To Your Health with Fiber

One health tip that I wanted to share with you surrounds the importance of adding fiber to your daily routine. Not only does it help keep your digestive track healthy, it also helps you feel full, which may help over the holiday season!!! Lol!!! 🤣🤣 Of course, I like to think that I will eat foods that have enough fiber in them to keep me healthy, but the sad fact is that many of us don’t get enough fiber from the foods we eat!!!

Now fiber comes in two forms which are soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is a type of fiber that dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels.  Insoluble fiber is a type of fiber that promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and helps prevent constipation.  It does not dissolve in water.

Now both types of fiber are important and the health benefits may include:

1. Lowering blood cholesterol.

2. Lowering blood glucose levels or maintaining healthy blood glucose levels.

3. Aiding with weight loss.

4. Aiding the body in getting the toxins out of your system.

5. Maintaining a healthy digestive track.

6. Reducing risk of heart disease.

7. Maintaining healthy skin.

8. Increase in energy.

On average, a male needs to have approximately 35 grams of fiber a day and women need approximately 25 grams of fiber a day depending on you age. Check with your primary care physician on the amount of fiber you need in your diet.

Here’s to your health!!! 🙂

High Fiber Foods

Amazing Benefits of Avocados

Now I love avocados!! 🥑 Not only are they nutritious, taste amazing and are wonderful with salads, chicken or by themselves!! Now I always knew how healthy avocados are but I wanted to share with you some of the health benefits that come with this delicious vegetable. 

1. Aids with cardiovascular health.

2. Helps lower LDL cholesterol.

3. Aids in decreasing high blood triglyceride levels.

4. Promotes healthy blood pressure.

5. Promotes healthy blood sugar.

6. Aids in cancer prevention.

7. Healthy for pregnant women.

8. Good for your eyes as avocados contain Lutein.

9. Helps with anti-aging.

10. Aids with digestion. 

11. Is an immune booster.

12. Is a great source of fiber. 

Avocados also have 35% more potassium than bananas. 

So, make sure you pick up a few Avocados on your next trip to the farmer’s market!!!! 

Health Benefits of Edamame

One legume that we love to eat is Edamame!!! We make it as a snack, as a side dish for dinner or add it to our salads.  It’s easy and simple to make.

Just a half  a cup gives you a wonderful amount of fiber, protein, added vitamins and minerals to your diet and is:

120 calories

9 grams of fiber

2.5 grams of fat

11 grams of protein

13 grams of carbohydrates

10% of the daily value of Iron

8% of the daily value of Vitamin A

4% of the daily value of Calcium

The thing about edamame that I didn’t know about is all of the health benefits of this tasty vegetable.  I was amazed and wanted to share it with all of you.

Health Benefits of Edamame

1. Helps lower hypertension.
2. Helps decrease cholesterol.
3. Helps with weight loss.
4. Prevents osteoporosis.
5. Protects against cancer.
6. Helps maintain healthy skin.

So the next time you are pondering what to have as a little snack during the day, I would recommend making  yourself some edamame!!!

Here’s to achieving complete wellness!! 🙂

Stepping Stones of Your Life

So, how do you get to Point A to Point B?  Is it easier to take the elevator up or is it better to take the steps?  Every day we are presented with options or choices and it is those little decisions that we make on a daily basis that impact our  lives.  The basic question today centers around, what steps are you taking to reach whatever goal it is that you want to achieve?

Now, all of us have goals and some of them are short-term ones or long-term ones.  The problem with goal setting is that having a goal is great….but writing down the steps that you need to do on a daily basis is sometimes the challenge.  When we are juggling so many things in a day, it can be hard to focus on something that you really want for your life. I have written in previous posts about the importance of mapping out your week in order to manage your time better and incorporate the things that you want to achieve into your weekly schedule.  Now, here are a few tips to help you not only set your goal but ways to work on it on a daily basis.

As an example, let’s say that your goal is weight loss.

1. First, carve out 5-10 minutes each day to focus on your goal.  Dedicating the time to reflect on the day and map out the steps that you are going to take that day is important.  Pull out your calendar too in case you want down things on it about the day ahead.
2. The next thing to do is break that long-term goal down and be more specific.  Instead of saying that you want to lose weight, let’s say that the long-term goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next 3 months.
3. Then write down what steps you are going to do on a daily basis to achieve your goal.  Be sure to write them down!! Some steps may include: drinking 64 ounces of water every day, journal what you eat at every meal, plan your meals in advance, measure what you eat in order to maintain appropriate portion control, eat more vegetables, incorporate more fiber into your diet, take a multivitamin with a high absorption rate and so on.  You may want to put these steps into a daily check list so you can actually see how you are doing each day.
4. Then write down anything else that you want to do that day to help you work on your goal.  If you have 30 – 60 minutes to walk or exercise that day, write it down.
5. At the end of each day, review your list for the day and see how you did.
6. Do these steps consistently for one month and watch how much you have achieved your goal.

The biggest thing about goal setting is writing down your steps and sticking with them.  I know that life can be hectic but if you write down mini-goals for yourself to help your achieve the larger goal, you will see positive results.

So, here is to the first step to achieving complete wellness!!

Fiber Anyone?

Here is a little tip that I feel many people overlook.  Fiber is an important part of everyone’s diet and needs to be incorporated into your daily eating regimen.  Of course, you may be at home thinking, ” why on earth do I need to have fiber everyday??” Well, I am glad you asked!!!!!

Fiber comes in two forms which are soluble insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is a type of fiber that dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels.  Insoluble fiber is a type of fiber that promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and helps prevent constipation.  It does not dissolve in water.

Now both types of fiber are important and the health benefits may include:

1. Lowering blood cholesterol.
2. Lowering blood glucose levels or maintaining healthy blood glucose levels.
3. Aiding with weight loss.
4. Aiding the body in getting the toxins out of your system.
5. Maintaining a healthy digestive track.
6. Reducing risk of heart disease.
7. Maintaining healthy skin.
8. Increase in energy.

On average, a male needs to have approximately 35 grams of fiber a day and women need approximately 25 grams of fiber a day depending on you age. Check with your primary care physician on the amount of fiber you need in your diet.

The next question that many ask is where do I get all this fiber? Well, part of it is incorporating into your your diet and below is a list of veggies, fruits, grains, nuts and beans that have fiber in them.

In addition to eating healthy (for the most part…lol), I also take an amazing fiber drink that really works well.  Now I hope that you found this little bit of information about fiber helpful. Like I mentioned, it is something everyone needs to incorporate into their daily diet if you want to have a healthy digestive track and have good health.  🙂