General Article

How to Keep Your Children From the Risks of Obesity

It is not coincident that you and your children are sharing the same shirt size, in a statistic figure, obese parents more likely produces obese children. We are no stranger to the health risks and damages that obesity can do to a person. Speedily, this epidemic has conquered the country with an alarming death rates and obesity-related diseases, such as type two diabetes and heart attacks.

Our youth are facing a bloating future if we will not act today. The life expectancy of our youth has significantly decreased by 10%. First time in history, today’s parents will outlive their own children.

As parents, we do not want to see our children inherit a generation of short-lived people, we want to see them prosper, nourish and healthy so today, let us all discover how we can prevent obesity from ruining the future of our youth.

Here are my five strategies that will surely engage the family together to have healthy eating habits:

• Family meals. This is still the best way to keep track of your children’s eating behavior. This is where you can have a sensible conversation with them. During a family meal, you can catch up with each other’s business. As good parents, you must serve them with healthy food, like vegetables, fruits, complex carbohydrates and fiber. Instead of giving them soda, practice fresh fruit juices or water.

• Serve Variety of Food and Snacks. You have to be creative with your healthy food strategy, remember that kids are easily bore. Surely, you yourself do not want to eat the same food over and over again. You can buy healthy recipe book or better yet, reinvent your cooking. They will appreciate it more if it is your own recipe you are serving them.

• Be a role model. If you want healthy kids, you must prioritize your health first. What you eat is what your children will eat. I hope that you as a parent will not be selfish to do healthy sacrifices for your children.

• Do not argue about unhealthy food. Do not argue with your kids about junk food without knowing why junk foods are restricted, they will resent on that part and will intensify their desire to eat unhealthy food.

The best thing that you can do is educate them about the bad effects of unhealthy food in their body. Approach them in a loving manner and tell them how much you want to see them enjoy their lives to fullest potential because they are healthy and alive.

• Involve your children in the process of preparing the food. This another way to engage the family together. Preparing food together will not only educate them about the food their eating but it will also tie the family bonding for better.…

Healthy Food For Breakfast

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times, “You need to eat a healthy breakfast!” We all know by now that breakfast is important, and you’ve also no doubt heard, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

That first meal boosts our energy levels to help prevent fatigue, loss of concentration, and more. We know we need that healthy meal, so how does a person get in the habit of eating a healthy breakfast?

First off, do just that, make it a habit. If you skip breakfast once, then twice, then before you know it, not eating becomes a habit. A bad habit that’s not good for you. Instead, reinforce a good-for-you habit and eat breakfast every day.

No doubt a lot of you are thinking, “I don’t have time to make breakfast!” It’s important, so make time. You’re important, so make time! Take care of yourself and have a healthy breakfast.

There are ways to make the effort a little easier. Getting up a little earlier so you have time to make breakfast is one way, but if that makes you roll your eyes in despair, try fixing breakfast the night before.

Here are some ideas for make-ahead breakfast ideas:

Put some oatmeal in a slow cooker,

Make whole grain pancakes, waffles or French toast, then reheat and top with yogurt, fresh fruit or nuts (NOT a whole bunch of high-sugar syrup),

Make your own breakfast bars,

Scramble a bunch of eggs, then reheat a portion for breakfast, or even….

Leftovers from yesterday’s meals.

Some of those foods can also be prepared over the weekend and stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

Other quick-to-fix breakfast ideas are:

Whole grain toast spread with peanut butter,

Whole grain cold cereal with milk,

Hot cereals like oatmeal in the microwave,

Fruit smoothies with protein powder added, or

Fruit salad topped with a few nuts, along with a bran muffin.

It’s best to get some protein in there like eggs, nuts, or whey powder, and to choose foods that are nutrient dense, not laden with sugar or fat.

Think creatively. It doesn’t have to be a traditional breakfast food. Check out the health food store or look in the aisles at your regular grocery store for health food items, check out the produce section, or just anywhere health food abounds. Look for things to eat that you enjoy, are healthy-for-you foods, and easy to fix.

Be kind to yourself and make it a habit. Each and every day, eat a healthy breakfast.…

Healthy Snacks: 4 Foods to Keep You Energetic Through the Day

For years I was told to stop snacking between meals. Then I was told to eat small meals several times a day. Then I read somewhere that it’s good to have three small meals, and three large meals. What on earth am I supposed to do?

I decided to do whatever I liked the best. And since I love good food, that was snacking. Sure I have the odd bit of junk food like anyone else, but that usually leaves me with drowsiness and a feeling like an oil slick in my stomach. Instead, when I really want to get myself going, I turn to a few of these classics.

Oatmeal

Yes… Oatmeal has carbs. But oatmeal falls under the more recent label of “skinny carbs.” It’s easy to digest, is full of all kinds of vitamins and minerals, and it’s EASY. Whether you have a bowl of porridge, or a healthy oatmeal cookie (I keep some in the jar at all times), this is a healthy way to keep your energy levels running high.

Dark Chocolate

This isn’t an excuse to sit in front of the TV and eat bonbons… We’re talking DARK chocolate here. That’s 65% cocoa (or cacao) and above. It has a wonderful collection of active ingredients acting as antioxidants, mood enhancers, and even a bit of blood pressure control. So go ahead and indulge (responsibly) and give yourself a pick-me-up.

Blueberries

Blueberries were ranked the healthiest food in the world for some time. That was before some of the more exotic berries and foodstuff came on the market. Still, they rank pretty high. They have high concentrations of antioxidants and phytoflavonoids (chemical with a wide range of potential benefits). Throw in some more of those “skinny carbs” and you’re ready to go.

Almonds

These little goodies are one of the best sources of protein you can find. They are also full of the “good” fats. Those are fats that clear your blood of the nastier, heart-clogging variety. And you get the added bonus of a bevvy of minerals. So put down the chips, and grab a handful of almonds instead.

So there you have it. Four good, solid snacks that give you all the satisfaction of something greasy and salty that you will later feel guilty about. Whether at the gym, in between classes, or at your coffee break, your body will thank you for grabbing one of these healthy little treats.…

The Long Term Dilemma

It is much easier to accept and adopt actions leading to immediate or short-term results, than it is to wait and believe significant improvements will occur over time or in the long run.

Why does this keep happening on and on? Why even though we know that sustainable actions bring the real structural improvements, we’re much more eager to do the easy ones?

The human being is an animal reacting to incentives. While this is probably an obvious idea, it brings consequences to what we do. Is the incentive available right away, or in the future? Our brain functions according to the answer to this question.

In the health care business, this idea has been for long understood and a whole business has been created based on it. Are you tired? Take this pill and you’ll be as new. Are you nervous? Take this one. The business of creating pills to instantly have an effect on your symptom (regardless of the secondary effects they may have) thrives. It doesn’t necessarily heal you, but it does give a sensation of desired result achieved.

The “long-term dilemma” is one that impacts mostly those who building sustainable solutions to improve the lives of the people. One of the examples could be healthy food. While everyone knows that eating healthy food improves your long-term health, it is much easier to each those things that taste better right away even though they may not be so healthy. Again this is our brain leading us to the immediate achievement, we actually need to fight our own will to change it. A lot of effort and discipline is needed to achieve such a result.

The concrete example of brain training is one that is much impacted by this dilemma. The brain improvement and the protection against cognitive decline in the long run is one that is amongst the most important aspects of our lives. However, it is impossible to really change and improve such a complex organ as the brain in the immediate, it takes time, persistence and discipline to guarantee the desired results. You will not significantly improve your memory, reaction times or coordination in one day, but if you work continuously you will create the connections between your neurons that consistently improve the way your brain functions, and therefore improve your brain health.

There are however examples of industries that have been able to overcome the “long-term dilemma”, and an obvious one is the beauty care world. The good examples have lessons to teach. What could be learned from the beauty care anti-aging area that could bring new ideas to improve the quality of the nutrition, or the brain health, of our population?…

Steamed and Savory

Since variety is a great feature of Chinese cookery, a proper banquet will include a sample of most, if not all, the principal styles: one dish roasted, one grilled, one stewed, one stir-fried-and one steamed. A Chinese dish can be very complicated, but steaming is a triumph of simplicity. One wonders why the rest-of the world has largelyignored this art. Anything cooked by steam preserves its original flavor, yet affords a taste so distinct from any other that the Western palate instantly identifies it as “Chinese.”

Can you imagine a delicate, mouth-watering, unusual culinary triumph that takes less time and work than a hamburger sandwich? Including preparation-often nothing more than cleaning a shellfish and putting it on a platter-10 minutes is about standard running time for jeng. No sauce of dominating flavor is ever used, lest it tamper with nature. The simple flavorings are usually just scattered on the food, and the steam does all the rest.

Besides simplicity and flavor, the Chinese have a dietetic reason for favoring steam in their everyday meals. Calling on centuries of experience, they avoid roasting, grilling, deep-frying, or the

like, except on special occasions. They believe that such foods create reh chih, a term readily comprehensible to any Chinese but a puzzle to the foreigner. An eminent Chinese doctor with Western training, after long reflection,decided that the closest Western translation, “indigestion,” did not do justice to reh chih.

To a Chinese “indigestion” describes the result of swallowing food too fast or eating too much or eating what is by nature difficult to digest. Reh chih is more subtle. Like many untranslatable Chinese words it requires a paragraph to explain. It is “an acute or accumulated disagreeable effect, particularly harmful to a person during illness or in delicate health, resulting from eating things cooked through direct contact with the fire or with the oil in “frying.”

Whether reh chih has scientific validity or not, it is a fact that a Chinese feeling a bit out of sorts wants his

food steamed. And it is interesting to note that the Chinese so often look younger than their age and have

relatively few cases of obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease.…

Help to Stop Constant Food Cravings

Why is it so hard to say no to burgers and cheese fries and chicken strips as well as refined carbohydrates such as most breads, (we love our bread products!), pastries (think freshly baked cinammon rolls you can smell in the malls), sugary treats (almost everything a coffee shop sells!) and nachos (oh, those excessively salty foods). To continue with Dr. David Kessler’s explanations, there are some real scientific reasons for this. All these flavors hit full force. Health-sapping sugar, salt and fat, plus additives such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, ratchet up taste far beyond what you’d find in nature. Texture can also tantalize. Processed foods are engineered for optimal “MOUTH FEEL”, whether crunchy, creamy or gooey. These fun-to-eat qualities can quickly override your better judgment. Plus…..these foods are super easy to eat! No bones, no pits, no peels, just instant gratification. Do we stand a chance? Can we fight back? I think we can.

Here is one idea to try: preparing food in advance. We certainly live in a “fast-forward” world. We prepare for work. We prepare our kids for school. These preparations are not MUST be prepared with clean presentable clothes, homework done, cell phones charged, gas in car. The list goes on. We go grocery shopping, but are we just buying more fast foods? Preparing foods in advance takes time, but the payoff can be huge. Buying fresh chicken, fish, eggs and other lean proteins and then cooking them ahead of time will mean that on a busy week night there are healthy options for quick ‘heat and eat’ meals. Buying fresh vegetables and cutting them up ahead of time makes having salads or steamed veggies or soups easy to prepare and quickly available.

I really don’t like cutting up salad ingredients, but I do like eating salad so I would rather spend the time to cut everything up at once (say, on a Sunday morning or afternoon) than doing it every night before dinner. Bake a whole chicken (or two); this is great for leftovers such as chicken salad or chicken enchiladas or tacos. Grill fish and any leftovers can be made into fish tacos, or sandwich spread. Cook hard-boiled eggs and eat individually as a snack or make egg salad and keep in a sealed container to eat any time during the week. Make meatloaf and have sandwiches or just eat plain. Make a batch of spaghetti or lasagne and eat leftovers later in the week.

Good luck. I know you can do it.…

Diet Solutions

I believe that people should make time for there meals each day as this is there health we are talking about, you are no good to your boss if you are always ill or tired due to the rubbish you are putting in your mouth. Your health should come first above all else especially some fat cat in a suit who sits there and clock watches you all day who probably has a nice healthy meal for lunch why you settle for a chocolate bar and a pastie so you don’t get behind, then at the end of the day on your way home you get take out.

If you are living like this then stop now!!! You probably don’t realise it but you are shedding years off your life, living like this causes all sorts of troubles, stress, depression, high blood pressure the list goes on, so shake yourself up and take control of your life, start by changing your diet and the rest will follow, changing your diet will make you feel great you will have aspiring in your step in days, your energy levels will sore in a week within the first month you will look and feel totally different, other people will also notice the change in you and will start getting a buzz off of the signals your sending out.

People who want to loose weight but cant stick to it often say they are to busy, I fill this is total rubbish, if you really want to change you will. Preparing your food for the day is so much easier nowadays. Example:you can buy a cooked chicken, some mixed veg, salad all this is ready to eat straight from the shops get some new potato’s heat them through little bit of fresh butter(not margarine)there you go, it is that easy that would take you no time at all, when having a snack opt for the more healthier choice, not your normal chocolate bar or crisps, instead get yourself a sandwich maybe tuna salad eat half for a snack at 10 and maybe the other half at 3-4 with lunch in between this will boost your energy levels and you wont feel so drained at the end of the day.

Nowadays there are so many options and recipes get yourself a book and select your meals for the week, get the food in through the week don’t buy it all at once just start out like I said all you have to do is be willing to change out of that boring unhealthy routine. If you are reading this you are probably wanting to change but don’t know were to start.

There is plenty of so called help out there, do this, don’t do that! Believe me it gets really confusing trying to take to much in at once so here’s a short video for you to watch it helped me out and many others without having to count calories or anything confusing …

Mixing Healthy Vegetables for Healthier Snacks

I will give you some tips in order make a healthy foods for snacking, lunch or dinner. You don’t have to avoid or stop eating your favourite, I only make it more healthy by add some vegetables on it. Do not think that this will be very annoying that you must cook twice, after the main menu then you prepare the vegetables. This is quite simple because instead of cooking a separate side dish of vegetables, you can look for ways to add vegetables to other foods, mixing it in. Just about every dish can be served with some fruit or vegetable added. Here are some examples:

• Chicken breast: Top with quickly saut?�ed mushrooms and tomatoes.

• Macaroni and cheese: Mix in green peas or chopped bell peppers.

• Meatloaf: Add shredded carrots or chopped tomatoes.

• Bean burrito: Add chopped bell peppers or broccoli and canned corn, top with tomato salsa.

• Spaghetti: Add chopped bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, or any other veggie to the sauce.

• Baked dishes and casseroles: Top with shredded zucchini or carrots for added texture.

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: Add sliced bananas.

• Scrambled eggs: Add diced vegetables or spinach.

• Macaroni, potato, chicken, or tuna salad: Defrost and mix in a package of frozen mixed vegetables, or add fresh diced celery and carrots.

• Rice or other grain side dish: Add diced vegetables or mushrooms, mix in a can of diced tomatoes, or for a sweeter alternative add raisins and canned mandarin orange slices or chunks of sweet potato or butternut squash (available frozen and precut).

• Soups and chili: Homemade soups and chili are easy to make, and can be a flavorful way to introduce new kinds of vegetables. Nutritious green vegetables like kale mellow in flavor in soups, and the spices in chili add zest to zucchini, squash, peppers, okra, and cauliflower.

• Oatmeal or other hot cereal:Add raisins or dried apricots, blueberries, canned fruit, unsweetened applesauce, banana slices, apple chunks, or sliced strawberries.

• Sandwiches: Always add vegetables to meat or cheese sandwiches; if lettuce and tomato gets boring, try sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, spinach,cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, or red onion.

• Frozen yogurt, ice cream, and other desserts: If you serve desserts, always look for a way to add fruit to something kids will want to eat anyway: pineapple chunks, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and mangoes are great toppings for frozen desserts or cakes. Or better yet, skip the ice cream and make a fruit smoothie with frozen fruit pieces blended with orange juice or milk.

Spice It Up

You don’t have to drown vegetables and fruits in sugar, salt, or fat to make them palatable. A better alternative is to be creative with flavorings and make liberal use of spices. Try sprinkling cinnamon and nutmeg on sweet potatoes, butternut squash,or sliced warm fruit. Add garlic or lemon juice to vegetables, and use curry powder, chili powder, or cumin to …

All Over Oats

This cereal grain is a definite power food and if you do not already eat oats in some form or another (aside from oatmeal cookies!) this article is for you.

Benefits of Oats

-Complex carbohydrate

-No sugar

-High in soluble fiber

-Lowers LDL “bad” cholesterol

-Digests slowly. This will make you feel full for a long time!

-Oats are the only cereal containing protein.

How do I buy and prepare oats?

Oats can be cut, pressed, crushed, and ground. They can be eaten cooked, raw as a main ingredient or as a topping.

The most common way to eat oats is in oatmeal or porridge. Porridge is a warm breakfast cereal, typically served with milk. It is used by athletes for energy during training, to heal the sick, and makes a great breakfast for children, or anybody looking for an energy food that will keep their stomach content until lunchtime.

To make porridge you can use rolled oats or steel cut. I recommend steel cut. It takes longer to cook but that is due to minimal processing and a higher nutritional content. Rolled oats have been precooked and pressed, and sometimes sugar or other flavouring is added.

Many people eat oats on cold cereal, in drinks (I have had some lovely oat, yogurt and honey smoothies), for use in baking, and ground into flour.

Ground oats and extract are also used in skin care products such as cream and soaps due to its ability to relive dry, irritated and itchy skin. Most health food specialty stores will carry an all natural oatmeal soap. Personally speaking, I had a small running related dry patch on my thigh that was driving me nuts for months. No skin cream would do anything but after one wash with a bar of oatmeal soap, it was already 50% cured. Trust me, your skin will thank you!

If you do not eat oats already, try it out!…

3 Proven Strategies to Improve Your Chances at Weight Loss Success!

The decision to lose weight is not one that many make lightly (pardon the pun). In fact, most of the time the challenges only increase once the decision is made; past failures hinder motivation and bring about disappointment, making it harder to approach new methods with genuine enthusiasm and effort. Healthy eating and healthy food choices are the best way that these disappointments can be overcome, and it is not as challenging as you may think. If you apply the following 3 proven strategies, your weight loss efforts WILL be successful.

1. Stop Counting Calories and Count Ingredients Instead.

Let’s illustrate this point with a simple demonstration where you are faced with two potential meals. One has three ingredients: broccoli, chicken breast and baked potato. The other is a “Lean/Healthy/Smart” frozen dinner that has the same contents on the packaging, but exponentially more ingredients on the side of the box.

In the first meal, you have an example of healthy balanced nutrition proportionately composed of vitamins, proteins and carbs. More importantly, you know precisely what you’ll be eating as the contents are only three ingredients deep. Compare this to the frozen ‘healthy’ dinner which is loaded with preservatives and chemicals, and then decide for yourself which you think is better. If you ask any health expert, I guarantee you will be advised to opt for low-ingredient meals over low-calorie meals every time.

2. Stop Drinking Your Calories

Healthy eating and healthy food choices make an enormous difference in your life, but what you’re drinking can have just as profound an effect. Depending on your metabolic rate, your body requires anywhere from 1800-2400 calories/day; when you’re trying to lose weight, the quality of these calories is crucial. One can of cola contains 140 calories -if you drink three each day that’s nearly a third of some people’s recommended daily caloric intake! Be wise about the kind of energy you provide your body -sugar is the simplest and most dangerous carbohydrate around when not used properly, and soft drinks are packed with them. There is nothing wrong with water or modest amounts of milk.

3. Always Eat Consistently

Low-calorie and low-carb diets are all doomed because they neglect your body’s fundamental desire for sufficient fuel. Your body needs energy to burn fat; by lowering your calorie intake, you are effectively cutting off your body’s energy supply. Let’s be clear, hunger will never produce lasting life-changing weight loss. In fact, most people actually need to be eating more often to start seeing real results take shape. Consistent eating fuels your metabolism and improves the rate at which your body can burn fat; try to start eating 350-450 calorie meals every 3-4 hours to see what I mean.

With a little ambition and a lot of dedication, life-changing weight loss can be firmly within your grasp. Keep educating yourself so that you can avoid the mistakes millions of others have made before you. …