April 03, 2006
Fish and Seafood are Healthy
Author: Tony Robinson
Maximizing protein content while minimizing fat and calories is a goal of many people who are trying to lose weight, gain fitness or just enjoy a healthier diet. There are few foods that combine low fat, low calories and high protein the way fish and seafood do.
In addition, the protective oils in many cold water fish are being studied for their possible role in preventing heart disease and lowering levels of cholesterol in the bloods.
In addition, fish dishes are delicious, easy to prepare and often inexpensive. Many people have avoided buying more fish because they were unsure of how to cook and prepare it. While fish dishes can sometimes be a challenge, there are many recipes, both online and in cookbooks, that make it easier than ever to prepare fresh fish for yourself and your family.
Many nutritionists recommend that everyone eat fish at least twice a week. Substituting low fat, low calorie fish dishes for more calorie dense, fatty meats is a great way to lower the amount of total fat in your diet, and this can boost your level of fitness or help you lose weight.
The amount of protein in fresh and frozen fish and seafood is very high, certainly comparable to higher fat sources like beef, pork and lamb. And fish is generally thought to be a healthier choice, since all that protein comes with less fat and fewer calories. Everyone knows about the importance of protein in the diet, for both children and adults. Protein is a vital building block of muscle, and it plays a role in repairing muscle damage, growing strong nails and hair and other important bodily functions.
While protein is found mainly in animal based foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy products, there are plant based sources of protein as well. These non animal sources of protein include peanut butter, lentils, peas and nuts. The downside to many protein laden plant based foods, however is their high content.
This is yet another feature that makes fish so appealing as a source of protein. Fish contains just as much protein as many of these higher fat, higher calorie sources. Eating fish provides - shall we say - a greater protein bang for the buck than many other sources.
You may have heard that salmon contains a lot of fat, and it is true that salmon does contain more fat than many other fish. Compared to high fat meats like sausage and bacon, however, salmon is still a relatively low fat source of protein. Like other fatty foods, however, it is important for those watching their fat intake to limit their consumption of salmon.
One advantage fish has over other types of meats is the type of fat it contains. Most meats contain saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature. Unlike cattle, pigs and other land animals, the fat in fish is of the polyunsaturated variety. Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, and they are healthier fats for the people who consume them.
Saturated fats are thought to play a greater role in heart disease, stroke and hardening of the arteries. That is why healthy cooking typically involves the use of polyunsaturated fats such as canola oil and olive oil, instead of saturated fats such as beef lard and butter.
Many people worry about the level of pollution in general, and mercury contamination in particular, in fish. While it is true that polluted waters are of some concern when it comes to fish, seafood products are actually quite safe to eat.
In addition, many types of fish, like salmon and sardines, are farm raised, and their diet and environment is strictly controlled. It is recommended, however, that fishermen and fisherwomen limit the amount of their catch that is eaten if they live near a polluted river or stream. The local fishing and hunting authority usually issues guidelines for eating fish in areas where pollution is a problem.
About the author: Tony Robinson is a webmaster, international author and fitness guru. Come check out his website at http://www.1stbetterhealth.com
Posted by Richard at 06:43 AM | Comments (0)
April 02, 2006
What We Know About Low-Carb Diets
Author: Steve Wilcott
With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation of information, it’s no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the value and safety of low-carb diets. It seems like heated debates are raging everywhere!
Whether it’s Atkins, the South Beach or some other low-carb plan, as many as 30 million Americans are following a low-carb diet.
Advocates contend that the high amount of carbohydrates in our diet has led to increasing problems with obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. Critics, on the other hand, attribute obesity and related health problems to over-consumption of calories from any source, and lack of physical activity. Critics also express concern that the lack of grains, fruits, and vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to deficiencies of some key nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, and several minerals.
Any diet, weather low or high in carbohydrate, can produce significant weight loss during the initial stages of the diet. But remember, the key to successful dieting is in being able to lose the weight permanently. Put another way, what does the scale show a year after going off the diet?
Let’s see if we can debunk some of the mystery about low-carb diets. Below, is a listing of some relevant points taken from recent studies and scientific literature. Please note there may be insufficient information available to answer all questions.
Differences Between Low-Carb Diets
There are many popular diets designed to lower carbohydrate consumption. Reducing total carbohydrate in the diet means that protein and fat will represent a proportionately greater amount of the total caloric intake.
Atkins and Protein Power diets restrict carbohydrate to a point where the body becomes ketogenic. Other low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are less restrictive. Some, like Sugar Busters claim to eliminate only sugars and foods that elevate blood sugar levels excessively.
What We Know about Low-Carb Diets
Almost all of the studies to date have been small with a wide variety of research objectives. Carbohydrate, caloric intake, diet duration and participant characteristics varied greatly. Most of the studies to date have two things in common: None of the studies had participants with a mean age over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted longer than 90 days.
Information on older adults and long-term results are scarce. Many diet studies fail to monitor the amount of exercise, and therefore caloric expenditure, while participants are dieting. This helps to explain discrepancies between studies.
The weight loss on low-carb diets is a function of caloric restriction and diet duration, and not with reduced carbohydrate intake. This finding suggests that if you want to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories and do so over a long time period.
Little evidence exists on the long-range safety of low-carb diets. Despite the medical community concerns, no short-term adverse effects have been found on cholesterol, glucose, insulin and blood-pressure levels among participants on the diets. But, adverse effects may not show up because of the short period of the studies. Researchers note that losing weight typically leads to an improvement in these levels anyway, and this may offset an increase caused by a high fat diet. The long range weight change for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.
Most low-carb diets cause ketosis. Some of the potential consequences are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and confusion. During the initial phase of low-carb dieting some fatigue and constipation may be encountered. Generally, these symptoms dissipate quickly. Ketosis may also give the breath a fruity odor, somewhat like nail-polish remover (acetone).
Low-carb diets do not enable the consumption of more calories than other kinds of diets, as has been often reported. A calorie is a calorie and it doesn’t matter weather they come from carbohydrates or fat. Study discrepancies are likely the result of uncontrolled circumstances; i.e. diet participants that cheat on calorie consumption, calories burned during exercise, or any number of other factors. The drop-out rate for strict (i.e. less than 40 grams of CHO/day) low-carb diets is relatively high.
What Should You Do? - There are 3 important points I would like to re-emphasize:
The long-range success rate for low-carb and other types of diets is similar.
Despite their popularity, little information exists on the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate diets.
Strict low-carb diets are usually not sustainable as a normal way of eating. Boredom usually overcomes willpower.
It is obvious after reviewing the topic, that more, well-designed and controlled studies are needed. There just isn’t a lot of good information available, especially concerning long-range effects. Strict low-carb diets produce ketosis which is an abnormal and potentially stressful metabolic state. Under some circumstances this might cause health related complications.
The diet you choose should be a blueprint for a lifetime of better eating, not just a quick weight loss plan to reach your weight goal. If you can’t see yourself eating the prescribed foods longer than a few days or a week, then chances are it’s not the right diet. To this end, following a moderately low fat diet with a healthy balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate and other nutrients is beneficial.
If you do decide to follow a low-carb plan, remember that certain dietary fats are associated with reduction of disease. Foods high in unsaturated fats that are free of trans-fatty acids such as olive oil, fish, flaxseeds, and nuts are preferred to fats from animal origins.
Even promoters of the Atkins diet now say people on their plan should limit the amount of red meat and saturated fat they eat. Atkins representatives are telling health professionals that only 20 percent of a dieter’s calories should come from saturated fat (i.e. meat, cheese, butter). This change comes as Atkins faces competition from other popular low-carb diets that call for less saturated fat, such as the South Beach diet plan. Low-carb dieting should not be considered as a license to gorge on red meat!
Another alternative to “strict” low-carb dieting would be to give up some of the bad carbohydrate foods but not “throw out the baby with the bath water”. In other words, foods high in processed sugar, snacks, and white bread would be avoided, but foods high in complex carbohydrates such as fruit, potatoes and whole grains, retained.
About the author: This article provided courtesy of http://www.low-choleste rol-facts.com
Posted by Richard at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)
Staying Lean for Life
Author: Sean Harder
For years the experts have been telling us that diets do not work, and my experience in the field for almost twenty years confirms that. Yet every year several new fad diets and supplements emerge, claiming they have the answer, and making people rich.
Any diet will help you lose weight, there is no arguing that. I have several personal friends who have lost significant weight on the new low carb diets. Whether you can lose weight on a diet has never been the issue. I worked for Nutri-System several years ago and saw some people lose tons of weight. The issue has been and always will be whether a person keeps the weight off. Research has always shown that within 5 years, anywhere between 85 and 90 percent of people will put the weight back on after stopping a diet.
The key here is after “stopping a diet”. Very few of the fad diets, or the diets where you buy special food, can or will be followed permanently. This is precisely why they don’t work. There is also evidence that so-called yo-yo dieting is worse for your health than being moderately overweight. Most people I know with a weight problem have lost and gained at least 3 or 4 times in their lifetime.
The key then is to find a way to develop a lifestyle of eating and exercise that you will implement permanently. Human nature will not tolerate deprivation well, so you must be able to have some of you want, and the luxury to not do what you have to some of the time. You must eat the things you like once in while, and be able to say I don’t want to exercise once in while, or you give in and give up.
For most people, making some very subtle adjustments to their lifestyle can help immediately. Things like cutting down your meal portions by one third, and eating slower, can make a big difference. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. These little things can make a difference, and most people can implement and maintain them without too much grief.
You have to give your body a chance to adjust over the long term. The cells in our body reproduce themselves once or twice a year, and when they do, they carry the memory of their environment with them. Therefore you must provide them with a new environment for at least that long before your body stops fighting you.
Also remember that if you starve your body, or even just lose a lot of weight quickly, your body is going to strive to regain it’s original weight, and store what you take in. Again you must give it time to adjust and fight the impulses that it sends you. The experts know that a good rate of weight loss for keeping it off is about 2 to 5 pounds per month. This allows the body to gradually adjust. You can lose more than that, but expect your body to react more.
For a full proven program to keep your weight off, click here.
Article written by Sean Harder, founder of WholeLifeGym
http://www.wholelifegym.com
About the author: Sean has been a therapist and life coach for 13 years. He is published author and founder of WholeLifeGym.com.
Posted by Richard at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)
Keeping the Weight Off
Author: Christopher Guerriero
Once you have started losing weight, it is crucial to think of how to maintain that weight loss in the days ahead.
It may seem hard to believe, but taking the weight off is the easy part. Maintaining weight loss for good is where the real challenge lies. If you are like me, you have tried countless diets only to gain the weight back. People lose lots of weight on diets everyday, but 95% of them gain it back because they have focused only on the weight loss. They follow the diet until they get to a particular number on the scale and then shortly after, they go back to the old lifestyle that made them overweight in the first place. Of course, over time the weight comes right back.
The truth is, almost everyone can lose weight but only 5% keep it off. These are the Weight Loss Registry’s figures, not mine. The WLR followed highly successful dieters and came up with seven reasons why people were able to keep the weight off.
Here are the seven reasons the dieters were successful. 1. The dieters accepted failure and kept on trying. 2. The dieters did not deny themselves—they indulged from time to time. 3. They weighed themselves often. 4. They exercised one hour a day. 5. They added little bits of activity into their daily life. 6. They followed a high carb and low fat diet. 7. They ate 5 meals a day.
When I compare my own weight loss success to the list above, I would say I learned how to maintain weight loss due to the following: I do the best I can with what I have available. Sometimes I am not always in a perfect situation with the healthiest choices, but I make do with what is there and I stick to the plan. If I make a not so healthy choice, I don’t beat myself up for it.
I eat YUMMY and whole foods. Using the finest ingredients makes the most delicious meals and has helped me stick to Living Well. If I wanted to indulge, I would make it from scratch using the healthiest ingredients possible. To me, indulging does not mean eating junk.
I use a tape measure to keep tabs on my weight and occasionally weigh myself.
I really struggle with exercising regularly and I have NEVER exercised for one hour a day consistently. I will do heavy housework and other activities around the house to get my heart rate up and I try different forms of exercise all the time because I get bored easily.
I think it is vital to get moving every day, somehow, and it doesn’t always mean you have to be in an aerobics class or on some sort of machine to get your heart rate up.
I eat organic whole foods and healthy oils. I am not sold on the idea that low fat and high carb is the way to go. High fat is not the answer either, but healthy oils are not the enemy. The rights oils will actually speed up the metabolism.
I eat only 3 meals a day and rarely snack. I do better when I don’t snack or graze on food all day. BUT, you may be different. You have to do what works best for you and your unique body.
This is the MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL I think of the health I have now and my future health EVERYDAY. I really want to enjoy my older years and I want to be healthy. I don’t want to sit in a rocking chair, talking about all my symptoms and the things that ail me when I am in my golden years.
The Weight Loss Registry tips and my maintenance tips are not the only path for everyone, but instead are some ideas you can use to come up with your own way to keep the weight off once you have lost it.
Ultimately, I think it is crucial to focus on your health when changing over to a healthy lifestyle. So many people are in a hurry to lose weight. They spend their entire lives putting on the weight, losing the weight temporarily on diets and just want to get rid of it as fast as possible not taking in consideration their state of health. I know you have heard this many times before but if you don’t have your health, you don’t have much. Being thin will mean nothing to you if you compromise your health along the way.
Even if you are losing weight slowly, good for you! The idea here is to take off the weight and keep it off for good. Even just a couple of pounds a month adds up over the course of a year. And for those that were doing everything they could and continuing to gain weight, just stopping that weight gain is a measure of success.
With these tips, you now know how to maintain weight loss. Give yourself time to adjust to a new and healthy lifestyle and enjoy yourself along the way. A year from now your body will be thanking you for it!
About the author: Christopher Guerriero, is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning ‘Maximize Your Metabolism’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE teleseminars, visit: Maximize Your Metabolism
Posted by Richard at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)