If you’re not a believer that sugar addiction is a real and possibly quite harmful issue facing society these days, you likely don’t even need to take a look at other individuals around you to discover the truth, as you might have experience “first hand” with this wide-spread and difficult addiction yourself. It is estimated that the majority of people who partake in a typical Western diet eat far in excess of a sensible amount of sugar in any one day and many people still discount the negative primary effects and side effects that this product can deliver.
It is important to note that simple and refined sugars are really not necessary for our bodies to function. There are quite a bit of naturally occurring complex sugars found within many complex carbohydrates and whole foods, and a sensible balanced diet will supply us with the necessary vital energy to function extremely well. Unfortunately, simple sugars are found in a large cross-section of everyday food and drink, often added for taste value or to help with preservation.
If you notice that you can’t seem get through the first half of your day without a can of soda or something sweet, you probably have a sugar dependence to some degree, and possibly even a sugar addiction. Many nutrition professionals disagree as to the actual cause of a sugar addiction, whether it’s an intense desire for the taste, or the quick short-term energy rush, commonly called a sugar high. Other individuals look to the main ingredient of white refined sugar, as it’s nearly identical to alcohol, with an insignificant nutritional value as an empty caloric food, just as with alcohol. Just like liquor, wine and beer, sugar relies on the depletion of your mineral and vitamin resources in order to be processed by your body.
To effectively deal with sugar addiction, it’s essential that you develop a sensible approach to holistic nutrition and realize that every part of your diet has to be moderated. Too much sugar creates an overstimulation of the neuro-transmitters within your brain, leading to an over tolerance and the hardwiring of your receptors to expect more and more of the same.
If you find that you have been suffering from depression or mood swings, or that your family, friends or partner accuses you of being irrational and irritable, you should take a cold hard look at your sugar intake. It will be necessary to refer to the nutrition labels on all foods that you consume. You will become an expert in deciphering all those figures and should especially look for references to glucose, fructose, sucrose or lactose within. Most sensible holistic health solutions encourage you not to focus on snack diets or eating “on the fly,” but rather to assume control over your own destiny.
We are constantly being told that we need to cut down on fats within our diet. Saturated fats are a major enemy and we must always check on cholesterol levels and focus on heart health. We also need to pay particular attention to our sugar addiction, as there is a very long list of potential health problems awaiting us if we don’t.
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If you’ve read about the pH miracle diet and you’ve decided to give it a try, you have a few tasks ahead of you. Depending on how committed you are the program you may begin with clearing out your pantry and your refrigerator of all highly acidic foods. If you live with others who won’t be on the diet with you, you may just want to remove the high acid treats that you find irresistible. Either way, whether you do a “kitchen purge” or just remove a few items from your shelves, you’ll need to go grocery shopping.
Shopping for the pH miracle diet can be done at any grocery store, but occasionally people find it easier to get specialty items at health foods stores or natural food chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. However, if you live in an area where there is no access to these types of stores, you can still easily purchase the items you need at a standard grocery store.
Before you make your shopping trip, you’ll need to start a list of items. You don’t want to walk into the grocery store blind and try to remember what you need to buy. Some people like to work from the alkaline food lists in the book. This is a good approach if you have a lot of money to spend and just want to fill your kitchen with these foods. However, a better and more organized approach is to first make out a menu list for the following week. When you shop from a planned menu and the recipes that go with those meal choices, you’ll only buy what you need. Additionally, many of the foods on the alkaline list are fresh vegetables. You’ll want to make sure that you actually need them before you buy them so you won’t risk wasting money.
Remember, when you first start, your diet doesn’t have to be 100% alkaline. In fact, even on strict versions of the pH miracle diet a balance between acid and alkaline is recommended. So when you make your menu and your grocery lists, keep that in mind. Foods that are slightly and moderately acidic include bananas, whole grain pasta, dried beans, eggs, milk, nuts and wheat bread. There are many others and you can consult different resources on the levels of acidity in foods. Strive to have balance in your daily diet of 70% alkaline to 30% acid.
When you arrive at the grocery store, with your list in hand, you’ll notice that you will be staying along the outer rim of the grocery store. Generally, the foods along the walls are fresher and more natural than the foods within the aisles. If you think about it, all of the foods in the center of the store are processed and packaged. The outer edges consist of the produce section, the dairy section and the deli and/or meat counter.
Produce, especially vegetables, is going to be the primary focus on your pH miracle diet shopping trip. Buy organic produce if you have the means to. However, the real importance is that you buy the vegetables and use them in your cooking. If you have to use conventionally grown produce or frozen produce that is better than using no produce at all.
The only word of caution is to avoid canned fruits and vegetables. The canning process has negative effects on the alkaline state of these foods. There is also a lot of sodium in canned fruits and vegetables. If you cannot buy fresh, look for frozen. Many stores that do not carry organic fresh produce will have organic frozen produce.
It’s best to purchase balance of alkaline and acid foods as you get used to this way of living and eating. If you go cold turkey on your favorite foods and believe that you have to be super strict in order to be healthy, you will end up rebounding back to you acidic ways of eating. Strive for mostly alkaline to begin with, and then you can move further up the alkaline spectrum and eliminate more acidic foods.
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Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables. It is almost impossible to get too much of these foods in your diet. They are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients, as well as high in complex carbohydrates. And fruits and vegetables are an important source of fiber, as well. Even the much maligned potato, eaten baked with the skin on, is full of vitamins C and B6, potassium, and nearly 5 grams of fiber!
When eaten raw, the enzymes that most vegetables and fruits contain help the body process foods better. Enzymes are an essential part of our diet, and if it is not found in food, the body must draw from its store of energy to produce enzymes for digestion, instead of other important jobs, such as fighting disease.
Phytochemicals are nutritional substances that recently have been in the news frequently. These are naturally occurring chemicals in plants that are thought to possess disease-fighting properties and play a potentially important role in fighting cancer and heart disease. Recent research demonstrates that they stimulate enzymes that breakdown carcinogens into harmless substances, and appear to be particularly protective against stomach and intestinal cancers.
Most whole foods contain phytochemicals, including whole grains, beans and herbs. Garlic and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, are some of the richest sources of phytonutrients, as well as fruits like blueberries, cherries and apples.
If you have hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid), go easy on the raw cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts and rutabagas.) They are believed by some to help depress the thyroid function when eaten raw. But don’t avoid these important vegetables, just be sure to cook them. On the other hand, if you are suffering from hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid), you should eat plenty of raw cruciferous vegetables.
Many studies have shown that increasing your vegetable and fruit intake may dramatically reduce or even prevent other chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease. Some scientists are now recommending up to nine servings a day of fruits and vegetables.
To get the most from your diet, try to eat a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Choose leafy greens often, lots of berries, and try to eat as many colors as you can, since every color of fruit or vegetable will give you different benefits.
The Japanese have a tradition of choosing foods with five different colors and flavors for their meals. The five colors they include are yellow, black, white, green, and red. The five flavors included are sweet, spicy, salty, bitter and sour. Take an example from the Japanese and think variety. Be daring– try out new foods and food combinations.
This is an excerpt from the FREE ebook “The Enzyme Health Diet Plan” by Dianne Ronnow. Copyright © 2005-6 by Mohave Publishing. All rights reserved. http://enzyme-health.com
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When you first start on the Atkins Diet program, you may be tempted to take advantage of many of the low carbohydrate products on the market today. There are a large variety of packaged items that are specifically manufactured to be low-carb. These include low-carb snacks, low-carb baking products and low-carb substitutes (like pasta or bread). While it may be enticing to fill your shopping cart with all of these goodies, it’s best for your diet and for your health to use them sparingly.
One of the key things to remember about the Atkins diet is its focus on raw, unprocessed foods. The center of diet, as shown by the Atkins diet food pyramid, is fresh vegetables and fresh meats. Added into the mix are natural cheeses, a selection of fruits and, eventually, whole unprocessed grains. There aren’t any packaged meats, canned vegetables or instant anything.
There is a reason that the Atkins food pyramid shows these foods in their raw states. There are great health benefits in minimally processed foods. Raw, whole foods retain more vitamins and nutrients than foods that have been through chemical and industrial processing. Manufactured foods are more likely to be tainted with chemical additives that can cause a whole host of problems.
Raw, fresh food ingredients provide the best basis for a healthy diet. Many dieters rely on foods that are technically allowed on the plan, but not good for health. One example is bacon. Many people on the Atkins diet consume lots of bacon. In fact, many use it as a daily part of their protein foods. However, bacon contains high amounts of sodium nitrite, an ingredient that is known to cause cancer. The more bacon they eat, the more they expose themselves to this chemical and many others.
The Atkins pyramid, and the Atkins diet books, recommends unprocessed, unrefined and non-manufactured foods for a reason. If people follow these recommendations, they will lose weight and experience health transformations. By eating fresh and natural foods you’ll be providing your body with the nutrients that you need to have optimum health.
Back to those packaged and processed low-carb foods. Technically, they are part of the low-carb program. They can be used in moderation as substitutes for your favorite carbohydrate heavy foods. In a pinch, low-carb bread and baked goods can help you get over cravings and add variety to your Atkins diet plan. However, one look at the labels of these products shows how chemically processed these items can be.
It is recommended that you use these products sparingly. In some individuals, low-carb packaged items cause carbohydrate cravings. This can make staying on the diet even more difficult. If you find that low-carb processed foods make you want to binge on carb-heavy foods, then its best that you stay away from these products. These products may also have hidden carb counts that will increase your daily carbohydrate level without you realizing it.
If you are experiencing a stall in your weight loss on the Atkins plan, re-evaluate your commitment to unprocessed and unrefined foods. If you’ve been eating too many low-carb processed foods, you may be consuming hidden carbs and eating more than necessary. Try eliminating these products and refocusing your diet on unprocessed and unrefined foods, like those seen on the Atkins diet pyramid. When you go grocery shopping, spend time along the outer rim of the store where the fresh, unprocessed foods are. This will help you avoid the temptation of packaged foods that can lead your diet astray.
You may need to rely on packaged meats, vegetables and fruits from time to time. We lead busy lives and convenience foods are part of life. It’s understandable that you may need to use some canned soup, bacon or canned vegetables in your daily life. However, make an effort to concentrate your dietary efforts on a wide variety of fresh, unprocessed foods. Your health and weight loss efforts will be greatly rewarded. Read more other articles about Low Fat Dessert Recipes and Health Current Events.
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Low-cal diets and aerobics have been the typical “prescribed solution” when one needs to lose weight for a wedding. However, with numerous fad diets and a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to weight management, shedding a few kilos should be easy. Sadly, the weight lost by dieters is almost always recouped. Consequently, many users fall into the “yo-yo trap,” a recurring cycle of weight loss and gain. There are several reasons why this occurs and why food restriction for the purpose of healthy weight loss should be circumvented. Each time the body is deprived of essential nutrients, whether from fasting or dieting, it guarantees survival by diminishing the metabolic rate in order to reimburse for fewer calories. Energy is stored so efficiently in fatty tissues that someone of normal weight can survive for weeks without eating.
Furthermore, the desire to binge after food restriction, although disheartening to dieters is another built-in survival mechanism intended to click on after a famine. Our cellular metabolism is too innocent to tell the difference between self-imposed starvation and life-threatening famine. One of the most healthy weight loss ways to treat obesity is to combine exercise with proper diet. It is not a matter of how much an individual eats, but what they eat is important. Rather than restrictive dieting, simply learning how to eat in a healthy and balanced way can have a major impact on weight control. Incorporating healthier eating habits into your lifestyle can improve your overall health and help you lose weight for wedding and achieve a permanent and healthy weight loss.
Both natural alternative and conventional medicine agree that we should consume whole foods with less fat and animal protein, with the minimal amount of processed, adulterated, fried, or sweetened preservatives, and eat more complex carbohydrates, especially whole grains rich in fiber, and at least five servings daily of fruits and vegetables. Lowering dietary fat and increasing physical activity are the two key factors to realize healthy weight loss. Eating well-balanced meals at regular intervals during the day (usually four to five hours apart) stabilizes blood sugar and helps you manage your appetite.
When one needs to lose weight for wedding, it is necessary to know that whole dietary fiber foods can have a major impact on weight gain as evident by the almost complete lack of obesity in cultures that consume a diet in fiber. Fiber has been shown to not only reduce serum cholesterol, but to also pull dietary fat from the body into the feces. Other benefits of roughage include increasing chewing time, thus slowing down the eating process and inducing satiety, preventing constipation and stabilizing blood glucose levels. Whole grains (wheat, oats, rice, rye, barley, millet) have the highest level of fiber, followed by legumes, nuts and seeds, root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots), fruits, and leafy, green vegetables.
To attain healthy weight loss alcohol should be shunned or minimized, since it has been found to act like a fat in the body and promote weight gain. Cigarettes, which are smoked by many people to control their weight, also appear to shove extra flab to the abdomen. Medical and scientific data also point to the advantages of moving towards a vegetable-based diet. A diet low in animal protein, along with exercise and stress-reduction measures, can actually reverse cardiovascular disease.
Healthy weight loss yields a positive psychological gain, increases overall body fitness, tones the muscles and rouses self-confidence. Positive mental health is an essential part of the concept of total health. Healthy weight loss improves psychological health, which eventually, helps in sustaining the correct weight. It offers a general dietary and lifestyle pattern that favors weight maintenance even without strict calorie counting.
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