Sunday, February 12, 2012

Health Food - Way of Living

Food is a necessary for health. Proper food is fit for health. Every person has own choice. Some people like pizza. Some people like burger. Some people like ice cream. But you can't use pizza, burger and ice cream all the times all the time. You also need fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of foods. Water is also very important for your body. Food, anything eaten to satisfy appetite and to meet physiological needs for growth, to maintain all body processes, and to supply energy to maintain body temperature and activity. Because foods differ markedly in the amount of the nutrients they contain, they are classified on the basis of their composition and the source from which they are derived.

In the United States, interest in health foods and nutrition began to increase during the 1970s, accompanying the environmental and organic farming movements. Since then, the demand for organic and natural foods has grown along with concerns about the potentially harmful effects of chemical food additives and the nutritive value of highly processed foods. Health food industry is on a high

Organic foods are more correctly termed organically grown foods. Although worldwide standards vary, organic foods are generally produced without the use of irradiation, growth hormones, antibiotics, or synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Organically grown foods are usually fertilized with manure and compost, and alternative methods are used to control pests and weeds. In the United States, concern about the labeling and certification of organic foods led to the 1990 Federal Organic Foods Production Act. In 2002 the National Organic Program was established to provide specific federal regulations governing the production, processing, and labeling of organic foods.

Research shows that organically grown food contains substantially higher levels of essential minerals when compared to conventionally grown health food. In addition, a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates that the cultivation practices used in organic farming may have other long-term benefits, including topsoil preservation, improved water quality, and healthy populations of insects that control destructive pests.

Although no official definition exists for the term natural foods, it generally refers to foods that have been subjected to minimal processing and contain no artificial additives or ingredients. Nutritionists often refer to these as whole foods. Refined and processed foods usually contain fewer nutrients than whole foods. Refining whole wheat flour into white flour, for example, can remove more than half of the vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Common natural foods include wheat germ, raw sugar, sulfured molasses, whole grain bread without preservatives, and granola.

Dietary supplements contain ingredients that add nutrients to an individual's diet. They include a wide range of products, from vitamins and minerals to herbs, amino acids, and enzymes. Dietary supplements are taken by mouth in a variety of forms, including tablets, capsules, liquids, and powders.

Health Foods With Harmful Ingredients

Sometimes we all probably feel like we are walking through a nutrition mine field. What one person or organization calls healthy is deemed unhealthy or even deadly by another. So what is a person to do when faced with the idea of trying to improve food choices in order to achieve a healthy fit body?

Luckily there are a few things that we are absolutely certain of and these things are the focus of this article. There are a lot of everyday, common foods and food storage items that most people don't give a second thought, but that in actuality could seriously affect their overall health and quality of life.

This first unhealthy substance isn't actually a food, but it is something we commonly store foods in. Even health food stores sometimes place their "healthy" food in containers made of this cancer-linked substance. In June 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report saying that styrene has a high probability of causing cancer. Now, given the fact that I've been in the fitness industry for quite some time, this is not news to me, but perhaps it is to you. Styrene is everywhere and it's a challenge to avoid it. Here are some very common products containing this potentially cancer-causing substance.

   1. Styrofoam cups and plates
   2. To-go boxes from restaurants
   3. Foam packing material
   4. Industrial emissions
   5. Second-hand cigarette smoke
   6. Floor waxes
   7. Paints and varnishes

Fortunately for us wisdom is power in this case. There are very simple alternatives to styrene these days and glass food and liquid containers are your best bet for ensuring the things you put in your body are not contaminated with unwanted and in some cases, deadly ingredients.

A second potentially harmful issue surrounds farm raised salmon (tilapia also). When we think of salmon we think of a beautiful vibrant fish leaping over small water falls in order to spawn, you know, just like we see on the Discovery Channel. Well, this isn't the reality for farm raised salmon. Instead envision tiny ponds densely packed with fish that have never felt a day of freedom. If this doesn't make you feel uneasy, the rest of the story will. Farm raised salmon are malnourished due to the fact that they are fed cheap sources of food in order to keep costs at a minimum. Feathers are a staple in the farm raised salmon's diet because it's a cheap source of protein. Because they are so poorly fed, their skin is a drab shade of gray. Since this wouldn't sell very well, these farm raised salmon are injected with the colorant Canthaxanthin in order to produce that healthy-looking pink color. Farmed salmon contain much higher levels of Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins that do their wild-caught cousins. Research has shown that even a small amount of these compounds may cause irreparable brain development damage in children. Moreover, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that ingesting more than a single serving of farm-raised salmon in a given week may cause a person to exceed the maximum intake level for these substances according to the World Health Organization. So many people eat salmon in an effort to be healthy and get those essential fatty acids found in this fish's oil. Unfortunately they are being deceived because not only do these fishes have lower quality oils than their wild-caught cousins, but they also have tissues (meat) fed with potentially harmful substances.

Here is a list of some of the substances farm-raised salmon ingest:

      Antibiotics Flesh dye (Canthaxanthin) Animal feces Blood meal Magnesium sulphate Bird feathers Animal bone meal Cane molasses Potassium iodide Sodium carbonate Soy Zinc oxide Di-calcium phosphate Yeast Copper carbonate Fowl organs Cobalt sulphate Cellulose

Unfortunately this story only gets worse but you get the picture. Farm-raised fish is a huge issue that has health conscious and environmentally conscious people up in arms over these practices.


Alternative Health - Food List to Help Type 2 Diabetics Have Lower Blood Sugar Levels!

Since a literal interpretation of diabetes is a dysfunction of the bodily process of distributing sugars through the body in order to fuel it's tissues and organs; it is only natural to wonder what kinds of food, if any, a type 2 diabetic should avoid.

The answer is that there are certain foods you should avoid completely, and others that you should eat only in small quantities... but these foods are not always the ones that you may have on your diabetic most wanted list.

1. Sugar, in its refined form, is the most obvious food to avoid since it converts readily into sugar... boosting, not giving lower blood sugar levels.

2. Dairy products should be limited, but not eliminated, because they contain many compounds that are essential for your health in ways unrelated to blood sugar levels, including calcium. Low-fat milk is the best dairy choice, with unsweetened yogurt a close second. High-fat milk, cream, and the like should be avoided unless nothing else is available.

3. Peanuts are surprisingly rich in carbs and can cause an unexpected increase in your blood sugar levels, unlike most other nuts which are beneficial for type 2 diabetics to eat. This is because peanuts are not actually nuts, meaning that their chemical makeup is quite different.

4. Light chocolates that are rich in sugar should be shunned completely, while dark chocolates with a high level of cocoa in them should be limited to the occasional treat.

5. Potatoes, refined grains, and sweets should all be avoided completely whenever possible... this includes white bread, pizza crust, and so on.

6. Starchy veggies like beets, carrots, beans, and peas should to be somewhat limited, but not completely eliminated from your diet if you want to eat them.

7. Interestingly, fruit juice is another dietary item that should be avoided either totally, or mostly, by type 2 diabetics. This is rather surprising at first, since fruit juice's health benefits are widely noted, and you have probably read numerous articles on the effectiveness of fruit juice in providing you with necessary minerals, vitamins, and so on. While it's true that fruit juice is generally healthy but, in the case of diabetes, it contains far too much simple sugar, oftentimes added high fructose corn syrup or HFCS, to be safe to drink... many more carbs than the fruits which from which the juice was extracted.

All of these recommendations, of course, are subject to individual factors and how much you have your blood sugar level in hand. If your blood sugar levels are controlled and you are easily able to keep them in a safe range, then you can occasionally treat yourself to a 'forbidden' food in a small or moderate serving size without much risk. However, if you have a hard time keeping lower blood sugar levels, then some of the foods listed here as being acceptable in limited quantities, may be enough to push your blood sugar levels over the edge.

But if you keep track of your blood sugar levels carefully, and experiment with each food before deciding how much of it to include in your diet, you will be able to balance your dietary wishes against the limitations of type 2 diabetes.

What's the Organic Food Industry Up To?

As people are becoming more health conscious, traditional ways of farming are being patronized by farmers as well as big corporations in order to meet the consumers' demands. This calls for farming practices that does not involve genetically enhanced crops and livestock, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Indeed, the organic food industry is experiencing a growth compared to its genetically modified counterparts.

So, what's the big deal with the organic food industry? Some people say that it is no better than crops grown with artificial fertilizers and livestock feed with enriched ingredients. But what people need to know is that the organic food industry offers them with the safest and cheapest agricultural produce that will benefit every one's health.

The organic food industry is also regulated by the governments of the countries where they operate. They have to comply with the standards of the government because each country has their own parameters of when to consider food as "organic".

Here are some reasons why the industry should be recognized as the excellent provider of organic foods that are naturally grown.

• The organic industry does not use chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers pose a threat to people who eat plants treated with it. People can also ingest the harmful toxins in chemical fertilizers by eating crops which are artificially "fattened" by these fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers also exhaust the soil, draining its valuable nutrients. Instead, they use natural fertilizers such as animal manure and urea and decomposed plants. Such fertilizers are safe, and plants grown with natural fertilizers have more nutrients.

• As much as possible, the organic farmers avoid the use of pesticides. Pesticides can also be ingested by eating the crop sprayed with it. It can literally poison someone little by little.

• Mostly they let their animals graze the fields and pastures and eat grass instead of artificial feeds which are made of animal by-products. Livestock who eat their natural diet are healthier (and more nutritious). You can be also sure that they are free from harmful viruses and diseases like foot and mouth disease and mad cow disease. These animals are also free from growth hormones which alter their genes.

• Unlike processed meat, meat produced by the organic companies is free from additives, artificial coloring and extenders.

Here are some other benefits from the this growing industry.

• It promotes healthy diet and healthy living
• It helps maintain the balance in the ecosystem
• It uses soil in a way that its nutrients wouldn't be bleached out
• Organic farms also uses less energy and produces less waste, meaning it is energy efficient and cleaner than conventional farming
• It promotes concern for the environment

This industry could be considered as one of the fastest growing industries nowadays. It can really help us attain a cleaner and greener environment and it also motivates us to eat healthy foods. What's not to like about the organic food industry?
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Is Soy That It Was Lead to Be?

Soy has many effects. If soy isn't organic, then most likely it is Genetically Modified, so it's important to only eat organic. But there are also other health concerns with soy.

Other studies have found that eating soy:

- Increases the risk of breast cancer in women

- Causes brain damage in both men and women

- Causes abnormalities in infants

- Contributes to thyroid disorders because it's high in isoflavones

- Causes food allergies

- Weakens the immune system

- Causes kidney stones

- Is linked to malnutrition

- Causes digestive stress

- Causes cognitive decline

- Increases the risk of reproductive disorders and infertility

Soy contains phytoestrogens that mimic the effect of the female hormone estrogen. Drinking 2 glasses of soy a day can alter a women's menstrual cycle. With infants on a soy infant formula it can be equivalent to that child receiving five birth control pills worth of estrogen every day. Soy products that are OK are the ones that are properly fermented such as natto, miso and tempeh; it's the unfermented soy products that aren't good. I've struggled with this one myself because I don't like milk. I do like buffalo milk and goats but I can't get organic near me and quite frankly I have tried all other alternatives such as oat and rice milk and I too wonder what new research is going to come out about those milks as soy was once believed to be the wonder milk. The only time I have a milk product is with my quinoa porridge which I eat about 2-3 times a week, so what I do is mix it up. One week I'll have soy and then other weeks I'll have something different, that way I won't be having a lot of it. What's important is that you don't have much. Children shouldn't have it and young women wanting to get pregnant should avoid it.
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Why Choose Health Food Quick Weight Loss Diets

With health food quick weight loss diets, you can lose those pounds you have wanted off quickly and healthily. Many of us have decided that we should lose a couple of pounds, either to be more healthy or to simply feel better about ourselves and how we look. We might have searched to try and find one of the many different ways to lose weight that are our there but have had no luck. If that is the case, then perhaps health food quick weight loss diets are for you.

While there are many different types of diets out there, some of them can be unhealthy for you, causing you to become weak and unable to perform your normal duties during the course of the diet. This can be quite an inconvenience to some who are struggling to lose weight. If you have been there, you might have found yourself trying to make time for friends and family, but simply feeling tired and exhausted all of the day. Eventually, it can get to you.

When your body tries to make do with less than it is able to, it can become weak and may make you more likely to become sick or get hurt. This can be very dangerous, especially if you continue to try to do the things you normally do. You might end up fainting or hurting yourself, which can be very dangerous if you are in a situation where you are alone. This makes these unhealthy diets very bad for you. With health food quick weight loss diets, you are able to lose the weight you want without having to risk these dangerous situation.

Health food quick weight loss diets work by providing you with healthy food, in healthy quantities, helping to ensure that your body gets all that it needs without providing you with excessive amounts of fats and calories that can make you gain weight. These diets help to ensure you maintain a healthy balance between the good and the bad while you are trying to lose weight to reach your ideal size. There are many advantages to these diets as opposed to other, possibly risky, diets.

If you are looking for a dieting plan that can help you lose weight and have been unable to find one that lets you keep your energy and strength up all while you are losing those pounds you wanted off, then these diets are right for you. In order to find the right one for you specifically, try searching online for health food quick weight loss diets. You will be able to find quite a few different ones and will be able to search through them to find the diet for you. Remember, nobody knows what you want and need better than you know yourself, so when searching for the diet, try to find the health food quick weight loss diets that fit your needs, not someone else's.
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Kale Chips Are the Newest Health Food Craze

Raw dehydrated kale chips....... are they as good for you as they say? The answer is "absolutely"! Let's start with talking about kale. Kale is, pound for pound, calorie for calorie, the most nutrient dense vegetable on the planet.

Dr. Oz has called it a "super food" and Whole Foods Market boasts that kale is at the top of their Andes Scale. A scale which ranks vegetables on their nutrient profile. Kale is high in calcium, vitamin A, C, K, lutein, and iron. It is also rich in sulfur which helps the body perform many of its functions and reported to help fight cancer.

Why raw and dehydrated? Food that is labeled "raw" must be dehydrated at a temperature under 118 degrees. This low temperature allows the food to keep it's precious enzymes and nutrients which are usually lost during traditional cooking methods. The enzymes then are able make these nutrients more bio-available. That's just a fancy way of saying that the nutrients are easy to assimilate and use.

Raw kale chips are becoming more and more popular and easier to find online and in stores. There are several flavors out there and I've found one of my favorites to be the vegan cheese flavor. It is made without any cheese, but tastes just like cheese. There is some combination of sesame tahini, red bell pepper and magic that makes these gluten free treats tastes absolutely yummy. You can put them on soups and salads or even mashed potatoes. For a sweet tooth there is a maple coconut flavor. Sounds unusual, but it's really good. Somehow the flavors work together and I'm even able to convince my friend's four year old to eat them.

Everyone loves to snack and snacking in a healthy way would be the best option. Raw kale chips allow for snacking while doing your health a favor.