by
priscillar on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 |
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Introduction
Dieting to lose weight or eating healthy but with restricted calorie diets can be counter productive. You have certain calories and nutritional requirements that must be fulfilled if your body is to operate efficiently and to remain healthy and vital into old age. On one hand, if you eat food that is very healthy but contains more calories than your individual body requires on a daily basis then you will put weight on. This is where the Superfoods come in. The secret to being healthy and at an optimum weight is consuming foods that are so nutritionally packed that you do not have to eat vast amounts of them to obtain the benefit..If you make the right choices about the foods that you include in your diet you can consume fewer calories but increase your level of essential nutrients, providing your body with everything that it needs.Having said that, you still have a basic requirement for calories each day and it is my recommendation that you should not go below 10 calories per pound of body-weight at any time. This means that a woman weighing 140 lbs should not take in less than 1400 calories per day and a man weighing 180 lbs should not take in less than 1800 calories.This leaves you with your food choices. To start the process I am introducing you to my top 12 superfoods . I include at least 6 of these foods everyday in my diet and that way I know that I am getting a terrific nutritional punch even if I am on a diet to lose weight.All fresh fruit, vegetables, lean protein are packed with wonderful nutrients and I really encourage everyone to eat a diet that is very low on processed foods and very high on fresh, raw and if possible organic natural ingredients. We cannot say with certainty that eating any food will either protect you from disease or cure you of it. But with a healthy body your own natural defences are stronger and more able to protect you and it makes sense to give your body what it needs to do its job efficiently. There is a great deal of medical research which supports the role of natural nutrients for our health but you must make sure that you consult your doctor should you be concerned about any symptoms that you may have.
| | | | To qualify as Superfoods – they must meet certain criteria. Some people may feel that chocolate – cheese and ice-cream are Superfoods because they taste so good, but in fact whilst each in its own way has some nutritional value, they fall short of a true Superfood because they are very limited and have a too high a concentration of negative nutritional values such as sugars and fat to make them a Superfood.To qualify as a Superfood they must be nutrient dense. In other words have more than one thing going for them. They are natural – unprocessed and if possible organic. They also have to be readily available and known to us. Food also has to be within an average budget. It is no good promoting caviar as a Superfood that everyone should eat because it is simply far too expensive. Finally, the food has to taste good. Whilst we may put up with eating a certain amount of ‘good for you but tastes like cardboard’ for a short period like six weeks – we soon become bored and disinterested in continuing with it.With this in mind I have chosen a list of foods that are nutritionally superior – taste good – are very reasonably priced, are readily available here in any supermarket and finally are flexible and can be used throughout the day to provide a balanced and nutritional diet for anyone.This is not to say that other foods are excluded – to give you variety of course you must eat other foods but if you are eating these on a regular basis the occasional chocolate, ice-cream or piece of cheddar is going to complement rather than dominate your diet.WHERE TO START?
If you are following the rules for the healthy eating program on the site you will already be drinking plenty of water throughout the day. You are very much more dehydrated after a night’s sleep, so need to drink a glass of water when you wake up in the morning. Breakfast should not be an option if you want to be healthy and for me this is a nutrient packed breakfast to kick start your day and is as easy as one two three.- Orange Juice (fresh)
- Oatmeal
- Cup of Green Tea.
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