Have you ever noticed your dog eating grass? It may strike you as odd to see your dog grazing on greens like a cow, but their instincts are telling them they need something found in green matter. You can help them satisfy that craving by supplementing their diet with the addition of nutritious fruits and vegetables. By creating quick, inexpensive green smoothies for your dogs, you’ll provide them with numerous health advantages and a treat they’ll love.
Benefits of Giving Your Dog Green Smoothies
Just like humans dogs need a healthy, balanced diet. Unfortunately, many commercial foods fail to provide the best nourishment. Many manufactured dog foods contain corn, wheat, and soy but those are not very digestible and often irritate food allergies. They also add a lot of unessential calories to a dog’s diet and contribute to obesity. Choose a kibble that is grain free then give it a boost with the addition of green smoothies.
Fruits and vegetables help build your dog’s immunity and ward off illnesses. Because they provide potent vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, particularly when they are raw, green vegetables are a great way to help your dog stay healthy. They are a rich source of Vitamins A, C, E, and K and fiber, calcium, and protein. Like you, your dog is susceptible to colds, flu, and other illnesses. Why not head off those problems with a daily dose of prevention?
Green smoothies also aid digestion, though because dogs have a short digestive tract fruits and vegetables you give your pet are best served in the form of a smoothie to aid the absorption of the nutrients. The best way to do this is to use a 3 horsepower blender powerful enough to break down the cellular walls of the vegetables to release the potent phytonutrients trapped inside. That is where the real nutrition lies.
Another benefit of green smoothies for dogs includes improved skin and coat. After just a couple of weeks of enjoying green smoothies you’ll notice your dog’s coat has taken on a brilliant sheen and feels softer and more luxurious. This is a result of the extra vitamins and the added hydration smoothies add to your dog’s diet.
Exercise is also important to your dog’s wellbeing and green smoothies will boost their energy levels so they feel more like running and playing. Dogs who lack energy wind up overweight, uncomfortable, and bored. They’ll always feel up to taking a run with you when you make sure they get the right diet to energize them.
How to Make Green Smoothies for Dogs
Green smoothies for both humans and dogs traditionally contain about 40% green vegetables and 60%fruit. You can follow a recipe or get creative and make up your own. Many recipes are designed to be enjoyed by people and animals alike or you can add some special ingredients to please the canine palate. Those might include items like low sodium chicken, beef, or turkey stock or the addition of some lean meat.
It only takes a couple of minutes to whip up a batch of smoothies but the benefits last a lifetime. It really is as simple as throwing the ingredients in your high performance blender (I prefer the Omniblend) and letting it whir away. There’s no cooking and cleanup only takes a minute. Isn’t your fur baby worth it?
Here’s a recipe that both the dogs and their humans will enjoy.
Green Smoothies to Share with Your Dog
2 cucumbers
2 apples, peeled and sliced (be sure to avoid getting any seeds in the mix)
3 stalks celery
2 handfuls baby spinach
Several kale leaves
½ cup parsley
½ cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup crushed ice
Blend in high power blender until smooth and enjoy.
Depression can be fought in part, with food. The vitamins you are looking for are B12, B6 and Omega3. These vitamins correlate to another enzyme that helps your brain produce serotonin. Depression, no matter the cause, is a temporary or chronic production of low-levels of serotonin. When your serotonin levels are too low, it is hard to enjoy life, be it a moment of sun in the middle of winter or a sea breeze in the summer--it’s significance simply does not register with you. You can’t be happy about it, because you can’t turn up the production of serotonin required to feel happy.
Get the Right Vitamins
So it is important that you get enough B12, B6, and Omega 3. Fish such as cod, salmon, halibut, trout, tuna and snapper are good sources of Omega 3, as are walnuts. B6 sources include nuts: peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts; and veggies: skin-on baked potatoes, yams, broccoli, green peas, bell pepper, asparagus, spinach and turnip greens. Turkey and eggs are also good for a depression-reducing diet. Berries are one of the best-depression fighting fruits. The tryptophan **** in turkeys stimulates serotonin production. So make a turkey smoothie?
If your depression led you to eat the wrong foods and you are looking to lose weight as well as fight depression, it is actually very simple to integrate the two nutrient requirements for these efforts.
Eat Small Meals, But More Often
First, rather than three meals a day, you want six. All of your “meals” should be no larger than a snack. Start your morning with a smoothie. See that hazelnuts are on the list for depression? You can purchase hazel nut milk; use that in the place of your almond milk for a smoothie. Hazelnuts are a bit sweeter than almonds, but very tasty.
For your morning snack, try a fruit salad that contains berries and fresh fruit, or try a berry muffin made with whole grains or oats. For lunch, try a tuna-avocado guacamole in a lettuce wrap. Have mixed nuts with dried fruit, and add just a few chocolate-covered M&M’s to fight that sweet craving. But eat your entire portion of nuts and fruit. Then, for dinner, try a quinoa stuffed bell pepper.
The Benefits of Quinoa and Tarts
Quinoa is a grain with complex proteins, so it makes a good meat substitute. Add spinach, tomatoes and olives, into the quinoa and cook per directions. If your directions call for vegetable oil, use olive oil. For desert, try a fruit tart on a nutty vegan crust. Vegan crusts omit dairy, but maximizes protein. You can build crusts out of the very nuts that will help you obtain the needed levels of omega3 and B6.
Making tarts is a good way to utilize fresh fruit. You only need to cook the crust. You can make a glaze out of honey, rather than sugar. This tart could also be breakfast. Should you use a honey glaze, if you make certain that it is local honey, and you eat it every day for two weeks, you can also build up a natural immunity to local allergens. This won’t help you if you go on vacation to a spot that is home to plants you’re also allergic to, but it will help you in your own backyard.
Find the Right Recipes
When recipe hunting for depression-fighting meals, seek out meals that incorporate more than one of the ingredients that will help stabilize your mood. If you are also trying to lose weight, do the same with those foods, too. Look for recipes that can lead to developing healthier patterns by integrating as much variety of fruits, veggies, and nuts in a single meal as possible. Focus on using only grains that give you complete proteins, so that you are not dependant on meat for protein. However, do make sure that you eat fish a few times a week. Also, make turkey your primary meat. Remember meat and eggs are not the only source of protein available to you. In fact, nuts, grains, and soy products are better for you. So use them liberally, and be certain to keep your portions consistent.
Planning out your meals can be fun. Turn menu making into a creative exercise and structure your meals like a puzzle. You’ll be amazed how many dishes you can make out of the aforementioned suggested meats, nuts, fruits and veggies. Step outside your usual meal routine, and experiment with the many recipes that are out there on the internet.
References:
Tryptophan: http://www.everydayhealth.com/depression-pictures/eat-turkey
OmniBlender.COM LLC 2014 (C)
Can Vitamins and Antioxidants Improve Eye Health?
After recently released study results, doctors are beginning to pay attention to their patients’ vitamin D levels and ask them more questions about eye health. Researchers are finding that when vitamin D as well as other vitamins, minerals and foods rich in antioxidants are present in sufficient amounts, the risk of blindness is reduced. Smoothies made with ingredients for proper nutrition can keep your eyes healthy in later years.
The two main causes of blindness in the elderly are age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Studies published by the Archives of Ophthalmology and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed a link between nutrients and eye health.
Antioxidants and Protection Against Cataracts
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye and can result in blindness if not treated. Current medical technology allows those with cataracts to undergo an operation that removes the clouded lens and replaces it with an artificial one.
Although surgery procedures have become routine and most people with cataracts can be treated on an outpatient basis, it is better to take steps to reduce the risk of getting them in the first place. One study that was published in June 2008 by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the combination of antioxidants lessened the cataract risks of 2,400 older adult subjects.
Fruits and vegetables have been rated on the degree to which they function as an effective antioxidant. The standard measurement is called the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and the chart below lists raw fruits and vegetables that have a high ORAC score (see below). All of these foods can be used to make raw smoothies, soups or sauces in your high performance blender.
|
Fruits
|
Vegetables
|
|
Blueberries
|
Beets
|
|
Strawberries
|
Spinach
|
|
Cranberries
|
Red bell pepper
|
|
Acai
|
Kale
|
|
Raisins
|
Onions
|
|
Dark grapes
|
Eggplant
|
The macula is the central point of vision in the retina. Macular degeneration is a progressive disease characterized by a dying off of light sensing cells, which eventually results in blindness. There is no medical treatment available that will reverse the disease process of macular degeneration at this time. Of the men and women in the United States who are 40 years old or older, 15 million are said to have some degree of age-related macular degeneration.
One study conducted by the University of Buffalo’s School of Public Health*** found that women younger than 75 with above average vitamin D levels had a decreased risk for age-related macular degeneration. The recommended daily allowance of vitamin D is 400 IU up to age 18, 800 IU for ages 19 through 50, and 1200 IU for those over 50 years of age.
Unlike the water-soluble B and C vitamins, vitamin D is fat-soluble and can collect in the liver and tissues. While the skin when exposed to sunlight absorbs some amount of vitamin D, this method alone will probably not provide the recommended daily dosages. Dietary adjustments need to be made to reach the recommended allowance.
You can find out what whether your vitamin D intake is sufficient through a simple blood test. Many lab forms used by doctors to order these tests include a place to indicate that vitamin D assessment is necessary. Doctors consider that someone with less than 30 nanomoles of vitamin D per liter of serum is deficient.
If you want to increase your intake of vitamin D to protect your eyes, try including these foods in your diet: canned tuna, herring, salmon, dairy milk, almond milk, orange juice with vitamins added, and fortified cereals. Follow smoothie recipes that use milk or orange juice and whip up a few in your smoothie blender each day to increase your vitamin D level.
A healthy diet throughout life that includes raw fruits and vegetables can keep you seeing clearly in your older years. The antioxidant benefits of berries together with the vitamin D advantages of dairy milk or fortified orange juice is a recipe for delicious smoothies and healthy eyes.
Reference***
http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/macular-degeneration/news/20110411/vitamin-d-levels-may-affect-macular-degeneration-risk
(C) 2013 OmniBlender.COM LLC
We are most familiar with the lines and loss of tautness in the skin, but there are a number of other things going on with our bodies, as we get older. Pain increases with the onset of arthritis. Aging brings with it a loss of energy and a weakened immune system. According to Dr. Nicholas Perricone MD, if you want to fight aging you should do so from the outside in. Aging is an entire body process.
If you want to wage a successful assault on aging, you must launch a systematic attack on a diverse set of ailments. At least there are nutritional measures you can take to assist in your efforts. Supplements provide some help in this battle. However, a healthy diet is really the best weapon in your arsenal when fighting aging. Exercise is major component as well, but in order to have the energy to exercise, it is important to eat well. Which vitamins, elements or other ingredients are essential to effectively wage the aging battle?
Omega 3: The Good Oil
Omega-3 fights depression and reduces inflammation. Most commonly found in fish oil, which is made into a pill for the supplement-lovers. For the cooks out there, fish oil is a common seasoning in Asian cuisine. Buy a bottle, and try to add a squirt to your frying pan or walk when stir frying veggies, noodles, or marinating chicken or tofu. Fish that are high in Omega 3 include cod, tuna and halibut.
If you are environmentally cautious and leery of fish-consumption that contributes to the depopulation of the oceans, check out the Seafood Watch to check which version of these fish is safe for your area of the country or world. If you do not eat meat whatsoever, then make certain flax seed is a part of your diet. Flax seed is one of the few grains that have a high component of Omega 3.
Keep Skin Looking Young with Vitamins E and C:
Vitamins E and C help your skin stay young and healthy. Vitamin E directly protects your skin from ultra violet radiation. Vitamin C helps your skin repair itself, inside out. Together these vitamins assist your body in defending itself. Vitamin E is present in nuts, greens, blueberries and papaya. However, the assortment of high-content foods makes it difficult to obtain the ideal amount of vitamin E in a balanced diet. Though this is partially influenced by where you live, and your access to fresh and diverse foods on an annual basis rather than merely a seasonal one. However there are a variety of vitamin supplements available to help you attain this goal.
Fight Low Energy with B12 and Magnesium
Vitamin B12 is found in meat--poultry and fish, as well as in soy. Magnesium is found in leafy greens, nuts, peas, whole grains and soy. So a mixture of soy and whole grains would be a good recommendation for your arsenal. Remember, soy is also a source of estrogen. If you want the effectiveness of hormones without the relatively higher and less natural estrogen birth control pills or hormone supplements, soy is a good option. But variety is ideal, so include whole grains. If your heredity puts you at risk for breast cancer, make certain that your portions of soy are relatively small and that you find alternative sources of magnesium.
Add Age-Fighting Nutrients to Smoothies
Smoothies are the easiest and most convenient way to boost the age-fighting nutrients in your diet. Look for raw fruit and vegetable smoothie recipes that will maximize your intake of the water-soluble vitamins B and C. Increase your magnesium consumption by using soy milk as a smoothie base and follow it up with green smoothie recipes that call for baby spinach. To increase the amount of Omega-3 in your diet, you can add flax seeds to smoothies. Be certain to include your vitamin requirements when choosing your foods for the week, and your cabinet-stocking materials will help you maintain a healthy diet and fight aging. Keep supplements on hand, because these can help you gain your needed vitamins and minerals without the effort of extensive and cautious meal planning. Not everyone has the time to put such thought into their diet. If you can, however, get as many of your needed nutrients in your food and beverage choices, such as raw smoothies, to stay healthy at any age.
The right nutrients or supplements in the correct quantities can go a long way toward helping you maintain a youthful appearance. Although many people often quip that age is just a number, there is a growing awareness of the positive steps that can be taken to stave off some of the affect aging has on our bodies. Smoothies that help you maintain a weight that is right for your build and height while increasing your daily quota of raw fruits and vegetables can protect your health as you age.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
The biggest factors involved in maintaining a healthy weight are diet and exercise. If you are dieting to get down to your ideal weight, there will be some dietary changes you will want to make to keep the weight under control.
Look for low-calorie smoothie recipes and stock up on your favorite ingredients. When we run out of smoothie components, there is more of a tendency to reach for a less-healthy alternative to fill the hunger gap.
Find moderate, weight-bearing exercises that you enjoy. The only way to ensure that you get enough exercise is to make it an experience you look forward to instead of dreading. Then arrange your daily routine so that you can comfortably add at least 30 minutes of exercise.
Latest Advice: Nine Servings of Fruit and Veggies a Day
Today’s governmental guidelines in the US emphasize fruit and vegetables more than protein from meat. In fact, the latest advice is that an individual needs four servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables each day. If you try to meet these guidelines strictly through meals, you may find it difficult to consume that much unless you are on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
The alternative is to add two or three low-calorie smoothies to your daily diet can take care of the majority of these requirements. Then you can eat regular meals as planned, with an eye toward limiting the servings of beef and other meats.
What is Reversterol and How Can it Help?
Reversterol is an ingredient found originally in grape skins that has demonstrated ability in clinical trials to improve skin elasticity, prevent cell degradation, and may promote youth. Much reversterol is found in red wine, and with the popularity of this ingredient, supplements emerged. However, the supplements are not incorporated well into the body, so they do not provide the same benefits we might see from moderate red wine consumption. While individuals who are not drinking red wine are encouraged by doctors to try eating grapes or drinking red or purple grape juice, neither of these options are confirmed as being as affective as red wine. Still, other options not officially explored are other fruits and foods that naturally contain this substance. Peanuts, blueberries and cranberries contain reversterol. However, no studies documenting the effectiveness of reversterol in these foods could be located.
If you want to try obtaining reverterol from foods not yet tested for their anti-aging properties, concentrate on smoothies that include these ingredients. No smoothie will be as affective as drinking red wine in moderation -- 10oz a day for men and 5 oz a day for women, based on weight averages -- but if you are on medication that prohibits alcohol consumption, this might be something to try. Remember, there are no guarantees that this will work, even if a Google search would lead you to believe reversterol is some miracle drug. We don’t know enough about its properties to understand how it promotes benefits.
Warnings aside, you can focus on grape, cranberries, and blueberry smoothies that will help maximize your non-alcoholic reversterol intake.
Cran-Grape
Grape Juice Cranberry Juice Ice Plain Yogurt Honey ½ cup seedless grapes---with skins
CranBlueBerry
100% Cran-Blueberry Juice Vanilla Yogurt ½ cup frozen blueberries 1 banana
Apple Grape:
100% Grape Juice Vanilla Yogurt ½ grapes ¼ cup diced apple 1 banana
Grape BlueBerry
100% Grape-Blueberry juice 1 banana ½ cup seedless grapes--with skin ½ cup blueberry ice non-fat milk
Grapefruit
8oz Grape Juice ½ a grape fruit ½ cup grapes 1 tablespoon honey ½ cup blueberries (frozen) ¼ cup yogurt 8oz nonfat milk
Berry Me Up:
¼ cup frozen strawberries ¼ cup frozen blue
If you maintain a healthy weight and increase the raw fruits and vegetables in your diet, you will have a good start toward keeping your body healthy into retirement years. If you choose to add reversterol to your smoothies, grapes and berries are the best sources. While smoothies cannot directly slow the aging process, the ingredients you choose and the lifestyle decisions you make will help you to age in a healthy way.
The right nutrients or supplements in the correct quantities can go a long way toward helping you maintain a youthful appearance. Although many people often quip that age is just a number, there is a growing awareness of the positive steps that can be taken to stave off some of the affect aging has on our bodies. Smoothies that help you maintain a weight that is right for your build and height while increasing your daily quota of raw fruits and vegetables can protect your health as you age.