Unhealthy Foods

Unhealthy or Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value (i.e. containing "empty calories"); to products with nutritional value, but also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all.

Junk foods are typically ready-to-eat convenience foods containing high levels of saturated and / or trans fats, salt, or sugar, and little or no fruit, vegetables, or dietary fiber; and are considered to have little or no health benefits. Common junk foods include salted snack foods like chips (crisps), candy, gum, most sweet desserts, fried fast food and carbonated beverages (sodas) as well as alcoholic beverages. High-sugar cereals, particularly those targeted at children, such as Fruit candies, are also classified as junk food.

Junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs. After many weeks on a junk food diet, the pleasure centers of our brains become desensitized, requiring more of the junk food for pleasure.

Junk or unhealthy fast foods have become a part of our busy lifestyle. Fast food restaurants are popular because they serve filling foods that taste good and are not that heavy on pockets. However, the reason for the fast foods being cheap can be subjected to the use of cheaper ingredients such as high fat meat, refined grains, and added sugar and fats, instead of nutritious foods such as lean meats, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

Fast foods are not completely bad but eating too much over a long period of time can lead to several health problems. The constant stress of missing nutrients, food additives, environmental pollutants, and pesticides will eventually take its toll and the end result would be premature aging, disease, and other health problems. Research shows that most modern killer diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are definitely related to your diet and lifestyle.

Foods are considered "Unhealthy foods" if they:

• Provide empty calories – typically all fried and sweetened foods

• Don't have enough fiber – all bakery and processed foods which are made of refined products.

• Take nutrients from your body and leave you more nutritionally deficient than before you ate them –  carbonated drinks that draws calcium from bone.

• Do damage to your body in one or more ways – foods containing hydrogenated fat like margarine, that converts to trans fat after being heated to a high temperature or re-used, is the culprit for causing obesity, hypertension and heart diseases.

Unhealthy Foods to Avoid include canned soups, baked products, refined cereal meals, donuts, vegetable and non-veg fries, fatty and fried snacks, hydrogenated fats and Trans-fats, ice cream and frozen desserts, processed and refined foods, processed cheese products, soda pop and other artificial beverages, etc.

Multi colored Fruits and Vegetables

The majority of people know that eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is very important. By eating fruits and vegetables of a variety of different colors, one can get the best all-around health benefits. Each different color fruit and vegetables contains unique health components that are essential to our health.

Fruits and vegetables are very important to our health because they are whole foods, created by nature, that are rich in a large amount of nutrients. The processed foods that we so commonly eat, can never compare to the health benefits provided by them , which have fiber, vitamins, and enzymes built right in.Eating plenty of healthy vegetables and fruits helps prevent heart disease and strokes, control your blood pressure, prevent some types of cancers, and guards against cataract and macular degeneration or vision loss.

Health benefits:

• Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
• Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
• Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
• Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calories intake.                   

                                                                                

                                                                                

Eat Dry Fruits and Nuts

Dry fruits are small but are extremely rich sources of minerals and proteins. Every diet specialist always recommends a handful of dry fruits in our diet in order to keep us healthy and fit. There are  varieties in dry fruits such as raisins, cashew nuts, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, dates and the list goes on. Dry fruits possess a lot of medicinal properties because of the ample amount of nutrients that are present in them. Though the dry fruits are really expensive and are regarded as delicacies but the health benefits that they possess makes them worth their price. This article consists of the health benefits that different dry fruits have and therefore the reasons to include dry fruits in our diet lf we want to stay healthy.

Cashew nuts: Cashews have a wide range of health benefits including lowering hypertension and controlling diabetes. They are also rich in proteins and high in magnesium, which help in improving muscle strength.

Almonds: They not only aid in weight loss but also help in lowering cholesterol and lipids in the body. Its help maintain a healthy digestive system and promote hair growth.

Pistachios:  The health benefits of this dry fruit include maintaining hemoglobin levels and fighting the signs of ageing as it is high in vitamin E. Pistachios also help you maintain good eyesight and boost immunity.

Walnuts: Walnuts are a powerhouse of nutrition. They are known to induce sleep and are great to improve sleeping pattern. Walnuts are also good to help you lose weight. Apart from that, pistachios help improve strength of hair, prevent hair loss, improve memory, walnuts are great for diabetics as it does not increase one's blood sugar drastically and still helps maintain overall health.

Raisins: The sugar content in raisins provides instant energy. Also, it has high calcium content which maintains good bone health. Raisins are also known to have anti-bacterial properties which help in fighting minor infections, prevent dental cavities and  bad breath. Apart from this, they have cholesterol-lowering properties, making them ideal for weight loss.

Exercise Daily

It is very important that one is to be  both physically and mentally fit. Exercising plays a vital role in our lives. It helps us in staying physically fit. Out human body is designed to move. If we don’t walk or exercise daily then we might easily get prone to different diseases overtime. Just like eating food, going to work daily are some of the important aspects of daily life exercise is also important in daily lives and one should make it a habit to at least exercise 4 out of 7 days in a week.

There are a lot of benefits of doing exercise and people of all age groups can take advantage of exercise. Exercise helps in improving the strength and efficiency of cardiovascular system which will improve the flow of oxygen and nutrition’s in your body.  Exercising daily will help you in improving your muscle strength. Your muscles will get stronger, tendons and ligaments will become flexible which will allow you to move easily and will protect you from sudden injuries. If you are having strong muscles and ligaments you are having very less chance of joint and lower back pain as all your joints are going to be in proper alignment. The coordination and balance of your body will also get improved.

Exercise will help you in maintaining your weight. If you are overweight, you can easily lose weight by exercising as your calories will burn during your workout period. Your muscles will develop and the metabolic rate of your body will be increased which will help you in burning more calories than normal even if you are not exercising. Exercise will also help in improvement of both oxygen level and blood flow in your body. With exercise the brain cells will be released frequentlywhich help in production of the cells in hippocampus. Hippocampus is that part of the brain which helps in learning and controls the memory. The concentration levels in your body will be improved.  The concentration levels in your body will be improved.

 Exercising regularly will decrease the LDL cholesterol level in the body and increases the HDL cholesterol. Other health advantages of exercise on your heart are reducing blood pressure which will help in lowering the stress on your heart. The heart muscles will also strengthen if you are exercising daily. If you are exercising daily and are taking a healthy diet your body is having very less risk of developing heart diseases. The blood glucose levels of your body will also get controlled with exercising.