6 Benefits Of Taking A Shot Of Olive Oil In The Morning

Welcome to the 21st century, where the low-fat diet is slowly but definitely on its way out to make room for a higher fat, lower carbohydrate diet. For decades we have been following the faulty advice to reduce our fat intake to a bare minimum while increasing the amount of sugar in everything. Even a well-known brand of packaged macaroni and cheese contains added sugar, leaving us wondering why noodles and cheese might possibly need to be sweetened.

Why fat is important

Fat is a macronutrient with many benefits, one of which is the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. It is also a building block of every cell membrane in the body. It provides energy, slows the absorption of other nutrients (so you feel full longer after a meal) and is required for healthy liver function. Plus, let’s face it, fat makes food taste better.
Also, did you know that the human brain is more than 50 percent fat? The brain requires fats — and especially essential fatty acids — for perfect health. The body doesn’t synthesize essential fatty acids so it needs to obtain them from a healthy diet.

Olive oil is key to the Mediterranean diet

Olive oil is a key part of the Mediterranean diet for health and longevity.

It is no secret that Southern Europeans who eat a more Mediterranean Diet, consisting of vegetables, fruits, lots of fish and plenty of olive oil, have a higher life expectancy with fewer diseases. An average, Italians and Spaniards consume about 13 liters of olive oil per person per year. While the entire diet does play a big role in how healthy people are, it seems the use of extra virgin olive oil is the major contributing factor to longevity and health.

In a study published in 2013, researchers followed two groups of people for five years. One group ate a higher fat Mediterranean diet while the other group followed a low-fat diet. The higher fat group had a much lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes and better success with weight loss.

Olive oil to reduce inflammation

The high-grade extra virgin olive oil contains around 30 polyphenols that act as antioxidants and reduce inflammation in the body. The monounsaturated fatty acids in extra virgin olive oil help increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol while decreasing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Plus, the additional antioxidants have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Olive oil for better skin

Our European neighbors have known for many centuries of the many benefits of olive oil — they use it inside the body and out! On the skin, they use it as an exfoliant mixed into a sugar scrub or as a moisturizer. But you don’t have to smear olive oil all over you; drinking it will provide known anti-aging compounds, like antioxidants and vitamin E.

Olive oil for weight loss

Olive oil can help with weight loss by keeping you fuller for longer.

In the Mediterranean, many people start their day with a quarter cup of olive oil. The oleic acid in olive oil has a satiating effect. As mentioned above, it also slows the absorption of other nutrients, so you’ll feel full longer and won’t need to reach for that mid-morning sugary snack. While the calories in olive oil may be high, the overall consumption of calories throughout the day will drop when you’re just not that hungry.

Olive oil for a healthy gallbladder

Drinking olive oil can help increase the production of pancreatic juices and bile (which, incidentally, gives poop its brown color). With oil, the risk of gallstones decreases and bile is important for the breakdown of fats so they can be absorbed into the intestinal wall.

Olive oil for colon health

The polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil act as antioxidants to rid the body of free radicals that would otherwise damage cells, or even lead to cancer. A study found that drinking olive oil inhibited colon cancer at various stages of the disease. So why not use it to fend off cancer to begin with? This is not to say that you should skip those recommended colonoscopies after age 50, but go ahead and add olive oil to your daily regimen as a preventative measure.

Olive oil to manage blood sugar levels

A shot of olive oil can help balance blood sugar levels naturally.

Olive oil has the ability to keep blood sugar levels low. In one study, blood sugar levels stayed lower on those who ate their meal with olive oil, compared to a group of people eating a meal made with corn oil. This makes sense since corn is a starch and has the ability to raise blood sugar levels much more than olives.

How to start your day with olive oil

With all this talk of the great benefits of olive oil, let’s talk about how to take it. We know, of course, that it may be a bit difficult to start your day with an entire shot of olive oil on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. In fact, if oil is consumed in large amounts, it may actually upset the stomach that is not used to it. Here are a couple more ways to go about it.
First, start with a tablespoon and increase the amount over time. Another option is to mix olive oil in a blender with a cup of warm water and the juice of a lemon. It makes it much more palatable and the lemon juice will help with the easier digestion of the oil. Plus, lemon juice has been linked to improved liver function. A healthy liver produces more bile, which in turn is needed for the proper breakdown of fats (and oils) in the small intestine.

Cooking with olive oil

Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil has many benefits when used properly. You may not want to cook with it at high temperatures, though. While it appears to be more stable than other vegetable oils, all oils break down and lose their nutrients and flavor when cooked on high heat. Plus, the oxidation that happens during cooking may actually create compounds that attack healthy tissues in the body. For cooking at extremely high temperatures, it may be advisable to use a more stable fat that’s a shorter chain fatty acid, like coconut oil or avocado oil.  
So, instead of cooking olive oil and losing the health benefits, pour yourself a little shot to get your day started. Bottoms up!

10 Unbelievable Diet Rules Backed by Science

Get ready to question everything you've been told about diet rules and conventional weight-loss strategies

 

When describing how you really feel about the latest miracle fix in the diet and fitness world, you'd probably like to drop an F-bomb—as in, what the fad? After all, how many times have you trusted logical sounding ideas, put all your faith in a diet strategy, only to find out that the time you invested was a waste—and you still haven’t dropped the weight?
Consider this your F-bomb free zone. No fads, no faking, and no frustration. You see, when you really dig into the research, most of what you assume is correct about dieting is actually wrong. Discover the real diet rules for weight loss here and the only f-words coming out of your mouth will be “Finally. Fat loss!”

Skip Breakfast for Weight Loss If You Want

One of the diet rules for weight loss that we've heard more than any other: A healthy diet begins with a great breakfast. There's just one problem: A good breakfast doesn’t guarantee an overall healthy diet. In fact, according to a survey conducted by the NPD group, nearly 90 percent of Americans now eat breakfast, and yet nearly 50 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese. There are two things you should know about breakfast:

1. Timing isn't as important as you think. You don’t need to eat immediately (or even within one hour) after you wake up. Your metabolism won’t be harmed.

2. Eating an early breakfast means you’re creating a bigger eating window (you eat for more total hours during the day), which might lead to more fat storage and more health problems, according to scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. If you eat your first meal at 7 a.m. and eat a late-night snack at 10 p.m., that’s 15 hours of eating—which might be more than your body wants.

The fad-free truth: No one meal is more important than any other. What matters most is total calorie intake, food selection (think salad versus Big Mac), and then how much time you spend eating each day. So if you don’t love breakfast, skip it. If you do, enjoy your morning meal but keep an eye on your feeding window to make sure you’re not eating more calories than you need.

It's Okay to Eat a Big Dinner

We all know that dinner is the most popular meal to eat with friends and family, but most people think eating after dark is the cardinal sin of weight loss. Nothing could be more incorrect. Italian researchers compared eating earlier in the day (10 a.m.) to eating later in the day (6 p.m.) In that study, there was no difference in weight (pounds) lost, but the late eaters lost more fat. Several follow-up studies concluded the same thing—timing doesn’t matter. This statement from University of Oregon researchers sums it up well: “Eating too many calories causes weight gain regardless of when you eat them.”

The fad-free truth: Living in a world where you can’t eat at night and can’t enjoy food with your friends and family is restrictive and doesn’t adhere to any science-backed rules of weight loss. You won’t become fat by eating at night—that will only happen if you overeat at night. If you’re aware of how much you should be eating within any given day, you can place those calories in whatever meal works best for your body.

Snacking Does Not Affect Metabolism

We know that when you eat, you burn calories. So about 30 years ago, one of the newest diet rules was that if you eat more frequently, you must burn more calories overall. Thus the “grazing” method was formed and a nation of people began consuming four to six small meals per day. One small problem: French researchers found that there is “no evidence of improved weight loss” by eating more frequently. They even went one step further to show that when it comes to the number of calories you burn per day (i.e. your metabolism), it does not matter if you graze or gorge, assuming that you’re eating the total number of calories you need to lose weight.

The fad-free truth: If you’re told to eat 2,000 calories per day, it doesn’t matter if it’s separated into five 400-calorie meals or two 1000-calorie feasts. (However, the composition of those meals does matter—that's the science of dieting.) What works best for your schedule should determine the number of meals you eat. When Canadian researchers compared eating three meals per day to six meals per day, breaking the six into three main meals and three snacks, there was no significant difference in weight loss, but those who ate three meals were more satisfied and felt less hunger.

Eat Carbs to Get Lean

From Atkins to the Paleo movement, carbohydrates have been criticized more than all of the ladies on the Real Housewives shows—combined. Here’s the real reason why carbs get such a bad reputation: Up to 50 percent of the carbohydrate intake in the typical American diet is in the form of highly processed carbs and sugar. So when people say carbs are bad, they’re usually just talking about eating lots of sugar. But that’s not really fair to every other food that also is labeled a carbohydrate.
When compared to a typical American diet, a low-carb diet looks like the undisputed champ. However, when compared to a good carb-based diet that is low in sugar, refined foods, and gluten (like the “Japanese Diet”), the results are very different. Before 1991, when Japan was considered a carb-dominate society, diabetes and obesity rates were never greater than three percent of the population. If carbs in general were the enemy, with their high starch intake via rice and sweet potatoes, the Japanese would be the fattest, most diabetic and unhealthy population on the planet. However this was not the case, and their levels of obesity are a “problem” people in the United States wish they had.

The fad-free truth: Ignore the outdated "carbs are evil" diet rules. Your body needs carbohydrates. If you completely remove this essential nutrient from your diet, you could experience a down-regulation of the hormones that control fat loss, making it harder to have the lean, sexy body you want. A good general rule: Eat more carbs on the days you’re active and fewer carbs on the days you’re sedentary. And make sure most of your carbs come from whole foods such as fruits and vegetables.

There is a Weight-Loss Pill Worth Buying

Most miracle “fat-burning supplements” are about as effective as an hour of Prancercizing. But if you want to take a pill to help promote fat loss, your best bet is a vitamin that you associate with the sun. Researchers from Canada found that people with higher levels of vitamin D also have lower levels of body fat. The connection isn't a coincidence. Vitamin D helps you feel fuller because, according to Australian researchers, it releases more leptin, a hormone essential to weight loss. It also helps you store less fat by decreasing parathyroid hormone, which makes you hold on to your love handles. Best of all, vitamin D literally burns more fat by reducing production of the stress hormone cortisol.

The fad-free truth: Buying supplements to help you lose weight is not the best use of your hard-earned money. The most important things for weight loss are a healthy diet and exercise, but some supplements can help fill nutritional gaps that will help your body function more efficiently. Supplementing with 2,000 to 3,000 IU of Vitamin D3 is a smart investment for your overall health and fat-loss goals.

Exercise On an Empty Stomach

If you exercise with a high intensity, there’s nothing worse than feeling sick to your stomach because you felt forced to eat before you hit the gym or pavement. There’s a lot of science that shows eating before a workout is important, but “before a workout” is a much wider time range than you might think.
In the simplest sense, your digestive process is very complicated. When you eat, the food does not go directly to your muscles or your gut. It takes time—a lot of time, in fact. So if you eat many hours before you train, there’s still plenty of fuel to help you perform and feel great.

The fad-free truth: Research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that the protein you eat digests anywhere between one gram per hour and 10 grams per hour. So if you have a meal consisting of 25 grams of protein, that meal could last in your system for up to 25 hours. Hydration level and sleep patterns also play a significant role in performance, so make sure you’re well rested and have plenty to drink, and then eat when it feels best for your body, even if it means a small meal or no meal at all.

Eat Saturated Fat for a Healthy Diet

Books like The China Study and movies like Forks Over Knives have pointed the finger at saturated fats—and all animal fats—as the reason for countless health problems. Yet all the research used to support this hypothesis took a very slanted bias and completely ignored populations that were incredibly healthy despite diets based on saturated fats. For example, people who live in Tokelau (a territory off of New Zealand) eat a diet that is 50 percent saturated fats, and they have cardiovascular health that is superior to any other group of people. Even Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard, has publicly stated (after a 20-year review of research) that fats—and more specifically saturated fats—are not the cause of the obesity crisis and are not the cause of heart disease. (Surprise! New research found that the sugar industry was behind the idea that fat causes cardiovascular problems.)

The fad-free truth: Cholesterol actually acts as an antioxidant against dangerous free radicals within the blood. When there are high levels of undesirable substances in the blood (caused by inflammation in your arteries from eating highly processed foods and large quantities of sugars), cholesterol levels rise in order to combat these substances. Cholesterol is also necessary for the production of a number of hormones, some of which help fight against heart disease. Plus, research shows diets higher in saturated fats are often lower in total calories consumed.

Consider Fasting for Weight Loss

Any diet that has you not eat at all is not a diet—it’s starvation. But there’s a difference between withholding what your body needs and reprogramming your body so that you can control your hunger and let your body recharge. The idea of fasting is nothing crazy. You do it every night when you sleep, which is a time that that is essential for optimal health. Yet the idea of going several hours without eating during daytime is frowned upon.
When done correctly, fasting can actually help your body burn fat, recharge, and stay healthy. You’ve probably heard of cleanse diets that supposedly rid your body of toxins, improve the functioning of your internal organs, and help you age better. Most of these don’t work as advertised. The only real cleanse occurs at the cellular level. It’s called autophagy, and it’s your body’s ability to regenerate and become better. Autophagy makes your brain function a little better, helps with fat loss, and even assists in your ability to walk and breathe. But the more time you spend eating—as in actual hours during the day eating—the less time you spend in the autophagic process, which is why fasting isn’t a bad thing.

The fad-free truth: Researchers at the University of Utah found that people who fasted just one day per month were 40 percent less likely to suffer from clogged arteries. While there are many ways to fast, the important point is that you shouldn’t feel forced to eat if you’re not hungry. Short daily fasts (for 12 to 16 hours) or a once-per-week daily fast can have health benefits, and it will teach you to separate boredom or thirst from genuine hunger.

Going Organic Won't Help with Weight Loss

I love my local farmer’s market, and I always do my best to purchase products from the best sources. That said, slapping “organic” on a label does not mean it will help you lose weight, and in some instances, it won’t even guarantee that a food is healthy. Research published in the Annal of Internal Medicine reviewed 200 studies that compared the health benefits of organic foods to conventional foods and the results were surprising: There were no clearly distinguishable benefits of eating organic foods, whether measured by preventing disease or an assessment of overall health. Specific to weight loss, a random comparison of organic to non-organic foods found no significant difference in nutritional information, including calories.

The fad-free truth: More research on organic foods needs to be conducted. There’s no doubt organic foods have fewer pesticides and toxins, the real question is if the sometimes-small difference in toxins makes any scientifically significant difference on your health. More importantly, labeling a food as organic does not mean its weight-loss friendly. Organic sources of sugar are still sugar. And organic products loaded with 1,000 calories are still 1,000 calories. If you want to reduce the potential of anything bad entering your body, feel free to purchase organic products but still keep an eye on the label.

There's No Such Thing as "Too Much Protein"

You may have heard that eating lots of protein can cause all sorts of health problems, including kidney stones and gallstones, but this is a moot point for most people. Why? Because there’s no research showing any relationship between eating a lot of protein and developing kidney problems. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research tested eating up to 400 grams of protein per day without any negative consequences.
If you have a pre-existing kidney problem, it’s possible that a higher protein diet could be hard on your body. But if you have a kidney problem, you should be talking to your doctor about your diet anyway.

The fad-free truth: If you’re healthy, you are clear to eat protein and not worry about any health problems—because there are none. What’s more, protein is one of the most metabolic macronutrients, meaning that the more protein you eat, the more calories you burn. Just remember the science of dieting: that calories are still calories so the rules of total intake still apply.

10 Tips for a Healthier Weekend

For many people the weekends can often mean a break from your usual diet and fitness routine. It’s definitely much easier during a busy work week to stay on schedule, exercise, and eat healthy; then when the weekend comes to let it all go. But, don’t let one weekend ruin your goals and your whole week of great habits! Be aware of where you will be tempted to indulge, and plan around it.

A few key things to remember:

Go into the weekend with a healthy mindset: Go into the weekend thinking you are going to stay on track, you’re more likely to actually stick with your plan that way!

Plan ahead: Go over your weekend plans and think about them in advance. Don’t go STARVING to that party! If you’re going away, do a little food prepping of healthy snacks to bring with you. And if you know you have dinner reservations, check out the menu online and decide on your healthy options that you know you’ll be satisfied with!

Treat yourself occasionally throughout the week: If you never let yourself having anything you want, you may end up eating it ALL when you let yourself (for many, that’s the weekend). So, have that treat, that glass of wine, or that piece of dark chocolate mid-week, and don’t feel guilty about it! It’ll pay off in the end.

Be realistic: It’s the weekend! Enjoy yourself. Have that glass of wine and the meal out with friends that you’ve been craving, but be smart, watch your portions and limit your drinks (you definitely don’t need to reach for that bread basket)! Moderation is key.

Splurge in a healthy way: “What a long week, I totally deserve a splurge!” Indeed. You may feel like you need a bit of a splurge, and by all means, go for it! But make your splurge healthy. How about treating yourself to a massage rather than that box of cookies? Or some air-popped pop corn over a bag of chips.

Don’t let one set back keep you from moving forward: So, you indulge a little too much one weekend, does that mean your whole plan goes out the window come Monday? No! Pick up where you left off. Detox your body with tons of water, and get past it!

Stroke breakthrough: Eating THIS trendy diet can lower cholesterol

STROKES can be caused by high cholesterol levels. However, eating a plant-based vegetarian diet could help.

 

Stroke news: Eating a plant-based diet can lower cholesterol

 

Research has found a plant-based vegetarian diet is associated with lower cholesterol levels.
A study published in Nutritional Reviews found the reductions were greater compared to omnivorous diets. Plant-based vegetarian diets contain no meat and are made of lots of vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits. An omnivorous diet, however, includes both plant and animal foods.

 

Stroke news: High cholesterol can lead to a heart attack

 

Plant-based vegetarian diets lowered cholesterol more than omnivorous diets.

In the study, they found that a plant-based vegetarian diet is associated with total cholesterol that's 29.2 mg/dL lower.

Additionally, in clinical trials, a plant-based diet lowered total cholesterol by 12.5 mg/dL.
High cholesterol can cause stroke, heart attack and heart disease. The researchers believe the link may due to the association of a plant-based diet with a lower body weight, a reduced intake of saturated fat, and an increased intake of plant foods which are naturally rich in components such as soluble fibre, soy protein, and plant sterols.

Stroke news: Omnivorous diets contain both plant and animal foods

 

"The immediate health benefits of a plant-based diet, like weight loss, lower blood pressure, and improved cholesterol, are well documented in controlled studies," said study author Susan Levin.
“Our goal with studying plasma lipids throughout the lifespan is to capture the net risk reduction of using a vegetarian diet to control lipid levels. We hope to empower patients with new research about the long-term cardiovascular health benefits of a vegetarian diet, which include a reduced risk of a heart attack, stroke, and premature death."

Cholesterol is a fatty substance known as a lipid, and is vital for the normal functioning of the body.
While high levels of "good" HDL cholesterol are beneficial, too much "bad" LDL cholesterol can lead to heart disease.

Stroke news: Plant-based diets are made up of lots of vegetables

 

The study authors recommend doctors encourage people to transition to a plant-based diet.
Hyperlipidemia - or elevated cholesterol and triglycerides - is often underdiagnosed and undertreated.
However, it can lead to thousands of deaths. Certain foods in particular can help lower cholesterol.
Research published in the journal Nutrition Reviews has found that consuming oats regularly can lead to a reduction of five to ten per cent.

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