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Weekend Post:Fruits and vegetables are great for your health—and even better for your waist. Some fresh foods are more powerful than others.

Aug24

Some foods have more than their great taste but also healthy vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting nutrients. Pack your meals adding this range of wholesome choices to your diet.

1.) Alfalfa sprouts – you can add them to your salad, fruits, lean meats, even for you vegetarians to your veggie or bean burger.  You be creative and try alfalfa sprouts to many of your lunch and dinner meals.

2.) Apples are the richest fruit source of pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, decrease the risk of colon and breast cancers, and maybe even lessen the severity of diabetes.  Try throwing a few slices on your sandwich or toss with your salads adding toasted pecans/walnuts or whatever nuts you love, and have a light vinaigrette for a delicious salad (one of my favorite is raspberry flavored). With so many varieties available, you’ll never get bored finding new ways to have apples to your daily diet.

3.) Avocados Just one half of a medium-size avocado contains more than 4 grams of fiber and 15% of your recommended daily folate intake. Cholesterol-free and rich in monounsaturated fats and potassium, avocados are also a powerhouse for heart health.
Avocados can be the base for a creamy homemade sandwich spread, or add a few chunks to your favorite salsa for a simple and delicious way to dress up grilled chicken or fish. Beets are loaded with antioxidants and have been found to protect against cancer, heart disease, and inflammation. Naturally sweet and full of fiber and vitamin C, beets make a delicious and nutrient-packed addition to any meal.

4.) Beets give a try as finely grated raw beets in your salads or roast them along with sweet potatoes and parsnips for a colorful and flavorful side-dish—just remember if you boil them it will decrease their nutritional value. And don’t forget about the leafy green tops, which are rich in iron and folate, and can be prepared much like their cousins, Swiss chard and spinach

5.) Cranberries great for protecting against urinary tract infections, but did you also know they may improve blood cholesterol and aid in recovery from strokes?  Cranberry juice has also been shown to make cancer drugs more potent.
Remember, the available frozen year-round, enjoy these tart and tangy berries fresh during their peak season which is from October through December.

6.) Papayas-Trying to get more vitamin C in your diet? One cup of papaya cubes supplies more than 100% of your daily requirement, as well as a hefty dose of potassium and folate. It is also a good source of vitamins A and E, two powerful antioxidants that protect against heart disease and colon cancer.
Savor the rich, and enjoy a buttery flesh of this tropical fruit in smoothies and salads, or simply scoop it out of the shell with a spoon.

7.) Quinoa-Is a packed with a variety of nutrients, including iron and copper, this has been known as the ancient seed “the mother of all grains.” Quinoa contains all the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein (perfect for vegans and vegetarians). It is also a great source of magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels and has been found to reduce the frequency of migraines. Researchers have found that consuming dietary fiber, specifically from whole-grain products such as quinoa, reduces the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack.

Keep your engine of the body=THE HEART in top shape by substituting quinoa for rice or pasta in your next meal. It makes a great base for seafood dishes and mixes well with beans.

8.) Raspberries-The tart, sweet, and incredibly juicy fruit.  Have one half cup of these berries provides a whopping 4 grams of fiber and more than 25% of the daily recommended intake for both vitamin C and manganese. Raspberries also contain a powerful arsenal of antioxidants, including members of the anthocyanin family, which give raspberries their ruby-red hue and antimicrobial properties.
I enjoy them in my salad or raw in my hand, after washing them but try a few berries with your morning cereal if you want.

9.) Spinach-Powerful antioxidants in spinach have been found to combat a variety of cancers, including ovarian, breast, and colon cancers. And it’s good for the noggin: Research indicates that spinach reduces the decline in brain function associated with aging and protects the heart from cardiovascular disease. Although it contains relatively high amounts of iron and calcium, oxalate compounds bind to these minerals and diminish their absorption. This vegetable has a mild flavor, so I spice it up with garlic, or you can try olive oil, and onions.

 

 

Fruit help’s you in both diet and health when eaten RIGHT.

Aug22

You say HOW?  They are high in vitamins, minerals, some with antitoxins (helping the immune system) and have anti-inflammatory effects that can help you build up to your optimal health.  Some fruits have soluble fiber in them that slows down the breakdown of complex carbohydrates and helps reduce blood sugar.  Fruit taken in proper portions (moderate amts.) can even help lower blood cholesterol.  Soluble fiber is not just in rye, barley, oats, and vegetables but in fruits as well.  Insoluble fiber can’t be absorbed or digested by the human body but can still provide the body with advantages like reducing hunger, stimulates regular bowel movements, and can be found in fruits as well as vegetables, seeds whole wheat bread and other foods.  One of my healthy eating rules is know what the food’s makeup is before eating it; yes this includes calories, fat, sugars, carbs and sodium but knowing the energy density in the foods you eat is very important too.  Foods with the lowest density are foods that help curb your appetite that can help you maintain or even lose weight.  The lowest energy density food group contains healthy foods like most vegetables and fruits with based broth soups & skim milk.  The highest density groups are cookies, chips, nuts, full-fat condiments, chocolate and butter (not the best nutritional foods to be eating regularly).  Remember, if you’re trying to be healthy or even losing weight than know fruits are high glycemic foods.  If you eat too much fruit at one time it will result in high glycemic amounts in your body at that one time putting you at risk for fat storage=weight gain.  You see, digestion of the foods whether calories, carbohydrates, sugars, or some fats get broken down into simple or complex sugar molecules=glucose or fructose.  One of the body’s major fuels for energy so we can function with working properly & survive is glucose (the same concept like fuel for a car=gas=it operates).    

The body utilizes glucose after digestion takes place in the stomach where the foods break down into simple and complex sugars than transferred into our bloodstream as our active fuel for energy (like our car’s tank sending gas to the engine to be able to run).  Our fuel, being the glucose, then gets sent to all our tissues and into our cells but only for the amount they need at that time (sort of like the car in filling the gas tank to full).  When our body reaches full for all energy needed to all areas of the body at that time if there is extra un-needed glucose in the bloodstream it has to go somewhere and the body stores it=fat storage=weight gain.  Take the car, the storage reservoir is the gas tank it only stores in the tank, but if the tank reaches full with gas (its energy) it would just overflow as opposed to the human body with extra glucose in the bloodstream=our extra fuel which doesn’t overflow by leaving our body somehow but gets stored in our body as fat storage. Thus, when it’s needed (glucose) it will be released back in the bloodstream.  If you more frequently have in your body more overflow of glucose versus the need for it you’ll have more fat storage occuring as opposed to energy utilized by the body.  This causes you to be at a higher risk of becoming overweight to obese (that’s the logic in eating 6 small low glycemic meals a day which prevents this from happening).  To prevent a high risk of becoming overweight to obese stay off of 3 large meals/day and high sugar snacks during the day.  Also, don’t have constant healthy frequent high glycemic meals day in and day out especially with no activity/exercise other than your regular activities of daily living, which doesn’t count as exercise.

Remember, eat fruits in moderation not in excess; including the size of your meals (don’t allow the size of the plate greater than 9” including NO second helpings).   The key to eating healthy is to include all 4 food groups (Meats/Fishes, Vegetables, Fruits, and Dairy).   If you want to learn more information about this to begin eating healthier with the 4 food groups and in the proper portion sizes than go no further.  My website can give you the information in knowing how to eat so that it affects your metabolism and weight distribution in the body therapeutically.  You can also learn exercise that fits into your lifestyle (ranging from walking fast 30 minutes for 2 to 3 times a week to daily workouts) with knowing healthy habits to add in your life to stay or get within your ideal weight.  The ending result is you feel better, look better, and have higher odds you’ll live a longer life that allows more excitement in it due to being in better shape.   Let Dr. Anderson through his book and myself, being your health coach, give you direction onto the pathway you need until you get yourself on the right track of health independently.   Before going to my website here is also information on how sugar affects the body on disease and illness.

Fruit help’s you in both diet and health when eaten RIGHT. PART 2

Aug21

Part2:  How sugars impact on disease & illness:  Fructose is a simple sugar found in fruit, is metabolized to fat in your liver, and eating large amounts has been linked to negative metabolic and endocrine effects.  When eating fruits in very large amounts=High levels of fructose or glucose in the bloodstream which can logically increase your risk number of health conditions, from insulin and leptin resistance to even cancer.  Insulin and leptin work together to control the quality of your metabolism and to a great deal your rate of metabolism (the resistance of them are associated with obesity).   Research shows fructose can impact risks on pancreatic cancer.  It has been proven fructose is used by pancreatic cancer cells for cell division=an increase in the spread of pancreatic cancer.  So eat fruits with vegetables in 50% of your meals and it will impact more of a positive effect on your health and can even help with weight maintenance or weight loss if used right in proportions. Studies have shown fructose (in many fruits), especially taken in large proportions can induce the following in the human body, that are:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   *elevation of triglycerides           *abdominal obesity                  *endothelial dysfunction                  *kidney damage                                                                                *metabolic syndrome                * hypertension (high b/p)            * fatty liver disease                   * microvascular disease         * diabetes and more.                                         So make fruits with vegetables part of your daily life with eating them in 50% of your meals and it will surely impact more of a positive effect on your health.  It can even help with weight loss if used in proper proportions.   Fruit is delicious but if not a fruit fan there is plenty of ways it can be added to vegetables and your meats or fishes=high protein, where you end up falling in love with fruit alone or just find it a great flavor added with other foods as an extra treat.  Making this diet adjustment with having fruit and other good low glycemic foods in your diet can help you reach your goal in losing weight with reaching your optimal level of health in time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              For further information, go to healthyusa.tsfl.com and join me with others who have seen this pathway work in our own lives.  So far, I lost over 20lbs. through the guidance of Dr. Anderson’s healthy habits which covers all types of foods in your diet, to types of light exercise to even work out (it you want it in your life) and so much more.  Now you know where to look, it’s up to you to make the right choice.  Take a peek with no charge or fee or obligation, just a simple way of adding new ideas possibly to your life to only make it better.  This will make you and possibly impact the people around you with wanting to reach this happier, healthier and longer lifetime.  Just like the car, the better you treat it the longer it lasts the same principle with the human body.  Only you make the choice with possibly spreading this good news that puts a decrease in diseases/illnesses for you and others.  Wouldn’t it be great if this knowledge could spread to the future decade and further on.  Haven’t we lived long enough making poor decisions in our society relating to health overall.  Do you want this to go on in America’s future?  Make the change for the people that make up our country.  Should we just let our politicians and government do the deciding on how much we can drink or what we are allowed to eat.  They only got involved when it started affecting our economy drastically with not enough citizens doing the right healthy habits to keep our health care system affordable, which it isn’t for many.  Let us, the people, make the right choice.  Click onto healthyusa.tsfl.com if you want to take that step for no money, no hacking but just to peek on what the website offers.   Remember to check with your general practitioner before starting any new diet or exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns or diseases.

 

The key to HEALTHY BONES!

Aug20

The infrastructure of the human body that allows us to perform our daily activities from standing, to sitting, to walking, or even climbing is our skeletal system.  The major pillar or beam in the skeletal system is the vertebral column (spinal column).  This bone structure allows us to bend, stand upright, twist, to dancing up a storm down are happy trail of life, if taken care of properly.  If not, you may not be considering your life a happy tune, during that time of injury that can be a short or long haul before resolved, if ever.  This infrastructure is so vital in our activities of our daily life.  Many of us don’t realize that until the injury or damage sets in.  There is one way you can bypass this disaster, not have it become a part of your life which is taking preventative measures; especially if you do heavy lifting in your life.  One major ingredient to preventative measures is proper body mechanics but the trick here is never lift heavy items from below your waist level without bending your legs or even better without a second person helping you or some form of support but there is more to it than just that.  There are more factors involved in helping you keep your back with all other bones strong.  That would be healthy dieting, maintaining a good weight for your height (body mass index), and good exercise (not necessarily work out but if that is what you enjoy doing, it’s even better and don’t stop).  All these ingredients to a better development and maintenance of your skeletal system=HEALTHY HABITS.  A plus and benefit that many choose to do is going regularly to a chiropractor who can keep your spine in alignment (see one before injury starts).  Recommended in Rockland County, NY is Dr. Diane Gregory, who I go to for my back and who has done both prevention & Rx;  www.gregorychiropractic.com.   

The key is to be living a healthy life.  This consists of diet, exercise, activity and healthy habits learned and practiced in your routine daily living that will help prevent or assist you in treating bone and back injuries; even problems caused by the inactivity with doing heavy lifting (Ex. lack of any muscle tone or muscle knots), which can inflict bone or back injuries.  The better we treat ourselves EVERYDAY regarding health the higher the odds we will live a longer life.

One common problem in America that can occur if not living healthy and/or using improper body mechanics with heavy lifting, especially frequently, can increase the risk of sciatica nerve damage.  The pain of sciatica is typically felt from the low back (lumbar area) to behind the thigh and radiating down below the knee.  The sciatica nerve is the largest nerve in the body that begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back and extends through the buttock to send the nerve ending down the lower limb to the foot.  Depending on the precise cause of the sciatica symptoms with the duration, the outlook for recovery from sciatica ranges from excellent to having long term chronic symptoms.  This can be prevented to some extent by avoiding low back trauma injuries. Thinking before lifting is the one of the best ideas.  Osteoporosis is a common bone problem that is a abnormal loss of bony tissue resulting in fragile porous bones attributable to a lack of calcium, most common in postmenopausal women.  This progressive bone disease that’s characterized by a decrease in bone mass and density leads to an increased risk of a fracture.        The causes of this disease that are modifiable (can be  changed) would be: Vitamin D deficiency, menopause, excess alcohol, tobacco smoking, malnutrition (identified risk factors include low dietary calcium and/or phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, boron, iron, fluoride, copper, vitamins A,K,E, and C; also D where skin exposure to sunlight provides an inadequate supply.  Excess sodium is a risk factor.  High blood acidity may be diet related, and is a known antagonist to the bone.  Some have identified low protein intake as associated with lower peak bone mass during adolescence and lower bone mineral density in elderly populations.  Other risk factors are inactive, underweight, heavy leads-a strong association between cadmium and lead with bone disease has been established. Low-level exposure to cadmium is associated with an increased loss of bone mineral density readily in both genders.  Some studies even show soft drinks can increase the risk of osteoporosis related to high phosphoric acid.  Others suggest soft drinks may displace calcium containing drinks from the diet rather than causing osteoporosis.    Another bone disorder is osteomalacia that is a softening of the bones caused by defective bone mineralization secondary to inadequate amounts of available phosphorus and calcium. The most common cause of the disease is a deficiency in vitamin D, which is normally obtained from the diet and/or from sunlight exposure.

We can help our bones in many ways.  There is not just one food to eat or one type of exercise to do or one healthy habit to practice to keep you healthy with strong bones, there are choices.  Come to my website for no fee, no charge, no hacking, just letting you check us out to look further in understanding how to take a healthier shape for your life with Dr. Anderson and even myself as your health coach.  We can help you learn what healthy habits &/or diet changes that you feel you need and want in your daily living for a healthier way of life.  It allows you to make all the decisions in what you want to do regarding what to eat (diet), what exercise/activity, and what healthy habits you want to add in your daily routine life.  We just provide the information and healthy foods in your diet through information to broaden your knowledge with even a catalog on diet foods, if you desire.  You make all the choices.  Wouldn’t you want less risk of bone or back injury or disease for yourself and for others throughout the nation including the future generations?  Than join me and others.  Thank you for taking the time to read my introduction to how we can help you get healthier and make a healthier USA.  Click onto heathyusa.tsfl.com and I hope to hear from you soon.  If you like what you see spread the good cheer.   Let’s build a stronger foundation regarding HEALTH in America.