Diet Deception: The Cabbage Soup Diet

The Premise: 

The more soup you eat, the more weight you lose. Cabbage is the one super vegetable with little calories and high fat burning capabilities.

The Provisions: 

The basic ingredients of the soup include three large onions, green bell pepper, a head of celery, dark green cabbage, chopped tomatoes, onion soup mix and three cubes of vegetable stock.

The Promise: 

Weight loss of 10 to 15 pounds in seven days by following the seven-day cabbage soup diet.

The Proof: 

Rachel, 28, marketing assistant said “I tried it and lost 4 pounds. It’s really hard to just eat the darned soup day in and day out over and over! Plus, I actually gained it all back in less than a week so I don’t think this diet works unless you intend to stay on cabbage soup forever which is a fate worse than death, if you ask me”.

The Prognosis: 

First of all, there’s no such thing as “the one food” that will melt all your fat away. Whether its cabbage or grapefruit, eating only one type of food is just nutritionally unsound. Furthermore, it’s only a matter of time before your body starts craving for other types of food which will probably not be the healthiest of choices. In fact, according to an article in the Journal of Nutrition (2001), the only thing you lose in this diet is water, which you will quickly gain back by downing even just a few glasses of water.

The Pros’ Position:

“Anything that shuts out other food groups is already a warning signal for you not to try it. There are no miracle foods out there that you can gorge solely on and expect miracle results. Water is the easiest thing to lose when you want the scales to reflect a lower number pronto. But being water deficient can cause dry skin and make you look old quickly, especially if you keep dehydrating yourself often enough,” says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, a nutrinionist adds, “People who take this soup will automatically lose weight because it’s very low in total calories. One cup of pure vegetable soup doesn’t even amount to 50 calories, the equivalent of one medium-sized banana or one medium-sized apple. It’s not sustainable for the needs of the body. It’s nutritionally unsound and unsafe.

Diet Deception: The After Six Diet

The Premise: 

Not eating after 6 p.m. so that by the time you sleep, most of the body’s intake would have already been converted to energy and used up, efficiently eliminating the chances of stocking up excess calories that might turn into fat.

The Promise: Weight Loss

The Proof: 

Kathy, 26, a former national athlete said “As an athlete, I’ve never had to diet extensively. But when I got married and gave birth, it was much harder. I did the After-six diet for two months and was amazed to find that I fit in my old clothes again. You just have to have the discipline to do it.”

The Prognosis: 

The After-six diet is more of a health tip than a diet. Its two main goals are to create an eating cut-off so you take in fewer calories for the lesser amount of activities ahead of you which is sleeping; and to promote the habit of eating breakfast. We continuously burn calories every second of our lives. Logically, you burn more calories running than sleeping, although you still burn calories even when you snooze. Also, the digestive ability of the body is more efficient when you’re awake. Before your food turns into energy, the body has to transform it to useable forms of energy. By eating way before bedtime, you ensure that the food has been digested and can efficiently be used by the body during slumber.

The theory is almost sound until you figure out what exactly your bedtime is. It takes approximately four hours before the body reacts to the lack of nutrients and you start feeling hunger pangs. After two hours of digesting, your body is efficiently burning calories and by the end of the fourth hour, your stomach produces enzymes for digestion for the food, which it is supposedly scheduled to admit. But what if you sleep at midnight? Two hours would have gone by then and the enzymes in your stomach would have reacted to your stomach lining resulting to ulcers and acid build-up.

The Pros’ Position:

“If you’re not an early sleeper, don’t do it. You can develop ulcers and hyperacidity by not eating way past four hours consistently. The concept of an eating cut-off time can work only if you take into consideration your normal sleeping patterns. If you sleep at midnight, make your cut-off 8p.m. or even 9p.m. instead of 6p.m. remember, hunger is just the body’s way of conveying that it needs nourishment. Deprivation is not the key to good health. Just make sure you eat two to three hours before you sleep. That should be sufficient. Never sleep straight away after eating”, says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.

On the other hand, some nutritionists believe that this is another fad formula which they discourage because of its erroneous and unscientific reasoning. This is because the body’s basal metabolism works 24 hours and does its different functions regardless of the time you feed it. 

The bottom line is: The key to healthy and scientific weight loss and weight maintenance program has no easy formula. Healthy lifestyle changes, good food choices, sustained and regular physical activity, attitudinal and behavioral modification will give us a healthier body.

Diet Deception: The Fit For Life Diet

The Premise:

That weight gain is simply the result of eating inapproprite foods at inappropriate times of the body’s natural cycle. Fit for Life authors Harvey and Mari-lyn Diamond say that the body has three natural cycles: appropriation, or eating and digesting which happens from noon to 8 p.m. , assimilation or absorption and use (8 p.m. to 4 a.m.) , and elimination of body waste, which happens from 4 a.m. to noon. They further contend that since the body is made up of 70 percent water, so should your diet; hence the ratio of 70 percent fruits and vegetables to 30 percent concentrated foods (or everthing else).

The Provisions:

Just fruit juice or fruits before noon, salad and fruit for lunch,starch and either vegetable or protein for dinner, and a fruit snack at least three hours after dinner. Every two or three days, lunch should only consist of fruit, so you have two meals consisting of just fruit. You’re also allowed nuts, and nut butters, pasta, bread, and grains during lunch and dinner, but all dairy products (except butter) are strictly off limits. Consumption of meat is also discouraged.

The Promise:

Lose as much as 50 pounds in a month by eating proper food combinations at the appropriate times.

The Proof?

Christine, 23, a student says “I lost eight pounds from this diet after only three weeks, but it left me feeling weak and almost always hungry. I decided to get off it after four weeks at which I returned to eating as much of a balanced diet as I could. I try to stay away from fat as much as possible. It took me only two weeks to gain the weight back plus two more pounds. I never want to diet again.”

The Prognosis:

The weight loss Christine experienced from this diet was expected due to its low caloric intake and high  the bulk content. This diet restricts the intake of meat and carbs to a total of one to two servings per day and replaces the rest of the days’ intake with fruits and vegetables. Although it does encourage you to increase your veggie intake, this diet puts a slightly higher premium on the nutritional value of our leafy friends by claiming that all the nutrients the body needs can be found solely in foliage.

Some foibles: The authors state that “fruit should never be taken with or immediately following anything,” (an important Fit for Life rule) , and that fruit taken after a meal rots and cannot be assimilated- ir ferments and its accumulation causes obesity. But fruits in themselves contain a chemical called pectin which is fermented. Following the authors’ contention that fermentation leads to obesity, eating fruit would then lead to obesity and not cure it. Another claim that raised more than a few eyebrows in the health industry is that dairy products are indigestible and acid and mucus-forming. The authors further argue that cow’s milk is for cows and not suitable for huma ns and that the only acceptable form of dairy is butter. Unless they’re actually taking about the butter made from human milk, their arguments simply don’t make sense.

The Pros’ Position:

According to Ana Cruz,an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center, “The diet is highly deficient in protein, calcium, zinc, vitamins B and D and iron, and can lead to iron deficiency anemia and osteoporosis. A diet that restricts milk and protein can seriously affect the development of young children and strict adherence to the diet during pregnancy can do serious harm to a developing fetus.”

Top nutritionist Dr. Sanirose Orbeta says, “In practice, we try to avoid nutrient specificity, like emphasizing one group of food over the other. Precisely it’s the complimentary, supplementary action one food gives another food that creates the balance of nutrients. That’s the reason why a variety in food choices is important. For example, the amino acids lacking in rice or pasta together with the protein from animal meat or plant source will combine to make the food healthy and high in biologic value and nutrient density.”

Image Sources:

fruits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastguru_kirti/2295831315/
fruit juices: http://www.flickr.com/photos/comunicati/6071069098/
vegetables: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suckamc/2488644619/

Diet Deception: The Atkin’s Diet

The Premise:

A high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate (little or no food containing carbs) diet will produce dramatic weight loss. One of the most popular diets out there from the controversial bestseller by Dr. Richard Atkins.

The Provisions:

A sample of the Atkins Diet menu includes: Breakfast: four slices of bacon, two scrambled eggs and decaf coffee. Lunch: Bacon cheeseburger without bun, salad without dressing and water. Dinner: Shrimp cocktail, mustard, mayo, clear beef broth, T-bone steak, salad, sugar-free jello and whipped cream.

The Promise: 

If you want weight loss, this is it! This diet guarantees rapid weight loss you’ve never seen before.

The Proof:

Jake, 30, a marketing manager said, “I went on the Atkins diet for three weeks and lost 10 pounds before I was hospitalized. My cholesterol levels were off the charts, my blood pressure was dangerously high, and I experienced fainting spells. I lost weight because of my hospitalization more than the diet. I don’t think I’ll do this diet again.”

The Prognosis:

No doubt you’ll loss weight- high protein, low carb weight-loss diets are designed to induce ketosis, an abnormal state also found in uncontrolled diabetes and starvation. Ketosis has also been known to cause some degree of anorexia or even euphoria. Dr. Atkins considers ketosis as a necessary state to induce weight loss, completely ignoring all other health concerns related to it. Some of the conditions you can expect if you follow this regimen long-term are: colorectal cancer due to lack of fiber from carbs (proven by the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer); heart disease due to the decreased efficiency of the arteries by saturated fats in red meat (according to the American Heart Association and Red Cross); kidney dysfunction from very large amounts of protein (from a study conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians); diabetes complications- diabetes itself affects the heart and the kidneys and going on a diet known to affect these organs will only result in further complications; and osteoporosis- high protein diets induce urinary calcium loss resulting to increased risk in fractures.

The Pros’ Position:

“Even Dr. Atkins himself wasn’t able to defend his own diet in a convention where his own peers, several nutritionists and dieticians were present, “says Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, a nutritionist. She adds, “This is one of the most popular recycled food plans to date. As a health care practitioner, our major concern is your long-term safety. Consider anything that cuts out a major food group like carbohydrates as a warning signal for a diet which is both unhealthy and dangerous. I’ve had to treat several patients who actually felt the adverse effects of this diet and totally revamp their eating choices. Effects can be long-standing and lethal. Thankfully I haven’t [had any patients] experiencing anything near fatal but why let it come to that? If you’re on it, consider getting off it before serious damage sets in.”


Image: 
bacon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sxld/3439651256/
bacon cheeseburger: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waferboard/4449825083/

A Diet for Stunning Skin

The best get that perfect skin routine? It is not the up-to-the-minute treatment in a spa. It's our manner of eating. Yes of course, we are familiar to that for years. Experts believed that greasy oily foods and also chocolates don't cause a pimple breakout and that, in general, what we eat has no effect in our skin. But the latest research proves a different one. So go after these four rules on how we can feed our skin.

Stay away from white stuff 
It turned out that our favorite french fries is a cause for breakouts. However it's not the oil that's the reason, it is the potatoes. In a latest study, researchers observed the 1,200 inhabitants of an island next to Papua New Guinea and 115 hunter-gatherers in the country of Paraguay and could not find even single breakout. Do you want to know their secret?  According to Loren Cordain Ph.D., a professor of health and exercise science at the Colorado State University, their secret is a diet that consists of almost exclusive protein, veggies and fruits. Not present from their meals are carbohydrates- such as pasta, bread, white bread, potatoes, rice, and sweets- that are the foundation of our present diet. These carbohydrates send our insulin levels to soar, and researchers thinks that this sets off a chain reaction that leads to pimple breakouts.

Food switching: As a substitute of refined white carbohydrates, go for reasonable amounts of complex carbohydrates like brown rice, whole-grain bread, and whole-wheat pasta (they are being digested more gradually).  And to keep line away later, binge on brightly colored fruits and vegetables. They’re rich in antioxidants, which ward off the dangerous free radicals that lead to wrinkles, furrows, and other signs of aging.


Take pleasure in Seafoods 

Fish is a good source of omega-3 and omega-6 or being referred as essential fatty acids (EFAs), which lessen the inflammation in the body. Inflammation triggers our cells to block our skin's pore, causing acne breakout. This is according to Nicholas Perricone, the author of The Perricone Prescription. The varieties of fish that contain the most EFAs are mackerel, salmon, and tuna (mostly the albacore and variety of blue fin). EFAs can also be found in flaxseed, almonds, and hazelnut.

Food switching: Eat smoked salmon for your breakfast, eat tuna sandwiches for your lunch, and consume salmon burger in replacement to hamburgers. If eating fish is not your thing, then eat a handful of almonds as an afternoon snack.


Evict blush triggers  
While a slight color in your cheeks is pleasing, full-on reddishness is not just the look you are after. And some beverages and foods, such as cured meats, spices, MSG, and alcohol (chiefly red wine) , can be a reason for our blood vessels to widen, bringing on redness on our face, says John Wolf, M.D. , chairman of the department of dermatology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Food switching: If you have a tendency to redden easily, keep your mind on to which foods carry it on, since people have dissimilar triggers. If eating spicy foods get you redden easily, then order Thai foods without the curry and eliminate wasabi when you go and crave for a sushi. If you redden after a few drinks, hold back or at least passes on drinking red wine.


Spoil yourself with Olive Oil
If we stay away from fat or grease for the sake of keeping our waistline trimmed, our skin could be sacrificed. According to says Joy Bauer, the author of The 90/10 Weight Loss Plan, a lot of young men and women have dry, flaky skin, and it is because they do not eat enough fat. If we are getting less than 20 grams of fat a day (approximately 2 tablespoons of oil) , our skin might not be able to lubricate itself and our body may not absorb enough supply vitamin A, which our skin needs to avoid premature aging.

Food switching: shower your salad with some olive oil and toss in some nuts and avocados. I swear this won’t have any unfavorable effect on the size of your jeans.




Images:

Bread: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41061319@N00/3195546454/
Salmon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreagp/1122613434/
Olive oil: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/3868212179/

Water Intake: Make it a Habit

Our body is composed of over ¾ of water and it is also a common knowledge that we cannot exist in this world without it.  As a matter of fact, after 3 days of living without drinking water, we will die.  On the other hand, water is now being replaced in a good number of the diets by refreshments sweetened by sugar and soft drinks.  But take into account that it is still better to drink water as is and is essential for leading us on the way to a better well being and long life.

Our individual water need can differ greatly due to our personal activities or exercise, weight, and temperature.  It has been proven through research that 67% of the older population does not consume enough water that is needed on a regular basis. Regular water intake will replenish our body and will keep our body hydrated and working properly. Most of us before we drink a glass of water will wait until we experience dryness in our throat and until we feel thirsty.  Keep in mind; this is not a dependable measure of our body’s water needs.  We have already lost about two or more cups of our body’s water supply by the time we feel we are thirsty. For that reason, it is still healthier to have a regular intake of water in our body than to simply wait until we feel the thirst. 

We should also take note that we must never replace our body’s fluid needs by drinking caffeinated drink or alcoholic beverages. Why? Because these types of beverages serve as diuretics in our body and will cause it to lose more fluids by frequent urination. We possibly believe and sense as if our body is getting more intake of water by drinking these types of beverages, but the reality is that we are letting our body fluids go as quick as we consume it.

We need an extra supply of water every time we exercise. A moderate amount of water will be lost whenever our body perspires. There is a need to drink at least 2 cups of water for every pound that we lost because of exercise. 

Are you aware that our body still loses water even while we sleep? Yes it does. And by drinking some water before we hit the sack, maybe a glass or two will do, we can get up with our body performing as it ought to be.

Also, when we are sick, it is when our body needs to have a greater amount of water intake.  When we acquire flu or colds, our body will be dehydrated quite fast. So, the best way to prevent dehydration is by drinking water, more water, when we are sick.

We must make it a habit to have regular water consumption.  And bringing a bottle of water with you at all time is a great way in making regular water consumption a habit.  

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Vitamins 101 for your Health

‘Vitamin’ was derived from the root word ‘vitamine’ which means vital amine. So what does it do? Vitamins are very powerful natural compounds that can be found mainly in the food that we consume. These are essential to all of us because they assist the cells in our body and tissues to perform their essential functions. To keep it simple, vitamins are what our body needs in order to grow.

Vitamins have two types. First, there is the water soluble vitamin which is commonly known vitamins of which the ascorbic acid or the we call vitamin C is the most common. Another one is the fat soluble vitamins which are also being called as hormones. It was believed a long time ago that all the kinds of vitamins only belong to one single group called the B complex since they all are coming from the same source but this was later categorized as vitamins that are different from each other. 

Some of these vitamins are Inositol, Choline, Vitamin B9, B5, B3, B1, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, etc. Others are being known by their biological names such as thiamine for vitamin B1 and Biotin for Vitamin H. 

These vitamins are important component of the balanced diet that we have. Some people with persistent diseases are being advised to take different vitamin supplements by their respective doctors. However, there are people who need to watch out their intake of vitamins like women who are pregnant or those who are suffering from a bowel disorder because bowel disorder hinder the absorption of the fat soluble vitamin in the body. While the patients suffering from anemia need to be given with dose of vitamin B12 because of their body’s deficiency from this vitamin. 

To assist our body to function efficiently and stay healthy, we need to take these vitamins on a normal basis. Vitamins assist our body organs to carry out their individual functions. Without the presence of these vitamins, it is for sure that our body will become weak and sick and will suffer from vitamin deficiency diseases. Most of the time, there are sufficient amount vitamins present in our food but if we will not eat a balanced diet, these external supplements like vitamins will do the work for our body.

It is very useful and compulsory for our body to take vitamins. However, as what the old saying goes, “excess of everything is bad”. Vitamins taken in excess can be a cause of harsh damage to our body. For example, our body needs just around 400 to 800 units of vitamin D/day. If our body exceeded this amount, too much calcium will be absorbed by our bloodstream, which will harm our kidneys. In addition, supplements in no way can substitute the healthy diets, so it is still better to take vitamin-rich diet than to take supplements or vitamins.

Lastly, we should not take vitamins by gathering different information from here and there. We have to consult a Doctor. It will not hurt to consult one. Remember, little understanding is a dangerous thing.

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Making it a Good Healthy Habit

Having a healthy body is very essential to all of us. There is a need to be fit, strong and energetic, have uninterrupted sleeping, and be in shape and have an ill-free body, which for sure will provide us with an excellent overall well-being. And for us to always be in shape and fit, we need to put into practice different vigorous lifestyles along with eating the right and healthy food and of course, by doing exercises.

Laziness is a barrier in achieving a good health for the body. Focus, determination and working hard is what we call for both mentally and physically in order for our body to be on top form and healthy. Aside from doing exercises, we must also avoid taking into our body some unhealthy foods that usually make us sluggish and slow such as junk foods and only eat foods that will makes us healthy and strong. Problems relating to health will surely make you suffer in the presence of obesity and overweight. So there is really a need to preserve an optimum body weight to keep in good physical shape.

Having healthy and positive lifestyle is something that you as a person need. It is very vital to keep having a positive mindset in order to be fit. It is best to always clear your mind, eliminate different stressors and negative feelings and fill it up with a ton of positivity. Optimistic feelings like this can be very revitalizing and at all times will lead you to great things in life. You can also be engaged in different activities such as yoga or even meditation to throw out that negativity and strengthen your mind with positive thoughts.

Consuming healthy foods is also essential for you to be healthy and in shape. Food such as fruits, lean meat, nuts, vegetables and even tubers can maintain your body and keep it strong. You should avoid eating foods with preservatives. Taking in improper food is the main reason in getting diseases and ill health. Due to this, a lot of people are being diagnosed to have illnesses like cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc. Effortless change in your lifestyle or diet routine can root a huge difference and can better develop your health significantly. Make an effort to stop consuming alcoholic beverages and smoking.

To ensure a good health, you need to do some exercises daily. Doing some exercise especially in the morning can make you feel refreshed for the whole day. It can set your good mood and it will help you to think positively and only consume healthy foods. Activities such as walking, biking, playing your favorite sports, swimming, etc will surely help to keep you in shape. Go for an activity that you will enjoy. Why not try to have your work outs done in an open air or an open field? This way, your feeling will be refreshed.

In addition to exercises, getting you with a good sleep and rest will keep you healthy. It will refresh your mind and can help you feel healthy if you are getting Sound sleep or quality sleep every time.

Never make sudden severe changes in your life style. Start with the simple changes and just enjoy it. You should try to put together these simple changes into a customary routine for you to achieve a long term health success. It is very essential to make progress into your health for you to be happy and enjoy your life.

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