need to eat less and exercise more. But it's more important to be willing to change the behaviors and thought patterns that set you up for failure. If you think you're going to fail, then you will be more likely to do so -- it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. You need to say, "That's not me" and consistently practice that. For instance, tell yourself, "I'm the kind of person who can turn down food in social situations and who enjoys the feeling I get from exercising."

Steps 6: Figure out how to fit in exercise. --- Your success may depend on it. In an 18-month University of Pittsburgh study that tracked 104 women, ages 25-45, they found that those who combined diet with physical activity last more weight than the women who tried to drop pounds using either alone. What's more, exercising seemed to help the women in the study stick to their diets--as their activity level went up, their calorie intake went down.

Steps 7: Cut down on eating out. --- Limiting your dining out to restaurants that serve low-calorie meals or ordering food "your way" can still be risky. There are so many hidden calories in restaurant food. Veggies are usually tossed with butter (50 calories in 1/2 tablespoon); tomato sauces can be loaded with olive oil (120 calories in 1 tablespoon); and grilled fish maybe brushed with fat before cooking. And when you go to a restaurant, you may be tempted with "just try a bite" or "what about some wine or dessert?"
In this research it has found that the more people eat out during the week, the harder it is for them to shed pounds. Your best strategy: Limit restaurant meals to no more than once a week.

Steps 8: Get your spouse's support. --- In 2001 the university of Washington and a Weight Watchers, surveyed 25,000 married women to see hot their relationships influenced their attempts to lose weight. Half the women failed when their spouses weren't supportive. Less expected was the finding that many women succeeded when their spouses stayed completely out of it. the divide was about fifty-fifty. It just shows that there is no correct way. Each couple has to negotiate their own terms.

Steps 9: Believe that you will succeed. --- A recent study found a link between having "dream" weight loss goals and shedding pounds. The researchers found that women with an unrealistic goal--to lose significantly more weight after 18 months than women with less lofty goals. Though they didn't actually hit their dream weight, they felt inspired to keep going because they were confident they could stick to an eating plan and had relatively high self-esteem--all predictors of weight loss success.

And the last but not the least.

Steps 10: Have a contingency plan. --- It might be easier to lose weight if your life were regimented, but let's face it; stuff happens. That's why it's so important to have a contingency plan in palce for those tough weeks. Instead of giving up until the problem passes, try to figure out a way to continue. For example, you could go to bed an hour earlier in order to get up earlier for your morning walk. If that doesn't work, set a reduced goal (such as getting more incidental exercise). But don't get too comfortable with a trimmed-back workout. It's just a temporary solution. Get back to your original activity goal ASAP.

Hope you guys will follow these steps. Good luck!