Sugar is without question one of the most dangerous substances on the food market today. The health dangers which ingesting sugar on a habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis.

Nature has given us plenty of choices – sweetening alternatives to sugar. Here is a list of natural alternatives to sugar substitutes:

1. Stevia – Stevia with FOS is a very sweet herb from South America that’s available in powder and liquid form. FOS stands for fruit ogiliosaccharides, which are beneficial for and support healthy intestinal bacteria. Stevia has shown promise in medical research for treating conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure. It has negligible effect on blood glucose, which makes it attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets. It contains zero calories.

2. Brown rice malt syrup consists of maltose, glucose, and complex carbohydrates. It is an amber hued syrup resembling honey, but it is not as sweet as honey. It can be substituted cup per cup for granulated sugar, but the liquid ingredients should be reduced by 1/4 cup per cup of rice syrup. Enzyme treated syrup, as opposed to malted syrup, will tend to liquefy the batter of a baked product. Use the malted syrup for best results.

3. Frozen fruit juice, fruit concentrate, and canned fruit juice. Concentrated juices should be diluted with three parts water and must be pure juice. Use them quickly after thawing. Frozen concentrated juices are denser than regular fruit juices and should be let stand for 12 hours. Canned juice can be used as a sweeter for fruit and can be several fruits combined together. Just make sure that there isn’t any sugar added.

4. Honey. Can be used as a natural alternative for sugar in most recipes but as it is sweeter than sugar. Almost one fifth of honey is water; the liquid content of a recipe should be reduced by the same amount. Honey also adds a subtle flavor to many savoury dishes such as meat casseroles, sauces and dressings. Honey strengthens the heart, is a natural and gentle laxative, is a blood purifier, prevents cold, cough and fever. Honey not produces acidity or flatulence.

5. Sweet Spices. Adding certain spices to a recipe can sweeten it without calories or sugar. Adding spices such as: allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, mace, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, catsup spice, and mixed pickling spice. She says that mint and vanilla flavoring also will sweeten food. Read more

There are many healthy foods that never see the inside of a shopping cart or in your fridge. Some you’ve never heard of, and others you’ve simply forgotten about. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best of the bunch. Make a place for them on your kitchen and you’ll instantly upgrade your health with no a prescription.

1. Cabbage - Cabbage is a vegetable few people really appreciate, but it’s truly a dieter’s friend. It’s strong-flavored, but it’s this feature that makes it enjoyable in certain dishes.
This leafy vegetable ranks right up there with broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts with a reputation for fighting cancer. It’s also a good source of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and other nutrients. Cabbage also offers a major payoff — the fewest calories and least fat of any vegetable. This powerful veggie is a must for dieters trying to lose weight. From green cabbage you’ll enjoy a fiber boost and a respectable amount of vitamin C. Two types of cabbage, savoy and bok choy, provide beta-carotene — an antioxidant that battles cancer and heart disease. For those who don’t eat dairy products, bok choy is an important source of calcium, which may help prevent osteoporosis and aid in controlling blood pressure.

2. Blueberrys - are the best fruit because they contain the most antioxidants, significantly less pesticides are used in their cultivation, and they are the least perishable of all berries. They are high in vitamins A, C, and E, and contain significant amounts of potassium, manganese and magnesium. Recent studies have shown that eating blueberries may improve memory, intelligence, and coordination.
Consuming blueberries au naturel is a good idea, since heat diminishes the benefits of the phytonutrients they contain. (Health experts agree that eating cooked berries, fresh or frozen, still provides significant benefits.)

3. Spinach. There are many reasons to enjoy the dark green leafy vegetable known as spinach. For many years spinach has been touted as a health food, and this superfood certainly lives up to its reputation. Spinach is a rich source of many important vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, iron, calcium and beta-carotene.
Spinach is also a rich source of dietary fiber, thought to play an important role in protecting the body from many forms of cancer. As a matter of fact, the compounds contained in spinach are being studied for their possible role in preventing many forms of cancer, including such major killers as lung cancer. One reason may be the high concentration of vitamin K found in spinach. Vitamin K has long been associated with cancer prevention, and spinach is one of the very best sources of this vital nutrient. Read more

There are a many reasons to drink lots of water every day. Water takes part in every function in our body. It is the transporter of nutrients necessary for body functions. It works in digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion. Water maintains our normal body temperature. Water improves the look of our hair, skin, eyes and muscle tone. We must replace the water that we lose through daily sweating and elimination.

Health Benefits of Drinking Water:

- Weight loss. Drinking water can help you lose weight by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst. Water keep your body systems, including metabolism and digestion, working properly and give you the energy (and hydration) necessary for exercise. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar.

- Drinking Water is Heart-Healthy - Drinking more water could lower your risks of a heart attack. Researchers studied more than 20,000 men and women and discover that people who drink more than five glasses of water a day were less likely to die from a heart attack or heart disease than those who drank fewer than two glasses a day.

- Digestive system benefits. Water helps remove toxins from the body, in particular from the digestive tract. The digestion of solid foods depends on the presence of copious amounts of water. Acids and enzymes in the stomach break the food down into a homogenized fluid state which can pass into the intestine for the next phase of digestion. Gastritis, duodenitis, pain from ulcers (as long as the ulcer is not perforated), heartburn all decrease with increased water intake.

- External benefits of drinking water. Water not only affects you internally but it has many external benefits. It can be a major contributor to a healthy, fit body. It adds natural moisture to your skin, giving a fresh glow today and helping the aging process tomorrow.
Keeping properly hydrated during exercise allows you to have a better, more productive workout. When your workouts are better, you feel and look better too. Read more

An aphrodisiac food is one that is believed to stimulate the sex drive and improve sexual performance. Aphrodisiac foods have been used as far back as the Greeks and the Romans to increase sexual powers.
An aphrodisiac food can be suggestive, rather than cause a physical sexual reaction. In fact, many believe that some aphrodisiac foods increase and stimulate sexual desire and performance by the suggestive nature of the food and the ritual surrounding the food presentation.
In using food aphrodisiac the effect is not usually instant (rapid effect may be cause by smell or certain chemicals), so in order to obtain the benefit of it is aphrodisiac it is better to include them in daily diet.

Here are a 10 foods that have been considered aphrodisiacs at one time or another:

1. Chocolate. For an simple pleaser, try a rich chocolate dessert to inspire your lust. Whether it is the serotonin in chocolate that gets you going or merely the sensual pleasure of eating it, chocolate has been celebrated throughout the ages as a sexual stimulant. The Aztecs considered it the food of the gods; tribal leaders consumed it in mass quantities to keep them going with hundreds of sex partners.

2. Chili peppers: “Capsaicin,” a chemical that stimulates our nerve endings and raises our pulse, is responsible for the “heat” in chili peppers. This aphrodisiac food is also thought to release endorphins, which give our bodies a natural high. Some researchers believe that is the case with all “hot” foods. Garlic is another example of these aphrodisiac foods.

3.Red wine. Red wine is one of the most potent sources of the antioxidant known as resveratrol. According to researchers from Northwestern University, this powerful antioxidant actually increases estrogen production, leading to a heightened sexual appetite. That means she may just want to skip right to you for dessert. Be careful: Too much wine, too fast, can lead to drowsiness, and the dreaded, “Not tonight, I’m too tired,” line. Read more

Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. The metabolic rate is influenced by numerous factors, including age, gender, muscle-to-fat ratio, amount of physical activity and hormone function. . A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning just 2000 calories will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.
You can do quite a lot to speed up your metabolism – the secret of burning calories lies in knowing what determines your metabolic rate and what you can do to influence it.

You can boost your rate of burning calories using some, or all, of the following tactics:

Exercise and Build Muscle Mass.  Increase the rate of burning of calories by taking on additional physical activities like aerobic exercises, walking, swimming, cycling or running. You should combine this activity schedule with some muscle strengthening exercises.  During moderately vigorous physical activity, you elevate your metabolic rate by a factor of 10 or more, expending hundreds of extra calories.
The more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you use per minute.

Increase Movement in Daily Lifestyle. The more you move, the more you burn. You can actually make a significant addition to the number of calories you burn each day by relatively minor changes in lifestyle. This can be as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator; park a distance from the mall or office; window-shop with your best friend rather than sit over coffee; walk the dog instead of just let him out; do a little gardening or clean house while you talk on the phone.
Make friends with people who are equally interested in physical activity. Having a friend while doing physical activities can keep you motivated. Read more

” You Feel What You Eat “

Food can change your mood because emotions are just chemical reactions and so whatever can affect these reactions can affect your mood. Food can boost your brain chemistry and so affect your emotions in turn, knowing what food regulates your mood could help you in living a happier and better life.

Start your day with these foods to boost your mood:

1. Milk is rich in calcium and the amino acid tryptophan. Beyond its bone-building properties, calcium is known to calm nerves when feeling stressed or anxious. Tryptophan is important for producing serotonin, which elevates mood.

2. Chocolate. Research has shown cocoa beans to be rich in a variety of mood-lifting ingredients. These chemicals are most concentrated in dark chocolate, which is why it is recommended over the milk or white varieties.
Dark chocolate is high in polyphenols, which are shown to improve cognitive function, said Pratt. Chocolate also contains phenylethylamines, a neurotransmitter that, in low levels, is associated with depression and in high levels can be associated with schizophrenia. Phenylethylamines work by releasing endorphins in the brain and promote feelings of attraction and giddiness.

3. Alcohol. While wine, beer, or hard liquor may initially raise spirits, alcohol is actually a depressant.
A small quantity of alcohol can have calming, sedative effects. However, while a glass of red wine with dinner may have a soothing effect after a hard day at work, downing martinis or scotch will do the opposite.
Alcohol will help you go to sleep, but you will wake up rapidly when the alcohol is converted to sugar in the body. Sleep disruption can contribute to feeling tired, anxious, and depressed.

4. Spinach is a potent green. Part of the family that includes kale and chard, spinach is a rich source of several minerals that are good for anxiety and depression. Spinach contains magnesium, a mineral with relaxing and calming effects. Green leafy vegetables are also high in folic acid, low levels of which have been linked to depression in several studies. Read more