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August 20, 2012

What percentage of individuals living in the United States in 2010 suffered from either type 1 or type 2 diabetes?

Question Description:

The rise in the rate at which individuals are contracting either type 1 or type 2 diabetes in the Unites States, as well as world wide, is, to say the least, alarming. Diabetes is a debilitating disease that is characterized by high blood glucose levels that result in reducing the bodys ability to produce and/or use insulin.

Typical health complications associated with individuals that suffer from either type 1 or type 2 diabetes include frequent urination, unusual thirst, extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, extreme fatigue and irritability, frequent infections, blurred vision, cuts and bruises that are slow to heal, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, persistent skin, gum, and/or bladder infections, bone and joints disorders, heart disease, and Alzheimers, to name a few.

Answer:

8.3%. As of 2010, approximately 18.8 million people living in the United States were diagnosed with either type 1 of type 2 diabetes and another 7 million individuals are undiagnosed and unaware that they have the disease. This calculates to a figure slightly over 8.3%. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as many as 1 in 3 individuals living in the Unites States will have some form of diabetes by 2050.

However, while the projections may sound grim, there are several lifestyle approaches that can significantly reduce the probability of contracting type 2 Diabetes. For example it is important to regularly perform some form of physical activity and to ensure that the amount of excess body weight is kept to a minimum. Likewise, it is important to regularly consume whole foods that are well-balanced and nutrient rich. In addition, it is important to ensure that whole grains and fiber are included with a high level of frequency as well.

August 6, 2012

Which type of nut has the lowest number of grams of fat per one ounce serving?

Question Description:

Nuts are an excellent addition to any healthy well-balanced whole foods diet and provide several health benefits. For instance nuts are an excellent energy source, are high in protein, and are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Nuts are a great source of monounsaturated fatty acids which assist in lowering LDL levels while increasing HDL levels. Current research studies have concluded that regularly consuming nuts assist in reducing the probability of several forms of heart disease and many types of cancers. Additional studies have shown that nuts are beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis, Schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimers disease.

As is evident, nuts provide several health and metal wellness benefits and are ideal as an additional to any healthy and well-balanced diet. However, it should be noted that several individuals are allergic to nuts, hence caution should be used if it is unknown as to whether a reaction may occur or not.

Answer:

Pistachios. Pistachios have 13g of fat per serving while almonds have 15g, walnuts 18g, pecans 21g, and macadamias 22g.

Most nuts are low in saturated fats (a harmful type of fat) and contain beneficial fats that assist in several bodily functions that support good health and mental wellness. In addition, regularly consuming nuts as a part of an overall healthy diet help to ward off several types of chronic and debilitating diseases as well.

July 16, 2012

Which Food has the Highest Amount of Vitamin C per 100 gram Serving?

Question Description:

Most everyone has heard of vitamin C and its importance in helping to maintain good health and wellness. Several of the health benefits of vitamin C include working in conjunction with vitamin E as an antioxidant to combat free radicals, assists in regulating our metabolism, reduces stress levels, protects our joints, assists in the healing of wounds, and allows for the production of collagen.

In addition, vitamin C also bolsters the immune system by helping in the production of anti-virals and improving the integrity of the mucous membranes which allow the body to filter out bacteria and viruses, reduces cholesterol levels, aides in digestion, and maintains elasticity in our arteries and veins.

As is evident, vitamin C is a vital nutrient to the human body and assists in several bodily functions that promote good health and mental wellness. For these reasons, and several not listed, all healthy diets should include adequate intake of vitamin C.

Answer:

Many types of foods contain vitamin C. In fact, when most individuals think of foods that are high in vitamin C these think of oranges. While it is true that oranges have a fair amount of vitamin C, there are several foods that are considerably higher in vitamin C.

For example, of the five foods listed in this Question of the Week, the vitamin C levels per a 100 gram serving are: red hot peppers 242.5mg, guavas 228mg, kiwi 93mg, broccoli 89mg, and oranges 59mg.

In general, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for the average adult male is 90mg and for adult females 75mgs. It should be noted that the vitamin C RDA levels vary across male and female, age, females that are pregnant, females that are breast feeding, and smokers vs. non-smokers.

July 9, 2012

How many miles of blood vessels are in the adult human body?

Question Description:

The circulatory system of the human body is a highly complex system of blood vessels used to transport blood throughout the body. The purpose of the blood vessels are to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to the various parts of the body.

The three primary ways in which blood is transported throughout the body is through arteries (transport blood away from the heart), veins (transport blood back to the heart), and capillaries (connect the arteries to the veins).

Answer:

While the exact answer will be dependent on which anatomy textbook is referenced, the generally excepted answer is approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the body of a child and roughly 100,000 miles in the body of an adult.

The circumference of the earth, at the equator, is approximately 25,000 miles. If all of the blood vessels of an adult were placed end to end, the blood vessels would circle the equator four times.

Most of the blood vessels in the human body are composed of microscopic capillaries. While the microscopic capillaries may be short in length, there are approximately 40 billion (40,000,000,000) of them in the human body.

April 25, 2011

What percentage of adults living in the United States are considered either overweight or obese?

Question Description:

Current trends show that more and more Americans are becoming either overweight or obese. The generally accepted metric used to determine whether an individual is overweight or obese is the Body Mass Index (BMI).

The BMI approach is one of the most popular methods used to determine whether an individual is overweight or obese and utilize the weight and height of the individual in the calculation. It should be noted that the BMI calculation does not take muscle mass into account and hence, individuals that have a high amount of muscle mass may be considered overweight when, in reality, their percentage of body fat is actually low.

Answer:

The latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, performed in 2009, concluded that 63.1% of the adults living in the Unites States were either overweight or obese in 2009. More specifically, the study concluded that 26.5% of Americans are considered obese (a BMI value of 30 or greater) while 36.6% of Americans are considered overweight (a BMI value between 25.0 and 29.9).

An individual with a BMI value of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered to be within the healthy weight range. The study was performed using a sample size of 673,000 Americans.

April 18, 2011

What exercise type burns the most calories when performed for 60 consecutive minutes?

Question Description:

Various exercise types and physical activities work the body in different ways. In general, performing an exercise or physical activity will either work the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, or a combination of the two. In addition, various exercise types improve coordination, balance, flexibility, and joint range of motion.

For individuals that are looking to perform an exercise type that burns a high number of calories, possibly to promote weight loss, it is important to choose an exercise type that burns a fairly high number of calories.

Answer:

Moderately jumping rope will burn 704 calories per hour. Both recreational gardening and low impact aerobics, when performed for one hour, will burn approximately 352 calories. Running at a 5 mph pace (i.e. a 12 minute mile) will burn 563 calories while participating in recreational racquetball will burn around 493 calories per hour.