Category: Nutrition

Holistic Nutrition In The Kitchen The Truth About Cooking Oils

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When it comes to holistic nutrition and all natural weight loss, choosing the healthiest cooking oil can be difficult. Rumors and opinions based on unsubstantiated facts circulate about which oil is best, which is toxic or which is most nutritious. Then there’s the question of saturated fats vs. trans fats vs. polyunsaturated fats vs. essential omega fats and unless you majored in biochemistry in college it’s easy to get confused. The truth is that various kinds of cooking oils have different natural health benefits and levels of nutritional value.

Olive Oil: One of Natures Oldest Natural Cures

As a trained naturopathic physician I am not only an expert on natural medicine, but I also know the principles of holistic nutrition and all natural weight loss in order to assist patients with making the right decisions in the kitchen. In most cases each cooking oil has both pros and cons associated with it; olive oil is no exception. Olive oil is a foundation of the famous, health-promoting Mediterranean Diet and rich in health-promoting Omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acids. Olive oil has been shown to help improve: cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, age-related dementia, blood clots, cancer, life expectancy and more.

Dont Lose the Holistic Health Benefits of Olive Oil When Cooking, Be Aware of the Smoke Point

Olive oil tastes great and can be used in cooking or as a substitute for butter on bread. It also serves as an excellent base for a healthy salad dressing or marinade. So, is this wonderful, healthy, tasty food also dangerous? The answer is: it can be. But its not the fault of the oil; its when we mistreat it, or use it for purposes it was never intended to fulfill, that it becomes more harmful than helpful. The key to solving this paradox is to understand the concept of Smoke Point. The Smoke Point is literally the point at which oil starts to smoke. Different oils smoke at different temperatures; olive oil is one that generally cooks best at low to medium heat, much hotter and it may smoke.

Smoke when cooking is not a good thing. The olive oil decomposes under the extreme heat causing free radicals and other dangerous molecules to replace the natural antioxidants. The smoke itself is also toxic and should not be inhaled. Finally, when theres smoke, it means the oil is dangerously close to its flash point, the point at which it may catch fire. The general rule is to only cook with olive oil on low to medium heat or use it cold. If you need hardier oil for baking or high heat cooking, consider oil with a higher Smoke Point such as Canola, Safflower, Coconut, or Grapeseed.

The True Holistic Health Benefits of Canola Oil

Canola Oil has great amounts of health-promoting Omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acids, just like olive oil, as well as low saturated fat and relatively high Omega-3 levels. It, however, has a higher Smoke Point and can be used more reliably for higher-heat cooking. I have recently seen some emails about the dangers of canola oil that have been spread around the Internet. This oil has been accused of being genetically engineered, full of trans fat, an industrial chemical used as an insecticide or fuel, a toxic weed, a biopesticide, a form of mustard gas, a trigger for diseases like mad cow disease and lung cancer, and full of cyanide.

In truth, expeller-pressed, organic canola oil is healthy cooking oil that is not to be feared. Just like any other food, it should not be consumed all day, every day. Everything in moderation is the best rule for a balanced and healthy diet. It is a great oil to consider for medium to high heat baking and sauting. Some caution should be used with lesser quality or less expensive forms of Canola Oil. The only way to guarantee the holistic health benefits of canola oil is to purchase organic and expeller-pressed.

Healthy Cooking and the Importance of Nutrition

Naturopathic medicine considers holistic nutrition one of the keys to achieving optimal health. In addition to homeopathic remedies, herbal medicine and other alternative health treatments, healthy, balanced eating habits are essential to total body wellness. To learn more about cooking oils contact your local naturopathic medical doctor.

Nutrition Tips On How To Get Six Pack Abs

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Getting a pair of six packs is not a very difficult task as long as you are on the right nutritional regimen. Every bodybuilder wants to get a pair of six packs because it acts as a signature of a well toned lean body. The reason why you need to get those pair of six packs is because ladies really love them. A well developed muscular physique is not complete without a pair of six packs. You need to understand that when it comes to building six pack abs it is more that just exercises the most important aspect is the diet you are taking. If you drown yourself in beer after intense abdominal exercises then it won’t matter how many reps or sets you perform in order to build those six pack abs. Alcohol contains empty calories which lead to the accumulation of abdominal fat commonly known as the ‘beer belly’. The reason why I am saying beer contains empty calories is because they do not have any nutritional value at all.

For you to be able to grow those six abs your diet should comprise of:

You Need To Eat Whey Proteins

The reason why you need to eat plenty of whey proteins is two folds. Whey proteins increase satiety, this therefore means that after eating a meal reach in weigh protein you will eat very little in the next meal since you will be less hungry. Whey proteins are also good in building abdominal muscles since they have the protein quality of stimulating muscle growth and have very little fat content.

Take Plenty of Dairy Products

You need to eat plenty of dairy products if you want to build your six pack abs. Dairy products are not only good when it comes to building the bones and maintaining a low blood pressure level, they are also very important when it comes to building the abdominal muscles.

You Need To Increase The Quantity of Your Food Intake

If you want to weigh less, you need to eat more. This is no joke, when you eat more you increase the levels of your satiety. This therefore means that you will be able to reduce the number of calorie that you ingest and as a result you will not accumulate fat in your stomach. You should however ensure that the foods you are overeating on contain very low percentage of calories.

You Need To Eat Often

The main reason why people overeat is because they skip meals thinking that they will be able to lose weight. When you skip meals you only manage to increase your food cravings and hanger and this means therefore that naturally you are going to overeat in your next meal. However if you eat often you will avoid overeating in one meal.

Take Plenty of Green Tea

You need to drink green tea frequently because according to studies green tea help increase the burning of more calories. If you want to burn those abdominal fats you need to drink green tea.

Iso 2 Nutrition

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ISO 2 Nutrition
Recently I came across a brand that was new to me although I am sure I had heard of them before the brand in question is iso 2 nutrition, after reserching I found that they sponsor a lot of top performing atheletes in various areas such as MMA, weight lifting and some other exciting sports.

Here is some information on some of the products that iso2 offer:

Complete Energy 4.5kg
Complete Energy is an energy based formula to aid recovery and provide athletes with a steady level of glycogen to support muscle performance whilst training. Can be used as a pre, during and post workout drink. Ideal as a pre-contest bodybuilding carbohydrate loader or prior to participating in any sport.

Complete Recovery
Complete Recovery all-in-one formula has been specifically designed as a pre and post workout drink. The formula contains a matrix of slow and fast release proteins, creatine monohydrate, l-glutamine, l-leucine, omega fatty acids, vitamin & mineral complex. All these ingredients have been used to promote lean muscle growth and recovery. To aid digestion, we have added our unique enzyme blend Enzoaid to maximise the absorption of nutrients.

Pro-Brek
Complete Pro-Brek is a high quality protein oat based cereal for the serious athlete.

ISO2 Nutrition is a strong believer in a balanced breakfast to start the athletes day and this product offers you the perfect start to your nutritional daily intake. Complete Pro-Brek is rich in a blend of quality proteins, amino acids, BCAAs, glutamine and L-Carnitine for its weight management properties.

Complete & Burn
Iso 2 Complete & Burn has been designed specifically for weight management, putting you in control. This product contains natural ingredients and is designed to be used in conjunction with a sensible diet plan which may help promote fat loss and an increase in the body’s metabolic rate.

Complete Protein
Iso2 Complete Protein Whey Matrix is a new concept formula consisting of the highest quality hydrolysed whey proteins (Isolate & concentrate) rich in amino acids and BCAA’s with added leucine, Isoleucine, l-glutamine and our patent pending Enzoaid. This makes Complete Protein fast absorbing and great for improved recovery after physical exertion.

Glutamine Factor 3
Glutamine Factor 3 is an advanced recovery formula specifically bioengineered for rapid repair and recovery. We have taken the basic form of l-glutamine and enhanced it with the amino acids l-leucine, Isoleusine & peptide bonded amino acids (PBAA). These amino acids may contribute to accelerated recovery and repair, more so than basic l-glutamine based powders.

Weight Gainer
ISO 2 Weight Gainer has been specifically designed to provide athletes with good quality low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates. Many weight gain formulas in today’s marketplace contain mostly cheap simple sugars that lead to unwanted fat mass gains. Each serving delivers 440 quality calories from time released proteins & low GI complex carbohydrates. This formula can be taken throughout the day to replace meals or contribute to extra calories needed for mass building diets and will not cause stomach bloating. Can also be used as a pre and post workout drink.

One the benefits of iso 2 nutrition is not just the great products but the prices are also fantastic so be sure to check out the iso2 nutrition products!

Eexcel – Science Discovers One More Compound

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Every day science discovers another compound in a different plant that benefits the human body-lutein, isoflavones, resveratrol, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC), to name just a few. It’s getting rather hard for the usual consumer to keep up with all of them! Luckily, nature provides all the plant combinations we need to be well, and E. Excel Nutritional Immunology strives to make it simple to receive the wide variety of nutrients naturally found in whole plant foods. Nonetheless, all of this new and exhilarating scientific research takes significant time to duplicate, provide absolute proof, and become received nutritional doctrine-and ultimately reach the labels on food and supplement products.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada, have strict regulations regarding nutritional product labeling. They have established specific daily values on the commonly received essential vitamins and minerals. This RDI 1(Recommended Daily Intake) has only been established for 25 substances, and only the top 4 (Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron) are required to appear on nutrition labels. The FDA has established exact specific regulations about what can and cannot appear on a nutrition label on a packaged food or dietary supplement. Health Canada has similar regulations.

The US FDA regulations can be found in Title 21- Food and Drugs. Section 101.9, paragraph (c)(8)(B)(iii), specifies rounding actions that have to be used when placing percentages of RDIs on nutrition labels: -The percentages for vitamins and minerals shall be expressed to the nearest 2-percent increment up to and including the 10-percent level, the nearest 5-percent increment above 10 percent and up to and including the 50-percent level, and the nearest 10-percent increment above the 50-percent level. Amounts of vitamins and minerals present at less than 2 percent of the RDI are not required to be declared in nutrition labeling but may be declared by a zero-.-2 Therefore, based on these strict regulations, by law E. Excel cannot indicate levels that are less than 2 percent of the recommended daily intake of the 25 recognized nutrients- even though they are present in the product. But whole plant foods contain more than just 25 essential vitamins and minerals. The principles of Nutritional Immunology emphasize the benefits of whole plant foods because of the many valuable polysaccharides, antioxidants and phytochemicals found in them. In fact, each individual plant food may contain hundreds of different compounds, and science is just beginning to realize the synergistic effects of these compounds.

Dr. Michael S. Donaldson in Nutrition Journal stated, -There are many substances that are protective in fruits and vegetables, so that the entire effect is not very likely to be due to any single nutrient or phytochemical.-3 Researching and formulating its products specifically from a whole foods approach, E. Excel creates balanced daily nutrition in forms that make it easily accessible for today’s busy, on-the-go lifestyle. This balanced, whole foods approach means you may see a smaller percentage of the RDI of a particular nutrient on a nutrition label, but that nutrient is considerably more bio-available-meaning your body is more likely to use all of what it gets to better advantage. It also means your chances of hypervitaminosis or adverse effects from chemically-extracted or laboratorymanufactured compounds are nil because we don’t add extra vitamins and minerals to our products.

They continue as nutritionally complete as nature made them. The FDA and Health Canada label requirements are designed to protect consumers and make sure that they have the necessary information to make good decisions about their food and supplement choices. Then again well intentioned, though, labels do not tell the whole nutritional story of a product, especially a whole foods product. They are only allowed to tell a exact limited and severely restricted part of that story-the part that has already gone through decades of extensive study. Who knows? Fifty years from now lutein, isoflavones, resveratrol, oligomeric
proanthocyanidins (OPC) and others may make their way to the FDA’s RDI list.

Honeydew Fun Facts & Nutrition

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Honeydew is a variety of muskmelon, considered the sweetest of all melons. They’re also called winter melons because they’re harvested late in the season, peaking during late summer, fall and winter, though honeydew is available almost the whole year round. Most of our U.S. honeydews come from Arizona, Texas or California with imported melons from Mexico taking up the slack during winter months.

Where did Honeydew originally come from?

No one is exactly sure the origin of honeydew but Persia is named the likely humble beginnings for this succulent melon. Columbus carried honeydew seeds to America and now it’s one of our favorite melons behind watermelon and cantaloupe.

How To Pick A Honeydew Melon:

Things you want to look for when picking out a perfectly ripe melon are no bruises, soft areas or cracks. Don’t bother shaking or hitting it, that won’t tell you anything. Sniff the stem end (which should be somewhat smooth): if you can smell it, then it’s ripe. Also, a ripe melon should be somewhat firm, if it’s a little soft that’s ok but if it’s very soft, put it back, it’s overripe.

Honeydew Nutrition:

Like other melons, honeydews contain a large amount of water and are happily quite low in calories. Additionally, they’re fat-free and cholesterol free. They’re also a great source of Vitamin C and potassium.

How To Store Honeydew Melon:

You can refrigerate cut honeydew in a covered container for up to three days. Make sure to keep it covered though, as the smell can mix with other foods thanks to its wonderful aromatic properties.

Want to keep that sweet taste of summer with you all year? No problem, you can easily freeze honeydew. Just slice it up, freeze it on a cookie sheet and place in freezer baggies. You can also add syrup or sugar if you like.

Some Honeydew Serving Suggestions:

Before cutting into it, it’s best to wash your melon with soap and water because honeydew is grown on the ground and can make contact with fertilizer and other contaminants you don’t want to ingest.

Serve it barely chilled. If it’s been stored in the refrigerator, remove it from the fridge 15-20 minutes before serving. You can put it in a fruit salad, whip it up into a frothy cool summer drink or drizzle lemon on top to add tang to the melon’s natural sweetness. A clever serving idea is to use a half-cut melon as a serving bowl, perfect for yogurt, cottage cheese or even ice cream if you’re feeling mildly decadent.