Alkaline acid diet fad?

The alkaline acid diet suggests eating larger quantities of alkaline foodstuffs. Alkaline foods are fruit and vegetables. A healthy vegetarian diet, not one with an absence of meat, eating plenty of fresh fruit and veg would be an example of the alkaline acid diet.

There are many dietary choices that can be followed to improve our health. Searching the web today there are many diets that we can use to better our overall health. When deciding what diet is most appropriate for us it is important to think about what our goals are. Loosing weight, putting on weight or simply becoming healthier are all feasible if we select an appropriate diet. Initially for people who are interested in going on a diet, thinking about what the goals are is an important step.

We must not forget that exercise is also necessary if we want to achieve any of the goals already mentioned. Important aspects to bear in mind include that a new dietary regime might have a dramatic effect on your lifestyle. Are you ready? Further are diets that claim to promise quick weight loss without any effort on your part to be believed?

There are 3 parts of our lifestyle that are important as we move towards our ideal health goals. They are sleep, exercise and diet. If we lack in any one of these areas will make it much harder to achieve what we want.

The alkaline acid diet can be effective for those interested in weight loss and improving health overall. Putting on muscle is slightly harder although not impossible as excess protein consumption is discouraged. No matter what diet you choose not many people would argue that eating more fresh fruit and veg is a bad idea.

nutrition composition of food

There USDA Nutrient Data Library is an excellent site to discover details of the food we eat. The site has details of the nutritional values of a host of different foods.

This data can then be used to make decisions on what foods one wants to include or cut out of one’s diet. For followers of certain dietary protocols, e.g. the alkaline acid diet, the data can be used to calculate whether foods leave an acid or alkaline ash.

Searching the database today I discovered that clams appear to be one of the best sources of iron in the diet. Oysters are one of the top sources of zinc.

Researching Wikipedia it discusses that both iron and zinc are essential nutrients but that over consumption is toxic to human health.

The message appears to be there is such a thing as too much of a good thing!

Weight Master blog carnival

Blog carnivals are an excellent way to discover new information on your field of interest. The Weight Master blog held a blog carnival recently on the subjects of fitness, general health, nutrition and weight loss.

There were some interesting posts including details of the alkaline acid diet and there was even a post from Japan!

The blog carnival is held monthly so check it out for health blog updates.

dietary guidelines part 2

In my first dietary guidelines post I wrote about chapter 5 of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report. Today I want to discuss some of the other dietary guideline conclusions the report reaches and how we can use the report’s information to improve our own diets.

The report lists the following food groups as major food groups and suggests that we ensure we consme adequate portions from each group. Vegetarians may not be too happy about that!

fruits

vegetables

grains

milk, yogurt, and cheese

meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts

Personally I steer clear of some of the foods on this list. Having an allergy to dairy products means that I tend to avoid the foods listed in the fourth group above. Recently I have also began cutting down the amount of animal products that I eat. The largescale manufacture of animals for human consumption is putting me off. These foods are also often considered acid foods.

Greater fruit and vegetable consumption, in the region of between 5-13 servings a day is also recommended. Eating a high proportion of fruit and vegetables is associated with a reduction in certain cancers as well as type 2 diabetes. It can also be an important part of weight loss diets.

The report states that blood pressure levels are directly related to salt consumption. Therefore limiting salt intake is to be encouraged. On top of this, a high intake of potassium, of over 4,700 mg/day helps in counteracting the effects of sodium salts. Other positive effects that come from potassium are a reduction in the likelihood of developing kidney stones and decreased bone loss.

pandemic flu

Are the current cases of swine fever affecting people in various countries throughout the world deserving of the word pandemic?

As of today, not yet, according the the World Health Organization (WHO). They are currently classifying the influenza A(H1N1) virus at level 5, one below 6 which indicates a global pandemic.

So while it hasn’t yet reached pandemic proportions, the WHO website states -

 At phase 5 a pandemic is considered imminent.

So the virus is certainly something we need to be aware of.

The UK government Department of Health’s website lists 3 conditions that have to be met before a disease can be considered a pandemic.

• a new influenza virus subtype emerges
• it infects humans, causing serious illness
• it spreads easily and sustainably among humans.

Currently the swine fever virus already meets the first two conditions. Although it is desirable that it never meets the third condtion, we must be prepared for it to do so. Preparedness for a pandemic is one of the best ways we can deal with it when it does eventually occur.

References: World Health Organization | U.K. Government Department of Health

physical activity

According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans report, adults between the ages of 18-64 should do 2 and a half hours of medium intensity or 1 and a quarter hours of high intensity physical aerobic activity a week. The report advises that aerobic activity should be conducted in sessions lasting longer than 10 minutes. It also suggests that it is better to spread our exercise out over the course of the week as opposed to a massive session just once a week. It also includes a host of other health and fitness tips.

Health Benefits Of Exercise

Exercising regularly improves your health and fitness and can also help prevent many problematic health conditions. Regardless of your current health condition, you can benefit from a exercise program tailored to your individual needs. Physical exercise has an effect on many health conditions so it is worth spending some time to work out what level of physical activity is best for you.

Physical activity covers a wider range of activities than physical exercise which is typified as being a structured exercise program designed with the aim of improving health. The benefits of physical activity are many, they include combating diseases like coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis; reducing the risks associated with diseases like high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol; physical activity improves our bodies with regard to aerobic capacity, endurance and muscle strength; exercise is a great way to fight depression as our bodies feeling better has a positive effect on our mental health.

There are a variety of physical activities that have different effects upon us. Depending on the results you want, choosing an appropriate exercise regimen is of paramount importance. Even if you don’t have time or feel that you can’t do it, doing a little is much better than doing none. As you start to feel the benefits you are likely going to want to increase your level of activity.

This kind of activity, which includes resistance training and lifting weights, causes the body’s muscles to work or hold against an applied force or weight. These activities often involve relatively heavy objects, such as weights, which are lifted multiple times to train various muscle groups. Muscle-strengthening activity can also be done by using elastic bands or body weight for resistance (climbing a tree or doing push-ups, for example).

strength training

Of course you can visit the gym and use free weights or machines to work various muscle groups. Strength training is something that can be done without incurring any cost. Even in your house you can do things like push-ups and abdominal work that doesn’t take much time nor cost you a penny.

Going to the gym gives you a much wider choice of the types of exercises you can do so it is worth going to find out if it is something you enjoy. Training at a gym can become very addictive. Community sports centers are often much cheaper than private gyms so if money is an issue, it is worth spending the time to discover the places that offer best value.

aerobic training

Again one needn’t spend anything to do aerobic exercise. Walking and jogging are two perfect examples of things you can try if you want to increase your general health. Rather than worrying about how fast you walk or run a certain distance, it might be worth considering simply picking a time, e.g. 15 minutes, that you will jog for and over time gradually increase the duration of your exercise. Rather than looking for easy fast weight lose shortcuts, focussing on consistently taking a bit of exercise a day will pay off over the long run. Not only will loosing weight be possible but exercise makes us feel better too. Research suggests that it is the time spent exercising as opposed to the intensity of the exercise that offers greatest health benefits.

Considered in conjunction with available dietary guidelines the physical activity guidelines are an excellent way to improve your overall health and fitness.

dietary guidelines

Dietary guidelines for Americans 2005 is a very interesting report discussing all manner of suggestions for our diets. It is a long and detailed document although well worth spending some time with if you are at all concerned about the health, or not, of your current diet. It details the relationship between health and food.

The report is published jointly between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services every five years and has been since 1980. The dietary guidelines are not for babies but provide information on dietary goals, making our diets better and how to improve health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Chapter 5 discusses Food groups to encourage. It provides a detailed discussion of why foods we know are good for us, like fruit and vegetables, are in fact good for us. The report also suggests what quantities of fruit, vegetables, dairy and whole grain produce we should be consuming in our diets.

It tells us that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables reduces our risk of chronic diseases such as strokes and other cardiovascular diseases as well as specific types of diabetes and cancers. Everyone knows eating lots of fruit and vegetables in our diet is a good thing. We all know it will make us feel healthy and improve our vitality. But we’re still not doing it! The dietary guidelines simply suggest replacing low density nutrient food with higher quality nutrient dense foods.

The paper goes on to outline what nutrients come from which foods. So variety of fruit and vegetables is as important as quantity. It is a great resource to help you create a healthy diet plan.

If you think of your body as an engine, surely you’d want to put give it the highest quality gas. I know I do.

Eating a better diet has a variety of beneficial effects upon our health. One of the most important for me is simply feeling good, feeling energetic, feeling alive.

Healthy diets are a great way to improve the quality of your life without recourse to medications, treatments and therapy.

Reference: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005