HEALTH SECTION; YOUR HABITS AND YOUR HEALTH

This week The Tellrhodes blog features  HIFAD a top health awareness agency looking out to create a healthy generation!!!(A MUST READ!!!)

Health initiatives for fight against diseases. HiFAD Africa.


YOUR HABITS AND YOUR HEALTH.
   How your eating habits affects your health....
Your body needs fuel in the form of food every day, but the wrong kind of fuel can lead to health problems. A balanced diet consists of fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy, whole grains, protein and fats, but it limits cholesterol, saturated fats, trans fats and sodium.
     When poor eating habits spiral out of control, it could cause serious health problems down the road.
           Physical and Mental Health
  Healthy eating habits affect both mental and physical wellness. What you eat affects your immune system, bone health and athletic performance, among other functions. It plays a role in your mental health, too -- healthy eating supports cognition, problem solving, memory, alertness, sleep and information processing, according to the Linus Pauling Institute, which also notes that good nutrition is important for proper brain development and maintenance of normal cognitive function.
   Disease Prevention When combined with regular physical activity, a balanced diet can help prevent such conditions as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity. Columbia University reports that the three leading causes of death  -- coronary heart disease, some types of cancer and stroke -- are directly linked with dietary behavior. To help prevent such conditions as cardiovascular disease, you need to keep your blood cholesterol, blood pressure and weight under control. All of this can be done through healthy eating and exercise.Source of Macronutrients While most foods contain more than one nutrient, no one food provides all the nutrients your body requires.

 It’s important to eat a variety of healthy foods to make sure your diet is nutritionally balanced and providing all the nutrients your body needs to function.The three macronutrients -- carbohydrates, protein and fat -- provide energy to your body in the form of calories, among other key functions. Carbohydrates are the body's main energy source, fats increase vitamin absorption and proteins are vital for growth, maintenance and structural support of muscle tissue.The Micronutrient Mix Along with macronutrients, your body also requires micronutrients, or the vitamins and minerals needed to keep the body functioning properly. Some important micronutrients include vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K, iron, calcium, zinc, copper, iodine, manganese and cobalamin. Micronutrients play vital roles in growth, metabolism and affecting enzyme function in cells. Making Changes Simple changes in your daily eating behaviors such as eating more slowly and avoiding large serving sizes can result in healthier eating over time. Eating slowly, for example, can reduce overeating, heartburn, indigestion and feeling bloated. The University of Arkansas notes that it takes 15 to 20 minutes for the stomach to send signals to the brain, letting you know you are full.

    Unhealthy eating is largely caused by bad eating habits. Eating a bag of potato chips while watching TV once in a while or binging on food during a party will probably not cause you any harm. However, when these actions become repetitive, they develop into habits. If you wish to break your unhealthy eating habits, you need to determine what they are first. Here are some common bad eating habits that you should learn to avoid

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1. Skipping Breakfast
Breakfast is believed to be the most important meal of the day, but many people still seem to make a habit out of skipping it. When you have to rush for work in the mornings or get your kids ready for school, it's easy to neglect breakfast. Doing so not only drains you of energy, but also makes it more likely that you will snack throughout the day. Skipping breakfast also disrupts your metabolism, causing you to burn fewer calories. So, if you are trying to lose weight, skipping breakfast is not a good idea. A bowl of oatmeal, fruit or a healthy cereal can get your day off to a good start.

2. Food Binging
Binging or eating large amounts of food in one sitting is another unhealthy eating habit that you should avoid. Do you tend to skip meals then eat a lot in the next meal to compensate? Do you gorge yourself with junk food during the weekend after a week of eating restrictively? Do you often eat beyond the point that you've reached fullness? These are signs that you are a habitual binger. You might want to train yourself to eat several small meals in a day so you can avoid binging.

3. Emotional Eating
Emotional eating, or stress eating, is another common unhealthy habit that you should avoid. This occurs when you are driven by certain emotions to eat even though you're not hungry. Perhaps you munch on candy bars when you're stressed about a deadline at work, or perhaps you indulge in a tub of ice cream when you are feeling depressed. If you're like most people who are emotional eaters, then you probably reach for unhealthy junk food in order to cope with your emotions. To solve this, try to find another channel for your stress and negative emotions. Take up a hobby or spend quality time with a friend.

4. Eating During Other Activities
If you eat while watching TV,while working, while reading or even while cooking then you are also developing an unhealthy eating behavior. When you eat while doing other activities, you become unable to measure how much you eat. As a result, you tend to overeat without knowing it. Try to have a specific schedule for eating. In the house, have a designated place exclusively for eating. For instance, you can make sure that you only eat in the kitchen and not in the other parts of the house.

5. Eating Late at Night
Having an occasional late night snack is fine, but if you can'tgo to bed without having a plate of cookies or a slice of pie first, then you could be setting yourself up for weight gain. Eating too close to bedtime will also give you sleeping difficulty since your body will be busy digesting food.

6.Eating The Wrong Foods
The truth is that most of us do not have a very healthy diet. We indulge in sugary, salty, and greasy foods. For a lot of us, it has gotten to a point where even our vegetables need to be sweetened or greasy for us to enjoy them.Too much sugar can cause or influence countless serious medical problems such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, periodontal disease, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and atherosclerosis. Too much salt can lead to health issues such as high blood pressure,osteoporosis, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, stomach cancer, and stroke. With many foods having negative health effects it is crucial to make the effort and create a diet plan or food list so your diet is not harming your body and health.

7.Not Drinking Enough Water
Water is one of the most important things our body needs to survive! The human body is about 70% water! While there’s been debate about the figure of  8 glasses of water a day (or more if you work out), there’s little doubt that most people don’t drink enough plain, pure water. If you make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day,then you’ll probably feel less hungry. Drinking water also helps rid your body of toxins. Drinking sodas and coffee deplete your body of water. You don’t need to stop drinking your morning coffee to break this habit, just supplement it with a glass of water. The easiest way to remember to drink water is to keep it with you. Take a reusable water bottle with you to work, school or wherever you go and drink regularly, even if you don’t feel thirsty. The general rule is that if you feel thirsty, then you may already be dehyrated.

8.Packaged Food
The convenience of packaged and microwaveable meals can’t be denied! After a long day, cooking from scratch is probably far from your mind. Unfortunately these miracle meals often pack in extra unhealthy fats, sodium and sugar. Scrutinize nutrition labels of any products!
 Source; MR PETER OLAMIDE; CEO HIFAD.