Cinnamon

This time we bring you everything you need to know about the cinnamon. Always present in every kitchen, joins us in the preparation of many recipes. Discover the following article in its benefits and uses.

Where does the cinnamon

Its name comes from the similarity between the stem of sugar cane and cinnamon-tree, whose bark is removed to collect the cinnamon. This tree is grown mainly in Asia, particularly in Sri Lanka, Burma and southern India during the rainy season.

It is commonly marketed as a branch, powdered or essential oil. To keep longer flavor and aroma it is best to acquire raw and save it in an airtight container.

Your benefits

It has stimulant virtues, toning, antiseptic and antibacterial, so it is a good ally to combat influenza and rheumatism states. It is also known to have a vasodilatory effect, thus preventing cardiovascular disease.


The uses in the kitchen

It can be used in both sweet and savory preparations. In the West is very common in desserts, gingerbread, muffins, pastry, cream and dishes such as mulled wine or hot chocolate.

On the other hand, the East added to savory dishes, such as those with lamb or poultry, in landfills, in soups and with vegetables Enplater as lentils.

The cinnamon is sprinkled on the preparations or incorporated into sauces. In desserts, perfect for apple pies perfumed fruit salads. It is also very decorative with its earthy color, so it is also used to decorate the plates, while giving them a touch of unique flavor.

The cinnamon should be hydrated before adding to recipes. Normally this is done in milk, water or in a liquor that goes well with the preparation.

The benefits of beer

Around the beer there are many myths, but the fact is that this drink is nothing harmful to health, on the contrary. In the next article we tell you all the benefits of beer.

The beer is a very healthy drink, of course, drinking it in moderation. The amazing thing is that it always has cataloged a beer as something harmful, fattening and is best avoided. However, these are but false beliefs.

Many studies have shown that drinking beer in moderation is beneficial to our health. Go for a couple of beers with friends not only helps us to disconnect, but also helps keep our bodies in good condition.

Beer is a beverage produced naturally, which contains low-calorie and 2,000 with nutrients like B vitamins, minerals and other compounds that make food that should be part of a balanced diet. Moreover, the Mediterranean diet, followed by millions of people to maintain the line includes a beer in his pyramid.

In addition, the beer has a diuretic effect, thanks to its fiber and potassium, added to that is low in sodium, all of which helps to cleanse the body and promotes good digestion.

Beer is also rich in magnesium, which helps prevent heart disease. The beneficial effects also reach the bones, making them stronger and thus help prevent some symptoms of menopause and acting against degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant components, which help prevent premature aging.

And finally, the beer is also an excellent hydration fluid, so it is ideal to drink after exercise.

You know, now you have full permission to go out and take a couple of beers with your friends.

The risk of plastic bottles

Many times we've talked about the importance of drinking water, ideally, two liters a day. But I had not yet talked about what are the best ways to take it. Find out in the next article.

Surely you are one of the thousands of women who usually walk with a bottle of mineral in your wallet or car, to go filling it with fresh water during the day.

While this is a practical and cheaper to drink water because you do not have to be buying a mineral all the time, drinking from the same plastic bottle repeatedly may have many health risks.

After a while, the plastic containers begin to release the chemical and plastic components, which are soaked in water every time you fill the bottle. Thus, when you drink, you are ingesting these toxic elements from the plastic.

The situation is exacerbated when your plastic bottle is exposed to the sun as it generates heat the plastic more quickly discards the chemicals that compose it.

In this way, do not reuse your plastic bottle over 4 times, and if you left the sun or exposed to heat, not to reoccupy to drink.

The solution? The glass bottles. This type of packaging can fill them out whenever you want, it does not suffer the effects of heat. In addition, a glass bottle is final, so you're also helping the ecology to be preferred because it does not discard plastic containers every time. And finally, the water tastes better in glass container in the plastic check it out!

You know, get a glass bottle and preserve it, so you can drink all the water you need in a healthy, natural and ecological.

All about cheese

The cheese has a very bad reputation, but much of what is said about this noble food are myths and false beliefs. In the next article we show you everything you need to know about cheese.

Sure you've heard that if you want to lose weight not eat cheese, but the truth is that the benefit of the cheese is less known to help control weight. So, eating cheese regularly, can help maintain a balanced and healthy diet. This is due mainly to the cheese has a satiating effect, which helps us feel full more quickly and therefore eat less.

In addition, cheese is a food rich in protein, making it ideal for combining with salads and vegetables, thus giving yourself a complete super food and healthy. Thus, it is banished the idea that cheese is a product rich in fat that contributes to weight gain. Now you know that eating cheese every day helps keep the line.

Cheese is a dairy product consumed for thousands of years, as food is more durable than milk. From a nutritional standpoint, the cheese has many health benefits of our body. Cheese is an important source of calcium, phosphorus, zinc and magnesium, essential elements for the proper functioning of our body. In addition, some studies have shown that eating cheese regularly even prevents tooth decay and contributes to dental health.

This food also helps control blood pressure, thanks to the presence of small molecules found in abundance in certain types of cheeses, which help to decrease the pressure in the arteries.

The cheese also has an important influence on health and condition of the bones, thanks to its high calcium content.

Of course, you always have stressed that all excesses are bad. Of course, if after reading this article you spend all day eating cheese, you will gain weight. What we say is that you do not need to eradicate the cheese of your life, on the contrary, this rich food can be part of your diet, favoring moderation and combined with vegetables rather than carbohydrates, like bread or pasta.

Are you well?

Wellness refers to the condition of good physical and mental health, especially when maintained by proper diet, exercise, and habits.  Nutrition refers to the nurturing of our body, in our ability to keep it healthy and functioning as it is supposed to do.  Our ability to provide the body with all the necessary food, vitamins, and minerals so that we continue to thrive in our daily life processes.  But do we know if we are really well?  How do we tell?

The first place to start would be with the examination of your eating habits.  Since we are a product of what we eat, if our eating habits are unhealthy, or do not provide for the nutrition we need, we’re not going to be healthy individuals at the end of the process.

Do you take in more calories than your body needs?  Are you supplementing your vitamins and minerals to make sure you are getting your recommended daily allowances?  If you’re not making the most basic of efforts to take care of your nutritional needs, you aren’t a well individual.  You may not look sick, you may not have any noticeable symptoms of ill-health, but you’re not the well individual you could be.

Next, you might want to look at your exercise habits, if there are any.  If there aren’t any exercise routines to examine, no wellness.  Everyone, no matter what their age, benefits from exercise.  It keeps our bodies conditioned, our mental sharpness working at top speed, and thanks to the physical aspect, we get a boost to our cardio health, extra calorie burn, and more oxygen to those cells!

What about the stress levels in your life?  Do work in an environment with high levels of stress?  Is your personal life a source of comfort or does it add to your stress levels?  Do you engage in some form of stress-relieving activity?  Stress is the number on contributor to heart attacks and strokes, since they manage to speed up the affect of the real culprits.  Stress is basically an out of control situation for most adults today.  We manage to schedule every moment of our free time, and leave ourselves with no time for quiet reflection, or time to deal with life’s unexpected emergencies.

Stress brings us to the next two topics of health abuse.  Smoking and drinking are often used to offset the effect that stress has on our nervous system.  These solutions however do not provide any real help.  If you smoke, drink, or lose sleep to excess, you’re not the well individual you could be.  Smoking, drinking, and loss of sleep work to our detriment, and it takes extreme discipline to stop.  Smoking fills our body with carcinogens, and works to keep us tired and lethargic. 

There are so many occasions to stop and question our efforts at maintaining optimal health, that we usually don’t even take the time to begin the examination. But it is beneficial to our overall health, the quality and quantity of our life, to make every effort to be well, healthy, individuals.  Now, where does fitness begin to enter into the equation?  Before we begin a length discussion about fitness, let’s make sure we understand exactly what fitness is, and some of the terms we’re going to use.

The peril of eating desorders

Anyone who pays attention to the media and its interest in people – particularly celebrities – will have seen no small amount of articles dealing with eating disorders. The issue of eating disorders is one that makes for no small amount of controversy, as there are always issues of blame when something so serious arises. Eating disorders, most specifically anorexia nervosa, have been the cause of numerous deaths, and when someone dies because of their diet, blame is never far away from people’s minds. In most people’s opinions, the blame for anorexia and other eating disorders lies squarely with the celebrity and advertising worlds.

Whenever the issue of anorexia is raised, the eyes of the media turn to the “super-skinny” celebrities who are photographed looking gaunt and emaciated. These celebrities are sometimes by insinuation and sometimes by outright accusation blamed for the numbers of young people going too far in their dieting in order to achieve an impossible ideal of the way someone should look if they want to be beautiful. It is less often mentioned that the media themselves have been printing these pictures attached to a stream of approving comments, and in equal number disapproving comments about celebrities who are “carrying a little extra weight”.

Society can be rather harsh when it comes to judging people, and it is often felt by young people – famous or otherwise – that if they fail to meet an image which supposedly represents the ideal of beauty, they will be outcasts. This is by far the number one cause of eating disorders.

What is anorexia nervosa?

There are several celebrities whose photographs appear in the paper with lurid headlines containing the word “anorexia” or “anorexic”. It has become almost common practice to refer to someone who looks thinner than “normal” in this way, although it is also generally quite inaccurate. Anorexia nervosa, to give its full title, is an eating disorder which is strongly linked to mental illness but has a very physical result. Anorexic people are not just very thin, they are very thin because they have a mindset which tells them that they are too fat and need to diet. This mindset remains even when they have dieted down to a weight that is actually dangerous, hazardous to health and may imperil their life.

When an anorexic looks in the mirror, they report feeling disgusted by how “fat” they look. This is the case even when they are not fat, and indeed so thin that their bones are visible through their skin. It is a condition which requires treatment on a number of fronts at once, as they need counselling to try and make them see that they are not fat as well as some physical treatment in order to get them to a weight that allows them to be healthy. Without a set number of calories and a range of nutrients, a human being cannot function on anything resembling a normal level. They will tire quickly, and may develop brittle bones as well as skin conditions which give them a deeply unhealthy appearance. All the time this is happening, they remain convinced that they are disgustingly fat. Anorexia is not just being thin – it is being trapped in a dangerous cycle of behavior.

Diet Drinks: Are they really a healthy alternative?

For some time now, the lines of popular soft drinks have included an ever-growing list of drinks which purport to be healthy alternatives to the classic, established versions. In fact, the first diet soda was launched as far back as 1963 – it was known as “Tab”. Diet Coke did not emerge until the 1980s, long after Pepsi had unveiled their own Diet version. Coca-Cola had felt that the unveiling of a Diet brand would put their own full Coke brand in a negative light. Having seen the results Pepsi had in the same niche, they relented to pressure and unveiled what is now one of the world’s most popular brands.

This of course is a different question from whether the “diet” brands are exactly what they claim to be. Certainly, they are a low calorie alternative to the more established names, but they will not do much on their own. Anyone feeling that they will lose pounds by simply making the switch from full Coke to Diet Coke is certain to be sorely disappointed, unless they drink the full brand in such quantities that it is causing them several other health problems. 

The extent to which diet sodas help a dieting person make a difference in their calorie intake may be overestimated, but if you do make the switch in connection with other changes to your diet, you will see results. In addition, the absence of sugar from the diet or “zero” brands on the market may well aid your health in other ways. As long as you don’t expect miracles from a diet soda, it may well be a useful tool in your dieting plans.

Pregnancy and food you need

During this time women should take special care, and yes they have to eat healthy. Here you will find everything you need to know about the importance of nutrition during pregnancy.

Ideally, prepare the mother for several months before conception, eating twice as nutrients, but be careful, not twice as many calories. Being pregnant doesnt mean eating for two, but multiply the nutrient intake. During pregnancy, caloric intake should be increased at most 300 more calories per day, so to offset the organic requirement implies that stage. Feeding during pregnancy is extremely important because it will depend largely on the health of the unborn child and the mother. Moreover, a balanced diet help us to stay at a healthy weight during this period.

From the moment they are planning to become pregnant, it is recommended start taking folic acid supplements. Also in this state, can not miss the bread, cereals and potatoes, preferably in their grain varieties, which should represent 70% of the diet.

Fruits and vegetables also naturally play a major role during pregnancy. It should consume at least 5 servings daily version of juice, as salads, such as soups, etc.



Balanced diet

In pregnancy the whole idea is to eat meat, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, fresh fruit, cereals and vegetables. Consumption of milk and dairy products is essential because of the increased calcium intake is needed at this time.



Sugar in moderation

During pregnancy sweets and fats should be minimized. The sugar that is needed, is obtained from the same fruits we eat, so apart from sweets consumption means no contribution, by contrast, only stored in the body as fat.


Caring for the weight

In pregnancy you should not eat for two. If instead of eating two pieces of chocolate we eat 4, end up winning that overweight after taking off so hard. During pregnancy should gain between 9 and 13 extra kilos, maintaining a daily intake of 2,000 calories.


Vitamins and minerals

As far as vitamins and minerals are concerned, they should eat for two. Here calcium is essential for the development of teeth and bones of the child, as well as for the mother's care. Calcium is not found only in dairy products, but also in dark green vegetables, bread, legumes, nuts and oily fish for example.

Iron is another essential factor in pregnancy, as their consumption helps form red blood cells in the blood. Vitamin C also demos strengthen as it contributes to iron absorption, while vitamin B12 helps to improve the health of the blood.

The omega-3 essential fatty acid that can not miss during this period. This is important for brain and nervous system development of the baby.

Folic acid and iodine

Folic acid is essential for the proper development of organs and tissues of the unborn baby. In addition, its consumption reduces the risk of spinal cord defects such as spina bifida disease. While we eat this item through cereal, bread, fruits and vegetables, however it is necessary to take a supplement of 400 micrograms per day. Iodine is essential for the proper functioning of the thyroid, so we must also strengthen its consumption.


What is prohibited

There are certain things that are forbidden during pregnancy. Alcohol is one of them. Their consumption should be reduced to zero, but some specialists allow up to two glasses of wine or beer per week.

Raw eggs should also be avoided, as there is a risk of salmonella, as well as soft cheeses and pate, which may contain the listeria bacteria. The peanut should not consume it, to avoid the child's allergy to the nut.

Coffee is another beverage that should be consumed with great restraint, especially in the first four months of gestation.

Anti-Aging Food

One of the major struggles of women is what we have every day against the passage of time. Our body is subjected to an oxidation process that is altering and degrading the quality of our cells. This oxidation is mainly due to free radicals, molecules that lack of electrons. To counter this imbalance, free radicals destabilize other molecules in order to obtain the electron they lack. This process is altering the tissue and produces long-term aging.

To neutralize the action of these free radicals, the body has elements known as antioxidants, which can be enhanced through food intake especially rich in antioxidants.


 
Antioxidant vitamins

Vitamin A. The find in dairy products, egg yolks, foie gras, butter, fish and meat mainly.

Provitamin A or beta carotene. This is converted by the body into vitamin A. The mainly found in vegetables and fruits red and orange, such as tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, carrots, beets, and also in green vegetables.

Vitamin C. It is present in citrus fruits, kiwi fruit, red berries, broccoli, spinach, watercress and parsley mainly.

Vitamin E. What you get in vegetable oils, fatty fish, whole grain cereals, nuts (walnuts, almonds, wheat germ.


Antioxidant Minerals

Magnesium. You find it in nuts such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and also in mineral water, chocolate, legumes and whole grains.

Selenium. It is present in fish and sea food, in rice, pasta and bread, in the red pepper, egg yolk, garlic and rabbit meat mainly.

Calcium. basically milk products, legumes and fruits and vegetables.

Zinc. It is concentrated in shellfish and whole grains mainly.

Iron. We're on red meat, beans and sausages.


 

Tips to keep you young

Diet. The secret of youth is to have a balanced diet. Follow the instructions we have gave to ensure a comprehensive intake of nutrients and antioxidants needed.

Cook properly. Heat, light and excessive cooking can damage food, degrading its entirety. So, try to consume as much as possible fresh raw foods, as well as without peeling.

Avoid oxidizing agents. Every day we consume items that eventually degenerate our bodies. Among them is the snuff, alcohol, coffee, energy drinks and refined foods mainly. Try to avoid regular consumption of these items.

Start today. Do not wait until turning 40 to begin to care. The oxidation process is something that accompanies us throughout life. So, change your habits today, the sooner you start to take adequate food, more delayed and reduce the cellular oxidation.