One hour of exercise a week lowers blood pressure

High blood pressure is becoming more common

It takes only 60 to 90 minutes a week to significantly lower bloodpressure

A Japenese study shows that amount of exercise spread over a week reduced systolic blood pressure – the top number on a bloodpressure reading an average of 12 points and the lower or diastolic reading by 8 points

This study confirms the importance of exercise 60 – 90 minutes over the whole week. You cannot exercise enough to improve your health

Whether treadmill or slicing through a pool exercising in the morning is like drinking a cup of coffee. If you are a morning exerciser remember to warm up and stretch a few minutes

For some the best time for a workout is late in the afternoon

It is better to exercise some than not at all

To cow ...or not

Could what I’m feeding them … be making them sick?

A big girl already … at 10 years?

O yeah … more spinach Mom! [more]

Stress Factors

It is crucial that we make the daily practice of stress management and relaxation a priority in our busy lives. Stress management is just as, or even more important, than the financial and material wellbeing of ourselves, our families and our communities.

It ensures physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. If we’re burnt out, exhausted and ill from too much stress, we won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of our labours or the interaction with our families and friends.[more]

Tips to eat healthy at work: The average workplace is a nutrition minefield. Arming yourself with food strategies can help you work optimally and enhance your health. Here are few areas to watch...

Start with breakfast [more]

Nutrient Requirements: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), Recommended Daily Dietary Allowances (RDAs) [more]

Vitamins: Vitamins are organic nutrients that maintain growth and normal metabolism and mainly function in the enzyme system.[more]

Minerals: Functions, The body can maintain its own mineral balance over a short period of time, but if the intake of minerals is low, it draws from stores laid down in the muscles, liver and bones [more]

Food versus Supplements: Because people differ in size and genetic makeup, their metabolisms and nutrient requirements also differ [more]

Nutrient Toxicities: Tolerance for high doses of nutrients varies between people and somewhere above the recommended intake is a Tolerable Upper Intake Level [more]

Antioxidants and free radicals:Oxygen is the source of potentially damaging compounds called free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive compounds that are created in the body during normal metabolic functions or introduced from the environment [more]

BMI and body composition: Changes in weight do not reflect how the body's composition may have changed, and yet most people use weight to assess their level of "fatness." [more]

Obesity: It's not clear what the exact cause of obesity is, but we do know that genetic, environmental, metabolic, cultural, behavioural and psychological factors are at the root. [more]

Treatment of Obesity: Obesity is a chronic disease, so it requires long-term management. Reducing the risk for developing health problems is as important as losing weight. [more]

Cleansing Diet: The aim of Annaret Gerber's meal plan is to make a significant difference in a short time. The idea is to continue to provide the body with the necessary nutrients, not to starve it, and to adopt a more natural way of eating. Fresh fruit and vegetables, and smaller, more frequent meals, form an integral part of the cleansing diet  [more]

Food labels

Smart, healthy shopping involves checking costs, portions, and food labels. Food labels can guide you to the foods you want by checking the ingredient list, health claims, and the nutritional content. Food labels and Nutrients

Nutrient values

This information should help you to assess whether a food is high, low, or moderate in fat, cholesterol, vitamins, and other nutrients. The amounts of all ingredients (except vitamins and minerals) should be expressed in grams (g).  [more]

Health Tips

Cancer fighting foods: We can't yet prove that fruits and vegetables are totally responsible for curbing cancer, but we're sure they play important roles.[more]

Phytochemicals: Phytochemicals are compounds found in plant-derived foods (phyto means plant) that are biologically active in the body. Essentially, they are disease-fighting mechanisms for plants [more]

Energy-yielding nutrients: The nutrients that break down to yield energy to the body are called energy-yielding nutrients or macronutrients [more]

Preparing for Menopause: Whether you are 20, 35 or 47, you can better prepare for the aging process by reading this article. It will help you understand what to expect and how to cope successfully with this normal stage in life every woman will enter called "menopause."[more]

Avocados:Technically, avocados belong to the fruit group, but their nutrient content is closer to the vegetable family. Their culinary uses also have more in common with other vegetables , anti-aging, mental health, omega 3 and 6[more]

Sport Nutrition

Cyclists: The main nutritional need for cyclists is increased energy. To build a good endurance base, cyclists have to spend hours on their bikes training, which is not only time-consuming but also energy-consuming [more]

Runners: People run for different reasons but whether it is competitive, recreational or social, running remain a moderate to high intensity activity that requires energy and a sound nutrition plan  [more]

Swimmers: For younger swimmers who also need energy for growth, it is especially important to meet energy requirements. Male swimmers have higher energy requirements than females and may also find it challenging to consume the amount of food required especially when juggling training with work and other commitments [more]

Fluids: There is no 'blue print' for the amount of fluid an athlete should consume while exercising. It boils down to finding the balance between dehydration and over-hydration [more]

Sport Supplements: The truth is that very few supplements match their promised claims of improving sports performance, increasing strength and power, enhancing the immune system, reducing body fat etcetera. Yet every year new products and formulas hit the shelves with even stronger marketing messages [more]

Stress Facts

It has physical, mental and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. As a positive influence, stress can compel us to action. It can result in a new lease on life and an enthusiastic creative approach to our work and environment, enabling us to enjoy life intensely. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of fatigue, distrust, resentment, bitterness, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, ulcers, skin rashes, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke. [more]

Glyceamix Index List

Low GI (below 55) Slow-releasing carbohydrates [more]

Nutrition for school children

Growing children need plenty of energy from their diets. Meals and snacks must be nutrient-dense because school children have high nutritional needs, but quite small appetites. Variety is also important. [more]

Nutrition for teenagers

Adolescence is a time for rapid growth and the primary dietary need is for energy, which often translates into a large appetite. A teenager's diet should support growth, promote health and be enjoyable.

Food choices should be in line with healthy eating principles, but this is seldom reality. Average fat and sugar intake is high, while starchy carbohydrate and fibre intakes are low.

Rapid growth, fast lifestyles and poor eating habits can result in iron-deficiency or anaemia. Teenage girls need to pay particular attention to iron as their iron stores are depleted by menstruation. [more]

Dietary guidelines for toddlers (one to three years)

Mealplan.Toddler diets are very different from infant diets. While older infants get most of their nutrition from breast milk and/or formula plus a few solid foods, toddlers drink milk and other liquids and eat an increasing variety of solid foods. One of the first and most important steps in this transition away from an infant diet is weaning to a cup, usually by 12 to 14 months. Toddlers generally want to be independent and feed themselves.[more]