Heart Health Cooking - Top 10 Tips to Preserving the Healthy Qualities of Food

by Fabiola Castillo

Unless you change some of the ways you prepare food, all your best intentions and plans for eating healthy and maintaining a healthy heart can be compromised. The most important change you can make in cooking is to learn to cook with little or no oils or other fats. The following is a list of the top ten (10) tips to help preserve the healthful qualities of food and therefore preserve the health of your heart.

• Be on the lookout for low-fat recipes in cookbooks and/or magazines that provide a nutritional analysis for each recipe.
• Purchase nonstick cookware so that you can "fry" or brown foods in the absence of fat. If you normally add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to a skillet, you have put off 120 calories and 14 grams of fat from your diet by using a nonstick skillet instead.
• Add a few handy kitchen gadgets to your cooking arsenal such as a garlic press, lemon zester, vegetable steamer, egg separator, and spice grater to expand your cooking habits.
• Stock up your kitchen with fat-free flavor enhancers such as onions, herbs and spices, colorful fresh peppers, gingerroot, fresh garlic, fresh lemons and limes, Dijon mustard, sherry or other wines, flavored vinegars, bouillon granules, low-sodium soy sauce, and plain, nonfat yogurt.
• When sautéing onions, mushrooms, or celery, use a small amount of wine, water, broth, soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce in lieu of oil or butter.
• Steam or microwave vegetables. Then add flavor to them with vinegars, herbs, butter-flavored powders, or spices.
• When cooking fish, use parchment paper or foil packets. Using this methods helps to seal in flavor and juices.
• Use broth, vegetable juice, dry wine, flavored vinegars, herbs, and spices when poaching fish or skinless poultry. Using a covered roasting pan is a low-cost alternative for a fish poacher.
• Reduce the amount of meat used in casseroles and stews by one-third and add more vegetables, pasta, or rice.
• In recipes, use low-fat or nonfat cream cheese, processed cheeses, or sour cream, in place of their high-fat counterparts.

By heeding these ten tips, you can preserve the healthful qualities of most foods as well as be kind to your heart so that you can live a longer and healthier lifestyle.

Fabiola Castillo is an online marketer for the website NinjaCOPS SuperStore. This virtual store sells not only personal defense items but also nutrition products such as energy supplements, coral calcium supplements, marine coral calcium, green tea heart health, and weight and fat loss supplements.

The Post Workout Meal

by Eric B. Leader

I am sure you have heard your trainer preach how proper nutrition supplements intense training. The truth is, the old saying "you are what you eat," really is true. After a good workout in the gym, your body is exhausted and craving nutrients. If you do not supply your body with proper nutrition, you will be hindering your recovery time and thus your progress. So what should you eat in this "post workout meal?"

The bottom line is that while training, you are actually tearing muscle fibers and depleting your muscle's protein. The soreness accompanied by a bout of exercise is directly associated with the breaking down of the muscles. In addition, while exercising, you are depleting your body's storage form of carbohydrate called glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the muscles as well as the liver. This glycogen supply is very important in supplying energy, especially during long bouts of exercise.

At the conclusion of a workout, your body is taxed and craving nutrients. Following a workout, hormone levels are raised and the body is able to assimilate more calories and nutrients. As a result, it is very important to give your body the proper nutrtion so that your body will recover faster and grow stronger. Proper post workout nutrition consists of protein and carbohydrates. Protein will help to build, maintain, and repair the muscle tissue damaged during the bout of exercise. Carbohydrate, in the form of complex carbohydrate, will replenish the glycogen depleted during the workout. Sources of complex carbs include: pastas, breads, cereals, potatoes, etc. Good sources of protein include: tuna fish, turkey, chicken, egg whites, dairy, etc. Try supplementing your training with a good post workout meal, ideally within 30 minutes after your workout, and watch your progress and your energy level accelerate. Best of Luck!

Eric B. Leader
Owner, Every Bodys' Personal Trainer
http://www.everybodyspersonaltrainer.com.

Orange Juice - A Great Way to Start Your Day Afresh

by Jenny R Smith

Have you ever thought and analyzed about the glass of orange juice that you always see as an integral part of your breakfast? You always take it for granted that there will always be orange juice on the breakfast table! The flavor and the fragrance of the orange juice make it the third favorite drink after chocolate and vanilla in America!

Scientists from all over the world agree to the benefits of Orange juice. Vitamin C plays a significant role in our health. Our body cannot produce or store this water soluble vitamin. So we have to get this vitamin though our diet. Oranges are a good source of vitamin C. Research shows that consuming orange juice everyday provides us with immense health benefits.

The C vitamin in oranges helps with the detoxification process which is one of the very important processes that take place in our body. Vitamin C helps in fighting inflammation and is also extremely beneficial for people affected by arthritis. Oranges are rich in fiber. The fiber helps reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Orange has many more essential properties that are beneficial for us. Along with vitamin C, oranges contain potassium, folic acid and calcium. All theses nutrients are essential for our body. You always want to lead a healthy life but due to your life style it becomes rather difficult to eat the right kind of food or a balanced meal so what do you do? You pop up supplementary pills. That could be vitamin C or Calcium supplements.

Research shows that having a glass of orange juice is more beneficial than a vitamin pill for your requirement of vitamin C. The folic acid and the calcium along with fiber provide more benefits than the pills. Our body can assimilate natural ingredients better than the artificial ones.

Many people in America prefer ready made orange juice due to convenience. But it is better to make sure that the juice is fresh. Vitamin C is destroyed if it comes in contact with heat or oxygen. Make sure that you keep the juice refrigerated and consume within a week of opening the container.

It will also help to know there is no comparison between ready made juice and freshly squeezed juice at home. Home made juice is the best option. So if possible try and make your own orange juice. It will not contain any preservatives and the vitamin C will be intact for your consumption! If making fresh juice everyday is not possible then make sure you read the label of the carton of orange juice you buy. See if there is any sugar added in the juice. If yes try and avoid this as it will add up to your calorie intake and you will gain weight again.

If you are serious about leading a healthy life, want to decrease your LDL cholesterol level and fight cough and cold don't miss your daily glass of orange juice. It will help your body flush out all the toxins and protect you from various diseases.

Jenny R Smith is a health and nutrition expert, who also owns a blog on fruits and their benefits. She regularly writes articles on acai berries and blue berries.

Seven Harmful Chemicals Added to Processed Food

by Ellen L. Davis

Chemical food additives are used by food manufacturers to preserve the flavor or improve the taste and appearance of processed junk foods. They are found in foods which require long shelf lives, and are used widely in "diet" foods which need the flavor boost. Some additives come from natural sources, but some are highly process substances derived from unhealthy sources such as coal tar and peroxide.

Here's a list of seven chemical food additives you may want to avoid:

1. FD&C Red Dye #3: A cherry red dye derived from coal tar. In 1981, NIH researchers reported that this substance may interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain. In 1996, researchers at Northeastern Illinois University conducted studies and found that even low does of Red #3 caused cancerous changes in human cell cultures. The FDA banned the use of Red Dye #3 in lake form in cosmetics, but still allows the dye to be used in food products.
   
   
2. BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole): a preservative used in cereals, potato chips and chewing gum to stop them from becoming rancid. It accumulates in the body fat and it is known to disrupt the body's hormone balance. This widely used food additive has been shown to cause cancer in mice, rats and hamsters. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers BHA to be a carcinogen and has said that it poses a reasonable risk to health. Despite this warning, the FDA still allows BHA to be used as a food additive to prevent fat rancidity.
   
   
3. Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid: a preservative added to fruit juice, carbonated drinks, and pickles. Problems occurs when sodium benzoate is used in beverages that also contain ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The two substances, in an acidic solution, can react together to form small amounts of benzene, a chemical that causes leukemia and other cancers. In the early 1990s the FDA had urged companies not to use benzoate in products that also contain ascorbic acid, but companies are still using that combination. A lawsuit filed in 2006 by private attorneys ultimately forced Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and other soft-drink makers in the U.S. to reformulate affected beverages, typically fruit-flavored products.
   
   
4. Acetone peroxide: a bleach and conditioner used in milling flour and maturing dough. It is basically acetone (nail polish remover) with an oxygen compound added. It is also extremely unstable and explosive, and has been used by criminals to make bombs. It is strongly oxidizing and can damage the skin and eyes.
   
   
5. Diacetyl: a chemical that imparts the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn. It has a disease named after it because many microwave popcorn factory workers exposed to it have developed a lung condition called Diacetyl Induced Bronchiolitis Obliterans or "Popcorn Worker's Lung". There is no official ban in the EU, and U.S. companies are starting to voluntarily replace this ingredient in the microwave popcorn. The CDC has issued a safety alert for workers in factories that use diacetyl. There are currently two bills in the California Legislature to ban the use of diacetyl.
   
   
6. Polysorbate 80 (also known as tween 80): a stabilizer used in a wide variety of products including ice cream, milk products, vitamin tablets, lotions and creams and medical products like vaccines and anti-cancer medications. This food additive has been linked to nonimmunologic allergic reactions, and one study has linked it to infertility. The study found that polysorbate 80 caused changes in to the vagina and womb lining, hormonal changes, ovary deformities and degenerative follicles in mice. (Food Chem Toxicol. 1993 Mar;31(3):183-90. PMID: 8473002.) This is disturbing because this substance is in the new Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine which is being marketed for girls aged 9-26 in the United States.
   
   
7. Potassium Bromate: a chemical added to flour to make bread rise better and give it a uniform consistency. Most of what is added to flour breaks down during the cooking process into bromide. An excess intake of bromide has been associated with the inhibition of iodine enzyme metabolism, which weakens the thyroid and kidneys. The potassium bromate that isn't broken down remains in the baked good and is a known carcinogen. Numerous petitions have been made to the FDA to ban this ingredient and many flour mills have voluntarily stopped adding it to their products. This food additive is banned in most countries except the U.S. and Japan.

Ellen Davis researches nutrition and health issues and shares that information with other health conscious consumers. You can find more information about real nutrition and alternative health at her website Healthy Eating Politics. The URL is http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com