Category: Nutrition

Native to South America, chia seeds (salvia hispanica?) have been used for centuries, and were a staple in the diets of Mayans and Atecs. The Mayans used to….find info on the mayan messenger warriors using for sustained energy.

Today chia seeds are noted for their amazing health benefits and are becoming more and more popular in health circles across the globe. Chia seeds are full of a number of nutrients and a host of antioxidants. Adding chia seeds to your diet will prove beneficial in areas you would never expect from this little seed.

Blood Sugar Balance

Chia seeds are excellent in helping the body to balance blood sugar levels. Maintaing blood sugar balance is important for optimal health and energy levels.Blood sugar leves tend to spike after eating, especially if you tend to eat starchy or sugary foods.
The comination of soluble an insoulule fiers in chia seeds, along with their gelling properties slow down the process of starches turning into sugars. Eating chia seeds before or with a meal will help convert your food into a constant steady energy rather than spikes that tend to wear you out.

Packed with Omega-3s

Chia seeds are the richest plant source of healthy omega-3s found in nature. Chia’s, by weight, contain more omega-3s than salmon. Important for heart and cholesterol health, omega-3s are pertinent for maintaining optimal health. Usually found in animals such as fish, chia seeds are an excellent supplement for vegetarians that often lack this important dietary necessity.

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High in Anti-Oxidants

Eating a diet that is rich in anti-oxidants is important for reducing free radical damage to your body. Free radicals are responsible for wearing the body’s immune system down, cause premature aging, and are responsible for the development of certain types of cancers.

When people think of foods that contain powerful anti-oxidants, it is usually blueberries and strawberries that come to mind. Chia seeds are one of the only seeds in nature that can compare on the level of other anti-oxidant rich foods. Chia seeds will also stay fresh for over two years without refrigeration. They are a wonderful addition to anyone’s diet who wants to control free radical damage.

Excellent Source of Calcium

Chia seeds are an excellent source of calcium, and by weight contain more calcium than whole milk. This makes chias an excellent source of calcium for vegetarians or vegans that may be lacking this essential nutrient. Chia seeds also contain boron and magnesium. These are essential trace minerals that are used to help absorb calcium into the body.

Two tablespoons of chia seeds contain 35% of your daily recommended intake of phosphorus, 24% for magnesium, and almost 50% for manganese.

Great for Cholosteral Levels

Are your cholesterol levels a little high? Chia seeds can help. Used as a dietary fat substitute, chia seeds help lower triglyceride and high cholesterol levels while increasing good cholesterol levels. When using chia seeds in place of fat sources such as corn or vegetable oil, chia seeds actually help prevent high triglyceride levels and reduce the risk of obesity.

Excellent Egg Relacer

When mixed with water, chia seeds form a gelatinous paste that may be used in place of eggs. They are an excellent source used in baking to reduce cholesterol levels and increase the amounts of nutrients that are in your baked goods. To make a healthier version of your favorite treat, mix I tablespoon of chia seeds with 2 tablespoons of water and let sit for 15 minutes.

Full of Fiber

Fiber is needed to maintain healthy function within the body. Without the daily amount of recommended fiber, you may suffer from high cholesterol levels and irregular bowel movements. Chia seeds are a powerful form of fiber and contain 10 grams in only 2 tablespoons.

This is 1/3 of the daily recommended value for fiber. Sprinkling them on a salad, mixing them into a smoothie, or baking them into some muffins are all wonderful ways of adding more fiber to your diet.

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Add Nutrients Without Comprimising Taste

With all the nutrients that chia contain, they also carry no taste. They can be added to anything and will take on the flavor of whatever they are added to. When added to a smoothie they will take on the flavor of whatever has been added to the smoothie. They can be added to dressings, salsas, dips, and more.

Discovering the wonderful health benefits of chia seeds is an excellent way to add variety to the way you receive essential nutrients and vitamins. Just a couple tablespoons a day will add plenty of what you need to live in the healthiest way possible. It is a great addition to any person’s diet plan that wishes to benefit from what nature has to offer.

The Paleo Diet: Everyone seems to be on it, purchasing Paleo “approved” foods, and cooking up the recipes of our ancestors so you can’t help but wonder if it’s worth your time.  Like any diet we’ve ever researched, the answer is a resounding NO! 

Losing weight in a healthy way will never be connected to a fad diet (sorry, Hollywood).  There are no “magic pills.”  A healthy diet is a balanced diet and based on lifestyle changes, not what’s poplar to eat if you’re a celebrity.  In this article we’ll review four myths about the Paleo Diet, investigate what meal time was really like for our ancestors, and provide you with some tips that can actually make your next meal healthier.

Paleo Diet Myths and Facts:

Paleo Diet Myth Number 1: Humans evolved to eat meat. Our modern agricultural diets are out of sync with our biology.  The Paleo Diet is therefore based on science because it brings us back to our meat-eating roots.

Human Body Fact: Most of our physiological adaptations have allowed us to be better plant consumers! From teeth specialized in grinding plant parts to our larger digestive tracts, most of our adaptations help us digest greenery NOT meat.

Paleo Diet Myth Number 2: Paleolithic humans did not eat whole grains or legumes. We should not eat grains or legumes either because our bodies are not made to digest these foods.
Paleolithic Human Fact: Paleolithic humans actually did eat grains and legumes! This Paleo Diet myth is based on older, outdated research.  Current scientific evidence counters earlier studies about our ancestors’ dietary habits and shows that they did eat these plants, which are not Paleo Diet-approved!

Paleo Diet Myth Number 3:  Foods featured in “Paleo Diet” meal plans are the foods our ancestors ate during the Paleolithic Period.

Paleolithic Diet Fact:  Many of the foods listed on “Paleo Diet” meal plans are actually from the Neolithic Period.   Food lists for the Paleolithic diet include vegetables and fruits that weren’t possible for our ancestors to consume until the Neolithic Period and the introduction of farming.  Additionally, the actual Paleolithic Diet included grains and legumes (see myth 2). However, food lists for the fad Paleo Diet include mostly meat. Even though our Paleolithic ancestors ate meat, the meat found in Paleolithic times would have been much leaner than what we eat today.  Additionally, as a Paleolithic man or woman you would have eaten the bone marrow and organs from your hunt (neither of which are included in the Paleo Diet).

Paleo Diet Myth Number 4:  If we adopt this ancient diet we will improve our health and live longer.

Paleolithic Diet Fact: The fad diet is nowhere close to the ancient one and even if it was there is no proof that we would live longer if we ate as our ancestors did

How should we eat?

Given the fact that most of the cornerstones of the fad Paleolithic Diet are actually myths, you may be wondering what you should eat if you want to become more healthy.  Below, we’ll uncover three healthy eating tips inspired by the debate about the Paleolithic Diet.

Healthy Eating Tip #1: DIVERSITY is the key to healthy eating. There is no one main “diet” that we should eat.  Rather, eating a variety of foods is best.  This way you ensure that your body is getting all of its nutrients. The Paleo Diet gets this part right because it notes that processed foods are not healthy. This is true and limiting processed foods will help you diversify your diet.  Processed foods include just three main ingredients: corn, soy, and wheat. We should eat more than these three!

Health Eating Tip #2: Eat foods IN SEASON when they are the freshest.  Our Paleolithic ancestors had to abide by this healthy eating tip! Eating foods when they are in season ensures that you are getting the most nutrients from your foods and allows you to work diversity (healthy eating tip #1) into your meal choices. Additionally, fresh foods don’t need preservatives.  The function of preservatives is to prevent the growth of bad bacteria on our food.  Since we’re not sure what eating some of these preservatives may do to the “good” bacteria that help our bodies digest food, it is best not to include them in our diets if we don’t need to do so.

Healthy Eating Tip #3: Eating whole foods is important.  Processed foods are easier for us to overeat.  The body has adapted ways to signal us to stop eating when we are full.  However, when we eat processed foods, we can consume a larger amount of food without getting this feedback. For example, the sugar in one of today’s large sodas can be consumed in less than 20 minutes.  Eating and digesting an equivalent amount of the whole food, eight feet of sugar cane, would take a lot longer.  Our bodies are built to consume whole foods in order to send signals that will keep us from overeating.  The Paleo Diet includes whole foods unlike the diet of many modern cultures.

There will always be some new fad diet that everyone seems to be trying.  Remember, that these diets are usually not healthy and seldom based on scientific fact.  Have you heard about the Paleo Diet?  Which myth or fact is most surprising to you?  Share your ideas with us by commenting below. Have a friend dead set on eating like his or her Paleolithic ancestors? Be sure to clue him or her in on the actual facts by sharing this post!

To control hunger and lose weight requires only a bit of discipline – and a complete paradigm shift.  We can all agree that eating is awesome, after all.  It’s just awesome.  It’s tops.  And, more than being enjoyable, it’s necessary.  Hunger developed, evolutionary speaking, to let us know when our bodies need fuel; to let us know when it’s necessary to eat.

However, particularly in a food-obsessed society with portion issues and trans fat dependencies, hunger can be a deceiving threat.  For those of us who eat for emotional reasons, who eat out of boredom rather than need, hunger can confuse us into thinking we need food when we actually do not.  Hence, these handy tips to control hunger and lose weight:

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living

When you find yourself hungry, your absolute first course of action should be to stop in your tracks and think.  Think deeply.  Are you actually hungry?  When did you last eat?  What did you last eat?  Is it plausible that your body needs food again – or are you bored, sad, and in need of that euphoric chemical boost in the brain induced by good food?  Taking just a moment to consider the source of your hunger – its authenticity – may stop you from taking in unnecessary calories out of habit.

It Covers 71% of the Earth’s Surface, You Know

You’ve heard it before, and there’s a reason:  Because it’s true.  I speak, of course, about water.  Water, as we all know, is the miracle solvent.  It benefits the hair, the nails, the skin, the digestion, the bones, the organs…and I’m sure I’ve left a few vital bodily systems off that list as well.

It should come as no surprise, then, that water can serve in controlling hunger as well.  Get into the habit of drinking a glass of water before meals – a big one.  It will fill your stomach somewhat, resulting in less calories ingested.  By the same logic, drinking water when you feel hungry between meals may just satisfy the unrelenting grumbling in your stomach.

Freud Would Have Called It an Oral Fixation

For some, it is the hand-to-mouth action of eating that we find so comforting; just like with smoking, it is a habit which tends to soothe.  Therefore, sometimes a conversation with your inner monologue or a glass of ice water won’t fulfill that emotional need for the comfort of eating.

Hard candies – particularly the sugar-free kind – can often provide an outlet for that oral craving.  Many former smokers have discovered that just such a substitution reduces the need to smoke; similarly, hunger – the unnecessary sort, that which is emotional rather than physiological – can be averted with the familiar sensations of working one’s mouth.  Gum, Tic Tacs, small lollipops and Jawbreakers are all good methods to trick one’s hunger into submission.

Freud Would Also Have Called It Sublimation

One of the best methods for controlling hunger and losing weight is also the simplest.  Once you’ve determined that you may be hungry for reasons other than true physical need, take that urge and sublimate it – that is, channel it into something positive.

Craving M&M’s?  Take out the Swiffer Wet Jet!  Can’t stop focusing on potato chips?  Break out your latest home improvement project and make some headway.  Feel like you can’t think about anything but your hunger?  Cook an extravagant meal – and DON’T sample the ingredients along the way.  Anything which gets you moving is an obvious plus; anything which will leave you slightly better off than you were before is the goal.  Eating when you don’t need to eat is destructive; turning that compulsion into a clean kitchen, a scrapbook, a tree house, or a novel is constructive.

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To Control Hunger and Lose Weight

At the end of the day, it takes true self-reflection to achieve a fitness or weight loss goal.  You must be intimately aware of your body’s needs and signals; you must learn to identify true hunger from that born of emotional need or boredom.  If you’re truly hungry, eat – but eat well.  If you’re not, get your mind off the concept of eating in any way you can.

Ultimately, the body can be conditioned in any way we choose, and you can overcome the sort of hunger that equals unnecessary calories.  Weight loss will follow naturally – particularly if you’re choosing to vacuum up and down the stairs instead of eating ice cream out of the container with a spoon – and will have happened in a controlled, healthy, and manageable manner.

Remember, however – you’re wonderful.  Just as you are.  If you need to lose weight, you should do it simply because the world would be a sadder place were we to lose you to an obesity-related illness.  If you don’t need to lose weight, you should celebrate your body and the living experiences it has given you.  You are not your hunger, and you are not a number on a scale.  Just be you.  Just be.