Watch Out, We Got a Fat Belly Over Here! (Part 1)

Take a look at your belly in the mirror. Do you feel like your belly is too big and fatty? Now this is the time for you to know the dangers of having a fat belly so you can take the right steps to avoid the health risks!

Fat belly, also known as central obesity, is fat accumulation in your stomach, causing the increase of stomach size and the area around the waist. Central obesity was known to have some relations to many health problems. So what caused the central obesity?

There are two kinds of fat in our body. There's subcutaneous fat, the layer of fat under the skin. There's also visceral fat, also known as intra-abdominal fat, which accumulated under the fat and surrounds vital organs, including in the fat belly. The liver will metabolize this fat into blood cholesterol, making it dangerous for your health.

image credit to duniafitnes.com

Here are some of the factors which is causing the accumulation of fat in your stomach:
- Genetic factor
- The habit of eating high-fat and high-calorie foods
- Excess consumption of saturated fat
- Lack of workout and other physical activities
- Stress

Health Risk from a Fat Belly
Central obesity itself is categorized as a disease which have many other negative impacts, either for your physical health or your psychological health. Here are some other diseases which can be caused by central obesity

- Premature Death
According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 300,000 deaths a year in America was estimated to be related to obesity. People with obesity have 50 to 100% increase of premature death compared to people with healthy "weight".

- Health Disease
The risk of heart attack, heart failure, sudden death, or chest pain from heart disease is increasing for those with obesity or overweight people. Obesity is also associated with high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and degrading HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol)

- Stroke
Atherosclerosis, or blood vessels constriction - which can cause blood coagulation - is the condition which started many stroke accidents. Atherosclerosis is triggered by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and lack of workout. Obesity also associated with high-fat diet or meal plan, causing the increase of blood pressure. Therefore, obesity was regarded as the secondary risk which can cause stroke.

- Diabetes Type 2
Weight increase of 5 to 10 kg from a healthy weight will increase the risk of having diabetes type 2 about twice compared to those who have a "normal" weight. More than 80% of people with diabetes was known to be overweight or suffering obesity.

Besides many health risks above, there are also a few dangerous diseases that can caused by having a fat belly. More on the next post!

Blame It on the Alcohol. Really?

When I mentioned alcohol, most people will immediately think about partying and get drunk. But is it really that bad? Are there any benefits of alcohol for our health?

image credit to universal-healthcare.org

Like any other things in life, it's good when you have enough. Consuming the right amount of alcohol can give you some health benefits. Fact is, alcohol can lower the risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, gallstone, and diabetes.

On the other hand, if you consume too much alcohol, it will definitely increase the risk of:
- pancreatic, mouth, throat, and liver cancer
- swelling of the pancreas
- dying of heart attack
- high blood pressure

Unfortunately for some people, alcohol is a big no-no. For those of you who had some stroke (from hemorrhaging), have liver or pancreatic illness, or in the middle of a healing process, ALCOHOL IS A BIG NO.

So you can see that alcohol is actually a double-edged sword for your health. About 355 ml of beer and 150 ml of wine twice or thrice a week is good for you.

Why Seafood is Good

There are many reasons as to why consuming seafood are good. Besides that it have a good taste when we process it into many variations of food, seafood are sources of high-quality proteins that are low in fat in cholesterol, and also act as sources for vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium, and Omega 3 fatty acid which are good for your heart and blood veins.

image credit to ocean.nationalgeographic.com

Some of the seafood, such as clams, deep-sea fishes, and crabs are delicious and high in nutrition. Clams and crabs are high in vitamin B12 that supports the nerves and brain, and also minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and potassium. Meanwhile, deep-sea fishes such as salmon, tuna, or mackerel are the best sources for Omega 3 fatty acid, that can help you prevent heart diseases.

Omega 3 is known for good fatty acid that can help reduce the the risk of getting heart disease, stroke, and many kinds of cancers. Better yet, foods that are high in Omega 3 are related to positive-mood change. In other words, fishes can be functioned as a therapeutic cure for mild depression!

Fish and seafood are also good for pregnant women for their fetus' brain growth, and also reduces the risk of premature birth. Besides that, other nutrition in fish and seafood like protein and vitamin, all are good for our health.

It's clear that consuming fish and other kinds of seafood is so good, that the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends to eat fish at least twice a week. More importantly, if you have a heart disease, AHA recommends if you have a high-Omega 3 diet by eating fish every day. Therefore, by start consuming these sea delicacies in our everyday diet also plays a role for a healthy heart.

So, got fish?

I Heart Coffee? Think Again

Well I don't like coffee that much, actually. But my mum is a coffee drinker, and I know some people who actually survive on the coffee that they drink every morning. Anyway, before this post turn into some kind of rambling about some people in my life who loves coffee, then I should start by stating that people who drinks coffee in huge sum but doesn't have a healthy diet tend to suffer on heart arrhythmia (commonly known as heart disease).

image credit to coffee-cereal.com

Some Italian researchers surveyed their patients who recently diagnosed with heart arrhythmia to know their eating habits, including caffeine intake. Their eating pattern then compared with people who does not suffer on heart arrhythmia. They announced the results on annual meeting of European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona.

In that research, daily coffee consumption was divided into 4 categories: low (1 cup/day), average (2-3 cups/day), high (more than 3 cups/day), and no consumption at all. The patients are also categorized based on their adherence to Mediterranean diet, which is rich on whole-wheat, olive oil, fruits and vegetables, but low on red meats.

Based on this research, people who suffers on heart arrhythmia does not adhere to the Mediterranean diet, compare to those who does not suffer on heart arrhythmia. Patients suffering heart arrhythmia also consumes more red meats and high-fat milk.

What's interesting is that patients with arrhythmia consume more antioxidants from coffee than other foods such as fruits, vegetables, and wine, as the researchers said.

Die-hard coffee drinker also prone to heart arrhythmia than those who drink less coffee. In heart arrhythmia, both heart atrium vibrates in an abnormal manner, which caused heart palpitations (poundings), asphyxiate, fatigue, and higher risk of stroke.

In conclusion, it's better to balance out your coffee consumption with healthy foods and drinks. I'll definitely post about the goodness of coffee in the future :)

Eggs and Cholesterol

Sometimes we heard some people say that they don't want to eat eggs because it's high in cholesterol. Well, it is high in cholesterol, and consuming foods that are high in cholesterol daily can lead to increasing cholesterol level in your blood. However, nevertheless, a lot of researchers believe that saturated fat and trans-fat have bigger impact on the increase the cholesterol level.

image credit to heartheavy.com

The American Heart Association (AHA) claimed that as long as you can limit the cholesterol consumption out of all the other foods, it is very good to add eggs into your daily healthy diet, considering that eggs are good sources of protein.

Fact is, one egg contains about 213 mg of cholesterol in its yolk. If you're in healthy condition, it is better to limit your cholesterol consumption in less than 300 mg a day. However, if you got some health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, or your LDL (bad cholesterol) level is high, then it's better to limit your daily cholesterol consumption into less than 200 mg.

So, if you already consumed one egg a day, then it's better if you limit or even avoid another consumption of cholesterol from other foods in that day. However, if you really have a egg-craving day (those days exist, folks), then just consume the egg white, since it doesn't contain cholesterol.

In conclusion, you don't have to worry about consuming eggs. You just have to control the sum and the frequency. Eggs are good sources for protein, easy to digest, and easy-to-get animal protein. Therefore, consuming eggs (especially the egg whites) will be good for your diet :)

10 Healthy Foods for a Healthy Heart

Heart attack is the most dangerous disease in the world, with increasing patients every year. One of the cause of this disease is wrong meal pattern. Foods these days usually contain high cholesterol, which can clog your blood vessels. In this article, I will share about the ten foods that are good for your heart.

image credit to healthyfoodssite.com

1. Fresh Fish
Fish contains many Omega 3 fatty acids, which can lower your triglycerides level and lower your blood pressure. Consuming fishes with high Omega 3 once or twice a week can lower the chance of coronary death as high as 36%.

2. Tea
Tea are high on polyphenolic antioxidants. Scientists believe that polyphenols can prevent us from bad cholesterol (LDL) from oxidation that can clog our blood vessels. Click here for my post about green tea.

3. Beans
Beans are low in fat but high in vitamin B, folate, potassium, iron, magnesium, fiber, protein, and phytochemicals (a compound in plants that can help prevent some chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases). Black beans, red beans, navy beans, peas, and kidney beans are few of the beans that are good for our heart.

4. Paprika
Paprika are high on vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A, and antioxidants. Potassium helps balance the fluids and cells ratio in muscle contractions. People with high blood pressure are recommended to fulfill the needs for potassium from fruits and vegetables to balance the blood pressure.

5. Green Vegetables
Green vegetables contain many fibers, carotenoids, folate, phytochemicals, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Carotenoids are pigments with antioxidants that can lower the chance of heart attacks, which are available in fruits and vegetables with bright colors.

6. Orange
Besides the fact that it's high on vitamin C, oranges also high on folate, antioxidants, phytochemicals, potassium, and fibre. Vitamin C are good to increase our immunity, and the fibers on oranges can also help reducing the cholesterol in our blood.

7. Wheat
Wheat are good calorie sources that are also rich in fibers, vitamins and minerals, iron, magnesium, and folate. Some studies have tied a connection between wheat consumption to reduce cholesterol and cardiovascular disease-prevention. Wheat cereals, oats, and wheat pasta are some of the good foods that are good for your heart.

8. Garlic
Studies show that garlic have some influence in lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Garlic is better to eat fresh.

9. Berries
Berries are higher in antioxidants than any other fruits and vegetables. A study in Finland also shows that eating berries can also increase the HDL level and lowering the blood pressure.

10. Rice
A study indicates that by consuming rice you'll get 12 essential vitamins and minerals, including folic acid, potassium, and vitamin C with lower saturated fat than those who doesn't consume rice. This study also indicates that consuming rice can also lower the risk of blood pressure and heart disease.

In the end, knowing what's good for your heart is not enough. Get some workout regularly too :)