Though precise rules of nutrition were not formulated in ancient days, our ancestors had evolved a set of healthy food habits such as the use of unrefined cereals, the combination of cereals and dais to provide ‘complete’ proteins, and the use of natural sugars. Modern man, however, has acquired artificial tastes and alienated himself from Nature even in his food habits. The growing consumption of refined grains, white sugar and junk food creates disorders in the human body.

• Soaking, sprouting and fermentation increase the nutritional value of dais and cereal grains. Sprouting breaks down proteins and starches into simple forms and makes the vitamins available for ready absorption. The increase in vitamins Band C compensates for the minor losses in roasting and cooking. Methi seeds are especially benefited by this method. Sprouting makes them lose their bitterness, thus allowing us to avail their valuable amino acids.
• Another golden rule is combination. Since the Indian diet relies heavily on cereals, combine cereals with dais for maximum protein value. Good sources of vegetable proteins are yeast (khameer), skimmed milk powder, soya granules, mushrooms, sprouted dais, peanuts and paneer.
• Do not over-wash vegetables, do not soak them in water for a long time, and do not store them for longer than necessary. This helps vegetables retain valuable water-soluble vitamins and minerals.
• Conserve vitamins by cooking vegetables in very little water, with a lid on the saucepan.
• Never throwaway the water in which vegetables were cooked. Use it for making dais, curries, soups and gravies.
• Use non-stick pans to minimize the use of oil.
• Avoid using aluminum saucepans, unless you are careful not to scour them. Try to use stainless steel or enamel saucepans for soups, etc. Copper and brass vessels are highly recommended.
• As far as possible, do not liquidize vegetables and fruits at high speeds. Even chutneys are best ground on a grindstone, because high-speed mixers can destroy vitamins B and C.
• Do not peel fruits and vegetables unnecessarily (except for fruits such as oranges, mangoes and bananas). Peeling removes much of the nutrients that fruits and vegetables are supposed to provide.

 

Food allergy has always been a highly topical subject featuring regularly in medical journals. Food intolerance or allergy denotes a reproducible clinical reaction to food. It must be distinguished from food aversions, which comprise psychological avoidance and intolerance, where the clinical response does not occur when the food is given in a disguised form. Not all people who believe they are sensitive to a particular food really are. They may in fact dislike the food, or they may have eaten it coincidentally with the onset of an illness and thereby developed a psychological intolerance.

Food allergies are more common in infants and young children (10-15% of children suffer from symptoms due to food intolerance). Cow’s milk protein intolerance, the most common food allergy in childhood, has a prevalence between 5% and 7.5%. After the age of five years, there is a tendency for the spontaneous disappearance of the food allergy, while allergy to inhaled substances, such as pollens, dust and animal hair, becomes increasingly frequent.

The list of foods that are claimed to cause allergic reactions is very large. It includes such diverse items like eggs, milk, wheat, fish. (especially shellfish and other sea foods), various meats, nuts, mustard, tomatoes, oranges and chocolates!

Allergic reactions may affect any system of the body, producing various symptoms. For example, the skin may show a rash, eczema or swollen patches. The respiratory system may be involved in bronchial asthma, sinusitis or bronchitis. The digestive system may show indigestion, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and failure of normal growth.

The other allergic symptoms are headache, swelling of joints, conjunctivitis, swelling of lips and tongue, etc. The claims that allergy may be involved in migraine and epilepsy still require confirmation, though a minority of sufferers from migraine are able to incriminate particular foods, like cheese, chocolate, citrus fruits, and alcoholic drinks as provoking agents. Similarly, hyperactivity in children (usually boys) being aggravated by some artificial food colours is also a subject of controversy.

There are other more specific examples of food sensitivity, the most important of which is coeliac disease or gluten enteropathy. There is malabsorption, weight loss, impaired growth in children, and other manifestations of malnutrition. Coeliac disease is due to atrophy (flattening of the cells) of the inner lining of the small intestine. In this disease, a fraction of wheat, the gluten, acts as the allergen. When wheat is completely eliminated from the diet, patients recover.

One has to be very careful in diagnosing the exact allergen-that is, the food responsible for the causation of allergy symptoms.

In some cases of food allergy, the symptoms develop rapidly and dramatically, almost immediately after eating the offending food, and the diagnosis is easy to make. There are some people, for instance, whose lips swell the moment their mouth touches a peanut, and if by chance they swallow some they will have several systemic symptoms-vomiting, rash, even asthma. More often, it is not so easy to associate symptoms with any particular food, especially if there is a delay of some hours between the eating of the suspected food and the onset of illness. If the symptoms are chronic or recur frequently, they should disappear on a diet (elimination diet) of very few foods (rice, carrots, lettuce, refined oil, sugar, and water) that do not cause food sensitivity. Suspected foods then can be re-introduced one at a time. Skin tests are not very reliable.

It is also observed that people tend to outgrow their allergies. Foods known to have caused reactions in childhood may be tried years later with no reactions at all. All people with a well defined allergy should know about it and inform their doctor. Otherwise they may suffer a severe or even a fatal reaction from a therapeutic injection given for the treatment of some other disease! For instance, a person sensitive to eggs may react badly to immunising injections prepared on an egg medium, such as those for polio or influenza.

Diet

The diet prescription for an allergic person must be specific, individually modified and adjusted, according to the cause of the food allergy.

If the causative food factor is identified, then it can be totally eliminated from the diet, and the sYmptoms would not recur. For example, if the responsible article of food is one that is not consumed regularly (like shellfish), then it can easily be avoided. It is far more difficult in the case of eggs, milk and wheat, which are present in so many foods-cakes, sauces, soups, biscuits, bread, pasta etc.

Substitution of an alternative food may be possible in the case of milk allergy. A person sensitive to cow’s milk may not necessarily be sensitive to goat’s milk. Soybean milk or groundnut milk can also be used as substitutes. Similarly, one sensitive to wheat may do well on oats, rice, barley or corn.

Heating the food may change its properties regarding the causation of allergic symptoms. A person sensitive to raw milk or lightly boiled eggs may be able to tolerate boiled milk or hard­boiled eggs. Many times persons sensitive to eggs are able to take the yolks (yellow part) especially if well cooked, although the egg white continues to cause symptoms.

It is not really difficult to live with a food allergy you just have to be a little extra careful!

We have a complex about fat. So ingrained is the message of how fat clogs up our arteries, increases our apple-shaped girths, sends our risk of heart disease soaring and is linked to the hooded claw that is cholesterol. The expression ‘a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips’ was probably specifically invented for this fat phobia.

The impression given by health writers in the 80s and 90s was that fat was definitely public enemy number one. There were well-meaning diet gurus writing books telling us to avoid it at all costs. However, all fat was not created equal and as we are finding out to our cost, avoiding all kinds of fat is detrimental to our health.

Oil in its unprocessed form is highly perishable and before man moved en masse into the towns, oil used to be sold fresh door to door. Although this is hard to believe nowadays due to the highly processed yellow cooking oils available in supermarkets, if oil wasn’t kept cool it would go off and be rancid in a matter of days. The advertising boys have managed to persuade us that we should go for the polyunsaturated or cholesterol-free oils, but these oils have often been refined very highly using high heat and bleaches that strip them of any nutritional value and may in fact make them unstable and potentially toxic.

The chemical building blocks that oils are made up of are called fatty acids, and the fatty acids that are essential to human health and cannot be manufactured by the body are called essential fatty acids or EFAs. As their name would suggest, these oils really are essential to human health and without them we’d be on the fast track to degenerative disease.

EFAs have a more than magical effect on our health wellbeing. Our skin is waterproofed with oil, and our harmones and brains work with it. In fact, the brain is more than 60% fat, which makes the insult ‘fat head’ actually quite a compliment. The list of essential fats’ great benefits to humankind is really quite impressive. They improve skin and hair condition, aid in the prevention of arthritis and lower cholesterol levels, and that’s just for starters. They’re also helpful in terms of heart disease and eczema, they reduce inflammation in the body and help in the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain, Your body is made up of tiny individual cells, each one crying out for EFAs to make the machine of your body operate. On top of all this, EFAs may help to reduce the likelihood of getting a harmful blood clot.

The two basic groups of EFAs are omega-3 and omega-6 groups. Omega-6 is found mostly in raw nuts, seeds, legumes and in unsaturated oils such as evening primrose oil or sesame oil. Omega-3 is found mainly in fresh deep-water fish, some vegetable oils, flaxseed oil and walnut oil. You mum was right, fish does make you brainy!

Having said all this, the one thing you don’t do is cook with essential fats as they’re highly unstable. The heat destroys the fatty acids and worse it results in dangerous chemical agents called free radicals, which sounds like something out of Star Wars. Better to cook with olive oil, which isn’t an essential fat, but a monounsaturated fat that takes higher temperatures to damage it.

The Fat Guru

The guru of fats is someone by the name of Udo Erasmus who knows all there is to know about oils and what they do for you. In his book Fats that Heal, Fats that kill, fats are examined in some considerable detail. He says that EFAs should be consumed in a ratio of about 3:1 to 5:1 for omega-6 and omega-3 respectively. Reality is that nowadays we consume a ratio of 10:1 to 20:1. We’re cruising for a bruising in health terms as our bodies struggle to use the wrong ratio of fuel to power our system.

The balance of good health for diabetes should based on these ‘Nine Guidelines for a Healthy Diet’, which are

• Enjoy you food.
• Eat a variety of different foods.
• Eat right amount to be a healthy weight.
• Eat plenty of foods rich in complex carbohydrate and fibre.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
• Take small frequent meals.
• Don’t eat too many foods that contain lot of fat.
• Don’t have sugary foods like jams, jellies and jaggery too often.
• If you drink alcohol, drink within sensible limits.

For more information on diabetes diet and care

What it means is a diet that includes a combination of different food types, grains, pulses, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy products and oil.You are what you eat and what you do not eat. Good nutrition is the foundation of good health. Balanced diet is an oft quoted but rarely explained term. What it means is a diet that include a combination of several different food types, including grains and pulses, fresh fruit and vegetable, meat dairy products, fats and oils.

Goal of a diet plan

Eat a variety of foods, keep plenty of grains, vegetable and fruits, keep your fat intake level low, take sugar and salt in moderate sugar intake, moderation and drink lick of alcohol.

Food pyramid guides us towards balanced nutrition. The bottom of the pyramid includes carbohydrates. It supply the body with energy. It is the main source of blood glucose, which is a major fuel for the body and only source of energy for the brain and red blood cells. They are found almost exclusively on plant, fruit, vegetables, peas, beans.

Eating at least three servings of whole grain foods each day could reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers by 30%.

Fruit and vegetables compose the second rung of pyramid. They are low in fat, calories and salt, an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Most of us do not eat enough to meet the current recommendation of three to five servings of vegetables.

The higher you go on the pyramid, less amounts of food, you consume. Protein rich foods, dairy foods are needed in more moderate amounts, that is two-three servings in a day. While eating meat, chicken, trim the fat off meat and take off chicken. Yogurt is good source of protein, contains vitamin A, D and many of B-complex vitamins. All soyabean products are complete proteins. The apex of pyramid constitutes of fats, oils and sweets. Calorie requirements decide the number of servings. 1600 calories are right for children 2 to 6, sedentary women and older adults.

2200 calories are about right for children over age 6, teen girls, women and most men. 2800 calories are about right for teen boys, active men.

Useful Information at your finger tips to shred off those extra kilos…

South Beach Diet Plan: It is unique and exclusively developed for fast weight loss. It consists of three phases. First phase lasts for 14 days. During the first phase, you can eat general meals of beef, chicken, fish, turkey, and shellfish. Vegetables, cheese, nuts, eggs and salads with olive oil will also be a part of your daily meal. In this phase you are not suggested to eat carbohydrates, sugars and any type of alcohol is also restricted. Duration of phase two depend upon person to person. This phase allows you to eat carbohydrates, sugar and a little alcohol, which were restricted during first phase. Means you can eat cake, ice cream, chocolate and your favorite cookies too. Third phase lasts for whole life. You can eat all of your foodstuffs in this phase. Third phase helps in maintaining your reduced body weight. For people who love yummy food, this diet plan is among top diet plans.

Microbiotic diet plan: The microbiotic not only focuses on physical appearance of the dieter, but also deals with spiritual aspects. This diet plan is low in fat and high in fiber. It recommends low quantity of sugar, meat and dairy products. Mainly it suggests eating Soya, whole grains, soyo or misu soup and beans and prefers mustard oil for cooking. This diet plan is favourite mainly among vegetarians.

Atkins Diet Plan: It restricts consumption of carbohydrates and boosts for consumption of fat and protein. The main concept of diet is based on the notion that over consumption and hypersensitivity towards carbohydrates is the main cause of overweight.

This Atkins diet plan comes in four stages:

Stage 1: Induction: In this stage you are recommended to eat broccoli, tomatoes and lettuce. You can take light alcohol and coffee.

Stage 2: Ongoing weight loss: In this stage you can slowly include restricted items in your meal.

Stage 3: Pre-maintenance: This lasts for the rest of life and varies from person to person.

Stage 4: Maintenance: This stage will be helpful in maintaining your reduced weight.

If the main cause of your extra weight is insulin resistance, then Atkins diet plan is most suitable for a rapid weight loss.

A group of scientists from 5 main medical centers discovered that eating a specific diet containing nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy and whole grains can be an effective tool which helps to achieve weight loss and to lower blood pressure. The so called DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) was found in 1996 in order to reduce blood pressure about the same level as a medication would. Since that time it has rapidly become one of the most popular diets prescribed in clinical practice today.

The American Heart Association recommends the DASH Diet in the USDA’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It is also presented in the US High Blood Pressure Guidelines.

The DASH Diet Study involved 459 people to take part in the survey. They were randomly attached to one of three groups with different diet recommendation:

– The diet typical for average Americans
– The diet containing more fruits and vegetables, but still close to to the typical American diet
– The DASH DIET – reduced in red meat, sweets, and sugar-sweetened drinks, moderate in poultry, fish and nuts and finally rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products

Participants were told not to make any significant changes in their physical activity levels, in order to make sure they weren’t doing anything else that could reduce their blood pressure.

They were often weighted to assure their weight didn’t change; if someone gained or reduced weight, were given a bit less or more food to get them back to initial weight. All three diets contained the same level of Salt/sodium – it was fairly lower than the U.S. average, but still higher than the amount recommended by most guidelines.

The Results

No change in blood pressure was seen in the first group – among those who ate the typical American diet. The members of the second group, who ate the fruit and vegetable diet, noticed a significant reducing of their systolic blood pressure – The upper number, which measures blood pressure in the arteries when the heart pumps out blood – but insignificant change in their diastolic pressure. Among participants who consumed the DASH DIET for eight weeks a significant drop in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure was observed. Changes appeared within a week, stabilized within two weeks, and stayed reduced for the rest of the eight weeks.

Blood pressure dropped 5.5 mmHg (systolic) and 3.0 mmHg (diastolic) on average among all participants, including both those with hypertension and those with normal blood pressure. The blood presuure of those with hypertension fell an average of 11.4 mmHg (systolic) and 5.5 mmHg (diastolic). These improvements are similar to effects that can be reached by treatment with antihypertensive medication

The DASH diet, except lowering high blood pressure, has other positive health outcomes.

The very important fact is that the DASH diet reduced the participant’s levels of cholesterol. If blood cholesterol is high, both cholesterol and other fatty substances are collected on vessels walls and and limit or obstruct the flow of blood to the heart. High level of cholesterol, which results from a diet rich in saturated fats, is a main risk factor for heart ilness.

A feature of the DASH diet is low level of total and saturated fat. Study’s participants who were on this diet fell their cholesterol 14 points. The level of LDL, “bad” cholesterol, dropped 11 points. The HDL, “good” cholesterol dropped by 3.7 points. Such a type of drop in HDL level is noticed when people lower their general intake of fat. All the effects (LDL, HDL and changes in blood pressure), combined all together, resulted in a significant improvement in general cardiac risk with the DASH Diet.

Later, the Boston University Medical Center conducted the next study. They offered an online form of the DASH Diet to workers of a large US company. More than 4,000 people registered for the DASH Diet program. They got email reminders every week to log in to the special website providing information on topics such as reducing weight, exercise, paying attention to food labels, grocery shopping and more.

The users were spurred to put online all the changes they made to their lifestyle and health: exercise, diet, blood pressure and weight. After one year of participation in the DASH Diet program they lowered weight and significantly reduced their blood pressure. Fruits, vebegatbles and low-fat dairy products became an everyday part of their diet. The DASH DIET program was a real success, so the researchers made a decision to render it to the public online at DASH Diet.

The scientist claim that DASH Diet is suitable for all Americans because it doesn’t require
a lot of learning. It is based on real food, easily accessible in American groceries. The program let the dieters to link their dietary goals with foods that they like.

Free Balance Diet Information

It is a widely reported FACT that 95% of diets don’t work! That fact doesn’t stop over 75% of people saying they had been on diet in the last year. So this being the case what’s the point in losing 20 Lbs, and gaining back 25Lbs and why do people do it? There is no doubt that there is great pressure over the last few years to look ‘thin’.

So why do diets fail? That’s the million dollar question. The main reason diets fail is we are guilty of falling for the latest cleaver marketing campaign. Over the last 10 years there has been a stack of diets on the market many endorsed by Hollywood stars.

Many of these diets DO work, BUT only short term. They often do produce quick weight loss and fantastic results. The problem is maintaining the weight loss as it is very difficult to stick to these eating plans. They are simply too boring. Once you lose the weight it is all too easy to slip back into your old ways and go back to your normal calorie intake. This will result in weight being put back on probably as fast as you lost it – often you will end up heavier that when you started the ‘diet’.

Healthy eating plan
The best method to lose weight is through a healthy eating plan and exercise. It’s about re-educating how you eat and what you eat. It’s not rocket science. Don’t fry food or take fast food takeaways. Cut out the chips and chocolate or least cut it back. Have fruit instead. Drink lots of water. If you are finding it difficult to stick to the healthy eating plan don’t torture yourself, allow yourself a treat once a week, but don’t over do it – always moderation.

Exercise is key
The bottom line is that exercise is good for you and helps with your entire wellbeing. It doesn’t matter if you run, swim, play football or do 1-on-1 Pilates – exercise is what your body needs. Exercise will improve your muscle tone, help you control your weight, reduce your blood pressure, help prevent heart disease.

Let’s face it: Not everyone can be thin. But you can reach and maintain your best weight! It’s not easy. But it’s possible. Your genes may affect your susceptibility to obesity, but some people simply eat too many calories. So battle the bulge with a plan that includes developing – and maintaining -a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. So in conclusion eat sensibly and maintain some sort of exercise even if it just a 10 minute walk each day!

Free Healthy Balance Diet Information