Suspect you’re hooked on the sweet stuff? It’s time to restore your brain to its pre-sugar-fiend state. Resetting your palate and eradicating cravings isn’t easy, but it is possible. Instead of quitting cold turkey, try this five-phase plan adapted from Why Diets Fail: Because You’re Addicted to Sugar, by Nicole Avena, Ph.D.

PHASE 1: Eliminate Sugary Beverages
If you’re anything like the average gal, you slurp down nearly 40 pounds (70,000 calories!) of liquid sugar per year. Sipping sweet, fiberless beverages (think soft drinks, sweetened waters, coffee drinks) spikes your, insulin levels and cues major cravings. Over a period two weeks, cut out all such drinks. If straight H2O bores you, sip seltzer water or unsweetened teas or coffee.

PHASE 2: Quit Sugary Junk Foods
Cakes, cookies, candy bars—give ’em the heave-ho. Also press pause on secretly sugary fare such as granola bars. When you can, opt for fresh food over processed snacks—nearly 80 percent of the latter contains loads of added sugar. First, ID the foods you have the hardest time avoiding (um, cupcakes?) and quit those first, one at a time. Over the next two weeks, edit out all sugary junk. Sub in fruit when your cravings start up.

PHASE 3: Reduce Simple Carbs
Chances are, by this point you’ve halved your sugar dependence—and shed some serious pounds. Next, tackle simple carbs, which act just like straight sugar in your body. Make a list of the refined foods you typically eat (e.g., crackers, white breads, white pastas) and, again, reduce them one by one over the next two weeks. Try starting with pastas: Instead of making two cups of spaghetti, make one cup and top it with a protein-packed lean meat; the next time around, replace that remaining cup with a veggie such as spaghetti squash.

Read about a few more ways to avoid sugar. 

Article Credits: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/

Image credits: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/

You all know that fibre is a healthy nutrient you must add to your diet, but do you know why? How exactly does healthy fibre help you?   One of the main benefits of dietary fibre is that it aids your digestive system. Consuming a high fibre dietwill keep away constipation and piles. It also lowers the risk of gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD) and ulcers.   So are you eating enough fibre? Here are some high fibre foods to include in your diet.

15 High Fibre Foods to Treat Indigestion, Constipation and More

 

Article Source: http://healthmeup.com/

The veggie whole bowl is topped with natural, organic, whole foods. It’s vegan and gluten-free! A dish that fits in perfectly with any time of the year. Fresh lettuce, crunchy carrots, raw cabbage, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, organic brown rice and a big dollop of hummus make this dish healthy, simple and delicious!

A Veggie Rice Bowl That’s Perfect For Anytime

Serves 2

Ingredients

• Organic brown rice (2/3cup/ 5.2oz/ 150g)
• 1/4 purple cabbage, shredded
• 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
• Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Lettuce for the base of bowls
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Hummus (or any dressing of your liking)
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Learn how to make this delicious Veggie rice bowl 

Article Courtesy: ww.mindbodygreen.com

We all know that turmeric is healthy and full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, but it’s not as easy to add in to everyday recipes as other superfoods like chia seeds or flax.

Well, fear not, We have the perfect way for you to get your turmeric in a delicious, painless way:

Behold the Inflammation-Fighting Golden Turmeric Smoothie!

It’s healthy, dairy free and can be enjoyed as a quick breakfast or decadent dessert. It can be adjusted for the seasons — subtract the ice and microwave in your favorite mug for a satisfying superfood drink on a cold winter day. Based on Ayurvedic properties, it purifies the blood and aids in digestion. Best of all, it takes less than five minutes to make!

Inflammation-Fighting Golden Turmeric Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened, plain coconut milk (or almond, hemp or rice milk)
• 3-4 ice cubes
• 1/2 tsp. organic turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. organic coconut oil
• Generous dash of vanilla
• Maple syrup or coconut sugar to taste
• Dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, cardamom (optional)

 

Learn how to make the smoothie 

Article courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/

Green smoothies are an excellent way to add more dark leafy greens to your diet.

Dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens or chard are an excellent source of alkaline minerals and antioxidants. They also contain copious amounts of enzymes and chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll helps regenerate the blood, and has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. It also helps fight candida, and prevents bad breath.

These amazing health benefits of chlorophyll are one of the main reasons why leafy greens are so good for our health. So we need to find ways to incorporate more of them into our diets.

I love the gingerbread flavor of this smoothie, and after experimenting with different ingredients, I’ve come up with this perfect combination. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!

 

A Green Smoothie With A Ginger Kick

 

2 servings (about 40 ounces)

ngredients

• 3 frozen very ripe bananas (make sure to peel before freezing)
• 2 to three cups chopped kale (or your preferred leafy greens)
• handful of sunflower sprouts
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tsp. wheatgrass powder (optional)
• 2 cups water or nondairy milk (more or less to reach a desired consistency)

 

Learn more about the smoothie

Article Source: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/

There is a lot of controversy in nutrition and it often seems like people can’t agree on anything.

But there are a few exceptions to this.

Here are the top 10 nutrition facts that everyone actually agrees on (well, almost everyone…).

We all know that added sugar is bad.

Some think sugar is a simple matter of “empty” calories, while others believe it to cause diseases that kill millions of people each year.

It is definitely true that added sugar (sucrose and high fructose corn syrup) contains empty calories.

There are no nutrients in it and if you eat a lot of sugar then you’re likely to become deficient because you aren’t getting enough foods that actually have nutrients in them.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There are other, much more serious dangers of sugar that are now reaching mainstream attention.

Sugar, mainly due to the high fructose content, is being implicated as a leading cause of obesity, cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes

How does fructose do this?

Well, fructose is metabolized strictly by the liver, over time causing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides, abdominal obesity and high cholesterol

Then fructose makes our brains resistant to a hormone called leptin, which effectively makes our brains WANT to get fat.

This way, eating an excess of added sugars sets up a relentless biochemical drive in the brain to keep eating sugar, getting fatter and eating even more sugar.

Click here to read more

Try making this healthy, flavourful and aromatic corn dip that goes equally well with Indian and other snacks, like khakras or nacho chips.

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 3 mins

Ingredients
• 1 cup boiled and crushed sweet corn kernels (makai ke dane)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 1/2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (rai /sarson)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped green chillies
• salt to taste

For the garnish

• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

Click here for more

Article Courtesy: Healthmeup.com

Greens. You have heard your whole life that you need more of them. We rarely go a week without being reminded that green is the magically healthy color we should consume whenever possible.

Enter green juice, the magical green beverage that everyone seems to be talking about. And when it comes to buying green juices, you’ve got so many more options than you did a few years ago. But with all of these choices, how do we decide what is best for us? Which ingredients are most important? And, what information will help us make the right decision? Fear not! We are here to provide an easy how-to for choosing your green juice soul mate.

What to Look For In a Green Juice

As you stand in front of your grocer’s cooler, you may find as many as 10 green juice options available. The first thing to decide is: what you are looking for in a green juice. Assuming you want something that’s very healthy, tastes pretty good and will make for a natural pick-me-up, here’s what to look for:

1. Sugars: Look for green juices on the lower end of the total sugars range (we use 12 grams of sugars per 8 oz. serving as a guide post). Generally speaking, a higher sugar content may make a juice more palatable. So if you are new to green juice, a slightly higher sugar content, usually provided through the use of fruit juice, may help you ease into that leafy greens taste. If you’re a green juice maven, there are green juices with less than 7 grams of sugars per 8 oz. serving to meet your needs.

2. Leafy Greens: It’s green juice, so it should have leafy greens on the ingredient list, right? Not necessarily. Read the ingredients, which are listed in order of predominance. If a leafy green doesn’t appear in the first four ingredients, you may be looking at a juice that is more fruit than vegetable, with fewer leafy greens.

Click here to read more:

Article Courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/

Apple Cider Vinegar is used pretty much anything—your skin, your hair, your house, and even your pets can benefit from its qualities. Raw, organic, unfiltered and unpasteurized, apple cider vinegar is so much more than a salad dressing!

1. Apple cider vinegar can detoxify your home.

It’s made from apple juice and is fermented to hard apple cider. It’s then fermented a second time to become apple cider vinegar. By using ACV in lieu of other products, we instantly decrease the consumption of unnatural chemicals in our homes and daily lives.

2. It can make your hair shine.

Apple cider vinegar can be used as a rinse for your hair after shampooing, and will boost your hair’s body and shine. I recommend recycling an old shampoo bottle, then filling it with 1/2 a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a cup of cold water. Pour the solution through your hair after shampooing several times a week for dramatic results.

3. Natural apple cider vinegar regulates the pH of your skin.

Dilute ACV with two parts water, and spread the concoction over your face with a cotton ball to replace your current toner. You can do this at night after washing, and in the morning before you apply your moisturizer. A dab of apple cider vinegar can also be left on the skin overnight to fade age spots or acne scars.

Click here to read more

Article Source: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/