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Are
You Eating The Right Carbohydrates?
Author: ©Hazel Leong
This is the technical meaning of "healthy fat." Your
body needs these fats to function properly, yet it doesn't produce
it on it's own. Flax seed oils is the form in which the oil was
extracted from the seed. Omega-3 fatty acids which contain the
majority of flax seed health benefits are very susceptible to
heat.
Flax
seeds may come in different colors, but the colors don't anything
to do with the value of their nutrition. They are all equally
beneficial to you.
One
way to influence brain health through diet is to consume the right
fats and oils.
Lignans
and other flax seed components may also have antioxidant properties,
which means they may reduce the activity of cell-damaging free
radicals.
Are
You Eating the Right Carbohydrates?
Whether
you're trying to lose weight or just want to eat healthier, you
may be confused by the news you're hearing about carbohydrates.
With so much attention focused on protein diets, there's been
a consumer backlash against carbohydrates. As a result, many people
misunderstand the role that carbohydrates play in a healthy diet.
Carbohydrates
aren't all good or all bad. Some kinds promote health while others,
when eaten often and in large quantities, may increase the risk
for diabetes and coronary heart disease.
What
are carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates
come from a wide array of foods - bread, fruit, vegetables, rice,
beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, corn, and
cherry pie. They also come in a variety of forms. The most common
and abundant ones are sugars, fibers, and starches. The basic
building blocks of all carbohydrates are sugar molecules. The
digestive system handles all carbohydrates in much the same way
- it breaks them down (or tries to break them down) into single
sugar molecules, since only these are small enough to absorb into
the bloodstream. It also converts most digestible carbohydrates
into glucose (also known as blood sugar), because cells are designed
to use this as a universal energy source. This is why carbohydrates
can make us feel energetic. Carbohydrates fuel our body. Your
body stores glucose reserves in the muscles in the form of glycogen
ready to be used when we exert ourselves.
Carbohydrates
are the highest octane - the most desirable fuel source for your
body's energy requirements. If you don't have an adequate source
of carbohydrate your body may scavenge from dietary protein and
fat to supply glucose. The problem is when you've depleted your
stores of glycogen (stored glucose in muscle and lean tissue)
your body turns to burning muscles or organs (lean muscle tissue)
and dietary protein or fat to provide blood glucose to supply
energy needs. When this happens, your basal metabolic rate drops
because you have less lean muscle tissue burning calories and
your body thinks its starving and cuts back on energy requirements.
So
you should continue to eat carbohydrates discriminately selecting
those which have the greatest health benefits.
Flaxseeds
and their oil may also lower total blood cholesterol, as well
as LDL ("bad") cholesterol Human studies have shown
that flaxseed can modestly reduce serum total and low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, reduce postprandial glucose
absorption, decrease some markers of inflammation, and raise serum
levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, ALA and eicosapentaenoic acid.
Omega-3
fatty acids are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (18-22
carbon atoms in chain length) with the first of many double bonds
beginning with the third carbon atom (when counting from the methyl
end of the fatty acid molecule). Read on for more details on flax
seed benefits. Like most vegetable oils, flaxseed oil contains
linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid needed for survival. But
unlike most oils, it also contains significant amounts of another
essential fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid (ALA). There are many
benefits to adding flax seeds to your diet. Well for instance
they can get rid of your constipation problem.
The
carbohydrates you consume should come from carbohydrate-rich foods
that are close to the form that occurs in nature. The closer the
carbohydrate food is as Mother Nature intended, the greater the
density of other vital nutrients. If you are looking for health-enhancing
sources of carbohydrates you should choose from: Fruit: rich in
fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium and often vitamin
E.
Vegetables:
fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, often vitamin E, potassium
and a wider variety of minerals than fruit. Whole grains and grain
foods: rich in fiber, protein, and some B vitamins and are very
rich in minerals.
Legumes:
an excellent source of protein, fiber folate, potassium, iron
and several minerals.
Dairy
foods: protein, vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin,
and vitamin B12. You can also source carbohydrates from processed
foods such as soda pop or soft drinks, snacks such as cookies
and chips, and alcohol. These generally are considered to be a
poor food choice and should be consumed rarely. The carbohydrate
source (sugar and flour) in these food choices has been highly
refined processed. A diet rich in refined carbohydrates and processed
foods has been associated with heart disease and onset of type
2 diabetes.
Why
are these sources of carbohydrates to be avoided?
1.
They are calorie dense and contribute a large number of calories
in a small amount of food. For example a 7oz bag of potato chips
or corn chips have approximately 1000 calories. Most women on
a weight management program will be aiming for 1200 daily calorific
intake. So, this is what we mean by calorie dense and nutritionally
scarce.
2.
They offer little appetite-holding power because they have no
fiber or protein. As a result you end up searching for food again
soon after your first serve.
3.
They contribute nothing to your nutritional profile except calories.
This means you have fewer calories left for foods that your body
requires for good health.
Whenever
possible, replace highly processed grains, cereals, and sugars
with minimally processed whole-grain products and ensure you have
at least five serves of fruit and vegetables daily.
Rather
than cut out carbs completely for a very short-term gain (usually
weight loss), there are greater long-term health benefits in learning
how to distinguish good carbs over bad carbs and incorporating
healthy carbohydrates into your weight loss program. Heart disease
is by far the #1 killer in the U. S., although 1/3 of those deaths
could be prevented if people exercised more and followed better
diets, the American Heart Association said in an annual report.
Also
discussed will be the affects of our western diet on omega-3 levels
and the latest research on the cardiovascular, heart, and the
other health benefits of omega-3 compounds. Flax seed oil is extracted
from the seeds of the flax plant. Flax seed oil and flax seed
contain substances that promote good health.
Flax
Seed muffins prevents Cancer? Find Flax Seed Recipe today! Omega-3
for health! Randomized clinical trials have shown that omega-3
fatty acid supplements can reduce cardiovascular events (death,
non-fatal heart attacks, nonfatal strokes). They can also slow
the progression of atherosclerosis in coronary patients. You can
eat whole flax seeds but you need to chew them good to break them
up. Your stomach will not dissolve whole flax seeds and many of
them will come out in your stools.
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