How Fibre Rich Foods Improves Your Sleep

It is recommended that an adult should get 7-8hours of good sleep per day however we have more people sleeping less than 7 hours of sleep per night. These habits could be contributing greatly to the rise of lifestyle diseases in our nation. Good quality sleep is vital for our mental, heart, and immune health and skin health. When someone has sleep problems they mainly associate it with stress, phones, or their jobs. However, the main culprit could be diets low in fiber. Eating foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, and pulses have several benefits like improving digestion to helping prevent lifestyle disease. However, in recent times research has proved that these foods improve sleep quality. This is largely due to their high fiber content. A rich fiber diet does not cause spikes in blood sugar levels since unstable blood sugar levels, in general, are associated with poor quality of sleep. Fiber favors the production of serotonin which is a hormone that induces sleep unlike high sugar and fatty foods.

Take-Home For better quality of life and lower hospital bills, it is important to make lifestyle choices that promote healthy sleep.

How Iodide deficiency leads to Heavy menstrual Periods

Heavy and irregular menstrual bleeding may occur as a result of an iodine deficiency. Like most symptoms of iodine deficiency, this is also related to low levels of thyroid hormones, given that iodine is needed to make thyroid hormones. Research also shows that women with low thyroid hormone levels experience more frequent menstrual cycles with heavy bleeding. This is because low thyroid hormone levels disrupt the signals of hormones that are involved in the menstrual cycle namely; progesterone production and estrogen metabolism. Sources of Iodine There are very few good sources of iodine in the diet. This is one reason why iodine deficiency is common worldwide. However good sources of iodide include ; Seaweed Cod Yogurt Iodized salt Shrimp Egg Tuna Dried prunes

How to Fight Aging & illness with purple colored foods

Purple foods have a natural purple pigment known as anthocyanin which is rated as a powerful antioxidant. The deep purple color mostly found in fruits and veggies is an indicator these foods have a high dose of antioxidants. The darker the food, the higher the antioxidant level. For iron and steel tools and machinery to last long, rustproofing has to be done to prevent corrosion and wear. It is much easier to protect your tools from rust than to deal with the consequences of rusty tools later. Similarly antioxidants "rust-proof" your body since they can mop up free radicals and keep you looking younger, longer. The body doesn't need antioxidants to work, but they do help protect your cells from damage that can lead to illness and non-communicable disease. Eating purple-colored foods will prevent and slow the progression of aging, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity on top of other health benefits.

Take home: Anthocyanin is water soluble meaning it can easily be lost due to poor preparation methods like slicing purple cabbage then washing the cabbage, the water turns purple

Embrace A Healthy Eating Lifestyle

It is important to eat well in order to live healthy. Your body needs fuel to stay strong and healthy. Fueling your body with fresh, whole foods is one of the best health choices you can make.Once you begin viewing food as fuel, it is easier to choose foods packed full of nutrients instead of other choices. The body is like a car in that it needs the correct fuel to keep going. If you constantly put low-quality fuel in your tank, you're going to run into health problems. Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure are just a few of the consequences of a poor diet. Think about this; Is it more inconvenient to chop veggies for a salad each day or go to the doctor a few times a month because healthy eating was not a priority to you? Take home: Ask yourself how you want to feel. Next time greasy or high-sugar foods tempt you, think of how you felt the last time you saw someone suffering from a chronic illness. It may encourage you to choose more wisely.

Know what influences Your lifestyle choices

photo credit: Imagine that you have heard of a new approach of dental care. It entails buying for an extraordinary highly-priced toothbrush each month and brushing your enamel after every six hours a day with a new toothpaste that turns your tooth green. That is to say, it’s highly-priced and will change your habits and routine But it does help with erosion. The researchers promise that you will not have an issue with your tooth again. What would it take to convince you to trade to this new approach for dental care? Your dentist advises you to change, Would you change? You study an article in a fitness magazine recommending the approach, Would you change? There is worldwide marketing campaign in all the media, Would you change? Top models adopt the technique, Would you change? All your friends start doing it and you are the sole one who doesn’t have green teeth. Would you adopt the approach NOW? At what stage would you change? Or would you never change? What does it take to alternate lifestyle behaviour?

5 Situations that make the baby to breastfeed more often

Babies do not just breastfeed because they feel hungry(nourishment). There are very many other needs that breastfeeding benefits the baby from ; ✓ To get eye contact which helps them to understand that she/he is loved and protected by the mum. ✓ To be close to mum as they try to adapt to the new experience of lights, noises,smells etc.Breastfeeding time gives the baby reassurance of mum's continued physical presence. ✓ When the baby wants to fall asleep there will be a desire to breastfeed. The hormone cholecystokinin is released into a baby's stomach once suckling starts making your baby feel full and sleepy. ✓ When the baby is trying to cope with pain, breastfeeding provides for an opportunity for skin‐to‐skin contact, warmth, sounds and smell of the mother all help the baby to feel more at ease hence the need to breastfeed. ✓ When the baby is scared they will have an urge to breastfeed more frequent. Beastfeeding is very comforting to the baby since they will be held warmly

Five Amazing nutrition benefits of beet leaves

Photo courtesy: Fresh beetroot

Anaemia or low iron have remained a great health challenge to pregnant women,children and other vulnerable groups. However most people consume beet root and throw away the leaves(greens), therefore missing the nutrition benefits of the leaves.The leaves contain a high proportion of nutrients e.g leaves are very high in iron actually higher than the commonly consumed spinach.

Beet leaves contain good amounts of nitrates which are converted into to nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide helps in widening of blood vessels, helps to lower blood pressure  and preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Beet leaves contain carotenoids (inactive form of Vitamin A). carotenoids function as antioxidants in the body. Since Carotenoids are fat-soluble compounds they should be consumed alongside a source of fat. Consuming leaves together with a fat source is ideal to make the body absorb more carotenoid.

The leaves are also a good source of zinc and vitamin K. Zinc helps maintain good skin, immunity and hair integrity. Vitamin K contained in beet leaves helps the body to build proteins and bones

Some potential concerns while eating the leaves include;

1:Oxalate which is contained in the vien and stalk of the leaves is not suitable for people suffering from kidney diseases 

2:High vitamin K levels may pose a considerable danger  for patient taking blood thinner drugs

Eating too fast is unhealthy

It is important you properly chew your food, chewing helps to break down larger particles of food into smaller ones, proper mixing with saliva (provide enzymes) aiding digestion.Digestion of carbohydrates starts in the mouth by the action of salivary amylase.

Taking in food too quickly will most likely make you swallow more air with each bite. When food reaches the stomach, the air bubbles in your stomach can cause bloating, gas, and just make you feel uncomfortable. Most belching is caused by swallowing excess air by doing things like eating too fast.

There’s no specific number to how many times you should chew your food before swallowing but research says it takes about 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to register you have eaten enough. Hence speed eating will result into excessive food intake since your brain delays to record fullness resulting to more calories being stored,over time obesity creeps in and other chronic illness

Take home: Only practice speed eating if you are training for an eating competition.