Knee Pain

While lifting a heavy object I just felt a pain in my right knee. I don't feel it when I'm seated or lying down but every time I walk I feel the pain, uggh. It's really inconvenient specially if your daily commute to work is by walking for a few blocks. Like most of ordinary people I don't have time to visit a doctor for such a minor inconvenience so I consult the web.

Knee pain is a general problem that can have a lot of causes such us acute injuries, medical conditions, body movements, and the common culprit is everyday wear and tear. Knee pains usually occurs while doing physical work, playing sports, lifting heavy stuffs, or other recreational activities.

The knee is the largest joint in the body, and the bones of the knee are separated by two menisci discs. The surface of the bones that are inside the knee joint is covered by articular cartilage. This cartilage absorbs shock and gives the moving joint a smooth surface.

The soft tissues around the front of the knee may become irritated that causes pain. Athletes frequently suffers with strain tendons that can cause knee pain. Other causes may include overuse, muscle imbalance and inadequate stretching. 

Here is how you can Prevent Knee Pain:

• Stretch and do Warm-up before running or any other exercise. A 5-minute warm-up and a stretching exercise after is important. This will make joints flexible that can avoid being irritated. 
• Always make sure that you have proper running form or lifting stance. Lean forward and keep your knees bent.
• Eat less and keep your weight in check. Having a heavy body can put a lot of stress on your knees.

Treatment for knee pain you can do at home:

• Rest and take a break from walking or any other strenuous exercise that can further exacerbate the pain. You can also place a small pillow under your knee.
• Place ice or cold packs immediately to the affected knee to prevent and minimize swelling.
• Avoid doing things that can cause swelling like alcoholic drinks and hot water.
• Wrap the affected area with an elastic bandage to lessen swelling.
• Keep the injured knee elevated above or within the level of your heart to help minimize swelling.
• Massage the affected knee to elieve pain and encourage blood flow. Stop massaging if you experience pain.

Check out WebMD for more treatment on how to deal with Knee Pain.

Funny Barrack Obama Workout

Last Wednesday U.S. President was trending in social media because of pictures and videos of him in a gym working out during his trip to Poland. Mr. Obama was seen in 5-star Marriott hotel gym working his b*tt out using 2-pounds dumbbells.

Maybe the Secret Service allowed someone to take photos and videos of President Obama working out thinking that it will be good publicity like what Russian President Vladimir Putin workout video.

Brian Willioms of the NBC Nightly News was not amused he said that the president paid the price when his privacy was intruded.

"Let's put it this way, who among us would like to have the world critiquing our workout? But that's what happened on the World Wide Web today. Somebody snuck the video on there as millions weighed in on his moves and his exercise regimen."

However, Twitter has exploded with jokes and digs at Obama's expense. Even the late night shows took a dig at Obama's workout video among them are Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live "Putincize" look at the videos below.




Check out this video that compares Obama And Putin’s Workouts: http://www.westernjournalism.com/obama-vs-putin-working/

Obesity is a Worldwide Epidemic, Not Only in US Anymore

Overweight: People who has a BMI between 25 and 29.9.
Obese: People with BMI over 30.

A study shows that there is a widespread presence of people who are overweight and obese and it is rising all over the world. It also determined that 1/3 of the population worldwide is now overweight or obese. This is about 2.1 billion people and 671 million of them are obese.

The study was published in the medical journal The Lancet. It also said that the place where there are the highest rates of obesity is found in the Middle East and North Africa. The US has 13% of the world's obese population.

The research was done using surveys, reports and studies from 1980-2013 that list height and weight information for people all over the world. It was determined that the worldwide, prevalence of overweight and obesity combined rose by 27·5% for adults and 47·1% for children between 1980 and 2013. The number of overweight and obese individuals increased from 857 million in 1980, to 2·1 billion in 2013.

People really needs to eat less food and exercise more  just like the kid below (Chubby Korean Baby):

Obesity crisis in America is at breaking point - "Fed Up" filmmaker

Los Angeles (AFP) - A documentary film features the unhealthy eating habits of the Americans, and the United States food industry's responsibility in fighting the rising obesity levels.

"Fed Up" filmmaker shows the reason why obesity in the US is increasing (2 out of 3 Americans are overweight), despite of increasing gym membership and shoppers buying more healthy and low-fat alternatives on supermarket.

Stephanie Soechtig the director of the film said, "Obesity has been a problem for the last 30 years and I think we are reaching the breaking point." "At the end of the day, I think it comes down to money, I thinks there's a lot of money in the food industry and it influences politics, unfortunately."

"Fed Up" was opened on limited release in cinemas across the US last Friday, May 9. It exposed how the food industry has able to

The film, which opened on limited release in US cinemas Friday, shows how the food industry has managed to influence the US Government to recommend that 25% of calories come from sugar. This figure was negated by the World Health Organization which stated that the figure should be 2.5 times less.

"I think we can say that the US government is right now more interested in making money than taking care of its society," Soechtig added.

The Obesity problem is not just in the United States, WHO also warned Jordan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Venezuela which has more than 30% of its population are obese or overweight.

The movie shows 3 kids battling obesity to no avail despite of giving efforts to diet and exercise. They still continue to gain weight because of the temptation of sugar-rich foods that are easily available in the country.

Cafeteria at schools offers unhealthy food for kids, like hamburgers, pizzas, nachos and hot dogs.

The movie also said that back in 2006, 80% of high schools had contracts with soft drink companies and in 2012, half of all schools served fast food.

Back in 1980, there were no cases of type 2 diabetes in children and teens aged 8 to 19 in the United States. After just 2 decades, there are now 57,638 cases recorded.

Healthy Asparagus, Low Calorie

Asparagus is a spring vegetable that is native to Europe and is a  widely cultivated as a vegetable crop. You can only eat young asparagus shoots since once the buds open the shoots becomes woody and hard.

The great thing about asparagus is it's low in calories and it is also low in sodium. It is a great food when you want to lose weight. It is also a good source of Calcium, vitamin B6, zinc, and magnesium. It also have dietary fibre, selenium, protein, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese.

However, asparagus is known for its effect on urine. It cause a disagreeable smell in the urine.     

Here's a Asparagus healthy snack recipe:

Asparagus Bruschetta

18 asparagus stalks
1 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp each salt and ground black pepper
3/4 cup smooth ricotta cheese or creamy goat cheese
3 tbsp finely chopped mint or chives
18 toasted baguette slices
3 tbsp finely grated lemon peel
Ice water

Fill a large frying pan with water to a 1/2-inch depth. Let it come to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Cut and discard tough ends of asparagus. Thrown the asparagus into the boiling water. Cook until tender crisp, from 2 to 3 min. Drain well. Immediately plunge asparagus into ice water. Let it cool then drain. Pat dry with paper towels. Cut asparagus in half diagonally. Place in a medium-size bowl. Drizzle  with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix well.

In a small bowl, stir cheese with herbs. Spread over baguette slices. Top each with asparagus spears. Garnish with lemon peel.

Good for 6 people.

Amount per serving (3 bruschetta):

8.2g proten, 6.2g fat, 24.9g carbohydrates, 1.6mg iron, 109mg calcium, 334mg sodium, 2.3g gibre, 187 calories.

Great source of folacin.

What is a Pine Tar?

There are a lot of talk about Pine Tar because of New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda who uses it to have a better grip of the ball when pitching. He put the Pine Tar at the right side of his neck and got caught and was ejected from the game which the Red Sox won 5-1.

Pine tar is a very sticky substance that is created from pine wood. Heat and pressure is applied to the wood to produce pine tar.

It is widely use in baseball, to have better grip of the ball when pitching and is applied to the handles of baseball bats also for better grip. It prevents the bat from slipping when you are hitting hard swings.

Based on the 2002 Official Rules of Major League Baseball the batter may use pine tar only from the handle of the bat extending up for 18 inches only. However, it is illegal if you use it on the ball since the MLB Official Rules stated that any foreign substance to a ball is expressly prohibited.

It seems Michael Pineda is not a fan of the MLB Official Rule book.

Kale is Good for you!

Kale (borecole) is a very nutritious vegetable that has a green or sometimes purple leaves. Kale tastes better when frozen, it is a lot sweeter and more flavorful if it is frozen.

A lot of health experts are a fan of Kale with its healthy properties. Kale packed with high levels of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, Vitamine A, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium and rich in calcium. Kale is also a source of two carotenoids namely lutein and zeaxanthin.

Just like broccoli, kale has sulforaphane that is a potent chemical with anti-cancer properties.

It has high concentration of Vitamin C that boost collagen and copper which has a good anti-inflammatory properties to protect your skin from the sun. The Vitamin A in Kale promotes healthy cell growth to keep your skin young and fresh.

Kale is packed with both Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, this acids keeps your scalp and hair moisturized that keeps you from having flakes and brittle hair. It also helps in the circulation of blood in your scalp that promotes hair growth.