Guest Author: Valery Fortie is the national awareness coordinator for the preservation of the Italian healthy eating traditions board.
People from all around the world are developing more and more health issues, due to being overweight. There is a knowncorrelation between heart problems and obesity, but people do not heed the warnings. These illnesses being left untreated or unmanaged, is a leading cause of premature death all around the world.
Being overweight leads to a variety of diseases and illnesses that attribute to poor health. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, clogged arteries and diabetes are just some of the health issues an overweight person may face. These health problems can also lead to a stroke. Strokes can be deadly or lead to severe debilitation.
It is a known fact that lycopene, a compound found in tomatoes, can help lower cholesterol. Dr. Andrew Carson, a senior lecturer at Birmingham University, has asked for further research to investigate the compound.
People who have been following the Mediterranean diet are much healthier than the average person. The Mediterranean diet includes a lot of tomatoes. The hope is to use lycopene as a way to lower a person’s cholesterol. The current medications used to manage a person’s cholesterol are very expensive, and not always effective. Lycopene would be much
cheaper, and save millions of dollars in medical costs.
The Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The diet is simple and easy to follow. It involves using herbs and spices to flavor food, instead of salt. A high salt diet can lead to high blood pressure. Using healthy fats like olive oil and canola oil to cook food. The Mediterranean diet calls for a very small amount of red meat.
Meats like fish and shellfish are used in place of red meats.
Raw fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice and nuts are a big part of the Mediterranean diet plan. These foods can help lower the bad cholesterol levels and reduce high blood pressure. A woman can cut her chances of having a stroke by as much as 40%, just by following the Mediterranean diet. The diet itself is full of tasty food, and does not restrict any particular foods. It is simply using healthier food to cook or flavor the food you would normally eat. The diet also allows for an occasional glass
of red wine with your meals.
About the Author
Valery Fortie is the National Awareness Coordinator of Mediterranean book.com. She is also the blogger behind its directory of news focused on healthy eating ways to prevent high blood pressure pain to live longer and better.
Mediterraneanbook.com is a non profit blog founded in 2004 to preserve the Italian Healthy Eating Traditions and inform consumers on duty in all healthy eating fields.
French cuisine is considered among the world’s best, but its traditional ingredients like butter and cream aren’t always appropriate for today’s heart-healthy diets. New World Provence is a new-style French cookbook designed with contemporary North American audiences in mind, featuring healthy, easy-to-find ingredients prepared using traditional French techniques tweaked with the home cook in mind.In this video WatchMojo.com speaks with the authors of New World Provence: Modern French Cooking for Friends and Family about their culinary approach.
Preserving a vegetable’s antioxidant powers is vital to properly cooking your veggies. To start, it depends on which vegetable you’re cooking. However, a study has found that microwaving and griddling is best for most vegetables, while boiling and pressure-cooking were the worst.
One veggie whose antioxidant powers prove more potent after boiling is asparagus. And, it’s best if you fry an eggplant.
Interestingly, only one vegetable contained the same amount of antioxidants no matter how it was cooked – the artichoke. Read more…
Grocery stores can be confusing. And grocery shopping can really be a chore. However, there are ways to make it easier, and you’ll even end up with more healthy foods in your pantry. Check out these 25 rules to follow the next time you’re in the supermarket:
You hear a lot about superfoods, but mainly how great they are to have in your diet. Here’s another list of foods you should consider throwing in your grocery basket:
Beets - Why they’re healthy: Folate and betaine (which can help lower your risk of heart disease), and their pigments may help fight cancer.
How to eat them: Not from a jar, but fresh and uncooked.
Cabbage - Why it’s healthy: Few calories, and sulforaphane helps reduce cancer risk.
How to eat it: In a salad, or on a burger.
Guava - Why it’s healthy: Fiber, potassium, lycopene (which helps fight prostate cancer).
How to eat it: It’s all edible, from rind to seeds. May be a little hard to find, but high end supermarkets or Latin grocery stores should stock it.
Swiss Chard - Why it’s healthy: Lutein and zeaxanthin (which both help protect retinas from the damages of aging).
How to eat it: Sautéd with olive oil and garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper and served with grilled steaks and chicken, or pan-seared fish.Cinnamon - Why it’s healthy: Helps control blood sugar, which affects your risk of heart disease.
How to eat it: Sprinkled on coffee or oatmeal.
Purslane - Why it’s healthy: Melatonin (may inhibit cancer growth), omega-3 fats.
How to eat it: In a salad as an alternative or addition to lettuce.
Pomegranate juice - Why it’s healthy: Improves bloodflow to the heart, decreases systolic blood pressure, vitamin C.
How to eat it: POM Wonderful makes a 100 per cent pomegranate juice with no added sugars - a small glass is all you need to get the many benefits.
Goji berries - Why they’re healthy: Antioxidants, may reduce insulin resistance (a risk factor for diabetes).
How to eat them: Dried or fresh, alone or in yogurt, oatmeal or on cereal.Dried plums - Why they’re healthy: Antioxidants that fight structural damage to cells, which is thought to be one of the main causes for cancer.
How to eat them: As an appetizer wrapped in prosciutto.
Pumpkin seeds - Why they’re healthy: Magnesium.
How to eat them: Shells and all.
No matter what diet you’re on here are some foods that should always be incorporated.
As a whole, any diet should be filled with an lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and essential fats. However, if there are some that should always be remembered here they are.
It’s important to try to keep your immunity at its best during the cold and flu season. Here are some foods that could help you stay healthy:
1300+ - If you’re not eating enough calories, you’re not giving your health a fighting chance. Women should get at least 1300 calories daily.
Get your cruciferous veggies: Broccoli, cabbage and brussel sprouts.
Snack on nuts - Almonds and sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E, and this vitamin may help reduce the length of colds. Brazil nuts contain selenium, which helps the body fight off disease.
Eat yogurt - Helps the immune system, through the digestive track.
Sip green tea - Stimulates T-cells that stimulate the immune system.
Open a can of tomato soup - Lycopene in tomatoes acts as an antioxidant, which, again, boosts the immune system.
Spice it up! - Capsaicin, found in chili peppers, also boosts immunity.
Get your fats - While low-fat is healthy, make sure you’re getting Omega3 and Omega6 from foods such as salmon, sardines, flaxseed, safflower oil, and eggs.
There is no better way to celebrate the year of the potato than a reintroduction to correct at any misconceptions that may have developed over the years.
The potato is one of the most interesting vegetables that you can serve at dinner.
Potatoes were originally found in South America where they were cultivated in the Andes mountains many thousands of years ago. In the 16th Century they were brought to Europe where they quickly became popular. Today China, Russia and India are the world’s top producers of the potato. The potato is the second most consumed food in the United State, finding itself behind only milk products.
Although the potato has developed a bad reputation with dieters for being nothing but starch, the potato is actually is a nutrient-dense food. It provides good nutritional return for the calories. Nutrient-dense foods are very important since our need for calories has decreased as we live more sedentary lives.
Potatos are often associated with high calorie topping like sour cream and melted butter. Just one tablespoon of butter will double the number of calories in a baked potato. There are many low calorie ways to prepare potatoes deliciously. Here are just a few tasty low/no calories ideas:
# Chopped onion with coarsely grated black pepper
# Chive-spiked yogurt
# Salsa
Here are some fun facts about the potato:
* The potato contains around 80% water and 20% solids.
* Thomas Jefferson gets the credit for introducing “french fries” to America when he served them at a White House dinner in 1802.
* According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest potato grown was 7 pounds, 1 ounce.
* Potatoes are now grown in all 50 states in the United States and in about 125 countries around the world.
* Did you know that a medium baked potato, with the skin contains more vitamin C than 3 peaches and more fiber than a bowl of oatmeal and 2 times
more potassium than a banana?
Now you don’t only have menu ideas, but table topics for your next get together! Read more.
NORTH BERGEN, N.J., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ — As cold and flu season approaches, millions of Americans begin stocking up their medicine cabinet with tissues, throat lozenges and the latest over-the-counter medications to prepare for the inevitable unpleasantness that is associated with this time of year.
But many might be surprised to learn that some of the best remedies against Mother Nature’s winter wrath might in fact use her own natural wares against her.
“If you walk into any drug store you’ll see dozens of cold and flu medications, but these drugs simply treat the symptoms, instead of preventing them in the first place,” said Dave Foreman, registered pharmacist and member of The Vitamin Shoppe Health Advisory Board. “Consumers’ use of natural products for their everyday needs continues to grow, and many of the latest natural supplements take a page from nature’s cookbook to boost the body’s immune system and help fight other winter ills.”
According to Foreman, the latest natural trends in combating cold and flu include:
— Spicing Up Your Immunity: Oregano is most commonly associated with a
steaming bowl of pasta and sauce. However, oregano also has immune
boosting power. Oregano extract — which comes in oil or in capsule
forms — can help boost the body’s natural immune system, and also
support respiratory health.
— Fighting with Fungi: Known for centuries for their medicinal
properties, mushrooms are used by the immune system to help the body
strengthen itself, and can help a wintertime assault; extracts from
common mushrooms like maitake are used in many natural products to
support the body’s natural defense mechanisms.
— Berry Goodness: Berries are known for their rich antioxidant
properties. Sambucus, a black elderberry extract that contains
antioxidants and flavanoids, can be used once a cold sets in.
— Teas from Trees: The barking cough commonly experienced during a cold
or the flu that leads to throat irritation can be helped with — what
else — tree bark. Specifically, a steaming cup of tea containing a
small quantity of slippery elm bark can be used to help sooth the sore
throat resulting from that nasty cough.
“These natural alternatives can be helpful for both adults and children. With the recent FDA recommendation about children under six avoiding over-the- counter cold medicines, these trends can be worthwhile for parents to consider. While supplements can help, consumers should always consult with their doctor or health care professional on treating a cold or the flu,” said Foreman.
About Vitamin Shoppe Industries, Inc.
Vitamin Shoppe is a leading specialty retailer and direct marketer of nutritional products based in North Bergen, New Jersey. The company sells vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, herbs, sports nutrition formulas, homeopathic remedies, and other health and beauty aids to customers located primarily in the United States. The company carries national brand products as well as exclusive products under the Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, MD Select, and VS Basics proprietary brands. The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 300 company-owned retail stores, national mail order catalogs, and two websites, www.vitaminshoppe.com and www.Bodytech.com.
OAKLAND, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ — People are not eating their vegetables and Glad wants to help. With 90 percent of Americans not eating their recommended amount of vegetables(1) and most needing to almost triple their intake to meet USDA dietary guidelines(2), The Glad Products Company today introduces GLAD SimplyCooking Microwave Steaming Bags. The bags are specifically designed to steam vegetables in the microwave in a healthy, safe and convenient way.
Steamed vegetables, like those made in GLAD® SimplyCooking(TM) Microwave Steaming Bags, retain more nutrients as well as their natural flavors and colors than vegetables that are boiled. Vegetables turn out crisp, yet tender, and are ready in minutes without pots and pans.
Made with a proprietary technology that includes heat-resistant materials, GLAD® SimplyCooking(TM) Microwave Steaming Bags have a stand-up functionality that not only makes them easier to fill, season and serve, but allows for cooking with liquid seasonings or sauces. A venting mechanism regulates the steam level to consistently steam fresh or frozen vegetables in minutes, leaving them colorful, tender and more flavorful than boiling. The bags are also great for steaming seafood.
Delicious vegetables are three simple steps away:
— Fill: Open the bag and place pre-washed vegetables inside. No water
is necessary.
— Seal: Press the zipper firmly closed to seal.
— Cook: Stand bag in microwave and follow the timetable on the bag
and package that provides cooking times for a variety of vegetables
and other foods. Wait 30 seconds before opening. Each bag can cook
three to four servings of vegetables.
Convenience
“Studies continue to show that despite understanding and awareness of the many inherent benefits of eating vegetables, consumption continues to be low,” said Elizabeth Pivonka, president and CEO of Produce For Better Health. “And with consumers using convenience as a reason, GLAD® SimplyCooking(TM) Microwave Steaming Bags provide the perfect solution by making preparation quick, easy and delicious.”
GLAD® SimplyCooking(TM) Microwave Steaming Bags not only provide moms with a convenient way to get flavorful vegetables on the dinner table more often, they also are a contemporary take on the traditional bagged lunch, enabling portability and easy preparation for a nutritious meal in minutes at work. In addition, the bags can also be used to store vegetables in the refrigerator before or after cooking.
“Our research indicates that the moms who have tried this product, love it,” said Priscilla Tuan, marketing manager for Glad. “With fewer families sitting down at dinner tables where vegetables are served(3), we believe GLAD SimplyCooking(TM) Microwave Steaming Bags, because they make serving vegetables easier, can really help families get a nutritious and even tasty meal,” she said.
Availability and Price
GLAD® SimplyCooking(TM) Microwave Steaming Bags hit grocery and mass merchandise stores nationwide in mid-July, available in 10-count packages at a suggested retail price of $2.99. For more information, including suggested recipes, preparation tips and a demo video, visit http://www.GLAD.com/simplycooking.
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