The ‘3′ Top Errors Of Nutrition

16 12 2010

   Perhaps we have all read hundreds of books about proper nutrition and what vitamins to take. However, it cannot be helped that our idea of good nutrition is clouded by false advertisements and other fraudulent claims that media feeds us. It is easy to be misled into believing nutrition misconceptions and myths, especially when we have read so many things to an extent that we no longer know what to believe in. Here we will be setting the record straight to help you understand what the most common nutrition errors are and subsequently avoid them.

   Error 1: Believing what advertisers say: People think that what advertisements tell them are true. They think that the brands they choose are healthier than other brands. For example, some people think that canned vegetables soup is equal to eating real vegetables. They do not realize that lots of nutrients are lost in processing canned foods and it is always better to eat the real deal.

   In the same fashion, some people think that drinking processed fruit juices are as good as eating the real fruit. The error here is that canned fruit juices have high amounts of concentrated sugar. So before you buy something just because you were told it is rich in vitamins, read the label carefully and check the amount of nutrients you can get per serving. It is also advisable to eat whole foods fruits and vegetables than canned ones.

   Error 2: Thinking that food supplements are enough: Food supplements, as the term implies, are just supplements. People forget that these pills are there only to supplement the diet but they are not replacements for the healthy foods that they fail to eat. In fact, these pills can damage your health if not taken right. You need to understand that all chemicals in the body, whether produced by the body or taken from an external source, should be controlled. All of these chemicals should have controlled doses and too much of any of these can cause abnormalities.

   What you need to do is to consult a physician before taking these pills. Your diet should be composed of real foods and not of multi-purpose vitamins. There are so many things that natural food contain that tablets cannot emulate. Simple put, naturals foods can never be replaced by capsules made in a laboratory.

   Error 3: Confusing facts about carbohydrates: The entire world has been led to believe that foods with low carbohydrates are good. This made people eliminate these foods from their diet. The fact is that there are carbohydrates that are essentially needed by the brain and the body. these are the same good carbohydrates that should be a regular part of any person’s diet. Some carbohydrates can even make you feel fuller and thus cause you to eat less. People think that they can eat more portions as long as there is no or little carbohydrates in it. This is a mistake because even if the food has less carbohydrates, the larger portions can make you gain weight.



3 Methods To Prevent Diabetes NOW…

6 10 2010

   When it comes to diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, prevention is a big and essential step. It is necessary to make prevention a priority if one is overweight or has a family of diabetes. It is basic as losing extra weight and eating healthy.

   Changing lifestyle a little may be the first step towards preventing diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a sugar disease and it can be controlled and even prevented by following the methods given below:

1. Managing Insulin/Blood Sugar Levels

2. Eating small portions instead of full meals

3. Keeping body fat percentage to the lowest possible

   Consider the following tips to prevent this chronic disease from claiming your lives.

   Physical activity: It is no secret that regular physical activity reaps many rewards. Besides losing weight, it also lowers blood sugar levels and boosts an individuals sensitivity to insulin. A fitness program consisting of both aerobic exercise and resistance training can prove beneficial in diabetes control.

   Increase in fiber intake: The roughage reduces the risk of diabetes by improving blood sugar control. Eat whole grains as they control blood sugar and help prevent onset of diabetes. Skip fad diets and opt for healthier lifestyles and wholesome diets.

   To maintain a healthy diet one should remember the following:

1. Eliminate processed carbohydrates

2. Avoid carbohydrates before two hours of bedtime

3. Balance intake of carbohydrate, proteins and fats

4. Eat at least 5-6 small meals a day

5. Always start your day with a high protein breakfast

6, Drinking lots of water helps in flushing impurities as well as fats from the body and thus helps regulate blood sugar levels

   Hence to stay ahead in the game of diabetes and beating it, the key is to live a lean lifestyle.



Diabetes Food Pyramid

14 06 2010

   The first food guide pyramid was published in Demark in 1978. It was later adopted by the American Department of  Agriculture or USDA updated the food guide pyramid. It was also renamed MYPyramid to distinguish it from its former predecessor.

   There is however a growing awareness that the food guide is not right for everyone. Different people at various stages of their life need different types of food to stay healthy. Thus the food pyramid  for moms is very different from the ones that their kids should follow.

   So it stands to reason that the food pyramid for those suffering from diabetes is also different. The diabetes food pyramid divides food into six groups such as grains, starches, vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy, meat and meat substitutes and the last group is of fats, sweets and alcohol.

   Grains are the largest group at the base of the pyramid and fats are the smallest. The servings in each group can total up to anything from 1600 calories to 2800 calories in the day. Of course the exact number of calories you need consume will dictate your serving size.



Diabetes! Nutrition Facts…

20 03 2010

   If you are diabetic you need to be extra careful about what you eat. The kind of food you eat has a direct bearing on the blood sugar levels in your body. Since your body is unable to digest the glucose in the blood and use it to produce energy, the body begins to use the proteins and fats stored in the body to create energy for its functional needs.

   So what you eat can either solve the problem by eating the right foods or cause a bigger one for yourself by eating the wrong kind of food. Here are some nutrition facts to keep your diet on the right course. Your diet must consist of 40-60% carbohydrates, 20% proteins and 30% fat. You Cannot cut out on any one of the three, the body needs all three of them to function well.

   Yes you need to cut down on the sugar intake as well but that does not mean that you can’t eat any kind of sugar. The porcessed white sugar should be avoided, but natural sugars present in the fresh fruits and vegetables are totally acceptable. In fact a small treat of dessert once in a while is also acceptable as long as you don’t make it a habit.

   You also need to balance your intake of simple and complex carbohydrates. The simple ones get digested fast and will make you hungry faster, while the complex ones will keep you full longer. This is why it is better to eat more of unfined cereals than instant oatmeal. It is all a matter of making healthier choices for nutrition to control your diabetes.



Soy… Diabetes

9 03 2010

   Soy is best known as the milk substitute for those unable to have dairy products, but there may more benfits that you are unaware of. A nutrition scientist called Young-Cheui Kim in the University of Massachusetts has done extensive research in the soy containing foods. The team has identified the isoflavones, which are bioactive compounds that lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

   This basically means that eating food rich in soy isoflavones will lower your cholesterol and blood sugar levels, besides improving the glucose tolerance level in people already diagnosed with diabetes. So it will bode well for you to eat foods that are rich in soy. The one food in particular which has been proved to be helpful is soy yogurt.

   The blueberry soy yogurt was the most effective in blocking the enzymes that aid in digestion of carbohydrates. This means that the food gets digested slower and the blood glucose level does not rise all of a sudden after eating a meal. This reaction was first aided by alpha glucosiadase inhibitor drugs, but if the same chemical reaction can be achieved in the body by eating soy yogurt, it is definitely a healthier option.

   While blueberry soy yogurt showed the maximum benefits, plain soy yogurt came in a close secord in the research. However even the soy yogurt contains enough carbohydrates to equal two slices of bread or that contained in a medium sized banana. So you will have to be careful about just how much soy yogurt your can consume.



Tomatoes and Diabetes…

16 02 2010

   The perfect red ripe tomato bursting with juices and rich flavor is appetizing and impacts great taste to food. Most of the people do not eat it in its raw form and cook it and consume it as gravies, sauces, and ketchups. The good news is that fortunately cooking brings out one of the important antioxidants in tomatoes, lycopene.

   Studies show that daily consumption of tomatoes fulfills the body’s daily requirement of minerals and vitamins and therefore exerts a protective effect on it. Daily consumption of tomates alleviates diabetes and reduces the oxidation, thus exerting protective effect against cardiovascular diseases.

   Platelets are responsible for the blood’s ability to clot. Clotting can go too far, however, and cause strokes, heart attacks and other life-threatening problems. In diabetes patients, platelets are stickier. As a result of this excessive “stickiness” for instance, people with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk atherosclerosis and cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack and stroke.

   It has been observed that lycopene in tomatoes act as blood thinners. The regular consumption of tomato has proved to decrease the levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. These lipids are the key culpits in cardiovascular diseases and lead to deposition of fats in the blood vessels.

   Tomatoes are low in carbohydrates and useful for diabetics who want to lose weight. They also control the amount of sugar in a diabetic person urine effectively.

   Besides that it also prevent urinary tract infection, reduces hypertension and improves vision. Vitamin K which is abundant in tomatoes is essential in blood clotting and controls bleeding. All of the abovementioned health problems are associated with diabetes and thus assert importance of including tomatoes in one’s diet to keep all the  abovementioned health problems at bay.



Super Foods For Diabetes

6 02 2010

   What are super foods? Science and research have anointed them as anti-stress, life expanding and disease preventing foods. They are legumes, fruits and vegetables that have been around forever. The super foods listed below can be quite beneficial to a diabetic.

Almonds and walnuts. Almonds and walnuts are rich in monosaturated good fat that contains many micro nutrients, Vitamin E and fiber. They are known to lower the risk of heart disease. In addition walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids which are known for their health benefits.

Blueberries and strawberries, besides being delicious, they are loaded with properties such as low in calories, rich in iron, fiber and Vitamin C and high in antioxidants.

Dark green, They are delicious, satisfying and rich in nutrients. If looking for calcium, folate, Vitamin C, potassium, carotenoids and fiber, your mantra should br GO GREEN. The choice is plenty, broccoli, soinach, kale, etc to name a few.

Beans, they are rich in protein, fiber slow metabolizing complex carbohydrates and folic acid.

Garlic, This spice lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It also reduces the risk of heart attacks and retards growth of harmful bacteria.

Yellow fruits, Apricots, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, carrots, peaches and butternut squash. They are loaded with carotenoids, the powerful heart protectors. In addition they contain fiber, Vitamin A and C, beta-carotene and potassium

Fish, Wild salmon and other fatty fish caught in wild contain the beneficial omega-3 fatty acids that lower cardic risks.

Olive Oil, this monosaturated fat is beneficial in lowering cholesterol and fighting heart disease.

Dark chocolate, contains flavonols and antixidants that improve the flow of blood throughtout the body and reduce blood pressure.

Green tea, low in caffeine, and if drunk on regular basis it is known to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

If included in the daily diet theses super foods can improve one’s life phenomenally and help fight diseases.



How Does Nutritions Link To Diabetes…

1 02 2010

   What an individual eats is closely connected to the amount of sugar in the blood stream. Hence it seems only natural that the food choices one makes will be helpful in regulating the blood glucose levels. There isn’t a specific diabetes diet, what helps one is a designed meal plan.

   A meal plan tells an individual how much food and what kind of food one can eat. For most people who have diabetes a healthy diet consists of 40% to 60% of calories from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% or less from fat. It should be low in cholesterol, low in salt and low in added sugar.

   Eating right is a key step to preventing and controlling diabetes. The key to a diabetes diet is eating in moderation, sticking to regular mealtimes, and eating a varity of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Although diabetes is on rise, most cases of diabetes are preventable through healthy lifestyle changes. In some cases through good nutrition diabetes can be reversed too.

   Here are a few guidelines for eating right:

1. What one eats makes a large difference to one’s health. It means including maximum plant food in one’s diet, cutting back on refined carbonhydrates and choosing healthy fats over unhealthy ones.

2. Eating on time is also  very important part of nutrition because sticking to regular meal times can affect blood sugar levels and can help in keeping them more constant.

3. How much one eats also matter. Portion sizes should be taken care of because overeating can increase weight which can have adverse effect on body since eight gain and diabetes are related.

   A diabetes diet is simply a healthy eating plan that is high in nutrients, low in fat, and moderate in calories. It is a healthy diet for anyone.



How To Reverse Diabetes NOW…

19 01 2010

   You are looking for a means to cure your diabetes naturally? A natural diabetes cure through alternative means will assist you to have power over that severe disease.

   As a source of diabetes treatment, the natural alternative such as diabetes herbal treatment in combination with a diabetes diet is a successful diabetes cure.

   By resorting to natural diabetes treatment, what some people don’t know is that it will not only be effective for you, it has also shows to be much easlier on people’s body as well as your budget.

   At the same time, the following instructions on diabetes treatment can be looked into as an alternative means of diabetes help, I would like to remind you that it is always best to check with your physician before trying whichever of these suggested natural diabetes treatment. It is very important if you taking prescription drugs that may respond to some herbs for diabetes, or else your physician may require to change the prescription according to the type of diabetes herbal treatment that you may decide on.

   The diabetes diets are a natural diabetes treatment. You have to check your carbohydrates and the amount of protein you eat. It is necessary for you to limit your carbohydrates consumption like flour, white rice, white bread, sweets etc, due to that they are the general causes of increased blood sugar level. Having to eat protein rich foods on the other hand, can be a good diabetes treatment as it assist to stabilize the levels of your blood sugar.

   Another one is by doing Exercise. Let me just tell you the truth, generally, exercise is very good for everybody even those who do not have diabetes. At the same time it is a good supports to loss weight. Exercise as part of your diabetes treatment will also keep your body in good shape and will be more  able to withstand or avoid any complications that might arise from being overweight and would help you to stay healthy and strong.

   The Ayurvedic herbs for diabetes are known to produce affirmative result in major diabetes treatments. History has shown that human being has turned to herbs as a source of cure for the majority of this disease. As natural diabetes cure like, Jamin, Gurmaar, bitter melon, Saptrangi even onion and garlic have been recognized to lower and stabilize blood sugar level. A number of these herbs for diabetes can be good remedies against infections of the skin that are connected with diabetes.

   For some people to be diagnosed with diabetes could be devastating. Nonetheless, with the correct instructions, specialized assistance from a competent medical doctor, and a number of natural diabetes treatment, diabetes can be put under control and in most cases, it is better to treat diabetes naturally because it has been tested.



Super Strategies for Acne

8 10 2009

   Most people with ance attempt to treat their irritated skin with external face washes, soaps, lotions and treatments. However, the best way to treat acne is by changing your diet and getting rid of acne-causing ingredients such as fried foods.

   A healthy diet rich in natural whole foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans is the first recommendation for treating acne. Foods containing trans-fatty acids, such as milk, milk products, margarine, shortening and other synthetically hydrogenated vegetables oils, as well as fried foods, should be avoided.

   It seems the prevalence of acne in the United States is built into the typical American diet. Americans tend to eat fried foods in large quantities, usually cooked in the most harmful of fats and oils. Not all fats are bad, but the fats that typical Americans eat make them more prone to develop acne and skin problems, such as what’s in ice cream, cheese, bacon, and milk.

   Ance cannot really be treated using creams and soaps because the root of the condition lies breath the skin. Pimples and blemishes are caused by bacteria and other irritants embedded underneath the skin’s oil glands and hair follicies, which are generally caused as a result of imporper hygiene and poor diet such as too much processes, fatty, fried and sugary foods.

   A skin healthy diet emphasizes raw and lightly cooked vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables that contain valuable trace minerals and are rich in fiber. Fresh green vegetables are essential. Also include in your diet lean protein sources and complex carbohydrates, such as rice, whole-grain bread, and potatoes. These fiber rich foods help ensure a clean gastrointestinal tract, which is especially important in the management of acne. Eat three healthy meals daily to provide important nutrients and to decrease your appetite for sugary or greasy fried foods. Food rich in Vitamin A, like apricots, watermelon, and broccoli, as well as foods like lean beef, nuts, beans and whole grains that are rich in zinc can also be helpful in reducing acne breakouts. It’s also imperative to drink lots of water to help flush the toxins out that contribute to breakouts.