Summertime superfoods: Best foods to beat the heat

Staying hydrated is a key component of healthful living, as water comprises approximately 60% of our body weight. However, as we get older—and as the weather gets warmer in summer—it can become more difficult to stay hydrated. As we age, mechanisms for triggering fluid intake (i.e., feeling thirsty) weaken, and water retention capability changes, which can lead to serious consequences.

According to the Mayo Clinic, dehydration, which occurs when you lose more fluid than you consume, can lead to severe complications including heat injury (such as heat exhaustion or the more severe heatstroke), swelling in the brain, seizures, kidney failure and shock. Dehydration can even affect your mood, energy levels, ability to focus, alertness, and short-term memory.

The best treatment for dehydration is prevention; by drinking water and other fluids throughout the day, especially after strenuous activity or profuse sweating, staying hydrated during summer is a snap.

6 super-hydrating fruits and vegetables

But drinking water isn’t the only way to keep your fluid levels high. While warm summer weather makes hydration all the more important, it also means an abundance of super hydrating fruits and vegetables that can contribute to your fluid intake and give you a boost of nutrients to boot! Check out the list below for some ideas as to what to pick up on your next grocery run.

Cucumbers 
At approximately 96% water, it’s no wonder that juicy, crunchy cucumbers are hydrating. Toss sliced cucumbers on a salad or add them to a pitcher of water for a refreshing burst of hydration. Grate cucumbers and mix with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and dill to make a tasty tzatziki dip for fresh veggies and pita chips.

Celery

Celery is well known for being mostly water (and rightly so, at 95%), but this crunchy vegetable also packs a phytonutrient punch and supports digestive tract health due to its high fiber content. Cut celery stalks into sticks to dip in hummus or tzatziki, top with peanut butter and raisins for a classic snack, or add to a chopped salad for extra crunch.

Spinach

A good source of vitamins A and K, phytonutrients, such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenols, as well as iron, fresh spinach is also 92% water. Use spinach as the base for a summer salad, add to green juices, or pack leaves into a sandwich.

Tomatoes

A true summer fruit, tomatoes are 94% water and, like spinach and broccoli, are high in phytonutrients. In addition, tomatoes contain beta-carotene and lycopene, two antioxidants that have both been linked to prostate cancer prevention and may help reduce damage caused by sun exposure. Add tomatoes to salads, blend with other vegetables to make a refreshing salsa or gazpacho, or dice and toss with basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil for a tasty bruschetta mix.

Grapefruit

Known for its high vitamin C content, tart grapefruit boosts immune function and may reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels. At 91% water, grapefruit is especially refreshing in hot summer weather. Peel, segment, and toss in a salad, juice and enjoy, or make grapefruit lemonade.
Grapefruit is contraindicated for consumption with many medications, so check your medication labels or ask your doctor before adding grapefruit to your diet.

Watermelon

Last but not least, watermelon, at 92% water, is a summer staple. Watermelon contains lycopene, vitamin C, and beta-carotene, to name but a few nutrients. However, to reap the most antioxidant goodness from this melon, allow watermelon to ripen fully before consuming. Puree chilled watermelon and add to lemonade for a refreshing beverage, slice and eat, or arrange with basil and feta cheese for a refreshing salad.
While staying hydrated in summer is crucial, there’s no reason it can’t also be fun. In addition to drinking water, fruits and vegetables like those listed above are a great way to keep your fluid levels high and sneak in some extra nutrients.

Source: https://www.healthwaysfit.com

Cool Down With A Hot Drink? It's Not As Crazy As You Think

Urban myth or scientific fact: does drinking hot drinks on a scorching summer's day really cool you down? Well, scientists do say sweating is the best way to stay cool.




It's 40 degrees Celcius and oppressively humid. You pull yourself up from your sweat-drenched chair and head to the kitchen … to brew yourself a nice steaming hot mug of tea.
Sounds a bit wrong doesn't it? Most of us would be more likely to reach into the fridge for a cold drink. But plenty of people in India apparently sip hot tea to stay cool in the warmer months. Are they crazy, or can a hot drink actually cool you down?
In some circumstances it might, scientists say, because it could trigger a level of sweating that may more than compensate for the added heat of the drink.
But it would depend on a lot of things, including the temperature of your hot drink, how much you consume, and the temperature and humidity of your immediate environment.

Cool theory behind hot drinks

Drinking a hot drink on a hot day might seem like a strange choice, but it's likely to cause only a very tiny blip in your core body temperature, says Professor Robin McAllen a neuroscientist at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Victoria.
That's because the amount of hot fluid in say a cup of tea is relatively small compared to the amount of fluid in an adult's body, McAllen says. (The same goes for the cooling effect of a cold drink.)
However, drinking hot tea still activates temperature sensors that trigger sweating. And sweating is a key mechanism our body uses to cool us down.
The University of Sydney's Dr Ollie Jay, who researches how the human body responds to heat, says a hot drink can indeed trigger a net cooling effect through excess sweating.
But there is a crucial caveat: the sweat needs to be able to evaporate to produce a cooling effect.
If it doesn't, and the extra sweat just drips on the ground, then you are no better off.
In other words, if you're exercising hard or in a very hot and humid environment where you're sweating more quickly than it can evaporate, it wouldn't be wise to increase your sweat rate further by having a hot drink. You'd be better off sticking to a cold one.
" If you drink a cold drink that's colder than your body, you'll shunt some heat into that fluid to warm it up," Jay explains.
"You lose heat to the fluid, and that's good because it increases the overall amount of heat you lose.
"The trouble is, it is compensated [for] by us reducing the amount we sweat onto the skin surface," he says.
It turns out when you consume a hot drink, you produce much more sweat relative to the small amount of heat added to the body.
"If all of that sweat can evaporate, then I am better off with a hot drink," says Jay.

Icy cold can make us hotter

Jay and his colleagues have just completed a study, not yet published, looking at slushies, drinks made of finely crushed ice.
Interestingly, they found that drinking an icy drink can make you hotter than a drink that's 37 degrees C, our normal body temperature.
This is because the icy drink is so cold it may shut down the body's sweating mechanism to the extent your body ends up storing more heat.
"With the slushy, because the stimulation for reducing sweating is so strong, we actually seem to over-compensate," says Jay.
"The reduction in evaporation of sweat from the skin is greater than the extra heat you shunt into the slushy to warm it up inside your body."
 

So what to drink?

So what sort of drink should you reach for on a hot day?
A hot drink is okay as long as the extra sweat it causes can evaporate.
"If it's hot and you do want to drink a hot drink and you don't mind sweating, then you could drink it with a cold fan blowing on you to help the sweat evaporate," Jay suggests.
But the best advice is to drink fluids at a temperature that's most palatable to you, says Jay.
That's because most of us don't drink enough when it's hot, yet we need to if we are to avoid dehydration and ultimately the onset of heat-related illness or increase in cardiovascular strain.
"Not many people are going to want to drink one-to-two litres of hot fluids but drinking one-to-two litres of cold fluids is a lot easier," says Jay.

 

Sources: http://www.pubfacts.com/detail/, http://sydney.edu.au/health-sciences/, http://www.abc.net.au/

Your Food: 8 things you didn’t know about what you’re eating

How much salt is in your Kraft Dinner, how much vitamin C is packed into an orange, and what nutrients are you getting from your kale salad?
There are superfoods and then there are processed goods. Here are eight things you didn’t know about what’s on your plate and in your fridge and pantry.

Source: http://globalnews.ca/

Cold weather may spur weight loss

Feeling the January chill? Well, being cold isn't all bad. Scientists have found that exposing yourself to cold temperatures regularly could speed up weight loss.

It turns out there just might really be a way to burn calories more efficiently without slaving away at the gym or (god forbid) turning down dessert. The trick barely takes any effort: Just step outdoors or lower your thermostat, and you could be golden — if the newest research from the Center for Integrative Metabolic and Endocrine Research at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, checks out. 

To get how all this works, you need to know a bit about fat: When you eat more calories than you burn, your body stores the leftovers as white or brown fat, explains James Granneman, Ph.D., a scientist at Wayne State University who co-authored the new research. White fat can accumulate in your tissues, cause inflammation, and mess with your health, while brown fat creates energy more efficiently, generates heat, and excretes a mix of hormones that further promote energy metabolism. Because of this, it's in your best interest to have more brown fat than white fat.

To figure out what controls that brown-to-white fat ratio, Granneman and his colleagues assessed the body fat of mice before and after exposing them to 40-degrees Fahrenheit temperatures for one week straight. To put this in perspective, that's the temperature of the average refrigerator.

The cold temperatures favored brown fat and made white fat act a little more like brown fat, according to Granneman. The likely culprit is adrenaline, the same hormone and neurotransmitter that your body spews out when you're scared. (Which makes sense — just thinking about spending a week in a Sub-Zero is enough to scare anyone shitless.)

Even if you could handle a week in near-freezing temperatures, which you'd need to do to give your brown fat a leg up, it probably wouldn't boost your calorie burn enough to significantly affect your weight (or your health), says Granneman, who co-authored human research on the topic. But scientists are still digging around for ways to enhance the benefits of brown fat, he adds.

The bottom line is that all fat isn't equally bad — and that while winter weather is a bitch, chilly temperatures could, at least in theory, help your fat behave (even just a bit).

Take fitness outdoors this winter

Winter activities are a great way to mix up your fitness program and beat the winter blues. Get creative this winter and even if you can’t get to the gym, add fun new activities that your whole family can enjoy.
To make the most of your winter workouts, begin by changing your attitude toward the cold. With some planning, appropriate clothing and a spirit of adventure, winter outdoor fitness can be fun and effective.
Go out and play: Whether you have children or just act like a child, play is good for your heart and soul. Building a snowman is functional training and builds mobility and strength. Depending on how big you build it, you may burn as many calories as weightlifting or jogging. The bigger the snowman the more strength benefits you get. A vigorous snowball fight will burn up calories and work your whole body. And if you’re not into these activities, make snow angels. It’s good for flexibility and will elevate your heart rate.

Take up a winter sport: Skating is a fantastic non-impact cardiovascular sport. An outdoor skate feels invigorating without impact. If your joints can’t take running; skating and cross-country skiing are great alternatives. These gliding activities train balance, mobility and co-ordination. Cross-country skiing is one of the best calorie burning activities, as it requires both upper and lower body in the movement. If you don’t know how, don’t worry as these activities are easy to learn.
When the snow falls, snowshoeing is one activity that burns mega calories and is an excellent cardiovascular sport, burning equivalent or higher calories then running depending on your intensity and the snow conditions. Snowshoeing is one of the fastest growing winter sports. Not only is it an amazing fitness activity, it is convenient and easy to learn. If you can walk you can snowshoe.
Snowshoeing is great conditioning for running. Snowshoes add resistance, yet there is less impact to the joints. In fact, research shows that runners who substituted snowshoeing in the winter improved their running fitness over those who chose running as their primary activity.
Tobogganing is another healthy winter activity. Pulling a sled up hill will raise your heart rate and strengthen the upper and lower body. In fact, many of the top trainers are recommending sled pulling as an excellent cardiovascular workout. Instead of pulling a sled indoors, take it back to its origin and see amazing results. Plus you get the exhilaration of sliding downhill at rapid speeds.
Decreased motivation and feelings of sadness are common in the winter. Getting outdoors and catching even an hour of daylight can raise the spirits. Physical exercise stimulates the release of endorphins that gives you an overall feeling of well-being.
Remember when your parents used to send you outdoors to get some “fresh air?” Well, there is something to be said about this wise tale. Getting outdoors in the fresh air is good for your respiratory system. Being locked indoors with re-circulated air can cause headaches and congestion. Stepping outside and going for a walk can relieve headaches and help you breathe more easily.

While there are many great ways to workout outdoors this winter, be sure to always stay safe. Here are some safety tips to keep in mind:
1. — Dress for the weather. Layer your clothing to accommodate for the changing environment from cold to hot as you work out.
2. — Wear reflective clothing and avoid black. With darkness in the morning and early evening protect yourself by being seen.
3. — Keep your feet, hands and head warm, as this is where you lose the most heat. Cover up with appropriate winter gear.
4. — Wear shoes with good traction to avoid slipping.
5. — Find a workout buddy or let someone know you are going outdoors. You never know what can happen and you want to be sure someone knows where you are in case of an emergency.
6. — Carry a cellphone and don’t go out alone in the wilderness. Always check in with the park warden.
7. — Bring water and snacks. Even though you may not feel like you are sweating, you are still expending energy and dehydrating from exercise.
Change your perspective and get excited this winter about fitness. Winter activities are exhilarating and good for your health. Embrace the season and wrap up your winter fitness activity with a cup of dark chocolate milk.

Source: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/; http://calgaryherald.com/

5 aids to help in post-holiday detoxing

Your liver and other organs need a boost after the overindulgence of the holidays. Here are five items you should stock up on to kickstart your wellbeing in 2015.

After the holidays — with their traditional onslaught of stuffing, gravy, and mountains of chocolate — our bodies are begging for a detox. When it comes to shedding water weight and eliminating toxins, we rely on the liver and other organs, and there are several ways to give them a boost. Here are a few ingredients to be sure to include in your diet over the coming days to start 2015 on the right foot.

Herbal teas and tinctures
Health food stores are the first place to go when the need for a detox sets in, as they offer natural products known to help the body eliminate toxins. Some classic detox aids include tinctures and teas made with rosemary, artichoke, burdock, dandelion, black radish, peppermint, lavender or lemon essential oil.

Water, water and more water
After a period of excess, water is one of your best allies when it comes to flushing out the system. Particularly while attempting to detox, it is important to drink around 50 to 70 fluid ounces of water per day (1.5 to 2 liters). Drinking H2O helps to promote better digestion and, somewhat counter intuitively, to shed water weight. To reap even more benefits, choose bottled mineral water that is rich in calcium and magnesium and low in sodium.

The lemon method
There is one ingredient people around the world swear by after overindulging during the holidays: lemon. Adding lemon juice to a large bottle of water and drinking it throughout the day helps regulate the digestive system and stimulate the elimination of toxins. Of course, lemon juice can also be added to food as a light salad dressing, for example.

Seasonal fruit
Rich in vitamins and water, pineapple, grapefruit, apple, orange and lemon are ideal detox aids when eaten raw before and (especially) after a meal.

Green vegetables instead of starch
Instead of mashed potatoes or white pasta, fill your plate with green vegetables in the weeks following the holidays. A diet rich in herbs, lettuces, kale and cabbage — as well as onions and garlic — can help the body eliminate toxins while replenishing vitamins and minerals. While any detox diet should also include a few whole grains in moderation, avoid white starches as well as all forms of processed sugar, alcohol, coffee and dairy products.

To get a jump start on your health this year, try my post-holiday detox smoothie recipe below:

Ingredients
2 cups kale
2 cups spinach
1/3 of a cucumber
½ an apple
1-inch slice of ginger
1 frozen banana
3 tbsp hemp hearts
Juice of ½ a lemon
3 cups water
Directions
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend!
Makes 2 servings.

Per serving:  Calories 211 / Calories from fat 62 / Total fat 6.9 g / Saturated fat 1 g /  Cholesterol 0 mg / Sodium 70 mg / Total carbohydrates 31 g / Fibre 7 g / Sugar 13 g / Protein 9 g

Sources: http://www.nydailynews.com/ ; http://www.chatelaine.com/health

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Sharing with you easy last minute ideas to decorate your Christmas table...

10 Superfoods Healthier Than Kale

 

In the world of marketing, image is everything. If you’re James Franco or Roger Federer or Taylor Swift, your name and face can be used to sell anything from phones to watches to perfume—even if you’re not necessarily famous for the your tech-savvy, your promptness, or the way you smell.  

In the food world, the biggest celebrity of all might be kale—the Shakira of salads, the Lady Gaga of leafy greens. It’s universally recognized that kale anything—kale chips, kale pesto, kale face cream—instantly imparts a health halo. Even 7-Eleven is making over its image by offering kale cold-pressed juices. And yes, kale has plenty of benefits—including high levels of folate and more calcium, gram for gram, than a cup of milk. (It’s head and shoulders above these items found in our Eat This, Not That! Special Report: “Health” Foods Worse for You Than a Donut.)

Still, kale’s actually not the healthiest green on the block. In fact, in a recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control that ranked 47 “powerhouse fruits and vegetables,” kale placed only 15th (with 49.07 points out of 100 for nutrient density)! Here’s a roundup of the 10 leafy green cousins that researchers say pack a greater nutritional wallop. Read ’em, eat ’em, and reap the benefits.  

 SUPERFOOD #10 Collard Greens

Nutrition Score: 62.49

A staple vegetable of Southern U.S. cuisine, collard greens also boast incredible cholesterol-lowering benefits — especially when steamed. A recent study published in the journal Nutrition Research compared the effectiveness of the prescription drug Cholestyramine to steamed collards. Incredibly, the collards improved the body’s cholesterol-blocking process by 13 percent more than the drug! Of course, that won’t do you any good if you insist on serving them with ham hocks.

SUPERFOOD #9 Romaine Lettuce

Nutrition Score: 63.48

Even more so than its cousin kale, the humble Romaine lettuce packs high levels of folic acid, a water-soluble form of Vitamin B that’s proven to boost male fertility. A study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility found supplemental folic acid to significantly increase sperm counts. Get the man in your life to start craving Caesar salads, and you may soon have a baby Julius on board. (Ladies, this green packs health benefits for you, too! Folate also plays a role in battling depression, so change out your kale for Romaine and, while you’re at it, stock up on these other 8 Foods That Boost Your Mood.)

SUPERFOOD #8 Parsley

Nutrition Score: 65.59

Yes, that leafy garnish that sits on the side of your plate—the one they throw away after you eat the rest of your meal—is a quiet superfood, so packed with nutrients that even that one sprig can go a long way toward meeting your daily requirement for vitamin K. Moreover, research suggests the summer-y aroma and flavor of chopped parsley may help control your appetite. A study in the journal Flavour found participants ate significantly less of a dish that smelled strongly of spice than a mildly scented version of the same food. Adding herbs, like parsley, creates the sensory illusion that you’re indulging in something rich—without adding any fat or calories to your plate.

SUPERFOOD #7 Leaf Lettuce

Nutrition Score: 70.73

The nutritional Clark Kent of the salad bar, this common and unsuspecting leafy green is ready to take its place among the superfoods. Two generous cups of lettuce provides 100 percent of your daily vitamin K requirement for strong, healthy bones. A report from the Nurses’ Health Study suggests that women who eat a serving of lettuce every day cut the risk of hip fracture by 30 percent than when compared with eating just one serving a week.

SUPERFOOD #6 Chicory

Nutrition Score: 73.36

Chicory is a family of bitter greens, but its most well-known member is radicchio, the small red or purple leaf that comes in a head about the size of a softball. It’s one of the best dietary sources of polyphenols—powerful micronutrients that serve a role in preventing disease. A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that people who consume 650 mg a day of polyphenols have a 30 percent chance at living longer than those who consume less than that. A cup of chicory leaves clocks in at about 235 mg (double that of spinach!), so consider adding a little leafy red into your leafy greens.

SUPERFOOD #5 Spinach

Nutrition Score: 86.43

Spinach is to kale what Michael Jordan is to LeBron James—the once unrivaled king now overshadowed by the hot new thing. But like MJ, spinach has a few more championship rings than its more current rival—primarily its position as a top source of biceps-building iron. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a 180 gram serving of boiled spinach provides 6.43 mg of the muscle mineral—that’s more than a 6 oz hamburger patty! Recent research also suggest compounds in the leaf membranes called thylakoids may serve as a powerful appetite suppressant. A recently published long-term study at Lund University in Sweden found that having a drink containing thylakoids before breakfast could significantly reduce cravings and promote weight loss. On average, the women who took the spinach extract lost 5.5 pounds more than the placebo group over the course of three months. 

SUPERFOOD #4 Beet Greens

Nutrition Score: 87.08

Yes, the stuff they cut off and throw in the garbage before charging you an arm and a leg for “beet salad.” A scant cup of the bitter green serves up nearly 5 grams of fiber—that’s more than you’ll find in a bowl of Quaker oats! Researchers at the University of Leeds found that risk of cardiovascular disease was significantly lower for every 7 grams of fiber consumed. Try them in stir frys and eat to your heart’s content!

SUPERFOOD #3 Chard

Nutrition Score: 89.27

Chard. Sounds like “burnt.” It’s not as fun a name to drop as, say, “broccolini,” but it might be your best defense against diabetes. Recent research has shown that these powerhouse leaves contain at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants, including anthocyanins–anti-inflammatory compounds that could offer protection from type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of East Anglia analyzed questionnaires and blood samples of about 2,000 people and found that those with the highest dietary intakes of anthocyanins had lower insulin resistance and better blood glucose regulation.

SUPERFOOD #2 Chinese Cabbage

Nutrition Score: 91.99

Taking the silver medal in the powerfood Olympics is Chinese cabbage, also called Napa or celery cabbage. Rich sources of highly available calcium and iron, cruciferous vegetables like the cabbage have the powerful ability to “turn off” inflammation markers thought to promote heart disease. In a study of more than 1,000 Chinese women, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, those who ate the most cruciferous vegetables (about 1.5 cups per day) had 13 percent less inflammation than those who ate the fewest.

SUPERFOOD #1 Watercress

Nutrition Score: 100

The top dog, the unrivaled champion, the chairman of the cutting board, watercress may also be the closest thing yet to a true anti-aging food. Gram for gram this mild-tasting and flowery-looking green contains four times more beta carotene than an apple, and a whopping 238 percent of your daily recommended dose of vitamin K per 100 grams — two compounds that keep skin dewy and youthful. The beauty food is also the richest dietary source of PEITC (phenylethyl isothiocyanate), which research suggests can fight cancer. Results from an eight-week trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest daily supplementation of 85 grams of raw watercress (that’s about two cups) could reduce DMA damage linked to cancer by 17 percent. Exposure to heat may inactivate PEITC, so it’s best to enjoy watercress raw in salads, cold-pressed juices, and sandwiches.

Source:  https://www.yahoo.com/health/