The Mediterranean diet has been in the news several times before and it is making its way around the internet again. This time news articles are posting that following the Mediterranean diet may significantly lower risks of type 2 diabetes. The diet has been said to fight off cardiovascular disease and you can see why as it is made up mainly of olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals, legumes and fish. Meat and dairy products are not a bulk of the diet at all.

Part of the reason for the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet is the quantity of olive oil which is consumed. Olive oil is known to help lower cholesterol as well as blood sugar. In order to reap the most health benefits following this diet, you must also include a good workout program. The combination of the diet and physical activity is what seems to provide the overall health benefits.

Like any diet, the Mediterranean diet is not perfect. Overall it is a healthy way to eat when you include exercise, however, you still need to be sure you are including other foods into your diet in which you may lack specific vitamins/minerals.

There is a new miracle hitting the blogosphere and it is called the “miracle fruit.” This miracle fruit is not performing weight loss miracles the way the name would suggest. Instead it is performing miracles on your taste buds. The real name of the fruit is “Synsepalum dulcificum” and it is native to West Africa.

The fruit are in the form of tiny red berries and after popping one in your mouth, the proteins in the berry bind with your taste buds causing acidic foods to actually taste sweet! Imagine eating a lemon and having it taste like candy, or drinking beer to have it taste like chocolate. These are the types of effects that happen after eating the berry. The effect lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Read more »

In the past, picking up a dozen eggs required nothing more then opening the carton and checking that none of the eggs were cracked. Now a days, you have so many choices to make: organic, white or brown, cage free, omega-3, and local. Really, none of these choices make a huge difference but it is still good to know what your options mean.

Organic, Cage Free
It is not uncommon to see eggs with the labels organic or cage free. This simply means that the hens are fed organic feed and are not confined in cages.

Brown or White Shells?
Many people think there is a significant difference between brown eggs and white eggs. There is no difference between either brown or white shells. The egg’s color is determined by the chicken that laid them and nothing more.

Added Omega-3’s
Hens that are fed extra omega-3’s by being fed flax seeds produce the added omega-3 eggs. This is simply a personal preference whether or not you want to spend the extra money for these. You can get your extra omega-3’s easily from flax seed oil or consuming fish.

Buying Local
I just purchased local eggs today and one of the benefits, besides knowing where your eggs came from, is the price. You save more money by purchasing locally produced eggs.

Don’t let all of the egg options out there confuse you. Whether you buy organic, locally, or omega-3 comes down to personal preference and how much you are willing to spend.

I’m sure you have heard the benefits of adding various nuts to your diet. However, nuts get a bad rap for being high in fat, so many folks tend not to include them in their diet. New studies conducted by the FDA have now shown that the fat contained in nuts may be heart healthy. This is because the fat is mainly made up of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - both of which are shown to lower levels of LDL or “bad cholesterol.”

All nuts are not created equal and there are several that fall under under the good fat category:

Almonds - one of my all time favorites, these contain vitamin E and also make for a great snack as they are known to make you feel more satisfied between meals.

Pecans - these have some of the highest levels of phytosterols which help protect against cardiovascular disease.

Pistachios - these are very yummy and are high in lutein which helps protect eyes against macular degeneration.

Walnuts - these contain a high level of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. ALA is known to decrease inflammation. Walnuts are also known to increase HDL or “good cholesterol.”

Hazelnuts - these contain high levels of folate (B vitamin) as well as some calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Peanuts - the most common nut contains resveratrol which is known to protect against heart disease.

The nuts to avoid include macadamias, cashews, and Brazil nuts. They are high in saturated fats which we know isn’t good for the heart. Mixed nuts are also a no-no as many companies package them with extra oil and salt.

When you purchase nuts, the best way to get them is raw and you can typically find them in health food stores like Trader Joe’s.

image credit: sxc.hu

Eating clean at home is one thing because you are preparing your meals and know exactly what goes into them. Attempting to eat clean in restaurants is a whole other story. It is, in my opinion, much more challenging and way more tempting. Chances are you are not going to be dining alone so you have the peer pressure from your friends to “take one bite” or you may justify eating poorly because you hardly ever eat that way anymore. One bite can lead to disaster if you have been doing well with your eating. Your motivation levels may plummet and many people use it as an excuse to continue to eat poorly since they’ve already gave in.

Dining out does not have to be a make-it or break-it deal. If you go into the restaurant with the best intentions, a positive attitude, and a strong will, you can make the right decisions and pick the right food choices. You have to really know what you want for yourself in order to fight the temptation of what everyone else is eating. For example, today I am invited to a casino buffet (gasp!) with my family. I don’t want to say no because I love my family and spending time with them trumps anything I do in my life. I’ve decided that I can take this buffet on and I will not let it beat me! lol

Picking and choosing in a restaurant or buffet is really all about common sense. Use the same methods you use when shopping for your foods during the week. Here is how I plan to tackle this buffet today.

1. Load up on quality foods - let’s face it, a buffet typically means pigging out. Why else do most people go to an all you can eat buffet? This means I plan on doing my pigging out on quality foods like loading my plate full of greens, fruit, and vegetables.

2. Protein - just like I would stick to lean proteins during the week, I will do my best to find lean proteins at this buffet. It is possible to do so and if all else fails, most buffets do prepare some type of baked or steamed fish.

3. Say no to sauces - dressings and sauces will be a no-no for me. My salads will either be dry or I’ll use a light vinaigrette if available.

4. Fountain drinks - I am not a soda drinker so this isn’t a big deal. However, there are other beverages offered that are still full of sugar. I am sticking to water or tea.

5. Desserts - this is where it gets really tough. Buffets specialize in a huge assortment of desserts. You will find ice cream, pastries, and all sorts of stuff. If you pay attention, these buffets also serve up a huge variety of fresh fruits - and guess what, the line for fresh fruits is always short. So I plan on satisfying my sweet tooth with fruits instead.

If you make the right decisions when dining out, believe me, you will feel soooooo good about yourself after you have left the restaurant. You will have proven to yourself that you can do this, that you are the one in charge of your life, and your motivation will stay high.

Remember, eating clean is a lifestyle. Once you really get into it, it will become second nature and the fear of dining out will be a thing of the past.

When eating clean you may feel limited on what to use to add flavor to your foods. Mayo and ketchup contain fat and sugars, while many salad dressings are the same. There are a few spices you may not use on a regular basis that are not only flavorful but have health benefits as well. Here are several just to start off.

Ginger
This spice tastes great in almost everything. Often used in Asian cuisine, it can also be used in desserts or made into tea. Health benefits include reduction of joint pain as it contains polyphenols which are anti-inflammatory compounds.

Cinnamon
Another great spice to add to oatmeal, cereals, smoothies, or on top of fruit. Cinnamon is known for its cholesterol lowering benefits.

Red Chili Peppers
I’ve written about the benefits hot peppers before and if you like spice don’t be afraid to use it. Chili peppers contain capsaicin which is known to reduce osteoarthritis pain as well as causing a slight boost in metabolism.

Turmeric
Often used in rice dishes, this spice contains curcumin which is believed to reduce muscle soreness as well as protect the brain from Alzheimer’s.

Vanilla
This spice goes well with so many foods and contains antioxidants that may help reduce muscle soreness and fight off age related diseases.

Homemade Salsa
Salsa is so easy to make yourself. A basic recipe is onion, green peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and lemon. Chop up all of the vegetables by hand or using a food processor. Add a dash of salt to taste and squeeze some lemon juice into the mix. You have a low calorie condiment to liven up any dish.

Lemon
Squeezing lemon over fish or chicken or even creating a salad dressing with it adds some extra flavor to your food. Lemons are known to help aid in digestion as well as helping to flush out toxins.

Personally I think eating clean alleviates some of the hassle of counting every calorie. Since you are not consuming junk, you knock out a ton of calories by default. There are still many people who do the calorie counting thing regardless and if you have ever counted calories, you understand how tedious and annoying it can become.

Luckily there are some cool programs online that take the hassle out of calorie counting and makes it actually kind of fun. The two I am going to talk about are both web based which is great for those of us who work in front of a computer most of the day. It makes logging our meals that much easier.

FitDay
www.fitday.com

I’ve used FitDay before and loved it. It has awesome reporting features that produce charts track your calories eaten and calories burned from your activity that you log throughout the day. It’s a really robust meal and fitness tracker and the best part is that it is free. The only downside - at least back when I used it, was that you have to manually enter the calories of certain food items but once you have them in there you’re good to go.

The Daily Plate
www.thedailyplate.com

I have not tried this site out so the information I am giving is second hand but reliable! My sister gave this program a try and she really liked the fact that when someone enters the calories for popular food items, everyone can share it. Unlike Fit Day where it is saved for each account. Like Fit Day, it is easy to use and has good reporting. She did mention that the reporting isn’t as nice as Fit Day but I think they offer more reporting features if you upgrade.

There are several other meal and fitness trackers on the web and you can do a quick search to find many of them. If you don’t care either way about counting calories but do like keeping a food journal, these web based programs can help if you’re not into carrying a notebook around.

image credit: stock.xchng

May’s Muscle & Fitness magazine had a good article on specific fruits and how they do the body good. Here is a quick rundown on the ones they mentioned.

Blueberries
1 cup = 84 calories, 1 g protein, 22 g carbs, 1 g fat, 4 g fiber

Health benefits:

• More antioxidants than most fruits
• Brain boosting effect

Cherries
1 cup = 87 calories, 2 g protein, 22 g carbs, 0 g fat, 3 g fiber

Health benefits:

• Contains antioxidant called anthocyanins (reduces inflammation)

Grapefruit
1 large = 106 calories, 2 g protein, 27 g carbs, 0 g fat, 4 g fiber

Health benefits:

• Keeps insulin levels steady
• Influences fat loss

Pomegranate
1/2 seeds only = 80 calories, 1 g protein, 18 g carbs, 1 g fat, 0 g fiber

Health benefits

• Antioxidants
• Enhance nitric oxide levels (dilates blood vessels)

Watermelon
1 slice = 86 calories, 2 g protein, 22 g carbs, 0 g fat, 1 g fiber

Health benefits

• Amino acid citruline which converts to arginine (produces nitric oxide)
• High in lycopene

When you begin eating healthier and eating clean in general, you will receive a lot of criticism from your friends and family. You have to remember that many of them hung around you when you ate poorly so they are going to wonder why the sudden change.

You will try to explain to many of them what you are doing and some will cheer you on. Others will say negative comments because they don’t believe you can do it or they are jealous that they aren’t doing it. For the haters all you can do is ignore them. You can try to get them to join you in a healthier lifestyle but if they refuse, you will just have to blow off their comments.

How to Handle Eating Clean at Work

Friends and family are usually easy to deal with. How do you handle your clean eating lifestyle at work? You see your co-workers for 8 or more hours per day. They will definitely have something to say when you stop eating out at lunch or you are blending your protein shake in the break room.

The best thing to do is stay focused.

1. Continue packing your meals to eat throughout the day.
2. Stick to healthier items for company pot lucks.
3. If you do eat out - salads (watch the dressing) and low-carb items are best.
4. On coffee runs avoid fancy drinks (whip cream, syrups, etc.), stick to plain black coffee or tea.
5. Happy hours - diet colas in your drinks if you must, avoid fruity cocktails and beer.

You will receive a lot of criticism in the beginning but once your friends, family, and co-workers realize that you are sticking with it and it is your new lifestyle, they will get used to it and the comments will settle down. Just keep your goals in mind and know that you are doing something positive for your health.

image credit: sxc.hu

Alcohol is generally a no-no when you make clean eating a lifestyle. This is because alcohol postpones your progress due to the high amount of calories and lack of nutrients. Personally, I have quit drinking any type of alcohol. In fact, whenever I hear about people getting wasted, it makes me think back to the horrible feeling of waking up with hangovers and feeling like crap most of the day.

Can You Drink and Eat Clean?

In my opinion, this is a bad combination if you are looking to get healthy and lose weight. Many people don’t realize that you can drink a significant amount of calories from alcohol. Let’s take a look at the average calories in several common drinks below:

• 1 can of beer - 150 calories
• 1 glass red wine - 160 calories
• 1 glass white wine - 120 calories

Mixed drinks can be even higher in calories when you account for the calories from fruit juices and soda. If you are drinking several times per week, of at least two drinks each time, the calories can add up fast by the end of the week.

Besides the empty calories, alcohol can also:

• Damage the liver and kidneys
• Increase appetite
• Cause weight gain
• Cause alcoholism
• Postpone fat loss

Why do this to your body when you are doing your best to follow a healthy lifestyle? Many health conscious individuals will drink red wine for its known heart health benefits. Of course that is a matter of doing your own research on whether red wine will truly benefit you. I feel if you do not already drink, it’s probably best not to start just because red wine may be healthy.

In general, you can eat clean and enjoy an occasional drink. It is best to limit your alcohol consumption to special occasions, and even then, stick to wine or champagne.