Archive for the 'HEALTHY EATING' Category

Parents often get frustrated when their children become obese.

But recent studies have found that parents are mostly to blame for their child obesity.

Recent studies have found that children generally eat what their parents eat, so eating habits primarily develop through imitation.

Parents who want their children to eat healthy need to set an example by eating healthy themselves. Therefore, parents are encouraged to quit drinking soda and alcohol while increasing their intake of fruits, vegetables and grains.

But there are many other things that parents can do to increase the chances that their children become obese.

But I eat healthy

Imitation is not the only place where kids learn how to eat unhealthy. There are advertisements everywhere encouraging kids to eat up snacks and happy meals.

But besides outside influences, there are yet other ways that parents can encourage their kids to eat unhealthy.

Having unhealthy foods in the house

If you stock twinkies in your house, your kid is bound to find them. Once your child is old enough to open up the plastic wrapper, he or she will learn that the twinkies taste delicious.

For years we have been told to avoid sugar. And it’s true that many of us have diets filled with more sugar than we realize.

But amid claims that artificial sweeteners can be hazardous to our health, people are taking a fresh look at natural sweeteners, including stevia, agave nectar, honey, and sugar.

Can sugar have a place in a healthy diet? The answer may surprise you.

In terms of calorie content, all except artificial sweeteners provide about four calories per gram. Many artificial sweeteners contain fewer calories, many of which come from added fillers or fiber.

No sweetener really provides significant nutrition, though the less processed the sugar source, the greater the possibility that there may be other nutrients along for the ride.

And that’s the real answer to our question. Sugar can have a place in a healthy diet if it primarily comes into your diet via fruits and vegetables, which are also packed with nutrition and fiber.

If you want to add sweetness to any other food, your healthiest option is molasses, which contains some antioxidants. If you don’t like the taste of molasses, your next healthiest choices are brown sugar, honey and maple syrup.

There are some food types that can actually help reduce levels of stress, depending on how anxious each individual person is.

Refined carbohydrates can at times set off unstable blood sugar levels which may cause headaches, tetchiness, anxiety, uncertainty and other stress factors.

Diet supplements or herbs, which can be found in health food shops, can also help reduce stress, such as valerian or chamomile. On the contrary, other food types such as chocolate, coffee, tea, soft drinks will increase the level of stress and will not help relieve anxiety.

Other natural foods, which can help with stress, are dark-green leafy vegetables that are rich in magnesium and calcium; these elements relax the muscles with an ensuing calming affect. A supplement of a combination of the two minerals can also be taken if needed.

Stress can also cause weight problems, which in turn will give origin to other health problems; therefore the level of stress must be lessened in order to avoid further troubles.

Take time to relax and sleep correctly, for while we sleep, a hormone named cortisol is let out by the adrenal glands, this has an anti-inflammatory effect on our cells and body, and is a well known stress hormone.

When you go to a food store and pick up that new pack of beverage/snack available, do you ever bother reading its label?

Have you ever read the amount of chemical additives added to it?

Today the amount of chemical additives that are added in our food is far high than the normal permissible limits.

Our kids are the ones who are suffering the most from it as their body is still not developed enough to handle these toxins.

Following are few of the chemical food additives, that I have mentioned which are harmful.

Go through them and then check out which all are you consuming on a daily basis:

• Acesulfame K: It’s a sugar substitute commercially known as sweet one. Tests have shown that it causes cancer. This food additive is used in chewing gum, gelatin desserts, puddings, non dairy creamers, instant coffee and tea.
• Artificial colorings: The most commonly used artificial colors are synthetic dyes. For years it’s been banned as it has been proven to be carcinogenic. Try and use foods without artificial coloring.

Are you one of those millions of people who want to lose weight but don’t know what to eat for breakfast?

A healthy breakfast is very important for healthy weight loss.

So, if you are confused about what to eat and what not to eat, here are few healthy breakfast ideas.

• Have a slice of bread with one cup of low-fat yogurt and one cup of sliced strawberries. Toast a slice of whole wheat bread with raisins and then add one tablespoon of peanut butter. However, be wary if you are allergic to nuts.
• A wonderful addition for breakfast, sweet potato bread will fill your kitchen with a wonderful aroma. You can also enjoy a slice of wholesome sweet potato bread as an afternoon snack.
• Bananas play a major role in many low-fat breakfast recipes. Banana is a most convenient breakfast addition that you can combine easily with other healthy, delicious breakfast snacks.
• Apple oatmeal is a tasty filling for a low-fat breakfast. An apple and oatmeal at breakfast will allow you to feel full till lunch and avoid unhealthy snacking in between.

In America today a third of the population are obese, double that of 40 years ago.

All these people have a far greater risk from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Unfortunately, the current worldwide recession is likely to make these figures rise even more.

Around 30 % of citizens are cutting back on fast food and a similar amount now takes a packed lunch to work. More water is being drunk, than soda and a lot more consumers are switching to a store’s own brands. However, these changes might save dollars but calorie intake is likely to increase.

Various studies show that the cost of low calorie foods have significantly increased whilst food with high calorific values have gone down in price.

Potatoes are cheap whereas spinach cost more. Granulated sugar is cheaper by the bag than the comparable sugar content of a box of fresh raspberries.

According to the commerce department, the latest figures see a 56 billion dollar fall in food spending, which is more likely to be individuals eating more cheaply rather than eating less.

Even if a third of Americans are using up leftovers, if they are high in calorie the problem or overweight children is never going to be tackled.

Today obesity presents one of the biggest public health problems.

Research shows that during the last 25 years the rate of obesity has almost quadrupled in UK.

Obesity is termed as the mother of all diseases. The factors predisposing obesity are genetic factors, environment, and socio-economic influences.

Childhood obesity is becoming one of the major concerns. Obese children have more problem losing weight later in their lives.

So what can be a remedy to this problem? The only prevention, treatment and cure for this problem are “Healthy balanced diet”. What exactly is a balanced diet?

As per the food guide pyramid there are six  food groups consisting of cereals, pulses, fruits & vegetables, milk & milk products, fish & poultry, fats & sweets.

A balanced diet is basically the balancing of all these food groups in your diet.

Carbohydrates form the major part of your diet. Of the daily total calories consumed by you 60-70% should be from carbohydrates of which majorly comes from cereals.

Many people see carbohydrates as bad food. No, it is very important to focus on complex carbohydrates which are high in fiber & other nutrients.

What are the different types of addictions that you can list?

Majorly alcohol, smoking, drugs, tea, coffee. But have you heard of food addiction. Yes it is true, people also get addicted to food.

In food addiction a person feels like eating a peculiar food when bored, depressed, nervous. He may also hide food and may get angry if someone else eats the hidden food.

Food addiction is a serious disorder and needs treatment. The person goes to an extent of eating lots of food and then vomiting it out.

If you think any of the above symptoms resembles you then try out the following tips to stay away from it.

• Do you feel lonely: Generally people who are lonely, unloved or depressed are addicted to comfort food as food gives a temporary relief and feeling of joy. So figure out if you have unsolved issues in life and find a solution to them. Regular exercise also may help. Exercising increases the level of hormones that makes you feel good and happy.

Anyone can have episodes of depression at some or other stage of their life.

Depression is one of the toughest mental disorders to handle in your everyday life.

Weight gain is one of the most probable side-effects of depression and great care should be taken to stop this unwanted accumulation of body pounds.

The key to solving the problem of weight gain caused by depression is understanding the reason behind it.

How depression can cause weight gain?

Serotonin is the chemical produced in the brain that is responsible for giving you feelings of sadness and happiness and also stress. Whenever you feel depressed or going through long periods of feeling down, the levels of serotonin are increased.

As a result you’ll find yourself craving on unhealthy or extreme levels of carbohydrates. When you start craving for food when feeling depressed and eat extreme levels of carbohydrates, you’ll obviously put on weight and suffer from weight gain.

How to stop weight gain?

The best way to solve your weight gain caused due to depression is to stay away from food when feeling depressed and also try to avoid life circumstances that can trigger depression.

Many amongst us have the preconception that starchy foods are fattening, though this is in fact not true.

Those foods that are truly fattening are foods high in fat and oil; the condiments and oils we use for cooking are responsible for most of the weight problems.

Foods with starch are essential for a well balanced diet; these food types include, cereals, breads, rice, potatoes and pasta, the healthier ones being amongst the wholegrain variety, which are an important source of fibre, iron, calcium and vitamin B.

Starch provides the necessary energy for our bodies to be able to perform the various daily activities; it is necessary to include at least one kind of starch in each of our meals.

You can start breakfast with cereal or wholegrain bread, which will provide you with a start rich in fiber and energy, these food types are also digested slowly by our system, leaving us replenished for longer.

At lunch you can add wholemeal or wholegrain bread, while preparing a sandwich, for instance, and in the evening try to include rice, pasta or potatoes.