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14 Best Tips for Dieting

January 28, 2011 by drburt

All of us know that in order to lose weight we need to eat less and increase our physical activities. This sounds simple but in real life, this is nothing simple at all. So, how come there are successful people who achieve their weight loss goals while others are left eating and gaining more pounds? To find out, experts were asked about the best tips for dieting and they came up with the 14 of them.

The first tip is simple. Just drink plenty of water. This is because we often mistake our thirst with hunger so instead of drinking more fluids, we tend to eat more. That means we take in more calories when our body doesn’t need it but only needs a glass of water. If plain water isn’t good enough, you can add some citrus or juice flavors or perhaps infuse some peaches or mango teas which make it more flavorful but without the calories.

2nd tip- Look for physical signs to know if you are indeed hungry. Hunger tells us that our body needs food to fuel it. If we are not hungry and we eat, our cravings won’t really be satisfied. When you eat and you are hungry then you will feel satisfied. If you eat and you are not hungry, then you’ll most likely feel bloated or tired. Keep reasonable portions when you eat. After all, our stomach is only the size of our fist so it doesn’t really take a lot to fill it up.

The 3rd tip- focus on what you can add and not on what you can take away from your diet. Focus on getting about 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables. This way you get to meet your required amount of fiber and you’ll also feel more satisfied so it’s definitely worth it. Fruits and vegetables make you eat less too because they displace the fat from your diet. On top of that, fruits and vegetables are really nutritious and definitely good for you. Phytochemicals that are found in fruits and vegetables prevent diseases and many studies have proven this already. For vegetables, since they are not as appealing to us as fruits especially for children, it’s best to place them in our meals instead of serving them as is or as side dishes.

4^th tip- Avoid coping with stress through foods. This means you need to find other means of coping up with stress than digging in on some food. You can try to listen to some soothing music or start writing your own journal or go and meditate. There are other ways out there, so ask yourself what you really want to do and try to do that instead of indulging yourself on foods.

^5th tip is by eating your treats somewhere else and not at home. This way you consider it as a fun adventure that takes place outside of the house and not inside it. You can also choose to stock up your kitchen with healthy foods such as fruits instead of some high calorie desserts.

6^th tip is to enjoy the foods that are your favorite. If you limit your favorite foods then you trigger the rebound of overeating and you end up gaining more weight. Instead of taking them away, just be a wise shopper and buy only small portions. This way you can still enjoy the foods that you like but you eat them in small portions.

7^th tip- Spices! Add some spices or chilis to your food so you would feel more satisfied after each meal. This is because the flavors are stimulating your taste buds so you feel satisfied with little amount of food.

8^th tip for dieting- Choose your nighttime snacks. When you finally are able to relax and just sit down, usually after dinner, that’s when we eat without thinking. Best way to prevent this is by keeping ourselves away from temptations by either closing down the kitchen during certain hours or has just some low calorie snacks available. Once you are already satisfied with zero calorie snacks, then you can go for zero calorie beverages such as tea.

^9th tip- order small portions when you’re in a restaurant. Did you see those children’s portions? You can order those for yourself so you can control your portions. Or, perhaps use small plates so you will feel like you’re eating more portions than you really do.

10^th tip- Better eat several small meals in your day. If you eat small portions at a time then you can lose weight as you divide the calories into small portions so you can enjoy each portion. Just make sure the last meal is dinner and not a midnight snack.

11^th tip- Choose vegetables over pasta. Convert your pasta cravings to some vegetable dishes. This way you can lose weight by simply cutting back on your pasta and bread and adding more vegetables to your diet.

12^th tip is to have protein in your every meal. Protein satisfies us better than fats and carbohydrates so it’s considered as the newest way to control our weight. If you have a high protein diet with moderate carbohydrates following a regular exercise will help you to lose weight. This is because protein preserves your muscle mass and burns fat.

13^th tip- Eat seasonal foods on its season. Some fruits and vegetables don’t taste their best when they are out of season so it’s best to eat them during their season so you can enjoy their full flavors.

14^th tip- Be more active. Don’t exercise as punishment for your overeating or to give you the right to eat some more. This gives it a negative image and that makes you hate to exercise. Better focus on how it makes you feel afterwards, how great it feels to perspire and how well you can sleep at night when you do some exercises during the day. Being active is really good for you.

Please Post a comment or share your thoughts through Facebook, Twitter or comment section below to join the conversation. Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated.

Top 4 Myths for Weight Loss

January 26, 2011 by drburt

One of the most misguided beliefs about dieting is the idea that you need to eat special food groups in order to lose some weight. What this does to you though is it deprives you of the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs in order to operate well every day. We all want to be strong and healthy and this can only be accomplished if we have a balanced diet plan (affiliate link), full of nutritious foods that our body requires. . In this article, you will learn about the top 4 myths about weight loss.

The first myth about weight loss is that we should just consume foods from a particular category. This is wrong and this is usually what is followed by many diets especially crash diets. Our body can’t run on just 1 type of food because we need a varied and well balanced diet plan in order to stay healthy. We need a bit of fat, protein, water, vegetables, some fiber and carbohydrates. Even those “bad” foods are also required by some people as long as it is taken in moderation. We also need portions of fruits, nuts, grains and seeds as they are essential to keep our immune system (affiliate link) strong to ward off diseases.

2^nd myth- protein is only from meat. This is false because we can also get protein from vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, legumes and all. In fact, meat is higher in sodium and body fat especially the red meats which is why taking them in excessive amount is not good for our body because of its high cholesterol. But, meat does include protein but not as much as you would have thought. In fact, legumes, grains, oils and nuts have higher protein compared to meat. Our body requires about 30 grams of protein each day so it’s possible that you eat something else aside from all meat in order to reach this requirement.

3^rd myth – Less consumption of extra fat to shed that extra weight. Our body needs some fat in order for it to correctly function as it permits the muscle tissues and our joints to work more easily. But, this doesn’t mean you should consume extra fat. What you need to do is to avoid hydrogenated fats. Great source of nutritious fats are from raw nuts, avocado and olive oil.

4^th myth- Avoid food to slim down. Women need an average of 1,200 calories a day while men need 1,800 calories a day. Avoid snacking on extra fatty foods with lots of sugar but eat more on fruits and veggies so you won’t just feel happy but you won’t get hungry too without having that much bearing on your weight. The best method of losing weight is to eat on meals that are as nutritious as possible without added sugar or added preservatives to reduce those fats that are not necessary so you will just consume the amount that your body needs. This way you won’t just lose weight but you will also remain healthy.

Please Post a comment or share your thoughts through Facebook, Twitter or comment section below to join the conversation. Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated.

High Blood Pressure and Chiropractic Care

January 24, 2011 by drburt

I recently had a new patient referral to my San Leandro Chiropractic Clinic from my old patient. This particular case is worth sharing with the world. It proves in theory and in practice one more time that chiropractic care is beneficial for patients who have unstable blood pressure. I believe that this patient is also suffering from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo as well. Symptoms include extreme dizziness when bringing the head forward or laying face down.

This patient is a fifty years plus young female who had worked for a software company for about nine years. Her daily job duties required prolonged sitting hours in front of the computer, sometimes between ten to twelve hours a day. It is a scientific fact that the worse position for a spine is in a sitting position. There is an increased load on a supporting soft tissue of the lumbar spine. As a result the entire spine is being affected by this biomechanical imbalance, which leads to many physiological changes in the way body is being controlled and regulated by our nervous system.

This patient has been treated by workers compensation insurance for her wrist injuries for a very prolonged period of time. That is also a very common problem for people who have to use excessive keyboard entry every day. Our hands just not design to do this type of work. Perhaps thousand years from now our wrists will be able to adopt and people will have less wrist injuries. It appears that computers do not go anywhere any time soon.

During examination I found out that this lady has seen five different specialists who were not able to resolve her problem. Medical Doctor prescribed blood pressure pills, neurologist prescribed vertigo pills and referred patient to an ENT (Ear Nose Throat) specialist, acupuncture had no benefit at all for this particular case, and several sessions of physical therapy were unsuccessful. Her X-RAY report revealed severe osteoarthritis in C5-C6 vertebral levels. MRI of the blood vessels and brain was negative for any pathology whatsoever. That MRI report was a big help as it ruled out the cardiovascular involvement as a cause of high blood pressure. During farther examination of the spine I have found out that her C1 vertebral level on a right side was tenders to palpation and was subluxated or misaligned. Many would wonder what does a misaligned vertebral bone have to do with a blood pressure ? To your surprise the answer is very simple. Vagus nerve which is a cranial nerve X continues its path from a brainstem down to a spianal cord and all the way to a sacral plexus via Atlas or C1 vertebral foramena (opening). When C1 or Atlas vertebral body is subluxated or misaligned it might compress the Vagus nerve which will be the cause of unstable Blood Pressure and many other symptoms if not taken care on time.

The vagus nerve and the heart from Wikipedia:

Fibres of the vagus nerve (right/bottom of image) innervate the sinoatrial node tissue (central and left of image). H&E stain.

Parasympathetic innervation of the heart is controlled by the vagus nerve. Specifically, the vagus nerve acts to lower the heart rate. The right vagus innervates the sinoatrial node. Parasympathetic hyperstimulation predisposes those affected to bradyarrhythmias. The left vagus when hyperstimulated predisposes the heart to atrioventricular (AV) blocks.

At this location neuroscientist Otto Loewi first proved that nerves secrete substances called neurotransmitters which have effects on receptors in target tissues. Loewi described the substance released by the vagus nerve as vagusstoff, which was later found to be acetylcholine. Drugs that inhibit the muscarinic cholinergic receptor (anticholinergics) such as atropine and scopolamine are called vagolytic because they inhibit the action of the vagus nerve on the heart, gastrointestinal tract and other organs. Anticholinergic drugs increase heart rate and are used to treat bradycardia (slow heart rate) and asystole, which is when the heart has no electrical activity.

That day I have adjusted patient’s C1 vertebrae on a right side, thoracic and lumbar vertebral levels. She also received some physicals therapy modalities as well as light massage therapy from my CMT. I have informed the patient that it might take several hours for the therapy to take effect. This session was on Friday and I have asked the patient to email me over the weekend regarding the results. On Sunday this lady stated in her email that her blood pressure has normalized and was very stable after Friday’s session. This particular case of high blood pressure was caused by neurological imbalance and had great result with chiropractic care. There many other causes of high blood pressure: genetic predisposition, lack of exercises, overweight, poor diet. and stress. If you would like to know how to lower your blood pressure naturally without drugs please read this “The High Blood Pressure Remedy Report.” (affiliate link)

My patient has also mentioned that her Vertigo has improved a little but it is still there. In my opinion the cause of the vertigo is in her middle ear and Cranial Nerve VIII. Also the entire right side of her skull around cranial sutures is very painful to touch. I will do farther investigation and will provide the results in one of my blog posts.

Please Post a comment or share your thoughts through Facebook, Twitter or comment section below to join the conversation.

Chiropractic Care, Golf and Back Injury

January 21, 2011 by drburt

Most everyone who plays golf has a greater chance of low back injury. Recent study shows that about 35% of amateur and 22-24% of professional golfers susceptible to lumbar spine injuries. Collectively, the incidence of lower back pain in the male golfer is 25% to 36% and 22% to 27% in the female golfer. Many just want to learn how to hit the ball as far as possible and forgetting the basics of soft tissue trauma prevention. Below is the list of the risk factors that could cause lower back pain:

Arthritis, disc injuries or stress fractures
Weak abdominal musculature
Poor muscle trunk stabilization and strength
Poor warm up and flexibility
Overuse or repetitive stress from technique
Improper swing or technique
Poor posture or scoliosis
Age
Overweight and general poor health
Previous history of back pain or injury

What Is the Mechanism Injury of Lower Back While Playing Golf

Lumbar Spine consists of the following structures: vertebral bodies, IVD – Inter Vertebral Disc, Ligaments, Muscles and Tendons. Lower back injuries are the most common golf related injuries followed by, elbow, wrist and shoulder injuries. Occasionally golfers suffer from hip and knee pain as well. The most common mechanism of injury is the twisting and pulling that takes place during the golf swing against a spine that is not moving through its full range of motion. During golf swing the spine is exposed to extra load and tensile movement. It is estimated that during the swing phase the soft tissue of the lumbar spine is exposed to a force eight times of the body weight. Prolonger standing, twisting, and bending are the contributing factors for stress accumulation on the supporting structures of the lumbar spine. When the force dissipates through the vertebral body, muscles, discs and ligaments can be damaged and be the cause of low back injury.

Preventing Low Back Injuries from Golfing

Less than 5% of amateur golfers fail to adequately stretch or warm up before the game. A proper warm up will provide the following benefits to the spine:
Increasing circulation
Increasing the range of motion
Preparing for increased loading and stress
Below is an example of good warm up activities:
light jog or brisk walk, stretching the larger muscles or major muscle groups, swinging a club in both directions to mobilize the trunk muscles and increase circulation, Fluid, gentle practice swings preparing the relevant structures of the spine and muscles groups for the activity.

Improve Muscle Strength and Tone and Flexibility

Strengthening the abdominal and lower back muscles will help to stabilize the spine during the swing phase and in turn produce more powerful, longer shots. Strong quadriceps, buttock and hamstring muscles are another important key factor that should not be neglected. Here is link to a “Two Stretching Exercises for Golf Back Pain.” Pilates for Golfers (affiliate link) has been a very popular technique in preventing back injuries and elbow injuries while golfing. Pilates for Golfers is a step-by-step guide to identify and correct golf swing faults using the Pilates Method.

Consult Your Personal Chiropractor or Medical Professional

If you injured yourself while golfing, you must do the following in order to prevent farther injury:

Discontinue any activities that aggravates the pain
Apply ice to injured area ASAP – 15 minutes on and 45 minutes off
After 72 hours you can switch to heating moist pads for increased blood flow
Do not lye in bed for a prolonged period of time
Force yourself for light activity
Avoid Heavy Lifting
Avoid Prolonged Sitting
Avoid Prolonged Bending
Suspend Golfing Activities

A visit to your local chiropractor would be a great benefit to your lower back pain. Make sure that your local chiropractor has physical therapy modalities such as, electric stimulation, moist heat, ultrasound, cold laser and certified massage therapist as a staff member. Spinal Chiropractic Adjustment can do wonders to your spine and overall well being.