Nutrition

Can Your Diet Put You At Risk For Certain Diseases?

Can Your Diet Put You At Risk For Certain Diseases?

At Rising Fitness, we use a holistic approach to good health. The body requires exercise but also needs a healthy diet to reduce the risk of disease. A healthy diet contains many components, including macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytonutrients. Macronutrients include protein, fat, and carbohydrates, while micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Phytonutrients are substances found in plants that improve the functioning of the body.

Add fiber to your body to maintain a healthy microbiome.

The microbiome is the collection of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms in your body. You have more microbes than you have cells. The gut microbiome is particularly important. It helps digest food and makes nutrients bioavailable. The digestive tract is the largest organ of the immune system and it’s heavily dependent on the microbes living there. Digestion, metabolism, emotions, and inflammation are all affected. Your diet directly affects gut health. A high-sugar diet can kill friendly microbes and boost harmful ones. The soluble fiber in the diet feeds beneficial microbes. Spices, herbs, and a wide diversity of colorful fruits and vegetables can provide healthy micro diversity to improve health.

Your diet can increase your risk of diabetes.

A precursor of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance. The more highly processed carbs you consume, the more potential there is to develop it. Insulin is a messenger that tells the cells to open for glucose. When you eat simple carbs, it can spike your insulin levels due to the spike in blood sugar levels. Food high in fiber slows the process of increasing blood glucose levels. When that occurs frequently, cells don’t respond to insulin, leaving blood glucose high and causing more insulin to be released. Eventually, insulin resistance leads to diabetes which affects the whole body.

Obesity plays havoc with your body and an unhealthy diet can lead to it.

Obesity is a complex disease and can be caused by many factors, but dietary roles play a big role. If diet causes it, it’s not all about overeating, but more about eating the wrong foods. A diet high in highly processed food, sugar, fried food, and empty carbs can do more than pack on the pounds. It can increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, mental illness, and more.

  • A diet high in bad cholesterol, like highly processed meats, chips, and fries, can affect your cholesterol profile. High cholesterol can lead to blockage in arteries. Another factor for heart disease is high blood pressure, which diet can also cause.
  • An unhealthy diet may increase the risk of certain types of cancer. It’s estimated that 30% of all types of cancer are affected by a poor diet.
  • Eating food high in sodium and low in potassium increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Potatoes, legumes, seafood, leafy greens, dairy, tomatoes, bananas, and avocados are potassium rich.
  • An unhealthy diet filled with processed food, high in sugar, fast food, and simple carbs can affect your mental health, too. Switching to a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein can improve mental health.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


The Health Benefits Of Avocados

The Health Benefits Of Avocados

National Avocado Day will be here soon. The celebration on July 31 gives an opportunity to discover new ways to reap the health benefits of avocados. Most people in Houston, TX, immediately think of guacamole when they hear the word avocado, but there are hundreds of ways to include them in your meals. Mashed and spread on toast, they make a creamy, delicious alternative to butter or other spread. Avocados are a healthy addition to salads, tacos, and salsa, and even mixed with goat cheese for avocado cheese truffles. Here are some reasons to search for avocado recipes to celebrate this healthy treasure.

Avocados are a good source of nutrition.

Avocados are high in calories compared to other fruits. One medium avocado has 322 calories, 30 grams of fat, 4 grams of protein, and 17 grams of carbs. It also has 14 grams of carbohydrates. It contains about ΒΌ the DV (daily value) of vitamin E and potassium, 1/5 the DV of vitamins C, B3, and B2, 1/3 the DV of vitamins K and B6, almost half the DV of folate and copper, and over half the DV of vitamin B5. It also contains significant amounts of manganese and magnesium.

You’ll reduce the risk of heart disease by including avocados in your diet.

The high potassium in avocados helps regulate blood pressure and is necessary for nervous system functions. The US Department of Health and Human Services considers it a nutrient of public concern since most American diets don’t contain enough of it. Healthy fat, fiber, and other nutrients are all important for heart health. Consuming avocados improves the good, HDL, cholesterol and lowers the amount of bad, LDL, cholesterol.

Avocados may be high in fat and calories, but they could help you lose weight.

The high fat and fiber content, combined with the wealth of nutrients make avocados beneficial for weight loss. They fill you up and keep you feeling full longer. Studies show that people who have fiber in their diet tend to weigh less than those who don’t. Studies funded by the Hass Avocado Board indicate a diet containing avocados can help lose weight, maintain weight, and aid in losing belly fat.

  • Folate can help prevent birth defects. The high folate content makes it an excellent selection for women considering pregnancy and pregnant women. The high content of other nutrients adds to the benefit.
  • Avocados are high in anti-inflammatories. Chronic inflammation can also lead to heart disease and other serious conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, asthma, and arthritis.
  • The fiber avocados contain can aid your digestive system and improve your micro diversity which can benefit overall health. A healthy microbiome can also improve mental functioning and mood.
  • The lutein and zeaxanthin in avocados protect the eyes from UV rays. The high-fat content also helps boost beta-carotene absorption. High vitamin K content can improve bone health by aiding in calcium absorption.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


How To Balance Your Hormones Naturally

How To Balance Your Hormones Naturally

If your hormones are out of balance, it can affect your body in many ways. It all depends on the hormone in question. In many cases, you can rebalance your hormones naturally. For instance, leptin, the satiety hormone, and ghrelin the hunger hormone can get out of balance if you don’t get enough sleep, causing the body to produce too much ghrelin and too little leptin. The solution is relatively easy. Get adequate sleep to reset these hormones.

Hormones are messengers.

People often think of sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone when they hear the word hormones, but there are so many more. Insulin, for instance, is a hormone. It tells the cells to open and uptake glucose. Too much sugar in your diet and too little exercise can cause insulin resistance. If you have insulin resistance, the cells don’t respond to insulin, so the glucose levels are high and the body produces more insulin. The excess insulin can cause weight to accumulate, especially around your midsection. A simple solution is a healthy diet and regular exercise.

If your sex hormones are out of balance, healthy eating helps.

Hormonal changes during menopause can affect the balance of hormones. Cutting out food with added sugar can help. Eating healthier can aid in solving the problem. Your body needs healthy fat to create hormones and maintain how they function, so including foods like avocado, eggs, and nuts are good options. High-quality protein like salmon is also necessary. Wild salmon is high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, the building blocks of hormones. Improving adrenal functioning helps balance sex hormones. Eating food like kale, bell peppers, pumpkin seed, and almonds helps.

Exercising can solve a lot of hormonal issues.

Cortisol, the stress hormone, can create a lot of problems. It can cause weight gain on the belly. You’ll burn off the hormones of stress when you work out. Estrogen dominance is a problem faced by many menopausal women. The symptoms include hot flashes, weight gain, and insomnia. Exercise helps rebalance estrogen. It also increases testosterone, which helps build muscle tissue, increases the human growth hormone—also known as the fountain of youth of hormones, and can improve the production of melatonin.

  • Adding green tea and more fiber to your diet and drinking it three times a day can help rebalance hormones. It helps improve the microbiome. Specific bacteria are necessary for the body to overproduce estrogen.
  • If weight gain is a problem, a vegetarian diet and abstinence from alcoholic beverages can help. Avoid sugar, too much caffeine, and soft drinks, both regular and no-calorie. Artificially sweetened drinks stimulate the production of the hunger hormone.
  • Probiotic foods help improve the gut microbiome. Don’t forget prebiotic foods that feed the beneficial microbes in the gut. Include food like sauerkraut, yogurt, and kefir for probiotics and apples, whole grain bread, and asparagus for prebiotics.
  • Find ways to deal with stress. Learn breathing techniques, meditation, or find ways to eliminate the stress. Stress can cause hormonal imbalance. Consult your healthcare professional if the problem continues.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


What Is The Wellness Diet?

What Is The Wellness Diet?

When I researched the wellness diet after one of our members at Rising Fitness Gym in Houston, TX, asked about it, I was amazed. I quickly scanned the internet, thinking there would be an answer, but only found two articles specifically naming it and they were against any attempt to limit people’s diets, saying it created a negative vibe around food. Eating healthy or a diet focusing on wellness isn’t a specific diet, nor does it limit your choice of food. Instead, it focuses on making smarter choices when selecting food.

A healthy diet makes sense.

Nobody is trying to force people to eat certain foods when they recommend a healthy diet. It simply makes sense. Some foods contain more nutrients, so you get more for every bite. Other foods negatively affect the body, so every time you eat them, you’re subtracting benefits. Eating healthy involves consuming more food with benefits, like fresh fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein, and healthy fat, while avoiding those that have no benefits and may harm the body.

Sugar isn’t evil, but too much can cause inflammation.

Sugar is addictive. That sweet taste triggers opioid receptors in the brain and gives the body a dose of dopamine that makes you feel good. Products with added sugar and no redeeming qualities, like beneficial phytonutrients, vitamins, or minerals, cause inflammation. Chronic inflammation is linked to asthma, Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. The more added sugar you eat, the less you can taste the sweetness. If you give up food with added sugar, everything will taste sweeter. Think of a healthy diet as an opportunity to enjoy the true taste of food more.

A wellness diet is created around your needs and food preferences.

There are an overwhelming number of healthy diets on the internet. One may be slightly better than another, but they all normally provide good nutrition. There are several problems with strict dieting. One of which is personal taste. No matter how fresh avocados may be, if you don’t like them, you won’t eat them. You may, however, eat guacamole, so include it in your diet instead. That’s personalizing the diet. If you can’t drink milk, get calcium from leafy greens. Eating a wide variety of whole food can ensure you create your wellness diet.

  • Foods with no benefits have empty calories. It’s why they’re often called “junk food.” If you eat food from the “junk food” group occasionally, it’s not a problem. Just don’t make it your complete diet.
  • A big change that can make a huge difference in your health is switching your soft drink to water or infused water. It cuts out the extra sugar, has zero calories, and if you choose infused water, is delicious.
  • Change the way you cook food for a real boost in health benefits. If you eat deep-fried food frequently, simply changing it to roasted, broiled, boiled, or grilled makes a difference.
  • A healthy diet is a diet filled with healthy foods. It includes a variety of food with a rainbow of colors on the plate. It’s not a strict diet, but one geared to your needs, personal taste, and budgetary restrictions.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


The Best Foods To Fight Inflammation

The Best Foods To Fight Inflammation

There are two types of inflammation. One is acute, which responds to injury and helps protect the body. The other is chronic. It’s low-level inflammation that can damage the body. Foods like sugar can cause chronic inflammation, while other food can fight inflammation. An autoimmune disorder, poor diet, lingering bacteria or viral infection, and stress can create chronic inflammation that can cause heart disease, lead to digestive issues, like Crohn’s, or damage blood vessels or joints.

Foods that fight inflammation should be on your grocery list.

Stop at the produce section and you’ll find many foods that reduce chronic inflammation. Leafy greens, such as kale, spinach, collards, tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, and oranges are at the top of the list. Nuts like almonds and walnuts are also inflammation fighters. In other departments, you’ll find olive oil and fatty fish like salmon or tuna that help reduce inflammation.

Some spices reduce inflammation.

Turmeric is one of the best-known inflammation fighters, especially since it was thought to help with Alzheimer’s that’s linked to inflammation, Ginger is another spice that aids inflammation. Ginger is known for its anti-inflammatory properties from shogaols and gingerols in ginger and is helpful for soothing stomachs and relieving the pain of arthritis. The capsaicin in cayenne pepper also has anti-inflammatory properties. Cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, and sage also aid in inflammation reduction.

Avoiding foods that cause inflammation can also reduce it.

Sometimes reducing inflammation comes not from what you eat, but from what you don’t eat. Cut out food with added sugar, which includes soft drinks and other sweet drinks. Sugar is in many foods you might not expect, like salad dressing, bread, and ketchup. Trans fats also cause inflammation. Some foods still have trans fats, like baked goods, crackers, and frozen pizza. Processed meat and red meat cause inflammation, just as food high in omega-6 fatty acids, like corn oil, peanut oil, and mayonnaise. Refined carbs, those using primarily white flour, can also cause inflammation.

  • Food with artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup is even worse than those with sugar. They also cause inflammation, while doing even more to change the gut microbiome.
  • Pineapples and other food with bromelain can aid with digestion and help reduce inflammation in other areas of the body. Studies show it has a positive effect on people with arthritis.
  • Colorful fruits and vegetables are anti-inflammatory. The phytochemicals in the plant provide the benefit, like anthocyanin that makes blueberries blue.
  • Switch your drink of choice to tea. All types of tea, oolong, or green, provide anti-inflammatory properties. Herbal teas can also benefit the body. Ginger tea, chamomile tea, turmeric tea, and peppermint tea are a few choices.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Is Sugar Ruining Your Health?

Is Sugar Ruining Your Health?

Whether the health issue is diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, consuming excess sugar probably played a role, if not the main role. Humans have always loved food with a sweet taste. Babies immediately love the sweet taste of baby food dessert far more than they like green beans. Some believe it is part of our instincts to like sweet things, dating back to the day when wild food that was sweet was normally safe to eat. Today, sugar is in almost all food, just read the labels. It’s in ketchup, commercial soup, and even canned fruit and it’s ruining your health.

Manufacturers try to trick you with advertising.

You’ve heard the ads for some types of sugar, like high fructose corn syrup. They say it’s natural, so it must be good for you. Tobacco is natural, too and it’s not healthy. The truth is that there’s nothing natural about high fructose corn syrup and nothing healthy about most sugar. The sugar in fruit doesn’t affect your body as much as when you eat the entire fruit, since the fiber in the fruit slows the rush of glucose into the blood.

Sugar assaults the immune system.

The immune system protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and even cancer cells. One of the more important nutrients for immune health is vitamin C. Vitamin C’s structure is similar to glucose. The white blood cells that latch on to vitamin C use it to help fight invaders. When you have too much glucose in your blood, it grabs the glucose, which leaves them powerless. Any food, even some healthy food, like orange juice, can have the same effect, but only if you drink the juice instead of eating the orange. The fiber in the orange slows the amount of glucose entering the bloodstream.

Sugar speeds aging and increase AGEs—advanced glycation end products—in your body.

When protein and fat combine with sugar, it creates AGEs. They accumulate in the body and can build to high levels, increasing the risk for diseases and ironically, speeding up the aging process. AGEs attack collagen and elastin, which are necessary for young looking skin, making you look older than you are. High levels are not only associated with chronic diseases like heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and aging. AGEs cause oxidative stress, inflammation, and damage the body’s cells.

  • Sugar is highly addictive, which makes it harder to quit. It enters dopamine receptors in the brain just like opiates, to make you feel good. The more sugar you eat, the more you need to get the same sweet taste.
  • Sugar can lead to heart disease. The American Heart Association suggests men limit sugar intake to 9 teaspoons a day and women limit theirs to 6 teaspoons. The average can of soda contains 9 teaspoons.
  • Poor eyesight, varicose veins, gallstones, and arthritis are increased when you consume too much sugar. It is a far bigger enemy of health than fat, except trans fats.
  • Sugar negatively affects your brain and affects your ability to learn and remember. It can be linked to dementia and memory problems that can occur with aging.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym