Alternative Diet Programs

I never knew that there are alternative diet programs other that not eating food that constains too much fat and cholestero until I read the article publishd by WebMD entitled "Alternative Diet Programs - Topic Overview". Most alternative programs are based on the belief that one can improve their health by eating or avoiding certain foods. Alternative diet programs have been developed to stay healty, cure cancer or heart disease, lifestyle change. stress buster, arthritis and a lot more.

Some example of alternative diet programs are (according to WebMD's article):

The Pritikin Diet - Low fat and Cholesterol. Intended to prevent or reverse heart disease. Veggie-based diet program. This program encourages: 1) eating high-figer foods like whole grains, fruits and vegetables; 2) daily exercise.

The Macrobiotic Diet - Claim to improve overall health. Foods includes brown rice and whole grains. Encourages practitioner to eat certain fresh vegetable and vegetable-based soups (yum!). Discourages foods that are extremely cold, animal products like daily and eggs.

Orthomolecular Medicine - diet theraphy using naturally occuring substances like vitamins, amino acids, electrolytes, and fatty acids. Imbalance of specific nutrients is believe to be the cause of diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer and many others.

The McDougall Plan - Strictly vegetarian based on grains, vegetables, fruits and beans. Means, eggs and dairy programs are avoided. Emphasizes the importance of moderate exercise, adequate sunshine, clean air (gosh.. don't know we can find clean air these days), and confy surroundings.

The Ornish Program - developed to reverse heart disease. Consist mainly of very-low fat and vegetarian diet. This program focuses on reducing stress and encourages regular exercise.


Alternative diets like any other diet programs are safe when properly done in moderation. Too much diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problem in the long run. For a detailed information on alternative diets this site is worth a visit.



Other Sites on Alternative Diet Programs:

• Alternative Diets
• The Diet Alternative - New Year's Weight Loss Resolution
• The Alternative Balanced Diet
• Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Diet Alternative
• Vegetarian diet: A starter's guide to a plant-based diet
  

Reasons Why We Should Eat Fruits

1. Fruit consists for the largest part of water - our body needs water to replenish. This would also mean eating fruits can make your skin as healthy as possible.
   
2. Fruit is 100% Bad-Cholesterol Free - bad, bad cholesterol is not good for our health. Heart disease is commonly caused by bad cholesterol.
   
3. Fruit Stimulates Our Memories - helps you recall information easier. Fruit is the ultimate brain stimulant.
   
4. Fruit Makes You Feel Better - if you're depressed, eating fruits can keep you away from eating junk food.
   
5. Ethical Reasons To Eat Fruit - you don't have to kill or slaughter fruits before you can eat them.
   
6. Fruit is not expensive at all --- and provides the best benefits!
   
7. Fibers Fibers - a diet with plenty of fibers helps against high-blood pressure and other factors that will increase the change for a heart disease.

These are just the partial list. For a more complete list, go to The Fruit Pages - 10 Reasons To Eat Fruits

100 Smartiest Diet Tips

Ever had a failed diet before? You think that dieting is not for you because you can't really get yourself to put more effort into it? You may be doing it WRONG! 

Top Dietitians of the American Dietetic Association list down 100 smartiest diet tips to renew your commitment to dieting. Here are the partial list..

I Can Only Handle One Diet Change Right Now. What Should I Do?

1. Add just one fruit or veggie serving daily. Get comfortable with that, then add an extra serving until you reach 8 to 10 a day.
2. Eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.
   
3. Resolve never to supersize your food portions--unless you want to supersize your clothes.
   
4. Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it, and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.
   
5. Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.
   
6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit at both lunch and dinner.

Read more of the 100 Smartiest Tips here.

FatSecret.com will help you loose weight

There a new social networking site from Australia which aims to help people loose weight with the help of network friends and online resources. Users are able to find information on the best diet for their current condition among other things.



So this goes to us who want to change something to ourselves that is loosing extra "plumpy" fat!

Weight loss tips from the experts

You know your fat if you can't carry yourself over a 5 minutes of jogging or even just walking. So know you want to loss that extra pound and be more productive and confident as you used to before. Here are some tips from Kathleen Goodwin, RD and Chris Perillio (okay he's not a weight loss expert, but he is a living proof!).


Kathleen Goodwin, RD discusses the 10 Tips on What Works & Why for a successful Weight Loss:

1. Exercise - this is probably the most important activity that any weight-loss-wanting person should engaged with.
   
2. Pump iron - weight loss is still attached to weight lifting. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn.
   
3. Keep a diary - record daily what you have eaten. Track what you eat. This way you will be aware of what you have eaten if it is bad for your end goal or not. Bad should be avoided later on..
   
4. Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin - being thin does not equate to being healthy!
   
5. Find out what's eating you - address your behavioral issues. Exercising alone will not help you if your lifestyle or emotions keeps you from making choices that is bad for your goal.
   
6. Get support - look for a crowd that will constantly provide you with encouragement. Get a local support system where you can share daily experiences related to your goal.
   
7. Watch your portions - watch how much you eat. Eating less and watching how much portion will make sure that you can eat what you like responsibly.
   
8. Lose weight slowly with small changes - gradual changes is most important than overnight weight loss. Our body cannot handle sudden changes in its system. Sudden changes in weight can kill!
   
9. Slow down - eat slowly. Your brains takes 20 minutes before it stats singnaling "You are full". Faster eater usually eats past the limit. It will be very late for their brain to signal. So eat slowly.
10. Eat less fat, but do it wisely - eat less fat but don't replace it with fat-free products. Fat-free products contains calories. Too much calories exceeding what your body needs can make you gain more weight.

Chris Perillo, the former TechTV guy turned internet entrepreneur writes about his quest for weight loss on his person blog. He writes

I lost 30 pounds in three months. If you wanted to know how I did it, and how I intend on maintaining my current weight, then these 50 weight loss tips are for you. I’m not an expert, but I do speak from experience.

Chris' post is somewhat extensive so I suggest that you head over to his site for further details of the points he'd mentioned below.

1. Dietary control and exercise
2. Change your lifestyle
3. Join an online support group
4. Take before and after photos
5. Hire a substitute teacher
6. Start reading labels
7. What’s so funny about bovines
8. Tell your family
9. Go public
10. Identify your exercise
11. Become a Gazelle
12. Zone out
13. Never count on live programming
14. Video games helped me lose weight
15. Set realistic goals
16. Avoid trans fats and high fructose corn syrup
17. Don’t always listen to your mate
18. Don’t compare yourself to others
19. Women aren’t men
20. Vitamins are good for you
21. Deck your desktop
22. Identify your ideal weight
23. Consider the source
24. Ignore Ronald McDonald
25. Scale up
26. Watch your weight
27. One pound a week
28. Maintain your priorities
29. All weight is not equal
30. Counteract the “Rainy Day” principle
31. Don’t overdo it
32. Patterns are good
33. Sleep it off
34. Remember that the fork is not a shovel
35. Become your own snack fairy
36. Love the oil companies
37. Fat is where it’s at
38. Bring balance to the force
39. Know your daily calorie limit
40. Fiber good
41. Walk the walk
42. Train wrecks will happen
43. Satisfy cravings with extreme prejudice
44. Water you waiting for?
45. Join the soda club
46. Sugar is evil that tastes good
47. Sugar substitutes are just as evil as sugar itself
48. White bread can’t jump
49. Hasta la pasta, baby

To all wanting to loose some weight, like me, good luck! Share your thoughts by posting some comments!

Coffee is the new miracle drug

I'm not a coffee lover (sorry Starbucks!) but I'm sure got interested upon reading the reading the article on WebMD Mens Health entitled "Coffee: The New Health Food?" Although coffee can also induce the risk of having high blood pressure ultimately leading to heart attack, a group of researchers are actually doing research and surveys on the effect of coffee drinking to human.

Sid Kirchheimer of WebMD Mens Health writes

"Want a drug that could lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer? That could lift your mood and treat headaches? That could lower your risk of cavities?

If it sounds too good to be true, think again.

Coffee, the much maligned but undoubtedly beloved beverage, just made headlines for possibly cutting the risk of the latest disease epidemic, type 2 diabetes. And the real news seems to be that the more you drink, the better. "- Coffee: The New Health Food?

And believe them when they say this!

Coffee even offsets some of the damage caused by other vices, some research indicates. "People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don't," says DePaulis.

This is pretty exciting! Good sign that the next billionaire on earth is a coffee farmer from Batangas maybe? Enjoy your coffee!

Don't know what you should eat?

So you are confused what to eat? Most of us do, right? Eating habit is one way to stay healthy and keep those diseases away.

Harvard School of Public Health published an article on building an effective "Food Pyramid" and it's importance to our daily diet.

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created a powerful and enduring icon - the Food Guide Pyramid. This simple illustration conveyed in a flash what the USDA said were the elements of a healthy diet. The Pyramid was taught in schools, appeared in countless media articles and brochures, and was plastered on cereal boxes and food labels.

Always bear this in mind. Food Pyramid is just a guide. To stay healty all the time, it is still better to incorporate daily exercise and a good diet.