http://articles.deliciousfoodgifts.com/rss.xml A blog about deliciousfoodgifts.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.deliciousfoodgifts.com/?a=35578 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Sometimes I wonder why I keep reading up on healthy ways to cook and eat. Every time I do I find something else that I'm doing wrong and it's usually bad enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The discoveries that I made today are no different. <br /><br />I found out that it's dangerous to use plastic to cover the food while you heat it up in the microwave because it's been shown to cause cancer. I also found out that I shouldn't be freezing bottles of water before I drink them. I should have known, since one of my favorite things is icy cold water and I like to freeze the bottles and drink them as the water melts. <br /><br />I'm beginning to believe that scientists have found my list of favorite foods and are hard at work to ruin it for me. If it were not for trying to make sure my kids are fed in a healthy way, I'd stop my research and just eat what I wanted to. Unfortunately I have a duty to them, so I read on. <br /><br />Another thing I read about is the benefits of raw foods. I guess you're wondering why that should upset me. It upsets me because I always thought that if there was one thing I was doing right, it was the way I handled fresh fruits and vegetables. We've all heard the warnings of making sure that before consuming them, they were thoroughly washed since harmful toxins and pesticides could be clinging to them. I had already been doing this, since I had no confidence that the stores were washing all the dirt off of them. <br /><br />Let's not even talk about how many other people might have handled them before they came home with me. The mistake I've been making is by cooking them so thoroughly. Research has found that heat hurts the molecular structure of the vegetables, making them less healthy for you. <br /><br />I won't pretend not to know that cooking vegetables reduces the vitamins and minerals in them. What I didn't know and was horrified to learn was that it actually changes the molecular structure into a toxin that actually attacks our systems. Go figure. Here I am, thinking I'm feeding my family a healthy diet and instead I find out that I'm feeding them food that is not only not contributing to their health, but harming it as well. <br /><br />Who would have thought that? Well, at least now that I'm informed I can be more careful about how I prepare foods. Maybe I should just serve salads and ice cream. Salads have raw, healthy vegetables and ice cream is a dairy product and dairy contains nice, healthy calcium, right? Works for me.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Delicious Food Gifts at <a href="http://www.deliciousfoodgifts.com/">http://www.deliciousfoodgifts.com</a></p> 2006-08-26T16:23-04:00 http://articles.deliciousfoodgifts.com/?a=35577 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Everyday we learn more about which foods we should eat to ensure a healthy lifestyle. With so many experts recommending so many different eating plans, it's hard to know which one is the healthiest one to choose. Recent research has found that 14 specific foods have been proven to provide healthy benefits. They are being called superfoods and are high in needed antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals. They have the extra benefit of being low in calories as well.<br /><br />What are the 14 Superfoods?<br /><br />The 14 superfoods include broccoli, blueberries and other berries, beans, walnuts and other nuts, green tea, salmon, oranges, spinach, soy, whole grains and oats, turkey, tomatoes, yogurt and pumpkin. These foods have been proven to lower the risk and possibly even improve health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. They have also been shown to be beneficial to people at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Including these foods in your diet promotes good overall health.<br /><br />Why Do We Need Superfoods?<br /><br />An unbalanced diet not only causes weight gain or unhealthy weight loss. In order to function well, our bodies require certain amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. This helps keep us strong and wards off disease. A poor diet results in a weakened condition. Many people who have unhealthy diets are unaware of the negative effects it has until they become ill. There are many people who feel that they are eating a balanced diet, but sadly that's not the case. <br /><br />In today's fast paced world, people often don't have time to prepare meals made with fresh foods. In order to save time, people are eating canned and other prepackaged foods that they can cook quickly or zap in the microwave. Unfortunately, these prepackaged foods can be full of additives, high in sodium and lacking the required vitamin and minerals that we need. So while they may be consuming what seems like healthy portions of food, malnourishment can still occur.<br /><br />What are the Symptoms of an Unbalanced Diet?<br /><br />Symptoms of an unbalanced diet include mood swings, feeling weak and confused, irritability, fatigue and these symptoms are just to name a few. It also weakens the immune system, causing greater susceptibility to colds and allergies. It also has a negative effect on our brain and nervous system and bones and tissues. It can even cause anemia. <br /><br />Further Benefits of a Healthy Diet<br /><br />There has been much talk about the mind, body and spirit connection. It would make sense that if our physical body is in good health, then our mind would be clearer and our spirits happier. By eating a healthy diet, you also feel better about yourself which also contributes to a better state of mind. <br /><br />When you are planning your menu, be sure to include some of the super foods. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Gourmet Food Gifts at <a href="http://www.deliciousfoodgifts.com/">http://www.deliciousfoodgifts.com</a></p> 2006-08-26T16:20-04:00 http://articles.deliciousfoodgifts.com/?a=34842 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>According to an ever-increasing number of studies, food and food additives are the most common trigger for migraine headaches. Some studies put food as the culprit behind kicking off the physiological reaction that causes migraine headaches in as much as seventy percent of cases. Other, however, lay the blame for good at a much lower percentage. <br /><br />It would be an exercise in futility, or at least an exercise in filling up what precious free (headache-free) time you have to test every single food that is related to triggering migraines. You definitely get ahead in the showdown by becoming aware of what foods you commonly eat that are known to trigger the deathly, pounding pain that drives you mad.<br /><br />Avoiding a suspected food trigger or group of food triggers entirely, however, is not the answer. Doing this can adversely affect other areas of your health, not to mention that you&rsquo;re just asking for headaches (migraine or otherwise) by skipping meals or not eating enough. <br /><br />Certain foods are almost guaranteed to be at the top of your list when hunting down the triggers of your migraines. For instance, foods that are rich in the amino acid tyramines (aged cheese, red wines) should always be considered. In addition, if you eat a lot of hot dogs and deli foods and notice you have a lot of migraines as well, you should know that certain nitrates used in large amounts in these kinds of food are probably the trigger. <br /><br />Chocolate is often a major suspect in the hunt for the true killers of head peace because of its high content of phenylethylamine, but several studies have questioned the validity of this dichotomy. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is probably public enemy number one when it comes to food additives and migraines. <br /><br />There simply isn&rsquo;t enough space here to provide a comprehensive list of all food and food additives suspect to play a part in triggering migraines, but here a list of the most common:<br /><br />peanuts and peanut butter <br /><br />caffeine in all products, not just coffee <br /><br />dairy products <br /><br />yeast <br /><br />some beans (which includes peanut), as well as broad, lima, Italian, lentil, soy, peas <br /><br />avocados <br /><br />dried meats <br /><br />sauerkraut <br /><br />pickled herrings <br /><br />canned soups and packet soup mixes <br /><br />chicken livers <br /><br />ripe banana <br /><br />soy products as well as the bean itself <br /><br />sodium nitrate, which is used to preserve hot dogs, bacon and cured meats <br /><br />the preservative benzoic acid and its associated compounds <br /><br />MSG, common name for monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer which is now in almost universal use in almost all processed foods <br /><br />nuts <br /><br />sourdough breads <br /><br />cheeses which have been aged, i.e. cheddar <br /><br />red wines, beer, champagne, vermouth <br /><br />chocolate <br /><br />anchovies <br /><br />As alluded to early, going without food or severe curtailing of your diet is nothing but another trigger and should be avoided. Instead, plan regular meals throughout the day. You might want to try to a restrictive diet, in which you limit your food intake for about a month. (Restrictive diets are not recommended if you are pregnant, however, because by avoiding the potential trigger, you could also be upsetting your balance of nutrition.) If you experience no change in your migraine routine, you can probably assume that your trigger is not food-related. On the other hand, should you find that migraine situation improves over the course of this restricted diet, then simply add foods back your daily routine one at a time. If it is a certain kind of food that you are eating turns out to be responsible, the headache should probably trigger within twelve hours of consumption.<br /><br />Eating a certain food should trigger a headache within 12 hours. Then you can limit those few foods to which you are sensitive. Never restrict all your possible food triggers. For one thing, it&rsquo;s probably not going to help you narrow it down and for another avoiding all your favorite foods is just going to make you more stressful which may trigger the headache anyway.<br /><br />Test yourself with food triggers to determine if food actually is a trigger for you.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get <a href="http://www.deliciousfoodgifts.com/">delicious food</a> at http://www.deliciousfoodgifts.com</p> 2006-06-24T16:13-04:00