Wellness Sultana: healthy snack //]]>
Showing posts with label healthy snack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy snack. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Healthy Food for the Sweet Tooth – No Need to Deprive Yourself
March 26, 2013 7 Comments

"Do you always have that urge to shop for chocolates and candies?"

"Can’t you resist those yummy cakes and doughnuts?"

"Would you rather drink a delightful vanilla milkshake than green tea?" 

If you answered YES to all my questions, then probably you have a sweet tooth.

As much as you want to satisfy your cravings, it is important to take note that sweets aren’t what your body needs. Too much of it may cause diabetes. Don’t fret my fellow sweet tooth. You don’t have to deprive yourself. In this post, I will give you a short list of healthy things which you can do, but would still satisfy your urge to gobble sweet munchies.

Exchange your cakes for fruits. Fruits, as most of us know, are a natural source of sugar. Let me add that it’s healthy sugar that we get from fruits. After eating your dinner, you might want to have a serving of fresh fruit. That’s better than eating a slice of cake.

Say NO to ice creams and yes to yogurts.Would you like something cold and sweet? Maybe you are thinking about getting your favorite ice cream. Hold that thought! It would be better if you have yogurt. You see, there are a lot of flavors to choose from. I say, guilt – free treat for yourself. Well, you better choose the low – fat ones, OK?

Care to have some smoothies? Get your blender and start putting delicious fruits all together. It’s best for killing the afternoon heat. You don’t have to add sugar. As I have said, fruits are source of natural and healthy sugar.

Practice small servings. I’m aware that it’s really hard to totally eliminate sinful sweet foods from your system. The good news is, you don’t have to do it right away. What you can do is to just have smaller portions of your favorite desserts. Instead of having a slice of cake, why not have half a slice? If you want to treat yourself for an ice cream, get the smallest cup.

Make a hot chocolate. There are a lot of low fat or non – fat chocolate mixes to choose from. A cup should be able to satisfy your urge to eat sweets. Sip a hot chocolate drink in the morning and you’d be pumped up for the rest of the day.

It is very important that you take care of your health, without really depriving yourself of what you want. The keyword is moderation and discipline. You can eat sweet foods but make sure that it won’t take up your entire diet.

Author Bio
Hillary Stor loves to eat, but sees to it that she has the healthiest options. As a health buff, she is aware of the importance of vitamins. In fact, she writes for a page where people can get medicines online. Check out this Accessrx review for more. 
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Saturday, 16 June 2012

Popcorn and Antioxidants
June 16, 20120 Comments

Watching a movie isn’t complete without a bucket of popcorn. It’s a popular snack all over the world—but is it a healthy one?

The healthy snack

New studies show that popcorn is actually a good source of fiber, whole grains and antioxidants. In fact, Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton would even say that this particular snack is the king of snack foods—as long as it isn’t drizzled in butter, cheese, caramel or salt.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that one should go and replace the vegetables and fruits in one’s diet and replace it with plain popcorn. It is not yet certain how much of these healthy antioxidants the body actually absorbs.

The study


Vinson and Coco, Jr. conducted this study by testing four brands of popcorn. After grinding up popped kernels and closely examining them, they found that approximately 90 percent of all polyphenols originated from the popcorn’s exterior as opposed to the actual soft, white portions of the snack.

Fruits such as pears and apples are known to have approximately 160 milligrams of antioxidants per ounce, while in popcorn, about 240 to 360 milligrams per ounce was found. Further studies showed that about 1.5 percent of popped popcorn are composed of polyphenols.

The presence of polyphenols

An antioxidant’s main function is to repair the cellular damage being caused by our body’s unstable molecules, also known as free radicals. Vinson and Michael Coco, Jr., his colleague, presented data suggesting that the exterior of popping corn is extremely rich in polyphenols. This is a sort of antioxidant widely associated with the prevention of cancer.

Polyphenols are often found in various foods that are derived from plants. However, popcorn is a food source rich in this antioxidant because of its minimal processing. Popcorn does not need a lot of processing, as opposed to grains that need to undergo several procedures. Also, popcorn is low in water unlike water-heavy vegetables and fruits, which results in an antioxidant count that is more concentrated.

Of course, one must remember that vegetables, fruits—and even other sources of polyphenols such as dark chocolate and red wine—are more healthful than popcorn. These other foods contain a number of other vitamins and minerals that are not found in popcorn.

Conclusion

Although Vinson and Coco, Jr.’s studies successfully showed information on the rich amounts of polyphenols in popcorn, they strongly discourage people from consuming large amounts of popcorn in order to get their regular intake of polyphenols. It must be said that popcorn is in no way an acceptable substitute for fruits and vegetables.

Popcorn’s exterior, also known as the hull, is also composed of insoluble fiber, which simply passes through the body. Further experiments on humans still need to be conducted to know just how much polyphenols one actually absorbs.

The good news, however, is that thanks to this new study, we can happily munch on popcorn knowing that it is actually good for us, too—if we go easy on the salt and the oil.

About the Author:
Kristine M. is a freelance writer. She mostly tackles health issues along with tips and suggestions to battle the most common problems that go along with it. When she is not giving health information, Kristine helps in the blogging and administration activities of Broadband Expert Group, a high speed internet provider company. Check out for her next post to learn more on how to live healthy. 

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