Tag: Food

Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food

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The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, in his famous quote, written around the 5th century BC, was essentially referring to nutraceuticals. The portmanteau of the words "nutrition" and "pharmaceutical", was coined in 1989, by Stephen L. DeFelice, founder and chairman of the Foundation of Innovation Medicine.

Nutraceutical is any substance considered as food or its part, which, in addition to its normal nutritional value, provides health benefits, including the prevention of disease, or promotion of health.

Different jurisdictions have collectively agreed, that nutraceutical has no regulatory definition. As a general consensus, a nutraceutical should be a non-toxic food component, with scientifically proven health benefits.

A plethora of ancient civilizations, like Indian, Egyptian, Chinese, and Sumerian, have extensively explored the medicinal traits of various food commodities. Ayurveda, the ages old Indian discipline of health science, has also mentioned the usages and benefits of food for therapeutic purposes. The modern nutraceutical industry thriving nowadays, had begun to develop in Japan, during the 1980s.

Nutraceuticals are often labeled as designer foods, health foods, fortified foods, medifoods, vita foods, pharma foods, functional foods, and dietary supplements. The term "Nutraceutical" is a terminology, which encompasses isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and diets, genetically engineered '' designer '' foods, herbal products, and processed food products the functional component must be standardized in the nutraceutical product, and be manufactured under good manufacturing practices (GMPs).

Recent developments:

August 2017: Carlson Labs, Arlington Heights, and IL, have developed Carlson Curcumin, an enhanced form of curcumin, which has a higher bioavailability, for healthy, normal inflammatory response, joint & heart health, and a powerful antioxidant protection.

The enhanced bioavailability has been a constant focus of R&D, in the nutraceutical sector, as the amount of functional ingredients have no beneficial effect, if they are not adequately available for absorption by the human body, into the bloodstream. Moreover, the enhanced form of functional ingredients are, readily absorbed by the person who has a compromised immune-system.

July 2017: NutraGlow, Inc., the developer of a blend of sublingual vitamins, launched its new Super B vitamin product, which has active B-6, and inactive B-12 to fight fatigue, and optimize brain function.

Multivitamins have been a popular form of supplements, due to its wide array of health benefits, collectively provided by different vitamins. However, blending an active type of vitamin with an inactive one, for enhanced health benefits, is a significant innovation at value-added levels.

How global market is responding to this segment of medicinal foods?

A report by a market research firm, estimates a healthy growth rate of 6.3% for increasing growing global nutraceutical market, over 2017-2022, and the market is estimated to be valued at294.79 billion, by 2022 end.

Developed countries are investing heavily in R&D, pertaining to the general well-being of their fellow citizens, along with the sharp rise in medical expenses, to tackle chronic and lifestyle diseases. Preventive approach to health has been the rising trend globally, with developing countries meeting their public health targets, and consistently increasing the proportion of GDP allotted for the …

Still Think of Chocolate As Health Food?

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This isn't exactly news because it came to light several years ago, but chocolate isn't the health food it was proclaimed to be, say, 5 or so years ago.

Yet people still seem to think it is – so they eat it and tell themselves it's good for them.

Why they do that? Well, they like it; it's easy to like.

Chocolate also feels like an easy answer to various problems because it's a mood changer. The mood-changing chemicals include theobromine (similar to caffeine) and phenylethylamine (likened to the feeling of being in love). It also triggers endorphins (beta-endorphin) and serotonin, two brain chemicals associated with mood.

Were You Caught in the Chocolate Trap?

I was not, and here's why.

Chocolate – even 70-plus percent dark chocolate – contains sugar, and I'm fiercely anti-sugar. In fact, I've been anti-sugar for well over 25 years, long before anyone was talking about its negative effects on health or its addictive properties.

A few clients have called me The Sugar Nazi. What can I say? I wear the label proudly.

When health gurus were pushing chocolate, I was against it because I was certain the drawbacks of the sugar in chocolate would override any benefits we were then hearing about cacao itself.

What the Chocolate Story Turned Out to Be

Basically, it's an unsurprising story. Chocolate manufacturers and the cocoa industry funded scientific studies to "prove" the benefits of chocolate. One company, Mars, maker of Snickers, M & Ms, Milky Way and many other candies, actually funded hundreds of such studies.

It doesn't feel worth it to me to hash through the alleged benefits of chocolate, but here's a partial list. It was said to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, improve weight loss, decrease risk of diabetes, stroke, atrial fibrillation and heart failure, as well as alleviate immune disorders.

Gee, will it make my brown eyes blue, too?

Claims like these keep springing up even in current articles – and are still affecting the eating behaviors of my colleagues in the fitness industry.

My recommendation is to forgo chocolate because of the sugar. If you must consume cocoa or cacao, make sure it's unsweetened. Problems with sugar affect health, appetite, food preferences, mood disorders, hormones, brain chemistry, and a lot more.

Sugar's negative effects can't be overstated. Chocolate can't and won't override those.

Source Article …

Lose Weight With the 60 Day Food and Fitness Program & Journal

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Keeping a weight loss journal can double your weightloss, studies show. Studies also now support the idea that old-fashioned calorie counting works the best for losing weight. Put these two weightloss tips to work for you with The 60 Day Food and Fitness Program & Journal by Brad Peterson, one of the most comprehensive weightloss journals available.

Why Keep a Weightloss Journal

Often people believe they are eating much less than they actually are. They don’t pay

attention to portion size and often estimate that they are eating many less calories than they actually consume. We kid ourselves that that little handful of chips or that cookie didn’t really count.

Keeping a weightloss journal allows you keep track of all the calories you actually eat throughout the day and stop estimating.

You might even see some interesting patterns, like empty calories spent on snacks or eating too much after dinner and before bedtime. You’ll see lots of ways you can save calories by keeping the journal.

What you’ll find in the 60 Day Food and Fitness Program & Journal

The 60 Day Food and Fitness Program & Journal focuses on keeping track of not only the foods you eat but the exercise you get to burn those calories and shrink those inches. There is great information provided in the front and back of the book relating to setting goals and how to reach them, with a page to write out your own goals. There are also charts on how many calories you burn with different activities and nutritional information on various foods, with a section just on fast food. There are also several pages of healthy recipes and a place to write in your own favorites.

The 60 Day Food and Fitness Program gives you a page to list all the foods you eat in a given day and helps you keep track of calories, fat and time of day that you ate. The opposite page is where you list your fitness activities, duration and calories burned. There is also a comment section to write down any notes and boxes to check off for each glass of water you drink. (There is a great article in the book about why drinking water is important to a weightloss program too!)

Once a week, there is a weight in page where you keep track of your weightloss and set your goals for the coming week. You can also keep track of your shrinking measurements. Other charts in the front of the book help you set up a fitness program and track your progress as well.

To lose a pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories. No matter what weightloss plan or diet you adhere to, this fact won’t change. You can cut 3,500 calories from your diet – perhaps 500 calories a day – or you can do a combination of cutting calories and increasing exercise to burn those calories and you will lose weight. A weight loss journal can …