The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
   How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
   How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
   How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
   How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Just drink it.
6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
   How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
   How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
   How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
    How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
    How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg

To Reduce the Fat

Body Fat

I will start with the issue of body fat as it effects many people both aesthetically and for reasons of health.

This is a three part problem for most people.

• The first part is your mind
• The second part is knowing what and when to eat
• The third and final part is the activity you undertake.

1. Mind

Your Subconscious
You, in your mind determine what your body shape will be. Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking along the beach on a lovely sunny day in your briefest swimwear, what do you look like? Your subconscious mind stores information on who and what you believe yourself to be. It is tasked with making your outside world comply with the information it has stored on how your world should be, your reality. If you see yourself as an overweight person then you will either remain as one or become one.

The key here is to consciously change your picture. Imagine yourself as you would ideally like to be. You can do this whilst awake or you can do this whilst you meditate. Do it often, force the image into your mind and eventually you will follow. Why does this happen? If you think you are slim you will make the choices that you believe a slim person would. You will eat like a slim person, you will undertake activity as you believe a slim person does.

Self Esteem
Some people have a weight problem because they fear rejection and they fear not being loved. Subconsciously they are finding a reason not to be loved. Society tells us that overweight is not desirable. They choose to be overweight so that if they are rejected they can blame their condition rather than themselves. It is important to realise that you are lovable and the only way you can be, is yourself.

2. Food

What you need to know

1. Your body requires energy. Food in the form of carbohydrate and fat are your main sources of energy. Take in more energy than you need and your body will store it as fat.

2. Your metabolism is the rate at which you burn energy. A slow metabolism means you require less energy to perform the same functions.

3. There are two main ways in which you can speed up your metabolism. Eat the same amount in terms of energy but have more frequent meals and / or increase the amount of lean muscle your body carries.

4. Skip meals and your metabolism will slow down.

5. Fat, by weight gives you twice as much energy as the same amount of carbohydrate. Both are essential for your well being.

6. Rice and Pasta give you alot of energy but not much in terms of nutrients compared to vegetables which have less energy and more nutrients. All three are sources of carbohydrate.

7. Your best source of fat is from vegetables and deep sea fish. Eat avocado, nuts, salmon and olive oil.

8. Your body needs protein. Fish, poultry, eggs and meat are the best sources.

9. Insulin regulates the amount of blood sugar you have. The presence of excess insulin in your blood promotes the storage of body fat.

10. The energy you consume is converted to sugar in your bodies. It is transported via the blood stream to your cells. Too much sugar at one time releases an excess of insulin.

11. Rich sources of carbohydrate eaten without the presence of protein and fat are converted to sugar quickly and result in your body releasing an excess amount of insulin.

12. Excess insulin causes a dramatic drop in blood sugar. Your body will require a dramatic increase in blood sugar to maintain balance. You will manifest this in two ways. You will feel down and lethargic. You will crave sweets or carbohydrate rich foods. This is an endless rollercaoster.

Traps for the young punter

Diets are generally not sustainable for the long term, the word diet implies you are going through some sort of deprevation. You need to make a lifestyle change not go on a diet. A lifestyle change is a long term project.

If you cut your calories below a certain level your metabolism slows down and you miss many nutrients.

If you skip breakfast as is common, your metabolism slows down.

Increasing the number of meals you have per day, may result in an accidental increase in the total volume of food that you eat.

Most people don't require a lot of energy in terms of carbohydrate. A large plate of rice or pasta has too much energy in one meal.

Eating a large carbohydrate meal in the evening when you are looking forward to bed, television or other sedentary activity is a great way to help you body store fat. Eat your carbohydrate heavy meals for breakfast or lunch.

What to do

Eat smaller frequent meals, between four and six per day.

Stop the roller coaster by eating less carbohydrate with each meal. Add a serve of protein and a small amount of fat to all of your meals this slows the release of sugar to your blood. Your energy levels will be more stable and you will not be as hungry.