Its all in this magic pill.... I promise you!!!

This Pill can Solve Everything!

     Did you know that you don't have to change the way you eat!?!  Eat all you want, how you want, when you want, and you my friend can still lose all of the weight you desire!  What is this magical new product that will allow you to conquer your weight problem?  I will tell you right now, the new magic, we are going to speed up your heart, destroy your kidneys, make you into a leaky car, and just might drop a couple pounds off of you!  Now doesn't that just sound awesome?!?

     Fact is there is no such thing.  This is one of those classic cut the crap moments.  Some of these pills may indeed help you lose the weight you want, but at what cost?  I can tell you right off the bat, your stomach is going to be your worse enemy for the time.  Weight loss pills are going to do a number on your stomach.  

     There are many dangers in over the counter weight loss pills.  Both the herbal and non-herbal varieties present many dangers.  In my humble opinion it is not worth it.  Side effects include; nausea, nightmares (yes nightmares), heart palpitations/arrhythmia,vomiting and so much more.   


     One diet test done on herbal diet weight loss pills presented very interesting results.  3 years later 100 of the participants had some kind of kidney problem, 10 years later many of the participants developed urinary tract cancer.  This is not the answer.  It is not worth the impact that these pills can have on your life, including when there are other alternatives.


    What are these alternatives?  Well of course you can get surgery, you can starve yourself or other options that are out there.  However, these are not recommended and unnecessary.  What you need to do is eat Subway twice a day, walk everywhere you go, and become famous!  Haha ok just kidding, I love Jared but let's face it, we all can't afford that and there are other and better options (although Subway is very good).  


     Here comes the words that we all hate.  The best alternative to weight loss pills is changing your diet.  There is no such thing as a magic pill that allows you to eat everything you want and lose the weight you desire to lose.  If there is, trust me, it will make you pay in other ways.  Now, there are some foods that can help you lose weight.  I will give you a brief look at some of these pills, for I plan on talking more in depth about the best super-foods for you in a later blog.

1. Fiber-  Of course fiber is going to be first.  This will help you keep your pipes clean, and everything moving through your body like it should.  Of course it will help you also lose weight.
2. Eggs-  New research has proven that eggs do not give you the type of cholesterol that we all fear.  It has taken me a long time to believe this.  In fact eggs have so much great nutrition for you that this is a must in every diet!  
3. Spices- Spices are awesome!  The best ones being cinnamon, chili peppers, mustard seed, ginger, black pepper, and turmeric are huge boosts to your body.  Cinnamon is natures natural blood sugar stabilizer, chili peppers gets your blood flowing in a natural and healthy way, and ginger helps boost calorie loss.
4. Protein- Protein helps you in many ways.  After exercising I am sure to eat at least 30 grams of protein, this helps build muscles and in return muscles help burn fat and calories.  It can also help you lose blood fats.
5. Water-  Water goes a far way in helping you lose weight.  From making you feel fuller to keeping you hydrated and moving.  A healthy amount of water is essential to losing weight.  

     Keep this in mind the next time you are looking at a diet pill.  There are better alternatives that won't wreck your life.  These alternatives in fact will help your life.  I love you all, God bless you!

Mono a whata a what...?

The 6 Benefits of Monounsaturated Fats (MUFAs)

by BodyEcology.com (2011)

 

Why consume processed foods full of trans fats when you could have delicious meals made with heart healthy olive oil? Besides tasting great, olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a good fat that has amazing health benefits!

Good fats, bad fats, what’s the difference?
With all the nutritional information out there it can be tough to keep everything straight. In fact, just a few years ago, low fat diets were all the rage.
But cutting edge research supports what people living in Mediterranean climates have known for generations: a diet with monounsaturated fats is a recipe for a healthy heart and a slim body.

Monounsaturated Fats: That Means Good, Right?
Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) are good fats. Liquid at room temperature, they turn solid when they are chilled. Common sources of MUFAs are olive oil, avocadoes and nuts.
Monounsaturated fats are a healthy alternative to the trans fats and refined polyunsaturated fats you find in most processed foods.
Research shows that diets with healthy amounts of monounsaturated fats have a host of amazing health benefits, including:1

• Decreased risk for breast cancer. A study of women in Sweden found that those with diets higher in monounsaturated fats (as opposed to polyunsaturated fats) resulted in less frequent incidence of breast cancer.
• Reduced cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association recommends the consumption of MUFAs to improve your blood lipid profile.
• Lower risk for heart disease and stroke. Diets with monounsaturated fats correlate with healthy hearts and fewer strokes.
• Weight loss. Studies have found that switching to monounsaturated fat from diets with trans fats and polyunsaturated fats results in weight loss.
• Less severe pain and stiffness for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. Diet plays a role in improving the pain and stiffness of those who already have rheumatoid arthritis.
• Reduced belly fat. A study published by the American Diabetes Association found that diets with monounsaturated fat could improve the loss of belly fat better than high carbohydrate diets.

Besides protecting your heart, decreasing your risk for certain cancer AND helping you maintain a healthy weight, sources of monounsaturated fat taste great!
You can do something good for yourself with every delicious mouthful of foods rich in monounsaturated fat.
Make the Most of MUFAs With These Foods
Great sources of monounsaturated fats are:

• Olive oil
• Avocadoes
• Tea Seed Oil (more on this new oil below)
• Almonds, cashew nuts and pecans
• Macadamia nuts

The Body Ecology system for health and healing recommends using a delicious variety of healthy fats…including plenty of the monounsaturated fats mentioned above. Use them instead of the hydrogenated fats found in margarine and processed fats found in refined vegetables oils. If you haven’t changed your oils yet and still eat bad fats...changing to the wonderful fats and oils recommended on the Body Ecology Diet is one of the most important first steps you can take.
If cooking with monounsaturated fats is new to you, here are some Body Ecology-friendly tips to help you get started!

1. Use a bit of olive oil when you low-temperature sauté your vegetables to keep them from sticking to the pan.
   
2. Roll avocadoes, blanched and sliced vegetables and cultured vegetables in sheets of nori for a vegetarian, heart- healthy sushi roll.
   
3. Macadamia Nut Oil adds a delicious buttery flavor to any Green Smoothie recipe.
   
4. Imperial Republic’s culinary Tea Seed oil from the Camilla sinensis (tea plant) is an extra virgin oil from China. It has a high flash point of up to 485 degrees so can be used for low-temperature sautéing. It’s also delicious on top of vegetables, quinoa and in salad dressings.
   
5. Dip celery and carrot sticks into raw almond butter for a delicious treat.

Switching your fat intake from bad fats to good fats could be one of the best (and best tasting) decisions you ever make!

The Body Ecology Diet. (2011). The 6 Benefits of Monounsaturated Fats. Retrieved from                         http://bodyecology.com/articles/6_benefits_monosaturated_fats.php

Time to watch your salt intake...

The details: Americans adults, on average, take in nearly 3,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day, mostly through salty food, but it sneaks in through beverages and condiments, too. The new guidelines stipulate that adults in general should toe the line and eat no more than 2,300 mg of salt a day—about one teaspoon's worth. Anyone 51 or older and/or living with high blood pressure, as well as all African American adults, is encouraged to limit sodium intake to just 1,500 mg.

It's well known that eating too much salt is linked to heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. But more and more research is finding that a high-salt diet causes other serious and life-threatening diseases, including these three: 


1. Cancer A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at 80,000 Japanese adults and found that excess salt is linked to a 15-percent higher risk of developing cancer.

2. Osteoporosis High-salt diets also effect bone health, explains Jones. "High-salt diets have been shown to increase calcium loss," she explains. "When your bones lose calcium, they become weak. Over time, this leads to osteoporosis."
Jones points out that for every 2,300 mg of sodium ingested, on average, you excrete about 20 to 60 more milligrams of calcium.

3. Dementia Other studies have found a link between high blood pressure and dementia. Since too much salt can send blood pressure skyrocketing, cutting out excess sodium could help save your brain, too. "Researchers have shown that treating hypertension can reduce dementia due to Alzheimer's disease by half," says Jones. "Maybe your forgetfulness isn't due to getting older—it could be caused by how much salt you eat!" 

What it means: Americans are addicted to salt. In fact, Jones notes that brain scans show that consuming it causes the brain to release dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with the pleasure center, as it does when you eat fat and sugar. "That makes them highly additive, like nicotine and cocaine," Jones notes. But it is possible to beat the addiction, and that act can have wide-ranging, positive effects on your health. Much of the excess salt in our diet comes from processed and packaged grocery-store food, and restaurant and fast-food menu options (remember the Denny's lawsuit, when the restaurant chain was sued over the 2,600 mg of sodium in its turkey sandwiches, served with fries?). Some of it lurks in healthy vegetables that have been canned, or even "healthy" sandwich ingredients—things we turn to when we need to make dinner on the fly. "As our lives have become increasingly more hectic and fast-paced, salty processed and fast foods have become staples," says Jones. 

One way to make strides in shrinking your salt intake is to target the worst offenders. Here's a list of some of the saltiest.

Top 10 Seriously Salty Foods in the Grocery Store (sodium content varies among brands)
1. Frozen TV dinners, 800 to 2,000-plus milligrams (mg)
2. Frozen pizza, 2,645 mg
3. Pretzel rods, 1,350 mg
4. Canned chili, 1040 mg
5. Lunch meat, 150 mg per slice
6. Canned soup, 870 mg
7. Packaged macaroni and cheese, 533 mg
8. Flour tortilla, 450 mg
9. Canned vegetables, 250 mg
10. Breakfast cereal, 175 mg

Top 10 Seriously Salty Restaurant Foods
1. Romano's Macaroni Grill Spaghetti e Meatballs with Bolognese, 3,040 mg
2. Quiznos Classic Italian Large Sub, 3,420 mg
3. Ruby Tuesday Shrimp Carbonara Pasta Classic, 3,766 mg
4. IHOP Country Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs with Sausage Gravy, 4,050 mg
5. California Pizza Kitchen Jamaican Jerk Pizza 4,236 mg
6. Red Lobster Admiral's Feast, 4,300 mg
7. Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion, 5,508 mg
8. Applebee's Sizzling Skillet Shrimp Fajitas, 6,060 mg
9. Chili's Jalapeno Smokehouse Burger with Jalapeno Ranch, 6,460 mg
10. Cheesecake Factory, Factory Appetizer Favorites 6,700 mg

Once you start cutting some of the most sodium-dense foods in America out of your menu, Jones recommends focusing on eating foods rich in the minerals potassium, magnesium, and calcium to bring your body back into balance. These foods include: beet greens, spinach, yogurt, sweet potatoes, white beans, sardines, and bananas.

By Leah Zerbe, Rodale.com
Thu, Mar 31, 2011