Thursday, September 27, 2012

Side Effects Of Coffee On Health Revealed

When it comes to the popular morning beverage... there's more good news than bad news. A German study that included over 40,000 subjects and lasted almost a decade has found that the side effects of coffee produce no more risk of chronic illnesses (heart disease, cancer) plus coffee drinkers are also less likely to be diagnosed with troublesome type 2 diabetes than non coffee drinkers.

These new findings come after many earlier studies have brought conflicting reports - some suggesting coffee drinking brought a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and more.

To address this challenge, the German study looked at all different chronic diseases during the same time period to see the effect on health of drinking coffee.

The researchers collected data on people's coffee drinking habits, as well as diet, exercise and overall health from over 42,000 adults who were taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and were free of any chronic health problems at the start of the project.

Over the following nine years, researchers followed up on participants to see if they'd been diagnosed with any health problems. The team was particularly interested in reports of heart disease, occurrences of stroke, heart attacks, diabetes or cancer.

They saw that both coffee drinkers and those who were not had the same risks of getting one of these diseases. For example, just over 10% of both coffee (over than four cups per day) and non-coffee drinkers ended up developing a chronic disease.

On the type 2 diabetes front the researchers also saw that coffee drinkers had a lesser chance of being diagnosed with this chronic illness than non-drinkers.

Among the four cup a day coffee drinkers, 3.2% later told researchers they'd been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, while 3.6% of those who did not drink coffee were diagnosed with the same disease. Even after accounting for things that could affect diabetes risk (being overweight and smoking), the team saw that who drank coffee were 23% less likely to be diagnosed with diabetes - supporting findings from earlier studies.

The researchers point out that the results of the current research suggest that drinking coffee is not harmful to a healthy adult. But they don't mean people should rely on coffee for preventing type 2 diabetes or other chronic illnesses. All experts can say at present is that animal studies have shown that some compounds in coffee can affect metabolism.

If you're not a coffee drinker, this research isn't telling you to start enjoying the delicious beverage in order to stay healthy. But if you don't have any specific health reasons (mental illness, insomnia, anxiety) to avoid coffee, and you like it, this study suggests you have no need to cut as the side effects of coffee don't lead to chronic conditions.

Your best bet to stay healthy, sharp and disease free as the years pass is to live an overall healthy lifestyle - do not smoke, eat a balanced diet, be sure you get regular exercise, make sleep a priority and manage stress are all smart steps you can take to make this more likely.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Easy Healthy Eating Tips for Kids

Kids can be very picky eaters and sometimes it seems like it is just impossible to please your children with healthy foods. We all know that kids in some cases pick up poor eating habits when they are young and may maintain them even up to adulthood. However, the best healthy eating tips for kids are those that give your children a balanced diet while at the same time ensuring that your children enjoy their meals. Once we understand how to get our kids eating healthy, then it will be easy to show them how to achieve that.

One of the simplest healthy eating tips for kids is to get your whole family to help. That way, the children are also involved in the preparation of the food and sit together to feed. You can have a sitting with your children and suggest the kinds of foods you would like them to include in their diet. The kids should be allowed to make suggestions for foods they would want to act as substitutes. This is as long as they are in the same food groups as yours.

This brings about the feeling that they are eating their preferred meals and the food choices will further seem more appealing to them if they helped to prepare. Sitting at the table with other kids will help them emulate the good feeding habits. At this point you can guide them on the food choices as opposed to dictating to them. Having a nice and easy conversation will make meal times fun and not a time for fighting.

Other healthy eating tips for kids include; Use fresh fruits and vegetables and use whole grains and foods. If possible, try and ensure that all your ingredients are organic. Gradually minimize on all food sources of saturated fats in order to prevent obesity and other weight problems.

Taking water is very crucial. teach them a culture of drinking enough water to help eliminate constipation and help in food digestion. Water should never be substituted with sodas and other non-organic drinks.

Do not over-snack. Snacking can make the children to feel full and become poor feeders. Snacks do not have to be the unhealthy salt and sugar ridden candy and crisps. You can make a nice sandwich for them among hundreds of other healthy options. Stay completely clear of refined or processed foods.

Kids should not be let to eat while watching the TV because this way, you are unable to know whether your stomach is full or not. This is because you are concentrating on the TV and you might end up over eating.

Healthy eating tips for kids need to include; Getting kids eating slowly. When a child is eating at a slower pace, they are able to tell when they are getting fuller and therefore no over eating.

Basically kids will eat healthy when guided properly and provided with interesting meals. Ensure that you do not bore them with one type of food. Keep it interesting by changing the food daily.