Lifestyle Choices

Most people who are plump are jolly and good natured. They are pleasant and easy going and not at all hard to get along with—until perhaps they take it into their heads to begin to reduce! Most of them are full of alibis and reasons for their extra weight. Except in rare cases there is only one reason why any of them are plump and well padded. They just love to eat! (more…)

Most people who are plump are jolly and good natured. They are pleasant and easy going and not at all hard to get along with—until perhaps they take it into their heads to begin to reduce! Most of them are full of alibis and reasons for their extra weight. Except in rare cases there is only one reason why any of them are plump and well padded. They just love to eat!

“What’s the use?” they wail. “Everything I eat turns to fat. I just can’t lose weight.” This is probably true, partly because of the way they are going about it.

Going on a reducing diet is no new experience for most of these people. Usually they have tried all kinds of diets, liberal and otherwise. For a time they succeed, but in the end they often find themselves back at the same old level, far above the average for their height and age. Sometimes they are the butt of unfortunate jokes among their friends. In desperation they determine once and for all to lose weight. They are invariably in a hurry to do this. Some abandon food altogether for a time, only to return to their former eating habits with a vengeance and perhaps add a few more pounds. This is not a sensible way to lose weight. (more…)

Total fasting is dangerous as are crash (fast) diets. Crash diets that bring about weight loss by dehydration of only 5 percent in forty-eight hours have been shown to reduce the individual’s working capacity by as much as 40 percent. The practice of making weight in athletics, whether by dehydration, induced vomiting, or starvation diets, is dangerous to health and should be condemned (see Concept 13 on weight control and Concept 19 on dehydration). Much of the weight lost on such fad diets is valuable lean muscle mass.

Pill popping, hormone injections, and powder and liquid diets havt little value in long-term weight control programs and present many health hazards. When in doubt, avoid diets that: (more…)

Heart disease is on the increase throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Although South Africa has always had a high incidence of ischaemic heart disease in certain population groups, the incidence has increased dramatically and it now affects everyone. (Ischaemic heart disease means blockages have occurred in coronary vessels which means less oxygen is getting to the heart.)

At the simplest level, the function of the heart is to pump blood. If the coronary arteries are in any way compromised, the heart muscle pump becomes inefficient, which in turn affects the whole body .

With a little knowledge about your heart and what is good or bad for it, you can significantly reduce your risk for heart disease.

As a woman your risk for a heart attack is minimal until you reach menopause when it becomes equal to that of a man. The hormone estrogen has a cardio-protective effect. Around menopause the production of this hormone diminishes and your heart is no longer protected. (more…)