Republic of Healthy Tips » Weight loss tips

Tasty Low Calorie Recipes

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:17:57 +0000

There are so many websites and cookbooks focused on offering low calorie recipes, there is anything but a shortage of meals to try. However, just because low calorie recipes are healthy, does not mean they are tasty! Many of those recipes featured in various places taste like cardboard! Worse yet, they call for a bunch of ingredients that you and your grocer have never heard of! Where can you find tasty, low calorie recipes with all the ingredients you can pronounce?

The palatability of any meal is most often based on what you are accustomed to eating. If your primary food staple has been fried chicken and bon bons for the last few decades, you will likely have a hard time altering your eating habits or accepting low calorie recipes. Unless you can find recipes that call for bon bons, which is unlikely, you will have to make some sacrifices. If this is the case, you would be better off, instead of jumping headfirst into diet world, by gradually altering your diet by adding low calorie recipes and slowly removing the fatty foods. If you jump in to it too quickly, you are more likely to give up and go back to old habits. Another consideration, if you are making a drastic change, is to try to make the foods you already like in a different, healthier manner. You can broil meat instead of frying it, use fat free salad dressing, and other low calorie alternatives.

Once you ease into healthy eating, then it is time to really start making low calorie recipes. As stated earlier, there really are a lot of recipes available online and in cookbooks you just have to find some you like. You should start on the Internet and look for recipes with ingredients that sound good. Most likely, if the ingredients are good, the finished product will be good. When you are first starting out, you may not want to go out and buy a stack of cookbooks. You should get an idea of what you like before spending money on something that may very well end up collecting dust. Besides, individual recipes seem less obtrusive than bulky cookbooks that tend to always seem to big too read. No one wants to spend three hours looking through a book to decide what they want to eat. You can scan online and find something a lot faster.

10 Possible Causes of the Obesity Epidemic

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:17:31 +0000

It’s well accepted that reduced physical activity and fast food are linked to obesity. But the evidence that these are the main causes of obesity is largely circumstantial. To stimulate debate, experts suggest 10 other possible causes of obesity, outlined in the International Journal of Obesity.

1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today, many get less shut-eye than ever.
2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today’s pollutants affect our hormones.
3. Air conditioning. You have to burn calories if your environment is too hot or too cold for comfort. But more people than ever live and work in temperature-controlled homes and offices.
4. Decreased smoking. Smoking reduces weight. People smoke much less than they used to.
5. Medicine. Many different drugs including contraceptives, steroid hormones, diabetes drugs, some antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs can cause weight gain. Use of these drugs is on the upswing.
6. Population age, ethnicity. Middle-aged people and Hispanic-Americans tend to be more obese than young European-Americans. Americans are getting older and more Hispanic.
7. Older moms. There’s some evidence that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the higher her child’s risk of obesity. Women are giving birth at older and older ages.
8. Ancestors’ environment. Some influences may go back two generations. Environmental changes that made a grandparent obese may “through a fetally driven positive feedback loop” visit obesity on the grandchildren.
9. Obesity linked to fertility. There’s some evidence obese people are more fertile than lean ones. If obesity has a genetic component, the percentage of obese people in the population should increase.
10. Unions of obese spouses. Obese women tend to marry obese men, and if obesity has a genetic component, there will be still more obese people in the next generation.

These other contributing factors deserve more attention and study. Even more explanations include: a fat-inducing virus; increases in childhood depression; less consumption of dairy products; and hormones used in agriculture. What do you think can be attributed to the epidemic?

Take A “Magic Carpet” Ride

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:17:05 +0000

A few years ago, a magazine editor asked me to write about the 10 “best” foods for families. How could I choose? No one food supplies everything the body needs, and each food brings its own unique combination of important nutrients. Then I came up with the idea of “magic carpet” foods, foods that are important because they “carry” other nutritious foods with them.

Breakfast cereal is one of my favorite magic carpet foods. A fortified cereal such as Whole Grain Total is a terrific food on its own–it supplies fiber and 100 percent of the daily value for 12 different vitamins and minerals. Eat it topped with milk and fresh fruit, or layer it in a parfait with yogurt, berries and nuts, and you have an even more nutrient-packed meal.

Pizza crust is another favorite because it can carry a variety of foods on it. It’s easy to make your own, or you can buy dough or ready-baked crust at your market. Spread your dough with tomato sauce and you’ve added lycopene, a plant compound that gives tomatoes their red color and that may help boost health. “Decorate your crust with plenty of vegetables to add to the goal of eating more fruits and vegetables,” suggests Georgia Kostas, M.P.H., R.D., L.D., author of “The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution.” “Eating 4 1/2 cups a day provides the antioxidants, fiber and phytonutrients that may help reduce cholesterol oxidation and hardening of the arteries, which can contribute to a lower risk of heart disease.”

Pasta easily makes my list-the variety of toppings and “mix-ins” is virtually endless, such as lycopene-rich tomato sauce; protein-packed lean ground meat or poultry, grilled salmon and other fish; reduced-fat ricotta cheese or grated cheese for protein and calcium; heart-healthy nuts such as walnuts; and, of course, vegetables. Try different types of pasta; for example, fiber-containing whole wheat spaghetti, thin buckwheat soba from Japan, Asian rice noodles, and even pastalike spaghetti squash.

My list has plenty of other foods, including soup, bread made with whole grain, baked potato, and corn tortillas. Which foods would be on your list?

Ask Mindy

Q: Can you suggest other types of “magic carpet” foods from different food groups?

A: How about lettuce and salad greens? Mix in ingredients from as many food groups as possible for a filling and nutrition-packed meal.

Mindy Hermann

Note to Editors: This is Series V-24 of 26.

The Basics of Water Soluble Vitamins

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:16:57 +0000

The human body uses two types of vitamins: water-soluble and fat-soluble. In the debate over the necessity of vitamin supplementation, nutrition experts generally agree that there may be a need for water-soluble vitamins supplementation. These vitamins are called water-soluble because they are dissolved in water. This property of the vitamins means that the body does not easily store them. You must consume foods with these vitamins on a daily basis.

The vitamins that make up water-soluble vitamins include the B-complex vitamins (B1-thiamine, B2-riboflavin, B3-niacin, B5-pantothenic acid, B6-biotin, B12-cobalamins, and folic acid) and vitamin C. The B-complex vitamins provide various bodily functions, including energy production, nerve cell, and carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolizing. Most people who eat a normal diet containing a variety of foods should have no problem getting enough of these vitamins everyday. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that is essential for preventing the accumulation of free radicals in the system. Having a sufficient amount of vitamin C is associated with a low risk of heart disease and cataracts.

Depending on where you live, there are standards for what is required for both vitamins. There are varying recommendations for the B-complex vitamins. In general, you need 50 milligrams of vitamin C each day. This amount is lower or higher depending on your age, sex, health status, and if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. This amount is only a guideline. You should discuss your personal needs with a health professional that can make a proper assessment of your dietary needs.

The most common foods that contain vitamins C include green vegetables, organ meats, and citrus fruits. The B-complex vitamins are a large group. Following a diet that includes a variety of foods including nuts, beans, whole grains, organ meats, fish, and poultry should give you the amount of B-complex vitamins your body needs.

Vitamin C and the B-complex vitamins are available in mega doses. Although excessive amounts of water-soluble vitamins are excreted in the urine, doing so can also result in stomach upset and other unpleasant side effects. You should never consume large doses of vitamins with approval from your medical doctor. If you and a health professional determine that you are not getting enough of these vitamins, supplementation may be a consideration.

Herbalife Health Nutrition New Breakfast Products

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:16:37 +0000

Herbalife came out with the ideal breakfast! It is easy to make, tasty and whats no less important, is healthy. Thinks about all the time you have to spend making yourself a decent breakfast, Im not even talking about the energy of the very preparation and the time spent thinking about what to make. Herbalife, as usually, makes our life easier.

All you need is nutritional shake mix. You get to choose between four flavors: chocolate, wild berry, tropical fruit and vanilla. The cocktails you make can be standard and simple, but they can also be the fruit of your own imagination and creativity. For example, in order to make the vanilla shake, you need only : 2 big spoons of formula 1 (vanilla flavored powder), 250-500 mm of low cholesterol milk, 1 spoon of honey, ice (if you choose) and shade it all up in a mixer. Seems too easy? In less than five minutes you can present yourself with a nice, healthy drink. It is easy to digest in the morning, yet although the food seems relatively light; it would keep you full for a much longer time than a regular meal would.

The drink is full with vitamins, minerals and healthy herbs. It is a great breakfast that consists only 200 calories. You can add yogurts to the equation; you can chop all kind of fruits, use soya milk then just throw it all into the mixer, and within a few minutes, a delicious breakfast is ready. Make your life healthier and easier. Now that it is so easy, everyone can do it! You can make a couple of different cocktail so all your family can enjoy something special that would keep you full until lunch. The drink actually contains the vitamins A, D, E, C, B1, B2, B3, B5 and many more. In short, it contains twice the vitamins serials have. Enjoy your breakfast, its not in vain called the most important meal of the day!

Calcium: When You Take It, It Works

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:16:27 +0000

Calcium has been recommended and widely accepted as an essential mineral for bone and skeletal health and numerous body functions-regulating heartbeat, conducting nerve impulses, stimulating hormonal secretions and clotting the blood. Now, some conflicting and potentially misleading research is threatening to negate the efficacy of this vital mineral.

One factor that the study, published by the Women’s Health Initiative, got right was that the government’s recommended daily dosage is necessary to receive the benefits associated with calcium consumption and supplementation. Yet more than half of the study participants did not adhere to the recommended calcium supplementation, making improvements in bone density a nearly impossible result. Meanwhile, those that did comply experienced a whopping 29 percent lower risk of hip fractures.

Americans, both young and old, are failing to meet calcium intake requirements and the incidence of osteoporosis is climbing. During adolescent and teenage years, when 45 percent of bone mass is formed, meeting calcium requirements is essential. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, however, only 10 percent of teenage girls and 30 percent of teenage boys are meeting adequate calcium intake, which places them at serious risk for stunted growth, bone disease and, eventually, osteoporosis.

Calcium is available through dairy products and green, leafy vegetables-yet incorporating adequate amounts into a modern, hectic lifestyle, regardless of age, is often unrealistic. Calcium-fortified foods and supplements, however, can fill the gap.

“It’s very important that people do take a supplement if they’re not getting enough calcium in their diet,” says Nicholina Galinsky, R.N. “Unfortunately, most of us are not aware that we have osteoporosis until we break a bone.”

Adora™, a new calcium supplement, is made with milk and dark chocolate. Each chocolate disk contains 500 mg of elemental calcium, along with 100 international units of vitamin D and 40 micrograms of vitamin K, which aids absorption. In addition, the supplements taste like gourmet chocolate, which makes sense since the manufacturer, Thompson Brands, is a candy maker, not a pharmaceutical company.

Antioxidants – Your Body’s Garbage Collector

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:15:45 +0000

Are you making the mistake of not eating enough antioxidants in your diet? I mean really, what is the harm? What, that is, aside from early aging, heart disease, cancer, and a host of other illnesses.

As someone who is concerned about your health, you should be very much aware of the foods you put into your body. But how many of us actually are?

If your health strategy is simply to eat what you want and hope for the best, you may be planting the seeds of your own future illnesses.

Antioxidants help to fight free radicals. But what are free radicals and why are they so harmful to your body? And why does your body need protection against them?

A free radical is a molecule with an unpaired electron. Because it has a free electron, it is highly reactive and very susceptible to oxidation.

Just think of how an exposed apple or potato turns brown when left uncovered. This is caused by oxidation. Well, this is what free radicals are doing to the inside of your body.

Free radicals are not useful as cells to the body. Instead, they steal nutrients from healthy cells – starving them. When healthy cells starve, they deteriorate, and in the process, weaken the body’s immune defenses. This is why your body needs to rid itself of them as soon as possible.

Free radicals occur in our bodies every minute of the day. But environment has an effect also. The more you are in contact with toxic environments such as cigarette smoke, radioactivity, smog, pollution, and so on, the more free radicals your body will absorb.

So how can you slow the free radical onslaught against your body? The key is antioxidants.

Normally, a healthy body full of antioxidants, is capable of handling free radicals easily. But if your body is under physical or mental stress, your body’s natural defense system may simply not have enough antioxidants available to fight the free radicals.

Antioxidants are believed to help protect the body from free-radical damage by interacting with free radicals in the body and short circuiting their harmful actions. They’re scavengers, or garbage collectors. They help to rid your blood vessels and cells of radical cells that would harm you.

Clearly, with all the evidence so far, no reasonable person could ignore the wealth of evidence pointing to the importance of antioxidants.

Although, not conclusive, high antioxidants levels have lent to conclusions that they can slow aging, prevent heart attacks and strokes,

The best way to ensure that your body is loaded with enough antioxidants is to eat the recommended five to eight serving of fruits and vegetables a day. Especially, those with high levels of vitamins E, A, and C.

But, really, how many of us do that? The only people I know doing that are hard core vegetarians.

Therefore, even though, it may not be the best choice, you should seriously consider making nutrient supplements a part of your every day dietary routine.

Taking vitamins or supplements daily that contain antioxidants are a good way to maintain cellular health.

The Chinese Diet Green Tea: Good For Diet?

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:49:37 +0000

Did you know that during the Boston Tea Party, the tea that was dumped into the harbor was mostly Chinese green tea? Well, this delightful beverage has been around for thousands of years and has been part of the Chinese diet since the ancient times. Today, it is highly appreciated for its advantages. As numerous studies have found out, the Chinese diet green tea has a significant number of health benefits.

Origin and Background

As noted, Chinese green tea has been around for thousands of year, approximately 4,000 years. Legend has it that this delightful brew was discovered accidentally by a Chinese emperor. It comes from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis, as traditional black tea and oolong tea. And, for centuries, Chinese medicine has used it to treat headaches, digestive problems, lack of energy, and immune enhancement.

The Chinese diet green tea is actually produced by steaming the fresh tea leaves at high temperatures, leaving a significant part of the nutritional enzyme content intact. Unlike the black and oolong tea, the green tea is never fermented. Instead, its leaves bypass the fermenting process and steamed, baked or pan heated. The leaves are rolled and those tightly rolled leaves have long been considered as a sign of quality.

Chinese Diet Green Tea for Weight Loss

One particular claim that linked the Chinese green tea to diet is its being a miracle tea for weight loss. Well, there is no such thing as a “miracle” weight loss food or drug though, but several indications were revealed that Chinese green tea brings a number of benefits to those trying to lose weight.

It was revealed that green tea extracts are capable of reducing fat digestion by inhibiting digestive enzymes. Other studies have shown that green tea has thermogenic properties, which are probably brought on by the interaction between its caffeine content and catechin polyphenols. As you may know, thermogenesis is the process of the body burning fuel without making chemical energy.

Experts have said that of combined with the other weight loss supplements or techniques, the Chinese green tea could be an excellent addition to your diet.

Other Benefits

There are also other benefits connected with the intake of Chinese diet green tea. One of those is the claim that the polyphenols found in green tea have been shown to inhibit growth of cancer cells. The polyphenols appear to block the formation of cancer-causing compounds, and it is believed that the Chinese diet green tea has the greatest benefit on cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.

The Chinese diet green tea polyphenols are also powerful anti-oxidants. They are even more powerful than vitamin C and vitamin E, and more powerful than that found in many fruits and vegetables. The green tea itself contains vitamin C.

Further researches even found out that the compounds in green tea stimulate immune system cells. In recent years, research has shown that green tea may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is even good for the teeth as it contain fluoride that helps fight tooth decay.

Having said all these, I think that now is the right time to brew up a bit of Chinese diet green teas for a beneficial break in your day.

New Guide Helps Shoppers Choose Low-Carb Foods

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:25:28 +0000

Want to learn how to avoid products full of added sugar and other nutrient-deficient refined carbohydrates (as well as harmful trans fats) while grocery shopping?

Countless people worldwide are following the Atkins Nutritional Approach. Now, a new book called “The Atkins Shopping Guide” (Avon Books/ an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) arms you with the skills you need to navigate your grocery store so you can stock your low-carb kitchen.

The guide contains everything you must know to choose the right foods to do Atkins correctly. It also provides useful pointers for shopping at “super stores” and natural food retailers, all in a handy format perfect to carry in your pocket or purse.

Forget measuring, weighing and counting fat grams and calories. This book takes you aisle-by-aisle through the grocery store, helping you select the right foods to correctly follow a controlled-carb lifestyle, including vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry and meat, cheese, and other dairy products. There are also extensive sections on packaged foods.

The No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,” forever changed the way Americans eat by offering a healthy, nutritious approach to weight loss and weight maintenance, while revealing that the typical American diet, which is high in carbohydrates, has contributed to the nation’s obesity epidemic.

Whether you’re just beginning to do Atkins or have used it for years to maintain your weight, “The Atkins Shopping Guide” will show you how to read food labels and compare different products in a product category such as tomato sauce or peanut butter.

Atkins also offers a free newsletter with product updates, low carb diet tips and recipes.

Is Your Low-Carb Diet Aging Your Skin?

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:24:53 +0000

Low-carb diets, while they may be effective in promoting quick weight loss, have been shown to increase inflammation in the body, according to researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University. Not only does this age your skin, but your internal cells and organs as well. The solution is the IF Rating™ system, which shows you the foods that are both low-carb and anti-inflammatory.

Obesity, wrinkles, heart disease, hay fever, depression…all of these different problems share a common factor: inflammation. Now thought to be at the root of today’s most vexing health problems, chronic low-level inflammation is rooted in the foods you eat.

By reading the label, you can determine whether or not a food is high in carbohydrates, fats or sugars, but not whether it’s an inflammatory food. In The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, nutrition researcher Monica Reinagel takes the confusion and guesswork out of reducing inflammation with her revolutionary IF Rating system, which reveals which foods are best for reducing inflammation and which may make it worse. Using over 20 different nutritional factors to calculate each food’s rating, the IF Rating system helps you maximize both health and weight loss.

So do you choose the salmon or the steak? You’d probably be surprised at the answer. The IF Ratings reveal that one type of salmon may actually increase your risk of inflammation-driven aging and disease, while certain cuts of steak will reduce inflammation. This new information may change how you think about many common foods.

The Inflammation Free Diet Plan includes:

• IF Ratings for more than 1,600 common foods

• Tips to balance the effects of inflammatory foods with anti-inflammatory ones

• Three weeks of easy menus the whole family can enjoy

• An easy, flexible program you can follow for life

• More than 50 delicious anti-inflammatory recipes.

Perhaps the best part is that the plan works almost immediately. You’ll notice that your skin looks younger, your joints feel better and your allergy symptoms improve within days after you start. You’ll also be reducing your risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes in the future!