Foods To Eat For a Healthy Kidney And Liver

The kidneys and liver are important organs of the body. They act as filters for vital minerals required by the overall health and body system. These organs also eliminate toxins to ensure that the body are free from harmful radicals.

To help us keep our liver and kidneys healthy, it is important to take have a healthy diet. Here are foods to eat to help the kidneys and liver remain healthy even as we age:

• Fruits high in antioxidants and fibre such as apples, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.

• Eat food rich in omega-fatty acid which have anti-inflammatory properties and a good source of healthy fats like salmon and egg whites.

• Use olive oil instead of other oil when cooking your food. Olive oil is high in omega-3 fatty acid which is good cholesterol.

• Include vegetables such as bell peppers, cabbage, garlic and onions in your staple as they are great renal foods.

The Natural Energy Boosters

I sometime hope I am like that rabbit in the Duracell battery commercial where it keeps going and going and going. Just like any other mortals out there, I also conk out and when it happens, there is not much I can do but rest and take a nap.

There are actually natural foods out there that can help us energize. Some of these foods like apples, sesame seeds, avocado, lean meats from chicken and turkey, fish, tofu, eggs and plenty of water to hydrate yourself.

Studies show that food sources of quercetin (a plant-based phytochemical linked to athletic endurance) can boost your energy levels.

Foods rich in magnesium can turn the food that you eat as natural energy boosters that the body can utilize.

Also, complex carbs can be eaten as they are slowly digested and can prolong your energy level. Complex carbs are foods rich in fiber like beans, brown rice, whole-grain breads, brussels sprouts and other leafy vegetables.

So, the next time you feel weary and need a perk-me-up food, grab some fruits and snack on fresh vegetables for a quick energy boost.

My Lab Results

I got my lab results last night and went to see my doctor again for a reading. My cholesterol is high but my blood sugar is normal. However, I can't believe my uric level is so high. It's not even just above the meridian. It's high!

So, that could be the reason why my ankles ache in the morning before I get up. Although, my ankles don't swell, I do feel pain there and on my knees. I thought, the pain was brought about by the 2.7 km walk I did so I didn't give much thought.

Well, I may go vegan for a while. I have no idea how it will go and how my taste buds will receive the new idea and food group. I don't have a problem taking red meat and some seafood out of my eating equation but  not eat my favorite wheat breads and oatmeal cookies? That's just plain torture!

I am barely on my 40s and yet I have these conditions normally felt by middle-aged people. The doctor advised me to really lose weight and strict diet on low purines because purines found on most food I love to eat are one of the culprits of my rising uric acid. 

I just wonder why I was predisposition to have these kinds of conditions. I don't smoke. I don't drink. I get my 8 hours of sleep. I eat healthy foods and not much of a meat eater. I exercise and I try my best to think of positive thoughts. And yet, I still have these conditions which can affect my heart if I don't do something about them. I am really bummed right now.

Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk. I just have to follow my doctor's advise to the letter. I may experience some withdrawal symptoms while I wean away from breads and other delicious food I love to eat. Let this be a warning... Grumpy alert!

Health Nut - Healthy Snacks

I love eating snack. Sometimes, I even eat the wrong ones like chips and cakes. However, most of the time, I try my best to stick with healthy and filling snacks.

If you are like me who loves to snack but would like to stick with the healthy variety, try to choose snacks that will work wonders for your health. Examples of healthy snacks are:

baby carrots or carrot sticks
cucumber slices
Digestive crackers/biscuits
almonds, sunflower seeds, cashew (unsalted)
cut apples with skin, banana, pineapple cubes, melon
steamed veggies like broccoli and cauliflower
pita crackers
unsalted popcorn and pretzels

Health Nut - Be Kind To Your Knees

As we age, our bones and muscles degenerate. It is very vital for us to eat healthy and keep fit to maintain proper well-being.

One part of our body which we need to keep healthy and well lubricated is our knees. We should eat green salads as part of our daily meal. Green vegetables like cabbage, spinach and swiss chard contains Vitamin K which is good for our joints. It also helps reduce the risk of joint damage.

It is good to have your Vitamin K fresh by having these green vegetables as part of your staple rather than taking supplements.

So, the next time you visit the grocery, head on to the fresh produce and do your joints and knees some good, loving favor.

Healthy Eating this 2011

Okay! I am super guilty for being a slacker. I was already on track and bam! I got derailed. Blame it on low "will-power" and short attention span. Yup! I have been through a rough patch this 2010. So I don't know what 2011 brings but one thing for sure - being healthy is still one of my top priorities.

I cannot stress enough the value of eating healthy food. I am not a big muncher of junk food but neither a saint. Ok, I gorge every once in a while and that is about it. I told myself (not as part of a new year's resolution which I habitually break) that I would make myself more healthy by eating properly and exercising.

So, fresh veggies and fruits are the top of my list when I go to the market. I am done with binge eating during the holidays. It was so difficult to say no to "home-cooked" meals I dearly missed.  Now it's time to be serious because it's hard to get sick and pay for medical bills. Besides, it is frowned upon where I work to be sick. 

I have already made a list of food to buy this weekend and hopefully I stay on track. Here are my food list (for the most part) of 2011.

1. Fresh fruits

2. Fresh vegetables, mostly green because I love eating salad. 

3. More oatmeal during breakfast (without milk and just a teaspoon of sugar)

4. Green tea instead of soda fizz

5. Water, water, water

6. Turkey breast

7. Chicken breast

8. Salmon or other fish high in omega 3 (but not much on the deep sea kind because I cannot stand the taste of salty fish)

9. Brown rice (once in a while)

10. Low fat yogurt (why does Pink Berry always come to mind?!?)

11. Low fat milk (great for bones and teeth especially when you're pushing 40!)

12. More tofu

Have you noticed the absence of red meat on my list? Well, I am not much of a meat eater so I was thinking of skipping the red meat all together. It's not something I am going to miss, really.

So, want to join my food wagon of healthy stuff?  It may look very boring to some who are used to eating savory food. I love eating bland stuff so it is easy for me to adapt to varying food tastes be it bland or not.

Make your list and stick to it. Let's all be healthy this 2011!

Health Nut - On Diets

I have tried most diets known to mankind. I once did Atkins, South Beach Diet, vegetarian, After 6 and low fat diet. They worked at some point but the maintenance was rigid and difficult to follow.

I stopped following fad diets ever since. The best diets that work are those low in salt, not fatty, balanced between vegetables and fruits and some protein.

It is best to check the food pyramid so you know exactly how much meat and poultry products you can take and same with the vegetables, fruits and dairy.

Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea

I am not an avid legume lover but I do consume them every chance I get because I don't like the taste of green peas and some legumes except for peanuts. In fairness to that small legume, it does have very great benefits when taken. It's also bursting with nutrients your body needs.

Green peas are excellent source of nutrients and vitamins such as Vitamins A, B1 and B6, C, and K. It is also rich in protein, zinc, iron, potassium, phosphorus, niacin and magnesium. So, while I figure a way to eat it with gusto, why find ways to serve it together with your meals to add more valuable nutrients to your daily intake.

(photo source: fotosearch.com)

Has God Been Giving Us A Clue?

I have never paid much attention on what I eat (that's the reason for my pudginess...hihihihi!) as long as it's not greasy, not bitter nor gooey and certainly not gross. A good friend sent me this mail few days back and I was mesmerized by the analogy of the writer who presented the common veggies and fruits we eat as clues from God. How, you might ask? Read along...

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

The tomato has four chambers and is read. The heart is read and has four chambers. All of the research shows that tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of S perm a S well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges , and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

(source: forwarded mail)