Weight Loss Starts In The Kitchen

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10 changes in how you arrange and do up your kitchen and see how you end up loosing extra kilos.

While eating healthier is on the to-do list for many, our kitchen can make it harder to eat healthy, and easier to fill ourselves with snacks and junk food. But there are ways to make the home more conducive to better eating. Planning meals in advance can go a long way, but it is also important to plan how the foods you buy go into your kitchen.

Making good food easier to see and access and making unhealthy foods harder is the trick to a healthier eating environment. Here’s how you can rearrange your kitchen to encourage healthy eating habits.

Clear your counters -

Easily visible food provides a constant reminder of its availability, and is likely to be eaten first. So make sure snack foods don’t have a prominent place. The last thing you want is a clear cookie jar on the counter.

Buy a fruit bowl -

It’s important to make sure the visible fruits and vegetables are ones that are easy to eat and don’t invite flies to sit on them. Store apples, oranges, bananas and as opposed to grapes, pineapples and mangoes.

Invest in single-serving containers -

When stashing away leftovers, it is best to put them away in meal-size portions, whether for future lunches or dinners. At times, calorie-dense dinner leftovers might make for a more appealing snack than baby carrots, but you may be less likely to dig in if you know it will leave you hungry at lunch the next day. Choosing freezersafe containers will give you even more storage options.

Get see-through jars -

Follow the school lunch programme recommendations, which limit calorie-dense foods like complex starches, fats and proteins but make fruits and vegetables completely available in whatever quantity people want. Some fruits and vegetables need advance prep and cutting, but once they go into the refrigerator, they should be in clear containers, to remind you of what to grab when you are hungry between meals.

Use your freezer more -

If you don’t have a definite plan for your leftovers, then avoid tossing them in the refrigerator. A freezer allows you to put away food for future use rather than snacking down on leftover chicken or lasagna instead of eating an apple. It also allows for better meal planning.

Put healthy eats at eye level -

Depending on the type of refrigerator you have, you may benefit from some rearranging.

Some refrigerators with a freezer on the bottom have clear vegetable bins at eye level. But if you have a refrigerator where the freezer is at the top, and the vegetable bin is at your knees, then there’s a good reason not to keep your veggies in the drawer. Opaque bins keep your healthiest — and more perishable — foods hidden. So if you have them, don’t put fruits and veggie in the crisper, instead, put them higher up, in a visible spot.

Prepare fruits and other snacks in advance -

As much as you avoid it, some snacking is bound to happen. So it is worth buying the products that are in little, single packages. It’s much easier then to know exactly what you’re eating.”

But for the frugal, those small packages represent an extra expense, so pick up some small bags and doling out portions of snacks that are healthier, such as pretzels.

Some similar prep work can help with snacking before dinner. In addition, have on hand healthier snacks, such as yogurt and cheese, that are already parcelled out.

Add non-food accessories to your kitchen -

Food prepared at home is almost inevitably healthier than takeout, so it’s important that cooking at home is an enjoyable experience.

Keeping kitchen counters free of books, bags and papers so that they can be used to prepare food is a start. Some even keep a television in their cooking space, but you should ensure that it should be kept at a spot when you can’t watch from the table.

Eat only in the kitchen -

When people eat anywhere in the house, other activities they do while eating will often trigger a signal in the brain to start eating.

Many people eat while watching TV, or just start snacking. Confining all eating to the kitchen can put a dent in that, she said.

Get smaller plates and taller, narrower glasses

A recent research suggested how we decide what to eat and how to eat depends on the plate and portion size.

Larger plates lead to eating larger portions — people tend to finish what they put on their plate.

Dish size is a potential aid for people looking to get new dishes, or willing to replace old ones. Have smaller plates. That advice can carry over to glasses, given the number of calories some beverages contain. You’ll drink less from a tall glass than a glass that is wider. It also gives the illusion of having more.

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Benefits Of Walking

The human body is made to walk.

Walking 30 minutes a day cuts the rate of people becoming diabetic by more than half and it cuts the risk of people over 60 becoming diabetic by almost 70 percent.

Walking cuts the risk of stroke by more than 25 percent.

Walking reduces hypertension.  The body has over 100,000 miles of blood vessels.  Those blood vessels are more supple and healthier when we walk.

Walking cuts the risk of cancer as well as diabetes and stroke.

Women who walk have a 20 percent lower likelihood of getting breast cancer and a 31 percent lower risk of getting colon cancer.

Women with breast cancer who walk regularly can reduce their recurrence rate and their mortality rate by over 50 percent.

The human body works better when we walk.  The body resists diseases better when we walk, and the body heals faster when we walk.

We don’t have to walk a lot.  Thirty minutes a day has a huge impact on our health.

Men who walk thirty minutes a day have a significantly lower level of prostate cancer.  Men who walk regularly have a 60 percent lower risk of colon cancer.

For men with prostate cancer, studies have shown that walkers have a 46 percent lower mortality rate.

Walking also helps prevent depression, and people who walk regularly are more likely to see improvements in their depression.

In one study, people who walked and took medication scored twice as well in 30 days as the women who only took the medication. Another study showed that depressed people who walked regularly had a significantly higher level of not being depressed in a year compared to depressed people who did not walk.  The body generates endorphins when we walk. Endorphins help us feel good.

Walking strengthens the heart.  Walking strengthens bones.

Walking improves the circulatory system.

Walking generates positive neurochemicals.  Healthy eating is important but dieting can trigger negative neurochemicals and can be hard to do.

Walking generates positive neurochemicals.  People look forward to walking and enjoy walking.

And research shows that fit beats fat for many people.  Walking half an hour a day has health benefits that exceed the benefits of losing 20 pounds.

When we walk every day, our bodies are healthier and stronger.  A single 30 minute walk can reduce blood pressure by five points for over 20 hours.

Walking reduces the risk of blood clots in your legs.

People who walk regularly have much lower risk of deep vein thrombosis.

People who walk are less likely to catch colds, and when people get colds, walkers have a 46 percent shorter symptom time from their colds.

Walking improves the health of our blood, as well.  Walking is a good boost of high density cholesterol and people with high levels of HDL are less likely to have heart attacks and stroke.

Walking significantly diminishes the risk of hip fracture and the need for gallstone surgery is 20 to 31 percent lower for walkers.

Walking is the right thing to do. The best news is that the 30 minutes doesn’t have to be done in one lump of time. Two 15 minute walks achieve the same goals. Three 10 minute walks achieve most of those goals.

We can walk 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night and achieve our walking goals.

Walking feels good.  It helps the body heal.  It keeps the body healthy.  It improves our biological health, our physical health, our psychosocial health, and helps with our emotional health. Walking can literally add years entire years to your life.


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Deadly Truth About Microwave Oven

There is a harmful cooking device found in 90% of the kitchens across the United States and other parts of the world. People are using this device in order to cook, defrost, or reheat their food each day. The microwave oven sitting on the counter in so many homes may be posing dangerous risks to people’s health.

The original microwave was invented by the Nazis during World War II as a portable cooking device for their troops. This enabled them to prepare meals using one piece of equipment on a large scale for their troops with convenience and without the hassle of transporting cooking fuels and extraneous equipment.

After the war, it was researched by American scientists and then went on the market for home use in the 1970s. The microwave was also researched by the Russians who decided to take opposite action regarding it. In fact, after conducting independent research on the microwave, the Russian government made the use of it illegal.

The Russian scientists who tested the microwaves concluded that they destroy the nutrients of food cooked in them and the resulting food becomes carcinogenic. Carcinogens have been found to potentially cause cancer.

What is So Bad About Microwave?

The FDA has tested and only allows microwaves on the market that are estimated to have safe levels of radiation, but there is still potential for a microwave to cause radiation to leak into the homes of those who use them. The problem with radiation in homes is a disconcerting factor, but the degradation of the food people are cooking in microwaves is of even greater concern.

Microwaves are electromagnetic energy waves that transmit information to basic communication systems such as television signals, satellite signals, and telephone signals across the planet. These types of electromagnetic energy waves are used in that black box that is referred to, as the name implies, as a microwave. A tube in the microwave called a magnetron generates micro wavelength radiation and interacts with the water molecules in the food which cooks it through steaming.

The water molecules in the food that is being cooked have negative and positive ends and when they are microwaved, they vibrate to their opposite polarities at very high frequencies. The radiation changes the polarity of the molecules in the food millions of times every second and deforms the molecular structure of the food particle. Therefore, microwaves damage the food as a means to heat it.

Due to the radiation from the microwave, the food no longer has the same structure and consequently does not offer the same value to one’s body when eaten. Microwaved food is denatured food which becomes carcinogenic in the body when consumed by people. Microwaving also decreases the body’s ability to use the vitamins and minerals left in the food. Yet, after being cooked in a microwave, there are almost no nutrients left in the food and it is close to the point of decay.

Essentially, microwaving food causes the beneficial properties of the food to become poison. For example, when milk is microwaved the beneficial amino acids, which are known as the building blocks of protein and are an essential part of human nutrition, turn into carcinogens. Another example is when vegetables that are raw, frozen, or previously cooked are heated through microwave radiation, the plant alkaloids are converted into carcinogens.

As a result of the molecular changes that take place in microwaved food, when people consume it they are taking a serious risk with their health. German and Russian researchers concluded that many biological processes are harmfully affected by eating microwaved foods. They believe that digestive disorders, increases of cancer cell formation in the blood, and lymphatic disorders are caused by consuming microwaved foods over extended periods of time.

There is also a term called “microwave sickness,” coined by Robert O. Becker, about the detrimental health effects on humans with high exposures to the radiation from microwaves. The most common symptoms of “microwave sickness” are stress syndrome and high blood pressure. Other common symptoms of “microwave sickness” are headaches, insomnia, immune system disorders, and vision problems, among many others.

Other research indicates that consuming microwaved food causes changes in the blood that can have detrimental health effects on consumers. A controversial and very small study done by Dr. Hans Hertel, a Swiss food scientist, concluded that these changes in the blood after consuming microwaved foods resulted in higher cholesterol levels, decreased white and red blood cells, increased amounts of radiolytic compounds, and lowered hemoglobin levels. These are all conditions which may pose serious risk to the health of an individual.

Using a microwave to defrost, cook, and reheat food is definitely convenient. Yet, doing so wastes money by depleting food of important nutrients and therefore denaturing the food’s essential purpose as fuel for the body. Consuming microwaved food also creates a toxic environment in the body and leaves it not only susceptible to diseases and health problems, but contributes toxins in order to create them. Thus, it is important to have other options for reheating, cooking, and defrosting food rather than using a microwave oven.

Practical Ways to Heat Up Your Food

There are many viable ways in order to avoid microwave use without completely sacrificing convenience when planning meals. An excellent way to ensure that vitamins and minerals in food are left unbroken is to incorporate raw vegetables into meals every day. Minimal processing of vegetables allows the body to access all of the nutrients that it needs from the raw plants. Yet, it is not necessary to eat everything raw in order to keep the integrity of the food intact.

A convection oven or toaster oven can be used to reheat food and both of these are less damaging to foods than microwaves. Defrosting food requires nothing more than removing the food from the freezer and leaving it in a sink full of water for a few hours. Many cultures over the world cook and reheat foods on the stovetop rather than relying on a microwave for convenience.

The most practical ways to lessen the need for a microwave are to plan ahead and to prepare meals that require minimal amounts of cooking! Leaving microwave cooking as a relic of the past will enable better health for those on the planet and will provide a better opportunity for the health of future generations.

About the Author:

Emma Deangela is the best selling author of The Alkaline Diet Program and 80/20 Fat Loss. She has helped over tens of thousands of men and women to lose weight and transform their health with sound nutrition advice.

Which wonderful friends in your life would appreciate this information about Microwave Oven? Are they still keeping one at home?

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Tips For A Happy Healthy Life

Some tips to help us live happy and healthy!

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
3. Live with the 3 E’s – Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
4. Make time for prayer and reflection.
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did the previous year.
7. Meditation is very important.
8. Sleep for 7 hours.

Personality:

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and while you walk, smile.
2. Do not compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.
3. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.  Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
4. Don’t over do.  Know your limits.
5. Don’t take yourself so seriously; no one else does.
6. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
7. Dream more while you are awake.
8. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.
9. Forget issues of the past.  Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past.  That will ruin your present happiness.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.  Don’t hate others.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
12. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
13. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
14. Smile and laugh more.
15. You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

Community:

1. Call your family often.
2. Each day give something good to others.
3. Forgive everyone for everything.
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
5. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
6. What other people think of you is none of your business.
7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your family and friends will.  Stay in touch.

Life:

1. Do the right things.
2. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
3. Forgiveness heals everything.
4. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
5. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
6. The best is yet to come.
7. When you awake alive in the morning, don’t take it for granted – embrace life.
8. Your inner most is always happy, so be happy.

Last but not least:

1. Enjoy LIFE!

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Why Are Apples So Healthy?

We all know that old saying: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.“ But have you ever wondered why that is? How one apple a day can bring about significant health benefits? If you have, then you’ll be glad to read this article. From strengthening the immune system, through preventing cancerous growths and to losing weight, say hello to your one apple a day!   How do apples do what they do? An important research published in 2008 by the German cancer research center, showed that apples offer a significant health advantage. When comparing between a group that had less than one apple per day and a group that had one or more apples a day, the latter was found to have less risk of mouth cancer, larynx cancer, breast cancer, intestinal cancer, kidney cancer and ovarian cancer. These findings support a new research performed at Cornell university, showing that the peel of the apple has strong anti-oxidant properties, a powerful block against the influences of breast cancer cells. Researchers found that the higher the concentraion of apples, the lower the concentration of cancerous cells. Cancerous growths are uncontrollable growths of cells independently spreading through the body. The growths are based on three principal levels: The first stage causes mutations in cell DNA. The second, when the growth becomes malignant and grows faster, and finally when it metastases and spreads throughout the body. In the case of a cancerous growth, apples aren’t only used as anti-oxidants, but also improve the function of the immune system, which helps clean out the growths at the early stages. In addition to boosting the immune system and fighting cancerous growths, apples also help control the levels of cholesterol and sugars in the blood, prevent heart disease and improve mouth hygiene. The fact that they contain more than 80% water and a long line of essential vitamins, makes them one of the healthiest foods available. The secret is in the nutritional fibers Apples are considered a vital source of nutritional fibers. Eating one apple a day (with peel) can award us about 4.4 grams of nutritional fibers, which is 1/5 of our entire day’s recommended amount. Nutritional fibers are materials found in foods that come from plants, and have a very important role in stimulating the digestive system and encouraging its function. Since they are not digested and taken apart in the body, they sate our hunger for a longer period of time. Extensive research has shown that those that do not get their daily recommended amount (at least 25 grams a day), deny themselves a host of health benefits. In addition, the researchers found that consuming these fibers is quite the effective method of losing weight. The secret is in the chewing. Drinking apple juice will not bring about the same health benefits. We’d be happy to receive the essential sugars and vitamins, but we would not get the fibers. A research conducted in China found that chewing can help the body regulate the amount of calories it absorbs from food. What does this have to do with apples? Everything. Apples are a terrific source of nutritional fibers, especially a group of fibers called Pectin. This is a group of complex carbohydrates that regulate our bowels, improve good cholesterol rates and is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial. Researchers from UCLA have shown that consuming pectin instead of regular fibers, doubles the time it takes the stomach to empty from one hour to two. Meaning that we don’t feel hungry for a longer time. In fact, a recent research paper entitled: “Weight Loss Associated with a Daily Intake of Three Apples or Three Pears among Overweight Women”, shows that women suffering from overweight and were instructed to eat an apple or pear before each meal, lost significant weight, just for doing so. The women in the experiment were asked to eat regularly and just add the apple before the meal. What happened was that the apples and fibers crowded the stomach, increased the feeling of being full, and made the body absorb less calories. Other sources of nutritional fibers are: Pears, Peaches, peas, carrots, seeds, nuts, peel of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, oats and whole wheat. But apples offer many more advantages. So if you want to: Lose weight, eat one apple a day. Strengthen your immune system, eat one apple a day. Control the level of cholesterol, eat one apple a day. Prevent the spread of cancerous cells, eat one apple a day. And if you want to keep the doctor away - EAT ONE APPLE A DAY!

5 Golden Health Tips

I was reading an article the other day talking about the 5 golden health tips -

1 - If you have 1 apple a day - you won't be visiting the doctor.

2 - If you have 1 tulsi leaf a day - you'll have no cancer.

3 - If you have 1 lemon a day - you won't have much fat content.

4 - If you have 1 cup of milk a day - you'll have no bone problem.

5 - If you have 3 liters of water a day - you'll have no diseases.

Lets do it!

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