Antioxidants: Eat All Your Colors!

by Roger | Mar 11, 2019 | Nutrition, Uncategorized

Antioxidants: Eat All Your Colors!

Antioxidants are all the rage today. And, justifiably so. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals which cause cell damage, which ultimately can lead to diseases of the heart and cancer. It seems everywhere you go its blueberry this and blueberry that. You have your choice of wild blueberry juice, blueberry-pomegranate juice, blueberry-cranberry juice and so on and so on. Remember, when trying to get your Antioxidants, eat all you colors.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love blueberries. But, in our rush to embrace the latest antioxidant food craze (blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates) we’re ignoring some very high-antioxidant foods that are probably sitting ignored in our cupboards.

“What?” You ask, “What could possibly be higher in antioxidants than my beloved wild blueberry?” Well, how about the small red bean? That’s right, I said “bean.” The small red bean actually has more antioxidants per serving size than the wild blueberry. And the red kidney bean and pinto bean have more antioxidants per serving size than a serving of cultivated blueberries.

What other foods are high in antioxidants? For starters, there are artichoke hearts, blackberries, prunes, pecans, spinach, kale, russet potatoes and plums. And, no, that’s not a mistake. Russet potatoes are on the list of foods high in antioxidants.

The truth is, there are many common foods high in antioxidants and you should not just restrict yourself to one particular food source. Why? Well, have you ever heard the expression, “eat your colors?” That refers to the fact that foods are in different color “families” containing different types of antioxidants which have different benefits. For example, the yellow-orange color family of peaches and nectarines help our immune systems. The purple-red color family of foods (pomegranates, plums, berries) helps reduce inflammation. It’s important to eat foods from all color groups to reap the full benefits of antioxidants.

The good news is that you can eat healthy foods high in antioxidants (by eating them raw, cooking them, or juicing them yourself) without having to pay a high price for the “flavor of the month” antioxidant juices being peddled in the supermarkets.

So, give your blueberries some company at the dinner table. Invite some beans, spinach, potatoes and artichoke hearts and enjoy your antioxidants!

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Eating And Exercise The Right Way

by Roger | Mar 4, 2019 | Health, Nutrition, Physical Fitness

Eating And Exercise The Right Way

Anytime you exercise, you do so in order to try and maintain good health. You also know that you have to eat as well, so your body will have the energy it needs to exercise and maintain for the everyday tasks of life. For making the best of your exercise, what you eat before and after you workout is very important.

No matter if you are going to be doing a cardio workout or a resistance workout, you should always make it a point to eat a balanced mix of protein and carbohydrates. What makes that determining percentage of carbs and protein you consume is whether or not you are doing cardio or resistance exercise and the intensity level that you plan to work at.

The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal is an hour before you start. If you plan to work at a low intensity level, you should keep your pre workout meal down to 200 calories or so. If you plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you will probably need your meal to be between 4,000 and 5,000 calories.

Those of you who are doing a cardio session will need to consume a mix of 2/3 carbs and 1/3 protein. Doing so will give you longer sustained energy from the extra carbs with enough protein to keep your muscle from breaking down while you exercise.

For resistance exercise, you'll need to eat a mix of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein, as this will help you get plenty of energy from the carbs to perform each set you do and the extra protein will help keep muscle breakdown to a minimum while you exercise.

Eating after you exercise is just as important as your pre workout meal. Anytime you exercise, whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy in the form of glycogen. The brain and central nervous system rely on glycogen as their main source of fuel, so if you don't replace it after you exercise, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert them into usable fuel for the brain and the central nervous system.

Keep in mind that mostly during resistance exercise, you'll break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears. What this means, is that after a workout, your muscles will instantly go into repair mode. Protein is the key here for muscle repair, as you don't want muscle breaking down even further to create fuel instead of lost glycogen.

Once you have finished a cardio session, you'll need to consume mainly carbohydrates, preferably those with high fiber. Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources. Also, try to consume 30 - 50 grams of there types of carbs after you exercise. After your cardio workout, it is fine to eat within 5 - 10 minutes.

Once you've finished a resistance workout, you will need to consume a combination of carbs and protein. Unlike cardio workouts, resistance workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears.

You'll need protein as this happens to build up and repair these tears so that the muscle can increase in size and strength. The carbs will not only replace the lost muscle glycogen, but will also help the protein get into muscle cells so it can synthesize into structural protein, or the muscle itself.

After your resistance exercise, you should wait up to 30 minutes before you eat, so that you won't take blood away from your muscles too fast. The blood in your muscles will help the repair process by removing the metabolic waste products.

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Healthy Weight Loss

by Roger | Feb 25, 2019 | Health, Nutrition, Physical Fitness, Uncategorized

Healthy Weight Loss

Weight loss should be taken as a long term program as the body takes time to lose weight in a natural way. Rapid weight loss gained with the consumption of weight loss diet pills and food supplements deprive you of the energy necessary for day to day metabolism. These supplements are also low on essential vitamins and mineral and hence affect your health drastically.

Sudden changes in your eating habits put a lot of stress on your liver. This may even make you sick sometimes. Healthy weight loss should ensure that as you lose your weight, your health is also improved. The reason for weight loss should not be merely improvement in looks but enhancement of your overall health.

Commitment, perseverance and patience are very necessary for a healthy weight loss. You should control your diet and exercise regularly till you achieve the goals set in your weight loss program. The motivation for a healthy weight loss should come from your own self and you should follow the weight loss program with dedication.

Exercise is an integral part of any weight loss program. You should exercise for 30 to 45 minutes daily. Be regular in your exercises as losing your rhythm is very easy. Once your make exercise a routine, you will like doing it. Also increase your daily activity levels from time to time. This may include parking your car a little far away when you go shopping, starting gardening, etc.

Healthy weight loss should involve a balance diet. You should consume less fats and more proteins and carbohydrates. You should eat more of fruits, vegetables, grains and starchy food. You diet should not contain only one food item. You should eat a variety of food items. A sound health is not about getting sufficient calories for body metabolism and is achieved by consuming various essential foods.

You can also consult a registered dietitian for weight loss. Dietitians are educated and trained in nutrition and will provide you information about different food items, their compositions, calorific values and their benefits. You should also read food labels to get a clearer understanding of what you are eating. Foods that are labeled 97 to 100 percent fat-free are good for healthy weight loss.

Make a slow start and let your body adjust to the new lifestyle. Do not haste and consume diet pills that may have side effects. You can also choose to make one to two changes in your habits every week. For example, in the first week, you can decide that you will not eat fried foods and walk daily during your lunch break. In the second week, you can stop eating fat rich dairy products and start jogging in the morning. Your body will get sufficient time to react to such changes and you will succeed in achieving healthy weight loss. You should not target weight loss of more than two pounds each week.

Some people also keep a record of their diet and exercise. Analyze your food habits and exercise levels every week and make necessary improvements in your weight loss program. Increase the quantity of healthy food items that your take and reduce the unhealthy ones every week.

You should also be regular in your meals and snacks. If you skip a meal, you will be hungry after a few hours and your body will demand high energy diet. You will be tempted to eat sugar-rich food such as pastry and chocolate.

If other members in your family also want to reduce weight, then the entire family can choose to eat healthy diet. This will reduce your access to fat rich stuff and fast food. With reduced access, you will be less tempted to eat these unhealthy foods.

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Elements of Good Nutrition

by Roger | Jan 28, 2019 | Health, Nutrition

Elements of Good Nutrition

With the amount of information that exists about good nutrition, you would think it was a big mystery. The truth of the matter is, there is no mystery involved in getting the proper nutrients that your body needs. Why should you care about getting the proper nutrients? Many people are under the misconception that eating healthy is for the young because they are growing.

Tissue and cells are constantly being renewed in both children and adults. The failure for these elements to repair themselves can result in diseases of lifelong misery or worse, death. To lower your risk of developing a disease, you simply need to follow three simple steps of good nutrition.

Proper Hydration
Plain and simple, your body needs water. Being properly hydrated will benefit you from head to toe. Water keeps your cells hydrated and flowing throughout your body. It doesn't take long to witness the benefits of drinking sufficient water. Just a week of being hydrated and your skin will have a new glow. If you need to lose weight, water can help you achieve your goal. In many instances, people misinterpret thirst for hunger. Unless it's been a few hours since you have eaten, have a glass of water the next time you have hunger panes.

There are numerous guidelines for how much water to drink. Consuming eight glasses of water each day is the most popular guideline. People have different needs. A better indication of how hydrated you are is your urine. When you are properly hydrated your urine is almost clear. There is the possibility of water intoxication so you don't want your urine to be completely colorless.

Eating Healthy
In addition to being hydrated, you need to eat a variety of foods. Forget fad diets that restrict certain foods. The key to healthy eating is to eat in moderation and variety. Your food choices should include a large percentage from complex carbohydrates, which is sufficient for energy. You should also consume several servings of fruits, vegetables, grains. You should limit your servings of protein and fats to two or three servings each day. By including all of these food groups in your diet, you are less likely to be hungry or have cravings for sweets and other non-nutritional foods.

Vitamin Supplementation
As long as you live in a country where food is plentiful and produced safely, you should have no problem obtaining the amount of vitamins and minerals your body needs. However, food allergies, dislikes, and illness may prevent you from eating certain foods. In these instances, supplementation should become a part of a plan for healthy nutrition. You don't need a prescription to purchase vitamins, but it is a good idea to discuss your particular needs with your medical doctor. Consuming excessive amounts of some vitamins can cause toxicity and unpleasant side effects.

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Healthy Aging Means to Take Care of You

by Roger | Jan 7, 2019 | Health, Nutrition, Physical Fitness

Healthy Aging Means to Take Care of You

The aging process is going by each and everyday of our lives. Stopping the clock is impossible so we all need to stay healthy and take care of ourselves. There is no way you can turn around the process, as we grow older so except it and take care.

Start working now to take care of yourself as you age. Taking care of yourself now will help slow down those aging diseases. A person can do many things, as they get older to take care of their health.

You can start out by taking your multivitamins and all other prescriptions your health care provider has prescribed to you. Taking vitamins is as important as anything else you can do is. Vitamins will provide your body with repair tools. Vitamins will lessen the dangers and the risk of you getting some of the chronic diseases that you can acquire as you age. Diet alone doesn’t normally give a person all the vitamins that they need. In fact, experts show that millions of people in the world suffer malnutrition despite the fact that they eat three healthy meals per day. People are known to eat too much fast food, go on fads or quick weight diets that harm the body. This builds stress, which causes loss of vitamins.

Maybe you’re a person who eats many processed foods because of your busy life style and there is just no time to cook the right meals. You could be one that stops off at a fast food place to eat three or four times a week before going to work or home from work because you are just too tired to fix supper. Remember eating all that fast food isn’t good for the digestive system and all that fat from them fries isn’t good. Take time to fix a meal and sit down to enjoy it; doing this will cut down on the calorie intake and it helps to relieve stress because your doing something good for you and or your family.

Stop worrying about everyone else; take time out for you. Stress is bad for your heart, which affects your blood pressure, nervous system, and is hard in general on your body. Stress can cause many things, even causing a person to become obese. The world is turning at such a fast pace these days that there is never time to take care of us, so start now.

Try doing a little exercise to stay healthy as you age. Every little bit of exercise you do is better than not any at all. An average person should exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. A person has many options when it comes to exercise. Walking is a great exercise, since it helps you keep those muscles more flexibly and stronger.

How happiness makes you live a longer life:
Happiness is another way to stay healthy as you age. If you are not happy find out why and turn it around so you will be. Being happy and being with friends is always a good way to keep the stress away to. Don’t let yourself get depressed and down; it will make your aging come upon you sooner than you want and it can cause you to be a very sick person. Depression is a sickness and you want to stay away from all that.

Again, there is no way you can stop from aging so stay in good health and slow it down. Keep yourself happy, do those exercises and take those vitamins. Staying active helps keeps the stress down, keep you stronger and you’ll feel better for doing it.

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Find the Right New Year’s Resolution

by Roger | Dec 31, 2018 | Health, Nutrition, Physical Fitness

Find the Right New Year’s Resolution

Five easy resolutions to make you lean in 2019!

Yep, it is that time of year again! Time to moan and groan about the weight we gained over the holidays as we resolve to lose it all in the New Year! If memories of failed New Year’s resolutions are haunting you, it is time you found the right resolution for 2019.

The reason that most New Year’s Resolutions fail is that they are too extreme or time consuming. Who is really going to give up all sweets or stick to sweating in the gym for hours each day? What you need this year is a New Year’s Resolution that is simple enough to become a part of your daily life, and will lead to long term weight loss. Read on for five simple yet effective New Year’s Resolutions for you to choose from.

Resolution #1: Drink a large glass of water before each meal.
This simple action will save you mountains of calories in the coming year! By filling your stomach with water right before you eat you reduce your chances of overeating during the meal. Drinking more water is also healthy for all of your body functions, including converting body fat into usable energy.

Resolution #2: Wait 20 minutes before deciding on seconds.
Do you remember the last time you were uncomfortably full after a meal? Chances are that you were hungry and, rather than stopping when you were satisfied, you overate. In the same way that your body tells you when you are hungry, it also has a way of telling you when you are full. The catch is that it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message from your stomach that you have eaten enough. What you eat during that 20 minutes is extra food that your body doesn’t need. Next time that you are in the middle of a meal contemplating getting yourself seconds, allow 20 minutes to pass before you decided if you still need the extra food. Chances are that your brain will get the “full” message and you will pass on the extra calories!

Resolution #3: Walk or Jog in the morning.
Did you know that going on a 15 minutes walk right after waking contributes to weight loss? Getting out of bed 15 minutes earlier, lacing up your tennis shoes, and simply walking around the block will lead to fat burn and lost pounds! When you get up and move first thing in the morning, before breakfast, your body is more likely to used stored fat as energy. Weight loss is supposed to be harder than this, right?

Resolution #4: Obey the No Food Three Hours Before Bed Rule.
Eating a snack after dinner is a widely held habit. Although food always seems to taste better right before bed, it is also more prone to stick with you when eaten late at night. It has been proven that not eating three hours before bed reduces fat storage throughout the night. If you go to bed at 10pm, finish eating for the day no later than 7pm. Once you have made this a habit you will be ecstatic over the long-term weight loss!

Resolution #5: Spice up you Workouts with Circuit Training
Are your workouts consisting of the same exercises in the same order at the same weight? If you find yourself falling into a rut at the gym give circuit training a try. Start by doing one set of your first exercise and then moving on to do one set of your second exercise. After you have done every exercise once, start again from the top! If you want to burn extra calories add 5 minutes on a bike between each set. Get creative and add new exercises into your circuits, and your workouts will be fun and energizing!

Now all you have to do is pick one of these New Year’s Resolutions, make it a part of your daily life, and watch as the pounds fall off in 2019! A very happy New Year everyone 🙂

Age is just a number

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