Diets in Fashion 2013 - The Morning banana diet

The Morning Banana Diet

This diet developed as a group-developed diet program, and there are many

theories about why it has proven to be effective to many. Physicians who have

tried the diet, or who have been consulted in connection with the books,

magazine articles, and television reports about the diet, have also offered their

theories. 

As the diet enters the Western dietary mainstream, various theories

have been put forth by researchers, and (of course) banana promoters.

The Morning Banana diet was developed by Hitoshi Watanabe, who studied

preventive medicine in Tokyo, and his pharmacist wife, Sumiko. The diet has

since gained popularity by word of mouth, web sites, TV shows, magazine

articles, and a book written by the Watanabes.

The diet plan is, in its essence, is a very simple plan. For breakfast, one has only bananas and room-temperature water. Then, one can eat whatever one likes for lunch, dinner, and snacks, so long as one does not eat after 8 p.m.

There are some minor restrictions:

• no ice cream

• no dairy products

• no alcohol

• no dessert after dinner

• the only beverage you may have with meals is room-temperature water

• only one sweet snack is allowed during the afternoon

You will note that in this philosophy the number of calories is not controlled so

although it may help with digestion it may well lead to weight increase. This

diet swept through Japan as the latest dietary fad – I think that says it all.

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The Diets in Fashion in 2013 - Part 2 - The Fasting Diet

The Fasting Diet

The premiss of the fasting diet is to fast for short periods of time, such as 2 days of the week and then eat a healthy balanced diet for the other 5 days. I myself have tried fasting and it certainly work for me, I lost 5lbs and felt I had much more energy the days following.

Though it may not be the most practical diet, fasting can help the body to lose weight and to detox. How fasting is used for weight loss varies by diet. Some fasting diets involve drinking nothing but water or eating only raw foods for a period of one or more days, while others restrict food on alternate days. The fasting diet getting the headlines lately is the 5:2 approach as described above, so 5 days normal diet 2 days fasting - allowing yourself 500 calories on a fast day, for a women and 600 for a guy. When you fast, your body is forced to dip into energy stores to get the fuel it needs to keep going, so you will lose weight.

As you fast, your body will adjust by reducing your appetite, so you will initially feel less hungry. But once you have stopped fasting, your appetite hormones will kick back into gear and you may actually feel hungrier so the key is too eat one healthy balanced meal on fast days such as a lentil and squash salad and a glass of milk.

Fasting as a detox process.

Your body is naturally designed to remove toxins through the skin (by sweating), liver, colon, and kidneys. Although with today's environment and chemical, fat based diet our bodies are overloaded with toxins. Toxins from sugary drinks and processed food make out livers and kidneys work to the max but by fasting it gives our body a break from the digestion process and forces it into the healing and detox process. Clearing our bodies of toxins and giving us more energy and want for life.

Fasting For a longer life

Studies of fasting in both rodents and humans have indicated a connection between calorie restriction and length of lifespan. It is thought that by fasting and allowing the body to heal rather than process and digest, it can delay the onset of age related diseases such as stoke, cancer and heart disease.

Fasting is certainly the pop star of the diet world just now and information is widely available about the pros and cons of the diet. Check out the Michael Mosley documentary on BBC at www.thefastdiet.co.uk

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The Diets in Fashion in 2013 - Part 1 - The Alkaline Diet

The Alkaline Diet

Almost all foods that we eat, after being digested, absorbed and metabolised,

release either an acid or an alkaline base (bicarbonate) into blood. Grains, fish, meat, poultry, shellfish, cheese, milk, and salt, all produce acid, so the introduction, and dramatic rise in our consumption, of these foods has meant thatthe typical Western diet has became more acid-producing. 

Our blood is, normally, slightly alkaline, with a normal pH level of between

7.35 and 7.45. The theory behind the alkaline diet is that our diet should reflect

this pH level and be slightly alkaline. The proponents of

alkaline diets believe that a diet high in acid-producing foods disrupts this

balance and promotes the loss of essential minerals such as potassium,

magnesium, calcium, and sodium, as the body tries to restore equilibrium. This

imbalance is thought to make people prone to illness.

Some practicing nutritionists recommend the alkaline diet if the patient has the following symptoms;

• lack of energy

• excessive mucus production

• nasal congestion

• frequent colds and influenza

• anxiety, nervousness, irritability

• ovarian cysts, polycystic ovaries, benign breast cysts

• headaches

The theory of the alkaline diet is that eating certain foods can help maintain the body's ideal pH balance to improve overall health.  The alkaline diet is mostly vegetarian. In addition to fresh vegetables and some fresh fruits, alkaline-promoting foods include soy products and some nuts, grains, and legumes. eating a diet rich in vegetables, as with an alkaline diet, can raise urine pH and lower the risk for kidney stones, colon cancer and other disease.

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Here comes the sun - The power of Vitamin D3

Here comes the sun…

Everything on this wonderful planet of ours needs sunlight, we need it for growth and for happiness. The challenge most of us have in our Western, technological based lives is that our daily working routine means we spend most of the day in-doors, meaning we miss out on all of the amazing bright rays of sunlight that hit our planet.

Sunlight delivers so many benefits to our bodies, remember how happy and relaxed you felt after a holiday in the sun, or how wonderfully calm you feel when lying in a park in the Summer. Sunshine warms and reinvigorates every cell in our body, and our bodies need it to make Vitamin D to allow for absorption of calcium and phosphorus to maintain health bones and a healthy immune system. The vitamin acts like a hormone, once activated by the kidneys it travels in the bloodstream to the gut carrying the message - get calcium!

So, Sunny days not only lift the spirit, they provide us with a real physiological benefit.

To maintain optimum health we really need to get outside in the sunshine for at least 10-15 minutes a day and feel the power of the sun on our skin.

Heavy D, Slimmer You

Numerous studies have shown vitamin D's crucial role in maintaining a healthy body weight, so as the moment of truth with your bathing suit inches closer, you might be cursing your sweet tooth for the belly bulge you can't seem to shed but it may well be what you're not eating that's actually responsible.
By fueling your body with the D-rich nutrients it needs to get out of a fat-storage state and into a fat-burning one, you could potentially speed weight loss by up to 70 percent.

Vitamin D3 is a very unique micro-nutrient that may have an affect on maintaining a healthy weight. It acts as a hormone that could play a sweeping role in the proper regulation of several body processes including regulating the immune system and also controlling our metabolism.

It has also been discovered that receptors in your brain need vitamin D3 to keep hunger and cravings in check as well as to pump up those serotonin levels, which will elevate your mood. (Good thing, since dieting often comes with a heaping side of crankiness.)
Our bodies can only produce Vitamin D3 if we are exposed to sunlight or by taking a supplement. If you’re mostly working and relaxing in doors you may need to take a supplement of Vitamin D3 to keep your serotonin levels up and help prevent depression.

Vitamin D rich foods

A far more satisfying way to up your Vitamin D level is to get more of the vitamin from your diet. We can absorb Vitamin D from some food types, including Shitake and Button mushrooms, Mackerel and most oily fish including Salmon. Apart from fabulous oily fish, you should also include shrimps and seashells in your diet and to keep your levels topped up consider taking a supplement of fish oil, specifically cod liver oil or a Vitamin D3 supplement daily.

To boost your happiness and health, book yourself a holiday in the sun to start with, stick to using the sun screen though as that plays a vital part in protecting our skin from the damaging uvb-a rays that can cause cancer and think about taking a vitamin D3 supplement to keep strong, happy and healthy and when everyone around is suffering the sniffles you'll be smiling.

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