by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
7 Ways to Make Alkaline Diet Benefit You
The premise of an alkaline diet is that the nutrients found in supplements, alkalising foods, and water can bring the body back to balance. These vitamins, minerals, and herbs infuse the body with new energy, vitality, and better health.
Alkaline foods and water must be consumed in order to provide nutrients the body needs to neutralise acids and toxins in the blood, lymph, tissues, and cells.
Now, not all acid in the body is bad, of course not, Acids are needed for digestion and some forms of energy production. But things need to be balanced.
When pH balance inside the body is out of balance the body tries to correct that sensitive pH balance. That process shows up as uncomfortable symptoms, including colds, flus, allergies, diseases, viruses, and bacteria.
When the pH level in our body is unbalanced, almost any area of the body can be affected. For example, when the nervous system is affected as the result of unbalanced pH balance it shows up in the form of the depression. When the cardiovascular system is affected, we could have heart disease or experience other heart-related problems, including thickening and hardening of the arteries, coronary heart disease, pain or discomfort in the chest, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart failure. When muscles are affected, we often feel fatigue and lack of energy. When skin is affected by improper pH balance, we age quicker than normal.
Alkaline Diet Benefit
When the body’s pH level is in balance, the body reaches ideal weight and corrects negative health challenges naturally.
Transition to a more alkaline healthy diet requires a shift in attitude towards food. The important point to remember is that small changes go a long way. Add more alkaline foods to your diet gradually.
7 Sure-fire ways to make alkaline diet benefit you:
1) Reduce the consumption of sugar and products made from sugar, including soda pop, pies, ice cream, jello, jams & jellies, artificial juices, puddings, doughnuts, corn syrups, , sweetened drinks, cookies, breakfast cereals, liqueurs, mixed drinks.
2) Avoid processed foods and condiments including ketchup, salad dressings, pickles, luncheon meats, canned fruits, breads, relish, cheese dips, peanut butter, prepared seafood, canned soups, hot dogs, sausages, sweetened yogurt.
3) Avoid cooking and heating foods and drinks in microwave.
4) Avoid dairy, meats, fried foods and fast foods.
5) Increase your consumption of raw vegetables and raw fresh fruits (without sugar). You should include raw vegetables in every meal. If your breakfast is so small that you only eat toast or cereal, stop eating toast and take fresh fruits or vegetable juices instead. If your lunches are usually consisting of sandwiches, try to substitute it with a raw salad or a vegetable juice. Have a large salad before you eat a heavy entree at dinner. This way, you will be sure to eat all of the salad instead of finding yourself too full to finish it.
6) Grains form the base of a balanced diet and are important in maintaining the alkaline balance in the body. Grains are great source of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients, including folic acid, fibre, carbohydrates antioxidants and phytoestrogens. The Department of Food and Science and Nutrition at University of Minnesota determined that consumption of whole grains reduces the risk of chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. By eating grains, you can eat less but feel full. Grains should comprise about 20% of your diet.
7) Don’t forget to hydrate. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of good quality water each day. Add liquid minerals to increase the quality of water.
If you follow these easy 7 steps it will allow you to create the proper alkaline balance within your body.
Creating the proper alkaline balance within your body will bring you increased quality of life. You’ll start seeing immediate improvements in your health. Your energy will increase, your concentration will be stronger. You’ll build strength, stamina, and resistance to diseases. Your entire body will function more efficiently just like it was meant to do.
Remember balance in all thingsJ
by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
what is the best diet
In the fitness world, different types of nutrition plans have gained traction over the years, being dubbed good for a variety of goals.
For instance, the ketogenic diet has been popularly used for weight loss, while the vegan diet has been promoted due to the claimed health benefits from excluding animal products.
There are many popular diets out there, but in this article, we’ll compare the 3 most popular ones – The Ketogenic, Vegan, and finally, The Carnivore diet.
If you’re just getting to learn more about healthy nutrition and are wondering which option is the best, keep reading!
What Makes A Good Nutrition Plan?
Unfortunately, many of the self-proclaimed “gurus” that market these diets, claim that such an approach to nutrition may have supreme benefits over other types of diet.
However, the truth is that the exclusion of a certain nutrient, or focusing on a specific food group won’t really your way to progress…
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that these diets can’t be beneficial.
The MOST IMPORTANT factor of an effective nutrition plan is its sustainability, or, in other words, how well you can adhere to it – When on a diet, think in terms of “Can I stick to this in the long term or does it rather feel like torture?”
If you’re eating keto but can’t really tolerate it, why do it in the first place?
Now let’s have a look at all 3 nutrition approaches and discuss their pros and cons
The Carnivore Diet
This first nutrition approach is one of the recently viral ones, and there is a reason for that.
The proponents of the carnivore diet believe that humans evolved to this extent with the help of nutrient-dense animal food sources, as we lived in hunter-gatherer societies for a long time.
These are the foods that increased satiety and provided essential nutrients that allowed the complex development of the human species.
As the name suggests, animal products like meat and organs are at the core of this nutrition plan.
Though similar to the ketogenic diet due to its high protein and fat content, the carnivore diet differs because it also allows for the consumption of quality carb sources like fruits and root crops.
Pros: Highly satiating, abundant in essential nutrients
Cons: Quality meat is expensive, you can’t consume grains and vegetables
The Ketogenic Diet
Similar to the carnivore diet, the ketogenic diet implies a heavy focus on fat and protein, as the main sources of calories.
The term ‘ketogenic’ comes from the metabolic state of ‘ketosis’, during which the body uses fat as its main energy source. (the liver transforms fat in ketone bodies that are released in the bloodstream and used for energy)
This diet has gained a lot of positive feedback from people on weight-loss regimens, or individuals who try to normalize their blood sugar levels.
However, one of its biggest disadvantages is that it excludes carbs and thus, athletic performance may suffer.
Pros: Highly satiating, plenty of quality protein and fats
Cons: Almost completely excludes carbs (worse athletic performance), doesn’t allow sweets, is not so flexible, may be hard and expensive to stick to
The Vegan Diet
Opposite to the carnivore diet that puts animal products at the core of nutrition, the vegan diet completely excludes those!
This approach to nutrition entails a complete focus and devotion to plant foods.
And though there are no additional benefits to that, as opposed to other diets (when calories are equated), the vegan diet may turn out to be more sustainable for some individuals, especially ones who don’t tolerate animal foods well.
Pros: May ease digestion and improve intolerances while granting sufficient nutrients for healthy functioning
Cons: Can be hard to find quality vegan foods, excludes the most nutritious foods (animal products), food volume is usually big, which can result in bloats
Which One Should You Pick?
Alright, before you rush into purchasing a stack of avocados and asparagus, ask yourself these questions:
- Do I like the foods this diet requires?
- Can I stick to this?
- Will I feel miserable following this nutrition plan?
- Is this sustainable in the long term?
- Will this provide enough energy for my daily mental and physical activities?
Remember, don’t fall for someone’s marketing tricks – Do your own research, experiment and find out the nutrition approach that is most sustainable for YOU!
by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
Amazing Rosemary | rosemary benefits
Rosemary is a relative to the mint family and the name is derived from its Latin origin to mean “dew of the sea.” Rosemary is very common in Mediterranean cuisine and has somewhat of a bitter astringent taste to it. While that is true, it compliments oily foods very nicely. A tisane can be made from the Rosemary leaves and that is also very popular when cooking.
First it is burned and then added to a BBQ to flavour various foods. Fun to note is, Sage, unlike many other herbs has a high nutritional value to it and is rich in iron, calcium, and vitamin B-6 and is more nutritional and flavoursome, in its dried form rather than fresh. Rosemary however should be harvested just as you are going to use it because it truly loses its flavour once dried. Gardner’s that if you plant some Rosemary plants in and around your garden, the Rosemary will fend off moths, beetles, and carrot flies.
Older Europeans loved Rosemary and believed that it improved memory and also used it as a symbol of remembrance, and it was often tossed into fresh graves before they were buried over. Traditionally it has been said that Rosemary, left untrimmed, would grow for thirty three years where it will reach the height of Christ when he was crucified. Many would also place sprigs of Rosemary underneath their pillows to ward off evil and nightmares. Often the wood that comes from the stems of the Rosemary plant was used to make musical instruments. Remember that people back then liked to utilise every piece of something, so as not to waste, something I make a point of even today. Many wreaths are also made from Rosemary as a symbol of remembrance.
Today, Rosemary is still used for many things besides cooking as it is in potpourris, air fresheners, shampoos, and cosmetics. There has also been much scientific evidence that Rosemary works very well as a memory stimulant. Rosemary has also shown some cancer prevention properties in animals. But further, Rosemary has shown a strong relationship in relaxing muscles, and to soothe stomach upsets as well as menstrual cramps. The main thing to remember when using Rosemary for this purpose is that if you use too much it can actually cause a counter effect. So balance is always best.
When made into a tea it is ingested for calming nerves and anxiety and as an antiseptic. Many find Rosemary tea very pleasant to taste. Making the tea from Rosemary is quite simple actually, just pour boiling water over the leaves and steep for 10-15 minutes. A little natural sweetener can be added if you really need to, but you should not add any milk or cream. A few sprigs can be added to oils and vinegars to flavour the products which add a nice taste for cooking. You can also make your own aromatherapy oils.
When used cosmetically it can lighten and tone human hair and when mixed with equal parts of shampoo it has been known to strengthen hair too. It also makes for a nice additive in hot bath water. Rosemary is commonly used today and grows in popularity, so, if you like the idea of strong hair and skin, good cognition and memory, nice tasting foods as well as nice infused products with many benefits then rosemary should be on your grow list in your garden next yearJ
by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
As you learned in part 1 of this article series, the fat we can find in food comes in many forms, some of which may be bad for the body.
Oppositely, there are also essential fatty acids in food, which our bodies need, but can’t produce on their own.
These essential fats are namely Omega-6 & Omega-3 fatty acids.
In this article, we’re going to give you insight on the balance of omega fatty acids, functions of healthy dietary fat in the body, as well as best sources to derive fat from!
Now let’s get to it.
The Omega Balance
Alright, you now know that omega-3 & 6 fatty acids are important, but that doesn’t mean you should consume as much as possible.
Even more so, these fatty acids must be consumed in a particular ratio.
This is because omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory and on the other hand, omega-3 is anti-inflammatory.
This means that if we take in too much omega-6, there will be more inflammations in our organism.
Now, speaking in numbers, a ratio of 4:1 or 1:1 (omega-6:omega-3) seems to be the best, but you don’t really need to go deep into numbers.
Instead, your best bet would be to slightly increase the amount of fatty fish in your nutrition plan, or, supplement with omega-3 fish oil supplements.
“Excessive amounts of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and a very high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today’s Western diets, promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids- US National library of medicine”
The Functions Of Dietary Fat
Alright, as you already learned, your daily nutrition provides the body all the essential macronutrients that it needs.
But why are dietary fats essential and what functions do they actually serve, once broken down in our digestive system?
Well, just to name a few:
- Nutrient absorption
- Regulation of inflammation
- Body temperature regulation
- Nerve function
- Brain function
- Satiety regulation
- Endocrine function
These are 7 of the most important functions of essential dietary fats and well, if your nutrition lacks those, it is likely that some of these bodily functions will be suboptimal.
Best Sources Of Dietary Fat
Because fats are more than twice as caloric as protein and carbs, and because fats in packaged food may be highly processed, we can reach one logical conclusion when we talk about fat intake and the best food sources.
Here’s that exact conclusion: To make the best out of your dietary fat intake, you should focus on the least processed, most natural fat sources.
Try to avoid these foods:
- Deep-fried foods
- Margarine
- Fast foods
- Processed foods
- Baked goods
Instead, focus on these sources of fat:
- Olive oil
- Fatty fish
- Red meat
- Nuts
- Avocados
- Dairy products
Now, you don’t necessarily have to include every single food on the list, but it would be a good idea to cherry-pick the ones you like most and making them your main sources of fat.
In doing so, you will provide the body everything that it needs, in order to sustain healthy functioning and have sufficient amounts of essential fatty acids.
Optimal fat intake forms at 0.35-0.45g of fat per lb. of body weight.
Take-Home Message
The number of essential fats and essential protein in your diet will determine the healthy functioning of your body, to a big extent.
This is why providing the body with those through food intake is of prime importance.
When it comes to fat intake, you should consider avoiding processed foods and instead, focus on natural sources of dietary fat, such as meat, fish, olive oil, avocados, and nuts.
In doing this, you will grant the body everything it needs to sustain the proper functioning of all bodily systems.
Got any more questions about fats? Comment down below and let us know.
by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
Fats- There are so many myths regarding this macronutrient that it can also outnumber carbohydrate misconceptions.
Let’s get started by addressing the most frequently asked question…
Does Fat Make You… Fat?
The logical answer to this question is simple: you will not gain weight if you do not consume large quantities of calories and fats on a regular basis.
That is to say if you eat more calories than you burn, and the calories you burn come from fats, fats will make you fat.
But it’s important to remember that being overweight is caused by an excess of calories, not by a lack of exercise.
Following this line of reasoning, we may conclude that it makes no difference which macronutrient causes the surplus: if you eat too much protein, carbs, or fat, you will gain weight.
Remember the energy balance rule: you can gain weight if you eat more calories than your body needs to maintain its weight.
Conversely, if you eat fewer calories than it needs, you will lose weight.
The 4 Types Of Fat
Now, not all fats were made the same, meaning that consuming certain types of fat can be bad for the body.
When it comes to fats from food, there are a couple of types we differentiate.
Those are namely: Trans fats, saturated fats, monounsaturated fats & polyunsaturated fats.
Let’s go over each one separately!
Fats are inherently unstable compounds, and when exposed to a variety of environmental factors (light, moisture, heat), they spoil and lose their properties quickly.
Of course, industries that use a lot of fat during production have devised a method to address this issue.
That method for refining fats is also known as “hydrogenation.” Hydrogen atoms are applied to the molecular structure of liquid fats using this method until they enter a solid or semi-solid state. Foods made with hydrogenated fats have a longer shelf life as a result of this process.
Nonetheless! Trans fats are fatty acids with a chemically modified structure found in hydrogenated fats. When it comes to food, trans fats are one of the most harmful substances you can eat. Trans fat consumption raises the risk of heart disease, miscarriage, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain cancers significantly.
Trans fats are, without a doubt, one of the worst nutrients we have in modern-day food products. However, given the abundance of such foods nowadays, it really is hard to get trans-fat consumption down to 0.
Nevertheless, all you have to do is avoid these foods: Margarine, some cookies, waffles, croissants, donuts, cakes, and other dough items, as well as most fast foods (wings, fries, and chips)
If you see any of these, you may be certain that the product contains trans fats.
Margarine, some cookies, waffles, croissants, donuts, cakes, and other dough items, as well as most fast foods (wings, fries, and chips) contain trans fats.
At room temperature, saturated fats are typically solid or semi-solid. Long, medium and short-chained triglycerides are the three forms of saturated fats that can be distinguished. Animal products, such as dairy products and beef, pork, and veal meat, include the first type (long-chained triglycerides). Saturated fats are contained in smaller amounts in other foods, such as chicken.
Palm, cocoa, and coconut oil all contain medium-chained triglycerides.
Now, for the longest time, saturated fats have been thought to be bad because they are thought to raise cholesterol levels. However, a major study involving nearly half a million people was published in 2010 in the American Journal of clinical nutrition. According to the findings, there is insufficient evidence to support the argument that saturated fats are the leading cause of cardiovascular disease and strokes.
And though that is true, your best bet is to not go overboard with any type of fat, including this one. We recommend that you consume no more than 5-10% of your daily calories from saturated fats.
Avocados, nuts, and certain plant oils, such as olive oil, are rich in monounsaturated fats.
Since this form of fat is one of the cleanest and least processed, it is a good idea to put it at the core of your fat intake. Some studies suggest that monounsaturated fats can be useful for the cardiovascular system, improving its function and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
“Monounsaturated fat is a type of dietary fat. It is one of the healthy fats, along with polyunsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, but start to harden when chilled. Medlineplus.gov
Last but not least, we have polyunsaturated fats, that are just as essential as monounsaturated fats.
In reality, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are the only ESSENTIAL types of fats, and you’ve probably heard of them.
Essential means that the body cannot produce them on its own and that we must obtain them by diet or supplementation.
This is not true of the other three categories of fats, including monounsaturated fats. Now, though omega-6 fatty acids are essential, they are found in abundance in our modern-day nutrition. Plant oils, such as sunflower oil, corn oil, soy, and hemp oil, as well as nuts and seeds, contain a significant amount of short-chained omega-6 fatty acids. Oppositely, we have arachidonic acid (AA), which is a long-chained form of omega-6 fatty acids.
This is involved in the structure of cell membranes and is used by the body to fight infection and regulate inflammation. AA can be found in livers, eggs, yolks and seafood products. Now, unlike omega-6 fatty acids, omega-3 cannot be found all that much in our modern-day nutrition and is actually in a deficit for most people. The bad thing about this deficit is that omega-3 fatty acids are actually a preventative nutrient.
We can call them that because these fatty acids regulate inflammation and immune processes, along with many other processes in the body.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in some animal products, such as fatty fish and crustaceans, but also in linseed oil, chia and hemp seeds and nuts.
Take-Home Message
Dietary fat is one of the most essential nutrients for the body next to protein and as such, it needs to be carefully selected.
The selection of fat-containing products is important, mainly because many foods contain highly-processed fats, which may not be the best for the body.
For this reason, the first step is to learn how to differentiate between the 4 different types of fat.
In the second part of this article series, we are going to give you more insight on the functions of dietary fat, as well as the best sources for you to derive these fats from!
See you in part 2.
by admin | Jan 7, 2022 | Diet
The Western Diet
The more time passed by and the more we transitioned from a life in nature, to the life in big cities, the more human nutrition changed.
Needless to say, when you make changes to what you do multiple times per day (eating), there are physiological changes that occur.
The “western diet” is one of the things that made the biggest impact on human health.
Characteristics Of The Western Diet
The western diet is characterized by the high intake of red meats, pre-packaged food, fizzy drinks, butter, candy, sweets, fried foods and even high-fructose corn syrup.
As you can guess, most of these foods (besides meats), are products that focus on satisfying your desire for taste, rather than keep you satiated.
Needless to say, the majority of foods on the list of the western diet, are poor in nutrients, thus being suboptimal for your health.
The structure, balance and composition of some of the most essential nutrients for the body have been fundamentally altered, as more foods and food-processing methods were implemented during the neolithic and industrial periods.
The Dangers
Researchers found that consuming a typical western diet for just one week, can impair brain function and lead to overeating and binging.
And guess what, those effects were observed in otherwise healthy people that have no bad habits whatsoever and a tight, healthy body composition overall!
Again, in just 7 days the high processed fat & sugar western diet, had substantial impact on memory.
Furthermore, the volunteers, all of which were in their 20s, reported that they started preferring the junk food-based diet, over whole foods.
The conclusion of the scientists involved in this study, was that the western diet makes it harder for people to regulate their appetite.
This is perhaps because of the diet’s effect on the hippocampus – The part of your brain that regulates memory and is involved in the utilization of hunger signals.
Richard Stevenson, a psychology professor from Sidney, states the following:
“After just a short period of eating a western-based diet, the ‘tastier’ junk foods become the preferred option, even after you already had a meal. This makes it harder to resist those foods, making you eat more and inevitably creating a vicious cycle of overeating and excessive calorie consumption.”
How To Regulate Your Appetite
Throughout human existence, our bodies have seen long periods of scarcity.
This made the body create certain mechanisms, which allow us to slow down the metabolism and survive with less food.
These are the so-called “metabolic adaptations”, which the body knows very well how to utilize, because it knows that the lack of food is possible.
However, the opposite isn’t valid – Throughout human history, we’ve never had such an abundance of foods as we do now.
It has only been a couple of decades since we’ve had easy access to any food and many, newly introduced, processed foods.
Because it has only been a couple of decades, the body has not yet had the chance to adapt to this and create weight-gain regulation mechanisms, like it did with the weight loss regulation mechanisms (metabolic adaptations).
THIS is why, many people gain excess weight and this is also the exact reason why the majority of people in the USA are obese.
However, there are two things you can do to mitigate the effects on appetite that are manifested with the typical, processed food, western diet.
Both of these things are linked to making nutritional choices, so let’s see what you can actually do!
#1 Eat MEAT & Organs!
Though nowadays food is a type of recreation and something to enjoy, for most of human existence, food meant survival.
As we did not have such an abundance of products at easy access, we were naturally looking for the most satiating foods that can make us full for the longest period of time.
And guess which those foods are… That’s right, animal foods!
Generally, if you want to minimize the chance of overeating and binging on crap food, you are best off focusing on nutrient-dense foods.
With protein & fat being the two most satiating nutrients, we can easily conclude that meats, organs and other animal products are the most satiating foods one can eat.
The reason why you overeat processed, junk food, is because you did not give the body enough quality food, for it to feel satiated!
Try placing animal products at the core of your nutrition and see if you’re still going to have the same desire for junk foods.
In doing so however, you will need to pick quality meats – Resort to grass-fed animals, which are well-grown.
To find such products, you would need to reach out to small and medium-scale farming businesses, which do not mass-produce meat.
#2 Eat Fruits & Veggies
Though fruits & veggies don’t provide a lot of protein and fats, they contain fiber and are usually high in volume (take up a lot of space in the stomach).
Including good amounts of fruits and veggies in your nutrition will make you feel fuller, for longer.
On top of that, replacing processed sugar foods with fruit is one of the best choices.
The more you do this, the sweeter the taste of fruits will become and at one point, you’d prefer a mango or a pineapple, rather than nutella or chocolate.
Last but not least, you can also make use of potatoes!
Though they do not contain substantial amounts of proteins and fats, potatoes are the food that has the highest satiety index.
Have a steak with potato mash and some veggies and see how that affects your satiety!
Granted, you won’t even think about binging on junk food.
Conclusion
The typical western diet contains a lot of processed foods, sugars, processed fats, fizzy drinks, deep fried foods, etc.
All of these foods are poor in nutrients, unable to provide the essential nutrients your body needs and thus, having a poor effect on satiety.
The bad thing is that the brain gets hooked on those foods, making them a priority choice because of their addictive taste.
What you can do however, is focus on nutrient-dense, satiating foods and placing them at the core of your nutrition plan.
This doesn’t really mean you should totally exclude your favorite junk foods, it only means you should have the balance in favor of nutrient-dense foods that will make you feel satiated.
Eat foods that keep you satiated and your body will thank you!
