Archive for Healthy Diet
Health benefits of nuts and seeds
Posted by: | CommentsFrom the Johns Hopkins University Medicine reports, the following is a summary on the benefits most informed “health nuts” (pun intended) already know. For those who don’t, its time to join the bandwagon.
Nuts contain monounsaturated fats, which help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol and may raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. Several major studies have found that eating nuts significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease — by 25–50% in both men and women. The Nurses’ Health Study, found that regularly eating nuts and peanut butter reduces the chance of developing type 2 diabetes by 21–27%.
Nuts are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other phytochemicals beneficial to your health. For example, walnuts contain a type of omega-3 fat similar to fish oil, and almonds contain calcium and vitamin E. Nuts are also excellent sources of protein and fiber.
Despite nuts and seeds being calorie dense (160–200 calories per oz), research shows that people who eat nuts tend to weigh less than those who don’t eat nuts. Possible explanations: Nut eaters may follow a healthier diet (lower in calories and saturated fat) than people who abstain from nuts, and those who are overweight may shun nuts because of their high-calorie content.
Because nuts are filling due to their high protein and fiber content, snacking on them tend to curb appetite afterwards and help decrease caloric intake naturally. Furthermore, because protein requires more energy to digest than fats or carbohydrates, more calories are used in the process.
I know some high-level vegan strength athletes who are serious eaters of nuts and seeds, using them as the mainstays to supply the extra calories and protein requirements that their gruelling training regimen requires.
So as not to overeat on nuts and seeds, I usually measure what I choose to eat, grind them on my coffee/spice grinder, and spread them over my salads or steamed vegetables, or mix them with my stews or soups. That way I don’t get tempted to eat the whole bag ! Remember, these are very high caloric foods, and should be approached carefully and mindfully.
Lose weight and save money by going veggie
Posted by: | CommentsHere are a few money saving tips from Scott McCreddie in MSN Money for people on a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian diet:
- If you include an occasional piece of flesh (of whatever kind) in your diet, try to limit yourself to four or five ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards.
- If you want to buy private life insurance, wait until you’ve been on a vegetarian diet long enough to improve your key health indicators (body mass index, cholesterol, etc.). It could save you thousands of dollars when an insurer reviews the results of your physical.
- Buy vegetable protein in bulk. Dried beans, rice, oatmeal and other similar commodities last a long time if properly stored, and they are far cheaper in larger quantities.
- If you get discouraged by the blandness of a vegetarian diet, buy cookbooks that explore Indian, Malaysian, Chinese or South American cuisines. Mixing novel spices and ingredients may perk up your taste buds and make the transition easier.
- If you can’t afford or prefer not to buy organic produce, remember that most experts think the nutritional benefits of eating conventionally grown fruits and vegetables outweigh the possible negative effects of pesticide residues.
Personally, I think that the best way to save money is to prepare the food yourself, cook in big batches (and prepare serving-size portions for meals later in the week), and avoid eating out. I think that eating out has become a stress management tool of some sort, something to reward ourselves for a hard day at work.
I used to spend a lot of money eating in restaurants, but as I became more serious in eating healthily, I found it increasingly difficult to go to places that were not only expensive, but also didn’t have the kind of food that I like to eat. If one is seriously pursuing a healthy “eating practice,” I think it’s quite difficult to find cheap restaurants that do not use a lot of fat, sugar and salt on their foods.
High nutrient breakfast
Posted by: | CommentsThis is my typical high nutrition breakfast nowadays:
100 grams or more of blueberry
1 whole peach, cut up into small pieces
12 grams flax seed (ground up in cofee grinder)
12 grams wheat germ
(optional: sometimes I add one more serving of fruit, e.g., a banana, a plum, other berries – depending on what I have in the kitchen)
Occasionally, depending on my appetite, I add a combination of ground up seeds (up to about 30 grams total) such as sunflower, chia, pepitas, and unhulled sesame seeds.
Weight loss diets and macronutrient composition
Posted by: | CommentsFrom Medscape:
The quick summary: “Dieters ate different amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrate — but, after 2 years, most were still obese.”
Here’s some more detail: “While weight-loss diets claim unique nutrient compositions that guarantee unusually rapid and effortless success, comparative studies — usually with small populations and short follow-ups — have yielded widely disparate results. Now, a large long-term multisite study suggests that all these diets result in similar outcomes.
Researchers randomized 811 overweight adults (81% white; 62% female; 69% college graduates; mean body-mass index, 33 kg/m2) to four restricted-calorie eating plans:
* High fat, high protein
* High fat, average protein
* Low fat, high protein
* Low fat, average protein
Carbohydrate intake ranged from 35% (in the first plan) to 65% (in the fourth) of total calories. All meals were prepared at home, and participants ate from a single menu with each dish’s components adjusted to reflect each diet’s emphasis; all participants were offered weight-loss counseling.
Changes in weight and waist circumference at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months were indistinguishable among groups: At 2 years, only about 15% of each group had lost at least 10% of body weight. Attendance at group counseling sessions strongly predicted successful weight loss. At 2 years, hunger and diet-satisfaction scores were all similar. Food diaries and urinary nitrogen analyses indicated that the actual nutrients consumed might have been more similar among groups than had been planned.”
I think that this situation is to be expected. Deprivation, as a general rule, is extremely hard to maintain over the long haul. It’s better to gradually change by learning how to eat plant-based, whole foods. Bottom line: its not the macro-nutrient balance that counts. It’s the micro-nutrients (and of course physical activity) that ultimately determine health and fitness.
Weight loss and raw food
Posted by: | CommentsHealth benefits of raw food
Posted by: | CommentsMore super foods
Posted by: | Comments…from Dr. Steven Pratt’s book, SuperFoods RX, Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life:
beans
blueberries
broccoli
oats
oranges
pumpkin
salmon
soy
spinach
Tea (green or black)
tomatoes
turkey
walnuts
yogurt
I personally would take out turkey and salmon (specifically, the farmed varieties) from the list, and replace them with kale, flax, sunflower seeds. Instead of yogurt, I’d put kefir in.
Benefits of fish oil
Posted by: | CommentsAdvice from the Mayo Clinic:
“For heart disease prevention, near-maximum benefit comes from eating two 3-ounce servings of cold water fish a week. More than that doesn’t appear to offer any additional preventive benefit. (It’s advisable to avoid farmed fish (e.g., farmed salmon) because of its inferior nutrients and potential chemical contamination. Wild salmon is always a better choice.)
Higher amounts of two kinds of omega-3, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), may benefit some people with established heart disease or high triglyceride levels and can have an anti-inflammatory effect for people with rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, DHA is being studied to see if it can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
For those who don’t eat fish, a fish oil supplement or an algae supplement can provide omega-3 fatty acids. However, supplements aren’t cheap, and the amount of DHA and EPA in supplements varies widely. Except for people who have established heart disease, the evidence of heart disease prevention is stronger when one eats fish instead of taking supplements. Supplements can pose risks, too. Taking more than 3 grams of fish oil a day may increase the risk of bleeding, worsen heart rhythm problems in those who have arrhythmias or cause other side effects.”
