Healthy Tips

Lets all start making some simple changes to our diet for many health benefits. I will show you how to replace such dangerous foods that many take for granted like white sugar white bread, salt and margarine.

Just making some small changes in your eating habits can make a huge difference in your daily life. We will take a look at some ideas to help you live longer and feel healthy.

Salt: So many people use so much salt in their diet. In fact I once read that most people eat two large sacks of salt throughout the year more than they need. That is a lot of salt and there has been a lot of evidence in recent year that points to over indulgence in salt causing lots of nasty side affects on out health. Instead of eating that horrible nasty cheap salt you buy at the supermarket replace it with a good quality natural sea salt or try using kelp to give your meals that extra bite. It takes some time to wean yourself of salt so just gradually decrease the amount you eat day and before long you will hardly ever use it and you will feel so much healthier. We all need a little salt in out diets but no where near what we eat. In fact nearly all processed foods, snacks and meals you buy when out will have loads of salt.

White Sugar: White sugar is very nasty and one of the worst things we eat. It is one of the most over consumed foods in the world today. It is like salt, abused and found in nearly every processed and man made foods. Avoid eating white sugar at all costs, it is nothing more than trash, chemicals in a lab would most likely have more nutrition than white sugar.

Replace white sugar with a good quality organic raw sugar and still go easy on it. Even better is to use honey since it has some great health benefits. Honey has been known for thousands of years to be a wonder food, with the pollen and goodness of fresh honey comb. Eat an organic honey that has not been heated and filtered, buy direct from the honey farm or from a good organic produce outlet. Avoid supermarket honey as it has most likely lost all its nutrition and goodness due to all the filtering, heating and processing.

White Bread: White bread has absolutely no nutritional value; it clogs arteries and makes people overweight. Replace it with fresh organic wholemeal bread and make sure you read the labels as even the bread that is sold as wholemeal can have so many chemicals, additives and preservatives added that it can be very deceiving. The best idea is to make your own and that can be as simple as buying some organic flour and mixing some of that with some water and kneading it in to some balls and then rolling it out and throwing it under the grill to create flat bread. One of my favorite ways is to do the above but add a tiny pinch of sea salt & a little extra virgin olive oil to the water & flour. Make it quite wet so it is easy to mix everything. The oil will help get rid of any lumps. Now add some more flour slowly as you mix it in a bowl. Once you have a ball then let it sit for 10 minutes or more so all the water is absorbed into the mix. Once it has absorbed together, knead the dough with your washed clean hands.
Now you can heat your grill or pan with olive oil while you roll it out into thin sheets. The bread only takes a little grilling or frying (in olive oil) and it is very healthy and tastes supreme.

Margarine: Have a look at your margarine label, notice how many chemicals and pesticides are in it? Yes it shocked me too as I found lots of preservatives are in it. Now throw it all out and go to the shop and buy some unsalted butter and some extra virgin olive oil as I will show you a much healthier alternative.

What you do is mix a small part of butter with lots of olive oil, you may need to put the butter in a warm room for 20 minutes first but try not to melt it. Now mix the olive oil and the butter until you get it all mixed in. Believe me this is so much healthier than that horrible margarine and yes even the margarines you think are healthy like the ones made of olive oil are full of preservatives and chemicals. Put your new extra virgin olive oil butter in the fridge and it will be ready to use in no time and it takes great too.

I hope all these healthy eating tips will help you all to live longer and better.

About the Author

Lucy Denim writes part-time mainly about nutrition and is in charge of the Health & Beauty Discount department at DiscountSaver.net - http://www.discountsaver.net/coupons.asp?save_discount=health_beauty -

It seems there’s always a new diet treatment hitting the market, or talk of a magic pill that will eliminate fat. Whether you choose to partake in any of these new treatments or not, it’s wise to remember the basics of healthy eating.

Just what is “healthy eating?” Is it only fruits and vegetables? Is it never eating sugar? It is eating only organic foods? Well, to some people, that is healthy eating. But, for the purposes of this article, when I refer to healthy eating I’m referring to balancing the food you eat to stay healthy. By keeping your diet balanced, you’ll find you are giving your body the vitamins and minerals it needs to stay strong. This in turn gives you energy and helps you maintain a healthy weight.

What are some basic tips for healthy eating?

1. Don’t skip any meals

That might sound odd to some people who believe you can only lose weight when you eat less. But, in fact, skipping meals is not healthy, and can actually keep you from maintaining your desired weight. Why? Well, one reason is that your metabolism increases when you eat. And, when the metabolism is increased, you burn more energy. Eating 3 meals with snacks in between is the ideal way to maintain both energy and a healthy weight. What’s that, you say, a snack in between? That’s right; a snack in between smaller meals is actually good for you. First, it can help you not feel so hungry at meals. And, when you don’t feel so hungry at meals, you tend not to eat as much. And, second, eating 5 smaller meals a day helps prevent the large spikes and drops in your blood sugar associated with fewer meals a day.

2. Chew slowly

This advice may seem a bit corny, but it makes sense. When you wolf down your food you aren’t giving your brain time to register when you?re full, which takes about 20 minutes. By the time you finally get the signal it’s too late and you’ve eaten far more than you needed to. Therefore, if you chew your food slowly it slows down your eating.

3. Learn how to prepare foods

Instead of deep frying, try grilling, stir frying, microwaving, baking, boiling and, in the case of vegetables - raw. And, if you really insist on using butter for cooking, try a butter substitute. I use a yogurt butter which is half the fat of regular butter, but tastes the same as real butter. If you use butter to add flavor to food, try something else for a change, like lemon, vinegar or dried herbs and spices. Before you eat any type of meat, be sure to trim it of fat and skin.

4. Avoid alot of sugar

If you can eliminate sugar, good for you, but, if you can’t, at least cut down. Drinks that contain sugar are a major source of empty calories. If you plan to drink sugary drinks, don’t go overboard - limit yourself to one a day.

5. Skip the diet foods

If you follow healthy eating guidelines, there’s really no need to buy prepared diet foods. A good number of these foods contain chemicals and additives that can be counterproductive to a healthy diet. A healthy portion of “real” food beats a heaping of prepared diet food any day, and doesn’t leave you feeling deprived.

Eating healthier doesn’t have to be difficult. The key is to be mindful of what and how you?re eating. Noticing is the first step in changing behavior.

About the Author:

Shari Hearn is a writer and creator of websites, such as http://www.myjuicer-reviews.com and http://www.dnapaternitytests.net

Most of us use our voices all day long but only a few people are aware of how to take care of your voice to guarantee optimum vocal health and vocal power. Common sense vocal rules can really help you to perform, present & speak well. These simple vocal care tips will help you to become more confident, keep your vocal cords in tip top shape & put your best voice forward.

KEEP YOUR VOCAL FOLDS HYDRATED
A moist vocal tract will give you the best sound with the least amount of vocal effort so it is wise to stay hydrated. Vocal health experts agree that you should drink a minimum of eight glasses of water per day. To keep your vocal cords functioning optimally, before and during an important presentation, anything you drink should be room temperature or close to body temperature. Ideally drinks should not be too hot or too cold because extreme temperatures can de-neutralize your sensitive vocal instrument.

If you travel frequently via airplane, drink lots of water while flying. Recycled air in planes is extremely dehydrating to the voice & skin. Speaking above the level of the constant often-unnoticed engine noise can put a great strain on your voice so talk as little as possible if you need to deliver a presentation on the same day that you fly.

The day before and the day of an important presentation try to avoid alcohol, smoking and second-hand smoke, caffeine, antihistamines and chocolate - note that penicillin and many prescription drugs also dry out vocal cords.

PREVENT EXCESS VOCAL MUCOUS
Many people find dairy products phlegm producing so if this is an issue for you avoid dairy. Also limit your sugar intake, including sugary drinks before giving a speech, presentation or public speaking. Stick with warm or room temperature water on the day of a presentation for optimum vocal performance.

If you need to entertain for work or like the occasional alcoholic drink with dinner, the night before and the day of your presentation avoid red wine, grain alcohol, vodka and beer because they can sometimes spark allergic reactions that decrease your vocal power. If you must drink for social reasons or simply cannot abstain before your presentation, choose white wine instead.

Women who are pregnant, lactating or menstruating will generally experience extra vocal mucous and vocal cord swelling. To manage this simply take more time to warm up than usual and drink extra fluids to ensure your vocal cords are moist and flexible.

VOCAL DON?TS
Speakers often clear their throats as a nervous habit. Try not to do this. Instead, cough gently or silently. Then build up saliva in your mouth, lower your chin to your chest, and swallow.

If you are feeling unwell or struggling vocally, don?t speak with a forced whisper. The reason for this is that your tiny crycothyroid muscle at the back of your throat weakens and wears out much faster than if you just speak normally.

The best way to manage an ailing voice is to use your voice as little as possible or to give yourself complete vocal rest for 12 to 24 hours. If that isn?t possible, make sure you warm up slowly and gently with a nasal focus to keep any strain off of your throat and voice. Only light and gentle vocal exercises should be performed if you are unwell.

For optimum vocal performance before or during an important presentation don?t drink anything carbonated because it could cause you to burp.

Many peak performance trainers also suggest following basic food combining principles like not combining protein and starch in the same meal and eating fruit only on an empty stomach. The food combining rules aren?t for everyone but if you do choose to follow them you will have access to significantly more energy because the body doesn?t have to work as hard to digest the food in your stomach. Consequently more energy can be channeled into your presentation.

VOCAL DO?S
You can chew gum or suck on lozenges to keep your vocal folds moist. I have found lozenges with glycerin to be the most soothing to the voice. Also stay away from menthol flavors because they tend to irritate delicate vocal folds.

To comfort a fatigued voice, many vocal professionals choose to drink honey and lemon in warm water. Warm peppermint or chamomile tea with or without honey can also be very soothing to the voice. The natural peppermint will give you energy and the chamomile will calm you. You can also mix peppermint & chamomile together for variety.

Finally, ample sleep and complete vocal rest are the best solutions to heal an overly stressed voice. If you are leading up to an important presentation and are in any way nervous about it, following these simple vocal rules will really help you. In order to perform, present or speak well it is best to do everything you can to get out of our own way physically, vocally and psychologically. Again, these simple vocal care tips will help you to become more confident, keep your vocal cords in tip top shape and put your best voice forward.

Deborah Torres Patel is an internationally acclaimed expert on self expression and the fine arts of voice & communication. To receive ongoing tips & subscribe for complimentary online voice, presentation & public speaking training sign up at http://www.expressingyou.com .