STORY TO BE TOLD

From all you hear, you'd think fat and calories are really bad for you. It's true that many people are eating more fat and calories than they need. But we all require a certain amount of fat and calories in our diets to fuel our growth and activities — everything from solving a math problem to racing up and down the soccer field. So what's the truth on fat and calories?

What Are Fat and Calories?

Fats, or lipids, are nutrients in food that the body uses to build nerve tissue (like the brain) and hormones. The body also uses fat as fuel. If fats that a person has eaten aren't burned as energy or used as building blocks, they are stored by the body in fat cells. This is the body's way of thinking ahead: By saving fat for future use, it plans for times when food might be scarce.

A calorie is a unit of energy that measures how much energy food provides to the body. The body needs calories to function properly.

Food Labels: Calories

Calories

Food labels list calories by the amount in each serving size. Serving sizes differ from one food to the next, so to figure out how many calories you're eating, you'll need to do three things:

1. Look at the serving size.
2. See how many calories there are in one serving.
3. Multiply the number of calories by the number of servings you're going to eat.

For example, a bag of cookies may list three cookies as a serving size. But if you eat six cookies, you are really eating two servings, not one. To figure out how many calories those two servings contain, you must double the calories in one serving.

When you start looking at food labels, you may be surprised at some of the serving sizes. For example, on the labels of six cold breakfast cereals, the serving size ranges from ½ cup to 1¾ cups. You would have to more than triple the smallest serving size to compare the calories in that cereal with the calories in the cereal with the largest serving size (1¾ cups). A small bag of corn chips may contain two or more servings — although most people would eat the entire bag! That's why it's always important to check the serving size of all foods on the label.

Food Labels: Fat

Fat

When it comes to fat, labels can say many things. Low fat, reduced fat, light (or lite), and fat free are common terms you're sure to see on food packages. The U.S. government has strict rules about the use of these phrases: By law, fat-free foods can contain no more than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. Low-fat foods may contain 3 grams of fat or less per serving. Foods marked reduced fat and light (lite) are a little trickier, and you may need to do some supermarket sleuthing.

Light (lite) and reduced-fat foods may still be high in fat. The requirement for a food to be labeled light (lite) is that it must contain 50% less fat or one third fewer calories per serving than the regular version of that food. Foods labeled reduced fat must contain 25% less fat per serving than the regular version. But if the regular version of a particular food was high in fat to begin with, a 25% to 50% reduction may not lower the fat content enough to make it a smart snacking choice. For example, the original version of a brand of peanut butter contains 17 grams of fat and the reduced fat version contains 12 grams. That's still a lot of fat!

It's important to figure out how many of the calories you're getting come from fat. The 2005 U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that children and teens ages 4–18 get between 25% to 35% of their daily calories from fat. But food labels don't always show the percentage of fat in a food. It is easy to calculate, though. Divide the number of calories from fat by the number of total calories and multiply by 100:

For example, if a 300-calorie food has 60 calories from fat, you divide 60 by 300 and then multiply by 100. The result shows that food gets 20% of its calories from fat:

4, 4, and . . . 9?

The calories in food come from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. A gram of protein also contains 4 calories. A gram of fat, though, contains 9 calories — more than twice the amount of the other two.

That's why one food with the same serving size as another may have far more calories. A high-fat food has many more calories than a food that's low in fat and higher in protein or carbohydrates.

For instance, a ½-cup serving of vanilla ice cream contains:

• 178 total calories
• 2 grams of protein (2 grams times 4 calories = 8 calories from protein)
• 12 grams of fat (12 grams times 9 calories = 108 calories, or 61%, from fat)
• 15.5 grams of carbohydrate (15.5 grams times 4 calories = 62 calories from carbohydrate)

Compare this with the same serving size (½ cup) of cooked carrots:

• 36 total calories
• 1 gram of protein (1 gram times 4 calories = 4 calories from protein)
• 0 grams of fat (0 grams times 0 calories = 0 calories from fat)
• 8 grams of carbohydrate (8 grams times 4 calories = 32 calories from carbohydrate)

So fat makes quite a difference when it comes to total calories in a food.

But let's face it, who's going to choose a heaping bowl of cooked carrots over ice cream on a hot summer day? It all comes down to making sensible food choices most of the time. The goal is to make tradeoffs that balance a higher-fat food with foods that are lower in fat to keep the fat intake at 30% for the day. So if you really want that ice cream, it's OK once in a while — as long as you work in some lower-fat foods, like carrots, that day.

Not All Fats Are the Same

Although all types of fat have the same amount of calories, some are more harmful to your health than others. Two of the most harmful fats are saturated fat and trans fat. Both of these fats can increase a person's risk of heart disease. Food labels show the amounts of saturated fats and trans fats in a particular food.

Saturated and trans fats are solid at room temperature — like butter, shortening, or the fat on meat. Saturated fat comes mostly from animal products, but some tropical oils, like palm kernel oil and coconut oil, also contain saturated fat. Small amounts of naturally occurring trans fat are also found in whole dairy and meat products.

Trans fats are often found in packaged baked goods, like cookies or crackers. They are also in fried foods like french fries and doughnuts. Because saturated fat and trans fat raise blood cholesterol levels, increasing a person's risk of developing heart disease, a gram of one of these fats is worse for a person's health than a gram of unsaturated fat.

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats can be polyunsaturated or monounsaturated. Polyunsaturated fat is found in soybean, corn, sesame and sunflower oils, or fish and fish oil. Monounsaturated fat is found in olives, olive oil or canola oil, most nuts and their oils, and avocados.

Fat and Calories in a Healthy Diet

Fats should be eaten in moderation. The American Heart Association recommends that people get as much of their daily fat intake as possible from unsaturated fats and that they limit saturated fats and trans fats.

It's a bad idea to try to avoid fat completely, though, especially for teens. A certain amount of fat is necessary for development, especially during puberty when the body grows very quickly.

Fats are also needed to absorb certain vitamins that are essential for proper growth. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble, meaning they can only be absorbed if there is fat in a person's diet. Also, fat cells act as insulation to keep the body warm and help protect the nerve cells.

Like fat, you need a certain amount of calories in your diet to fuel your body. In fact, nutritionists do not recommend calorie counting (keeping track of the number of calories in everything that you eat) for teens unless a doctor has specifically recommended it. So if you are concerned about your weight, speak to your doctor.

Maintaining a healthy weight means choosing a variety of foods that are low in fat (especially saturated and trans fats) and added sugars. Think about substitutes for foods that have a lot of sugar, fat, or calories. For example, you may want to drink water or skim milk instead of soft drinks, or choose mustard instead of mayonnaise on your sandwich.

Being aware of the amount of fat and calories you eat makes sense, as long as you eat a balanced diet. Establishing sensible eating habits, choosing foods wisely, and exercising regularly are the keys to long-term good health.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: May 2009
Originally reviewed by: Jessica Donze Black, RD, CDE, MPH

source taken from: http://kidshealth.org/

Between school, homework, sports, your after-school job, and hanging out with friends, it may feel like there's no time for healthy eating. And when you do stop to eat, it's probably tempting to go the quick and easy route by grabbing a burger and fries, potato chips, or candy.

But it is possible to treat yourself to a healthy snack. In fact, if you have a hectic schedule, it's even more important to eat healthy foods that give you the fuel you need to keep going.

Even if you take time to eat three meals a day, you may still feel hungry at times. What's the answer? Healthy snacks. Snacking on nutritious food can keep your energy level high and your mind alert without taking up a lot of your time.

Why Healthy Snacking Is Good for You

You may have noticed that you feel hungry a lot. This is natural — during adolescence, a person's body demands more nutrients to grow. Snacks are a terrific way to satisfy that hunger and get all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs.

But you need to pay attention to what you eat. Stuffing your face with a large order of fries after class may give you a temporary boost, but a snack this high in fat and calories will only slow you down in the long run.

To keep energy levels going — and avoid weight gain — steer clear of foods with lots of simple carbohydrates (sugars) like candy bars or soda. Look for foods that contain complex carbohydrates like whole-grain breads and cereals and combine them with protein-rich snacks such as peanut butter or low-fat yogurt or cheese.

Judging Whether Snacks Are Healthy

Choosing healthy snacks means shopping smart. Be cautious of the health claims on food packages. Here are some things to watch out for.

Just because something is "all natural" or "pure" doesn't necessarily mean that it's nutritious. For example, "all natural" juice drinks or sodas can be filled with sugar (which is, after all, a natural ingredient) but all that sugar means they'll be high in calories and give you little nutrition.

A granola bar is a good example of a snack that people think is healthy. Although granola bars can be a good source of certain vitamins and nutrients, many also contain a great deal of fat, including a particularly harmful type of fat called trans fat. On average, about 35% of the calories in a regular granola bar come from fat. And there can be a lot of sugar in granola cereals and bars. Check the Nutrition Facts label on the package to be sure.

Be skeptical of low-fat food claims, too. If the fat has been eliminated or cut back, the amount of sugar in the food may have increased to keep that food tasting good. Many low-fat foods have nearly as many calories as their full-fat versions.

Whatever claims a food's manufacturer writes on the front of the package, you can judge whether a food is healthy for you by reading the ingredients and the nutrition information on the food label.

Smart Snacking Strategies

Here are some ways to make healthy snacking part of your everyday routine:

• Prepare healthy snacks in advance. Did you know that you can make your own granola or trail mix? When you make something yourself, you get to control the ingredients and put in what's good for you! You can also keep plenty of fresh fruit and veggies at home so you can grab them on the go. Cut up melons or vegetables like celery and carrots in advance. Keep the servings in bags in the fridge, ready to grab and go.
• Keep healthy snacks with you. Make it a habit to stash some fruit, whole-grain crackers, or baby carrots in your backpack or workout bag so you always have some healthy food nearby. Half a cheese sandwich also makes a great snack to have on standby.
• Make it interesting. Healthy snacking doesn't have to be boring as long as you give yourself a variety of choices. Whole-wheat pretzels with spicy mustard, rice cakes with peanut butter and raisins, or low-fat fruit yogurt are healthy, tasty, and easy.
• Satisfy cravings with healthier approaches. If you’re crazy for chocolate, try a hot chocolate drink instead of a chocolate bar. An 8-ounce mug of hot chocolate has only 140 calories and 3 grams of fat. A chocolate bar, on the other hand, has 230 calories and 13 grams of fat. Substitute nonfat frozen yogurt or sorbet for ice cream. If you’re craving savory munchies, snack on baked tortilla chips instead of regular corn chips and pair them with salsa instead of sour cream. Or satisfy salt cravings with pretzels instead of chips.
• Read serving size information. What looks like a small package of cookies can contain 2 or more servings — which means double or even triple the amounts of fat, calories, and sugar shown on the label.

Don't slip up after dinner. Evenings can be a tempting time to indulge in sugary, fatty snacks. If you're really feeling hungry, don't ignore it. Instead, pick the right snacks to fill the hunger gap. Whole-wheat fig bars, rice cakes, or air-popped popcorn can do the trick, as can fruit paired with cheese or yogurt.

Treats to Try

Here are a few healthy snacking ideas:

• Ants on a log — Spread peanut butter on celery sticks and top with raisins.
• Banana ice — Peel several very ripe bananas, break them into 1-inch pieces, and freeze the pieces in a sealed plastic bag. Just before serving, whirl the pieces in the blender with a small amount of water or juice. Serve right away. Add berries for a different flavor or top with fruit or nuts.
• Healthy ice pops — Freeze fresh, unsweetened 100% juice in ice pop molds or ice cube trays.
• Whole-grain pita and hummus — Warm a pita in the oven on low, then cut it into small triangles. Dip it in a tasty, low-fat hummus. Hummus is available in yummy flavors like garlic and spicy red pepper. Hummus also makes a tasty dip for cut–up veggies.
• Happy trails mix — Combine 1 cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and 1/4 cup dried cranberries for a healthy trail mix.

As with everything, moderation is the key to smart snacking. People who eat regular meals and healthy snacks are less likely to overeat and gain weight than people who skip meals or go for long periods without eating and then scarf down a large order of fries.

It's natural to feel hungrier at certain times — like between a long afternoon of classes and your swim meet. Knowing how much food your body needs to satisfy this hunger is critical. A handful of walnuts make great brain food before sitting down to do that math homework. But a whole bag won't help you add anything — except pounds!

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: May 2009
Originally reviewed by: Jessica Donze Black, RD, CDE, MPH

source taken from:http://kidshealth.org/

source taken from: http://kidshealth.org/

If I Eat Well at Home, What's Wrong With Splurging When I Eat Out?

A slice of pizza once in a while won't do you any harm. What's important is a person's average food intake over a few days, not just in a single meal. So if you eat a less-than-healthy meal once in a while, try to balance it with healthier foods the rest of that day and week.

But if pizza (or any fast food) is all you eat, that can lead to problems. The most obvious health threat of eating too much fast food is weight gain — or even obesity.

But weight gain isn't the only problem. Too much fast food can drag a person's body down in other ways. Because the food we eat affects all aspects of how the body functions, eating the right (or wrong) foods can influence any number of things, including:

• mental functioning
• emotional well-being
• energy
• strength
• weight
• future health

Eating on the Go

It's actually easier than you think to make good choices at a fast-food restaurant, the mall, or even the school cafeteria. Most cafeterias and fast-food places offer healthy choices that are also tasty, like grilled chicken or salads. Be mindful of portion sizes and high fat add-ons, like dressings, sauces or cheese.

Here are some pointers to remember that can help you make wise choices when eating out:

• Go for balance. Choose meals that contain a balance of lean proteins (like fish, chicken, or beans if you're a vegetarian), fruits and vegetables (fries and potato chips don't qualify as veggies!), and whole-grains (like whole wheat bread and brown rice). That's why a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with lettuce and tomato is a better choice than a cheeseburger on a white bun.
• Watch portion sizes. The portion sizes of American foods have increased over the past few decades so that we are now eating way more than we need. The average size of a hamburger in the 1950s was just 1.5 ounces, compared with today's hamburgers, which weigh in at 8 ounces or more.
• Drink water or low-fat milk. Regular sodas, juices, and energy drinks usually contain "empty" calories that you don't need — not to mention other stuff, like caffeine.

Tips for Eating At a Restaurant

Most restaurant portions are way larger than the average serving of food at home. Ask for half portions, share an entrée with a friend, or take half of your dish home.

Here are some other restaurant survival tips:

• Ask for sauces and salad dressings on the side and use them sparingly.
• Use salsa and mustard instead of mayonnaise or oil.
• Ask for olive or canola oil instead of butter, margarine, or shortening.
• Use nonfat or lowfat milk instead of whole milk or cream.
• Order baked, broiled, or grilled (not fried) lean meats including turkey, chicken, seafood, or sirloin steak.
• Salads and vegetables make healthier side dishes than french fries. Use a small amount of sour cream instead of butter if you order a baked potato.
• Choose fresh fruit instead of sugary, high-fat desserts.

Tips for Eating At the Mall or Fast-Food Place

It's tempting to pig out while shopping, but with a little planning, it's easy to eat healthy foods at the mall. Here are some choices:

• a single slice of veggie pizza
• grilled, not fried, sandwiches (for example, a grilled chicken breast sandwich)
• deli sandwiches on whole-grain bread
• a small hamburger
• a bean burrito
• a baked potato
• a side salad
• frozen yogurt

Choose the smaller sizes, especially when it comes to drinks and snacks if you have a craving for something unhealthy, try sharing the food you crave with a friend.

Tips for Eating In the School Cafeteria

The suggestions for eating in a restaurant and at the mall apply to cafeteria food as well. Add vegetables and fruit whenever possible, and opt for leaner, lighter items. Choose sandwiches on whole-grain bread or a plain hamburger over fried foods or pizza. Go easy on the high-fat, low-nutrition items, such as mayonnaise and heavy salad dressings.

You might want to consider packing your own lunch occasionally. Here are some lunch items that pack a healthy punch:

• sandwiches with lean meats or fish, like turkey, chicken, tuna (made with low-fat mayo), lean ham, or lean roast beef. For variety, try other sources of protein, like peanut butter, hummus, or meatless chili.
• low-fat or nonfat milk, yogurt, or cheese
• any fruit that's in season
• raw baby carrots, green and red pepper strips, tomatoes, or cucumbers
• whole-grain breads, pita, bagels, or crackers

It can be easy to eat well, even on the run. If you develop the skills to make healthy choices now, your body will thank you later. And the good news is you don't have to eat perfectly all the time. It's OK to splurge every once in a while, as long as your food choices are generally good.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: May 2009
Originally reviewed by: Jessica Donze Black, RD, CDE, MPH

source taken from: http://kidshealth.org/

Portion Distortion

Cookies as big as frisbees. Muffins the size of flower pots. Bowls of pasta so deep, your fork can barely find the bottom. One reason people's waistlines have expanded over the past few decades is because food portions have too.

People today eat way more than they used to — and way more than they need to. This means that they're constantly taking in more calories than their bodies can burn. Unfortunately, lots of us don't realize that we're eating too much because we've become so used to seeing (and eating!) large portions.

Portion sizes began to increase in the 1980s and have been ballooning ever since. Take bagels, for example: 20 years ago, the average bagel had a 3-inch diameter and 140 calories. Today, bagels have a 6-inch diameter and 350 calories. One bagel that size actually contains half a person's recommended number of grain servings for an entire day!

The price of such overabundance is high. It's common knowledge that people who consistently overeat are likely to become overweight. But they also risk getting a number of medical problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, bone and joint problems, breathing and sleeping problems, and even depression. Later in life, people who overeat are at greater risk for heart disease, heart failure, and stroke.

It's easy to understand why the food industry tends to serve way more food than is necessary: Customers love to feel like they're getting the best value for their money! But the value meal is no deal when it triples our calories and sets the stage for health problems.

So what can you do to take back control? A good place to start is knowing about two things that can help you eat smart: serving sizes and recommended amounts of different foods.

Help Yourself: The Truth About Serving Sizes

Look at the label on any product package and you'll see a nutrition information section that gives a serving size for that food. Contrary to popular belief, this serving size is not telling you the amount you should be eating. It's simply a guide to help you see how many calories and nutrients — as well as how much fat, sugar, and salt — you get from eating a specific quantity of that food.

Sometimes the serving size on a package will be a lot less than you are used to eating. In some cases, it's perfectly OK (and even a good idea) to eat more than the serving size listed on the package. For example, if you're cooking frozen vegetables and see the serving size is 1 cup, it's no problem to eat more because most vegetables are low in calories and fat yet high in nutrition.

But when it comes to foods that are high in calories, sugar, or fat, the serving size can alert you that you may be getting more than is healthy. If you buy a 20-ounce bottle of soda and drink it all at once, the amount you consumed is 20 ounces. But if the label shows the serving size is 8 ounces, not only did you have 2½ servings, you also had 2½ times the listed calories as well as 2½ times the sugar.

Eat Smart: What's Recommended

Serving sizes tell you how much nutrition you're getting from a particular food but they don't tell you which foods you need to stay healthy — and how much of those foods you should eat. That's where the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid comes in.

MyPyramid divides foods into six groups:

1. grains
2. vegetables
3. fruits
4. oils
5. dairy
6. meat and beans

MyPyramid then offers guidelines to help people figure out how much of these foods they should eat based on age, gender, and activity level.

Once we know the types of foods and quantities we should be eating, it's easier to figure out how much of that heaping plate of food our bodies actually need as opposed to how much they want. Instead of going along with what your school cafeteria or favorite restaurant puts on your plate, you can take control by eating only the amount you need.

The Divided Plate and Other Portion Tips

Serving sizes on food labels and recommended amounts on MyPyramid are usually given in grams, ounces, or cups. Of course, most of us don't carry around food scales and measuring cups. So how can we translate those amounts into quantities we can relate to? That's where the following visual cues come in. (Just be warned: Some might seem small, especially to recovering super-sizers!)

One easy way to size up portions if you don't have any measurements is to take a look at your hand. A clenched fist is about a cup — and a cup is the amount experts recommend for a portion of pasta, rice, cereal, vegetables, and fruit. A meat portion should be about as big as your palm. And limit the amount of added fats (like butter, mayo, or salad dressing) to the size of the top of your thumb.

Another great way to visualize appropriate portions is to use the concept of the "divided plate." Think of your plate as divided into four equal sections. Use one of the top quarters for protein. Use the other top quarter for starch, preferably a whole grain. Then fill the bottom half with veggies. None of the foods should overlap — or be piled high! Not only will dividing your plate like this help you keep portions under control, it can also help you to balance your meals.

Portion-Control Tips

Being aware of realistic portion sizes and visualizing portions or using the "divided plate" concept will help you avoid overeating. But sometimes these visual cues can be hard — especially when foods are difficult to measure, like a sandwich, or they're foods like chips and cookies that we tend to eat right out of the bag.

More tips for portion control:

• Eat your meals on a smaller plate so your meal looks larger. A sandwich on a dinner-size plate looks lost; on an appetizer plate it looks downright hefty.
• Avoid taking an entire bag of chips or a container of ice cream to the couch. You're far less likely to overdo it if you serve yourself a portion in the kitchen first.
• Try single-serving size foods (like those cute little 8-ounce cans of soda!) to help your body learn what an appropriate portion size is. These days all kinds of snacks and beverages are available in "100-calorie" portions. Of course, the key is to eat just one!
• Eat three well-rounded meals (with vegetables, proteins, and carbs) and one or two healthy snacks at regular times throughout the day. Skipping meals or waiting too long between them can make you more likely to overdo it at the next meal.
• Add more salads and fruit to your diet, especially at the start of a meal. This can help control hunger and give a sense of fullness while controlling calorie intake.
• Try not to rush through your meals. Eat slowly and chew well — giving yourself a chance to feel full before you take more. If you do want seconds, go for more salad or veggies.
• Be aware that most restaurant portions are three or four times the right serving size. Try sharing meals with friends, ordering an appetizer as a main dish, or packing up the extra to take home before you begin to eat.
• Don't be tempted to go for the giant value meal or the jumbo drink just because they're only a few cents more than the regular size.

Most important, make it a habit to let your stomach rather than your eyes tell you when you're done with a meal. The key to maintaining a healthy weight is to listen to your body's natural signals about when it's hungry and when it's full. Sometimes these signals can be confused by constant overeating or constant dieting, which is why it pays to watch portion sizes and make smart food choices.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: February 2009

source taken from:http://kidshealth.org/

source taken from: http://kidshealth.org/

Finding a Healthy Weight

Weight loss is a tricky topic. Lots of people are unhappy with their present weight, but most aren't sure how to change it — and many would be better off staying where they are. You may want to look like the models or actors in magazines and on TV, but those goals might not be healthy or realistic for you. Besides, no magical diet or pill will make you look like someone else.

So what should you do about weight control?

Being healthy is really about being at a weight that is right for you. The best way to find out if you are at a healthy weight or if you need to lose or gain weight is to talk to a doctor or dietitian, who can compare your weight with healthy norms to help you set realistic goals. If it turns out that you can benefit from weight loss, then you can follow a few of the simple suggestions listed below to get started.

Weight management is about long-term success. People who lose weight quickly by crash dieting or other extreme measures usually gain back all (and often more) of the pounds they lost because they haven't permanently changed their habits.

Tips for Success

Therefore, the best weight-management strategies are those that you can maintain for a lifetime. That's a long time, so we'll try to keep these suggestions as easy as possible!

Make it a family affair. Ask your mom or dad to lend help and support and to make dietary or lifestyle changes that will benefit the whole family, if possible. Teens who have the support of their families tend to have better results with their weight-management programs. But remember, you should all work together in a friendly and helpful way — making weight loss into a competition is a recipe for disaster!

Watch your drinks. It's amazing how many extra calories can be lurking in the sodas, juices, and other drinks that you take in every day. Simply cutting out a can of soda or one sports drink can save you 150 calories or more each day. Drink water or other sugar-free drinks to quench your thirst and stay away from sugary juices and sodas. Switching from whole to nonfat or low-fat milk is also a good idea.

Start small. Small changes are a lot easier to stick with than drastic ones. Try reducing the size of the portions you eat and giving up regular soda for a week. Once you have that down, start gradually introducing healthier foods and exercise into your life.

Stop eating when you're full. Lots of people eat when they're bored, lonely, or stressed, or keep eating long after they're full out of habit. Try to pay attention as you eat and stop when you're full. Slowing down can help because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to recognize how much is in your stomach. Sometimes taking a break before going for seconds can keep you from eating another serving.

Avoid eating when you feel upset or bored — try to find something else to do instead (a walk around the block or a trip to the gym are good alternatives). Many people find it's helpful to keep a diary of what they eat and when. Reviewing the diary later can help them identify the emotions they have when they overeat or whether they have unhealthy habits. Your doctor or a registered dietitian can give you pointers on how to do this.

Eat less more often. Many people find that eating a couple of small snacks throughout the day helps them to make healthy choices at meals. Stick a couple of healthy snacks (carrot sticks, whole-grain pretzels, or a piece of fruit) in your backpack so that you can have one or two snacks during the day. Adding healthy snacks to your three squares and eating smaller portions when you sit down to dinner can help you to cut calories without feeling deprived.

Five a day keep the pounds away. Ditch the junk food and dig out the fruits and veggies! Five servings of fruits and veggies aren't just a good idea to help you lose weight — they'll help keep your heart and the rest of your body healthy. Other suggestions for eating well: replace white bread with whole wheat, trade your sugary sodas for water and low-fat milk, and make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Having low-sugar, whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk with a piece of fruit is a much better idea than inhaling a donut as you run to the bus stop or eating no breakfast at all! A registered dietitian can give you lots of other snack and menu ideas.

More Tips

Avoid fad diets. It's never a good idea to trade meals for shakes or to give up a food group in the hope that you'll lose weight — we all need a variety of foods to stay healthy. Stay away from fad diets because you're still growing and need to make sure you get proper nutrients. Avoid diet pills (even the over-the-counter or herbal variety). They can be dangerous to your health; besides, there's no evidence that they help keep weight off over the long term.

Don't banish certain foods. Don't tell yourself you'll never again eat your absolutely favorite peanut butter chocolate ice cream or a bag of chips from the vending machine at school. Making these foods forbidden is sure to make you want them even more. Also, don't go fat free: You need to have some fat in your diet to stay healthy, so giving up all fatty foods all the time isn't a good idea. The key to long-term success is making healthy choices most of the time. If you want a piece of cake at a party, go for it! But munch on the carrots rather than the chips to balance it out.

Get moving. You may find that you don't need to cut calories as much as you need to get off your behind. Don't get stuck in the rut of thinking you have to play a team sport or take an aerobics class to get exercise. Try a variety of activities from hiking to cycling to dancing until you find ones you like.

Not a jock? Find other ways to fit activity into your day: walk to school, jog up and down the stairs a couple of times before your morning shower, turn off the tube and help your parents in the garden, or take a stroll past your crush's house — anything that gets you moving. Your goal should be to work up to 60 minutes of exercise every day. But everyone has to begin somewhere. It's fine to start out by simply taking a few turns around the block after school and building up your levels of fitness gradually.

Build muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat. So adding strength training to your exercise routine can help you reach your weight loss goals as well as give you a toned bod. And weights are not the only way to go: Try resistance bands, pilates, or push-ups to get strong. A good, well-balanced fitness routine includes aerobic workouts, strength training, and flexibility exercises.

Forgive yourself. So you were going to have one cracker with spray cheese on it and the next thing you know the can's pumping air and the box is empty? Drink some water, brush your teeth, and move on. Everyone who's ever tried to lose weight has found it challenging. When you slip up, the best idea is to get right back on track and don't look back. Avoid telling yourself that you'll get back on track tomorrow or next week or after New Year's. Start now.

Try to remember that losing weight isn't going to make you a better person — and it won't magically change your life. It's a good idea to maintain a healthy weight because it's just that: healthy.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: February 2009

ource taken from: http://kidshealth.org/

Cholesterol and Where It Lurks

Burgers. Bacon. Cheese fries. What do they have in common (besides being some people's idea of delicious)? They're all high in cholesterol.

Cholesterol, a waxy substance produced by the liver and found in certain foods, is needed to make vitamin D and some hormones, build cell walls, and create bile salts that help you digest fat. Actually, your liver produces about 1,000 milligrams of cholesterol a day, enough cholesterol so that if you never touched another cheese fry, you'd be OK. But it's hard to avoid cholesterol entirely because so many foods contain it.

Too much cholesterol in the body can lead to serious problems like heart disease. Many factors can contribute to high cholesterol, but the good news is there are things you can do to control them.

Lipids are fats that are found throughout the body. Cholesterol, a type of lipid, is found in foods from animal sources. This means that eggs, meats, and whole-fat dairy products (including milk, cheese, and ice cream) are loaded with cholesterol — and vegetables, fruits, and grains contain none.

The liver produces about 1,000 milligrams of cholesterol a day, and you probably consume about 150 to 250 milligrams in the foods you eat.

Because cholesterol can't travel alone through the bloodstream, it has to combine with certain proteins. These proteins act like trucks, picking up the cholesterol and transporting it to different parts of the body. When this happens, the cholesterol and protein form a lipoprotein together.

The two most important types of lipoproteins are high-density lipoproteins (or HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (or LDL). You've probably heard people call LDL cholesterol "bad cholesterol" and HDL cholesterol "good cholesterol" because of their very different effects on the body. Most cholesterol is LDL cholesterol, and this is the kind that's most likely to clog the blood vessels, keeping blood from flowing through the body the way it should.

On the other hand, HDL cholesterol removes cholesterol from the blood vessels and carries it back to the liver, where it can be processed and sent out of the body.

Why Do People Worry About High Cholesterol?

When you have too much cholesterol, it can be dangerous to your health. When LDL cholesterol levels are high, cholesterol is deposited on the walls of arteries and forms a hard substance called plaque. Over time, plaque causes the arteries to become narrower, decreasing blood flow and causing a condition called atherosclerosis (pronounced: ah-thuh-ro-skluh-ro-sis), or hardening of the arteries.

When atherosclerosis affects the coronary arteries (the blood vessels that supply the muscles of the heart), the condition is called coronary artery disease, which puts a person at risk for having a heart attack. When atherosclerosis affects the blood vessels that supply the brain, the condition is called cerebral vascular disease, which puts a person at risk of having a stroke.

Atherosclerosis may also block blood flow to other vital organs, including the kidneys and intestines. This is why it's so important to start paying attention to cholesterol levels as a teen — you can delay or prevent serious health problems in the future.

What Causes High LDL Cholesterol Levels?

Some of the factors that can lead to high cholesterol are:

• Overweight — Excess weight has been linked with high cholesterol levels.
• Heredity — If cholesterol problems or heart disease run in your family, you are at a higher risk for having problems.
• Diet — Remember the saying "you are what you eat"? Avoid foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat, all of which increase cholesterol levels and your risk of developing heart disease.
• Age — The risk of high cholesterol increases as you get older.

Physical activity tends to increase HDL levels, which reduces your chance of developing heart disease.

What Can I Do to Lower My Cholesterol?

Some people who have high cholesterol levels need to be on medication as part of their treatment to lower it. Although most teens won't need to take medication to lower their cholesterol, it's still important to keep cholesterol in check because plaques can start to form during the teen years. To see if you have high cholesterol, talk to your doctor, who can test your cholesterol levels by drawing a sample of your blood.

You can't change your genes but there are things you can do now to decrease your risk for heart disease later.

The American Heart Association recommends that cholesterol intake should be less than 300 milligrams a day, total fat intake should be 30% or less of your total calories, saturated fat should be 10% or less of the total daily calories, and trans fats should be less than 1% of the total calories you consume.

Also, maintain a healthy weight and get moving. Regular aerobic exercise — stuff like biking, walking, and swimming — strengthens your heart, lowers cholesterol, and helps you to lose excess weight. For people who smoke, quitting can help decrease the risk of heart disease.

Healthy Tips

Here are some helpful tips you can try:

• Eat a diet that contains many low-cholesterol foods: fruits, veggies, whole grains (like breads and cereals), legumes (beans), and fish.
• Eat a diet that is low in saturated and trans fat. Replace saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats. Use liquid vegetable oil or trans fat-free margarine instead of butter, shortening, or stick margarine. Stay away from products that contain hydrogenated vegetable oils.
• If you eat meat, try using lean meats and skinless poultry. Make sure you trim off all noticeable fat before cooking and drain the fat from the pan after browning meats.
• Instead of frying, try boiling, broiling, baking, roasting, poaching, steaming, or sautéing.
• Instead of whole milk, use low-fat or nonfat milk, which contains all the nutrients without all the fat. Choose other low-fat or nonfat dairy products including yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese. You can also substitute low-fat buttermilk or yogurt in recipes that call for cream cheese or sour cream.
• Use trans-fat-free margarine.
• Instead of meat, use different sources of protein including fish, beans, peas, nuts, and tofu or other soy products.
• Instead of eggs, try just egg whites or cholesterol-free commercial egg substitutes.
• Pass on commercially prepared baked goods, which are often made with hydrogenated oils or trans fats.
• Looking for snacks that are low in fat and cholesterol? Try fruits, raw veggies and low-fat dips, low-fat whole-grain crackers, plain unsalted popcorn or pretzels, gelatin, or low-fat yogurt.

If you are concerned about cholesterol and heart disease, talk to your doctor. Visit the American Heart Association's website, which contains lots of information as well as easy low-cholesterol recipes for you to try at home. Although not all the factors contributing to heart disease and high cholesterol can be controlled, many can. Start taking care of your body now and it will thank you in the future.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: December 2009

source taken from: http://kidshealth.org/

A good place to have Dim Sum in Kuching:

Address:
Yamisu Tea House (真功夫)
Premier 101 Commercial Centre, Kuching







This is promotional set meal - Anyone who have tasted the dim sum will surely make a come back.