"Nutritional Eating for Better Health and Weight Loss" - Kanza Zeenish.

21/03/2021

Anyone interested in weight loss game?

10/08/2012

06/08/2012

Manners of drinking.

20/07/2012

Don't overeat in Ramadan

Overeating…Ramadan…it sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Actually, many people compensate for the meal missed during the day at iftar because the body is deprived of food for a long period of time. However, overeating does not help; we usually eat more than what is needed to compensate. Our aim at iftar should be to eat only as much as we need to provide us with the energy necessary to do both our work and worship. This means we should eat in moderation.

The idea of moderation is an inherent part of Islam. Allah has provided us with helpful tips on how to moderate our behaviors and Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) implemented the concept of moderation to perfection. As mentioned in the Qur’an, (Eat and drink and be not immoderate. Verily Allah does not like the transgressors) (Al-A`raf 7:31). And (Eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein) (Taha 20:81).

It would be useful to keep another hadith of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in mind this Ramadan: “No man fills a vessel worse than his stomach. A few mouthfuls that would suffice to keep his back upright are enough for a man. But if he must eat more, then he should fill one third (of his stomach) with food, one third with drink and leave one third for easy breathing” (Ahmad).

Here are some tips we can deduce from the Qur’anic verses above and the Prophet’s Hadith:

1. Do not eat till complete satiety.

2. Before you eat, make your intentions—niyah—that your iftar is an act of worship. Eating should be given the same attention as prayer. Thus it is also sunnah to perform ablution before you begin to eat.

Another niyah is eating to provide you with enough energy to perform your other acts of worship (praying, reading Qur`an etc). Overeating may result in the feeling of sluggishness, which could prevent you from performing your other acts of worship well.

3. Start your meal by saying bismillah (in the name of Allah), and eat with your right hand. Take small bites and do not reach out for more food before you finish chewing what you have in your mouth. This is the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

4. Do not put more than you can eat on your plate because you are hungry, try to fill your plate only with the amount of food you know you will eat.

5. You should only fill one third of your stomach with food and leave one third for fluids to compensate for the fluids lost during the day. Fluids can help good digestion. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, one “should fill one third (of his stomach) with food, one third with drink and leave one third for easy breathing.” Leaving a third of your stomach empty ‘for breath’ keeps you from overeating to the extent of not being able to breathe comfortably after finishing your meal.

6. Remember, eating a lot at once may lead to distention and indigestion.

7. Help digest the iftar by walking to the mosque you will pray in. Try also to increase the number of steps you take every day by 2000 steps. This is not a difficult number to achieve if you pray in a mosque that is a little further away every day. In addition, every step you take to the mosque increases your rewards, in sha`Allah.

The idea is moderation, not excess or deprivation. Depriving your body of food is just as detrimental. At the end, we wish you a healthy Ramadan.

10/07/2012

Fats fuel the body and help absorb some vitamins. They also are the building blocks of hormones and they insulate nervous system tissue in the body. So don't avoid fats all together just swap the good fats for the bad fats

09/07/2012

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09/07/2012

a message for all our nation

30/06/2012

Heart-Healthy Foods at the Store:

Popcorn Is a Perfect Healthy Snack:
Low-fat popcorn is crunchy, delicious, and a source of whole grain fiber. Plus, you can enjoy a large, filling portion! Look for popcorn made with "94% Fat Free Butter" or air-popped popcorn.
Potato chips are high in fat and it's hard to eat just a few -- all that you get in a 1-ounce serving. If you love chips, go for the baked ones and watch your portion size.

One Bowl for Your Fiber Needs:
For a nourishing start to your day, choose a whole-grain bran cereal packed with fiber, such as bran flakes. Add fruit and low-fat milk for the most nutritious beginning.
Granola may be natural but it's often high in fat. Use granola sparingly or as a topper on low-fat yogurt.

Shave the Fat, Not the Flavor:
Choose sorbets, sherbets, light ice creams, or frozen yogurts for a fraction of the fat and calories.
Thanks to a new special churning technology, these frozen treats taste like rich and creamy premium ice cream. A ½ cup dessert can fit into everyone's diet.

Skip High-Fat Pizza Toppings:
Enjoy thin-crust frozen pizza Margarita style, or with grilled chicken or veggies. By passing on the sausage, pepperoni, and extra cheese, you'll slash the fat, sodium, and calories in this favorite food.
Limit your portion to two slices (of a 12-inch pizza) and add a filling side salad to complete the meal.

Go for Real Juice:
100% fruit juices are naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants. In fact, they're the next best thing to eating whole fruit.
"Fruit juice drinks," however, are usually packed with sugar and empty calories.

Snack on Healthy Hummus:
Hummus is a gratifying combination of nutrition when paired with fresh veggies like baby carrots or baked pita chips.
Made from chick peas, hummus is a good source of iron, vitamin C, protein, and fiber.
So enjoy the pleasing taste of hummus and skip the cheese dip that can lead to diet sabotage.

Frozen Meals Can Be Healthy, Too! :
Look for frozen meals that feature lean protein, plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and a low-fat or simple sauce.
Avoid fried frozen food, or creamy casseroles. Frozen meals that are baked, grilled, steamed, or sautéed are healthier and lower in calories.

Spaghetti – A Healthy Favorite:
Try the new whole-wheat pasta blends. Even the kids will like it if you top the spaghetti with your favorite tomato sauce. Voila! You’ve turned a childhood favorite into a high-fiber and nutrient-rich dish.
Macaroni and cheese may be an old-standby, but it’s low in fiber and loaded with fat and calories.

Fat-Free Frozen Shrimp & Prawns:
Shrimp are a tastier and healthier alternative to breaded fish sticks.
You can buy them already cooked and shelled. Eat them cold with cocktail sauce, grill them, or sauté with veggies in a stir-fry.

26/06/2012

What Are Carbs?

Carbohydrates are found in lots of foods. Whether the carbs are starches, sugars, or fiber, they give your body energy to use right away or to store for later. But different types of carbs can affect your blood sugar differently, says registered dietitian Rachel Beller, president of Beller Nutritional Institute: "If you have diabetes, get familiar with the carbs in the everyday foods you eat, so you can choose wisely."

Simple Carbs
Simple carbs contain only one or two sugars, so the body processes simple carbs quickly. These carbs – such as table sugar, the added sugars in processed foods, and the sugars found in fruits and milk – make your blood sugar rise and fall rapidly.

Complex Carbs
Foods that are complex carbs contain three or more sugars. Your body has work harder to break down complex carbs because the sugars take longer to digest. Examples of complex carbs include the fiber in spinach, watercress, buckwheat, barley, wild or brown rice, beans, and some fruit. Complex carbs may contain soluble or insoluble fiber, but both are beneficial to your health, says Beller.
The glycemic index ranks foods based on how much they raise blood sugar. Choosing low-GI carbs, which produce fewer changes in blood sugar, may help control your diabetes and manage your weight. What's on this low-GI list? Lentils, green beans, broccoli, spinach, plums, yogurt, and brown rice, for example. You can look up these and other foods at www.glycemicindex.com. But a low-GI diet may not automatically control your blood sugar: How much and what kind of carbohydrates you eat matter, too.

Choosing Better Carbs
"When it comes to carbs, be choosy," says Beller. Limit the amount of added sugars in your diet. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially non-starchy vegetables like leafy greens. Opt for whole grains instead of refined grains, which lose fiber, vitamins, and minerals in the refining process. Beller advises looking for whole grains as the first ingredient when you choose foods like bread and cereal.

How Carbs Raise Blood Sugar
Our bodies break carbohydrates down into glucose for energy. The presence of glucose causes blood sugar levels to rise and signals the pancreas to release insulin, which helps the body use or store the glucose. People with diabetes may not make enough insulin, or their insulin may not work well, so they need medications to disperse the glucose. When you live with diabetes, managing your diet and insulin use help keep blood sugar stable.

Counting Carbs
It's important for people with diabetes to keep their blood sugar levels under control. To do this, you'll need to watch serving sizes and read all food labels to learn how much carbohydrate is in your food. In some cases you may have to guess. Some people aim for 45-60 carb grams per meal. Suppose you eat a plain turkey sandwich with a half cup of fruit. Two slices of bread have 30 carb grams. The fruit contains 15 carb grams for a total of 45 grams.

What About Fruit?
Are you avoiding fruit because you have diabetes? Don't. Fruit is still a part of your healthy diet. Eat fresh or frozen fruit – a small peach or 1 cup of diced cantaloupe provides less than 15 grams of carbs. Dried fruit is acceptable, too, as long as you keep an eye on portion sizes. A portion of dried fruit, 2 tablespoons, provides 15 carb grams.

Finding Carbs on Nutrition Labels
Look for the amount of "total carbohydrate" grams on your food label. "Total carbohydrate" can also be broken down as "dietary fiber" and "sugars." But "sugars" won't tell the whole story. These include the natural sugars found in fruit and milk products as well as added sugars. A food label that lists a form of sugar as the first ingredient may be high in total sugars.

Added Sugars
Added sugars are carbohydrates, but they provide no nutrients. They sweeten and often preserve processed foods. Soft drinks, cookies, and cake have added sugars. But so can yogurt and cereal. Read ingredient labels and think twice about eating foods that list sugar as the first ingredient. Tip: Some added sugars end with "ose" – like dextrose, sucrose, maltose, or high fructose corn syrup.

A Balanced Diet
A balanced diet with at least 3-5 servings of vegetables a day can help you lose weight and control your blood sugar. And cooked, non-starchy vegetables like okra, beets, or eggplant have only 5 carb grams per half cup. Even though you might focus attention on counting carbs, you also need to eat enough protein and healthy fats. Don't skip meals, and eat healthy snacks to help keep blood sugar under control.

The easiest way to find all round healthy food choices is to look for the GI symbol. They make you feel fuller for a longer time and help control appetite.

26/06/2012

What About the Glycemic Index?
Your daily carb total, spread steadily across the day, is one key to good blood sugar control. Some people also monitor the glycemic index (GI) of foods, a rating of how individual foods raise blood sugar. Beans and whole grain breads and cereals have a lower GI than white bread or regular pasta. Juice has a higher GI than whole fruit. Want a high GI food? Eating it along with a lower GI food may help control your blood sugar.

26/06/2012

Is Sugar Bad for You?
If you love sweets, don't despair. You don't have to give them up forever. Sugar will raise your blood sugar levels more quickly than other carbohydrates, but diabetes experts now say the total amount of carbohydrates is most important. Just be sure to keep your serving sizes small and take into account the total carbs and calories.

26/06/2012

20 Reasons for Blood Sugar Swings

Upswing: Caffeine
Blood sugar can rise after drinking coffee -- even black coffee with zero calories -- thanks to the caffeine. Likewise, black tea, green tea, and energy drinks can hinder blood sugar control in people with diabetes. Each person reacts differently, so it's best to track your own responses to foods and activities. Ironically, other compounds in coffee may help prevent type 2 diabetes in healthy people.

Upswing: Sugar-Free Foods
Many foods labeled "sugar free" will raise your blood sugar level. Why? They can still have plenty of carbs from starches, fat, and fiber. Check the total carbohydrates on the back label before digging in. You should also pay attention to sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and xylitol. They add sweetness with fewer carbs than sugar (sucrose), but may still have enough carbs to your raise your blood sugar level.

Upswing: A Bad Cold
Your blood sugar rises as your body works to fight off an illness. Drink water and other fluids to stay hydrated. Call your health care provider if you've had diarrhea or vomiting for more than two hours or if you've been sick for two days and aren't getting better. Be aware that some medicines, such as antibiotics and the decongestants used to clear your sinuses, can affect your blood sugar.

Upswing: Job Stress
Feeling overwhelmed or unhappy at work takes a toll. When you're under stress, your body releases hormones that can cause your blood sugar to rise. This is more common for people with type 2 diabetes, than those with type 1 diabetes. Learn to relax with deep breathing and exercise. If possible, change the situation that is making you feel so much stress.

Upswing: Sports Drinks
Sports drinks are designed to help you replenish fluids quickly, and some of them contain as much sugar as soda. For a moderate workout of less than an hour, plain water is probably all you need. For longer, more intense exercise, a sports drink may be appropriate. But check with your doctor first to see if the calories, carbs, and minerals in a particular sports drink are safe for you.

Upswing: Dried Fruits
Fruit is a healthy choice, but be aware that dried fruit will pack more carbohydrates in a smaller serving size. Just 2 tablespoons of raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries have the carbs of a small piece of fruit. Three dates give you 15 grams of carbohydrates.

Upswing: Steroids and Water Pills
One large family of drugs -- the corticosteroids, such as prednisone -- can cause your blood sugar to rise, and may even trigger diabetes in some people. Steroids are given to treat rashes, arthritis, asthma, and other conditions. Diuretics used for high blood pressure, called water pills, can also raise blood sugar levels if you have diabetes. Some antidepressants may raise or lower blood sugar.

Lower: Household Chores
Cleaning the house or mowing the lawn can have an added bonus for people with diabetes: lower blood sugar. Many of the chores you do around the house count as moderate physical activity, with plenty of health benefits. Make a point of walking around the grocery aisles or parking farther from the entrance to the store. Small amounts of exercise add up.

Lower: Yogurt
Foods that contain healthy bacteria, such as many types of yogurt, are called "probiotic." They can improve digestion and also may help you control your blood sugar. Some yogurts contain added sugar and fruit, so be careful to count the carbs. Your best choice is plain yogurt or light yogurt without added sugar.

Lower: Vegan Diet
People with type 2 diabetes who switched to a vegan, or entirely vegetable-based diet, had better blood sugar control and needed less insulin, according to one study. A boost in fiber from eating whole grains and beans might play a role, by slowing down the digestion of carbs. More research is needed to confirm the value of a vegan diet for diabetes. Talk to your health care provider before making major changes to your diet.

Promising: Cinnamon
Sprinkling your food with cinnamon can add flavor without adding salt, carbs, or calories. Some studies suggest it also can improve the body's ability to use insulin and may lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. More research is needed to confirm these promising studies, and supplements containing large doses can cause side effects. So it's best to talk with your health care provider before trying cinnamon.

Caution: Sleep
Blood sugar can dip dangerously low during sleep for some people with type 1 diabetes. It's best to check your blood sugar level at bedtime and when you wake up. A snack before bed may help. For some people, blood sugar can rise in the morning -- even before eating -- due to changes in hormones or a drop in insulin levels. Regular testing is important. One option is a continuous blood glucose monitor, which can alert you to highs and lows.

Rollercoaster: Exercise
Physical activity is a terrific health booster for everyone. But people with diabetes should tailor it to their individual needs. When you work out hard enough to sweat and raise your heartbeat, your blood sugar may spike up, then drop. Intense or endurance type exercise can make your blood sugar drop for at least 24 hours afterward. Eating a snack before you begin may help. Check your blood sugar before, during, and after you exercise.

Rollercoaster: Heat
During the next summer heat wave, you'll be safer inside, cooled by air conditioning, during the hottest time of day. Heat makes your blood sugar more difficult to control. You should test your blood sugar often and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Be aware that your medications, glucose meter, and test strips can be affected by high heat. Don't leave them in a hot car.