Buckwheat benefits and tips

The Basics on Buckwheat

Despite its name, buckwheat is not really wheat, nor is it any other grain; it's actually the fruit of a plant related to sorrel and rhubarb.

Nevertheless, because of its grain-like characteristics, this fiber-rich food is categorized as a whole grain on the South Beach DietSouth Beach Diet, so you can enjoy buckwheat beginning in Phase 2 South Beach DietSouth Beach Diet.

Compared to other "grains," buckwheat is a source of quality protein since it contains eight essential amino acids -- proteins that your body needs to help repair tissue and build cells. It's also a powerful source of certain minerals -- especially magnesium, which helps regulate blood sugar levels and promotes a healthy blood pressure.

Buying

Buckwheat can be bought in health food stores either as whole groats (raw kernels with the shells removed), as flour, or as kasha (roasted kernels that are ground into granules). You may also be able to find kasha in the pasta aisle of your local grocery store.

Storing

Loose buckwheat products should be stored in a tightly covered jar or sealed plastic bag. If you live in a warm climate, store your buckwheat in the refrigerator or freezer. Buckwheat can last for one year if stored properly.

Eating

Use buckwheat flour in combination with whole-wheat flour to make tasty Buckwheat pancakes. Or cook kasha or whole buckwheat and serve as an alternative to brown rice or other whole-grain side dishes.

Eating and Rewards

Eating and Rewards

by Tanya Zilberter, PhD

"Something is wanted -- either a constitution or a piece of sturgeon under horseradish sauce." M.E. Saltykov-Schedrin (19th Century)

Eating for Reward: it can be not about food at all.

In the late 50s, the classic experiments by Dr. Olds shook the world. He implanted electrodes into certain regions of rat brains and taught the rats how to press lever to stimulate these regions with weak electric currents. Rats stopped doing anything but pressing the lever till their death from complete starvation. The Positive Reward theory was born. It turned out that anything pleasurable in life did related to these "Centers of Pleasure" -- sex, alcohol, drugs of abuse -- all that mankind has invented in its hedonic journey, were but attempts to stimulate these brain regions.

We know that eating will produce a pleasant sensation so often we eat even though all we need is comfort. The truth is, exercise, sauna, cold shower, massage, pleasant odors, and mental efforts (workoholism is real!) -- all increase Endorphin level while only eating, especially when your body does not need it, will cause extra pounds of fat to collect in your body's store.

"A mechanism for opiate [e.g. endorphin] mediation of food intake was postulated. It starts with a feeding initiating signal, which produces activation of the receptors, thereby inducing eating. Eating produces a circular reaction starting with hedonic input from the eating [process]. This, in turn, produces reward, which causes further eating, completing the circle" [Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 18:369; 1992].

Fasting can be as rewarding

The tricky thing with endorphins is that there are pairs of releasers resembling a thesaurus' antonyms: exercise does the same os its antonym sleep, pleasure goes together with pain, local blood flow increase does the same to endorphin release as the local lack of oxygen. The eating-fasting pair also exists. Many people reported elation when they skipped breakfasts. Religeous fasters experience euforia.

"Severe food restriction produces opiate activity, which is reinforcing. Feeding interrupts the opiate activity and, thus, produces withdrawal. Not eating, therefore, is rewarding." [Appetite 19:1-13; 1992].

Tips About Rewards

Next time you crave anything, ask yourself "What is it I really need? A glass of water? A walk? A hug?"

Before eating whatever you think you crave, try other rewards. Buying fresh flowers can be a better answer than a bowl of Rocky Road. Exercise, go to sauna, take a cold shower, invest in a massage device, buy a vail of perfume, enjoy a book...

Try periodic fasts. After resuming eating, your taste buds will be satisfied with lesser taste intensity thus reducing the taste influence on the body weight set point.

Ketchup (catsup, catchup) nutrition facts

There are variations in nutrient composition depending on ketchup (also spelled catsup or catchup) brand but it remains mostly high-carbohydrate, low fat product, even if less sugar is added.

Calories 14.5 Calories from Fat 0.39 Fat 0.046 g 0 % Saturated Fat 0.0065 g 0 % Polyunsaturated Fat 0.019 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.007 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg 0 % Sodium 167.1 mg 7 % Potassium 57.3 mg 2 % Carbohydrate 3.8 g 1 % Dietary Fiber 0.045 g 0 % Protein 0.26 g 1 % Alcohol 0.0 g

Vitamin A	3	%
Calcium	0	%
Vitamin D	0	%
Thiamin	0	%
Niacin	1	%
Vitamin B6	1	%
Phosphorus	0	%
Selenium	0	%

Vitamin C	4	%
Iron	0	%
Vitamin E	1	%
Riboflavin	1	%
Vitamin B12	0	%
Manganese	1	%
Copper	1	%
Magnesium	1	%
Zinc	0	%

Shifting Calories

The Shifting Calories Theory

From the Idiot Proof Diet

Your metabolism doesn't know how much food you'll eat tomorrow or the next day because those days have not happened yet.

Therefore, your metabolism always burns calories based on your eating habits during the past few days -- because it assumes that you'll continue to eat in the same general way.

Guess what? You're about to shock your metabolism by doing something you've never tried before -- you're going to do the OPPOSITE of what it expects you to do. You're going to NOT continue eating the same types of calories and meals for more than a couple days at a time, and you're going to lose a lot of weight by doing this.

To make this work you need to SHIFT the types of calories eaten as shown in our diet on the next page, and if you do this then your metabolism will burn all of the calories eaten. Then, when it finishes burning those calories it will find the nearest available fat tissue on your body and burn that too.

To lose weight your diet menu needs to be SHIFTED every few days -- and this is something you've never tried before, and that's why you've never been able to change your body when dieting.

Of course, in order for this dieting technique to work you also need to eat foods which have been rated "Fat Burning Compatible" -- because the foods you eat must be easy to burn (so that your metabolism will burn them entirely and then switch to burning your fat tissue after that).

Try Our New ON-LINE DIET GENERATOR!

We've created an online diet generator which automatically computes everything for you in just seconds, and it gives you the right daily menu each day so that you don't have to calculate anything while shifting your calories.

This new diet is called the Idiot Proof Diet

What does the Idiot Proof DietDiet Do?

The Idiot Proof Diet constantly alternates your menu between every possible type of calorie, constantly shifting from one type of calorie to the next, ensuring that the scale keeps dropping.

We call this diet the "Idiot Proof Diet" because everything is computed for you, and there is no need for calorie counting or label reading.

Top 3 Dining-Out Tips

From Jillian Michaels

Updated Jan. 30, 2008

If you want to stick to your diet when dining out, get comfortable with asking your server to help you meet your needs. There are several ways to modify dishes when eating out. Here are my top three dining-out tactics:

Educate yourself. Don't be afraid to ask your server lots of questions about the restaurant's food so that you can make healthy choices. Ask what's used in the preparation, how large the portion is, what comes on the side — these are all things you want to know now that you are eating right.

Make substitutions. I'm always ordering chicken fajitas, but instead of the Mexican rice and refried beans, I ask for a salad on the side. Ask for grilled vegetables instead of a baked potato or french fries, sliced tomatoes instead of hash browns. You get the idea — this stuff will take a little extra thought at first, but in no time it will become second nature.

Make modifications. If you have scoured the menu and there are no healthy options, you can usually create your own by requesting a few modifications to the preparation of your food. Ask if you can have your fish grilled instead of breaded; ask if you can have Dijon mustard sauce on the chicken instead of cream sauce; request salad dressing on the side; have your omelet made with egg whites if possible; ask for the chef to use just a small amount of olive oil.

No Shame!
Don't be embarrassed or afraid to stick to your diet when eating out, even if it means bringing your own condiments along so that you are never stuck with what's available. Let go of the guilt you've been conditioned to feel if you leave food on your plate. Stop eating if you are full. And, since restaurant portions are often twice what they should be, ask the server to bring a to-go container along with your dish, so you can immediately remove half your entrée from the plate.

Jillian Michaels

How to Treat Acne

Quick 'n EZ Plan of Attack
By Brook Phelps
Special to eDiets

In order to understand how to prevent and treat acne, it is important to know how our skin works and why acne occurs in some people. During puberty, specific hormones (called androgens) stimulate and enlarge sebaceous glands, which produce sebum. Sebum keeps our skin healthy and naturally hydrated.

When hair follicles become blocked, sebum and bacteria are trapped underneath the surface. As a result, the area becomes reddened and inflamed, which appears as acne. This blockage is also the cause of whiteheads and blackheads.

As you can see, acne is primarily related to androgens, which is why it usually occurs at puberty, and for many women during the menstrual cycle and/or pregnancy. Although there is no cure for acne, there are a few ways to minimize or prevent breakouts and keep the skin healthy.

SKINCARE
A common misconception is that acne is caused by dirty skin. As a result, many people believe you can clear up acne if you scrub the skin with harsh, abrasive cleansers. This is simply not true and many further irritate the skin. Remember, sebum is naturally produced by our sebaceous glands, and you don’t want to rid the skin of it completely.

The best way to keep skin clean is to wash the face morning and night with a cleanser that contains glycolic acid or salicylic acid. This will remove excess sebum and slough off dead skin cells. Products containing benzoyl peroxide will have an antiseptic property and help to fight the bacteria that contributes to acne. If you are particularly oily, follow up with a toner to balance out the pH of the skin. Everyone needs to use a moisturizer, regardless of how oily you are. Sebum will help to maintain moisture in the skin, but lack of hydration will actually cause more sebum to be produced.

MAKEUP
Use makeup, particularly foundations and powders, that are non-comedogenic, which won’t clog pores. This will prevent any further inflammation. Makeup and cosmetics that are oil-free are also a good choice for acne-prone skin. When shopping for a foundation, look for one that is water based which helps the skin to breathe.

If you are experiencing a major breakout, less is more. You might be tempted to pile on the makeup, but you want the skin to heal, so avoid heavy cosmetics. Also, remember to wash your makeup brushes frequently. A great tip is to mist a light layer of alcohol after washing your brushes to prevent bacteria growth and keep your tools clean. Also, if you use a powder during the day to touch up, don’t forget to replace that powder puff.

For the occasional breakout, use an oil-free, matte finish concealer. Apply the cover-up after your foundation and set the area with loose or pressed powder. If the area is very red, you might want to try a green-based corrective concealer to neutralize the redness.

BLACKHEADS & WHITEHEADS
Blackheads are dark, flattened spots on the skin’s surface caused by a partial blockage of the follicle. Sebum and dead skin cells oxidize and cause the dark color. Pore strips work very well to clear the blockage, however they don’t prevent blackheads. Whiteheads are the same as blackheads, except the follicle is fully blocked.

Since air can not reach the pore, there is no oxidation and the color remains white. A skincare routine that includes products containing salicylic acid will help to minimize the appearance of both blackheads and whiteheads.

5 Resolutions to Win the Diet Game

Choose To Lose In 2008!

By Joanne Eglash for eDiets

Have you devoted an embarrassing percentage of your life to trying to lose weight? I certainly have done my share (all right, I'll be honest: MUCH more than my share!) of counting calories, carbohydrates and/or fat grams; reading the latest fad diet book (remember the gruesome grapefruit and hard-boiled egg regime?!), and alternating between starving and inhaling everything in the refrigerator (yes, I've even experienced the "there's nothing else to eat in the house but maple syrup and diet bread, so break open the syrup bottle!" diet blues).

If you're tired of "trying" to be a loser, how about resolving to make 2008 the year you become a winner? If that sounds good, here's my deceptively simple tip: Focus on eating right to stay energized and healthy. Here are suggestions for five New Year's nutrition resolutions that aren't as hard to keep as you may think.

Resolution 1: Eat a good breakfast! It doesn't have to be elaborate, and it doesn't have to be enormous either. Low-carb dieting makes it easy, from a hard-boiled egg and a slice of cheese when you're on the go, to a blenderized low-carb smoothie that goes down easy and tastes great. All the research reports reveal that you eat less and lose more if you start off the day on the right nutritional foot. Remove the temptation to indulge in a mid-morning doughnut break by sticking to this resolution.

Resolution 2: Eat the veggies. Regardless of which low-carb diet you're following, the majority allow some amount of measured vegetables from a select list. Many low-carb dieters, however, think they'll lose "faster" if they skip the vegetables. Oops. Big mistake. Vegetables fill you up, not out -- and they add variety to your low-carb diet. So go for the green with gusto!

Resolution 3: Take a snack pack with you when you're on the go at work, school or away from home. Whether you enjoy crunching on baked chicken legs or dipping into a low-carb carton of yogurt, make sure to take the time each morning before you leave to fix your "go-to" snack pack!

Resolution 4: Put on your chef's hat! Each week, try a new recipe that is permitted on your diet. Try your local library for hints, ask friends, do an online search or head straight to eDiets.com and look through the many recipes offered on the site.

Resolution 5: Slow down and eat more mindfully. Pay attention to your meal, and don't multi-task by reading, watching TV or paying bills in between bites. Then after you eat, celebrate with a visit to your support team at eDiets

Congratulations: you win the diet game!

Joanne Eglash is a writer and an editor specializing in health, weight control and fitness. She's written for a variety of publications and websites, ranging from Energy for Women magazine to KidsHealth.org.