Avoiding FAST FOOD as much as possible

As the dangers involved in eating Fast Food is very high due to several reasons as listed below, we have to choose an alternative options of avoiding them as much as we can.

Unhealthy processed foods such as French fries, hot dogs, burgers, pizzas, snacks, chips etc. are a potential health threat since they contribute to the increased prevalence of obesity and chronic disease among both developed countries and developing countries.

Obesity is becoming the largest public health concern as we enter the new millenium, especially among children. Obesity increases the risk for high cholesterol and fatty streak development, which translates into greater risk for cardiac disease and cardiovascular related disease such as high Blood Pressure and Diabetes.

One meal at a fast food restaurant may contribute a significant amount of fat and sodium for the day. For example, McDonald’s new Spanish omelet bagel contains 710 calories, 40 grams of fat, 275 mg of cholesterol and 1,520 mg of sodium. High fat diets and bigger portions in combination with decreased physical activity play major roles in the obesity epidemic.

The high salt content of fast foods also has many threats to the health problems associated with high blood pressure, strokes, and kidney function.

Monosodium glutamate (also known Ajinomoto) is in almost all processed foods and certainly in almost all fast food out there. All sorts of medical studies have revealed that Monosodium glutamate causes obesity, along with a lot of other nasty things. It's a chemical we should never put in our bodies, and yet it's something that is in virtually every processed food we buy whether it’s fast food or snacks.

All the techniques used to process food - canning, dehydrating and freezing - virtually destroy the flavor of food, so chemicals under the guise of "natural flavors" have been added to enhance the flavor, while color additives are added to make the foods look fresh. It might make the food look and taste better, but it's not doing much for our bodies
There is little evidence that if children eat fast food on a very limited basis they are going to have dietary or weight problems. The big problem is that most children eat fast food more than once a week.
It is apparent that fast foods are always a temptation because they are widely available, convenient and cheap, but as parents and educators it is important to set examples for children to emulate. Encouraging the consumption of a balanced diet, high in complex carbohydrates such as legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may result in many health benefits. Parents and teachers can educate and empower children by involving them in creating simple, fun, and creative homemade alternatives.
The key is to limit your intake of fast foods-and choose wisely. Studies show the average fast food meal costs you 1,200 calories, but you can limit these drawbacks by keeping in mind the following guidelines / tips / alternatives:
1. Order grilled chicken sandwiches in place of fried chicken or fried fish sandwiches. Know the fat content of various food choices. For example, choose a grilled chicken sandwich without mayonnaise and a regular order of fries; or have a small hamburger or cheeseburger and skip the fries.
2. Avoid desserts, sweets, milk shakes, pies, etc.
3. To reduce fat calories, omit mayonnaise (one tablespoon=100 calories) add mustard, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and /or onions as substitutes.
4. Avoid high-calorie beverages, such as regular soft drinks or milk shakes
5. Avoid fried foods. Calories can more than double in deep-fried foods.
6. Cut down on fat in fried foods by removing the outer coating before eating.
7. Order a small cheese pizza with low-calorie vegetables such as green peppers, onions or mushrooms, and eat just two or three pieces. Have a salad / garlic bread to help satisfy your appetite and boost fiber, nutrition and "fullness".
8. Eat lots of lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms. green peppers, carrots, celery and cucumbers.
9. Avoid french fries and opt for other sides like apples or a baked potato.

10. Free yourself from Monosodium Glutamate (Ajinomoto)by cooking at home.

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Reasons and the necessity of intake of Oranges regularly in our daily diet

Our sedentary, stressful life demands us to eat quality food. That’s why eating miraculously nutritious fruits like oranges regularly in our diet becomes vital and mandatory.

Orange is one of the finest fruits and gifts of nature. It is a rich source of protective food ingredients like Vitamin A, B , C and Calcium. Its also rich in minerals. Oranges keeps us strong, healthy and contributes towards healthy body and long life. Thus importance and benefits of eating oranges can only be emphasized and highligted as follows:

1. Fights Cancer: As oranges are rich in Vitamin C, they contains antioxidants which helps fight cancer in general and particularly gives some protection of cancers from mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon.
2. Rich in Fibre: Oranges are an excellent source of dietary fiber.
3. Recommended for heart disease :Oranges are an excellent source of nutrition for problems related to cardiovascular disease. Orange juice sweetened with honey is highly recommended and advisable for heart patients who have chronic cardiac conditions like coronary ischaemia and infarctioon. Besides, it is a safe energy producing liquid.
4. Lowers cholesterol level : Eating oranges regularly have found to be useful for lowering cholesterol level in the blood.
5. Lowers Blood Pressure : Oranges have also found to have the capacity to lower the high blood pressure level when taken regularly.
6. Diabetes: Intake of oranges regularly prevents diabetes.
7. Ailments for Children: Orange juice is a substitute for children who refuse to drink milk as it is a rich source of calcium. Besides orange juice is an excellent food for infants who are not fed on breast milk.
8. Bones and Teeth: As oranges are rich in calcium and vitamins, it is a valuable source of nutrition for bones and teeth. Dr. Harke, a Chicago physician claimed to have cured many patients of pyorrhea and dental caries by giving them orange juice in large amounts.
9. Kidney Stones: Oranges when included regularly in our diet have found to remove and sweep away the kidney stones.
10. Constipation: As oranges are rich in fibre, it is very beneficial in the treatment of constipation. Eating oranges at bedtime and again on rising in the morning is one of the best way to stimulating bowel action.
11. Orange juice is an effective remedy for tuberculosis, asthma, common cold, fevers, bronchitis and other conditions of cough associated with difficult expectorations.

That's why the importance of eating oranges regularly either as a whole or in the form of juice should not be underestimated.

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Different ways to protect our Liver

9 Ways how you can Love your Liver:

1. Liver stores the iron reserves you need, as well as a lot of vitamins and other minerals. Without liver, you wouldn't have the strength to carry on!

2. Liver makes bile to help digest your food.

3. Liver detoxifies poisonous chemicals you give it, and that includes alcohol, beer, wine and drugs (prescribed and over-the-counter) as well as illegal substances.

4. Liver stores energy, like a battery, by stockpiling sugar (carbohydrates, glucose and fat) until you need it. Without it, the sugar level in your blood could fall dramatically and you'd go into a coma.

5. Liver makes the blood that got your system going even before you were born.

6. Liver manufactures new proteins that your body needs to stay healthy and grow.
7. Liver removes poisons from the air, exhaust smoke and chemicals you breathe.

8. Liver makes clotting factors that stop the bleeding when you accidentally prick yourself.

9. Liver helps defend you against the germs going into your body all the time. It takes those cold germs, flu bugs and other germs you encounter, and knock them dead - or at least weaken them.

Now, let me tell you about a most common liver disease called as Fatty Liver.
What is Fatty Liver?
• Fatty liver is the collection of excessive amounts of fat inside liver cells, also called steatosis - mostly triglycerides.

Common types of Fatty Liver –
1. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) - affect people who drink little or no alcohol. simple fatty liver (steatosis), usually causes no liver damage
2. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more serious type caused by hepatitis infection, malnutrition, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and Reye's syndrome.
3. Alcoholic steatosis – The cause is alcohol by abuse.

What are the symptoms?
Fatty liver usually produces no symptoms. Jaundice, right-side abdominal pain, abdominal swelling, fever.
· At more advanced stage, liver becomes cirrhosis
· Cirrhosis refers to scarring of the liver. It replaces healthy tissue.
· Scar tissue cannot do what healthy liver tissue does.
· Scar tissue also blocks the normal flow of blood through the liver.
· Cirrhosis can be life-threatening, but it can also be controlled if treated early.
How is it diagnosed?
• The liver may be tender when the abdomen is pressed.
• Blood tests - for liver function.
• Ultrasound or abdominal CT scan.

What is the treatment?
1. Treatment for fatty liver is aimed at eliminating or treating the cause of the condition.
2. In some cases, fatty liver is reversible if caught early in its development.
3. Pregnancy-related fatty liver is treated by delivering the baby, if viable.
4. Severe liver damage can occur if fatty liver is left untreated. In these cases, the patient may eventually require a liver transplant

Now, let me tell you some easy ways to take preventive actions to love your liver enough:
1. Don't drown liver in beer, alcohol or wine!
2. Watch those drugs! All drugs are chemicals, and when you mix them up without a doctor's advice you could create something poisonous that could damage liver badly. Medicine is sometimes necessary. But taking pills when they aren't necessary is a bad habit. All those chemicals can really hurt a liver.
3. Be careful with aerosol sprays! Remember, liver have to detoxify what you breathe in, too. So when you are cleaning with aerosol cleaners, make sure the room is ventilated, or wear a mask. That goes double for bug sprays, mildew sprays, paint sprays and all those other chemical sprays you use. Be careful what you breathe!
4. Watch what gets on your skin! Those insecticides you put on trees and shrubs not only kill bugs they can get to me right through your skin and destroy liver cells, too. Remember they're all chemicals. Cover your skin with gloves, long sleeves, a hat and mask every time insecticides are in the air or if you're handling them.
5. Don't eat too much fatty food! Liver makes the cholesterol your body needs, and it tries to make the right amount. Eat a good, well balanced nourishing diet.

We can thus protect our liver by taking enough careful precautions against the following above guidelines thus keeping our liver healthy and disease-free thus attaining good health as all of us yearn always.

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Microwave Ovens : Comfort vs. Health & Nutrition - Tips to Healthy Eating Practise

Yes, we all agree that nothing is far easy reachable than microwave as it cooks and reheats or even defrosts instantly but did we realize whether it’s worth it???

Since the microwave is so good at killing bacteria, it becomes obvious that it also will kill anything alive in our food. All those vital enzymes that help us digest our food, all the B, C and E vitamins and most trace minerals are destroyed in the microwaving process. As opposed to traditional means of cooking which heat the food from the outside in, microwave ovens heat from the inside out by hurling out high-frequency alternating power fields which forces the molecules within the food to align themselves with the rapidly alternating electric field and sends the molecules flying back and forth at the dizzying pace of about 5 billion reversals per second. This causes a great deal of intermolecular friction which creates heat to heat the food, but it also destroys the cellular structure of the food, and it can change the chemical composition of the food into something that the body no longer recognizes. And if the food was cooked in a plastic container or with plastic wrap on top, plastic molecules are now imbedded into the food, which creates a whole other disaster for the endocrine system.

So eating microwaved food frequently, is a problem because not only have the micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phyto-nutrients) been destroyed, but also the macro-nutrients (proteins, carbs, fats) have been molecularly damaged rendering it virtually useless to the body. You can even detect the compositional changes yourself. Don't microwaved eggs seem rubbery to you, too?
Physicians tell new mothers never to heat the baby's milk in the microwave, as it denatures the proteins in the milk. If something is not good for baby, surely it is not good for adults either.
More and more evidence is coming to the fore that electromagnetic fields are damaging to human cells, and the higher the frequency the bigger the problem. Food that is nuked at a rate of the typical 2.45 gigahertz frequency in the microwave has been "energized" and the food gives off that energy to the nervous system, which may cause a stress response of high blood pressure, anxiety, headaches, and dizziness. Eating zapped food can cause abnormal changes in the blood and in the immune system. The Russians, who did most of the research on microwaves, found that there were higher incidences of stomach and intestinal cancers, digestive disorders, and higher rates of all cell tumors in those that ate microwaved foods frequently. So, how does one live microwave free? The biggest thing is to get organized and get into the habit of taking out the frozen meat, poultry or fish in the morning, or to buy fresh on the way home. As for cooking, electric grill is a better option, as it cooks really fast because the grill folds like a waffle iron and grills both sides of the meat at once.
It’s time to stop using microwave at workplace or at home. Try taking your lunch in a Corniwingware lunch dish & using a mini oven, if they have one. Or try taking lunch that does not need reheating or re-heat using a gas oven with patience as it retains all nutritients and keeps the food far more tastier.
There was a time (not to long ago) that microwaves were not in every household or not even in existence. We just have to get back to that era!

Always remember one great formula – Health & Nutrition is our greatest wealth plus the food is tastier while using gas or electric oven or electric grill.

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