A blog about what are goji berries good for

what are goji berries good forWhat Are Calories and Why Do We Care?

Calories are simply units of measure. They aren't actually things in and of themselves; they are labels for other things, just like how an inch really isn't anything, but it measures the distance between two points.

So what do calories measure?

Easy: they measure energy.

Yes, the evil calorie - the bane of the dieter's existence - is really just a 3-syllable label for energy.

And it's important to highlight this, because the body itself, despite its vast intelligence (much of which medical science cannot yet understand, only appreciate in awe) does not really do a very intelligent job of distinguishing good energy from bad.

Actually, to be blunt, the body doesn't care about where the energy comes from. Let's explore this a little more, because it's very important to the overall understanding of how to boost your metabolism, particularly when we look at food choices.

In our choice-laden grocery stores, with dozens of varieties of foods - hundreds, perhaps - there seems to be a fairly clear awareness of what's good food, and what's bad or junk food.

For example, we don't need a book to remind us that, all else being equal, a plum is a good food, whereas a tub of thick and creamy double-fudge ice cream is a bad food.

Not bad tasting, of course; but, really, you won't find many fit people eating a vat of ice cream a day, for obvious reasons. So what does this have to do with calories and energy?

It's this: while you and I can evaluate our food choices and say that something (like a plum) is a healthy source of energy, and something else (like a tub of ice cream) is an unhealthy source of energy, the body doesn't evaluate. Really.

It sounds strange and amazing, but the body really doesn't care. To the body, energy is energy. It takes whatever it gets, and doesn't really know that some foods are healthier than others. It's kind of like a garbage disposal: it takes what you put down it, whether it should go down or not.

So let's apply this to the body, and to weight gain. When the body receives a calorie - which, as we know, is merely a label for energy - it must do something with that energy.

In other words, putting all other nutrients and minerals aside, if a plum delivers 100 calories to the body, it has to accept those 100 calories. The same goes for 500 calories from a (small) tub of ice cream: those 500 calories have to be dealt with.

Now, the body does two things to that energy: it either metabolizes it via anabolism, or it metabolizes it via catabolism. That is, it will either convert the energy (calories) into cells/tissue, or it will use that energy (calories) to break down cells.

Now the link between calories/energy, metabolism, and weight loss becomes rather clear and direct.

When there is an excess of energy, and the body can't use this energy to deal with any needs at the time, it will be forced to create cells with that extra energy. It has to.

It doesn't necessarily want to, but after figuring out that the energy can't be used to do anything (such as help you exercise or digest some food), it has to turn it into cells through anabolism.

And those extra cells? Yes, you guessed it: added weight!

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The Food Guide Pyramid

The Food Guide Pyramid is one manner for Americans to read how to eat healthy. A rainbow of colored, vertical stripes stands for the five food groups plus fats and oils. Here is what the colors stand for:

orange = grains
green = vegetables
red = fruits
yellow = fats and oils
blue = milk and dairy products
purple = meat, beans, fish, and nuts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) modified the pyramid in spring 2005 because they wanted to do a more enhanced job of narrating to Americans how to be healthy. The agency later released a special variation for children. On this website you will observe a girl ascending the staircase up the side of the pyramid. That is an example of showing kids how important it is to exercise and be active every day. From another perspective, play a lot! The stairs are also a way of showing that you can make changes in stages to be more healthy. One step at a time, understand?

The Pyramid Speaks to us in several ways. Let us all confront a few of the additional topics this new symbol is trying to pass on:

A person should eat a wide variety of foods. A balanced diet is one that makes use of all the food groups. From another perspective, have foods from every color, every day.

We should eat less of some foods, and extra of others. You can see that the bands for meat and protein are purple and oils are yellow and less pronounced than the other ones. The reason is because you need less of those varieties of foods than your need of fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy foods.

Your family also can see the bands start out fatter and get skinnier as they approach the top side. That is designed to show you that not all foods are made as good as others, even within a fit food group like fruit. Sometimes, apple pie might be in that thin section of the fruit band because it has a lot of added sugar and fat. A whole apple would be turn up in the broad part for you can eat more of those in a fit eating regimen.

We should all make nutrition personal. Through the USDA's MyPyramid website, families can get personal recommendations about the mix of nutrients they need to have and how much he or she must be eating. There is a children�s� variation of the website available as well. To understand better ways of applying the food pyramid get access to Super Food Seminars and interviews with Famous Raw Food Authors

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Pizza - A Slice of Heaven Revisted

Without a doubt, Ed Levine knows his pizza. He is an author, food critic and full time pizza fanatic. Levine just can't get enough pizza.

Levine takes his pizza seriously. He consumed over a thousand slices in twelve months, in twenty states and several countries. The result of this journey, Pizza A Slice of Heaven, is a volume dedicated to America's favorite food.

He reviews all manner of pizza and pizzerias. He tries the fantastic as well as the mediocre. He begins his quest at the source of all pizza, Naples, Italy. He samples pizza from the East to the West Coast and many places in between. His focus is on pizza so memorable that his heart pounds just thinking about it. Levine has developed his own rubric for rating pizza. He notes the criterion is the fuel source, the oven, the crust, the mozzarella, the sauce and the balance.

This book is more than just a review of great pizza. Within these pages are adventurous tales filled with pizza obsession, passion, heartbreak, and enlightenment. You will even find a cure for the dreaded Pizza Burn. Pizza Burn occurs when searing hot cheese meets the unprotected roof of your mouth. He also includes a pizza recipe for the home cook. Ed Levine has done his homework.

Levine is wise enough to enlist the assistance of such luminaries as Chefs Mario Batali and Peter Reinhart (American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza), Nora Ehron, Jeffery Stiengarten and many others. These authors add much varied flavor to the different tastes in the book. In some ways this book is a collaborative effort full of Pizza anecdotes and reviews, however, Levine pulls it altogether in the end.

Levine is very straight forward about his pizza picks. He is a New Yorker, and his choices have a New York spin. He feels (as many New Yorkers feel), New York is the center of the pizza universe. He is not a pizza elitist, however.

He nods his head to the famed New Haven, Connecticut Pizza; Pepe's, and Sally's Apizza. He does acknowledge Wooster Street in New Haven, as being a stronghold of some of the best pizza in America. He searches New York, Boston, Chicago, The Mid West, The South, The Southwest, and The West Coast. He even touches on South American Pizza. He takes a stab at Bar Pizza, Frozen Pizza, Chain Pizza and Internet Pizza (pizzatherapy.com, a web site based in Hawaii, is referenced).

Levine rates Hawaii pizza, by enlisting the assistance of Joan Namkoony and John Heckathorn from Honolulu Magazine. As part of their research, they ordered fourteen pizzas from Kahala to Mapunupuna and brought them back to their office for a pizza party. After a blind-test-side-by-side comparison, one pizza came out on top: Antonio's New York Pizzeria. Owners (and cousins) Anthony Romano and Joe Tramantano are transplanted from Connecticut carrying on the thin crust pizza tradition here in Hawaii.

I recommend Pizza: A Slice of Heaven! without hesitation or reservation. This is a wonderful book for anyone who ever enjoyed a pizza. Levine does not sugar coat any of his reviews or recommendations. The book is totally opinionated and therein lies it's charm.

Levine is already braced for controversy and asks readers to contact him with additional suggestions for future editions of Pizza: A Slice of Heaven! For now, we will savor Pizza: A Slice of Heaven!, for we have found, "Pizza on Earth..." If you want to find out more about pizza, visit: http://pizzatherapy.com

Discover Pizza Tales, Pizza Tricks and all things pizza here: http://www.pizzatherapy.com/sq.htm Claim your free copy of Albert Grande's e-book about "Big Ideas" at this link: http://grandepublishing.com/sq.htm

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