Archive for the ‘Whole Fitness Issue’ Category
Raw food diets are based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, preferably organic, such as a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruit, fresh juices and purified water.
Why Uncooked Foods?
Basically a vegetarian diet, the raw food diet encourages eating and drinking ‘living’ foods. Living foods and juices contain the largest amount of fiber found in raw produce, fiber that can be destroyed in processing. Such foods are easily digested and tend to be lower in calories than the average diet.
Heating food above 116°F destroys enzymes in food that aid in digestion and in absorption of food, reducing its nutritional value.
Benefits of a Raw Food Diet
A diet of at least three quarters raw food offers numerous health benefits, such as increased energy, improved skin appearance, better digestion, weight loss and reduced risk of serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
A raw food diet contains little or no saturated fats, is low in sodium, high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber.
Raw food diets are also awesome detox diets. Different combinations of raw foods and juices can be used for colon cleansing, liver cleansing, kidney cleansing and skin cleansing.
Raw Food Basics
Any fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, beans, nuts, legumes, young coconut milk – even seaweed – can be part of a raw food diet. Your choice of foods may depend on your reasons for dieting, for example:
- sprouted brown rice slows sugar absorption and improves the metabolism
- cabbage supports healthy cellular function; radish leaves act as an anti-oxidant,as does Shitake mushrooms
Vitamin B7 Biotin
This type of B-complex vitamin does well to encourage hair growth, strengthen hair and prevent hair loss. You can get Biotin by eating foods such as yeast, kidney, eggs, liver, nuts and soybeans. However, getting Biotin from your diet is insufficient for your hair needs. You still need Biotin supplements. The recommended daily intake (RDI) is 30mcg. But you don’t have to worry about over dosage as there are no side effects.
Oiling your hair with coconut oil may also help. By doing this, the pollution in the environment won’t stick straight onto your hair and damage it. It will stick to the oil instead which can be
washed off when you get home.
Propecia is one of the well-known hairloss remedies. Propecia is the first hairloss remedy approved by Food and Drug Administration. More than 2 million Americans are using Propecia at present. Propecia works on Alopecia by inhibiting the formation of DHT [A chemical which causes hair loss]. In 85% cases this hairloss product has worked well.
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Keeping a healthy head of hair is also important for those who are worried about losing their hair entirely as a parent or sibling has. A lack of healthy hair may be indicative of a genetic problem in the scalp and hair follicles. Many times these problems are hidden for years, but eventually show themselves in the form of hair loss.
Stop Then Regrow
Once hair loss is stopped you can begin to concentrate on regrowth. DHT blockers that stop hair loss may supply some nutrients to the scalp to simulate dormant hair follicles, if not you will need either a hair loss supplement or some form of topical treatment that is designed to stimulate hair growth.
Drink Water
Eight to ten glasses of water is an absolute requirement. Drinking water flushes your body of toxins, chemicals, and impurities that stifle your hair growth and disrupt your hormone and enzyme imbalances. Water also transports the important nutrients your body needs throughout your body. Hate drinking water? Add lemon and Splenda to have a healthy, tasty alternative.
Your meal plan is your guide to healthy eating. A registered dietician or your diabetic health worker/nurse should be
able to assist you in your diet plan.
Before you go to the supermarket write down your list of healthy foods that you require for the week. Select some or all of the following, whole grains, fresh,frozen and canned fruit and vegetables. If you select fruit in cans make sure they are packed in water or fruit juice, and that your vegetables are without added salt or sauces.
Select lean cuts of meat, skinless poultry or remove the skin yourself, use fat free/semi skimmed milk, plain yoghurt, and reduced or low fat cheese. Check all labels for the nutritional value, fat, sugar and salt content of your purchases, consider health options before taste.
Only buy light or fat free mayonnaise or salad cream, and if you are trying to lose weight don’t forget that fat and sugar free foods still contain calories. If time is an issue most supermarkets stock foods which are suitable for diabetics just ask, and check out the ready prepared meals from weight watchers and other weight loss groups.
Where possible bake,steam, grill and boil your foods, try to keep using lard/butter in your cooking to a minimum. If you must use a sweetener avoid sugar and use a low calorie sweetener that’s suitable for baking.
While there is no specific diabetes diet that has immediate results, there are several foods that can help a diabetic patient. Generally, a diabetic’s nutritional needs are largely similar to a non-diabetic’s. The most essential element is that it should be a balanced diet and one that is suitable for the patient’s lifestyle.
This is advantageous in families with diabetic patients because they will not feel like they are left out, having to eat something different compared to everyone else. The whole family can eat a healthy meal together. However, there is an undeniable difference. A diabetic will need to slow down on his or her carbohydrate intake, lesser than the rest of your family who are presumably non-diabetic. Carbohydrates have the most significant impact on blood sugar levels because carbs are foods immediately converted to sugar. Therefore, monitoring and control of the amount consumed is vital.
To keep your blood sugar levels in check, a diabetic has to make healthy food choices. With regular exercise and the prescribed medications, the disease can be quite manageable. Talk to your doctor or to a registered dietitian to discuss what foods will work best for you.
Fruits, vegetables, grains and cereals are high in fiber which is important in a diabetic diet. Studies have shown that people that consume a diet high in fiber improve their blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Alcohol, very much like carbohydrates, can have adverse effects on your blood sugar levels. Therefore, it should be consumed in moderation or better yet none at all.