Health Food Stores Battle Food Allergies

May 19, 2011

At health food stores, customers are complaining about food allergies more often now with statements like, “I can’t eat this”, or “I can’t eat that.” Why do so many people, especially those who frequent health food stores, believe they have food allergies? It’s funny, I’ve never heard anyone say, “I’m allergic to coffee, cookies, cakes, popcorn, pizza or candy”, and yet these are things that people ingest regularly without a second thought. So, what’s up with all these health food store shoppers who have food allergies?

Food allergies occur when the immune system overreacts to a protein molecule in the offending food. This can happen even with those who stick to food from health food stores. The body is unable to break down that particular protein molecule, so it reacts by trying to “get rid of it”. It produces a chemical called ‘histamine’ and symptoms appear in the form of rashes, hives, itching, wheezing, breathing problems, and lots of mucus being expelled through the mouth, nose, ears, lungs, or sexual organs. More serious reactions from food allergies are: vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness, drop in blood pressure, or even death.

Intolerance to certain foods is different than true food allergies, and this is a more common complaint at health food stores. With food intolerances like lactose intolerance, where a person has difficulty breaking down the sugar in the milk, the symptoms are much milder. One may have some bloating, excess gas, cramping or diarrhea. While food intolerance is unpleasant, it is not life threatening like food allergies can be in some severe cases. The usual distresses are intolerances to wheat, soy, dairy and anything at health food stores that the shopper feels is too expensive.

The question that customers at health food stores ought to ask is not, “What food am I allergic to?” But rather, “Why is my immune system reacting to what should be health food?”

When determining specific food allergies and intolerances, some factors to consider are:

1. What is the trigger food?

2. When am I eating the trigger food?

3. Am I improperly combining fruits and vegetables or grains or meat and dairy?

The list can be quite exhaustive to hunt down the offending trigger food and how it is being consumed. In fact, most food allergy experts will tell you to keep a diary of everything you eat, and when you find the trigger food to just avoid eating it. Well, that sounds simple, but if you react to many things, including those that should be health food, it’s not so simple? Of course, you can eliminate the most common triggers to food allergies like: corn, wheat, eggs, dairy, and peanuts, but if that doesn’t work, then what? The truth is, your immune system can overreact to many substances. The best way to address food allergies is to strengthen your immune system and get in balance with all the systems of the body. Shop health food stores for specific foods to feed your 5 main systems equally: immune, endocrine, digestive, circulatory and respiratory systems. This may be difficult at typical health food stores, but searching online will produce results.

When you feed all your body parts with healthy, whole food nutrients, and eliminate the fake, processed foods in your life, your 5 systems can come into a perfectly natural balance. Then you can eat what you know you should be eating. It is better to strengthen the body’s systems with properly combined health food and ward off illness and disease the natural way. When you consume the right nutrients, the body operates at optimum levels for a more relaxed, healthy life. You have access to so much good nutrition at health food stores and plenty of options for avoiding food allergies or intolerances that it’s a shame to limit your choices unnecessarily.

Cliff Smith is the owner of an online health food store specializing in properly combined, concentrated whole food formulas that nourish, cleanse and balance the body. Many of his customers have overcome their food allergies and intolerances with health foods that are not sold in typical retail stores. Visitors to the online store are encouraged to take the free alkaline food test, request catalogs, sample products, and discover more nutrition facts.

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Weight Loss & Health Foods – A Doctor’s View That “Healthy” Foods May Not Help Weight Loss

May 18, 2011

Fresh fruit juices, bananas, nuts, sports & energy drinks, cranberry juice, and oat bran can make you fat and certainly do not help you lose weight and become really “healthy. Using some foods as medicines often distracts peoples attention from the correct treatment. Beware of foods labeled, “Healthy” or “Good for You.”

They may not be so good for your waist line.

Food and beverages used to treat mild medical problems may be a source of hidden calories that cause you to pack on the pounds without much positive gain. Foods such as bananas, cranberry juice, and oat bran when eaten daily may be responsible for a hundred or more excess calories a day. So called “health” foods including nuts and olive oil are another source of hidden calories as are drinks like Gatorade and energy drinks both of which are loaded with sugar. Here are the actual foods and drinks associated with these potential extra calories:

Orange Juice used to prevent or treat colds:

Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling advocated large doses of Vitamin C to prevent and treat upper respiratory infections beginning in 1970′s. The Cochrane review of “placebo-controlled trials involving 11,350 participants pointed out that regular ingestion of vitamin C has no effect on common cold incidence in the ordinary population. The authors go on to say, trials of high doses of vitamin C administered therapeutically (starting after the onset of symptoms), showed no consistent effect on either duration or severity of symptoms…” Our daily Vitamin C requirement in between 60-100 mg.per day which is easily supplied in a normal diet. Vitamin C in a supplement ranges from 100 t0 1000 mg. Each tablet contains less than 2 calories.

Cranberry Juice for the treatment of urinary tract infections:

Dr Franklin C. Lowe, professor or urology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons reviewed the treatment of urological problems with cranberry juice and other “natural” remedies in May 2006:

He noted, “Cranberry products are widely believed to be effective treatments of urinary tract infections. The results of 2 controlled studies found that cranberry juice does not treat urinary infections and may increase kidney stones.”

Bananas for “low potassium:”

Potassium is important for good health and a balanced diet supplies all he potassium one needs. There is no evidence that potassium supplements are useful in the treatment of high blood pressure and are only needed for people who have low potassium due to illness or treatment with certain medications. Non athletes and people in good health do not need potassium supplements. Eating a banana supplies 350 mg. of potassium, which is about 1/6 of the possible potassium needs in a day? There is no “recommended daily allowance for potassium” since lack of potassium is so rare. The problem is that a single banana has 110 calories and 12 grams of sugar; eaten daily it can cause a weight gain of 10 lbs. in a year. There are other fruits that have less sugar and many less calories. If additional potassium is really needed, consider a potassium tablet which has 750 mg or more of potassium and zero calories.

Oat bran and barley for treatment of elevated cholesterol:

Oat bran in the form of beta-glucan can lower cholesterol. However, few people consider how effective it really is and the caloric consequences. It takes three cup of cheerios to obtain the 3 grams of beta glucan fiber the amount to end up with the 3 grams of beta glucan a day that is required to lower cholesterol Three cups of cheerios or oatmeal with fat free milk contain 450 calories. It may lower cholesterol by 7%. That means someone with blood cholesterol of 275 mg% might lower his cholesterol to 251 mg% percent, if he is lucky. This is not enough of change when the desirable level is less than 200mg%. It also means that the individual must take the oat bran every day, indefinitely, not an easy task. In one study where workers at a factory making oat products were offered free oatmeal for breakfast and free oat muffins at lunch few were able to eat them for more than a month or two. Another important issue for many people seeking “natural” cures is the misconception that all they need to do is to eat their oat bran and their cholesterol will acceptable. A popular ad says, “lowers your cholesterol by up to 7% in 6 weeks.” Does that mean that after 6 weeks they can stop the oat bran?

What’s the weight gain with this much oat bran? 420 calories excess calories a day translates into 40 lbs. weight gain in a year. Obviously, the oat bran would replace another food. Assuming the breakfast was 2 eggs and a piece of toast which contains 180 calories, the actual excess calories might be only 220 calories or 22 lbs. in a year. Take the issue one step further, 22 lbs. weight gain can result in 2 or 3 inch increase in waist circumference, which translates into a 20% increase in cholesterol and 17% increase in overall mortality from cardiovascular disease. There are far better ways to lower cholesterol.

Food Supplements Gatorade, Energy Drinks, Nuts and Seeds

These “health” foods and drinks are all have serious portion control and more than 100 calories per portion.

Nuts may have “healthy oils”, but the usual portion of almonds is 170 calories and contains only 6 grams of protein. If consumed daily that results in weight gain of more than 17 lbs. over a year. Sports drinks like

Gatorade contain 50 calories per portion. However, most bottles have 2 or 3 portions. A serving of sugar rich

gatorade can easily be 150 calories and add 15 lbs. a year if consumed daily.

The issue to remember, is that all of these foods and drinks have minimal health benefits. They distract you from more effective treatment for the medical problem and add calories and weight gain. The weight gain and it’s health dangers far outweigh the benefits. Often some individuals eat a lot of these foods and really don’t like them.

Richard L. Lipman M.D., a board certified internist and endocrinologist has been treating weight and metabolic problems for 25 years in his Miami office. His recent book, The 100 Calorie Secret, describes how thousands of his patients lost weight and kept it off. Learn more weight loss and tips from a doctor who actually takes care of metabolic problems and obesity problems at http://www.the100caloriesecret.com.

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Dog Health Food – Find Out What Foods Are Safe For Your Dog to Eat

May 17, 2011

Without knowing what dog health food is, you might be feeding your best friend foods that are harming them. Some foods can really do a lot of damage to the health of your dog and it’s important to know what’s safe and what’s dangerous.

This boils down to the individual dog and their physiological makeup. Just because you know of another dog that ate macadamias and was fine, doesn’t mean that it’s safe for your little pooch!

Here’s a list of the really nasty ones that all dogs need to avoid:

Chocolate

Most of us know about this one these days, and it really is amazing how little chocolate can be deadly for dogs. Dark and cooking chocolate are the most dangerous with milk chocolate not as bad. But at the end of the day, make sure your dog just doesn’t get chocolate, unless it’s specific dog chocolate which doesn’t have theobromine (the nasty chemical in chocolate)

Onions

These damage red blood cells causing anaemia. One big serving or regular small ones can both be harmful for a dog. Cooked onions are safer, but still not a good idea at all. Thankfully, dogs don’t seek onions out like they do with chocolate, but if they are getting food scraps, make sure that there isn’t any onion in it, cooked or not.

Macadamia Nuts

Can cause muscle weakness and paralysis, usually short lasting thankfully. Just about all other nuts should be avoided because there’s too much phosphorous for a dog to handle. Peanuts are ok because they are really a legume so quite different from tree nuts.

Tea And Coffee (especially coffee grounds)

Both have a similar effect to chocolate, but often dogs don’t eat them of their own accord, so it’s not such a problem. But it’s still important to make sure that your dog doesn’t get into compost that has coffee in it.

Raisons or grapes

Can cause kidney failure in even fairly small amounts, so make sure that you don’t let them too close to these either.

Taking note of this list could easily save your dog from an early and painful death, just by being a little bit more aware of dog health food is. A lot of the other foods that are only potentially harmful, need to be given in large amounts to be harmful. Hopefully this will clear up any confusion and help your dog to stay healthy.

How would you feel if your dog died at a young age and it was completely preventable? We need to know what goes into the food that we feed our dogs and if it’s making them sick. Our dog health food newsletter is chock full of tips for healthy eating, delicious recipes and information about what really goes into commercial dog food. Click here to subscribe http://www.dog-health-food.com

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Weight Loss Diet Plan – Health Food Delivery Services

May 16, 2011

When it comes to weight loss creativity and innovation, body fat wonders never cease to amaze you. Consider that now, both your taste preferences and palette can delve into freshly prepared, highly effective, and even completely delicious meals delivered right to your home via weight loss diet plan health food delivery services.

Essentially, what you have here is weight loss diet plan health food delivery services for body fat reduction support. This is a creative health food delivery services solution that solves at least one of four major obstacles most dieters face in the quest for a better body.

Common weight loss diet plan obstacles include the following:

Lack of Know-How – (Solution): Professional chefs, coupled with and supported by the bona fide expertise of nutritionists, bodybuilding, weight management, and personal trainers, help make it a lot easier for you to take part in successful and effective health food diet plan achievement by eating foods that taste good, as well as supporting negative energy balance needed to lose body fat.

Lack of Money – (Solution): There is much controversy and debate over whether or not being in great shape with maximized performance ability is truly costly, or merely a basic sacrifice that one chooses to make in order to attain more self-satisfying, long-term, weight loss diet plan success. Perhaps you notice that typical junk foods don’t really cost you much. Yet, they also leave you high and dry in terms of healthy meal diet plan weight loss support. Probably, like other things worthwhile in this life we live, items that provide consistent, reliable service come with a slightly higher ticket price.

Yet, weight loss diet plan food delivery services strongly appear to keep your financial outlay at reasonable minimums. Lack of cash need stop no one from attaining the level of fitness they highly desire and truly work to achieve. Less of the bad things and more of the good remains part of a smart, highly recommended, professional health food delivery strategy. Weight loss diet planning is not about money; it’s about awareness, commitment, and dedication.

Lack of Motivation – (Solution): For many, it’s hard to get started on almost any weight loss diet plan at all. Even for some, simply getting up in the morning proves a chore in itself. Yet, a good weight loss diet plan remains an essential part of the body fat reduction process. Without such advance body fat planning or strategy, you leave yourself wide open to yo-yo dieting behavior. That is, you try one weigh loss approach for a while, it fails you; then you return to where you started, feeling frustrated and doubtful about your ability to attain consistent and lasting body fat results. Viable healthy meal food delivery services augment your drive to achieve weight loss results by providing your body with not only physical fuel in the way of food energy, but also helps you release your mental powers with added focus on losing weight. Liking gaining an extra, customized, personalized, or specialized tool to cut excess fat away from your body… diet meal plan food delivery gives you extra options and more alternatives to healthy eating behavior.

Lack of Time – (Solution): To lose body weight effectively, it is important that you be able to concentrate and focus on the daily chores you constantly face. Time management contributes to peace of mind and reducing undue stress, which is counterproductive to weight loss achievement.

Probably the greatest fact you can take home with you, in regard to diet meal planning and health food delivery, is this: Convenience need no longer be a stumbling block to your body fat success. Imagine the power of having professional, caring, educated, and specialized experts affordably prepare your meals CORRECTLY, virtually each and every day, so that you can be as free as possible to reach body fat and weight loss goals effectively, safely, reliably, enjoyably, and in good taste, too.

Being successful at weight loss will almost always require that you do at least three things with as much accuracy and precision as possible. You must keep your health food or weight loss diet plan, plus:

1. Maintain a daily negative energy balance.

2. Monitor your input and output, carefully keeping accurate records of your progress and failures, too. (Yes, record failures too, so that you can fix them and avoid future repetition.)

3. Challenge and engage your body with gradually increasing, higher energy action of intentionally longer durations. (This is how you build and develop maximum endurance, energy, power, stamina, and strength.)

Adding weight loss diet plan food delivery services to your above action plan propels body fat reduction success rates to optimized attainment levels.

Take a good look at weight loss diet plan health food delivery services in the mindset of losing body fat with additional commitment and reachable body fat goal support. Without proper health food diet plan eating habits, even the best exerciser struggles with losing weight because it’s practically all about calories. Exercise can only increase calories out, depending upon your level of fitness and the intensity at which you can stand to operate.

Yet, with or without exercise, health food delivery diet planning virtually always scores points for you in body fat achievement because the everlasting body fat equation remains true:

ENERGY IN (that’s the food you eat), minus ENERGY-OUT (that’s the exercise you do), equals ENERGY BALANCE (that’s the amount you weigh right now). In a nutshell, if your health food weight loss diet plan remains simple, effective, and delicious, then you can stick with it and get the results and rewards you desire or attempt to reach. Easy or not, health food diet planning is necessary, and weight loss diet plan food delivery services can help you with this challenging task.

Author, Ken Dockins provides a concise yet informative Weight Loss Diet Products Review, which includes the The Strip That Fat weight loss diet plan, at Better-Body.Biz

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Find Health Food Sources In Your Town

May 15, 2011

Many individuals are striving to live a healthier lifestyle by including wholesome, natural foods in the diet but have a difficult time finding appropriate health food sources in their town.

If you find yourself in this situation, do not think you need to have a whole foods market or organic farm in your town to change your eating style, overall sense of health, and your entire lifestyle.

Look to your local grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and even your own backyard to find fabulous health food sources within an arm’s reach.

Also, check out a variety of popular websites on the World Wide Web that cater to individuals seeking healthy options to their favorite foods.

Many individuals will be pleasantly surprised with the amount of health food sources they never knew existed!

For example, a visit to your local grocery store can open doors you never knew existed.

You must start looking at foods in a different light. Just because something is branded “diet” or “light” does not necessarily mean it is appropriate for you.

The best way to utilize your local grocery store is to only use items found on the store’s perimeter.

Usually, the store’s perimeter houses the fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy items.

The more you can avoid boxed items, prepackaged, or frozen items, the better off your will be on your new healthy lifestyle. Exchange fresh fruit for those sugary cookies or candies.

Eat crisp, crunch vegetables instead of those greasy chips.

There are a variety of clever supplements you can use to substitute your favorite foods into your new lifestyle.

Speaking of supplements, consider asking your doctor about an appropriate multivitamin to further boost the nutrition your body receives on a daily basis.

Many individuals find they need to take a multivitamin, or specific vitamins, since their bodies do not receive the daily recommended amount set by the Food and Drug Administration.

Even though you eat a healthy and well balanced diet, your body may not receive the proper amount of nutrients, so speak with your primary health care provider immediately.

Also, work to include nutrient rich fruit and vegetables into your diet to consume as many vitamins as possible naturally.

For More About Nutrition Your Health, Visit Optimum Nutrition Product

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Health Food Supplements Promise Increased Wellbeing

May 14, 2011

One of every three people in the world is suffering from Protein- Energy Malnutrition (PEM) or micronutrient malnutrition also known as “hidden hunger”. Like several nutritionists and doctors, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have admitted that modern diets should be complemented with vitamins, minerals and other health supplements to tackle ill-health.

Studies and research conducted in almost every country has proven that several nutrients are lost or reduced on consuming fast-food and convenience-food. With the growing awareness on different types of diseases and deficiencies, a marked increase has been recorded in the consumption of functional foods, super foods, fortified foods, dietary supplements and probiotics. Sale of vitamins – C, D, E and B complex, drinkable yoghurts, energy bars, ready-to-eat salads, fortified juices and drinks in addition to bottled mineral water has sky rocketed in the past two years. However all health food supplements do not come with the government’s stamp of approval. The FDA comes into the picture only when a manufacture self-reports an issue with his product or a health concern is raised.

It has been proved through researches worldwide that toxicity in the body can also increase with high dosages of vitamins A, D, E, C, Pyroxine and Iodine. Therefore health food supplements should only be taken under proper guidance because the effect may vary between individuals, depending on factors like age, sex, physical condition and the combination in which supplements are taken. As a general principle, “kitchen sink” combinations should be avoided. Unless necessary, it is advised that natural health food supplements be added to daily diet.

Researchers at National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), India, have conducted extensive research on health food supplements and concluded that spices are extremely beneficial to well being:

? Debitterised fenugreek seeds: Delay or impair glucose absorption when 25gms are consumed by diabetic subjects.

? Turmeric and its active principle called curcumin: Possess antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties. Ingestion of 2gms per day enhances body defences.

? Onion and garlic: Rich source of compounds, like diallyl sulphide, diallyl disulphide, allium and ajoene. These have antimicrobial, hypolipidemic antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic and antioxidant properties. They stimulate enzymes in the body that detoxify mutagens/carcinogens.

? Ginger: Helps ameliorate conditions like rheumatic disorders, inflammation and gastrointestinal discomforts. Studies also suggest it to be usable as a chemo-preventing agent.

Other well researched health food supplements are:

? Chlorophyll: Builds blood, renews tissue, promotes healthful intestinal flora and activates enzymes that produce vitamins A, D, and K.

? Wheat Grass Juice: Has detoxifies the body and has a high concentration of beta-carotene and vitamins such as E and K.

? Alfalfa: Helps assimilate protein, fats and carbohydrates. It alkalizes and detoxifies the body, especially the liver.

? Barley grass: Contains folic acid, pantothenic acid, beta carotene and vitamins C and E.

? Spirulina: Helps to protect the immune system, lower cholesterol and facilitate mineral absorption. It is high in chlorophyll, protein, beta-carotene, B12 and nucleic acids.

? Flaxseed oil: Rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6. Provides essential fatty acids required for normal cell structure and function.

? Dark chocolate: If consumed in a moderate amount, helps to lower high blood pressure and keep the heart healthy. It is rich in flavonoids.

? Curds/Yogurt: Provides the digestive tract with beneficial bacteria that help to fight cancer, build bones and boost immunity. These are probiotic foods.

? Oats: Consumption of this food lowers the risk of heart diseases as it is rich in fibres, it also helps muscle growth.

In a nutshell, consuming a variety of edibles with the right health food supplements leads to increased longevity, proper hormonal functioning and physical as well as mental efficiency.

I am a health food promoter, a fitness enthusiast and a sworn disciple of healthy living. And what better way to share my thoughts and advice on natural health than on my blog? I want to talk to you, my anonymous friends and readers, about ways to become healthy, stay healthy and feel fabulous every single day! I truly believe that when good health comes, wealth and prosperity follows.

Laurel Health Foods

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Dog Health Food – Are Preservatives in Your Dog Food Damaging Your Dog’s Health?

May 13, 2011

We all want the best for our dogs, and dog health food is becoming an important component of giving them the best. Most of us have looked at the ingredients list on our dog food, but what does it really mean? There are so many terms that are confusing or downright misleading. And how are the labelling laws different to laws governing pet food different to human laws?

What is animal meal exactly? Meal is made by processing meat or fish. Cooking it, blending it into a puree and baking it. This sounds like it’s not going to affect the content of the meat. However it’s one of those cases where they can get away with putting preservatives and other things into the meal, but then it doesn’t appear on the ingredients list because it was’t added as part of the final processing of the food.

Fish meal is the worst offender as far as toxic preservatives go. The meal is made on the fishing boat while they are at sea and the law says that it has to be preserved with a chemical called ethoxyquin. This is due to the fact that unpreserved fish meal can become extremely explosive. On the surface it seems ok, but ethoxyquin is unfit for human consumption because it’s so toxic.

In dogs it has caused problems from skin problems to cancer. Because this preservative is added before the fish meal arrives at the manufacturing plant, it doesn’t need to be listed on the list of ingredients. Without a statement saying that there is no ethoxyquin, it’s almost certainly in the fish meal.

Other types of animal meal are not always going to be as bad but you won’t know just by reading the label. A good guide is to avoid ‘animal’ meal – would you buy animal meat for dinner? Using the term animal is an easy way to disguise the true origins of the meat. You want to look for specific animal meat like beef and chicken. listed on the ingredients to be sure.

There is still some discussion about whether meal or plain meat is a better option. This is because even though meal is processed and may contain some chemical nasties, it is more concentrated because it’s been dried and so has more protein per gram than meat which has a higher water content.

Another tactic that is often used, is to list some sort of meat protein as the first ingredient and the next few being cereals so that it looks like there’s plenty of protein when in reality, there’s a whole lot of filler and not much meat.

By using too many grains to bulk out the food, your dog is just getting empty carbohydrates. While some grains are part of an ideal diet it’s in a quite small proportion to the amount of protein. This can contribute to dogs suffering from allergies and them not really being satisfied by their food. It’s like thinking that cake is going to satisfy your nutritional needs. Unfortunately our pooches can’t tell us if they like it or not.

Dog health food can get around all of these problems, by making it yourself you can make sure that only the best goes into your dogs dinner. It’s simple and will often save you money. Best of all though, you’ll be adding years of life to your dog, giving them more energy and doing the best thing for your best friend.

Dog health food is a real concern these days, with all the preservatives that we know are in human food, what goes into the food we give to our dog? We owe it to our best friends to give them the very best food we can. If you’d like to get a free newsletter with tips on how to make healthy, delicious food that will add years to your dogs life and find out what really goes into your dogs food click here http://www.dog-health-food.com.

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Can Snacks Be a Health Food and Vitamin Choice?

May 13, 2011

Everyone likes to have a snack from time to time and particularly after you have been burning up energy through a physical activity. Snacks should be eaten in small portions. But don’t be fooled by size into thinking snacks are not a good health food and vitamin choice.

Nuts and seeds: nuts and seeds are a good source of protein and are packed full of vitamins and nutrients. They are always a good choose of foods for snack time. Although, they contain a higher portion of fat, it is the healthier unsaturated kind and so they make a good snack when you feel a little hungry. Be on guard if you are real hungry because you may have the tendency to eat too big a portion. Eat no more than a hand full of nuts (about 1.5 oz) for a quick and nutritious snack.

Cookies and bars: if you have more of a sweat tooth at snack time, look at the low-fat and low sugar snacks such as oatmeal cookies or a protein/nutrition bar. There are many energy bars available now to choose from and they are made to give you a balanced nutrition with vitamins in small portions, so they make good and convenient snacks.

Crackers and cheese: if you crave the salty snacks it will take will power to stay away from the high carbohydrate and fat these snacks contain. Watch out for crackers and chips as they may contain higher amounts of fats such as trans fats or saturated. Package labels will provide the nutrition information so read carefully before you buy.

Pretzels or popcorn: there are plenty of low-fat and low-sodium crackers, pretzels, chips, etc. Served with a variety of low-fat cheeses or vegetable spreads will add flavors and extra vitamins and nutrients at snack time. Keep the portion size small because the calories in these snacks can add up fast. For a low-calorie option, a cup of popcorn makes a nice crunchy snack. Reduce the amount of fat by sprinkling a little celery salt or spice instead of using butter and salt. Product packages will give you the calories per serving sizes so you can keep the portion sizes right while being energized and still not exceed your total daily intake requirements.

Fruit and vegetables: Any fruit such as apples, berries, melons or a mixture of these will give you a host of vitamins and nutrients. Add a half apple or other fruit when you eat any other snack food to make a more balanced and healthy snack. Raw vegetables such as carrots and celery make nutritious snacks that are low in fat and rich in vitamins and nutrients.

What is most important with any snack is to combine health food and vitamins in a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats for your level of physical activity. The more active you are the more you’ll require snacks between meals. If you are less active but like to snack eat fewer calories at meal times and divide the rest of your daily requirements into the number of snacks. If you are conscious about losing or maintaining your weight, be sure to keep the calories from fats between 10 to 20% of the total with each snack.

Deborah is a partner in Ipcor Publishing and Personal Logs.com. She is publisher of the website Get In Shape. You can find more information about healthy food choices on her webpage Health Food and Vitamins.

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Super Health Foods – Explaining the Concept

May 12, 2011

Most of us are familiar with that age old cliche, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Apples have taken on new meaning in light of the new super health foods that are the current hot favorite on the health scene. How often we have been told that eating right and good food are the corner stones of good health!

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, spinach, whole grains, nuts, legumes, garlic and more will provide your body with something called phytochemicals that can ward off nasty ailments like heart problems, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancers, cholesterol and the list goes on. These super health foods are dynamic warriors who engage in battle against disease on your behalf.

It does not require much effort to find these foods, most supermarkets stock them. All you need to do is make them a regular part of your daily diet. If you want to stay healthy and well for a long time to come, you will need to eat these foods today and all the tomorrows for the rest of your life.

Let us take a super health food as an example to see how these foods actually benefit you. Soy is a nutritional treasure trove; it comes from soybeans and can be found in liquid, soft and solid forms. It contains amino acids that are necessary to make protein. Soy has been used successfully as a meat substitute. It has plenty of calcium to help prevent osteoporosis and can build strong teeth and bones. Soy contains the B vitamins, iron, zinc and essential fatty acids.

In addition to all of the above soy is a rich source of elements that can help to regulate hormones and aide in reducing the symptoms brought on by PMS and menopause. It can reduce the risk of certain cancers and lower bad cholesterol.

So many health benefits from one small product; it is so easy to add to your diet. All you need to do is uses these tiny beans in creative ways to make drinks, cheese, tofu, hot dogs and burgers.

Click Here for more energy and better health today
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Todays Health Food Stores: There May Be Nothing There For You Anymore

May 11, 2011

Health food stores are emerging at a rapid rate across the country. They are expanding their numbers increasingly. Many health food stores are worker owned cooperatives and consumers’ cooperatives due in part to their growth of popularity during the counter culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s and the ability of cooperative buying power to bring lower costs to the consumer.

Products

Regulators need to consider regulations to better protect vulnerable patients from incurring significant costs due to their purchasing of natural health food products lacking evidence of benefit and of questionable safety. GNC has its own line of homeopathic products as well as natural herbs. The recent boom in health food stores has provided an enormous variety of high quality products that are heads above the processed junk loaded with preservatives currently sold in today’s super markets. In addition to the wider array of health food products, health food stores are often a good source of milk substitutes, cruelty-free cosmetics, bulk grains, nuts and seeds, organic fruits and vegetables, non-toxic cookware, vegetarian meat substitutes, non-dairy cheese alternatives, fat-free natural pastries, and fast-food delis.

Organic

Don’t assume that chickens or eggs in health food stores are raised on pasture or are fed organic feed. It is more labor intensive on pasture and organic feed costs twice as much. Therefore, many suppliers use wording that gives the impression of pasture or organic to increase their sales and selling price.

Supplements

A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. The employees in health food stores differ widely in how much they know about supplements and what they can do. A health food store might also sell herbal supplements, dietary aids, body care items and many more products that might help you lead a healthier lifestyle.

Sugar

Most health-food store owners would steadfastly refuse to carry coffee, regular tea and chocolate because of the caffeine and would not sell baked goods made with sugar or white flour. But Herb Ferleger, who owns “Food for Thought” as well as “Capitol Health Foods” on New York Avenue in Huntington, has a different attitude. The health-food pastry’s greatest claim to superiority is that it is, according to the label, ”sweetened with fruit juice,” as if that were better than sugar, corn syrup or honey. They don’t taste very good, especially if you’ve come off of a standard Western diet high in refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, white flour, and so on. “The main thing you want to look out for in juices is that you are getting a lot of true juice and not a lot of sugar. Some things disguised as juice can have quite a lot of sugar,” Anderson warns. Health food stores are notorious for disguising sugar with many fancy-sounding names like cane juice and cane syrup and honey — these are all sweeteners and are no better than sugar.

Research

Researchers posing as typical consumers found employees of these stores readily giving information and product recommendations. The researchers found that, health food stores are recommending a variety of products. Early research suggested that antioxidants could be helpful in preventing heart disease, but newer research has called that theory into question. He emphasized patients should also take responsibility for researching how other remedies could affect their treatment.

Vegetarian

Health food stores often offer foods that attract people with special diets, such as people with wheat and gluten allergies, diabetics, vegans, vegetarians, and raw foodists. In addition to the wider array of health food products, health food stores are often a good source of milk substitutes, cruelty-free cosmetics, bulk grains, nuts and seeds, organic fruits and vegetables, non-toxic cookware, vegetarian meat substitutes, non-dairy cheese alternatives, fat-free natural pastries, and fast-food delis. A lot of health food stores have special products for individuals on special diets, such as gluten-free diets as well as vegan and vegetarian food. “Being vegetarian is not necessary, but if you choose that lifestyle you can get a lot of benefits.

This article was written by Jim Swank. For more information on health and nutrition, go to Jim`s website at: http://www.healthandbizguru.com

Jim Swank has been in the health care field for a number of years. His particular area of expertise is Health and Nutrition. He has a special interest in sharing how nutrition can help those with learning disabilities. For more information on health, fitness and nutrition, go to his website at: [http://www.healthandbizguru.com]

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