Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 5-31-19

Health
Naturally Sweet Hydration
Juicy watermelon is 92% water, so it’s a simple way to help stay hydrated. Every cell in your body needs water. Even a small shortage can make you feel sluggish. If you get really dehydrated, it can become serious enough that you need to get fluids by IV.
Loaded With Lycopene
The cheery red color comes from lycopene, an antioxidant. Studies show it may help curb your risk of cancer and diabetes as part of a healthy lifestyle. Watermelon has more of this nu- trient than any other fruit or veggie -- even tomatoes. To load up on lycopene, choose a melon with bright red flesh rather than yellow or orange. And the riper, the better. Also, seed- less melon tends to have more lycopene than those with seeds.
Protects Your Joints
Watermelon has a natural pigment called beta-cryptox- anthin that may protect your joints from inflammation. Some studies show that over time, it could make you less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF
Abdominal bloating is when the abdomen feels full and tight. It commonly occurs due to a buildup of gas somewhere in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Bloating causes the belly to look larger than usual, and it may also feel tender or painful. Fluid retention in the body can also lead to bloating. Below are tech- niques for getting rid of bloating quickly and explain how to reduce bloating in the long-term.
Limit Fizzy Drinks
The gas that you swallow when you drink soda and other bubbly drinks -- beer, cham- pagne, seltzer -- can fill up your digestive system. You burp some of it away, and some remains and moves through your digestive sys- tem until it “passes” out the other end. That’s why it’s called “pass- ing gas.”
Eat Just Enough
Your stomach is only about the size of a fist. Food compacts somewhat through the digestive process, but if you eat too much, it starts to stretch out your stom- ach, and that can make you feel bloated. Plus, too much food makes it more likely that you’ll overdo the salt, carbs, fat, and calories, all of which can also make you feel bloated.
Be Carb-Smart
Your body taps into this fuel more quickly than protein or fat, which take longer to digest. After your body uses the carbs it needs for energy, it stores the rest: first as glycogen, which makes your body retain water, and then in fat cells. Both can make you feel bloated. It can help to avoid “sim- ple” carbs, like white bread and pastries, in favor of “complex” carbs, like whole grains and veg- etables that take longer to digest.
Slow Down!
The faster you eat, the more air you swallow. Your stomach can swell when it traps the air, which sometimes passes on to your intestines. Plus, you down more food when you eat quickly. That’s in part because it can take as much as 30 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you’re full. You might overdo it before your brain gets the mes- sage -- and that can also make you feel bloated.
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-B