Alcohol as a Key Ingredient to a Healthy Diet
Dr. John Rumberger

Evidence suggesting that alcohol is “cardio-protective” first appeared in the literature about 30 years ago. The Framingham Heart Study [the longest running population study of heart disease which began in 1948] provided the first solid evidence of this association. The relationship has now been confirmed by dozens of large population [“epidemiological”] studies. However, physicians have been reluctant to recommend alcohol consumption to patients because of the well-known health consequences of excessive drinking [hypertension, liver disease, increased rates of cancer, violent or accidental death] and the horrors that are associated with “drinking and driving”.
Moderation is the key. Many large studies have found that men and women who consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol per day live longer than those who abstain completely. The Physicians’ Health Study involved long term follow-up of 89,300 men. The study found that men who drank five or six alcoholic drinks per week had a 20% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who drank no alcohol. On the other hand, the same study showed that men who had more than two alcoholic drinks per day had a higher risk of death than nondrinkers. That means that, when drinking moderately, it appears to be quite beneficial; however, higher alcohol intake increases the risks of cancer and motor vehicle accidents so much as to overwhelm any cardiovascular benefits.
How does alcohol protect the heart? A large portion of the benefit may be attributable to increased levels of HDL [“good] cholesterol. Alcohol also has “antiplatelet” effects [making these natural blood elements less sticky and then less likely to clog arteries during plaque rupture] in much the same way as aspirin.
Moderate alcohol consumption may also help improve insulin resistance, which is just about one step below true diabetes and recognized as another independent predictor for cardiac risk. The Physicians’ Health Study also showed that in subjects who consumed alcohol daily, the risk for heart disease was reduced by 60% in diabetic patients, compared to a 40% decrease in persons who did not have diabetes. Moderate alcohol intake also decreases blood values for CRP [C-reactive protein], a metabolic marker for inflammation (elevated when you are in an increased state of oxidative stress).
The jury is still out as to whether or not wine provides a better protective effect compared to other forms of alcohol. Red wine is rich in flavonoids, which slow down oxidation of LDL [“bad”] cholesterol [which is one of the last steps before it is deposited in your artery wall]. One recent study suggested that light drinkers who avoided wine reduce their risk of all-cause mortality by 10%, while light drinkers who preferred wine had more than a 30% decrease in this risk. However, other studies have found that all forms of alcohol [beer, whiskey, etc.] were equally protective.
It is important to emphasize that alcohol [of ANY kind!] should be limited to one drink daily for women and at most two drinks daily for men [this is based merely on general body size and nothing else]. One drink is defined as 1.5 oz of distilled spirits (such as whisky, gin, and vodka), 5 oz of wine, or 12 oz of beer. Patients who have liver disease, who have a personal or family history of alcohol abuse, or who cannot limit their intake in a responsible manner should NOT start! However, since “all things in moderation” is a good adage for much of life, others can enjoy a daily alcoholic drink as part of a generally healthy diet.
Disclaimer: If you are under 18, pregnant, nursing or have health problems, consult your physician before starting any weight loss plan. The information here is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult your physician before beginning any course of treatment.

About the Author

Dr. John Rumberger is the Author of The WAY Diet, The complete lifestyle plan to live longer, reduce stress, and lose weight the healthy way. To purchase The Way Diet simply go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?path=
ASIN/0974993387&link_code=as2&camp=1789&tag=icobweb-20&creative=9325 or go to Empty Canoe Publishing http://www.emptycanoe.com and order your copy of The Way.

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A Healthy Diet Plan
Renee Kennedy

How do you plan to lose weight?

Losing weight, gaining weight or maintaining a healthy
weight can be a difficult task. However, if you learn to eat healthy and
exercise regularly, and you train your body to accept that – instead
of a daily task, it can become a “way of life.”

Here is a simple 5 step plan that can help you learn how to live
a healthier life:

1. Get into a Healthy Eating Mindset:

   If you are going to lose weight or gain weight you must believe that you
   can do it. If you are discouraged, you will not be
   able to do it. You must think, I CAN LOSE WEIGHT. I WILL
   LOSE WEIGHT. I WILL GET HEALTHY STARTING RIGHT NOW!

   This may seem a little over the top – but it’s not.
   You need to get yourself into a healthy mindset. You need
   to give yourself positive reinforcement and pump yourself up.

   You may need some help to get into a healthy mindset.
   It is not a weakness to admit that you need
   help. In order to be a healthy person, you have to admit
   that sometimes you just can’t do it by yourself. You may
   need the help of a trained professional (a doctor, a dietician,
   a personal trainer) or simply a support network of friendly
   people. If you have tried to do it on your own and have failed,
   then it is time to get the help that you need – start with your
   family physician.

   Your support network can be composed of people that
   are available for you to talk to, they should be positive people
   and they should believe in YOU.

   If you don’t want to count on your friends and family – you may
   need to go out and pay for a diet plan – Weight Watchers,
   Jenny Craig, NutriSystem are a few of the programs that also
   provide a support network of actual people you can talk
   to and find encouragement from.

2. Find Motivation, Set Goals, and Reward Yourself:

   Motivation to lose weight or get healthier is going to be
   completely up to you! Whether you are just trying
   to lose a few pounds to go to your high school class reunion
   or you are trying to lose fifty pounds so that you can
   be a healthy person and play with your children… You need
   to find a motivation.

   Once you have a motivation, set attainable goals.
   Set goals that you know you can achieve.
   In other words, don’t try to lose five pounds in one week.
   One or two pounds per week is a small, attainable goal.

   Also, plan to reward yourself when you’ve reached your goal.
   For instance, if your motivation is to shed ten pounds to
   go to your class reunion, then reward yourself with a new outfit
   to wear to the reunion. Or, if your motivation is to lose
   50 pounds so that you will feel healthier, plan one fun day going
   to an amusement park when you’ve reached your goal weight.

   Take little steps. Motivate yourself using rewards every step
   of the way. Set goals and rewards. For instance,
   “When I lose 5 lbs, I will reward myself with a new pair
   of shoes.”

   Set your own rewards based on what you really, really want.
   Follow through – don’t just say you will reward yourself and
   then conveniently forget because there are more important things
   to buy or do – GO THROUGH WITH YOUR REWARD PLAN.

3. Plan to Eat Healthy Foods and Healthy Serving Sizes:

   The US government has provided us with a healthy “food pyramid.”
   This plan works! So don’t be afraid to use it.
   It’s simple, too. If you are an adult, each day you should have
   the following allotment:

   1. Fats, Oils and Sweets – use sparingly.
   2. Milk, Yogurt, Cheese – 2 to 3 servings.
   3. Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Nuts, Eggs – 2 to 3 servings.
   4. Vegetables – 3 to 5 servings.
   5. Fruits – 2 to 3 servings.
   6. Grains, Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta – 6 to 11 servings.

   6 to 11 servings is a wide range.
   The amount of servings you need per day will be based on your
   daily activity and special needs:

   A breast-feeding mother will need the highest amounts –
   3 servings of milk and cheese, 3 servings of meat.

   A middle aged woman who has a desk job
   will probably need the lower servings suggested –
   6 servings of the grain/bread group, 2 servings of meat.

   6 servings of grains may seem like a lot of food – but –
   you must be careful on the serving size. A pasta meal at a restaurant
   may equal 6 servings of pasta. Watching the amount of food
   is as important as the kinds of food.
   Serving sizes follow:

   • milk group – – 1 cup 2%, 1 cup yogurt, 1 1/2 oz of cheese
   • meat group — 2-3 oz. of meat, 1/2 cup cooked dry beans,
   • vegetable group — 1/2 cup of cooked or raw cut up, 1 cup raw leafy
   • fruit group — medium sized piece of fruit or 1/2 cup cut up, 3/4 cup of juice
   • grain group — a serving is 1/2 cup of cooked pasta or rice, 1 slice of bread, 1 oz.
     dry cereal.

   Do not assume that the serving sizes on packaged products
   are the same as the above. Use common sense. Be honest
   with yourself about serving sizes.

   Here is a cool visual chart that makes for great printing. Print
   it out and tack it up on your refrigerator! Another great motivator is tacking up a picture of
   yourself on the fridge – as you are now or as you would like to be.

4. Plan to Exercise:

   You don’t need to run a marathon every day in order to get exercise.
   There are little ways that you can get the exercise you need everyday.
   Here are some suggestions – choose at least one of these and do it
   everyday or at least once a week. I guarantee that after a
   couple months – if you don’t get your exercise, you will MISS it!

   1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
   2. Park the farthest away spot from the store every time you go.
   3. Take a 30 minute walk everyday. (This is the one that I do – I
      love my walk, if I don’t get my walk, I really feel at a loss – and
      I am definitely NOT an exercise fanatic, but I never miss my walking
      even on vacation – and I feel GREAT because of it.)
   4. Take an aerobics class or a dance class. (Do you have a partner?
      Take ballroom dancing! Not only will you get some exercise, you will
      also learn a useful, fun skill.)
   5. Get off the subway or bus stop one stop before where you normally
      get off and walk the rest of the way home.
   6. Decide to take up a sport like Tennis, Racquetball, or even join
      a Softball team. Check out your community athletic center or the YMCA
      for sports that you think you might like to participate in.
   7. Buy a work out video and commit to working out 20 minutes a
      day.
   8. There are some awesome workout programs for free on the
      internet. Here’s one at Drop a Dress Size in Six Weeks.
      (I like the free ones you can do at home, because if you’re like me,
      you’re a clutz and are embarrassed to be seen doing any of those
      exercises in public!)
5. The Right Tools:

   1. Support Network –

      In the first part of the plan, we discussed a support network. This
      network may be made up of health professionals or simply
      a group of family or friends that you can talk to. They are positive
      people that will help you over the rough spots.

   2. Healthy Eating Guide –

      You need to know the right balance of foods to eat.
      Use this cool food pyramid.
      This pyramid is taken from the US Government Recommended Daily Allowances.
      If you join any type of Diet plan, they all have their individual
      ways of keeping track of your calories or nutritional intake,
      however, they are all similar to the Food Pyramid.

   3. Nutritional Counting Device –

      Make your healthy diet fun! The NutriCounter can help you keep
      track of your daily eating habits, it’s a wonderful way to get into
      a routine and stay healthy.
      Learn more about The NutriCounter.

About the Author

Come and visit the NutriCounter web site for more information on how nutrition influences weight loss, diabetes, pregnancy, heart disease and more!
http://www.nutricounter.com

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What Is A Healthy Diet?
Alan LeStourgeon

What is a healthy diet? It’s not about counting calories,
measuring portions or cutting carbs. You won’t really find a
healthy diet on the lite menu at your favorite restaurant and
you certainly won’t find it at the local fast food joint. A
healthy diet is all about what you eat rather than how much you
eat.

If you think the latest fad diet is your panacea to health, you
are in for a big surprise. Losing weight, staying healthy and
getting back into shape after many years of diet neglect is not
about fads or eating in some radical new way for six to twelve
weeks and then going back to the way you used to eat.

The best thing you can do to keep yourself healthy is to eat a
healthy diet…all the time, not just when you want to lose
weight. Eating healthy is a long-term lifestyle choice,
something you need to do for your entire lifetime.

But what is a healthy diet? Is it what we have been lead to
believe – milk for strong bones and teeth, protein in the form
of lean beef or chicken and maybe a “healthy” microwave dinner
if we are “on the go.” Unfortunately this diet is what is
identified as the Standard American Diet or the SAD.

And what’s so wrong with the SAD?

Well, has it made us a healthier people? Are we better off as a
nation because of it?

With all of the health studies, advanced health care, the war on
cancer dating back to the 70’s, and the most advanced technology
available on the planet we have to ask ourselves why do we still
need to spend $1.3 trillion a year on health care in the United
States. Why aren’t we getting any healthier?

Other pertinent questions about your health beg for answers such
as, why after more than 30 years since the “War On Cancer” was
declared, do we still have an increasing cancer rate. Yes, we
have many more people surviving cancer but the rate at which
people are getting cancer is increasing. We have come a long way
in taking care of sick people, but we haven’t made any progress
as a nation in preventing those people from getting sick.

Why do more than 15 million people in the United States have
diabetes? Why do we still have more heart problems today than we
did 30 years ago? Why is more than 50% of our population on some
kind of prescription drug?

We spend more per person on medical care than any other nation
in the world. Why is this happening in a country that seems to
be able to solve nearly any technological problem? Why can’t we
solve our medical problems? How would life be different for us
if we were to be a nation of healthy individuals?

The secret to a healthy diet and a healthy life is living food –
fresh vegetables, fruit, juices and green leafy salads. The
answer to a healthier you is summed up in three words,
breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Living a healthy life and having a healthy family is all about
eating a healthy diet, every day of our lives!

About the author:

Alan LeStourgeon along with his wife Jean run the web site www.ezHealthyDiet.com
where they explore what it means to eat a healthy diet, have a
healthy
home and live a healthier life.

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With all the diet pills, extreme dieting techniques and exercise programs, you might miss an age-old technique: cider vinegar weight loss. Thats right, you dont need to pump your body full of chemicals or go on some crazy crash diet. The answer youre looking for might already be in your kitchen cupboard! It might sound crazy, but cider vinegar has been used as a weight loss treatment for ages.

So how can apple cider vinegar help with your weight loss? The truth is, no one quite knows. Scientific tests havent been able to prove anything for sure about cider vinegar in regards to weight loss. The reason to try cider vinegar is mainly the stories of people whove already used it, and already lost weight thanks to it.

There are a few ideas as to why cider vinegar aids in weight loss. Some people believe that it increases a persons natural metabolism, which makes out body digest and change food into energy faster. Other people have stated that cider vinegar actively burns the calories in your body to help you lose weight. Some reports say that cider vinegar helps cleanse the liver, which is an organ that can have a big effect on weight loss.

One recent experiment showed that eating cider vinegar with or right before a meal can help you feel more full, and thus prevent overeating. The test was a very small one, but the results looked really good. Cider vinegar weight loss still needs to be tested more with people before we can be sure just how much it helps. Theres evidence that ancient Egyptians used cider vinegar for weight loss, so it must be doing something right!

There are a couple of different ways to use cider vinegar in your weight loss program. The easiest way is just to add a little bit of cider vinegar to a glass of water or juice, and drink it with a meal. Another option is to buy tablets or capsules that contain cider vinegar in them. Some of these tablets contain other things, like vitamin B6 and something called lecithin, which may have more effect than cider vinegar alone.

Aside from weight loss benefits, cider vinegar is very healthy for you. It is naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, and can help with a number of medical problems and improve your general health. For instance, cider vinegar contains potassium, which helps lower blood pressure. It also has fiber, which can absorb the cholesterol that causes heart problems. Those are just a few things it helps with cider vinegar can also help with digestion, sore throats, arthritis pain and even diabetes.

Despite all the bonuses of using cider vinegar weight loss, it has some risks as well. The biggest thing to watch out for is that cider vinegar is very acidic, which means it can burn and damage your teeth, mouth or throat. Its important to dilute cider vinegar in water or juice before drinking it. Be sure to contact your doctor before trying cider vinegar if you have any serious medical conditions.

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