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Your Body is Screaming for Water!
Filed under: gastrointestinal system, health and nutrition; Tagged as: allergies, asthma, constipation, energy, fatigue, glycogen, headaches, health, high blood pressure, insomnia, nutrition, waterNo CommentsOne of the most critical nutrients the body requires is water and it’s probably one of the most overlooked parts of our diet. Every bodily function is dependent on our body being hydrated. Water flushes toxins out of vital organs and joint tissue, carries the nutrients to your cells, provides hydration for the tissues such as nose, throat, etc. and contributes to the production of vital energy.
Glycogen, which is the body’s main source of stored energy, is produced through a process which combines water with glucose. If there is not enough water, extra amounts of glucose remain in the bloodstream, which increases your blood sugar level and ultimately is stored as fat.
One of the primary functions of the liver is to metabolize stored fat into energy. The liver needs the kidneys to filter toxins, wastes, ingested water, and salts out of the bloodstream in order to function properly. If you are dehydrated, the liver must compensate for the kidneys inability to filter out this debris. As a result, the liver metabolizes less fat and therefore more is stored.
Water is also a great natural appetite suppressant. It actually decreases hunger cravings. However, do not drink large quantities of water before a meal, because that will actually dilute the digestive enzymes and prevent proper digestion.
The amount of water you need depends on your diet, your health, your weight, the climate you live in and even the elevation. Some estimates say that you should get 1/2 your body weight in ounces each day through drinking water. Obviously our diet provides water also and therefore it’s important to choose foods that are not calorie laden or are actually diuretics such as caffeine, soda pop or alcohol.
Besides just drinking water, our skin is another method of providing hydration to our bodies. How many times have you worked out or been outside working or just had a long hard day and then took a shower. It refreshes you partly because you’re re-hydrating. The health of your skin is a great indicator of your body’s hydration level.
While water isn’t a cure-all, certainly there is indication that dehydration may be implicated in the following ailments.
- Headaches
- Joint & Back Pain
- Anxiety & Depression
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Fatigue & Insomnia
- Allergies and Asthma
- Constipation
The evidence is certainly compelling - water is the source of life. So instead of drinking water as an afterthought, put it at the top of your daily routine. It could quiet your body’s screams.
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Pureed Sweet Peas
Filed under: health and nutrition, healthy recipes; Tagged as: healthy recipe, healthy recipes, nutrition, peas, recipe, sunflower seeds, thiamin, vita-mix, Vitamin C, vitamin ENo CommentsTaken from the world’s healthiest foods at www.whfoods.org
This is a unique way to enjoy green peas that makes a great substitute for mashed potatoes and provides you with extra flavor and nutrition at the same time. And one serving contains 53% of the daily value (DV) for thiamin, 47% DV for vitamin C and 47% DV for vitamin E. Enjoy!
Prep and Cook Time: 15-20 minutes Ingredients:
- 8 oz frozen peas
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 + 2 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 TBS sunflower seeds
- 1 TBS minced fresh herbs such as mint, basil, chervil, or parsley depending on what you are serving peas with
- salt and white pepper to taste
Directions:
- Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to help bring out their health-promoting properties.
- Heat 1 TBS broth in a 10 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 4 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add 2 TBS broth, peas, herb and cook until tender, about 3 more minutes. Puree in blender with sunflower seeds, season with salt, pepper and serve.Serves 2
Healthy Cooking Tips:
Make sure you blend peas well, stopping the blender ( I use a Vita-Mix) periodically to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. You want the sunflower seeds to get well ground. They add a lot of body to the puree of peas. You want them to be nice and smooth.
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The Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic
Filed under: health and nutrition, Vitamin D; Tagged as: dementia, health, heart disease, high blood pressure, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, nutrition, rheumatoid arthritis, Vitamin D, Vitamin D36 CommentsDo you know what your Vitamin D level is? Chances are you don’t and chances are it’s low. Research seems to be coming out almost daily about the effects of Vitamin D deficiency and how many people are deficient. Estimates range from about 35% in young people to 100% in the elderly.
There is a growing awareness of how critical Vitamin D is to our health. There have been many studies on various diseases and conditions which point to Vitamin D deficiency as playing a relevant role.
Recent research indicates thatthe following may be associated with Vitamin D deficiency:- rheumatoid arthritis
- cognitive impairment and dementia.
- hypertension which may cause high blood pressure
- metabolic syndrome, a precursor to type II diabetes
- heart disease
As you can see most of the above are related to inflammation. People with higher levels of Vitamin D also have better lung capacity, something that could be important to asthma sufferers.
Vitamin D is not something we get in large quantities from food but rather something we absorb from sunshine. As we have become a society who spends more and more time indoors or covered up when we’re outdoors, our Vitamin D levels have dropped. And many of us live in northern climes where, at least in the winter months, there may not be a lot of sunshine. Although surprisingly, there is a large number of people in states like Florida and Texas with below normal Vitamin D levels. Taking Vitamin D3 supplements is an inexpensive and simple solution which scientists believe will give us more protection against many diseases that are on the rise.
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Mix together:
- 1/3 Wheat bran
- 1/3 Oat bran
- 1/3 Rice bran
Sprinkle on salads, vegetables, add to smoothies. Great way to get your fiber and keep your cholesterol low.
I keep mine in a shaker bottle (like the ones you see for parmesan cheese, etc) It works great and you can keep it on the table.
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Several years ago this heading was on the cover of Time Magazine. The article was about how heart disease, Parkinson’s and cancer and many other diseases are caused by inflammation. Antioxidants reduce inflammation and protect cells from damage which obviously lowers the risk of these diseases and improves the immune system.
So how do you measure how many antioxidants you’re getting? There is a measurement of a food’s antioxidant level we call ORAC which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. So the higher the ORAC rating, the more “free radicals” and therefore, inflammation a food can fight. However, keep in mind, a food’s ORAC and it’s ability to fight free radicals can change based on whether the food is cooked, dried or raw.
What foods are high in antioxidants? People often think first of fruits and vegetables. That’s true, they are, especially fruit such as blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, spinach (notice they are all dark colored ). However, nuts, especially pecans and beans, primarily the dark colored ones (pinto, red, kidney) are all great sources of antioxidants as well as many herbs and spices. As far as beverages, green tea and pomegranate juice are both in the spotlight as studies are showing their potential benefits in protecting against many diseases.
While being aware of what ORAC means is good information, more important is to eat a widely varied natural diet, remembering that we were meant to be hunters and gatherers. If you choose your diet based on that, you’ll most likely get the nutrients your body needs and combat the free radicals you’re being bombarded with on a daily basis.
Keep in mind that it must be a varied diet as all antioxidants are not the same – they combat different types of free radicals in the body. So if you just loaded up with spinach, you would miss out on the enormous benefits of something like curcumin. Recent studies show that curcumin has enormous anti-inflammatory capabilities and may even be able to suppress cancer at various stages. In fact, there are ongoing studies on curcumin and it’s potential affect on atherosclerosis, high cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease. These are exciting studies and may give us a natural way to combat some of the most deadly diseases we face.
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What’s All The Buzz About Antioxidants?
Filed under: health and nutrition; Tagged as: Anti Oxidants, antioxidants, Diets, Exercise, free radicals, health, Natural Fruits, nutrition, Nuts, Oxidation Process2 CommentsIt seems like everywhere we look, people are talking about antioxidants and how many are in their product. So what do we need them for?Ever heard of “free radicals”? Our bodies are bombarded with them all day everyday. Free radicals are caused by the oxidative process. We see this process in things like iron which rusts – that’s oxidation. It’s caused when a molecule has an unpaired electron. This happens in our bodies also. It’s an oxidation process that leaves a molecule unbalanced – it only has one electron. Enter anti-oxidants. Antioxidants pair up with the single electron and repair the damage to that molecule. That’s great you say – so just eat and drink a lot of food with antioxidants.It’s been said that standing on a street corner when a bus passes by exposes you to more “free radicals” in that 30 seconds than our ancestors encountered in a lifetime. They were eating diets loaded with natural fruits and nuts that hadn’t been processed and loaded up with fats, salts and sugars. In other words their diets were far superior to ours AND they also got much more exercise than most of us do.
Wow! That’s a lot of free radicals to counteract. We actually get hit with about 10 QUINTILLION per day. Every day. Sounds like we have our work cut out for us. So let’s get started. -
Welcome to my blog
Filed under: health and nutrition, healthy recipes; Tagged as: Aids, Diet, Diseases, health, healthy recipes, Lifestyle, nutrition, Ongoing Research, Opportunity, Potato Chips, SnacksNo CommentsI believe that it’s essential in today’s world to become knowledgeable about nutrition. As we see more and more diseases, we are finding that many, if not all, can be related to lifestyle and diet. Does that mean you can prevent all diseases by what you eat or the way you live – No! What it does mean is that we each have the opportunity to improve our life and the health we experience by engaging in a lifestyle that aids our bodies to flourish.
After studying nutrition for more than 7 years, I have learned an enormous amount and find that with ongoing research it’s necessary to never stop studying. I feel it will be helpful to me to consolidate some of the tidbits I have picked up in one and place and hopefully it will help you, the reader, as well.
I will be talking about nutrition in general as well as a few healthy recipes, mostly snacks – yes isn’t that the thing that gets most of us in trouble – the potato chips, pop, cookies, etc. between meals?
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