Beating Strong

For many, diarrhea is something expected when they travel in certain areas of the world. The ailment usually runs its course in a few days. For some it may last indefinitely, being relieved only by medication and possibly hospitalization. And for hundreds of thousands in developing countries, it results in an early death.

               Diarrhea is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that result from any number of causes. Whatever the cause, the results are generally the same: nausea, vomiting, headaches, cramps, bloated feeling, and the diarrhea itself. The end result is that the body losses too much water.

               Although the symptoms of diarrhea are the same for both traveler and local inhabitant, they affect the two groups differently. Since most travelers are adults, most of the victims among travelers are the adults. Among the native population most of the victims are children. As persons grow older in an area infested with diarrhea-causing organisms, they apparently build up some type of an immunity or resistance to their detrimental effects.

               The health cost due to diarrhea is enormous. In lives alone, preventing it would be more than justified. Sickness and disability contribute an additional burden. A population afflicted by illness cannot work productively and efficiently.

               Another major economic cost of diarrhea is its effect on tourism-a fear of sickness keeps people away from the interesting sights and ideal weather afforded by most developing countries. Tourism is an important item in world trade, exceeded in value only by oil and cereal grains.

               How to prevent “traveler’s” diarrhea.

1. Observe good personal hygiene. Wash hands after toilet and before handling food.
2. Don’t eat raw fruits and vegetables without first washing in potable (germ-free) water to remove potential diarrhea organisms.
3. Peel fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, papaya, and pineapples, before eating. Skip green salads during your trip-they’re too risky.
4. Get water from a known potable source or boil before drinking
5. Treat any symptoms immediately. You need to reverse the loss of body fluids by drinking liquids. The most widely used are sugar-salt solutions (sugar, table or sea salt and carbonated beverages).
6. If symptoms persist see a physician.

In the final analysis, you’ll feel a lot better if you avoid the cause of the discomfort.

Hearing loss is one of the most widespread chronic health problems in the United States today affecting young and old alike. More than 15 million people suffer from some form of hearing loss. A recent hearing test of new students at a major university showed that two-thirds of them had significant hearing loss. Most attributed it to amplified modern music, often listened to at close range or with earplugs.

               The earlier hearing loss is detected and treated, the greater the likelihood of preventing total hearing loss. Through medical treatment, surgery, hearing aids or other listening devices, most hearing impairments can be improved.

               The sounds you “hear” are actually vibrations that enter the outer ear canal and beat against the eardrum. This motion causes several bones (the “middle” ear) to push on the innermost part of the ear where fluid picks up the vibration and nerve endings respond to the specific “sound” which the brain informs you that you have heard.

               The two main types of hearing loss are conductive and sensorineural. Conductive hearing loss occurs when there is a blockage or impairment of the mechanical movement in the outer or middle ear. A buildup of ear wax, fluid in the middle ear, infections, abnormal growth of the ear bones (otosclerosis), or a ruptured eardrum can all prevent sound waves from travelling properly trough the ear. Sounds seem muffled to people with conductive hearing loss, but their own voices seem louder than normal. Most forms of conductive hearing loss can be corrected medically or with surgery.

               Sensorineural hearing loss, or nerve deafness, is caused by inner ear damage. Sound waves may reach the inner ear, but they are not properly converted into a signal that can be passed to the brain. Nerve deafness is most common in older people. Progressive nerve deafness is known as presbycusis and is thought to result from gradual inner ear degeneration. Sometimes nerve deafness is caused by sensitivity to certain drugs. Airplane noises, power equipment, or loud music can also damage inner ear. For the person with sensorineural hearing loss sounds are often distorted. Low-pitched tones may be easier to hear than high-pitched tones. People with this type of hearing loss often hear that something was said. Nerve deafness can be corrected somewhat by use of a hearing aid, but it cannot be remedied by surgery.

               Your ears and your hearing are important. Take good care of them. They can’t be replaced.

While you limit your intake of fat, you will want to increase your intake of carbohydrates. If you have been a chronic dieter, at first you may experience pangs of guilt while enjoying a baked potato or pasta dish. But this change in diet will soon bring satisfaction and success in your reducing regimen. You must control fats added to these foods, however.

               All carbohydrates are not created equal. The simple carbohydrates, or sugars, are sucrose, glucose, fructose, honey, molasses, corn syrup, dextrose, and others. They are high in calories, and appear often in processing foods. Many high-sugar foods also come high in fat.

               Complex carbohydrates, or starches, are found naturally in the roots, seeds, and tubers of many plants. Strive toward increasing, perhaps even doubling, and your intake of unrefined complex carbohydrates (see Sources of Complex Carbohydrates). These unrefined foods pack plenty of vitamins and minerals per serving, as well as supplying generous amounts of necessary fiber.

               Fiber can directly contribute to your success in losing weight by increasing the amount of chewing time to eat. This will slow down the entire meal, giving the appetite center in your brain more time to shut off hunger signals. Fiber also expands in your stomach, making you feel fuller. Some fiber (soluble fibers in fruit, vegetables, and legumes) may even decrease the amount of fat calories absorbed at a meal by entangling them in the small intestine.

               Not all calories are alike. Carbohydrates can give you the winning (or losing!) edge in your weight-control regimen. If, like many dieters, you have turned a cold shoulder to carbohydrates, how about welcoming them back into your life with an open mind and mouth!

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Sources of Complex Carbohydrates

Whole-grain bread                                                        Pasta, noodles, rice (preferably whole-grain)

 Whole- wheat English muffin                                    Corn tortillas               

Whole-wheat bagels                                                    Potatoes, sweet potatoes

Whole-wheat pita bread                                              Corn

Whole-wheat hamburger/ hotdog buns                   Green peas

Dry whole-grain cereals (low sugar)                          Dried beans: navy, kidney, pinto

Bran flakes, oat bran                                                    black-eyed peas, split peas, lentils

Whole-wheat dinner rolls                                            Popcorn, air-popped, with no fat

Dieters have traditionally avoided bread, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods, a particle promoted by many popular but unsound high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets. This type of eating mat actually causes them to lose the battle, rather than the weight!

               Scientists are discovering that probably we should not be counting calories or starches, but the hidden fat in many of the foods we eat. A dieter will gain more weight on a high-fat diet than on a low-fat diet containing the same number of calories. In other words, the fat you see on your plate you soon will wear around your waist!

               This phenomenon came to light in the Vermont Studies of Obesity. Formerly lean men overfed a high-fat diet gained weight rather easily, while those overfed on high-carbohydrate foods gained weight with great difficulty.

               Other experiments also seem to indicate that the fat stored in the body comes primarily from the fat we eat. Carbohydrates by themselves, however, do not appear to be responsible for increasing body fat.

               One reason we gain weight by overeating fat may be that we use fewer calories to convert food fat into body fat than we do with carbohydrates. Fat-rich sour cream, potato chips, and peanut butter are more efficiently stored because only 3 percent of the calories in these fats get used in the conversion to body fat. On other hand, 25 percent of the calories in a baked potato are utilized to process it to body fat.

               Another reason we may not gain as much weight on a high-carbohydrate diet is that carbohydrates stimulate a greater loss of calories as heat from the body than fat does.

               Thus, when eaten in excess, fat is more fattening than carbohydrates. So if you have a snack attack with no hope of warding it off, at least go for the carbohydrates.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body. About 99 percent of body calcium is deposited in the bones and teeth, one percent in soft tissues and body fluids. Calcium is important for the body to function properly.

Functions

• Acts in cooperation with phosphorus to build and maintain bones and teeth.
• Essential for healthy blood, eases insomnia, helps regulate the heart beat.
• Assists in the process of blood clotting.
• Helps prevent the accumulation of too much acid.
• Plays a part in muscle contraction and nerve transmission.
• Aids in the body’s utilization iron
• Helps regulate the passage of nutrients in and out of the cell walls
• Activates certain enzymes which digest fat and is involved in the release of energy for muscular activity
• _·            Helps in the absorption of vitamin B₁₂

Deficiency and Symptoms

• Nervous affliction tetany- the first sign of calcium deficiency-which is characterized by muscle cramps as well as numbness and tingling in the arms and legs
• Bone malformation-rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults
• Osteoporosis in which the bones become porous and fragile due to calcium deficiency

               The accumulation of bone tissue does not reach its peak until a person is in his mid-2os. When he is in his 40s the calcium deposit in the bones begins to diminish-part of the aging process. If too little calcium has been stored in the bones during the years, osteoporosis may result. Women in their menopausal age are especially susceptible to osteoporosis. Lack of the hormone estrogen accelerates women’s bone loss. Smoking, excessive consumption of caffeine, and significant alcohol consumption also promote osteoporosis. One way to prevent osteoporosis is to build strong bones before age 35.

               Wheat germ is the heart of the wheat kernel. It is in this part that sprouts and makes a new plant when the kernel is buried in the ground. Wheat germ is an excellent source of a particular kind of protein which is comparable to that of meat, milk and cheese. According to the Nutrition Almanac we can get 24 grams of protein from ½ cup of wheat germ. Wheat germ is also rich in B-complex vitamins such as: (1) B₁ or thiamine which is needed for growth, good appetite, healthy nerves, good body coordination, and which helps the body release energy from carbohydrates; (2) B₂ or riboflavin which helps the body oxidize or burn sugars and starches to release energy needed for growth, nerve tissue, the digestive tract and health; (3) B₃ or niacin which is needed for oxidation of carbohydrates in body cells and is needed by all living cells to release energy from food; (4) B₆ or pyridoxine which helps maintain the balance of sodium and potassium which regulates body fluids and promotes the normal functioning of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems; (5) B₁₂ or cobalamine which is unique in being the first cobalt-containing substances found to be essential for longetivity; and (6) vitamin E, a good source of potassium and phosphorous.

               By adding toasted wheat germ to your fruits, milk and rice, you enrich your food with B complex vitamins that had been lost during milling and cooking. Wheat germ can be used in making cookies, and may be added to any baked products like muffins, pancakes and bread. With wheat germ, you’ll see the difference in appearance and in the nutritive value of your food. Wheat germ contains fat and should be consumed in a short time and must be kept in cold temperature.

Enriched Hot Cake

2pcs. Eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons melted fat or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups milk (liquid)

4 tablespoons sugar (according to taste)

½ cup wheat germ

               Beat eggs thoroughly, adding milk, fat and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well into the liquid. Then make your hot cake. Serve with your favorite filling such as maple syrup, peanut butter, jam and jellies.

               Sound ironic? Don’t jump to conclusions. Incredible as it might seem, you can chew food and still lose weight.

               Here’s how it works. If you chew food thoroughly and for a long time, you will not likely overeat, and consequently you will lose unneeded pounds. But the critical point is in food selection. That is, what choices have you made of available foods to chew?

               An experiment showed that a group of individuals, half of normal weight and half overweight (obese), given the same food choices, ate about the same amount of calories. When provided with bulky foods that contained few calories, both groups ate less than, 1,600 calories a day. On the other hand, when foods high calories and low in bulk (mostly refined foods) were provided, both groups ate about 3,000 calories a day.

               This seems to support an old and well-known point: you eat foods that contain fewer calories per weight than if you eat high-calorie foods with less bulk.

               It is not clear whether it was the longer time required to chew the bulkier food or the volume (weight) of the food which induced appetite satisfaction at a lower calorie level. However, it is evident that hunger satisfaction is about the same in both normal-weight and obese individuals. Perhaps it’s not worth worrying about anyway. If it’s successful, why not use it!

               There have been many studies that suggest that filling the stomach turns off the appetite. That’s why an inflated balloon inside the stomach removes the desire to eat. Bulky foods that leave the stomach slowly likewise tend to give the same fullness sensation.

               That brings us back to the chewing. By prolonging the eating time (that is lengthening the interval between each mouthful of food) a person will become satisfied without eating an excess of calories. You can illustrate this yourself: stop eating even if you are still hungry. If you wait a little while until the food you have eaten can affect your appetite, you may no longer feel hungry.

               Regardless of how this all works, the lesson is ageless: if you eat foods that contain fewer calories, you can achieve satisfaction without consuming too many calories. Bulky foods generally contain fewer calories, and they act as nature’s appetite suppressors.

               Refined and concentrated foods such as fats, sweets, and some starches should be avoided. A wide variety of unrefined products will supply your body with all the necessary nutrients for growth and maintenance without too many calories.

Have you eaten your fiber today? If not, you may be courting some chronic diseases you might just as well avoid.

               In many nations where food staples are whole grains, vegetables, and possibly a variety of fruits, writings about fiber would hardly be worth the effort. But in some where the bran is removed from wheat and rice, where meat, fish and fowl push out those fiber-rich foods, we find the linkage between fiberless foods and diverticulosis of the colon, diabetes, and cancer (especially cancer of the colon). And, yes, like it or not, heart disease, the kind that comes with high cholesterol and clogged coronary arteries.

               Would you like to add more fiber to your daily dietary fare? In the main, fiber comes in several packages. There’s the kind that we find in grains (like oats, corn, barley, and rice) and legumes (like beans of all kinds, peas, and garbanzos). We find the same kind in the fleshy portions of pears and apples, in carrots and prunes. These cut cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease.

               Consider the kind of fiber that doesn’t dissolve in water. Cellulose is one of these. Fiber forms bulk, so the stool is larger and softer and passes through the digestive tract faster. That means less constipation and straining. Even more important, a short stool-transit time decreases the likelihood of cancer, especially colon cancer.

               Would you like some water-insoluble fiber in your diet today? Be sure to include foods like leafy vegetables, and don’t forget the celery. Unpeeled apples and pears are great, as are strawberries, and gain, grains-like oats, barley, corn, and rice. And don’t forget wheat. Of course, it should be whole wheat.

               Most of us get only about a third of an ounce of fiber daily. Doubling that would be great.

               A half cup of all-bran cereal contains about a third of an ounce-an apple, a pear, or a baked potato, about an eighth of an ounce. A cup of kidney beans contains a third of an ounce.

               Is it possible to take too much fiber? Yes, especially if the fiber is taken as a supplement or a concentrate. Some experts believe that too much fiber can interrupt, or at least decrease, the absorption of certain trace minerals, including iron, zinc, and calcium.

               Too much fiber taken all at once can cause abdominal distention and excessive gas. So if you decide to improve on your fiber intake, use good sense and come up to par, perhaps over a period of several days rather than all at once.

        Caffeine can be an addictive drug. Regular use over time often produces physical and mental effects when withdrawn. While an occasional small dose caffeine may not make a difference, heavier use has been linked to health problems.

Coffee: Food or Drug?

        Imagine going to buy coffee at the grocery store and finding the coffee section missing.

“What’s going on?”  You ask the clerk. “Where’s the coffee?”

“Oh haven’t you heard? Coffee has been classified as a drug. The pharmacist sells it now.”

        Shaking your head in disbelief, you walk across the store to where the pharmacist dispenses medications, drugs, and-caffeinated beverages.

        The pharmacist smiles at you knowingly. “You look like you’re here for some coffee. I can tell from your expression.”

        You nod and tell him what brand you would like. “That’s fine,” he says. “No prescription necessary-I just need to type up the warning label.”

“Warning Label?”

“That’s right. Look at it. It Says-

 He hands you the coffee, but you decline. “No thanks,” you say. “I think I’ve changed my mind.”

Are You an Addict?

               You could be a caffeine addict without even knowing it.

               One way to find out if you are addicted is to stop all caffeine intakes for a week. If you’re hooked, chances are good that you will notice physical symptoms like headache, lack of appetite, and nausea, which can last from one to five days. Psychologically, you may feel down and listless, and of course, there will be a strong urge for your favorite beverage.

 Breaking the Habit

               If you find you’re a caffeine fiend, here are a few things you can do to ease through withdrawal.

• Gradually reduce the amount of caffeine.
• Replace it by drinking more water.
• Exercise in the fresh air.
• Get the support of others around you.
• Reward yourself for taking such a positive step.

Caffeine can produce:

• Elevated blood sugar
• Increase blood pressure
• Elevated blood fats (triglycerides)
• Heightened symptoms of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome
• Tremors, irritability, and nervousness
• Aggravation of anxiety disorders and panic attacks
• Increased stomach acid secretions
• Urinary calcium and magnesium losses
• Insomnia
• Irregular heartbeat
• Increased stimulation of the central nervous system (it overrules the need for rest)

Cut down on caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee, and colas, and eventually skip them altogether. See how you fare. At the end of a week, review this material and give serious consideration to making your body a caffeine-free zone.

A lot of people drink more soft drinks than water. That means they are getting a lot of calories but not much nutrition. Drinking calorie-loaded beverages is one sure recipe for gaining weight. Switch to water-it is the slender person’s drink of choice.

An inventory

        What are you drinking? Sometimes it’s eye-popping to find out. Make a list of some of your  popular beverages that you enjoy drinking. How many of each do you drink on a typical day? Then, for each type of beverage, multiply the number consumed by the number of calories. Write this in the Total Calories column. When you’re done, add all totals to get your grand total.

Drinking On

        It takes 3,500 excess calories to make a pound of fat. Assuming you eat enough to maintain your weight, how many days would it take you to drink on an extra pound?

        You can calculate this by dividing 3,500 by the number of calories you get from beverages each day. For example, if you drank a beer and two coffees, the calculation would be:

        Total calories for a beer and two coffees= 300

        Therefore, 3,500 ÷ 300= 11.6 days

        In other words, it would take just under 12 days to add an extra pound of fat. At the rate you could gain 30 pounds a year just from what you drink!

        Now it’s your turn. Take your Grand Total from the previous exercise and divide it into 3,500 to see how long it takes you to drink an extra pound worth of calories. Fill in the blanks below.

        Number of days to drink 3,500 calories 3,500 ÷ calories you drink__ = __ days

Water Is the Way to Go

        If you are serious about controlling your weight, it would be wise to eliminate those sneaky liquid calories. Stop the sodas, lose the alcohol, and shelve the shakes. Water is what your body needs and craves.

Your Challenge

        Cut calories by drinking more water and fewer high-calorie beverages. If you don’t like the taste of tap water, add a twist of lemon or buy bottled water. The more water you drink, the less likely you are to reach for other beverages. That alone will cut the calories and help stabilize your weight.