The Miracle of Yourself

This week marks the end of National Nutrition Month, when there is a spotlight on questions about food and eating practices.
Public health nurses at the Health Centre in Fort Smith advise the public on dietary needs, discussed nutritional issues and gave advice on eating healthy.
Dianna Korol, manager of primary community care at the Fort Smith Health Centre advocates “fresher is better.” She said the more processed food is, the worse it likely is for your body. A rule of thumb; the longer food took to prepare, probably the better it is for you.
Julie Meekel, a homecare registered nurse, recommends eating regular meals rather than snacking and grazing.
Another strategy is portion control, said Korol. People often put too much on their plates and then feel they have to finish it.
A lot of information is available from Canada’s Food Guide, courtesy of Health Canada. The health staff The Journal spoke to mentioned it often. The food guide offers a system of tracking how much food and what kinds of food we eat each day. There are daily recommended intakes of the four food groups and ways of understanding other things about the food we eat (or shouldn’t eat) like different kinds of fats.
The food guide is available through Public Health or at schools and colleges. It’s also on the internet at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index_e.html
There’s also a NWT Food Guide through the Department of Health and Social Services. The NWT guide includes more Northern staples such as bannock and caribou.
The nurses acknowledged some of the difficulties in getting a varied diet. Most fruits and vegetables are transported from afar. Drinking fruit juice meets the needs for a fruit serving, although it lacks the benefit of the fibre you would get from eating an actual piece of fruit. Canned fruit will suffice if there’s no salt added and it is not packed in sugar.
Fibre is great, said the health workers, because it helps you feel full. Korol called it “the old oatmeal-for-breakfast theory.”
Keeping your body-mass-index (BMI) down is important, agreed the women and everyone should know how to calculate that and be tuned into it. Obesity and diabetes are the two biggest nutritional issues of the community, both of which can happen from a BMI that is too high.
It’s especially important to teach kids proper diet. “It sets their eating habits for life when they’re older,” said Korol. Nutrition is taught in schools, it is part of the school curriculum starting in kindergarten so parents have that to work with. Kids know what is good for them, but too often the bad habits of parents are passed on.

Food, Diet and Nutrition

The correct diet and nutrition like an insurance that surely protects you from any serious expensive medical problems

What you eat and drink is about the most important thing for your health. You have to know exactly what is the protein, the carbohydrate or the fat as the main macro nutrients of your food. This knowledge is absolutely needed to keep you healthy and minimize the risk of cancer, stroke and heart attack. The ability to know the best food guidance will not only beneficial to prevent you from any disease but it is also the most potent power to heal your organs and to overcome obesity or to reduce extra weight from your body.

Those diseases are caused by the narrowing of blood arteries or coronary artery in the heart, artery to the brain and other parts of the body. The narrowing arteries that are caused by atherosclerosis or plaque will make you suffering blood circulation problem. This plaque is formed from LDL cholesterol, arachidonic acid, toxic waste from the cell metabolism and calcium. Some people say, we are what we eat. That is right, the quality and the quantity of what we eat and drink will determine our health.

The narrowing of blood vessels and arteries by plaque or atherosclerosis is caused by food intake which is rich in trans fatty acids, saturated animal fat, sugar and other high glycemic carbohydrates. If we consume high calorie food which is more than our body needs then the extra calories will be stored by our body in the form of fat under our skin, around our vital organs like lungs, heart, and liver and also inside our arteries. According to studies, it has been proved that the fatty streaks in the blood vessel that caused atherosclerosis can be found as early in life as infancy. Our abdomen, thighs and waist measures will get larger because of extra stored fat. The plaque accumulation firstly clings around the wall of coronary arteries and the blood vessel to our brain. That is why the most common diseases that jeopardizes us are stroke and heart attack.

The deposited fats around our body and organs will not only spoil our appearance but also can make us more difficult to move or even breathe. We may become easy to get tired and lazy. This condition stimulates additional problems so that we can easily getting heavier and fatter. Our fatty liver will disturb its main functions to produce the blood cells. The most dangerous type of the extra fat in our body is the atherosclerosis or plaque. It can clog the blood vessels. If the plaque formation blocks the blood flow in the coronary arteries in the heart, you can suffer a heart attack. If it happens in the head or in your brain’s blood vessel you will get stroke. The artery plaque may disturb the whole systems of your body. Your blood tension may rise and may make you suffering hypertension. If your tension above 140 (systolic) and 100 (diastolic) without control then you have higher risk to get heart attack, stroke or kidney failure.

If you get heart attack or mild stroke, the cardiologist may conduct a very expensive surgery to correct your blocked coronary arteries. Once your blood vessels blocked 80 to 90 % then you have a sure passport to an early death, heart attack or stroke. The question besides the very expensive surgery “Is there any other way to clean our arteries? How? ”. The answer is yes. If you eat right, you move or exercise right and you sleep right supported with harmonious mind then your arteries can clean themselves. You can cleanse your arteries with your new way of life, a new life style by following the healthy life concept.

Why the former US president, Mr. Bill Clinton must go through a heart surgery? The world knew that Mr. Clinton routinely exercises. He jogged regularly. With his knowledge as an intellectual, he should have also followed the diet guidance. He is not fat. His body is proportional. A sure estimated but scientific guess is probably he follows incorrect or inappropriate diet. It may caused by improper diet, the misleading or wrong eating choice. The pyramid diet, and other high carbohydrate diet, that is followed by millions of people, around the world may not completely correct, it can be a sure way to get heart problem. The diets that are recommended by most cardiologists are high carbohydrates, low proteins and low fat. If you follow this program blindly, you bought a ticket to have heart attack, stroke, or even young mortality.

The pyramid (we do not recommend) diet is: At the top or the smallest portion of your food is fats, oil & sweets. It is followed by the next, which are milk, yogurt & cheese group 2-3 serving a day. Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs & nuts group 2 – 3 serving per day. The next which allow bigger portions are vegetable group 2 – 3 serving, fruit group 2 – 4 serving. At the bottom of the pyramid diet, which allows you largest portions for your diet are bread, cereal, rice & pasta group 6 – 11 serving per day. See the figure below:

The above pyramid scheme diet now is challenged by some modern cardiologists, biotechnology scientist and revolutionary health diet like Zone diet by Barry Sears Ph.D. who received a Nobel Prize for his research, doctor Perricone diet, he is a famous US dermatologist and South Beach diet by Doctor Arthur Agatston, a well known and successful cardiologist.

The three diets mentioned above (Zone, Perricone & South Beach) are almost the same. They only have some slight difference. They all recommend choosing the good protein, good carbohydrate and good fat. The other equal substance of the three forms of diets is they all recommend choosing the low glycemic carbohydrate. It is the complex carbohydrate that is slowly processed in our digestion system. When it enters our blood streams, it will slowly converts into blood sugar. The ideal stable of blood sugar level will not trigger our pancreas to inject insulin rapidly to lower the blood sugar content.

The zone diet is a little more difficult to follow because it suggests to consume proportional calories of good carbohydrate, good protein and good fat to be 40% - 30% - 30%.

The art to choose the carbohydrate is by selecting the lowest glycemic index. In this article we will not discuss specifically about each diet, but I will guide you to choose wisely your daily food intakes to make you healthier, slimmer, look younger and lower the risk of suffering heart attack and stroke. You will learn how to cleanse your arteries with proper nutrition guide and exercise. I will give you simple way, easy to follow and guidance to lead you to a new and healthier life style. You will easily select your food and drink to keep you in good shape and energetic.

The key to the right diet is selecting good protein, good carbohydrate and good fat or oil. The quality and the quantity of the food consumed are also very important. Do not eat too much, never let your stomach completely full. Eat slowly and enjoy every bite of your meal so that your saliva will provide its enzymes to help the food digestion when it enters your stomach. Stop eating when you feel 70% full, because when you stop eating the systemic process of the sense of full in your brain is still in progress. When you stop eating during 70 to 80 % full, after about 15- 30 minutes you will feel completely full. So, be careful, if you eat 100% full after 15 minutes to half an hour you will feel too full that make you feel uncomfortable, hard to breath and move. While in your system, it is becoming worse. The bio chemistry in your blood getting upset, it triggers unfriendly hormones that can harm your blood circulation, digestion and immune systems.

Use this site as your friend, read it and follow carefully its guidance. If you have hypertension or serious cardiovascular disease, consult with your physician. Articles in this blog are not designed as a substitute to the professional treatment from the good doctors or health care practitioners. However, if you are obese or overweight, or complaining on any various health problems - follow my guidance. Mainly, if you have been told that you have problems with your arteries or you have arteriosclerosis, after weeks or months you will gradually get better and may not require medicine anymore. But, check your health thoroughly before stopping any medications that prescribed by your physician.

Two week intensive diet

During first two week of the program, do not consume any high calorie carbohydrate like all kinds of fruits, breads, cereals and rice. The restricted foods include the good carbohydrate like non instant oatmeal, whole wheat bread, brown rice, wild diet rice and non fat milk. Just eat good variety of proteins and the good low glycemic carbohydrate fresh vegetables and good fat like some seeds and nuts, low fat cheese and selected oil like extra virgin olive oil, MCT or virgin coconut oil.

Have variety of any kind of fish and other sea food, eggs, breast of chicken or turkey without skin. Combine the good protein with selected vegetables. Do not choose all kind of potatoes, carrot and corn. These high glycemic vegetables are also restricted even in your maintenance program after two week diet.

For your regular breakfast have the canned tuna or boiled eggs or cold roast breast of chicken or turkey with cucumber, tomato or all kind of other good carbohydrate vegetables. You take the vegetable either raw, boil or steam half cooked. Use just a little (one tea spoon) mayonnaise or other low calorie dressing for your salads.

Do not fry your food with high heat. Almost all kinds of the oil will become trans fatty acid when it get heating. Trans fatty acid is the most dangerous fat and jeopardize you cardiovascular system. It is a sure way to increase your risk on heart attack and stroke. Omit margarine and all hydrogenated fat from your menu. It is the worst fat.

Homocystein, the amino acid that most found in red meat and organ meat is another bad guy for your arteries. It can also increase your risk to heart attack and stroke.