Couch potatoes beware: Watching the tube for two to three hours a day or more is linked to higher risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and higher rates of early death from all causes, according to new research published today in theJournal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The culprit is the couch potato lifestyle that frequently accompanies excessive viewing, the researchers report. With the average American logging five hours a day in front of the tube, sitting is replacing exercise.

TV viewing is associated with unhealthy eating, setting the stage for weight gain, the study indicates. Packing on pounds, in turn, boosts risk for diabetes, heart attacks, and a shorter life. Studies also link excessive tube time to sleep deprivation (another heart health hazard) and even nearsightedness in kids. Don’t blame the TV - it can’t shove you onto the couch or serve up a fast food meal. If your main form of physical activity is pushing buttons on the remote, take a look at how these habits can impact your health:

Follow these type 2 diabetes tips to help manage your blood sugar level.

1. Type 2 Diabetes. About 26 million Americans have diabetes, which quadruples risk for heart attack and stroke. The main risk factors for type 2 diabetes include being overweight, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet (too many fried foods, too much processed meat and sugar-laden beverages), and family history. The JAMA study, which pooled results from earlier studies of 175,938 people, found that two hours of TV viewing daily ups risk by 20 percent.

Best prevention strategies: If you’re heavy, dropping even a few pounds can make a dramatic difference. In a study of people who already had pre-diabetes, those who shed 5 to 7 percent of their body weight (10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person) and exercised 150 minutes per week trimmed risk of progressing to full-blown diabetes by 58 percent. Exercise and weight loss also improve insulin resistance, the problem that leads to diabetes.  

2. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). This includes heart attacks, high blood pressure, angina (chest pain due to reduced blood supply to the heart), stroke and heart failure. The JAMA study found a 15 percent increased risk for fatal or nonfatal CVD among those who watched TV two hours a day. A recent Australian study found that the more screen exposure kids get, the higher the risk that arteries in their eyes will narrow, which could mean CVD later in life.

Best prevention strategies: Avoid smoking, exercise at least 30 minutes for five or more days a week, have your cholesterol and blood pressure checked, and if they’re high, get them under control via diet, exercise and, if necessary, medication. Maintain a healthy weight and reduce stress (exercise helps with both).

Try these 10 surprisingly simple ways to burn calories - without even leaving the house.

3. All-Cause Mortality. The JAMA study found that watching two hours of TV daily boosted risk of death from all causes during the study period by 13 percent. Worse: the risks appeared to rise with TV viewing of more than three hours daily, due to the couch potato lifestyle linked to excessive screen time.

Best prevention strategies: The same healthy habits listed for fighting diabetes and CVD. 

4. Sleep Deprivation. We need between seven and eight hours of sleep daily but most adults don’t get that much. According to a National Sleep Foundation study watching the tube in bed or near bedtime is partly to blame. Skimping on slumber lifts risk for obesity, heart attacks, and car accidents. Multiple studies show that light at night, including light from the TV, boosts women’s risk of breast cancer.

Best prevention strategies: Turn off the TV at least one hour before bedtime, since the bright light from the screen stimulates the brain, making it harder to doze off. Develop good sleep hygiene. 

5. Nearsightedness in Kids. Myopia (nearsightedness) affects 1.6 billion people globally. By 2020, the number is expected to hit 2.5 billion. Rates are highest in countries where kids watch the most TV and play computer games instead of playing outdoors. In Tokyo and Hong Kong, 30 to 50 percent of kids are myopic, versus 20 percent in the US. Myopic kids spend an average of 4.3 fewer hours per week outside than kids with normal vision and logged about four more hours of TV time weekly, a 2009 study found.

Best prevention strategies: Spending two hours a day outdoors reduces kids’ risk of nearsightedness by encouraging them to focus on objects in the distance, which helps strengthen their eyesight. Outdoor play also helps kids maintain a healthy weight.

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By Nancy Kalish, 

Kicking nicotine and avoiding excessive sunlight will help, but the secret to healthy-looking skin is the food you eat. "The wrong choices cause inflammation down to the cellular level," says dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, the author of Forever Young, a book about how eating right can keep you looking younger than your years. "And while you can't see it, that inflammation leads directly to wrinkling, sagging, and premature aging." Here is what to eat to prevent that from happening.

1. Wild Salmon

The fruit's red pigment, lycopene, is a potent antioxidant that shields skin from sun damage—like sunscreen, but from the inside out. To best absorb lycopene, eat tomatoes with olive oil.

7. Why Food Is Always Better Than a Pill

"There are so many factors in food that haven't been studied. It's very likely that these unknowns work synergistically for a bigger benefit than what you can find in a supplement." —Nicholas Perricone, dermatologist.

8. Red Wine and Beer

According to dermatologist Leslie Baumann, red wine contains skin-friendly grape-seed extract and resveratrol, two powerful antioxidants. Hops in beer, it turns out, may also offer antioxidant benefits.

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Millions of people today prefer to start there day with a hot cup of coffee. Drinking the right quantity of coffee a day also has benefits of its own.

Coffee helps a great deal in improving our mental performance. Coffee contains a compound called “Caffeine” which is considered to boost our physical energy. Even a small amount of this Caffeine gives a large amount of energy and mental boost. 

Coffee is a beverage, which is prepared from coffee bean. Coffee beans from different places have different characteristics A lot of process is involved to convert the coffee seeds to the final product.

Coffee would best go with a book. Nothing like sipping a coffee along with flipping a good book.

Another good combination of coffee is friends. Chilling out with friends with a cup of coffee is more trendy amongst the youngsters. Today most of the Coffee Shops are not only packed with the teenagers but with people of all ages. Coffee is loved by all.

Drinking coffee can also cut men’s gallstone risk. Men who consume about two to three cups of regular coffee per day had a 40 percent lesser risk of developing gallstone disease. It also reduces the risk of cancer too.

According to one study, those that drank two cups of coffee per day as compared to those that drank less than one cup per day were significantly less likely to develop the disease. A similar study comparing coffee drinkers to non drinkers found that those that drank 3 cups of coffee per day were less likely to develop any disease. Coffee is consumed by students while preparing for exams because it makes them more alert and even boost their learning abilities and power of reasoning.

In the summer months iced coffee is a special treat. For superior taste, cold coffee with different flavors is consumed. Expresso, Doppio and Macchiato, Long Black, Caffe Frappe Freddo, Latte and Cappuccino are some of the varieties that will be a treat to your taste buds.

Chances are that you can use a bit of a tune up when it comes to your diet and nutrition. None of us are perfect eaters 100% of the time, but it’s always a good idea to strive towards being as healthy as we can be when it comes to food.

Many of us have lost sight of the fact that food is here to be fuel for our body. It’s not a comfort device and it’s not meant to be a source of pleasure per se, such as that pleasure that we feel when we indulge in that double fudge cake or a tub of ice cream. It’s time for most of us to re-establish a healthy relationship with our food to improve our health and to help trim our tummies.

Watch what you Drink

Most of the beverages out there are absolutely unnecessary for us to consume. Apart from water and low fat milk or soy milk, we really don’t need to be drinking anything else. Alcoholic beverages are loaded with sugars, coffees and teas are loaded in caffeine, and soda has both tons of sugar and caffeine which are not good for our health.

Even fruit juices are so full of sugar that they can be more of a detriment to our health than a benefit. Drink water and drink it regularly to not only keep your body hydrated, but to also flush out the toxins that may be causing weight gain and bloating, and to keep yourself feeling full for longer so that you don’t reach for those unhealthy snack foods.

Fruits and Vegetables are Important

Most of us just aren’t eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables these days. While a daily multivitamin will help ensure that we are obtaining the correct amount of nutrients we need, nothing tops eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you have found yourself struggling to include these in your diet before, make a point to have 1 or 2 servings of fruits and/or vegetables with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try to add them into a smoothie or into any pasta dishes that you may be making, and make an effort to have one snack a day have fruits or vegetables be the sole focus. The goal is to get 5 to 10 servings each and every day for optimal health. The best thing about fruits and vegetables is that they are great for weight loss. They keep us feeling full for longer, and the sugars in the fruits and vegetables will help allay any cravings for “bad” foods.

Make Wholegrain Substitutions

One of the easiest things you can do to improve your health is to look at all of the “white” foods that you eat and make them “brown”. This means that the white tortilla shells, the white rice, and the white pasta you enjoy should all be tossed out and replaced with whole grain alternatives. There seems to virtually be a whole grain substitute for any “grain” or “bread” product out there these days, including dinner rolls and French loafs, so always go for the “brown” product over the “white”.