{"id":2556,"date":"2016-09-26T19:25:49","date_gmt":"2016-09-27T00:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/nyforseniors\/?p=2556"},"modified":"2016-09-27T18:52:12","modified_gmt":"2016-09-27T23:52:12","slug":"healthy-aging-month-answering-the-most-commenly-asked-health-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nyforseniors\/healthy-aging-month-answering-the-most-commenly-asked-health-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Aging Month: Answering the Most Commonly Asked Health Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ever wonder what exactly a calorie actually is? Or whether there is such thing as good cholesterol? For National Healthy Aging Month, we\u2019re celebrating by breaking down three of the most misunderstood and important health misconceptions and questions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What Are Calories, and Why Do They Matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A calorie is a unit of energy. While calories vary in types and measurements, the calories we are all most familiar with are the ones we use to measure nutrition. Calories are measured by a food\u2019s basic nutrients. The three main nutrients calories are measured off of are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carbohydrate = 4 calories per gram.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protein = 4 calories per gram.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fat = 9 calories per gram.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why foods high in fat have higher calories than foods high in protein or carbs. This is also why many people find it useful to count their daily intake of calories. It gives them more control in making sure their daily intake of calories is not consumed by empty calories, which are calories gained from foods high in fat that have little to no nutritional value. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What Are Carbs, and Should You Be Eating Them? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s not uncommon to hear people talk about cutting out carbs as a way of losing weight. But, what most people don\u2019t know is that carbs are found in the majority of foods, and they\u2019re not bad for you. According to the USDA, 45% &#8211; 65% of daily calorie intake should be carbs. This is because carbs are our body&#8217;s main source of fuel. Carbs are broken down by the body into glucose, which the body then uses for energy. Carbohydrates are also essential to maintaining function in the central nervous system, kidneys, brain, muscles, and heart. Certain carbs are also fiber, which is essential to the body\u2019s intestinal health and waste elimination<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, why do carbs have a bad reputation? Many foods that are high in carbs are refined and processed, which strip away the food\u2019s nutritional value. Foods like white rice and white bread have plenty of carbs, but are lacking in fiber and other important nutrients. While most people know that refined foods are generally bad, many incorrectly blame the food\u2019s shortcomings on its carbs. <\/span><br \/>\n<strong>How Can There be Both Good and Bad Cholesterol?<\/strong><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cholesterol is a fatty-like substance that can be found in all of the body\u2019s cells. It is necessary in helping the body produce hormones, Vitamin D, and other substances that aid digestion. So, why is it so bad for us? While we do need cholesterol to remain healthy, the body actually produces all the cholesterol it needs. Too much cholesterol can lead to higher risk in heart disease. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are two types of cholesterol:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><strong>LDL cholesterol<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which in high levels causes buildup in the arteries. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><strong>HDL cholesterol<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which carries other cholesterol in the body to the liver, where it is then removed from the body. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LDL is often described as the bad cholesterol and HDL as the good. This is because high levels of LDL cholesterol can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to coronary heart disease. High levels of HDL help lower your risk of coronary heart disease. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ever wonder what exactly a calorie actually is? Or whether there is such thing as good cholesterol? For National Healthy Aging Month, we\u2019re celebrating by breaking down three of the most misunderstood and important health misconceptions and questions. What Are Calories, and Why Do They Matter? A calorie is a unit of energy. While calories [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5798,"featured_media":2557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Healthy Aging Month: Answering the Most Commonly Asked Health Questions - New York for Seniors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nyforseniors\/healthy-aging-month-answering-the-most-commenly-asked-health-questions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Healthy Aging Month: Answering the Most Commonly Asked Health Questions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ever wonder what exactly a calorie actually is? Or whether there is such thing as good cholesterol? For National Healthy Aging Month, we\u2019re celebrating by breaking down three of the most misunderstood and important health misconceptions and questions. What Are Calories, and Why Do They Matter? A calorie is a unit of energy. 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