Some more Ideas

Drink Water


If you were to add up the calories that you've probably consumed in sodas, fruit punches and alcoholic beverages at parties, you would likely be amazed. You can gulp down hundreds of calories without even realizing it if you're not careful! Instead of one of these high-calorie drinks- make it a habit to drink water and herbal teas (green, white, black) throughout the day. To sweeten teas use a natural low-glycemic sugar like stevia that will not increase your blood sugar, insulin levels or waistline.

Enjoy the Company, Not The Brownies

Many people think of holiday parties in terms of the foods that they'll get to eat (or have to avoid) instead of the real reason for the celebration—the company and conversation. If you keep yourself busy chatting with friends, you'll be less likely to invade the snack table.

Savor the holidays

Relax and enjoy your dinner with your friends and family. Most importantly, remember that the holidays are meant for enjoyment. Don't be too hard on yourself, and if you make a mistake, talk an extra long walk to work off those extra calories instead of beating yourself up over it!

References:

• Saradone Michael, “Jumpstart your holiday health”, Health and Wellness, 2010

• Waxler Adam, “Is it possible to avoid those holiday pounds”, Worldwide Health, 2010

• Texas A&M Health and Science Center, “Holiday Health/Safety Tip”, 2006

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More Tips on Holiday Health

Plan your meals:


Plan ahead and pack a small cooler with all of the nutrition you need for the day.Next, maintain consistency, eat your meals generally at the same time each day. If a holiday dinner will be delayed, eat small but nutritious, well-balanced snacks between meals to prevent sugar cravings and hormonal chaos. Snacks are mini-meals, and should be as nutritious and well-balanced as main meals – just smaller. An example might be an apple and string cheese or one-fourth cup of almonds and fruit. If you are going to an evening dinner party, call the host or hostess in advance and politely ask if you can bring a healthy main dish or dessert. For healthy desserts, substitute almond flour for white flour and xylitol or stevia for regular table sugar.

Start the day with exercise

Strive for 30 minutes of aerobic and 30 minutes of weight-training performed on alternating days, six times a week. Exercising in the morning will set your metabolic rate a bit higher and will help your body burn fat more efficiently.

Go Full

You've likely heard the grocery store trick; don't go shopping when you're hungry because you'll only end up buying more. Well, the same can work for holiday parties! Eat a lot of raw vegetables, and other healthy foods that will stick with you during the party and you'll be less tempted to binge on the bad stuff.

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Healthy Tips for Holidays

Many people fear the holidays for various reasons, but overeating, drinking too much and gaining weight are right at the top of the list for lots of people. We quickly ignore the rules of healthy eating and tell ourselves we’ll lose added weight after the holidays. But we can actually begin to lose unwanted body fat and look great for those upcoming parties if we adopt some of the tried and tested principles. Rather than giving ourselves permission to overindulge during the holiday season, based on the promise of being better after New Year's Day, we can get a jumpstart on our healthy resolutions and avoid the trappings of empty promises, disappointment and guilt.


Watch what you eat:

The holidays and food are synonymous. Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, an entire day of feasting can result in more than just a full stomach or a case of heartburn. The best tip to avoid heartburn is to not overeat. Big, fatty meals are likely to aggravate the symptoms of heartburn and indigestion. Other foods that can be a problem during the holidays are chocolate, peppermint and spearmint. On a daily basis, eat smaller meals, avoid excess alcohol (no more than two drinks for men and one drink for women), and stay away from acidic foods like citric juices (orange, grapefruit) and tomatoes. Those with nighttime symptoms should elevate their head 4-6 inches from the bed and avoid eating and drinking within two hours of bedtime.

Just a Nibble:

To start, watch portion sizes. Do not skip your favorite foods; instead, limit your portions and stay within your allowable servings. Identifying holiday foods that contain carbohydrates can help you better manage blood sugars. Some holiday foods that can affect blood sugar levels are dressing (stuffing), rolls, sweet potatoes, corn, tamales and seasonal desserts. One way to keep the pounds down is just to enjoy a few bites of that delicious cheesecake or chocolate fudge brownie. No one says that you have to completely deprive yourself of holiday treats—just limit how much you eat!

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Coconut Oil- Disadvantages

What are the disadvantages of using coconut oil?


Nutritionally there are none. I can identify four disadvantages: 1) availability, 2) cost, 3) taste, and 4) seasonal hardness.

1. Availability: Search the internet or go to your local health food store and see what types and brands are available.

2. Cost: Compare prices. Unrefined virgin or extra virgin coconut oil is very expensive. I have found Spectrum Naturals brand, which is organic and expeller pressed, the least costly, both refined and unrefined. Go to India and buy it. It costs next to nothing there. In India, coconut oil is used like typical Americans use soy oil.

3. Taste: People seem to either love coconut flavor or dislike it entirely. Unrefined coconut oil, as the virgin coconut oil is stronger flavor than the refined. Choose according to your tastes.

4. Seasonal hardness: In cold or cool weather, coconut oil can be very hard, making it difficult to extract from the jar with a spoon. A little warming up will ease this problem.

For cooking and baking, what form of coconut oil is best?

For sautéing, use refined coconut oil which is suitable over medium to high heat. For baking, you can use unrefined or refined coconut oil. Use whichever your budget and taste will allow.

Owing to the various health benefits, coconut oil has been extensively used in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicinal system for ages. It has been called the "healthiest dietary oil on earth." If you’re not using coconut oil for your daily cooking and body care needs you’re missing out on one of nature’s most amazing health products.

Sources:

1. Sue Gregg, “Benefits of Coconut Oil”, Sue Gregg Cookbooks, 2009

2. Kiran Patil, “Health Benefits of Coconut Oil”, Organic Facts, 2010

3. “Coconut Oil Benefits”, Health Food Benefits.com

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Coconut Oil-Benefits

The following presents a birds-eye view of many of the benefits of coconut oil.


Heart Diseases: There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis.

Weight Loss: Coconut oil is very useful in reducing weight. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. It increases the body’s metabolism by removing stress on pancreases; thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.

Digestion: Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. It helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Immunity: Coconut oil strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. It is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhoea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.

Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as these substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.

Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.

Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.

Bones: Coconut Oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus it is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.

Dental Care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also stops tooth decay.

Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shiny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair.

Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.

Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. It is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. It also helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.

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Coconut Oil- Composition

Coconut oil is highly saturated tropical oil derived from coconuts of the coconut palm tree. Traditionally it has provided many health benefits to the peoples who live in areas of the tropics and sub-tropics where coconut palms grow. The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. Coconut oil is generally known to be comprised of the following:


• 92% Saturated fatty acids (i.e. lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid)

• 6.2% Monounsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid)

• 1.6% Polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid)

• antioxidant polyphenols (gallic acid)

• fatty acid derivatives (betaine, fatty esters, monoglycerides)

• fatty alcohol derivatives (fatty chlorides, fatty alcohol sulphate)

• Vitamin E

• Vitamin K

• Iron

The bad press that coconut oil has received in the past stems from the fact that as shown above, about 92% of it is composed of saturated fatty acids. Recent research has shown that not all such fatty acids are harmful. Lauric acid in particular, the same substance found in mother's milk, has been found to be very potent in fighting a range of bacteria and viruses that lead to a lot of diseases. High concentrations of lauric acid in coconut oil make it an effective fighter against many diseases. In addition, the saturated fats found in virgin coconut oil have been shown not to increase the level of bad cholesterol (or LDL) levels in the body that contribute to many cardiovascular diseases. This is why virgin coconut oil is said to be an effective partner in heart and brain health.

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