Healthier Diet

Question: Any suggestions on how I can ease into a healthier diet? I've never had a healthy or balanced diet - not ever...I'm not fat or obese and I would be considered by most to be in good shape but I am slightly overweight and very concerned about my health. I'm planning to sign up for a gym in July and go to classes - that part is easy, it's the diet part I have a hard time with. I'm not so interested in losing weight, because I just want to be healthy - so part of that is eating healthier but it's soo hard. Not only do I have a repulsion for anything healthy - I just don't know how to fit it into my diet w/ the busy schedule I have - I don't particularly enjoy salad and when I do occasionally eat it I have to force myself to eat it - any suggestions or advice?

Answer: Start with one thing: Like commit to exclude most or all high fructose corn syrup from your diet. It's a bad one because it whacks out blood sugar and can make you more hungry and tired. Next: Add a good thing. I have always HATED green veggies, still do. I do like salad greens and I now eat a baby spring green salad with organic dressing once or twice a day! Read a lot and try to add one good, subtract one bad every two weeks or every month. see web address included for a healthy food guide.

Question: Does an instrument player need a healthier diet? I eat pretty healthy now. I will take guitar lessons sometime in the spring. I know a healthy diet is always important no matter what, but I feel that the addition of my instrument would require a healthier diet since my body will be using more and more energy constantly. Do I need to improve my diet once I start playing my instrument or am I fine now?

Answer: listen up puppy girl, I've been playing guitar for 7.5 years now and even though I'm not fat or anything I haven't had a diet and I really haven't seen any problems with my guitar progress. All this kinda sounds awkward to me, I mean why would you want to make your eating healthier because you want to start playing guitar? I'm not saying you are doing a wrong thing, the question in general sounds strange! Playing a musical instrument as I believe is mostly a work of mind, rather than physical action. Yes there is of course physical movement of hands and etc. but what I'm pointing out is that the mind plays more of role rather than just the shifting of the left hand or the short distance movement of the right hand. I guess you could eat brainy foods like nuts to increase phosphor in your brain but other than that I really don't suggest anything. Playing a musical instrument isn't like working out buddy that requires a diet! It's mostly lies in the brain and more importantly practice! not dieting! An instrument player can think about the health of the hand, like the wrist and perform mini-exercises to prevent any strain that could lead to problems. So to just sum it all up, your fine so no worries on that!

Question: How to get a healthier diet? I am not overweight or trying to lose any weight. I just want a healthier diet. I eat too much fatty foods. What are the correct servings i should have from each food group everyday?

Answer: refer to the food pyramid

Question: Is an organic vegan diet healthier than a non-organic omnivore diet? I'm just curious what the state of opinion is on this topic. What's the healthiest diet? What is the healthiest: Raw, Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivore?

Answer: no organic is overrated and backwards healthy foods do not have insects in them. that is what pesticides are for pesticides are not evil, they keep disease carrying vermin from eating our food and infecting it. fertilizers help things to grow well. organic is for modern day hippies only.

Question: How to make small and easy changes to a healthier diet? I have a horrible diet. I usually eat cereal for breakfast, and junk food, such as chips, brownies, and pop, for the rest of the meals later on in the day. I am very busy, playing three sports and taking guitar lessons, so I don't have much time to cook a healthy meal on the stove or in the oven. How can I make small, easy, and effective changes to my diet? Oh, and by the way, I'm a vegetarian (although I do eat dairy and eggs), so I don't eat any meat or anything.

Answer: You need to remove more than animal products from your diet. You need to concentrate on eating nutrient dense foods. This means no refined foods which of course means no junk food. If you told me 6 months ago that this is what I would be doing now, I would not have believed it but I am. I started off going vegetarian myself this past January. I lost 12 pounds by doing that but that was it. I could not lose any more than 12 pounds. So then I started drinking grapefruit juice and sometimes eating one vegetarian meal a day and sometimes none. That was in the beginning of July. I lost weight but I was hungry all the time. Then I read the book, Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I expected the book to be like a lot of others that I read but it was so much more. I have read books before that said to eliminate refined foods and animal foods from your diet and also vegetable oils but even though Eat To Live said basically the same thing, Dr. Fuhrman explained why. It was this information that was an eye-opener for me. When you understand what nutrient density means and how to change your way of eating to include mainly the most nutrient dense foods in your diet, you will automatically get all the nutrition you need and you will never be hungry. Eating nutrient dense foods satisfies your body nutritionally and when you are satisfied, you are not hungry. Dr' Fuhrman does not say you can't eat animal foods but he says that you MUST limit them and you MUST limit vegetable oils and starch in your diet. Eat all the romaine lettuce you want. make sure that the salad is the main course in your noon and evening meals and eat beans once a day. I have never eaten so much food and lost so much weight. I have no lost a total of 6 inches on my waist and 35 pounds since January and my goal is only 5 more pounds away. I haven't been down to a 32 inch waist since I was in my 20s and I am 62 now. I don't eat dairy and I only eat eggs when I go out for breakfast with friends. I can't remember the last time I had ice cream but I don't miss it. I will likely eat it once in a while [maybe 2 or 3 times a year] but when I do it will be a special treat and we won't bring it into our house. We will go out to have it. Please get the book and read it 3 times and then get his other books and read them. that's what I plan on doing. He says to give the plan 6 week. It can take six weeks to retrain your taste buds. I am enjoying everything I eat. [I love grapefruit and Brussels sprouts but you might like something completely different that will work just as well for you.] I never cared for melon before except for watermelon but now I enjoy cantaloupe and that is very very nutrient dense. I can't recommend this enough. 238 readers have given this book 5 stars on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Revolutionary-Formula-Sustained/dp/0316735507/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251330702&sr=8-2

Question: Would I be skinnier if I exercised on a daily basis and had a healthier diet? I'm currently 5'5 weighing at 140-142 lbs. According to health tables, I have a healthy weight; however I don't exactly have the best figure. I have a big stomach, butt, and lower body. Would I be skinnier or shed away all the excess body fat if I walked at least 30 minutes a day and had a balanced diet? Do the 30 minutes of exercise have to be 30 consecutive minutes or could they be 30 minutes performed throughout the whole day?

Answer: Hi, After reading your question I saw you were interested in optimizing your nutrition [(-:] so even though I may not be able to answer your question exactly as you may have wanted it answered, I thought I would take the time to pass on some pointers I have learned the hard way from my own bad 'uninformed' choices, so you could learn about good advice and bad advice about good nutritional choices. I am always impressed that there is oftentimes some good advice and good links from people helping others through Yahoo_Answers. A good ‘reference’ high_nutrition low cost diet plan is given below in PS1 that I have found to have been the best possible nutrition for me to cure my heart disease problem from too many carbs for too long. It is also the best diet to help with my present health issues - that I know are cholesterol and calcium related because these foods are triggers for me now. I used to be an old advocate of the Atkin’s meat and fat diet before I knew what I now know, so nowadays I do not recommend Atkins high protein and fat diet for long term but would always recommend a "high- nutrition" 96% VEGAN diet replacing most meat with lentils - but many people will not do this. Sooo even though I give a diet plan in PS1 below, let me share a little first to help you understand how losing and gaining weight can best be done to be stronger and healthier for the long term. You may already know this but if not let me first explain that keeping to a plan that fights against bad habits that might be on the verge of seriously tearing down your body is sometimes pretty tough - but being fit and strong versus being overweight and/or sickly is all about (1) how many calories you eat versus how many you burn and (2) IF your calories are primarily the BEST QUALITY PROTEINS or primarily junk sugar-carbs. Please consider that it is not just how few carbs and fats and how much lean protein you eat in order to become 'stronger,' but how many absorbable non-toxic vitamin and minerals are obtained from the protein or fats you would eat. For instance, egg whites have 89% protein, but egg whites are similar in its nutrition per calorie as to eating sweet corn that usually has only about 15% protein. So even though the higher protein egg whites ‘look’ good IF ALL you look at is the protein content, it is really not much better for you than sweet corn. Not good if you understand that they identified the pellagra problem in the 1930’s south was the result of the high calories and minimal amounts of vitamins and minerals caused by a diet of primarily sweet corn. [See: <> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellagra <>] This disease has identical long term health effects as the scurvy and beriberi problems that are also a result of eating too many calories with not enough nutrients. They cured pellagra in dogs by giving them liver and brewers yeast, but the problem with these are the long term effects of cholesterol in the liver and the short term toxic effects of elemental copper in the brewers yeast that is the rust residue from the vats the yeast is grown in. A similar lesser nutrition choice would be when eating tenderloin versus spinach. Boiled spinach has about 56% protein to beef tenderloin’s 61% protein, but spinach has almost 700%, or seven times, the vitamin and minerals of tenderloin calorie per calorie. The problem with spinach is that the spinach calories would cost about ten times the cost of beef calories. Spending $50 per day to eat several pounds of spinach may make any animal as strong as an elite triple-crown race horse, but few people can afford to spend that much for their food - so meat protein is what people typically consume. Even so, many longevity experts like Roy L. Walford, M.D. and Joel Fuhrman M. D. encourage their clients to eat 200 calories of leafy greens a day - which ‘might’ cost about $10 per day but it is a small price to pay when considering the strength, longevity, and good health it would promote. Dr. T. Colin Campbell would also agree with this regimen. Take a few minutes to understand ‘good’ nutritional advice versus poor advice and I hope you will have learned something from my ‘mistakes’ that will soon help you along your way. <>< My best to you and for your good health, A1 [(-:] PS1 – This is my diet plan since I became a 96% VEGAN: + Your body's fat with no water in it has 9 calories per gram which is about 4091 calories per pound of fat. The number usually used for body fat is 3500 calories which ‘assumes’ 14.4% water in an average person’s fat, but this would depend upon if you ate salty or spicy foods a-lot before you would start a new regimen. Protein is 4 calories per gram whether you eat it or burn it from your own body. So after burning up all your body’s fat stores and you would then occasionally burn up your own muscles as a source for your vitamins and minerals, your muscles will then never have a-lot of cells that are decades old ‘if’ you stay active. I would choose to lose 2 pounds a week of fat by reducing 500 calories a day and adding exercise five times a week. Walking at 3 mph is 85 cal/mile for a 160 pound person and for 200 pounds is 106 cal/mile or 145 cal/mile at 5mph. Also, you will lose a lot of water weight when you eliminate salt and spicy foods, probably about four to five to ten pounds the first two weeks. + To minimize the meat-cholesterol in my own diet I have seen that the requirements of B12 can only be obtained from eating 6 ounces of beef heart every week for 16% Cholesterol, or 11 oz of beef round steak every week for 11% Cholesterol, or 1 oz of beef liver every week for 4% Cholesterol and never chicken since for B12 it would require a whopping 175 ozs per week and a whopping 201% cholesterol a day. Soo I suppose I am a 96% VEGAN in order to satisfy the USDA’s B12 Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) that ‘they’ recommend be obtained directly from food sources. I am still researching this topic because the Schilling test for B12 anemia seems skewed against VEGANS and people that may actually have an abundance of B12, and so would dump any excess from a test into their stools, as would be normal when a healthy person’s body would automatically dump excess nutrition or toxins their body could never adequately assimilate. [SEE:<> http://www.innvista.com/health/ailments/anemias/labtests.htm <>] Also, consuming a VEGAN B12 supplement that is linked with cyanide as a ‘preservative’ might provide a quick buzz or temporary stimulant, but my liver might not ever heal from the ‘upper’ it would be causing. [SEE:<> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanocobalamin <>] I am always seeking for researchers who might have done more research than I, so please feel free to email me. [(-:] Even so, for today I still crock pot for 12 hours ground up beef heart and am eating one ounce a day with lentils and spinach in one meal to improve the meats passage through my gut to the stool, and to buffer my digestion/elimination since eating meat alone ‘used_to’ cause reddish stools for me. One day a week instead of beef heart I eat one ounce of beef liver, which adds up to ~200+% the B12 recommended by the USDA with only 20% of the maximum recommended cholesterol. For each 1400 calorie day I eat 100 calories of squeeze drained spinach with a light_sugar_vinaigrette, 600 cals from 15 ozs of organic lentils w/ 100 cals of tomato marinara, or since I might be allergic in my gut to nightshade tomatoes I recently began using onion flake-powder instead of tomatoes, [SEE<>http://www.tomatocasual.com/2008/03/01/tomato-allergies-part-i/#comment-10748 <>], 75 calories of boiled celery, 175 calories of boiled broccoli, 100 calories of sesame seeds, and no_more_than 200 calories of ‘meat’ which is about 4 ozs, and rarely rarely boiled chicken, since chicken has only ~68% the nutrition per calorie of properly grown lentils and only 7% the B12 for the equal calories from beef round steak. Beef heart has ~127% the nutrition per calorie of ‘organically’ grown lentils and organic spinach has ~500%, five times per calorie of lentils. Again, I hope this helps you or others to understand good choices. A1 PS2 - I posted ‘my_story’ and why I know what I know at:

Question: I'm trying to lose weight and reach a healthier diet , any recipe ideas ? I want to maintain a healthy weight and get a healthier diet. I need some recipe ideas. I want to try some things and see what i like. Post links please to any sites =] I found some but they seem very elegant like from a restaurant, i just want simple dinners, lunches, breakfast that i could eat.

Answer: Hi, The ultimate key to losing weight is developing a habit of eating smaller portions throughout the day to keep your metabolism working in your favor. Also, if you stop eating after 7pm, you'll shed pounds. Eating protein and complex (not simple) carbs is key. You can eat healthy "and" save money by looking at cheap healthy recipes as a good start. Denise

Question: How can I have a healthier diet? I think I am going to go on a health diet and start working out more. What would be a healthy diet? Like, in terms of drink and food, what not to eat and what to eat. Thanks!

Answer: the best way to shed pounds is to drink no soda ,no diet soda, do not fry any thing .bake fish ,tuna no mayo, bake or boil chicken or turkey, bake enough to last 3 or 4 meals,use extra meat to eat cold or mix in salad, bake some veggies in same pan to get good flavor,bake extra veggies to re-heat later, make big pot of soup ,with veggies and some chicken and cabbage etc.,make lots of extra so you can re-heat one bowl at a time, drink 6 glasses of water a day ,it is a must,i would carry them small water bottles around with me ,cause you can put the lid on them if they get warm then re-refrigerate ,try not to eat to much bread, try not to eat to late before bed ,eat lots of fruit and veggies, if you have leftovers in frig. you may be more willing to eat them then a fat snack,get some sliced fat free cheese,you can melt a slice on some veggies to make them taste better, make sure you eat well, it is a healthy choice not a diet,,, hope i helped

Question: How can I make my diet healthier? I'm trying to cut out meat don't eat fast food I don't drink soda but I do drink a lot of diet coke - is that bad? What else can I do to make my diet healthier?

Answer: It's great you don't eat fast food! If you do plan on changing your diet, you might want to let your doctor know just because they are familiar with your medical background and might give you tips ("Don't eat grapefruit, it'll mess with the medication you're taking"; "Remember, you're allergic to this or that", etc.) Some great small steps you can take include: 1. Switch all the white rice, enriched bleached white pasta, white bread, etc over to whole-grain bread, brown rice and 100% whole wheat or grain pasta. This greatly increases the protein, fiber and nutrient content that's inherent in the grains. The big difference is that white pasta and bread grains have had much of the nutritious parts of its grain mechanically separated, and then the flour gets enriched - just eat the real, whole grain product instead since getting it from the natural food source is more effective and nutritious than eating the enriched, stripped product. 2. Cut out diet Coke somewhere along the way - switch to water. Diet Coke doesn't really nourish your body in any way and is loaded with chemicals, coloring agents and flavoring agents. It's basically chemical water, which I personally frown upon. I know that it seems like it might aide weight loss or help you stay full, but in reality research shows that diet beverages can actually cause weight gain and stimulate the appetite - they make your mind think you're eating something sweet, but there's nothing substantial in your stomach, and it makes you crave more. Plus it has a lot of caffeine, which is still a drug (albeit not a very harmful one) - it also acts like a diuretic, so you're not hydrating your body properly. 3. Introduce more plant sources of protein - tofu, beans and legumes, whole grains, tempeh, seitan (look up recipes for how to make seitan at home, it's super easy - all you need is flour!). This will help slash fat (especially unhealthy animal fats like saturated fat and cholesterol) out of your diet and increase fiber (animal protein has no fiber). 4. Focus on fiber - fresh fruit and vegetables should become a staple at every meal and snack. Find a way to work in an apple or orange into breakfast, a side salad for lunch (and go easy on dressing, the point is to eat leafy greens and veggies, not slurp down a few tablespoons of fat, LOL), maybe a baked sweet potato for dinner. Dip celery into onion dip for a snack; try apples and peanut butter.

Question: How do I get rid of this cellulite and maintain a healthier diet? I'm a 17 year old girl and I weigh 104lbs. I'm not fat, but I do have some unwanted fat on my thighs, arms, and tummy. I have some cellulite on the back of my thighs and I really need to get rid of it. I don't do sports or anything, but I don't just sit around all day. Does anybody have any ideas of what I can do? Diet ideas would be nice also. Thanks!

Answer: How you maintain a healthier diet is by maintaining a healthier diet. I am not sure how to be rid of cellulite without surgery, but try toning those areas. Build up more lean muscle in those areas, and that will help smooth things out just by taking up more space in your skin. Bad way of putting it, but that is the basic effect.

Question: How can I encourage my mom to have a healthier diet without telling her she looks fat? She keeps saying she weighs less than I do. She is much shorter than me. She has not weighed herself in two years and keeps saying she is the same weight. I can tell she has put it on but she keeps denying it. I am overweight but doing something about it and want her to do the same. Her legs are chaffing together and she says it is the heat but I can tell it is from her weight. She wears the same pants and they look very tight. How can I encourage my mom to have a healthier lifestyle without telling her she is fat?

Answer: Denial, I know that state. My mom is also overweight. I tried everything to make her serious about losing weight. SHe tries but never sticks to it. The problem is that she lives miles away from me. Have walks together and please dont say she needs to lose weight. Just invite her to your exercise activities. If you have a DVD, do it together. Or ask that you make your meals together. It will make her feel you are supportive.

Question: Whats healthier diet soda or unsweet tea in a gallon with splenda? Im trying to lose weight and im aware that the best beverage to be drinking is water.. but i get sick of drinking water all the time, so what would be the best option if i want some flavor? A diet soda or an unsweet tea from the store (in the gallon) with splenda?

Answer: If you don't sweeten the tea too much then I would go for the tea because it has antioxidants in it and diet soda won't give you anything unless it is like Diet Coke plus and even then the benefits are marginal. Green tea would even be better for you. They also say diet soda increases cravings for sweet things, so best to go with the tea IMO.

Question: Is a vegetarian diet healthier than a balanced diet with meat? If it is not than what healthy ways can meat be prepared and how much servings of each food group will a 15 year old need to take in every day to maintain a balanced, nutritious diet?

Answer: This is an often misunderstood area of nutrition because of the issue of protein. Vegetarian eating can be very healthy. Just like regular eating, you need to be careful of added fats and salt. The only thing meat gives you that you can't get from vegetables is B12. As long as you eat a wide variety of vegetables every day instead of limiting yourself to the produce section including nuts, dried beans and legumes (peas, lentils, hummus); along with complex carbs from whole grains like whole wheat or multi-grain breads, whole wheat pasta (I actually prefer it), oatmeal, and brown rice you will have a balanced diet. Having dairy and eggs also helps. You should go to the USDA nutrition website at mypyramid.gov to create your own customized (free!) food pyramid. This will tell you exactly how much of each food group you need to eat based on your age, weight, and activity level. There's also examples for serving sizes and lists of different foods in the food groups.

Question: How exactly does a healthier diet contribute to a healthier life? Just list a couple of reasons for why that is. Thanks in advance.

Answer: Being overweight leads to all kinds of problems like cancer, diabetes, heart problems. Now, not all fit people will be totally healthy in their lifetime, but the chances are better if you are fit.

Question: is a vegetarian diet healthier than a diet with meat in it? okay so i'm doing this essay for school asking if a proper vegetarian diet is healthier than a diet with meat. And so far most of the websites are saying that it is healthier because it reduces the risk of things like cancer. But is the vegetarian diet healthier because your not eating meat? Or because your getting a higher intake of fruits and vegetables? Articles or any information would be helpful =)

Answer: yes i am a vegetarian and i feel greater but also the meat is usually chemicalized and it takes a few days for the meat to go thru the digestive system but vegetables usually go thru smoother

Question: What are the home remedies for removing pigmentation on the both cheeks? i also want to know a healthier diet i want a solution for this .i tried mant thing to remove te dark scar ,but its invain .so please help .i am over weighted .i am trying to become slim .but no result .any home remedies and diet for becoming slim

Answer: U can try out these-Mix Sandalwood Powder with Milk & apply to whole face & rinse it off after it get dried OR simply drink a mixture of milk & Kesar.