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"Gardenia Nutrition and Wellness Team"
Gardenia prides itself on offering nutrition counseling through its three licensed Nutritionist-Dietitians, namely (from left): April Cunanan, Aine de Guzman, and Lovely Lyn Cervas.
Wellness, as the highest form of health, has become one of the concerns of Filipinos today. Increasing trends of diseases has led people to be more conscious on health. They are willing to invest on anything that will make them healthy and fit.
Wellness has become the catchword of this young 21st century. It is used to suggest a lifestyle aimed at keeping you healthy and disease-free for a longer period of time.
As the market leader in the bread manufacturing industry, Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. formed the Nutrition and Wellness Team aimed to educate the consumers on the true understanding of good nutrition, its lifelong benefits, and how it plays an important role in one's healthy, active lifestyle.
For more information about health and nutrition, please email us at wellness@gardenia.com.ph
"Live and Look Great with L-Carnitine and Fiber"
Overweight? Do you have a strong desire to lose that excess fat?
L-Carnitine is now popularly known to people for its wonders in weight management. It's the most talked about substance of almost all people. We hear it during product commercials, and even buy products with L-Carnitine.
But, what is L-Carnitine?
L-Carnitine is a substance that facilitates fat utilization in the body. It picks up fats and transports it to the fat-burning chamber of our cells. During physical activities or exercises, L-Carnitine clears the excess fat and other fatty acid residues from the body and while doing that, it creates energy. This energy produced from fat will be efficiently used for endurance activities such as dancing, swimming, basketball, tennis, boxing, long distance running, and cycling. This magic of L-Carnitine, converting fat into energy, is really a remarkable thing that happens inside our bodies.
Fiber is another very important compound in weight management. It is a complex form of carbohydrate and it is divided into two types: soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber are readily dissolved in water and have a gel-like characteristics on food useful in lowering blood cholesterol, managing obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus, and preventing colon cancer. On the other hand, insoluble fiber that do not dissolve in water but instead absorbs water, aids in digestion by providing roughage or bulk to stools and preventing constipation and diverticulosis.
With this, Gardenia developed the first bread with L-Carnitine and fiber… the
Together with eating a healthy diet, regular exercise, and overall wellness, Gardenia Slim 'n Fit Wheaten Bread may help you be slim, stay slim, and feel great!
Good bread keeps you healthy
Eating is fun and must be nutritionally-balanced in order to have healthy growth and well-being. A balanced diet to keep you strong and well in mind and body must always contain the staff of life-good bread.
Bread, which comes from the Bread and alternatives group, provides long lasting energy for work and play. They are low in fat and cholesterol and rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, which are important for our daily sustenance.
To maintain a healthy diet, foods eaten daily should come most from the base of the pyramid and least from the top.
After fluids, bread, rice noodles, pasta and potatoes are found near the base of the pyramid. These foods are the foundation of a healthy diet and we should be eating more of them. So plan your meals around these foods.
With so many different breads and varieties to choose from, there are plenty to complement every meal occasion and to fit with the way you live your life, whether you´re on the move or staying at home. As a snack through the day or a munch on at midnight, bread is the healthy, non-fattening, guilt-free food.
And what else would you choose as your bread? Gardenia bread is cholesterol free and bromate free, and has added vitamins & minerals. It is also way ahead in fulfilling the US Food and Drug Administration requirement of adding folate in enriched bread. Folate is a major source of folic acid which may reduce a woman´s risk of having a child with a brain or spinal cord defect. For a tasty way to good health, have your fill of Gardenia breads.
5 HEALTHY TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE:
1. START YOUR DAY RIGHT. EAT BREAKFAST.
To meet the demands of a busy day, the body and mind need the required nutrients and energy a well-balanced breakfast provides. People who do not eat breakfast experience a "let down" or low energy levels later in the morning. Skipping breakfast leads to:
- Impaired ability to think and concentrate.
- Decreased ability to learn.
- Increased stress hormones, irritability and emotional arousal (how calm do you feel when you´re very hungry?), and a higher accident rate.
- Increased obesity. When comparing breakfast eaters to breakfast skippers, studies show that breakfast skippers have a greater tendency to be overweight.
- Feeling tired with decreased physical performance (food provides energy for both physical and mental work).
- Large population studies show that those who eat breakfast daily live longer than those who tend to skip breakfast.
Eating regular meals (especially breakfast) every day is a good health habit. If you skip meals, you are more likely to snack. Most snack foods are high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt, and low in nutrients. This is probably one reason why breakfast skippers tend to weigh more.
For optimal health, start each day off right with a good breakfast: for example, whole-grain cereal and/or toast, low fat milk or yogurt, fruit, and nuts or peanut butter on the toast.
2. EAT A VARIETY OF FOODS EVERYDAY
The human body needs more than 40 different nutrients for good health. No single food can provide all the nutrients in the amounts needed. Eat a variety of foods to provide all the nutrients required in the proper amount and balance. If you eat convenience foods, choose those with higher nutritional value and observe the principle of variety.
Read food labels to make healthier choices.
3. HAVE A BALANCE DIET
A balanced diet must contain carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins& minerals. It must contain these things in the correct proportions.
Balance your food choices from the food guide pyramid to get the right amount of nutrients needed by our body.
4. DRINK WATER AND MILK MOST OFTEN
Water is crucial to our health. It makes up, on average, 60 percent of our body weight. Every system in our body depends on water.
Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters).
Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when we don't have enough water in our body to carry on normal functions. Even as little as a 1 percent to 2 percent water loss in our body weight can reduce our energy and makes us tired. Dehydration poses a particular health risk for the very young and the very old. Signs and symptoms of dehydration include:
- Excessive thirst
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Dry mouth
- Little or no urination
- Muscle weakness
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
Kids need calcium to grow strong bones, and milk is a great source of this mineral.
Kids probably will want something other than milk or water once in a while, so it´s OK to have 100% juice, too. But try to limit sugary drinks, like sodas, juice cocktails, and fruit punches. These contain added sugar, thus add calories, not important nutrients.
5. FIND TIME TO EXERCISE
Exercise is a critical component of good health, especially as we age. Exercise will help us:
- Strengthen our muscles.
- Be flexible.
- Improve our resistance to fight infections
- Lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight, depending on our needs
- Lower the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes
- Feel good.