ditch the soft drinks

Researchers who surveyed more than 50,000 women in the Nurses Study II in the US have found that those who drink a lot of sugary beverages have a higher risk of gaining weight as well as developing Type 2 diabetes. Further research showed that women who drank one or more sugar sweetened drinks per day over a period of 8 years had a whopping 83% greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes than other women. Soft drinks can also contain high fructose corn syrup which raises blood sugar and increases insulin dramatically.

cut down the salt in cottage cheese

Cottage cheese can be very salty (about 400mg in half a cup – or one fifth of the recommended daily salt intake of 2,000mg). Try one of the low fat reduced sodium varieties and if you don’t like the taste as much, mix half regular low fat cottage cheese and half salt reduced low fat cottage cheese.

type 2 diabetes linked to Alzheimers

Another good reason to avoid developing Type 2 Diabetes is that it may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’sstudy disease by 65%, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Neurology. Two earlier studies also found that it can double the risk of Alzheimer’s.

teens will not "outgrow" obesity

A new study of almost 10,000 American teenagers in the American Journal of Public Health has found that 11% were obese and six years later 22% were obese. In fact, only one in seven of the obese teenagers lost enough weight to be considered just overweight or of normal weight.

low carbohydrate diets talk about ketosis? What does this mean?

Ketosis occurs when the body is forced to burn fats for energy because it is starved of carbohydrates. In the short term ketosis can result in headaches, nausea, bad breath, constipation and lethargy.

In the longer term, serious health problems such as heart disease, liver complications and prolonged constipation leading to possible serious bowel disorders may result. The promoters of low carbohydrate diets promise fast, miraculous weight loss by starving the body of carbohydrates.

Most of the weight loss from such restrictive diets comes from loss of muscle tissue, glycogen and water. I would recommend that you avoid these very low carbohydrate diets and opt for a more sensible weight loss approach.

fabulous flaxseed

Flaxseeds, also known as linseeds, are the richest source of lignans (phytoestrogen compounds). The Journal of the American Dietetic Association reports that a regular intake of lignans has been associated with reduced risks for breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. Flaxseed or linseed also contains significant amounts of omega 3 fatty acids which have been shown to decrease the risks of coronary heart disease. All great reasons to sprinkle some ground flaxseeds on your breakfast cereal and some flaxseed oil on your salad.

TV dinners will expand your waistline

Have you ever noticed how much faster your hand dips into that bag of potato crisps when you are watching a good thriller at the cinema or on TV? Studies published in Psychology Today show that “emotional eaters” ate more sweet, fatty and high calorie foods when under stress. So, getting emotionally involved in what you are watching may be expanding your waistline!

Studies also revealed that families who watch TV during dinnertime may develop poor eating habits, including eating more junk food and less fruit and vegetables.

And don’t think you can lie on the lounge and snack safely either! Adelaide University showed that eating whilst lying in front of the television may in fact leave you hungrier than if you were sitting! This is because food eaten whilst sitting up remained in the stomach longer, thus making people feel full for longer.