Reading and Kids
I was walking along the hospital hallway when I overheard an 8 or 9 year old kid complaining to his mom that reading is sooooo boring which of course earned a long litany from the mom how reading is important. Being a mom myself, I also encounter such complaints from my little one.
Gone are the days when kids curled up with a nice little book when it was too hot to play outside. Today, students spend any free time they have watching TV, going to the mall, tinkering with their mobile phones or playing video games. More and more parents are having a hard time encouraging them to read. Getting them to read books just for the sheer pleasure of reading is especially harder since kids just don’t seem to realize how important reading is.
Parents are now trying to find creative ways on how to encourage reading. Some of them they provide a book allowance, others get subscriptions to a magazine for their child. Others (like myself) they do "model reading".
The many benefits your students could reap from reading regularly should make the challenge of making them read a small price to pay. Consider the following:
- Reading develops a person’s creativity.
- Developing good reading skills can improve your students’ ability to understand concepts and ideas.
- Reading develops critical thinking, thus, ensuring that your students will be able to think and make good decisions for themselves.
- Reading introduces your students to new things and has the ability to broaden their interests.
- Reading regularly increases the vocabulary.
So, buckle up parents. You can do this. =)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Weight Loss
OK. You're fat and miserable. You don't know what to do. You feel that the world is coming to an end. You hate yourself. You need help. You resort to the quick fix, lose weight in a week thing.
It is no surprise that the weight loss industry is booming. I have read that "the weight loss industry is an industry that is like a carnivorous animal that feeds on people´s desperation to lose weight and to live healthy lives". I find this all true. Peope are finding ways to achieve that perfect health body. There are tons and tons of recommendations from God knows who - from herbal teas, to diet pills, to diets, to exercise. Name it. Someone would find a way to create it....and people would buy it.
Being a member of "women who need to lose weight", I find this so true... I don't know how many books that I have read, how many diets that I have tried. Because of one thing - to achieve that body that I crave for...
Let's review these products:
1. Diet Pills
There are tons and tons of diet pills in the market today. Each of them claiming that it will stop your body from absorbing the fat that you eat or they will claim that the pill will sent a trigger in your brain to stop you from craving that piece of chocalte cake. To this I say, be very careful.. When you read, "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Adminstration" printed in that diet bottle that should be enough to give you warning bells. And please... please remember not all natural sources are deemed safe. A rare plant from Timbuktu doesn't mean that it can give you that magic formula to attain that "oh so gorgeous body".
2. Slimming Pants
Please. Not true. These products just cover whatever you want to hide. They may also be dangerous and uncomfortable. It does not let your skin breathe, and can lead to overheating and dizziness.
3. Slimming Creams
This has to be one of the biggest frauds seen anywhere in any industry. The idea was that by rubbing this cream on certain areas of your body would enable you to reduce fat. Weight loss occurs when you are burning more calories than you are consuming, it is that simple.
Don't sit back and just wait for your problems to magically disappear. There is no quick fix. You need to accpet that you do need to change your ways and lead a better life for a healthier you. Being aware of your weight does not mean that you have to be a size 2 in order to be happy, but it means finding a size that suits you and that brings your body to a state of health and balance
OK. You're fat and miserable. You don't know what to do. You feel that the world is coming to an end. You hate yourself. You need help. You resort to the quick fix, lose weight in a week thing.
It is no surprise that the weight loss industry is booming. I have read that "the weight loss industry is an industry that is like a carnivorous animal that feeds on people´s desperation to lose weight and to live healthy lives". I find this all true. Peope are finding ways to achieve that perfect health body. There are tons and tons of recommendations from God knows who - from herbal teas, to diet pills, to diets, to exercise. Name it. Someone would find a way to create it....and people would buy it.
Being a member of "women who need to lose weight", I find this so true... I don't know how many books that I have read, how many diets that I have tried. Because of one thing - to achieve that body that I crave for...
Let's review these products:
1. Diet Pills
There are tons and tons of diet pills in the market today. Each of them claiming that it will stop your body from absorbing the fat that you eat or they will claim that the pill will sent a trigger in your brain to stop you from craving that piece of chocalte cake. To this I say, be very careful.. When you read, "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Adminstration" printed in that diet bottle that should be enough to give you warning bells. And please... please remember not all natural sources are deemed safe. A rare plant from Timbuktu doesn't mean that it can give you that magic formula to attain that "oh so gorgeous body".
2. Slimming Pants
Please. Not true. These products just cover whatever you want to hide. They may also be dangerous and uncomfortable. It does not let your skin breathe, and can lead to overheating and dizziness.
3. Slimming Creams
This has to be one of the biggest frauds seen anywhere in any industry. The idea was that by rubbing this cream on certain areas of your body would enable you to reduce fat. Weight loss occurs when you are burning more calories than you are consuming, it is that simple.
Don't sit back and just wait for your problems to magically disappear. There is no quick fix. You need to accpet that you do need to change your ways and lead a better life for a healthier you. Being aware of your weight does not mean that you have to be a size 2 in order to be happy, but it means finding a size that suits you and that brings your body to a state of health and balance
Friday, February 01, 2008
Diet for IBS
I had two patients last week who were newly diagnosed with IBS. Both are in their mid 20's and as soon as the doctor told them their diagnosis, they were devastated. One of them even commented that "he's got no life anymore". That prompted me to educate them more about IBS and specifically the diet for IBS.
IBS is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The most common symptoms of IBS is pain or discomfort in the abdomen often reported as cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and/or constipation. It primarily affects the colon or the large bowel where we store stool. Simply put, IBS means the bowels are not working or functioning correctly.
The things is with IBS, there is no single food that causes IBS. Not unlike celiac disease where you should just be on a gluten free diet and that's it. A flare up of IBS is caused by any food that is high in insoluble fiber, fat, caffeine or alcohol - these are the "trigger foods". They directly affect the muscles in your colon and can lead to pain, gas, constipation and diarrhea.
If you have been suffering from IBS or if you are just recently diagnosed, I suggest that you arm yourself with everything about IBS. The only way to beath the enemy is TO KNOW THE ENEMY. The following are the usual IBS triggers - and yes, some of them you have to completely take out of your diet but no worry there are substitutions (thank GOD!) and some of them you have to eat in small quantities. The top three categories are the following:
1. Red Meat
2. Dairy Products
3. Egg yolk
The very high fat content of the above mentioned at times causes severe spasms which triggers diarrhea and intolerable pain.
So, the key is to have a low fat and high soluble fiber diet. The soluble fiber forms a thick gel which absorbs excess water as it passes through the intestinal tract. This reduction in water helps reduce diarrhea. Plus, the bulky fibrous mass gives the GI muscles something to "hold" during movements that push food along the intestinal passage (called "peristaltic contractions"). Typically, this prevents the uncontrollable bowel movements characteristic of diarrhea.
What are again the foods that needs to be avoided?
Caffeine (found in tea, coffee and soda)
Dairy products
Red meats
Gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley and rye)
Alcohol
Fried foods
Citrus fruits
Chocolate
Any foods high in fat
What foods should you eat on a diet for IBS? Foods high in fiber such as:
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Beans like kidney beans and lima beans.
Whole-grain breads and cereals.
Also, it is important that when you are on a diet for IBS, you have to eat smaller meals, which will reduce or prevent bloating. Drink plenty of water. Savor your food. Don't eat too quickly - this may cause you to have more gas (because basically you are swallowing more air).
Now, everyone is unique. What maybe fine for Carlos might not be good for John. Not everyone with IBS has problems with all of these foods. It will help a lot if you have a FOOD DIARY so you can list what foods cause your IBS to flare up. Whenever you have problems, make a list of what you ate last. This will enable you to create your own personal list of what you should and should not eat.
A diet for IBS doesn't mean you can't eat foods that you like. It just means you have to pay more attention to what you eat and to what foods trigger your condition.... and only then you will realize that this is not the end of the world =)
I had two patients last week who were newly diagnosed with IBS. Both are in their mid 20's and as soon as the doctor told them their diagnosis, they were devastated. One of them even commented that "he's got no life anymore". That prompted me to educate them more about IBS and specifically the diet for IBS.
IBS is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The most common symptoms of IBS is pain or discomfort in the abdomen often reported as cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and/or constipation. It primarily affects the colon or the large bowel where we store stool. Simply put, IBS means the bowels are not working or functioning correctly.
The things is with IBS, there is no single food that causes IBS. Not unlike celiac disease where you should just be on a gluten free diet and that's it. A flare up of IBS is caused by any food that is high in insoluble fiber, fat, caffeine or alcohol - these are the "trigger foods". They directly affect the muscles in your colon and can lead to pain, gas, constipation and diarrhea.
If you have been suffering from IBS or if you are just recently diagnosed, I suggest that you arm yourself with everything about IBS. The only way to beath the enemy is TO KNOW THE ENEMY. The following are the usual IBS triggers - and yes, some of them you have to completely take out of your diet but no worry there are substitutions (thank GOD!) and some of them you have to eat in small quantities. The top three categories are the following:
1. Red Meat
2. Dairy Products
3. Egg yolk
The very high fat content of the above mentioned at times causes severe spasms which triggers diarrhea and intolerable pain.
So, the key is to have a low fat and high soluble fiber diet. The soluble fiber forms a thick gel which absorbs excess water as it passes through the intestinal tract. This reduction in water helps reduce diarrhea. Plus, the bulky fibrous mass gives the GI muscles something to "hold" during movements that push food along the intestinal passage (called "peristaltic contractions"). Typically, this prevents the uncontrollable bowel movements characteristic of diarrhea.
What are again the foods that needs to be avoided?
Caffeine (found in tea, coffee and soda)
Dairy products
Red meats
Gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley and rye)
Alcohol
Fried foods
Citrus fruits
Chocolate
Any foods high in fat
What foods should you eat on a diet for IBS? Foods high in fiber such as:
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Beans like kidney beans and lima beans.
Whole-grain breads and cereals.
Also, it is important that when you are on a diet for IBS, you have to eat smaller meals, which will reduce or prevent bloating. Drink plenty of water. Savor your food. Don't eat too quickly - this may cause you to have more gas (because basically you are swallowing more air).
Now, everyone is unique. What maybe fine for Carlos might not be good for John. Not everyone with IBS has problems with all of these foods. It will help a lot if you have a FOOD DIARY so you can list what foods cause your IBS to flare up. Whenever you have problems, make a list of what you ate last. This will enable you to create your own personal list of what you should and should not eat.
A diet for IBS doesn't mean you can't eat foods that you like. It just means you have to pay more attention to what you eat and to what foods trigger your condition.... and only then you will realize that this is not the end of the world =)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
