Sleeping Problem in Children

Children need at least 8 - 9 hours of sleep per night. A lack of sleep can have bad effects on children's health in academics, during extracurricular activities, and in social relationships. According to a study conducted by Healthy Active Living Research Group, almost a third of children in Canada are sleep-deprived. The reason behind this is believed to be a lack of physical tiredness and too much of screen time.

As per Dr. Mark Tremblay, lead researcher, Healthy Active Living Research Group, children are not getting enough shut-eye because of TVs in their room, due to their cell phone, or because they didn’t do much exercise or physical activity and are not fatigued.

The study also reveals that the children wake up slightly fatigued, withdraw from any kind of physical work, relaxing more and then of course are not physically tired, to get a proper sleep. The study involved the kids of different age group and a participation report card was prepared. According to which, grade D was given based on conclusions that 9% of kids aged between 5 - 17 years get the suggested minimum of 60 minutes of heart-pumping activity per day.

The study also denotes that nearly 79 % of kids aged between 5 – 13 year gets 9 – 11 hours of sleep per night; while 68% of children aged between 14 – 17 year gets 8 - 10 hours of sleep per night.

The lowest grade was F for an inactive behaviour, where only 24% of kids aged between 5 – 17 year coming under the suggested maximum of 2 hours of leisure screen time per day. As per the report, high school students spent almost 8 hours in front of TV screens and hence sleep less.

The effects of less sleep can be very negative, and can lead to depression. Moreover, too little sleep can cause obesity, hyperactivity, and slow cognitive development in children. The children are not connected with nature, the outdoors activities, communities and have an excessive link with screens and cell phones.

The sleep problem or lack of sleep in children is very complex and it’s not easy to change the grade D to A. Through this study, the researchers are trying to create an awareness among key stakeholders including parents, child’s physicians and school to find a long-term solution to the problem. They also promote the less use of screens and high amount of physical activity for children.

You can learn more about your child’s good health by joining Shaw Academy’s Child Nutrition program. You can also read Shaw Academy Reviews online on their Facebook page.

How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success

Are you aware that physical fitness affects children’s cognitive abilities? Children who are physically fit usually adapt and remember information more efficiently. According to a study, conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine, physical activity helps children to settle and pay attention in school with beneficial effects on academic performance. The study further reveals that the students who do any type of physical activities energetically for at least 10 minutes before the exam score well than children who didn’t.

The study involved almost 12,000 school children. The researchers gathered their physical fitness on the basis of their body mass index, physical activity and test score in exam. The astonishing thing the researchers found that BMI has no role with fitness. The children who were fit in spite of being overweight had higher test scores than lighter, less-fit children.

This finding suggests that a good level of physical fitness have their greatest influence on learning and recalling the things, which increases children’s academic performance as well. However, this study did not focus on any particular type of exercise, rather than it is focused on overall physical well-being of children.

According to Charles Hillman, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois, school children should do at least an hour of vigorous physical activity every day. This will help in developing and maintaining their learning abilities. This initiative for the well-being of children should start from schools where children spend most of their time. Schools should provide most logical and logistically reasonable place for students to do such exercise.

In conclusion, physical fitness is very important, especially at an early stage of life. Physical fitness helps children look, feel, sleep, learn and think, better. It also helps children perform better in school and get good grades. It is essential that parents help their children to be active. Teachers should also understand the importance of being physically fit, and they should give students, some extra time to do exercise and to get out extra energy.

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Tips from an International Dietitian on Summer Cooking

According to Cara Rosenbloom, spokesperson for the Dietitians of Canada, “There are many ways of cooking food without using the oven in the hot summer days”. Using oven in hot summer days, may increase the heat inside the home and make it difficult for you to stand in the kitchen and cook. There are few other kitchen appliances and electronics, which can do the same job as an oven, and can keep the kitchen cool as well. Here are some:

Grill: It is one of the most convenient appliance which you can use to cook almost anything. The electric grills also don’t produce much heat inside the home. You can use grills to cook beef, marinated flank steak, thin cuts of meat, and much more with satisfying results.

Slow cooker: A slow cooker is the best option to cook food in hot summer days, as the right temperature of the cooker prevents the food from burning and food also retains moisture and softness. It is also great for batch cooking. You can easily cook pulled pork, bone-in turkey breast and many other foods using a slow cooker.

Stovetop: It is considered as the best heat diffuser and is an alternate solution for oven. Moreover, it hardly gets warm except directly under the cooking vessel and is safe to use. Stovetop can be used to cook salmon, vermicelli, hard-boiled eggs, etc.

Griddle: It can be used to make all kinds of food and it won’t heat up your kitchen nearly as much as the stovetop. Cooking on the griddle is a good option to have fun with cooking healthy, dietetics and quick. You can easily whip up biscuits, pancakes, tortillas or pitas on griddle.

Other small appliances: Blender, peeler, etc. are some other small gadgets which you can use while cooking on extremely hot days. You can make cold smoothies and puree cold soups using blender. Make carrot ribbons or delicious salads for dinner using a peeler.

These were some alternative cooking options of using the oven suggested by Cara Rosenbloom. Aren’t these fantastic? Now, you can easily beat the heat while cooking in the summertime.

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Food Hypersensitivity in Children

Food hypersensitivity, also known as food allergy is an abnormal immunological reaction of the body to certain food items. This abnormal immunological reaction is repeatable, which means that every time the food is consumed you face the same allergy. There are two different types of reaction: IgE allergic reactions and Non-IgE allergic reactions.

IgE mediated allergic reactions: This reaction contains an antibody, called IgE, that circulates in the blood. It can be detected by analysing an allergy history accompanied with a blood test or skin-prick test. When going under skin prick tests, a drop of the alleged food is placed on the skin and pricked. Rashes, hives, asthma, vomiting and swelling are some common symptoms of IgE reactions. The most dangerous reaction, known as anaphylaxis, can result in cardiac or respiratory failure. In some rare cases, IgE allergic reactions can be life-threatening. It is estimated that 2% - 4% of 1-3-year-old kids suffer from food hypersensitivity.

Non-IgE mediated allergic reactions: This reaction develops more slowly, say about 2 hours up to a couple of days. There is no blood test or skin prick test available to aid diagnosis IgE mediated allergic reactions. The finding of the reaction is reliant by taking an allergy focused history along with an elimination food diet that leads to symptom improvement. Eczema, diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation and faltering growth, and redness around the anus are some symptoms of non-IgE reactions.

There is a varied range of food items that could be allergic for kids. The most common ones are: milk, peanuts, cereals containing shellfish, gluten, fish and soybeans, eggs and tree nuts. Sometimes kids also have food allergic reactions to lupin, sesame and kiwi.

The best way to handle the food hypersensitivity / food allergy is to avoid the food, which is causing the allergy. Some kids with food allergies will need to eliminate the food completely. Others may be able to tolerate small quantity of the food they are allergic to. However, it is must that you discuss the eliminated diet with an adequately qualified healthcare professional. Incorrect avoidance of food diet can cause major nutritional consequences.

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Carbohydrates as Fuel for Exercise

Carbohydrate is the prime resource for almost all types of exercise, mainly for high intensity activity. It is also considered as the most vital nutrient for athletic performance and is the preferred fuel for working muscles. Our body runs with a balance of fat, carbohydrate, and protein, but carbohydrate is the main source of energy for athletes. Carbohydrate provides energy for muscle contractions and brain function. It also acts as a substitute energy source for protein being used as energy. According to Health Canada's "Guide for Nutrition", 55% of the total energy in our food should come from carbohydrates and for athletes, it should be 60% to 70% of total energy be comprised of carbohydrates.

Without adequate carbohydrates the body is forced to depend more on fat and protein from the muscles, which are less effective energy-producing fuels. This may affect the athletic performance and the quality of training. For athletes, both carbohydrate food and fluid intake are important to sustain optimal energy levels and to maintain muscle glycogen. An athlete’s carbohydrate requirement before, during and after exercise depend on a number of factors, such as type, intensity and duration of exercise, body composition goals, environmental conditions and performance goals.

Carbohydrate consumption before exercise helps in increasing the glucose levels as well as glycogen stores in the liver and muscle. The intake of carbohydrate during exercise can benefit the performance, both through effects on the muscles and the brain/central nervous system. Carbohydrate ingestion after exercise is important for optimal retrieval of glycogen stores. Athletic performance is always dependent upon the capacity to retrieve from one session and continue to the next session. Partial or slow recovery of muscle glycogen can result in reduced ability to exercise well and gives a feeling of fatigue.

In conclusion, carbohydrate produces the fastest energy in the body. However, choosing the best resource is equally important. Some of the best resources of carbohydrate includes, whole grain, cereals, legumes, fruit, starchy vegetables, etc.  Athletes’ needs to consume more carbohydrates as compared to an average person to proper fuel and recover.

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Whole Grains for Good Health

Are you aware about the benefits of eating whole grains? Do you know that whole grains can make us live longer? According to a research conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, whole grains (brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole oats, etc.) could help protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease. The research further revealed that the people who eat about 4 – 5 servings of whole grains in a day live longer than those who eat little or no whole grains.

The research was based on the findings conducted in the United Kingdom, the United States and Scandinavian countries during 1970 – 2010. The researchers examined the health records of almost 786,000 people and stated that, people who consumed about 70 g of whole grains a day had a 23% lower risk of heart disease, and a 20% lower risk of death from cancer, a 22% lower danger of all cause death, compared to people who ate no whole grains.

As per Dr. Qi Sun, the study’s lead author, the Harvard University, “the study further supported present dietary guidelines recommend that at least three daily servings or 48 g of whole grains to improve long-term health”. Other than heart and cancer disease, whole grains reduce the risk of stroke and Type 2 diabetes and helps in maintaining blood pressure and weight as well.

The study further revealed that, increasing a daily serving of whole grains, which is about 16 g, reduce the death rate due to cancer by 9%. It is also suggested to include 6 - 8 servings of whole grain per day in our food. Some of the best sources of whole grains are: steel-cut oats, barley, brown rice, millet, whole grain bread, etc.

Though, the research is not supported when compared with past study data as the past records didn’t confirm any consistent definition of whole grains in terms of good health. Due to this, researcher’s may extend the research to validate the theory about whole grains.

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How Hydration Affects Performance

One of the essential feature of a healthy nutrition program is hydration. Hydration involves providing the body with enough water to function and to prevent from consequent injuries. It’s recommended for athletes to hydrate while exercising, to restore the fluids lost through sweat. We all know that our body is made up of approximately 60% of water. Water regulates blood volume, controls body temperature and is involved in muscle contractions. Even a mild dehydration can seriously impact the athletic performance. There are many benefits of keeping the body hydrated while exercising, such as:

Fluid helps to control body temperature: When the body temperature increases above normal, it can affect the body’s energy systems. This interference, as a result, negatively impacts both performance and recovery.

Fluid helps to regulate blood pressure: Controlled blood pressure regularizes heart rate and, hence, manages body stress during physical activity and recovery. Extreme stress can lead to inflammation and interfere performance.

Fluid helps in the movement of vital energy nutrients: Important nutrients like carbohydrate, fats, protein, and other supporting nutrients that supply energy to the body are all transported by water in the body. Moreover, water helps to remove the metabolic waste from the body that is produced during intense exercise.

Whether you’re a professional sportsperson or a recreational exerciser, it’s essential to ensure you get the best amount of fluid before, during, and after workout. If you’re not appropriately hydrated, your body can’t perform at its top level. You may experience dizziness, vomiting, muscle cramps, and fast heartbeat.

There is no fix rule for how much fluid to take while workout. However, according to the American Council on Exercise, “drink 18 to 20 ounces of water before you start exercising; drink 8 ounces of water 15 to 20 minutes before you start exercising and drink 10 ounces of water no more than 30 minutes after you work out”. As with diet plans, a hydration procedure should be consistently followed for best results.

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Feeding Problems in Newborns

Most of the babies suckle well soon after the birth. However, some babies take a very long time to finish a feed or feed with varying degrees of difficulty. According to a study, “Feeding problems are estimated to occur in up to 25% of normally developing babies and in up to 35% of babies with neurodevelopmental disabilities”. Feeding problem can be termed as the failure or rejection to eat few food items.

Problems with feeding may lead to various health issues, such as negative nutrition, psychological and developmental sequelae. So, early recognition and management of feeding difficulty is very important. Some of the symptoms of this are, difficulty sucking, vomiting, fever, lethargy, partial to total food refusal, multiple food dislikes, etc.

Some babies feed poorly because of many reasons. Mouth ulcer, a fungal infection is one of the reasons of difficult feeding that appears as plaques or white patches on the tongue, roof of the mouth or the lips and inside of the cheeks. This can be treated with an anti-fungal gel. Apply the gel on the affected area after each feed.

Some babies are born with a gap, called as a cleft palate in the roof of the mouth. This can be easily seen when your baby is crying or opens the mouth wide. This may cause milk to enter the nose when your baby is trying to suck and cause blocking. Premature babies also find difficulty in coordinating the suck-swallow-breathe actions. However, this improves as the baby gets older and with more feedings.

Infants with feeding problems may also be at risk for chronic lung disease, dehydration and aspiration. If you find the feeding problem symptoms in your baby, consult with the doctor immediately. Treatment varies greatly depending on the cause of the feeding problems. Some of the common treatment options are, nutritional changes, individualized feeding therapy, postural or positioning changes, mouth exercises, medications, etc.

If the feeding issues are recognized on time, the prognosis is generally favorable and is usually resolved with no long-term health effect.  If not, however, it can lead to many problems, including slow physical and mental development, learning disorders, and more. 

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Are You a Health Food Junkie?

You must have heard about obesity and about the different ways to overcome it by eating healthier. However, when the urge for eating healthy becomes a mental obsession, you might develop Orthorexia Nervosa - a fixation on righteous eating.

Orthorexia nervosa is a term discovered by Dr. Steven Bratman, an American physician in 1996 to define a few of his patients who took healthy eating to an extreme. Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by excessive obsession with eating food believed to be healthy. It restricts food that is not healthy, clean, or wholesome to the level of rigidity. Food items with artificial flavors, colors, or additives, animal or dairy products, added sugar or salt, unhealthy fats, and genetic modifications are obsessively avoided. People suffering from orthorexia ate fixated on the healthy diet rather than an ideal weight. They only eat foods that give them a feeling of being healthy and well.

Orthorexia nervosa symptoms are serious, long-lasting, and go beyond a lifestyle choice. The symptoms of Orthorexia nervosa may include:

• Possessed concern over the relationship between food selections and health issues.

• Extreme avoidance of foods because of health concerns and food allergies.

• Obsessive worry over how food is prepared, specifically the washing of food or utensils.

• Avoiding people who have different opinions about eating healthy food.

• High consumption of supplements, herbal remedies or probiotics.

• Serious thinking about people who do not maintain a healthy diet, etc.

Orthorexia nervosa can result in strictly reduced interest in all other interests and activities until relationships become weakened because the person suffering from orthorexia believes he/she is superior to others. Developing an obsession with healthy food may cause a limit of calories because available food isn’t considered to be good enough. Orthorexia nervosa can lead to malnutrition, weight loss, and restrictive caloric intake. This may cause cardiac complications.

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Solar Cooking

Solar cooking is an easy, natural and nutritious way of cooking. Solar cooking is done using a solar cooker or oven by the means of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. By converting sun’s UV rays into heat energy, is then retained by the solar pot that cook’s the food. Food can be easily boiled, steamed and baked at 360° F to 400° F cooking temperature. 

The biggest benefit of using solar energy as cooking is its eco-friendliness. It helps in eliminating our dependency on gas or electricity. Moreover, it also helps in reducing the emission of carbon monoxide in the air, conserve earth resources and maintain better air quality. The food cooked using solar energy is full of emanating subtle natural flavors because the temperature in solar cooker rise slowly, allowing complex carbohydrates time to break down into simple sugars. The right temperature of the solar pot prevents the food from burning or scorching and food also retains moisture and softness. 

Another benefit of solar cooking is its financially favorable. Solar cooking is free of cost once you have the solar pot. To cook food, all you require is sunlight. You can easily save a significant amount of money over the long-term. This is the main reason, why solar cooking is being used increasingly all over the world, especially in developing countries with limited access to power and fuel.

A solar pot can be used anywhere, in park, roof or forests and is ideal for cooking at picnics or camping. Also, it saves a lot of time in preparing and cleaning up sun cooked meals. However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Solar cooking also has its demerits, as it requires sunlight, which makes it impossible to cook in winter season or rainy days.  Factors such as snow, wind and rain, can seriously disturb operation. 

In conclusion, solar cooking is giving people around the world a hand up. It is an ideal instrument for a comfortable, easy, healthy and a better way of life by giving people a viable option to the costly, time-consuming cooking and tending fires. 

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Liquid Calories

Are you controlling your diet to lose weight? To do this, do you only look at the solid food you’re eating? After eating healthy, are you still gaining weight? The possible reason in this case to consider is to know how many liquid calories you’re consuming. Milk or juices, are healthy to drink, but that doesn’t mean you should drink them all day long. Consuming soft drink, coffee, alcoholic drink, soda, and more can lead in gaining body weight.

Liquid calories are more dangerous than food. Controlling these can make a big difference in your plan of losing weight. Below are the six ways to this:

Drink low fat milk: Cut some extra calories by choosing low fat milk. 1 cup of full fat milk contains 145 calories; 1 cup of skimmed milk has 90 calories. Drinking low fat milk can easily reduce the daily calorie intake by 38%.

Drink water instead of soda: Sodas are nothing, just sugar water that adds calorie to the body. Replace soda and sports beverages with water as water has zero calories and other important benefits too.

Eat fruits: Eat a lot of fresh fruits rather than drinking the juice. Having fruits will give you the same nutrients, in addition you will not feel hungry because of the fiber content in fruit.

Have low fat milk coffee: Limit speciality coffee, like a Caramel Brulee Frappuccino Blended Coffee with whipped cream. It adds a lot of calories. Instead, drink regular coffee with low fat milk.

Reduce alcohol intake: It’s true that alcohol interferes with fat reduction. However, it can hinder the eating decision and make you eat even more. That mojito you like to drink? One small mojito is around 240 calories. Better, if you’re going to drink alcohol, have it straight or replace the same with wine.

Liquid calories not only make you gain weight; they don’t make you feel full for long as well. Make sure that you read labels and check your serving size of liquid diet. This way you will be able to consume fewer number of calories. Reducing liquid calories is very easy since they don’t give the feeling of satiety, deprivation or hunger.

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DHA for Children

Do you really want your child to reach his or her extreme intellectual potential? A research confirms that plentiful intake of the omega-3 fat DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is essential for the cognitive development in kids. DHA is significant for brain and eye development throughout the life stages, but is important during the first two years. The research further says that children, between birth to five years of age require good amount of DHA in their regular diet. This is the time when brain develops approximately 3.5 times in mass.

DHA offers a number of health benefits to children, such as, it supports normal cognitive function, a healthy heart and improves brain and eye development. According to a study, “Children who are low in reading and learning, a healthy diet containing 600 mg of DHA daily may support improvement in reading and learning”.

As said before, DHA is important for brain and visual development. In addition, its supplements are said to treat many serious health problems in children, like asthma, allergies and ADHD.

It’s essential to include DHA in children’s diet. Experts have recommended at least 100 – 150 mg of DHA for kids per day. Some of the best source of DHA are, organ meats, seafood, mainly oily fish such as herring, salmon, sardines, anchovies and algae. Infants get DHA from mother’s milk, which is a natural source. Even, infant formulas are now being supplemented with DHA.

Fortunately, the advantages of DHA continue to grow, more attention is being paid to the fact that infants and young children can benefit from it. An increasing awareness of the nutritional sources of DHA and the addition of DHA into few fortified foods are making it much easier for people of all ages, including teenagers, to obtain this important nutrient from their daily diets.

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Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

Many people do a lot of exercise or hit the gym to build muscles, losing weight and improving cardiovascular health, but exercising has above-the-neck advantages, too. Exercising provides some important mental benefits and boost brain functions. They are below:

Reduce stress: One of the most common mental health benefits of exercise is relief from stress. Working up can help reduce physical and mental stress. Exercise also focuses on concentrations of norepinephrine that regulate the brain’s response to anxiety.

Sharpen memory: Regular exercise sharpens the brain memory and increase the ability to learn new things. Physical activity increases cell production in the hippocampus, who are responsible for memory and learning.

Prevent cognitive decline: Regular exercise and physical activity prevent brain against cognitive decline that begins in an old age, especially after 40. Exercise improves the brain chemicals and prevent degeneration of the hippocampus.

Boost happy chemicals: Exercise produces endorphins, which develop the feelings of happiness. It also helps in treating depression or anxiety. In addition, it boosts our overall mood, physical and mental energy, and enhances well-being.

Improve self-confidence: Physical activity can improve self-esteem and enhance positive self-confidence. Regardless of age, gender, weight or size, exercise can rapidly raise a person’s insight of his or her attraction, which is, self-worth.

Help control addiction: The brain produces a reward chemical known as dopamine, in response to any form of pleasure, be that physical activity, alcohol, or food. Unluckily, some people get addicted to dopamine. Exercise helps in addiction recovery.

Increase relaxation: A moderate exercise can be equivalent to a sleeping pill, even for the people suffering from insomnia. Physical activity increases the body’s temperature and helps in increasing relaxation.

Exercise pumps blood to the brain, which makes us think more clearly. Ultimately, it’s exercise that matters in order to keep your brain and body fit. Remember, consistency is the key. So make a plan for your exercise, which you can stick to for the days to come.

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Fatal or Non-Fatal Drowning

Does your child go swimming? Do you watch your kids while they swim? Almost all of us do, however are you aware that the life of the child could be under threat, even after they’ve come out of the water?

According to Barbara Byers of Canada’s Lifesaving Society,

“A child could die 24 hours later after they have been in the water”. 

Especially with the kids who suffer from inhaling and coughing up water. Their life could be in danger as the water can affect the lungs and can lead to the increase in fluid build-up. Any excess accumulation of water can block the air entering into the lungs. This could lead to the death of the child.

Some people call this kind of death as dry or secondary drowning, but the World Health Organization, named it as fatal or non-fatal drowning since 2005. The documented evidence of this kind of fatal or non-fatal drowning occurred in South Carolina was with a ten-year old boy. The boy went for a trip to the pool, soiled himself and had taken a bath at home on return. After the bath, he went to take a nap and was found dead in his sleep. The medical reports revealed that the cause of death was excess water in the lungs.

According to Lifesaving Society, 

“Children under 10, but primarily those under five, are most at-risk. It is highly recommended that parents should watch out their kids once they are out of water. They need to look for certain signs, such as persistent coughing, chest discomfort and difficulty in breathing, etc. to avoid such incidents.”

Prevention is always better than the cure. Parents need to take certain measures before sending their kids under water. Anything bad can be happened within seconds. Don’t leave your kids unattended in the water. As per Shelley Dalke, Director of Swimming and Water Safety for the Canadian Red Cross, “Don’t assume because a child can swim they need less supervision. Things can happen”.

This study by the Lifesaving Society created an awareness among parents, that water can be a silent killer, even after the child is out of water. It’s better to educate their children also to call for help in case they feel any of the above-mentioned symptoms.

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Diabetes Surgery: A New trend to an Old Disease

Diabetes is a serious disease which can influence the entire body and can reduce life expectancy. There is no treatment for diabetes, thereby, International diabetes organizations are recommending weight-loss surgery as a routine treatment to cure diabetes and obesity. According to Diabetes Association, 

“Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are a deadly pair, and numerous studies show stomach-shrinking operations can dramatically improve diabetes”.

The recommendations were also supported by the International Diabetes Federation, the American Diabetes Association and 43 other health groups as this may improve the sugar level of patients drastically. It is also said that people who undergo Bariatric surgery, have shown positive results. Some of them were able to control the diabetes, and some even reached to the normal level, that too without the help of any medicine.

According to American Diabetes Association, about 26 million Americans are suffering from diabetes, mostly the type 2 in which the body is not able to produce insulin. This even can lead to stroke, heart attack, amputation and kidney failure.

Some people can control the disease with medication, strict diet and exercise. The people who are unable to control diabetes can go for Bariatric or weight-loss surgery. The eligibility criteria to undergo the surgery is calculated by measuring patients’ body mass index (BMI). The patients with BMI 40 or higher are qualified to undergo surgery. Also, the guidelines say, that patients with BMI 30 can also be considered for surgery, in case they are unable to control sugar despite regular care.

The weight-loss or Bariatric surgery has proven successful in treating diabetes. Moreover, the surgery also helps people to lose weight, reduce inches and control blood sugar level by affecting gut bacteria, body hormones, and other substances. Also, the risk of death or serious side-effects from surgery is small and comparable to gallbladder operations or hysterectomies, said Dr. Francesco Rubino, chair of metabolic and Bariatric surgery at King’s College London.

However, the medical and economic burden of this surgery is huge. The cost involved with diabetes surgery is between $20,000 to $25,000. The insurance claim is there, but limit under certain guidelines. Also, its implementation needs immense rethinking of diabetes treatments aim and strategies.

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Best Sources of Protein

Protein is an essential core macronutrient required by our body. It regulates multiple function in our body, including building and repairing cells, tissue and muscle. Protein also helps in producing hormones, enzymes, and other body chemicals. It is considered as an important building block for bones, skin, blood and muscles.

Proteins are made up of 20 different amino acids. Of these, 8 are essentials and can be obtained from food. Below are the 5 top foods to get the protein fix:

Milk: Milk and milk products are good source of protein. Milk contains 2 types of protein: whey and casein. According to science-based rating scales, both are high-quality proteins and contains all required amino acids in sufficient amount needed by our body.

Eggs: Eggs are inexpensive, easy and solid packed with protein. A medium egg contains around 6 – 7 g of protein. Of this protein, half is contained in the egg white and half in the egg yolk. An omelette or a boiled egg is a good way to start the day as it is light and keeps you active entire day.

Fruits and Vegetables: Many fruits and vegetables are the best sources of protein. They are also low in fat and rich in fiber. Avocado, Broccoli, Spinach, Beans, Soybeans, Lentils, etc. are some of the vegetables that supply a good amount of protein in the body.

Fish and Seafood: Fish and seafood are the richest sources of protein and are usually low in fat. They also help in supplying minerals and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids to our body. A fish contains high protein content, ranging between 26 g – 30 g per 100 g serving.

Pistachio Nuts: Pistachios are small, but contains a powerful protein punch. They are also good for our heart, nervous system, eyes and skin. Around 50 pistachio gives 5.94 g of protein to our body.

These were the top 5 best sources of proteins. Although you can also include oats, chicken, peanuts, yoghurt, sprouts, and much more to your diet to fulfill the requirement of protein. The importance of eating enough protein cannot be exaggerated. Protein is the most needed nutrients required by our body, which also helps in maintaining the body weight and staying fit.

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Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is the fear of communicating with other people that brings the feeling of nervousness and self-consciousness. A person with social anxiety disorder is always having the fear of being negatively judged, humiliated, and feeling inferior, depressed and even embarrassed.

Today social anxiety is a much more common problem. Millions of people are suffering from this traumatic and devastating condition. According to epidemiological studies,

“Social anxiety disorder is the third largest psychological disorder in the United States, after alcoholism and depression. Also, it is estimated that about 15 million American adults have this disorder”

Social anxiety has both genetic and environmental reasons. If any family member is suffering from it, there are chances that the offspring will learn that anxious behaviour. According to scientists, Serotonin, a brain chemical, may play a main role when the brain levels are not perfect or if the patient is extremely emotional. Yet, this statement has no grounds.

Social anxiety disorder can be easily visible in people. People suffering from it usually feel emotional distress. Few of its symptoms are:

• Avoiding situations or considerable fear of being in situations with strangers
• Afraid of being teased and fear of meeting people
• Panic attacks
• Abdominal pain
• Avoiding eye contact, blushing, clammy hands
• Children with social anxiety may cry, cling to parents, have tantrums
• Confusion, crying, shaky voice, excessive sweating
• Difficulty in talking
• Excessive sweating, etc.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), is the most effective treatment for this disorder. CBT is a talking therapy that can help you solve your problems by changing the way to think and behave. It helps you avoid a situation which causes you anxiety. Medicines, such as Effexor XR Oral, Zoloft Oral, Sertraline Oral, etc. are often used to treat social anxiety disorder. Counselling and relaxation techniques, like muscle relaxation, deep breathing and visualization may also help a person deal with this disorder.

Social anxiety disorder is definitely treatable. Although it may take some time, counselling, medication or psychotherapy can help you begin to feel more confident in social situations.

Found this information useful? You can learn more about maintaining good health by joining Shaw Academy’s Health and Fitness program. You can also read Shaw Academy Reviews online on their Facebook page.

Neuromuscular Warm-ups Prevents Sports Injury

A warm-up is a kind of light cardiovascular exercise that help your body prepare itself for any physical activity, sports and exercise, thereby reducing the chance of injury. In sports, warm-ups are most important as this will keep body muscles warm and allow them to function properly. You must have seen in various sports, such as cricket, football, soccer, etc. where players jog, jump and stretch in the mid of a game.

Warm-ups are important before any physical activity. But, what kind of warm-ups can show good and fast results? According to a study conducted by researchers of the University of Calgary in the faculty of kinesiology, ‘Neuromuscular training’ has shown quick result in reducing sports injuries.

Neuromuscular exercise is related to body’s nerves and muscles, utilized to increase body velocity and speed of movement, which helps in the development of strength.

The study involved two groups of young soccer players. First group used normal standard warm-up, like aerobics and stretching. The second group tried neuromuscular training that includes change of direction, landing, balancing and jumping skills as well as agility and technical training.

The second group found neuromuscular warm-ups much effective and easy to do than static warm-ups.

The research further revealed, the group that did neuromuscular warm-ups had approximately 40 percent less chances of getting injuries, mainly to knees and ankle area. This represents a huge savings in terms of dollars and cents for the sports healthcare system.

As per Carolyn Emery, a researcher and professor at the University of Calgary Kinesiology, “We looked at the cost savings associated with reducing the risk of injuries and we demonstrated a cost savings of over $2.7 million in youth soccer players alone in this province”.

The researchers at the University of Calgary are now looking for more advanced warm-up techniques to be included in other sports as well.

In conclusion, neuromuscular exercise, may change the method of warm-ups adopted by physical trainers. In the highly competitive global sporting scenario, neuromuscular exercise can help in saving huge money and reduce the risk of career threatening injury.

To know more about which exercise may suit and work for you, join Shaw Academy’s online Sports Nutrition program. To know more about Shaw Academy Reviews, subscribe to their YouTube channel.

How to Gain Muscle

Are you desperately trying to build or gain muscle? Are you hitting the weights very hard? If yes, there are plenty of ways in which you can achieve your aim easily and faster. There are a lot of exercise and modalities that will help your muscles grow bigger.

Below are the best tips to gain muscle faster in the smallest time frame:

Know your calorie requirement: Calorie intake in most important while building muscles. It depends upon your age, body weight and lifestyle. To know the calorie need of your body, just multiply your current weight to 20. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, that’s 140 x20 = 2800 calories per day is your body’s calorie requirement.

Lift progressively: Get stronger and bigger by lifting more weight. Progressive lifting ensures that your muscles don’t get smug and stop growing. Keep on adding about 10 pounds of weight every week to get used to lift heavy loads.

Do partial lifts: Reverse band lifts are recommended, if you really want to gain muscles fast. Reverse the load progression and lift more weight by doing a 3rd set first and then second and first set.

Take supplements: Supplements acts like a helper in muscle building. Also, they fill the nutritional gaps required to build muscles. Include supplements, such as whey protein powder, casein protein, creatine, branched-chain amino acids and glutamine in your daily diet. They help in building, repairing and strengthening muscle tissue.

Drink enough water: Sufficient water intake is very important to build muscle at an optimum rate. To know the water intake requirement of your body, just follow this formula: Body weight in lbs X 0.6 = water intake in ounces.

Big muscle group: To build muscles faster, include big muscle group training into your exercise process. The largest muscle groups are the chest, legs and back. Ensure you do these muscle groups at least once in a week.

Building muscles fast is very challenging, but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated. Gaining muscle is a time taking process. Even when you are doing everything in a right direction, you can gain only 5 – 10 pounds of muscle annually. Following above-mentioned tips will definitely help you to gain good, strong and long lasting muscles in the shortest possible time frame.

To know more about bodybuilding and sports, join Shaw Academy’s online Sports Nutrition program. To know more about the Shaw Academy reviews, watch their YouTube channel.

Heart Healthy Diet

Are you aware that a healthy diet can prevent the risk of heart disease and strokes by 80%! According to Carol Dombrow, a registered dietitian with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, “A healthy balanced diet is no. 1 nutrition recommendation for people who are at risk of heart disease or already have heart disease”. By knowing which food groups are good for your heart, you can easily prevent or manage the cholesterol level and high blood pressure of your body.

Selecting food to take care of your heart is very easy. It just requires a little bit of meal planning and efforts to prepare the food. You just need to focus on minimally processed diet, including whole grains, fruits & vegetable, lean meat and low fat dairy products. Carol Dombrow, has shared a specially designed eating plan to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

For breakfast, she has recommended fresh chopped fruits like apple, orange or papaya along with muesli and yogurt. It helps in providing a lot of protein, fat and fibre to our body. As per Carol, vegetables with creamy sauces, frozen fruit with sugar added, canned fruit juices and fried or breaded vegetables, should be avoided.

Lunch should be full of nourishing ingredients, which includes a lot of protein and fat. Having cheese, whole grain crackers and a plate of veggies and fruit would be very simple, but adds a lot of nutrition.

She has also suggested consuming low calorie cheese including, vitamin A, D & B12, riboflavin and calcium. In addition, she recommended limiting sodium as excess of it can lead to high blood pressure.

According to The Food and Drug Administration, people with heart disease and high blood pressure should cut down salt consumption to 1500 mg from 2300 mg on per day basis.

In the evening, having snacks like roasted almonds and fruits is advised as they provide calcium, vitamin C and protein to our body. As per Carol, “having nuts for about four times a week can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 37%”.

For dinner, a home-cooked meal is recommended. We should include, green salad, baked chicken thighs, mixed grains and snap beans in our dinner. Moreover, Mussels, which are the best source of Vitamin B12, Iron and Omega 3, must be included.

These were some simple and important food recommendations to prevent heart disease and strokes from a Canadian Dietician. Developing these food habits will, surely, make you stay fit, healthy and live longer.

You can learn more about maintaining good health by joining Shaw Academy’s online Nutrition program. To know more about the Shaw Academy reviews, watch their YouTube channel.

Failure to Thrive

You must have noticed, most of the kids grow fast and gain weight within the initial years. However, in some cases kids don’t grow according to the expected standards. When this happens, it's called "failure to thrive." Failure to thrive refers to kids whose current weight is much lower than that of other kids of similar age group.

Children who fail to thrive have very little growth rate as compared to other kids of the same age. They look slimmer, shorter or smaller. Failure to Thrive is self-treatable, if recognized on time. It is very important for all of us to know about its symptoms. Symptoms of failure to thrive include:

• Growth rate of the child slowed or stopped
• Child weight is 20% lower below the ideal weight for their height
• Body weight, height and head circumference do not meet the standard growth rate

This condition, mostly found in infants and toddlers, which is an important time of physical and mental growth. There are many causes of failure to thrive, such as eating problem, illness, hormonal problem, metabolism disorder, low birth rate, etc. It is very important for parents to get it diagnosed from the doctor and get a child back into a healthy growth pattern.

Children who have failure to thrive can be treated at home. In order to reduce this, parents need to take certain serious steps. The best way to prevent this is to eat a balanced diet. A diet, which is full of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and water is considered to be a balanced diet. Other treatment includes primary care from pediatrician and occupational therapy.

Children with extreme failure to thrive might need some dietary supplements, but don’t give these to your child without consulting your doctor.

Hence, with this piece of information, we need to understand that it’s extremely important, now-a-days, to educate parents about this health problem, to ensure child’s well-being. Inclusion of enough nutritious food in your kids' diet, can help in reducing the risk of this disease and help in their normal body growth.

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