I am Naknik

Some of the cheapy stuff from China is not any better

2014-09-02T06:49:00.001-07:00

Real Soy Sauce. When I was growing up, I thought soy sauce was salty water with dark coloring and some secret soy and wheat stuff mixed in.

Some of the cheapy stuff from China is not any better.

Oriental friends introduced me to real home cooked delights that one never finds in a typical Chinese or Japanese restaurant in my country. They even introduced me to authentic ethnic restaurants.

I gradually learned that there is a tremendous variety in Soy Sauce, whether made with added wheat (Shoyu) or without (Tamari). Some connoisseurs spend as much time studying the character of soy sauces as others do on wines.

Real soy sauce requires many months of fermentation and aging to make, not a few minutes on an automated factory. Some excellent choices are now available in the USA, whether made here or in the Orient. Some are deliberately un pasteurized, for health benefits.

My suggestion is to seek out good brands, then see if they have reduced salt versions.

Soy Foods for better health

2014-09-02T06:42:00.001-07:00

Soyfoods aid longevity. Although a few authors dispute this, most literature found on the reputable internet sources show that traditional soyfoods, especially those with live cultures, correlate with reduced risks of various diseases without negative side effects. But the maximum benefit comes from using soy foods to replace a large fraction of the diet normally occupied by high sources of saturated fats.

In other words, don't just add soymilk and soy shakes, soy based artificial cream oppings to your diet. Instead, replace 30 to 60 percent of your red meats with tofu, miso, tempeh, edamame, and so forth. Also use baked, broiled, or grilled chicken, fish, and other foods that are not fried.

Soy Beans are unique in the plant world, in that they provide all of the "essential" amino acids (proteins) and fatty acids that the human body can not make, plus numerous "plant hormones" that protect against various ailments, such as cancers, diabetes, heart disease, memory loss, menopause, osteoporosis, PMS, stroke.

Excessive Fat kills

2014-09-02T06:39:00.001-07:00

In this new century, news media are finally aware that America's major health problem is obesity. Excess weight not only contributes to almost every health risk, it can actually multiply the risk factors, including those from tobacco. It has already been reported that tobacco causes

more deaths than AIDS / HIV, maternal mortality, automobile accidents, homicide and suicide combined, yet obesity makes the risks even higher.

You don't have to be 300 pounds overweight for fat to be harmful. Being "pleasingly plump" or even leaner can be enough to increase your risks of various ailments, such as cancers, diabetes, heart disease, memory loss, menopause, osteoporosis, PMS, stroke.

Just substituting margarine for butter is not enough, especially if the spread is made with hydrogenated oils or "trans fatty acids".

Good fats, the "essential fatty acids" that the body can not make, can be found in fish, nuts, soy and other foods. For most fats, if you have none in your diet, your body will make what it needs.

Junk Foods Kill.

2014-09-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

All of the following are health hazards.

Fatty foods
High salt levels
Sugar and most artificial sweeteners.

Americans now consume roughly 25 times as much sugar and equivalents as was typical around 1900, which is not healthful. Refined sugar, high fructose syrup, and the three major artificial "no calorie" sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose) release chemicals into the body,and high usage has been implicated in headaches, cancers, lupus, and multiple sclerosis.

Anyone wanting to lose weight should not ingest any sweets that are not natural to foods, such as fresh or dried fruits.

Instead of candy, try a handful of raisins and almonds, nuts which provide beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids like those found in fish.

It is interesting that children taking drugs for "Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder" (ADHD), such as Ritalin, often get better when all processed sugars are removed from their diets, and the drugs stopped.

Have you been looking for the latest and accurate advice regarding low carb diets

2014-09-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Have you been looking for the latest and accurate advice regarding low carb diets. When you are after excellent advice about low carb diets, it will be easier said than done separating quality information from poorly sourced low carb diets suggestions and help so it's best to know ways of moderating the information offered to you.

Here's several tips which we advise you to use when you are trying to find information about low carb diets. Please understand that the advice we present is only appropriate to internet information concerning low carb diets. Unfortunately we are unable to provide any tips or guidance for researching in 'real world' situations.

A really good piece of advice you can follow when you're presented with information and advice about a low carb diets webpage would be to determine who owns the site. This may show you the people behind the site low carb diets integrity The fastest way to determine who owns the low carb diets web site is to find the sites 'about' page.

Any reputable site providing information about low carb diets, will almost certainly provide an 'about' webpage which will record the owner's details. The details should tell you a number of indications about the site owner's capability. You can then decide for yourself about the vendor's qualifications and experience to give recommendations about low carb diets.

Eggs are actually quite nutritious and safe

2014-09-02T06:26:00.004-07:00

Eggs are healthful! -After years of bad press, new studies show that eggs have been give a bum rap. If eggs are served without fatty sausage or bacon, no buttery toast, and cooked without fat, eggs are actually quite nutritious and safe. It's easy to boil an egg, or "fry" in a non-stick pan with a cover and a spoon or so of water.

Don't rule out the toast. And even a small amount of butter or margarine can help prevent hunger between meals. But be very careful to avoid margarine made with hydrogenated oils or "trans fatty acids".

Don't make deviled eggs with mayonnaise, but try low fat yogurt instead.

Omelets made with eggs and tofu, no cheese, can be tasty.

Boiled eggs, perhaps pickled in vinegar and salt water, can be a good meal or snack for warding off hunger.

Prepared intelligently, eggs are a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and can fight hunger better than sugary cereals or breakfast rolls.

Prepared with little fat or salt, Potatoes are healthful!

2014-09-02T06:22:00.003-07:00

Potatoes are healthful! - Not deep fried potatoes. Not potatoes smothered in butter, margarine, or sour cream.

Low fat yogurt can be used as a topping, plain or with herbs and spices.

But try potatoes that are baked, boiled, fried on a non-stick surface with a minimum of oil or non-stick spray, chopped into soups and stews, and on, and on.

It is extremely unfortunate that deep fried and salted potatoes ("french-fries" or pomme de terre frit" or "pomme frit", and potato chips) are so tasty, and are now the most popular of all fast foods. But severely restrict your intake if you don't want heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses.

Potatoes are such a complete food that some societies in South America (Andes of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, where potatoes were first cultivated) eat little else.

Prepared with little fat or salt, Potatoes are healthful!

Learn from others, but trust your own observations

2014-09-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

Monosodium Glutamate & Hydrolyzed Protein - Industry spokes persons and publications of various national governments assure us that Monosodium Glutamate ( MSG ) is good for us, with no detrimental effects.

Such assurances are totally meaningless to those of us who find even small amounts of Monosodium Glutamate ( MSG ) can cause a feeling of swelling head, headache, spaciness, anxiety, and make it difficult to sleep.

(Going on a chocolate binge can do the same to me.)

Hydrolyzed Protein ( HP ) is made from various foods (such as soybeans, corn, wheat, or milk whey) by acid hydrolysis.

This is usually made into flavor enhancers for processed foods. Hydrolyzed Protein ( HP ) is often used with Monosodium Glutamate ( MSG ).

HP causes me pronounced after-taste and mouth / tongue swelling, which keeps me from using numerous "quick meal" kits.

Learn from others, but trust your own observations.

Excess salt is probably the biggest dietary health risk factor after fats

2014-09-02T06:11:00.003-07:00

Salt is essential to health. This means sodium chloride and potassium chloride, with traces of other mineral salts.

If you sweat a lot at work or play, lack of salt can cause "heat stroke".

Salt can kill. Excess salt is probably the biggest dietary health risk factor after fats, in any country that uses a lot of prepared foods.

Avoid salty-fatty snack foods. Restrict the salt added to foods during cooking.

As a kid, I used to salt everything at meal time, often before even tasting. Now, any foods I prepare, I add no salt, outside of reduced salt versions of soy sauce. And I am very sensitive to the taste of excess salt in bought meals, canned goods, and other prepared foods.

Powdered milk has no fat, yet much calcium

2014-09-02T06:08:00.002-07:00

Dairy foods are a great source of calcium and some vitamins and minerals. But seek out the low fat versions for good health. Powdered milk has no fat, yet much calcium. Also, powdered milk has far fewer germs than pasteurized bottled milk.

Diets in Asia and other parts of the world are low in dairy products, yet those countries have large populations, mostly healthy if they have enough to eat.

In fact, many adults of Asian descent lack the enzymes needed to digest dairy foods. Often, milk and cheese, etc., are replaced by soy foods.

If soy milk is used in place of dairy milk, high calcium foods or supplements are needed in diet. Also, most purchased soy milk contains sweeteners, which is not good.

Diet with FACTS, not MYTHS

2014-09-02T06:02:00.003-07:00

Diet is a topic much discussed in theory, neglected in practice. I am amused that photos and TV images of most weight loss gurus in USA show them to be "pleasingly plump", that is to say, OVERWEIGHT.

While "juicy" (or "zaftig" or "zoftic") bodies can provide sex appeal in the eyes of some viewers, comparison of health statistics of third generation Asian-Americans to Asian-Asians shows that low fat diets help longevity, and that soy foods increase resistance to numerous diseases.

ALL DIETS THAT WORK for weight loss have one principle in common: If calories burned are more / less than calories ingested, weight will be lost / gained. Physics can NOT be turned off.

** Diet with FACTS, not MYTHS. **

Do Diet Pills Really Work?

2014-09-02T05:39:00.003-07:00

Many over-the-counter diet pill manufacturers say their product will help you see miraculous weight loss -- like losing up to 30 pounds in 30 days -- without diet or exercise. Their claims sound too good to be true, and most of them are.

A few pills, especially the newer prescription varieties (such as Meridia and Xenical), have been shown in clinical studies to help dieters shed a few pounds. But the majority of the ads you see on the Internet and TV are for products that are unregulated, untested and unproven.

Even the most effective diet pills are only meant to be taken for a short period of time -- usually six months or less. During that time, doctor-prescribed weight-loss drugs can trim anywhere from 5 to 22 pounds, or up to 10 percent of your body weight. But after six months, your body develops a tolerance to these drugs' effects, and weight loss plateaus. After that, if you don't also follow a healthy eating and exercise plan, the weight will come right back.

Let's face it, nutritious food, regular exercise and plenty of rest are the foundation stone for proper weight and health.