Health Pulse Get more fibre without fuss, starting today Fibre helps you feel fuller, keeps your digestive system in working order and stabilizes your blood sugar. What’s not to love? Even so, most Canadians only get half as much fibre as is recommended: 38 grams daily for men and 25 grams for women. To boost your fibre intake, consider these simple tips: • Switch to whole-grain bread, pasta and rice. If you don’t fall in love with the taste right away, remember that most dietary changes take some time to get used to. • Commit to cooking with a new whole grain at least once a month. From barley and bulgur wheat to millet and quinoa, you’ll never run out of options. • Eat your veggies first: In one study, eating salad 20 minutes before a meal led women to consume 23% more vegetables than eating that same salad during the meal itself. • Eat popcorn: It may look white, but it’s actually a whole grain, delivering four grams of fibre per ounce. • Snack on fruit: Pears get especially high marks for fibre, with almost five grams in a small one. • Snack on nuts and seeds (especially chia or flax) or add them to your recipes. Cashew chicken, anyone? Sources: Healthline.com, Canadian Digestive Health Foundation Clues that you’re not getting enough protein Ideally, protein should make up at least 10% of your daily calories. But unless you carry a calorie book and calculator with you at all times, how do you know if you’re getting enough? Start by observing your hair and nails. A lack of dietary protein could leave your body without the raw materials to make elastin and keratin, leading to brittle or thinning hair and ridges in your nails. Cuts and scrapes that take a long time to heal offer a further clue, as does swelling (particularly in the abdomen, hands, legs or feet). Of course, swelling also has other causes, so check with your doctor if you’re experiencing it. You may have heard of serotonin and dopamine – molecules that relay information between brain cells and help regulate mood. These molecules contain amino acids (the building blocks of protein), so a protein-poor diet could leave you feeling depressed or overly aggressive. And just a week of not eating enough protein can sap your energy and strength. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix: eat more of the good stuff. Eggs, lean meats, fish, lower-fat dairy products, legumes, soy products, nuts and seeds…no matter what your dietary preferences or convictions, you have more than enough options from which to choose. A session with a nutritionist can give you extra inspiration. Sources: WebMD, health.com Skin tag troubles About half of all adults have skin tags: They’re harmless, but bothersome – especially when they occur in prominent areas such as the face. If you’re the DYI type, you may be tempted to snip them with scissors or a nail clipper, but experts advise against cutting off a skin tag without a green light from a health professional who can tell you how to cleanse your skin and your cutting tool to prevent infection. Also, it hurts. And if the tag is large, near the eyes or genitals, or you have issues with bleeding, you should avoid cutting it, period. Some people have reported that tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar and iodine can help skin tags fall off, but evidence for these products remains scant. As an alternative, you can purchase a skin tag removal product at the drugstore. Over-the-counter options include bands, patches and creams. While many of these products promise success within two to three days, they don’t work consistently, so you may need to use them several times before the growth falls away. Some products may also cause skin reactions. More time-consuming, but also more effective, is to have the tag removed by a doctor, who will use liquid nitrogen to destroy the unwanted tissue. Source: medicalnewstoday.com 34 | www.snowbirds.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx