The Mediterranean diet has its origins on the countries that face the Mediterranean Sea: Southern Italy, Spain, Greece, Crete, ex-Yugoslavia, Turkey and Tunisia.

Along their unlucky story plain of hunger and misery, these people were able to set a diet based on their land’s products, mainly vegetarian.

It was insufficient, but better than the northern one, as the durum wheat proteins are better than the corn ones, used on the north, that caused the pellagra(disease caused by the lack of vit.B group).

With the social and economic development of the last century, the south diet began to enrich itself with animal protein food to reach the rich countries level nowadays.

During this process, it reached a point of quite perfection, having supplied its proteins lack but still conserving its original formula. It was about 1950-1960, and during this period, people from Mediterranean area, mainly from South Italy, had lower death rates of cronical-degenerative and neoplasia metabolic diseases.

The Mediterranean food model is a program in which some typical food (olive oil, pasta, bread and legume, vegetables and fresh fruit, wine) are wisely matched with proper animal products quantities (meat, specially the white ones, fish, dairy products and eggs).

An interesting characteristic of this food model is the use of non-fat condiments (spices, herbs, sugo, lemon, red pepper, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, rosemary, bay, parsley, sage, thyme, ecc) that allows a low sodium diet.

In this diet it is possible to prepare a single dish using these typical ingredients, having a complete, balanced and economical meal.

The Mediterranean diet uses to be presented as a pyramid, where the quantities of each group of food (vegetables and fruit, carbohydrates and so on) are proportional to the size of the pyramid level.

The vegetables are at the lower part of the pyramid, together with the fresh fruit and one should eat 5-6 portions a day.

The next level is occupied by the carbohydrates with 4-5 portions a day, then oil and fat with 2-3 portions a day followed by dairy products with 2-3 portions a day.

Follows meat, fish, eggs, cold cuts and legume with 1-2 portions a day and at the top the sweets with 1 portion a day.

The portions were established by studies, but one can easily apply the idea with the self good sense. Even if one does not weight 150gr to make a fruit portion, or 10gr to make a portion of oil, just balancing the diet following these proportions will work.

There is a new entry in this pyramid – the physic movement. Aside each level there’s the movement recall.

The people from Mediterranean area did not suffer from the so-called “civilized” diseases because they used to work on the fields, walk to and from everywhere. Surely they did not seat for hours in front of a computer or tv as people do nowadays.

So, to avoid sedentary, it is important to walk 30 minutes a day, for at least 6 days a week. This walking time can be easily found just parking far from the office, making the stairs instead of waiting for the lift and so on.

The Mediterranean diet became known because during studies it was proved that it is healthy and helps keeping the right weight, other than being easy to do. It is important to have a food model that matches with the nowadays life style, as people do not have time enough to follow big changes in their routine.

Another positive factor is that it is easy to industrialize some typical products as pasta, olive oil, bread and others, being then able to spread it to large range of population.

The European countries involved asked UNESCO to recognize the Mediterranean diet as World Heritage and is should happen during 2009.

By: Ana Maria Da Costa

Due towards the widespread awareness about the wellness aspects, people have started out to focus on decreasing their excess pounds. However, the procedure is not always functional, simply because from the busy way of life, they could not allot sufficient time on the course of weight loss.

The pills available within the market to decrease weight are growing in demand, because of this reason. Pills don’t expect as well significantly effort or time to spend for pounds loss, yet gain the anticipated pounds loss. Once, you decide to make use of the pills to bring down your pounds, ensure to choose the best diet pills.

Most of these pills aren’t verified for their effectiveness. Hence do not pick out the one that seems handy, as it may be the marketing tactic from the company. To ensure the best diet pills, you require to consider various elements to make it match your require.

Generally, weight loss supplements are divided into two categories. One is made out of compound or synthetic elements, whilst the normal items are made of herbal ingredients. Generally, the best diet pills are the pure botanical ones, as they’re safer, as opposed to the synthetic pills, that is susceptible to side effects. The chemical supplements may also react with medications you already take and trigger varied risks in your wellness.

Pills are also divided according to the function. It may be either metabolic process booster or appetite suppressant. When the metabolic process fee gets quick or sluggish, it may lead to pounds gain.

This will help your body to burn tremendous fats and high fat calories, quicker than prior to. However, should you tend to more than consume among your meals and fill your stomach with empty high fat calories, you certainly need appetite suppressants. It definitely prevents the uncontrollable eating urges and thereby reduces pounds.

Some best diet pills have both these functions, together and may include even the absorption blockers, which immediately rinse out extra calories and fats. The pills you intake might be the best diet pills, but make sure to incorporate wholesome diet and routines along using the pills, to magnify the result.

By: Johnnie H Barr

The Atkins Diet Plan was created by Dr. Robert Atkins in the 1960′s. He made changes to a diet he read about in the Journal of the American Medical Association, because he had his own issues with weight. After success with the diet, both for him and patients, he then wrote Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution in 1972 (which I still have), and then the revised Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. A lot of disagreement surrounds this diet, and many people have had success with it.

Atkins recommends staying away from:

Refined carbohydrates

Sugar

Flour

High fructose corn syrup

Saturated fats are not a problem, but avoid the trans fats from hydrogenated oils

There are 4 stages in the Atkins Plan:

Induction Phase:

The first phase of this low carb diet is designed to put your body into ketosis. Ketosis means that the body will produce ketones from the fat, and is used as fuel instead of carbs. It causes you to lose some weight fast as your body burns carbohydrates from your reserves. This phase is also very strict. Meat, eggs, oil and butter are allowed. A certain amount of cheese is allowed as well.

Ongoing Weight Loss:

In this phase of the Atkins plan, a carbohydrate ladder is followed by slowly building up your carbohydrate intake, you still lose, but you’re learning your glycemic intake levels, and curbing your cravings.

There is a full list of allowed food in the Atkins Diet book, but some of the food you’re allowed to have is vegetables from the Induction phase, nuts, berries, some fruit and starchy vegetables.

Pre Maintenance:

You enter pre maintenance as you approach your goal. Carbs are increased again, until you are able to eat enough without gaining weight.

Lifetime Maintenance:

A bigger range of food is allowed once you have achieved your weight loss objective. Carbohydrate consumption is increased a bit more as well. You stay at this stage for the rest of your life. Should you start to gain weight, you go back to a previous Atkins diet phase until you lose weight.

Advantages of the Atkins Plan:

If you’re a meat lover, this is the diet for you.

You’ll keep your sugar level down

You’ll burn fat

You can eat whenever you want

Things to watch out for when starting Atkins:

People say that they can’t do Atkins because it makes them feel weird, dizzy or just generally funky. Compare it to the alcoholic who has stopped drinking: they go thru DT’s – detox on some level, some have it really bad, and some don’t. You can – and should – expect a reaction with any diet that you go on that eliminates the garbage in your body.

Disadvantages of the Atkins Plan:

I’ve had friends say they get really tired, feel sick to their stomachs, and experience headaches in the beginning the Atkins Diet Plan. Carb withdrawal? I haven’t cut my carb intake too much in the recent past, so I can’t judge.

Low carb intake. I’m happy to switch to healthier carbs, but I won’t eliminate them.

By: Elizabeth Ramer

Following the Atkins Diet rules helped me to lose 120 pounds in about eighteen months. While I am thrilled with the results, I found that when I first started the hardest part was sticking with rules until I got a real feel for what I could and couldn’t do as I went through the four phases.

It sounds funny, but the part of the diet that I actually found easiest was also the strictest – the Atkins Diet Induction rules. I was on this phase for about two weeks, and it really kicked off my weight loss. The reason I found it so easy was because it was so strict. There was very little room for “fudging” the diet because the guidelines were so specific.

Induction Rules

The Induction rules are very straightforward: Lots of protein and a healthy amount of fats. No refined sugar or wheat products. Lots of water and liquids that don’t contain sugar or sweeteners (except some Splenda).

Eat till Satisfied, but NOT Stuffed

I ate three meals a day without fail – it was important to do this so that my body adjusted to burning off the fat and not going into a “fasting” mode when I went too long without eating. I also stuck with one of the cardinal rules of the Atkins program – I ate until I felt full and satisfied, but not stuffed. I found that over time that I had this feeling of satisfaction sooner rather than later, so I learned to really listen to my body.

Stick to the Allowed Foods on the List

I never ate margarine or hydrogenated oils or trans fats. Even a little bit of these can stall an entire day’s worth of eating properly according to the rules. Dairy products such as milk and yogurt were out, as was fruit and fruit juice. Grains were a big no-no, and I paid attention to these rules.

Eat the Proper Amounts

I also paid attention to amounts – for instance, only three or four ounces of cheese and no more. It can be tempting to eat a lot of the things you are allowed, but you need to keep the quantities in balance. If you’re still hungry and have already eaten your allowance of cheese, for instance, eat some meat or add more salad vegetables to your diet. This is easy to do because Dr. Atkins’ Induction diet rules call for up to three whole cups of salad greens every day!

Surprisingly, since I knew exactly what was permitted, it was easy for me to stick to the Atkins diet menu. I just kept a list of acceptable foods handy (a copy of the rules on my refrigerator and another in my wallet for eating out) at all times. I knew this was the strict portion of the diet rules and so I stayed within the boundaries all the time, including drinking eight glasses of water every day.

Phases II, III and IV

The other phases (Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance and Maintenance) were a bit trickier. The Atkins Diet Rules are always pretty clear, but as you move from phase to phase you have to listen more to your body and adjust amounts and types of food accordingly. One of the things that took me a bit of time was learning just how many carbohydrates I could eat in a day without stalling my weight loss.

The Diet is Not Hard to Follow

Following Dr. Atkins’ rules helped me to gauge what “low carb” meant for my particular metabolism, but it took some fiddling around with my diet for a few days. The nice part of it was that, with new foods allowed and more leeway, I had a lot of fun learning and adjusting. It really taught me how much of a pleasure the Atkins diet can be because I could eat so many things.

The most important part of the Atkins diet rules is understanding carbohydrates and how much of them you can or can’t eat. Fortunately, the book, “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,” clearly outlined everything for me. It contained specific lists of foods that I could eat and even broke it down into a “ladder” so that I knew which carbs were best and which were only borderline.

For instance, according to the Atkins diet, seeds and nuts are lower carb than whole grains or starchy vegetables. The Atkins diet works for me because everything is broken down so clearly and you know exactly how to keep track of your carbs.

If you’re trying to lose weight, I encourage you to take a good look at Atkins. The Atkins diet rules make it easy because you start with a strict set of rules that will get your weight loss started – a real motivator! After you’ve started, the rules become less strict so that you can stick with it for a long time without feeling deprived. And finally, Dr. Atkins has written so much about the program that you can find an answer to every food question you could possibly have, making it easy to follow the rules!

By: Kevin Urban

Today’s society is obsessed with looks, with physical appearance. “Beauty” far from being “in the eye of the beholder” seems to be splashed on every magazine, television screen and poster setting – for women especially – impossible standards to live up to. We are taught that the world’s perception of you matters, and women aspire to being the kind of beautiful that seems impossible to reach.

This world renowned plan, promises a chance of achieving that standard, of fulfilling the dream many of today’s women have. The founder, cardiologist Dr. Agatston knows what he’s talking about – this isn’t a starvation plan, it’s a lifestyle change that can change the way you look, improve your health and still enable you to eat delicious, nutritious food.

To help participants understand the diet better, here’s a few of the facts:

1. The first two weeks are an initial stage which heavily limits the number of carbohydrate products consumed. After this comes the lifetime diet, to change the way you eat every day.

2. Undesirable fats and sugars are frowned upon, but plenty of healthier alternatives are suggested.

3. This diet is not typically “low” anything – it is not a deprivation diet. It is balanced and healthy, unlike fad diets.

4. One of the best things about this plan is allowing people to snack for the whole day to remove their hunger while maintaining their metabolism. The portion sizes of the meals are substantial enough to make you feel full.

5. This plan claims to lower the risk of developing diabetes by limiting refined carbohydrates and replacing them with complex carbohydrates and fiber.

6. The main drawback of this plan is the initial stage that spans the first two weeks. During this stage, many food products are limited, including some carbohydrates and dairy products.

7. In the weeks following the initial stages, the diet focuses on crave-controlling, and helping you to get rid of your food cravings. This is so you can re-introduce foods you may like, but may not be healthy, in moderation.

8. The initial stage unbalances the levels of nutrition in the body. It is likely that the weight lost at the beginning of this diet is lost through water-loss. Because of this, you may feel dehydrated.

9. Although the initial stage is essential, it can be extremely challenging. A lot of participants may be unable to complete this stage, and thus strength of will is required.

10. Like all diets, this plan requires a strong will and a lot of dedicated to be successful.

11. Participants should be aware that weight levels often fluctuate within the first few stages on this eating plan. Also, it may be unsuitable for coeliacs.

Dr. Agatston’s goal for improving the heart through the South Beach diet is good. But a careful review on the advantages and disadvantages is always advised.

By: DT Walker

Acai berry is an exotic fruit which is found deep in the Amazon forests of South America. While Acai berry is often taken in the form of a drink, little do people known about its great medicinal benefits. Well, Acai berry is a great drink no doubts and it tastes well too. But do you also known that it is a storehouse of permanent energy. Well, simply read on to find out more about this fact. ?

Acai Berries Are Natural Cleansers?

One of the biggest advantages of Acai berries drink is that it is a natural cleanser. Well, like it or not, if you feel the need to associate yourself with a suitable energy drink, you need to give due credit to the juice from the Acai tree. The main reason why it provides instant energy is because it contains antioxidants which in turn are considered essential for keeping your body free from harmful free radicals. Once your body is flushed of its toxins, it is not only healthy, it is also allowed to maintain its energy levels it all times. Hence, the wonder berries from Acai are simply picture perfect when it comes to maintaining your energy stores.?

They Are Fortified With Vitamins And Minerals?

The second advantage of opting for the Acai drink is the abundance of vitamins and minerals. When you have all the essential vitamins in a single fruit juice, you would automatically manage to maintain your energy levels at all times. Hence, you need to include it your daily diet.

By: Hilary Smith

Atkins diet supplements are recommended to supply nutrients to body. It is really crucial you take enough supplements when doing Atkins diet, because the diet can cause deficiency of nutrients and vitamins due to the severe restrictions of regular carbohydrates foods.

Without those foods rich in nutrients and vitamins your body will have serious trouble. Let’s take a look at the importance of all those foods for your body:

- Fruits and vegetables are useful to provide soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, as well as crucial phytonutrients and antioxidants.
- Fiber is useful to prevent heart-disease, diabetes, and constipation.
- Phytonutrients is useful to prevent cancer-protective effect, an anti-aging effect, and other related health problems.

The question is whether the diet supplements can really provide all the necessary nutrients and vitamins mentioned above?

Dr Atkins believes that the supplements can provide the necessary nutrients and vitamins mentioned above. They constantly advertise their supplements as complete source of nutrients and vitamins for dieters offering 30 different product supplements. But is it true?

According to study, it is found that the supplements only able to provide around 30% of the daily needed nutrients and vitamins. Furthermore, the supplements can’t provide the necessary fiber needed for body as you need to eat raw fruits to take the fiber.

In 2002, there was a study performed by researchers at The University of Chicago and Texas. During the study, the researchers found out that after two weeks on Atkins diet, people were start losing 258 mg of calcium in one day. The loss of calcium in the urine in such quantities can lead to serious kidney problem, mostly kidney stone forming. To make a matter worse, even if you take all the 30 Atkins diet supplements, you still can’t replace all the calcium loss because Atkins Diet in itself and all the supplements have calcium deficiency.

As a result, Atkins diet program can cause some negative consequences. On paper, you might be able to achieve the weight that you want quite fast but in the long run there may be health costs that can become more apparent over time. You don’t want to lose weight but end up in hospital, do you?

If you want to do Atkins diet, it is recommended you research thoroughly all the benefits and all the bad side effects that you might get from your physician.

By: Jasmine J

Have you ever seen those diet pills promising to help you to target and eliminate belly fat, fight your trouble spots, etc? Well, to be completely honest, when you see that, the best thing to do is to assume that it is a scam. Yes, it’s unfortunate. As much as we would like to think that you can target belly fat, it’s unlikely. There are things that you can do to help yourself. But there is no diet pill that will target fat or buildup in that area. So there are a few classifications of diet pills that claim to know how to lose belly fat. There are some that may actually have a valid point in a small way, and then there are others that are just scams.

1. Fat Burners – We are not willing to say that all fat burners are bad. If you choose the right fat burner, ideally speaking, you could actually burn fat and lose weight in general. With those like green tea, you would also get various antioxidant benefits in addition to the fat burning benefits. The problem is that most of these don’t even use the right amounts to produce fat burning results. This is why they have to rely on misconceptions. With a real fat burner, you burn fat in general and eventually this also constitutes belly fat. But don’t count on anything beyond that.

2. Cortisol pills – Now they did stop them from making claims about cortisol buildup in the stomach area. Frankly, that is a very serious medical condition that requires a professional’s help. There’s no way of getting around that. Maybe 1% of the population is likely to suffer this problem. So even if they did have a natural way to address it, chances are it wouldn’t help you. There’s also the fact that none of them use nothing more than sleep aids. When was the last time you took valerian root, melatoning, Ambien, or Lunesta to lose weight? I certainly haven’t, because it doesn’t work that way!

3. Colon cleansers – this is one of the few that I would say might actually have this kind of effect, but only to a small degree. If you have a big enough belly that people think that you are 5 or 6 months pregnant, don’t count on it. But if you are basically a healthy weight and just happen to have a small bulge in that particular area, it could be due to toxic buildup in the colon, liver, and other vital organs that just happen to be in that particular area. Watch out for colon cleansers that only have diuretics or fillers. But if you find the right one, it could definitely make a plausible difference.

4. Female diet pills – this is one of the best ones as far as entertainment value. They often use ingredients you would find in any other diet pill. But they claim it’s only for women, therefore targeting trouble spots that many women happen to suffer from like the belly. They rarely have female specific ingredients, and to be honest, they often use ingredients that have been proven less effective or not effective at all in women. Either way, they have extremely small amounts at best, and these constitute one of the biggest scams in the industry.

5. Appetite suppressants – We have seen it time and time again. Now usually these appetite suppressants focus on the idea that they are hardcore fat burners that will only burn fat and only in the area of the belly. So they tell you a few lies, not just one. But that being said, while whole grains and fibers are a good way to reduce belly fat, they are useful when used in a healthy diet and exercise plan. In pill form, it’s not nearly as helpful, and not all appetite suppressants are based on fiber in the first place.

By: Mikkel Roby

Nearly 40 years after it was introduced, The Atkins Diet is still a very popular and effective way to lose weight. Millions of people have regained their health and vitality by switching to a low carb lifestyle. While the underlying science of the Atkins Diet has been proven repeatedly to be sound, there are several ways the diet can be made healthier.

In the Atkins Diet phase 1, also known as induction, dieters start by severely limiting their carb intake for two weeks. In subsequent phases, dieters gradually increase carbohydrates until they reach their goal weight. Below I present 3 of the rules introduced in the Atkins Diet phase 1 and recommend ways to make the diet healthier and more effective.

Principal #1 – Eat all you want – This is one of the major attractions of Atkins and a welcome change from restricted calorie diets. People are encouraged to stuff themselves to bursting as long as they eat approved foods. It would be great if this was sound advice, but it’s not. Overeating any food no matter what the nutrient makeup will lead to weight gain. Instead, eat regular sized meals and stop before you feel full.

Principal # 2 – All high-protein foods are OK – Atkins lets you eat your fill of foods like bacon, lunch meat and hot dogs. The problem with these foods is not the fat content, but all of the preservatives, byproducts and artificial ingredients they contain. For a healthier alternative, search out all-natural, uncured versions of these products. And, if it’s available in your area, always buy meat, poultry and fish that is organic, grass-fed, free-range or wild caught.

Principal #3 – You only need to count net carbs – This concept wasn’t part of the original diet, but was introduced later. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting the grams of fiber and sugar alcohols from total carbohydrates. In essence, you’re now allowed to eat higher carb foods than before.

This change in carb counting opened the door for all of the highly processed, low-carb products available today, and is in my opinion, the worst thing to happen to the diet. Many people who would otherwise succeed with the diet fail miserably because of this principal. Stick to eating foods that don’t use all the hocus-pocus to trick you into thinking it’s low carb. Especially in the Atkins Diet phase 1, concentrate on getting your carbs from vegetables.

Will the Atkins Diet work for you? If you follow my recommendations above to eat all-natural, unprocessed, whole foods in moderate amounts, your chances of succeeding with this time-tested plan will increase dramatically.

By: Sean Porter

Our lives and lifestyles are now bound and integrated with the advent of ever improving technology. The result is a pace and indulgence that needs to be addressed with competence and a lot of dedication. One of the common observances across the age bar and geographical boundaries is that people are inclined to put on more body weight than what is medically considered normal and manageable. The repercussions are a complicated and integrated set of health maladies, increased stress and lowered confidence levels.

Investing in pills to reduce weight

Alongside the age old remedial measures such as diet control and exercise regimes that are customized, weight loss pills are gaining a lot of preference with people across societies. This is of course primarily for the simple quick fix solutions they offer. Pop a pill and you are sorted! But like all else in real life, it is important for you to weigh the pros and cons of the indulgence and investment.

Pros of pill popping

When you choose to invest in the best weight loss pills, best in the aspects of pricing and outcome, you gain in a number of physical and psychosomatic ways. While on the physical front the pills curb hunger pangs and thus reduce meal intake by proportion and quality, on the psychological front the investment gives you a surge of confidence. This confidence boost comes from the understanding that soon you will be in ship shape and admired. The agility that comes into your step enables you to achieve optimal work output.

Cons of weight reducing pills

Diet pills are products that flaunt a number of components. While some are supposed to be completely herbal and natural or organic, quite a few are chemical combinations. Without the right comparisons with regards to composition and suitability to any health issue you may be already battling, even the best diet pills could be health hampering. The side effects and individual suitability should be investigated to rule out future long and short term complications. Company promises and instant results are not to be invested in at face value.

Comparing for good health

It will pay good dividend to compare diet pills that are short listed. The choice should ideally be the result of primary investigation and research on the components used to reduce hunger pangs, associated and documented side effects, feed back from referrals and weight loss reviews. This is your general health and well being in question. You cannot afford to fool around with it.

Take a well informed decision and invest in a product that comes with a realistic guarantee. Other things to look for as hints about the company’s credibility include the trial discounts, money back facility and other background information that comes along with the product details.

It helps a lot to rope in the family doctor before making the investment. He or she needs to essentially get down to the bottom of the malady of weight gain that you are facing. The approach to weight loss will naturally change with the primary problem traced.

By: Sagbee C