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Body Mass Index (BMI)
BMI is a relationship
between weight and height that is associated with body
fat and health risk. BMI is calculated using your height
and weight and is a useful value that approximates body
fat. It is also used to categorize an individual's
weight.
Enter your Height and Weight
and click the Calculate button to find out your BMI.
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BMI
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Weight Status
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Below 18.5
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Underweight
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18.5 - 24.9
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Normal
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25.0 - 29.9
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Overweight
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30.0 & Above
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Obese
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Weigh Loss
and Obesity
About two-thirds
of the adult U.S. population is overweight. Almost
one-third not only exceeds ideal weight, but also meets
the clinical criteria for obesity. In the 1990s, rates
of obesity more than doubled, and are currently rising
by over 5% per year. Excess body weight is implicated as
a risk factor for many different disorders, including
heart disease, diabetes, several cancers (such as breast
cancer in postmenopausal women, and cancers of the
uterus, colon, and kidney), prostate enlargement (BPH),
female infertility, uterine fibroids, and gallstones, as
well as several disorders of pregnancy, including
gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and gestational
hypertension. The location of excess body fat may affect
the amount of health risk associated with overweight.
Increased abdominal fat, which can be estimated by waist
size, may be especially hazardous to long-term health.
For overweight
women, weight loss can significantly improve physical
health. A four-year study of over 40,000 women found
that weight loss in overweight women was associated with
improved physical function and vitality as well as
decreased bodily pain. The risk of death from all
causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other
diseases increases in overweight men and women in all
age groups. Losing weight and keeping it off is,
unfortunately, very difficult for most people. However,
repeated weight loss followed by weight regain may be
unhealthy, as it has been associated with increased
heart disease risk factors and bone loss in some
studies. Rather than focusing on weight loss as the most
important health outcome of a change in diet or
lifestyle, some doctors advocate paying more attention
to overall fitness and reduction in known risk factors
for heart disease and other health hazards.
Excess body mass
has the one advantage of increasing bone mass—a
protection against osteoporosis. Probably because of
this, researchers have been able to show that people who
successfully lose weight have greater loss of bone
compared with those who do not lose weight. People who
lose weight should, therefore, pay more attention to
preventing osteoporosis.
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Why Take Multivitamins?
Multivitamin supplements provide a wide range of essential and
non-essential nutrients and vitamins for the body. A nutritional
multivitamin supplement gives you sufficient vitamins to reach the
amount of nutrients recommended by doctors. These multivitamin tablets
help prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies and are taken by many,
although often hardly any multivitamin supplement facts are known.
Multivitamins can help prevent vitamin deficiencies as they supply the
body with every needed nutrient and will help the body stay healthy,
taken every day, you are sure to receive every needed nutrient.
Multivitamins can provide an excellent daily basis of nutrients but can
and should in no way replace our daily intake of vegetables, fruit and
carbohydrates. A healthy and balanced diet will have all these necessary
nutrients included. After periods of illness or surgery, or a stressful
period, the body may have used up reserves of vitamins and in that case
supplements can be helpful.
When and How Should You Take Vitamins?
Take vitamins with food:
Generally, most vitamins are best tolerated and absorbed
when taken with food.
When:
Vitamins are best taken in dosages spaced throughout the
day rather than all at once to maintain proper levels of
intake. If you must take them all at once be sure to
take them with your largest meal of the day. You should
note that the absorption of minerals can be inhibited by
fiber supplements.
Difficult to swallow pills:
Those who find it difficult to swallow pills should
consider opening capsules or blending them into a
smoothie to drink. Many supplements are available in
powder or liquid form which may be more user friendly.
Fat-soluble vitamins:
Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins. These
vitamins require fat, either animal or vegetable, to be
present in the stomach for them to be optimally
absorbed. These vitamins are best taken with meals.
Water-soluble vitamins: The B vitamins and
vitamin C fall into this category. These vitamins do not
require fat to be optimally absorbed by the body. B
vitamins require an acidic environment to be absorbed.
As such, if you are currently taking antacids, H2
blockers or other drugs that deplete stomach acid, you
may have a decreased ability to absorb B vitamins.
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What is Cholesterol?
Although many health risk
involve bad cholesterol, not all cholesterol is bad for
you. Cholesterol is a fat like substance which is what
our bodies need to make cell membranes, hormones and
bile salts. Very high levels of bad cholesterol is
associated with the high risk of coronary artery disease
which is a hardening of one's arteries. Most of the
people in this country today have higher levels of bad
cholesterol than good levels and this causes concern
among many of our health care providers today.
All of our cells within our bodies are formed from
cholesterol and helps to rebuild our cells also.
Estrogen and testosterone are produced by cholesterol as
well as produces the bile acids the liver needs to
digest and get rid of fat. Too much cholesterol in our
bodies is not good though and will cause build up within
the body which raises our risk of heart disease.
Eating too much saturated fat such as animal based foods
like dairy, meat, and eggs will cause the bad
cholesterol to rise within our bodies. Many of us know
this also, but were raised to eat such foods and habits
are hard to break, especially the bad ones. It may take
time and persistence to break these habits, but with
time and patience with ourselves, we can re-learn to eat
more healthy foods such as fish, high in good fat, fresh
vegetables, and fruits to get ourselves healthy.
For instance, cholesterol is broken down by low-density
lipoprotein or LDL, which is the bad kind of cholesterol
and high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the good kind. The
good news with cholesterol is that for every 1% you
lower it, the risk of heart attack and/or stroke is
reduced by 2%. Although genetics play some role in high
cholesterol, which cannot be controlled, other factors
are under your control.
However, most exercise equipment bought with the best of
intentions, end up sitting in the corner of some room in
our home collecting dust and a guilty reminder of how
much money we spent on something we don't use anymore.
This best exercise comes free though and all one has to
do to get started is walk out their front door. Walking
is the best form of exercise and anyone can do it. All
it takes is thirty minuets a day and it doesn't even
have to be done all at once. Starting slowly is
recommended and two short 15 minute walks can get you on
the path to a healthier you.
Home
Cholesterol Self-Test Kit
$13.99 for
1 Test
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