Health

 Wikipedia defines “A healthy diet is one that is arrived at with the intent of improving or maintaining optimal health”. “This usually involves consuming nutrients by eating the appropriate amounts from all of the food groups, including an adequate amount of water.”

The main benefits of a healthy diet are:
1. Improves your immune system
2. Increases energy levels, vitality and alertness
3. Decreases your risk of heart disease and diabetes
4. Helps you cope with stress

A healthy diet is essential to live a healthy lifestyle. Having the correct nutrients can have a significant effect on your energy levels and vitality while decreasing the risks of disease. A healthy diet consists of meeting your daily calorie intake of the five major food groups with portion control of each food group totalling your necessary calorie intake.

The five major food groups are:
1. Fruit
2. Vegetables
3. Lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
4. Bread, cereals, rice, pasta
5. Milk, yogurt, cheese

A healthy diet is also made up of portion control. The portion control of these five food groups are as follows:
Carbohydrates: 6 - 8
Protein: 1 - 2
Fats: 1
Dairy: 2 - 3
Fruit: 2
Vegetables: 5
Water: 6

What constitutes a serving size for these food groups to achieve a healthy diet?
1. Carbohydrates (6-8 serves daily)
One serving should contain about 0.5oz (15g) of carbohydrates. Examples of this include:
Bread 1 slice
Tortilla, roll, or muffin 1
Bagel, English muffin or hamburger bun 1/2
Rice, pasta, cooked cereal, grits 1/2 cup
Ready-to-eat cereal 3/4 cup (flakes or round)
Pancake, waffle 1 (4.5in diameter)

2. Protein (4-6 serves daily)
One serving of protein should contain about 0.5oz (15g) of protein. Examples of this include:
Cooked lean meat, fish or poultry 2oz- 3oz (60g - 90g)
Egg 1
Peanut Butter 2 tablespoons, 1oz (30g)
Cooked dried peas or beans 1/2 cup
Cooked dried beans 1/2cup
Nuts, seeds 1/3 cup

3. Fat (1 serve daily)
One serving of fat should contain about 0.2oz (5g) of fat. Examples of this include:
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp butter
1 tsp peanut butter
8 ripe olives
1 tbsp salad dressing

4. Dairy (2-3 serves daily)
One serving of dairy should contain about 0.01oz (300mg) of calcium. Examples of this include:
Milk 1 cup
Yogurt 1 cup
Cheese 1 slice, 1oz (30g) (1.5oz cheese is about equal to 1 cup milk)
Cottage cheese 1/2 cup
Pudding 1/2 cup
Ice cream 1/2 cup

5. Fruit (2 serves daily)
One serving of fruit should contain about 0.5oz (15g) of carbohydrates. Examples of this include:
Chopped, fresh fruit 1/2 cup
Grapefruit 1/2
Cantaloupe 1/4
Canned fruit 1/2 cup
100% fruit juice 3/4 cup
Raisins or dried fruit 1/4 cup

6. Vegetables (5 serves daily)
One serving of vegetables should contain about 0.2oz (5g) of carbohydrates. Examples of this include:
Cooked vegetables 1/2 cup
Chopped, raw vegetables 1/2 cup
Raw, leafy vegetables 1 cup
Vegetable juice 3/4 cup

7. Water (6 serves daily)
Glass of water (10fl oz)

Vitamins and minerals
Many people believe that they can eat what ever they like and can make it up by having vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for this, however this is not the case. Your body absorbes the nutrients in foods are more effectively than in supplements. Furthermore, a majority of supplements on the market are mainly made with fillers you urinate very quickly.

A few things to remember:
1. Try and keep your BMI (Body Mass Index) in a healthy range
2. Try and eat plenty if fibre.
3. Have 8 glasses o water a day. A lack of water is the most common cause of tiredness
4. Limit alcohol and caffeine consumption
5. Reduce sugar intake
Maintain these tips to maintaining a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle and you will be amazed at how good you will feel.

They happily munch on carrots, chew on celery sticks, eat tofu, and throw veggie burgers on the grill. People decide to give up meat, and become vegetarians for a number of reasons, including medical issues such as allergies, or high cholesterol. They change their way of life for nutritional reasons, such as food safety, weight loss, or general health improvement and most commonly, because of their determination to not consume living animals.

Animal products contain fat and cholesterol, which is what many of today’s health conscious people try to avoid. Chickens, pigs and cows are often fed growth hormones and injected with antibiotics, which ends up in meat bought at the supermarket, or served in restaurants.

A healthy, sensible vegetarian diet consists primarily of plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes like soya beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Because the emphasis is on nonmeat food sources, a vegetarian diet typically contains less saturated fat and cholesterol, and will usually incorporate more fiber. Medical studies have shown that individuals following a vegetarian regimen seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer.

A well-planned vegetarian diet is loaded with nutritional values. Plant proteins can provide enough essential and non-essential amino acids a body needs, as long as the sources of the dietary protein are varied and a caloric intake is high enough to meet the individual’s energy needs. Soy protein, for example, has been proven to be equal to proteins of animal origin, and can, in some cases, be a sole protein source.

When following a vegetarian diet, the risk of iron deficiency may be greater than for meat-eaters, and iron levels in the body may have to be monitored closely. The richest sources of iron are found in red meat, liver and egg yolk, all foods which are also high in cholesterol. That does not mean that iron cannot be retrieved from other foods. Dried beans, spinach, enriched products, brewer’s yeast and dried fruits are all excellent iron suppliers.

The human body cannot survive without an ample provision of vitamins and minerals. Most of what the human body requires can be found in a vegetarian diet, but when it comes to vitamin D and B-12, vegetarians and vegans (they do not eat animals or animal by-products such as eggs, dairy, etc.), may need supplements. Vitamin B-12 can be found in some fortified breakfast cereals, fortified soy beverages, some brands of nutritional yeast and other foods (check the product labels), as well as vitamin supplements.

Choosing a vegetarian lifestyle will improve your health and lower the risks of getting diabetes, heart disease, or cancer. Many wonderful dishes can be created with different kinds of beans - from Lima, kidney, pinto, garbanzo, soy beans, to black-eyed peas. These can be served with rice, added to delicious soups, stews, and mouth-watering salads, or made into a variety of casseroles, and ethnic dishes. Tofu, or soy bean curd, can be added to dips and spreads, or served with stir-fried vegetables, and pasta. For the grand finale, meals can be topped off with wonderful desserts made from juicy fresh fruits and a variety of exotic nuts.

In conclusion, if you are concerned about your health, it may be worth while checking into a vegetarian diet. It is a healthy lifestyle with many benefits, which can also work for you!
 
Author Resource:- Australian Lifestyle & Fitness is an online weight loss company that creates online weight loss programs diets and to help you lose weight. Your weight loss program will be based on a unique diet profile to ensure that you diet is tailored specifically to you. We believe that you will lose weight and keep it off.

There are so many people suffering from acne and looking for some type of acne relief. Many are looking for acne relief in products advertised claiming to totally eliminate acne but never do. It seems the only hope for acne sufferers is purchasing the latest and greatest advertised product. Beyond products there appears to be no other hope for an acne remedy. Is this true? No, this is not true!

There are practical everyday steps that anyone can implement that will have a profound effect on their skin problems and bring acne relief. I do not believe people really consider the ways they contribute to their acne breakouts. There are steps outlined in this article that will reveal ways that will usher in acne relief. These 5 steps are very practical and will uncover the mistakes people make on a daily basis that aggravate acne.

1 Never purposely burst your pimples. This does not help your acne situation at all. Squeezing pimples only makes matters worse causing acne to become inflamed and hang around longer. The healing time is diminished and you will have to deal with acne longer.

2 Sleep on fresh clean linen and pillowcases very regularly. This is a good acne relief method. Bacteria causing acne can linger in your bed sheets and pillowcases. As your face touches your pillow realize bacteria is being transferred to your pillow where it will stay. So constantly lying on the same pillow for days without applying fresh linen will cause acne to appear. You really should change your pillowcases daily.

3 When talking on your cell phone, hold the phone away from your chin to prevent acne. Keep your cell phone wiped off with anti bacterial wipes. Cell phones are used so much that they become infected with bacteria from our face. We are constantly re-infecting our face with bacteria from our cell phone which is not helping with acne relief.

4 Invest in an anti-acne body wash. These body washes may contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide which are acne fighting agents helping to provide acne relief. Body washes are only effective if they are used daily. It is very important for acne sufferers to shower daily.

5 After exercising or if you work in a hot sweaty environment do yourself a favor and shower immediately. Do not allow yourself to be lazy and shower the next day. You need to remove those workout clothes or work uniform and shower immediately. Clothing carries germs and it only multiplies with sweat. Your body and face can be very sensitive to sweaty clothes.

These simple steps will help anyone that is suffering with acne. Acne relief comes in many practical ways beyond medications.