Why are you Eating?

Why are you eating?

Is the only reason why you are eating hunger? If your answer is yes then you will probably answer yes to my next question (if it is not now, then it will be yes soon). Are you overweight? Are you technically obese, letting your body fat accumulate to take up one third of your body? This is an epidemic killing our nation and every other nation trying to be like us. If you want to prevent this vicious killer then you must know why you are eating.
Lets learn some self defense. The likelihood of being violently attacked is a small percentage of the likelihood of you dying from a heart attack or stroke.
Carbohydrates are your body’s first choice for energy. This simply means that you must eat before activity. Starting from the moment your eyes open. Eating within the first twenty minutes of waking up can prevent a vicious drop in blood sugar. Drops in blood sugar not only make you feel tired and unmotivated but they also increase your change of diabetes. This drop of energy and need for coffee must be broken by eating a healthy breakfast. An easily digestible morning break of your overnight fast is fresh seasonal fruit. An addition of raw nuts or seeds may enable a healthier balance of macronutrients. Balancing fat, carbohydrates, and proteins is essential to health. This balance will create satiation and increased energy.
Carbohydrates are energy. Eat them before workouts to sustain your workout. Eat carbs after your workout to replace what you burned up; this is not to replace the specific calorie but to replace the storage of glycogen. Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate that is stored in the blood; athletes may eat carbohydrate rich foods every 2 hours (carbohydrate loading) in order to increase their stores of up to double. So make sure you don’t limit carbohydrates because it will limit your workout. You should limit your intake of foods that are limited in their nutrition, such as refined grains like white bread and white rice.
There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. There is also a Glycemic Index. Both are valuable to determine the benefit and need of a certain carbohydrate. They are valuable, but not of enough value to warrant discussion. These classifications have too many details that are not worth your concentration. I want you to focus on whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes for your carbohydrates. This will ensure you to reach a healthy weight and stifle your insatiable hunger. Brown Rice saved lives. The importance of whole grains should never be underestimated.
When brown rice was first polished to become white rice there was such extreme neuropathy from vitamin B-1 (thiamine) deficiency it cause immobility among the population in Asia where it was a staple in the diet. This is why oatmeal has shown remarkable benefits, lowering cholesterol within 30 days of daily consumption. It is unrefined, (actually it is minimally processed but I will call it unrefined for all purposes) nature ensures that it contains 50-90% more naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.
Unrefined grains contain high amounts of fiber which has been know to lower cholesterol, prevent diabetes, control hunger, and assist in losing weight…just to name a few benefits. Fiber, and its unlimited benefits, is also found in fruits and vegetables, legumes, and nuts and seeds. An abundance of these foods should be in any healthy diet. These foods are always present in studies that show long-term health benefits as seen in epidemiological studies that look at large populations. …for more about carbohydrates get the e-book—eat carbohydrates to lower body fat and live longer.
Carbohydrates are not your only source of energy; they are just the first choice. Carbs are used during activity, especially the first 10 seconds to 45 minutes of exercise. Body fat can be used as a source of energy during specific situations. At rest your body uses body fat as an energy source by as much as 60% of your total energy expenditure. This is yet another reason why consuming fat is not only important, but essential.
Fat should be consumed at every meal. This will slow down the absorption of nutrients to ensure maximal benefit from the foods that you eat. You can not even absorb vitamin A, D, E, and K without the presence of fat in your food. Hence, this is why these vitamins are named fat soluble vitamins.
The fats that are nutritionally beneficial to the body are fats that originate from plant foods. Examples of these are raw nuts and seeds, and the oils that they yield. There are also some fruits that contain fats such as coconut, avocado, acai, and goji berries. These foods can decrease inflammation which can increase heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions such as allergies and asthma.
Fats that have shown to have effects increasing heart disease to unhealthy skin are predominately from animals. There are exclusions to every rule, and the exclusion within the animal kingdom is the healthy fats contained in most fish. Fish can be an extremely healthy part of a well balanced diet. Limiting fish may be necessary due to contaminants in water such as mercury. ….for more about dietary fats--buy my e-book- Eat fat to lose weight, look healthier, and be healthier.
Protein is the building blocks of our muscle. Protein builds muscle. Protein is measured by its profile of amino acids which determine if is complete or incomplete. Incomplete proteins must be completed to build muscle and act as a protein. Complete proteins are found in animal products. Incomplete proteins are found in plant foods, although there are always exceptions to rules…as there are a few complete proteins in the plant kingdom.
Complete proteins in the plant kingdom are soy nut, hemp nut, and quinoa….although in theory if you eat enough of any protein you can eat enough of the lacking amino acid (in practice it is improbable). Incomplete proteins can easily be paired to complete the protein. Examples are in bedded in history through different cultures, such as rice and beans among Hispanic cultures, Pasta e fagioli having wheat and white beans among Italians, and pita with hummus among Middle Eastern.