Published September 18, 2009 | Healthy Fat Loss – Pros and Cons of a Raw Food Diet
If you follow dieting trends at all, then you probably know that a new weight loss method crops up every few months or so. From cabbage soup to green tea, fat pills , Atkins, and South Beach, there’s a different approach for everyone. The raw food diet is one of the latest health fads going around, so I thought it would be a good idea to examine what this method is all about prior to trying it out. Here’s what I learned.
The basic principle of the raw food diet being a healthy fat loss diet is that we lose too many essential enzymes and nutrients during the cooking process. Foods in their natural state are most beneficial to our bodies, so we should avoid heating anything to more than 116 degrees F. (I’m not exactly sure where that temperature comes from, but many different raw food diet websites mentioned it, so I decided to repeat it here.) When we eat naturally like this, we’ll be healthier as a result. People following a strict raw food diet generally eat things like fresh fruits and vegetables, uncooked meat, fish, or eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, and anything else that is organic and unprocessed.
The proponents of this healthy fat loss type of raw food diet believe that there are many benefits associated with it. For instance, they say you’ll have more energy, will lose weight, and will rejuvenate your skin as a result of not consuming processed sugar or refined white flour, both of which have been blamed for Americans’ bulging waistlines. In addition, followers of the raw food diet will decrease their risk of heart disease and improve bodily functions such as digestion. In other words, you’re essentially eliminating a bunch of toxins from your body when you stop eating processed foods, so all of these positive changes should follow.
But there are some drawbacks to the raw food diet as well. For one thing, eating uncooked meat and eggs carries a significant risk of bacteria-related illness if you don’t store or handle the items properly. Salmonella, E. coli, and listeria can all come into play from handling some uncooked foods. In addition, it can be difficult to get the recommended daily levels of calcium, iron, or protein from strictly following this weight loss method, so your health could suffer in other ways or you might have to take fat loss supplements to make up for any deficiencies.
After reading about the raw food diet, I’m still on the fence about whether or not this approach is for me. While I certainly agree with some of the potential benefits, especially the part about cutting out sugar and flour, I can’t imagine eating uncooked eggs or meat, so I would be a partial follower at best. Would I still see good results that way? Maybe I should give it a try for a while and see how it works out!
From BetterFatLoss.com, post Healthy Fat Loss –
Post Footer automatically generated by wp-posturl plugin for wordpress.
Mail this post
Published September 1, 2009 | It seems that everywhere you turn these days, there’s another study that tells people what they should or shouldn’t eat in order to promote good health. Often, this advice conflicts with beliefs or practices that were widespread a decade or so before. For instance, bread and grains used to be at the bottom of the Food Pyramid, with experts recommending at least 5 servings per day. But now carbohydrates have become one of the most vilified food groups around, and are blamed for everything from potbellies to cavities. Give it another 10 years, and carbs will be in again!
One thing that all the experts do seem to agree on is that heart disease remains a major health hazard to Americans. Therefore, it’s important to try to lower your cholesterol any way you can. If you already have a serious problem, then your doctor probably has you on a prescription drug regimen, or even better an effective herbal supplement , to help regulate levels. If you’re just a bit on the high side and want to rein things in before they get out of hand, then there are lots of ways to lower your cholesterol naturally.
The best way to do this is by exercising regularly. Though doctors aren’t 100 percent sure what the connection is, current thinking suggests that exercise helps jump start the enzymes responsible for moving low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from your bloodstream to your liver, where it is subsequently turned into bile and excreted. So the more you exercise, the more stimulation those critical enzymes receive, and the lower your cholesterol becomes.
Another way to lower your cholesterol is by modifying your diet. Cutting out or greatly reducing your intake of red meat, fried foods, and other animal-based products can yield the desired effect of lowering the body’s LDL levels. You can substitute these fatty foods with healthier choices like chicken, turkey, or fish, and can also add whole grains, such as oatmeal, and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pistachios.
If exercise and a better diet aren’t helping lower your cholesterol significantly enough, you can try taking some supplements as well. There are various herbal supplements on the market that are said to have a positive effect on LDL. Although these claims are not approved or endorsed by the FDA, many people have reported success with ingredients like garlic, turmeric, red yeast rice, artichoke leaf extract, and other herbs. In addition, fish oil supplements with EPA and DHA are widely regarded as effective products that can help lower your cholesterol.
As you can see, there are lots of things you can do to limit your risk of heart disease. By using these tips to lower your cholesterol, you can enjoy better health and a longer life. I think the tradeoff is worth it!
From BetterFatLoss.com, post Fat Loss Supplements – Herbal
Post Footer automatically generated by wp-posturl plugin for wordpress.
Mail this post
Recent Comments