Sheryl Crow's 8 Life Lessons

How the superstar came out stronger than ever after the toughest 2 years of her life.

Three years ago, singer Sheryl Crow, 47, suffered a painful (and public) breakup with her fiance, cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, just weeks before receiving her own breast cancer diagnosis. Forced to nurture herself as she mended a broken heart and recovering body, the Grammy Award-winning superstar examined how she was living life and decided to make some changes.

“In a way, it was a wonderful life-shifter,” Crow tells WebMD of her daunting ordeal. The tough times helped launch the Missouri-born musician on her own winding road toward motherhood, inner peace, and good health. Here, Crow shares the most important lessons she learned along the way:

1. Learn how to say no.

“I’m not nearly so hard on myself anymore,” she tells WebMD. “I’ve learned to stop putting everybody before myself, and to say ‘no’ sometimes, which was a huge lesson for me. I think women get caught up in that, forgetting about their own needs.” Even with an international, bicoastal tour she’s just wrapped, Crow claims she does “only what I want to do” these days, and that “for every 10 requests I get now, I might say ‘yes’ to one.”

2. Get a second opinion.

After a routine mammogram revealed “suspect” calcifications in both of her breasts, a radiologist suggested she return for another mammogram in six months’ time to take a second look. Her ob-gyn, however, urged immediate biopsies. “Thank goodness I listened to [my doctor],” Crow says, “because my cancer was caught in the earliest stages. I am the poster child for early detection.”

3. Give yourself permission.

Having cancer “woke me up,” Crow says. “I was no longer dulled out.” After staring down her own mortality, the singer knew it was time to build the family she’d always wanted, and on her own terms. But first she had to heal; she needed time to rebound from a broken heart and ailing body. “I didn’t go out much,” she tells WebMD. “I took care of myself, and I learned the only way to get through grief is to grieve, and to experience those emotions. I would tell people when I needed space, if I needed them to run an errand for me. And I allowed myself to sleep as much as I wanted to, and to do absolutely nothing ... and I let myself feel everything.”

4. Look within.

“As Westerners, we try to stay busy. We say: ‘Just don’t think about it, get on with things.’” To slow herself down, Crow started a new habit: meditating. “For me, meditating is tantamount to quieting the brain.” Crow says that the practice of sitting with oneself in silence helped her get those rough months, and that she continues the practice now, every day.

5. Stop waiting for Mr. Right.

“I’ve had maternal instincts since I was really young,” Crow says. “But I had to let go of what I envisioned a family was supposed to look like. I always saw myself with the traditional husband and the kids and the dog, but letting go of all that created opportunity. The best thing I could do was open that door.” Accepting a new notion of what a family could look like led Crow to adopt her son, Wyatt, now 2, as a single mother.

6. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Crow summarizes her own parenting philosophy as: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” And she credits her age and experience with her relaxed approach. “Being an older mom works to my advantage, because I’m easier-going now. I’m less critical of myself, more serene ... so if Wyatt wants to play in the dirt, I’m all for it. I don’t get worked up, say, about some mess he makes.”

7. Live leaner and greener.

A longtime environmentalist, Crow sounds the warning cry about everyday toxins, especially now that she has Wyatt’s development and future to worry about. “We have to educate ourselves,” she says. “Find out what affects us in our daily lives, from the foods we eat to the cleaning products around the home. ... I use earth-friendly cleaning products and drink water that’s filtered. No bottles -- it’s such a waste, all that plastic. ... We as consumers must become conscious of our daily decisions, it’s consumerism that endangers the planet.”

8. Make choices for you.

Crow eats well, exercises regularly, and refuses to worry about aging. “Things have changed with getting older, like not being able to [jog] like I used to. But when I look in the mirror, I try to embrace those things and find the value in what I can do now.” She also believes in chasing ambition, and in fact, credits Wyatt with reigniting her desire to perform and express herself, but to remember to stop and smell the roses along the way, whether that means making time to hang at the playground with her kid, sleep, meditate, or go on tour. “I listen to my body, and I don’t work as hard as I used to,” she says.

“There are certain choices I make. And I choose quality of life, every time.”

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Longevity: It's All About the Bones

Building Stronger Bones

One in two women and one in four men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her/his remaining lifetime. Yes, osteoporosis ("porous bones") affects men, too. Yet the advanced effects of bone loss -- a humped upper back or easily shattered limbs -- does not have to be in the future of people who eat wisely and exercise regularly.

Bones are living tissue. They contain nerves, blood vessels, and marrow, where blood cells are created. Bones are constantly tearing down and rebuilding themselves, like a freeway construction project that never ends. Without this repair and reinforcement of even minor weak spots, we would break bones on a regular basis.

"When a person us under 20 years of age," explains Felicia Cosman, MD, medical director of the Clinical Research Center at Helen Hayes Hospital in New York and clinical director of the National Osteoporosis Foundation, "you are forming more bone cells than you are losing." But when women near menopause, rebuilding new bone slows down. A woman's bone density begins to decrease.

Bone density is measured by a painless, low-radiation X-ray, which is translated into what Cosman describes as a "sort of confusing number" called a T-score. Basically, the patient's bone density is compared to that of an average person between 20 and 30 years old -- the time of peak bone density in a woman's life. The lower the score the greater the risk of having a fracture.

A T-score of minus two or below should concern a 55-year-old woman, Cosman says; it indicates osteoporosis and might justify medication. A normal score is between +1 and -1.

Steps You Can Take to Prevent Osteoporosis

To prevent porous, breakable bones as you age, you need to have sufficient calcium and vitamin D. The body uses calcium for a number of functions and will take it out of the bones faster than it can be laid down if your diet does not pump enough calcium into the pipeline. But calcium is not the only component -- bones are also one-third collagen, which is a protein that gives bones their flexibility.

Annemarie Colbin, PhD, author of Food and Our Bones: The Natural Way to Prevent Osteoporosis, urges us to look at the animals with the largest bones -- cows, elephants. "What do they eat?" she asks. "Leafy plants."

The biggest component of a bone-healthy diet is leafy greens, both cooked and raw, according to Colbin. "Greens give you not only calcium, but vitamin K, potassium, and other minerals and nutrients you need to lay down bone. My first three recommendations are vegetables, vegetables, vegetables," she says with a laugh.

Vitamin D is also important for strong bones, and a good source is, believe it or not, the sun. Colbin recommends being out 20 minutes a day with no sunblock (SPF 8 or above blocks vitamin D), but Cosman vehemently disputes the wisdom of ever going out without sunblock and recommends a multivitamin or vitamin D supplement.

Another building block of strong bones is
protein (remember that collagen?). Colbin says mix it up -- beans, fish, chicken. "You can't eat the same boring diet every day." Again, she urges you to select good-quality, properly raised, antibiotic-free protein sources. She also recommends making your own stock from animal bones -- add a tablespoon of vinegar to 8 cups of water to pull the calcium out of the bones. Throw in a carrots, onions, pepper -- and all you need is some garlic bread! If that isn't enough richness, Colbin recommends adding kombu or canten, mineral-loaded, flavorless seaweeds found in health food stores.

Whole grain bread or pasta is helpful, too. "This gives you magnesium," Colbin says. "You need sufficient magnesium to absorb the calcium you are putting in.

What About Milk or Supplements?

It's almost a mantra -- drink milk for strong bones. Colbin is low-key on milk. "You see the most fractures in countries that drink a lot of milk," she says. "I am not too keen on dairy."

Cosman is also not enthused. "A lot of people drink milk, but I am not big on that," she says. "Maybe low-fat milk or yogurt. Those calcium-enriched juices are good."

Not so good are sugar (increasing secretion of calcium and trace elements), caffeine (ditto), stress, and habitual dieting, which can "starve" your bones.

So what does that leave? Besides veggies and fruits, most women, at least the ones over 50, probably need some calcium supplements in the form of pills.

People over the age of 50 need about 1,200 mg a day, according to the American Medical Association.

She also recommends everyone take a multivitamin (and the American Medical Association agrees). Should you take calcium magnesium supplement? If you can't get enough calcium in your diet, then a supplement is a easy way to get it.

Incidentally, if you do take a calcium pill, take it at a time of day when you did not just eat a lot of calcium. If you have milk and fortified juice at breakfast, Cosman recommends taking the calcium pill at lunch.

Exercise

Bones last longer if you stress them more. It's one of those medical conundrums. Exercising -- putting the weight of your body or an outside weight on the bone -- makes it lay down more bone material to strengthen it. "Use it or lose it!" quips Colbin. "Any exercise is better than none."

Cosman agrees. "Ideally, several times a week -- and you need aerobic, weight bearing, and resistance."

But be careful -- heavy weights or too vigorous exercise in women with osteoporosis might trigger a fracture.

Colbin even recommends against big, fat running shoes. "You don't want that cushioning for this," she says. (Older people also tend to fall and break bones less when they don't wear what amounts to a platform shoe.) Basically, she says, walk a lot and carry stuff.

It works. A study done the University of Toronto shows that aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, or dance, improved the amount of calcium in the upper body and upper thighs, two areas at risk for fractures.

Medications for Bone Loss

If you have suffered bone loss, a number of medications exist to slow the resorption cycle so more bone remains. A new medication called Forteo is the first to build bone. "It's very potent," says Cosman, "and is only for those diagnosed with osteoporosis, not for prevention." For one thing, Forteo is given by a daily injection.

Another medication popularly prescribed is Fosamax. This has been shown to reduce the risk of fractures but is a little tricky to take (you have to sit up afterward to prevent burning of the esophagus).

What about good old estrogen replacement? Hormone replacement therapy is approved for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, but a much publicized study was stopped because one form of it increased the risk of breast cancer and other maladies. Cosman recommends against taking estrogen just for bone health.

Instead of a shelf full of pills, most people only need a well-stocked refrigerator. The process of bone remodeling is complicated but is hooked into the nutrients available to maintain your bones. If you can't eat a good diet all the time, then supplement with a calcium magnesium tablet.

Click here to review our Calcium Magnesium supplement for healthy strong bones.

Tacloban Downhill Mountain Bike Race

Click the photo for a larger view.

Mountain Bike for Good Health and Fun

Extreme adventure sports like mountain biking are great ways to exercise and stay healthy. Be sure to wear protective helmet, gloves, knee and elbow pads, especially for hardcore downhill biking like in the photos below. Whether your extreme riding or casual riding, mountain biking is an excellent way to stay healthy, and enjoy the great outdoors. With exercise, a good diet, and nutrient supplementation, your body will stay healthy stronger longer.

Tacloban Downhill Mountain Bike Race May 18th

The Tacloban hardcore mountain bike crew at Freeride Waray held a Downhill Mountain Bike Race Sunday May 18th just outside Tacloban City. It was a great event with awesome rides with great jumps by the riders on their hardtail, and full suspension mountain bikes.

The Winners in the Hard Tail Category:

1. Jr Munoz
2. Tomas
3. Paul Dominise

The Winners in the Full Suspension Category:

1. Dan Crisostomo
2. Ronald Romualdez
3. Raymund Montejo

Congratulations to all the riders for great riding and to Freeride Waray for putting on an excellent mountain bike event.

Click here to go to the Freeride Waray Website

Click the photos below for a larger view.











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Swine Flu Virus

RP remains 'swine' flu-free: 3 of 5 travelers cleared of virus.

Three of the five travelers suffering from flu-like symptoms - a Filipino and two South Korean children - were cleared of the deadly Influenza A (H1N1) virus by the Philippine Department of Health (DOH).

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday said hospital officials found no trace of the virus on the three quarantined patients who arrived in Cebu province days ago.

This was confirmed by Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, director of the DOH's National Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

She said the results of the laboratory test conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) on the Koreans showed that they did not contract the deadly virus, which has so far killed 29 in Mexico, and two in the US.

Also, the 32-year-old Filipino male patient under observation at the Vicente Sotto Medical Center (VSMMC) was also cleared by the RITM, according to Oliveros.

“Three of those five under observation in Vicente Sotto and in RITM were all negative so we expect them to be discharged," Oliveros said.

The two other patients, the 26-year-old Dutch woman confined at the VSMMC and the 29-year-old Filipino male quarantined at the San Lazaro Hospital remain under close observation.

“The female patient from Cebu we’re still waiting for the specimen to be brought to RITM but were expecting the results to be out within the day for the male at San Lazaro," Oliveros said.

Oliveros remains optimistic that the two will also be declared free from the virus.

Last Wednesday, Duque reported that the DOH placed 10 individuals under quarantine after they showed symptoms similar to that of A-H1N1 infection.

But only five of the 10 were put under close watch because of flu-like symptoms such as fever, coughing and sneezing.

The DOH said it was already tracking down the people that the five patients had been in contact with since they arrived in the country. The wife of one of the quarantined Filipinos was not brought to the hospital because unlike her husband, she did not develop fever.

Duque said it takes about five to seven days before symptoms of A-H1N1 show up. Infected victims only have three to five days to live before they succumb to the virus.

Nonetheless, there is no cause for alarm because the Philippines remains free of the influenza virus, according to Duque. "There is no reason to panic. We don’t have any case of A H1N1."

A cure has yet to be concocted against the A-H1N1, but American scientists vowed that before end of May, they would be able to produce medicine that can cure the disease.

Health officials were jolted anew after recent findings showed that there had already been reports of third-generation contraction of the new type of viral strain – a mixture of human, swine, and the North American swine flu viruses.

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Sports Drinks May Give Brain a Workout

Sports Beverages Appear to Activate Athletes' Brains, Researchers Say

Energy drinks may boost performance during exercise by activating the brain, new research suggests.

Apparently, brain areas can be activated by titillation of unknown and mysterious receptors in the mouth, according to a study in the latest issue of the Journal of Physiology.

These receptors are independent of ordinary taste buds, says Ed Chambers, PhD, of the University of Birmingham in England and lead author of the study.

Chambers tells WebMD by email that the "study suggests that the human mouth may have receptors sensitive to carbohydrate that are independent of the 'sweet' taste receptor. This supports research performed with rodents that suggests these mammals have taste receptors that are responsive to carbohydrate."

His research team mixed pseudo-sports drinks that contained either carbohydrates (glucose or maltodextrin) or a third concoction of water laced with artificial sweeteners.

Then eight endurance-trained cyclists were asked to complete a challenging workout, during which they swished with one of the three liquids for 10 seconds, spitting the drink out and not swallowing.

Those athletes who used the glucose or maltodextrin drinks to rinse their mouths did 2% to 3% better than exercisers who swished the artificially sweetened water, the “placebo” sports drink, the researchers say.

The researchers also examined the brain activity of athletes by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) after giving them one of the three solutions.

And, they found that the glucose and maltodextrin triggered specific areas of the brain that are associated with pleasure or reward, but the artificially sweetened water did not.

"Our results suggest that any carbohydrate in the mouth could improve exercise performance," he tells WebMD. "However, this has only been demonstrated with glucose and maltodextrin and would need to be proven. We want to make clear that the study does not imply that athletes do not need to swallow energy drinks during exercise. The research has identified that as well as the well-known metabolic benefits of ingesting carbohydrate drinks during exercise there is a direct 'central' benefit from simply tasting these substances," Chambers tells WebMD in an email.

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Setting Realistic Weight Loss Goals

Realistic weight loss ambitions can help you stay on track—and reach your diet goals.

Turns out, it's not the occasional piece of Death by Chocolate Cake that does in our weight loss efforts. It's the universal wish to lose a lot of weight ASAP and the expectation that we can simply diet it away easily.

Weight control experts call it the false-hope syndrome -- when dieters have unrealistic expectations about exactly how long it will take to shed excess pounds.

Unfortunately, research shows that unrealistic expectations boost the risk of dropping out of a weight loss program. And though at least one study has found that dieters may temporarily eat less if their expectations are too high, that undereating may be replaced by overeating at the very next temptation.

Overall, experts concur, unrealistic weight loss objectives are not productive, and can trigger failure. The best way to go: smaller, realistic goals, says Janet Polivy, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, Canada.

The question is: How do you set realistic weight loss goals?

5 Ways to Set Sensible Weight Loss Goals

When WebMD asked the experts for their tips on setting realistic weight loss goals, their recommendations came down to a few simple strategies. But before you put these to use, remember to talk your weight loss plans over with your doctor.

* Resolve to lose slowly

"Medically, most clinicians would say goals of losing five to 10 percent [of your start weight] are achievable," says Jennifer A. Linde, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

So if you weigh 200 pounds, a reachable target would be to lose 10 to 20 pounds.

* Do the math.

"A realistic goal is losing 1 to 2 pounds a week to stay healthy," says Linde.

That means being realistic about your time frame. If you need to lose 25 pounds, figure you are embarking on at least a three-month program. Fifty pounds? Assume a time frame of at least six months. Aim to burn 500 to 1000 calories a day either by eating less, exercising more, or both.

* Set short term goals.

Reach for minimilestones. Instead of focusing on just losing 25 pounds, go for -- and celebrate -- that first 5-pound loss.

* Track your progress.

Record your successes in a way that works for you. Take advantage of online programs, use a notebook, or keep a journal. Whatever keeps you on track.

* Think about long-term goals.

"It's OK to think big, Linde says, "but it may mean starting small and working towards a big goal."

So if your long-term goal is losing 50 pounds in a year, for example, maybe your short-term goal is getting through the day without eating too much.

There's an old saying: Lose it slowly, keep it off. This adage makes sense for at least one reason: Losing weight slowly means you've had time to adopt new behaviors, like eating less and exercising more.

And when you focus on the process of changing your habits --- not just on losing weight -- those new and healthier habits will be a big boost in helping you attain your weight loss goals.

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Safer Food For a Healthier You

Pesticides in produce, hormones in milk, antibiotics in meat -- what are all these extra ingredients doing in our food?

Improved testing methods now allow researchers to detect and monitor a strange brew of unpleasant chemicals in our food and bodies. Although the amounts are small and there’s controversy about whether or not they’re harmful, their presence alone is disturbing to many --especially parents of small children.

“Modern production of foods incorporates a wide range of synthetic chemicals,” says Jeff Gillman, PhD, associate professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota and author of The Truth About Organic Gardening. “Many of these chemicals have the potential to be very damaging to humans if they are exposed to high concentrations, or to low concentrations over an extended period of time.”

“More people are realizing there’s a myriad of chemicals in conventionally produced food,” says Craig Minowa, environmental scientist with the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit advocacy group. Although each has passed its own safety review, Minowa points out that “most of the studies on safety are done or supported by the companies themselves.”

So what are the health effects of these unwanted ingredients?
Pickles, Lettuce, Mayo … Hold the Estrogen

Injecting hormones into young livestock can make them gain weight faster. More weight means more meat, which means more profit for the producer. Hormones also increase the production of milk by dairy cows.

Hormones have been used for decades in the meat and dairy industries. Synthetic estrogens and testosterone are the most common. Typically, farmers implant a pellet in a cow’s ear at an early age; it releases hormones throughout the animal’s life.

Initial concerns about estrogen-injected cows centered on a compound called diethylstilbestrol (DES). Nearly all beef cattle were treated with DES in the 1950s and 1960s. DES was also used as medicine, given to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages.

However, it was also discovered that DES caused a higher risk of vaginal cancer in the daughters of women who received the medicine. By the 1970s, over the protests of ranchers, diethylstilbestrol was phased out from use in medicine and agriculture.

It’s also long been known that breast cancer risk increases with higher lifetime exposure to estrogen. These facts have led many to question whether the continued use of synthetic estrogens in livestock is safe.

Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is a different class of hormone that increases the amount of milk dairy cows produce. Some suggest that although rBGH itself appears safe, it increases the amount of other chemicals in the body that might cause cancer. So far, there’s no definitive proof one way or the other.

How much hormone is in a hamburger, and could it hurt you? The answer is, no one really knows. Studies show the added hormones do show up in beef and milk, pushing their estrogen and testosterone content to the high end of normal for cows. Whether that translates to increased risk for humans is the question.

“It really depends on how you look at the science,” Minowa tells WebMD. “Many industry-funded studies show no risk, but there are independent studies that suggest” a potential cancer risk from hormones in milk.

Hormone-treated meat has long been suspected of contributing to early puberty in children, although the link has not been proven. There’s no question that the age of puberty has been decreasing in the U.S. But some suggest that’s due to improved nutrition and health, not to second helpings of hormones in children’s diets.

The effects are very hard to study, experts say, because hormones are naturally present in both food and our bodies. Plus, the effects could be subtle and take years to show up.

The amount of hormone that enters a person’s bloodstream after eating hormone-treated meat is small compared with the amount of estrogen a person produces daily. However, even low levels of hormones can have strong effects on some body processes.

Responding to the lack of certainty, the European Union has banned all hormones in beef, and Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU have banned rBGH. No major studies are under way in the U.S. to evaluate the safety of hormones in meat and milk.
Produce and Pesticide Residue

Farmers use pesticides on many conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. The EPA sets limits on how much pesticide residue can remain on food. It’s a complex process that’s not easy to understand, incorporating variables such as the toxicity of the pesticide and how much of the food people generally eat. At the end, each of the 9,700 pesticides (at last count, in 1996) receives a number called a “tolerance.”

The EPA, FDA, and USDA all play a role in ensuring pesticides on our food don’t exceed the tolerances. In 1999, 40% of U.S. produce tested by the government contained pesticide residue. About 1% of domestically produced and 3% of the imported food had levels that violated standards.

While those numbers might seem reassuring, skeptics point out that no one could possibly test all the food grown or imported into the U.S. Even 1% of the total produce in the U.S. is a huge amount, Gillman points out.

And although pesticide tolerances are assumed to be safe, these chemicals are by their very nature toxic, and haven’t been studied directly in people.

According to Minowa, the individual safety profiles of pesticides don’t take into consideration any hazard from their combined effects. “Take a box of [cereal] off the shelf, and you can find residues from 32 pesticides,” Minowa says. “Each one is within its tolerance, but what’s the effect of those chemicals acting in combination in our bodies?”

According to FDA data analyzed by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, the following fruits and vegetables tend to contain the highest levels of pesticide residue:

* Peaches
* Apples
* Sweet bell peppers
* Celery
* Nectarines
* Strawberries
* Cherries
* Pears
* Imported grapes
* Spinach
* Lettuce
* Potatoes

The foods with the least pesticide residues were:

* Avocados
* Frozen sweet corn
* Pineapples
* Mangos
* Asparagus
* Frozen peas
* Bananas
* Cabbage
* Broccoli
* Papayas

You can reduce your exposure to pesticides by buying organic for the high-pesticide items. Conventionally grown produce should be fine for those on the low-residue list, according to EWG.

Whether it’s organic or conventional, you should take steps to reduce contamination of fresh food by pesticide or bacteria:

* Always wash fresh produce thoroughly.
* Peeling produce reduces pesticide residue and bacteria, although it also can remove valuable nutrients.

Antibiotics in Meat

Ranchers and farmers feed antibiotics in a daily low dose to their livestock. It’s not to stop them from getting sick, but to make them gain weight.

But many doctors and researchers suspect that this practice is contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, posing a serious danger to our health:

* A 2001 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that 84% of the Salmonella bacteria in supermarket ground beef were resistant to some antibiotics.
* Another study in 2002 suggested that some people caught resistant strains of Salmonella from eating pork that had been fed the antibiotic ciprofloxacin.
* The FDA estimates that use of antibiotics in chickens directly led to 11,000 people catching intestinal illnesses from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 1999.

Partly because of these findings, several major fast food chains have refused to buy chicken treated with ciprofloxacin or similar antibiotics. Other companies continue to buy and sell antibiotic-treated meat, though.

There’s no easy way to know if the meat you buy was raised with antibiotic feed. Companies aren’t obligated to label their meat, or to provide consumers with the information.

“The best way to do that is to look for organic products, or to buy locally,” says Minowa. “If you have a direct relationship with the farmer raising your food, you can just ask them.”
Reduce Residues: Buy Local or Organic

Buying from local farmers’ markets gets you the freshest produce possible. It also makes your food “greener” by reducing the wasted fuel, pollution, and greenhouse gases created by long-haul shipping.

“By buying local, you also have the ability to ask the farmer which pesticides he or she used on the crop as it was grown,” says Gillman.

“Organic” is a term that’s regulated by the USDA. Organic produce can’t be treated with conventional pesticides, and must be grown in nearly pesticide-free soil. For these reasons, organic fruits and vegetables have much lower pesticide residues.

To be sold as organic, livestock must meet several criteria:

* They are fed only organic, vegetarian feed. They may not be fed meat from other slaughtered animals (a common component of conventional livestock feed).
* They are not treated with any antibiotics or hormones.
* The meat is not treated with radiation.
* They are raised under conditions that allow exercise and access to the outdoors.

The USDA can inspect farms for compliance. It’s believed that the vast majority of organic farmers follow these practices.

The main drawback to organic food is expense. As you’ve noticed in the checkout lane, organic food nearly always costs more than conventionally produced food.

Is buying organic money well spent? Limited research suggests that some organic foods have more nutrients than conventional food. And then there’s the issue of the environment. Gillman cautions that “organic practices aren’t always 100% sustainable and green either,” but they are usually “greener” than modern industrial farming.

To Minowa and many others in the organic food movement, “it’s a matter of responsibility. Each bite that you consume, each dollar that you spend provides an opportunity to make positive change for a sustainable future.”

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How the Atkins Diet Fares in Cholesterol

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Atkins Like Diet Worse for Cholesterol Compared to South Beach, Ornish Diets, Study Says

People who follow a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet for weight maintenance, even for as little as a month, may worsen risk factors for heart disease compared to two other popular diets, a newly published study shows.

Researchers set out to compare the impact of the Atkins, South Beach, and Ornish diets on measurable risk factors for heart disease in people who were not overweight and were not trying to lose weight.

The idea was to examine the effects of the diets when they are used for weight maintenance and not weight loss.

Earlier this year, a widely reported study found that for weight loss, restricting calories is the key and that it matters little whether you count carbs, fat, or protein.

But the newly published research suggests that there are big differences in the diets in terms of effects on cardiovascular risk factors when followed by people who aren’t losing weight.

“If you are losing weight on a diet, that is probably beneficial for your health no matter which of these diets you follow,” lead researcher Michael Miller, MD, tells WebMD. “The question is, ‘Once someone has established a weight they are comfortable with, does it matter which diet they follow?’ And it appears that it does.”
Atkins, South Beach, and Ornish

The study included 18 healthy adults who were not overweight, who followed each of the three diets for one month, followed by a one-month "wash-out" period in which they ate normally. Caloric intake was increased during any phase of the study if a participant began to lose weight.

The low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet designed to approximate the first, and most extreme, phase of the Atkins diet included 50% of calories from fat and 22% to 38% of calories from saturated fat sources like meat, cheese, and other whole-fat dairy products, Miller tells WebMD.

During their month on the Mediterranean-based South Beach diet, study participants ate 30% of calories in the form of fat, but olive and other vegetable oils, nuts, lean meats, and fish were the main fat sources.

While on the low-fat, high-carbohydrate Ornish diet, 10% of calories came from fat.

The researchers conducted blood tests throughout the study to assess risk factors for heart disease, including LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein, which is a measure of inflammation in the body.

They also used ultrasound to study changes in blood vessels' flexibility -- specifically, their ability to widen to accommodate blood flow. Atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries, hinders that process and is associated with heart attack and stroke risk.

The study revealed that:

While on the low-carb, high-fat diet, LDL cholesterol levels increased slightly, compared to decreases of about 12% and 17% respectively, during the South Beach and Ornish phases of the study.

After a month on the Atkins-like diet, study participants showed less blood vessel flexibility than they did after a month on the Ornish diet.

CRP levels remained in the normal range with all three diets, but levels went down slightly while participants were on the South Beach and Ornish diets and they went up slightly on the high-fat, low-carb diet, Miller tells WebMD.

The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Atkins Responds

Miller says the study makes it clear that high-saturated fat diets are pro-inflammatory and that they promote heart disease in other ways as well.

But a spokeswoman for Atkins Nutritionals says the eating plan the study participants followed in no way resembles what is recommended for weight maintenance.

In an email exchange with WebMD, Atkins Vice President of Nutrition and Education Colette Heimowitz, MSc, says that on the maintenance phase of the Atkins diet, fat should make up no more than 40% of total calories, and no more than 10% of calories should come from saturated fat.

The study participants typically ate about three times as much saturated fat as they should have if they were following Atkins for weight maintenance, she says.

Heimowitz says that Atkins dieters consistently show improvements in blood fats, or lipids, in the form of decreased triglycerides. But this improvement was not seen in the study participants while they were on the low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet.

“Whatever diet Dr. Miller used, it was not ‘Atkins’, and the lipid response he reported is what one might expect to result from a rich mixture of carbohydrates and fat and overfeeding to avoid weight loss,” she notes.

She says three decades of research has shown the Atkins diet to be safe, and that the study by Miller and colleagues was too small and too short to allow for meaningful conclusions.

“The final sample size was 18, yet they make generalizations to many people,” she says. “The entire duration of the treatment was four weeks, yet they make statements about ‘long-term maintenance.’”
Ornish Weighs In

Miller acknowledges that the maintenance phase of the Atkins diet is not very different from the typical Western diet.

But he says many people stay on the more extreme, early phase of the diet, which is much higher in saturated fats, long after weight loss is no longer a goal.

“The main message is that reducing the saturated fat in the diet is better for overall heart health,” he says.

Low-fat diet proponent Dean Ornish, MD, tells WebMD that the study by Miller and colleagues explores the impact of high saturated-fat diets in a unique way.

He cites a separate study, published last week in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, finding that older people who eat large amounts of saturated fat in the form of red and processed meat are more likely to die of heart disease and cancer.

He says the two studies “directly contradict” the idea that all diets are equally healthy as long as they promote weight loss.

Ornish is founder and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that no more than 35% of total daily calories come from fat, and no more than 7% of calories come from saturated fat sources.

Nutritionist Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, who is an AHA spokeswoman, says protein should come primarily from low-fat sources like fish, legumes, and lean meat. Dairy foods should be low-fat or nonfat, and, of course, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is important.

Lichtenstein is a professor of nutrition science and policy. She directs the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tuft's University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Boston.

“If you follow this pattern, you will end up with a diet that is in line with what AHA recommends,” she says.

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11 Ways to Protect Your Heart

11 Ways to Protect Your Heart From the Tolls of Recession

Healthy Diet, Exercise, Relaxing Techniques Can Go a Long Way in Reducing Ill Effects of Economy-Related Stress

The wild stock market ride, rising foreclosure rates, and increasing layoffs may give you a queasy feeling in your stomach, but it’s your heart that is really at increased risk during a recession, cardiologists say.

Because of the stress that often comes with a recession, it’s important to take extra care of your heart’s health.

“Stress, anxiety, and depression all affect heart health,” says Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, section head of preventive cardiology and rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. One major effect is accelerated atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Elevated blood pressure and heart rate are also side effects of stress.

Although a recession does not kill tens of thousands of people in a single catastrophic event, it harms health in the long run. The consequences of dealing with financial uncertainties can be devastating, experts say.

So what can you do to protect your health during the recession? Plenty. And you can do it with just a little extra effort -- and very little money.

1. Look the other way

Limit your exposure to the bad news as much as possible. There’s no benefit, experts say, to monitoring your 401(k) gains or losses on a daily basis. Ditto for your other investments. Listening to each new bit of news of how alleged scammers like Bernie Madoff made off with investors’ money only stresses us more.

We may not think of chemicals when it comes to matters of the heart, but much of the way the heart responds to stress comes down to body chemistry, explains Cam Patterson, MD, chief of the division of cardiology at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill. And several different chemical molecules can harm us as a result of stress.

Our bodies react to stress by producing hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Especially for those already at risk for heart disease, the results of an outpouring of stress hormones can be deadly -- or at least risky. They can build up over time, with effects that lead to damage of arterial walls and weakening plaque that may already be in a vessel.

“They make the plaques more likely to explode,” Patterson says.

2. Get moving

We know you’ve heard that exercise is important, but during a recession, your health may depend on it. This is particularly true if you’ve been laid off, doctors say. The tendency may be to pull the covers over your head and stay in bed -- or sit in front of the TV. Don’t. Get your day started with a brisk walk, says Winston Gandy, MD, co-director of cardiac ultrasound at Piedmont Heart Institute in Atlanta.

Hazen recommends, “Do jumping jacks, take a milk crate and turn it upside down and step on it -- do something."

Repeated studies have shown the benefits of exercise to heart health, with as much as a 15% decrease in mortality rates with relatively minor changes in one’s exercise routine.

3. Become a Sleeping Beauty

“ Sleep is not just a time of rest, but of restoration,” says Charles Raison, MD, director of the Mind-Body Clinic in the department of psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine. While we are sleeping, our bodies repair a lot of the damage that happens during the day.

“Think of it like the night cleaning crew that comes in when the lights are down and the office is empty,” Gandy says.

Although we need eight hours of sleep a night, many Americans live in a sleep-deprived state, and that’s not good for our health during the recession, or any other time.

To sleep better, avoid doing stressful things before bedtime, such as paying bills, reading about your diminishing retirement fund, or having a tense conversation with your partner or family. If you have trouble sleeping on a regular basis, discuss this with your doctor.

4. Watch your stomach

Eat healthful foods and limit fatty, processed foods. Fresh vegetables, fruit, and lean meats should top your grocery list. Skip desserts and fried foods -- and save money, too.

If you’ve been laid off, it’s especially important to watch your weight, Gandy says. “Suddenly people begin to see 5 pounds around their middle, and they don’t know where it came from,” he says.

Often, it comes from mindless nibbling and snacking throughout the day. That extra weight, particularly around the middle, can increase a person’s risk of heart disease.

5. Watch out for recession depression

Even if you have not previously been vulnerable to depression, watch for its symptoms during these trying times. Depression affects not only your outlook but also your heart health.

"Depression is a marker that the brain and the body have gone into a state that increases your risk of disease," says Emory's Raison.

It's only natural that bad news gets us agitated and anxious, causing our blood pressure to rise and our arteries to "clamp," Raison says. "You have a fight with your wife, this happens. You lose your job, this happens."

These times that try men's and women's pocketbooks are much like that, Raison explains.

"We're all affected to some degree, and it emotionally brings it closer to (each of) us," he says.

Thus, it's important to keep a watchful eye for signs of depression, not only in yourself but in family members and significant others.

Because men are often reluctant to seek help for depression, men who have been laid off should pay special attention to signs of depression.

What to watch for?

Prolonged sadness; a loss of interest in things that typically bring joy; sleeplessness; anxiety; loss of concentration. If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor about possible depression and options for treatment, such as antidepressants and talk therapy.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, seek immediate help.

6. Limit the booze

It may be tempting to drown our sorrows in libations, but it’s not very wise in the long run.

First, remember that alcohol is a depressant. Second, it adds extra calories. The list goes on. And remember that it costs money that you could spend on something good for your body.

Although studies have shown that alcohol in moderation can promote heart health, remember that more is not better.

7. Establish a routine

Having a routine during the recession helps your health by bringing peace of mind and lowering your stress hormones.

“When you are used to a routine, you can minimize your risk,” Gandy says. Facing a foreclosure or being laid off makes us feel out of control. When we do things that help us feel in control, such as having a routine, we feel better.

Also, a routine is particularly important for those who have been laid off, Gandy says. When workers suddenly become nonproductive, they often experience a profound sense of loss that can lead to depression. Having a routine, as well as a plan for how you are going to find work, is essential.

8. Take your medicines

When budgets are tight, many people are tempted to cut out or cut back on their prescription medications. Don’t do either, because it may harm your health. If you are having trouble paying for your medicines, talk to your doctor. You can also consider going generic, if a version exists for your medication, or ask if the manufacturer has a financial assistance program.

9. Know your numbers

We’re not talking about financials -- we’re talking blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides. If you already have related medical problems, make sure to continue your doctor's recommended checkups. During the recession, your health may be more stressed than you realize.

10. Chill out

Learn relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, mindfulness, or meditation. Even sharing your experiences in support groups can help your health during the recession. “You’ve got to find a happy place,” says Cleveland Clinic’s Hazen.

Many health centers and some places of worship offer free or inexpensive classes on relaxation techniques. Deep breathing can help lower your blood pressure as well as reduce the amount of stress hormones gushing into your bloodstream, and mindfulness relaxes you and helps you sleep better.

Such techniques can also help you avoid anger, an inevitable consequence of feeling out of control, which can lead to spikes in blood pressure during the day, Hazen says. Those spikes, though brief, put you at increased risk for a coronary event.

Above all, while the financial news is horrible, focus on the good things going on in your life. Even if you have lost a great deal in your retirement fund, maybe you still have your house. Maybe you still have a job. And with a little extra attention, you can still have your health.

11. Take vitamins and supplements

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Protein: Are You Getting Enough?

Nutrition facts labels prominently display information about protein. But of the three macronutrients in food – protein, fat, and carbohydrates -- protein may be the one most of us know least about.

How much protein do you need to stay healthy? What’s the best source of protein?

Protein requirements are complicated because the amount we need changes with age.

* Infants require about 10 grams a day.
* Teenage boys need up to 52 grams a day.
* Teenage girls need 46 grams a day.
* Adult men need about 56 grams a day.
* Adult women need about 46 grams a day.

One important exception is pregnant or lactating women, when the recommended intake rises to 71 grams of protein a day.

Another way to count protein requirements is as a percentage of calories. The USDA’s MyPyramid plan suggests that protein make up between 17% to 21% percent of total calories. The Institute of Medicine recommends we get at least 10% and no more than 35% of calories from protein.

Are You Getting Enough Protein?

Many of us might do well to add a few additional sources of protein.

A 2008 analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2003-2004 found that 7.7% of adolescent females and about 8% of older adult women weren’t hitting the minimum recommended amount of protein.

As a proportion of total calories, the median intake of protein in children was 13.4%, below the ideal range. Men aged 51 to 70 consumed 16% of their calories in protein, also a little below the recommended amount.

The Risks of Too Little Protein

That shortfall could mean trouble. Protein is important to many physiological functions, from building muscle and bone to keeping cells in good working order.

Recent studies suggest that protein makes a meal more satiating, which in turn could help people maintain a healthy weight. Indeed, a 2005 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that increasing protein from 15% to 30% of total calories -- and reducing fat from 35% to 20% of calories -- resulted in sustained weight loss.

Choosing the Healthiest Source of Protein

A wide variety of foods contain protein, from meat, fish, and diary to beans, whole grains, nuts, eggs, and vegetables. A meat-eater can easily get all the protein he or she needs. But even vegetarians can meet their requirements if they choose with a little care.

How healthy a protein-rich food is typically depends on what else it contains. For example:

Meat is one of the leading sources of protein in the American diet. Some meat is also loaded with saturated fat, which is unhealthy. The healthiest choice is lean meat low in saturated fat.

Fish is an excellent source of protein, since the oils contained in fish help protect against heart disease.

Eggs are also abundant in protein, although they also contain dietary cholesterol, which can raise the risk of heart disease in people with elevated blood cholesterol levels.

Plants such as beans and nuts are a particularly wise choice of protein, since so many Americans fall short on fiber. Both beans and nuts are rich in fiber and plant-based phytochemicals that may help lower heart disease and cancer risk.

Some studies suggest that plant-based proteins are healthier than those from animals. In the Cornell China study, for instance, researchers studying diet and health in rural China found that low rates of heart disease were associated with consumption of plant-based rather than animal-based protein. In a study of older men in the U.S., protein from beef was more likely than soy-based protein to raise cholesterol levels.

Many of us would do well to tip the balance of our diets away from high-fat meat and toward lean meats and plant-based protein such as beans. But in the end, most nutritionists agree, the healthiest approach is to choose from a variety of protein sources. If you’re watching your weight, try including a source of protein with every meal, which can help you feel full longer.

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