Entries Tagged as ''

The Zone Diet Is Good For Diabetics

The risk of diabetes is growing exponentially among both the adult and child population.  According to the American Association for Diabetes, “There are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7% of the population, who have diabetes.  While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease.”  They also predict a dire future stating, “If present trends continue, one in three Americans, and 1 in 2 minorities, born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.”

What does this mean to people facing diabetes?  People dealing with diabetes face the possibility of the following:

•    Heart disease and stroke
•    High blood pressure
•    Blindness
•    Kidney disease
•    Nervous system damage
•    Amputation
•    Dental disease
•    Fertility problems

So what contributes to diabetes and how can the Zone Diet help?

Diabetes is caused by many things. Among the most common is Type 2 diabetes which is generally caused by insulin resistance.  Insulin resistance is most frequently caused by fluctuating insulin levels, a direct result of a rollercoaster diet of high sugar and high carbohydrate foods which flood your body with sugars.  These get used quickly or are stored, which leaves you at a deficit.  This deficit causes cravings and the process is repeated.  Eventually your pancreas starts missing the signals and you become insulin resistant.

The good news is that the Zone Diet’s main goal is to balance hormone levels and reverse insulin resistance.  The Zone Diet’s main function is to combine proteins with low sugar carbohydrates to produce optimal insulin levels, digestion and metabolism.  When this balance occurs, dieters feel sustained, have even energy levels and no longer crave the sugary snacks that have directly contributed to the problem.

Muscle growth

The Zone Diet also recommends regular exercise.  This is particularly important for sufferers of diabetes, because as muscle mass is improved, metabolism is improved.  Quite simply, your body is better able to process the foods you consume and to use them optimally.

Fish oil

One last factor of the Zone Diet is the consumption of fish oil, or omega three fatty acids.  These valuable nutrients have the effect of reducing inflammation.  Inflammation in your muscle cells has a direct effect on your body’s ability to produce optimal levels of insulin.

As you can see, all factors of the Zone Diet are directly aimed at balancing hormone levels.  As hormone levels are balanced, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed or avoided all together.  Of course, it is always recommended that you visit your doctor before starting any diet to make sure you’re making the right decision for your health.

Check out the best diet guide on the internet ‘Zone Revolutionary Life Plan‘.

Technorati , ,

Natural Alternative Medicines For Healing

Naturopathic medicine is a natural alternative form of medicine that is also known as naturopathy. It is used as a form of alternative medicine, or in tandem with more traditional and modern forms of medicine. Naturopathic medicine emphasizes and works with the body’s ability to heal itself, which practitioners of natural medicines believe is an innate power in all living things. Naturopathic practice may include different modalities such as acupuncture, acupressure, cleansing the colon regularly, hypnosis, herbal teas, and a variety of other natural remedies.

Practitioners emphasize a more natural or holistic approach to a patient’s care, and a good holistic doctor may also recommend that his or her patient’s use modern forms of medical treatment along with the natural treatments. Practitioners of Naturopathic medicine usually prefer not to use invasive methods, such as surgery, or any of synthetic pills and other such drugs preferring to use natural remedies such as herbs and foods in their whole and non-chemically processed forms. Practitioners from accredited schools of Naturopathy are trained to use many of the diagnostic tests, such as blood tests, before deciding upon a course of treatment.

If the patient does not improve with the naturopathic treatments, they are referred to doctors in the standard field of medical care to help treat the illness or other condition. The origins of Naturopathy arises from a number of medicine practices from around the world, including Ayurveda, which began in India, and Nature Cure which originates in Europe. Naturopathy is practiced in many countries but is subject to different standards and levels of acceptance.

The Greek known as Hippocrates, also called the “Father of Medicine”, is considered to be one of the first advocates of naturopathic medicine. In Scotland during the 1880s, a Doctor Allinson started promoting a natural form of medicine along with diet, exercise, plenty of rest, and the avoidance of tobacco and overworking.

In America, the term naturopathy was coined by John Scheel, sometime before the turn of the century, and used by a man called Benedict Lust. Lust was well-schooled in a form of natural medicine called hydrotherapy as well as a few other forms of natural health in by a German priest called Father Kneipp who in turn sent Lust to America to bring them Kneipp’s methods of natural healing. In the very early 1900s Lust founded the American School of Naturopathy. Situated in New York, it was the first naturopathic college in the United States. Lust took pains to promote the profession and help make the passage of licensing laws in many states just before 1935 and help to found several more naturopathic colleges.

Unfortunately, interest in naturopathic medicine began to decline, along with many of the other natural health professions, after the 1930s due to the discovery of penicillin and the discovery of synthetic drugs.

After Lust’s death the conflicts developed amongst the various schools of natural medicine, and with the rise of new medical technology, these were all contributing factors for the seeming death nell for the future of homeopathic and other forms of natural medicine.

Fortunately, Naturopathic medicine never completely ceased to exist, and has began to see a revival in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. There are now many accredited schools offering 4 year degrees in Natural medicine.

Pharmacy No Prescription and Buy Soma legally.

No Tags

Weight Loss - 5 Tips To Eat More And Lose More

Want to lose more weight? It’s easy. Eat more. In this article we’ll discuss five tips which ensure that you start losing weight, and keep on losing, while staying healthy, and getting fit and strong.

If you’re suffering medical challenges at the moment, or haven’t had a physical in the past three months, see your doctor first, before you start exercising.

Forget regimented diets, and just use these tips as your weight loss plan.

Here are the five tips:

1. Eat five small meals a day

Eating often and well is vital when you’re dieting. When you eat, your metabolism increases, and you’ve got plenty of energy for your daily life, and for exercise too.

One way to estimate whether you’re eating enough is to work out how much energy you have. If you bounce out of bed in the morning, looking forward to your day, AND look forward to exercising, you’re eating enough and you’re eating the right kinds of food too.

If you feel exhausted, you’re not eating enough; or you’re eating the wrong kinds of food for you. Your food journal helps you to discover what the right kinds of food for you are - see tip # 5.

2. Exercise daily: work up a sweat

Forget the gym - unless you love it. Walking is great exercise. Walk briskly each day. Start with ten minutes, then work your way up to half an hour. Aim to vary the terrain - walk uphill for at least part of your daily walk.

At the end of your walk, you should be sweating. However, you shouldn’t be so exhausted that you can’t hold a normal conversation.

Initially, you may need to force yourself to put on your walking shoes. Within a few weeks, walking will become necessary to you. You’ll look forward to your walks as the best time of your day.

3. Drink plenty of water

Water lubricates your body’s processes. It’s essential, so drink plenty of water, right throughout the day. Drink a glass of water before meals.

If you feel hungry, and you’re not due to eat for another hour or two, drink a glass of water. If you’re still hungry 15 minutes later, have a small snack, you obviously need it.

4. Eat more protein

Eat some protein at each meal. Protein, whether vegetable-based, or fish or meat, keeps your metabolism humming and gives you energy.

5. Keep a food journal - how do you feel 90 minutes after a meal?

Your body will tell you which foods energize you, and which deplete you. So keep a food journal.

In your journal, write down:

* Every meal, and exactly what you ate;

* How you feel - are you tired? Depressed? Happy? Energetic?

* Write down any challenges you face. (Often we eat for comfort, or to beat boredom. When you write down what’s on your mind, you’ll soon see whether a problem triggers cravings, or the desire to eat out of boredom.)

* Write down how you feel 90 minutes after your last meal - if you have energy, you’re eating the right kinds of food for you. A lack of energy indicates that you should change what you’re eating. (See a nutritionist if you’re in doubt.)

Great weight loss tips and information at 30 Day Slimmer: get a free vegetarian cookery book. Just starting an exercise program? We recommend yoga.

No Tags

Eat Good Immune System Foods To Prevent Sickness

The immune system is probably one of the most important systems of the human body. It is what keeps us from getting sick. Sometimes we compromise our immune system through the daily battering that our bodies get from the activities we subject it to. When we think of taking care of our immune system or even improving it, oftentimes, the thought comes too late. A disease awaiting cure, when it could have been prevented from happening by keeping our immune system in tip-top shape already hits us.

The best way to keep our immune system at optimum is to eat healthy and have a regular exercise. What we take in as food greatly affects how our immune system reacts as our body’s defense structure; therefore, we have to take extra care in the amount and kind of food that we eat. We can classify the food we eat as bad and good, though being classified as bad does not necessarily mean that we should not eat it.

First in line for the bad food category is sugar. Too much sugar intake decreases the ability of white blood cells to fight bacteria, leading to a weaker resistance to infection. Another bad food is coffee. Coffee is a diuretic, which makes the body lose important nutrients in the process. In third place is alcohol, which has detrimental effects on all systems in the human body. If you wish to take alcohol, do so in moderate amounts. Landing in fourth place are the raw foods that contain bacteria and intestinal parasites. You are trying to protect your immune system here so why introduce their enemies freely? Fifth are the rancid fats and oils that create free radicals that initiate reactions of chemical disturbance that lead to cell damage.

Now, we come to the good food. Eating these so-called good foods should top your list when trying to keep your immune system healthy. First in the list are whole grains, which are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Next are vegetables which contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals and photochemical. Vegetables and fruits also improve digestion. Another good food is protein, which maintains the quick production and repair of cells that support the immune system. Needless to say, water is also part of this list as it is the best cleansing agent for the body. You can also supplement these good foods with manufactured vitamins, minerals, etc. to ensure a stronger immune system.

Pitting the good food against the bad, you can see how advantageous it is to eat healthy in order for you to keep yourself away from sickness, no matter how harmless the sickness may seem to be. Prevention is always better than cure and this applies even to keeping your immune system healthy. The rewards are great when you practice this idea because in the end, it will save you from a lot of worries, medical costs, even death.

For more information on Immune System Foods please visit our website.

No Tags

Five Easy Healthy Recipes For Your Healthy Lifestyle

If you want to start a healthy lifestyle, what you eat is a great place to start.  Here are five healthy recipes to help you get started on the right foot.

1.  Smokey Garlic dip

This quick and easy snack is satisfying without busting your healthy eating goals.

•    2/3 cup non-fat sour cream
•    3 tbs fat-free mayo
•    2 tbs lemon juice
•    1 chipotle pepper canned in adobo
•    1 tsp minced garlic
•    1/8 tsp salt
•    1 tbs fresh chopped cilantro

In your blender or food processor, blend together all ingredients except the cilantro.  Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle cilantro on top and serve with vegetables or fat-free tortilla chips.

•    Calories 36
•    Protein 1g
•    Carbs 6g
•    Fat 0g

2.  Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This amazing bread is tasty for a sweet breakfast, an afternoon snack or a dessert.  In fact, there isn’t any time a slice of this bread isn’t good!

•    1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
•    2/3 cup sugar
•    1/3 cup low-fat semi-sweet chocolate chips
•    2 tsp baking powder
•    ¼ tsp cinnamon
•    1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
•    2 mashed ripe bananas
•    1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
•    1 large egg
•    1 tbs vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients and chocolate chips in a large bowl.  Making a well in the center, add wet ingredients: bananas, apple sauce, egg and oil.  Mix together until just moistened.  Lumps are fine - don’t over-mix.  Pour batter into a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Cook at 350° for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove bread from the oven and let it cool.

•    Calories 133
•    Protein 2g
•    Carbohydrates 28g
•    Fat 2g (1 saturated, 1 monounsaturated)

3.  Breakfast casserole

This recipe is fantastic because you can make it on the weekend and it’ll last all week long.

•    8 ounces crusty bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
•    Cooking spray
•    1 pound turkey breakfast sausage
•    1/2 cup chopped green onions
•    1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
•    1 cup (4 ounces) reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
•    2 large eggs
•    1 (8-ounce) carton egg substitute
•    2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until toasted.

Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add sausage to pan and cook until browned, stirring to crumble. In a large bowl, combine sausage, bread and onions.  Combine milk, cheese, eggs and egg substitute in a separate bowl.  Add milk mixture to bread mixture, tossing to coat.  Transfer mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.  Uncover casserole. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

•    CALORIES 344
•    FAT 10.8g
•    PROTEIN 28.7g
•    CHOLESTEROL 123mg

4.  Chicken Salad

During the work week it is difficult to maintain healthy eating habits without packing your lunch and bringing it to work.  Here is a great recipe that will make you glad to skip the drive-thru.

•    1/3 cup diced celery
•    1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
•    1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
•    3 tbs chopped fresh parsley
•    2 tbs plain non-fat yogurt
•    1 tbs lemon juice
•    1/2 tsp salt
•    1/2 tsp dried basil
•    1/4 tsp pepper
•    1 3/4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 3/4 pound)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and chill.  When you’re ready to make your lunch, spoon it on your favorite bread or a bed of greens and you’re good to go.

•    CALORIES 20
•    FAT 0.7g
•    PROTEIN 2.6g
•    CHOLESTEROL 7mg

5.  Salmon and Edamame Pasta Salad

Fish oil and soy are two excellent nutrients.  Make this dish on a night when you just want to feel a little better.

•    1 1/2 cups uncooked bowtie pasta or shells
•    2/3 cup shelled edamame
•    1 (4-ounce) salmon fillet, skinned
•    2 tsp olive oil
•    1 cup chopped red onion
•    6 cups baby spinach
•    1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
•    4 tsp wholegrain Dijon mustard
•    salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Add edamame; cook for 6 minutes or until tender.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Heat a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add salmon; cook for 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, turning once. Coarsely chop salmon. Add to pasta mixture and toss gently to combine.

Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or just until wilted, stirring frequently. Add spinach mixture and dill to pasta mixture and toss gently to combine. Add mustard, salt and pepper; toss to coat.

•    CALORIES 262
•    FAT 8g
•    PROTEIN 17.1g
•    CHOLESTEROL 14mg

Technorati , , , , , , ,

Nutrition - Protein 101

If you buy a food supplement that contains an enzyme (such as super-oxide-dismutase, SOD) designed to work in your blood or in your cells, you are wasting money. Your digestive enzymes will split up this enzyme and reduce it to amino acids. The body will use these amino acids according to its own priorities, not necessarily those that you may have had in mind. Remember; dietary protein is digested by enzymes in your intestine to amino acids, amino acids are reconstructed by cellular enzymes to body protein.

Amino acids, if not used for protein synthesis or other purposes, lose their nitrogen (amino group) and are metabolized for energy. The body get rid of ammonia, which contains the nitrogen (from amino groups), by converting it to urea in the liver. The blood carries the urea to the kidney, where it is excreted in the urine. Some amino acids are also used for synthesis of hormones or other chemical compounds. Tryptophan can serve as a precursor for serotonin, a neurotransmitter. Tryptophan can also be converted to a vitamin, niacin. Certain amino acids are also converted to glucose, if the body does not receive sufficient carbohydrates. Starving or fasting people make their glucose this way.

Essential amino acids

We cannot make essential amino acids in sufficient quantities for optimal nutrition in our own body. We therefore need to get them from food. Eight amino acids are essential for adults; nine are essential for children. The remaining amino acids are just as important for protein synthesis, but our body can synthesis them from the carbon skeletons of fats, carbohydrates, other amino acids, and the nitrogen from amino acids already present.

Complete protein is a colloquial term for proteins of high nutritional quality. High quality proteins are dietary proteins that provide all the essential amino acids in the right proportions. Animal proteins usually resemble our own proteins more than plant proteins, and therefore are usually of high quality. Many plant proteins are of lower quality. These differences are not surprising because plants have different needs and properties than animals and, therefore, need different types of protein.

Plant seed proteins, such as grains, rice and corn, are usually low in one or two essential amino acids. Most animal proteins, gelatin is an exception, contain all the essential amino acids in the proper proportions.

Egg protein is one of the highest quality proteins. Other protein sources are therefore compared to egg protein regarding their nutritional value. The relative quality of protein, or its usefulness for the human body is called the “biological value.” A high quality protein would have a high biological value.

Proteins with the required proportions of essential and non-essential amino acids have a high biological value, and can be used for protein synthesis with little waste.We can get good quality protein by combining different plant proteins. This is especially important for vegetarians. For example, one plant protein may be low in one amino acid, while another plant protein may be high in that amino acid. If these two plant proteins are combined and eaten together, they complement each other, delivering all essential amino acids in sufficient amounts. Some examples:

Rice is low in lysine , an essential amino acid. Beans are low in methionine, another essential amino acid. Since both contain reasonably balanced proportions of the other essential amino acids, rice and beans complement each other to make better quality protein. Rice and beans are staple foods of many countries and of vegetarians.

(A paragraph of this article was place on my site at www.topchoices.com along with a link back to isnare.com for a complete reading of this article).

Alphonso Smith is the author of “Good Health Matter” which is to be finished mid-2008. Mr. Smith is the founder of Prosperity Nation Institute. Go to: http://www.prosperitycitizen.blogspot.com We want to hear your advice,hints and tips on prosperity. Go to http://www.essential-eresources.com

No Tags

Disordered Eating Among Women In USA Is Increasing

Disordered Eating Is Widespread Among U.S. Women
75% say they behave abnormally around food, survey finds

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of young American women report disordered eating behaviors, and 10 percent report symptoms of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder, a new survey finds.

The findings — from an online poll of more than 4,000 women between the ages of 25 and 45 — found that 75 percent eat, think and behave abnormally around food. The survey was conducted by SELF magazine in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Our survey found that these behaviors cut across racial and ethnic lines and are not limited to any one group. Women who identified their ethnic backgrounds as Hispanic or Latina, white, black or African American and Asian were all represented among the women who reported unhealthy eating behaviors,” Cynthia R. Bulik, a professor of eating disorders and director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program, said in a prepared statement.

“What we found most surprising was the unexpectedly high number of women who engage in unhealthy purging activities. More than 31 percent of women in the survey reported that in an attempt to lose weight, they had induced vomiting or had taken laxatives, diuretics or diet pills at some point in their lives. Among these women, more than 50 percent engaged in purging activities at least a few times a week, and many did so every day,” Bulik said.

Eating habits that some women think are normal — such as skipping meals, avoiding carbohydrates and, in some cases, extreme dieting — may actually be signs of disordered eating, which is often linked with emotional and physical distress.

While there’s a widespread belief that eating disorders affect mostly young women, the survey found that women in the 30s and 40s had about the same rates of disordered eating as younger women.

Among the other findings:

  • 67 percent of the women (excluding those with actual eating disorders) are trying to lose weight.
  • 53 percent of dieters are already at a healthy weight and are still trying to lose weight.
  • 39 percent of the women said concerns about what they eat or weigh interfere with their happiness.
  • 37 percent of respondents said they regularly skip meals to try to lose weight.
  • 27 percent said they’d be “extremely upset” if they gained just five pounds.
  • 26 percent have eliminated entire food groups from their diet.
  • 16 percent have dieted on 1,000 or fewer calories a day.
  • 13 percent smoke to lose weight.
  • 12 percent often eat when they’re not hungry, and 49 percent sometimes do.

The survey was expected to be published in the May issue of SELF and to be presented May 17 at the Academy for Eating Disorders’ International Conference on Eating Disorders, in Seattle.

More information:
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about eating disorders.
– Robert Preidt.

Technorati , , ,

How Diabetics Can Lose Weight Fast And Easy

Many are wondering how diabetics can lose weight fast and easy. By following the strategies outlined below, you can start to quickly lose weight and get on the road to life.

Do not dismiss these strategies. These are important parts of the process of losing weight. Follow them closely and you will reach success.

Live Differently

The most important strategy for how diabetics can lose weight fast and easy is to make lifestyle changes. Your weight is a result of your lifestyle. A diet is only a temporary change in the way you eat. When the diet is over, the weight will come back on.

However, change your habits and the weight will never come back. You can not expect to lose weight and keep it off if you just return to the way you always used to eat when the diet is over. The changes you make need to be permanent if you want to stay slim.

Decide now that you will do some sort of simple physical exercise everyday for the rest of your life. Make the change knowing that this is how it is going to be from here on out. Make it a reasonable and attainable change.

For example, decide now that you are a person that jogs for 20 minutes 3 to 4 days a week. Just do it! This is now who you are. This change is not just until you lose the weight you want to. This is who you want to be.

Eat Less Than You Burn

It should be no surprise that the basic truth behind losing weight is to eat less than what you are able to burn off through exercise each day. It is similar to being terrible at keeping a budget. We are all good at spending more money than we actually earn.

That’s what you have to do with calories. Anyone who is capable of maintaining this income/outcome deficit day in and day out will be successful at losing weight. The vast majority of people on diets fail to lose any significant amount of weight mainly because they can’t sustain this habit of eating less than you burn for a long period of time, enough to reach their ideal weight. This is a key part of how diabetics can lose weight fast and easy. Do not dismiss it.

Seek Out Support

Very few people can lose weight on their own. Support from others, especially those that are going through the same challenges as you, is essential. Find a support group, either in your hometown or online, that you can access on a regular basis to help you through the tough times and to celebrate the successes together with you. If you really want to know how diabetics can lose weight fast and easy, then you need to learn the value of support from others.

There is no doubt that on your path to weight loss you will meet many obstacles and be tempted to veer from the path. You need support from friends or a support group during these times to help you move on. Furthermore, you do not want the great success you are having to go unnoticed.

You could be losing weight quite successfully, but all the while be convincing yourself that you are failing. This is because you do not take the time to pay yourself on the back when you have reached a milestone or benchmark. Find support to celebrate your successes with you. This will give you the energy required to sustain your efforts.

If you follow these strategies along with the others I suggest in my other articles, you will reach your weight loss goals. Knowing how diabetics can lose weight fast and easy will no longer be a mystery to you. You will be telling others how to do it.

Learn more tips like these. Just contact fatlossmadeeasy@aweber.com Learn how to safely lose weight in a week Learn how to lose weight fast

No Tags