5 Healthy Benefits of Following a Mediterranean Diet Plan

The Mediterranean diet has been around for centuries, but if you don't live in countries where this diet is prevalent such as Greece or Italy, you may not realize the many benefits of eating healthy foods  Mediterranean  style. According to studies, the Mediterranean diet encourages healthy weight loss and helps to reduce risks of many life-threatening diseases. Below are five of the top benefits of following this diet.

1. Fast Weight Loss

One of the key benefits of the Mediterranean diet is fast weight loss. This is not from the results of a diet pill or a crash starvation diet, but from healthy, portion-controlled eating. Weight loss rates will vary, but some have reported losing an average of 10 pounds per month. Delicious diet recipes are often provided when following the Mediterranean diet that help to speed up the weight loss process without depriving you of much needed vitamins and nutrients. Losing weight alone can offer many health benefits.

2. Good Heart Health

The delicious diet recipes provided while following a Mediterranean diet are all designed to promote good heart health. The Mediterranean diet consists of healthy doses of olive oil, fruits and vegetables, and oily fish. With some participants, a moderate amount of wine is consumed with meals. All these help to lower cholesterol and keep the blood flow to the heart at a normal level, thus, reducing the risk of heart disease tremendously.

3. Lower Cancer Risks

Having too many toxins in the body can cause some types of cancer, such as breast cancer. Eating the types of healthy foods promoted in the Mediterranean diet such as fruits and vegetables will lower the amount of toxins in the body because these foods are natural antioxidants.

4. Prevent Gallstones

Those who have fallen victim to gall stones realize how painful they can be. With around 639, 000 people being hospitalized per year with gallstones, many studies are being conducted to help find a cause and cure. The Mediterranean diet is rich in nuts, vegetable oil, and fish. Though gallstones are not always diet-related, consuming these foods can help to reduce the risk of gall stones or eliminate them altogether for some according to recent studies.

5. Lower Blood Pressure

The healthy foods in a Mediterranean diet can also work to lower and regulate blood pressure. Blood cholesterol levels can return to normal when eating less fatty foods and salt, and more healthy vitamins and minerals. Cooking procedures on a Mediterranean diet usually involve roasting or grilling rather than frying, so more nutrients are retained in the food during preparation, and there is much less fat consumption.

These are only a few of the benefits. The Mediterranean diet also offers many other benefits such as reducing the risks of blood clotting, diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and other life-threatening diseases. Don't deprive yourself. Start eating delicious diet recipes on the Mediterranean diet for healthy weight loss today. mediterranean diet, healthy weight loss, fast weight loss, delicious diet recipes, healthy foods

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The Versatile Antioxidant Vitamin

Slice an apple into half, and it turns brown. A copper penny suddenly becomes green, or an iron nail when left outside, will rust. What do all these events have in common? These are examples of a process called oxidation. If the sliced apple is dipped in a lemon juice, however, the rate at which the apple turns brown is slowed. It is because the Vitamin C in the lemon juice slows the rate of oxidative damage.

Since its discovery 65 years ago, vitamin C has come to be known as a  wonder worker.  Because of its role in collagen formation and other life-sustaining functions, Vitamin C serves as a key immune system nutrient and a potent free-radical fighter. This double-duty nutrient has been shown to prevent many illnesses, from everyday ailments such as the common cold to devastating diseases such as cancer.

The water-soluble vitamin C is known in the scientific world as ascorbic acid, a term that actually means  without scurvy.  We depend on ascorbic acid for many aspects of our biochemical functioning; yet human beings are among only a handful of animal species that cannot produce their own supply of vitamin C. Like these other animals, including primates and guinea pigs, we have no choice but to obtain this nutrient through food or our daily diet.

Vitamin C can enhance the body's resistance from different diseases, including infections and certain types of cancer. It strengthens and protects the immune system by stimulating the activity of antibodies and immune system cells such as phagocytes and neutrophils.

Vitamin C, as an antioxidant, helps reduce the activity of free radicals. Free radicals are by-products of normal metabolism which can damage cells and set the stage for aging, degeneration, and cancer. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that vitamin C is being used for cancer treatment. In large doses, Vitamin C is sometimes administered intravenously as part of cancer treatment.

Vitamin C prevents free radical damage in the lungs and may even help to protect the central nervous system from such damage. Free radicals are molecules with an unpaired electron. In this state, they're highly reactive and destructive to everything that gets in their way. Although free radicals have been implicated in many diseases, they are actually a part of the body chemistry.

As an antioxidant, vitamin C's primary role is to neutralize free radicals. Since ascorbic acid is water soluble, it can work both inside and outside the cells to combat free radical damage. Vitamin C is an excellent source of electrons; therefore, it  can donate electrons to free radicals such as hydroxyl and superoxide radicals and quench their reactivity.

The versatile vitamin C also works along with glutathione peroxidase (a major free radical-fighting enzyme) to revitalize vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant. In addition to its work as a direct scavenger of free radicals in fluids, then, vitamin C also contributes to the antioxidant activity in the lipids.

Optimal health, however, requires a balance between free radical generation and antioxidant protection. One of the functions of Vitamin C is to get and quench these free radicals before they create too much damage.

However, there is research to show that vitamin C may act as a pro-oxidant. In other words, vitamin C, under certain conditions anyway, may act in a manner that is opposite to its intended purpose. This has raised concern among thousands of people who supplement their diets with vitamin C...but that's another story. common cold, infections, diets

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3 Steps To A Happier & Healthier Day

Losing weight and maintaining the weight loss for an extended period of time requires some simple lifestyle adjustments. As long as you keep your adjustments within a sustainable reach, you should be able to lose weight and keep it off without much shock and interruption to your daily life.

Not surprisingly, losing weight does not have to require extended trips to the gym or engagement in some fad diet. Here are there steps to a healthier day that can help you slim down on weight without slimming down on your free time.

Exercise Daily

Daily exercise can make a difference in your body shape and in the way your body processes calories. When you exercise, you work your heart, mind and body. You are building your muscle mass, which in turn will increase the effectiveness of your metabolism.

Additionally, you encourage your heart to pump blood throughout your body more effectively, which means that you will have healthier blood and a reduced risk of heart disease. You reduce fatty deposits, which in turn helps reduce your risk of many health problems, such as diabetes. You also increase the number of endorphins that flow through your body, which means that you will note an increase in your positive attitude.

It does not require a large amount of time exercising to receive all of the above benefit. You simply need to workout regularly for a minimum of half an hour. Working out means taking a two-mile walk at a fast pace, throwing a Frisbee or riding a bicycle. Whatever the workout is, keep in mind that it should elevate your heart above it standing heart rate and it should make you breathe slightly heavier than normal. It is also good if you can break a sweat or feel your muscles challenged.

Eat All Things in Moderation

When you are trying to lose weight or sustain lost weight, it is vital that you allow yourself to eat all foods, but eat the unhealthy ones in moderation. The primary reason for many diets to fail is that people reduce the foods that they allow themselves to eat so drastically that they feel anxious after awhile eating the same things time and time again. When you allow yourself to give into simple cravings, you are rewarding your body and making it less tempted to crave larger portions of the bad foods.

You should also eat small portions of every food, regardless of its nutritional content. Eating smaller portions will help your stomach adjust to consuming less food. You can also drink water to help you feel full. American’s especially have a habit of eating more than one portion of food per meal – so be aware of your food portions!

Call a Buddy

Studies prove that having a Buddy help you work out increases your chances of maintaining a diet, exercise routine, or long-term weight loss. Buddies are fabulous motivators. They will keep you attuned to your habits and help you feel accountable throughout the day. If you must, enlist the help of a partner to be an appointed weight loss guardian. He or she will be tasked with ensuring that you stick to your weight loss goals by encouraging you to report your progress several times a week. weight loss, weight loss dietm weight loss program, obesity, diet weight control, diet plan.

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3 Lessons From The Biggest Loser

All over the world, night after night, millions of people are riveted to their TV sets - but not to watch the latest soap, or CSI. Not to watch Jay Leno or Sex in the City. Not to see who outwits, outlasts and outplays others in Survivor. No - they are spellbound by the efforts of a small band of obese people trying to overcome the effects of years of overeating.

It's not surprising that for so many people this is compulsive viewing. Obesity is the new epidemic. Fat children lumber around school playgrounds while their overweight mothers fill shopping carts with wrong choices. Then... they sit down at night to watch The Biggest Loser. They see dramatic weight loss and startling new body shapes beginning to emerge. They want the same results - and they begin to think it might be possible.

But who has four or five hours a day to work out? Who can afford a personal trainer several times a week? And who has the luxury of their own personal adviser on calorie content and smart food choices? The answer is: not many people. But you have to remember that this is television: it's a false situation. As the players keep reminding themselves and the viewers:  This is a GAME. You have to make the most of your time here - it's going to be so much harder out in the real world.

IS it harder in the real world? Probably. But you can take lessons away from watching this reality show. You can make it work for you, as well as for the contestants. Here are three practical and useful lessons you can put to use immediately.

1. Put Weight Loss First.

In the Biggest Loser household WEIGHT LOSS COMES FIRST. Make it come first in your household, too. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It is. In fact, so simple that many people just overlook it. They try to fit exercise and meal planning around everything else in their lives, instead of making it a priority.

Think: what is most important: getting the weight off, and becoming fit enough to put years on your life - or watching another TV show? Sit down with a pen and paper and allot at least one hour a day to planning meals, recording what you eat, and doing some form of exercise. You've still got 23 hours left to do everything else!

2. E is for Exercise - and Enjoy!

What else do you notice in the Biggest Loser household? The more they exercise, the more they seem to enjoy it. Oh sure, they grunt and they groan; they sweat and they complain. But as the weeks go on, you'll hear them say things like:  I never thought I'd say that I look forward to working out - but now don't feel right if a day goes past without exercise!

The secret to enjoying exercise is finding what's right for YOU. If you don't really enjoy the gym, look for other forms of exercise. You need a mix of cardio and resistance training - but it doesn't have to be on machines. Walk, swim, dance, climb hills, push a wheelbarrow in the garden... there are endless choices that can be fun for you. Research what happens to various muscle groups - and to your heart - when you exercise, and pick activities that you will enjoy.

3. Identify the Triggers.

Emotions run high when the contestants have to face their demons. Weight gain is rarely from just a physical cause. If you keep a food diary, and faithfully record not only what you eat but when (and why) you eat it, you'll soon see a pattern of emotional eating. What are YOUR triggers? Boredom? Tiredness? Family arguments?

Once you have identified these triggers, you can start working on strategies to defeat them. This can be as simple as challenging yourself every time you want food. ( Am I hungry - yes or no? If I'm not hungry, then why do I want to eat? Am I really just thirsty? If I'm running to the fridge because I'm upset, is there something else I can do to feel better? Is there a long-term solution that will fix this forever?  and so on.) If you're not yet ready to deal with the root cause, then be prepared with food that won't add to your problems with the resulting rolls of fat. Make sure that you have 'good' food at hand - but also food that you LIKE.

These are just three of the lessons that anyone can take away from watching The Biggest Loser. And you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you did it all by yourself. health, fitness, exercise, diet, weight loss

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DNA Diets Junk Science?

Dieting and weight loss products and programs are such a big budget, big profit business today. We've all heard dozens of sales pitches for diet and weight loss products, plans, books, and other items that will supposedly help us miraculously lose that extra weight we've gained with the least amount of effort possible.

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Dieting and weight loss products and programs are such a big budget, big profit business today.  We've all heard dozens of sales pitches for diet and weight loss products, plans, books, and other items that will supposedly help us miraculously lose that extra weight we've gained with the least amount of effort possible. Each of these programs, books and products also usually tout themselves as being based "unique" and strongly backed science and technology.

These hyped diet aids range anywhere from diet supplements that claim to burn fat and/or blast calories away, help to suppress the appetite, or even help to block carbs and fat from even entering the blood stream and being stored as fat or extra weight.  But how do we as consumers really know that any of this will actually work?

One of these so called scientifically based diet fads, which costs a fairly lofty sum of money, called the DNA Diet, has recently been in the news for allegedly preying on customers for astronomical sums of money.  The company which sells this idea is currently under government investigation for misleading consumers.

The DNA "kits" the company sells online are for swabbing the inside of your mouth and sending it in for "DNA analysis", along with an accompanying recommendation for your personally tailored diet. The cost may be anywhere from $499 to $1,000, and a full year of this diet advice and accompanying diet supplements can cost you upwards of $1,800.

Investigators say there is not even any scientific proof that this method of diet advice and supplementation or anyalysis works, further casting doubt on the companies that offer this service. This particular company also offers expensive diet supplements which are mostly made of concentrated vitamins, some of which analysts claim may actually cause more harm than good due to their high dosages.

Not only that, analysis done on the supplements showed there was no difference in the formula even when different DNA was sent in, so the idea that the supplements themselves are "custom tailored" genetically is assumed to be false.

The investigators created fourteen fake customers and purchased the DNA analysis kits from four different websites. They filled out the accompnaying questionnaires with varied client information, such as different lifestyles, age brackets, etc,.  All questionnaires were paired with the DNA sample of an infant girl and a grown male.

The advice varied greatly, the first sign this was an unreliable or simply fake analysis, and many of the pieces of advice received contained generalities such as smoking leads to heart disease and other already well known facts. The investigation is ongoing, and there has been no announcement whether the company will be forced to close or change their methods and practices.

This is a perfect example of why a consumer must be vigilant when purchasing or researching any claims of diet products, or any other self improvement products for that matter.  You never know when the next phony product might come along.

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