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Types Of Natural Sugar Alternatives

October 31st, 2009

With the growing concern about diabetes and obesity, many people have been looking to sugar alternatives as one way to maintain diet while living a healthier lifestyle. Nearly everyone responds to the sweetness of sugar, but processed regular white sugar used in most of our foods is not good for you and presents a host of health risks. Even though refined sugars are not good for you, there are sugar alternatives so you can still enjoy eating.

Natural sugar is one choice much better for you than refined white sugar. This natural sugar can provide easy to digest energy when consumed in small amounts, benefiting your body. This type of sugar will cause your body to store fat if you eat too much. This is what we try to avoid, but in small doses provides a good alternative.

There are artificial sugar alternatives as well, and some are better than others. The most popular option used is saccharine. The famous pink packet of Sweet and Low is offered in restaurants everywhere. This sugar alternative has been around for years, and is much sweeter than regular sugar. This means you use less for a comparable result.

Sugar alternatives do have a downside; they might not be healthy for you. Many people believe that these sugar alternatives cause cancer, although this hasn’t been scientifically proven. The biggest factor is they create an urge for more sugar. This does not make you eat healthier and avoid other sugars. Since these alternatives actually trick your body that it is consuming sugar, the empty calories still get stored as fat.

Another problem with artificial sweeteners is that they are not very good to cook with. They are alright for sweetening your coffee or iced tea, but they get a chemically taste is you use them to bake. That is why most people have a big bag of refined white sugar in their kitchens.

But there are other natural sugar alternatives that you can use that are great for baking and all your other sweetener needs. Honey is one good choice. It is all natural and good for you in moderation, of course. It is great for baking and as an added bonus it thickens things up as well.

Honey is also a good option for coffee or tea. You can get honey crystals that have been dried, making them easy to use. These honey crystals are perfect to use in beverages or over cereal.

Another one of the interesting natural sugar alternatives is Agave. This is a thick liquid that is derived from a plant. It is not quite as thick as honey that comes with a sweet, wonderful flavor while not being overpowering.

When shopping for natural sugar alternatives, do your research to find the right one. Using a natural sugar substitute can be a good tool when combined with exercise to help maintain a healthier lifestyle.

To see recipes made using a natural sugar known as organic honey crystals then visit the Mama Healthy website to get one of the best sugar alternatives out there.

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Get Antioxidants And The Health Dominance Of Super Foods

October 6th, 2009

Food provides us with biologically occurring antioxidants. Antioxidants are nutrients that shield the body and the immune system from damaging molecules called free radicals. Free radicals are unsteady molecules that occur as a outcome of oxidative processes such as the burning of sugars for energy, the release of digestive enzymes to break down food and the dispensation of environmental pollutants.

A “free radical” is a molecule or an atom that has at least one and possibly more unpaired electrons. This makes it very unstable and reactive to other atoms or groups of atoms and this can lead to an obstruction of the cells capacity to function typically. Free radicals can instigate cell damage, which can lead to the advance of age-related conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease or other conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers.

Antioxidants go to work by matching up with the unpaired electron thereby neutralizing the free radical. Antioxidants can also put a stop to the oxidation in the first place. In this course of neutralization the antioxidant will become oxidized itself so therefore antioxidants need to be continuously replaced. Preventing damage from oxidation is imperative, however, preventing oxidation totally is not achievable because oxidation is a normal process of living and it cannot be avoided.

Some normal foods that supply antioxidants are citrus fruits and strawberries, which supply vitamin C, orange fruits like pumpkin and butternut squash give us vitamin A and Carotenoids. We get Vitamin E from nuts, seeds and whole grains. Selenium is found is fish, shellfish, red meat, eggs and chicken. There are also assorted phytochemicals including Flavonoids and polyphenols, which are also classified as antioxidants and can be found in soy, red wine, grapes, cranberries and tea. Tomatoes and watermelon provide Lycopene and Lutein comes from dark green vegetables like spinach, kale and broccoli. Lignan is found in whole grains like oats, barley and it is also abundant in flaxseeds.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and Glutathione are vitamin like antioxidants and the body also makes its own antioxidant enzymes referred to as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase.

Antioxidants are necessary to our bodies and our health. In the past few years many antioxidants have become accessible in the form of supplements. While some antioxidant supplements have proven to be comparatively safe, for example vitamin C tablets, other antioxidants have proven to be unsafe. No single antioxidant can guard the body and it is the synergy of nutrients that provides the value rather than the individual antioxidant.

The safest and by far the best way to get your antioxidants is through the consumption of a healthy diet, consisting of a assortment of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean meats and fish. The USDA recommends 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day and even more may be better. Most fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense and low calorie so there are no uncertainties of gaining excess weight and eating fruits and vegetables to get your antioxidants poses no hazard to your body as opposed to some supplements.

The deep colors in foods often show the levels of antioxidants so have colorful foods, purple blueberries, red grapes and red tomatoes, deep green spinach and kale, orange oranges and pumpkins and more. Think about eating many different colors everyday for the highest antioxidant intake.

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