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5 Superfoods to boost your breakfast

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Even though breakfast is the “most important meal of the day”, there’s only so much eggs-and-toast, instant oatmeal, or dunkable rusks you can take. Why not mix it up a bit and get the most out of your morning munch by adding these amazing superfoods to your daily diet?

1. Pistachio nuts
They may be difficult to extract from their tough shells, but well worth the effort. Pistachios have cholesterol-lowering properties and they taste delicious with almost anything. Sprinkle them on your muesli or add them to a morning fruit salad or yoghurt to provide extra flavour and lower your cholesterol.

2. Hummus
Chickpeas are a great source of fibre and protein, so hummus not only tastes great, but has bona fide nutritional benefits. Spread it on your whole wheat toast or top off an omelette with this delicious topping.

a cup of yoghurt and berries
3. Berries
Rich in vitamin C, raspberries provide a sweet something to muesli and yoghurt, or a warm stack of morning flapjacks. Blueberries are all the rage now for their skin-softening, brain-boosting and cancer-preventing power. You could also return to the old favourite – strawberries – for a delicious breakfast boost.

4. Turmeric
Known for its cancer-fighting benefits, turmeric can also add a wonderful new flavour to old breakfast staples like omelettes or scrambled eggs.

Tumeric Powder

5. Flaxseed
Flaxseed has garnered special mention in health shops for the last 10 years for its omega-3 fatty acid content, which is excellent for brain health, as well as being a great source of fibre. Why buy a flaxseed supplement when you can sprinkle a whole tablespoon of ground flaxseed over your morning muesli (in summer) or oatmeal (in winter) and get all the taste and health benefits too?

Pumpkin seeds, goji berries, sunflower seeds, raisins, and mixed nuts will also all go a long way to making breakfast not only the most important meal of the day, but also your favourite meal of the day!

Visual Courtesy of : leanitup.com

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Understanding ulcers

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Ulcers are the result of a disease of the gastric lining of the stomach or the duodenum (peptic ulcer). Ulcers are described as “mucosal erosions”, but are typically sores in the lining of the stomach or small intestine. Medical aids in South Africa provide adequate cover for the doctor’s visits and treatments for ulcers, so read more below about symptoms and treatment, and if you suspect you have an ulcer, go and get it checked out as soon as you can.

Causes of ulcers

Ulcers are commonly attributed to stress and bad diet, but initial infection of peptic ulcer disease is caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which thrives in the acidic conditions of the stomach. Stress and bad diet can cause an over-production of stomach acid, which exacerbates the ulcer symptoms. Sometimes using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause ulcers because of how the stomach lining reacts to the drugs.

woman with a painful stomach

Symptoms of ulcers

An acid-reflux-like pain near the stomach, especially after meals or during the night, is symptomatic of ulcers. Heartburn, bloating, nausea and/or vomiting are some of the milder symptoms, while more severe symptoms can include blood in the stool or vomit (usually dark blood), severe upper-abdominal pain, and loss of weight.

Diagnosis and treatment of ulcers

There are special diagnostic tests to determine the presence of ulcers and how serious they are. One is the barium and X-ray test, where the patient drinks a chalk-like liquid, which is distributed around the upper digestive tract and X-rayed to see if and where there are ulcers. Other tests include a gastroscopy, during which a fibre-optic camera is inserted down the throat and into the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. This tiny camera gives the doctor an excellent view, which will allow him to see where the ulcers are and if they’re bleeding, etc.
Mild ulcers can be treated with medication, including antibiotics if the cause of the ulcers is due to the H. pylori bacteria. If severe ulcers don’t respond to medication, they will need to be operated on – any perforations or haemorrhaging will need to be closed.
Following treatment, the doctor will advise on specific lifestyle and diet changes that need to be made; foods to avoid and how to manage stress.

Visual Courtesy of: nlm.nih.gov

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Can hot food help with weight loss?

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Plate of spicy food

We’d like to think that the shallow breaths and the sweating at the brow from eating spicy food is also a sign of weight-loss, but here’s the skinny on what really happens when you eat spicy-hot food and what it could potentially do to your waistline. It’s all about knowing the right kind of spicy food to eat and what the effects are: (more…)

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You’ve lost weight – now what?

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Woman pulls pants to show weight loss

After struggling with your weight for years, you’ve finally reached your goal weight and “all it took” was a carefully controlled diet and a comfortable exercise routine. You may have spent the last few months meticulously counting calories, doing all the right exercises, and measuring your weight and centimetres once (okay, three times) a week, but now that you’ve finally reached your goal measurements (more…)

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Cut your chances of diabetes later in life

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Diabetes Free Zone Green Road Sign In Front of Dramatic Clouds and Sky.

If you plan on living a long and healthy life, it’s not just going to happen by itself and requires a consciously healthy diet and breaking a sweat three to four times a week – be it in the gym or out on the road. Genetic disorders are unfortunately not preventable, and medical aid schemes in South Africa do provide chronic treatment cover for such diseases.

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Breaking the weight-loss plateau

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Woman's foot on a scale

It’s a month into 2013 and you started off strong with your New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get fit. For the first three weeks, you noticed the instant changes – your body reacted positively to your decrease in junk food intake, increased water intake and this brand-spanking-new thing called exercise. The centimetres fell off and you were surprised by how much weight you lost just in those first three weeks.

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The dangers of yo-yo dieting

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Yo-yo dieting and its negative effects

While it may sound unhealthy to eat round plastic toys with a string attached, what yo-yo dieting really refers to is the up-and-down commitment to and withdrawal from a fixed diet, and the subsequent weight loss and weight gain associated with this kind of dieting. There are many negative side-effects of yo-yo dieting – some psychological or emotional and some physical. (more…)

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The dangers of emotional eating

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Emotional eating

Food is the fuel for our bodies that keeps us functioning on a physiological level – allows us to think, to run, and to do the grocery shopping. However, food is also a source of comfort and entertainment; to comfort those who are mourning, and to bring friends together around a table. Many people also use food as an emotional crutch, the danger of which is a vicious cycle of eating, guilt, punishment, and eating again. (more…)

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Fight cholesterol with these 6 foods

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

Foods that fight high cholesterol

The very moment that you suspect you might have high cholesterol, go get yourself tested. Make sure that you don’t need to be hunting around for a more affordable medical aid in case your cholesterol spirals out of control and you develop more serious problems. Do something about it NOW! (more…)

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Is there any merit to the theory on fish oil being “brain food”?

Posted by Nick in Diet - (0 Comments)

For many years we’ve heard the references to fish and fish products – such as fish oil – being beneficial to our brain health and function because the brain contains high levels of the same types of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Surely if the supplements contain the same structures as the brain, they must be useful to prevent the decline in mental function and memory associated with old age. Isn’t it a no-brainer that adding essential fatty acids to one’s diet could stall the brain changes that precede dementia and cognitive deterioration?

“Not really,” say researchers.

A recent study saw 4 000 people take omega-3 fish oil supplements, and sunflower or olive oil supplements as a control. While people can’t go wrong with omega-3 fatty acids as a supplement to good health, taking fish oil for the purpose of preventing cognitive decline was not proven. One of the nutrition researchers in the study claimed that omega-3 fatty acids as a mental faculty support supplement should not yet be ruled out; that long-term use of these supplements could still preserve memory and cognitive function.

Despite these somewhat bland research results, researchers and neurologists still maintained that people could take supplements for their general wellbeing, but that in order to retain cognitive and memory ability until well into old age, it’s important to stay mentally active from an early age. Crossword puzzles and Sudoku, as well as general knowledge games, fiery debate and problem solving, and an approach to constant and active learning contribute towards mental fitness.

Preserving your all-round health – physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing as well as spiritual maturity – will all contribute towards retaining clear mental function and memory. There are certain medical schemes that also recognise the benefits of clients with good health in mind and will reward holistically healthy behaviour, such as buying healthy food and keeping physically fit

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