How was your 2016 like healthwise? What are your health goals this 2017? In between what was and what is to come lies the crucial stage of reflecting on the year that has gone by and learning from it before planning for the next one.

When it comes to ensuring general wellbeing, nothing beats the tandem of a well-balanced diet and regular exercise. There are a great too many factors, however, that negatively affect these two, which compromise overall health. We are not just talking about weight problems per se rather the condition of the body, as well as the mind.

There are things beyond food and physical activity that affect our health, ergo the quality of our lives. These are things often unseen but very much felt or experienced. A person may look physically fit yet suffer from hypertension or high cholesterol and blood sugar even without being genetically predisposed. One may also suffer from insomnia or unexplained body aches and pains, even fatigue. What could be the culprit behind these? Stress? Yes, stress causes your body to release hormones like cortisol, which increases bad cholesterol and blood glucose in the body. Stress also causes your blood pressure to shoot up. Or it could also be something else that lies deep within one’s heart that it needs a lot of humility and open mindedness for it to be found.

As we begin anew this year, examine your heart and reflect on your life for the past year. Being honest with yourself will pave the way for a healthier 2017.

Unforgiveness — this is one of the most painful things to let go of, especially when you have been deeply hurt to the point of being unable to mend the shattered pieces of your heart. This contributes to the decline in your health because it eats you alive from within.

Now think about this: Forgiving someone does not mean everything is okay or we should suddenly develop amnesia and just go on with life forgetting what happened in the past. Forgiveness is making a decision to give up the right to hurt back despite how you feel (but of course justice and the law must prevail at all times).

Begin by thinking about the ways to help yourself heal instead of obsessing about how to get even. You’ll save yourself from so much hate and fill that empty space with peace, which will calm your senses, lower your vital signs, and keep your body organs sound.

Want to lower your blood pressure, get a good night’s sleep, and regain your energy? Find it in your heart to forgive. Here are five things that could help make it easier for you.

Think of small things you are grateful for amid the trials.

Flee from negativity and embrace positivity.

Pray and meditate, most especially when your heart or mind is troubled.

Find your purpose that will benefit others and enhance your life.

Be generous with your time and energy.

source: Manila Bulletin

http://lifestyle.mb.com.ph/2017/01/03/paving-the-way-for-a-healthy-2017/

With the New Year, the World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines suggested five resolutions for a healthier 2017.

According to WHO Philippines, these resolutions would lead to a healthier and happier 2017:

1.    Have a healthy and balanced diet

2.    Quit smoking

3.    Exercise

4.    Drink less alcohol

5.    Visit your local health center regularly

WHO Philippines said that having a healthy diet balances the calories a person consumes and the amount the body uses. It suggested eating more fruits vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts and reducing salty, fatty and sugary food. It said that a healthy and balanced diet will protect against obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

The agency also emphasized that quitting smoking can reduce the risk of heart disease to half and improve breathing. It can also reduce the risk of stroke and cancer.

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Meanwhile, the agency said that regular exercise will help with weight control and strengthen the muscles and bones.

"A healthy, active lifestyle can do wonders for both the mind and body," WHO Philippines said.

The agency added that cutting down on alcohol intake can help reduce the risk of liver diseases and cancer. It can also lighten the mood and lessen the chances to become overweight.

Finally, WHO Philippines advised visiting health centers regularly for check-ups to prevent problems before they even start. 

"By getting the right health services, screenings and treatments, you are well on your way to a longer, healthier life."

source: Philippine Star
http://www.philstar.com/health-and-family/2017/01/02/1658930/who-suggests-5-new-years-resolutions-healthier-2017

Eating large amounts of cured meats was linked to worse symptoms among asthma sufferers, a French study found.

That was true even after taking obesity into account, the authors say.

So-called cured meats have been preserved and flavored by the addition of various combinations of salt, nitrates, nitrites, and sugar. Examples of such processed meats include bacon, ham, prosciutto, corned beef, pastrami, and pepperoni.

“Cured meat intake, a typical food in industrialized societies, has been associated with many chronic diseases, including lung cancer and COPD, but its association with asthma remained unclear,” study leader Dr. Zhen Li told Reuters Health in an email. Li is a researcher at Inserm and Paul Brousse Hospital in Villejuif.

As reported in Thorax, the research team had data on 971 adults from five French cities who answered questions about diet, weight, and asthma symptoms between 2003 and 2007.

On average, participants ate 2.5 servings of cured meats per week.

Just over 40 percent of the participants said they had had asthma at some point, and around half said they had never smoked. Each participant was assigned an asthma symptom score, ranging from zero to five, based on difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath during the previous year.

Follow-up surveys completed between 2011 and 2013 showed that about half of the participants had no changes in their asthma scores, over one-fourth said their symptoms had improved and about 20 percent felt their symptoms had gotten worse.

After accounting for other factors such as smoking, physical activity, age, other dietary habits, and education, researchers found that participants who ate the most cured meat (four or more servings per week) were 76 percent more likely to see a worsening of symptoms compared to those who ate the least (less than one full serving per week).

About 35 percent of the participants were overweight and about 10 percent were obese, based on their responses. Those conditions probably explained about 14 percent of the association, the authors estimated.

“Our finding, together with other previous findings, suggests that patients with asthma might have benefits by following a multiple-interventional program,” Li said. “That means, besides the medication, weight control as well as dietary intervention such as reducing cured meat intake might also help them to control their asthma symptoms.”

Dr. Sunit Jariwala complimented the study but noted that its observational design means it can’t prove cause-and-effect.

"Cured meats are rich in nitrites which may lead to any kind of oxidative stress related lung damage and asthma," said Jariwala, who is director of allergy and immunology research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

Jariwala, who was not involved in the study, believes obesity is an important consideration with asthma patients.

"In this study, as well as previous studies, obesity may be linked to systemic inflammation that can worsen asthma as well as other obesity related conditions such a sleep apnea," he said.

Jariwala advises patients to follow a balanced diet that includes fresh, unprocessed foods and is low in salt, sugar, and saturated fats.

source: Reuters Health
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-asthma-cured-meats-idUSKBN14M15L

A diet rich in magnesium – found in foods like leafy greens, fish, nuts and whole grains – may help lower the risk of chronic health problems like heart disease and diabetes, a research review suggests.

Some previous studies linked insufficient magnesium levels to a greater risk of developing a wide range of health problems including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiovascular disease, said lead study author Dr. Xuexian Fang, a nutrition researcher at Zhengzhou University in China.

For the current study, Fang and colleagues analyzed data on dietary magnesium and chronic disease from 40 studies published from 1999 to 2016 on more than one million people across nine countries.

Compared with people who had the lowest levels of magnesium in their diets, people who got the most magnesium were 10 percent less likely to develop heart disease, 12 percent less likely to have a stroke and 26 percent less likely to develop diabetes.

“Magnesium plays an important role in maintaining human health,” Fang said by email.

Combined, the studies in the analysis included 7,678 cases of cardiovascular disease, 6,845 cases of coronary heart disease, 701 cases of heart failure, 4,755 cases of stroke, 26,299 cases of type 2 diabetes and 10,983 deaths.

When researchers looked at the effect of increasing dietary magnesium by 100 milligrams a day, they didn’t find a statically meaningful impact on the total risk of cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease.

But they did find that increasing dietary magnesium by this amount was tied to a 22 percent reduction in the risk of heart failure, and a 7 percent decrease in the risk of stroke, researchers report in the journal BMC Medicine.

Increasing magnesium intake was also associated with a 19 percent reduction in the risk of diabetes and a 10 percent drop in the odds of death from all causes during the study period.

The analysis is based on observational studies and can’t prove magnesium directly prevents disease, the authors note.

Studies in the analysis also relied on participants to accurately recall and report what foods they consumed and may not have accurately reflected the true amount of dietary magnesium, the researchers point out.

It’s also impossible to rule out the potential for lifestyle factors that impact people’s eating habits to also influence how much magnesium they get in their diets and how prone they are to develop chronic diseases.

Still, the study findings suggest that increased consumption of magnesium-rich foods may have health benefits, the authors conclude.

While the exact way magnesium improves health isn’t clear, it’s possible it may help curb inflammation, which in turn may lower the odds of developing a variety of chronic diseases, Fang said.

There are many ways people may increase their magnesium intake, noted Dr. Andrea Romani, a researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Magnesium is present in high levels in all green, leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and salt-water fish, Romani said by email. It’s less clear how much magnesium is in meat and poultry because this depends on what the animals eat.

“Magnesium retention in these foods depends on how the food is processed,” Romani said. “The longer it is boiled or cooked, the less magnesium is retained.”

source: Reuters Health
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diet-magnesium-idUSKBN14J1DG