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Thanksgiving or Christmas are occasions when family and friends are gathered around, adding fun to our lives and bringing moments of joy. These occasions may distract you from the everyday concerns and worries but, distraction from your diet- no way. On an average, a person gains 7-10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New year! Here are few steps to keep up your health throughout the holidays and add joy, not pounds.

Count the calories

The Caloric Control Council reveals the fact that an average American consumes around 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone. The fat amount equals to the fat that we should take in three days and twice as many calories which should be consumed in one day. Most of these calories come from snacking all day. So you better watch what you are snacking on and control the portion size. (continue reading…)

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Is it true, can one cure himself of nagging, persistent symptoms just by taking supplements?  That is a complicated question but the answer is yes and no.  First off, it’s not just the supplements, but a combination of eating right, exercising, resting and living life to the fullest.  Once these things are set in place then you can address your symptoms with supplements.

I personally know that my son has better attention and does better in school simply by taking a Vitamin B Complex daily.  I don’t have data to prove it, I just see the difference in him.  This brings me to another point… do we really need data or a study to tell us if something works or not?  Why not try it for 30 days and see what the results are, this is the only true way to measure the performance it has on your body.  Another problem I have with a study is that the findings are not always true. Look to see who funded the study and you will see a biased opinion.   (continue reading…)

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If you have decided to opt for a vegetarian diet and you may wonder how are you going to substitute the meat with vegetarian diet, but you have ample of options available. You don’t have to worry about how you are going to prepare for the feast on Thanksgiving without meat. There are many meat substitutes available in the market which will not only give you enough nutrients but also make tasty recipes, helping your transition from a meat eater to a vegetarian easily. In addition the soy-food has cholesterol reducing properties, which in turn reduces the risk of heart diseases and high blood pressure related problems. You can welcome your guests with healthy and vegetarian food on this thanksgiving.

Here is a guide to some of these food that you may experiment with: (continue reading…)

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A well-balanced meal containing all the nutrients is very important for young children. Preparing healthy breakfasts for kids while rushing to get to work, is very difficult for parents. Breakfast that kids carry to school often does not meet all the nutritional requirements of growing kids.  It has been proved that kids who have a breakfast containing all the essential nutrients, have an overall good health.

Snacks are a great way to cover up  whatever healthy nutrients were missed at the previous meal. But remember an important thing: do not go for  prepackaged and processed snacks. They are high in sugar, salt, artificial flavors, preservatives and fats. Rather, choose fresh food containing  vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber. If you  give your child healthy  snacks according to a set routine everyday, it will be  helpful to  balance  an uneven diet. It will also deals with  snacking on unhealthy food between the meals. (continue reading…)

ⓒ Janet Harriett

People are looking for organic as it is difficult to find any fruits and vegetables grown without a whole load of chemicals. But its not that you always have to look around and find all the organic food, which may be costlier than the non-organic one. Washing food items can only remove dirt, bacteria, insects and the pesticide residue, but not the whole of it because these chemicals are absorbed by the fruits and vegetables. Some other chemicals form bonds with either with its skin or core, thus washing does not help much in such a case. Peeling off may help a little bit but doesn’t eliminate the chemicals totally. By just switching to a few organic fruits and vegetables, you can reduce the amount of pesticides going into your body. The fruits and vegetables listed below are grown with so many chemicals that you pose a real thereat to your body by consuming them on a regular basis.

Strawberries

It is said that the strawberries grown with chemicals are so full of them that the fruit itself can be ground up and used as a pesticide!! An estimated 65 percent of various agro-chemicals including pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, weedicides, herbicides etc are used over strawberry crop. For example, for getting rid of fungus, methyl bromide, a chemical responsible for depleting the ozone, is used. This chemical can cause poisoning and neurological disorders. It has been kept in toxicity Category I compound by EPA classification. The strawberries plants are drip-fed on chemical fertilizers and the chemicals to kill all microorganisms and other living things in the soil. (continue reading…)

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In addition to being a featured player on the autumn decorating scene, pumpkins are chock full of nutrition. However, pumpkin is most commonly used in pies and other baked goods that are loaded down with sugar and unhealthy levels of fats. Pumpkin flour allows you to slip the nutrition of pumpkin into more healthy recipes and reduce the amount of grain flour consumed. While it doesn’t have many of the properties of grains that allow them to form the foundations of breads, pumpkin flour can substitute for part of the flour in most recipes.

Pumpkins sold for Halloween have been bred for appearance, at the expense of flavor. That also makes them ideal for pumpkin flour, especially if you catch the day-after-Halloween jack-o-lantern pumpkin clearance at the supermarket. (continue reading…)

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I am here with a story of my friend, Nicole, who is my next door neighbor. This friend of mine had a perception that she is out of shape. During her routine check up, her physician told her that she has got just the perfect weight and BMI and she is good. But, the numbers on the scale never matched her expectations so she decided to cut back the fat from her diet altogether. The result was that within a few days she ended up having depression and a few other problems related to vitamin deficiencies.

Yes that’s true! Having a diet too low in fat can have a negative effect on your overall health. Consumption of less that 20% of the calories from fat from your food intake for a long a time can lead to some serious health issues. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 20% to 35% of your daily calories should come from fat if you are a healthy adult. It is always a good idea to keep a check on the fat intake so as to mange weight and reduce the risk of heart disease but you should make sure that you are taking the minimum amount of healthy fat from food sources like almonds, avocado, tuna, salmon, flax seeds, olive oil, canola oil. (continue reading…)