food

The food that kids consume at an early age is a huge factor in determining their health later on in life. Studies have shown that the food choices children will make when they are older are shaped largely by those foods that children consume when they are younger.

Is organic food really worth the extra money spent? This question has been a hot topic of discussion lately, with the ever increasing awareness of the effects that chemicals and pesticides have on both our earth and our health. More and more people have been jumping on the organic band wagon lately- surely you’ve noticed the ever increasing variety of organic products available.

Finding a few staple meals that offer the nutrients and vitamins you need, and then writing down the recipes, means less time thinking about what to eat and more time to prepare and relax. Not everyone is a great chef, so getting into some of the more complicated cookbooks can be intimidating. A few simple tricks and suggestions can help.

No need to starve yourself to lose weight.  In fact, you will have more difficulty losing weight and keeping it off by not eating.  The reason is that your body will go into survival mode and actually store fat if there is a lack of food.  As well, your body will start turning muscle protein into the energy it needs to feed your brain, nervous system and red blood cells.  The best way to lose weight is to tone your body and build muscle. According to Nancy Bennett, M.S., R.D., "Muscle tissue burns 70% of the fat in your body; so losing muscle sacrifices your ability to burn body fat."

People who eat out often can fall into the bad habit of ordering their favorite dishes without concern for its nutritional value.  This can obviously vary from person to person.  For example, many people order French fries with every meal, or others may insist on having a beer each time they order, or maybe they order meat every time to make sure they get 'bang for their buck'. In any case, dining out can easily lead to bad eating habits.  If you only go out once and while, eat whatever you want. But if you are like the many living in an affluent society today, you probably eat out often.

Whether you have problem skin such as acne, dermatitis or rosacea, or simply want to age more gracefully; you need to eat right for beautiful skin.  The skin is our body’s largest organ, so taking care of the skin will also have numerous benefits to your overall health. Although problem skin can be genetic or caused by problems other than what you eat, you can't overlook the fact that what you put in your body is essentially helping to regenerate skin tissue.  So if you are digesting more processed foods or toxins, your body needs to work hard to cleanse these from your system, and they offer little, if any, nutrients to help provide new cell growth.

If you’re going to lie about your age, you should at least try to get away with it. Although we can't slow down father time, there are a number of things we can do to slow down the affects of aging. At the top of the list is keeping your calorie and saturated fat levels to a minimum. A healthy diet is important, but so is exercise to maintain a target of 5-10% below your ideal body weight.  

If you’re trying to cut down your fat intake and get yourself in shape this summer, look out for foods with hidden fat. We know the obvious fatty foods such as chocolate and cookies, but what about some of your favorite foods that may be a little sneakier.

That’s what Kathleen McGowan claims in Psychology Today. "An anthropological analysis found that more than a third of us reject slippery food like oysters and okra. Twenty per cent of us don't like our foods to touch on the plate. The next time you wander a grocery-store aisle packed with jars of pickled jalapenos and boxes of instant scalloped potatoes, consider this: One-fifth of us eat from a palate of 10 or fewer foods."

Know anyone with a food phobia? Okay so some people don’t like meat, some are scared of vegetables, but a man who is put off by everything except cheese? Well according to the Hunts Post UK, just a person exists. Food phobia has left a UK man unable to eat anything apart from mild Cheddar cheese ever since he was a toddler.