E-natureguide Blogs

Everyone is looking for a way to maintain or lose some extra weight, its seems as we age in spite of hardcore exercising losing weight can be difficult,  as we get older our metabolism slows down making it harder for us to burn off excess calories and fat becomes harder to get rid of, the last thing we need  is to accumulate more fat.

There are many diet pills and gimmicks out there to help burn fat, but there are some that actually work very well,  which is what we are going to talk about. Unless we are willing to diet and exercise in an extreme fashion such as that of a bodybuilder eating lean and 5 to 6 meals a day, losing weight and fat can be hard to accomplish,  this is when a fat binder comes in handy.

What a fat binder does is help eliminate ingested fat from our bodies, the way it does it is by gathering up fat in the stomach before the fat is actually digested or absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. This makes things a little bit easier when dieting, this does not mean going out and eating every greasy thing you see. but it is an effective way to not add any additional fat to your body through the way of food. Read the rest of this entry »

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The other day I was watching the news on PBS and they where doing a poll or survey, the news anchor had a pie chart divided in to three sections which described wealth in different countries, the first chart was divided in to five equal portions of 20%, the second chart was around 40% most wealthy 35% middle class, 25% poor and the remainder below poverty, the last chart represented America with 80% of the population being extremely wealthy with around only a 10% middle class, now don’t hold me to these exact figures but they are close. Most people  when asked what category or chart they fell in to responded the middle, the true reality was that the Americans actually fell in to the lowest chart where around around 20% of the population held most of the nations wealth

Apparently one of the reasons for people thinking this way in America is because Americans in some form relate to their surroundings where most communities look the same, sure there are bad neighborhoods, but most cities and small communities all have the same things, restaurants, shopping malls so its very easy to assimilate that people are ok but   really do not realize how bad off they are. Read the rest of this entry »

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A few days ago the wife and I where struggling over meal planning for the week, and the suggestion was brought up that one of the meals would be to make some grilled cheese sandwiches and a pot of lentils.

Lentils slow cooked in a crock pot, or some other slow cooker with a couple pieces of bacon or ham-hock a dash pepper and a little onion can make a great meal, the kids always cringe when we mention something in the form of legumes, but after they take their first bite they really enjoy them, and accompanied by something they enjoy such as a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat with some real cheddar cheese it makes the meal all the better.

I always knew that lentils where packed with nutrition but was not really aware of how much. Lentils where one of the first domesticated products as far as food consumption. 26% of the calories coming from lentils is protein in fact lentils have the third highest level of protein compared to any other plant food by weight after hemp and soybeans.

Lentils besides having high protein content also contains folate , dietary fiber and vitamin B1 and minerals and are also one of the best vegetable sources for Iron.

Other interesting facts about lentils

Canada is the biggest exporter of lentils in the world.

The ancient Greek dramatist Aristophanes always mentioned lentil soup in his plays and described it as one of the greatest delicacies.

In Italy on  New Year’s Eve  lentils are served which traditionally symbolizes the wish to make more money in the coming year most likely because of their round or coin like shape.

So the next time you are looking for a nutritious meal packed with iron and protein lentils can be that option.

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Vaccinating your kids is necessary but at what cost to our children’s health, heres an interesting clip on child vaccination and how it could be the culprit that actually causes autism.

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A good video on on pharmaceutical companies, its teo years old but right on the money.

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Now after my rant below heres a Video on beef hormones you make your own decisions.

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Over the last few months the family was eating lots of meat , it just seemed like the summer months appeared and I am one of those people that just loves to BBQ, have a few beers and enjoy the evening and the outdoors.

Recently either it was a bad piece of meat that we picked up from a commercial store or at least that’s what we thought. When I say bad meat, after we had it, neither the wife or kids felt that good the next day, kinda of a lethargic feeling, which after all, red meat can sit a little heavy but not to the point of being groggy the next day. The next evening we opted for some grilled chicken which was great and we definitely felt better, but then the following day the kids wanted some burgers, so we did some on the grill, and to our surprise the next day it was kind of that same feeling , kind of lethargic.

So since those two bad episodes of feeling really crappy from the beef, we decided no more meat period, at least for a while. Recently we have been eating lots of beans rice and veggies and its amazing how much better we felt, with more energy.

After doing some brief research here is what I have learned about beef and hormones.

Over 80% of U.S beef is injected with some kind of hormones, and the average dairy cow use to produce 5,300 pounds of milk a year in 1950, today the average cow produces around 18,000 pounds. Pretty impressive, Hormones or steroids, everyone has to make their own choice on what they ingest and digest I guess.

^{My source}

^{http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/}

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Its only a couple of weeks before approaching the summer season which means, a possible trip to the beach or lounging around the pool, or any other outdoor activity. Many people are still lagging around those extra pounds from the winter, and with it being hotter outside that extra weight can really be unconformable.

There are a few common sense things that can be done to help lose those extra pounds, many people will look for that quick weight loss fix, like  proactol, acai berry or even start going to weight watchers, or buying in to that Jenny Craig program. This is all fine and dandy, but these are not cure all solutions, and although they can compliment your weight loss, sometimes we need to do just a few simple things to drop a few extra pounds. Read the rest of this entry »

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High blood pressure – We really do know better, but with a hectic work schedule, kids, family and other things that literally run our daily lives,  having  high stress levels and an improper diet can lead to high blood pressure, sometimes it can be genetic, many of us know what causes it, but other than resorting to prescription blood pressure medications, which can later cause even more severe side effects than the high blood pressure itself.

A high salt intake can cause and increase blood pressure, and if you did not already know, high blood pressure can lead to kidney failure, stroke, headaches, and even a heart attack.

Foods to avoid when trying to lower blood pressure include, salt, high sodium constricts arteries making blood flow more difficult, also try avoiding canned foods, soups that can contain lots of salt.

Getting more Potassium in your diet can help lower blood pressure, foods high in potassium include Chicken without skin, fish, avocados, banana, lima beans, milk,oranges and potatoes.

Eating the right foods can help lower overall blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and remember, don’t forgot to do a little exercise at least four days a week and you will see a great improvement in lifestyle and a healthier body.

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My mother just turned 80 the other day and she does not look a day older than 60, she is always looking for better ways to stay in shape, she walks daily, still lifts light weights, and  generally eats very healthy, she does love her white and red wine. In any case this weekend she looked better than I had seen her in a while, and I made the comment to her and she thanked me, I said it must be the white wine, she smiled and said either that or the turmeric, apparently a friend also of older age had mentioned taking a tablespoon of turmeric in the morning with a half glass of water, and that she had  also used it frequently in cooking. So I decided to do a little bit of research on turmeric or also known as curcumin.

So what is it good for besides cooking ?

Turmeric (Curcumin) has been used for years in Southern asia as an antiseptics and for treating cuts, bruises and even burns, it has also been used in asian countries to treat stomach disorders and indigestion, in fact Pakistanis use turmeric for its anti inflammatory properties and the ability to remedy gastrointestinal comfort, including irritable bowel syndrome. In fact Turmeric (Curcumin) has been used in the treatment of anorexia, liver disease and has even been used in the aid to lower cholesterol. Read the rest of this entry »

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