How to and Why You should Eat like a Diabetic, when you're Dieting

-->

Dieters take heed! When you're on a diet, the same principle of stable glucose levels apply; eat light and spread your caloric intake over the day. Snacks are important to be able to do this.

Fruit: Berries are sweet, easy to pop into your mouth, Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries are all anti-inflammatory, and offer immune-boosting antioxidant activity.

Fiber: The fiber in raw veggies will help fill you up, and they provide a nice, satisfying crunch. Choose a wide range of colors (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots are good choices).

Nuts: When eaten sparingly, nuts are a terrific snack. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds and roasted soy nuts are also good choices. Nuts can be high in calories, so a few will do you.

Dark Chocolate: An ounce of dark chocolate NOE AND THEN will satisfy a sweet tooth while providing beneficial antioxidant qualities. Choose high quality dark chocolate with at least 70 percent pure cocoa, and enjoy the rich flavor.

How to Avoid Common Diet Mistakes

Dieting can be hard. People often consciously and unconsciously make
mistakes. Here are a few diet tips to help you lose weight and to avoid
common mistakes dieters often make.

Eat Regular Meals. Many dieters try skipping meals in order to save
calories but that just leads to unnecessary hunger which can lead to
binging or overeating later. Plan on eating smaller meals at regular
intervals to avoid extreme hunger.

Step2

Start over immediately. Often when someone messes up their diet,
they think, well the day is blown. I will get back on track at the next
meal, or tomorrow or next week. This is a slippery slope. If you
indulge or slip up on your diet get back on track immediately.

Step3

Plan ahead. Nothing derails a diet faster than not having a plan.
Getting home from work after a long day and starving is not the time to
plan a healthy meal. You will be more apt to stop for fast food or
order in. By planning ahead and having healthy meals options available
will help you keep on track with your diet. If you tend to oversleep,
then don't plan on making your lunch in the morning when you know you
will not have time. Plan to make that lunch the night before so you can
grab it on your way out the door.

Step4

Measure your food. Do you really know what a 1 cup serving of a food
looks like? Do you really know what a 3 or 4 oz serving of meat looks
like? We often overestimate our portion sizes. Weigh your food until
you can realistically and honestly gauge food portion sizes.

Step5

Keep a food diary. In addition to weighing your food, you should
keep a food diary. It is very easy to "forget" about the odd bite here
and there when you are not tracking everything you eat. Those calories
add up fast. You are only deceiving yourself if you are not honest
about every morsel that passes your lips.

Step6

Drink water. Often thirst is mistaken for hunger. Drink plenty of
water to avoid extra calories from grazing when you think you are hungry
but you are actually thirsty.

Step7

Exercise. Dieting is all about eating less calories than you burn.
Exercising is a great way to burn more calories.

Step8

Have a sensible diet plan. Going on an extreme diet might help you
lose weight in the short term but if it is not something you can stick
with then you will gain your weight back. Can you only eat cabbage soup
the rest of your life or eat nothing but rice and apples? You should
have a diet plan that allows you to eat a well balanced diet.

Step9

Have realistic goals. Having a goal of losing 100 lbs in 6 months is
not realistic. It will only discourage you. Have a realistic diet
goal. Perhaps plan on losing 1 - 2 lbs a week. This is attainable and
will make you more likely to stick to your goal.

Why Digestive Enzymes Are Vital To Good Health!

Most digestive disorders develop because of the body's inability
to produce sufficient enzymes for health-enhancing digestion and proper nutrient absorption. Enzyme depletion results in improper digestion and absorption, leading to chronic disorders

Malabsorption is the inability of the cells of the body to obtain nutrients from the foods consumed. This inaction causes loss of vitamins, minerals, fiber and the caloric value (energy) of foods, resulting in cellular deprivation. Digestive malabsorption can occur as a result of the following condition:

1. Insufficient time for large food molecules (protein, starch, fat) to be broken down by specific digestive enzymes.

2. Improperly-functioning Pancreas, not capable of delivering enough digestive enzymes to the small intestine to break down large molecules; thus, nutrient absorption becomes minimal or nonexistent.

3. The development of a condition known as Cleaky gut syndrome in which the membrane walls of the intestine lining become permeable, allowing undigested food to be leaded into the bloodstream.

The work of digestive enzymes is to break down food materials into components that are absorbable and, in addition, produce substances that assist in emulsifying fats into forms that can be readily absorbed into the blood.

Enzymes are necessary for life!

Everything that lives requires enzymes including humans, plants and animals.

Enzymes are a protein-based substance found in every living cell.

Important Life-Enhancing Functions of Enzymes:

• Aids digestive functioning
• Anti-wrinkle properties.
• Assists healing abilities.
• Assists respiratory function.
• Assists glucose balance.
• Dissolves blood clots.
• Anti-inflammatory properties.
• Immune stimulator to build-up natural resistance to disease

The actions of enzymes facilitate all of lifes processes and molecular integrity.

Another effect of low enzyme activity is fermentation, the basis for intestinal disorders. This process is encouraged when the diet contains carbohydrates and sugars that remain in the intestinal tract rather than being absorbed into the bloodstream. These unabsorbed substances constitute the most common source of intestinal gas and discomfort.

If you want to lose weight, there is one thing you ought to eliminate from your diet…sugar.

Sugar is a villain in your quest to lose weight. You are probably thinking, “Of course, everyone knows that sugar is fattening.” Well, there’s more to it than meets the eye. It’s important that you understand exactly why you ought to avoid sugar.

First, let’s define sugar. Sugar takes many more forms than the white table sugar with which you are familiar. Sugar includes corn syrup, maltose, lactose, fructose, sucrose, brown sugar, honey, molasses.

When you ingest cakes, cookies, chocolate, cereal, etc.—in other words, simple carbohydrates—you flood your bloodstream with sugar. (You need to begin to read ingredients labeling to determine if there is sugar in the food. You’ll be surprised at just how many foods contain sugar in one form or another.) The pancreas then produces insulin, a hormone designed to pull sugar out of your bloodstream and deposit it in your cells and your liver.

Because the pancreas does such a good job, your blood sugar rapidly drops lower than it should. (That explains your swings in your energy level.) Your brain then gets the message that your body requires more sugar to return the level to normal. As a result you feel a need to eat more sugar. And the cycle begins again.

Many people believe they are “addicted” to sugar. I guarantee you that, if you didn’t eat sugar for three or four days, that feeling of “addiction” would pass because your blood sugar levels would be stable and you would no longer feel the craving for sugar.

In addition, the pancreas releases another hormone called glucagon that helps to release fat from your cells. When you eat sugar all the time and the pancreas has to constantly release insulin, it is prohibited from releasing glucagon. As a result, you are literally locking fat in your body.

You might ask, “What about fruit?” Many people think of fruit as a great diet food. How often do you see someone having a plateful of fruit for lunch? Remember that fruit contains fructose, a natural sugar responsible for the sweetness of the fruit. It’s important to know that just because it’s natural, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s alright to eat it. It works the same way as any sugar. Now, we know that fruit contains many vitamins and minerals and should be a part of your food plan. However, if you are trying to lose weight, you need to keep your fruit consumption low, focusing on those fruits that contain less sugar, such as apples, pears and most berries.

Now, I don’t want to leave you thinking that you can never again have sugar. Even while you are losing weight, there is one time that, if you must, you can give yourself permission to eat sugar. That time is immediately following an INTENSE training session. But be sure the session is intense because working hard will deplete your body of its glycogen stores (that’s the name for sugar stored in your cells and liver for energy). Your body can store only a small amount at a time so it is possible to deplete it during an intense workout.

But don’t overdo it. Remember, while you are in a weight-loss mode, you need to be particularly careful with what you put in your body.