Asian Recipes

Asian Recipes Blog

The Unrivaled Practical Guide for Asian Cooking

Are some foods sleep inducers?

Nearly everyone is familiar with the family holiday dinner syndrome. After eating your way through generous helpings of every dish gracing the table, you adjourn to the living room and sink into a comfortable chair, possibly to watch the televised football game. Long before the official gun marks the end of the first half you are already in dreamland.

Your drowsiness is caused by more than the sheer bulk of food you consumed or the dullness of the game or its commentator. Certain of the foods you are likely to eat on such occasions are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that helps your body produce serotonin, a biochemical that has a soporific effect on man and other animals. Foods known to have high levels of tryptophan include turkey, beef, pork, and lamb - all traditional specialties for festive affairs.

Because carbohydrates also help produce serotonin, the gargantuan portions of starchy potatoes, yams, and bread you ate allowed the sandman to perform his miracle in a wink. The type of food affects how long you will be sleepy. Your body digests fats more slowly than it does carbohydrates and proteins, so the higher your meal's fat content, the longer your doze.

Alcohol compounds the dozing problem. It anesthetizes brain cells that normally would keep you alert. Naturally, if your food and alcohol intake is too much or too rich, your peaceful slumber may be short-lived when a nightmare or upset stomach gives you a rude awakening.

** Asian Recipes **

15:31:16 on 03/24/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

Should the elderly eat less than they did during their prime?

Suppose a person weighed and exercised the same at 65 as he did at 25, his body would require 10 percent fewer calories than he did in his youth, partially because his fat-to-muscle ratio decreased as he grew older. Body fat requires less energy than protein-rich muscle.

A senior citizen also needs fewer calories because his basal metabolic rate has decreased. He burns fewer calories. The need for vitamins and other essential nutrients does not decline as much as an older person's caloric requirements. Consequently, the aged have little room in their diets for the empty-calorie foods, such as sugar and alcohol, that they may have enjoyed in their earlier years. For health's sake, they must make every calorie count.

** Healthy Diet **

13:30:00 on 03/14/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

Why should weight watchers eat slowly?

When we eat, our blood glucose levels rise temporarily. Our blood glucose receptors perceive this change and signal the brain that the body has consumed enough food. It takes about 20 minutes for this signal to reach the brain. Therefore, it's easy to pass the point of satiation without realizing it.

This problem is especially acute for fast eaters. Within the 20-minute duration, they can consume a lot of food, many more calories than they really need, leaving them with an uncomfortable, bloated feeling. If they had chewed and eaten slowly, they wouldn't have ingested as much food by the time the brain transmitted the "full" signal.

** Health Recipes **

14:50:42 on 03/13/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

Is it easy for vegetarians to consume all the eight essential amino acids?

Fortunately for vegans and traditional vegetarians, one does not have to eat meat or dairy products to obtain all the amino acids the body cannot produce. They can instead plan a meal consisting of foods that collectively contain the essential eight. Whole cereal grains and legumes are the most famous of such complementary foods whose proteins add up to form a complete source. There is one salient condition, however. The two must usually be eaten at the same meal. Thus, the traditional peasant dish of rice and beans or the American Indian mixture of lima beans and corn (succotash) are good sources of protein.

Lacto and lacto-ovo vegetarians need not be as concerned about consuming their required share of complete protein because dairy products and eggs contain all eight essential amino acids.

** Vegetarian Recipes **

12:35:06 on 03/12/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

Do fat people need more calories than thin people to maintain their weight?

A 300-pound fat person burns more calories than does a 150-pound thin person because he requires more energy to move his body weight around, pump blood, and perform other functions. Don't conclude, however, that this fat person needs twice as many calories. On a pound-per-pound basis, the average fat person burns fewer calories than the average thin person, for three reasons.

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13:08:16 on 03/11/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

How many calories do we need?

The average man burns roughly 1,700 calories per day for basal metabolism, the average woman roughly 1,325 calories. These are the calories the body burns for basic life-support processes, including breathing, digesting, thinking, circulating blood, replacing cells, and maintaining body temperature. These basal metabolic functions take place even if one is sitting perfectly still.

In addition, your body needs calories for physical activity. For instance, the typical per hour calorie expenditure rate beyond the basal metabolic rate is practically zero for watching TV, 300 for casual walking, 400 for leisurely cycling, 500 for unhurried swimming, and 600 for moderate-paced jogging. Children, in addition, need extra calories for growing. Calories you consume beyond the basal metabolic, physical activity, and growing requirements are converted to body fat.

** Healthy Food **

18:15:29 on 03/10/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

How are food calories measured?

When food scientist say an apple has 100 calories, they are specifying the potential energy (heat) that the apple can generate as it passes through the body. Each food calorie is equal to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram (1 liter or 2.2 pounds) of water by 1C at 1 atmospheric pressure. This calculation is based on a kilogram rather than a gram, so a food calorie is 1,000 times greater than the normal calorie, the one commonly used in physics and chemistry.

Scientists calculate the food-calorie value with devices such as the bomb calorimeter, a sealed compartment in which a specific weight of food is completed burned. Sensitive instruments measure the amount of energy generated by the burning food.

** Asian Recipes **

16:05:11 on 03/09/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

What are the chances of regaining the pounds you lose on a diet?

Unfortunately, the news isn't encouraging. Most people seeking to lose 10 or more pounds on a weight-loss diet will regain most or all of the lost weight within a year or two. And some of these people will eventually end up weighing more than they did when they started their diets. The consensus of leading independent weight-loss authorities boils down the secrets of success into three simple caveats: Don't eat more calories than your body burns, exercise regularly, and learn to make healthy food choices.

** Healthy Food **

13:05:21 on 03/08/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

Why are fast eaters more prone to stomachaches?

Food gobblers increase their chances of heartburn in two ways. First, they swallow a lot of air. Belching typically follows. The rising air sends acidic digestive juices flying up to the esophagus. Second, since wolfers don't have time to chew their food into easily digestible pieces, their stomachs are forced to release extra acidic digestive juices to break down the abnormally large pieces. This added acid can cause heartburn.

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11:52:27 on 03/07/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

What is the theory behind eating a varied diet?

Science has identified over 40 different essential nutrients - and no one food ingredient offers them all. Moreover, our body probably needs some nutrients that food scientists know nothing or little about. A diet rich in variety therefore stands a better chance of providing all the necessary nutrients. A varied diet also lessens the possibility of consuming an unhealthy amount of any single nutrient. Likewise, such a diet reduces the magnitude of exposure to unwholesome substances such as toxins and pathogenic microorganisms that any single food might harbor.

** Asian Recipes **

13:04:38 on 03/06/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -

Why do we need fiber in our diet?

Fiber, also known as roughage or bulk, refers to the undigestible carbohydrates found in whole cereal grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes and nuts. These indigestible substances facilitate digestion and elimination by carrying other waste products along with them as they leave the digestive tract and by absorbing fluids that make wastes soft enough for easy passage.

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05:14:54 on 03/05/08 by Webmaster - Food, Health and Fitness -