Nutrition

How Nutrition and Wellness go Hand in Hand

With a busy schedule for most people it’s hard to get everything done in a day plus find time to exercise and eat healthy.

What many people fail to realize is that one’s physical health and wellness, lies in a precarious balance, and by maintaining proper eating, sleeping and exercising habits, a person will feel better and typically be more productive.

Let’s review the benefits of exercise. Besides helping to maintain a healthy weight, exercise helps the body release endorphins into the bloodstream. Endorphins are the body’s natural painkiller, and by exercising more the aches and pains actually get a healthy bodily treatment. Extra benefits are more energy and more productivity during the day, simply from exercising.

Eating a healthy diet, like exercise, also has many distinct advantages for the busy individual. When you put empty calories into the body, the body runs out of fuel more quickly, thus making the days seem longer and mundane tasks seem harder. The benefits of adding more water to the diet have been well documented. The addition of more fruits and vegetables into the diet also has been proven to release healthy oxidants into the body, helping one steer clear of sickness. These same vegetables and fruits give the body healthy calories that will keep the mind and body active, thus more productive.

If everyday just seems like a chore with work and everything else involved, it’s probably time to examine your eating and exercising habits. Health and Wellness go hand in hand, it just takes a few hours per week and significant improvements are there for the taking.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Health, Physical exercise, Weight loss

Healthy Eating

You may have the false mental image that health food stores are comprised solely of unpronounceable products, tofu, and soy beans. You may also believe that those unpronounceable products, tofu, and soy beans all taste like cardboard… albeit healthy, organic, good-for-you cardboard. Don’t let health-food stereotypes fool you! There’s so much more to healthy eating than alfalfa sprouts. After a few months shopping at heath food stores, you may even find that you actually like alfalfa sprouts.

Here are some tasty, deceptively good-for-you products you’ll find in a health food store; check Canada 411 for a store near you.

Hummus

Hummus is sort of like the Middle Eastern equivalent of party dip. The main ingredients in hummus are chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, if you’d prefer) and tahini. Wait! Don’t run for the hills just yet! Tahini is just a fancy word for a sesame seed paste. Try hummus as a spread on wraps and sandwiches, as a dip for pita chips or crackers, or as a substitute for mayo in chicken or tuna salads.

Edamame

Okay, this might technically fall under the “products you can’t pronounce” category. However, these Japanese soy beans will look incredibly familiar to you, since they look just like lumpy sugar snap peas. Furthermore, they have a more savory taste than any green beans you’ve ever had. Try them steamed with a sprinkle of sea salt– and don’t forget that you only eat the beans inside, not the outer husk.

Go Explore

Ease yourself into the health food process. Try finding some familiar-sounding recipes that use healthy ingredients and sample new products that way.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Chickpea, Hummus, Soybean

What Happens When Food Allergies Attack?

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All of us have heard of Food Allergies, but when kids are very small it’s hard to tell if their having a reaction to a certain food, don’t like it, or are just being kids.

If a person has a food allergy, antibodies within the human body actually think the food is something very harmful. Once the body detects the ‘unwanted’ food, it releases chemicals into the bloodstream to ward off these perceived threats.

A child with a food allergy will likely exhibit signs of a runny nose or some itchy skin (like a rash or hives). More extreme symptoms include coughing, nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain and difficulty breathing. While most food allergies are minor, some are extremely dangerous as they combine all symptoms into one massive problem as blood pressure drops, the tongue will swell and in many cases the breathing tube actually narrows.

Many food allergies can be detected at home, but oftentimes it’s tough to diagnose what the problem food actually is. Specialists in this area are equipped to determine what the real problems might be. These doctors usually do a skin test, in which a liquid extract of the suspected problem food is applied to the skin of the patient. If a reaction is found, then an allergy to that food is present. In more difficult cases, doctors often send blood samples to other labs for additional testing.

The good news about food allergies for kids is that with time, many of the allergies are overcome as the body simply grows out of them. Life-long food allergies are usually associated with peanuts and some types of fish.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Allergy, Food, Food allergy

What to Eat When you’re nursing a Baby

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Since what you eat while nursing affects your baby, it’s always a good idea to know what you should and should not eat for your baby’s best health. Certain foods not only produce an upset stomach, like colic, but some foods don’t provide the nutrients you need and want for your baby.

What you should eat:

Good fats like olive oil and canola oil. Salmon is also good as is avocado and nuts.
Drink at least 16 cups of water a day.
Well-balanced meals that include all of the food groups–dairy, fruits and vegetables, grains, and meats is your best bet in keeping yourself as well as your baby healthy.

What you should limit or avoid:

Alcohol and caffeine. If you choose to drink alchohol, wait at least two hours before breastfeeding.
Spicy food may work for you and your baby, and it may not. If your baby is colicky after a spicy meal, it may be due to the spicy dinner you both ate. A colicky baby is also attributed to a mother drinking cow’s milk.
Broccoli, chocolate, garlic, any food that makes your baby gassy or irritable later on may need to be avoided. Watch what you eat and monitor what you are eating by writing it down.

What you should eat while nursing your baby can best be determined by how you feel and how your baby feels after the meal is over. Make the end result worth the trip by following the guidelines above.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Baby food, EAT, Food, Milk

Nutrition and Wellness

Talking of living well, having vitality and free of illness, various factors and components must be considered. One of the most important of these has to do with nutrition. There is no way you can feel well by not feeding properly. The body will always give you back what you have put into it and that is why it is important that you do not fill your stomach with junk or trash. You have to feed well for various reasons.

One of the most pertinent reasons in favor of good nutrition has to do with the implications it has on one’s health. When you eat what you are supposed to eat, the body grows normally and is able to fight off diseases better than with poor nutrition. In addition to this, when you eat adequate meals, you will not fall a victim of the many diseases caused by deficiency of nutrients.

Having talked about some of the benefits of feeding properly, it is also important to point out an erroneous but widespread assumption or belief. Many individuals believe that for you to feed properly, you need to be stupendously wealthy. However, the reality on ground is quite far from that. In fact, to get a balanced diet, you do not have to burn a hole in your pocket, especially when you know where to go to. For an average individual, you can purchase foods, fruits and vegetables at a local store or grocery near you at affordable prices. The important thing is to choose different food products. If you still feel this measure is just too expensive, then the next step that you may have to take is to have a garden of your own.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Eating, Food, Health, Nutrition

Children and Food Allergies

Food allergies in children can occur at any age. Some may develop suddenly and cause serious health concerns that require immediate medical attention, while others may only cause slight symptoms. Children can be allergic to a wide variety of foods, but there are a few that tend to cause more allergic reactions then others.

Eggs and milk are two food items that children are often allergic to, but luckily most will outgrow these allergies. Eggs tend to cause allergic reactions in children that are sensitive to the protein that the egg naturally contains. Although children that show allergies to eggs normally outgrow the condition, research has shown that these children may be more prone to developing asthma as they get older. The protein in milk is also often times the culprit when a child displays allergic reactions to the dairy product. Milk also contains whey, which can cause an allergic reaction in some children.

One of the more severe types of food allergies in children comes from a peanut allergy. This allergy can be quite serious and needs to be monitored closely. The protein in peanuts can cause the body’s immune system to backfire. The allergic child may have severe symptoms such as being very short of breath due to swelling of the throat or tongue. Peanut allergies are not usually outgrown. A child with a severe peanut allergy must be closely monitored to be sure they don’t consume not only whole peanuts, but any products that contain peanuts or peanut oil. Many foods use ground peanuts as an ingredient, so labels will need to be read in their entirety before giving the child a new food.

Another serious food allergy in children is one to seafood. This allergy can cause very dangerous symptoms, similar to those of peanut allergies. Most children that have a seafood allergy are allergic to all types of seafood, including shellfish and other salt water fish, but some may be able to tolerate one or the other with no negative side effects.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Allergy, Child, Food

Knowing What To Feed Your Child

Upon closer observation, one will see that even though it may sound very simple, knowing what to feed your child may not be that easy and straightforward. This is particularly true if you are the kind of parent that pays attention to every detail. This is a good idea and it all boils down to the welfare of your child.

One feature of the world that we are in today is an overflow of information. For a parent who is interested in knowing a lot about how to feed your child, there are tons and tons of information and ideas out there but the important thing for you is to be able to select a method that will work perfectly for your child. To do this, there are various steps that you can take.

The first is for you to pay a visit to your personal dietician and nutritionist. It is important that you take the child along with you when you are going. Since the dietician is a professional with the needed experience and expertise, he or she will be able to work out a feasible plan on how to feed your child.

However, it must be stressed that in a situation where you cannot see a dietician or you may not even afford the fees, there is another step that you can take. This is with can be termed healthy feeding. You will ensure that you feed your child with a meal that can be classified as a balanced diet. It is also good to avoid feeding your child with junk foods. Such foods are neither nutritious nor healthy. Instead, they contribute to a poor health status. Fruits and vegetables are also important.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Child, Health, Junk food

“Going Green” Has Brought Back Many “Old-Timey” Activities

Many people who have enjoyed visiting farmer’s markets and roadside stands during the summer and fall, or who can remember growing up in rural areas on even on farms have decided that growing their own food and getting their eggs right from the source is something that they can do themselves. This can be especially true when they discover just how little space is needed to accomplish this, and the different ways that fertilizing and watering can be done.

Anyone who has ever grown tomatoes on their back porch or deck knows that it only takes one or two plants to produce enough tomatoes to enjoy every day all summer long and still have some left for freezing or canning, as well as sharing with neighbors. It’s the same with other vegetables, so you don’t need 40 acres to grow a garden, especially one that’s just intended to feed you and your family.

For example, a backyard garden only requires about a 10’ X 20’ area. That may not sound like much, but consider this. You can plant bushy plants such as cabbage, lettuce, turnip, collard and other similar plants along the outer edges, and then plant several stalks of corn on the inside. Between the stalks of corn, plant pole beans or other climbing vegetables and use the stalks as natural braces for them.

Fortunately, chicken coops don’t take up that much room. If your area allows for keeping such animals in your backyard, as long as you have 12 inches of roosting room between the chickens, your chicken coops can be as small as 6’ X 8’. Just make sure they have a couple of good laying boxes so you won’t have to be looking all over the place for the eggs.

And, you can use the “fertilizer” the chickens produce to help your garden grow. Simply mix it in with the soil when you start planting.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Chicken, Chicken coop, Plant

The Nutrition Rule: Better Buying

It’s a slow stroll down the aisle. It’s the easy pluck of items. You toss all cans and wrinkled plastics into your cart, letting them stack high. A week is being prepared for — all meals memorized; all contents remembered from the list you wrote earlier (and left in your car). You know what you need and you know where to find it. Shopping is not the horror so many mothers claim it to be.

It can, however, manage to shock you still — because you glance at the surrounding baskets when you arrive finally at the counter; you see what other parents have chosen. They’ve burdened themselves with sugars and salt-slick treats, the unhealthy meats and caffeine. You’re… stunned. It’s as though your neighbors have forgotten about nutrition, have instead yielded to their children.

And you’re proud as you slide your items forward. They prove strong sense and a stronger conviction to your one rule: don’t buy what isn’t healthy.

A simple — but too often forgotten — philosophy for parents to follow is one of abstinence. Every trip to the store becomes an experience in calories, with snacks and sodas accepted without concern. Though the needed grains and vegetables may be purchased, they’re usually coupled with desserts; and the message becomes baffling.

It’s necessary therefore for parents to understand the value of better buying. Wishing to remove the effects of poor nutrition (such as obesity, diabetes, cholesterol and more) demands more than simple sighs. It instead requires a refusal to purchase what is harmful. Don’t fill a cart with empty calories. Choose instead to provide only what can be justified. Shopping should be an exercise in wisdom, not bad decisions. If certain items aren’t provided then they cannot be consumed. Children will instead have to accept what’s offered to them — and this inspires a reliance on health, not chocolate.

Don’t buy what is known to be wrong. Select only what is helpful.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Health, Nutrition

The Nutrition Involvement

The kitchen is a battleground: a greet of steam and tantrums, the screams and condiments. Each day is a tribute to the tedium of campaigns. Ingredients are refused; meals are ruined; and your child balks at every single vegetable you offer him. He has no need for them and will not submit to your coaxing. He simply dismisses each attempt, willing to toss his plate aside and implement a tactical retreat when necessary (his strategy involves hiding beneath his bed; yours calls for an aspirin).

Ensuring children receive the best nutrition possible is not an easy task. Parents too often discover that their sons and daughters are unwilling to sample foods that aren’t soaked in chocolate, filled with sugar. The essential greens and fruits are ignored — thought to be wicked.

Such thoughts must be changed.

Parents must teach the value of nutrition by allowing children to become involved with it. All fear spawns from the unknown — when ingredients aren’t recognized they are assumed to be unworthy. Allowing youths to master them therefore is the best way to counter this worry.

Let your child help with the cooking. Assign him easy responsibilities (such as fetching utensils, retrieving supplies or reading off instructions, even if you already know them). Explain each step of the process, encouraging him to identify items and how to prepare them. Allow him to watch the timer for you, counting off the minutes and alerting you to when the food must be removed from the oven. While you wait you can even ask for his suggestions for the week’s meals, enabling him to feel as though his decisions matter.

This involvement is essential in gaining the acceptance of nutrition. Once your child understands food he will be more willing to try it — especially when he feels he helped to cook it himself. Pride will overwhelm any doubt, allowing him to simply eat.

Embrace participation to provide good health and success.