Summit Total Health

The Truth about Sunscreen

Are the sunscreens you’re using safe or are they causing more harm than good? Is a tan really unhealthy? We’ll show you what sunscreens are safe and also what foods and nutrients will build up your natural sun defenses.

How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

Almost everyone trying to build muscle has heard that they need to eat a lot of protein, so they pack on the meat and eggs hoping for the best. There is truth to this, but experts say you need to be careful with this.

A study conducted at the University of Texas was conducted to see how much protein our body really uses to make muscle. The researchers studied how fast muscles were produced by different people eating different amounts of lean beef.

Mercury Found in Foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup

A study conducted in January of 2009 showed that some foods and drinks rich in high-fructose corn syrup may contain detectable levels of mercury. The report was published on the web site of the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Police (IATP). It showed that mercury was found in 17 of the 55 products tested.

Here are those 17 foods,

• Quaker Oatmeal to Go Bars
• Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce
• Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
• Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
• Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars

Is Fruit Juice More Healthy Than a Soft Drink?

We’ve all heard about how bad soft drinks are for our health. They’re loaded with high fructose corn syrup and calories. So what a lot of parents and schools have done is trade these soft drinks for juices, but is this really helping anyone health-wise?

Kimber Stanhope, a scientist from UC Davis, says that her studies suggest that the sugar (fructose) in 100% fruit juice has the same effect as the sugar in soft drinks. Both fruit juice and soft drinks were proven to increase risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. She continued that fruit juice can also promote weight gain the same way soft drinks do. That said, she also believes that it is possible - though unproven - that other components of juice may protect against those side effects.

The Swine Flu - Should We Panic?

The swine flu has received a lot of attention lately in the news. It seems to be spreading quickly over the globe the World Health Organization labeling H1N1 a global pandemic on June 11th. But what’s the difference between the H1N1 virus and the normal season flu’s?

-The swine flu H1N1 virus is globally widespread at the community level.

-The chain of person-to-person transmission is no longer clear in some areas, so testing all suspected cases is not feasible.

-The groups most severely affected differ from those who typically develop seasonal flu complications.

-Rates of severe illness and death from novel H1N1 influenza may be unusually high in the developing world.

The Dangers of Eating Fish

Fish is beyond compare as a source of many nutrients vital to the developing infant, some of which may actually enhance development of the nervous system in babies and young children.

Widespread contamination of fish with toxic mercury, however, has cast a shadow over the nutritional benefits of fish.

Exposure to mercury in the womb can cause learning deficits, delay the mental development of children, and cause other neurological problems. Mercury consumed by a pregnant woman through contaminated fish can cross her placenta to damage the brain of her baby.

Being Overweight is Expensive

A reason many people give for not eating healthy is simply the cost. A double cheeseburger from a fast food place just seems to be cheaper than buying the ingredients for a healthy meal. While this might seem true on a day to day basis it isn’t true in the long run. Cheeseburgers might be cheap when you buy them but they are expensive on your body and eventually this will come out of your wallet. Health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, and heart conditions are very expensive to treat and the price keeps going up.

Can the Swine Flu Be Prevented with Vitamin D?

In an effort to discover new ways to fight the swine flu, the Public Health Agency of Canada intends to test the blood of people contracting the ailment to check their vitamin D levels.

The agency is taking the unconventional action to try to find out whether those with mild cases of the flu have more of the sunshine vitamin circulating in their bodies than those who develop severe or even deadly reactions to the H1N1 virus.