Blood Type Diet Explained

The most popular weight loss formula followed by leading dietitians, especially in India, is the blood type diet. This blood type diet is based on Peter D’Adamo, a naturopathic physician, and the writer of  Eat Right 4 Your Type, findings that ABO blood type is the most important factor in determining a healthy diet, and he recommends distinct diets for each blood type.

According to the founder there are three main diets for the 3 blood types: A, B & O. Recently Blood group AB has also been added to this list. Dietary requirements are divided and allotted under the four blood groups available. Each of the blood groups have been categorized as per our progeny or our ancestral lifestyle. Lets take each blood group briefly and understand the unique dietary intake for each individual group:

• Blood group O diet: The diet recommended to this blood group is to eat a higher protein diet and restricting the consumption of grains, breads, legumes, and beans. As this was the oldest known blood group the origins are connected to our ancestors that were hunters.

• Blood group A diet: The diet recommends more vegetarian food intake that contains high amount of vegetables and foods to be avoided are meat, diary & wheat. As the diet relies more on agricultural products the origins of this group are traced to our ancestors that were cultivators.

• Blood group B diet : These individuals are associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The diet asserts that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products. Foods to be avoided are lentils and wheat.

• Blood group AB diet: The blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B, meaning it is primarily vegetarian but has reasonable amount of protein, grains and dairy as part of daily dietary intake.

The basic login given by the author for adopting this dietary pattern is that different blood groups digest lectins, food proteins, differently. If you eat foods containing lectins incompatible with your blood type, he says, you may experience inflammation, bloating, a slower metabolism, even diseases such as cancer. According to the author of this diet the best way to avoid these effects is to eat foods meant for your blood type.

This is another classic fad diet that is commonly promoted as the “most scientific” diet is as unbalanced as any other fad diet that focus on specific food groups at one time instead of working with a combination of all. Eliminating one or more food groups from the diet makes it unbalanced and nutritionally deficient. For instance, for blood type ‘A’ milk and dairy products and for blood type ‘B’ grains are not so healthy, but all we know that milk and dairy products are rich in calcium and it’s also important for healthy bones and fibers in grain protect your heart and keeps the bowel strong. In long term, this can result in a poor intake of nutrients needed for good health. Cutting out dairy products  can put you at risk of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease), or having no fruits & vegetables the main sources of vitamins, minerals & iron can put you at risk of many deficiencies like anemia & vitamin B12.

Another important point that is often overlooked while stating this theory is that till date there have been no clinical trials validating the scientific origins of this theory. Are people prescribing these diets using this so called scientific premise to eventually sell a low calorie diet plan to individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle? Following this kind of fad diet even for a short period of time can cause serious damage in the long run.

So before you get on any diet ensure it doesn’t focus on a particular food group alone. Unless you are medically tested to be allergic to a certain food group there is no reason why you should not not be eating them.  Your diet should be a mix of all nutrition given to you on a daily basis. The reason why we need to eat a balanced diet everyday is because our body cant store nutrition and therefore needs to be replenished daily. It is important to eat well but it is equally important to also exercise which not only helps in burning extra calories but also naturally cleansing our body of the toxins.

Is Rice Healthy or Unhealthy

Everyone seems to be doubtful that whether rice is healthy or unhealthy. Few believe that it is good for people in losing weight and some complain about the sugar content in it. Rice is rich in carbohydrates and is good for instant energy. It has advantages and disadvantages along but can be made healthy with a few variations.

Rice is not fattening if you eat it in a small portion in fact it is a good source of vitamins and minerals. These days brown rice is getting popular as a healthier substitute for white rice, as promoted by a few studies around the world. The studies confirm the fact that people who consume brown rice weighed less compared to people who consumed refined grains.

The not so healthy side of rice is that it is high in glycemic index that increases the blood sugar level Read more

Fiber for Optimum Health

Fiber is an essential nutrient in your diet. Fiber is in the form of soluble fiber as well as insoluble fiber. The soluble fiber binds with the fatty acids in the stomach and the arteries. This helps to regulate blood sugar and reduces the over all cholesterol. The insoluble fiber removes toxins from your colon and balance intestine acidity.

Research has shown that people who consumed the highest amount of fiber were 22 percent less likely to develop heart and health related risks. Fiber helps in controlling diabetes and heart disease risks because it improves cholesterol levels, blood pressure, inflammation and blood sugar levels. Besides it, fiber also has the property to bind along with the toxins and remove it from the body quickly. Read on to find out how much fiber your need, and best sources of fiber for your body. Read more

Health News: Tackle stress, Weight Loss, Healthy Living

You must have heard about the immense potential of adding olive to your nutrition. Olive oil helps keep cholesterol levels in check and controls the blood sugar. It is one of the easiest to digest as it is monounsaturated. Read more for how Olive can do wonders to your diet!

Drinking vegetable juice boosts weight loss says a research. This study suggests that it’s not enough to just educate people on the importance of vegetables, you need to show them ways to easily incorporate them into their daily routine, read more for how it works for you.

During times of stress, people often turn to traditional “comfort” foods such as pizza,macaroni and cheese, and ice cream. Ironically, these high-fat foods are usually the worst possible choice which drive up blood pressure and raise serum cholesterol levels, wreaking havoc on arteries and increasing the risk of heart attack. Read how eating right to reduce stress in your life.

Are you making the right choice for taking a good weight loss plan. If not then read for the most annoying weight loss scams of 2010. Thousands of desperate punters shell out serious money hoping for the miracle
solution, but… no authentic success stories are forthcoming. Read here for some real success stories.

Cosmetics merely enhance your body base. Experts say that there are certain food types that must be consumed to look beautiful, naturally. A diet rich in ‘phyto-compounds’ can stimulate DNA repair, read more for beauty foods.

The way your metabolism functions has everything to do with how you feel, and most importantly, how you either burn fat or store fat. So would you like to learn how to put your body in fat burning mode, rather than fat storing mode? Read more to know is your metabolism working for you.

Are you Indian? Careful about diabetes and hypertension

Research over the last several years has shown that Indian bodies and genetics are different from their western counterparts. Not in a good way- Indians suffer from abdominal obesity compared to people in the west, whose bodies are uniformly obese. As a result of this, Indians are at a higher risk of diabetes and hypertension.

There are currently 41 million diabetic people in India and this number is expected to rise by 170 per cent in the next 20 years. Even today, India has the largest population of diabetics in the world. By 2050, India is projected to be diabetes capital of the world. Today, one in every three Indians has high blood pressure, which is expected to shoot by 60 per cent in the next 20 years.

Not much can be done about the genetic risk of Indians, but a lot can be done to take measures about reducing your risk. First, get yourself tested for blood sugar and hypertension. Then, watch your diet and exercise. The Indian diet is very high on carbohydrates. Watch the type of carbohydrates that you put into your body- some carbohydrates promote fat storage. You don’t have to cut out fat from your diet. Just eat the healthy fat. Here are snacks that are delicious and healthy- Almonds keep you fit, Yoghurt reduces fat, Apple fights cancer, Guavas build immunity- read for their health benefits.

Need to lose weight. Call Fitho or email us at fitness@fitho.in. We provide effective diet and workout plans that are customized to your needs.

If you have not exercised in a while, then this is your chance to start- start with a walk, and graduate to a jog. There are innumerable benefits of running. Read these tips to start running. The classic pushup exercise, builds muscle and burns fat.

You’re never to old to get in shape! If you need to lose weight, get on a healthy weight loss plan, with a balanced diet and an effective exercise routine.

Avoid High Calorie Coffee shop Drinks

Coffee shops and cafes are first choice for places to hang out at. As you’re hanging out, you often order a large delicious coffee drink with 5 word names, out of which none make any sense. But it doesn’t matter, since it tastes great!

Have you ever wondered what goes into the drink, to make it so delicious! Most fancy coffee drinks come loaded with calories because they’re made with lots of cream, caramel, sugar syrup, ice cream, cookie crumbles, chocolate bits and all sorts of high calorie goodies. All those ingredients are loaded with sugar, which make you fat. Same goes for all the pastries, cookies, etc.

How sugar causes havoc inside you- Read our previous article for this. So, sugar promotes fat storage, makes you sleepy and is related to suppressing the immune system.

So, how do you go to a coffee shop and not damage your waistline? Pick a coffee drink with some low fat milk, or if you want the caffiene kick, go for an expresso, cafe latte (with low fat milk) or a capuccino. Ask the cafe for some honey, to replace the sugar.

Running burns calories while you rest

Wonder if you should start running? The New Scientist magazine reported that a Yale University study showed that endurance athletes, such as long-distance runners, burn up extra calories even when at rest- while your reading a book, watching TV, sleep or just hanging with friends.

Mitochondria is the part of a cell which convert sugar and fat into ATP molecules, which transport energy within cells. The study showed that the mitochondria in the cells of men who run (treadmills or outside) for four or more hours each week, use 54% more fuel than the mitrochondria of non-runners.

When the mitrochondria uses sugar and fat, this helps to clear out cellular fats that may contribute to insulin resistance. This research suggests that, even when at rest, running plays an important role in helping to protect against type 2 diabetes, as well as helping to burn fat.

4 hours a week is not that much. Break it into 6 days- that’s 40 minutes a day, with rest on one day of the week So, get those running shoes out and start running. We’ve got all the tips to start running.

White Bread- your weight loss enemy

The title says it all- white bread is not on your side in the war against fat, health, diabetes. If anything it promote fat storage, and diabetic tendencies. Read on to find out.

White bread is made from refined wheat flour (maida) which gives it a high content of simple carbohydrates. Then, it contains added sugar to improve flavour, further increasing the simple carbohydrate content. To top it, many people add a layer of sugar laden jam to their white bread- completely loading their snack with simple carbohydrates. These simple carbohydrates (carbs with high GI- read more here) promote fat storage in the body. There are also theories that also link consumption of excess sugar to suppression of the immune system.

So, you should really watch your white bread consumption. People with high blood sugar (diabetes) or those trying to get in shape, you should completely avoid white bread. Due to the high glycemic index of white bread, the glucose level in your blood spikes, that leads to fat storage and an increase in the production of insulin to compensate.

Wheat bread is a great alternative to white bread- it provides you with long lasting energy from the complex carbohydrates, more soluble fiber which helps to cleanse your arteries of the plaque choking them and does not promote fat storage in the body. So, give wheat bread a shot!

Corn Flakes Calories, Nutrition- Are they healthy or fattening?

Traditionally, when people think of breakfast cereal, they think of corn flakes and milk. Yes, breakfast is good for you. But what is odd, is the association of corn flakes with healthy food. Many people eat corn flakes to lose weight or reduce harmful belly fat.

The base ingredient is corn, but along with that the other major ingredient are sugar, malt flavouring, and high fructose corn syrup. All these ingredients have a high content of high GI carbohydrates. In fact, there is a huge controversy linked to the excessive use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in food- it has been linked to obesity, since it promotes excessive food consumption and insulin resistance in the body. As Indians, we already have the ‘belly gene’, and are prone to diabetes. Consumption of high GI carbohydrates only increases that risk.

Besides the health effects of HFCS, corn flakes has a high content of high GI carbohydrates, which promote fat storage in your body. Besides the fat storage, high GI carbohydrates increase your blood sugar drastically. This high blood sugar level promotes fat storage in the body. This is the ‘sugar rush’ or ‘energy rush’ that you experience after eating sweets. Your brain’s job in the body is to balance all processes. So to counteract this increased blood sugar level, your body over produces Insulin. (Insulin is a hormone which regulated blood sugar levels. For more, know more about Insulin). With extra insulin in your system, your blood sugar level reduces drastically. Your brain assumes this low blood sugar is a signal of less energy, and you experience that laziness post a carbohydrate heavy meal (rice, white bread, etc). Your brain also signals you to eat, since it misinterprets these low sugar levels for lack of energy in the body.

Calories and Nutrition in Corn Flakes: Each cup of corn flakes (approx 25 grams) contains, 21.7 gms of carbohydrates and only 1.7 grams of protein and low fiber content if any. Due to its low protein content, it will not keep you full for long. Each cup of corn flakes has approx 95 calories.

Some breakfast cereal ads might show that corn flakes help you lose weight, but they only expect to eat limited corn flakes for your meals. The irony of corn flakes is that its low in fat, but the high sugar content promotes fat storage!

If you really enjoy corn flakes, then have it with some low fat milk, and add a dose of vitamins, fiber and antioxidants with fruits like berries, apples or bananas. It’ll make a delicious and healthy breakfast and great post workout snack. If you’re diabetic, watch your diet- we have the complete list of foods that diabetics should avoid.

Good Carbohydrates and Bad Carbohydrates

Over the past decade, carbohydrates have gotten a lot of flak. Many of the really popular low carbohydrates diets like Atkins diet and South Beach diet have condemned bad carbohydrates, creating what we call Carbophobia.

We feel sorry for carbohydrate rich foods. All they’re trying to do is provide us with energy, but our lifestyles are so sedentary now that we barely burn the energy. So, our body being the frugal spender, likes to save up all that extra energy as fat in our body. So, is it really the fault of carbohydrates, or ours? That our lifestyles have changed to burning fewer calories but our calorie intake has gone up. That’s a debatable topic.

Anyway, we’re here to solve the mystery of good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates - to help you understand which carbohydrates are good for your health and which carbohydrates are unhealthy for you. Carbohydrates are chemical compounds that are digested by our body and absorbed into the blood stream to supply our body with energy. Now, the glycemic index or the GI is a measure of how fast carbohydrates are absorbed into the blood stream. The faster they’re absorbed, the higher the GI, and vice-versa. For most sedentary adults, foods with low GI are better.

This is because when we consume high GI foods, they rapidly increase the blood sugar levels. This signals our brain to store fat – So, the effect of eating high Glycemic Index foods – they can make you fat.

Low GI foods on the other hand provide sustained energy and are better suited for sedentary lifestyles.

High GI foods are sugar, corn flakes, white bread, most white rice, candy. Low GI foods are most fruits and vegetables, pulses, meat, milk and nuts (are healthy).

Note that high GI foods are also useful when your body needs energy, like for athletes, prolonged physical activity, etc.

So, whether carbohydrates are good or bad is really dependent upon your lifestyle and your needs. What we suggest is have a balanced healthy diet and be active. Go out and play a sport, run, get some exercise – this classic exercise is good for men and women, or just hit the gym. Carbohydrates aren’t the problem, its our inactivity that is root of the “I’m getting fat” problem.

Honey- Health Benefits

If you like your tea or coffee really sweet, you should know what effects sugar has on our body? Have you ever thought about honey?

Honey provides the sugar fix, and it is packed antioxidants and is believed to enhance calcium absorption and contain a number of other minerals and vitamins.

Something to note about commercially sold honey is that it might has sugar as a main ingredient, which defeats the purpose of consuming honey. So, ensure that you review the ingredient list. In our experience, the Khadi Ashram honey is quite pure. If you don’t like the flavour of regular honey, there are many varieties of honey available in the market, like buckwheat honey, blueberry honey, etc. The types of flowers the bees pollinate from determines the flavour and colour of honey.

Besides all these benefits, honey is claimed to be a natural remedy and has been used as medicine for thousands of years. At Fitho, we truly believe that natural foods are better than processed foods and practice the same. So next time you have that sweet cup of tea, enjoy it with honey. Use honey to replace sugar in desserts, swap pancake syrup with honey, add some to your oatmeal or peanut butter sandwich for the extra energy. Even the Kama Sutra uses honey but we won’t get into those details here

As you see, its uses are limited by your imagination. Remember, honey still contains sugar based calories, so go easy.

Relationship Between Age and Weight

Here in this article we’ll try to explain to you in detail the relation between age and weight and why people gradually gain weight as they get old. In your early 20′s, you’re young, in college and have an active life. Your hormones are peaking, metabolic rate is on all time high, your immune system is strong. You can abuse your body-tank up on all the alcohol, go on late night eating binges, barely sleep and still look great. You feel like you’re body is like steel plated Armour.

In your late 20′s and early 30′s, you start settling down, maybe have some kids. The partying still goes on, probably not as crazy. You slowly start developing a belly, but ‘its small’, so it seems like ‘not much to worry about’. After a crazy night of whiskey shots and butter c
hicken, you might get the occasional heart burn. But you pop a pill and life is good again. You might think about exercise, but you feel like you’re in good shape.

In your late 30′s, early 40′s, that small belly has gotten bigger. Occasionally you and your friends face health issues like blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Things get more serious and you wonder what you can do to slow things down. Go for a walk, do some yoga, occasionally
You’ve still got 30-40 years to live and want to live them in good health. How do you make it happen? Skip the fried stuff, but it really doesn’t make a dent.

What you need to do is really take control of the situation. As you get older, your metabolic rate starts slowing down. So, for the same amount of food that you ate in your 20′s, your body needs more exercise to burn the same amount of calories. With age, your body starts storing more fat. It is biologically designed to do so, since your body sees fat as stored energy, which it might need in the future. It does not realize that you’re in the 21st century and there’s plenty of food. That’s where your brain needs to step and control what goes into your body. Alcohol consumption increases fat storage in your body. All that fried food along with the beer, leads to even more fat storage. Stress releases cortisol which further increases fat storage in our body. And Indians have a high tendency to store fat on their belly – belly fat is most dangerous fat which is the most dangerous kind of fat.

To fix this, don’t go on crash diets with side effects. Get on a proper plan that combines good diet and exercise. That doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym, or eating boiled veggies. It’s about knowing what you consume and how it affects you and about giving your body some exercise. Build some muscle, look better, feel better, improve your sex life.

Sure, you’re busy with work and travelling. A good health plan does not come in the way of that. It works around it, and keeps you healthy. Did you know? That Brad Pitt is over 40 and still sports a six pack You might not become Brad Pitt, but you can get close. So, take charge of your health. If you need a diet plan to help you lose weight call us or email us at Fitho!

Is your office making you fat?

Most people spend more waking time in the office than anywhere else. And if you care about your health, or are trying to get healthier, why should you ignore the office as a space where you can’t be healthy. You’ll be surprised to know that most offices are not. There are health hazards all over the office. Its not that the office doesn’t want you to be healthy, its that you need to make some choices to stay healthy.

Office Tea/Coffee- Tea and Coffee are big things in most offices in India. A cup of tea and coffee isn’t harmful. The problem is that when they’re made in the office, they come loaded with sugar. That’s the stuff that’s not good for you. Most people in desk jobs aren’t active enough to burn off the extra calories from sugar. So, when you consume all that sugar, it goes and hits your belly and hips. Read here about the effects of sugar. What you can do to avoid this in your office is to either have tea/coffee without sugar. But if you can’t deal with that, tell them to bring you sugar separately. If that’s not possible, then keep tea bags of your favourite tea in the office. Get some hot water, dip, let brew and drink up. (I do that with green tea). Honey is a better alternative to sugar.

Office Snacking- All the cakes and samosas that are served in the office are probably worse than the tea. Tea at least has some antioxidants. But that samosa- its made of maida (refined flour) which has the same effect as sugar on your body, stuffed with oily potatoes and then deep fried! So, each samosa as wonderful as it tastes goes straight to that belly. Don’t even get me started on cakes/pastries- their basic ingredients are sugar, refined flour, butter, cream. Other snacks to watch out for- patties, rolls, cup cakes – equally bad for you.
So you’re wondering, what can I really eat in the office? Some commonly available foods- nuts (peanuts, almonds, etc), chana (roasted gram), fruits (don’t get me started on the delicious seasonal fruits in India), brown bread sandwich, low fat cheese- there are plenty of healthier food options. All these have vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, protein and give you the energy to get through your day! You can either bring these from home or easily find them around your office.

Smoking Coworkers- If you’re not smoking cigarettes, that’s great. But if someone around you is, then you are exposed to the second hand smoke. Everyone knows about the effects of smoking. Did you know that the effects of second hand smoke are about as bad as you smoking yourself? So, steer clear of areas that are the smoking joints in your office.

Staying healthy in the office takes some effort, but once you set it up, its easy to roll with.
Get yourself and then your co-workers on these habits and get fit.

 

Health Benefits of Almonds

Almonds or rather nuts in general get a bad name because they have high fat content, but there are plenty health benefits of almonds. We’ll tell you about these benefits.

There are two kinds of fat- saturated (Bad) and unsaturated (Good) fat. And almonds are high in unsaturated fats, the same type of healthy fats found in olive oil. Almonds are packed with mono-unsaturated fats. A recent study at the University of Toronto led to the discovery that eating about an ounce of almonds per day can decrease LDL cholesterol by as much as 20 percent over time. Incredibly, this decrease is comparable to results from medication.

Besides this, almonds pack a punch of protein. Protein takes longer to digest, so it keeps you satisfied for longer. Thus reducing those hunger pangs, while feeding those muscles of yours.

Almonds also contain calcium, Vitamin E, Magnesium, Potassium, Magnesium, and last but not the least, antioxidants.

In a recent study published in the International Journal of ORMD, adults who were put on a low calorie diet enriched with almonds lost more weight, lost more fat, reduced more waistline inches than those who did not have almond enriched diets. (Both diets had equal calorie values)

You can eat almonds raw, roasted, or chop them up toss them into dessert or yogurt. Try to eat them with the skin, since that contains nutrition too. Benefits of almonds are plenty, but they’re loaded with fat and thus calories, so control your portions. Have a handful for that 4 p.m. craving, with a fruit. They’ll keep you going for longer without feeling hungry, reducing your snacking on unhealthy food, thus reducing your risk of gaining weight from it.

Almonds have low GI (Glycemic Index) value, so when you include them in your diet, your overall blood sugar rises up less than without almonds.

We could go on about almonds, but the point is made. Go nuts!

Note, that the healthiest almonds are the regular crispy almonds. The roasted, salted or sugar coated almonds only reduce the health benefits of almonds.

Truth about Fat and Sugar

Many people have this myth that sugar contains lots of fat content. In fact, Sugar is essentially not bad for your body.

It is the excessive consumption of sugar that is unhealthy along with our lack of physical activity, and that it permeates in some form or another in most foods that we eat.

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