How to Keep Your Mind Young and Sharp

Keeping our brain young and sharp is as important as keeping our body healthy.  Our brain requires proper nutrition and constant stimulation to keep it young and sharp.  Here are the different ways to do it.

Our body needs proper nutrition and so does our brain.  Eat plenty of foods rich in essential fatty acids.  EFAs are useful in learning better and it makes you think more clearly.  Good sources of EFAs are sardines, herring, salmon, trout, anchovies, tuna, flax seed, flax oil, fish oil and walnuts. 

Vitamins and minerals are essential in your brain’s health.  B vitamins are especially important as they help normalize nerve function.  Liver, beer, tuna, oats, whole wheat, turkey, Brazil nuts, legumes, bananas, avocados, potatoes are good sources of B vitamins.  

Selenium is also important in keeping your mind young and sharp.  It is believed to have some ability to control cell damage.  Good sources of selenium are eggs, fish and shellfish, red meat, chicken, garlic and grains. 

Load up on fruits and vegetables because they are rich in antioxidants, minerals, and phytochemicals.  These include food rich in vitamin A, C, E, carotenoids and flavonoids such as in dark, leafy and bright-colored fruits and vegetables to enable your mind to function like it is young.  Spinach, kale, collard greens, green peppers, squash, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, peaches and apricot are just some of these foods. 

Just like our body, our brain needs exercise to keep it sharp.  Stimulate your brain through reading.  Through reading your brain takes new information, stores, recalls and links it to other information.  This way your memory is improved.  Read every day to get optimum results.

Another way to stimulate your brain is to do mind games like puzzles.  Once your brain is presented with a problem, it tries to find a solution. 

Some may not agree but playing video games stimulates your brain. There are video games intended to stimulate your brain.  Try these games once in a while.

Don’t stop learning new things; a hobby or a new skill for instance.  Don’t let your mind get stuck and become rusted.  There are easy and fun ways to keep your mind young and sharp.

Advantages of Cooking At Home

With our busy schedule, most of us don’t have time to cook at home.  And the convenience of precooked, processed, or prepackaged foods made it even impossible.  As we get used to this, preparing and cooking food has become burdensome to some of us.  But isn’t eating your own homemade cooking better than eating precooked or prepackaged foods or even eating out?

We all know that it is unhealthy to eat precooked and prepackaged foods.  They contain lots of preservatives, additives, fats and other unhealthy stuff.  Therefore, there is nothing healthier than eating the food you cooked yourself.

Why is cooking at home better?  First of all you can choose and control the ingredients. You know exactly what and how much you need.  Unlike eating in restaurants or prepackaged foods, you can control the calories, fat sodium, etc. in your food.  You can likewise choose the freshest and higher quality ingredients and you can make sure that there are no additives or preservatives in the food you and your family eat.

Preparing your own food also ensures that it is hygienic. We don’t know what goes with our food in restaurants or prepackaged foods.  Although restaurants and factories have their own standards, sometimes they are overlooked. Have you asked yourself who handled your food? Was it prepared properly? Maybe it was dropped on the dirty floor or counter top. These things happen especially when everybody in the kitchen is very busy. 

Cooking at home allows you to save money.  If you eat in a restaurant, most likely you’ll get an over-sized serving. At home you can control how much you are going to cook and eat.  You can start with a little and if you’re still hungry you can help yourself with some more.  And of course, you can store the leftovers in your fridge. 

Additionally cooking at home allows you to have quality time with your family. Get your children involved in food preparation, table setting, or cleaning up.  It is fun and rewarding.  Your children will appreciate eating healthier food if they are involved in the process.  It enhances their physical growth and mental development.  They feel loved and cared for if parents prepare food for them. 

It is a fact that we live in a fast-paced world but there are no shortcuts to giving proper nutrition to your family.  Cooking at home for your family ensures that your family’s health requirements are taken care of.  

How to Get Kids Eat Healthy Foods

Kids need proper nourishment to give them energy to learn and grow.  Eating well helps your kids stay healthy and establish good long-lasting eating habits.  However, getting kids to eat healthy foods is a big challenge for most moms. And sometimes with our busy schedule we turn to fast food.

Although it’s quite impossible and difficult to get a child to eat all the healthy foods, there are strategies to get your child eat at least some of them.  A great way to get your child eat healthy is to get him involved in making food decisions and in preparing them.  He may be too young to help you out with the menu, but he would probably like to go shopping at the grocery store.  Let him make food choices. For instance, ask him whether to get apples or pears, spinach or cabbage.  This is a good way to expose your child to different nutritious foods.

Children are also very fascinated with what you do in the kitchen.  Let them help you prepare foods, just make sure to keep safety first in mind.  My five year old son likes to peel or cut vegetables when I’m preparing them.  He also likes to stir in the food but I don’t always let him do it for safety reasons.  It’s really amazing to see that he felt accomplished after the food is cooked.  And most often than not, he enjoys eating the food we both cooked. Allowing him to watch and talk about the food while you cook is a good way to make him involved. This is an opportunity for you to teach him a thing or two about foods.

Make sure to have family meals.  Studies show that family meals improve the child’s social and emotional well-being.  Kids are more likely to eat healthy food such as fruits, vegetables and grains.  They are less likely to build bad habits such as smoking, taking drugs, or drinking alcohol.  Aside from that, you get the chance to catch up with your kids.  This is also a perfect time to act as role models to your kids.  You can’t expect your kids to eat healthy foods if they see you eat junk food or skip meals.

Although it’s nice if your child understood the significance of fruits and vegetables, you can’t always make him understand that.  If your child is unwilling to eat healthy food, try to include fruits and vegetables in foods without him knowing it. Include fruits in muffins or cookies for instance.  Kids can be too picky, but try to incorporate fruits and vegetables in their diet.  Don’t give up if your child won’t eat; just continue serving fruits and vegetables.  My five year old doesn’t like vegetables, but I always tell him vegetables are good for his skin, eyes, etc.  And it works!

Try to be creative in introducing fruits and vegetables in your kid’s diet.  Try different ways and stick to the ones that are effective.  One day you’ll be surprised he will even ask you to serve him fruits and vegetables. 

Tips to Improve Your Metabolism

Having high level of metabolism is a gift that not all of us could receive.  Those who have higher metabolism tend to lose weight easily, while those who don’t tend to gain more weight.  But don’t despair.  You can do something about it.  Here are some methods to improve your metabolism.

1.  Don’t skip breakfast.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but a lot of people take it for granted.  Skipping breakfast slows down your metabolism and signals the body it’s starving because you go without food for a long period of time. 

2.  Don’t starve or skip meals.  Once your body senses that you are starving it slows metabolism down.

3.  Eat smaller meals, about 4 to 6 small meals at 2 to 3 hours interval.

4.  Stay away from sugar. Sugar allows the body to store fat.

5.  Get enough exercise.  This increases your metabolism all day if done especially in the morning.  Try to build up lean, mean body mass.  Build strength and resistance through working out at least twice a week.  You should match the amount of food taken to your daily activity.  Staying active is very important. Walking or doing house chores can also help you stay active.   

6.  Have more sleep. Those who have less sleep tend to gain weight.  It is during last couple of hours sleep that the muscles regenerate.

7.  Drink plenty of water.  Water cleanses our system by flushing out toxins.  The energy burning process of metabolism needs water to work effectively. 

8.  Try these foods to help improve your metabolism.

a.  Grapefruit – decreases insulin levels that prompt your body to store fat.  It is also rich in fiber thereby making body burn extra calories to break it down.

b.Almonds – the essential fatty acids found in almonds help improve your metabolism. However, it is also high in calories so don’t over eat.

c. Apples – are also rich in fiber and help you stay full for longer, so you’ll eat less.

d.Eat spicy foods, like jalapeno and curry.  Hot cuisine with peppers can improve metabolism.

e.Green tea – has epigallocatechin gallate which speeds up your brain and nervous system, making your body burn more calories.

f.  Turkey – is high in protein which builds lean muscle tissue, prompting your body to burn more calories.

g. Broccoli – is high in calcium and vitamin c. Calcium triggers metabolism, while vitamin C helps your body absorb calcium.

h.Oatmeal – is also high in fat-soluble fiber.  It lowers insulin level and boosts your metabolism.

9.  Include more energy giving foods in your diet, like fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

10.  Avoid stress.  It triggers the release of cortisol, a type of steroid, which lowers metabolism. 

Improving your metabolism takes a lot of discipline.  Always remember that eating the right food and exercise should not only be short-lived, but should be a way of life.  Keep yourself healthy and improve your metabolism.

Foods for Beautiful Healthy Skin

For most of us having soft, healthy, younger looking skin is the top priority. After all, the skin is the largest organ of our body and the first line of defense against sickness. Forget those expensive lotions, creams, and other skin care products. Proper nutrition is the key to having healthy, soft, glowing skin. So what kinds of foods should we eat?

If you want healthy skin you should eat foods rich in vitamin A. Low-fat dairy products are excellent source of this vitamin as well as acidophilus. Acidophilus is a live bacteria found in low-fat yogurt and is good for the intestine by helping digestion. Include cod liver oil, leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, and fortified breakfast cereal in your diet because they are also high in vitamin A.

Egg whites are a great source of zinc which is important in keeping skin young and firm. It is also rich in protein needed to produce collagen. Pomegranate is rich in vitamin C but its seeds are rich in ellagic acid and punicalagin. Ellagic acid fights damage from free radicals, while punicalagin boosts your body’s ability to maintain collagen, which makes your skin soft, smooth and younger looking.

Blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, plums, prunes, pecans, artichoke, as well as black, red and pinto beans are great sources of antioxidants. Antioxidants and phytochemicals found in these fruits can protect skin cells, protect from premature aging, therefore making skin younger looking. Antioxidants like vitamin C, potassium and Lycopene found in watermelon help regulate the balance of water and nutrients in cells.

Spinach and kale contain vital Phytonutrients also referred to as antioxidant compounds that help guard against damage from the sun. These two leafy greens are loaded with beta-carotene and lutein, which improve skin elasticity and firmness.

To diminish brown spots, drink green tea. It boosts your metabolism and contains “catechins”, which prevents premature aging and sun damage. It also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Essential fatty acids keep cell membranes healthy, and allow nutrients to pass through. Foods rich in essential fatty acids are salmon, walnuts, canola oil, and flax seed. Cold-water fish like salmon, sardines or mackerel naturally has Omega-3 fatty acids which strengthen skin-cell membranes, which helps to hydrate the skin. Include olive oil in your diet for a healthy glow. Olive oil has "good fat". It contains heart healthy omega-3's, which improve your circulation, leaving skin rosy and supple.

Eat whole-wheat bread, muffins, and cereals as well as turkey, tuna and brazil nuts for selenium which could help lessen sun damage. Opting for whole grain types of complex carbohydrates can have a remarkable effect on insulin levels.

More than anything else hydration is the secret to vibrant, healthy, youthful looking skin. Therefore drink lots of water. Water also helps move the toxins out of your system so they have less chance to do damage. Include these foods in your diet now for a healthy, younger-looking skin.

How to Interpret Food Labels

It is not often that we can measure the food we eat, but it is still an excellent though to know how much we consume. This is especially important when we dine out. A lot of individuals are amazed to learn that single serving is in fact two or more.

There are a lot of tools that can be used to determine your total daily food and nutrient intake. However, the most helpful way of ascertaining the appropriate kind of food to be purchased is reading the food labels. Food labels give nutritional facts about foods such calories, fiber, total fat, vitamins and minerals “per serving”. You can also compare foods and choose the healthier ones. However, reading and interpreting food labels can be confusing and most of the time annoying.

You must be aware of the following things to have a clear and more in-depth comprehension of the items specified in the food label in order to make smart food choices.

1. Serving Size

This is the fundamental item you notice in a food label. The serving size tells you the size of each serving. The quantity of servings specified in the food label indicates the amount of food people normally eat. In addition, the amount of nutrients that goes into the body is determined by serving size. Nonetheless, this does not exactly suggest that it indicates the amount of your very own food intake.

For example, if the food label states one serving size is equivalent to 54 grams, this indicates you have to weigh 54 gram and consume that and you have just consumed one serving. In other words, the amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount that has just got into your body taking into account the fact that you have just consumed 54 grams.

Nevertheless, if the food label states that every pack is equal to 4 servings and you have consumed all of it, you have to compute the quantity of nutrients that you have consumed. Therefore, if the food label says 250 calories per serving, you have to multiply it by four to determine the total calories you have consumed.

2. Nutrients

This section refers to the list of nutrients available in the food package. You can find the nutritional claims of the product here. Normally, the nutritional amounts are on based on both the 2,500 and 2,500 calorie diets.

You must know that the “% daily value” indicated in food labels shows how a particular food corresponds to the recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie diet in order to understand the value of each item.

If the dietary allowance of the item that you bought is different from the 2,000 calorie diet, all you have to do is divide the specified quantity by 2,000 and you will be able to determine the “% daily value”.

3. Ingredients

Each product should indicate the ingredients that were used to make the product. These ingredients are usually listed from the greatest to the smallest amount by weight. To simply put it, a food contains the biggest quantity of the first ingredient and the smallest quantity of the last ingredient.

4. Label claim

This denotes the types of nutritional claims of a certain food item. Examples of these claims are low cholesterol (at least 25% less cholesterol and 2 g. or less of saturated fat), sodium-free (has less than 5 milligrams per serving), low fat (3 g. of fat or less), cholesterol free (less than 2 milligrams (mg.) cholesterol and 2 g. or less of saturated fat), fat-free or sugar-free (less than 0.5 gram (g.) of fat or sugar), low calorie (40 calories or less).

Without a doubt, reading food labels can be confusing and boring. Even so, once you become good at it, watching what you eat is a lot easier because now you can control the amount of food that you take.