In the past our ancestors hunted wild animals for meat, farmed, gathered berries, nuts and plants to have a healthy and nutritious diet. This was long before we had fast food restaurants and tv-dinners.

Before the beginning of agriculture and the domestication of animals we were called “hunter-gatherers”. There are still many tribes in the world who live this way of life these days. What is interesting for health conscious people today is that these people do not have anywhere near the amount of diseases that we have here today like, cancer, strokes, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure that cause 75% of all fatalities in the USA today.

Many people argue that the reason that these people did not get these diseases was because they did not live long enough, usually dying at a young age. While it is true that many people died early in their life usually due to infections or other accidents since they did not have our modern medicine. But the people who did survive these set backs lived a long life even some times surpassing the longevity of today’s people.

So why didn’t our ancestors and many of tribes in the world today get the same diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure? Scientist believe it is because their diet and exercise has a lot to do with it.

How did these scientist know what these people ate and lived long time ago? Well they have found the bones of these people and analysed them in a lab. Bones reveals how much calcium a person consumed in his or er diet and also reveals how strong this person was. Also there are still people living in the world as hunter-gatherers. Some people call these people primitive, but they are mistaken, because hey have very sophisticated knowledge about plants, animals and vitamins and minerals in their environment. Scientists are trying to learn as much as they can about their knowledge of plants which can be used for medicine.

Today it is well known that these hunter-gatherer tribes live in the same way as our early ancestors did. Scientists are studying these tribes to determine what contributes to their exceptional health. What they found out is that in the past men an women got a lot more exercise than the average person today. This is because they have to engage in constant physical activity to hunt or gather food to eat. The men in these tribes are like our ancestors hunters. Hunting requires walking and running for hours and days to track an kill animals. Women in these tribes are no couch potatoes either. Their primary task is to gather food like berries, nuts and fruits which also required long hikes and walks. And on their return trip they had to carry all this food and in addition many were carrying their babies on thei backs too. Picking of fruit didn’t necessarily mean off the ground. Usually it meant climbing trees or digging out roots buried in the ground.

With regards to diet these tribes as well as our ancestors got most of their nutrients from meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. These food groups provided our ancestors with a good healthy diet. Much healthier than our current diets with cereals, white flour and processed foods. Also they are more calcium (for strong bones) and fiber (which prevents colon cancer) than we do today. Our ancestors ate a high-protein, high fiber diet. Their intake of sodium, which causes high blood pressure in some people, was far lower than the intake of the average American today. When they consumed fat they consumed polyunsaturated animal fats instead of the hydrogenated plant fats that are included in today’s processed foods.

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What is interesting is that their cholesterol intake was higher than modern peoples
because they consumed much more meat than most folks in “civilized” societies now. However, our ancestors, and today’s hunter-gatherers, ate wild game which has a much lower fat content than animals raised in confinement today. Furthermore, these fats were of the polyunsaturated type, the opposite of what is contained in our confinement raised beef, pork and poultry.

Also these wild animals ate a natural diet that did not contain hormones, tranquilizers and antibiotics what our animals in farms eat today. These wild animals had as much as 20% less fat than domesticated, confinement raised animals on commercial “factory” farms. These early people also did not have to contend with refined flour and grains which have had the fiber removed, so their food had more bulk and roughage than present day processed products.

If we want to live longer and healthier lives we can take lessons from our ancestors: Eat whole un-refined grains, free-range or wild meats, and plenty of high-fiber vegetables. Limit your intake of carbohydrates and eat a high protein diet based on lean meats. Avoid sugars.

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If you have high cholesterol levels chances are that your doctor has recommended that you follow a low cholesterol diet. The dietary changes are the easiest and fastest way to change your blood cholesterol levels. Therefore it is important that you have the persistence and perseverance to change your old shopping and eating habits to buy only low cholesterol foods to make a positive impact on your health.

A positive side affect of a low cholesterol diet is weight loss. The excess body fat is risky because it leads to higher levels of blood cholesterol. The loss in weight will also decrease risks of suffering from high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

These days there are many books and websites written about diets that help you lower your cholesterol trough diets. This is a good thing because they give us the information to help us with our health. It is important to know that all of these diets follow the same principle,
namely that foods that are high in cholesterol should be eaten with moderation while saturated and trans fats should be avoided all together.

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There is one confusing thing about low cholesterol diets, not all high cholesterol foods are
necessarily bad for ones health. Numerous studies have shown that saturated and trans fats have a far greater impact on raising cholesterol levels than foods that contain high amounts of cholesterol. If you would eat these two types of fats in large amounts it will raise your cholesterol to dangerous levels.

For example. We have been told that we should avoid eggs, or at least the yolks, because they contain high amounts of cholesterol. Because they thought that high cholesterol in food automatically translates to high cholesterol in the blood. But it doesn’t work that way. Would you cook these eggs in butter and add some bacon or sausage on the side is where it would change. The saturated fats from the butter and the bacon or sausage will have raise your cholesterol while the eggs alone would have little to no impact.

The next time you go out to do some grocery shopping you need to read the labels carefully. Avoiding foods that contain saturated or trans-fats on their label is the key to getting cholesterol under control.

I would suggest making a list of foods that you can eat that are healthy as well as cholesterol friendly before you go to the grocery store. These days there are plenty of websites or books that contain recipes and lists of groceries that will help you meet your lower cholesterol goal.

Does this sound familiar? You have lost weight in the last couple of weeks, some pounds, only to regain them in the next couple of weeks and so your battle with your weight starts again. Is it possible to achieve lasting weight loss? And how is it possible to lose weight at first only to regain them later on? If you follow the following weight loss tips it will help you keep your weight at a healthy level continuously.

Tip 1: Research your daily caloric requirement

The daily calorie requirement is calculated by multiplying the so-called basic metabolic rate with the activity factor. Here you can calculate your daily caloric requirements with our caloric needs calculator. If for example you want to lose 0.5 kg per week, then you should decrease your caloric intake by about 500 calories per day. That is, the calculated caloric requirement minus 500 calories is the daily target amount.

An example:

A 35-year-old woman who weighs 80 kg and doesn’t do any sport, has a daily calorie requirement of about 1963 calories. If she wants to lose about 0.5 kg per week, she must save 500 calories per day. That is, only use up 1463 calories a day or burn 500 calories more through exercise.

Tip 2: Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day

Fruit and vegetables are high in fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. They help you feel full faster and also help with getting the amount of calories down.

How big is a serving?

Two tablespoons of vegetables, either raw or cooked.
A medium apple, orange or banana
A bowl of mixed green salad or
Small bowl of raspberries, strawberries or grapes

Tip 3: Pay attention to the portion size

One serving is equivalent to half a cup of cooked pasta noodles. In most restaurants, a pasta dish contains 4 portions of pasta! In childhood we have been taught many times to empty the dish completely. As things stand currently, such behaviour leads to obesity. Therefore ask if you can take the leftovers home with you.

Tip 4: Eat healthy and fresh foods

Buy fresh food and avoid ready meals and fast food. Such food often has a higher fat content. You will be surprised how easily you can lose weight by taking a home prepared lunch from home instead of going to lunch.

Tip 5: Avoid sugary drinks

Cola, lemonade and iced tea are known to be fattening. However, the so called, healthy juices can make you fat due to their high fructose level. For easy weight loss, it is better to drink plenty of water or even tea without sugar. Also the amount of low-calorie liquid in your stomach will help you feel full much longer.

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