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What Your Body Shape Says About Your Longevity

Forget about apples and oranges. When it comes to body shape and longevity, it’s more helpful to compare apples and pears. That’s the message of a study published in the journal PLOS ONE that found that pear-shaped people, who have comparatively thinner waists than people shaped like apples, tend to live longer.

To reach their conclusion, researchers measured the waist-to-height ratio of almost 7,500 people in the UK between 1985 and 2005. They compared the data to US studies that used body mass index (BMI), and discovered that keeping your waistline to less than half your height predicted you would live longer. What’s more, they suggested that waist-to-height ratio was a more accurate predictor of longevity than BMI.

How BMI Can Fool You

BMI has been used as a measure of health since the 19th century, and it’s a much more complicated calculation than waist-to-height ratio. To get it, you have to multiply your weight in pounds by 703, divide by your height in inches, then divide that number by your height in inches again.
BMIs:

Between 18.5 to 24.9 are healthy
Below 18.5 means you’re underweight
Between 25 and 29.9 are overweight
Between 30 and 39.9 are obese
40 and over are extremely obese
The problem is, BMI doesn’t take muscle mass into account, which can put someone into the overweight or obese categories even if he or she isn’t carrying extra fat. It also neglects to measure belly fat, which means a larger waistline and may be particularly dangerous for your heart.

Why You Need to Watch Your Waistline

A 2010 study of nearly 105,000 people, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggested that people with larger waistlines (more than 47 inches for men and 43 inches for women) were twice as likely to die during the study period than people with smaller waistlines (less than 35 inches in men and less than 30 inches in women). Bigger waists are also associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, inflammation, cholesterol problems and coronary heart disease.

Researchers aren’t exactly sure what makes belly fat so dangerous, but it may have something to do with how fat is distributed throughout your body. If you’re pear shaped, your fat is located mostly in your lower half; it’s also subcutaneous, meaning it sits right under the skin. People who are apple-shaped have more fat in their abdomen. That fat, called visceral fat, is deeper and collects around the organs. Researchers think visceral fat produces chemicals that lead to inflammation, a culprit in heart disease and cancer.

What You Can Do

Targeted fat loss, sometimes called “spot reduction,” is a myth; there’s no way to eliminate belly fat on its own. So, while sit-ups may give you rock-hard abs, they’ll still be buried under layers of fat.

Instead, you can lose fat all over, and the best way to do that is to keep your diet in check. The good news is that visceral fat goes away comparatively more easily than subcutaneous fat and getting rid of it can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

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The Benefits Of Drinking Water To Lose Weight

With so many weight loss products, energy drinks, smoothies, supplements and strategies out there, it’s easy to lose sight of simple techniques that can make a huge difference. Drinking water is one such technique, and although it doesn’t come with sleek packaging or multi-million dollar ad campaigns, it is still very effective. Our weight loss clinic can help.

Water is crucial for survival. Aside from oxygen, it is the most critical element that keeps the human body going. You can go without food for several weeks, but you’d only survive a few days without any water. As a weight loss tool, drinking water provides several important benefits.

Staying Hydrated with Zero Calories

Many studies indicate that most of us are dehydrated to some degree. We don’t drink enough water, and the drinks we do consume contribute to increasing waistlines. Drinking water is a zero-calorie way to stay hydrated and keep your muscles working efficiently. Sugary drinks that begin as water provide high calorie content and diet drinks use questionable chemicals to become sweet.

Reduces Hunger

Water also has the ability to reduce your feelings of hunger so you eat less. If you make a point of drinking an 8-ounce glass of water before you sit down to eat, you’ll naturally feel full faster and will eat less. It’s also been said that if you are dehydrated, you may be confusing being thirsty for being hungry. after drinking your glass of water, you may discover that you weren’t really hungry after all.

Promotes Energy

If you are to engage in exercise every day and lead an active lifestyle to promote weight loss, you need energy. Being tired and lethargic just isn’t going to cut it. Drinking water can help increase your energy levels by keeping your brain (which is mostly water) hydrated, and aiding in digestive processes to speed up your metabolism.

How Much Do I Need?

Not everyone requires the exact same amount of water each day, so you may have to experiment a little to determine what’s right for you. Some will tell you to have eight 8 oz. glasses per day, while others will suggest drinking half your body weight in ounces. Generally, if your urine is clear or nearly clear and you’re feeling good and full of energy, then you’re getting enough. If you are clamoring for a little flavor in your water, feel free to squeeze some lemon into it to boost the taste. Lemon water also has its share of benefits, so drink away!

Our amazing weight loss team at New Life Wellness & Weight Loss is here to help you reach your weight loss goals. Contact us today to learn more.

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A Diet That Helps Soothe Osteoarthritis

Easing arthritis symptoms isn’t just about exercise and pills. The foods you eat could help joints with osteoarthritis feel better, too. Food as medicine. It’s a wonderful concept because it gives us an empowering and fun way — eating — to do something helpful for our bodies, like easing joint pain. And some day, doctors may very well prescribe exercise, medication, and a special diet to help keep people’s arthritic joints healthy.

But right now, the only way diet likely enters your osteoarthritis conversation with your doctor is when you talk about losing weight. Because although there’s no way to cure arthritis through food, if you are overweight, a weight loss diet may be one of the best things you can do for the health of your joints.

Still, quite a bit of promising research has shown that certain foods and nutrients mayhelp ease osteoarthritis symptoms. More study is needed to confirm the results, but since most of the foods studied to date are good for you anyway, incorporating some of them into your diet could be a great way to support your current treatment program. And in the end, you may boost your overall health as well.

So, think about your joints the next time you visit the grocery store. Here are five foods you may want to add to your cart — and two you may want to take out:

5 Foods Your Joints May Love

Strawberries: Why? They are packed with vitamin C. Some studies suggest vitamin C may stymie the progression of osteoarthritis and the accompanying cartilage loss. Other good C sources: oranges, peaches, and red bell peppers.
Olive oil: You know how the Tin Man’s joints loved oil? Well, your joints may love olive oil just as much. Research shows that polyphenols in olive oil may help reduce inflammation in the body — always a good goal if you have arthritis.
Salmon: This fish is loaded with two joint-soothing nutrients: vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. If you are deficient in D (and many adults are), boosting your intake could help with osteoarthritis pain and disability. And omega-3 fatty acids have long been promoted by health experts for their anti-inflammatory qualities.
Green tea: This brew is brimming with antioxidants called catechins, inflammation quieters that could delay cartilage damage in people with arthritis.
Leafy greens: The more plant-based foods you add to your diet, the better it probably is for your joints. A Mediterranean-style diet that emphasizes fruit, nuts, and veggies may help quiet inflammation. (Leafy greens also happen to be rich in vitamin K, a nutrient that seems to play a role in osteoarthritis prevention.)
Give These Foods the Brush Off

And while you’re amping up your intake of fruit, veggies, and omega-3 fatty acids, here are foods you should consider scaling back on:

Corn oil: The fats in corn oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil are predominantly omega-6 fatty acids. And although these fats are not harmful in and of themselves, some research suggests that a big imbalance in your omega-3 and omega-6 intake could trigger inflammation. So use omega-3-rich olive oil whenever you can.
White bread: Grabbing high-fiber whole-wheat bread instead may help your joints in two ways. Early research shows that refined grains may be proinflammatory. On the other hand, high-fiber diets may help quiet inflammation. And high-fiber diets may help with weight control, too.
Treating Arthritis in the Kitchen
Currently, there is no guarantee that changing your diet will help your joints feel better. But most of the foods that seem to make the most sense for joint health happen to be great for your body in other ways as well. So, the decision to eat right should be an easy one.

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3 Speedy Ways To Pull The Plug On Stress

Stress isn’t all bad. In fact, the only time you don’t have stress is when you are 6 feet under. Short-term stress can help you meet a deadline, turn a double play, or keep your bumper from getting crumpled.

But when stress lingers like week-old leftovers, or nags like a too-full desk, it’s time to pull the plug. The more you’re stressed, the greater the risk of accidents, infections, and arterial aging. It’s not the desk or the stress that’s the trouble; it’s your reaction to it.

So, while we can’t stop your boss from sending work to you or make the line at the airport move faster (if only), we can help you learn how to make stress take less of a toll — or maybe make it toll-free.

Even if you already have a favorite way to break the tension, whether that’s playing basketball or listening to Mozart, these easy techniques are great to keep in your back pocket when your first choice isn’t available:

Breathe in, lick your lips, and then blow out slowly. The cool air helps you refocus and slow down.
Scrunch your face tightly for 15 seconds and then release. Repeat several times. Repetitive contraction and relaxation helps release the tension you hold above the neck.
Stop for a second and focus on your breathing. Now, look down. See anything moving? Probably not. That’s because most people take short, shallow breaths — the kind that come from your chest. To relax, take deep, whole breaths.
It should take about 5 seconds to inhale and 7 seconds to exhale. And your belly (yes, your belly) should expand as you breathe in, then flatten as you breathe out.

Ahhh . . . that’s a lot better.