Health Food Matters

Some of my friends say that they would rather not know anything about health food and how exactly they are eating because ignorance is bliss and enjoying food is more important than anything else. But I would say knowledge is power, that’s what drives me to read and understand what healthy eating is all about, why some people become so interested in health food, and what convicts people want to change their lifestyle. Knowing what is good to eat helps you plan your diet more wisely and safeguard what is most important, your health. Here, I have put together four most talked about topics in healthy eating and health food: Fats, Meat, Fiber, and Sugar. If you never know these facts before, perhaps they would change your whole perspective about eating right, just as it had for me.

1. Meat for Strength

Meat may not exactly be called a health food but it provides us many micronutrients such as vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin that a growing body needs and is a major source of protein. For instance beef contains highly absorbable trace minerals like iron, zinc, and manganese. Poultry and seafood contribute vitamin B6, and pork is a rich source of thiamine. However, meat and poultry contain quite a bit of fat, and about one-third of that fat is saturated. Saturated fatty acid in the diet has been shown to be positively correlated with total blood cholesterol levels, cholesterol levels, and negatively correlated with (beneficial) HDL cholesterol levels. Saturated fat intake is at least as closely related to arterial clotting. A high intake of animal fat may increase the risk of a number of cancers, including cancer of the colon, breast, prostate and pancreas. I used to care nothing about health food and crave for meat because of its taste and even insisted that I have meat for every meal. But after having learnt so much about healthy diet, I wouldn’t dare whisper “long life to all meat-lovers!” like I have so blatantly in the past.
I realize that eating grilled or barbecued meat, or seafood also exposes us to carcinogens called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). These health hazardous substances form on foods as they cook on open flame or under the high heat of the grill, regardless of whether or not char is formed. Also, it’s interesting to note that when fat drips onto the heat source, it creates flare-ups and smoke which then deposits on the food yet another group of carcinogens, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

One way to avoid these carcinogens and still enjoy grilled meats as health food is to put them under foil wraps before putting them on the fire. In addition, the food gets the aroma of grill, especially if you leave the top loosely sealed. Baking and roasting are healthier cooking methods. They are less likely to produce HCAs as the cooking temperature is lower, and cooking with liquid (boiling, steaming, poaching, stewing, etc) generates no HCAs.

2. Fiber for Digestion

Dietary fiber is found in plant foods, namely cereals, beans, peas, wheat, fruits and vegetables, and is the magic ingredient which helps maintains our digestive system in perfect shape. It’s made up of the indigestible parts or compounds of the plant that pass relatively unchanged through our stomach and intestines, although bacteria in the large intestine can partly digest fiber through fermentation. Fiber slows down the rate of digestion of food, leading to a more gradual emptying of the food from the stomach into the small intestine. This basically means food gets digested sooner, and the indigestible bits, including the fiber, are moved out faster. Healthy digestion contributes to lower weight and increased health, which means less risk of getting many of the modern diseases such as colon disease and even diabetes. By slowing stomach emptying, fiber helps avoid the situation where the body has to produce large quantities of insulin (as a result of repeated rapid release of glucose into the intestine). This in turn helps protect against diabetes. A high fiber diet is even more important for older people as our digestive system slows down with age.
Fiber is also known to absorb water to become lighter, bulkier and easier to move along. This is why it helps prevent constipation. When it absorbs water in the stomach, it gives that feeling of fullness and therefore lessening the amount of food consumed. Thus, don’t forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day, so that the fiber you eat can swell to be as light as possible.

3. Good Fats Makes the Difference

“Eat low-fat, low-cholesterol health food” is a very common advice given to me. But what really matters is the type of fat in the diet. Remember, not all fats are created equal. What’s clear is bad fats, meaning saturated and trans fats, pose risk to health while good fats, meaning monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, lower the risk.
The key in getting health food is substituting good fats for bad fats. Saturated fats are found in animal products like meat, seafood, whole-milk dairy products (cheese, milk, and ice cream), poultry skin, and egg yolks and dairy. Some plant foods are also high in saturated fats, including coconut and coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. Saturated fats raise total blood cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol because they tend to boost both good HDL and bad LDL cholesterol. Trans-fats are found in commercially prepared baked goods, margarines, snack foods, fried snack foods like French fries and onion rings, processed foods, and margarine; many of them are produced by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen. This process is known as hydrogenation. The more hydrogenated an oil is, the harder it will be at room temperature. For example, soft margarine is less hydrogenated and so has fewer trans fats than a stick margarine. Trans fats are even worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDL and lower good HDL.

Good sources of healthy unsaturated fats are found in health food products derived from plant sources and fatty fish such as salmon. The two main categories are polyunsaturated fats found in high concentrations in sunflower, corn, and soybean oils and monounsaturated fats, which are found in high concentrations in canola, peanut, and olive oils. These healthy fats not only improve cholesterol levels but also protect the heart.

4. Sweets for Pleasure

Almost every food we eat contains sugar. It’s better to enjoy a really extravagant dessert once in a while than to fill your daily diet with “fat-free” sugary treats which are basically empty calories and devoid of nutritional benefits. Other than table sugar, watch out for other forms of sugar, especially those words ending with “ol” or “ose”. Consuming sugarless artificial sweeteners in so called health food may be more damaging than helpful to our health.
In order to keep the amount of sugar floating through your blood vessels at around a teaspoon, your body releases insulin whenever you eat foods that result in sugar entering your blood stream. Most carbohydrates fit this category. Sugar, most sweeteners, grains, cookies, pastries, cakes, pasta, and starchy vegetables like potatoes all lead to a release of sugar into your blood stream. Insulin works by stimulating your cells to sponge up this excess sugar out of your blood stream. Once inside your cells, sugar is used for energy, with any excess amount being converted to fat tissue. Excess insulin is known to cause weight gain due to storage of fat and sodium retention which leads to holding excess water and high blood pressure.

Reduce your intake of sugar and all foods that contain sugar. Some of the most concentrated sources of sugar are soda, cookies, chocolate bars, donuts, pastries, ice cream, and ketchup. Avoid sweeteners like molasses, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and maple syrup, and replace table sugar in your beverage, cooking and baking with natural sweeteners such as honey. Do activities and exercises that build or maintain your muscles. Muscle tissue acts as a storage site for extra sugar. The more muscle tissue you have, the better you can regulate your blood sugar and insulin levels.

Whole Foods For Your Whole Body

If you learned of an easy way to protect your body from degenerative diseases like arthritis, cancer and heart disease you would probably implement it immediately and tell all of your friends and family, right? By simply eating foods as nature intended, unprocessed and unrefined, you can greatly reduce your risk of all of these diseases and more. However, most of us are eating in a way that provides minimal nourishment for our bodies and protection against disease. Understanding the benefits of adding whole foods to your meal regimen will motivate you to begin making some changes to your food choices. Many believe that a whole foods diet is too time consuming and costly, but this is not the reality. You can easily prepare affordable meals using whole foods that are readily available at competitive prices without spending more time in the kitchen.

The Standard American Diet which consists of high fat, refined grains, sugary desserts and high amounts of red meat is associated with five of the top ten causes of death in the United States. In contrast, a whole foods diet lowers the risk of many types of cancers and chronic diseases, as well as promotes healthy aging and higher energy levels. It also lowers the risk of cataracts which almost half of all Americans over the age of 75 have. A whole foods diet consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, unprocessed meat, poultry and fish and non-homogenized milk. The foods contain nothing more than the naturally occurring nutrients inherent to the original plant or animal that they were derived from.

There are some essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs but cannot make, so you need to get them from the food that you eat. You can get these essential nutrients into your body at their highest levels and natural, unchanged state when you eat whole foods. When foods are processed, the nutrients are often destroyed or changed. Sometimes they are even changed to the point that they actually become non-nutritious. Whole foods also contain phytonutrients which are not essential nutrients for your body, but they are still excellent for you and help reduce the risk of many diseases, such as cancer. Again, processing removes most and sometimes all of these health-promoting phytonutrients. The nutrients that you do find in processed foods have been added back and there are usually only a few select vitamins and minerals included.

Synthetic chemicals have also been added to these foods to make them seem more like the whole foods that they came from. The substances added are not usually derived from food and are sometimes made from starting materials like coal-tar or other non-food chemicals. They are used for coloring, flavoring and preserving. It is believed that some of the additives may compromise your body’s structure and function. They may also be related to a host of skin, pulmonary and psycho-behavioral conditions. When you eat foods in their whole state, you know that no nutrients have been removed or remodeled and no synthetic, artificial substances have been added.

Another advantage of whole foods is their natural synergy. It has been consistently shown in studies that the health benefits from food are better when it is consumed containing as many of the original array of nutrients as possible. However, studies on isolated nutrients have mixed results. For example, foods that are high in beta-carotene, like carrots, have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, but the same result was not achieved when a synthetic form of beta-carotene was used. It is thought that it may be the combination of many or all of the phytonutrients found in whole foods that provides the protection.

Whole foods also provide our bodies protection in the form of antioxidants like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc, Flavonoids and Carotenoids. Antioxidants enhance our immune systems and also counteract free radicals and other unstable molecules that are present in our cells from UV radiation, toxins and pollutants. If free radicals are not neutralized they can increase the development of diseases like cancer, arthritis and diabetes. The antioxidants in foods work together as a team, so to reap the benefits your body needs the full spectrum that is provided by a varied whole foods diet, not just high amounts of one like vitamin C.

Essential nutrients, Vitamins C and E are two important antioxidants that are readily available in many whole foods. Actually, Vitamin C is easily destroyed by lengthy storage and/or excess light so the best source is a fresh one. One of the key nutrients in fruits and vegetables that protects against cancer, it is also thought to decrease the risk of strokes and heart disease and can counteract or protect against colds and some infectious diseases. It functions as part of a nutrient team with Vitamin E and Carotenoids which are not usually present at all in processed foods. Vitamin E is actually a family of eight different nutrients and many supplements only contain one of these. They are all important for cell membranes that act as gateways to allow nutrients in and wastes out, keeping potentially destructive molecules from entering your cells. Getting your Vitamin E from a natural source ensures that you are receiving the entire family of nutrients and the bioavailability is also higher meaning that more gets into your body. Broccoli, bell peppers and oranges are good sources of Vitamin C while Vitamin E can be found in foods like sunflower seeds, almonds and spinach and Carotenoids are available in carrots, tomatoes and spinach.

You can also greatly increase your fiber intake by adding whole foods to your diet; fruits and whole grains are some of the best sources. Fiber helps rid our bodies of carcinogens, toxins and excess hormones like estrogen and is necessary for healthy digestion. It also provides protection from heart disease, lowers total cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and decreases the risk for breast cancer. There are two types of fiber, insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fiber promotes excretion while soluble supports the intestinal tract and decreases glucose levels. Whole grains are a great concentrated source of insoluble fiber and fruit skins have high amounts of soluble fiber.

Switching to whole grains is one of the easiest changes to make for a beginner to a whole foods diet. It does not require any additional preparation and there are many options readily available in most grocery stores. However, pay close attention to the ingredients list. Just because the package states “wheat” it does not necessarily mean it is a whole grain. The first ingredient should state whole wheat flour or whole some other grain flour. If it only states wheat flour, it is not a whole grain. Whole grains provide high levels of minerals as well as a range of vitamins and essential fats. When it is processed, the grain loses its bran where most of the fiber, minerals and B vitamins are stored. Processing also removes the germ which contains the essential fats and the family of Vitamin E nutrients. This leaves a grain with a large amount of simple carbohydrates and starch, a bit of protein and only a few vitamins from a food that started out with thousands of healthy nutrients and a wide variety of vitamins.

The thought of altering the way you cook and eat is a daunting task to all of us and can be overwhelming. I suggest that you being by making small changes gradually. Start by adding one snack per day of fresh fruit or vegetables or switch just one of your grains to a whole grain such as your bread. Once you have made that switch, move on to another grain like rice or spaghetti noodles. You will get used to the taste of whole grains and will begin to prefer it. Another simple change is to begin steaming fresh vegetables instead of buying them in a can. The taste is so much better. You will be amazed and wonder how you went so long thinking vegetables out of a can were just as good as fresh. Notice that none of these suggestions are going to cost you any more money or keep you in the kitchen for a long time. So, take it slow and remember that any change you do make is a step in the right direction and will only benefit you. Eventually, all of those steps will become the path that led you to a healthier lifestyle.

The Online Health Food Store – Is It A Good Place To Find All Natural Foods and Health Drinks?

The holiday season was over and people were making their healthy new years resolutions when I decided it was safe to make a trip to the mall. It was easy to find a parking space right in front of what seemed to be the biggest health food store on Earth.

With some time to kill while the wife shopped for exercise clothes, I started reading a few ingredient labels to see what was really in all those flashy looking, low carb food formulas, protein blasters and so-called health drinks. OK, so that sounds really boring, but let me tell you it was an eye opening experience. It really helped me appreciate the all natural foods and health drinks at my online health food store. Maybe this little trip to the big health food store at the mall will help you avoid some of the ingredients that are anything but all natural, or healthy, in many of the foods and drinks being sold there.

The first thing I noticed is that this big health food store at the mall really loves to sell those enhanced vitamin water drinks. The brightly colored bottles were stacked high, enticing shoppers with the low prices, the pretty colors and the dream of a natural health drink that actually tastes good. Well, I have tried some of that “enhanced water”, and I thought it not only tasted awful, but the crystalline fructose (concentrated sugar) content was more than enough junk food in one bottle for me. Oh, and if your body could actually absorb the isolated vitamins infused into the water, you might get your $1.50 worth of nutrition. Isolated vitamins that are not attached to all natural, whole foods typically break down before the body can use them for fuel. On my trip to the health food store I could see there were no whole food ingredients listed on those pretty bottles of enhanced vitamin water beverages.

Here are some other ingredients I saw on the labels that I choose to avoid when searching for healthy, all natural foods and drinks:

Crystalline fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and basically, anything with sugar.
Artificial sweeteners, especially Aspartame and Saccharine. Instead, I use stevia, the 0 calorie all natural sweetener.
Modified corn starch. Almost all corn grown in the USA is now GMO (genetically modified organisms). Any time I see the word “modified” I get suspicious about its true nature.
Isolated protein – The body cannot easily digest most protein drinks because they are usually made from “isolated” protein, which clogs the lymphatic system. Many athletes searching for nutrition who are working to build muscle up are guzzling protein drinks without understanding the consequences, or the real needs of the human body. They are being seduced by pictures of wash-board abs and bulging biceps into thinking more protein is good. However, many experts agree it is a myth that anyone needs the high levels of protein offered in some of today’s muscle building drink mixes. In fact, all that protein may be doing more harm than good.

Those are just a few of the ingredients I try to avoid in my constant quest for all natural foods and health drinks that are truly healthy. Are there ingredients that you wonder about? I hope you’ll have as much fun reading labels as I did at the big health food store. Until then, look online for all natural foods and health drinks, and stay away from the mall. It’s scary there!