Weight Debate

No matter where you are, you can stay on your diet by measuring your food portions with your hands.

Keep control of your weight by using these methods:

Palm of Your Hand

3 ounces = Examples of 1 serving:
Meat
Chicken
Turkey
Fish

Closed Fist

1 cup = Examples of 1 serving:
Cooked vegetables
Salads
Casseroles or stews, such as chili with beans
Milk

Half of a Fist

1/2 cup = Examples of 1 serving:
Fruit or fruit juice
Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes or corn
Pinto beans and other dried beans
Rice or noodles
Cereal

Cupped Hand

1 ounce = Examples of 1 serving:
Snack food
Cheese – 1 slice

Tip of Thumb

1 tablespoon = Examples of 1 serving:
Salad dressing
Cream cheese

Tip of Index Finger

1 teaspoon = Examples of 1 serving:
Margarine or butter
Oil
Mayonnaise

Note:
These methods are approximate due to the different sizes of hands and fingers.

Fan a Strawberry
If you want to create something fancy for your guests… fan a strawberry… looks pretty cool!!

Instructions
1. To fan a strawberry, first start with a strawberry that’s a good size.

2. With a knife, make cuts through the length of the strawberry as thick or as thin as you would like, but they do look better the thinner they are, and be careful not to cut all the way through the tip of the strawberry. The stem is where its going to hold it all together.

3. Last step, take your fingers, apply a little pressure up by the stem, and allow the strawberry to fan out.

Spina bifida (pronounced spy·nuh bif-i-duh) is a major birth defect of a baby’s spine. It is one of the most common, permanently disabling birth defects in the United States. Spina bifida, which literally means “cleft spine,” is characterized by the incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord, and/or meninges. Meninges is the protective covering around the brain and spinal cord.

The human nervous system develops from a small, specialized plate of cells along the back of an embryo. Early in development, the edges of this plate begin to curl up toward each other, creating the neural tube – a narrow sheath that closes to form the brain and spinal cord of the embryo. As development progresses, the top of the tube becomes the brain and the remainder becomes the spinal cord. This process is usually complete by the 28th day of pregnancy. But if problems occur during this process, the result can be brain disorders called neural tube defects (NTDs), including spina bifida.

There is no cure for spina bifida. The nerve tissue that is damaged or lost cannot be repaired or replaced, nor can function be restored to the damaged nerves.

Preventing Spina Bifida
Most, but not all, cases of spina bifida can be prevented.

Folic acid is a B vitamin that the body needs to make healthy new cells. It is very important for all women of childbearing age to make sure they get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid (also called folate) every day, starting at least one month before getting pregnant. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and during pregnancy, it can help prevent major birth defects of the baby’s brain and spine (anencephaly and spina bifida) by 50 to 70 percent.

Although taking folic acid cannot guarantee having a healthy baby, it can significantly reduce the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida.

Women who have a child with spina bifida, or have spina bifida themselves, or have already had a pregnancy affected by any neural tube defect are at greater risk of having a child with spina bifida or another neural tube defect. These women may require more folic acid before they become pregnant.

Children with spina bifida can lead relatively active lives. Prognosis depends on the number and severity of abnormalities and associated complications. Most children with the disorder have normal intelligence and can walk, usually with assistive devices. If learning problems develop, early educational intervention is helpful.

Sources High in Folic Acid Include

• Dark green vegetables
• Egg yolks
• Some fruits
• Fortified foods such as some breakfast cereals, enriched breads, flours, pastas, rice, and other grain products
• Some multivitamins

Urinary incontinence (UI) is loss of bladder control. Symptoms can range from mild leaking to uncontrollable wetting. Urinary incontinence is more common as people age. But it is not a normal part of aging. In men, urinary incontinence can result from prostate problems or nerve damage due to disease or injury:

• Men who have had diabetes for many years may develop nerve damage that affects bladder control and sexual function.
• Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis all affect the brain and nervous system, so they can also cause UI.
• Overactive bladder is when the bladder squeezes at the wrong time. It may be caused by nerve problems, or it may occur without any clear cause. Symptoms of overactive bladder include:
  • Urinary frequency – urination 8 or more times a day or 2 or more times at night.
  • Urinary urgency – the sudden, strong need to urinate immediately.
  • Urge incontinence – urine leakage that follows a sudden, strong urge.
• Spinal cord injury can cause urinary incontinence by interrupting the nerve signals needed for bladder control.
• In neural birth defects such as spina bifida, the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. In severe cases, nerve damage can affect bladder control.

If you have any urination problems, talk to a doctor. Treatment depends on the type of problem you have and what best fits your lifestyle. It may include simple exercises, medicines, special devices or procedures prescribed by your doctor, or surgery.

Prolonged Stress
Prolonged stress places the body into physiological overdrive. The muscles tense, the heart races, and breathing becomes rapid and shallow. Over time, the body secretes hormones that elevate blood sugar and cholesterol, as well as blood pressure.

To combat stress and relieve anxiety, people sometimes turn to medication. But the physical symptoms of stress can also be managed with exercise, in particular, with yoga.

Recently, the American Psychological Association (APA) has recognized yoga as a bonafide therapeutic stress reduction strategy and is exploring how best to integrate yoga with other modalities, like relaxation and biofeedback training, to help improve quality of life and reduce anxiety. Yoga is more than deep breathing and stretching, the ancient discipline improves flexibility, strength, and balance. A specialized style of meditation, yoga helps improve internal awareness by focusing on breathing, body, emotions, or thoughts.

As a natural alternative to medication, yoga offers tools that mitigate stress and improve quality of life.

Yoga can also have a positive effect on blood pressure and heart rate.

Practicing yoga postures increase relaxation while the inward focus and meditation enhances calm.

Yoga’s favorable track record prompted the Department of Defense (DoD) to first pilot, and then adopt a yoga-based Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) reduction program utilizing a form of Yoga Nidra. The program, called iRest (Integrative Restoration), utilizes yoga, progressive relaxation, and meditation to manage negative emotions and stress.

The iRest program has helped veterans reduce PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia. There are now iRest programs at Veterans Health Administration (VA) facilities in Miami, Chicago, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. as well as active duty facilities nationwide.

An excellent rehabilitation technique, yoga offers a wide range of tools and principles that can relieve stress and improve quality of life. The postures, breathing exercises, and meditation evoke mental and physical relaxation.

Source: www.foh.dhhs.gov/eapnews/

Check out the latest food safety recalls and alerts, plus food safety tips.

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Serves - 12 to 14
Serving size - 1

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
6 medium ripe bananas, diced
2 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 can (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 jar (10 ounces) maraschino cherries, drained and halved
1/3 cup lemon juice

Directions
1. In a saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil and cook and stir for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and cool completely.
3. In a 4 quart freezer container, combine the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour sugar water over the fruit. Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours, stirring once or twice.
5. Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (mg = milligrams)
Calories – 233
Trace of fat (trace saturated fat)
Cholesterol – 0
Sodium – 3 mg
Carbohydrate – 61 grams
Fiber – 2 grams
Protein – 1 gram

Fruits and vegetables give you many nutrients – vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, water, and healthful phytochemicals.

Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories, are a good source of fiber, and none have cholesterol.

Eating more fruits and vegetables may protect you from getting chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.

Eating more fruits and vegetables instead of high fat foods can help you control your weight.

A healthy diet includes a variety of fruits and vegetables, and everyone needs a different amount each day. Check out the charts below to find the right amount of fruits and vegetables you need everyday.

Fruits and vegetables recommended per day by USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans

A Healthy Diet
In addition to fruits and vegetables, a healthy diet also includes whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk products, lean meats, fish, beans, eggs and nuts, and is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars.

Some suggestions for reducing salt and sodium in your diet:

It is recommended to consume less than 2.4 grams of sodium a day, that’s 2,400 milligrams (mg). That equals 6 grams, about 1 teaspoon of table salt a day.

• Buy fresh vegetables, or plain frozen vegetables, or canned vegetables with no salt added.
• When available, buy low-sodium or reduced-sodium, or no-salt-added versions of foods. One cup of soup can have up to 1300 milligrams of sodium!!
• Use fresh fish, lean meat, and poultry, instead of canned or processed types, such as smoked, cured, or processed beef, pork, and poultry.
• Use salt free seasoning blends, spices, and herbs when you cook, and at the table.
• Use fewer sauces, packaged mixes, and instant products, such as flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, which usually have added salt. You can cook rice, pasta, and hot cereals with no salt.
• When you buy convenience foods, choose those that are lower in sodium. Also, cut back on pizza, frozen dinners, salad dressings, canned soups or broths, regular canned vegetables, lunch meats, and salty chips and other snacks. These often have a lot of sodium in them. Sodium is found naturally in many foods, but “processed foods” account for most of the sodium and salt you eat. Frozen entrees can have a lot of sodium in even a single portion, sometimes over 1,500 mg of sodium.
• You can rinse salt from canned foods, such as tuna, to remove some of the sodium.
• When buying ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, choose those that are lower in sodium.
• Remove salt from recipes whenever possible.
• Check food labels. Sodium is in some foods you might not expect, such as soy sauce and some antacids.
• Kosher salt and sea salt are just that — salt. If you consume these, don’t forget to include them when adding up your sodium intake for the day.

Very serious consequences can happen if there is “too little” or “too much” potassium in your body.

Hypokalemia
Too little potassium – potassium deficiency – in your body is known as hypokalemia.

Certain diseases, conditions, and many medications can cause a loss of potassium from your body, which occasionally may be very severe.

• Diuretics (water pills), laxatives, and/or steroids. Diuretics are probably the most common cause of hypokalemia.
• Certain antibiotics such as gentamicin, carbenicillin, and amphotericin B.
• Vomiting.
• Diarrhea.
• Sweating.
• Several rare kidney and adrenal gland disorders.
• Eating disorders, such as bulimia.
• Eating large amounts of licorice or using products such as herbal teas and chewing tobaccos that contain licorice made with glycyrrhetinic acid. Supposedly, glycyrrhetinic acid is a substance that is no longer used in licorice made in the United States.

You should have your blood levels of potassium checked from time to time if you think you have low ptassium levels. Taking potassium supplements can usually correct the problem. In severe cases, without proper treatment, a severe drop in potassium levels can lead to death.

Hyperkalemia
Too much potassium in the blood is known as hyperkalemia. The kidneys normally remove excess potassium from the body. Some common causes of hyperkalemia are:

• Disorders that reduce the kidneys’ ability to get rid of potassium, especially in people receiving dialysis for kidney failure.
• An abnormal breakdown of protein.
• Lack of aldosterone – aldosterone regulates kidney removal of sodium and potassium.
• Severe infection.
• Tissue injury can cause the cells to release potassium.
• Increased intake of potassium can cause hyperkalemia if kidney function is poor.
• Certain medicines including potassium sparing diuretics and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.