Month: July 2017

The most recent issue of Outdoor Photography, which can be downloaded for free from ValueMags, has a feature on the best way to take pictures of wild animals to support animal rescue facilities. These facilities are important to the survival of many animals, which becomes quite clear when considering how many different animal species have gone extinct or are in grave danger of becoming extinct.

First, it is important to know that there is more than one type of extinction. There can be total extinction, where all members of a species have died or there can be wild extinction, meaning the species no longer exists in the wild, but one or more exist in captivity. It is easy not to realize how much extinction or endangerment has occurred, especially for people who live in a city, since the decline of multiple species may not be as apparent in an urban area. A good way to understand is by considering animal population numbers and how they have been changing.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), populations of vertebrae animals, which includes mammals, birds, and fish, have declined 58 percent between 1970 and 2012. WWF breaks this down in their Living Planet Report from 2016 and reports that terrestrial animal populations have declined by 38 percent, marine animals by 36 percent, and freshwater animals by the largest amount—81 percent—between 1970 and 2012. When considering these declines, it is important to think about what may be causing them.

WWF reports that there are multiple causes of such a large decline in animal populations overall. The most common cause is habitat loss and degradation, meaning animals are losing their homes and places suitable to their needs are dwindling. Another cause that WWF reports is climate change. Climate change contributes to endangering a species because atypical weather and temperatures can trigger certain events to occur at the wrong time, such as reproduction or migration. The other most common cause of extinction is overexploitation of a species, which can happen both intentionally and unintentionally, and occurs often through poaching or overfishing.

The good news is, organizations like the World Wildlife Fund are working hard to fix these problems through multiple different avenues. To learn more about animals and the great outdoors, read the full WWF report on their website and download Outdoor Photography for free from ValueMags today!

In the latest issue of Midwest Living, which can be downloaded for free through ValueMags, one of the features highlights vegetable dishes and the “vegetable butcher” herself, Cara Mangini. Mangini specializes in cooking with vegetables and not just boring salads, but rather delicious bites that any palate would enjoy. From Mangini’s bigger foods, like her grilled eggplant mozzarella sandwich with spicy tomato sauce and pesto to her small bites, like her marinated garlic tomato goat cheese crostini, Mangini’s recipes challenge every bad vegetable stereotype you’ve ever heard.

This could be a good thing for Midwest Living’s American readers. From wide consumption of foods with added sugars to many people still struggling with vegetable consumption, Americans could use a few of Mangini’s recipes to help make their diets healthier and lead healthier lives overall.

When it comes to added sugars, many people do not realize how many foods have them. Even foods that are not sweet-tasting can have added sugars in them. When defining added sugars, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) writes that “Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared. Naturally occurring sugars such as those in fruit or milk are not added sugars.”

Further, the CDC recommends that Americans limit the amount of added sugars they consume each day to just 10% of their total caloric intake. For example, if one were following the common two thousand calorie daily intake, then only 200 calories or less should be from added sugars. However, America’s average daily intake of added sugars is still at 94 grams (358 calories), according to STAT.

While this number is lower than it has been in recent years, it is still almost double the 50 grams (200 calories) that the CDC recommends as the limit. To imagine how easy it is to overdo added sugar intake and not realize it, consider the average 94 grams of added sugar Americans consume each day to STAT’s analogical equivalent of two and half cans of Coke. For many people, two and a half cans of Coke are easily part of their daily diet.

While paying attention to the ingredients of the foods one consumes can help greatly with reducing added sugar consumption, eating more fresh foods, like fruits and vegetables, helps even more because these foods are not processed and only have natural sugars, if any. Similarly, according to the CDC, 22.6% of Americans reported eating vegetables less than once daily in 2013. Not only could eating more vegetables help reduce added sugar consumption, it could also help more Americans get the essential nutrients their bodies need from vegetables.

To get started on leading a healthier lifestyle with more vegetables and less added sugars, redeem your free digital Midwest Living subscription from ValueMags and start trying out Mangini’s recipes today!

Did you know that more than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes? According to the CDC, this number is up from the 26 million people that had this disease in 2010. Diabetes is a difficult disease to handle, especially if you do not know you have it. The CDC reports that one in four people do not know that they have diabetes. Therefore, it is very important to continue educating the public about all things diabetes, and ValueMags can help you do this with a free subscription to Diabetes Self-Management.

Diabetes is a difficult disease for multiple reasons. One of which is the impact it can have on overall health, especially if it is not managed correctly. According to the CDC, risk of death for adults with diabetes is fifty percent higher than those who do not have diabetes. Similarly, diabetes can lead to an increased risk for other health problems, such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke, among others.

Knowing these facts, it is easy to see why it is so important to learn about diabetes and how to manage it. This becomes even more important when considering that 86 million people—that’s more than one in three people—have prediabetes. That said, let’s explore some of the ways you can prevent or delay diabetes and ways to manage it if you are diagnosed.

The most basic advice when it comes to preventing and managing diabetes is to take care of yourself. This means be as active as you can be, from walking more places to exercising multiple times a week. This also means eat as healthy as you can—fruits and vegetables are a good way to go, as Diabetes Self-Management reports that a recent study suggests that a diet high in vegetables and fruits and low in sugars and white bread may help if you have diabetes. And, if you do not, eating a healthy diet like this can help decrease your chances of developing diabetes altogether.

Overall, managing diabetes is not an easy thing, but being educated about the disease, whether you currently have it or not, can increase your likelihood of preventing the disease or developing other serious health conditions if you already have diabetes. To further your education and get helpful tips and articles on all things diabetes-related, download your free digital subscription of Diabetes Self-Management from ValueMags today!