12 Healthy Eating Tips Part 2

How to eat better: Top 12 healthy-eating tips part 2

7. Eat seasonally and you'll enjoy fruit and vegetables at their tastiest, most affordable and most available. In the summer I eat fresh fruit such as peaches, nectarines, cherries and melons. In the fall I make soups with squash, cabbage or tomatoes, and visit country markets, where I can buy directly from farmers. The health value of fruit and vegetables is undisputed. Nature's convenience foods are portable, full of nutrients, low in fat and high in fibre.

8. The path to a wholesome eating style is individual, and should fit your lifestyle and food tastes. There are many experts who can help, but pick someone who listens to you and works with you to make your diet realistic and enjoyable.

Figuring Out Your Fat

With so much information available about the effects of dietary fat on health, understanding the role fat plays in a well-balanced diet can be pretty confusing. To cut through the confusion, it's important to remember that fat is an essential nutrient that everyone needs to stay healthy.
Fat is a valuable energy source and carries fat-soluble vitamins needed for proper growth and development. It also contributes important taste and textural qualities that are part of enjoying food.
Too much fat, however, can increase the risk of heart disease, obesity and other health problems. When moderating fat intake, it's important to consider these points:

• Health authorities recommend Americans consume 30 percent or less of their total daily calories from fat, with 10 percent or less of those calories from saturated fat. Remember, the 30 percent refers to your total fat intake over time, not single foods or meals. Use the following chart to guide your fat intake.
  
• If you eat this Total fat Total saturated
  number of calories per day fat per day
  per day: (grams) (grams)
  
  1,600 53 or less 18 or less
  2,000 65 or less 20 or less
  2,200 73 or less 24 or less
  2,500 80 or less 25 or less
  
  
• Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help determine how much fat is in foods. Remember, it's the total fat intake over time that's important. A food high in fat can be part of a healthy diet as long as it's balanced with other lower-fat food choices.
  
• All fats are a combination of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Each of these types of fats have different effects on the body, but all contain nine calories per gram.
  
• Blood cholesterol levels are influenced by family history, weight, age, smoking, physical activity and eating habits. Studies have shown that diets which are too high in certain saturated fatty acids and dietary cholesterol can raise blood cholesterol.
  
  
  BY : Mother Of All Bombs

10 Tips To Healthy Eating

Experts agree the key to healthy eating is the time-tested advice of balance, variety and moderation. In short, that means eating a wide variety of foods without getting too many calories or too much of any one nutrient. These 10 tips can help you follow that advice while still enjoying the foods you eat.

1. Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.
   
2. Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most Americans don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.
   
3. Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that's right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses. But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems. If you're constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.
   
4. Eat moderate portions. If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid for information on recommended serving sizes.
   
5. Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.
   
6. Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods. Most people eat for pleasure as well as nutrition. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.
   Identify major sources of these ingredients in your diet and make changes, if necessary. Adults who eat high-fat meats or whole-milk dairy products at every meal are probably eating too much fat. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help balance your choices.
   Choosing skim or low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat such as flank steak and beef round can reduce fat intake significantly.
   If you love fried chicken, however, you don't have to give it up. Just eat it less often. When dining out, share it with a friend, ask for a take-home bag or a smaller portion.
   
7. Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be "perfect." When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.
   
8. Know your diet pitfalls. To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what's wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips. Do you add a lot of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings? Rather than eliminating these foods, just cut back your portions. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.
   
9. Make changes gradually. Just as there are no "superfoods" or easy answers to a healthy diet, don't expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don't like the taste of skim milk, try low-fat. Eventually you may find you like skim, too.
   
10. Remember, foods are not good or bad. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or "bad." Don't feel guilty if you love foods such as apple pie, potato chips, candy bars or ice cream. Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.
    
    BY : MotherOfAllBombs

Fish consumption lowers risk of colorectal cancers

New research suggests that eating fish may have yet another huge health benefit to add to its repertoire - the prevention of colorectal cancers. A study centered around fish consumption and rectal and colon cancers found that participants who ate fish three or more times per week had a reduced chance of developing these cancers.

Fish and how it may impact your colon and rectal health

While the study showed definite colorectal health benefits in eating fish, it did not delve further into the reasons why this might be. Further, it found the largest inverse relationship between fish consumption and colorectal cancers to be with rectal cancer.

There was also a relationship between lower colon cancer risk and fish consumption. However, that was not as impressive as the preventive benefits it had for rectal cancer.

It is not known whether it was the specific nutrients of fish that resulted in the colorectal health boost or other reasons. One theory is that people who consume a lot of fish also tend to be more health conscious in their other food choices and this can also be part of the reason for the reduced cancer risk.

Previous studies have also indicated that women who consumed fish frequently had a lower incidence of colon polyps. Colon polyps are often good indicators of trouble ahead when it comes to colon health. They are often considered precancerous growths that should be removed.

The many other important benefits of fish

It is well known by now that people who eat fish two to three times per week tend to enjoy certain health perks. These perks include enhanced heart and circulatory health, enhanced brain function, increased ability to manage weight, and improved eye and skin health to name a few. It has even been studied as a powerful natural anti-anxiety and antidepressant mechanism.

Fish has also shown benefits for enhanced immunity and suppression of inflammation which makes it an excellent weapon against cancer. This is due to its effect on two important components of our immune response called cytokines and eicosanoids. Fish consumption is also strongly recommended for anyone suffering from arthritis or any other inflammatory disease for this reason.

Why is fish such an important source of protein?

Fish contains a low amount of fat which makes it an excellent source of lean protein. Even fattier fishes tend to cook off most of the fat during the most recommended cooking method of broiling, while maintaining the important omega 3 fats.

The high content of omega 3 fatty acids, low fat content and vitamins A and D may explain a number of the benefits fish provides. In addition to the vitamins and omega 3 fats found in fish, several varieties also contain minerals like iodine, selenium, potassium, iron, and even calcium.

Many of these vitamins and minerals have interactions with one another which increase their absorption and utilization rate. For example, vitamin D acts as a catalyst for increased calcium absorption in the intestines which in turn promotes bone absorption of this important mineral. This makes fish one of the most nutrient-rich sources of protein we can consume.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035967_fish_consumption_colorectal_cancer.html#ixzz1z7S2Kzkv