AIDS not a problem you say?

This post is mainly aimed at the people that think aids isnt a serious problem. I’m writing this to help raise awareness of the fact that aids is a serious threat and it’s spreading around fast, real fast. To show how fast it’s spreading, I’ll show you couple figures.

In Uganda 1,6 million people have died since 1982 because of aids. Till 2000, the average death count per year was about 80.000. Just last year (2007) there was a shocking deathcount of 130.000. What does this mean? It means there has been a 62% (aproximately) growth in just 7 years.

Every day, over 6800 persons become infected with HIV and over 5700 persons die from AIDS, mostly because of inadequate access to HIV prevention and treatment services

Estimated number of people living with HIV globally in 1990 = about 7 million. Guess what this number was in 2007? A whooping 33 million. Growth since 1990? Only about 471%.

Estimated number of adult and child deaths due to AIDS globally in 1990 = About 225.000. This number has risen to 2.100.000 in 2007. Luckily this numer is dropping since 2005. Interesting to see here is that 76% occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.

These are just some of the few shocking facts from a research conducted by the World Health Organisation. You can check out the full report at the Worth Health Organisation Website website.

How to prevent aids?

There are a couple of ways to get aids. The 2 most common ways are:

1. You are born with it.
2. Having unprotected sex with someone who had AIDS.

As you can see, you can do nothing about being born with aids. But people born with AIDS only represent a small percentage of the total AIDS population. The real problem lies within the unprotected sex.

Having unprotected sex is the realy issue and that’s the cause of AIDS spreading this fast. To slow down the rapid spread you could simply (it’s sounds a lot easier then it is) have protected sex. Having protected sex will result a slower growth of infected people and over time it will even result in a decline.

So people. HAVE PROTECTED SEX AND HELP THE WORLD BE  A AIDS FREE PLANET!

a

Still think aids isn’t a serious problem?

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Lazy Cat

Did you know being lazy can make you fat? Or how about go as far as get you killed? It sounds a bit extreme, but being lazy can really cause all of that. Let’s go though some examples.

Too lazy to switch your cell phone from 1 ear to another

You probably have those 10 – 20 minute phone calls where you put your cell phone between your shoulder and neck, so that it’s stuck between them. While you are doing this, your neck is in an unnatural position which can cause minor or even major neck injuries. And this is cause only because you are too lazy to switch your cell phone from 1 site to another.

Too lazy to have breakfast in the morning

I’ve written about the breakfast a couple of time and why you should have breakfast. If you haven’t read any of those posts, well, this is your chance to catch up. In short breakfast is your kick start of the day. Having breakfast will start your body’s engine and will cause your metabolism to start working again. Having breakfast every single morning will result in you having less hunger throughout the day thus eating less. This also means you’ll be thinner and more in shape. If, on the other hand, you are too lazy to skip breakfast, you are more likely to become obese. And we all know obesity leads to major problems within the body.

Too lazy to floss your teeth

Ever heard of the myth: Flossing once a day will result in living 7 years longer? Well, it’s not a myth and it’s as true as it can be. Flossing daily will not only make you live longer, but it has other benefits as well. Your breath for example, if you’re flossing daily, your breath will smell a lot better. Dental health is another benefit. Or how about gums around the teeth. By flossing you can prevent symptoms such as swollen gums, shiny gums, itchy gums or bleeding gums. You can prevent this all just by flossing once a day, if you’re not too lazy.

These are only three situations where laziness can cause obesity, injuries and can even be lethal if you don’t watch out.

a

Don’t be too lazy, it’s unhealthy, maybe even lethal

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For years I’ve wondered what the differences where between the two different types of fats. When I went to buy some groceries, I always looked at the % of fat in the food, but I could never tell whether these fats were healthy or unhealthy fats. I think many of you have experienced this as well. To get rid of this, should I say misunderstanding, I decided to write a post about what healthy and unhealthy fats are. This way it will be forever clear to me, and I hope for you as well.

When you look at the nutritional facts of foods, and especially the fat part, it always says something like this:

Fats per 100g: 25g
Saturated: 7g
Unsaturated: 18g

Before writing this post, I’d only look at the total fat amount, which is 25g in this case.

To get a better understanding of these fats, we need to know that there are two types of fats. Saturated fats and Unsaturated fats.

Saturated fats aka the bad fats

The saturated fats are the enemy. You can easily recognize them because they are hard at room temperature. Saturated fats are not essential to your health. They come from animals and are found in meat, eggs and cheese. They are harder to digest and full of cholesterol.

Unsaturated fats aka the good fats

The unsaturated fats are, unlike the saturated fats, liquid at room temperature. Think of fats such as olive oil and sunflower oil. These fats can be split in two different groups. These are monounsaturated fats (fats such as olive oil) and polyunsaturated fats (fats such as sunflower oil)

Monounsaturated fats (Omega 9) are not essential, but if you use it in moderation, it’s not harmful to the body. If possible, try to use polyunsaturated fats.

The polyunsaturated fats are split into Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6 fatty acids. Good sources for Omega 6 fatty acids are oils such as sesame oil, pumpkin oil, walnut oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil.

Good sources for Omega 3 fatty acids are: flax seed oil, tuna, sardines, pilchards, salmon, herring and mackerel. As you can see Omega 3 fatty acids are found in fish. So it’s important to eat fish regularly.

I hope by reading this post you got a better understanding of fats.

a

What are saturated fats and what are unsaturated fats

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Are you tired of hitting the gym a couple times a week or running on the treadmill for hours and hours? Did you wish there was an easy way to get rid of the extra pounds and get the lean body you always wanted?

Have I got a revelation for you!

Recently there is a lot of buzz around the “Exercise in a pill” pill named GW1516 and AICAR. These are 2 different pills. While GW1516 is mainly for fat burning, AICAR is the real “Exercise in a pill” pill.

Even though these 2 pills have shown to have incredible impact, so far the pills have only been tested on mice. The results of these pills are just amazing. While the GW1516 pill does nothing on its own, it does wonders when you start to exercise. The mice that were taking the GW1516 pill could run 77% longer than the mice that were not taking the drug.

The AICAR pill goes 1 step further. This pill works differently. With the GW1516 pill you still have to work out to see any effects, but with the AICAR pill you don’t have to do anything. After just 4 weeks, the mice that were testing this pill could run 44% further on their treadmill than the mice that were not using this pill.

As you see, these 2 pills can do wonders for mice and probably for people just like you and me as well in the near future.

My thoughts: I think these 2 pills are great. While these are pills that could have little impact on lives of people that are already in shape, it could have great impact on lives of people who are ill and sick and are not able to get in shape on their own. If these pills are not abused (think of sports, performance enhancers) they will have a great future, but with most performance enhancers, they are bound to be abused.

Will I use these pills once they are available to the average Joe, I think not. But you never know.

What are your thoughts about these pills and are you planning to use them if you have the chance?

a

The “Exercise in a pill” pill

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As you migh know I am on a vacation in Turkey right now. Everything is fine and have nothing to complain about execpt 1 thing, and that´s the amount of time I have to spend on the Internet, besides that everything is a okay!

To get to Turkey I had to endure a 36 hour car trip. This is nothing special to me, since I do this once every year or two. Spending 36 hours in a car can be a hell of a trip if you are not prepared enough. You have to think of a couple of things such as; food, comfort and your energy.

The comfort part is usually not a problem for me as the car I`m driving is pretty comfortable. It has a comfortable seat and the airco works just fine. The energy part isn`t a problem as well. I`m usually well rested and don`t have any trouble staying awake for hours.

The thing that got my attention thıs year was the food part. It got my attention because of this blog and the fact that I always have a problem with the food aspect of the trip. This year I was a bit more prepared than before because of the experience you`re gaining with every trip you make.

I try to live healthy and spending 36 hours in a car without proper food can be a challenge to your health. As you know, the space you have in a car is limited and you have to watch what you`re bringing with you. To help you out with the space in your car, I decided to make a list of stuff that you could and should bring with you on a 36 hour car trip.

Water: This is by far the most important thing you need to bring with you on a 36 hour car trip. Make sure you have a couple of bottles with you. When you are driving through countries where a 35 degrees celcius day is normal, you want to make sure you are drinking enough water so you`re not getting dehydrated.

Coolbox: This is one of my favorite items. Luckily I brought one of these with me this year. A coolbox is useful because you can keep your drinks and food nice and cold in it. If you are a fan of cold drinks and food, a coolbox is something you can`t forget.

Fruit: I was unlucky (or should I say stupid) and forgot to bring enough fruit with me. Fruit is not only tasty and gives you a full feeling, but it can be energising as well. If you are not a fan of energy drinks, fruits are the way to go.

Sunglasses: I`m not a big fan of sunglasses. I think they are ugly and refuse to wear them if it`s not a case of life or death. And during a car trip it is a case of life or death and I was forced to use sunglasses. Sunglasses are something you MUST bring with you if your driving through countries where the sun shınes brightly.

Those are the 4 things that saved my life (you know what I mean) during my 36 hour car trip. If you think I should bring something else with me next year, do let me know.

a

4 Things you must bring with you on a 36 hour car trip

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Like I said, I will try my best to update this blog as much as possible, but please bear with me since it’ll be a tough job. Maybe I could squeeze out some nice posts about healthy Turkish chicken recipes or typical Turkish sports which are good for your health. Who knows. If you’re subscribed to the RSS feed you will be notified immediately if there is a new post. If you’re not yet subscribed, this will be a nice change to catch up with some older posts. You can click on this link to subscribe. If you don’t know what a RSS feed is, you can check it out here.

For people wanting to know where I’m heading. It will be Turkey. I will be there for a month or so, visiting relatives and maybe spend some time on the south coast. Anyone following me on Twitter will be updated with what’s going on.

Anyway, have fun reading the blog and I’ll see you all very soon.

a

Update on what’s going on

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In my quest to find a healthy caffeinated drink I came across caffeinated water. The first thought that came into my mind was: “But of course. How could the answer be so simple?” The drink with unlimited health benefits, water, mixed with the energy boost you need in the morning.

Just think about it. While you are enjoying the benefits of drinking water, which are endless, at the same time you get the energizing effect of caffeine. Though you should be careful with your caffeine intake, a glass or bottle of caffeinated water in the morning of midday shouldn’t harm anyone.

Because I was and still am impressed with this idea (call me silly), I thought I share it with you guys.

Water Joe

While looking for caffeinated water, Water Joe was all over the search results. I’m guessing this is the most popular caffeinated water drink in the US as this drink was mentioned most.

Caffeine: A 16.9 ounce bottle of Water Joe contains 60 milligrams of caffeine, which is almost as much as a can of Red Bull.

Potenza

Unlike Water Joe, Potenza was hard to find. Potenza is only sold in Oregon, Seattle and SW Washington and seems to be new to the market. With the market being only 20 ish year old, you could call every product kind of new.

Caffeine: A 16.9 ounce bottle of Potenza contains 100 milligrams of caffeine. This is almost twice as much as a bottle of Water Joe.

FYXX Hybrid Water

Pronounced as “Fix”. The bottle looks just like all the other bottles. FYXX is another caffeinated water drink. A 12 pack will cost you $17.99 shipping costs not included, quite expensive is you ask me, then again, I don’t know the prices of the other ones.

Caffeine: FYXX has 110mg of caffeine per 20oz. bottle and has no calories or carbs. To compare this with the others. It has almost as much caffeine as a bottle of Potenza.

BuzzWater

BuzzWater adds something new to the caffeinated water market and that the option to pick between 2 different strengths. There is a “regular” version, which has 200mg caffeine and the “lite” version which has 100mg of caffeine.

Caffeine: A 16.9 ounce bottle of BuzzWater contains 200 milligrams of caffeine. This is twice as much as a bottle of Potenza.

Propel Invigorating Water

A product by PepsiCo. Unlike most of the other drinks, you can pick a flavor. There are 3 flavors, which are; Strawberry, citrus and berry. Propel Invigorating Water doesn’t have as much caffeine in it as the other caffeinated water drinks, but the taste of strawberry, citrus or berry will make up for it I guess.

Caffeine: Contains 20mg caffeine per 8 ounces, which is a little less than a bottle of Water Joe.

While it may sound like a great idea to drink caffeinated water, I still prefer the good old water. This way I’m not taking in unnecessary caffeine and I’m not risking anything at all. If this means it takes a bit longer for me to wake up, so be it.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you drink caffeinated water already or are you planning to drink it anytime soon? Share your thoughts and experiences.

a

5 Caffeinated water drinks

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Not just delicious, healthy as well

Just to show you guys and girl how much I love chicken breasts, I decided to dedicate a post to chicken breast recipes. Besides, not only are chicken breasts delicious, they are healthy as well.

A 100 gram (roughly) chicken breast contains:

• 120 calories
• 1.5g fat
• 70mg cholesterol
• 24g protein

Because of the high nutritional value of chicken breast, they are a perfect part of a diet.

3 easy chicken breast recipes

Chicken and Rice Bake

Cook Time: 25 minutes (+ 20 minutes preparation time)

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 8 oz. packaged, sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 chopped union
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 6 oz. packaged chicken long grain wild rice mix
• 10 oz. packaged frozen chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Preparation:
In heavy nonstick skillet, heat olive oil and butter, and sauté onion until translucent. Add the chicken breast and cook over medium heat until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn the chicken breast and add mushrooms, and cook until chicken is browned on second side. Remove the chicken breast from the pan. Add water, rice, and seasoning packet to skillet with mushrooms. Place the chicken breast around the edge of the skillet. Add broccoli to the center.

Cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Stir to mix broccoli with rice mixture. Add sour cream and heat another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, cover, let stand 2 minutes to melt cheese, and serve. (This meal is for 6 people approximately, depending on how hungry you are )

Chicken with Olives

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup dry white wine, divided
• 16 pimiento stuffed olives

Preparation:
Wash the chicken breast and dry it once you’re done. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides in a large skillet with olive oil and butter. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Turn and add 1/2 cup wine and the olives. Cook for another 10 minutes. Turn again and cook until chicken breast is tender. Remove chicken breast to serving platter; add remaining 1/2 cup of wine to drippings. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Serve hot wine juices over chicken. (Meal is for 4 people approximately)

Herbed chicken breast

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 whole boneless chicken breast (+/- 12 ounces)
• 2 small fresh tarragon or thyme sprigs
• 1 large clove of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, pepper and paprika, to taste
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Once the over is 350°F carefully lose the skin of the chicken breast with your fingers (be careful, it’s hot!). Slip an herb sprig underneath each side of the breast, along with some garlic slices. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Place the breast in a small baking dish; add the chicken broth. Bake, basting occasionally, until golden and cooked through, this will take about 40 minutes. After it’s cooked through it’s time to serve. To serve, cut the breast in half lengthwise and place on two plates. Reheat the pan juices slightly over high heat; scrape up any brown bits from the pan bottom and spoon over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

There you go, 3 delicious chicken breast recipes. Try them out and let me know what you think of them.

a

3 Delicious chicken breast recipes

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The two posts I wrote were; Be careful with energy drinks and 7 health benefits of drinking water. While these two posts were only partially based on the books I will read, the posts I will write after I read the books will be totally based on the books I’ve hopefully read by then.

These are the 5 books I’ll be reading. (No affiliate links) I’ve not read these books yet and I’m reading them for a reason, which I’ll give with each book.

Lick the Sugar Habit – Nancy Appleton
Reason to read: Because sugars are still in a grey area for me. By reading this book I hope to make the grey area a white area, so I know more about sugars and share that knowledge with you.

Your Body’s Many Cries for Water: You Are Not Sick, You Are Thirsty - Fereydoon Batmanghelidj
Reason to read: Every day there are scientific researches that show that either drinking water is good for your health or vice versa, saying water could damage your body. By reading this book I hope to clear up a few “mysteries” when it comes to water. Besides clearing up some mysteries, I hope to learn some more great benefits of drinking water.

Eat This Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-or More! - David Zinczenko, Matt Goulding
Reason to read: This one is kind of simple. Learning to swap unhealthy food for a healthier version of it. I’ve paid a bit attention to this recently and realized I could consume hundreds of calories less by just swapping to healthier food. Just imagine, you could prevent a 5 mile walk every day just by swapping to a healthier diet.

Winning by Losing: Drop the Weight, Change Your Life - Jillian Michaels
Reason to read: This one is a bit tricky. I’ve read the table of contents and I’m still a bit confused of what to expect from this book. By reading this book I hope to know more about myself, more about losing weight and more about why I should exercise. Even though I exercise quite a lot, it’s still good and educative to read about it.

If I’m So Smart, Why Can’t I Lose Weight? : Tools to Get it Done - Brooke Castillo
Reason to read: This one was recommended by a friend of mine. He said I’ll get some good information out of this book. And since we’re interested in the same topics I take his word for it and I’ll read this book. I’ll let you know what I think of it once I’m finished reading this book.

These are the 5 book I’ll be reading this year. What books are you going to read and do you recommend any other books?

a

5 Books I will be reading this year

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This post is a part of the “MrX said” series and as you might now, the post is based on a comment from a reader. The person who left the comment was hebridean, unfortunately he or she doesn’t have a website to point to, so I will keep his or her identity hidden and don’t point to her twitter account or something.

hebridean said the following in his or her comment:

Good post but only half the story. You’ve done a great job setting out the problems, but I’d liked to see solutions as well, for instance I use fresh squeezed lemon juice as substitute for salad dressing. It’s great that you’re getting the message out there!

In the other post about how fast food restaurants mess up your salad it was all about how bad the salads were for you. This time we’re turning the tables around and I’ll be writing about how healthy properly made salads are and what vegetables to put in the salads to spice them up.

Lettuce: Being the main ingredient for most salads, lettuce’s taste and health benefits can’t be overlooked. Lettuce is known to aid digestion and promote liver health. It can also reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and cataracts. It helps to reduce the risk of cancer, helps prevent spina bifida and anaemia and may ease nervous insomnia.

Basil: Lovely little plant that adds quite some flavor to the salad. Besides the favor basil is a source for Vitamin K, iron, calcium, vitamin A, manganese, magnesium, vitamin C, and potassium. It is good for the heart, because it helps to prevent build-up in the arteries and fights free radicals. The magnesium helps blood vessels to relax which increases blood circulation.

Bok Choy (Pak Choy): For people that like to have their salad a bit bitter, bok choy, also known as pak choy, is a great source for the bitterness in your salad. Bok choy is a source of folate and potassium. It also provides calcium for bone health. Carotenoids in bok choy act as antioxidants and can reduce free radical damage in the body.

Spinach: Just like bok choy, spinach adds a bit of a bitter taste to your salad. Spinach contains high levels of potassium and folate. Spinach may reduce the risk of cancer, helps to avoid and relieve anaemia and may protect against eye degeneration and heart disease. It’s also known that spinach is a nice source for iron.

Dandelion Greens: If you want to add a rich and sharp flavor to your salad, dandelion greens is the way to go. Dandelion greens are known to have no side effects. Dandelion greens prevent or cures anemia, assist in weight reduction, cleanses your skin and eliminate acne and prevents or cure various forms of cancer.

Legumes: If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know how much I love legumes. Besides the fact that I love them, they are also a great ingredient for your salads. Depending on the type of legumes, you can get all sorts of flavors, varying from sweet to spicy to bitter. Take a look here to see why legumes are your diet and wallet partner.

Tomatoes: Not only do tomatoes add a nice color to your salad, they also taste delicious. Depending on the type of tomato, the taste can vary from sweet to bitter. Besides the great taste and look tomatoes contain a high level of antioxidants. They are also linked to a reduced risk of heart attack and they are a good source of vitamin C and E. The main phytochemical found in tomatoes is lycopene.

These are just some of the many ingredients you can add to your salad. There are 10’s if not 100’s of other ingredients which you can add to your salad. Who knows I might do a post about it some other time.

To finish this post I’d like to thank hebridean for bringing this to my attention and I’d like to see many more of these comments.

And if anyone knows other delicious ingredients for a salad, please let me know and I might mention them in another post.

a

7 Ingredients that can spice up your salad and their health benefits

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