The prominent food and beverage manufacturers of America, in an attempt to battle against obesity have made a decision to team up and develop a new front-of-package nutrition labeling system. This plan will be of great help to busy consumers in making accurate, healthy selections while shopping. America’s food and beverage companies and vendors have said yes to this change of product labels with a consumer awareness campaign estimating $50 million.

In its first FDA-sponsored Front-Of-Package (FOP) labeling report which was released just two weeks back, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) proposes that the FOP symbols indicate only about the calories, sodium, trans fat and saturated fat, the nutrients which are directly linked with obesity, heart problems and diabetes. This led William Neuman of The New York Times to sum up its attempt as “Tell us how your products are bad for us.”

GMA and FMI prefer to mention “no trans fat” or “no cholesterol” in their product labels if they must do negatives, but they prefer highlighting all the constituents that are good in the products like added vitamins in beverages (not to worry, the universal cup holder can handle the added weight of additional vitamins), omega-3s in cereals, and fiber in pizzas.

In any event, they specifically do not want the UK “traffic-light” symbol labeling system to be put into effect by FDA. This system shows a red circle for less healthy nutrient levels and a green circle for healthier levels. These symbols were so strongly resisted by the food industry that they caused the called off the British Food Standards Agency as they deter consumers from buying foodstuffs denoted in red.

Mr. Neuman, in a New York Times article quotes Mary Sophos, a GMA representative and executive vice president for the group. She says that the group is not keen on entering into interpreting food elements. The label would not demonstrate the whole nutritional attributes of a product as good or bad as the UK system does.

GMA and FMI evidently are looking forward to having a similar thing to take place in our FDA. An FDA statement said, “Our hope is that the industry will develop a label that aids in consumer understanding and helps parents and other shoppers easily identify and select products that contribute to a healthy diet.”

This move shows all the signs the FDA requires for compulsory FOP labels. The food industry will not keenly label its processed foods in a manner that will assist the public to choose healthier foods. After all, the food and beverage industry is exactly that, an industry, one that relies on consumers to purchase it’s products, whether they are good or bad for them, to make money. Apparently profits are more important than the health and wellness of the American people.

High fiber vegetables

Some vegetables that contain high fiber include beans, carrot, potatoes with skin, green vegetables such as kale and collards, peas, peppers and rhubarb. Fruits that contain high amounts of fiber are apples, avocados, bananas, oranges, guavas and dry fruits such as apricots, raisin and dates. Experts recommend that we eat about 30 to 40 g of fiber every day. This can come from grains, fruits or vegetables. Some foods contain soluble fiber. When digested it gets bound with the fatty acids in the body and increases the time it takes to digest food. This helps control blood sugar and accordingly diabetes.

Advantages of eating high fiber food

The organ systems in the human body are interlinked and if there are problems in one system it influences the functioning of others too. The digestive system is vital because it ensures that the body receives nutrition and gets rid of toxins. If one mostly tends to eat processed foods that contain low fiber then the digestive system is the first to be affected, leading to constipation. By adding fiber vegetables to your diet you can control many ailments and this also helps in losing fat and weight.

What characteristics should you look for when scouting out foods that will give you energy? Unfortunately, it isn’t a cut and dry selection process. There are several variables that factor into whether a particular type of food will increase your energy level, including what you’ve already eaten that day. The main factors to look for are complex carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and high levels of vitamins and nutrients such as fiber, iron, and calcium.

You will probably want to avoid highly processed foods that are labeled as energy drinks and foods. The problem with these widely marketed energy drinks and supplements is that they’re nutritionally deficient. They may temporarily boost your energy due to high sugar and caffeine content, but the sugar will quickly wear off and may leave you more deflated than before. In addition, they provide no nutritional value to benefit your health long term.

The following list contains natural energy foods that will not only increase your alertness and productivity in the short term, but also give you the long term benefit of a diet with robust nutritional content.

1. Water
Most Americans are constantly in a state of dehydration. Due to the large consumption of soft drinks, alcohol, and other unhealthy drinks, Americans don’t drink nearly enough water. The long standing recommendation is to drink six to eight glasses of water per day for the average sedentary adult. Anyone who leads an active lifestyle will need even more than that.

After getting enough water for several days, you’ll feel a huge impact on your energy levels throughout the day. Drinking enough liquids should be the first step to conquering your afternoon drowsiness.

2. Bananas (and other fruits)
Bananas are composed primarily of various natural sugars. These will give you an immediate energy burst when your digestive system processes them. In addition, bananas contain solid levels of fiber and iron which are helpful to the body in numerous ways.

All common fruits are heavy in natural sugars, so they can provide the same spark to your energy. Unlike the processed sugars in energy drinks, your body can quickly utilize these natural sugars while also absorbing the other natural vitamins and nutrients that the fruits contain. Although a diet completely composed of fruits would have some nutritional holes, they’re great for a snack at any time of the day.

3. Soy Milk
Soy milk is a disguised energy food. A lot of people just think of it as a milk replacement, but it is an amazing drink in its own right. It is naturally high in protein and fiber and naturally contains a variety of nutrients including Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E. In addition, it is fortified with a variety of other vitamins including a slew of vitamin B varieties which are known for energy and mood improvement.

Drinking soy milk regularly has also been shown to have several important health benefits, mainly a reduced risk for osteoporosis, various cancers, and several chronic diseases. A glass of soy milk can quench your thirst and your body’s needs.  Processing these nutrients can immediately brighten your mood.

4. Quinoa
This is perhaps nature’s perfect food. The term is tossed around a lot, but quinoa has to be in any discussion of the sorts. It is one of the few natural, complete proteins not derived from animal sources. It is a complex carbohydrate at heart, so the caloric energy gained is long term. High in fiber, iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, you should be desperately trying to fit quinoa into your diet whenever possible. I don’t think further explanation is really necessary as to why this will give your energy level a boost.

5. Nuts
A varied selection of nuts can give you an energy boost as well. They generate a long term benefit because they contain a slew of healthy elements. Healthy fats, protein, fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants are naturally occurring in tree nuts and make them one of the best foods you can find.

Bonus! Coffee and Tea
They didn’t make the list of five because they are so commonly thought of as energy boosters. The list needed to be comprised entirely of healthy energy foods, which coffee and tea seem on the edge of. Although they can both be made of all natural ingredients, usually people fill them with less healthy additives like cream and sugar. They’re naturally low in any kind of carbohydrates, so any energy benefit that you get is entirely from the caffeine. This is both a positive and a negative aspect. It won’t help your nutritional intake for the day, but then again, it doesn’t fill you with junk calories like many snacks do.

Science has recently shown that the levels of B12 in the bloodstream that were once believed to be perfectly acceptable are instead seriously low.  Just a few years ago if you had gone to the doctor and tested as having levels of 200, this would have been fine.  Now we know that when you have blood levels anywhere below 400, you are at great risk of developing vitamin b12 deficiency symptoms.  These symptoms can include depression, anxiety, confusion, and anorexia.  In addition to this, you are also at an increased risk of developing heart disease.  Because of this, most integrative practitioners are now suggesting that we maintain blood levels closer to 800.

James Gordon, MD, a psychiatrist, has said that through his clinical experience he has found that there are many times when simply adding B12 and folate to the nutrient therapy of patients with depression can be enough to significantly impact their symptoms.  Research has backed this up, by showing that patients with low levels of folate, B12 and B6 have a much higher chance of experiencing depression.  The reason for this is that the B vitamins are very important in regulating how our bodies deal with stress through the adrenal response.

Therefore, if you are going through a serious depression you may want to talk to your doctor about supplementing with b vitamins.  B12 shots have helped a lot of people and they could help you!

When juicing it is always preferable to go for fresh fruit and making the juice yourself. There are many reasons for this, with the main two being cost and better quality nutrition. Buying pre-packed juices from the store can be very expensive and is often unnecessary as an electrical juicer can be purchased very cheaply from most electrical stores and produce the same amount of juice in no time.

Secondly, the fresher the fruit the more nutrients in contains and therefore the more beneficial it is to your health. As time goes on the fruit begins to lose its nutritional value, this is caused by a number of factors such as the air and levels of heat. It is ideal to keep the fruit or vegetables refrigerated until they are ready to be made into juice. It is also recommended to drink the juice as soon as it has been made for the optimum benefit, although it is possible to store it in a bottle or air tight container for a couple of days.

So why is nutrition so important? Well, vitamins and minerals are essential for your survival. The human body cannot produce or store most of the vitamins or minerals on its own and therefore needs a regular supply. Being deficient in particular vitamins/minerals causes and imbalance in the body and can lead to many different conditions such as a weakened immune system or poor function of the liver.

Among others, a deficiency in vitamin B12 may lead to anemia and chronic fatigue syndrome. B12 is necessary for the synthesis of red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body. The oxygen is used to burn up food and thus provide energy and therefore a lack of it leads to fatigue and in more serious cases, anemia.

Deficiency in vitamin B12 can also lead to depression and over a long period of time, can cause brain damage. B12 is necessary for a healthy central nervous system, and thus its association with depression.

So where is the myth derived? For many years, B12 was believed to be only available in animal products like meat, milk, eggs and cheese. Anyone who did not take these therefore was considered to be lacking in B12, and any sign of anemia or depression was attributed to their diet.

Well, science has gone a long way to disprove this:

1. B12 is a microbe or friendly bacteria, so no food really contains it (although it can be found on the surface of some foods). This microbe lives naturally in the human body within the digestive tract, and it’s triggered and absorbed by taking in of the right kinds of foods, not necessarily animal products. There are indeed many foods that vegans can take to trigger release and absorption of B12 into the blood stream.
2. Studies over the years have revealed that non-vegans are more likely to suffer a B12 deficiency than vegans. Though not solidly proven, it is thought that this could be because of 2 reasons: meat eaters take in way too much B12. Over-intake of B12 causes lower absorption and therefore can lead to deficiency. The other argument is that because a meat eater’s diet does not allow the microbes in the intestinal tract to release B12, they may end up with deficiency. On the other hand, a vegan’s diet keeps their digestive tract healthy and clean and gives a conducive environment for B12 to thrive and be absorbed.
3. Vegans are more likely to get B12 into their systems. Microbes that are on the surface of the food that we eat contain B12. During cooking, these microbes get destroyed and B12 gets lost along with that too. Vegans mostly eat food that does not require cooking. This makes them more likely to have higher levels of B12 than non-vegans.
4. Naturally, people on a plant diet have cleaner digestive tracts that have healthier bacteria – probiotics – that encourage release and absorption of B12 into the body.

Whatever the arguments, the fact is that more non-vegans than vegans suffer a B12 deficiency. It could be attributed to the fact that vegans generally watch their diets more closely to ensure that they get all that the body requires.

Either way, if you are a vegan and would like to put the myth to rest once and for all, visit your GP. Through a blood test, he will tell you if you enough B12 in your body. Watch out for signs of lethargy and depression too – they can be as a result of lack of B12.

To learn more about sublingual B12, its benefits and its sources, click here.

Sources

1. The Benefits of Eating a Plant-Based Diet: The Vitamin B12 Myth by Erin Brennan
2. Goldman: Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 22nd ed., page 1056
3. “Increased Urinary Methylmalonic Acid Excretion in Breast-fed Infants of Vegetarian Mothers and Identification of an Acceptable Source of B12″ (Specker B. Am J Clin Nutr 47:89, 1988)
4. “Vitamin B12 and Seaweed” Van Den Berg H. Lancet 1:242, 1988)

Protein is determined to be higher quality if there are more essential amino acids in it. Most plants have a few, so you have to get the right mix in order to get all of them into your diet. But what if you do not want to worry about tracking your acid intake, and would rather worry about other things? In the case you are interested in that, you should consider adding hemp seed to your diet.

Hemp seed is one of the few things in this world that has all the essential amino acids, and you could get your entire protein needs, as well as other things, from just eating hemp seed alone. That is pretty incredible, that a single seed has so much, but its just the way nature made it. In addition to having all the important acids, it also has them in high quantities, so you do not even need to eat that much hemp seed in order to realize the full benefit of it. If that is not a good deal, I do not know what is.

Hemp protein is the best protein you can get, and no matter who you are or what your personal situation is, I believe this is something that should be a part of everyone’s diet. If all humans ingested at least three tablespoons of hemp seed a day, we would be a lot better off than we are now.

The science of aging is one that is both fascinating and puzzling. Fascinating because while the human body seems be equipped with faculties that can defy aging by having the ability to renew and repair itself, puzzlingly, we still fall short in such a way that we slowly go into this process of degeneration that our body progresses into.

The good news is that we seem to have come to understand significantly more about ourselves that we are able to reverse or slow down that progression. This is most true with the matter of skin aging.

The funny thing is that with all the discoveries we have made in our search for the best anti aging strategy/treatment, it turns out that the most effective ones have been under our noses all this time. I am talking about fruits and vegetables which science have shown to be the best all natural anti aging products.

Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins that slow down the effects of father time, reverse premature skin aging symptoms, and help protect you from illnesses that promote biological aging.

This is made even more possible because fruits and veggies are packed with antioxidants that help the body get rid of harmful free radicals that wreak havoc on our body at the cellular level. Free radicals are also associated with risk of cancer and number of other health problems.

If you wish to keep your self feeling and looking young, you should not neglect to include all natural treatment strategies in your overall plan. Eating fruits and vegetables, plenty of it, is one of the best skin aging prevention and perhaps the top anti aging products you will ever come across out there.

Including the all natural fruits and veggies approach in your overall anti aging plan will not only help you in your quest to prolong youthfulness, it will also help you maintain your health at the peak level which would improve your quality of life.

Higher levels of cholesterol lead to heart disease, which is the number one cause of death in adults living in the United States. Although genetics play a large role in the cholesterol level of teenagers, a high fat diet that lacks adequate fiber and protein, lack of exercise, obesity, and smoking all contribute to a rise in cholesterol.

Good and Bad Cholesterol

Cholesterol cannot dissolve in the blood stream. High amounts of bad cholesterol (Low Density Lipoproteins) build up in the arterial walls forming fatty deposits that begin to harden over time, clogging the arteries.

Good cholesterol (High Density Lipoproteins) is believed to prevent heart disease by removing excess cholesterol away from the arteries.
Good cholesterol can be found in unsaturated foods including, peanuts, almonds, avocados, olive oil, and canola oil.

Unhealthy saturated fat is in foods such as butter, mayonnaise, red meat, whole cheese, whole milk, and fried foods, all of which can raise cholesterol to unhealthy levels.

How to Prevent Cholesterol Problems in Teens

To prevent unhealthy levels of high cholesterol in teenagers, foods containing saturated fat should be avoided. Eliminate red meat from you diet and replace it with grilled chicken, fish, or a vegetarian dish.

Include plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains into your daily menu, and make sure to get some exercise on a daily basis to lower levels of bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol.

Educate Teens on the Effects of Cholesterol

Most teenagers do not consider themselves at risk for heart disease, especially if they are not overweight. Teens tend to eat a lot of foods that are high in saturated fat without considering the consequences to their health.

Once a teenager is educated on the negative effects of a diet high in cholesterol, they will be more likely to make better food choices. Parents must set a good example by making healthy food choices in their own lives, and by stocking plenty of healthy foods in the home.

There are no symptoms that help to reveal whether or not a teen has a cholesterol problem. Teens that are overweight, have a particularly unhealthy diet, or have a family history of high cholesterol should visit their doctor to have their cholesterol count checked.

One of those situations is traveling away from home, whether it’s for vacation or on a business trip. Any time you’re taken out of your comfort zone like that, you’re going to have to make some adjustments – living out of a suitcase, dealing with items you left at home, figuring out how to find a bed so your kids can nap after lunch, etc. – but problems will increase significantly when you have an aspect of your life that you simply cannot change, like your diet.

Planning ahead is key when it comes to eating gluten free on the road. First off, pack plenty of snacks. I’ve survived on nothing but nibbles and bites on the gluten free food in my suitcase for a weekend, and you could too if you had too. Some portable gluten free snack ideas are nuts, popcorn, fruit, vegetables (think carrots and celery sticks), and any gluten free products that are available in your area. I’ve got some great gf pretzels and bagels available in my local health food store that I often take on trips.

Another thing to do is call ahead to any restaurants that you know you’ll be dining at and asking about their gluten free selection. Occasionally you’ll find a restaurant that is well equipped to handle a gluten free meal, but you can usually work something out with just about any restaurant. I’ve brought gluten free pasta into an Italian restaurant before and had them prepare it for me. Worked like a charm.

The key to eating gluten free when traveling is planning ahead. If you wait till the last minute to find food, you’ll either have to cheat and eat gluten or go hungry. Make sure to do your planning before you leave.

This guest post was provided by Gluten Free Cooking School. Check out their site for more gluten free info and recipes, including a great gluten free flatbread recipe.