Nutritional/Health Benefits of Avocados

 

Avocados offer a wide variety of nutritional benefits that can help lower cholesterol and prevent serious illness. A serving size of an avocado is about one-fifth of a whole one, so you do not need much to get the nutritional benefits they provide.

Antioxidants

Avocados contain a wide variety of vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E, that have antioxidant properties to help ward off illness and disease.  These vitamins play an important role in nutrition because they work to lower your bad cholesterol, reducing your chances of suffering from heart disease or a heart attack.  They can also help reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancer and can help ease problems with digestion.

Soluble Fiber

Avocados are considered a good source of soluble fiber.  Soluble fiber is an important part of a healthy diet because it helps reduce overall cholesterol levels in the blood.  Avocados have almost four times as much soluble fiber than an apple, making them a nutritious choice for those trying to lower their cholesterol levels.

Excellent Source Of Potassium

Potassium is a nutrient essential for heart health, responsible for helping regulate blood pressure, and avocados can help you reach your daily recommended amount of potassium.  Half an avocado has about 400mg of potassium, making it a quick way to consume plenty of this important mineral. High levels of potassium may also help reduce your risk of having a stroke.

Monounsaturated Fat

Diets high in monounsaturated fat can reduce the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular problems. About 82 percent of the fat found in an avocado is in the form of healthy monounsaturated fat.  Monounsaturated fats can help reduce overall cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease. You can reap the benefits of the monounsaturated fat whether you eat avocados whole, as guacamole or in the form of avocado oil.

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Tasty Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip

Here’s another GREAT quick and easy recipe for anyone..  If you like chocolate and peanut butter, you will LOVE this one..

Makes 1 Serving

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
• 2 tablespoon low-fat plain or vanilla yogurt

1. Combine peanut butter and chocolate syrup, mixing until well blended. Stir in the yogurt. Serve with 1 cup assorted carrot and celery sticks, sliced cucumbers, apples or pear slices.

Substitute any of your favorite fruits and vegetables and enjoy this great summer snack.  The entire family will love it and you..

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Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

Prepare Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Teriyaki is a Japanese dish that features a sweet and gingery taste; hence, this main course is perfect for those who are looking for a tasty meal.

Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons of sake
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons of mirin
• 3/4 pound of chicken breast fillet
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of grate ginger

Instructions:
1. Pound the chicken with a meat tenderizer.
2. In a dish, mix the ingredients for the marinade. Blend all the ingredients except for the chicken.
3. Dip in the chicken and coat it well with the marinade.
4. Marinate for at least 2 hours. Refrigerate to keep it fresh.
5. Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the marinated chicken using medium heat.
6. When one side is already brown in color, turn the chicken to the other side. Turn the heat to low setting.
7. Pour in the pan the marinade used on the chicken. Remove the lid and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Arrange the chicken on a plate and put the marinade or sauce on top of the chicken.
9. Garnish with grated ginger.
10. This recipe makes 4 to 5 servings.

Enjoy this great recipe and share it with your family and friends.  

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Nutrition Supplements – Shakes vs. Pills

Vitamins, minerals and nutrients are absorbed by the body in a several ways.  They first enter our body through the food we eat.  

It’s important to add supplements to our diet to increase the amount of pertinent vitamins, minerals and nutrients our body receives, because of poor nutrition due to poor eating habits and choices, preservatives and chemicals that are added to the food we consume, the abundance of convenient fast food restaurants, the way we prepare our foods and even the lack of nutrients in the soil our food is grown in.  You can take these supplements in pills or capsules or you can add a shake supplement to your diet.

Shake supplements are easier to swallow, go down quickly and are more easily absorbed by the body, than pills or capsules.  Shake supplements are easier for both children and adults to take than trying to swallow the “horse pills”.

Shake Supplements are More Effective

Because of its form, shakes can be assimilated immediately into the blood stream for a more systemic administration of the vitamins and nutrients.  They are also more concentrated than vitamin pills and this can lead to greater therapeutic benefits.

Shake Supplements and Digestive Acids

Many people believe vitamins in a shake form are destroyed by digestive acids.  But the opposite is actually true.  Our digestive system prefers or is better able to absorb this form of vitamin and mineral rather than those in pill or capsule form.

A vitamin pill or tablet has to be broken down into absorbable nutrients, only a small percentage will be absorbed by the human body. Shake supplements actually provide an easier solution for the digestive system.

Ultimately, the choice is yours as to whether you want to receive your vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from shake supplements, but the benefits and their ability to be taken easily is worth a second look.

If your interested in adding a GREAT nutritious shake supplement to your daily diet, check out Reliv’s NOW and NOW for Kids.  They are both packed with daily vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body requires.  

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Homemade Fish Sticks – YUMMY

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 3/4 pound cod fillets, cut into 1-inch strips
• Butter-flavored cooking spray

Directions

• Place flour and egg in separate shallow bowls. In another shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and seasonings.  Dip fish in the flour, then egg, then roll in the crumb mixture.

• Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spritz fish sticks with butter-flavored spray.  Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, turning once.

You can use your favorite fish, but whatever you use, you will enjoy it.  You can also make your own tartar sauce for more flavor.  I hope you enjoy this recipe and come back for more.  

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Brown Rice vs. White Rice

All rice is not created equal. When deciding which type of rice to eat, you might want to take the following comparisons into consideration.

Calories

A cup of cooked, medium grain white rice has 242 calories vs. 216 calories in a cup of long grain brown rice.

Fiber

White rice has only 0.6 grams of fiber per cup compared to 4 grams of fiber in brown rice.

Carbs

White rice has 53.2 grams of carbs per cup vs. about 45 grams in a cup of brown rice. In addition, the 4 grams of fiber in the brown rice brings the total net carbs down to 41 grams.

Type 2 Diabetes

Harvard researchers found that eating five or more servings of white rice per week raised a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while eating two or more servings of brown rice per week actually lowered a person’s risk of developing the disease.

Vitamins and Minerals

 A cup of brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium compared to 19 mg in white rice. This is because white rice is created by removing several of the outer layers of a grain of rice. Many vitamins and minerals are lost in this process. While some of them are put back into white rice (hence the term “enriched rice”), many, including magnesium, are not added back in.

Also, eating a food that contains its original vitamins and minerals in tact is much better for you than eating an “enriched” food that has been stripped of its nutrients and had chemically processed ones artificially added.

Shelf Life

Uncooked brown rice has a considerably shorter shelf life (about six months) than uncooked white rice (eight to ten years) due to the oil in the germ layer of brown rice. Therefore, if you are buying rice as a survival food for long-term storage, white rice might be the better choice.

Cooking Time

Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice because of the outer layers of bran that white rice lacks.

So, if you’re trying to decide between white rice and brown rice for health reasons, it’s clear that brown rice is the winner. If you’re looking to buy rice in bulk for long-term food storage, then white rice is clearly the more practical choice.

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Interval Training and Cardiovascular Health

Interval training is an important part of aerobic exercise. If you’re a walker or a runner, run intervals once a week. Walking and running build endurance by strengthening your cardiovascular system. Doing interval training once a week enhances your endurance by dramatically increasing the amount of blood your hear pumps every time it beats.¹ (This is known as your cardiac stroke volume.)

Interval training also increases the amount of oxygen you can take in on each breath.  (This is known as your respiratory vital capacity.) The result is that you have noticeably increased speed and increased reserves when you need a prolonged burst of energy.

The same principles apply for any type of aerobic activity. . The interval system is easy to apply. For example, if you’re a swimmer, you can do interval training with laps. If you ride a bike, you can do intervals with timed sprints.

There are many books and magazine articles available to help you add interval training to your aerobics program. If you’re doing aerobics exercise three times per week, you could use one of those sessions for interval training. Interval training is very powerful and the most important thing is to build up gradually.

To begin, you need to have a good base, meaning you do aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes. Using running as an example, you might be running 10-minute miles in at a fast “race pace”. Ten minutes per mile is 2.5 minutes per quarter-mile. On your interval day, warm up by lightly jogging 1 mile. Then run four quarter-miles at a pace a bit faster than your race pace. In this example, you could run four quarter-miles at 2:25 or 2:20 per quarter. Then finish by lightly jogging for another mile.

Over time, your interval pace gets faster. You could do intervals with half-miles, three-quarters of a mile, or even a mile, if your weekly mileage supports such an interval distance. Most of us will see remarkable benefits by doing quarter-mile or occasional half-mile intervals.

One obvious result is that your resting pulse drops like a stone, because your heart is being trained to pump more blood each time it contracts. In this way, you save wear and tear on your heart. Owing to your heart’s stroke volume, your heart beats less during the course of the day to provide the amount of blood you need flowing to your tissues.  The takeaway is that your heart will last longer because you’re doing intense vigorous exercise. That’s a pretty remarkable result.

The bottom line is that interval training makes you stronger and faster. Your heart and lungs get a terrific workout with each interval training session. There’s a big payoff for this once-a-week activity.

This article was retrieved from RhineChiropratic.com.  Regular chiropractic care support exercise and regular exercise can support chiropractic care.  Like nutrition and exercise, chiropractic care is a preventative measure.  If you have not been seen by a chiropractor in over a year, visit your local chiropractor TODAY!!!

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Grilled Chicken Teriyaki

“Chicken breasts marinated in teriyaki sauce, lemon, garlic, and sesame oil, then grilled to a tasty finish. Very easy and great for a hot summer’s evening. Leftovers are great on a green salad or sandwich. Be sure to grill very hot and very fast!!”

 

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions

1. Place chicken, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, garlic, and sesame oil in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag, and shake to coat. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours, turning every so often.
2. Preheat grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Remove chicken from bag, discarding any remaining marinade. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes each side, or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.

 Amount Per Serving  Calories: 240 | Total Fat: 7.5g | Cholesterol: 67mg

What a great grilling recipe for summer holidays and family picnics!!  Enjoy!!

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Health Benefits of Walnuts

These wrinkly lobes surely are popular and versatile! Walnuts have a long history as food, having been around from as far back as 7,000 B.C., and were popular as food for the royals in ancient Persia. Nowadays, the US is a major producer of walnuts, with the bulk of the nuts coming from the state of California. Among all nuts, walnuts pack significantly higher amount omega-3 fatty acids ALA! They are rich in fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and antioxidants such as Vitamin E. Indeed, walnuts are one of the best plant sources of protein!

Heart-Health Benefits: 

More than a decade of scientific evidence shows that incorporating walnuts in a healthy diet reduces the risk of heart disease by improving blood vessel elasticity and plaque accumulation. Walnuts have also been shown to aid in the lowering LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and the C-Reactive Protein (CRP). CRP was recently recognized as an independent marker and predictor of heart disease.

Diabetes Benefits:

A study published in Diabetes Care in 2010 found that 2 ounces of walnuts per day improve blood flow in people with type 2 diabetes.  A previous study also found that a diet supplemented with walnuts help type 2 diabetes patients lower their LDL cholesterol by 10%.

Nutrition Tidbits for Walnuts

1 oz (14 halves) of shelled whole walnuts contains:

• Calories: 185 kcal
• Fat: 18.5 g
• Carbohydrates: 3.9 g
• Protein: 4.3 g
• Fiber: 1.9 g
• Glycemic Index (GI): Low (below 55)

FDA Approved Health Claim for Walnuts

In 2003, the FDA recognized the benefits of nuts and their role in heart disease prevention by approving a health claim for 7 kinds of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts). These seven nuts were approved as they are the only kinds that contain less than 4 grams of saturated fats per 50 grams.

In response to a petition filed by the California Walnut Commission, the FDA further endorsed the health benefits of walnuts by approving the following health claim in March 2004.

“Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 oz of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

Adding Walnuts in a Healthy Diet

Nuts in general are high in calories, so moderation is the key. The best approach is to reap the health benefits of eating walnuts but not add excessive calories to your daily intake. Therefore, instead of just adding walnuts to your current diet, eat them in replacement of foods that are high in saturated fats (such as cheese and meat) and limit your intake of these tasty treats to the recommended 1.5 oz per day. That is about 20 walnut halves.

Walnuts add a flavorful crunch to dishes. Here are some simple ideas to incorporate walnuts in your diet to reap their health benefits:

• instead of snacking on cookies, crack some walnuts open and eat them as snacks
• instead of using meat, toss toasted walnuts in your salad or pasta to add some crunch
• instead of layering pepperoni, use chopped walnuts in your pizza
• instead of eating bacons or eggs, use walnuts as a protein choice by sprinkling chopped walnuts in your oatmeal or breakfast cereal

I hope you  enjoyed this article, it was retrieved from HealthCastle.com.  

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Whole Grain or Multigrain?

What is the difference between whole grains and multigrains??

I know some people get confused when they hear Whole Grain and Multigrain, they think they are the same thing, well there not.

So lets take a look at the difference….

Whole grain

Whole grain means that all parts of the grain kernel — the bran, germ and endosperm — are used.

Whole-grain foods are a healthy choice because they contain nutrients, fiber and other healthy plant compounds found naturally in the grain. Look for products that list the first ingredient as “whole wheat,” “whole oats” or a similar whole grain. While “whole grains” may signify one of many types of healthy grains, “whole wheat” labels the specific grain used. Either term may identify a food that’s a good source of fiber, several B vitamins and minerals.

The latest dietary guidelines advise us to eat at least three servings of whole grains every day, which can help prevent things like heart disease, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes.

Multigrain

Multigrain means that a food contains more than one type of grain, although none of them may necessarily be whole grains. The same goes for other variations, such as “seven-grain.

Whole Grain Imposters

With foods like oatmeal, bulgur wheat, brown rice, popcorn, or quinoa, you’re always getting the whole grain—and these are all great foods to include in your diet. It gets trickier with foods like breads, crackers, pasta, and tortillas, where the grains have been milled into flour. Then, it can be a little harder to tell whether you’re dealing with whole grains or not.

I hope this article answers any questions you may have about whole grains and multigrains.  If you have additional questions you can contact me at relivinglifehealthy@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

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