Cravings, Be Gone!

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Cravings are a common part of many peoples' everyday lives. They are often your body's way of signifying things, whether it be that you're stressed, tired, or lacking in important nutrients. While many cravings are not necessarily bad in and of themselves, it's how you handle the cravings that matter.

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How Do Your Grocery Shopping Patterns Affect Your Health

Going for a healthy and smart grocery shopping is the most complex task, which people can do. Even though it’s significant to keep your wellbeing in prime condition, it’s difficult for you to take away all the fun from your shopping either. A healthy shopping experience is a fun experience as well. However, it can only start with you!

Firstly, look around yourself and determine the type of changes you need to make with respect to your diet. Infact, examine your health and eating habits. Perhaps you’re suffering from continuous stomachaches or lack of sleep. It simply gets to a few things you manage in your absolute best, after figuring out all this, do a bit of research.

A good research before Grocery Shopping is just being wise

The next step after you have figured out your personal needs is a good research work. Pick up things that you are lacking. With iron deficiency, you need to consume more dark leafy greens and meat as well. If you have calcium deficiencies, then purchase some milk or cheese as a good calcium intake. This is really easy, once all this is in place, the next step is shopping.

Getting to a supermarket would definitely be an important step while gathering the suitable groceries. There are supermarkets that stock organic products and health supplements. If you feel the need of such products, then don’t wait and get going to the nearest store. 

A list of important groceries and not so important is a must

Make a list of items that you think you extremely need, don’t really need and do not require at all. Try and keep those temptations away while you’re shopping. Avoid heavy, sugar content food such as cinnamon bread, cake or donuts. They are wonderful and even smell great but they are not to be eaten in large quantities.

Make sure you visit the bakery section. Pick one single item to eat for at least one week, do not step beyond that or it will get the temptation out of you before you finish your grocery shopping. Make sure you follow your list honestly.

Keep the quantity in mind

While you make your grocery shopping list make sure you mention the quantity in it. Lists only what you require not what you wish you could have. This is quite easy to stockpile a large quantity of food then overeat it later in the day. You can avoid it and simply walk through those aisles that are tempting. However, if you do enter them, make sure you only grab the ones you came for.

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Testosterone-Rich Foods – The Elixir of Life

All people who are well informed about nutrition, healthy lifestyle and physical fitness know how important hormonal balance is for all of these factors. Bearing this in mind, it is only logical that one's nutrition should contain all the necessary elements for a healthy physical and mental functioning. Naturally, we have testosterone hormones produced by our body in adequate quantities.

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The New War Against Sugar

Alcohol. Coffee. Sugar? The latest target in the never-ending quest to be-come a healthy nation is the stuff that often sits on your kitchen counter right next to the flour and that other culprit, coffee. Unlike other vices, sugar isn't an easy habit to kick. It's found in just about everything you eat, even baby formula and that apple you grab between meals. The culprit in question is fructose, a simple sugar found in carbonated beverages and processed foods such as TV dinners, most lunch meats, and all canned foods. Avoiding sugar is like avoiding reality TV. So, what to do?

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Delectable Foods Which Are Bad for your Hips

Sometimes the things you deem nice and beautiful are the ones that are not good for you. This also applies to the kinds of food you eat.

If you are someone wanting to lose those extra pounds in your hips, you should be careful with the food you consume especially those ones which are filled with sugar and carbohydrates.

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Salt: What’s the Verdict?

For a long time, salt has been demonized in American media as being the cause of medical complications such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.  Just recently, a mega study was conducted by the American Journal of Hypertension with over 6,250 people studied, which demonstrated that reduction of salt has absolutely no recognition of a cure for its accused offenses.  In all reality, salt is health providing, and should be much less neglected as some sort of toxin.

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Quick Strategies to Eat Healthy at a Restaurant

Restaurants are notorious for serving food loaded with fat and calories. With portion sizes getting bigger and bigger, it’s tough to eat out on a diet. Nevertheless, there are some strategies you can employ to help you make healthy choices when dining out. Follow these tips to eat out without derailing your diet.

1. Share an entree. If you really want an entrée but are concerned about the calorie count, consider splitting it with someone else. This not only limits your calorie intake, but also helps you prevent overeating. Instead of ordering an entrée, you can order a couple appetizers, which are made for sharing and are more portion controlled.

2. Talk to your server. Chances are you aren’t the first person to ask your server about the menu. They should be well-informed about the menu, so don’t be scared to ask questions about how something is prepared or if something is big enough to split. They’re getting paid to make sure you’re happy with your meal.

3. Get dressings and sauces on the side. Sauces and dressings can make an otherwise healthy dish unhealthy by adding extra calories and fat. Instead of letting the restaurant douse your salad in dressing, ask for it on the side so you can apply it accordingly. The same holds true for sauces like barbecue and honey mustard.

4. Drink water. Sodas, juices and alcoholic beverages are empty calories. Some drinks contain hundreds of calories that could widen your waistline. There is one drink, however, that won’t contribute any extra calories to your diet: water. If you need a little bit of flavor, ask for some lemon or lime. You can also try diet sodas and low-calorie alcoholic mixers like club soda if you find water just too bland. 

5. Look for a healthy section in the menu. Most chain restaurants now offer healthy entrees. These entrees tend to be lower in calories and fat than other fare on the menu. Flip through the menu and find the special section. If there isn’t one, read the menu description and be on the lookout for items with fried, sautéed or smothered in their description.

6. Don’t eat everything. Just because it’s on your plate doesn’t mean you have to eat it – nobody is forcing you. Eat until you’re about 75% full. Your body takes some time to signal that it’s full so eating ¾ of your meal gives your body an opportunity to determine if you’re stuffed. If you’re not full, keep eating. Otherwise, take the rest to go.

Geoffrey Anderson Jr. is editor of MenScience Magazine, a men’s skincare and nutrition blog for MenScience. He has written stories about entertainment, nutrition and skin care for a variety of media over the past 7 years. He is based in Miami, Florida.

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What makes a perfect breakfast?

HOW MUCH?

 
A good breakfast should provide up to a quarter of the nutrients and energy you need for the day. It should be balanced, containing a mix of carbohydrates, protein, fat, calcium, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Image Courtesy: telegraphindia.com

WHAT?

 
Here are some breakfast ideas that satisfy your energy and nutritional needs...
1 egg + wholegrain toast + fruit or vegetables Wholegrain toast or roti + vegetables + chicken/tuna/ cheese/cottage cheese Sandwich/ Frankie Muesli or oats with fruit or dried fruit + milk or soya milk Besan or dal cheela with vegetables + cottage cheese A bowl of fruit with a glass of low fat lassi or yoghurt Idli or plain dosa (made with less oil) + sambar + green chutney Upma or poha with vegetables + buttermilk Vegetable-stuffed paratha (made with less oil in a non stick pan) + yoghurt Roti + sabzi + sattughol/yoghurt Chire + yoghurt + fruit/nuts Sprouted salad + buttermilk

FOR CHILDREN 

Image Courtesy: telegraphindia.com

Banana or mango or strawberry smoothie/milk shake Cold coffee + fruit Cheese or cottage cheese + vegetables + wholegrain bread Milk + nuts + dried fruit Roti wrap or roll of paneer, egg or chicken + vegetables Tikkis (roasted with a little oil on a non-stick pan) with potato + cottage cheese/chicken + vegetables Orange juice + wholewheat bread + cheese Stuffed vegetable paratha + fruit juice/fruit

BEVERAGES 

Tea Hot/ cold coffee Green tea Herbal tea Lassi/ buttermilk Milkshakes/ smoothies Lemon water Barley water

HOW?

 
Sounds like a mammoth task? Take heart.
Plan your breakfast ahead. Save yourself the early-morning hassle by keeping chopped vegetables, boiled potatoes, cottage cheese and eggs at hand and you can rustle up any dish in just a few minutes. If you want to serve stuffed parathas, tikkis or cutlets, prepare them the night before and just roast them in the morning. In case you run short on time, drink something at home and munch on your way to work. If none of the above works for you, there are plenty of ready-to-eat meals available. Some options are breakfast bars, muesli bars, low-fat flavoured yoghurts, milk in tetra pak and, of course, fruits. Remember to choose the no-added-sugar and low-fat variants.

WHAT TIME?

You should have breakfast within an hour or two of waking up. It is the first meal of the day and hence should be timed according to your dinner. There should be no more than a 12-hour gap. For those who work at night and go to sleep at 5 in the morning, breakfast will not be at 8am, but should follow after five to eight hours of sleep. For those who have a normal work schedule, the ideal time for breakfast is between me for breakfast is between 8am and 10.30am, depending on when you wake up. So, rise and shine to a healthy breakfast that gets you going for the day. 

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com

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