Archive for November, 2007

How and Why Urged to Reduce Salt (Sodium)

We all need sodium (salt) to maintain health. But too much of this good thing is associated with high blood pressure.

Evidence suggests that many people that are at risk for high blood pressure can reduce their chances of developing it by consuming less salt or sodium. The condition of high blood pressure increases the risk of:

  • strokes
  • heart attacks
  • kidney disease

So that is the why. On with how.

Recommended daily amount of salt is about 1 level teaspoon or 2,400 mg sodium. If a high percentage of your daily food consumption comes in a package or can, you must check the food label for sodium content. Chose frozen over canned vegetables, or pick the low sodium canned veggies.

If your food is prepared by somebody else, i.e. a restaurant, be aware that salt is a crowd pleaser. Request that any sauce, gravy and dressing be served on the side and then use them sparingly. Also, Chinese food is notoriously salty, especially soy sauce. When eating out make a request that no salt be added.

It is estimated that 75% of sodium consumption is in processed foods, and you can’t control this. Have you looked at a canned soup label lately? Choose the low sodium or no sodium options.

The ideal alternative would be to make your own. With a bit of planning and creativity, preparing your own meals is not all that time consuming.

Many foods have salt that is brought to you by nature, usually in small amounts. Fresh fruits and vegetables have very little sodium. A great way to learn to appreciate their natural flavors is combining a taste bud happy veggie with one not as delightful.

Most importantly, your taste buds need to go through a transition period. Start by cutting back added salt with the goal of cutting it out. Happy is the day you toss your salt shaker into the trash.

What are Broccoli’s Benefits and How to Make a Choice

Broccoli is that green stalk with the umbrella-shaped clusters of purplish green florets you may have noticed in the fresh vegetable section of your local grocery store.

Its inclusion into your healthy diet of just a half a cooked cup of these florets offers up a significant source of Vitamin C along with some help to your Vitamin A requirements topped off with a source of fiber. Acquiring a taste for this veggie is well worth the benefits.

So how do you make a choice from that stack of broccoli. Well, start with choosing from bunches that are dark green because the dark color indicates higher nutrient value. When comparing the florets pick the ones that are dark green, purplish, or bluish green because they contain more beta-carotene and vitamin C than paler or yellowing ones.

Next consider the stalks and choose the ones that are very firm. Avoid the stalks that bend or seem rubbery because they are of poor quality. Flip the broccoli over and leave the split and brown bottom ones for someone else, a clue for how long ago it was harvested. Also, don’t make your selection from the broccoli with open, flowering or discolored florets.

If you are not planning on eating it right away store your broccoli in an open plastic bag unwashed in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

As with most vegetables the best way to cook broccoli is to steam to avoid losing some of their precious vitamins and mineral content to the cooking water when boiled. Microwave or stir-fry in a little water are also nutrient preserving alternatives. Cooked broccoli should be tender enough so that it can be pierced with a sharp knife, and still remain crisp and bright green in color.

However, if your are attempting to acquire a taste for broccoli you may want to start by cooking it longer to reduce that pungent offensive taste you may be experience.

Finally, choice between fresh or frozen. Frozen broccoli differs from fresh in its nutrient content because the florets are richer in beta-carotene than the stalks and frozen broccoli typically has the stalks cut off.

The upside of frozen broccoli, more beta-carotene by weight than fresh broccoli, but the downside is up to twice as much sodium, about half the calcium, and smaller amounts of iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and vitamin C.

You may find fresh broccoli tastes better!

Understanding Fiber for the Relief of Constipation

You’ve increased your fiber intake and still can’t get relief from constipation. A key point about relieving constipation with fiber is that all fiber is not created equally.

Constipation has a real knack for cramping your active healthy lifestyle so keeping your bowels moving needs to be a priority. Understanding the difference in the two types of fiber and discovering your particular body’s reaction to the wide range of fiber available is a major step towards relief from constipation. Time to get your bowels moving in the right direction.

Fiber is the part of fruits, vegetables, and grains that the body cannot digest. It comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble.

  • Soluble fiber dissolves easily in water and takes on a soft, gel-like texture in the intestines.
  • Insoluble fiber passes through the intestines almost unchanged.

If the bulk of the fiber you ingest is soluble, this alone may be causing your back up. Soluble fiber has the tendency of slowing down digestion to allow your body to absorb vital nutrients. In your case it might be working too well.

On the other hand, insoluble fiber has the opposite effect. It moves food stuff quickly through your digestive system. If you have been advised to increase your fiber intake by eating more fruits and vegetables to relieve your constipation, this advice may have been inadequate.

Specifically you may need to increase your insoluble fiber intake for relief of constipation. The qualifier for the type of fiber makes a huge difference in results.

Soluble fiber is one of nature’s gifts ensuring we get the most out of those nutrient powerhouses known as fruits and vegetables. What nature might not of planned for was our society ingesting diets lacking in nutrient variety. Maybe your system is hanging on longer to grab what it can from what its been offered.

The next step in this equation is for you to discover which bulky insoluble fiber sources work best for you. An operative term here is BULKY! To find them you will need to experiment. Corn, whole tomatoes, uncooked broccoli, etc. are great starters.

If you are in the condition of constipation, you may need to eat a large quantity of a variety of bulky insoluble fiber sources for a couple days before you get moving.

Word to the Wise: Once you discover a fiber relief for your constipation ~ make it a staple in your diet.

Vitamin Basics: What Every Body Needs to Know

Every body needs vitamins to grow and develop normally. The 13 vitamins your body needs are:

Foods you eat usually provides all your vitamin requirements. Additionally, your body can also make vitamins D and K. However, if your follow a vegetarian diet you might need to take a vitamin B12 supplement.

Each vitamin has specific jobs. So if you have a low level of any one of the 13 needed vitamins, you may experience the consequences of a vitamin deficiency.

What is important to know is that the best way to provide your body with its desired vitamins is to eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods. Only some people need to take a daily multivitamin for optimal health. Also, high doses of some vitamins can make you sick.

Shortcut your way to vitamin basics with a healthy balanced diet. Nature included vitamins in food, why not use it. That’s really all you need to know.

Peanuts: Good Fat Source Snack in Bars, Butter, Brittle or Sauce

Think peanuts for a quick snack, that is if you don’t have a food allergy to these nuts.

A little trick to prevent “nutty” over consumption is to put about 10-20 of these high fat concentrated powerhouses in a little cup and put the rest away. Be aware that each salty roasted peanut packs a 5 kcal punch, so eat them with savory purpose.

Savory purpose is throwing only a couple peanuts in your mouth at a time and then chomp down a couple of times and make a point of leaving this peanut mush in your mouth ~ no immediate swallowing. This gives your taste buds an opportunity for satisfaction while your saliva commences peanut breakdown. Try it.

Did you know that peanuts are also called:

  • pinda
  • pinder
  • goobers
  • earth nut
  • manilla nut
  • groundnuts
  • ground peas
  • monkey nut

These delicious nuts belong to the legume family, are a great source of protein, and grow underground, not on bushes or trees.

Here are a couple useful healthy diet facts about peanuts you may not know:

  • good source of folic acid
  • naturally cholesterol-free
  • contain approximately 21 – 36% protein
  • good sources of many essential vitamins & minerals
  • less expensive than other sources of protein, such as meats & cheeses
  • 2-3 servings of peanuts can help reduce LDL cholesterol & risk of cardiovascular disease

If you don’t have a peanut allergy, you may not even realize how many different foods contain peanuts. Aside from the familiar bars, butter, brittle and sauces, check out those food labels to discover other ways peanuts are making it into your diet.

Add peanut popping 2-3 times a week for diet variety and lowering your risk of heart disease, keep in mind they do carry a calorie punch per nut.

Avoid Summer Food Poisoning With Precautions

The incidence of food poisoning does increase during the summer month. So especially in the summer months extra precautions are necessary with food handling. The main reasons are both nature and man made.

First, there are the natural causes. Bacteria are present throughout the environment in soil, air, water, and in the bodies of people and animals.

These microorganisms grow faster in the warm summer months. Most foodborne bacteria grow fastest at temperatures from 90 to 110 °F. Bacteria also need moisture to flourish, and summer weather is often hot and humid.

Given the right circumstances, harmful bacteria can quickly multiply on food to large numbers. When this happens and you eat the food unwittingly you can get sick.

Second, there are the “people” causes for the upswing in summertime foodborne illnesses. Outside activities increase. More people are cooking outside at picnics, barbecues, and on camping trips.

Remember the safety controls that a kitchen provides such as thermostat-controlled cooking, refrigeration, and washing facilities are usually not available.

Fortunately, people seldom get sick from contaminated food because most people have a healthy immune system that protects them not only from harmful bacteria on food, but from other harmful organisms in the environment.

Precautionary Warning
Food left out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours may not be safe to eat. If the temperature is above 90 °F then this window of safety reduces to an 1 hour. The best course of action for avoiding food poisoning is to play it safe by putting perishables back on ice before you start eating.

Don’t spoil your summer with food poisoning. Instead take precautions while enjoying your outdoor activities.

Your Flu Symptoms May Be Food Poisoning

Food poisoning very often shows itself as flu like symptoms such as:

So many don’t realize that the illness is caused by bacteria or other pathogens in food.

Many of the intestinal illnesses, commonly referred to as stomach flu, are actually caused by food borne pathogens. The reason most don’t associate their flu feeling to food is because noticeable symptoms may not occur for a couple of days after eating contaminated food.

Symptoms of viral or parasitic infection illnesses may not appear for several weeks after exposure. Rarely do symptoms occur as early as a half hour after your spoiled food ingestion.

Common symptoms for food poisoning include:

  • fever
  • diarrhea
  • headache
  • vomiting
  • severe exhaustion
  • abdominal cramping

And sometimes pussy or bloody stools. Your flu feeling food poisoning symptoms will vary according to the type of bacteria and by the amount of contaminants eaten.

For most healthy people, food poisoning is neither long lasting nor life threatening.

Be sure to avoid dehydration by drink plenty of liquids to replace fluids lost through your vomiting and diarrhea.

Prevent Food Poisoning with Meat Awareness

Basically any food can become contaminated if handled improperly. However, foods rich in protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, and seafood, are frequently the culprits in the food poisoning equation.

Two reasons for this is that protein-rich foods (meat) tend to be of animal origin. Therefore, microorganisms of animal origin are frequently found in animal foods. And animal foods are rich in protein that bacteria break down into amino acids, which are an important nutrient source to some bacteria.

In addition, bacteria needs moisture to survive and reproduce. Thus, they also thrive in foods with high moisture content. Some of these include starchy, egg-rich foods and cream-based foods, such as potato or pasta salads, cream-based soups, and custard or cream pies.

Discover What a Healthy Diet Means

Your diet consists of the foods you regularly consume. Some food products are healthy, but others may be lacking in nutrients. Sometimes it’s hard to sort it all out.

What’s important is to follow the basics: Eat a healthy diet by choosing a variety of fruits and vegetables. Avoid fats, added sugars and salt. And always eat in moderation.

Eating healthy makes you feel good, and it’s important for reducing your risk for diseases like:

  • stroke
  • diabetes
  • osteoporosis
  • heart disease
  • certain cancers

In fact, healthier eating could reduce cancer deaths in the United States by as much as 35 percent.

Consuming a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to help your overall health. Along with physical activity, your diet is the key factor that affects your weight. Having a healthy weight for your height is important.

Being overweight or obese increases your risk of:

  • stroke
  • arthritis
  • sleep apnea
  • heart disease
  • osteoarthritis
  • some cancers
  • type 2 diabetes
  • gallbladder disease
  • breathing problems
  • high blood pressure

Eating a healthy diet is sometimes easier said than done. It is tempting to eat less healthy foods because they might be easier to get or prepare, or they satisfy a craving. Between family and work or school, you are probably balancing a hundred things at once.

Taking time to buy the ingredients and cooking a healthy meal may fall last on your list. But it isn’t that difficult to make minor changes to improve your diet. A little for learning and planning can help you find a diet to fit your lifestyle, and maybe you will have fun in the process!

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