TOP 10 WAYS TO EAT AVOCADOS

Top 10 Great Ways to Eat Avocados

Emma Forbes,47,  radio and television presenter loves to start her day with Avocado on rye bread. WF bring you ten terrific ideas to make this nutrilicious fruit a part of your diet.

It is a fruit, that is usually eaten as a vegetable. It is a good source of healthy monounsaturated fat  that may help to reduce level of a bad type of cholesterol in body. Avocado is a good source of vitamin E and can help to maintain healthy skin and prevent skin aging (vitamin E may also help alleviate menopausal hot flushes). It is rich in potassium which helps prevent fluid retention and high blood pressur

Avocados can be incorporated into your meals and snacks in so many delicious, satisfying ways. Here are 10 great ways to use avocados.

As Smoothie: Try smoothies made out of avocados, including versions mixed with other green ingredients like cucumber and kiwi, or fruits such as blueberries, strawberries or pineapple for a healthy start.  Avocado juice is a drink that is rich in vitamins, ranging from vitamins A, B, C, and vitamin E. In addition, avocados contain a variety of juices and other mineral substances such as proteins, carbohydrates, unsaturated fat, oleic acid, iron, phosphorus, calcium, folic acid and fiber. Opinion that said drink avocado juice can make our body fat is very counter to the study of the journal ‘Diabetes Care’, which revealed a person consuming the diet with monounsaturated fats can burn body fat, especially the abdomen.

Appetizer: The presence of beta-carotene, chlorophyll, vitamin E, and B-complex vitamins in abundance in avocados, make it a health-filled appetizer. Top whole grain crackers with thin slices of avocado and smoked salmon to create a delicious party appetizer.

Salad: In one study, when participants ate a salad containing avocados, they absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids (a group of nutrients that includes lycopene and beta carotene) than those who didn’t include avocados. Garnish vegetable, fruit and whole-grain salads with diced avocado, and then toss gently to mix. Combine avocados with berries, apples, and mango chunks for a tasty fruit salad. You can also try a creamy potato salad with chopped avocados, boiled new potatoes, and diced celery, and moisten with a sprinkling of lemon juice, wine, and olive oil.  For a charged Mexican food, you can add diced avocado, diced bell pepper, and sliced scallions to cooked pasta, and dress with a mixture of extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, and mustard for a tasty pasta salad.

Salsa: Create a deliciously different salsa by combining diced avocado, chopped tomatoes, corn kernels, chopped cilantro, pepper, and cayenne. Arefreshing alternative to red tomato salsa.

Sorbet: Substitute avocado for another fruit in any sorbet recipe and include lemon or lime juice to bring out its flavor. For a chilled Avocado sorbet, Slice the avocados into thin strips and splash it with lots of lime juice. This is to keep them from browning, and add flavor to the sorbet. Freeze ahead of time, you can do this the night before or 3-4 hours ahead. This sorbet is flavored with lime juice, lime zest, and cilantro. Chop cilantro, prep the lime zest, and pour simple syrup and corn syrup put it in the fridge to keep it cool (30 sec). Pulse until smooth (should take 3 minutes max). Serve in a chilled cup.

Topping: Top baked potatoes with avocado butter, made by mashing a ripe avocado with one tablespoon of lemon or lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Breakfast nourishment:  Mash half an avocado with a fork and spread it on whole-grain bread or toast for a quick, nourishing breakfast or add diced avocado to eggs or omelets before cooking.

Full Meal: Stuff avocado halves with brown rice and olives and garnish with a sprinkling of bleu cheese.

Sandwiches: Put sliced avocado in wraps and sandwiches. Mashed avocados make one tasty spread alternative for turkey, chicken or roast beef sandwiches or wraps. They also add an extra creaminess to vegetarian sandwiches.  If you want to cut some of the fat in tuna, egg, seafood or chicken salad and still keep the creamy taste? Try using avocados in place of some other spreads; they make the salad “greener” while still maintaining the moist and delicious flavor.

Dessert: Avocado makes creamy pudding, mousse, and ice cream and moist cake and brownies and other desserts, many of them vegan desserts.

Nutritional and Calorific Value of a Avocado Fruit:Avocado, raw (edible parts) Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 670 kJ (160 kcal) Carbohydrates 8.53 g Sugars 0.66 g Dietary fiber 6.7 g Fat 14.66 g saturated 2.13 g monounsaturated 9.80 g polyunsaturated 1.82 g Protein 2 g Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.067 mg (5%) Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.130 mg (9%) Niacin (Vit. B3) 1.738 mg (12%) Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.389 mg (28%) Vitamin B6 0.257 mg (20%) Folate (Vit. B9) 81 μg (20%) Vitamin C 10 mg (17%) Calcium 12 mg (1%) Iron 0.55 mg (4%) Magnesium 29 mg (8% Phosphorus 52 mg (7%) Potassium 485 mg (10%) Zinc 0.64 mg (6%)

TOP BENEFITS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE OF ATHLETES

Top Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Athletes

Athletes need to be in tip top shape in order to perform at their highest level. For this reason, top performing athletes are always looking for ways to reduce fatigue, prevent injuries and promote peak performance. Many top athletes use techniques and tools to maintain their bodies including chiropractic care. Athletes that utilize chiropractic care, seem to have an advantage over their counterparts in both athletic performance overall health. How is that possible? This is mostly due to the numerous benefits that chiropractic care has to offer. If you are an athlete and want to enhance your performance and increase your physical stamina, all while staying healthy and without injury, here are some major chiropractic benefits worth considering:

Benefit 1: It helps in relieving pain of strenuous exercises 

When people cheer for their favorite athletes and applaud their performance, they often don’t think about the fact that their bodies are being subjected to unimaginable torture. Athletes have to endure a tremendous amount of muscle and skeletal strain, which takes its tole on the body, resulting in a number of issues.  Fortunately, there are modern chiropractic treatments can help resolve these issues, relieve the pain and restore health.

Benefit 2: It can be useful for treating various injuries 

A great number of athletes will testify that chiropractic care can be very effective in reducing the chances of suffering from injuries by it’s promotion of proper posture and form. Sports require lots of training, and those gruelling repetitions can often pull the body out of it’s proper alignment, causing strain on muscles and joints. In addition, if they do suffer from an injury, chiropractic care can help them return to the proper alignment and speed up the recovery process. It also helps in promoting proper blood circulation to the muscles, which intern helps with growth and recovery. All this is paramount to enable an athlete to consistently perform at the top of their game. Most traditional chiropractor care is mostly focused on spinal manipulation, however with sports chiropractors, there’s a much broader scope that addresses many different joints and ligaments in the body. Often, issues such as shoulder pain or reoccurring ankle sprains, are not asserted with chiropractic care, however these are precisely the areas that many people and top athletes are seeking treatment and experiencing huge benefits. These issues, if not treated, can effect the body’s biomechanics, worsting the problem and potentially causing other injuries. For this reason, any injury that affects an athletes body should be remedied quickly. 

Benefit 3: It’s a drug-free and non-invasive method of treatment 

Pain medication simply blocks the pain, and though it may help and athlete endure situations that would otherwise be too difficult, it does not address the underlying issue. This masking of the problem in order to perform, often just makes it worse. When given an option, most athletes would opt to not take pain medications, as it’s not a strategy that is sustainable or healthy for body over the long term. Thus, many top professional athletes seek out out sports chiropractors to help keep well aligned, healthy and to help give them that leading edge.  As an example, many golf pros use Upstate Spine and Sport, a chiropractor in Greenville in SC that specializes in sports chiropractic for athletes. This is becoming increasingly more common and often there’s even a sports chiropractor on the PGA tour with the athletes.

Benefit 4: It boosts strength 

Initially, chiropractic care was aimed at providing treatment, but it also carries the side-benefit of boosting an athlete’s strength. By properly achieving and maintaining proper alignment, the body and muscular system can work harder and for longer periods of time, resulting in more muscle strength and endurance. Better blood circulation is another positive attribute, helping to repair and rebuild muscles faster. Often, a higher degree of coordination also comes as a benefit, doing wonders for an athlete ability to apply the power affectively and perform highly strenuous tasks for an extended about of time. This can be a complete game changer!

Benefit 5: It’s great for relaxation 

Rest and relaxation is an important factor both for the recovery of the body and the mind. Many modern chiropractors also offer treatments to help athletes simply unwind, relax and reboot. Some chiropractic clinics even offer massage therapy and acupuncture as additional methods to accomplish this. A combination of these practices can dramatically improve mood as well as cognitive ability. 

The bottom line is that chiropractic care is no longer reserved for simply relieving spinal aches and pains. Now many professional athletes and others are using it to enhance their performance, by increasing their strength and endurance, all while helping to prevent unnecessary injuries and keep the body healthy for the long run.

BEST PRENATAL PILATES WORKOUT

You Can Do This Prenatal Pilates Workout Anywhere There's Room for an Exercise Mat

Or just use the floor.

See other great workout at home videos at Grokker.com.

Pregnant or not, Pilates can be a great workout. (Here are eight reasons why every woman should try it.) It strengthens your muscles while improving elasticity and joint mobility, and while it can be a bit more challenging when there's a bun in the oven, it's not something you have to avoid altogether. This routine, designed by Grokker expert Jaime McFaden, incorporates moves that will not only keep you strong overall, but also pay extra attention to safety. Plus, it can be done anywhere there's room for an exercise mat, which is pretty clutch if you don't want to slog your way to the gym.

Before you get started, though, be sure to consult with your doctor—it's necessary before starting any prenatal fitness regimen. And don't forget to check out these tips for running while pregnant, and ways to solve common prenatal yoga problems.

About Grokker

Don't forget you can get more where that came from with an entire series of prenatal fitness videos that help you get strong and toned with Jaime McFaden on Grokker. Fitness readers get 30 percent off with promo code FITNESS9, so you can start taking care of your amazing body today.

More from Grokker:
Tone Every Inch Under 30 Minutes
Get A Strong Core In 15 Moves

Is Coffee *Really* Bad for You?

Is your coffee habit healthy or harmful? Get expert advice from registered dietitian Christy Brissette on whether you need to amp it up or cut down on caffeine.

SHUTTERSTOCK

In any major city worldwide, you can't take two steps without passing several cafés. But health-conscious java lovers want to know: Is a regular caffeine habit good for your health, or should you cut back?

Overall, the morning beverage gets superfood status in my book. It's overflowing with antioxidants and potential health benefits. The catch? It's all about drinking the right amount.

Regularly drinking coffee may help you live longer. It may prevent Parkinson's disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes, plus promote a healthy heart and liver. It even comes with performance-enhancing benefits. Coffee has been shown to help push you further during exercise, whether it's cardio or weight training. How does it work? The caffeine makes the amount of effort you're putting in seem lower than usual, so you go harder without even noticing. It also boosts focus and extends the amount of time before you feel fatigued.

Coffee can help lower the risk of stroke and potentially coronary heart disease at 2 to 3 cups a day, but it can also raise unhealthy LDL cholesterol depending on how it's brewed. Choose "American" style that's brewed and filtered instead of using a French press. Filters remove a compound called cafestol that can raise cholesterol levels.

Party animals everywhere rejoiced with the news that coffee may help prevent liver damage. A recent review suggests that drinking 2 extra cups a day reduced the risk of liver cirrhosis (a disease where healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue) by almost half.

Unfortunately, this news doesn't mean you can go on an all-night bender and undo the damage with a cup or two of joe. Those roasted beans aren't magical. Being overweight, not getting enough exercise, and overdoing it on alcohol can't be reversed with extra coffee.

So How Much Caffeine Is Healthy?

The amount of caffeinated coffee you need to drink for health benefits might depend on your genes. You could be a "fast caffeine metabolizer," meaning your body breaks it down quickly. Fast metabolizers may have heart health benefits from drinking between 2 and 4 cups a day. Slow caffeine metabolizers tend to do better with less. How do you know which type you are? See a registered dietitian who offers a nutrigenomics test to find out.

The Mayo Clinic recommends you limit your caffeine to 400mg a day, or a max of 4 cups of coffee. And by a cup, I'm not talking about your oversize mug that's basically a biceps workout to lift or a venti at your favorite cafe. A cup is 8 fluid ounces. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, limit your caffeine to 200mg or less a day.

Some people are especially caffeine-sensitive and might need to cut down even more. If you feel anxious or have trouble sleeping, it may be worth replacing some of your caffeinated brew with decaf and slowly weaning yourself down.

Another dietitian insider tip: Take a look at what you're putting in your coffee. Do you regularly treat yourself to fancy drinks loaded with sugar and calories? It's time to drink it black or with a splash of almond milk or skim milk to keep it lower in calories. Try swapping out sugar and artificial sweeteners for a dash of cinnamon for even more antioxidant power. Check out my vegan cafe mocha recipe to get the anti-inflammatory benefits of both java and cocoa!