Picture courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt

Seen as the super foods from the previous posts have been extremely popular and easy to incorporate into every day eating habits, we have decided to explore further and bring you some more super food alternatives for you to try out and judge.

Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a herb that is often used when cooking Asian dishes. Fenugreek has a variety of benefits including its ability to “fight off” the common cold as well as to relieve the symptoms of a sore throat. This seems to be particularly useful seen as none of the other ”off-of-the-shelf” remedies seem to work!

Fenugreek is also thought to relieve the symptoms of diabetes as well as menopausal symptoms and soothe menstrual cramps. As well as these wonderful benefits, Fenugreek is thought to have weight loss properties as it supports the metabolism of both glucose and carbohydrates.

Kukicha Twig Tea

This twig tea is made from the twigs of a kukicha plant. The green tea contains a high level of antioxidants which have been proven to help beat diseases. The tea also has a alkalizing affect and therefore lowers acidity which results in reducing bloating and easing nausea.

Spirulina

Spirulina is a blue-green algae and is widely available as a supplement in various forms, including: powders, tablet, or capsule. The supplement is known to be one of the best sources of protein, as it actually 65% protein and contains all eight essential amino acids. It also helps to reinforce the immune system as it also contains over 100 different vital nutrients which can also help to give you an energy boost. Other health benefits include helping to control high blood pressure and cholesterol as well as a helping hand to weight loss.

Goldenberries

Goldenberries are also known as cape gooseberries or Incan berries. They are related to the potatoes and the tomatoes and are bright yellow in colour. The fruit is extremely sweet when ripe and are often eaten raw or dried. Goldenberries provide a large variety of health benefits. Not only do they contain a nice dose of antioxidants but they also contain anti-inflammatory bioflavonoids and a range of vitamins including vitamin A,B and C. They are believed to help maintain a healthy weight, ward off disease, and improve organ function. As well as containing a high percentage of protein which is essential for building and repairs within the body.

Goldenberry

Picture courtesy of Eran Finkle

Picture of D Sharon Purrit

With lots of focus this year being on maintaining a healthy diet and weight loss, it is incredibly important to pick our foods correctly. If the right amounts of the right foods are eaten weight loss and maintaining a balanced diet should be easily achievable. Below I have included some “super-foods” that you might want to consider trying. Many of these foods have more than one benefit and can be slotted into the diet easy and subtly.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are often sprinkled upon a salad or served with soups or vegetables. They are practically tasteless; however they drastically add both crunch and texture to a dish. One of the main benefits of Chia Seeds would be the idea that they provide a healthy dose of Omega 3 alongside various other fibres.

This Omega 3 is extremely useful as it helps to prevent illnesses such as cancer (one of the leading source of deaths in the UK.) Omega 3 is also a good energy provider and also helps to improve our cognitive functions and makes us largely more alert.

As well as the Omega 3, the seeds are also a good source of proteins and carbs. This is also beneficial as the carbohydrates provide a full feeling for longer and keep any cravings for food at bay.
The mix of soluble and insoluble fibres mean that the conversion of the starch to sugars is vastly slowed down and therefore takes longer for the reaction to be complete, this then means that you are provided with a constant steady energy source and a healthy, balanced blood sugar.

Chia seeds

Picture courtesy of little blue hen

Adzuki Beans

Adzuki Beans have one of the highest antioxidant ratings among all of the other “super foods.” The bean is a good source of vegetable protein, soluble fibre and carbohydrates- all of which can help improve blood cholesterol levels.

The Adzuki Bean is also fairly high in Potassium which helps to lower both the blood pressure and the levels of Zinc. This therefore helps to maintain blood sugar levels and helps to protect joints from inflammation.

In Japan, the Adzuki Bean is well known for its healing properties and is thought to considerably help kidney and bladder function.

African Mango

African Mango is a brilliant and natural remedy which increases the rate at which fat it burned. It does this by increasing the rate of the metabolism naturally which then helps the body to burn stored fat. The fruit has recently become hugely popular and extracts from the seeds are now available in tablet form.

The start of the year always starts off well diet and health wise, with many people sticking to their healthy resolutions for most of January. However a lot of people teeter off by the middle of February especially with Valentine’s Day to contend with and all that tempting chocolate!

The best way to keep on top of your healthy eating resolution is to make sure you have a balanced diet, don’t restrict yourself to only eating certain healthy food groups and keep it varied. Make sure you cover the major food groups to maximise nutrients such as red meat, poultry, fish, pulses, milk, yogurt, fruits and vegetables. Don’t think cutting out starchy foods will help you lose weight so eat in moderation bread, breakfast cereals, pasta as these can give you the energy you need.

Make sure you eat plenty of fish and white meat, aim to eat fish twice a week and at least one portion of ‘oily’ fish, such as salmon, trout, mackerel and herring. These contain omega-3s, which support heart, brain and immune function. Although some dieticians don’t recommend eating red meat, it’s still good to have some in your diet so go for lean red meat once a week. 

Making sure you have a varied diet is important, but what’s key for weight loss is portion control. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day it’s what starts you off for the day after hours of not eating and what should be most filling meal of the day. So skipping it won’t do you any good and reaching for sugary snacks that your body craves will also be adverse for your health, plus it won’t give you much of a start for the day. You will probably end up snaking more on unhealthy snacks if you don’t have a proper breakfast.

Lunch time is refuelling time, to get you through the rest of the day, you won’t want to eat anything heavy or stodgy carb laden foods as this will make you feel tired by early afternoon. Instead keep to small portions of potatoes, salad, vegetables and nuts and pulses to keep your energy levels up for the afternoon. Lean protein foods such as chicken, turkey, eggs, prawns, salmon and tuna will also keep hunger at bay. Healthy snacks can also help keep you fuelled up as its best not to go long periods of the day without eating.

Eating foods that not only boost you physically but mentally also help, anything containing serotonin which is the happy hormone will help keep your mood up during the day so think about eating turkey, eggs, seafood, bananas and dark chocolate as part of your daily meals and snacks.

As we have mentioned in our previous post portion control is a major problem, with many people eating healthy home cooked foods but eating to large portions for what they need. Home cooked meals are always the best and the simplest healthy meal can be made from scratch with some thought and preparation. If you are stuck for time look at making batches of food for the week and freezing them at weekends and make use of that slow cooker at the back of your cupboards, load it up with lots of seasonal veg and meat for a hearty stew.

Small portions are best for evening meals and don’t worry if you have left overs or you can’t eat it all, freeze the remainder or keep it for lunch the next day so you have no waste and you don’t over eat for the sake of it.

Most of all though is to enjoy what you’re eating, if you don’t you will find it hard to stick to healthy eating. To avoid getting bored keep trying new things after all there are always new healthy food trends to keep you going!

With financial constraints which many people are under, home cooking seems like the most affordable option as well as being considered the healthiest, however home cooking could actually hamper your diet according to diet experts Weight Watchers.

They found through a YouGov survey of more than 2,000 Britons that 68 per cent of those questioned aim to dine at home more often, but 95 per cent of those who cook at home kept on eating despite being full, to clear their plate.

Unfortunately people are dishing up bigger portion sizes which is causing over eating, the survey found that 57 per cent believed they dish up the recommended portion sizes, only 14 per cent of people actually did.

There are plenty of cookery shows and food shows on TV which is encouraging people to cook at home using fresh ingredients, but with no real knowledge on diet and or any grasp on how much food they are consuming, people are struggling to maintain a healthy diet. Many people think obesity stems from an unhealthy diet consisting of takeaways and junk food however people who eat ‘healthy’ home cooked food are also at risk of obesity because of over eating.

Now though Weight Watchers is looking at educating people on portion control, Lucy Vickers, the firm’s nutritionist, said: “In today’s ‘eat as much as you can’ society package sizes keep growing with giant bottles of cola, extra-large bags of crisps and king-size chocolate bars. This distorts portion control and research shows some people eat more from larger food containers. In a recent test when moviegoers were given popcorn containers of two different sizes, the people given the larger tubs ate 44 per cent more.”

They are also looking at the phycology of overeating as well as some people may not realise they are over eating, Lucy Vickers explained: “Finishing everything on your plate is often a deeply ingrained habit from childhood. Simple adjustments can help reverse the habit, such as serving up smaller portions and using leftovers for lunch the next day.”

Out of those questioned in the YouGov poll, 68 per cent said they aim to dine at home more this month, with 24 per cent saying this was a way to cut calories. Other figures also show that 24 per cent want to be healthier and 54 per cent want to save cash by cooking meals at home from scratch.

Looking at the report, Weight Watchers suggests that education needs to begin much closer to home rather than what the Government is pushing with their ‘The Responsibility Deal’ which up to now has only concentrated on what we eat when buying from takeaways or fast food outlets and restaurants when outside the home. Looking at what people eat when at home, what they cook and how much they serve up will help people understand where they are going wrong with their diet.

Mac & Cheese

Picture courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt

We have been told time and time again, that snacking regularly is bad for us. But is it as bad as it’s made out to be?

No doubt you have heard the saying, that snacking between meals ruins your appetite and now we are even being told that snacking is the demon behind the modern-day crisis of obesity.

But if you an active kinda guy, then neither of the above may necessarily be true. On average, men need to consume an extra 600 calories more per day than women. Factors such as height, weight and occupation, can push this figure even higher still.

Basically, snacking can be a good thing. It can give you the extra calories you need, whenever you need them.

Snacking is pretty much essential if you miss a meal, as busy men are liable to do. Many of us regard meals as a low priority when we’ve got a hundred other things to do.

Snacking is not a problem, if you lead a busy life. However, it then because a problem if you choose to snack of the wrong types of foods.  Another advantage of snacking is that it gives you energy for specific occasions, like a workout or football game, for example.

Now, experts are actually saying that having three big meals is a mistake, and that instead we should have three smaller meals and some snacks, too.

Digesting large meals is hard work for your body and can actually make you feel lethargic. However, eating five times a day isn’t for everyone and can often be bad for those people who are prone to over-eating. But if you lead an active life, then this can be a very effective way of maintaining energy.

The American Dietetic Association suggests that if you’re truly hungry, a small snack could be a good way to ‘tide you over’ until you are ready for a big meal. If you don’t snack when you feel hungry, your blood sugar can drop sharply.

The dangers of snacking

The dangers of snacking are pretty basic. If you snack at the wrong times, with the Snacks high in fat, wrong foods, you are highly likely to gain weight.

What should men snack on?

There are a few rules for snacking. First, your snack shouldn’t be the sugary, carbohydrate-heavy type. This will only send your blood levels soaring.

When it comes to snacking, you should try high-fibre cereal topped with fresh fruit, picking at slices of lean ham, turkey or beef, or dipping into a punnet of cherry tomatoes throughout the day. This is extremely health and is almost certain to keep your hunger at bay.

If you find yourself a bit peckish before playing sports, oatmeal is a great snack. It has a healthy balance of protein and good carbohydrates. This releases glucose into the bloodstream more slowly, which then avoids peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels.) If you prefer energy bars, go for ones that are low in fat and sugar and made from whole oats.

Smoothies are another fabulously healthy way to see you through the afternoon. Made from a mix of fruits and either yoghurt or soya milk. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a healthy snack!
And finally, there’s chocolate. Yep, you heard that right. But it has to be the dark stuff, rich in heart healthy flavonoids. Milk chocolate is too high in sugar and fat.

Get snacking

Forget what you heard, snacking can be beneficial for most men! Snacking gives extra energy and helps you to avoid low-sugar lumps. Remember, this is only true if you snack on the right things!

When you’re in a rush or can’t decide what you want to eat, it’s tempting just to reach for a supermarket sandwich, ready meal or takeaway –but just how many calories exactly do these foods contain?

With obesity becoming an on-going problem, we need to start to consider fat contents and calories in common takeaway foods. We know that they’re bad. But how bad exactly, are they?
The average Indian takeaway consisting of: chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and a plain naan contains a whopping 1,338 calories and a huge 55g of fat. That one meal contains around two-thirds of the daily calories and 80% of the fat a woman should consume in a day. Wow.

Creamier dishes such as korma, pasanda and masala are even worse- but starters and sundries can do a similar damage. For example, one single onion bhaji contains 190 calories and 16g of fat, while a poppadom contains 65 calories and 5g of fat. These amounts are ridiculously high for such foods that you tend to eat as a snack, even before the meal has started. Can it possibly get any worse?

Yes. A Chinese takeaway of prawn crackers, crispy duck, chicken balls and spring rolls contains 2,832 calories – this is equal to two days’ worth of food if you’re trying to lose weight. What’s more shocking is the fat content. The typical Chinese take-away contains around 132.5g of fat – This is equal to a wine glass full of lard.

Pizzas vary in their calorie and fat content depending on their size, base and toppings used – and where you buy them from of course. So this information may come in useful when deciding where to eat in the future.

A regular margherita from Pizza Hut has 53% more calories than its equivalent at Pizza Express, for example. Pizza Express’s pizza contains around 664 calories compared to Pizza Hut’s regular 11-inchmargherita which contains a whopping 1,020 calories. Ouch.

Of course, different toppings need to be considered when looking at fat content etc. The worse toppings (and the ones to steer clear of) include: pepperoni, salami, spicy sausage and extra cheese.

Most of us know that a trip to McDonald’s spells the end of the diet – but it’s not just the Big Mac and fries that do the damage. Enjoying a large chocolate milkshake after the end of your meal and you’ll be drinking more than a meal’s worth of calories and fat.

Around two weeks ago I went to McDonalds myself. It’s not until I started writing this article that I was interested in how much calories I had eaten in just one of my three meals in that day. Using the McDonalds nutrition guide, I was able to accurately calculate my calories, fat and saturate content. I was not impressed! For a Large Chicken Legend meal (with cool mayo large fries and a large strawberry milkshake) and a Crunchie Mcflurry I had found that my total number of calorie intake for that one meal had been 1830 kcal, my fat had be 64g from which 20g was saturated. That is shockingly bad!

There is nothing worse than after lunch feeling the onset of the mid-afternoon slump where your body feels like it just can’t carry on with the rest of the day. All you want to do is put your head down on your desk and have a nap.

However you don’t have to feel like this there are a couple of things you can do that will help you get through the afternoon without you needing a nap or siesta:

Eating a good breakfast – There is a reason why people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, what you eat on a morning can impact you for the rest of the day. So if you regularly skip breakfast or only have something small you will feel it in the afternoon. Having something substantial, which isn’t sugary and isn’t refined carbs you will find your much better equipped to get through the day. Go for eggs, wholemeal toast, and yoghurt or fruit anything which releases energy slowly.

Eat little and often – After a good breakfast gets you to work and through the morning try to eat little and often after that especially if you work in an office. Our bodies aren’t equipped to digest lots of food whilst leading a sedentary life style so from about 1130 to 230 make time to have regular small snacks rather than a large lunch. It will be a lot easier for your body to digest and will stop you feeling sleepy in the afternoon.

Exercise – If you don’t have time or persistence to go to the gym at lunch, try and at least fit in a quick power walk. Exercise is a great boost plus it means it gives you a break from the computer screen. You will return to the office with your endorphins raised which will make it much easier to focus for the rest of the day.

Keep hydrated – Keeping hydrated is important especially when you work in an office, if there is air conditioning this can such the moisture right out of your skin. Dehydration is one of the top causes of fatigue, plus even mild dehydration causes blood to thicken. This forces the heart to work harder to pump blood around the body and wearing you out in the process. Make sure you drink plenty of water during the day especially if you drink lots of coffee which can also dehydrate you. Make it ice cold to give you an extra wakeup call in the afternoon.

Avoid cat napping at work

Picture courtesy of cbowns

A lot of people in the UK suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) and as we head towards the darker winter month’s people will feel it more and more. Many people use a SAD light on a morning to help boost their mood over the winter months. However eating correctly can also help you too.

With SAD many people turn to comfort eating to make them feel better however comfort eating sugar-loaded carbohydrates and fat-rich foods will actually do little for you. Instead make sure you eat the following to help SAD:

Eggs are very good for your health, over the past few years health experts have said they can do more harm than good although it was never really proven, now however health experts are in agreement that they are good for you, shocker! Eating eggs for breakfast make a really good start to the day, they contain folic acid and are protein-and-fat-rich but don’t cause fluctuations in blood sugar.

Avocadoes are another food that gets health experts in a tizzy however it has been shown that they are full of depression-fighting magnesium as well as B6 and folates. They also contain quite a lot of monounsaturated fat, which aids your metabolism and helps to lower your cholesterol. Mexican food uses avocadoes in most recipes and side dishes so why not have some Mexican feasts to brighten up your winter.

Sweet potatoes make for a good alternative to the spud, because they contain B6 vitamin, they affect the neurotransmitters in your brain and increase your mood. They are also low on the glycaemic index so means you won’t experience a peak and trough in your blood sugar. They are easy to cook with and can be treated pretty much in the same way as a normal spud, however make the most of them by roasting them with spices for a healthy potato wedge.

Oily fish have numerous health benefits which is why experts say we should incorporate them a lot more into our everyday diet. Fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids have been used to successfully treat depression plus they do wonders for your skin. They are a great option for breakfast, lunch and dinner so why not add some of these little god sends to your diet to beat SAD.

Diets which are rich in natural spices could help protect your heart by preventing heart disease according to researchers. It’s thought that you could still eat a high fat diet without it having an adverse effect on your heart if you add spies such as turmeric, cinnamon and paprika to the food.

The researchers from Penn State University have found a blend of antioxidant spices can actually reduce the stress that high fat foods put on your heart which is done by the build-up of triglycerides that are stored in fat cells.

Study leader Sheila West said: “If triglyceride levels are raised too much your risk of heart disease is increased. We found that adding spices to a high-fat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 per cent, compared to a similar meal with no spices added.”

The research was carried out by preparing two meals which were identical except that one had culinary spices in it and researchers drew blood from the six male participants aged between 30 and 65 every 30 minutes for three hours. They found that when the meal contained the blend of spices, antioxidant activity in the blood was increased by 13 per cent and insulin response decreased by about 20 per cent.

Speaking about the scientific findings Doctor West said: “Antioxidants, like spices, may be important in reducing oxidative stress and thus the risk of chronic disease.”

Oxidative stress is thought to be a contributing factor to heart disease, diabetes and arthritis according to many scientists, the results from these latest experiments can be found in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

When it comes to losing weight there are only two things which will achieve this, eating less (cutting calories) and exercising, fad diets etc., weight loss drugs and other ‘health’ things won’t ever really help you successfully lose weight and keep it off.

Cutting your daily intake of calories is quite an easy way to get you started on weight loss, by cutting as little as 100 calories a day you will find that it will have an effect on your weight loss. In fact you could save around 36,500 calories a year and this could help you lose up to ten pounds. That’s before you even think about exercising.

It’s a lot easier to cut 100 calories a day than you may think, swapping simple things or cutting down or other things is the place to start:

Cutting out spread/butter on your bread, go nude only add your jam to toast or sandwich filler instead.

Switch your milk from semi skimmed to skimmed and knock any fattening coffee to go drinks on the head and opt for a standard coffee or tea.

For part of your five-a-day go for fresh fruit rather than fruit juice, it may seem like an easier way to get your fruit but juices and Smoothies can have a lot of sugars in them which equates to calories.

Cut down on the olive oil, although the Mediterranean diet may be healthy, olive oil does contain quite a few calories, so try and restrict your intake for example cut it out of your salad dressings.

Say no to the alcohol and fizzy drinks, it can be quite hard to do without when you’re out but at home cutting down on fizzy drinks and alcohol, swapping them for water will help cut the cals!

Healthy tinned fish contain the Omega 3 oils which are good for your health, cut the cals with these by buying fish in spring water rather than sunflower oil and olive oil.

Steaming is best for your veg, although a stir-fry may seem like a healthy option the oil or butter people use to fry their veg in adds cals which is why steaming is better!

Cut out the fat by choosing lean cuts of meat, or cut off any visible bit and you should be able to reduce your calories which also goes for chicken skin too!