Teaching Kids How to Eat Healthy By Roy Chidubem Okonkwo

Kids should be taking healthy diets in order to maintain sound health. They should be encouraged to eat the right foods and take quality drinks on a daily basis. Parents have to be fully involved if they really want to help their children in maintaining healthy eating. They have to teach them the right steps to follow when it comes to eating healthy.

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Indeed, teaching kids how to eat healthy shouldn't be a difficult task. Parents can easily start by showing good examples. In most cases, youngsters learn fast by examples. When a father or mother eats uncontrollably, the child is likely going to copy the habit. On the other hand, the infant learns the right way to eat when the parent is showing good examples.

There's a need to use pictures when teaching teenagers how to eat healthy. In most cases, pictures speak louder than words. Parents should get pictures of healthy diets and paste them in the children's room. When the kids look at them, they will start thinking of consuming the right diets on daily basis. Parents can also decorate their sitting rooms and kitchens with such pictures. They help a lot in teaching teenagers the right way to eat.

It's important to control the amount of snacks and sugary foods that enter the house when guiding children on healthy eating. In most cases, the youngsters like taking snacks and sugary foods. Such items encourage weight gain. They are also dangerous to health. When they are taken daily, the infants are likely to fall sick. They will also gain weight with speed. Parents should reduce the amount of snacks and sugary items they give to their kids on daily basis. This will help in controlling weight gain.

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It's important to teach children about the nutritious values of fruits and vegetables. Parents should encourage them to take more of fruits on daily basis. In fact, fruits can replace sugary snacks. Parents should also include more of vegetables when preparing meals for their children. This helps in teaching them how to eat properly. Fruits and vegetables contain vital minerals and vitamins which are necessary for maintaining physical fitness.

Again, parents should teach their youngsters the importance of taking enough water on daily basis. They have to make sure the children have unrestricted access to clean water.

Finally, there's a need to set proper meal time when teaching kids how to eat healthy. Parents should discourage them from eating in between meals. This helps them to avoid getting obese as they come up in life.

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Plateau! How to get over the flatline by: Sandeep Godiyal

(NaturalNews) Every dieter's experienced it: The dreaded weight loss plateau. You've been cruising along smoothly for months, and suddenly, your weight loss stops. Plateaus can be incredibly frustrating. You may not feel as though you've made any changes to your diet and fitness routine, but you've stopped dropping the weight. If you've hit a plateau, it's time to check and recheck your behavior so you can jump-start your weight loss and get back in the game. Let's look at some ways you can increase the effectiveness of your diet plan, so that you can continue to drop weight.

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Revisit your food journal

Beginning dieters are often advised to keep a food journal, so that they can stay aware of what they're eating each day. Often, though, as weight loss picks up, the food journal falls by the wayside. When you hit a plateau, it may be time to start writing down everything you eat again. You may find that certain foods trigger small binges that are holding you back, that you're eating more calories than you'd estimated, or that you're right on target. Keeping a food journal for a week or two will provide you with the information you need to start getting back on track.

Measure your portion sizes carefully

Once you've been dieting for awhile, it's tempting to stop counting calories and measuring portion sizes. You've got the hang of the system, after all, and you understand the correct portion sizes for most of the foods that you eat. If you hit a plateau, however, it may be time to reevaluate your portion sizes and start to measure and count again. It only takes a few extra calories per day to stall your weight loss plan. You'll quickly end up maintaining your current weight instead of dropping the pounds you want to lose.

Switch to a different physical activity

If you find yourself skipping workouts, having trouble dragging yourself to the gym or simply not exercising as much as you need to for weight loss, it may be time to consider switching up your physical activity. If you've been jogging, consider swimming or hiking instead. Regular cardiovascular exercise is key to weight loss, so choose a physical activity that you enjoy and will look forward to doing, instead of one that you hate the thought of. This will make it easier to exercise on a regular basis.

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Check your food labels

Take the time to check your food labels thoroughly, even if they're foods you're familiar with. Manufacturers change package sizes from time to time, which could make a difference in calorie counts, fat content and more. If you've hit a weight loss plateau, it may be time to assess the foods that you consume on a regular basis and re-read their labels. You may be surprised to learn that a serving size has changed, or that a food simply has more fat, calories or sugar than you'd remembered it having. Careful calorie counting is one important key to weight loss, and label reading is an important part of this process.

Diet plateaus are almost always temporary, so don't stress too much about yours. Instead, focus on healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating cleanly and getting regular cardiovascular exercise. It's only a matter of time before your weight begins to drop again, and you'll soon be well on your way to achieving your weight loss goal.

http://www.naturalnews.com/040664_weight_loss_plateau_exercise_healthy_diet.html
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Can Your Kitchen Be Your Pharmacy? By Monika Klein

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I have written in the past about Hippocrates the Father of Medicine's famous words "Let Your Food Be Your Medicine", but I want to take it even further and make such a bold declaration practical for you.

As well as making your food be your medicine you can also make your Kitchen Your Pharmacy as well as your food be your medicine. By giving the foods you choose to nourish your mind, body and spirit the utmost respect they deserve there's a good chance you'll maintain your health for a very long time.

So what's in your Kitchen? Is it filled with healing ingredients? A good clue in answering that question would be asking yourself how comfortable you'd be if I were to come over for a Kitchen Inventory er... I mean a Visit...

If you're shaking in your stilettos or Adidas right now, there's probably a good chance your kitchen isn't quite up to snuff even by your standards.

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So here are a few tips to help you in advance -before I come over for that Kitchen "Visit":

Tip #1 Is Your Crisper Empty?: If its empty that's a good sign that it's time to go shopping. Your crisper should be brimming full of fresh produce and not be a "science project" as a friend of mine used to call her aging vegetables supply. Make sure you rotate your vegetables and try and use as many of them on a daily basis. If you are lucky enough to have an extra fridge in your garage like we do - you can store some of you fruits there. I store my extra grapefruits, apples and oranges there. They last longer than vegetables usually, so I stock up on them and keep them separate. One of my favorite mottos is: Veggies are your Best Friends! I hope it becomes one of yours, too.

Tip # 2 Salt is not a Spice: If you are needing to refill your salt shaker every week there's definitely something wrong. Salt should only be used when cooking to bring out the natural flavor of food not to cover it up. NaCl (Sodium Chloride) or table salt is not a natural food item. Even if you are using sea salt, remember to use it sparingly - a dash is all you need.

If you want added flavor start incorporating real spices and herbs into your cooking instead. Fresh basil is wonderful and has a calming effect on the mind. Cinnamon isn't only added into desserts - it can be added to savory dishes as well. It adds interest to a dish and it's also beneficial for balancing blood sugar. And for those brave souls - I am one of them - curry or turmeric is an excellent spice adding pungency and heat to a meal. These 2 are known to help reduce inflammation in the body, clear up sinuses and aid digestion. Experiment and start slowly when adding new spices and herbs to your food.

Tip #3 Ever Heard of Therapeutic Vinegar? Well there are culinary vinegars like balsamic, red wine vinegar and a myriad of gourmet combinations. But one hails as a therapeutic vinegar and that's Apple Cider Vinegar. When my clients work with me Apple Cider Vinegar is usually something I recommend they start using immediately and often on a daily basis. They report that it has a sort of cleansing effect on them. It is well researched that for most people it helps with their digestion. Unless you are suffering from digestive inflammation due to an ulcer or gastritis Apple Cider Vinegar is safe, tasty and an effective digestive balancer.

Tip # 4 It's Not Only the Food: Not only is what you eat important, but how you eat is equally if not more important. If you are eating your meals standing up, in a rush, washing your food down with liquids, in a heated conversation - all of these activities will have a serious effect on how well you break down the foods you are consuming. The more stressful your environment, the less beneficial your meal.

Stress will increase cortisol, decrease proper digestive function and impair how important nutrients get absorbed. Without these nutrients you will not be feeling good for long. Make your meal environment as stress free as possible. Believe me, it matters. I have seen many of my clients suffering from all sorts of digestive discomfort, and by doing this simple fix they actually become more relaxed, healthier and happier.

Tip # 5 Overhaul the Bags and Boxes: If you have a predominance of bags and boxes in your pantry or cupboards it's time to haul them out and give them away. Let's face it, most of the foods found in these types of packages are usually not fresh or wholesome. Unless they are nuts and seeds - which should probably be stored in your fridge not in your cupboards - they are most likely snack foods loaded with either sugar, gluten grains or some other synthetic ingredient which is not healthy for you or your family.

Not only should your Kitchen Be Your Pharmacy filled with healing foods and beverages, but your food should come from the garden, trees or vines - from nature in general. That's the secret to making Your Kitchen and Your Body Healthy for a long time.

Monika Klein, BS, CN. is an award winning clinical nutritionist and weight loss expert. Monika is the "Compassionate and Practical Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach." Her company, Coaching For Health, offers life transforming weight loss and wellness programs, classes and products throughout the world. 

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Six Highly Nutritious Vegetables by Lindsey Lang

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Six Highly Nutritious Vegetables by Lindsey Lang

By incorporating more fresh vegetables into your diet you will be improving your overall health. Vegetables contain a number of vitamins and minerals that your body needs in order to function correctly. This article lists six highly nutritious vegetables, and it explains what each of their benefits are.

Broccoli

Broccoli is considered to be one of the most potent cancers fighters thanks to its high levels of sulfur compounds. Sulfur compounds work by telling your genes to increase the production of enzymes, and it is these enzymes that help to detoxify potential cancer compounds. Broccoli also contains a decent level of calcium, potassium and vitamin C. You can incorporate more broccoli into your diet by lightly steaming it and using it as a side dish. There is also a type of broccoli called tenderstem broccoli which is delicious when eaten raw in salads.

Spinach

Spinach was often referred to in the famous cartoon Popeye, in which Popeye consumed it in order to gain superhuman strength. Spinach is indeed a highly nutritious vegetable. Spinach contains high levels of vitamin K which help to prevent bone fractures, and it also contains magnesium and potassium. Spinach can be enjoyed in a salad, or it can be gently steamed and enjoyed as a side dish.

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Garlic

Did you know that garlic is actually classed as a vegetable - although it is rarely eaten on its own. Garlic contains potent disease fighting compounds as well as antioxidants and vitamin C. It can help to reduce inflammation, and it has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Garlic will also thin the blood which can help to reduce the formation of blood clots. Garlic can be added to many dishes to enhance the flavour. Garlic capsules are also available to purchase for people who do not like the taste of raw or cooked garlic.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes have high vitamin A content. Vitamin A is an important vitamin which helps to maintain healthy eyes, skin and intestinal systems. They also have high levels of beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes can be oven cooked to create delicious and nutritious sweet potato fries.

Onions

Onions have a number of health benefits, including that fact that they can help people who are suffering from osteoporosis. This is partly because onions have a high peptide content when helps to reduce your body's calcium loss levels. They are also high in vitamin C and folate. Onions can be thinly sliced and enjoyed raw in salads, alternatively they will add flavor and depth to pastas, soups and casseroles.

Red Peppers

Red peppers contain the highest amount of vitamin C out of any vegetable. By increasing your vitamin C intake you will lower your susceptibility to colds and flu viruses. Vitamin C is also important for the regeneration of the skin, and a recent study showed that women with higher vitamin C intakes had less wrinkling and dryness of the skin. Peppers can be enjoyed raw in salads, or they can be added to stir frys.

Eating vegetables is the best way to lose weight because they contain ample amount of fiber and water and are low in calories.

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Unable to lose weight due to night shift (Fitness query of the day) by Urmi Kothari

I am 25 years old and my height is 5 ft and weight is around 62 kg. I have a night shift – my shift timing is 5.30 pm to 4.30 am. I get up by 3 pm to get ready for office. I have my lunch by 3.30 pm. By 5 pm, I reach office and have a glass of juice. By 9.30 pm, I have my dinner. I leave from office by 4.30 am and reach home by 5.30 am and sleep. Please suggest the right diet for me and how can I reduce my weight. Since my schedule is so tight, I can hardly exercise.

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Answered by our expert Urmi Kothari.

From your schedule, I can see that you are sleeping for approximately 9 to 9.5 hours. In my opinion, you can very well fit exercise in your schedule by waking up only an hour early, say about 1.30 pm which still leaves you time for a good 7.5 hours of sleep. It’s not recommended that you exercise in an exhausted and fatigued state. No matter what job you are in, you have to make it a point to exercise in some form if you want to be fit and healthy. It’s true you can lose weight by eating right and having a good food plan but you will not get stronger or fitter without exercise. And you will definitely be more equipped to handle your job and its rigours if you are fitter, no matter what your weight is.
So first of all, join a class or hire a trainer or enroll in a gym or yoga class or just go for walks. Start off with:
1. Warm up and stretches
2. Core exercises
3. Lower body strengthening
Do these three times a week. After a week, do two rounds of each.
Although I am not a dietician, what I can see from the information you have given me is that you are eating only 2 meals a day. Since you have not mentioned what you eat, I cannot comment on it. A glass of juice, fresh or canned is probably doing more harm than good due to excess sugar and hardly any fibre.

General tips that I recommend are:
Eat every 2 to 3 hours. It will help increase your metabolism, but what you eat also matters a lot.

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Try to eat protein, carbs and good fats in your main meal and eat protein or good fat rich snacks.
Some good sources of protein in vegetarian food are:
Sprouts, soya chunks, daal or pulses – they have carbs as well. Paneer, tofu, cheese has good fats (but are high in calories), curd or milk, eggs.
Some healthy snacks (these may not necessarily be low-calorie but are very healthy and can prevent junk food cravings):
Nuts like almonds, pistachios and walnuts, roasted chana, sprout bhel, coconut water, toast with peanut butter, fruits, oatmeal for breakfast.

For a definite diet, see a dietician. But at the end of the day, you have to understand how your body responds to different foods and follow what’s best for you. What I suggest is don’t look at losing weight as a ‘project’. Instead aim to eat healthy and get fitter. This will take longer because it involves a lifestyle / habit change. But once it happens, the benefits will be worth the effort.

http://health.india.com/fitness/unable-to-lose-weight-due-to-night-shift-fitness-query-of-the-day/
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Spices Help Improve Weight and Overall Health - Article by Suzanna Zick

Many of us have made the resolution to eat healthier this year, adding more fruits and vegetables, and less salt and fat, to our diet. But if you really want to spice up health try adding a dash of basil and oregano, or a few cloves of garlic to your diet too.

“Adding herbs and spices can help you maintain a healthy weight. Plus, they can help prevent certain cancers and even lower blood pressure, control blood sugar and improve cardiovascular health,” according to Suzanna Zick, N.D., M.P.H., a naturopathic physician and research investigator at the University of Michigan Health System, Department of Family Medicine.

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Zick offers the following tips for picking the best spices for your overall health.

• Fight aging: Eat rosemary. Rosemary is one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, says Zick. It’s also thought to help with memory, and research is currently underway to determine rosemary’s potential cancer-prevention properties.
• Basil, oregano and rosemary can help fight colds. Since these three herbs contain strong essential oils, Zick says they potentially can fight against colds and flu. “All three are powerful antioxidants as well,” she notes.
• Treat chronic coughs with thyme. “The health benefits of thyme are unique. It has been traditionally used to treat coughs, even whooping cough,” according to Zick.
• Got back pain? Eat curry. The principle curcuminoid of the Indian curry spice turmeric is curcumin. In addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, research on curcumin has shown it to shrink pre-cancerous lesions known as colon polyps.
• Lower your blood pressure with “warming spices.” These include ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, cayenne pepper and others. These can make a person feel warm because they bring blood from the center of the body to the skin. This disperses blood throughout the body more evenly, which may decrease blood pressure, according to Zick.
• Soothe your aching tummy with ginger. Ginger contains gingerols, which decrease oxidative products in the digestive tract that cause nausea.
• Use garlic for cardiovascular support. Garlic appears to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

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Sufficient sleep is essential to fuel weight loss efforts by John Phillip

(NaturalNews) We all understand the importance of sleeping seven to nine hours each night to allow for adequate cellular housekeeping, as the body metabolizes and synthesizes enzymes and proteins that are critical to our survival. In the past, a sound sleep has been shown to lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes and dementia in direct relationship to the number of hours slept each evening.

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Canadian researchers publishing the Canadian Medical Association Journal have released the result of a study showing that adequate sleep is an important part of a weight loss plan and should be added to the recommended mix of diet and exercise. In addition to lowering caloric intake and increasing physical activity, the research team led by Dr. Jean-Phillippe Chaput of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa has provided sufficient evidence to show that inadequate sleep is an independent risk factor for overweight and obesity.

Scientists determined that lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appetite-regulating hormones. Dr. Chaput explained "The solution to weight loss is not as simple as eat less, move more, sleep more... however, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity."

Seven to nine hours of sleep are needed daily to aid weight loss efforts

Many different factors affect body weight including predisposition to handling stress, depression and genetic individuality. Adequate and sound sleep can improve or eliminate each of these risk factors, and can also regulate the hormones leptin and ghrelin to lower food cravings and naturally promote a normal weight range. Naturally, reducing or eliminating insulin-producing processed carbohydrate foods and cutting sugar from the diet are necessary to stimulate weight loss in many people.

The authors of this study did not provide an exact mechanism to explain how adequate sleep assists weight loss, but they did explain that a lack of sleep affects the parts of the brain that control pleasure eating. Further, the scientists indicate that levels of the hormones leptin, ghrelin, cortisol and orexin, all of which are involved in appetite or eating, are affected by lack of sleep.

Dr. Chaput concluded "An accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity." Continuing research studies validate the critical importance of a sound night's sleep of between seven and nine hours each night to protect against chronic disease and to aid weight management efforts.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037258_sleep_weight_loss_hormones.html
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