Tuesday, 31 March 2020

How To Make Immunity Boosting Smoothies



 smoothie is a blend of different fruits and vegetables to boost your immunity, improve your health and appearance. Drinking immunity-boosting smoothies provide the nutrients you need in a convenient manner that is easy for the body to absorb. Here are some smoothie recipes you can try at home right now.

Download Over 20 Green Immunity Boosting Smoothies Recipes Here.



Morning Wakeup Smoothie


First up, the recipe. Then we’ll dive into why it works:

Immunity boosting smoothies



  ½ a cup of cold water

 1 Beet

  Lemon juice to taste

 1 tablespoon honey

 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

  2 cups of mixed frozen berries

  This smoothie has a ton of different ingredients that do a world of good to wake you up in the morning, provide you with energy throughout the day, and to protect you from harm.

Let’s examine each ingredient:

Berries

 A mixture of berries is a fantastic way to improve your immune system and to protect yourself against a number of health problems – cancer in particular. That’s because berries are absolutely packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that combat the action of ‘free radicals’ in the body. 

Free radicals meanwhile are compounds that damage cells when they come into contact with them. These can cause visible signs of aging as the damage becomes visible in our skin and in our hair. 
But more concerning is what happens when those free radicals break through our cell walls and all the way to our nuclei – the centers of the cells that contain our DNA. 

When this happens, they can damage those strands of DNA enough to cause small mutations. And if those mutations are copied, this is how we get cancerous growths. 

In short, a diet high in antioxidants is one of the very best things you can look for to improve your health. Adding berries to a smoothie is one of THE best ways to accomplish this by far.

 Beet Juice 

What you’re really going to feel when you drink this smoothie though, is the power of the beet juice. Did you know that beet juice is actually such a potent performance enhancer that it is used by a number of different athletes? That’s because beet juice acts as a ‘vasodilator’. 

A vasodilator is something that widens the blood vessels (veins and arteries) and thereby helps more blood and oxygen to travel around the body. This means more blood and oxygen to your brain, which in turn translates to better concentration, mental energy, and cognitive performance.

 It also means you’re likely to enjoy better energy in general and you may experience considerable performance improvements if you head out for a long run!

Honey 

Honey is a great choice for energy because it provides its sugar in a number of different ways. Specifically, honey contains both fructose and sucrose which are absorbed into the bloodstream at different rates. 

This means that honey can give you a little sugar hit right at the start of the day but will also serve as a slower supply to keep you going until lunch. This can help prevent snacking. Of course, honey also lends our smoothie a bit of sweetness!

Coconut Oil 

Coconut oil is another very powerful inclusion in this smoothie – everything is there for a reason! Coconut oil is a good choice because it contains a very specific type of fat: medium-chain triglycerides. This fat is absorbed differently from other types of fat in the body and will head straight for your liver, where it will stimulate the production of ketones. 

Ketones are interesting to us because they serve as a ‘secondary’ form of energy for the body. When the body doesn’t have glucose, it relies on ketones instead. 

Thus, your body can survive on ketones and actually, the brain prefers ketones for certain tasks. Any mixture with coconut oil is going to give you a big boost and will help you to feel more alert and alive!

Lemon

 Finally, we have lemon juice which is a great source of numerous vitamins and minerals, as well as several other things. In this particular smoothie, the role of the lemon juice is to provide vitamin C and B6, as well as to give us that refreshing wake up call that you can only get from citrus!

Download Over 20 Green Immunity Boosting Smoothies Recipes Here.


Stress Buster Smoothie 

 The next one will help to support your immune system and fight stress.

Again, let’s do the ingredients first:

 2 bananas

 1 cup of orange juice

 1 peeled orange

 ¾ cup of almond milk

 1 tsp vanilla extract

 1 carrot peeled

 Ice


Immunity boosting smoothies


This is another great one for combating morning fatigue and giving you some get-up and go.

The bananas are a great source of energy and also of potassium, which will help to fuel you for a lot longer than just those morning hours!

 The carrot is key because it contains good quantities of B6 (as does the banana) and this helps the body to process energy from food. This means that you’ll get more use out of the carbs that you consume and out of the very sugar in this smoothie!

 Better yet, recent research suggests that lutein (which is found in carrots) might be effective at improving the energy efficiency of our mitochondria. Mitochondria are the small ‘energy factories’ in our cells that have the job of turning glucose and other forms of energy into ATP, then using that ATP to drive the movement of muscles and fuel our cells.  

Lutein requires a source of fat because it is fat-soluble. The good news is that the almond milk in this very smoothie will do that job just nicely.

Vanilla extract meanwhile is another potent antioxidant, as well as providing anti-inflammatory properties and combating cholesterol it’s a very good tool for making our smoothie a little sweeter on the way down.

Finally, we have the orange which is really the ‘stress-busting’ part of the equation. There’s a lot of orange in here and that’s going to provide a lot of vitamin C. Vitamin C plays a vital role because it is what the brain uses to make serotonin. 

Serotonin meanwhile is the ‘happiness hormone’ and our very own ‘natural’ anti-anxiety medication. By keeping your blood sugar steady and providing serotonin, this drink can set you up in a good mood and provide the perfect start to the day!

Download Over 20 Green Immunity Boosting Smoothies Recipes Here.





Thursday, 12 March 2020

10 Foods To Avoid When Pregnant.



Foods to avoid when pregnant


 Making healthy food choices is very important for women when pregnant. Their diet will provide the right nutrients for the baby to develop and grow and it should keep the mother healthy. Eating a healthy diet that contains all the necessary vitamins and nutrients is recommended.

However, there are some foods that to avoid when pregnant as they can be harmful to you and your baby. They include:

1. Unwashed Fruits and Vegetables

The surface of unpeeled fruits and vegetables may be uncontaminated with bacteria and parasites like Salmonella, Listeria, E.Coli, and Toxoplasmosis. This contamination can occur from the soil or by handling. 

One very dangerous parasite that may be found on unwashed fruits and vegetables is Toxoplasma. Conditions such as blindness or brain damage may develop later in the life of infants infected while still in the womb. Be sure to wash all unpeeled fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consuming them.

2. Organ Meat

Organ meat like liver contains several important nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, vitamin A, and copper. These nutrients are important for the expectant mother and child.

However, eating too much animal-based vitamin A (preformed vitamin A)  contained in these meats is not recommended during pregnancy. This is because it may cause vitamin A toxicity and high copper levels. These abnormally high levels can cause birth defects.

Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant women should not eat organ meat like liver more than once a week.

3. Alcohol

Pregnant women are advised to completely avoid drinking alcohol, as it increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. 

Since no level of alcohol has been proven to be safe during pregnancy, it’s recommended to avoid it altogether. Even a small amount can negatively impact your baby's brain development.

It can also cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which involves facial deformities, heart defects, and intellectual disability.

3 foods to avoid when pregnant

4. Raw or undercooked meat

It is advisable to cook any meat thoroughly until there is no trace of pink or blood. This is because eating undercooked or raw meat increases the risk of infection from bacteria or parasites like Salmonella, E. coli, and Toxoplasma.
These organisms could cause blindness or even stillbirth.


5. Caffeine

Drinking a lot of caffeine has been linked to miscarriage and low birth weight. Caffeine is found in tea, coffee, and chocolate. Not more than 200 mg a day is advised.

6. Raw Eggs

Pregnant women should cook eggs properly before cooking because raw eggs can be contaminated by Salmonella. Salmonella can cause an infection in the mother with symptoms like stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, and nausea. Severe infections may cause cramps which can lead to premature death and stillbirth.


7. High Mercury Fish

Severe infections High mercury fish include Shark, Swordfish, Tuna, King Mackerel. High amounts of mercury can cause kidney problems, nervous system issues, and serious developmental challenges in children.
Pregnant women can eat low mercury fish during pregnancy which is healthy because it contains omega-3 fatty acids.

8. Unpasteurized Milk and Cheese

Raw milk if contaminated can contain bacteria like Listeria, Salmonella, E Coli, and Campylobacter. If only raw or unpasteurized milk is available, it is better to boil it before drinking.

9. Sushi

Chilled seafood like sushi, raw oysters, cooked ready-to-eat prawns, and smoked ready-to-eat seafood have a high risk of Listeria contamination.

10. Pre-packaged salads

Prepackaged fruit and vegetable salads from buffets and salad bars have a high risk of Listeria contamination.




 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14647094/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1565377/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25238871/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16555611/


































Wednesday, 4 March 2020

The Beginner's Guide to the Ketogenic Diet






A high-fat diet has always been synonymous with weight gain and in some cases, people will do their very best to avoid all sources of fat.

Recent research has brought rise to a different style of dieting that claims it can help you lose weight, burn fat, and provide more energy throughout the day. This diet is called the ketogenic or “keto” diet.

What Is the Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a diet that urges the opposite of many other traditional diets. Rather than shunning fatty foods, a low-carb diet utilizes a high amount of unsaturated fats and moderate intakes of saturated fats as a staple.

 In addition to high intakes of fat, the keto diet also requires that you remove much of the carbohydrates in your diet and replace them with lean protein sources.

A low-carb, keto diet contains approximately 60% of calories from fat, 25% from protein, and 15% from carbohydrates (sometimes even lower).

Why Try the Ketogenic Diet? 

Many of us have been struggling for years to lose weight and effectively live a healthy life with the current foods we’re eating. A low-carb diet may just be the best change you can make to start losing weight and feeling great.

 A ketogenic diet works to induce a state of fat oxidation.

This state is called ketosis and will occur when the body has a higher supply of fat and the frequency of meals decreases. Your body will enter the mild starvation or fasting phase. At this time your body can start to utilize stored fat as fuel, effectively burning calories and fat you may have had stored for years.

What Do You Eat on a Ketogenic Diet? 

The keto diet works best when you’re in a moderate fasted state, with high amounts of fat as your primary source of calories.

So what foods are best?

 The main idea of a keto diet is to eat as few carbs as possible. Of course, you’ll need some carbohydrates in your diet, but avoiding high carbohydrate foods will help you to enter ketosis much more effectively.

Download The Keto Diet Cookbook With 60 Recipes

KETO COOKBOOK RECIPE



 Here are the best foods to eat on a keto diet:

 1.Natural fats. The staple nutrients on a low-carb diet are natural fats, including oils, butter, and some whole milk.

2.Meats and seafood. Both meat and seafood contain high amounts of fat and are great sources of protein. Beef, chicken, cod, fish, and other meats are also staples in a ketogenic diet.

3. Eggs and cheese. We start to run into small amounts of carbohydrates when we eat eggs and cheese, although it’s highly recommended that you consume 1-2 servings of eggs and cheese daily.

4. Dark, leafy vegetables. Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, avocado, asparagus, cabbage and peppers are the perfect vegetables to consume on a daily basis.

NOTE: Vegetables should be your main source of carbohydrates on the keto diet.

Foods to Avoid

You’ll want to avoid all foods that contain moderate to high concentrations of carbohydrates. This means everything from fruit to pasta - and even candy (yep, candy has very high carbohydrates).

Take The Keto Quiz

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5 Benefits of The Ketogenic Diet

1. Better Body Composition 

Research has not only shown that a low-carb diet can be effective in promoting weight loss, but also very effective in burning more fat throughout the day.

2. Brain Health and Fuel

 Much of the internal systems utilize blood glucose as energy to run - but when carbohydrates are not ingested, how would they function? Our bodies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. When carbohydrates are not present, the internal system will look to other sources of fuel – namely ketones(from stored fats).

Eating a diet high in fat will provide your body with a great source of dietary ketones to help fuel the brain. Many experts believe that ketosis’s main purpose is to ensure that we always have a reserved source of fuel, especially when carbohydrates aren’t immediately present. Some studies have even shown that a keto diet can promote concentration and alertness.

3. Help With Type 2 Diabetes

 For many people, diabetes is an everyday challenge of monitoring blood glucose levels. When glucose falls too low, you ingest rapid forms of carbs. When glucose is too high, you may need to take insulin. This everyday challenge may lead users to look for an alternative.

 A high-fat keto diet has not only been shown to assist with the management of type 2 diabetes but has also been shown to lower blood glucose levels. This can be very beneficial for the management of diabetes, but it’s important to pay close attention to your medication doses and talk to your doctor prior to major dietary changes.

4. Promote Skin Health and Reduce Acne

 A low-carb keto diet has been shown to be very beneficial in promoting healthy skin, nails, and even hair due to its higher intakes of B-Vitamins and lack of processed sugars.

5. Reduce Risk of  Disease 

Leading causes of mortality include heart disease and cancer, both of which are highly correlated to poor diets with high intakes of processed foods. This is why researchers are constantly looking for ways to promote a healthy diet.


Is Keto Right for You?


The ketogenic diet isn’t right for everyone. While many people may benefit, others could struggle with the specific dietary requirements needed to succeed.

Chances are, if you’ve been struggling to lose those pesky pounds, you could use a suitable change to your diet.

 Above all the specific dietary requirements on a ketogenic diet, the change to a keto diet will help you to become more conscious of what you’re eating. You can't eat any junk food on this diet - no candy, desserts, or baked goods. All the junk food is taken out of your diet and replaced with whole foods.

With the keto diet and the astounding benefits of achieving a state of ketosis, weight is sure to drop off faster than you can say “I miss bread.”

What is Ketosis?

 On a fundamental level, ketosis is a metabolic state. Your body can draw from various sources of energy when needed. Your body's primary source of fuel is glucose (from carbohydrates), but when it isn’t present the body will source other nutrients - namely, ketones.

 Ketosis is a metabolic state that utilizes ketones as fuel when glucose levels are very low.

Eating a low-carb diet may enable you to enter ketosis, effectively burning more fat through your metabolic state.

How Do I Achieve Ketosis?

Your body will enter ketosis any time you fast for a long duration. Many experts believe that runners actually enter a state of ketosis during a long run, especially if they’ve been carb-cycling.

 In addition to fasting and exercise, ketosis can also be entered when you’re eating very few carbohydrates - less than 15% of your daily calories, as your body will source its fuel from the fat you intake rather than the restricted form of carbohydrates.

 Does Ketosis Really Help With Fat Loss?

 With any diet, there is always speculation and instances where it may not work. With that said, the ketogenic diet, or a low-carb diet, has been shown to be very effective in promoting weight loss and fat loss.

 Recent research has even shown that, along with the ability to promote fat loss and weight loss, a keto diet also decreases the level of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and blood glucose. It increases the level of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol). All of these effects are essential to your overall health.

Are There Any Downsides?

There’s always a downside to any diet that doesn’t favor balance. We know that a high-fat diet can be very effective in promoting weight loss and total fat loss, but it may actually be dangerous for those who have pre-existing heart conditions.

You may also lag behind when it comes to certain types of performance. Fat is not a quick source of fuel, so some people, like powerlifters and cross-fitters, will want to keep fast-metabolizing carbohydrates in their diet in order to perform at their best.


Has Your Body Made the Switch? 

Beginning Signs of Ketosis 

In order to find success in weight loss and fat loss during a ketogenic diet, you must maintain a state of ketosis. But how do you know when your body has made the switch?

If you’ve experienced some of these common symptoms of a keto diet, your body may be trying to make the switch from carbs to ketones – allowing you to enter into a ketogenic state.

 Bad Breath

Due to an increased level of ketones (namely acetone) in the body, your breath may take on an unpleasant, somewhat fruity smell.

Rapid Weight Loss

During the first 1-2 weeks, your body will utilize reserve carbohydrates and water, which can lead to rapid short-term weight loss.

Appetite Suppression 

After 2-3 weeks on a ketogenic diet, many users will report a loss of appetite. The reason is unknown, but it may be due to increased lean proteins and high intakes of fibrous vegetables.

Higher Mental Clarity

Ketones are a very potent source of fuel for the brain. Many ketogenic dieters claim higher attention and mental clarity during states of ketosis.

 Short-term Fatigue

Sometimes known as the keto-flu, during the first 2-3 weeks of a ketogenic diet you may feel sluggish, lethargic, and unmotivated.

 Short-term Decrease in Performance

Until your body can properly metabolize and utilize ketones as fuel, it can be slow and sluggish. Take note of this in the first 2-3 weeks of a low-carb diet.

Balance Your Keto Lifestyle

 Remember, however, that balance in your life is essential. It’s important to avoid thinking that just because you can eat high-fat foods that you should go around having greasy burgers all day.

 The purpose of the keto diet is to achieve a state of ketosis with whole foods, healthy oils, lean meats, nuts, and dark greens.

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