Health and Nutrition For You

Most people are confused about whether nuts are good for you or not. Most would rather snack on chips all day rather than nuts because "nuts are too fattening". If you are confused, then take a look at this and it should help you choose nuts that either are nutritious or fattening.

Raw nuts are high in vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and fat. But we do need fat and this is one of the good fats that is usable to the body. A handful of raw almonds daily, plus other good raw nuts and seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame) are highly nutritious and beneficial to the body. If you soak your nuts first - even 30 minutes, but perferably a few hours - they are much more easily digestible.

Roasted nuts on the other hand are the problem. Once nuts are roasted, the structure in the nut completely changes, the fat separates, and it is not recognized and a source of nutrition, but a toxic fat. Plus, roasted nuts usually have fat added to them in the roasting process that increases the calorie count as well as the toxic fats.

If you want to see the difference with your own eyes, try this test and see for yourself:
1) Place 1 cup water in the blender with a handful of raw nuts. Blend for at least one minute. What you will get is nutritious nut milk.
2) Now place 1 cup water in the blender with a handful of roasted nuts. Blend for at least one minute. What you will get is dirty brown water and if you let it set for a few minutes, the oil will separate and come to the top.

This is the way in which your body will utilize them as well - as a nutritious milk or a dirty brown liquid with toxic fat!

Eat nuts RAW and they will be nutritious to your body!

Many of us don't think about how our digestion is. If we have acid indigestion, we pop the Rolaids in our mouths and go on our way. But if we aren't properly digesting our foods, we may not be assimilating the nutrients. And if we aren't assimilating the nutrients, we may be lacking nutrition.

We sometimes just get into the habit of just eating what sounds good at the moment. How many times do you consider what your body may be needing? Foods don't give us energy. It's the proper digestion of foods that give us the energy. Here are some ideas to consider:

1) Thoroughly chew your food. A cooked carrot may be more nourishing than a raw one if you don't chew it good enough. The stomach does not have teeth, so thoroughly chew your foods and allow your saliva to begin the break down process.

2) Eat foods with raw enzymes to aid digestion: raw vegetables and fruits, raw nuts and seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin), and sprouts are full of valuable digestible enzymes. Celery is especially good to aid digestion - but chew it well.

3) Eat foods that digest well together. Fruits don't digest well with heavy proteins and starches so eat them first thing in the morning and mid-afternoon rather than with a big meal. Heavy proteins and starches don't digest well together either. Beans don't digest well with fruits or tomatoes, so avoid combining them and you will most likely not experience a gassy stomach.

4) Eat simply. The less food combinations eaten together the better. Simply eating raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and/or raw nuts and sprouts provide more fiber, vitamins and minerals which will encourage better digestion.

With good digestion, you will feel better, have more energy and have better weight management.

I read an advertizement a while back that said, "Think green". If we only knew how many benefits come from eating greens, we would definitely eat them more often and raise our children on lots of greens too. Raw greens provide natural enzymes for better digestion, many trace minerals and vitamins, fiber and more.

Also note that many greens are complete proteins. Disagree? Think about a cow and what she eats to product those hundreds of flesh proteins: alfalfa hay or fresh field greens, plus some grains on occasion. Small children should be introduced to greens (especially diluted fresh vegetable juices) while young to get their taste buds accustomed to the flavor as well as the body's needs for greens.

Here are some suggestions for adding more greens to your diet:

1) Make morning smoothies with fresh or frozen fruits, soy or nut milk, raw or soaked almonds, and fresh alfalfa sprouts!
2) Lunch is a time for great one-meal salads: mostly a variety of rich greens, a variety of other raw cut vegetables, sprouts (alfalfa, clover, radish), avocado, cooked or sprouted whole grains, etc. with a good vinegar/oil dressing.
3) Dinner is never complete without a good green salad.
4) Dinner can also include a lightly steamed green vegetable such as: broccoli, asparagus, Swiss chard, collards, peas, sweet beans (green soybeans), green beans, etc.
5) Fresh vegetable juices are great any time of day. If needed, dilute with half water for best digestion. Juice carrots with celery, zucchini, alfalfa sprouts, Swiss chard, collards, spinach, or a variety of other greens.
6) A high fiber-protein-nutrition drink that is good as a breakfast drink is: water, one or two greens (Swiss chard, kale, collards, spinach, etc.), an apple, raw almonds, etc. Blend in blender until pureed and dilute to taste.

Enjoy greens! They are good for you and add so many great benefits to the body!

Zig Zigler says as he basically quotes Gandhi, "For things to change, you have to change; for things to get better, you have to become better."

All of us want better health, but few of us are willing to make a change permanently. We sometimes make temporary changes, but remember that temporary changes means temporary results. If we really want permanent results, we must make permanent changes.

So, what result would you like?
Are you willing to make a permanent change to reach your permanent result?
What are you willing to give up permanently?

When young, I often said that I could never give up sugar. But when I was put on my whole foods diet that omitted sugar, I gave it up permanently and forever. It was much easier than I thought. It was actually just a mindset. After I made the decision to do it, it was easy to do.

So name your weaknesses, state the results you want to achieve, and make the changes! Usually it will start with goals in healthy eating and seeking foods high in nutrition, and getting on a good fitness program - even if its just walking/jogging every night. But make the change and do it permanently!

Most of us have grown up thinking we need a complete protein every meal of the day, and we have been taught that in order to get that we need to eat meat and drink milk. However, other foods do have protein and you might be surprised at the comparision of proteins as well as the fat content in these different foods:

Alfalfa sprouts, (1/2 cup) - 2.5 grams protein, .3 grams fat
Beef, ground (1/4 lb) - 21 grams protein, 18 grams fat
Black beans (1/2 cup) - 7.6 grams protein, .4 grams fat
Chicken breast (1/4 lb) - 19 grams protein, 4.8 grams fat
Egg (one) - 7.2 grams protein, 7 grams fat
Fish, cod (1/4 lb) - 19 grams protein, 1 gram fat
Lentils, cooked (1/2 cup) - 9 grams protein, 0 grams fat
Milk, skim (1/2 cup) - 8.35 grams protein, .3 grams fat
Milk, whole (1/2 cup) - 8.5 grams protein, 4.8 grams fat
Millet, dry grain (1/2 cup) - 11 grams protein, 3.4 grams fat
Shrimp (1/2 cup) - 15 grams protein, .7 grams fat
Tofu, firm (1/2 cup) - 10 grams protsin, 4 grams fat

Though this is a rough comparison of just a few foods, it should give you an idea of the protein and fat content of foods and just what you are getting from what you eat.

Do you eat to live, or do you live to eat? As I ask people that question, most will jokingly answer "I live to eat!" But that is in reality what most of us do. We love to eat, we eat more than we usually should, and most of our activities are centered around food.

Most of us really eat to please our taste buds. However, stop and think about it. Most people barely chew their food, so food is only in the mouth from 5 to 15 seconds, yet it is in the body for 24 hours or more. Does it make sense that we most often only eat to please the taste buds and not fulfill the needs of the body?

Food is for nourishment, building and strenthening of the body. If it can't do that, then we shouldn't be putting it into our mouths. Just eating to please the taste buds really makes no sense when you think about it! So think about your health and how important it is to you. Maybe you won't realize it until you loose it like I did, then you begin to think twice about what and why you eat!

Are you one of those people who suffer with indigestion? Well, here are some things to think about:

Eat more raw fruits and vegetables. Fruits are best eaten at breakfast and mid-afternoon, as they do not digest well with heavy proteins and starches. Eat a large portion of raw greens and other raw vegetables for lunch and dinner.

Celery is particularly a good vegetable for aiding digestion. Eat 1-2 stalks with your meal to improve digestion. Especially, if eating any type of beans, celery is helpful to make you feel better and less gassy.

Sprouts are also good, especially alfalfa sprouts. Add them to all kinds of salads, wraps, sandwiches, etc. Good for you, and good for digestion!