BEANS - A SECRET WEAPON INGREDIENT

Beans: Secret Weapon Ingredient

Ahem...allow us to introduce to you one of many Secret Weapon Ingredients. And what, you might ask, are Secret Weapon Ingredients? They are versatile foods that are perfect for mixing into many recipes and dishes and provide a nutritional punch to any meal. They are easy and convenient, and their health benefits are numerous. Do you have trouble making your kids eat healthy foods? Sneak these into their meals and their bodies will be grateful.

Beans
These little guys are a major source of soluble fiber, which keeps the digestive tract moving efficiently and therefore allowing it to absorb nutrients more effectively. Fiber also lowers bad cholesterol levels in the blood. How can you use beans? Replace fatty meat with low-fat beans in some of your recipes. They will make you feel full, so you're less likely to overeat. Add them to salad or soups. For a simple dinner idea, mix beans with brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

NEWS - GROP PREDICTS 522 MILLION COULD HAVE DIABETES BY 2030

Group predicts 522M could have diabetes by 2030

 

GENEVA (AP) — The International Diabetes Federation predicts that one in 10 adults could have diabetes by 2030, according to their latest statistics. In a report issued on Monday, the advocacy group estimated that 522 million people would have diabetes in the next two decades, based on things like aging and demographic changes.

The figure includes both types of diabetes. The group expects the number of cases to jump by 90 percent even in Africa, where infectious diseases have previously been the top killer. Without including the impact of increasing obesity, the International Diabetes Federation said its figures were conservative.

According to the World Health Organization, there are about 346 million people worldwide with diabetes, with more than 80 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries. The agency projects diabetes deaths will double by 2030 and said the International Diabetes Federation's prediction was possible.

"It's a credible figure," said Gojka Roglic, head of WHO's diabetes unit. "But whether or not it's correct, we can't say."
Roglic said the projected future rise in diabetes cases was because of aging rather than the obesity epidemic. Most cases of diabetes are Type 2, the kind that mainly hits people in middle age, and is linked to weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle.

Roglic said a substantial number of future diabetes cases were preventable. "It's worrying because these people will have an illness which is serious, debilitating, and shortens their lives," she said. "But it doesn't have to happen if we take the right interventions."

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Online:

www.idf.org

www.who.int

NEW APP FOR COUNTING CALORIES

November 3, 2011, 2:56 pm

A New App for Counting Calories

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

 

 The toughest part of counting calories can be figuring out how many are actually on your plate. But what if your Android or iPhone could do it for you?
A smartphone app called PlateMate, developed by former Harvard engineering students and currently in the works, may soon allow you to snap a picture of your food and quickly get a good estimate of its calorie count. Other tools count calories by letting users input the foods they eat, or sending photos out to a nutritionist. A social networking app called Meal Snap allows users to get nutritional breakdowns by taking pictures of their food, though the calorie estimates often fall within a broad range. PlateMate uses a different system of social networking to quickly crunch data and estimate calories, as an article in today’s Boston Globe explains:

In a paper presented last month at a software technology conference, the former students — now employed at Microsoft and Google — showcased their method of using crowd-sourcing to instantly estimate portions and identify foods on a plate, information that can then be fed into a software program to estimate the number of calories. …
PlateMate uses a more complex crowd-sourcing tool, involving sets of individuals — getting small payments to analyze photos on a website — who analyze parts of the food photo, with some identifying the food and others estimating portion sizes. The trick is to have five individuals estimating portion sizes on each plate and then averaging those guesses.

But as one nutritionist pointed out, how can any app decipher what’s hiding inside a quiche or figure out whether the cheese smothering a slice of pizza is regular or low-fat? Still, for the health- and calorie-conscious, apps like this one might one day be a helpful and snazzy new tool on the go.
Smartphone tools and social media have already secured a growing role in health and physical fitness for many Americans. Tens of millions of people looking to lose weight, eat better or stay in shape have downloaded personal training apps like Nike Training Club, exercise trackers like RunKeeper and calorie-counting apps like Lose It! and MyFitnessPal. Last year, Brian Stelter, a media reporter for The New York Times, wrote about losing 75 pounds with the help of Twitter.
What other health and fitness apps would you like to see someday? To learn more about PlateMate, read the full article, “New Harvard App Counts Calories on a Plate,” and then please join the discussion below.

ARTICLE - SODA DRINKERS BEWARE

Soda Drinkers, Beware

Studies now correlate an increase in certain health risks with soda consumption. For four years, researchers tracked the soda drinking habits of 50,000 women. When women went from drinking one regular soda drink a week to at least one a day, they gained an average of 10 pounds during the four year period. An increase in body weight was also seen when consuming fruit drinks, but not with diet soft drinks. In another study of 90,000 women, those who drank soda or fruit drinks daily had about twice the risk of developing diabetes compared with those who drank soda less than once a month.

Currently, the federal government is considering its first-ever warning that soft drinks can cause unhealthy weight gain. While soda sales have nearly doubled during the past 20 years, so has the percentage of obesity. Battle lines are being drawn and the debate is heating up.

• Should a warning be issued concerning weight gain and soda consumption?
• Should there be a ban on soda commercials during children's television programs?
• Should soda be eliminated at school? Currently the sale of soda helps fund many school activities.

Action Sparked: There is strong evidence linking the consumption of soda and fruit drinks to obesity. An occasional soft drink presents no problem, but one or more a day could be disastrous to the health of you and your children.