Stephanie Linus Daily

Tag: Health

  • 5 Surprising Flat Belly Foods

    Belly fat! Carrying unwanted weight around your midsection is often uncomfortable and embarrassing. The good news is that with a healthier diet, exercises and some lifestyle changes, this can be reduced and hopefully eliminated.

    Start eating your way to a trimmer waistline with these top 5 foods for a flat stomach.

    1. Whole Grains
    Whole grains including quinoa, popcorn, oats and wheat can help flatten your tummy. This is mainly because they are so high in dietary fiber which regulates blood sugar and staves off hunger. Eating whole grains also helps to lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and insulin in the body, both of which encourage fat to be stored around the belly.

    2. Eggs
    Eggs for breakfast generally help you to keep from overeating for the rest of the day. This is because they are packed with protein to keep you feeling full and Vitamin B-12 which helps your body break down fat more efficiently.

    3. Bananas
    Banana is rich in potassium, a natural diuretic that helps de-bloats the belly. Banana also relieves/prevent constipation which could result in a belly bloat.

    4. Cucumbers
    Cucumbers are loaded with water and naturally low in calories to help with hydration and weight management. One whole cucumber has just 45 calories. If you are feeling bloated, cucumbers can help with that too.

    5. Yoghurt
    Not only is yogurt low in fat and calories, so good as a weight loss food, but many yogurts also contain active cultures (probiotics) which promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut and help with digestion, excess gas and bloating. You could also try combining natural yogurt, berries and flax seeds in a morning smoothie or bowl of cereal, getting you off to a great tummy-trimming start before you even leave the house.

    SL Fabz, what else would you recommend for a flatter tummy?

  • 3 Delicious Health Benefits Of Eating Chocolate

    I know you’re probably smiling while reading this post. Why wouldn’t you? Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and you’re gearing up to eat as much chocolate as you can!

    I’m not here to say you should over indulge yourself and eat so much chocolate… No. Chocolate has been said to cause a lot of problems including acne and obesity when taken in large enough quantities. But in recent years, studies have found that eating small amounts of the right kind of chocolate can actually be healthy.

    Studies show that Dark Chocolate (not just any kind of chocolate) is loaded with nutrients that can positively affect your health. Take a look at some of the surprising health benefits of chocolate:

    A Healthier Heart
    Regular chocolate eaters welcome a host of benefits for their hearts, including lower blood pressure, lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease.

    One of the reasons dark chocolate is especially heart-healthy is its inflammation-fighting properties, which reduce cardiovascular risk. A study showed that chocolate 5+ times per week lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 57%.  Another recent study in Australia showed that eating chocolate high in healthy antioxidants reduced the blood pressure-raising effects of exercise on overweight individuals.

    A Good Source Of Antioxidants
    Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help free your body of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to cells. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and may be a cause of cancer, so eating antioxidant rich foods like dark chocolate can protect you from many types of cancer and slow the signs of aging.

    Reduces Risk Of Stroke
    A 2011 Swedish study found that women who ate more than 45 grams of chocolate a week had a 20 percent lower risk of stroke than women who treated themselves to fewer than 9 grams of the sweet stuff. Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well as to the heart, so it can help improve cognitive function. This helps reduce your risk of stroke.

    I found other health benefits of chocolate while doing some research but these three above struck me the most.

    Because it’s rich in fiber, dark chocolate can actually help keep you full, so you’ll eat less. It also contains a number of vitamins and minerals that can support your health such as Potassium, Copper, Magnesium and Iron. The bioactive compounds in dark chocolate are also great for your skin. And let’s not forget its amazing taste. Hmm…. Yummy.

    SL Fabz, don’t forget. Eat chocolate in moderation. Don’t go overboard, chocolate still contains sugar and fat. Enjoy a little bit of it for its great health benefits.

    Have a Sweet Friday!

  • 6 Surprising Habits That Make You Gain Weight

    Everyone likes to stay fit. No, scrap that. Everyone needs to stay fit, and healthy.

    Whether we like to admit it or not, our weight is directly linked to our health. Being overweight and being underweight have adverse consequences on our health and are situations we must avoid at all cost. Unfortunately, its a bit difficult. French fries taste better than side salads and chicken is yummier when grilled or fried.

    However, a healthy weight is a lot easier to accomplish when the right choices are taken. Here are some surprisingly wrong choices you might have been practicing that is causing you to gain weight:

    Taking Big Bites
    Avoid spooning very large portions of food into your mouth. Cut your food into smaller pieces, use a smaller fork or spoon. You increase enjoyment and take longer to eat, which increases your satisfaction. Research has shown that people who took large bites of food consumed 52% more calories in one sitting than those who took small bites and chewed longer!

    Not Getting Enough Sleep
    You don’t even need to be conscious to work on losing weight. Getting the right amount of sleep is a major factor in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Sleep is essential for your metabolism, your blood-sugar regulation, appropriate hormone balance and energy health.

    Skipping Meals
    The problem is, skipping meals actually increases your chances of obesity, especially when it comes to breakfast. A study has shown that people who cut out the morning meal were 4.5 times more likely to be obese. Why? Skipping meals slows your metabolism and boosts your hunger. That puts your body in prime fat-storage mode and increases your chances of overeating at the next meal.

    Eating Heavy Dinner
    When you hit your body with so much food at dinner, it can be difficult for the body to digest and process it all. The extra can be converted into fatty acids and lead to weight gain.

    Watching TV While Eating
    When you watch television, you’re not fully concentrating on anything else that you’re doing, and this includes eating. You get distracted while eating and tend to eat much more. Sometimes, you may not even remember all of what you ate! Statistics also show you eat 5-10 times more when you eat while watching TV.

    Eating Too Quickly
    It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s had enough. Slow eaters eat fewer calories per meal than fast eaters. So if you are concerned about that weight, cut down your speed.

    I personally learnt something new while writing this. I didn’t know that eating while watching TV could make me gain weight!

    SL Fabz, do you have any other habit to add to this list? Are you guilty of any of the above habits?

  • Ladies, Let’s Practice These Tips To Prevent Cervical Cancer

    Twenty-six Nigerian women lose their lives due to cervical cancer every day and a further 14,000 women are diagnosed each year with this disease. 

    Hi SL Fabz,

    The month of January is the Cervical Health Awareness Month, a chance to raise awareness about how women can protect themselves from HPV (Human Papillomavirus) and cervical cancer. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease. It’s also a major cause of cervical cancer.

    Sadly, Cervical Cancer kills thousands of women in Nigeria every month. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. However, half of cervical cancers occur among women rarely or never screened for cancer, and another 10%–20% of cancers occur among women who were screened but did not receive adequate follow-up care. When cervical cancer is found early, it is highly treatable and associated with long survival and good quality of life.

    Today, I’d like to share some tips with you about how we can prevent this deadly disease.

    1. Get a regular Pap smear. Getting a regular Pap smear is a highly effective way to reduce your risk of cervical cancer. The Pap smear is a simple test that can detect abnormal cervical changes long before they become cancerous. The key to the effectiveness of the Pap smear is having it done regularly. Always consult with your doctor about how often you should be having Pap smears.

    2. Limit the amount of sexual partners you have. Practicing safe sex is more than just wearing a condom. It also means limiting the amount of sexual partners you have in your lifetime. Having multiple sexual partners increases your risk of being infected with HPV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

    3. Quit smoking or avoid secondhand smoke. Smoking cigarettes has an effect on cervical cancer as well. Once you’re infected with HPV [human papillomavirus], smoking more than doubles your risk of not beating the disease on your own. Smoking won’t give you HPV, but suck down more than 10 cigarettes a day and you can double your risk for advanced precancerous cells once you have the disease. Plus, it can speed up the cancerous growth.

    4. If you are sexually active, use a condom. Having unprotected sex puts you at risk for HIV and other STD’s which can increase your risk factor for developing cervical cancer.

    5. Follow up on abnormal Pap smears. If you have had an abnormal Pap smear, it is important to follow up with regular Pap smears or colposcopies, whatever your doctor has decided for you. If you have been treated for cervical dysplasia, you still need to follow up with Pap smears or colposcopies. Dysplasia can return and when undetected, can turn into cervical cancer.

    6. Get the HPV vaccine. If you are under 26, you may be eligible to receive the HPV vaccine, which prevents high risk strains of HPV in women. The shot is recommended for girls as young as 9 or 10, because it works best before you’ve had any sort of sexual contact. The vaccine doesn’t protect against HPV strains you’ve already contracted, so most doctors won’t administer it to women over 26 because they assume most are already sexually active.

    So dearies, let’s practice these measures to protect ourselves. If you are sexually active, get a pap smear done. And guys, please share this info with any lady you know.

    Stay healthy!

    SL.

  • 5 Easy Ways To Reduce Your Sugar Intake

    Although a little bit of sugar is OK for most people, eating too much sugar can undermine your health in a lot of ways. Sugar can add excess calories to your diet, crowd out more nutritious foods, and otherwise contribute to aging, weight gain, and disease.

    Here are 5 tips I’m sure would help in reducing your overall sugar intake:

    Read Food Labels
    You’ll quickly realize just how often sugar is added to foods when you look for it on ingredients lists. Even things that you don’t think are sweet, like tomato sauce, crackers, and salad dressings can be packed with sugar. Read the list of ingredients on the packaging before you make a decision on whether to eat/drink it or not.

    Choose Healthy Snacks
    In between meals, you might have the need to chew on a snack. In such situations, opt for a healthy snack. Healthier snack options are those without added sugar such as fruit (fresh, dried, tinned or frozen), unsalted nuts, unsalted rice cakes, oatcakes or homemade plain popcorn

    Avoid Sweetened Drinks & Beverages
    Nearly a quarter of our added sugar in our diets comes from sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, sweetened juices, and squashes. A 500ml bottle of cola contains the equivalent of 17 cubes of sugar. Try sugar-free varieties or better yet, water, lower-fat milk, or soda water with a splash of fruit juice.

    Trade sweetened foods for naturally sweet fruit
    Replace foods laden with added sugar for fruit, which is naturally sweet and just as satisfying. Fruit – whether it’s fresh, baked, grilled, or pureed — makes a great replacement for sugar in lots of dishes, from cookies to coleslaw.

    Buy unsweetened food
    Once you know where sugar hides, you can start making changes. One strategy: buy foods labeled “no added sugar” or “unsweetened.” You’ll find unsweetened versions of these common foods in most grocery stores. For instance, go for unsweetened milk instead of the regular one. Also, when buying canned fruit, they should be packed in
    juice—not syrup.

    SL Fabz, do you have any more tips to add?

  • Groovy Friday: How To Eat Healthy At Owambe Parties

    The last day of the work week is here and a weekend of fun stretches before us.

    I’m pretty sure most of us have one or two parties to attend this weekend. Owambe has become the term for parties these days. It’s a Yoruba word loosely translated as “It is happening there” or “I was there”, and it is now a name for big weddings and birthday parties.

    A typical Owambe has a large crowd of guests, lots of people dressed in aso-ebi, dancing, spraying of money, and of course lots to eat and drink.

    It is usually difficult to eat a healthy meal when you see lots of food. Follow these tips to help you eat healthier at parties.

    1. Eat more protein than carbs: Try to ignore the heaps of pounded yam and large spoons of rice. If you must take them, take little quantity. Instead, opt for foods with protein like moi-moi, eggs, fish, chicken and meat. If there are vegetables, salads and/or fruits available, go for that. You don’t necessarily have to heap your plate with these either. Eat in moderation.

    2. Don’t leave home hungry: This applies not just for Owambe parties but for any social function where you know food will be served. With an empty stomach, its difficult to make wise decisions about the quantity of food you eat outside and you just might end up embarassing yourself.

    3. Eat small portions: I deliberately eat very little at social functions. Not only is it healthier, but it helps you exercise more self control. Imagine that its time for you to dance with the celebrant or the couple and you can’t because your tummy is so full!

    4. Survey party buffets before filling your plate. Don’t wait till you get to the middle of the line and you see something else you like ahead when your plate is already full. Choose your favorite foods and skip your least favorite. Include vegetables and fruits to keep your plate balanced.

    5. Choose your drinks wisely. Avoid drinking too much sugary drinks or alcohol. Too much sugar affects your health badly and helps you pack on the weight. Also, what’s the point of getting drunk and not being able to properly enjoy your friend or relative’s party?

    Do you have any more tips to add? How do you select your food when you go out for parties?

    Have a fab weekend!

    SL

  • Diet Vs. Exercise: What Is Better For Losing Weight?

    It’s a new year and you’ve set for yourself a health goal – to lose weight. The question now is – what’s the best way to achieve this?

    While diet and exercise are both important for long term weight goals, its important to know which one is best for you.

    Yes, you can lose weight with diet alone, but exercise is also important. Without it, only a portion of your weight loss is from fat – you’re also stripping away muscle and bone density. Losing weight through exercise means you’re burning mostly fat. On the other hand, its much easier to cut 500 calories than to spend an hour in the gym burning 500 calories every day.

    Due to our very busy schedules, most people find it very difficult to find time to jog or go to the gym regularly. Also, avoiding those foods with high calories can be very difficult.

    However, both diet and exercise are essential for good health and for keeping that weight off.

    So tell me, which option would you choose for weight loss. Dieting or exercising, and why?

  • Staying Fit in our Busy World

    Stephanie Daily Pics - December 2013 - StephanieDaily009

    Hello lovely people!

    Its the last month of the year and I know that like me, many of us set out some goals we wanted to achieve with regards to our weight and fitness at the beginning of the year. But with the demands of our busy schedules, especially when you live in a bustling city like Lagos, you might have had a difficult time achieving those goals.

    Not to worry, its not too late to boost our spirits and get back to our routines. Here are some ways that you can juggle exercising with your busy work schedule:

    1. Wake up in the morning to exercise
    Waking up an hour earlier to exercise in the morning helps you function better during the day. It gives you a better cardiovascular impact, you’re able to have more consistent workouts and more energy throughout the day.

    2. Walk/Ride your bike to work
    I know this may be difficult in most cities and also if you live far from work. But if you can, take a walk or ride your bike to work. It really helps.

    3. Work out during your lunch break
    Most people have at least a half hour break during work. That is enough time to squeeze in a short workout. You can take a walk outside, or walk around your building or street.

    4. Use exercising as a way to socialize
    Instead of going out to eat, go for a walk or short run with your friends and catch up while you are at it.

    5. Make a commitment
    I know it might be difficult, believe me I do, but physical activity is SO important to our lives. Take some time to re-evaluate where you are spending unnecessary time and focus on doing those important things for your health and fitness.

    So, share with me, how do you find time to work out despite your busy schedules? Have you achieved the fitness and health goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year? I’d love to know.

    xoxo

    #SL