Your body sends medium-chain fatty acids directly to your liver to use as energy. This makes coconut oil a powerful source of instant energy to your body, a function usually served in the diet by simple carbohydrates.
But although coconut oil and simple carbohydrates share the ability to deliver quick energy to your body, they differ in one crucial respect.
Coconut oil does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream. You read that correctly, Coconut oil acts on your body like a carbohydrate, without any of the debilitating insulin-related effects associated with long-term high carbohydrate consumption!
Diabetics and those with pre-diabetes conditions (an exploding health epidemic in America), should immediately realize the benefit of a fast acting energy source that doesn't produce an insulin spike in your body. In fact, coconut oil added to the diets of diabetics and pre-diabetics has actually been shown to help stabilize weight gain, which can dramatically decrease your likelihood of getting adult onset type-2 Diabetes.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Coconut Oil Helps Fight Diabetes
Thursday, September 9, 2010
25 health benefits of lemons
Lemon is one of those super foods with a myriad health and cosmetic benefits. There are a few persons for whom it is an allergen, so make sure you are not allergic to this natural product, before you start enjoying the many benefits.
1. Lemon being a citrus fruit , fights against infection. It helps in production of WBC's and antibodies in blood which attacks the invading microorganism and prevents infection.
2. Lemon is an antioxidant which deactivates the free radicals preventing many dangerous diseases like stroke, cardiovascular diseases and cancers.
3. Lemon lowers blood pressure and increases the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) .
4. Lemon is found to be anti-carcinogenic which lower the rates of colon, prostate, and breast cancer. They prevent faulty metabolism in the cell, which can predispose a cell to becoming carcinogenic. Also blocks the formation of nitrosamines in the gut.
5. Lemon juice is said to give a glow to the skin.
6. A few drops of lemon juice in hot water are believed to clear the digestive system and purify liver as well.
7. The skin of lemon dried under the sun and then ground to make powder can be applied to the hair for a few minutes before bath which relieves head ache and cools the body.
8. Applying lemon juice to acne dries the existing ones and prevents from getting more.
9. Lemon juice acts as a natural hair lightner and skin bleach which reduces the pigment melanin and prevents the risk of chemical allergic reactions which is common with hair dyes and bleaches.
10. Lemon juice is given to relieve gingivitis, stomatitis, and inflammation of the tongue.
11. Lemon juice is given to prevent common cold.
12. Lemon juice is given to prevent or treat urinary tract infection and gonorrhea.
13. Lemon juice is applied to the sites of bites and stings of certain insects to relieve its poison and pain.
14. Lemon juice relieves colic pain and gastric problems .
15. Lemon juice soothes the dry skin when applied with little glycerin .
16. Lemon juice used for marinating seafood or meat kills bacteria and other organisms present in them, thereby prevents many gastro-intestinal tract infections.
17. Lemon juice with a pinch of salt (warm) every morning lowers cholesterol levels and brings down your weight.
18. Lemon juice is the best drink to prevent dehydration and shock in case of diarrhea.
19. Lemon juice can also be used as a mouthwash. It removes plaque, whitens the teeth and strengthens the enamel.
20. A table spoon on thick lemon syrup everyday relieves asthma.
21. Lemon juice relieves chilblains and itchy skin.
22. Gargling lemon juice relieves throat infection and also used as a treatment for diphtheria .
23. Lemon juice is an excellent treatment for dandruff and greasy hair .
24. Lemon applied over the face removes wrinkles and keeps you young.
25. Lemon juice helps to prevent and cure osteoarthritis.
Alcohol benefits Heart in Men
Light drinking benefits men, but not women
Antioxidants in Beer
Fruits, vegetables, and, of course, red wine come to mind when thinking ofantioxidants, but beer also belongs in the antioxidant group!
Think of beer (or red wine) as a small part of an already-healthy diet that is balanced and includes whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean protein, and fruits and vegetables.
Red wine is a particularly rich source of antioxidants flavonoid phenolics.
The American Heart Association cautions people NOT to start drinking if they do not already drink alcohol. If you already drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
The current recommendation of alcohol consumption is one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.
One drink is:
- one 12 ounce beer
- 4 oz. of wine
- 1.5 oz. of 80-proof spirits
- 1 oz. of 100-proof spirits
Key: Grapes, many other fruits and vegetables and regular physical activities offer the same benefits for heart as seen in alcohol. Include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet to maximize the heart health benefits.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Diabetics! Eat Fruits and Root Vegetables Only!
A balanced diet is very important for a diabetic patient. A proper balanced diet provides all the important nutrients that can help to fight the disease.
When it comes to healthy diet for diabetics, green vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber, so they are most recommended. These foods clear the body system by removing toxins from it. The doctors suggest that people suffering from diabetes must consume fruits and vegetables to decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Foods such as potatoes, carrots and beets are very essential for a diabetic patient.
According to a recent study by Oxford University, fruits and root vegetables slow the rise of blood sugar that causes cell damage. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2006 and Journal of the American Dietetic Association, December, 2005 have also laid stress on eating proper diet.
Since a diabetic patient has the risk of heart attack, strokes, blindness, deafness, kidney failure and damage to body tissues, he/ she must take proper care of themselves and avoid sugar in their meal
Food in the stomach passes through pyloric sphincter obstructing it from entering the intestines,
the stomach then squeezes and mixes its contents properly. This is only after the solid food gets converted into a thick soup which helps pyloric sphincter to open and helps it to pass.
It so happens when sugar gets absorbed immediately and results in high rise in blood sugar. Consuming nuts is also very important for a diabetic patient since the fats in the nuts get mixed with other foods and keep them for a longer time in the stomach. And this prevents the blood sugar levels from rising quickly. Any slow-digested foods containing fats or protein will have the same effect. So it is highly recommended to eat fruits and root vegetables with nuts to prevent diabetes.
In any severe case, consult the doctor who can best guide about the diet to be prescribed. The doctor must also guide about the treatment of various side effects caused by the disease. The side effects can be severe and require immediate cure. Avoid foods with high level sugar and consume natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables.
When it comes to healthy diet for diabetics, green vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber, so they are most recommended. These foods clear the body system by removing toxins from it. The doctors suggest that people suffering from diabetes must consume fruits and vegetables to decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Foods such as potatoes, carrots and beets are very essential for a diabetic patient.
According to a recent study by Oxford University, fruits and root vegetables slow the rise of blood sugar that causes cell damage. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2006 and Journal of the American Dietetic Association, December, 2005 have also laid stress on eating proper diet.
Since a diabetic patient has the risk of heart attack, strokes, blindness, deafness, kidney failure and damage to body tissues, he/ she must take proper care of themselves and avoid sugar in their meal
Food in the stomach passes through pyloric sphincter obstructing it from entering the intestines,
the stomach then squeezes and mixes its contents properly. This is only after the solid food gets converted into a thick soup which helps pyloric sphincter to open and helps it to pass.
It so happens when sugar gets absorbed immediately and results in high rise in blood sugar. Consuming nuts is also very important for a diabetic patient since the fats in the nuts get mixed with other foods and keep them for a longer time in the stomach. And this prevents the blood sugar levels from rising quickly. Any slow-digested foods containing fats or protein will have the same effect. So it is highly recommended to eat fruits and root vegetables with nuts to prevent diabetes.
In any severe case, consult the doctor who can best guide about the diet to be prescribed. The doctor must also guide about the treatment of various side effects caused by the disease. The side effects can be severe and require immediate cure. Avoid foods with high level sugar and consume natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables.
‘Stone Age’ diet keeps Type 2 diabetes away
[TYPE 2 DIABETES PREVENTION]
3 July, 2007:
Latest research has shown that Type 2 diabetes could be prevented if people ate the diet of the ‘Stone Age’ or the Paleolithic era which consisted of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and lean meat or fish.
Researchers at the Lund University in Sweden found that patients with poor glucose control greatly improved their ability to handle sugar after switching to ‘pre-historic’ eating habits.
Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It occurs when the body does not respond correctly to insulin, a hormone released by the pancreas.
The disease occurs mainly in people aged over 40. The initial line of treatment is diet, weight control, and physical activity.
The most common symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are excessive thirst, increased urination, fatigue, and blurred vision.
The ‘Paleolithic’ diet given to the volunteers was similar to what early modern humans were eating 70,000 years ago. At that time, before the advent of farming, humans were hunter-gatherers and their diet consisted of lean meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables, and nuts.
Cereals, dairy products, refined fat and sugar, which provide most calories of the modern diet, became staple foods with the start of agriculture about 9,000 years ago.
For the study, the Swedish researchers asked 14 glucose-intolerant heart patients to follow the ancient diet.
A similar group of 15 patients adopted a supposedly healthy ‘Mediterranean’ diet featuring whole-grain cereals, high consumption of bread, low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats, olive oil, fish, and red wine.
The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional model inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly Greece and southern Italy.
All participants of the study suffered from boosted blood sugar after eating carbohydrates, and most had symptoms of Type 2 diabetes.
After 12 weeks, the carbohydrate-linked blood sugar fell by 26% in the ‘Stone Age’ diet group. In contrast, the carbohydrate-linked blood sugar barely changed for those on the ‘Mediterranean’ diet dropped by only 7%.
At the end of the study, all the patients in the ‘Paleolithic’ diet group had normal blood glucose.
The main difference between the two groups was a lower intake of dairy products and grains, including bread, and higher fruit consumption in the ‘Paleolithic’ group.
Dr Staffan Lindeberg, a member of the research team concludes: “If you want to prevent or treat Type 2 diabetes, it may be more efficient to avoid some of our modern foods than to count calories or carbohydrates.”
It was also found that the improved glucose tolerance associated with the ‘Stone Age’ diet was unrelated to changes in weight, though consumers of the ‘Paleolithic’ diet became slimmer.
Hence the researchers concluded that something more than calorific intake and weight loss was responsible for the improved response to carbohydrates.
3 July, 2007:
Latest research has shown that Type 2 diabetes could be prevented if people ate the diet of the ‘Stone Age’ or the Paleolithic era which consisted of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and lean meat or fish.
Researchers at the Lund University in Sweden found that patients with poor glucose control greatly improved their ability to handle sugar after switching to ‘pre-historic’ eating habits.
Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It occurs when the body does not respond correctly to insulin, a hormone released by the pancreas.
The disease occurs mainly in people aged over 40. The initial line of treatment is diet, weight control, and physical activity.
The most common symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are excessive thirst, increased urination, fatigue, and blurred vision.
The ‘Paleolithic’ diet given to the volunteers was similar to what early modern humans were eating 70,000 years ago. At that time, before the advent of farming, humans were hunter-gatherers and their diet consisted of lean meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables, and nuts.
Cereals, dairy products, refined fat and sugar, which provide most calories of the modern diet, became staple foods with the start of agriculture about 9,000 years ago.
For the study, the Swedish researchers asked 14 glucose-intolerant heart patients to follow the ancient diet.
A similar group of 15 patients adopted a supposedly healthy ‘Mediterranean’ diet featuring whole-grain cereals, high consumption of bread, low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats, olive oil, fish, and red wine.
The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional model inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly Greece and southern Italy.
All participants of the study suffered from boosted blood sugar after eating carbohydrates, and most had symptoms of Type 2 diabetes.
After 12 weeks, the carbohydrate-linked blood sugar fell by 26% in the ‘Stone Age’ diet group. In contrast, the carbohydrate-linked blood sugar barely changed for those on the ‘Mediterranean’ diet dropped by only 7%.
At the end of the study, all the patients in the ‘Paleolithic’ diet group had normal blood glucose.
The main difference between the two groups was a lower intake of dairy products and grains, including bread, and higher fruit consumption in the ‘Paleolithic’ group.
Dr Staffan Lindeberg, a member of the research team concludes: “If you want to prevent or treat Type 2 diabetes, it may be more efficient to avoid some of our modern foods than to count calories or carbohydrates.”
It was also found that the improved glucose tolerance associated with the ‘Stone Age’ diet was unrelated to changes in weight, though consumers of the ‘Paleolithic’ diet became slimmer.
Hence the researchers concluded that something more than calorific intake and weight loss was responsible for the improved response to carbohydrates.
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