Saturday, August 08, 2009
A healthy, balanced diet is key for weight management. In order to meet the body’s daily energy and nutritional needs while minimizing risk for chronic disease, it was recommended that we know the standardized terms and general guidelines
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans has been published jointly every 5 years since 1980 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Guidelines give science-based advice on food and physical activity choices for health. The 2005 edition of the Dietary Guidelines remain the current guidelines until the 2010 edition is released.
Many of us think we are doing okay, yet according to the USDA, 80 percent of Americans do not eat a healthy diet. Worse yet, only one percent of children are eating a healthy diet. Clearly, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet.
What we eat is a crucial part of staying healthy. Experts agree that healthy eating rather than restrictive dieting is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend choosing foods that limit the intake of added sugars; balancing caloric intake from foods and beverages with physical activity; and choosing and preparing foods and beverages with little added sugars or caloric sweeteners. Here the nutritional tips to consider for achieving a healthy body weight:
Eat at least three meals a day
Do not skip meals. Meals to keep your metabolism and energy level optimized.
Eat a variety of wholesome foods
This is the way to ensure you get the optimum amount of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals you need to support lifelong health.
Don’t eat the same foods over and over
By doing this we miss out on some of the nutrients provided by eating different foods
Limit your intake of saturated fats
Fat takes longer to metabolize and absorb, so the feeling of fullness is delayed, causing you to eat more.
Avoid too much sugar and sodium
Evidence suggests a positive association between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain, and that reduced intake of added sweeteners may be helpful in improving the quality of diets and in weight control.
Research suggesting that eating high amounts of sodium may contribute to the development of high blood pressure in certain people. Too much sodium also causes fluid retention, meaning it can contribute to water weight gain. Recommended intake of sodium is 1000-3000 mg/day.
Ensure adequate protein intake
Protein is essential for building and maintaining lean muscle mass. Without adequate protein intake, dieting and exercise can cause the body to burn muscle for fuel.
Drink sufficient amount water
Drink at least eight eight-ounce glasses of pure water daily. Water plays many vital roles in health. While you are losing weight, toxins stored in the fat tissue are released into your bloodstream. Drinking plenty of pure water makes it easier for your liver and kidneys to cope with the breakdown of toxins.
Water also works with fiber to keep your bowels regular and prevent constipation. Another reason is having a glass before and during meals can help fill you up and reduce the quantity of food consumed.
Following are some good idea to remember
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans has been published jointly every 5 years since 1980 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Guidelines give science-based advice on food and physical activity choices for health. The 2005 edition of the Dietary Guidelines remain the current guidelines until the 2010 edition is released.
Many of us think we are doing okay, yet according to the USDA, 80 percent of Americans do not eat a healthy diet. Worse yet, only one percent of children are eating a healthy diet. Clearly, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet.
What we eat is a crucial part of staying healthy. Experts agree that healthy eating rather than restrictive dieting is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend choosing foods that limit the intake of added sugars; balancing caloric intake from foods and beverages with physical activity; and choosing and preparing foods and beverages with little added sugars or caloric sweeteners. Here the nutritional tips to consider for achieving a healthy body weight:
Eat at least three meals a day
Do not skip meals. Meals to keep your metabolism and energy level optimized.
Eat a variety of wholesome foods
This is the way to ensure you get the optimum amount of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals you need to support lifelong health.
Don’t eat the same foods over and over
By doing this we miss out on some of the nutrients provided by eating different foods
Limit your intake of saturated fats
Fat takes longer to metabolize and absorb, so the feeling of fullness is delayed, causing you to eat more.
Avoid too much sugar and sodium
Evidence suggests a positive association between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain, and that reduced intake of added sweeteners may be helpful in improving the quality of diets and in weight control.
Research suggesting that eating high amounts of sodium may contribute to the development of high blood pressure in certain people. Too much sodium also causes fluid retention, meaning it can contribute to water weight gain. Recommended intake of sodium is 1000-3000 mg/day.
Ensure adequate protein intake
Protein is essential for building and maintaining lean muscle mass. Without adequate protein intake, dieting and exercise can cause the body to burn muscle for fuel.
Drink sufficient amount water
Drink at least eight eight-ounce glasses of pure water daily. Water plays many vital roles in health. While you are losing weight, toxins stored in the fat tissue are released into your bloodstream. Drinking plenty of pure water makes it easier for your liver and kidneys to cope with the breakdown of toxins.
Water also works with fiber to keep your bowels regular and prevent constipation. Another reason is having a glass before and during meals can help fill you up and reduce the quantity of food consumed.
Following are some good idea to remember
- Increase fiber in the diet
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
- Try to bake or broil instead of frying.
- Eat fruit or vegetables for a snack.
- Eat more lean chicken, fish, and beans for protein.
- Consider taking a well-balanced multivitamin/mineral formula.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
When people think of protein, many of them think of meat. Keep in mind that meat is just one source of protein. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often much, protein. Just be sure your intake of these is sufficient to help ensure an adequate protein intake.
You probably don't know what glutamic acid is, but it could help with lowering your blood pressure. A new study shows that an amino acid known as glutamic acid ( glutamic acid was the most common amino acid found in the study ), which is found in greater amounts in vegetable protein, is associated with lower blood pressure.
How Much Protein Is Too Much?
If you eat more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight. It doesn’t matter if the calories are protein, carbohydrates, or fat. Some Americans are obsessed with protein. Start out with a reasonable amount of food.
How much protein do we need? The RDA recommends that we take in 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram that we weigh (or about 0.36 grams of protein per pound that we weigh). This recommendation includes a generous safety factor for most people.
Add a wide variety of vegetables to your diet each day. This will ensure that you get all the amino acids needed for health.
You probably don't know what glutamic acid is, but it could help with lowering your blood pressure. A new study shows that an amino acid known as glutamic acid ( glutamic acid was the most common amino acid found in the study ), which is found in greater amounts in vegetable protein, is associated with lower blood pressure.
How Much Protein Is Too Much?
If you eat more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight. It doesn’t matter if the calories are protein, carbohydrates, or fat. Some Americans are obsessed with protein. Start out with a reasonable amount of food.
How much protein do we need? The RDA recommends that we take in 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram that we weigh (or about 0.36 grams of protein per pound that we weigh). This recommendation includes a generous safety factor for most people.
Muscle-building requires protein! Athletes and those who are just starting to do muscle building exercises routinely need more protein.
Persons with insulin resistance often also have problems with cholesterol and heart disease. So it is wise to eat “heart friendly” foods, to lower their blood pressure.
Some health conditions require a limit on the amount of protein eaten. The most common is kidney disease. Be sure to consult your physician about your protein food intake if you have such a condition.
Add a wide variety of vegetables to your diet each day. This will ensure that you get all the amino acids needed for health.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Debate over Obama healthcare plan turns rancorous
By Jackie Frank - Analysis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - August is do-or-die month for both President Barack Obama and his hopes of overhauling U.S. healthcare, and the battle will be fought not in Washington, but across the country.
With lawmakers gone from Washington for a month and much of the reform plan still to be written when they return, the rancorous battle spreads to lawmakers' town meetings, television and radio, and grass-roots campaigns.
Obama's own tactics have contributed to the free-flowing, -- and expensive -- exchange of ideas.
Although he has set an overall goal of expanding insurance coverage to the nearly 46 million uninsured and vowed to hold down skyrocketing medical costs, he has left the details to lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.
Democrats will make their case to the public with stories of patients bankrupted by costs that insurers would not cover, hundreds lining up for charity, and people in need forced to delay life-saving treatments.
Republicans and others will try to stop Obama from achieving his No. 1 domestic goal with a counter-argument: Why should Americans think that any plan conceived in Washington will in any way improve the medical attention they get now?
Outspoken in their support of free enterprise, Republicans accuse the Democrats of trying to "socialize" medicine -- anathema to the many Americans who oppose government intervention in their lives.
Obama vowed on Wednesday to get a reform bill through Congress this year even without Republicans on board.
FEVER PITCH
The debate will likely reach a fever pitch, with millions of dollars being spent by political parties as well as the drug, medical and insurance industries. E-mails and the Internet will take the drive nationwide.
Seeking to influence the landmark debate, healthcare companies have become the biggest-spending lobbying force in Washington, with nearly $1 million spent a day.
Democrats in turn are targeting insurance companies.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi branded them "villains" for blocking a public insurance option. Obama assailed a system he said worked for insurance companies, not their customers.
Angered by what she called the "demonizing of health insurers," Karen Ignagni of the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, said that while open to the insurance market reforms envisioned by Congress, the group opposed a government-run insurance system that might send their industry into a "death spiral."
"August will be the month when the country decides whether it supports reform and what shape it should take," Ignagni said.
DUELING POLLS
Most Americans receive health insurance that is at least partially paid for by their employers, and a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll in early August confirmed what AHIP has been saying -- most Americans are satisfied.
The conservative National Center for Policy Analysis, engaged in what its president John Goodman calls "trench warfare," has garnered a million signatures for a petition to stop what it fears is nationalization of healthcare.
NCPA supports individually owned health insurance. Public opinion "is tending our way," Goodman said.
Other opinion polls bolster the case of the other side.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday showed that while a majority of voters disapproved of Obama's handling of healthcare, and did not want it to add to the federal deficit, some 62 percent still supported a key element in the House of Representatives' version -- a government health insurance option to compete with private insurers.
A video of boos directed at Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and Democratic Senator Arlen Specter on Sunday in Philadelphia scored over 500,000 hits on YouTube.
Crowds chanting "Just say no," shouted down Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett's attempt to hold a healthcare meeting in Austin, Texas, over the weekend.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the disruptive groups "manufactured anger."
"I hope people will take a jaundiced eye to what is clearly the AstroTurf nature of so-called grass-roots lobbying," he said, referring to a brand of artificial turf.
The White House and the Democratic National Committee are responding with equal vehemence, unveiling a YouTube ad that links those same protest videos to "desperate Republicans and their well-funded allies organizing angry mobs."
(Editing by Howard Goller)
By Jackie Frank - Analysis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - August is do-or-die month for both President Barack Obama and his hopes of overhauling U.S. healthcare, and the battle will be fought not in Washington, but across the country.
With lawmakers gone from Washington for a month and much of the reform plan still to be written when they return, the rancorous battle spreads to lawmakers' town meetings, television and radio, and grass-roots campaigns.
Obama's own tactics have contributed to the free-flowing, -- and expensive -- exchange of ideas.
Although he has set an overall goal of expanding insurance coverage to the nearly 46 million uninsured and vowed to hold down skyrocketing medical costs, he has left the details to lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.
Democrats will make their case to the public with stories of patients bankrupted by costs that insurers would not cover, hundreds lining up for charity, and people in need forced to delay life-saving treatments.
Republicans and others will try to stop Obama from achieving his No. 1 domestic goal with a counter-argument: Why should Americans think that any plan conceived in Washington will in any way improve the medical attention they get now?
Outspoken in their support of free enterprise, Republicans accuse the Democrats of trying to "socialize" medicine -- anathema to the many Americans who oppose government intervention in their lives.
Obama vowed on Wednesday to get a reform bill through Congress this year even without Republicans on board.
FEVER PITCH
The debate will likely reach a fever pitch, with millions of dollars being spent by political parties as well as the drug, medical and insurance industries. E-mails and the Internet will take the drive nationwide.
Seeking to influence the landmark debate, healthcare companies have become the biggest-spending lobbying force in Washington, with nearly $1 million spent a day.
Democrats in turn are targeting insurance companies.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi branded them "villains" for blocking a public insurance option. Obama assailed a system he said worked for insurance companies, not their customers.
Angered by what she called the "demonizing of health insurers," Karen Ignagni of the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, said that while open to the insurance market reforms envisioned by Congress, the group opposed a government-run insurance system that might send their industry into a "death spiral."
"August will be the month when the country decides whether it supports reform and what shape it should take," Ignagni said.
DUELING POLLS
Most Americans receive health insurance that is at least partially paid for by their employers, and a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll in early August confirmed what AHIP has been saying -- most Americans are satisfied.
The conservative National Center for Policy Analysis, engaged in what its president John Goodman calls "trench warfare," has garnered a million signatures for a petition to stop what it fears is nationalization of healthcare.
NCPA supports individually owned health insurance. Public opinion "is tending our way," Goodman said.
Other opinion polls bolster the case of the other side.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday showed that while a majority of voters disapproved of Obama's handling of healthcare, and did not want it to add to the federal deficit, some 62 percent still supported a key element in the House of Representatives' version -- a government health insurance option to compete with private insurers.
A video of boos directed at Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius and Democratic Senator Arlen Specter on Sunday in Philadelphia scored over 500,000 hits on YouTube.
Crowds chanting "Just say no," shouted down Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett's attempt to hold a healthcare meeting in Austin, Texas, over the weekend.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the disruptive groups "manufactured anger."
"I hope people will take a jaundiced eye to what is clearly the AstroTurf nature of so-called grass-roots lobbying," he said, referring to a brand of artificial turf.
The White House and the Democratic National Committee are responding with equal vehemence, unveiling a YouTube ad that links those same protest videos to "desperate Republicans and their well-funded allies organizing angry mobs."
(Editing by Howard Goller)
Sunday, August 02, 2009
We’ll try to explore each reason in depth so that you can learn more about why you’ve formed certain eating habits and how you can choose healthier options.
We eat a lot of food. A typical human eats over a thousand pounds of food every year.
The first reason is our body needs a fuel
Just like a car needs gasoline, your body needs fuel so that your muscles can move and your brain can think. If the things we eat are not nutritious, then they aren’t really foods. Stop eating what does not benefit us and eat only those foods that are of benefit. As most of us already know, it is not so easy to do. Why? The next reasons will explain it.
The second reason we eat is for taste
We, often, eat whatever we like the taste and don’t care about their advantages and disadvantages. Event sometimes we know they are not healthy food.
If you continued to eat a type of food, you purposely developed a liking for it.
Tastes are remembered. A taste can make such a strong feeling that we may overeat attempting to find satisfaction from a certain taste preference or combination.
A third reason we eat is a variety of environment influences
Television screen and magazine pages constantly tell you that you can feel better if you eat this instead of that, wear these clothes, and drink this beverage. Food industry influences what and why we eat and therefore influences our health.
We loves a party. It’s going to be tempting to eat too much during the party even if you no longer hungry.
A fourth reason you may eat is that you are thirsty instead of hungry
Many people mistake thirst for water as hunger, so make sure you are really hungry before you eat. Try drinking a glass of water and see if that helps.
The bottom lines
We eat a lot of food. A typical human eats over a thousand pounds of food every year.
The first reason is our body needs a fuel
Just like a car needs gasoline, your body needs fuel so that your muscles can move and your brain can think. If the things we eat are not nutritious, then they aren’t really foods. Stop eating what does not benefit us and eat only those foods that are of benefit. As most of us already know, it is not so easy to do. Why? The next reasons will explain it.
The second reason we eat is for taste
We, often, eat whatever we like the taste and don’t care about their advantages and disadvantages. Event sometimes we know they are not healthy food.
If you continued to eat a type of food, you purposely developed a liking for it.
Tastes are remembered. A taste can make such a strong feeling that we may overeat attempting to find satisfaction from a certain taste preference or combination.
A third reason we eat is a variety of environment influences
Television screen and magazine pages constantly tell you that you can feel better if you eat this instead of that, wear these clothes, and drink this beverage. Food industry influences what and why we eat and therefore influences our health.
We loves a party. It’s going to be tempting to eat too much during the party even if you no longer hungry.
A fourth reason you may eat is that you are thirsty instead of hungry
Many people mistake thirst for water as hunger, so make sure you are really hungry before you eat. Try drinking a glass of water and see if that helps.
The bottom lines
- Unless a person is careful, it is really easy to take in too much fuel. Our bodies store all the excess fuel as fat, and you become obese.
- Attempting to find satisfaction from a certain taste can lead you to overeat, and you become obese.
- Eating unhealthy food just because -- as seen on TV – can damages your health. If the food is fatty foods or contain too much calories then your body needs, you become obese.
- If you continuously eat in -- thirst state – you may overeat, and you become obese.
