Here is an excerpt from Montanero’s newest program Mind of Fatter:

Now, let’s continue with the nine habits of naturally thin people.

Number three is to eat only when you’re physically hungry and stop the moment that hunger goes away. This sounds simple. But I find that people that tend to be overweight, they’ve lost touch with their bodies. They stopped listening. In a scale from one to ten, one is famished and ten is stuffed, you don’t wanna see either one of those numbers. You wanna start to eat when you’re physically hungry, which is a two. Stop the moment you are satisfied which is a five. You don’t want to wait till you’re too hungry and you don’t wanna eat until you’re too full. So eat only when you’re physically hungry, which is a two. You stop the moment you’re satisfied which is a five. You need to condition your body to do this.

Watch a naturally thin person eat, watch a child eat. They’ll take something, they’ll cut it in half, they’ll take three or four bites and they’ll say, I’m done, I don’t want anymore. If you watch people do this you’ll notice that that satisfies what they originally wanted. They’re listening to their bodies. It’s time to pay attention to your body.

Basically, you don’t finish what you start when it comes to food and you will lose weight. You’ll lose weight without depravation. If you don’t know what that feels like, before you eat, sit down and clench your left fist. This is the size of your stomach. That’s all the food your body needs at any given time. It doesn’t need more than that. So cut your food in half and you’re gonna have the habit of eating less. This will become habit before you know it. It’ll be an unconscious habit and you won’t even realize that you pushed the plate away and there’ll be food left on your plate. This works. When my clients do this, they lose a pound a week just by eating less food and listening to your body. Eating only when you’re physically hungry and stopping the moment, the moment the hunger goes away. That’s right, it’s not full, and it’s satisfied.

Number four is eat food that you enjoy. Take your time, choose slowly, and savor it. When you chew slowly, you activate enzymes in your saliva which helps your body to digest food. Watch a thin person eat, a naturally thin person, they’re talking, they’re interacting, they take a few bites, they take a break. It takes a long time to eat. By the time 20 minutes goes around, your stomach and your brain have communicated and your stomach realizes it’s satisfied. Your brain gets the message that your stomach is satisfied and it signals your stomach that it’s finished. Allow this to occur, it’s a natural, natural process. Take your time. Enjoy your food. Eat food that you like. Small, nutritious portions.

We hope you enjoyed FINALLY HAVE SUCCESS WITH WEIGHT LOSS USING HYPNOSIS with an excerpt from Rosa Smith Montaner’s Mind Over Fatter program. You can find more from this program online here Mind over fatter, Click Here!.

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Your ability to determine what causes back pain problems is vital in finding efficient treatment to stop any sensation of pain, regardless of severity. Some of the commonly identified causes are listed and discussed further below.

Understanding Causes of Back Pain

Identifying what causes back pain can be difficult, yet it is highly important. However, the reason for this is quite obvious – your lower back is often responsible for bearing all the weight and stress of your entire body. Hence, you are very likely to cause strain on the ligaments and muscles on your lower back, which is further aggravated with awkward body movement or posture.

In some cases, back pain results due to a combination of factors, which make diagnosis even more difficult. Based on health research and studies though, below are common causes of back pain with a discussion on how they develop and possible treatment options.

Arthritis

Arthritis is a condition characterized by any form of inflammation on your joints resulting in a painful sensation, especially when attempting to move the affected area. There are various forms of arthritis though, which are also manifested by various severities and the isolated area of inflammation.

*Rheumatoid arthritis: This condition is characterized by stiffness and inflammation in your joints. This form of arthritis follow three stages: inflammation, thickening of joints, and then damage to your joints. As a result of developing rheumatoid arthritis, you reduce mobility, suffer from deformity, and acquire back pain problems. Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis require a combination of physical therapy, water therapy, and anti-inflammatory medications.

*Osteoarthritis: This is the most common form of arthritis and happens as a result of breakdown in your joint cartilage. Your cartilage is important in providing cushion to your joints, but when your cartilage breaks down, it causes your joints to rub against each other thus leading to pain or stiffness.

*Osteoporosis: This type of skeletal disorder make your bones brittle and vulnerable to fractures. This is very common amongst women, mostly due to estrogen deficiency. Also, compression in your vertebrae lead to back pain problems.

Tumors

When you have tumors in your breast, kidney, thyroid, or lungs, it could eventually lead to a development of tumor in your spinal column. The back pain becomes worse during nighttime. A few indicators that you have spinal column tumor include the following:

*Nausea

*Appetite loss

*Vomiting

*Unplanned weight loss, etc.

Joint Dysfunction

To be specific, your sacroiliac joint is affected by this condition that results in back pain problems. Your sacroiliac joint is responsible for connecting your sacrum to your pelvis. Any form of limitation in these joints when it comes to range of motion result to a sensation of pain. This is quite common amongst women, especially those middle aged or pregnant women.

There are several treatment options available for back pain caused by sacroiliac joint dysfunction such as physical therapy combined with regular exercise, injections, and osteopathic manipulations.

Automobile Accidents

People who had been in an automobile accident are most likely to suffer from back pain problems. This is due to the impact that is produced in your muscles, tendons, and ligaments brought by the large amount of energy introduced in the vital parts of your body within a relatively short period of time.

There are several types of treatment approach for back pain that is caused by automobile accidents including physical therapy, prescription medicines, and other treatment procedures, all of which depend on the severity of the back pain problem.

Back Pain Due To Pregnancy

Pregnant women are also quite prone to developing back pain due to their condition. The possibility of suffering from back pain is very likely once a woman reaches the third trimester of her pregnancy. At this point, her stomach has fully grown as she nears labor and that the weight of her growing abdomen could take its toll on her sacroiliac joints. That extra weight and other hormonal changes that your body undergoes can lead to the development of back pain problems for pregnant women.

Other Possible Causes of Back Pain

Aside from the ones already listed above, there are actually more possible causes for back pain, although these are far less common. However, becoming aware of these causes will create awareness in taking care of your body, joints, and bones to ensure that you can prevent this condition:

*Poor posture

*Emotional stress

*Obesity or excess weight gain

*Body mechanics

*Sickle cell anemia

*Cancer pain

*Herniated Discs

*Whiplash

*Spinal Stenosis

*Piriformis Syndrome

*Diabetes

*Aging

Once you understand what causes back pain, it becomes easier to pinpoint the best treatment method to use in order to ease that pain.

About the Skeletal Muscles

The skeletal muscles make up the largest organ in your body and serve an important purpose when it comes to addressing back pain problems, promoting a wide range of movement, and other basic functions.

Skeletal Muscle Structure

Your skeletal muscles are highly compartmentalized wherein each component function as a separate entity. It is made up of individual muscles that are made up of cells and fibers that are elongated in shape containing various nuclei displayed in cross striations, such that skeletal muscles are also referred to as striated muscles. Each fiber is protected with a membranous sheath known as the sarcolemma.

Each muscle cell is structured just like any other type of cells. It contains mitochondria, which is responsible for oxidating metabolism of nutrients, as well as machinery that promote protein synthesis. These muscle fibers serve as a building block for your muscles and the structure at which these muscle fibers are put together is quite an architectural marvel. A type of connective tissue known as a tendon are responsible for attaching the skeletal muscles to the bones. The underlying forms of vertebrates are usually made up of skeletal muscles.

Role of Your Skeletal Muscles

The human body is made up of over 200 bones in total, whether short, long, irregular, or flat in structure. Your bones need to work alongside muscles in order to perform basic physical activities for the body that involve some kind of motion. These muscles are referred to as skeletal muscles that provide a wide range of purpose for the body. Some of the basic functions of skeletal muscles are to protect your internal organs, support for your bones, and locomotion.

Each of your skeletal muscles is attached to various nerves that are connected to your central nervous system. Hence, it is considered as a voluntary muscle since it is functions under conscious control instead of moving at its own accord.

Skeletal Muscles Promote Mobility

The ability to mobilize is one of the most basic functions of skeletal muscles, as well as providing support for correct body posture. These muscles either lengthen or shorten to work consistently with aiding proper posture. These muscles could also contract based on a stimulus from your muscle fibers through a neuron or motor nerve cell.

Each neuron is made up of cell bodies, axons, and dendrites that send nerve impulses that serve as foundation for promoting function for the larger nerve systems, which is known as CNS or Central Nervous System. These nerve impulses are more specifically known as ‘motor impulses’ that control the range of motion for your skeletal muscles.

Preserve Muscle Tone

Another vital function for skeletal muscles is to preserve your muscle tone. These muscles act as retainer since limits the degree of contraction that your muscles perform and then relaxing those muscles. After all, each muscle contain in that larger muscoskeletal system act as building blocks.

However, there are smaller components within your muscoskeletal system that perform their own basic functions important to add mobility and support proper posture. These are the joints, ligaments, tendons, and cartilages.

Ligaments

Ligaments are made up of robust bands that consist of collagen threads. These threads or fibers are attached to your bones and then surround your joints, giving it protection and adding strength to your joints. Along with your bones, muscles and other vital components that make up your muscoskeletal system, ligaments are responsible for holding your body weight.

Tendons

Tendons are basically a combination of muscles and ligaments. They are made up of fiber proteins and are related to connective tissues that enable your muscles to become attached to the bones. They are not as flexible as ligaments though.

Joints

Joints are located between two bones and serve as connective articulated junction. Hence, it is responsible for providing stability and locomotion to your bones. Joint mobility is therefore an important aspect in attaining your full range of motion. But once it is interrupted, you can experience a wide range of problems including swelling or inflammation to your bones and other parts of the body.

Cartilage

Cartilages are smooth fibrous connective tissues that provide support on specific parts of your skeletal structure. It is made up of specialized cells and tough proteins while being covered with a special type of membrane called perichondrium. Some of its basic functions as part of the skeletal muscles system are flexibility, support, and elasticity to your bones and muscles.

Joints, Connective Tissue and Back Pain

Understanding the link between joints, connective tissues, and back pain is important in order to prevent the same problem from recurring. On the other hand, understanding how these basic functions work will enable you to prevent any form of back pain problem.

Joints

Joints are responsible for connecting your tissues onto the bones and muscles of your body. In addition to connecting the tissues to your muscles and bones, it also provides mobility to your bones such that you can provide a whole range of motion. To sum it up, joints rest between two planes of your bones for stability and the ability to control the movement of your bones.

Joints come with linears known as synovium, which help in secreting lubricating fluids such as synovial and antibodies. These fluids secreted by the joints provide friction to your cartilage and allowing your joints to absorb shock. On the external layer of the joints, you will find ligaments and connective tissues.

Connective Tissues

Your connective tissues are just as important as your joints in attaining proper musco-skeletal function in the body. As the name implies, it serves to connect your tissues with other parts of the body. It forms like several other types of tissues namely ligaments, cartilages, bones, tendons, and fats. It is made up of various cell and fiber structures that are surrounded with intercellular matrix. The cell could either be in solid, liquid, and gel form depending on the function for a particular connective tissue.

For dense connective tissues, there are two categories based on fiber arrangement of the extracellular matrix: dense irregular and regular connective tissues. Dense irregular connective tissue happens when your elastic fibers and collagen are running in various planes and direction within the matrix. Meanwhile, dense regular connective tissues have the extracellular fibers running in the same direction. This type of connective tissue is often found in the tendon, which is then responsible for connecting your muscles to the bones.

Joints and Connective Tissues Abnormalities

Malfunction and abnormalities on your joints and connective tissues could have serious implications and result to a great deal of pain. These abnormalities could come as a result of any swift movement to your joints that lead to misalignment in your joint structure. When your joint alignment is disrupted, it makes your joint incapable of secreting lubricating fluid.

How Does It Cause Back Pain?

Due to the abnormalities in your joints and connective tissues, it causes the tissues to string in and reduce the elasticity. This is when disorder happens and you develop various conditions, including back pain.

A specific type of dysfunction known as sacroiliac joint dysfunction is commonly associated with back pain problems. It wasn’t until recently that SI joint dysfunction has garnered attention as one of the common causes of back pain, especially amongst women. One reason for this association is the fact that your sacroiliac joints are crucial in attaining pelvic stability. The SI joint complex, which refers to the sacroiliac joint itself and its surrounding ligaments, are responsible for providing support to your pelvic bones. With pelvic instability, it can lead to other conditions such as pelvic rotation and anterior groin pain. When inflammation happens on your sacroiliac joints, it can result to a great deal of pain and discomfort to your lower back and other surrounding areas of the body.

How To Reduce Pain

Chiropractic is an alternative form of medicine that you can use to address back pain problems caused by abnormalities in your joints or connective tissues. In fact, many health experts recommend it for those suffering from this condition to manage pain. Other possible treatment approach for back pain due to joint and connective tissue malfunction are physical therapy and massage.

As soon as the back pain is manifested, it is quite consistent and could even become worse. Thus, you need to limit your activity that further aggravates your back pain problem. You need to avoid lifting heavy weights as it can damage your back.

Seeking Medical Attention

In the case of joint or connective tissue dysfunction, you must seek medical help right away. This will enable your doctor to assess the extent of the problem and to prevent yourself from further aggravating this condition. In addition, your doctor could also recommended at-home or medical treatment approach that will relieve you of this condition. Given the link between joints, connective tissues, and back pain, you should be more careful when it comes to maintaining proper function in these vital organs.

What Is a Slipped Disk?

Disks are located between your spinal bones and are responsible for absorbing shock and protecting your spine. A slipped disk is a condition characterized by a rupture in the disk, thus causing the gel to flow over the surrounding tissues. The leaking gel can add pressure to your spinal cord and result to a painful sensation. There are also several terms used to refer to a slipped disk, such as hernia or ruptured disk.

What Causes Slipped Disk?

A slipped disk typically affect the lower back and neck. Given the common nature of this condition, it is important to find out the root of this problem in order to provide the right treatment and to prevent this from happening.

There is more than one cause to a slipped disk and is often a result of a combination of factors. A common cause would be improper lifting that often cause a twisting or turning action on your spinal cord that cause forceful trauma to your disk. Natural causes such as aging could also make you more vulnerable to developing a slipped disk. As you age, there is an associated degeneration to your disks causing it to lose elasticity.

Common Symptoms

So, how do you identify a slipped disk against regular cases of back pain? Below are some of the symptoms that indicate you could be suffering from a ruptured or slipped disk; wherein the symptoms are categorized based on which part of the body is affected.

*Slipped disk in the neck:

• Feeling of numbness on your neck, shoulder, or arms.

• Tingling sensation

• Weakening of the above mentioned body parts

*Slipped disk in the lower back:

• Numbness on your back, buttocks, legs, and feet;

• Tingling sensation;

• Weakening of the above mentioned body parts;

• Pain – either moderate to intense – especially when moving.

• Difficulty controlling bowel muscles;

• Sciatica

When To Seek Medical Help

If you are suffering from a back pain that is intense enough to limit your activity and range of motion, then you should seek the help of your doctor immediately. In addition, this pain normally lasts for a few days and is quite persistent. Upon your visit to the doctor, they will assess the symptoms and the extent of your problem to determine whether you should be confined to the hospital for monitoring or you can manage with self-care at home.

Treatment Options for Slipped Disk

There are various treatment options available for patients suffering from slipped disk. Basically, there are two categories of treatment: at-home or medical treatment methods. The choice of treatment option basically depends on your doctor’s evaluation of the symptoms and the extent of the problem, which is why it is of utmost importance to seek your doctor’s help.

At-Home Treatment

This type of treatment option is ideal for minor cases of slipped disk. However, you must not conduct self-diagnosis and make sure that your attending physician recommends at-home treatment. Although you perform self-care at home, you are still required to closely monitor your condition.

As part of the treatment, you must apply hot or cold pack to your back, observe strict rules in limiting your movement to avoid further aggravating your back pain problems, and intake certain medications such as pain relievers. You usually start with using cold packs upon the initial stages of your injury but eventually switch to using hot packs later on. Back strengthening or stretching exercises could also be recommended.

Surgery and Medical Treatment

Physical therapy is a common medical treatment recommended for patients of slipped disk. This is intended to regain your ability to perform basic movements such as bending or lifting without causing strain to your back.

In more severe cases, surgery might be required to cure the problem, especially if no improvement are noticed after the initial treatment for a given period. Surgery is not recommend in high-risk cases though, such as permanent nerve damage. Your doctor will refer you to spine specialists who will conduct the surgery.

Follow-Up Care and Prevention Efforts

After you have undergone any of the above treatment, follow-up care is critical to ensure that your condition improves. You should take note of the instructions carefully and avoid overexerting yourself. Your doctor could recommend modifying your treatment based on your response to the current treatments given.

In the end, prevention is the best method for avoiding this problem from occurring. Perform regular exercise to retain flexibility and regulate function of your spine to avoid early breakdown and degeneration of your disks. Also, be careful when performing strenuous workouts or activities that can rupture your disk. Use your legs to gain momentum of strength when lifting heavy weights instead of concentrating on your back.

What is Gouty and the Effect on Back Pain

Arthritis has been considerably linked with back pain problems, such that health researchers are conducting further studies to support this claim. And with this conclusion, it is consequent for gouty to be looked at as one possible cause for back pain. To learn more about what is gouty and the effect on back pain, you can read further below, along with some recommended treatment options.

Link Between Gouty and Back Pain

Gouty, or simply known as gout, is a form of arthritis that results with too much uric acid build up on your body. Uric acid results in crystal formations in your joints causing it to become inflamed. There are hereditary types of gout though, but it usually arises out of your diet patterns and other lifestyle choices.

Men over the age of 40 are at risk of developing gouty but those with a family history of this condition are at an even greater risk. However, it does not mean that men aged below 40 are completely immune to developing gout. In fact, menopausal women could also manifest the symptoms of gout.

Since gout affects your joints and your joints are directly linked to other parts of your body, it is very possible to develop back pain as a symptom or result of gouty. But your back is not the only part of the body that is at risk here of suffering from pain and discomfort associated with this condition but also your ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and fingers. Hence, finding treatment for gouty will also consequently relieve you of back pain problems.

Symptoms of Gouty

To determine whether you are affected with gouty and back pain or not, below are some of the common symptoms associated with this condition:

*Extreme sensation of pain starting on the base of your big toe, which affects the other joints in the body (including your lower back and spine);

*Swollen joints that become stiff and hot.

*Fever that measures at 39 degree Celsius or higher;

*Presence of lumps beneath your skin (which usually manifests in later attacks).

Causes

Identifying the causes of gout could also prevent the possibility of developing back pain issues. Thus, you need to pay attention into these factors that cause it to happen in order to prevent yourself from suffering from the extreme amount of pain that it could bring to the affected joints.

Aside from the causes, below are also considered as risk factors for gout and back pain:

*Family history of this condition

*Excessive amount of triglycerides in the body

*Too much alcohol intake

*Consumption of foods rich in uric acid such as meat, sweetbreads, shellfish, among others.

Treatment Options

Upon your visit to the doctor during the initial manifestation of gout symptoms, your joints will be examined and the level of pain you are experiencing is evaluated. Your health care provider will also interview you to gather historical background on your medical condition. Some of the tests conducted include blood testing, taking out sample of fluid in the affected joint, and x-ray.

Healthcare providers also administer anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen to reduce the pain and swelling. In addition, you need to take note of your dietary choices to avoid further aggravating your gout and back pain problems. Avoid drinking too much alcohol and consuming foods rich in uric acid.

Nutritional Supplements

Providing your body with the nutrition it needs is essential in curing back pain problems and gout arthritis. Below are some of the dietary guidelines you need to keep in mind:

• Avoid eating foods rich in preservatives, food additives, and food allergens;

• Consume foods rich in antioxidants such as fruits and vegetables;

• Eat foods high in fiber content such as root vegetables, beans, and oats;

• Refrain from eating refined foods like sugar, bread, and pasta.

• Consume red meat in moderation and opt for lean meats instead.

• Intake foods rich in magnesium and low in calcium.

• Opt for healthy cooking oils such as vegetable or olive oil.

• Try to eliminate foods high in trans-fatty acids off your diet.

• Minimize your intake of coffee and other stimulants like alcohol or tobacco.

Physical Therapy

This is the most basic type of treatment administered on anyone suffering from gout and back pain. The most basic step is to apply hot or cold compress on the affected joints. You can begin by applying a hot compress for 3 minutes then switching to a cold compress in between a 30-second period. Doing so will help reduce the amount of pain you are currently suffering from and boost circulation in the affected area.

Another alternative physical therapy will include applying a nettle tea compress. You must ad 1-2 teaspoons of nettle tea to a cup of hot water and apply it externally. These methods work quite effective against gouty and its effect on back pain.

Common Back Injuries

Your back could be vulnerable to so much trouble, especially if you are not careful with your daily activities that cause strain to this part of the body. Indeed, there are several common back injuries that most people suffer from time to time, whether it is male or female, regardless of age.

Sciatica

Sciatic nerve is a nerve formation located at your lower back. It continues down to your legs and control the movement of your leg muscles. Sciatica is one of the most commonly diagnosed back injuries and although various symptoms such as tingling sensation, numbness, weakness, and radiating pain is mostly manifested on the legs, it actually originates in the lower back where the nerves are located.

Herniated or Slipped Disc

Slipped disc, another common type of back injury, goes by different names such as hernia, ruptured discs, to name a few. Slipped disc commonly occurs in the lower back area that affects the disc that serve as protective layer for the bones in your spine. Hence, it acts as a shock absorber to prevent any serious injuries to your spinal cord.

The term is actually a misnomer since the discs do not slip but is rather ruptured or split instead. Hence, this results in the leaking of a gel substance until it goes onto the surrounding tissues, causing pressure to be applied onto your spinal cord. This pressure is manifested through an often-intense sensation of pain in your lower back and along your spine.

Some of the recommended preventive methods against slipped disc include regular exercise and lifting heavy objects that cause pressure on your back.

Back Strain

This type of back injury commonly affects your lower back, specifically causing strain to your lumbar muscles. The cause of back strain is when the muscle fibers to your lower back is overstretched causing it to tear up. It might happen overtime or due to an impact from an injury. Inflammation to your lower back muscles results in muscle spasm and other types of intense pain.

For this type of injury, bed rest usually helps in easing the pain. However, as the pain persists and as the injury becomes more serious, you need to seek the help of a healthcare professional. You need to acquire the much needed medical attention and therapy as your muscles weaken. Performing exercises that strengthen and stretch your lower back will enable to recover from this injury quickly or reduce risks for this injury.

Fractured Vertebrae

Your spinal vertebrae is also at risk for developing fractures, just like any other bones in your body. The extent of the back injury widely varies though, depending on where in your spine the injury is located and other neurological effects that come with it. Not all types of vertebral fracture bring about pain; however, it can lead to soreness and stiffness on the affected area. In some cases, there is even a visible lump right where the injury is.

Despite the seemingly serious nature of this type of back injury, it does heal on its own for most cases. There are several reasons as to how one person can develop this back injury, which includes landing on your heels, or leaping off great heights, such that it cause shock to your spine.

Degenerative Disc Disease

This is a term used to refer to back pain problems that have been persistent for over 3 months since the initial manifestation of symptoms. Degenerative disc disease can occur anywhere in your spine and is often due to changes that take place in your inverterbral discs. There are three areas in your spine where this type of back injury could take place: lumbar or lower back, thoracic or mid-back, and cervical or neck area.

When a person reaches the age of 30 or above, the discs become vulnerable to such injuries as it naturally softens and become less flexible. As a result, their ability to cushion your spinal vertebrae degenerates as well. But aside from the natural aging process, there are a lot of other factors that might contribute to the acquisition of this back pain problem such as direct injury to your spinal disks, trauma, or infection.

Nerve Impingement

Nerve impingement, or radioculopathy, is a type of back injury that is not quite as common as the above examples. It happens as a result of irritation or compression to your spinal nerve roots. In layman’s term, it is referred to as “pinched nerve”, which also affects your lower spine.

Knowledge of these common back injuries will enable you to understand how you can prevent them from happening and what possible treatment options are suitable for relieving the pain and discomfort they bring.

Osteoporosis and Back Pain

Osteoporosis is a kind of condition that affects your spine and back. Thus, taking proper care of your spinal cord does not only protect yourself against osteoporosis and back pain, which often comes as a result of the former.

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a type of bone disorder caused by a weakening of your bones. This is mostly due to a weak bone density that eventually leads to this type of condition. It is one of the most common type of bone disorder, which affects an estimated of 10 million people in the United States alone.

A more striking fact or statistic about osteoporosis though is that majority of those affected by it are women. To be specific, those women aged 50 and above are at the highest risk. Bones that are mostly affected are around the hips and spine.

Diagnosis

Given that there are several other conditions that are somewhat similar to osteoporosis, health experts use specific diagnostic tests in order to determine this condition. Experts advise to undergo tests during the early stage before the symptoms become full-blown. One positive aspect to osteoporosis is that it can be detected at an early stage through bone density scanning. Those considered being at high risk for osteoporosis should pay closer attention to their bones and undergo tests as early as possible.

Other type of tests undergone by patients to determine whether you have osteoporosis or not include DEXA or Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry and CT scans. If possible, undergo these tests on a periodic basis to determine any improvement or deterioration in your bone density.

Who Is At Risk for Osteoporosis?

Needless to say, everyone is at risk for osteoporosis. However, there are a few factors that make one at high risk of developing this condition. What are these considered to be high risk factors? They are listed below:

*Women are genetically predisposed to be at risk for osteoporosis, which is why women should focus closely on improving bone health and density even at an early age.

*Family history could be another factor. Those whose had a family history of weak bone density are most likely to develop osteoporosis when they reach the age of 40 and above.

*If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, then you are very prone to developing osteoporosis. This makes it very likely for you to acquire porous bones as compared to those who exercise regularly.

*Poor diet choices can also result to developing symptoms of osteoporosis since your body and bones are not getting enough vitamins and minerals it need.

Preventing Osteoporosis

Now that you understand what are the characteristics of osteoporosis and what factors increase the possibility for an individual to acquire it, the next step for you to take is to learn about how you can prevent it from happening – if not already diagnosed with osteoporosis. The recommendations by health experts is pretty straightforward: you have to adapt a well-balanced lifestyle. This will enable you to push the occurrence of osteoporosis at a later part of your life since aging is inevitable, or completely prevent it.

Knowing the risk factors above, regularly exercising can boost your bone density and strength to prevent osteoporosis. Strength training is specifically recommended for osteoporosis such that you can produce stronger bones. You must also couple your exercise routine with a balanced diet and focus on food substances that are rich in calcium and vitamin D. Some knowledge on the risk factors will also educate you on ways to prevent osteoporosis such that you can avoid those risk factors.

Treating Back Pain Caused By Osteoporosis

If you have osteoporosis, you are also at risk of developing vertebral fractures and back pain problems. Hence, it becomes increasingly important to prevent osteoporosis or treat it while you can. Most cases of back pain associated with osteoporosis are minor though and relatively painless. But some can also be quite painful such that patients are prescribed with painkillers for pain management.

In severe cases of back pain problems, patients might be recommended to undergo surgery as a final option, especially if none of the preceding treatments work. A surgical procedure known as vertebroplasty is typically done to repair fractured vertebral bone. However, back pain resulting from spinal compression or more than one spinal level is affected require a different surgical procedure known as kyphoplasty.

Recommended Treatments for Osteoporosis

Given that some treatments for osteoporosis lead to various side effects, it is therefore important to be extremely careful with your choice of treatment. Below are the recommended treatments that you can try to put an end to your osteoporosis problem:

*Physical therapy: This is ideal to promote new bone tissue development and prevent further bone loss. In addition, physical therapy help to enhance ligaments and muscles to support weak bones.

*Hormone therapy: It aims to replace hormones responsible for producing weak bones.

*Medications: There are various types of medications intended to cure osteoporosis such as tamoxifen, cacitonin, or teraparatide.

Given the association between osteoporosis and back pain, you need to take serious action against this condition such that you can avoid serious complications.

Osteogenic Sarcoma and Back Pain

Aside from osteoporosis another quite similar condition known as osteogenic sarcoma, or more popularly referred to as osteosarcoma, has been linked to back pain issues. Learning more about this condition and how you can treat it will lead you to prevent the possibility of suffering from osteogenic sarcoma and back pain.

What is Osteosarcoma?

Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer, which develops from an immature bone cell until they form new bone tissues. It typically begins from a specific bone until the local tissues for that bone is completely destroyed. As a result, the affected bone becomes weak until it is considered a malignant bone tumor. The tumor invades the ends of your elongated bones until the weakening of the bones become worse.

When doctors evaluate and diagnose symptoms of osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, they do consider osteogenic sarcoma as one of the possible conditions due to the similarities in symptoms. All of these conditions do place a limit on your physical activity due to the unregulated cell growth leading to the formation of abnormal tissues. If you allow the osteoblast to continue, it leads to further danger as the growth of the tumor could travel up to your lungs, and thus it must be prevented before that happens.

The common area of the body initially affected with osteosarcoma is with the bones on your knee joints. In some cases, it could also start on your upper or lower leg or either thighs. Other areas that could possibly be affected with osteosarcoma includes your shoulders or bone in your upper arm, but could also develop elsewhere in the body.

Causes of Osteosarcoma

Another important factor to look into in preventing osteogenic sacroma and back pain is to identify the cause for it. Unlike other related conditions, there does not appear to be any link to it being a genetic condition that one inherits when the family has had a history of the condition. The formation of malignant bone tumor happens as a result of over activity in your bone cells.

The most logical explanation that health experts and researchers could provide about the cause of osteosarcoma is that it is caused by natural genetic changes. This promotes immature bone cells to develop into cancerous cells instead of building your bones. The presence of RB gene or retinoblastoma or better known as “tumor suppressor” could be associated with osteosarcoma causing the cells to mutate or become changed.

Signs and Symptoms

In order to identify osteogenic sacroma against other types of bone cancer, here are the symptoms for this condition:

*A worsening pain in your joints or bones;

*Formation of visible mass and swelling on arms or legs;

*Stiffness of joints;

*Broken bone despite of not suffering from any injury or trauma;

*Lack of bowel control;

*Back pain.

Prognostic Factors To Osteosarcoma

When analyzing the condition of osteosarcoma and assess the right treatment plan, doctors consider the following factors:

*The bone of origin for the tumor and the affected tissues, as well as the extent of the spread of the tumor in the various parts of the body.

*Recurrence of the tumor such that it grows back again after completing the initial phase of treatment.

*Patient’s response to initial therapy. This is a crucial prognostic factor since health experts look at other options that can be a more effective treatment against osteosarcoma. The duration of time used to assess this response is within 10 weeks of therapy or treatment.

How Does Osteosarcoma Cause Back Pain?

Back pain and vertebral fractures are just one of several complications that might arise when you develop osteosarcoma, along with metastasis. In addition, osteosarcoma could also lead to acquisition of various other conditions that themselves cause back pain problems to arise, further complicating your existing back pain issues. Other conditions that might develop as a result of osteosarcoma include gouty arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and many more.

Treatment Recommendation for Back Pain and Osteosarcoma

Once the initial tests are completed and the doctor has been able to identify what entailing conditions have developed as a result of this malignant tumor formation, treatment plan is begun. The most basic method for combating the effects of osteosacroma to your bones and joints is to adapt a high-protein diet. Patients are encouraged to consume a lot of phosphorus and calcium as part of their diet since these minerals are helpful in building stronger bones.

In combination with diet, heparin lock therapy is also recommended for patients with osteogenic sarcoma and back pain. For your own safety and guidelines, it is best to seek the help of professionals from the American Cancer Society to help you out with your treatment plan.

Osteomyelitis and Back Pain

Osteomyelitis and back pain are closely associated to each other, thus experts are furthering their research efforts to be able to identify its causes, how it can be prevented and effective treatment plan. Your ability to eliminate such conditions that bring about a lot of pain and discomfort to one’s everyday life will also gradually improve your quality of life.

Introduction to Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis is another form of bone disease that is caused by an infection instead of injury, trauma, or overexertion. It is characterized by an inflammation of your bones and bone marrow, and often believed to be caused by laminectomy. This is a form of surgical procedure that involves injecting into your spinal cord, which is why it is also associated with back pain or other spinal problems.

Osteomyelitis is not the only complication that often arises as a result of laminectomy. Another surgical procedure that might cause osteomyelitis as a side effect due to infection is spinal fusion. Due to the bacterial infection, it softens your bones and tissues until they become weak and debilitated. Various types of infection that could develop from osteomyelitis include staph infection, hemolytic streptococcus, and open trauma, among others.

How To Tell If You Have Osteomyelitis

During diagnosis of a patient to determine whether s/he has osteomyelitis, the following symptoms or signs are typically looked out for:

• General feeling of weakness, which is often falsely regarded as chronic fatigue syndrome

• A painful sensation rooted deep within the affected bone that often comes with a throbbing sensation

• Night sweats

• Increase in level of pain once pressure is applied onto the affected area

• Pus drains from the wound surrounding the affected area

• Reddish appearance on the skin on the surface of the affected area

• Inflammation or swelling on the surrounding area of the affected bone

Causes of Osteomyelitis

Aside from the surgical procedures already mentioned above, there are other possible causes to osteomyelitis. Malaise is believed to be one of those. This process is believed to take place when your muscles are either compressed or depressed. Several factors contribute to this such as bone pain, localized edema, tachycardia, extreme body temperature, redness, and muscle spasms.

Diagnosis

There are several tests conducted by health experts and doctors to diagnose osteomyelitis, especially since it is caused by an infection unlike other types of bone diseases. Hence, the patient undergoes blood testing to determine the presence of certain organisms and to assess wound cultures.

Then, bone scans follow regular blood tests. The main objective with conducting these tests is to rule out the possibility that it could either be osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, osteosarcoma, or gouty arthritis.

Home Care

It is possible for a patient with osteomyelitis to undergo home care; in fact, most doctors recommend it over in-hospital care. Staying at home while getting all the much needed medical attention is believed to be helpful in preventing further exposure to infections, which is very risky if one is cared in a hospital. Also, it enables one to relax physically and avoid overexerting the joints and bones in the body.

It is important though that even while home care that patients need to closely monitor the condition of the infection and be aware of any progress in the condition. You must constantly shift position while resting to avoid straining your joints.

Osteomyelitis, Back Pain, and Sciatica

In relation to back pain problems, osteomyelitis have a direct consequence to your spinal health. After all, osteomyelitis is characterized as a condition that results due to an infection in your bones or bone marrow. And as you might know, your bone marrow affects your vertebral body in your spine such that your back largely suffers from pain and discomfort as this disease develops.

Osteomyelitis and back pain comes as a result of debilitating your vertebrae, which can affect you physiologically and psychologically. In cases of adults, the staph infection could even prove to be fatal. For back pain or sciatica caused by osteomyelitis, the pain could range from being mild, acute, and chronic. Depending on the severity of the pain though, it has the ability to limit or decapacitate an individual from its physical activities. Hence, medical intervention and proper pain management is very important for the patient to cope.

How Stress Fractures Can Affect Back Pain

Stress fractures happen as a result of overexerting your muscles and bones, especially over time. Back pain is recognized as one of the most common condition to arise from stress fracture. Hence, learning about how stress fractures can affect back pain is vital in preventing this from happening.

What is Stress Fracture?

Stress fracture happens when overuse cause injury to your bones. These fractures develop due to repetitive action that cause your bones to exceed its intrinsic ability for self-repair, which happens over time. The case of stress fracture was first identified in military recruits during the mid-1800s but ever since pathophysiologists have been looking closely into this condition to find a powerful explanation, especially with recent medical studies linking it with back pain and other spinal problems.

The commonly affected zones are around your patella, femur, fibula, tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus. When you say that your bones are fractured, it simply means that you have broken bones. The bones and its surrounding tissues are detained due to surfacing tension and when you overexert your muscles.

Frequency of Stress Fractures

There are some interesting details about the frequency of stress fracture as a recorded condition by medical health experts. This information are also pushing health experts to try and find more effective treatments against stress fracture as it can lead to various complications including back pain.

In the United States alone, stress fractures fall under the 5 most common injuries amongst runners and military recruits, ranging between 5 to 30 percent. There are various internal and external risk factors that were evaluated in this study to explain what could have possibly caused the numbers to rise, as well as the impact of genetic susceptibility to the acquisition of bone injury.

Other factors that could play a part in making one susceptible to stress fracture include sex (females are at a higher risk vs. men), race (African Americans are at a greater risk due to the presence of BMD in their genetic make up), and age (more common on active people, as well as those aging individuals).

Diagnosis and Tests

Physical examination is the most common form of test conducted on patients who suspect they might have stress fracture. The area where the pain is felt during palpitation or percussion is examined to assess the condition or to determine whether there is swelling. During the physical examination, the following are closely evaluated: lower limb alignment, motor function, flexibility, and foot structure. Then, patients are asked to perform either the “hop test” or “fulcrum test”.

You might have to conduct various tests though to ensure that you actually have stress fracture since no single study can produce conclusive information. The individual’s history is also compared next to the results of current physical examination

Causes of Stress Fracture

Below are some of the reasons that could put you at risk of developing stress fracture, which are categorized based on intrinsic or extrinsic factors:

*Intrinsic:

• Genetic predisposition

• Muscle fatigue or weak conditioning

• Foot structure

• Low BMD

• Pathologic bone condition

• Hormonal irregularities

• Height or stature

• Misalignment in your lower limbs

*Extrinsic:

• Excessive amount of training for weight loss or body sculpting

• Cigarette smoking

• Use of certain medications

• Worn out shoes (or wrong choice of footwear – which also causes back pain)

• Failure to adapt in changes to your training surface or regimen

• Lack of proper nutrition

Relieving Back Pain Due to Stress Fracture

If stress is causing pain in your fracture, then you need to find an effective remedy to alleviate the pain. The lower limb area is most vulnerable against stress fractures and back pain. Hence, you need to limit or avoid such activities that involve ground-reaction forces, which includes running, walking, jumping, or marching.

You can treat muscle damage by using ice packs and compression packs. You can learn more about ways to prevent further damage and eliminate complications with stress fracture below.

Preventing Further Damage

Once diagnosed with this condition, you need to get enough bed rest in order to avoid further aggravating your condition. Knowing how stress fractures can affect back pain, you could also put yourself at risk of developing spinal complications if you are not careful. You can use ice or compression packs on the affected area and properly elevate it. Make sure you challenge the muscles by providing enough movement on the area for at least a couple of days to reduce the amount of back pain and discomfort from this type of fracture.

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Back Pain

Are you wondering why rheumatoid arthritis and back pain always go together? This, apparently, isn’t just mere coincidence and something that is rooted on physiological explanations. An understanding of how rheumatoid arthritis develops can also explain why one suffers from back pain and other complications, as well as methods of preventing it.

Frequency of Rheumatoid Arthritis

There are several forms of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (or better referred to as RA) is one of the most debilitating types. When one person acquires this condition, it can lead to deformity and disability in the affected joints.

This condition typically manifest between the ages 20 to 50 during a person’s lifetime. However, there are also children diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which simply goes to show that it is not a direct result of the aging process. However, women are at three times greater risk of developing RA more than men.

Affected Joints

When trying to understand what causes rheumatoid arthritis, it is important to look into the joints since it is what is targeted by this condition. The joints in your spine are at most risk when one person has RA, which also explains why you need to get proper treatment or else you acquire back pain problems as well.

Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Can’t tell whether you have rheumatoid arthritis or some other forms of arthritis? Below are some symptoms that will help in your diagnosis:

• Neck pain

• Headache

• Para paresis or partial paralysis

• Joint swelling

• Weakening of the arms and legs

• Paresthesias or burning and prickling sensation

• Loss of appetite

• Stiffness, especially in the morning

• Loss of muscle strength and locomotion of your joints

• Fatigue

• Pain in the affected joints

How Does it Cause Back Pain?

Back pain is one of the consequent conditions that arise when you have rheumatoid arthritis. This form of arthritis results in an inflammation of your synovial joint liners. This is how back pain develops until the arthritis begins to affect your bones, ligaments, and cartilages. Indeed, rheumatoid arthritis is not isolated in your hands or feet, but its most profound effects are on the joints of your spine although it is usually the last part of the body to become affected, which begins at the base of your neck.

Physical Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Back Pain

Despite the pain or complications that might arise when you have rheumatoid arthritis, it can thankfully be treated using non-surgical treatment methods. Physical therapy is one such approach that you can use to reduce the amount of pain and inflammation on the affected joints. The objective with physical therapy is to restore muscle and joint range of motion and bring back flexibility. Thus, you have enough strength in the muscle and joints to execute common physical activities.

Next, you will learn about two basic techniques employed when using physical therapy to cure rheumatoid arthritis and prevent back pain: passive and active treatments.

Passive Treatment

The passive treatment approach is usually recommended to initiate your treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Both cold and heat therapy should get you started in regaining full joint movement and to reduce the amount of pain you are currently suffering from. In cold therapy, you must apply a cold compress on the target area to cool enflamed tissues, reduce swelling, and ease flare-ups caused by rheumatoid arthritis.

Meanwhile, heat therapy utilizes either moist or dry heat. The objective here is to trigger the natural heating process of the body such that you can increase blood flow in the affected area and relax affected joints and muscles to eliminate pain. Avoid overheating the painful areas though when using this treatment approach.

Other methods recommended for a passive treatment approach includes massage, hydrotherapy, and TENS or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

Active Treatment

Given that back pain often comes as a side effect of rheumatoid arthritis, you must dedicate yourself to a regular exercise as part of an active treatment approach. This will serve as the forefront of your physical therapy program to relieve the pain or inflammation that happens on the affected joints. This should come after the passive treatment to help strengthen your joints, add flexibility, and promote a full range and more fluid joint movement.

Performing regular exercise does not only promote proper pain management when dealing with rheumatoid arthritis and back pain, but also presents other benefits such as weight loss and improved overall health condition. You need to focus on muscle flexibility and strengthening exercises, aerobic exercises, and water-based exercises also known as hydrotherapy. You need to keep both these exercise recommendations and passive treatment approach as part of your self-care principles.

Sacroiliac Bones and Back Pain

Introduction to Sacroiliac Bones and Joints

Before one delves deep into trying to understand how sacroiliac bones and back pain are interconnected, it is important to learn more about its anatomical composition and how these bones and joints function. Anatomically speaking, your sacroiliac bones and joints are located in the lower back, situated in the middle of the lumbar spine and your coccyx region, which is the one located at the end of your spinal column.

This particular joint is made up of five fused vertebrae to form a triangular bone known as the sacrum, along with the ilium parts that make up your hipbones. This bound together by several powerful ligaments to protect this vulnerable part of the body against injury, sprain, or lower back pain problems. However, there are certain physical impact and stress that cause the joints to become altered and lead to acquisition of painful lower back problems.

Risk to Back Pain Problems

The coccyx area, wherein your sacroiliac bone is located, is vulnerable to various physical traumas that make it at risk for developing back pain. Below are some physical factors that may cause back pain to occur, due to lack of balance in that particular area in the body:

*Motor or vehicular accidents

*Falling in a backward manner

*Overload of tension due to lifting heavy weights

*Excessive amount of twisting

Movement of Sacroiliac Joints

The sacroiliac joints is connected to the coccyx area at the spine base, which leads up to your spine. Several people suffer from deformity in this particular area due to lack of symmetry in your sacroiliac bones, which also explains how most people suffer from lower back pain.

In addition, your sacroiliac joints are comparably thicker than most joints in the body. Thus, it can only move to a unit of length equal to one thousandth of one meter. Your sacroiliac joints also give support to your shoulders, arms, cranium, and trunk allowing it to move onto various directions.

It is not as mobile as other joints making up your spine due to the fact that the joints sit low and is near your sacrum and pelvis. Since this joint has to work against a great deal of gravity, suffering from back pain is inevitable. It will lead to a build up of tension on your lower and upper back region.

Anatomy of Sacroiliac Joints

Your sacroiliac joint is a crucial component in your spinal system. There is a connection ongoing in your lower back wherein the loins meet and this is what represents the lumbar. The lumbar spine is that tiny area in your lower back, which serve as the base for your spinal column. You can find several numbers of bones in that area and even beneath that you will find disks, thus the term slipped disk which is a condition that affect your spinal health.

Aside from the bones and disks located in your spine, it also contains several intricate tissues that enable the bones to remain connected to your lumbar spine for support. After all, your spine is crucial in holding together various organs and parts of the body. These several connective tissues include cartilages, reticular fibers, and fatty tissues, among others.

Protecting This Region

The need to protect your sacroiliac joints is important in preserving your spinal health. Given how this region can be quite prone against back pain problems and other complications, you need to pay attention as to how to properly care for it and reduce risks. You need to review the common causes of developing injury in your sacroiliac joints and try to avoid them while you can. After all, it serves an important purpose of providing lumber support and protect your spine.

Remedy Back Pain Problems

The most basic way to find remedy against sacroiliac bones and back pain problems is to seek medical help from a professional. As much as you can, avoid self-diagnosis and administering your own treatment approach to avoid risking your own health without skilled assistance. Physical therapy is one of the most commonly recommended methods for physicians and health experts in treating back pain-related problems. Lifestyle choices that include regular exercise and using caution when lifting heavy weights or adding tension onto your bones are all important as part of your treatment approach.

Your Shoes and Back Pain

Did you know that your shoes and back pain problems could be linked to one another? Several women suffering from back pain are not even aware that their choice of footwear is the reason behind this persistent problem. When it comes to your health, is fashion and style really worth it?

How Does Footwear Choice Cause Back Pain?

Wearing the wrong choice of footwear, most notably high heels, has been proven to cause back pain. Statistics have shown the most women who wear high heels on a regular basis have considerably weak lower back as compared to those who do not wear high heels, or at least the likelihood of developing back pain problem was lower in percentage. The results might not be evident right away, but as your body starts to wear out, the evidences of a weak lower back becomes more apparent through time.

But how exactly does this happen? In order for your body to achieve balance, it must find a center of mass through a stable base. When you wear high heels, especially stilettos, it throws your body mass forward such that pressure is focused on the ball of your foot. In addition, you have to use your lower back to steady your upper body such that it won’t lose balance despite the height at which it is subjected to. The effects become worse as you wear high heels for a longer period of time and on a frequent basis.

Adequate Cushioning

To reduce the possibility of causing back pain due to wearing high-heeled shoes, you must choose the ones with adequate cushioning. It will help to absorb the impact instead of it being directed towards your feet. Choosing proper cushioning system is recommended for those who spent most of their time walking on hard surfaces or if you are going to walk over a long period of time.

Support

Proper support is another important feature you should look into to ensure that your choice of shoes do not contribute to back pain. To achieve that, you need to take note of your shoe’s pronation, though. It represents the natural inward roll of your foot upon wearing the shoe and walking with it. It is important for absorbing shock on your foot, which will affect other parts of your body such as the legs, pelvis, and lower back.

What Are Underpronation and Overpronation?

A high, often inflexible arch on your shoe characterizes underpronation because your foot does not roll inward enough. Hence, it causes pain on your feet, knees, and lower back over time. To cope with this, you can add an extra cushion on your shoe to alleviate the pain.

Overpronation is characterized by excessive inward roll for your foot, which is also not recommended since it can cause strain on your lower body, particularly in the lower back area.

Shoe Shape

The most ideal shape for your shoe would be one that conforms to the natural shape of your foot, whether it be straight, curved, or semi-curved. If your shoe have underpronation, then the straight shaped shoe is best recommended to use. For overpronating individuals, you must go for semi curved or curved shoes.

Tips for Choosing The Right Shoes To Ease Back Pain

As part of your back pain relief and prevention methods, you need to keep in mind the following pointers to avoid such problems from developing:

• Look at the length and width of the shoe. It must fit you perfectly to minimize any strain it causes on your lower back, especially if you really need to wear high heels, such that you won’t have to suffer from extreme back pain even with long hours of standing or walking.

• A good alternative for high heels are shoes that provide enough arch support to your foot to ensure that it is in proper position and each step does not feel awkward at all.

• Avoid wearing shoes wherein your feet is rolled inwards such that you use your feet to absorb shock from each step since it will increase your chances of developing back pain.

Finally, you need to keep in mind that your shoes and back pain problems cannot be treated using just a single approach. You need to make it a part of a holistic lifestyle transformation that will ensure none of your back pain problem will recur.

Treating Back Pain

The most important step to treating back pain is to understand its cause and learn about how the pain develops. Thus, you can find ways to reverse or alleviate the condition before it becomes worse. Below are some important tips to consider.

Seeking Professional Health Care

Although you are suffering only from mild back pain, you must not neglect it. Patients are encouraged to consult with an expert physician right away or when the initial symptoms are manifested. In addition, you must not proceed onto with your treatment without a skilled assistance as it can lead to more serious complications.

Your physician will subject you to a series of diagnostic tests and examinations to determine the cause of your back pain problem, which will ultimately affect your choice of treatment. After all, each treatment approach has their own advantages and disadvantages so you need to weigh the outcomes.

Massage

Massaging is not only relaxing to your body, muscles, and joints but it can also promote blood flow to these parts of the body. Your physical therapy for back pain treatment will involve some kind of massage therapy. However, it is important to leave this to the professional to ensure that the proper techniques are used so you can achieve more effective results.

Long-Term Bed Rest

Upon diagnosis of back pain and spinal health problems, one of the first things that your physician will recommend is for you to get long term bed rest, depending on the severity of the back pain problem to give time for the pain to subside. Make sure you would lie in a comfortable bed with proper support for your back; if not, it will only worsen your condition. You can also opt to place a pillow beneath the back of your knees while lying with your face forward to provide ample support on your lower back.

Stress and Tension Management

Aside from physical factors, stress could also contribute to developing back pain. Thus, you need to take time to breathe and your physical therapist can show you methods on how to do it. Exercises such as exhalation breathing, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and meditation can help you cope with stress. And when your body is relaxed, it is more open to healing.

Exercise

Performing exercise as a back pain treatment is recommended only once the pain has subsided to avoid causing additional stress to your spinal joints and muscles. In addition, do not just perform ANY exercise. It must be identified to improve back and spinal health.

Begin with mild exercises that stretch and strengthen your back and gradually develop your pace. Make a commitment to stick with your exercise routine since excessive amount of time without exercising can cause your back muscles and joints to become weak, thus making you more vulnerable to injuries and back pain.

Self-Care Treatment Methods

When referring to self-care though, it basically refer to the complementary treatment that you should do at home but with a supervision or recommendation from a medical provider. However, you must not rely on them solely to treat your back pain problem and is usually used in combination with other self-care treatment procedures.

Medication

Pain management is one of the vital aspects of back pain treatment. You need to consult with your physician first and have them prescribe the right medication for you to intake. Another reason why it is important to have professional health care prescribe the medication for you is the possibility of developing allergies and contraindications. Common pain relievers recommended for treating back pain include ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and aspirin.

Recreational Activities

Aside from exercise, you must also get yourself involved in activities that promote spinal and back health. This is a practical yet fun method for treating back pain. Some of the activities that are ideal for toning your back includes swimming, high-impact aerobics, or sports activities such as tennis, bowling, golf, or anything that involves twisting or bending action.

Other Treatment Options

If none of the above treatment methods produce the result desired, you can consider any of the following:

*Osteopathic treatment: This is often combined with drug intake, along with physical therapy and regular exercise to achieve effective results.

*Chiropractic care: Spinal manipulation with the aid of a skilled chiropractor is believed to play a role in treating back pain problems, especially for cases of acute low back pain.

*CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy: The idea behind this treatment approach is to reduce the intensity of pain with various psychotherapy approach methods like relaxation techniques, behavioral adaptation, and stress management.

*Surgery: This method for treating back pain should be considered as a last resort, which is usually done to severe a nerve and stop transmission of pain.

Preventing Back Pain

Despite the advancements in modern medical technology, preventing back pain is still the most effective way to ensure that you save yourself from episodes of pain and discomfort. You can realize your preventive efforts with basic daily activities such as the ones listed below.

Protecting Your Back During Sleep

Most people have this false misconception that you can assume any kind of position you desire while sleeping. Definitely not! Many people have in fact acquired back pain problems with the wrong choice of sleeping position. You need to be able to allow your muscles to relax during sleep.

Another crucial factor that might contribute to developing back pain problem while sleeping is your choice of bed. It must provide adequate support to your back to avoid back stiffness. After all, you will be sleeping on it for 8 hours or less, so make sure you stay as comfortable as possible.

Protecting Your Back While Driving

Next to sleeping, a lot of people spend a significant amount of time on their car and driving. As with choosing the right type of bed, you must also choose a comfortable seat for your car, especially if you are driving for a great distance. Make sure your seat is close enough to the steering wheel such that your hands, legs, and hips are properly aligned.

If your car seat is equipped with an adjustable lumbar support, then customize it such that your body sits up perfectly straight and avoid straining your lower back muscles. Secure your buttocks to the back of your seat to avoid assuming a slumping position.

Protecting Your Back While Working

There are a few key concepts to keep in mind during work to ensure that it does not contribute to developing back pain problems:

*Choose your chair properly. This tip is a bit obvious, but how do you exactly choose the right chair? You can begin with an ergonomically designed chair since it was created to provide optimum support for your spine and overall body weight. Also, you need to take note of your sitting position to ensure that you are not adding unnecessary pressure to your lumbar spine.

*Provide arm support. Another reason why you develop back pain problems is due to the fact that your upper back has to provide support to the weight of your arms and shoulders. You can use a wrist rest, if your office chair lacks an armrest, to avoid causing much tension to your back muscles.

*Proper Workstation Setup. Organization with your office equipment and materials is a factor often neglected when it comes to preventing back pain at work. If your computer screen is incorrectly placed, it results in headaches, neck or back pain problems to occur. You must also place the telephone or other important office documents within close proximity to avoid constantly reaching out for these objects and straining your back muscle.

Protecting Your Back During Exercise

Below are some tips you need to keep in mind while exercising to avoid back pain problems from occurring:

• You must incorporate a variety of exercises to stretch and strengthen your back. If you are new to exercising or is going back to your exercise routine after long period without exercise, consult a general physician first to use the right approach.

• Learn how to pace yourself. A common source of back injuries while exercising is when people tend to push their body beyond its limits. Remember: you cannot achieve your fitness or weight loss goals instantly.

• Walking is the most ideal form of exercise for your back, and yet it is very easy. Therefore, it might be best to start your day by walking for at least 5 minutes.

• Another practical form of exercise is to climb stairs multiple times, using either your stairs at home or a stepper machine. Aside from being healthy for your back, it is ideal for overall health improvement.

Protecting Your Back While Lifting Weights

Another common reason for acquisition of back pain is when one tries to lift too heavy weights, which overexerts your spinal muscles and joints. Thus, you need to avoid these situations that cause stress to your back. Aside from the weight of the object being lifted, the position of the body during lifting could also be a factor.

You can begin with a squat lift with your feet about a shoulder-width apart. This will make it easier for you to lift the object while spreading the weight to your legs, instead of focusing it onto your back.

Proper Diet

Like exercise, diet is also useful in increasing spinal health to prevent back pain. Hence, you need to choose the right foods that will provide your body with the nourishment it needs.

Power foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole wheat breads, pasta, whole grain cereals, and others should be incorporated into your diet routine. On the other hand, limit your intake of soda, cookies, candy bars, ice cream, and other sweets. Fast food, although they might satisfy your taste buds, is never recommended if you are serious about preventing back pain.

DISCLAIMER: This information is provided “as is”. The author, publishers and marketers of this information disclaim any loss or liability, either directly or indirectly as a consequence of applying the information presented herein, or in regard to the use and application of said information. No guarantee is given, either expressed or implied, in regard to the merchantability, accuracy, or acceptability of the information.

Further, this information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions

you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA approved they must be accompanied by a two-part disclaimer on the product label: that the statement has not been evaluated by FDA and that the product is not intended to “diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports examines the topic of nutrition for what are referred to as mixed sports. This includes almost all team sports along with many individual sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts and some track and field events.

Basically any sport that has requirements for both endurance and strength/power is considered a mixed sport. Because of the often odd nature of performance requirements, optimizing nutrition for these sports often presents problems that aren’t seen in either the pure strength/power or pure endurance sports.

The book, as well as the accompanying 2 DVD set, approaches the problem in an applied fashion building up the topic of nutrition from the ground up to present a comprehensive examination of how mixed sports athletes can optimize their nutrition.

This product started life as a seminar I did in Vancouver at Simon Fraser University in 2009 for their football and soccer teams on applied sports nutrition.  But rather than just slap the DVD together with the handouts and slides, I decided to write a complete stand alone book (derived primarily from the handouts).  Of course, the original DVD seminar is included along with the Powerpoint slides and the full package includes everything shown below.

Please note: The DVDs have no regional encoding and should play on any DVD player or computer with DVD capabilities.

To Learn More Click Here -> Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports

For years, concerned consumers and watchdog organizations have been screaming that the U.S. labeling laws are full of loopholes and in need of serious revision. After years of talk, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they’re planning to so something about it. But will it be enough?

There are many food labeling issues we could complain about, but one of the biggest problems (due to its direct relationship to the obesity crisis) is serving sizes.

I’m not just talking about supersizing. What’s worse is that the actual calories are being disguised with serving size sleight of hand.

Let me show you some examples:

Tostitos touch of lime. Calories per serving: 150. Not too bad for tortilla chips, eh? Not so fast. Check that serving size: 1 ounce. That’s a whopping 6 chips. There are 10 servings per container. That’s 1500 calories in the bag.

Most guys could knock off half that bag for a cool 750 calories. Ok, suppose you have some restraint and you only eat a third of the bag (20 chips). You still get 500 calories. But who stops at 6 chips?

Vitamin Water. While I could rant about how sugar water is being marketed as health food, I’ll stick with the serving size sleight for now.

The label says there are 50 calories per serving. Wow, only 50 calories! Plus they add all those vitamins. Must be good for you and perfect for dieters, right? Think again. Look at the serving size and servings per container: 8 oz per serving and 2.5 servings per container.

Excuse me, but is there ANY reason for making it 2.5 servings other than to disguise the actual calorie content?

When you see that the entire bottle is 20 ounces, you realize that it contains 125 calories, not 50. Although 20 ounces is a large bottle, I don’t know many guys who wouldn’t chug that whole thing.

Sobe Lifewater? Same trick in their 20 oz bottles.

Healthy Choice soup, country vegetable. They make these in convenient little microwavable containers with a plastic lid. Just heat and eat.

It says 90 calories and 480 mg of sodium per serving. Wow, less than a hundred calories. Wait a minute though. Turn the container around and you see the serving size is 1 cup and the servings per container says “about 2.”

Huh? It looks pretty obvious to me that this microwave-ready container was designed for one person to eat in one sitting, so why not just put 180 calories per container on the label (and 960 mg of sodium). I guess 90 calories and 480 mg sodium sounds… well… like a healthier choice!

Ben and Jerrys chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.

This infamously delicious ice cream with its own facebook fan page has 270 calories per serving.

We all know ice cream is loaded with calories and should only be an occasional treat, but 270 calories per serving, that’s not too terrible is it?

Look a little closer at the label. The serving size is ½ a cup. Who eats a half a cup of ice cream? In fact, who hasn’t polished off a whole pint by themselves? (the “comment confessional” is below if you’d like to answer that)

According to Ben and Jerry, there are 4 servings in that one pint container. 270 calories times 4 servings = 1080 calories! That’s about half a days worth of calories for an average female.

I could go on and on – crackers, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, pasta, boxed cereals (who eats ¾ cup of cereal), etc. But I think you get the point.

What’s the solution to this mess? News reports in the last week say that the FDA may be cracking down. Count me among those who are pleased to hear this news. One of their ideas is to post nutritional information, including the calories, on the FRONT of the food labels.

The problem is, this move by itself could actually make matters worse. Suppose Tostitos started posting “150 calories per serving” right on the front of the bag. Most people would assume the chips were low in calories. Putting calorie info on the front of the label would help only if it clearly stated the amount of calories in the entire package or in a normal human-sized serving!

Ah, but the FDA says they’re on top of that too. They also want to standardize or re-define serving sizes. Sounds great, but there are critics who say that consumers would take it as approval to eat larger servings so the strategy would backfire.

Suppose for example, the government decides that no one eats ½ a cup of Ben and Jerry’s so they make the new serving size 1 cup, or half the pint-sized container. Now by law the label says 540 calories per serving instead of 270. Is that like getting official permission to eat twice as much?

I’m not against the FDA’s latest initiative, but what we really need is some honesty in labeling.

Food manufacturers should not be allowed to manipulate serving sizes in a way that would trick you into thinking there are fewer calories than there really are in a quantity that you’re likely to eat.

It would be nice to have calories for the entire package listed on the label at a glance. A new rating scale for caloric density would be cool too, if it could be easily interpreted. It would also be nice to have serving sizes chosen for quantities that are most likely to be commonly eaten. But standardization of serving sizes for all types of foods is difficult.

My friends from Europe tell me that food labels over there are listed in 100g portions, making comparisons easy. But when you consider how much each individual’s daily calorie needs can vary (easily 3-fold or more when you run the gamut from totally sedentary to elite athlete, not to mention male and female differences), standardization that applies to everyone may not be possible.

I think the recent laws such as requiring calories on restaurant menus are a positive move that will influence some people’s behavior. But no label changes by themselves will solve the obesity crisis. A real solution is going to have to include personal responsibility, nutrition education, self-discipline, hard work and lifestyle change.

Changes in the labeling laws won’t influence everybody because the people most likely to care about what labels say are those who have already made a commitment to change their lifestyles (and they’re least likely to eat processed and packaged foods – that have labels – in the first place). Actually, for those who care, all the info you need is already on the labels, you just have to do a little math and watch out for sneaky label tricks.

There’s one true solution to this portion distortion and label lies problem: Become CALORIE AWARE. Of course that includes educated label reading, but it goes much further. In my Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle system, here is how I define “calorie counting:”

1. Get a good calorie counter book, chart or electronic device/software and get to know the calorie counts of all the staple foods you eat on a daily basis. Look up the calorie values for foods you eat occasionally.

2. Always have a daily meal plan – on paper – with calories printed for each food, each meal and the day. Use that menu as a daily goal and target.

3. Educate yourself about average caloric needs for men and women and learn how to estimate your own calorie needs as closely as you can based on your activity, weight, body composition, height, gender and age.

4. Get a good kitchen food scale and use it.

Keep counting calories and doing nutrition by the numbers until you are unconsciously competent and eating the right quantities to easily maintain your ideal weight becomes second nature.

Obviously, saying that calories are all there is to nutrition is like saying that putting is all there is to golf. Calorie quality and quantity are both important. However, it’s a mistake to ignore the calorie quantity side of the game. Serving sizes matter and even healthy foods get stored as fat if you eat too much..

You can play “blindfolded archery” by guessing your calories and food portions if you want to. Hey, you might get lucky and guess right. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend depending on luck – or the government – for something as important as your body and your health. I would recommend the personal responsibility, nutrition education, self-discipline, hard work and lifestyle change…

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com or http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph body type? To maximize your results, regardless of whether your goal is fat loss or muscle gain, it’s helpful to know your body type and adjust your approach according to your type. But a big question that almost no one has ever answered is, “Does your body type change over time?” If so, then what? Do you have to totally change your nutrition and training again? And if your body type doesn’t change, does this mean you are stuck being a fat endomorph for the rest of your life, doomed because of genetics? Read on to find out.

Somatotype is a 3-part, 7-point body type rating scale developed by a guy named Sheldon back around 1940 or so. Ectomorphs are the linear, bony, lean types, mesomorphs are the naturally muscular body types (yeah, the ones we hate!), and endormorphs are the ones with the round body shapes and the genetic tendency toward storing more body fat.

Generally, you have a combination body type, which is why you are scored with 3 numbers (Arnold Schwarzenneger in his bodybuilding prime: think pure mesomorph with the highest score of 7).

The question is, Does somatotype change? this is a very interesting question that has been asked and debated before both by the layperson (often bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts) and by scientists.

Two of those scientists were JE Lindsay Carter, a physical education professor from San Diego State University and Barbara Heath, and Anthropologist from the University of Pennsylvania.

There was initially a lot of debate and antagonism provoked by the classic Sheldon system of classifying human body types (“somatotyping”), because initially, Sheldon was very rigid in his insistence that body types were permanent and did not change.

However, Heath and Carter proposed that it was plain to see that body types DID change due to normal growth, aging, physical training and dietary deprivation (they cited the Minnesota starvation study, where subjects started out looking somewhat mesomorphic and ended up looking like ectomorphs (like POW camp victims, literally).

Heath and Carter weren’t trying to dismiss somatotpying, they supported it and wanted to validate it.

However, they wanted to address the shortcomings of the somatotyping method and one of those was the fact that the Sheldon system didn’t accommodate for changes in physique as a result of training and nutrition.

In their voluminous 1990 textbook on the subject, Heath and Carter define somatotype as:

“A quantitative description of the present shape and composition of the human body. It is expressed in a 3 number rating, representing three components of physique: (1) endomorphy, (2) mesomorphy and (3) ectomorphy. The somatotype can be used to record changes in physique and to estimate gross biological differences and similarities among human beings. This method of somatotyping is sensitive to changes in physique over time and is used for rating both sexes at all ages.”

Look at a guy like John Bartlett for example, one of our inner circle contributing authors and an outstanding natural competitive bodybuilder. When you see him today and you ask what is his body type, you would say, “MESOMORPH all the way!”

That’s because today he is ripped and muscular

But if you look at his before picture and ask “what is this guy’s body type” you would say, “Endomorph” all the way or at least “endo-mesomorph” because he did have a solid and stocky build before, but also a high body fat percentage.

Well, which is it? Or did his body type change? Clearly, John gained a lot of muscle and lost a lot of fat and looks totally different today. So could we say his body type changed? If we go by current outward appearance, then yes, absolutely.

But does this mean his body type really changed or did he overcome an inherent endomorph body type to achieve where he is now?

Or, to play devil’s advocate here, was he always a mesomorph inherently and he just really let himself go for a while and he was just returning to his normal body type of mesomorph?

These are interesting questions. The Heath-Carter method simply includes body composition as part of the rating scale of a person’s body type and says that you can rate someone based on how they look now. That includes bone structure (which changes little or not at all after adulthood) AND body composition (which can change throughout life). So you could say John was an Endomorph and is now a Mesomorph. Predominantly Mesomorph is his present classification.

However, at the same time, we could say that a person DOES have an inherent body type or set point – a physique that they will gravitate towards in the absence of circumstances or concerted efforts to change it.

I addressed this issue of changing body types versus an inherent (or “permanent” body type) in Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM). The way I explained it is that I said your true body type is what you will gravitate to naturally when you are not in a highly trained state. It’s your inherent tendency. In that respect, you could say somatotype does not change, while body composition does.

In chapter 5 of BFFM, I said there were three additional ways to know your inherent body type beyond Sheldon’s scale, which takes into account changes in physique due to training and nutrition:

1. How you looked before you took up training (your “natural” body shape)
2. How you respond to training and nutrition (ease of muscle gain or fat loss)
3. How you respond to de-training (how well you retain lean mass and low body fat or how quickly you lose lean mass and gain fat on cessation of training)

If you wanted to make this even MORE complex, we could look at somatotyping by considering not just the outward bone structure and body composition of an individual, but also the metabolic (interior) characteristics.

My “Burn The Fat” system of body typing is like a combination of:

(1) Metabolic typing (internal metabolic characteristics like carb tolerance)
(2) Somatotyping (external body shape – linearity or roundness, fatness or leanness)
(3) Miscellaneous other genetic factors.

That would be a pretty good three-part body typing system that covers the concerns about changing body types, individual metabolic types (“carb intolerant types” or protein types, etc), and genetics (which is especially relevant since obesity genes have been identified fairly recently).

I hear criticisms of the somatotyping system all the time, where people say it is not useful. I disagree. Yes, it’s perhaps too crude of a system to base your entire training and nutrition plan upon, but I believe it’s very helpful as a general tool to “KNOW THYSELF”.

In other words, if you are inherently an endomorph and you KNOW IT, then you know darn well what happens when you don’t do any cardio. You know what happens when you cheat four or five times in a week. You know what happens when you slack off. You gravitate towards gaining fat, because that is your body type’s tendency! So you can adjust your training, nutrition and lifestyle accordingly.

If you are an ectomorph, then you know what happens when you skip meals… you don’t gain any muscle! You know what happens when you do too much cardio… you don’t gain any muscle, or you lose some!, etc. etc.

And if you’re a mesomorph…. did I mention…. we hate you!

If you’d like to learn more, chapter 5 in Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is about body typing. It’s full of some really valuable and motivating lessons about knowing yourself, your body and your genetics and understanding the importance of taking personal responsibility, regardless of your hereditary predispositions. If you already have the book, it’s worth re-reading periodically.

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

P.S. Just kidding mesomorphs… we don’t really hate you, we just envy you!

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com or http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

What’s on the menu at the big fast food chains lately? Oddly enough, the answer is… “health food!” Even more incongruous, many are marketing their food for weight loss. Healthy weight loss food at Taco Bell and McDonalds? Is this a noble move to be applauded, is it a big corporate money grab, or is it a double edged sword?

Remember Jared Fogle, the Subway guy? He lost 245 pounds while eating at Subway regularly. He simply picked the lower calorie menu items.  Seeing an opportunity, the local store owner pitched Subway corporate with an idea. Before long, Jared was the company spokesperson in their nationwide advertising campaigns which became known as The Subway Diet.

Sales doubled to 8.2 billion. How much the increase came from the weight loss ads is unknown, but there’s little doubt that using weight loss as a marketing platform was a boon for the sandwich maker. Other fast food chains picked up the weight loss torch where Subway left off.

The latest is the Taco Bell Drive through diet, with their own skinny spokesperson: Christine! The ads, which are admittedly conservative, perhaps due to more stringent FTC laws, say Christine lost 54 lbs over 2 years by reducing her calories to 1250 a day, and choosing Taco Bell’s new lower calorie “Fresco” items.

These include “7 diet items with 150 to 240 calories and under 9 grams of fat.” For example, there’s a chicken soft taco with only 170 calories and 4 grams of fat.

For people who refuse to give up eating at fast food restaurants, this is arguably a positive thing. Take my brother for example, He’s not a total junk food junkie, but left to his own devices, he WILL make a beeline to Taco Bell and McDonalds.

I went to McDonalds with him a few months ago (I was dragged there), and he was about to order a bacon cheeseburger. I glanced at the menu and said, “That’s 790 calories!” I glanced down at his belly then continued, “Look, they have chicken wraps. Why don’t you have one of those?” Without questioning me, he agreed, apparently happy to get any McDonalds fix.

Right there at the counter they had the nutrition information sheets:

McDonald’s honey mustard grilled chicken wrap: 260 calories, 9 grams fat, 27 grams of carbs, 18 grams of protein.

That saved him 530 calories. Am I happy there was something with only 260 calories on the menu? Absolutely. Do I applaud the fast food restaurants for offering lower calorie choices? You bet. But the big question is: are these really “healthy choices?”

A few journalists and bloggers recently answered, “These fast food diet items are NOT healthy, they’re only ‘healthi-ER.’”

I think they’re both mistaken. I think this food is not healthy nor is it healthier. It’s only lower in calories. If you eat lower calorie food, that can help you lose weight and if you lose weight, that can improve your health. But what if your definition of healthy food includes nutrition, nutrient density and absence of artificial ingredients?

Let’s take a look at that very low calorie chicken wrap. Is it really healthier just because it’s got 1/3 the calories of a bacon cheeseburger?

Here’s the ingredients straight from McDonald’s website:

McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Breast Filet (wrap): Chicken breast filets with rib meat, water, seasoning (salt, sugar, food starch-modified, maltodextrin, spices, dextrose, autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed [corn gluten, soy, wheat gluten] proteins, garlic powder, paprika, chicken fat, chicken broth, natural flavors (plant and animal source), caramel color, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum, onion powder, extractives of paprika), modified potato starch, and sodium phosphates. CONTAINS: SOY AND WHEAT. Prepared with Liquid Margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color). (and don’t forget the 800 mg of sodium).

HOLY CRAP! Shouldn’t chicken breast be just one ingredient… chicken breast?

This is not food. It’s more like what author Michael Pollan would call an “edible food-like substance.”

What about the honey mustard sauce? The first ingredient after water is… SUGAR!

The flour tortilla ingredients? Enriched bleached wheat flour, also made with vegetable shortening (may contain one or more of the following: hydrogenated soybean oil, soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrogenated cottonseed oil with mono- and diglycerides added), contains 2% or less of the following: sugar, leavening (sodium aluminum sulfate, calcium sulfate, sodium phosphate, baking soda, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), salt, wheat gluten, dough conditioners, sodium metabisulfite, distilled monoglycerides.

Trans fats? Sugar? Aluminum? Stuff you can’t pronounce and have to look up to find out it’s preservatives and disinfectants?

Don’t confuse the issues: weight loss and health…. Calories and nutrition. There IS a difference, and that is what makes “healthy” fast food a double edged sword at best.

Some people, like my brother, simply aren’t going to give up fast food completely. If I can get him to make better bad choices, that could help him control his weight. If that works, then I’m pleased that the fast food restaurants have such choices to offer.

But if you wanted to make a good choice – a healthy choice – you’d forget about “driving through” anywhere on a regular basis. You’d shop for whole, fresh, natural real food, keep a well-stocked kitchen… and learn how to cook.

The Subway diet, the Drive Through diet, or the Weight Watchers approved McDonalds menu (yes its true, what a pair that is!) Don’t kid yourself – this is not only not healthy, it’s not healthier – it’s lower calorie junk food.

“Welcome to our restaurant sir. Would you like a large plate of dog poo or a small plate of dog poo?”

“No thank you, I will take neither. No matter what the serving size, crap is still crap.”

Train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle

Founder & CEO of
Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is the author of the #1 best seller, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder and fat loss expert who achieved an astonishing 3.7% body fat level without drugs or supplements. Discover how to increase your metabolism and burn stubborn body fat, find out which foods burn fat and which foods turn to fat, plus get a free fat loss report and mini course by visiting Tom’s site at: www.BurnTheFat.com

It is true that Mediterranean diet is high in fats.  However, these are healthy fats consisting of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.  The American diet is rich in saturated fat which is unhealthy.  Generally, the fat content of a diet does not determine weight loss.  It is the calorie intake of people that is decisive.  Mediterranean diet provides plenty of healthy benefits but if you will not reduce your caloric intake, then you will never lose weight.

b) What makes the Mediterranean diet different from the common American diet?

Americans consume high numbers of red meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy, while the Mediterranean includes very little. The diet also differs from the typical American diet through its dependence on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, olive oil, beans, breads, cereals, and potatoes.

c) Why people in the Mediterranean have lower heart disease?

Research has indicated that the foods in the Mediterranean diet play an important role in lowering heart disease. Research also indicates that the Mediterranean diet requires a more holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle than most other diets.

d) Does regular exercise has a place in the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle?

Exercise is always essential no matter what type of diet you follow.  The best thing about the Mediterranean diet is that it encourages daily regular exercises as part of the holistic approach to achieve a healthy lifestyle.  When this type of diet was introduced in the sixties, exercise and physical activities were already part of the culture of the Mediterranean people.  For your minimum exercise needs, you have to take a daily one-hour walk and weekly full body exercise.

e) Is there a difference between a Low Carb Diet and Mediterranean Diet?

Mediterranean diet is substantially different from Low Carb diet.  For one thing, the Mediterranean program has lower protein component.  You will only get  15 percent calories from the protein of Mediterranean diet.

f) Wine has always been part of the Mediterranean diet.  What is the recommended daily amount for wine?

The rule of thumb is to consume wine in moderate amounts.  Men should get 5 percent of their daily calorie intake from wine.  For women, the calorie consumption from wine should be 2.5 percent.

g)  A word of advice for dieters

The Mediterranean lifestyle is most effective when including a range of root vegetables, foods high in omega-3 acids, and vegetable oils such as flaxseed or canola. Along with fruits, breads, and cereals, these foods may lower your risk for cardiovascular disease.

About the Author – Eva Alexander writes for Mediterranean diet weight loss ,  her personal hobby blog focused on tips to eat healthy on the Mediterranean way.

Exercise indeed has a good effect on a patient’s glucose level. This is good newsfor people who have type 2 diabetes. A lot of research indicates that patients of diabetes gain more control over their glycemic as soon as they get used to a regular exercise program. On the other hand, people who do not engage in exercise find no improvement on their glycemic control. Since exercise improves your insulin sensitivity, you will also need less medicines in order to control the levels of your blood sugar.

There are, of course, people who become at risk for hypoglycemia due to thecombined effects of their diabetes and engaging in high stress exercise. This happens during exercise and after it, too. If you think about it though, people can also be at risk for hyperglycemia simply for having poor control over their diabetes. Therefore, the leaders in this field recommend engaging in moderate exercise for a minimum of 2 hours and 30 minutes, or 90 minutes if they want to do vigorous exercise.

In light of this, the frequency of the routine is more important that the kinds of exercise one engages in. There are many researches wherein an abundance of benefits result from both weight training as well as aerobic activity.

Of course, sometimes patients should not engage in vigorous exercise especiallywhen they have cardiac conditions or they are more prone to developing injuries as a result. It is better if they start of slow and get used to a light intensity program instead.

About the Author – Su Rollins writes for hypoglycemia diet plan , her personal hobby blog focused on tips to prevent and cure hypoglycemia using the right diet and nutrition.

Most people are eating a poison every day without giving it a second thought.  This substance can increase belly fat and consuming even small amounts (2% of total energy intake) is consistently linked to coronary heart disease. The research also says that this stuff can increase visceral fat, contribute to insulin resistance, increase risk of type 2 diabetes, increase bad cholesterol, decrease good cholesterol, trigger systemic inflammation and adversely affect almost every cell in your body.

What substance could be so harmful that it causes all of these health problems and yet is so prevalent in our food supply that most people are eating dangerous amounts every single day? This industrially manufactured ingredient is called Trans fatty acids (TFA’s).

TFA’s are not found in nature, with the exception of some ruminant-derived TFA’s in certain dairy products (usually contributing less than 0.5% of total caloric intake). TFA’s come mostly from the industrial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, which alters the natural cis configuration of the oils to the trans configuration. If you see “partially hydrogenated” oil in the ingredients list of any food product, then it contains TFA’s.

TFA’s have been studied for decades, but were largely ignored until the past several years. Research papers linking trans fats to heart disease date back to the 1970’s. In 1994, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to put trans fats on food labels (didn’t happen until 2006). Since 2006, TFA’s have thankfully received a decent amount of publicity when they were in the news regarding new food labeling laws and the banning of their use in restaurants in some states.

New studies have been published in the past year confirming the dangers of TFA’s. Four recent studies indicated 24, 20, 27 and 32% higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or CHD death for every 2% energy of TFA consumption isocalorically replacing carbohydrate, SFA, cis monounsaturated fatty acids and cis polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively.

TFA intake in the United States still averages 2-3% of total energy intake, 4% in some developing countries where fast food is being introduced and as high as 8-10% in certain subgroups (who eat large amounts of baked goods, fried foods, pastries, doughnuts, etc). The government recommended maximum is 1% of total energy intake (2 grams!). Some experts say there is NO safe level of TFA intake.

Legislation has been enacted in some states banning the use of TFAs in restaurants. It was big news New York. As of 2008, 11 cities and counties have adopted regulations to restrict TFA use in restaurants. However, industrial TFA use is still widespread and lots of people are still scarfing them down every day.

If Trans fats are so dangerous, why is their use so widespread? Dietary fat expert Udo Erasmus put it this way: “TFA’s are a food manufacturer’s dream: an unspoilable substance that lasts forever.” TFA’s are cheap and for countless food products, they can prolong shelf life, allow easy transport, provide solidity at room temperature (to make spreads), and increase suitability for commercial frying.

Although most people have heard of TFA’s, the bad news is that this increased awareness has not been enough to translate into behavior change.

A study recently published in the Journal of The American Dietetic Association (ADA) found that in 2007, 73% of Americans knew that TFA’s increased risk of heart disease, compared to 63% in 2006. However, the bad news is that 79% of Americans could not name 3 foods that contain trans fats. 46% of Americans could not name any sources of trans fats on their own.

“Knowledge about food sources of fats remains low” says Robert Eckel, professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado.

Public health messages have been raising awareness, but they haven’t been enough. “TFA’s are bad for you.” Ok, so now what? What you really need are some simple behavior guidelines and a list of foods to eat very infrequently if you eat them at all.

Here are some good places for you to start.

4 Ways to Avoid Trans Fatty Acids

1. Eat mostly foods that do not have a label. At the risk of stating the obvious, if you don’t eat anything that comes in a box or package with a label, then you won’t ever consume manmade TFA’s. If your diet consists primarily of fruits, fibrous vegetables, root vegetables, beans, legumes, brown rice, unprocessed whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish and lean meats, you’re home free.

2. Watch for label loopholes. WARNING: Food companies are lying to you on their product labels to make you think their foods are TFA-free. The front of their package may say “ZERO grams of trans fats,” and yet there is hydrogenated oil listed in the ingredients. How could that be? There is a label loophole where the government allows companies to claim zero trans fats if there is less than a half a gram per serving. So the food companies sneakily manipulate their serving sizes until the servings are so small that the TFA content falls below the per serving limit.

3. Read ingredients lists. The primary source of TFA’s is partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. In particular, soybean, sunflower, cottonseed and palm oils are frequently hydrogenated. Your first step then, is to read food labels on any packaged products and look at the ingredients list. If it contains partially hydrogenated oils, it contains TFA’s.

4. Avoid foods that contain TFA’s most of the time. TFA’s are commonly found in baked goods (bakery), fried foods and packaged convenience foods, especially:

cookies*
crackers*
biscuits*
pastries*
pies*
doughnuts*
packaged frozen foods (breaded chicken, breaded fish, etc)
corn chips
potato chips
packaged popcorn
some breads
frostings
french fries (fried potatoes)
taco shells
margarines and spreads
shortening
some salad dressings
some candies
some artificial cheeses

* major food sources for American adults

In 2002 when I published the first edition of my ebook, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, I warned my readers of the dangers of trans fatty acids. I was not the only one either. Years ahead of the 2006 law requiring trans fats to be listed on food labels and the 2007-2008 restaurant TFA bans, numerous health professionals were already warning people to stay away from TFA’s.

Not enough people heeded the warnings, while meanwhile, politics and commercial interests delayed legislation. No doubt, skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease can be largely linked to the continued use of these artificial fake food additives. In the US alone, 1,700,000 new cases of diabetes, 233,600 diabetes-related deaths, 600,000 myocardial infarctions and 451,300 coronary heart disease-related deaths are reported every year.

A campaign for better education and lifestyle change is worth supporting. As researchers from Harvard said, “A comprehensive strategy to eliminate the use of industrial TFA in both developed and developing countries, including education, food labeling, and policy and legislative initiatives, would likely prevent tens of thousands of CHD events worldwide each year.”

For a healthy and balanced lifestyle, and for better long-term compliance, I’m rarely in favor of tagging any foods as totally “forbidden” or to use words as strong as “poison” in describing foods. But if there are any exceptions, trans fats are one of them.

If you are unable or unwilling to eliminate TFA’s from your diet completely, then you would be wise for the sake of your health and your family’s health, to keep foods containing TFA’s to a bare minimum and avoid eating any TFA-laden foods on a daily basis.

Last, but not least, be on guard, because history tells us that when one harmful food additive is banned, it is often replaced with another, which is sometimes even worse. That’s why item #1 on my list of four ways to avoid trans fatty acids is the best way to avoid anything that is harmful to your health.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat-Burning Secrets of The World’s Best Bodybuilders & Fitness Models (e-book) which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

References

Americans’ Awareness, Knowledge, and Behaviors Regarding Fats, Eckel RH et al, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Feb 2009 (2):288-296

Metabolic implications of dietary trans-fatty acids, Dorfman SE et al, Obesity, Feb 2009, 1-8. Cardiovascular and metabolism disease area, Novartis institutes for biomedical research, INc. Cambridge, Mass.

Mortality from arteriosclerotic disease and consumption of hydrogenated oils and fats, Thomas LH, Br J Prev Soc Med, Jun 1975 29(2): 82-90

Health effects of trans-fatty acids: experimental and observational evidence. Mozzafarian D, Eur J Clin Nutr, May 2009: 63 suppl 2S5-21, Harvard Medical School

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, Udo Erasmus, Alive Books, 1994