Blog # 5: Healthy = Happy?

Hello again! In my last and final blog, I will be again reinstating the importance of a healthy diet. As stressed in my previous blogs, students do not assign much importance to their dietary habits which results in health related problems later on in life. In addition, it can also affect their performance at a young age in academics and their physical ability.  And so, keeping this issue in mind I set out to find an experiment done which focuses both on college students and their dietary habits. The article I have chosen is titled:

" Happiness and health behaviors in Chilean college students: A cross-sectional survey" conducted Center for Health Promotion, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH).  

 

The experiment follows 3461 students aged between 17 and 24 years old ho attended University of Santiago de Chile during 2009. They were assessed on their healthy behavior, particularly intake of vitamins and on their frequency  of alcohol, cigarettes, and physical exercise. In addition, their BMIs (Body Mass Index) and stress levels were measured.  

And so the question asked is What was done? 

The purpose of the study was to examine the correlation between Health and Happiness. The reason I found this article interesting is because it related to my age group particularly, and examined the relationship between being healthy and being happy, two significant aspects of life which I believe go hand-in-hand. All of them were evaluated using a questionnaire which was self-reported. The age group of the students was 17 and 24 years old (mean age = 19.89; SD = 1.73) and 3461 students participated. 

What  were the main findings?

The findings from the research were quite interesting and unexpected. The results showed that the younger the participants (to a minimum of 17 years of age) and females, showed the highest rate of happiness and also happened to involve themselves in a higher number of physical activity's and eat a healthier diet consisting of fruits and vegetables. 

Moreover, students who smoked had a higher rate of happiness versus those who used any other types of drugs and also, those who dealt with stressful situations everyday had a lower rate of happiness as opposed to those who endured stressful situations on a lower rate with a calm perspective. 

How is the study relevant? What is the take-home message and what are the limitations? 

Though this study focuses on Chilean college students, they are still college students nonetheless, and their eating habits perhaps match those of a college student living in North America. The study can be deemed relevant to the course content of Kinesiology 140 because it deals with students, their habits and the correlation/ramification of those habits on their everyday life and their level of happiness. The level of one's happiness can also either benefit or be detrimental to ones success in life, and therefore the importance of taking care of ones health is stressed. 

The study suggests that there are two pathways when it comes to evaluating health and happiness, one which shows the outcome in any given student's academic career and one which shows the effects on their health. These are highly related to their behaviors and methods of dealing with everyday life. A take home message from this research experiment can be seen through encouraging students to take on their healthy behavior into their own hands. As seen, the younger students who participated showed higher signs of being content as opposed to their older peers. This is perhaps because of parent involvement still evident at that age. However, once a student/youth becomes older, their parent involvement dwindles and therefore they may stop making healthy choices which are in their benefit as nobody is enforcing these upon them. 

A limitation seen in the experiment may be the fact that it was self-assessed. By allowing the students to evaluate themselves they may have undermined, or overestimated, their healthy habits and may have also contributed false information. In addition, the experiment did not follow students throughout a period of several years to see the outcome of their behavior on their success levels later on and/or health. 

The whole experiment is not only easy to follow and understand but extremely relevant to the course. Below is a link to the full article and a video which encourages healthy behavior to ensure student success at a younger age! Enjoy!!

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/443

Blog #4: Protein = A Great Workout!

Now days, more than ever, the idea of a healthy diet is enforced. And rightfully so, with obesity rates rising and health problems related to bad diets doubling, North America, specifically, is facing a fast and dangerous epidemic. However, while all the fruits/veggies, daily calcium intakes, carbohydrates and etc are vital to our bodies as nutrients to fuel our system, perhaps one of the most important things our bodies need is protein. 

 So what is Protein after all? Basically Protein is a nutrient which is vital for the growth of the human body. It is made from a clustered chain of amino acids which are linked together by a peptide bond. When protein is consumed, it is broken down in the stomach by enzymes, thus providing amino acids to the body.  

There are several different sources of protein rich foods that can be eaten such as: 

• Lentils
• Nuts and Seeds
• Eggs and Dairy
• Beans
• Meats
• Seafoods

and many more... 

But the bigger question is, how can we see the affects of a protein rich diet? Well, particularly when we are engaging in physical exercise. Because protein's provide our bodies with enzymes, those very enzymes which which act as catalysts for reactions, they create energy. This energy (reaction) is what is used when we push our bodies to different degrees of pressure. Without protein in the diet, our bodies would simply be inept to deal with everyday reactions to simple body movements. Our daily intake of protein is suppose to be calculated as seen below:

The Food and Nutrition Board provides protein recommendations in two different ways. The first way to calculate your protein needs is by your body weight. You should consume 0.8 g of protein for every kg of your body weight. If you weigh 120 pounds, which is equivalent to 54.4 kg, you should consume approximately 44 g of protein daily. The other way to calculate your protein needs is as a percentage of your calories, which is called the acceptable macronutrient distribution range, or AMDR. Protein should make up 10 to 35 percent of your daily calorie intake. If you consume 2,000 calories a day, you should consume between 50 and 175 g of protein per day.

(http://www.livestrong.com/article/383703-protein-in-the-diet/) 

And so, imagine you practice a protein-rich diet for two weeks, filled with complete proteins (animal fats) and incomplete proteins( legumes, vegetables and etc). The effects you can see from this 2 week diet when enduring physical exercise might shock you! You will find that your body has more energy, and once you are done working out (or whatever physical activity you may indulge in) you will find that your body now needs the protein to continue because the muscles broken down during strenuous workouts must be repaired. 

Okay so maybe this is not exactly how your body will look after indulging in a protein filled diet, but you will be able to feel this good! The bottom line about protein's is that they increase your energy and therefore, that stored energy, when used during physical exercise, can do wonders for your body. This is especially seen during gym routines, where people often push themselves harder than in other recreational activities, and therefore can use all the stored energy they have. It is however important to understand that an excess amount of proteins can have negative effects on your body. High protein diets may contribute to high cholesterol levels, which can increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, researchers note that, 

Protein foods also contain substances purines, which the body breaks down into uric acid. A diet that is too high in protein can lead to high levels of uric acid in the blood. High uric acid levels contribute to the development of kidney stones and a type of arthritis called gout. (http://www.livestrong.com/article/331082-how-much-protein-for-a-normal-diet/) 

A good place to learn about protein diets and ways you can incorporate protein in your diet is the internet! Filled with great recipes and innovative ways to maximize your intake of protein, there are many webpages devoted to providing this information. Of course one must exercise caution when obtaining any information (health related or not) from the internet, but one proven source is the Dr. OZ website! Below is a link which leads into the fablous world of Dr.Oz and his views on "Power Protein". 

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/power-protein

And so, the relationship between Protein and a good workout(especially at the gym) should be well defined. Protein is important and vital for our bodies, and obtaining enough is just the least we can do for that living, breathing and truly magical thing we call our bodies! 

Stay tuned for the next post!

Blog #2: Diet Pills: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly..

Since summer is just around the corner (even though the weather does not seem to be cooperating) getting in shape is on everyone's mind. I will be the first to admit, every year, right before summer, I make huge promises to myself that I will get into shape, and exercise everyday and eat right just so I can get that perfect Kardashian body. Needless to say, this plan falls flat. I do not shed pounds, get in  shape, or obtain those washboard abs, but instead find myself going in September with a peeling sunburn and extra pounds! I also know how it feels to have a summer event fast approaching and not enough time to get into shape, throwing a person into the summer blues (yes there is a such a thing!), and so how are we suppose to combat these issues? Well diet pills of course! 

Just kidding. Diet pills are one of the worst things one can do for their body. Because food is such a vital ingredient to fuel our bodies,  by taking any pill/drug which supplements real food would not be a wise decision. Moreover, it would have to contain high risk chemicals in order for it to act as a supplement, and one such example of this is Hydroxycut dietary supplements. Hydroxycut is marketed as a weight-loss pill which has ranked the most popular amongst others in that category. And while it's popularity seems to grow, so does the list of health risks it poses. Seen below are snapshots of the website which will be aimed at specific things which further the product's lack of credibility. 

1) Not approved by the FDA

 Upon opening the website of Hydroxycut, one is bombarded with statistics and photo-shopped before and after images of men and woman that seem too good to be true. However, the thing which stands out the most is the fine print below (circled in red on the picture above) which reads 
" These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Read the entire label before use . " 
By stating that the product is not  approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the product already launches itself as possibly detrimental to ones health.  The FDA is the US Food and Drug Administrator which holds the responsibility of essentially branding products as safe and/or unsafe for use. By not approving a product, the FDA deems the product as unsafe/unfit for users.  Under the FDA website, a warning was placed regarding Hydroxycut which states,
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences, Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate  Health Sciences U.S.A., Inc. of Blasdell, NY. Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries." (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm155600.htm) 
It is interesting to note that Hydroxycut fails to mention why their products are not approved, but simply (in the smallest visible font) bury the problem at the bottom of their clutter-filled webpage. 

2)Risk of death due to high-blood pressure

 In the picture seen above, the red underlined section indicates that Hydroxycut promises to "increase energy" . Ironically, Hydroxycut does not use any natural ways to do this except filling their capsules with dangerous amounts of caffeine. By increasing energy through the means of extra caffeine, users with a high-blood pressure history, or even those who do not have high-blood pressure, might be heavily at risk.  The FDA website  deems products speciafially with added amounts of caffine as detremental to ones health because they can: 

• Make your heart beat faster
• Cause an uneven heart rhythm
• Raise your blood pressure
• Cause headaches, nervousness,
• and/or dizziness
• Make you dehydrated (dried out) especially after a workout
• Make you dependent on it so you need to take more of it                                            

 
(http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/UnderstandingOver-the-CounterMedicines/UCM205286.pdf)
 
Where the Hydroxycut website fails to mention this information, the added dangerous amounts of caffeine is simply branded as "increases energy". 

3) "Clinically Proven" 

As stated above, Hydroxycut is not FDA approved, and so it is interesting that the makers/distributors of this product deem Hydroxycut as "clinically proven". Seen above is a screen-shot of the website (the red underline marking this particular section), it here that Hydroxycut asserts its potential buyers that it is in fact clinically proven. However, it is instances such as these that one should be aware of before purchasing any health-related products. By claiming that a product is clinically proven does not refer to which clinic, if it is a dependable and reputable clinic and if in fact there was any testing done on the product. beware to anybody searching for health products out there: Clinically Proven does not  = safe to use products!

4) The Before/After Picture

In the picture seen above, the red circle highlights the infamous "before/after" pictures seen with such products as Hydroxycut. Thee pictures are often photo-shopped and displayed in such a manner that they create intrigue and often spark the audiences interests to the point where they wish to "look like that". Well, a hidden fact is not only are those photo's altered in ways that make the image look far more appealing than it is but moreover, in many instances either the before or the after image is not even remotely close to the person's body shown. In one instance, specifically related to Hydroxycut and its marketing directors, the "before" picture seen was actually of a woman who was pregnant, which if stated would cost the product all its viability. 

5) Beware of Laxatives! 

Often in the case of dietary supplements, they are branded as helping one "lose weight" but like the Hydroxycut product seen above, is actually a laxative disguised as a "cleanse". When the website seen above refers to the product as "Gently Flushes Your System", it is referring to the dangerous drug in the body considered a laxative which causes ones digestive system to clean in a forceful manner. 

And so, we come to the end of my excessive, much-needed, nitpicking of Hydroxycut. Needless to say, this product is not safe to use, and below is a video added showing a news feature done on the product to warn users of its dangers. 

Stay tuned for Blog #3! 

xoxo

S