Category: Food & Body

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Food & Body

Five (5) Key Signs You Are Eating Right

eating right
Photo: blog.harvardvanguard.org

A lot of disorders arise from not eating right and a good number of them don’t even manifest until they have caused a lot of damages. Eating right, not only help you stay healthy, it helps you psychologically and financially. Financially? Yes, as you are about to find out in this short article.

How Do You Know You Are Eating Right?

Listen! Yes, listen to the subtle messages sent to you by your body. Whether our body is healthy or not, we get messages from our body but often times, we don’t listen. Likewise, if we are eating right or not eating right, we get messages from our body too. Subtle messages.

eating right
Photo: blog.harvardvanguard.org

Here are five key signs to know you are eating right;

1. You go to the toilet everyday

Not literally as stated in the title because people go to the toilet to smoke sometimes. Going to the toilet here means you actually go to the toilet to do what the toilet is designed for.

This is avery good sign you are eating right and including the right amount of fibers in your diet, they turn your bowel often and make you go do the dump. Constipation is a sign you are not eating right. Therefore, when you go to the toilet every day, it is a sign that you are eating right.

ALSO SEE: Why You Purge After Eating Leafy Vegetables

2. You Don’t Have Mood Swings

Yes, when you have even mood, then you can be sure you are eating right. Although, mood swings can be caused by other factors, when you have even mood, you are eating right.

Having said this, when you have mood swings or anxiety and have eliminated other possibilities, or starting to check what the possibilities are, you may want to check your diet. Too much of foods such as sugar, alcohol, caffeinated coffee, etc., can cause mood swings and anxiety. This is one of the reasons we included it in the list of foods you should avoid during exam period.

3. On Top Of Your Game All Day

Eating right gives you energy and makes you stay mentally active all-day. This is a fact and I have found this to be true by observing myself and other people in my workplace too. It is one of the reasons you should not miss your breakfast ever again.

You have enough energy throughout the day if your diet is fulfilling your needs and work requirements. Too much coffee consumption too can be implicated in this as you can have a crash or breakdown of energy towards the middle of or later on the day.

4. You Sleep Well At Night

A lot of things, including diet can keep you awake or make you have sleeps in which you wake up frequently. When you have these kind of nights, you wake up tired in the morning.

When you don’t sleep well at night, a lot of things can cause this but a good way to start checking is your diet. What kind of food do you eat in the day and towards bedtime? What is the space between the time you eat and time you go to bed? These are good questions to ask?

Want to know about foods that help get you a good night sleep? Click here to see.

5. Always Well Hydrated (No Episodes of Dehydration)

Dehydration usually results from drinking too little water in a day, thereby causing thirst, dry lips, and dry skin. Other factors that could result in dehydration include drinking too much caffeine and alcohol. Totally avoiding them is what I usually advise.

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that eating right saves you money and yes, it is true. You are not eating right if you eat at restaurants and eateries. These foods have been implicated in a lot of conditions and food poisoning cases. Cooking at home will not only give you quality and safe food but also saves you more money.

There are some other factors or signs that you can actually look out for in order to know if you are eating right, these are just some of the ones you cane easily notice.

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Food & Body

What It Means If You See Undigested Food In Your Excreta

check poop for your health status
Photo: quickmeme.com

Have you ever wondered what it means when you go to the toilet to defecate and see whole, undigested food in your excreta? Well, if you have ever experienced this and seek an answer to it, you are going to have it in this short article today.

We cannot really understand this without first knowing what happens through our digestive system from eating food to excretion. Don’t worry, I am not going to bore you with lots of stories about it. What I just want you to know that if your digestive system — the enzymes and bacteria present are all doing their jobs, foods get broken down before getting to the porcelain bowl.

check poop for your health status
Photo: quickmeme.com

Mind you, there is a job on your part to do — which is to masticate (chew) your food very well before you let it go into your stomach. If you don’t do this, it might just be too much for the other parts of your digestive system to handle and you see it at the end in your poop.

So, if you are asking, “what does it mean when there is undigested food in your excreta”, “is it a bad thing when you see whole, undigested foods in your poop?”

When you see whole food in your stool, we cannot really say it is a bad thing. There are lots of foods that are just simply not digestible. Therefore, it is okay to see this once in a while but there might be an underlying problem when you start seeing this often.

for example, if your poop floats, appears oily, or gives you some pain or cramps, it could be as a result of problems like an autoimmune disease such as irritable bowel syndrome or celiac disease. Celiac disease is basically an allergic reaction to gluten. It could also be a problem with your body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

When you come across undigested food in your stool more often but don’t see any symptom of a bigger underlying issue, you might want to adjust your diets and eating habits a little.

For example, there are groups of foods (water and fiber) that are known to aid the digestion of foods. Add more fiber and plenty of water to your diet. Probiotics will also help add beneficial bacteria to your intestine and provide more bacteria to help with proper digestion of foods.

In conclusion, if you do see undigested foods more often in your poop even without cramps or the other symptoms listed above, you should still consult a doctor before acting next.

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Food & Body

Foods That Help Relieve Your Headache

migraine and headache

When a headache strikes, it most times render all your body system useless. It makes you very touchy while reducing the extent to which you concentrate at work or at home. Many are quick to funnel some tablets of paracetamol into their bodies in order to reduce the discomfort but they are sometimes shocked to see no improvement. In fact, this has been the norm whenever there is an occurrence of headaches for many people.

migraine and headache

How Some Foods Can Help Get Rid Of Headache

Have you ever asked yourself; if your headaches could be a result of certain foods or micro-nutrients that are lacking in your diets? Yes, this can be very true and this is what has caused a headache in many people. Let us see some of the foods that will help you eliminated headaches if regularly included in your diet.

WATERMELON:

There is no gainsaying that the major cause of headaches is the lack of enough water and certain minerals in the body. With this understanding, to mitigate against the constant pounding of your head, it is essential to have an adequate serving of watermelon which has 90% water content and yet is loaded with a mineral such as magnesium that helps reduce the pains of headaches.

BAKED POTATO AND BANANA:

Alcohol-related headache is a common phenomenon, particularly among alcohol drinking men. Alcohol is diuretic and so causes loss of water from your body within a short period which leads to headaches due to loss of electrolytes such as potassium.

In order to restore your body back to normal, it is advisable to consume foods such as potato and banana that have the capacity to supply an adequate amount of potassium to your body.

ALMOND:

Almonds can be valuable food that can be enjoyed especially during stress time. Almonds have been researched to contain a good source of protein and amino acid with an abundant supply of magnesium, potassium, and even a little iron which are key minerals that can help relieve headaches.

SPINACH SALAD:

Are you hoping to quickly alleviate your pounding headache? then spinach salad with a combination of fruit like a carrot will help your condition. Like I itemized earlier, headache is majorly caused by dehydration with a lack of certain electrolytes. These vegetables are loaded with high moisture content and fiber which will alleviate the headache.

Having itemized some of the top foods that can help during headaches, it is important to state that you should at all times consume an adequate amount of water as dehydration is the major cause of headaches. Avoiding excessive alcohol would also help prevent alcohol-induced headaches.

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Food & Body

Foods That Cause Recurring Catarrh And Remedies

catarrh

Catarrh is an excessive build-up of thick phlegm or mucus in an airway or cavity of the body. The phlegm is not only found in the nasal cavity but also in the throat, ears or chest. They usually result in runny or stuffy nose and an irritating, persistent cough caused by excess mucus at the back of the throat. They do cause some discomfort.

Catarrh usually comes with illnesses and conditions such as cold and such infections as flu. I know people (including some friends), that keep having catarrh every day, but without any other illness or cold. We kept wondering before now, why their catarrh won’t just go but now we know. Some foods could be responsible for that catarrh that keeps coming back.

catarrh

What Normally Causes Catarrh? Can Food Cause It?

It should be noted that catarrh is not a condition itself, but a symptom of other conditions, telling you that something is wrong in the body. It is a reaction to irritations or infections by the immune system. The immune system helps to put up a defense against these irritations and infections.

Have you ever noticed how people get catarrh after being exposed to dust? Well, the dust causes irritations and there is the release of molecules called inflammatory mediators which cause the mucous membranes to swell and produce mucous.

There are other conditions that can bring about the production of mucous and blockage of the nasal cavity or production of phlegm in the throat. Surprisingly, food brings about this condition too and eating the food often keeps people wondering why they keep having catarrh.

Here are some foods that can cause your recurring catarrh…

Foods That Keep Bringing Your Catarrh Back

If you are so sure that your catarrh is not as a result of illnesses (conditions) or form of infection and that you have not exposed yourself to irritation sources such as dust, then your recurring catarrh could be a result of some foods causing irritations and causing the body to produce mucous which blocks your nose and irritates your throat.

Cold Water or Iced Foods

If you are someone that takes cold water every day or like going out taking very chilled drinks with friends, it could be the source of your catarrh. Cold drinks and some iced foods such as iced creams, cold beverage drinks, and beers, etc., can cause these irritations we have been talking about in some people.

This will definitely cause the development of catarrh in such people who get irritated by it. You may want to try and be observant of yourself to confirm this claim.

Milk and Milk Products (Dairy)

Dairy products are renowned for their mucous-forming ability i.e. they cause the formation of mucous in some people.

Like has been said above, all you need to do is to be observant anytime you consume this food. Common dairy products include milk, yoghurt, cheese, and butter, but butter has not been implicated in this condition. Therefore, you can still consume butter in considerable amounts.

When you need to eat food, just check the composition and verify that it does not contain too much milk. Iced cream, for example, is also made from milk. Make sure of the composition of your food before you consume them. It helps!

Wheat and Wheat Products

We consume a lot of pastries in many parts of the world and many of them are made from wheat flour. Wheat is present in bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes and all kinds of breakfast cereals that we consume (often with milk which is another culprit).

Try avoiding these foods for some period to see if your catarrh relieves you or totally disappears. This will help you pinpoint which foods or groups of foods that cause your recurring catarrh. Instead of just using catarrh drugs every time, this could help find a lasting solution.

How Do You Clear This Catarrh When You Have It?

Okay, since this catarrh is not caused by an infection but simply some irritants, you don’t really need any type of medications to clear your catarrh. First of all, get rid of that food that you have found to be culpable from your diet and use this simple home remedy.

At some point, you would have done this to get rid of your catarrh; get a bowl and pour some hot water into it. Bend your head over to the bowl and cover your head with a towel over the bowl and inhale the steam that comes out. This will clear your catarrh and make them easily flushed out of the nose or throat.

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Food & Body Food & Nutrition

4 Shocking Food & Weight Loss Claims You Shouldn’t Believe

Health professionals are those who give advice to patients and clients as regards their health status and how they can improve it. These patients believe the advice given to them hook, line and sinker without a rethink. In my few years of writing nutrition articles, I have seen many write ups by certified health professionals especially Nutritionist and Dieticians who have erroneously misled their readers on some issues.

In view of this, I have come up with four of the most common statements made by them. See below to check them out.

heart nutrition facts

To Get Energy, You Need Carbs:

Completely wrong! To get energy, you will need to consume all the three macro nutrients; Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat. In fact a gram of fat provides more than twice the kcal of energy as available in carbohydrates which provides 4 kcal/gram, protein; 4 kcal/gram but fat; 9 kcal/gram.

ALSO SEE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET FIT IN 4 WEEKS NATURALLY

To Lose Weight; A No Fat Or Only Fruit Diet Is The Way:

This is gradually becoming the common trend even among diet professionals. The truth is that, losing weight via this method is not healthy and your chances of gaining the pounds of fat back are high. Removing fat does not help; in fact, it slows down your ability to lose fat.

It is advisable to include healthy fat like those high in omega 3 and Omega 6 at calculated amount which have been found to be helpful. Also, fruits are healthy and good for nutrition, however, in your quest to lose weight, it will be counterproductive to subscribe to an only fruit diet as the body system also needs other nutrients to metabolise fat.

Skipping Meals Is A Healthy Way To Lose Calories:

Each time I hear or read this, I cannot but start laughing. When you skip meals there is a tendency you will bounce back to eat more. Eventually, you will not be able to reduce your calorie intake. Asides that, skipping meals make you feel weak and tire as no energy and nutrients to get your system running.

You might want to speak to a practicing nutritionist who will help you make healthy calculated diet plan with appropriate portion control throughout your meal times. It is completely a NO NO! to skip breakfast.

To Stay Hydrated, You Must Drink 8 Glasses or 2 litres of water:

One piece of information I have always passed to my clients when they come for consultation is that in nutrition science or therapy, no shoe fits all and so, it will be out of place to make a generalised statement on issues like this until research says so. Till date, there hasn’t been any scientific finding that says one must drink 2 litres or 8 glasses of water.

It is important to communicate to readers that; while this information might not be untrue, it is not a fast rule. To hydrate your body, you have to respond to the water need of your body. Some might need up to 3 litres per day while other would be fine with about 1.5 Litres.

ALSO SEE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET FIT IN 4 WEEKS NATURALLY

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Food & Body Food & Nutrition

Top Five Reasons To Consume Watermelon More

watermelon

In the past few months, the city of Lagos and its neighbouring communities had been unprecedentedly bombarded with trucks of watermelon like never before. I presume many more people are beginning to go the healthy way especially considering the many illnesses and diseases that stare us in the face daily.

watermelon

In recent times, I have not been an avid consumer of watermelon due to my love for golden melon but the truth about this thirst-quenching fruits has to be told. Watermelon has so many nutritional and health benefits but these five under-listed are the five topmost reasons to consume watermelon fruits.

FIGHTS CANCER:

Although, scientists are still digging deep to make a conclusion on this claim but many of the previous tests and researches conducted indicated that the fruit which is amongst the best sources of antioxidant lycophene has the ability to fight cancer cells. This powerful lycophene has been linked to reduce the risk of prostate, breast, lung, uterus and colon cancer.

AIDS WEIGHT LOSS AND HYDRATES THE BODY:

Weight loss difficulty is faced by many overweights and obese. A good plan to include watermelon which usually contains more than 90% of water into your daily diet might be helpful. It will fill you up quickly while supplying very low amount of calorie.

Also, with the high amount of water and electrolytes; the occurrence of headaches, dryness and other conditions which result due to dehydration would become a thing of the past

BOOSTS IMMUNE SYSTEM:

Watermelon is loaded with vitamin C; an effective immune booster. Vitamin C strengthens your immune system and protects your body against free radicals and oxidative stress. It has also been quite effective in making wounds and injuries heal faster.

A good daily consumption of watermelon will prevent your skin from conditions like acne and thereby making your skin glow bright.

LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR:

Many diabetics crave for sugar but due to their condition, they cannot indulge in foods that will spike their sugar level. Watermelon, although sweet in taste, contains very low amount of sugar that is will not raise sugar level.

A plate of the diced fruit fills the belly while supplying small quantity of calorie which directly reduces the chances of high blood sugar.

LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE:

Usually there is need for a balance between sodium and potassium levels in the body for a proper blood pressure. There are records of good amount of potassium and magnesium in this fruit that is very beneficial in terms of bringing down blood pressure.

If you do have people suffering from this condition, watermelon might just be helpful.

ALSO SEE:  Foods That Keep Your Heart Healthy & Functioning Properly

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Food & Body

Foods That Keep Your Heart Healthy & Functioning Properly

human heart

I don’t want to think there is anyone here who doesn’t know how much the importance of the heart is to the whole body. When the heart stops, then every other organ in the body dies sooner than later. In the next paragraph, I will quickly highlight the important functions of the heart in the body as a refresher or reminder.

human heart

The heart is an organ that functions as a pump for the movement of blood through the body. Different parts of the body require oxygen for proper functioning, the blood as we know carries oxygen from the lungs with it. It is important that oxygen gets to all parts of the body — the brain, muscles, in fact, all cells in the body. The heart does the job of pumping blood to these parts of the body. So, why wouldn’t you strive to keep your heart healthy?

It is not enough to just eat heart-healthy foods to have a heart that is healthy and functioning properly, we must also strive to minimize foods that have adverse effects on the heart. These types of foods have been implicated in cardiovascular heart diseases. We should try to minimize how much we consume them.

Top Heart-healthy Foods: Keep The Heart Functioning Properly.

Foods That Keep The Heart Functioning Properly

Walnuts:

Walnut again? Isn’t this walnut a super nut after all? We have mentioned it under different topics because of its health benefits and here it is again helping the heart. Eating about 140 grammes of walnut per week, reduces your risk of heart disease by half.

We mentioned in one of our articles about foods that help the brains by providing essential nutrients to it, that walnut is able to provide this function because it is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These are very good fats that reduces the level of your “bad-for-the-heart” LDL cholesterol and raise your “good” HDL cholesterol.

Almonds:

Almonds, just like walnuts is rich in these fats that help your heart by lowering the bad cholesterol levels. These types of healthy monounsaturated fats even help you lose fats when you eat them. Ironic huh?

Unsaturated fats are not just good for your heart, they offer another benefit by boosting serotonin levels during the day, which in turn help you sleep better at night. Add almonds to foods you snack on and enjoy these benefits. When I order my Ice Cream, I do with Almonds or Pecans.

Yoghurt and Milk

Yoghurt and Milk, especially the fat-free or low-fat types help reduce the pressure on the heart. Dairy products are known to be rich in Potassium – a mineral that has been linked to lowering the level of blood pressure.

When you consume low-fat or fat-free dairy or dairy products, you get little to no saturated fat, the kind of fat that can raise your bad cholesterol level. Other sources of Potassium are most fruits and vegetables. Examples include potato and banana.

The Bell Peppers

Thankfully, man soups cook in this part of the world usually contain the bell peppers blended with tomatoes, onions, etc. Many people just feel they add the red bell peppers in order to make the soup thick and redder in color. Yes, it does these things and makes the blend “attractive”.

The orange, yellow, and red colors of the bell peppers mean that they contain phytonutrients and additional antioxidants. These antioxidants help to make sure that our body can battle back free radical damage.

Garlic

Generally, we use Garlic as a flavouring for food but it has been used for a long time as a herb for medicinal purposes. It has been used for many conditions related to the heart and blood system. Some of these diseases include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, heart attack, and hardening of the arteries.

Apart from the fact that it can make the mouth smell, we should use garlic moderately and with  caution as it might prolong bleeding. Therefore you should stay away from garlic at least two weeks before a scheduled surgery and probably menstruation.

Green Tea

Green tea has been shown to help prevent cardiovascular heart diseases. A study carried out on 40,530 Japanese adults revealed that participants who drank more than five cups of green tea a day had a 26% lower risk of death from heart attack or stroke than those who drank less than one cup of this tea in a day.

Even though no adverse effect was reported in people that took the five or more cups of green tea, it should be noted that it contains oxalate, which can cause kidney stones. So, drinking tea moderately will still give you some health benefits.

Turmeric

Several studies have revealed that turmeric helps in maintaining heart health by reducing cholesterol oxidation, reducing plaque build-up, clot formation, reduce bad cholesterol (LDL), reduce pro-inflammatory response, etc.

Heart attacks are caused by atherosclerotic plaque buildup or high cholesterol levels, therefore, adding turmeric to your diet can help you reduce this risk by a great amount.

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Food & Body

Using Coconut Oil To Improve Immunity, Hair, Skin Quality

coconut-oil

In my few years as a practicing nutritionist with a government establishment, I am yet to find another healthy food item that has been multi-effective in nature other than Coconut oil. It was just like yesterday when the nutrition department of the establishment I work with kick-started the inclusion of coconut oil into the diets of children with special needs is available in our center. Improved immunity to illnesses particularly among the susceptible group was seen with a reduction in the frequency of seizures among the children particularly the non-ambulatory ones (Bedbound).

coconut-oil

Let me make it clear, when I say coconut oil, I am not by any indication referring to the common “Adi agbon” (Yoruba); which is usually the oil obtained from deteriorated, deteriorating or rotten coconuts. This is the type used by our mothers as body and hair cream. In their time, even up till now, “Adi agbon” has remained an effective solution to many external beauty concerns that we are faced with.

Having said that, Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) oil; the one I am actually referring to is clearly a super oil that is effective both for external and internal treatment. It is made from mature coconuts (edible) as against the “Adi agbon” type which is made from deteriorating coconuts and as such is inedible and has limited health benefits. In the reality of some Nigerians despising this oil, many foreigners and foreign-based Nigerians and Africans are embracing the use as its benefits are without limit. See the top three benefits.

How Coconut Oil Improves Immunity:

On like the saturated fats found in butter and other animal foods, the saturated fat in coconut oil is cholesterol-free making it a healthy fat option. So, you do not need to be wary of consuming oil. Coconut oil contains two special ingredients; lauric acid and caprylic acid that make it excellent for immunity.

They both have antibacterial and antiviral properties. For many of us who are hoping to keep away from a chemical made drug as much as possible, the inclusion of a teaspoon/tablespoon of coconut oil into your meals depending on your tolerance level can be quite helpful in boosting your immune system naturally.

How Coconut Oil Improves Hair Quality:

Have you ever wondered why Indians have lovely looking hair? The simple secret is coconut oil. Coconut oil is arguably one of the best natural nutrients for your hair growth and proper shining quality. It is a superb conditioner that helps the re-growth of damaged hair.

For women who do check the labels of their expensive hair creams, they would notice that the manufacturers included coconut oil in the list of the ingredients. That is to tell you how important oil is.

How Coconut Oil Improves Skin Quality:

Women are particularly interested in this more than Men but; in their quest to make their skin look a pact, they have only preferred and believed in the usage of expensive body lotions. After spending quite a lot, they end of looking for another one as the previous one does not soothe their skin type. The ability of an extra virgin coconut oil to penetrate through your skin to enrich the cell in order to make the largest organ of the body glow more radiantly is completely incomparable.

One of the most important things about coconut oil is that it eradicates the need for some of the most toxic, potentially harmful beauty concoctions out there in many grocery stores. In fact those in the tropical parts of the world where coconuts are readily available believe in using the oil on their skin since it helps protect against harmful sun rays rather than the unnatural, chemical loaded skin care that could damage your skin.

One way you can also utilize the oil for skin treatment is by adding a small quantity of it into your regular body lotion. Many users of this oil had done this and the results are impressive.

Guess what? You could make your own coconut oil at home, http://www.chopbetterfood.com/2014/05/how-to-make-coconut-oil-at-home.html that way you are certain of how natural it is. But, if you cannot go through the rigour and you are looking for an extra virgin coconut oil that has not been hydrogenated, bleached, or refined in any way or fragrance or dyes added to it?

Then you could reach me on my email; dipoledransome@yahoo.com or call 08189426728 particularly if you reside in Lagos. If it has worked magic in the lives of children with special needs, then yours cannot be different.

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Food & Body Knowledgebase

Foods That Look Like The Parts Of The Body They Help

walnut and the brain

In recent weeks, we have discussed very serious food matters relating to food security, food safety, foods that help parts of the body and food recipes. Today, we are adding some sort of fun to our learning by talking about foods that look like the parts of the body they help.

Foods That Look Like Parts Of The Human Body They Help

I know you may be tasking your brain already, trying to think of one that you know already. Don’t worry, I am going to share some interesting ones with you here. You go through the pages to see all these foods and the part of the body that they help. Have fun while learning too.

1. The Carrot and The Eye

The cut section as seen in the image below has patterns of radiating lines that look like the pupil and iris of the human eye. It may not be a coincidence that the beta-carotene present in carrots help the eyes. The beta-carotene is good for our overall eye health.

carrot and eye

When we eat foods that contain beta-carotene, our body converts it into vitamin A. The vitamin A ultimately gets converted into retinol that is being used by the eye for certain functions.

2. The Walnut and The Brain

This is the most striking of them all — the resemblance between the walnut and the human brain. Taking a look at the picture below, you would agree with me that they share this amazing resemblance between themselves and the former helps the latter — they (walnut) are often referred to as “the ultimate brain food”.

walnut and the brain

Walnuts have an abundance of with DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential fatty acid that helps keep the brain functioning normally. A large part of the brain is made up of what is normally referred to as “structural fat”.

It needs high-quality fats like the omega-3 fatty acids to function properly by keeping the brain fluid and flexible. Walnut is very rich in these omega-3 fatty acids.

3. The Ginger and the Stomach

Many forms of ginger that you will buy as a whole would have one part that has a shape looking like the shape of the human stomach. The resemblance is not as striking as that between the walnut and the brain but they sure bear some resemblance in their shape.

Ginger and Stomach

I grew up seeing adults using ginger ale drinks to help relieve stomach aches and upsets. Ginger on its own is also a helpful digestive that helps digest food. It is a known remedy that chewing on fresh ginger helps digest heavy foods.

4. The Celery and the Bone

Celery, when you remove the leafy part sure look like the bones of the forearm — ulna and radius. Celery, botanically known as Apium graveolens, is rich in calcium — the essential mineral for bone formation in the human body.

celery and bone

This is not just the end about how celery helps bone formation, it also contains vitamin K, which along with the essential minerals magnesium and phosphorus, helps make the proper absorption of calcium in the body possible.

5. The Avocado and the Uterus & Cervix

Cutting avocado horizontally as shown in the image below make sit shaped like the uterus and cervix together. It look like Uterus and helps the uterus in some ways — it has been reported to help with hormonal balance and work against the development of cervical cancer. The most interesting part is this…

avocados uterus cervix

Just as it takes 9 months for a baby to fully develop in the mother’s womb, it takes an avocado exactly the same 9 months to grow from a blossom into a ripened fruit! Isn’t that amazing.

There are more but these are the top 5 I found interesting and decided to share with you!

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Food & Body Food & Nutrition

Learn How Cashew Nuts Can Help You Lose Weight

Yes, cashew nuts are calorie-dense but a whole lot of people are unaware of how calorie-dense food such as cashew nuts can be helpful in their weight loss therapy.  Losing weight had been a thorn in the flesh of many. While exercises play a major role in ensuring you trim into your preferred size and weight, eating the right foods with appropriate portions based on your body chemistry and metabolism is also critical.

cashew nuts with pepper

For many years, nutritionist, dieticians and many other food enthusiasts have promoted the need to avoid consumption of this high fat, no cholesterol and high fibre snack because it has been labelled as fattening but no one did spoke on how portion control of this tree nut can be effective in weight loss therapy. Let us see how helpful the nut is.

ALSO SEE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET FIT IN 4 WEEKS NATURALLY

Cashew Nuts As Hunger Reducer:

Many of my clients who approached me for a weight loss menu are somehow shocked when I included cashew nut into their diet especially when I discover they do not mind consuming it. Cashew nut is loaded with fats, some of which are the healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats. The digestion of fats starts in the stomach but majorly carried out in the small intestine. The idea is that it will take a longer period for this healthy food to be digested, thereby extending satiety and reducing hunger, unlike carbohydrate-based foods that keep you hungry due to the fact that they digest very quickly.

If you limit your consumption to 18kernels of the roasted, salted or unsalted cashew nut during snack time, then the entire calorie you would have added to your body would not exceed 170kcal. This is significantly small compared to snacking on a bottle of coke and popcorn or meat pie or sausage roll or sweetened chips which will eventually keep you asking for more in no time and providing less nutrition.

Cashew Nuts High In Nutrition Value:

Fats had always been the bad macronutrients but it will surprise you to know that- you cannot lose those pounds of flesh without the inclusion of fats — the good fats. If you did, get ready for a bounce back.

cashew nuts

One advantage of Cashew nuts is that they are not only packed with fats, but they also contain a reasonable amount of fiber, magnesium, antioxidants, and vitamins which will serve to keep your body in state proper weight loss.

Don’t Throw Away Caution:

Even for vegetarians, an overdose of these veggies has been found to cause certain deficiencies. It suffices to say, no foods item should be consumed excessively, moderation does it. While the inclusion of a handful of cashew nut will improve your health and could help you lose weight, addiction to the nut might be counterproductive.

In weight loss therapy, portion control is imperative. I usually recommend eating no more than 150 grams of cashew nuts in a week. If you must eat daily for weight loss, just a few kernels would be okay as snacks.

Hey! I hope you are aware? Cashew nuts taste really nice too.

ALSO SEE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET FIT IN 4 WEEKS NATURALLY

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Food & Body Food & Nutrition

Easy-To-Make Korean Foods That Help To Lose Weight

Have you noticed how a large population of Koreans (Asians in general) keep looking slim and healthy throughout their lifetime? Well, their diet plays a significant role in how they look and their health. You can try some of their foods once in a while and see how delicious and nutritious they can be. We will mention a few of these Korean foods in this article and give you recipes for them in some of our future articles.

Korean Foods To Help You Lose Weight / Body Fat

The low-calorie soups and foods eaten in Korea are probably one of the reasons obesity is still relatively rare in South Korea. We learned from a 2010 estimate that just about 33% of adults are overweight or obese — this was against the  68 percent figure in the United States of America.

One of the foods and eating traditions that probably help keep Koreans slim and healthy is one that involves including soup at every meal. This single act means that they get filled up on a relatively low-calorie but satisfying food. Studies show that soup eaters tend to eat less high-calorie fare later.

Here are some simple Korean foods that have ingredients that have been proven to help lose weight. You should check them out and maybe try them out in Korea restaurants or check out their recipes and make it yourself at home if you are the type that doesn’t like eating outside — maybe because of risks of food poisoning in restaurants or cost of the foods.

ALSO SEE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET FIT IN 4 WEEKS NATURALLY

Kimchi – Fermented spicy cabbage Korean food

Kimchi is a Korean food — it is a fermented spicy cabbage that has health benefits in people who consume them. The benefits include a lower risk of flu and improved cholesterol levels. It has now also been revealed now that Kimchi could help you lose weight.

kimchi - korean food

Kimchi does this by helping to lose some weight and with its abundance of good gut bacteria. Researchers believe that these good gut bacteria may help fight digestive problems caused by obesity. This Korean food is spicy — it contains Chilli pepper, which naturally contains Capsaicin.

Proponents of Capsaicin also claim that the compound can help speed up metabolism and reduce fat tissue, as well as curb overeating by reducing appetite.

A study from 2009 also revealed that capsaicin helped decrease a hunger hormone called ghrelin. This will help reduce the desire to eat, thereby taking in fewer calories. The other ingredients such as the vegetable — cabbage, and others like ginger will contribute their quota too.

“If a person eats some kimchi with every meal, it’s possible for them to lose five kilograms (about 11 pounds) in a month,” says a professor from Seoul Health College, Korea.

Doenjang jjigae or soup

Doenjang jjigae is a type of Korean food consisting of tofu, vegetables and soybean paste. In case you do not know what Tofu is — it is the coagulated soy milk. You can easily make this or buy it. The tofu stew is low in calories and fat while also rich in essential nutrients including calcium and potassium.

doenjang soup

A 1-cup serving of the stew contains just about 90 calories. Considering that this food also has a high filling effect, you get filled up easily while eating less calories.

A recent 12-week study on subjects consuming this Korean food revealed that the Doenjang supplementation group had significant reductions in body weight (kg), body fat mass (kg) and body fat (%). As this soup is very low in calories, it makes a good choice for people that are trying to limit their calorie intake for weight loss.

ALSO SEE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET FIT IN 4 WEEKS NATURALLY

COMING SOON :: Recipes for Kimchi and Doenjang Soup!

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Food & Body

Foods That Help You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

foods that help you sleep
Photo: health.usnews.com

Sleeplessness is a condition that is fast becoming common in the lives of many and a whole lot of the people struggling with these are completely unaware that foods can actually be helpful in triggering drowsiness or sleepiness. The unhealthy thing about this condition which is technically called insomnia is that it affects the entire body function and activities.

Tiredness, sluggishness, and moodiness could become your daily expressions. It has even been reported based  on various researches that certain minerals are critical in the  remedy  of insomnia.

foods that help you sleep
Photo: health.usnews.com

Ask a  few of your friends or colleagues – How was your night? Did you sleep well? I bet many of them will tell you that they had a difficult time sleeping. Usually, so many factors are involved but foods can be a good remedy especially if you consume the foods at dinner. Let’s check some of the foods that can help induce sleep.

1. Herbal Tea:

Herbal Tea is one of the foods that has been helpful in making people get some sleep for many decades. In fact, there are many tea varieties that make people be more sleepy. These teas are known to put the body in a relaxed state.  A popular herbal tea known to be effective is chamomile tea.

A cup of tea before bed will help you relax and fall asleep faster.  Lemongrass tea is also known for helping you fall asleep. Caffeinated teas should be avoided as you all know they work in the opposite direction.

2. Yoghurt:

Dairy products are loaded with calcium and yogurt can be helpful in removing the stress out of your body and this helps you fall asleep more easily.  Calcium helps the brain make use of a certain amino acid called tryptophan to manufacture a sleep-inducing substance called melatonin.

yoghurt

This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.  It is not advisable to consume whole milk products because they are not better tolerated at bedtime compared to healthy bacteria loaded yoghurt.

When taking Yoghurts, go for the quality brands that produce real yoghurt. See how to know those good yoghurts here (opens in new tab).

3. Banans:

Banana is a super night snack particularly for those hoping to gain few pounds of flesh. Asides this, research has shown that a certain mineral such as magnesium is effective as a natural remedy for insomnia.

A lack of this mineral may cause you to wake up after a few hours and not return to sleep. Other magnesium-rich foods include spinach, nuts, seeds, fish and whole grains. Fortunately, it is one of the foods you can healthily snack on at night.

4. Fish

We have said so much about fish before. As a person, I prefer fish to meat. They contain more nutrients and the fats in many of them are the healthy type and more beneficial. There is no way we want to look at it, eating fish is better than eating meat.

Oily fish

Most fish—and especially salmon and tuna—have a significant amount of vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is needed to make melatonin – a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness. This has also been confirmed by an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

5. Almonds and nuts rich in Magnesium

Almonds contain tryptophan and magnesium. These two components help to naturally reduce muscle and nerve function while also steadying your heart rhythm. You would note that many of the foods we have mentioned above too either have magnesium or tryptophan.

almonds

Other nuts and seeds that are rich in magnesium include, almonds, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pine nuts, flaxseed, and pecans.

You may want to add these nuts to your diet. They are even easy to snack on at night before you go to bed. They will relax you and help induce a good night sleep.

6. Sound Night Sleep? Eat Cherries!

I have heard and read uncountable times that the best way to get a good night’s sleep is to increase your melatonin intake. We talked about this melatonin under yoghurt as a sleep-inducing substance. Some other foods foods other than yoghurt contain it too.

Cherries, along with nuts and oats, are a natural source of melatonin and, when eaten regularly, can help regulate your sleep cycle. I guess this is why some people would ask that you add coffee to their oat when they take it as breakfast – they don’t want to be sleeping about.

People have reported that alcohol and milk chocolate help them sleep but I wouldn’t recommend that. Alcohol makes you wake up with a hangover and you don’t want to eat chocolate just before going to bed.

7. Honey

It has been found that honey contains glucose, which tells your brain to shut off orexin. Orexin is the chemical that is known to trigger alertness. So, when glucose tells your brain to stop the supply of orexin, you become less alert (somewhat dull) and feel sleepy.

When you are taking honey for this purpose, you should not overdo it. One tablespoon for a good night’s sleep is more than enough. Make sure you get the real honey though. See how to identify real honey.

Please note, you should avoid eating heavily at night particularly close to bed time as it will affect your sleepiness. Other foods that I find to be effective in inducing sleepiness include garri, potatoes and some other carbohydrate loaded foods.

Understand the saying “different strokes for different folks”. What works for someone might not work for the other. So, we would like to hear from you to share foods that you eat which triggers sleepiness.

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Food & Body

Foods That Will Improve Your Sperm Quality

ginseng

UPDATED [More foods added] – One common issue about the difficulty in producing babies amongst married couples is the low sperm count and sperm quality. If you doubt this information please schedule a meeting with a medical laboratory scientist who has records on those who come for testing. The statistics will shock you. Based on our tradition and cultural values, women have been erroneously labeled as the reason behind the lack of babies in many homes and as such called barren while in truth sometimes it is the hefty looking man with a low-quality sperm that needs to be checked.

sperm pic

It is on record that low sperm count affects approximately one in 25 men. Stress, obesity, hormonal conditions and poor nutrition have been found to impact sperm health. If you and your partner are planning for a baby, a nutritional overhaul is a good place to start, to support healthy sperm production and development – although other approaches exist.

Two things are important in sperm quality; First is sperm motility which is the ability of the sperm to move in the female reproductive organ or through the water to reach the egg and second is sperm morphology which is also called teratozoospermia. It describes what the shape and size of sperm should be for proper fertilization. The foods listed below have been found to be effective in proper motility and morphology of sperm.

Ginseng for Boosting Sperm Quality

The popular Asian Ginseng plant has been used by the Chinese in the cure of many ailments. No wonder it is making this list. It is a powerful herb known for its extraordinary effects on improving virility in men. It increases s*x drive and also enhances your s*xual performance.

ginseng

It has been found to be quite effective in men with erectile dysfunctions, increasing semen volume and sperm production. Ginseng can be obtained in Nigeria from marketers of nutraceuticals and supplements.

Garlic

As a lover of garlic, the all-round health effect is laudable. It is a very effective condiment that has been used for many years in the treatment of various physical ailments including heart problems and respiratory infections. What most people don’t know is that it is also a potent aphrodisiac and very effective in boosting sperm volume.

It contains a compound called allicin which improves blood flow to the male s*xual organs, increasing sperm production and semen volume. Garlic also contains Vitamin B6 and selenium which controls the secretion of s*x hormones and reduces sperm damage.

Walnuts:

Walnuts had been one nut I love to eat as a young child but never knew of its numerous benefits. It is the only nuts with appreciable levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which many studies of male infertility have linked to better sperm quality, says researcher Wendie Robbins, Ph.D., of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

A daily consumption of this nut has the ability to aid proper sperm production.

Fatty Fish

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that men eating a higher amount of oily fish experience a boost in their sperm count by a massive 65% and the interesting part is that getting result is almost immediate because when you eat a fatty fish containing about 10% fat, you can get the boost by the night of that same day. Amazing? Yeah, I thought so too.

The best fish for fats that contain the DHA and omega-3s include salmon, swordfish, tuna and sardines. This post was updated to include these sources of sperm boosters because some of them are common here, easy to get and also inexpensive.

Carrot and Leafy Vegetables:

If you are truly serious about improving your fertility and sperm quality then a diet rich in vitamin A must be regularly consumed by you. Carrot is one vegetable loaded with this nutrient.

According to a study which was carried out by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Universities in Canada, Copenhagen, Murcia, and New York, it reveals that there is an association between higher dietary consumption of food that contains more carotenoids and better sperm motility and a greater number of sperm cells.

They looked at young men’s diets and analysed their sperm samples. They found that men who ate a higher amount of three antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables had sperm with better motility and morphology. The three antioxidants in question were: beta-carotene – found in carrots, lutein – found in lettuce and spinach and lycopene – found in tomatoes. It is also critical for you to make sure that you’re getting enough folic acid, because low levels may lead to birth defects such as spinal Bifida and hydrocephalus.

Men with low levels of folate have more sperm with chromosomal abnormalities. The need to increase your sperm count, production, and motility is important and to do this, eating lots of dark green veggies and fruit may help.

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Food & Body

Foods That Make Your Butt Bigger Naturally

cooked beans

Different folks…different strokes and I believe everyone should understand that. While there are girls and women outside looking to get the flat shape, there are others who want the curves and significant bumps in the “right places”.

Someone asked me on FoodsNG BBM Channel recently, “are there foods that can make you have a bigger butt?” I’ve got that question more than once before. This post you are reading is borne out of that question.

Let me inform you before I proceed that I am not a woman, but with my knowledge when it comes to food and how they work coupled with my consultations with women in the field (including dietician and fitness trainers), I was able to come up with these five food that can help make your butt go bigger without all these drugs and implants.  I did some research too and was able to see some testimonies that these foods work wonders.

If you are one female out there looking to increase the size of your butt, then this post will come very useful to you. These are foods that have been recommended by those who have used them with great success.

The same words of caution many women who have tried out these foods gave is “if you eat some of these foods excessively, you can grow bigger all over the body”.

Five Foods That Will Help Make Your Butt Bigger

The group of foods that will help in this regard include the protein-rich foods, complex carbohydrates, the good fats and foods and vegetables.

Examples of each food group that are particularly useful for this cause can be found on the next 2 pages of this article.

Protein Food Group;

Below are the examples of food that are protein-rich and must be considered for bigger buttocks;

  • Kidney beans
  • Soya nuts
  • Cottage cheese
  • Eggs
  • Chicken breasts (skinless preferably)
  • Salmon fish
  • Tuna fish
  • Turkey

Complex Carbohydrates;

  • Oats
  • Brown bread (whole grain bread, eat  moderately)
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Brown rice

Fats and oils;

When we say fats, we only mean “good fats”. These are fats that are really good for the body and our body needs them for proper functioning. We listed some of them under the posts where we talked about the fats you need to eat in order to lose fat. You may want to check that out.

The following are sources of fats that you should take;

  • Olive oil,
  • Sunflower oil
  • Nuts like almonds, cashews nuts etc.
  • Avocados
  • Peanut Butter
  • Fish Fat/Oils
  • Soybean oil
  • Soymilk

Finally, fruits and vegetables and we know a lot of those. These are the types of foods that testimonies have shown to set the base for growing a bigger buttock. I also found out that out of all those people I spoke to, a large percentage of them do squat exercises. The foods and the exercises could be the factors working together to help them make it bigger.

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Food & Body

9+ Foods To Help Relieve Menstrual Cramps And Pains

Menstrual cramps (Dysmenorrhea) is the medical term used to refer to the painful cramps that some women experience immediately before or during their menstrual period. You don’t need a soothsayer to tell you when some women are menstruating because of the kind of pain they pass through and how they react to things around that period. You cannot blame them; you don’t know how it feels unless you have passed through it before. At least that’s what several  women told me when I asked.

However, there are some foods that can help you through the episode of menstrual cramps and the resultant pains. These foods are not guaranteed to totally prevent the pain but they cab relieve it. There are several attendant pains like aching pain in the abdomen, feeling of pressure in the abdomen, pain in the hips, lower back, and inner thighs. 

Some 9+ Foods That Help Relieve Menstrual Cramps

These foods will take some of the pains away for you if you eat them during your and after your menstruation period.

Different types of Tea can help!

Since there are several attendant symptoms of menstrual pains, different types of tea can help you relieve different symptoms. For example, green tea can help with cramps, while peppermint tea can soothe the stomach upset that may arise.

Green Tea

If you are someone that takes coffee normally, you should avoid it during this period because it may add to your anxiety and cause some other types of pain.

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Food & Body

Other Side Of Sugar-Free Drinks & What Makes Them Sweet

zero coke

The recent bad labelling of foods high in sugar have made a few food production companies to go back to the drawing board. Dietitians, Nutritionists, Medical doctors and other health professionals have done a lot to inform the general public on the dangers of funneling high calorie processed foods particularly those loaded with sugars into their body systems without caution. While the campaign against sugary foods could have been said to be gaining ground in some quarters, food manufacturers have come up with catchy names on the packages of products.

These names include “No sugar, Zero sugar and Sugar free“. My questions are — Are these products actually not containing sugars? How come do they taste so sweet just like sugar loaded products? How healthy are they when regularly consumed? Well friends, you would learn the answers to these questions as you read further.

zero coke

Do Sugar-Free Products Contain Any Sugar At All

Clearly, many obese and overweight individuals have thrown to the thrash bins all sugar-containing foods on their shelves so as to help reduce their calorie intake and weight. In truth, sugar-free products may contain other types of sugar which are inherent in other ingredients of the products. For instance, in sugar-free cookies, the flour contains sugar. Also, other forms of sweeteners such as sugar alcohol (sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol) are added to the product which usually supplies a lower calorie compared to regular industrial granulated sugars, glucose or fructose syrups. Other forms of additives that act as sweeteners that are accepted by international bodies to be included in foods are Aspartame, sucralose, neotame, and saccharin.  These are the reasons these sugar-free products all taste sweet.

So, are these sugar-free products really healthy for us?

How Healthy Are The Sugar Free Products?

An average teaspoon of sugar contain about 15 calories which amounts to close to 120 calories in a bottle or can of cola drink. While this is scary, food manufacturers present to us artificial sweeteners like saccharin, aspartame and the rest that only contain very little amount of calorie yet providing sweetness that is required for the product.

In any platform, I have always shown my disapproval for a “No this, No that” kind of food. What happens when they avoid a particular constituent of food is that an artificial or chemical based one that will imitate the original will be introduce into the products.

The question of how healthy these products are to humans have been up for serious debates among researchers, nutritionist and dietitians over the years. There is a clear growing concern with the hazards associated with these products since most of them are chemical based and tend to alter the human body’s chemistry of recognizing sugar.

Aspartame and commonly used sweeteners

Aspartame, saccharin and sucralose which are the most common artificial sweetener used in food production have being associated with many side effects ranging from hallucination to seizure, migraine and headaches, enlargement of the liver and kidney to mention a few.  These claims come to be due to some test carried out on laboratory rats which indicated that the sweeteners can trigger some health complications as opposed to when fed with natural sugars like glucose and fructose.

Even though these results have not been concluded, many research institutions including Purdue University have suggested that theses sweeteners do more harm than good to the health of our planet.

So, if you do not want to take these types of sugars, what options do you have?

What Options Do You Have?

Your best bet for me is to quit addiction to and consumption of these products. While believing they are helpful in lowering your blood sugar and reducing your calorie intake you must consider the associated health implications. It is better to switch to regular and more natural sugar types such as honey and molasses and taking conscious effort to reduce your overall sugar intake.

Learn to check food labels to know exactly the constituent of what you want to consume. Go for natural sugar found in fruits rather than processed foods to cater for your sugar cravings. Honey is also another good option to explore but they are relatively expensive.

Speak with a qualified nutritionist or dietitian to help you with a proper diet plan.