IntoDiet.com

There is an utmost need to understand what a ‘healthy diet’ means primarily. As long as we do not know what it is, all the food recipes we see and try to include in our diet would be more ritualistic and such a diet fails to become a routine. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends certain guidelines regarding healthy diet; what it should and should not contain.

As per WHO guidelines, one should achieve an ‘energy balance’ to lead a healthy life. Considering our body as a machine, the total energy intake (food) should be balanced with the energy we spend in doing regular activities like walking, bathing, working and also bodily activities like cell production, blood circulation, respiration, excretion and so on.

1. Majorly for this reason, the quality and quantity of food we consume matters a lot. We should as far as possible avoid fat or shift from saturated fats to unsaturated; because consumption of fat rich food implies more energy intake and inability to spend such vast energy will result in energy imbalance and accumulation of unwanted fat in the body. Same is the case with direct/ normal sugar and sugar based food items.

• Avoid animal fat sources like meat and skin as they contain maximum saturated fat which can’t be digested by the body. Instead go for fish and egg based food recipes.

1. On the other hand consume more of essential amino acids and proteins sources. Amino acids are the basic building blocks of all human beings. Amino acids link up to form peptides and polypeptides. These in turn form the proteins which help in coping for the lost cells in the body.

• Leguminous plants and their products like soya beans, peanuts, clover, peas, beans with corn tortillas can be taken as a part of healthy diet.
• Cereals like wheat, millets and maize are rich in proteins and vitamins. They contain nutrients in optimum desired levels when consumed in whole grain form. When refined, they lack most nutrients and are left with carbohydrates, and to compensate for this they can combined with legumes.

1. Micronutrients are also equally important for humans and regular intake of them can not only avert disorders but can even cure them. Minerals like potassium, calcium, sodium, iron and many more should be taken in the form of food rather than supplementary pills.
2. All vitamins like A, B, C, D, E, K are all required in good amounts for proper functioning of the body parts. Deficiency and overdose cause disorders like scurvy (Vit C), eye disorders like night blindness (Vit A), rickets (Vit D), beri beri (Vit B) and so on. Roughages are also needed for proper functioning of digestive and excretory systems.

• There is no substitute for fruits and vegetables consumed in natural form, because in this way human body has the ability to absorb only the required quantities and reject the excess. Berries too can be included along with them as they too are rich in antioxidants.
• Citrus fruits like orange, lemon and grapes are rich in Vit C. Others like banana, mango, papaya, apple are best sources of all nutrients and roughages. Roots like Carrots, beet, raddish, yams, sweet potato are all best substitutes for healthy diet and ones which can add taste to your food too.

1. Water is considered the best regulatory mechanism for human body. Most illnesses, malfunctioning of body systems like stomach ache, loose motions etc. can be avoided. It also keeps metabolism rates intact and your body more energetic, healthy and cool.

Are u hungry??! Grab some pistachios and enjoy its crunchy delicious taste. Some people may wonder how do these delicious crunchy nuts could also be good and healthy for them. So let’s bring it up people…

It’s called skinny nuts because it has the least amount of fat and calories, the serving of the pistachio will be half a cup with the shells on or quarter a cup with shells off and 1 serving of pistachio has more potassium than a large banana, has more antioxidant than green tea.

Vitamins , minerals and calories.

Pistachios have more than 30  different vitamins and minerals and vital nutrients. Also pistachios are rich in copper , manganese and phosphorus which helps build up your bones healthy and strong. They also contain a noticeable amount of magnesium and potassium which helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

Pistachios are also rich in B6 vitamin and other B vitamins so they help you build muscles, boost your energy and fight infection.

In USDA study pistachios were placed in the group of the highest antioxidant capacity when compared to 100 other foods. Antioxidants help to prevent cell damage. And what makes the pistachio green is a compound called lutein which is found to prevent the most common form of blindness in adults over 65. Pistachios are the only nuts to contain this powerful antioxidant.

1 ounce of pistachios serving about 28.3 grams with 49 kernels have 160 calories.

Pistachios and cholesterol.

There is a study published by the American journal of clinical nutrition has found that pistachios can be a heart healthy food because it can lower your LDL and raise your HDL cholesterol.

We all need fat in our diets , it adds flavor and helps us feel full for longer but you have to choose the good fat (unsaturated) not the bad fat ( saturated) , pistachio makes a great snack because they contain almost 90 % unsaturated fat. So you can improve your heart health and lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) and raise your HDL (good cholesterol) by replacing saturated fat with mono or polyunsaturated fat.

Pistachios actually can lower the absorption of dietary cholesterol from food thanks for something called phytosterol in pistachios.

Pistachios are wonderful!!

Pistachios are really wonderful as snacks and they are really high in fiber , 1 serving of pistachio can give you 3 grams of fiber so you can snack on these ,  you can put them in your salads or toss them in your greens , you can even put them on your ice cream it would be so delicious and the good thing about snacking on pistachios is that they make you feel full for longer time and increases the length of getting hungry again , well I think that is a bonus!!! And that happens due to its significant amount of protein, fiber and healthy fats.

I hope you enjoyed food for this week .. keep checking my blog and keep updated.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Walnuts

• Helps protect against heart disease
• Lowers cholesterol levels
• Good Source of omega-3 fats

Today I am going to post about walnuts , it’s a delicious way to add extra nutrition to your meal , as we all know it is a rich source of omega-3 which helps fight inflammation and also rich in monounsaturated fats those fats are very good for our heart.

Walnuts provides lots of nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, zinc, copper, vitamin B9, B6, E, A.

Walnuts also contribute substantial amounts of dietary fiber which makes them useful in case of constipation

A very new research was done on walnuts and came up by this unique information, walnuts contains a compound called ellagic acid which is considered an antioxidant , it appears to block the metabolic pathway that may lead to cancer , the same compound can prevent the cancer cells from duplicating and can detoxify cancer-causing chemicals , so that’s all very exciting news. Walnuts also contain other antioxidants such as selenium and vitamin E.

Image source:whfoods.org

Shopping for walnuts

When you are shopping for walnuts, keep in mind that they are very sensitive to air and humidity so once you’ve opened the walnuts bag store them in an air tight container and preferably in the refrigerator, personally I keep them in a glass jar with a really tight lid they last longer, it protects them and keeps them from going rancid.

Try to avoid roasted walnuts or any roasted nuts because commercial roasting exposes nuts for very high temperature what that does is that it basically ruins the oils and makes them more harmful to us so maybe you are eating walnuts for cancer prevention and if you are eating roasted walnuts it could be actually harmful more than good for you so what you can do is buy them raw it is very delicious that way but if you prefer them roasted you can simply roast them by yourself at home it is very simple , first preheat your oven to 160 degree no higher then spread the walnuts just a single layer on a cookie sheet put them in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes and you’ve made your own roasted walnuts at home and you have protected the oils that are very healthy for us.

Walnuts makes a great snack!

Walnuts make a great snack as is but you can add them to your salads they are great in salads, you can add them to your rice or to yogurt and if you are still using croutons on  your salads consider switching them out with walnuts because croutons are empty calories and most people wants them on their salads for their crunchiness and you can get that from the walnuts, you can also get the healthy nutrients from them that are good for our heart and protect us from cancer.

Walnuts are so healthy grab some and enjoy a healthy delicious crunchy snack!!

Fall is coming, temperature is dropping and flu is about to start again. Recently H1N1 is on our minds now… so I will be writing today about what to do to boost your immune system to reduce the chance of being ill.

There are lots of things that might impact your immune system for example if you are under stress that can depress your immune system, so you have to practice stress management, physical activity can help release some stress hormones, so if you are under a lot of stress try to include some physical activity to help build up your immune system.

Vitamin C

The next thing is your nutrition, try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables they tend to have lots of vitamins and minerals and the vitamins are generally have a lots of antioxidants that helps build up your immune system. Try to include fruits that have lots of vitamin C such as guava, strawberries, cantaloupe, kiwi and oranges. Also a lot of vegetables have a lot of vitamin C such as bell pepper, broccoli and potatoes.

Yogurt

Another important aspect is probiotics that will be found in yogurt primarily, those probiotics are very important in building your immune system because it affects the good healthy bacteria that is in your digestive tract, so if your immune system is under stress you will need more from these healthy bacteria in your digestive tract so that will be a good time to increase your intake of yogurt. Recently they have came up by new type of cheese that contain those probiotic so this will be another option for those people that aren’t a big fan for yogurt or you can have it as probiotic pills.

Mushrooms

Beta-glucan found in mushroom was found to lower bad cholesterol LDL, to boost immunity, and regulate blood sugar. So try to toss more mushrooms in your salads, soups, pastas and pizza.

Seafood

Seafood is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and selenium, a potent antioxidant. A study was made on healthy men were given a high-selenium diet, they showed a better immune response in improving white blood cells. So include a variety of seafood choices into your diet.

Protein

Protein is also an important aspect in building up you immune system for its high zinc content an important mineral that helps increases the production of white blood cells to fight infection and help them to fight more aggressively so try to include lean protein cuts, beans, skinless poultry, fish and nuts and seeds.

Nuts (vitamin E)

Nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E which is an antioxidant that helps boost your immune system, vitamin E can be found in seeds, and also in vegetable oils, green leafy vegetables, beans and whole grains.
 So the key in building your immune system is to have a variety of different food.

Boost your immune system by trying some physical activity to release your stress, try to include plenty of fruits and vegetables because they contain lots of antioxidants, include lean meats as beans, lean meat cuts, nuts and seeds and do not forget vitamin E rich food.

Sweet potatoes:                                                        

• Aids iron absorption from cereals
• Linked to reduced risk of arthritis
• A good source of vitamins A,C and E

This week I am going to talk about sweet potatoes, it is a very sweet delicious food let’s talk about its nutritious value.

Nutritious value

Well sweet potato is an excellent source of vitamin A (beta-carotene) and a very good source of vitamin C and manganese also a good source of copper, vitamin B6, dietary fibers and iron. 

Now vitamin C and beta-carotene are very powerful antioxidants which have healing properties they work in the body to eliminate free radicals. Free radicals are chemicals that damage cells and cell membranes and they cause some bad health conditions such as atherosclerosis, colon cancer, and diabetic heart disease, that’s why vitamin C and beta-carotene are very helpful for preventing these conditions. And it’s good to know that the deeper orange, the sweet potato and the higher its beta-carotene content.

High blood level of beta-carotene can reduce skin sensitivity to sunlight, that’s not an alternative for sunscreen lotions or sun exposure precautions.

 Beta-carotene appears to double the rate of iron absorption from cereals such as rice, corn and wheat.

It has anti-inflammatory properties also so it has been linked to reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. And that is why sweet potatoes are a better alternative than the starchy white potatoes. Sweet potatoes helps to prevent arthritis unlike white potatoes that angervate the symptoms of arthritis. Recent studies on animals have shown that sweet potatoes may regulate blood sugar level so it is a very good food for diabetic people to include in their diet.

Check the nutritional value of sweet potatoes in the table below.

  Image source: whfoods.com

How to buy your sweet potato?

First thing you have to avoid sweet potatoes in the refrigerated sections because what happen is the moisture from the refrigeration will change the flavor of the sweet potatoes and cause it to sprout so keep in mind when you bring them home do not store them in the refrigerator just store them in a cool dark place and they last for about a week.

How to include sweet potatoes in your diet?

You can chop them, steam them and serve it with feta cheese salad with a dressing from your choice (low-fat dressing) or you can steam them and mash them serve it with some shredded coconut and some nuts it will be an excellent side dish. The best way and my favorite it to bake them just wash them cut them halves, sprinkle a little salt on it and bake them for about 30 minutes are a little more if it was a big one, the combination of the sweetness of the sweet potato and the saltiness of the salt will give a great taste you can add a little olive oil if you like (Beta-carotene is best absorbed when eaten with fat) I like to eat it with its skin so in that case try to buy organic sweet potatoes, you don’t want to eat those pesticides.

So at the end I hope you enjoyed food of this week try to include it in your diet because it is such a nutritious food.