Eating Fruit

We are under the notion that fruit is healthy for us any time we eat it. Not entirely true - it's important to know how and when to eat fruit.

For example, fruit should not be eaten after a meal - it should be eaten on an empty stomach. If you eat fruit on an empty stomach, it will play a major role to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other activities. Let's say you eat two slices of bread and then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it is prevented from doing so. In the meantime the whole meal rots and ferments and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil. So please eat your fruit on an empty stomach or before your meals! You have heard people complaining - every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian (fruit from Asia with a foul smell yet delicious flavor) my stomach bloats up, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet etc. - actually all this will not arise if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas and hence you will bloat!

There is no such thing as some fruit, like orange and lemon, are acidic, because all fruit become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruit, you have the Secret of beauty, longevity, health, energy, happiness and normal weight.

When you need to drink fruit juice - drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from the cans. As well, eating fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body. Just eat fruit and drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days and you will be surprised when your friends tell you how radiant you look! 

KIWI: Tiny but mighty. This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E & fiber. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange. 

APPLE: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants & flavonoid which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruit & protects the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE: Sweetest medicine, eating 2 to 4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessens the risk of colon cancer. Caution - high in sugar content.

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene - the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C & potassium. 

GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene; this is good for your eyes. 

Curried Cauliflower

Simple Indian recipe:
1 med cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 med onion chopped
1 green chile
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp whole cumin
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chile flakes (if you like it spicy)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsp oil

Heat oil and add whole cumin and chopped onions. Saute until slightly brown then add ginger and saute . Add cauliflower, salt and turmeric and stir fry one minute. Then add ground coriander, cumin, red and green chile and cook covered on low heat until tender, but crisp. Add fresh coriander and serve.

Variety is the Spice of Weight Loss

Eating a variety of healthy snacks may curb the desire to eat. Research has also found that adults experience more cravings after following a monotonous diet versus a varied diet. Its easy to finish a bag of chips or a plate of donuts, but if the snack includes slowly digested carbs and protein, it will go a longer way with fewer calories. Keep healthy snacks with you at work so you're not hitting the vending machine, which is normally stacked with high calorie, high GI foods which cause premature hunger.
To read more, follow this link

Greek Style Nachos

Its time for another recipe - this one again, is a (healthier) variation to the traditional nachos. These nachos, however, are made with pita (whole wheat/grain) triangles toasted with olive oil, a sauce of yogurt and feta spiked with mint and lemon, a topping of ground lamb (optional), onion, cumin, and garnished with tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. You can substitute the yogurt/feta sauce with a loose hummus drizzle. Vegetarians could use hummus and an eggplant puree like baba ghanouj.

Recipe:
4 pita pockets cut into wedges
1/2 cup olive oil (preferably extra virgin)
4 oz feta cheese
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup chopped mint
1 lemon
Freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb ground lamb
1" ginger, grated
4 med. cloves garlic
1 tbsp. cumin
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted and halved (optional)

Heat oven to 360 degrees. Arrange pita wedges on baking tray and brush with olive oil. bake about 10 minutes turning once or twice. Sprinkle with salt.

In a blender or food processor, combine feta, yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, mint, zest and lemon juice. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Blend sauce until smooth.

Add oil to skillet and cook onions until soft. Add lamb, ginger, garlic and cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until meat is cooked, about 10 mins.

Arrange pita chips on platter and top with lamb, sauce, tomatoes, cucumber and olives.

BALANCE

I thought I was the only one confused with all the conflicting information on nutrition and weight loss. Jennifer Sygo, a dietitian in private practice at Cleveland Clinic Canada shares the same opinion!

Please read this link for clarification and most important, keeping the right balance.

Weight Loss with Carbs?

"Cut out your carbohydrates and you’ll burn up your fat" - Robert Atkins

This has been the new fad, almost a gold standard to losing weight and I must admit I have been a follower of a high protein, low carb diet myself. However I stay away from the "high fat" bit!

But recently, for the benefit of my veg friends we had an article on and Eco-Atkins diet: ScienceDaily (June 9, 2009) — Overweight individuals who ate a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet high in plant-based proteins for four weeks lost weight and experienced improvements in blood cholesterol levels and other heart disease risk factors, according to a report in the June 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. A high-carbohydrate, low-fat vegetarian diet also resulted in weight loss but without the additional cardiovascular benefits.

Ok, this makes some sense.....out come the veggies and legumes! Steel cut oats and whole grain breads, which were thought to be good choices are excluded from grocery lists.

Now, a little over a month later, there is YET another study.........this time touting the benefits of CARBS!

My dear friends, all this research is not meant to confuse, but just help you, at the end of the day, to make healthy choices!

Is BMI the Gold Standard?

So how do people like us who train follow this index? 

Read here

RELAX

"Sleep is the golden chain that ties health to our bodies" - Thomas Dekker

This is so true! We keep talking about the correlation between diet, exercise and health but ignore the fact that sleep is just as important. It is so hard to focus when one is sleep deprived, let alone feeling tired and listless. I always thought I could function with 4-5 hours of sleep - even though I can work all day, my focus and attention span is largely compromised.

Rohan sent me this link that I want to share with you ..............interesting read!

Make sure to go through the comments.

Keeping Weight on Track

Being on vacation makes it harder to stick to a schedule and our eating and exercise routine usually takes a beating.

But whether we are traveling overseas, taking a road trip or going to the cottage, we can maintain a healthy lifestyle without giving up on those specialty treats. All you have to do is follow these strategies

Burger with a Twist

Its ironic how we Canadians look forward to summer while our friends in India are flying off to cooler destinations. Regardless of the weather, its always fun to bbq this time of the year - its easy, not messy and most important....healthy. The other day I came across this recipe which caught my attention. Its just a burger but it seemed to have a zing to it and of course I added my little twist! Try it out and let me know what you think.

Mediterranean Lamb Burgers: (serves 4)

Ingredients:
Salsa:
1/4 cup chopped green olives
1/4 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes
2 tbsp. capers (optional)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup fresh parsley 1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
750 gms. ground lamb (or chicken which is lighter)
1/2 cucumber sliced
1 tomato sliced
leaf lettuce
1/4 cup tatziki (yogurt, garlic, salt, dill, feta - blended)
4 pitas

Preheat grill. Combine olives, sun dried tomatoes, capers, onions, parsley, garlic and olive oil in food processor until chunky. Season with salt and pepper. Stir half cup salsa into chicken and add the feta. Divide into four portions and make 1" thick patties. Grill patties 4-5 mins. per side until no longer pink. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a dollop of tatziki.

Caution: The meat mixture will be soft and juicy so turn carefully on the grill.

Adding recipes are a nice break to blogs.......especially since some health/wellness topics can become somewhat dry.

Butter vs Margarine: Which is Healthier?

Butter and Margarine are both versatile and can be used for cooking or to spread over that freshly baked multi whole grain roll. In terms of one being healthier than the other is still debatable. Although margarine was once thought to be the healthy alternative to butter, it has received some bad press recently due to some brands containing hydrogenated oils or trans fats.

The biggest drawback to margarine is that some brands contain trans fats which have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, probably by lowering levels of HDL, the good cholesterol and raising LDL, the bad cholesterol. When shopping for margarine, look closely at the ingredient list to see if it mentions partially hydrogenated oils or fractionated oils. Even if a margarine lists zero grams of trans fats, it can still have small amounts of these unhealthy fats. Solid margarines are the most likely to be high in trans fats. The more liquid the margarine, the lower the trans fat levels, in general.

Butter is usually higher in saturated fat

The other fat that can increase your risk of heart disease are saturated fats. Butter tends to be high in saturated fats and that is why margarine was considered the healthy alternative. For example, most solid butter products average around seven grams of saturated fat whereas some margarines such as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light have only a single gram. Some margarines may still contain high levels of saturated fat, so read labels carefully.

Butter has additional nutritional value margarines don’t have

Butter contains key nutritional ingredients including antioxidants which can help to offset free radical damage to cells. It also is a source of vitamin D and calcium as well as selenium. Another key component, conjugated linoleic acid, is thought to help maintain lean body mass, prevent weight gain, and may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. The fats found in butter also help to aid in the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals consumed in the diet.

So what Is the best alternative?

One option is to select a light or whipped butter which is generally lower in calories and saturated fat than regular butter. Another option is to use tub based margarines that are free of trans fats. These tend to be low in saturated fats and can serve as a reasonable butter substitute for cooking and spreading on toast. Whichever choice you make, the magic word is Moderation!