Beets for Anemia

Beets for Anemia

More and more people are becoming anemic, a condition that occurs when the body’s red blood cell count is less than normal.

When you’re anemic, your blood can’t deliver the proper oxygen supply to your organs and tissues. This can affect the functioning of different body organs.

To combat anemia, one of the best foods is beetroots. Beetroots have a significant amount of iron that helps in regeneration of red blood cells. Also, being sweet and full of fiber and vitamin C, beets make a delicious and nutrient-packed addition to any meal.

A 2013 study published in the IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science reports that intake of freshly prepared beetroot juice leads to a highly significant improvement in hemoglobin level.

Lemon For Obesity

Obesity is linked with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and even some cancers (including breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney and colon).

To help aid weight loss and protect yourself from the clutches of obesity, start your day with lemon water.

Lemon helps improve digestion and aids detoxification, removing toxins from your body that slow down your metabolism.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition suggests that supplementation with lemon polyphenols suppressed weight gain and fat accumulation.

A 2016 study published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine suggests that drinking lemon juice and honey mixed in water over four days of fasting may be useful for reducing body weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass and total serum triglycerides in healthy individuals. This might help prevent obesity and hypertriglyceridemia.

Sugar

What follows is a more specific list of sugar’s detrimental effects, culled from the scientific literature on sugar consumption.

• Decreases levels of the helpful, protective cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)

• Increases triglycerides (elevated triglycerides increase your risk of coronary artery disease)

• Causes fluctuations in blood glucose levels—a situation that can be problematic in people with diabetes

• Contributes to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in a process in which sugar links to protein (AGEs are implicated in aging, diabetic nerve damage, vascular problems, and impaired cellular function)

• Increases the risk of obesity

• Is directly related to the formation of dental cavities

• Displaces the intake of whole foods in the diet

Omega 3

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Brain Health Treatment of depression, anxiety, and stress with omega-3 fatty acids is garnering a lot of attention in medical circles. About 60 percent of the brain is composed of fat, and the primary fat in the brain is omega-3 fat. When omega-3 fat is in short supply in the diet, other fat gets involved in brain building, and as a result, the health of brain cells is impaired. The membrane of each brain cell, for example, becomes rigid, and it takes longer for electrical impulses to travel from one cell to another. This means that messages are not being carried rapidly from brain cell to brain cell. Consequently, you don’t think clearly, and your memory may become foggy. Depression and anxiety can also set in. Increasing levels of omega-3 fat in the diet has been shown to alleviate these problems. There is an important ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in the diet that also helps to limit inflammatory processes. In recent years, scientists have discovered that the development of many diseases is influenced by chronic inflammation in the body. Inflammation is an essential part of the body’s healing process, brought on when the immune system tries to battle disease-causing germs and repair injured tissue. When that battle is over, the army of inflammation-triggering substances is supposed to withdraw, but in many cases it does not. Chronic inflammation is the result, and it has been implicated in heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and even Alzheimer’s disease. Omega-3 fat appears to halt chronic inflammation. Omega-6 fat is pro-inflammatory, whereas omega-3 fat is anti-inflammatory. However, omega-6 fat is far more abundant in our food supply. So it takes planning and effort and good choices to create a healthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fat. Although the average American diet reflects a ratio of 20:1, a more ideal ratio is 2:1 to 4:1. The fat cells in your body create their own inflammatory processes—which is yet another reason to stay lean. In fact, overweight people show symptoms of chronic, lowgrade inflammation, perhaps indicating early atherosclerosis, according to research. A study conducted by researchers at the Free University in Amsterdam and scientists at the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, found overweight people to be far more likely than lean ones to have excess concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in their blood—a marker of inflammation. In fact, it is possible that chronic systemic inflammation precedes overweight and obesity due to poor lifestyle choices. As mentioned above, fat tissue is not benign. It is considered to be its own endocrine organ, pumping out hormones that create inflammatory markers that help sustain and create more fat tissue and keep inflammation chugging along. These compounds also contribute to increased risk of all the chronic diseases noted above. So if you are overweight, losing weight is the first step toward protecting your health.

Limit Alcohol Intake

If your goal is to perform at peak levels, be aware that alcohol consumption will limit your progress. The data are quite clear that alcohol, a central nervous system depressant, diminishes athletic performance not only within hours but also within days of consumption. Alcohol also increases appetite and caloric intake, both of which are detrimental to losing body fat. There is a broad misconception that calories from alcohol are not recognized by the body and so don’t count. This is false. The calories are absolutely recognized by the body and metabolized. Just like protein, carbohydrate, and fat, alcohol calories are stored as fat when caloric consumption is above caloric needs. Current research shows that alcohol calories add to all of the other calories that you eat in the day, yet they are considered “empty” calories because they provide virtually no nutrients. Alcohol calories are also burned preferentially to the other macronutrients, so on an evening out drinking and eating you are most likely to burn your alcohol calories and store the rest of your calories as fat. And because alcohol lowers your inhibitions, when you drink and eat, all of your best intentions go out the window. While few people drink alcohol before training, it is not an uncommon practice after training. But when you consume alcohol after training, carbohydrate metabolism is altered, so recovery is not as rapid. Endocrine function and sleep are disturbed, further disrupting recovery. If you expect to perform at high levels within a day or two of your last bout of exercise, ideally don’t drink at all, or don’t drink more than one or two alcoholic beverages between bouts. Alcohol consumed before or with meals tends to increase food intake both by lowering inhibitions and enhancing the short-term rewarding effects of food. It is true that moderate alcohol intake may protect against obesity, particularly in women; however, increased alcohol consumption and dependence, as well as binge drinking, may increase risks of obesity. Most likely, you want to avoid obesity and stay as lean as possible. Except on special occasions, alcohol has no regular place in the diet of someone trying to achieve physique and performance goals.

Milk

Milk Getting yourself to the gym or the field requires feeling like you want to go there. Mental focus, mood, and mental energy are all part of consistent training and the ability to sustain an intense workout. Milk is one of my all time favorite “feel great foods.” Milk is high in the amino acid tryptophan, a building block for the manufacture of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is our primary “good mood” neurotransmitter, and without tryptophan, serotonin levels are low, meaning a bad mood, or even depression, isn’t far behind. The natural combination of carbohydrate and protein in milk allows for the rapid transport of tryptophan into the brain; this transport is impeded without carbohydrate. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, also required for serotonin production. In addition, multiple studies have shown that whey protein and calcium from dairy foods is associated with fat loss, muscle gain, and better maintenance of a healthy body weight. If you can’t drink cow’s milk, then goat’s milk is a close second. Soy milk fortified with vitamin D and calcium is good, but nut, seed, and grain milks are much lower in protein and have a completely different nutrient composition.

Eggs

Egg yolks are the primary source of choline, a B-vitamin, in our diets. Choline is half of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is active every time we think or move: that’s 24/7! Americans, fearful of cardiovascular disease risk, have been dumping egg yolks down the drain for the past 30 years, and our consumption of choline has been going down the drain with the yolks. As a nation, we are consuming barely one third of our dietary need for choline. The alarm bells have rung in the nutrition world, and we are now strongly recommending that everyone add at least one egg yolk a day back to their diets, especially since multiple studies have shown that an egg yolk a day does not raise cardiovascular disease risk, even in people with coronary artery disease. Choline is also critically important for the health of brain cells. So if thinking and moving are important to you, and you want to be able to train hard, then add at least one egg to your daily routine.

Foods that Help Prevent and Fight Diseases

1.Lemon for Obesity

2.Turmeric for Arthritis

3.Beets for Anemia

4.Yogurt for High Blood Pressure

5.Blueberries and Blackberries for Diabetes

6.Green Tea for High Cholesterol

7.Garlic for Weak Immunity

8.Bananas for Diarrhea

9.Broccoli for Cancer

10.Walnuts for Brain Health

Resistance Training

Although resistance training typically is thought to be primarily for those who are young and athletic and attempting to improve athletic performance or look very fit, resistance training is also increasingly recognized as an excellent prevention strategy and treatment for many types of chronic disease. Resistance training lowers blood pressure values in those with hypertension, can maintain bone integrity in those prone to osteoporosis, improves health outcomes in those with chronic kidney disease, and helps maintain lean tissue in those undergoing weight loss, among many other benefits. Progressive resistance training gained traction as an adjunct treatment in those treated for cancer or who are cancer survivors. A review and meta-analysis demonstrated the following benefits of resistance training in those with breast cancer:

• Reduced risk of breast cancer–related lymphedema

• No change in arm volume in those with established lymphedema

• Improved upper and lower body strength

• Positive effect on health-related quality of life in those not currently on cancer therapy Interestingly, until as recent as 2003 there were no trials assessing resistance training in these patients. This was largely due to the belief that the threat of immune system dysfunction from potential fatigue and exhaustion were too great a risk in these patients coupled with the idea that resistance training might negatively affect those who had lymph tissue removed during surgery and were at risk for lymphedema (fluid buildup) in their arms. In just over a decade, resistance training has become widely recommended as a standard part of exercise therapy in the breast cancer population