Health World Web

In an effort to understand the body and help visitors to be healthier individuals, the time has come to break the food myths out there today. There are a huge number of food myths and in this series we will tackle each one head on. Today, we will talk about negative calories and foods that burn fat.

According to a recent CNN article, foods cannot help the body to burn fat. That, unfortunately, is not a totally correct answer. There are foods out there that cause a negative calorie situation within the body, but it is more about what the foods offer the body and how those foods curb hunger that enable these foods to boost the fat burning methods of the body.

Negative Calorie Foods

Steve from Body Performance offers an insight into the foods that expend more calories to break down than they offer to the body in terms of fuel. These foods include celery and cabbage. But, the more important message is the after effects of eating this type of roughage. When replacing the normal snack foods in the diet with “negative calorie” foods, the dieter will often eat less food and thus fewer calories.

This brings us to the question, Are There Foods That Help Us Lose Weight and Burn Fat?, and the answer is YES! The food choices we make while dieting often cause a negative calorie balance in the body. Fat is stored fuel and when the dieter consumes less fuel than the body needs during the day to perform normal daily functions, those fat stores are tapped and fat is burned.

While that piece of celery alone will not make you lose the 20 pounds you want to shed, replacing that crackers, chips and other unhealthy snacks eaten during the day with the celery will help the body to utilize the stored fat as fuel and thus that food will have a direct link to helping the body to burn more fat.

Six Smaller Meals Versus Three Normal Meals

There have been discussions over the best way to eat right and lose weight for the last 20 years or more. One of the most common pieces of advice given is to eat 6 smaller meals during the day instead of just breakfast, lunch and dinner. In a recent CNN article, the authors of the article explain that 6 smaller meals are no better than 3 normal meals. That simply is not the case.

The key to eating 6 smaller meals a day is to help curb hunger and thus help the dieter to lose weight. The definition of a meal is where the discrepancy lies. In western culture, a meal is considered three courses including a protein, starch and vegetable as a minimum offering. But, when dieting the “meals” may actually just be carefully controlled snacks. The more often you eat, the less often you are hungry and the more weight you may lose.

Losing weight is about more than just choosing negative calorie foods and eating 6 times a day. The body needs exercise, plenty of water and a positive mind set to really shed those unwanted pounds.

Summer is over, fall is here and life in the HWW fast lane is zooming by. The users are contributing a steady flow of content and doctor reviews and we are happier than ever that our site is gaining more and more readers and contributors every day. This week, users have posed a few questions that need to be addressed.

Inigo, of the Fertility and Conception Community, asks if Viagra is safe? As any doctor will let you know, Viagra is safe for most men who are able to have sex. What this statement means is there are men out there who have heart problems and other health problems that may be irritated by the use of Viagra. When choosing to try out Viagra, it is important to seek medical attention and get a physical before taking the medication. NEVER use another person’s prescription for Viagra. Medication sharing can be the cause of health problems and unexpected death.

Mimi, from the Pain Community, answers a question that many people ask as they age. How can you tell if it is a real heart attack? According to the post, “Typically, a heart attack causes chest pain lasting longer than 15 minutes….or an attack can produce no signs and symptoms. A lot of times, warning symptoms occur hours, days or weeks in advance. The earliest predictor of an attack may be recurrent chest pain that’s triggered by exertion and relieved by rest.”

While this information is 100% true, if you feel you are having a heart attack, waiting with chest pains for 15 minutes can be life threatening. The first few minutes are the most crucial and care needs to be started within 30 to 45 minutes in order to ensure the best chances of survival. Seeking medical attention at the first signs of chest pains is advised.

The FDA and Dieting

According to news reports from Medline Plus, the FDA is asking for more time to study the effects of cold medications on children. As early as last year, the FDA pulled certain cold medications from the shelves claiming that they were unsafe for children. A total ban on children’s cold medications is supported by doctors, but the FDA fears parents will simply give children the adult version when the children’s version is not available.

Dieting can help asthma? Yes, according to new research from Dr. Isabelle Romieu from Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica de Mexico. The Mediterranean diet, which is high in fruits, nuts and beans and lower in dairy products, seems to cut a child’s chance of suffering from common hay fever symptoms and asthma.

HealthWorldWeb News

HealthWorldWeb is starting a new series on food myths. This series will offer weekly posts on food myths and whether they are true or false. We will also take on some user questions and a few queries of our own! The first myth busted pertains to the Elusive “Negative Calorie” Food!

The Foot of the Matter

Very few people pay attention to the health of their feet until something goes terribly wrong. Ingrown toenails are not only painful, but can cause infection of the toe and foot. User William Dave, posts some great information on the ingrown toenail in the Foot Problems Community.

“Ingrown toenails are so bothersome. It’s what you get when the nail penetrates into the soft tissue of the toe. It could become infected and when it does, the toe becomes red and swollen and may contain pus. For most of us, it’s merely a discomfort but for diabetics or those with poor circulation, it can be quite severe.”

Winter Time Means Arthritis Pain

For many people, the winter months are not only a time for cold, windy weather, but a time when their arthritis pain increases dramatically. Arthritis is more than aching joints, it is a debilitating condition that leaves the sufferer with a reduced range of motion and sometimes the inability to use their hand and joints at all. The Bones, Muscles and Joints Community is currently having an active discussion on arthritis and the effects on the body. User Renee writes,

“I threw shot put and discus in high school and college and have noticed my hands getting more and more sore all the time. I work with my hands every day and they said I have carpal tunnel syndrome, but I truly think it is just arthritis.”

Moving out of the HWW communities and into the world of health care, there are some great advances being made in the world of medicine.

Pfizer and Stem Cell Research

The debate over stem cell research has plagued politicians and the medical community for quite some time. The moral dilemma over the use of cells harvested from a human fetus is something even the medical community is not willing to mainstream.

Big drug company, Pfizer, is jumping into the stem cell research game but in a morally positive way. The stem cell research funded by Pfizer will involve the use of adult stem cells. These stem cells are being trained, or coerced, to act like embryonic stem cells. If the research goes well, the world of medicine will see a bright new tomorrow.

Kids and Winter Months: Time for the Flu Shot

The flu is a combination of symptoms that often leave the sufferer in bed for days. When a child or elderly person contracts the influenza virus, the results can be fatal. The common misconception is that cold symptoms in the winter are the same as the flu. On the contrary, the influenza virus is debilitating and only the flu shot can help to prevent those at highest risk from contracting the flu.

Unfortunately, the flu shot is often a hit or miss vaccination. The influenza virus changes and adjusts every year, so doctors and researchers are left making a guess as to which strain will affect the most people in the winter months.

Social Networking and My Weight Loss Dreams

There was a time when I weighed more than 300 pounds. I was convinced that living life as a larger person was okay and the health risks of my high weight never once crossed my mind. After a trip to the beach, the photos told an entirely different story. I was more than overweight, I was obese and I needed help to lose this weight.

I tried the conventional diets, fad diets and the exercising religiously. I managed to lose more than 120 pounds only to gain the weight right back over time. After becoming pregnant with twins and being forced to eat more than 15,000 calories a day while on bed rest, I gave birth and weighed 267 pounds 6 weeks after the babies were born.

I again jumped on the weight loss wagon and tried every diet I could get my hands on. I successfully lose 30 pounds but felt so alone in the world that eating was my only release. I gained and lost the same 20 pounds over and over again. After moving to a new state, thousands of miles from my family, I chose the Atkins diet to being my weight loss journey again.

While on Atkins I stumbled across a forum of other Atkins dieters. I blogged every day, weighed in and even participated in on site contests for weight loss. I hit 172.5 on Christmas Day 2005. Soon after, another move left me out of the loop and off Atkins.

Again I gained back most of the weight and settled around 221 pounds for the longest time. On a whim, I decided to search for another forum to discuss my weight loss struggles and found HealthWorldWeb. I instantly became attuned to the forum posting and blog posting in the weight loss, fitness and obesity forums. I learned about supplements and the healthiest ways to eat. I lose the weight I had gained thanks to HealthWorldWeb and I have remained at 184 pounds for the past 6 months. I know I will lose more weight, but with the backing and knowledge I have gained from HWW I now know that time is my best friend.

Losing more than 100 pounds is hard, but with the support of others just like you, the forums at HWW are the perfect place to start your journey to weight loss. Thank you HWW for giving me the chance to see my children grow, my grandchildren born and life as it should be, healthy!

Summer Banks

The first HealthWorldWeb contest was greeted with great results. Users from all over the map sent in their stories and their postings about how social networking has changed their lives. After reading each story, the winner of the contest was the one that proved the most achievement thanks to a direct relation to social networking.

All of the entries were heartfelt and well written. We needed to pin point one story that represented the purpose behind HealthWorldWeb. A world of interacting humans learning from others experiences, sharing their health care and health situational knowledge and truly benefiting from that interaction is what we represent and one story bled our beliefs with every word written.

User Summer Banks, submitted her story of trials, tribulations and perseverance. The story was one that has been told a million and one times, but this time with a social interaction twist. Summer Banks lost more than 100 pounds with the help of social networking sites. When she lost touch with her communities, she gained the weight back. After joining HealthWorldWeb, she lost the weight and has maintained a healthy weight for every month she has been an active user.

Congratulations Summer Banks on your weight loss and your win in the first HealthWorldWeb contest!

Things are getting more and more exciting by the week here at HealthWorldWeb. This week marked the first ever social networking and you contest. Users provided in depth articles, essays and stories about how their lives were changed with social networking. The stories were all entered into a contest for a $100.00 grand prize.

In addition to the contest, users continued to fill the blogs and forums with more fantastic information.

Frequent Bad Dreams?

In the Sleep Disorders community, a discussion has just started in regards to children with frequent bad dreams. Children commonly suffer from bad dreams from time to time, but what is a parent to do when this event keeps happening over and over again? If you have some useful information for the members of the Sleep Disorders community, hop on over and join the discussion.

First, Second and Third Degree Burns

Did you ever want to know what the difference is between the 3 degrees of burns? User pepperpots in the Wounds, Injuries, Poisons community has. Pepperpots writes, “I heard burns are classified into various degrees. What differentiates a first degree burn from a second degree burn? How about third degree?”

Later in the discussion, user Crissyndra offers a great explanation of each degree,

“A first-degree burn is the mildest, and damage is limited to the skin’s topmost layer:

A second-degree burn is a more serious case, and damage already involves the skin’s layers that are below the outermost layer.

A third-degree burn is the most serious type of burn and all the layers of the skin and the underlying tissue are damaged.”

Anemic or Pale?

User brendan asks a very important question in the Blood Disorders community.

“My wife has been told a lot of times that she looks anemic. Should we take such comments seriously?”

While many people like to diagnose their friends every chance they get, there can be a real truth to the friends concerns in this case. One of the most common characteristics of anemia is pale skin. User amanda offers great descriptive advice on the term anemia,

Anemia is something that you just cannot ignore because it is said that this condition is usually caused by either of these three:

• blood loss or excessive bleeding (maybe your wife experiences really heavy menstruation every month?)
• inadequate production of red blood cells
• destruction of red blood cells

When it comes to a medical condition such as anemia, there is little room to self diagnose. A doctor can perform a short and relatively painless test to determine anemia in most office settings.

Attention all HealthWorldWeb users, the community activity and participation on HealthWorldWeb.com has soared. To celebrate the fantastic growth we have experienced, we are announcing a contest for the most inspiring story related to impact of social networking on Health, Healing and Well Being. We are awarding a one time prize of $100 to the user that can be a leaving example that Social Communication between people both sick and healthy creates miracles, gives hope, answers questions, helps to get through the toughest situation in life.

Do you have a story to share? Has social networking changed your life for the better? Write a blog posting today about the effect of social networking on your life and send the link to the posting to healthworldweb@healthworldweb.com. You could be the winner of our first $100 contest.

So users the ball is in your court. Wow us, make us laugh and watch us cry as you offer a brief glimpse into how your life has changed thanks to social networking. The winning post will be displayed on the HealthWorldWeb blog.

The contest starts on Monday, September 15th, 2008 and runs for 1 week. The decision about the winning blog will be made by Thursday, September 25th 2008 and the winner will be notified on Friday, September 26th 2008.

Disclaimer: Submitting a story for this contest does not ensure a contest win. The $100 award will be paid after the winner of the contest is chosen. Payments will be made either by PayPal or check sent to an address provided by the user. The contest described above is a one-time contest, no assumptions can be made for future payments.

Recently the Alternative Medicine forums have been extremely active. One of the primary threads people are discussing involves Acupuncture. In order to better under the field of acupuncture, here is a bit of background on this homeopathic choice.

Acupuncture involves convincing the body to heal itself. According to ancient Chinese cultures, there are electric places on the body that when stimulated correlate with a healing process. The electricity runs through active channels all over the body. These channels are referred to as meridians. These meridians flow through the body and provide nourishment to the cells and tissues of the body.

According to the theories of Chinese medicine, these meridians, or rivers, can become clogged or blocked. The needles used in the field of acupuncture are placed at specific points (meridian points) in the upper most layer of the skin in order to dispel the blockage. After the treatment, the meridian “rivers” will again run free to nourish the cells and tissues once more, thus improving overall health.

Acupuncture Treatments

There are no real limitations to the ailments treatable with acupuncture. In all honesty, the treatment is not really a treatment at all. Think of acupuncture as a catalyst for the body’s natural healing process. Acupuncture just helps the body to more effectively heal itself.

Where are the Meridian Points?

There are literally thousands of meridian points throughout the body. The trained acupuncturist will take a medical history, just as a medical doctor or nurse would in an office setting and establish the proper points to use in treatment. If you present to the acupuncturist with nausea and vomiting, for instance, several acupuncture points could be used to treat the upset stomach, vomiting, stomach pain, etc…

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

Some people report they feel a minor stinging when the needles are tapped into the epidermal layer of the skin. However, most people feel no pain at all. The needles measure only 1 cm in length and are tapped into the skin only a fraction of a cm.

For more information on how HealthWorldWeb visitors are using acupuncture…visit the Alternative Medicine community today.

As the weeks fly by, one cannot help but notice the activity on the HWW site. When the site first opened, there were dreams of regular traffic, today those dreams are a reality and the users are generating content that is informative, educational and heart felt.

Evolving Into Health Care

User summerbanks, posted an interesting bit about the Evolution of Health Care. The user writes,

“The evolution of health care began pretty much when we did. People have been using herbs to heal wounds since we still called caves home, but today science has pushed simply eating “this” and feeling better to an amazing new level.”

The post goes on to explain more about early health care.

If you are interested in reading more about the Evolution of Health Care, see the Alternative Medicine community today.

Choking and Children

User pigpie started an active thread in the Children forum. What started out as a question about the best way to treat a choking child turned into a discussion about child abuse, proper technique and the Heimlich Maneuver. Pigpie was concerned that the Heimlich would break some of the ribs of the child. To answer that part of the discussion, here are a few quick facts on the Heimlich Versus CPR.

The Heimlich Maneuver is completed by placing the arms around the waste and grasping the hands together just below the belly button. With forceful, quick stroke, the hands should be pulling inward and upward to create a shot of air up through the airway. That will often dislodge the food that is caught. This maneuver will often not harm the ribs.

CPR, however, has been known to crack ribs and break ribs in both adults and children. As a matter of fact, you can rest assured that if you are performing CPR correctly, the chance of breaking a rib is actually higher.

Adults and ADHD

A recent addition to the HWW community listing, the ADHD Community user Jonie, has posted a bit of information on how to deal with ADHD as an adult. In most cases, by the time adulthood is reached, the condition is called ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder. ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is most common in children. I guess adults are just not that hyper by the time they grow up.

Jonie writes,

“Common symptoms for ADHD in adults include laziness, forgetfulness, procrastination, impulsiveness, mood swings, and chronic boredom. If gone untreated, adult ADHD can lead to depression, low self-esteem, frequent substance abuse, and difficulty controlling anger.”

To read more about ADD or ADHD, visit the ADHD Community today.

HELPFUL USER TIP OF THE WEEK

This week I wanted to add a helpful tip about the site and site usage. This week, the Social Graph. On your homepage you will notice an interactive social graph. That graph grows with you the more you post on HWW. But, did you know that by clicking on another’s user name you can see everything from their latest post to the communities they are most active in. This graph can help you to bond with other users or find a new community to join.

HELPFUL HEALTHY REMINDER

As the summer months fall into autumn, the flu season is upon us. Young children and the elderly are at greatest risk of contracting the Influenza Virus. While many people think, “Oh! It’s just the flu.”, rest assured the REAL flu is nothing to play around with contracting. The common belief is the flu is the same as feeling bad for a few days. In all reality, when the actual flu is contracted, the patient can become sick enough for the condition to be life threatening.

In order to avoid contracting the flu, talk to your doctor about ways to prevent contraction and ways to improve your immune system.

This week has been one of the busiest weeks in HWW history. Users are flocking to the site offering doctor ratings, forum postings, comments and blogs. With such an influx of information, we need to share a bit with you.

Caring For the Uninsured

User Nicole offers a bit of information and contemplation on the state of health insurance in the United States today. Nicole writes,

“One of the gravest concerns facing our nation today is the plight of those who don’t have health insurance or are underinsured. “

To read more on topics related to Health and Law visit the community today!

Lower Back Pain and Practical Solutions

With the huge influx of technology, more and more people are spending tons of time on their bums. The more time spent sitting, the more increased the chance of lower back pain. Combine that sitting time with improper lifting tactics and your back aches for days without an end.

User Annemarie, offers tips on preventing lower back pain including,

“Don’t use a sagging mattress for sleep. Tossing around while in bed is good too.” and “When you’re forced to sit for long periods of time, cross and uncross your legs.”

To read more of these great tips, visit the Lower Back Pain Community.

Childhood Obesity: A Growing Problem

User bryan is right on point with his post on the threat of obesity in children. He writes,

“Lifestyles may make it difficult for children to stay healthy. I have to admit I wasn’t much of a good example. I realize that for my kid to succeed, I myself have to make some significant changes too.”

This statement could not be more on point. Children often mimic the actions of their parents and in order to prevent childhood obesity from growing any further, parents need to make activity and healthy eating a part of everyday life.

To read more on health issues involving children, visit the Children community.

The Personalized Recommendation Engine is LIVE!

With great pleasure, HWW has activated the personalized recommendation engine. When users sign in to their account, this engine will offer suggestions for reading based upon content added to the site. This engine offers a seamless integration between user content and the user. No longer will the user have to search for relevant content, it will consistently be updated on their home page based upon their participation in communities and preferences.

HWW and Mashable

During a recent Mashable event in New York City, I was able to sit down and talk a bit about HWW and the vision we are seeking in the Health 2.0 community and with the integration of social networking into the lives of those searching for relevant health information.

The video of that interview gives viewers a chance to see me, the CEO of HWW, and understand more about when HWW has to offer. You can see the video HERE.