Top 5 Most Nutritious Seafood and Health Benefits

What do you think of when you hear “you must eat healthy”!?! Do you see yourself surrounded by vegetables and fruits!?! If so, you should know that having a healthy life in terms of eating habits does not involve a focus only on vegetables and fruits. There are a lot of other interesting food categories and mixes that have a positive impact on your health and, therefore, should definitely be tried on a regular basis.

One of these categories is SEAFOOD. Although some of you might consider this as only an “exotic” food, proper only for special occasions, you should know that seafood could be a very good ingredient if introduced in your daily diet.

Seafood, besides the fact that is delicious, is a very good source of minerals, vitamins and proteins. Many seafood categories are low in cholesterol and sodium, low in fat (most of this fat is unsaturated – like omega -3 fatty acids – which is a good type of fat), rich in vitamins like A, B6 and B12 and minerals like phosphorus, iron, zinc and potassium.

Just to get you attention, I will next point out the 10 MAIN EXTRAORDINARY BENEFITS that seafood can have on our health:

1. Lower Blood Pressure
2. Reduce the Risk of Heart Diseases and Improve Heart Functions
3. Support Optimal Brain, Eyes and Nerves Development for Children
4. Provide Protection Against Bronchitis
5. Provide Protection Against Emphysema (associated with smoking)
6. Help People in Depression
7. Boost Immune System
8. Prevent Cancer
9. Prevent Osteoporosis and Arthritis
10. Lose Weight

As we can see, the influence seafood can have on our health is extraordinary. However, as for vegetables and fruits, some categories of seafood are better than others. This is why I made a selection of 5 of the most nutritious seafood out there:

1. Salmon

Salmon is a great source of the popular omega-3 fatty acids. This helps reduce risk of heart disease and prevents cancer. These types of acids also have anti-inflammatory functions, help the immune system and the brain. Half a fillet of cooked salmon (175 grams) has about 350 calories and 10 grams of fat. Other cold-water fish like mackerel and tuna are also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

However, when buying your salmon, keep in mind to choose the eco-friendly and sustainable option. Avoid the Atlantic farmed one and go for the wild-caught Alaskan salmon.

2. Shellfish (mussels and oysters)

Shellfish are rich in Vitamin B12 which helps the nervous system. They also provide the body with iron and important minerals like potassium and magnesium. Three ounces (about 90 grams) of mussels give you 700 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. The same amount of oysters gives you 44% of the daily recommended value of iron. Three ounces of shellfish also contain about 130 calories and 3 grams of fat.

3. Pink Shrimps

Shrimp are rich in tryptophan and selenium. They are also a great source of protein, having a much better ratio of proteins gained with fats and calories than most foods. Four ounces of shrimp have 23 grams of protein, 112 calories and less than a gram of fat. Shrimps also provide the body with vitamins D and B12. All of these benefit the cardiovascular system and, believe or not, help reduce anxiety and depression.

4. Crabs

Besides the omega-3 fatty acids, protein, selenium and natural sodium, crabs are a great source of vitamin B12 and Zinc, which helps the immune system. Crabs are also low in calories and fat.

5. Sardines

The plain sardines just had to be in our top 5 list. They are the perfect example that your food doesn’t have to be expensive in order to be nutritious.

Sardines have more omega-3 acids per serving than any other food! 3 ounces (approximately 90 grams) of sardines are packed with almost 2 grams of these miracle-acids. These make them great for brain memory and performance. Also, sardines have a high level of vitamin D, which is essential in making your bones stronger.

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Best 10 Benefits of Running

Most of us know that exercises have a very good influence on our health. Of all exercises,running is one of the most common and most recommended one for staying in shape and boosting our health.

I thought it will be interesting to create a quick list with the most important 10 health related benefits of running. Here is the list:

1. Weight Control

Most people start running because they want to control their body weight. You start loosing weight when you burn more calories than you assimilate, thus making your body turn to the fat it has stored in order to compensate the energy deficit. Running is considered to be one of the most effective exercises when it comes to burning calories. In fact, a typical runner who takes running seriously can burn up to 500 calories in less than an hour.

2. Building Up Your Bones and Muscles

There is a very strong connection between the development of our muscles, bones and effort. Muscles and bones will grow depending on the efforts required of them. By sitting at your desk all day, your bones and muscles will get weaker in time. A very good solving solution for this problem is running, because this exercise is highly demanding on your bones and muscles. Running will trigger bones to become more dense and will also help build muscle tone.

3. Heart and Blood Benefits

In response to running on a regular basis, your heart will be more healthy and your blood pressure will lower. Running also lowers your cholesterol level and reduces the risk of blood clots and heart attacks.

4. Relieving Stress

It’s a proven fact that running lowers stress level. Speed running can also release anger and frustrations and can calm you down. Running long distances can help you find solutions to your problems or, even better, can make you forget about them for awhile and clear your mind for a few moments. After a running session you’ll feel better, be more optimist and have a better morale in general.

5. Building Up Self-Esteem

People who exercise by running have shown to be more confident in their own strengths. After constantly surpassing the limits of your own body, you will get stronger with every run and your self-esteem will build up. Results like loosing weight, stronger muscles or better health in general, after maintaining a rigorous running exercise program, will also make you feel better about yourself.

6. Slowing Down the Aging Process

As mentioned above, regular running exercises will make your bone and muscle structure stronger. Those who live a sedentary life will have a weaker skeleton and muscle loss, thus making them more susceptible to various diseases. Having strong bones and muscles becomes more important as you age and both will leave a mark on your looks.

7. Willpower

Running is not easy. It can be a very painful experience, especially for newcomers and that is why most people drop it after a few runs and fall to their old habits. By surpassing that pain and the temptation to just stay comfortably in your house and postponing the running session for tomorrow, you earn the determination and willpower to succeed in other areas of your life.

8. Boost Body Immunity

Running increases the number of lymphocytes, also known as white blood cells which are essential to your immune system. It also reduces the risk of diseases like breast cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes.

9. Better Coordination

Surprisingly enough, coordination does improve with running. Some people may be reluctant to acknowledge it, since it’s such a simple sport, but running involves coordination especially on hard terrain with small obstacles like rocks and tree roots. Experienced runners who use trails as their rout, learn how to avoid stumbling and tripping on such obstacles.

10. Sleep Better

How much and how well we sleep has a lot to say for our health. After an intense exercise like running, your body needs to recover and repair itself. It is vital that you don’t overexert yourself as this will cause a lot of damage to your body. By keeping this in mind and exercising regularly you will feel more relaxed and you will sleep more soundly and profoundly. Runners usually fall asleep quicker and stay in a deep state of sleep longer than people who aren’t very active.

Hopefully these 10 reasons will be enough for you to get your eyes of the computer, put on a pair of sneakers and go out for a quick run. Go for it!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Best 10 Methods of Boosting Your Immune System

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

Hippocrates

The summer is long gone and now autumn is here. But, how do you see autumn!?! Autumn has its charm as this is the season when grapes are ready to be tasted and when leaves become more and more colored. However, autumn also has a certain „dark side”. In addition to the fact that a lot of us fall into a strange depressive mood (mainly due to the bad weather conditions like rain, cold etc.), autumn bring the „flu season”.

Flu season is that part of the year in which there is a very high increase in flu cases. This season starts as soon as weather becomes colder. Flu is mainly caused by Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B or Influenzavirus C, which are also known as human flu virus strains. During the years, Influenza virus has suffered genetic changes in order to adapt to human hosts. This virus never goes away completely as it passes from person to person.

For those of you that think that this is not really a big problem, I would like to say that flu season, in the U.S. for example, results in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and approximately 35,000 – 40,000 deaths each year. In addition, this season is also responsible for a total expense of more than 10 billion dollars in the U.S. As you can see, this is indeed a serious problem and everyone should consider it as such.

But how can this be explained? What really triggers this flu season to occur? This might be explained by reasons like:

1. Cold temperatures make the air drier, which may lead to mucus dehydrate. This prevents the body from expelling virus particles;

2. Also due to cold temperatures, viruses resist more on exposed surfaces with which we enter in contact and infected hosts shed the virus for a longer period of time;

3. Viruses are more easily transmitted as persons are in close contact due to more time spent indoors. Also, the aerosol transmission of the virus is enhanced when the air is cold and dry (research studies have shown that moist air provokes a degradation of the virus particles). The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) conducted a study on influenza virus and found that the virus has a “butter-lie coating”. This coating melts when entering the respiratory tract. Cold temperatures make the shell harder and, therefore, allow the virus to survive more.

Probably a lot of you are now thinking of how we can defend against this virus. Well, here the immune system plays a very important role. The immune system comprises multiple mechanisms within an organism that protects against diseases by identifying and destroying pathogens, tumor cells etc. The immune system is able to distinguish pathogen agents from healthy cells and tissues.

In order to reduce the risk of infection, we have to make sure that our immune system in functioning at full capacity. For this reason I tried to find the BEST WAYS OF BOOSTING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. Here is my selection:

1. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits

Because they are best source of vitamins and minerals for the human body. Of them, to help your immune system fight against infections, the best would be to include in your diet:

- Foods rich in vitamin C – Besides flu, vitamin C can reduce the risk of dying of premature illnesses. Although the optimum level of vitamin C is 500 mg each day, even small quantities of vitamin C can help. For example, if you include just one vitamin C rich food in your daily diet you can live longer. Some of the best sources of vitamin C are: kiwi, oranges, strawberries, broccoli etc. Beside such fruits and vegetables, vitamin C supplements can also be considered.

- Eat red foods – Lycopene is an antioxidant that is responsible for the red colour of some vegetables (like tomatoes). A study conducted by University of Milan found that this antioxidant keeps white cells in the blood, which helps in the fight with infections.

- Eat garlic – Before refusing garlic from your meal you should consider that garlic contains more than 25 antibacterial and anti fungal compounds and, therefore, is a great ally in the fight against infections.

- Eat more fibers – they help especially against digestive infections as they promote friendly bacteria in our gut

- Drink natural juices (made of fruits and even vegetables) – Usually such juices are full with vitamins and antioxidants and other great substances that help fight infections. For example, cranberry or blueberry juices are full with antioxidants called flavonoids with helps prevent urinary infections.

2. Eat yoghurt

Studies have shown that people who eat at least one yoghurt a day catch a cold more rarely than people who do not eat yoghurt often. This protection is provided by probiotics (friendly bacteria) in yoghurt (like bifidus or acidophilus). Probiotics means “for life” in Greek and refers to living organisms that provide health benefits when consumed in proper quantities.

3. Take nutritional supplements

If you consider that you do not assimilate sufficient vitamins and minerals through your daily diet, nutritional supplements are the solution for filling up the gap.

4. Echinacea

Taking Echinacea reduces the risk of infection. This plant leads to an increase of immune cells in the blood. Echinacea increases the ability of cells to destroy harmful bacteria and viruses and also activates body reactions meant to increase immune level. It is recommended to take it over limited periods of time with breaks in between.

5. Drink a lot of water

Water prevents infections by keeping respiratory tract mucus membranes moist and healthy. In addition, water helps the flow of lymph in our bodies ( the lymphatic system is responsible for waste disposal by breaking down toxins before passing them into the blood stream – a low intake of water will disturb the flow of lymph in our system, making the body less resistant to infections).

6. Do not take antibiotics too often

Antibiotics are effective against numerous infections. However, they must be used wisely in order to prevent them for causing more harm then good. Although this might sound strange, antibiotics won’t do a thing for viral infections such as flu… in other words, they can’t help you if a virus is responsible for your illness (like flu). Such products are used for treating many bacterial infections, fungal infections and some parasites. By using antibiotics in improper situations we risk to destroy friendly bacteria within our bodies. In addition, this might lead to developing antibiotic-resistant germs (some effects of antibiotic resistance are: illnesses last longer, the risk of developing complication increases, persons are contagious for longer periods and, therefore, are able to spread the resistant strains bacteria to others, treatments last longer and are more expensive).

7. Wash your hands more often

Especially in cold season, viruses are more resistant on exposed surfaces with which we enter in contact and, therefore, by washing hands more often we reduce the risk of infections. Some studies have been conducted concerning this matter and the results were that people who wash their hands at least 5 times per day reduce the risk of catching a cold or other infections by half.

8. Keep exercising but do not exaggerate

Exercising 30- 40 minutes a day, 3-5 times per week, can make our immune cells more active. Studies have shown that persons who do not exercise get sick more often than persons who do exercise. However, long exercise sessions can do just the opposite. In such long sessions, the level of stress hormones adrenalin (boosts the supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles) and cortisol (increases blood pressure and blood sugar) rises, leading to a suppress of the immune system activity.

9. Reduce stress level

Stress level has a direct connection with illnesses. Numerous studies have been conducted on this matter and proved that stressed people are more likely to become ill. We have to make sure that we keep stress to a minimum by taking time just to sit back and relax, watch a good movie, read a good book etc. It is good to know that laughter can counteract many of the effects of stress.

10. Get enough sleep

Sleeping less than 6-7 hours per night can increase the risk of catching a cold because during deep sleep your body increases the production of natural killer cells. Sleep deprivation weakens the immune system leaving us vulnerable to diseases (like flu). Also, sleep deprivation increases the level of stress which, again, weakens our immune system.

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