Tag Archive for: dieting tips

How Does Our Food Intake Affect Our Health?

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We can examine some of the better foods, and offer advice as to what particular formulas make us the healthiest on average. On average, you need an hour of exercise and enough servings from all the food groups to completely cover the food pyramid.

This could be the formula for an eighty year old man, or a fifteen year old girl. The recommended daily calorie intake is just as vague and generalized as the daily food intake pyramid. Can you see how this might not work for either one? When a guideline published is this general, it is up to the individual to determine what food regimen will keep them at their healthiest, and then implement such a plan.

food

 

The foods of the food pyramid are necessary for our optimal health. But in what quantities and which ones are the best? These are questions that must be tailored to our individual needs. So must the answer to what foods make us healthy be a unique one.

Healthy for me, is not the same as healthy for you. Everyone’s nutritional needs are different, and everyone’s level of calorie consumption is different.

Once the importance of a particular food plan is understood by us, it is a simple as learning our multiplication tables. We simply memorize the benefit, and incorporate it into our daily intake as needed. As you take the time to incorporate a healthy food plan, don’t’ forget the necessity of exercise in our daily lives. In order to keep our bodies healthy and functioning off of healthy food, we need to keep it fit. This comes through proper amounts of exercise.

According to the guides published by the USDA, your calorie needs are as individual as you. So how do you determine what your individual needs are? There’s one simple way to determine your calorie needs, simply keep a journal of your daily food intake. Now, take that calorie information, check with a nutritionist about the recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals that you need. Take both pieces of information, calorie intake and nutritional requirements, use the food pyramid and comprise a combination of foods that will help you achieve these recommended daily intakes, and still be enjoyable food. You now have an individualized healthy eating plan.

What those foods might be, are entirely dependent upon the unique guideline you have just established. This guide will not work for Cousin Bob, or Aunt Tilley, but it is the unique blueprint for you. It is at this point in the process that we seem to lack the direction or the discipline to finish what the government started. Maybe we need to incorporate these techniques into a class taught at school. Maybe this would give our young people the direction and tools they need in order to begin such a process, make it a lifetime habit, and pass it along to their children. Whatever the formula, your food intake, types and level of calorie content, will affect your general overall health everyday. Overeating can bring on obesity, under eating can bring about anemia; you need to find that one right guide for you, and plan, plan, plan.

 

 

You Are What You Eat, Right? (diet tips)

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To say that our diet contributes to our health and makes us the people we are is an understatement. The daily diet of every individual helps to determine the quality and length of our own lives, and quite often it affects the quality of our children’s lives.

Everyone has heard your mother say, “You are what you eat, so eat right!” How many of us have ever stopped to really consider what she was saying? You become a product of what you put into your body. Food is not the only contributing factor, but it is one of the major ones. Your genetics plays a role in your health, too. But you can turn the tide even with poor genetics if your diet is a healthy one.

diet

The diet factor becomes an even more important aspect of our health as we age. Quite often, as our bodies begin to deteriorate, our food and exercise become the reason that we continue to enjoy a quality life, or the reason we are bedridden or otherwise incapacitated. Medical advances have helped to lengthen the life span of the average person by almost 15 years. Along with those advances, have come better living conditions and a better educated public about their food choices. Today’s consumer is more health conscious than ever before, but that doesn’t mean we’re actually eating healthier than ever before. In all actuality, the obesity rate in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. If we are exercising, eating healthier and receiving better medical care than ever before, why are we still fighting obesity issues?

The answer may be found in the statement made previously. You are what you eat. Our daily diet consists of a low intake in fat, and a higher intake of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates turn to sugar once inside the body’s digestive system. Excess sugar is stored as fat. It’s that simple. Fat doesn’t make you fat. Carbohydrates make you fat. Even the most health conscious consumer can get caught up in the “low fat” misleading labels. Just because it is low fat, doesn’t make it healthy eating. Take the time to know your body, your energy needs, and how to read food labeling for the best health results.

Eating healthy means eating what your individual body needs to keep it running in optimal condition. That often consists of more fruits and vegetables and less processed or manufactured food. The processed and manufactured food is often faster to prepare or consume, but it is not always the healthy choice.

Did you know that your metabolism affects how much food you need, and when?

Metabolism plays a huge role in determining the burn rate of your calorie intake. Your body runs off fuel, just like your car. And, just like your car, if your body’s injectors are clean and efficient, you burn your fuel more effectively. The more effectively we digest our food and turn it into fuel, the healthier we are. Usually, we need less food if we’re making the most of our daily intake.

So, in order to eat healthy for life, we need to understand our individual needs, the role each part of the food group plays in keeping us healthy, and make adjustments as necessary.

 

 

 

What is Metabolism?

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The dictionary defines  as the sum of all biochemical processes involved in life, or the sustaining of life. In application concerning our health, metabolism is related to the intake and use of food. In reference to the case in point it is our ability to utilize our food to the fullest extent.

The body’s metabolism is a unique process for each individual person. No two people metabolize food at the same rate therefore no two people have the metabolism. We all use our calories at different rates, with different results. Our metabolism, like our fingerprints is unique to each of us. But the need to understand and accommodate this metabolism is an issue that we all face.

metabolism

Some people have really high rates of metabolism. In other words, when they consume food, their bodies burn it up almost as fast as then consume it. Then there are those of use who use our food intake so slowly, as to not even notice that we’re burning calories. These people who burn quickly are often slim and trim, the people who burn more slowly are the people with a tendency toward obesity.

All of this metabolic process is related to our calorie intake, our vitamin and nutrition needs, our thyroid and endocrine production, and how well all of these processes come together. For years, people have sought ways to raise the metabolic rate. If you can raise someone’s metabolic rate, you are then better able to control the burn of calories, especially for overweight or obese people. This would make the goal of better or improved health a much easier reality for those people. Efforts to date have produced very little results. There are foods that we can consume that naturally raise our metabolic rate, but not to a great extent. What we need is a way to directly alter the rate. We need to be able to raise our metabolism to a point where we can actually see a benefit.

Right now, the greatest results in raising our metabolism come from exercise and building our muscle mass, while reducing our body fat. Adding more muscle to the body, in turn causes us to burn more calories, and this helps to elevate our metabolic rate.

What determines our metabolic rate, as far as our genetics? Generally, we tend to inherit the same tendencies for metabolic rates, body frames, and other related body functions from our parents. Thus, the origin of “well, she comes from big people; naturally she’s going to be big”.

Our metabolism functions also depend on how well we have taken care of our nutritional needs. The process of burning calories and creating energy is a delicate one, and one which must be carefully tended, or it can become imbalanced. It is often through these natural imbalances that we tend to “inherit’ our metabolic rate.

I believe through careful analysis, and attention to each person’s unique needs, we could bring about a more natural balance of the metabolic burn vs. the calorie intake. To a level where optimal health and weight control are in equilibrium.

 

Eating for Your Age

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The foods of the food pyramid are necessary for our optimal health. But in what quantities and which ones are the best? These are questions that must be tailored to our individual needs. And the answers will benefit our unique needs. Healthy for me, is not the same as healthy for you. Everyone’s nutritional needs and eating habits are different, and everyone’s level of calorie consumption is different.

We can examine some of the better foods, and offer advice as to what particular formulas make us the healthiest on average. The average person needs an hour of physical exercise, six to eleven servings of grains, two to four servings of fruit, three to five servings of vegetables, two to three servings of meat, two to three servings of milk, and enough water to make it all work.

eating

This could be the formula for an eighty year old man, or a fifteen year old girl. The recommended daily calorie intake is just as vague and generalized as the daily food intake pyramid. Can you see how this might not work for either one? When a guideline published is this general, it is up to the individual to determine what food regimen will keep them at their healthiest, provide the caloric intake necessary, but not excessive.

According to the guides published by the USDA, calorie needs vary from one age group to another, one gender to another. So how do you determine what your individual needs are? You can setup a journal for recording your daily caloric intake for about a month. Make a note of your weight each day. If you don’t gain any weight during the course of that month, you’re eating your recommended calorie level in order to maintain your weight. Now, take that calorie information, check with a nutritionist about the recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals that you need. Take both pieces of information, calorie intake and nutritional requirements, use the food pyramid and comprise a combination of foods that will help you achieve these recommended daily intakes, and still be enjoyable food. You now have an individualized healthy eating plan.

Once the importance of a particular food plan is understood by us, it is a simple as learning our multiplication tables. We simply memorize the benefit, and incorporate it into our daily intake as needed. As you take the time to incorporate a healthy food plan, don’t’ forget the necessity of exercise in our daily lives. In order to keep our bodies healthy and functioning off of healthy food, we need to keep it fit. This comes through proper amounts of exercise.

What those foods might be, are entirely dependent upon the unique guideline you have just established. This guide will not work for Cousin Bob, or Aunt Tilley, but it is the unique blueprint for you. It is at this point in the process that we seem to lack the direction to finish what the government started. Maybe we need to incorporate these techniques into a class taught at school. Maybe this would give our young people the direction and tools they need in order to begin such a process, make it a lifetime habit, and pass it along to their children. Whatever the formula, your food intake and level of calorie content, will affect your general overall health everyday. Overeating can bring on obesity, under eating can bring about anemia; you need to find that one right guide for you, and plan, plan, plan.

eating

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Benefits of Liquid Vitamins

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Vitamins and minerals can be absorbed by the body in a number of ways. They first enter our body through the food we eat. Secondly, we can take vitamin supplements to increase the amount of pertinent vitamins and minerals. There are different methods of taking medication and one of the most common methods is absorbing it in its liquid form. Do the advantages of liquid vitamins far outweigh its disadvantages – if there are any? Read on and find out.

vitamins

Better or Easier Absorption for Kids

Although liquid vitamins may taste worse than vitamins in flavored, chewable tablet forms, they are however easier to absorb. There are numerous cases in which children have problems with choking, breathing and swallowing simply because of their inability to absorb medication or vitamins in this form.

This is the same problem as well for adults who have lost their ability to control their jaws or are unable to digest anything that is not in liquid form.

Liquid Vitamins are More Effective

Because of its form, liquid vitamins can be assimilated immediately into the blood stream for a more systemic administration of the vitamin and its average absorption rate is approximately 90 to 98%. It is also three to five times more concentrated than vitamin pills and this lead to higher bio-activity and greater therapeutic benefits.

The Link between Antioxidants and Liquid Vitamins

Have you ever wondered whether or not liquid vitamins contained oxidants as well? Vitamins E, C and A are examples of antioxidants and they are commonly found in vitamin supplements but what about liquid vitamins?

And the answer is an absolute YES. Liquid vitamins must in fact contain such antioxidants or they’ll prove to be ineffective compared to other vitamins. Remember that the most important of all antioxidants – Vitamins A, C and E – are not internally produced by the body so they must be a regular fixture in our diet. Antioxidants are our main defense against effects of damaging oxidation reactions. Antioxidants are our best weapons against suffering from any form of cancer. Without it, we are basically weaker and less healthy.

Liquid Vitamins versus Digestive Acids

One reason why people refuse to acknowledge the benefits of liquid vitamins is because of the supposed destruction by digestive acids of any vitamin or mineral that it does not recognize as part of the process of digestion. The opposite is, in fact true. Our digestive system actually prefers or is able to better absorb liquid vitamins and minerals rather than those made in pill or capsule form.

A vitamin pill or tablet has to be digested completely before it can benefit the human body. It must be broken down into absorbable nutrients or only up to thirty percent of it will be absorbed by the human body. Liquid vitamins however provide a better and easier solution for the digestive system. Because it does not depend in any way on mechanical digestion, an estimated 90% of it can be absorbed directly by the body.

It’s vital to remember that digestion does not mainly function to destroy vitamins and minerals but rather to transform them into substances it can use to improve the general constitution of the body.

Liquid Vitamins: Toxic or Not?

Another problem posed is the amount of colloidal minerals found in liquid vitamins. Are they harmful or not?

In truth, even plants and fruits contain a trace of such minerals in them. Apples, for instance, contain 3-5 mg of aluminum as it’s one of the most abundant elements that can be found in the surface of the Earth. But do you hear anyone telling you that apples are dangerous to your health? On the contrary, what we are more likely to hear is that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

And so it must be with liquid vitamins as well. Containing a slight amount of colloidal mineral doesn’t mean it’s bad for our health right away. Colloidal minerals, are above all else, naturally occurring elements and can not therefore be avoided.

You Have a Choice

At the end of the day, however, it’s still up to you whether or not you wish to take vitamin supplements in liquid or solid form. What really matters is what you prefer and which will ultimately work better for you.

 

 

Nine Facts About Fiber

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If you’ve been looking for a way towards a high octane diet, you’ll find fiber to be exactly what you need. Even though research has shown fiber to be powerful, many people aren’t taking this nutrient
seriously.

To help you fuel your health with fiber, here are 10 facts to help.

fiber

  1. Fiber fights diseases. A diet high in fiber can help to prevent colon cancer and heart disease. High
    fiber helps the body to eliminate cholesterol by binding it in the digestive tract. For thousands of
    years, fiber has been used to stop constipation.

  2. Fiber can actually help with overeating. All high fiber foods will take longer to chew and digest,
    making you feel satisfied longer

  3. Most popular foods don’t have enough fiber. If you like the more popular foods, you probably need
    to increase your intake of fiber.

  4. Grains offer the most fiber. Dietary fiber is actually plant matter that we cannot digest. The best
    sources are whole grains and concentrated grain products.

  5. Kids need fiber as well. Children that are older than 2 years of age should consume a daily intake of fiber. Kids are most receptive to fiber found in fruits, vegetables, and even fortified breakfast
    cereals.

  6. More fiber needs more water. In order to keep fiber moving through your digestive tract, you’ll
    need to consume a lot of water. With your diet of fiber, you’ll need eight or more glasses of water
    every day.

  7. Fiber cannot be cooked out. When you cook your fruits and vegetables, don’t worry about cooking
    the fiber out, as it stays. The fiber found in fruits and vegetables aren’t just in the skin or
    in the peel.

  8. You can get enough fiber. If you eat more than 50 grams of fiber in a day, you can get diarrhea
    and bloating, which can interfere with your body’s absorption of other key minerals.

  9. Getting the right amount of fiber in your diet doesn’t have to be hard. Even though you may think
    so, getting the amount of fiber you need isn’t very hard to do. All you have to do is eat the right
    foods and you’ll be well on your way to a fiber rich lifestyle.

As one of the key ingredients to healthy eating, fiber is something you don’t want to skip. Fiber can
serve many different purposes, which were covered above. If you aren’t getting enough fiber in your
diet – you should do something about now instead of waiting until it is too late.

fiber

The Greatest Dieting Mistakes

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When it comes to dieting there are many mistakes that are made on a near daily basis. While there are many real profound mistakes that go along with the territory there are a few that seem to have far more profound and lasting implications than others. Hopefully by learning about these mistakes you can learn to avoid them in your own weight loss pursuits.

Perhaps the single largest mistake that dieters make is adopting an all or nothing attitude. These are the dieters that scour the pantry and the refrigerator removing anything that could be seen as a potential source of temptation. They embark on a dietary regimen that is nearly impossible to maintain and believe that all is lost the moment they stray from the strict guidelines of their diet.

mistakes

While this may work for some in the short term, it sets them up for failure, frustration, and ill will towards the entire dieting process. The important thing when it comes to dieting is the goal. Your goal is to shed pounds. There are many ways in which this can be done that do not require starving yourself or punishing yourself in the process.

Another great mistake when it comes to dieting is selecting a diet plan where you eat the same thing every day. Despite our human need for structure and routine we tend to enjoy changing our lunch routine on occasion. Select a diet or new nutrition plan that allows you to enjoy a wide variety of foods rather than one that limits you to the same meal or meal selection day in and day out.

Other common mistakes include depriving yourself of everything you enjoy. One thing that we often forget is the importance of moderation. Fill up on servings of fruits and vegetables but allow yourself to enjoy the occasional indulgence for the sake of sanity. If you never allow yourself to enjoy a taste of chocolate, why on earth would you want to live forever? Seriously, do not forget to enjoy food for the sake of dieting. There is nothing wrong or sinful about enjoying food. The problem lies when you enjoy only the wrong sorts of foods.

You should also avoid the mistake of not setting goals. While you do not want to set goals that are impossible to achieve you should also avoid the opposite end of the spectrum, which involves having no goals at all. Those who set aggressive goals that are achievable will see the greatest degree of success. Making those goals public and asking for support is another thing that will help you achieve greater success. This is one reason the Weight Watchers program has enjoyed the phenomenal success is has.

The final mistake when it comes to dieting that is made all too often is giving up. We all have setbacks along the way. Even those who have achieved monumental dieting success have met with failure on the road. The end result however, for those who stick with the plan is a healthier body and that is something that is worth fighting for. Your goals may get side tracked but you can set new goals. You may have had a bad day or even a bad week when it comes to your dietary goals and plans. Do not let this defeat your desires to become a healthier you.

Learn to overcome those mistakes and move on from them. Let your failures teach you as much as your successes and you should be well on your way to the healthier person that you know is hiding inside. Whether you want to get rid of 10 pounds or 210 pounds the only way to achieve that goal and make it last is by dedicating yourself to the process of becoming a healthier person. A healthy person has healthy eating habits and doesn’t starve him or herself. Nor does a healthy person binge on things that aren’t healthy. Learn to enjoy food in moderation and you should be well on your to the success you seek.

 

 

 

3 Hour Dieting

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The title of the 3 Hour Diet might make it sound a bit more miraculous than it really is. Designed by the renowned fitness trainer Jeorge Cruise, the 3 Hour Diet focuses on speeding up the metabolism by eating every 3 hours. Sorry for those of you who thought you might be able to get the perfect body in 3 hours, it just isn’t so. However, eating every 3 hours has become a very popular approach to dieting as of recently.

The 3 Hour Diet is less restrictive than many other diets, which makes it appealing to the average consumer looking to lose weight. Those tired of starvation type diets will love being able to eat every 3 hours. Eating every 3 hours averages out to about 5 meals a day, more than enough for most people.

So what’s the different between eating 3 meals a day and eating 5 meals a day? It is believed that when only eating 3 meals a day, the body is trained to horde calories back until the next meal. Eating 5 meals a day is supposed to trick your body into thinking that it needs to be in a constant state of calorie burning, thus speeding up your metabolism.

On the of the greatest appeals of the 3 Hour Diet is that it doesn’t restrict fast food or processed foods. These types of foods are usually shunned by most diets. Allowing such foods into the diet gives a more realistic approach to dealing with the temptations and lifestyles of the typical dieter. Some people don’t have time to cook, so it’s easier to pop in a low fat television dinner than prepare a whole meal from scratch. While other times, you’ll be going to a fast food restaurant with a group of co-workers and don’t want to be the odd man or woman out.

The 3 Hour Diet is a great starter diet for anyone just starting a weight loss program. However, it might be hard to sustain considering that the program does not support plateauing, something common to most dieters. Regardless, this is still a great diet that has worked wonders for a lot of people.

Setting Goals When Dieting

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As with most things in life, setting goals is very important when dieting. When you look at things truthfully and objectively you should notice that most of the things you’ve accomplished in life have been accomplished because you not only had a goal but also had a clearly planned and well thought out process for achieving that goal. That being said, why is goal setting so important when it comes to dieting?

First of all, it is difficult to achieve a goal if you do not have a clearly defined goal. There are times in life when it is almost impossible to tell whether you are succeeding or failing because you aren’t certain exactly what the desired outcome should be. Identifying your dieting goals before you begin eliminates this particular possibility.

Second, having dieting goals gives you a measuring stick by which you can judge your process. This is important so that you know when your efforts are failing behind and when you’re moving along schedule or ahead of schedule. In other words, you will know when to celebrate and when to give yourself a swift kick to the rear.

Now that we know why we set weight loss goals, let’s discuss how we should go about setting those goals that are so important for dieting success. You want to set goals that are aggressive without being impossible to achieve. If you set goals that are beyond your reach you will find that frustration will be your dieting partner until you reach the point where you give up all together. In order to avoid this you should take great care to insure that your goals are possible for you to achieve.

When it comes to weight loss be specific when setting your goals. Rather than setting a total goal of 40 or 60 pounds start with a specific goal such as 10 pounds in one month. Then you can extend the goal to the next month until you’ve reached the overall goal of 40 or 60 pounds. It is much easier to lose 10 pounds four times than it is to lose 40 pounds at once. It’s a trick of the mind but it works. Ten pounds sounds simple and achievable. Forty pounds sounds like an insurmountable obstacle.

Another thing about goals is that you want to hold yourself accountable but you shouldn’t call the whole thing off if you only lose 9 pounds instead of 10. Instead, find out where you dropped the ball for the final pound and set your 10-pound goal for the next month.

You should also take great care that you are working with your personal goals and not the goals that someone else is pushing on you. The truth is that if it’s personal to you, it will be much more rewarding than if you are doing this for someone else. If your heart isn’t in it, there are very few goals that are going to motivate you properly.

Finally, you should establish small (non-food) rewards for accomplishing your dieting goals. Perhaps your reward will be a new accessory for your new (or new old) wardrobe or a pedicure for your new look. Make your reward something fun and frivolous and teach yourself that accomplishing your goals can be accomplished by something other than food. This is a key to dieting successfully.

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Nutrition For The Elderly

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Healthy eating and nutrition for the elderly is greatly impacted by several factors, one of them
being a change in body composition. During the later years in life, the body will lose bone and
muscle and gain fat because the hormones aren’t very active anymore.

There are many factors which hinder an elderly person’s health. The information below will help you to lead a healthy life – no matter how old you may be.

elderly

Water

Water in the body decreases with age, so many older folks will become dehydrated very easily. Sometimes they won’t feel thirsty, while other times it’s too much work to pour a glass a water. With this in mind, it’s recommended that they drink at least 1 ounce of water for every 2.2 pounds of weight.

Protein

At this stage in life, protein is very important. Protein is needed to support a healthy immune
system and prevent the wasting of muscle. Since energy needs are less, older folks should eat high
quality protein such as eggs, lean meats, poultry, and fish.

Carbs and fiber

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the entire body. You can find carbs in bread,
cereals, pasta, and other grain products. A diet that’s high in fiber and water will help to
prevent constipation as well.

Fat

Fat intake for the elderly should be limited, not eliminated. You can limit fat by choosing lean meats,
low fat dairy products, and food preparation methods that don’t include frying.

Iron

For the elderly, iron deficiency can be seen with those who aren’t eating much. Good sources for
iron include lean red meats or breakfast cereals.

Zinc

Zinc intake is normally with the elderly, and to make matters worse, it’s not absorbed very well
either. Meat, poultry, and fish should be a part of your diet to help you meet the requirements for
zinc.

Calcium

Calcium is one ingredient that most elderly folks simply aren’t getting enough of. Most believe
that milk upsets their stomach, and therefore they will avoid it. They should be getting around 1,500
mg of calcium a day, and nonfat powdered milk can be used in recipes as a substitute for milk. Other foods such as yogurt, low fat cheese, and broccoli can also help you meet the requirements for calcium.

Vitamin B12

In order to absorb the benefits of B12, the intrinsic factor must be produced by the stomach. Most elderly people suffer from a deficiency in B12 because they have a condition known as atrophic gastritis. This condition causes inflammation of the stomach, bacterial overgrowth, and the intrinsic factor. Without the intrinsic factor, this vitamin can be absorbed.

Each one of the above nutrients are needed to keep an aged body in good health. Elderly individuals
should try to stay active and strive for a well balanced diet. Even though the aged body isn’t the
same as it used to be, proper care and the right nutrients can help the elderly enjoy a healthy and
long life.

 

elderly