Nutritional Goodies Of Apricots

Apricots are somewhat lesser known in society, but pack a super nutritional punch.

Alexander the Great fell in love with this surprisingly sweet fruit in Asia, where he found them growing wild. When he returned to Europe from his military expeditions, he brought some with him.

The ancient Romans gave the apricot its name - from the Latin word for "precocious" - because the apricot is the first fruit of the season to ripen. The name stuck, and the apricot spread all over, from Europe, to America, and all the way to Australia.

The apricot is a fantastic fruit - loaded with beta carotene, iron, fiber, vitamin C, and several B vitamins. If you dry an apricot, its nutrients get more concentrated, making dried apricots a great snack.

Whether fresh or dried, eating apricots will help you fight the effects of aging, protect your eyesight, ward off cancer, and prevent heart disease.

4 ways apricots keep you healthy

Be Healthier With Veggies

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.

Best Carbs To Drop a Dress Size

8 Simple Steps To Eating The Mediterranean Way

1. Eat lots of vegetables. From a simple plate of sliced fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and crumbled feta cheese to stunning salads, garlicky greens, fragrant soups and stews, healthy pizzas, or oven-roasted medleys, vegetables are vitally important to the fresh tastes and delicious flavors of the Med Diet.

2. Change the way you think about meat. If you eat meat, have smaller amounts – small strips of sirloin in a vegetable sauté, or a dish of pasta garnished with diced prosciutto.

3. Always eat breakfast. Start your day with fiber-rich foods such as fruit and whole grains to keep you pleasantly full for hours. Layer granola, yogurt, and fruit, or mash half an avocado with a fork and spread it on a slice of whole grain toast.

4. Eat seafood twice a week. Fish such as tuna, herring, salmon, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and shellfish including mussels, oysters, and clams have similar benefits for brain and heart health.

5. Cook a vegetarian meal one night a week. Build meals around beans, whole grains, and vegetables, and heighten the flavor with fragrant herbs and spices. Down the road, try two nights per week.

6. Use good fats. Include sources of healthy fats in daily meals, especially extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, olives, and avocados.

7. Enjoy some dairy products. Eat Greek or plain yogurt, and try small amounts of a variety of cheeses.

8. For dessert, eat fresh fruit. Choose from a wide range of delicious fresh fruits — from fresh figs and oranges to pomegranates, grapes and apples. Instead of daily ice cream or cookies, save sweets for a special treat or celebration.




Reference : Oldways

Food That Flush Fat from Your Body

Did you know that certain foods can actually work to naturally fight body fat? Learn how to really make your diet work for you.

You don’t always have to subtract foods from your diet to achieve results. In fact, by adding these foods to your meals, you’ll help your body blast fat so you can shed stubborn pounds.

Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are super high in soluble fiber which, in addition to filling you up, has cholesterol-lowering properties and prevents the absorption of fat.  For a hydrating metabolism-boosting beverage, try a chia seed cocktail. Add chia seeds, a slice of lemon and a dash of agave to distilled water.

10 Healthy Eating Guidelines

1. Eat plenty of vegetables and fresh fruits
2. Food should be served as close to its natural state as possible to maximise nutrients. Try and enjoy at least 50% raw vegetables and fruit every day.
3. Use cooking methods like steaming, baking, grilling, sauté or stir-frying and eliminate deep fried foods
4. Try not to over cook or reheat vegetables as this causes greater nutrient loss. 
5. Cook with lots of fresh herbs and spices not only for taste but for their health and medicinal  properties. This will also allow you to use less salt. A high salt intake can contribute to high blood  pressure. 
6. Avoid processed foods which are high in preservatives, flavour enhancers such as (MSG / E621), sugar + artificial sweeteners, saturated + trans fats, salt + non-nutritive ingredients that are linked to disease and poor health.
7. Eat small amounts of healthy anti-inflammatory oils such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado, macadamia nut, linseed, almond and walnut oils. Avoid trans fats and hydrogenated oils.

How This List Of Fat Burning Foods Will Boost Your Metabolism

What foods work great for fast fat burning? We all understand that we need to eat our fruits and veggies because they have he highest vitamin and mineral content of any other food.

Did you know that these are the best foods for weight loss also?

Raw fruits and veggies carry a much larger content of vitamins and minerals than your cooked foods.
Heat during the cooking process damages the vitamin and mineral content and kills natural enzymes. Vitamins and minerals give you the building blocks for your cells to stay healthy, and for your hormones to work properly which is why they are classified as foods that help to burn fat fast.

With the bad press that multi-vitamins have gotten recently, we should explore all possible areas for getting our vitamin and mineral requirements met naturally. I’ve put together a list for you of some of the best raw foods with lots of vitamins and minerals to make your body healthy, your age decrease and your belly, butt and thighs to slim down.

When used in addition to a moderate amount of healthy organic grassfed meats, and some raw dairy products, it is possible to get our nutrients from diet. It is also important to note that some foods truly are ‘super-foods’ like green leafy vegetables or broccoli. That’s because they provide a significant amount of more than one nutrient per serving.

Here is your list broken down into vitamin/ mineral content:

Vitamin A
Any green leafy vegetables including Spinach
Peppers
Yellow vegetables like Squash
Dried Apricots
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Asparagus

Lentils and Weight Loss

Lentils, sometimes called the fast food of the legume family, trace their roots as one of the first known crops, dating back at least 8,500 years ago in the Neolithic agriculture period, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When dieting, including lentils in your meal plan offers you benefits in losing weight, improvement in your lipid profile and digestive function.

Benefits Of Lentils When Dieting
Including lentils and other legumes into your diet may have a positive impact on your weight-loss success and also reduce your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, according to a study published in the February 2011 issue of the "European Journal of Nutrition." Lentils are a low energy-dense food, and the fiber and protein in the lentils has a filling effect. Eating lentils regularly while losing weight enables you to feel fill on few calories, which will help you keep your calorie intake at your desired level.

Eat This To Shed Off Your Pounds

Read our next article : 10 Food That Helps You Lose Weight

Do You Know Cucumbers Help With Weight Loss?

Cucumbers are vegetables with high water content and few calories per serving. Watery vegetables can help you lose weight when they are used to replace higher-calorie fare. Use cucumbers strategically as part of a low-calorie diet plan to reduce hunger and stimulate weight loss.

Benefits
You can use cucumber to add volume to meals without adding a lot of calories. Cucumbers' high water content can help you feel full, leading you to consume less food at meals. Cucumber acts as a natural diuretic, making you urinate more often, which reduces bloating and water retention, notes Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky.

10 ways to add fruit and vegies to your day

Here are 10 easy ways to work more fruits and vegetables into your diet.

Research shows that those of us who eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day can reduce our risk of some cancers, hypertension and heart disease. The time is ripe: Give your diet the power of produce!

Research suggests that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables might help you fight chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer by keeping your cells healthy. It may also help reduce your risk of high blood pressure and artery-clogging cholesterol, as well as upping your energy level. Here are 10 easy ways to work more fruits and vegetables into your diet.

1. Make a plan
To get more fruits and vegetables in your meals, they need to make it into your shopping trolley. A good way to do that is to do your homework: take 15 minutes to make a list of produce that will complement your planned meals for the week.


2. Experiment with exotic options
Bok choy, papayas, mangoes, passionfruit, kiwifruit, artichokes, broccoli rabe, turnips — anything that looks different. For the best flavor, variety and quality, get picky in the produce section by buying in season.


3. Start early
As a general rule, the earlier in the day you start chipping away at your fruits-and-vegetable quota, the easier it is to get five or more servings in. Begin your day with an orange and a glass of vegetable juice, for example, and you've started on your servings before leaving the house!


4. Keep healthy snacks handy
That way, you're ready when hunger strikes at work. Fruits and vegetables good for commuting include raisins, containers of fresh juice and fruits that don't bruise easily, such as apples or oranges. Just don't forget about them, as they can quickly go off.


5. Sneak in vegetables with every meal
Give fruits and vegetables a starring role in the foods you already eat. Top off your morning cereal or yoghurt with bananas, berries or peaches. Layer sandwiches with extra tomato, onion and dark leafy greens such as spinach and watercress. Make a wrap with bean sprouts, shredded cabbage and slices of green or red capsicum. Heap salsa onto low-fat tortilla chips. Smuggle zucchini and carrots into pasta sauce, soup, stew and chilli. You get the idea!


6. Reorganise your fridge
What we choose to eat is often the first thing we see when we look in the fridge for a snack. Move your sealed bags of baby carrots, precut red and green capsicum strips and broccoli florets to the front of the top shelf instead of hiding them away in the crisper.


7. Enjoy a fruity dessert
End your meals with the sweet taste of fresh fruit. It's a bountiful supply of vitamins and minerals. Fruit—at any time—is a great way to get more heart-disease-fighting fibre.


8. Stock up with the good stuff
Make sure your pantry, fridge and freezer are always full of dried, canned, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. And keep in mind that legumes such as dried peas and beans are vegetables, too.

9. Build up your salad
Use the supermarket's salad bar to buy cut-up fruit and vegetables on days when you don't have time to chop. Also, if you're eating on the run, opt for the deli salad bar. But make sure you choose one that has a quick turnaround; you'll be more likely to get fresher, more nutritious produce. Many feature vegetable options such as beets, cherry tomatoes, three-bean salad and chickpeas. Just watch out for the oily, already-prepared vegetable salads.


10. Flavour up favourites with fresh herbs
Research shows that garlic and chives contain substances called allyl sulfides that help fight cancer. Rosemary and parsley are also believed to have anti-cancer properties. Those little extras can add to your healthy diet but not your ProPoints® allowance.

Article by weightwatchers.com.au

Mediterranean diet: Choose this heart-healthy diet option

 

The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan combining elements of Mediterranean-style cooking. Here's how to adopt the Mediterranean diet.

If you're looking for a heart-healthy eating plan, the Mediterranean diet might be right for you. The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating — plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps a glass of red wine — among other components characterizing the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
Most healthy diets include fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains, and limit unhealthy fats. While these parts of a healthy diet remain tried-and-true, subtle variations or differences in proportions of certain foods may make a difference in your risk of heart disease. 

Benefits of the Mediterranean diet

Research has shown that the traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of heart disease. In fact, a recent analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of overall and cardiovascular mortality, a reduced incidence of cancer and cancer mortality, and a reduced incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
For this reason, most if not all major scientific organizations encourage healthy adults to adapt a style of eating like that of the Mediterranean diet for prevention of major chronic diseases.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:

• Getting plenty of exercise
• Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
• Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
• Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
• Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
• Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
• Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)

The diet also recognizes the importance of enjoying meals with family and friends.

Putting it all together

The Mediterranean diet is a delicious and healthy way to eat. Many people who switch to this style of eating say they'll never eat any other way. Here are some specific steps to get you started:

• Eat your veggies and fruits — and switch to whole grains. An abundance and variety of plant foods should make up the majority of your meals. They should be minimally processed, and try to purchase them when they're in season. Strive for seven to 10 servings a day of veggies and fruits. Switch to whole-grain bread and cereal, and begin to eat more whole-gain rice and pasta products. Keep baby carrots, apples and bananas on hand for quick, satisfying snacks. Fruit salads are a wonderful way to eat a variety of healthy fruit.
• Go nuts. Keep almonds, cashews, pistachios and walnuts on hand for a quick snack. Choose natural peanut butter, rather than the kind with hydrogenated fat added. Try tahini (blended sesame seeds) as a dip or spread for bread.
• Pass on the butter. Try olive or canola oil as a healthy replacement for butter or margarine. Use it in cooking. After cooking pasta, add a touch of olive oil, some garlic and green onions for flavoring. Dip bread in flavored olive oil or lightly spread it on whole-grain bread for a tasty alternative to butter. Try tahini (blended sesame seeds) as a dip or spread for bread too.
• Spice it up. Herbs and spices make food tasty and are also rich in health-promoting substances. Season your meals with herbs and spices rather than salt.
• Go fish. Eat fish once or twice a week. Fresh or water-packed tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel and herring are healthy choices. Grilled fish tastes good and requires little cleanup. Avoid fried fish, unless it's sauteed in a small amount of canola oil.
• Rein in the red meat. Substitute fish and poultry for red meat. When eaten, make sure it's lean and keep portions small (about the size of a deck of cards). Also avoid sausage, bacon and other high-fat meats.
• Choose low-fat dairy. Limit higher fat dairy products such as whole or 2 percent milk, cheese and ice cream. Switch to skim milk, fat-free yogurt and low-fat cheese.
• Raise a glass to healthy eating. If it's OK with your doctor, have a glass of wine at dinner. If you don't drink alcohol, you don't need to start. Drinking purple grape juice may be an alternative to wine.

Read full report at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mediterranean-diet/CL00011/NSECTIONGROUP=2