The Food Pyramid has been used for decades to show people what type (and how much) of individual foods they should eat every day for optimal health. Redesigned in 2005, the new pyramid sports a rainbow of colored, vertical stripes that represent the five major food groups, plus fats and oils.
Not sure what the colors stand for? Here’s a quick reference:
Orange – grains.
Green – vegetables.
Red – fruits.
Yellow – fats and oils.
Blue – milk and dairy products.
Purple – meat, beans, fish, and nuts.
The food pyramid is a used to illustrate the variety of foods people need
to eat to stay healthy. The skinnier the band of color, the less foods you need to consumer in that category, and vice versa. As you will notice, eating a variety of healthy foods is best. The goal is to eat foods from each color band each and every day.
As you’ll notice when reviewing the new pyramid, some bands are fat on the bottom and get thinner as they reach the top. Why? Because foods are not created equal. While apple pie contains apples, it is not as good for you as a freshly picked apple straight form the tree! The same is true for a tomato vs. ketchup. The less nutritious variety of the food is depicted at the top thinner part of the pyramid, with the more nutritious item featured on the bottom.
One of the most important aspects of the food pyramid is the way it explains how many servings of individual categories a person should eat every day. This includes:
Grains:
It’s important for children to eat 4-6 ounces of grains every day, depending on their age, while adults need more than 6 ounces to meet their daily requirements. Remember, whole grains are best.
Vegetables:
Vegetables are especially important to a healthy diet. Children should eat 1/2 to 2 cups per day with adults consuming 2 1/2 cups or more.
Fruits:
Fresh fruit is a very important nutrient for a well balanced diet. Keep in mind that while fruit juices and packaged fruit count on the slimmer part of the pyramid, fresh fruit is always best. So, how much fruit should you eat every day? Children need 1-1/2 cups per day, and adult 2 or more.
Milk and Other Calcium-Rich Foods:
Calcium builds strong teeth and bones and should be consumed on a daily basis. Children need a minimum of 1-2 cups of milk (0r other calcium rich food) every day, while adult (especially women) should be consuming 3 or more cups of dairy a day.
Meats, Beans, Fish, and Nuts:
For all of the iron and other important nutrients you need to stay healthy eat 3-5 ounces per day (for children) and 5-8 ounces (for adults).
Not sure that you’re eating the right amounts of food every day? Be sure to check your diet against the new food pyramid guidelines on a regular basis to ensure that you’re eating a well balanced diet for optimal health and fitness.
Fucoidan is one of the polysaccharides; it is known as a sulfated polysaccharide and is found in many varieties of brown seaweed. It is also found in the sea cucumber. There are 2 types of Fucoidan being researched at this time; F-fucoidan- which has sufated esters of fucose. The second type is U-fucoidan- which is made up of 20% glucuronic acid. They can now be found as diet supplements. The seaweed is found in several places; Japan, Hawaii, Norway, and Tonga.
Many Japanese eat this seaweed with beneficial results. In order to combat diseases like cancer, there has been a lot of research done to see how the body can be made stronger.
Research has been going on with Fucoidan since 1970. There have been many exciting discoveries.
A special emphasis has been laid on the immune system. It is a system that allows the body to fight against disease- even terminating cells that have mutated. The body also eliminates toxins and poisons in the system. Toxins enter our systems through the air we breathe and the food and water we ingest. Due to environmental pollution, we are more at risk now than ever before.
Fucoidan has been shown to help the body with cellular communication. This enables the body to function better and will enable the immune system to be more efficient. It has also been found to help with cell regeneration by helping to increase stem cells. It has also been proven to help with many functions of the body. It enables the body to be stronger and resistant to diseases. It even helps our bodies fight cancer.
As such, it has been available as a diet supplement in Japan since 1997. The pharmaceutical industry has now developed gelceuticals. These are diet supplements that are gel based. They are made from whole foods, such as Fucoidan. They are easy to digest and are more efficient in this form.
Fucoidan, found in brown seaweed, has received endorsement from the Hallal and Kosher associations. This has increased its demand among ethnic and even non-ethenic groups of people.
Fucoidan is extracted from brown seaweed. This is grown on special seaweed farms in Japan and also grows naturally in cool temperate waters. It is also found in deep, cold ocean water. In fact, the species Ascophyllum nodosum can be found in the artic.
Freshly cut floating plants are harvested as these have the least amount of pollution.
With the growing amount of research being done on Fucoidan, more beneficial properties are being found, and we will find even more uses for this essential sugar.
You may have seen people carrying out large heavy cooler sized jugs of water out of your local big box super store, drug store, pharmacy or health food store. A marvel attesting to the power of modern marketing.
This marvel of advertising to influence consumers rivals that of big screen TVs and S.U.V.’s for city dwellers. Not only do these people pay for water, often carry these heavy, bulky, cooler sized jugs up flights of stairs. On top of that all they have to do in most cases in America to get as much clean, cool water as they would ever want in their lifetimes – only by turning on the water tap.
Demineralised water is not always good for you. Health conscious consumers should and need to be aware that while some water types are good for you – demineralised may not and indeed may be “demineralizing ” your body and bones.
First of all – what is demineralised water? Demineralised water is water that is said to be completely or almost completely free of minerals. This demineralised water is produced any of a number of way including – boiling (distillation), deionization, filtered through a thin membrane (many of the “pure” water machines that you see in retail outlets along with the large cooler type jugs) or electrodyalisis.
Health experts have also reported that the longer that you drink this “demineralised” water, the more likely are of flushing out vital minerals in your body and as well placing your body into an acid state.
It has been known almost to the beginning of time that minerals in drinking water are good for your health. The beneficial aspects and properties of the minerals and constituents of drinking water (nowadays we refer to it simply as “tap water”) were mentioned in the Vedas of ancient India. In the book Rig Veda, the properties of good drinking water were described as follows “Sheetham( told to touch) , Sushihi ( clean) , Sivam ( should have nutritive value, requisite minerals and trace elements) , Istham ( transparent) , Vimalam lahu Shadgunam ( its acid balance should be within normal limits )
Not only can demineralised body have long term health concerns for your body including leaching away the calcium in your bones, but generally the taste is poor, being described as flat. On top of that demineralised water will often not quench your thirst – especially in comparison to regular untreated water.
If you think that demineralized water can play havoc with your and your family’s health – both in the short term and long term look at what it can do to regular household pipes and plumbing. Demineralised water is harsh and very very aggressive. If put into pipes and storage tanks the demineralised water is very aggressive and will attack these metal pipes – leaching the metal and other materials from the pipes and other plumbing materials used in water plumbing. This is the reason why homes can never have plumbing for this safe product “demineralised water”.
If that is what demineralized water can do to metal pipes and plumbing imagine what it can do to your sensitive insides of your body.
Good Food Good Health | Good Food Good Health | 
December 19, 2009 5:44 pm | 
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