Food

Got milk - The Reasons Not to Grab for the Glass

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:10:00 +0000

Many Americans, including some vegetarians, still consume large amounts of dairy products, but here are several strong reasons to eliminate dairy products from your diet.

Milk has long been praised as a ‘weapon’ in the war against osteoporosis, but recent clinical research shows that it actually is associated with a higher fracture risk, and there’s been no protective effect of dairy calcium on bone. Increasing your intake of green leafy vegetables and beans, along with exercising have been shown to help strengthen bones and increase their density.

Dairy products are also a significant source of fat and cholesterol in the diet, which can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. A low-fat vegetarian diet that eliminates dairy products, as well as adequate amounts of exercise, proper stress management and quitting smoking not only will help prevent heart disease, but could also reverse it.

Ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers have been linked to dairy product consumption.
According to a recent study by Daniel Cramer, a Harvard doctor, when excessive amounts of dairy products are consumed and the body’s enzymes are unable to keep pace with breaking down the lactose; it can build up in the blood and affect a woman’s ovaries. Another recent study showed that men who had the highest levels of IGF-I, (insulin-like growth factor) which is found in cow’s milk, they were at four times the risk of prostate cancer compared to those men who had the lowest levels of IGF-I.

In addition, milk may not provide a consistent and reliable source of Vitamin D in the diet. Milk samplings have been found to have inconsistent levels of Vitamin D, and some have been found to have as much as 500 times the indicated safe level. Excess Vitamin d in the blood can be toxic and can result in calcium deposits in the body’s soft tissues.

Milk proteins, milk sugar, fat, and saturated fat in dairy products may pose health risks for children and lead to the development of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and formation of plaques in the circulatory system that can lead to heart disease.

By choosing to consume a nutrient-dense, healthful diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fortified foods including cereals and juices, you can help meet your body’s calcium, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin D requirements easily and simply, without the added health risks from dairy product consumption.

Having A Good Diet Can Lower Cholesterol

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:44:00 +0000

James just had a blood test as part of the annual physical examination. This person exercised moderately and loved to eat but this was all about to change when the results came in.

The results showed that the LDL commonly known as bad cholesterol was much higher than the good cholesterol. The doctor said if some changes are not done, this individual will soon suffer from high blood pressure, a heart attack or a stroke.

Being a father of 2 children, this person had to take the situation very seriously to be able to continue providing the needs for the family.

Since James was working out twice a week, the doctor advised the individual to do it more often. This means working out four times a week and engaging in other activities to help lower the cholesterol.

There is no point in exercising more often if the intake of food does not change. The doctor told James to make some changes in the diet because nothing will happen if the food being burned is just resupplied into the body.

The doctor referred James to a dietitian. The two had a long talk about the food that was bad and this should be cut down. These should be replaced with those that are much healthier so the level of bad cholesterol can be lowered.

The plan on paper looked very simple. James will have to eat food that is low in fat and no longer that rich in carbohydrates. During breakfast, this person can eat the yellow portion of the egg but not the white one.

Instead of having coffee in the morning, this should be changed with unsweetened tea. There are times that James likes to eat cereals with the kids but the milk this individual will consume is not the regular one but is non-fat.

During lunchtime, something heaver can be eaten. Chicken can only be consumed without the skin. The portion of steak should be reduced and mixed with a lot of vegetables and side dishes.

It will take some time to adjust to the new regimen and people like James who are new to this will feel hungry in the late afternoon. Having some carrot sticks or an apple is much better than having a donut that has a lot of sugar.

Instead of having a cola with the snack, this has to be changed with either water or fruit juice and not the artificial one but made of real fruits.

The program continues on to dinner, which can be fish or pasta with some sidings. The person will be sleeping for the next 6 to 8 hours after the meal so there is no need to fill it up.

Drinking a glass of red wine is safe. This is better than drinking beer, which is something James had to give up.

James to follow the plan even when dining out in a party or eating in a restaurant. There is no day offs for someone who is at risk of heart disease or high blood pressure and this wasn’t only for himself but also for the family.

The next checkup with the doctor showed significant results. The LDL was much lower than the HDL, which was good for someone at that age. The diet program chosen by James is just one of many out there in the market. It takes some time to find the right program to be able to lower the cholesterol and be healthy again.

Cancer And The pH miracle Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:33:00 +0000

One of the most important points of the pH miracle diet is that cancer can be prevented and reversed by applying the principles of the diet. Although these statements have caused some controversy in the world of health and wellness, many people credit the use of the pH miracle diet in reversing their cancer and improving their overall level of health.

According to Dr. Robert Young, the creator of the pH miracle diet, cancer is not a sickness or a disease as commonly thought. It is an effect of the metabolic acids that are built up in the blood and then released into the tissues. Cancer, according to Dr. Young, is actually an acidic liquid that spills into the cells, tissues and organs. It is not a mutation of the cells.

No condition happens without a cause. There are clear and direct causes for cancer, and as the pH miracle diet books show, the cause for cancer lies in over acidity. Diseases like cancer are due to systemic acidosis, which is extremely low pH (below 7.4). Any pH below 7.0 is considered acidic, and the lower the pH is the higher the acidity level in a person’s body is.

At the cellular level, your cells consume the food that you eat and produce metabolic acids. Those acids are normally expelled by the body through sweat or urine. When you consume a vast amount of acidic foods and lead a lifestyle that produces even more acidity, your body does not know what to do with the rest of the acid waste. When you eat highly acidic foods on a regular basis, your body simply does not have enough energy to get rid of the excess acids. They collect in the body, and create disruptions at the cellular level.

Metabolic acids are first kept in the blood and then they are kept in the tissues. When acid is kept in the tissue, it causes sickness, disease and cancerous tissues. Cancer is the acidic liquid from metabolism that pools in the body. It affects the cells around it and, like a rotten apple in a barrel, the effects spread from cell to cell causing disease. Cancer is not made of mutated cells. The cells themselves do not change form but they are limited in their function due to the presence of excess metabolic acid. There is no such thing as “cancer cells”; the cells are actually normal cells that have become highly acidic.

One of the most surprising parts of the relationship between pH and cancer is that tumors are in fact trying to help the body. They form in areas where the metabolic acid is becoming rampant and effecting cellular function. Tumors are your body’s attempt to prevent the spreading of the acidic cells to other parts of the body. The tumor is actually a signpost to where your body is collecting excess metabolic acid. Some people are genetically predisposed to collect metabolic acid in certain places. This is why some families have a history of, for example, breast cancer.

The tumors themselves are not the problem, but are just signs of what is going wrong in that part of the body. When cancer metastasizes, it is a sign of the acidic condition moving to other cells and making them acidic as well.

Cancer is not something that people get out of the blue. Cancer forming in the body is a sign of the choices that we make in what we eat, what we drink and how we live. An alkaline lifestyle that focuses on an alkaline diet and other calming behaviors will be much less likely to produce cancer, if it does at all. An acidic lifestyle and diet will be full of the pains of the build up of metabolic acid which can, in extremes, lead to cancer.

That is exciting news because it means that cancer is preventable and treatable. A cancer patient can start taking steps toward reversing the effects of cancer and preventing the spread of it. His or her alkaline centered diet may be more aggressive than someone’s who is just trying to get better overall health. However, by applying the principles of the pH miracle diet they can effectively reduce, control and eliminate cancer from their bodies.

Lazy Vegetarians Who Choose the Wrong Carbs Risk Health

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:22:00 +0000

We’ve all been there. We’ve just come in from a long day at work and the last thing on our minds taking the time to prepare a healthy, nutritionally sound vegetarian meal. But choosing a refined or enriched carbohydrate over the beneficial carbohydrates that a solid, well-balanced vegetarian diet offers defeats the purpose of your decision to live a vegetarian lifestyle, and that’s for optimal health. Consuming refined carbohydrates presents different hazards to your health.

The over-consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugars can result in excess insulin in the bloodstream. In the presence of excess insulin, glucose, the blood sugar, is converted to triglycerides and stored in the fat cells of the body.

According to one study, consuming refined grains may also increase your risk of getting stomach cancer. The research found that a high intake of refined grains could increase a patient's risk of stomach cancer.

In addition, refined sugars and carbohydrates have been implicated as a contributing factor in increased gallbladder disease, according to a recent study. It showed a direct link between the amount of sugars eaten and the incidence of gallbladder disease. Another study looked at the role carbohydrates play in the incidence of heart disease. The researchers noted that as carbohydrate consumption increased, so did the level of triglycerides in the blood of the participants. Diets low in fat and high in carbohydrates not only dramatically raised triglyceride levels but significantly reduced levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

And lastly, refined white sugars increase the rate at which your body excretes calcium, which is directly connected to your skeletal health. Simply put, as your sugary and refined carbohydrate intake increases, your bone density decreases.

So don’t be lazy! Do your body right and take the time to prepare a nutrient-dense and delicious vegetarian meal. Your body, and your conscience, will thank you for it in the long run.

Raw food, less water

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 07:25:00 +0000

When you start eating more raw foods, you may find you’re not as thirsty or don’t need as much water or other beverages as you normally do. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, raw foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables have a higher volume of water in them, so your body is getting the hydration it needs from foods.

This doesn’t mean you should stop drinking water or juices. You don’t want to adopt some of the more radical elements of the raw food trend. First and foremost, listen to your body. It will tell you what it needs. If you’re overweight, sluggish, tired, depressed, your body might be telling you to make some dietary changes, and raw foods might be one way to alleviate some physical disorders.

But if you’re overweight and have symptoms of Type II diabetes, overwhelming thirst can be one symptom. When you start consuming more raw foods, with a higher fiber and moisture content, you may start to lose weight, and that can go a long way to reducing your blood sugars.

If you’re not overweight, or don’t have Type II diabetes, you still might find you’re not as thirsty as you normally are. First of all, if you’re drinking water and juices, you’re not consuming caffeine, which is so dehydrating and makes you thirstier. And by not consuming as much in the way of cooked foods or especially highly processed foods, which have astronomical sodium counts, you won’t be as thirsty either.

By consuming more raw, uncooked food, and pure water and fruit juices, you’re putting your body into balance. Keeping sodium to normal levels found in foods means you’ll start to require a more balanced amount of water. Don’t think of this as changing or taking away. Think of it as adding balance, and it will make the process of eating healthier much easier.

Humans did not always eat meat.

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:15:00 +0000

Do you ever think about how far we’ve diverted from the path of our pre-historic ancestors and they’re eating patterns? Consider how the earliest humans evolved, and what they ate. They were hunter-gatherers and did not evolve with the characteristics of carnivores. Humans aren’t made to tear animals apart and eat their flesh. When you look at carnivorous animals, such as wild cats, you can see their teeth are designed to rip and tear, not chew.

Humans evolved from vegetarian creatures. Even our digestive systems are not particularly suited to eating meat. Eating meat is a relatively recent development in human history, most likely born of opportunity and necessity. Perhaps earliest man observed carnivores eating meat, and if they couldn’t find any of the natural foods they were used to eating, such as vegetables, berries, nuts and grains, then they might have assumed that eating meat would at least sustain life.

But initially we emulated the creatures we evolved from, herbivores like apes. Even to a prehistoric mind, apes would have looked similar to man, walking primarily upright, with arms and hands. We naturally would have foraged for our food, eating roots and berries, fruits and nuts. We would have watched the apes peeling bananas, or crushing nuts on stones to get at the meat of the nut.

We would have been living more moment-to-moment, constantly foraging for food. Hunting, after all, requires thought and planning. Eating meat requires preparation and most importantly, fire. Until man discovered fire, he was primarily vegetarian, living in what was the natural order of things. Vegetarian eating is a more natural way of eating, in addition to being healthier. It’s a way that’s in balance with the planet, and doesn’t seek to dominate it and conquer it.

Acid and alkaline foods in the pH miracle diet

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:02:00 +0000

The main concept behind the pH miracle diet is to maintain a balance of pH in the foods that you eat. The human body is slightly alkaline and therefore it is better for your health to eat a diet composed of alkalizing foods. When you eat too many acidic foods, your system becomes unbalanced and it can cause a whole host of problems, including weight gain, poor concentration, fatigue and depressed immunity that can lead to more serious conditions.

The pH miracle diet relies on lists of foods that are acidic (to be avoided) and alkalizing (to be emphasized). The alkalizing foods are better for your health and help to balance the pH of your body. While acid, alkaline and pH are common terms, many people do not understand exactly what they mean and what they have to do with nutrition and health.

The word “basic” comes from the Greek word “basis” which means foundation. “Basic” relates to the properties of acidity and alkalinity. These conditions are determined at the foundation of the cells that the foods are made up of. So an external treatment does not change a food from acid to alkaline. Foods are acid or alkaline at their base, or foundation.

Acid and alkaline are chemical opposites. Whenever these bases interact with acids, there is a struggle between them and salt is the result. In the chemist’s lab, these interactions are very simple and straightforward. However, in our bodies, the interaction becomes more complex because of the scale at which acids and bases meet.

However, science can make some generalizations about the effects of acids and alkaline in the human digestion system. Acidic foods are acid forming in the human body. They make blood, lymph and saliva more acid and cause a lower pH number. Alkaline foods make blood, lymph and saliva more alkaline and cause a higher pH number.

Just for reference, the “normal” range for saliva pH is between 7.3 and 7.4. Most people, however, are too acidic and have a pH that is much lower. They are burned out, tired and their bodies are starving for balance. Under the influence of acidic foods the muscles fatigue easily. You literally slow down because your body cannot produce the same physical results as before.

The free radical oxidation that occurs when you eat acidic foods makes you age faster. Vitamins and minerals are not absorbed as readily. Friendly bacteria in the small intestine die, which puts the digestive system off balance. Further hurting the function of the intestine is the fact that a high level of acidity inhibits the ability for intestinal walls to absorb nutrients. Cells become stressed with the toxins that build up and cannot remove them. The vast majority of bodily systems cannot run at full capacity.

On the other hand, alkaline foods have a wide variety of benefits to your health. Eating them improves your muscle output. They also have antioxidant effects in the body. They increase assimilation at the cellular level and allow cells to operate in the manner that they should. There is a reduction of parasites and yeast overgrowth with the use of alkaline foods. Alkaline foods promote deeper and more restful sleep, more youthful skin and relieve suffering from colds, headaches and the flu. Alkaline foods promote abundant physical energy.

Perhaps the most important differences between acid and alkaline foods are their relationship to cancer. Cancerous tissues are acidic, and health tissues are alkaline. When oxygen enters an acidic solution it combines with hydrogen ions can form water. Oxygen helps to neutralize the acid, but acid prevents oxygen from reaching tissues where it is needed. When oxygen enters an alkaline solution, the two hydroxyl ions combine with the solution to create one water molecule and one oxygen atom. The sole oxygen atom is free to go to the next cell and bring the benefits of oxygen to all of the tissue in the body. At a pH of slightly above 7.4, cancer cells become dormant. Studies show that at pH 8.5, cancer cells die and healthy cells live.

Alkalizing the diet has many benefits, in addition to cancer prevention. The alkaline food list is a selection of choices that will benefit your health when you start incorporating them into your body.

What is the Raw Food Diet?

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Have you started hearing about the Raw Food Diet? It’s gaining popularity and buzz, not just as a diet to lose weight, but a diet for a long and healthy life. We eat so much in the way of processed food that we don’t even stop to think about what we’re putting into our bodies, and how far we’ve come nutritionally from our ancestral, agrarian roots.

A raw food diet means consuming food in its natural, unprocessed form. There are several common-sense rationales for why this is a good idea. Processing and cooking food can take so much of the basic nutritional value away. Think of some of the conventional wisdom you’ve heard about for years, such as: If you cook pasta just to the al dente (or medium) stage, it will have more calories, yes, but it will have more the nutritional value in it than if you cooked it to a well-done stage. Or you probably remember hearing not to peel carrots or potatoes too deeply, because most of the nutrients and values are just under the surface.

The raw food diet means eating unprocessed, uncooked, organic, whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc. It means a diet that is at least 75% uncooked! Cooking takes out flavor and nutrition from vegetables and fruits. A raw food diet means eating more the way our ancient ancestors did. Our healthier, more fit ancestors. They cooked very little, and certainly didn’t cook or process fruits and vegetables. They ate them RAW. Their water wasn’t from a tap; it was natural, spring water. Maybe they drank some coconut milk on occasion.

Doesn’t it just make sense that this is how our bodies were meant to eat? It’s a way of eating that’s in harmony with the planet and in harmony with our own metabolisms. Our bodies were meant to work, and need to work to be efficient. That means exercise, certainly, but it also means eating natural, raw foods that require more energy to digest them.

Best Food That is Part of the Diet to Lower Cholesterol

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:17:00 +0000

People have to eat in order to have energy to do certain things. Some are able to make three or four trips to the buffet table while others are satisfied after one round. In any case, the type of food brought to the plate could be healthy or harmful and the choice is really up to the person.

Those who love to eat red meat and other dishes that are fatty or oil are at risk of getting sick. This isn’t diarrhea but something worse which could be life threatening because of the amount of bad cholesterol that is being taken into the body.

The high levels of cholesterol in the body are happening more often now than ever before. This is because of the variety of food offered now in the grocery and in restaurants. The person can still recover from this by eating foods that are not high in saturated fats.

Is there one food product that can be called the best to lower cholesterol? The answer is no because a well balanced diet must come from all the food groups.

Instead of drinking full cream milk or mixing this with cornflakes or whole grain, it is best to use non fat milk instead. The taste is almost the same is much healthier than the regular brand bought in the supermarket.

Instead of having steak when having a cookout or picnic, this should be changed with lean meats instead. These things don’t have that much fat in the center or in the edges and taste just as good as the big slab served with mash potatoes.

The healthiest thing to have either for lunch and dinner is food that comes from the ocean. This can be fish or shellfish that is known to carry Omega 3, which is very effective in lowering the levels of cholesterol in people.

Eating a candy bar or a slice of cake doesn’t see so bad but these things are rich in fat. Those who need to fill the stomach with something should try nuts or fruits instead. These products are rich in fiber as well as have vitamins and minerals that are healthier to consume.

In each meal, the person must not forget to add some fruits in the plate. A salad works best or having a few carrots or potatoes as a side dish. There must always be a balance whenever the individual decides to have meat or fish.

Chicken is not good if this is fried. Those who want to eat it for a change can still do as long as the skin has been removed. This can also be steamed which is a healthier way of cooking it before this is served in a plate.

There are many ways to cook the food mentioned. The individual can get a cookbook or download some recipes from the Internet to be able to come up with something delicious and at the same time lower one’s cholesterol levels.

If following the instructions are hard, there are always shows on television that teach homemakers and other people the basics into cooking something fat free which is good for the diet.

It is never too late to make some lifestyle and changes in order to live a longer and healthier life.

You Really Are What You Eat

noreply@blogger.com (Chai) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:25:00 +0000

Recent dietary research has uncovered 14 different nutrient-dense foods that time and again promote good overall health. Coined “superfoods,” they tend to have fewer calories, higher levels of vitamins and minerals, and many disease-fighting antioxidants.

Beans (legumes), berries (especially blueberries), broccoli, green tea, nuts (especially walnuts), oranges, pumpkin, salmon. soy, spinach, tomatoes, turkey, whole grains and oats, and yogurt can all help stop and even reverse diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and some forms of cancer. And where one might have an effect on a certain part of the body, it can also affect the health of other body functions and performance, since the whole body is connected. With these 14 foods as the base of a balanced, solid diet, weight loss gimmicks and other fly-by-night programs can become a thing of the past in your life.

Conversely, the ill-effects of an unbalanced diet are several and varied. Low energy levels, mood swings, tired all the time, weight change, uncomfortable with body are just a few signs that your diet is unbalanced. An unbalanced diet can cause problems with maintenance of body tissues, growth and development, brain and nervous system function, as well as problems with bone and muscle systems.

Symptoms of malnutrition include lack of energy, irritability, a weakened immune system leading to frequent colds or allergies, and mineral depletion that can trigger a variety of health concerns including anemia.

And since the body is connected, realizing that an unhealthy body will result in an unhealthy spirit only makes sense. When we nourish our body with these superfoods and complement them with other nutrient-dense and healthy fresh foods, our spirit will be vitalized and healthy as a direct result.

Many modern diets based on prepackaged convenience foods are sorely lacking in many vitamins and minerals, which can affect our mental capacities as well, and cause irritability, confusion, and the feeling of ‘being in a fog’ all the time.

Superfoods can be the basis of a sound, healthy, nutritious solution to curing many of these ailments and more.