Everything You Need to Know About the Health Benefits of Antioxidants

You don't realize it yet, but in the next two minutes you're going to learn of the easiest steps you can take in order to look attractive and live healthier long into your golden years. This secret is antioxidants. Antioxidants are the super foods that will enable you to live a long, healthy, not to mention attractive, life. Antioxidants contain molecules that remove other, bad molecules from your body. These bad molecules contain oxygen and they react with your cell and tissues in a volatile way that can lead to illness and overall poor health.

The process can be compared to the oxidation of car paint on older cars that have not been properly cared for with regular washing and protection from the sun. Imagine that these bad molecules are doing the same to your body, fading away your outside so that your features look older and worn.

What Foods Have Antioxidants?

Antioxidants can be found in several different types of foods but the absolute best antioxidants come from fruits and vegetables. An apple a day will truly keep the doctor away, as well as help you age much better. In fact, the proper balance of antioxidants in your diet combined with exercise can keep you looking 35 years old when you're actually 45.

Are Antioxidants Just Another Diet Fad?

No. The benefits of antioxidants are scientific fact. Of course, we're all probably seen late not infomercials where some company is selling lotions and creams that they claim contain antioxidants which help slow the aging process; however, these are scams. Antioxidants only work when ingested in the body. Thus, if you want to experience the health benefits of antioxidants you have to eat them, and fruits and vegetables are your best source, so load up the next time you're at the store.

Are There Any Particular Foods That Are Really High in Antioxidants?

Yes. In general, brightly colored fruits and vegetables are best. These include spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrots squash, grapefruit, berries, oranges, plums, grapes, apricots, and peaches. And if you're a fan of dried fruit, you can also get the same health benefits, so don't worry about having to give them up.

Earlier You Mentioned There Are Other Foods Besides Fruits and Vegetables That Contain Antioxidants?

Yes, I did. One of those foods is chocolate, which actually has a higher content of antioxidants than fruits and vegetables; however, don't assume you can eat a couple of candy bars a day and be fine. Remember, chocolate is full of sugar and other fattening products that can be counterproductive to your goals for living a healthy lifestyle.

A well-balanced mixture of all of the foods above is a great start to living healthier and helping to ensure a more attractive looking persona. Antioxidants not only help with weight and positive physical feelings, but the psychological feelings of looking good are also beneficial to an overall healthy lifestyle. The benefits of antioxidants are numerous so if you're intent on living long and staying attractive, they are the first step to take in reaching this goal.

by Yuki Shoji
www.EatandLookGood.com

4 Important Foods for a Healthy Diet

Face it, we're always hearing about how overweight our society has become and how we should exercise more and eat healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, but nobody ever bothers to tell us exactly which healthy foods we should eat or how much of them we should eat. Thus, the challenge of making the leap to a healthy lifestyle becomes a daunting task before we even attempt it, so it's no wonder most of our society is still overweight.

To better help clear up confusion, the following is a list of general healthy foods and their quantities to help you begin eating healthier.

Important Foods for a Healthy Diet #1: Whole grains

In order to make sure you're eating enough whole grains in your diet you should eat at least six ounces; however, you can eat more if you combine your diet with an exercise program. Foods you can eat which will provide you with whole grain nutrients include cereal, pasta and bread.

Important Foods for a Healthy Diet #2: Vegetables

There's really no limit on the amount of vegetables you can eat in a day; however, you should eat a minimum of two and a half cups everyday. As far as which ones you should eat goes, you should attempt to mix and match everyday. Eating a variety of vegetables ensures that you're getting a healthy dose of the nutrients that each vegetable type provides.

Important Foods for a Healthy Diet #3: Fruits

Just like vegetables, there is really no limit on the amount of fruit you can eat every day; however, you should eat a minimum of two cups per day. Again, like vegetables, make sure to mix and match the types of fruit you eat each day in order to fully benefit from the many different nutrients fruit offers.

Important Foods for a Healthy Diet #4: Milk

Drinking milk, combined with a regular workout regimen, has been scientifically proven to help promote weight loss. You should attempt to drink at least thee cups per day. However, avoid drinking whole milk and stick to low-fat or non-fat milk to avoid getting too many calories in your diet. If milk is not your forte, you can also opt to get your recommended dairy in the form of yogurt; again, either low-fat or non-fat. Whichever way you choose to get it, just make sure and get it. Dairy provides a good source of calcium which is important to living a healthy lifestyle.

Follow these guidelines and you will be able to rest comfortably knowing that you're eating healthier than the majority of the people in this country. Be sure to try and avoid foods such as margarine, butter and lard, which you might use for cooking or adding flavor to food. Eating too much of these can negate the effects you're trying to achieve from a healthy lifestyle.
So there you have it, a small blue print for eating healthy. Don't put it off any longer. Everyday that you do could be a day that you are looking better and adding extra years to your life span.

by Yuki Shoji
www.EatandLookGood.com

5 Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol

You're intelligent enough to know that if you have high cholesterol, then most likely it is an unhealthy diet that is to blame for the problem. Having high cholesterol is a serious problem which can lead to even more serious problems such as a heart attack or stroke. If you have high cholesterol then the time to give up the junk food and fast food dining is now, before matters take a turn for the worst.

In order to lower your cholesterol you need to revamp your diet, and in order to do so you need to follow these tips:

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #1: Eat oatmeal

Replace the eggs and bacon in the morning with a bowl of oatmeal, but not the flavored kind, the plain kind. If the idea of eating oatmeal isn't appealing for its lack of taste, you can always slice up a banana and add it in to give it a little flair. Oatmeal is a great source of fiber which helps remove harmful nutrients from your body and has been scientifically proven to lower cholesterol.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #2: Exercise

Exercise speeds up your metabolism, which in turn allows your body to breakdown food faster so that the chances of cholesterol building up drop. In addition, the act of sweating is a great way to purify the body of harmful toxins.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #3: Eat less red meat

Our digestive system was not made to process red meat very effectively; thus, the fat and other unhealthy nutrients it contains often gets stored in our body where it builds up until the day you find out you have high cholesterol or you have a heart attack.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #4: Stop eating fast food

One of those popular combo meals from a fast food restaurant can contain twice the daily allowance of calories that your body needs, and that's just one meal. Don't forget that you're likely to get hungry again later and need to eat, and then you're going to add more calories to your system on top of that. You don't want this if you're trying to lower your cholesterol; thus, it would be in your best interests to forego fast food dining completely.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #5: Drink water

You should drink eight big glasses of water per day. Water keeps you hydrated and moving like a well oiled machine when working out. By staying hydrated you burn fat more efficiently when exercising, as well as help purge your body of harmful toxins. What's more, drinking plenty of water negates hunger pangs by tricking your stomach into feeling full.

Having high cholesterol should not be ignored. If you have high cholesterol then you need to change your diet immediately. By eating the foods above you can begin to lower your cholesterol, but don't forget to add exercise to help the process work optimally.

by Yuki Shoji
www.eatandlookgood.com

5 Tips for Controlling Food Cravings

Everyone knows that a late night food craving can completely ruin a day of healthy living. Because this is often the leading reason why people fail at living a healthy life, the following tips have been compiled to help win the war on late night cravings:

Tips for Controlling Food Cravings #1: Be prepared

If you're prepared a head of time for a food craving, then you lower the chances of inhaling a fattening burger at 11 o'clock at night. There are some options at hand to help you cope. The first option is to always have healthy snacks in your kitchen you can turn to in order to satiate the craving. Fruit is usually the best choice because of its sweetness. Or if you prefer to completely avoid giving in to the craving you can do something that will take you mind off it, such as read a book, write in a diary, play videogames - anything that will take your mind of your craving.

Tips for Controlling Food Cravings #2: Distinguish craving from hunger

Most people confuse a craving for hunger. The next time you find yourself craving a candy bar, stop and pay attention to your body. Is it your mind talking or your stomach? It the answer is your mind then turn to Tip #1 for the best way to preoccupy yourself.

Tips for Controlling Food Cravings #3: Fortify your willpower

If you've been in the process of losing weight and have made significant accomplishments so far, think of this. Go stand in front of a mirror naked and appreciate the drop in weight loss you've experienced, and then remind yourself of how you used to look. This is usually enough to scare away any late night food craving.

Tips for Controlling Food Cravings #4: Go to bed earlier

Do your craving usually arrive around 10 or 11 o'clock at night? If so, start going to bed earlier. Your body needs plenty of rest as it is, so an extra hour of sleep would be a good thing for your body anyway.

Tips for Controlling Food Cravings #5: Drastically cut calories

If you insist on giving in to your late night cravings, then during the day you should take steps to cut out that amount of calories you will eat late at night. For example, let's say your late night craving is chocolate cake, and that a slice of chocolate cake has 300 calories. If you insist on eating it, then over the course of the day you need to eat 300 calories less. You can cut these calories out by changing your snacks to ones which are lower in calories or avoiding drinking certain beverages.

The bottom line when it comes to controlling food cravings is that you need willpower. Without it you'll always cater to your cravings and end up failing at living a healthy life. The tips above can help you to cope, but you should ultimately strive to teach yourself to say no. Then you will be well on your way to mastering a healthy and attractive lifestyle.

by Yuki Shoji
www.EatandLookGood.com

5 Foods to Eat for Optimal Health

Most of us are bombarded by so many new studies and dietary guidelines mentioned in the news today that it's no wonder we fail to live healthy lives. They don't know what to believe. The best way to deal with all of this new information we are bombarded with on a daily basis is to ignore it and focus on the facts mentioned below. The following list consists of tried and true foods that have proven themselves effective in contributing to a person's healthy lifestyle.

Food to Eat for Optimal Health #1: Whole grains

These types of food include whole wheat breads, oatmeal, cereal and brown rice. Whole grains contain the good carbohydrates you need in order to maintain a healthy weight, as well as good intestinal healthy, which is very important as you get older.

Food to Eat for Optimal Health #2: Vegetables

Vegetables can be prepared in a number of healthy ways, so make sure that is what you do. Avoid pouring any kind of sauce, salt or butter over them for flavor. This defeats the whole purpose behind eating them because it detracts from their nutritional value.
Food to Eat for Optimal Health #3: Fruit
Eat fresh fruit every day and avoid manufactured fruit juices, which are often packed full of unhealthy additives and preservatives. Make sure and eat plenty of bananas, apricots and cantaloupe in order get plenty of potassium and fiber in your diet. Fruit also lends itself to going great with salads, so don't forget to use this as an option when trying to spice up a boring salad.

Food to Eat for Optimal Health #4: Low-fat or non-fat milk

It's a scientific fact that drinking 12 ounces of low-fat or non-fat milk everyday helps promote healthy weight loss. However, if milk is not something you like, as it is for many people, you can also get similar benefits from low-fat cheese or yogurt.

Food to Eat for Optimal Health #5: Lean meat

Protein is important to a healthy diet because it promotes muscular fitness; however, red meat should be eaten only occasionally, and even then, the meat should be the leanest possible in order to avoid too much fat. Other sources of protein include fish and chicken as well; however, it is important that you remove the high fat skin of the chicken so that it is a healthy addition to your diet.

Now that you've finished reading this, you might be saying to yourself, "I already knew this. I want something new that will work better." Sorry to say that there isn't some miracle group of foods that taste great and make you super healthy. The foods that do this are the same ones you mother forced you to eat when you were a child. It's time to stop falling for scams and wasting money that would be betters spent on healthy foods that have proven themselves effective for decades. If you're ready for a healthy change in your life than the foods above are the way to do it. You're not going to find a miracle food that will do it for you. Sorry.

by Yuki Shoji
www.eatandlookgood.com

7 Reasons to Avoid Sugar

Here's a fact for you: Did you know that Americans consume an average of three pounds of sugar per week? Maybe you're thinking you don't because you don't eat candy; however, sugar is present in more foods than just candy; foods such as peanut butter, mayonnaise, bread (especially white bread) and ketchup.

Scientific fact: Sugar is bad for you.

Sugar is bad for you for the following reasons:

Reason to Avoid Sugar #1: Sugar Suppresses Your Immune System

Part of being healthy and attractive is not being sick. When you eat a lot of sugar it suppresses your immune system, which makes you more prone to bacteria and viruses.

Reason to Avoid Sugar #2: Sugar Can Cause Diabetes

Your body already makes enough insulin for your body to live optimally, but when you add more sugar into your system, which gets transformed into insulin, your body has to speed up to process it. Over time your body wears down from doing this and you develop diabetes, and thus, join the ranks of millions of other unhealthy people.

Reason to Avoid Sugar #3: Sugar Causes Weight Gain

This reason is here because it is obviously detrimental to living a healthy and attractive lifestyle. Part of being both is to be slim. When you're not slim you're unhealthy and unattractive, and thus, are eating too much sugar, among other things.

Reason to Avoid Sugar #4: Sugar Raises Your Cholesterol

Having high cholesterol can lead to a heart attack. Having a heart attack is unhealthy. In addition, the toll that open heart surgery takes on your body will follow you to the end of your life; particularly, that very unattractive scar running down the front of your chest.

Reason to Avoid Sugar #5: Sugar Makes it Hard to Sleep

If you want to be attractive, as well as healthy, you have to get your beauty sleep. Too much sugar speeds up your heart rate and makes it difficult for your body to relax and your mind to clear itself. If you池e not willing to completely forego sugar, then at least make sure and avoid eating it a few hours before bedtime.

Reason to Avoid Sugar #6: Sugar Increases Water Retention

For most people it is that pesky last five or 10 pounds that they find is the hardest to burn from their body. But if they eat too much sugar, it may just be a matter of cutting back and allowing your body to burn off the water retention that can arise from eating too much sugar.

Reason to Avoid Sugar #7: Sugar Makes it Hard to Think Clearly

Sugar has been scientifically proven to interfere with waves in the brain, making it harder to concentrate for long periods of time, as well as learn. It is oftentimes the simple reason why most children are struggling at school.

Everyone enjoys a sugary snack on occasion. It can be a good thing sometimes. However, too much of a good thing can be bad and lead to the problems listed up above, as well as many, many others not mentioned. So if you're trying to live a healthy and attractive lifestyle, you may want to put that piece of cake down the next the craving hits for the safe of your health.

by Yuki Shoji
www.eatandlookgood.com

5 Reasons to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup

Here's a scientific fact for you: High fructose corn syrup is a man made chemical that you should avoid at all costs if you're striving for a healthy and attractive lifestyle. How's this for unnatural: High fructose corn syrup is made by treating genetically modified corn with a variety of enzymes to extract the sugar glucose and then convert some of it into fructose. What this leaves you with is a mixture of fructose and glucose, which then finds its way into juices and sodas.
Why do companies do this? One reason: it's cheaper than using good old-fashioned sugar. However, though it might make your drinks taste sweet, the end result is that high fructose corn syrup is detrimental to your health. The following is a list of reasons to avoid this artificial additive altogether.

Reason to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup #1: Diabetes

High fructose corn syrup causes weight gain because it inhibits the body's ability to stimulate insulin production. Without insulin your body doesn't function properly. Part of living a healthy lifestyle means not being sick and being free of disease. Diabetes is a widespread epidemic in America today that you need to avoid at all cost in order to maintain a healthy and attractive lifestyle.

Reason to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup #2: Weight Gain

]Not only does high fructose corn syrup inhibit the body's ability to produce insulin, but it also inhibits the body's ability to increase leptin production, a hormone that is produced by the body's fat cells and which control appetite and bodyweight.

Reason to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup #3: Increase Hunger

High fructose corn syrup inhibits the body from suppressing a hormone known as ghrelin, which increases hunger. It goes without saying that an unneeded increase in appetite will affect one's bodyweight and health.

Reason to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup #4: Increases Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is often referred to as brittle bone disease and is most common in women. High fructose corn syrup alters the magnesium balance, making women even more susceptible to this disease.

Reason to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup #5: Increases the Aging Process

If you're determined to live an attractive life, then this is the biggest reason to avoid high fructose corn syrup. Obviously your goal is to always look years younger than you actually are, but if you're ingesting high fructose corn syrup you're not going to be able to do this.

When you get right down to it, high fructose corn syrup is a man made chemical. Not even the corn that starts the beginning of the process is natural. When you take a product that is far from its natural state you generally get an unhealthy result. But in the case of high fructose corn syrup, you get a result that is absolutely devoid of any nutritional value, which is all the more reason to cut from your diet completely.

by Yuki Shoji
www.eatandlookgood.com

5 Bad Foods to Avoid Eating

Imagine what it would be like if at age 65 you looked 40. Sure, it may seem like a dream, but the truth is that it can become a reality if you really want it to. The upside to wanting to live a healthier, longer life, and look good while doing it is that the ability to do so is entirely within your control. You get to decide what foods you eat, what foods you keep in your cupboards. You also get to decide how to prepare them. Will you prepare them healthy, or not so healthy? Living a healthy lifestyle is within your control, and the following is a list of bad foods to avoid which will help you obtain this lifestyle.

Bad Food to Avoid #1: Monosodium Glutamate

Read the content label on every package of food you buy from the store. If anything has this chemical in it leave it on the shelf. You might also have heard this chemical called MSG. It can be detrimental to a healthy lifestyle because it tricks the brain into not feeling full; thus, prompting you to eat more than you should.

Bad Food to Avoid #2: High Fructose Corn Syrup

For some people, this is the reason why they struggle to stay on a diet, especially if their former lifestyle included them ingesting a high content of this garbage. The reason it is difficult for people like this to stick to their diet is because high fructose corn syrup is addicting.

Bad Food to Avoid #3: Hydrogenated Oil

This type of oil contains Trans fats, which are known to cause heart disease, weight gain, high cholesterol, and numerous other medical problems. The quickest way to have a coronary is to eat foods high in Trans fats on a regular basis. If you have trouble doing this, then just picture how unattractive you'll look after having such a major surgery to repair this problem.

Bad Food to Avoid #4: Sugar

Sugar is packed full of chemicals to help refine it into the substance it is once it finally reaches the grocery store. You should try to avoid it at all cost if possible. It doesn't serve any other purpose than to turn to fat and become a bulge around your thighs and belly.

Bad Food to Avoid #5: Enriched White Flour

The word "enriched" doesn't mean that healthy additives have been mixed in; quite the opposite. There is absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever in this food. If your mother never let you eat white bread growing up, this is why. It is one of the main ingredients.

One of the best ways to make sure you're buying healthy food when grocery shopping is to look at the contents on the outside of the package. If there is anything listed on it which you cannot pronounce (generally scientific words) put it back on the shelf and move along. That is, do this if you're serious about living a long and healthy life, and looking good while doing so.

by Yuki Shoji
www.eatandlookgood.com