5 ‘healthy’ habits that are making you fat

olives, nuts + avocados – help to promote weight loss

Cutting fat from your diet

Hands up who’s ever checked a packet and then rejected your food choice based on the fat content?
If you’ve ever been on a diet, we’re guessing your hand is probably up. For many dieters, fat seems like the ultimate enemy. However, opting for low fat products can be much more of a diet disaster than opting for those that contain moderate amounts of fat.
Firstly, many low fat meals are packed with sugar to compensate, meaning that they can still inevitably lead to weight gain. Furthermore, contrary to what you may think, not all fats are good for you, and studies have found that eating good monounsaturated fats – found in olives, nuts and avocados – can actually help to promote weight loss.

use glass not plastic water  bottle

Drinking water

Drinking plenty of water is undoubtedly good for you; helping you to stay hydrated and energized and to keep your organs and digestive system in good condition. However, studies have shown that the chemicals found in water could also be making you fat.
Not only have research results published in PLoS ONE shown that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastic water bottles encourages the body to create more fat, our drinking water can also contain the hormone estrogen, which affects the way our bodies store fat. The more we are exposed to these chemicals, the harder it becomes to lose weight.
However, there’s no need to panic just yet – while ditching water clearly isn’t an option, experts suggest that filtering your water or using a reverse osmosis purification system can limit the chemicals you are exposed to.

Exercise

While exercise is essential for good health and, when approached correctly, can help you to shed excess pounds, many exercisers make vital mistakes that can lead to them gaining weight. Firstly, research has found that relying solely on exercise to manage your weight can actually be ineffective. Studies have shown that exercise, when not combined with dietary changes, does very little in respect to losing weight.

Additionally, many of us overestimate the amount of calories burned through exercise and adhere to the myth that exercise continues to boost the body’s ability to burn fat well after our workout is over. Therefore, we often end up overcompensating for workouts with pre- or post-workout snacks, leading to weight gain. For maximum weight loss benefits, try to incorporate both exercise and dietary changes into your day.

Looking on the bright side

While impulsive and optimistic people may be happier (and therefore have stronger immune systems) than their more anxious and pessimistic counterparts, research suggests that they could also have more trouble losing weight.
According to research by America's National Institute on Ageing, impulsivity is the strongest predictor of who will become overweight. Furthermore, researchers from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan studied obese women and men partaking in a six month weight loss program and found that those who were more positive and optimistic in their outlook lost the least weight.
It is believed that positivity may cause weight gain by causing optimists not to worry enough about their weight to resist temptation and stick to a strict healthy eating and fitness regime.

fructose (the sugar found in fruit) can help to trigger overeating

Snacking on fruit

Fruit is undoubtedly nutritious, being packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. However, due to its healthy properties, many people overindulge on fresh fruit, juices and smoothies, forgetting about the fact that many fruits are also high in calories and sugar. Although fruit is healthy, remember that a calorie is still a calorie, and the ones in fruit are as likely to make you overweight as the ones in any other food.
Furthermore, research results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that fructose (the sugar found in fruit) can help to trigger overeating, as after consuming fructose the brain doesn’t register feelings of fullness and satiety as it does when we consume glucose. While it is still important we feed our bodies with the nutrients found in fruit, those struggling with their weight should ensure they don’t go overboard. You should also try to obtain some of these nutrients and fiber through vegetables, which are lower in sugar and calories.


Read more on realbuzz.com...

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Most dangerous food ingredients

Most dangerous food ingredients

HighFructose Corn Syrup  
The Corn Refiners Association recently asked the FDA in the U.S. to allow high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to be renamed 'corn sugar' for labelling purposes. In Canada, the product is labelled as glucose/fructose and is found in an alarmingly wide array of products, from yogurt to bread to lunch meats. Some scientists say HFCS is more dangerous than regular sugar because it can affect normal appetite and can contain mercury.

(Credit: Chris Devers)

Gluten  
Elisabeth Hasselbeck of 'The View' has recently brought widespread attention to the danger gluten can pose to human health. Sufferers of celiac disease have long avoided the substance, which is found in almost any product made from wheat, oats, barley or rye, but now many who don't test positive for the disease are identifying as 'gluten intolerant' and going 'G-Free.' Gastro-intestinal problems are the most common symptom of gluten  intolerance.

(Credit: aagius)

Food Colouring  
While many parents blame sugar for their child's hyperactivity, it may be the food colouring that is to blame. Recent studies suggest that artificial colouring agents found in everything from candy to sausages aggravate attention-deficit disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Several studies have even shown that academic performance increases in schools where artificial ingredients, including colourings, are banned.

(Credit: Matthew Bland)

Nitrates and Nitrites  
Many recent studies have linked processed meats to heart disease and cancer and nitrates and nitrites may be the key. Found in hot dogs, bacon, deli meats and other prepared meats, the preservatives can form carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines when heated. These nitrosamines can contribute to the formation of brain cancers and leukaemia.

Flour  
Not all flours are bad for you, but the highly refined white flour found in many breads can be bad news for your health. Often produced using chlorine and peroxides, the product emerges without its original nutrients. The body processes the flour as sugar, contributing to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes

(Credit: Joana Hard)

Ractopamine  
Approved for use in Canada, ractopamine is a chemical used to make pigs grow more quickly as they approach slaughter. Consequently, levels of the chemical have little time to be processed and can remain at high levels in the eventual product. Ractopamine poses particular danger to those with heart conditions. The product has already been banned by more than 100 countries.

BHA and BHT  
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and the related compound butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are added to foods to help preserve fats and to prevent the foaming of yeast. They are found in butter, chips and even beer. Both compounds have been linked to hyperactivity and to the formation of cancers.

Aspartame  
Most commonly found in little paper packages, the artificial sweetener is also in a wide variety of other products, such as soft drinks, cereals and even ice cream. While the FDA in the U.S. has ruled the product is safe, critics have claimed its approval was marred by conflicts of interest. In 1996, controversy over the product reached fever pitch after '60 Minutes' aired a report on concerns the sweetener could cause brain tumours.

(Credit: Amalthya)

This makes me wonder sometimes, are we going to make it as humanity? Everything seems to be dangerous to us one way or the other!

I just read the another article: 
Manganese in water can harm kids' IQ! So what is the solution? Or is there a solution?

The Water Cube

It looks like a fairy tale to me....The Water Cube, aka The Beijing National Aquatics Centre, has been revamped as a water park after the Olympics.

The same cannot be said for the stadia of the 2004 Greece Olympics most of which are still lying unused.