Did you know that the food you eat could be prematurely ageing you? Science has made some amazing discoveries in the last decade in nutrition. We really should be taking note of what we put in our mouth because more than ever, “we are what we eat”. Do you know the impact of what you are eating? Probably not. It’s time to find out because over-indulgence in certain types of food cause the body to prematurely age.

Would you like some more free radicals with your lunch…? There is frequent mention these days about ‘free radicals’ and how they are constantly attacking the body, causing potentially serious damage.

A free radical is the name for a molecule that has an unpaired electron. They are a normal by-product of metabolism and without them you would die.

To put the record straight, it’s the over-production of free radicals that causes damage to the body. We are advised by nutritional experts to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

This is because they are rich in antioxidant phytonutrients…substances that neutralise free radicals and so help protect the body.

One of the essential tasks of free radicals is in producing energy from the food you eat. Every time you eat, free radical activity is intense. The more food you eat, the more free radicals are formed, and the more antioxidants your body needs to neutralise them. Big meals are big trouble!

Effective Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, E; minerals such as selenium, zinc, and herbs such as aloe vera and grapeseed extract.

The Reality of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are root vegetables, pasta, rice, bread, grains, fruit, pastries, cakes, biscuits, crisps, sweets etc. They are easy to prepare, filling, tasty and cheap. Most meals are dominated by carbohydrates, as most of us ‘full up’ on them. When you eat carbohydrates you’re eating a form of sugar.

Carbohydrates are converted by the body into glucose, which is either used immediately for energy, or stored in fat cells. Carbohydrates make up an excessive proportion of the diet, add together a lack of exercise and excess sugar and the inevitable result is excess weight.

By reducing your overall carbohydrate intake and reducing the size of your meals, you reduce your body’s exposure to free radical activity, and, the amount of excess food that meals, you reduce your body’s exposure to free radical activity, and, the amount of excess food that gets stored as unwanted fat. A double bonus!

Big meals are too much stress

Food is in abundance – look around the supermarket shelves at the food mountain! Fill your trolley, take it home and fill your kitchen cupboards – fill your plate and fill your stomach till you can barely move. How many times a week do you overeat? How many free radicals are attacking your body and accelerating the aging process? You could choose to eat less.

Think about your meals over the last week.

Better still, keep a food diary for the next week, record each meal by drawing a plate divided up showing how much protein, carbohydrate, fat, vegetables and fruit you eat at each mealsnack. After a week you’ll be able to see for yourself how much sugar you are eating.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be boring when you focus on living foods. What does this mean? Simply by making sure your plate reflects a range of colours, you’ll naturally create more balanced and healthful menus complete with a range of living foods.

What are living foods? They are re live, colourful, fresh and raw – fruits, vegetables and salads!

Let’s Look At The Positives

1. Colourful foods have no preservatives and no added colour!

2. Provide an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, water and trace elements.

3. Have a high water content – an excellent source of hydration for the body.

4. Are visually appetising.

5. Their firm textures demand a good chew, so we eat them more slowly and feel full afterwards.

6. Are quickly and easily processed and assimilated by the body – less work for the digestive system.

7. Are safer – contain less undesirable man-made chemicals.

8. Are as nature intended unlike processed, pre-packaged modern fast foods!

9. Are pure energy – living food.

Consuming Cooked Foods

1. Heat destroys the vitalising nutrients in colourful foods. So much so that sometimes, you may as well be eating cardboard for all the good it does your body!

2. The effectiveness of fibre in cooked fresh foods is reduced – vegetables that are floppy and overcooked pass through the body with a reduced ‘cleansing’ action.

3. If you cook vegetables, always steam them lightly and aim to retain their ‘crunch’!

4. Cooked vegetables tend to turn out soft and therefore require less chewing, which means they are usually eaten more quickly, so are less satisfying.

5. Heat also destroys the enzymes in fresh foods, which are essential for digestion. This means the body has to tap into its own precious supply of enzymes to support the digestive process.

6. Heat also destroys the enzymes in fresh foods, which are essential for digestion. This means the body has to tap into its own precious supply of enzymes to support the digestive process.

It probably wont come as a surprise to hear there is a great deal of confusion around nutrition. In fact, many people reading this article will have only a scant idea about the different food types and what our body actually needs to keep healthy.

One of the simplest systems Ive encountered is this. If the food tastes good, then it has to be bad for you! And then theres its counterpart, If the food tastes bad then it must be good for you. You may identify with these views, or some closely related version! Nutrition for some has been reduced to a concept of good and bad with little else.

Some common weight loss myths that people believe – which arent true!

Myth 1 Cutting down on portion size is the best way to lose weight. Not on its own. If you attempt to lose weight by just eating less, you are likely to gain the weight back. Lasting results will come from changing the types of foods you eat, not just the amounts.

Myth 2 Just cut out fat and youll lose weight. This approach to weight loss, popular in the 80s, simply doesnt work for most people. Even if a food is labeled fat-free, it can still be high in calories from sugar and hidden carbs. Effective weight loss comes from being mindful of your total calorie consumption as well as your fat intake.

Myth 3 Cutting calories causes your body to go into starvation mode and slows weight loss. This is untrue. Your bodys resting metabolic rate can vary by about 15. Nevertheless, eating too few calories and an inadequate amount of protein can make you lose precious lean muscle mass, which will eventually slow metabolism, for the long term. Ideally, stick to the calorie and protein amounts that are right for your body with the Herbalife program.

Myth 4 High-protein diets cause ketosis, which reduces hunger. Ketosis occurs when fat, instead of carbohydrate, is used as an energy source during a high-protein diet. Ketone bodies are produced, which give your breath a bad fruity odor. Ketone bodies do not reduce appetite; but, eating sufficient protein for your body needs can help reduce hunger and support weight loss.

Myth 5 Exercise alone can help you lose weight. While exercise is an important component of a healthy weight-loss program, it is not a great way to lose weight on its own. Exercising for even an hour at a time burns only a moderate amount of calories. Combining exercise with calorie reduction and a healthy eating plan is the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off.

One of the most healthful and helpful steps you can take to improve your health and that of your familys is to learn about nutrition. The principles are easy to understand and armed with the correct information, its possible to make an improvement to your health.

Kim Beardsmore

There are many factors that cause us to increase body weight, yet three stand out from the rest.

Our genetic make up Every cell in our body has a central control panel, that is a nucleus that contains our genes and chromosomes. This is the instruction manual for your body and this is inherited from your parents. It is this instruction manual that is largely responsible for how your body, and even your mind, behaves.

The environment in which we live Our personal environment may also contribute or cue you to adopt poor eating or exercise habits. This is especially true in today’s society, which is dominated by speed and convenience. For example, escalators, elevators and remote-control appliances make us less physically active. Also, greater availability and the constant marketing of foods that are high in calories, fat and added sugars, and larger portion sizes promote unhealthy eating behaviors.

There may also be personal reasons why you are consuming too many kilojoules from food and drinks, or not being physically active enough. For example, when feeling down or bored you may eat more than you need, or if you are feeling depressed it is more difficult to get active.

Knowing the reason why you may be consuming excess kilojoules or not participating in physical activity, is an important first step in changing your lifestyle habits to help you reach a healthy weight.

Our lifestyle What we eat and drink and how active we are. This is the gradual gain in weight as a result of eating food and not exercising enough.

The extent to which we can affect our genetic make up and our environment are limited. However, lifestyle is the area in which we can significantly manage and if need be, improve our body weight to ensure we maintain a healthy weight for our height, age and gender. This is why learning a healthy nutritious eating pattern and adopting it for life, that is, lifestyle changes has a significant impact on our ability to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Gaining and losing weight works according to some a simple biological principle. When you consume more energy in the form of food and drinks that your body uses each day you will gain weight. When you consume less energy in the form of food and drinks that your body requires each day you will lose weight.

Despite what some advertisers would have use believe, weight loss does not occur as a result of any of the following

Supplements that will melt the fat while you sleep or while you wash

Exercises that dont take any effort and cause no sweat

Unique food combinations that will allow you to eat what you want and still lose weight

In order to lose weight you will need to know approximately your Resting Metabolic Rate RMR. Your RMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest in a 24 hour period. When your body gets about 500 less calories than it needs each day as a result of eating less or exercising more, you will lose one pound of weight per week. To illustrate how efficient the human body is in motion, the average female would need to go for a brisk walk for 1.5 to 2.0 hours in order to burn 500 calories.

When you consume 500 calories a day more than your bodys requirements, you will gain approximately one pound a week! To illustrate how easy it is to gain weight, one 7oz bag of corn chips has approximately 1000 calories. If you ate a bag of corn chips every day in addition to three square meals its possible you could gain 2 pounds in a week!