By: Yomi Henry-eyo There is a health fad going round telling people when it is best to eat fruits. One myth says: You will get diabetes if you indulge in too many fruits. If you have not been diagnosed with diabetes, you should not worry about having your occasional favourite chocolate cake and ice cream every now and then. Our bodies and digestive system are complex and are incredibly intelligent machines. Fruits can be eaten at any time and it can be eaten along with other foods. The body produces digestive enzymes for protein, fat, and carbohydrates which help it digest mixed meals. Besides, since the stomach has a high concentration of hydrochloric acid, bacteria is killed before it is able to reproduce so fermentation cannot take place in the stomach. This gives you an opportunity to cancel out the myth that, “always eat fruit on an empty stomach, if…

The food and drink choices you make every day affect your health now and later in life. Choosing healthy foods and drinks more often can help prevent or manage many health problems that affect women. And studies show that when a woman eats healthy, everyone in her household is more likely to eat healthy. Healthy eating is a way of eating that improves your health and helps prevent disease. It means choosing different types of healthy food from all of the food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and proteins), most of the time, in the correct amounts for you. Healthy eating also means not eating a lot of foods with added sugar, sodium (salt), and saturated and trans fats. Healthy eating also means getting nutrients primarily from food rather than from vitamins or other supplements. Some women might need vitamins, minerals, or other supplements at certain times in life like…

When you’re in your 20s and 30s, the right lifestyle and screening tests can go a long way to keeping you healthy. These simple steps can greatly benefit you. 1. Start a Heart-Healthy Diet-and-Exercise Plan Skip the fried and fatty foods, and try to get at least half an hour of exercise every day. Eating right and keeping active are the gifts that keep on giving. If you set up these habits now, the benefits will last a lifetime. And if you plan on having children someday, it’s a good idea to take a multivitamin that gives you plenty of folic acid — between 400 and 800 micrograms a day. Start taking folic acid at least 1 month before you plan to get pregnant, and keep it up during your first trimester. 2. Work on Your Relationship with Your Doctor Find one you trust. Before your appointment, make up a list questions, such…

By nature, women face a triple threat of risk factors when it comes to arthritis: biology, genetic predisposition, and hormones. Unfortunately, a lot of women have added a fourth risk factor to the mix — obesity. Overall, women have osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, at much higher rates than men. Experts estimate that almost 27 million people in the United States have osteoarthritis, and that about 60 percent of them are women. Before age 55, more men tend to have osteoarthritis, but after age 55 the number of women with the condition far surpasses the number of men. Joints affected by osteoarthritis also tend to vary by gender, says Alexander Shikhman, MD, PhD, founder of the Institute for Specialized Medicine in Del Mar, Calif., and medical director of Restorative Remedies. Men are more prone to experience arthritis in their hips, while women tend to have it in the knees or hands,…