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Acne treatment: Nutrition

March 9th, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

The way you eat is almost as important as what you eat! I bet that surprised you – I know it did me when I first heard it. I also realised that I had never really learn to eat properly.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO EAT PROPERLY?

Your body has a lot to do with the food that you take into your system. It is your fuel for the day, and your body has to sort it all out and to make sure that the right things end up in the right places – or you won’t be able to function properly. If you’re not eating the bets way for your body, things can end up in the wrong places and this leads to things like candida, headaches, bowel problems and ACNE!

HOW TO EAT PROPERLY

DON’T DRINK WHEN YOU’RE EATING – not even water, but especially not sodas and iced drinks. Your body needs its digestive juices – saliva – to break down the food and make sure that it gets to the right places. If you’re drinking at the same time as you’re eating, it dilutes the saliva and makes it harder for it to do its job.

CHEW YOUR FOOD CORRECTLY – you need to chew your food until it is a soft mush in your mouth – about 32 times for each mouth full. This is something that I remember being told a a child – “Chew your food!“. Life has become so fast these days, that often we eat on the go and swallow food without chewing it much at all. This is making it much harder for your body to digest the food properly, and may add to many health problems – especially skin problems.

COMBINE YOUR FOODS CORRECTLY – it makes it much easier for your body to digest things if it only has to deal with one type of food at a time – because different foods need different types of saliva to be digested properly. So, if you eat carbohydrates – bread, pasta, rice, potatoes – mix them with vegetables and salad rather than proteins – eggs, meat, fish, cheese. If you are eating proteins, eat them with salad and vegetables and miss out the carbohydrates – your body will like it much better, and will be able to work more efficiently and you should start to feel the difference.

BE CAREFUL WHEN AND WHERE YOU CHOOSE TO EAT. If you can, eat when you are feeling relaxed. Sit at a table if possible. Try not to watch TV as you’re eating. If you’re stressed when you’re eating, or not sitting in an upright position – like slumped in front of the TV! – your body will find it much harder to digest your food properly. We know what that leads too..

LEARN TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Eat when you’re hungry. It sounds simple, but a lot of us do not listen to our bodies properly, and we mistake thirst for hunger – so if you feel hungry, try drinking water, and then see in 5 minutes if you’re still hungry. At other times, we eat when we’re feeling bored, or sad or angry. Get in the habit of checking in with yourself before you eat without thinking – and see if it might be something other than hunger you’re really feeling. Here’s a hint – if you’re craving one of your comfort foods, it’s often a sign that there’s an emotion hanging around that you’re not that comfortable with. If you learn to eat when you are hungry, your body will be able to do it’s job of digesting food much more efficiently.

The Body Sculpting Diet

March 7th, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

You should see your diet meals as a guideline that you can modify anytime you like to keep yourself happy. The difficult part of dieting is to follow them. You should try to consume around 2300 to 2900 calories a day. This doesn’t mean you can treat yourself once in a while. Suppose that you exceed your fat quota during lunch then you can cut back a little during dinner.

A few guidelines then.

Breakfast

  • 5 tablespoons of wholegrain flakes or porridge oats
  • 150 ml of skimmed milk
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped nuts
  • 2 tablespoons of raisins
  • A glass of fruit juice

If you like a cup coffee or the you can drink one but be moderate with the sugar. This should give you around a total of 600 Kcal, 20g protein, 80g of carbohydrate and 19 g of fat.

Lunch

A sandwich made with:

  • 2 slices of wholemeal bread
  • 100-150 g of ham or tuna
  • 1 slice of low-fat cheese
  • 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
  • 1 or 2 carrots
  • One good glass of orange juice. At least 150 ml

This should give you around a total of 620 Kcal, 47g of protein, 50g carbohydrate and 26g of fat.

Dinner

  • Cooked lean meat
  • A green leafy salad
  • 2 teaspoons of French dressing
  • 80 g of broccoli
  • 4 tablespoons of cooked rice. You can eat potatoes or pasta if you prefer
  • - 1 good-sized fruit. A pear for example.

This should give you around a total of 670 Kcal, 39g of protein, 60g carbohydrate and 31g of fat.

Snacks

  • 2 slices wholemeal bread
  • 2 tablespoon of peanut butter
  • 480 ml skimmed milk
  • 1 medium apple or fruit of the same size.

This should give you around a total of 60 Kcal, 32g protein, 70g of carbohydrate and 23g of fat.

Good snacks are smoothies

This recipe is one of my favorites.

Pour 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder and 300ml of plain soya milk or skimmed milk into a blender. A heaped tablespoon of peanut butter, a banana and two ice cubes. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of raw oat bran, blend it and enjoy it while drinking it down!

When I go food shopping, I try to buy lots of bananas, and those that are turning brown, I peal them and freeze them so I can use them in my shakes. This is an alternative for ice cubes.

Fat-burning tea

Also known as green tea. You can drink it hot but it’s even better to drink it iced. Did you know that 3 to 4 glasses a day of iced green tea can burn more than 1 kg a year? You know why? This because your body uses calories to warm up the tea to around 37C before consuming it.

Here’s how I prepare my green tea.

3 litres of water, bring it to the boil and then add 4 green tea bags. A few minutes later stir in 2 tablespoons honey. Go easy on the honey as to much of it can may stimulate your appetite.

Brew it for an hour then remove the tea bags and then it’s all up to you, if you want to drink it hot or iced. Just chill.
I add some fresh mint to give it a nice taste, but that’s a personal preference.

Amenorrhea

March 2nd, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

Amenorrhea is defined as delay of menstruation.

There are 2 types of amenrrhea:
a)Primary amenorrhea is defined as no period by age 16 and
b)Secondary amenrrhea is defined as period begins at the appropriate age, but later stops for more than 3 cycles or 6 months.

Women who had a delay of period used to think that may be pregncauseant. In fact, there are many causes of amenorrhea. In this article, we will discuss how to treat amenorrhea with foods.

1. Whole grain
Whole grain contains high amounts of fiber that help to remove toxins from our body and indirectly strengthens liver function, which helps to maintain the levels of estrogened resulting in lowered xenoestrogen in our body.

2. Celery seed
Celery seed contains high amounts of butylidene-phthalide which helps to balance woman’s natural hormones and reduce emotional stress causing irregular hormone production by cleansing toxins from the liver as well as improving reproduction of red blood cells caused by liver malfunction.

3. Soy
Soy contains high amounts of isoflavones which helps to balance your body’s estrogen levels as well as binding the xenoestrogen causing breast cancer and tumors. Soy raises the levels of estrogen if it is too low and lowers levels of estrogen if it is too high.

4. Yogurt
Yogurt contains lactobacillus bacteria that helps to lower incidence of breast cancer as well as preventing the re-absorption of xenoestrogen and enhancing immune effects.

5. Legumes
Legumes and other protein rich food contains high amounts of coumestans that helps to improve metabolism of estrogen in the liver. It also helps to maintain levels of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as well as cleansing the bad cholesterol in our body, improving blood flow.

6. Sesame seed
Besides containing proteins that are necessary for improving metabolism of estrogen levels in the liver, sesame seed contains lignans that helps to increase levels of phyto-estrogen and reducing the production of estrogen converting into xenoestrogen wich causes breast cancer and amenorrhea.

7. Potato
Potato contains high amounts of steroidial saponins that helps to block the over-production of estrogen by increasing levels of phyto-estrogen, the element which is necessary for normalizing menstrual cycle.

Vegetable Nutrition

February 27th, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

What is so important about eating vegetables? Well vegetable nutritional facts state that vegetables have a low fat content and are packed with essential vitamins and minerals. For instance vegetables that are green, yellow or orange contain high contents of potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C, A, B and K and calcium. However one can survive purely by eating only vegetables, although there are no vegetables containing protein or Vitamin B12.

Vegetables have various different types of antioxidant which protect the body from disease and also help fight cancer and at the same time boost the immune system. Vegetables aid people suffering from chronic constipation, hemorrhoids and anal fissures due to the content of soluble and non soluble fibers such as cellulose, gums, pectin’s and mucilage’s which absorb excess water in the colon which moisturizes fecal material.

Vegetables digest quickly whether raw or cooked and have almost zero calorie content. Vegetable nutritional facts stipulate that technically we should be eating at least 7 different vegetables per day for optimal health benefits. Vegetables should preferably be fresh and not frozen, although frozen is more convenient and much quicker to prepare if you are in a hurry.

After much research scientists have now proved beyond all doubt that sweet potatoes are the most nutritional of all vegetables. It has been noted that the most important dietary change especially those trying to lose weight is to replace fatty foods with foods containing complex carbohydrates and sweet potatoes are the ideal replacement.

Sweet potatoes contain natural sugars, protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, Vitamins C and A, calcium and iron. Other vegetables that have high nutritional value are spinach, broccoli, squash, brussel sprouts, raw cabbage, green peas, carrots, kale, okra, tomatoes, green peppers, cauliflower and artichokes. Sweet potatoes when eaten with the skin contain far more fiber than oats and have a calorie count of around 130.

Vegetable nutritional facts have proved that out of all the root vegetables sweet potatoes have the lowest glycemic rating and this is due to the fact that sweet potatoes digest very slowly in the body which in turn allows the blood sugars to rise slowly. Nutritional facts about vegetables should be something everyone knows about as this would ensure optimal health and vitality throughout one’s lifetime. To read up more on vegetable nutrition you can surf the net or you can view the many books on offer. Who needs vitamin supplements when we have a garden filled with fresh vegetables?

Foods That Lower Cholesterol

February 14th, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

High cholesterol foods can have a detrimental affect on your health! Cholesterol can destroy your life if you are not careful! You are at an increased risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and strokes if you do not get help!

You can make changes to your life if you are committed to seeing a difference. You do not have to continue eating all of the same unhealthy foods all of the time! Here are my top 3 foods that lower cholesterol.

1. Fish

Fish includes omega-3 fatty acids which can make a significant difference in your cholesterol. Omega-3 fatty acids help lower your risk of high blood pressure and developing blood clots. You can make a big change in your diet by eating fish at least twice a week. I recommend that you eat fish instead of hamburgers, fried chicken, and steak. You can still eat red meat from time to time, but you should eat it sparingly.

2. Whole Wheat Foods

Whole wheat foods are probably the most important foods to lowering cholesterol in your body. This is going to be absolutely essential to your diet. The easiest way to incorporate whole wheat into your diet is to switch to whole wheat bread and eat oatmeal for breakfast. These two simple steps can help bring down high cholesterol levels.

3. Walnuts

Walnuts help protect your heart by lowering LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) in your body. It has even been suggested that you should eat walnuts after eating a big fatty meal. This can help protect your heart and your blood pressure.

Bonus Tip: Lower Your Cholesterol With Natural Supplements

These are my top 3 foods that lower cholesterol. In addition to these healthy foods, I recommend taking a daily natural cholesterol control supplement and exercising at least 30 minutes a day to give you the maximum benefits of a low cholesterol diet.

A natural supplement for cholesterol should contain theaflavins, beta sitosterol and d-limonene oil, just to name a few proven effective ingredients.

Renal Dialysis Diet

January 23rd, 2010 Dan Hicks No comments

Renal dialysis diet is for patients undergoing dialysis treatment. To keep a balance of electrolytes, minerals, and fluid in patients who are on dialysis, they have to carry out renal dialysis diet. The exceptional regimen is important because dialysis single-handedly does not effectively eradicate ALL waste products. For the period of dialysis medication, waste products can develop.

But what is renal dialysis? Renal dialysis is a man-made practice through which waste products and surplus fluid are eradicated from the body by diffusion from one fluid compartment to another across a semipermeable membrane. Active or mechanical dialysis cycles blood through a machine (dialyzer) or cycles dialyzing fluid into and out of the patients abdominal cavity (peritoneum) through a semipermeable membrane to remove impurities and toxins and to sustain fluid, electrolyte and an acid-base stability. Passive dialysis bring into play the client’s peritoneal membrane as the filter.

Acute renal breakdown may perhaps necessitate dialysis until the client’s kidney function gets better and starts filtering the patient’s blood independently. ESRD is defined as irreparable, recurring renal malfunction forcing repeated dialysis or a kidney transplant to uphold existence.

There are two kinds of dialysis measures in conventional clinical practice: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Both of them call for renal dialysis diet as a additional way of action.

Throughout the hemodialysis route, blood passes through an artificial kidney device and the waste products diffuse across a synthetic membrane into a bath solution known as dialysate after which the cleansed blood is returnedsent to the client’s body. Hemodialysis is completed frequently in three- to four-hour meetings, three times a week.

Infrequently, medical problems happen where a patient maintains more fluid than is fit following a standard dialysis medication. The method of taking out surplus fluid from the blood through a dialysis membrane by exerting force is ultrafiltration. This system is part of a hemodialysis medication and is incorporated in the composite speed for the hemodialysis dealing. Ultrafiltration cannot be used as a stand-in for dialysis.

During the peritoneal dialysis process, waste products pass from the client’s body through the peritoneal membrane into the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity where the dialysate is set up and taken away from time to time.

Renal dialysis diet is employed as an adjunct to patients undergoing dialysis. This particular pattern of eating will also assist you retain proper fluid and electrolyte levels in amid dialysis dealing. Coupled with dialysis, it will in fact help you sense as nice as possible and decrease barriers from the build up of toxins from having renal sickness.

Tea and a Healthy Appearance

December 26th, 2009 Dan Hicks No comments

In today’s environment of increasing obesity, it is more important than ever to maintain a daily health regimen, and part of staying healthy can include drinking tea daily to supplement other healthy activities. When combined with regular exercise and a healthy diet, the health benefits of tea can help improve one’s appearance and general health, due to tea’s many unique properties.

Foremost among it’s abilities to assist a health programme is its caffeine content. Caffeine can help with regular exercise by increasing the amount of caloric energy spent while working out, providing more effective results than a similar amount of exercise without the added health benefits of tea. Additionally, tea itself is low in calories, which means that these benefits will not be offset by its own caloric content, unlike other sugary caffeinated beverages such as sodas.

Caffeine is not the only component of tea which can help one burn calories. Polyphenols in tea help to increase the rates at calories are burned during exercise. Tea also increases the tolerance to glucose and raises insulin sensitivity, which can help control one’s figure when combined with a proper diet in a fitness programme. Drinking tea also increases the base metabolic rate at which one breaks down food into nutritious components, and assists the body in processing fats faster, which would help augment both a healthy diet and a workout schedule.

As stated above staying healthy goes beyond simply drinking tea daily. One must work to formulate a health plan which will work for them in order to slim their figure and gain or maintain a healthy appearance. An excellent first step would be to substitute tea as a snack beverage for other higher calorie or overly sugary beverages, especially sodas and sports drinks with an abundance of artificial sweeteners. Even adding milk to one’s tea can help protect the cardiovascular system for a healthy heart and arteries.

Second would be to estimate the amount of calories consumed in ones daily meals, and attempt to regulate caloric intake and lower the fats in one’s diet. Thirdly, one must engage in a regular exercise program, especially aerobic exercises such as jogging, at least three times a week in order for the health benefits of tea to really manifest themselves.

Much of tea’s beneficial properties, such as helping to prevent cardiovascular disease, increasing caloric metabolism, and making use of a higher metabolic rate, only become apparent in ones appearance after they are combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise. However, when all these pieces are put together, an individual will find themselves not only feeling healthier, but looking better, thanks in part to the health benefits of tea.

Anti-Hypertensive Diet

December 24th, 2009 Dan Hicks No comments

According to the latest statistics, there are about 65 million Americans with hypertension or high blood pressure. Learn the three essential foods you need to include in your diet to control high blood pressure. This article on anti-hypertensive diet may save your heart and your life.

Maybe you are one of those 65 million with hypertension. Are you above 40? Are you experiencing sudden headaches? It is a known fact that many people are not aware they already have hypertension. This could potentially harm your heart and overall cardiovascular health. At age 40, have your blood pressure monitored regularly. Although younger individuals are not spared from hypertension, this is absolutely critical with people reaching the age of 40.

One of the main concerns with people having hypertension is the diet. Here are three essential foods you need to include in your anti-hypertensive diet.

The first in the list of essential foods is vegetables. Pay close attention to including garlic and onions. These vegetables are known for centuries to control hypertension. The healing properties of both garlic and onions are so amazing that it can strengthen your heart and regulate the blood pressure effectively. These spices can be great for your salad, soups, and salsa. You can also add them in your sour cream and pastas.

The second essential food is whole oats to maintain normal blood pressure. In addition, this group particularly controls the cholesterol and blood sugar levels due to its fiber content. Starting today, increase your intake of whole oats in replacement to all the processed and refined foods.

Lastly, you need to include Omega-3 fatty acids in your anti-hypertensive diet. Rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fishes like tuna, salmon, and halibut. These fatty acids lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels which are helpful in controlling hypertension.

Well-Balanced Diet

December 21st, 2009 Dan Hicks No comments

People are naturally conscious about their bodies, whether they admit it or not, which is why thousands of people go on different kinds of diets everyday.

However, what people need to realize is that a good diet is not just meant to give you a great body, but also to teach you how to live healthy. In other words, a well-balanced diet is meant to trigger a lifestyle change that will keep you healthy for the rest of your life.

A diet may be something as easy as eating a couple more servings of fruits and vegetables everyday, or it can involve more drastic adjustments that will require you to count calories before you put anything in your mouth.

People go on diets for many different reasons. These reasons will determine the type of diet you will have to undergo. Obviously, athletes who want to prep up for an upcoming competition will have different dietary needs from an overweight couch potato who is only just beginning to realize that he might be at a high risk for a heart attack.

Although individuals may have different objectives for going on diets, they follow the same basic principle of eating a balanced menu that consists of foods from all the major food groups, because basically, this is the way to a healthier life.

It may seem too easy, but putting these principles into actual practice can be quite a challenge, especially if you are constantly surrounded by unhealthy food temptations. The secret to keeping motivated is to have a positive outlook and keep focused on the rewards you can reap once you do get used to eating a well-balanced diet.

Many people are actually interested in pursuing a healthier lifestyle. One of the things holding them back is the idea that healthy foods are quite boring and not as appetizing as the traditional foods that they are used to.

To counter this notion, all you have to do is head to the produce section of the grocery store and look at all the exciting fruits and vegetables you can buy, a lot of which you probably have never even tasted.

Another interesting way of eating healthy is by searching through low-fat recipes from other parts of the world. These new concoctions will surely be a delight to try, and you can even encounter new and delicious ingredients that you have never heard of before.

While some people take extreme steps towards healthy eating, even doing a 180 from their previous eating habits, it doesn’t really have to be that drastic for most people.

You can begin by simply removing the skin before you cook your chicken or eating more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. These small changes are essential and can naturally trigger more radical changes as you go along.

Here are some other easy adjustments you can make towards a healthy lifestyle:

* Substitute skim or low-fat instead of the usual whole milk.

* Eat a serving of sherbet or yogurt instead of regular ice cream.

* Use fat-free oil for cooking instead of calorie-rich butter.

* Leave the fatty portions of the meat with the butcher and take the lean cuts.

* Reduce your red meat intake and eat more fish and poultry.

* Limit your consumption of egg yolks, which are rich in cholesterol.

If you want more tips like this, you can search online for websites that advocate healthy eating. As you can see from our list, it’s really not that hard to make the transition from a rather lackadaisical view of eating towards a more health-conscious lifestyle.

As you learn more information about the nutritional value of certain foods, you can even make your own adjustments without having to consult with health magazines or nutrition experts.

In fact, most of the concepts of healthy eating are based on common sense. All you need to do is be attuned to your body because it can tell you whether you are on the right track towards a healthy life.

Once you are able to take the first few steps to healthy eating, everything else will follow naturally. If you tackle each day one at a time, you will soon be living a healthy lifestyle without even realizing it.

Nutrition Basics

December 10th, 2009 Dan Hicks No comments

Guidance that we receive from experts. But we just have to know for some reason! Real nutrition has a few basic components.


Calories in vs calories out is the most fundamental thing you should know about nutrition. If you want to lose weight, either eat fewer calories or exercise more. That’s pretty simple to say and harder to do. Did you know that after eating one donut, it takes an hour of brisk walking to burn it off? That makes the donut seem much less tempting to most people. The second principle you should know is about balancing your diet of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. This is important for most people and really important for diabetics.

There are many different diet programs out there. For example, there are the Atkins and South Beach and the soup diets just to name a few. But the problem with all of these is that they are hard to maintain over a lifetime. And once you stop adhering to them, the weight will come back. So the “trick” to weight loss, if there is one, is developing healthy eating habits. Get used to apples and carrots and things that go crunch. Learn to love your veggies and salads.

Staying hydrated is key to making all of your hard work pay off. Without enough fluid, you will sabotage all the nutrition and calorie counting. Keep water with you all the time. Yes water! Don’t drink pop since it doesn’t work the same with the body systems.

Some people also find supplements helpful. Once you’ve balanced out your diet, a supplement can ensure that you are not missing anything. Just make sure you get it from a good company. Do your homework!