You Can Prevent Diabetes With Exercise

Every November, the American Diabetes Association encourages the public to learn more about diabetes due to the alarming rise in the number of people diagnosed with the disease each year.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body's ability to produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (the body's preferred form of energy) to enter the cells. (Type 1 diabetes is typically a genetic condition diagnosed in childhood.) Nearly 21 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and up to 95 percent of them have type 2 diabetes; even more are at risk for the disease. For many, type 2 diabetes can be prevented (or postponed) with a healthy lifestyle, like the South Beach Diet , which emphasizes lean proteins and the right fats and carbs along with regular exercise.

In response to a landmark study known as the Diabetes Prevention Program, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) created an initiative to encourage those at risk of type 2 diabetes to make healthy lifestyle changes. The NIH recommends that people with pre-diabetes (higher-than-normal blood sugar, but not yet diabetes) participate in 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.

Acceptable physical activities can be as simple as walking the dog or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. The South Beach Diet Fitness Club is also a great way to stay fit and active. Every week, South Beach Diet® Fitness Club members get up to five complete workouts, each with a walking program, gentle preparation exercises, and core routines that target your middle while strengthening your entire body. This is a step in preventing or controlling type 2 diabetes.

Megavitamins may be useful treatment

Megavitamins may be useful treatment for many genetic diseases, or just good insurance to tune up body's metabolism

Press Release 04 April 2002

By Robert Sanders, Media Relations

Berkeley – Linus Pauling's claim that megadoses of vitamin C can prevent colds remains unproven, yet high doses of some vitamins could play a big role in the treatment of disease and perhaps slow the effects of aging, according to a biochemist of Berkeley Bruce Ames.

In a review article in the April issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, UC Berkeley's Bruce N. Ames lists more than 50 genetic diseases successfully treated with high doses of vitamins, most of them rare inborn metabolic diseases due to defective enzymes.

Ames found a common thread in the effectiveness of these megavitamin therapies that suggests there may be many more diseases treatable with high-dose vitamins, in particular the eight B vitamins like niacin, thiamine and pyridoxine. And because aging involves similar biochemical deficiencies, megavitamins may help perk up an increasingly older population.

"I suspect that the big impact is going to be in aging," Ames said, though younger people, too, might benefit from supplementary B vitamins to "tune up" their metabolism. Ames is a professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley and a researcher at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI).

Megadose vitamin therapy is the use of vitamins in amounts considerably greater than the recommended daily allowance, or RDA. Ames noted that many B vitamins are sold over the counter in high dosages and are generally considered safe at such levels, although side effects have been reported after taking very high levels of some of them, such as pyridoxine and niacin.

In his paper, co-authored with recent UC Berkeley graduate Ilan Elson-Schwab and former CHORI technician Eli A. Silver, Ames argues that the key to the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin therapy lies in the role vitamins play in the body. Vitamins are converted to coenzymes, which team up with enzymes to perform some essential metabolic function.

As Elson-Schwab found in a computer sweep of the literature, about 50 diseases result from a genetic mutation that reduces the ability of an enzyme to bind to its coenzyme, thereby reducing the rate at which the enzyme catalyzes a molecular reaction. Saturating the body with high doses of the appropriate vitamin increases coenzyme levels to overcome the binding defect and boost the reaction rate towards normal.


"These 50 diseases are just the tip of the iceberg," Ames said. "Individual doctors have noticed this, but nobody put it all together. Now, doctors are going to try high-dose vitamin therapy the minute they know a coenzyme is involved in a disease or there is a problem with the substrate. It makes sense, since many of the vitamins are generally recognized as safe in large doses. I think this kind of thing will turn up all over once people start looking."

In the paper, Ames and Elson-Schwab estimate that up to one-third of all mutations in a gene may affect binding to a vitamin-derived coenzyme, which means that high-dose vitamin therapy might reverse the effects of these mutations.

The theory has far broader implications than just the treatment of genetic disease. The human genome is rife with genetic variation that probably affects enzyme-coenzyme interactions, and thus vitamin requirements. High-dose vitamins might tweak enzyme functioning enough to improve the health of many segments of society, Ames said. Eliminating vitamin and mineral deficiencies will restore what he calls "metabolic harmony."

"Zinc and iron deficiency, vitamin C, B-12 and B-6 deficiencies are very common," he said. "Yet, a multivitamin pill costs only a penny to make - you can buy a year's supply for ten dollars. Everybody in the world should take one as insurance and try to eat a good diet."

Flooding the body with an excess of some enzyme cofactors may perk up the aging body, too, since aging is accompanied by oxidative damage to many proteins and enzymes. Last month, Ames and his colleagues reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that aging rats responded to treatment with an antioxidant, alpha-lipoic acid, and another substance, acetyl-L-carnitine, that binds to an important enzyme in the energy-producing organs of each cell, the mitochondria. Treated mice were more energetic and had better memory.

The extra acetyl-L-carnitine, he said, compensates for the defective binding of the enzyme, carnitine acetyltransferase. Together, these two play a key role in burning fuel in mitochondria.

Ames first suspected that enzyme/coenzyme binding might be at the root of many diseases while teaching an undergraduate laboratory course in biochemistry 30 years ago. As students isolated mutant microbes and characterized the defective genes, they found that many coded for enzymes with a problem binding to a cofactor. In Elson-Schwab, Ames found an energetic undergraduate able to search the literature for diseases that fit this scenario and to locate biochemical data indicating a cause.

Of the 50 diseases he tracked down, 11 respond to pyridoxine, or vitamin B-6. These include enzyme diseases that lead to blindness, mental retardation, kidney failure and developmental problems. In all of these, scientists have pinned the disease to a problem in how an enzyme binds to a cofactor derived from vitamin B-6.

The authors point out that, of 3,870 known enzymes, 22 percent use cofactors and 112 of those utilize B-6. There may be diseases associated with every one of these enzymes, each treatable, to some degree, by megadoses of B-6 or another vitamin or cofactor. Also, due to genetic variation, some people have enzymes with less coenzyme binding affinity than normal, and thus are able to benefit from high doses of particular vitamins.

The authors found 22 other diseases caused by defective binding to a cofactor derived from a B vitamin, including thiamine (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), niacin (B-3), cobalamin (B-12) and biotin (B-7).


"What's interesting is, health food stores sell B-100 pills with 50 times the normal requirement for vitamin B-6, which is about a milligram. It never made much sense to the nutrition community, and yet the public is buying these pills. Why?

"Maybe somebody just feels better when they take these high B-vitamins. All the neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, use vitamin B-6. So maybe when you take high levels it raises serotonin levels in the brain. There is some evidence for that."

Ames said individual doctors have noticed the connection between coenzyme binding problems and response to high-dose vitamin therapy, but no one had put all the puzzle pieces together. Pauling even suggested, with little evidence, that much mental illness may be due to deficiencies of some micronutrients, and that brain dysfunction may involve mutations that affect enzyme-cofactor binding.

In order to stimulate discussion of their ideas, Ames and Elson-Schwab have created a Web site - http://www.KmMutants.org - where scientists and lay people alike can share information about megavitamins and illness.

Provided physicians use safe dosages, "there is potentially much benefit and possibly little harm in trying high-dose nutrient therapy because of the nominal cost, ease of application and low level of risk," the authors concluded in their paper.

The research was funded by grants from the Ellison Foundation, the National Foundation for Cancer Research, the Wheeler Fund of the Dean of Biology at UC Berkeley and the National Institute of Environmental Heath Sciences Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Overweight Kids -- Overweight Teens?

Overweight Tots May Stay Fat

By Jason Knapfel
eDiets Senior Editor

Often when we see a chunky child, we think "Oh, that's just a little leftover baby fat. They'll outgrow it." But our weight problems can start in toddlerhood, and may be permanent, a new study shows.

The study looked at more than 1,000 American boys and girls. Sixty percent of the children who were overweight at any time in the preschool period, and 80 percent of the children who were overweight at any time during the elementary period were overweight at age 12 years old, writes Philip Nader, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues in the study.

The moral of the story is that it may be better to address weight issues early on. But the findings don't mean that all overweight toddlers will become overweight teens, or that thin kids will stay that way. In fact, the study shows that 40 percent of the kids ever overweight in preschool, and 20 percent of those ever overweight in elementary school, were not overweight at age 12.

It's never too late to take control of your family's health. We can help you make those healthy, everyday choices that mean so much. Join eDiets and get your family back on track to a healthy future today.

South Beach Research Foundation

The Agatston Research Foundation was founded in 2004 by Dr. Arthur Agatston, preventive cardiologist and author of the best-selling The South Beach Diet®. In creating the Agatston Research Foundation, Dr. Agatston is fulfilling a personal dream to improve the heart health and wellness of the nation through research, education, and prevention. According to Dr. Agatston, "Through research funded by The Foundation, it's my goal to drive changes in how the health-care system manages disease prevention and wellness — and I hope to empower individuals to make healthy lifestyle changes themselves."

Specifically, the goals of The Foundation are to:

• Conduct and fund research that contributes to reducing the incidence of heart attacks and strokes
• Educate and empower the public to take an active part in managing their health
• Promote innovative health-care programs oriented towards prevention
• Advance and promote a greater focus on prevention among the medical community

The Foundation participates in a varied research agenda, focusing on improving people's lives and well-being and promoting disease prevention. Below is a brief description of some of the innovative studies The Foundation is involved in:

• The Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (HOPS) Study is testing the feasibility of improving school breakfasts and lunches and enhancing nutrition and wellness education in an elementary school setting and creating a replicable program with the goals of reducing childhood obesity and improving academic performance.
• The Effect of a Low-Processed Carbohydrate, Relatively High-Protein Diet Enriched with Mono- and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Weight Loss, Body-Fat Loss and Distribution, and Cardiovascular Disease Mechanisms in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome. This study is testing the effectiveness of a healthy diet — which emphasizes lean protein and the right fats and carbs — on weight and body-fat percentage, as well as markers for cardiovascular disease in patients with metabolic syndrome.
• The Effect of Diet on Inflammation Mediators and Adult Stem Cells Study is investigating the effects of a Western diet — high in refined carbs and bad fats — on the inflammatory response.
• The South Beach Diet® and Acne Study is determining whether following the South Beach Diet® lifestyle has an impact on the presence of acne.
• Rodale Employee Heart Health Study (REHHS) is looking into state-of-the-art 64-slice CT scanning technology and noninvasive angiograms to determine how these tests may complement — and add value to — traditional cardiovascular screening methods.

The New York Times Magazine recently featured a cover story about The Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (HOPS) Study, which is funded by The Agatston Research Foundation.

Fruits & Veggies: frozen as nutritious as fresh

Fruits and Veggies: Fresh vs. Frozen

Rrom Sonoma Diet

Fresh fruits and vegetables are certainly the most appealing choice in terms of taste and texture, but sometimes you just don't have time to buy, wash, and chop a head of broccoli or a bag of onions. Frozen varieties are an easy option that ensures you get your daily dose, but they're also just as nutritious because they're picked fully ripe and then processed right away. Frozen vegetables are generally preferable to canned, except when it comes to tomatoes.

Here are a few guidelines you should follow when buying canned or frozen fruits and vegetables:

• Always look for fruits and vegetables canned in water or their own juices, and be sure to check the label for added salt. Avoid fruits and veggies canned in syrup, which is loaded with sugar.
• Most canned and frozen vegetables are cooked during processing — even if only briefly — so it's important to use shorter cooking times and lower temperatures to preserve more of their nutritional value.
• Instead of boiling frozen or canned vegetables, try steaming, baking, or even microwaving them. These methods require less water, which means more nutrients.

Two eggs a day -- no impact on cholesterol

Eggs: The Other Protein

From Sonoma Diet

Eggs may not pack the protein punch of most meats, but they're still a great source of protein because more of their fat is monounsaturated. What's more, the yolks are a great source of easily-absorbable lutein, an important antioxidant (also found in spinach and other green vegetables) that's great for your eyes and your skin. By the way, the theory that eggs increase cholesterol levels in the bloodstream has been thoroughly debunked. One recent study found no difference in heart disease risk between those who ate one egg a week and those who ate one a day. Another study concluded that eating two eggs a day for six weeks had no impact at all on cholesterol levels. The key is to prepare your eggs healthily -- large amounts of butter, cheese, and cream in the company of sausage and bacon aren't good for your cholesterol level or your waistline.

Dr. Guttersen's Tip of the Day

Eggs a Million Ways

Eggs are a wonderful complement to almost any vegetable, including greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions. The Sonoma Diet is a great way for you to take advantage of these delicious combinations. They're also fantastic with smoked fish, whole grain toast, and beans. Take a look in your refrigerator -- if you have eggs, you're well on your way to a complete, delicious meal.

Calorie Counting - the Best Weight Loss Method?

Why Calorie Counting Doesn't Work for Weight Loss

From Fat Loss For Idiots

Most people believe that calories are the "enemy", since eating excess calories leads to excess fat, right? That�s why most people believe that the fastest way to lose weight is to cut way back on calories each day.

After all, if a dieter is eating 2,500 calories per day and they decide to cut back to 1,500 calories per day -- then obviously those extra 1,000 calories have to result in weight loss, right?

Well, actually this is not exactly true.

In fact, if you try to cut your calories too much (via starving yourself and skipping meals) then you'll quickly reach a dieting "plateau" (a point where the scale refuses to drop any lower no matter how little your are eating).

Firstly, let's talk about how the average person begins a new diet...

The scenario usually sounds something like this... One day you look in the mirror and see that your clothes are fitting tighter than normal, and you look more overweight than normal. ...And on this day you get angry with yourself, you're angry with what you see in the mirror -- and you decide that you're going to lose weight no matter what it takes.

You are filled with lots of motivation and anger on this day, and you feel determined to do whatever it takes to get slimmer.

So what's the first thing you do?

...You begin skipping meals and cutting way back on calories in an attempt to starve yourself thinner, since you're convinced that calories are the enemy. Anyway, the above scenario is how you begin your starvation diet. On the first day of dieting you feel so motivated to lose weight that you decide to skip breakfast.

Unfortunately, this motivation doesn't last for long, because after a few hours your hunger begins making you feel weak -- because your body is not accustomed to "skipping meals" like this, and your body is not accustomed to being without calories for so long.

Anyway, by the time lunchtime arrives you're so hungry (and weak) that you feel absolutely miserable -- but yet you bravely tell yourself that you can handle this diet (because after all, you certainly don�t want to feel like a quitter).

So you perhaps have a piece of fruit for lunch (or perhaps another small food item instead), since you're still convinced that you can starve yourself thinner. Finally, hours later when dinnertime arrives you're so miserable and hungry that you have a major headache -- and this is the moment when you finally begin to realize that starving yourself might not be such a good idea after all.

After this first day of starving yourself you feel horrible, but you're determined to stick to your diet since you don't want to be a quitter so soon -- so you'll likely hold out for another few days on this diet. Or, if you are particularly brave then you may even hold out for a week or two. However, regardless of how long you actually hold out -- you won't get any slimmer and the final result will still be the same.

You see, even after two weeks of starving yourself you won�t have achieved any serious weight loss at all. In fact, your body will still look the same when you look in the mirror.

Why is this true?

This is true because most of the weight lost during a �starvation diet� is just water weight, and not real fat loss.

You must remember that any "water weight" lost during a starvation diet will be gained back immediately when you stop dieting and start eating normally again.

Also, whenever you starve yourself you cause a hidden factor to come into play...

You see, whenever you starve yourself your body will begin burning fewer calories each day.

For instance, let's say that you normally eat about 3,,000 calories per day.

....But then you suddenly cut way back on calories -- so that you're now eating only 1,000 calories per day.

Guess what happens?

Even though you're eating 2,000 fewer calories per day your body will begin burning 2,000 fewer calories per day -- so in reality your weight will remain the same even though you're eating 2,000 fewer calories per day.

When this happens the scale will stop going down regardless of how little you are eating each day, and this is known as a weight loss �plateau.�

This is why most starvation dieters cannot make the scale go down anymore after just two weeks of dieting. They all hit a plateau where the scale just refuses to go down any further, no matter how little they are eating each day.

Now you know why you've always failed when trying to starve yourself in the past, since it's just not possible to lose weight by starving yourself.

The truth is that serious weight loss can never be achieved by starvation dieting.

Serious weight loss can only be achieved by giving your body the right types of calories at the correct times each day, which is something that we talk about below...

Your body is actually like a big engine -- and the truth is that your body needs all 3 types of calories (protein, carbs, and fat) to some degree.

To begin losing weight fast we recommend using the new Idiot Proof Diet from Fat Loss 4 Idiots -- because it does not require any calorie counting (it's one of the only diets in the world which forces fast weight loss without the need to count calories).

You can begin this new diet right here.

Soy: The Pros and Cons

HEALTHWIRE I APRIL, 2001 I CONTACT: DONNA M. CARROLL, M.A., M.S. (616) 344 1046

Intensive research on soy has shown a number of identifiable benefits as well as a few cautionary flags, especially for using supplements.

About 25 grams of soy protein a day, with its naturally occurring isoflavones, has been found to reduce low density lipoprotein by about 10%.

If you want to add soy to your diet to lower your cholesterol and perhaps to gain other potential health benefits, you’ll need to start slowly.

Soy has been generating a lot of press in recent years. Yet soy is hardly new. Soy products have been around for thousands of years, mainly in Asia where soy is a dietary staple.

Much of soy’s appeal here stems from research showing that Asian peoples have lower rates of heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, fewer hip fractures and fewer hot flashes. It’s easy to oversimplify, however, and many other lifestyle factors such as fat intake and daily exercise levels may also play a role.

Intensive research on soy has shown a number of identifiable benefits to adding soy to our diets as well as a few cautionary flags, especially for using supplements.

Soybeans are highly nutritious. They provide high quality proteins, isoflavones and essential fatty acids. They are low in fat and have no cholesterol.

One of the main components researchers have focused on are isoflavones, particularly genestein and diadzein. These isoflavones in soy are phytoestrogens, weak estrogen-like substances made by plants. They are similar enough to estrogen that they are able to bind to estrogen receptors, possibly explaining how soy might protect against breast cancer, for example.

To date the most compelling evidence in favor of soy is its beneficial effect on cholesterol levels. After decades of study the Food and Drug Administration in October 1999 endorsed soy as a means of lowering cholesterol.

For a soy product to claim it can help lower cholesterol it must meet specific guidelines. Studies showed that it requires about 25 grams of soy protein with its naturally occurring isoflavones per day to reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL) by about 10 percent in individuals with LDL above 160. The closer to normal a person’s LDL level the smaller the beneficial effect.

A soy food claiming it can lower cholesterol must provide at least 6.25 grams of soy protein per single serving. This is about one quarter the daily amount required to show a benefit. The food must also be low in fat (having less than three grams), sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol.

The FDA allows similar claims of cholesterol-lowering effects for the soluble fiber in oat bran and psyllium.

Many Questions Unanswered
Because the chemical structure of isoflavones is similar to that of estrogen, isoflavones bind to estrogen receptors. By competing with estrogen the isoflavones are believed to dampen the effect of estrogen in the body.

This should have a positive effect on the risk of breast cancer which increases with exposure to estrogen. This theory has been supported by animal studies and by observational studies of Asian women who eat diets rich in soy and have lower rates of breast cancer than American women.

A number of recent studies have generated conflicting results. One study of women who were given soy supplements found that fluid from their breasts showed breast cell proliferation, a potential precursor for breast cancer development.

Animal studies also showed human breast cancers transplanted into mice grew at a faster rate when fed with soy isoflavones than controls.

These results and findings of a number of similar studies contradict the assumption that soy protects against breast cancer. Although it may be protective in some cases there may be other instances in which it promotes cancer growth. Further studies are needed and some medical experts caution women against changing their diets to take in very large quantities of soy, particularly in the form of supplements.

There is no evidence to show that soy-based foods eaten in moderation as part of a varied diet, are harmful.

Soy foods have shown promise in lowering the risk of osteoporosis in older women. A study conducted at the University of Illinois showed that soy protein was effective in decreasing the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.

Apart from the estrogen-like effects of soy isoflavones, researchers believe that soy foods may help build healthy bones by increasing the body’s supply of calcium.

Most of the research on soy related to osteoporosis has been in animal studies and involves very high doses of soy protein. More human studies are needed to determine the usefulness of soy in lowering the risk of osteoporosis.

Although Asian women report fewer problems with hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms than their American counterparts, studies have found very little if any effect on hot flashes when soy was added to the diets of postmenopausal women in the United States.

Adding Soy To Your Diet
If you want to add soy to your diet to lower your cholesterol and perhaps to gain other potential health benefits, you’ll need to start slowly. If you try a soy food and don’t like it, don’t give up. Keep an open mind and try something else.

Tofu can virtually disappear into a dish, taking on the spicy flavors of chili, for example.

Just four ounces of tofu gives you 13 grams of soy protein. Studies showed cholesterol-lowering benefits of soy in those who ate 25 grams of soy protein per day.

Soy milk doesn’t taste like cow’s milk, but if you use 8 ounces in a fruit smoothie, you can get 10 grams of soy protein in a healthy snack. Many people also enjoy the taste of chocolate and vanilla flavored soy milk.

Just one quarter cup of roasted soy nuts gives 19.5 grams of soy protein. Soy nuts have a crunchy, pleasing texture and you can eat them alone or mix them with raisins and other nuts, seeds or dried fruits for a quick and healthy snack.

Muffins made with soy flour and soy protein bars also offer variety and an easy way to add soy without big changes to your diet.

Veggie burgers, soy dogs and soy cheeses can all be incorporated into meals. Try ordering soy-style dishes such as spicy bean curd and miso soup at Asian restaurants. If you like the dish, you can learn how to make it at home.

Any attempt to boost soy consumption long-term should aim for variety. If you rely on only one or two foods to change your diet you’ll get bored.

Most of the uncertainty surrounding soy concerns high doses of isoflavones taken in the form of pills or powders in quantities larger than provided by a normal diet.

By making soy foods part of a healthy, balanced diet you can improve your cholesterol levels and at the same time get the benefits of a low-fat, high quality protein.

REFERENCES:
John Henkel, “Soy: Health Claims for Soy Protein,” FDA Consumer, May-June 2000.
“FDA Approves Health Claim for Soy Protein,” Physician Assistant, April 2000.
Erik Goldman, “Soy May Help After Menopause, But Won’t Replace HRT,” Family Practice News, November1, 1999.
L. Helmuth, “Nutritionists Debate Soy’s Health Benefits,” Science News, April 1999.
Bonnie Liebman, “The Soy Story,” Nutrition Action Healthletter, September 1998.
Carol Saunders, “Sorting Out Health Claims About Soy,” Patient Care, December 15, 2000.
David Schardt, “Phytoestrogens for Menopause,” Nutrition Action Healthletter, January 2000.
“Soy Substances Slow Prostate Cancer Growth in Animals,” Cancer Weekly, November 15, 1999.
“When It Comes to Soy, Have We Overshot the Mark?” Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, May 2000.

Scientific studies showed that drinking wine in moderation is good for you

Raise a Glass to Your Health

From Sonoma Diet

If it's difficult to make one glass of wine go the distance during your next social gathering, try alternating between sips of wine and sparkling or lemon-flavored water. Or, mix half a glass of wine with sparkling water. Then drink two glasses of this refreshing beverage. If you're ordering at a party or in a restaurant, ask for a white-wine spritzer.

Grapes are packed with nutrients that protect you from heart disease. Many scientific studies have even concluded that drinking wine in moderation lowers your risk of death from heart disease more than drinking other kinds of alcohol. "Moderate consumption" is usually defined as 1 to 3 drinks each day, but it's important to watch your calories. To be safe, stick to the one-glass-per-day rule if you're still trying to reach your goal weight. And of course, wine is not a requirement on The Sonoma Diet. If you'd rather have a nonalcoholic beverage, seltzer water with lemon is fit for any special occasion.

Spinach is the quintessential "green leafy vegetable"

Spinach: Full of Surprises

From the Sonoma Diet

Spinach is the quintessential "green leafy vegetable" so often recommended for overall health. In fact, that's what spinach basically is -- big green leaves (though the stems are great too). What's in those leaves borders on the miraculous.

Calorie for calorie, spinach is a valuable power food. The nutritional benefits are so abundant — and the calories so negligible -- you can eat virtually all you want of this amazing plant. Like tomatoes, broccoli, and bell peppers, spinach is a Tier 1 vegetable that you can eat plenty of from the first day of your diet, and in unlimited amounts once you reach Wave 2.

Spinach is full of pleasant nutritional surprises. It's a natural, low-calorie source of iron, and like broccoli and almonds, it's a rich nondairy source of calcium. The combination of calcium and vitamin K (which spinach also delivers in abundance) promotes bone health and helps prevent osteoporosis. Plus, the flavonoids in spinach are thought to slow the cognitive decline that accompanies aging . Like most Mediterranean power foods, spinach also provides a generous and varied supply of antioxidants that fight heart disease.

Lose Weight with Tom Nicoli Hypnosis CDs

Lose Weight with Tom Nicoli Hypnosis CDs

Tom Nicoli was featured on Dateline NBC & his Weight Loss CDs were rated the top "5 Star" rating by Shape Magazine. People in over 28 countries have used his program to lose weight. Click here for More Information.

Healthy Kitchen: a solution that will benefit both you and your family

Create a Healthy Kitchen for the Whole Family

From Sonoma Diet
Sticking to a diet can be tough, especially if your family insists on keeping non- food in the kitchen. There is, however, a solution that will benefit both you and your family.

Processed baked goods, cookies, crackers, chips, and sugar-filled cereal don't do anyone any good, diet or no diet. Lay down the law and banish these things from the house. If it's not there, you can't eat it - and once you explain your reasoning to your family, they will understand and support you.

Help them along. With the harmful food gone, put out fresh fruit in the kitchen. Have whole wheat bread and peanut butter available. Stock up on vegetables and have some cut and ready for them to snack on. Let them see that a healthy kitchen doesn't have to mean deprivation.

Q: What drinks are Zone-friendly? Is my daily diet cola in the Zone?

Ask Dr. Sears

What Are Zone Diet -Friendly Beverages?

A: I believe the best beverage on Earth is simple, fresh, clean water. One of my basic rules is to try and drink 8 cups of water (that's a half-gallon) every day. Most people don't even drink half that.

As far as soft drinks go, most are out of the Zone Diet due to their carbohydrate and/or caffeine content. A single can of Coca-Cola Classic, for example, contains no protein and no fat, but it does have 39 grams of carbs. That's over an entire Zone, meal's worth. But, since nothing is forbidden in the Zone, I suppose you could make a Zone, meal out of a can of Coke, 28 grams of protein powder, and some almonds or olives (for fat). The only problem would be the caffeine. Caffeine spikes insulin in the same way that carbohydrates do. That's why another beverage I discourage is coffee. Black and green teas are lesser offenders, but caffeinated sodas and coffee are the worst. Try to limit consumption of coffee to one morning cup, and see if you can't switch to caffeine-free, sugar-free soda if you just can't live without it. Diet sodas are rich in phosphoric acid, which can leach calcium from your bones. Also, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame can cause insulin secretion (sodas made with Splenda are a better option), so we suggest that you drink them in moderation.

Juices, unfortunately, can also easily take you out of the Zone, . Since fruit juices lack the beneficial fiber of their original form, I always recommend eating the whole fruit instead. The one "juice" I do approve of, however, is fermented grape juice, also known as wine.

One of my favorite Zone, snacks at bedtime is a half glass (4 ounces) of red wine and 1 ounce of cheese. It not only keeps you in the Zone, overnight, but the dark pigments in the wine help keep your heart healthy, as well. Alcohol acts as a carbohydrate, so even light beers with reduced maltose push you farther out of the Zone, than red wine. If you don't drink alcohol, then vary your water with unsweetened grape or cranberry juices since they offer the same heart-healthy benefits.

Dr. Barry Sears, the Zone Diet

Three Creative Grilling Techniques

Want to impress your friends and relatives with your amazing grilling skills? Here are three advanced barbecuing techniques that are guaranteed to please. They work well with lean meats, skinless chicken breasts, and even delicate fish, so you can try these new cooking methods with your South Beach DietTM favorite foods.

Steaming. Place delicate fish or vegetables inside a sealed square of aluminum foil. Make sure to leave some space for air to allow for proper steaming. Instead of putting the packet directly over the hot coals, place it on the cooler side of the grill for slow cooking. This method of cooking will seal in juices and natural flavors, so heavy seasoning is not necessary.

Rotisserie. While this method requires more complicated equipment and longer cooking times, it can be a real crowd-pleaser. Rotisserie cooking allows you to evenly cook foods - like an entire turkey breast or large piece of lean meat - while retaining most of the natural juices. Place well-seasoned food on a rotating spit directly over the flames. The key to good rotisserie is to keep what you're cooking well-balanced on the spit. An unbalanced rotisserie means uneven cooking.

Smoking. You don't need a fancy contraption to impart a smoky flavor to your food. Try wood chips, which come in a variety of flavors, including mesquite and hickory. To prevent burning, soak them in water for about an hour before using, and place them over the coals just before you begin to cook your food. Likewise, you can soak a bunch of fresh herbs - like sage, thyme, and rosemary - and sprinkle them on the coals before cooking.

100+ Pounds to Lose, Turkey Burgers: 6 Carb Grams, Healthy Shopping Guide, Vegetable Frittata Recipe

Herbed Turkey Burgers, 6 Carb Grams

Top these tasty turkey burgers with tomato and sesame buns. They go perfectly with coleslaw or a salad on the side. PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

The 100+ Pounds to Lose Support Group

“In the 100+ Pounds to Lose ChangeOne Diet group, weight-loss success for us comes in small amounts, but as a group we are counting a very large, very successful accomplishment. In less than 17 weeks, 23 of us have managed to lose 393 pounds…we’ve lost an entire member in fat!”

ChangeOne Diet Shopping Guide

Putting ChangeOne Diet into action at the grocery store is a snap with our guide to sensible shopping lists, which will ensure you’re never without the essentials. Chances are you already have many of the ingredients for the meals in your Meal Plan.Our meals call for lots of perishable foods, especially fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products, so it’s important to have a checklist to track these items and avoid waste.

Vegetable Frittata, 6 Carb grams

This no-fuss Italian egg dish is baked in the pan, and there’s no need to master omelet-flipping skills — you put the filling on top. The recipe makes four portions, each of them about the same size as a two-egg omelet.
(100+ Pounds to Lose, Turkey Burgers: 6 Carb Grams, Healthy Shopping Guide, Vegetable Frittata Recipe)

Fat Burning Index Diet Sample Dinner Menu

1) Avocado Soup - Fat Burning Index 2.51
2) Tunisian Spiced Fish - Fat Burning Index 2.13
3) Chocolate no-bake cheesecake - Fat Burning Index 2

Sonoma Success - Healthy Eating Doesn’tHave to Be Bland or Tasteless!

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be bland or tasteless! You can enjoy delicious and satisfying dishes on The Sonoma Diet while you lose those extra pounds. Enjoy meals such as Tandoori Chicken, Roasted Vegetable Medley, and Smoked Salmon Frittata, or take a classic cut of lean meat and add amazing seasonings, like Jamaican Jerk Rub, Honey-Mustard Mayonnaise, and Cajun Beer Sauce. Hear what one success story had to say about The Sonoma Diet

Everything You Need for a Healthy Heart, the South Beach Diet Tips

If you have a moderate or high risk of heart disease - for instance, if you have high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease along with LDL (”bad cholesterol”) above 130 mg/dL, lifestyle modifications may not be enough to ensure cardiac health. Though a weight-healthy lifestyle (which includes exercise) - like the one recommended on The South Beach DietTMSouth Beach Diet - should alwaysbe part of a comprehensive heart-healthy program, your doctor may also recommend medication to lower your risk of heart disease.

Salmon Burgers - Easy Zone Diet Recipe

Burgers, Without the Beef - here’s a new take on the old classic that you’ll love, especially if you want to avoid red meat. One of the easiest Zone meals features burgers made from salmon patties, which only take a few minutes to prepare in a skillet. Try the following recipe below, which uses canned salmon, a Zone Diet pantry staple.

(Tasty Eating For Success on Sonoma Diet, South Beach Diet Tips, Salmon Burgers Recipe from the Zone)

Two Very Easy Recipes: Low Carb Tiramisu and Low Fat White Bean Salad:

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Instant Almond Tiramisu Recipe

Fat Burning Index of this recipe is 2,578, which makes it an ‘all-you-can-eat‘ meal on the Fat Burning Index Diet >> MORE

White Bean Salad Recipe From Dr. Weil’s Optimum Health Plan

This is a very easy bean salad you can make the night before and take to work, or serve as a side dish. >> MORE

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes. Good for Phase 2 South Beach Diet

Tangy buttermilk adds extra rise to these cakey, fruit-filled pancakes, and buckwheat - high in iron and low in gluten - gives them a delicious toasted flavor. >> MORE

Burn The Fat Success Stories

…I just I purchased your Burn The Fat book last week and already see results in 5 days! I look and feel better than I did after nearly 6 weeks of low-carb (Atkins) approach. I think your program may be the Holy Grail of nutrition and fitness. >> MORE

How do you draw the line between striving to attain perfect fitness and excellent health without being a compulsive or perfectionist in the process?

Can this be done? We all know that perfectionism is not a desirable human trait because to be perfect is to not be human …or “To err is human.” How do you walk this line? George P.Phoenix, AZ >> MORE

Weight Lifting For Beginners

Several months ago, an eDiets employee told me how happy she was because her clothes were fitting loose. She was ecstatic that she had lost inches all over her body (yes, including her thighs, butt and love handles); however, the scale had not gone down! She went on to tell me that when I originally told her how to lose inches, although she respected my opinion, she just couldn’t seem to buy into it. >> MORE