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One of the Top Five Healthiest Foods

The lentil was selected by Health Magazine as one of the top 5 healthiest foods on the planet! They are good in sooo many ways! 

Beans are generally considered a low cost, healthy alternative to most other protein sources like meat, dairy and most grains.  If  beans are good for you, then lentils, the smallest of the beans, are great! In general the smaller the bean the more nutrition is packed into each seed. Smaller beans are also often easier to digest and cook and have been a mainstay of many cultures for centuries.

Lentils are low in fat and sodium and are one of most alkaline protein sources. You can sprout them if you want more raw food.

Growing lentils is even healthy for the soil, as they increase nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, take very little moisture,  and stop erosion.  By eating lentils you are helping the earth and the environment!

 
Benefits

A single cup of cooked lentils provides well over one third the protein daily requirement for a 150 lb adult while adding practically NO FAT! They have a third highest level of protein by weight of any plant based food.  Cost for that cup is just 20 – 40  cents!

Some lentils like brown lentils grown in N. America are so tasty that all you have to do to boil and add a bit of salt. Other lentils are more bland so a bit a spice is needed. This is the ‘dal’ of many eastern countries.  Either way if you are interested in healthy cooking and ever considered reducing meat consumption, it definitely worth it to find a few good lentil dishes you like.

 
Another big benefit of lentils is the high levels of cholesterol lowering fiber (both soluble and insoluble). Numerous studies have shown high levels of fiber associated with decreased degenerative diseases.   In one study that examined food intake patterns of 16,000 middle-aged men – in relation  to the risk of death from coronary heart disease, researchers found that legumes were associated with a whopping 82% reduction in risk!!

 
History

 The lentil plant (Lens Culinaris) belongs to the family Leguminosae (legume)  and is a cousin to peas. The lentil is one of the oldest cultivated legume, dating back at least 8000 years. Although the scientific name relates to the lens of the eye it is interesting that it is one of the foods used in the Christian Lent period, a time when one level of fasting is to abstain from any kind of meat. 

Nutrients

Power Nutrients in Lentils: iron, protein, phosphorus, copper, Vitamin B1, potassium
Power Plus Nutrients: Fiber, tryptophan, manganese,
Extreme Power Nutrients:  Folate, Molybdenum

Caution:  Because lentils are high in so many nutrients, they are high in natural substances called purines. If you have a physical condition which requires you to be on a low purine diet this is to be considered. Recent research though, indicates that the purines from vegetable sources does not have the same negative effect as the purines from meat and fish.

Recipes:

Lentils are SO good for you so we will be adding many different recipes, but here is a link for one very simple use:  Lentil Soup   http://realfoodforlife.com/lentil-soup/

Enjoy 

Are there better options than bags full of vitamins and pills?

 

One-third of Americans (and an even higher percentage of Canadians) takes vitamin and mineral supplements each day. Reasons include:

1. Our new understanding of the body's requirements for particular chemical nutrients. For example, Vitamin C helps reduce free radical damage in cells.  It's easy to take Vitamin C in capsule form and to assume that it will give you the same benefits as a glass of orange juice. 
2. Our food supply is not as nutritious today as it was in the past.  This is due to large-scale farming which focuses on quantity, shelf life and profit rather than quality and nutrition. 
3.  Our modern lifestyle makes eating a balanced diet more difficult.  Increased stress has also boosted our need for certain nutrients.
We now assume that a vitamin pill will fill in these ‘gaps’ in our nutrition.  It may seem like a simple solution, but they often don't do enough.  And sometimes they just DON'T WORK.  Why is this?

A report in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association concludes that the formula for optimal health isn't in the supplement aisle of a health-food store but in the FOOD AISLE. The American Dietetic Association is the largest organization of professionals that deals directly with your diet. It also has access to the most data and research in the field. So why do they state that foods are better than supplements?

5 Reasons To Use a Food Based Approach

1. Vitamin supplements are limited to what is written on the label. If it lists 20 chemical isolates, that is all you get. In comparison, every whole food has thousands of different micro and macro nutrients. This is why the better (and the more expensive) the supplement, the more factors it has in it.  But the best supplements are whole foods.  An orange, for example, has not only vitamin C but bioflavonoids, beta-carotene, folic acid, fibre, magnesium potassium and many other valuable nutrients. 

2. Foods contain nutrients we don’t fully understand.  Nutritional science is still young. Each day it discovers new phytonutirents which have profound influences on the body. More importantly, nutritional science is only just discovering the relationships between the various nutritional factors: how one factor influences another and how different ratios of nutrients affect the body.  The ‘facts’ of nutrition may change tomorrow, so why should you depend on them today?

3.  Each person has UNIQUE nutritional requirements. These requirements will change over time and in different environments.  If you take this into account and try to prescribe isolated vitamins and minerals it becomes very complicated very quickly. The ‘gaps’ are constantly changing.  You would need expensive professional help to pinpoint the best nutrients for your body.  And they can only determine what your body needs at a single point in time while your needs will change from one day to the next. 

4.  The body absorbs foods best.  Mere decades of nutritional research cannot compete with millions of years of natural evolution. The body evolved to eat real foods. Isolates found in artificial supplements are poorly absorbed and are often eliminated by the body before they can be used.  Many isolates are not recognized by the body as food, and may even be interpreted as toxins. Although certain higher quality supplements offer superior absorption, again, they usually do so just because they are closer to real food.  Unfortunately, they still can't compare with whole foods. Why not give your body what it deserves and eat food instead of pills?

5. Foods have LIFE.  There is something about the aliveness of food that makes it instinctively attractive. Fresh food is always more attractive than leftovers.  People have recently discovered the value of raw foods. This value can be measured in terms of enzymes and specific nutrients, but also in qualities that are harder to measure like energy and vitality.  All of these qualities are important for our physical and mental well-being.  

Health with Real Foods is the Wave of the Future: 

Right now, it is easier than ever to embrace whole-food based nutrition. New knowledge is helping people along this path to health, and we are here to share it with you. Many grocery stores are stocking a greater selection of high-quality foods in their organic sections and new supplements are emerging that are based on whole foods. Some of these supplements will have higher quality and value than the dead pills of the past.  But they still imitate what nature has already perfected.

I don’t know one person whose life has been radically changed by buying a bottle of vitamins or pills.  I do know thousands whose lives have become healthier and more energetic by changing their APPROACH to food.
This approach involves eating more whole, fresh, raw and organic foods as well as eating them in the proper combinations. These are the principles we teach individuals in our various programs that help them achieve healthier lives.

To be fair, the American Dietetic Association did recommend that a few isolated groups could benefit from targeted supplementation. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with certain health conditions, and elderly adults may need to fill dietary gaps. But if you are in one of these groups, many of these gaps (like higher iron intake for women) can also be achieved with whole foods.  One just needs to know what to eat, and to be motivated enough to want to improve their health. 

And there’s the rub.  It's hard to know where to look and to put in the effort to make healthier choices.  It's so much easier just to take a pill—one that contends to solve all of your nutritional problems.  But it isn't that easy. Sometimes the harder road is the wiser one; it is the road to better health.  

Feel free to comment on these ideas (below) and share this information with others.

Edited by Michael Fisher

Copyright © Randy Fritz You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com  or the direct link to this post.

Its never too late to do the right thing!

Wow!!! It actually is 2010.  Can you remember when 2010 seemed so far away?  Now it’s almost mid January.  Were you part of the 40-45% of the population that made resolutions in the first few days?  They probably included goals like eating better, exercising more, and losing weight.

Setting goals like this increases the chances you will actually make it to 2011 in better shape than today. Obviously you want to succeed but how can you make sure you will succeed?  How can you not break the resolutions? How to not give up?

These are valid questions because 97% of resolutions are never fulfilled.  Early failure rates varies from 30% in the first week to 25% in the first month (depending on which study you are referencing) The good news is that if you are still on target right now you are way ahead of the game and even if you already stopped or never started – you can still start today.  Here’s 4 mistakes that cause people to fail and 7 suggestions how to succeed.

Mistake No. 1.   Magic Bullet thinking.   Everyone of course wants to have more energy and look better but just having that desire or writing it down doesn’t magically make it happen. It requires skill and daily perseverance. You have to have a PLAN to make it work on a daily basis. 
 
Mistake No. 2.  Absolute or “all-or-nothing” thinking. People congratulate themselves for being “good” when they're eating well and exercising regularly. But then, the slightest slip can seem like a failure so they feel bad about themselves and the process and give up.  Better to have smaller incremental goals and a plan that acknowledges there will be mistakes made.

Mistake No 3.  Unrealistic expectations 
People commit to making too many big changes at once, something that's incredibly hard to do considering habits seem to be hardwired in our brain. It is easier to make smaller changes but oddly enough Studies have shown that it’s best to change multiple behavior patterns at the same time rather sequentially. This is because each little action that you take reminds and reinforces the other actions.

Mistakes No 4.  Not having a support system. Thinking that you will succeed just by your own dominating force of will has been shown to increase failure. It’s SO much easier when you are being reminded and encouraged by others. This could be as simple as subscribing to this newsletter or joining a group specifically set up to achieve goals (like our 5 week Radiant Energy and Healthy Slimness Course). Sometimes too you need someone that you can relate your troubles to. You can even contact us on this too.  We have certainly been in that situation before and are glad to help.

7 Super Simple Tips to Keep You On a Healthy Track

1. Keep a food diary

Do you have a pen and some paper? Can you write?  It’s that simple.

This was the very first homework we asked participants to do on our Radiant Energy course. We were using it as a teaching tool but writing down what and how much you eat provides awareness, focus and motivation. It clarifies what foods are in your diet and what's missing. You can’t change or improve what you are NOT aware of. One or two weeks is enough.

2 Increase your vegetables (just little more every day)
Do you want to lose 5 pounds?  Eat more vegetables! Do you want to lose 20 pounds?  Eat even more vegetables.  If you want to lose 50 pounds … you get the idea. There is nothing more simple than eating MORE vegetables to lose weight, cleanse and alkalize and balance your systems. Starting off your day with a green smoothie is a fast delicious way to get leafy greens in your system.  Then with a one or two salads and few serving of cooked vegetables you are all set.

3.  Have vegetarian dinners lunches once a day.  Find some bean and tofu recipes that you will enjoy and are easy to prepare. There are some on this site. You will be increasing fibre and reducing saturated fat when you eat less meat.
Here are a few tips that will help:
•    Replace meat with beans or tofu in a meat recipe. Serve tacos with black beans instead of ground meat. Serve vegetarian chili or vege burgers for dinner. Add cubes of firm tofu in stir fries.
•    Make a large batch of minestrone, split pea or lentil soup to have for lunch the next day or freeze it in serving containers for during the weeks to come.

4. Have fruit washed and available.
An apple or a banana is so healthier for you than a bar or a muffin. You know that but you won’t eat it if the bar is easier to get at or you are at work and there is nothing else. Think ahead- it shows you have one!

5. Drink more water
Water is an essential part of a healthy diet. It helps flush waste products from the body, keeps us hydrated and can stave off hunger. Women on average need 2.2 litres (9 cups) a day and men require 3 litres (12 cups). While all beverages count (except alcoholic beverages), choose plain water over sugary drinks, fruit juice and diet soft drinks.
Train your body to drink more water. Drink one glass first thing in the morning, before you brush your teeth. Keep a glass of water next to you when you're at your desk. Drink from it regularly as you're working. Resolve to drink one more cup of water today than you did

6.  Listen to your body

Your body knows itself better than your brain does. Being aware of its messages can help prevent you from consuming too many calories or the wrong foods. Before your meal ask yourself what foods are you attracted to and what tastes. During the meal keep checking in to see if you are still hungry.  Your goal is to stop eating when you no longer feel hungry – you should feel satisfied, not full. A traditional saying is "one third food, one third liquid, and one third empty".  You will digest much better this way and thus be thinner and healthier. Many small meals a day is better than overeating once or twice.

7.  Reward Yourself
 If you don’t reward yourself in some way till you are completely finished your goal – you might not get there. Remember this is a process and you need to enjoy the path too. If its all just struggle maybe you need help in adjusting your plan.  The health systems that have been successful for thousands of years suggest  you should NOT deprive yourself completely– it only causes stress which is bad for your health.   If you find you're starting to slip back into old habits, pull out that food diary to refocus your efforts.  

What are Your Health Goals for 2010?  Feel free to share below.

Feel free to share this article with anyone you feel would benefit.