Lost and Found – a Novel by Ron Rink

Nutrition and Weight Loss

So far in this series of articles about “healing foods” we’ve covered whole grains, black or Bing cherries, yogurt, salmon, cabbage,walnuts and blueberries. Today we’ll cover another of the “healing foods” so that you will be able to move forward with your nutrition and weight loss program with confidence.

Today it’s all about Beans!! Yes, beans! All kinds of beans. Read on to see why beans are such an important part of the list of “healing foods”.

So often whenever you mention beans people get this funny look on their face and make comments like, “I only eat beans when I’m alone!” — or — “Sure, I’ve heard they’re good for you, but they aren’t something I’d ever eat in public — they give me too much gas!”

Folks, beans can do wonders in warding off colon cancer!

Beans are one of the most underrated nutritional powerhouses on the market today. They are a tremendous source of protein. They’re loaded with antioxidants — and here comes the part where they can help reduce colon cancer — they are full of fiber.

Yes, it is the fiber part that can give you gas. One of the reasons why we tend to have problems eating beans is that we don’t eat them as frequently as we should. We don’t eat them often enough to allow our bodies to adjust to them. We should be including a serving of beans with our meals at least two to four times a week. If we did that, the gas problem would cease to exist.

The reason for eating beans is simple — if you want to stay healthy, you have to keep your GI tract moving — and eating beans is an excellent way to do that.

Furthermore, in a study published in November 2005 in The Journal of the American Medical Association, a healthy diet rich in lean protein — about half from plant sources such as beans — was found to lower blood pressure and “bad” LDL cholesterol, and to cut the risk of heart disease by 21 percent.

Talk about bonuses — ward off colon cancer and cut the risk of heart disease just by eating a few beans with your meals — that’s like hitting the jackpot!

It doesn’t matter what bean or beans you choose — they’re all good. If you buy canned baked beans be careful of the amount of sugar in some of those — it’s best to make your own using fresh beans.

That will be it for today — I’ll be back tomorrow with some more about “healing foods” to help you with your nutrition and weight loss program.

As always, remember to follow a good-fat — good-carb diet. And do whatever you can, within your doctors recommendations, to keep up with the exercise part of your program. The benefits are priceless.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. Click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great day. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach Diet a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
_______________________________________________________________________________

Nutrition and Weight Loss

So far in this series of articles about “healing foods” we’ve covered whole grains, black or Bing cherries, yogurt, salmon, cabbage and walnuts. Today we’ll cover another of the “healing foods” so that you will be able to move forward with your nutrition and weight loss program with confidence.

Today it’s all about Blueberries!! Those juicy, succulent blueberries — I love these — and — the best part is they’re good for keeping your mind sharp. Not only are they delicious, but you can get smart at the same time. Is that a bonus, or what?

Not too long ago the researchers at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University analyzed 40 different fruits and vegetables looking for the disease-fighting factors, especially the antioxidant activity.

Out of the 40 fruits and vegetable, blueberries came out on top — they were the big winner. And, I do mean a BIG winner.

The study showed that if you were to eat one serving of nice, wild blueberries, you would receive the same benefit as if you had eaten two or three servings of other fruits and vegetables. That would include the other well-known disease-fighters like apples, broccoli, and even spinach.

Just within the past year there have been other studies published showing that eating plenty of blueberries may help to lessen the brain damage from strokes. Those same studies also state that blueberries may reduce the effects of Alzeimer’s disease or dementia.

Not only do blueberries show promise in helping us with keeping our brain sharp, the antioxidants in this delicious fruit can protect your cells from damage. The researchers are also finding that there are other components in blueberries that might restore damaged cells and make them more healthy.

I know that blueberries are a seasonal thing in some parts of the country. Whenever they are in season, don’t worry about what they cost, just be sure you eat them a couple of times each week — more if you’d like. They’re good on your cereal — mixed in with some yogurt — as part of a nice whole wheat pancake — and there are so may other tasty ways that your imagination might conjure up.

In the off season, you can always find dried blueberries, (they’re right there with the Craisins) and even the frozen ones aren’t too bad.

That will be it for today — I’ll be back tomorrow with some more about “healing foods” to help you with your nutrition and weight loss program.

As always, remember to follow a good-fat — good-carb diet. And do whatever you can, within your doctors recommendations, to keep up with the exercise part of your program. The benefits are priceless.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. Click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great day. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach Diet a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
_______________________________________________________________________________

Nutrition and Weight Loss

So far in this series of articles about “healing foods” we’ve covered whole grains, black or Bing cherries, yogurt, salmon and cabbage. Today we’ll cover another of the “healing foods” so that you will be able to move forward with your nutrition and weight loss program with confidence.

Today it’s all about Walnuts! Those fabulous walnuts — so good for the ticker, you know.
I can remember back when I had my pair of heart attacks — (they were both in the early 1980s) — all the advice from the nutritionists at that time was, “Ron, don’t eat any nuts — they’re full of fat and you don’t want to pick up any extra weight or plug up your arteries!”

Thankfully, especially since I really do like all kinds of nuts, the scientific gurus have learned a lot more about fats — they’ve learned that there are a wide variety of fats — some are good for you — some are not — and nuts have come back into favor. Yes!!

By the way, if you missed out on the articles I wrote about all the different fats, you can catch up by going here …

Please see http://wecould2.com/2006/03/page/2/ — there are several articles about good fats and bad fats on that same page.

The one nut that stands out among the rest is walnuts.

Why? Walnuts are unique among nuts because they’re full of omega-3 fatty acids. That’s the same omega-3 that is so prevalent in salmon that we talked about in our article a few days ago.

There is now a ton of scientific proof that omego-3 fatty acids can do wonders to reduce the risk of heart disease and hypertension. In one study a group of Japanese men and women who ate one-fourth to one-third cup of walnuts a day lowered their “bad” LDL cholesterol levels by up to 10 percent.

Walnuts have another good thing going for them — (and they have a couple of nut buddies for this benefit, almonds and pistachios), it’s that these nuts are high in arginine — which is an amino acid that increases blood flow to the heart. Nothing wrong with that, huh?

The bottom line is this — Eating walnuts and other nuts in moderation can be very good for your health and your nutrition and weight loss program.

I have a very busy weekend ahead of me so I may not get another article written before Monday. But, I will be back then with some more about “healing foods” to help you with your nutrition and weight loss program.

As always, remember to follow a good-fat — good-carb diet. And do whatever you can, within your doctors recommendations, to keep up with the exercise part of your program. The benefits are priceless.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. Click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great day. I’ll be back soon with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach Diet a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
_______________________________________________________________________________

Nutrition and Weight Loss

So far in this series of articles about “healing foods” we’ve covered whole grains, black or Bing cherries, yogurt and salmon. Today we’ll cover another of the “healing foods” so that you will be able to move forward with your nutrition and weight loss program with confidence.

Today it’s all about cabbage!

If you’ve been paying attention to the kinds of foods that can help to prevent cancer, then you’ve probably heard about all the wonderful cancer-fighting properties in such things as broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

Now, there’s another player in this — and this player may be in a class all by itself — cabbage!

A study presented at the November 2005 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research found that Polish women who ate cabbage and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) four or more times a week were 74 percent less likely to develop breast cancer.

That is great news — but this gets even better, folks.

There have been other recent studies that have found that cabbage may also protect against lung, stomach, and colon cancers.

It appears that cabbage has a wonderful super-ingredient called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is one of those phytochemicals that works by stimulating the cells that can eliminate cancerous substances.

This is great news — even though there may be a slight downside. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I would care to eat cabbage or sauerkraut four or five times a week. Phew! That would be a bit rough, don’t you think?

I wasn’t able to find anything in my research that said there was any difference between raw cabbage or cooked as far as these cancer-fighting attributes were concerned. So, you could have some cole slaw — or you could add some cabbage to soups or salads a couple of times a week and do wonders for your health.

That will be it for today — I’ll be back tomorrow with some more about “healing foods” to help you with your nutrition and weight loss program.

As always, remember to follow a good-fat — good-carb diet. And do whatever you can, within your doctors recommendations, to keep up with the exercise part of your program. The benefits are priceless.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. Click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great day. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach Diet a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
_______________________________________________________________________________

Nutrition and Weight Loss

The weekend turned out to be “one of those” weekends which kept me busy enough so that I didn’t get back here to write another article. The good news is that today’s article will be about one of my favorite nutrition and weight loss program foods —-

— Yes! It’s Salmon!

Good old salmon — aka the Bone Strengthener!

The list of “healing foods” could not be complete without including salmon. This fish has the great attribute of being loaded with those heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

(Please see http://wecould2.com/2006/03/page/2/ “The Wellness of YOU! – # 44″ for more about omega-3 fatty acids — there are several articles about good fats and bad fats on that same page.)

To continue — if you make salmon a regular part of your nutrition and weight loss program diet, you will be reducing your risk for high blood pressure — you will help to lower your cholesterol — and you will be helping to prevent heart disease. You should include salmon (or one of the other cold-water fish — see below) at least twice each week — and preferably three times a week.

Another great thing that has recently been discovered about salmon — researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have reported that a higher intake of omega-3s additionally appears to preserve bone density, keeping your bones stronger and protecting against falls and fractures.

Now that’s some good news!

I mentioned other cold water fish for those of you who aren’t that crazy about salmon (or maybe you’re just tired of it!) — try sardines, tuna and mackerel. These fish are also high in omega-3 fatty acids and will do the same good job of protecting you against heart attack, hypertension and stroke.

That will be it for today — I’ll be back tomorrow with some more about “healing foods” to help you with your nutrition and weight loss program.

As always, remember to follow a good-fat — good-carb diet. And do whatever you can, within your doctors recommendations, to keep up with the exercise part of your program. The benefits are priceless.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. Click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great day. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach Diet a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
_______________________________________________________________________________