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Tag: Healthy diet

  • Gluten-Free Diet For Celiac Disease Treatment

    A gluten-Free diet has become very popular and almost trendy as many people look to simplify their diets and get back to a more whole-foods based way of eating. Guides such as the Paleo diet, or a “caveman” approach, are quickly gaining a following as many shirk the over-processed products on grocery aisles, opting to hit only the meat and produce sections instead.

    This is obviously a healthier way to eat than the standard American diet and can have many benefits to the normal person looking to shed a few pounds or to live a healthier lifestyle. However, to some suffering from Celiac disease, it could make all the difference in the world.

    According to WebMD, Celiac disease is “a digestive and autoimmune disorder that results in damage to the lining of the small intestine when foods with gluten are eaten. Glutens are a form of protein found in some grains. The damage to the intestine makes it hard for the body to absorb nutrients, especially fat, calcium, iron, and folate.”

    Apparently, the immune system attacks the gluten in foods and in the process damages the villi, the tiny hair-like structures that absorb nutrients from food. The symptoms can range from digestive problems, severe skin rashes, and muscle cramps to missed menstrual periods and even seizures.

    A gluten-free diet is the only medically-accepted way to treat celiac disease. So what does a gluten-free diet look like? Well, in case you haven’t checked it out yet, here are some guidelines.

    Unprocessed beans and seeds, eggs, fresh meats, fish and poultry that are free of breading, batter, or marinade are great choices for protein. Of course, fruits and vegetables of any kind are good and so are most dairy products.

    You must avoid foods that contain barley (malt, malt flavoring and malt vinegar are usually made from barley), rye, triticale (a cross between wheat and rye), and of course you should avoid wheat.

    There are many grains that are safe, including amaranth, arrowroot, buckwheat, corn and cornmeal, flax, gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean), as well as millet, quinoa, rice, sorghum, soy, tapioca, and teff.

    Also avoid such things that may contain gluten, unless they are labeled gluten-free such as food additives like malt flavoring, modified food starch and others. Also avoid medications and vitamins that use gluten as a binding agent and play dough.

    A gluten-free diet can be daunting, but as long as you stick to whole fruits and veggies and natural meats along with the foods listed, it can produce great benefits for the celiac sufferer as well as those seeking a healthier way of eating.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Best Diet Plans- Losing Weight And Staying Healthy

    It’s that time of year again, the time when the thought of Spring gets everyone in the mood to lose weight. While many people know that the best way to lose weight is with a healthy diet and a good amount of exercise, some are looking for a quicker way to drop those pounds.

    There are many different diet plans available, but not all of them are healthy. If you are planning to get fit, remember that crash diets are not the solution and there are healthy diet options that work better.

    Crash diets are popular because they allow dieters to lose weight quickly. The problem with these types of diets is that they do not supply the body with the proper nutrients and the body can actually go into starvation mode and cause the dieter to start storing fat instead of burning it. Crash diets are also bad because once the dieter stops the diet, he or she will likely gain all of the weight back in a short amount of time.

    Diets that contain a high amount of plant based foods are not only healthy, but more likely to speed up metabolism and lead to weight loss. One of the best healthy diets of 2014 is the Dash Diet. This diet help dieters determine how many calories they should be eating based on age, sex, weight and activity level. It also shows dieters where these calories should come from so they can be sure they are eating nutrient-rich foods and not simply eating empty calories.

    Another top diet plan is the Mediterranean Diet. Mediterranean foods like hummus, salads, fresh fruits and veggies and salmon are full of healthy fats and all taste great. Dieters can still enjoy many of their favorite foods and flavors without worrying about eating bad calories or foods that are unhealthy. This diet even allows a daily glass of wine.

    Weight Watchers is a great program for people who want to lose weight and the diet plan is one of the healthiest. The Weight Watchers diet uses points to keep track of calories and food intake and allows dieters to eat small amounts of the foods they love while motivating them to eat healthier foods that are less points.

    Dieting can work if it is done correctly. By dieting healthy you will not only see changes in the way you look, but also the way you feel.

    What is your favorite healthy diet recipe?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • What’s Eating Google [Infographic]

    What’s Eating Google [Infographic]

    According to this next infographic from medicalsupplimentalinsurance.com, Google is going to great lengths to make sure their employees are well fed, informed, and healthy consumers of good food products. This graphic is loaded with interesting facts about how people choose what they eat and how Google’s HR department is taking advantage of analytics to help supply them with better choices.

    For starters, Google spends $72 million on supplying their employees with food every year. That’s really cool, I wish I had that luxury! Green code cards mean low-fat, low-calorie food. Red tags indicate high-fat, high-calorie snacks. That must mean they care. Nice!

    Google makes use of fun facts like, people drink more water when it’s placed at eye level in the refrigerator, or people eat less when plates are smaller. It sounds kind of crazy, but these are true analytics and Google is using them to help their employees make healthier choices. I think it’s great to see an employer so invested in the health and well being of their employees.

    Take a look it this graphic. Like I said, it seems ridiculous, but I think you’ll find it interesting:

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  • Forget Fat, Carbs Are Killing Us! [Infographic]

    Losing weight and keeping weight off can be a real challenge especially as we get older and our metabolism slows down, but in America we’re seeing a trend where people of all ages are overweight. What do we do? We take action. We listen to the experts tell us to eat; eat less fat, eat fewer carbohydrates, don’t eat before bed, some even suggest eating more chocolate will be the key to a slimmer waistline.

    We get so much advice, and so much of it is contradictory, we don’t know what to believe. I will tell you that exercise is the key to being healthy, but it actually doesn’t really have that much to do with how your body stores fat, or at least not directly. After all, there’s plenty of overweight bodybuilders and they work out constantly; big arms, fat belly!

    The truth is, a diet needs to be balanced and well suited calorie-wise to match your lifestyle and body size. If you’re overweight cutting overall calories and watching where the calories come from is important. If you starve yourself, you will binge, and that is the worst thing for your body. The reason they say chocolate is good is because people who allow themselves to satisfy their cravings are less apt to binge on sugary snacks later.

    Fat isn’t any worse than sugar or carbohydrates. Your body needs a balance of fat, sugar, salt, carbs, and all that stuff. Figuring out what time of day you can get away with certain foods can be instrumental in losing weight. For instance, I can get away with eating a heavy lunch because I have the entire rest of the day to keep my metabolism going and burning all those calories. I typically eat dinner late at night so it has to be on the light side or I’ll lay awake all night with a full belly that isn’t going anywhere.

    The next day I wake up, eat breakfast and my belly’s twice as full, because it’s still working on the food from last night. So for me, it’s light breakfast and light dinner. That way I have over twelve hours where my body doesn’t have to work so hard on digesting food. Combine this with a balanced diet and you shouldn’t have trouble at least maintaining the same weight.

    This next infographic on carbohydrates from MassiveHealth.Com can do a lot to help us understand why eating too many carbohydrates can be just as bad as eating a high fat diet, and in some instances, worse. Remember, no matter what trendy diet comes along, balance and an appropriate amount of calories from the right sources is the best diet.

    Check out what Massivehealth came up with:
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