Perfect Health Tips » healthy eating

Keeping cholesterol in check: five foods to improve your numbers

admin — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:00:06 +0000

There are so many different factors that we hear about when we talk about our overall health. Weight is always a big factor. And then of course there is your blood pressure to consider. What about cholesterol? Everyone talks a lot about it and how it is definitely not a good thing if it is high, so what do you do if you go to the doctor and he or she informs you that your cholesterol is too high? There is no magic wand to fix it, no magic wand that will improve it overnight. The trick is in what you eat. And sometimes, in today’s world of fast paced, fast food eating, eating right can be more difficult than it sounds.

The good news is that there are five foods that are known to lower your cholesterol! Hooray. Sounds simple. All you need to do is incorporate these foods in your diet, eat healthy, and your cholesterol will start to drop.

1. Oatmeal and oat bran.
2. Walnuts and almonds
3. Fish and omega-3 fatty acids
4. Olive Oil
5. Foods fortified with plant sterols or stanols (margarines, orange juice, yogurt drinks, etc.)

Start with a breakfast of oatmeal and orange juice and you’ll be on the right track. Maybe sprinkle some walnuts in your oatmeal for texture! Good luck.

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Make your stomach happy – eat the right foods for optimal health

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:00:07 +0000

There is nothing worse then a stomachache - especially the ones that come from eating improperly. When those kinds of aches come you instantly regret making such poor choices in your consumption earlier. Because you know if you had made correct choices, you would be just fine. A lot of times our overall health is determined by our choices. So how do we keep our stomachs happy? We need to eat right.

Eating right is instrumental in establishing healthy bodies and at the same time reducing the risk of death, disability and disease. Often times, poor eating habits are picked up from childhood. We consume more fats, and not enough fruits and vegetables. Eating more fruits and vegetables gives our bodies the essential fiber and vitamins and minerals it needs to remain healthy. In addition to fruits and vegetables, we need to make sure we get enough calcium. We should also make sure to drink water and stay hydrated. It sounds simple and basic, but in doing so, we will definitely keep our bodies happy and healthy. When you eat the right foods, it can be extremely liberating for you and for your body. It is definitely a lifestyle to learn and implement.

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Vegetarian and Vegan diets: are they really safe for everyone?

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:00:17 +0000

In today’s society many people are doing a lot of different things to get thin. A few years ago everyone seemed to be doing Atkin’s. They were eating excessive amounts of protein and dropping pounds. What most people found was that the Atkin’s diet was a difficult lifestyle and once the normalcy in the diet returned so did the pounds.

Atkin’s may have lost some of its popularity, but other diets have surfaced. And there has been a surprising amount of popularity these days with vegetarian and vegan diets. Why are they so popular? Probably because almost everyone you meet who is vegetarian or vegan is slender, skinnier, slim, or whatever you prefer to call it.

So the question regarding these diets is, are they healthy? If you have a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle is it healthy for you to pass on this type of diet to your children? Experts are saying yes. These diets are apparently an excellent source of nutrition at all stages of life. Studies show that a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle/diet helps you to be healthier and also allows you to live longer. However, one thing to be sure of is if you are going to implement this diet, make sure you plan properly.

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Sensible Methods To Shed Pounds

admin — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:07:42 +0000

Eight Sensible Methods to Shed Off Those Pounds

Losing weight is really not as mind-boggling as you think. Here are eight simple and very easy ways on how you can shed off those unwanted pounds without going overdrive on the latest diet and exercise trends.

Learn about the Food Pyramid.

The food pyramid is a graphic representation of the food groups and the quantity or percentage of which that is needed by our body on a daily basis. If you are confused on how to balance your meals, you can always look at the food pyramid as your guide to healthy eating and living.

Go for grains!

Carbohydrates are the bodyGÇÖs main source of energy since they are the easiest to metabolize, making them readily available for the cells of the body. Instead of going zero on carbs, how about if you take in whole grain bread that is not only high in fiber, but is also a rich source of vitamins and minerals?

Glow your way back to health.

Did you know that there are essential vitamins and minerals that can only be made available for the body by taking in certain fruits and vegetables? Apart from the vitamins and minerals, this food group also has numerous antioxidant qualities that actually help the body fight aging and even certain cancers!

Be fat-choosy.

Not all fat is bad for the health. In fact, there is one type of cholesterol, called the HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) that actually does more good than harm to the body. This type of cholesterol actually carries cholesterol away from the bodyGÇÖs blood vessels to the liver where it is passed from the body.

Learn how to get the good fat going.

Believe it or not, these ways can actually boost your bodyGÇÖs HDL level: aerobic exercise, smoking cessation, cutting back on prepared foods that have partially hydrogenated oil on its label, lots of soluble fiber, and one to two drinks of alcohol per day even!

Lean back on salt.

Too much salt causes the body to retain water. Adding one plus one, you might as well add those same figures to the scale.

Curb that urge for inebriety.

Contrary to the notion that calories only come from food, drinks do contain calories as well. Alcohol is one of those few drinks that would fall under the category of empty calories.

You are what you eat GÇô and drink.

Choose what you drink as well. Mellow down on beverages that are processed, such as soda and the like. Go for fresh fruit juices and low fat milk instead.

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Healthy Choices

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:40:50 +0000

Ever since you were little you have probably been told it is important to eat healthy. The truth no matter how much you may not like it is that it is important to eat healthy and you should be eating healthy on a regular basis. The idea of health food has changed over the years. For instance there was a time when eating packaged foods or packaged juices was considered to be healthy. It was then learned that these foods contained high amounts of preservatives and sugars that were actually un-healthy and caused more harm than good. Companies would trick you by using the words "no trans fat" on their product that generally made you ignore the fact that there was actual fat in the product and a lot of it too.
Eating healthy is only effective if you know what is healthy first. This means picking out healthy foods instead of unhealthy foods. What ever you do you want to eat at least three times a day, diets that involved starving yourself were once to be seen as very healthy but today we know it is no. It is more effective to eat mini meals that include various nutrients. By eating mini meals you will be less prone to illness and ailments.

The first step you want to take to healthy eating is to include all kinds of different nutrients in you diet. You should know that different parts of your body need different nutrients. If you eliminated any given essential nutrient then your body would have problems and this could lead to serious health issues. This means that if you completely cut out fat or carbohydrates, essential nutrients, you will be risking your health. Of course it does not hurt to cut down on carbohydrates or fats. Just do not eliminate them altogether.

The first step to eating healthy should be to include all kinds of nutrients in your entire diet. It may be a good idea to reduce the quantity of nutrients that your body requires less of. These nutrients that your body requires less of include vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals. Carbohydrates are easy to reduce; your body needs them though so to reduce the intake of carbohydrates it might be a good idea to take in brown pasta and rice instead of white pasta and rice. The same story goes for fats; eating fish and nuts instead of eating things like butter and oil can reduce the intake of fats.

Eating healthy will promote a very healthy body with a maintained weight. It also helps to prevent against illness and ailments. Finally and most importantly it gives you an alert mind and body. By eating healthy you will not have to worry at all about putting on any weight nor will you have to worry about feeling not nourished enough. Eating healthy will for sure give you very healthy hair and skin that has a healthy glow to it. This is for sure to make you the envy of all of your friends.

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