Posts Tagged ‘food’
How Your Food and Drink Affects Your Health and Fitness
Food experts and parents up and down the country have been warning us since the beginning of time that “we are what we eat”. Roughly translated this saying means that every part of our body (and potentially mind) is affected in some way by the things that we put in our mouth. As a result we are always being told to eat this, drink that, avoid these. However, if you are not an expert its pretty hard to filer out the really important info, so here is is for you, the foods with the biggest influence on our insides and out.
Salt. For a long time, people didn’t even know about the harm that salt can do to the body. The Food Standards Agency in the UK state that people should have no more than 6g of salt and day and most people exceed this. More salt might be needed by people who lose a lot through sweating or by diluted body salt levels by drinking lots of water. For 90% of people however, a reduction in salt levels is advisable as it has been closely linked with heart, blood and liver problems. Rather than put it in your body, salt is good at conditioning skin and is in fact an ingredient in many skin care products
Fats. We do actually need fats in order to maintain health skin, hair, and lots of other things. They are generally unsaturated fats that we need and not the type that most people get far too much of, which are saturated fats (AKA trans fats). Put simply, eating too many saturated fats will not only make you fat but could also cause heart disease, organ failure and diabetes to name a few. It won’t matter how many times you have a body polish, your appearance and health will not be great if you don’t watch your fats
Water. This is not something you eat of course, but you should not underestimate the power of the H20. Ideal water intake levels are dependent on factors such as temperature, body size, age, humidity etc, although most experts recommend taking in 1-2 lts per day if possible.Water is not only very important for internal processes of the body, but additionally it has a large influence on external appearances, so if your a big water drinker you wont need any cleansing facial wash as frequently
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Packed Perfectly For Perfect Nutritional Fit
All organisms contain proteins. The cells require protein to carry out all its functions. Proteins are organic compounds. They are formed by amino acids through the process of digestion of food in the stomach. Proteins are decisive for metabolism. Proteins, carbohydrates and fat are the main source of energy. Energy is expressed as calories that are contained in food items. The main source of protein that we take as food includes meats, nuts, eggs, legumes, grains, and dairy products like cheese and milk. The body breaks down the food particles continuously from which protein is derived. The enzymes in the stomach then break down protein through digestion. Men are estimated to need 56 grams of protein every day. Women need lesser protein per day estimated to be 46 grams. Consumption of protein below this level leads to protein deficiency.
A number of health problems can be caused due to protein deficiency. It may even prove fatal in extreme cases. A protein deficiency disease is Kwashiorkor which exhibits the symptoms of diarrhea, fatty liver, edema of the legs and belly, failure to grow, inactivity, flaky skin and apathy. Protein deficiency is also known to be one of the causes of mental retardation. Poor people who face chronic hunger or are malnourished or take food low in protein are prone to protein deficiency. There are also known instances of people who are on to weight loss dieting becoming deficient in protein. Older people who are not taking a balanced diet are susceptible to protein deficiency. This might also be the condition of people who are just on their road to recovery from trauma, surgery or ill health. An intake of protein rich food can actually offset such a condition.
Dietary supplements are a growing business in health business. They contain carbohydrates, proteins, fat, minerals and vitamins. The main source of protein in these products is soy, casein and whey. Flavors are added for taste. They come in the form of energy drinks and energy bars. There are energy bars which have protein as the main ingredient. Pure protein Protein Bar is one such protein rich supplement that comes in a variety of flavors.
Besides protein, they are also rich in calories. Proteins enter into the body system along with other nutrients.
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Benefits of Organic Food
Anyone aware of the amount of chemicals included in highly processed food is aware of the importance and the benefits of organic foods in the first place. By the difference between conventional and organic food, we don’t necessarily imply that between an apple grown organically and another regular one. What needs to be insisted on consists in the real benefits of organic foods for health first and foremost.
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Lots of consumers suffering from some form of chronic illness or even cancer, choose organic foods as safer and more health oriented than conventional products. Although lots of people claim that there is little difference in terms of nutrients, the absence of hormones and chemicals from organic food works great for the promotion of a state of well-being. Lots of consumer analyses do not refer to the difference in nutrients value, there are studies however that indicate superior characteristics and more benefits of organic foods in the first place.
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It seems that among the benefits of organic foods we ought to include more vitamin C, higher levels of trace minerals and plenty of anti-oxidant nutrients. A report made by the US Department of Agriculture shows that a significant decline has been registered in the level of minerals of the non-organic crops since 1940. The fact that nowadays we store food extensively and we treat and process the products so much contributes to an alteration of the nutritional value.
The higher content of dry matter is one other of the benefits of organic foods. To make this clear, we have to consider the fact that the use of the artificial fertilizers causes the fruits or vegetables to retain more water and thus swell. Thus, there is less food in the form of dry matter in a non-organic apple than in an organic one. Nevertheless, besides the different amounts of nutrients, more advantages of organic food can be identified.
First of all, virtually no pesticide residues can be traced in organic products. Even if conventional food producers claim that pesticides are no threat to human health, one doesn’t have to be an expert to know that the ingestion of anything chemical cannot help or be 100% safe for the system. The benefits of organic foods are over-emphasized at present, with more and more consumers choosing them over conventional foods. In time this preference will definitely trigger a shift of the market and even a reformulation of the standards that characterize organic food in the first place.
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The way to make Correct Decision to Eat Healthily
Its difficult making those healthy food choices for you and your family, especially when there is constantly so much controversy in the media. One minute something is healthy and the next minute it is not. It is because of all the different choices and information that people receive that it is no surprise that they get confused.
There is so much choice these days when you walk around your local supermarket going up and down the numerous aisles, it is not surprising that people often find it hard to stick to a diet that fits in with healthy living.There are some simple hints and tips that anyone can do to help you with your food shopping.
Never ever do your food shopping on an empty stomach, only go when you have had something to eat? This is because when you are walking up the aisles surrounded by lots of food if you are hungry you can sometimes end up buying items of food you don’t really need or want. Also all your healthy food choices may have just gone through the window.
When you are going for your weekly shopping, always have a list with you and only purchase what is on that list nothing else not even a small treat, this way you have a good chance of only buying the health food you have on your list. If you are buying boxed or canned food, be careful and read the labels.
For example if you purchase high quality fruit, vegetables or fresh meat you never see these covered in oil so if you do find anything with the word hydrogenated on the packaging this simply means that these items contain a large amount of fat. It is far better to buy packed foods that are in water not oil.
Avoid, if you can, any items tthat contain a high amount of fructose or glucose, there is a large amount of fructose in most fruit juices and some soft drinks. These can help to decay children’s teeth quicker because of the high content of sugar in it.
There are many foods and drinks that can actually cause diabetes and of course, obesity in young children, so always checks the labels of food and drink if you are not sure.It is of course much better to purchase delicious fresh fruit and a variety of vegetables for the whole family, and a lot more healthy.
It will always be a much superior to while choosing your meats or poultry to consider purchasing the organic alternative to these products. These are far better as they are free from harmful chemicals, steroids, and growth hormones. If you are going to buy a chicken, then go for a free-range chicken these are also a lot tastier, skinless chicken is far healthier for you as bad cholesterols are concentrated in the skin of the chickens.Another option would be to make use of the internet to help you eat health, just like you are now reading this article, and have fresh high quality food delivered to your door online.
Choosing to avoid certain dairy products can also be a healthy option, as calcium can be found in milk and cheese so to can fat. If you swapped one of these, for example, and chose broccoli you would still get calcium as this vegetable is packed with this nutrient.
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Give Me 7 Good Reasons To Go Raw
The raw food diet is becoming very popular these days. It is obvious what the raw food diet is. Most of the food that you eat on a raw food diet needs to be raw or as close to its natural state as possible.
Now don’t go getting all squeamish on me. We’re not talking about eating raw meat here. The raw food diet is a largely vegan diet. There is also some room for maneuver in the raw food diet too as the people who support it say that to get the maximum health benefits from the raw food diet you only have to make sure that approximately eight percent of what you eat needs to be raw.
People who support the raw food diet as a healthy lifestyle argue that foods on their natural state contain the optimum balance of enzymes, vitamins and minerals that we need. They argue that the enzymes contained in raw food and which are killed off by cooking, will help people to digest their food more fully and so derive more nutritional value from it. That places less stress on the body to produce its own digestive enzymes.
Raw food supporters also believe that the cooking we normally do to our food destroys their natural vitamins and minerals and that food takes longer to digest in this cooked, unnatural state. The cooked food therefore hangs around longer in the gut while the body attempts to digest it. The proteins, carbohydrates and fats which have not been fully digested therefore become waste products. These waste products slow down the food’s transit through the gut, causing constipation, bloating, stomach cancer etc, while the fats tend to clog up the arteries. A raw food diet, which is higher in fiber too, pushes the food more quickly through the gut and there are fewer waste by-products which are left around to cause problems to the body. Therefor, a minimized, less and even better a non-cooked food has many advantages.
Basically, a raw food diet makes your whole digestion process a lot more efficient. It delivers more of the essential vitamins and nutrients which our bodies need and leaves behind fewer waste products which can become harmful to our bodies.
The health benefits of the raw food diet include an increase in energy as your body is maximizing the amount of nutrients it actually gets where it needs it; plus the body has to work less hard in order to process the raw food.
You should find that your skin looks more clear on the raw food diet. That is because your body is taking in fewer toxins which would cause skin eruptions. The raw food diet is a good detox!
Your digestive system will work more efficiently on the raw food diet. Food will pass through the digestion faster and excrement will be off in a minute. That is great for avoiding health problems like IBS and stomach cancer.
You may also find that you lose weight and manage your weight more effectively on the raw food diet. It is lower in fat that most people’s eating habits. There is less fat hung around in the body to clog up arteries and pile on the pounds. That in turn reduces your risk of contracting a coronar heart disease (CHD).
All in all, then, you can see that eating a diet that is comprised of at least eighty per cent raw fruit and vegetable is great for your health. You will lessen your risk of serious diseases and generally look and feel better while you follow the raw food diet. Click here to add your website or blog about raw food.
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