A recent study from Harvard Medical School shows that being overweight or obese when you are middle-aged is an excellent indicator that you may not have much longer to live. The study also shows that young people who are of the heavier persuasion have an increased risk of dying when they reach a certain age as well. But the main difference between these two groups of people is in the difficulty of losing the weight. A teenager will usually have an easier time shedding pounds because older people often have slower metabolisms, less energy, and careers that can get in the way.

The study claims that while it may be easier and more beneficial for people to lose weight while young, it is never to late to see the benefits from weight loss. Those in their 40s and 50s who choose to lose their excess weight will see increased benefits and a longer life. Not only will their chance of heart disease decrease, but recent diabetes news suggests that if properly managed the harsh treatment methods may be reduced.

Now, if you are getting into your later years, you may think that it is too late to change your habits. Most people get stuck in routines and used to bad lifestyle choices which can take years off of their lives. Instead of doing nothing about it, middle-age people should take haste and visit the gym and eat better as soon as possible because it can still make a difference.

There are only two things that need to happen later in life in order for successful weight loss to occur: diet and exercise. While this may seem overwhelming for the uninitiated, it is as easy as keeping track of numbers. The average person needs around 2,000 calories in order to function throughout the day. By altering certain foods to get the correct caloric intake, you can manipulate your diet to be more efficient. In order to lose a pound every week, you will need an overall deficit of 3,500 calories.

A more efficient way to fill up and not go over your daily calorie allowance is to eat foods that are rich in fiber such as nuts, beans, fruits, and vegetables. They may not seem as appealing as a Big Mac at first, but your body will thank you for it by functioning better and reducing the symptoms of diabetes.

Along with keeping tabs on your caloric intake, you should also set numbers to the amount of exercise your perform. By purchasing a pedometer you can see how much you are actually walking throughout the day and adjust your levels of activity according to your weight loss goals. If you are looking to seriously get into shape, workout on a treadmill or elliptical to know exactly how many calories you are burning by entering your weight.

Once you are accustomed to working out regularly, start to challenge yourself with tougher routines. The Livestrong website suggests jogging outside at night on a regular basis in order to burn the most calories. By constantly increasing your goals you might even transform yourself from a sedentary vegetable to a well toned athlete over time.

Nora Charles is a freelance writer that has worked with many bloggers for several years now.

So, if you’re interested or have any questions on that subject, head on over to the Move Forward PT Tweetchat on November 3! If you want more information, you can check out the full press release here.

Like Pratik, many people would love to kick their metabolisms into high gear, but some think it’s a losing battle.  They feel like their metabolisms are working against them because they believe they are doing everything right, such as eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis.  So, the goal of today’s show is to give some ways to boost your metabolism.

References used while researching this show are WebMD and kidshealth.org.

Photo by Danilo Rizzuti via freedigitalphotos.net

Pamela was not looking forward to heading back to the office after Thanksgiving.  It wasn’t the work or the coworkers.  She loved them.  It was the 10 pounds that she was convinced she gained last year from eating the holiday treats at the office.  She had always had problems with sweets and her weight.  This year she had finally lost 25 pounds.  It was an amazing accomplishment for her and she was afraid that the holidays treats at the office woukd get the best of her again. She had worked so hard to lose each and every pound.  The last thing she wanted was to gain any of them back.

Like Pamela, many people find it challenging to stick to a healthy eating plan when co-workers or clients are constantly bringing holiday treats.  Don’t fear though because even though holiday treats like chocolates, cookies, candies and cakes might tempt you, there are some tricks to help you resist.

How can I resist the holiday treats?
Here are 4 things you can do to take control of the holiday treat situation:

1. Plan ahead: Bring healthy snacks to work, such as fresh fruit or veggies and eat them when you get hungry. You will be less likely to binge on unhealthy treats when you are not hungry.
2. Start a healthy trend: Bring fruit or hummus with veggies to the office instead of baked goods. You would be surprised how many people find the opportunity to eat something healthier refreshing.  Other people might even follow suit and bring healthy treats to work as well.
3. Out of site, out of mind: If you can, place the holiday treats out of your sight.  If you don’t see them, you will be less tempted by them.
4. Say no to food pushers: No matter how hard your co-workers try to make you feel guilty for not eating the sweets they brought, stay strong.  Don’t let them tempt you or make you feel guilty about eating healthy.  Just politely say “No, thank you,” and walk away from the situation.

The bottom line:
You should not let the holidays destroy the healthy diet you have worked so hard to maintain. With a little planning you can eat healthy this season.  And remember it is okay to indulge in a treat, occasionally.  You don’t let the holidays make you lose control.  Moderation is the key during the holidays, just as it is all year round.

Photo by lululemon athletica via Flickr

Last year Tracy’s doctor told her that she needed to lose some weight, especially in her midsection (visceral fat).  He said it was an important step towards decreasing her risk of serious health conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, both of which her family had a history.
He had been concerned because she had gained 30 pounds between doctor’s appointments, with most of it in her midsection.  Taking his advice to heart, Tracy started working out at least 30 minutes a day, 5-6 times a week, and changed her diet to a much healthier one. A year later, she was back to a healthy weight and feeling good about her accomplishments. Now she had to maintain her weight loss, but wasn’t sure how much time she needed to dedicate to exercise to prevent the return of the harmful visceral fat.

A study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Human Studies may have the answer for Tracy.

Study:
Scientists from the University of Alabama looked at how exercise affects the regain of harmful visceral fat a year after weight loss.  In the study, 45 European-American and 52 African-American women, were randomly placed into 3 different groups: aerobic training, resistance training or no exercise.  All participants were placed on an 800 calorie-a-day diet* and lost an average of 24 pounds.  Researchers then measured total fat, abdominal subcutaneous fat and visceral fat for each participant.  Afterward, participants in the two exercise groups were asked to continue exercising 40 minutes a day, twice a week for a year.  At the end of the study, the researchers found that the individuals that continued to exercise, even though they had regained some weight, had not regained any visceral fat.  The ones who stopped exercising or weren’t put on any exercise program, regained, on average, about 33 percent of the lost visceral fat.

So what does that mean?
That means that even after you achieve your weight loss goal, you can’t stop exercising.  Even a small amount of exercise can be beneficial in preventing the return of visceral fat.  In this study, exercising a minimum of 80 minutes a week, either aerobic or resistance, was all that was needed to prevent regains.  That is important because excess visceral fat increases risk of both heart disease and diabetes.  But if the goal is not just preventing the return of visceral fat, but also maintaining the other weight loss, exercise longer than 80 minutes weekly is probably necessary.

*BeingHealthy.tv recommends against starvation diets and is only reporting on this study for the purpose of detailing the importance of exercising in order to prevent the return of unhealthy visceral fat. Weight loss should be done in a slower, healthier manner than that undertaken in this study.

Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham (2009, October 29) (via ScienceDaily)

If you’re not exactly sure what moderate exercise intensity is supposed to feel like, you’re not alone.  Many people don’t truly understand how exercise intensity is measured.  Today, I’ll remedy that by teaching you why it is important to exercise at a certain intensity and how to measure it, so that you can get the most out of your workouts.

Here is the Karvonen formula as I promised: (MHR-RHR)*intensity)+ RHR = Target Heart Rate

Announcement: Being Healthy for Busy People, my audio show, is a Podcast Awards finalist! Thank you to everyone who nominated my show.  I am very excited about being a finalist!  Daily voting will begin on November 13th and will run till November 30th.  If you have time, please go and vote for my podcast under Health/Fitness as many days as you can!  Thank you!

If you haven’t yet, please subscribe through iTunes.

References used while researching this show are sparkpeople.com, Mayo Clinic, and about.com.

Photo by mysza831 via Flickr

Today I am bringing you another Q&A show.  Since the last two have been so well received, I’m going to continue putting out one of these Q & A shows every month or two, as long as I keep getting lots of questions. Answering them in a podcast seems like the best way to go because if one person has a question, there are probably at least a few more with the same question that didn’t ask.  This way all of them get the answer all at once.

In this show, we will answer questions about what the perfect running form is and about gaining weight when beginning exercise. And we also have a comment about the struggle to be healthy when others are trying to sabotage you.

The 2009 Nominations for the Podcast Awards are open! If you like this show, please head on over to podcastawards.com and nominate it under the “Health/Fitness” category:

Podcast Name: Being Healthy for Busy People
Podcast URL: http://www.beinghealthy.tv/media/podcast/

Being a finalist will help bring more awareness to my podcast. I greatly appreciate your time and nomination!

Some references I used while researching this show are Runner’s World and about.com.

The video podcast for this week is:

1. Apple vs. Pear Shaped

The blog posts for this week are:

1. October Is Also National Physical Therapy Month!
2. Healthy Halloween Treats Are Tricky!

If you like the show, please head on over to iTunes and give me a nice review.  It’s a great way to give me some good exposure and can help me get more listeners.  Thanks for listening, everyone!

This is a common question and the answer given has changed with time, making many people unsure which is the healthier choice.  Is it butter or is it margarine?  This episode will help you to decide before you are confronted with that choice again.  Because the last thing you want to do is spend so much time deciding which spread to use that your bread gets cold before you have a chance to eat it.

If you haven’t yet, please subscribe through iTunes.

References used while researching this show are Mayo Clinic, American Heart Association and HealthCastle.com.

Photo by charliej via Flickr

Since losing weight takes willpower, foresight and planning, it can be challenging at times.  You have to reduce the calories you consume and take time to exercise more, so that you burn more calories than you consume. Unfortunately, according to researchers at Northwestern University, having a a successful weight loss program might be a little more complicated than merely counting the calories you take in and subtracting the calories you burn.  The time of day you take in the calories may be just as important.

Study:
The study, which was performed on laboratory mice at Northwestern University, was designed to discover whether the body’s natural circadian rhythm and the timing of food intake played a role in energy expenditure. The circadian rhythm is our body’s internal clock, which is linked to the light-dark cycle and influences when we sleep and eat.  The researchers found that the time of day mice eat influences their energy use and weight gain.

The researchers fed some mice a high-fat diet during their normal sleeping hours, while other mice were fed the same type and amount of food during their normal waking hours.  The mice who ate during their normal sleeping hours, gained significantly more weight (a 48% increase) than their counterparts (a 20% increase).

So, what does that mean?
What these results mean is that it is not enough to watch the calories you consume.  You have to watch when you consume them.  Eating during the times when you should should be sleeping, such as right before bed or when you wake up in the middle of the night, can contribute more weight gain than the calories in the item you eat would suggest.

That is because it appears that the body’s energy use is linked to its circadian rhythm.  More of the calories that are consumed are burned during natural waking hours than would be if they were consumed during normal sleeping hours. So, try to eat during more normal eating hours, so that you can maximize the amount of calories burned.  That way you can work smarter, not harder when you are trying to lose or maintain weight.

Source: Obesity, 2009, 264 (via ScienceDaily)

Photo by Swami Stream via Flickr

I received a lot of feedback about the First Q&A show 7 weeks ago.  Since it was so well received, I’m bringing you another one today.  I’m planning to continue putting out one of these Q&A shows every month or two, as long as I keep getting lots of excellent questions.  I love answering the questions and by putting the answers into a special episode, rather than an email, everyone can benefit from them.

In this episode, we have questions about how many calories to consume when training for a marathon, sleep deprivation, coconut oil and loose skin after weight loss.

Here are the links that I promised: “Running: The Gold Standard of Exercise” and “Drive Safe, Not Drowsy.”

Some references I used while researching this show are runners world, WebMD and Mayo Clinic.

The video podcast for this week is:

1. Putting the Plan Back In Weight Loss

The blog posts for this week are:

1. Extra Protein, Extra Large Muscles?
2. Eggs: Can I Eat Them?

If you like the show, please head on over to iTunes and give me a nice review.  It’s a great way to give me some good exposure and can help me get more listeners.  Thanks for listening, everyone!

Many people talk about their weight loss plan and all the weight that they are going to lose.  The problem is that they focus on the “weight loss” and forgot about “the plan.” Without proper planning and preparation, most endeavors fail.  Weight loss is the same.  That is why this episode is dedicated to giving you tips and strategies to successfully lose weight.  So, sit back and enjoy the show!

If you haven’t yet, please subscribe through iTunes.

Are you bored with your exercise routine? Do you dread the workouts you used to enjoy? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then it is time to spice up your workout sessions with a little cross-training. Variety is the spice of life after all!

So, what is cross training?
Cross-training is the alternation of the types of physical exercise you do. Often people cross-train in order to compete in a cross sport competition such as a biathlon (two sports) or a triathlon (3 sports). These competitions are gaining in popularity as more and more people turn to cross training as they realize that it can help them to lower their risk of injury. Doing the same exercise over and over again is just not as good for you body. Not to mention, much less exciting than alternating between different activities.

Why is cross training better?
Cross-training allows you to work different muscle groups than you would through single activity training. For example, if you combine cycling with swimming, the cycling will work on building strength in your lower body while swimming will strengthen your upper body. By alternating your training between these activities, you are able to work different muscle groups while you work on your aerobic endurance. So, correctly done, cross-training provides good overall conditioning that you can’t get by doing just one activity.

Cross-training is also better than single sport training if you are looking to reduce your chance of injury. Why is that? Well, let’s take a look at running and cycling as an example. If your sole form of exercise was running, you would strengthen your hamstrings and calf muscles more than your quadriceps, which could cause a muscle imbalance and make you more prone to injury. However, if you were to add cycling to your routine, the cycling would strengthen your quadriceps as well, reducing the likelihood of you having a muscle strength imbalance which could lead to injury.

How should I start cross training?
So, if you are excited to try cross-training, but are not sure what to do, here are a few tips to get you on your way:

1. Start slowly: This will help to prevent injuries. When you start a new activity, start out by doing it at a moderate intensity for 10 to 20 minutes per session, and then slowly increase the minutes and intensity.
2. Pair activities that work different muscle groups: It is best to train different parts of your body to obtain the best conditioning. So, for example, pair swimming with running or kayaking with bicycling.
3. Buy the appropriate equipment: Whatever activity you decide to take on, make sure that you buy the appropriate equipment (shoes, socks, etc.). This will reduce your chance of getting injured.
4. Join a gym: Often the easiest place to cross-train is at a gym. Most gyms have a pool, a track, weight-training machines and stationary bicycles, which makes it easier to perform multiple activities.

So, stop being bored with your old exercise routine. Start cross-training. There are so many great activities to choose from to reduce your risk of injury and make your workouts more effective and enjoyable!

Our culture is obsessed with weight.  It seems that every person has a bathroom scale in their house and many people weigh themselves as part of their daily routine.  Any weight gain is perceived as a change for the worse.  And the media doesn’t make it any better. They’re constantly bombarding us with their images of the ideal body.  And when we are unable to reach that image, we get depressed.

But we need to change the way we think about our bodies.  It is important to make weight loss goals reasonable.  The most important thing is to be healthy, not to look like a model.  Those models might look healthy, but on the inside, many of them are not really that healthy.

In this show, I discuss the health risks of being overweight, why crash diets don’t work and tips and strategies for losing and maintaining weight.

Some references I used while researching this show are The New Wellness Encyclopedia and WebMD.

If you like the show, please head on over to iTunes and give me a nice review.  It’s a great way to give me some good exposure and can help me get more listeners.  Thanks for listening, everyone!

This week we are going to do something different with the show.  A few weeks ago on Show #26, I talked about my journey to becoming healthier.  That show got a really positive response, so I thought that it would be interesting to all of you if I interviewed a guest occasionally and discussed how they fit being healthy into their busy life.

In this show, I interviewed Tee Morris who is an author, podcaster and an extremely busy person.  We discussed some of the challenges Tee faced on his journey to becoming healthier and how he met them.

Here are the best places to find out more about Tee Morris and all the wonderful things that he does:

For his snarky & fun side: teemorris.com
For his business side: imaginethatstudios.com
On Twitter: twitter.com/TeeMonster
or
twitter.com/ITStudios

Salads can be a highly nutritious meal, if you use the right ingredients.  But, if you are choosing iceberg lettuce to put in your salad, you are sinking the nutritional benefits that you would receive from selecting a different leafy green.

Iceberg lettuce may be the most popular lettuce, but it is the least nutritious.  That’s not to say that it’s bad for you.  It’s definitely a lot better than eating a candy bar.  It is low in calories, sodium, has no saturated fat and has some vitamins and minerals.  But, in a world of nutritional heroes, iceberg lettuce comes in dead last.  Any other leafy green that you would find at the store would be a better choice than iceberg lettuce.  Iceberg lettuce is just not as nutritionally packed as other greens, which tend to have much higher amounts of various vitamins and minerals.

How do I choose the right lettuce?
So, iceberg lettuce is out.  What should you pick instead?  Here is a rule of thumb to go by.  The greener the leafy vegetable is in color, the more nutritious it tends to be.  So, if you want to maximize the nutritional content of your salad, go with the greenest greens.  Want some specific options?  Try substituting these other common leafy greens for iceberg lettuce.

1. Romaine lettuce: Also known as cos lettuce, romaine is a long leafed, dark green lettuce with a crispy texture and a strong taste.  It is the main component in Caesar salads.  It is an excellent source of vitamins A, K and C, folate, manganese and chromium.  It is also a very good source of dietary fiber and six other vitamins and minerals.
2. Butterhead lettuce: A loose head lettuce with grassy green leaves, butterhead lettuce has a sweet, delicate flavor and a soft texture.  The most well known varieties are Bibb or Boston lettuce.  It is a good source of vitamin A and folate.
3. Arugula: Also known as rocket or roquette, arugula has small flat leaves with long stems.  Due to its strong, pungent, peppery flavor, it is usually used as an herb in salads.  It is an excellent source of vitamins A, K and C.  It is also a good source of calcium, magnesium & manganese.
4. Loose leaf: These are greens where the leaves are joined at the stem rather than in a head.  They have a sweet and delicate taste.  Varieties include: oak leaf, red leaf and green leaf.  It is a good source of vitamin A.
5. Chicory or curly endive: This green is slightly bitter and has dark outer leaves with paler leaves toward the center.  The leaves are ragged edges along thin stems.  It tends to be mixed with milder greens.  There is also a red variety called Radicchio.  Chicory is an excellent source of potassium, vitamins A and C, and folate.  It is also a good source of calcium.
6. Kale: This highly nutritious leaf has a sweet, mild taste and a tender texture that can be used in salads.  The leaves may be either green, white or purple and its stalks form a loosely knit head.  It is an excellent source of manganese, copper, and vitamins A and C.

So, the next time you are thinking of making a salad, make it as nutritious as you can.  Watch out for that iceberg ahead and steer hard to port for some greener, more nutritious greens.  Make every tasty bite count!

Want a nice firm, defined body?  If you answered yes to this question, then it is time to start strength training!  Strength training is important for a strong, healthy body and should always be a major component of any exercise program.

What is strength training?
Strength training is performing an exercise that places resistance against the muscles. Ideally, it involves precise, controlled movements to target specific muscle groups.  Strength training is usually synonymous with weight training.  But, it can also be associated with isometric training, plyometrics, pilates and yoga.

What is strength training good for?
Strength training improves your muscle strength by developing your skeletal muscles, but it doesn’t just tone up your muscles and give you that body you have always wanted.  It will also:

1. Prevent injuries:  With strength training you will acquire stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments which are less likely to succumb under physical stress and cause injury.
2. Prevent certain medical conditions:  Strength training can help prevent the onset and slow down the progress of osteoporosis, lower your blood pressure and lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
3. Increase your strength:  With increased strength you will be able to lift heavier items easier and walk up stairs with greater ease. Essentially anything physical you do now, will become easier to do.
4. Reduce joint pain:  Strength training can reduce back and knee pain by building muscle around these areas, thereby supporting them better and taking pressure off the joints.
5. Increase walking safety as people age:  Increased strength can improve your posture, balance, stability, and flexibility to help prevent falls.
6. Improves your appearance:  Strength training helps you build a firmer, tighter body, burn fat and even help with some of those problem areas we all have.

Does strength training help weight loss?
Also, for those wanting to lose weight, strength training can help decrease body fat by boosting your metabolism.  With a faster metabolism, you will burn more calories even at rest because it is your muscles that burn fat.  So, the more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn.

If you’re expecting weight to start dropping off right away though, you might be disappointed.  Initially, when starting a strength training program, your overall weight may not change, but you will be burning off fat and building muscle.  Since muscle is denser than fat, you will be getting smaller, even while your weight isn’t changing much.  Over time, you will notice your measurements and body fat decreasing.  And after some muscle has been built up, your weight will start to drop. Isn’t that a nice thought?

With all these benefits that strength training provides, it should definitely be an important component of your exercise routine.  So, stop neglecting strength training and start building a better, healthier you!

Having a hard time losing weight?  Feel like no matter what you do the pounds never come off?  If the answer is yes, then maybe it’s time to start a food journal.

People have the best intentions. They work hard to reduce their calories and improve the quality of the food they eat, but sometimes they just can’t seem to lose the weight they need to be healthier. Many times that is due to the fact that they are not truly aware of how many calories they consume in a day or how  poorly they may be eating.

Become aware of what you’re really eating
So, how can you combat this problem? Research has shown that the act of writing everything down in a journal makes us less likely to overeat.  What do I mean when I say “everything?”  I mean everything no matter how big or small. If you are having coffee, write down the amount of cream and sugar that you put in.  If you ate two small pieces of candy you took off Sally’s desk at work, write that down also. The more rigorous you are in writing everything you eat in the journal, the more successful you will be with your weight loss.

Getting started with journaling:

1. Get a pocket-sized, spiral-bound notebook. Your journal should be small enough to be easy to carry wherever you go. Otherwise, you won’t bring it.
2. Each page represents one day, so put the date at the top of the page.
3. Divide the page into two columns, one for food and the other for calories.
4. At the beginning of the day, write your goal at the bottom of the page.
5. Write down everything you eat all day long in the left -hand column and the calories in the right hand column. If you don’t know how many calories something is, you can check nutritiondata.com. They have a very extensive nutritional data database and probably have what you’re looking for.
6. At the end of every day, total up your calories and put it at the bottom of the page next to your goal.
7. If you didn’t meet your daily goal, assess where you went wrong and plan ways to meet it the following day.

Over time, you’ll be surprised how much healthier you’ll eat when you know you have to write each item down and track the calories for it.  Some things that you once ate without thinking will become more trouble than they’re worth and you’ll stop eating them. Others, will have more calories than you thought and you’ll find yourself dropping them for healthier items that you like just as much.  Journals are a great tool to help you build a habit of thinking about what you eat before you eat. So, get writing and get healthier!

This show is dedicated to the wonderful world of tea. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage around the world. In this show, I discuss in great depth the four main “true” teas: White tea, Green tea, Oolong tea and Black tea. They are called true teas because they are all harvested from the same tea plant, Camilla Sinensis whereas other teas aren’t.

I go over where these teas are mainly produced, how they are processed, what they taste like, some of their varieties and how to make a perfect cup of that tea. I also lightly touch on how herbal teas differ from true teas. Some references that I used were Wikipedia, about.com and oolongtea.org.

If you like the show, please head on over to iTunes and give me a nice review. It’s a great way to give me some good exposure and can help me get more listeners. Thanks for listening everyone!

I end the show by addressing some questions from Beth from NY and HR Meadors from Seattle.

If you like the show, please head on over to iTunes and give me a nice review. It’s a great way to give me some nice exposure and can help me get more listeners. Thanks for listening everyone!

People constantly ask me what they should eat to help them reduce their cholesterol. So, naturally I start listing food items that I know help lower cholesterol, such as, oatmeal, oat bran, walnuts, almonds, fish, olive oil and beans.

When I get to beans most people say, “Stop there Talli, beans make me gassy and  I just can’t eat that.”  My reply is always “What a shame, because beans have so many health benefits that you are missing out on.  Plus there are ways to reduce the gas.”

Why You Should Eat Beans
Beans are among the healthiest foods that you can eat. They provide a multitude of nutrients and antioxidants that can help lower cholesterol, fight infections and diseases and may even lower the risk of certain types of cancer. The United States Department of Agriculture placed beans in their number one spot, out of twenty, for the common food that has the highest-antioxidant levels.

Health Benefits
Beans are rich in:

• Calcium – Necessary for growth and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth. A calcium deficiency can lead to rickets and osteoporosis.
• Iron – Increases your energy and protects you from infection.
• Zinc – Important for healthy skin and immune system.
• Potassium – Aids in promoting proper muscle contraction and nerve impulses and promotes optimal electrolyte and pH balance in your body. It also helps to regulate blood pressure.
• Folic Acid – Decreases risk of spinal birth defects and has been shown to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Protein – Necessary for growth, development and repair of body tissues and muscles.
• Fiber – Helps relieve constipation and helps with weight loss by creating a feeling of fullness. Fiber also lowers your chances of developing conditions like heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, kidney stones and diverticulitis.

Ways To Minimize Gas
A common problem with beans is gas, which is caused by certain complex sugars that cannot be digested.  But the good news is that there are things you can do to minimize this gas.

1. Try to purchase the freshest dried beans. It seems that the longer the bean has been sitting around, the more likely it is to cause gastrointestinal discomfort.
2. Soak your beans overnight and discard the soaking water 2-3 times. The complex sugars are released into the water.
3. Then when boiling the beans in water, make sure to discard the water again. Don’t use that water in a soup base.
4. If that’s not enough or you aren’t able to make your own beans from scratch, you can add a food enzyme dietary supplement to your beans before eating them, such as Beano to help break down the complex sugars and reduce gas.

These methods listed above can eliminate a significant amount of the gas-producing complex sugars.  If you don’t have time to start from scratch and you buy canned beans instead, be aware that they have extra sodium. If you don’t want that sodium, make sure to wash the beans off first. That should remove a lot of the salt.

Beans are also a great, low fat food. They contain no cholesterol, little fat (except soybeans which are high in unsaturated fat) and have a low glycemic index. That makes beans great to consume if you are diabetic or trying to lose weight.

Plus, beans provide almost the same amount of protein as meat. Usually, one or more essential amino acids are missing, but that gap can be filled by eating other foods such as bread, rice, dairy products or small amount of meats, when eaten the same day.  However, the protein in soybeans is considered by many to be a complete protein source. So, why are you not eating beans again?

Then I head into the meat of the show. I discuss which sweetener is the healthiest to use. I go over the advantages and disadvantages of Equal, Splenda, Sweet N Low, pure cane sugar, turbinado sugar and honey. I referenced articles from wikipedia.org (aspartame, saccharin, sugar), mysite.verizon.net, redicecreations.com and sweetpoison.com.

I end the show by addressing some questions asked by Beth from New York, related to stretching and headaches.

After that I jump into the meat of the show and discuss the article “Overeating On The Job” from hotjobs.yahoo.com. This article talks about six ways to combat unhealthy items in the workplace environment.

Finally, I look at the article “Student Loses 180 Pounds” from cnn.com. I discuss how this student, Brandon Hollas, lost the weight and how he has become inspirational to others looking to change their lifestyle to a healthier one.