Tuesday, January 7, 2014

What is High-Fructose Corn Syrup ????



As its name implies, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) comes from corn, not sugarcane or sugar beets. Created in the 1960s, this additive is now found in numerous processed foods, including many sodas. The syrup has become popular for food makers because it's cheaper than white sugar.
HFCS has a reputation for being unhealthy and fattening, which you can read more about in the article How bad for you is high-fructose corn syrup? It's also stigmatized as unnatural and artificial because the production process requires the addition of enzymes and fiddling with the molecular arrangement of regular corn syrup.
Some say that high-fructose corn syrup is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic because obesity rates have risen in lockstep with HFCS consumption. But the available scientific evidence is inconclusive. That doesn't mean that HFCS is healthy. It's still "empty" calories -- no nutritional value, easily and quickly processed by the body.
There is, however, some evidence that the body treats HFCS differently than glucose, another common form of sugar. When a person's liver is deciding what to do with glucose, it has several options: use it for energy; convert the glucose into triglycerides or store the glucose as fat. A 2008 study found that fructose seems to go directly to fat. The problem may also be more severe with those who are overweight. The study concluded that fructose itself isn't bad -- particularly fructose found in fruits, which are nutrient rich -- but that many people could be better served by limiting fructose consumption and avoiding overeating.
One misconception about HFCS stems from its name. In fact, HFCS isn't that much different than standard, processed white sugar. A commonly used form of HFCS contains 45 percent glucose and 55 percent fructose. White sugar is split 50-50 between glucose and fructose. HFCS is higher in fructose than conventional corn syrup, which is 100 percent glucose. But other types of HFCS, especially those used in non-soda products like certain breads, are 58 percent glucose and only 42 percent fructose.





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Thursday, January 2, 2014

BOILED EGG'S Vs. FRIED EGG'S ???

If you ever wondered which is healthier here's a breakdown.



Macro-nutrients

Each large hard-boiled egg provides 78 calories, 6.3 grams of protein, 0.6 gram of carbohydrates and 5.3 grams of fat, including 1.6 grams of saturated fat. Fry that egg and you'll increase the calories to 90 and the fat to 6.8 grams, including 2 grams of saturated fat, or 10 percent of the daily value for both fat and saturated fat.

Vitamins

Eat a large boiled egg and you'll be getting 15 percent of the DV for riboflavin, 10 percent of the DV for vitamin B-12 and 11 percent of the DV for vitamin D. Fried eggs have a similar vitamin content, although the amounts are slightly less. Riboflavin helps produce red blood cells and turn carbohydrates into energy. You need vitamin B-12 for nervous system and brain function and vitamin D plays a role in immune function and calcium absorption.

Minerals

Fried eggs have a slightly higher mineral content than hard-boiled eggs. However, the only mineral they contain in significant amounts is phosphorus, with each large fried egg providing 10 percent of the DV. Hard-boiled eggs provide about 9 percent of the DV for this mineral. Phosphorus is essential for strong bones, producing DNA and kidney function.

Considerations

Other than the fat content, boiled and fried eggs are similar in nutrition, with small differences due to the cooking method and the addition of oil to the fried egg. You can improve the nutrition of your eggs, regardless of your cooking method. If you opt for true free-range eggs, according to a 2007 article published in "Mother Earth News," free-range eggs are higher in beta carotene and vitamins A and E, while providing less saturated fat and cholesterol than conventional eggs. While in healthy individuals moderate egg consumption doesn't necessarily increase heart disease risk, it does appear to affect the risk for mortality more in people with diabetes, according to a study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in April 2008.
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

HOW FOODS AFFECT OUR BODIES !!

Check out this image that give you a visual understanding about how the foods you eat everyday are broken-down in your body.



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Friday, May 31, 2013

Food PYRAMID becomes a FOOD PLATE !!!!



Plate = New Symbol for Healthy Eating
Goodbye, pyramid. Hello, plate.
The Food Guide Pyramid was the model for healthy eating in the United States. Maybe you had to memorize its rainbow stripes in school.But the USDA, the agency in charge of nutrition, has switched to a new symbol: a colorful plate —called MyPlate — with some of the same messages:
  • Eat a variety of foods.
  • Eat less of some foods and more of others.
The pyramid had six vertical stripes to represent the five food groups plus oils. The plate features four sections (vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein) plus a side order of dairy in blue.The big message is that fruits and vegetables take up half the plate, with the vegetable portion being a little bigger than the fruit section.And just like the pyramid where stripes were different widths, the plate has been divided so that the grain section is bigger than the protein section. Why? Because nutrition experts recommend you eat more vegetables than fruit and more grains than protein foods.The divided plate also aims to discourage super-big portions, which can cause weight gain.

Pyramid vs. Plate: What's different?
While the basic nutritional guidelines for Americans remain the same, the USDA Plate and the old pyramid do have a few noticeable differences

  • Less emphasis on grains. The food pyramid was dominated by grains, which filled in the largest spot at the bottom of the pyramid in the original version, and the large orange vertical bar in the 2005 version. The Plate version reserves only one quadrant for grains (with an emphasis on whole grains) and really focused on fruits and vegetables, which take up half the plate—more than any other food group. Many nutrition experts see this as a major improvement since Americans tend to fall short of reaching their minimum 5-a-day requirements. If half of the food you ate at each meal was comprised of vegetables and fruits, you'd have no problem reaching 5-9 servings of fresh, frozen, cooked or canned produce each day.
  • No mention of fats and oils (or sugars for that matter). These appeared on the old pyramid, shown in small quantities with the message to eat these foods rarely or in small amounts. These don't show up anywhere on the Plate, despite the fact that not all fats are created equal and that dietary fat is essential to optimal health. One could assume that the foods you include on your plate are going to contain fat, or be prepared in some source of fat, but the fact that it's not mentioned at all as part of a healthy diet may seem questionable—especially when Americans tend to consume too much of the wrong kinds of fats. Don’t despair, a quick click to the ChooseMyPlate.gov site provides in-depth information about fats, oils and added sugars.
  • Bye, bye serving sizes. Not only did the food guide pyramid tell you how many servings of each food group to consume each day (such as 6-11 servings of grains), but it somewhat alluded to how large a single serving actually was. The Plate does not depict or mention how many servings you should eat of any particular food group, nor how big a serving actually is. Many nutrition professionals have been using a plate method similar to this to educate clients for years. The assumption is that if you eat off of a normal sized plate (nine inches in diameter or smaller), and if you don't pile your food up too high, you're eating a normal, healthy amount for weight management. In a sense, the lack of serving sizes makes the Plate simpler to implement and understand than the pyramid once was. And for more specific amounts of foods needed for children, teens, adults (even during pregnancy and breastfeeding), the ChooseMyPlate.gov site allows you to enter your personal data and get an individualized eating plan.
  • Where's the beef? While the pyramid featured food groups, the plate mixes in one other element: nutrients. At least as far as protein is concerned. Protein is a nutrient found in various foods, not an actual food group, which has left some people perplexed. Fruits (food), vegetables (food), grains (food), and milk (food) are all represented, but protein (nutrient) seems out of place. The USDA says that in their test groups, Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds understood what "protein" meant: a variety of sources (meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, beans, soy, etc.). Some critics say that protein is found in many foods already listed on the Plate, such as grains, milk and even vegetables, and that this might confuse consumers. Other critics of this approach feel that Americans will only think of "meat" when they hear the word protein, even though plant-based proteins are also healthful and should be included in one's diet. Most likely, simplifying the once tongue-twisting name (the meat, beans, nuts, and legumes food group) into "protein" was just easier when designing this graphic. After all, simplicity and ease of understanding is the main goal of the Plate.

Although no single image can possibly convey all the complexities of nutrition and healthy eating, many see the Plate as an improvement over the pyramid of our past. According to the USDA and other food experts, the simple Plate icon is easier to understand. You can look at it once and easily remember what it conveys, and which food groups it includes. Most people couldn't say the same about the complexity of the food pyramid.
What's a Grain Again?
You know what fruits and vegetables are, but here's a reminder about what's included in the three other food groups: protein, grains, and dairy:
  • Protein: Beef; poultry; fish; eggs; nuts and seeds; and beans and peas like black beans, split peas, lentils, and even tofu and veggie burgers. Protein builds up, maintains, and replaces the tissues in your body.
  • Grains: Bread, cereal, rice, tortillas, and pasta. Whole-grain products such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and brown rice are recommended because they have more fiber and help you feel full.
  • Dairy: Milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy milk. With MyPlate, the dairy circle could be a cup of milk, but you also can get your dairy servings from yogurt or cheese. Choose low-fat or nonfat dairy most of the time.

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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Why aren't you full yet? (Processed Foods)


Why aren't you full yet?

I picked this topic because many people in the world always wonder why they can eat a big serving of what they call “food” and not be full yet. This is what causes them to over eat and gain weight. This is not their fault; most people are under educated when it comes to the food they eat. They don’t understand what processed foods do to their bodies versus the benefits of natural “whole” foods. I’m going to explain a few reasons as to why you don’t get full after eating that big bag of chips, or those burgers and fries off the dollar menu.
Almost all food is processed before it is eaten some go through more intense processing than others. Here is some helpful info you should read before I continue. Courtesy of http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au
Stability of nutrients during processing and storage

Some vitamins are more stable (less affected by processing) than others.

Water soluble vitamins (B-group and C) are more unstable than fat soluble vitamins (K, A, D and E) during food processing and storage. The most unstable vitamins include:
  • Folate
  • Thiamin
  • Vitamin C.
More stable vitamins include:
  • Niacin (vitamin B3)
  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin D
  • Biotin (vitamin B7)
  • Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5).
Many things can affect a food’s nutrient content

There are a variety of things that happen during the growing, harvesting, storing and preparing of food that can affect its nutritional content.


Fertilizers

Most plant crops are produced with the aid of fertilized soils. Fertilizer tends to reduce the vitamin C content of the crop, while increasing its protein value. It doesn’t seem to make any difference to the plant’s nutrient value whether the fertilizer is organic or not.


Milling

Cereals, such as wheat, are ground to remove the fibrous husks. The husks contain most of the plant’s dietary fiber, B-group vitamins, phytochemicals and some minerals.

That’s why products such as white bread are less nutritious than whole meal varieties, even if they have been artificially fortified with some of the nutrients that were lost after milling. It is impossible to add back everything that is taken out, especially the phytochemicals. The ‘fiber’ that is added back to some products is often in the form of resistant starch, which may not be as beneficial as the fiber removed.


Blanching

Before a food is canned or frozen, it is usually heated very quickly with steam or water. The water soluble vitamins, including vitamin C and B-complex, are sensitive and easily destroyed by blanching.


Canning

Food is heated inside the can to kill any dangerous micro-organisms and extend the food’s shelf life. Some types of micro-organisms require severe heat treatment and this may affect the taste and texture of the food, making it less appealing. Preservatives are generally not needed or used in canned foods. Water soluble vitamins are particularly sensitive to high temperatures. Many people believe that canned foods are not as nutritious as their fresh counterparts; however, this is not always the case, as fresh food often deteriorates more rapidly than canned foods.


Freezing

The nutrient value of a food is retained when it is frozen. Any nutrient losses are due to the processing prior to freezing and the cooking once the frozen food is thawed.


Pasteurization

This is the heating of milk to destroy micro-organisms. The nutrient value of milk is generally unaffected. In the case of pasteurized fruit juices, some losses of vitamin C can occur.


Dehydrating

Drying out foods, such as fruits, can reduce the amount of vitamin C they retain but it can also concentrate other nutrients, particularly fibre in plant foods. Dehydrating food also makes food products more energy dense, which may contribute to weight gain. If a dehydrated food is reconstituted and cooked with water, further nutrients are leached out of the food and lost in the cooking water.


Preparation of vegetables

Most vegetables are peeled or trimmed before cooking to remove the tough skin or outer leaves. However, the bulk of nutrients, such as vitamins, tend to lie close to the skin surface of most vegetables. Overzealous trimming can mean a huge reduction in a vegetable’s nutrient value.


Losing nutrients through cooking

Some vitamins dissolve in water, so you lose your vitamins to the cooking water if you prefer to boil your vegetables. Alternative cooking methods – such as grilling, roasting, steaming, stir-frying or microwaving generally preserve a greater amount of vitamins and other nutrients.


The benefits of cooking food

It would be inaccurate to say that cooking food always lessens the nutrient value. Cooking can be advantageous in many ways, including:
  • Making the food tastier.
  • Breaking down parts of vegetables that would otherwise be indigestible.
  • Destroying bacteria or other harmful micro-organisms.
  • Making phytochemicals more available; for instance, phytochemicals are more available in cooked tomatoes than in raw tomatoes.
Preserving the nutrient value of vegetables

Some suggestions to retain the maximum nutrition in the foods you cook include:
  • Store foods properly, such as keeping cold foods cold and sealing some foods in airtight containers.
  • Keep vegetables in the crisper section of the refrigerator.
  • Try washing or scrubbing vegetables rather than peeling them.
  • Use the outer leaves of vegetables like cabbage or lettuce unless they are wilted or unpalatable.
  • Microwave, steam, roast or grill vegetables rather than boiling them.
  • If you boil your vegetables, save the nutrient-laden water for soup stock.
  • Use fresh ingredients whenever possible.
  • Cook foods quickly.
Things to remember
  • The nutrient value of food is almost always altered by the kind of processing it undergoes.
  • The water soluble vitamins are the most vulnerable to processing and cooking.
  • Careful cooking and storage will help retain the nutrients in your food.
The food we eat today is very different then the food our ancestors ate, if you want to eat what the generations before us ate it comes with a price tag. This exact reason is why most people fall victim to processed foods without even thinking about why the food is so cheap. I posted two very informative videos below; take a look at them and start doing your own research on processed foods & the chemicals within them. We have to change the way we eat to create a better life for us and our children.
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

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