Does The DASH Diet Really Work?

It's no secret that many of us don't have a healthy diet. We seem to be eating more and more foods that are high in sodium, sugar and fat. Combine that with lack of exercise and you have a ticking time bomb that is becoming a serious health threat in many western countries. It is also affecting our children with devastating health concerns for them later in life.

The concerns of eating foods high in sodium and fat is hypertension (commonly known as high blood pressure). Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure. Even moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy.

People who suffer hypertension are recommended to follow an eating regiment that reduces the amount of sodium and fat in their diet. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association both promote and highly recommend that hypertension sufferers take on the DASH diet to lower their high blood pressure.

The DASH Diet is an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet is based on an eating plan rich in fruits and vegetables, and low-fat or non-fat dairy. Another major feature of the plan is limiting intake of sodium, and it also generally encourages the consumption of nuts, whole grains, fish, poultry, fruits and vegetables while lowering the consumption of red meats, sweets, and sugar. It is also "rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium, as well as protein and fiber.

Actually, the DASH diet has been able to lower the blood pressure in just a few weeks for those with moderately high blood pressure. Researchers have now discovered that the DASH diet can also help improve the response of medication taken by those with very high levels of blood pressure.

Other benefits of the DASH diet include reduced risks of stroke and heart disease and helps to reduce cholesterol. When combined with weight loss and exercise can help reduce insulin resistance.

The DASH diet plan calls for eating, on a daily basis, the following:

• Grains and grain products (include at least 3 whole grain foods each day) 7 - 8 servings
• Fruits 4 - 5 servings
• Vegetables 4 - 5 servings
• Low fat or non fat dairy foods 2 - 3 servings
• Lean meats, fish, poultry 2 servings or less
• Nuts, seeds, and legumes 4 - 5 servings per week
• Fats and sweets limited servings

The DASH diet is a guideline of nutritional foods that will help reduce blood pressure. The DASH Diet Action Plan: Based on the National Institutes of Health Research: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension is a great guide that has 28 days of meal plans, recipes and guidance for eating at restaurants and fast food places. It will help you create your own Dash Diet Action Plan.

Before going on a diet plan it is important to make sure it will work for you. Do your research and read testimonials from consumers who have tried the diet plan that made them successful in losing weight, getting fit and getting healthy.

The DASH Diet does work and is not only recommended for those suffering from hypertension, but for those looking for a healthy eating plan.

Dark Chocolate The Healthy Valentines Day Choice

Dark Chocolate is being heralded by researchers and consumers alike because it is one of the few sweet indulgences that have tremendous health benefits. In extensive scientific research, dark chocolate has been found to contain flavanoids, which is good for your heart - what a perfect gift for your Valentine!

The importance of antioxidants is their ability to protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark Chocolate contains nearly eight times the number of flavonoids found in strawberries.

Flavonoids have also been found to help blood pressure and even balance hormonal levels in humans. Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

Besides these outstanding benefits, dark chocolate stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure. It also contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant. Dark chocolae also contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants.

Chocolate does contain fat but only one third of the fat is bad for you. That's because dark chocolate contains Oleic Acid which is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil. It also contains Stearic Acid which researchers have shown to have a neutral effect on cholesterol levels in the body. The "bad" fat in dark chocolate comes from the Palmitic oil, which is a saturated fat that does raise cholesterol and heart risks.

The benefits of dark chocolate are obvious, however it has a high calorie content. Most of the studies show that only 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate are enough to get the health benefits.

Eating half a bar of dark chocolate (200 calories) instead of a whole bar (400 calories) is enough to get the benefit and save you 200 calories.

One note: researchers now believe that washing down chocolate with a glass of milk may prevent the antioxidants from being absorbed and used by your body.

Many people ask why does dark chocolate have more benefits that milk or white chocolate. The answer is simple. Dark chocolate has a 65% or higher level of cocoa content.

Dark chocolate is a perfect gift for Valentines Day. It's sweet, healthy, and shows that special someone that you really care!

Increase Your Metabolism and Speed Up Fat Loss

Many people dedicate themselves to a fitness and exercise program but struggle with the nutrition component of their health program. What many feel to realize is that nutrition plays a bigger role in fat and weight loss than exercise and physical training. Here are some techniques to boost your fat loss efforts:

1. Engage in aerobic exercise for 30-60 minutes MOST days of the week and an additional 15-30 minutes in the afternoon/evening. My peers in the fitness industry may suggest less time per week but I find that the body is designed to be active daily and maintaining a strong workout schedule boosts the metabolism. Always remember that you can break your workouts into shorter sessions to meet your schedule and personal obligations.

2. When exercising, use interval training and weight training sessions at least three times a week. Both techniques push the body to use carbohydrate and fat stores in the body. Weight training also builds lean muscle mass which increases your metabolism.

3. If you are performing weight training and cardiovascular exercise in the same day, weight train first because it will burn carbohydrates for the first 30 minutes so that the calories you burn during cardiovascular exercise will come from fat.

4. Always look for ways to be active throughout the day. Walking up the stairs instead of using elevators and walking as much as possible throughout the day will add up to meet your fitness goals.

5. Exercise in the morning when you can because it will help to control your appetite all day long and decrease food cravings.

6. Do not hold your breath and breathe deeply during exercise because your body needs oxygen to effectively burn fat and boost your metabolism.

Once you have the fitness component in place, you should take a look at your dietary habits to boost your metabolism.

7. First of all, drink water, water, and more water. Drinking cold water throughout the day actually encourages your body to get rid of excess water, increases your body’s core temperature which stimulates your metabolism and promotes cleansing of the body.

8. Always eat breakfast and eat 5-6 smaller meals a day (every 3 hours).

9. Eat the majority of your calories earlier in the day when your body is active and able to burn more calories than during sleep.

10. Cycle your calories so that for 3 days, you eat the minimum calorie requirement for your body weight and then eat an additional 400 calories on the fourth day. Continue to cycle your calories this way to boost your metabolism.

11. Drink green tea and make sure your smaller meals include a complex carbohydrate, a protein, and good fats like coconut oil or olive oil.

12. Eat at least 1,200 calories per day. Otherwise, your body will think that it is starving and will hold on to fat stores instead of burning excess calories.

13. Avoid empty-calorie foods and beverages like sodas or alcohol which dehydrate your body, slow your metabolism, do not satisfy your hunger, and add to the calories you have to burn later.

Don’t forget to avoid stress and sleep well (7-8 hours) to improve your results.


source: http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/increase-your-metabolism-and-boost-your-fat-loss-naturally

The Truth About The Goji Berry And Weight Loss

The Goji berry is being called the miracle berry because of its nutritional benefits as well as a great tool for losing weight. Its leaves may be used to make tea for traditional Chinese medicine treatment of inflammatory and some types of skin diseases. But what exactly is the Goji Berry and what is the truth about its medicinal aspects?

The Goji Berry, also known as the Wolfberry, is a fruit that has been used medicinally in China for thousands of years. Although its original habitat is obscure, the wolfberry (goji) species currently grow in many world regions. Only in China, however, is there significant commercial cultivation.

This fruit goes by many other names including Chinese wolfberry, goji berry, barbary matrimony vine, bocksdorn, Duke of Argyll's tea tree, murali (in India), red medlar or matrimony vine. You will also find it in health food stores under the names Tibetan goji and Himalayan goji.

Goji berries are incredibly nutritious. For their weight -- a daily serving is only 10 to 30 grams -- goji berries have more vitamin C than oranges, more beta carotene than carrots and more iron than steak. Beta carotene is believed to help fight heart disease and also protects the skin from sun damage. Goji berries are also a good source of B vitamins and antioxidants, which protect against harmful free radicals that damage cells in your body. They’re also rich in polysaccharides, which aid the immune system, have 18 kinds of amino acids, and are a rich source of potassium. And, as if protecting your heart, skin and immune system weren’t enough, beta carotene and antioxidants are thought to help fight cancer.

In fact, the claim that goji berry producers frequently refer to is the fruit’s supposed cancer-fighting power. This ability, they say, stems from goji berries’ high antioxidant content. Antioxidants are actually a class of vitamins that includes beta carotene and vitamins E and C. Goji berries rate highly in terms of Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), a test developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Here are ORAC values (in units per 100 grams) for some foods with high amounts of antioxidants:

Prunes – 5,770
Raisins – 2,830
Blueberries – 2,400
Kale – 1,770
Strawberries – 1,540
Spinach – 1,260
Brussels sprouts – 980
Plums – 949
Oranges – 750

A May 2008 clinical study published by the peer-reviewed Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine indicated that parametric data, including body weight, did not show significant differences between subjects receiving Goji berry juice and subjects receiving the placebo. The study concluded that subjective measures of health were improved and suggested further research in humans was necessary.

However, in the west, none of this research has been scientifically verified, confirmed in clinical studies, or accepted by regulatory authorities.

Two published case reports described elderly women who experienced increased bleeding after drinking wolfberry tea.

Goji berries contain many nutrients and phytochemicals, including:

11 essential and 22 trace dietary minerals
18 amino acids
6 essential vitamins
8 polysaccharides and 6 monosaccharides
5 unsaturated fatty acids, including the essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid
beta-sitosterol and other phytosterols
5 carotenoids, including beta-carotene and zeaxanthin (below), lutein, lycopene and cryptoxanthin, a xanthophyll
numerous phenolic pigments (phenols) associated with antioxidant properties

Calcium - contain 112 mg per 100 gram serving, providing about 8-10% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI).
Potassium - contain 1,132 mg per 100 grams dried fruit, giving about 24% of the DRI.
Iron - have 9 mg iron per 100 grams (100% DRI).
Zinc - 2 mg per 100 grams dried fruit (18% DRI).
Selenium - 100 grams of dried wolfberries contain 50 micrograms (91% DRI)
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) - At 1.3 mg, 100 grams of dried wolfberries provide 100% of DRI.
Vitamin C - In dried form Goji berries have a wide range (from different sources) from 29 mg per 100 grams to as high as 148 mg per 100 grams (respectively, 32% and 163% DRI).

How Goji Berries Help You Lose Weight?
If you're like millions of other people who have difficulty losing weight, you probably engage in two common behaviors: You can't control your appetite -- especially your cravings for sugary, starchy foods -- and you don't have enough energy to exercise regularly. Nutrient-rich goji berries directly target these two weight-losing obstacles.

The Vicious Cycle of Cravings
High-calorie sugary and starchy foods tend to have little nutritional value. Instead, they trigger a hormonal reaction that leads to uncontrollable cravings. The process works like this:

You eat a sugary, starchy food and your body quickly converts it to blood sugar.
Your levels of blood sugar spike upward.
In response, your pancreas produces a high level of insulin.
Your blood sugar levels crash.
The roller-coaster effect causes cravings for more sugary, starchy foods.
The cycle repeats.
The speed at which a food converts to blood sugar (glucose) is measured on a numerical scale known as the glycemic index (GI). The lower the GI of a food, the more slowly it converts to blood sugar and the less likely it is to stimulate uncontrollable urges to eat empty calories.

The Low Glycemic Index of Goji Berries
On the glycemic index, a value of 100 is assigned to pure glucose. Foods rated at 70 or higher are considered high-GI, while foods rated below 55 are considered low GI and are more likely to satisfy rather than increase the appetite. Here's how the GI of goji berries compare with some other fruits:

Goji berry - 29
Apple - 38
Orange - 42
Banana - 25
Cantaloupe - 65
Raisins - 64
Watermelon - 72

More Ways of Controlling Appetite
Goji berries have additional characteristics that help control blood sugar and appetite. They contain 21 percent fiber by weight. High fiber foods are filling and moderate blood sugar levels. The berries are also a good source of chromium, a mineral that aids in blood sugar control. Chromium may also help to preserve lean muscle mass during weight loss. Muscle burns more calories than fat, promoting a more efficient metabolism, which makes it easier to prevent weight gain.

Burning Food for Energy
Goji berries are rich in several nutrients that help to convert food into energy rather than storing it as fat:

B1 (thiamin): The vitamin is essential for converting carbohydrates into energy and for healthy thyroid function. A sluggish thyroid gland promotes weight gain.
Calcium: In addition to supporting healthy bones, adequate calcium has been linked to lower levels of body fat.
Other minerals: A balanced combination of essential minerals is necessary for efficient protein metabolism. In addition to calcium and chromium, goji berries contain copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium and zinc.

Promoting Lean Muscle
A lean body burns food as fuel rather than storing calories as fat. When we are young, abundant levels of human growth hormone help to keep our bodies lean. As we age, declining growth hormone supplies are a key factor that contributes to less muscle mass and greater fat storage.

Supporting Regular Exercise
Successful and permanent weight loss requires regular physical activity. A few years ago, a study of 4,000 people in the National Weight Loss Registry found that they had lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for more than 5 years. Nine out of ten successful losers spent between an hour and 90 minutes daily doing moderate-to-intense exercise. Goji berries help to provide energy for sufficient daily physical activity to lose weight and keep it off.

Many experts believe that adding the Goji berry with a Mediterranean Diet is a very effective method to lose weight.

What You Need To Know About Metabolism And Weight Loss

Are you interested in finding out how metabolism burns calories, how it affects your weight and ways you can burn more calories for greater weight loss?

If you are, then you need to know a common myth that a slim person's metabolism is high and an overweight person's metabolism is low. This is not usually the case. Weight isn't necessarily directly linked to metabolism.

Instead, weight is dependent on the balance of total calories consumed versus total calories burned. Take in more calories than your body needs, and you gain weight. Take in less and you lose weight. Metabolism, then, is the engine that burns these calories. Maximizing your metabolism is the most effective way to lose weight.

Metabolism: Converting food into energy
Stated simply, metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. During this complex biochemical process, calories — from carbohydrates, fats and proteins — are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function.

The number of calories your body burns each day is called your total energy expenditure. The following three factors make up your total energy expenditure:

Basic needs. Even when your body is at rest, it requires energy for the basics, such as fuel for organs, breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, plus growing and repairing cells. Calories expended to cover these basic functions are your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Typically, a person's BMR is the largest portion of energy use, representing two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories used each day. Energy needs for these basic functions stay fairly consistent and aren't easily changed.
Food processing. Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day. For the most part, your body's energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.
Physical activity. Physical activity — such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and any other movement — accounts for the remainder of calories used. You control the number of calories burned depending on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities.

Metabolism and your weight
It may seem logical to think that significant weight gain or being overweight is related to a low metabolism or possibly even a condition such as underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). In reality, it's very uncommon for excess weight to be related to a low metabolism. And most people who are overweight don't have an underlying condition, such as hypothyroidism. However, a medical evaluation can determine whether a medical condition could be influencing your weight.

Weight gain is more likely due to an energy imbalance — consuming more calories than your body burns. To lose weight, then, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories, increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity, or preferably both.

Influences on your calorie needs
If you and everyone else were physically and functionally identical, it would be easy to determine the standard energy needs. But many factors influence calorie requirements, including body size and composition, age, and sex.

Body size and composition. To function properly, a bigger body mass requires more energy (more calories) than does a smaller body mass. Also, muscle burns more calories than fat does. So the more muscle you have in relation to fat, the higher your basal metabolic rate.
Age. As you get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight. Metabolism also slows naturally with age. Together these changes reduce your calorie needs.
Sex. Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than do women of the same age and weight. This is why men generally have a higher basal metabolic rate and burn more calories than women do.

For more information on effective diet plans and losing weight, always do your diet plan research and put emphasis on consumer testimonials instead of the diet plan sales pitch.