Vitamin A is a fat-soluble, antioxidant vitamin. It plays an important part in bone growth, vision, reproduction, and cell division. Vitamin A helps regulate ones immune system, which helps prevent or fight off infections by making white blood cells that destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. It also promotes healthy surface linings of the eyes and respiratory, urinary and intestinal tracts.
Popularity: 14% [?]
On any given day in the United States between 30 and 40% of women admit to being on a diet, the same is true for 20 to 25% of all men. In fact Americans are spending over $15 billion dollars a year on diet related foods, books and services. For many people these diets work, they do actually lose the weight. However the majority of them will put the weight back on within 6 to 12 months. So why do people who were so successful fail, and end up back where they started, to answer that question we’ll need to take a look at how and why people start diets in the first place. (more…)
Popularity: 13% [?]
To learn how drinking tea became associated with good health we have to go back almost 5000 years to ancient China. According to legend in 2700 BC Shen Nung, who was Emperor, also had a reputation as healer. He was boiling water on a fire in the countryside one day when the leaves of a nearby bush blew into the pot. He drank the brewed water and felt renewed, alert and completely energized. He issued a proclamation that everyone in the land was required to new drink mixture known as tea. (more…)
Popularity: 8% [?]
High Fiber foods are one sure fire way to increase your overall health. By eating a diet high in fiber, you keep your body regular and hopefully avoid colon cancer. When eating a high fiber diet it is important to know there are two kinds of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber means the fiber breaks down in water. That means as you increase your soluble fiber intake, you will need to increase your water intake as well. The average person consumes 7 to 8 grams of fiber a day, leading studies say you should have between 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day. The list below has some tips about adding fiber to your diet
Popularity: 5% [?]
According to The United States Government there are certain dietary guidelines you should follow to maintain a healthy lifestyle:
Eat a Variety of Foods
You should vary the types of foods you eat as much as possible. This variety will give you access to the widest array of vitamins and nutrients.
Balance the Foods with Exercise
Balance the types and quantities of foods you eat with physical exercise or other activity.
Choose Vegetables and Grains
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables that have vitamins and minerals. Eat grains that have fibers and complex carbohydrates
Choose foods low in fat and cholesterol
Foods low in fat especially saturated fats has been shown to decrease the risk of heart attacks and many types of cancer. Additionally foods lower in fat are effective in preventing obesity
Choose Foods Low in Sugars
Sugars have a high concentration of calories and a comparatively low number of nutrients. You should have only a moderate amount sugars in your diet.
Choose Foods Low in Salt
Diets low in salt and sodium have been proven to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack.
Limit Alcoholic Intake
Alcoholic beverages have a little or no vitamins and nutrients. Excessive alcoholic consumption has also been shown to have long term side effects.
To help people choose the proper foods the food pyramid was developed. The pyramid is not regimented diet program but more of a set of general guidelines. According to the recommendations you should eat the following:
For more information consult the US Government’s Website on the Food Pyramid
Popularity: 7% [?]
When you’re dieting to lose weight snacking can often be the difference between success and failure. Most dieticians recommend eating small snacks throughout the day spaced between your major meals (breakfast lunch and dinner). However at night you should refrain from eating snacks. In fact many experts recommend you don’t eat any food within 2-3 hours of going to sleep.
As your body begins to prepare to go to bed it starts to change internally and will stop digesting food. If you’re body isn’t burning calories it’s storing them. However many people snack out of boredom. Here are some tips to help you to keep from being bored.
Many people relax watching TV or a movie before going to bed, which is fine as long as you don’t associate TV with snacking. The object is to find something stress free to occupy your mind, and allow you to clear your thoughts for a restful sleep and for tomorrow.
Popularity: 5% [?]
You eat healthy foods filled with vitamins everyday, you may even take vitamins or other nutritional supplements, but how do they break down and get into your body so they can be used? The answer is absorption, understanding what it is and how it works, can help you to help your body to get the most out of the vitamins and nutrients that you give it.
There are two major classifications of nutrients micronutrients and macronutrients. Macronutrients include things like proteins fats and carbohydrates, these are the items your body uses for fuel. Micronutrients include minerals and vitamins and affect your body energy level but in a less direct way. Micronutrients will help ‘jump start’ the absorption process of the macronutrients.
Once you’ve consumed the food or vitamin tablets, it makes it was to your stomach. In your stomach acids break down the foods, so it’s ready to travel into your lower intestine, this is where the action starts to happen, as almost all absorption takes place there. The two ways that nutrients enter your blood stream are passive diffusion and transport absorption. This is where the vitamins come in as they are all absorbed through passive diffusion. This includes both water soluble vitamins and fat soluble vitamins (see vitamins how they work). Minerals on the other hand are absorbed through transport absorption. Minerals include things like magnesium and calcium.
The rate at which your body absorbs things will vary. For example if your body was low on calcium or B12 those minerals and vitamins would be absorbed first, when they pass through the intestine. It’s also important to know that your body won’t over absorb something it already has. If your body has enough B6 it won’t absorb any more. That’s why it important not to take too much of one or a combination of vitamins and minerals. Your body won’t absorb them, and you will be wasting your money buying them. Generally speaking it takes between 3 to 5 hours for foods or supplements to pass through your body system and become absorbed. This is one of the reasons it’s usually recommended they you take vitamins with a meal to slow down the digestion time giving it the most time in the body to be absorbed. To get the most out of the foods and supplements you take follow these simple tips.
Popularity: 5% [?]
When you eat fruits or vegetables it doesn’t matter whether it’s crunchy carrots or juicy peaches and plums, their nutritional value is governed by how much time has elapsed from when they were picked, and how much care was given to them along the way. All Produce is at its peak nutritional value when it’s picked from the tree, vine or pulled out of the ground. From that moment on it’s a loss of nutrients along the way. So purchasing produce as close to the source and in season is your first way to get the most value from your foods.
When purchasing fruits and vegetables look for fruits or vegetables that are heaviest for their size, the more water contained in them the more recently they were harvested. Also look for surface bruises, abrasions, cuts or spots. The less of these there are the more carefully that piece was handled. Smell the item it should be pleasant or have no odor at all, any bad odor is sure sign it’s starting to go bad and has very little if any nutritional value.
Once you purchase the items and get them home it’s important to store them at the optimal temperature. For most people that leaves the choice of counter top or refrigerator. These fruits should always be stored at room temperature on the counter or in the pantry: apples, bananas, lemons, limes, oranges, mangos, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, cucumbers, onions, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, and tomatoes. These items should be stored in your refrigerator: blueberries, cherries, strawberries, grapes, green beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, celery, lettuce, mushrooms. If you have a room temperature fruit that you have cut but haven’t finished you should put it into the refrigerator and use it as soon as possible.
Now that you have properly stored all of your produce how do you make sure you don’t lose the nutrients through improper cooking and preparation? Consuming them in a raw and uncooked state will give you the most nutritional value but not always the most taste so you need some sort of compromise. The less liquid it is cooked in, the less heat, and the less time it spends under heat the better it will be for you. Steaming is always better than boiling, stir frying or sautéing is always better than deep frying. Surprisingly microwaving is fairly destructive, so use as little water as possible.
Popularity: 5% [?]
When you eat fruits or vegetables it doesn’t matter whether it’s crunchy carrots or juicy peaches and plums, their nutritional value is governed by how much time has elapsed from when they were picked, and how much care was given to them along the way. All Produce is at its peak nutritional value when it’s picked from the tree, vine or pulled out of the ground. From that moment on it’s a loss of nutrients along the way. So purchasing produce as close to the source and in season is your first way to get the most value from your foods.
When purchasing fruits and vegetables look for fruits or vegetables that are heaviest for their size, the more water contained in them the more recently they were harvested. Also look for surface bruises, abrasions, cuts or spots. The less of these there are the more carefully that piece was handled. Smell the item it should be pleasant or have no odor at all, any bad odor is sure sign it’s starting to go bad and has very little if any nutritional value.
Once you purchase the items and get them home it’s important to store them at the optimal temperature. For most people that leaves the choice of counter top or refrigerator. These fruits should always be stored at room temperature on the counter or in the pantry: apples, bananas, lemons, limes, oranges, mangos, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, cucumbers, onions, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, and tomatoes. These items should be stored in your refrigerator: blueberries, cherries, strawberries, grapes, green beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, celery, lettuce, mushrooms. If you have a room temperature fruit that you have cut but haven’t finished you should put it into the refrigerator and use it as soon as possible.
Now that you have properly stored all of your produce how do you make sure you don’t lose the nutrients through improper cooking and preparation? Consuming them in a raw and uncooked state will give you the most nutritional value but not always the most taste so you need some sort of compromise. The less liquid it is cooked in, the less heat, and the less time it spends under heat the better it will be for you. Steaming is always better than boiling, stir frying or sautéing is always better than deep frying. Surprisingly microwaving is fairly destructive, so use as little water as possible.
Popularity: 5% [?]
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