The Various Health Boosters (Foods that May Fight Diseases)

The phrase “eat your fruit and vegetables” is practically a mantra these days. But which choices are best?

Scientist once thought all the body needed to function properly were the carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, vitamins and water in food. Now, they’ve discovered other equally potent ingredients in fruit and vegetables called phytochemicals (“phyto” means plant) with tongue-twisting names like glucosinolates.

Garlic

According to Manfred Kroger, a professor of food science, garlic is one of those foods that have more than nutritional benefits. Ancient Greek literature abounds with anecdotes about the wondrous qualities of garlic.

Benefits of Garlic:

• Bolster the Immune System

• Help Lower Cholesterol

• Prevent Cancer and Heart Disease 

• Act as Antibiotic

Garlic, Onions, and leeks, which belong to Allium family, contains a chemical called allicin that may curb cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.

How much do you need?

To help lower your cholesterol, try one or more cloves of fresh garlic a day, chopped or crushed.

Spinach

The dark green leaves in spinach, collard greens and kale contain phytochemicals that may protect your eyes as you age.

Spinach has:

• Lutein

• Zeaxanthin

Benefits of Spinach:

• Helps Prevent Macular Degeneration (a leading cause of blindness) 

How much do you need?

Try to eat one to two servings a day.

Broccoli and Its Cousins

Benefits:

Broccoli and related vegetables such as: cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts help:

• Lower the Risk of lung, stomach, and other Cancers

• The substances that make these vegetables so healthy besides vitamins, could be glucosinolates. One chemical in this group called indo-3-carbinol (I3C) may protect against breast cancer.

How much do you need?

Aim for two servings a day.

Citrus Fruits

Oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruits are excellent source of:

• Vitamin C 

• Folate 

• Fiber

All are linked to reduce cancer risks. Their oil is also high in a lesser-known chemical called limonene. Most of the benefits are found in the pulp and the peelings of citrus, but can also get high concentration in juice. So drink up.

How much do you need?

Nutritionists recommend five portions of different fruit and vegetables daily. An orange, half a grapefruit or a glass of pure fruit juice each amount to one portion, although fruit juice only counts once per day since essential fiber is lost when juice is extracted.

Grapes and Their Juices

The news that drinking wine—particularly red wine—is  associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Scientists suspects that most of the benefits come from nonalcoholic flavonoids in red wine, particularly phenolics in grape skin. Some benefits of wine may also come from the alcohol, which raises “good” HDL cholesterol. But don’t take up drinking to protect your heart. Alcohol is linked to higher risks of some cancers, so stick with purple grape juice or eat red and black grapes.

How much do you need?

Eat grapes and drink grape juice as part of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Drink wine in moderation.

Tomatoes

The phytochemicals most studied in tomatoes is a carotenoid called lycopene. Tomato sauce and ketchup are rich in lycopene. Other good sources of lycopene are apricots, watermelon and papaya.

Benefits of Lycopene:

• Prevent Prostate Cancer as well as lung and stomach Cancer 

• Lower the Risk of Heart Disease

How much do you need?

Try to eat three servings of pasta-style tomato sauce a week, or one to two tomatoes a day.

Reference: Sue Ellin Browder, The Health Boosters, p. 19-21 Reader’s Digest March 2001

Helpful Tips to Eating Well while Losing Weight

Learning to identify and choose the right foods that are actually good for us is better than choosing the different foods that would supposedly help us lose weight. Indeed, perspective! Changing your perspective about losing weight can be very helpful especially if you want to lighten up. If “losing weight” gives you negative connotation, then why not change it in a positive way—into “getting healthy”?

Ten Helpful Tips

• Eat for pleasure and good health, not for weight loss.

• Start the day with oats and you won’t be hungry for hours.

• Eat more fish, chicken, vegetables and salads, and less red meat, pork, pasta, pastry and potatoes.

• Use a plastic squeezy bottle for olive oil and sauces—it helps you use less. 

• Use yoghurt instead of cream.

• Snack on fruit and nuts instead of chocolate and crisps.

• Steam instead of grill, grill instead of roast, roast instead of fry, shallow-fry instead of deep-fry. 

• Eat carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes for lunch instead of in the evening.

• Drink better, drink less, and drink only with the evening meal.

• If you really want something, enjoy it without guilt, and then lighten up the next day.

Reference: Jill Dupleix, Lighten Up, Ten Tips for Eating Well without Having to Diet, p. 109 Reader’s Digest August 2008

The Suggested Meal Pattern (Questions and Answers)

The suggested meal pattern must be based on good nutrition principles of variety, regularity of mealtime, and adequacy. The pattern must provide for an easy-to-follow guide and, at the same time, flexibility for a wide array of food choices.

Which should be your biggest meal?

Breakfast should be the heaviest meal and supper the lightest. This is because most of your activities are concentrated early in the day, and you need more energy in the morning. Taking a heavy (not overloaded) breakfast will help you eat less during supper. This is the first step to weight control.

How often should you eat?

There should be at least a 5-hour interval between meals for digestion efficiency. A regular meal will be digested in 4 to 5 hours depending on its composition (kinds and amount of food). This makes the 3-regular-meal pattern practical.

If your digestive system is to continue working for the rest of your life, it deserves breaktimes! Having at least a 5-hour break in between meals automatically discharges snacking! This way, you do not overburden your digestive system.

It would be very easy for you to wait until the next mealtime if you eat enough food. The variety of food groups represented every meal is better than just eating one kind of food in a meal. Following your dietitian’s advice or, in its absence, the Food Pyramid allowances, you can be confident that you neither overeat nor undereat.

How late should you take your supper?

Early breakfast means early supper. It is highly recommended that you take your day’s last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime. This will ensure you of a more restful sleep and better weight control.

What about fruits every meal?

Fruits and vegetables must not be together in one meal. You digest these foods better and easier if they are not eaten together. Remember that you want to lighten your digestive system’s work. So, fruits are scheduled during breakfast and supper; and vegetables, during lunch. Thus, your fruit and vegetable requirements will be met by the end of the day.

Have you forgotten anything?

By the way, you should not forget your water needs. Water is both a nutrient and a food. Unfortunately, it is often not given due attention. About 6 to 8 (at least) glasses of plain, clean water is generally enough. It would be best for you to take juices and other healthful drinks in addition to the daily recommended water intake.

You drink almost 2 glasses of water every meal…

It is best to drink water at least 30 minutes before mealtime or at least one and a half hours after mealtime. If you drink plenty of water or any other fluid during mealtime, the perfectly proportioned enzymes and juices will be diluted and digestion may be less than efficient. This again will make the work of your digestive system heavier. If ever you need to drink during mealtime, do it by sips rather than gulps.

Your own schedule of meal pattern…

You may be engaged in a work with night duties or evening shifts. You may have an emergency overtime. You may be used to eating just twice a day. Hence, the heavy-breakfast-light-supper pattern may not be suited for you.

The general rule is for you to eat the heaviest meal before working hours and the lightest meal before sleeping. If you eat two times a day, both meals should be heavy. Be sure that the second meal is taken at least 3 hours before bedtime.

What counts as one serving?

To make wise and healthy food choices, you have to identify which foods are included in the different pyramid groups. It is clear where most foods belong. Combination foods may include foods in more than one pyramid group. Say for example, a serving of spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheese can be included in the rice/bread group, the vegetable group and also meat group. But what counts as one serving?

The term one serving is very relative. A serving at a certain restaurant may be bigger or smaller compared to a serving at another eating place. Portion control may vary from server to server. Fortunately, research has made standardized serving sizes possible.

The food items are grouped according to the major nutrients that they contribute to the diet and in their 1 standardized serving sizes. A serving portion is called an exchange. Each food item can be exchanged with any other item within the same food group/list provided the serving size is followed. This makes much more room for flexibility and variety in meals.

A serving portion of the following can be considered an exchange if it provides:

1)      Vegetables (about 16 kilocalories)

2)      Fruits (about 40 kilocalories)

3)      Milk (about 80 [nonfat] or 170 [whole] kilocalories)

4)      Rice/bread (about100 kilocalories)

5)      Meat (about 68 kilocalories)

6)      Fat (about 45 kilocalories)

Reference: Healing Wonders of Diet Effective Guide to Diet Therapy p.224-227 © 2003 Philippine Publishing House ISBN 971-581-013-6

Balanced Diet

What is a balanced diet? A balanced diet is a food preparation which provides complete nutrients as well as supplies carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber in their normal proportions. It is the basis for all diet modifications.


This dietary management is also prescribed to person with Dental Caries, Vomiting, Glomerulonephritis, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid, Simple goiter, Vitamin A Deficiency.

Some Tips for a Healthy Diet

• Eat 3 meals a day instead of frequent ones or eating between meals.

• Establish a regular eating habit.

• Eat a heavy breakfast, a moderate lunch, and a light supper.

• Eat food of the right kind, at the right time and interval, in the right amount, and in the right condition of mind (eating in a relaxed atmosphere is ideal).

• Have at least a 5-hour interval between meals for digestion to be efficient. Last meal of the day should be taken at least 3 hours before sleeping.

• Eat more fresh fruits instead of rich desserts.

• Eat at least one serving of green leafy vegetables a day.

• Eat more unrefined, unprocessed foods.

• Avoid tea, coffee, alcoholic and carbonated beverages (soft drinks).

• Drink at least 6 (or 8) glasses of water a day between meals. (See The Importance of Water.)

• Include a variety of foods each meal.

• Take time to enjoy your food. Do not hurry.

Note: For List of Foods which are Allowed and Not Allowed for a Healthy Balanced Diet See Balanced Diet Food Selection Guide

The Food Pyramid

The food pyramid shows five major food groups and the proportions they have to contribute if your diet is to be balanced. Although the number of exchanges recommended varies from group to group, no single food group is more important than any other. There is emphasis on the nutrient differences of fruits and vegetables and the importance of eating foods from each food group.

How to Balance Your Diet

The correct and specific number of daily servings for you depends on how many calories you need to maintain your optimum or ideal body weight. For example, if you are inactive and not quite tall, choose the smaller number of exchanges for each food group. If you are very active or quite tall, choose the large number of exchanges in each group.

Each person’s body is different and consequently body needs for food vary from person to person. However you may need more or less calories (food energy) depending on your age, sex, size, activity level and medical condition.

Only your physician can tell exactly what your medical condition is and what diet you actually need. Consult your nutritionist-dietitian for a dietary plan just for you.

Indeed, good nutrition or good health is always known to be very important in order to avoid various diseases. Thus, it is our responsibility to keep ourselves healthy for our own benefits.

Reference: Healing Wonders of Diet Effective Guide to Diet Therapy p.78 and p.222-223 © 2003 Philippine Publishing House ISBN 971-581-013-6

Know What You are Drinking! (The Importance of Water)

Many folks watching their diets in order to lose weight overlook what they are drinking. This is a fairly common oversight because weight loss diets focus primarily on solid food. The by-product of this oversight is a disregard for the considerable calories found in the beverages people drink. 

Soft Drinks give you More Calories!

If one were to consume a typical 12-ounce can of soda or bottle of soft drink (not the sugar-free variety, of course) every single day for a year, it would mean ingesting a total of almost 44,000 calories over the same period. Translation: he or she would have to burn off the equivalent of 12 extra pounds in the course of that year. Thus, you may really want to think twice about supersizing it—because that is exactly what will happen to you—you'll go big!


If soft drinks are your first beverage choice and you can't seem to shake the habit, at least switch to diet soft drinks—it can make a difference. Nowadays, they are blended to taste just like the sweetened variety. 

Pre-sweetened Juices and Iced Teas 

The sweetened variety of juices is very common, very popular, and very available. And they are much more calorie-laden than their unsweetened counterparts. Iced teas, on the other hand, is always a favorite all year long. But stay away from the pre-sweetened teas!


Make sure you select 100 percent fruit juice and not "juice" drinks that are artificially sweetened. Try diluting fruit juice with sparkling water for a bubbling and naturally filling effect. 

Sports Drinks

Increasingly popular sports drinks can be split into three major types.  

• Isotonic sports drinks contain proportions of water and other nutrients similar to the human body's, and typically are six to eight percent sugar.
• Hypertonic sports drinks contain a lesser proportion of water and greater proportion of sugar than what's found in the body.  
• Hypotonic sports drinks, on the other hand, contain greater proportion of water and a lesser proportion of sugar than the human body's.

Most sports drinks are moderately hypertonic, having between 13 and 19 grams of sugar per eight-ounce serving. So as much as possible, avoid sports drinks unless anticipating vigorous activity. They contain sugar which, if not dispelled in the form of expended energy, will translate into additional calorie intake. 

The Importance of Water 

For any weight loss program or regimen, it's no-brainer that the beverage of choice is water.  

• Water is fat-free, sugar-free, and carbohydrate-free and therefore calorie-free. 
• It also acts as a natural appetite suppressant (because it is filling), increases our body's fat burning ability and helps our body function at optimal level.
• Water helps to regulate body temperature, lubricate our joints, and maintain healthy skin.
• Water is essential for proper digestion, for transporting nutrients, and for removing waste from our body. 

And if one were to drink the recommended 8-12 glasses of water a day, the space in our digestive tracks and stomach—not to mention our over-appetites—would be compromised.


If you aren't natural water drinker and "need" to have flavored fluids, try adding a twist of lime or lemon to your water for extra zing. And keep a pitcher of "water with a twist" in your refrigerator. Cutting up and squeezing fresh fruit into water can add enough flavor to become an incentive to drink more water. 


So, make sure to think before you drink especially when you are on a diet or if you want to lose weight. (For more tips on weight loss, see Weight Loss Diet and Tips.)

Reference: Healthy Lifestyle & Living enrich Volume 2 Issue 9 April 2009. “Think Before You Drink” p. 22-24. Retrieved 18 February 2011.

The Benefits of Nuts

I really did not know how nutritious these various kinds of nuts are until I read it from “Enrich (Healthy Lifestyle and Living)” magazine way back. So, I am sharing this information to all of you to better understand what “nuts” are as well as, how healthy and nutritious they can be!

Nut is a general term for large, dry, oily seeds, or can be fruits, of certain plants. It is important to point out that not all seeds are nuts but that all nuts are seeds. Plus nuts, as both seed and fruit, cannot be separated.

But, did you know that these “peanuts” are theoretically not nuts? Well, peanuts are legumes, but since they are seeds and very much resemble nuts, they are also considered nuts. But in reality, peanuts are legumes disguised as nuts; they’re actually more akin to peas, beans, and lentils.

Nutritional and Health Values

Studies have shown conclusively that consuming nuts on a regular basis can:

• Lower Cholesterol Levels;
• Reduce Heart Disease; and
• Aid People with Type-2 Diabetes

Most Scientists believe this is because nuts are high in their Omega 3 fatty acid profiles. Studies have consistently shown that can contribute to a reduced risk of heart disease due to their favorable influence on blood cholesterol levels. Specifically, the unsaturated fats found in nuts can improve blood cholesterol levels, especially when substituted for foods high in saturated fat such as meat and cheese.

Other beneficial heart-healthy nutrients found in nuts include:

• B Vitamins;
• Potassium;
• Copper;
• Magnesium;
• Vitamin E;
• Fiber;
• Arginine (an amino acid that helps relax blood vessels); and
• Sterols (helps lower cholesterol)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows most nuts to carry the “qualified” health claim that 1.5 ounces of nuts a day may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Consuming nuts, particularly almonds, pecans, peanuts, and walnuts, may significantly lower total cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

For people who don’t eat meat or are looking for meat alternatives, nuts are a good source of plant protein. The USDA counts nuts in the “meat and bean” group of its food pyramid.

However, while nuts may be healthful, don’t go overboard. One small handful (about 1 ounce) can contribute an average of 175 calories to your calorie intake! Nuts can be a great snack—if you keep your portions in line. The fiber, protein, and fat found in nuts can help you feel full until your next meal.

Nuts generally have high in oil content and are high source of energy. Since nuts contain oil, it is important not to overeat them because large portions of these nuts could lead to weight gain. Likewise, and just as importantly, nuts are cholesterol-free and hardly have a trace of Sodium. So, most nuts are healthy for you.

So what are the various kinds of nuts? 

These are: walnuts, pistachios, and almonds—which are edible seeds of dupe fruits; chestnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamias, peanuts, pecan nuts, and pine nuts; and the unique taste of pili nut, and the biggest and most productive nut of them all—the coconut.

By equal weight comparisons, Macadamia nuts have the most calories (205) and chestnuts have the least (70) per ounce, while walnuts are the richest in alpha-linolenic acid and heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

Coconut—the world’s most wonderful and healthy nut without question.

Thus, let’s not forget them as they are a large part of the healthy lifestyle that we all want to achieve and live.

Reference: Healthy Lifestyle & Living enrich Volume 2 Issue 9 April 2009. “Nuts About Nuts” p. 60-63. Retrieved 17 February 2011.

Live Healthy. Be Wealthy.

One of the most widespread sayings that has been used over the years is "Health is wealth". It explicates that a person’s good health is greatly important more than anything else.

A good well-being is in fact, one of the most valuable wealth that a person may possess. A true treasure that needs to be well taken cared of. An individual who has good health can also acquire abundance of wealth in the most indispensable way. 

No matter how wealthy a person may be, no amount of money can buy good health. Riches can never be cherished or can turn out to be worthless without good health.

How to Live Healthy?

Protecting and taking care of our health can be the best gift that we can give to ourselves. And having a good and healthy lifestyle takes every person to maximize every opportunity and allows each individual to living life to the fullest.   

In order to live a healthy lifestyle, it doesn’t necessarily require a person to have extreme changes of activities. Making small changes in how you live each day can truly make a difference.

Here are the basic guidelines to help you achieve and maintain good health:

Eat a Healthy and Balanced Diet 

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is one way of attaining healthy lifestyle. It is not only responsible for weight management, but it is also responsible for developing both your health and quality of life as you grow older. A balanced diet must include carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, salts, and fiber. It must have these types of foods in the proper and accurate ratios. Eating more fruits and vegetables than those fatty and junk foods can truly help you maintain good health.   

Exercise Regularly and Keep Moving

Eating healthy foods and doing exercise regularly can help you attain good health. Even just adding a little more activity in your daily routine can help you burn those excess fats. If you spend most of your time sitting, find some time to get yourself moving. By simply adding some changes in your daily activities can help you: reduce stress and enhance self-esteem; reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes; etc. Exercise indeed can give lots of benefits on our body. So, if you want to gain these benefits—keep yourself moving!

Living a healthy lifestyle may be difficult to others, considering the demands of the type of environment that we have—whether at work, home, or society. It takes discipline and action if you want to achieve something—especially good health. Truly, a healthy individual has great potential to accomplish his or her goals and become wealthy in various ways, but a person in poor health may never have the chance to pursue and realize his or her dreams.