Fun Facts for YOUR Healthy Lifestyle

"It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise."

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Website: ENJOY SUMMER!! Get outside with friends and family and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors! With the Fourth of July coming up this website offers some great ideas to enjoy that summer picnic without packing on the pounds! So ditch the mayonnaise-loaded potato salad and try one of these great recipes!!

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/healthy/nutritiousdishes/picnics

These are just some facts about food and health...nothing pressing just more to think about in everyday choices! Enjoy!!

· The average person eats 1500 pounds of food a year

· It takes 3500 calories to make a pound of fat

· When a source of Vitamin C is eaten with meat/cooked beans the body makes better use of the iron in the protein food

· You’re more likely to be hungry when you’re cold

· Vitamin A (found in carrots) is known to prevent night-blindness

· Iceberg lettuce is 90% water and of little nutritional value

· Spinach is the highest ranking vegetable in antioxidant capacity

· Artificial sweeteners have been linked to an increase in appetite

· A small red bean is the highest ranking food in terms of antioxidants with blueberries in a close second

· One sweet potato has only 95 calories

· Raspberries, Cranberries and blueberries have the least amount of sugar

· Grapefruit, Green tea, coffee, almonds, yogurt, turkey, apples, spinach, beans, broccoli, oatmeal, soy milk, curry and cinnamon all help boost metabolism

· Spicy foods help curb appetite

When selecting margarine choose one that has vegetable oil as it's first ingredient. Also, liquid and tub margarine are less hydrogenated than stick

Probiotic foods promote healthy digestion, increase beneficial bacteria, boost immunity, and lower cholesterol. Yogurt is commonly thought of as a probiotic food but it is also in wine, sauerkraut, cottage cheese, pickles, sourdough bread, tofu, temari

Prebiotic foods also promote healthy bacteria. Bananas are the highest in this but it can also be found in barley, garlic, onions, soybeans, whole grains, and honey

Red bell peppers speed up the Basal Metabolic Rate and help speed up the burning of stored fat for energy.

Bananas can help soothe heartburn and gastric distress

Spinach can help boost your mood!! It contains high sources of folic acid...a lack of folic acid can make the body feel depressed

Quercetin is a natural sedative and can be found in onions. Help fight insomnia by eating onions...just be sure to brush your teeth before bed!!

To be honest this is just the start of the TONS of healthy facts dealing with food! So many crazy fad diets make food the enemy but in reality food can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle and can promote many positive impacts on your body! The more you know, the more wise decisions you can make on what you eat! So turn off the soaps and put down your romance novel and check on what food can do for you!

Enjoy learning,

Megan