Determining if your diet is healthy enough
Tony Robinson

Everyone wants to eat a healthier diet, but it can sometimes be
difficult to know if your diet is healthy enough. There are a
number of factors that go into creating a healthy diet, and it
is important to evaluate the current state of your diet before
embarking on a plan for healthier eating.

There are several questions you should ask yourself when
evaluating the healthiness (or lack thereof) of your current
eating plan. These questions include:

Do I eat a wide variety of foods? Variety is one of the most
important hallmarks of a healthy diet, since no one food
contains all the nutrients needed by the human body. It is
important to eat foods from all the major food groups, including
grains and breads, fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy
products, meats, beans and nuts.

If you find yourself avoiding some food groups, such as
vegetables for instance, it may be time to look for a healthier
diet.

Do I recognize the importance of cereals, breads and other grain
products? Eating a wide variety of grain based products is
important to a healthy diet. Grains and cereals contain a large
number of important nutrients, including high levels of dietary
fiber.

It is important to choose whole grain products as often as
possible, since whole grain products like wheat bread contain
more nutrients than more refined white bread and similar
products. When eating cereal, it is a good idea to choose whole
grain varieties, or those that are enriched with vitamins and
minerals.

Do I eat lots of fruits and vegetables? Many people do not eat
sufficient servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Most
experts recommend eating between 5 and 9 servings of fruits and
vegetables every day, roughly equivalent to 2 cups of fruit and
2 cups of vegetables.

When shopping for vegetables and fruits, it is important to
choose a good variety of dark green, dark red, orange and yellow
varieties. That is because different colored fruits and
vegetables contain a variety of different nutrients, including
vitamin C, vitamin A and beta carotene.

Do I eat a good breakfast every morning? Breakfast, or the
absence of it, is often a good indicator of the state of your
diet. If you rush out of the house every morning and grab a
donut at the local convenience store, chances are your diet can
use some work. A healthy breakfast provides a foundation for the
rest of the day, helps you avoid cravings and provides much
needed nutrition.

Do I choose low fat foods over higher fat alternatives? This is
also an important question to ask yourself. Low fat alternatives
are available for a variety of products, including milk, cheese,
meats and more.

One part of following a healthy, low fat diet is avoiding
prepared foods whenever possible, since prepared foods tend to
have higher amounts of fat and sodium than fresh foods.

It is also important to control the amount of fat that is added
at the table. Adding things like butter, sour cream and heavy
sauces is a sure way to ruin an otherwise healthy meal. Even
healthy foods like salads can be sabotaged by the addition of
high fat salad dressings. Try using lower fat alternatives like
flavored vinegars instead.

Do I drink plenty of water? Drinking plenty of fresh, pure water
is important to maintaining a healthy body and a healthy
lifestyle. Water is important to maintaining optimal levels of
health.

If you think you need more water, try substituting water for
less healthy beverages like soda and coffee.

Am I able to maintain my optimal body weight? Gaining weight
without trying to is often a sign of a poor diet. Following a
healthy diet, and getting plenty of regular exercise, is the
only way to lose weight and keep it off.

Do I limit the amount of salt, sugar, alcohol and caffeine in my
diet? While all of these elements are fine in moderation,
excessive amounts of any of these four can indicate a serious
problem with your diet. It is important to limit the amount of
unhealthy elements in any diet.

About the author:

None

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Carrots : The master key for healthy living!
Jasdeep Singh

It slows ageing, promotes healthy vision, has anti-cancer properties, increases immunity towards various chronic diseases. Yes, carrot does it all for you. This natural health booster enhances your health on various grounds and fills in the essential vitamins to your body like pro-vitamin A, B3, C and E. Other important advantages of carrot besides those mentioned above includes preventing various gastrointestinal complaints like colic and ulcers and it also prevents heart attacks and cancer by reduces cholestrol levels as it has high soluble fibre levels.

. Tip: Carrots are more nutritous when eaten cooked. The valuable nutrients lie either in or just beneath the skin.

See how Carrot works?

Beta-carotene, the main content of carrots, is maily responsible for improving your vision. The vitamin A forms a purple pigment called rhodopsin the eye needs to see in dim light. Hence, if we dont get adequate vitamin A, it can lead to night blindedness.

Beta-carotene also acts as an anti-oxidant which prevents free radicals responsible for cancer and heart attacks. A study at Texas and Chicago states that men with higher content of Beta-carotene are 37% less prone to heart related diseases. Carrot has one more anti-oxidant called alpha-carotene which reduces the risk of lung cancer.

. Tip: Cut off the leafy tops of the carrot before storing them. The leafy tops suck the vitamins from the main body robbing its nutritions. You can make best use of carrots by adding it to your favourite juices.

Wow, see the magic of carrot which is so easily available and cheap too. So start having atleast 50 gm of Carrot daily to fill in the required amount.

Get More Diet Tips at http://www.weightloss-health.com/Diet%20Tips.htm

About the Author

About the Author

Jasdeep : for http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

Also get free tips and tricks on weight loss and a chance to go through other informative articles targetting various health issues at http://weightloss-health.com/Articles.htm

Tags: alpha, Alpha Carotene, Anti Oxidant, Author, Cancer Properties, cancer;, Carrot, Carrots, Chicago, Cholestrol Levels, Chronic Diseases, Colic, Diet Tips, Dim Light, Diseases, Free Radicals, Gastrointestinal Complaints, Heart Attacks, Lung Cancer, Master Key, Natural Health, Nutritions, Pro Vitamin, Purple Pigment, Soluble Fibre, Texas, Vitamin A —

Attaining healthy nutrition habits: How you can do it
John Gibb

Question: What nutrients does my body need to maintain healthy nutrition habits?

Answer: There are plenty of nutrients that can help your body become the picture of health. Vitamin A is a key nutrient that can be found in fruits and vegetables. Aiding cell reproduction, Vitamin A helps vision, promotes bone and tooth development, and helps to maintain healthy skin, hair, and mucous membranes. A lack of this vitamin can cause such woes as night blindness, poor bone growth, dry skin, and weak tooth enamel.

Doctors recommend 10,000 IU a day for an adult male, and 8,000 per day for adult females to maintain healthy nutrition habits.

Vitamin C is another one of the most important vitamins for maintaining your health. 60 milligrams per day are recommended for adults of both sexes. This vitamin works as an antioxidant, protecting your body’s tissues from the damage of oxidation. Vitamin C also has been found to be an effective antiviral agent, protecting your body from various sicknesses.

A key factor in attaining healthy nutrition habits is to keep your mineral consumption at its proper levels. The word “mineral” describes any non-carbon based compound that serves a function in the body. Some build bones and teeth, while others perform such tasks as regulating muscle contraction. Minerals are classified into two groups based on the human body’s need for them.

Major minerals are minerals that our bodies require in amounts greater than 100 milligrams per day. Major minerals include calcium, phosphorous and magnesium.

Minor minerals are minerals our body needs less then 100 milligrams per day of. Iron, zinc, and iodine all fall under the minor minerals category.

Proper usage of these minerals combined with a diet that fits your life style can lead you well on your way to attaining healthy nutrition habits.
About the Author

John Gibb manages http://www.nutritional-suplement-guides.com

The site dedicated to nutrition.

Tags: Adult Females, Adult Male, Antiviral Agent, Author, Bone Growth, Cell Reproduction, Eating Habits, Fruits And Vegetables, Healthy Diet, Healthy Skin, Maintaining Your Health, Milligrams, Mineral Consumption, Minor Minerals, Mucous Membranes, Muscle Contraction, Night Blindness, Nutrition Habits, Poor Bone, Suplement, Tooth Development, Tooth Enamel, Vitamin A, Vitamins And Minerals, Word Mineral —

Advice on choosing health food and healthy foods and reading nutrition labels
Chris Robertson

Health food doesn’t need a definition, does it? We all know what
health food is it’s yogurt and granola, whole-grain cereal and
organically grown vegetables and fruit. It’s 100% natural, no
preservatives or dyes, unadulterated, pure. When you put all
that together, you should have healthy food, yet all too often,
what’s marketed as health food these days barely classifies as
food, let alone health food.

Take a look at one of our favorite health food choices – yogurt.
It hit supermarket shelves in the early seventies, though it had
been available before that in health food stores and
restaurants. Real yogurt has two ingredients: milk (whole, skim
or low fat) and live yogurt cultures. That’s health food –
calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein. Next time you’re at the
supermarket, take a look at the dairy case. You’ll find row
after row of hyper-sweetened brightly colored rainbow swirled
and candy-sprinkled yogurt packaged in ways that appeal to our
littlest consumers – children. Millions of parents buy the
enticing packages, secure that because it’s yogurt, they’re
buying food that’s healthy for their children.

One look at the label, though, and it’s clear that these kiddy
yogurts (as well as most of the yogurt that’s marketed to
adults) are a far cry from heath food. Some of the most popular
yogurts for children contain anywhere from 3 to 10 added
teaspoons of sugar. Considering how many teaspoons of yogurt are
in a single serving, you might as well hand your child the sugar
bowl. In addition, most yogurts include “natural” ingredients
that have little to do with health food. Ingredients like pectin
(to thicken yogurt), carrageenan (a seafood extract that gives
some yogurts their body, and annatto (for color) add little
nutritionally to yogurt. They’re in the mix to serve one main
purpose: to help yogurt survive its trip from the factory to
your table.

You’ll find the same situation with other foods that originally
made their debut as health foods in the seventies. Granola has
become granola bars with chocolate chips and gooey caramel.
Whole wheat flour is bleached and denuded of its flavorful
kernels. Sunflower seeds are roasted in oil and salted. Even
brown rice comes in the instant variety.

Healthy food not health food

The secret to feeding your family (and yourself) a healthful
diet of healthy food is to read the labels. The United States
Food & Drug Administration has laid out strict guidelines for
nutritional labeling of all food products. The nutrition label
will tell you all you need to know to choose real health foods.
Some things to keep in mind when reading nutrition labels for
health foods:

* In the ingredient’s portion of the nutrition label,
ingredients are listed in order by amount. The ingredient that’s
listed first is the main ingredient, followed by the next
largest amount, etc.

* The nutrition facts label must list each of the required
nutrients even if the food provides 0% of the recommended daily
value.

* The nutrition facts label must list what portion of the food’s
calories is derived from fat, from sugar, from protein and from
carbohydrates. It will also break down the fat into saturated
and unsaturated fat.

Reading labels on everything you feed your family is the best
way to tell whether a food is really a health food – or just
masquerading as one.

About the author:

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon
International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on
the web. Visit this Food Website
and Majon’s Food
directory.

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