In our day to day life, we take many combinations of food. But, sometimes, combinations of food is dangerous for health. Here are the list of seven food combinations that can ruin your health.

1. Cold Water With A Meal
2. Cucumbers And Tomatoes
3. Beer And Nuts
4. Meat And Pasta
5. Fruit With Or After A Meal
6. Milk And Sour Fruit
7. Hot Dogs And French Fries

Kidneys are vital organs of the body. They have a tough job from filtering to excreting waste products to the bloodstream. Kidneys also maintain the body’s overall fluid balance as well as release hormones that make red blood cells, ensure bone health, and regulate blood pressure.

Here is a list of foods that can ruin our valuable kidneys.

1. Nuts
2. Avocados
3. Caffeine
4. Dairy Products
5. Salt
6. Meat
7. Artificial Sweeteners

Research has shown that consuming fruits and vegetables lead to a higher level of happiness than sugar or unhealthy food.

Doctors have suggested intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and unprocessed proteins in the everyday diet. According to a recent research conducted in Australia, besides physical health, healthy eating will impact our mental health.

Likewise, unprocessed diets, which are higher in plant foods, protein and fats are associated with better mental health outcomes. These diets are considered rich in fiber, it said.

An unhealthy diet is high in trans fats, sugar, processed and refined foods. Therefore, consumption of such foods will increase the risk for depression, especially in children and teens, according to studies. This also deprives the brain of the nutrients it needs.

Likewise, unprocessed diets, which are higher in plant foods, protein and fats are associated with better mental health outcomes. These diets are considered rich in fiber, it said.

A study conducted by epidemiologist Felice Jacka of Deakin University in Australia, consisted of 67 subjects with depression. Many of them were receiving psychotherapy while some of them were taking antidepressants and some with both. Half of them were given nutritional counseling while the other half were given one-on-one social support or counseling.

Researchers suggests a diet made up of vegetables, fruits, cheese and yogurt, nuts, whole grains, seafood, and lean red meat. They have suggested elimination of fried and processed foods.

In a span of 12 weeks, the group that changed their diet felt happier than the group that received additional companionship, the report said.

Depression has several origins such as genetic or triggered by a specific event or circumstance. Lifestyle choices if also one of the reasons for depression. It is a disease of the brain.

Likewise, a study made by the University of Konstanz in Germany found out that consuming vegetables led to a higher level of happiness than intake of sugar or unhealthy food. In the study, eating vegetables contributed the largest share to eating happiness. According to the study, sweets provided induced only eating happiness.

Researchers suggests a diet made up of vegetables, fruits, cheese and yogurt, nuts, whole grains, seafood, and lean red meat. They have suggested elimination of fried and processed foods.

Teenage is a crucial period of physical, emotional and social maturation. This is an important stage in the human life cycle as the body changes from childhood to adulthood, where hormonal and physical changes occur drastically. In the same time since teenagers are under academic pressure, their bodies need nutritional diet, including extra calories, calcium and iron, and sufficient protein. Teenage eating habits are influenced less by parents and family, and more by peers, media messages, and body image issues. They tend to make more food choices on their own, often in the company of influential peers.

Teenagers are notorious for their terrible eating habits. They typically eat only what tastes good or what’s within reach. Since their bodies are still growing and developing, good nutrition is crucial to prevent various diseases. Since teenager’s body goes through tremendous physical changes, it needs changes that need to be supported by a balanced diet.

Due to modernization and fascination towards western influence, teens usually tend to control their diet which leads to lack of nutrients. However in some cases, due to high consumption of junk food, they tend to be obese. Assuming that Ready to Eat Food (RTEF) is lighter than homemade food, they discard homemade food. Some even have the wrong concept that only ‘higher class’ people consume RTEF. Therefore, youngsters prioritize on such food merely to impress the society of being a ‘higher-class’ teenager.

The teens often tend to ignore positive guidance or suggestions provided by their parents and listen more to their peers. They also like to spend more time with peers, giggling with them rather than being with their family members. During this stage, the teens gain independence and start eating out with their friends.

Advertisements of RTEF in different media attract teenagers thus enticing them toward packed and canned food. They enjoy having food prepared in the restaurants rather than their homes. Therefore, youngsters should be encouraged to know the benefit of homemade food and discourage them to eat food in fast food cafes. What is to be emphasizes is that RTEF is not rich in nutrients needed for a body. The test is of course awe-inspiring and seems palatable but if you go in depth, there is nothing healthy components which can add a brick to build the body and brain except giving energy. These foods are filled with sugar, overheated oil, harmful chemicals and artificial colors due to which the food seems attractive and, of course, tasty.

The Government has implemented different health and nutritional programs targeting children, pregnant and lactating women. However, special concern and programs has to be initiated to create awareness among the teenagers.

Teens should be aware of making healthy choices when they eat out, whether at school or in a local restaurant. This is the period their body needs more micro-nutrients along with adequate amount of protein and energy. Selection of diets should be made accordingly considering adequate amount of calories, carbohydrate, protein, and micro nutrients.

A simple menu suggested for youngsters:

Nepali meal (Daal, Bhat, Tarkari and Achaar) is a very good combination of essential nutrients. It has enough amount of Carbohydrates, Proteins, Vitamins and Minerals. One should select proper vegetables to get adequate amount of vitamins and minerals and follow the proper way of preparing, cooking and storing so that essential nutrients containing in the food do not loss.

For the snack, they have option to go with Curd and Bitten Rice (Chiura), Horse Gram (Chana) and Bitten Rice, Chapati (Roti) with different beans such as Soya bean, Cowpea. Meat and eggs are good source of protein and essential nutrients. Obviously, teens are fond of Spring roll, Pizza, Momo, Sandwiches, Ham Burger, etc. Think whether these foods have all those components discussed before? Are all these foods fresh? What kind of oil has been used? What about the harmful preservatives and artificial color?

Think before eating

Whether the food contains energy giving, body building and protecting components or not? While choosing the drinks with food, instead of carbonated cold drinks such as Coca-cola, Sprite or Pepsi, select fresh juice or whole fruits. It gives adequate amount of vitamin C and other nutrients that helps you to absorb more iron containing in the food. Tea and Coffee is also considered as break food but think, caffeine containing in these drinks wont’ help you rather shrinkages the nutrients food have.

Ms. Sunita Rimal is a nutritionist.

A healthy diet is low in sugar and deep-fried food, and high in fruit and vegetables. What’s less well known is how often a person should eat. Doctors recommend eating frequently – at least five to six times a day since our health must be replenished to work satisfactorily. According to Heiko Griguhn, a nutritionist, people wanting to lose weight often make the mistake of eating too seldom, he says. After a long interval without food, the body starts trying to conserve energy by reducing the number of calories it burns.

Heiko recommends eating frequently – five to six times a day. He suggests afternoon snacks to avoid low blood-sugar, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. In order to maintain a healthy weight, it’s essential not to consume more calories than one burns, he says suggesting small portions of vegetables or other snacks in between breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, experts recommend chewing each mouthful of food 15 to 30 times. Likewise, experts also suggest drinking plenty of fluids, which helps in simulating the production of digestive juices. (Agencies)

Your teenage daughter, who has been working very hard for a major exam, receives her result and is very disappointed with it. Later that day, she brings several packs of potato chips into her room. She laments: “I feel so bad about my result. I want to eat all of this.”

Sounds familiar?

It may be a case of emotional eating, where a person increases food intake in response to, or as a way to, soothe certain feelings, especially negative ones like stress, tension, sadness, boredom, loneliness or anxiety.

Emotional eating occurs when people eat not to satisfy hunger, but for comfort; hence the term “comfort food”.

This can lead to an unhealthy cycle, where negative emotions trigger eating, which provides temporary relief or comfort, but then the person starts feeling bad or guilty for overeating, which, in turn, triggers more eating to relieve their negative feelings.

This can become a habit that continues into adulthood, which increases risks for health-related problems such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

There are also studies linking emotional eating with poor cognitive performance, particularly in obese adolescents.

Physical or emotional hunger?

When you are under stress, your body produces more cortisol and this can lead to increased appetite, causing emotional hunger.

Eating sugar and carbohydrates can also trigger the release of dopamine, which is why you feel “comforted” by binge-eating.

It can be difficult to differentiate emotional hunger from actual physical hunger. Here are a few pointers:

Physical hunger

• Comes on gradually and can be postponed.

• Can be satisfied with any type or quantity of foods.

• Likely to stop eating when full.

• Doesn’t cause feelings of guilt.

Emotional hunger

• Feels sudden and urgent.

• Causes very specific cravings, e.g. for pizza, ice cream, fries, etc.

• Tend to eat more than normal.

• Can cause guilt afterwards.

Controlling emotional eating

No one is 100% free from emotional eating. There are times when even you as an adult will surrender to your cravings after a hard day at work.

Your teenage kids tend to give in more easily to their emotional hunger due to the changes in their hormones from puberty.

However, there are ways we can control this tendency from becoming a habit:

• Check hunger.

Ask if she is really hungry or if it is just emotional hunger?

If she just had a lunch an hour ago and her stomach is not rumbling, it may be just a craving.

Give it time to go away by doing other activities or drinking water.

Refer to the signs above to help differentiate physical and emotional hunger.

• Manage stress.

Emotional eating is mainly caused by stress. Find the source and solve it.

Reduce stress by meditating, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.

• Tackle boredom.

Simply being bored can also lead to munching.

Instead of grabbing a snack when bored, advise her to go for a walk, listen to music, read a book or indulge in a hobby.

Find a replacement activity to escape emotional eating.

• Avoid temptation.

Do not keep her favourite comfort food at home.

Delay the trip to the grocery store if she is feeling angry, sad or frustrated.

• Choose healthy snacks.

Replace her usual comfort food with low-calorie snacks, or pick a healthier version such as fruits or whole-grain unsalted chips.

• Food journal.

Ask her to keep a record of her eating habit, i.e. what, when and how much she eats, as well as her mood when eating.

Over time, she will start to see links between food and mood, and this can help her make better choices.

• Be an example.

Remember that you are the role model of your children. They learn your habits through observation.

If they see you eating ice cream whenever you are sad, they may develop the same habit when they are older.

• Don’t reward them with food.

If you give cookies to stop your children from crying, they may start to associate cookies with comfort.

Avoid rewarding or disciplining them using food as they may “learn” emotional eating as they grow up.

The trouble with emotional eating is that once the pleasure of eating is gone, the feelings that cause it remain.

Don’t be afraid to seek expert help if the problem becomes worse.

Nutritionists can help identify eating patterns and get your teen on track with a better diet, and therapists can help them deal with their sources of stress or depression.

Take control of your family’s diet today!
Source: Star 2

There is no compelling evidence to indicate important health benefits of non-sugar sweeteners, and potential harms cannot be ruled out, suggests a recent review of published studies in The BMJ, a leading general medical journal in the UK.Foods or drinks containing non-sugar sweeteners have become increasingly popular in recent times.

To understand the potential benefits and harms of sweeteners, a team of European researchers analyzed 56 studies comparing no intake or lower intake of non-sugar sweeteners, with higher intake, in healthy adults and children, the BMJ report said. The measures included weight, blood sugar control, oral health, cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, mood and behavior. For most outcomes, there seemed to be no statistically or clinically relevant differences between those exposed to non-sugar sweeteners and those not exposed, or between different doses of non-sugar sweeteners.The study suggested small improvements in body mass index (BMI) and fasting blood glucose levels with non-sugar sweeteners, but the certainty of this evidence was low.Likewise, lower intakes of non-sugar sweeteners were associated with slightly less weight gain (-0.09 kg) than higher intakes, but again the certainty of this evidence was low.In children, a smaller increase in BMI score was seen with non-sugar sweeteners compared with sugar, but intake of non-sugar sweeteners made no differences to body weight, according to the study.

Several studies show that people who drink a lot of diet beverages tend to gain weight. However, the reasons for this are not clear. But there are a few theories. While a theory considers the cravings for sweet foods, another theory says people tend to think that since the biscuits or cakes are sugar free, they can increase the slice. Therefore, it is not necessarily true that drinking a diet beverage over a sweetened drink will result in weight loss.

(Agencies)

Studies have revealed that eating too quickly can lead to several health problems. According to a study conducted by Hiroshima University cardiologist Dr. Takayuki Yamaji, chowing down food too fast can lead to problems like putting on weight and an increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

A study with around 1,000 healthy adults carried out by Dr. Yamajishowed that those eating too quickly were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, according to kompas.com. The adults were asked to characterize their eating speed — slow, normal or fast, and then asked to track their health for the next five years.

Likewise, the study showed that chowing down food too fast can increase the risk of acid reflux, as the digestive tract is filled with larger pieces of food. According to the study, such a habit would lead to the organ being overloaded and to excess stomach acid leading to acid refluxes giving people an experience of a burning sensation in the chest, a sour taste, regurgitation, and even sore throat.

Meanwhile, the study found out that when people eat fast, they tend not to feel full and are more likely to overeat since eating fast causes bigger glucose fluctuation leading to insulin resistance.

(Agencies)

Doctors suggest fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean, unprocessed proteins in our diet. Studies have begun to show that, besides physical health,healthy eating impacts our mental health as well.

An unhealthy diet, which is high in trans fats, sugar, processed and refined foods increases risk for depression, especially in children and teens. Such diet deprives the brain of the nutrients it needs, and breeds bad bacteria in the gut affecting both our mental and physical health.

According to a study conducted in Australia, unprocessed diets higher in plant foods, healthy forms of protein and fats are consistently associated with better mental health outcomes. These diets are also high in fiber, which is essential for gut microbiota. We’re increasingly understanding that the gut is really the driver of health, including mental health, so keeping fiber intake high through the consumption of plant foods is very important.”

A trial conducted by epidemiologist Felice Jacka of Deakin University in Australia, set out to measure the therapeutic impact of a healthy diet. The study consisted of 67 subjects with depression, some of whom were receiving psychotherapy, some of whom were taking antidepressants and some with both. Half were given nutritional counseling, the other half were given one-on-one social support, someone to keep them company and engage in social activities with- known to help people with depression. After 12 weeks, the group that changed their diet felt significantly happier than the group that received additional companionship. The study was published in January 2017 in BMC Medicine. Prof. Jacka explains,

Depression has many origins: genetic, triggered by a specific event or circumstance or lifestyle choices. But it is a disease of the brain, and researchers find that ensuring it receives the proper nutrients is a way to prevent and treat depression. In the future patients experiencing depression may not only be referenced to a therapist, but a nutritionist as well.

A second study from the University of Konstanz in Germany drew similar conclusions, finding that consuming vegetables led to a higher level of happiness over time than sugar or unhealthy food induces in the moment. In a study with 14 different food categories, eating vegetables “contributed the largest share to eating happiness” measured over eight days. And on average, sweets only provided “induced eating happiness” in comparison to an overall healthy diet. “Thus, the findings support the notion that fruit and vegetable consumption has beneficial effects on different indicators of well-being, such as happiness or general life satisfaction, across a broad range of time spans,” writes the Department of Psychology from the University of Konstanz.

So what should we eat? Research suggests a Mediterranean-style diet made up of fruits, vegetables, extra-virgin olive oil, yogurt and cheese, nuts, whole grains, seafood and lean red meat, and eliminate fried and processed foods. The diet provides the nutrition our brain needs and supports good bacteria in the gut.

(Agencies)