Beating the Problem in Most Fad Diets

I can't say that to stay fit and healthy today,  we only have to eat wheat germ and fresh veggies picked right from the home garden.

With all the daily chores, rushing and chasing of time, fad diets in books and magazines and the Internet are becoming popular. Some of them are actually pretty decent, but almost all of them have one single flaw that will make it very difficult for anyone to stick to them. The flaw I'm talking about is the fact that many diet promoters try to get you to change your entire diet at once. That just doesn’t work for most people. I’ve tried lots of diets, and for the first week, I’m extremely enthusiastic and determined. But such a drastic change in diet is hard to sustain, and soon you give in to temptation and then it falls apart. We’ve all been there.

Try implementing small changes in your own diet one at a time until you get used to them. Perhaps a month per step will do the trick. Focus as much energy as possible on each change. This is very important for a good mind set. If it seems too difficult, make a smaller step instead. For example, instead of cutting out sweets, try reducing on cakes and donuts. Take note that smaller steps are a lot easier. Don't forget to replace a bad food with healthy food that you can enjoy.


The following are good examples on how to do step-by -step process:

1. Eat fruits for snacks. If you snack on junk food during the day, have some fruits by your side at all times. When you’re feeling hungry for a snack, eat a fruit. One of those bags of small apples is a handy thing — you can’t go wrong with apples.
2. Drink water instead of soda. The only thing I drink (besides an occasional beer) is water. I’m not saying you need to do that, but try to cut out sugary drinks a bit at a time, replacing them with water.
3. Eat whole grain bread. If you eat white bread or bagels or whatever, replace them with whole-grain versions. Be sure to look at the ingredients — it shouldn’t say enriched wheat flour, but whole grain. Also try to avoid breads with high-fructose corn syrup (actually, avoid that ingredient in anything).
4. Add fresh veggies to dinner. If you don’t already, have some steamed greens with dinner. Cut out a less healthy side dish if you usually eat something else.
5. Cut out red meat. You can still eat poultry and seafood for now. You can later cut those out too if you want.
6. Make pizza instead of ordering. Homemade pizza is the best, and if you haven’t made it yet, you should. The simple way is to get a ready-made whole-wheat crust, although making your own tastes even better. Start with the simple version, though, as you don’t want to make things too difficult. For the simple version, just add some gourmet spaghetti sauce (not Ragu), cut up some veggies (I like tomatoes and mushrooms and spinach and olives, but you can use anything, even potatoes). Brush the veggies with some olive oil. You can add grated cheese or soy cheese if you want, though it’s not necessary. Bake till it looks cooked
7. Nuts instead of chips. If you normally snack on chips, try unsalted peanuts or raw almonds.
8. Soymilk instead of whole milk. Whole milk is fatty (not to mention the suffering done by the cows in modern dairy factories). Soymilk is much healthier. You get used to it after awhile, like all the changes on this list, but if soymilk is a problem at least drink 1% milk.
9. Whole grain cereal. If you eat sugary cereal, try a whole-grain cereal instead.
10. Berries instead of candy. This is a recent change of mine, and it’s actually been much easier than I thought. I used to snack on chocolate candy all the time, but now I try to eat berries to satisfy my sweet cravings and it works!
11. Scrambled tofu instead of fried eggs. Scrambled tofu is a secret vegan wonder. Try this recipe.
12. Try some great veggie dinners. There are so many good ones out there if you haven’t tried them. Try soup or chili.

Goodluck!

How Cows Poured Their Heart to Every Drop of Your Raw Milk

To make every gallon of milk, a cow must pump from 600-800 gallons of blood through her udder. Think of that next time you pour yourself a glass. That cow poured her heart into it.

 

Is raw milk really healthy?

Raw milk proponents point out that raw milk contains nutrients, enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and other compounds that are denatured or destroyed by pasteurization. That’s true. All food processing involves some nutrient loss. As I pointed out in my episode on raw food diets, even storage can decrease the nutritional value of foods.

Raw milk contains all the nutrients God intended milk to have! Pasteurization reduces the bio-availability of several nutrients in milk, including calcium, the nutrient we most need from milk! Raw cow’s milk has more of the following nutrients than pasteurized cow’s milk:

• Calcium – 26.6% more
• Iron – 194% moreSelenium – 10.7% more
• Zinc – 227% moreVitamin B1 (thiamine) – 25% more
• Vitamin B6 – fully destroyed by pasteurization; therefore, fully available in raw milk
• Vitamin B12 – 11.1% more
• Vitamin C – 335% more
• Vitamin E – 17.6% more 

 Storing Raw Milk

There are several factors to consider, but all of them being satisfactory, you should be able to easily store your milk at minimum two weeks, and usually three weeks, possibly even more. In order to get the most out of your milk, it needs to have been handled in a sanitary manner, chilled very quickly after milking, and thereafter kept in a refrigerator that will keep the temperature below 40 degrees.

Also remember, your fresh raw milk doesn't go bad, it simply changes, and naturally sours (it doesn't go rancid like pasteurized milk would). You can then use your sour milk for the same things you would normally use buttermilk for. There are many recipes that require sour milk, or why not simply bake some biscuits or make some pancakes?

 

The Healthy Truth About Raw Whole Milk

Since I was small, I have drunk cow's milk everyday and I could consume 4 glasses of fresh milk at the end of the day (Mom's rules), a thing that became a very important part of my diet. Today, my kids do the same thing as I make sure they get enough glasses of milk daily. I have always believed that the reason they are so physically active and strong is because of the milk.

Raw milk forgoes a method called homogenization, a process that breaks down butterfat globules. After the cow is milked and the milk settles, "butterfat", or a layer of cream naturally rises to the top, forming a sort of cream. This thick cream is better quality milk that contains vitamins C, B12 and B6, along with some "friendly" bacteria components that aid in digestion and improve the body's immune system.

Farmers raise cows to produce raw milk and among the mostly-raised milk cows are  the old-fashioned breed Brown Swiss, Guerneys, Jerseys, Red Devons, and Holteins. These cows are feed with fresh green grass during summer and stored hay or root vegetables during winter. I mostly buy my raw milk  directly from the farm or local cooperatives in the area. You may find fat-free and low-fat milk in grocers and supermarkets, but never at a raw milk dairy. Fresh, raw milk contains milk fat, which is essential to make milk a complete food for growth, development, health, and maintenance.

Raw milk is pure, contains no additives and is not pasteurized. Pasteurization is the method of heating liquids for the purpose of destroying bacteria, protozoa, molds, and yeasts. When milk undergoes pasteurization process, it destroys milk proteins, enzymes, vitamins and beneficial bacteria which all aids in digestion. Among the friendly bacteria are lactobacillus acidophilus, immune-globins, lipase and phosphates, all of which are killed by the heat treatment.

For some people, goat’s milk is more easily tolerated than cow’s milk. That is because goat milk protein forms a softer curd, which makes the protein more easily and rapidly digestible. For me, for as long as its milk, I drink it.