Anti-Aging Herbs and Spices - Must Have in Your Diet

Can what you eat help you reverse aging?

Yes you can. And a very simple step to do so it to choose foods that are loaded with spices.

In an article at The Huttington Post, Dr. Eric Braverman says that "Spices and herbs create a more thermogenic diet." They help increase your metabolism. It also helps maximize nutrient density. By putting in flavor and spice in your meals you are "upgrading" your food without adding calories.

There are also spices that help increase your overall feeling of fullness and satiety so you'll take in less food. Watching your salt intake. Excessive salt retains more fluid in your body.

Here are some spices and their benefits:

* rosemary and basil for their anti-inflammatory power
* cumin and sage for their dementia-fighting power
* cayenne and cinnamon for their obesity-fighting power
* coriander and cinnamon for their sugar regulating powers
* lemon grass, nutmeg, bay leaves and saffron for their calming effects on your mood
* turmeric for its cancer fighting power
* oregano for its fungus-beating power
* garlic, mustard seed and chicory for their heart-pumping power
* basil and thyme for their skin-saving power
* turmeric, basil, cinnamon, thyme, saffron, and ginger for their immune-boosting power
* coriander, rosemary, cayenne, allspice and black pepper for their depression-busting power

So next time you cook for dinner, spice up! That is one of the keys to reverse aging.

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Survival Guide for Holidays

Its holiday season once again, and during this time of the year, most people gain extra weight due to holiday festivities and meals. Here are some tips on how to survive holidays:

* Avoid buffet tables, candies and snacks.
* Keep a low-calorie drink in your hand or substitute with low calorie snacks
* Eat a bowl of broth-based soup before heading out the door to fill you up before the meal
* Grab a smaller plate to avoid loading tons of calories.
* Create a list of things that make you feel good that doesn't include food.
* Fill your fridge with healthy snacks instead of candies and chocolates.
* Don't go to a party with an empty stomach.


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Fructose Diet Prevents Appetite Hormone

Fructose, the sugar naturally found in fruits, was once considered a good substitute for sucrose (table sugar). However, because fuctose is a form of simple sugar, just like sucrose, more and more studies are showing that too much fructose can be just as bad as too much sugar.

Excessive intake of fructose can prevent the appetite-controlling hormone leptin from doing its job and increase the risk of obesity, a University of Florida study of rats suggests. There is a proof that a little amount of fructose may help your body process glucose properly. However, excessive fructose at once may overwhelm the body's ability to process it.

Fructose is good if it is within the recommended dietary allowance. Most of the carbohydrates we eat are made up of chains of glucose. When glucose enters the bloodstream, the body releases insulin to help regulate it. Fructose, on the other hand, is processed in the liver. To greatly simplify the situation: When too much fructose enters the liver, the liver can't process it all fast enough for the body to use as sugar. Instead, it starts making fats from the fructose and sending them off into the bloodstream as triglycerides. It is really bad in our body with this three reasons:
• High blood triglycerides are a risk factor for heart disease.
• Fructose ends up circumventing the normal appetite signaling system, so appetite-regulating hormones aren't triggered--and you're left feeling unsatisfied. This is probably at least part of the reason why excess fructose consumption is associated with weight gain.
• There is growing evidence that excess fructose consumption may facilitate insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes. However, some of this effect may be from chemicals in soda which reacts with the high fructose corn syrup.
The study was published in the American Journal of Physiology -- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

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Significant Others and Loosing Weight

Diet and loosing weight takes a lot of focus, perseverance and determination. It takes a lot of hard work physically, mentally and emotionally. It involves one's whole being... body, mind and soul.

But aside from the internal factors that affects our level of perseverance in loosing weight, there are also external factors that equally affects us. Being overweight or obese has also become a social dilemma. It affects a person's personality and social life. And this doesn't only affect our own lives but also the people who loves us.

Our partners, or significant others play a very important role in our lives. Their opinions, actions and thoughts affects us too. That is why it is equally important for a "dieter" to gain 100% support of their partners in this journey.

Dr. Judy Paisley, Ph.D, R.D. of Ryeson University, conducted about how the partners respond to their better half who are making a dietary change. They aim to discover the "social nature of dietary change."

According to Dr. Paisley, "Significant others who demonstrated strong support for their partner's dietary change typically described their relationship as very supportive and often saw their direct participation in the change as a natural extension of their relationship."

As a loved one, partners should also participate in this change by simply showing support and care to their partners. Even as simple as being sensitive to the foods that they eat, joining their partners with their exercise or even an act of sweetness such as writing messages to boost the level of motivation of their partners to make that change.

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Big Breakfast = Loosing Weight

When we think of loosing weight, we initially think of cutting off our food intake. We think that by reducing the amount of food we take will lead us to the perfect body that we dream of.

According to MedicineNet.com, eating a 600-calorie breakfast rich in carbohydrates and protein helps dieters lose more weight long term than eating a modest breakfast.

A recent study was conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University to determine the long term effect of taking in big breakfast versus small breakfast. As a result, members of the big-breakfast group lost more than 21% of their body weight; low-carbohydrate group members lost 4.5%.

It is more likely for those who eat small breakfast to take unplanned snacks during the day versus those who take in big breakfast before lunch. To effectively shed off that extra pounds, it is important to start with a heavy breakfast daily, take protein every meal and increase fruits and vegetable intake.

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