Posts Tagged ‘glycemics’

Fruits, Veggies, Glycomics Revisited

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Some of you have asked me to explain a couple of my posts: First Milestone in My Weight Management – Glycomics (is that a word?) and followed up with Veggies and Fruits – Key foods. I will attempt to explain them in my own words.

Simply put, there is a layer right under the skin of fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of vitamins our body requires to work correctly. There are at least 2 essential elements called glycoproteins that our body needs that are technically in the sugar family. These 2 unique glycoproteins are formed by the fruit/vegetable the last couple weeks of ripening on the vine – before it is picked. The vegetable/fruit uses the sun to make these glycoproteins. As far as I know, this is the only source of these two glycoproteins.

Since fruits and vegetables are picked green in today’s world – packed in crates and sent to the warehouse to finish ripening in the dark, these two essential glycoproteins are never produced, and therefore are missing from our diets.

Even if you get the fruits and vegetables fully ripened off the plant, you need to wash them, then eat them raw, not cooked, skin and all. There are some vegetables that need to be cooked to be sure they don’t get e-coli. But the basic lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, potatoes, apples, oranges, etc, do not need to be cooked. Some people prefer to cook their broccoli and such. The least harmful way of cooking the fruits/veggies is steaming. The steam does not get the veggies as hot, and therefore does not kill all of the vitamins and glycoproteins contained in the veggies.

The essential glycoproteins are 8 in total. They are used to make little hairs used as ‘antenna’ to communicate with the rest of the body. It is these hairs that tell our immune system the cell needs help, and the body sends the fire department/EMS. When the cell is repaired, these hairs communicate that the job is done, and the body recalls the immune system back until they are needed again.

See, cancer is when the immune system goes and tries to repair parts of the body that are not sick. It ignores any signals that the parts are well. Or maybe the hair antennae on the cells outside are calling for help when it should be sending out an all clear or all OK signal.

The study of these 8 essential glycoproteins is called glycobiology and the foods providing them are called glyconutrients.

This is a very simple description of a very complicated subject. I am not sure that I have everything 100% correct. That is why I put the resource links on my article First Milestone in My Weight Management – Glycomics (is that a word?) and followed up with Veggies and Fruits – Key foods. I hope this clarifies the subject. If not, go to the resources in those two posts to learn more.

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10 Elements of a Healthy Diet

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

As I have alluded to in previous blogs, a low-glycemic diet is the best way to better healthy and to your goal weight (see my post First Milestone in My Weight Management – Glyconics (is that a word?). This is not new, it goes right with what Grandma always said (see my post Secret to Losing Weight)

1. Eat a balanced diet consisting of all the food groups.  No, Junk food is NOT a food group.

2. Drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day – preferably filtered or distilled.

3. Eat 2 to 3 portions of fresh fruit a day. (see my post Veggies and Fruits – Key foods)

4. Eat lots of non-starchy vegetables- preferably raw.  If you eat them cooked, be sure they were steam cooked.  (see my post  Veggies and Fruits – Key foods)

5. Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks a day – spaced 2-3 hours apart.

6. Find out what your daily calorie intake a day should be. Your doctor can tell you and he can also tell you which foods you should include and which you should avoid based on your medical condition.

7. Remember, whatever you eat, it is your decision. And no decision is a ‘bad’ one. But it will take your towards your goal or away from your goal.

8. Activity is a must. 10,000 steps a day should be your goal. That is total steps from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. If you get a good pedometer, you would be surprised how many steps you take a day.  Also, get at least 30 minutes a day of activity such as walking or exercise. This can be done in 10 minutes segments to start, but should gradually blend into one 30 minute session.

9. Get your 8 hours of sleep a day. It is much easier to stay on track if you are rested.

10. Remember, you are worth it. You deserve to be healthy and fit. Your life could depend on it. Your quality of life probably will. When you are in an airplane, they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first and then your child’s or parent or companion. Your eating habits are the same. You have to make time for your health first so you can do for others better.

I recently commented on an article submitted in Mixx.com. I stated that I was on a plateau due to my mindset, my mental stumbling blocks. Two people commented back with very good advice which I am going to include here.  The advice is to write down a list of those things that keep you from obtaining your goal. This does several things for you.

1. You face the attitudes and feelings you have just by admitting them and writing them down. You don’t have to show the list to anyone.

2. Having the list to refer to helps you to remember they exist.

3. By remembering they exist, you can work on resolving them. You can dispel wrong mental attitudes, etc, and avoid other triggers if possible.

4. If nothing else, by facing these obstacles and realizing the effects on your progress towards your goal, you can maneuver around the pot holes and continue on to the fulfillment of your goal.

I will end with reminding you it always helps to have someone to talk to. There are a lot of good people on the social networks. Just find a group interested in health and fitness. You might be surprised at the help you can get.

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