Diet Tips for Healthy Life

Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain cancers, such stomach and colon cancer. 

Only get calories from foods that you chew, not from drinks. For example, eat a fresh instead of drinking a fruit juice.

Consider fish. Most fish are lower in saturated fat than meat.

Just one super-sized fast-food meal of a sandwich, fries, and soda can have calories, fat, and added sugar than you need in an entire day. 

Always check out the healthier options at popular fast food restaurants.

Avoid weight-loss pills. Most weight-loss pills that you can buy without a prescription from your doctor or dietician have not been shown to work or be safe.

Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water, and limit 100% fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages, or diet beverages to 0-1 serving per day.

On long commutes or shopping trips, pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, and low-fat string cheese sticks to snack on.

Grill vegetable kabobs as part of a barbecue meal. Try tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions.

In s restaurant, start your meal with a salad packed with veggies, to help control hunger and feel satisfied sooner.

For dessert, Try baked apples, pears, or a fruit salad.

Don't eat too much pasta, bread, or rice. Eat more vegetables instead.

Don't turn to food for comfort. When you feel stressed, go for walk, listen to your favorite music, or call a friend.

Popcorn, a whole grain, can be a healthy snack with little or no added salt and butter

Brush your teeth right after dinner so you can be reminded not to eat after that.

Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol.

Don't eat just because you are bored. Eat only when you are hungry.

Brown rice is more nutritious than white rice as it's loaded with antioxidants, thiamine, niacin, potassium, vitamin E and fiber. 

Resist the temptation of eating at fast food restaurant. But if you have to, resist the temptation of super-sizing your meal.

Your plate should be half vegetables or fruits at every meal.

If you have to eat dessert when eating out, just order one and share with another person.

Flu Attack! How A Virus Invades Your Body

Why Drink Coconut Water?

CocoWater is naturally:

• Low in Carbs
• 99% Fat Free
• Low in sugars

Coconut Water contains organic compounds possessing healthy growth promoting properties that have been known to help -

• Keep the body cool and at the proper temperature.
• Orally re-hydrate your body, it is an all natural isotonic beverage.
• Carry nutrients and oxygen to cells.
• Naturally replenish your body's fluids after exercising.
• Raise your metabolism.
• Promote weight loss.
• Boost your immune system.
• Detoxify and fight viruses.
• Cleanse your digestive tract.
• Control diabetes.
• Aid your body in fighting viruses that cause the flu, herpes, and AIDS.
• Balance your PH and reduce risk of cancer.
• Treat kidney and urethral stones.
• Boost poor circulation.

Coconut Water -

The English name coconut, first mentioned in English print in 1555, comes from Spanish and Portugese word coco, which means "monkey face." Spanish and Portugese explorers found a resemblance to a monkey's face in the three round indented markings or "eyes" found at the base of the coconut. On the Nicobar Islands of the Indian Ocean, whole coconuts were used as currency for the purchase of goods until the early part of the twentieth century.

Coconuts are the fruit of the coconut palm, botanically known as cocos nucifera, with nucifera meaning "nut-bearing. " The fruit-bearing palms are native to Malaysia, Polynesia and southern Asia, and are now also prolific in South America, India , the Pacific Islands , Hawaii and Florida. The light, fibrous husk allowed it to easily drift on the oceans to other areas to propagate. In Sanskrit, the coconut palm is known as kalpa vriksha, meaning "tree which gives all that is necessary for living," since nearly all parts of the tree can be used in some m anner or another. The coconut itself has many food uses, including milk, meat, sugar and oil as well as functioning as its own dish and cup. The husk was also burned for fuel by natives, but today a seed fibre called coir is taken from the husk and used to make brushes, mats, fishnets, and rope. A very potent fermented toddy or drink is also made from the coconut palm's sap. Coconut oil, a saturated fat made from dried coconut meat, is used for commercial frying and in candies and margarines, as well as in non-edible products such as soaps and cosmetics.

Although it takes up to a year for coconuts to mature, the trees bloom up to thirteen times a year, so fruit is constantly forming yielding a continuous harvest year-round. An average harvest from one tree runs about 60 coconuts, with some trees yielding three times that amount. The coconut's name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is botanically classified as a drupe and not a nut. It is the largest seed known.

If you've ever opened a fresh coconut, you will have seen the thin, opaque almost clear coconut juice or water which has a slight almond flavor. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the coconut milk. However, the water is consumed as a drink fresh from the coconut by many, and it can also be used in recipes.

Here are some more information about Coconut Water -

"It's a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It's the fluid of life, so to speak." In fact, during the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides in the conflict regularly used coconut water - siphoned directly from the nut - to give emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers.

Most coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical coastal areas - once exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment.

• Coconut Water is More Nutritious than whole milk - Less fat and NO cholesterol.
• Coconut Water is More Healthy than Orange Juice - Much lower calories.
• Coconut Water is Better than processed baby milk - It contains lauric acid, which is present in human mother's milk.
• Coconut water is naturally sterile - Water permeates though the filtering husk.
• Coconut water is a universal donor - Its identical to human blood plasma.
• Coconut Water is a Natural Isotonic Beverage - The same level we have in our blood.
• Coconut water has saved lives in 3rd world countries thru Coconut IV.

"Coconut water is the very stuff of Nature, biologically Pure, full of Natural Sugars, Salts, and Vitamins to ward off fatigue and is the next wave of energy drinks BUT natural", according to Mortin Satin, Chielf of the United Nation's Food & Agriculture Organization.
Coconut water contains more potassium (at about 294 mg) than most sports drinks (117 mg) and most energy drinks.

• Coconut water has less sodium (25mg) where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks have about 200 mg.
• Coconut water has 5mg of Natural Sugars where sports and energy drinks range from 10-25mg of Altered Sugars.
• Coconut water is very high in Chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.
  Data is based on a 100ml drink

Blood glucose control and diabetic management

ü               A low-GI food will release glucose more slowly and steadily. A high-GI food causes a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels and is suitable for energy recovery after endurance exercise or for a person experiencing hypoglycemia.

ü               It's also possible to lower the GI of a meal with a few teaspoons of vinegar and the addition of fresh fruits and vegetables

^ü               Jamun Sirka is a vinegar produced from the Jamun (or rose apple) fruit in India. It is considered to be medicinally valuable for stomach, spleen and diabetic ailments.

ü                When you eat a low-G.I. food, such as oatmeal, it will break down more slowly and deliver the glucose into the bloodstream at a slower but steady rate.

ü           Although it is not recommended to use fructose as a sweetener, fruit should not be avoided because of its fructose content. Benefits may be obtained by consumption of dietary fibre in conjunction with carbohydrate; as Francis (1987) points out, evidence suggests that carbohydrate consumed with dietary fibre will have a less major impact on glycemic rise than the same amount of carbohydrate consumed alone.

ü          Prior to hypoglycemic agents, diabetics used vinegar teas to control their symptoms. Small amounts of vinegar (approximately 20 ml or two tablespoons of domestic vinegar) added to food, or taken along with a meal, have been shown by a number of medical trials to reduce the glycemic index of carbohydrate food for people with and without diabetes. This also has been expressed as lower glycemic index ratings in the region of 30%.

ü              The American Diabetes Association explains: "saturated fat raises blood cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. People with diabetes have more frequent heart disease.

ü                Research has shown the Maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) has a hypoglycemic effect, and may be beneficial for the management of diabetes. The reason Maitake lowers blood sugar is because the mushroom naturally acts as an alpha glucosidase inhibitor. Other mushrooms like Reishi, Agaricus blazei, Agrocybe cylindracea and Cordyceps have been noted to lower blood sugar levels to a certain extent, although the mechanism is currently unknown.

ü              Exercise decreases insulin requirements as exercise increases glucose uptake by body cells whose glucose uptake is controlled by insulin, and vice versa

ü               Weight reduction and exercise improve tissue sensitivity to insulin and allow its proper use by target tissues.

ü                  Tooth decay and cavities are some of the first oral problems that individuals with diabetes are at risk for. Increased blood sugar levels translate into greater sugars and acids that attack the teeth and lead to gum diseases.

ü             Diabetic people tend to experience more severe periodontitis because diabetes lowers the ability to resist infection and also slows healing.

ü           To prevent further diabetic complications as well as serious oral problems, diabetic persons must keep their blood sugar levels under control and have a proper oral hygiene. A study in the Journal of Periodontology found that poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients are more likely to develop periodontal disease than well-controlled diabetics are. At the same time, diabetic patients are recommended to have regular checkups with a dental care provider at least once in three to four months. Diabetics who receive good dental care and have good insulin control typically have a better chance at avoiding gum disease to help prevent tooth loss

ü                  HbA1c test

A useful test that has usually been done in a laboratory is the measurement of blood HbA1c levels. This is the ratio of glycosylated hemoglobin in relation to the total hemoglobin. Persistent raised plasma glucose levels cause the proportion of these molecules to go up. This is a test that measures the average amount of diabetic control over a period originally thought to be about 3 months (the average red blood cell lifetime), but more recently thought to be more strongly weighted to the most recent 2 to 4 weeks. In the non-diabetic, the HbA1C level ranges from 4.0-6.0%; patients with diabetes mellitus who manage to keep their HbA1C level below 6.5% are considered to have good glycemic control. The HbA1c test is not appropriate if there has been changes to diet or treatment within shorter time periods than 6 weeks or there is disturbance of red cell aging (e.g. recent bleeding or hemolytic anemia) or a hemoglobinopathy (e.g. sickle cell disease). In such cases the alternative Fructosamine test is used to indicate average control in the preceding 2 to 3 weeks.

ü                  Other non-invasive methods like radio waves, ultrasound and energy waves are also being tested for checking blood sugars

ü              Small, portable insulin infusion pumps are available from several manufacturers. They allow a continuous infusion of small amounts of insulin to be delivered through the skin around the clock, plus the ability to give bolus doses when a person eats or has elevated blood glucose levels. This is very similar to how the pancreas works, but these pumps lack a continuous "feed-back" mechanism. Thus, the user is still at risk of giving too much or too little insulin unless blood glucose measurements are made.

ü                 There are several insulin application mechanisms under experimental development as of 2004, including a capsule that passes to the liver and delivers insulin into the bloodstream.

ü       There are indications that intensive efforts to normalize blood glucose levels may worsen cardiovascular and cause diabetic mortality

ü          Recently it has been suggested that a type of gastric bypass surgery may normalize blood glucose levels in 80-100% of severely obese patients with diabetes.