lifestyle

Thứ Năm, 24 tháng 5, 2012

How low carb meals could be made exciting

Food rich in carbohydrate are good for the human body since it is a good source of energy. Food high in carbohydrate content such as rice, cereal, breads, pasta and sweets are quite healthy, but excess consumption of them sometimes make an adverse effect on the health.

A pack of pork from Tesco is labelled with a sticker that says "No Carbs per serving". This is aimed at people on a low-carbohydrate diet (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carbohydrates, which health scientists and dieticians categorize as simple carbohydrate and complex carbohydrate encourage weight gain, obesity and even Type 2 Diabetes, which could turn fatal if the consumption is not controlled. The best way to arrest the adverse effect of carbohydrate is switching to low carb meals from normal diet. It is the first step that dieticians suggest to people who develop different complications in their body due to over consumption of carbohydrates.

Low carb meals are specially designed meals where food items rich in carbohydrate are substituted by some other items with low carb content and high vitamin, protein and mineral content. The main purpose of taking low carboydrate meals is eliminating the starch and the sugar from the diet, which are the most harmful things for the health. Though some dieticians suggest very strict meals for reducing the level of carbohydrate, many exciting low carb diets or meals are there to choose from. These days, many dieticians do not even press for complete ellimination of carbohydrate but suggest meals that can curb the volume.

To make meals exciting for food lovers, dieticians now suggest meals made of tasty vegetable dishes. Cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, pepper, maize, carrot sticks and veggie sticks make excellent low carb meals. Varieties of exciting recipes for thes e vegetables are available on the net from which you could choose to make your lunch and dinner tasty. If you are fond of sweets, you can replace injurious items like candies, jams and deserts with fruits. Though fruits too contain high amount of sugar it is available in watery form which doesn't impact much on the insulin level. Besides high amount of vitamins and minerals compensate for the loss which is caused due to reduced consumption of carbohydrate.

If vegetables and fruits are too depressing for you, opt for low carbohydrate meals that contain food rich in protein and fats such as egg, cheese, fish, shellfish, chestnut, nuts, milk and poultry. You will find endless recipes for poultry, egg and fishes that are not encourager of cholesterol. However, since you want to get back to your slim and trim figure, it is better to keep the level of fat and protein consumption in control. A combination of fat and protein rich poultry and fish and fibrous green vegtables and vitamin rich fruits will be perfect for you.

So, dont feel depressed if your deteriorated health condition has forced you to switch from normal diet to low carb diet. Simply browse the net to download various exciting low carbohydrate meals for your lunch and dinner. Time at the lunch and dinner table would be as exciting as it is now if you can pick up suitable meals that curb the carb but taste great.

Thứ Tư, 23 tháng 5, 2012

Diet Low Carb: The “Mantra” to remain Fit &Fine

If you have ‘succeeded’ in gaining excessive weight and has forced your doctor to raise his eyebrows with your ‘impressive’ progress towards obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, then diet low carb is the mantra of survival for you.

A diet low carb is the only way you can get rid of the death trap of Diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases and you should start the process of switching over right now. Food rich in carbohydrate are good for the health since carbohydrate is vital source of energy that keeps the body moving but excessive intake of carbs makes you gain weight unnecessarily. Moreover, carbohydrates contain starch that breaks into sugar after digestion and encourages the insulin level to rise, inviting Type 2 Diabetes and associated cardio-vascular disorders. So what becomes essential for you is curbing the intake of carbs (carbohydrates) and hence you need a diet low carb.

Where Choices are Many

Though a low cab diet is intended to eliminate carbohydrate rich foods completely from one’s diet, today’s dieticians offer plenty of diets that are easier for foodies to accept. Instead of eliminating ‘delicious’ white foods like bread, pasta and rice and sweets like jams, jellies, candies and deserts, they suggest substitution. If you are fond of breads, you can replace normal breads with thin breads, whole wheat breads or low carb tortillas. Similarly you can replace rice with cabbage rice since cabbage is considered as one of the major low carb vegetables. other vegetables that you can use as replacements of your favorite foods are spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot sticks, veggie sticks and items rich in protein and fat like poultry, eggs, milk, cheese, nuts, fish and shellfish.

Be Specific for a well Toned Body

If you are true foodie and like to enjoy your time at the lunch or dinner table, the best low carb diet for you would be a 1200 calorie low carb diet. As per opinions of dieticians and food experts, 1200 calorie low carb diet is the ideal diet for losing weight quickly. It is the best low carb diet for you not only because it can help you get slim and trim quickly but also because it can excite your taste buds and make time at the lunch and dinner table equally enjoyable, if not more. Since 1200 calorie diet is very popular you will find plenty of options for this diet on the internet. Just search for it on Google and browse through the links. You will find plenty of exciting diets containing delicious items like turkey, chicken and cottage cheese. There are special 1200 calorie low carb diets for women that you can choose from if you are a lady with the wish to get slimmer and trimmer.

Recipes to be Delighted

Apart from 1200 calorie diet, you will find plenty of delicious low carb recipes that can make lunch and dinner time more exciting than they are now ensuring improvement of your health condition. You will find delicious low carb recipes for pizzas, pastas as well as rice and breads. You just need to buy the ingredients and follow the instructions to have mouthwatering dishes that can help you curb the carbs without forcing your taste buds to compromise.

The Steps to Plan an Ideal diabetic low carb diet

Planning a normal low carb diet is easier as majority of low carb diets include tasty items like eggs and low fat meats but since fats encourage cardiovascular diseases, they are unhealthy for the diabetics. Hence, you should look for diabetic low carb recipes containing low fat foods.

plate with green salad, onion, tomato, cucumber, carrot and a black olive (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How to plan a diabetic low carb diet

Since the starch in carbohydrate-rich foods breaks into sugar and affects the blood sugar level in the body, it is better for diabetics to avoid food items that are high in carbs. A low carb diet is ideal for the diabetics in that sense. But a low carb diet for a person who intends to reduce weight differs from a diabetic low carb diet. Eliminating carbohydrates from diets mean avoiding intake of certain minerals and vitamins, which are essential for controlling diabetes. Hence planning a diabetic low carb diet is a bit tricky as one needs to pay attention to maintain a fine balance between the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’.

Planning a diabetic low carb diet:

There are lots of diabetic low carb recipes that do not include high fat and protein foods. Instead they are rich in vegetables that are fibrous and rich in vitamins and minerals. So, if you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, you need some special diabetic low carb diet plans. More importantly, you need to know what kinds of foods are good for your health and what the items you should avoid are.

Foods to eat more:

If you are a diabetic get ready for meals dominated by green vegetables. Spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and asparagus are green vegetables that should be there in your breakfast, lunch and dinner plates. To have happy meals, search in the net for diabetic recipes low carb recipes for these green veggies. You need not to worry much about recipes, since spinach, cabbage; broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus make lots of delicious soups. Rich in Vitamin C and a great source of Vitamin A, tomatoes should be there in your diet. To make your diet exciting, you can prepare salads using lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbages and broccolis. You can also have spinach, broccoli and cauliflower boiled and baked.

Having fishes and meats once or twice in a week is okay:

Low fat meat like chicken and egg white once in a week would not affect your health much. Instead, those will provide your body with some necessary protein. You can also have fishes like salmon, herring, albacore tuna, mackerel and halibut once or twice in a week since they are healthy for the heart. To make exciting dishes look for diabetic recipes low carb recipes for these fishes.

Beans and berries:

Apart from these, you should raise the consumption of beans and berries as they are rich in fibers. If you can’t think of dishes without potatoes, substitute normal potatoes with sweet potatoes, since they are good for the heart. Though breads and pastas are rich in carbohydrates, you can have them sometimes, but make sure the breads are made of whole grains.

So, if you were thinking a diabetic low carb diet is a plan to eliminate all your favorite food items, you were wrong, like many people. You need not to ban your favorite foods to control diabetes, you just need to regulate the consumption level and do some substitutions to stay healthy.

The best low carb diet alternative

A low carb diet is a healthy alternative that could save you from diseases like heart disease. This is especially if it is focused on plant protein and fat but not on animals. You risk getting cancer and other medical complications if your diet regimen is full of meat this is according to researchers.

Plant proteins are the best

It is certain that there is an enormous quantity of cholesterol and saturated fat contained in animal protein as opposed to the plant proteins. Plant proteins contain unsaturated fat plus lower cholesterol which minimize the risk of getting a heart disease together with diabetes. When you are selecting your sources of fat and protein lay emphasis on plant sources. This is because what your low carb diet is composed of will determine whether it is good or bad.

The ideal model of a healthy best low-carb diet is one that is full of fruits and vegetables and composed of plant proteins. Therefore if you enjoy eating a lot of meat you need to develop a taste for green and leafy vegetables.

Beans make a

very good source of plant based protein because one ounce of meat contains the same amount of protein as a quarter cup of beans. Soybeans are particularly resourceful and can be compared to chicken breasts. They are shaped into blocks, patties or loaves after fermentation. Tofu and Tempe are soya products. You can stir-fry tofu with vegetable to include protein, bake and grill it, or crown tofu with teriyaki sauce or barbecue.

Plant proteins provide enough protein try to eat a variety for instance Brussels sprouts are high-protein vegetables plus nuts, some lentils, grains such pearl barley. Almonds will deliver about six protein grams that is over ten percent of the day by day protein requirement of a 150 pound individual. Half a cup of cooked broccoli provides about 2 grams of protein and for chicken lovers; wheat gluten made from wheat germ with its meaty texture comes in different flavors of chicken or sausage plus other spices and is a good and well accepted substitute to soy foodstuffs.

Avoid dairy products

You will also have to do way with dairy products instead enjoy beverages such as soy milk that is plant based. There is also almond milk or rice milk these are healthy substitutes to cow products and they are still rich sources of calcium and plus they are equipped with vitamin D.

Healthy fats

Take fats that are healthy for your heart fat from fatty beef, butter and whole milk, and hydrogenated vegetable oils are saturated fat and are very unsafe. Plant fats are very beneficial and friendly to your heart they include avocados, olives nut butters andomega-3 fatty acid. You can use vegetables oils for cooking examples include canola oil walnut oil and flaxseed oil, they can be used to dress salads.

Your selection of carbs should be wise as there are bad carbs that you need to keep away from. Examples include potatoes ,rice, white bread, basically starchy foods and baked goods on the other hand there are good carbs like fruits and vegetables ,oats whole grain cereal and whole wheat are some of the best suggested foods. Vegetables must have a high priority in your diet, okra together with egg plant do not have a high starch content like carrots ,peas and corn you could actually give them a try. Vegetables make the best low carb diet.

Remember nutrition is all about alternatives even if you need a snack select the whole grain cracker that comes with peanut butter instead of cheese these alternatives could make a huge difference.

What is a low carb diet

A low carb diet is the most effective solution to problems like weight gain, obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Low carb diet refers to diet that is low in carbohydrate content.

: low carb (Photo credit: daBinsi)

Consuming too much carb is harmful

Though carbohydrate is a very essential nutrient that gives the body energy, it has got some negative properties that affect health if the rate of consumption gets high. While one type of carbohydrate (complex carbohydrate) is rich in starch the other (simple carbohydrate) is rich in sugar. Both are harmful for the body if consumed over the required level. Low carb diet is prescribed by dieticians to stop or reduce the consumption of complex and simple carbohydrate and melt out what has already been stored. If you are worrying about your expanding body and noticing symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes, start mental preparation for changing your food habit. If you have fixed an appointment with a doctor for a health check up get mentally prepared to get back home with a low carb diet chart. So it would be better if you know beforehand what is a low carb diet?

If you ask a dietician this question it is likely that you will get a harsh answer since many dieticians are strictly anti-carbohydrate. But if you type ‘what is a low carb diet’ on google you will get plenty of interesting and useful information. The simplest answer to your question is –a low carb diet is one which contains food items that are either very low in carbohydrate or contain zero carbohydrate and is full of healthy substitutes. Yes, the main purpose of switching to a low carb meal is substituting carbohydrate rich food items with items that are rich in other vital nutrients and can compensate for the loss of energy that your body faces due to reduced intake of carbohydrate. Even if your dietician suggests a complete cut off with carbohydrates, you need not to follow his/her instructions word by word. You have to accept the hard fact that your favorite food items like rice, bread, pasta, cereals, beans, potatoes and sweets like jam, jelly, candy and deserts will have to move away from your lunch and dinner table but you can do that slowly, instead of throwing out everything with one stroke. Since substitution is the main aim you can do it slowly, step by side, if not your health condition is worst.

How to begin with Low carb diet

The easiest thing to do would be reducing the quantity of the white food items and increasing the intake of green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, carrot sticks, veggie sticks and salad. Start with reducing on day one and bring the intake level to ‘minimum’ on day 6. This will also help you get habituated with the new food habit. To make your meals exciting, you can have some low cholesterol fat and protein in the form of milk, egg, fish, shellfish, chestnuts, cheese and poultry, which make delicious dishes.

So, don’t get disappointed if low carb diet has been the verdict for you. Get back home, log on to the net and type on Google, what is a low carb diet? You will get various low carb diet menus which will be easier to get habituated with.

Best low carb bread

It has been a known fact that bread causes a rise in the blood sugar. Breads are prepared from grains like wheat. These grains are mostly starch, which is mostly made of strings of glucose. Owing to enzymes in saliva, these starch molecules start to breakdown into sugars. Most of these starches have been converted to sugars by the time they reach the stomach. However, there are exceptions and these things really count when you go to buy a bread.

What to consider when buying bread

Firstly, when buying bread, go for the thinner bread as in most cases they contain least amount of carbohydrate since it has less of everything. Be careful all the same not to buy the often imported very dense thin bread as they are high in starch.

Low ‘usable’ carb bread means that when you subtract the fiber from the total carbohydrate content, you remain with the least amount of carbohydrate. This is far more the most important thing when trying to find the effect of the bread on the blood glucose. You should take a number of loaves to familiarize yourself with the amount of carbohydrates they contain.

Whole wheat bread

Another very important aspect to consider while looking for the best low carb bread is the texture of the bread. Bread that is rough and has a grainy texture is most likely to be less glycemic (low in carb). The more thinly ground a kernel of grains is, the faster the starch breaks down into sugars. Though some manufacturers have tried to make 100% whole grain bread which is softer, this bread is generally just as glycemic as the white bread. The best low carb bread has visible pieces of grains.

Substituting fiber for some of the starch in the bread helps to reduce calories as well as the carbohydrates. This however does not mean that the more the fiber the less the impact on the blood sugar it is simply added to the other ingredients other than being a replacement for starch.

Preliminary proof shows that bread made from sprouted grain doesn’t cause as high sugar rise as regular bread. However, do not be deceived by labels, sprouted grains are not entirely fiber.

Another form of low carb breads are the high protein breads. These breads are made from lots of wheat gluten which is the protein part of the wheat thus making the breads the best low carb breads you can get.

Some light breads are known to be low in carb. They have fewer calories than the regular bread and this is done by making the slices smaller and making substitution of starch for fiber. This reduces the calories and makes the bread lighter. Sourdough bread produces less glycemic response than the regular bread. Most probably the best bread substitutes are the low carb tortilla. They are practically cheaper and are readily available in most stores.

Wheat contains more protein than most grains. This means that breads made from wheat are far low in carb than bread made from any other grain.

When looking for the low carb breads always avoid bagels and rolls since they contain up to four servings of bread and are less likely to be fully whole grain. Soft breads are very finely ground and thus are easily converted to sugars thus should be avoided if you are looking low carb breads.

Extreme weight loss: Low carb diet before and after

It looks like many people still wonder whether Low carb diet works or not, here is a list of before and after photos that people who practice low carb successfully shared on the web.