HEALTH, DIET AND NUTRITION FAQ’s

Ruth Tan asked:


The recent revolutionary Hibernation Diet created by a British pharmacist and a nutrition expert caught my attention by making a powerful connection between poor sleep and obesity. It advocates incorporating mild resistance exercise and a healthy, wholesome, and balanced diet void of highly refined, processed foods such as white bread, pizza, burgers, chocolates, beer and sugar, and suggests taking a generous spoonful or two of honey at night, either as a warm drink, a smoothie or straight from the jar. This fascinating honey hibernation diet promises to help us sleep and lose weight at the same time by using our biology and working with our bodies, rather than against them – “recovery biology”. A new approach to fat metabolism, it requires no straining from aerobics exercise, no wearing out on a treadmill and no pounding it out in the gym. Sounds too easy, too miraculous or too far-fetched to be believable?

Natural honey when taken prior to bed is believed to be able to fuel the liver, speed up fat-burning metabolism, ease stress hormones and help us get a better night’s sleep. This oldest natural sweetener also contains a wide variety of vitamins, including vitamins B6, B1, B2 and B5, and minerals such as calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and zinc, anti-oxidants and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

What I learnt about the Hibernation Diet is that honey provides a fuelling mechanism for the body at night, keeping blood sugar levels balanced and letting your recovery hormones get on with burning fat stores. This proposition that honey reduces blood glucose level was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food in April 2004. However, to most people, it seems to defy common sense since honey comprises two sugars, namely glucose and fructose in a 1:1 ratio. Moreover, eating late at night is often discouraged by many people who believe that during bedtime, metablic rate is low and the body cannot burn calories and would easily put on weight. Being a honey enthusiast, I naturally wanted to know more about how the hibernation diet works scientifically for the good of the body.

I read that when sugars are absorbed from the gut into the blood they are first absorbed by the liver, which is the only organ in the human body with the fructose enzyme to process this sugar. In the liver the fructose is converted into glucose, stored as liver glycogen or human starch, and released only if and when blood glucose falls.

Fructose also triggers the glucose enzyme in the liver allowing the liver to take in as much glucose as it requires. This has been referred to as the Fructose Paradox. In other words, fructose lowers the Glycemic Index of glucose; fructose enters the liver and opens the gate for glucose entry preventing a rapid rise in blood glucose. This natural blood glucose regulator found in fruits, vegetables and honey, regulate blood glucose levels and stabilize blood glucose to maintain a regular supply of glucose to the brain.

Some simple questions that the hibernation diet expert asks to check if the liver has fuelled up well for the night:

- Do you wake regularly during the night?

- Do you have night sweats?

- Do you experience acid reflux during the night?

- Do you get up to go to the bathroom during the night?

- Do you feel nauseous in the early morning?

- Do you wake up exhausted?

- Do you have a dry throat in the morning?

- Do you get night cramps?

- Do you feel weak in the early morning?

If “yes” is the answer for any of these questions, it could mean that instead of burning fat and repairing muscles, your body has produced a stream of stress hormones while you’ve slept.

The hibernation diet also goes on to explain how fructose in honey fuels the brain which is the most energy demanding organ, burning up to 20 times the fuel of any other cell in the body. We become exhausted after having to concentrate for a lengthy period. That’s why we often hear that mental exhaustion is worse than physical exhaustion. The brain needs glucose to survive, however glucose occupies a large amount of storage space and there is no room in the brain. And the liver is the only organ that can both store and release glucose into the circulation. This is why looking after your liver glycogen amount by ensuring that the liver and the brain are well provided for both in the day and at night is so critical. Any fall in blood glucose is detrimental for the brain. The adrenal glands to be activated and the adrenal hormones if overproduced can lead to conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, poor immune function, depression and other distressing health problems.

What I find inspiring to read is that we burn an amazing 70% fat during rest, 35% during low level exercise, 20% during moderate exercise, and a low 10% during intense exercise. During sleep we should burn fats. However, if the liver is not fuelled prior to bed, we release stress hormones from the adrenal glands which raise our heart rate and blood pressure. These hormones instead of burning fat, degrade muscle and bone. The liver must deliver 10 grams of glucose every hour — 6.5 to the brain, 3.5 to the kidneys and red blood cells. As the liver capacity is only 75 grams, most people go to bed with a depleted liver, activating the adrenal glands and do not recover. And if you do not recover you do not burn fats. The hibernation diet essentially aims to encourage people to reap the benefit of your body’s own natural recovery system and optimize their recovery biology or fat burning biology, as explicitly termed by the author who believed that this diet is not only to a healthy weight but unlocking energy resources you never know you had.

Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/hibernation-diet/html

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Rachel Jenkins asked:


Due to the weight loss crazes that prevail in our country, many people are always looking for the “latest and greatest” way to lose weight. The newest fad is the “Cookie Diet”, promoted by Dr. Siegal of Miami. This diet has been promoted on many different television and radio shows, and is exactly what it sounds like: a diet in which one eats cookies all day. While half a million people are on this diet (and have lost weight), it’s not advisable for the long term.

Why Is The Cookie Diet A Bad Idea?

First of all… any diet that is “short-term” does not make sense when translated into real life. Sure, eating cookies is great for now… but how many people are going to be able to stomach eating cookies every day for the rest of their life (really think about that before you answer!)? Besides, as of right now, there are only five different flavors. Even people with the biggest sweet tooths are not going to be able to eat five flavors for the rest of their days.

A diet should allow you the flexibility to eat what you want.

Next, people don’t get to eat very much on the diet. They eat six cookies throughout the day and a dinner. This is a very restrictive way of life that is bound to greatly interfere with social life, events, and work.

A diet should fit in with your lifestyle.

Third, the diet is not very nutritious. As mentioned, one has to eat six cookies throughout the day and a dinner. Unless someone gets in all of their nutrients via vitamins and one heck of a filling dinner… it will be very hard to stay truly healthy.

A diet should allow you to eat healthily.

Fourth, there’s a high cost associated with buying these cookies. They’re not just any cookies – they have high fiber content in them as well as specific ingredients. You should not have to spend extra money to be on a diet.

Lastly, if you happen to be out of cookies – you’re out of luck for the day. This is inconvenient. A diet should work around what you want – you shouldn’t have to work for the diet!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Subin Han asked:


Many people want to lose a lot of weight and are willing to try anything from a stomach staple to a far out wacky diet. Some diets are controversial and can be injurious to health. Others are short-term starvation. Here is a list of the top ten fad diets.

#1 The Atkins diet is a one of Americas most popular and still endures after many years. The Atkins diet basis is that processed foods and a high carbohydrate diet are the core problems that make and keep people fat. The diet has four phases.

The first phase and most restrictive is the OWL phase. The Owl phase (Ongoing Weight Loss) restricts the carbohydrate intake to just 20 grams per day. Twelve to fifteen of those grams must come from salads. Meat, seafood, fish and poultry are plentiful in this stage. A little soft cheese is allowed daily, some low carbohydrate vegetables, no alcohol, limited caffeine, butter or oils and water, lots and lots of water, needs to be consumed.

Phase two allows more carbohydrates each week selected from a food ladder. The dieter gets an increase of five grams of carbohydrates per week from a different food group each week during this phase.

The next phase increases the carbohydrates until weight loss stops. Once the dieter reaches the final weight goal the maintenance phase kicks begins.

The Atkins diet shows immediate weight loss but is difficult to stick to because of rigid eating patterns. A study showed that the diet might cause kidney damage.

#2 The green tea diet uses a nutritional low calorie diet and adds green tea to every meal and snack.

#3 Number three on the top ten fad diet list is the negative calorie diet.
The diet gets its name from the theory that the foods on the diet use more calories to digest than they contain. While there is no scientific proof that you can eat your way thin, many of these foods are healthy, nutritional foods that are low in calories. The foods on the list increase the body’s metabolism and aid in faster weight reduction.

#4 The grape diet is number four of the top ten fad diets and one probably the worst. Nothing but grapes and water becomes the fare for days on end. This diet, originally created to cleanse the system and fight cancer, became a weight loss diet somewhere along the way.

#5 The three hour diet takes into consideration the time of day that you eat. The diet breaks the food down to mini-meals eaten every three hours. It resembles a diet for hypoglycemia. The diet is nutritionally balanced and keeps blood sugar levels stable. That stability reduces the urge for a 5:00 o’clock feeding frenzy that frequently occurs in dieters. This one makes sense. The down side is the need to constantly eat, even if you’re busy or not hungry.

#6 The lemonade diet was another cleanse diet that switched to a weight loss one. Nothing but a concoction of maple syrup, cayenne pepper and lemon juice is on the list of edibles for the ten day fast.

#7The ice cream diet is just a regular calorie controlled diet that makes room for a little ice cream at the end of the day. Of course, if calories are controlled, weight loss occurs. The diet is nothing more than allotting for ice cream. The calcium in the ice cream is good for the bones and aids metabolism, but outside of that, you could substitute a brownie and call it the brownie diet.

#8 The cabbage soup diet uses a soup created from cabbage and other vegetables and mixes it with rations of other low calorie foods and cranberry juice or tea for five days of monotony and gassy stomachs.

#9 The raw food diet is a vegan diet with all foods left uncooked. Blend them, chop them and arrange them but don’t cook anything or heat it beyond 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw food contains more vitamins in many cases than its cooked counterparts do. Nuts are included in the raw food diet as the protein source. The diet consisting mostly of vegetables is a low calorie diet, but it is difficult to keep it well balanced. It is a lot healthier than most fad diets and the introduction of raw vegetables into the body brings in many nutrients. The fiber of the raw vegetables cleans out a lot of noxious waste.

#10 The final diet on the list of the top ten fad diets is Zone diet. Much like the Atkins diet it has phases and attempts to change lifestyle and eating habits. The Zone diet uses a balancing act for its carbohydrate ratio. Each meal consists of 40 % of the food as carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% of the meal in fats. The popularity of this diet created by Oprah’s endorsement puts it on the list of the top ten fad diets.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Leisa St Ledger asked:


Why a diet fails: How many times have you failed at a diet? If you are anything similar to the average American man or woman, you must have failed at least 3 times at dieting, at various times in your life. And you blame yourself for it, right? Lack of willpower, determination, discipline… you know the works!

Well, here is the scoop. If you failed at a diet, it really is not your fault because most diets are inherently designed to FAIL!!

Let me give four of the most obvious reasons why any diet fails:

The truth about crash diets: There is a lot of negativity surrounding the word ‘crash diet’. Basically diets crash because they ignore the needs of the body. They advocate severe calorie cuts. But the important thing to remember is that food contains more than just calories. Your food also contains all the nutrients your body needs. Your body needs all vital nutrients, in their right proportions. Any diet that ignores or drastically cuts out one or more of these nutrients is heading for failure. Another reason is that crash diets recommend such low intakes of food that it is tough to remain on a crash diet for long. The moment you stop dieting and start eating normally, your body begins to store fat so that it has resources to fall back on when the next diet hits it. So, you see, crash diets are an open guarantee to rebound weight gain. Besides, crash diets take a heavy toll on your endurance, emotions and self-esteem. All around, crash diets are an unhappy and unfulfilled experience. Little wonder that they are also unfruitful!

Diet regimes that are too tough: You may have heard of a number of diets that boast of their power to make you lose weight fast. What do you need to do? O, not much! Just follow their complicated instructions to make lunch or dinner match their calorie specs perfectly. Can you imagine yourself doing this regularly, over any length of time? I know I would not slog over the perfect cabbage soup or lemon diet when I have to run for work in the morning and come back dead beat at night, ready to flop into bed. A diet plan with simple meal plans is the only one that will work, in the long run!

Exotic diets and what they mean: Ever come across a diet that tells you to eat something that is not locally available? I have come across many of them. While I am happy to receive the exotic stuff one or two times, I do not have the patience or the money to keep splurging. So, such a diet soon dies a quiet death. Your regular diet should be based on foods that you have easy access to.

Fad diets have no future: Fad diets are like a flash in the plan. One fine morning, everyone is talking about them. The internet is full of their praises and every celebrity you read of is going gung-ho about the diet. 6 months or a year later, the diet is nowhere to be seen. Fad diets are something of a fashion trend. They come and go in regular cycles. They promise lots but deliver little. In the long run, they are only successful in earning their makers a good amount of money, at your expense.

I could go on and give you more reasons why diets like the above fail. But, you get the drift, don’t you?

Now that you know what kinds of diet fail, what are the characteristics of diets that are successful? What strategies do people who successfully lose weight adopt? What makes them succeed?

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Jim Duffy asked:


The concept isometric has been a part of the health care vocabulary for decades. The most common application of the term, until now, has been with respect to physical exercise. Taken from the Greek root word Iso, meaning equal, the familiar term Isometric exercises involves applying equal weight to achieve strength goals.

Fairly recently, health researchers have discovered another innovative application of the isometric concept in the health care field: nutrition. These researchers have identified that an isometric approach to diet – a.k.a. the “Isometric Diet” — can lead to health improvement.

The Isometric Diet®, which provides the philosophical basis for the Zone Diet, has swiftly gained respect from the health and nutrition community because it applies this clear “balance” lens to the rather confused, often misinformed world of dieting. Created by Dan Duchaine in the mid 90s, and evolved by researchers such as Dr. Barry Sears (founder of the Zone Diet™), the Isometric Diet is an eating regimen that calls for a balanced ratio of protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates, and essential fatty acids.

The balanced ratio is the result of an overall awareness that the human body does not necessarily desire, or require, all kinds of micronutrients in all situations. While carbohydrates, proteins, and fats do provide the essential building blocks of human life, not all sources of each are optimal in all situations.

The Isometric Diet therefore takes a holistic approach to eating, and incorporates both macronutrient and micronutrient sources of energy. This goes beyond simply balancing proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Instead, an optimal balance is achieved on a deeper level one that leads to optimal body functioning, normalized blood-glucose levels, a controlled metabolism, and a healthy satiating of hunger.

This optimal balance, and particularly the point about healthily satiating hunger, is in stark contrast to some “fad diets”, which seek to artificially suppress hunger. This potentially dangerous suppression often forces eaters to experience a weakened immune system, bone density loss, and other adverse consequences of malnutrition.

The Isometric Diet is founded upon five integrated principles: balance protein diversity unsaturated fats low glycemic carbohydrates and awareness of food priority.

Principle One: Balance. The Isometric Diet recognizes the fact that the human body functions optimally when it is fueled by a balanced micronutrient ratio of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.[i] The optimal ratio for these three is 1:1:1, or the same number of calories from proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Principle Two: Protein Diversity. The human body responds differently to different sources of protein.[ii] For example, a post-exercise meal that consists of quick-assimilating whey protein will have a more beneficial health impact than an intake of caseinate or soy protein. The Isometric Diet therefore promotes a blend of protein intake to seek an amino acid balance, and to select the most appropriate assimilation rate for optimal health.

Principle Three: Unsaturated Fats and MCT’s. The Isometric Diet recognizes that the human body processes saturated fats differently from mono- and polyunsaturated fats.[iii] Furthermore, the diet exploits the fact that there are some fats, called Medium Chain Triglycerides or “MCTs”, which are shorter chains of 8-10 fatty acids. These MCT chains are shorter, absorb quickly, and digest very easily. The end result is a more efficient digestive system and better results through less effort.[iv]

Principle Four: Low Glycemic Carbohydrates. Healthy eaters are swiftly adopting the Isometric Diet’s promotion of carbohydrates that do not cause the blood-sugar to rise. Dieters can therefore use the “glycemic index” (GI) as an intelligent way to measure the body’s insulin response to a given food and to monitor the intake of “good” carbohydrates.[v]

Principle Five: Awareness of Food Priority. The Isometric Diet is aware that there are naturally occurring micronutrients found in food that supplements, typically, cannot engineer. As such, the Isometric Diet does not propose an eating regimen that regularly replaces food with supplements. Rather, a controlled diet that is fortified by scientifically designed supplements is most effective.[vi] This is particularly important in a very fast paced world where eating a complete meal can be quite a challenge. In such cases, the Isometric Diet approves of the supportive value of supplements – provided that such supplements are created in light of the above four principles.

One such supplement that has been engineered within the framework of these principles, and that is receiving positive acclaim in the health care field, is called Isometric®, created by Pennsylvania-based Protica, Inc. So named to reflect its balanced composition and support of the Isometric Diet principles, Isometric is a third-generation supplement that provides a complete spectrum of macro- and micronutrients.

Of greater importance to most health-conscious eaters, however, is Isometric’s balanced micronutrient breakdown. Each all-natural 3-fluid-ounce serving – which can be responsibly used as a meal replacement — delivers 25 grams of low-glycemic carbohydrates, 25 grams of protein, and 10 grams of unsaturated, highly-bioavailable essential fatty acids. Of added value to dieters is Isometric’s™ modest 300-calories per serving.

The path to perfect eating balance is an evolving one. The more information that nutritional science uncovers, the more effective shall be the resulting eating regimen. However, regardless of what innovations lay ahead, one principle will remain constant: the human body craves equilibrium, and it achieves optimal health through a holistic balance of micronutrients and macronutrients. Enabling that balance today is the Isometric Diet, and more recently, Isometric from Protica, Inc.

About Protica

Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. Information on Protica is available at www.protica.com. You can also learn about Profect at www.profect.com.

References
[i] Source: “Balancing Fats, Proteins, and Carbohydrates”. About Network.
http://nutrition.about.com/od/recipesmenus/a/balanceddiet.htm

[ii] Source: “Picking Your Protein”. C-Health
http://chealth.canoe.ca/columns.asp?columnistid=9&articleid=10798

[iii] Source: “Best Diet for a Healthy Heart”. WebMD.
http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/54/65205.htm

[iv] Source: “MCT: Do They Really Make it Easier to Lose Weight?”.
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/mct.htm.

[v] Source: “Study Shows Benefit from “Good-” Carb Diet”. MSNBC.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6567344/

[vi] Source: “Dietary Supplements No Substitute for Proper Diet”. CNN.
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/diet.fitness/09/05/diet.cancer.ap/

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Balajiee Sampath asked:


FatLoss4Idiots is a popular dieting site which teaches you how to successfully slim and blows the common dieting myths wide open.

There can be nasty side effects to dieting such as the fact that it can leave you weaker with no energy, this is especially true when we are talking about low carbohydrate diets, as this is where the majority of your energy comes from in your regular diet. You will feel miserable any find it harder to get through the day, and who wants that?

A good enough reason as any not to diet is simply the fact that unless you stick to the diet for the rest of your life (and let’s face it, how boring would that be!) then you will ultimately put the weight back on. Diets tend to work in a horrible cycle where you lose weight, and as soon as you stop the strict plan, you put it back on. This is just pointless and wastes your time, energy and money (how much did you pay to learn about the diet in the first place?).

Diets can be really bad for your health, not actually giving you all the nutrients you need. A balanced diet that you can use every day, along with exercise if possible, is so much better for you than any official diet plan.

Dieting can affect your self-esteem if you are not losing the promised weight as fast as you like- and from the variety of diets around and super-slim celebrities, it would seem everyone is being told they need to diet.

With dieting there is always the risk of obsession which could lead to an eating disorder in extreme cases. Nobody wants to suffer this much for following a programme that is supposed to be useful, so why should we be forced to diet at all?

The fact is that some people are overweight or unhappy with their body and need to diet to either get healthy or feel good about themselves. All of the fad diets around today are not likely to work and just make people more depressed and angry about their weight.

FatLoss4Idiots has the solution however; they do not talk about schemes that will not benefit you. In fact, that was a lie, they do talk about them, but about how they don’t work and the reasons why. For example:

Low fat diets do not work: The reason you cannot lose weight by starving yourself (using a low calorie diet) is because your metabolism will detect any major drop in calories and it will then ADJUST ITSELF by burning fewer calories each day.

Doesn’t that help you see why some diets are bad? FatLoss4Idiots provides a simple scheme that is easy to follow and will make you lose weight in the long term. It teaches you the rules of fat loss and weight loss and will leave you much fitter and healthier. Its programme is designed to make you lose 9lbs every 11 days, and will teach you some valuable tips for how to eat better.

If there is any diet you should follow it is this one: don’t be tricked by the fads around today, FatLoss4Idiots does not work in the same way. With this scheme you can and will lose weight, and it’s much easier too.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Brandon Walsh asked:


What Should My Cirrhosis Diet Plan Look Like?

An important part of your cirrhosis diet plan is to implement a complete abstinence from alcohol. Alcohol simply destroys your liver and will have serious consequences if consumed with cirrhosis.

Your liver has the very important role of converting your food into stored energy that can be used by the body to function properly. When the liver is damaged, it needs to be treated especially well to assume its normal functionality. Part of treating your liver well, is to keep sodium, and simple sugar intake low, and your protein intake high. We’ll get into further detail as to what that means below.

Low Sodium

Your sodium intake typically needs to be regulated and/or restricted with cirrhosis. Unfortunately, this means no salt on your eggs, steak, or ice cream! However, salt is an acquired taste, so, just like any difficult habit it will get easier as time goes on.

The biggest and most difficult hurdle could also be the foods that come pre-packaged with masses of sodium. Foods to be on the lookout for would be your processed meats and cheeses, canned soups, and frozen dinners. Most experts will tell you that 2000 milligrams of sodium per day would be the max you would want to ingest, but always consult your doctor or health professional for the best advice in this regard.

Adequate Protein

Another important aspect of your cirrhosis diet plan will be to ingest an adequate, but not excessive, amount of protein in your diet. Protein is necessary in repairing and maintaining your body tissue, especially your liver!

Many persons dealing with cirrhosis tend to better absorb and use protein from plant and dairy sources rather than from meat and poultry. And, consequently, your diet should reflect that tendency, being comprised of nuts, seeds, yogurt, etc. Large amounts of animal proteins in your diet can lead to a condition called encephalopathy, so your protein intake with cirrhosis should be handled with great caution.

Low Fat

As the largest organ in your body, your liver plays a greatly multi functional role. And, as such, persons dealing with cirrhosis often experience difficulty digesting fat in their diet as well. A good guideline to use for your fat intake would be to try and keep the total calories of fat in your diet to around 25%. And, as a general principle for a healthy diet, and for it’s liver protecting qualities, try to ingest a good portion of that fat from Omega-3 fatty acids, found in food such as salmon, walnuts, and flaxseed oil.

So, What Now?

Now you know what elements of the your cirrhosis diet plan you need to look for, but how do you ensure that you are getting the right nutrition, eating at the right times of the day, and consuming the right foods?

Here are a few basic suggestions:

Eat several smaller portioned meals throughout the day (4 -7), rather than 3 large meals. (much less taxing on your liver) Look for a good multi-vitamin that’s easily soluble, organic, and contains the nutrients your body needs. (to replace those vitamins your liver couldn’t handle) Replace your intake of animal fat and animal protein with some good supplements, such as nutritional bars, shakes, and spirulina. Drink lots of water, get normal rest, and lots of sunshine.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Steve K Smith asked:


Well like most people I had put a little weight on over the winter and decided to try and take a bit off. I only needed to lose about 10 pounds or so to get to my normal weight so as silly as it seemed I decided to give the 3 day tuna fish diet a try. I figured it was quick and not to complicated so no harm done if it didn’t work. So off I went to the grocery store with my shopping list.

For those who have never heard of this diet, basically it involves eating tuna every day at one meal and your suppose to be able to lose about 10 pounds which was right in my sweet spot. You can find several variations of it online, you may have even had it sent to you via email spam. I must say I did modify it a bit and ate tuna every day at lunch even though on day 3 I was suppose to eat it a dinner, but other than that I ate what the diet told me to. I am sure this had no drastic effect on my results.

My first day of the 3 day tuna fish diet was very easy as it hardly seemed like a diet at all. Not sure what this says about my normal eating habits. On the second day I did become a little hungry though as it felt like I had missed a meal some where. By the third day though I was hungry and very sick of tuna, I was not bothered by it to much as I knew it was pretty much going to be over soon.

The Results

I had checked my weight on the morning I began the 3 day tuna fish diet before breakfast so I waited till the morning of day 4 before breakfast to check the results. As I stepped on the scale with my stomach growling in anticipation I was expecting great things, well net result was I lost 2.5 pounds. That is probably the same as I would of lost if I had just restricted my diet a little over the 3 day period. It wasn’t that difficult to stick to but don’t really think the results are more than you get with just healthy eating. In the past the Dean Ornish diet is the diet I have had the most success with but it is very hard to stick to.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Patsy Hamilton asked:


If you are searching for information about an effective ulcerative colitis diet, you may find yourself very confused. There is no diet for ulcerative colitis that is agreed upon by all healthcare professionals. Most eating plans that are advertised as an ulcerative colitis diet were designed by those who suffer from the disease or those who love them. One man who sells a cookbook for his ulcerative colitis diet plan says that he was told by a doctor of “oriental medicine” (his words, not mine) that he should eat no meat, no fish, no egg yolks, no fruits and no nuts. While another diet for ulcerative colitis control, developed by a doctor and a biochemist recommends meat, fish, eggs, fruits and nuts. It may be wise and most effective to design your own ulcerative colitis diet, taking into account any known food allergies or sensitivities.

A symptoms and food diary may be helpful to use as you are designing your diet for ulcerative colitis control. Try to note not only what you ate, but what you drank. While there is little agreement about what foods should be included in an ulcerative colitis diet, there are certain products (like caffeine, alcohol, high fiber cereals, some fruits and some fruit juices) that are known to have a laxative effect, cause cramping and diarrhea, even in people who do not have an inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis. Diet is important. A healthy diet is important for overall good health and sense of well being. For those who suffer from ulcerative colitis, diet is particularly important.

Chronic diarrhea may lead to malnutrition, weight loss, weakness and dehydration. For these reasons a diet for ulcerative colitis control should be well-balanced, with adequate amounts of protein, carbohydrates and good fats. Including vitamin supplements, particularly D, B12 and iron is recommended.

Simple sugars and artificial sweeteners cause flare ups in some people. No matter what your food preferences, it is important when designing your ulcerative colitis diet to be honest with yourself. It may be hard to give up sodas, coffee, candy and muffins, but your goal should be to control your symptoms. Ulcerative colitis is considered a chronic disease that has a tendency to go into remission and then flare up again over time. Mild to moderate symptoms may be controlled with an ulcerative colitis diet, supplements, herbs and medications, but severe ulcerative colitis can only be cured with surgery. Since cases rarely begin as severe, keeping your symptoms under control decreases the likelihood that surgery will be necessary.

One thing to consider when designing your ulcerative colitis diet is stress and anxiety. While stress and anxiety are not believed to cause ulcerative colitis, it is believed that they can aggravate the condition. Many people who suffer from ulcerative colitis also suffer from anxiety. It may be that the condition causes people to be more anxious, never knowing when they may have to find a bathroom, always worrying about a flare up, etc. Symptoms of anxiety include rapid pulse, trembling, shaking, sweating and nausea or abdominal distress. If you experience symptoms of anxiety, in addition to symptoms of ulcerative colitis, diet considerations are similar, but there are other suggestions. These include eating smaller meals more frequently, chewing thoroughly and eating slowly.

Salt and preservatives are known to put additional stress on the body. These should be excluded or at least restricted from a healthy ulcerative colitis diet, particularly when symptoms of stress and anxiety are present. When designing your diet for ulcerative colitis control, try to include less pre-packaged foods which are full of salt and preservatives.

One more consideration for an ulcerative colitis diet is meat selection. Most companies that raise poultry, cattle and pigs for human consumption include hormones in the animal’s diets. While there is no conclusive evidence that these hormones are harmful to humans, many people believe that they can put additional stress on the human body, because they increase stress on the animal’s bodies. When you are selecting meat and fish for your ulcerative colitis diet, try to select products that do not contain hormones. For example, wild salmon, free range chicken and other organic products are better choices for a diet for ulcerative colitis control than pork and beef.

The lack of agreement about an effective ulcerative colitis diet probably stems from the fact that people have different food sensitivities and allergies. For example, a person who is lactose intolerant can not follow a diet that contains numerous milk products. One who is allergic to legumes can not follow a diet that relies heavily on legumes for protein. If you do not know if you are allergic to any foods, it may be wise to visit an allergy specialist. Sometimes food allergies develop over time, so foods that you were able to eat at one time with no adverse reactions may, at a later date, cause symptoms to flare up.

All of this may seem overwhelming and even depressing, but you may be encouraged to know that many people have found an ulcerative colitis diet that works well for them. For other suggestions about diet for ulcerative colitis control, from people just like you, you may want to visit a colitis support group. There are several on the web and your doctor may be able to recommend groups in your area. For more information about ulcerative colitis and other digestive problems, visit www.digestive-disorders-guide.com.

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Damian Sofsian asked:


If you have diabetes, it is essential that you take special care with your diet. For an adult with Type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise may not be sufficient; they may require medication like diabetic pills or insulin injections as well.

A diabetic diet is essentially a healthy, low-fat, balanced eating plan that helps the patient feel better and more energetic, and achieve some control over the symptoms like fatigue, thirst, blurred vision.

Type 2 diabetes sets in when you skip meals and eat large meals of refined, processed or simple carbohydrates and fats. Starving results in huge variations in blood sugar, and overeating affects your metabolism.

You should eat little but more frequently, and consume foods that will burn slowly. This will maintain your blood sugar level to controllable limits throughout the day, without adding large amounts of glucose to your bloodstream.

Complex carbohydrates are processed more slowly than simple carbohydrates, and help to maintain stable blood sugar levels. So, complex carbohydrates including high-fiber and starchy foods like whole grain breads, brown rice, oats, fruits and vegetables are recommended instead of simple carbohydrates found in cakes, muffins and pastries.

As a general rule, a diabetic diet provides 50% starch, 30% protein & 20% fat in calories. Follow these simple rules: eat only those foods which are on the diet list, do not skip or miss meals, and eat only the amount of food specified.

Measure your food using a standard 8-ounce measuring cup, a standard teaspoon and standard table spoon. Bake or boil your meat. Avoid frying foods unless fat is allowed. Buying special foods is unnecessary. Foods can be chosen from the same foods purchased for other family members.

Avoid sugar, sweets, candy, honey, pie and all foods prepared with sugar. Stay away from high-fat and -cholesterol diets, beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages, and red meat. For weight control, avoid fats, fried foods, sweets, and all foods prepared with sugar and oil.

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