The Dangers of an Eating Out, Fast Food Lifestyle - Homemade Foods Will Save Your Life!

Could you really say that your last meal was nutritionally balanced? Did it provide your body with an assortment of the vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and fats it needs to function properly? Was there any fresh fruit or vegetables with it or did they come out of a packet, tin or the freezer? The question to really consider is, "Was it the kind of meal your grandmother would have made?

According to a recent AC Nielsen Online survey, consumers the world over reported they simply do not have the time to prepare meals from scratch. Consumers in 41 countries were asked whether they had too much, enough or too little of time, information, energy, space or money to prepare meals from scratch. Just over 56% said they didn't have enough time. Beyond convenience, one third cited cheaper than buying all the ingredients and preparing from scratch as their reason for purchasing ready to eat meals.

But what value do we place on our health? Do you really know what went into the preparation of the food you purchased and does it contain ingredients which are nutritionally beneficial for your body?

How many times have you gone out, purchased food and within hours after eating it started to feel heavy in the head &/or a bit sick in the stomach? We put so much trust in the person who prepared the food; that they had good hygiene and food handling skills. What had they being doing before they made your food?

Food poisoning is commonly experienced in those who eat out frequently, with the study "Food Safety and the New Zealand Public" showing just over 2 in 10 respondents experienced food poisoning over the last two years; with most of these (83%) occurring outside the home. Around half of those surveyed declared that they had observed poor food safety practices in outlets over the last two years. 83% of respondents expressed concern about chicken, 78% for shellfish and 76% for food displayed in warming ovens such as pies.

As a naturopath I frequently see people who are suffering with health problems relating to something bad they have ingested. Some have returned from a trip to the islands or Asia, but there are also those who have eaten out recently and experienced a case of food poisoning. Not only can you have the common digestive problems such as diarrhoea and abdominal pain, but many people also experience joint and muscular pain, fatigue, headaches, fever, skin and hair problems, as well as low levels of nutrients, such as B vitamins and iron.

If you have eaten something bad and you have vomiting &/or diarrhea, seek professional advice, as dehydration is a common problem experienced with food poisoning. Some cases of food poisoning are notifiable; so to help prevent other people experiencing the same problem as you, make sure you report all incidences. If you do eat or drink something bad, consider Activated Charcoal. The binding ability of charcoal has been known for centuries, with the story of a prominent French chemist in 1813 who drank 150 times the normal lethal dose of arsenic without ill effect. His secret? He had mixed the arsenic with charcoal. Charcoal was used in gas masks in WWI and is still used today in protective masks and suits against hazardous chemicals, nerve gas and other biological toxins. Each particle contains many small chambers and cavities that capture or bind up unwanted materials and gas. This can be taken in a capsule and is a valuable addition to the medicine cabinet or travel bag. Taking a probiotic supplement, such as Reuteri or Inner Health Plus is vital with food poisoning, as these friendly bacteria have been found to populate the bowel quickly, helping to relieve some of the symptoms experienced with food poisoning in hours. Aloe vera juice can also help to relieve gastric distress and is well worth considering with digestive problems.

But does it really take that long to prepare a meal from scratch? Do we really not have the time to make proper meals or are there other reasons why we eat out so much?

Recent figures from March 2007 show sales of burgers, fish and chips, pies, ice cream, pizza and ethnic food have risen 88% since 2002, a huge difference from 1995-2002, when figures remained relatively flat. Statistics New Zealand tell us that in January of this year, takeaway food sales were $103 million (can you believe this!)

New Zealanders have been ranked 17th in a list of the worlds most obese people - fatter than Australians, Britons, Canadians and Fijians and gaining on Americans. Overall, 68% of New Zealanders are classed as Obese by the world health organization. Child obesity has trebled in the past decade, with 1 in 3 now overweight or obese. Obese children mean obese adults. This is a problem for many reason, as obesity is associated with heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and some cancers.

Maintaining a balanced body weight is vitally important for growing children. A child's diet may determine whether she develops breast cancer in later life, according to expert Professor Paul Kleihues from the World Health Organisation. The disease - the number one killer among women aged 35-54 years - could be triggered early in life by an unhealthy diet of fast food, Professor Kleihues has warned. He said parents should avoid offering high fat, low fiber diets full of processed food, dairy products and meat. He warned: "Thirty per cent of tumors in breast, prostate and colon cancer are associated with poor nutrition".

Australian and New Zealand studies over the last 10 years, on food advertising during children's television viewing times, found that on average there are 26 ads per hour and of these Food ads comprise approximately 34% of all ads or 8 ads per hour. On average, 72% of ads promote non-nutritious foods, and ads for chocolate, confectionary, fast food restaurants and sweetened breakfast cereals tend to top the list. In addition, the study found that confectionary and fast food restaurant ads are broadcast heavily during the pre and post dinner period, 5-8pm and that these are broadcast up to three times more heavily during children's programs than adult programs. Recent studies show that this kind of advertising works, as children from families with high TV use during meals consume more of the highly advertised "unhealthy foods" (pizza, salty snack, soft drinks) and less fruit and vegetables.

What about Morgan Spurlock, the American documentary film director, known for the documentary film Super Size Me, in which he attempted to demonstrate the negative health effects of McDonald's food by eating nothing but McDonalds three times a day, every day, for one month. At the end of 1 month his cholesterol, blood pressure and body fat levels increased dramatically and he complained of an empty unsatisfied feeling, probably due to a lack of essential nutrients.

Experts tell us that the Mediterranean diet is an ideal model to follow. There are many variations of this, but the common Mediterranean dietary pattern has these characteristics:

• high consumption of fruits, vegetables, bread and other cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds
• olive oil is an important monounsaturated fat source (choose organic extra virgin)
• dairy products, fish and poultry are consumed in low to moderate amounts, and little red meat is eaten
• eggs are consumed zero to four times a week
• wine is consumed in low to moderate amounts (red wine)

People who follow the average Mediterranean diet eat less saturated fat than those who eat an average kiwi diet. In fact, saturated fat consumption is well within the Heart Foundations Nutritional guidelines. More than half the fat calories in a Mediterranean diet come from monounsaturated fats (mainly from olive oil). Monounsaturated fat doesn't raise blood cholesterol levels the way saturated fat does.

The most important consideration for making easy, nutritious meals, is to think ahead so you can be prepared and have the ingredients you need to throw something yummy together. Most chefs would agree that the secret to a great meal is to keep it simple.

Dinner should contain some kind of protein such as fish, seafood or some other kind of meat. This can be purchased on the day, or individual servings could be retrieved from the deep freeze. A salad can be simply made, buy tossing mesculin or other salad greens with vinegar and olive oil. Chopped tomatoes, capsicum and cucumber are excellent additions, as is a handful of lightly toasted pine nuts or some tamari roasted seeds.

Planter boxes can be positioned around the house, with herbs such as rocket, basil, parsley and chives and vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicum and lettuce being easy to grow in this way. It is so relaxing to come home in the evening and seeing how my latest plants are coming along, thinking how I can incorporate them into my daily meals.

If you would like to find out more about Healthy Eating from leading Naturopath and health professional Leanne James, go to NZ's leading natural online pharmacy where you will find a compilation of Leanne's best health articles from healthyonline

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By Leanne M James

How to Lose Weight With a Healthy Lifestyle

The best way to lose weight fast is to reduce the amount of calories you consume through fat. Most diet are based on this theory and it seems to be the most effective. This can also help to prevent certain diseases and medical conditions through too much fat in the body.

Calorie shifting diets can be followed by removing fat before you cook it, grill or roast rather then frying and eating lots of vegetable will help to gradually reduce your intake of fat. Replace fatty snacks such as crisps or chocolate with nuts and fruit this will help you lose weight a lot faster.

It is best to ensure you have a healthy breakfast such as oatmeal, fruit or yogurt as this will kick-start your metabolism. If you do not like eating much in the morning a fruit smoothie will fill you up as well as providing nutrients and energy. Eating small amounts throughout the day such as nuts and seeds or fruit, as much as every hour, can help to stave off hunger pangs so you don't reach for that chocolate bar. Drinking plenty of water also helps to keep energy levels up when following any type of diet and can fill you up. If possible having a big lunch and a smaller dinner, as early in the evening as possible, will help with weight loss.

But do not be too hard on yourself, give yourself leeway to go out for a special meal or have a bar of chocolate now and again. An essential part how to lose weight fast is to take up some regular exercise. This could be as simple as walking at a fairly brisk pace for half an hour every day until you build up your fitness then you can opt to start running, swimming, going to exercise classes or just walking for longer.

Another option is to get a home exercise DVD which allows you to exercise in the comfort of your own home. This will help you to tone up and encourage the weight to drop off as you follow your diet.

Calorie shifting diets are another great way to lose weight fast by tricking your metabolism into thinking that you are not on diet. They also enable us to maintain or reduce weight, reduces the risk of diseases such as heart diseases, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, and diabetes.

So when asking yourself how to lose weight fast you should consider calorie shifting diets first on your list, combined with exercise is a good plan so you can see yourself blossom and have a new lease of life.

Eating less is not the solution. Finally discover an amazing fat burning diet that will change your life. Can you really lose 9 pounds every 11 days with the Calorie Shifting Diet?
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By Evelina Williams

Tips For Getting Rid of Hemorrhoids With Simple Lifestyle Changes

Only people who are suffering from pain and embarrassment of hemorrhoids can understand the importance of getting rid of hemorrhoids. A lot of people avoid visiting the doctor for this problem because of the embarrassment. Most cases of minor hemorrhoids can be treated with simple lifestyle changes itself. Here are some tips that can help in getting rid of hemorrhoids at home.

1) The first and foremost factor to consider is your diet. Your food should include enough fiber so that bowl movement is easy and you do not constipate. Green leafy vegetables, fruits, whole grain flour, sprouts etc are good sources of fiber. Wheat bran is also an excellent source of fiber. Avoid food that is fried and oily. Also keep away from fast food that may have a lot of white wheat flour. Drink enough water so that your body is properly hydrated.

2 )The next important tip for getting rid of hemorrhoids is exercising. Lack of movement for various parts of your body limits the circulation of blood and this results in ailments like hemorrhoids. Proper blood circulation helps in oxygen reaching to all the body parts. This helps in healing wounds fast. Do some aerobic exercise daily for 10 to 15 minutes. Go for jogging or a brisk walk for about 30 minutes every day. Brisk walking will also help in keeping your weight under control.

3) Lead a life that is free of stress and strain. Avoid both physical and mental strain. Have a good balance between work and life. Take part in social events and gatherings. Go out with friends and play a few games that will help you release stress. Getting rid of hemorrhoids will be much easier if you maintain a positive outlook and remain free of tension.

If you are suffering from hemorrhoids, there are some excellent natural remedies available, which can be implemented easily without any side effects. These natural remedies will free you from hemorrhoids permanently. Discover these excellent insider secrets for getting rid of hemorrhoids naturally by accessing - treat hemorrhoids

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By Chris Veekay

Lifestyle and Breast Cancer

Although all of the genetic and environmental factors are important to consider, the overwhelming evidence is that breast cancer is related to lifestyle. The following paragraphs outline the negative impact and positive impact on breast malignancy of several common lifestyle related issues.

Post-menopausal Obesity Increases Risk: Despite the evidence on the protective effect of pre-menopausal obesity on pre-menopausal breast cancer, the evidence that obesity increases the risk of post-menopausal breast neoplasm is very clear and not debatable. Some have suggested that tumors are harder to find by physical exam and mammography in obese women. This theory has largely been disproved in studies looking at mammography sensitivity and specificity, as well as studies looking at breast exam diagnosis in obese patients. If the correlation between obesity and cancer mortality is entirely causal, some scientists even estimate that an overweight condition and/or obesity now may account for one in seven of cancer deaths in men and one in five in women in the US.

High Fat Diet: Although breast cancer publications and the media have promulgated the idea that a low fat diet reduces cancer risk, most clinical trials have not successfully demonstrated this direct beneficial effect. There have been several methodological explanations for this failure. However, the reverse observation that a high fat diet increases breast tumor risk remains solid. For example, a large study funded by the National Institute of Health looked at 188,736 postmenopausal women and fat intake, based on both "food frequency questionnaires" and "24-hour dietary recall questionnaires". With the food frequency questionnaires, researchers found that women who got 40% of their calories from fat had about a 15% increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women who got 20% of their calories from fat. With the "24-hour dietary recall questionaire", they found a 32% increased risk of breast malignancy among women with a high level of fat in their diet.

Alcohol: Based on scientific evidence, exposure to alcohol is associated with increased breast cancer risk in a dose-dependent fashion. Even less than one drink/day on a daily basis can be associated with up to a 30% increase in breast tumor mortality among postmenopausal women compared to non-drinkers. The risk may increase by 7% for each drink per day. Studies have shown that stopping alcohol use may reverse this risk.

Exercise: Exercise has been consistently linked with reduced breast cancer risk. A regimen of approximately 30 minutes per day of moderate-intensity exercise should be adequate, and perhaps even one to two hours per week is enough to be helpful. It appears that longer duration and greater intensity of activity may bring even more health benefits.

Supplements: Americans spend billions of dollars on vitamins and mineral supplements. Recent large studies, however, have demonstrated that these pills and capsules do not decrease the risk of many types of cancer. One explanation is that as long as one is not deficient of any particular vitamin or mineral, ingestion of super-normal levels of supplements does not help. Many women have low levels of vitamin D, and some data have shown that increasing its level (whether in a pill or by sun exposure) can protect somewhat against future breast cancer. In our opinion, botanical dietary supplements derived from green tea extracts represent a potentially widely available method for reducing the risk of breast neoplasm. Next to water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, and its ingestion in reasonable doses is considered safe. Many population observation reports have shown that green tea may decrease the risk of breast malignancy.

Dr. Mai Brooks is a surgical oncologist/general surgeon, with expertise in early detection and prevention of cancer. More at http://www.drbrooksmd.com, and http://www.thecancerexperience.wordpress.com

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By Mai Brooks M.D

Make Positive Lifestyle Changes to Lose Weight

Making certain changes in various areas of lifestyle can help you focus more on your health and lose excessive body weight. But, in order to change the lifestyle, the person first needs to change his/her own psychology. Some people doubt their own capabilities to lose weight and as a result never achieve their goals. You should be ready to face your own fears and mould them into a positive way to achieve your weight loss goals faster. Remember, no one can stop you living a healthy life even if both your parents were fat. You just need to change your own mindset, and take things easy.

Keep gathering information about weight loss
Always be eager to read and know more about health, nutrition, and weight loss. This will help you get into the root cause and tackle your weight loss problem in an efficient way. Get to know how your body works and find the best ways to deal with weight loss problem. Awareness about your body will teach you effective but healthy ways to lose weight. You will enjoy the process of weight loss and also get benefited by reading various magazines, books, and online articles about health and weight loss. It is a good idea to visit weight loss websites to keep yourself updated with recent development and researches about health and nutrition. .

Have motivated people around you
Make friends with people, who share similar goals or are at least health conscious. They will provide you the desired source of motivation. You will gradually find yourself focusing more on your diet or exercise routine if you stay in their company. Other than this, you will also learn how to resist temptations and live a healthy life. Join a slimming club or a gym! This way you will get a lot of support from people around you and may also make new friends.

Always set realistic goals
Never set goals which are hard to achieve. This is a sure shot way to achieve success in your weight loss efforts. Keep your goals realistic and achievable. Remember, an unrealistic goal lowers your motivation level and fills you with negative thoughts. Therefore, set realistic goals so that they can be achieved fast.

Jenny R. Smith is a diet control fanatic, who has lost over 70 pounds of body fat. She shares her amazing story of how she did it through her weight and diet control blog

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By Jenny R Smith

Are You Living a Balanced Lifestyle?

You are what you eat? What a cliché. How about saying it in the more literal sense. "Your health will reflect back onto what you eat"? In fact a persons lifestyle will reflect back on them in every aspect of their life. The ideal standard for good health is a balanced lifestyle. Are you living a balanced lifestyle, physically, mentally, and spiritually? Here is how to tell.

Physical Lifestyle

Do you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and well rested? Are you within your weight by ten pounds? Do you do a physical activity at least once a day to get your heart rate pumping? Perhaps you do one of these. Walk briskly for one hour, exercise or calisthenics, about 45 minutes, sport of your choice, or light aerobic exercise? The body needs physical exercise of some kind once a day. If you work at a desk job you should get up every hour and do some stretches to get the blood flowing. When you get home, take a walk or do some light aerobic exercise.

Do you eat at least four servings of raw fruits or vegetables in one day? Health-wise you should eat at least four servings of raw food a day. Most nutritionists say that eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables ensures you are receiving your daily intake of nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. An example of this is to eat a red apple with your breakfast, a green salad for lunch, a yellow orange for snack, and a purple cabbage slaw with dinner. You get the idea, right?

Emotional / Mental Lifestyle

Emotionally the balanced person does not feel in lack or in need for anything, even if they don't have much. Having stuff is not where happiness lies. Stuff is great to have, no doubt about it, but if we are living our life, just going to work everyday so we can have more stuff that we really don't need, there is an imbalance in our life. Besides work what else do you do? Do you have a hobby or other activity that you partake in?

Some people are mentally and emotionally sick because of past baggage. Perhaps they had an alcoholic parent, or perhaps they felt unloved and abandoned as a child. Whatever it is, you have to move on! Don't keep bringing up a traumatic past when you have your future in front of you! That's not right. Resolve your baggage and heal thyself. Live for today!

Mentally the balanced person feels good about who they are. They are generally have good relationships with others. Having good mental health does not mean you won't ever have negative feelings, but that you won't let your negative feelings to control you and your behavior. It's normal to feel our emotions - that's not what I'm talking about here. If a person is still dredging up the past from months or years ago, something is not mentally balanced within that person. If we have a negative past we have to resolve it and heal. Life is going to have its stresses and challenges. The mentally healthy face their challenges and resolve them instead of lingering in them.

Spiritual Lifestyle

Co-dependence, addictions, negative feelings, and inadequate relationship skills are because we are too dependent on how the world moves rather than on how God moves. We are too absorbed with the physical elements of our life rather than the spiritual. Where is the balance in that?

I'm not talking about organized religion here. Organized religion is for those people who like to have a guide helping them along the way towards whatever things spiritual they are seeking. Church is a great place to meet like-minded people but church can also stunt your growth. Church leaders are only seed planters, if even that. Once the seed is in your heart and in your mind only your relationship with your Creator will make the seed grow.

I (Paul) planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.

(1 Corinthians 3:6,7)

When someone is new at accepting Christ, by all means they should "go to church" and learn the basic concepts about God and how God works in their life. But eventually that person has to grow and mature spiritually "in the Lord" and going to church is not where that is. Your relationship with God, through your prayers, thoughts, actions, and lifestyle is church! Church is in your heart and mind wherever you may be, and whenever you want it to be. Your spirituality is what you make it to be.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 423,24)

Your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health is a precious commodity. Your body and mind is aging every day. That means you're not getting any younger. All areas of your health will decline faster if you don't take care of your health now! You can be in control of your health, if you take control.

Angie Lewis is the author of six self-help inspirational books offering marriage tips and wisdom filled answers. Angie tackles such issues as addiction, adultery, pornography, emotions, beliefs, forgiveness, communication and even your health! If your marriage and your health are important to you, then you must check out Angie's books

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By Angie Lewis

A Great Lifestyle Change

I suppose most of us could benefit from a great lifestyle change. There are not many people living the perfect lifestyle especially in the west. By the west I mean societies other than some of the so called third world societies who live a bare subsistence and don't live a good lifestyle primarily because of financial restraints.

So if you have reached the point in life where you realize that your lifestyle leaves something to be desired and you want to change it what do you change it to. Most of us live a busy lifestyle trying to fit family in between other commitments and eating far less than the best options. Mostly because the best options involve some extra work and time whereas a quick take a way meal or TV dinner fits our busy lifestyle.

We can see that to make a dedicated change to our lifestyle is going to be a major undertaking and not to be looked at lightly. We know the best foods for us are those that we prepare ourselves at home and from fresh ingredients. However, fresh is hardly a commodity now in city living. By the time fresh produce is harvested and processed and trucked and cold stored and finally makes itself available in our supermarkets it is far from fresh.

Many of us are fast realising this fact and are taking the time to search out real fresh produce from local markets, local growers and organic suppliers. Some of these options will cost more of course but are necessary if we want to eat a little bit healthier. An other option of course is for us to grow our own veggies at home.

This used to be the normal way of life for most people but has become out of fashion although there is a return to the many benefits of home gardening. It sounds like hard work you may ask but it does not have to be as there are some simple gardening methods where there is little work involved. Take the no dig method for example. If you grow veggies in raised garden beds under straw there is little to be done apart from buying and planting the seedlings, water now and then and harvest your fresh produce when you need it. Apartment dwellers can do the same exercise in pots or tubs.

Do a Google search on no dig gardening for all the details. You will surprised how easy it is. Imagine harvesting your own fresh produce and eating them the same day. Can't get any fresher than that and of course you are in control of what gets sprayed on the plants. I remember once visiting a vegetable farm that was growing commercial cauliflowers. Just before harvest time something was sprayed on them to produce a whiter head. The over spray killed the grass next door. Lovely.

So there you have a really practical option to produce a great lifestyle change. Grow your own. The benefits go much further than just fresh veggies. If you have never done it you will find that gardening is one of the great satisfying pass times relieving much stress from a busy lifestyle. There is a great deal of satisfaction to be had from growing stuff in your own garden. The whole family can be involved. Imagine how much easier it would be to get the kids to eat their veggies if they had input into the growing and harvesting of them.

So combine a great lifestyle change with a new diet and you are on the way to a happier, healthier and longer life. Think about it. It may be just what you need.

Hi Guys, I am writing this from the center of Outback Australia, Ayres Rock Enjoy, Nick http://www.cadenville2.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Young

By Nick Young