How Much Caffeine is Too Much to Drink?


coffee

Caffeine is a daily part of life for many Americans. Almost 85% of the adult population drink at least one caffeinated beverage a day, according to data. Latinos drink the most—67% of all Latino adults drink at least one a day, NBC Latino reports. But how much caffeine is safe? March is National Caffeine Awareness Month, a good time to learn about this popular alkaloid commonly found in coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and now found in unexpected places such as ice creams and over-the-counter pain medicines. Caffeine, which acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system, is found naturally in over 60 plants, like coffee beans, tea leaves, and in cacao (the base for chocolate). It also can be produced synthetically. Moderate consumption has some positive ...

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3 Ways to Boost Your Health



If you’re like many parents, you probably don’t have enough time to go to the gym every day. Being a parent can be hectic—especially when you have to juggle work, children, and family. What can you do to stay healthy without spending hundreds of hours at the gym every week? Exercise Doctors recommend exercising your heart at least 30 minutes a day to stay in optimal health conditions. For example, you can walk during lunch time, run/jog in place while you watch your favorite novela, or go bicycle riding with your children to the nearest park. Eat Healthy Mom was right, we are what we eat. Stop eating foods high in saturated fats, salt, and cholesterol. Replace junk food with fruits, vegetables, and plenty of water. Meditate Plenty of studies have proven that ...

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8 Jobs that Can Harm Your Heart


Heartache

Eight professions are among the most challenging to a person's heart health—salesperson, administrative support staff, police officers and firefighters, transportation/material movers, a grocery/consumer store employee—according to new research, CNN reports. American Heart Association researchers studies health habits of over 5,500 people age 45 or older who did not have a history of heart disease or stroke. The habits include: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, fitness levels, diet, smoking, and obesity. Most salespeople surveyed were determined to have poor eating habits (68%) and poor cholesterol levels (69%). Of administrative staff, less than 21% met recommended physical activity standards. Despite the fitness standards of many police and fire departments, ...

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Why Some Latinas Are ‘Going Vegan’



Several Latinas are praising the health virtues of "going vegan" after formerly eating meat, according to a recent Miami Herald column. These include Carolina Quijada, vegan chef of LovinGreens, Jeanette Ruiz, who conducts the Planted in Miami podcast, and Desiree Rodriguez, a ricanvegan.com blogger. Although a plant-based diet is a break from typical Latino tradition, the column indicates that these Latinas chose that lifestyle to boost fitness, overcome sickness and hypoglycemia, and prevent cancer and heart disease. “I wish there was more awareness for [Latinos]," Rodriguez told Miami Herald columnist, Ellen Kanner, a vegan herself. "A lot have the same diseases my family has. It’s so common—I hear them comparing medications. I feel like going vegan is a simple ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/1/16, 1 pm EST: “Colorectal Cancer: What Latinos Should Know”



Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Hispanic men and the third leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Let’s use #SaludTues on March 1, 2016, to tweet information and resources on Colorectal Cancer and Latinos: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Colorectal Cancer: What Latinos Should Know” DATE: Tuesday, March 1, 2016 TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT) WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludToday CO-HOSTS: Fight Colorectal Cancer (@FightCRC), Colorectal Cancer Alliance (@CCAlliance), National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (@NCCRTnews) Questions we got via Social Media: What are the symptoms of colorectal cancer? How can colorectal cancer be prevented? What screenings are available? Be sure to use the hashtag ...

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What to Do When You Hear: “You Have a Cavity.”



SaludToday Guest Blogger Jefferson Dental Clinics "You have a cavity." You've probably heard this exact phrase from your dentist about your teeth. In fact, 82% of Latino adults have had a cavity. What should you do? First, bone up on what cavities are. "Demineralization" is the process of how tooth enamel loses minerals. Tooth enamel is comprised of a pattern of minerals and when they are lost, gaps in the pattern form that eventually widen and deepen as minerals are lost faster than the rate of rebuilding occurs. A common misconception is that sugar itself erodes tooth enamel; however, the sugars simply act as a food for the bacteria. The bacteria produce lactic acid, which erodes the enamel when it is left to settle onto teeth. Can you see or feel a cavity? If ...

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1 in 3 Americans Don’t Get Enough Sleep


hispanic sleeping lady tired clock

On average, Americans are not getting enough sleep according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study found that, on average, over 60% of Latinos ages 18 to 60 get the recommended hours of sleep compared to Whites (67%) and African Americans (54%). “As a nation we are not getting enough sleep,” said Dr. Wayne Giles, director of CDC’s Division of Population Health. According to the CDC, sleeping less than 7 hours each day is associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and mental distress. “Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night; rising at the same time each morning; and turning off or removing televisions, computers, mobile devices from the bedroom, can help ...

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Latina Researcher Continues Blazing Leadership Trail



Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, a Latino health researcher and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, recently became a national research fellow, and is co-leading regional health education centers in South Texas. Parra-Medina was named a Fellow by the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB), a national group of researchers who apply study results to improve public health. Fellows are selected for their significant contributions to advancing health behavior knowledge, as well as a strong record of scientific investigations, publications, and presentations. She is being recognized at the AAHB’s scientific meeting Feb. 21-24, 2016, in Florida. Parra-Medina also ...

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HPV Rates Drop in the US



Research shows the prevalence of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) in the United States is down by 60% among teenage girls, since the introduction of the HPV vaccine, Fox News reports. For the study, researchers pulled data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and concluded that HPV is down 64 percent among teenage girls ages 14 to 19 and 34 percent among young women ages 20 to 24. Although the HPV vaccine has the potential to prevent thousands of individuals from getting HPV related cancers (cervical cancers, penile cancers, head and neck cancers) uptake of the vaccine remains low. “We have this cancer-prevention vaccine that is severely underutilized in the United States,” Dr. Kevin Henry of Temple University said in news update from Fred Hutch ...

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