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How Come We Are Getting Fatter?

All around the world, people are getting fatter and fatter. China, Japan and even Korea, who have never before had to worry about obesity, are now seeing the numbers on the scales rise higher and higher. It appears as if no one these days can escape the continuously expanding waistline. How come we are becoming so fat as a species? The answer lies in two words: poor nutrition. Based on the old adage “we are what we eat” it should be clear that our health and nutrition is severely compromised.Our ever-expanding girth should come as no surprise when fast food restaurants spring-up like weeds, individual serving sizes can feed at least two people and food quality has decreased. An answer does exist, though it can only be found by learning about proper nutrition.

Food Gives Us Energy

Today we keep our focus on food and it’s taste, as well as the quantity of it we eat, and we often overlook the basic fact that food is just our fuel. Food is what gives us the energy we all need to sustain us throughout the day. We develop fat when we give our body too much fuel. When taking fat into consideration, our body’s are merely acting as they were designed. It is not our body’s way of getting back at us or being spiteful. Aside from preventing starvation, fat basically provides heat to our body and insulation to our bones, internal organs and even to our muscles. When we eat too much, and we don’t burn off those calories with exercise or everyday activities, the excess gets turned into fat. With so much food we consume nowadays, our fat is increasing at a quickening pace.

Know Thy Enemy

Fat does not appear out of thin air, fat is something that we gain slowly over time if we are not cautious. They say that knowledge is power, but that is only true if you use it. Eating healthy, taking nutrition supplements and exercising is the best way to fight weight gain. Know your enemy and you will be able to vanquish them. Don’t stop gaining knowledge and use what you learn and you will be prosperous at whatever you do.

Tagged As: nutrition, nutrition supplements

The Benefits of Nutrition Antioxidants Found In Fruit and Vegetables

Although it has been known for a while that compounds in plants contain properties capable of protecting us from coronary conditions and cancer, it is only now becoming known just how extensive this ability may be. Nutrition antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables work together with other nutrients to protect your health. To date, scientists have managed to index over 900 hundred of these wonderful compounds but they believe that they are only just beginning and this could be the future of preventative health care in the world.

There has been a huge number of health benefits discovered so far from blueberries, pomegranates and cherries alone which can help reduce the signs of aging to relieving joint pain. Unrecognized for many years, the properties contained in the blueberry are only just now being appreciated with many antioxidant compounds contained in a fruit with very low sugar content.

Often the easiest way for people to take fruit is in juice form and it has been shown to benefit the immune system and help improve the circulation. Although they help to prevent disease, the powerful antioxidants contained in these fruits can also help fight disease and infections as well.

Apples are now coming under the spotlight as potential helpers in the struggle against heart illness. Even lemons and other citrus fruits are proving very capable at providing useful phytochemicals of their own.

The combination of phytonutrients in cherries is proving to have properties that can help sufferers of joint pain and fibromyalgia. The benefits of vitamins B, C, E and certain minerals as antioxidants are well studied and widely known.

Another antioxidant is resveratrol has many infection and viral prevention properties and is found in the likes of blackberries, mulberries but more highly in blueberries. These phytonutrients seem to benefit the elderly with many properties that help reduce conditions found in aging like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, blood pressure and stoke.

The benefit of tomatoes has been in the news recently with the hopes that it contains anti-cancer properties as well as those that can help prevent heart disease. There are a number of ways you can use tomatoes to gain the greatest benefit from them including pureed, juice concentrate and sauce.

Watermelons, recognized as a refreshing summer fruit also contain some of the most powerful phytonutrients yet found. The health benefits of plants are still in the early stages but why wait to appreciate the benefits this whole range of fruits can bring.

To get more info on healhy living visit Flax Oil Supplements

Tagged As: antioxidents, nutrients, nutrition antioxidants, phytonutrients

Food nutrition value

Reading and Understanding Food Nutrition Value

When you go to the supermarket to shop for food, odds are you noticed that there was a listing of nutrients and ingredients on the back of the food package and wondered exactly what the point of that was. It turns out that some time ago the United States government realized that people were eating improperly because they likely didn’t understand what exactly was in the food they were eating. Not knowing calories, fat contents and other nutrient values in food can lead to eating too much of a certain nutrient or other compound. This can lead to health problems down the road, which is why you have to understand food nutrition value.

What Food Nutrition Value Measures

Food nutrition value measures raw food nutrition, which is the amount of nutrients given to the body from a given serving of food. Nutritional value is measured in terms of a percentage, meaning how much of a mparticluar nutrient your body getws from eating one serving of a given food. For example a slie of meat might give 40% of a peson’s daily value for protein. The food nutrition value is based on a person’s daily calorie intake. Every nutrient except for water has a certain amount of calores per gram, and all these add up to a full day’s worth of calorie consumption. There are generally two listings on a food nutrition value – one for 2000 calories and one for 2500.

2000 calories per day is the average adult human intake, meaning that It takes into account base metabolic rate and a reasonable amount of extra activity. The more you exercise, the more calories will be necessary to keep the body running, because more muscle tissues use more calories. Generally, people who are more active require at least 2500 calories per day. Men require more than women on average as well.

The best way to make use of knowing food nutrition value on the packaging is to mentally calculate how much of that food you could eat to get your recommended daily allowance of the most abundant nutrient. For most people, they look at the fat content first, and this may or may not be the wisest. After all, there are other nutrients than fat. You should look at vitamin A and C content in fruit or vegetable products especially. As a rule, you should be able to eat three servings of a given food at least and still be wihin your allotment of nutrients and calories, and make sure there’s a balance between calories and nutrients.

Tagged As: calores, food nutrition value, food package, nutrients

Home-Cooked Food Is Good Food

Each day our lives get busier. We are always going from one place to the next for work or with our children. We have the temptation to stop at the closest fast food place rather than waiting to get home and make dinner. It is usually fast, cheap, there are many options to choose, and there can be found on virtually every street corner. Nevertheless, the next time you’re deciding on whether you should pick up something fast, think about how a home-cooked meal would be a better option for your family.

Fast food chains, in addition to other restaurant chains, become popular by offering the same or similar dishes at all their restaurants. That way no matter where you are or what location you go to eat, they will have your favorite dish. By doing this, they can keep customers coming back and you get what you want to eat.

A very big issue with these chains is the process they take to offer the same product at every restaurant. They accomplish this by mass producing food in. To help keep the food fresh and to make all of the food look and taste the same, the food is filled it with preservatives, coloring, and flavoring. The food is then frozen, sometimes for long periods of time.

The companies that produce fast food have intended it to be just that – fast. It’s also made to taste decent enough to get the person eating hooked and keep them coming back. Unsurprisingly, when the focus of the fast food chains are on speed and taste, the customer’s health is a low priority. Many fast food options are low in fiber and high in fat, calories, sugar, and salt.

In recent years lawsuits have caused fast food chains to offer more nourishing options, they are in general more costly and in spite of everything not incredibly healthy. For instance, while a salad may appear like an excellent choice, various salads at chain restaurants use cheese, bacon, high-fat dressing, croutons, and other unhealthy ingredients.

Bear in mind that just because you prepare a meal at home does not mean it’s not “fast food”. While prepared boxed or bagged meals are appealing because they are easy, several of them have identical problems as fast food restaurants. These types of foods have just as many preservatives, and can have the same amount of fat and calories, and just as low in nutrition.

If you’re looking for alternatives that you can quickly pull out of the freezer and warm up, why not prepare meals with the kids on the weekend and freeze your pre-cooked meals for later in the week? Additionally you can prepare pre-made lunches and snacks. If are going to use pre-packed food, attempt to use it in moderation and remember to read labels (ingredients lists too, not just fat and calories) to ensure you’re making the healthiest choice. While faster food may be convenient, taking time to make healthy home-made meals is well worth the effort.

For additional health tips and articles visit

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Also check out or health blogit is updated daily.

Tagged As: eating healthy, home cooked meal

5 to 10 a day – 10 ways to make it happen

You still may be working on your new year’s resolutions and with warmer weather on the horizon, we’re reminded of our goals to maintain a healthy weight and eat those 5-10 fruits and veggies every day. But if you’re wondering how on earth to get your 5-10 daily, here are some tips from Go South! chef Nicole Young:

1. Remember, serving sizes are small – 1/2 cup (125 mL) of chopped vegetables or fruit; or 1 cup (250 mL) of salad greens are all you need for one serving.

2. Add fruit to your morning cereal or oatmeal (i.e. strawberries or blueberries).

3. Make a fruit smoothie for breakfast or for a snack during the day.

4. Buy packaged ready-cut veggies or prepare them ahead of time for quick snacks (i.e. celery sticks, green pepper strips).

5. Snack on individually packaged fruit cups during the day. Choose fruit cups that are packed in their own juice.

6. Add a variety of vegetables (i.e. chopped spinach or green peppers) to your favourite tomato sauce.

7. Make sure the fruit juice you buy is 100% pure fruit juice.

8. Eat a 1/4 cup (50 mL) dried fruit as a snack.

9. Snack on veggies and dip and keep them handy for your kids.

10. Remember, variety helps. Visit the Go South Produce website for additional suggestions for using fresh produce from the Southern U.S.

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About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

Tagged As: 5 to 10 a day, Fruit, Vegetables

5 to 10 a day

The 5 to 10 a day website’s goal “is to reduce the risk of cancer and cardio-vascular disease, by encouraging Canadians to consume at least five servings of vegetables and fruit a day as part of a healthy diet (as described in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating), and as part of a healthy lifestyle. The aim of the campaign is not only to create awareness, but also to change people’s eating habits, within a healthy, active lifestyle.”

Sad Statistics: While 87% of Canadians know that eating vegetables and fruit can help prevent certain diseases, only 25% are eating the recommended 5-10 servings of vegetables and fruit each day, according to a survey conducted as part of the 5 to 10 a day healthy eating campaign.

I spent some time at their website today, and appreciated their easy to navigate, fact filled pages. They use a fruit/vegetable colour scheme to encourage variety (red, green,white/tan/brown, yellow/orange, and blue/purple) and include some tips on how to get your children to participate. There are articles, recipes, tips, and a “Did you know?” section.

I recommend that you visit this site and study its pages. You can find it at 5to10aday.com

p.s. Can you name at least 1 vegetable and 1 fruit from each of the 5 colours mentioned above? check your answers here.

Above article by Richard Killey

You should also visit this site for more “Did you know” tips.

Tagged As: Fruit, Vegetables

Nutrition Info on Menus

California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed Senate Bill 1420, authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), which will require restaurant chains with 20 or more locations in California to post nutrition information on menus and indoor menu boards by Jan. 1, 2011. This will affect over 17,000 restaurants statewide.

As of July 1, 2009, restaurants must provide brochures with either caloric content information or other nutritional information, such as grams of saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates and milligrams of sodium at the point of sale, including drive-thrus.

Tagged As: restaurants

Chlorella Can Give Your Body A Nutritional Boost

Each food we eat has a different, specific effect on the body.  Meat and fish are rich in protein and help to build the body’s muscle structure, while carbohydrate foods like bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta are rich in sugar and are instantly converted to energy and also stored for energy.  Vegetables and fruits have an abundant amount of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiver, and antioxidants that help other foods to do their jobs.  Because each food has its own role in the body, getting the correct amount of each food is vital. 

One doctor suggests that what and how much to eat should be determined by the number and shape of the teeth.  Since humans have four canine teeth for chewing meats, eight incisor teeth for vegetables and fruits, and 20 molar and pre-molar teeth for grinding staple foods, the ration should be meat one, vegetables two, and staple foods five for a well balanced ratio of eating.

However, today’s typical diet is far from being well-balanced.  Vegetables are usually what lack most in diets, which regulate the body.  Because of this, meat dishes and staple foods can’t do their jobs and instead, remain in the body as fat, making improperly metabolized food cause disease.  This unbalanced diet means that food becomes body fat and increased body fat causes hyperlipema, which clogs the blood with fat, but also raises the risk of diabetes, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis. 

Chlorella extract can be used to effectively supply the body with nutrients that are identical to vegetables.  With eating being one of life’s joys, it is only human instinct to want to eat a lot of delicious food.  This desire often influences our lives.  However, eating an unbalanced diet can increase excessive body fat, leading to a variety of diseases.  Along with balancing the diet, chlorella is able to cleanse the blood by eliminating the excess fat and making blood vessels more flexible.  This helps to lower cholesterol in the blood and liver.  Chlorella also has the ability to improve hypertension, improve diabetes, protect against arteriosclerosis, prevent stomach ulcers, and prevent anemia.

The human digestive system is responsible for taking in necessary nutrients for the maintenance of life.  The intestines can be considered the entrance to the body, where nutrients from food are absorbed.  However, intestines are also the entrance for toxins, which can lead to various diseases such as colon cancer, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, cystitis, poor skin, headaches, dizziness, stiff shoulders, stomachaches, insomnia, anorexia, hemorrhoids, allergies, and lowered immunity.  Some common toxins include dioxins, heavy metals, residual agricultural chemicals, food additives, and prescription drugs.  All of these materials are highly absorbable, highly residual in the body, and not easily detoxified by just the liver. 

It’s necessary to improve liver metabolism to detoxify and regulate the environment inside the body.  Chlorella is able to detoxify the body by boosting liver metabolism and detoxify the poisons that are highly residual and not able to be detoxified by the liver.  As a detoxifier, chlorella is responsible for the detoxification of PCBs, excretion of dioxin, detoxification of heavy metals, and improvement of constipation.  Have you had your chlorella today?

Tagged As: Boost Health, Boost Liver Function, Boost Nutrition, Chlorella Extract, Support Immune System

Air

Air is the most important need of our bodies. We can only last a few minutes without it.

What is air?

At the simplest level, here on planet earth, it is also known as the atmosphere and is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (1%), carbon dioxide (0.03%) and minute traces of neon, helium, methane, krypton, hydrogen, xenon, and ozone. The atmosphere protects earth’s life forms from harmful radiation and cosmic debris. The ozone layer also protects the earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

“Holes” in the ozone layer, first detected above Antarctica and the Arctic in the 1980s, have caused considerable alarm about the consequences of air pollution.

Oxygen is the most important part of air for us, as our bodies need it to create energy. It is also a constituent of many acids and of hydroxides, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils, alcohols, cellulose, and numerous other compounds such as the carbonates, chlorates, nitrates and nitrites, phosphates and phosphites, and sulphates and sulphites.

(NOTE: You may also be interested in the Home Air Purification for Health website)

Tagged As: air

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