Pandemic is declared

Pandemic is declared. Just this June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization declared the Pandemic alert to Phase 6 in response to the global spreading of the virus Influenza A (H1N1). More than 70 countries are reporting cases of human infection to the said virus and this numbers have been increasing for the past weeks.

A (H1N1) or sometimes called as “Swine Flu” is the new influenza virus striking the country causing sickness to people. A new virus from that of combined four viruses, from birds, man and to swine. It was originally referred to as “swine flu” because according to laboratory testing such virus is mostly found in the North American pigs, but on further study there were also difference on that virus circulating on those pigs. Its origin is still a mystery but the bottom line is it killed many people already. First cases reported were on that in Mexico, about 108 people authorities indicated as of this June 9, 2009 were confirmed deaths due to this virus. It has no vaccines for prevention but there were medicines recommended for its treatment. It is contagious, it could infect people if have contact to the contaminated individual. It was alarming; no wonder the World Health Organization raised it to higher level alert.

Influenza A (H1N1) same as an ordinary influenza have symptoms that could be identified by individual. Some of its symptoms are: Fever, Cough, Colds, Headache, Flu, Muscle pain, and feeling of weary and exhausted. Other patients suffered from vomits and diarrhea.
But how does this virus Influenza A (H1N1) infect other people?

A person could be contaminated by such virus through exposure to a contaminated person coughing or sneezing. Commonly people don’t have this proper etiquette when in public places; they just cough even if you’re in their face. It’s as if you didn’t exist, ignoring you. Scouring of eyes and nose also after touching contaminated objects could also be the cause of infection. This was common to a child, that’s why proper washing of hands is strictly practiced and taught by the Department of Health. But a reminder to everyone, Influenza A (H1N1) virus could not be acquire from swine or any cooked pigs for food.

So, how to prevent this virus?

To keep oneself from this virus, some basic yet important personal hygiene should be practiced.

Wash hands before and after eating. The basic command our parents taught, but not just when eating every minute we should have the obligation to keep our hands clean.
Have a prepared handkerchief when going to places especially public ones. Cover your face with this. Refrain from having physical contact to people you know has a sickness such as cough or colds, and if have contact with them; make sure to wash your hands after. We never know, he/she might be contaminated.

Use if possible, disinfectants such as alcohol which could help you protect from any germs. Prevention is better than cure.

Make sure to boost your body resistance, make it healthy and strong to fight any sickness. Acknowledging Mrs. Vegetables and Mr. Fruits in ones life. Of course eating these healthy foods. Through these, you could have a strong immune system to fight any sickness attempting to enter your body as well as this virus Influenza A (H1N1).
Proper sleep could also help you regain strength from the exhausted day. 8 hours of sleep is required for everybody.

Avoid too much stress. Too much worrying could make your body weak. Worrying doesn’t do well to your body rather make it worst.

Regular exercise is very well recommended. This helps your body in everyday works.

These are some of the preventions a person should remember in order to avoid this novel spreading virus Influenza A (H1N1). This month is a FLU Awareness Month so stay healthy.

other posts you need to read:

epidemic of A H1N1 virus

A H1N1 virus and SARS

Diabetes Complications

Sit all day and suffer a stroke!

What Happens When You Laugh

Real Secret to Health

Aerobics for your health

Reading Food Labels

Food labels encompass the whole information that can help everyone make smarter food choices. You will be able to choose foods that provide you with enough nutrients like fiber, calcium, and protein and also you will be able to avoid foods that are high in fats, calories, and sodium through reading the information on the back of the packaged you buy. Learning on how to break the information on a food label can help you abstain problems with allergies and can also help you lose or control your weight.

The food label is divided into several components. And these elements provide facts on the levels of nutrients, serving size, ingredient listing, and other factors in the food product.

Serving size

The serving size is the label which tells you how large a serving of the food product has, how many servings are contained in the package, and the calorie amount per serving. By using this information and following it will help you keep your food serving under control.

Total fat

The total fat of the food product is expressed in grams and it gives the percent daily value (DV) on the food label. And is broken immediately into the types of fats the product has.

• Saturated fat – “bad fats”, such as animal fats
• Trans fat – “bad fats”, from hydrogenated oil
• Unsaturated fat – “good fat”, from vegetable oils


Carbohydrates

The percentage of carbohydrates, listed on the label in grams and percent, which you eat, is an important part of your diet. It should come from whole grains breads, wheat pastas, and brown rice, rather then sugary or starchy foods.

Dietary fiber

Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It is listed in grams and percent DV on the food label. A diet high in fiber is important in preventing digestive problems.

Cholesterol

The measure of cholesterol of the food product is listed in mg, same as the percent DV. The lower the number is, the better.


Sodium

The sodium amount is also stated in mg and percent DV. Look for foods with less than 140 mg of sodium, or that are labeled “low in sodium”.

Protein

The protein amount is listed in grams and percent DV. Protein is most found in meat, eggs, dairy products, nuts, and beans.

Vitamins and minerals

The vitamins and minerals are both listed on the label along with the name and by percent DV. This include calcium, vit c, iron, vit a, and others.

Ingredients

On the bottom part of the food label are the in order listed ingredients of the food product. It is essential if you or a family member has a food allergy, and for finding hidden ingredients which are high in sugar or trans fats.

Food labels are usually on the package for us to use. Taking effort in reading food labels will give you the truth to make a better choices concerning lower calorie foods, foods that have higher concentrations of the nutrients by which our bodies need, and lower amount of the things we don’t really need, such as cholesterol, saturated fats, and sugar.


more articles:

epidemic of A H1N1 virus

A H1N1 virus and SARS

Diabetes Complications

Sit all day and suffer a stroke!

What Happens When You Laugh

Real Secret to Health

Aerobics for your health

HawaiiDiet

(TM) (hardcover) by Terry Shintani, MD, MPH

Price $20.00

Sale Price $12.00

Hate carbohydrate vegetables? think again…

OR

What will be your reaction if I tell you that you are a born-herbivore? Don’t tell me you hate carbohydrate vegetables because for a fact, your body is designed to eat grass! Before you over-react, let us first analyze our own anatomy.

From Dr.Terry Shintani’s book, I have found out that the anatomy of a human being can give astonishing facts about what we should be eating. Humans have 28 of 32 teeth that are clearly designed for eating grains and vegetables. The eight front teeth or what we call the incisors are designed for cutting vegetables. The rear 10 molars and pre-molars on each jaw are intended to be used for grinding grains and vegetables. The remaining four “canine” teeth are uncertainly apt for meat eating. Clearly, with all those signs, we should say that we are primarily vegetarians; hence, there is no problem if you include carbohydrate vegetables on your diet (whether you like it or not!)

Well then, another thing to consider is that, humans are not equipped to catch game. Do you have claws or the reflexes to pounce on prey? Come on! You are not a born-meat- eater, so don’t push it. What we are designed for is collecting and gathering plant foods, just like our vegetarian primate relatives.

For me to convince you more on making it habit to eat carbohydrate vegetables, let’s talk about the anatomy of your jaw (probably mine too.) Carnivores have inflexible jaw joints so as they can shear flesh up and down. The jaw joints are at the same level as the molar teeth. Herbivores (that’s what you are), on the other hand, have loose jaw joints for side-to-side motion, allowing you to chew and grind plant-based foods. Herbivores and humans apparently have their jaw joints above the line of molar teeth.

Getting closer, let us explore the path taken by the food you eat. Would you believe that your intestines is also like those of the herbivores? This might finally convince you to fill your refrigerator with the best carbohydrate vegetables later. Humans have intestinal lengths of ten to 11 times the body length, now compare this to these. The intestines of carnivores are short since animal-based foods are solid and travel slowly through the intestinal tract. Small intestines are only three to six times the body length. Herbivores, conversely, have intestinal lengths ten to 12 times the body length. There are yet you need to know about the anatomy of human being so you will be convinced to quit from being a meat-eater. These will include the salivary amylase, organ processes, and the necessary nutrients, including carbs. If you hate carbohydrate vegetables, think again.




Other articles to read:

Epidemic of A H1N1 virus

A H1N1 virus and SARS

Diabetes Complications

Sit all day and suffer a stroke!

What Happens When You Laugh

Real Secret to Health

Aerobics for your health

The antagonized carbs!

Having a tight diet for losing weight? When we were kids, we didn’t care about these diets. However, as we get older, we tend to be so conscious about the food we eat and how we look. You might have even stared at the mirror this morning and told yourself: “you are what you eat.. and it’s your fault!”. That may sound a little too bitter as you glance on the little bellies on your tummy. You were not as fit as you were before. So what happened? Some might say, it’s about too much carbs. No way!

Among the biggest problems about diet for losing weight is the fact that carbohydrates is being “antagonized” as bad nutrients. There is a lot of misinformation about carbohydrates definition over the last few years, as some popular literatures on dieting promote the benefits of protein while ignoring the use of carbohydrates. So what do most of us miss about carbs?

You must have heard about South Beach, Atkins, and other low-carbohydrate diets haven’t you? For the record, these diet programs have led many Americans to believe that carbohydrates are "bad". Most Americans were deceived that carbohydrates is the source of their ugly flab and even the horrible obesity epidemic.

I’ve got one basic truth to tell you now. Carbohydrates have been the foundation of health for the human race, and as we all know from the carbohydrates’ definition as the “nail” holding on your basic health needs, we are sure that not every carbohydrate is bad at all. Meaning, there are good carbs and bad carbs. Apparently with your diet for losing weight, the one that you need to get rid of is the latter.

By far digested carbohydrates from white rice, white bread, sugared sodas, pastries, and other highly processed foods may, indeed, contribute to weight gain and interfere with weight loss. On the other hand, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, and other sources of intact carbohydrates are the ones doing the opposite—they uphold good health.

Do not be misled by the blanket verdicts on the dangers of carbohydrates because of the antagonizing carbohydrates’ definition that you may get from an unreliable literature. Diet for losing weight should not include getting rid of carbs, otherwise, your brain will not function well. Good carbohydrates are always part of a healthy diet. They are needed for proper organ function.


Read other posts:

Epidemic of A H1N1 virus

A H1N1 virus and SARS

Diabetes Complications

Sit all day and suffer a stroke!

What Happens When You Laugh

Real Secret to Health

Aerobics for your health

Is the ideal diet for humans based on meat? or is it based on grains? Remember, humans only thrived after the agricultural revolution when we began to eat large amounts of complex carbs from grains. Click here

epidemic of A H1N1 virus

Novel influenza A (H1N1) has been all over the news for the few months. This is the flu virus of swine origin that was first detected in Mexico and the United States some time in March and April this year.

The first novel H1N1 patient in the US was confirmed by laboratory testing at CDC on April 15, 2009. The second patient was confirmed on April 17, 2009. From then, experts confirmed that the virus was spreading from person-to-person. It’s thought to spread in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread; mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are infected by the virus.On April 22, CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to alert the public health office and so on April 26, 2009, US Government declared a public health emergency.

At the onset of the outbreak , an increasing number of U.S. states have reported cases of novel H1N1 influenza with associated hospitalizations and deaths. June 3, 2009, all 50 states in the US and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were reporting cases of novel H1N1 infection as well. While nationwide U.S. influenza surveillance systems determine that overall influenza activity is decreasing in the country continuously, novel H1N1 outbreaks are ongoing in parts of the U.S., in some cases with intense activity.

Nonetheless, people should not worry for most patients who have become ill with novel H1N1 in the United States have recovered without requiring medical treatment and have experienced typical flu symptoms.

HEALTH IS WEALTH

"Have we evolved to be grain-eaters? After all, carbs and B complex from whole grains support the high energy requirement for the optimal function of brain matter."

We Need Grains for Brains

So Forget the Meat!

ALSO READ:

epidemic of A H1N1 virus

Diabetes Complications

Sit all day and suffer a stroke!

What Happens When You Laugh

Real Secret to Health

Aerobics for your health