Eat Better Quality Foods

With all the food contamination news we keep hearing, now not only we have to be sure to eat healthy, but now we must pay attention that the healthy food we eat is of good quality.

Here are some tips on how to enhance the quality of food without worries.

1. Find out where your food comes from - it is still best if we grow our own food and raise our animals in our very own backyard. This is one of the best ways to know that your source of food is safe. But in reality, amidst our hectic schedules and location, it may be impossible for all of us to do so. The next best thing is to visit your local farmers market. Avoid purchasing foods that came from factories. Local veggies are less treated with herbicides or pesticides.

For meat, it is advisable to just buy from a nearby farm or get to know your butcher better. You can also ask the grocery store where the meat comes from.

2. Find out which vegetables have high and low amount of pesticides - Industrial farms uses a large amount of pesticides for their crops to avoid bugs infesting their products. However this may cause hard to our bodies. However there are some crops that don't need much protection and pesticides. You can also use produce washes or soak that are effective in eliminating excess pesticides from vegetables and fruits.

3. Choose fish low on the food chain - contaminants such as mercury and PCB's do enter our lakes and oceans which therefore causes contamination to our fishes. It is best to choose fish that is low on the food chain. Good seafood choices includes: farmed rainbow trout, anchovies, US pacific sardines, Atlantic mackerel, catfish, mussels, farmed oysters, wild Alaskan salmon. Avoid: Chilean sea bass, grouper, farmed Atlantic salmon, monk fish, orange roughy, and imported Swordfish.

4. Relax and Enjoy Your Meals - when eating, it is important that we relax and savor our meals and avoid rushing it. This will help lower your stress levels and allow your immune system to better serve and protect your body.


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A Closer Look At Fruit Snacks

Nowadays, there are lots of products that are fruit flavored, be it drinks, candies, yogurts, etc. However, a recent study conducted by the British non-profit Food Commission, shows that most of them has no fruit at all.

Some products are even being advertised as "all - natural" or "strawberry-filled" for example. Consumers should be very cautious in reading the labels to find out the content of the product. Even such products may not content fruit at all.

In the study, the contents of 28 strawberry-flavored products sold in U.K. stores were analyzed. Less than 40 percent of them contained any fruit at all. Of the 11 products that did contain strawberries, five of them contained less than one percent real fruit. The product with the highest strawberry content, at 6 percent.

Manufacturers may tend to use coloring and flavoring instead of putting in real fruits to primarily cut down manufacturing costs. However, consumers are not aware of this. Like most of us, we just purely "listen" to what the ad says and most of the time forgets to double check the labels.

As a rule of thumb, packaged and processed foods should not be part of your daily diet. But if you do buy a fruity flavored snack, take sometime to read the label first and double check.

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Importance of Anti-oxidants

Our body is open to harmful bacterias, that can cause diseases to our bodies. Anti-oxidants are the natural defense of our body that help battle against that harmful particles from pollution, plastics and pesticides. These particles can cause cellular damage to our body that may lead to other degenerative illnesses.

Our body naturally produces anti-oxidants that can fight off the bad bacterias. However, we need to supply our body with foods that also produces anti-oxidants. Fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the major source. Fruits and vegetables help prevent the spread of free radicals inside our body. Regular intake of fruits and veggies can help prevent formation of cancer cells inside our body.

A recent study at Harvard University found that men who ate the most tomato based foods (rich in antioxidants) had a 35% lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who ate the least amount of tomato based foods.

Aside from that, anti-oxidants can slow the effects of aging, and slow the loss of muscular elasticity.

So start filling up your fridge with fruits and veggies. Increase the anti-oxidants inside your body. This is an effective shield against the Big C!

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