Foods With No Nutritional Value

The purpose of food is to nourish our bodies with the vitamins, trace minerals, protein, carbohydrates, enzymes, and fats it needs to function. To support health we need to keep our caloric intake in the range that we do not gain weight but also supplies our bodies with nutrition. Unfortunately there are many, many foods available that supply no nutritional value whatever.Eating food with no nutritional value would not be so bad, if it did not also mean that you were consuming many, many calories, high fat, high levels of sodium, and cholesterol, all of which clog our arteries and may lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.I am providing a list of some of the biggest offenders. Some of them will be the expected culprits but others may surprise you. The purpose of the list isn’t to make these foods taboo, but rather to help you make more informed food choices. If you know the food does nothing to nourish you and you still choose it at least you are making an informed choice.Foods with very little/no nutritional value:Cotton Candy: This is nothing but colored bits of sugar, no nutrition.
Frozen Waffle: An example of empty calories, especially when you add in the margarine and syrup which add more calories and Tran’s fat.
Potato Chips: They are fried and have many preservatives.
French Fries: They do have potato but by the time they are fried and loaded with salt all the nutritional value is gone.
Pork Rinds: Fried pork skins and salt, that explains it all.
Twinkies: The creamy filling is fake whipped cream and the rest is sugar, flour and flavoring, no nutrition.
Doughnuts: One glazed doughnut has 200 calories and 4 grams of Tran’s fat which is more than twice the daily recommended amount.
White rice: The fiber and nutritional value have been removed, a very highly processed food.
Red Bull: Energy drinks containing a small amount of vitamin B but loaded with chemical, calories, caffeine and sugar.
Fruit snacks: Gummy fruit snacks are low in fat but packed with fructose corn syrup, and chemicals. They may have a minimal amount of vitamins.
Vitamin Water. Water with vitamins may sound like the greatest value, but one bottle has more sugar and calories than a can of cola.
Canned vegetables: Processed or canned vegetables lose almost all of their nutritional value; additionally they are high in sodium.
Hard Candy: This includes lollipops, after dinner mints, and jawbreakers. The only ingredients in these addicting snacks are sugar and chemicals.
Chewing Gum: Flavored from natural or synthetic gums and other ingredients which form an insoluble mass for chewing.
Soda: This is one drink that has absolutely zero nutritional value, but on average a 20 ounce bottle has 240 calories, 65 grams of sugar and zero vitamins. An eight ounce serving has 100 calories and 27 grams of sugar of course no vitamins. Soda is equal to drinking water with sugar and caffeine.This list is not all-inclusive of all zero nutritional foods, just some of the more common ones. Additionally there are many more products available that do offer minimal nutrition but also contain high levels of fat, calories, and sodium.

How To Live A Healthy Lifestyle – Easy and Fun

How to live a healthy lifestyle is a topic we have been bombarded with over the past decade. A truly healthy lifestyle results from a balanced lifestyle. The key points of a balanced lifestyle include having adequate time for work, family and relationships, relaxation and fun. In order to maintain a healthy balance there has to be a combination of exercise; a sensible diet; reduction of caffeine and sugar; avoidance of alcohol, tobacco and drugs; stress reduction and getting enough sleep.Physical activity and exercise is great for stress prevention and reduction. A combination of stretching, muscle toning and aerobic exercise tends to be the best. You should get 30 minutes of exercise at least three times a week. The best news is that you don’t need to do all 30 minutes at once. It has been proven that breaking it down into small 10 to 15 minute intervals is just as beneficial.Walking is a great exercise and can easily be incorporated into your day. Try parking in the farthest space rather than closest space possible. Take a few trips around the grocery store with your cart prior to beginning your shopping. This is especially helpful during winter months in colder climates. Carrying your purchases to your car rather than pushing them out in a cart helps improve muscle tone as well as giving you an aerobic workout.A healthy lifestyle requires a sensible diet. Eating three moderate or five small meals comprised of a balanced diet dispersed regularly throughout your day helps maintain even blood sugars and fuel for your mind and body. Caffeine and sugar should be limited, as the body treats them both as drugs. They can influence hormone and blood sugar fluctuations and lead to an increase in stress production.Your diet should include protein, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, carbohydrates, and fats. Lean proteins (like beef, pork, chicken, fish, legumes, eggs and dairy products with reduced fats) are preferable to non-lean proteins (like fatty cuts of meats, organ meats, bacon and sausage) and processed meats (like luncheon meats). These fatter cuts should be kept at a minimum and generally limited to a few servings a week. Dairy products such as milk, cheeses and yogurt provide calcium and protein. A few servings of these should be included in your daily diet plan.Fruits and vegetables should make up the majority of your diet. A wide range of fruits and vegetables provides variety and provides a better balance of vitamins and minerals.Carbohydrates are important for maintaining energy and help with mental clarity. They should be kept to a few servings a day. Whole grains are more beneficial because they provide more vitamins and nutrients and are metabolized at a slower rate, reducing spikes in blood sugar.Fats are essential to the human diet. They provide essential fatty acids and allow for better uptake of nutrients. Best choices are olive oils, canola oils, nuts and nut oils.Exercise and diet alone are not the answer for a healthy lifestyle. Cigarette, drug and alcohol use should be avoided. However, there is evidence that alcohol used in modest amounts may be useful. These studies have concluded that a glass of red wine with dinner can be beneficial for protection of the brain, heart and lungs. It is thought to prevent prostate and breast cancers, reduce inflammation and boost longevity.Stress tends to be different from person to person. Stressors can come from personal, family, financial, peer and professional issues, but are not limited to any specifics. The most crucial step to stress management is identification of the stressors in your life. After you have identified what has stressed you out, you can begin to work on the issues.Maintaining a stress journal can be helpful in the identification of stressors. You should keep track of: what caused your stress, how you felt physically and emotionally, your response actions and what you did to make yourself feel better.Once stressors are identified you should change the situation by avoidance or alteration. Then work on changing your reactions by adapting and accepting. Don’t forget to make time for relaxation and fun.Don’t underestimate the value of sleep in a healthy lifestyle. Sleep allows your mind and body to refuel, regenerate and energize. Getting enough sleep increases your ability to think clearly, react appropriately, maintain motivation and gives you the stamina to enjoy the various aspects of your life.While it is impossible to include all of these aspects daily, the more habitual you are to include them the better your chances of maintaining a healthy lifestyle become. Take a few minutes and reflect on what you did today. What can you do to improve? How can you live a healthy lifestyle?

The Secrets of Litigation Finance

There are secrets to litigation finance that every plaintiff should know prior to applying for lawsuit funding. Too many plaintiffs rush to litigation finance as the answer to their current cash flow problems without completely understanding the intricacies behind litigation funding. This article should shed some light on plaintiff litigation finance and the secrets that some litigation finance companies use to make moneyWhat is litigation finance?Litigation finance is not a “loan” but rather it is a cash advance based upon the merits of a lawsuit that provides a plaintiff with sufficient funding to reach the conclusion of the case when the plaintiff will receive his/her fair share of the settlement or verdict. Litigation finance companies invest in the lawsuit itself as opposed to advancing money to the plaintiff in the form of a loan. Litigation finance is not based on a plaintiff’s prior credit or bankruptcy status. Other terms used for this type of funding include: lawsuit loan, litigation funding, litigation loan, lawsuit funding, lawsuit finance, lawsuit cash advance, case loan, case cash advance, plaintiff cash advance, litigant funding, pre-settlement loan, pre-settlement lending, pre-settlement cash advance, etc.How do litigation finance companies make money? All litigation finance companies are different and charge interest and fees differently. We all agree that litigation finance companies assume a lot of risk due to their investment in the lawsuit as opposed to investing in the plaintiff. The investment is therefore only as solid as the case. We are all familiar with how quickly a good case can get thrown-out or a jury can award a large settlement for a case that we could call “frivolous.” The United States justice system never ceases to surprise us. With that in mind, the investments of litigation finance companies are risky. They must charge relatively high interest rates on the cases that are successful in order to make-up for the unsuccessful cases. Some litigation finance companies use a multiplier instead of an interest rate which is really just a different way of accomplishing the same thing.Are there other fees associated with litigation finance?Again, all litigation finance companies are different and charge interest and fees differently. Generally speaking, the answer to this question is “yes.” These fees usually show-up on the contract that the plaintiff’s attorney must sign and are then taken from the settlement upon a successful case. Some examples of these fees include: origination fees, application fees, documentation fee, closing costs/fees, premature payoff penalty etc. These fees are not that different from traditional loans but plaintiffs should be aware of these so they are not blind-sided when they see these fees.Is litigation finance a different way of getting my settlement?Litigation finance should not be a substitute for your settlement but rather a raft that helps you stay afloat while your attorney fights for you. Too many plaintiffs apply for litigation finance with the belief that litigation finance is simply a different way to get their settlement money. Assuming you win your case, the amount owed to the litigation finance company varies greatly depending upon the length of time between the date of the advance and the date when you receive the settlement/verdict money. You should exhaust other means of funding first. Some good sources of information about litigation finance are The Funding Exchange (www.TheFundingExchange.com) and Expert Law (www.expertlaw.com).ConclusionAs a plaintiff, you should understand litigation finance and the process of securing funding before you apply. If your expectations are set appropriately and you proceed with litigation finance then you will find that it is a saving grace in the turbulent world of litigation. If you apply for litigation finance without a true understanding then you may be disappointed.

Learn Digital Photography – About Digital Photography

Digital photography has change so much over the years and you can easily see the difference even when you are not a professional photographer. It seems like just a couple of years ago when you were using film camera instead of the 10.0 megapixels digital camera today. By the way, digital photography is not limited to cameras only. Take a look at cell phones and camcorders. They are capable of taking pictures and these gadgets were never heard of a few years ago.The widespread of digital photography over these mediums has certainly promoted the popularity of digital photography. You just aim the camera at your subject, press the shutter button, look at the picture and decide to keep or delete the picture base on your preference on the picture. It seems easy. Doesn’t it?However, some photographers complaint that this kind of photography practice has demoted the true value of the art. They claim that photography is supposed to be an art which you have to be serious in. You ought to carefully frame the shot, decide on the angle and light and challenge your photography skills instead of simply taking the picture and deleting it when the picture doesn’t feel right. It is utterly unacceptable that you rely heavily on photo editing software to make the pictures look better.Now, does the improved technology in digital photography help you to be lazy or not is a debate. Because there are arguments that digital photography has provided great extend of flexibility where photographer can be free from carrying various ISO films and it is cost effective where the photographer can simply delete the unfavorable picture instead of wasting a frame on film.Many photographers also believe that they can produce better photographs with this new photography because they can look at the photos immediately and decide what to do with the faulty photos. Imagine you took a group picture on a birthday party only to find out that the birthday stars had shut their eyes during the photo shoot. Now, that definitely spoiled the mood.However, you can prevent that with digital photography. You can review the picture you took and decide to let the group off when the picture is good. And for the so called defective picture, you can edit it with photo editing software into a candid picture and you just turn something unfavorable into something funny.Still, that doesn’t mean that you can take advantage on the technology and ignore the proper skill to get the ideal picture. Imagine that you are developing a career in digital photography. Is that the attitude of the professional photographers to trial and error their pictures before submitting them to the client?After much talk about digital photography, it is with hope that you understand that digital and film photography do have their pros and cons. You can still see die hard film photography fan out there even though the method is said to be obsolete and as beautiful as digital photography may seems, there are still rooms to improve on this digital method.