Does an apple a day keep the doctor away?

Superfoods are foods that provide health benefits far greater than their generally recognized nutritional value. They tend to be nutrient dense, low calorie (not always) and promote good health.

One such Superfood is the not-so-humble apple. Perhaps our forebears knew this when they said “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and similar phrases.

Apples are full of antioxidants, and soluble fiber, and are high in vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin C.

Benefits of apples can be lowered cholesterol, healthy skin, and a healthy digestive system. Apples may also help with weight loss or control and improve diabetics’ control of blood sugars. Other benefits that have been attributed to apples include protection against Alzheimer’s disease, and prevention of cancer of the lung, colon, breast and liver.

Apples contain a particular flavonoid called phloridzin which is thought to increase bone density and help protect post-menopausal women from osteoporosis.  Apples are the only place that phloridzin is found.

Apples have also been recommended for arthritis, headaches, anemia, insomnia, gallbladder stones, inflammation of the bladder, worms, halitosis, asthma and obesity.

Many people have found that sweeter varieties of apples help decrease the symptoms of acid reflux. This is because the tartaric and malic acid in apples neutralizes stomach acids. An alternative to an apple for acid reflux is apple cider vinegar (raw, organic) – take a tablespoon in a glass of water before eating but this does not work for everyone. Apple cider vinegar is also reputed to have other health benefits.

Preliminary research shows that apples have an impact on bacteria in the digestive tract which in turn changes metabolism in the large intestine. This potentially provides further health benefits so we wait for further research in this area.

“The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less.” ~Arthur Miller

And we wouldn't want the apple "stuck back on the tree of knowledge." Perhaps we will "see" more and more in the years to come about the value of apples and of Superfoods in general. An apple a day may not keep the doctor away completely but you could be well on track for needing him or her a lot less.

Does It Add Up?

Like many things, it’s not what you do once, or even for half an hour once a week that makes the difference, it’s what you do overall in the 168 hours you have each week.

As far as nutrition goes, it’s what you eat at 21 meals and possibly 7, 14 or 21 snacks each week.

There are 8760 hours in a year. In those 8760 hours you are likely to have 1095 meals, and possibly between 365 and 1095 snacks, and consume somewhere around 700,000 and 1,000,000 calories. Any more than that and you are putting on weight.

Purely in energy terms, you can choose to consume those calories by having ample quantities of vegetables, especially leafy greens, with some fish, chicken or steak, or …. 

… or you can have a much, much smaller quantity of pasta or fast food washed down with soda to consume the same number of calories. It’s your choice. But if you consume your calories as fast foods and soda your body is not getting the nutrients it needs and deserves.

                        

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Eating in the U.S.A.

I have spent only a matter of weeks in the U.S. on two separate visits (excluding passing through via L.A. airport), both times on the west coast, plus a week or so in Hawaii. I found the American people friendly and helpful.

However - I was stunned, absolutely “stunned” at the quantity of food dished up when I ate out.  For example, in Santa Monica we had breakfast out and the quantity of food dished up was sickening. A small quantity of what we ordered balanced on a huge pile of wedge-sized fries. And this was for breakfast.

I love my food, and have enjoyed eating food around the world. America is the only country in the world I have been where the sight of the quantity of food on the plate made me feel ill. I guess one could adjust, but one’s stomach adjusts also by expanding rapidly.

Fresh vegetables were illusive, as was fresh fruit. I don’t think I found leafy greens anywhere. Even frozen vegetables were hard to find.

Also, I was so glad to escape the sweet food. The food manufacturers seem to put sugar into everything, including it in foods that should have a savory flavor, such as bread.  My taste buds were just not used to it and I could pick up the taste of sugar very easily. I couldn’t wait to return to sugar-free food, or at the very least, food that didn’t taste sweet.

I realized why it was so difficult for people to lose weight in America.

If you live in the U.S. seriously consider nourishing your body in a way that helps you live a longer, healthier life. That means purchasing fresh foods and carefully preparing meals yourself.


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Nuts!

Check out these comments from a friend of mine who is thinking of going on yet another diet. I will call her Carol.


"I just hate it. I have to lose weight. I have to go on yet another diet. Blah!!!
I have put off and put off going on yet another diet because I know what a struggle it’s going to be. I know I will lose some weight in the first week, maybe even some in the next few weeks, but I also know I will almost certainly put it all back on, plus some, once I go off the diet. And for some reason I develop cravings. Usually it’s for peanut butter. Peanut butter on toast. With butter! Yes. A nice piece of toast with butter and peanut butter. Yum! 


The funny thing is, when I’m not on a diet I don’t have peanut butter very often at all. I can go two or three months without even thinking about it let alone eating any of it.

So what is in peanut butter that my body craves so much? Since peanut butter is made from peanuts, vegetable oil and a bit of salt I am guessing that peanut butter on toast supplies just what nutrients my body needs at the time. If I always ate the stuff it would be different, it might just be a lack of discipline or something, but I think that when I diet my body cries out for what it lacks, and what it lacks is found in nuts."

Nuts contain fat, protein and fiber. Research also shows that nuts, eaten in moderation as part of a controlled diet, help people lose weight. Nuts help reduce blood pressure, helps reduce risk of Type 2 diabetes and helps those on a weight loss diet to stick to their diets.

In addition to protein, fiber and fat, nuts contain magnesium, manganese, zinc and phosphorus. Some nuts also contain varying levels of Omega-3 fatty acids (walnuts), and vitamin E (almonds). Peanuts contain folate, vitamin B, and niacin. What nuts do not contain is cholesterol.

The FDA recommendation for nuts is for 1.5 ounces (42 grams) of nuts daily, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter per day.  Peanuts, technically, aren’t nuts at all. They are legumes, as are lentils, peas and  dry beans.

I suggested to Carol that a few nuts as part of her diet would reduce or eliminate the craving, give her body what it needs, help her lose weight and have additional health benefits. Carol is going to start have a small number of almonds as a mid-morning snack. She is going to let me know how she goes with the diet.

Would your partner stick with you if you got fat?

In a recent poll of 70,000 people, nearly half of the men (47%) said they would dump a partner who gained weight to the point he considered her fat. Twenty percent of women said they would ditch their partner if he gained weight.

Men in Britain were less likely than the average to ditch a partner who became fat (44%), while 50% of Canadian men would dump a partner that gained weight. Australian men (47%) and U.S. men (48%) were closer to the overall average of 47%.

The survey results from AskMen can be viewed at

http://au.askmen.com/specials/great-male-survey

The poll was a joint effort between Cosmopolitan Magazine and AskMen and asked a range of questions relating to relationships, lifestyle and general views.

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On holiday or heading back to work?

Do you remember those few days leading up to your holiday? While you were on the job your mind was in the mountains or on the beach. Doing that in reverse may help.  You don’t have to think about it for a few days though, just a day or two before you head back to work. Start listing the projects you will have over the coming weeks. Prioritize the things you want to get done.  The brain will start to pull together the threads of tasks you left behind.

If you are fully engaged in your job then you will be keen to get back and tackle those projects. If you are not fully engaged in your work then a few days of asking yourself why not, would be a good idea.  There may be small things within the workplace that would help you to be more emotionally involved and excited by your work. No? Perhaps take the time over the holidays and reassess your life. Is your current job taking you in the direction you want to go?  What options do you have?

Go for a run or a good workout after your first day back at work to release the stresses of the day and make a commitment to regular workouts to keep some of the benefits of the holiday. And if you have had a fabulous holiday or been overseas, bring a little something back for fellow team members. It will give you the opportunity to reminisce about the holiday and they will get the opportunity to enjoy some of it as well.

How Do Free Radicals Cause Wrinkles?

  To understand how free radicals destroy the skin, it's necessary for us to understand what they are first. Free radicals are produced by metabolic stress. This means that our bodies produce free radicals whenever we eat, breathe, fight off pain, lose sleep, take in alcoholic substances, smoke, and so on.

In other words, the body naturally produces these oxidative substances because people live, age, and eventually deteriorate.

However, through the years, it's been found out that people age more because they produce more of these substances. This shows in the state of their organs, especially the skin.


Where do they come from?

While free radicals naturally occur in the human body, they can be controlled. They are, as you've guessed from the name, free-floating and imbalanced parts of broken cells. They lack one pair of electron and they steal electrons from other cells, causing more damage, and the vicious cycle goes on. When they chip off electrons from cell walls, they damage the cells walls and produce more free radicals.

Rightly said, these are "lost" molecular compositions of the body which feed off completely-formed cells. This happens when cells lack oxygen. This happens when the human body is under stress because of extreme or imbalanced lifestyles. Free radicals in the skin are also caused by sun exposure which destroys skin cells and degenerates its health.

How can this damage be fixed?

Certain moisturizers can prevent photo-damage to the skin and protect skin cells. Sleep, exercise, hydration, and the proper diet also help to eliminate them. When you're choosing what chemicals to put on your face to treat acne or to prevent wrinkles, you should check first if they induce oxidative damage. Benzoyl peroxide, which is used to treat acne for example, are actually free radicals which may help you get rid of acne but also promote skin aging. It's better for you to use organic solutions which won't induce so much stress on your skin.

Generally, healthier lifestyles help to keep the skin and the body as a whole more youthful. Today, it's easy to resort to fast food, forget to exercise, make wrong decisions with drinks, and turn to smoking and drinking to "relax". However, those hasty life decisions won't keep you young. To decrease the presence of these oxidative substances in your body, just try to live healthier. Avoid junk food and other things which can cause your cells to be destroyed and turn into free radicals. Stop yourself from aging prematurely by making the right choices.

Clean air or pollution for you?

Air pollution is known to impair respiratory and cardiac health. Now it has also been linked to impairment in mental health, at least in mice. The results of pollution are slow thinking, bad memory and depressive behavior with a possible link to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Home wood stoves and open fires, factory and vehicle emissions all add to the pollution in the atmosphere. So if you live next to a freeway and close to an industrial area, perhaps it’s time to move .....    before the onset of winter.

Are you sitting yourself to death?

If you are in a job that requires you to sit for most of the day then you are at risk of dying at a younger age.  Sitters have an increased risk of premature death because of several health issues. The first and most obvious is weight gain. Call center workers, whose jobs require them to sit for long periods, gain an average of 6 kilograms (more than 13 pounds) in their first 8 months of work. They are not unique. Many workers today are sitting for all or large portions of the day.

While going to the gym and other forms of exercise help, they don’t help much. If you are spending 8 hours sleeping, 1 hour exercising or walking around as part of everyday life, and 15 hours sitting at a desk, in a car or on a couch then you are very much at risk.

Dangerous blood clots and some muscular skeletal conditions are also associated with sitting for long periods. Your risk of blood clots trebles if you are sitting for more than 10 hours a day. Your risk of a heart attack doubles from just two hours of sitting. This is because without muscle contraction, the body does not clear glucose and fat from the system. Additional effects from sitting include diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

A hundred years ago most people were employed in jobs that required them to move and often required reasonably strenuous exercise. Where once a man dug a ditch with a shovel, today a machine will do the work of many men, and all it takes is one person who is sitting in a cab.

We drive to work in our cars where once we would have walked. We spend our leisure time watching TV or chatting to friends online.

And then after a hard day of sitting, off we go to bed and lie down for a good night’s sleep.