While most people wouldn’t consider skipping lunch or dinner very often, a lot of us in fact think nothing of trying to power through the morning on an empty stomach. People skip breakfast for a variety of reasons – they claim they’re not hungry, they don’t have time, they don’t like breakfast foods, or they’re trying to lose weight. If you’re a breakfast-skipper and still not convinced that it’s important, read on.

It’s true that some people just aren’t that hungry in the morning.  Many people feel like their stomachs take a while to ‘wake up’.  Even though your stomach may not send you strong signals in the morning, if you skip breakfast, your muscles and brain will certainly protest.  Working muscles and an active mind require plenty of healthy carbohydrates to keep them functioning properly.

Our bodies require the right carbs – fruits, vegetables and whole grains - as our primary fuel source.  Taking in these ‘good’ carbs in the morning can help keep blood sugar levels from lagging and fuel the activity of your brain and muscles.  And the right proteins in the morning give the meal staying power and help you stay alert and productive until lunch.

A breakfast consisting of only refined carbohydrates and little protein– like gimbab for example– is short on  the ‘good carbs’ that fruits, vegetables and whole grains provide and doesn’t provide enough protein to keep you fueled for very long.   If you’re not that hungry in the morning, try something like a dish of yogurt and some fruit, or a protein shake made with milk or soy milk, protein powder and fruit.  Or, have a glass of milk and a piece of fruit with your gimbab.  The carbs in the milk and fruit will fuel your muscles and brain, and the protein will keep you satisfied until lunch.

@@@

With all the quick breakfast options out there, lack of time shouldn’t stop you from eating in the morning.  Try to avoid a drive-through detour or a grabbing something at your local coffee house – most of the time the food choices there are limited, and are likely to be high in fat and sugar as well as low in fiber.  Instant whole grain hot cereals, protein-packed energy bars or smoothies that can be eaten at your desk are all good options if you’re rushed.   Make a point to carry fruit with you or keep some at work to round out the meal.

If you don’t like breakfast foods, then eat whatever appeals to you.  There’s no rule that says you can’t eat last night’s leftovers for breakfast.  Try a turkey sandwich packed with vegetables on whole grain bread or some leftover chicken, brown rice and veggies – both meals will provide a good balance of protein and carbohydrate.  Add a piece of fruit (or save for mid-morning) and have a glass of nonfat milk and you’ll be good to go until noon.

Think skipping breakfast will help you lose weight?  Think again.  People who skip meals tend to get very hungry and over-indulge at the next meal, so there’s really no overall reduction in calories over the day.  You’ll be much better off if you spread your calories out over a few small meals and one or two healthy snacks.  Have some protein each time you eat – egg whites, fish, poultry breast, nonfat dairy products and soy products are good choices – so you’ll feel fuller longer.  And try to include foods that have a high water content – like whole fruits, veggies, salads and vegetable-based soups – they’re nutrient-rich and can help fill you up, not out.

If time is an issue – and even if it’s not – a protein-rich meal replacement shake is also one of the best ways to start the day.  The combination of protein powder, calcium-rich milk or soy milk plus fruit is a quick and nutritious way to start to the day.

And here’s a message for those who grab a muffin and a coffee drink on the way to work: a nutrient-packed meal replacement drink made with milk and fruit has less than 250 calories, but a sweetened coffee drink and a muffin could cost you more than 1,000 calories.   A detour to the drive-through for a breakfast sandwich could easily set you back 500 calories and dump more than two tablespoons of grease into your system.

If your diet is filled with fast food, devoid of fruits and veggies, or composed of a series of unplanned quick meals or snacks, it’s in serious need of an overhaul. But where do you start?

 When your diet isn’t as good as it could be, it can be overwhelming to think about how to make all the changes you know you should.  But a few small changes over the course of the day can make a huge difference in the overall quality of your diet.

Think about your typical diet – the foods you eat day in and day out - and target just one change.  Just ditching soda in favor of water at one meal, for example, can cut at least 150 calories and about 10 teaspoons of sugar out of your day.

The goal is to base your diet on lean proteins, fruits, veggies and whole grains, and to find healthier items to replace the high-fat, high-sugar stuff.  Here are eight simple things you can do – today– to vastly improve your diet.  Practice these changes long enough, and they’ll soon become a part of your regular routine.

@@@

• Have a piece of fruit for dessert – If you crave something sweet at the end of a meal, lose the cakes and cookies and reach for a piece of fresh fruit instead.  Fruits are loaded with fiber and antioxidants - not to mention a host of vitamins and minerals – and are satisfyingly sweet and juicy.
• Switch from white bread to 100% whole grain.  Try some whole grain bread instead of the usual white bread for sandwiches or toast – it’s an easy way to up your fiber intake.  Most restaurants and sandwich shops offer whole grain breads, too.
• Eat breakfast.  Skipping breakfast can leave you lagging in the morning, and studies show that breakfast eaters have an easier time maintaining their weight than those who skip.  If you’re on the go,  try a protein shake, a single-serve yogurt or cottage cheese, or a stick of lowfat mozzarella cheese and a slice of whole grain toast.  Add a piece of fruit and you’ll be good to go until lunch time.
• Double up your veggies at dinner.  At home, fill at least half your plate with veggies and salads.  When you’re in a restaurant, ask if you can swap the starch for an extra serving of veggies, or have extras added to a sandwich.  Vegetables are ‘nutrient dense’ – providing tons of nutrition at a very low calorie cost.
• Snack on a handful of walnuts, almonds or soy nuts.   Chips and pretzels may satisfy your craving for something crunchy and salty, but they offer little nutritional value.  Get a dose of healthy fat and some hunger-fighting protein from a handful of nuts or soy nuts instead. @@@
• Drink water with lunch and dinner.  Sugary beverages like soda, sweetened tea or lemonade dump a lot of calories into your system.  Try having plain or mineral water instead.  A squeeze of lemon or lime adds refreshing flavor.
• Have one calcium-rich food – whether it’s a glass of nonfat milk, a scoop of cottage cheese, a carton of yogurt or a stick of string cheese, dairy products are great sources of bone-building calcium.  Can’t tolerate milk products?  Many soy milks, cheeses and yogurts are calcium-fortified.
• Try some seafood.  Fish contains healthy omega-3 fats, yet it’s low in calories and high in protein.  Canned tuna can be mixed with mashed avocado for a healthy sandwich spread, or tossed over some prewashed salad greens for a quick meal.  If you lean towards red meat or chicken when you eat out, next time try some grilled fish or shellfish instead.

Mother nature knows that we use all of our senses to select our foods – her bounty provides us with an incredible array of beautiful, fragrant and tasty foods and herbs. In times past, this was a way that nature ensured that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would get enough to eat – by making nutrient-rich plants as appealing as possible.

We’re still naturally drawn to bright colors, delicious flavors and wonderful aromas found in an appealing plate of food or an aromatic cup of tea. But beyond their sensory appeal, foods and herbs contain thousands of phytonutrients - natural plant compounds that have far-reaching effects on our health.

These phytonutrients come in many forms. Some are the natural pigments that give plant foods their beautiful hues, while others– like sulfur compounds in onions or garlic – are responsible for strong odors and flavors.

While these phytonutrients make plants pretty to look at or delightful for us to eat, many of them serve to protect the plant from heat, sunlight or pests. When we consume fruits, vegetables and herbs, the phytonutrients they contain then work to help keep us healthy, too.

Many phytonutrients act as powerful antioxidants. Oxidation is a process that occurs in the body naturally - as part of everyday metabolism and exposure to air and sunlight. Oxidation needs to be kept in check, since too much oxidative stress on the body can cause damage to body cells and tissues.

@@@

Just as humans can suffer from the sun’s damaging rays, plants need to protect themselves, too. As tomatoes ripen in the heat of the sun, for example, the fruit produces more and more lycopene – the pigment that not only gives tomatoes their deep red color, but also acts as an antioxidant to protect the plant from harmful ultraviolet rays. When humans eat tomatoes – or any other antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetable for that matter - they reap similar benefits. The lycopene and other antioxidant phytonutrients in the tomato help to protect the body’s cells by bolstering the body’s antioxidant defense system.

Not all phytonutrients are colorful. Others have strong odors - like the strong-smelling glucosinolates that are found in cabbage family foods like broccoli, cauliflower and horseradish – that help keep the plant healthy by deterring pests. When we eat them, these same compounds keep us healthy by helping to break down and detoxify potentially harmful substances. Other fragrant plant foods – like herbs, spices and teas - are rich in phytonutrients, too.

The diversity of plant foods - and the unique makeup of each herb, spice, tea, fruit or vegetable - supply us with literally thousands of these beneficial, health-promoting phytonutrients in the diet.  So it’s not just eating more servings that matters, but eating a wide range of plant foods, too.

And, when you can, mix your plant foods together in the same dish or meal.  There is some evidence that when eaten together, combinations of plant foods -  like a mixed fruit salad or a spicy vegetable curry - might deliver an even a stronger antioxidant punch than when these foods are eaten alone.

本文仅代表专家观点

人全身有206根骨头、230处关节，季节更替、温差及湿度变化容易引发关节炎，需要对骨骼健康倍加关注。

骨骼看起来如此坚固，以致人们很难相信如此坚硬的器官也会和其他器官一样进行新陈代谢。在人的一生里，骨骼在需要的地方生长成形，在无需的地反方被去除，如成长、受伤及其他因素引起。

直到30多岁，骨骼仍然处于生长阶段，在那时骨骼组成的拉锯战也开始了。当骨骼建立增强时，钙——这一储存于骨骼中的首要矿物质会从血液中输送到新骨骼。摄入充足钙便是这个骨骼生长阶段的关键之一。维生素D可帮助人体吸收钙，同样也对保证健康骨骼有重要作用。

随着年龄增长，.身体、饮食及生活方式的变化会影响骨骼健康，造成骨骼成长定型与疏松的不平衡。钙、维生素D、不活动、抽烟、年龄增长带来的荷尔蒙变化，这些都会影响骨骼中矿物质的密度。

关节同样也会被年龄影响。在骨骼末尾处平滑覆盖的软骨会变薄，而软骨可以为关节和四肢运动制造自然缓冲。维骨素，一种可以帮助软骨“缓冲”、由人体合成的天然成分，同样也会随年龄增长而减少。

@@@

“保护骨骼健康对各年龄层的人都很重要，”康宝莱医学事务小组副总裁路易吉•格拉顿博士提出，但他补充说，“适量的钙和维生素D一生都很重要，许多成年人没有摄入足够的此类营养，从而无法达到所需标准。”

保持骨骼和关节移动自如：

确保每天摄入适量钙和维生素D，日常事务是这两个营养素的重要来源。

如果你无法从食物中摄取足够钙和维生素D，你就需要补充保健品。确定所食用的保健品同时包含两种营养素以优化钙质吸收。

经常运动，包括那些在骨骼和关节上放上一定重物的项目。负重活动，比如散步或慢跑，都能增进骨骼强壮。

保持肌肉强壮同样有益，因为它们可以帮助吸收一些我们置于关节上的压力。举重可以塑造健壮肌肉和强健骨骼。

重量过度会给关节施加额外压力，因此，如果你过重的话，减重可以增益关节健康。