On a Special Diet of Chocolates
In many minds, diets and chocolates just do not mix, period. After all, chocolates are full of calories, which is counterintuitive to the concept of a diet - a weight loss diet, that is. But did you know that there is a diet involving chocolate that purportedly makes for a skinnier, slimmer and sexier you? Yes, and it is called the Chocolate Diet. So, grab your chocolates now and still be skinny but do read up on this fad diet first.
But there are other diets aside from weight loss. You have the kosher diet, the vegan diet and the sugar-free diet. And chocolate being versatile, you can bet your bottom dollar - or your last piece of premium dark Belgian chocolate, for that matter - that there are chocolates that perfectly answer said diet plans.
Kosher
As anybody with Jewish blood flowing in his veins knows, kosher refers to the foods that conform to the strict rules of kashrut or the Jewish dietary laws. You may be lost in the subtleties and nuances of these laws so let's simplify it by putting forth the following criteria of what makes food not kosher:
Presence of ingredients found or derived from non-kosher animals or, even if it is a kosher animal, it was not slaughtered according to the right ways Combinations of meat and milk as well as wine and grape juice that were manufactured without proper supervision Use of products and produce from Israel that has not been tithed Use of equipment previously used for non-kosher foods
But you need not worry about these Jewish dietary laws when it comes to kosher chocolates. Manufacturers have taken the necessary measures to ensure that their kosher-labeled foods are indeed, well, kosher. Just to name one example of such a manufacturer, the Mint Bark from Illinois Nut & Candy combines the smooth and creamy taste of chocolate with the light spiciness of mint.
Vegan
And then there are the vegans. Their diet usually consists of fruits and vegetables as well as meat substitutes like gluten, which is rooted in the belief that most meat products are bad for the health. Well, chocolates fall right into the category of vegan since it is made from the beans of the cacao plant. But to truly make it conform to vegan standards, vegan chocolates do not contain any animal products and their derivatives. This means no dairy, no whey and no casein.
Don't think that there is no flavor either, far from it. In fact, the flavors of pure chocolates are enhanced because of the simplicity of the ingredients - cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin and maybe vanilla.
Sugar-Free
Of course, there are sugar-free chocolates, too. This time, the sugar is omitted from the list of ingredients with only the best cocoa solids, cocoa butter and other products in the mix. You will still get your chocolates but without the guilt. For many diabetics and other people who cannot have too much sugar for health purpose, this is good news indeed.
So, choose your special kind of chocolates today, indulge in them and experience life as a good chocoholic, in a manner of speaking. For your special needs in chocolates, go to http://www.indulgeinchocolate.com/ today.
Sugar Free and Flour Free Diet
Sugar free and flour free diet is a weight loss program that shows you how to reduce calories in your diet, eliminating foods based on flour or refined sugar.
Foods containing added sugar or refined flour are low in nutrients, unlike those containing whole grains, fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. No flour no sugar diet reduces the consumption of 'empty' calories from foods based on refined carbohydrates, that are often high in fat (pizza, donuts).
Sweets are so tasty that we often forget the fact that they are very harmful for health and figure. Even if, due to energizing effect, sugar gives you a good feeling right after you've consumed it, the effort which body makes to process it brings only trouble.
Remember that not only sweets contain sugar. Sugar is also found in pastries, canned and precooked food. Processed sugar is most dangerous for the body! Although the fruits and the vegetables contain sugar, they are more easily assimilated.
Here are some examples of this type of diet menus:
* Breakfast: muffin, scrambled eggs, fresh strawberries
* Snack: melon cubes
* Lunch: Greek salad
* Afternoon: yogurt
* Dinner: Chicken breast with rosemary, spinach salad with tomatoes, brown rice
* Breakfast: whole grains, skim milk, fresh peaches
* Snack: pineapple cubes
* Lunch: Green salad with tuna, sliced tomatoes, chopped carrot
* Afternoon: soy
* Dinner: meatballs in tomato sauce and baked polenta
* Breakfast: sliced lean ham and cheese, sliced apples
* Snack: Celery
* Lunch: taco salad with shrimp
* Afternoon: 1 apple
* Dinner: Chicken with yogurt, baked zucchini
Most of the people who eliminate from their diet the foods that contain refined flour and sugar will lose weight. A diet without sugar and no flour works especially if it is part of a healthy lifestyle.
Gluten Free Diet & Food Allergies
If you have been experiencing uncontrollable sugar cravings and unusual symptoms, you may be a victim of hidden food allergies. Gluten Intolerance and hidden food allergies or sensitivities to common foods actually cause cravings for those foods, and a whole host of other symptoms.
What Are Food Allergies?
Food allergies are more common than people think. In a recent poll of almost 1,000 U.S. physicians, it was estimated that somewhere between 12 and 19 percent of adults and 15 to 21 percent of infants have food allergies. These numbers are thought to be much higher because many doctors do not have training in food allergies and do not know how to diagnose them.
Let's first discuss exactly what food allergies are, and what they aren't. The term food allergy actually comes from the two Greek words "also" (other) and "argon" (action). When you eat something that you are allergic to, you have a reaction different than you would normally expect.
Severe food allergies have a direct and brutal impact on the immune system. For example, many people have severe allergies to peanut products. When they consume peanuts, or anything that has peanuts in it, they immediately have a reaction. The reaction can range from gasping and wheezing, to a closing of the esophagus. Peanut allergies can also cause skin irritations.
Allergies always affect a major organ that is not involved with digestion, like the respiratory passages, the skin or the brain. If you eat something and have a digestive problem afterwards, then you technically have intolerance to that food. People who cannot eat dairy products without having severe cramping have intolerance for dairy.
When your body is allergic to a food, it is responding to an allergen that is within the food. If a food, or a protein within a food, gets into the body your antibodies come to the "rescue." Your body feels like it is being attacked and the antibodies are there to protect your immune system. The antibodies can't tell the difference between the food proteins and proteins from viruses. They react to the food protein as if it were a virus. A battle begins between the allergens and the antibodies, and as a result histamines are released into the blood stream. Histamines are the chemical product of the microscopic explosions between the allergens and antibodies.
Reactions can include: rashes, runny nose, puffy and watery eyes and gasping and wheezing. These are the typical reactions associated with allergies. There are some reactions caused by the foods you consume that you didn't even realize were allergy related. Food allergies have been identified in over 80 different medical conditions including (but not limited to) arthritis, asthma, autism, addictive food cravings, insomnia, psoriasis and insulin-dependent diabetes.
It is important to understand where you are and where you want to be, especially when it comes to losing weight and abiding to the gluten free diet. It may be difficult but remember, in the long run, it will be well-worth to be gluten free in your diet with the assistance of weight management. So, you can feel better sooner.
It is important to understand where you are and where you want to be, especially when it comes to losing weight and following the gluten free diet. To learn more about what you can start doing today, visit Diana Walker's Blog post on Five Reasons To Eat A Gluten Free Diet.
Gluten Free Diet Should Be Considered For Everyone With Neurological And Psychiatric Symptoms
Brain dysfunction may be the only or the main sign of gluten related disease. Dr. Mario Hadjivassiliou recently reported at the International Celiac Symposium that his neurology clinic has followed over 300 patients with gluten sensitivity presenting with various symptoms. In his clinic the most common gluten related neurological disorder is ataxia, a condition of impaired balance, present in almost half. However peripheral neuropathy, myopathy, headaches, and seizures are also neurological manifestations of gluten related brain disorders.
Gluten ataxia, the most common cause of previously unexplained ataxia, is associated with gut disease in only about a third. Usually there is an absence of the specific antibodies in the blood diagnostic for celiac disease but elevated gliadin antibodies. Brain tissue examined after brain biopsies or an autopsy has been found to contain deposits of gliadin and/or tissue transglutaminase in the absence of antibodies in the blood.
About 60% of patients with gluten ataxia have shrinkage of the cerebellum portion of their brain. They also may have irreversible loss of brain Purkinje cells. MRI scans of the brain often reveal bright white spots in this area rather than the area where this occurs in multiple sclerosis, a condition that may be mimicked by gluten injury.
Gluten causes 34% of all unexplained sporadic axonal neuropathies. Gluten sensitive enteropathy is 10 times more common in these people. I recently treated a woman who had years of a known diagnosis of such a neuropathy though she had never been tested for celiac disease. She came to me after I diagnosed her daughter's celiac disease. Though she does not meet strict criteria for celiac disease she has the major gene for celiac and has elevated gliadin antibodies in her stool and blood. Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes were seen on duodenal biopsy but not sufficient to confirm celiac disease. Yet she is improved on a gluten free diet. Dr. Hadjivassiliou has confirmed to me personally by e-mail that these neuropathies will get worse with continued gluten ingestion but most improve with gluten free diet though it may take several years to do so. Long standing symptoms may never completely reverse.
This makes it very important not to delay considering gluten as a cause of neurological symptoms nor delay diagnostic testing or institution of a gluten free diet. In my opinion a gluten free diet trial should be offered or considered for all neurological and psychiatric symptoms. However, I encourage anyone considering such a diet to first undergo adequate testing for celiac disease first because once a gluten free diet is initiated the tests may be falsely negative within 2-3 weeks of the diet. Even if the tests are negative for celiac disease before restricting gluten then a trial of gluten free diet is suggested. Regarding gluten and the brain Dr. Hadjivassiliou was quoted as saying "there is a historical misconception that gluten sensitivity is solely a disease of the gut...to recognize the neurological impact, you have to appreciate it is a systemic disorder." This is my personal and professional experience as a gastroenterologist who is Food Allergies Specialist - the Food Doc and celiac disease expert who is regularly corresponding with people from all over the world as the Food Doc.
Allergy Elimination – Gluten Free Diet
Making your own diet is helpful if you are very connected to your body and you have been monitoring your reaction to foods for a long time. However, if you suspect you have many hidden allergies and want to be as thorough as possible a pre-made elimination diet is your best bet.
No matter what type of diet you try it is vital that you avoid processed foods. Manufactured foods contain hidden ingredients, such as cornstarch, wheat, sugar, eggs and other allergens. These ingredients may be used in such small amounts that they don't show up on the labeling but they do effect your histamine production. Don't trust the labels. Eat only fresh whole varieties of the allowed foods.
To start your own elimination diet, write down all of the foods that you crave, food that make you feel energized and foods that exhaust you. These can all be signs of allergic reactions. You'll also want to take special note of foods that you feel you must eat everyday. Strong cravings for particular foods can indicate allergies. Remember, if you eat a lot of processed foods your "possible allergies" list should include sugar, corn, soy, yeast, artificial food colorings, preservatives and additives.
Next, eliminate the suspected foods from your diet and see how you feel. After two to three weeks of eating in a strict fashion, begin introducing the possible allergens and evaluate your results. Introduce only one food at a time, and eat a significant quantity for breakfast or lunch. Take note of how you feel for the rest of the day. Look at the Introducing Foods to Your Diet section for more tips on adding foods.
Avoid stimulants like tea, coffee and alcohol, sugar, honey and other sweeteners, all artificial additives, grains including wheat, corn, rye, rice, barley oats and millet, & milk and dairy products, manufactured foods of all kinds. If it comes from a can, packet, bottle or jar, don't eat it.
This list of avoids may make you wonder what exactly you can eat.
Eat freely from the following list: Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, Fish, Quinoa, Herb teas, Spring water, Fresh whole herbs, & Salt and pepper to flavor your food.
You may experience withdrawal symptoms as you start this diet. Although they may be hard to deal with, withdrawal symptoms are actually a good sign. They show that you have removed something that has been toxic to your system. Your withdrawal symptoms can range from slight fatigue to migraines and more severe symptoms. Make no mistake, food can be a drug and the withdrawal symptoms can be just as severe.
To counteract withdrawal, up your water intake. Most people do not drink enough water and are actually dehydrated. Proper hydration will decrease the symptoms of withdrawal.
This diet is strict, but you have to remember the goal is better health for your lifetime. It is only followed for a seven to fourteen days, which is not that long when you keep your overall goal in mind. Strive to maintain your exercise routine to help you lose weight, while getting your diet gluten free.
It is important to understand where you are and where you want to be, especially when it comes to losing weight and following the gluten free diet. To learn more about what you can start doing today, visit Diana Walker's Blog post on Five Reasons To Eat A Gluten Free Diet.
Gluten Free Diet & Dealing With Hidden Food Allergies
When someone has a prominent, severe food allergy, they are normally diagnosed at a very young age. Often allergies like these, such as an allergy to peanuts or gluten, presents itself in the toddler years when a child is being introduced to new foods besides breast milk or formula. When detected it is best to try a specialty diet to see how it will react with your body. If the suggestion comes up for a gluten free diet, you will start seeing so many options available that you did not see before. You will being reading more of the labels and you will be more aware of what is available and what you can have to help with your gluten free diet.
As the previous section explained, these food allergies are very detectable. Normally the symptoms present themselves within minutes or hours of eating the offending allergen. People with severe food allergies are aware of their allergies and often carry lifesaving medication with them in case they come into contact with their allergen.
However, hidden food allergies are much harder to detect. Many times allergic reactions to foods that are eaten can have a delayed response in the body. This leads to a series of mysterious symptoms that, until the food allergies are discovered, seem to make no sense to the sufferer or the doctor. People fail to make the connection between their symptoms and the foods that they eat. As a result, these symptoms go on unrecognized and untreated for years.
Hidden food allergies can cause a myriad of problems including: Acne, Anxiety, Bags under the eyes, Canker sores, Chronic coughing, Compulsive Eating, Constipation, Depression, Diarrhea, Fatigue, Hair loss, Headaches, Irregular heart beat, Irritability, Poor memory, Poor physical coordination, Rashes, Short attention span, Shortness of breath, Sinus problems and Sore throat.
If you've had these problems for a long time, hidden food allergies may be to blame.
The symptoms that are caused by hidden allergies seem to appear out of nowhere. For example, someone can suffer chronic headaches for years and not realize that they are experiencing pain because they continue to eat dairy. Instead, they believe that they have a tendency toward migraines and take prescription medication for the rest of their lives.
These types of allergies are becoming more prevalent in our society. When humanity ate whole foods that came with natural enzymes and minerals, hidden allergies were not common at all. However, over the last 50 to 75 years the average diet relies on processed food made with chemical additives. Our body chemistry doesn't know what to do with these foreign chemicals. The result is allergies and sensitivities.
Another benefit with using a gluten free diet is a weight loss regiment. Whether your goal is to lose weight or at least maintain where you are at, using a weight management program with your gluten free diet can really help you and your body to feeling better sooner.
It is important to understand where you are and where you want to be, especially when it comes to losing weight and following the gluten free diet. To learn more about what you can start doing today, visit Diana Walker's Blog post on Five Reasons To Eat A Gluten Free Diet.
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