Healthy Eating Myths That You Must Break

Regular exercise, checking your serving portions and eating right. Healthy eating requires a lot of will power and commitment. However, there are a number of myths that continue to deceive dieters and healthy eating advocates. The key to eating healthy lies in how you check out the food items you buy, as well as on how dedicated are you in making sure that you watch what you eat every day. Here are some food myths that you need to watch out for.

All Low-Fat Foods Are Healthy

When you go to the grocery store, and you see food items labeled as “low fat” or fat-free”, beware of them. Just because they have the “fat-free” sign posted on them doesn’t mean that they’re truly healthy. The truth is that some of these food items actually have the same number of calories as the regular versions, and sometimes sugar is added to replace the flavor lost when fat is removed. By having more sugar, these food items will have empty calories, which may lead to you gaining weight instead. Fats come in different forms, and some of them actually are good for you. The fats that you need to steer clear from are trans fats and saturated fats. Monounsaturated fats and the fat found in olive oil or nuts are good for the heart.

All Fruits Are Created Equal

Not all fruits are created equal. Some of them actually contain lots of calories, which may help to add more weight to you. The healthiest fruits are those that have low sugar and high fiber content. Apples, bananas and grape fruit are one of the nice fruits, because they contain high fiber and are low in fat and calories.

Chocolate Is Bad For Your Health

While some so-called fitness advocates frown on eating chocolate, because they think these make you fat, the truth is that chocolates are good for you. However, you must also know that not all chocolates are created equal. High-quality dark chocolate is one of healthy variants, because it contains high levels of flavonols and antioxidants. Commercial chocolate bars however, such as milk chocolate and white chocolate contain high amounts of fat, sugar, wax and artificial chemicals. To eat healthy chocolates, try making your own unsweetened cocoa with sugar and skim milk instead.

Salads Help You Lose Weight

A large bowl of leafy greens is actually very good for your health. However, the problem starts once you pour in the dressings and other toppings. Some salad offerings include stuff like fried chicken, bacon bits, and thick creamy dressings, which are jam-packed with calories and fats. But if you fill up on the leafy greens alone, the salad mix can be very healthy. A truly healthy salad mix includes a variety of vegetables, mixed greens, beans, almonds, and a light vinegar dressing.

To ensure that you’re eating healthy, and losing or maintaining weight at the same time, eat high-fiber veggies, fruits and grains, but never skip breakfast. Instead, you need to stop drinking energy bars and drinks, sodas and alcohol, as well as lessen your intake of fatty junk foods and snacks.
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Healthy Eating In Restaurants – Things You Must Consider

During these stressful, fast-paced times, more and more people are turning to fast foods and restaurants for convenient and pleasurable dining. However, dining out can be a pain on your wallet, and your waistline. While eating out need not be too costly or fattening, you certainly need to be aware of what you’re putting in your mouth. Here are a few tips for healthy eating in a restaurant.

Restaurants Often Serve Sodium and Preservative-Laden Foods

We all agree that the typical restaurant food far tastes better than the food we cook at home. Why? Because restaurants and fast food outlets often use a lot of flavor enhancers, preservatives and sodium-filled sauces, to make their food taste great. The sad thing is that these preservatives and sodium-laden sauces bloat our body, and add more bad cholesterol to our system.

How To Have A Healthy Restaurant Eating Experience

According to some nutrition experts, the biggest mistake in restaurant dining usually happens during the first and last 10 minutes of the meal, where you usually get served with calorie-rich dressings, cream-based soups and sugar-coated desserts. Here are other healthy eating restaurant ideas.

• All-you-can-eat restaurants are truly tempting places, but family-run restaurants are much healthier. Since most buffet establishments don’t allow you to bring home nay leftovers, the temptation to overeat here is definitely very high.

• Typical restaurant servings are definitely larger than home-made meals. Before you clean-up your plate, and plan to take at least half the meal home. Eating half the meal later will benefit your waist. And save you money as well.

• If you plan to order soups, choose broth-based soups instead of cream-based ones. Vegetables soups are healthy choices. However, most restaurant soups are quite salty, because they’re sprinkled with MSG, a preservative that enhances flavor.

• Green salads make for healthier restaurant food choices. However, ask for oil and vinegar to be served on the side, instead of fatty dressings. Instead of using oil, squeeze lemon juice over your veggies, and sprinkle pepper to add more spice. If you were offered a choice between soup and salad, go for fresh green salads instead.

• Order plain food, instead of fried food items. A plain broiled or baked chicken, steak or fish provide better sources of protein, to help build muscles and generate energy. - To add extra flavor to your meals, used tomato-based marinara sauces and salsas instead. For side dishes, go for steamed vegetables or plain potato and rice. Vegetable side dishes offer a lot of healthy nutrients and low calories. Always remember to choose the meals that offer the freshest and high-quality ingredients. Choose plain steaks or chicken breasts instead of entrees filled with lots of creamy or oily sauces, or ask for potato or plain rice instead of hash browns or French Fries.
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Healthy Eating Tips For Diabetics

A diabetic’s life can be tough on his diet. If a person has diabetes, it’s important that he or she is aware of the connection between carbohydrate consumption and diabetes management. Once carbohydrates are synthesized by the digestive system, they become sugars, and have a direct effect on blood glucose levels. A diabetic’s diet must maintain a delicate balance of essential nutrients and minerals. It's important for diabetics to know what foods to eat, and which ones to avoid.

Choose High-Fiber Vegetables

Eating fiber-rich vegetables is good for diabetics, since fiber does not raise or affect blood sugar levels. The vegetables should be minimally processed, and ideally should be eaten raw. Among the fiber-rich veggies that are great for diabetics include cauliflower, celery, cucumber, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, artichokes, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, greens and spinach.

Suggested Fruit Variants For Diabetics

Fruits that have high fiber and fructose content are good for diabetics, since these do not affect blood sugar levels. Raw fruits are best for diabetics, since most dried and canned fruits contain high sugar levels. The suggested fruits include apricots, apples, blueberries, grape fruit, guava, Kiwi fruit, mango, pears and pomegranates.

Meat And Protein Substitutes

Getting adequate amounts of protein should be part of any diet, especially for diabetics. Protein helps regulate blood sugar levels and provides energy. While meat products are generally the best sources of protein, diabetics must limit their meat consumption, and instead consume more legumes and fish, which provide essential fatty acids and protein. The best meat substitutes for diabetics include veal, lamb, chicken or turkey, oily fish like mackerel and salmon, seafood, eggs, beans, lentils, soybeans, and moderate amounts of milk and dairy products.

Limit Consumption of Unhealthy Fats

Diabetics must also limit their consumption of unhealthy fats like trans fat and saturated fat, as well as reduce their intake of margarine, butter and shortening. Diabetics should instead go for monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are found in canola, olive oil and nuts.

Whole Grains

Whole grains also serve as a tasty way for adding good carbohydrates to your diet. Choose whole-grain cereals and breads, bran, barley, buckwheat, millet and steel-cut oatmeal.

Just because you have diabetes doesn’t mean that you can’t have your fill of healthy and delicious food anymore. A healthy eating plan for diabetics should translate into consuming a wide array of foods, in moderate amounts. Diabetics also need to stick to regular meal times, and get a diet which emphasizes on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and other healthy meat substitutes. A diabetes diet should not be restrictive, but instead must offer you foods that are rich in nutrients, and low in fat and calories
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Healthy Eating Tips For Natural Goodness - The Organic Way

Have you tried eating organic yet? Many individuals and families are now eating foods that are grown organically because of the many benefits doing so gives them. Organically grown foods develop their own natural defenses to survive as they are growing, making the foods richer in antioxidants. Organically grown produce does not contain the pesticides and other toxins that non-organically grown foods do so they are healthier for you.

What is an organic food?

In order for a food item to be considered organic, it needs to be grown and processed in a certain manner. Food is certified as organic when farmers follow a strict set of regulations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) set forth for them. Organic farmers follow natural farming practices, feed their livestock 100% organic products, and use only biological pesticides if pesticides are necessary. They do not use genetically engineered seed stock. Organic farmers do not feed their livestock growth hormones. They also do not use any synthetic pesticides in their fields.

Where do you find organic foods?

Organic foods are becoming more available as more retail establishments want to please individuals who are striving to eat healthier. Organic foods can be found in grocery chain stores, farmers markets, natural foods stores, and online.

When buying organic, unless you are buying at a farmers market, look and read labels. If buying at a farmers market verifies that the food you buy is grown organically.

If buying from a store know what to look for on the label.

If a label says that the food is 100% organic this means that all of the ingredients in the food are certified to be 100% organic.

If the label just says organic, than at least 95% of the food item has to contain organically grown ingredients.

If the label says that the food item is made with organic ingredients than at least 70% of the ingredients are organic and the rest must come from a list of USDA's approved foods.

Some evidence points to the fact that organic foods contain more nutrients, especially antioxidants than non-organic foods. Organic foods must meet the same strict guidelines set forth by the USDA that the non-organic foods must meet. Organic foods are safer for the environment to grow than non-organically grown foods are because organically grown foods use environmentally friendly pesticides and fertilizers. Organic foods are typically a little more expensive than non-organically grown foods but the prices are coming down because they are becoming more available.

Foods that are commercially grown and contain high levels of pesticides are the ones that you should start out going organic on and slowly switch your family over to all organically grown foods. Here is a list of some of the foods that are grown with high levels of pesticides:

Apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, raspberries, spinach and strawberries.

Foods that are grown with lower levels of pesticides are:

Asparagus, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples and sweet peas.

Whether what you eat is organic or non-organic it is always a good idea to wash the fruits and vegetables before you eat them.

You can remove some pesticides and dirt by running the fruits and vegetables under running water. Soaking them is not as effective as running water over them. If a vegetable or fruit has an outer layer such as lettuce, peeling this outer layer can reduce the amount of pesticides that you consume. Do not peel apples, pears etc., because you will be peeling away fiber and nutrients.

When you choose a variety of foods you lessen your chance of being exposed to a single pesticide. A variety of foods also increase the amount of different nutrients in your diet.

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Small Sacrifices Make A Big Difference

Healthy eating is not something that necessarily follows an easy pattern. It would be great if we could simply flick a switch and change our habits to make our diet healthier, but as we have free will and free choice, we will always be tempted to do something that may hurt us long-term. This means that we are reluctant to make a huge change – what if it fails, and we have gone to so much effort for something to fall apart?

Instead of making one big change, there is a lot to be said for starting small and making several little changes that will be easier to maintain. Those smaller changes may seem to be nothing, but they add up. When you get up tomorrow morning and you have a choice between bacon and eggs and toast and cereal, think about what your body actually wants – there are more nutrients in the latter, and they won't cause a mid-morning crash.

When you are offered “fries with that” if you go for a burger, say “no thanks” and enjoy a small treat that doesn't cause you to feel like you've transgressed. When you are asked how you would like your eggs, don't say “fried” or “I like mine with a kiss”. The latter is bad for you and the second isn't funny. Try having them scrambled or poached – in all honesty there is more taste and less fat from having them this way. Small changes like this soon add up.

Part of eating a healthy diet is in looking at what you eat now and making the necessary changes to turn it into something healthy. Although this may initially seem like deprivation, it allows you to keep a similar eating pattern but improve what it gives you in terms of nutrition. It is as much about a shift in mindset as anything else.

For example, if you are used to having a burger for lunch, it may be a good idea to switch to a tuna or chicken sandwich on granary bread. The principle is the same – meat, bread, seasoning – and if it seems a little tasteless in comparison then there is a lot you can do with pepper, paprika or a range of other light spices.

For many people, the idea of replacing a chocolate bar with an apple or a packet of crisps with a handful of fruit and nuts is tantamount to replacing a swimming pool with a small puddle. However, if apples aren't for you there is a wide range of fruit that is packed with taste and nutrients. And none of this means you can never eat chocolate again. In fact, an occasional bar may make it easier to stick to the diet long-term.

Also think about the part that soft drinks play in your diet. If you can replace a few soft drinks every week with a glass of water or fruit juice, then you will benefit from the change that this brings. It may seem boring, but there really is no better taste on a hot day than an ice-cold glass of water.

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The Risks Of Restaurant Eating - What You Need To Know

Few of us can really say that we would not enjoy the chance to eat in a good restaurant more often, and there is no reason that we should turn our backs on restaurant eating once we go on a diet. However, the truth of the matter is that eating in a restaurant is not a risk because there are no healthy options or even that they are limited, but that we know so little about the healthy option.

When we take care of the cooking of food ourselves, we know exactly what is going into it and how it is being prepared. In a restaurant we leave it up to the chef. When you look over the menu in a restaurant, it is a good idea to have a healthy option or two in mind, and then ask the waiter when ordering how exactly the food is prepared.

Different restaurants will have different policies for how the food is cooked. Sauteed vegetables are usually healthy and delicious, but the difference between frying them in vegetable oil and fat is quite marked. Asking a few questions before committing to an order is never a bad idea, as long as you are polite and reasonable in doing so.

There may be some concern that the serving staff will lie to you or tell you what they think you want to hear in order to make you pipe down and order – but if you are reasonable and polite to them, they will be likely to reciprocate, and take on board your specifications on how you would like something to be cooked.

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How to Increase Your Daily Fiber Easily

We all know about the need to increase fiber in our daily diet, or we should with all the media buzz lately telling us how to eat healthier. The problem with adding fiber to our diet is that nutritional fiber supplements taste awful, and selecting foods with fiber typically is unappealing to most shoppers. It is also common for individuals who start adding fiber to experience abdominal upset and so they quit before realizing any benefits from the added fiber to their diet. So, what is the answer to adding fiber in a comfortable manner to our diet?

The most important way to increase your fiber without the uncomfortable affects it can wreck on your abdomen is to increase the fiber in your diet slowly, an emphasis on slowly. When you increase your fiber slowly you minimize the occurrence of gas and bloating. To do this you have to recognize what your fiber sources are.

To minimize the discomfort to your system, choose a wide variety of fiber sources such as a mix of soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Beans, fruits, oats and peas are examples of soluble fiber and vegetables and whole grains are examples of insoluble fiber.

You should choose whole grain foods over the processed refined carbohydrates such as white bread. Foods that are whole grain retain the kernel's fiber-rich outer shell, which is known as the bran. It is important to eat whole grains because they supply vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that your body needs to be healthy. You can identify foods that are whole grain by looking for whole wheat, hard red winter wheat, barley, triticale, oats, barley, rye, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, oatmeal, and also bulgur.

Your body will love you if you begin each day with a fiber boost. Starting your day with the right kind of fuel for your body (food) is important. To do this, choose breakfast cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving, or chose whole-wheat toast or a handful of fiber-rich berries. Remember to not overdo the fiber, it is better to spread the fiber choices out over your entire day, but starting with at least one serving of fiber first thing in the morning will get your day off to a very good start.

When it is time for a mid afternoon snack reach for something healthy for your body such as whole grain crackers, granola bars, homemade trail mix made with low-fat granola, a handful of mixed nuts, or dried figs and or apricots. Popcorn is another high-fiber snack and it is popular with the kids.

In order to get enough fiber throughout the day, add fresh fruit to every meal. You can add fruit to your cereal or yogurt at breakfast, eat a apple or pear at morning snack-time, slice apples or add blueberries to your salad at lunch, and make a cool refreshing fruit cup for dessert after dinner. It is easy to add fruit to snacks and meals if you think about it. Just remember to keep the skin on fruits to retain all that fiber goodness. Keep plenty of fresh fruits on hand so that family members will be able to grab them easily when they get hungry.

Include one serving each day of legumes, which are high in fiber. Legumes include beans, beans, and lentils. You can put legumes in casseroles, puree them to make a dip, use them in salads and soups at lunchtime.

American cuisine tends to have less fiber content than other ethnic cuisines, so every once in a while have a cultural dining experience in a restaurant or at home by bringing a taste of Mexican, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean fare to your table.

While baking at home substitute whole grain flour in your recipes for cookies, bread or rolls to increase your fiber content. You can load baked goods with bananas, berries and raisins to make them tasty and healthy at the same time.

Another important tip when increasing fiber in your diet is to increase your water intake too. Fiber absorbs water in your system and if you forget to increase your water intake while increasing your fiber, the result will be constipation. No one likes to be constipated.

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