Posts Tagged ‘healthy eating’

 

There is much confusion about fats and oils in our diet.

I work hard at staying on top of the information but even I have had to rethink a few points recently.

 The Saturated Myth

Saturated fats have a bad public image but this is because of excessive consumption. Remember when they told us to eat margarine instead of butter?  It turns out butter is fine when used in moderation.

DO YOU KNOW …The difference between margarine and butter?   All margarine is made from assorted vegetable oils that have been heated to extremely high temperatures making the oils rancid.

Facts about Margarine: 
 1.  Margarine is extracted from used plant oils with chemical solvents. This leaves residues and strips away nutrients.
2.  It may say that there are zero grams of trans fats, but it still contains small amounts of this bad fat. (Trans fats are carcinogenic, triple risk of coronary heart disease and increases bad cholesterol and lowers the good cholesterol)
3.  Deodorants are added to cover the unpleasant smell of rancid vegetable oils.
4.  Artificial coloring to cover up the grey color.

And I still see these big tubs of this stuff in people’s homes .

Butter has been used for thousands of years. It is a real food. The trouble is that it tastes sooo good we overeat it ! 

Benefits of Butter:
 1.  Rich in Vitamin A, has Vitamins E, K, D and Calcium.
2.  Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
3.  Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
4.  Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children's brain and nervous system development.

Another form of butter is Clarified butter or ghee. It is butter oil, without the lactose and milk solids. It is made by gently heating butter until it becomes a clear golden liquid.  Ghee has been used as the ultimate healthy cooking oil in India for thousands of years. 

Benefits of Clarified Butter or Ghee:
 1.  It increases the potency of certain herbs
2.  Has Vitamin A E, K and D
3.  Has a high ‘smoke point’ so it is a good oil to cook with.
4.  Ghee does not spoil easily; does not need refrigeration.

Then there is the wonderful Olive oil that many of us know and love in our salad dressings. It is made from crushing and pressing olives…..for at least 5,000 years. …..

Possible Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
 1.  Contains- vitamins E, K, and A  plus antioxidants
2.  Helps lower bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol
3.  Reduces colon, breast and skin cancers.
4.  Lowers the incidence of gallstones.

Remember to store oil in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator, and do not heat as it has a low smoke point…add olive oil to foods immediately after cooking.

One of my favorites is Sesame Seed Oil as it has a high ‘smoke point’ making it good oil to cook with. Sesame oil has vitamins A, B and E and the minerals iron, calcium, magnesium, copper. 

Studies have shown Sesame Oil to:
 1.  Be useful in unblocking arteries.
2.  Inhibit the growth of skin cancer
3.  Maintain good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL ).

The Myth about Coconut Oil

For decades it was considered bad because it is saturated oil which is said to raise blood cholesterol and cause heart disease.  This idea was based on a study done 40 years ago that used hydrogenated coconut oil.

In tropical climates like Polynesia, Sri Lanka and the Yucatan where they have a diet high in coconut oil, the people are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer and colon problems than unsaturated fat eaters. It is now accepted that there is good cholesterol and there are good saturated fats. 

    Interesting fact:      Unsaturated oils in cooked foods become rancid within a few hours, even in the refrigerator. Once fresh unsaturated fats are inside the body, they oxidize (turn rancid). Coconut oil does not go rancid even after one year at room temperature.  Most of the saturated fat in coconut oil is easy to digest and converted into quick energy so people are less likely to become obese as the fat is not stored.

To quote Dr. Mary Enig: "The research over four decades concerning coconut oil in the diet and heart disease is quite clear: coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial."  Coconut oil has been used as cooking oil for thousands of years.

Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil (cold pressed):
1.  To be Thyroid-Stimulating
2.  Lowers cholesterol 
3.  Causes weight loss
4.  Has anti-cancer effects
 
Conclusion:

• Use extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed for salad dressings
• For cooking use clarified butter, sesame oil and virgin, cold pressed organic coconut oil. 

No matter how good the oil sounds…..it is still a fat, with 120 calories per tablespoon. Anyone who regularly consumes a high fat diet will become overweight and that is just not healthy! 

  

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

This special occassion vegetarian dinner is easy to prepare and a balanced meal in terms of acid/alkaline and food combining.  The most time consuming is the nut loaf but it is so delicious that it is worth it and does not take as much time as cooking a turkey.  Also, it is full of protein from all of the nuts and seeds…even my non-vegetarian friends and family like it.

NUT LOAF

Ingredients:
½ cup cashews
½ cup almonds
10 almonds for decoration
2/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup walnuts (chopped)
1 cup short grain brown rice
1/3 cup soya flour
4-6 tbsp soya sauce
1 onion
2 pieces of celery
¼ cup water
2 tsp basil
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tbsp flax meal

Directions:
1.    Lightly roast cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in the oven.
2.    Chop and sauté onion and celery.
3.    Chop all the nuts and seeds.
4.    Mix all the ingredients together and moistening with water.
5.    Pat mixture into a well-oiled bread tin.
6.    Decorate top with 10 almonds and line bottom of tin with grease proof paper.
7.    Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes.
Serve with mushroom or onion gravy.
   
Usually the problem with cranberry sauce is that it is full of sugar. Here is my version of the popular Cranberry Sauce without any sugar which is no easy thing when is comes to cranberries as they are so tart
Cranberry Sauce (sugar free)

Ingredients:
1 Package whole, organic cranberries (fresh, not frozen)
1 Organic Apple, cored and chopped
1 Cup Apple juice
1/4 Cup Organic, Brown Rice Syrup
1 tsp Stevia (Sunny Dew is best)
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1.    Put all ingredients into a sauce pan and let simmer for a few moments.
2.    Remove and let cool.
3.    Taste and add more Stevia or Brown Rice Syrup if you like it sweeter.

Nutritional Tips: Cranberries are high in vitamin C, and have antioxidant and antibacterial effects in the body.
In clinical studies cranberries have been shown to help maintain a healthy urinary tract and be especially beneficial to the eyes (significantly improve symptoms of cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy)

ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON JUICE

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, washed, trimmed, and cut diagonally into 2 inch lengths
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced
Dash of Spike seasoning

Directions:
1.    In a large frying pan over low heat, heat the olive oil
2.    Add Asparagus and cover and cook for 5 minutes.
3.    Add Spike and stir cook an additional 1 minute.
4.    Add lemon juice stir well and serve.

Nutritional Tips: Asparagus is full of nutrients!  It is a very good source of vitamin K, the B vitamin folate, vitamin C, vitamin A and also numerous B vitamins (B1, B2, B3 and B6) as well manganese, copper, phosphorus, potassium and protein.

Here is a simple dish to make and have in the oven at the same time as your nut loaf.
BAKED SQUASH WITH VEGETABLES

Ingredients:
1 medium squash
2 sweet potatoes
2 medium carrots
2 parsnips
10 very small onions
3 – 7 cloves garlic, sliced (optional)
1 tsp rosemary
3 tbsp. vegetable oil or butter
Salt to taste

Directions:
1.    Cut carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and squash into 2 inch pieces.
2.    Remove skins from onions and leave whole.
3.    Place all vegetables into a glass casserole dish.
4.    Mix in sliced garlic, rosemary, vegetable oil, and sprinkle with salt.
5.    Bake in 450º F. oven for 35 to 45 minutes till tender.
6.    Stir occasionally while baking.

So many of the dips that I find at parties are full of unhealthy ingredients.  These two are full of healthy ingredients, chemical free, sugar free, dairy free, gluten free….and very delicious,

What I like about this raw avocado dip is that it is full of vegetables; adding the celery makes it crunchy and not so rich…healthier.

 

AVOCADO VEGETABLE DIP

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, peeled & pitted
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 – 2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tomato, chopped
Spike Salt to taste

Directions:
1.    Mash avocado.
2.    Add celery and lemon juice and mix in well.
3.    Gently mix in chopped tomato.
4.    Season with Spike salt to taste.
5.    Place in serving bowl on a plate surround with cucumber rounds, slices of radishes and corn chips.

This is a creamy dip that is also dairy free.

BUTTER BEAN DIP

Ingredients:
1 cup Butter beans (cooked)
1 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
Salt to taste
A few sprigs of fresh Parsley chopped
Olives & Watercress or Parsley for garnish

Directions:
1.    Mash butter beans until smooth and creamy.*
2.    Add rest of ingredients.
3.    Mix together until well blended.
4.    Adjust seasoning to taste (salt, Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic)
5.    Put into a decorative bowl and garnish with olives & watercress.
6.    Serve with corn chips or whole meal crackers.
* you could use a blender, when I developed this recipe I did not have one by choice!

Copyright © Diana Herrington  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.

I love sweets!   I know that many others do too, as I am frequently hearing about it.

To help with those sugar cravings in a healthy way, we need to prepare nutritious sweets.  I have created lots of sugar free recipes and here is a first one to start a whole series of sugar-free yummies.

Of course it is more nutritious to eat the fruit raw but sometimes we are looking for that comfort food that is sweet and hot. This is a good fruit sauce that does not have any added sugar and it tastes good too. 

APPLE OR PEAR SAUCE with sultanas

Ingredients:
2 cups apples or pears, sliced
½ cup water
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup sultanas
 
Directions: 

   1. Core and slice apples or pears.
   2. Place all ingredients in a pot.
   3. Bring to a boil.
   4. Simmer until fruit is soft.

Serve as is or with yogurt on top.

 

Apple Facts: 

I have always loved eating apples; just found out that I am eating a lot of air…25 percent of their volume is air! Did you know that there are more than 7,000 varieties of apples; when I lived in England I tasted some different and delicious ones.

Apples are filled with soluble fibre, that has been shown to reduce intestinal disorders, including diverticulosis, hemorrhoids and possibly some types of cancer. The fibre also helps control insulin levels by releasing sugar slowly into the bloodstream. Apple pectin helps reduce cholesterol levels by lowering insulin secretion.

In two recent studies they found that eating five apples a week lowered the risk for respiratory diseases like asthma.

A raw medium apple has 5 grams of fiber, is a great source of potassium which may promote heart health, help maintain healthy blood pressure. Apples contains calcium, phosphorus, iron, and Vitamin C and A. It is composed of 80-85 percent water, 5 percent protein, 10-15 percent carbohydrates and has only 80 calories. Apples have no fat or sodium!

So there you have it lots of good reasons to Eat an Apple a day.

"Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed." Robert Schuller, Evangelist

Copyright © Diana Herrington  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

Learn the Skills and Principles for Achieving Long Term Health and Natural Slenderness.

  Do you ever wonder if your diet is making a difference in your life; whether it is good enough or balanced enough? We hear all the time about a balanced diet  but much of that information is contradictory and confusing.

Are you sure if you are eating the right foods, are getting enough or too much protein, are eating enough fruits and vegetables?    

Who else wants to learn the secrets to eating properly… that will strengthen and energize your body effortlessly?

(Even if you don’t know the first thing about nutrition or health right now.)
 
In this step-by-step complete course you will learn exactly how to evaluate and change your eating habits (completely from scratch) from
two health experts who have helped thousands….

Discover your Real Food Factor…..and Then Increase It!  

Determine how you are doing right now and then apply simple time tested principles…..for Healing, Energy & Weight Loss

Join our new improved Five Week Teleconference Course

• We have updated our last course with some ‘must have’ modules. (see below)
• Included as part of the classes is a one on one half hour Nutrition session with Diana
• We are limiting the number of participants to 20 which means that every week there will be time for you to ask your questions and for us to respond. 

Overall Benefits:

1.  Be part of a supportive interactive group committed to improving their health together over 5 weeks.

2. Take control of your health progress by knowing exactly where you are and what you have to do each day in a simple and easy way.

3. Reach your full potential … by learning some simple things to do to create a vibrant you.  

During our 5 week  Course You Will Discover and Implement:

• How to simplify your orientation to nutrition so you can worry less and enjoy more.
• The 3 key elements you need to put in every meal to make them work like magic.
• When you can save money by not buying organic; when you can’t afford not to.
• The secret to keeping up with an exercise routine. (You know you should)
• How to deal with craving in a gentle yet powerful manner.

             ……and much, much more!  

We just added these bonus modules!

1. Food combining for better digestion, more energy, healing and weight loss.

2.  Figuring  out your Real Food Factor.  Know your daily score!      

Examples:  

Zero = would not be reading this (dead)                      

Three = you probably got the flu that’s going around                     

Seven = Feeling GOOD                          

Ten = WOW! You really need to be helping others. Come help teach this course.

3. Talking with Plants (yes this does sound unusual but the basis to this is AND to getting very healthy is in listening to your body in specific ways that you will learn)

4. Balanced Daily Routine for a balanced life.  

First Call is FREE: 

Date: Thursday, Oct 29

Time: 7:00 p.m. MST  

To get the Dial In Number:  We will mail out the phone number and code, to everyone on our mailing list. 

If you are not on the mailing list fill in your name and email below  for our free newsletter.  The opt in box  also in the upper right of this site.  

Registration to the course will be open to the first 20 who apply that day.  Don’t delay.