Archive for February, 2010
As Your Camarillo Chiropractor, I Can Help to Take the Pain Out of Growing Older!
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re over forty you know that as we age our body feels and acts differently than it used to when we were younger. It just doesn’t seem fair that as our mind appears to improve and become more “inventive,” our body seems to become less “cooperative.” We’re stiff in the morning; certain activities during the day make us sore at night; and, if we’re not truly careful, even something as simple as turning too fast or bending over to pick up a dropped object, can send our back or some other muscle group into spasm. The good news is that there are specialized techniques accessible with chiropractic that are not only beneficial in slowing down the aging process of the body, but can help you to avoid some of those problems completely. In fact, you could say that as your Chiropractor, I can help to take the pain out of growing older!
Take arthritis for instance. In point of fact, with the exception of pharmaceuticals, allopathic medicine doesn’t take care of this age-related affliction. What is the basis for such a limited approach? Most medical professionals merely treat the symptoms of arthritis. Chiropractic care, on the other hand, is not only beneficial in relieving the pain of arthritis, without drugs and their side dangerous effects, but your chiropractor is an expert in finding the origin of the condition and eliminates it. Chiropractors, like me, have been helping people suffering from pain caused by arthritis and other age-related challenges, for over a hundred years.
Repetitive stresses, years of incorrect gait and improper posture, and lack of beneficial movement over time cause wear on various joints and create the arthritic changes the body goes through as you get older. Chiropractic adjustments restore motion back into your joints and relieve any vertebral misalignments that may be causing irritation and restriction. In addition to causing arthritic changes in the spine and increasing pain, did you know that misaligned vertebra can also reduce your resistance and immunity? It’s true, and this might be one of the reasons why it may seem to you that as you age you experience more health problems and that it frequently takes longer for you to feel better again. Studies have shown that older individuals who are under chiropractic care stay healthier. To put it another way, as you get older, chiropractic treatment is good for what ails you!
Chiropractors are experts when it comes to the health of the musculoskeletal system, from the small, growing frame of an infant to the full-grown body of a mature adult. As your San Diego Chiropractor, I am experienced in working with the aging process of the body and have excellent observational and diagnostic skills that help in locating spinal misalignments and joint degeneration. In fact, a chiropractic examination can frequently reveal certain age-related changes before they’ve begun to create noticeable pain. Furthermore, I will assess your posture and check your gait to determine if there are any faulty patterns that might cause more arthritic changes in the future if not corrected.
So, if you have been feeling your age lately (but you’d like to feel a whole lot better than that!), make at appointment to see me, today!
Camarillo Chiropractor: The 10 Golden Rules of Losing Weight & Keeping it Off
Posted by: | Comments
1. Understand why we are putting weight on
The majority of overweight people don’t have problems with their metabolism or any other health issue. The real problem lies in the food groups being consumed, the quantities being eaten and the lack of physical activity. Humans are ingesting large amounts of sugar and starch in the form of grains (and potatoes) into their diets and eating less meat and vegetables.
Modern man has begun consuming large amounts of high carbohydrates from starch and sugar rich foods, in short, we are consuming excessive amounts of bread, cereals, pasta, corn, rice and potatoes, then add to this list soft drinks, ice cream, candies etc.
Excessive amounts of carbohydrates can cause many health issues. Some of the more common are:
Weight Gain Fatigue and frequent sleepiness
Depression Brain Fogginess
Bloating Low Blood Sugar
High Blood Pressure High Triglycerides
Eating controlled amounts of carbohydrates is necessary for good health; however, we have become addicted to sweet starchy foods. Unfortunately the body can only store a small amount of carbohydrate in the liver and muscles, the excess is converted via insulin and taken up by the fat cells of the body. The more carbohydrates we consume the greater amount of insulin produced by the pancreas to break it down. This cycle creates those bulging stomachs, fatty thighs and chins. Excessive amounts of insulin in the blood also suppress important hormones that are required for fat metabolism and muscle development.
2. Do you have a compelling reason?
One of the main reasons why many people embark on a weight control program and fail, is that their compelling reason is not strong enough to motivate them to continue and reach their desired weight or health goal.
Recognizing the role that food should play in our lives is very important. When food becomes the main focus in our lives we have lost focus. Motivation that comes from within is the best form. External motivation never has the power that is often required to achieve long term goals.
3. Wanting to lose weight is one thing, knowing how to do it is the difficult part.
Don’t be influenced by what you read or what well meaning friends might say. You are the only one who knows how you feel about yourself. A lot of articles you may read are often advocate that we should all be a size 8 or smaller. Bone structure, and other genetic factors play a major role in determining our ideal weight.
Once you decide what your ideal weight should be, write it down and internalize it. Start to see yourself buying clothes you want, or enjoying an event feeling lighter and healthier.
So, decide on your ideal weight, internalize it, and don’t be influenced by what other people think or say.
4. How to avoid dangerous foods.
Being able to recognize dangerous foods will help you avoid them. The dangerous foods are those that are high in sugar content or starches like bread, pasta, rice, cereals, potatoes and alcohol.
5. How to evaluate weight loss programs to ensure long term success.
The problem with a lot of weight loss options is that they are too restrictive. Trying to buy low carbohydrate or low calorie foods can be a nightmare, let alone expensive.
Meal replacements like shakes and home delivered meals are not a health option, and most important for weight loss will not educate and empower you on how to eat once you are off your diet. This is a crucial component needed to help you not go back to silly food habits and put the lost weight back on again.
Our bodies were not meant to function of process, manufactured, frozen or dehydrated foods. We need wholesome naturally occurring foods like vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains, meat, fish, eggs and cheese.
Any weight loss program that prevents you from eating 3 meals of the above mentioned foods each day is not sustainable over the long term. When you know which food groups to eat and how much of each, you will then be able to make the correct food choices that best suit your metabolism and body type.
Avoid weight loss programs that recommend meal replacement drinks and don’t advise food that are readily available.
6. How to get back on track.
So, how do you get back on track? It’s easy! Let’s say you do go to a wedding, normally you may drink a toast (alcohol) or have a slice of wedding cake. These foods are very high in carbohydrates-carbs that you don’t need. A weight loss program must teach you the correct way of getting rid of those unwanted carbs when you get off track for special occasions so your weight drop continues going down, not go up and you give up hope in reaching your goal weight. Getting back on track is easy when you know how.
7. You don’t need to exercise yourself stupid if you don’t want to!Exercise is great if you enjoy it. Exercise should stimulate you, not exhaust you. You often see people jogging along the side of the road and probably think to your self this poor fellow looks like he needs a lift!
Burning body fat through exercise is quite strenuous. In order to burn body fat you need aerobic exercise, or exercise of prolonged duration. Too strenuous exercise may only burn glucose, and very little fat. Walking 30 minutes a day is one of the best ways to burn fat.
8. How to deal with negative people around you.
It is vital to your success that your immediate family supports your efforts. There is nothing worse than family members chomping on foods that you are trying to avoid. Don’t buy foods that you know are hard to resist, only keep food in the house that are good for you. The world is full of negative people, try to avoid those that are particularly bad and be determined to prove them wrong.
9. Ensure the weight you lose is fat loss, not muscle mass.
The most popular weight loss programs are either meal replacements, calorie counting meal plans and liquid diets. The problem with all of these approaches to weight loss is the probability you will lose muscle mass as you lose weight. By losing muscle mass you are doing more harm than good. By losing muscle mass you will have to eat less than when you first started on your weight loss program as you will have reduced your calorie burning engine-your muscle mass.
10. How do you maintain ideal weight over time?Losing weight is one thing, keeping it off is another. Most people can lose weight but it is the long term maintenance that seems to be the problem. Being able to maintain your ideal weight depends on a number of factors.
Firstly, weight management is a lifestyle issue; if you give no thought to what you eat and how much you eat your deserve to put it all back on. Decide that you want a healthier more active lifestyle, and become an educated consumer of food so you don’t have unhealthy habits.
Secondly, you must realize that certain health conditions may stop you from maintaining your weight loss over time. These health conditions need to be addressed by specially trained healthcare practitioners, not using drugs or surgery, but by providing you with the required nutrients your body needs, and information on food sensitivities.
Finally, get rid of those fat clothes. I you want to be a size 10 or 12 only have size 10 or 12 clothes. If you should start to gain a bit of weight you will feel it immediately in our clothes. Don’t wait until you are 20-40 pounds overweight, get it off straight away. Decide on a window of weight, say 6-10 pounds on either side of your ideal weight. If your weight starts to shift up don’t let it go over 6 pounds before taking action.
Pinpoint and correct your body’s weak links and food sensitivities to ensure long term success. Good health is priceless. Improper eating and the consequences of it will erode good health, and cost you dearly.
Chiropractors like me are committed to making sure our patients know the importance of drinking enough water everyday. The chant in our clinic is “Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!” Water is as essential as air when it comes to human survival. Therefore, one would suppose that drinking a sufficient quantity of water would be as visceral as breathing in enough air, but a surprising 75 percent of Americans suffer from mild, incessant dehydration. (Most individuals aren’t breathing enough either, but one issue at a time.) You cannot have good health without drinking an adequate amount of water. Every system in your body — every cell, tissue, and organ — is dependent up water to function properly. Your saliva, and the fluids surrounding your joints, are essentially water. Water balances the temperature and metabolism of the body, and keeps the blood circulating. Drinking plenty of water daily has been shown to improve nutrient absorption and toxin removal, and to reduce heartburn, hypertension, exhaustion, headaches, and even back pain.
Athletes are particularly at risk when it comes to functional challenges caused by dehydration. “Physiologically, their core body temperature could be higher than it should have been if they were hydrated. Their heart rate will be higher, and they’re going to perceive that they’re working harder than they actually are,” said Susan Yeargin, assistant professor of athletic training in Indiana State’s College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services. According to researchers at Indiana State University, a high percentage of collegiate and professional athletes begin the season dehydrated, putting their health at risk even before they begin strenuous workouts. In fact, Pre-season physical examinations, in fact, found that 80 percent of football players presented with.
Wondering how much water is enough water? Chiropractors, like almost all health care professionals, advise no less than eight, 8-ounce glasses of water every day for many patients, but for our patients who are athletes, or for individuals who carry around excess weight or exercise or work in a hot environment, we propose even more. How can you be sure if you, personally, are drinking an adequate amount of water? The color of your urine is a good gauge. If it is a light, pale yellow, it’s an indication that you’re well-hydrated!
I invite you to call our office. I feel confidant that we can answer many of your health concerns.
So, you’ve never played tennis in your life, but you’ve come down with a seriously painful case of “tennis elbow.” How in the world did that happen? As your Chiropractor, I want you to know that the condition is actually “epicondylits,” or more specifically “lateral epicondyle,” the medical term for the painful irritation of the tendons of one or more forearm muscles where they attach to the bony projection near the lateral epicondyleis (elbow joint). But, let’s face it, “tennis elbow” is much easier to say and far easier to remember! And, as you’ve probably surmised, this painful challenge is not just produced by playing tennis. In fact, any activity that requires repetitive gripping of something can produce pain in the elbow; for example activities like knitting, chopping food, and computer use. Additionally, toting heavy bags improperly or using bad posture while performing any of the aforementioned activities puts excessive stress on the elbow.
But, your elbow pain may not actually have anything to do with your elbow, itself, just as it has nothing to do with whether or not you play tennis. How can that be the case? Sometimes elbow pain can be the result of a problem farther up the arm or even in the neck. A vertebral subluxation or a disc protrusion in the neck commonly will affect the nerves that give function to the forearm muscles and cause them to become irritated. The irritation in most cases causes the muscles to tighten and this tension causes undue pressure on the tendon attachment(s). In this case, elbow problems are the result as opposed to the cause of your elbow pain.
Epicondylitis, like nearly all muscoloskeletal problems, usually doesn’t go away on its own. On the contrary, due to the fact that the body is so successful at compensating for dysfunctions, if the challenge is left untreated, difficulties such as additional subluxations and an increase in degenerative changes that cause arthritis can occur.
When analyzing and treating musculoskeletal dysfunctions are required, including those that produce elbow pain, s chiropractor is an expert. As your Chiropractor, I will be able to uncover the actual cause of your challenge and treat it at its source.
So, you don’t need to suffer with “tennis elbow” whether you actually play tennis or not. Not only will chiropractic treatment be able to eliminate your elbow pain now, but I will advise you on how you can avoid pain in the future no matter what your activities may include. Call our Chiropractic office today!
Your Camarillo Chiropractor Warns: Low Back Pain is Nothing to Sneeze At!
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re experiencing low back pain, your Chiropractor wants you to know that you’re not alone. Low back pain affects many people, an amazing 80% in fact, making it second only to the common cold in its frequency. However, contrary to the common cold, waiting for your back pain to “run its course,” and taking prescription or over-the-counter remedies while you wait, is not the answer. The majority of back pain won’t go away by itself. More often than not, if your pain lessens, it is usually due to the fact that your body has compensated for the problem and, unfortunately, is generating new conditions. Obviously, low back pain is nothing to sneeze at! If you’d like to eliminate your back pain for good (and who wouldn’t?), it is important for you to see a back pain expert, like your Chiropractor.
Back pain is often a mystery to most people who are suffering from it, and chiropractors are skilled in solving their confusion. Most individuals ask: “Why is it that I have not experienced any trauma, accidents, or major injuries before the onset of my pain?” The answer is that the cumulative effects of awkward sitting posture, bad work habits, improper lifting, lack of routine exercise, and other unhealthy lifestyle-related factors create most back pain.
These elements add up over time and produce stresses and imbalances on the spine causing subluxations that can turn into serious back conditions. The process is similar to the front end of your car being out of alignment. When you insist upon driving anyway, there is irregular wear and tear on your tires. If you didn’t get the problem fixed, the situation would worsen until a tire “blew.” When the spine is misaligned, the function of the spine is put at risk. In other words, it’s not only a problem waiting to happen, it’s a problem waiting to get worse. And then, something as seemingly benign as reaching down to pick up a piece of paper can be the “final factor” that generates back injury. When this occurs, the surrounding back muscles go into spasm in order to stabilize the stressed or injured tissues of the back.
Chiropractors have more education, training, and experience than medical doctors when it comes to knowledge and treatment of the spine. They offer state-of-the-art diagnosis and experienced treatment for all musculoskeletal abnormalities. They not only provide welcomed relief if you are suffering from back pain, but they are knowledgeable about what will assist you in avoiding further back pain. As an adjunct to effective adjustments and other productive chiropractic therapies, your Chiropractor will give you an individual exercise plan and recommend other healthy lifestyle changes that will keep you well-adjusted and pain-free in the future.
Your Camarillo Chiropractor Can Help Relieve Your Tension Headaches and Migraines
Posted by: | CommentsDo you frequently suffer from tension headaches or migraines? If so, then you are painfully aware of their incapacitating impact on your life. chiropractic treatment can help. Your chiropractor understands the differences between the causes of tension headaches and migraines and she is an expert at treating both.
Tension headaches: Like it or not, life can be a pain, now and then, and result in a tension headache. Many people have suffered from more than one, and maybe you are one of them. If you are someone who’s had a tension headache, then you probably experience it as a dull, aching head pain that is sometimes accompanied by a sensation of tightness or pressure across your forehead or on the sides and back of your head. Occasionally, you might feel a tenderness of your scalp, neck and shoulder muscles, and at times you may experience a loss of appetite.
Tension headaches are generally characterized as mild to moderately intense. The severity of the pain varies from one individual to another, and from one headache to another in the same person. Tension headaches can happen occasionally or you may have them regularly. Your headaches are considered chronic if they occur fifteen or more days a month for at least three months. If tension headaches are disrupting your life, chiropractic care may be the solution.
Migraine Headaches: Migraine headaches differ from the average tension-related headache. For example, migraines more often than not occur on only one side of the head, according to the National Headache Foundation. They throb or pulsate and are accompanied by nausea or vomiting. Auras, visual disruptions an hour before a migraine attack, and symptoms such as pulsating light, lines or dots, are experienced by one-fifth of migraine sufferers.
Migraines have an upsetting, debilitating effect on a sufferers life. If you suffer from migraines, then unfortunately you already know from experience that, more often than not, standard over-the-counter medications are ineffective, and prescription drugs generally have alarming side effects. Yet, the pain of a migraine can incapacitate you for hours, days, even a lifetime. It’s time to finally get rid of the pain and get your life back! Chiropractic treatment has been shown to be highly beneficial in relieving and eliminating migraine headaches.
If you suffer from tension headaches and/or migraines, make an appointment today with your Chiropractor today. Chiropractic treatment can help!
Camarillo Chiropractor Offers Hope for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Suffers
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are someone who suffers from fibromyalgia, you don’t need anyone to tell you the difficult symptoms of the condition. Your chiropractor is well-aware of the painful symptoms that can occur above and below your waist, and involve large areas on both sides of your body, and understands the deep aching that accompanies the condition and often travels, shoots, stings, and even gnaws at your body.
As if the intense pain and suffering from fibromyalgia weren’t enough, an amazing ninety percent of fibromyalgia sufferers also experience chronic fatigue syndrome. Perhaps you may be one of them. It is this “double whammy” that can result in your not only suffering from pain and fatigue, but also malaise, headaches, numbness and pins and needles, dizziness, sleep disturbance, swollen feeling in tissues, stiffness, sensitivity to noise and stress, and cognitive impairment.
If you are suffering from one, or both, of these two debilitating conditions, you may find it difficult to take part in even the simplest activities in life, and you might even be feeling depressed and defeated. But, don’t give up hope because your Chiropractor can assist you. Chiropractic techniques have been proven to be highly effective in reversing trauma-induced injuries by reducing irritation to the nerves in the brain stem and spinal cord that can cause pain, neuromuscular dysfunction, and fatigue.
What do “trauma-induced injuries” have to do with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome? The connection may surprise you. While the specific cause of these problems is not known, current research has pointed to traumatic neck injuries, such as whiplash and concussion, as risk factors for the onset of both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. And, here’s the thing: though the pain and fatigue generated by spinal injuries can begin immediately, in many cases it can take quite a long time, perhaps months or even years to develop. By the time fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms arise, such injuries may be long-forgotten.
Chiropractic care has been shown to be extraordinarily beneficial in reversing trauma-induced spinal injury. See your chiropractor today to find out if chiropractic management can help to decrease the pain and suffering you’ve been experiencing from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Your chiropractor understands and can help!
Chiropractic techniques that work so dramatically with the spine can, of course, be adapted to other joints in the body. Your Chiropractor knows that as a consequence of trauma, excess vibration, or repetitive motions, virtually every joint is exposed to debilitation and range of motion limitations. So, it’s no surprise that chiropractic treatments are an effective, natural, non-invasive approach to treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
The carpal tunnel can be found within the underside of the wrist. It is a tunnel, or passage, through which the Median nerve advances on its way to stimulate and animate the hand and fingers. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome falls into the category of nerve entrapment disorders and is clearly the most common. As the name indicates, the condition takes place when a nerve is impinged or trapped between other tissues of the body producing inflammation of the nerve. This can happen if the size of the tendon increases due to irritation or overuse, or if the tunnel, itself, gets smaller due to the misalignment of the carpal bones.
In the beginning of the injury, the symptoms include pain, numbness, pins and needles, and tingling in the fingers and hand, especially the thumb and adjacent two fingers. People with CTS often awaken from sleep with these symptoms and shakeout and/or rub their hands in order to decrease the unpleasant feeling. Activity during the day can cause the hands to feel clumsy or weak, and fatigue easily. Eventually, grasping small objects with the thumb and fingers can be extremely affected and, without treatment, can result in a complete debilitation of the hand.
In order to diminish the disabling symptoms resulting from the advancement of CTS, correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment are vital. If you are experiencing the pain and disability associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, it just makes good sense for you to try the most natural approach first. As mentioned above, chiropractic care is drug-free, non-surgical, and highly effective. You can learn more about safe and natural chiropractic care, and what it can do for you, by calling your chiropractor today.
Close to Last Place and Still a Winner? Your Camarillo Chiropractor Explains
Posted by: | Comments“Close to last place” isn’t exactly a phrase we associate with accomplishment. In fact, very little in life, it seems, counts much at all if you don’t “hit the nail on the head.” Well, it would seem that this may not be an absolute when it comes to living longer. As a chiropractor who has many middle-aged patients, and who is also fully dedicated to encouraging my patients to exercise at every age level, I was very interested in the following study.
Researchers found that of the “least-fit” versus the “slightly more fit” in a recent study of nearly 4,400 healthy U.S. adults, roughly 20 percent with the lowest physical fitness levels doubled the risk of dying over the next nine years as the 20 percent with the next-lowest fitness levels. (In other words, those 20 percent who were nearly at the lowest fitness levels.) This is the familiar “bad news/good news” type of result. It is obviously bad news if you are a confirmed couch potato. However, it is genuinely good news for those who haven’t quite hit rock bottom in the sedentary lifestyle department but are not, by any stretch of the imagination, “exertive.” Apparently, those individuals who stay just moderately fit as they age may have greater longevity than those who are entirely out-of-shape, the study suggests.
Between 1986 and 2006, researchers assessed the fitness levels of 4,384 middle-aged and senior men and women during exercise treatmill tests. For approximately nine years thereafter, the researchers observed the study groups progress. The study considered such factors like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This, in and of itself, highlights the importance of being physically fit. In an email to Reuters Health, lead researcher, Dr. Sandra Mandic of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, stated: “Our findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle, rather than differences in cardiovascular risk factors or age, may explain the two-fold higher mortality rates in the least-fit versus slightly more fit individuals.”
Nearly two-thirds of the least-fit study participants were not getting the minimum recommended amount of exercise, which is at least 30 minutes of moderate activity (like brisk walking) five or more days a week. “These results emphasize the importance of improving and maintaining high fitness levels by engaging in regular physical activity,” Mandic said, “particularly in poorly-fit individuals.”
After dividing the participants into five groups based on fitness levels, the researchers discovered that 13 percent of those who were in slightly better shape had died during the study period. However, 25 percent of the least-fit participants had died during the same period. Only 6 percent of the most-fit group (i.e., the ones who “hit the nail on the head,” so to speak) had died during the follow-up period.
The compelling finding was that overall, the five fitness-level groups showed little dissimilarity in their reported exercise routines over their adult lives, but where they contrasted was their activity levels in recent years. “Since it is recent physical activity that offers protection,” Mandic said, “it is important to maintain regular physical activity throughout life.”
And, naturally, imagine the health benefits we could all obtain if we sought to achieve the higher levels of fitness, and also committed to routine chiropractic management to make sure our body was in proper alignment at each new fitness-level. As your chiropractor, I’m looking forward to assisting you to be as vital and alive as you can be. No matter what your age, it’s never too late to get fit.
A Good Diet May Taste Better Than You Think
Posted by: | CommentsAs a chiropractor I believe that a healthy lifestyle not only includes getting chiropractic treatment for acute injury, chronic conditions, and all-around health maintenance, but also includes a nutritious diet, lots of water, and plenty of routine exercise. Up until now, I would not have added ice cream, chocolate, cheese, beef, and pizza to the “pro” side of my healthy lifestyle list! But, according to a new study, all five have surprising health benefits. Too good to be true? Maybe, but let the following article provided online by Prevention help you decide.
1) Ice Cream
As long as you choose the right ice cream, you’ll get a very impressive dose of calcium for your bones and your blood pressure. Look for a variety with 15% of the Daily Value (DV) for calcium in every 1/2-cup serving-about the size of a tennis ball. Stick to this amount if you’re eating calorie- and fat-loaded premium ice cream (one with 250 calories or more per 1/2 cup). But if you’re eating regular or low-fat brands, 1 cup is a more realistic serving size. If you can’t keep a half-gallon on hand, go to an ice cream shop and buy just one scoop.
2) Chocolate
Chocolate, especially the dark or bittersweet kind, is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants that protect your heart by preventing blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots that could cause a heart attack. But even milk chocolate is good: A typical 1.5-ounce bar packs as much antioxidant power as a 5-ounce glass of red wine. If you crave a daily dose of chocolate, stick to about 100 calories’ worth. That’s about four Hershey’s Kisses or two individually wrapped mini or fun-size bars such as Nestle plain chocolate or crunch. Or dilute your chocolate with other flavors: Mini peppermint patties are only 35 calories each, so have three!
3) Cheese
The exciting news about cheese–except the fat-free kind–is that it contains a special kind of fat called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, that scientists are investigating as a new weapon against breast cancer. And all that concentrated calcium–300 mg, as much as a glass of milk, in just 1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar–is a boon for bone health. Finally, there’s your smile: Eating hard cheese at the end of a meal can protect your pearly whites from tooth decay. But keep in mind that cheese contains cholesterol-raising saturated fat–1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar packs 9 grams. For most women, that’s more than half of the saturated fat that you should have in a day, so stick to 1 1/2 ounces, max.
4) Beef
Beef is one of the richest and best-absorbed sources of zinc, a key mineral in your immune system’s fight against many enemies, from viruses to cancer. Getting enough zinc is also critical for appetite, taste, and night vision, yet only half of adults over age 50 come close to the DV of 15 mg. Still, plate-size portions of fatty meats such as hamburger and prime rib are loaded with saturated fat, which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk. A restaurant-size 14-ounce sirloin steak has 27 g of saturated fat–nearly twice the saturated fat that women should have in a day, so stick to a 3-ounce portion, which is about the size of a computer mouse or a bath-size bar of soap.
5) Pizza
Pizza recently got rave scientific reviews for fending off prostate cancer. Pizza sauce delivers tons of lycopene, a carotenoid found at high levels in the blood and prostate of men with lower rates of prostate cancer. And the cheese provides calcium, which helps build bone, lower blood pressure, and inhibit colon cancer. Choose two slices of thin-crust veggie pizza, which weighs in at just 300 calories (add a side salad for a 400-calorie meal) and 2.5 g of saturated fat
Facebook
Youtube
Twitter
