Diet and Nutrition

10 Reasons Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat

By Delia Quigley for Care2.com

“A good, functional and healthy body is the ultimate fashion statement.” Kiyokazu Washida, fashion critic

Recently I came upon a small, but informative book by Naomi Moriyama entitled Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat. Intrigued and a bit skeptical, although I follow a very similar style of diet, I found some delicious recipes to add to my daily repertoire of meals and gleaned some useful tidbits of information. Such as, for the past 25 years Japanese women have held the world record for living the longest with an average of 86.4 years. Not just the women, Japanese men have the longest life expectancy among all men in the world’s 192 nations. Much of this distinction is attributed to eating a healthy diet.

In her book, Moriyama takes the reader into her mother’s kitchen in Japan and reveals her secrets for living a long and healthy life. Not much you haven’t heard before, and yet taken altogether and practiced over a lifetime, the results are impressive. Here’s the Japanese recipe for living to a ripe old age, while staying active and healthy.


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Posted on October 2, 2024 by GuestBlogger

9 Reasons to Drink Green Tea Daily

By Michelle Schoffro Cook for Care2.com

Have you been wondering “what’s all the fuss about green tea?” Now you can stop wondering and start drinking…green tea, that is. This flavorful beverage offers many health benefits to anyone who drinks it regularly. Green tea contains a potent plant nutrient known as epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, for short. But don’t fret, you don’t have to keep track of its chemical name to reap the health benefits. Here are 9 reasons to start drinking green tea or continue drinking it if you’re already hooked.

1. Green tea is a superb fat fighter. Its active ingredient, EGCG, increases the rate at which fat is burned in your body.

2. It targets belly fat. Research at Tufts University indicates that EGCG in green tea, like other catechins, activate fat-burning genes in the abdomen to speed weight loss by 77 percent.

3. It keeps energy stable by balancing blood sugar levels. EGCG improves insulin use in the body to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes that can result in fatigue, irritability, and cravings for unhealthy foods.

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Posted on October 1, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Celebrating World Vegetarian Day with a Look at Types of Vegetarianism

Today, October 1st, is World Vegetarian Day. It was established in 1977, “To promote the joy, compassion and lief-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.” In honor of this day, we’re taking a look at the different types of diets that promote the reduction of meat consumption. There are many different reasons why people choose to abstain from eating meat, from health concerns to ethical and religious reasons. It’s not surprising that there are many different types of vegetarians. In the slide show below, we take a look at different levels of giving up meat, including flexitarians, pescetarians, and freegans.

View Degrees of Vegetarianism Slideshow
Posted on October 1, 2024 by Margaret

6 Nutrients Every Vegetarian Needs

By Delia Quigley for Care2.com

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” ~Albert Einstein

As people strive to improve their health and evolve their food choices to a more plant-based diet, it is easy to get lost along the way. You can happily end up living on chocolate whole-wheat croissants for breakfast, cheese pizza for lunch and a large bowl of fettuccine alfredo for dinner, but the pounds will eventually stack up as your energy declines. When you transition to a more vegetarian way of eating it is important to educate yourself about the nutrients your body will need on a daily basis.

Learn how to create a balance of vegetable protein, carbohydrates and quality fats with each meal. You must also replace the six essential nutrients provided by animal proteins with plant-based foods containing the protein, iron, zinc, calcium, B12, and Essential Fatty Acids that are reduced with the elimination of meat, poultry, pork and fish. The fun part is putting them together into delicious recipes and then chewing slowly for the full satisfying experience.

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Posted on September 30, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Healthy for the Holidays: Your 8 Week Plan to Get Fit

I know you probably don’t want to hear the word “holidays” just yet, but I promise in this context, it will actually reduce your stress.

Most people wait until after the holidays to worry about getting into shape, but with that mind frame, you are more likely to pack on not only the holiday pounds, but quite a few in the weeks leading up to them as well. We all know that the “I’ll take care of it later” mentality leads to “I’ll eat whatever the heck I want up until that point” actions.

This cycle can leave you feeling discouraged and hit your self-esteem pretty hard, making that New Year’s Resolution the same as it was last year. And the year before that…

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could cross that “finally lose the weight” resolution off your list and move on to number two? Be it skydiving or paying off your credit card bill, I guarantee it will be more rewarding in a pair of skinny jeans.

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Posted on September 30, 2024 by Kelly

Coconut Sugar is a Nutritionally Superior Natural Sweetener

By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

Seems like there is a hot, new “healthy sweetener” on the market every 10 minutes and as soon as you are convinced that this is the ONE, new reports come out saying, “NO, stay away!” Frustrating, I know.

Let’s look at the star “healthy sweetener” of the moment, Coconut Palm Sugar. Is it all it’s cracked up to be?

What exactly is Coconut Sugar?

Coconut sugar is an unrefined sweetener derived from the nectar of the blossom or bud of the coconut palm tree; not the coconut itself but the bud that would form a coconut. This is important because this bud is the source of all nutrients that are being fed to the maturing coconut, kind of like the umbilical cord from mom to baby. Skilled farmers, called “tappers,” tap the bud and release the sap. The sap is then heated and crystallized. (more…)

Posted on September 30, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Drink Green Tea for Weight Control and Disease Prevention

We’ve all heard that “green tea is good for you” but how many of us actually know why? Despite the fact that green tea remains one of the most popular beverages around the world, its health benefits are somewhat mysterious.

Though WebMD reports more than a decade’s worth of research about green tea’s health benefits, some of those studies question green tea’s role in burning fat, lowering cholesterol and fighting some diseases, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

So, what do we know about green tea?

Green tea has antioxidants: Also called catechins, the antioxidants in green tea help fight the cells that can damage DNA and cause cancer and certain types of heart disease. These same properties are found in grapes, berries, red wine and dark chocolate, however green tea’s minimal processing makes it a good bet. Even though we still condone eating tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, one recent estimate said green tea has 10 times the amount of antioxidants found in fruits and veggies.

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Posted on September 29, 2024 by Maris

Join the Anderson 5 Day Family Dinner Challenge

On a recent episode of Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show, the personable host talked about his own issues with food, and brought up a topic that has been much discussed of late: the family dinner. He began a 5-Day Family Dinner Challenge. What’s the challenge? For 5 nights in a row, cook and eat dinner together as a family. He set the following ground rules:

1) No one can be late
2) No TV or cell phones
3) Everyone has to try everything
4) Every night during dinner, play one game.

For busy moms and dads out there, this type of challenge can seem overwhelming. Many of us struggle to get a balanced meal on the table in a timely fashion, never mind making sure that each member of the family is present and accounted for. Also, Norman Rockwell paintings aside, I’ve yet to see a family with teenagers that doesn’t include at least one sullen face, accompanied by short, terse answers. It’s not exactly a formula that cries out success, is it? Don’t despair – the challenge is not as tough as it seems, and it can be downright fun! Here are some great idea to get you started, and if you’ve decided to take the challenge, let us know!

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Posted on September 29, 2024 by Carmen

What to Eat When Training for a 5K

By Jennipher Walters for FitBottomedGirls.com

Signing up for a triathlon or training for a 5K or other endurance event doesn’t just take time working out—it also takes time eating and planning a diet that is perfect for your exercise routine! We recently got some tips from Elisa Zied, registered dietitian, author, and founder and president of Zied Health Communications on how to improve your running and walking performance with the right tasty eats! After all, runners and walkers use more carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals than couch potatoes.

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Posted on September 29, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Brain Scans Show Why Obese Lack Craving Control

It’s nothing new in the scientific community that there is more than just lifestyle choices that come into play when determining who is fat and who is thin. There are various biological factors that often play a significant role in people’s weight.

While the most commonly known biological factor for one’s weight is varying resting metabolisms, there are also neurological factors. The latest findings assert that obese people have a tendency to lack impulse control when it comes to food.

Researchers compared the brain scans of thin people to obese people when both looked at pictures of high-calorie foods. What they found was that there was an increased activity in a region of the brain used for impulse control with thin people, but there wasn’t so much activity in the region of the obese people.

“I think there may be biological reasons why people can’t necessarily control their desire for food,” said Robert Sherwin of Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut, who worked on the study. (more…)

Posted on September 28, 2024 by Jason

Eat More Honey for National Honey Month

This month is National Honey Month and it just so happens that this week, we’re all about honey. Between the Jewish New Year, which includes a tradition of dipping apples in honey for a “sweet” New Year to First Lady Michelle Obama’s honey beehive at the white house, we just can’t get enough. Plus, there is just no denying that the sweet sugar alternative has some astounding health benefits.

According to the National Honey Board, Americans consume nearly 1.5 pounds of honey per year annually. While honey is certainly not new, it has recently gained popularity as a healthy alternative to sugar. At 60 calories per tablespoon, honey offers a number of advantages.

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Posted on September 28, 2024 by Maris