Maximizing protein content while minimizing fat and calories is a goal of many people who are trying to lose weight, gain fitness or just enjoy a healthier diet. There are few foods that combine low fat, low calories and high protein the way fish and seafood do.

In addition, the protective oils in many cold water fish are being studied for their possible role in preventing heart disease and lowering levels of cholesterol in the bloods.

In addition, fish dishes are delicious, easy to prepare and often inexpensive. Many people have avoided buying more fish because they were unsure of how to cook and prepare it. While fish dishes can sometimes be a challenge, there are many recipes, both online and in cookbooks, that make it easier than ever to prepare fresh fish for yourself and your family.

Many nutritionists recommend that everyone eat fish at least twice a week. Substituting low fat, low calorie fish dishes for more calorie dense, fatty meats is a great way to lower the amount of total fat in your diet, and this can boost your level of fitness or help you lose weight.

The amount of protein in fresh and frozen fish and seafood is very high, certainly comparable to higher fat sources like beef, pork and lamb. And fish is generally thought to be a healthier choice, since all that protein comes with less fat and fewer calories. Everyone knows about the importance of protein in the diet, for both children and adults. Protein is a vital building block of muscle, and it plays a role in repairing muscle damage, growing strong nails and hair and other important bodily functions.

While protein is found mainly in animal based foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy products, there are plant based sources of protein as well. These non animal sources of protein include peanut butter, lentils, peas and nuts. The downside to many protein laden plant based foods, however is their high content.

This is yet another feature that makes fish so appealing as a source of protein. Fish contains just as much protein as many of these higher fat, higher calorie sources. Eating fish provides - shall we say - a greater protein bang for the buck than many other sources.

You may have heard that salmon contains a lot of fat, and it is true that salmon does contain more fat than many other fish. Compared to high fat meats like sausage and bacon, however, salmon is still a relatively low fat source of protein. Like other fatty foods, however, it is important for those watching their fat intake to limit their consumption of salmon.

One advantage fish has over other types of meats is the type of fat it contains. Most meats contain saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature. Unlike cattle, pigs and other land animals, the fat in fish is of the polyunsaturated variety. Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, and they are healthier fats for the people who consume them.

Saturated fats are thought to play a greater role in heart disease, stroke and hardening of the arteries. That is why healthy cooking typically involves the use of polyunsaturated fats such as canola oil and olive oil, instead of saturated fats such as beef lard and butter.

Many people worry about the level of pollution in general, and mercury contamination in particular, in fish. While it is true that polluted waters are of some concern when it comes to fish, seafood products are actually quite safe to eat.

In addition, many types of fish, like salmon and sardines, are farm raised, and their diet and environment is strictly controlled. It is recommended, however, that fishermen and fisherwomen limit the amount of their catch that is eaten if they live near a polluted river or stream. The local fishing and hunting authority usually issues guidelines for eating fish in areas where pollution is a problem.

About the author: Tony Robinson is a webmaster, international author and fitness guru. Come check out his website at http://www.1stbetterhealth.com

Author: Steve Wilcott

With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation of information, it’s no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the value and safety of low-carb diets. It seems like heated debates are raging everywhere!

Whether it’s Atkins, the South Beach or some other low-carb plan, as many as 30 million Americans are following a low-carb diet.

Advocates contend that the high amount of carbohydrates in our diet has led to increasing problems with obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. Critics, on the other hand, attribute obesity and related health problems to over-consumption of calories from any source, and lack of physical activity. Critics also express concern that the lack of grains, fruits, and vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to deficiencies of some key nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, and several minerals.

Any diet, weather low or high in carbohydrate, can produce significant weight loss during the initial stages of the diet. But remember, the key to successful dieting is in being able to lose the weight permanently. Put another way, what does the scale show a year after going off the diet?

Let’s see if we can debunk some of the mystery about low-carb diets. Below, is a listing of some relevant points taken from recent studies and scientific literature. Please note there may be insufficient information available to answer all questions.

Differences Between Low-Carb Diets

There are many popular diets designed to lower carbohydrate consumption. Reducing total carbohydrate in the diet means that protein and fat will represent a proportionately greater amount of the total caloric intake.

Atkins and Protein Power diets restrict carbohydrate to a point where the body becomes ketogenic. Other low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are less restrictive. Some, like Sugar Busters claim to eliminate only sugars and foods that elevate blood sugar levels excessively.

What We Know about Low-Carb Diets

Almost all of the studies to date have been small with a wide variety of research objectives. Carbohydrate, caloric intake, diet duration and participant characteristics varied greatly. Most of the studies to date have two things in common: None of the studies had participants with a mean age over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted longer than 90 days.

Information on older adults and long-term results are scarce. Many diet studies fail to monitor the amount of exercise, and therefore caloric expenditure, while participants are dieting. This helps to explain discrepancies between studies.

The weight loss on low-carb diets is a function of caloric restriction and diet duration, and not with reduced carbohydrate intake. This finding suggests that if you want to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories and do so over a long time period.

Little evidence exists on the long-range safety of low-carb diets. Despite the medical community concerns, no short-term adverse effects have been found on cholesterol, glucose, insulin and blood-pressure levels among participants on the diets. But, adverse effects may not show up because of the short period of the studies. Researchers note that losing weight typically leads to an improvement in these levels anyway, and this may offset an increase caused by a high fat diet. The long range weight change for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.

Most low-carb diets cause ketosis. Some of the potential consequences are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and confusion. During the initial phase of low-carb dieting some fatigue and constipation may be encountered. Generally, these symptoms dissipate quickly. Ketosis may also give the breath a fruity odor, somewhat like nail-polish remover (acetone).

Low-carb diets do not enable the consumption of more calories than other kinds of diets, as has been often reported. A calorie is a calorie and it doesn’t matter weather they come from carbohydrates or fat. Study discrepancies are likely the result of uncontrolled circumstances; i.e. diet participants that cheat on calorie consumption, calories burned during exercise, or any number of other factors. The drop-out rate for strict (i.e. less than 40 grams of CHO/day) low-carb diets is relatively high.

What Should You Do? - There are 3 important points I would like to re-emphasize:

The long-range success rate for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.

Despite their popularity, little information exists on the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate diets.

Strict low-carb diets are usually not sustainable as a normal way of eating. Boredom usually overcomes willpower.

It is obvious after reviewing the topic, that more, well-designed and controlled studies are needed. There just isn’t a lot of good information available, especially concerning long-range effects. Strict low-carb diets produce ketosis which is an abnormal and potentially stressful metabolic state. Under some circumstances this might cause health related complications.

The diet you choose should be a blueprint for a lifetime of better eating, not just a quick weight loss plan to reach your weight goal. If you can’t see yourself eating the prescribed foods longer than a few days or a week, then chances are it’s not the right diet. To this end, following a moderately low fat diet with a healthy balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate and other nutrients is beneficial.

If you do decide to follow a low-carb plan, remember that certain dietary fats are associated with reduction of disease. Foods high in unsaturated fats that are free of trans-fatty acids such as olive oil, fish, flaxseeds, and nuts are preferred to fats from animal origins.

Even promoters of the Atkins diet now say people on their plan should limit the amount of red meat and saturated fat they eat. Atkins representatives are telling health professionals that only 20 percent of a dieter’s calories should come from saturated fat (i.e. meat, cheese, butter). This change comes as Atkins faces competition from other popular low-carb diets that call for less saturated fat, such as the South Beach diet plan. Low-carb dieting should not be considered as a license to gorge on red meat!

Another alternative to “strict” low-carb dieting would be to give up some of the bad carbohydrate foods but not “throw out the baby with the bath water”. In other words, foods high in processed sugar, snacks, and white bread would be avoided, but foods high in complex carbohydrates such as fruit, potatoes and whole grains, retained.

About the author: This article provided courtesy of http://www.low-choleste rol-facts.com

Author: Sean Harder

For years the experts have been telling us that diets do not work, and my experience in the field for almost twenty years confirms that. Yet every year several new fad diets and supplements emerge, claiming they have the answer, and making people rich.

Any diet will help you lose weight, there is no arguing that. I have several personal friends who have lost significant weight on the new low carb diets. Whether you can lose weight on a diet has never been the issue. I worked for Nutri-System several years ago and saw some people lose tons of weight. The issue has been and always will be whether a person keeps the weight off. Research has always shown that within 5 years, anywhere between 85 and 90 percent of people will put the weight back on after stopping a diet.

The key here is after “stopping a diet”. Very few of the fad diets, or the diets where you buy special food, can or will be followed permanently. This is precisely why they don’t work. There is also evidence that so-called yo-yo dieting is worse for your health than being moderately overweight. Most people I know with a weight problem have lost and gained at least 3 or 4 times in their lifetime.

The key then is to find a way to develop a lifestyle of eating and exercise that you will implement permanently. Human nature will not tolerate deprivation well, so you must be able to have some of you want, and the luxury to not do what you have to some of the time. You must eat the things you like once in while, and be able to say I don’t want to exercise once in while, or you give in and give up.

For most people, making some very subtle adjustments to their lifestyle can help immediately. Things like cutting down your meal portions by one third, and eating slower, can make a big difference. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. These little things can make a difference, and most people can implement and maintain them without too much grief.

You have to give your body a chance to adjust over the long term. The cells in our body reproduce themselves once or twice a year, and when they do, they carry the memory of their environment with them. Therefore you must provide them with a new environment for at least that long before your body stops fighting you.

Also remember that if you starve your body, or even just lose a lot of weight quickly, your body is going to strive to regain it’s original weight, and store what you take in. Again you must give it time to adjust and fight the impulses that it sends you. The experts know that a good rate of weight loss for keeping it off is about 2 to 5 pounds per month. This allows the body to gradually adjust. You can lose more than that, but expect your body to react more.

For a full proven program to keep your weight off, click here.

Article written by Sean Harder, founder of WholeLifeGym

http://www.wholelifegym.com

About the author: Sean has been a therapist and life coach for 13 years. He is published author and founder of WholeLifeGym.com.

Author: Christopher Guerriero

Once you have started losing weight, it is crucial to think of how to maintain that weight loss in the days ahead.

It may seem hard to believe, but taking the weight off is the easy part. Maintaining weight loss for good is where the real challenge lies. If you are like me, you have tried countless diets only to gain the weight back. People lose lots of weight on diets everyday, but 95% of them gain it back because they have focused only on the weight loss. They follow the diet until they get to a particular number on the scale and then shortly after, they go back to the old lifestyle that made them overweight in the first place. Of course, over time the weight comes right back.

The truth is, almost everyone can lose weight but only 5% keep it off. These are the Weight Loss Registry’s figures, not mine. The WLR followed highly successful dieters and came up with seven reasons why people were able to keep the weight off.

When I compare my own weight loss success to the list above, I would say I learned how to maintain weight loss due to the following: I do the best I can with what I have available. Sometimes I am not always in a perfect situation with the healthiest choices, but I make do with what is there and I stick to the plan. If I make a not so healthy choice, I don’t beat myself up for it.

I eat YUMMY and whole foods. Using the finest ingredients makes the most delicious meals and has helped me stick to Living Well. If I wanted to indulge, I would make it from scratch using the healthiest ingredients possible. To me, indulging does not mean eating junk.

I use a tape measure to keep tabs on my weight and occasionally weigh myself.

I really struggle with exercising regularly and I have NEVER exercised for one hour a day consistently. I will do heavy housework and other activities around the house to get my heart rate up and I try different forms of exercise all the time because I get bored easily.

I think it is vital to get moving every day, somehow, and it doesn’t always mean you have to be in an aerobics class or on some sort of machine to get your heart rate up.

I eat organic whole foods and healthy oils. I am not sold on the idea that low fat and high carb is the way to go. High fat is not the answer either, but healthy oils are not the enemy. The rights oils will actually speed up the metabolism.

I eat only 3 meals a day and rarely snack. I do better when I don’t snack or graze on food all day. BUT, you may be different. You have to do what works best for you and your unique body.

This is the MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL I think of the health I have now and my future health EVERYDAY. I really want to enjoy my older years and I want to be healthy. I don’t want to sit in a rocking chair, talking about all my symptoms and the things that ail me when I am in my golden years.

The Weight Loss Registry tips and my maintenance tips are not the only path for everyone, but instead are some ideas you can use to come up with your own way to keep the weight off once you have lost it.

Ultimately, I think it is crucial to focus on your health when changing over to a healthy lifestyle. So many people are in a hurry to lose weight. They spend their entire lives putting on the weight, losing the weight temporarily on diets and just want to get rid of it as fast as possible not taking in consideration their state of health. I know you have heard this many times before but if you don’t have your health, you don’t have much. Being thin will mean nothing to you if you compromise your health along the way.

Even if you are losing weight slowly, good for you! The idea here is to take off the weight and keep it off for good. Even just a couple of pounds a month adds up over the course of a year. And for those that were doing everything they could and continuing to gain weight, just stopping that weight gain is a measure of success.

With these tips, you now know how to maintain weight loss. Give yourself time to adjust to a new and healthy lifestyle and enjoy yourself along the way. A year from now your body will be thanking you for it!

About the author: Christopher Guerriero, is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning ‘Maximize Your Metabolism’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE teleseminars, visit: Maximize Your Metabolism

When it comes to healthy eating, sometimes how you cook is just as important as what you eat. There are definitely healthy, and less healthy, ways to prepare the healthy foods you buy.

When it comes to cooking vegetables, it is always best to use as little water as possible. That is because over cooking, especially when boiling, can destroy some of the important nutrients that make vegetables so important.

The best way to cook most vegetables in the microwave, preferably in a special microwave vegetable steamer. Vegetables can also be lightly cooked in a microwave safe bowl, using as little water as possible.

Vegetables can be cooked on the stove top as well, but it is important to use as little water as possible when boiling vegetables. Vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts are particularly susceptible to losing important nutrients.

Microwave ovens are also great for making other vegetables, especially baked potatoes. Baked potatoes get great in the microwave, with the skins getting nice and crispy and the flesh being very tender. Of course this means that less high fat toppings may be needed, so the microwave is a great way to make nutritious and delicious baked potatoes.

Grilling is another great way to make healthy, delicious meals. Grilling meats is a great, low fat way to prepare meats, and it is a great way to make vegetables and fruits as well. Vegetable kebobs are great on the grill, whether combined with lean cuts of meat or made into a meal of their own.

Your oven’s broiler is another great way to create low fat meals. Broiling is a great way to prepare all kinds of meats and seafood, and broiling is a low fat cooking method as well. Broiling fish is a great, fast and easy way to prepare this staple of a healthy low fat diet, while broiling steaks and chops keep fat at a minimum while keeping taste at its highest.

The handy kitchen blender is another great way to create delicious snacks using healthy fruits and vegetables. Blenders are great for making fruit smoothies, and most recipes call for little more than crushed ice, fruit juice and fresh fruit.

Some great, high nutrition, low fat, low calorie meals require no preparation at all. For instance, it is possible to make a wonderful, and easy, fruit salad with just a can of mandarin oranges, an apple, some strawberries and a banana. Simply open the can of mandarin oranges, empty it into a bowl, along with the juice it is packed in. Then add banana slices, apples slices and strawberries. For extra color and taste, add some blueberries, raspberries or raisins. The total prep time for this great creation is all of five minutes.

Fruit skewers are another creative, healthy and easy meal or snack. Simply take shish kebob skewers and stack them full of melon slices, strawberries, red grapes, white grapes and chunks of pineapple. Plain nonfat yogurt makes an excellent and low fat dip.

In addition to the above ideas, making your own homemade salsa is a great way to create a low fat alternative to sour cream and other high fat dips. Salsa can be made using healthy ingredients like tomatoes, mangoes, avocados, onions, cilantro and lime juice.

In addition, perking up a plain salad is a great way to add even more fruits and vegetables to an already healthy diet. For example, use broccoli florets, carrot slices, slices of cucumber, green peppers, red peppers, and bean sprouts to add color, zest and flavor to any salad.

Cucumbers, green peppers, broccoli and carrots are also great additions to pasta salads and potato salads. Adding extra crunch and color is a great way to add zest to any meal or snack.

Even a plain green salad of lettuce and tomatoes can be enhanced through the use of colorful fruits and vegetables. Adding vegetables like carrots, bean sprouts, and spinach leaves, and fruits like mandarin oranges, apple slices, nectarine slices, grapes, apple slices, pineapples and raisins, adds both beauty and taste to any salad.

Of course salad dressing is always an important subject for those trying to follow a healthy lifestyle. High fat dressing can sabotage even the healthiest salad, but there are many excellent, low fat and healthy choices when it comes to topping a salad. Using flavored vinegars, herbs and fruit juices are novel approaches to salad dressing, in addition to the many nonfat and low fat versions of commercial salad dressing.

About the author: Tony Robinson is a webmaster, international author and fitness guru. Come check out his website at http://www.1stbetterhealth.com

Did you know that the food you eat could be prematurely ageing you? Science has made some amazing discoveries in the last decade in nutrition. We really should be taking note of what we put in our mouth because more than ever, “we are what we eat”. Do you know the impact of what you are eating? Probably not. It’s time to find out because over-indulgence in certain types of food cause the body to prematurely age.

Would you like some more free radicals with your lunch…? There is frequent mention these days about ‘free radicals’ and how they are constantly attacking the body, causing potentially serious damage.

A free radical is the name for a molecule that has an unpaired electron. They are a normal by-product of metabolism and without them you would die.

To put the record straight, it’s the over-production of free radicals that causes damage to the body. We are advised by nutritional experts to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

This is because they are rich in antioxidant phytonutrients…substances that neutralise free radicals and so help protect the body.

One of the essential tasks of free radicals is in producing energy from the food you eat. Every time you eat, free radical activity is intense. The more food you eat, the more free radicals are formed, and the more antioxidants your body needs to neutralise them. Big meals are big trouble!

Effective Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, E; minerals such as selenium, zinc, and herbs such as aloe vera and grapeseed extract.

The Reality of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are root vegetables, pasta, rice, bread, grains, fruit, pastries, cakes, biscuits, crisps, sweets etc. They are easy to prepare, filling, tasty and cheap. Most meals are dominated by carbohydrates, as most of us ‘full up’ on them. When you eat carbohydrates you’re eating a form of sugar.

Carbohydrates are converted by the body into glucose, which is either used immediately for energy, or stored in fat cells. Carbohydrates make up an excessive proportion of the diet, add together a lack of exercise and excess sugar and the inevitable result is excess weight.

By reducing your overall carbohydrate intake and reducing the size of your meals, you reduce your body’s exposure to free radical activity, and, the amount of excess food that meals, you reduce your body’s exposure to free radical activity, and, the amount of excess food that gets stored as unwanted fat. A double bonus!

Big meals are too much stress

Food is in abundance - look around the supermarket shelves at the food mountain! Fill your trolley, take it home and fill your kitchen cupboards - fill your plate and fill your stomach till you can barely move. How many times a week do you overeat? How many free radicals are attacking your body and accelerating the ageing process? You could choose to eat less.

Think about your meals over the last week.

Better still, keep a food diary for the next week, record each meal by drawing a plate divided up showing how much protein, carbohydrate, fat, vegetables and fruit you eat at each meal/snack. After a week you’ll be able to see for yourself how much sugar you are eating.

About the author: Kim Beardsmore is a weight loss consultant. This world renowned, medically approved program will give you results you’ll love and all the support you need! Estimate your healthy body weight, tons of recipes, articles, free newsletter and more at http://weight-loss-health .com.au

Everyone who is trying to follow a healthy eating lifestyle understands the need to buy quality, healthy and practical foods. Practical foods are those foods that are not only healthy but whose benefits extend beyond their mere nutritional value. Such foods are easy to use, and useful in a number of different recipes. Healthy, practical foods, when used on a regular basis, form a great part of a healthy diet, and may even lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and other common illnesses.

One great practical food is the humble tomato. It may not look much like an orange, but the tomato is actually a citrus fruit as well. As such, tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants. In addition, tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, which has shown promise in preventing certain kinds of cancer.

In addition, tomatoes are easy to use, versatile, and inexpensive. In addition to fresh, in season tomatoes, which are delicious as well as nutritious, tomatoes are available in canned and frozen varieties as well. Tomatoes can be used in so many different ways, and in so many different recipes, that it is always a good idea to have a supply of them on hand in the pantry or the fridge.

Pastas, especially the whole wheat varieties of pastas, are another great example of functional foods. Pastas can also be used in a variety of ways, from simple preparations with simple tomato based sauces, to elaborate creations using shrimp, tuna and other seafood.

Of course, pasta dishes can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on how they are topped. Toppings such as Alfredo sauce or rich cream sauces, should be avoided when trying to follow a healthy diet. As with all foods, such heavy sauces are fine in moderation, but they should not form the bulk of your diet.

Luckily, there are lower fat alternatives to many high fat pasta sauces, and these low fat alternatives should be used whenever possible. Substituting lower fat alternatives for fatty, unhealthy foods is an important skill when it comes to creating a healthy diet.

Whole grain breads, flours and grains are also good examples of hellathy, practical foods. Stocking up on these staples when they are on sale will help ensure that you have everything you need to create the most healthy recipes possible for yourself and your family.

Whole grain products should be substituted for more highly refined breads and cereals whenever possible, since whole grain breads, cereals and grains retain more of their important nutrients than do more highly refined foods.

Starting a healthy eating program using practical foods is easy. Start by taking a personal inventory of your current diet, including where it is good and where it can use some improvement. Learn to assess the personal health risks created by your current diet (your family physician can be of particular help here). A physician or dietitian can be a big help in putting together a list of healthy, easy to use, practical foods you can use to change your diet for the better.

It is also a good idea to use your interest in healthy eating to create and use exciting new recipes. There are a great many healthy eating recipes available, both on the internet and in cookbooks. Seek out some of these recipes and try using your favorite healthy staples to create some wonderful dishes.

For some ideas on how to use practical foods morning, noon and night, try some of these great ideas:

Breakfast:

* Include some healthy staples, and some healthy fruits in your breakfast. For instance, pair healthy oatmeal with blueberries, or whole wheat or wheat bran cereal with strawberries or bananas.

* Try mixing a healthy cereal like All Bran into your nonfat or low fat yogurt. It will perk up your plain yogurt and give it a great crunch.

* Fresh fruit is also a great addition to yogurt. Try buying plain, nonfat yogurt and mixing in your own raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. You will save money and enjoy a healthy breakfast.

* Instead of high fat butter, spread your toast with apple butter or soy nut butter instead. Always try to use whole grain varieties of bread like wheat or rye.

* Drink a glass of 100% fruit juice with breakfast every day. Orange juice, grape juice, apple juice and grapefruit juice are all great choices.

* Blend 1% milk or soy milk with fresh pineapple for a healhy, delicious breakfast smoothie. These smoothies are great for people on the go.

Lunch and dinner ideas

* Make a great tuna salad with grated carrots, green peppers, red peppers, garlic and onion.

* Make a dish of fresh whole grain pasta and top it will homemade tomato sauce and fresh home grown herbs.

* Use healthy foods like onions and leeks, along with tomatoes, as a great side dish.

* Grill healthy fish and serve with a healthy side salad.

* Try some low fat soups like spinach and broccoli soup.

* Make a great vegetable stir fry with olive oil.

Healthy snacks Of course no plan for healthy eating is complete without some great healthy snacks. Below are some of our favorite healthy snacks for those on the go.

* A piece of fresh fruit, like an apple, orange or banana, always makes a great snack. Keep a bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter for easy access.

* Try mixing nuts and dried fruit for a great homemade trail mix. Hikers and non hikers alike will enjoy this healthy snack.

* Treat yourself to a great glass of orange, tomato or cranberry juice before you leave the house in the morning.

* Keep a supply of broccoli florets, baby carrots and other bite size vegetables, and some healthy dip, on hand.

* Make your own fruit salad with oranges, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and other favorites.

About the author: Tony Robinson is a webmaster, international author and fitness guru. Come check out his website at http://www.1stbetterhealth.com

Although there’s no easy “one size fits all” weight loss program, there is such a thing as a weight loss program which makes it easier for you personally to lose weight than others.

This is the program which fits your lifestyle so well that you are happy to adopt it and live with it permanently.

1. Decide which foods to include in your diet.

Which healthy foods do you like? Which ones do you tolerate? And which do you hate?

Build your meals around those healthy foods which you enjoy. After all there is no point in eating a meal and hating it.

The exception?

If you hate a whole food group, and your diet would be unhealthy without it. In that case, adapt your diet to include the elements you need in a palatable way. For example, if you hate vegetables serve them in a way that you can’t taste them. Puree them and include them in soups, stews or pasta sauces. If you hate or have an allergy to dairy products, choose other foods to give you alternative rich sources of calcium and protein.

2. Decide which junk foods you’ll dump

Which poor food choices can you easily live without?

Dump the junk that doesn’t matter to you. Maybe eating some junk foods has just become a habit and you can easily wean yourself away from them. Others are ones you love and would miss a lot so include small amounts in an otherwise balanced healthy diet. In this way you reduce the junk without feeling deprived.

3. Replace the gap left by the junk food you don’t care about with healthy food you do like

Best of all replace the junk with healthy food which has a touch of luxury. For example, you dump peanuts and potato snacks and replace them with blinis, low fat cream cheese and caviar or dump donuts for crispbread and smoked salmon or lean prime roast beef.

4. Upgrade the junk food you love

Replace your junk food choices with something even better. For example, instead of treating yourself to your usual cheap chocolate bar, feel like a million dollars by buying yourself a couple of exquisite handmade chocolates. This means you can really indulge yourself now and again without piling on the pounds.

5. Create weekly meal plans around the foods you have decided to include in your diet

Pre-set meal plans in diet books and weight loss programs make life easy but they’re unlikely to give you the most satisfaction and enjoyment per calorie. They are not based on the foods you particularly like and many have an aim of allocating foods in particular proportions of fat, carbs and proteins, which makes for some weird meals and combinations.

Forget being too rigid if you want to find a healthy balance you can live with for life.

Also give those meal replacement bars and shakes a wide berth. Who wants to live on those for a week never mind a life time?

Instead, choose a good variety of different healthy foods each day and also vary your choices throughout the week. If planning your own healthy meals sounds like too much hard work, use a ready-made meal plan but substitute some of the things you like least with similar foods you like better.

6. Don’t get too hungry

Living with hunger is hard and totally unnecessary to lose weight. The easiest weight loss program matches your individual hunger patterns. Such a ready-made program may not exist, so why not devise your own?

Eat enough at each main meal to satisfy your hunger but not feel stuffed. And eat often enough so that you’re not ravenous when it’s time for lunch or dinner. Most people need a small snack mid-morning and in the afternoon. As a guideline eat no more than about the size of your two clenched fists for any main meal and, if you feel you need more, fill up on salad or vegetables.

Your aim should be to feel hungry when it’s time for a meal but not all the time.

7. Add some easy exercise

If exercise doesn’t fit into your life easily you won’t do it (at least, not for long). Choose an activity which feels like fun, even if it means trying a few things first to see what you like. Or build your fitness by simply doing more as you go about your day - moving more at work, being more active around the house and garden, choosing to walk instead of taking the car on short journeys etc. Build your level of activity gradually so that you ease into fitness - you don’t have to tie yourself to the gym every night - but if you love that, that’s ok too!

8. Think about what motivates you

As with the other elements of a weight loss program we are all individuals when it comes to motivation. Why do you want to lose weight? What reason is strong enough to make you stick to your plan? You will have your own combination of reasons and they are the key to your success. Remind yourself daily why you are doing this so that you feel more motivated to change your habits.

9. Celebrate in style

Choose how you will celebrate your success and make it something that drives you to meet your goal. Plan your celebration to reward yourself with whatever means most to you personally and not with what you or others think you should want.

10.It’s all about you

We are all different and so there’s no one weight loss plan or program that will work best for everyone. Choose your own elements like a pick and mix selection. Go at your own pace and you’ll finally find just the right combination that works for you - the easiest possible weight loss program.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

About the author: Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach and author of “The Diet Exit Plan”. Request her FREE 15 page report “How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn’t want you to know” at http://www.SimplySlimming.com TODAY! None

To help with weight issues and for overall improved health, many people turn to diets. In fact, government statistics show that while about 65 percent of Americans are overweight, 38 percent are actually doing something about it. That leaves 27% who aren’t !

And according to a recent survey by the National Health Institute, about a third of overweight Americans who are trying to lose weight, are doing so by eating less carbohydrates (carbs) largely because of the huge popularity of fad diets like Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet.

Although there have certainly been other low-carb or low-sugar diet plans before, and more will come out in the years ahead, let’s take a look at the basics behind many of the major plans.

And let’s take a look at how they fit into the real world today. Because while it might be great to lower the body’s sugar content and be healthier wouldn’t it be great to learn how to do that quickly ??

In the world of instant messaging, quick Internet interaction and the already multi-faceted day-to-day hectic schedules, dietary food budgeting, planning, preparing and shopping are issues that can become major sources of stress and reasons for dieting failure. Dual income families on-the-go and other super-busy wage earners and dieters often already suffer from more than their share of everyday stresses like fears of being laid off, their jobs being relocated or terminated, juggling more than one job, dependents and trying to fund and juggle continuing education into their lives, budgets, and daily routines.

People want and need simpler solutions. And they need simpler dieting plans. Forget spending mega bucks on gourmet, hard-to-find items. Forget spending hours just to prepare meals. And forget counting, measuring, and weighing ingredients. Either a low-carb plan fits into the real-world , or it doesn’t.

So are there any differences in types of low carbs— you bet !! In a nutshell, there are two kinds of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Some refer to them as bad and good carbs, fastand slow digestion carbs and other possibly confusing lingo. Here’s the difference.

SIMPLE CARBS

Foods with simple or refined carbohydrates most often have a low nutrient content and a high-glycemic index. They are quick to digest and can cause blood sugar to soar then fall dramatically within a short span of time. In order to keep the body running more healthy and stable, health advisors recommend that these type foods be limited.

Examples of these simple carbs are white bread, potatoes, bananas, and sugary treats like cookies, candy, cupcakes and cakes, and soda beverages like popular cola products.

COMPLEX CARBS

Foods with complex carbohydrates contain many nutrients and have a low- to moderate-glycemic index. Higher fiber content in these foods means slower digestion, which is healthier for the body. And these foods are considered good choices by health advisors.

Examples of these complex carbs are whole grains, most fruits and vegetables. Legumes, plants of the pea or bean family, are also in this category.

WHICH IS BEST????

While studies like one from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in January of 2004 show that low-carb diets can help with weight loss;the carbs need to be of the complex, low-glycemic type.

But don’t avoid simple carbs altogether !! You need a balance!

In other words a treat now and then, in moderation (and approved per your dietary advisor or in accordance with your health practitioner), should be fine.

As a side note, your teeth will also be healthier without the build up of sugar decay from simple carb foods. So a healthier smile really will mean a healthier body !!

In my next article I’ll be looking at some other terms to help explain the science and health issues behind low-carbohydrate dietary planning solutions.

Paul Costelo is a High School vice Principal who became interested in healthy eating and diets when both his children were diagnosed as suffering from food intolerances and allergies . Paul is proud to publish the ultimate healthy French food book. find it at : http://www.a1frenchfoodrecipes.com

Although we all know we require a certain quantity of protein every day to be healthy and because of propaganda to this effect, a lot of people view the daily consumption of high-protein foods such as meat and dairy as highly beneficial. However, judging from the failure of most if not all the people I have personally known attempting to lose weight on a high-protein, low carb diet, it may be time to revise our ideas about protein.

>From what I have seen (upwards of six cases I have been able to observe among friends, family and co-workers) it will be safe to answer the question heading this article with a simple No!

Not only is a diet high in protein NOT the best at all for weight loss, according to many naturopaths, such a diet may even be detrimental to ones overall health.

Because of its complexity, excessive protein along with fatty foods are the most difficult foods to digest and tend to leave one tired all the time. Moreover the common putrefaction of protein while being digested creates many acids in the body and has been known to lay the foundation for cancer.

This is not to say that proteins and fats must be avoided, quite the contrary, what should be the goal in consuming these foods should be taking in exactly what the body needs and no more. The Max Planck institute has proven that, considering that the body recycles most of its protein for its own needs, 25g of protein a day is more than enough.

According to T.C. Fry, a well known Naturopath and pioneer in drugless healing, there are several cultures such as the Caribbeans, who subsist on a Manioc-based (root-vegetable) diet and get about 12 g of protein a day. Quite similarly, an aboriginal tribe living in the Mountains of Hagen was discovered to live on about 80-90% of their diet being Sweet Potatoes, the rest mostly leafy veggies, bananas and the like. While I lived in Nigeria for 17 plus years, most people hardly ever even consumed milk or cheese (they were too expensive) and families strictly rationed the consumption of animal flesh to about the size of medium size lemon per person every other day. All these groups of people, with their root vegetable diets are obviously in great health, accomplishing great physical work.

Moreover, Mother’s milk, which for a time is a baby’s perfect food, has about 1-2 % protein content. (Only fruits and veggies resemble it in their composition) Any reasonable person will be able to deduce that a growing baby needs more protein than a full-grown adult, yet human babies, just like with our distant cousins: the Apes in the wild, do just fine on breast milk and on the subject of apes who share about 98% of our DNA, do you know the Gorilla, the strongest primate, has been known to bench press upwards of about 4000 pounds! What does this creature live on? According to Dr. George Schaller and Dian Fossey, two great primatologists, this powerful relative lives on mostly fruits and leaves.

Now, considering all the factors above, when it comes to the right diet for weight loss, I would recommend a Mucus-less or Mucus-poor (raw and cooked fruits and veggies) over any other mere fad in the quest of attaining fitness and health. Of course, if the consumption of animal flesh must be continued, I would also advise that it be done at a minimal quantity and only one kind of animal flesh every so often.

In my opinion, consumption of fresh home-made salads, mono-meals of fruits, snacks on dried fruits such as dates, a few nuts and maybe even a short juice fast, as a choice for a diet (along with some form of exercise) will be the best path to attaining safe and healthy weight loss.

Foras Aje is the author of the e-book Fitness-Inside and out, a book on Naturopathy about Yoga, Calisthenics, Proper diet and mental attunements. For more information on health, fitness and Drugless Healing, visit http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com or read his blog at http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/wp/index.php

Everybody you know is on the latest weight loss bandwagon: The Low Carb Diet. They’ve seen the astounding results on the scale and have lost 10+ pounds in a short period of time. So you want to join in on this also?

Before You Start Take Time to Look at How the Body Works with Carbs:

It is true that the weight that is lost starting out on the low carb diet is a lot in a short period of time, but most of the weight that is lost is water and carbs that are stored in your body. Carbohydrates are stored in the muscles. Each gram of a carbohydrate that is stored in the muscle is also stored with 3 grams of water. When you cut out carbohydrates your body uses the stored carbohydrates in your muscles for fuel. As these carbs are used up the water that is stored with them is taken out also, so the result is weight loss at the beginning of a low carb diet and some inches lost due to the depletion of carbohydrate stores in your body. As the carbs and water leave the muscles the muscles become depleted and loses volume.

Once carbs are added back into the diet the muscle take up these carbs along with water, so if the carbs are reintroduced into the diet in a couple days time the initial weight that was lost will be regained.

Your brain requires carbs for energy also. The brain uses 400 calories a day just for the standard thought process of staying alive. So this is 100 grams of carbs a day that is required for one body function. Any movement that you do for longer than 3 minutes requires carbs to be used for energy.

When carbs become scarce your body goes into a state of ketosis, that is the process of the body breaking down fat into ketones for the brain to use as energy because not enough glucose is available for the brain. The results of this can be loss in energy, fatigue, irritability and a slower thought process. Thus affecting your ability at work or school.

Eating Carbs But Not Gaining Weight:

You can eat carbs and not gain weight. It is in the choice of carbohydrates that you consume that will make the difference. Including more vegetables and whole grains in your diet and eating less simple carbohydrates like sugars that are in soda, candy, processed and refined foods will help you in losing weight. Paying attention to portion sizes will also help. Pasta is an easy trap for eating to much carbohydrates. If you like pasta add vegetable to you dishes, since vegetables are good carbs and have fiber in them they will help fill you up faster. Eat a salad with every meal, but pay attention to what you put on your salad, stick to low fat versions of dressings, like Italian and Vinaigrettes. Creamy dressing when they are low fat can be loaded with sugars to take place of the fat, so it is important to pay attention to the nutritional values of dressings.

Another way of using carbs in your body is weight training. Weight Training requires your body to use carbs for the exercise and to repair muscles after your workout. Finding a requirement in the body for the carbs that you eat is a great way to use the carbs that are consumed. By finding the requirement for use of carbs you do not need to worry so much on how many carbs that you consume but just the types of carbs. Always remember that no matter what sugars in abundance are not good for your body or your weight loss goals.

About the author: Josie Anderson is a personal trainer and is the owner of http://www.weight-l oss-program-101.com providing weight loss resources to help with many weight loss goals and newsletter to keep you up to date on the latest in the health and fitness industry.

Author: Marjorie Geiser, RD

We come from a society where growing organic and just growing produce and livestock for food was once one and the same. Small, family farms still grow their own food using traditional methods passed down through the generations. As commercial farming became big-business, however, growers and farmers started to investigate methods of increasing crops and building bigger livestock in order to increase their profits. This led to increased use of pesticides and drugs to enhance yield.

In this article, we will look at what is required in order to call a product organic, how choosing organic eating and farming impact the environment and our health, discuss the benefits of eating organic foods, and what research says about the nutritional benefits of organically-grown produce.

Calling it “Organic” In 1995, the US National Organic Standards Board passed the definition of ‘organic’, which is a labeling term denoting products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. It states, “Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony.”

The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals, and people.

The philosophy of organic production of livestock is to provide conditions that meet the health needs and natural behavior of the animal. Organic livestock must be given access to the outdoors, fresh air, water, sunshine, grass and pasture, and are fed 100% organic feed. They must not be given or fed hormones, antibiotics or other animal drugs in their feed. If an animal gets sick and needs antibiotics, they cannot be considered organic. Feeding of animal parts of any kind to ruminants that, by nature, eat a vegetarian diet, is also prohibited. Thus, no animal byproducts of any sort are incorporated in organic feed at any time.

Because farmers must keep extensive records as part of their farming and handling plans in order to be certified organic, one is always able to trace the animal from birth to market of the meat. When meat is labeled as organic, this means that 100% of that product is organic.

Although organic crops must be produced without the use of pesticides, it is estimated that between 10-25% of organic fruits and vegetables contain some residues of synthetic pesticides. This is because of the influence of rain, air and polluted water sources. In order to qualify as ‘organic’, crops must be grown on soil free of prohibited substances for three years before harvest. Until then, they cannot be called organic. When pests get out of balance and traditional organic methods don’t work for pest control, farmers can request permission to use other products that are considered low risk by the National Organic Standards Board.

The Environment According to the 15-year study, “Farming Systems Trial”, organic soils have higher microbial content, making for healthier soils and plants. This study concluded that organically grown foods are raised in soils that have better physical structure, provide better drainage, may support higher microbial activity, and in years of drought, organic systems may possibly outperform conventional systems. So, organic growing may help feed more people in our future!

What is the cost of conventional farming, today? The above-mentioned 15 -year study showed that conventional farming uses 50% more energy than organic farming. In one report, it was estimated that only 0.1% of applied pesticides actually reach the targets, leaving most of the pesticide, 99.9%, to impact the environment. Multiple investigations have shown that our water supplies, both in rivers and area tap waters, are showing high levels of pesticides and antibiotics used in farming practices. Water samples taken from the Ohio River as well as area tap water contained trace amounts of penicillin, tetracycline and vancomycin.

Toxic chemicals are contaminating groundwater on every inhabited continent, endangering the world’s most valuable supplies of freshwater, according to a Worldwatch paper, Deep Trouble: The Hidden Threat of Groundwater Pollution. Calling for a systemic overhaul of manufacturing and industrial agriculture, the paper notes that several water utilities in Germany now pay farmers to switch to organic operations because this costs less than removing farm chemicals from water supplies.

What About our Health? Eating organic food is not a fad. As people become more informed and aware, they are taking steps to ensure their health. US sales of organic food totaled 5.4 billion dollars in 1998, but was up to 7.8 billion dollars in the year 2000. The 2004 Whole Foods Market Organic Foods Trend Tracker survey found that 27% of Americans are eating more organic foods than they did a year ago.

A study conducted by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation reports that the number of people poisoned by drifting pesticides increased by 20% during 2000.

A rise in interest and concern for the use of pesticides in food resulted in the passage of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, directing the US EPA to reassess the usage and impact of pesticides for food use.

Particular attention was paid to the impact on children and infants, whose lower body weights and higher consumption of food per body weight present higher exposure to any risks associated with pesticide residues.

Publishing an update to its 1999 report on food safety, the Consumers Union in May 2000 reiterated that pesticide residues in foods children eat every day often exceed safe levels. The update found high levels of pesticide residues on winter squash, peaches, apples, grapes, pears, green beans, spinach, strawberries, and cantaloupe. The Consumers Union urged consumers to consider buying organically grown varieties, particularly of these fruits and vegetables.

The most common class of pesticide in the US is organophosphates (OP’s). These are known as neurotoxins.

An article published in 2002 examined the urine concentration of OP residues in 2-5 year olds. Researchers found, on average, that children eating conventionally grown food showed an 8.5 times higher amount of OP residue in their urine than those eating organic food. Studies have also shown harmful effects on fetal growth, as well.

Pesticides are not the only threat, however. 70% of all antibiotics in the US are used to fatten up livestock, today. Farm animals receive 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics per year!

Public health authorities now link low-level antibiotic use in livestock to greater numbers of people contracting infections that resist treatment with the same drugs. The American Medical Association adopted a resolution in June of 2001, opposing the use of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics in agriculture and the World Health Organization, in its 2001 report, urged farmers to stop using antibiotics for growth promotion. Studies are finding the same antibiotic resistant bacteria in the intestines of consumers that develop in commercial meats and poultry.

Is it More Nutritious? Until recently, there had been little evidence that organically grown produce was higher in nutrients. It’s long been held that healthier soils would produce a product higher in nutritional quality, but there was never the science to support this belief. Everyone agrees that organic foods taste better.

In 2001, nutrition specialist Virginia Worthington published her review of 41 published studies comparing the nutritional values of organic and conventionally grown fruits, vegetables and grains. What she found was that organically grown crops provided 17% more vitamin C, 21% more iron, 29% more magnesium, and 13.6% more phosphorus than conventionally grown products. She noted that five servings of organic vegetables provided the recommended daily intake of vitamin C for men and women, while their conventional counterparts did not. Today there are more studies that show the same results that Ms. Worthington concluded.

Considering the health benefits of eating organic foods, along with the knowledge of how conventionally grown and raised food is impacting the planet should be enough to consider paying greater attention to eating organic, today. Since most people buy their food in local supermarkets, it’s good news that more and more markets are providing natural and organic foods in their stores. Findings from a survey by Supermarket News showed that 61% of consumers now buy their organic foods in supermarkets. More communities and health agencies also are working to set up more farmer’s markets for their communities, also, which brings more organic, locally grown foods to the consumer. The next time you go shopping, consider investigating organic choices to see if it’s indeed worth the change!

About the author: Marjorie Geiser is a nutritionist, registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach.

Author: Marjorie Dorfman

“…We have old-fashioned tomahto, Long Island potahto, but Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today..”- Folk song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohen (1923)

Whether you are off to Rio following the colorful trail of Carmen Miranda’s fruit-filled hat or seated on your couch contemplating the universe, the banana can always come along for the ride. There are so many aspects to this strange and wonderful fruit. Even its shape is a bit mysterious; conjuring images of tropical islands and sun-filled days. Did you know that the word “banana” originates from the Arabic and means finger? Doesn’t that make you wonder where the rest of the hand is? I have been hooked on bananas ever since I was a child, and Miss Chiquita, drawn by Dik Brown who also created the Campbell kids, used to sing to me through the television in my parents’ living room. (I always wondered why she never had her own show. She was so much cuter than Ed Sullivan.) You remember her words:

I’m Chiquita Banana and I’m here to say
Bananas need to ripen in a special way
When they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue
Bananas taste the best and are the best for you.

That’s all quite impressive, I know, but where did the banana come from in the first place? Did it arrive as a conundrum along with the chicken or the egg, or did both of them precede it? Buddhist texts from 600bc mention the banana for the first time in history. Alexander The Great tasted bananas in the Indus Valley in 327bc and in his day they were called pala. China records the presence of banana plantations as far back as 200ad (way before the birth of Scarlet O’Hara). In 650 ad Islamic conquerors brought bananas back to Palestine and through trade spread them all over Africa. They were unknown to the New World until 1516 when the first root stocks were brought here by Spanish missionary, Father Tomas de Berlanger.

So much for traveling. How do they grow? The whole matter is extremely confusing. The banana tree itself (even though it is not a tree but a giant plant) is by definition an herb. What is an herb? Without passing go or collecting $200, the answer is a flowering plant with a fleshy, rather than woody, stem. Each stem consists of ten to fourteen hands, each carrying from eighteen to twenty bananas. The stem, however is a false one, formed by tightly wrapped overlapping leaves, resembling stalks of celery. The plant belongs to the same family as lilies, orchids and palms and the fruit is a berry. By definition, a berry is a simple fruit having a skin surrounding one or more seeds in a fleshy pulp. A banana cut lengthwise will reveal very tiny black seeds within its center. Therefore, a banana is a fruit, herb, berry and plant all at the same time. The expression “going bananas” probably came into vogue during the time all of these terms were being defined, don’t you think?

There are about four hundred different varieties of this fabulous fruit, but don’t tell Carmen Miranda. (Apart from the fact that she is dead and you couldn’t possibly, there is no way the woman could fit one more piece of anything on top of one of her hats!) The three chief imported brands are Chiquita, Bonita and Fyffes. The Chiquita (according to her whom I trust implicitly) is always a guarantee of quality. Its production sites are located in Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica and Columbia. The Bonita banana hails from Ecuador and is the cheapest of the three, but only because it is never advertised. Fyffe’s founded in 1888, has the distinction of being the oldest fruit brand in the world. These bananas are produced in Belize, Columbia, Honduras, Suriname, Jamaica and The Windward Islands.

Harvesting is a race against time that starts while the banana is still green. From harvest to delivery at the supermarket twenty days remain before spoilage occurs. Transportation is done with specialized refrigerated cargo ships, each containing some 250,000 boxes of bananas collected the day before. The bananas are stocked in “ripening rooms” for six to eight days at a temperature that can not exceed 14.5C. This temperature allows a homogenous ripening of the bananas of different sizes.

The color of a banana’s skin indicates its degree of ripeness, but here is a more precise guide. Green bananas are not ripe, but can be safely used in soups and stews. Yellow with green tips indicates the fruit is partially ripe and it can be broiled, baked or fried. All yellow bananas are ripe and are best eaten raw or baked into cakes or pies. Yellow bananas with brown freckles are fully ripe and can be eaten raw, in a salad or in any other dishes calling for uncooked fruit. All brown bananas are over ripe, but if the flesh is firm they are still in prime eating condition. Blackened areas indicate bruised fruit and should be avoided.

Bananas can be utilized in hundreds of dishes prepared in as many ways. Roasted, fried, broiled, par boiled, baked, sautéed or eaten raw, the results are always delicious. They wear many hats, so to speak, and can serve as relishes, stuffing for goose, duck, turkey or chicken, sauces, spreads, jellies, jams, candies, cake and pie filling, flour for breads and fresh fruit in salads. There is little that one cannot do with a banana ( except maybe pay a utility bill.) I am sure that Carmen Miranda loved bananas in every way, but dying as she did at such an early age, I wonder if she didn’t put more of them on her hats than she ever ate. Chiquita could have told her the truth, but would she have listened? Somehow I tend to doubt that those two would have ever gotten along!

About the author: Marjorie Dorman is a freelance writer originally from Brooklyn, New York. She now lives in Doylestown, PA with four cats. She is the author of an ebook called A Taste of Funny and her website, Eat, Drink And Really Be Merry (http://www.ingestandimbibe) features many well researched and humorous articles on the subject of food and drink.

Author: Melinda Kempenich

Article: It’s summer and we all love to grill. Lots of us grill in the winter as well, that’s how much we love it. Now we hear cancer researchers are snooping around our love affair with grilling foods. If you are like most of us, when you hear the word cancer your ears perk up. So are grilling those beloved hamburgers and hotdogs a threat to your health?

Article: When it comes to eating healthy, fresher is almost always better. In some cases, however, it is impossible to cook fresh foods every night. For people on the go, frozen foods can be healthy alternatives to fresh products.

While there is no substitute for a well balanced, fresh cooked meal using plenty of fresh and healthy ingredients, healthy frozen meals can provide a quick and easy alternative for busy people and those who do not have time to cook meals from scratch.

No matter what type of diet you are following, chances are there is a frozen meal available to meet your needs. From low fat to heart healthy to vegetarian meals, there are a great many frozen dinners at the local supermarket or grocery store.

While frozen foods can be very healthy, it is important to keep a close eye out for potentially unhealthy ingredients as you shop. In particular, many frozen and prepared foods have unacceptably high levels of sodium. In addition, many frozen dinners, even those that use the healthiest ingredients, may use preservatives to which some people may be sensitive.

When choosing from among the many brands and varieties of frozen foods on the grocery store shelf, it is important to read the nutritional labels very carefully. These government mandated nutritional labels contain a wealth of information, but it is important to understand how to read them.

Nutritional labels provide information on such imporarnt things as calorie count, number of fat grams and amount of sodium, as well as the percentages of various vitamisn and minerals the food contains.

When examining those nutritional labels, it is important to pay close attention to the portion size. Even a small frozen dinner can be equal to two servings, so if you plan to eat the whole thing yourself, be sure to double the calories, sodium and fat content numbers.

When looking at the amount of fat in a frozen dinner, it is important to follow the widely accepted recommendations to keep the total amount of daily fat to less than 30% of daily calories. Luckily, the new nutritional labels mandated by the government makes this calculation a lot easier. Food manufacturers are required to list the amount of fat their foods contain as a percentage of an average daily diet, so it is easy to tell at a glance if a particular frozen food is a healthy, low fat choice.

In addition to keeping total fat to less than 30% of total calories, it is important to keep saturated fat levels to less than 10% of daily calories. For sodium levels, it is important to limit the amount of sodium to less than 200 milligrams for every 100 calories of food.

In addition, most experts recommend keeping your daily sodium intake to less than 2400 milligrams per day. It is important to read the labels on all frozen foods, even if they are labeled as healthy. While claiming the healthy label obligates food manufacturers to follow certain guidelines, it is still important to review the labels in order to choose the healthiest choices.

When choosing the healthiest meals from among the hundreds of varieties at the average supermarket or grocery store, it is a good idea to choose those that contain at least a half cup of vegetables, fruits or beans. Doing so will help you ensure that the meal you choose is healthy and nutritious.

Finally, since you are in the grocery store already, why not make a stop at the salad bar for a healthy addition to your frozen entrée. Many large grocery store chains have installed wonderful salad bars stocked full of the freshest fruits, vegetables and garnishes, as well as a great selection of low fat and nonfat salad dressings.

About the author: Tony Robinson is a webmaster, international author and fitness guru. Come check out his website at http://www.1stbetterhealth.com