The Whole Truth

The word refined is a compliment when it comes to your sense of style, but for your diet it's another thing entirely. Studies show that eating whole, rather than refined, grains may help rduce your risk of heart disease, ward off diabetes, and control cholesterol. In fact, the U.S. government recommends at least three daily servings of whole grains, but most Americans get only one. That's partly because the grains in most packaged foods are refined, which strips away the bran (the outer layer, containing fiber, vitamins, and minerals) and the germ (the antioxident-and vitamin-rch core). What remains ia the endosoerm, which is mostly carbohydrates.

The good news: Whole grain breads and other prooducts--crackers, bagels, cookies--are now easier to find. But sorting out the healthy from the merely filling can be tricky. "When buying a loaf of bread or a box of cereal, consider the front of the package an advertisement, "says Denver based dietitian Maureen Callahan. "You can't tell what's in it, even if you see the words 'good source' and 'whole grains.' " Instead, when buying a whole-grains product, follow these steps:

- Check the ingredient list and make sure the first one listed is a whole grain. Some whole grains include whole wheat (it must contain the word whole-unbleached wheat flour and cracked wheat don't count), whole cornmeal, and even popcorn.

- Look at the fiber content. There should be at least three grams of fiber in a slice of bread and five or more per serving of cereal.

You Are Not What You Eat

Photo by: thechubbybunny

You may be familia with the UK television programme "You Are What You Eat", which adviser participants that their health problems directly reflect the food they consume.

The basic idea is simple: if the person readjusts their habits and starts eating different foods, their problems can be reduced. However, there's a problem -eating healthier foods, may not be enough, because the body isn't always able to absorb all the nutrients they contain. When this is the case, you are not what you eat.

So, what affects the body's ability to absorb nutrients? Eating stuff like burnt or deep fried food cause toxic debris to collect along the intestinal walls. Futher malfunction of the intestine is caused by alcohol.

When these problems build up, they result in a lower absorption of nutrient from food consumed. Accumulation of toxic substances also leads to irritation and inflammation of the large intestine, thus increasing the risks of cancer.

Over-consumption of healthy foods can also affect the large intestine. Dairy products, sugar and fermented food promote yeast growth in the bowel, too much of which increases the debris in the intestinal wall, futher affecting its ability to absorb nutrients. The result is an increase in the level of allergic reactions to today's urban lifestyle.

The key to a healthier lifestyle then is to moderate your consumption of yeast-producing food and cut out toxic substances from your diet.

The Truth About Junk Food And The Effect On Your Health

Author by: Joseph Then

Photo by: .anja

Let's face it, junk food is, as the name suggest, just pure junk. While it tastes great, it has very little nutrition content and it will cause some health issues in the near future.
First, let me say that I am not advocating a total abstain of junk food but a moderation of it.
There are many people out there that are not thinking of their general health all the time when they are thinking of something to eat all the time. With all the fast food restaurants out there many do not think about exactly what they are eating all the time.

There is nothing wrong with eating at fast food restaurants but you really need to watch what you are eating all the time. If you were to think about it what you eat really reflects your general health all the time.

If you are one that eats a lot of junk food then you could be run down all the time and gaining weight on a regular basis. You may not notice it right away but your friends and family will see that you are not doing as well as you used to and that is because of the junk food that you are eating all the time.

If you have been told that you are looking real ragged then you are going to want to stop and look at what you are eating and doing in your life that would make you look ragged. Once you have accomplished and narrowed down a list of what may be making you look ragged then you are going to want to change some or all of your habits. When you make an effort of changing your habits then you are going to see that you are going to end up in better general health than what you were in before.

When you are in good general health you will notice that you are going to have more energy and be more alert to what you are doing and what is going on around you in the end. Your family and friend will also notice that you are doing better and even looking better in the end as well. That is because when you are in good general health you are going to end up showing it with everything that you do so that everyone will notice what you have accomplished in the end.

In conclusion, you should not be eating too much junk food. It does nothing but causing some negative health issues for you.

5 Tips To Avoid Eating Junk Food & Stay Healthy And Slim

Photo by: mauricesvay

What do you mean by junk foods?
These are foods which are low in nutrition but high in calories. They contain a high amount of fat, oil, salt or sugar. Examples can include too much chocolate or candies, potato chips, over-fried items etc.

Needless to say they can be bad for your weight loss efforts and even bad for health if you eat too much of these junk foods. For better health, we need to stay away from eating junk food as much as possible because they come with so many bad effects.

While it may not be so easy to completely cut down on eating junk food, we can certainly lessen our consumption with a little bit of determination. By lessening consumption of junk food we can also curb over-eating to a certain extent thereby helping in proper weight management.
Instead of eating junk food we can then develop the habit of eating healthier foods and eating food in moderate quantities. Below are some tips to help you stay away from eating junk foods.

How to Avoid Eating Junk Food? 5 Tips to Help You:
1. Don't buy junk food: Avoid buying junk food while shopping for your monthly or weekly grocery at the store. If you don't buy junk food then it can be easier to stay away from them.
Try to keep your fridge free from tons of junk and unhealthy or fattening foods. So sometimes even if you feel like having some junk snacks or gulping down a coke, you will not be able to do so because its not available now. You have to go out and buy it which may prevent you from giving in to the temptation.

2. Developing healthy eating habits early: If we can teach our children to eat healthy foods right from childhood, then they may grow up to become healthy eaters. They may be less prone to eat junk food later on in life.

And it is all the more important to teach children healthy eating habits because they are more likely to be attracted to junk food. So we may need to pay more attention in teaching them healthy eating habits.

Also as adults we need to lead by example. So we too will have an added incentive to stay away from junk foods because we don't want to set a bad example for our kids.

3. Educating yourself about junk food: Many people do not fully realize the negative effects of junk food not just for weight loss but also for the health in general. By fully educating yourself and others about the negative and bad effects of junk food, it can become relatively easier for us to stay away from them.

4. Keeping a food journal: This tip can be very handy to curb eating junk food and to curb overeating. Write down in a journal what you eat everyday - whether its healthy eating or bad eating, note everything down.

At the end of the day if you look at your journal you may be shocked to see your very own eating habits. If you keep doing this for few days you may realize how bad your eating habits really are and may find a new inner determination to overcome this bad habit at all costs!

5. Substitute healthy foods for junk foods: Write down the common junk foods you frequently consume like soft drinks, sweets, chips, fried and oily items etc. Next make a list of healthy foods that you can eat instead of the junk items. This list can include carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, fruit and vegetable juices etc.

Most of the times, we do not eat either for taste or due to hunger. We just want to munch on something which can lead to eating junk food. In such cases, we can munch on healthier and low calorie items like carrots, cabbage etc instead of eating junk food.

Replacing your junk food snacks with healthier options can be one great way to avoid eating junk food and staying healthy, lean and fit! With the help of the above tips you can overcome this bad habit and finally be able to say a firm no to junk foods!