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The research is clear, food intolerance, allergies, and hypersensitivities are key triggers of headaches and migraines. Although each migraine sufferer may react to a different food or group of foods, there are a few which seem to pop up as frequent offenders: dairy (including milk, cheeses, and yogurt), wheat, eggs, soy, corn, citrus, chocolate, coffee, beef, yeast, red wine, and processed foods with additives and preservatives.

In the pursuit to identify these top offenders, scientists and physicians have enlisted the oligoantigenic diet. This is a hypoallergenic “elimination” diet, consisting of a selection of foods that are presumably well tolerated. During their studies, patients are told to eat only the “safe” foods outlined on their version of the oligonantigenic diet in an effort to eliminate any symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re on a diet, or considering going on one, you’re in luck. We’ve put together ten of the most frequently asked questions about diets and weight loss and compiled them here. Enjoy!

1. How much should I weigh?
Your doctor can answer that question most accurately. More important than how much you weigh is your body/mass index, which measures your height against your weight.

2. What’s the best diet for losing weight?
Any diet that provides all the nutrition that you need for health, and in addition, provides fewer calories than your body burns regularly. Read the rest of this entry »

Current levels of overweight and obesity, together with weight-related disease, have made weight control a major health priority throughout America. Yet statistics indicate that average weight reduction on conventional diets adds up to a mere 5-8 pounds per year. So why do we find dieting so difficult? According to a new survey(1), the answer seems to be: because we make 3 crucial mistakes. We don’t have a good enough incentive; we allow ourselves to go hungry; and we can’t cope with “bad days”.

The weight loss survey conducted by annecollins.com asked dieters to select the three biggest problems they faced when dieting. The most common problems reported were: “Inadequate incentive to lose weight” (76%); “Hunger” (72%); and “Bad days” (70%). Although these results will come as no surprise to most dieters, they highlight the importance of motivation in the dieting process. We examine how these problems occur, and what steps can be taken to overcome them. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever wondered why some people manage to keep their weight off easily and others just pile it all back on when they stop that new diet? The answer is easy, it comes down to one simple change.

Before we get to that simple change, you need to keep in mind these rules of thumb when it comes to dieting.

1. Never do a diet which forbids a food group. This is simply asking for trouble. One day, not matter how hard you try, you will eat something from the forbidden food group and fail. Not very positive is it? You are setting yourself up for disappointment. Dieting is hard enough, so try and make it easy as humanly possible.

2. Never give up trying. Overeating is a little like smoking, they are both addictive, costly and bad for your health. People recognise the world over that giving up smoking is very difficult but overeating is seen as a weakness. No matter what people may think, you can lose weight. Choose a diet that is right for you and start again. Never give up trying. Read the rest of this entry »

Diet is extremely important for people with high blood pressure, because eating unrecommended food can lead to kidney failure or heart-attacks. People who have high blood pressure must take up a healthy diet if they want to improve their condition.

To lower blood pressure it is quite important not to eat salt or products that contain fats. The doctors from the American Heart Association recommend eating vegetables, fruits, and low fat foods. These contribute in lowering blood pressure. One fourth of the American population is suffering from high blood pressure, and following a healthy diet can help them to improve their health by lowering their blood pressure.

The minerals that the body needs to lower the blood pressure are calcium, magnesium and potasium. Calcium is an important ingredient in the recipes for lowering blood pressure, and it also helps when having bone problems but the normal doses should be handled with care and not exceeded because calcium excess can lead to other problems. Food should be low in fat and sodium. Also, as said before, it is highly important to reduce the level of salt consumed (no more than 6 grams of salt per day should be assimilated, but the exact level can only be indicated by your doctor) if you want to lower your blood pressure. Read the rest of this entry »

With millions of people aiming for successful weight loss, many are still interested in diet pills and want to buy ephedra. Perhaps you are wondering… can I still buy ephedra?

The answer is yes, you can still buy ephedra. Not all countries have placed bans on allowing people to buy ephedra. These countries may believe that ephedra is still useful for weight loss or other condition. Some countries, such as the United States, allow you buy ephedra as long as the active amount is limited to less than 10mg of pure ephedrine. In fact, the only place to order the pure form ephedra is though Ephedra Energy at www.EphedraEnergy.com

People on weight loss programs still want to buy ephedra because it reduces appetite and stimulates fat metabolism, making it one of the most effective weight loss supplement in existence. Perhaps you want to buy ephedra because it increases the metabolic rate so that your body burns fats and sugars more efficiently. Read the rest of this entry »

The battle against the bulge isn’t an easy one. Most people these days are trying to eat healthier but it’s tough to keep up with the onslaught of diet-related information and to stay motivated to choose nutritious foods. So here’s a tip. Listen your way to a better diet.

There are some excellent audio books available on the subject of nutrition. Try popping one of these into your car stereo or listening to them while you’re in the kitchen making dinner. It’s a great way to learn more about the impact of food on your body. It can also help you to discover new foods and recipes that you might not have been familiar with. And it’s a great way to stay accountable to a healthier diet. Just try preparing a greasy hamburger while listening to an audio book discussing the health risks of saturated fats!

A great audio book to start with is The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatson. The South Beach Diet isn’t as extreme as some other diets so it’s a great way to transition into a healthier way of eating. You’ll still be able to eat a lot of the foods you enjoy but if you’re like many others you’ll find that the foods that you limit (e.g., refined carbs) will help you to shed pounds quickly. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been reading so much stuff on diets and weight loss that I’ve lost about 15 pounds since I just can’t stand to eat anything anymore. Not protein, not carbs, not chocolate, nothing.

And I’m getting very hungry, but for what? It’s astonishing how many different diets are being pushed. And then there are the pill, herb, and extract scams. A number of the fad diets are downright dangerous. Use of zero-cal sugar substitutes may not only be extremely dangerous, but there’s some evidence that they may cause weight gains.

I just ran into this site set up by the FTC and the Competition Bureau of Canada to give us all a vivid lesson in how some of these scams work and the kind of claims most fraudulent diet sites use. It’s well worth taking a look at: http://wemarket4u.net/fatfoe/ and be sure to click on the order link to see the analysis they provide of the type of claims you need to be careful of. Read the rest of this entry »

Women on diets need more calcium than normal to avoid bone loss, say Rutgers University researchers.

Studies showed a weight loss diet of 1.5 pounds a week for 6 weeks cuts absorption of calcium. In 57 postmenopausal dieters it was discovered that those women who took 1,800 mg of calcium a day absorbed 78 percent more calcium than those who took only 1,000 mg a day. To prevent bone loss, women dieting after menopause should get 1,700 mg of calcium a day, the experts say.

For people on low-fat, high fiber diets calcium requirements are also higher. Studies show that 19 percent less calcium is absorbed. It is theorized that the healthier diet moves food faster through the gastrointestinal tract.

While it is common knowledge that calcium is necessary for bone-growth research shows that calcium also fights fat absorption. Studies reveal that calcium blocks fat storage in fat cells. A minimum of 1,000 mg. of calcium daily improves total cholesterol and good HDL, but lowers bad LDL. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people understand that it is wise to limit the amount of fat grams in their daily diet. The dietary reference intake amount for an adult ranges from 20% to 35%[i] of daily calories; or about 44 to 55 grams per day[1]. Since a single slice of pecan pie carries with it 27 grams of fat, and a mere tablespoon of thousand island salad dressing contains 8 grams of fat[ii], it is not surprising to see more and more people checking food labels and “passing over” an order of onion rings[2] as they try to lose, or maintain, inches and pounds.

However, the relentless avoidance of fat - even of healthy unsaturated fat - is creating a troubling scenario for many individuals. Instead of losing weight when they go “fat free”, they are actually gaining weight.

Many people on the road to weight loss forget - or simply do not know - that the words “fat free” do not also mean “calorie free”. As a result, many people ingest far too much “fat free” food, believing that it will not add weight, since, alas, it is dubbed “fat free”. Yet it is the calories in these fat-free foods that cause the weight gain; not the fat grams themselves[iii]. Read the rest of this entry »