Is Bread Making You Fat?

Hi, well another 2lbs weight loss this morning so I'm very pleased.  That's a total of 12lbs now in a matter of weeks and I'm beginning to change my shape so onwards and upwards for me

Below is an article from Isabel on Grains and Bread which may help if you are struggling with your Weight Loss

 Grains

For several million years, humans survived on a diet of animals and plants. As hunter gatherers, they ate whatever they could find. With the introduction of new farming practices 10,000 years ago, humans began eating sugar and starch (in the form of grains and potatoes).

Although 10,000 years sounds like a long time, it’s really only a fraction of a second in evolutionary terms and the human body and digestive system have not evolved to process and digest high amounts of carbohydrates from starch and sugar rich diets. Genetically speaking, humans still have the bodies of cavemen.

Carbohydrates

Most Americans eat far too many carbohydrates—in the form of bread, cereal, pasta, corn (a grain, not a vegetable), rice, potatoes, and processed cakes and snacks—with severe consequences to their health.  Making matters worse, most of these carbohydrates are consumed in the form of processed foods. After 130 years of consuming highly processed grains in the form of breads, pastries, and cereals, chronic diseases such as heart disease, elevated cholesterol, and obesity are rampant among most industrialized nations.

I do not suggest that everyone should follow a low-carbohydrate diet; everyone needs a certain amount of carbohydrates. What most people haven’t realized is that the body’s storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, and any excess is stored as fat. Therefore, it is important to remember that vegetables and fruits also contain carbohydrates.

Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates generates a rapid rise in blood glucose (sugar). To compensate for this increase, the pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers the glucose. Insulin, though, is essentially a hormone that stores excess carbohydrate calories (as fat in the thighs, abdomen, and buttocks) in case of famine. Even worse, high insulin levels suppress two other important hormones: glucagon and human growth hormone, which regulate the burning of fat and promote muscle development, respectively. So, the insulin from excess carbohydrates promotes fat, and then inhibits the body’s ability to lose that fat.

The goal to successful weight loss is to first find the right quantity of carbohydrates that provide enough fuel and energy for the day (but not so many that we end up storing most of it as fat), then consume the right kind of carbohydrates to feel good and satiated after a meal.

Bread

Probably the most consumed and most popular of all carbohydrates among Americans is bread. Americans consume far too much bread, and the negative effects of its consumption are manifest in poor health and excess weight. Americans also consume the wrong kinds of bread.

The only bread allowed on the Diet Solution Program is Food for Life brand’s Ezekiel organic sprouted whole grain products. The process of sprouting changes a grain’s composition in numerous ways to make it more beneficial as a food. It increases the content of vitamins dramatically.

The whole wheat bread that the American public has been led to believe is healthy contains processed wheat, which is deficient in nutrients. Hence the extremely high prevalence among Americans of digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and constipation.

Chronic constipation can lead to many potentially dangerous health disorders and also can make losing weight quite difficult. Simply replacing bread with sprouted grain bread can radically improve your digestion and your ability to lose weight.

Note that if you are intolerant of gluten or wheat, then you also will be intolerant of Ezekiel organic sprouted whole grain bread. Even though sprouted grains are healthy foods for most people, the Ezekiel ingredients include wheat and other grains that contain gluten.

Gluten Intolerance

Many people cannot digest gluten—a protein found in wheat and some other grains that forms the structure of bread dough and suffer from mild to severe gluten intolerance. Possible symptoms of gluten intolerance include

abdominal pain and cramping

bloating and flatulence

bone and joint pain

chronic diarrhoea

emotional disturbances such as anxiety and depression

fatigue (especially after eating gluten containing foods)

infertility

painful skin rash

weight gain or the inability to lose weight

If you suspect that you may be intolerant to gluten, I encourage you to eliminate gluten from your diet for at least 4–6 weeks to determine whether your symptoms are alleviated.

If you feel relief  after following a gluten-free diet for 4–6 weeks, then you may be able to maintain a healthy weight more easily without gluten. Because most individuals who are intolerant to gluten also are intolerant to dairy, lactose, or both, I encourage you to also eliminate dairy and dairy containing products while you’re on a gluten free diet.

Eliminating Grains

Many health experts recommend that people who suffer from chronic disease (e.g., diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease), have struggled with obesity their whole lives, or are genetically predisposed to obesity or chronic disease completely eliminate grains from their diet.

by Isabel De Los Rios

If this post was of interest to you and you

would like to find out more then please 

Click Here

 

 

Are you Drinking Too Much?

I thought I would give you an update on my Weightloss.  I started the Diet Solutions Program last Monday and I found  it incredibly easy to follow and I couldn't believe how much I could eat !!

I weighed myself yesterday morning and Wow, I've lost 3 pounds, I wish someone had told me about this before

Have a look and see what you think - CLICK HERE

Also, an interesting article on Water

Water

If ever there were a magic potion for weight loss, water would be it. Every good nutritional program insists that you drink a minimum of 8–10 glasses of water per day. Most people don’t drink the recommended amount because they don’t fully understand how important water is in maintaining good health and losing weight.

Our bodies are composed of approximately 75% water. Any variation from the natural balance causes serious disruptions in many metabolic processes that are crucial to weight loss.

• Water helps the body metabolize stored fat.

The kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. When they are not working at full capacity, the liver must take over some of the load. The liver’s function is crucial to weight loss and if the liver has to do some of the kidneys’ work, it cannot adequately do its job (metabolizing fat). As a result, the liver metabolizes less fat, more fat is stored in the body, and weight loss becomes slow or stagnates.

• Water is crucial in ridding the body of waste.

During weight loss, the body has a lot of waste to eliminate: excess fat and stored toxins. Adequate water consumption helps the body flush out these wastes.

• Water is a natural diuretic.

Many people retain fluid and become dependent on synthetic diuretics to lose excess water weight. Surprisingly, drinking enough water is actually the best treatment for water retention. When it doesn’t get enough water, the body perceives a threat to its survival and begins to hold on to every drop of water that it can. If you give your body the amount of water that it needs, it will quickly release any retained water.

• Water is a natural laxative.

When the body does not get enough water, it takes it from other internal sources. If the colon becomes dry, stool becomes dry and difficult to pass, resulting in constipation—possibly with gas, bloating, and painful elimination. If the body receives sufficient amounts of water, the colon will be rehydrated and proper bowel function restored. To experience significant weight loss and optimal health, it is crucial to drink a sufficient amount of water every day. By “sufficient,” I mean that you should drink half your body weight (in pounds) in ounces of water each day: (body weight, in pounds/2). For example, a 200-pound person should drink 100 ounces of water.

In addition to this baseline recommendation, I suggest that you add 8 ounces of water for every 8 ounces of caffeinated beverage consumed and another 8 ounces if you have exercised. Also, drink water at room temperature. Cold water will sit in your stomach until it has warmed to body temperature; only then will it move to the small intestine for absorption. Many people mistake thirst for hunger because both sensations tell the brain that the body is in need of energy. So, a person who is dehydrated may misinterpret this feeling and end up overeating. Several studies have been done in which people were told to drink water at the first sign or feeling of hunger. In most cases, the hunger quickly passed, and subjects lost 35–40 pounds in less than a year. If you do not drink the recommended amounts of water for your weight and experience hunger pangs during the day, then chances are your body is thirsty. Because water is a natural appetite suppressant, drink 8 ounces of water at the first sign of hunger and 15 minutes before the start of every meal.

Although drinking the appropriate quantity of water is essential, it is equally important to drink high-quality water. Unfortunately, no matter where you live, tap water is contaminated with heavy metals, chlorine, and waterborne toxins. I highly recommend that you filter the drinking water in your home. If you buy bottled water, some of the best brands are Evian, Volvic, and Fiji. Glass containers are best to keep stored water fresh and pure. Plastic containers can leach plastic by-products into the water, affecting taste and purity, especially if exposed to direct sunlight, so always keep bottled water in a dark, cool area. Never purchase water in smoky plastic containers, which leak estrogenic chemicals (which can disrupt hormone levels) and phthalates (which have been linked to asthma and allergies) into the water.

Is a Silent Killer Creeping Up On You?

Well I am pleased as I weighed myself this morning and have lost 2 lbs so watching the calories certainly works.  However, as I said earlier this week I have been studying a new way of eating and I am going to start it tomorrow so watch this space and I'll let you know the results

I have just been reading through this New Plan and I came across an article on Salt which I found very interesting, see what you think...........

Salt

Many people follow a low-salt diet because they have been led to believe that salt and

sodium are bad and unhealthy. Well, this belief may only be partially true. Salt is important in the

body for several functions.

Chemically, culinary salt is NaCl—sodium chloride, made up of equal amounts sodium

(Na) and chloride (Cl). “Sodium is an essential nutrient that the body cannot manufacture, yet is

required for life itself. Chloride is vital for optimum health, it preserves the acid–base balance in

the body, aids potassium absorption, supplies the essence of digestive stomach acid, and enhances

the ability of the blood to carry carbon dioxide from respiring tissues to the lungs” (Regenerative

Nutrition n.d.). But the only way to receive all of the life-sustaining benefits of salt is to

consume the right kind of salt: unrefined sea salt, not processed table salt.

Salt has such a bad reputation because 99% of the world’s salt research has been done

on commercial table salt—the only salt that most Americans know. Some of the best scientific

research on the healthy properties of unrefined sea salt are written in French, German, and

Portuguese; unfortunately, few American doctors have read them. So instead of suggesting that

patients use unrefined sea salt, American doctors suggest avoiding salt altogether, which can be

dangerous. In many parts of France, when a person visits a physician about a heart problem or

high blood pressure, the first question asked may be, “What kind of salt do you use?”

Some doctors believe that a low-salt diet can cause high blood pressure. A salt-free diet

can damage heart valves and negatively affect the contractibility of the heart muscles. Biochemically,

cells starve without salt.

In brief, salt

aids in balancing blood sugar levels

•

is needed for the absorption of food particles through the intestinal tract

•

is a strong natural antihistamine

•

can help prevent muscle cramps

•

is needed to make bones strong

•

regulates and normalizes blood pressure

•

increases energy levels

•

helps regulate the metabolism

•

helps maintain proper electrolyte balance

•

supports the immune system

The refined white table salt typically found at the grocery store is different from unrefined

sea salt, so its effects on the body are not the same. The body cannot assimilate isolated synthetic

sodium chloride (from typical refined salt), which contains none of the valuable minerals

and trace elements of unrefined sea salt, so the system recognizes it as a poison. Refined table

salt often contains anti-caking agents, some of which are aluminum based. (Aluminum is linked

with heavy metal toxicity and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease.) One such example is sodium

silicoaluminate, which is thought to be associated with kidney problems and mineral malabsorption.

Sodium acetate, a preservative, may cause elevated blood pressure, kidney disturbances, and water

retention (Chek 2004, 78).

I recommend that you replace refined table salt with Celtic sea salt, which can be found at most

food stores.  

It is extremely healthy and has the exact opposite effect of refined salt. It provides sodium chloride

in a form that that the body needs to function. It offers the perfect balance of minerals, nutrients,

and sodium chloride that the body needs for optimum health. Your body can recognize and

absorb these essential nutrients efficiently. Ninety trace elements found in the Earth’s crust give

unrefined Celtic sea salt its vital grayish color, and its slight moistness keeps the salt and minerals

in a form that the body can assimilate (Regenerative Nutrition n.d.).

Even heart patients and people with high blood pressure can use Celtic sea salt (but they

will receive its benefits only if they eliminate all forms of processed salt, sodium, and table salt

from their diets). The heart is fed by a saline solution from the blood and lymph and requires

proper amounts of sodium and potassium to function. Without salt in the diet, the heart cannot

contract normally, and the valves may be damaged (Regenerative Nutrition n.d.). If you don’t salt

your food, add a pinch of sea salt to each liter bottle of water you drink to maintain electrolyte

and energy levels.

Clearly, salt is important to optimum health. Simply eating salty food is not the answer;

using Celtic sea salt is. As with other dietary recommendations, moderation is always essential.

by Isabel De Los Rios

For Further Nutrition Tips
Click here