What makes up 70-80% of our planet? Water. What makes up 70-80% of our body? That’s right, water.
Water is the single most important nutrient you will give your body apart from oxygen. Water rejuvenates us and carries vital nutrients all round the body where it’s needed. Water picks up all the leftovers, wastes and debris that the cells throw off into the lymph system and transport them out of the body via the channels of elimination.
So when you drink more water it has the double combination of feeding your body and clearing you of all the waste products that were built up in your system.
Your brain needs water, and plenty of it. Without water, your brain will operate worn out, tired and sluggish. Water is the ultimate gift to give yourself to think with clarity. In addition, water acts as a kind of healthy lubricant moistening tissues and joints.
When you drink, you want to avoid tap water. Tap water is more like a dazzling mix of chemicals. It contains fluoride, chlorine, and many others. The amount of chemicals in water will fill up books – it’s more like a chemical soup. The evidence that fluoride is poisonous is so overwhelming that it’s being pushed to be banned in many countries by action groups.
The thirst mechanism when having been turned off for a prolonged period is often mistaken for hunger. As you drink more water your thirst mechanism will return to its natural state. Not only will you begin to feel thirsty when you need water again, but your appetite will decrease.
This brings us to the next big thing you need to understand about water. If I asked you the difference between inorganic and organic minerals, chances are you couldn’t tell me, right? Well let’s briefly explain the difference. It’s a simple difference. Organic minerals come from plants; inorganic minerals come from rocks and volcanic sources. Organic minerals can be broken down by the body. Inorganic minerals are not used by the body and are stored until suitable water can come and carry them out. Organic minerals can be broken down by the body, while inorganic cannot. One is derived from natural plant life; one is derived from rocks,filings and small pieces of grit. Which one makes more sense to use?
It’s better to get your plant minerals through the food you eat rather than the inorganic form in water. Bottled water is often taken, tested and found to have bacteria and very often isn’t rated much better than tap water.
Do you know the best water to use? The best water to use is the same water you use in your iron. The purest water in the world is distilled water. It’s as pure as rainwater should be if our atmosphere wasn’t polluted.
If you haven’t yet heard that 70% of the world’s population is dehydrated – you will soon, as the UN push to get proper water supply to people in the third world.
The second best method of filtering is a type of filtering called “reverse osmosis”. Unfortunately the standard bench top filter isn’t enough.
Most of the nasty contaminants in our water simply don’t have a taste. Some people feel it’s a case of out of sight out of mind. This may work for things people think, yet when it comes to your body, the life of your children, the health of those you care about and the line between getting cancer and surviving it’s far short of acceptable.
The opportunity for energy, for vitality, for a quality of life is only known to a select few who choose to raise their standards and take action to apply what they know. New discoveries are being made all the time as new research comes out of the United States, out of Germany, and out of Australia and other countries. How does this apply to me you may ask? Well, these contaminants can kill you. Is this a reason to get upset? No, it’s simply an action signal to act smarter.
The best bit is when you’re drinking absolutely pure distilled water it is so much easier to drink. It’s so easy to refreshingly flood your body with purity that will flush out chemicals, clear out the lymph system and contribute to expelling excess weight in the body. Distilled water is so easy to drink and be absorbed by your body without having to flush out the other nasties first that many people report who were struggling to drink half a litre of water a day, are now drinking 4 litres a day and up, with ease! If you can’t get distilled water, reverse osmosis filtered or table water is the next best option.
Many people in third world countries don’t have access to a clean water supply. We in developed countries have currently almost unlimited access to clean water. My suggestion to you is to use it!
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Most people understand the importance of dietary fiber in their diet. Much has been said about its importance in heart health, diabetes, cancer prevention, and even weight control.
What is less well understood is how different types of fiber effect the body. Some provide fecal bulk, some are absorbed more quickly into the blood stream than others, and thus raise blood sugar levels more quickly, and yet others provide benefits to the heart.
Thus, despite the apparent simplicity, fiber is a complex topic. And whilst all types of fiber are important, if you are looking at preventing or managing specific conditions, its not enough to just look at the total dietary fiber as written on food packaging.
Dietary fiber is broadly classified into soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is fermented in the colon, and plays a role in slowing the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. It also encourages the growth of the ‘friendly’ bacteria that help break down bile, and are involved in the creation of B vitamins like folic acid, niacin, and pyridoxine.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, acts a bit like an intestinal broom. It provides bulk to the stools, and makes sure they pass through easily and quickly. This is the type of fiber that keeps you ‘regular’, not insoluble fiber.
Insoluble fiber does provide a feeling of fullness, however. This makes it great for weight loss and controlling hunger. It also keeps blood sugar levels more stable, although research into the rate at which carbohydrates enter the bloodstream have found there to be some significant differences within the foods that make up the fiber group. Dietary fiber can thus be rated by its Glycemic Index, which effectively ranks fiber foods with each other on a relative scale.
The idea is to try and include more low gylcemic index foods. Foods with a high glycemic index cause blood sugar levels to spike, providing too much energy to the blood in the form of carbohydrates, which in turn sets off the body’s sugar controlling hormone – insulin. You thus get a ‘high’ followed by a sudden drop. This in turn leads the body to want more carbohydrates to balance itself again, leading to cravings and overeating, as well as tiredness and moodiness.
Low glycemic index foods include lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, fruit loaf, salmon sushi, barley, milk, low fat custard, soy milk, yoghurt (not diet yoghurt), apples, strawberries, grapes, spaghetti, peas, carrots, fructose, strawberry jam, and chocolate milk.
Moderate glycemic index foods include pea soup, rye bread, porridge, muesli, ice cream, bananas, pineapple, kiwi fruit, new potatoes, beetroot, white sugar, honey, and mars bars.
High glycemic index foods include broad beans, bagels, white bread, brown rice, watermelon, udon noodles, desiree, pontiac and sebago potatoes, and glucose.
We need both soluble and insoluble fiber, however. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that in a group of 6000 French men and women, those with the highest levels of soluble and insoluble fiber in their diet had a lower risk of being overweight, a lower risk of having blood pressure problems, cholesterol problems, and they had better levels of triacylglycerols and homocysteine. The last two are measure3 of heart health.
Fiber from cereals was linked to lower body fat, lower blood pressure, and lower levels of homocysteine. Those with a higher intake of vegetables, also a source of fiber, had lower blood pressure and lower homocysteine levels. Fiber from fresh fruit was associated with a lower waist to hip ratio (good news for dieters!), and lower blood pressure. And fiber from dried fruit, nuts, and seeds (like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds) was also linked to a lower waist to hip ratio, lower body fat, and a better fasting glucose concentration. Fasting glucose relates to having a steady level of glucose between meals. If it dips too low, we crave things, often sweets.
Fiber has another interesting benefit. In people with type 2 diabetes, it has been found to lower the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol, and increase the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol. It has already been established that fiber supplements will lower the levels of bad cholesterol in people, whether they have diabetes or not. But this new study found that fiber supplements also decreased the reabsorption of cholesterol from meals.
To get this benefit, it is important to time taking the fiber supplement in synch with meals. The study participants took a fiber supplement drink before mealtimes, and this ensured that the fiber was in the intestines when the meal was being eaten. The people in the study participated for 90 days and their average age was 59 years old.
References:
1. Australian Healthy Food, November 2005
2. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=64759
3. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=57887
4. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=64462
5. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=59737
To build bigger muscles and achieve your ideal body, visit: weight training guide. Follow this weight training guide for better results. Read and learn more at weight training guide.
Can high-fiber diets really do all they claim to do? Studies have looked at the relationship between high-fiber diets and many diseases, including colon cancer, coronary heart disease and diabetes.
Proven benefits of a high-fiber diet include prevention and treatment of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. In addition, certain types of fiber help decrease blood cholesterol levels.
Dietary fiber comes from the portion of plants that is not digested by enzymes …
Keywords:
high fiber diet,colon cancer,coronary heart disease,diabetes,iber supplements
Article Body:
Can high-fiber diets really do all they claim to do? Studies have looked at the relationship between high-fiber diets and many diseases, including colon cancer, coronary heart disease and diabetes.
Proven benefits of a high-fiber diet include prevention and treatment of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. In addition, certain types of fiber help decrease blood cholesterol levels.
Dietary fiber comes from the portion of plants that is not digested by enzymes in the intestinal tract. Part of it, however, may be metabolized by bacteria in the lower gut. Different types of plants have varying amounts and kinds of fiber, including pectin, gum, mucilage, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
Pectin and gum are water-soluble fibers found inside plant cells. They slow the passage of food through the intestines but do nothing to increase fecal bulk. Beans, oat bran, fruit and vegetables contain soluble fiber.
In contrast, fibers in cell walls are water insoluble. These include cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Such fibers increase fecal bulk and speed up the passage of food through the digestive tract.
Wheat bran and whole grains contain the most insoluble fiber, but vegetables and beans also are good sources.Sometimes there is confusion as to the difference between crude fiber and dietary fiber. Both are determined by a laboratory analysis, but crude fiber is only one-seventh to one-half of total dietary fiber.
Insoluble fiber binds water, making stools softer and bulkier. Therefore, fiber, especially that found in whole grain products, is helpful in the treatment and prevention of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis.
Diverticula are pouches of the intestinal wall that can become inflamed and painful.It is now known that a high-fiber diet gives better results once the inflammation has subsided.
Some types of fiber, however, appear to have a greater effect than others. The fiber found in rolled oats is more effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels than the fiber found in wheat. Pectin has a similar effect in that it, too, can lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood.
High-fiber diets may be useful for people who wish to lose weight. Fiber itself has no calories, yet provides a “full” feeling because of its water-absorbing ability. For example, an apple is more filling than a half cup of apple juice that contains about the same calories.
Foods high in fiber often require more chewing, so a person is unable to eat a large number of calories in a short amount of time. Dietary fiber is found only in plant foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Meat, milk and eggs do not contain fiber.
The form of food may or may not affect its fiber content. Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables contain just as much fiber as raw ones. Other types of processing, though, may reduce fiber content. Drying and crushing, for example, destroy the water-holding qualities of fiber.
The removal of seeds, peels or hulls also reduces fiber content. Whole tomatoes have more fiber than peeled tomatoes, which have more than tomato juice. Likewise, whole wheat bread contains more fiber than white bread.
Fiber supplements are sold in a variety of forms from bran tablets to purified cellulose. Many laxatives sold as stool softeners actually are fiber supplements. Fiber’s role in the diet is still being investigated.
It appears that the various types of fiber have different roles in the body. For these reasons, avoid fiber supplements. Instead, eat a variety of fiber-rich foods.
This is the best way to receive the maximum benefits from each type of fiber present in foods, and obtain necessary nutrients.
To build bigger muscles and achieve your ideal body, visit: weight training guide. Follow this weight training guide for better results. Read and learn more at weight training guide.
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