Cause and Effect - Diet and Nutrition

Cause and effect

For the most part here in America we have the same diet we did 100 years ago. We consume the same amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein, etc. The main difference between now and then is 100 years ago you didn't just hop in your car and run to the Mc Donald's drive-thru. As a matter of fact getting any where required a lot of work 100 years ago. Feeding and brushing your horse before you saddle it, then hooking it up the wagon. And before you even leave for the day you had to milk the cows and collect eggs from the chickens. I won't go into much more detail but what I am trying to explain is that the trivial things we do daily would have burned hundreds or thousands of calories daily back then yet, our diet and appetite are basically the same.

We consume large amounts of white flour. It is in everything from bread and crackers to pasta and cereal. It converts to energy immediately in the body and if not used it gets stored on as fat. This worked out 100 years ago but now after we eat our eggs and toast for breakfast, there are no cows to milk (for most of us) no horses to saddle up and we don't need to go out and collect the eggs to begin with. After we eat our eggs and toast, most of us take less than fifty steps to our car where we just sit there until we get to work. After we are at work, the majority of us either sit all day or stand in one place all day; yet we consume the same amount of calories we did back then. Do you think there was any need to exercise back then? Not when your regular daily duties included chopping wood for hours or bailing hay with your bare hands for most of the day.

The few Americans that are in shape today are those who exercise to make up for the excess of calories. Is it a sacrifice to take a little time out of the day to actually get some exercise? I don't think so, especially when we get done with a long hard day of sitting we come home to sit some more while we watch TV.

The cause of eating way too many calories leads to the effect of being over-weight. Being over-weight leads to varies health problems. The cause of having health problems leads to the effect of a shorter life. Does this make sense to anyone?

-Brendan
http://www.powerofpositivemind.com

Proper Vitamins and Minerals Nutrition

Vitamins and minerals have all the necessary nutrients that are essential for our body to remain healthy and fit. Any deficiency in this nutrition can weaken our immune system, thereby leading to various diseases. Let us take a look at what steps one has to take to maintain proper level of vitamins and minerals nutrition in the body.

If you want to get the nutritional benefit of almost all the vitamins and minerals, then you have to make your diet more varied. The vitamins important for our physical well being include Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. The main minerals that one will need for a healthy life include calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and sodium.

Proper vitamins and minerals nutrition will enable your body fight against various diseases like osteoporosis, hemoglobin deficiency, various eye diseases, diarrhea, and anemia. That is why you need to ensure that your meals are well balanced and enriched with vitamins and minerals.

Pregnant women and infants need these nutrients more than anyone else. Proper vitamins and minerals nutrition help in the growth of children. Make sure a child gets food high in Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and calcium. In case a pregnant woman does not get enough nutrients, the newborn might face life risk because it will be too weak. A pregnant woman must get folic acids or Vitamin B9 in addition to other vitamins and minerals.

With proper vitamins and minerals nutrition, one can live a healthy life. It will also prevent deaths due to malnutrition.

Grace Leer has written some successful e-books about proper vitamins and minerals nutrition.

Fun Nutrition Facts

Nutrition is one of the most important issues in life, but for most people it is also one of the most dull and confusing. All that talk of calories, proteins, antioxidants, and vitamins just tends to make most people's eyes glaze over in disinterest. Even people who are in the process of dieting to lose weight often find nutrition facts to be something of less interest than the overall number of calories that they consume - a fact that leads so many people to fail in their efforts to lose weight. Nutrition facts need not be the unwanted guest at the party, however. To prove it, here are some fun nutrition facts that you may not have heard.

Four quick Facts: the colors we eat

One example of these nutrition facts is that red is apparently an important color in our diets - since research indicates that naturally red foods seem to contain high levels of antioxidants. These include strawberries, tomatoes, and even red wine! You need these antioxidants to maintain healthy cells and prevent disease. Another of these fun facts concerns the color orange. Just take a look at carrots, which were first cultivated for their medicinal uses and have in recent times been proven to not only improve the health of your eye tissues but your night vision as well. Orange is also the color of pumpkins, which are a rich source of antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin A.

Color also plays a role in the fast food that we eat. Studies have revealed that warm colors like red, orange, and yellow seem to cause us to be hungrier. Can you think of any restaurants that use those colors in their logos and building designs?

Four more facts about food

Of course, nutrition facts aren't all about color relationships. Some are about things you wouldn't expect to hear. Take, for example, broccoli and apples. Did you know that it takes more than 200 apples to equal the amount of vitamin C present in a third of a pound of broccoli? How about nutrition facts like the average human being annually consumes a weight of food equal to the weight of a full grown grizzly bear - nearly 1500 pounds! Are you aware that the stomach requires 3 hours of work to digest every meal?

Then, of course, there are nutrition facts that defy myths - like the fact that frozen vegetables can actually be healthier for you than so-called fresh produce, since vegetables lose their nutrients as they wait to be eaten and freezing your vegetables stops that process.

Two for the road

If you're dieting, consider using applesauce in baked products to reduce your caloric intake. It's an excellent replacement for butter. Another of these nutrition facts that we should all know has to do with food allergies. The most common of these allergens are also some of the most commonly eaten foods: eggs, milk, peanuts, wheat, fish, and various nuts from trees. Now those are some nutrition facts that can liven up any conversation about food!

Christine Crotts loves to cook in her kitchen with a crowd seated around the kitchen island. Christine has written a site with reviews of custom kitchen islands, as well as a review of butcher block islands.

Nutrition For Natural Stress Relief

We’ve all had stress at one point in our life or another. There are some types of stress that are healthy and beneficial to life. Unfortunately, the majority of the stress we encounter in today’s world is destructive and may even help to shorten our lives.

According to a study done at Duke University’s Medical center and reported to the American Journal of Cardiology, a link can be found between an “aggressive” personality and the likelihood of death in people younger than age 61 who currently have heart disease. If you can’t find a way of managing stress properly, it will help to kill you.

There are several tools available nutritionally for stress management. Some vitamin supplements give natural stress relief and bring body balance when stress saps your energy. Some natural sources for managing stress are foods, herbs, and some from nutritional supplements.

Stress Management with Food

When thinking of managing stress in the body and food sources, the key is maintaining a balance between the many chemicals within the body that control mood.

Serotonin is a chemical released within the body that works to control mood.

Overall, when stressed, depending on what your activity level it can be a good idea to eat a diet rich in complex carbohydrates. These help to release serotonin into the body and elevate mood. Some good food sources of complex carbohydrates include broccoli, potatoes, squash, and brown rice.

In addition, you should likely look to increase your consumption of B vitamins in food as the B vitamins are essential in stress management. Foods high in B vitamins include asparagus, beets, soybeans and spinach.

Finally, including tryptophan in the diet is important in maintaining a balance of serotonin levels in the body and stress management. Foods rich in tryptophan include poultry (chicken, turkey, etc.), eggs and nuts

For more information on foods rich in stress reduction properties, visit the food and stress page at [http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hk/remedies/disp/1],1459,516,00.html – Whole Health MD.com

Natural Stress Relief with herbs

One of the biggest “stars” of the herb world relative to stress management has become St. John’s Wort. St. John’s Wort has been shown to be effective in treating mild to moderate depression in clinical trials conducted in Europe.

St. John’s Wort acts much the same as some medicinal serotonin inhibitors such as Prozac. St. John’s Wort helps to balance serotonin levels in the body. This leads to an overall elevation in mood.

The biggest concern about St. John’s Wort is its possible interaction with other drugs and/or supplements. The use of St. John’s Wort should be discussed with a physician or health professional before beginning a course of stress management therapy.

Another herbal remedy for natural stress relief is chamomile. Chamomile has a sweet apple-like fragrance-in fact, it’s name comes from the Greek kamai melon which translates to “ground apple”. Chamomile can be taken as a supplement but is likely a better tool for natural stress relief as a hot tea.

While the herb “kava-kava” has been promoted as a possible herbal remedy for natural stress relief, the U.S. FDA has issued a warning about the possible effects of this herb on the liver. Please read the article [http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/addskava.html] here.

Stress Reduction with natural supplements

When choosing natural supplements for managing stress, it’s a good idea to look at those natural supplements which directly combat stress.

The B-Complex of vitamins is a great place to start. All of the B-Complex of vitamins are important in managing stress and elevating mood. While you can take them individually for a variety of issues, for managing stress, it’s beneficial to take a B-Complex tablet which includes all of the vitamins in the B-Complex.

In general, natural stress relief is possible in many ways by the foods we eat, by herbal remedies and even by natural supplements. By learning how to properly incorporate natural stress relief elements into our diet, we can achieve stress reduction and live a happier life.

This has been a short overview of a few methods to use for managing stress naturally and nutritionally. For more information, please visit the reference sources listed below.

References

Chamomile: Herb Profile and Information - http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/chammo49.html

UK Health And Nutrition Information – Depression
[http://www.healthandnutrition.co.uk/articles/depression.htm]

St. Johns Wort (Hypericum perforatum) and the Treatment of Depression
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/

Stress Management, Diet, Food and Stress-Controlling Stress by Diet, Food, Nutrition
http://www.holistic-online.com/stress/stress_diet.htm

Hostility may speed death from heart disease
http://www.somersetmedicalcenter.com/115569.cfm

Ben Douglas is the webmaster for VitaminFan.com. VitaminFan.com is an internet portal with independant information and resources on vitamins, nutrition and overall health. VitaminFan.com is a site by vitamin "laypeople" specifically geared to the needs of nutrition consumers. Please visit VitaminFan.com at http://www.vitaminfan.com.

Good Nutrition For Alzheimer's Patients

Alzheimers! This is a word that no one wants to hear in a diagnosis. Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative condition that is progressive, causing the loss of many functions in elderly people, including memory. Often, it is the short-term memory that is affected, and often, patients will relive memories of their distant pasts.

Millions of Americans are affected by Alzheimer's, and in addition to affecting the memory, this devastating condition also affects the physical and emotional functions as well. Many Alzheimer's patients inherited their condition through a faulty gene, but there are a number of theories as to how and why Alzheimer's starts in many patients.

Progressively, Alzheimer's patients will experience memory loss, the inability to communicate and even the inability to perform simple daily tasks that were once commonplace for the patient. In most cases, patients with Alzheimer's are over the age of 65, but there have been a number of reported cases of patients being much younger. Unfortunately, there is no test for Alzheimer's disease, but a CAT scan or MRI can diagnose Alzheimer's, or at least rule out other causes of dementia. Following stroke, heart disease and cancer, Alzheimer's is the fourth leading cause of death in the elderly.

Signs of Alzheimer's Disease

There are many theories about the mysterious Alzheimer's disease, one being that it is caused by a faulty enzyme related to neuron activity in the brain. The pattern of decline is the same in all Alzheimer's patients, but the rate and level of impairment varies from patient to patient.

Noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer's disease can include an abnormal loss of memory as well as confusion. Many patients will begin to forget things, such as the names of loved ones, dates, places, etc. They may begin to forget simple things, like the names of many items that they use every day. Often, Alzheimer's patients become nasty when they were once loving and kind and have been known to become violent as well.

Many Alzheimer's patients, when they become confused, look for a means to escape their confusion. Therefore, these patients must be watched at all times. All too often, Alzheimer's patients have been picked up by police officers as they are wandering around the streets, confused and scared. In time, it will be necessary for most Alzheimer's patients to move to a facility where they can receive around-the-clock care and attention.

Life Expectancy of Alzheimer's Patients

Unfortunately, physicians are unable to correctly predict the life expectancy of Alzheimer's patients because the disease, as mentioned above, has the same level of decline but every patient has different symptoms and their conditions degenerate at different rates. Early on in the disease, patients will start experiencing confusion and memory loss, which will increase over time.

The second stage of Alzheimer's may not be reached by the patient for a number of years, and once the disease is into the third stage, decline is rapid. This is when the patient is no longer able to care for themselves, including eating and even getting dressed. Other illnesses can develop at this time as well as an increased rate of bone breakage, particularly in the hips. At this stage of the disease, the patient is usually bed-ridden and may even need to be tube-fed.

The Free Radical Damage Theory

Some researchers theorize that Alzheimer's may be the result of damage caused by free radicals concentrated in the brain. These are found naturally in our bodies, and can cause damage by stealing electrons from healthy cells to use themselves. Free radicals can be found throughout the body, and there are a number of environmental factors that are known to increase the presence of free radicals in the body, including pollution, alcohol, smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke.

Nutrition's Role in Alzheimer's Treatment

Factors that contribute to free radical damage include too much sun exposure and having a poor diet. In order to prevent, or treat, Alzheimer's disease, everyone needs to follow a healthy diet plan that is rich in the proper vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Vitamin E is important, but because it can be dangerous when taken in high doses, it should only be taken on the advice of a physician. Vitamin E can also have adverse effects on other medications. Thiamin is also beneficial and may help in memory improvement. Again, this should only be used under a physician's care, because large doses can cause cases of mild nausea. Another important nutrient that is necessary for all diets, especially for Alzheimer's patients, is protein.

Protein for Alzheimer's Patients

Protein is a macronutrient that is necessary in order for survival. Of course, one of the problems associated with Alzheimer's disease is a loss of appetite and difficulty eating, and this can cause patients to not get the nutrients they so desperately need, including protein. But they need to digest the right proteins. There is a blood protein, ApoE, which transports cholesterol throughout the bloodstream, which, in Alzheimer's patients, deposits extra amyloid plaque compounds in the brain. It may also cause these compounds to harden as well. People who test positive for the ApoE-4 gene are eight times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people with the ApoE-2 or ApoE-3 genes.

Using Protein Supplements in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Patients

Because appetite and the ability to eat are affected by Alzheimer's disease, many people need to find other ways to get the nutrients that they need without resorting to being tube-fed. As we get older, we need more and more protein in our systems in order for our bodies to function properly, and if Alzheimer's patients are not getting the protein that they need from dietary sources, they may need to add protein supplements to their diets.

In addition to the many powdered and liquid protein supplements available on the market today. Supplements like this are great for Alzheimer's patients because they are usually small, so there is not a lot for them to have to drink and digest. Liquid supplements are ideal for Alzheimer's patients who are having difficulty swallowing solid foods.

About Protica Research

Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm specializing in the development of protein-rich, capsulized foods (dense nutrition in compact liquid and food forms). Protica manufactures Profect protein beverage, IsoMetric, Fruitasia and more than 100 other brands in its GMP-certified, 250,000 square foot facility.

You can learn more about Protica at http://www.protica.com

Copyright - Protica Research - http://www.protica.com

The Amazing Benefits of Spinach Nutrition

Spinach Nutrition

Everyone has heard good things about spinach nutrition, but not many people know about the specific healthy properties of spinach.

When one looks at the scientific evidence, it's easy to see that spinach deserves its reputation as health food par excellence.

In fact, when compared calorie for calorie to other vegetables, nothing is as nutrient dense as spinach.

Those who prize good health, therefore, should make sure to include spinach regularly in their diet.

Healthy Effects of Spinach

Spinach nutrition isn't just about the vitamins and minerals found within its leafy, green exterior. To be sure, it is loaded with such antioxidants as Vitamins A, C, E, K, B1, B6, minerals like potassium, calcium, zinc, and so much more.

But, more than this, the major healthy properties of spinach are attributed to special substances it contains. For example, research has shown that spinach is packed with over a dozen phytonutrients.

These phytonutrients are potent substances that have properties that can fight cancer. In fact, extracts of spinach used by researchers have reduced the occurrence of skin cancers on tested animals and lessened cell division in stomach cancer cells.

The incidence of breast cancer may also be cut with the consumption of spinach by women. For men, prostate cancer risk may be slashed because of a carotenoid substance spinach contains called neoxanthin.

Women who are worried about osteoporosis should consume spinach because it is a rich source of calcium and vitamin K.

For the millions of people who are concerned about cardiovascular health, the healthy effects of spinach are promising due to its free radical fighting antioxidants.

More and more, a substance called homocysteine is believed to be just as an important marker of heart disease and high levels are also associated with elevated risks of stroke. However, one of the components of spinach nutrition is folate. Folate can help neutralize harmful homocysteine.

Do you suffer from arthritis? You'll be glad to know that one of the healthy properties of spinach is that it harbors anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Are you worried about macular degeneration and other common eye diseases people get as they age? Spinach has lutein, which is a nutrient that has been extensively shown in Government studies to protect against not only macular degeneration but also cataracts.

Spinach has a long history of providing good nutrition. History books reveal that it was consumed in China in the 7th century and, later, in Europe by royalty.

Preparing Spinach

To get optimal spinach nutrition, you should thoroughly wash it and eat it raw. It works well in salads. Many dishes are prepared on a bed of spinach. In culinary terms, this is referred to as "a la Florentine."

If you cook it, try to cook it lightly to preserve most of its beneficial spinach nutrition.

If you don't like the way it tastes, or can't seem to find enough time in your busy schedule to consistently eat spinach, you may want to do what I do and take it in capsule form in a whole food supplement.

Russell Cantwell is editor of http://www.whole-food-supplements-guide.com/ Visit us to learn more about spinach nutrition and to learn about whole food supplements that contain it.

Post-Exercise Nutrition

The importance of post workout nutrition cannot be undermined. In order to recover properly from your workouts your body needs essential nutrients to rebuild and re-energize. You've worked hard in the gym, or just completed your run, or just finished an intense game and don't want your sweat and effort to go unrewarded right? Well, the following information is essential in assuring you get the most from your training as well as helping your body recover as best it can.

It is important to realize that making poor food choices following exercise can not only reduce the benefits of exercise but it can also weaken your immune system, increase the likelihood of injury, cause hypoglycemia (drop in blood sugar) and reduce your energy and performance during subsequent exercise sessions.

Carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats all have an important role in the post exercise nutrition. While working out or exercising, your body mainly uses muscle glycogen and blood glucose as its main fuel sources. These glycogen and blood sugar levels can be severely depleted upon completion of an intense workout and must subsequently be replenished to ensure proper recovery.

Exercise, and specifically weight lifting, causes microtears in the muscle fibers (protein degradation). This is what causes muscle soreness but also what stimulates their recovery to a stronger state than before. Since muscles are made up of protein, post-workout protein consumption is important to foster quick and full regeneration.

I also highly recommend adding essential fatty acids for the role they play in reducing inflammation, supporting the immune system, and building healthy cell membranes.

Another component I recommend adding to a post-exercise smoothie is Maca. Maca is an ancient Peruvian root vegetable that has tremendous adrenal supporting benefits. Considering that intense exercise places significant stress on the adrenal glands, maca can play a noteworthy role in helping your body come back to balance and reduce its stress load. Maca powder is the easiest form to use.

After your exercise session, fuel replenishment (glycogen stores), muscle regeneration, and rehydration (discussed later) are your three main goals. As such, food choices that stimulate the release of insulin (ie. sugars) will cause the most effective uptake of carbohydrates into the muscles. This increase in insulin levels due to consuming carbohydrates after exercise also increases muscle repair because insulin stimulates muscle protein synthesis. High quality protein and essential fatty acids will foster proper recovery of muscle tissue and other cellular damage, respectively.

The quicker you can get the proper nutrients into your body after your workout, the more effective your recovery will be. And just to reiterate, by ensuring that nutrients come from plant-based whole foods, you will greatly assist your recovery. One study out of Denmark showed that a vegetarian group of athletes recovered in 1/5 of the time it took the "meat-eating" athletes. Something to consider the next time you reach for that steak!

The ideal is to consume a quickly absorbable (high glycemic index) form of carbohydrates within 15 minutes of your workout's end. This can take the form of a sport drink, fruit juice, fruit, or the sport gels and puddings. After this initial glucose-rich drink/snack, you can have a more substantial smoothie that balances carbohydrate-rich foods with high quality alkalizing proteins (hemp or whey) and essential fatty acids.

Whey protein has been found to stimulate the release of insulin. Therefore, it would be an effective protein to consume after an exercise bout as the extra boost of insulin will help drive nutrients into the muscle cells. Whey protein is also a very high-quality protein that would help muscles recover more quickly. You can throw in some Maca if you like as well.

After your smoothie, it is preferable to have a more balanced and substantial meal no later than 2 hours post workout. As with your smoothie, this meal should contain good sources of carbohydrates, proteins, and essential fatty acids. Remember that you want to choose whole living plant-based foods for they have tremendous life force, contain huge amounts of enzymes, and are mostly alkaline forming in the body.

Yuri Elkaim is the owner and founder of Total Wellness Consulting, a leading health, fitness, and wellness company offering health-conscious individuals the most innovative information, programs, and technologies to help reach their goals of physical and mental well being. He is a Certified Kinesiologist, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, former Professional Soccer Player, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the University of Toronto men's soccer program, and regarded by many as Canada's leading fitness expert.

For more information on Yuri and his nutrition expertise, please visit us at http://www.eatingforenergy.ca