Get Healthy Always

Breakfast is often called ‘the most important meal of the day’, and for good reason. As the name suggests, breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period. It replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness, while also providing other essential nutrients required for good health.

Many studies have shown the health benefits of eating breakfast. It improves your energy levels and ability to concentrate in the short term, and can help with better weight management, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the long term.

Despite the benefits of breakfast for your health and wellbeing, many people often skip it, for a variety of reasons. The good news is there are plenty of ways to make it easier to fit breakfast into your day.

Why breakfast is so important

When you wake up from your overnight sleep, you may not have eaten for up to 10 hours. Breakfast replenishes the stores of energy and nutrients in your body.

Energy

The body’s energy source is glucose. Glucose is broken down and absorbed from the carbohydrates you eat. The body stores most of its energy as fat. But your body also stores some glucose as glycogen, most of it in your liver, with smaller amounts in your muscles.

During times of fasting (not eating), such as overnight, the liver breaks down glycogen and releases it into your bloodstream as glucose to keep your blood sugar levels stable. This is especially important for your brain, which relies almost entirely on glucose for energy.

In the morning, after you have gone without food for as long as 12 hours, your glycogen stores are low. Once all of the energy from your glycogen stores is used up, your body starts to break down fatty acids to produce the energy it needs. But without carbohydrate, fatty acids are only partially oxidized, which can reduce your energy levels.

Eating breakfast boosts your energy levels and restores your glycogen levels ready to keep your metabolism up for the day.

Skipping breakfast may seem like a good way to reduce overall energy intake. But research shows that even with a higher intake of energy, breakfast eaters tend to be more physically active in the morning than those who don’t eat until later in the day.

Essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients

Breakfast foods are rich in key nutrients such as folate, calcium, iron, B vitamins and fiber. Breakfast provides a lot of your day’s total nutrient intake. In fact, people who eat breakfast are more likely to meet their recommended daily intakes of vitamins and minerals than people who don’t.

Essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients can only be gained from food, so even though your body can usually find enough energy to make it to the next meal, you still need to top up your vitamin and mineral levels to maintain health and vitality.

Breakfast helps you control your weight

People who regularly eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight or obese. Research is ongoing as to why this is the case. It is thought that eating breakfast may help you control your weight because:

• it prevents large fluctuations in your blood glucose levels, helping you to control your appetite
• breakfast fills you up before you become really hungry, so you’re less likely to just grab whatever foods are nearby when hunger really strikes (for example high energy, high fat foods with added sugars or salt).

Breakfast boosts brainpower

If you don’t have breakfast, you might find you feel a bit sluggish and struggle to focus on things. This is because your brain hasn’t received the energy (glucose) it needs to get going. Studies suggest that not having breakfast affects your mental performance, including your attention, ability to concentrate and memory. This can make some tasks feel harder than they normally would.

Children and adolescents who regularly eat breakfast also tend to perform better academically compared with those who skip breakfast. They also feel a greater level of connectedness with teachers and other adults at their school, which leads to further positive health and academic outcomes.

A healthy breakfast may reduce the risk of illness

Compared with people who don’t have breakfast, those who regularly eat breakfast tend to have a lower risk of both obesity and type 2 diabetes. There is also some evidence that people who don’t have breakfast may be at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Breakfast helps you make better food choices

People who eat breakfast generally have more healthy diets overall, have better eating habits and are less likely to be hungry for snacks during the day than people who skip breakfast. Children who eat an inadequate breakfast are more likely to make poor food choices not only for the rest of the day, but also over the longer term.

People who skip breakfast tend to nibble on snacks during the mid-morning or afternoon. This can be a problem if those snacks are low in fiber, vitamins and minerals, but high in fat and salt. Without the extra energy that breakfast can offer, some people feel lethargic and turn to high-energy food and drinks to get them through the day.

If you do skip breakfast, try a nutritious snack such as fresh fruit, yoghurt, veggie sticks and hummus, or a whole meal sandwich to help you through that mid-morning hunger.

Ideas for healthy breakfast foods

Research has shown that schoolchildren are more likely to eat breakfast if easy-to-prepare breakfast foods are readily available at home. Some quick suggestions include:

• porridge made from rolled oats – when choosing quick oats, go for the plain variety and add your own fruit afterwards as the flavored varieties tend to have a lot of added sugar
• wholegrain cereal (such as untoasted muesli, bran cereals or whole-wheat biscuits) with milk, natural yoghurt and fresh fruit
• fresh fruits and raw nuts
• whole meal, wholegrain or sourdough toast, or English muffins or crumpets with baked beans, poached or boiled eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, salmon, cheese, avocado or a couple of teaspoons of spreads such as hummus or 100% nut pastes (such as peanut or almond butter)
• smoothies made from fresh fruit or vegetables, natural yoghurt and milk
• natural yoghurt with some fresh fruit added for extra sweetness and some raw nuts for crunchiness.

You should already know that nutrition is very important to your quality of life. If you want to have a healthy life and lifestyle, you will need to have a healthy diet with proper nutrition. You might hear all the time that your nutrition greatly affects the way you live and your quality of life but have you ever really thought about why? Do you really understand why it is so important?

If you really want to take the steps to live the long life that you deserve and to be as healthy as possible and enjoy those years, than you need to learn all you can about the importance of optimal nutrition. What you eat really affects your body and health.

1. What is optimal nutrition?
2. What nutrients do you need to be healthy?
3. What foods give you these nutrients?

Importance of Optimal Nutrition
Optimal nutrition is very important to your overall health and fitness. Studies have shown that people can actually live longer if they have healthy nutrition. It is proven that there is a link between optimal nutrition and long life and long term health.

If you take a look at society, you will notice an increasingly large number of people that are overweight and obese. You will also see problems such as poor teeth and acne, dry, brittle skin, dry hair and other problems. You will find many people on medications for headache, stomach problems, acid reflux, constipation, heart disease, high blood pressure and more. What may be more alarming than the high amount of medications is the fact that most people receive very little information about what is actually causing their disease or condition. Instead, they get a pill.

What many people never know is that what they are eating (or not eating) can be causing these health problems. You also need to understand that you will have to make changes and adjustments to your intake over the years and stages of your life. Just like toddlers need a different diet from teenagers, you also need to alter your diet as you continue through all of life’s stages. Understanding what is best for you through each stage of your life is the best way to remain in optimal health.

Micro and Macronutrients
Many people hear that they need proper nutrition but just what does that mean exactly? What nutrients do you need to be healthy? Optimal nutrition will include a variety of different micronutrients and macronutrients. Micronutrients include certain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and fats that make up the foods you eat.

There is too often a lot of myth surrounding the nutrients, our bodies and how we use these nutrients. This is why it is very important that you get all the facts when planning to change your lifestyle and diet. Many people are suffering from malnutrition and may not even know it. Many overweight individuals may be suffering from malnutrition. Just because you are eating does not mean you are eating the right things.

Micronutrients are the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that your body needs to be healthy. The specific ones and amounts of each will depend on your body, sex, age and other factors. Every person is different so there is not one set plan that works for everyone. You need to learn what works for you. As you change, grow older, etc. this will change again and you will continue to have to adjust this.

Macronutrients are the carbs, proteins and fats that you get from foods. The amounts of these that you need will vary as well. This is where many myths come in about what you should or should not eat. The facts are that too much of anyone can be bad and not enough can be bad. It’s all about finding a balance. This means those “All-Carb” or “No Carb” diets that are so popular on the market are really not the best thing for you.

What you choose to ingest in your body has a big impact on your overall health and your general well-being. People now eat more fast foods and frozen dinners and other quick meals that are not very nutritious at all. Some of these foods even have additives in them that can make them addictive so that you want more and more. People typically eat out of hunger and many of these foods do not work to satisfy your hunger leaving you wanting more or something else. Yet, they still have many calories and fat and other things that your body does not need.

Make the Committment
If you are serious in obtaining optimal health to the best of your ability, then take a look at your lifestyle in general. Are you eating the right foods? Are you exercising? Are you getting plenty of fresh air on a daily basis? Do you have positive relationships? If you find yourself answering “no” to these questions, then make the commitment to change. Talk with your family, friends, or a nutritionist. Check to see if there are support groups in your area related to health and lifestyle changes. Look into joining your local gym. Do your research and then purchase the right nutritional supplements that will help you achieve your goals.

If you at least try to make a change in one area, more are sure to follow! You are now on your way to optimal health.

source: Free Article from ArticleGeek.com

During this time of the global pandemic, we can not overlook the fact that covid-19 has become a daily talk of every individual. Therefore staying safe is one of the most important priorities that everyone needs to consider and take seriously to keep you and all the people around you safe, especially during these seasons, the fall and winter. And now, it’s here. 

 Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has warned that infection rates are far too high heading into the end of the year, and the worst is yet to come. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the number of new cases increases daily in some states and increases also in hospitalizations. The virus is most likely to spark at the same time that cold and flu season is just beginning, making us have more virus cases.

Therefore, with the virus spreading like wildfire, there is a need to continually practice this safety guideline by the Center for Diseases Control (CDC). These are some of the tips that can help increase your knowledge of the virus and help you stay safe as well.

The Novel COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person to person, including between people who are physically near each other (within about 6 feet). People who are infected but do not show symptoms can also spread the virus to others. Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe. It is possible that COVID-19 could be spread by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes. The CDC has reported that some pets(cats and dogs) worldwide have been infected after close contact with people with covid-19.

                Safety Guidelines

• Proper handwashing under running water with soap for at least 20 seconds. This should be done as often as possible, especially before touching your face, after using the restroom, handling a mask, caring for the sick, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• The use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in case soap and water are not readily available.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick ( at least maintain 6 feet distance)
• Try as much as possible to practice social distances ( stay at least 6 feet or about 2 arm’s length to prevent getting sick.)
• Wearing face masks correctly over your nose and mouth when around people or in public places is essential.
• Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow, and do not spit around.
• Clean and disinfect frequent touches daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, countertops, desks, keyboards, and toilets.
• Monitor your health by being alert to symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath.
• Practice self quarantine if exposed to a positive covid-19 patient, notify your healthcare provider and practice social distancing even at home.
• Get a flu vaccine, which is very important than ever.
• Eat nutritious food to help boost your immune system. Some immune system boosters include vitamin Cs obtained from fruits like oranges, and zinc from beans, nuts, certain types of seafood (such as crab and lobster), whole grains, and dairy products.

With all said and done, we can’t dispute the fact that wearing mask, social distancing as well as hand washing with soap and water are the most effective ways of staying safe and preventing all infections.

source: CDC from cdc.gov