October 21st, 2011
More and more horror stories are coming to light about the bizarre effects that some heavily-advertised sleep aids can have on people.
One woman, for example, took a leading brand just before going to bed and then woke up to find herself fully-dressed at work in the middle of the night, having driven several miles with absolutely no memory of her actions.
Sticking to a balanced, nutritious Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) diet is much less risky, as well as being the best way to provide all-day energy for work and play to set you up for a good night’s sleep. Begin with a healthy breakfast that keeps blood sugar levels on an even keel so your energy levels don’t crash mid-morning.
Limit your intake of refined carbs like sugary cereals and try to eat meals and snacks that contain protein to help temper the quick uptake of carbohydrates in your bloodstream. Avoid Danish pastries in favor of a small yogurt with an apple for a mid-morning snack and a handful of nuts with some dried fruit in the middle of the afternoon.
Skip foods like left-over pizza and ice-cream at the best of times if you don’t want to gain weight, but especially anywhere near the time you go to bed. They can keep you awake and rob you of energy in the morning by making you feel sluggish, like a food hangover.
It’s important to avoid becoming dehydrated. If you don’t drink enough fluid, it can make you lethargic during the day and interrupt natural sleep patterns at night. The Institute of Medicine recommends 9 cups of fluid each day for women and 13 for men.
Control you caffeine habit. Coffee is fine in moderation but try tea in the afternoon and evening to lower your caffeine intake while still getting a lift.
As well as affecting your general health, sleep deprivation is also being increasingly linked to PCOS weight gain because tired women tend to eat more and exercise less than rested people. So get a good night’s sleep and you could find those extra pounds beginning to disappear.
October 20th, 2011
Simply believing that you are exercising can help you lose Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) weight. A new study found that those who do physically demanding jobs while aware of the potential health benefits of their work lose more weight and have lower blood pressure than those who do the same jobs without realizing the positive side-effects.
Researchers came to this conclusion because some benefits of exercise are related to the “placebo effect”, which is often seen in medical trials when patients respond positively to dummy pills as if they were taking a real new drug.
Psychologists at Harvard University studied a group of 84 women who cleaned rooms and changed bedsheets as hotel housekeepers. They found many of the women were worried that they were not doing enough exercise, even though their jobs were physically demanding.
The researchers pointed out to half the women that they were doing enough exercise through their job to lose weight and stay healthy. The housekeepers were even told how many calories they were burning doing specific tasks. For example, changing linens for 15 minutes burned 40 calories, vacuuming for 15 minutes burned 50 calories and cleaning bathrooms for 15 minutes burned 60 calories.
The other half of the women in the group were told nothing about the health benefits of their daily chores.
After four weeks, those told they were doing lots of exercise at work had lost two pounds on average, lowered their blood pressure by almost 10% and shed almost 0.5% of their body fat. The other group experienced no noticeable changes in their health or physique, according to the study published in the journal Psychological Science.
Lead researcher Ellen Langer said there was no apparent difference in activity levels of the two groups. “The changes were a function of the change in mindset alone,” she said.
“If you can put the mind in a healthy place, you can have dramatic physiological consequences. If the mind is fully in a healthy place, the body will be, as well.”
But mindsets are hard to change, she added. “So if you’re just sitting on the couch and just telling yourself that you’re exercising, you’re not going to believe yourself and so there will be no change.”
October 12th, 2011
Want to know a secret? OK, it’s not exactly a secret. But it is an excellent and usually overlooked form of exercise that is simplicity itself and requires minimal equipment.
You probably haven’t done it since school but maybe you should think about taking up this form of activity again. It’s called … jumping rope and all you really need is a rope and some space.
Jumping rope gives your heart and lungs a great workout, along with toning your upper and lower body and aiding Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) weight loss. Improved eye and foot co-ordination to keep the brain sharp is an extra bonus.
Although jumping rope tends to be associated with the female of the species, men shouldn’t be put off. Just think of all the great boxers, from Joe Louis to “Rocky Balboa”, who made jumping rope an integral part of their training. It’s great exercise for kids, too.
Before starting, warm-up thoroughly by running on the spot and gently stretching. To help prevent injury, you should aim to jump in trainers, ideally on a sprung studio floor. Start off slowly and build up speed.
When jumping rope, try to keep your elbows tucked into your sides, with the rope turning around smoothly in your wrists. A common mistake is to lean forward or twirl the rope too slowly. Both of these actions result in the rope being caught by your feet.
Keep your back straight and, if you’re a beginner, jump two-footed at first, a few inches from the floor. Practice crossing and uncrossing your arms. Jumping rope to music, combining different foot combinations and also adding circuit exercises will prevent you from becoming bored.
Alternating feet when jumping is easy to learn. Aim to jump a few times on one foot, then try the other foot. Soon you will be able to go from one to the other without catching the rope.
The rope should ideally be tight. If jumping at speed, aim to have small jumps, with the rope close to your head.
Once you’ve got the hang of jumping rope, there are a number of variations to try. These range from jumping with knees raised high to make it more demanding to – and this is only for the tough and experienced – jumping while crouched.
October 11th, 2011
A woman with a 34-inch waist has double the risk of uterine or womb cancer compared to one with a waist just three inches smaller, says a new international study.
Researchers also found women who piled on the pounds during their adult years were at much higher risk of this form of cancer than those who put on weight in their youth.
Scientists working for the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) project analyzed data from 223,000 women across 10 European countries. They discovered that obese women – with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more – are most at risk of uterine cancer, along with women who put on more than 44lb since the age of 20.
A ‘particularly strong’ link, says the study, was found in post-menopausal women and those who had never taken hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or used the contraceptive pill.
Professor Christine Friedenreich, of the Alberta Cancer Board in Canada, who led the survey, said: “This large study has provided very strong evidence that obesity and fat distribution increase cancer risk.”
Previous research has found the risk of heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes is increased fourfold in women whose waists exceed 35ins.
A large waist is deemed even more hazardous for health than just being overweight because fat cells carried around the stomach pump out chemicals that can damage the insulin system, raise blood pressure and increase cholesterol levels.
Excess weight and obesity are often caused by a blood glucose and insulin imbalance called Insulin Resistance. Fortunately, this latter condition can be reversed by a balanced, nutritious diet and regular exercise, which, in turn, can combine to reduce waist size by boosting weight loss.
If left unchecked, Insulin Resistance-linked excess weight may lead to a variety of disorders, including Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), a leading cause of infertility and menstrual irregularity, as well as acne and other skin conditions, excess facial hair and female hair loss.
Overweight women do not have a monopoly on PCOS, however. Up to 50% of PCOS sufferers may be females who are of normal weight or even lean.
