Hookah vs tobacco cigarettes? What's the real story

As we all know, smoking or using spit tobacco has many harmful side effects and negative health consequences. Smoking tobacco is the leading cause of PREVENTABLE deaths in the United States. One of the major culprits for the continued use is nicotine. Nicotine is a very power psychoactive drug, meaning that once nicotine enters the brain, it triggers many of our chemical messenger to be released and causes our body to be in a state of fight-or-flight. The dependence for this nasty substance will creep up on a person. If they don't smoke, there will be withdrawal symptoms occurring. Here are just a few statistics about smoking:

* about 71 million people smoke
* although it's illegal to sell cigarettes to a minor, about 500 million packs are consumed by minors each year

With so much information about smoking health risks, it's a wonder why people still smoke. There are so many smoke-cessation groups and programs that can effectively help people kick the nicotine habit.


One major controversy that I have come across in my life is whether smoking hookah is different than smoking cigarettes. I know many people who smoke hookah but they would never smoke a cigarette! Why is that? Unsure...

Hookah is basically a waterpipe which is used to smoke tobacco, in which the smoke is cooled and filtered by passing through water. This activity originates from India and is gaining much popularity in the US. I, myself, did not know what hookah was or what the health implications were of smoking it but all i did know, was that smoking tobacco is smoking tobacco... who cares if its in a cigarette form or a hookah waterpipe. I would never touch the stuff. So this is mainly for those who don't know the health implications of smoking hookah.

Smoking hookah has shown the same health effects as if smoking cigarettes... bad ones!
- the tobacco is not less toxic in hookah than with cigarettes
- the filtering of the smoke does not remove the toxic ingredients
- hookah smoke contains the same nasty chemicals as cigarettes; hookah smokers are exposed to more carbon monoxide than cigarette smokers!
- you receive the same amount of nicotine from hookah as you would from a cigarette.
- the harms from secondhand smoke is the same for both

Here's the even worse information:
- Normally, each hookah session lasts about 45 minutes; within that time, you are consuming 100-200 times the smoke of a single cigarette. Think of the increased amount of nicotine and carbon monoxide you will be inhaling just from one round of hookah!
- Hookah smokers are at risk for the same kinds of diseases as cigarette smokers: including oral, lung,and stomach cancers
- lastly, if you are sharing the pipe with other people,the risk of transmission of diseases such as herpes or hepatitis or other illness will increase

To conclude, I am exposing the truth about Hookah to all the people out there who do not know the risks that are involved in this social activity. Please think the next time that your friends want to go out to the Hookah bar... do you really want to be exposing yourself to these harmful substances? If you don't like cigarette smoking, hookah is not any better!

Gummy Vitamins are tasty but they are lacking essential nutrients... beware!

For a while now there has been a lot of hype with the new gummy vitamins that are available for adults. I know that they are tasty and people think its fun, but I would really be cautious with taking them.

Here I will compare Women's Daily Multivitamin (Up&Up brand) and Rhino Gummy Bear Vitamins. Both can be purchased at Target so if you want to compare them yourselves, please do so.

Women's Daily   Rhino Gummy   Amt.  %DV   Amt %DV Vit A 2500 IU 50%   2500 IU 50% Vit C 60 mg 100%   18 mg 30% Vit D 800 IU 200%   60 IU 15% Vit E 30 IU 100%   15 IU 50% Vit K 25 mcg 31%   none   Vit B1 Thiamin 1.5 mg 100%   none   Vit B2 Riboflavin 1.7 mg 100%   none   Niacin 10 mg 50%   none   Vit B6 2 mg 100%   0.7 mg 35% Folic Acid 400 mcg 100%   240 mcg 60% Vit B12 6 mcg 100%   4 mcg 67% Biotin 30 mcg 10%   60 mcg 20% Pantothenic acid 5 mg 50%   5 mg 50% Calcium 450 mg 45%   none   Iron 18 mg 100%   none   Magnesium 50 mg 13%   none   Zinc 15 mg 100%   2.2 mg 15% Selenium 20 mcg 29%   none   Copper 2 mg 100%   none   Manganese 2 mg 100%   none   Chromium 120 mcg 100%   none

When you look at these values, you can obviously see how they are different. I have highlighted a few that are key differences that are very important vitamins and minerals to our health.

Vitamin C: everyone knows that this is important to our immunity.

Vitamin D: there has been a lot of controversy in the daily recommended amount of this. But the daily amount has recently been increased so the low amounts will have to be supplemented.

Folic Acid: this especially crucial during fetus development, so please do not take gummys when you are pregnant!

Calcium: again, another type of supplement will need to be taken, or increase your milk intake.

Iron: if you have every suffered from iron-deficiency anemia please do not take the gummy vitamins, unless there is other supplementation.

In conclusion, please be careful when you take the gummy vitamins. Always look on the back of the label to make sure you are getting all the recommended amounts of each vitamin and mineral. All of these values are carefully examined and are put in place for a reason. All the recommended values are based on scientific research, in which it has to be completely proven to be implemented.

If you have any questions about vitamins and minerals and what you need, please let me know. I am always here for your nutrition and fitness questions.

Healthy snacks that taste good too:)

By request from my friend... Here are some healthy snacks that are easy to make, yummy to eat and can get you on the right track with you diet and keep up your energy through the day.

First of all, the story about eating snacks. After you have breakfast (and you must eat breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day and will keep your metabolism revved), you should have something to eat every 2.5 - 3 hours after. This will also keep your metabolism going and you won't have the urge to gorge at the major meals (such as lunch and dinner). Ok, eat every 2.5-3 hours, CHECK!

Secondly, you want to aim for you snacks to have a mixture of protein, carbs, and fat. It's key to try and get protein in your snack because protein helps to keep you full and feel full.

Here we go...

* Natural Peanut butter (yes the kind you have to stir) with celery, apples, bananas. Using natural peanut butter is better for you because there are no added oils, which helps to keep it blended.

* Oatmeal (not the packaged kind with tons of sugar) with berries, bananas, chopped apples, dried raisins or cranberries. Adding cinnamon or Stevia helps to sweeten it up just a bit. Oatmeal has 5 grams of protein per half cup and is rich in soluable fiber.

* Low-fat or fat free greek yogurt or cottage cheese with berries, or any fruit that you like. Half a cup of Greek yogurt has 10 grams of protein!!! wow! and you can add so many different things in it to make it taste so good!

* Hummas with crackers, sliced veggies (carrots, celery, peppers). Hummas is made from chickpeas which are high in protein. Also, there are so many different flavors of hummas that I am sure you can find one you like:)

* Low-fat string cheese with a fruit

* Handful of almonds

So here are just a few yummy and healthy snacks that can be easily packed in your lunch box so you can eat them between meals. One more thing, please keep the sugar low. If you eat something with a lot of sugar you eventually get the "crash" that everyone talks about, and doesn't like. You want to maintain your blood sugar levels so your energy is maintained all day.

I hope this helped and please let me know if you have any questions or want advice about the snacks that you like to eat.

Smoking... what it does to your body

To everyone who smokes out there... I hope this can give you some useful information as to why you should quit the nasty habit...

Have you noticed that when you smoke, it's hard for you to get oxygen into you body too? Well this is why. In your red blood cells there is a molecule called hemoglobin, which carries around oxygen to all the parts of your body. Oxygen likes to bind to hemoglobin. But there is something that likes to bind even better... carbon monoxide! Carbon monoxide is found in cigarette smoke. That is why it's hard to breath when you are a smoker, your hemoglobin are full of toxic chemicals and your body is not getting the adequate amount of oxygen. Ponder that...

Smoking also affects your cholesterol. There are different lipoproteins found in your body that deal with cholesterol. Most of you know or have heard of LDL and HDL cholesterol. What do they do exactly? LDL is the bad cholesterol. LDL take fat from your liver and delivers it to your body. HDL on the other hand, takes the fat from around your body, brings it back to the liver so it can be disposed of. We want that don't we? YES! we want high HDL and low LDL. If you smoke, your HDL levels will decrease! NOT GOOD! that means that there is more cholesterol hanging out in your body and has the potential to cause some damage, including heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

There is some good new though. Once you stop smoking, your HDL levels rise :) also, if you quit, after one year, your chance of getting heart disease decreases almost by half, and after 15 years, your chance of getting heart disease will be the same as a non-smoker. Although the internal damage cannot be reversed, the chance of getting heart disease goes down drastically. We do not want heart disease because right now, it's the #1 killer in the US, with cancer a close second.

So please, for those who smoke, please take these notes into consideration and really think about what is important in your life. If you quit, it's all uphill from here. Please let me know if you need any guidance on how to start the quitting process. I can help:)

Sorry it's been so long...

As you may know, I am in my first semester in graduate school. And guess what? It's finals week. So naturally, I am going crazy with studying so I apologize for not having put up a post in a few days. Trust me, during my three week break, I will have plenty of time to write about awesome food and fitness topics. Don't be discouraged, keep up the good work and see you in a few days! Last final is on Thursday!

Diets don't work! Call it a Lifestyle Change

I hear tons of people all the time saying that they are "on a diet". What does that mean? That you are eating like rabbits and working out in the gym until you pass out? When I hear the word "diet" all I think of is the Yo-Yo Diet. Because this is what the majority of people do when on a "diet". When you hit your target weight, for whatever occasion you are going to, then after the event, you go back to the weight you were at before.

If a person is really committed to losing weight and eating healthier, I believe the better term to use is a "lifestyle change". This commitment that you are giving to yourself can never stop. The thing with a lifestyle change is starting slow. I know that society today is very rushed, people want results NOW! We need to realize that these changes will happen over time. We want to start a new habit in your life. These habits start with performing an activity one step at a time. At the same time, we must have a positive attitude about this change. Albert Bandura would call it "self-efficacy". You have to believe in yourself and your capabilities for you to reach your goal.

So I challenge all of you... if you have a goal that you want to accomplish, let's work together to make that happen. Whether big or small, we can break it down and over time, we will make it! Confidence in yourself is key! Bring people into your life that will help with your goal. Having a support group or person is vital in your road to meet your goal.

Let's go out there and make a lifestyle change!!!! Keep me posted....:)

25 Days til Christmas... To be or Not to be Stressed!

As this holiday season is now in full swing, many of us find ourselves stressing over many things. For students, its with finals (which I am working on now). For other people, its trying to find a parking spot at the local mall to do our holiday shopping. Along with this stress, many of us also find that we don't have the time to exercise or eat healthy because we are too busy. But is it coincidence that many of us get sick around the holdiays too?

I guarantee that stress in a major factor in this. It makes sense though. I know that if I have a huge project that is due, I will not go to the gym or maybe I will grab something easy to eat, which doesn't happen to be good for me. It's just the nature of life. Then of course, when I settle down during my break between semesters, I sometimes get sick. Eating well and exercising can help to fight off the cold!

For me, going to the gym and eating well helps me beat stress! This can work for everyone too! Let's say you are shopping at the mall. Us women, we usually carry large purses. And guess what can fit in that large purse? A HEALTHY SNACK!!! Instead of going to the food court, bring along your own food. Also, taking the stairs at the mall instead of the escalator can help burn off some calories too. And people, don't wait for the very front parking spot! Walking is a great form of exercise!

Being conscience of what you eat and how much activity you get can really help to minimize the stress that comes with the season. Saying "no" to sweets may be hard but to keep that girlish figure, you may just have to say NO! People with respect your wish.  Maybe host your own party and include healthy and delicious foods :)

Hope everyone has a great holiday season and keep up the good work!!!!