Diet Plans That Work

Many people look for weight loss diet plans as if they were shopping for a TV. They want to see the one that is cheapest, easiest, most recommended, most popular or "best." they spend countless hours comparing different diet meal plans and calculating how much money each will require and how quickly they will loose weight with each program. In reality, however, the key factor has little to do with the diet program itself; there are literally hundreds of different diet plans that work for some people. The important thing is knowing yourself and your own needs well enough to find a diet plan that works for you.

My cousin is a great example of this. He used to be extremely overweight, but he found a weight-loss diet plan that was perfect for his way of living. It was a points-based system that allowed him to eat a variety of different foods so long as he didn't go over his allotment. In his diet program, there were a lot of points available for eating vegetables and fruits, a fair number for grains, less for lean meats and very few fats. He is a methodical person, and he enjoyed counting out every ounce to make sure he didn't go over, so it was a perfect program for him.

Of course, diet plans that work for meticulous, organized people are not necessarily the plans that work best for people who are extremely busy or loath to keep records of what they eat. My friend Allen is extremely disorganized, and needs another list of stuff to keep track of like he needs a hole in his head. He is also very busy, and doesn't have much time to cook. He talked to a nutrition counselor, looking for diet plans that work for people who don't have the time or inclination for points or preparing food.

The counselor pointed him in the direction of one of those premade meal diet plans. Rather than counting calories, all he has to do is eat packaged food from the diet program. He has a small meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a few snacks in between as prescribed by the program. Because he doesn't really have to think about the diet plan, it has worked wonders for him. He has lost 35 pounds in only a few months, and keeps getting skinnier.

I tried both of these approaches, but neither was a good match for me. I don't like measuring portions carefully and did not really want to spend all the money for premade diet food. One of my good friends pointed me in the direction of a protein heavy diet plan. These are diet plans that work by cutting out starches and sugars almost completely in favor of lots of fats and meat. It sounded strange to me, but it really worked! So far, I've lost 15 pounds eating steaks, eggs, bacon and all the other fatty foods I love!

Sometimes you just can't Ignore Flat Feet

Fallen arches, flat feet, pes planus, whatever you choose to call it, most people who have the condition don't really find a reason to complain (other than about the embarrassment when people see their wet footprints somewhere and they appear suspiciously shapeless). People don't usually think of flat feet as any kind of medical problem. It's just an unseen way your feet are and they can be that way as long as they don't bother you. Except that they do, at some point.

People's usually start becoming aware of the medical implications of flat feet when about the time they hit 40, their feet begin to hurt in a most uncharacteristic manner. Sometimes, it becomes difficult just to basically get from one place to another. That's when they go ask an orthopedic doctor, for the first time in their lives, about what might be done about their feet. Usually, they go expecting that all they need is a little pulling and pushing, and a bit of physiotherapy. Sometimes, things aren't too far gone, and orthotics or a brace might do the trick. For some people, choices such as these actually seem to work. But often enough, the problem can be serious enough that nothing less than the attentions of a surgeon will do.

Surgery for flat feet, as any surgeon will tell you, isn't the worst part of it. It's the healing. Healing and recuperation after surgery on a complex part of your body that is constantly moving and constantly bearing a great deal of weight, can be singularly painful and unbelievably long. You should avoid it if you can; but if you just have no arches at all, your body keeps trying to balance the abnormality out by shifting weight in the most unusual way; and it can hurt your back and your knees the way you carry yourself.

Surgery can be spectacularly complex. You need three or four separate operations on each foot. Doctors usually operate on you one foot at a time, because they don't want you to not be able to move around at all. Your co-pay should run into about $5000 too. The operation itself is called an oseotomy: and it can be kind of faint-inducing to hear about it. They take a piece of bone from a dead person, coat in your own marrow, and put it in your ankle to shape your foot differently. They saw your heel off, and screw it back on in a slightly different position. And they do all this to create the effect of an arch.

It can take up to a year to get back to living life at 100%; but you'll definitely see that it makes a great difference.

And the Unfortubate News about Flip Flop Slippers Is...

Flip-flop slippers are such a summertime favorite anywhere in the country; sometimes, you wonder if people prefer the summer just for an opportunity to go about nearly barefoot the way flip-flops allow them to. Of course, nature makes sure people never get away with anything they really like. You know what's in store next, don't you?

New research from Alabama shows that flip-flop slippers can be terrible for the health and alignment of your feet and your legs. If you really prefer flip-flops that you wear with straps or thongs, and if you wear them for long enough, you can end up with ankles and feet that are really sore, these researchers are found having studied the biomechanics of feet shot in flip-flops.

What exactly happens with these soft and fun icons of the summer that they can have this kind of effect on you? Studying the biomechanics of how we walk in flip flops, the researchers found that we completely alter our gait when we walk in slippers. Nothing that changes your gait can be good for you; usually, it results in a painful hip and lower back condition, not to mention painful legs.

The study took up several dozen young men and women to study for the effects of flip-flops on human feet. They used techniques that made it possible for them to study their subjects' footfalls so that they could determine the amount of vertical force their feet experienced each time they took a step. They also studied the kinds of angles their subjects positioned their legs and feet when they walked in flip flops. When they compared all of this to the way these very same subjects walked with normal athletic shoes, people who wear flip-flops, seemed to instinctively know that they needed to take short steps and to walk with a great deal more delicateness. People in flip-flop slippers don't even lift their feet as far away from the ground as they walk as people tend to do with well-fitting shoes. The thing is, flip-flop wearers are completely aware that there isn't much that holds their slippers to their feet. To keep their flip-flops from moving around, people tend to curl their feet up a bit and to tightly hold on to their flip-flops with their toes. And they aren't confident moving their feet freely about either because they're afraid their slippers will fall off.

Of course, people love their flip-flops for the kind of freedom they give them. To constantly worry if your footwear is going to fall off doesn't really sound like freedom, now does it?

Common alcohol withdrawal symptoms and how to control them

When a person decides to quit drinking, it is always a celebrated move by the individual, family members and even the colleagues. However, this path is not always smooth because it is like getting rid of something that has become part of the person’s personality. Drinking is always so deep that it influences a person’s choice of past time activities, places to hang out and even the choice of friends. The person may have engaged in this activity for so many years that the body has adapted to the contents and the amount it gets daily. Therefore, a person may face some alcohol withdrawal symptoms. This happens because the substance that was sedating the brain has been removed but the body is still producing the stimulant. These symptoms can be mild or severe.

The mild symptoms are visible six to forty eight hours after taking the last beer. These symptoms include being on edge, nausea, uncontrollably moving the eyelids, increase in heart rate, the hands may shake and this person can have unexplained mood swings. If the person does not give in to the urge to get another drink, the symptoms may develop further leading to depressive thoughts, convulsions and being delirious. It may also result to hallucinations. This person is in a stage where the body is craving for the drink so much after several days of abstinence. When it comes to the treatment of alcohol withdrawal, the recommended ways are the ones that do not involve taking medicines. In most cases, this condition does not require hospitalization unless there are problems like damage to the liver and increase in blood pressure among others. The first thing in the healing process is assessing the level of damage and the severity of the condition. Sedatives are greatly recommended to counter the levels of anxiety. As a result, the deliriousness and convulsions cease. If the situation is mild, the family and support groups can help in preventing the person from giving in to the cravings.

In addition, a person can get medication to control the shaky body movements resulting from alcohol withdrawal. A person can also try the natural remedies, which can be done at home. For example, it is vital to detoxify the body in order to provide it with the right nutrients. This can involve avoiding foods that are processed, sugary or are low in fiber content. In their place, grains, fruits and vegetables will even out the level of blood sugar and get rid of the symptoms. Exercise is also a good way to reduce the effect of the symptoms because it will assist in removing the toxins from the body. The most important thing is to take a lot of fluids to keep the level in the body stable.

Defining Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine is quickly gaining ground as an alternative to the conventional medicine that is prescribed in the doctor’s office and many reasons can be attributed to this among them the need to remain chemical –free. In theory, alternative medicine can be said to be any medicine that is not within western medicine’s scientific framework. Medicines that have been proven to be scientifically effective and that have theories that explain their effectiveness they are no longer seen as alternative medicine. Some countries on the other hand have medical associations that are tasked with dealing with every aspect of medicine and in this countries, traditional medicine is any medicine that these bodies have not accepted as being scientifically valid. In some of these countries massage is classified as alternative medicine as well.

To some people, alternative medicine is just herbs. Well herbs are indeed traditional medicine but they are not the only ones available today. Herbal medicines have been with us for a long time and presently take different forms such as supplements, liquids among others. Herbal medicines treat most diseases that are treatable by conventional medicines and treat more that conventional medicine cannot treat as well. While herbal medicine has been proven to work in many instances, quite a number of people have been affected by them as their herbalists never gave them the correct dosage or never warned them of fillers or side effects. These three areas should be looked into by a trained herbalist before one decides to take on herbal medicines.

Oriental medicine is another kind of alternative medicine and also presents the only one of its kind that can truly be compared to western medication as a good and complete medicine system. This kind of medicine includes herbal therapy, massage, qi gong and acupuncture among others. Traditional medicine from China is a form of oriental medicine and it is the only of its kind that be found in countries such as the USA. In most Asian countries oriental medicine is seen as conventional while the western kind is seen as alternative. Massage presents another way through which the body can be healed without the use of conventional medicines. It involves the use of tools or hands to manipulate the tendons and muscles and is mainly used to ease pains and aches as well as to relieve stress. Massage is effective when it comes to conditions such as fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome and eating disorders. Moreover, it can treat most muscular injuries to avoid the building up of scars as well as restrict motion range. There are different types of massage treatments and they include Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Swedish Massage, Thai Massage, Chair Massage, Medical Massage, Lomi Lomi, Hot stone among others. It is advisable that one goes to a specialist despite the form of alternative medicine they choose.

The Best Ways to Include Protein in Your Diet

by Jim Duffy

The best diet that you can eat includes all three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fat as well as many of the micronutrients that you need for overall good health. Of these macronutrients there is not one that is technically more important than the others; however they are needed in different amounts. Each person has individual dietary needs, including different calorie needs and different needs for each nutrient. For instance, an athletic person will need more protein and calories than a sedentary person. A tall person will need more than a shorter person. It is important that all of the nutrients are included in the right amount for each individual person.

Why the Number of Calories in the Diet Matters

The first step to choosing the right diet plan for you and your body's needs is to be to determine how many calories you really need. The right amount of calories that a person needs is equal to the amount of calories taken in that will maintain current body weight. To lose weight, the average amount of daily calories has to be reduced by around 500 calories per day, giving a slow and steady, but most importantly, achievable weight loss for the day.

After figuring out how many calories are needed each day, the diet can be further broken down in the three macronutrients in the right proportions. For someone who was interested in losing weight for instance, the breakdown might be 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat. The higher protein amount leaves the dieter feeling more satisfied and full. For weight maintenance, the ratio might be 50% carbs, 35% fats and 15% protein. (Source: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

Sources of Protein

Protein comes from both food and supplemental forms. Both of these come directly from animal or plant sources. All animal sources, including dairy foods and eggs, are complete protein sources; all nine essential amino acids are contained in these foods. Amino acids are essential components in proteins, with the body able to make 11 of them on its own. Nine amino acids, however, are not made by the body and must come from food sources.

Plant proteins, on the other hand, are not complete because they lack one or more of these essential amino acids. The only exception is soy and soy-based products including miso, tempeh and tofu. Grains, nuts and seeds are low in isoleucine and lysine, while legumes are low in tryptophan and methionine. (Source: Best)

In addition to food, protein can come from supplements as well. Protein supplements include powdered sources, shakes, bars and protein supplement shots. All supplements should have the right amount of protein as well as low calorie counts. Protein supplements that have high sugar content may be counterproductive and not nutritionally any better than the average candy bar.

The Powdered Protein Supplement Types

There are four powdered protein supplements that can be either a single ingredient or a combination of two or more.

Whey Protein

Whey protein, which can be either an isolate or a concentrate, is derived from milk, a byproduct of the cheese making process. Because it is made from milk byproducts, whey protein is not for those who are lactose intolerant. The whey protein concentrate is the most common and the least expensive of the powdered protein supplements and contains between 30-85% protein. The isolate is less common but may be better tolerated by those who are slightly lactose intolerant. It has a higher protein content at 90%.

Soy Protein

Soy protein powder is created from soy flour and is available in either concentrate or isolate form. Because it is made from soy, it is a complete protein source and is suitable for vegans.

Egg Protein

Egg protein is made from the white of the egg, considered nutritionally to be the perfect protein source. Egg protein powder is high in protein but low in fat and is the highest non-food source of a number of amino acids.

Rice Protein

Rice protein powder is made after isolating the protein from brown rice and is considered to be a complete protein source. Like soy, it is a good protein source for the vegan diet and is the most widely acceptable form of protein as it is hypoallergenic.


(Source: Segounis)



Protein Supplements



Profect, a protein supplement from Protica is a small protein shot- it is less than three fluid ounces but has 25 grams of protein, more than any other comparable protein source on the market. In addition, Profect has only 100 calories per serving, zero fat and zero carbohydrates. The supplement is available in a number of different sizes and also many different refreshing, fruit-based flavors. For those who wish to keep to all natural protein sources, Proasis from Profect is the first all-natural product of its type.

The Best Food Sources of Protein

While protein supplements are a handy way to get additional protein in the diet, especially for very active people, it is still considered to be better to get your nutrition from healthy, whole food sources with as little saturated fat as possible. It is not necessary to eat only one or two sources of protein; the key to getting the right amount of protein in your diet is to always be mixing it up so that you are getting all of the amino acids that you need each day. While milk and other dairy products are a good part of the balanced diet and high in protein, the whole fat versions pack too much saturated fat and calories for the average diet so should be avoided. If you do not like the taste of skim milk, opt for slightly smaller servings of one percent instead.

Meat is the food that most people automatically associate with high protein, and while meat is a very good source of the nutrient, there are good sources and bad sources. Turkey is considered one of the best sources of a number of nutrients including protein and the amino acid tryptophan. Skinless turkey breast is your best choice here, but skinless chicken is also an okay choice- it does have a higher calorie count however. Red meats, including beef, pork and lamb, should be eaten only occasionally and in small amounts while all processed meats like lunch meats and hot dogs should be avoided altogether.

Another excellent source of protein as well as heart beneficial omega 3 fatty acids is fish, especially fatty, cold water fish such as salmon and halibut.

About the Author:

Protica Research (Protica, Inc.) specializes in the development of Capsulized Foods. Protica manufactures Profect, IsoMetric, Pediagro, Fruitasia and over 100 other brands, including Medicare-approved, whey protein bullets for immunodeficiency patients. You can learn more at Protica Research - Copyright

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Kidney Disease & Protein

by Jim Duffy

There are more than 26 million Americans today who are living with chronic kidney disease, and many millions more are at significant risk of contracting it. It is very important to detect the progression of the disease in its early stages, before kidney disease becomes kidney failure. The top cause of death for people who have chronic kidney disease is actually heart disease caused by the kidney difficulties. Kidney disease can contribute to hypertension, which is a source in itself of all sorts of problems. One indication of chronic kidney disease is too much protein in the urine.

Diabetes, hypertension and family history all increase the risk of kidney disease. It also occurs more commonly in people of African-American, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander descent. Symptoms of kidney disease include increased urination, fatigue, nausea and/or vomiting, drowsiness, decreased appetite, difficulty concentrating, itchy skin, numbness, muscle cramps and darker skin color. It takes several tests to perform an accurate diagnosis, such as urine albumin and serum creatinine. Blood pressure tests are sometimes a good indicator for the young or those who have no major risk factors for hypertension.

Often, chronic kidney disease develops so slowly as to have no initial symptoms whatsoever. It is even possible to have chronic kidney disease and acute kidney disease at the same time. Acute kidney disease is a sharper decline of function characterized by a decrease in urine and other problems with body fluids. Because it comes on so suddenly and sharply, acute kidney disease is extremely dangerous. Anyone who develops symptoms of kidney disease should immediately consult a physician to head off any possible development.

As with so many bodily processes, diet can have an effect on chronic kidney disease. Protein plays a large part. Protein is digested and creates waste products. Usually the kidneys will filter the waste materials with cells called nephrons. Unhealthy kidneys can't process waste in the same way and the protein waste products enter the bloodstream instead. The first four stages of the disease will probably require the patient to take less protein. Stage five is a complete reversal, with extra protein intake being required.

Chronic kidney disease is divided into five stages based on the glomerular filtration rate, or GFR, which is basically how much blood the kidneys are able to filter. Kidneys that are working properly can filter 18 gallons of blood in an hour. This is half of all fluid taken into the body and should produce about two quarts of urine each day.


- Stage I has a GFR of 90 or above, which is perfectly normal. The only indicator of trouble is a high amount of protein in the urine.


- Stage II: GFR of 60-89



- Stage III: GFR of 30-59



- Stage IV: GFR of 15-29. This is the final stage where the kidneys cannot operate without aid.

After this, dialysis is necessary.

Protein will collect in the blood at this stage, bringing a loss of appetite, weakness, vomiting and/or nausea and sometimes even changes in the way that things taste. It is vitally important to control the blood pressure level and the amount of protein taken in. Diabetics must watch their blood sugar levels as well.

Protein intake should be around 12% to 15% of total calories in the first three stages of chronic kidney disease. This is not too different from a regular diet. Just as an example, a typical vegan diet contains about 10%-12% protein.

At stage IV, the patient should take less protein, perhaps at about ten percent. This is not easy to do, considering how many foods contain at least a little protein. It can also lead to deficiencies, which is why it is important to consult a doctor before making such drastic changes in your diet.

There are two basic places to get protein in your diet: animals and plants. This makes sense, since these are the sources of all food. The proteins of the two sources have some differences, however. Animal protein is where most people get their main protein supply, but it has a side-effect of creating more protein waste products, which is a problem for kidneys that are already suffering difficulties. There are also some animal-based proteins that increase the levels of phosphorous in the body to dangerous levels, such as those in milk, yogurt and cheese. There are even some vegetable proteins that can cause this mineral to increase, like those found in peas, nuts, seeds and dried beans.

On the whole, vegetable-based protein can slow the progress of chronic kidney disease, at least somewhat. A plant-based diet can provide protein while producing minimal amounts of protein waste, maintain proper levels of sodium, potassium and phosphorous and give the patient balanced nutrition.

Even for the chronic kidney disease patient, some protein is necessary. After water, protein is the most common substance in the human body. It is possible to take too much protein, but it is also necessary to live. Lean muscles are created from protein. Protein also helps in the digestion process, sleeping and ovulation.

How Protein Supplements Can Help

The illness that comes with kidney disease may make it difficult for a patient to take a traditional meal. A protein shake or a liquid protein supplement can be a good meal substitute. The protein in supplements is also easier to digest, which means fewer waste products in the bloodstream. The qualities of a good protein supplement include:


- The right amount of protein for the patient's current diet


- The best quality of protein and other nutrients


- The absence of ingredients that may be harmful to the current diet


- Good tasting and easy to take



One option to consider is Profect, made by Protica. Profect is a liquid protein shot containing 25 grams of protein but only 100 calories. It is fat-free and carbohydrate-free and contains the entire daily supply of vitamin C as well as 10% of five of the B vitamins. Consult your doctor before adding Profect or any other dietary supplement to your diet. Diabetics should be especially careful with changes to their diets. There are protein supplements that are made specifically for diabetics.

About the Author:

Protica Research (Protica, Inc.) specializes in the development of Capsulized Foods. Protica manufactures Profect, IsoMetric, Pediagro, Fruitasia and over 100 other brands, including Medicare-approved, whey protein shots for cancer patients. You can learn more at Protica Research - Copyright

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