The post Flexible Dieting with Alan and Jeana Aragon appeared first on Lifestyle.

Some people swear by carbs them. Others curse them, believing they’re downright diabolical.

The American Diabetes Association says there are three types of carbs: Fiber, starches, and sugar, which typically fall into one of two categories: simple or complex. 

What Carbs Do

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the digestive system turns carbs into sugar for energy to fuel the body. Eating a lot of carbs raises blood sugar levels.

Simple carbs spike energy and blood sugar levels because the digestive system breaks them down into sugar pretty fast, allowing them to enter the bloodstream quickly.

It takes the digestive system a little while to break down complex carbohydrates, causing glucose to enter the bloodstream slowly. Complex carbs are considered the good guys, at least in the world of carbohydrates.

You’ll often hear simple carbs called “bad” and complex called “good.”

To recap: The body turns carbs into glucose for energy. It digests simple carbs quickly, spiking blood sugar levels (which is bad). Unused energy is stored (which is really be bad when you have a lot of it to store).

Too many simple carbs can contribute to weight gain and raise the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Glycemic Index

Maybe you’ve heard of the Glycemic Index, a scale that assigns a value to foods based on “how quickly and how high those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels.”

Foods low on the glycemic index, “…tend to release glucose slowly and steadily. Foods high on the glycemic index release glucose rapidly. Low GI foods tend to foster weight loss, while foods high on the GI scale help with energy recovery after exercise, or to offset hypo- (or insufficient) glycemia.”

Everyone knows sugary drinks, candy, cakes, cookies, and desserts shouldn’t be a primary source of nutrition or a significant source of calories because they hardly have any nutritional value and pave the way for obesity and diabetes. 

But sugar doesn’t tell the whole story. We have to look at fiber too. Favorite foods like white bread, rice, and pasta have their fiber removed during the refining process. The digestive system breaks them down quickly, spiking sugar levels. 

Just remember that slow is better for your health, energy, and waistline when it comes to carbs.

Guilty Pleasure

However, it’s okay to enjoy simple carbs occasionally. The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, is famous for enjoying his epic cheat days weekly.

It’s okay to indulge but not all the time. 

Better Bad Choices

But even within the “bad choice” column of carbs, there are better “bad” choices than others. A cup of white rice has a glycemic index of 91, but a serving of white spaghetti has a rating of 64, which makes it a better “bad” choice. 

When eating carbs, most of the time, reach for less processed, complex carbohydrates low in sugar and high in fiber. 

Fiber: Your Secret Weapon

Fiber is your friend. Fiber is a kind of secret weapon in maintaining healthier blood sugar levels because it slows how fast sugar is absorbed into the blood stream.

Also, fiber helps you feel fuller longer and helps with avoiding energy spikes. Fiber is so potent that some studies suggest that you should start your meal with fiber and protein and save carbs for last.

Glycemic Load

Whereas the Glycemic Index measures how fast and high a particular food raises blood sugar, there’s another measurement called the Glycemic Load, which refers to the amount of carbohydrates in a specific food. 

The best carbs for successfully maintaining ideal weight and healthy blood sugar levels are those with a lower glycemic index and glycemic load because they have the least impact on blood sugar.

The role carbohydrates have in your diet is a personal choice, and whether they will be friend or foe.

Just remember that in the world of carbs, high fiber whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are the healthiest. 

Try to minimize simple carbohydrates because they spike blood sugar, contributing to obesity and chronic disease. Plus they’ll make you feel hungry sooner. You’ll consume more food because you’re eating more often, taking a toll on your energy levels and the scales.

It’s okay to indulge in your mouth-watering pancakes or kryptonite of choice sometimes, just make sure you earn it by exercising, and reaching for healthier swaps most of the time.

The post Why “Bad” Carbohydrates Are So Bad (But So Deliciously Good At The Same Time) appeared first on Lifestyle.

The great thing about a WFPB diet, is that it’s about giving you MORE food choices, not fewer, unlike so many other diets.

There isn’t anything mysterious about WFPB diets. The name says it all. These are plant based and whole foods. Although science supports the disease-fighting benefits of plant-based foods, whole foods are the other part of the equation.

Although this might make our vegan and vegetarian friends uncomfortable, wild caught fish is a nutrient-rich, whole food.

So, instead of judging a WFPB diet because you assume it’s restrictive, try to have an open mind and discover what you’re “allowed” to eat, which is a lot, by the way.

Various Diets Explained

When done correctly, even diets like veganism, vegetarianism, pescatarianism, Mediterranean, and the Ketogenic diet, can all be WFPB diets.

What some people might not realize is that the eating patterns of vegans and vegetarians don’t always fall under the category of “whole foods.”  Although sugary drinks, fries,  and chocolates are technically “vegetarian”, they’re also highly processed.

A Misunderstanding

Remember, the WFPB isn’t about excluding foods or avoiding meat.

All you have to do is add more whole, nutrient-dense, plant-based foods to your existing diet.

Blackberries are a plant based, nutrient dense whole food. However, chicken, although not plant based, is a nutrient dense, whole food. Technically, although perhaps preferred, you’re not required to eat just foods that are both strictly whole foods AND plant based.

The goal of a WFPB is to eat more of healthy, nutritious foods. It’s great if a certain food item meets both criteria. But the goal is to eat healthier overall.

Some people shy away from a WFPB diet because it’s carb heavy. But that’s not really a problem because they’re complex carbs, which are healthy.

What you want to avoid is foods that are loaded with sugar and simple carbs, like soda, crackers, and candy, which spike blood sugar.

The body and brain require carbs to function optimally. Complex carbs are the preferred fuel.

The ketogenic diet has been popular for a while. It’s designed to burn ketones instead of glucose. But even it can include plenty of plant-based options for consuming dietary fat in the form of nuts, Avocados and olives.

Conclusion

A WFPB diet isn’t about excluding meat, technically. It’s about getting much more nutritious, whole, and plant based foods rather than eating mostly highly processed food. Besides being delicious if prepared right, WFPB give you loads of power and energy, and lays a solid foundation for a healthy lifestyle.

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash

The post You Don’t Have to Be a Vegan/Vegetarian to Enjoy a Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet appeared first on Lifestyle.

It’s no surprise that many people only eat healthy food when they’re on a diet. They eat unhealthy foods most of the time and only have a salad or chug a green smoothie every once in a while to atone for their bad eating habits.

The truth is that there are just as many tasty health foods as bland ones. Eating healthy doesn’t mean your taste buds need to suffer. Put the green smoothie down, and try these three foods instead.

Stir-fried Veggies

Do you struggle to eat the recommended three to five servings of vegetables daily? Try stir-fried veggies.

With a frying pan, a little oil, and a lot of patience, you can make any fresh vegetable taste good. The dry heat removes excess moisture and brings out the delicious caramelized flavors.

Due to the differences in sugar content, some vegetables, like onions, carrots, and beets, caramelize much faster than others. It helps to have such vegetables as a base for your stir fry, and then you can top off with other vegetables such as broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, and zucchini.

Veggie / Whole-Grain Soups

Soups are some of the healthiest comfort foods; and healthy too, which is why they’re often given to you when you’re not feeling well.

Care to know a simple way to make your soup even healthier? Use a blender during preparation to “sneak in” vegetables and whole grains that you probably wouldn’t eat otherwise (you’ll barely even taste them).

If you don’t like the texture of whole grain rice, you probably wouldn’t look forward to having it on your plate. However, blending it into a soup with other ingredients gets you past that mental block.

Whole Fruits

Before you reach for a glass of your favorite fruit juice because you think it’s a healthy choice, you should know that the health benefits only apply to whole fruits. Drinking fruit juice every day actually increases your risk of becoming diabetic by 21%, whereas eating whole fruit reduces it by 23%!

To put this into perspective, you need three medium-sized apples to make 1 cup of juice. Most people wouldn’t eat three apples with breakfast, but they don’t think twice about downing a glass of apple juice.

The easiest way to enjoy fruit without exceeding the recommended two servings a day is to eat it whole. This also ensures that you don’t miss out on the health benefits of the fiber in the fruit pulp.

Healthy eating can be really enjoyable, but most people don’t give it a fair shake. They probably don’t realize that stir-fried veggies, soups, and whole fruits can be just as healthy as raw salads. Plus, they add variety and are delicious!

Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash

The post Tired of Salads and Smoothies? Try This Instead appeared first on Lifestyle.

The average person gains about one pound during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. It may seem like a small price to pay for enjoying your favorite holiday treats, but it’s quite difficult to shed that weight after the festivities. And you know what? That holiday weight gain tends to stick around year after year, and before you know it, you’re more than a few pounds overweight.

One of the most effective ways to avoid holiday weight gain is portion control. However, it can be hard to stick to the recommended portions without feeling like you’re depriving yourself. Sometimes, you need to trick your brain into thinking your portions are bigger than they really are.

Learn the Basics

When serving food, divide your plate into two and fill one half with non-starchy vegetables. Then divide the remaining half into two and fill one quarter with protein and the other with complex carbs.

However, since plates come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, ensure that your portion of protein is no bigger than the palm of your hand and your portion of carbs is no bigger than your fist.

Always serve the vegetables first, the protein second, and the carbs last. This way, by the time you get to the carbs, your plate is almost full and you won’t have to think too hard about your portions.

Always Use a Plate

When you order takeout, it’s very tempting to eat from the container. However, this makes it very hard to determine what a reasonable portion looks like.

It’s best to portion out one serving of food onto a plate and eat that first. Chances are you will feel full after the first serving and will save the rest for later.

Use Smaller, Darker Plates

Studies show that bigger plates can cause you to consume up to 50% more food. This is because your brain bases your portions on how the food looks relative to the plate. A typical serving looks smaller on a bigger plate and, as a result, leaves you feeling less satisfied.

Similarly, studies show that you are likelier to eat less when there’s a high contrast in colors between the plate and the food. Food stands out more on darker plates making the portions look bigger than they really are.

Just Enough to Satisfy Your Cravings

If you’re at a dinner party and find yourself surrounded by treats, pick about four items you’d really like to have and leave the rest. As for the portions, choose the smallest amount necessary to satisfy your cravings. If that portion is smaller than a serving, even better.

The Two-Third Rule

If you struggle with overeating, try only eating two-thirds of your meal. Put away the remaining one-third and eat it later if you’re still hungry. Chances are you won’t even think about your leftovers until it’s time for your next meal.

Don’t Binge on Healthier Foods

Binging on healthy foods still counts as overeating. Besides, most foods are only healthier if you stick to the right portion size.

A ‘reduced fat’ version of your favorite cheesecake may only be 25% lower in fat than the original version. This means that eating two portions of reduced-fat cheesecake is much worse than eating one portion of full-fat cheesecake.

Portion control is one of the cornerstones of healthy eating and weight management. However, we’ve become used to big portions, making it hard to reduce them without feeling deprived.

Sometimes, we need to use tricks like smaller, darker plates, putting away a third of our food, and filling half of our plates with vegetables to avoid overindulging, making sure we can still fit into our pants next Christmas.

The post Science-based Portion Control Tips for the Holiday Season appeared first on Lifestyle.

Life today is rife with diet culture. So many people seem to be at war or have an unhealthy relationship with food. The rules are continually changing, and foods that were good a couple of years ago are now on the bad list.

This obsession with diet is exhausting, and it doesn’t seem to be working. One in three Americans go on a diet every year, but two in three women and three in four men are overweight. Moreover, dieting and clean eating are the most important predictors of eating disorders in teens.

Even so, this doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel and
stop trying to eat healthier. We do, however, need to rethink our strategy.

Break the Cycle of Dieting

Make small,
sustainable improvements

Many people believe they need to make drastic changes to their way of eating to be healthier, but this isn’t true. Even minor improvements like adding an extra serving of vegetables to your meals or going meat-free one day a week can have long-term health benefits. Small, sustainable improvements produce better results in the long-term rather than drastic, temporary changes.

Separate nutritional
facts from fiction

Nutrition facts are an essential part of a healthy diet and shouldn’t be ignored. However, you don’t need to react to every new “discovery’” on nutrition.

Many times, the people purporting to have discovered nutritional breakthroughs have no credible qualifications. These claims should be taken with a grain of salt, especially if they promise a quick fix.

If you’re having trouble separating nutritional facts from
fiction, speak to a registered dietitian. They are trained to critically
analyze conflicting claims and point you in the right direction.

Make healthier food
choices without depriving yourself

The reason so many people are stuck in a diet-eat-repent-repeat cycle is that they believe they need to deny themselves to be healthy. However, a much better way to look at healthy eating is to make the healthiest choice that won’t leave you feeling deprived. 

Maybe you should reconsider having that salad if you know it’s going to leave you feeling hungry and zap your energy. You’re better off substituting a serving of meat for a plant-based protein source and keeping everything else the same.

Don’t expect
perfection

It’s not possible or necessary to make healthy food choices all the time. Getting rid of the need for perfection goes a long way in eliminating the guilt you feel after making unhealthy choices. And if you don’t feel guilty, you won’t feel a need to pay penance by going on a harmful diet, an effective approach to break the cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Constantly being bombarded with conflicting studies on nutrition and new fad diets can make food choices a lot more complicated than they need to be. By focusing on making small improvements that don’t leave you feeling deprived and eliminating the need for perfection, you can avoid most of the pitfalls of our crazy diet culture.

The post Live Diet-Free for Life! appeared first on Lifestyle.

It’s SO confusing! With so many new diets and workout routines popping up all over the place, especially around January 1, it’s hard to know which is the “right” one.

Should we go with Paleo? Gluten-free? Vegan? Vegetarian?

 Should we join a spin class, buy a Peloton, take up Pilates, enroll in yoga, or become a bodybuilder?

So many options and outlandish claims.

Truth is, there’s no single diet or workout routine that works for everyone. You are unique, and what works for your friend might not work or you.

Bio-individuality

Bio- individuality means that everyone has specific nutritional
and fitness requirements due to a combination of factors including age,
constitution, gender, genetics, gut microbes and lifestyle.

The term, bio-individuality, was coined by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition located in New York. The institute encourages people who are new to the world of health and fitness to explore a variety of diets and workouts until they figure out which one works best for them.

If you’ve tried spin classes without success or find it boring, keep experimenting until you stumble across something you like, maybe it’ll be running, walking or even CrossFit.

Here’s another great tip: Stop comparing your diet to those of the people around you.

We all know someone who’s always on a restrictive diet or existing on salads or a high-fat diet because it’s the latest craze. So you give it a try. But all it does is make you hungry, tired and irritable! That’s NO way to live.

Different people react differently to common foods. For instance, some people’s insulin levels may spike after they eat sweet things while others only register a tiny blip on the glucose monitor (sure, it’s kind of rare, and unfair, but it can happen :).

Figure Out What Works
for You

The first step to figuring out the best diet or workout for
you is to treat dietary and fitness guidelines as suggestions rather than rigid
requirements.

For instance, if a strict vegan diet makes you feel lackluster, grumpy and irritable, throw out the rule book and start experimenting by adding in other foods until you find what works for you.

Secondly, listen to your body. If you suspect that certain foods don’t agree with you, try eliminating one food at a time for 30 days to see if things improve.

Similarly, if running on a treadmill hurts your hips or knees, try walking. Remember, the best workout is one that you enjoy and STICK with.

Lastly, be flexible. What worked yesterday might not work today. Your body is an amazing machine that adapts to diet and activity; mix things up.

The big takeaway isn’t that you shouldn’t try to learn from other people’s diets and fitness routines. Just realize that some will work for you, some won’t. Use what works and throw out the rest! Live YOUR life.

The post Bio-individuality: Is There A Best Diet or Workout Routine? appeared first on Lifestyle.

However, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the holidays and indulging in special treats or rich foods. We just need to make sure we don’t eat that way the rest of the year!

Some people go on one of those guilt-ridden juice cleanses and deprive themselves of their favorite foods in January to atone for eating poorly during the holidays. But this kind of all or nothing approach rarely works because it’s unsustainable. A better approach is to set small, realistic goals that slowly reset your mindset and body.

It’s Really Not a Big Deal

A couple of days of overindulgence is really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. So don’t treat it like a major catastrophe or as an excuse to eat more junk food because the “week is lost as far as healthy eating goes.” Instead of wallowing in guilt or regret for falling off the wagon, just hit the reset button.

Hit the Reset Button ASAP

A quick rebound is the biggest predictor of long-term health success. A weekend or two of over-indulgence won’t affect your long-term health goals if you get back on track as soon as possible.

Just don’t let a few bad eating choices become the new normal for your eating habits moving forward; start eating nutritious meals again as soon as possible.

One Meal at a Time

Getting back on track is more manageable when you do it one meal at a time. Just focus on making one nutritious meal, and then another, and then another.

A few days of eating nutrient rich food like fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and whole grains is all you need to cleanse your palate and blunt cravings for sweet and greasy junk food.

Work Out

Healthy eating and fitness go hand in hand; nothing revs up your metabolism like a good workout. If you want your body to burn carbs and fat more efficiently, slowly incorporate, or reintroduce, exercise into your routine.

To be consistent with an exercise program, it helps to remember the mental and emotional benefits of working out to stay motivated.

And when you feel stressed and are tempted to comfort yourself by overeating or scarfing down a pint of your favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, stop flirting with temptation and go for a walk or run immediately instead to conquer any cravings for comfort food.

We all overindulge from time to time but it’s really no big deal. Health and fitness is not a predefined road that requires perfection. Just focus on making your next meal healthier, throw in some exercise and before you know it you’ll be back on track in no time.

The post Getting Back on Track after a Period of Overindulgence appeared first on Lifestyle.

On the flip side, some experts believe that late night snacking increases your metabolism and helps burn calories. To them, a calorie is a calorie no matter when you eat it. So, who’s right?

Bad News for Late Night Snackers

Multiple nutrition studies have proven that eating at night causes weight gain as well as negative hormonal and metabolic changes. This applies for healthy eaters as well.

Your body has an internal clock, which typically wants you to be awake during the day and asleep at night. For this reason, the food that you eat during “normal waking hours” is metabolized much faster than food eaten at 3:00 am when your body clock is in sleep mode. Your liver also absorbs fats much faster during the day, so when you eat at night most of that fat gets stored causing weight gain.

What Time Of The Night Should You Stop Eating?

Consider having your main meal before 3:00 pm; so go ahead and have a hearty lunch. After 3:00 pm, most of the hormones that follow your natural circadian rhythm, your body clock, begin decreasing as your body prepares for the end of the day. Additionally, most experts do not recommend eating after 7:00 pm because most late-night munching has more to do with cravings than hunger. This doesn’t mean you should starve yourself if you’re legitimately hungry and didn’t have a chance to eat before 7:00 pm.

But, If You Do Have a Late Night Snack . . .

Obviously, all late night snacks are not created equal. If you can’t fall asleep because you’re hungry and have a bad case of the munchies, eat something that isn’t too sweet, salty or rich and has fewere than 150 calories. Have a piece of fruit, a glass of low fat milk or low fat yogurt (make sure it isn’t loaded with sugar), one or two squares of dark chocolate or a high fiber snack bar (again, check its sugar content).

Late night snacks to avoid include cereal, ice cream, fries, burgers, soda – basically anything that is high in sugar and fat. And stick to foods that don’t trigger overeating, like chips and cookies – anything you know you can’t stop eating once you’ve opened the floodgates! Even better, don’t keep junk food in the house to avoid late night temptations altogether.

If you must eat late at night, have a small, healthy snack. You’ll sleep better and your body (especially your waistline) will thank you for it!

The post Is Late Night Snacking Really That Bad For You? appeared first on Lifestyle.

Those who support this diet claim that the process of cooking food destroys enzymes and nutrients. Some even believe that cooked food is toxic.

But before you give up cooking and start juicing, blending, dehydrating and sprouting everything, let’s find out if any of this is true.

The Science

This diet is based on one simple fact; heat denatures enzymes. However, there’s a lot more to the story. Besides, it probably isn’t a good idea to base your entire diet on a single “fact.”

Here’s something to keep in mind. The body produces its own enzymes for digestion so you don’t really need to preserve the natural enzymes in your food. After all, those enzymes will be destroyed by the acid in your stomach during digestion.

Although cooking may reduce the amount of water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C and Vitamin B in food, it increases the availability of other nutrients and antioxidants. Therefore, if you only eat raw foods you will miss the health benefits of certain nutrients that are only available once the food is cooked.

Cooking food also destroys harmful substances such as lectins and phytic acid, which are found in grains and legumes. If these substances are not destroyed they can stop your body from absorbing the nutrients it needs.

Last but not least, cooking kills bacteria. Some proponents of the raw food diet consume unpasteurized dairy and eggs, and raw meat and fish. Sounds like a recipe for food poisoning, right?

The Benefits

There’s a reason why so many people swear by raw foods. Most of them are high in fiber, and low in fat and sodium so you are bound to lose weight on this diet. Raw foods are also high in vitamins and minerals.  Not to mention heaps of scientific evidence about how eating lots of veggies and fruits reduces blood pressure and lowers the risk of heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to get enough protein, calcium and Vitamin D on this diet, so you need to take supplements to fill any nutritional gaps.

The Verdict

Like any other fad diet, the raw food diet has advantages and disadvantages. However, you can enjoy most of the benefits of raw foods without increasing your risk of food poisoning unnecessarily. Just eat a combination of raw and cooked foods.

It’s about balance and moderation.

Since fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet there’s no harm in increasing the amount that you consume. The USDA recommends 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. One serving is about half a cup of fruit or 1 cup of leafy vegetables. It doesn’t take much to make a huge difference in your health and quality of life.

The post Are Raw Foods Safer and Healthier? appeared first on Lifestyle.