Daily Health News Blog

(BPT) - The holidays are full of fun activities, tasty treats and plenty of celebration, but being busy and eating all the extras can quickly lead to weight gain. With a few key strategies, it's surprisingly easy to enjoy the season to the fullest and still avoid Santa's extra bulge. Dr. Christopher Mohr is a fitness and nutritional expert who consults for television, print and radio outlets throughout the country. He understands the difficulties of staying health-focused during all the festivities. Mohr offers some good reminders and unique insights on how to avoid gaining extra weight during the holidays. Eat quality calories 'Too many people think that to avoid weight gain you need to avoid calories. In reality, you need to eat calories to stay healthy, but you need to focus on quality calories,' says Mohr. 'Choose foods that are packed with vitamins and nutrients, rather than just empty calories.' Seek out 'real' foods for snacks and meals ove

- There are almost 22 million military veterans in the United States. - Female veterans number over 1.6 million. - There are three U.S. states with over one million veteran residents: California, Florida, and Texas. - Almost 10 percent of all U.S. businesses are owned by military veterans. - There are about 54,000 living veterans who served during all three of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey

This is the time of year that many people donate food to food drives. To ensure that your donation can be used, remember these donation tips. Non-perishable items are always needed. Donate items that are factory sealed and try to avoid dented or rusted cans. Most agencies will not accept home-canned or home-packaged foods, but be sure to ask—you may be surprised. Open or partially used items can usually not be accepted. If you are planning on shopping for items to donate, call the agency first to see what they are low on. Try to contribute basic foodstuffs, including rice, pasta, canned tuna, canned soups and stews, peanut butter, canned milk, canned beans and vegetables, and hot or cold cereals. Extras like coffee, tea, spices, and condiments are nice to include as well. If you have non-food items to donate, ask if the agency will accept those as well. Many people are in need of tooth care products, personal hygiene items, diapers, pet food, and basics such as cleanin

A flu shot protects you from coming down with influenza. While it may not always provide total protection, it's certainly worth getting. Influenza is a respiratory infection that can cause serious complications, and flu immunizations are the most effective way to prevent it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months of age or older be vaccinated annually. The influenza viruses selected for inclusion in the seasonal flu vaccine are updated each year based on information about which viruses are being found, how they are spreading, and how well the previous season's vaccine might protect against new viruses discovered in the current year. National influenza centers in over 100 countries conduct year-round surveillance for influenza viruses and disease activity. These laboratories send found viruses for additional analyses to the five World Health  Organization Collaborating Centers, which are located in the followi

Mastering Weight-Maintenance Skills Before Embarking On Diet Helps Women Avoid Backsliding Would you take part in a weight-loss program in which you were explicitly asked not to lose any weight for the first eight weeks? Although the approach sounds counterintuitive, a study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that women who spent eight weeks mastering weight-maintenance skills before embarking on a weight-loss program shed the same number of pounds as women who started a weight-loss program immediately. More importantly, the study showed that the "maintenance-first" women had regained only 3 pounds on average a year later, compared to the average 7-pound gain for the immediate dieters. The study's authors say that the maintenance-first approach may offer a way to halt the cycle of yo-yo dieting. "Those eight weeks were like a practice run. Women could try out different stability skills and work out the kinks without the p

Bariatric surgery, which significantly curtails the amount of food a person can eat, is the most effective treatment against obesity and is being recognized as a potentially valuable tool in the fight against diabetes related to obesity. It is being performed on increasing numbers of people worldwide, including teenagers. Unfortunately, some types of bariatric surgery may also cause bone loss, a cause for concern, particularly when carried out on young people who have not yet reached their peak bone mass, say endocrinologists from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, who have just published a review of current literature in the journal Obesity Reviews , now online. Authors, Dr Malgorzata Brzozowska and Associate Professor Jackie Center, say that skeletal examination and treatment should be considered part of patient care, before and after procedures. In the United States, 'Roux-en-Y' gastric bypass surgery, one of the most invasive of the proce

If you are exercising regularly but not losing weight, take a look at how you eat on the days you work out. Many people feel hungrier after a strenuous workout or feel like they deserve a reward for a good fitness effort. They may eat more on those days without even realizing it. Plan your meals ahead of your workout so that you aren't tempted to overeat and undo all the good you've done. For more articles, tips and advice on nutrition and healthy eating and weight loss please visit my websites:   Nutrition and Healthy Eating  and  Losing Weight Answers