Don’t Over-Manage: It can be easy to get too caught up in counting calories. Don’t focus so much on the actual number of calories, of the specific serving size. It’s okay to have some chips as a snack, but instead of reading the label and saying “Okay, I can have 7…” grab yourself a handful, put them on a napkin, and put the bag away. This way you can enjoy a good amount, keep yourself from eating more than that, but also keep yourself from obsessing over the calories. If you obsess over calories, it will soon become impossible to enjoy food. Instead, you’ll just worry about it.

Exercise: While exercise is great for your body, some people may over-exercise. If you exercise too much, you could make yourself too thin or much worse. Instead of exercising at a high level, try exercising for shorter periods of time. 20 minutes should be enough time to keep your body working, without over exerting yourself. If you feel like this isn’t enough, try exercising at a high level, but for fewer days of the week. If you are a body builder, obviously this isn’t enough. But if you’re just trying to lose a bit of weight, or maintain your weight, this could be right for you.

Weighing: Do NOT weigh yourself constantly. This is a dangerous habit that many people can fall into. Weighing yourself once a day can be bad for some people that are extremely concerned with their weight, but a lot of people can weigh themselves over and over again during the course of a day. If this happens, it can be very easy to fall into some sort of eating disorder. Your weight in the morning is your true weight, and if you check it frequently during the day, you’ll just be confusing yourself.

Don’t feel the need to be stick thin. Having some meat on your bones looks healthier and much more attractive, so try to keep yourself at a healthy weight. If you find yourself falling into bad habits, try to break them. You may save yourself a lot of trouble, and your health.

© 2009 – 2011, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Hair loss can be the result of many things. As we age, our hair can get thinner and stress, anxiety, hormonal issues, and even the medications we take can cause irregular hair loss. But for a large number of folks that are experiencing unexplained hair loss, the regular diet of individuals may be the key and can bring on the potential for a reversal once the problem is addressed.

Let’s take a look at some of the dietary factors that can affect hair growth.

Not Enough Protein
When you are on a protein-free diet or perhaps you are a vegetarian, you may experience bouts of hair loss because when the body is lacking protein, it will cause the growth of hair to go into a resting phase. After a few months, there can be a large amount of shedding that occurs. Eating better proteins, such as soy protein, can stimulate the growth of hair and in most cases, hair loss is reversible. You can also get protein from eating low-fat cheeses, beans, yogurt, and fish.

Missing Zinc
If your body is not getting enough zinc, you may find frequent loss of hair. Zinc deficiencies can lead to a lot of shedding because your hair shaft is weakened and it allows for easier breakage and prevention of new hair growth. Zinc helps with cell reproduction and affects the oil secretion glands that are attached to the follicles in your hair. If you need to replenish zinc in your diet, you will find a variety of supplements that are for sale in retail outlets. There are even zinc supplements that are advertised to helping hair loss. Take only the recommended dosages because too much zinc can cause hair loss since it can disrupt the absorption of other mineral your hair needs to remain healthy.

B-Vitamin Deficiencies
If you are not getting enough B vitamins in your diet, you may want to start eating more eggs and liver. Biotin in one example of a B vitamin that is required for new hair growth. It is also a crucial part of healthy nails and skin. You can also find biotin supplements to take to help improve new hair growth.

Need Iron
Iron deficiencies are more common in women than in men. Menopausal women are very likely to have iron deficiencies that lead to hair loss due to pregnancy and their regular menstrual cycle. Eating iron-rich foods like bean, spinach, raisins, and lean beef can help keep adequate supplies of iron in your daily diet. Too much iron however can cause hair loss as well as organ damage to the liver, the heart, and the pancreas.

Silica Deficiencies
Silica relates to collagen in the body and is found in hair, nails, and the muscles of the body. If you have a silica deficiency, you may notice that you are particularly sensitive to cold, even when it’s hot outside. Silica deficiencies can also lead to wrinkles, poor bone development, brittle nails, and hair loss. If you have a silica deficiency, you can supplement your diet with red peppers, potato skins, almonds, peanuts, onions, cabbage, carrots, and fish. There are even silica shampoos that are sold to prevent baldness and stimulate new hair growth.

Diets in General
If you have taken to using “crash diets” to control your weight, a side effect of these kinds of unhealthy diets is the body’s inability to regenerate new cells, resulting in unhealthy hair that breaks and falls out. Your body needs calories each day to be healthy. Crash diets prevent you from getting adequate nutrition and calories that can lead to hair loss but also to other more severe health effects.

© 2009 – 2011, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Symptoms of PMS
There are many symptoms which may appear during PMS which range in intensity for each individual.  Some women are only mildly affected while others find the symptoms interfere with their daily life.  Here are a few of the physical and emotional symptoms that are associated with PMS.

• Pain in the joints or muscles
• Fatigue
• Bloating or weight gain due to fluid retention
• Sore and/or tender breasts
• Acne or skin blemishes
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Insomnia
• Inability to focus or concentrate
• Mood swings (easy to anger, irritate or sadden)
• Anxiety and/or tension
• Depression
• Changes in appetite/Food cravings (sweets and salty)
• Uncontrolled crying
• Forgetfulness

These are just a few of the more than 100 symptoms that can be associated with PMS.  The number of symptoms and varying degree that each affect certain women make it difficult to actually clarify this condition as a disease.  While the majority of women suffer from PMS symptoms at some point in their life, there is a smaller percentage of women (5%) that suffer severe symptoms that are present for several days, month after month.  Women who suffer from severe disabling symptoms each month should discuss the situation with their doctor to rule out other underlying physical or psychological problems which might be intensified due changes occurring in the body prior to the onset of menstruation.

Treatments and Lifestyle Changes
Women who experience severe symptoms may find relief through various treatments some of which are prescribed by their doctor such as antidepressants and oral contraceptives.  Over-the-counter medicines ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen sodium (Aleve) can relieve pain from cramping or sore and tender breasts.  Making small lifestyle changes at home can also reduce or even eliminate many PMS symptoms.  Modifying your diet, exercising daily and reducing stress will not only help ease the pain and discomfort associated with PMS but also help you feel better throughout the month.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Step One: Make sure you are not in danger.  It’s great to be prepared to rescue a victim, but take a look at your surroundings to ensure you will not become a victim yourself before beginning.

Step Two: Try to wake the victim.  Call 911.  If the victim moves, moans, or shows signs of breathing, you do not need to perform CPR.

Step Three: Check to see if victim is breathing. Tilt the victims head back carefully and place your ear near the victims mouth to feel and listen for breathing. While doing so, look at the chest to see if any movement occurs from breathing.  If the victim is breathing, you do not need to perform CPR.

Step Four: If there is no breathing, start rescue breathing.  Make sure the victim’s airway is open by tilting the head back.  Pinch the victim’s nose, make a seal over the victim’s mouth with your mouth (or use a CPR mask if you have one) and blow a breath into the victims mouth to see the chest rise.  When the chest falls, repeat the rescue breath again.

Step Five: Begin chest compressions by placing the heel of your hand on the middle of the victim’s chest, and lace the fingers of your other hand with it by putting your other hand overtop your first hand.  Push down on the chest about 1.5 to 2 inches and allow the chest to completely come back up before giving another compression.  Give 30 compressions, counting “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand” to make sure you are doing them at the right rate.

Step Six: Repeat rescue breathing for two breaths, re-tilt the head to open airway and immediately give the first breath without first checking for breathing.  When the chest rises and returns to it’s normal position, give the second breath.

Step Seven: Repeat chest compressions and give 30 compressions.

Step Eight:  Repeat rescue breathing and chest compression steps for about two minutes or until emergency help arrives.

Step Nine: After two minutes, tilt the victims head back again and place ear near mouth to check for breathing. Look for the rise and fall of chest.  If the victim is breathing, do not continue CPR.  If the victim is still not breathing, continue CPR with rescue breaths and chest compressions until help arrives.

© 2009 – 2011, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Common Causes of Oral Cancer.
The main cause of oral cancer is not surprisingly the use of tobacco.  Ninety percent of people diagnosed with oral cancer have used some form of tobacco such as cigarettes, pipes, snuff, chewing tobacco or cigars.  The next leading cause is the use of alcohol.  Other causes may include leukoplakia, erythroplakia (characterized by patches the develop in the mouth or throat) and exposure to the sun.  In some cases oral cancer may be caused by a virus such as HPV or fungi.

Symptoms of Oral Cancer.
It is important to remember when looking at symptoms that each individual case is different.  Some individuals see no symptoms while others have just a few.  Other patients may have all of the symptoms. As with other disease or illness, it is important to see a physician if you have concerns over any of the following common symptoms as they may be signs of oral cancer or another condition all together.
•    Patches on the gums, tongue or lining of the mouth (usually red or white in color).
•    Sores around the lips or mouth that do not heal.
•    Any lumps found around the mouth, lips or throat (or even neck).
•    Swelling of the jaw.
•    Chronic sore throat.
•    Difficulty or painful swallowing or chewing.
•    Bleeding in the mouth.
•    Earache
•    Loose teeth or difficulty wearing dentures

Who Gets Oral Cancer?
There are certain risk factors that increase a person’s chance of getting oral cancer.  They include use of tobacco and/or alcohol, exposure to the sun (lip cancer), HPV (human papillomavirus), and anyone with a suppressed immune system.  These are risk factors–meaning some people may develop oral cancer while others will not.  Over a quarter of the people diagnosed with oral cancer do not smoke or drink regularly.  Historically this cancer has affected people over the age of 40 and is found in men two times more often than women.

Diagnosis and Prognosis.
Your dentist can conduct an oral cancer screening as part of your routine dental visit.  Unfortunately in many cases either due to lack of routine oral exams or other conditions this type of cancer is often not diagnosed until it has progressed to a dangerous level.  If this cancer travels to your lymph system you are now looking at a cancer that will spread to other parts of your body.  If you have any questions about symptoms or other concerns, it is important to contact your doctor or dentist right away.  The survival rate increases the sooner the cancer is diagnosed and treated.

For more information about oral cancer, please visit the Oral Cancer Foundation or National Cancer Institute.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

What Are The Different Forms of Skin Cancer?
There are different types of skin cancer with three forms accounting for almost all of the diagnosed cases.  They are:

•    Basal cell carcinoma (BCC)-  Accounting for nearly 80% of skin cancer, BCC develops in the basal cells which are located in the lowest layer of the epidermis.  It is commonly found on areas of the body regularly exposed to the sun such as your face, head and upper body.  Signs of BCC include skin that appears as a sore that repeatedly heals and re-opens, a slightly elevated pink growth, patch of irritated skin that is red in color and/or shiny translucent skin.  This type of cancer does not commonly spread but should be treated to protect surrounding tissue.

•    Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)- Found in the uppermost layers of the epidermis, SCC cancer affects squamous cells.  Long term exposure to the sun can result in this form of cancer in middle to elderly aged individuals.  The skin may appear to have an inflamed base with a crusty or scaly area over the base.  While this cancer is most commonly found on areas of the body exposed to the sun, it can be found anywhere.  Early detection and treatment can prevent this form of cancer from spreading.

•    Melanoma- The most dangerous and lethal form of skin cancer, this form accounts for only 4% of diagnosed cases.  Melanoma readily spreads to other areas of your body such as your lymph system or other internal organs.  Most commonly found in moles either pre-existing or new, melanoma has a 95% cure rate if caught in time for treatment.  It is important that you are aware of any moles on your body and what they look like so you can spot changes in existing moles or the appearance of new moles.  Undetected and untreated, melanoma becomes very difficult to treat and can result in death.

Who Gets Skin Cancer?
To be quite honest, anyone can get skin cancer.  There are however certain individuals who are at a higher risk than others.  The following factors play a role in the likelihood of developing skin cancer:

•    Individuals who are fair-skinned or burn easily.
•    People who use tanning devices.
•    Genetics or family history of the disease.
•    Certain occupational exposures,  i.e. coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic or radium.
•    Excessive exposure to UV radiation.

Exposure to the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer which makes protecting your skin from sun exposure vitally important.

Can You Prevent Skin Cancer?
Yes, you can take precautions that lower your risk of developing skin cancer.  Take all effort to reduce your exposure to sun and other controllable risk factors.  This includes wearing SPF 15 or higher sunscreen everyday in addition to sunglasses and brimmed hats to shield your face from the sun.  If at all possible avoid exposing your skin to sunlight during the peak of the day (10am-4pm) and give up tanning beds as they can also damage your skin.

For more information on skin cancer you can visit the American Cancer Society or National Cancer Institute.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Why Use Them?

Steroid use and bodybuilding became a popular combination because of the ability for the drugs to improve the size of one’s muscle mass, build their endurance and their strength, and create muscle hardness. These effects were possible because anabolic steroids were able to copy the functioning of testosterone, which naturally aids the body in muscle growth.

Why To Not Use Them

While many may feel that using steroids is not particularly harmful and give them a more competitive edge, the reality is that steroids can have very serious consequences, including fatal ones. While death by steroid cases may not be as common as other side effects, it can happen. The side effects from steroid use can be debilitating and life altering and severely affect your health negatively.

Most notably, one of the most common side effects of steroid use the changes in one’s behavior. Steroid users are often known for their increased irritable moods and aggressive attitudes. Cases of aggressive behavior have lead to more than just ill health effects. There have been incidents of robberies, physical violence, and other unlawful acts of aggression. Even a normally calm, laid-back person can develop into an entirely unrecognizable person after taking anabolic steroids. Additionally, behavioral changes can also include increased sexual arousal, forgetfulness, confused thoughts, and episodes of euphoria.

Physically, anabolic steroids have a negative effect on the cardiovascular system of the body, causing high blood pressure, heart enlargement, cardiovascular disease, and even heart attacks. The blood composition can also change, causing blood clots, heart disease, and other problems with the arteries. If  a teenaged individual were to use steroids, there would likely be an interruption in the growth process, resulting in stunted growth issues.

Steroids are typically administered by injection, patches, oral medications, and nasal sprays. As the steroids travel into the body’s blood stream, they will need to visit the digestive system and the liver. Both the digestive system and the liver can suffer damage, including tumors and internal bleeding. Orally taken, there can be issues in the abdomen which can become swollen and lead to chronic issues such as constipation, gas, and water retention. When steroids are taken in large doses, cancer, pelosis hepatitis, and jaundice can develop.

Gender Dangers

Both men and women can develop different issues caused by steroids that are specific to their gender. Mens sex drives can be put into overdrive while their testes can shrink in size. Sperm count can be dramatically lowered, leading to infertility. Men can also develop a condition known as gynecomastia, which causes estrogen deposits in the nipple area and can ultimately grow breasts.

Woman stand a very good chance of becoming much more masculine in appearance due to the high levels of testosterone. Their voice may deepen, their periods might ceases, and they will grow excess body hair including on areas of the face and chest. Loss of hair, including male-pattern baldness is also common. The enlargement of a woman’s clitoris, so much so that it can resemble a small penis, is also a irreversible side effect of steroid use.

While bodybuilding is about achieving a particular look of the body and not as much about actual strength, steroid use is also thought to give people the advantage in strength building because they allow a person to train for longer periods of time and helps aid the recovery period for muscle recovery during training. However, steroid use that leads to abuse can be detrimental to a bodybuilding career or a life in general.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious problem.  The disease kills more Americans per year than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Because the disease is often brought on by your lifestyle, and because your lifestyle can be changed – your risk of developing diabetes can be reduced simply by increasing your exercise, and watching your weight with a well balanced diet.  In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, if you are at risk for Type 2 diabetes you can reduce your risk by more than half, by exercising 30 minutes per day and choosing low-fat foods.  In a study, participants who walked 30 minutes per day (or did some other low-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes per day) and ate a low-fat diet lost an average of 6% of their body weight, and reduced their risks for Type 2 diabetes by 58%.

Tips for reducing your risk for Type 2 diabetes:

Increase Physical Activity:  Type 2 diabetes starts when muscle cells lose sensitivity to insulin.  Insulin is a pancreatic hormone that controls the amount of sugar in your blood.  Exercise gives your muscles improved ability to accept insulin. Studies completed by the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research found that an individual’s fitness level was the best predictor of diabetes, and was more telling than the family history of the disease, obesity, high blood pressure or age.  If you’re fairly sedentary now, look for ways to make small lifestyle adjustments that will increase the amount of physical activity on a daily basis, slowly, but with a goal of getting at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily.

Focus on a Healthy, Low-Fat Diet: Choosing a diet that is low-fat and includes fruits, vegetables and whole grains is your best defense against Type 2 Diabetes.  People who eat large amounts of simple sugars with little fiber are twice as likely to develop the disease over those who eat a low-sugar, high-fiber diet.  Also, people who have an impaired sugar tolerance (an early warning sign of diabetes) are more likely to become diabetic if their diet includes a lot of saturated fats.  Sticking to low fat, high-fiber diet that avoids simple sugars is your best bet for prevention.

Visit Your Doctor: A simple blood test will detect diabetes or pre-diabetes conditions.  Detection in the early stages gives you better opportunities to get it under control, so it is a good idea to get tested – particularly if you feel you exercise regularly and eat healthily but can’t seem to lose weight.  You may find you are insulin resistant or have another condition that is linked to Type 2 diabetes.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

Always Use Sunscreen Protection
Many individuals make the mistake of only requiring sunscreen for themselves and their family during the summer months. The reality is that the dangerous UVB rays that burn your skin are present during any time of the year, even on cloudy or snowy days. Use sunscreen lotion on all exposed skin. Don’t forget your lips!

Apply Before You Leave the House
If you are planning to go outside for any amount of time, apply the lotion at least a half an hour before going outside. These minutes will give the lotion’s active ingredients time to work effectively.
Reapply Your Sunscreen
Whenever you are outdoors for a long period of time, make sure you reapply the protection every hour to two hours while in the sun. Any time you go swimming, reapply the lotion right after getting out each time.

Use the Right SPF
While it is great that you are using sunscreen, it is equally important that you are using the right SPF – or Sun Protection Factor – for your skin type. Traditionally, doctors recommended SPF 15 for all general purposes but many doctors have now changed that to SPF 30 as the new standard. While there is no sunscreen that will protect you 100%, the higher the SPF number you use, the better the protection.

Use the Right Amount of Protection
Besides using the wrong SPF, many people make the mistake of not using the proper amount of lotion on their body. It is a rule of thumb to use a teaspoonful of lotion for your face and then follow with an ounce of lotion for the rest of the body. Quite simply, follow the instruction on the bottle to be sure you are getting the right amount of lotion you need for the maximum protection.

Protecting your skin is certainly an important part of your health regimen. If you do not do it properly or frequently, you will look years beyond your real age and your potential for skin cancer certainly increases. You only get one skin and it is your responsibility to take care of it for your health and your future.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.

While the restaurant at which you are dining ultimately has a responsibility to provide you quality service and safe food, you too are responsible to pick up on the red flags that may signal the environment is not good for your health. There are many kinds of foods that can make you sick. Foods that are undercooked, stored improperly, or served in unclean dishes, can cause you to ingest dangerous bacteria or virus that can lead to serious illness and food poisoning.
When you go to a restaurant, even before you see the food being served, there are several areas you can check out to assess the potential hazards at the restaurant. Here is a brief checklist of some things you can watch out for before you place your order.

• Make sure the tables and chairs are clean. Expect some residual effect from other diners but overall, the table surfaces should be clean and staff should be using clean cloths and disinfectant to clean the surfaces.

• Check to see if the food preparation  and wait staff is wearing gloves when handling food.

• If dining at a buffet-type restaurant, ensure that foods are separated properly, especially the cooked and raw foods.

• Check to see if other areas of the facility are clean, such as the restrooms. If areas of the restaurant are unclean, there is a good chance that other safety precautions that need to be taken around food handling are being ignored as well.

• When you receive your food, make sure hot food is steaming and if you are eating at a buffet with cold foods, be sure they are being kept on ice or in some refrigerated device. Anything perishable that is not properly served or stored can cause you serious illness.

• Food should look fresh. If it doesn’t appear that way or if it seems food has been sitting out too long, don’t eat it. Request new dishes.

• If you are getting take out food from a restaurant, be sure it is sufficiently hot. If you don’t plan to eat it right away, refrigerate it as soon as possible and eat it within a few days. Food that is exposed to room temperatures or not stored properly can develop unhealthy bacteria.

• If you take leftovers home from your meal, be sure to follow the same practices as with takeout to prevent illness. Be sure the food is put in proper containers or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap.

While most restaurants do follow all safety guidelines, there are still some places where staff obviously doesn’t care whether or not the rules are being followed. If they are not taking care of the restaurant properly, it is likely they are not taking good care of the food they are serving to you and your family. If you feel any hesitation about the dining establishment or the food being served, don’t be afraid to speak up and refrain from eating the phone. If you don’t want to get replacement food, feel free to speak to the management about your decision to not eat the food. Any serious concerns can and should be reported to the local health department in your area who can follow up with your concerns.

© 2009, FIT FOR EVER. All rights reserved.