In this fast paced world, good nutrition may sound very simple but it is indeed really difficult to practice it. We eat too many processed foods or we tend to miss some meals. Some of us even smoke or drink alcohol. We also choose food on the basis of the taste. This not only make us overeat but also we ignore rich nutrient food items which we feel have bad taste. Foods lose substantial nutritional value during storage. There are many such factors which rob us of the nutrients we need for the maintenance of general well being.

We all talk of balanced diet, but how many of us really know the actual meaning of the balanced diet? Balanced Diet is a diet which has adequate amount of all nutrients required for healthy growth and activity. Sounds simple!

We have divided food into five groups on the basis of their nutrient content which are the most integral part of balanced diet.

Group One :

Wheat, Rice and Cereals. They are major sources of starch, carbohydrates, B-Vitamins and fibre.

Recommended Servings: 6-8 servings daily.

Group Two:

Dairy products. They are major sources of calcium , protein and vitamins (A,B2, B6, B12 and D).

Recommended Servings: 2-4 daily.

Group Three:

Fruits and Vegetables. They are major sources of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fibre.

Recommended Servings : 4-6 daily.

Group Four:

Meat, Fish, Poultry and Pulses. They are major sources od protein, Vitamin B12 , zinc and iron.

Recommended Servings: 2-3 daily

Group Five:

Fats, Oils and Sugar. They are major source of energy in our body.

Recommended Servings: Should be barely adequate.

Recommended servings of each group daily comprises a balanced. Now does it still look simple? To make it worse, our hectic life schedules make it more difficult for us to achieve this goal. Hence it has become a challenge now. We cant ignore this vital part of our life too. So we should better gear up for it!

Random Tip: Eating fruits increases your immunity against the development of age-related maculopathy and eye diseases.

About the Author: Jasdeep Singh

For http://weightloss-health.com/ your complete and most comprehensive family guide on Health.

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Spring is here and its time to sweep away the wintertime blues.

Have you been hibernating this winter? Well you’re not the only one. After the mad rush of Christmas and New Year are over, many people (myself included) feel winter forcing us in our house only to leave when necessary. You begin to feel down, gloomy, and lose energy, to name but a few. It’s too cold to do anything and if you work all day you don’t even see the daylight. It’s dark when you leave for work and it is dark when you go home at the end of the day, so all you want to do is stay in your house were its warm. You avoid having to leave the house unless it’s really necessary.

The fact that so many of us feel like this, it has been given a name, S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a depression that afflicts people primarily during the winter months. You may have difficulty concentrating and feeling alert, withdraw socially and have carbohydrate cravings. SAD sufferers also experience sleep problems.

Don’t be disheartened because spring is here. The daffodils are out and the clocks have gone forward one hour, so you have an extra hour of daylight in the evening.

Now is the time to shake off the wintertime blues. But I know that it’s not easy, after nearly three months of hibernating in your house in front of the fire, the thought of emerging out of your cave can be scary as the lethargy and boredom have become a habit. If you rush out the cave too quickly you’ll become disorientated and run right back in.

So it is important to do it a little bit at a time, to build up your energy, which has disappeared over the past three months. Doing too much at once can overload you and stress you out. So below are some tips that you might find helpful in getting you started, because I know from experience that it’s not easy. But spring is here and now is the time to get organised for the summer.

1. Get Your Energy Back

The first step to get yourself started is to get your energy back, and to do that you need to get active. There are a lot of things we put off doing in the winter, and to build up your energy and your confidence you have to start with the little things. Start by making a list of things that you have put off doing for yourself, don’t include anything, which involves someone else. This is about building up your energy and in order to do that you have to start taking care of yourself first. This is not meant to sound selfish, but you can only help others when you are strong and to become strong and charge up your energy you must take care of yourself. Your list can include little things like getting yourself a hair cut, buying something new for yourself, anything you feel like doing for yourself, the choice is yours. Do all the things on your list, by doing them your will feel good about yourself and it will have got you a bit more active and ready to take another step forward.

2. Start Organising The Space Around You

It is time to widen the area now to the space around you. It’s time to make another list I’m afraid. Look around your home and make a list of the little thing you were meaning to do but have put off. Don’t include big things like redecorating, replacing the garden fence etc. It should be little things like replacing a light bulb or having a washday, tidying up your wardrobe etc. Organising the space around you helps build your energy and you will feel much better when you are living in less clutter.

Spring cleaning is something women (and men) have been doing for centuries, tidying and organising your home is a way to get rid of the winter blues, it’s like getting rid of the old (winter) and getting ready to welcome the new (spring).

3. Go Out and Meet People

If during the past three months you have avoided going out to meet people, its time to shake off the cobwebs and emerge outside. I tend to avoid people in the winter, even my own family, the thought of going out in the cold, dark night and driving in your car trying to focus on the road when the bright lights of on coming cars blind you is not very appealing. But with an extra hour of daylight its time to get out and about. Go visit your family or friends, make plans to go out on shopping trips or go to the cinema. Do anything but start getting out and meeting people in the evening or weekends, avoid sitting in front of the TV on your own.

4. Starting New Projects

By now hopefully you have a little spring in your step and feeling good about yourself, because its time to go on to bigger things. So get out your pen and paper because we’re making another list. In this list write down all the projects you would like to do, but have put off. Maybe it’s, decorating, looking for a new job, and starting the gym. Start prioritising the list, you could start with the little things. Take one project at a time, don’t try to do too many things at once or you’ll get overloaded. By concentrating on one project at a time each project you complete will boost your confidence and energy.

5. Remember To Have Fun

This spring-cleaning isn’t meant to be a chore, make it fun, do the things you want to do first so that way you won’t mind doing the ones that you hate. Spring is the start of something new, when flowers, trees and plants begin to bloom and grow, so this is the time to tend your garden, get rid of the weeds and plant some seeds. But you need to constantly water your seeds, by taking care of yourself, and topping up your energy. Pamper yourself, do fun things, go to the cinema, meet your friends or what ever you find enjoyable. But mainly remember to have fun.

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If you’ve jumped on the low carb bandwagon and found it has worked really well for you, chances are you’ve run out of meal ideas at one time or another. When cooking low carb, it isn’t always easy to come up with new foods to keep it interesting. Here, we’ll discuss some easy low carb foods you can prepare that’ll mix things up a little and prevent low carb boredom.

Cooking low carb means you should always have a few food necessities around to whip up a good meal that is high in protein.

Some of these low carb necessities are:

1.) Low carb bread crumbs
2.) A variety of cheeses such as Muenster, Provolone and Mozzarella - which are lower in fat than orange cheeses like cheddar.
3.) Low carb wraps that are about eight inches around and high in fiber.
4.) Cottage cheese
5.) Yogurt
6.) Almonds, macadamia nuts and brazil nuts are all excellent sources of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, which help slow the absorption and utilization of calories.

7.) Flavored tunas - a favorite of mine is sweet and spicy tuna by Starkist.
8.) Brown rice, the slow cooked variety.

Once you have these “staples”, you’ll always have food around for a simple lunch or dinner and snacks. The cheese can be used as a snack by itself or you can wrap a piece of deli pepperoni around it and have a snack that tastes like pizza bites. If you want to have a hot snack, try frying pepperoni in a pan with the mozzarella over it, and you can even dip it in a tomato sauce. Another good snack is deli ham rolled with cream cheese and a slice of dill pickle. Believe it or not, this is a great flavor combination!

Yogurt with some slivered almonds also makes an excellent snack, and they even have some low carb varieties of yogurt on the market that are pretty tasty. You can also eat this as a breakfast since it is filling enough to replace a meal. The same goes for cottage cheese. You can even make a low carb lasagna with special whole wheat pasta. Layer about two rows of the whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, small curd cottage cheese, some cooked and crumbled hamburger meat which can also be mixed with either vegetarian or pork sausage, and mozzarella cheese. As mentioned previously, you can also make this a vegetarian dish by substituting the meat with either soy versions of meat or a vegetable of your choice such as broccoli or spinach.

Another excellent low carb meal is eggplant parmesan. Lightly salt thinly sliced eggplant, dip it in egg whites and fry in a pan with olive oil or low fat cooking spray until golden brown. Layer the eggplants with sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 miutes.

If you want a lighter dinner, try flaking the sweet and spicy tuna over a small bed of brown rice. You may season the rice with a dash of salt and pepper and a hint of sesame oil for extra flavor also. What you end up with is a delicious low fat, high fiber meal that leave you feeling lighter and satisfied for hours.

More Low Carb Cooking: Comfort Foods that Won’t Pack on the Pounds

An excellent low carb substitute for a common comfort food is turkey meatloaf. This one is both light on carbs and light on fat. Take 2 pounds of ground turkey, about 3/4 cup of low carb bread crumbs, 2 eggs, and a meatloaf seasoning packet such as McCormicks meatloaf seasoning. Mix it all together and bake. An optional topping is a low carb BBQ sauce for an extra zing.

You can even make a low carb pizza. Specialty stores and even some grocery stores carry special low carb pizza crusts. The toppings are all naturally low in carbs. Just add some tomato sauce - preferably one without any sugars, mozzarella or provolone cheese and toppings such as pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms or other veggies.

Eating low carb no longer has to be a prison sentence. There are hundreds of specialty low carb foods now available at your local grocery store and all it takes is a little creativity to eat a diet filled with variety and flavor.

Visit Carb Blockers for information on a low carb diet pill that actually blocks excess carbs when you indulged. Danna Schneider is the founder of Dieting Magazine Online Resource for Weightloss and Dieting

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