Being healthy doesn’t necessarily mean having to deny yourself tasty treats. I always have dark chocolate in the fridge, which I enjoy a small portion of every few days. Recent research has got me thinking that perhaps I should be consuming more of the stuff, for my health’s sake.

At a recent conference, the head of Angiogenesis Foundation, William Li, said that dark chocolate and red grapes join blueberries, garlic, soya bean and tea as ingredients that starve cancer while nourishing bodies. The foundation works at identifying foods containing natural chemicals that choke off blood supplies to tumors, starving them to death.

It pitted some foods against approved drugs and found that soya bean, parsley, red grapes, berries and other comestibles (foods containing essential nutrients which help to maintain life) were either as effective or more potent in battling cancer cells. Eaten together, the foods were even more effective in fighting cancer.

If you’ve never tried it before, red wine and dark chocolate go really well together. Why not treat yourself to this powerful cancer-fighting combination tonight? If you’re not much of a drinker, like me, try to keep your fridge stocked with red grapes. After indulging in a handful or two, treat yourself to a piece of really dark chocolate. Mmmm. Now that’s what I call good medicine!

Posted: February 17th, 2010 under Alternative Remedies, Antioxidants, Cancer, Diet.
Comments: 1

Christmas is over but we’re still in the midst of the holiday season with all its parties and festive gorging – um, I mean eating. Another week to go of playing hide and seek with calories. I just survived several parties and I’m happy to say that I got to enjoy various Christmas delicacies without putting on any weight. How did I do it? Little did I know that I had been practising mindful eating, a weight management
approach which I’ve only just heard about.

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, mindful eating is a spin-off from a lifestyle practice called mindfulness, which is about slowing down to savour life’s details, noticing small things and appreciating every sensation. Mindful eating is not a diet. Instead, it focuses on the way you eat, rather than what you eat. So, instead of eating haphazardly and mindlessly at meals, shovelling food into your mouth, you:

- Decide in advance how much to eat, and what to eat. Rather than piling food on your plate, be selective about what you choose to put into your body. Brian Wansink, author of the book “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think”, goes further by suggesting that you make half that amount vegetables and fruit, the other half protein and starch. Psychologist Susan Albers advises that before taking anything, you should ask yourself whether you really want to eat that item. Would you really enjoy it? Are you really so hungry? Take only what you really, really want.

- Before you start eating, pause and soak in all the sights, sounds and scents of the gathering. If it’s a holiday party, enjoy the atmosphere. Train yourself to use all your senses to relish the food.

- Take your time to savour your food. Appreciate how every morsel smells and tastes. Notice the temperature and texture. Put your cutlery down while you slowly chew each bite, enjoying every moment.

- After you’ve fully savoured each bite and swallowed, then pick up your cutlery again and enjoy another bite.

- Try to be the last to finish eating. Eat slowly. Don’t rush the experience.

- By the end of the meal, you will not only be full, but truly satisfied.

Some tricks to help you remove obstacles to healthy eating include not arriving at a meal hungry, as that may cause you to wolf down more than you should. Another one is using small plates rather than large dinner plates. Your food portions will then seem more substantial. Using tall, thin glasses instead of short, squat ones will also help control your fluid intake without reducing the pleasure. Thin glasses hold less liquid. If your host presses you to take a second helping, take a teaspoonful rather than a full serving. This way, you satisfy your host without sacrificing your waistline.

Eat mindfully, and you’ll probably enjoy your meals and the company more than ever before, and without weight gain too.

Posted: December 28th, 2009 under Diet, weight loss.
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Christmas is just around the corner, and New Year is next. Season’s delicacies tempt you every way you turn, and going to party after party makes it hard to avoid eating more than you normally should. What can you do to keep from piling on weight during the holiday season? These tips for preventing weight gain will help:

1) Drink more water
Drinking water before you eat helps to give a sense of fullness, so you’re less likely to binge. Water also helps to improve bowel movement and detoxification. Other fluids you can take are sugar-free ones like plain tea and coffee (without milk or cream) and herbal teas. Go easy on the ones with caffeine, of course. If you must have a soda, make sure it’s sugar free. Fresh fruit juice is another good option, and it also helps to flush out the toxins from your system.

2) Indulge in fresh fruit for dessert
This will definitely be a challenge, but try to avoid desserts which are loaded with sugar and fat. If you want a treat, have a tiny portion. Tucking into plenty of fresh fruit will help to satisfy a craving for something sweet, making you less inclined to gorge on unhealthy, sugary foods. Indulging in fruits will also nourish your body with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fibre.

3) Watch your carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrates aren’t necessarily evil, but they can be bad for you when they’re saturated with sugar and fat and other noxious ingredients. Be fussy about what you put into your mouth. Always choose the healthier option, rather than the “heart-attack-on-a-plate”. To fill yourself up, go for vegetables, fruits and liquids like water or fresh fruit juice. You’ll then be less likely to consume large quantities of unhealthy carbohydrates.

4) Curb your fat intake
The advice for resisting unhealthy carbohydrates works just as well here.

5) Enjoy healthy snacking
Feel like nibbling? Reach for healthy snacks like dried fruit, seeds and nuts. Make yourself a trail mix you can snack on every time you feel like putting something in your mouth. Dried seaweed, Japanese rice crackers and home-made popcorn without butter, sugar or other sweet toppings are also healthy, satisfying snacks. These healthy treats will keep your mouth busy, with fewer calories and fat than the usual festive goodies.

6) Watch less TV
Reduce your television couch-potato time by half, and you’ll burn more calories. It’s not rocket science.

7) Exercise more
To prevent weight gain during the holiday season, you either need to ensure that you don’t eat more calories than usual, or you need to burn more calories. Make exercise part of your daily routine and find every opportunity to burn more calories than you normally do.

Posted: December 19th, 2009 under Diet, Exercise & Fitness.
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