Archive for the ‘Diet’ Category

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Revisiting Antioxidants

Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Antioxidants are a group of organic substances know as carotenoids that include vitamins C and E, vitamin A, selenium (a mineral). Carotenoids are the pigment compounds that give many fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors, with beta-carotene is the most well know carotenoid. Antioxidants work by destroying free harmful radicals. Free radicals can damage cell walls, genetic material within cells and other cell structures. This leads to cell malformation – the changes that contribute to aging, cancer, heart disease, stroke and many other ailments associated with natural aging. . Over time such damage may lead to disease.
The higher your toxic intake from food, environmental pollutants, toxic chemicals from smoking and drugs, the higher your need for antioxidants.
There are different ways to boost your antioxidant power house
Antioxidants used to boost the bodies ability to produce a number antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase, and catalase, that destroy many types of harmful free radicals. Supplements of these enzymes can also be taken, however absorption is typically low.
Supplements the body needs to make these enzymes may be more effective are more potent – including the minerals managanese, zinc and copper for SOD and selenium for glutathione peroxidase.
Vitamins and minerals are effective antioxidants in their own right – such as vitamin E, vitamin C, lutein, lycopene, vitamin B2, coenzyme Q10, and cysteine (an amino acid). Herbs, such as grape seed, bilberry, turmeric (curcumin), ginkgo, milk thistle and green tea also contain powerful antioxidant compounds. This appears to be the most effective way to increase your antioxidant stores.

Antioxidants are a group of organic substances know as carotenoids that include vitamins C and E, vitamin A, selenium (a mineral). Carotenoids are the pigment compounds that give many fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors, with beta-carotene is the most well know carotenoid. Antioxidants work by destroying free harmful radicals. Free radicals can damage cell walls, genetic material within cells and other cell structures. This leads to cell malformation – the changes that contribute to aging, cancer, heart disease, stroke and many other ailments associated with natural aging. . Over time such damage may lead to disease.

The higher your toxic intake from food, environmental pollutants, toxic chemicals from smoking and drugs, the higher your need for antioxidants.

There are different ways to boost your antioxidant power house

  • Antioxidants used to boost the bodies ability to produce a number antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase, and catalase, that destroy many types of harmful free radicals. Supplements of these enzymes can also be taken, however absorption is typically low.
  • Supplements the body needs to make these enzymes may be more effective are more potent – including the minerals managanese, zinc and copper for SOD and selenium for glutathione peroxidase.
  • Vitamins and minerals are effective antioxidants in their own right – such as vitamin E, vitamin C, lutein, lycopene, vitamin B2, coenzyme Q10, and cysteine (an amino acid). Herbs, such as grape seed, bilberry, turmeric (curcumin), ginkgo, milk thistle and green tea also contain powerful antioxidant compounds. This appears to be the most effective way to increase your antioxidant stores.

Posted in Antiaging Products, Cancer, Diet | 1 Comment »

Spicy Way to Burn More Body Fat

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Heard the saying ‘food is the spice of life’? Well, it seems we can go one step further and say that ’spices are the spice of life’. Spices are not only a way to invigorate an otherwise boring healthy meal. It seems that spices can help you burn more body fat.

According to the January 2006 issue of The Journal of Physiology and Behavior, numerous studies on several spices have increased thermogenesis in the body. Thermogenesis is simply heat – and since a calorie is a unit of heat, turn up your body heat and burn more calories.

Burn more calories – burn more fat. How easy is that.

If you want to know more about thermogenesis and is amazing body fat burning properties, get a free copy of a new handbook “The Radical Fatloss Blueprint.” It’s available for the next 21 days to anyone who owns a copy of “The Every Other Day Diet.”

The Every Other Day Diet claims to help you lose up to 21 pounds in 21 days. You can get a copy of the “Every Other Day Diet” here

As a sneaky peak – here’s the spices that work the best to help you burn bodyfat:

  1. Capsaicin – the compound gives red chili pepper its heat, increased energy via heat expenditure by up to 23% after ingesting it at breakfast.
  2. Black Pepper- increases body heat (thermogenesis) by bonding to TRPV1 receptors in the brain.
  3. Turmeric – has both anti-cancer and pro-thermogenic support. Two for one!

Combine these three spices: Red chili pepper, black pepper and turmeric, and use them liberally (as you can handle them) on your lunch and dinner meals. Just don’t overdo it and end up with more heartburn than fatburn.

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Posted in Diet, Fat Loss | 13 Comments »

Iron Man Nutrition Great For Antiaging Program

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

I came across this very good video by triathlete Ben Greenfield on the nutritional requirements for athletes training for the Iron Man. As most of you would know, the Iron Man is the elite fitness event in the triathlon circuit. Whilst most of you will not be training for such an event, you are very likely to be preparing for a hiking holiday, skiing holiday, or other event requiring endurance. Quite frankly, even looking after children during the holidays can be an endurance test to some!!

During preparation for such an event, the body must be correctly nourished to build muscle, not fat, and to ensure that it receives sufficient antioxidants and anti-inflammatories to aid muscle building and damage to joints and muscles - all characteristics we try to achieve with an antiaging nutrition and fitness program.

I urge you to take a look – you can download a powerpoint slide deck to follow along – as the slides in the video are not easy to see, but Ben makes a great job of talking to each point.

 

Visit http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/ironman for the powerpoint.

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Posted in Anti-Aging Program, Diet, Fitness, Muscle Building, Supplements | 3 Comments »

The Beauty of Healthy Food

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Since our last post was on the ugly side of food, I thought I would seek out a good food balance – something inspiring and beautiful.

I found the perfect ugly food foil in this delightful short video….its less than 2 minutes but can give a lifetime of pleasure. Check it out – the music alone soothes the soul

 

I have to admit that I couldn’t resist playing it again…..so go on….treat yourself one more time. After all, its nearly Christmas!

Nicola

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Posted in Antiaging, Diet, Food Facts | 1 Comment »

Light in Fat, Or Light in Fact?

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Health guidelines in USA require listing of fat in terms of calories, whereas the rest of the world records fat as in terms of percentage.

To get to percent calories from fat requires shoppers to stand there with a calculator and transform this useless piece of caloric information into a percentage fat per food.

Watch this video to see who a world-wide brand product which displays on the label as 99% fat free, is in fact an astonishing 67% fat.

Jeff Novick of the Pritikin Center [ex Kraft Foods] outlines the 3 easy steps you MUST know if you ever buy foods at any supermarket or “health” food store.

What he reveals is on of the dirtiest kept secrets on how major food corporations consistently and purposely deceive consumers.

It’s certainly no accident labels are so confusing! No wonder obesity is increasing!!! With so many dieters using low-fat diets – and still gaining weight – its no wonder we are all confused.

Most so called low fat foods are not low fat at all. If they are – its probably because they are higher in sugar than their ‘standard’ products.

Novick shows how to cut through the nonsense of food labeling to see what you need to see, and understand what you’re really getting.

Note: This video is an excerpt from Novick’s 80-minute talk at the VegSource 2007 Healthy Lifestyle Expo, and part of a 12-part series of top health expert presentations.

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Posted in Antiaging, Diet, Food Facts | 1 Comment »

How To Turn Your Oatmeal Into An Antiaging Superfood

Friday, July 11th, 2008

I am a great fan of oatmeal for breakfast – summer and winter. I prefer to buy premixed museli and cover it with water then microwave it for 2 minutes. Its an easy and fast way to ensure that I get a good breakfast and helps to lower my cholesterol [something my family has a problem with].

However, what I didn’t know until recently was that including a glass of orange juice with my oatmeal breakfast doubles the nutrition power. It seems there is a special synergy between the two foods, based around the phenols in oatmeal and the vitamin C in the juice working together to make LDL more stable. In its more stable form – LDL is less likely to stick to the walls of ateries.

LDL is the bad side of the cholesterol ratio – the one that increases the risk of arteries clogging and leading to cardiovascular disease and strokes.

My oatmeal is just been converted from a great food to a superfood.

For more antiaging superfoods

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Posted in Anti-Aging Program, Diet | 1 Comment »

How Well Do We Know The Food We Eat?

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

Whilst we are on a food or eating theme – how well do we really know the food we eat. Whilst consumer health regulatory bodies in most western countries today, have set strict guidelines on food labeling, are manufacturers being honest about the contents, or are they instead finding new ways to hide the truth.

We all know the colorings that are labeled using a alphanumeric codes that mean nothing to us.

We also know about the ‘220′ sulphur based preservatives common in most white wines and standard ‘202′ preservative used in many foods. And what about the fats that are hidden behind terms such as ’solidifiers’, or ‘emulsifiers’?

They key to understanding food labeling is to look at the first 5 items in the “Contains” list. If any of these contain: emulsifiers, sugars, transfats, sodium or corn syrup; then you know you have something that should be placed back on the shelves.

Most governments are at a loss as to how to encourage the public to be more responsible for their health. With the conclusive evidence that overweight and obesity cause bowel [colo-rectal] cancer, why is it that so many adults continue to consume such garbage food – and worse, they feed it to their children. Has the public become so dependent on the government to provide everything in their lives – jobs, medical care, housing, education, food – are we falling into the trap of not being responsible for ourselves and our families.

With the obesity trend showing little indication of reversing in spite of the advanced knowledge we now have, it is evident that the message just isnt getting through, and in the interest of public health and reducing the steeply climbing cost of medical care for ‘unnecessary and preventable’ illnesses, governments certainly have the right to start controlling what goes on the supermarket shelf, and the price of low health products. Before you start screaming ‘controlled economies’, realise that only those who are not taking responsibility for their own health and the health of their children buy these items anyway. Certainly, initiatives UK, Australia and New Zealand are moving down this path.

So ask yourself, are you responsible about your families health? Do you need help fighting against the gross commercialisation of foods bad for the health?

Posted in Diet, Weight Management | 2 Comments »

Eat Less As The Day Goes On

Friday, October 26th, 2007

Nutrition writer Adelle Davis wrote “Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a prince and eat dinner like a pauper.” There are those that agree with this statement and other who do not.

I do both!

I am not a big fan of eating as soon as  I get out of bed, plus I like to give my body at least 12 hours in every 24 to cleanse and repair itself. Every time you eat, your body has to ramp up its digestion processes to assimilate the nutrition from the food, and rid the body of toxins. This means that all its processing power is tied up, and no capability is available to rid the cells of toxic waste and focus on repairing damaged cells. Its a bit like your computer – it only has so much processing capacity at any one time, and you cannot scan the disk or defrag the hard-drive whilst you are using the computer to do other things. You have to wait until it is idle to run these utility functions.

I also like to exercise first thing – so will have a protein shake following, then wait until 10.30-11am before having any carbs for breakfast.

My main meal is lunch – at around 2pm. I always have chicken/steak and lots of salad. Portion control is the key to avoiding that after lunch doze zone. As my blood sugars are level from the earlier protein, and I have little additional carbs at lunch [half a toasted tortilla], I feel energetic for the rest of the day.

I enjoy my “reward” glass of wine and handful of nuts pre dinner, then eat very lightly around 7.30-8pm. This gives me a good 2-2.5  hour clearance before retiring, meaning my dinner is well digested and I sleep well.

So you see I start light – go moderate – end light.

Even with weeks of very little sleep due to an inconsiderate neighbor, I can still maintain a full workday and mental stamina [even if I am a bit more forgetful than normal]. I am sure this is due to my daily eating plan, and my morning exercise routine.

So think not only about what you eat, and when you eat it. Try a few combinations of moving your food allowance around through the day, and see what impact it has…you may be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Nicola

Posted in Antiaging, Cellular Health, Diet | No Comments »

Estrogens In Food Reducing Size Of Male Genitals

Sunday, October 7th, 2007

In a recent study of male alligators it was found that oestrogens were reducing the size of the penis. Naturally, this is of great concern to our male population whose entire ego revolves around this symbol of manhood.

The study found that DDT used in the region of the alligators was having a significant impact in the levels of estrogens in the alligators. DDT contains zenoestrogens.

All men have estrogen.  A lot of human food also contains estrogen – soy beans, bread, sausages. So too, do food containers and covers such as the lining of cans and plastic food wrap.

These additional levels of estrogens in the diet are resulting in 14-70% more estrongen in men, than their expected natural levels. This is also being attributed to the reducing sperm count of the human male.

So that’s it guys – no more soy lattes – you are better off with a beer. Just don’t swill in down with a sausage in a bread roll!

Posted in Diet | No Comments »

More On The Milk Dilemna

Friday, September 28th, 2007

Had someone email me a comment on the last milk blog so adding it in here.

No doubt many that drink pasteurized milk, believing they are doing their bodys good. I mean, how many times as a child were you told to drink 2-3 glasses of milk every day to ensure strong and healthy bones?

To learn more about the many health problems associated with drinking pasteurized milk and eating other pasteurized dairy products, I highly encourage you to read the following article that I wrote on dairy:

http://drbenkim.com/articles-dairy.html

Eliminating regular supermarket milk and other pasteurized dairy products from your diet is essential to giving your body a chance to experience its best health.  

They also suggested making your own Almond milk  – its really easy to make with a bunch of raw almonds, a few dates, and a blender.  

Heres the recipe: http://drbenkim.com/recipesalmondmilk.html  

Not convinced?  Try going without pasteurized milk and dairy products for just 30 days and observe the results.  You may be surprised – very surprised!!

Posted in Diet, Wellness | No Comments »

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