How much sugar and salt should I eat daily?

 

1 teaspoon of sugar is approx 4g.

Read your food labels to see how much sugar is in the product.  If sugar is near the top of the ingredient list its best to choice another brand.  It's recommended that's there's no more than 15g of sugar per 100g in a food product. And no more than 400mg of salt per 100g/

 Extra sugar means extra calories and, without adequate energy expenditure, it means weight gain.

Consuming a lot of sugar calories in the forms of soda, biscuits and cakes pushes out nutritionally rich foods like dairy, fruits and vegetables.

 Maple syrup, honey, cane sugar, corn syrup, cane syrup, brown sugar, brown rice syrup, molasses and turbinado are all names of added sugar.

Too much sugar is also a known cause of tooth decay.

Sugar can create serious disruptions to your energy levels--the high followed by the crash. With better food choices, your energy will even out. Over time, cravings for super sweet products will subside. And on those rare occasions when you do satisfy your sweet tooth, it will be all the more special.

Alternatives to using sugar include products such as agave syrup and stevia - natural products that are derived from plants but satisfy that need for sweetness, sometimes

Salt - less than 2300mg daily

 1 teaspoon of salt is approx 6g
just one teaspoon of table salt has 2,325 milligrams (mg) of sodium

Your body needs some sodium (salt) to function properly because it:

• Helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body
• Helps transmit nerve impulses
• Influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles

Your kidneys naturally balance the amount of sodium stored in your body for optimal health. When your sodium levels are low, your kidneys essentially hold on to the sodium. When sodium levels are high, your kidneys excrete the excess in urine.

But if for some reason your kidneys can't eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, which increases pressure in your arteries. Such diseases as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can make it hard for your kidneys to keep sodium levels balanced.

Iodied salt is the best choice for your thyroid health.

SO you're not perfect....

Don't be so hard on yourself if you end up eating too much or not often enough in ONE day.

If you do, put it behind you and get back on schedule the following day.

Don't beat yourself up and don't ever give up on yourself.

Water

Healthy muscle is comprise of more than 70% water.  If your water intake is low, your ability to transport nutrients becomes compromised.  You could begin to feel sluggish because of the build up of ammonia, urea, uric acid and other toxins that aren't being eliminated from your body.

So drink at least 8 glasses of water daily to improve the functioning of your body.  It's an easy way to improve how your body feels.

Superfood - Spinach

While iron  is known as spinach's superpowers apparently new research shows that is may actually be the nitrates content. 

Nitrates boost the efficiency of mitochondria - the energy producing components inside our body's cells that fuel cell activity and growth - which could affect physical performance.

Another interesting fact - studies have shown cherry juice could help you to recover faster after a workout.  Its the antioxidants that decrease the damage that occurs when muscles are worked to their max - though I'm not sure I've seen cherry juice on our local supermarket shelves.....

Suffer from Migraines?

Griffith Universitey reports that supplements of Vit B6, B12 and folic acid may decrease the severity and frequency.

Carrot Cake

1/2 cup pureed apple
2/3 cup of low GI sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/4 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large carrots, grated
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
30g low fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons low fat milk
2-3 tablespoons icing sugar

Preheat the oven 180 C
Prepare a 23 cm round cake tin
In a small bowl, whisk together apple, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla
In large bowl, stir together flour, bicarb soda and cinnamon
Make a well and add the apple mixture then stir until blended
Stir in the carrots and walnuts
Pour batter into tin
Bake approx 35 mins
To make icing
whisk together the cream cheese and milk until well combined.
Add only 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and whish til smooth
Adding more icing sugar if the glaze is too thin.

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

250 peeled and diced butternut pumkin
1 3/4 cup wholemeal plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup low fat milk
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven 200 C
Grease muffin pan
Steam the pumpkin until tender.  Cool slightly and mash
In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices
In another bowl mix milk, egg, oil and pumpkin
Fold the pumpkin mix into flour mixture until moistened
Spoon batter into muffin pan

I add to this recipe 2 tablespoons of pepitas, 1 tablespoon sunflower kernels, 1 tablespoon oat bran and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.

These muffins are beautifully moist and the spices make them very very enjoyable - a no guilt treat!

Did you know?

A macca's big mac has 26.9g of fat

A hungry jack's double whooper has a whooping 80.5g of fat

A KFC original fillet burger has 15.7g of fat

Saturated and transfat makes you fat.  It's the easiest macronutrient for our bodies to store as body fat.

We do need some fat in our diet - but its good fats we need to consume - not saturated or transfats that will clog your arteries and cause heart disease.

Do you know how much daily fat intake we should have?
40 - 70 g or 25% of your daily calorie intake

What are good fats?

Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, nut oils, natural oils found in fish like salmon and most dark meat fish are full of omega 3, organic full fat yogurt, kefir, organic butters or ghee.