Gluten Free Vegan Diet

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  • A Tasty Way To Do The Raw Vegan Diet

    A Tasty Way To Do The Raw Vegan Diet

    Many people see the raw food diet as being healthier and giving them more energy, despite the lack of any long-term analyses of the successes of a raw vegan diet as compared to other types of raw food diets. To try a raw vegan diet for yourself and see what it can do for you, these are the three food groups you can partake of: high-fat plants, sweet fruit, and leafy green vegetables. As to the portions of each, opinions vary. Some say as little as two percent of your daily calories should be from leafy green vegetables; others think it should be as high as around thirty. With the high-fat foods, eat things like olives, nuts, avocados, seeds, and cold-pressed oils. Again, some recommend anything from a tiny amount to as high as forty percent.

    To be honest, it’s unlikely you can get as high as thirty percent of your daily calories from green vegetables. That would require eating a lot of big salads! Fortunately, such a massive intake is not necessary to derive the benefits of a raw food diet. Green leafy vegetables have plenty of calcium, protein, vitamin K and zinc. All you need to do is eat around 500 g a day to get the recommended amount. If you’re sure to get things like carrots and peas in your meals, you’ll get plenty of calcium, zinc, and protein.

    A Tasty Way To Do The Raw Vegan Diet

    Now, when it comes to striking the correct proportions between sweet fruit and fatty foods, that’s where your personal tastes and health come into play. It’s common for people to have trouble with their teeth if they eat a lot of fruit, especially young children. On the other hand, if you have a high metabolic rate, you may need more high-fat foods in order to maintain your weight in the optimum range. Just one caveat: do not have more than ten percent of your diet made up of polyunsaturated fats. Instead, get monounsaturated fats in there. By eating olives, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts, and macadamias you can get the facts you need. Depending on how much energy you need each day, you can make up to forty percent of your diet from these foods. Also, you need to include omega-3 fats; they’re very good for you. So, eat things like crushed flaxseed. Flaxseed oil is also great for salad dressings. There are soils in the world that are low on selenium, and you can’t be sure where your foods were grown. So, an easy way to get around that issue is to include even just Brazil nuts a day.

    In terms of what sorts of fruits to eat, you don’t have to go with ones that are unusual or exotic. The banana has energy; it’s rather low in fiber and plenty of potassium. Oranges are great to get calcium, folate, potassium, and vitamin C into your body. One of the real pluses of a raw vegan diet is that it reduces calcium loss, and thus reduces your blood pressure; it will also reduce your risk of having a stroke.

    Finally, there is vitamin B12. Some health experts recommend that you don’t take vitamin B12 supplements unless symptoms of a deficiency manifest themselves. And even then, some further say you should avoid taking any pills. Instead, there are some excellent natural sources such as wild plants, nori, and spirulina. Now, if those are not available, eat fermented foods or a probiotic, and just be sure to include a B12 supplement.

    Follow these steps, and you can eat a healthy diet that is in keeping with the vegan dietary guidelines.

    A Tasty Way To Do The Raw Vegan Diet

  • Should You Try A Gluten-Free Diet?

    Should You Try A Gluten-Free Diet?

    There was a time when having to eat a gluten-free diet, meaning a severe limitation of tasty choices. However, because of the rise in awareness for the need for gluten-free products, manufacturers are stepping up their efforts to produce gluten-free products. In fact, there are more gluten-free products available now than there ever have been. Manufacturers will probably increase the numbers further as time progresses. If you do have to go on a gluten-free diet, you don’t have to worry too much about giving up your favorite foods. Chances are you’ll be able to find a gluten-free substitute. If you can’t, there are a lot of quality gluten-free recipes on the internet.

    What is gluten?

    Gluten is a certain type of protein. Gluten is found in foods such as rye, wheat, and barley. Because most breeds and cereals make use of these foods, they usually also contain gluten. Just because the food is a grain, doesn’t necessarily mean it contains gluten. For example, wild rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, soybeans, and sunflower seeds don’t contain gluten.

    There is some controversy surrounding oats. There are conflicting reports about oats. Many processed foods contain gluten because it is used as a food additive by many food manufacturers.

    Who should be on a gluten-free diet?

    If you suffer from an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine, called celiac disease, you will most likely be put on a gluten-free diet. Celiac disease is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. Some people have the disease but don’t really show any outward symptoms. The most common symptoms of Celiac disease include Chronic diarrhea, the inability to gain weight, unexplained iron-deficiency anemia, bone or joint pain, arthritis, depression or anxiety, tingling numbness in the hands and feet, seizures, canker sores, missed periods, itchy skin rash, and fatigue.

    There are some people who suffer from fibromyalgia who claim a gluten-free diet has helped alleviate some of their symptoms. If you suffer from fibromyalgia, you should discuss this option with your doctor. You may get some resistance from your doctor because, at this time, there hasn’t been any major research into the effects of a gluten-free diet on firbromyalgia. If you really want to try it, ultimately, it will be your decision. You just have to make sure with your doctor that you have no health issues that would preclude you from going on a gluten-free diet, clear it with your doctor first.

    People with diabetes may benefit from a gluten-free diet. You have to be careful about going on a gluten-free diet if you have diabetes. A lot of gluten-free products add extra sugar or extra fat to make them taste better. It is extremely important you talk about going on a gluten-free diet with your doctor or nutritionist before you consider going on a gluten-free diet.

    If your doctor says you have to go on a gluten-free diet, or you want to and your doctor says its okay, then you will have many food choices still available to you. You just have to look at labels carefully. Manufacturers are producing more and more gluten-free foods. If you have a craving for something that isn’t gluten-free, there are plenty of gluten-free recipes on the internet. There are also many gluten-free diet cookbooks available too.

  • Low-Carb Diet: Should You Try It

    Low-Carb Diet: Should You Try It

    It’s no wonder that confusion reigns when it comes to the worth and reliability of low-carb diets after all the conflicting studies and confusing interpretations of the information. It seems like debates are popping up everywhere!

    No matter if it’s Atkins, South Beach, or some other low-carb plan, there are approximately 30 million Americans are on a low-carb diet.

    Supporters contend that the large amount of carbohydrates in our diet has led to increased problems with obesity, diabetes, and other health situations. On the other hand, some attribute obesity and related health problems to overeating calories and lack of physical activity. They also express concern that without grains, fruits, and vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to deficiencies of some key nutrients, including vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, and many minerals.

    It is already known that any diet, whether high or low in carbohydrates, can produce meaningful weight loss during the early stages of the diet. Keep in mind, the key to a diet being successful is in being able to lose weight on a permanent basis.

    Let’s see if we can expose some mystery about low-carb diets. Following is a listing of some related points taken from recent studies and scientific literature.

    Point 1 – Some Differences Between Low-Carb Diets

    There are many famous diets created to lower carbohydrate consumption. Lowering total carbohydrates in the diet means that protein and fat will take up a proportionately greater amount of the total caloric intake.

    A low carbohydrate diet like the Atkins Diet restricts carbohydrates to a point where the body becomes ketogenic (a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that includes normal amounts of protein). Other low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are less confined. Some, like Sugar Busters, announce-only to eliminate sugars and foods that elevate blood sugar levels excessively.

    Point 2 – What We Know about Low-Carb Diets

    +Close to all the studies to date have been small with a diversity of research objectives.

    Carbohydrates, caloric intake, diet duration, and participant characteristics are wide-ranged greatly. Most of the studies to date have two things in common, none of the research studies had people in the study with an average age of over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted more than 90 days.

    +The results on older adults and long-term results are scarce. Many diet studies fail to keep track of the amount of exercise, and therefore caloric use, while people in the study are dieting. This helps to explain the variances between studies.

    +If you lose weight on a low-carb diet it is a function of the calorie intake and length of the diet, and not with a reduced amount of carbohydrates.

    +There is very little evidence on the long-range safety of low-carb diets. Even though the medical community has concerns, no short-term bad effects have been found with cholesterol, glucose, insulin, and blood-pressure levels among the people in the study on the diets. Because of the short period of the studies, the adverse effects may not show up. Losing weight typically leads to improvement in these levels, and this may offset an increase caused by a high-fat diet. The over-all weight changes for low-carb and other types of diets are similar.

    +Most low-carb diets can cause ketosis. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and confusion are some potential consequences. When first starting a low-carb diet some fatigue and constipation may be met and these symptoms usually disappear quickly.

    +Some report that you can have more calories when on a low-carb diet. Remember a calorie is a calorie no matter what you intake. When the study is not closely supervised variations will result from people cheating in the study on many factors of the study.

    There are three important factors I would like to re-emphasize:

    1. The overall success rate for low-carb and other types of diets are similar.

    2. A small amount of information exists on the long-term efficacy and safety of low-carb diets despite their huge popularity,

    3. Dieters usually experience boredom with a strict version of the low-carb diet and are not able to stay on diets of low-carb food.

    After observing the subject, a more severe and controlled study is needed on a long-range basis. The ketosis produced is abnormal and stressful metabolic state. The results may cause more problems than it solved.

    By picking a reliable diet you will benefit over a lifetime of proper eating and not a weight loss quickie.

    An excellent rule of thumb is to look at the diet long-range and see if you can see yourself still on that diet after a couple of weeks. However, by following a diet with fat, carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients in moderation may be the best way to go and a little more exercise won’t hurt either.

  • Finding a Diet That Works

    Finding a Diet That Works

    Searching for a new diet that works? If you�re a habitual dieter, wouldn�t it be nice to stop changing diets? Is there a diet that actually works?

    Everyone has a habit or a vice. Some people smoke. Some people bite their fingernails. Some people can�t resist having a piece of chocolate before bedtime, and others snore when they sleep. Others are habitual dieters, always looking for a new diet that promises astonishing results.

    How many new diet plans have you tried? Some people can tick off a list of new diet after diet that they have tried. They yo-yo back and forth. Atkins, weight watchers, the grapefruit diet, the soup diet, the salad diet, the low-fat diet some people can�t even count every new diet they have tried.

    Often, each new diet is punctuated by a day of binge eating. Sure, you lost weight on that latest low-carbohydrate new diet, but now you�re craving a baked potato, French fries, and a big piece of garlic bread. Wouldn�t it be great to find a new diet that allows you to eat all the foods you want while still losing weight?

    The bottom line is that the best option isn�t actually a new diet. It�s a concept that has been around for ages, but people fail to overlook it with so many new diet choices on the market. If you talk to most doctors, however, they will agree that fad dieting is not the smartest choice to lose weight.

    However, bombarded we maybe with new diet choices; there is one fact that can�t be ignored. We lose weight when we limit our caloric intake. This isn�t about grapefruit, carbohydrates, fat-free products, or even following a strict new diet plan. It�s about eating in moderation. You don�t have to go hungry, but you need to use willpower to make sure you don�t overeat. Limiting your calories means shedding those unwanted pounds.

    What happens when you don�t have willpower? Face it; some of us just don�t have that extra willpower that we need to turn down a second serving of our favorite food. It�s hard to do, especially when your new diet has left you hungry.

    Willpower can�t be bottled and sold, but there is a new diet concept that will give you the willpower you need to follow through with your weight loss goals. I�m not talking about appetite suppressants. Many of these products still leave you hungry and leave you feeling jittery or overheated.

    If you missed the expose on 60 Minutes or Today show, then you probably haven�t heard about a new vegetable that could jumpstart your diet. This means no more signing on for a new diet every month because you�ll finally have found something that works safely and long term. I�m talking about Hoodia Gordonii. This cactus-like plant was introduced to the market recently, but it has been around for centuries. Bushmen in Africa used it for warding off hunger during long expositions.

    What does this mean for you today? It means you can limit your calories while not being at all hungry. You’ll feel as if you have already eaten. I know, it sounds almost too good to be true, but it actually works. The best news is that Hoodia is all-natural, making it totally safe to incorporate this as a part of your daily diet. Stop stressing over food, the latest new diet, or losing that unwanted weight. Watch those pounds melt off safely and quickly.

  • Arthritis: What You Need To Know

    Arthritis: What You Need To Know

    Arthritis, One of the most common conditions in the United States today is a debilitating inflammatory disease that affects our joints. It is estimated that there are over 100 different forms of this disease and over 40 million people suffer from one form or another.

    Though typically thought to be an affliction of the elderly, arthritis can affect anyone at any time, and with all the different forms, each with their own symptoms, it could be hard to determine just what type of arthritis an individual is suffering from.

    The signs and symptoms of arthritis are varied, though some first symptoms are familiar and easy to recognize. Symptoms such as general pain or swelling around the joints, and increased stiffness in the joints in the morning, a cracking sound in the knees when standing, and joints with a red appearance that feel warm to the touch are all signs of arthritis.

    However, before you rush to purchase an over-the-counter arthritis treatment, you should talk to your doctor. Your doctor is the only one who will be able to tell you what form of arthritis you may have and how to treat it.

    Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common forms of arthritis that plagues sufferers. It affects the joints and is a systemic disease that can affect other organs. Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms tend to disappear after some time, but the problem is still there. The true cause of rheumatoid arthritis is presently unknown, though many suggest that things such as infections, fungi, or bacteria are the culprits. However, there are also those that believe that rheumatoid arthritis is hereditary. Painful and swollen joints are a common warning sign of rheumatoid arthritis, followed by muscle pain, extreme fatigue, redness and warmth at the joints, even a low-grade fever and appetite loss.

    Arthritis: What You Need To Know

    Next to rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis is a common affliction, caused by the breaking down of joint cartilage. Osteoarthritis commonly begins in one joint and typically only affects the one joint. It does not move to internal organs. Osteoarthritis commonly affects the knees, hips, hands, and spine. By the time the pain starts setting in for an osteoarthritis sufferer, the damage to the affected joint cartilage could be considerable.

    Relieving pain from a form of arthritis can be as simple as over-the-counter or prescription medication. However, in the most severe cases, surgery may be necessary. Being overweight can also play a role in arthritis. Some physicians believe that a change in diet can also ease the pain of arthritis, though there is a lot of debate on the topic. Regardless, you should speak to your doctor who can tell you just what form of arthritis you may have, and what treatment options may work best for you.

    Arthritis: What You Need To Know

  • The Mediterranean Diet: What Is It?

    The Mediterranean Diet: What Is It?

    It has been found that people living in Mediterranean Countries such as Southern France, Spain, and Italy live longer than people in other parts of the world. Why is this?

    It’s what they eat and how the Mediterranean’s cook their food that makes all the difference.

    From Mediterranean Country to Mediterranean Country, the way the food is cooked may differ so although the flavors are varied, the foods used are the same.

    What is the Mediterranean Diet?

    The diet is mainly foods that come from plants; grains, vegetables especially green leafy vegetables, fruits, beans legumes, nuts, and olive oil. So the foods that are common in the Mediterranean Countries are olives, grapes, wheat, and what can be made from these foodstuffs. Added advantages of these foods are their nutritional value; they provide antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

    The Mediterranean Diet can help people avoid what is called the ‘Diseases of Affluence.’ These diseases are common in Westernized, industrialized nations and include Heart Disease, Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and some Cancers.

    Isn’t Olive Oil A Fat And Fats Are Bad For Us?

    Yes, olive oil is fat, but it’s good fat. The body needs good fat.

    – Good Fat is monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

    – Bad Fats are saturated fats.

    FATS are found in Meat and Dairy Products and some Vegetable Oils.

    The body needs a certain amount of fat to be sure everything is working properly. But there are two kinds of fat that we get from our food.

    SATURATED FAT causes the fat to settle on the inside walls of the Arteries. The FAT in the Arteries is called Cholesterol. It’s the Cholesterol that makes the Blood Vessels narrow so the blood is unable to pass through properly. The heart then has to pump harder to allow the blood to pass round the body, the result can be the heart is weakened, so causing Heart Failure, High Blood Pressure, and Strokes.

    BAD FAT is called LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein).

    If you can cut ALL the BAD FAT out of your diet, you will be doing yourself and your body a big favor.

    But whatever you do, don’t mistakenly leave out the GOOD FAT from your diet. Because the UNSATURATED FAT has been found to actually liquefy the Cholesterol and pass it out of the body by natural means.

    The GOOD FAT is called HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) this GOOD FAT can be found in Plants and Animal Products. Therefore, if you eat more fruit and vegetables you will be on the right path to living a healthy lifestyle.

    Ancel Keys aged 96 believes his long life is due to the Mediterranean Diet. As a young scientist 50 years ago, he found that people in countries where fresh fruits and vegetables are in abundance and olive oil flows freely, Southern Italy, Southern France, Greece, and parts of North Africa and the Middle East, Heart Disease is rare.

    Three Tips for Eating The Mediterranean Diet

    – Fill your plate with fresh fruit and vegetables they are low in calories and fats and full of much-needed nutrients.

    – When buying bread go for flour made from whole grains.

    – For dessert choose fruits.

    So besides preventing heart disease etc eating the Mediterranean Diet way; as an added bonus, you might even lose weight.

  • 5 Ways Vegetarians Increase Health Danger With Weight Gain

    5 Ways Vegetarians Increase Health Danger With Weight Gain


    It is common knowledge that a vegetarian or vegan diet has the potential to be a healthy diet. We see proof of this daily, and we know that vegetable sources of protein, fat, and fiber, verses meat, are super healthy for us.

    Studies have also shown that diets high in fiber mixed with plenty of healthy vegetables can improve your weight for those looking to maintain weight or even get rid of a few pounds.

    For some of us, however, falling into a cycle of weight gain can still be a problem, even when following a vegetarian or vegan diet.

    There is a reason for that as there are actually several hidden traps to be aware that cause unwanted weight gain for many vegetarians and vegans.

    5 Ways Vegetarians Increase Health Danger With Weight Gain

    For example, the following are a few to be aware of:
    • Accidentally eating added Sugar (or not paying attention to it)
    • Relying on processed foods instead of cooking homemade meals
    • Not properly balancing macros
    • Larger portion sizes
    • Eating too much of convenience foods

    In today’s world of convenience it’s much easier to grab prepared food from the frozen section, like that Michael Angelo’s Vegetarian Lasagna or Digiorno Pizza. It is easy after all to wait 15 -30 minutes in the microwave or oven than spend time making something from scratch.

    Just pull it out of the freezer when you get home, pop it in the oven, run to the bedroom and change into your sweats, get the kids through their homework, and maybe set the table. By then, your processed lasagna is ready. All you had to do was reach in the freezer.

    There’s a problem though, and this covers at least three of the traps mentioned above.

    #1 Did you happen to notice how many grams of added sugars there are in each serving? That number on your Nutrition Facts label isn’t the overall amount by the package. It’s by serving size. If you take a few minutes to look at that when buying that item in the store, you might just put it back.

    Don’t even get me started on the Sodium levels in the item you plan to eat.

    #2. What kind of fats were added to that easy to cook meal? Are they healthy fats? Probably not.

    Processed foods like those frozen lasagnas, vegan ice cream, or vegetarian friendly cakes often contain preservatives and fats to keep them stable during storage for longer periods of time. Just because something isn’t so detrimental to your health that it becomes a concern for the FDA doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

    Pastas, like those which are in these frozen processed foods are usually prepared with, are easy to eat in short time spans. Your body doesn’t have an immediate response to your fullness level when you eat carbs and burn glucose. There is a delayed reaction of anywhere from 20 minutes to half an hour. It takes less than that to overeat on foods like pasta.

    Many processed foods like pastas are super easy to eat in large portions which makes it very easy to over eat in portion size. The other part of understanding portions is understanding serving sizes and nutrition facts on labels.

    Nutrition facts on labels is partially changing so that foods have to include the total count of calories, fats, protein, and carbs in the whole package. In the meantime, however, it’s important to pay attention to your portion and serving sizes so you don’t end up overeating without knowing it.

    #3 Macros: While we’re talking about Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats, and Calories, let’s talk about macro balances. This is probably the biggest trap for vegetarians. Understanding how many of your calories need to come from fat, protein, and carbs is important.

    It doesn’t matter if you’re a glucose burning vegan, or maybe a Ketogenic Vegetarian, you have to know the macros for which you’re aiming, and then measure and balance out what you eat. Either way, eating too much protein is a good way to gain weight under the wrong conditions and most people are not hoping to do that.

    If you are a vegetarian relying on meat substitutes, or maybe beans, to get adequate complete proteins, you should track what you consume.

    Basically, it’s easy to fall into bad and unhealthy eating habits as a vegetarian as it is in any other diet pattern.

    Bottom line: Your success will come down to understanding what you’re eating, how much you need to eat, and staying away from added sugars and preservatives in processed foods and sticking with fresh fruits and vegetables.

  • 4 Key Healthy Ways to Prevent Heart-Disease

    4 Key Healthy Ways to Prevent Heart-Disease

    Heart Disease, or Cardiovascular Disease, is a collection of health conditions where your blood vessels which lead to your heart have narrowed or become blocked by plaque. Sadly, this is a way too common health issue for far too many people.

    There are different kinds of heart disease like blood vessel diseases, heart rhythm problems, and congenital defects, but generally when we say heart disease in this context we’re really referring to Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).

    How this works is when fat, cholesterol, and other things build up in your arteries, you experience Plaque buildup. As more and more plaque builds up, your heart has to work harder and harder just doing its job.

    CVD is a problem experience by roughly 6.5 million Americans that are over the age of 20, and it is one of the leading causes of death in developed countries such as the US.

    The good news is, there are 4 key healthy ways to prevent heart disease and you can even help to reverse damage done by heart disease if you take this seriously and remain dedicated to following the plan. It’s a simple as:
    • Get a handle on your blood pressure
    • Eat a healthy diet
    • Limit unhealthy habits
    • Get enough sleep

    If you happen to have a family history of high blood pressure or if you’ve recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure, it’s time to get serious and get those numbers down. The target numbers for your blood pressure are 120 over 60. The top number of your blood pressure is your systolic pressure, and the bottom number of your blood pressure is your diastolic pressure. I’ll save the long explanation of what these mean individually, my point is to get your blood pressure (and keep it) in the 120/60 range.

    You need to know, and truly understand that your heart is the most important muscle in your body, and straining it isn’t healthy. What’s more, high blood pressure is one of the leading factors in developing Metabolic Syndrome, or Syndrome X.

    Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels

    Mayclinic.org

    While we’re at it, why not go ahead and take simple steps to lower all of the risk factors of developing Metabolic Syndrome today. You can do that in the following simple ways:
    • Working to shrink our waistlines to less than 35” for women and 40” for men
    • Raising our good cholesterol and lowering our bad cholesterol levels
    • Lowering our Triglyceride levels
    • Lowering our blood sugar
    • Increasing our activity by getting in more movement time during the day.

    Heart-Disease

    The number one factor for preventing heart disease is your diet (Plant-based diets that protect your heart, 2017), but for some reason, most people play the importance of diet down to dangerously low levels and they pay for it with poor health.

    The simple face is: what you eat fuels you. Your body literally gets its fuel and moves from what you consume through your diet. Unfortunately, many of us live in a fast food society where we think it’s okay to abuse our bodies, and our hearts because we want to believe heart disease is “curable.” Actually, nothing could be further from the truth.

    If you’ve known anyone with heart disease (or have it yourself) you’ve likely heard of various surgeries for treatment. One of those is bypass surgery. Bypass surgeries build in and add ways to bypass arteries. They don’t clear out existing damage they merely find a way around it.

    I must let you know, mortality rates among heart patients raises to between 60% and 80% after only 8 to 10 years for those who’ve had bypass surgery. 8-10 years is a good deal of time, but it’s not as long as most of us would like.


    Now back to the point of this article: Your Diet.

    When we say “diet”, we aren’t talking about whatever weight loss, restricting, fad diet you might be following. We mean your overall, life long eating habits. Your diet is a culmination of your eating choices throughout your whole life. Stop and think about that for a second. What you’ve eaten ALL through your life takes a toll (or not) on your heart health.

    Don’t wait until you are in your end years to seriously think about what you eat.

    Studies have shown that a plant based or even vegetarian diet is markedly healthier for your heart than a diet which consists mostly of animal proteins (Glynn, 2013). I know many of you just cringed when you read that.

    Other very unhealthy habits like smoking also greatly diminish your body’s ability to perform at heart healthy levels. And let us know forget how your overall physical condition will affect your heart. Why do you think trainers, gym rats, and health experts tell you to get enough cardio exercise, and why so many of those treadmills are in your local gym. Back and leg day may be what you want to do, but cardio is essential to your longevity.


    When have you ever heard anybody say that getting enough couch time will improve heart health? If they did, chances are it was a big joke because sitting around on your couch, watching TV, sitting at your desk at work, and generally not moving is an unhealthy habit that needs to be broken as badly as a smoking habit.

    Besides more activity and less smoking and bad food, alcohol consumption is another unhealthy habit you must eliminate from your diet for optimal heart health. The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans points out that alcohol is okay in moderation. This doesn’t mean a delusional moderation. This means actual moderation like just 1 glass of red wine with dinner a night.

    Finally, it’s important to get enough. Get enough:
    • Sleep
    • Cardio healthy exercise
    • Water
    • Laughter
    • Time with your dog (or cat for you cat people like me)

    Okay, so you might be laughing about the “time with your dog”. It may not be the official recommendation for ultimate heart health, but happiness is as important to heart health as is sleep and exercise.

  • 7 Common Allergies People Live With Daily

    7 Common Allergies People Live With Daily

    Theses days, it seems that allergies are even more common than ever before. It is estimated that about 60 million Americans suffer from
    some type of allergy. That’s 1 out of 4. Allergies are the 5th most common chronic disease in America and the 3rd most common chronic disease in children.

    Sadly, many people suffer from more than one type of allergy in their lives and struggle daily to feel better and stay well.

    allergies
    1. Outdoor Allergies : Pollen from trees, grass and weeds are in the outdoor allergy category. Other common outdoor allergy triggers are mold spores, dust mite and cockroach allergen and cat, dog and rodent dander.
    2. Indoor Allergies: some of these are the same as outdoor in many cases. Allergies to dust mites, cockroach allergen, cat and/or dog dander.

      About 75% of people with allergies have indoor/outdoor allergies. The most common pet allergy is cat dander

      Some people are even allergic, or have issues with scents from cleaning products, candles, air fresheners, etc.
    3. Skin allergies are another common allergy. The most common causes of skin allergies are plants like poison oak, ivy and sumac.

      Allergic skin reactions can also be caused by skin contact with things like latex, cockroach and dust mites and even some foods. Skin allergies are the main allergy for about 7% of allergy sufferers.
    4. Food and drug Allergies: While we here a lot about food and drug allergies, they’re the primary allergy of only about 6% of allergy sufferers. Food allergies are more common in children but there are adults that experience food allergies.

      Peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish are responsible for 90% of all food allergies.

      Food allergies claim over 200 lives yearly. When it comes to common drug allergies, penicillin is the winner.

      I personally experience allergies to wheat (gluten) and have challenges with dairy too. Although I haven’t experience anaphylactic shock, within an hour, I feel the effects of being “glutened” – itchy hair, itchy skin, and within 12 hours, I’m experience the side effects in other digestive ways. If you know what I mean.
    5. Allergies to Penicillin: Would you believe that almost 400 Americans die every year from allergies to this common drug.

      This is yet another area I experience allergies myself. Penicillin and many types of antibiotics give me issues.
    6. Latex Rubber Allergies: Latex allergy is a reaction to certain proteins found in natural rubber latex, a product made from the rubber tree. If you have a latex allergy, your body mistakes latex for a harmful substance.

      Latex allergy may cause itchy skin and hives or even anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition that can cause throat swelling and severe difficulty breathing. This can be a serious issue.

      Latex and insect allergies both claim around 4% of allergy sufferers. Latex allergies result in 10 deaths a year and nearly 100 deaths a year are the result of insect allergies.
    7. Insect Bite Allergies: Think mosquitoes, ants, bees, even spiders.

      I have a cat that is actually allergic to mosquito bites. Yep, itches like crazy and causes him a lot of grief.

      My daughter, on the other hand gets huge welts when bitten by a mosquito.

      Other people are allergic to bees
    allergies

    In conclusion: Allergies affect more than 50 million people in the US — many people suffer through sniffles, sneezes, and get all clogged up when contaminated by an allergen (or allergens).

    For many people, the allergies they experience are seasonal and mild, and mean nothing more than getting extra tissue or taking something like a decongestant or antihistamine occasionally. For others people the allergy might be related to food, and as long as they avoid the food, no problem.

    allergies

    But for scores of other adults, severe allergies are so severe it interferes with their quality of life on a major level. Whatever sets off the allergy symptoms, ends up affecting them more severely than others and many times are harder to avoid.

  • The Relation Between Diet And Gout

    The Relation Between Diet And Gout

    Could there really be a relationship between diet and gout?

    Gout is a very common disease among the elderly and people with weight problems. The disease predominantly affects men and it has the highest incidence among people with ages over 50. Although gout has a pronounced hereditary character, people who follow unhealthy diets are very susceptible to developing the disease as well.

    For years, medical scientists have been trying to reveal conclusive evidence regarding the contribution of diets in the occurrence and the progression of gout. Thanks to the abundance of accumulated data upon this matter, nowadays we know for a fact that gout is most likely to strike among the people who follow fatty meat and seafood diets.

    Meat products and seafood have been confirmed to greatly increase the levels of uric acid in the blood, thus facilitating the occurrence of gout.

    However, research studies have also revealed the fact that inappropriate diet isn’t the only cause of the disease, as many people with high uric acid levels due to unhealthy food regimens aren’t affected by gout. It seems that the occurrence and the progression of gout are strongly influenced by genetic heritage, the consumption of alcoholic beverages, an inactive lifestyle, and body weight.

    The Relation Between Diet And Gout

    Recent findings have revealed the fact that low-fat dairy products have an important role in both preventing and overcoming the undesirable effects of gout. It seems that milk proteins help the body excrete the excess of uric acid, the primarily responsible substance in the occurrence of gout.

    Statistics indicate that people who follow low-fat dairy regimens are two times less likely to develop gout than people who don’t consume dairy products at all. In order to prevent the occurrence of gout, nutritionists recommend drinking around two glasses of skim-milk each day.

    People who are at risk of developing gout are advised to limit the intake of meats such as pork, beef, lamb, and duck. Seafood also contains high levels of purines and thus it should be avoided as much as possible.

    Organ meats such as liver, heart, and kidney should be permanently excluded from one’s diet, as they considerably increase the risk of gout. In addition, people at risk of gout should limit the consumption of alcohol, as it greatly contributes to the development of the disease.

    Although vegetables are a lot healthier than meat products, as they contain non-saturated fats and natural fibers, they can sometimes increase one’s risk of developing gout, as they also contain purines, which add to the body’s production of uric acid.

    A diet based on fresh salads and vegetables is a lot healthier than meat-based diets. to help ride the body of excess uric acid,  people at risk of developing gout are advised to drink at least two liters of water each day.

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