Friday, October 29, 2010

TIPS: EATING THE FRUITS


Of all the foods available to us, fruits are the most attractive, delicious and enjoyable. Yes!  They are loaded with a lot of vitamins and nutrients, but the question is, do you benefit from them all? Just like you wear your pants correctly, you also need to eat your fruits in the right way so as to get maximum benefits from them. 

Natural Hygienists have known for a long time that fruits do not combine well with other foods. This simply tells us that they need to be treated specially. Unlike other foods, fruits do not stay long in the stomach; they contain simple sugars that require no digestion. Hence, if you eat fruit after a meal, the fruit sugar will stay for too long in the stomach and ferment. This is one of the reasons for digestive problem and subsequent hatred for certain fruits. Now see how and when to eat the fruits.

  • Eat fruits alone with no other foods.
  • Eat fruits in an empty stomach, or at least 15-20minutes to 1 hour before the main meal.
  • Do not mix acid fruits with sweet fruits. For example, do not mix pineapple or grapefruit with banana.
  • Eat Melons alone, especially if you have a history of digestive problems. Melons are 90 percent liquid and leave the stomach quickly if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods.
  • Do not combine fruits with any vegetables except lettuce and celery
Note please:  Respect these tips even if your life of imprudent eating defy all food combining rules.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

DIET TIPS! Diabetes

A good diet plan will not only help you improve your blood glucose levels but also help to keep your weight on track. Diabetic diet plan differ from person to person as individual nutritional needs, daily activity and type of diabetes differs. What you eat have a direct effect on your blood sugar level. You can control your blood sugar with minimal dependence on medication by adhering to these simple but important tips.

Include high quality carbohydrates in your diet. These are carbohydrates that digest slowly and do not cause your blood sugar levels to rise uncontrollably. These carbohydrates are primarily found in plant food sources and they supply the body with vitamins, minerals and fiber. High quality carbohydrates include: vegetables, fruits, beans, peas, brown rice, oatmeal, whole grain cereals, and whole grain breads. Oranges, strawberries, carrots, tomatoes and corn are other sources of soluble fiber which slows the absorption of glucose from food.

Remove low quality carbohydrates from your diet. These carbohydrates have less nutritional values and rapidly turn to sugar thereby causes your blood sugar to rise uncontrollably. They include sugar, candy, non-diet soft drinks, syrup, honey, jam, cakes, white bread and other refined starches.

Watch your portion size. Eating too much of even the healthful foods can lead to weight gain. Eat a moderate amount of carbohydrates with lean protein. Eating high quality carbohydrates does not mean eating all you want. High quality carbohydrates finally convert into blood sugar. Total carbohydrate intake should only be 40% of your daily intake, high protein (turkey breast, chicken breast, veal, pork tenderloin, lean ham, lean beef, egg whites, milk, soymilk, seafood and fish) should be paired with carbohydrates in order to complete your body’s nutrition needs. Lentils, beans, yogurt, milk and soybean contain both carbohydrate and lean protein values.

Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits like garden egg, carrots etc. They provide you with fibers which act as a swab and help to absorb excess sugar.

Choose non fat dairy such as skim milk and non fat yogurt.

Choose water instead of the regular sugar sweetened drinks, and replace solid fats that can be high in saturated fatty acids with liquid cooking oils. (e.g. Olive oil)

Follow a well balanced and low fat diet plan (especially for if you have type 2 diabetes). A low fat diet is one that consists of little fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol, which is thought to lead to increased blood cholesterol levels and heart attack.                                                                            


Finally, the following tips can help reduce your diabetic risks: Reduce weight. Obesity seems to be the single most significant factor in diabetes. Reducing body weight and fat and maintaining an average body weight is very essential. To this end a body mass index (BMI) less than 25kg/m2 for males and less than 24kg/m2 for females is recommended. Increase Physical Activity. It is an established fact that diabetes is more common among people that lead a sedentary affluent lifestyle. Simple dynamic exercises like brisk walking for 30-50mins daily or 3-5times weekly has been shown to be very helpful. Exercise reduces body weight and fat, increases functionality of the heart, reduces the chances of diabetes and also boosts emotions and healthy living. Cut down or cut out alcohol and avoid smoking. Cigarette smoking and alcohol have been related to several disease. Stopping them will definitely reduce the chances of several other ailments apart from diabetes. 

 

Monday, October 18, 2010

Just Health: To Lose More Weight, Love Your Body

Just Health: To Lose More Weight, Love Your Body: "By Gunter Jameson {Guest Blogger} Everyone wants to be healthier. Even people who are already in great shape are looking for ways to be eve..."

Monday, October 11, 2010

Nutri-loaded Moringa

Hurray! I have added another wonder food plant to my list of Nutritional heroes. With such an amazing nutrient content, it deserves to be on this list. Scientific research confirms that this tree is a powerhouse of nutritional value. Gram for gram, the leaves contain: 7 times the vitamin C in oranges, 4 times the calcium in milk, 4 times the vitamin A in carrots, 2 times the protein in milk, 3 times the potassium in bananas, and 3 times the iron in spinach.


This hero can be used in variety of ways and its nutritional promises still remain very high.  You can brew a delicious tea powder with the leaves, add it to your salads, or add it to your favorite sauce to give it a nutritional boost. Interestingly, this plant is used in making natural and body friendly cosmetic products like facial mask, deodorant and lip balm. The oil from the tree pods is clear, sweet and odorless, and never becomes rancid. This hero is MORINGA (Moringa Oleifera)

Picture having this tree in your garden that will meet all your nutritional needs, take care of you medicinally and purify your water for you. In developing tropical countries, Moringa trees have been used to combat malnutrition especially among infants and nursing mothers. The tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are usually scarce. This tree is truly a ‘miracle’ tree offering a lot of hope nutritionally.

GO THE WHOLE FOODS WAY!



Eating foods as close to their natural form as possible, with minimal processing and refinement is usually hard to find in many homes, yet, it is the easiest way to improve health and prevent diseases.

Whole foods have more of the nutrients that our bodies needs and less of the added ingredients like sugar, sodium, saturated fat etc. that we don’t need. Whole foods can be cooked without being processed and examples include fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, unprocessed fish, lean meat, oats, corn and other whole grains.

Some of the benefits of eating whole foods include;

a)  Gaining a strong combination of important vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and antioxidants.

b)  Increasing on the fiber which helps to bring about faster sense of fullness when we eat, help fight heart disease and diabetes and enhance bowel movement.

c)  Reduction in the intake of the bad fats which are often added to processed foods and fast foods.

d)  Contribute omega 3 fatty acid and monounsaturated fat from plants.

e)  Making it easier to cut down on extra amounts of calories, sugar, sodium, trans and saturated fat.

Let’s breed a healthy world by my eating more whole foods. Do you feel this way too? 

Monday, October 4, 2010

WATER: Where would we be without it?

Ask any three people you know to name as many essential nutrients as they can, if they mention water, give them a price. 

Our body is estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water. Blood is mostly water, and our muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water.  Our body needs water to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all our organs. Water also transports oxygen to our cells, removes waste, and protects our joints and organs.

Our need for water is so obvious yet it is often taken for granted. Without it our days are limited to about six. If the value of a nutrient is judged by how long we can do without it, water will rank as the most important. A person can only survive only seven to ten days without water, whereas it takes weeks to die from a lack of food.

In general, we need enough water each day to replace the water lost through urination, respiration, and by sweating.  You lose more water when you are active than when you are sedentary.  Symptoms of mild dehydration include chronic pains in joints and muscles, lower back pain, headaches and constipation. A strong smell to your urine, along with a yellow or amber color indicates that you may not be getting enough water. 

HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU NEED TO DRINK- Although  a good percentage of your water need will come from the foods you eat,  the rest of your water need should come from the beverages and juices you drink. Water is the best choice. A good guess is to take your body weight in pounds and divide the number in half. That will give you the number of ounces of water that you need to drink per day.  If you have a high activity level, exercise or drink alcohol you will need to drink more because your daily need for water will be more. The same applies to individuals in dry or hot environments. 

Drinking enough water on busy days may be difficult, an easy way to ensure that you drink enough water on such days is to have water handy at all times.  Spice up the water drinking habit with a bit of lemon or lime for a touch of flavor. This way, you will not get fed up with plain water or get dehydrated.

Finally, let thirst be your best indicator. The truth is that you need water long before you feel thirsty. So get your cup and start drinking!