Monthly Archives: December 2011

The Unhealthy Reason Of Being Low Weight

Posted on by Tiff

Having a very low weight is not normal for a person specially children because these would mean something that may be fatal.  Most children who have problems with their weight either has marasmus or kwashiorkor.  But adults who have this kind of issues may be due to an underlying condition or perhaps have trouble with their eating habits.  Eating foods with fewer calories can cause people to have a very low weight if not controlled.  They should be eating just enough caloric foods to keep them in a healthy weight which means that their weight should be appropriate for their age, gender,  and, height.

Models prefer to have low weight because of their jobs.  Most of them are required to do this to maintain their body figures; however, it is unhealthy and causes too much risk.  But people who are sick because of their weight problems should be encouraged to eat more food with the right balance of calories, nutrients, and carbs to maintain their healthy weight level.  Foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish should be part of your daily meals to avoid malnutrition.  For families with children who cannot afford to buy these foods because of poverty, there are government programs that are geared towards the betterment of disadvantaged population’s diet.  They can be given foods and supplements to help them become healthy.

Some dieters have low weight because they do not know what the right weight is for them and it might be that they are not eating enough to keep themselves at a healthy weight.  Eating foods that have low calories is one of the ways to lose weight however not taking enough calories in the body can make a person weaker and have an less energetic.  If these dieters also exercise, the body will be burning too much calories causing them to have an abnormal weight as well.  But if child has all the food available for him but is still not gaining weight, it might be that the child does not have the appetite to eat or could be suffering from an ailment.  In cases like this, they should be given multivitamins to help them gain back their appetite and immediately consult a doctor to check your child’s overall health.

When Obesity Kills

Posted on by Tiff

Obesity is the accumulation of too much fat in the body.  It is a chronic disease that may also be life threatening, such as diabetes and hypertension, if left untreated.  An individual can be over weight due to muscle mass, bones, water or too much fat in the body.  The food that we eat every day if not burned, will accumulate as body fats and could clog the arterial wall.  Sometimes we tend to satisfy our cravings by eating foods we love to eat such as chocolates, cakes, and sugar loaded beverages.  If we keep on overeating and still living a sedentary lifestyle, in just a few weeks you will definitely gain more weight.  Thus, taking control of our diet should be done as soon as possible.

The problem of obesity can also be due to drinking too much liquor and not doing any exercises to burn the fats inside the body.  An obese person can seek medical assistance if he cannot control his weight any longer.  If you are having second thoughts with diet programs try to get in touch with a nutritionist or a physician to help you overcome being over weight and avoid progressing to obesity.  There will be series of tests and exams that will be done such as getting the blood sugar level and blood pressure.

At a percentage wherein women have more than 30% of fats and men with more than 25% fats in the body, these cases are already considered obese.  Another test is getting the body mass index or BMI wherein it considers the height, weight, gender, and age of the person to evaluate the amount of fats that is still considered healthy.  It is primarily calculated using your height in inches and your weight in pounds and there are several online BMI calculators you can use to check for it.

The best way to treat obesity is to exercise every day to burn the fats and improve the condition of the muscle and joints.  However, diet changes and physical activities should not be done in an instant because most likely the body will feel soreness and pain. It is wise to seek a doctor to help you start with the process and guide you on how to do it right.  Definitely, it is difficult for you to achieve a low calorie diet at first but always remember to stay on the right level of nutrition through balanced dieting.  You can join groups or programs that help obese or overweight people as they go along their regimens.  They help obese people physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually and get proper encouragement and support to last the entire process.

What is Medical Nutrition Therapy?

Posted on by Tiff

A medical nutrition therapy is a nutritional therapy for patients with illnesses, injuries, and diet related conditions. It also assesses the patient’s medical and dietary history as well as physical examination.  With therapy, it will increase the chance of the patient to be a healthy well being while decreasing the costs for hospitalization, doctor fees, and limiting the use of prescription drugs.  It provides goals for the patient and nutrition prescriptions while on the therapy.  This is most helpful for those who want to maintain their ideal weight.

The therapy is an important component towards the health care industry.  Only Registered Dieticians (RDs) provides medical nutrition therapy since they are the only professionals that are well-trained for the job.  The purpose of the therapy is to make sure that patients receive all the nutrients needed by their bodies to prevent further health risks and to keep them healthy.  Patients with diabetes mellitus, stroke, cancers, and heart problems are undergoing nutrition therapy since these diseases are all due to the food they have consumed.  Infants and elderly also benefits from the therapy because of their low weight.  Obese patients benefit greatly from the therapy since tweaks their eating habits and improve the vital organs’ functions.

Almost all of the known diseases today need nutrition therapy since almost all of these diseases started by not eating healthy foods and having a sedentary lifestyle.  The therapy can be in a homecare setting or outpatient and it will depend if it will be for short term or long term therapy.  The patient’s medical history and dietary evaluation are important since this is where the therapy is mostly to be based.  Some of the tools used to know all about the patient’s dietary intake includes food frequency questionnaires and records of foods eaten in the last twenty four hours including medical records.  Proper nutrition is important especially patients with life threatening diseases since this will help them eat foods that may alleviate their current condition and reduce overall costs of medication.   Patients should be well educated regarding the therapy since their cooperation, commitment, and awareness about the therapy are very important for the therapy to be successful.

Different Ways To Eat Better With Diabetes

Posted on by Tiff

There are different ways to eat better when you have diabetes.  Diabetes mellitus or simply called diabetes is a metabolic disease wherein an individual has a very high blood sugar level either due to insulin insufficiency or due to insulin resistance.  Doctors advise their diabetic patients to have a healthy way of dieting to control the sugar intake which is easily absorbed by the body.  So they need to eat low sugar content and healthy foods to keep them in control of their diet every day.  There are foods products made just for diabetic people to make their daily meals more convenient to make.

One of the ways for diabetics to eat better is to keep track of their carbohydrate intake since it contains sugar.  The normal blood glucose level is between 70 mg/dL and 130 mg/dL before meals and should be below 180mg/dL after meals as per American Diabetes Association to prevent the risk of complications.  Dieting should be strictly done to prevent hypertension that might lead to stroke or cardiac problems.  A diabetic can go for vegetables, fruits, and low red meat which are more beneficial and healthy in order for them to reduce the need of taking medications especially for patients with type II diabetes.  If a diabetic is fond of eating bread with spreads, it is best to go for whole grains and use trans fats free spread products.  If you like consuming dairy products, it is much better to choose those that are sugar-free because it decreases the likelihood of having life-threatening complications.

It may be advised that drinking at most 2 glasses of red wine is beneficial to the body; however, diabetics should be cautious when drinking alcoholic beverages because it can cause hypoglycemia wherein your blood sugar level goes down which consequently becomes a life-threatening effect.  To eat better, avoid using salt and substitute it with herbs and spices to because too much sodium in the body absorbs fluid which can cause hypertension and then leads to cardio vascular diseases and other complications. Nevertheless, this is advised to those who are dieting, not only to those who are diabetics.  Having a balanced diet is most important not only for diabetics but for everyone who wants to live longer.