Healthy Restaurant Diet Tips

Eating out, in our fast paced lives, has become a way of life and in some cases, a necessity.

But restaurant food is the downfall for the many people who want to eat healthy and/or lose weight.

So how do we meet our needs and still remain healthy?

Make healthy choices and be conscious of portion control!

The better choice needs to be to never eat food prepared in a fast food restaurant.

What to do:  Here are some easy tips and suggestions when ordering in some of our favorite ethnic restaurants:

Chinese: Many Chinese dishes are deep fried and their sauces are high in sugar.  To pick the healthiest…

DO ORDER — Steamed dumplings (low in fat), wonton soup (low in calories), dishes made with tofu (protein), stir-fried chicken (sweet, but with fewer calories than sweet-and-sour chicken).

DON’T ORDER — Fried noodles (high in fat — usually trans fats), spare ribs (high in fat and sugar), egg rolls (high in calories and salt), fried rice (high in fat and salt), or egg foo yung (with possible trans-fats).  Stir fry is a good choice, but ask the cook to use as little oil as possible.

Italian: Most Italian restaurants serve huge portions with Alfredo cream sauces and lots of cheese.  Choose tomato based sauces instead and remember portion control.  You Don’t Have To Eat Everything They Put On Your Plate!  Eat less and live longer!

DO ORDER — Minestrone soup (lots of vegetables and fiber and about 80 calories a cup), whole-wheat pasta with marinara sauce (fiber and vitamins), thin-crust pizza (fewer carbs), and grilled vegetables (high in antioxidants and good fats from olive oil).

DON’T ORDER — Lasagna (high in calories and fat), Alfredo sauce, (lots of fat and sodium), meat sauce (saturated fat), or thick-crust pizza (high in carbs and calories).  And don’t even think about ordering the “stuffed-crust” pizza —- a slice with pepperone has twice the calories and fat as a slice of thin-crust with cheese topping.

Japanese: Tempura is a code word for “fried”, so skip over that part of the menu.  Enjoy wasbi mustard with your sushi and munch on pickled garlic — studies have shown they can rev up your metabolism.

DO ORDER — California rolls (one roll is about 300 calories), sashimi (low in calories and fat, high in protein), tuna rolls (heart-healthy omega fats), teriyaki chicken (protein), and enjoy green tea with your meal (antioxidants).

DON’T ORDER — Tempura rolls (high in calories and fat), beef teriyaki (high in fat), sukiyaki (lard and sugar),fried gyoza (saturated fat), or sake and plum wine (calories).

Mexican: Tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese all conspire to make many Mexican dishes high in calories and fat.  But salsa is low in calories and rich in lycompene.

DO ORDER — Gazpacho (vitamin C and minerals), chicken fajitas (high-quality protein and vegetables rich in antioxidants), and chicken soft taco.

DON’T ORDER — Nachos (fat and salt), refried beans (too much sodium), or quesadillas (high in saturated fat).

Fat and Restaurants: A low fat diet is not a healthy diet, but fats in most restaurants are the wrong kind of fats.  To save money, most restaurants use refined soy oil or vegetable oil which either already contain trans-fats or turn into trans-fats upon frying whether deep, pan, or griddle fried.

Breakfast: The meal that kick-starts your day.  The meal that millions eat in restaurants every day is a great source for getting a heavy load of trans-fats, pesticides, hormones, and anti-biotics. Sounds delicious!

Here’s how to avoid all these slow killers and come away with a healthier breakfast to get your day started with your body in high gear:

DO ORDER — Oatmeal that is cooked, waffles made with buckwheat.  Eggs basted, boiled, poached or omelet (eggs have gotten an unwarranted bad reputation.  They are a super healthy food!).  Rye or nine grain bread, real butter, salad greens and tomato.

DON’T ORDER — Instant oatmeal (highly processed, preservatives, little nutritional value), fried eggs or any eggs cooked in oil (trans-fats), pancakes (white flour and oil, poor nutrition and trans-fats), regular waffles (white flour, nutrient deficient), bacon or ham (hormones and antibiotics) white bread (nutrient deficient), margarine or half and half margarine and butter (trans-fats) or fried potatoes of any kind (trans-fats).

Last But Not Least: If you can avoid them, never eat in a fast food restaurant.  They are trans-fat, sodium, and preservative havens — just what you don’t need!

An example:  McDonald’s breakfast and hamburger buns never spoil.  Neither will their hamburgers, no matter how long you keep them, even not refrigerated.  They are so loaded with salt and preservatives they can lay around for years and never get moldy.  They are so bad, even the bugs won’t eat them, so why do humans?

Also — don’t forget to take nutritional supplements as there is no way you can get the nutrition you need from the quality of food that is available for us to eat.

Make healthy choices, stay healthy, live longer!

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2011 – All Rights Reserved

Note: Good Health Supplements are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals as necessary on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Individual results will vary and statements mentioned are anecdotal and may not represent typical results.

It's Food Care!

It is a given that all life begins at the cellular level.

It is also a given that for your cells to function as healthy cells, they must have the energy level they were designed for, 70 to 90 millivolts.

At that level your cells easily absorb nutrients, convert the nutrients into usable components the body needs, then rids itself of the resultant waste created by this conversion process.

Energy also allows your cells to rid themselves of the toxins they absorb from the nutrients (food) you feed them.

When the nutrients you feed your cells contain high levels of toxins, as do most packaged and conventional foods available to us today, the cell’s energy becomes overtaxed, dissipated, and unable to rid themselves of all the toxins.

This condition causes a lowering of the cells millivolt energy level. This results in cellular dysfunction, inflammation, and the beginnings of disease.

Example: Cancer cells have a measurable energy level of 15 to 20 millivolts.

The purer our food, the fewer toxins our cells have to deal with.  This minimizes cellular stress, and optimizes cellular health.

Healthy cells easily perform the functions they were designed for and quickly rid the body of waste and toxins.

Conventional foods sprayed with herbicides and pesticides cause toxic build-up in our cells.  Toxins are poisons that interfere with the normal function of providing nutrients to the body.

The greater the toxic build-up, the fewer the nutrients the cells can provide.

It stands to reason then, if we don’t get the nutrients we need from our cells, our bodies cannot function in the healthy manner for which they were designed.

Our bodies will break down in one way or another and, over time, will develop some form of degenerative disease.

It’s really that simple.

Cells are not something people think about in their relationship to their bodies. Cells exist, and people take them for granted.

When was the last time you had a conversation with anybody about your cells?

The result is, people don’t understand their cells needs or workings.

Let me emphasize, your cells are where life begins.

Cells make tissues. Tissues make organs. Organs make systems. If you want to be healthy all your life, you had better pay attention your cells.

Your cells need you to ingest good food so it can get good nutrition.

Your cells cannot convert toxins into anything useful.  They cannot convert toxins into the energy needed to function.

Worse — toxins absorb energy leaving little left for nutrient conversion.

With that said, let me tell you that we live in a country that promotes and supports a basic food supply  loaded with toxins.

And what’s even more frightening, companies like Monsanto, with the blessing and support of our government, are increasing their influence and are succeeding in crowding out healthy food and filling the marketplace with more and more of their Genetically Engineered “Franken foods”.

If you think our health care bill is high now, wait until you see what that bill will grow to if we allow this trend to continue.

Let’s take a look at what is happening in Argentina after 12 years of planting Monsanto’s GE soya.

Soya  is now planted in over 50% of Argentina’s farm land.

Remember these promises:

1. Monsanto GE soya will increase yields per acre versus conventional soya.

2. Use Monsanto GE soya and the farmer will need to use less herbicide.  It should also be noted that Monsanto GE soya seeds are far more expensive than conventional soya seeds.

We know that herbicides are detrimental to the health and welfare of humans, animals and fish.

We also know that these herbicides, when sprayed onto farms, don’t stay on those farms but get into our streams, rivers and lakes from run-off from those farms, or contaminate other farms and homes by the wind.

The following report is a result of an important study done in Argentina relating to the environmental damage due to the use of Monsanto’s GE soya.

I am using Argentina as an example in a country that is being destroyed by Monsanto’s GE soya and herbicide and is now waking up and starting to take back some control, versus what is happening here in the USA where Monsanto is destroying farms and farmers, and poisoning our food supply, because there is no control.

In April 2009 Andrés Carrasco, an Argentinian embryologist, gave an interview to the leading Buenos Aires newspaper Página 12, in which he described the alarming results of a research project he is leading, studying the impact of the herbicide glyphosate on the fetuses of amphibians.

Dr Carrasco, who works in the Ministry of Science’s Conicet (National Council of Scientific and Technical Investigations), said that their results suggests that the herbicide could cause brain, intestinal and heart defects in fetuses.

Glyphosate is the herbicide used in the cultivation of Monsanto’s genetically modified soya which now covers some 18 million hectares, about half of Argentina’s arable land.

Carrasco said that the doses of herbicide used in their study were “much lower than the levels used in the Monsanto fumigations”. Indeed, as some weeds have become resistant to glyphosate, many farmers are greatly increasing the concentration of the herbicide.

According to Página 12, this means that, in practice, the herbicide applied in the fields is between 50 and 1,540 times stronger than that used by Carrasco.

The results in the study are confirming what peasant and indigenous communities – the people most affected by the spraying – have been denouncing for over a decade.

The study also has profound consequences for the USA’s anti-narcotics strategy in Colombia, because the planes spray glyphosate, reinforced with additional chemicals, on the coca fields (and the peasants living among them).

Three days after the interview, the Association of Environmental Lawyers filed a petition with the Argentine Supreme Court, calling for a ban on the use and sale of glyphosate until its impact on health and on the environment had been investigated.

Five days later the Ministry of Defense banned the planting of soya in its fields.

This sparked a strong reaction from the multinational biotechnology companies and their supporters.

Fearful that their most famous product, a symbol of the dominant farming model, would be banned, they mounted an unprecedented attack on Carrasco, ridiculing his research and even issuing personal threats.

He was accused of inventing his whole investigation, as his results have not yet been peer-reviewed and published in a prestigious scientific journal.

According to an article in the Argentine press, after news about the study broke, Dr. Carrasco was the victim of an act of intimidation, when four men arrived at his laboratory in the Faculty of Medicine and acted extremely aggressively.

Two of the men were said to be members of an agrochemical industry body but refused to give their names. The other two claimed to be a lawyer and notary.

They apparently interrogated Dr. Carrasco and demanded to see details of the experiments. They left a card Basílico, Andrada & Santurio, attorneys on behalf of Felipe Alejandro Noël.

Carrasco was firm in his response: “When one is dealing with a subject of limited public interest, one can keep the study secret until all the last details have been resolved. But when one uncovers facts that are important for public health, one has an obligation to make an effort to publish the results urgently and with maximum publicity.”

Even so, he was clearly taken aback by the strength of the reaction. “It was a violent, disproportionate, dirty reaction”, he said. “I hadn’t even discovered anything new, only confirmed conclusions that others had reached. One has to remember, too, that the study originated in contacts with communities that have suffered the impact of agro-chemicals. They are the undeniable proof of the impact.”

He is not intimidated: “If I know something, I will not shut my mouth.”

Further: The intense application year after year of a single herbicide – glyphosate – has led to the emergence of weeds that have become resistant to this chemical.

Some of the better known of these “super-weeds”, as they are popularly called, are: Hybanthus parviflorus (Violetilla), Parietaria debilis (Yerba Fresca), Viola arvensis (Violeta Silvestre – Field pansy), Petunia axillaris (Petunia), Verbena litoralis (Verbena), Commelina erecta (Flor de Santa Lucía – Slender dayflower), Convolvulus arvensis (Correhuela – Field bindweed), Ipomoea purpurea (Bejuco – Morning glory), Iresine difusa (Iresine) and recently Sorghum halepense (Sorgo de alepo – Johnson grass), which, because it is a difficult weed to control, has caused considerable alarm among farmers.

“Super Weeds” created by ecological imbalances inherent in mono-cropping with a GM crop, long predicted by ecologists, are jeopardizing the long-term economic and environmental viability of RR soya.

But instead of rethinking the whole agricultural model and encouraging farmers to return to mixed farming, where natural balances make it far easier to control weeds, the Argentine authorities had been offering their full support to Monsanto, which is planning over the next five years to introduce a new form of GM soya.

The new soya will have a gene inserted into it which makes it resistant to dicamba, a herbicide that kills broadleaf weeds.

According to Robert Hartzler, a weed specialist at Iowa University, dicamba brings its own problems. The compound’s volatility means that it will kill off broad-leaved plants on fields and in houses up to half a kilometer away, which will undoubtedly cause yet further serious problems for the rural population.

Monsanto is confident that resistance won’t become a serious problem, but Hartzler is not so sure. “I don’t think we can say that resistance won’t develop”, says Hartzler, “but it is a much lower likelihood than with other herbicide classes. But then, that’s what they originally said about glyphosate.”

Now back to the USA.

Here’s a recent headline and introduction of a report published by our USDA:

USDA Says Biotech Is Compatible with Organic
The Unexplored Potential of Organic-Biotech Production 
Global Agricultural Information Network 
By Cyndi Barmore 
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 5/26/2009

Report Highlights:

The organic movement rejects biotechnology as inherently contradictory to its fundamental goal of promoting environmental protection in agriculture.

European organic promoters in particular stress respect for nature over yield maximization, campaigning for a return to traditional production methods and inputs. [1]

In reality, the divide between organics and biotechnology is an artificial construction maintained by ideology rather than science.

A governmental decision to change organic regulations to permit the use of biotechnology could have far-reaching policy implications for global agriculture.

Allowing producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops could encourage the development of a new type of environmentally sustainable agricultural production with greater benefits for the consumer.

The following is a response to this report by the USDA from Organic Consumer Association.

OCA Editor’s Note: This USDA report attempting to make the case for ‘organic genetically engineering’ is part of a well-funded campaign coordinated by Monsanto and their governmental, corporate, and non-profit partners to legitimize a dangerous and untested technology.

This is a campaign to impoverish farmers by making them dependent on expensive genetically modified seeds and the array of chemicals needed to grow them. It is also making guinea pigs of consumers who are being force-fed unlabeled genetically modified foods.

There are several important reports that rebut the USDA’s specious claims of the benefits of genetic engineering, including: Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2009 www.ucsusa.org click on Food & Agriculture then Failure to Yield [A must read]) and Who Benefits from GM Crops? Genetically Modified Crops Increase Pesticide Use and Fail to Alleviate Poverty (Friends of the Earth International and Center for Food Safety, 2008 www.centerforfoodsafety.org [A must read]) Learn about the World According to Monsanto.

With the battle to save our farms and food supply ongoing, I am now happy to report that thanks to the efforts of the Union of Concerned Scientists and OCA, (August 29, 2009), the USDA has pulled their pro-GMO report from their Web site after receiving thousands of letters from organic consumers.

This is another example of the power the public has when they join together and speak up.

If we are to survive as a healthy human race we need to understand the peril we are in and know we can survive if we keep in mind the needs of our cells.

Think about the need of your cells every time you put food in your mouth.

The huge corporations poisoning our food supply are all about money.

Take away their money and you take away their power and we can get back to wholesome food and the healthy nutrients needed to feed our cells.

We need to eat organic.

We need to boycott such food giants like Kellogs who have switched to genetically engineered sugar.

Whole Foods Markets who are offering “Natural” foods that are nothing more than conventional foods at higher prices.

Hamburger fast food chains buy the cheapest, lowest grade beef out of feed lots steeped in filth.

National brand chicken and pork come from factory farms loaded with hormones and anti-biotics.

The same is true for milk and butter that is not organic.

Boycott soy bean oil because it is processed with the poisonous solvent, hexane.

Refined vegetable oils and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are trans-fats that are just short of plastic.

Canola oil which is genetically engineered and loaded with omega 6 which is detrimental to heart health.

Sodas, power drinks and especially diet sodas are especially bad for you.

Bleached white and enriched white flour in any form should not appear in your diet.

Processed foods are your cell’s enemy.

Eat at least 60% raw foods. Eat wild fish, not farmed.

Grass fed beef, not grain fed, wherever possible.  The difference in taste is as significant as the benefit to your body.

Do you use a deodorant?  If you do because you need to, then know that your body has an abundance of toxins.

People with a low level of toxins in their bodies do not develop body odor.

Take care of your cells and you can guarantee yourself a healthy, robust and long life.

And before I forget, here’s a message from my trainer…

“If you don’t exercise, your life will not be as robust or long lasting.”

To your cells!  May they forever be brimming with energy.  The rest will take care of itself!

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2009 – All Rights Reserved

Note: Good Health Supplements are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals as necessary on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Individual results will vary and statements mentioned are anecdotal and may not represent typical results.

Dieting With a Full Plate?

In my last newsletter I promised to tell you how to lose weight without going on crash or fad diets, or cutting down on food consumption while everyone around you is enjoying a full plate.

I confess that dieting with a full plate was not my idea.

The idea came from the non-profit Lifestyle Center of America.

They are publishing a book written by three doctors.

The book tells you how you can eat with a full plate of food and lose pounds at the same time.

The book will be available for sale to the public about December of this year.

When it becomes available, I will let you know where you can buy a copy.

The book will help you to change your eating habits enjoyably, and help you to extend your life by slimming down and doing it in a healthy way.

In the meantime I will give you a preview for you to get a head start with and be in better shape for when the book becomes available.

Okay — so what’s the secret to dumping pounds?

The secret is food fiber!

• Fiber bulks you up.
• Fiber promotes elimination.
• Fiber is non-caloric and takes the place of fat building calories you would be eating instead.
• Fiber foods are high in nutrition.
• Fiber foods are tasty and delicious.

To help you burn all those extra calories you do not need, which may cause you problems, your intake of fiber should not be less than 30 grams per day.

To help you reach that goal, I am giving you the following  list of fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains that will be recommended in the book.

The book will also show you ways to add fiber to the foods you already eat, and give you a list of recipes that will help you increase your fiber intake plus desserts that do the same.

It is a wonderful and healthy concept that works.

I am listing the top 5 in each category. They were chosen not only for their fiber content but for their overall nutritional benefits.

Here is the list:

Fruit:
Raspberries  8.0 g fiber/1cup – Pears  5.5 g fiber /1 medium – Apples 4.4 g fiber/1 medium – Oranges 3.1 g fiber/1 medium – Bananas 3.1 g fiber/1 medium.

Vegetables:
Avocado 6.7 g fiber/1/2 medium – Broccoli 5.1g fiber/1 cup – Spinach 4.3 g fiber/1 cup – Sweet Potatoes 3.8 g fiber/1 medium – Carrots 2.3g fiber/1/2 cup

Beans:
Please note.  If you soak your beans overnight, you will not have a gas problem.
Navy Beans 9.6 g fiber/1/2 cup – Lentils 7.8 g fiber/1/2 cup – Pinto Beans 7.7g fiber/1/2 cup – Black Beans 7.5 g fiber/1/2 cup – Kidney Beans 5.7 g fiber/1/2 cup

Nuts & Seeds:
Flax Seeds 5.6 g fiber/1 oz. – Almonds 3.5 g fiber/1 oz. – Sunflower Seeds 3.0 g fiber/1/4 cup – Peanuts 2.3 g fiber/1 oz. – Walnuts 1.9 g fiber/1 oz.

Grains:
Wheat 8.2 g fiber/1 cup – Pearled Barley 6.0 g fiber/1 cup – Quinoa 5.2 g fiber/1 cup
Oats 4.0 g fiber/1 cup – Brown Rice 3.5 g fiber/1 cup

Print this newsletter and keep the list handy so that you can count the number of grams of fiber you are eating every day in addition to what you normally eat.

Strive for at least 30 grams of fiber per day.

Good health is all about what you eat and drink.

And don’t forget about exercise. Exercise makes your lymph system work more efficiently, which in turn will boost your immune system.

You will also do your body a great service if you buy organic.

I know that sometimes that is not possible but try to buy as much organic as you can.

And as a side note…my wife and I saw the movie “Food, Inc.” last night.

If you can find it at a theater near you, don’t miss it.

It is an incredible eye-opener about the few large corporations that control our food supply and the quality of food they ship to our food markets and restaurants.

It is a must see for everyone.  If it doesn’t make you angry, I don’t know what will.

You will learn why this country is the sickest developed country in the world and how to protect yourself from becoming another victim.

It is all about food, and you do have choices.

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2009 – All Rights Reserved