Monthly Archives: February 2012

Vegetables – How Important are they?

 Vegetables Are Important For HealthVegetables for detoxification

    Vegetables play a vital role in your health and detoxifying your body. They help in flushing toxins out of the body that have built up over years of eating the wrong foods. They help in your digestion and absorption of the rich nutrients that are necessary for good health.

  1. They are very low in calories. You’d have to eat 5 bags of spinach, or 3 heads of broccoli, to equal the calories of just 1 cup of pasta or 1 tiny tablespoon of butter. So, you absolutely do not have to go hungry on tiny portions when you load up on veggies. In fact, it’s almost impossible to eat too many.
  2. Here’s the next point about veggies. They are high in fiber. This is both good for your digestion and good for weight loss as that fiber expands in the stomach, making you feel full and satisfied. A bowl of spinach has 8 grams of fiber, about 1/3 of your daily requirement. Broccoli, green peas, and other green leafy vegetables are also good sources of fiber.
  3. The third reason fibrous carbs are perfect for fat loss is because they have almost NO adverse affects on blood sugar levels. While it’s still a good idea to balance veggies out with a protein source, even eaten alone they’re okay because they don’t cause an increase in insulin.
  4. And finally, they’re loaded with vitamins and minerals and other very beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants and phytonutrients, that will help you look and feel better, fight off disease, and improve your overall health.

Now with that all being said, you don’t want to eat all these fibrous carbs for every meal. Why? Because of they will not give you an ample amount of energy in the mornings, when you need it most. Fibrous carbs are extremely beneficial for 4 reasons: (a.) they are low in calories, (b.) they are high in fiber, (c.) they have almost no adverse affects on insulin, and (d.) they are loaded with vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that fight off illness and disease.

So we encourage you to load your system up with natural starchy carbs, and/or some fruit, early in the day and then later transition to fibrous carbs. This way you’re giving your body the energy it needs for the entire day early on, and then you’re switching to fibrous carbs as you become less active and move towards night-time when you sleep.

You’ll also find that you have less sugar cravings at night when you eat the right types of carbs at the right times of the day, so there are many reasons this is so important.

Key Points to remember:

  1. Fibrous carbs are extremely effective for fat loss, but that doesn’t mean they should be your primary carb source at every meal.
  2. Load your system up with natural starchy carbs, and/or some fruit, early in the day and then later transition to fibrous carbs.

 

Vegetables Aid in Losing Belly-Fat                             Belly Fat

     The biggest benefit of eating vegetables is ridding your body of dangerous belly fat.   Doctors agree that belly fat dramatically increases the chance of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and Alzheimer’s. The fact remains that this fat is stubborn and near impossible to penetrate and lose. The reasons that this becomes so frustrating are:

  • Your hormones become out of whack. When your body is in chronic stress it produces a fat-storing hormone called cortisol. The more of this hormone the body produces, the more belly fat you store. Then by eating all the wrong foods, the fat-storing hormone insulin skyrockets, which then turns off the fat-burning hormone called glucagon.
  • Your fat-burning furnace is broken. Most people trying to lose this belly fat will unknowingly stress their bodies into starvation-mode, by decreasing their calorie intake. This only magnifies the nutrient deficiencies in their bodies. Then by eating what I call “nutrient-dead foods”, this leads to cravings that start spiraling out of control (If you feel hungry all the time, this is why). This has a double whammy effect on the body. First, the body will decrease the fat-burning hormones that keep the metabolism running correctly. Secondly, the body then increases the hormone, leptin, which is a hunger hormone. As a result, weight loss becomes impossible.
  • Your foods are full of obesity additives. These Giant food manufacturers produce food that have been stripped of belly-burning nutrients and replaced with artificial preservatives that entice the body to create fat cells, which cause a mineral imbalance that result in bloating and water retention. Like cocaine or nicotine, these additives addict our bodies by altering our brain neurotransmitters to make us addicts to these foods. This causes pounds of “toxins” to build up in our digestive tract (up to 15-20 pounds).

Now that you know what the three obstacles are to overcome the frustrating task of losing belly-fat and detoxifying your body, below are the solutions to correct this problem. There are certain foods that KILL belly-fat for specific reasons, and certain foods that CAUSE it. The secret is learning which types of these foods are and how to swap the bad for the good to lose that belly-fat fast.

 

In the first week you should be able to eliminate the toxins that cause your body to retain water and dramatically increase the digestion of vital nutrients necessary for your body. And remember the nasty little stress hormone cortisol, that causes massive amounts of belly fat? Scientists have discovered that there are certain times during the day when you should eat these foods to zap your body’s cortisol levels by as much as 17%.

Foods For Losing Belly Fat

  • Avocadoes – Avocadoes are full of two nutrients that are KEY to killing belly fat: hunger-crushing fiber (11 to 17 grams per avocado), and monounsaturated fats, where studies have shown to actually spot-reduce belly fat.
  • Peanut Butter – but mainly any seed and nuts (which are the best): pistachios, walnuts, almonds (or almond butter), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. These are full of fat-burning minerals and fats that also help keep your belly feeling fuller, which works to reduce hunger cravings.
  • Healthy oils like Olive oil, coconut oil – even the brand name of Udo’s oil and Barleans oil help in burning away belly fat by supplying your body with essential oils it needs.
  • Vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, and cabbage all contain special phytonutrients, such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which help to fight against environmental estrogens that add belly fat.
  • Omelets – Eggs are actually nutrient-dense and packed with protein, vitamins B6, B12, A, D, E, and K, folate, choline, lutein, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. The best eggs are from the free-range chickens.
  • Dark Chocolate – Dark chocolates are loaded with antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number in strawberries), and also contains stimulants, theobromine and caffeine, which both have a positive effect on fat burning.
  • Oatmeal – Avoid the processed, high-sugar junk that is available. Stick to the slow-cook oats. Add some cinnamon, walnuts, berries and a natural sweetener for added taste.
  • Green Tea – A report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that green tea extract boosted the daytime metabolism of its test subjects up to 35 – 43%, not to mention all the potent antioxidants that it contains.
  • Beans – Black beans, navy beans, refried beans and lima beans all have 6 or more grams of fiber per ½ cup. This fiber can clean your system of pounds of toxins and reduce your belly bulge.
  • Berries – Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are loaded with fiber (which slows sugar absorption), plus they are packed with vitamins that can fight hunger cravings (cravings from vitamin deficiencies).
  • Cinnamon – Researchers have found that cinnamon contains a type of antioxidant that increases insulin sensitively and effectively stabilizes blood sugar. This causes less belly fat.
  • Chili Peppers – Studies have shown that the active ingredient of capsaicin in chili peppers not only stabilizes blood sugar levels (which decrease fat storage) but aids in fat burning, and is a powerful antioxidant.
  • Yogurt – Regular yogurt is bad for your belly. It is loaded with belly-bulging sugars (real or artificial) that you best avoid. However, Greek yogurts like Stoneyfield Farms Oikos Greek Yogurt (plain) are loaded with probiotics that fight belly fat.
  • Wild Salmon – Hands-down one of the best bell-blasting foods because of its protein and high omega-3 fatty acid content. Since many people are omega-3 deficient, this food will show miraculous results very fast.
  • Giant Turkey Legs – Turkey meat in general (white meat) is very lean and protein rich. This includes the wild salmon, free-range chickens, whey protein powders, and most especially grass-fed beef because it contains natural CLA, a fat in which studies have shown to really burn away fat. The nice thing about protein is that your body will burn off 30% of its calories after you eat it.

 

I hope you find this article informing and helpful. I welcome your thoughts, opinions and comments. If you know someone who can benefit from this post, please share this with them.

To Your Health!