What are Low GI foods?

Glycaemic Index (GI) is a numerical system developed to measure how fast a carbohydrate triggers a rise in blood sugar level. So, foods that do not rapidly raise your blood sugar level are known as low glycemic foods.
Since low glycemic foods have a gradual effect on blood sugar levels, they are ideal for people with diabetes, hypoglycemia, and anyone attempting to lose weight.
Low GI diet benefits include weight loss, increased sensitivity to insulin, improved diabetic control, reduced risk of heart disease, healthier blood cholesterol levels, increased energy and stamina.
Everyone should try to cultivate the habit of consuming low GI foods in other to reduce their risk of developing diabetes melitus. Below are some foods with low GI which are readily available.

Tips on healthy eating this Holiday

The holidays are packed with celebrations, but for many of us, the colder weather discourages outdoor workout routines, our stress levels are high and we may be getting less sleep than usual.
Combined, all of this can lead to weight gain over the holiday season.
In a 2000 study of 195 adults, 14% gained over 5 pounds in the 6-week period from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. While most participants gained 1 pound or less during the study - which does not seem like much - this weight is usually never lost and accumulates year after year.
The researchers found that 51% of most people's weight gain over a 12-month period occurred during the holiday season.
Here are some tips on how to prevent or reduce the rate of weight gain;
Indulge in your favorites, skip the rest
If one of your favorite parts of the holiday season is your grandmother's famous sugar cookies, you need not put them off limits. Allow yourself to have a cookie, enjoy it and move on. But do not feel bad about skipping Aunt Betty's fruitcake that you never really liked anyway.
When at a dinner party or buffet, survey the entire table before making a plate. Decide on one or two dishes that are worth indulging in, and eat in moderation. Fill the rest of your plate with vegetables, fruits or lean protein.
Add varieties to your diet
Contributing with your own healthy dish can add variety to traditionally unhealthy choices.
When eating out at a restaurant, decide ahead of time whether you will treat yourself to an appetizer, an alcoholic beverage or dessert. Allow yourself to have one, but not all three. If your dinner party or reservation is later than you would normally eat dinner, make sure to have a small snack with protein and fiber before leaving the house so you are less likely to overindulge when you get there. An apple and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or a string cheese and a few whole grain crackers would be good choices.
Never go to a party feeling hungry. Sip a glass of water in between every glass of wine, eggnog or other alcoholic beverage.
If you are worried there will not be any healthy options available, make sure to bring your own healthy dish that you (and everyone else) will enjoy.
Keep a food diary. If you have a smartphone, use an app like My Fitness Pal to stay on track of your intake. This will help you to stay realistic. Keep in mind the amount of exercise needed to burn off your indulgences. One 300-calorie cookie takes 60 minutes of walking for a 150-pound person to burn off.
Do not skip meals
If you think skipping breakfast or lunch will save you calories, think again. When you skip a meal, you are more likely to overeat twofold at your next meal.
It is especially important to not skip breakfast in preparation for a party or event, because if you do not eat within a few hours of waking, your metabolism fails to start and your body will hold on to and store fat for energy as a survival mechanism.
Stay active
If your normal exercise routine involved outdoor activities that simply do not agree with the winter weather/dry weather in Africa, now is the time to find a new one you enjoy indoors. Contact gyms in your area (or where you are traveling) and see if they offer a week-long free trial.
Try new classes like cycling, hot yoga or aqua sculpt. Keep trying until you find an instructor or class structure that you enjoy. Find a friend to play racquetball with or join an indoor basketball or volleyball league. Sign up for a spring 10K, triathlon or adventure race that requires you to train through the winter. The key is to find an activity that you look forward to. If running on a treadmill is not enjoyable for you, skip it. Maybe you would enjoy a Zumba or hip-hop dance class instead.
Adjust your focus
Focus on maintaining your weight and not gaining during the holidays, instead of losing. Count it as a victory if you are still fitting into your favorite jeans by February.
Make new traditions
If most of your current traditions focus around food, make new ones. Round up the family and go out for a walk or get involved in a local Christmas concert. Take dance lessons or get craft and make your own holiday decorations. Take old family recipes and revamp them to make them healthier.
Replace white flour with whole grain or replace oil and lard with applesauce and Greek yogurt. At gatherings, take advantage of seeing those you do not get to see often; talk more and eat less.

References:

"Healthy eating during the holiday season" by Megan Ware, RDN, LD, registered Dietitian and Nutritionist.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269577.php

Phytochemicals; Lycopene

Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties. They are nonessential nutrients, meaning that they are not required by the human body for sustaining life. It is well-known that plant produce these chemicals to protect themselves but recent research demonstrate that they can also protect humans against diseases. There are more than thousand known phytochemicals. Some of the well-known phytochemicals are lycopene in tomatoes, isoflavones in soy and flavanoids in fruits. But for today's publication, let's talk about Lycopene.
Lycopene is a very efficient antioxidant, which can neutralize oxygen derived free radicals. The oxidative damage caused by these free radicals has been linked to many degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, premature aging, cancer and cataracts. In many countries it is legally allowed to advertise foods containing tomato lycopene as "containing antioxidants for the maintenance and support of healthy cells". Lycopene is generally known for its protective action against prostate cancer. This is one of the reasons why tomatoes juice is being said to be good for the body.
Anti-cancer: In vitro-studies have shown the anti-cancer properties of lycopene against many cancer cells, including cancer cells of prostate, stomach, lung, colon and skin. There are numerous studies about the effect of lycopene on cancer and prostate cancer in particular. Using Pubmed as a retrieval base, more than 80 scientific studies have the names lycopene and prostate in their title. Most of the in-vitro experiments using cultured prostate cancer cells demonstrate a protective effect. However, most literature review studies or clinical studies are less conclusive and often contradictory. Lycopene also shows antimutagenic action against chemically induced DNA damage. 
Antibacterial and antifungal: Lycopene possesses antibacterial and antifungal properties. Lycopene can help to reduce inflammation of the gums and can help to fight infections of Candida albicans. 
Diabetes: Diabetes patients may suffer from complications as vascular disease, diabetic neuropathies or infections. Lycopene helps to protect diabetes patients against cardiovascular disease and may improve the immune response. However, the consumption of lycopene seems not to reduce the risk of diabetes mellitus type 2. 
Arteriosclerosis: Lycopene inhibits platelet aggregation and reduces the production of foam cells which play an important role in the development of arteriosclerosis . Lycopene helps to prevent arteriosclerosis by reducing inflammatory agents in rats increased risk of venous thrombosis. 
Antitoxic: In laboratory conditions, lycopene shows antitoxic properties against many toxins such as  aflatoxin, cyclosporine and cadmium.
Source: Lycopene is the red pigment of ripe tomatoes. Lycopene is also found in guava, pink grapefruit, red oranges and watermelon.

Reference:

Basic Nutrition; a lecture compilation by Ana Marie M. Somoray RND

What are phytochemicals?
www.phytochemicals.info

Common foods that can help keep your Heart Healthy

Heart related diseases are now getting as common as the occurrence of flu or cold in the society today. Over 50% of Nigerians are at risk of heart related diseases. There has also been a significant increase in the prevalence of heart attack (from 25% to 40%). People care about building up the muscles of other parts of their bodies and even consume special diets for this but forgets the most important muscle in the body which is the Heart. I'm going to be talking on common foods that are friendly or should I say beneficial to the heart. These foods can helps reduce your chances of having heart related diseases.

20 great health benefits of exercise II

Here are the remaining ten benefits of exercise.
11. Exercise has anti-ageing effects
Exercise enhances blood flow to the brain, possibly reducing risk of stroke. It also improves reasoning and memory.
Regular exercise arouses the brain and slows down degeneration of the central nervous system, which leads to slower reaction times and poorer coordination.
Exercise also increases strength and size of muscles and improves lung function. Regular exercise can reduce body fat and lower the risk of chronic lifestyle diseases in the elderly. Recent literature suggests that the greatest threat to health is not the aging process itself, but rather inactivity.
12. Exercise promotes brain health
If you thought exercising your brain meant only doing a few crossword puzzles or learning a language, you may be wrong – rather put on your walking shoes and get moving. This was the finding of researchers from the University of Illinois.
Their study found that the brain responses in active seniors were comparable to those of young adults.
It is thought that exercise increases the flow of blood to the brain, just as it improves circulation to the heart and the rest of the body. Activity also stimulates the growth of nerve cells in the part of the brain involved in memory.
13. Exercise is great for your sex life
The medical research points towards it: the fitter you are, the better your sex life is.
The reason seems to be two-fold: psychologically you feel better about yourself and more inclined towards sex, and physically, being fit improves libido, blood circulation and sexual functioning.
It has been said before that the brain may be the most important sexual organ. This is because stressed, anxious and depressed people are usually unable to enjoy a healthy sex life. Additionally, people with a bad body image do not feel good about their bodies and often avoid sex or are unable to truly enjoy it.
According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), being physically active can be “a natural Viagra boost”. “Men and women who exercise regularly are going to have increased levels of desire. They’re going to have enhanced confidence, enhanced ability to achieve orgasm and greater sexual satisfaction,” says Cedric Bryant, the council’s chief exercise physiologist.
14. Exercise improves sleeping patterns
Relaxation exercises will help you to ease tension and relieve headaches, backaches and insomnia. Exercise releases the body's own painkillers, called endorphins, into your system. It also helps you to gain a sense of emotional wellbeing and a feeling of being more in control.
Exercise during the day promotes the onset and quality of sleep, according to the South African Memory Resource Centre. But you need to exercise at the right time: the ideal time for exercise is in the morning. Exercising late in the day can contribute to sleeplessness, because exercise causes an increase in your body's energy.
15. Exercise combats impotence
If you stop and think about it, it makes sense - increased circulation as a result of exercise should result in lower levels of impotence, as getting an erection is dependent on the efficiency of blood circulating to the penis.
"Losing weight, stopping smoking and doing more exercise are associated with better sexual health," says Dr Andrew McCullough, director of Male Sexual Health, Fertility and Microsurgery at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "We talk so much about treating, treating, treating. Here we're beginning to see an increasing body of evidence that we can modify the appearance of this by changing lifestyle."
16. Exercise helps prevent stroke
Need another reason to make good on that long overdue promise to get more exercise? It can dramatically cut your risk of stroke.
"Highly active" people had a 27 percent lower risk of having a stroke or dying if they had one, compared with sedentary folks. And people who were "moderately active" had a 20 percent lower risk.
These findings are based on a review of 23 international studies that appear in the October issue of the journal Stroke, the Associated Press reports.
Jogging 15 to 20 minutes a day most days would qualify as highly active. Brisk walks of 30 minutes a day on most days would qualify as moderate activity, the AP says.
17. Exercise is good for mind and soul
In a synopsis on “Exercise, Fitness and Mental Health” (1990), sports psychologist D.R. Brown summarised the possible beneficial effects that exercise has on mental health. These include the following:
Exercise may act as a temporary diversion to daily stresses.
Exercise provides an opportunity for social interaction that may otherwise be lacking in an individual’s life.
Exercise provides an opportunity for self-mastery. Increasing fitness or improving body composition and other health parameters may improve an individual’s self-esteem.
Increased core temperature during exercise may lead to reduced muscle tension or alterations to brain neurotransmitters.
Mood improvements may occur due to the increased secretion of endogenous (internal) opiates e.g. endorphins
Psychological changes may occur due to alterations in norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin, all hormones which can affect mood and anxiety level.
18. Exercise improves oxygen and nutrient supply to all cells in your body.
An American study indicates that ‘80-plus-ers’ can dramatically improve their health by exercising a few times a week. If this is true for elderly people, it certainly is for the younger set as well.
Exercise improves the body's utilisation of oxygen, and lowers systolic blood pressure (high pressure is a dangerous condition common in elderly people).
Positive results were obtained from the 22 elderly people (80 years and older) who took part in the study at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Michigan.
19. Exercise allows you to improve muscle strength, joint structure and joint function
Strengthening exercises increase not only muscle strength and mass, but also bone strength, and the body's metabolism.
A certain level of muscle strength is needed to function every day and do things such as walking and climbing stairs. Strengthening exercises increase this muscle strength by putting more strain on a muscle than it is normally accustomed to receiving. This increased load stimulates the growth of proteins inside each muscle cell that allow the muscle as a whole to contract.
Exercise can promote joint health for everyone, but particularly for people who suffer from arthritis. Arthritis is a general term for over 100 different conditions that cause pain, stiffness and often inflammation in one or more joints. Exercise can reduce some arthritis symptoms and improve joint mobility and strength.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Normally, the two bones of a joint are cushioned with a strong flexible tissue called cartilage. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage deteriorates, causing pain and stiffness.
Cartilage doesn't have a blood supply; it relies on synovial fluid moving in and out of the joint to nourish it and take away waste products. Exercise helps this process.
20. Exercise helps to manage arthritis
Regular, intensive exercise for patients with rheumatoid arthritis builds muscle strength and aerobic capacity, improves the ability to do daily tasks and fosters a sense of well-being.
That's the conclusion of a study by Dutch researchers who tracked 300 people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for two years. About half the patients participated in a one-hour exercise regimen twice weekly; the rest received traditional treatment, including physical therapy, if prescribed by their physicians.
The findings, appearing in journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, suggest high-intensity exercise programmes can benefit many RA patients, says researcher Dr Thea Vlieland of Leiden University Medical Centre.
The positive effects on muscle strength and aerobic capacity could be translated into an improvement in the activities of daily living, and this is what really makes a difference in your life, Vlieland says.

Ten brain damaging acts!

You could be damaging your brain without knowing it, these ten acts which some of us are guilty of could be depriving you of getting the optimal use of your brain.

Reasons why you should avoid instant noodles!

Consumption of instant noodles have increased in recent years due to busy working schedule of people. Instant noodles always seems to be the easiest option to satisfy their empty tummy. Have you ever thought, does this actually fulfill your body’s daily requirement of essential nutrients? Is this easy option also healthy for you or your kid? The answer to these questions is that we should avoid instant noodles due to many reasons. The following are some of them: