General Health Articles

Safe dieting can be great. Dieting need not conjure up images of starved people or sickening food; there is such a thing as safe dieting provided you follow some basic ground rules. You can follow a preplanned safe diet or devise one of your own if you eat fewer calories than you usually do and burn off more calories through exercise than your body is accustomed to.

There is no one formula for a safe diet; any meal plan that involves healthy controlled choices from all food groups coupled with exercise can be labeled a safe diet. If you are pregnant or if you suffer from any heart ailment or other medical condition, even the safest of diets should be discussed and approved by your health care professional.

Lose a Pound a Week

This may sound like too slow a weight loss program, but it is something that is achievable by simple changes to your lifestyle and can be categorized as a safe diet. Losing 6 pounds a week may sound great but it is difficult to maintain and sometimes the pounds pile on again.

A simple way to lose a pound a week is to burn 500 calories a day. You can do this by eating 250 calories less and burning 250 calories on an exercise machine. 500 calories multiplied by 7 days in a week is equal to 3500 calories that is one pound. Just saying no to extra cheese and biggie size options alone can save you 250 calories and brisk walking on the treadmill for around 40 minutes at around 3.5 miles an hour can expend 250 calories.

It may sound like a lot of numbers, but the math in this safe diet is very simple.

No Scams

Another aspect of safe dieting is not to fall for gimmicks with pills, powders and patches not approved by the FDA. So many advertising dollars are spent online, on TV and in print about how a miracle pill can make you shrink 10 dress sizes or how you can look good in a bikini in just one week! Don’t be tempted by taking these short cuts; they just may land you in the hospital. So many people have heard about the complications that ephedra-based products had and many lawsuits have been filed against other such ‘doctor-recommended’ safe diets. The people in the advertisements aren’t even really doctors as the fine print often states and the side effects can greatly outweigh the short term benefits.

Be inspired by celebrities like Kirstie Alley and now Ricki Lake who have lost tremendous amounts of weight by safe dieting and exercise as opposed to a fad diet that is in fashion one day and out the window the next.

Lose the word “diet” from your vocabulary!

According to Miller Jones, a professor of nutrition and food science at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. 4th graders are aware of the word diet, especially the girls.One of the world’s largest study of weight loss has shown that diets do not work for the vast majority of slimmers and may even put lives at risk.

This type of yo-yo behavior is linked to many health problems. Because of the strain on the body of repeated weight loss and weight gain, the researchers found that the dieters would have been better off not dieting at all. Research has shown the repeated rapid weight gain and loss associated with dieting can double the risk of death from heart disease, including heart attacks, and the risk of premature death in general.

For starters…

When you think ‘diet’ you are actively engaging in short term thinking. When you start to think of it as something you go on and then off again, that’s the wrong direction. Some of the BEST resources on nutrition are not diets. They are eating plans. They are how to eat healthy for life programs. They teach you how to eat correctly for everyday living. There’s nothing short term about them.

“The benefits of dieting are simply too small and the potential harms of dieting are too large for it to be recommended as a safe and effective treatment for obesity.” -Dr Traci Mann

A quick test is to simply look at any given plan and immediately ask yourself…

Is this something I can do for life?

Frankly…

If you are overweight, then thinking in the short term is exactly why you could be doomed to fail! As you bounce from one plan to the next, you become more and more frustrated.

FACT: Many diets that use a severe calorie restriction just makes it harder to lose the weight the next time.

FACT: Some studies show that repeated weight loss and regain actually increase the changes you’ll gain even more weight the next time.

FACT: Studies consistently find that people who report the most exercise also have the most weight loss.

Now with all this in mind…

No matter what eating plan you choose or what your goals, just drop the word ‘diet’ from your vocabulary and pick a plan you can stick with for life. That encourages slow weight loss or weight gain. That doesn’t “demonize” foods but helps you pick and choose from healthy alternatives and explains the reasons why.

If you are always changing your eating habits for special events or every 8 weeks, you might be dieting. That’s the time to take a step back and learn all you can about nutrition. Learning how to eat correctly is something you can stick with for life and avoid the common frustrations.

Learn exactly how to eat, what to eat and when to eat it. No more dangerous and frustrating diets. Marc David is a natural bodybuilder and author of the, Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding. You can get info on Marc’s e-book at: http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com To get Marc’s free e-zine with the 6 Simple Steps to Successfully creating your personal nutrition plan, visit http://www.JustAskMarc.com

Yes, it’s true that the majority of the hoodia diet pills sold today are fake, but that’s not what this article is about. Consumers have always had to be careful about buying hoodia supplements to avoid being scammed, but now there may be another issue they need to think about – the potency of the supplements they’re buying.

Up until recently, supplements that contained authentic hoodia gordonii contained the wild grown variety. Today, however, most authentic hoodia supplements contain cultivated hoodia gordonii. The obvious question is what’s the difference between the two? They’re the same exact plant but one grows in the wild and the other one is commercially farmed like any other crop. The biggest difference between the two, however, may be the potency.

According to one of the largest raw hoodia importers in the world, wild grown hoodia has higher levels of the active ingredient, P57, the ingredient responsible for hoodia’s appetite suppressant benefits. The reason wild hoodia supposedly has more P57 is because it has been left to grow longer than cultivated hoodia. The hoodia gordonii plant must be left to grow for at least 5-6 years before it reaches maximum potency. The wild grown hoodia that has been used the past few years in supplements was at least five years old before it was harvested.

The cultivated hoodia that is now predominantly used in supplements is being harvested too soon, according to this hoodia importer. They claim it is being harvested after only two or three years – about three years before it reaches maximum potency. What you get in the end is a supplement that isn’t as effective as it should be.

Not all agree with this assessment, however. There are other hoodia insiders that claim the wild hoodia gordonii stock hasn’t been exhausted. Yet, other insiders I’ve spoken to say wild hoodia is indeed completely gone right now and the only hoodia available is the cultivated variety. Furthermore, these same insiders claim that the cultivated hoodia is equally as potent as wild hoodia gordonii so consumers don’t need to worry.

Who do you believe? Unfortunately, there isn’t standard testing done with hoodia diet pills to test for potency. There are tests that are done all the time by independent labs to determine if a given supplement contains authentic hoodia gordonii, but they don’t test the levels of P57. I doubt that such testing is even feasible. After all, how much would it cost to have every bottle tested for the specific levels of P57?

Regardless of who you believe in this debate there is one thing for certain – if the wild hoodia gordonii isn’t already depleted, it probably will be soon. If the majority of the supplements today don’t contain cultivated hoodia they probably will in the near future. That leads us back to the potency question. Are the hoodia supplements made today as effective as they used to be?

It appears we won’t have a conclusive answer anytime soon. I guess the only thing a consumer can do is monitor their own response to the hoodia diet pills they’re taking. If the pills don’t work as well as they used to at the same dosage, then more hoodia gordonii may need to be taken as today’s hoodia supplements may indeed be less potent than those in the past.

Can acne be caused by the food we eat? It is suggested that sensitivity to progesterone can cause flare ups when certain products are consumed. The foods, such as dairy, organ meats and wheat germs are known to contain male hormones. Would these people need to avoid such foods for the rest of their lives?

High in iodine foods, shellfish, leafy vegetables including spinach and cabbage, and peanuts are other potential problem foods. If you have a acne problem, experiment with your diet. If you crave certain foods that may aggravate this problem curtail consumption to see it there really is a difference in acne activity

If you have a special sensitivity to a food, small amounts of anything - even soft drinks, chocolates will not make a major difference.

One of the more widely spread (and often believed) myths about acne is that it is caused by dirt or grime. It’s more likely to be because of oily skin, in which case simply washing regularly with either a mild soap, special acne skin cleanser or even antiseptic soap and warm water can make a big difference to controlling and managing oily skin. And don’t forget to keep your hair clean - again, depending on your skin type, your hair can also become extreme oily if not cared for properly.

Acne comes second only to premature aging in the charts for skin disease. If you are a sufferer you will likely be aware that flare ups will always occur before a special event. You can put all the blame on testosterone produced by the adrenal glands which are trying to help you deal with the stress of that interview, wedding or important presentation.

The bad news is that acne cannot be cured, but the good news is that it can be treated. If you’re suffering with only mild acne, then some form of non prescription (over the counter) acne medication will no doubt have a positive impact for you. If you have bad or severe acne you will definitely need to see a doctor to get some professional advice.

A vitamin A deficiency can lead to skin problems. Not all cases of acne call for professional attention. An occasional blemish or pimple could be called “drugstore acne”. Topical antibiotics prevent about fifty per cent of blemishes, and are a significant breakthrough for treating average acne.

However, if an acne sufferer misuses the over-the-counter medications, it may not work. You have to follow instructions carefully and not switch from one product to the other until after a six-week trial. Only then will you be able to decide the degree of any one product’s effectiveness.

There are more drastic medical procedures available that can clear blackheads, whiteheads and cysts. It won’t prevent the next batch though. Never squeeze or pick acne. This will only aggravate the condition and could leave scarring. To try and lessen the chance of those lesions appearing in the first place, do not use greasy cream to clean your face - antibacterial soap and water are best.

Everyone is looking for the easy way out for all sorts of things. Losing weight is no exception. You can find plenty of diets to follow by going to a bookstore or even searing on the net. Just because they’re out there doesn’t mean they’re effective.

Low carb diets do work in getting some weight off but it isn’t the low carb part that helps, its the low calorie part that works. You’d have the same result if you were to go on a low fat diet and you’ll also enjoy some health benefits. When you’re on one of these diets you usually increase your intake of meats which are high in saturated fat. Too much of this fat can increase cholesterol and cause heart disease.

If you don’t like food you can go on a detox diet. These are nothing more than diets in which you starve yourself. Typically you buy a few days supply of drinks and take in nothing but them. You get little if an calories or nutrients that your body needs to survive. The problem is that you aren’t losing any real weight. You’re getting rid of stored water which will come back as soon as you drink any liquid.

Diets that are based off of a single food (cabbage soup, lemonade, grapefruit diet…) will work because you’re starving yourself and reducing calories. There’s nothing special about cabbage or grapefruit that will help you lose weight. These diets are unhealthy and can even be dangerous if you stick to them for too long.

When we want something so bad we often look for the quick and easy way to do it. Unfortunately this way rarely works. Losing weight is sometimes difficult and requires some time to accomplish. You didn’t gain the weight overnight and you can’t lose it that quickly either.

Every three months my Doctor requires his adult patients to have a blood test and he checks for routine problems and trends. Five months ago at my visit I tipped the scale at 246 pounds. My Doctor said to me: “You have to loose weight!” He is lean and trim so I asked, “How do you keep yourself so trim?” He said: “I skip breakfast, skip lunch and have a steak and a martini every night for dinner”. It got me thinking.

My clothes did not fit. I could not wear my favorite shirts. I looked terrible in photographs. The worst thing was that I was in a slow but sure spiral of weight gain that amounted to about 80 pounds since my days in college. The choice was clear: either keep gaining weight or do something about it to reverse the trend.

I am a person with a slow metabolism and a big appetite. As a child I was heavy. In High School and College/Law School because of heavy exercise I was trim for about 15 years. After I gained weight, the only two diets that seemed to work were the Drinking Man’s Diet and the Dr. Atkins diet. There were two problems with these diets. My Doctor said they were unhealthy and when I deviated from them, the weight just came back on plus more weight like a cherry on the top of a chocolate Sunday.

I found a way to eat as much as I want, not be hungry, loose weight, gain muscle that I call The Gregg Diet. The plan is very simple. Here are the seven rules:

1) Skip one meal per day.
2) Eat as little fat as possible
3) Exercise for at least 45 minutes per day
4) No alcohol allowed
5) Do not cheat on the above four rules more than one day per week
6) Weight yourself every day at approximately the same time of day
7) Stick to it on a permanent basis

In the Gregg Diet you do not count calories. Eat as many vegetables and as much fish as you wish, plus some fruit like bananas, peaches, blueberries, etc. Drink as much water and sugar free liquids as you can. Here are some of the tricks I have learned plus my secret rub.

The rub makes all fish taste better. You can fry it in canola oil, or broil it after you put a little olive oil on the fish then the rub. Plus you can put half a teaspoon in a cup of chicken or vegetable broth, put this in the microwave for 3 minutes and it fills you up like a real meal.

The Rub Recipe: (amounts are approximate and subject to your own tastes)

5% garlic salt
5% smoked salt
5% cumin seed
5% fennel seed
10% paprika
15% hot pepper flakes
55% chili powder- mix several varieties to make it interesting

Salad trick: for the dressing use no oil, balsamic vinegar and add a can of anchovies if you like them.

Snack trick: eat shredded mini-wheat cereal with extra artificial sweetener and add some cinnamon and/or clove powder on the top. No milk.

Ahi Tuna trick: cover with rub and fry in smoking hot canola oil for one minute per side per inch thick (i.e. two minutes per side if fish is two inches thick). Remove from heat immediately.

Drink trick: Diet Snapple with extra artificial sweetener

My doctor could not believe it. After the nurse weighted me, he took me back to the scale to verify the weight loss. The best part is I am continuing to loose weight, my blood pressure is down and the statistics on my cholesterol are the best ever.

The bottom line: The Gregg Diet works. The Rub is a wonderful way to spice up your life. You can eat hearty and rich and loose weight at the same time.

Mr. Elberg is a licensed attorney and licensed real estate broker. Gregg Financial Services is a full service brokerage for commercial finance companies and banks that fund B2B businesses. Mr. Elberg arranges funding from $25,000 to $50 million per month at competitive pricing, and works to reduce your financing costs as your company grows. For more information about GFS, please call 888 482 9221 or visit our website: http://www.greggfinancialservices.com

The momentum of the raw food diet is continually growing, at a very rapid pace.
Many see it as outrageously extreme and far to limiting.

In fact, this is the initial reaction of a lot of people that then go on to actually experiment with the raw food diet, and often sticking with it.

The reasons that people move to the raw side of things are varied;

to lose weight, to increase energy, to look as good as Demi Moore or to simplify their life.

It doesn’t matter what gets you there, but once you are there, if you do it correctly, you will very quickly feel the benefits.

Often it will take two or three weeks for people to start to feel the raw energy buzz. Two or three weeks of you life, however, is not much, if what you get in return are the following:

Weight Loss

Weight loss on the raw food diet is almost a guarantee.

Occasionally, people that are very thin due to lack of absorption of nutrients will gain weight. People who have pounds of unhealthy weight, will see it melt off on the raw food diet.

Even those people that just have two or three kilos extra on their bones will soon feel a lot lighter.

This author went from 62kg to 55kg from practicing the raw food diet.

Increased Energy

Energy increase on the raw food diet is a guarantee.

There are occasional hiccups where a particular person finds that they need to include more of a certain food to feel that energy. After a little experimentation, the energy comes. Always.

Clear Mind

One of my favorite benefits of the raw food diet is the clarity of mind that it brings.
Once you get rid of the coffee from your diet, and begin to include fresh juices, sprouts and healthy fats, your mind, like everything else, begins to work twenty times better.

Have you ever sat at your desk, in a daze, for ten minutes, unable to formulate a simple plan for the day? This does not mean you are stupid, lacking in concentration or in some way hindered. It means that your brain is simply not clear, due to an unhealthy body.

This will be a thing of the past on a raw food diet.

No More ‘Normal’ Ailments

No more colds.

No more flu.

Say goodbye to allergies, varicose veins, acne, dandruff, constipation, athletes foot, arthritis, and the list goes on. What ‘common’ ailment do you have right now that hinders your existence? It is not NORMAL that you should have to contend with this. It will all go once you are on the raw food diet.

They will not disappear overnight, as it took you years to pick up these problems, but they will go. All thanks to the raw food diet.