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The paleolithic platter to stay healthy and fit

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Evolution is a natural process and an inevitable happening. Though from the neolithic and paleolithic age, human race has progressed into what we are today, little changes have happened in our body structure and bodily functioning. When new age eating and living habits are considered to be the root of all diseases and bodily injuries happening to us, we are forced to look back to the days when there were less diseases and more healthy communities. This looking back has brought in newer insights on better and improved diets and eating habits that can foster health and fitness without having to forgo tasty food.

 

The magic diet

The paleolithic diet or the paleo diet as it is popularly known is a walk back into the prehistoric days. It is an attempt to mimic the eating habits of the caveman, as science convinces us that no major change has been brought ever since in our digestive system. The paleo diet aims to eat what the cavemen ate by hunting and plucking from the dense forests he dwelled in. It does not ask us to make our platter free of meat, fish or nuts. Only whole grains, cereals and dairy products have to be left out from our daily food. In short, if the caveman didn’t have it then, you can’t have it now. And if he did, you too can, Simple as that.

 

The paleo diet not only promises toned down bodies, but it also ensures better health and a muscular body by just eating right. Though the word diet accompanies paleo, it does not advocate staying hungry. Paleo diet is all about eating until you are full and content. The trick is to avoid all those food that are cultivated by humans. Before settling down and civilizing, agriculture was not rampant and whole grains and cereals were not part of the human diet. It is this practice of having included whole grains and their products into our diets that caused obesity and overweight a common menace or an unavoidable evil among humans.

 

What to avoid

A no sugar diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle. When people switched to diets with no sugar or no processed food substances, it was found to work miracles on their health too. The whole grains and cereals are sources of sugar which gets converted into fat instantly. If these are omitted, the chance of fat development in our bodies reduces considerably. The sugars available from fruits do no harm and the best source of body sugar content.

 

Grains and cereals are also providers of huge amounts of carbohydrates which is not necessary for the functioning of the human body. Cutting out on the carbohydrates can therefore do no harm and in turn it only serves good. When there is less carbohydrate intake, there is less glucose content in our blood. This means more fat should be burned ensuring a muscular body and improved fitness.

 

The same is with the dairy products. Only humans consume dairy products all their life. No other species of animals consume milk after a certain level of growth. Human body is not suited for this intake and staying away from it can do no harm but only good.

 

Eat well

Paleo diet encourages the eating of meat, vegetables, fruits, leaves, oils, eggs, nuts and tubers till your hunger is quenched and you are full. This diet regime has been finding wide spread acceptance all over the world and has had good results on its serious practitioners. So, instead of staying hungry and foolish by depending on difficult diet regimes, eat till your stomach and heart is filled and stay healthy and fit even then. Which sounds better???

 

To read more on great breakfast ideas and to learn some tasty Paleo Breakfast Recipes visit www.paleobreakfastrecipe.com/.

Does Your Diet Need a Makeover? Tips to Change Your Eating Habits for Good

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In an age of busy lifestyles, and an overabundance of convenience foods and drive-through options, the average American diet sorely leaves something to be desired. Obesity and a host of lifestyle-related health conditions are commonplace and the number of afflicted continue to climb at an alarming rate. We often underestimate the power of eating well because a ‘’balanced diet’’ just seems too simple a solution to improving our health; we look to magical supplements and fad diets instead. But, it is one of the most powerful tools available to you. If you are looking to shift your eating habits in favor of your health, here are some tips to help you do just that.

Get Your Mind Right

Your mind needs to be right if you want your diet to be right. Stress feeds unhealthy habits, like emotional eating. It makes you care less about your health and makes you feel less optimistic about making healthy changes. Get clear on your ‘’why.’’ What is prompting your desire to eat better? If you want to be healthier, why? If you want to lose weight, why? If you want to feel better about yourself, why? If you want to set a good example for your children, why? When you identify your core motivations, the path will be easier to travel—you will have an easier time making good decisions. You will reduce your tendencies to self-sabotage. Laziness will no longer win out.

Start Small

One of the biggest problems people face in trying to change their unhealthy ways is attempting to do a full 180 from eating terribly to having a perfect diet within a few days. It can take awhile to break the bad habits and overhaul your diet. Start by setting smaller goals for yourself. Instead of eating a sweet treat for dessert every night, commit to three nights of fruit and low-fat whipped cream. Bring some trail mix to work instead of making your daily 3:00 trip to the vending machine. Try a new vegetable each night; work some healthier fats into your diet while phasing out the unhealthy ones—an avocado is one of my favorite breakfast foods, and it keeps me full until lunch.

Make a Plan

Stating an intention to eat better is all fine and good, but without a concrete plan, you will not get very far. You need to figure out how you are going to get from where you are now to where you want to be diet-wise. So, you say you want to start eating a healthy breakfast every day—how are you going to do that? Interested in cooking more healthy meals at home instead of relying on take-out and frozen dinners laden with processed foods and chemicals? You need to write out a list of meals, and go grocery shopping for the week. Is time an issue? You need to research quick and easy meals and snacks, and keep the recipes handy. For example, you can whip up a health and delicious Mediterranean pasta sauce in 10 minutes.

Go Easy on Yourself

When trying to adopt a healthier diet, one scenario is all too common—you slip up, berate yourself and just give up on the whole thing altogether. Remember that you are looking to make lasting changes to your lifestyle—we are talking about decades to come. You will likely have your moments when you fall off the healthy food bandwagon, and that is okay. Just regroup and start again. Also, it is important to remember that you do not need to give up sugar for life, or never eat a processed carbohydrate again. Sometimes you will want to eat something simply because it tastes good, and that is okay. In the long run, having a brownie every once in awhile is not going to doom you.

Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who enjoys blogging about nutrition; she is a fan of Hamilton Beach for their great selection of recipes.

Weight Gain Caused by Artificial Sweetners, What are the facts?

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WebMD News from HealthDay

By Brenda Goodman

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) — Artificial sweeteners appear to disturb the body’s ability to count calories and, as a result, diet foods and drinks may wind up encouraging weight gain rather than weight loss, an expert contends.

These sweeteners may also increase the risk of health problems like heart disease and diabetes, some evidence suggests.

In an opinion piece published July 10 in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Susan Swithers, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., rounded up recent research on artificial sweeteners.

Commonly used sweeteners include sucralose, aspartame and saccharin, among others.

Swithers has been studying the effects of artificial sweeteners on rats, but the journal asked her to look at evidence of health effects in humans too.

Swithers said studies following people who regularly consume diet soft drinks over time have found that those people are at higher risk for weight gain and obesity than people who don’t drink sodas at all.

Compared to people who avoid diet or regular soft drinks, diet soda drinkers also appear to have elevated risks for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome — a group of symptoms that puts people at increased risk for those conditions.

What’s more, Swithers said, the risks for these health effects seem to be similar in people who drink diet sodas compared to those who drink regular sodas, suggesting that there isn’t much benefit in switching.

Some of those studies aren’t conclusive, however, because they can’t rule out the possibility that people were drinking diet sodas because they were gaining weight, not the other way around — a problem called reverse causality.

One study of soda-drinking teens found that those assigned to swap regular soda for one diet soda every day gained less weight over the course of 18 months than those who kept drinking sugar-sweetened soda. The study didn’t look at what might happen if teens were asked to drink water instead of sweetened beverages, however.

Not everyone agrees with Swithers’s assessment of the research.

“The views in this opinion piece I found to be biased and speculative,” said Theresa Hedrick, nutrition and scientific affairs specialist for the Calorie Control Council, a lobbying group for the manufacturers of artificial sweeteners. “She’s presented only the research that supports her opinion and ignored the large body of scientific research that demonstrates the safety and benefits of low-calorie sweeteners.”

“I think it’s important to remember that low-calorie sweeteners are one aspect of a multifaceted approach to health or obesity prevention,” Hedrick said. “They aren’t magic bullets.”

But Swithers said her animal studies support the counterintuitive notion that artificial sweeteners may lead to weight gain, even if they don’t have any calories. She said she’s seen evidence of metabolic disruptions caused by artificial sweeteners in rats.

It basically goes something like this: In a world without artificial sweeteners, a taste of something sweet preps the brain and the gut for digestion of incoming calories. When the calories don’t show, as happens with artificial sweeteners, those metabolic responses don’t fire the way they should. Insulin doesn’t increase; hormones that increase the feeling of fullness and satisfaction aren’t triggered; and the brain doesn’t get a feeling of reward from the dopamine that sugars release.

After a while, Swithers said, it’s like the mouth keeps crying wolf, and the brain and gut stop listening. As a result, when real sugar and real calories come along, the body doesn’t respond to them as strongly as it normally might. Calories don’t end up making you feel as full as they should. They aren’t as rewarding. So you don’t get the signals that might stop you from eating when you should.

Artificial sweeteners may also facilitate something psychologists call cognitive distortions. That is, they allow us to trick ourselves into thinking we can eat more calories than we really should. Saving calories with a diet soda now means a slab of chocolate cake is OK later.

“I think there are multiple things that are contributing to this,” Swithers said. “Psychology is a factor, but physiology can also be altered.”

Based on her research, she said, water is the best bet for people who are trying to lose weight or improve other measures of health.

“The downside to drinking the diet sodas is that they may undermine these unconscious processes that could help us regulate our weight and other things like blood sugar,” she said.

5 Great Ways To Trim Down For Summer

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How to shed those winter pounds

Summer is rigfile3481344631279[1]ht around the corner and before you know it, you will be invited to throw on a revealing outfit and show off that pale body of yours. It’s not going to be the most attractive you have ever looked, but what do you expect? You’ve been in hibernation for six months. The best you can do is hit the gym and make sure you have got the figure you’d be proud to show off at the beach, the pool or even in your backyard. If you haven’t already been working, now’s your last chance to get on it.

Hit the Pavement

Going for a run is one of the easiest ways to burn calories and speed up your metabolism – but you need to be consistent – one 20-minute jog a week won’t do much besides keep your legs sore. In order to accomplish any real weight loss or change in body chemistry, running every day is a must. No excuses! Cold or rainy outside? Stick to the treadmill. If it’s broken, call up a treadmill repair service. Worn out sneakers? Get a new pair. Don’t let anything stand in your way of your better body, not even yourself. You can do it!

Last-minute toning

With winter over, real body bulking is not the best option – it’s time to opt for a slimmer, more toned figure. Plan out high-rep, high-intensity workouts to get the most bang for your buck. Build muscle while raising your heart rate and you’ll cut calories in the process. Post workout, try a banana instead of your usual post-workout meal. An especially ripe banana will replace the much-needed glucose for the rebuilding of muscles, but it also helps to have a protein supplement.

New Duds

Picking the right clothes to show off your goods is equally as important as your actual workout. Certain bikinis work for certain women. A specific kind of board short might look better on a specific body frame. Identifying and highlighting your strengths is key, but you might also need to consult a fashion expert – or just a very honest, trusted friend. One thing to remember: leave your sensitivity at the door.

Making a Splash

For those conscious of their look, keeping up with fashion trends couldn’t be more important. Styles change every year; everything old is new again and the only thing predictable in fashion is that it will always be changing. Keep an eye and an ear out for TV specials and internet blogs for the latest trends, but feel free to invent one yourself. Sooner or later the style will become popular and you will be leading the charge.

Laying it All Out

It’s almost summer time! Don’t stress too much but it’s practically here. A decent tan and the right bathing suit will make you look and feel great. But if you feel you are in need of a run, or in need of treadmill repair, then get on it! If it’s not the last-minute trip to the beach or an impromptu pool party, those unseasonably warm spring days will certainly sneak up on you – and you’ll want to look your best.

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Sean Carter is an experienced writer who has covered the topics of healthy, fitness and more for many blogs across the internet

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