When you come across white carbohydrates, you may immediately tell yourself to avoid it at all costs. This belief about the apparent danger of white foods to the human body is becoming widespread, but the truth is that it does not apply to all cases. While most of these really have the potential of raising your blood sugar levels, there are some that remain harmless and can still be eaten without the fear of jacking up your chances of getting a disease. In fact, there are quite a handful of white foods that can actually help you to lose weight.
It is important to do some reading before you accept a popular idea. Start with the definition of white foods, or white carbohydrates, which are basically refined grains. As opposed to whole grains, refined grains do not have the bran and germ layer that contain certain nutrients like iron, vitamin B and fiber. These foods go through the milling process in order to have a longer shelf life. Still, a lot of health-conscious people avoid white foods because of their high GI, or glycemic index, which causes an increase in the blood sugar levels.
This is the reason why people think that white foods will make them diabetic and fat. However, it is also prudent to find out which foods have been established with unsafe GI levels to make sure you that you are truly avoiding the harmful ones. In fact, some fitness trainers are slowly learning about the secret of white foods. As it turns out, you can actually shed off excess fat and have six pack abs by consuming them, which is exactly what a lot of people are mistakenly avoiding. So how does it work, exactly?
The gist of the problem here is that while it is true that white carbohydrates can raise blood sugar levels, the amount of increase is normally not high enough to cause any serious complications. This is because the processing of carbohydrates involves other factors that are contributed by compounds found in other types of food. After all, carbohydrates are metabolized through a rather intricate biological process.
Since your diet will obviously not be limited to white foods, the damage done by a high GI is hence negligible. Nevertheless, there is still a need to adhere to a healthy and balanced diet that is rich in fiber, protein and other vitamins so that even if you eat too much white foods, the negative effect of these will be countered by those of the beneficial compounds you have taken in.
On the other hand, there are even a handful of white foods that are advantageous in fitness training because they help boost immunity, lose fat, and develop lean muscles and six pack abs. Onions and garlic contain protective nutrients such as allicin, chromium and quercetin that can help you develop a stronger immune system. By taking in food rich with such nutrients, the body’s defenses are strengthened to prevent the onset of diseases.
White mushrooms even have plenty of antioxidants like ergothioneine and polyphenols that help prevent abnormal growth of cells. This proliferation of cells is what predisposes a person to cancer. Cauliflower is also a white food abundant in vitamin C, glucosinolates, thiocyanates and fiber. With such a concentration of beneficial nutrients, cauliflower is indeed helpful in maintaining normal metabolism and production of hormones that will prevent the unwanted build-up of fats in the thighs, arms and abdomen.
When training for fitness, therefore, one must combine exercise with the right diet. The key to a figure-perfect body is a balanced diet, supplemented by healthy fitness training. Do not be misled by false assumptions about certain foods, because those foods that you are avoiding might just help you achieve that perfect figure you have always dreamt of.
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Everyone knows that adhering to a proper diet is one of the most important factors in maintaining a strong, healthy and well-toned body. If you want to lose that bulging belly and work your way to having six pack abs, you will have to be very particular about what you eat to go along with regular exercise. Unfortunately, for some people, it is quite difficult to determine exactly what kind of diet is good for them. False advertising and prevailing misconceptions about what kinds of food to eat and avoid can make the whole decision phase a lot harder to deal with.
To be successful in attaining the perfect figure with six pack abs and toned limbs, it is wise to pick out the facts from the myths first. One of the most common misconceptions is that of the harmful effects of saturated fats on the human body. Up to this time, many people still falsely think that this is a strong fact. This was started with a study conducted by Ancel Keys in the 1950s, which declared that high levels of fat in the diet are linked to a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease.
While this conclusion may have some degree of truth in it, it was still wrong in declaring that all types of fat are harmful. Keys’ study specifically caused an inaccurate perception on saturated fat which is in fact not harmful, unlike trans fats. Trans fats are unsaturated fats found in processed foods like cookies, doughnuts and chips. These cause the bad cholesterol known as low-density lipoproteins (LDL) to rise, while the good cholesterol or high-density lipoproteins (HDL) plummet in amount. On the other hand, saturated fats that are found in meat, coconuts and dairy products have an opposite effect. This means that there is no reason for you to avoid foods with saturated fats.
Another imperfection in Keys’ study was the limited focus on fat intake as a primary cause of heart disease. Other factors such as stress, smoking habits, lack of exercise and genetics were not taken into account, making the conclusion biased at some point. This was proven by the more recent studies that followed, all of which found no distinct correlation between dietary fat intake and occurrence of heart disease. Lifestyle factors actually have a heavier weight in determining the risk of developing heart problems, which are oftentimes linked to saturated fat intake.
Certain types of saturated fat, in fact, are actually beneficial to the human body. For instance, the stearic acid found in animal meat products is broken down into oleic acid, which promotes normal function of the heart. Without this, the heart may be devoid of essential nutrients vital to healthy performance. Another example is the lauric acid found in coconuts; this causes the HDL levels to rise in the blood, while boosting the immune system to help fight free radicals and disease-causing microorganisms. Saturated fats, therefore, have an indirect effect to optimize health.
If you have been thinking about adopting the Atkins regimen, you might want to double back and reconsider the effects of avoiding the healthy kinds of fats. There are already plenty of evidences showing that you will have nothing to lose—and even have something healthy to gain—when you include saturated fats in your diet. These fats are neutral substances, and taking in some of them is not as bad as most people think it is.
Even if achieving a perfect body shape with fantastic six pack abs is your main goal, it is still important to remember to take good care of your internal body system. So keep your heart, immune system and other essential parts healthy by eating right and exercising frequently without putting too much stress on your body.
Considering the wide diversity of foods Americans has the choice to freely eat, it may be surprising to step back and take a look at the average American’s diet and find out that over half of the daily intake is made up of just three different foods. These are corn, soy, and wheat derivatives. With these three food types lies one of the biggest sources of excess weight gain, and therefore, the difficulty in obtaining six pack abs. If one wants a six pack ab, then these three foods must be largely eliminated from one’s diet.
Corn is one of the most extensively processed foods, especially considering it makes up high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is found in just about every processed food and in many drinks. Pick up a packaged food item in the grocery store and read the ingredients: high fructose corn syrup will likely be listed. High fructose corn syrup is a corn syrup that has had some of its glucose turned into fructose. Fructose has been directly linked to weight gain.
Soybean oil, along with corn oil, are added to hundreds of foods in order to preserve them longer on the shelf and make the food taste better. About half of the edible world’s oil is soybean oil. Along with being food additives, soybeans and corn are ground up and used as feed for cattle and chickens. Giants in the food industry have found it politically and financially beneficial to substitute natural food and environments by feeding animals’ soy and corn based products. This results in unhealthy livestock, which leads to polluted meats. The consumer is left to suffer from the effects.
Refined wheat flour is another food source which Americans consume an inordinate amount of. This can be found in muffins, breads, pastries, cakes, hamburger buns, chips–the list is almost endless. While refined wheat flour started as wheat, a healthy natural ingredient, the refining process takes away all the nutrients found in wheat and quickly turns into sugar when consumed.
Eating excessive amounts of corn, soy, and wheat leads to weight gain, diabetes, and heart problems, just to mention a few. Furthermore, soy and corn are sprayed with herbicides which contain xenoestrogens, a fake estrogen which is specifically notorious for building up belly fat.
With these three foods so common in everyday menus, it can seem almost overwhelming to combat this and get a chiseled set of six pack abs. It will take discipline and commitment, but if a six pack ab is the aim, then one already has his mind set to overcome whatever necessary obstacles.
One of the best ways to avoid corn, soy, and wheat is to avoid processed foods and non-organic meats, considering these contain the highest amount of them. Cut out salad dressings and salads. Re-evaluate snack foods and focus on organic, natural foods instead. If removing wheat from a diet means cutting out a large amount of carbohydrates, focus on fruits high in carbs for energy.
It will be challenging to eliminate what makes up over fifty percent of the average food intake. However, there are tasty and healthy alternatives. For instance, vegetables slices dipped in homemade guacamole, fruit mixed with organic peanut butter, blueberries and almonds, and cottage cheese with pears are all healthy snack choices.
Eliminating three foods from one’s diet will not only bring numerous health benefits, but it will also result in six pack abs. Say goodbye to corn, soy, and wheat and hello to an awesome six pack.
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People who are looking to have six pack abs see all fats as bad. In actual fact, the body needs a certain amount of healthy fats. This is why various cooking oils such as olive oil are so popular. However, a major mistake made by the general population is assuming that all vegetable oils are good for them. In fact, a high number of vegetable oils are extremely unhealthy with many oils of this nature little more than refined soybean oil which is excessively processed. The large choice of cooking oils can be overwhelming but things can be simplified because we can focus on the saturated and unsaturated fats contained in the oil.
Types of Fat in Oil
There is a profound difference between saturated and unsaturated fat. In the eyes of nutritionists and medical experts, saturated fat is the Devil because it has been linked with high cholesterol levels and various cardiovascular diseases. Oddly enough, there are very few research studies which have evidence to support this hypothesis but this is the general opinion. In contrast, unsaturated fats are said to lower your risk of heart disease. Therefore, you need to carefully check the label of the cooking oil you use to ensure that its saturated fat content is low in comparison to its unsaturated fat levels.
Unsaturated fat can be divided into two distinct groups: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Research suggests that the majority of the fat you consume needs to be one or both of the unsaturated fat groups as it helps keep your blood sugar level under control. Oils that are richest in monounsaturated fat include olive, peanut and Canola oils. Oils that contain a high percentage of polyunsaturated fats include sesame, corn, sunflower seed and soy oils. Conventional wisdom suggests that the healthiest oils have the lowest level of saturated fat. Canola oil has just 6% saturated fat which is the main reason why it is considered to be healthy because there is little research that confirms this theory.
Oils that contain high levels of saturated fat include palm and coconut oils with the latter containing a whopping 92% saturated fat. Although these oils are found separately in stores, you also find them in chips, biscuits and other common snack or ‘junk’ foods. Medical researchers say that we must avoid using them when cooking yet this opinion is not shared by all.
Is Saturated Fat All Bad?
There are some nutritionists who suggest that oils which have a high level of saturated fat are actually the healthiest to cook with. The reasoning behind this is that oil with a high level of saturated fat is less inflammatory and therefore, more stable than oils rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Processed polyunsaturated oils are the most dangerous because of their severe reaction to light and heat. The inflammation caused by these oils is what results in illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.
A controversial claim that goes against ‘common knowledge’ is that saturated fat is actually neutral in many cases rather than being a great evil. The biochemistry of fats suggests that saturated fats really aren’t as bad as we think. The saturated fats found in tropical oils contain medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s) which are necessary but lacking in many people’s diets. Certain MCT’s aid the immune system so if nothing else, some saturated fat is required in our diet.
Yet too much oil of any kind can reduce your chances of having six pack abs because of the amount of calories it contains. Protein and carbohydrates contain less than half the calories of fat per gram. Therefore, excessive levels of oil will see you consume too many calories which will negate all the benefits of having healthy fats in your diet.
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Those who know the importance of nutrition understand that six pack abs are made in the kitchen as well as in the gym. To lose abdominal fat, you need to have a diet that is rich in fruit, nuts, lean meat, fish, water and vitamins. Fish is one of the favourite food sources of those seeking to add muscle to their frame or keep their body fat percentage low enough to have their abs showing. It’s low in fat and high in protein. But did you know that imported fish laden with toxins are sneaking on to your dinner plate? Indeed, if you were to view any video which showed the true horrors of fish that are farmed in sewage; you would probably never eat fish again!
Inadequate Testing
Worldwide, inspection of imported fish is nowhere near as stringent as it should be. The United States is one of the worst culprits. A Government Accountability Office audit found that the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scanned less than 1% of fish that is imported into the country. In fact, the FDA only scans for 13 types of drug residues. This does not compare favourably to the European Union average of 34 drug residues tested or Japan which tests 27 different types. Some shocking research showed that the fungicide found in some fish may cause cancer or birth defects!
Farmed or Wild?
This is certainly enough to prevent you from eating fish ever again but there are ways in which you can enjoy the health benefits and delicious taste of fish without the added toxic ingredients. Research shows that farmed fish cause the majority of problems. Wild fish contain a fraction of the toxins. The main reason why farmed fish are so unhealthy is because they are more likely to be tainted with chemicals with their poor diet a factor. Often, soy and corn pellets are fed to farmed fish which is a million miles away from their natural diet. This lowers the nutritional value of the product while making a mess of the all-important omega-6 to omega-3 balance.
Don’t assume that eating wild fish completely eradicates your chances of being affected by toxins. It’s possible to suffer from mercury poisoning if you eat certain fish regularly. Tuna, shark, grouper and swordfish are just some of the fish types that contain high levels of mercury. Certainly, daily consumption of these fish is not a good idea. Nutritional and medical experts suggest that you limit your intake of these fish to around three portions a month. You should also add herbs and other food items to your diet which help detoxify your system.
The best types of wild fish to consume are salmon, sardines, herring and trout as they all have far lower levels of mercury than the fish mentioned above. Shellfish are another excellent choice. As an additional bonus, all of these low-mercury fish also contain a high amount of healthy fats such as omega-3. Remember, not all fat is bad for you! Of course, if you still don’t trust fish producers and distributors, you can always get your fishing rod and catch your own! However, you still have to account for the quality of the water in the lake you’re fishing in. The modern era has seen the pollution of many rivers and lakes which contain chemicals harmful to fish and humans alike.
We need to be more careful when it comes to choosing the fish we eat. A number of American importers have been caught mislabelling fish and seafood. Other companies are guilty of accepting imported fish that contains carcinogens. It’s a shame that we have to watch what we eat but it’s the best way to stay healthy. It’s hard to get six pack abs from a hospital bed!
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If you’re looking to gain six pack abs, adding salad to your diet is one of the best ways of doing so from a nutritional standpoint. The vegetables used in salads add so much to your diet, are extremely filling and don’t add many calories.
The downside to salad is that it tastes so bland by itself. Therefore, it’s common practice to add salad dressing to the equation to give your greens an extra kick. However, the salad dressing you purchase in your local shop could be one of the things preventing you from getting six pack abs. When it’s marketed, the public is fooled into thinking that the salad dressing is healthy when the opposite may be true.
Out of Balance
Unfortunately, salad dressing tends to be made from ingredients which are not conducive to fat loss and don’t belong in a healthy, well-balanced diet. For example, the majority of these dressings contain high fructose corn syrup which is known to be extremely unhealthy. They also contain refined soybean and Canola oil, neither of which belongs in your diet. Soybean oil is bad news because it contains an exceedingly high level of omega-6 fatty acids which compromise the omega-6 to omega-3 balance which is so crucial to good health.
Canola Oil
One of the great myths of the modern era when it comes to nutrition is the 100% acceptance that Canola oil is good for you. This isn’t to say that there are no benefits to Canola oil when clearly there are. For example, it’s high in omega-3 which helps the aforementioned omega balance. It’s relatively cheap and low in saturated fat. In fact, Canola oil is second only to olive oil in terms of healthy salad dressing ingredients. Yet salad dressing is pretty unhealthy, so what does that say about Canola oil?
There are very few studies which actually suggest that Canola oil is healthy which is surprising when one considers the universal acceptance of its goodness. Indeed, the majority of studies have been performed on rats and have shown less than impressive results as the rodents suffer from a fatty liver after taking controlled amounts of Canola oil.
This oil was actually originally produced from Rapeseed oil which contains erucic acid (toxic to humans). It’s also worth noting that the rape plant was the main source of mustard gas, the chemical used in World War I to horrific effect. Suddenly, Canola oil and by extension, salad dressings which contain it, look a lot less healthy. Add into the equation the fact that the Canadian government are said to have paid $50 million to the American FDA to have Canola oil placed on the ‘safe to eat’ list of foods and the alarm bells start ringing.
Olive Oil Trap
We’ve mentioned that olive oil is the healthiest oil in salad dressing but even then we’re not safe. It’s easy to be misled by the front labels of salad dressings which proudly proclaim that it’s made with olive oil.
In many cases, a quick look at the back label will show (in small print) that the majority of the oil used is refined Canola or soybean oil with only a tiny amount of olive oil actually used. Unless these salad dressings claim that only olive oil is used, they’re not breaking the law, just using clever marketing to give you the wrong impression.
Aside from the additional calories added by salad dressing which doesn’t help those on a quest for six pack abs, the low quality oil used is putting your health at risk. If you must use a dressing on your salad, do so sparingly and pay a little extra for a high quality product which is made from olive oil.
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