Vegetarians have 'poorer quality of life' study claims

 

 

“Vegetarians are 'less healthy and have a lower quality of life than meat-eaters’,'' The Independent reports. A study from Austria suggests there is an association between a vegetarian diet and an increased risk of certain chronic diseases.

But before any meat eating readers start feeling smug, the study provides no proof that vegetarians are in poorer health than meat eaters.

This was an Austrian survey which simply took a group of 330 people put into a general “vegetarian” category (some in this category were not exclusively vegetarian). They were matched with groups of people from three “carnivorous” categories; ranked in terms of total meat consumption.

The groups were then compared on a range of different health and lifestyle measures to see if any differences were observed.

The researchers found various differences; both good and bad.

The “vegetarians” had lower body mass index (BMI) and alcohol intake, but they also had increased prevalence of three chronic diseases: “allergies”, “cancer” and “mental illness”.

The study has numerous limitations, including the cross sectional survey design, where data is taken at a single point in time, so it cannot prove cause and effect.

It could be the case, for example, that people with certain cancers could chose to adopt a vegetarian diet to try and improve their health, rather than a vegetarian diet increasing the risk of developing cancer.

However, as the research included a relatively small sample of only 330 vegetarians, the prevalence of the 18 diseases questioned in this group could differ from another group, meaning these associations with the three diseases could purely be due to chance. 

Overall the decision to follow a vegetarian diet or one containing meat remains a personal lifestyle choice, often based on ethical as well as health reasons.

Staying healthy on a vegetarian diet

It's important to vary what you eat. Some nutrients are found in smaller amounts in vegetarian sources or are less easily absorbed by the body than those in meat or fish.

 

Contrary to popular belief, most vegetarians have enough protein and calcium in their diet (found in dairy products and pulses).

However, if you don't plan your diet properly, you could miss out on essential nutrients. For example, vegetarians need to ensure they get enough iron (found in pulses and dark-green vegetables) and vitamin B12 (found in milk and eggs) in their diets.

 

What did the research involve?

The researchers analysed the diet, health and lifestyle of 15,474 Austrian people aged over 15 years (55% female) who took part in the Austrian Health Interview Survey (AT-HIS) which ran from March 2006 to February 2007. The surveys are carried out every eight years and include a representative sample of the Austrian population (response rate for this survey 63%).

In face-to-face interviews people were asked about socio-demographic characteristics, health related behaviours (including smoking, alcohol and physical activity), BMI, diseases and medical treatments, and also psychological health.

Without a clear definition of the categories being given, people were asked whether they considered their diet to be:

• vegan
• vegetarian including milk and/or eggs
• vegetarian including fish and/or milk/eggs
• carnivorous but rich in fruits and vegetables
• carnivorous but less rich in meat
• carnivorous rich in meat.

 

What were the basic results?

The researchers found that the “vegetarians” had lower BMI (22.9kg/m2) compared to the three other carnivore groups (23.4 in those with less rich meat, 23.5 in those rich in fruit and veg, and 24.9 in those rich in meat). Looking at lifestyle behaviour, vegetarians drank less alcohol, drinking on 2.6 days of the week in the past month than those in the three carnivore groups who drank on 3 to 4.8 days. They didn’t differ on smoking or physical activity.

Looking at health and disease they found that “vegetarians” tended to self-report poorer health and higher levels of functional impairment. They also reported more chronic diseases overall. Looking at specific diseases, those significantly more common among the vegetarians were:

• “allergies” (31% prevalence compared to between 17 and 20% in the different carnivorous groups)
• “cancer” (5% prevalence compared to 1 to 3%)
• “mental illness” (anxiety and depression only: 9% prevalence compared to 4 to 5%)

“Urinary incontinence” was significantly less common in “vegetarians” (2% vs. 3 to 6% in the different carnivorous groups). 

Vegetarians consulted doctors more than those eating a carnivorous diet less rich in meat, but were vaccinated less than all the other carnivore groups. They also made less use of preventative check-ups than those eating a carnivorous diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

They also found that “vegetarians” had a lower quality of life in the domains of “physical health” and “environment” than those consuming a carnivorous diet less rich in meat.

Lower quality of life regarding “social relationships” were also reported in “vegetarians”.

Conclusion

Despite the media headlines, the results from this Austrian cross sectional survey provide no proof that vegetarians are in poorer health than meat eaters.

The study has simply compared a group of people with a “vegetarian” diet with three different groups of people following “carnivorous” diets on a range of different health and lifestyle measures to see if any differences are observed.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/04April/Pages/Vegetarians-have-poorer-quality-of-life-study-claims.aspx

 

9 Health Mistakes Women Don’t Realise They’re Making

Attention ladies; even if you think you’re a fitness and diet guru, we guarantee you’ll be making some of these health mistakes without even realising it.

Cut out these bad habits and you’ll be healthier before you know it.

Unhealthy friends?

Having unhealthy friends

Who you’re friends with can have a big influence on your health without you even realising.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine compared obesity to a virus. When your friends gain weight, you’re more likely to gain weight yourself.

That doesn’t mean you need to ditch your friends as soon as they put on a couple of pounds – study author Dr Nicholas Christakis suggests instead taking cues from your healthier friends.

Only relying on cardio

“I can’t work out with weights because I don’t want to bulk up!” you proclaim as you follow the familiar route to the treadmill for the thousandth time. But is there any truth behind this popular excuse?

In short, no.

Far from bulking you up, building muscle will help you to shed the pounds. Experts estimate that for every pound of muscle you gain, you’ll burn an extra seven -13 calories per day.

Any fears you have of looking like She Hulk can be put to bed. Because of lower levels of testosterone, women don’t bulk up anywhere near as quickly as men.

Overusing social media

We all enjoy a sneaky Facebook stalk every once in a while, but do it too often and you could become depressed, according to researchers in Germany.

They found that overuse of Facebook can pose a serious risk to our mental wellbeing.

Checking out other people’s holiday photos was the major culprit, with one in three study participants reporting that this made them feel depressed or lonely.

Twitter is no better, with a University of Vermont study finding that Twitter users gradually become more stressed and unhappy the more they use the site.

Relying on diet products

When your sweet tooth is crying out for sugar, it can be tempting to turn to sugar-free diet options. Sadly these substitute snacks aren’t as guilt-free as you’ve been led to believe.

In place of sugar, manufacturers will often use nasty artificial alternatives to provide that sweet taste.

Aspartame, commonly found in diet drinks, was found to increase your risk of obesity by 41 per cent in a University of Texas Health Science Centre study.

Psychologists in a separate study at Cornell University observed that phrases like ‘sugar-free’ can subconsciously trigger overeating. In some cases, this meant people ate twice as many calories as they would have done if they opted for the full-sugar version.Don't become fixated on your abs (REX)

Focusing on stomach toning

All too often we become fixated on trying to develop a rock hard stomach by performing endless crunches. If this sounds like you, you’re wasting your time.

Want to know just how useless crunches are? A Men’s Health study found that you’d have to do a staggering 22,000 of them to lose just a pound of fat off your stomach.

If you want to lose weight, focus on high intensity interval training instead.

HIIT increases your metabolic rate for up to 24 hours after you exercise, and boosts fat oxidation.

Wearing high heels too often

Who can resist a pair of killer hills for accentuated legs and an instant confidence boost?

Wear them too frequently however, and your feet won’t be thanking you.

Wearing four-inch heels increases the pressure on your feet by around 30 per cent, leading to damaged tendons, reduced circulation and bone and nerve deterioration.Swap heels for flats occasionally and your feet will thank you (AP)

Not getting enough calcium

A recent survey conducted by Creighton University Medical Centre showed that 85% of women don’t get enough calcium per day, which leads to an increased risk of osteoporosis.

It’s recommended that women between the ages 19 to 50 need a daily calcium intake of 1,000mg.

Topping up on calcium is easy with dairy products like milk and natural yoghurt. If dairy doesn’t agree with you, you’ll also find high levels of calcium in fish such as salmon and sardines and even leafy veg.

Using electronics before bed

That one last game of Candy Crush you squeeze in before you hit the hay could be ruining your sleep pattern, if researchers in Sweden are to be believed.

They observed that people who use mobile phones or tablets directly before going to sleep found it harder to doze off, causing lasting health issues.

As well as displaying signs of insomnia, these pre-sleep tech-addicts suffered from headaches throughout the day.

Eating what your date eats

Next time you’re on a hot date, psychologists suggest you need to spend more time checking what’s on your plate than staring into your partner’s eyes.

University of Birmingham researchers have discovered a link between new relationships and weight gain, particularly in women.

According to their findings, when dining with a new partner you subconsciously mirror their portion sizes, which can lead to weight gain if they eat more than you’re used to.

https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/9-health-mistakes-women-don-t-realise-making-090000295.html

Fitness for Women: Five Tips to Keep Your Body Healthy!

In the present day scenario, women are increasingly balancing professional as well as personal lives during their day to day routine. Believe it or not, the constant endeavours to maintain the precarious balance tends to take a toll on the body of a woman especially as she ages. Therefore, it is extremely important for the ladies to pay attention to their fitness and work towards preserving the body's strength in order to ensure that they are able to live a long and healthy life even when they are old.

Here are a few simple suggestions that can be easily incorporated in your day to day routine and help you maintain a fit body:

Eat good food: Food is the fuel for our body, isn't it? Therefore, it is important to eat right. Don't get us wrong, we are not asking you to shift to the hospital's diet and give up the passion for all the food items that you love. Instead, all you need to do is start eating healthy food that includes green leafy veggies, salads, grilled meats, etc. In fact, try to include more colours in your plate by opting for green vegetables, red carrots, bell peppers, coriander and a host of other things. After all, healthy eating will maintain a healthy metabolism within the body and automatically improve your fitness levels.

Drink plenty of water: Add a little extra water to your daily routine or simply increase your fluid intake and you will automatically notice the change in your body's metabolism rate. Also, drinking water is a natural technique to flush out the toxins from within the body. Both men as well as women should include this as a habit in their daily routine.

Supplement the calcium requirement: The body of a woman is prone to calcium deficiency as the age progresses. This leads to several types of bone disorders at a later stage in life. However, if the ladies take conscious efforts to fulfil the calcium requirements of the body as the age advances, the chances of the occurrence of such bone related problems are automatically reduced.

Exercise: An everyday exercise routine of at least twenty minutes is a must for ladies who are planning to keep their body healthy as well as strong in the long run. Ideally, the type of exercises to be included in this routine is decided in accordance to the body type and requirements of the individuals. Therefore, it is best advised to consult a fitness expert before you start any type of exercise.

Yoga: In addition to exercise some basic yoga postures practiced on a daily basis help in stimulating the body's immunity from within. This in turn ensures a fitter body for the ladies even as they grow older.



http://ezinearticles.com/?Fitness-for-Women:-Five-Tips-to-Keep-Your-Body-Healthy!&id=8753906

Milk and dairy foods

Milk and dairy products, such as cheese and yoghurt, are great sources of protein and calcium. To make healthier choices, go for lower-fat milk and dairy foods.

Because they're good sources of protein and calcium, milk and dairy products form part of a healthy diet.
Our bodies need protein to work properly and to grow or repair themselves. Calcium helps to keep our bones strong. The calcium in dairy foods is particularly good for us because our bodies absorb it easily.

Healthy dairy choices for adults

The total fat content of dairy products can vary a lot. Fat in milk provides calories for young children and also contains essential vitamins such as vitamin B2 and vitamin B12.
However, much of the fat in milk and dairy foods is saturated fat. For older children and adults, eating too much saturated fat can contribute to becoming overweight. It can also cause raised levels of cholesterol in the blood, and this can put you at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.
You can check the amount of fat, salt and sugar in most dairy foods by looking at the nutrition information on the label. If you compare similar products you will be able to make healthier choices.

Choose lower-fat milk

If you're trying to cut down on fat it's a good idea to go for lower-fat milks.
Semi-skimmed, 1% fat and skimmed milks contain all the important nutritional benefits of milk, but are lower in fat.

Cheese can be high in fat and salt

Cheese can form part of a healthy diet, but it’s a good idea to keep track of how much you eat and how often.
Most cheeses – including brie, stilton, cheddar, lancashire and double gloucester – contain between 20g and 40g of fat per 100g. Foods that contain more than 20g of fat per 100g are high in fat.
Some cheeses can also be high in salt. Eating too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure.
If you're using cheese to flavour a dish or a sauce, you could try using a more strongly flavoured cheese, such as mature cheddar or blue cheese, because then you'll need less.
Another option is to choose reduced-fat hard cheeses, which usually contain between 10g and 16g of fat per 100g. A few cheeses are even lower in fat (3g of fat per 100g or less), including reduced-fat cottage cheese and quark.

Other dairy foods

Butter is high in fat, so try to use it sparingly. Low-fat spreads can be used instead of butter.
Cream is also high in fat, so use this sparingly too. You can use plain yoghurt and fromage frais instead of cream, soured cream or crème fraîche in recipes. You can also get reduced-fat soured cream and half-fat crème fraîche instead of full-fat versions.
When eating yoghurts or fromage frais, choose low-fat varieties. These products contain at least the same amount of protein, calcium and some other vitamins and minerals – such as B vitamins and magnesium – as full-fat versions. They just contain less fat.

Pregnancy and babies: dairy intake

Dairy foods are important in pregnancy because calcium helps your unborn baby's developing bones to form properly.
But when pregnant, there are some cheeses and other dairy products that you should avoid, as they may harm your baby or make you ill.
Pregnant women should drink only pasteurised milk. Cows' milk that is sold in shops is pasteurised. However, you can still find unpasteurised or ‘raw’ milk for sale from farms, in farm shops and at farmers' markets. Check the label if you are unsure. If only unpasteurised milk is available, boil it first.
Pregnant women should not drink unpasteurised goats' or sheep’s milk, or eat some foods that are made with them, such as soft goats' cheese. See below for more on pasteurisation.
Pregnant women should avoid soft blue cheeses, and soft cheeses such as brie and camembert and others with a similar rind, whether pasteurised or unpasteurised. This is because they can contain high levels of listeria, which is a bacteria that can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness in a newborn baby.
Cottage cheese, processed cheese, feta, mozzarella or hard cheeses, such as cheddar or parmesan, are considered safe to eat while pregnant, so there is no need to avoid these.

Babies and children under five

Milk and dairy products are an important part of a child's diet.
They are a good source of energy and protein, and contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals. They are rich in calcium, which growing children and young people need to build healthy bones and teeth.
The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding (giving your baby breast milk only) for around the first six months of your baby’s life.
Cows' milk should not be given as a drink until a baby is a year old. This is because it doesn't contain the balance of nutrients your baby needs.
Foods that use full-fat cows' milk as an ingredient, such as cheese sauce and custard, can be given to your baby from the age of six months.
Babies under a year old should not be given condensed milk, evaporated milk, dried milk or any other drink referred to as milk, such as rice, oat or almond drinks.
Children should be given full-fat milk until they are two years old because they may not get the calories or essential vitamins they need from lower-fat milks.
After the age of two, children can gradually move to semi-skimmed milk as a long drink, as long as they are eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well.
Don't give skimmed or 1% fat milk to children as a long drink until they're at least five years old. Skimmed or 1% fat milk doesn't contain enough vitamin A and skimmed milk doesn't contain enough calories.
Children between the ages of one and three need to have around 350mg of calcium a day. About 300ml of milk (just over half a pint) would provide this.

Goats' and sheep's milk

Like cows' milk, goats' and sheep's milk aren't suitable as drinks for babies under a year old because they don't contain the right balance of nutrients.
As long as they are pasteurised, ordinary full-fat goats' and sheep's milk can be used as drinks once a baby is one year old. They can be given to babies from the age of six months in cooked foods such as cheese sauce and custard.

Pasteurisation

Pasteurisation is a process of heat treatment intended to kill bacteria and prevent food poisoning.
Most milk and cream is pasteurised. If milk is unpasteurised, it is often called raw milk. This must carry a warning saying that it has not been pasteurised and may contain harmful bacteria.
You can sometimes buy unpasteurised milk and cream from farms, farm shops and farmers' markets. However, these could be harmful because they may contain bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
If you choose unpasteurised milk or cream, make sure they are kept properly refrigerated because they go off quickly.
Some other dairy products are made with unpasteurised milk. These include some cheeses, such as stilton and camembert, brie and goats' cheese.
Children, people who are unwell, pregnant women and older people are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning and so should not have unpasteurised milk or cream, or some dairy products made with unpasteurised milk.

Milk allergy and intolerance

There are three conditions that cause a reaction to milk.
Milk and dairy foods are good sources of important nutrients, so don’t cut them out of your or your child’s diet without first speaking to a GP or dietitian.

Lactose intolerance

Some people can't digest the special type of sugar found in milk, called lactose. Being unable to digest this sugar is known as lactose intolerance.
Lactose intolerance can cause symptoms such as bloating and diarrhoea. It does not cause severe reactions.

IgE-mediated milk allergy

One type of milk allergy is known as IgE-mediated milk allergy. This can cause reactions that usually occur within a few minutes of having cows' milk. It can cause severe reactions, but more often the symptoms are mild.
Symptoms can include rashes (hives), swollen lips, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and difficulty breathing.
In some cases milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction that results in difficulty breathing, swollen lips or mouth, and collapse. If this happens, call 999 immediately and describe to the operator what is happening.

Non-IgE-mediated milk allergy

Another type of milk allergy is known as non-IgE-mediated cows' milk protein allergy. This has previously been referred to as cows' milk protein intolerance.
This type of allergy is distinct from IgE-mediated milk allergy and lactose intolerance. It can occur in adults, but is more common in babies and children.
Children with this allergy can experience symptoms the first time they drink cows' milk. The symptoms include eczema, vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. Rashes (hives) and breathing problems do not occur. These are symptoms of IgE-mediated milk allergy.
Symptoms take longer to occur than in IgE-mediated milk allergy. They can occur from between a few hours and a few days after having milk. Because the symptoms are delayed, it may take some time for this allergy to be discovered. There is no easy test for the allergy.
Children who have non-IgE-mediated cows' milk protein allergy often grow out of it by the time they go to school. In rare cases it can persist into adulthood.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/milk-dairy-foods.aspx