The Danger of Fast Food

Some of the hidden and not-so-hidden dangers of fast food.

Fast food is fast, easy, and relatively cheap. But you probably know it's not the best for your family. Well, you're right. In fact, fast food is some of the worst stuff you can feed your spouse and kids - especially if it's on a regular basis.
Where do the dangers exist? Funny you should ask.

In the Fries

Excessive salt and grease all come together for one of the tastiest complements to your eating out experience. As if those three weren't enough to keep you away, French fries also have trans-fats and saturated fats, the kind of fats that don't do the body good. So while they may be offered with every meal you can order at every fast-food restaurant in the world, fries should be avoided if you want to sidestep one of the largest pools of unhealthy food in a fast-food restaurant.

In the Burgers

In order to keep fast food as cheap as possible, some fast-food restaurants lower the quality of meat used in hamburgers. That means fatty hamburgers (and chicken sandwiches) that are more likely to taste great but result in food poisoning. More likely than food poisoning is simply winding up with extra calories that will go straight to your waist, belly, or whatever other area of your body you'd rather keep trim.

In the Healthy Sides

Before getting too excited about those healthy choices at your favorite hit-and-run restaurant, there's something you should know. Though the word "healthy" may encourage you to jump in fork first, some of the healthy sides offered at fast food restaurants aren't all they're cut out to be. Chili made with fatty beef and filled with cheese and baked potatoes loaded with bacon, cheese, and other unhealthy condiments turn would could be a healthy alternative into an equally unhealthy choice.

In the Desserts

One of the most obvious places to find dangers in fast-food restaurants is on the dessert menu. From soft serve ice cream topped with caramel, chocolate, and strawberry syrup to post-meal frozen coffee, finding a healthy option on the dessert menu is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. In fact, your best chance for finding a healthy option on fast-food dessert menus is

In the Drinks

Since you can get as many refills as you want without paying extra, it can be tempting to fill your cup to the rim time and again. Unfortunately, filling your bladder and urinary tract with soda or sweet tea isn't a good idea. These drinks make you need to urinate more frequently and have enough calories in each 12-ounce serving to make it hard to eat anything without consuming an unhealthy amount of calories. As if that isn't bad enough, sodas and sweet tea offer no nutritional value besides a quick energy boost, which usually comes at the cost of a crash.

The Hidden Good News

No matter how hard you try, you're not going to be able to stay away from fast-food restaurants every day of your life. Going to these quick-and-easy eateries doesn't mean you're a bad person or have to resign yourself to chowing down on extra calories you may never shed. What it does mean is that you'll have to work a little harder to avoid those extra calories.

But it can be done. A great first step is to avoid fried foods that are in such great quantity in fast-food establishments. You should also opt for the healthier side items, and help them stay healthy by not adding on fatty toppings. And if you must have dessert, look for a yogurt parfait or a low-fat frozen yogurt in a cup. When you're done eating, smile and pat yourself on the back for doing what was once thought impossible. You've just eaten a relatively healthy meal at a fast-food restaurant.

Good Health Starts Young

Good nutrition in the early years is vital to a healthy life. So what are you feeding your kids?

Your children are the most precious gifts you'll ever receive, so you should handle them with care. While you worked hard to give them the best breast milk or formula when they were tiny, you may be at a loss once they begin eating solid foods - especially if you have a picky eater on your hands.

To help your little ones have the best jumpstart on a healthy and happy life, it's important that they get the same well-balanced diet that you're getting - with some slight modifications. Here are a few things to keep in mind when feeding your young and hungry little ones.

1. Know the Basics

You know your child needs a solid foundation of healthy foods. What does that mean? It means plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein products. Childhood is the best time to develop a taste for whole and raw foods. With that in mind, give your child plenty of apple slices, carrots, and grapes. When your little one is in her littlest stages, go for applesauce and other baby foods that don't have sugar or other flavor-changing additives. This way, your child learns to develop a taste for food the way nature intended, which just happens to be healthiest.

2. Believe in Your Child

One mistake when feeding your child is expecting him to have the same food preferences as you. So if you didn't like broccoli or pinto beans as a child, you're not going to feed your child those foods, because you don't expect him to like them. However, while your son might have your dimples and sense of humor, he didn't come with your taste buds. Encourage him to try a variety of healthy foods - including the ones you didn't like as a child. Who knows? You may be pleasantly surprised to find out your finicky son likes asparagus.

3. Prepare the Options

Dinnertime should not be a battle zone. If your child simply won't swallow her cherry tomatoes, don't give up. Instead, be ready with another option. Swap a piece of whole grain toast for a cup of yogurt, or offer the choice of a green salad or a carrot salad. And avoid the temptation to force your child to eat every bite of every bit of food on her plate - especially if you know she hates a certain food. On the other hand, if your daughter is resisting a new food she's never tried, it's a good idea to require her to take a bite or two on occasion. And remember - taste buds change over time, so it's okay to have your child taste something she's not eaten in a while.

4. Train with Tricker

Sometimes, your son isn't going to want to eat anything except cookies, butter popcorn, popsicles, and ice cream. You may want to throw your hands up in the air and give up on any hopes you had of having a healthy child. Don't. Just be smarter than your child. How? By taking healthy foods and burying them in what he thinks is unhealthy. Make banana-nut muffin to feed his need for cupcakes, strawberry smoothies to answer his begging for a milkshake, and whole-grain pancakes - minus the whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top.

Helping your children turn into healthy adults starts today, so don't waste any time giving your children the healthy start they deserve!

Resourceful Cooking

You've been cooking whole-wheat pancakes every morning and have made so many batches of ants on a log* that you're starting to feel them crawling up your leg. Now your children are begging for something else to eat and you've run out of ideas. Fortunately, KidsHealth.org is here to save the day!

Loaded with fantastic, kid-friendly recipes, KidsHealth.org is a great place to turn when your cooking energies are depleted. On top of tips for you, there are recipes that your son or daughter can help with.

To get straight to the recipes, visithttp://kidshealth.org/kid/recipes/index.html and get ready for some great cooking!

Get Those Late-Night Cravings Under Control

And getting control over your waistline at the same time.

You've probably heard of diets that force dieters to avoid eating after a certain time of the day. That's because eating lots of food right before going to bed makes it more likely that your body will store up fat when you're not burning calories by moving around. How can you fend off those late-night cravings that bring unwanted calories to your most vulnerable soft spots?

Go to Bed

One of the easiest ways to avoid late-night cravings is to cut the late nights out of your life. This is as easy. Simply brush your teeth, wash your face, and get in bed well before your cravings usually kick in. To make sure you don't find yourself lying in bed for hours and suffering the same late-night desires that you're trying to avoid, don't read or watch television in bed. It may take a few nights to grow accustomed to an earlier bedtime, but your physical and emotional health will improve from hitting the hay at a decent hour.

Eat Later

This may seem contradictory if you're trying to beat late-night eating, but pushing dinner back an hour or so will help you stay full later into the night, ultimately leading to no more late-night cravings. This can be a difficult adjustment if you have a hungry household, so be prepared to allow plenty of snacking leading up to dinnertime.

Stop Sitting Around

For the most part, cravings kick in when you're sitting around not doing anything. Instead of opening the door for boredom-induced snacking, find something to do and do it well! Whether you decide to finally clean out the kitchen pantry or want to get yourself involve in a crossword puzzle or putting together a quilt, staying busy will help you sidestep any potential temptations that arise in the late hours.

Decompress the Stress

Stress is a key reason you may find yourself eating when you know you shouldn't. Stress can throw off your levels of certain hormones responsible for food cravings, so staying away from stress can't be stressed enough. Beat stress with controlled breathing, regular exercise, and sleep. If you're still feeling stressed, take a close look at your life and reprioritize. You may be putting too much emphasis on things that aren't important.

Give In

Have no control over your need for late-night foods? Give in, but give in healthily by substituting your unhealthy ice cream and candy corn for carrot sticks, celery sticks, or apple slices. Once you've made the switch, you may have to take another step and toss the ranch dressing you're dipping it in. Anything that diminishes the health perks of your food must be done away with. Your waistline requires it!

Get Wet

Being thirsty or dehydrated is often mistaken for hunger, so getting some water in your system may be just what your belly wants. So before you give in to your hunger, you need to quench your thirst. Any time you find yourself faced with an insatiable desire to snack on some late-night goodies, drink a couple glasses of water and wait a few minutes. If your hunger is still growing after a healthy dose of H2O, go for one of the healthy snacks mentioned above.

More Mousey Research

A recent study gave more proof that late-night snacking is a bad idea for anyone who wants to keep a tight reign on his or her waistline. During the study, mice fed during the day (they normally eat at night) gained 7.8 percent more weight than mice fed at the appropriate time. In other words, eat at the right time, get the results you want.

Protecting Your Back

A few easy steps to ensure your back's good health when you're in the gym.

You're having an amazing workout, when suddenly everything stops. A stinging sensation moves from your leg all the way up your back, sending paralyzing pain through your body. Could the pain have been prevented? Probably. Here are two tips to help you do just that.

Stretch It Out

Before beginning an exercise routine, stretching your body out slowly is still one of the best ways to prevent injury. To stretch out your back, try the following:

• Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent, and both hands resting on your chest. Then allow both legs to fall gently to one side of your body, while keeping your body in its original position. Raise your legs back to the starting position and allow them to fall to the other side. Hold each stretch for 5 to 10 seconds.
• Lie on your back, feet flat on the ground, knees bent. Pull one knee to your chest at a time, holding for 15 seconds. Repeat for the other leg, and then pull both knees to your chest for one or two repetitions.
• Resting on your hands and knees, relax your back and let it sag toward the ground while keeping your arms and legs in their original position. Once your back is as far down as it is going to be, bring your back to its original position and slowly arch your back like a cat toward the ceiling. Repeat two or three times.

Strengthen Your Core

In addition to stretching out your back, you should also actively work to strengthen your back. To do this, you'll need to strengthen the muscles that protect your back - the core muscles. However, if you're suffering from back pain, you should avoid some of the most common exercises that focus on the abdominal muscles, such as sit-ups (both regular and partial sit-ups) and lifting both of your legs in the air while lying on your back. You should also avoid other exercises that result in back pain or demand a lot from your back, such as standing toe touches.

If you aren't experiencing back pain, any exercise that helps your core grow stronger is going to help you avoid back pain in the future. At the same time, you can go a long way toward protecting your back by performing other exercises properly and not involving your back in exercises that aren't meant to work the back.

When Prevention Isn't Enough

Despite your greatest attempts, you won't be able to avoid back pain every time. When you begin to hurt in your back, you can often help your back pain feel better at home. A good first step is to ice your back. After a couple of days, you can alternate ice with heat.

While you may think staying in bed will help your back recover, taking bed rest will actually prolong the time it takes for your back to feel better. Instead, stay moderately active, being careful not to further injure your back. In the event your back pain doesn't go away after a couple of weeks, seek medical attention, as it may require more intensive care than you can provide on your own.

When the Pain Is Too Much

If you're suffering from unbearable back pain but want to stay fit, there's good news. Getting some exercise is one of the best things for your back pain. You just have to choose carefully.

For most people with back pain, walking is a great way to stay active. But for those who can't handle walking because of never-ending back pain, swimming in a pool is a great alternative that is usually tolerable no matter how much pain you're in on land. So when the pain becomes too much for you to bear exercise, hit the pool!

Let's Look At Bad Breakfast Foods

A fattening, unhealthy look at some of the worst foods you can eat for breakfast.

Mama always told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But if your breakfast is brimming with butter, lard, and sugar, you may be putting your body at a disadvantage. Which breakfast foods are stuck to the bottom of the barrel for nutrition? Read on to find out.

Doughnuts

You knew it was coming, so may as well get it over with. Whether glazed, powdered, or cream-filled, doughnuts were made to be delicious ways to begin or interrupt your day. What they were not created for was to be a healthy way to get your day started right. Many companies have made it their mission to create the ultimate healthy doughnut, but every attempt has come off less tasty than the original. Instead of settling for something that tastes less than the best, leave doughnuts of all shapes, sizes, and health on the shelf.

Kids' Cereals

You never want to grow up. You love your big-kid toys and your big-kid video games, and you're still eating the same cereal you were when you were in elementary school. Unfortunately, those brightly colored, sugary sweet cereals have not become any healthier over the years. In fact, researchers from Yale University state that these kid-friendly cereals that are full of sugar and artificial flavors are usually less healthy than any cereals made for adults. So if your kids are eating the same colorful cereals as you, you'll all need to change. Instead, look for something with four grams of fiber and less than four grams of sugar per serving.

Energy Bars

They're crammed full of protein and go-get-em, and they fit in the palm of your hand. So what's the problem? The problem is that alongside all that energy-boosting protein, there is also a lot of fat and calories. If you don't spend adequate time each day to get rid of these extra fats and calories, your whole body is going to feel the extra pounds piling on. Instead of grabbing an energy bar for breakfast, only eat them right before or after an intense workout. That way you're keeping your body fueled properly, but you're also burning off most of the stuff you don't want stuck to your hips.

Front Seat Foods

The mother of all bad breakfast foods is breakfast on the go. While fast-food breakfast is convenient and relatively inexpensive, it is also one of the worst ways to fill your stomach in the morning. Some of the most common options are sausage or chicken biscuits; biscuits and gravy; or bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. Make any of these items at home and you'll be on the border of unhealthy. Pick them up at a fast-food restaurant and you're guaranteed a dose of artery-slowing, fat-producing food, served in a Styrofoam carton with a side of orange juice. And no, the 100% natural orange juice doesn't magically turn gravy into a harmless or healthy substance.

Runners Up

Think your breakfast doesn't need a facelift just because your favorite fattening breakfast treat snuck by without making the list? Think again. Here are a few other fattening breakfast foods to avoid.

• Sausage: Just as high in fat as it is in flavor, sausage can put a hurting on your good health.
• Pancakes: Whole-wheat pancakes aren't too unhealthy, but out-of-the-box pancakes doused in syrup is anything but healthy. In fact, anything doused in syrup is a bad idea.
• Ham: For all the reasons to avoid bacon and sausage, keep your salivating mouth away from ham. Tastes great, more filling for your waistline.

Protein Packed Diet

The who, what, when, where, and why of a high-protein diet.

Thinking of hitching your wagon to a new weight-loss craze? In case you haven't heard about the pros of a protein-rich diet, listen up! Adding some protein (quite a bit of it, actually) can help you lose a little weight. But how does it really work, and is it for you?

The Protein Plan

A high-protein diet's main goal is to help you lose weight. Whereas the typical diet consists of 10 to 15 percent of all calories coming from protein, a high-protein diet demands as much as half of your calories come from protein. As a high-protein diet changes your eating habits, it can also change your metabolism.

If you stop eating sufficient carbohydrates and other nutrients, your body can stop burning food for fuel and will instead begin to use your own fat as fuel. This can result in rather rapid weight loss, which sounds pretty good to anyone looking for a quick fix. Unfortunately, this fast and furious pound shedding isn't experienced without some side effects. Irritability, heart palpitations, kidney trouble, headaches, and other problematic symptoms can all result from a diet high in protein and low in other nutrients.

The Protein Participant

When followed for short periods of time, a high-protein diet is usually safe for otherwise healthy adults. However, anyone with kidney or liver disease should avoid high-protein diets, as they put excessive stress on the body's waste removal system, a system that is already damaged due to kidney or liver disease.

High-protein diets are also not ideal for people with high cholesterol or are already at risk for heart disease. Since some foods packed with protein also come with a fair amount of cholesterol and fat, adding even more of these foods into your diet isn't a good idea.

The Protein Predicament

While a high-protein diet may help you lose weight, it is doing it with the same problem that many diets have. Instead of encouraging a healthy, well-rounded diet filled with various foods, a high-protein diet leans heavily on protein-rich foods. As a result, other foods, such as those that are high in carbohydrates, become neglected. Though reducing carbohydrate intake in most people is fine, a drastic reduction in the consumption of any vitamin, mineral, or nutrient is never good for your body.

If you're set on going with a high-protein diet, be careful not to neglect other foods in the process. That way, you'll be more likely to get the results you seek without damaging your body along the way. You should also consult a dietitian to find out the most efficient and healthiest ways to up your protein intake. After all, your goal is to lose weight - not your good health!

Finding the Protein

Looking for a nice piece of protein that will help in your quest for a thinner you? Look no farther than your local butcher! Just remember these tips to make sure your protein won't work against your waistline.

Tip 1: White Poultry Is Good Poultry. Few foods provide the same protein punch as a good piece of chicken - at least not for the money. Just make sure you go for the white meat. Dark meat may be juicier and tastier, but it also comes with added fat. You may also want to cut off the skin, as it has some of that undesirable saturated fat.

Tip 2: Steak Should Be on the Menu. The ultimate protein-rich food is steak. When chosen properly, a lean piece of steak tastes fantastic and gives your body the protein it craves. When chosen poorly, a fatty piece of steak will give your body the protein you seek, but it will be marred by unwanted fats.

Tip 3: A Fish a Day. People in Asian countries have long touted the health benefits of fish. One of the perks of eating fish is the great amount of protein in each bite. Combine that protein with the fact that fish is usually very low in fat, and you've got a protein source that will never do you wrong.

Tip 4: Whey Protein. The use of whey protein as a source of amino acids and its effect on reducing the risks of diseases such as heart disease and cancer is the focus of ongoing research.  Whey is an abundant source of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)  which are used to fuel working muscles and stimulate protein synthesis. In particular, leucine plays a key role in initiating the transcription pathway that fires up protein synthesis.  When leucine is ingested in high amounts, such as with whey protein supplementation, there is greater stimulation of protein synthesis, which may speed recovery and adaptation to stress (exercise).

Why Your Exercise Routine Isn’t Working

Something isn't quite right about your exercise routine. You're about to find out what it is.

You don't go to the gym to hang out. You're there to get fit, to feel better, and to gain more energy to get through your stressful day. So why is it not working? Here are a few common reasons your body may not be responding how you want it to after a good hour or two at the gym.

Your Body Has Peaked

If you've been working out for a while and have stopped seeing the results you saw during the first few weeks, your body may have hit its peak. This happens most often when you perform the same exercises over and over, day after day, without any change in your routine. But don't worry - you can get past this problem with relative ease. All you have to do is add some variety and spice into your routine.

An easy way to do this is by changing the type of weights you use. If you usually workout exclusively with plate weights, grab some dumbbells - or better yet, kettlebells. If that isn't enough to get your body to start responding to gym time, talk with a personal trainer about new exercises to sprinkle into your regimen for continual improvement.

You're Not Committed

Many people get frustrated with their gym routines only to realize they aren't spending enough time in the gym to see any noticeable difference. And while you may spend hours each day thinking about how you need to get in the gym, thinking isn't doing. Yes, the right mindset will improve your physical fitness and help you push your body in the gym, but you've got to be in the gym to actually push your body.

If you're spending two hours in the gym every day but leave without any results, you may be committed to visiting the gym, but not using the gym. When working out, make sure you're giving 100 percent the entire time. That doesn't mean you have to lift hundreds of pounds with each repetition, but you should be focused, using proper posture and moving from one exercise to the next without a 20-minute water break between each set.

Your Diet Doesn't Mesh

Working out regularly is a must if you're going to obtain optimal fitness. But if you think you can eat whatever you want on your way to good health, think again. Your exercise routine is only as good as your diet. Therefore, eating a healthy diet is essential to making the most of your gym time.

In fact, if you don't eat healthily, you probably won't feel up to pushing yourself in the gym, making it even harder to reap the rewards you so desperately want. To make sure your gym time is well spent, you may need to modify your diet to include more fresh fruits and vegetables, fewer late-night snacks, and more lean protein sources, such as lean meat and peanut butter.

You Can't See

If you're like many people, you may be your worst critic. While everyone around you is gawking at how good you look, you wish you could lose three more pounds and another inch or two from your waist. How do you get over this problem? With a diary.

When you begin working out, keep track of your routine, noting repetitions, weight lifted, and time spent on the treadmill. Over time, you will certainly notice an improvement in your endurance, strength, and overall fitness - even if your waistline isn't the tiny circle you think it ought to be. Keeping track of fitness in this way helps you keep a healthy tab on your improvements over time and will keep you committed to the gym and a healthy diet!