Kategoria: Healthy lifestyle

It’s no secret that a well-balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, helps maintain health. It is important to eat the right kinds of them at the right times of the day. Learn how to compose healthy breakfasts, snacks and other meals from vegetable products.

Start your day right

The first meal of the day is very important. According to publications in the Harvard Health Letter, eating breakfast regularly is associated with a lower risk of obesity, diabetes and heart ^disease1. Skipping this meal can instead increase feelings of daytime sleepiness. A healthy breakfast gradually and over a long period of time raises blood sugar levels, which the body needs as fuel for muscles and the brain. The source of natural sugars is fruit. Blood glucose levels rise least sharply after eating grapefruit, gooseberries, black currants, cherries, raspberries and avocados. The latter also contains a lot of unsaturated fats that are essential for health.

Vegetables and fruits are rich sources of natural vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other compounds that the body needs to function properly. Try to add them to every meal, but eat fruits before noon, when digestive enzymes are most active. To make such a breakfast wholesome, supplement it with products with fiber and protein. Many people rely on simple carbohydrates, but a kaiser or yeast bread will not provide satiety for long. Meanwhile, breakfasts rich in fiber and protein prevent hunger attacks and provide energy for a longer period of time. Therefore, instead of sweetened breakfast cereals, compose your own muesli from oatmeal, rye bran and chopped nuts. Brazil nuts, macadamias, pecans and cashews are considered the healthiest for the heart. Add skimmed milk or natural yogurt to such a breakfast. If you like pancakes or pancakes, substitute whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour and eat them with grated apple. If you prefer toast, make yourself some Hawaiian toast with dark bread, egg and pineapple.

Choose healthy snacks

Raw or dried fruits and vegetables are great for snacking. For example, bananas and beets aid digestion, while berries, grapes and oranges give a quick energy boost. Citrus fruits are also rich in vitamin C, which supports immunity. It’s also a very powerful antioxidant. It is virtually impossible to overdose on vitamin C, as the body removes the excess on its own. You can find vitamin C in the product Berimal Forte, which also contains polyphenols from bergamot.

Bet on legumes

Carbohydrates are infamous, but they are a major source of energy for the body. It’s important to consume the right kind of them. Instead of simple carbohydrates found in sweets and processed foods, reach for complex ones found in abundance in legumes – white beans, peas, chickpeas, among others. In legumes – white beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. They are also a good source of protein needed to build muscle, so use them to compose evening meals.

Remember that balance is the key to success. When you enrich your diet with vegetables and fruits, you are likely to discover which ones have the most positive effect on you. It’s important to listen to your body’s signals and incorporate both what’s healthy and what’s tasty into your menu.

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¹ Harvard Health Letter, Breaking the fast, June, 2011: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/breaking-the-fast

Assessing your health before going on a diet will help you lose weight more effectively and safely. Many factors affect the rate at which you lose pounds. Performing several tests, for example, checking selected blood parameters, will help you arrange an appropriate diet plan. What tests are we talking about?

Blood pressure

Get a blood pressure monitor before going on a diet. Take blood pressure measurements several times a day, always at the same time, for at least a week. Record the results so you can present them to your doctor later. During the appointment where you get a referral for testing, talk honestly and openly about your past diet and lifestyle. This will allow your doctor to know the exact history of your health and give you the best possible advice.

Blood morphology

Blood count is a basic diagnostic test that provides a lot of valuable information about your health. A few days before the test, stop taking mineral and vitamin preparations, if you are taking any, and avoid fatty foods the day before. Eat your last light meal no later than 8 hours before the test. This will make its results more reliable. Often a glucose test and urinalysis are ordered along with the morphology. Glycemia is performed fasting or after a meal. What is the correct sugar after eating? According to the Polish Diabetes Association, blood glucose levels 2. hours after a meal should be less than 140 mg/dl. If it is higher, it may indicate diabetes. In this case, you need to follow a diet based on products with a low glycemic index. In turn, a urine test will show whether there is inflammation going on in the body.

Lipid profile

Lipidogram includes testing of triglycerides, HDL, LDL and total cholesterol. How can you support the maintenance of normal cholesterol levels and thus increase your chances of getting correct results of this test? You can reach for Berimal containing garlic, which has a positive effect on maintaining normal cholesterol levels. Quitting smoking, as well as reaching for alcohol in moderation and with caution, will also definitely be good for your health.

Stress test

If you are going to supplement your diet with exercise, and have previously avoided movement, perform a cardiac stress test. This is a test in which you walk on a treadmill or pedal on a stationary bike hooked up to a medical apparatus. This checks how the body behaves during physical strain. However, if you regularly participate in sports and know how your body reacts to them, a stress test may not be necessary.

Remember that even if you are healthy, you should not follow a diet below 1,500 calories. It is better to lose pounds more slowly, but get lasting results. With successive weeks of a sensible diet, you are sure to notice favorable changes in your figure.

How to effectively support your immune system? The best way is through a diet rich in foods that positively affect immunity. Here are products to keep in mind.

Multi-strain probiotic

The human digestive tract is inhabited by many beneficial bacteria. Their two most important groups are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The balance of the gastrointestinal microflora is very important for our immune system, as this is where about 80% of immune cells are located. Therefore, by taking care of your gut health and supporting the beneficial microorganisms that populate it, you positively influence your immunity. If you have a history of food poisoning or antibiotic therapy, you should rebuild your gut flora. To do this, look for a probiotic that contains at least several strains of bacteria. Choose a product that does not need to be stored in the refrigerator and pay attention to the expiration date. Don’t take it on an empty stomach and preferably sip it with milk or yogurt.

Mineral-vitamin trio

Although many vitamins and minerals support the immune system, three are particularly important.

Zinc affects many aspects of the functioning of our immune system. It helps protect cells from oxidative stress – a state of disturbed balance between the products of metabolism and the body’s ability to remove them. Zinc should be consumed at 10 mg per day. Unfortunately, its deficiency in the diet is very common around the world. To get the right amount of zinc, eat oysters, liver, wheat germ, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and watermelon.

A powerful support for the immune system is also ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. Its recommended intake is 80 mg per day. Good natural sources of vitamin C are wild rose, sea buckthorn or black currant. It is also found in a certain amount in bergamot oranges. The natural, powdered juice of this plant contains Berimal.

Vitamin D is also very important in supporting immunity. Its recommended intake is 5 μg per day. The best source of vitamin D is sunlight. However, modern lifestyles do not always allow for spending a lot of time outdoors. Therefore, many people do not get the levels of vitamin D required for optimal immune system function. For this reason, it is worth looking for sources of it in food as well. Oily sea fish and cod fish liver oil have the most vitamin D.

Spring and summer are the ideal time to properly support your body’s immunity. The more you provide it with vitamins and micronutrients, the longer you will enjoy good health. Enjoy!

Being active is one of the best ways to keep your body healthy. While movement improves overall well-being and quality of life, it turns out that exercise can also help with blood cholesterol levels.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in all animal products (meat, dairy products and eggs). It commonly does not have a very good reputation, but it is actually essential for life: it is used to build cell membranes, produce hormones and bile acids that digest fats. The body produces it in the liver and absorbs it from the diet.

Cholesterol is transported in the blood by lipoproteins. We distinguish between 2 types of them:

• Low-density lipoproteins (LDL)
  They are called bad cholesterol. Their role is to transport substances to various cells in the body. Unfortunately, excess LDL cholesterol can build up in the walls of the arteries and promote the development of atherosclerosis. The desirable level of LDL in the blood is below 130 mg/dl, and the optimal level is 100 mg/dl or less.
• High-density lipoproteins (HDL)
  HDL, called good or healthy cholesterol, is responsible for transporting lipids from the blood and arterial walls to the liver, where they are converted to bile to be used for digestion or removed from the body. It is good when the HDL level in the blood exceeds 60 mg/dl, while a value below 35 mg/dl is undesirable.

When the concentration of bad cholesterol in the body becomes too high, the excess deposits in the walls of the arteries and restricts blood flow. The accumulation of cells in the blood vessels creates changes characteristic of atherosclerosis. These can lead to narrowing of the vessel lumen and obstruction of blood flow.

Physical activity and cholesterol

More efficient removal of cholesterol from the body is influenced by diet, weight loss and physical activity and fat burning. Studies have shown that regular exercise stimulates the production and action of enzymes that promote the reverse transport of cholesterol. Physically active people have higher HDL levels than those with sedentary lifestyles.

To increase the concentration of good cholesterol in the blood, moderate intensity of training is enough. However, the activity must be regular, that is, undertaken at least 5 times a week for several months. In one study, an increase in HDL levels was noted even in people who only walked as part of their physical activity for six months – about 10 km per week. The pace of walking did not matter. It was also found that the increase in HDL concentrations was caused by exercise representing an energy expenditure of more than 1,000 kcal per week.

How to practice?

To raise the level of good cholesterol, the best are aerobic exercises that are properly adapted to a person’s health and condition, using large muscle groups – these can be walking, jogging, swimming or cycling. At the gym, it is best to choose a treadmill, elliptical machine or step machine, or you can try your hand at fitness classes. It’s important to do what you enjoy, as it helps you exercise longer. It’s also a good idea to keep track of the number of steps and the number of calories burned during the day – this will be made easier by a smartband or a special cell phone app.

Exercise is best introduced gradually, especially if you have had a sedentary lifestyle to date. Exercise intensity should start at a low to moderate level, depending on your fitness level. You should try to exercise so that your breathing is more intense than usual, but not so much that you can’t carry on a conversation. The target heart rate should be in the 50% to 80% zone, which means about 50-80% of the maximum heart rate. For example, the target heart rate of a 40-year-old would be 90-144 beats per minute. The duration of a single workout also depends on fitness, but it should not last less than 20 minutes and rather not more than an hour. The optimal frequency of exercise is 5-6 sessions per week.

Do not succumb to the false belief that regular physical activity allows you to eat and drink whatever you feel like. Movement should always be combined with a low-fat diet, which can be supplemented with natural supplements that supplement the daily diet with valuable polyphenols.

You don’t have to decide on big changes right away to see the health benefits – it’s just worth it to incorporate more activity into your schedule and eat healthier. The response of HDL and LDL levels will vary from person to person, depending on initial blood cholesterol values and individual predispositions. However, it is recognized that exercise can raise the concentration of good HDL cholesterol by up to 20% and lower the concentration of bad cholesterol by 15%. The difference in results can be seen after just a few months of regular activity.