Giving Gifts of Health for the New Year

thehealthybasket — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:52:37 +0000

All those high fat, high calorie holiday goodies you enjoyed over the holidays can pack on the weight. Some studies have shown an average 5-7 weight gain from Thanksgiving through New Years. But added calories alone aren’t the only culprit…..

Now new studies, however, have shown that stress alone can create weight gain, independant of foods consumed. Stress may help trigger fat cells to grow and multiply. Even worse, the fat cells tend to be stored in abdominal fat, a risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

The bottom line: Controllling stress is key. Breathing techniques, meditation and yoga, exercise and music are all known ways to lower the stress “fight or flight” hormones.

Next blog: A quick breathing exercise to drop the adrenaline surge.
Show someone you care with a healthy gift basket.