Healthy Eating at the Office

Most Americans struggle with maintaining healthy eating habits while at work. From office cafeterias to vending machines to the irresistible pull of the fast-food crowd, it can be difficult to make the right food choices while on the job.




The Problem with Office Food

It’s a common practice for offices to provide free or low cost snacks and drinks for employees. Different offices have different cultures surrounding food provision. Some offices maintain a food and drink budget and task their office administrator with keeping the kitchen well-stocked. Others have vending machines and cafeterias available. The common factor that unites all these office food cultures is a desire to keep employees happy, rather than a desire to keep them healthy.

If your typical work week involves a large amount of soda, candy, potato chips, donuts, and cinnamon rolls, you are not alone. These treats might make the workday go by just a little bit faster and easier, but have you considered the effect that prolonged office snacking is having on your health and your waistline? By now, it isn’t news to anyone that a diet of soda and candy bars can have unpleasant consequences, so maybe it’s time we took a closer look at the alternatives to sugar-filled office food.

Getting Everyone on Board

One problem is that unhealthy snacks are easy and readily available, especially if the office provides them for free. Bringing healthy alternatives from home is one option; of course, but this doesn’t remove the temptation of the candy jar or bowl of chips. A better way to address the problem is to get the whole office involved. Chances are, coworkers will be sympathetic to the idea of improving the quality of what’s in the office kitchen. Office administrators could be resistant to change at first, but if everyone works together to come up with ideas for better snack choices, the change won’t require too much extra money or effort.

It’s Not About Counting Calories

Examining the quality of what you consume at work is about more than just counting calories. You might think that your office snacking habits aren’t a big problem because you usually skip breakfast or lunch, so a pack of hard candies here and there won’t make a difference. We have to remember that the quality of the calories we eat is every bit as important as how many calories we eat. If you skip breakfast and eat candy instead, you are likely to experience a brief period of energy fueled by refined sugar, followed by a hard afternoon crash, so you won’t be feeling your best. A diet high in refined sugars could have long term consequences, as well.

The Importance of a Good Breakfast

We aren’t always able to change our work environment in the ways that we want to. Some businesses have contracts with snack providers, so the unhealthy snacks in the vending machine are not up for debate. In these situations, it’s still possible to improve our office diets. Eating a good, well-rounded breakfast is an important first step. If we skip breakfast and arrive at work hungry, we are likely to give in to the temptations around us. With a good breakfast in our stomachs; however, those candy bars and sugary energy drinks won’t seem nearly as interesting.

Take Control of Your Day

Employees can work together on a small scale to improve their diets even if they can’t change office habits. If you and a few other people pool your money to stock up on granola bars, yogurt, or other healthy snack options, the trend could catch on. Even if it doesn’t, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you took control of your workday to improve your health and quality of life. And your waistline will thank you.

Read more at : http://www.buzzle.com/articles/healthy-eating-at-the-office.html

Are Pickles Healthy for You?

Are pickles good for you? Well, it all depends on the method used in making pickles. The following article elaborates on the traditional and modern pickling method and how they influence the nutritional content of the final product.




Did You Know?
Dill pickles are the most frequently consumed pickles in the United States. They are often served along with sandwiches, burgers, and other snacks.

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Pickles have long been the first choice when it comes to adding a dash of tangy spice to daily meals. They are a terrific flavor enhancer that can certainly make the dish more exciting. However, from a health standpoint, do these pickles have any nutritional value? Does the pickled taste provide more, other than making the meals tastier? The following Buzzle article discusses whether having pickles can be beneficial to your health.

Are Pickles Good for Health?

As aforementioned, it all depends on the pickling method of food preservation. The vegetable cucumber or fruits such as apples, peaches, and pears used in making pickles are no doubt nutritious but the process of pickling determines nutritional content of the final product. They are discussed below:

Natural Fermentation
The traditional method of fermentation used in making pickles is found to preserve the nutrition of the vegetable or the fruit used for pickling. This is because the traditional way of fermenting does not use any heat or canning. Only unrefined sea salt or pickling salt is used for fermenting and brining. This way of naturally fermenting pickles makes them a good source of beneficial bacteria that are known to improve digestion.

So having these pickles in small amounts is an easy way to increase beneficial bacteria in the gut. The good gut bacteria also help enhance immunity as well as play a key role in the synthesis of B and K vitamins. Moreover, heat-sensitive vitamins and minerals are also not lost when pickles are naturally fermented. This is one of the most important benefits of traditionally fermented pickles.

Modern Pickling Methods
The vinegar-based pasteurized pickles, the most common way of pickling, are heat-treated. Although this pickling process increases shelf life, it kills the rich enzymes, beneficial bacteria, as well as vitamins that are heat-labile. The heating process reduces the nutritional value of the final product. So these heat processed pickles have lesser nutrition than the traditional salt-based pickles.

Watch your Portion Size
No doubt traditionally fermented pickles are healthy and flavorful, but certainly, one should avoid excess consumption. The reason is simple; because of their high salt content. Extra addition of salt in pickles is necessary so as to preserve them for a longer duration. So having too much of pickles is like adding too much salt on a regular basis.

For instance, just a spear of dill pickle delivers a whopping 306 mg of sodium, which is 13% of daily dietary intake. So if you have a couple of spears on a daily basis, your sodium intake may well go beyond the prescribed limit (2,300 mg per day). This increased salt intake has been one of the primary factors in the development of high blood pressure (HBP). Too much sodium intake can also cause dehydration and increase the risk of kidney damage, heart attack, and stroke. Keeping these health risks in mind, it is essential that you have pickles in moderation.

Pickle Juice
Drinking pickle juice in small amounts may also provide a few health benefits. Due to its high sodium content, taking the juice may help relieve muscle cramps and hangover symptoms. Quite a few athletes take pickle juice and have reported that it provides much-needed relief from sports-related cramps. Consuming the juice of vinegar-based pickles may also contribute to alleviate heartburn symptoms.

Pickles During Pregnancy

It is commonly observed that women tend to develop a craving for pickles during pregnancy. Although pregnant women consuming these salt-based pickles is not a cause for concern, one has to be careful about the portion size so that excess sodium is not consumed during pregnancy.

On the whole, natural fermentation is the original pickling procedure and the pickles obtained in this manner have been an integral part of healthy meals for quite some time. So avoid pickle products on which vinegar is listed as an ingredient, as they are not a good source of beneficial bacteria.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/are-pickles-healthy-for-you.html

Health Foods - Eat Healthy, Stay Healthy

Foods are a source of energy and life. Eating is the most important event in everyone's life. The food which we eat gives us the energy and nutrition. We know much about eating but have a little knowledge on how the foods that we eat everyday affect our health.

Health foods industry is rising high. Though it is a bit expensive, it is better than the usual artificial diet one generally consumes. The detrimental eating patterns has become the major reason for obesity amongst the grown ups and teens as well. Consumption of the calories which are more than required results in weight gain. If this thing is not taken care of, one becomes obese in no time.

Happiness is not only achieved if you are wealthy, have a family got satisfying job or you have a great life. The happiness which is caused as a result of the healthy nutrition cannot be overlooked. The happiness attained by healthy nutrition is essential for a person and it can be made easier for them to achieve the other happiness also. As soon as the diet intake becomes nutritional and healthy, the body becomes active and operates at a higher level. The increased metabolism helps in losing weight and the immune system is also strengthened making the body healthy.