Understanding nutrition as one of the key factors in health.

Scientific evidence is very clear about this: we can definitely manage our own health through the things we daily eat.

Did you know that scientists are actually looking into ways of protecting astronauts from radiation by means of dietary supplements? Radiation hazards in outer space present an enormous danger for the safety of astronauts, it causes the formation of free radicals. Through a special nutrition however astronauts are able to counter the effects of these free radicals.

The same principle applies to us ‘normal’ humans. Free radicals are forming all over our body due to all kinds of environmental attacks. It is a good thing that nowadays more and more people take notice and change the way they live in order to embrace the benefits of a healthy nutrition and exercise.

If a healthy body and mind is what you want, understanding nutrition is of the utmost importance. In its infinite wisdom nature has provided us with everything one needs to promote growth, immune system, mental alertness, physical strength and so on. Without a basic understanding about nutrition it will be very difficult, if not impossible to establish a diet which includes the necessary elements the body needs.

What exactly does understanding nutrition involve?

Quite simply put: everything you ingest has an influence on your body. So you have to make sure that what you eat contains those elements your body needs. What your body needs are carbohydrates, fat, protein and last but certainly not least water. The amount in which each of these elements is consumed influences greatly the way you feel, react and age

1. Carbohydrates this is the number one energy source of the body. Our liver and the muscles of our body need a sufficient intake of carbohydrates in order to maintain good health. You can find two major types of carbohydrates ( or carbs as some people prefer to call them):

-simple carbohydrates, which are predominantly of a sweet nature (eg. fructose, sucrose, glucose, etc) and

-complex carbohydrates, which are based on starch (and can be found in corn, brown rice, wheat, etc).

2. Fat must be taken in the required amount in order for it to moderate the metabolism and protect vital organs. Too much fat in your daily nutrition has the opposite effect however. The two major fats are

-cholesterol : you can get cholesterol from seafood, eggs, dairy products and meat.

– Triglycerides: saturated, poly-saturated and mono-saturated fats, they have an influence on your weight and heart function.

3. Protein Witout protein the body cannot grow or repair itself. The non-essential amino-acids are manufactured by the body itself ( hence the term non-essential, the body can provide its own ) while the essential amino-acids would have to be introduced into the body by consuming the right foods.

4. Water the body needs a lot of water: at least eight glasses every day. This amount helps the body to expel toxins, fight dehydration, prevent heat stroke, moderate body temperature, digestion and so many other functions. We all know humans can stay without food up to three weeks; however, they will perish without water in as little as 48 hours.

The right sort of wall balanced nutrition contributes directly to the health of individuals and communities. Clinical research as well as evidence collected through laboratory tests and field work support the importance of concept to the practice of clinical medicine, dentistry, and public health

What I do know is that everyone wants to be lean, energetic, and healthy. At one point in time, almost everyone has wanted to lose their tummy fat. Most people have tried so many different times in the past to exercise and diet with no success that they have given up. Heck, every year losing tummy fat is the #1 New Years Resolution. Most people do not even stick with their fat loss plan more that a couple weeks.

The reason why most of you have not had success at firming your midsection and keeping the fat off is because:

We have too much (bad) information
You do not have a specific, effective, fat loss plan
You are close-minded
You have been lying to yourself for years
Your body is toxic, acidic, and tired

What I see, is many people working out for two hours a day, four to five days a week. That’s a total of 12- 15 hours per week including travel to and from gym, and getting no results. We can only do that for too long before we start rationalizing:

I have a slow metabolism, bad thyroid, messed up adrenals
Exercise doesn’t work
All those before and after pictures of success stories are lies
I am big boned like my family
I don’t have enough time to work out

If you are in this group then please finish this article with an open mind considering our time and our health are by far the two most precious resources that we have.

No one has ever been ever to come up with more that 1440 minutes in a day. It is the same for every-one, whether you are black, white, or any color in between, rich, poor, young or old.

BAD FAT LOSS, FITNESS, DIET INFORMATION; I will start out by saying that even the best information in the world is worthless without purpose or passion. Because we just won’t act on it consistently with out some kind of pep in our step if we don’t have a reason too. If you are going to lose your tummy fat

Consider that the majority of what we hear is spoon fed to us and is propaganda. The big companies are spending millions on try to brain wash us so we will buy their product. One of the biggest ones that I deal with almost on a daily basis is that milk is good for us, good for calcium and strong bones, right? Wrong. Who do you think has been paying for those commercials on television for the last 50 years? That’s right, the milk industry.

Other sources of information may not have an agenda, but they may be misinformed themselves.
Make sure that you pick reputable sources to follow.

NOT HAVING A PLAN; the old saying, when you fail to plan you are planning to fail. The #1 reason why most people are working out and wasting their time or have given up is because they do not have a specific work-out and nutrition plan. If you do a work-out without a firm plan it will take twice as long and you will accomplish almost nothing. Anyone can accomplish the best most effective fat burning work-outs in between 30 and 60 minutes.

CLOSEMINDEDNESS; one of my pet peeves is when an individual is so strongly opinionated that he or she says to the hell with everyone else’s ideas. I believe that both open and close mindedness can serve us. Trust me, we should always be learning, no matter how much we know. To think that we know all there is to know about something is absurd.

One strategy that has worked well for my clients as well as me is to remain close minded with one specific work-out strategy and one specific nutrition strategy for a 12 week stretch of time. Then become open minded to consider different strategies for exercise and nutrition. Pick some new methods and use those in a close minded fashion for another 12 week stretch. This is the only way that you will find out what works and what does not work for fat loss.

PEOPLE ARE LYING TO THEMSELVES; maybe this is a little harsh but maybe the average person needs to be slapped across the face and realize that they are just settling in life and that over the course of 10, 20, maybe 30 years they have become merely a shell and are walking around in a daze not being real about the quality of their life.

Let’s stand up!! Let’s look in the mirror!! If you through a rat in boiling water, it would jump right out immediately. But if you put that same rat in bath water a cranked the heat up under the bath water he would stay in the water and boil to death. The point I am trying to make is to be aware and real with yourself.

OUR BODIES ARE TOXIC AND ACIDIC; with today’s environment and life-styles our bodies are challenged more than ever before in the history of man-kind. The stresses of today’s fast-paced information age life-style, with the lack of physical activity because of all the technological advances, (we don’t even have to leave our bedroom and we could still manage to do every-thing that we needed to get done in a day or two), along with the massive consumption of over-produced over processed, over preserved foods that are full of chemicals that have no place in our bodies. Most people are full of toxins and acids in such amounts that their health is compromised and they are barely hanging on just waiting for some disease or sickness to surface.

The first step to cleaning toxins out of our bodies and becoming less acidic is to commit to a fitness routine and healthy nutrition plan that includes less processed man made foods. If it came from a plant eat it, if it was made in a plant stay away from it.

I do believe that a lot of people are wasting incredibly valuable time in the gym. Do not commit to an exercise plan if it takes more than 5 to 6 hours per week.

I do believe that the majority of people are over-weight, have low energy, and are slowly eating themselves into the grave with their teeth, but its not because they are lazy, have no self-discipline, and are content on just getting by. For I am no different than you, I am nothing special, and if I felt that was true about you, it would also go for me. I feel that it is because the masses are fed bad information, and don’t have a plan, maybe some-what close-minded, get runned down and start lying to themselves, but most of all because their bodies are toxic, tired, and acidic.

Years ago, it was rare to see an obese adult and almost unheard of to see an obese young person. Don’t believe it? Just watch old movies or television shows. Even in crowd scenes, at sporting events, etc. Americans were almost uniformly of average weight. All that has changed. Americans seemed to be divided into two groups, the overly thin, bordering on eating disorder crowd, imitating their favorite actress, or the overweight, moving in the direction of obese.

It’s truly amazing when you think about it. In just the past 30 years, obesity amongst young people has more than doubled, and the percentage of those who are overweight has sometimes tripled! According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Among young people, the prevalence of overweight increased from 5.0% to 13.9% for those aged 2-5 years, 6.5% to 18.8% for those aged 6-11 years, and 5.0% to 17.4% for those aged 12-19 years.

If the above trend continues, and it will continue unless something is changed, overweight and obesity rates will continue to rise. Concurrently, adult rates will rise as well, especially troubling when you consider the fact that heart disease is already the Number One Killer in America. In addition to Heart Disease, other dangers include:

Hypertension
Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
Type 2 diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

It is quite possible that all of the above to be exacerbated by poor diet. Fried foods, fast food, candy and other junk foods are taking Americans on a short road to an early grave.
You may think, “It’s impossible, look how readily available these types of junk food, fast food and candy are available. There’s no way our society and government would allow it. Well, for readers who are a bit older, just think back to cigarettes. They used to have athletes doing commercials saying Lucky Strikes helped them play better. Doctors used to prescribe cigarettes to women for nerves. So it’s possible our society is at that same crossroads where junk food, fast food and candy are concerned.

What can be done? Simply put, there needs to be a change in this country and it start with our nations schoolchildren. There needs to be more emphasis on exercise and nutrition. This means less junk food, less fast food, and more Healthy Solutions. One of the healthy objectives of the CDC is to reduce the prevalence of obesity amongst adults to less than 15%. The problem is the trend is not going in the right direction, as the situation is worsening. Only time will tell whether America can let go of junk food and fast food addiction and embrace Healthy Solutions

Healthy eating and nutrition for the elderly is greatly impacted by several factors, one of them being a change in body composition. During the later years in life, the body will lose bone and muscle and gain fat because the hormones aren’t very active anymore.

There are many factors which hinder an elderly person’s health. The information below will help you to lead a healthy life – no matter how old you may be.

Water
Water in the body decreases with age, so many older folks will become dehydrated very easily. Sometimes they won’t feel thirsty, while other times it’s too much work to pour a glass a water. With this in mind, it’s recommended that they drink at least 1 ounce of water for every 2.2 pounds of weight.

Protein
At this stage in life, protein is very important. Protein is needed to support a healthy immune system and prevent the wasting of muscle. Since energy needs are less, older folks should eat high quality protein such as eggs, lean meats, poultry,and fish.

Carbs and fiber
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the entire body. You can find carbs inbread,cereals,
pasta,and other grain products. A diet that’s high in fiber and water will help to prevent constipation as well.

Fat
Fat intake for the elderly should be limited, not eliminated. You can limit fat by choosing lean meats,low fat dairy products, and food preparation methods that don’t include frying.

Iron
For the elderly, iron deficiency can be seen with those who aren’t eating much. Good sources for iron include lean red meats or breakfast cereals.

Zinc
Zinc intake is normally with the elderly, and to make matters worse, it’s not absorbed very well either. Meat, poultry, and fish should be a part of your diet to help you meet the requirements for zinc.

Calcium
Calcium is one ingredient that most elderly folks simply aren’t getting enough of. Most believe that milk upsets their stomach, and therefore they will avoid it. They should be getting around 1,500 mg of calcium a day, and nonfat powdered milk can be used in recipes as a substitute for milk. Other foods such as yogurt, low fat cheese, and broccoli can also help you meet the requirements for calcium.

Vitamin B12
In order to absorb the benefits of B12, the intrinsic facotr must be produced by the stomach. Most elderly people suffer from a deficiency in B12 because they have a condition known as atrophic gastritis. This
condition causes inflammation of the stomach,bacterial overgrowth, and the intrinsic factor.Without the intrinsic factor, this vitamin can be
absorbed.

Each one of the above nutrients are needed to keep an aged body in good health. Elderly individuals should try to stay active and strive for a well balanced diet. Even though the aged body isn’t the same as it used to be, proper care and the right nutrients can help the elderly enjoy a healthy and long life.

Who’s leading the fight against malnutrition and obesity in America? While it would seem the answer would be many different groups and individuals, it is clear that the Torrance Unified School District in Southern California has to be included in the mix. There is a piece of legislation called California Senate Bill 19 (often seen expressed as CA SB 19). This piece of legislation has wide reaching implications for nutrition content in California Schools. A good portion of it deals with stating that snacks in schools, even for fundraising, will be required to meet a new criteria. These snack items will be required to be less than 35% fat, less than 35% sugar, and less than 10% saturated fat.
Additionally, they’ll be less than 250 calories and grant exclusions for fat content to nuts and nut butters.

While CA SB 19 will mandate compliance by September 2008, the Torrance Unified School District has taken the admirable step of agreeing that district wide compliance will be in effect in September of 2007. This is highly unusual and the Torrance Unified School District Board members should be commended for placing the healthy of their students above the quick buck to be made by pushing junk food to children. This move is clearly the right thing to do, but it comes at a cost. The burden of finding healthy fundraising solutions is clearly upon the district. So it’s with difficulty and possible financial hardship that the school district decided to stand up for what’s right.

In the true avante garde of the Nutrition in Schools Movement, individual educators in the Torrance Unified School District have been out front in searching for Healthy Fundraising Solutions. With candy and junk food no longer an option for fundraising, groups and teams will now need Healthy Fundraising Solutions if they are to continue fundraising for Band Trips, Wrestling tournaments and Track meets. Specifically, representatives of North High School in Torrance, CA have been out front in finding healthy fundraising solutions, wherein they sell snack items which meet CA SB 19 criteria. That is, the items are less than 35% fat, less than 35% sugar, less than 10% saturated fat,
with exclusions for nuts and nut butters.

There are clearly many groups and individuals who care about healthy, nutrition and fighting obesity in America’s Schools, Deciding to do what’s right in this area often comes at great difficulty, and sometimes financial hardship. That’s why it’s especially important to recognize those who take the lead in doing what we all agree is right. Kudos to the Torrance Unified School District and it’s School Board Members

It is hard to eat healthy in present days, when we are surrounded by junk food, we typically do not have regular meals due to our infernal schedules, and we do not realize that our health is generally affected. Yes, our health can be affected by bad cholesterol or bad diets. But how can those affect our heart? What is the relation between them?

When our diets consist of high saturated fats our cholesterol level will rise, leading to heart diseases. The high sodium level in our diet can produce the elevation of the blood pressure, which will eventually inflame the heart and incure disease. Medical reports show that people that are obese are more prone to heart diseases.

Changing our diet and eating healthy is not a thing that can be accomplished in a day or two. This change must be progressive in order to maintain it, it is about changing your whole life, starting with what you eat, having regular meals, the way to cook also. Do the right thing to improve your health!

You should start with what you eat. There are healthy fats and oils, such as Omega 3 ( found in FISH: herring, sardines, salmon – and decreases the level of cholesterol ) and mono saturated fats ( OLIVE OIL, which can be used for cooking, sauces, dressings – does not affect the heart ). Saturated fats found in meat, butter must be avoided or consumed in small quantities.

FIBERS can be found in whole grain products and are very effective in controlling the level of cholesterol, absorbing the sugar and keeping the digestive system healthy. You can find fibers in foods like whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, fruits and vegetables. If you choose fibers instead of sugary foods ( candy, cookies, pastries ), you will make your HEART HEATHY.

But most of the food must be cooked before we eat it. Sometimes, we think we are eating healthy, but we do not take in consideration the methods of cooking. It is not enough that we eat fish if the fish is fried in butter or saturated oils. Try stir frying, foil cooking or steaming to prepare your food and you will be amazed by how tasty and healthy it is. You can replace cream sauces with yogurt, olive oil / canola oil; lemon juice for the vegetables – you will see that the taste is delicious and healthy for your heart.

Though, have in mind that this big changes must be applied in time, because our metabolism is hard to change, but not impossible. So, change your way of life and keep your heart healthy by eating healthy.