Do You Walk through Your House with Your Outside Shoes On?

The question above does not belong to your diet and exercises, but it is an important health related issue. We often decide to leave our shoes on indoors to avoid wasting time taking them off and then putting them on again. You are putting yourself and your family at risk, particularly if you have small children who play on the floor and put their hands in their mouth. As we walk upon a variety of surfaces we come into contact with far more bacteria than we realise.

Dr Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, discovered that the average shoe contains 421,000 bacteria on the outside. The conclusion is that the shoes were dirtier than a toilet seat. Toilet seats generally have 1,000 bacteria or less, and there are 421,000 bacteria on an average shoe.

Some of the harmful strains found on shoes included

E coli, which can give you intestinal infections, diarrhea and in rare cases, meningitis

Klebsiella pneumoniae, which can cause urinary tract infections; and 

Serratia ficaria, which can cause respiratory infections.

As you can see they can be pretty harmful for your health.

Things you walk on like leaves, debris and faecal matter can serve as food for the bacteria and help them grow so they can survive on your shoes for days or even weeks.

The rainwater can dissolve chemicals and toxins in the street and those get on your shoes and can be brought into your house as well. Example toxin from treating your lawn can easily be tracked on your shoes.

Studies show that cleaning shoes with detergent apparently eliminated the existing faecal bacteria and reduced the amount of overall bacteria on the shoes by at least 90%.

Diet that Enhances and Prolongs Your Sexual Stamina

A combination of good food, regular exercise and sufficient sleep can help preserve your sexual stamina. It is good to know that you can boost your sexual energy while enjoying meal at the same time.

Choose nuts as a snack or sprinkle them on your cereals, improve your salads, soups, stews, vegetable or meat dishes with fresh or dried leaves and seeds of fenugreek if you want some extra kick in the bedroom. Fenugreek is a sexual stamina supporter this is associated with its saponins content. Extend your diet with beet root juice or smoothie, spinach salad, steamed spinach or green  smoothie the nitrates in them are transformed into nitric oxide in the body, which participates in relaxing and opening up blood vessels, which then improves blood flow to the penis. Selenium in Brazil nuts plays a role maintaining healthy testosterone level. Eat mussels regularly they provide omega 3 acids and phosphorous both have key roles in maintaining erectile function and libido. Omega 3 fatty acids in fish, nuts and mussels lower the cholesterol level resulting a better blood circulation. Vitamin C present in peaches improves sperm count and quality of the sperm. Beefsteak contains minerals; zinc and iron, which help red blood cells transporting oxygen. In addition beef contains vitamin B and protein, which stimulates the release of dopamine. Zinc is essential for sex for both men and women. In men zinc controls the testosterone level, which is linked to the production of sperm.  Strawberry and raspberry contain high level of zinc. Spices spark your sex drive, improve your mood, soothe nerves, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and saffron are considered as aphrodisiacs they are loaded with antioxidants. Cayenne pepper produces heat by increasing blood circulation.  High level of allicin in garlic also rises blood flow. The smell of basil stimulates the senses. Asparagus contains folate that regulates the production of histamine. Folic acid and vitamin B6 in avocado necessary for healthy sex drive. Coffee is a stimulant therefore spikes your sex vitality. Eating bananas may help to increase female hormone level that advances sex energy. Dark chocolate, an aphrodisiac, contains phenylethylamine, which causes the release of endorphins and dopamine.  Chocolate with Brazil nuts also help your body’s serotonin production. Collagen production in the body declines with age. The lack of collagen can cause problem for men to maintain an erection. Consume bone broth to increase the collagen level of your body. The phytonutrients; lycopene, beta-carotene and citrulline in watermelon help relax blood vessels. High quality protein foods like egg, fish, poultry and beef help to increase serotonin. Always drink plenty of water.

Carcinogen in your diet

The National Toxicology Program considers acrylamide to be a human carcinogen. Animal testing on rodents has shown that acrylamide exposure poses a risk for several types of cancer. A series of case-control studies have investigated the relationship between dietary intake of acrylamide and the risk of developing cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, larynx, large bowel, kidney, breast, and ovary. However, the evidence from human studies is still incomplete.

Coffee is a significant source of acrylamide exposure for adults. It certainly produces during early stage of roasting and later stage it is partially broken down, so the darker roast has less acrylamide than the lighter roast. Arabica coffee has less acrylamide than robusta coffee. The level of acrylamide decreases during the term of storage, so you should keep the bag in your cupboard for several months before brewing it. Different preparation methods result in different levels of acrylamide, lower level appears in filtered form.

Food and cigarette smoke are also the major causes of acrylamide contact for us.

Asparagine is an amino acid in proteins that found in many vegetables. When the vegetables, potatoes are heated to high temperature over 120 ⁰C certain sugars and asparagines can form acrylamides. Cooking methods due to the high temperature; frying, broiling, baking produce acrylamide in the foods. Potato chips, French fries, burnt toast contain high level of acrylamide.

How can you lower the amount of acrylamide consumed?

Shortening the cooking time, boiling or steaming instead frying are much better. Blanching potatoes before frying, drying in a hot air oven after frying have been shown to decrease the acrylamide content of some foods. 

Eat a healthy, balanced diet that is low in fat and rich in high-fibre grains, fruits, and vegetables. Do not forget your daily diet should contain 75-80% of raw foods.

Wellbeing Welfare of Drinking Coffee

Most of us start the day with a nice hot cup of coffee. This magical beverage helps us to tackle our daily activities.

Coffee, Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The seeds, called coffee beans are used to make different coffee drinks.

The regular black coffee has very low calorie content. It is obvious if you add milk and sugar to it the calorie of your beverage will increase. Recent studies reflect that two or three cups of regular coffee are beneficial to your health.

It contains the following vitamins; niacin, riboflavin and minerals; potassium, magnesium and manganese. Caffeine is an antioxidant and it is considered to be both a drug and a food additive, its recommended daily intake is 400mg.  One regular cup of coffee contains 90-95 mg caffeine.  Coffee contains more antioxidants than the red wine, black and green tea contain, these are the followings

·      Cafestrol is available in decaf coffee as well

·      Trigonelline  a bitter alkaloid

·      Chlorogenic acid a phenolic compound with its antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects

·      Hydroxycinnamic acid has the most active antioxidant properties in coffee

·      Melanoidins and

·      Quinine a bitter compound.

Coffee drinkers have less risk of heart disease and diabetes type 2.  Coffee increases your daily fibre intake. Drinking coffee decreases the possibility of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Two cups per day can lower the hazard of liver cancer.

Coffee can also prevent retinal damage due to oxidative stress.

The studies definitely showed that caffeinated had the greatest benefits than the decaf coffee.