fiber

The Kale Hater’s Guide

Are You a Kale Hater?

I have a confession to make. I’m heavily invested in a healthy, plant-based diet. At the same time, I admit that I’m one of those people who typically finds kale revolting. I’ve tried it in all sorts of dishes, and for me, kale not only tastes revolting, it ruins everything it comes in contact with. I don’t know exactly how to describe the bitter nastiness with family-friendly terms, so let’s just say that it tastes the same way I would imagine that refuse tastes.

If You Hate Kale, Eat Something Else

Disgusting Nasty Yuck Ih Smelly Terrible DI like lots of cruciferous vegetables, and that’s what kale is. I enjoy broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and even Brussels sprouts. Kale gives those kinds of healthy green vegetables a bad name. Sure, kale gets some good press because it contains fiber, may help lower blood sugar and blood pressure and even lower the chance of developing asthma, weak bones, and cancer. You know what? Spinach does that too, so if you really hate kale, you can eat something else.

Kale’s Not Even Always Healthy (Especially Raw)

Hey, you might even be one of those people who has a better excuse for avoiding kale than just the disgusting taste. According to a report from Oregon State University, the vegetable contains substances called progoitrin and thiocyanate ions. These can interfere with thyroid function in a couple of ways, so for some folks, large quantities of kale could actually aggravate the metabolic problems that their enduring this vegetable to avoid in the first place.

I admit that this is mostly only a problem when people eat large quantities of raw kale. It’s also troublesome when people suffer from an iodine deficiency or may have other thyroid problems. Most people won’t suffer from thyroid problems when they consume reasonable quantities and don’t skimp on the iodized salt or other source of iodine.

In particular, raw kale also has a tremendous amount of fiber. Some folks don’t have the digestive system to handle it, and they may experience bloating, gas, constipation, loose stools. I mean, kale is unpleasant enough going in, so why suffer when it comes out too?

Can You Cook Kale to Make it Taste Good?

The sulfer-rich glucosinolates are probably what tastes bad to you in kale, but these are the things that scientists believe contribute to the vegetable’s health benefits. Cooking reduces these compounds and may make kale taste better. The good news is that scientists also believe that eating kale will provide your gut flora the raw ingredients to produce them again. Only this happens in your gut, so you don’t have to taste them! So, go ahead and cook your vegetables to give your gut biome something to much on.

Consider preparing kale in these alternatives ways:

  1. Sauteed: You can try to slice the leafy part away from the rips. Saute them in a little olive oil with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and if you like, a dash of chili or cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce. This makes the kale less fibrous and reduces the bitterness a bit.
  2. Marinated: You can simply marinate the leaves in Italian dressing or your own homemade concoction overnight. Personally, the first time I ever liked Brussels sprouts was when I had them marinated, so this process is pretty good at leaching out some of the bitterness of these kinds of vegetables.
  3. Simmered: You cut the leafy part into thin strips and add a bit to a soup or stew. Cooking should soften the kale and make the taste milder. If you’re not a fan of kale, just don’t go overboard the first time that you try it.

Yes, kale is really healthy. Also, you can feel smug when you eat it. You can also choose plenty of kale alternatives, including spinach, cabbage, bok choy, or Brussels sprouts. It’s hard to imagine that many people have a raw kale addiction, but if for some reason you do, be careful because it may impact your thyroid and digestion.

 

 

 

Is the Keto Diet Healthy or Unhealthy?

Is Keto Healthy, and Are Carbs Unhealthy? We don't think so.

So, is the Keto Diet Healthy or Not?

You might remember that Dr. Atkins popularized low-carb diets a few decades ago, but you may not know that doctors first used these kinds of diets as long ago as the early 20th Century to help manage epilepsy. According to Harvard Medical School, keto diets may be an effective way to help reduce seizures, but is the keto diet healthy for people who simply want to lose weight?

A Brief Intro to Keto Diets

Just in case you’re not sure exactly what following a keto diet means, you can look at this graphic from Dr. Jockers. Basically, you reduce your carbohydrate intake to only five to ten percent of your total calorie consumption. About 20 percent of your consumption should come from protein, and the rest is fat.

Most people call a keto diet a type of low-carb diet, but you should also know that it’s also a very high-fat diet. By the way, Dr. Jockers is an advocate for his version of the keto diet, so you can’t say that we’re not fair and balanced here. He says it works, and this article doesn’t even argue that it might work. The point is that keto diets might be unhealthy and not work for you.

 

Why Do Some Doctors Say the Keto Diet is Unhealthy?

Dr. Campos, the contributor to the Harvard Medical School blog, isn’t such a fan and offered several reasons why a keto diet may be unhealthy as a weight-loss tool. Consider some of the doctor’s very sensible reasoning after observing his patients before and after trying a ketogenic diet for weight loss:

  • Yo-Yo dieting: A lot of the health problems with the ketogenic diet center on the basic premise of our diet failure infographic. The diet may mainly cause health problems because it’s notoriously tough to stick to over time, so it can contribute to yo-yo dieting, an healthy practice. You can’t underestimate how important it is to find a healthy eating plan that you can live with and not one that may help you shed a few pounds quickly and then regain it and more just as fast.
  • Initial weight loss with a keto diet is mostly just water: People tend to get encouraged by their initial results on the keto diet. Indeed, lots of dieters may lose about 10 pounds very quickly. The problem is that most of this first weight loss is just water weight because carbs hold water in muscle. When people don’t consume carbohydrates, the body sends this water away.

Are Keto Diet Fans Relying Upon Survivor’s Bias?

So, if most people can’t stick to this extremely low-carb diet much past the first loss of water weight, why do so many people strongly argue that a keto diet is healthy? Turn a critical eye to this thread on a popular Reddit sub about the survivor’s bias with the keto diet. The whole point of this diet is that if you reduce fat and protein and minimize carbs, you will continue to lose weight and cut cravings.

Yes, you can lose weight if you can stick to a keto diet. Short-term studies, at least, have also confirmed that low-carb diets may help with blood-sugar and cholesterol control. Does that mean that keto diets are healthy? Well, you can lose weight if you can stick to almost any diet.

You Can Lose Weight on Almost Any Popular Diet — Will it Last?

This report from a team of Canadian researchers found almost the same, average weight loss from common low-fat, low-carb, or other sorts of diet plans. They tested 48 different diets, including Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Ornish. With a year, people on all of these different kinds of diets lost an average of 16 pounds, if they stuck to the plan with any regularity.

Most of these diets advertise more than 16 pounds of weight loss for very overweight people people within an entire year. The takeaway is that most people probably didn’t stick to the plans religiously, and of course, you should have your treats and cheat. This study would have really been golden if it would have followed up a year or two later to see if they had managed to at least maintain this weight loss or had regained weight and maybe even gained more.

If you Can’t Stick to a Keto Diet, it Doesn’t Work!

When people dared to say that a keto diet didn’t work for them, other sub members accused them of eating too many calories. Ah ha, so this diet really isn’t working to reduce cravings, and it still requires restricting calories. Again, the main point against the keto diet being healthy or effective comes down to this:

  • If you cannot stick to a diet, it doesn’t work.
  • If you need to watch your calorie intake, why not do it in a more pleasant, sustainable, and healthy way than eliminating entire, healthy food groups?

If the keto diet failed you, you didn’t fail. Apparently, it works for some people who enjoy eating lots of animal protein, but it certainly doesn’t work for everybody. Diets that don’t work for you are diets that make you fatter in the long run.

Other Reasons Keto Diets Are Not Healthy for Everybody

It’s easy to get stuck on the point that keto diets aren’t healthy because they are too hard to stick to and encourage yo-yo dieting. In the end, you lose a little weight and then fall off the wagon and end up gaining more weight than you lost. While some people say they feel satiated on the keto diet, a lot more people never curb their cravings. Again, those cravings simply mean that your body and brain are telling you that you need to eat certain nutrients, but they don’t always communicate in a way that you can interpret well.

Look, some people thrive on a keto or other low-carb diet plan. Because they can finally lose weight, the diet may even save their life. In order for that to be true, these folks have to be committed to their keto lifestyle and make sure they follow a good plan very well. If you’re interested in exploring keto diets, try that Reddit sub about keto diets that you can find linked to earlier in this post.

So, is a Keto Diet Healthy for You?

Really, you should not ask if a keto diet is healthy. You should ask if keto diet plans are healthy and sustainable for you. Before you decide to commit to a low-carbohydrate eating plan, consider some advice about red flags about keto diets from this nutritionist with a master’s degree in public health:

  • Be wary of keto diets if you’re pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or having reproductive or menstrual cycle issues.
  • Athletic and very active people tend not to thrive on low-carb diets, though there are some exceptions.
  • Low-carbohydrate intake can aggravate or even cause symptoms of hypothyroidism.
  • You’re only as healthy as your gut biome, and keto diets reduce the diversity of gut flora.

Anyway, if a keto diet works for you, that’s great. Sometimes, a short-term keto diet of only a few days can help people reset their appetite and lose a craving for carbs. It’s not something we tend to suggest as a long-term solution because it simply doesn’t work for most people for months or years, and you need a lifetime eating plan and not another yo-yo diet.

Your Two Brains: Why Your Gut Bacteria Matter for Weight Loss

Can Gut Bacteria Impact Weight Loss?

Yes, Walnuts Look Like Brains!

Scientists have known about the trillions of bacteria that live in your gut for at least a century; however, in those early days, they just thought the bacteria took advantage of free rent and board. Only recently, have doctors come to understand that the relationship between you and the incredible ecosystem that lives in your gut was a symbiotic one.

You feed your bacterial zoo, and in turn, you could say that your gut bacteria help to feed you. Does the unique balance of specific bacteria keep you lean or overweight? A few years ago, a lot of doctors would have scoffed at the idea; however, may of them are changing their mind.

Do Scientists Think Your Gut Biome Impacts Your Weight?

Some very credible studies say your gut biome may very well impact how hard or easy you find losing weight. Harvard Medical School reported on two studies of the impact of gut bacteria upon weight. One involved mice; however, the other one explored the impact of the gut biome on humans.

  • In the first study, scientist used three strains of mice. The first strain tended to be lean, but the second strain tended to get plump. The third group was bred to lack gut bacteria. When the researchers injected that third strain with gut bacteria from the lean group, they mice stayed lean. However, when they injected mice from the third group with bacteria from the plump group, the mice gained more weight.
  • A related study took the gut bacteria from two identical twins. One twin was lean, and the second twin was obese. When these bacteria were injected into the gut of two groups of no-bacteria mice, the results were predictable. The mice that got the lean twin’s bacteria remained lean, but the second group became plump.

Does Gut Bacteria Determine Your Destiny?

Your gut bacteria may have so much impact over your weight for a few reasons. Frankly, some bacteria are much better at breaking food up into suitable food to send back up into your bloodstream than others. If you’ve got too many of those efficient bacteria, you may fair well during lean times, but you’re probably not suffering from lean times. When overweight people contend that they have a harder time losing weight than leaner people, they’re often right.

Still, your gut bacteria don’t have to be your destiny. Dr. Mark Hyman believes you can change your diet to help promote the growth of more helpful bacteria that can crowd out the less helpful critters:

1. Eat More Omega-3 and Less Omega-6 Food Sources

He attributes one problem to an overabundance of Omega-6 vs. a deficit of Omega-3 fatty acids in typical diets. For instance, walnuts have a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids, so maybe it’s not even an accident that a walnut looks like a brain. It’s smart to eat them!

Other good choices include olive oil, avocados, other nuts and seeds. Also, you can’t depend upon every plant oil as a good source of Omega-3. Other fantastic gut food includes coconut oil, fatty fish, and butter from grass-fed cows.

2. Change Your Plate

One easy rule to remember is to consume at least 75 percent of your daily diet from plant-based foods. If you make that one change, you’re bound to impact your health positively.

What Does Your Gut Have to Do With Your Brain?

The headline promised something about having two brains. Well, the interesting thing about your gut-brain connection is that several times more nerves run from your gut to your brain than run the other way. That means that your gut probably spends a lot more time sending your brain information and possibly requests than your brain sends back.

Because of this collection of nerves and the way digestion works, many scientists have referred to the gut as a second brain. It’s likely that keeping your gut biome balanced can also help relieve food cravings and may even improve mood and other health issues. They don’t call carb rich food, comfort food for nothing.

Change Your Gut to Grow Lean Naturally

Your gut may be your diet destiny today, but you can impact it. Remember the study with the identical twins who have the same DNA but very different body types. Illnesses, antibiotics, and food choices have impacted your gut bacteria your entire life, but you still have some control.

 

Dr. Hyman’s Video on Gut Bacteria

3 Big Reasons Diets Make You Fatter

The Truth About How Diets Make You Fatter

Why Diets Make You FatSad but true, 95 percent of dieters fail. What’s worse, their stoic attempts to starve themselves by restricting all food or entire groups of food. usually end up making these dieters gain weight and lose lean muscle. In the end, the weight-loss diet has make them fatter than they were before they attempted to become more fit. If your diet made you fatter, you followed a bad diet. Take a moment to understand why.

Reasons That Most Diets Make You Fatter

Honestly, there are dozens of reasons that popular diets don’t work well in the long term. The reasons may also vary with the diet. These are the big three that most of the reasons can be categorized into:

1. You Restricted Calories Too Much

Lisa Young, an NYU professor, compared dieting to budgeting. She said that budgets should help you become more frugal as you learn to spend less money; however, you can reach a point where you don’t spend enough money to maintain some reasonable level of comfort and security. Most diets make you fatter for exactly the same reason.

You see, your body needs calories to provide the fuel that it uses to burn more calories. If you restrict you food too much, you won’t give your body the kindling that it needs to ignite the fuel it burns to give you energy. Basically, your body thinks you’re starving, because you actually are, and slows down in an effort to conserve precious fuel. In addition, your normal routine may seem like too much effort, so you may find yourself opting for Netflix instead of a nice walk in the sunshine.

2. You Can’t Stop Thinking About Food

You know what slim people don’t do; they don’t think about food as often as chubbier people do. Slim people may enjoy delicious food, but they don’t always dream about their next meal or snack. If nothing else, Cravings Cured hoped to underline the point that easy-to-fix nutritional deficiencies spark cravings.

If you’re dreaming pie right now, your body is probably crying out for some quick calories, fibers, and other nutrients that pie contains. Of course, you can find better ways to feed that craving than with piles of white sugar, but you’ve got to feed them.

3. Your Diet Doesn’t Feed Your Body

Your brain needs energy to function, your muscles need protein to maintain themselves, and your gut needs fiber to stay healthy. You can actually damage your body’s balance of microbes, hormones, and metabolism by restricting food too much and for too long.

Why do people create diets that mess with people’s health? That’s a question for another article; however, it’s obvious that the diet industry earns more profits when it keeps people fat than when they’re thin.

How to Fix Your Diet to Keep it From Making You Fatter

Most people can turn their diets into healthy eating plans that help them lose weight by following these three basic steps:

  • First, make sure you’re eating enough protein. Every cell in your entire body needs protein to function. Protein deficiencies can cause weight gain, muscle loss, and lots of other bad news. Typical Western diets contain enough protein, but that might not be true if you’ve been restricting calories or groups of food.
  • After you check protein consumption, ensure that you’re eating about twice as much fiber as the average American.
  • Finally, add a reasonable amount of healthy fat.
  • Typically, requirements for macronutrients like fat, fiber, and protein depend upon your  size, gender, and activity level, but you can easily research this information.

What’s a reasonable amount of calories to consume?This tips can provide rough estimates:

  • One rule of thumb says to multiple your goal weight by 100. If you hope to weight 120 pounds, you might try to eat about 1,200 calories a day. Typically, this formula was meant for fairly sedentary people. If you’re active at play or work, you’ll need to eat more.
  • Most nutritionists advise people not to drop their calories under 1,200 a day, so you may need to add more activity if you think you need to weigh less than 120 pounds. Few adults are actually overweight at 120 pounds, but people have different body types.

If you want to lose a lot of weight, like more than 10 pounds, I suggest setting goals of losing 10 pounds at a time. For instance, if you weight 190 and would like to weigh 150, set 180 as your first goal. Give your body time to adjust to a new weight and yourself a chance to celebrate. You might try to eat about 1,700 calories a day to see how that impacts the way you feel about food.