How to Eat Healthy Lunches at the Office

Author
by ELLE PAULA 

Approximately 83 percent of Americans typically eat at their desks during the course of a normal work day, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Many of these people may have the desire to eat a healthy lunch at work, but it can be difficult with a short lunch break and temptations from less health conscious co-workers. Planning, snacking and making yourself accountable are three ways to help you eat healthy lunches at the office.

Planning is Key

When you’re trying to eat a healthy lunch at the office, the best thing you can do is plan your meals ahead and bring your own lunch. Workplace cafeterias are often filled with greasy, unhealthy food, such as pizza and cheesy pasta dishes. Preparing your lunch will help you stay on track during the day. Make an extra portion or two at dinner the night before and pack some in a to-go container for lunch at the office. Pack your lunch the night before so that you can just grab it on the way out the door instead of scrambling to make something healthy in the morning. Grilled chicken and vegetables, turkey sandwiches on whole-grain bread and whole-wheat pasta with marinara sauce are quick, easy options that will help keep you full and on track.

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Nibble Regularly

Munching on healthy snacks throughout the day is a great way to make sure you eat a healthy lunch at the office. When you haven’t eaten since breakfast and you’re famished, ordering a large pizza may seem like a good idea. If you’ve satisfied yourself with healthy snacks all day long, your blood sugar will remain more stable so that you don’t feel starving and you will be more likely to stick with your healthy packed lunch. Choose snacks that contain protein, which helps keep you full. Some options include hummus and cut-up vegetables, string cheese and a piece of fruit and all-natural peanut butter on whole-grain crackers.

Be Choosy with Takeout

Let’s face it, even with the best intentions, there are some days that you’re not going to be able to plan and pack your lunch. When this happens, takeout may be your only option. Find a few places in the vicinity near your work and study their menus. Choose takeout options that contain vegetables, lean protein and whole grains, such as a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with a side salad or chicken soup and a vegetable wrap. Ask for sandwiches without cheese or mayonnaise and insist on getting salads with the dressing on the side. Most restaurants will be willing to accommodate your dietary needs.

Find a Buddy

Resisting temptation can be difficult, especially at the office where vending machines and candy bowls can throw you off track in an instant. Find a co-worker who is also into healthy eating and make a pact to help each other stay on track. Eat with this lunch buddy every day and avoid co-workers who try to sabotage your efforts with unhealthy temptations.

For further information log on website :
https://www.livestrong.com/article/17363-eat-lunches-office/

Top Ten Healthy Lunch Ideas for Work

Author
by JENNIFER HAYES 

With a hectic work schedule, it can sometimes be difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Many people resort to unhealthy fast food options because they don’t think they have enough time to eat well. But with a little preparation and all natural ingredients, you can prepare and store several healthy lunches at home, ready to take to work.

Nori and Vegetable Slaw Wrap

Nori is an iodine-rich sea vegetable like kelp that is sold in sheets. For the vegetable slaw you will need cabbage, cucumber and bok choy and carrots. Prepare the slaw by tossing the vegetables in rice vinegar, honey and soy sauce. Line a piece of whole grain flatbread with nori and slaw and then roll. For a little kick, add wasabi or grated ginger.

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Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Couscous Salad

Couscous is a grain, easily blended with many fresh ingredients. Begin this salad by cooking couscous and chilling it in the refrigerator. Prepare a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, baby spinach and yellow bell pepper. Once the couscous has chilled and the fruits and vegetables are chopped, toss and bind together with honey, basil and olive oil.

Lime Chicken and Avocado Salad Wrap

Mix up a quick chicken marinade using lime, minced garlic and olive oil and add it to skinless chicken breasts, trimming away fat. Chop fresh avocado, bell pepper, cilantro and onion. Shred the chicken and add it to the chopped vegetables, binding it with low-fat sour cream. Roll the mixture into a wrap, using flatbread or a tortilla.

Sweet Potato and Squash Soup

Both sweet potatoes and squash are sources of fiber and nutrients. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and squash and drizzle with olive oil, pepper and sea salt. Bake the vegetables until they are soft and then puree them, adding vegetable or chicken stock, honey and cinnamon. You can eat this soup cold like a gazpacho or warm it up.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Using whole grain pasta, vegetables, olives and feta cheese, you can make a Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad. Chop cucumber, red bell pepper, baby spinach and onion, and then toss them with the pasta, olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, olives and feta. Because olives and feta are high in sodium, measure the portions carefully.

Red Beans and Rice Soup

A takeoff of a classic southern dish, prepare red beans and rice soup using dry or low-sodium canned kidney beans, rice and low-sodium cajun seasoning. Begin by dicing onion, bell pepper and celery, and then saute in olive oil and cajun seasoning. Add vegetable stock, kidney beans and rice and simmer.

Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Wrap

Fresh mozzarella is light and spongy and is also high in calcium and vitamin D. Using flatbread to wrap, layer fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes and fresh or dried basil. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette lightly onto the layers and roll.

Fruit and Nut Trail Mix Salad

For a sweet and crunchy salad rich in fiber, antioxidants and protein, mix nutrient-dense couscous with a variety of fruits and nuts. Add raisins, figs and dried cranberries to a combination of chopped almonds, cashews or walnuts. Add this mixture to chilled couscous and bind with orange juice, honey and olive oil.

Salmon Salad Tea Sandwiches

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, one of the building blocks of neural cell membranes, salmon can help the body prevent oxidation damage of heart and brain cells. Combine cooked, flaked salmon with fresh, diced cucumber and parsley, and bind with either low-fat cream cheese or plain low-fat yogurt. Spread the salmon mixture on dense, whole grain bread.

Southwest Black Bean and Vegetable Salad

Another salad rich in protein and flavor is a Southwest Black Bean and Vegetable Salad. Begin by cooking dry black beans, and chop vegetables and herbs, such as corn, tomato, green and red peppers, cilantro and onion. Chill the black beans and then mix in the chopped vegetables. Bind the ingredients together with a mixture of lime juice, sea salt, cracked pepper and olive oil.

For further information log on website :
https://www.livestrong.com/article/529155-top-ten-healthy-lunch-ideas-for-work/

There Is No 'Face' of Depression

Author
Written by Carolyn Abate on October 3, 2017

Fact Checked

Linkin Park singer's wife releases video of her husband laughing the day before his suicide. Experts say depression can be a difficult condition to spot.

The images on the video don’t give any indication of any problem.

Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park, sitting with his son and laughing as they taste different Jelly Belly candies.

The video, taken just the day before Bennington took his life, was posted by his wife last month on her Twitter account to show the world that depression has no face.

“This is what depression looked like to us just 36 hrs b4 his death. He loved us SO much & we loved him,” Talinda Bennington said in her caption.

The juxtaposition of Bennington enjoying a fatherly moment with ending his life 36 hours later doesn’t jibe with what most people think of when they think of a person who is depressed, said Dr. Matthew Hirschtritt of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

“It’s not our quintessential image of someone suffering internally,” he told Healthline.

But the message that Bennington’s wife is trying to convey is true, Hirschtritt added.

Depression can be difficult to see

Depression doesn’t carry one type of face.

Key symptoms of depression include feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness, or hopelessness.

Other symptoms show up as angry outbursts, loss of interest in normal activities, sleep disturbances, tiredness, and anxiety.

What people need to understand is that these common symptoms will differ in how they manifest, according to Dr. Ken Duckworth, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

“Depression isn’t just one thing, either biologically or how it presents,” he told Healthline.

Not all depressed people want to sleep all day.

Some people take to overeating to compensate for their feelings of despair. Others may have no appetite whatsoever.

The changes in behavior can be subtle, such as a person sleeping more — or less.

Other times, symptoms can appear more obvious, such as a pronounced increase in alcohol and drug consumption.

The variation in symptoms makes it challenging for family members and friends to know when it’s time to step in and intervene.

“It’s a very complicated thing,” Duckworth said.

When depression leads to suicide

It’s important to note that depression doesn’t always leads to suicide, as in Bennington’s case.

But the two are connected.

“Suicide occurs when stressors exceed your coping abilities,” Hirschtritt said.

He noted that in the singer’s case, it’s important to take a step back.

The 41-year-old singer had a history of alcohol and drug abuse.

He also talked freely about being sexual assaulted when he was a child.

He had a history of depression as well.

More recently, his friend Chris Cornell took his own life.

That incident, combined with Bennington’s mental state, could have made life so unbearable that he decided it wasn’t worth living anymore.

“I don’t want to say one caused the other,” Hirschtritt said, “but it may have been the straw the broke the camel’s back.”

Suicide rate rising

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicides have been rising since 2000.

The greatest facilitator of suicide is firearms. In 2014, guns accounted for over 55 percent of all suicides in men and around 31 percent in women in the United States, reports the CDC.

Both Hirschtritt and Duckworth said if a person owns a gun — whether they have depression or not — they should always create barriers for people to gain access to those guns.

This includes trigger locks, safety locks, keeping the magazines separate from the gun, and keeping the gun locked in a safe.

Between 2009 and 2012, more than 1 in 20 people ages 12 and older say they’ve experienced depression, according to the CDC.

Duckworth believes the numbers of people who have depression in the U.S. is higher. But because the disease still carries stigma in some communities and within some families, it’s often underreported.

If talking about depression was easy, he added, nearly one-third of Americans would be members of NAMI.

“We should have 100 million members,” Duckworth said.

Even so, Duckworth did note that society has made strides in how we deal with depression.

In the next 20 years, he expects to see the business community really step up efforts to combat depression and other mental health issues in the workplace.

“Employee groups are going to wake up,” he said. “Depression is the number one cause of lack of productivity.”

For further information log on website :
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/there-is-no-face-of-depression#2

What Are the 12 Leading Causes of Death in the United States?

Author
Medically Reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, PhD, RN, CRNA on August 24, 2017 — Written by Kimberly Holland

For more than a decade, heart disease and cancer have claimed the first and second spots respectively as the leading causes of deaths in America. Together, the two causes are responsible for 46 percent of deaths in the United States. Combined with the third most common cause of death, chronic lower respiratory diseases, the three diseases account for half of all deaths in the United States.

For more than 30 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been collecting and examining causes of death. This information helps researchers and doctors understand if they need to address growing epidemics in healthcare. The numbers also help them understand how preventative measures may help people live longer and healthier lives.

The top 12 causes of death in the United States account for more than 75 percent of all deaths. Learn about each of the main causes and what can be done to prevent them.

1. Heart disease

Number of deaths per year: 633,842

Percent of total deaths: 24.1 percent

More common among:

• men
• people who smoke
• people who are overweight or obese
• people with a family history of heart disease or heart attack
• people over age 55

What causes heart disease?

Heart disease is a term used to describe a range of conditions that affect your heart and blood vessels. These conditions include:

• heart arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats)
• coronary artery disease (blocked arteries)
• heart defects

Tips for prevention

Many cases of heart disease can be prevented through lifestyle changes. These changes include:

• . quitting smoking
• . eating a healthier diet
• . exercising at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week
• . maintaining a healthy weight

2. Cancer

Number of deaths per year: 595,930

Percent of total deaths: 22.7 percent

More common among: Each type of cancer has a specific set of risk factors, but several risk factors are common among multiple types. These risk factors include:

• people of a certain age
• people who use tobacco and alcohol
• people exposed to radiation and sunlight
• people with chronic inflammation
• people who are obese
• people with a family history of the disease

What causes cancer?

Cancer is the result of rapid and uncontrolled cell growth in your body. A normal cell multiplies and divides in a controlled manner. Sometimes, those instructions become scrambled. When this happens, the cells begin to divide at an uncontrolled rate. This can develop into cancer.

Tips for prevention

There’s no clear way to avoid cancer. But certain behaviors have been linked to increased cancer risk, like smoking, so avoiding those may help you cut your risk. Good changes to your behaviors include:

• maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, and exercising regularly
• quitting smoking, and drinking in moderation
• avoiding direct exposure to the sun or ultraviolet tanning lights
• having regular cancer screenings, including skin checks, mammograms, prostate exams, and more

3. Chronic lower respiratory diseases

Number of deaths per year: 155,041

Percent of total deaths: 5.9 percent

More common among:

• women
• people over age 65
• people with a history of smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke
• people with a history of asthma
• individuals in lower-income households

What causes respiratory diseases?

This group of diseases includes:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• emphysema
• asthma
• pulmonary hypertension

Each of these conditions or diseases prevents your lungs from working properly. They can also cause scarring and damage to the lung’s tissues.

Tips for prevention

Tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure are the primary factors in the development of these diseases. Quit smoking, and limit your exposure to other people’s smoke to reduce your risk. See what readers had to say when asked for real and practical tips to help you quit smoking.

4. Accidents (unintentional injuries)

Number of deaths per year: 146,571

Percent of total deaths: 5.6 percent

More common among:

• men
• people age 1 to 44
• people with risky jobs

What causes accidents?

Accidents lead to more than 28 million emergency room visits each year. The three leading causes of accident-related death are:

• . unintentional falls
• . motor vehicle traffic deaths
• . unintentional poisoning deaths

Tips for prevention

Unintentional injuries may be the result of carelessness or a lack of careful action. Be aware of your surroundings, and take all proper precautions to prevent accidents or injuries.

If you hurt yourself, seek emergency medical treatment to prevent serious complications.

5. Stroke

Number of deaths per year: 140,323

Percent of total deaths: 5.3 percent

More common among:

• . men
• . women on birth control
• . people with diabetes
• . people with high blood pressure
• . people with heart disease
• . people who smoke

What causes a stroke?

A stroke occurs when the blood flow to your brain is cut off. Without oxygen-rich blood flowing to your brain, your brain cells begin to die in a matter of minutes.

The blood flow can be stopped because of a blocked artery or bleeding in the brain. This bleeding may be from an aneurysm or a broken blood vessel.

Tips for prevention

Many of the same lifestyle changes that can reduce your risk for heart disease can also reduce your risk for stroke. These changes include:

• . exercising more, eating better, and maintaining a healthy weight
• . controlling your blood pressure
• . stopping smoking, and drinking only in moderation
• . managing your blood sugar level and diabetes
• . treating any underlying heart defects or diseases

6. Alzheimer’s disease

Number of deaths per year: 110,561

Percent of total deaths: 3.9 percent

More common among:

• women
• people over age 65 — the risk for Alzheimer’s doubles every five years after age 65, according to the National Institute on Aging
• people with a family history of the disease

What causes Alzheimer’s disease?

The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unclear, but researchers and doctors believe a combination of a person’s genes, lifestyle, and environment, impacts the brain over time. Some of these changes occur years, even decades, before the first symptoms appear.

Tips for prevention

While you can’t control your age or genetics, which are two of the most common risk factors for this disease, you can control certain lifestyle factors that may increase your risk for it by:

• . exercising and remaining physically active throughout your life
• . eating a diet filled with fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and reduced sugar
• . treating and monitoring any other chronic diseases you have
• . keeping your brain active with stimulating tasks like conversation, puzzles, and reading

7. Diabetes

Number of deaths per year: 79,535

Percent of total deaths: 3.0 percent

More common among:

Type 1 diabetes is more commonly diagnosed in:

• . people with a family history of the disease, or a specific gene that increases the risk
• . children between the age of 4 and 7
• . people living in climates further away from the equator

Type 2 diabetes is more common among:

• . people who are overweight or obese
• . adults over age 45
• . people who have a family history of diabetes

What causes diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes occurs when your pancreas cannot produce enough insulin. Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough of it to control your blood sugar levels.

Tips for prevention

You cannot prevent type 1 diabetes. However, type 2 diabetes may be prevented with several lifestyle changes. These changes include:

• . reaching and maintaining a healthy weight
• . exercising for at least 30 minutes, five days a week
• . eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins
• . having regular blood sugar checks if you have a family history of the disease

8. Influenza and pneumonia

Number of deaths per year: 57,062

Percent of total deaths: 2.2 percent

More common among:

•  . children
• . the elderly
• . people with chronic health conditions
• . pregnant women

What causes influenza and pneumonia?

Influenza (the flu) is a highly contagious viral infection. It’s very common during winter months. Pneumonia is an infection or inflammation of the lungs. The flu is one of the leading causes of pneumonia. Find out how to determine if you have the flu or a cold.

Tips for prevention

Before flu season, people in the high-risk category can and should get a flu vaccine. Anyone else concerned about the virus should get one, too. To prevent the spread of the flu, be sure to wash your hands well and avoid people who are sick.

Likewise, a pneumonia vaccine is available for people with a high risk of developing the infection.

9. Kidney disease

Number of deaths per year: 49,959

Percent of total deaths: 1.9 percent

More common among:

• . people with other chronic conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and recurrent kidney infections
• . people who smoke
• . people who are overweight or obese
• . people with a family history of kidney disease

What causes kidney diseases?

The term kidney disease refers to three main conditions:

• . nephritis
• . nephrotic syndrome
• . nephrosis

Each of these conditions is the result of unique conditions or diseases.

Nephritis, or kidney inflammation, can be caused by an infection, a medication you’re taking, or an autoimmune disorder.

Nephrotic syndrome is a condition that causes your kidneys to produce high levels of protein in your urine. It’s often the result of kidney damage.

Nephrosis is a type of kidney disease that ultimately can lead to kidney failure. It’s also often the result of damage to the kidney from either physical or chemical changes.

Tips for prevention

Like with many of the other leading causes of death, taking better care of your health can help you prevent kidney disease. Lifestyle changes that can reduce your risk include:

• . eating a lower-sodium diet
• . stopping smoking and drinking
• . losing weight if you’re overweight or obese, and maintaining it
• . exercising for 30 minutes, five days a week
• . having regular blood and urine tests if you have a family history of the disease

10. Suicide

Number of deaths per year: 44,193

Percent of total deaths: 1.7 percent

More common among:

• . men
• . people with brain injuries
• . people who have attempted suicide in the past
• . people with a history of depression and other mental health illnesses
• . people who abuse alcohol or drugs

What causes suicide?

Suicide, or intentional self-harm, is death caused by a person’s own actions. People who die by suicide direct harm at themselves and die due to that harm. Almost 500,000 people are treated in emergency rooms each year for self-inflected injuries.

Tips for prevention

Suicide prevention aims to help individuals find treatment that encourages them to end suicidal thoughts and start finding healthier ways to cope. For many people, suicide prevention includes finding a support system of friends, family, and other people who’ve contemplated suicide. In some cases, medication and in-hospital treatment may be necessary.

If you’re thinking about harming yourself, consider contacting a suicide prevention hotline. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. It offers 24/7 support. You can also review our mental health resources list for more information about ways to find help.

11. Septicemia

Number of deaths per year: 40,685

Percent of total deaths: 1.5 percent

More common among:

• . adults over age 75
• . young children
• . people with a chronic illness
• . people with an impaired immune system

What causes septicemia?

Septicemia, sometimes called blood poisoning, is caused by a bacterial infection in the bloodstream. Most cases of septicemia develop after an infection somewhere else in the body becomes severe.

Tips for prevention

The best way to prevent septicemia is to have any bacterial infections treated quickly and thoroughly. If you think you may have an infection, make an appointment with your doctor. Complete the full treatment regimen prescribed by your doctor.

Early and thorough treatment can help prevent the spread of any bacterial infection to the blood.

12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis

Number of deaths per year: 40,265

Percent of total deaths: 1.5 percent

More common among:

• . people with a history of alcohol use and abuse
• . a viral hepatitis infection
• . an accumulation of fat in the liver (fatty liver disease)

What causes liver disease?

Both liver disease and cirrhosis are the result of liver damage.

Tips for prevention

If you have a problem with alcohol consumption, seek therapeutic or rehab treatment. The longer and more you drink, the greater your risk for developing liver disease or cirrhosis.

Likewise, if you’re diagnosed with hepatitis, be sure to properly treat the condition to prevent unnecessary liver damage.

Death rates that have decreased

Though it’s the most common cause, heart disease deaths have been falling over the last 50 years. However, in 2011, the number of deaths from heart disease began to slowly rise. Between 2011 and 2014, heart disease deaths rose three percent.

Deaths from influenza and pneumonia are likewise falling. According to the American Lung Association, deaths from the two diseases dropped an average of 3.8 percent per year since 1999.

Between 2010 and 2014, deaths from stroke dropped 11 percent.

This falling number of preventable deaths suggests that health awareness campaigns are hopefully increasing awareness of preventative measures people can take to live a longer, healthier life.

Rising death rates

The gap between heart disease and cancer was once much wider. Heart disease’s hold on the number one spot was wide and demanding.

Then, American health experts and doctors began encouraging Americans to curb smoking, and they started treating heart disease. Because of these efforts, the number of heart disease-related deaths has been falling over the last five decades. Meanwhile, the number of cancer-related deaths has been rising.

Just over 22,000 deaths separate the two causes today. Many researchers suspect cancer may over take heart disease as the leading cause of death in coming years.

Accidental deaths are also on the rise. From 2010 to 2014, the number of accident-related deaths increased by 23 percent. This number is fueled largely by substance overdose deaths.

Leading causes of death worldwide

The list of leading causes of death worldwide shares many of the same causes with the U.S. list. These causes of death include:

• heart disease
• stroke
• lower respiratory infections
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• lung cancer
• diabetes
• Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
• diarrhea
• tuberculosis
• road injury

Takeaway

Many of the leading causes of death, both in the United States and worldwide, are preventable with lifestyle changes. While you can’t prevent every cause of death, you can do a lot to lower your risks.

Leading a healthier life can help you not only live longer, but also live healthier.

For further information log n website :

https://www.healthline.com/health/leading-causes-of-death#7