Here in the technology and information age, we have more knowledge and advancements than ever before in history. Sixty years ago, who would have ever thought that you could send an instant message over a phone, let alone take a picture with it? Sixty years ago, who would have thought we would be capable of sending a man to the moon, but fail the war on obesity and cancer?

Isn’t it oddly shocking that America is so well-advanced in everything except health and fitness? While the fitness industry tells us to count calories and exercise for fat loss, we grow fatter and fatter as a nation.

Running parallel to the fitness industry is the fast food chains, doing their best to keep on the top of “healthy eating” trend. It seems the fast-food industry can tailor to anyone’s dieting needs with “fat-free,” “low-calorie,” and “low-carb” menu items.

Today, fast food is considered a normal eating venture among the average person. People aren’t just eating out on special occasions or weekends anymore; they are eating out all the time. But is it the calories in fast food that’s so destructive to the body and waistline or does the problem lie deeper?

Fast Food and Obesity

Fast food is simply tasty, ready-cooked meals packed to go. Fast food has been around since the early 1900’s, but its popularity sparked and grew in the 1940’s with the birth of good ole’ Mickey D’s; quick food priced cheaply. Within a few years similar fast-food operations popped up everywhere in the blink of an eye.

With the compelling rise in fast-food restaurants since the 1940’s, oddly, too, started the rise in obesity and cancer during that same time period. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the math and link fast food to the obesity and cancer crisis.

Fast Food and its Nutritional Value

To say fast food has a “nutritional value” is an oxymoron. There is absolutely nothing nutritional about fast food. Fast food simply feeds hunger and/or your immediate craving. Fast food does not feed your body in the form of usable lasting energy or building materials, the essence your body thrives on for life itself.

Fast food is highly processed with a wide array of additives. The concept of fast food is obviously, food ready-to-eat and served quickly. To ensure fast food’s low cost to the consumer, the fast food products are made with highly-processed ingredients to give it shelf-life, to hold consistency, and to enhance flavor. Fast food is altered from its original healthy form it was meant to nourish the body with, to a denatured form that lacks any nutritional value whatsoever.

According to Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., “The FDA Total Diet Study found that fast-foodhamburgers, across the board, contained 113 different pesticide residues.” So my question is why does the FDA want to regulate the sale of vitamins, minerals, and herbs that are actually beneficial for the body when there’s a linking fast-food / cancer / obesity crisis on our hands?

Why Fast Food is Fattening and Dangerous

Wake up people. It’s not the calories in fast food that’s damaging to your health and waistline, it’s the chemical additives such as aspartame and MSG (monosodium glutamate). These chemical additives are approved by the FDA and studies show that they lead to weight and disease issues.

Synthetic chemicals added to processed food, including fast food, damage your body’s cells. Your body is made up of nutrients found in plants and animals you eat. Man-made food items loaded with pesticides, as well as aspartame, margarine, and other man-made chemicals do not nourish your body. If your body can’t use what you put into it you will gain fat and decrease health.

Since we can’t visually see what actually happens at the molecular level when we eat processed food, we discount it and rely on the FDA to do our thinking for us. After all, if its FDA approved, it MUST be okay to eat, right? Not at all.

Nutrients from the food we eat allow us to burn fat and be healthy. Your body cannot process synthetic chemicals. If a food item can’t be processed, it will end up lodged in areas of your body, primarily fatty areas and tissues, creating an acidic pH.

A simple fast-food chicken breast can contain everything from modified corn starch to hydrolyzed corn gluten. Hello? Chicken comprised of corn? A fast-food chicken nugget is nearly 60% corn, and corn is what farmers use to fatten up cattle.

Michael Pollan, author of, The Omnivore’s Dilemma says it perfectly – “How did we ever get to a point where we need investigative journalist to tell us where our food comes from?”

A good visual that Dr. Mark A. Gustafson found is that it takes fifty-one days to digest fast food chicken nuggets or French fries. FIFTY-ONE DAYS! Does that sound healthy? I could care less about the caloric, fat, or carbohydrate content. That’s not the problem, people. The problem with fast food is that it’s void of nutrients and loaded with chemicals not recognized by the body.

What’s even more devastating is the book The Fast Food Diet written by Stephan Sinatra, M.D. This is a sad state when a doctor promotes eating chemically-altered food with addictive chemicals and damaged fats that scars the artery walls and contribute to total metabolic damage.

Eating Good and Avoiding the Hidden Dangers

Granted, calories do count to an extent, but what counts more is the quality of the calorie. If you want to lose fat then you have to change your eating habits. This doesn’t mean opt for Healthy Choice� and Smart One’s� frozen meals because they appear to be healthy. Food manufacturers use deceptive marking tactics to create an illusion to make people buy their product.

To lose fat and keep it off you should choose foods in their natural state, such as fresh organic cuts of meat, fresh organic fruits and vegetables, essential fats, and plenty of filtered water. It’s vital that you go back to the basics.

Make eating fresh and organic food choices the bulk of your diet. If you do that, you will never have to count calories again. The quality of food outweighs the quantity every time.

References: Schwarbein, Diana M.D. The Schwarzbein Principle. 1999. 287 Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma. 2006. 1

1. Bit

 Tuber this one has a very sweet taste than other vegetables. The dark red fruit contains a lot of sugar in layers of rough skin. Why bit healthy? Like spinach, beets rich in folate and betaine. Two types of these nutrients can reduce levels of homocysteine ​​in your blood vessels. Homocysteine ​​is a compound in the blood that can damage arteries and increase the risk of heart disease. The content of natural pigments – called betacyanins – in bits is a cancer preventive natural ingredients.

2. Cabbage / cabbage

vegetable Who does not know this. One cup of chopped cabbage contains 22 calories and a number of other important nutrients. Call it sulforaphane , a chemical that can increase the production of enzymes in the body that inhibit the cell damage caused by free radicals and reduce the risk of cancer. The experts at Stanford University stated, sulforaphane can increase the production of an enzyme inhibitor of cancer is more effective than other chemical compounds contained in vegetables.

3. Guava

Guava or Guava is a tropical fruit that has a complicated structure of acid. The sweet taste of this fruit will taste when you bite the middle. Guava rich in lycopene , a type of antioxidant that can cope with prostate cancer. A cup of Guava juice contains 688 milligrams of potassium, or 63 percent more than that found in bananas. Guava is also known as high-fiber foods. There are about 9 grams of fiber in a glass of Guava.

4. Swiss chard

half cup of cooked Swiss chard contains 10 mg each of lutein and zeaxanthin. According to Harvard scientists, these two compounds – also known as carotenoids – may protect the retina from damage due to aging. Two of these nutrients, which is actually a pigment, will accumulate in the retina, which used to absorb various types of short-wave rays that could potentially damage the eye. Therefore, the more lutein and zeaxanthin are consumed, the better protection of your eyes.

5. Cinnamon

Cinnamon can help you control your blood pressure, which would affect the risk of heart disease. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed 1 gram of cinnamon daily for six weeks (about 1 / 4 teaspoon daily) significantly decreased blood sugar levels, triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. Cinnamon contains methylhydroxychalcone polymers , which can increase the body’s cells ability to metabolize sugar by up to 20 times.

6. Purslane

Purslane or purslane ( Portulaca oleracea) is one of the weeds that grow in plantations chili. Weeds are known as nutritious crops in several countries such as China, Mexico and Greece. In Indonesia purslane is also known to have utility as a refresher, a tonic on the state of fatigue or a substitute for ginseng According to experts at the University of Texas at San Antonio, purslane contained in omega-3 is very good for heart health. The scientists also reported, purslane contain melatonin – a type of antioxidants can prevent cancer growth – 10 to 20 times more than any other fruit or vegetable.

7. Pomegranate juice

Pomegranate juice for years known as the pomegranate juice drink, especially popular in the Middle East region. Israeli scientists reveal that men who drank 2 ounces (about 60 ml) of pomegranate juice every day for a year decreased systolic pressure by 21 percent. These habits also improve the blood circulation system. Get used to drink 4 ounces of pomegranate juice because it can meet 50 percent of vitamin C your body eraser day.

8. Gojiberri fruit or wolfberry

Because it tastes sweet, herbal red lights since long been used as a nutritious ingredient that can be added to the dishes of boiled meat, chicken or seafood. wolfberry fruits contain beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B1 and B2, beta -sitosterol (an anti-inflammatory), linoneat acid, and other useful materials. Based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, wolfberry efficacious strengthen blood circulation, strengthen the kidneys and liver and provide moisture to the lungs. Wolfberry is often used to treat diseases “consumptive” marked by a sense of thirst (as in diabetes and tuberculosis), mengarasi dizziness, blurred vision, lack of clear vision and chronic cough.

9 Prem Fruit

This fruit contains acid n eochlorogenic and chlorogenic, similar an effective antioxidant against the ” superoxide anion radical . ” Types of free radicals can cause damage to cells, especially that caused cancer.

10. Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds may be the most bernutirisi part in a pumpkin. By eating pumpkin seeds, your body needs magnesium to be fulfilled. This is important because French scientists recently found men with high levels of magnesium in their blood have a tendency to 40 percent lower risk of early death, than men with low levels of magnesium. Men should consume an average of 353 mg of this mineral every day, while the USDA recommends at least 420 mg.

How you feel much of the time, is extremely important. Suppose you have a great job, two cars, a closet full of pretty clothes, extra spending cash and tons of friends. But let’s just say that you are unhappy most of the time. Well, if you are unhappy most of the time, then how can you enjoy that great job, your pretty clothes and your two cars and your friends?

Suppose you are poor, homely, and unemployed. But let’s say that you are feeling happy, even on top of the world! That is what really matters.

In my life, I have associated with a lot of people. I have mingled with people who have great jobs, breath taking houses, three cars and lots of money. But sadly so, those people with all that silver and gold, are not happy.

I have also mingled with people who are far less lucky, including homeless people who feel good much of the time and have a good sense of well being.

You can be the Queen of the USA and still be unhappy.

In this chapter, I will help people who are poor in spirit feel better about them selves and their lives.

The first thing is diet and exercise. When you eat a well balanced diet, especially vitamins highly enriched with B vitamins, you will feel better. Drink lots of water and exercise. At least ten minutes per day. You are likely to have a good sense of self, with these suggestions, than plopping your self in front of the TV all day and manipulating the remote

This is why I have developed an exercise for you, a pleasure list.

Here we go.

Pleasure

My kids, helping others, reading, swimming, taking long walks, working.

Do this exercise every day that is written on your list. And add more positive things to your list as time goes on.

Just remember that well being does not work for some of you. You have to work at it.

20 vegetarians can live off of the same land as one meat eater.

Many people are trying to go green to save the earth but “Meat’s not green”

Because of the demand for meat is so high animals are no longer killed humanly.

Animals have bad living conditions when raised and sold for food.

Meat is high in saturated fat making a meat eater more likely to get diabetes and heart disease.

Animal farms cause a lot of unnecessary pollution.

The price of meat continues to increase so the more you cut out of your diet the cheaper your grocery list will be.

Despite what people say there are many more ways to get natural protein that don’t include eating meat.

You are much more likely to get an illness from your food if you eat meat because animals carry disease.

Vegetarians and vegans get sick less often of meat eaters.

You will be saving lives everyday.

All of the above are food reasons to become a vegetarian. They are also good reasons to become vegan but here are a few more reasons directed more toward being vegan.

Most of the food a vegan eats is fresh food so you know exactly what you are eating.

You are taking foods from an animals that they had to work very hard to create so they would be able to get benefit from it, not you.

You’re stealing milk from a baby cow (which contains puss)

Help your child to become interested in new foods by describing the texture, rather than the taste. Ask them to describe what it feels like in their mouths instead of what it tastes like.

A healthy step in your nutritional plan is to eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat. Red meats are acceptable for protein intake, however it is often eaten in an abundance greater than what the body needs. View meat dishes as a side dish rather than the main dish.

For a fun way to teach your child proper nutrition, consider bringing your son or daughter to a local cooking class. You should also teach your children to be more open-minded about food, whether that means trying new recipes or new restaurants.

Oatmeal is a great healthy breakfast option, and will start your day on the right foot. The grains in oatmeal can help to keep you full throughout your day.

Certain nuts can be healthy and nutritious for you to eat if you select them correctly. Almonds have a high level of fiber and taste good too.

Always keep your reason for losing weight in mind, especially when your motivation begins to slip. This will be somewhat different depending on the person, but reflecting for a little while can refocus you on what’s important.

A food with more than five percent fat, cholesterol or sodium is advisable to avoid, so pay attention to nutrition labels, and try to make good choices. Avoid having these foods in your diet, as they can lead to complications with health issues, including hypertension and diabetes.

Watch your intake of dessert if you want to become healthier. Having dessert every night is not a necessity. Serve dessert sparingly to reduce its focus.

You know the “high fructose” part of “high fructose corn syrup?” Fructose is a kind of sugar, and it is especially bad for you, so avoid it. You will also find sugar in certain condiments, so remember to check the label for ingredients.

If you do this, you’ll never be at a loss for a healthy recipe, which means you won’t choose something unhealthy in a moment of confusion. Having a variety of meal choices is necessary, so you don’t become bored with your diet and give up altogether.

Do not skip over breakfast when you are on a diet. Breakfast really is the most critical meal, because it jump starts your metabolism and floods your body with needed nutrients after hours of not eating.

When cooking healthy meals for your children, try swapping in baked potatoes for french fries. Cut the potato in half and add low-fat cheese, tomatoes and peas to make a cute face on both sides.

Since they are soft and spongy, eggplant provides a nice backdrop to dishes like eggplant parmesan and baba ghanoush. In addition, eggplant contains folic acid, manganese, antioxidants, and plenty of potassium.

Decreasing your portions by a mere 25% can also decrease your daily caloric intake by the same percentage or more. It’s an easy way to cut back on what you eat, if you are prone to overeating. It will help you stay healthy by shedding a few pounds.

You should check with your doctor before consuming alcohol if you are diabetic. Those with diabetes should not consume alcohol because it can cause low blood sugar.

To stay healthy, consume a diet rich in foods like whole grains, fruits, veggies and lean meats. Adding these types of food to your diet will greatly improve your health.

There are many inexpensive products that you can use to keep in shape while at home. If you find the right products you can get in as good of shape as you could in a gym.

Try out foods from all over the world. You may become bored if you eat the same things all the time.

As you can see, choosing to live a healthier life is very important. Research a variety of exercise programs and weight loss methods.

To go about my life next year, I listed the following resolutions that I believe will make me become healthy, productive and happy person.

Continue exercising regularly- although doing exercise is my routine, it is an on off activity. Sometimes I skip it for valid reason such as when I get sick. Exercise keeps me from getting sick of diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis. Exercise improves my health and adds years of my life. For the next year, I don’t want a heavy exercise but a moderate one that is done on a sustainable and regular basis.

Have proper diet- it is said that we are what we eat. Foods aside from providing us sustenance are also natural medicines. They contain nutrients and anti oxidant properties that can boost our immune system.  Some foods especially those that contain lots of fats and cholesterol are not good for the health and may even trigger the occurrence of some diseases.  In the coming year I should be more selective on the foods that I eat so that I would be as healthy as ever.

Be more productive- I should keep myself busy. It does not mean that I will work myself to death just for the sake of doing something. My intention is to make myself preoccupied to keep myself away from bad thoughts and activities. Undesirable ideas pops up when I’m doing nothing. By making myself busy I could be more productive and earn more money.

Reduce expenses and save money- I should budget my money properly to make it sufficient for my needs. I should also do away with the things that I don’t really need or those that are luxurious. In that way I could save more money. The money that is saved can be added to my bank account which will grow as time goes by. I can say saving is good for a person irrespective of his age. Saving will be most beneficial to the younger people.

Enjoy life to the fullest- life will be dull and boring if one has to focus too much on his work. Doing a variety of activities makes life more interesting and enjoyable. After a day or several days of work I should give myself a rest and a recreation. There are many things around me that are inexpensive to enjoy with. And these things include viewing and exploring nature like the forest and mountain, going to the beach with friends or colleagues, eating outside, watching movies and reading magazines and books. I already enjoy these things, but I want to enjoy them intensively next year.

Make more self improvement- education is a continuous process. In my former organization, the military, officers and soldiers were sent to military school at different stages of their career to update their knowledge and to learn new skills to better equip them to carry out their duties. I found that practice useful in my personal and civilian life because I believe that a person needs knowledge. A person should always educate himself informally as long as he lives, and age is no hindrance for anyone who wants to acquire knowledge. I too have to educate myself more to be better in the activities that I am into. It is fortunate that with the advent of the internet, any person can surf the web to learn things or acquire new skill without going to school and without paying money. 

Do something that will contribute to common good or to the benefit of the community- a man is a social being and he should participate in the activities of the community in which he is a part of. Examples are planting trees, cleaning and ridding the creek of garbage, and contributing a small amount of money for a worthy cause.

Holiday nutrition is something like bull riding, I expect.  That is, if you can stay on it you’ll be okay, but once you fall off you may as well just give up and get the heck out of the way, because you’re never getting back on.  The New Year is what does it.  Even if it’s possible to stiff-arm the Thanksgiving leftovers, shun the Christmas cookies and office party food, and go easy on the Egg Nog, we all know the New Year is right around the corner.  In other words, why not party now and start over on January 1st?

If the government is really so interested in solving the obesity epidemic there’s one move they can make that will go much further than any initiatives they’ve dreamt up so far:  Just separate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day!  Look, it makes sense to move Thanksgiving to the summer.  We eat the most then, but if the weather is nice we can work it off.  I guess we can’t move Christmas, being a religious holiday, but maybe we could start the New Year in April or something. 

I’d start a petition to get that accomplished, but I’m so groggy from all the food over the past few weeks the only movement I can really tolerate is typing on this keyboard.  However, I do intend to seriously think about diet and exercise between now and New Year’s.  I might work up a sweat just from that.

The Holidays are a time for partying, overindulging, and skipping a few workouts.  I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because they’re also a time for joy.  We work hard all year; surely we all deserve to give ourselves a break for a little while.  Beside, New Year’s Day is right around the corner, and that treadmill will be there waiting!

If schadenfreude made a noise, then you’d be hearing it pretty loudly from me right now: Kevin Trudeau — a convicted credit card fraud, and a man who made tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars by telling people he could cure their cancer using, get this, coral calcium — has lost his appeal to the federal court, and must pay $37.6 million dollars in fines.

Trudeau, who shilled this false cancer cure as a diet supplement, was ordered by a federal judge in 2008 to stop making and airing infomercials about it. I wrote about this at the time, but I kept seeing those evil infomercials on TV. I wondered about this, but now I understand: Trudeau was trying to sidestep the order by selling books about this false cure, not the supplements directly.  READ FULL ARTICLE

This year, perhaps we can broaden our focus and approach 2012 as a new beginning on our journey to embrace a healthier lifestyle for our families.   We are not setting goals that are mountains high, but rather taking small steps toward adopting a healthier lifestyle for ourselves and our children.

Once we change our perspective, our path becomes clearer and our journey to a healthier lifestyle truly begins!

          Here are some healthy habits and ideas to share with your family:

1.     Make a commitment to yourself and to each other to change behaviors in small, gradual steps.

2.    Establish good eating habits, starting with eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing refined starches (choose whole grains over white flour products) and eliminating unhealthy fats.

3.    Set good examples for one another.

4.    Emphasize eating whole foods-the closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for your body.

5.    Know what you are eating-read food labels, and steer away from chemical additives and excess sugar and salt.

6.    Build on successes-keep adding new healthy habits.

7.    Drink more water.  It makes up about 70% of our bodies and is the most important nutrient.

8.    Be active – get up and get movin’!

9.    Work together as a family – be supportive and make accountability part of the plan.

10.   Celebrate change!  Reinforce each other for making healthy lifestyle choices.

Remember, be sure to set reasonable goals.  Gradual changes are generally more  effective and lasting.  Supplying our kids with healthy information and with our healthy example is key to turning unhealthy habits around.  Seek out resources, education and support as necessary to make healthy lifestyle changes that work for the whole family.   Effort that results in practicing healthier habits will be time well spent for years to come.

Disclaimer:  This content is for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as a substitute for medical advice.  See your health care provider if you require medical care.