Benefits and Needs for Fiber

While there is a wide range of foods that provide fiber, in today’s world, it is difficult for most of us to consume enough fiber to satisfy the daily minimums. The article below from “Food is Medicine”, shares twenty foods that provide high levels of fiber.

Today’s Western diet probably satisfies only about half of the recommended amount of fiber that you need. As the article states: this is a big deal because high fiber foods guard against a number of diseases like cancer, heart disease, and obesity. Many processed foods are “fiber enriched”, but these are not the most desirable source of this valuable (and indispensable) dietary need.

The article makes the case for foods high in fiber as the best way to satisfy your needs, it admits that it is unlikely that you will be able to satisfy minimum needs with diet alone; and suggests that you will need a supplement to meet your daily requirements. It also points out that the quality of the supplement can, and will, make a big difference.

An effective supplement will contain a recommended balance of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber provides bulk in the digestive system which helps the elimination process, expelling carcinogens and toxins from the bowels. Soluble fiber is actually retained in the bodily system, creating a gel that prolongs elimination so that key nutrients can be absorbed more efficiently.

Some fiber supplements do not contain soluble fiber at all. Still, others do not contain enough insoluble fiber to do the job properly. It is important to have the correct balance of both. As has been stated, a healthy diet is best and this list of high in fiber foods provides a handy guide for healthy meal planning.

The company with which I am associated, offers a complete array of supplements and high-in-fiber snacks that allows me to effectively control my fiber intake daily. These products and supplements contain both insoluble and soluble fiber. I am convinced that my good health is as a result of these indispensable products. Here’s to your health!   

draxe.com/high-fiber-foods/

Fiber for optimal health

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of death from cancer.

Colorectal cancer affects all racial and ethnic groups and is most often found in people ages 50 and older. People over age 50 have the highest risk of colorectal cancer. You may also be at higher risk if you are African American, smoke, or have a family history of colorectal cancer.

The good news?

The best way to prevent colorectal cancer is to get screened regularly starting at age 50.
If everyone age 50 and older were screened regularly, 6 out of 10 deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented.

There are often no signs or symptoms of colorectal cancer – that’s why it’s so important to get screened.

Everyone can take these healthy steps to help prevent colorectal cancer:

  • Get screened starting at age 50.
  • Encourage your family members and friends over age 50 to get screened.
  • Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke.
  • Get plenty of physical activity and eat healthy.

One healthy addition to your diet is fiber. On a daily basis, 95% of Americans are only getting about half as much fiber as they need. Fiber is a component of plant foods that is never broken down and absorbed by the body—allowing it to perform important functions that  no other food can. The two forms of fiber, soluble and insoluble, both play important roles in maintaining optimal health as well as helping  to keep your colon “clean”.

Why fiber?

Well, according to research fiber can help prevent serious issues developing in your digestive tract because it  can sweep away toxins and waste throughout your body. Studies also show that the adequate amount of fiber helps supports immunity, improves regularity, and can help reduce the risk of heart disease.

I’m lucky to have found a great fiber product that’s a scientifically balanced blend of seven fiber sources, plus vitamins, antioxidants, soothing herbs, and probiotics. A single glass of this broad spectrum fiber provides 12 grams of healthy fiber to help me meet my optimal daily fiber and offers several benefits I don’t get from traditional fiber products.

Quick quiz: True or false?

You should get tested regularly for colorectal cancer starting at age 50.

Answer: 

Starting at age 50, get tested regularly for colorectal cancer. When it comes to colorectal cancer screening, you do have options. Learn more about screening here.

Decide which screening test you prefer here.

Pancakes can be a powerhouse

Getting a good healthy start to your day with a hearty breakfast can set the tone for a productive day. Eggs are a great choice, but eggs day after day can get boring. A tasty alternative can be pancakes. But knowing what the dangers packed in pancakes are can help you make them a healthy choice.

Pancakes are high in carbs and contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals, but they can contain lots of fat, calories, and sodium. Still, pancakes can be a great addition to the variety of your morning meal. Knowing what they contain can be helpful to your healthy diet.

A 3.5 oz. serving of pancakes (2 cakes) contains about  221 calories, although the addition of butter and maple syrup can add considerable calories, obviously. A serving of pancakes contains 8.8 g of fat/ 3.8g are saturated fat. Avoid more than 15g of saturated fat per day. They also contain 27.2 g of carbohydrates, which is about 10% of what you should have in a day. You also get 8.1 g of protein which is about 17% of the average amount of this macronutrient.

Pancakes pack both a savory and sweet taste which is what makes them so satisfying. They contain about 4.3 g of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends under 25 g for women and 37 g for men. Salt in your batter constitutes 308 mgs of sodium and the recommended limit is at about 2000 mg, so measure your daily intake carefully.

But pancakes are a good source of phosphorus (20%) and calcium (18%) of your daily requirements. This makes them a good option for increasing bone strength and your body’s ability to manufacture RNA and DNA. Pancakes also provide significant levels of iodine and riboflavin as well as smaller amounts of vitamin C, Thiamin, vitamin B-6, niacin, vitamin B-12, magnesium, zinc, copper, and iron.

Whole-wheat flour will provide extra fiber and whole grains. I have also have attached some great recipes for high protein versions of these little-griddled beauties. While we found the recipes to contain great food additives, we in no way endorse the brands promoted. We use the recipes as additional options to our already great pancake recipes. We shop directly from a manufacturer that manufactures an entire suite of performance supplements that can “jack up” the nutritional value of your morning meal, as well as help control blood sugar! We have discovered the amazing power of pancakes when made with the proper ingredients. No syrup needed. Yes, they are that good!

Central Body Fat

Fat, no matter where it is in your body, is not something that any of us desire. We diet. We exercise. It doesn’t seem to go anywhere. There are essentially two types of fat: Subcutaneous fat, the fat that can collect anywhere on the body. It is the “soft”, “pinchable” fat and visceral fat that is hard and usually appears as central body fat (right at the belly-line).

While there are indeed dangers to subcutaneous fat, it does not present the same level or volume of risk that visceral fat does. This article from Dr. Axe’ Food Is Medicine, focuses on the dangers of visceral fat, why it is so risky and the things you can do to get rid of it.

In general, what makes visceral fat so dangerous is that it collects around the organs. Certain types of body fat are really inflammatory diseases of their own. Visceral fat is excess intra-abdominal adipose tissue accumulation. It is deep fat that is stored deep under the skin, deeper than subcutaneous fat.

As this article clarifies, visceral fat is linked to many diseases, like cancer and coronary disease. It is by itself toxic and provokes the inflammatory pathways. It develops when communication between the brain and other major organs (the brain/body connection) begin to break down at its’ core are your blood sugar levels.

Increased inflammation, higher diabetes risk, difficulty in losing weight in general, higher risks of heart disease and stroke, dementia, depression and mood swings are just some of the consequences of excess visceral fat. The causes are overwhelmingly increased glucose in our bloodstreams. Controlling glucose is, therefore, the key to avoiding those consequences.

I take a supplement each day that controls the spikes in insulin and therefore the glucose that produces these and other problems. My company has developed and manufactures many high quality and affordable products that have helped me make the kind of adjustments in my lifestyle to keep it healthy and high energy.

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Barbara Hay
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Sweet Potatoes

400% of your daily vitamin A requirements are provided by one medium sweet potato. The article below from MedicalNewsToday tells us the health benefits don’t stop there. Along with that generous dose of Vitamin A, sweet potatoes contain loads of fiber and potassium.

The additional benefits of this magical “spud” include decreasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and overall mortality. Read on and you will be informed of how each of these risks as well as blood pressure, cancer, digestion, fertility, immunity, inflammation and even vision are affected by the nutritionally packed sweet potato.

Find ways in your daily diet to include this recognized “super food” and your health can and will be, improved. As you read on you will find additional ways that make it easy to adapt your daily food intake to include more sweet potatoes, more often.

Several of the supplemental products I use include sweet potato extracts, which helped me make these dietary transitions. They’re easy to use and very tasty and affordable. So the next time you reach for that white ”baker”, think a little bit sweeter and pop in a sweet and get some big advantages.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/281438.php

http://makegreengogreen.com/article/sweet-potatoes?barbarahay

CAPSAICIN. IT’S MORE THAN JUST A WEIGHT LOSS TOOL

Capsaicin is a molecular compound found in spicy peppers. It contains no calories or additional nutrients. It is used by many as a weight-loss supplement, sometimes in the form of cayenne pepper. It is extremely effective at “cranking” up your metabolism. While capsaicin can be quite effective in the weight-loss regime, there are other reasons to make it part of your diet.

Capsaicin, various studies show, has many more additional benefits. It may be helpful in delaying the spread of prostate cancer, according to a study at the UCLA School of Medicine. It can also be helpful and effective against H. pylori induced gastritis, which is a precursor of gastric cancer.

It may also be useful in fighting breast cancer, the second most fatal cancer in women. It has the ability to induce apoptosis in specific breast cancer cells. Another study in South Korea found that capsaicin might also kill breast cancer stem cells, which can avoid the recurrence of new, additional cancer cells. There is also evidence that capsaicin has an impact on primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma associated with HIV. In general, research abounds regarding the cancer preventing dimensions of capsaicin.

Capsaicin can be used to diminish the suffering of cluster headaches. It is a proven pain reliever, especially in cream form for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and certain other joint pain. It is also can be used to relieve the dry itchy skin of psoriasis. It has been very useful in reducing the reactions of blood sugar and insulin

And, yes, it is very effective in speeding the metabolism associated with lower body weight. It also suppresses appetite and increases overall physical endurance and athletic performance, a necessary component of successful weight-loss.

This article by Dr. Axe in the bulletin: Food is Medicine. Will give you a lot more detail.

Some of the things I was looking for and found in a supplement containing capsaicin was that it also contains green tea complex and green coffee bean extract. So pepper up your diet and get all of the benefits of capsaicin.

 

 

http://saferhousehold.com/article/capsaicin-its-more-than-just-a-weight-loss-tool-705?barbarahay

Probiotics & Digestion

Gastrointestinal problems are more and more common in today’s stress-filled world.  This article from Naturally Savvy points out some of the symptoms like belching, diarrhea, constipation, and nausea among others.

Poor digestion symptoms like these indicate an imbalance in your intestinal microflora that can lead to more serious disease. There are foods you can eat that can help replenish these “good” bacteria, as this article explains, but in most cases where this is a serious problem, supplementation with a strong probiotic can be indicated.

If you think probiotics are just for your digestive health, you are mistaken. The health benefits of good bacteria are endless. Protection (and even reversal) of autoimmune disease, mental health (depression) are caused in the enteric nervous system, which regulates autonomic functions.

No yogurt is not enough. As you read on you will be amazed at the number of infirmities that are caused by bacterial imbalances in your gut, including cancer, skin health, cholesterol and osteoporosis.

If you are really concerned with a genuinely healthy body and mind, you should consider a probiotic regime. It is surprisingly easy and affordable.

Growth In Tea Sales As Exotic And Premium Teas Become More And More Popular

Global tea sales have exploded as exotic and premium teas become more ubiquitous. Especially among millennials premium and exotic teas are more and more the beverage of choice.

This growth according to Beverage Daily will expand by 7 billion dollars before the middle of the next decade. There are plenty of reasons. Tea hydrates. It contains antioxidants. It is a stimulant, like coffee. There are more.

My company has just introduced a new line of premium and exotic teas that are all natural and delicious. They are so exclusive that they are grown in hidden gardens all over the world. So relax and enjoy a cup of one of the best teas. 

Excessive Snacking And Health

Snacking is a favorite pastime of us all. Are we really that hungry? This article from Psychology Today suggests that perhaps it’s not your tummy; maybe it’s your brain. Excessive snacking can indicate some underlying issues.

Stress and anxiety can trigger the same reactions as real hunger. It can undermine your diet regime, obviously, but it could also be a result of underlying issues in the insula and the basal ganglia that cause us to react in a food-rich environment.

Dr. Korb, the author tells us some details of the causes and some suggestions for your battle with the refrigerator and the cupboard. The company I am partnered with has some “good for you” alternatives that include snack bars, crackers, and shakes that satisfy the cravings in your stomach AND in your brain. And they are Gold Standard tasty.

Hunger: Does It Come From The Brain Or The Stomach?

If you are trying to lose weight, and most Americans are, the enemy is hunger. Where does it come from? What is the source: the brain or the stomach? Actually, it is both. There are things you can do to suppress the cravings in both.

Whey protein isolate, which is a highly purified, natural dairy protein, potato enzyme extract found in white potatoes has been clinically proven to satisfy your brain, which controls your emotional and mental cravings, beta-glucan swells in your stomach and slows your stomach’s emptying process. What that does is prolong the absorption of energy from food and reduces the absorption of fat, creating a lasting feeling of fullness. Inulin (not insulin), which is derived from the chicory root or Jerusalem artichoke, provides soluble fiber that expands and further slows the stomach’s emptying process, so you feel full longer. Look for these natural ingredients when choosing supplements to aid in your weight loss regime.

Only 31% of people in the United States are either of a healthy weight or underweight. Obesity poses a serious health threat since it is strongly related to serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, ttype-2 diabetes, and cancer. This incurs about 147 billion, that’s right billion, in medical costs. Why do we have so much trouble keeping our weight down?

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