Healthy Diet Recipes

A collection of cajun cooking recipes, all free and public domain. Some links to other good cajun sites.

Italian food recipes Tony would love-even if they're not from Carmella's cookbook

Fractures caused by thinning and brittle bones affects one in three women and one in twelve men. It is a leading cause of death.

At around the age of 35 bone mass peaks. From then on it declines, especially for females who have ten to fifteen percent less bone mass than men at skeletal maturity. There is an additional loss of bone mass for eight to ten years from a reduction in hormone levels at the menopause. Many choose to take Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), but this is not the answer. HRT increases the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

Calcium Can Cause Problems If Taken Alone

Calcium is known to be important. However osteoporosis is not a calcium deficiency disease. Taking a calcium supplement alone is not recommended. It won’t necessarily be absorbed into the bone. Instead it may remain in the blood and end up in the tissues causing its own health problems. While absorption is improved with vitamin D, it also has close relationships with other minerals.

Magnesium Is Also Important

Two-thirds of the body’s magnesium is found in the bones. It plays a crucial role in calcium and bone metabolism. Deficiency causes decreased bone strength and volume and poor development. A positive association with Bone Mineral Density (BMD) has been demonstrated in many population studies.

Strontium Can Stimulate Bone Formation

Early in the 20th century, studies were carried out that demonstrated that strontium in combination with calcium was more effective in mneralising bone that using calcium alone.

Boron Helps Bones To Heal

Calcium is better retained in the bone in the presence of boron. According to world authority on boron, Dr Rex Newnham, boron can speed up the healing of broken bones in half the usual time.

Manganese Is Required For Bone Growth

To mineralise bone, manganese is required. Women with osteoporosis were found to have blood manganese levels at only 25% of the level of those who didn’t have this condition. Deficiencies of manganese can give rise to abnormal growth of bone and cartilage as well as degeneration of the vertebral discs.

You Need Copper, Zinc & Silicon

Silicon is quite rigid and the body uses it at sites of calcification of the bones. If bones are to form normally they require zinc. Copper works in co-operation with zinc. Depletion of this mineral can lead to bone defects and a loss of calcium. Iron is also believed to play a role in the formation of bones.

Let’s Not Forget Vitamins

Active calcium absorption in the intestines is facilitated by vitamin D, which is also involved with bone turnover. The status of vitamin D declines as we age and so deficiencies with ageing are common.

Vitamin K has an important role in bone metabolism. It is essential for bone formation, remodelling and repair. Several population studies show low dietary or circulating vitamin K is associated with low BMD or increased fractures.

Bone health can certainly be added to the long list of conditions that vitamin C can treat. It is required for the collageneous structure of the bone. Vitamin C may also protect the skeleton from oxidative stress especially for cigarette smokers. Smoking greatly increases the risk of hip fracture.

Vitamin A is important in the bone remodelling process. Deficiencies are known to be detrimental to bone health.

There is an increased requirement for folic acid at the menopause, studies suggest. This happens because the efficiency of converting homocysteine - a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism - to less toxic compounds becomes impaired. Other nutrients that protect against the damaging effects of homocysteine include vitamin B6 and B12, so these may be helpful too.

And Finally

In conclusion, bone health depends on a wide range of nutrients that goes well beyond just supplementing with calcium. This approach is likely to achieve more success than current orthodox treatments for osteoporosis.

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Thinning and brittle bones give rise to fractures. This affects a third of women and one out of every twelve men. It is a major cause of death.

At around the age of 35 bone mass peaks. From then on it declines, especially for females who have ten to fifteen percent less bone mass than men at skeletal maturity. There is an additional loss of bone mass for eight to ten years from a reduction in hormone levels at the menopause. Many choose to take Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), but this is not the answer. HRT increases the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

The Problem With Calcium

Calcium is of course important. However osteoporosis is not a deficiency disease caused by a lack of calcium. It is not recommended to take calcium supplements on their own. There is no certainty that the calcium will end up in the bones. It could find its way into tissues instead. This may create its own health problems. Vitamin D certainly improves the absorption of calcium, but calcium has important synergistic relationships with a range of other minerals.

Magnesium Is Also Important

Two-thirds of the magnesium in the body is found in the bones. It plays a vital role in the metabolism of calcium and bone. A deficiency of magnesium decreases the strength of bone, its volume and its development. It is positively associated with bone mineral density (BMD) as has been demonstrated in a number of population studies.

Strontium Can Stimulate Bone Formation

Early in the 20th century, studies were carried out that demonstrated that strontium in combination with calcium was more effective in mneralising bone that using calcium alone.

Boron Helps Bones To Heal

Boron is an important mineral for calcium retention. Dr Rex Newnham, a world authority on boron has stated that broken bones will heal in half the usual time with adequate supplies of this mineral.

Manganese Is Required For Bone Growth

To mineralise bone, manganese is required. Women with osteoporosis were found to have blood manganese levels at only 25% of the level of those who didn’t have this condition. Deficiencies of manganese can give rise to abnormal growth of bone and cartilage as well as degeneration of the vertebral discs.

You Need Copper, Zinc & Silicon

Silicon is quite rigid and the body uses it at sites of calcification of the bones. If bones are to form normally they require zinc. Copper works in co-operation with zinc. Depletion of this mineral can lead to bone defects and a loss of calcium. Iron is also believed to play a role in the formation of bones.

Let’s Not Forget Those Important Vitamins

Vitamin D facilitates active calcium absorption in the intestines. It is also involved in bone turnover. Vitamin D status declines with age so deficiency in the aged is not uncommon.

Vitamin K is vital for bone formation, remodelling and repair. A few population studies show that deficiencies of vitamin K in either the diet or circulating in the body is associated with reduced BMD or an increase in the rate of fracture.

Vitamin C is also required for bone health. It is vital for the formation of collagen within the bone matrix. It may protect the skeleton from oxidative stress especially for those that smoke. Cigarette smoking increases hip fracture risk.

Vitamin A has an important role to play in bone remodelling. Deficiencies of this vitamin have detrimental affects on bone health.

Studies suggest menopause is associated with an increased requirement for folic acid because of decreased efficiency at converting homocysteine - a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism - to less toxic compounds. For this reason other nutrients that offer protection from homocysteine such as vitamin B6 and B12 may also be important.

And Finally

In conclusion, bone health depends on a wide range of nutrients that goes well beyond just supplementing with calcium. This approach is likely to achieve more success than current orthodox treatments for osteoporosis.

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Most books on nutrition assume everybody is the same. But it ain’t so. We’re all different. Yet we are told to avoid fat and eat fruits and vegetables as if there’s no difference between us.

Fat gets the blame for everything these days. Cancer. Heart Disease. Obesity. Rising fuel prices. Whatever. We should cut the fat and switch to carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Fat Is Good

There’s a medically approved diet for certain children. Fat makes up 90% of the calories of this diet. I kid you not. And yet these children grow normally, are of normal weight and their cholesterol levels are only slightly higher than usual. What these children have is epilepsy. Their seizures are controlled by this diet.

The children might eat a meal consisting of chicken and carrots with butter and double cream. Not exactly your standard fare, but for the children and their families, it’s what they require.

I can see you’re not convinced. You think that case is special. For everyone else we can state that fruits and vegetables are beneficial and that fats should be avoided.

It’s not so simple. For some nutritionists the number one dietary deficiency is …..fat.

Saturated fat is often portrayed as the great enemy. The reality is that while it may not be the best type of fat to eat, humans are adapted to eat it. The real enemy are the fats that come from food processing. These foods give us far too much of the omega 6 and trans fats and far too little omega 3 fats from fish oils.

Avoid Those Vegetables

A Glasgow university professor warns us that the fastest growing cancer in the UK could be caused by eating vegetables. Professor McColl and his colleagues at Glasgow University believe that nitrate fertilisers may be responsible for seeing the incidence of throat cancer treble over the last 2 decades.

Buying organic is not the answer. They are also loaded with nitrate.

I could also talk about al the toxins, carcinogens and mutagens that occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. But I’ll leave that for now.

I could even mention those that are especially sensitive to carbohydrates. They must limit their intake of vegetables and fruits because they cause their blood sugar levels to swing wildly. But we’ll leave that alone.

I might even refer to those unfortunate people that have a sensitivity to foods like oranges, grapefruit, onions and tomatoes.

And there are those that are allergic to aspirin. The chemical salicylate which is found in aspirin is also found in high amounts in fruits and vegetables.

Of course I’m not seriously telling you to avoid fruits and vegetables and eat fatty foods. I’m making the simple point that you are an individual, with nutritional requirements that are personal to you. There is no other person on earth that’s like you, so don’t let anybody tell you what to eat and drink. Get to know your own body and understand what makes it tick.

Listen to your own body, not to the nutrition gurus.

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A collection of vegetable recipes to serve for a brunch menu or as a side dish to a main course. Find recipes for asparagus, mixed vegetables, tomatoes, and more.

Easy beef recipes that might even tempt that chicken and fish bunch.

This converter will make it easy to use our recipes if kilos and grams make more sense than ounces and pounds.

A carrot salad recipe made with fresh cooked carrot, onion and green peppers and coated with a tangy tomato sauce flavored with mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire. Serve for brunch or dinner.