Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCSFat Loss Coachwww.BurnTheFat.com
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The Low Carb Diet Truth
No diet issue has ever created more confusion and controversy than the low carb vs. high carb debate. You are about to finally hear the low carb truth... simplified... But then, you will also hear about a few surprising "twists" to the low carb story!
Contrary to what certain "gurus" tell you, carbohydrates are NOT fattening. If you eat too much of anything, it will get stored as fat. Period. That is the pure essence and scientific truth about fat loss:
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CARBS!!!
IT'S ABOUT THE CALORIES!
But don't throw out your low carb diet just yet!
Reduced carb dieting does seem to have some beneficial effects on weight loss and fat loss, but it may not be for the reasons that most people think! In fact, it may not have anything to do with carbs at all ... it may be about protein and appetite regulation!
Low carbers usually don’t want to admit this - they usually want to insist on “metabolic advantage” - but the fact is, one of the biggest reasons that low carb diets can help improve fat loss is because it's very difficult to overeat when you restrict an entire group of energy dense foods like carbohydrates.
And there we have the truth again - if you eat less because of a low carb diet, you lose weight because you ate less, not because you ate less carbs. Got it? Less carbs = less calories!
Test it for yourself:
See how easy it is to overeat if you are told "eat as much of anything as you want." Then see how hard it is to eat a surplus of calories if you’re told, "eat as much as you want - but only lean protein, salad veggies and green veggies with a little bit of essential fat." You will lose fat like crazy on a diet like that, but it's not necessarily because carbs are low, it’s primarily because the CALORIES are low!
The problem is, most people cannot stay on a diet so restricted in choices. That's why over the long term, low carb diets aren't really much more effective than any other diet.
Appetite control - a legit benefit of low carb diets?
Very low carb diets often tell you not to count calories and they say you can eat as much as you like if you just stick to protein and fat. However, they're making a huge assumption that by restricting carbs and allowing fat intake, your appetite will regulate itself and you will eat less as a result.
That's often exactly what happens with low carb, high fat diets - you tend to eat less automatically - so appetite control appears to be a legitimate benefit of low carb diets. However, there is nothing special about "low carb diets" that allows you to eat unlimited calories. If you eat in a caloric surplus, you are going to gain weight, no matter what the macronutrient composition of the diet.
High thermic effect: A second weight loss advantage of a low carb (higher protein) diet?
Here's another potential advantage: Low carb diets tends to be higher in protein. Since protein has a much higher thermic effect, it can lead to slightly greater fat loss than a diet of the same calorie amount that is high in fat and carbs.
In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2005 (93(2): 281-289), researchers followed a group of 113 overweight subjects after 4 weeks of a very low calorie diet, through a 6 month period of weight maintenance. The subjects were divided into a control group and a protein group that was given an extra 30 grams of protein in place of an equal amount of carbs.
The researchers found that the group with the higher protein intake was less likely to regain the lost weight, and any weight gain in the protein group was lean tissue and not fat. The results were attributed to higher thermic effect and a decrease in appetite.
A third advantage to low carbs?
Another potental benefit of carb restriction is better glycemic (blood sugar) control. This may provide some body composition and health advantages for individuals who are carb intolerant or who suffer from "metabolic syndrome" (where the body doesn't process sugar very well and tends to overproduce insulin).
Of course, as with nearly everything in life, there are two sides to every coin...
Disadvantages of low carb diets
1) For most people, strict low carb diets are difficult to stick to.
If you remove most of your carbohydrates from your diet for a long period of time, you're setting yourself up for a relapse. You tend to crave what you cannot have, both physiologically and psychologically. The more you cut the carbs, the easier it is to rebound will be when you put carbs back in.
2) Very low carb diets are often unbalanced and missing many nutrients.
It's still up for debate whether low carb programs like the Atkins diet are unhealthy, but removal of entire good groups such as fruits and 100% whole natural grains is definitely not nutritionally balanced for fiber, phytochemical and micronutrient intake.
3) Very low carb diets may cause low energy levels.
Most people will feel physically tired and mentally irritable without carbs, so their training will usually suffer: Low carbs = low energy. Low energy = poor workouts. Poor workouts = poor results. This makes low carb diets a poor choice for highly active people. The reason I don't recommend "very low" carb diets to my clients is because I am a strong advocate of weight training and cardio training as part of a fitness lifestyle. When you are training hard, you must "feed the machine" and eat to support your activity.
4) The intial rapid weight loss on a very low carb diet can be deceiving.
Much of the initial weight loss on low carbs is water and even lean tissue. If you drop 5-7 lbs in your first week on a low carb diet it sounds impressive, but if one pound is fat, 2-3 pounds are water and 2-3 pounds are muscle, what did you accomplish? Your goal should be fat loss, not "weight" loss.
Taking a lesson from the leanest athletes on Earth
On an interesting side note, I've made an 18-year long study of how the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models get so incredibly lean. One thing I noticed was that almost every bodybuilder or fitness competitor uses some variation of the low carb diet to prepare for competitions. Why? because although there are disadvantages, they want those low carb advantages, even if it's a difficult diet to follow.
Most bodybuilders however, use an interesting variation on the traditional low carb diet. It's called "carb cycling," where you increase carbs at regular intervals rather than staying on low carbs all of the time. Carb cycling makes low carb diets safer, more effective and easier to follow.
The bottom line?
Yes, there is something to the low carb diet that helps accelerate fat loss. But in the end, it all comes back to calories and to whether or not you can stick with your program. Ability to comply with a program may be the biggest factor of all in long term success, not the level of carb intake. Low carb diets work primarily because they make you eat less. Eat too much and you gain weight, regardless of whether it's protein, carbs or fat.
My advice is not to jump into a low carb diet without reason, but to assess whether you are a good candidate for this type of approach. Then, if you decide to try the low carb approach, it's best used temporarily to break a plateau or reach a peak and it appears that a small reduction in carbs with a slight increase in protein is enough to get most of the benefits of low carb diets.
Cutting out carbs completely (or even dropping all the way to 20-30 grams a day as some programs advise in the beginning), is not necessary, it's hard to stick to and is probably not healthy in the long term. It's usually not wise to go to extremes in anything and that's as true for nutrition as anything else in life: moderation is the key..
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The quick fix disease
One of my favorite motivational speakers is Brian Tracy, who is one of the world's top experts on success psychology and personal achievement.
I recently attended a seminar Brian held here in New York City. One part of his talk really grabbed my attention, and I'd like to share it with you because it could profoundly affect whether you succeed or fail in your body transformation goals...
Brian said that there are two diseases running rampant across America and much of the industrialized world today. If you had to guess, which two do you think they are? Cancer? Diabetes? Heart Disease? Osteoporosis? Obesity?
Nope. None of the above. In fact, they're not even physical diseases - they are mental diseases.
The first mental disease, according to Tracy, is called something-for-nothing disease.
Something for nothing disease is contracted by people who believe they can take more out than what they put in. These are the people who want all the rewards without paying full price, or as Brian put it, "They want to go through the revolving door of life on someone else's push."
Quick fix disease is the second of the mental diseases. According to Brian, this disease is contracted by people who always want a quick way to reach their goals.
They search for instant cures to solve problems that may have taken months or even years to develop. They seek short cuts to acquire key skills that actually take many months and years of hard work to master.
These diseases are not to be confused with the desire to constantly get better and search for more efficient ways to reach your goals (which is a positive trait). The "diseased" people are those trying to reach their goals faster than nature intended or without any effort (which is a negative trait).
Brian's New York City seminar was mostly filled with businesspeople and sales professionals, so he gave financial examples, such as: wanting to work fewer hours while earning more money, investing in get-rich-quick schemes, or buying lottery tickets.
However, I believe that quick fix and something for nothing disease are more rampant and insidious among people with fitness goals than any other group.
Health and fitness seekers with something for nothing disease think they can get twice the results in half the time. They want weight loss without dieting, fitness without exercise, and perfect health while eating, drinking and smoking whatever they want.
Those with quick fix disease want to take a pill, go to sleep, and wake up skinny. They are forever on a quest to bypass hard work and find short cuts to fitness goals that that normally take months or years to attain.
People afflicted by quick fix disease are suckers for the latest "exercise in a bottle," "fat burning cream," "diet pill," or "steroid replacement" scams. They impulsively buy miracle solutions on a whim, which they haven't researched and know nothing about.
Saddest of all, they often waste YEARS of their lives on a misguided quest for the holy grail of fitness, when they could have reached their goals with a better work ethic and a little bit of persistence.
People with these diseases are violating the most basic laws of the universe: Cause and effect, sowing and reaping, action and reaction. This is just as ridiculous as attempting to violate the law of gravity. Jump off a cliff, and you're going to plummet to the Earth below - 100% of the time.
Not only will you fail and hit bottom if you catch one or both of these diseases - the very act of seeking a quick fix or wanting something for nothing makes you a weaker person.
On the other hand, the act of setting a worthy goal for something you want and reaching it through determination, discipline and hard work changes the very fiber of your being and you become a stronger person, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
It's been said you don't get what you want in life, you get what you deserve. If you want success and achievement... If you want to lose weight, improve your health and transform your body, then set the goals and go for it!
But whatever you do, don't catch these two diseases. Avoid the quick fixes, work hard at it, and deserve it. You can have, do or be anything you want... you can have the body you want! Just pay the price and it's yours!
Burning fat and transforming your body is simple, but it's not easy. You gotta work at it. But if you're willing to put the work in, you will take out the rewards!
I recently attended a seminar Brian held here in New York City. One part of his talk really grabbed my attention, and I'd like to share it with you because it could profoundly affect whether you succeed or fail in your body transformation goals...
Brian said that there are two diseases running rampant across America and much of the industrialized world today. If you had to guess, which two do you think they are? Cancer? Diabetes? Heart Disease? Osteoporosis? Obesity?
Nope. None of the above. In fact, they're not even physical diseases - they are mental diseases.
The first mental disease, according to Tracy, is called something-for-nothing disease.
Something for nothing disease is contracted by people who believe they can take more out than what they put in. These are the people who want all the rewards without paying full price, or as Brian put it, "They want to go through the revolving door of life on someone else's push."
Quick fix disease is the second of the mental diseases. According to Brian, this disease is contracted by people who always want a quick way to reach their goals.
They search for instant cures to solve problems that may have taken months or even years to develop. They seek short cuts to acquire key skills that actually take many months and years of hard work to master.
These diseases are not to be confused with the desire to constantly get better and search for more efficient ways to reach your goals (which is a positive trait). The "diseased" people are those trying to reach their goals faster than nature intended or without any effort (which is a negative trait).
Brian's New York City seminar was mostly filled with businesspeople and sales professionals, so he gave financial examples, such as: wanting to work fewer hours while earning more money, investing in get-rich-quick schemes, or buying lottery tickets.
However, I believe that quick fix and something for nothing disease are more rampant and insidious among people with fitness goals than any other group.
Health and fitness seekers with something for nothing disease think they can get twice the results in half the time. They want weight loss without dieting, fitness without exercise, and perfect health while eating, drinking and smoking whatever they want.
Those with quick fix disease want to take a pill, go to sleep, and wake up skinny. They are forever on a quest to bypass hard work and find short cuts to fitness goals that that normally take months or years to attain.
People afflicted by quick fix disease are suckers for the latest "exercise in a bottle," "fat burning cream," "diet pill," or "steroid replacement" scams. They impulsively buy miracle solutions on a whim, which they haven't researched and know nothing about.
Saddest of all, they often waste YEARS of their lives on a misguided quest for the holy grail of fitness, when they could have reached their goals with a better work ethic and a little bit of persistence.
People with these diseases are violating the most basic laws of the universe: Cause and effect, sowing and reaping, action and reaction. This is just as ridiculous as attempting to violate the law of gravity. Jump off a cliff, and you're going to plummet to the Earth below - 100% of the time.
Not only will you fail and hit bottom if you catch one or both of these diseases - the very act of seeking a quick fix or wanting something for nothing makes you a weaker person.
On the other hand, the act of setting a worthy goal for something you want and reaching it through determination, discipline and hard work changes the very fiber of your being and you become a stronger person, not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
It's been said you don't get what you want in life, you get what you deserve. If you want success and achievement... If you want to lose weight, improve your health and transform your body, then set the goals and go for it!
But whatever you do, don't catch these two diseases. Avoid the quick fixes, work hard at it, and deserve it. You can have, do or be anything you want... you can have the body you want! Just pay the price and it's yours!
Burning fat and transforming your body is simple, but it's not easy. You gotta work at it. But if you're willing to put the work in, you will take out the rewards!
Monday, July 21, 2008
124 reasons not to eat sugar
Contributed by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., www.nancyappleton.comAuthor of the book "Lick The Sugar Habit"
In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences
from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.
Sugar can suppress the immune system
Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body
Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children
Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides
Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose
Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins
Sugar leads to chromium deficiency
Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate, and rectum
Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose
Sugar causes copper deficiency
Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium
Sugar can weaken eyesight
Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
Sugar can cause hypoglycemia
Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract
Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children
Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease
Sugar can cause premature aging
Sugar can lead to alcoholism
Sugar can cause tooth decay
Sugar contributes to obesity
High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis
Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers
Sugar can cause arthritis
Sugar can cause asthma
Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
Sugar can cause gallstones
Sugar can cause heart disease
Sugar can cause appendicitis
Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis
Sugar can cause hemorrhoids
Sugar can cause varicose veins
Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users
Sugar can lead to periodontal disease
Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis
Sugar contributes to saliva acidity
Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity
Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood
Sugar can decrease growth hormone
Sugar can increase cholesterol
Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure
Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non- enzymatically to protein)
Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
Sugar causes food allergies
Sugar can contribute to diabetes
Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy
Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
Sugar can change the structure of protein
Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen
Sugar can cause cataracts
Sugar can cause emphysema
Sugar can cause atherosclerosis
Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL)
High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body
Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function
Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease
Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body
Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide
Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat
Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney
Sugar can damage the pancreas
Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention
Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement
Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness)
Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries
Sugar can make the tendons more brittle
Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine
Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women
Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders
Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves
Sugar can cause depression
Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer
Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion)
Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout
Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates
Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets
High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity
Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol
Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease
Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness
Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive
Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones
Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli
Sugar can lead to dizziness
Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress
High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion
High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer
Sugar feeds cancer
High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant
High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents
Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract
Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon
Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men
Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more dificult
Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer
Sugar is an addictive substance
Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol
Sugar can exacerbate PMS
Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce
Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability
The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch
The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects
Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition
Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function
Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases
I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain
High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer
Sugar increases the risk of polio
High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures
Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people
In Intensive Care Units: Limiting sugar saves lives
Sugar may induce cell death
Sugar may impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in living organisms
In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior
Sugar can cause gastric cancer
Sugar dehydrates newborns
Sugar can cause gum disease
Sugar increases the estradiol in young men
Sugar can cause low birth weight babies
In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences
from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.
Sugar can suppress the immune system
Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body
Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children
Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides
Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose
Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins
Sugar leads to chromium deficiency
Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate, and rectum
Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose
Sugar causes copper deficiency
Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium
Sugar can weaken eyesight
Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
Sugar can cause hypoglycemia
Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract
Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children
Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease
Sugar can cause premature aging
Sugar can lead to alcoholism
Sugar can cause tooth decay
Sugar contributes to obesity
High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis
Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers
Sugar can cause arthritis
Sugar can cause asthma
Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
Sugar can cause gallstones
Sugar can cause heart disease
Sugar can cause appendicitis
Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis
Sugar can cause hemorrhoids
Sugar can cause varicose veins
Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users
Sugar can lead to periodontal disease
Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis
Sugar contributes to saliva acidity
Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity
Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood
Sugar can decrease growth hormone
Sugar can increase cholesterol
Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure
Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non- enzymatically to protein)
Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
Sugar causes food allergies
Sugar can contribute to diabetes
Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy
Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
Sugar can change the structure of protein
Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen
Sugar can cause cataracts
Sugar can cause emphysema
Sugar can cause atherosclerosis
Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL)
High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body
Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function
Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease
Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body
Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide
Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat
Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney
Sugar can damage the pancreas
Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention
Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement
Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness)
Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries
Sugar can make the tendons more brittle
Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine
Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women
Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders
Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves
Sugar can cause depression
Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer
Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion)
Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout
Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates
Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets
High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity
Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol
Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease
Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness
Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive
Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones
Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli
Sugar can lead to dizziness
Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress
High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion
High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer
Sugar feeds cancer
High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant
High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents
Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract
Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon
Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men
Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more dificult
Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer
Sugar is an addictive substance
Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol
Sugar can exacerbate PMS
Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce
Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability
The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch
The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects
Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition
Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function
Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases
I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain
High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer
Sugar increases the risk of polio
High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures
Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people
In Intensive Care Units: Limiting sugar saves lives
Sugar may induce cell death
Sugar may impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in living organisms
In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior
Sugar can cause gastric cancer
Sugar dehydrates newborns
Sugar can cause gum disease
Sugar increases the estradiol in young men
Sugar can cause low birth weight babies
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Selecting a Diet Plan
Selecting a Diet Plan
Diet and Weight Loss Tutorial
Are you ready to diet? Again? Diets entice us with promises of quick weight loss. But the people we know who eat well and look healthy aren't dieting at all. They have simply adopted good eating habits.
Diets can be so restrictive that they set you up for failure. Some are so low in caloric intake that you literally don't have the energy to continue with them. And while most diets produce quick weight loss at the outset, they often cause your metabolism to slow.
The result is that you have to eat less and less to keep losing weight. You quickly become discouraged, give up, and start eating like you used to. But now, with a slower metabolism, you regain all the weight you lost, and more.
Many Diet Plans Are Designed for Temporary Use and Lead to Temporary Weight Loss
You do not need to join a commercial diet program, purchase special foods or dietary supplements, or use diet pills to succeed at weight loss. In fact, the best thing that you could do would be to start eating healthy right now and continue to do so for the rest of your life.
Of course very few people could do such a thing, so think of a diet or the use of diet aids as tools to help you get started. A good diet plan can teach you how to eat well and give you a jump-start toward meeting your goals.
But whatever path you choose to follow now, your goal should be to make it on your own at some point down the road. Many diet plans are designed for temporary use during weight loss, but only sound knowledge put to practice will provide a permanent solution.
A good diet plan will be healthy from the start, and will be based on principles that you can follow for a lifetime. In fact, if you have found the right diet plan, it will be one that you will want to follow for a lifetime.
Most All Diet Plans Work
Follow almost any diet plan and you will lose weight. This is because whether you are counting calories, fat, or carbohydrates, or restricting certain types of food, you are ultimately restricting the number of calories you consume. The formula for losing weight is very simple: Consume fewer calories than you burn.
So, what should you eat? You would likely do well to eat mostly fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (lentils, dry beans and peas), and limited amounts of lean animal protein (reduced-fat dairy, fish, chicken, and lean cuts of other meats). Also choose whole and natural foods over processed foods whenever possible. Foods with good nutritional value are not only healthy, they help you lose weight.
The above paragraph describes a commonly accepted, healthy way of eating that for most people will result in weight loss and improved health. But there are many diet plans to choose from.
Finding the Right Diet Plan
After learning the fundamentals of diet and weight loss you will be able to choose the diet plan, or simply a healthier way to eat, that is right for you. You will be able to steer clear of marketing gimmicks and promises of short term results, and find a solution based on sound, realistic and healthy principles.
While diet trends come and go, the most basic form of dieting, the low calorie diet, will always be popular. It is based on simply reducing the number of calories you consume. Recent diet trends include the low fat diet and, most recently, the low carb diet. Following this topic you will find:
The Low Calorie Diet
The Low Fat Diet
The Low Carb Diet
In addition, we recommend that you read the following book:
Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman: A vegetarian-optional diet plan based on eating highly nutritious, low calorie foods.
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto: A diet and exercise plan that teaches you how to lose fat without losing muscle and causing your metabolism to slow and weight loss to stop.
Whether or not you choose to follow either of these two diet plans, we believe that reading them will have a positive, lifelong influence on your eating habits, weight, and health.
Take It Easy
Unless you are excited to be following a very specific diet and exercise plan, do not try and change too much too fast. If you have been eating poorly and not exercising, both your body and your mind will have a lot of adjusting to do.
All the sugar and fat were actually quite enjoyable, and sitting on the couch didn't feel too bad, either. If you try and change everything too quickly the odds are greater that you will feel bad, get discouraged, and give up. So be patient.
A time will come when a healthy snack will taste as good as the junk food you felt bad about eating, and you will look forward to your regular exercise. I promise
Diet and Weight Loss Tutorial
Are you ready to diet? Again? Diets entice us with promises of quick weight loss. But the people we know who eat well and look healthy aren't dieting at all. They have simply adopted good eating habits.
Diets can be so restrictive that they set you up for failure. Some are so low in caloric intake that you literally don't have the energy to continue with them. And while most diets produce quick weight loss at the outset, they often cause your metabolism to slow.
The result is that you have to eat less and less to keep losing weight. You quickly become discouraged, give up, and start eating like you used to. But now, with a slower metabolism, you regain all the weight you lost, and more.
Many Diet Plans Are Designed for Temporary Use and Lead to Temporary Weight Loss
You do not need to join a commercial diet program, purchase special foods or dietary supplements, or use diet pills to succeed at weight loss. In fact, the best thing that you could do would be to start eating healthy right now and continue to do so for the rest of your life.
Of course very few people could do such a thing, so think of a diet or the use of diet aids as tools to help you get started. A good diet plan can teach you how to eat well and give you a jump-start toward meeting your goals.
But whatever path you choose to follow now, your goal should be to make it on your own at some point down the road. Many diet plans are designed for temporary use during weight loss, but only sound knowledge put to practice will provide a permanent solution.
A good diet plan will be healthy from the start, and will be based on principles that you can follow for a lifetime. In fact, if you have found the right diet plan, it will be one that you will want to follow for a lifetime.
Most All Diet Plans Work
Follow almost any diet plan and you will lose weight. This is because whether you are counting calories, fat, or carbohydrates, or restricting certain types of food, you are ultimately restricting the number of calories you consume. The formula for losing weight is very simple: Consume fewer calories than you burn.
So, what should you eat? You would likely do well to eat mostly fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (lentils, dry beans and peas), and limited amounts of lean animal protein (reduced-fat dairy, fish, chicken, and lean cuts of other meats). Also choose whole and natural foods over processed foods whenever possible. Foods with good nutritional value are not only healthy, they help you lose weight.
The above paragraph describes a commonly accepted, healthy way of eating that for most people will result in weight loss and improved health. But there are many diet plans to choose from.
Finding the Right Diet Plan
After learning the fundamentals of diet and weight loss you will be able to choose the diet plan, or simply a healthier way to eat, that is right for you. You will be able to steer clear of marketing gimmicks and promises of short term results, and find a solution based on sound, realistic and healthy principles.
While diet trends come and go, the most basic form of dieting, the low calorie diet, will always be popular. It is based on simply reducing the number of calories you consume. Recent diet trends include the low fat diet and, most recently, the low carb diet. Following this topic you will find:
The Low Calorie Diet
The Low Fat Diet
The Low Carb Diet
In addition, we recommend that you read the following book:
Eat To Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman: A vegetarian-optional diet plan based on eating highly nutritious, low calorie foods.
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto: A diet and exercise plan that teaches you how to lose fat without losing muscle and causing your metabolism to slow and weight loss to stop.
Whether or not you choose to follow either of these two diet plans, we believe that reading them will have a positive, lifelong influence on your eating habits, weight, and health.
Take It Easy
Unless you are excited to be following a very specific diet and exercise plan, do not try and change too much too fast. If you have been eating poorly and not exercising, both your body and your mind will have a lot of adjusting to do.
All the sugar and fat were actually quite enjoyable, and sitting on the couch didn't feel too bad, either. If you try and change everything too quickly the odds are greater that you will feel bad, get discouraged, and give up. So be patient.
A time will come when a healthy snack will taste as good as the junk food you felt bad about eating, and you will look forward to your regular exercise. I promise
Friday, July 11, 2008
What to buy organic
Things to Buy Organic
Fruits and Vegetables:
With fruits and vegetables, many of them contain thin or edible skins than cab contain pesticide residue. In addition, some of them have to be heavily sprayed due to their high level of pests.
Check here for a list of fruits and vegetables ranks in order of most or least pesticide load: http://foodnews.org/
(Arranged in order of highest to lowest pesticide load) Fruits: Peaches, Apples, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Grapes, Pears, Raspberries, Plums, Oranges, Tangerine, Cantaloupe, Lemon, Honeydew, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Blueberries
(Arranged in order of highest to lowest pesticide load) Vegetables: Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Lettuce, Spinach, Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans, Hot Peppers, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Winter Squash, Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes
Other:
Fair Trade Certified Coffee Beans: Check out this site to find out where to buy them: http://www.transfairusa.org/content/WhereToBuy/
Milk: Check this site for a rated list of organic milk and other organic diary products. http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html
Meat: Organic meat is free of antibiotics, added hormones, and human growth hormones (GMO). These animals are raised more ethically and humanely, meaning they are allowed to range freely and not confined to pens. In addition, the land that they eat from and live on uses no or less chemicals as well.
Search the web or take a look in your local paper to find a local farmers market or organic farm.
Fruits and Vegetables:
With fruits and vegetables, many of them contain thin or edible skins than cab contain pesticide residue. In addition, some of them have to be heavily sprayed due to their high level of pests.
Check here for a list of fruits and vegetables ranks in order of most or least pesticide load: http://foodnews.org/
(Arranged in order of highest to lowest pesticide load) Fruits: Peaches, Apples, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Grapes, Pears, Raspberries, Plums, Oranges, Tangerine, Cantaloupe, Lemon, Honeydew, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Blueberries
(Arranged in order of highest to lowest pesticide load) Vegetables: Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Lettuce, Spinach, Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans, Hot Peppers, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Winter Squash, Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes
Other:
Fair Trade Certified Coffee Beans: Check out this site to find out where to buy them: http://www.transfairusa.org/content/WhereToBuy/
Milk: Check this site for a rated list of organic milk and other organic diary products. http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html
Meat: Organic meat is free of antibiotics, added hormones, and human growth hormones (GMO). These animals are raised more ethically and humanely, meaning they are allowed to range freely and not confined to pens. In addition, the land that they eat from and live on uses no or less chemicals as well.
Search the web or take a look in your local paper to find a local farmers market or organic farm.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
South Beach Diet Phase I
I have been getting some requests for a condensed version of popular diets so one doesn't have to read the whole book to get the guts of the program. We will start with South Beach.
South Beach Diet phase 1 is the strictest but most effective one. You can lose up to 13 lbs in two weeks. The objective here is to put the insulin level under control and thus lose weight and eliminate the unhealthy cravings (for sweets, baked goods and food containing starches).
During Phase 1 six meals a day are allowed: three main meals and three snacks, based on protein, good fats and the lowest-glycemic index carbs needed for satisfaction and blood sugar control. The quantity will be enough to satisfy hunger — normal size meals.
Allowed foods
meat and nuts — tenderloin, sirloin, boiled ham, peanuts and pistachios,
poultry — skinless chicken or turkey breasts, turkey bacon,
all types of fish, whole eggs,
fat-free cheeses,
green vegetables, legumes — salad, tomatoes, zucchini, snow peas, cucumbers, broccoli, and asparagus,
canola and olive oils,
lots of water.
Foods to avoid
meat beef rib steaks, honey-baked ham, breast of veal,
all dairy products except low fat cheeses — all yogurt, ice cream, milk including whole, low-fat, soy, and full fat cheeses,
carbohydrate-laden vegetables — beets, carrots, corn, potatoes,
fruits and fruit juices,
all alcohol,
all starchy foods such as bread, cereal, oatmeal, matzo, rice, pasta, pastries, baked goods, crackers, etc.
sweets or sugar — candy, cake, cookies, ice cream
These foods will be reintroduced into your diet again after phase 1 (two weeks). During these weeks you will lose some weight and your body will use insulin more efficiently so that when the carbs will be re-introduced your body will be able to deal with them better.
South Beach Diet phase 1 is the strictest but most effective one. You can lose up to 13 lbs in two weeks. The objective here is to put the insulin level under control and thus lose weight and eliminate the unhealthy cravings (for sweets, baked goods and food containing starches).
During Phase 1 six meals a day are allowed: three main meals and three snacks, based on protein, good fats and the lowest-glycemic index carbs needed for satisfaction and blood sugar control. The quantity will be enough to satisfy hunger — normal size meals.
Allowed foods
meat and nuts — tenderloin, sirloin, boiled ham, peanuts and pistachios,
poultry — skinless chicken or turkey breasts, turkey bacon,
all types of fish, whole eggs,
fat-free cheeses,
green vegetables, legumes — salad, tomatoes, zucchini, snow peas, cucumbers, broccoli, and asparagus,
canola and olive oils,
lots of water.
Foods to avoid
meat beef rib steaks, honey-baked ham, breast of veal,
all dairy products except low fat cheeses — all yogurt, ice cream, milk including whole, low-fat, soy, and full fat cheeses,
carbohydrate-laden vegetables — beets, carrots, corn, potatoes,
fruits and fruit juices,
all alcohol,
all starchy foods such as bread, cereal, oatmeal, matzo, rice, pasta, pastries, baked goods, crackers, etc.
sweets or sugar — candy, cake, cookies, ice cream
These foods will be reintroduced into your diet again after phase 1 (two weeks). During these weeks you will lose some weight and your body will use insulin more efficiently so that when the carbs will be re-introduced your body will be able to deal with them better.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Beat the Bloat - Biggest Loser Trainer
Friday July 04
Welcome to Losing It with Jillian Michaels, the newsletter designed to help you shed pounds, increase energy, and finally get fit for life! Beat the Bloat You know sodium best as table salt, but salt and sodium are hidden in all kinds of products, including packaged foods, fast foods, frozen foods, canned foods, and condiments, to name a few.
When you eat sodium, the excess sodium is deposited just beneath the skin where it attracts water, which is retained in your cells. This makes you look puffy and feel bloated.
You don't have to make yourself crazy over this, because there is sodium in everything! But here are a few tips:
Read labels to check the sodium content of what you're eating.
Replace processed foods with fresh.
Avoid prepackaged and canned foods.
Be wary of salt-laden condiments and use very little soy sauce, mustard, and table salt.
Go easy on dairy, and avoid processed meat (hot dogs, jerky, bologna, corned beef), anything pickled (pickles, capers, sauerkraut), relish, ketchup, and butter. Here are some sodium-free substitutes you can use instead: garlic, lemon, olive oil, vinegar, pepper, basil, cayenne, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, curry, dill, garlic powder, ginger, lemon, lime, mint, onion powder, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.
Welcome to Losing It with Jillian Michaels, the newsletter designed to help you shed pounds, increase energy, and finally get fit for life! Beat the Bloat You know sodium best as table salt, but salt and sodium are hidden in all kinds of products, including packaged foods, fast foods, frozen foods, canned foods, and condiments, to name a few.
When you eat sodium, the excess sodium is deposited just beneath the skin where it attracts water, which is retained in your cells. This makes you look puffy and feel bloated.
You don't have to make yourself crazy over this, because there is sodium in everything! But here are a few tips:
Read labels to check the sodium content of what you're eating.
Replace processed foods with fresh.
Avoid prepackaged and canned foods.
Be wary of salt-laden condiments and use very little soy sauce, mustard, and table salt.
Go easy on dairy, and avoid processed meat (hot dogs, jerky, bologna, corned beef), anything pickled (pickles, capers, sauerkraut), relish, ketchup, and butter. Here are some sodium-free substitutes you can use instead: garlic, lemon, olive oil, vinegar, pepper, basil, cayenne, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, curry, dill, garlic powder, ginger, lemon, lime, mint, onion powder, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.
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