Thursday, October 21, 2010

FAT BLOCKER FOODS......WITH RECIPIES TO HELP YOU EAT MORE & LOSE MORE......Part 1


WHAT IS THE MIRACLE FAT BLOCKER?
YOUR BEST PARTNER IN HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS PLAN:
Foods that block fat. It sounds too good to be true. You may be thinking of the food additives in potato chips that strip your body of nutrients while they Carry out the fats.
It's not something new to be discussed. It is " FIBER OR DIETARY FIBER", as nutritionists call it.As far from being harmful, it also helps in keeping your fats away from being absorbed.


In this article, you are going to find out the 3 most important ways by which FIBRE can cut down the fats and help you lose weight as well as calorie counting and value of foods rich in fiber and as a bonus.......


you will learn RECIPES OF FOODS THAT BLOCK FATS....EASY TO PREPARE AND HIGH IN FLAVOR TOO.....!!!!
 facts about dietary fibres:


Though, dietary fibres have no nutritional value but it has great importance to health of your body. It adds bulk to the stool and helps in excreting out the wastes from body more quickly. This is essential for sweeping away toxins and cholesterol from your intestine before they create any problems.
Additionally, about 25 grams fibre daily in in your dietary plan can prevent you from:
Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, High Blood sugar, and certain kinds of Cancer particularly Colon Cancer.

HOW FIBER BLOCKS FAT:
Fibre is tough, structural part of vegetables and fruits, legumes, grains the elements of food that are not digested by the body. It travels almost intact from stomach to intestine and passes in stools.

NATURE OF FIBRE :
Fibres are chemically of two types:


  1. Soluble fibers
  2. Insoluble fibers
Most of the foods contains both type of fibers although, one type may be in greater amount than other. e.g. Apples contains more soluble fiber while grains contains insoluble fibre in larger amounts.

THREE WAYS HOW FIBRE CUT FATS:
Both soluble and insoluble fibers, though differ in their mode of action, have combine benefits for all those who wish to lose their weight, that is their incredible ability of filling stomach so naturally you eat less.Plus, when you eat more fibre-rich foods automatically you will eat less fatty foods.
  1. FIBERS CONTROL FATS AND SUGAR INTAKE:
Foods that are high in fiber helps in reducing your sugar and fat intake as the room for fatty foods id no more left to be filled.  
  2.  REGULATION OF BLOOD SUGAR:
Fibrous food takes more time for their breakdown hence, they prevent the Blood Sugar-Dips, and therefore maintains the sugar level in blood for long times, and avoid food carvings
In fact, a high fiber diet helps in maintaining the high-energy levels throughout the day.
   
3. FIBRE BINDS WITH FATS:
Third most important way fiber acts is that it has capacity of binding with fats. In this way it helps escorting fats out of body by binding with it....

A SIMPLE MATHEMATICS:
About 1 gram of fibre substituted for 1 gram of simple carbohydrates results in 7-Calorie loss.
If we double the amount of fibre intake from 13 grams ( mostly taken daily by Americans) to 26 grams your body will absorb 90 less Calories, and yearly you are going to loose about 10 pounds.
Boost your fiber intake to 35 grams daily and you will be able to loose 16 pounds of weight/ year without undergoing extensive efforts.

EASY WAY TO ESTIMATE YOUR INTAKE:
Here is an easy way to estimate your Daily fiber intake:
  • For every serving of whole grain food, count 2 grams of fiber.
  • For every serving of refined- grain food, count 1 grams of fiber.
  • For every servings of fruits and Vegetables, count 2 grams of fiber.
  • For every serving of Beans, count 5 grams of fiber.
In order to made a day for you you need......3 servings of vegetable, 2 of fruits and 3 of whole-grains, 1 of Beans and 3 of refined-grain foods. It would become 24 grams fibre. Supplement it with some High-Fibre Cereal in the morning and......YOU HAVE MADE IT......

CONCLUSION OF THIS PART:
  • To summarize what we have learned up till now is that FIBRE is a Fat-Blocking food that helps you maintain good weight, cholesterol and Sugar levels in Blood. It must be added up to 35 grams in daily diet to maintain good health and avoid obesity....
  • In the next part we would Discover different foods that are rich in FIBRE and their nutritional values.
Shumaila Sheikh
References and Extracts:
(Extracts taken from Book: FAT BLOCKER FOODS from the Editors of Prevention Health Books)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Your Skin Needs Your Time.......!!

If you get a chance of having some chit chat with your skin it would have told you how much less time do you give to this very important organ of your body, which is infact, the largest organ of your body.because it actually breaths and can absorb many things (good/bad.) Most people don't realize this and we must be careful what we put on our skin such as lotions, etc.
Skin care is not a complex chore to be done. It is simple, natural and easy. Here you would get some very convenient and easy-to-do techniques that can be helpful in maintaining the Basic requirements of your skin:

CLEANSING OF SKIN:
A beauty must requirement is to cleanse your skin twice daily( once daily if your skin is dry), with mild, natural and in-expensive cleanser that suits your skin type.

  1. Add a small amount of Rose water or Essential oils like spearmint, peppermint oil, orange in order to enhance the cleansing effectiveness as well as aromatic quality of your cleanser.
  2. Cleansing is extremely important before going to bed because your skin releases many toxins during night time and if the pores are clogged it may result in breakouts leading to blackheads and pimples 
  3. If you perspire more than normal in your line of work or you do heavy exercise then rinse off and massage your body with a coarse cloth or loofah before retiring to remove salt and dead-skin buildup. Your skin needs to breathe while you sleep.
HOME BASED CLEANSERS:
Take Sweet Almonds enough to make paste for your face and soak them in water overnight. Now grind them well using pestle mortar and mix a small amount of milk to make a paste.Apply them on face for about 1/2 hr.
Wet towel with lukewarm water and cleanse your face well with it.Apply Rose water afterwards. You can also add honey to this cleanser.
Your skin will look visibly Healthier and Radiant.


EXERCISE:
Try to go outside to exercise in the morning to give your skin a fresh start in the morning. it will help oxygenate your skin cells.
  • "The body only has so many mechanisms to rid itself of toxins — the kidneys, the liver, and the skin," says Sandra M. Johnson, MD, a dermatologist with Johnson Dermatology in Fort Smith, Ark. "Exercise increases blood flow to the skin, increases neuronal stimulation, and allows the sweat glands to increase their functions and rid the toxins." Once you sweat out those toxins, it's important to wash them off — you don't want to leave them sitting on your skin. Always shower after a workout to prevent bacterial or fungal infections that may occur from dirt clogging up your pores.  
  • Exercise tones your muscles
  • Exercise boosts oxygen and blood flow to the skin
  • Exercise eases stress and Exercise gives your complexion a beautiful, natural glow
SOME EXERCISES:
  1. A great exercise is to sit upright, tilt your head back looking at the ceiling while keeping your lips closed and then start a chewing movement.
    You will feel the muscles working in your neck and throat area - and will be truly amazed at the results.
    Repeat 20 times.
  2.  Sit upright, tilt your head back looking at the ceiling, while keeping your lips closed and relaxed.
    Next move your lower lip over your top lip as far as possible and keep it there for a count of 5.
    Relax and repeat 5 times.
  3. Have a relaxed smile with your lips closed and then suck in your cheeks towards and on to your teeth. Hold this for 10 counts, relax and repeat 10 times.

BLISSFUL SLEEP:
Whatever the treatments you give to your skin..WHO CARES!!!...If your skin is deprived of a blissful sleep it would look dull, sallow, tired and saggy.
with your puffy eyes, you will resemble a frog prince or princess. And of course, your energy level will be less than desirable. Sleep: It’s the best-kept skin care secret there is!
A sleep of 7-8 hrs is good for a healthy looking skin.
SUNLIGHT:
About 10-15 minutes of exposure to sunlight directly several times a week is very important for your skin and bones to get strengthen.It helps absorbing Calcium as your skin has a natural capability to convert sun rays to Vitamin D.
Sun exposure helps heal eczema, psoriasis, and acne, and energizes your body. Plus those warm rays just make you feel good all over.
SUPPLEMENT YOUR DIET OTHERWISE...!!
f your dermatologist advises you to avoid the sun entirely, other sources of vitamin D include egg yolks, fish liver oil, vitamin-D-supplemented soy or cow’s milk, organ meats, salmon, sardines, and herring.

WATER:
 What goes in must go out, and water helps move everything along. Impurities not disposed of in a timely manner via the internal organs of elimination (such as the kidneys, liver, lungs, and large intestine) will find an alternate exit, namely your skin, sometimes referred to as the “third kidney.” Pimples and rashes may develop as your body tries to unload its wastes through your skin. Eight to 12, 8-ounce glasses of pure water a day combined with a fibrous diet will help cleanse your body of toxins and keep your colon functioning as it should. Water also keeps your skin hydrated and moisturized, so drink up!

CONCLUSION:
So at the end you are able to manage your skin well and reduce it's complaints if you follow the above stated plans and get a beautiful skin as a GIFT...!!
Take Care

Shumaila Sheikh

References and extracts:
http://www.care2.com
http://www.ageless.co.za
http://www.everydayhealth.com



Friday, October 15, 2010

Vegetables That Protect You From Cancer...

It has been well established through various researches that some special nutritious factors, chemical compounds and bacteria present in different food products prevents and cure certain diseases.
This has been discovered from many reseacrch papers and articles that vegetables and fruits provides effective defence against ailments. This has also been witnessed that among vegetables, Cabbage, Cauliflower , Broccoli, Spinach etc acts very well in preventing Cancer because of the presence of "ANTI-OXIDANTS"  in ample amounts.
Vegetables from Cruciform family like Cauliflower and like vegetables can be very helpful in maintaining general health if tried to include at least one vegetable among them in our daily diet plan. Either eat them uncooked ( raw form) or cooked them but have them in your routine.
Avoid to use the same vegetable for a long time. Change them in an alternate manner because all of them contain different nutrinous contents necessary for your health.
Let us now evaluate the nutritious value of each of them:
BROCCOLI:
Broccoli has large flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like fashion on branches sprouting from a thick, edible stalk. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves

Broccoli contains B-carotene, Vitamin C, K, & A and dietary fibre, Potassium, Calcium Folic Acid and many minerals.Brussels sprout contains Sulphoraphin and other minerals along with Anti-oxidants.
Also a good source for fibres.
ANTI-CANCER COMPONENTS:
it also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium.
CAULIFLOWER:

Cauliflower also contains certain kinds of Anti- Oxidants. Chinese Cauliflower has B-kerotene. Cauliflower is low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate, water and vitamin C, possessing a very high nutritional density.
ANTI CANCER COMPONENTS:

Cauliflower also contains other glucosinolates besides sulfurophane, substances which may improve the liver's ability to detoxify carcinogenic substances. A high intake of cauliflower has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Cauliflower is also a good source of carotenoids
SPINACH:
Spinach contains 4 times higher contents of B-Carotene as compared to Broccoli and also a good source of Vitamin K 

Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source of vitamin A (and especially high in lutein), vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Recently, opioid peptides called rubiscolins have also been found in spinach.

CONCLUSION:
Therefore we may conclude that women of almost all age-groups should include Spinach, Cauliflower, Broccoli in their Dietary plans. These green vegetables are well accepted in Japan and the ratio of Breast Cancer development over there is very less. But in past few decades because of acceptance of Western lifestyle as from 1977 to 1985 the risk has been risen obviously.

Shumaila Sheikh

References:
www.wikipedia