Hello everyone, me and I my friends have compiled some research, that can help you become healthy. The last part about healthy food stores is focused around the area we live in (Ostrava, Czech Republic) however, the rest should be universal. I hope you find this helpful.
What does it mean to be healthy?
Being healthy means:
Eating regularly
Stabilises sugar levels in body
Prevents you from overeating, which might occur easily if you go for a long time without eating
Eating regular and healthy meals decreases the overall cholesterol level and reduces the body’s resistance to insulin, and helps prevent heart diseases
A balanced calorie intake helps you avoid becoming overweight
Eating plenty of vitamins-
Vitamin A - helps with vision, lowers prostate and lung cancer risk, helps tissues and skin stay healthy
Vitamin B2 - aids conversion of food to energy, required for hair, skin, brain.
Vitamin C - “might lower risks of some cancer”, help create collagen which helps you heal wounds faster and boosts the immune system.
Vitamin D - aids control of calcium & phosphorus levels in body keeping bones healthy.
Vitamin B6 - Reduces risk of heart disease and converts tryptophan to serotonin which helps with sleep, mood and appetite.
Eating fruits and vegetables-
They are naturally low in fat and calories and none have cholesterol
Provide nutrients like potassium, fiber, folate, and vitamins A and C
Reduce risk of heart disease, heart attack, etc.
Some reduce the risk of certain types of cancer and diabetes
Sleeping plenty-
Helps you to remember and learn things the next day.
Helps balance hormones for hunger (ghrelin, leptin) sleep deprivation can lead to hunger and overeating.
Controls glucose in blood and this helps you prevent diabetes.
Sleep deficiency can lead to weak immune system by changing the way they react to incoming pathogens.
Not getting enough sleep can make people less productive, and make them finish task slower, and with more errors
Here are some problems caused by a bad diet, and a lack of exercise
Physical effects of a bad diet
Eating disorders, high susceptibility to addiction, lethargy
Even cause cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, gallstones, and many others
Mental effects of a bad diet
Malnutrition in a child can lead to mental retardation
Malnutrition in a pregnant mother can cause a whole spectrum of problems for the child, including an increased risk of alzheimer's
A bad diet can lead to a variety of mental issues as well, one of the most common being depression
Physical effects of lack of exercise
Main effect-obesity and faster physical aging
This makes people lazy and unfit, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea and many others
Mental effects of lack of exercise
Increases risk of depression and anxiety, especially due to being unhappy with your physical body
A study conducted by the Journal of Health Psychology over a 10 week period, showed that people that exercised had significantly improved cognitive and physical capabilities, that disappeared right after they had stopped exercising
How to have a healthy diet?
Why eat healthy food?
Reduces risk of diseases such as heart attacks , type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and chronic digestive diseases.
How do I lose weight in a healthy way?
Whole foods
Whole foods have a cleansing effect and helps your body break down LDL cholesterol, thereby reducing risks of heart diseases and diabetes
High Fiber
Helps with digestion due to the high fiber content and makes the digestive system more active
Avoid Processed food
Processed food contain more than one type of ingredient
Companies tend to add extra sugar, artificial colouring, artificial sweeteners and bad fat such as ; saturated fat and trans fat.
The ingredients only provide temporary energy or may bring side effects over time such as clogging of veins or increase of cholesterol. Most of them are artificial
Low calorie food ideas
Processed Konjac noodles- 0 cal per 3 oz
Bulgur - 76 cal per ½ cup
Soba noodle 113 cal per ½ cup
Teff - 128 cal per ½ cup
Things to avoid
High fat food (burger, deep fried food) contains saturated fat can cause clogging of blood and increase levels of LDL cholesterol.
High sugar content, sugar only helps with boost of energy
Not eating does not mean weightloss
Cons of starvation
Not fair share of energy used and energy consumed
Only temporary solution due to body’s shock from irregular diet
Can cause problems after you start eating again since body isn't used to the high intake of nutrition
Malnutrition during starving can lead to digestive problems such as organ failure, stomach ulcers etc.
Here are healthy ethnics foods that you can eat (they are ethnic foods, as to provide insight into a variety of foods from different countries. Certain countries have healthier options, giving them a try is worth it.)
Sushi - balances carbohydrate and protein intake
Tandoori chicken - low fat high protein dish
Pasta primavera - includes a lot of antioxidants, helps lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol
Bean Burrito - Provides protein and is low fat, mix of different types of nutrition
Moo Shu Shrimp - high nutrition, and high amounts of vitamin rich ingredients
Aloo Gobi - Contains several antioxidants, contains spices that help boost organ functions etc.
Couscous - whole grain food that helps take away toxins from the body. Alternative to things such as pasta and rice.
Greek salad - large intake of whole food, helping body’s digestive system
Tom Yung Gung - Ingredients in soup are proven to help fight against cancer.
Hummus - Protein filled and low of calories, recommended with vegetables over crisps and bread due to both of them being calorie dense
Here are two healthy Korean and Indian dishes that are healthy and easy to prepare (you can try these yourself!)-
Korean Bibimbap: Rice + Vegetables +meat and basically anything you want, and additional sauce and spices. This increases intake of whole food and grains decreasing risk of LDL cholesterol, blood clogging. And increase the intake of fiber. Also helps eat vegetables and ingredients you normally wouldn’t eat.
Curry Carrot soup: Cook oil and curry powder in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in carrots, celery and onion; toss to coat in oil. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
How do I exercise to stay healthy?
Why exercise?
Exercise strengthens your heart, reducing your risk of heart attack
Your muscles stay more receptive of insulin, decreasing your risk of diabetes
Exercise also decreases your odds of falling into depression
Cancer is also affected by exercise, people who are active for at least 7 hours a week, have a lower chance of getting certain types of cancer
On average, how many calories do some of the most common exercises burn?
How many calories you burn depends fully on your current weight and fitness, if you are heavier and do the same amount of exercise as someone lighter than you, you will burn more calories, as it takes more energy to move your bigger body, and if you are already super fit, doing certain exercises will not have much of an effect on you either, and you will burn a smaller amount of calories
Here are the amounts of calories you burn doing common exercises(all of the numbers are for a person weighing 70kgs):
10 mins of push ups will burn about 90 calories
10 mins of sit ups will land you at 90 calories burned
10 mins of squats will burn about 60 calories
If you run 10 km in 1.5 hours, you will burn almost 800 calories
Cycling at about 24 km/h for 1 hour will burn about 700 calories
Here is an easy routine that you can follow, it only takes about 15 minutes, depending on how well and how quickly you can do these exercises-
5 burpees
10 lunges
15 sit ups
20 squats
25 push ups
And got back up the list (you can play with the numbers to make it adapt to you best, but it is recommended to not go lower than these values)
Please note, that you should take your time performing each of the exercises, make sure you do them properly, and that you feel the muscle it is targeting, otherwise, it will not have an effect
Another disclaimer is, that these exercises are applied to your day in order to increase your calorie output per day, without having to leave the house, and these exercises will develop some of your muscle mass, for pure weight loss, consider running or biking, as those activities are more efficient at increasing your calorie output
After a couple months of doing this daily, along with a healthy diet, you can lose weight very quickly, and after you have reach a point at which you are happy, you can decrease the amount of exercise you do
What is the difference between losing weight and gaining muscle?
Most people think these go hand-in-hand, but that is actually not true
Muscle growth is best done by doing resistance exercises, meaning, putting the muscles under pressure, and then providing nutrients like proteins, so the muscle rebuilds itself stronger than it was previously
While weight loss can be achieved easiest, when the calorie output outnumbers the calories input, which forces the body to use some of the energy it stored as fat in order to function
Weightloss calls for a calorie deficit, while muscle growth calls for an abundance of calories to allow the muscles to re-grow
Please note, that in both cases, for the process to be done correctly, the foods you eat need to be healthy, as to not starve your body of important nutrients during weight loss, and as to not overload your body with fats and unnecessary calories in an attempt to acquire muscle growth
Exercise is great stress relief
Exercise makes your brain create endorphins, which make you feel good
When you’re exercising, you are focused on a single task, so you can clear your mind of anything stressful going on
Decreases effects of depression and anxiety
Useful apps and resources
Calorie counting and dietary suggestion apps
The Fitbit app and the Fitbit in general
The Fitbit is a watch, similar to the apple watch, that shows you the time, how many steps you have taken that day, how many calories you've burned, how many kilometers you have travelled, and others things, depending on which version you get.
In the application, which you can connect to your watch by bluetooth, you can input your water intake,and calorie intake, as well as your sleeping pattern and exercise, and the app will show you statistics of how you’re doing, so you can see where to improve
Other calorie counting websites and apps include:
My fitness pal
Lose it!
Fat Secret
Cron-o-meter
SparkPeople
Step counting apps- these can help you figure out the calories you burn
Stepz
Walker
Pacer
Wokamon
And many others
Health forums-You can check these whenever you want expert help, but do not have the time to visit a health clinic.
Doctorslounge.com
Netdoctor.com
Health24
Patient.info
ehealthforum.com
Health clinics around Ostrava-You can come here for dietary suggestions, usually these places also sell healthy foods, supplements and other related things.
Slimbee-Ostrava Poruba
Mephacentrum-Ostrava Poruba
Nutristudio-Opava and Ostrava
Most hospitals also have their own dietary clinics
Gyms around Ostrava-Here, you can make sure you get enough exercise, most gyms also provide personal trainers for an extra fee, that can develop an exercise plan for you.
Pure Jatomi-Ostrava, Nova Karolina
Twister Fitness Club
Fitcentrum Assen
TOP FITNESS
BODY LAND Fitness
Healthy food stores around Ostrava-Here you can get some specialized healthy foods, that might not be offered in regular stores. (Here is a link to a map of all of the major stores in Ostrava:google.cz/search?espv=2&q=h...
MALEDA-Ostrava Avion Shopping Park
Vitaland-Ostrava Avion Shopping Park
Slimbee-Ostrava Poruba
Variace Shop-Ostrava
Milota-Ostrava Poruba
Resources:
"10 Top Health Forums Online For Expert Support." MakeUseOf. MakeUseOf, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <makeuseof.com/tag/10-top-he....
Bjarnadottir, Adda. "The 5 Best Calorie Counter Websites and Apps." Authority Nutrition. Authority Nutrition, 27 July 2016. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <authoritynutrition.com/5-be....
Cohen, Ian. "10 Healthiest Ethnic Foods." Men's Fitness. Men's Fitness, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <mensfitness.com/nutrition/w....
"Exercise and Stress: Get Moving to Manage Stress." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 16 Apr. 2015. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <mayoclinic.org/healthy-life....
"Gaining Muscle vs Losing Fat." Gaining Muscle vs Losing Fat. Spartafit, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <spartafit.com/articles/gain....
Https://facebook.com/SarahJacobsson.... "The Best IPhone Apps for Tracking Steps." CNET. CNET, 29 Apr. 2016. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <cnet.com/how-to/the-best-ip....
"Nutrients and Health Benefits." Choose MyPlate. United States Department of Agriculture, 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <choosemyplate.gov/vegetable....
Publications, Harvard Health. "Listing of Vitamins." Harvard Health. Harvard Health, June 2009. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <health.harvard.edu/staying-....
Publications, Harvard Health. "Why We Should Exercise - and Why We Don't." Harvard Health. Harvard Health, Oct. 2008. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <health.harvard.edu/family-h....
"Why Is Sleep Important?" National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health....
Wood, Layne. "Effects of Lack of Exercise & Nutrition." LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 05 June 2015. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <livestrong.com/article/2662....
Www.becomeinteractive.co.uk, Become Interactive -. "The LEAN Team." Regular Eating and The Benefits - GetFit Nutrition. Get Fit, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017. <nutrition.getfit.com/tips/r....
What I’m eating today...
It's Sugar Awareness Week 8th-14th November. 
