If you are looking for a new diet plan, you might want to take a look at the Mediterranean Diet that has been getting a lot of positive reviews lately. It is not a diet that one would immediately try, like a detox or cleansing diet. The Mediterranean Diet is not sexy, it is not complicated, it is not promoted by celebrities. No one is on tv hawking the Mediterranean Diet so chances are you may never have heard of it.

However it is one of the best diets for preventing disease and prolonging life. It can cut heart disease risk, beat type II diabetes, curb the effects of Alzhemer’s and fight allergies. Recent studies show it also has a great impact on cancer – reducing risk by up to 12% for certain behaviors found in the diet. It has health-boosting attributes that most diets claim but don’t fully deliver. While the specific element of the diet that causes these wonderful health benefits cannot be pinpointed, the overall effects of the diet are well documented.

What is the Mediterranean Diet?

• The traditional Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, and olive oil. It encourages moderate consumption of wine and also promotes moderate amounts of poultry and fish. Things like red meat and sweets are only to be eaten sparingly if at all.

• There is not a specific fat content to hit, the diet varies in the amount consumed from under 25% to over 35% of total calories.

• The Mediterranean Diet focuses on eating foods that are not processed or at the very least minimally processed foods. Seasonal produce is encouraged.

• The traditional Mediterranean Diet is a lifestyle of the people that live in the region. Much of the diet revolved around the way the people take time to prepare the food and then enjoy it as a celebration. This one diet tip of enjoying your food is common in many other dieting philosophies but is prominent among the healthy and fit people living in the Mediterranean.

Who should try the Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean Diet is a good match for people who would like to live this lifestyle of preparing and enjoying fresh, unprocessed foods. It is also a great match for people who like to enjoy a glass of wine daily and those who love seafood. It is great for anyone looking to lower the risk for heart disease, cancer, or other diseases.

Do you know how many calories are in the food you are eating when you eat at fast food restaurants? If you live in New York City then you know exactly how many are there because it tells you on the menu. New York City has already instituted a calories-on-menu law and even cited certain restaurants for their failure to comply with the law. Those restaurants have since put the calories on the menu and New Yorkers have had a few months to live with the change.

Self magazine polled 100% New York women to find out how they felt about the calories being posted on menus. 79% liked the fact that calories were now clearly posted. 55% of the women said they ordered less food because they knew what was in the meal. And 13% of the women stopped going to certain restaurants altogether because they knew what was in the food.

Now large chain restaurants in the United State have agreed to support national legislation that will agree them to do the same thing as restaurants in New York. Chain restaurants with 20 or more locations will have to list on the menu the number of calories per item and also make available upon request any additional information regarding the amount of sugar, salt, or cholesterol in food items.

The menu labeling legislation is supported by the National Restaurant Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. New York had a very high profile switch to the menu labeling, but California required fast-food restaurant chains to list calories on menus last September. Almost a dozen other states have considered similar health code provisions. The restaurant industry is backing the national legislation rather than dealing with a myriad of local and state laws about what restaurants must provide regarding calorie information.

Some wonder if the legislation passes how it will affect the obesity epidemic that fast food restaurants are often blamed for. Chances are it will stop some customers but business won’t end. After all, the nutritional information is printed on Little Debbie food items found in grocery stores and people still eat those. But in the small survey done on New York women 55% changed what they ordered because of the calories being posted. For most people the calories being listed will simply provide a moment to step back and reflect on what they plan to eat before they order. Though some people will not be deterred from their unhealthy choices if 55% of Americans would decide to change what they order it would go a long way toward fighting the obesity epidemic.

In America we usually turn to pills and medicine for even the tiniest of aches and pains. When you’ve got a headache, stuffy nose, or indigestion you reach for a bottle in the medicine cabinet. But there are many ways to treat these everyday ailments with safe, natural remedies. These herbs, diet strategies, and supplements may take longer to work than their conventional counterparts, but they may prove to be even more effective in the long run because they target the root of the problem instead of just suppressing the symptoms. Here are ways to naturally treat five common ailments.

Pains:

For minor pains and headaches you should consider Tiger Balm, according to Andrew Weil M.D. Tiger Balm is a Chinese ointment that contains menthol, which creates a warm and tingling sensation that will ease pain when rubbed into your temples.

For headaches triggered by stress you can massage a few drops of lavender essential oil onto your temples, according to herbalist Deb Soule. Lavender has been shown to promote relaxation and will ease away the stress that caused the headache. Soule also recommends willow bark and meadow-sweet which both have anti-inflammatory properties that can relieve headaches.

Colds:

For colds you can take a dropperful of echinacea tincture in water four times a day at the sign of cold symptoms until they subside. This can shorten colds, although results of studies are mixed on its effectiveness. Another possibility is elderberry syrup, which has been suggested by studies to combat the flu and also ease the symptoms of the common cold.

To help fight off colds diet matters too. You should eat plenty of raw or lightly cooked garlic and add thyme to soups or salad dressings. The anti-viral compounds contained can help combats commons viruses.

Coughing:

You can use natural remedies to rid yourself of a cough first before turning to medicine. You can loosen phlegm by adding either crushed eucalyptus or sage leaves to a pot of boiling water and then breathing in deeply. Other herbs can calm a cough, like mullein leaf, licorice root, and marshmallow root. You can find teas containing these herbs and then sip on a few cups throughout the day for relief.

Allergies:

For those pesky seasonal allergies like hay fever, you can try the herb butterbur which eases allergies without causing drowsiness. Try to find brands free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids which have been linked to liver damage. This herb can be taken at meals in 50 to 100 mg dosages twice daily. Quercetin, found in apples and onions, may also fight allergy symptoms. This is preventative however and needs six to eight weeks to build up in your system.

Sugar, sugar, sugar.

Most of us have a love/hate relationship with sugar. We LOVE to eat it and it hates us and makes us gain weight. Most of us have a sugar addiction – and for good reason. Sugar does crazy things to our body that make us want more of it.

Sugar makes us mildly euphoric because endorphins are released when we taste it and those endorphins in the bloodstream lead to the release of the feel good chemical serotonin. The serotonin has an immediate calming effect and relieves tension. That calming effect helps explain why we reach for sugary treats when we are stressed or tensed. A piece of chocolate or cake takes us out of the stressful situation and calms us down.

So, its not our fault, right?!? The chemicals made us do it. Right? But wait! There are other reasons we reach for sugar.

The learned associations and happy memories associated with sugar reinforce the psychological effects. When our moms gave us popsicles and cookies as treats for being good children we learned that sugar was a treat and something we get during happy times. Celebrations almost always involve a cake. When we want to show someone we care we buy them chocolate. Sweets are used to augment happy times.

Often we reach for sugar because it makes us feel good for these reasons instead of fixing what is wrong in our lives. No one needs to eat as much sugar as most of us do (sooo guilty with my sweet tooth).

So how do we stop the sugar cravings? How do we lessen the amount of sugar we crave? I have a few different ideas that have nothing to do with what you are putting in you mouth.

How To Resist Eating Too Much Sugar:

• Make your job more harmonious. This will relieve stress so you won’t reach out for sweets when you have troubles at work.

• Examine and fix relationship conflicts. Same principle as with your job, making things sweet with your sweetie will help relieve stress.

• Spend some time outside. Bright sunshine boosts your serotonin levels. Spending a few minutes outside will help lift your mood.

• Go cuddle with someone. Levels of oxycotin, the “cuddle chemical,” elicit a similar experience to the calming effect provided by serotonin. Physical affection makes oxycotin levels spike, so go cuddle!

• Go hug someone. Even if you are lacking someone to cuddle with you can find someone to hug! That physical contact will calm you and make you less likely to reach for something sugary. You get the same benefits from a hug that you would from a doughnut.

Basically to slow down the sugar cravings you need to do things that will eliminate stress and make you happier. Simple things like getting some sun and giving a hug are easy and effective. Don’t believe me? Test the theory and go give some hugs.

Dr. David Heber created the L.A. Shape Diet because he believes that all people have “two shapes.” The diet is based on this idea that individuals simply need to find their desired shape in order to lose weight. Once they have found their desired shape the rest is easy. All of the plans for the L.A. Shape Diet are individualizes and easy to follow.

The Premise: The Shape diet is based upon the idea that people have different body shapes, i.e. apple and pear. According to diet specifications your shape is utilized to help reduce fat in the “problem” areas. The L. A. Shape diet is not based on weight or BMI but instead is based on a completely different method of determining weightloss potential. Dr. Heber says dieters learn this method once they sign up for the diet.

The Diet: All L.A. Shape Diet plans are customized to the individual. In general dieters start by replacing two meals with the special “Empowering Shakes” created by Heber. Eating protein plays a large part in helping dieters lose weight on the Shape diet and these protein shakes are part of that central philosophy. The calorie controlled shakes are meant to be mixed with fresh fruits and are meant to help dieters feel full, tighter, and lose weight.

Once you’ve managed to lose weight you then stop taking the protein shakes. In their place you increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetable and lean protein. This diet is to maintain the weight loss you achieved by using the protein shakes in the beginning. The diet book that comes with the Shape diet has good information about meal plans and nutritional information. It also gives tips for building muscle and recommends dieters exercise or complete some form of physical activity at least three times per week.

Thoughts: It is possible to lose weight with the protein shakes over two weeks. However you may tire of protein shakes early on. In addition the shakes must be bought and can be expensive. Their additional protein may not be healthy if the dieter does not plan on exercising during the diet period. You also might have trouble adjusting to the “healthy eating” once the shakes are eliminated from your diet. The shakes help you control your food intake and limit your calories, but the weight might come back once you stop drinking the shakes. This diet seems more like a crutch than an effective long term weight loss solution. However, it is effective and if dieters can figure out how to maintain the initial loss they will have a winning situation.

As common foods, pollution, stress, and other daily factors can lead to a buildup of toxins in the body, individuals should engage in sporadic detox diets to cleanses and renew their bodies. As the body often experiences a variety of complications when toxins are not removed, a detox diet can help dieters gain an extensive list of health enhancements and physical benefits.

Complications of Toxins

While there are a variety of detox methods and diet practices, the general practice of a detox plan involves ridding the body of various toxins, poisons, and harmful chemicals. These unhealthy agents often invade the body from sources such as:

• Pesticides / fertilizers in fruits and vegetables
• Chemicals added to fast foods / pre-packaged foods
• Preservatives in common foods / meals
• Excess body waste stored from a low-fiber diet
• Pollution and chemicals from water, air, and other sources

When these toxins remain in the body, individuals may experience a decreased function from areas such as:

• The kidneys
• The lymph / lymph nodes
• The liver

Also, toxins in the body can cause unwanted side effects such as exhaustion, moodiness, depression, and other harmful effects.

Detox Diet Options

When engaging in a detox diet, individuals can choose a specific program that caters to their unique lifestyle habits and needs. Many extreme detox diets involve a abstaining from foods while only consuming water or natural liquids, while less intense detox diets typically require a reduction of food intake / diet alterations.

Regardless of the restrictiveness of the diet, detoxification programs typically require an elimination of chemically altered / enhanced foods. Examples of foods that should be avoided during a detox diet commonly include:

• Fried foods
• Refined carbohydrates
• Pre-packaged meals / snacks
• Caffeine
• Foods with sugar (aside from natural sugars, such as in fruits)
• Candy / desserts

While avoiding these foods, and many others, a detox diet generally encourages the increased consumption of options such as:

• Raw fruits
• Raw vegetables
• Lean proteins, such as nuts or protein powder
• Lean meat (although some detox diets require a vegetarian-only approach)
• Increased water intake
• Increased intake of water with lemon / citrus
• Increased intake of herbs and natural / organic plant ingredients

Daily Detox

While there are many different forms of a detox plan, an example of a moderate detox diet may include several days to several weeks adhering to a daily diet regimen such as:

• Breakfast – Warm water with lemon, plain yogurt with one piece of raw fruit
• Snack – A small serving of natural / raw almonds with water
• Lunch – A salad with a variety of raw vegetables and sunflower seeds or nuts. The salad should also be void of dressing, meat, and dairy / cheese
• Snack – A small piece of fruit
• Dinner – Tofu with raw or lightly steamed vegetables and brown rice

No one is surprised to see the statistics supporting the claim that healthy lifestyles are on the decline in the United States. Far fewer Americans are engaging in healthy lifestyles than they were even two decades ago. As a country we have abandoned our healthy ways.

According to a study reported in the American Journal of Medicine, only 8% of patients engaged in the basic five healthy behaviors that constitute a healthy lifestyle. That means only 8% of the people in the study maintained a healthy weight, ate fruits and vegetables, drank alcohol in moderation, exercised, and didn’t smoke. That is compared with 15% of the people in 1988.

These findingd come from the healthy lifestyle habits of patients ages 40 to 74 who participates in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The analsis comes from researchers looking at those five healthy lifestyle points: eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, exercising at least 12 times per month, maintaining a healthy body weight, drinking moderately (up to one drink a day for women and two for men), and not smoking.

Over the last two decades the percentage of adults ages 40-74 with a BMI greater than 30 has increased from 28% to 36%. This one point of analysis in the study supports the growing obesity epidemic in America. People are having trouble maintaining a healthy weight because they are not maintaining a healthy lifestyle in other areas.

The study also found that people with hypertension, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease did not participate in living a healthy lifestyle any more than those without those conditions, despite knowledge that the principles of a healthy lifestyle would improve their condition.

Researchers could not confirm the reasons for the decline in healthy lifestyles over the years. They suggested possible reasons like changes in social attitude toward the importance of healthy diet and physical activity. They also pointed to unwillingness to change and low self-assesments for cardiovascular risk (often despite evidence supporting that risk). Another possibility for the decline researchers looked at was the increased reliance on cars instead of walking or biking.

Overall the study showed a bleak picture of American lifestyles. Researchers from the study said that these findings show that future healthcare costs are likely to increase unless there is a change in lifestyle. Middle-aged adults should adopt a healthy lifestyle following the five basic points of being healthy as the main prevention and treatment to health problems like hypertension and diabetes.

When you first hear about the Lunch Box Diet you might instantly be transported back to your childhood. If you are dreaming of your old Batman lunchbox then you are headed in the right direction for the Lunch Box Diet.

The Lunch Box Diet is a small document, only 10 pages, that is downloadable from the internet. It comes from a UK personal trainer name Simon Lovell. Simon claims the diet is not a fad and is a very simple concept that will transform your eating a lead to smaller waistlines.

He is right about the simple part. The Lunch Box Diet follows a very simple concept that is fulfilled in a few simple steps.

1. Get a large plastic lunchbox. (If you are really cool you can dig out your old school lunchbox that is now vintage. Otherwise you can just go buy a new one for a couple bucks.)
2. Fill the lunch box with a highly nutritious mix of vegetables, proteins, and fats.
3. Slowly (key!) graze on the lunch box contents throughout the day.

Basically in between breakfast and dinner your should be grazing on food from the lunch box. You want to snack on some healthy food every hour or so, never gorging.

This grazing technique should stop you from reaching for high caloric foods during the day when you are tempted by cravings and boredom. You spend the day consuming the nutrient-dense veggies you packed in your lunchbox. The diet also helps make your stomach smaller so you won’t binge during dinner.

The food inside the lunch box should be something like 60% vegetables, 30% lean proteins, and 10% dressing for the salad. The Lunch Box Diet recommends vegetables like broccoli, spinach, avocado, Sugarsnap peas, and asparagus. It recommends proteins like tuna, grilled chicken or turkey breast. Dressings will be something like olive oil, chutney, seeds or nuts. Starchy carbs like potatoes and brown pasta are only recommended for those who engage in an active life.

There is a small ebook that gives a much longer list of acceptable foods to put in your lunchbox but it leave the precise amounts up to you.

Breakfast and dinner are supposed to be normal meals that surround the consumption of the lunch box contents.

The 10 page document that is the Lunch Box Diet will set you back £9.95 (USD21). This might be too steep a price for a simple idea that doesn’t offer much detail. You can always follow the basic guidelines and create your own lunch box diet.

In our society we rush through everything we do. We rush through the entire day with no time for anything, zipping back and forth between tasks and responsibilities. When we finally have the time for a bit to eat we gobble it down without any regard to what we are eating or how it tastes.

All this rushing leads to a stressful, unhealthy lifestyle. But we need not live like this. With the simple act of eating slower we can change and live a more healthy life.

This is not very hard. To eat slower you eat smaller bites, you chew your bits slowly and for a longer period, and you enjoy the meal more fully and longer. It extends the time of each meal by a few minutes and can have profound effects.

Here are a few reasons you should consider eating slower:

1. Weight loss. When you eat slower you will consume fewer calories, according to a growing number of scientific studies. You will eliminate enough calories to lose 20 pounds a year without doing anything different or eating any differently. This happens because when you eat slowly you allow your brain the time is needs – 20 minutes – to register that you are full. If you eat fast your brain does not acknowledge this point and you can continue eating past the point where you are full. If you eat slowly you will have time to realize when you are full and can stop eating on time.

2. Food enjoyment. It’s hard to enjoy food when you eat so quickly you swallow it whole. If you eat tasty foods that are high in calories (dessert, fried foods, etc.) but eat them quickly, what is the point? If you don’t have the chance to enjoy the food then there is no real reason to eat anything you enjoy. If you eat more slowly, you will get the taste, enjoy it, and not eat as much. Eating more slowly will make your meals a more pleasurable experience.

3. Lowered stress. By eating slowly and paying attention to the food you are eating you will be able to be in the moment. It is a great form of mindfulness where you notice everything you are doing instead of rushing through the meal thinking about the next thing you need to be doing. Instead of running that to do list through your head, when you eat you only eat. This act leads to less stress because you are taking a break and not obsessing over the food. You mind will appreciate the break and the slower meal.

If you are trying to lose weight or otherwise improve your body you might want to follow these tips. They might not all work for you but try one or two to improve and keep up your exercise habits.

Forget about weight loss. Let’s be honest. Most of us would like to lose at least some weight. However, motivation is poor exercise motivation if it is your sole motivation. When you first start working out you might not lose weight right away. If you keep up the hard work it will come off over time, especially with new eating habits or supplements, but in the beginning exercise may not offer immediate rewards. Just get into the habit of exercise before you worry about other things like amount of weight loss.

Forget the gym. Gyms can be great, but they also can be intimidating, confusing, and expensive for beginners. You can always get a trainer to teach you, but if you are put off by a gym then skip it and exercise at home or at the park. You can easily do body weight resistant exercises at home, work out along with a DVD, or go walking in your neighborhood. Exercise can be cheap and simple.

Make it fun! One problem many seem to fall into is that of exercise boredom. Exercise doesn’t have to bore you to tears. It doesn’t have to be a chore. Find something that feels fun to you and make that your exercise. If swimming relaxes your or playing basketball doesn’t feel like work then do that. Enjoy yourself and you will find you look forward to workouts.

Keep a journal. If you don’t post your results on your blog, write it in a journal, either online or on paper. Make it a habit to post in your workout log right away as soon as you are done with your workout. It is a good way to see what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. You can analyze your workouts and figure out what is most effective for weight loss. Also, it is very motivating to see your progress over time and see as the hours add up over the months.

Reward yourself. Rewards are a great motivation to keep exercising. In the beginning frequent rewards will help you pick up the exercise habit and then later they can be spaced further apart and only given for completing exercise challenges. Be self-indulgent and choose to give yourself something you really want. If in the beginning you want sweets, then use that as a reward. You can worry about phasing them out of your diet later when you have fewer rewards and focus more on weight loss.