Are there herbs that will help my diabetes?

Many herbs supposedly have glucose-lowering effects, but there are not enough data on any herb to recommend it for use in people with diabetes. Herbs are not considered food by the Food and Drug Administration and are not tested for quality or content. Therefore, products can be promoted as helping health conditions without having to show evidence of this. Discuss the herbal dietary supplements with your doctor or dietitian before trying them. They may interact poorly with your diabetes medication.

What about green tea?

Research shows that green tea can help with weight loss. Green tea is reported to help burn an extra 78 calories a day by boosting metabolism. This adds up to over 28,000 calories in a year - the same number of calories you need to burn in order to lose 8 pounds of weight.

The inhabitants of the Japanese island, Okinawa, live longer than anyone else in the world. Their diet includes copious amounts of green tea.

Drinking green tea has many benefits. It reduces cavities, fights infections, lowers blood pressure, strengthens capillaries, and prevents hardening of the arteries to name but a few.

How much calcium do women need?

Both women and men need enough calcium to build peak (maximum) bone mass during their early years of life. Low calcium intake appears to be one important factor in the development of osteoporosis, a disease in which bone density decreases and leads to weak bones. Women have a greater risk than men of developing osteoporosis.

Therefore, particularly during adolescence and early adulthood, women should increase their food sources of calcium. the most important time to get a sufficient amount of calcium is while bone growth and consolidation are occurring, a period that continues until approximately age 30 to 35. The idea is, if you can build a maximum peak of calcium deposits early on, this may delay fractures that occur later in life.

The recommended dietary allowance for calcium for woman 19 to 24 is 1,200 milligrams per day. For women 25 and older, the allowance drops to 800 milligrams, but that is still a significant amount.

What is Iron-Deficiency Anemia?

Common causes of iron-deficiency anemia in otherwise healthy young people include a low iron intake and poor absorption of iron.

Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, irritability, dizziness, headaches and lack of appetite. The recommendation for iron is 15 milligrams a day for women and 10 milligrams a day for men.

If you are anemic, you should include food that is a good source of vitamin C every time you eat. Food rich in vitamin C will improve the absorption of the iron in the diet.) Good sources of vitamin C include orange juice, grapefruit, cantaloupe, green pepper, or broccoli. Red meat, fish, poultry, fortified breakfast cereals, beans and green leafy vegetables also contain iron.

Our bodies absorb the iron found in animal products best.

Do not drink tea, coffee or cola with food. Wait at least an hour after eating to drink these beverages.

Iron supplements should not be taken without proper medical supervision. Too much iron can cause constipation, diarrhea, nausea and may interfere with the absorption of other nutrients such as copper and zinc.

Some antacids can bind iron in foods and make iron unavailable for you to absorb.

What is the role of sprouted grains in healthy diet?

Sprouted grains are widely recognized by health care professionals as a “better food.”

Sprouting process not only significantly increases valuable nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, B-vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium but also causes a natural change that makes the protein and carbohydrates easier for the body to use.

Make sprouted grains a regular part of your diet. Sprouts are lower in carbohydrates and calories than the grains from which they were sprouted.
Sprouted grains may help treat irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome occurs when a person has terrible gas and cramping caused by hard stool.

Many grains can be prepared in your own kitchen: wheat, soya, lentils, rice, alfalfa, Lucerne, quinoa, oats, barley, etc. it is very easy to make grains germinate.

To successful germinate grains; you have to buy grain of good quality. Use grains without chemically treated or heated. You must wash it and soak it for a day in a porcelain cup. The next day, throw out the water and put the wheat germ on a plate. You must water them regularly, at least twice a day. The stem grows from day to day. Sprouting process has four days on the average from the beginning of germination until the sprouts are ready to be eaten.

Sprouted grains may be eaten plain or in salad, together with other raw vegetables or in dishes you prepare according to your own recipes.

Are foods labeled “natural” better for you?

There is no legal meaning for the word “Natural.” The FDA does not regulate this word and just because something is labeled this way doesn’t mean anything. Often it can mean that a food is not good for you. Lard is natural, butter is natural, sugar is natural, high fructose corn syrup is technically natural as well as a host of flavorings that are extracted from natural products through highly complicated processing.

A good example of this is the recent advertising campaign by the company that makes the soda 7UP. They claim to have removed all “artificial ingredients” from their drink. This is debatable as some feel that high fructose corn syrup is not “natural.” Nonetheless, soda with all that high calorie sweetener is bad for you and labeling 7UP “natural” is misleading in my opinion.

Even some of the organic products that are on the market use flavorings considered “natural.” This often adds up to nothing more than a highly processed product.

If a package is labeled “natural” it should actually be cause for wariness on your part and not a feeling of reassurance that the product is good for you.

What is the role of organic foods in healthy diet?

There are several differences between organic and inorganic foods. Organic foods are really better than conventional produce for the health of the consumer. They include organic fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products.

Organic food usually meets stringent production standards, which specify growing and processing conditions over and above normal agricultural and food safety requirements.

Organic produce is free from exposure to harmful herbicides and pesticides; inorganic apple has 20-30 artificial poisons on its skin, even after rinsing.

Organic food is produced without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Fresh organic produce have higher levels of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other micro-nutrients, and lower levels of nitrate than conventional produce

Genetically modified organisms.

Are organic fruits and vegetables better for you? How can you tell if the fruits and vegetables were organically grown?

Organic fruits and vegetables will limit your exposure to pesticides. However, organic produce tends to be much pricier than conventional produce.

Can I eat dairy foods even if I am sensitive to milk?

Individual tolerance to foods such as dairy can range from no problems to severe gastrointestinal upset. Some people suffer from lactose intolerance and need to strictly avoid all foods containing lactose such as milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Many individuals have a limited tolerance or sensitivity to lactose and can only tolerate small amounts of dairy products.

The best approach for these people is to choose cultured yogurts, aged cheeses, and lactobacillus milk.

Try small amounts of dairy with other foods and gradually increase the amount of dairy as tolerated.

Are vegetarian diets healthier?

Eating strictly vegetarian has been shown to be good for you. There is excellent research to show that when people don’t eat meat they eat fewer calories than people who do. The research is, however, often done under controlled circumstances where the vegetarian diet is also a lower fat diet.

This doesn’t mean that if you don’t eat meat that your diet is automatically healthy. There are a tremendous number of vegetarian recipes that are very high in calories and fat.

The best plan is to look at recipes and the nutrition facts. How many calories are there? How much fat and saturated fat? Are there trans-fats? How much protein? Eating healthy is about choosing foods that are lower in calories and fat.

Watching salt is a good idea, as well as trying to eat foods that have been processed as little as possible. This is true for both vegetarians as well as omnivores.