Tag: Nutritions

  • Universal Truths in Nutrition That People Actually Agree On

    Universal Truths in Nutrition That People Actually Agree On

    There are lots of controversies on the facts about the nutrition. People generally believe in what they hear without authenticating the source and consider the facts as truths. It is a common human tendency and happens with almost everyone. You hear the views of the elders or some learned person and try to follow them without making any efforts to make sure that the facts mentioned are correct or not. We are hereby talking about those universal nutrition truths which people generally believe is correct and try to find out if they are correct or just myths.

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    Added Sugar is Unhealthy: Well, if you are believer of this fact that added sugar is unhealthy, then you are correct. The addition of sugar gives rise to the blood sugar level, which affects the normal functioning of the human body. The added sugars are in fact sucrose or fructose corn syrup which is very much harmful for the human body. Not only they have empty calories in them, they are also the source of various harmful metabolic toxins which causes serious harm to your health. Many researchers believe that the added sugar is the prime reason for the spread of the western diseases among the people.

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    The Artificial Trans Fats are Unhealthy: There are lots of controversies about the artificial Trans fats. While some people believe that the Trans Fats are healthy, a major section of the people believes that they are not good for the human body and their consumption is like inviting the diseases to attack you. Trans Fats are actually unsaturated fats, which are created by altering the saturated fats chemically. In the process of manufacturing of the unsaturated fats, the saturated fats are exposed to the high pressure and high heat in the presence of the hydrogen gas acting as a catalyst. Because of the hydrogenation of the fats the LDL cholesterol level, which is bad for the human body increases while the HDL cholesterol which is good decreases. The highly processed foods are the ones which have the artificial Trans fats. So it is a wise step to avoid these artificial Trans fats.

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    Green Tea is one of the Healthy Beverages: Most of the people have this mindset that the coffee consumption is not at all good for the human body as it contains caffeine but on the other hand the consumption of the green tea is healthy. While there is a controversy on the consumption of the coffee, the intake of the green tea is actually very much beneficial for health. Green tea is a rich source of the antioxidants and the EGCG, which is a bioactive compound. If you regularly drink green tea, then there are strongly protected against the chronic heart diseases and cancer. Green tea not only boosts the metabolic processes in the body, but also helps in burning the fats. Moreover, they also have specific amino acids which play a major role in maintaining the proper functioning of the brain. So it’s time you start drinking it as it will help you to stay fit and healthy.

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    Olive Oil is Healthy: Most of the people consider olive oil as healthy and this is absolutely correct. They are very much beneficial in maintaining good health. Olive oil is actually one of the gifts of the Mediterranean diet and is used in almost every corner of the world. The most tedious task in today’s time is getting the right kind of olive oil from the market as there are so many adulterated olive oils being sold throughout the world. Olive oils offer several advantages. They have a large amount of monounsaturated fats and powerful antioxidants, which gives the much desired boost to the metabolic health. Further, the presence of the anti-inflammatory compounds in the olive oil makes it very much beneficial for the heart. If you can get the quality olive oil then it will be optimal as they have the healthy fats in them.

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    Supplements Cannot Be Used to Compensate the Unhealthy Diets: It is extremely important for you to choose and eat the right food items as they have a direct impact on your health. Any negligence in this regard is not accepted and it can be dangerous for you. The composition of the whole food is very much complex. They have so much of vitamins, proteins and other essential minerals in them. Quite frankly, we are not at all aware of the total compositions of most of the food items and so the supplements cannot be used to compensate for the real healthy foods. Science has progressed a lot but still we do not have the supplements for the traces of unaccounted minerals found in the real food items. So it lies in your hand to select the food best suited for your health. If you believe that you can eat anything, even if it is unhealthy and not fit for your body and in order to compensate for the essential nutrients you will eat supplements, then you are wrong and you need to change your attitude quickly before it affects your health.

  • Maple Syrup: Is It Healthy or Unhealthy for your Body?

    Maple Syrup: Is It Healthy or Unhealthy for your Body?

    Maple syrup is one of the widely used sweeteners today. The manufacturers claim that it is 100 % natural and is in fact far healthier than the regular sugar that we use. They also claim that maple syrup is also better in terms of the nutrition provided to the human body. Believing these claims, people have started to use it in their day to day life without even making any efforts in authenticating if the claims made are genuine or not. Maple syrup is actually manufactured using the sap of the maple trees. These saps are actually sugary fluid which comes out of the maple trees. Its use has been mentioned in various history books making it one of the food items consumed for many centuries now. Currently Canada is the country which produces almost 80 % of the total maple syrup used in the whole world.

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    There is a two-step process involved in the manufacturing of the maple syrup. Firstly a hole is made in the trunk of the maple tree and the sugary fluid circulating is collected in these holes. Then the next step involves the process in which this syrup is boiled till the water present in it evaporates and sugary syrup which is thick in nature is left behind. Then with the help of the filtration, the impurities present in them are removed. Now depending upon the color of the final syrup obtained, the maple syrup is then classified into Grade A and Grade B. In the Grand A variety, we further have the Light, Medium and Dark Amber category. The Grade B category maple syrup is the darkest syrup obtained and so they have the strongest flavor. This is the reason they are generally used for baking while the Grade A category ones are directly used as the syrup. The darker maple syrup or the Grade B maple syrup is generally manufactured using the sap obtained in the harvesting seasons. It is very important to have prior knowledge before buying the maple syrups from the market. You should select the actual maple syrup and not the flavored maple syrups as they offer more health benefits. Moreover the flavored maple syrup is loaded with the fructose corn syrup or the refined sugar which not only affects your health but also invites various diseases towards your body.

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    The reason why maple syrup is preferred over the refined sugar is the presence of many essential nutrients, minerals and antioxidants. A fresh and pure 100 grams of maple syrup contains the following minerals. Potassium: 6% of RDA, Zinc: 28% of RDA, Calcium: 7% of RDA, Iron: 7% of RDA and Manganese: 165% of RDA. Further the 100 grams of pure maple syrup also has 67 grams of table sugar. This high percentage of the sugar is not at all appropriate as they can lead you to type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart related diseases. If you go for the maple syrup considering that it has good amount of minerals in it and ignore the sugar content, then it is not a wise step and you need to think again on your decisions. The only other healthy way by which you can get the right quantity of minerals is by eating the real foods as they are not adulterated and are perfectly natural. Choose a balanced diet of both the plants and animals and you will surely be protected against the diseases.

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    But if you are anyway going to eat the artificial sweeteners  then maple syrup is the best option in front of you as they have about 1/3rd sugar content compared to the refined sugars available these days. Another good thing about the maple syrup is that its glycemic index is 54 which is less than the table sugar and is a good sign. The table sugar has the glycemic index of 65. This low level of glycemic index helps in maintaining the blood sugar level inside the human body. The less the glycemic index, the better it is for your health. Another advantage of using the maple syrup is the presence of the 24 different varieties of the antioxidants. Yes, this is absolutely right. They have 24 varieties of antioxidants. The oxidative damage inside the human body makes it prone to the diseases and also fastens the process of aging. Actually there are some of the unwanted chemical reactions which happen inside the body involving the free radicals that harms you severely and these chemical reactions are called by the name of the oxidative damage. The antioxidants present in the maple syrup helps in neutralizing these free radicals which eventually helps in getting rid of these oxidative damages. The darker maple syrups have more percentage of antioxidants in them than the lighter ones and so you should opt for the darker ones.

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    The final verdict is that although the maple syrup contains the nutrients and essential antioxidants, it also has the high amount of sugar content in it which is not good for your health. You can call maple syrup as slightly better than the actual sugar. So its use should be limited so that you stay protected. Do not use it regularly as it may harm your health.