Healthy Eating

Eat a balanced meal. Eat 4 servings of vegetables a day. Stick with lean meat. Drink your milk – you’ll get strong bones. Lay off the candy – your teeth will rot out.

It’s the same litany you heard from your mom, the same one you repeated to your kids, and the same one they’ll repeat to theirs. It’s great advice, but eating a balanced and healthy diet in these times is truly a challenge with our over-processed everything and on-the-go lifestyles. And getting all the nutrients our bodies need? Good luck. That’s where swansonvitamins.com can help. They carry lots of good-for-you foods like their Organic Trail Mix, freeze-dried strawberries, kamut pasta, no salt added beans, and so much more! So the next time you question your nutrient intake or you need to find a healthy snack quick, turn to Swanson for some healthful choices. 

Try Truvia for a Calorie-Free Natural Sweetener

Are you on a low-calorie diet? Or maybe you’re just looking for an easy way to reduce calories in your favorite foods and beverages. There is no easier way than all-natural Truvia, the best natural sweetener out there that also happens to have zero calories. It does sound too good to be true, but Truvia has been a treasured favorite for centuries in South America because of its natural sweetness that rivals that of sugar. Truvia is a perfect no-calorie sweetener for any of your favorite foods or beverages. In fact, when you replace Truvia for sugar in your coffee or tea, it makes for one of the easiest calorie-cutting methods there are because you’ll still be able to enjoy the sweetness without the guilt.

The Little Blue Antioxidant Powerhouse – Blueberries

Whether you’re looking to beef up your daily fruit intake, a way to add some color to your morning meals or just another good excuse to load up on natural antioxidants, blueberries are the ticket!

Why Are Blueberries So Good for You?

• Blueberries are an antioxidant powerhouse
• They are rich in phytonutrients
• They are natural free-radical fighters- in fact, they may have the highest capacity for fighting free radicals out of any berry! 

Just listen to what the American Institute for Cancer Research has to say about blueberries: “Modern science has found that blueberries are one of the best sources of antioxidants, substances believed to slow the aging process and reduce the cell damage that can lead to cancer. USDA researchers have ranked blueberries number one in antioxidant activity when compared to 40 other fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Is there any doubt left in your mind about the benefits of blueberries. They’re easy to find, easy to clean and delicious on just about all typical breakfast foods…cereal, pancakes, oatmeal, French toast…so they’re easy to incorporate into your diet as well.

Source Pioneer Thinking

Want an Herb Garden But Don’t Have a Yard?

For anyone still enjoying the maintenance free lifestyle of renting an apartment or home, there’s at least one significant drawback for those who enjoy fresh herbs: you don’t have the garden space to grow your own fresh supply. But not to worry – there is an easy and fun solution that will have you enjoying fresh herbs for cooking, potpourri or just for ambience and fragrance in your home.

Container gardening is one of the best ways to spruce up your space, spice up your kitchen and expand your list of hobbies. It doesn’t require a lot of time, but the rewards are a plenty. All you need is some flower pots (the cheap ones work just as well as the expensive ones), some potting soil, some seeds or plants from your local nursery and a window or patio door that gets at least 4 hours of good sunlight each day. A good watering can that provides a gentle, wide flow from several holes in the spout is also helpful. Talk with the employees at the nursery about what kind of herbs you should grow, how much water and plant food they require and how best to take clippings when needed. Most herbs are relatively easy to maintain, so even the most inexperienced growers should see more than enough success to make container gardening well worth the time.

Two Reasons to Consider Eating Less Meat

It should be no secret that a diet consisting of three meat-filled meals a day isn’t the best dietary plan out there. A balanced diet incorporating all the colors, textures and varieties of food available is probably the best option for most people. However, there are two very good reasons why you should consider substituting more fruits, vegetables and other whole foods for the abundance of meat in your diet, specifically red meat.

Number one, meat is high in saturated fat, which we all know is the second worst fat – just behind trans fat – for our bodies. In fact, our bodies don’t require any saturated fat to function, so there’s no real reason to pile it on. Too much saturated fat in the diet has been linked with cardiovascular health problems, and it’s a big factor in weight gain.

Number two, meat is also high in cholesterol, which our bodies already produce and regulate very well on their own. High cholesterol has been a growing problem, and many believe there is a direct link to diets high in saturated and trans fats and low in nutritious fruits and vegetables. So consider your options next time you are browsing through the meat section at your grocery store. Adding a little variety to your dinner plate is also a fun way to expand your culinary skills.

How You Can Help Lower Healthcare Costs

Healthcare costs for Americans who get medical coverage through an employer hit a record $16,771 per family this year. Many people are starting to become aware of the fact that the U.S. healthcare system is based on treating your conditions/illnesses/diseases instead of preventing them. In fact, according to the Obama administration, “less than 4 cents of every healthcare dollar is spent on prevention.” If we work more on preventing disease, in other words staying healthy, we have a real chance to lower healthcare costs in the U.S. We need to take better care of ourselves, take our own healthcare back into our own hands.

Where should you start?
In a word, diet. What we eat is fundamental to how we feel, how we look and how healthy we are or are not. Start paying attention to what you eat and what your family eats and improve your diet a little every day, week or month by adding things like fruits and veggies and removing fat and sugar.

Save Your Health with Super Foods

When you hear about super foods, it’s hard not to conjure up images of high-fiber cereal bars with red capes. Super foods really can save lives, just not in a Superman kind of way. Super foods are foods that contain a high nutritional content. They’re good-for-you, taste great, and are easily incorporated into any diet.

Super foods include things like black beans, chia seeds, and goji berries. Of course, super foods don’t all have exotic names or come from exotic locations. Vegetable staples like cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli are all natural super foods available to everybody. Unfortunately, these vegetables may have to be shipped long distances depending on the season. Keep your cupboards well stocked with long lasting super foods like cans of black beans, chia seeds and freeze-dried strawberry slices. The more you have on hand, the easier it will be to incorporate a wide variety of super foods into your regular diet.

Don’t be intimidated by super food. It’s there to protect you against disease while improving your overall health. After eating a consistent diet of super foods, you’ll likely start to feel like a super hero yourself. At least you’ll have the energy of one.

Supporting Your Health Food Journey

Relax ladies, just because you’ve decided to delve into a health diet doesn’t mean you have to stop shaving your legs. It just means that you care about yourself enough to make healthy food choices. Congratulations! This food nutrition journey should be a positive experience, so don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon. Just because you devoured a big bag of chips and swallowed everything down with a cola drink doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Healthy eating (like exercise) should be a lifelong journey. You’ll have your ups and downs as you get used to your new lifestyle. That’s normal. Keep at it!

A great way to keep on top of your new diet and nutrition plan is to come up with a weekly menu. Make sure to substitute some of your usual ingredients with healthier food choices. Include black beans into your salads and top with high-fiber chia seeds. Remember to toss some freeze-dried strawberry slices on your cereal for an added nutritional boost. Taking health food supplements is also a great way to enhance your nutritional intake while supporting strong immune function.

Local Health Food - Good for Everybody

What do tuna and xylitol have in common? Well, nothing really, but they are both good choices for eating healthy. If you happen to be shopping online at Swanson Vitamins, consider buying tuna from them while you’re stocking up. Diet and nutrition should include foods that are not only good for you, but that have minimal environmental impact, are made with only the best quality ingredients, and come with a money-back guarantee. You can get all that when you shop at Swanson Vitamins.

Tuna at a health food store? Yes! Tuna is great for casseroles, sandwiches, and as a spread on crackers. Tuna’s also a great way to get healthy fish into your daily diet. Of course, you can buy tuna at any grocery store, but the stuff you normally buy is likely packed with additives and oils. At Swanson Vitamins online, you can buy tuna that’s packed in its own juices without anything else added. Not only that, the tuna is humanely harvested in the United States without harming the environment. Remember, tuna is rich in essential fatty acids--the fat that's good for you.

Giving the Gift of Health Foods

Everybody has somebody in the family who’s hard to buy for. Whoever it is, they already have everything under the sun and when gift-giving time rolls around, you’re stumped on what to buy. Well, how about creating a health and nutrition gift basket? It’s fun and easy to do when you shop online at Swanson Vitamins. Go crazy and buy stuff they normally wouldn’t buy for themselves.

Black beans, chia seeds, coconut flour and a container of Sun Butter combined with a healthy food cookbook and an apron makes an excellent gift for anybody. Does that special someone have a sweet tooth? Help them get into a healthy lifestyle by filling a basket with naturally sweet freeze-dried strawberry slices and all-natural sweeteners like xylitol. Buy whole grain bread and add a couple jars of manuka honey and Sun Butter for the person who likes to snack.

People love gift baskets, and what better way to buy for someone who has everything? Swanson Vitamins is a great place to stock up on gift giving healthy food choices. Once you see what they have for sale, you’ll want to create a gift basket for all of your friends and family, no matter what time of year.