Foods that help you sleep

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Foods affect your sleep. To get a restful sleep is to get your brain calmed. Foods contribute to restful sleep called sleepers while foods keep you awake called wakers. Sleepers are contained with acid amino named tryptophan that helps body to build serotonin, which slows down nerve traffic so your brain relaxed. Wakers are contained with chemicals that perk up the brain activity.


You can get restful sleep of this biochemical trait by choosing meals to calm down your brain. For teenagers and adults, medium carbohydrate and high protein meals are best consumed for breakfast and lunch. A high complex carbohydrates meal or snack contains just enough tryptophan is good for dinner or bedtime. The best bedtime snack has complex carbohydrates, protein, and some calcium. Calcium activates the use of the tryptophan. That’s why dairy products are the top sleep-inducing foods. Try to avoid high carbohydrate snack which high in junk sugars because you may set off the effect of plummeting blood sugar and the discharge of stress hormones that will keep your eyes awake.


Here are some of high in the sleep-inducing amino acid foods:

1) Dairy products: Milk, yogurt, cheese
2) Soy products: Soybean nuts, soy milk, tofu,
3) Seafood: Shrimp, cuttlefish, crab
4) Meats: Beef, mutton
5) Poultry and eggs: Chicken, duck
6) Whole grains: Cereal, bread
7) Beans: Lentils, broad beans
8) Nuts: Hazelnuts, peanuts


Light meals are expected to provide you a restful sleep. Large servings and high fat meals make longer digestive process and it may keep you awake. Although you may fall asleep faster, all the process to digest a big meal is probably to cause a poor quality of sleep and frequent waking. Some people discover that high seasoned and spicy foods such as garlic and hot peppers interfere with sleep. For most people, having a full stomach before going to bed does not promote a restful sleep. Therefore take your evening meal early.


Foods that are high in carbohydrates and medium in protein will help you to calm down in the evening and also provide a good sleep. Here are some suggestion meals for sleep:

1) Pasta with cheese
2) Pasta seafood with cheese
3) Scrambled eggs with cheese
3) Fried tofu
4) Whole grain pita with hummus
5) Meats or poultry with veggies
6) Tuna sandwich with salad


Snacks that have complex carbohydrates, protein, and some calcium make ideal sleep-inducing bedtime. It takes about an hour for the amino acid in the foods transfer to the brain, so have your snack at least an hour before bedtime. Here are some ideal snacks examples:

1) Cereal with milk
2) Ice cream and apple pie
3) Tofu and nuts
4) Raisin and oatmeal cookies, best with a glass of milk


Avoid foods that keep you awake such as caffeine-containing foods. Know your caffeine proportion and time it boost. Many people can take up to 3 cups of coffee or a large bottle of cola in a day but no sleeping problems. Usually the effect of caffeine is within six hours, so take coffee in the morning or cola in the afternoon will not interfere with night’s sleep.

Now you know foods that help you sleep. Have a good night’s sleep!

Why we need breakfast

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There are so many people choose to skip breakfast. Plenty of studies show that people who regularly eat breakfast are less likely to be classed as obese, are less likely to develop diabetes and to succumb to heart disease, and yet many people still fall into the trap of believing that if they miss breakfast they will lose more weight faster. The truth, though, is that missing breakfast simply messes up people's metabolism and makes them more prone to bingeing on junk food, and thus breakfast should be considered essential for weight management.

Eating a healthy breakfast, rich in complex carbohydrates, calcium,protein, and minerals and vitamins, sets people up for the day, as they have energy. They may wake up feeling drowsy, and breakfast provides the perfect opportunity to perk themselves up. Their bodies need nourishment having been deprived of food for a considerable amount of time, and eating breakfast can boost people's metabolism, helping the body to burn fat more effectively. Their blood sugar levels will also benefit from a nutritious, well-balanced breakfast giving them energy.

When people feel as if they have energy they are generally in a more positive frame of mind, being better able to cope with stress and with other people, and can concentrate more on what they are doing. There is also more potential for them to be physically active, as they will be able to walk or cycle to work if they want, without feeling extremely drained. Exercising is obviously another essential feature of a healthy lifestyle, which eating breakfast can facilitate.

People who are eat breakfast in the morning are less likely to reach for junk food, as they have no need to. Individuals who are continually hungry, having not received the energy and nutrients needed at breakfast time, are more likely to make poor dietary choices to give them the quick-fix they need to keep them going. Their energy levels may temporarily increase, but they will soon revert back to feeling lethargic and ill-tempered.

Therefore breakfast should be a priority for anyone who wants to control their weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. It might be tempting for some people to simply cut calories by missing a meal, but doing so only jeopardises their ability to practise weight management effectively, as well as their overall sense of well-being.

All About Barley Grass

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Barley is an excellent food that can be used in some ways throughout its life span. Barley is a widely used grain at full maturation which is used in many products from cereals to livestock feed. The great thing about barley is the fact that it is highly adaptable to its surroundings; it can be grown in wet or dry areas as well as warm or cool. While there are so many uses for barley as a fully matured grain, the truly amazing benefits come before it's fully matured and while it is a tender grass. When barley is completely grown it is considered a grain, however, when barley is young and in the grass state, before the grain develops, it is more closely related to dark green leafy vegetables. This green grass is truly a wonderful nutritional source that has been linked to some seriously healthy benefits dating all the way back to 2,000BC.

When we think of some vitamins or minerals, we usually have a fruit or vegetable that comes to mind as the richest source. For instance when I say Vitamin C you most likely think of and orange, when I say calcium you most likely think of milk, and finally when I say iron most of you will think of spinach. Well, throw all those thoughts out and create a new way of thinking. What if I were to tell you that barley grass has ten times the calcium as milk, or six times the vitamin C as an orange, and finally four times the iron as spinach. Amazing isn't it, and this is just the tip of the nutritional ice berg. Barley grass also contains potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, beta carotene, folic acid, vitamin B1, B2, B6, and pantothenic acid as well as chlorophyll. It is also an AMAZING source of vitamin B12.

Without a doubt, with all of these vitamins and nutrients included in one supplement, it is no wonder why barley grass is one of the most popular, and widely taken supplements around the world. The fact that Barley grass has been associated to things such as lowering cholesterol, improving circulation, and preventing cancer isn't bad either. However, it is essential to make sure the grass was harvested at exactly the right time, to ensure you are getting all these amazing vitamins and minerals. In general, the grass should be harvested when the nutrient packed leaves are about 14 inches high.

After the grass is harvested it is usually dried to make supplementing easier, although it can be juiced, but juicing it makes supplementing a little more difficult for some people. Once the leaves are dried they are ground into a powder for your supplemental use; this powder can be mixed with water or juice and taken with a meal. Be sure to avoid mixing the powder with hot or warm liquids as this will deactivate the enzymes in it. There are several types of Barley Grass Powders to choose from. Some have flavorings such as green tea, and some are plain and made to mix with a juice of your preference. No matter what flavor you choose plain, berry, or green tea the important thing is that you take it, and join the millions world wide that are drinking their way to a healthier life.

Top 10 most nutritious vegetables

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Vegetables are important for health. Most vegetables are low in calories and fat. Some vegetables are loaded with nutrients and anti aging properties. The most nutritious vegetables help you to stay healthy and good shape. They also give you amazing protection against critical disease ... Read more...

Eat More Fish to Cheat Death

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Forget that icelandic men eat practically no vegetables, and that they affectionately refer to their local liquor as Black Death. Chances are, you could learn a lot from them about healthy eating.



You see, the men in Iceland live longer than those anywhere else on the planet -- an average of 78.7 years, to be exact. That beats the second-place Japanese by a couple of months, and the likes of you by more than 4 years. The natives claim that the secret to their longevity is their Viking blood. Science points to their dinner plates.

Every year, the people of Iceland eat 29,000 tons of fish, which equates to 200 pounds of fish per capita, more than any other nation, except for a few tiny, unpronounceable island states. (No offense to our loyal readers in Tokelau and Niue.)



That's 200 pounds of live weight, but even after you subtract for bones, heads, guts, and leftovers gone bad, it's more than 6 ounces of fish every day, for every man, woman, and child -- eight times the amount the average American eats. It's not difficult to connect the dietary dots.



What is it about fish? Scientists believe it's the fat. Nutritionists usually recommend that you avoid the fat in beef and pork, but the fat in fish is, well, an entirely different animal. That's because it's rich in omega-3 fatty acids -- healthy polyunsaturated fats that are essential for many biological functions. In fact, you need them to live.



"Omega-3 fatty acids are part of the membrane of every cell in the body; they're also the building blocks of hormones that govern much of the body's physiology," says David Katz, M.D., director of the Prevention Research Center at the Yale school of medicine.



A quick primer on omega-3 fatty acids:

• There are three types: eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid, known respectively as EPA, DHA, and ALA.

• EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids that are most easily used by your body, are found in significant amounts only in marine life, particularly cold-water fish (because they carry more fat for insulation).

• ALA, on the other hand, is obtained from plant-derived foods, such as flaxseed, canola oil, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.



An important detail: "For ALA to provide any health benefits, your liver must convert it into EPA and DHA," says Bruce Holub, Ph.D., a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Guelph, in Ontario. "The estimated average efficiency of conversion is around 10 percent to 15 percent."



That means for every gram of omega-3s you take in from fish sources, you need about 6 grams from plant foods to glean an equivalent amount of EPA and DHA. And that may be why fish consumption is related to longevity.



In the 1970s, scientists observed a very low death rate from heart disease in Greenland Eskimos, despite the high fat content -- nearly 40 percent of total calories -- of their diet. This became known as the "Eskimo Paradox," since it contradicted previous findings that a high-fat diet increased cardiovascular-disease risk. In subsequent investigations, Danish researchers found that the pivotal factor was the source of the fat.



Turns out, there was a strong correlation between the Eskimos' low incidence of heart disease and their high consumption of fatty fish, a finding that was later echoed in studies of other fish-eating cultures -- in Japan, Alaska, and the Mediterranean.



And that established a direct link to the life-extending benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA, since they're mostly absent in plant and land-animal food (unless you count lamb and pig brain).

Foods that are good for your eyes and vision

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Good foods fuels your body, contributes to healthy eyes and can influence your mind functions.

A healthy diet is important for strengthening your muscles and bones, and also keeping you alert. Wise food choices contain with good nutrition keep your skin smooth and also plays a role in maintaining healthy vision... Read More

Foods that are good for your hair

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Lather, rinse and repeat… may be standard advice, but shampoo and conditioner won't give you the healthy hair you desire. For the most luxurious locks possible, you'll need to step out of the shower, and into the kitchen.

Hair grows about 1/4 to 1/2 inch every month, and the basis of all of our new hair, skin, and nail growth is the nutrients we eat. If you eat a healthy diet, you will grow stronger and healthier cells throughout your entire body… inside and out.

Here are list of some foods for healthy hair diet.

Health benefits of jackfruit

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The jackfruit is a large oval fruit with powerful smell. It is believed that the fruit has been first originated in Indian rainforests. The fruit has a green skin, and turns to yellow when overripe. The fruit contains of pulp, flesh and seeds. The pulp and flesh are yellow and succulent. Taste of the flesh is sweet. The seed is about the size of a pigeon's egg.

The pulp and flesh of the young fruit is usually cooked as vegetable, preserved or canned. Flesh of ripe fruit is delicious eaten fresh or made into various recipes as well as desserts, drinks, jam, chutney, jelly, and paste, or preserved as sweets by drying. The seeds also can be eaten roasted, boiled or dried and salted, or they can be process to make flour and mixed together with wheat flour for baking. Jackfruit has an acquired taste and commonly does not appeal to those unfamiliar with it.

Although many people love jackfruit for its delicious taste, quite a few are uninformed of the jackfruit health benefits. Listed below is the quantity of nutrients available in 100 gm of jackfruit:

Sodium - 3 mg
Total Carbohydrates - 24 g
Dietary Fiber - 2 g
Protein - 1 g
Vitamin A - 297 IU
Vitamin C - 6.7 mg
Thiamine - 0.03 mg
Riboflavin - 0.11 mg
Niacin - 0.4 mg
Vitamin B6 - 0.108 mg
Foliate - 14 mcg
Calcium - 34 mg
Iron - 0.6 mg
Magnesium - 37 mg
Phosphorus - 36 mg
Potassium - 303 mg
Sodium - 3 mg
Zinc - 0.42 mg
Copper - 0.187 mg
Manganese - 0.197 mg
Selenium - 0.6 mcg
Total Fat - 0.3 mg
Saturated Fat - 0.063 mg
Mono unsaturated Fat - 0.044 mg
Polyunsaturated Fat - 0.086 mg
Calories - 94


As stated in nutrients list above, you can see that jackfruit is a rich source of potassium. Researches have proved that food rich in potassium supports to regulate your blood pressure. For that reason, jackfruit has the health benefit of providing aid for lowering blood pressure for anybody who suffers from high blood pressure.

Jackfruit supplies a good amount of proteins and carbohydrates but less amount of fat and calories. These make the jackfruit as an excellent energy supplement. Therefore the fruit is good to include in loss weight diet plan.

Jackfruit is a source of vitamin C. Your body does not create vitamin C naturally, so you must eat food that contains vitamin C to obtain its health benefits. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that keeps the body against free radicals. Vitamin C also holds the cells in your bodies together, strengthens your immune systems and maintains your gums healthy.

Jackfruit has phytonutrients that contained with lignans, isoflavones and saponins, which have wide ranging of health benefits. These phytonutrients have anti-cancer, anti-ageing, antihypertensive and anti-ulcer properties. Therefore jackfruit can prevent cancer cells from forming in the body, can slow down the degeneration of cells that result the skin look younger and supple, can reduce blood pressure and can fight against stomach ulcers.


Boiling the jackfruit root and extracting its content. The extract of jackfruit root is believed to cure those suffering from asthma, diarrhea and fever.

If you want to take benefit of the jackfruit, you can get jackfruit in many Caribbean and Asian food stores or superstores.

Health Benefits of Guava

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Guava is a tropical fruit. The guava is said to have originated in Central America and Mexico. Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought the guava to the East Indies and it shortly became a popular crop in Asia. These days the guava is a common fruit all over tropical America, Asia and in the warmer parts of Africa, and is one of the biggest fruit crops in Mexico.

The guava shape is quite similar to pear and the skin color is green but turns to yellow when it becomes overripe. The skin is can consume along with the fruit without peeled. Inside the skin there is flesh that is either white or reddish in color. Usually you can see a lot of small hard seeds enveloping the soft pulp of the fruit. Keep on reading to know about the health benefits of eating guavas.


- Guava Nutritional Value

Basically, apart from iron and folic acid, amount of nutrients present in 1 cup (165 gram) of guava is given below:

Vitamin A - 412 IU
Vitamin B - 1.15 mg
Vitamin C - 498 mg
Calcium - 50 mg
Calories - 84
Carbohydrates - 19.6 gm
Fiber - 8.9 gm
Niacin - 2 mg
Phosphorus - 48 mg
Protein - 1.35 gm
Total Fat - 0.9 gm


- Antioxidants

The skin and the pulp of the guava are an amazing source of natural antioxidants. The antioxidant properties contained in the skin are 10 times higher than in the pulp. Guava leaf extracts also have been revealed to contain high levels of antioxidants, and has been initiate to enhance male fertility in a study.


- Skin Care

Guava can improve the health and texture of the skin. It is a good source of vitamin A, B, C and the mineral potassium that maintain the skin fresh, glowing and wrinkle-free.
The fruit is also a superb source of astringents, especially unripe guava and leaves. Astringents help shrinking skin tissues, tightening loosened skin and dissolve the oil in the skin.


- Anti Inflammatory

Preliminary studies of guava leaf extract on the anti inflammatory properties indicated that the extract is mixed up with the inhibition of inflammatory agents. It is speculated that the chemical compounds in the plant of the leaf extract are responsible for the anti inflammatory effects.


- Antibacterial

The astringents in guava also help removing bacterial infections. Astringents are powerful fighters against bacteria because they are alkaline in nature. Besides, the astringents in guava consist of disinfectant properties, which help fighting against dysentery and diarrhea.


- Cancer Prevention

Guava is a very good source of a carotene called lycopene that helps preventing cancer. There is a study carried out by Harvard University researchers of a group of 48 000 persons, those who had lycopene into their diets had a 45 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who did not.


- Healthy Colon

Guava is a very good source of fiber. It has an estimated 9 grams of fiber per cup and as a result it cleaning out the intestine, supporting in digestion and reducing the risk of developing colon cancer.


- Lowering Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

Fiber inside the guava also helps in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. It assists to reduce cholesterol in the blood while increasing lipoprotein, good cholesterol. By lowering cholesterol in the blood sequentially reduces blood pressure.


- Teeth

Compounds present in guavas inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutants, which is measured to be a pathogen for dental caries.


The guava is a super nutritious fruit that not only supplies a lot of health benefits to those who consume it, but also is a light fruit you can bring around as a healthy snack.

The health benefits of beetroot

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Growing beetroot in the home garden is a must for people who care of their health seriously.

Beetroot is red, small and carrot-shaped vegetable. It was only developed in the 16th century. It was exposed that beetroot could be transformed into sugar in the 19th century, and straight away became a valued vegetable. Over the years, it became accepted and popular in Central and Eastern Europe as well.

Although bloody red beetroot juice might stain your clothes, it will not stain your health. It is one of the most adaptable vegetables and it is measured to have numerous health benefits.

Fresh beetroot juice with fresh orange or apple juice is very yummy. Beetroot can put in a refreshing touch to a salad, or as an accompaniment to other vegetables. It is also a good way to eat beetroot raw, just peel it and eat. According to medical research, consuming beetroot everyday can help reduce blood pressure. But this is not the single benefit that can be resulted from beetroot.

The motive why beetroot is measured to be healthy is that it contains almost no fat, has a small number of calories, is a rich source of natural sugar, and is a great source of fiber. The high value of beetroot nutrients makes it a priceless food in terms of health benefits it provides and it is in importance used for therapeutic purposes.

Beetroot is also a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, iron and vitamin A, B and C. Here are a number of beetroot benefits for health.

- Liver Health
Beetroot has bioactive agent called betaine, which is important to support liver function. When the liver is working correctly, fats will break down very well. This will help in weight loss and prevent tiredness.

- Cholesterol Buster
Beetroot fiber has been revealed to have cholesterol lowering abilities.

- Antioxidants
Beetroot contains betacyanin, the red pigment that gives beetroot its color. It has great antioxidant properties. Studies have verified that beetroot products used frequently in the diet may offer protection against some oxidative stress-related disorders.

- Cancer Prevention
Beetroot intake can be one of the helpful means to put a stop to lung and skin cancer. Researchers have proved that beetroot juice able to slow down the formation of cancer causing compounds named nitrosamines.

- Cleanser
Beetroot cleanses the kidneys and blood, cleanses toxic wastes to help liver function, supports healthy blood cell formation, and reduces inflammation.

- Digestive System
Beetroot has positive effects on digestive system. It helps in digestive disorders treatment such as jaundice, vomiting and nausea due to diarrhea or dysentery.


Be careful, though you eat sufficient beetroot, you might turn bright red.

Tomatoes

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Tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables. Fruits are the edible part of the plant containing the seeds, whereas vegetables are the edible leaves, stems, and roots of the plant.
Tomatoes are a part of the nightshade family as potatoes, ground cherries and eggplants; however they are served and prepared as a vegetable. That is why people consider them as vegetable.
There are great varieties of tomatoes come in red, yellow, green and even purple, as well as striped grow for different purposes.
Tomatoes are easy to grow. A few plants supply enough crops for most families. The quality of fruit picked in the garden when fully ripe is better than anything available on the market, even in season. The tomato plant is a tender, warm-season perennial that is grown as an annual in summer gardens.
Tomatoes are one of the most common fruit in the garden in the United States and a reputation for out producing the needs of the grower. There are many heirloom are becoming more and more well-liked, especially among gardeners at home and local-market farmers, as they tend to produce delicious crops at the cost of disease resistance and productivity.
Tomatoes are well known throughout the world, and their consumption is believed to benefit health. Nutritionists have always known tomatoes were good for you. Tomatoes are full with vitamin C, potassium, fiber and vitamin A in the form of health promoting beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A.
Tomatoes are also contained with lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants, which is the subject of current promising research that promotes health. Research suggests this powerful antioxidant may play a role in the fight against cancer, especially prostate cancer. Although it is available in all ripe tomatoes, a greater supply is more useful to body when it cooked.
Tomatoes are perfect for eating raw in a wide variety of ways. They are also delicious sauted, grilled, stewed, and added to many preparations. They are used widely in Mediterranean cuisine, especially in Italian and Middle Eastern cuisines. The tomato is acidic which makes tomatoes particularly easy to preserve in home canning whole, in pieces, puree, ketchup, or paste. Tomato juice is bottled or canned and sold as a healthy beverage. Unripe green tomatoes can be breaded and fried, used to make salsa, or pickled.
The fruit is also preserved by drying, often by sun, and sold either in jar in oil or in bags. Larger cherry tomatoes with a low percentage of water make delicious dried tomatoes. Plum tomatoes are well-suited for sauces, soups, stews, jams, and chutneys, and, because of their dense flesh, for drying.
When working with fresh tomatoes, the most important thing to know is the effect of temperature. Their flavor begins to deteriorate at temperature below about 5F. Therefore, never refrigerate your tomatoes, it render them flavorless and makes the flesh mealy too. Use fresh tomatoes within three to four days, and if you can't, make a simple paste or salsa that will hold in the refrigerator for a few extra days. To retain fresh flavor of tomatoes, cook them quickly. If you cooked longer than thirty minutes, their flavor begins to change.

The Diabetic Food List

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Understanding the diabetic food list is the very first step of knowing what type of food is beneficial to a patient and in what amount. The food list also plays a critical role when it comes to the preparation of meals and the creation of a certain diet plan.

The goods under the diabetic food list are as follows:


1. Starch List

All breads, including food items that have whole grain as their primary ingredient, fall under this category. There are different foods rich in starch available in the market today. Cereal, grains, and pasta are good examples. Generally, a serving of a single food item like bran cereals has an estimated content of 80 calories, 15g of carbohydrates, 3g of proteins, and minimal fats. For this example, one-third cup of bran cereal is one serving.

Dried beans and starchy vegetables are under this category too. Crackers, biscuits, toasts, pretzels and tacos are also included. One serving of these food items differ greatly from each other. But the rule of thumb would be the higher the starch content the food has, the lower will be the amount required by the body.


2. Meat List

Meat is the primary source of protein. And this is one of the reasons why a diabetic food list includes meats as a category. Meats are classified further into four groups. These would be the very lean, lean, medium-fat, and high-fat groups. A serving of meat under these groups should be a steady 7 grams. However, the fat content and the calories for each of them are expected to be different. Very lean meats provide 0 to 1g of fats and 35 calories. Leans have 3g fat and 55 calories. Medium-fat are slightly higher at 5g and 75 calories. High-fat are the ones with the highest levels of fat and calories at 8g and 100 calories respectively.


3. Vegetable List

Vegetables are healthy foods. And diabetics are going to need them. But of course, they should be taken in moderation as well. Anything taken in excess is bad. And this is very applicable to diabetic patients. One serving size of any kind of vegetable would be one cup for raw and half a cup if they are cooked. For vegetable juices, a single serving is going to be half a cup as well.

Keep in mind that there are vegetables that are considered starchy. These vegetables don't fall under this particular diabetic food list. Instead, they belong to the starch group. Starchy vegetables are corn, peas, and potatoes. On the other hand, vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, asparagus, broccoli, and beets are examples of the food group under this category.


4. Fruit List


Diabetics are going to need fruits to keep their body healthy. Some fruits are high in dietary fiber, which is actually beneficial to diabetic patients. A single serving of fruits would be half a cup if it is fresh and a quarter of a cup if it is dried. One serving of fruit juices is half a cup as well. All fruits should be acceptable. Apples, banana, apricot, blackberry, cherries, grapes, peaches, and watermelon are good examples. There are certain fruits that patients can even eat for more than one serving. An example would be mandarin oranges, raspberries, and dates.


5. Milk List.

Milk is one good source of nutrients. Diabetics can consume this beverage provided that they do it in controlled amounts only. Milk could be skim, low-fat, or whole. Skim milk is the one with the lowest calorie content, which is at 90. Low-fat milk, on the other hand, has 120 calories. Whole milk has the highest calorie content at 150.


6. Fats List

Fats are needed by the body too, but only the ones of the right type. Unsaturated fat are the better sources of fat. Margarine, mayonnaise, and nuts are food items that are rich in unsaturated fats. Saturated fats can be taken too, but never in excessive amounts. If they can be excluded from the diabetic food list, then that's going to be even better.

Fruit juices - adding colour and health to your life

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Easy to prepare, a good friend of your taste buds, a hit all through the year and good for your health – that’s a glass of fresh juice, which can also add glow and energy to your life. Fresh juice is healthy and we all know that drinking the real thing is better than the sugary alternatives that are packed months before they reach the consumers. Fresh juices benefit us in the following ways:


They provide minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids, carbohydrates and proteins

Help improve energy levels

Good for the skin

Strengthen the immune system

Make the bones stronger
Despite all the benefits that fruit juices offer, there are certain things we need to know about fresh juice.

Is it OK to drink as much juice as we want daily?

No, water should be the main source of liquid and it is always better to have fruits in their natural form rather than as juice. Why? Because we all add sugar and salt to the fruit juice we make at home. This increases the amount of sugar in our diet and thus, the calorie load. But we don’t really perceive drinks to be food. Eating a whole pomegranate or having three or four oranges in a row is a cumbersome job. But we would gallop a big glass of juice in a few seconds and even forget to count them as calories. So, if you take two servings of fruit in a juice, ideally you should forego your evening snacks.

Should we drink juice daily?

Drinking juice is an easy way to have two fruit servings per day that is good for the daily quota of vitamins. But, keep a check on the sugar added to the juice. It’s best to have fresh juice without any sugar or salt. Though such juice might taste a bit bland and sometimes sour as in the case of orange juice, you would gradually develop a taste for them. The best choice for a daily habit of juice is carrot, apple and ginger, made with only one piece of fruit. Carrots are sweet but lower in calories and have about half the carbohydrates of fruits. Celery is also a nice low-calorie filler. Have a look at the amount of carbohydrates different fruits have.

Orange –16 g

Grapes – 28 g

Pomegranates – 26 g

Pineapple – 19 g

Apple – 21 g
How to use the juicer?

Now the next thing is how to use the juicer at home to get the best juice. The foremost thing is to get a good quality juicer, preferably ISI marked. If you want the fibre benefits, then put all the vegetables and fruits into a blender and don’t use a juice extractor. While ordering fresh juice from outside, be sure about the hygiene and ensure that they are using a blender, not an extractor. Extractors make a smooth drink but they remove the all-important fibre from the juice.

Are juices good for children?

Replacing water with juice for children can cause diarrhoea. Having juice everyday can help to develop lifetime sweet tendencies in children. So, juices should be an occasional drink for children. Eating fruit in its natural form and relying on water, as the source of liquid, are better alternatives. Nevertheless, fruit juice is better than having aerated drinks.

Tips on getting best out of your juices


Always wash fruit and vegetables – even organic produce could carry bacteria.

Include the stems and leaves of vegetables because they have a high vitamin and mineral content.

Drink a juice within half an hour of preparing it, or it can get oxidised by exposure to air and develop a sour taste.

If you must prepare juice early, keep it refrigerated with a tight lid. Or freeze in daily-serving- size containers immediately and drink it straight after thawing.

Include the white inner skin of citrus fruits, as it is full of beneficial bioflavonoids.

Add lemon juice to preserve the natural colour and reduce the oxidation of essential nutrients.

If you want to lose weight, then drink vegetable juices, as they contain fewer calories than fruit juice.

If you have a sensitive stomach or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ensure that you dilute juices with water (three parts of juice with one part of water).
Easy to make juice-based drinks

Watermelon drink

Ingredients - 3 cups watermelon (washed and cut into small pieces), sugar (as per taste), 3 tablespoon skimmed milk, ice cubes.

Method - Blend the ingredients in a blender and refrigerate. Pour the prepared drink into serving glass, add ice cubes and serve.

Nutritive value of the watermelon juice - Apart from providing energy, watermelon protects against age-related symptoms of vision loss, fights heart disease, reduces cancer risk and is loaded with anti-oxidants. So, a glass of watermelon drink everyday not only quenches your thirst but also offers a range of health benefits.

Carrot, celery and cabbage juice

Ingredients - 2 cucumbers, stalks of celery, a piece of ginger, a handful of parsley, piece of apple or citrus fruit

Method - Wash all vegetables and juice them together. Serve it fresh.

A glass of fruit or vegetable juice takes very little digestion. It goes right into your body and is a very yummy way of getting instant energy. Fruit juices can energise your life.

Pumpkin Has Health Benefits?

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Pumpkin is often relegated to the holiday seasons only, but there are more than a few reasons that you should consider adding pumpkin to your diet on a regular basis throughout the year.

When you think of pumpkin, you likely think of pumpkin pie, and that's something you usually only eat around Thanksgiving, right?

Or maybe you are thinking Halloween and a jacko'lantern? Which, sadly enough, is often made of the shell and most people just throw out the insides.

At least you probably don't think of the pumpkin the way Koreans do. In Korea, the pumpkin is the symbol of being homely.

What a waste!

The pumpkin is your friend; cute or beautiful or not :-)

That jacko'lantern was once filled with phytonutrients before it was nothing more than a gaping mouth and a blank stare.

Phytonutrients help to keep your skin young looking and can protect it from sun damage as well.

Pumpkin is also a great source of fiber, vitamins C and E, and potassium. Pumpkins taste great and are chock full of caratenoid pigments like alpha-carotene,along with beta carotene and lutein.

Before you go off thinking that it is going to be difficult to you to incorporate pumpkin into your regular eating habits, don't get too worried about it. In fact, there are lots of great ways to add pumpkin to your diet too that do not include pies and whipped cream (though that's okay too for most people if they don't overdo it). You can enjoy pumpkin as bread, or in muffins, in pumpkin rolls, or even in pumpkin casseroles.

Don't be a pumpkin head, but head for pumpkin the next chance you get.

Find out more about the foods that can help you be healthier, happier, even smarter by visiting http://www.PowerfulFoods.com now. Join the SuperFoods Newsletter for free at http://www.PowerfulFoods.com/welcome.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Allen_Williams

25 Reasons Why You Should Start Drinking Green Tea Right Now

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Green tea has increasingly become a very popular drink worldwide because of its immensely powerful health benefits.
It is extraordinarily amazing what green tea can do for your health.
And if you're not drinking 3 to 4 cups of green tea today, you're definitely NOT doing your health a big favor.

Here Are The 25 Reasons Why You Should Start Drinking Green Tea Right Now:

1. Green Tea and Cancer

Green tea helps reduce the risk of cancer.
The antioxidant in green tea is 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times better than vitamin E.
This helps your body at protecting cells from damage believed to be linked to cancer.


2. Green Tea and Heart Disease

Green tea helps prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering the level of cholesterol.
Even after the heart attack, it prevents cell deaths and speeds up the recovery of heart cells.


3. Green Tea and Anti-Aging

Green tea contains antioxidant known as polyphenols which fight against free radicals.
What this means it helps you fight against aging and promotes longevity.

4. Green Tea and Weight Loss
Green tea helps with your body weight loss. Green tea burns fat and boosts your metabolism rate naturally.
It can help you burn up to 70 calories in just one day.
That translates to 7 pounds in one year.


5. Green Tea and Skin

Antioxidant in green tea protects the skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, which cause wrinkling and skin aging.
Green tea also helps fight against skin cancer.


6. Green Tea and Arthritis

Green tea can help prevent and reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
Green tea has benefit for your health as it protects the cartilage by blocking the enzyme that destroys cartilage.


7. Green Tea and Bones

The very key to this is high fluoride content found in green tea.
It helps keep your bones strong.
If you drink green tea every day, this will help you preserve your bone density.

8. Green Tea and Cholesterol
Green tea can help lower cholesterol level.
It also improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, by reducing bad cholesterol level.


9. Green Tea and Obesity

Green tea prevents obesity by stopping the movement of glucose in fat cells.
If you are on a healthy diet, exercise regularly and drink green tea, it is unlikely you'll be obese.

10. Green Tea and Diabetes

Green tea improves lipid and glucose metabolisms, prevents sharp increases in blood sugar level, and balances your metabolism rate.


11. Green Tea and Alzheimer's

Green tea helps boost your memory.
And although there's no cure for Alzheimer's, it helps slow the process of reduced acetylcholine in the brain, which leads to Alzheimer's.

12. Green Tea and Parkinson's

Antioxidants in green tea helps prevent against cell damage in the brain, which could cause Parkinson's. People drinking green tea also are less likely to progress with Parkinson's.

13. Green Tea and Liver Disease

Green tea helps prevent transplant failure in people with liver failure. Researches showed that green tea destroys harmful free radicals in fatty livers.


14. Green Tea and High Blood Pressure

Green tea helps prevent high blood pressure.
Drinking green tea helps keep your blood pressure down by repressing angiotensin, which leads to high blood pressure.


15. Green Tea and Food Poisoning
Catechin found in green tea can kill bacteria which causes food poisoning and kills the toxins produced by those bacteria.

16. Green Tea and Blood Sugar

Blood sugar tends to increase with age, but polyphenols and polysaccharides in green tea help lower your blood sugar level.


17. Green Tea and Immunity

Polyphenols and flavenoids found in green tea help boost your immune system, making your health stronger in fighting against infections.

18. Green Tea and Cold and Flu

Green tea prevents you from getting a cold or flu.
Vitamin C in green tea helps you treat the flu and the common cold.

19. Green Tea and Asthma

Theophylline in green tea relaxes the muscles which support the bronchial tubes, reducing the severity of asthma.

20. Green Tea and Ear Infection

Green tea helps with ear infection problem.
For natural ear cleaning, soak a cotton ball in green tea and clean the infected ear.

21. Green Tea and Herpes

Green tea increases the effectiveness of topical interferon treatment of herpes.
First green tea compress is applied, and then let the skin dry before the interferon treatment.

22. Green Tea and Tooth Decay

Green tea destroys bacteria and viruses that cause many dental diseases.
It also slows the growth of bacteria which leads to bad breath.


23. Green Tea and Stress

L-theanine, which is a kind of amino acids in green tea, can help relieve stress and anxiety.

24. Green Tea and Allergies

EGCG found in green tea relieves allergies.
So, if you have allergies, you should really consider drinking green tea.


25. Green Tea and HIV

Scientists in Japan have found that EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) in green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells.
What this means is that green tea can help stop the HIV virus from spreading.

Egg yolks are good for you .. The truth about egg yolks

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Many people throw away the egg yolk because they think that's where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is". This is a perfect
example of how confused most people are about nutrition.

In a world full of misinformation, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg,
when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you're essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich,
vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate,
choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients... it's not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolk. Even the protein in egg whites isn't as powerful
without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the
egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain all of the fat
soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as all of the essential fatty acids.

And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg..."But I heard
that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof ." No, this is FALSE!

First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out. On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has tons of important functions in the body.

And here's where it gets even more interesting...There are indications that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.

And 3rd... high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease...but high cholesterol is NOT.

So I hope we've established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body... instead whole eggs are FAR
superior to egg whites.

Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don't compare nutritionally with organic free range
eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet.

I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy. Most people don't realize that there's a major difference because they've never bought real eggs from
healthy chickens... The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs had
deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids.

So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior, you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.

One more thing about eggs... I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people
that ate cereal or bagel based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight.

It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was
more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.

~ This article taken from my mailbox.~

9 Foods for a Healthy Heart

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Heart disease is the top cause of death in the United States. It is also one of the main causes of death throughout the world.

Dietary advice for reducing heart disease risk includes eating a balanced diet with less saturated fat from red meats, more fresh vegetables and fruits, more white meat and fish, less sugar, more fiber and for many people, fewer total calories. Then you can make your heart and the rest of your cardiovascular system even healthier by adding more of these foods:

Apples

Apples contain a phytochemical called quercetin which acts as an antiinflammatory and will help prevent blood clots as well. Apples contain vitamins and fiber, come in several delicious varieties and are portable. Eat an apple with a handful of walnuts or almonds as a healthy snack or add apple slices to your healthy salads.


Almonds

Almonds and other nuts contain healthy oils, vitamin E and other substances that will help keep cholesterol levels in check. Almonds are also a good source of protein and fiber. Almonds make a great snack on their own, or sprinkle slivered almonds on green beans or asparagus with lemon juice as a deliciously healthy side dish.


Green leafy vegetables

Green leafy vegetables contain folate, which helps to keep homocysteine levels down, and vitamin E. Green leafy vegetables have also been associated with better retention of memory as age. Try using fresh spinach leaves or other greens for your favorite salad instead of iceberg lettuce.


Oats

Oats contain a soluble fiber called beta glucan that helps reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Soluble fiber also helps keep your digestive system healthy. Enjoy oatmeal with just a small amount of brown sugar and plenty of strawberries and walnuts for breakfast. Cold cereals made with oats are also great with low-fat milk or soy milk plus slices of fresh fruit.


Olive Oil

Olive oil reduces your risk of heart disease by lowering your LDL cholesterol levels. Choose olive oil for cooking, or make a nice dip for whole grain bread by pouring a bit of olive oil in a small bowl and add a bit of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of oregano.


Salmon

Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids that protect your heart by reducing both inflammation and the risk of blood clots. These fats also work to keep your cholesterol levels healthy. Eat salmon or other oily ocean fish like tuna, sardines or herring at least two times per week. For a heart-healthy meal, try grilled salmon steaks with a green vegetable and a side salad with a sprinkling of lemon juice instead of high-calorie salad dressing.


Soy

Soy protein has been shown to prevent heart attacks and soy makes an excellent protein substitute for red meat, which will reduce your saturated fat intake. Add tofu to your favorite stir fry or pour soy milk on your morning cereal.


Tomatoes

Tomatoes are packed with vitamins and lycopene, which has been shown to reduce heart disease risk. Add thick slices of tomatoes to sandwiches and salads or enjoy tomato sauce on whole wheat pasta. In fact, cooked tomato sauce and canned tomato sauce that you buy in the store both contain more lycopene than raw tomatoes.


Whole Grains

Whole grains provide vitamins and fiber that will help to keep your heart healthy. Make a deliciously healthy sandwich with two slices of 100-percent whole-grain bread, three ounces of lean turkey breast, lots of sliced tomatoes and avocado, plus lettuce and a bit of mustard. Switch from white pasta to whole grain pasta too.

12 Facts About Nutrition the Doctors and the Government Don't Know

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We all take the word of doctors and the government when it comes to our diets. Seriously, who is better to trust? The answer is simple: nutritionists. They may be hard to find, and they may same expensive at first, but the benefits of talking to someone who actually understands the science of food is amazing.

Here are a dozen pearls of wisdom from my personal nutritionist.

1) Food cannot be made in a lab. Substances that look, smell, and even taste a lot like food can be made in a laboratory, but the more processed a food is - the more lab-time it has before it goes into your mouth - the less nutritious it becomes. This is true even if the lab time is spend "fortifying" and "enhancing" your food, because they "fortify" with synthetic vitamins, which just don't work like natural vitamins do.

2) The Food Pyramid is upside-down. Mostly. The part about avoiding sweets and sugary foods, that's true. But the real food pyramid needs to be based solidly in meats and veggies, then fruit and dairy, with grains - whole grains - at the top, as a totally optional food. There also needs to be a special place for oils and butter - a vital source of essential fatty acids, which many Americans are horribly lacking.

3) If you can't buy it, don't eat it. That means if your candy bar has an ingredient that you can't find in the shelves, in it's own package, ready to take home and add to your home cooking - it's toxic. The food companies add toxins in amounts small enough that the FDA believes there is no long-term effect, but the fact is, no one knows how much hydrodypropylmethelcellulose you get in a day - and there's no safety net in place to make sure you don't get too much by getting a tiny amount from several dozen sources.

4) Eating fat doesn't make you fat. Think about it. If you eat fat (and you don't eat carbs at the same time), your body has to burn fat in order to survive (cause there's no carbs to burn). So eating fat doesn't make you store fat away - it makes you burn it. Unless, that is, you eat carbs at the same time. Then your body can burn the carbs for energy, and happily slap the fat onto your posterior.

5) Eating carbs makes you fat. Even if you don't eat fat and carbs - even if you just eat carbs, but you eat a lot of them - your body will burn what it can, pack away a little bit for emergency stress-response food, and then turn the rest into fat and slap it onto your posterior.

6) There are six things you have to get out of your food to survive. Those things are essential fatty acids, essential amino acids (proteins), water, calories, vitamins, and minerals. Notice that there are no carbohydrates anywhere on that list. That's important.

7) Vitamins and minerals don't work without other substances. They're called co-factors, and without the right co-factors, your body can't use vitamins and minerals correctly. In nature, vitamins and minerals almost always come 'pre-packaged' with the correct co-factors. That's the problem with synthetic vitamins - they don't.

8) Cooking food destroys some vitamins and essential acids. I'm not saying "go eat raw chicken", but keep in mind that the less cooked your food is, the more nutrition you get out of it. Raw beef, fresh veggies, etc, are all better for you than their cooked counterparts - and cooked food is better for you the less it's cooked. That means that pasteurized milk, almonds, juices, etc. lose a lot of their value.

9) Some foods have estrogen in them that can really screw up your body. Soybeans and flax seed are the big ones - every 100 grams of soy protein you consume is the equivalent of eating a birth control pill! Don't eat soy unless it's fermented first, like in real Chinese-style tofu and tamari soy sauce.

10) Local food is healthier. Strawberries from Chile, apples from Argentina - there are very few rules about these foods that our government can actually enforce; and that means that you have no idea what happened to those foods before they got to your market. You're way better off eating local food, in the season that it was grown in. Less chemical preservatives, less transportation costs...better all around.

11) Irradiating food kills vitamins, too. That means both irradiated beef and ANY MICROWAVED FOOD is significantly less valuable to your body than normal food. The only thing it's safe to microwave is water.

12) Eating right prevents a lot of diseases. Not just the ones you know about, like scurvy and beriberi - the big ones, like cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and more. All of these diseases are your body's responses to long-term stresses, the most major of which is a bad diet.

I am no nutritionist - but my nutritionist is no writer. We got together to spread the word. Read more about how to live healthy through understanding your food. Don't you deserve to know the facts about nutrition for yourself?

Michael Danielson will be a father for the first time in August of 2008. In the interest of his future child's health, he has been working closely with his nutritionist to learn how to feed the human body and brain. His work runs contrary to almost everything you will here from your doctor or the FDA.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Danielson

Slow Aging - 8 Foods You Can Eat to Inhibit Aging

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While there's no way to fully stop the aging process, you can slow it down by maintaining a balanced diet and enjoying more healthy foods. If you're interested in looking young and feeling great, keep reading for a list of 8 foods you can eat to slow aging.

Ginger

Ginger is probably nature's best health tool. Not only does it boost the immune system, it can also give a much-needed kick to your circulatory and digestive systems.

With that added boost, your circulatory system becomes more efficient at delivering nutrients and oxygen to your body's cells, particularly skin cells. Meanwhile, a faster digestive system means toxins are evacuated rather than released into the skin.

Soya

Soya and soy bean products have been proven to help maintain healthy levels of estrogen and oestrogen in women. This vital hormone is a crucial element in the aging process since as a women's estrogen levels decrease, the aging process increases in speed.

Water

While not technically a food, water is worth mentioning as nature's true fountain of youth. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will almost guarantee well-hydrated, fresh looking skin for life.

Not only does water hydrate the skin, but it also helps to flush toxins from our body and improve cell production.

Berries

Berries, particularly dark berries like blackberries and blueberries, are very high in antioxidants, which regulate free radicals. Because free radicals break down cellular structures and expediate the aging process, eating handfuls of berries is a good - and tasty - practice.

Avocado

Whether you're smearing it on your face as a mask or eating it in a sandwich, avocado is nature's skin miracle. It's a great source of monounsaturated fats, but it's also full of Vitamin E, which is great for your skin. Additionally, the avocado is high in potassium.

Bananas

Like avocados, bananas are high in potassium which stops fluid retention and improves digestion. This means your body and skin will flush out toxins faster, leading to brighter and fresher looking skin.

Beets

Beets are full of iron and women who don't consume enough iron tend to be prone to pronounced, dark circles under their eyes. So, step up your iron levels with beets or other high-protein foods.

Winter Squash

Most varieties of squash are full of skin-loving vitamins A and C. Vitamin C helps boost collagen production and skin elasticity while Vitamin A offers the added benefit of reducing infection and boosts elastin growth.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Patterson

The Importance of Eating a Balanced Diet - Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins

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Do you know where your calories come from? For most normal people, their calories are supplied by carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The only difference is the ratio each type of food contributes to these calories. Unlike popular perception, any excess calories you do not use up gets converted to body fat. So, even if you eat a completely fat-free all-fruit diet, you can still get fat if you do not get enough exercise. On the other hand, if you are on some extreme form of Atkins diet with high protein and high fat, do add some carbohydrates to your diet. Without this carbohydrate, you will likely feel listless and enervated, because fat needs a bit of carbohydrate to be properly consumed.

Even if you expect to get most of your energy from protein, as long as there is fat in your diet, make sure you include a little bit of carbohydrates as well. If you fail to do this, acid products will accumulate from the incomplete conversion of fat. This will eventually lead to untoward results. Fortunately, it does not mean that you have to eat rice, or bread, or french fries together with your steak. Fruits can provide the carbohydrates you need. Or even a small, sweet dessert can do the trick. Of course, when you add that dessert to your meal, please remember to cut down on your steak. The key to losing weight is to eat less calories than you burn everyday.

Now, what if you are on an extreme vegan no-fat diet? Unless your doctor recommended this diet to address a particular health problem, I would advise you to add some fat to your diet. Animal experiments conducted by scientists have shown that fat-free diets produce kidney diseases and an alarming disinterest in the opposite sex. In other words, fats are essential to normal nutrition.

In general, there is no excuse to completely eliminate protein from your diet. Even on a vegan diet, there are certain nuts and beans you should add to your diet to ensure that you have an adequate supply of protein. You may ask, "Why do I need protein in my diet?" There are three reasons. Firstly, together with carbohydrates and fats, proteins also provides the energy you need for your daily living.

Secondly, protein is the building block of your body. After exercise, and even in your normal day-to-day life, your muscle tissue will die out. Not just the muscles in your arms and legs, but the muscles in your internal organs. You need protein to rebuild these muscles. The third and most important reason is that proteins provide the amino acids needed to create the hormones and neurotransmitters in your body and mind. Basically, an imbalanced diet with too much or too little protein could lead to problems like acne, impotence, infertility, slowness of thought, timidity or over-aggression.

Overall, if you are reducing weight with a DIY diet plan, you should make sure you have a balanced diet. Your calories need to come from carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Just remember to eat a bit less and exercise a bit more and you will definitely lose weight.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Calvin_Loh