It’s no surprise when we say that COVID-19 is all over us and still, to this day, it is still spreading. Now quicker than ever, thanks to the Omicron vibrant! Fortunately, even though this strain is the most contagious that is infecting us now, it is also the most passive. For most of us, someone we know has already been infected including possibly you as well.
Healthy Bagels
How Our Kettle Cooked Bagels are Made!
Continuing on our binge of healthy items at the bagel store, we have so spoken about eating healthy foods and what healthy foods are available at the bagel store, but we have not touched specifically on healthy bagels! That’s right. Healthy bagels!
This article describes how bagels fit into a healthy diet and gives tips on how you can maximize their nutritional value. Here is everything you need to know about bagels, including what people say about incorporating them into a nutritional diet. Knead the dough, form a circle with a hole in the middle, then cook and bake the bagels.
The nutritional content of bagels can vary widely, with countless varieties made from an assortment of ingredients. In general, bagels are made from whole foods which are healthy in their own right. The simplest bagel is made from a mixture of refined wheat flour, salt, water, and yeast.
Bagels can be healthier than breakfast pastries, such as croissants and donuts because they contain less fat. The exact nutritional value of a bagel depends on the ingredients and toppings used. While its value can vary depending on the variety, bagels are a good source of energy and carbohydrates as well as small to medium amounts of protein.
Whole grain bagels contain more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than regular bagels. Bagels that are billed as wholemeal are made from 100 percent wholemeal flour, but you can also eat standard bagels made from processed flour. However, do not assume that they always contain whole grains.
When you buy bagels, it is best to choose from the whole food options: flour, yeast, salt, barley malt, and eggs. Given all these options, it can be difficult to decide which bagels to buy if you want to eat healthily.
Eating Healthy at Cino’s Bagels
No way you say? At a bagel store? Because you immediately become emersed in the thought of bagels and the calories that accompany them but did you ever think about the food items you can eat that are low on calories and also healthy for your body and brain? With over 30 years of baking experience, let’s see what healthy treats Cinos can do for you!
Yogurt Parfait
Packed with protein, fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin C, how can you go wrong? This tasty breakfast (also as a snack) contains blueberries, strawberries, granola, and of course yogurt.
OK, we know. Most of these parfaits do have some sugar content, but if you are not that concerned about your weight and even if you are, the calorie content is not that much to really be concerned about, and in general, the health benefits can outweigh the negative; however, it really is up to you – the individual to make the final decision.
Let’s start with some blueberries and strawberries (nutrients discussed in the Fresh Fruits section) for your parfait and a little granola to the top.
What is Granola?
Granola is a very high fiber filling food. It can fill your stomach so you don’t feel hungry for more calorie-ridden snacks. This is referred to as satiation. Granola contains oats and whole grains, which help you not just maintain weight but are also loaded with antioxidants, proteins, healthy fats, and micronutrients.
Improves Blood Pressure
Blood pressure problems? Dig into that granola let your blood run (in a healthy way of course). Granola has been found in studies that it can help with hypertension.
Lowers Cholesterol
The oats in granola contain beta-glucan, which studies have shown that these oats help to reduce “bad” cholesterol (LDL) levels. This can help in reducing the possibility of heart disease.
Fresh Fruit
You don’t have to have a parfait to enjoy some healthy low-calorie foods. Have a feast on fresh blueberries, strawberries, and bananas along with your wake me up coffee or cappuccino.
Here are the benefits of eating fresh fruit:
Blueberries
This superfood is packed with antioxidants, which is a healthy element that attacks free radicals and free radicals is not something that you want in your body.
Blueberries are known to have one of the highest antioxidant capacities compared to other fruits and vegetables. The benefits of acquiring antioxidants on a daily basis help to lower the risk of heart disease and brain diseases, as well as help people with stress and anxiety.
Strawberries
Fiber is a welcome ingredient here, as well as fighting oxidative stress (the result of free radicals), which, like blueberries help to reduce the risk of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.
In Closing
These are just a sample of healthy foods Cinos can provide. We didn’t even tell you about our veggie sandwiches. Why not drop by and check it out? And don’t forget to have a cup of our freshly made cappuccino!
5 Ways to Stay Healthy
During this pandemic, we need to stay as healthy as possible, whether we have been vaccinated or not.
In this article, we review five ways you can maintain your health.
Keeping Clean
Let’s start with washing your hands. This is your first defense against the virus or any virus, even the common cold! Make it a habit to keep your hands clean after leaving a public location; such as a bus, train, taxi, airlines, restroom, or even when using such minor things as using a vending machine. Does that sound like an obsession? Maybe it is, but in this environment, it wouldn’t hurt to get a little obsessed! Make sure that you carry some anti-bacterial solution or wipes and you’ll be fine.
Eat Well
Eating healthy is a priority and an important one. If you are not eating properly, you will know!
Here is a list of just some of the foods and nutrients that will fight off those free radicals and help to keep your heart running well and your brain thinking clearly.
Salmon
Salmon is loaded with nutrients that keep you healthy. Starting with potassium, which controls your blood pressure and helps to reduce the potential of getting a stroke.
Salmon also contains a good amount of Omega-3 fatty acids. Here’s a list of the most important elements that Omega-3 fatty acids provide:
- Fights anxiety and depression
- Reduces long-term inflammation. This helps reduce the risk of getting some of the worst diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.
Fights autoimmune diseases. This is where your body’s immune system gets overzealous and kills healthy cells, which can make you very unhealthy.
Reduces the risk of getting Alzheimer’s Disease
- Reduces the risk of getting cancer. Studies have shown that people who eat salmon regularly have a 55% less chance of getting the disease than those who don’t eat it.
- Improves eye health.
- Helps keep your skin healthy.
Shell Fish
Packed with zinc, an essential mineral that helps keep your immune system healthy. During this pandemic, taking foods that contain zinc would be highly recommended.
Bananas
Studies show that eating one banana each day will replenish your fiber intake and provide more antioxidants. And here’s a list of other natural ingredients that bananas have:
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- Vitamin C
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Net carbs
- FiberProteinSee Your Doctor!
Going for routine maintenance is as essential as doing it with your car. Avoiding this may lead to problems, just like if you avoided maintaining your car, so don’t do it. Especially, if you are reaching senior age or are already in this golden age.
You don’t avoid bringing your car in for routine maintenance, right? Then you should do the same thing with your body. With that said, the older you are, the more this should apply.
Get Vaccinated!
The Delta variant is coming and may hit our shores soon. Although we don’t know the outcome of this one and certainly hope this doesn’t affect us like the original covid did last year, why take the chance. Get the vaccine!
Drink Water
Water is your body’s natural fluid and helps you to lose weight as well. Don’t neglect it. Green tea is a winner also.
Don’t Forget to Exercise!
10,000 steps a day! That is what is recommended and for good reason. Just look at the benefits you can achieve by exercising once per day!
- Lose weight
- Improve sleep
- Strengthens the heart
- Lower blood pressure
- Keeps your brain functioning well
- Reduces anxiety
- Helps build strong muscles and bones
Gyms are opening up, so take advantage of that or if you are still concerned about covid, jog around your neighborhood or at the park. Buy an exercise machine or simply do it yourself – push-ups, sit-ups, running in place – you choose but just get that blood pumping!
In Closing
Staying healthy and pumping more antioxidants in your body is more important than ever these days as the covid pandemic is still with us, but even if it isn’t, following these basic steps will help to keep you in your best condition.
And to give you a little more incentive, we leave you with this tasty healthy treat!
Blueberries, strawberries mixed with light cottage cheese, raisins, bananas, and granola with nuts. Spices include Tumeric, roasted garlic and herbs, and a bit of ‘Everything’ just like your everything bagel.
Bon Appetite!
A Health Guide on Coffee Consumption and the Brain
Ah, coffee! The quintessential wake me up in the morning, get up and go drink. But is coffee really good for you? Well, for the most part, yes as it has antioxidants that help kill those scary free radicals in your body and consequently, help to reduce oxidative stress.
But you are saying huh?? What? Don’t worry, we won’t let you hang with these unfamiliar terms without giving an explanation, as well as providing the benefits that can result. We will also discuss what we can do to keep free radicals at bay.
We’d like to note that there may be some negative effects to drinking coffee. If you’d like to know more about coffee’s possible adverse effects, click here.
Let’s Start by Talking About Oxidative Stress – What is It?
Any substance that loses electrons is referred to as being oxidized and is labeled as a reducing agent. Any substance that gains electrons is the oxidizing agent.
Oxidative stress is the process where cells are oxidized and in the case of the cells in the human body, they will die, specifically, in the brain. So the idea is to minimize these reactions.
The cells in the brain are called neurons. There are billions of them in our brains and they communicate by sending impulses to each other which creates thought and maintains memory. This process is the psychological representation of how we think.
Neurons can get damaged by some nasty fellers called free radicals, which are cells that contain missing electrons. Since free radicals are lacking electrons, they look for neurons that have the electrons they need, and subsequently, they attempt to steal them from healthy cells and then the neurons become defective. This can inhibit the cells from making contact with other neurons, which can result in damaging the cognitive process in the brain.
With that said, it would take billions of these mutations to actually cause a brain malfunction; however, the more that free radicals are free to rob and steal (the more they keep attacking healthy cells), the more hazardous it can become for us.
So, What are the Actual Consequences of Oxidative Stress?
Loss of memory is one possibility, but the situation can get worse if the free radicals are not contained. Oxidation can also cause fatigue, eyesight issues, headaches, and increased susceptibility to infections by diminishing the immune system. Studies have shown that they may also be responsible for age-related wrinkles and gray hair, so seniors take note! The risk of acquiring diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s Disease is also a possibility.
How Do We Keep Free Radicals at Bay?
Simple. Eat the right foods and drink the right drinks!
Eat and drink foods that contain antioxidants – the entities that fight off the free radicals, so the more antioxidants in our bodies, the stronger our immune systems and the healthier we can be.
Enter Coffee!
A study by the Laboratory of Neuroscience in Boston has stated that: “Coffee can have direct effects on the brain and also reduces oxidative stress and inflammation.”
So, coffee is rich in antioxidants. The result is you are actually drinking an antioxidant booster, so one (or more – but in moderation) coffee cup per day may actually keep the doctor away!