Pumping Marvellous

Image via Wikipedia

Some good nutrition tips

I read this information and I thought I would share it with you as it gives you some simple pointers to leading and maintaining a healthy nutrition regime.

1. Fill up on fibre
High fibre foods such as Shredded Wheat, semi dried apricots, oatcakes, fruit and vegetables add bulk to food which helps to trigger feelings of fullness without the calories.  They also slow down the release of sugars into the blood stream keeping hunger at bay.

2. Dilute your drinks
The calories in drinks can soon mount up and the sugars and alcohol they contain can send blood sugars soaring resulting in increased appetite and cravings.  A great way to reduce both the calorie content of your beverages and the affect they have on your blood sugars is to dilute them with still or sparkling water. Swapping lattes for instant or fresh coffee made with water and just a small amount of milk added can also save over 200 calories per coffee.

3. Focus on fats
Nuts, seeds, oils and oily fish such as a fillet of salmon can all be great sources of essential fatty acids essential for a whole host of functions from a strong immune system through to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and many cancers.  However, it’s important to limit your intake of saturated fats found in cakes, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, pastries, cheese, fried and processed foods.

Go for reduced or low fat dairy foods such as skimmed milk, low fat yogurt, reduced fat cream cheese and half fat cheddar, swap fatty salad dressings for balsamic vinegar, and base most of your snacks and desserts around fruit or vegetables such as apples, oranges or carrots dipped in low fat hummus.

Hope this helps

Oolong Tea and your Heart

It is so different to circumnavigate around the oodles of quackery and sales pitching going on so what I am going to try and do here is achieve a balanced approach on Oolong Tea and it’s benefits to the heart and circulatory system. As within any complimentary addition to your diet there are ups and downs. Anyway here goes for a balanced view.

In China, tea has historically been used as a medicine. Many studies have been carried out up to the present day about the effects of tea. It has been known for some time that tea helps to control obesity and this is common knowledge in China. A Chinese classical pharmaceutical book called the Bencao Shiyi (The Compendium of Materia Medica) states, “Drinking tea for a long time will make one live long to stay in good shape without becoming too fat and too heavy.”

In modern medical science, obesity does not simply mean being overweight. Obesity is defined as an “excess accumulation of fat in the human body,” indicating that “the amount of fat within the body has increased beyond its normal range.” As shown in the chart, the normal range of fat against weight is 15-20% for a man and 20-25% for a woman. A man will be diagnosed as being obese if he has a fat-to-weight ratio of 25% or more, and for a woman, if she has a ratio of 30% or more.

Why does obesity occur? Among other food items taken into your body through meals every day, sugar and fat are synthesized into triglyceride in the liver and the small intestine, which are then carried in the bloodstream into various other tissues in the body. More triglyceride than any other kind of fat is contained in the human body and it is used as a source of energy for life support and physical activities. Excess amounts of triglyceride will be deposited within fat cells. This is the mechanism of fat metabolism in which an excess accumulation of triglyceride in the body causes obesity.

Polyphenol in oolong tea is effective in controlling obesity. It activates the enzyme that is responsible for dissolving triglyceride.

Oolong tea is good for the heart in several ways according to an American study carried out in 2007 which found out that it reduces blood concentrations of triglycerides in rats by a whopping 80% compared to rats on normal diet.

A 2004 Japanese study conducted by Osaka City University found that oolong tea increases plasma adiponectin levels. Low levels of plasma adiponectin are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease (CAD). The study concluded that oolong tea may have beneficial effects on the progression of atherosclerosis in patients with CAD.

If you have a look at the accessible medical studies of repute they suggest Oolong tea does promote weight loss by increasing metabolism, burning fat and blocking dietary fat absorption. Please note the word promote not the word solution.

Ok for the side effects

Oolong Tea is a healthy beverage. But like any other tea, it does have some side effects.

The best way to avoid oolong tea side effects is to buy from a vendor who knows their teas inside out and also sells high grade tea. Their teas are more likely to have come from a high quality tea garden in the mountains, rather than from some low grade, contaminated sources. Avoid the shiny diet oolong tea sellers who are more interested in selling you the hype than demonstrating an in-depth understanding of their teas.

Caffeine Intolerance
Stomach Upset
Thiamine Deficiency
Tea Allergy

Drug Interaction
Tea can interfere and interact with certain medications. As a safety precaution, avoid drinking tea for at least 2 hours after taking medications. If you are on prescribed drugs please discuss drinking Oolong Tea with your Doctor or Specialist Nurse before you buy.