Top Ten Healthy Cooking Tips

Nutritious cooking starts with the healthy, fresh and good ingredients that you use to prepare your meals. You simply need to know the very basic laws of nutritious cooking, and you can easily prepare healthy meals, without worrying too much about it. It can even make it easier to prepare meals quickly because you don't need to look for some real exotic ingredients.

Below are certain quick and easy tips that can help you in making your meals more nutritious.

1) Make it a habit to plan your menu in advance and serve the food that is freshly cooked to prevent reheating. Reheating destroys the nutritive value of foods and also changes the original taste of the food.

2) Cover the food with cling film (plastic wrap) before string in the refrigerator to prevent mixing of flavors. Food is to be used not only as a source of calories but also as nourishment to grow, maintain and repair tissues of the body and also prevent disease.

3) Never over-cook the vegetables. The more you cook them, the less nutrition they'll offer to you. Fresh and tender vegetables cook quickly and do not need a lot of seasoning and spices to taste good.

4) These days almost all the vegetables you buy from market are covered with fertilizers and pesticides. To remove them, wash the vegetables in a sink full of potassium permanganate. Then rinse them with plain water. Cut and cook.

5) If your space provides, try to have a little kitchen garden for some basic food ingredients like mint, basil, coriander, chilies etc.You don't need a full field space to have one. These days you can find easy portable pots to include in your kitchen. The greenery will definitely make your kitchen and home look good, along with providing natural and fresh source of ingredients to your meals.

6) Never cook green leafy vegetables in acids like lime or tamarind, as the olive green color of the green vegetables that comes because of these acids indicate that the nutrients from these vegetables wouldn't be absorbed easily by our bodies.

7) To make sure that the food is not overcooked in a pressure cooker, first boil the water without putting the lid on the cooker. Then when it is boiling add the ingredients and cover the lid tightly and cook on low flame for some time till you feel the food is cooked instead of pressure cooking on high flame with many whistles of the cooker.

Buy unpolished and small sized pulses and legumes as some of the vital nutrients get lost in polishing and processing them.

8) Onions are a rich source of quercetin, which is a very significant phytochemical and antioxidant. But the mistake we usually make is that we cut them immediately before having it. Onion should be cut and kept for at least 10 minutes before serving as oxidation helps quercetin to get activated.

9) Milk purchased from a dairy which is not pasteurized should be boiled for at least 10 - 15 minutes at boiling temperature to eliminate the effect of any bacteria or other germs.

10) It can be dangerous using wrong cookware. Never use painted and decorated pots and pans. Some are made of lead and silver toxin material. This can lead to severe digestive disorders. Using aluminum vessels for cooking can cause high levels of aluminum in the brain tissue, because it is tough to remove aluminum from the body. People suffering from Alzheimer's disease have high aluminum in brain tissue. Pyrex and stainless steel is the safest cookware.

Did you find the above article useful? Please share your opinion in comments. Thanks!

Holistic Weight Loss System

Incorporating holistic approach to weight loss solutions can work wonders in providing body the necessary nourishment. Now, plan to include holistic activities with gruesome workout schedules and dieting, to reap out maximum benefits.

According to Henri Roca, medical director of Greenwich Hospital's Centre for Integrative Medicine - Holistic weightloss program can help an individual develop healthy eating habits and stay fit all his life. She said that genetics, metabolism, hormones and physiological attributes can act as potential hitting blocks to a successful long-term weight management.

Stress alone can impact a human body more than what people realize. Chronic stress can lead to enhanced cortisol levels that can stimulate glucose production in the body. Excess of glucose then gets converted into fat and stored in the body - especially around an individual's mid-section. A chemical chain reaction can take place inside the body and weaken the best weight loss efforts.

When you cut back on calories intake and add or increase exercises in your daily routine, you can succeed in achieving weightloss, but usually according to statistics, these do not offer enough motivation to people who've had failed in achieving their weight loss goals before. Failure to reach the weightloss goal adds up to the already existing stress in person's mind and suppresses the weight loss to occur in him going further.

Hence it is really essential that you include proper meditation and other stress management techniques in your routine along with regular diet plans and exercise regime.

Garlic can cure Hypertension

According to a new research garlic can work wonders in treating high blood pressure, when complimented with proper medication. As part of the study, Australian doctors registered 50 patients in a trial to observe if garlic supplements can bring any positive changes to those who were suffering from high blood pressure despite getting proper medication.

Garlic supplements have earlier displayed to reduce the cholesterol and high blood pressure in those with untreated hypertension. Now, the researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, observed and studied the effects of four capsules a day of a supplement known as aged garlic for 12 weeks.

They discovered that systolic blood pressure was around 10mmHg lower in the group given garlic compared with those given a placebo. According to the researcher Karin Ried - Garlic supplements have been associated with a blood pressure lowering effect of clinical significance in patients with untreated hypertension. The trial, however, is the first to assess the effect, tolerability and acceptability of aged garlic extract as an additional treatment to existing antihypertensive medication in patients with treated, but uncontrolled, hypertension.

Caution: Experts say garlic supplements should only be used after seeking medical advice, as garlic can thin the blood or interact with some medicines.

The study has been reported in the journal Maturitas.

Begin your Right Food Habits at Home

How often has your kid suggested that you pick a box of cereals instead of chocolates at the grocery store? Chances are, may be not even once. Then it is time, you start to show a new approach toward healthy eating habits and make it sound like good fun.
Below are some of the easy and effective methods that can help you in getting your kid begin his/her healthy alternatives over candies and chips

1) Be A Role Model: Do not fret over food and make a remark that you are putting on weight because of the meals. Kids do as you do. So, lead by example. Choose nutritious snacks, eat at the dining table, and don't skip meals.

2) Involve Your Child: From the foods you offer, kids get to choose what they will eat or whether to eat at all. Try to involve your kids when you choosing which fruits to get home. Kids like to feel important in home matters. You can tell them to decide on a weekly menu too.

3) Start Them Young: Everybody's fussy about food. Not just kids even adults. But it is good to know that food preferences are developed early in life, so you can start by offering variety. You may need to serve a new food on several different occasions for a child to accept it. Don't force a child to eat, but offer a few bites.

4) Don't Reward With Food: Food is not love. When foods are used to reward kids and show affection, they may start using food to cope with stress or other emotions. Offer hugs, praise, and attention instead of food treats.

5) Get Active: Limit TV and computer time. With that, you can restrict mindless snacking and encourage activity. Limiting 'screen time' means you'll have more time to be active together.

Reduce your calorie intake by drinking Skimmed Milk

Skimmed milk can facilitate people to feel fuller because of its high protein content, lactose sugar and its thickness.

Researchers have discovered that drinking fat free milk in the morning has helped people in gaining higher levels of satiety and hence lead to reduced calorie intake at the next meal, when compared to a fruit drink. Those who drank milk ate about 50 fewer calories (or nearly nine percent less food) at lunch.

In the study, 34 overweight but otherwise healthy men and women participated in two testing sessions, one in which they were served about 20 ounces of fat free milk, and one in which they were served the same quantity of a fruit drink (each contributing 250 calories to their breakfast).

During the four hours between breakfast and lunch, the men and women gauged their feelings of fullness and were allowed to eat until they were comfortably full at lunch.

The researchers discovered that the milk-drinking adults reported feeling fuller and more satisfied and therefore ate fewer calories at lunch.

The researchers suspect that milk's protein content (providing 16 percent of the daily value per cup), the lactose (the natural sugar in milk) or simply the thickness of the beverage may play a role in the satiety benefits.

And, research suggests choosing foods that can help enhance satiety is an important success factor in any weight management plan, according to a Eurekalert release.

These results are slated for publication in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Now Reduce your Calorie Intake by Chewing Gum

According to a nutrition professor at the University of Rhode Island - Chewing sugar-free gum can abridge calorie intake and accentuate energy expenditure.

Kathleen Melanson, the URI associate professor of nutrition and food sciences, reached to this conclusion by comparing gum chewing to non-gum chewing in healthy adult volunteers, who came to her lab for two standardized tests in random order.

When the research subjects chewed gum for a total of one hour in the morning (three 20-minute gum-chewing sessions), they consumed 67 fewer calories at lunch and did not compensate by eating more later in the day. Male participants also reported feeling significantly less hungry after chewing gum.

It was also discovered that when her subjects chewed gum before and after eating, they spent around 5 percent more energy than when they did not chew gum. Apart from this, her subjects reported feeling more energetic after chewing gum.
Based on these results,Melanson concluded that gum chewing integrates energy expenditure and energy intake, and that is what energy balance is about. She further elaborated that the nerves in the muscles of the jaw are stimulated by the motion of chewing and then send signals to the appetite section of the brain that is linked to satiety, which may explain why the act of chewing might help to reduce hunger.

Melanson said that she expected that chewing would increase the amount of energy her subjects expended.

"However, what makes the energy expenditure data particularly interesting is that this study simulated real-life gum chewing, with the subjects chewing at their own relaxed, natural pace and for realistic time periods," she said.

In her study, 35 male and female subjects made two visits to the URI Energy Metabolism Lab after having fasted over night. During one visit, they chewed gum for 20 minutes before consuming a breakfast shake and twice more during the three hours before lunch. During both visits, participants remained as still as possible as measurements were conducted of their resting metabolism rates and blood glucose levels at regular intervals before and after breakfast and lunch. They also conducted periodic self-assessments of their feelings of hunger, energy and other factors during both visits.

"This was a short term study, so the next step is to do a longer study and to use subjects who need to lose weight.But based on these initial results, one could hypothesize that gum chewing may be a useful adjunct to a weight management program," said Melanson.

How Can Calorie Intake impact Cancer Development?

Restricting consumption of glucose can extend the life of healthy human-lung cells and speed the death of precancerous human-lung cells, reducing cancer's spread and growth rate, say researchers.

Boffins from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) conducted tests by growing both healthy human-lung cells and precancerous human-lung cells in laboratory flasks. The flasks were provided either normal levels of glucose or significantly reduced amounts of the sugar compound, and the cells then were allowed to grow for a period of weeks.
Principal investigator Trygve Tollefsbol, Ph.D., D.O., a professor in the Department of Biology, said: "In that time, we were able to track the cells' ability to divide while also monitoring the number of surviving cells. The pattern that was revealed to us showed that restricted glucose levels led the healthy cells to grow longer than is typical and caused the precancerous cells to die off in large numbers."

The expert added: "These results further verify the potential health benefits of controlling calorie intake.

"Our research indicates that calorie reduction extends the lifespan of healthy human cells and aids the body's natural ability to kill off cancer-forming cells."

Taking Herbal Pills May Help you Loose Appetite

A research has shown that women can reduce their daily calorie intake by almost a fifth if they simply take a herbal diet pill. The supplement has also been shown to help those with a sweet tooth, reducing the temptation to indulge in sugary snacks.

Zotrim, which is based on three South American plants, was tested by scientists at the University of Liverpool.
They found that women who took the pill with their breakfast had a much lower appetite at lunch time, cutting their calorie intake by 17.6 per cent, reported dailymail.co.uk.
Of the 58 volunteers who were given either Zotrim or a dummy pill in the morning, those on the herbal supplement only picked at their afternoon meal.
The subjects, some of whom were overweight, were observed at a test lunch buffet where they were told to eat as much they wanted. Those on Zotrim ate on average 132 fewer calories. If the effects were replicated throughout the day, the pill would cut a dieter's daily count by 400 or 500 calories.

Zotrim is designed to make the user feel fuller for longer. But it also appears to take the edge off a sweet tooth, cutting the women's selection of biscuits and chocolate mousse from the buffet by 27 per cent.

"Zotrim has a robust effect on a dieter's appetite, which could help them lose weight," said Dr Jason Halford, an obesity expert.

The pill contains caffeine and other ingredients from herbs Guarana, Yerba Mate and Damiana. The cocktail delays the rate at which the stomach empties by about 20 minutes. The process is not dangerous because it merely extends the length of time taken to digest the food.

However, it makes it difficult for dieters to overeat because they feel uncomfortably full sooner. Previous research has shown that Zotrim can help overweight women lose an average of two inches from their waists in just four weeks. Some of those taking part shed five inches from their middles.

You need Good Sleep to Fight Fat if You are Dieting

A small research conducted in US states that getting too little sleep might prevent dieters from losing body fat.
The study that got issued in the Annals of Internal Medicine, adds to evidence that sleep habits play a role in weight regulation and suggest people embarking on a weight-loss plan may want to make sure they are catching enough shut-eye each night.

The research included 10 overweight men and women who lived in a sleep lab for two separate two-week periods. During both periods they followed the same calorie-restricted diet but for one period, the participants slept for 8.5 hours per night, while during the other they got 5.5 hours. Researchers from the University of Chicago found the dieters lost the same amount of weight under both conditions - just under 7 pounds, on average.
But during the sleep-restricted period, they mainly lost muscle rather than fat. When participants got 8.5 hours of sleep, more than half of their weight loss came from shedding fat. But when they got 5.5 hours of sleep, only one-quarter of their weight loss came from fat -- translating to a 55 per cent reduction in fat loss. The majority of their weight loss came from lean body tissue, which refers to muscle and any other body tissue that is not fat.
So, they lost the same amount of weight, but the composition was different. Dr. Plamen Penev, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said that successful dieters always shed a certain amount of muscle but wanted to limit that loss in favor of shedding fat.
The study, however, has a number of limitations. Besides its small size, it also looked only at short-term weight loss. More research is needed to see how sleep duration might affect dieters' body composition over time. It was also unclear how well these findings from a tightly controlled sleep-lab setting might fit the "real world." A number of studies have found self-described "short sleepers" - typically defined as those who get less than 6 hours of sleep each night - tend to weigh more or gain more weight over time than people who get more sleep.

Lab studies have suggested sleep loss may alter people's levels of the "hunger hormones" leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is secreted by fat cells; low blood levels of the hormone promote hunger, while increases tell the brain that body is full and encourage calorie burning. Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach to boost appetite.
Penev's study  found that under sleep-restricted condition, participants reported greater hunger during the day compared with the 8-hour sleep condition even though they consumed the same number of calories during both periods. They also had higher blood levels of acylated ghrelin, one form of the appetite-boosting hormone. Penev said there wsa no one-size-fits-all prescription for sleep and more studies are needed in real-world settings.

A Guide to a Good Diet

Get your daily fix of carbs and don’t avoid butter or bananas either.

Did you know that including coriander in your daily diet is vital? These green leaves act as stimulants, strengthen the stomach and promote digestion.


Besides, pistachios make for a healthy snack, improving eyesight and lowering bad cholesterol. And, if you were thinking butter and coconuts weren’t good for you, here’s some news. According to the nutrition experts - Don’t cut them out from your diet completely. They contain good saturated fat. A teaspoon of pure butter once a day is good enough.


Food experts recommend Indian spices like turmeric and ginger in our daily diet. Turmeric is an antiseptic that lowers cholesterol and prevents cardiac problems. It also protects one from infections, coughs, cold and fever, whereas ginger prevents aches and bloating of the body. Walnuts and flax seed are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, experts believe.


Coming to the macro nutrients  - carbohydrates, proteins and fats; dieticians strongly recommend a good balance of these three components. Fitness experts advise 55 to 65 per cent carbohydrates (cereals, whole wheat bread, rice, porridge, fruits and vegetables); 20 to 25 per cent fat (dairy products, oil, nuts and seeds) and 15 to 20 per cent proteins (dal, pulses, sprouts, egg, chicken, fish) in our daily diet.


It is unhealthy to stop having any of these nutrients, not even fat, as your energy levels will drop. A fruit diet helps detox and cleanse the body, but should preferably be done only a couple of days a month or once a week. A long-term adherence to fruit diets and ignorance of other essential ingredients such as carbohydrates and proteins can lead to nutritional deficiencies.


However, carbohydrates at the cost of protein is not healthy. We often find rice more than pulses in our diet. The modern Indian diet is also very fat-rich hence four to five servings of vegetables and three to four servings of fruits daily should be incorporated.


Besides the two main meals, one can have raw veggies such as cucumbers and tomatoes in salads, or include veggies during breakfast in "poha". One should go for a variety of fruits like apples, bananas and papayas. Let us not ignore the indigenous ones, such as guavas. We must aim at serving fruits as a meal. Otherwise, it’s best to have fruits as a mid-morning and evening snack. A minimum three fruits a day help us get our natural sugars.


Recipe to cook "Poha" can be viewed here.


While watching your diet, don’t forget to step out in the sun for essential Vitamin D, which helps in balancing hormones and acts as an anti-depressant. 

The Obesity Epidemic - Reviewed

Despite fad diets and ‘fat-free’ healthy foods, why is the world in the grip of an obesity epidemic?
Quattrin, who is testing an innovative program for preventing and treating obesity in children aged 2 to 5, has now offered her expert opinion.

Q. Why have obesity rates increased so much over the past several decades? 
Quattrin: People are eating more, and eating less healthy food high in calories. There are children who eat a whole carton of strawberries, and their parents think that’s OK.
But too much healthy food can contribute to the problem, too. Extra calories, along with low physical activity, lead to obesity--especially in people with a predisposition to developing the disease, and certainly in kids whose parents are obese.


Q. What are some simple steps children and families can take to prevent obesity? 
Quattrin: Parents should educate themselves by finding out their children’s body mass index, and their own. Young children who don’t look overweight may still be obese.


If the home environment is such that the refrigerator and pantry are full of junk food instead of fruits and vegetables, the child grows up feeling that’s the way he or she should eat.
Park a little further away from the supermarket. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk to the store or a friend’s house. These are simple steps that can ameliorate and prevent problems.


Picks of the day: 


 
Fat Politics: The Real Story behind America's Obesity Epidemic


 
Handbook of Obesity Treatment

Guilt About Eating

According to a research an approximate of four in every ten young girls feel guilty about what they eat.Many young girls feel guilty about what they eat against a background of stress, emotional upset and peer pressure to be stick-thin. 

They are racked with anxiety as they pop open a bag of crisps or unwrap a chocolate bar. The disturbing trend was highlighted in research suggesting millions of young people have a dysfunctional relationship with food. 


According to a retail analyst - girls in particular are more likely to eat to cope with stressful situations, perhaps copying their mothers. Girls were also more likely to comfort eat than boys when unhappy. When coupled with evidence that teen girls do much less exercise than boys, this points to a greater risk of weight gain and worsening health. 
Three in every ten children, equivalent to around 3.47million, are now defined as obese or overweight. 
Some 40 per cent of girls aged 11 to 15 have some guilt about what they eat and are often on diets as a result. The figure for boys was 20 per cent. 
Feeling guilty about eating is more common among girls. This likely reflects the general higher pressure that women put themselves under in terms of their weight and appearance.Obviously, this starts at a young age and could be "learned" experience from their mothers. According to the research reports, women are more likely than men to eat when stressed.
Comfort eating is likely to lead to feeling guilty for indulging in a treat to cheer you up. 


The report was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. 


The best book to cure emotional eating: 
The Emotional Diet - How to Love Your Life More and Food Less

Pregnancy Diet Plan

A new research work states that eating nutritious foods, especially fruits and vegetables, could reduce pregnant women’s risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI).  Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing URTI in expectant mothers. 

URTIs include the common cold and sinus infections, which can lead to lower respiratory problems, such as asthma or pneumonia. Even though the majority of URTIs are uncomplicated colds, identifying ways to prevent their occurrence is important because colds are the most common reason for school and work absences. Eating fruits and vegetables improves immunity but hadn’t previously been associated with reducing the risk of URTIs in pregnant women. 
The researchers studied more than 1,000 pregnant women and found those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 26 percent less likely to have URTI relative to those who ate the least amount. Neither fruit nor vegetable intake alone was found to be associated with the five-month risk of URTI. The patterns observed for total fruit and vegetable intake and either fruit or vegetable intake alone in relation to the three-month risk of URTI were consistent with those when assessing the five-month risk of URTI. 


Women in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable intake had a stronger reduced three-month risk than the five-month risk of URTI. Moreover, there was a significant decreasing linear trend for the three-month risk of URTI with consumption of fruits and vegetables. 
Pregnant women have been recommended to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This study showed that intake of higher levels, 6.71 servings per day, was associated with a moderate risk reduction for URTI. Pregnant women may require more fruits and vegetables than usual because of the extra demands on the body.


The study appears online in the journal Public Health Nutrition. 

Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Today's Mothers-to-Be

Easy And Efficient Tips To Recharge Yourself

A guide to get over the ‘dead’ feeling and recharge your personal batteries 

Feeling lethargic, unproductive and dull all day? Overstretched, overworked and sleep deprived? Can’t focus? Don’t worry, you’re are simply going through a personal energy crisis. When the blues set in, working becomes tedious. You feel guilty about not achieving enough which results in mental fatigue, further affecting your health. To shift from this low energy phase to being fully charged, recognise habits that deplete your energy and make positive changes:
1) Lack of sleep 
Following a 1am to 9pm sleep pattern isn’t as restorative as sleeping from 10pm to 6am. It is during this time that your hormone secretion, body temperature, digestion etc. follows a 24-hour cycle linked to the natural light exposure. If you fall asleep late, then you’ll wake up late and that would make you feel more out-of-sync.

2) Late-night work 
Do you always have that “one last email” to finish? And before you know it, there’s “something else” to take care of also, and soon you’ve spent an hour or longer working. All this overrides your body’s cues for rest and repair, leading to energy depletion
the next day.

3) Lack of proper nutrition 
Do you make these diet mistakes?
Excess sugar: Causes fluctuations in blood sugar resulting in low energy levels. Watch out for low-fat foods, many of which have forms of sugar like high fructose corn syrup to increase the taste.
Insufficient protein: Especially if you follow fad diets that lay stress on high-protein and low-carb.

4) Set a time limit 
Make a deadline and stick to it. Set an alarm to remind yourself, if you have to. When time is up, stop working. If you feel tired before the deadline, listen to your body and take rest.

5) Set affirmations 
Convert distress into ‘eustress’ or positive stress. Positive affirmations and auto-suggestions work best here. For instance, if your job is mundane or stressful, constantly tell yourself that you still love what you do.

6) Exercise at right intensity 
Don’t overdo exercises so much that you don’t have energy left when you reach office. Learn to hit the optimum intensity in your workout regime.

7) Posture 
If you slouch, you’ll look and feel tired. Give up unfriendly chairs at workplaces. Adopt an energetic posture – head held firmly, shoulders straight and spine erect.

8) Fix your diet 
Adopt these mantras: 
l The cliche about five small meals a day holds true. Try small, frequent meals as it ups your metabolic levels.
l Include alkaline forming foods, like figs, green leafy vegetables, almonds etc.
l Avoid refined sugar.
l Avoid coffee, have green tea.

9) Care for feet 
Do you tend to walk a lot, be it to the station, climbing stairs or running to catch the train? The result is tired feet, stressed back and shoulders. Go for a foot reflexology session to fix it.

10) Do-It-Yourself massage 
Massaging the body breaks blockages in it. And when blockages are dissolved, energy flows. When worn out, give yourself a quick massage. Feet is a good place to start, pressing the feet for a few minutes will make you feel fresh. Next, press the shoulders, neck and calf muscles. There are reflexology charts online, observe the pressure points and press those. Similarly, massaging along your eyebrows and forehead gives a renewed sense of energy. If opting for aromatherapy, choose flowery essences like lemon grass, orange etc.

11) Turn to yoga 
Yoga combined with breathing and meditation techniques is ideal to beat chronic fatigue syndrome. Practice bandhas (neuromuscular locks) that help you to balance the endocrine system to fight fatigue. Mool Bandha, Udyan Bandha and Jalandhar Bandha are three bandhas. Else, practice pranayams like Bharahmari, Shitkari, Anulom-Vilom, Shavasana to relax your mind. Devoting 30 minutes a day for yoga — 10 for Surya Namaskar, 10 minutes for deep breathing and 10 minutes of Shavasan — will set you on the right energy track.

(Inputs by Dr Dilip Nadkarni, Author Calm Sutra, Rajni Maker, Fitness Expert, Body Craft, and Omar Faroque, Spa Consultant, Rebirth Spa)