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Need To Lower Your Cholesterol? Add These Foods To Your Diet

soy foods 199x300 Need To Lower Your Cholesterol? Add These Foods To Your Diet For those that need to lower their LDL (also referred to as “bad”) cholesterol, often doctors will prescribe a low-fat diet and exercise to get their levels down, however a new study finds that a diet focused on specific foods that are known to lower LDL levels is more effective than a low fat diet. In a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, patients who ate a diet filled with cholesterol-lowering foods saw a 13 percent reduction in their LDL cholesterol levels while those who followed a low-fat diet experienced a 3 percent decrease.

So, what foods lower cholesterol levels? Primarily plant-based proteins and fats such as soy products and nuts as well as fibrous foods like oats and barley. Examples of cholesterol-friendly foods and substitutes:

Edamame
Almonds
Almond or soy milk instead of cow’s milk
Plant-based margarine instead of traditional butter
Oatmeal fortified with ground flax seeds (the flax seeds will help your “good” cholesterol as well!)
Soy-based proteins like tofu instead of meat

Do You Have Toxic Friends? 84% of Women Do!

toxic friends 300x200 Do You Have Toxic Friends? 84% of Women Do! Do you have a “poisonous pal”? According to a survey of more than 18,000 women by SELF.com and TODAY.com, 84% of women have at least one venomous friend who has brought toxicity into the relationship through belittling, backstabbing or judging. And, despite the negative feelings, 83% of us keep the friendship going because it’s too difficult to end it.

“More than 8 in 10 women say they have a toxic friend – a social vampire who sucks their time and joy – yet nobody admits to being a bad friend themselves,” said Julia Sommerfeld, senior editor for TODAY.com. “Unlike family, we get to choose our friends, so it’s a bit surprising that so many of us hang on to people that make us unhappy. Our results are a healthy reminder to surround yourself with friends who support and fortify you – and also, to look at your own behavior and make sure you are truly a friend worth keeping.”

So what makes a friend toxic? Here are the top five traits:

The “Narcissist” – 65 percent of people have endured an egomaniac pal.
The “Chronic Downer” – 59 percent of people have a friend that is overly needy and emotionally draining.
The “Critic” – 55 percent of people have become friends with someone that is overly critical.
The “Underminer” – 45 percent of people have a friend that delivers backhanded compliments.
The “Flake” – 37 percent of people have a friend who is reliably unreliable.

Tell us: do you have friends that could be considered toxic? Why do you keep the relationships going?

15 Minutes of Exercise Per Day Adds 3 Years to Your Life

15 minutes exercise 300x207 15 Minutes of Exercise Per Day Adds 3 Years to Your Life It’s time to stop using the “I don’t have time” excuse when it comes to not exercising… A groundbreaking, long-term new study has found that by exercising for just fifteen minutes per day, you’ll not only improve your health and cut your risk of cancer, but you’ll also live longer.

Researchers in Taiwan studied nearly half a million patients over 12 years and asked them to report on their weekly exercise amounts. Those who fell into the “low exercise” category of 15 minutes per day reduced their risk of dying from cancer by 10 percent and have a life expectancy that was three-years longer than a group that reported no exercise at all.

“The 30-minute a day for five or more days a week has been the golden rule for the last 15 years, but now we found even half that amount could be very beneficial,” Dr Chi-Pang Wen, lead author of the study, told ABC News. “As we all feel, finding a slot of 15 minutes is much easier than finding a 30-minutes slot in most days of the week.”

Check out this video from ABC with more details about the study and tips on how to fit in 15 minutes of exercise per day:

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DASH Diet, Weight Watchers Top List of Best Diets

dash diet 210x300 DASH Diet, Weight Watchers Top List of Best Diets U.S. News and World Report has released their rankings for the 20 most popular diets and how they fare comparatively and topping the list are Weight Watchers and the little known DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). The publication evaluated the popular diets with the help of a panel of top experts who rated each diet in 7 categories, including its ability to deliver short- and long-term weight loss, ease of compliance, safety, and nutrition.

In the category of Best Overall Diet, the DASH Diet took the top spot. The DASH Diet aims at preventing and lowering high blood pressure and focuses on potassium, calcium, protein, and fiber intake. An overview of the DASH Diet can be found here, but the basics of the DASH Diet is common sense: increase intake of vegetables and fruit, cut the salt and stay away from red meat and sweets.

In the categories of Best Commercial Diet and Best Weight-Loss Diets, Weight Watchers was the leader for it’s easy to follow PointsProgram and gimmick-free diet plans and when followed, members lose an average of two pounds per week. Weight Watchers was credited for it’s flexibility but it was noted that the program is pricey compared to others evaluated.

Other categories included Best Heart-Healthy Diet, which The Ornish Diet took top nods and Best Diabetes Diet which also went to the DASH Diet.

Tell us: have you tried any of the above diet plans? How did they fare for you?

The Sleep Zone: 6 – 7 Hours A Night for Health, Fitness

sleep 300x199 The Sleep Zone: 6 7 Hours A Night for Health, Fitness A new study finds that both too little and too much sleep can lead to weight problems and raises the risk of heart problems and diabetes. The study, which looked at men and women under 40 years old, found that getting less than six hours of sleep or more than seven hours significantly increased body mass index (BMI) and abdominal body fat.

Fat stored around the abdomen and waist has been associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hormonal cancers.

People who reported sleeping five hours or less each night also consumed more total calories than either those with normal sleep patterns or those who slept more than eight hours per night, which also could point to the increased weight and other risk factors.

Can Chewing Gum Help You Lose Weight?

gum Can Chewing Gum Help You Lose Weight? A recent study by the University of Rhode Island found that chewing sugar-free gum may help you lose weight by helping to reduce the number of calories you eat. Plus, it can give you more energy.

For the study, Kathleen Melanson, a professor of nutrition and food sciences, compared gum chewing to non-gum chewing in 35 adults. During the first of two sessions, the participants chewed gum for 20 minutes before they drank a breakfast shake, then chewed gum two more times for 20 minutes each during the three hours before lunch.

During each visit, researchers measured the resting metabolism rates levels of the participants both before and after breakfast and lunch. The participants also kept a log of their feelings of hunger, energy level, and other factors. The professors found that those who chewed gum before and after eating burned about 5 percent more energy than when they did not chew gum.

The study also showed that those who chewed gum for a total of one hour before lunch ate 67 fewer calories at lunch than those who did not chew gum.

Melanson noted that a possible reason chewing gum might help with weight loss is that when people chew, the nerves in the muscles of the jaw are stimulated and send signals to the appetite area of the brain that is associated with satiety.

So, if you’re trying to lose weight, keep gum handy!

Hookups Can Turn Into Relationships

woman man sex Hookups Can Turn Into Relationships Throughout your life I’m sure you’ve had occasional make out sessions that didn’t necessarily turn into long term relationships. Let’s face it, we’ve all had our fair share of hook ups. Kissing is one thing, but common knowledge is that relationships that start out with sex normally don’t prosper much beyond a booty call.

While it may be true that the average relationship quality of those who wait to engage in sexual intercourse is higher, it may not be because of the sex at all. ”It’s possible for true love to emerge if things start off with a more ‘Sex and the City’ approach, when people spot each other across the room, become sexually involved and then build a relationship,” Sociologist Anthony Paik stated who studied an array of relationship surveys.

As long as both people are open to being in a serious relationship, it doesn’t really matter when they have sex. If you found yourself in between the sheets with your new man a little earlier than expected, don’t fret. You never know where it can still lead.

Women Spend Over 2 Years in the Kitchen

mom small baby cooking b 88145013 300x224 Women Spend Over 2 Years in the Kitchen Fifty years ago, women spent about six years out of their lives in the kitchen. Today, they spend about 2.5 years cooking during their lifetime and the average man spends about 1.4 years in the kitchen.

Even though women are still spending more time preparing meals than men, the difference between now and the 60′s is quite significant. It shows how much society has changed – with women spending more time on their careers and juggling social and family lives.

According to a study by Breville, on average, women still prepare 75% of family meals, but thanks to modern kitchen equipment and ready-prepared meals, the amount of time it takes to prepare is a lot less.

Tell myGloss.com – How much time a week do you spend in the kitchen?