The theory of raw eating is that cooking destroys enzymes and nutrients in food. In fact, some foods actually release more nutrients when they are cooked.
Therefore it is best to eat a good mix of both cooked and raw foods.
Tag Archives: Healthy diet
HOW TO BEAT THE SNACK ATTACK #1.
Here’s how to kill off unhealthy cravings whenever they hit…
Problem – missed breakfast.
When you leave it too long before eating in the morning, your body and brain will be desperate for fuel and you’re likely to grab something unhealthy.
Solution – have a milky drink.
Hold off on the pastry and drink a glass of milk or a skinny latte (around 100 calories) instead. The milk content will take the edge off your hunger, so you can then make a healthier choice based on your head, not just your stomach.
WHAT TO EAT WHEN.
9:00am – Coffee
Why do you crave a kick-start cup of coffee in the morning? It’s because the caffeine releases adrenaline – the hormone that makes you feel more alert – into your bloodstream. It also boosts blood circulation to your brain, helping improve concentration. Just make sure you eat breakfast first, as drinking it on an empty stomach may overload your central nervous system, making you jittery.
11:00am – Celery
As stress levels and blood pressures rise at work, munch on celery. It contains potassium, known to help lower sodium levels (a sign of high blood pressure and stress). Plus, at six calories per stick, they won’t ruin your appetite.
1:00pm – Mackerel
Need a brain boost in the afternoon? Tuck into a mackerel salad at lunch, packed full of cognitive-enhancing omega-3. Plus, this is a great time to chomp down on some nutritious leaves – your metabolic rate is at its highest, so it’s easier to break down raw foods.
2:00pm – Blueberries
These berries provide a super-healthy sweet hit, and with their low-glycaemic index they’re absorbed slowly, so don’t lead to a sudden sugar level spike. And there’s more good news – research suggests that regularly eating blueberries can lead to a rewriting of the part of your brain that affects short- and long-term memory, as well as boosting attention span.
5:00pm – Beetroot
Off to the gym after work? Studies have revealed that beetroot juice helps your muscles work more efficiently and lowers oxygen uptake. It’s also a vasodilator, which means it opens up blood vessels, allowing oxygenated blood to get to your hard-working muscles.
10:00pm – Cherries
If you’re feeling peckish before bed, snack on a handful of cherries. These contain melatonin – a hormone that induces sleep – so you should have a good night’s rest.
WHAT TO EAT TO BEAT THAT COLD!
Diet is the first port of call in the fight to stay healthy, and prevention is better than cure. Here are my top tips to keeping your immune system strong throughout the cold season:
- Fill up on a rainbow of fresh fruit and veggies so you’re getting all the vitamins you need. Immune-boosting vitamin C is the star of the show here. It’s especially high in kiwis, peppers, kale and leafy greens, citrus fruits, broccoli and berries.
- Garlic has antibacterial properties and has the antioxidant allicin, which helps counteract the effects of free radicals in the body.
- Chilli also has antioxidant properties as well as acting like a decongestant.
- Ginger is a good warmer as well as soothing the stomach.
- Stay hydrated and eat foods rich in soluble fibre such as avocado, tomatoes and other fresh fruits and veggies, plus insoluble fibre like brown rice and wholegrains.
- Zinc is another immune system booster. Fresh beef and baked beans are good sources.
HEALTH CURES: CINNAMON.
Zap fat
Cinnamon can help balance blood sugar and keep you feeling fuller for longer. Dissolve a teaspoon in warm water and drink with your breakfast.
WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT AVOCADOS?
With a 25% rise in sales last year, what has got everyone obsessed with the humble avocado?
- Healthy heart – rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids that can help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol.
- High in soluble and insoluble fibre – helping keep the blood cholesterol levels low and your digestive system healthy. Also, high potassium levels help with regulating blood pressure and heart rate.
- Full of vitamins – a high concentration of vitamin E for healthy skin, vitamin A for a strong immune system and vitamin K for blood-healing functions.
- An antioxidant punch – high levels of phenol essential for counteracting the effects of free radicals.
2016 FOOD TRENDS.
Two big food trends set for this year are:
Coconut Flour
Gluten free and high in protein – 100g has 38% of your RDA – it’s ideal for vegans and veggies needing to increase their intake.
Medjool Dates
As sugar fell out of favour in 2015, naturally sweet snacking alternatives soared in popularity, including medjool dates. Sales rose by 16% at Waitrose.
‘SIRTFOODS’ – FIND OUT ABOUT THIS YEAR’S DIET TREND.
The newest diet trend actually allows you eat some of your favourite foods – dark chocolate included! The sirtfood plan is all about what you should include and add to your meals.
What are sirtfoods?
- They’re foods that are high in substances called sirtuin activators. There are seven types of sirtuin in the body.
- Sirtuins can help you shift weight because they fire up pathways in the body that help boost your metabolism.
- These pathways help you torch fat and boost muscle. They’re normally activated by exercising and by fasting (i.e. the basis of the 5:2 diet).
- A sirtfood diet mimics the effects of fasting or vigorous exercise. Packing your diet with sirtfoods basically tricks your body into sparking up your metabolism.
There are other health benefits to adding sirtuins to your diet, beyond just losing weight. A diet high in sirtuins reduces cell inflammation – a key cause of type 2 diabetes – heart disease and even dementia. As sirtfoods are known to help protect cells from dying, eating lots of them can also have powerful anti-ageing benefits.
What foods should I be eating?
This top 10 list shows the foods most rich in sirtuin activators:
- Green tea
- Kale
- Dark chocolate
- Red wine
- Turmeric
- Parsley
- Onions
- Olives & olive oil
- Pomegranate
- Soy beans & tofu
CONTROLLING YOUR WEIGHT – BACK TO BASICS.
The key to weight control is keeping energy intake (food) and energy output (physical activity) in balance. When you consume only as many calories as your body needs, your weight will usually remain constant. If you take in more calories than your body needs, you will put on excess fat. If you expend more energy than you take in you will burn excess fat.
Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy output, calling on stored calories for extra fuel. Recent studies show that not only does exercise increase metabolism during a workout, but it causes your metabolism to stay increased for a period of time after exercising, allowing you to burn more calories.
How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends on the amount and type of activity, and on how much you eat. Aerobic exercise burns body fat. A medium-sized adult would have to walk more than 30 miles to burn up 3,500 calories, the equivalent of one pound of fat. Although that may seem like a lot, you don’t have to walk the 30 miles all at once. Walking a mile a day for 30 days will achieve the same result, providing you don’t increase your food intake to negate the effects of walking.
If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain approximately 10 pounds in a year. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. The combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective approach to weight control.
Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, and exercise develops muscle to a certain degree, your bathroom scale won’t necessarily tell you whether or not you are “fat.” Well-muscled individuals, with relatively little body fat, invariably are “overweight” according to standard weight charts. If you are doing a regular program of strength training, your muscles will increase in weight, and possibly your overall weight will increase. Body composition is a better indicator of your condition than body weight.
Lack of physical activity causes muscles to get soft, and if food intake is not decreased, added body weight is almost always fat. Once-active people, who continue to eat as they always have after settling into sedentary lifestyles, tend to suffer from “creeping obesity.”
FOOD FACT: DANDELION GREENS.
- Dandelion is beneficial to digestion and is an antiviral.
- It may also be useful in treating jaundice, cirrhosis, edema due to high blood pressure, gout, eczema and acne.
- Dandelion is also used to treat and prevent breast and lung tumors and premenstrual bloating.
- Dandelion greens are high in vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoid and vitamin C.
- They also contain calcium and potassium.
- Dandelion root contains inulin, which lowers blood sugar in diabetics.