Good News for the Soul

A women's health blog for mid-life women learning how to manage their health and their life.

Tag: nutrition

5 Tips in Restoring your Body’s Nutritional Health

March marks National Nutrition Month. Because of this, I feel it’s important that we get some insight into how we can improve our body’s nutritional health. We are what we eat. If you’ve been feeling sluggish or under the weather, it could be because you’re not giving your body the right foods. Here are 5 tips we can all keep in mind to restore our body’s nutritional health.

Reduce your Salt Intake

The first vital thing to do is to reduce the amount of salt you’re putting in your body. This is found in a lot of processed foods and canned foods. Strive to eat this type of food in moderation. Eating too much of these types of foods could result in being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other chronic conditions. If you do buy canned, packaged, and frozen processed foods, try to buy items that are low in sodium.

Limit your intake of canned goods high in sodium in your diet.

Feed your Gut Bacteria

Bacteria in your gut is incredibly important to your health. A disruption in gut bacteria could cause various digestive health problems and obesity. Eating probiotic foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut are good ways to improve your gut health. Implementing plenty of fiber in your diet is also beneficial to your gut.

Keep your Refined Carbs to a Minimum

Some examples of refined carbohydrates include white flour, processed corn, and added sugars. These forms of carbs are usually low in nutrients. You must eat these foods less often. They could harm your health when eaten in excess. A diet high in refined carbs is closely tied to illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Avoid Artificial Trans Fats

These notoriously unhealthy fats are now banned in America. You now could avoid them much easier. Trans fats are unhealthy because they are linked to inflammation and heart disease. While you still may find some foods that contain small amounts of naturally occurring trans fats, these are not as dangerous as foods with artificial trans fats.

Use Herbs and Spices in your Foods

There are plenty of different herbs and spices at our disposal. Cinnamon, sage, and turmeric all provide health benefits in lowering blood sugar levels, improving brain function, and consists of anti-inflammatory effects. Be sure to include a variety of these herbs and spices in your everyday cooking in keeping your health in order.

Make it your aim to follow these five tips this month during National Nutrition Month and every month. If you have a few other nutritional tips for your body’s health, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Be sure to like or share this post with the next health-conscious person you know.

03/24/2022
4 Signs You’re Suffering from Potassium Deficiency

Potassium is one of the most important nutrients that we need in our diet. It is found in plenty of your favorite foods such as bananas, white beans, avocados, and melons. This nutrient is very important for muscle strength, nerve functions, and the cardiovascular system. So we must get enough of it in our bodies daily. Here are four particular signs you may be deficient in potassium.

You are Always So Tired

Fatigue is a common sign you may not be getting enough potassium.

One of the first signs of the body’s lack of potassium is fatigue. If you’re often tired, then you might be running a little low on this nutrient. The heart, digestive, and muscular systems rely on potassium in helping them to function well. Potassium acts as an electrolyte or conducts electricity within the body. When your body isn’t getting enough of it, this deficiency causes it to be tired often. Be sure to get quality amounts of potassium into your diet.

High Blood Pressure

Another alarming sign is high blood pressure, which occurs when your blood vessel walls start to become constricted. Potassium helps relax the blood vessels and regulate blood flow. Without it in your system, this can cause you to experience one of the leading causes of heart disease and stroke. If your doctor tells you that your blood pressure is at an exceeding rate, monitoring it and boosting your potassium intake will benefit you.

Experiencing Muscle Cramps

I’m sure like most people you have experienced a painful muscle cramp or two. Did you know that this could be attributed to a lack of potassium in your system? This nutrient is an important element in controlling muscle contractions including the heart muscles. Research shows potassium smoothes out muscle contractions. Having a healthy intake of potassium puts you at a lower risk of spasms, aches, and muscle fatigue.

You Always Feel Bloated

If you have a regular case of bloating in your body, this may also be due to potassium deficiency. This occurs when your body struggles to regulate your sodium levels. Potassium helps the body’s cells, tissues, and organs to operate properly and circulate body fluids. Foods like bananas and potatoes will help to reduce fluid build-up within the body.

Potassium is a nutrient that is vital for our bodies. Be sure to give your body the healthy intake of potassium that it needs to avoid these four signs. How much potassium are you getting each day? Is it enough to avoid various signs of deficiency? Share your thoughts about this nutrient in the comments section below. As always, be sure to like or share this post with a health-conscious person you know.

08/05/2021
What you must eat to maintain your brain’s health

     Let’s face it-we all are getting older. As we age, our cognitive function starts to as well. So in order to keep our minds sharp, we have to be mindful of what we are putting in our bodies. It’s no secret that our diet plays a huge role in our brain’s health. So what are the best foods to consume in order to keep our brain’s health intact? Here are the just some of the best foods for brain health.

    Leafy greens – Foods such as spinach, kale and Swiss chard are nutritional in maintaining your brain’s health. Eat them six times a week or incorporate them into your smoothie or pasta sauce.

Beans are good examples of foods that help maintain your brain’s health.

     Berries – Polyphenol-packed fruits such as blueberries, blackberries and cherries are beneficial in eating at least twice a week. Eat these fruits twice a week or blend them in your protein shakes, toss them in your salad and oatmeal.

     Nuts – Eating all nuts like pistachios and walnuts are great sources of protein and they help lower elevated blood pressure. They also guard against Type 2 diabetes, risk factors for memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. Eating a small handful of them at least five times a week could do your mind good.

     Beans – Whether it is kidney beans or black beans, nutrients such as folate and low-glycemic carb are beneficial in maintaining your brain’s health. Eating these as well as chickpeas and lentils are great in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

    Those are some of the foods you must include in your diet to maintain your brain’s health. We are what we eat. So take care of your brain and eat the right foods to maintain its health. For more information on maintaining your brain’s health, look up the article, “What to eat for brain health as you age” on www.theglobeandmail.com.

01/20/2019
Five Foods, other than Carrots, that are Good for the Eyes

What you eat has a great impact than you think on the health of your eyes. This is why I compiled a list of five eye-friendly foods we must be eating today. I know what you’re thinking- carrots have to be on top of the list, right? Yes, carrots do contain beta-carotene, which makes it a very vision-boosting food. But on this list, I’m going to examine other foods besides the rabbit-loving vegetable. Here are the five best foods for your eye health.

Leafy green veggies help in maintaining the health of your eyes.

     The first one is nuts and seeds. Foods like walnuts, cashews and chia seeds are rich in vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. They protect the eyes from age-related damage. So put them in your yogurt, cereals or eat them on your own. You will be doing more benefit to your eyes including nuts and seeds in your diet.

     The second food to include in your diet is beef. This meat contains higher levels of zinc than chicken breast and pork loin. Zinc can help delay age-related sight loss and macular degeneration. Eating casserole or stew dishes that contain beef in them could give your eyes the right amount of nutrition they need.

     Another eye-friendly food is leafy green vegetables. We can’t say enough about veggies, except that they are rich in both lutein and zeaxanthin. This makes them beneficial to your eye’s health, maintaining the Vitamin C your vision truly need. One of those greens that do this is kale. So do what your mother has been telling you and eat your vegetables. They also help lower your risk of eye diseases such as cataracts.

     I’ve talked about EVOO before and now it’s not only good in lowering your cholesterol. It’s also beneficial in maintaining the health of your eyes. Some its eye-friendly ingredients include polyphenols and vitamin E. In a 2001 study, researchers found that eating more vitamin E foods can help slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by about 25 percent. So be sure to drizzle some olive oil on your salad or sandwich anytime.

     The last food to discuss is a popular fruit and it just so happens to be berries. One particular berry that has modest amounts of sugar and high on antioxidant level is the blueberry. Its 15 grams of natural sugar per 1 cup serving makes it a healthy food in safeguarding the health of your eyes. Because they are available year round, you could purchase them anytime.

     These are just some of the foods that are beneficial to your eye’s health. There are plenty others, but including these in your diet should get you off to better vision health. For more information on eating the right foods in boosting your vision’s health, check out the article, “5 Vision-Boosting Foods that aren’t Carrots,” on www.americasbest.com. Also, be sure to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of this article.

12/30/2018
Seven Foods to include in your Diet to lower your Blood Pressure

I’ve came across an advertisement while I was on a train that read, “High Blood Pressure-Silent Killer.” This is certainly true. More and more people are fallen victim to this common condition and one of the main causes is usually the type of foods we eat. This condition can be controlled and it starts with the changes in our diet. Here are seven foods we can eat today to lower our blood pressure.

     The first food to include in your diet is dark chocolate. This type of chocolate is said to have a lot of nutritional benefits and lowering of blood pressure is one of them. Research shows that dark chocolate can modestly reduce blood pressure for those with high blood pressure, but not for people with normal blood pressure. They also said that further research is still needed.

Beautiful red pomegranate seeds

     The second food to look at is often in smoothies and this is flaxseeds. In a study, people who added 30g of flaxseeds to their diet every day for six months say their systolic blood pressure drop around 15mmHg and their diastolic blood pressure to around 8mmHg. Researchers even concluded that the drop in blood pressure from eating flaxseeds could result in 50 percent less strokes and 30 percent less heart attacks. So including flaxseeds in your diet could possibly do your BP good.

     The next food is pomegranates. This fruit has been long linked to regulating blood pressure. One study found participants who drank 500ml of pomegranate juice had a reduction in blood pressure. So definitely make room for pomegranate within your regular food consumption.

     The fourth food is high in potassium, but it is also good in regulating your blood pressure as well. It is none other than bananas. Eating bananas has been also great in balancing out the negative effects of salt. So be sure to eat at least five portions of fruit and veggies every day in order to gain more potassium in your diet.

     Eating whole grain versions of regular food, such as porridge could also help in regulating your blood pressure. Rolled oats is another whole grain option to try. However, you should watch your portion size when eating these foods.

     We know the sixth food is a common vegetable you must have in your diet, but it is also good in lowering your blood pressure. That veggie I’m referring to is broccoli. A Northwestern University Chicago study says that because of broccoli being high in the amino acid glutamic acid, it has been linked to lower blood pressure. So you may want to do yourself a favor and don’t ignore broccoli in daily food intake.

     The seventh and last food happens to be beetroot juice. Beetroot are already a nutritious super food, but they also contain nitrates which help lower your BP reading. A University of London study says that you could really benefit in drinking a cup of beetroot juice each day. So definitely make room for beetroot juice in your diet.

     There are plenty of other foods that are also beneficial in lowering your blood pressure,but these seven are a good way to start. So do yourself and your body a huge favor in watching what you put in it.

     Know other good foods that people should include in their diet in lowering their blood pressure? Feel free to share these foods by leaving a comment at the bottom of this article. Want more good healthy news like this for the soul and your well being? Subscribe to my blog by filling out the form on the About Good News page.

12/08/2018

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