More than the sweet, juicy and delicious flavor of Lychee, it is also one of the  super foods that should be incorporated in your diet. Lychee is mainly cultivated from the provinces in Southern China, in South East Asian countries like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Taiwan, and also in the United States.A Lychee fruit matures in 80 to 112 days and can be available in market between the months of July to October.

The Lychee contains different types of vitamins and minerals, and apart from taking it as a whole, itcan also be consumed in forms of juices or drinks, jellies or jams, and sorbets or syrups.  It can be stored at room temperature for five days and up to five weeks in the fridge.

Health Benefits of Lychee

-          Lychees are rich in dietary fibers, which are very important for digestion and metabolism, and are a big must for weight-conscious people. They are also low in calories and do not contain saturated fats or cholesterol.

-          Like other citrus fruits, lychees are rich in Vitamin C, which helps your body in develop body resistance against infection. Lychees also contain many natural antioxidants, which help fight against free radicals and various cancer diseases.

-          Lychees are also abundant in Vitamin B-complex such as Thiamin, Niacin, and Folates. These are essential in helping the body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

-          Lychees also contain minerals like Potassium that controls heart rate and blood pressure, and Copper, which produces red blood cells.

-          Lychees can also treat coughs, colds, fevers, and sore throat.

Research studies showed that the pulp of the Lychee fruit contains flavonoids, which are said to be proven effective in treating breast cancer. Another research showed that the fruit is rich in Oligonol that has several anti-oxidants and anti-influenza virus elements. It also helps in improving the body’s blood flow, reducing weight, and protecting the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays.

Lychee fruits are not hard to find, prepare, and eat. One personal trick I do with this juicy fruit is that I pop it in the freezer first, and eat it when it’s all frozen up. This avoids the juicy mess while sending chills to my bone.

Do you like lychee?

Olive oil is a staple in the Mediterranean diet. Perhaps this is the reason why the people in that region seem to be blessed with swoon-worthy physiques?

Olive oil high has extremely high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids that promotes “good” cholesterol (HDL) while lowering “bad” cholesterol (LDL) in most health and research studies. Including Olive oil in your diet is great for people who want to lower the cholesterol levels – especially good for people with heart problems. This is the only “fat” that is highly recommended to include in everyone’s diet.

Aside from this well-known health benefit, do you know that there are other more benefits from using Olive oil?

Here are the Top 5 Reasons why Olive Oil is Good for you.

1. Get Glowing Skin. Olive oil contains linoleic acid, which is a good moisturizer for the skin. You could also use it as your moisturizer by taking a tablespoon or two every day.
2. Fights Cancer. This magic oil is also loaded with antioxidants, which helps fight free radicals and pollutants that are thought to be the leading causes of Cancer today. Olive oil is particularly good at preventing skin cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer.
3. Keeps your Heart Healthy. This is the most common benefit that is worth mentioning. It boosts your good cholesterol up and keeps the bad cholesterol down. Keeps your blood pressure in a healthy range too. Incorporating Olive oil is one measure that you could do in preventing stroke, heart attack , and hypertension in your family
4. Prevent Gallstones. If you’ve had any history of gallstones, using Olive oil as part of your diet will help in preventing the reemergence of gallstones again. It is recommended that you take Olive oil with lemon juice to help clean out your gallstones and make your liver and gallbladder better too.
5. Repair Damaged Hair. Lavish your hair with Olive oil to repair your hair damaged from being under the sun too often or from using too much hair spray and such. Olive oil has also been proven to be effective in protecting your hair from split ends with regular use.

It’s amazing how this simple oil derived from Olives can have these much benefits. There are many kinds of Olive oil; it can be extra virgin, cold-pressed or plain virgin Olive oil. But all of it are equally beneficial to you so make sure to include it on your  next grocery shopping.

Are you fond of using olive oil? If so, do you notice any difference in your skin and health?

Are you on a well-balanced diet?

Eating responsibly means eating a well-balanced diet every day. This task is for anyone who wants to have a quality life and is not solely reserved for the overweight and health-conscious people alone.

So how do you ensure that you are eating well-balanced meal?

You can do that by following the guidelines in the food pyramid, or rather the now revamped MyPlate.

A Brief Food Pyramid History

The first Food Guide Pyramid was introduced in 1992 by the Unites States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It was primarily designed to make nutritional recommendations with the correct amount and the correct type of food that every individual should consume based on the 3 food groups in the pyramid.

In 2005, the USDA released MyPyramid, which replaced the original Food Guide Pyramid of 1992. MyPyramid showed the nutrient-rich foods recommended for daily consumption and stressed the importance of daily physical activity. In the MyPyramid web site, an individual can enter his/her age, gender, and level of physical activity, after which he or she would be provided an estimate of what and how much food he or she generally needs to consume. This pyramid, in comparison with the first one, did not have pictures of food but just colors, lines, and labels.

While the MyPyramid was a welcome change from the old Food Pyramid Guide, the USDA felt the need to change the food pyramid as times are changing and people are growing – in size – and introduced a brand-new food model in June 2011.

The Emergence of MyPlate

MyPlate is now what the food pyramid is called. It has a completely undergone a makeover and does not look remotely anything like the first 2 food pyramids. That being the case, the concept is still the same. It still shows the 5 recommended food groups for healthy balanced meal, only this time it is in a form of a plate.

First Lady Michelle Obama commended the new model first and foremost for its simplicity. The First Lady and nutrition experts are all for MyPlate. The old food pyramid models had been criticized for being confusing. The old models had recommendations for serving sizes- in ounces or cups- but in reality many did not really find it helpful and just ended up as a picture.

MyPlate presents a general understanding of what food to eat showing the portion balance instead of the scale-measurement. MyPlate can be easily understood by both adults and children. It simply shows that half of your plate should be fruit and vegetables while the other half should be grains and protein. On the right side of the plate, it even shows a diagram for your drink, which can include a full-fat dairy with lower fat or a fat-free dairy alternative like skim milk.

In MyPlate, there is no need to worry about getting exact cup measurements of what food you need to consume in a day. A general knowledge about fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy should be sufficient enough to get you started on your journey to healthy eating.

MyPlate will be displayed in food packaging all over the United States. It will also be used for nutrition education. MyPlate has been positively received as a big improvement from the previous food pyramids.

MyPlate’s simplicity gives a better understanding of what constitutes a “well-balanced” meal to any person who wants to have quality life.

Summer is here and whew, if only your weight could drop off as quickly as you’ve been dropping sweat! It’s natural that you’re in a race to shed off a pound or 10 because you simply want to look great in your bikini or board shorts.

What you’d normally do is go look for an emerging fitness trend to see if it’s good in helping you lose weight quickly, but do you know that instead of looking for what’s new out there, you can simply just update your fitness and diet knowledge?

Here you will see some of the myths you may have kept locked up in your brain that may even be the reason why you can’t lose weight effectively.

• DRINKING GALLONS OF WATER A DAY WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT. No, it won’t – but drinking at least 8 to 12 glasses of water will definitely make you feel full. Most of the time we mistake thirst for hunger. But the truth is – you’re just really thirsty. Water decreases your chances of unnecessary eating. Also drinking 8 glasses of water every day is a myth because there are foods that can already hydrate you like fruits and coffee, vegetables, tea, and others.

• CARBOHYDRATES ARE BAD FOR YOU. No, not all carbs are bad. Try going on for just 2 days without any form of carbs and you will be a pain in the ass for everyone around you. You will feel miserable. Believe me, I tried this. Include healthy carbs such as multigrain breads, oatmeal and other complex carbs. What are simple carbs? Doughnut, muffins, and other pastries.

• NO PAIN MEAN NO GAIN. This is what most people think. You don’t need to be in excruciating pain to know that you are exercising. If you do this, you will reach your burnout point in no time. When that happens, you will naturally stop exercising. It is wiser to exercise for only 20-30 minutes regularly.

• NEVER EAT CAKE or ANYTHING YOU LOVE EVER AGAIN. This is a major recipe for disaster. You don’t have to stop eating that piece of yummy chocolate cake. Just eat a quarter or half a slice. Eating anything in MODERATION is the key.

• THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT IS THROUGH HIGH IMPACT CARDIO EXERCISE. Another myth that does not hold true in the realm of losing weight. There are other gentle ways of shedding the pounds like yoga, taichi or pilates. High impact workouts with pounding and jarring may hurt your joints as you get older.

• DON’T EAT ANYTHING AFTER 6 or 8PM. Your metabolism at night does get slower, but if you’re going to be up all night then it’s okay. It’s really also about how much you’ve eaten during dinner time. Nothing in your body for 5 hours straight is not good for anyone. Five to seven hours without fuel will also wreak havoc to your system. Not eating 2-3 hours before bedtime should be applied instead.

• FORGET ABOUT MILK and DAIRY. What? We do need calcium to build both our bones and muscles. We also get protein and Vitamin D from dairy products so it’s ridiculous to drop milk and dairy just because you think you cannot burn them off.

If you don’t believe that healthy diet and active lifestyle are going to make you live longer, then you better think of Jack Lalanne. He would know since he lived long enough to reach 95.  Jack Lalanne was many things but the 1 thing he was particularly known for was his advocacy towards healthy living through “juicing.”

Whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, juicing up veggies for your overall health’s sake is the last thing on your mind. In fact, you’d probably think that juicing is only for the old and weak. You’d rather have your yummy smoothie.

Juicing fruits and vegetables is your way of watering down the toxins in your organs caused by processed foods. When you choose to drink  Jack Lalanne’s Juicer Recipes over sugary smoothie and sodas every time, you are flushing your body with enough nutrients. Sure you can also get the same nutrients by eating them, but the problem is you don’t eat enough to get the benefits.

So if you’re living in a fast lane all the time, juicing the fruits and veggies is the quick way to go with the help of Jack Lalanne’s Power Juicer. You have no excuse, except maybe you want to die young while hiding in an overweight body full of illnesses.

But one day when you do have a change of heart and decide that you want to start “juicing” up to a healthy fit you, you want to try Jack Lalanne’s best juicer recipe. It’s called Super7, mainly because it has 7 most beneficial foods as its ingredients.

2 carrots
1 potato
2 broccoli florettes
1/2 small beet
1/4 red pepper
1 tomato
1/4 cucumber

If you find the Super 7 to be a bit too advanced for your taste, you can try Jack’s Sweet Greens Recipe

Ingredients: 2 cups of pineapple, 1 handful of spinach, 1 handful of wheatgrass

Both wheatgrass and spinach produce anti-oxidant Chlorophyll, which is believed to protect your cell from cancer. Wheatgrass in particular helps blood flow, digestion and detoxification in your body, while spinach is found to be rich source of vitamins A, C, E, K, manganese, iron, calcium, potassium, selenium and omega 3 fatty acids among others. Spinach is actually considered to be one of super foods.

If traditional is your cup of tea, rather juice, then you can always incorporate apple in the recipes like Jack’s Apple, Lemon, Ginger recipe.

ingredients: 3 apples, ¼ lemon, 1 slice of ginger root

You don’t have to be told what apple can do to your health – you already know that it can keep the doctor away. On the other hand, did you know that lemon can keep the dentist away? It has high number of vitamin C that it helps strengthen teeth and gums, not to mention prevent painful oral diseases and other gum related concerns like gingivitis and periodontal disease.

Ginger, aside from the fact that it can ease heartburn, can also help relieve you of arthritis (because of its anti-inflammatory properties), digestive problems, migraine, menstrual cramp, cold & cough?

So these juice recipes weren’t made just to make the drink more palatable. Each ingredient was well-thought of so you can lose weight fast and live healthily until you reach 95.

do you want to know a quick and healthy way to lose weight? Jack Lalanne’s juice recipes are not just delicious but mighty healthy too

When you are bombarded with society’s code of ethics, rules and responsibilities every day, the last thing you want is to be bound by the food you eat based on your blood type. But before you discredit the Blood Type Diet, it is best that you learn something about it first.

The Blood Type Diet was founded by Dr. Peter D’Adamo, who believes that the foods you eat and your blood type create strong chemical reaction in your system. This particular reaction is called Lectins, which can be found in most foods. These Lectins can cause havoc to your overall health, particularly if they are mixed with specific blood type.

This diet does not just deal with your weight issue, but also tackles allergy and infection. The blood type diet also goes into detail as to which foods can cause toxic effects in some people in his book Eat Right For Your Type.

The Blood Types, Food and Exercise

Type A – If you have bloody type A, you are to avoid foods like pork, beef, wheat, corn, tomatoes, sugar, HFCS and go with foods like soy, peanuts, codfish, broccoli, legumes, pineapple and green tea. To make it short, go for fish and veggies and incorporate meditative exercises like yoga, pilates, tai chi, qi gong or brisk walking. “Vegetarian” is the profile for this blood type.

Type B – With this blood type, foods like lamb, yogurt, walnuts, beets, pineapple, eggs, liver, green tea and codfish are beneficial for weight loss. You are told to avoid chicken, shellfish, wheat, corn, lentils, sugar and HFCS. Exercises suggested are mostly sports like tennis, cycling, golf, swimming. “Balanced omnivore” is the word in mind for this blood type.

Type AB – “Mixed diet” is the profile for people who have this blood type. Meat like turkey, seafood, dairy, soybeans, legumes, veggies and fruits are great for you. Types of exercises recommended are a mix between sports and light exercises.

Type O – You are a “meat eater” should you have this blood type. Lamb, beef, broccoli, liver, red meat can aid you in your weight loss, while food like corn, potatoes, wheat, navy beans, lentils, cabbage should be avoided. Your exercise should include the ff: aerobics, weight training, running, treadmill, cycling, martial arts.

Due to lack of scientific proof like how Lectins react to blood types and lack of scientific trials, many people are quick to doubt its efficiency; others are probably just accustomed to the usual diet programs which explains their hesitancy to give this a try.

Regardless of whether it is effective or not, I see no harm in incorporating healthy food like veggies and restricting yourself of processed ones, while incorporating your daily fitness routine as suggested in this diet program.

The Blood Type Diet

When I go to the groceries, my mom would always want to buy a vegetable fruit juice mix. She buys it not for herself but for me, because I have never been fond of vegetable. It got me to thinking about this question:

Is vegetable juice a good substitute for those home-cooked veggies?

Reasons why Vegetable Juice is Great

For non-vegetable-lovers like me, I think it would be ideal to drink vegetable juices instead of eating them as is. It makes veggies more palatable. The bitter taste is not overwhelming my taste  because of either the honey content or the fructose; hence, makes it agreeable, if not tasty.

Another benefit I see with vegetable juice is the fiber – I get plenty of it in the juice! And of course, fiber is good for me because it keeps me full longer. It also cleans my digestive system.

Also, because fruits tend to have the more dominant flavor, mixing a lot of veggies in the juice is not an issue. This gives me more vitamins.

Not convinced? Well, you can try one and see for yourself.

How to Prepare Vegetable Juice on your own

Requirements:

• Vegetable Juicer / Juice Extractor
• Veggies – Popular Choices (cucumbers, broccoli, garlic, spinach, dandelion greens, cabbage, celery, tomato, turnip, carrot, fennel, parsley, ginger etc.)

You can choose from any of these and focus on 1vegetable first. If you got used to the taste, you can start being bolder and mix two vegetables or more.

Sample Juice: Spinach Juice

• Choose the dark green leaves of spinach
• Rinse it to wash off bacteria
• Extract the juice in the spinach leaves. Make sure you extract it well and consume ample amount of it

Spinach contains a lot of iron, which can help you with depression, anemia and fatigue.

Sample Juice: Tomato Juice

• Choose ripened and heavy tomatoes
• Wash it to remove any bacteria
• Chop the tomato
• Put it through the juicer with the tomato skin
• You can mix apple and celery if you want (my mom does this at home! She also mixes carrots)

Tomato is a tonic for the nervous system. If you’re having problems with insomnia, fatigue, stress and nervousness, this juice can help you relax.

If you have skin boil or acne problems, tomato juice can also relieve you from it because of detoxifying ingredients it contains.

REMINDER! Vegetable juicing should NEVER REPLACE eating them. You are still better off eating the vegetables as a whole. Juicing is great way to get vitamins and minerals when it is not possible to have the veggies.

For Further Reading:

Is Juicing Better Than Vegetable?

Nutritional Value of Vegetable Juice

The yogurt diet trend is on the rise right now. Most people who are trying to shake off weight are getting on the yogurt diet bandwagon to see if consuming yogurt can actually help them. That and the fact that yogurt does taste quite yummy.

It depends on the kind of yogurt you eat.

Not all yogurts are created the same. Almost all are considered healthy with the amount of healthy bacteria called probiotics. Probiotics are the good bacteria that keep your inside in tip-top shape. Most yogurts are also loaded heavily with vitamins and minerals – a whole lot of protein and calcium in a small serving.

However, there are yogurt brands that are also loaded with SUGAR and FAT. The 2 ingredients that make most yogurts oh so yummy and sweet.

The 2 ingredients that won’t really help you lose weight either.

It is just important to read the nutrition labels when buying yogurt too. Not all yogurts are made the same.

When choosing a brand of yogurt to aid you in your weight loss, choose low-fat, non-fat and sugar-free.

How does yogurt help you lose weight?

There has been countless research and studies which show that eating yogurt definitely helps you lose weight.

Yogurt is packed with vitamins and minerals. Potassium being one of minerals,  help you shed those extra weight by getting rid of the excess sodium in your body, which are most of the time just water weight.

The perfect blending of insane amount of calcium and protein in a cup or 6 ounce serving of yogurt really helps you in losing weight by literally burning the fat, especially the notorious belly fat. Fat accumulation in that area can be a potential risk factor for heart disease and hypertension. So, a serving of yogurt at least once or twice a day will not just help you trim down but help you become healthier too.

The right combination of calcium and protein helps build lean muscle. And the lean muscle helps obliterate the unwanted fats, losing you some weight along the process.

Just remember though that you won’t lose weight by just eating yogurt alone. It has to be the right combination of proper diet and exercise.

And if you eat yogurt today, don’t expect to lose weight tomorrow. It takes time and persistence in building a healthy lifestyle. Now, that you know that yogurt does help you lose weight, go ahead and get some yogurt.

I remember my grandmother would always pour little packet of Splenda on her coffee as her sugar substitue. She had diabetes and cannot afford to use the real sugar.

My mom takes Splenda as well because she’s in a pre-diabetic stage. Now that I’m a bit older, it got me thinking if the artificial sugar is truly a better choice for diabetics and health-conscious people out there or it’s all in the marketing.

Sugar

Sugar is part of our lives. Sugar is everywhere. It is inescapable. It is present in the most organic foods like honey, mangoes, sugar apple, cherries, grapefruit. It’s also in our breads, rice, potatoes. The least we can do is limit our consumption because if we take more than what our body and pancreas can handle, it results to flabby fat we see in our bellies and diabetes respectively.

Sugar is the reason why our insulin spikes up and our hyperactivity whenever we eat sugary stuff. It spikes up in our body because it needs to normalize the high blood sugar levels caused by sugar.  The inability of the insulin to be injected in the body results in Diabetes.

With that being said, we cannot deny the value of sugar in our lives because we need it to do mundane tasks. We cannot deny how sweeter, happier we turn out to be whenever we eat something deliciously sweet – even if it only lasts for a few hours.

Artificial Sugar

Artificial Sugar or sweeteners are produced by machines through chemical mixtures, hence the name. Artificial Sugar is being marketed around the world as the lesser evil between the two. It is also being marketed as the healthier choice.

Artificial Sugar contains zero calories. We often see in sodas, cookies and whatnots that say “No more sugar” or “Zero calories” and promise the same delectable taste without the guilt. Sugar substitutes or sweeteners have many types namely, aspartame (e.g., Nutrasweet, Equal) as the most commonly advertised, sucralose for Splenda and stevia for stevia products.

These sweeteners are great alternative if blood sugar needs to be monitored constantly as they do not affect the insulin level. It’s not like diabetics have another choice to eat food without tasting like cardboards. It’s their only choice.

As for its supposed aid for weight-loss because of its low-calorie content, you may want to reconsider that. There have been claims that when these sugar-free stuff have been taken, it only leaves you wanting to eat or drink more because what your body seeks is real glucose. Personally, it didn’t really leave me wanting for more – it was enough.

They are also more attractive than refined sugar as they are low in calorie.

Which is better?

There is no denying that when one is diabetic, artificial sweeteners are the only and best option. But for those who are non-diabetics but are health conscious can equally benefit from taking artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes as well.

Stevia is a finer choice among the artificial sweeteners/sugar substitutes as it seems to be the most organic sugar out there.

This does not mean however justify a pig out session when we devour a box of sugar-free chocolates in one sitting!

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Gain

everydiet.org

If you are health conscious, you would know that soy is a good source of protein. Soy, in fact can be heard as one of the good things.

But as the phrase says “too much of something good is bad”; too much of soy can lead to health problems and lead you to having belly fat as well. Most people think that soy is good for the body. Little is known about the health concerns soy can bring. Usually, the Internet and the TV will tell you soy is good. But is soy all that good?

The Pros (+)

• Soy contains Phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are estrogens that are plant-made. In pre-menopausal women, the Phytoestrogens can prevent estrogen related breast cancer. It is dietary estrogens that can have estrogenic or/and antiestrogenic effects. There were studies shown that it can prevent cancer.

• Phytoestrogens can also do some good for men. It protects men against prostate cancer

• A good fact to remember is in Asia where soy is abundant, there’s a low rate of hip fractures, breast and prostate cancer, hot flashes (menopause) and heart diseases. It’s not all because of soy though because there can be a lot of factors that can contribute to having a healthier life.

• Soy is high in calcium. Soy is great alternative for those who are lactose intolerant, as it fights osteoporosis

• Moderate amount of soy decreases bad cholesterol in your body. It has soluble fiber that declogs the valves connected to your hear, thereby decreasing the chances of heart ailments. Soluble Fiber also increases metabolism.

• The Omega-3 can be acquired from fishes can also be acquired in soy. Omega 3 fatty acids prevent you from acquiring coronary heart diseases. This is one fat content that you’d want to have inside your body.

The Cons (-)

As I have said, too much intake of something is bad for your health.

• Excessive soy leads to estrogen in the body, which then piles up fat around your waist and becomes belly fat

• Toxins like Phytic acid, Nitrosamines, Soyatoxin, Protease inhibitors and Manganese concentration levels are found in soy. Most products of soy contain these. These toxins have repress nutrient absorption, attack internal organs like your pancreas and open up cancerous situations.

• For people who have hypothyroidism, soy shouldn’t be added to their diet because it can contribute to thyroid cancer.  Soy contains Isoflavones an this stifles the production of thyroid, thereby increases the chance of hypothyroidism more

• Statistics indicated that 50% of African-American girls showed that as early as 8 years old, girls already showed puberty signs. Too much soy content gives leads to premature development

Advice

It does seem like soy is perfect for those who are on diet. Too much of  soy however leads to much more than just belly fats.

For Further Soy Reading:

Understanding Soy

Soy Dangers