But what about scientific studies?

According to the USDA website, studies on high antioxidant foods have shown to have some effect on slowing down the aging process:

“Studies at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston suggest that consuming fruits and vegetables with a high-ORAC value may help slow the aging process in both body and brain. ORAC–short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity–measures the ability of foods, blood plasma, and just about any substance to subdue oxygen free radicals in the test tube.

Early evidence indicates that this antioxidant activity translates to animals, protecting cells and their components from oxidative damage. Getting plenty of the foods with a high-ORAC activity, such as spinach, strawberries, and blueberries, has so far:

• raised the antioxidant power of human blood,

• prevented some loss of long-term memory and learning ability in middle-aged rats,

• maintained the ability of brain cells in middle-aged rats to respond to a chemical stimulus, and

• protected rats’ tiny blood vessels—capillaries—against oxygen damage.

These results have prompted Ronald L. Prior to suggest that “the ORAC measure may help define the dietary conditions needed to prevent tissue damage.”

Prior is coordinating this research with Guohua (Howard) Cao, James Joseph, and Barbara Shukitt-Hale at the Boston center.

Science has long held that damage by oxygen free radicals is behind many of the maladies that come with aging, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. There’s firm evidence that a high intake of fruits and vegetables reduces risk of cancer and that a low intake raises risk. And recent evidence suggests that diminished brain function associated with aging and disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases may be due to increased vulnerability to free radicals, says Joseph, a neuroscientist.

Such evidence has spurred skyrocketing sales of antioxidant vitamin supplements in recent years.”

Further studies published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry have shown that acai berries have the highest antioxidant activity of any food:

“Tissue damage can be caused by a process known as oxidation. Compounds know as antioxidants are thought to help prevent tissue damage, and thus reduce disease states caused by oxidation. A fruit known as acai has been demonstrated to exhibit significantly high antioxidant capacity and, therefore, may have possible health benefits. In this study, the antioxidant capacities of freeze-dried acai fruit was evaluated and found to have the highest antioxidant activity of any food reported to date. These results suggest that this fruit would be an excellent food to study for potential disease prevention effects in the future.”

(Photo of acai berries courtesy of Breno Peck through Flickr.)

Many people who search online are looking for acai berries to help them lose weight. You will find many weight loss stories using the acai berry on the internet but please be careful to use your common sense.

It is extremely difficult to buy fresh acai berries because of its short shelf life. Most acai berry products you will find in the United States are foods that use it as one of the ingredients or freeze-dried in powder or capsule form. To find out more about acai berries you can take in capsule form, check out Acai Burn.

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This is the food pyramid diagram circa 1992:

The food pyramid will show you the path to keeping yourself fit and healthy through a steady and healthy diet. Up until recently that’s all the food pyramid did. In 2005 however, the food pyramid as we know it was changed forever, and a more up-to-date food pyramid took its place. Now you’ll find that instead of the two-dimensional food pyramid we’re so used to, it’s become more three-dimensional. To show the added benefits that regular exercise will have on you, a figure running up a flight of stairs on the side of the food pyramid has been added.

Earlier if you looked at the food pyramid you would have seen horizontal lines spanning the food pyramid with the food that we eat the most of, starting at the bottom. The food that we should eat the least amount of, could be found at the top. This is the food pyramid that we all know about and the one that was shown to us when we were in school.

The new food pyramid however, is completely different. Apart from the fact that it’s become three dimensional and has a figure climbing up the side of it, this new food guide has also eliminated the horizontal lines. Instead we can now see lines starting from the tip of the pyramid and radiating downward.

Each of these sections are only as big, or small, as the earlier food pyramid sections were. Only with this new food pyramid, you now know that although you need to eat some food types more than others, even within those food groups there are some foods that you should only eat in moderation.

Additionally you’ll also find that your new food pyramid is color coded. So you’ll get an Orange stripe representing grains; a Green stripe for vegetables; a Red stripe for fruits; a Yellow stripe denoting how much fats and oils you should have; a Blue stripe for the milk and dairy products that you’re allowed; and a Purple stripe showing you the quantities of meats, fish, beans and suchlike that you should eat in a day.

With six colored stripes denoting the quantities of food you should take, and a figure of a healthy person running up a flight of stairs on the side of it, this new food pyramid is definitely better than the old one, and can help you learn more about better eating habits, and a healthy lifestyle.

For further information, visit mypyramid.gov.

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You can bring your diet back into control with the help of a good nutritionist. They can help identify why you may be overeating or if you have an unbalanced diet. After identifying the problems, you can work out a plan to reach your dietary goals.

If you’re dieting in earnest, then your nutritionist will become your best friend through the many weeks until you reach your target weight. They won’t let you lose the weight so fast that you get other medical conditions, and they won’t let you get disheartened either when your weight loss levels out onto a plane, and it might seem like you’re not losing any weight. And when the pressure gets to be too unbearable a good nutritionist will help you through those tough times, giving you a friendly helping hand.

You’ll also need to see a nutritionist if you’re suffering from a medical condition such as diabetes or gluten intolerance. In either case you’ll need a special diet to take over your existing one. For a diabetic especially this can be hard going and your nutritionist can help you work out a dietary regime that will still leave you with a wide array of foods to choose from. Mealtimes need not look so bleak, and you might even find yourself looking forward to whatever new menu plan that your nutritionist and you cooked up between the two of you.

For a person suffering from gluten intolerance life is slightly easier, but as your nutritionist will tell you it’s not clear sailing until you’ve eliminated gluten from your diet completely. Most likely your nutritionist will also be able to tell you what ready made foods and such are known to have gluten or even traces of gluten in them so you can stay away from those items, but still not miss on out on the plethora of ready made and tinned stuffs that line the grocery store shelves.

If you don’t know where to start to locate a good nutritionist, try asking your primary care physician for a referral. Chances are they will know someone within their medical circle who is a nutrition specialist.

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What’s the difference between a low calorie diet and a very low calorie diet?

A low calorie diet is one that requires a person to consume 1500 to 1800 calories per day. Compare this with the normal 2000 to 2400 calories that the average person consumes.

A very low calorie diet is much different. This is a very restricting diet for those that are severely obese. It requires that a person only consume a mere 800 calories or less per day. This is very limiting to the person, obviously.

In most cases, you will sign on to a low calorie (especially a very low calorie diet) for a short amount of time. For example, this can only be done for three to six months at the most for those on a very low calorie diet. If it was done longer than this, you can risk some severe complications to your health, including nutritional depletion.

Is this the right diet for you?

A word of caution is needed here. Teenagers and children should never be on a low calorie diet. When you are still growing, you need the full range of nutrients for your body. Pregnant women and those who are not good health should also avoid it.

If you are considering a low calorie diet, especially one that requires less than 1000 calories per day, you should consult your doctor before you start. Because this diet does require so few calories, you will need to monitor every single calorie that you take for nutritional value. If that calorie is not worth the nutritional needs you have, it can’t be consumed. For those that have the ability and doctor approval, this diet plan can be an ideal choice.

Additional resource:

Make Your Calories Count (US FDA)

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One reasonable approach for losing weight naturally is to stick to a diet that is high in complex carbohydrates, high in fiber, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

Here’s an example of how you can incorporate the good while avoiding the bad. Let’s start with a complex carbohydrate: a baked potato. You should avoid or minimize the sour cream or butter which contains a lot of fat. Fiber can be found in vegetables. Fat is the oil you should not fry them in. Protein is a lean cut of meat. Fat is the gravy you should not pour over it.

Moreover, health experts say that dietary fat promotes weight gain because it is a very dense source of calories. Also, when you consume excess calories from dietary fat, you store those calories as body fat more efficiently than excess calories from other sources.

On the other hand, it can also help you lose weight naturally if you will not fall into the so-called “fat-free” trap. Manufacturers keep coming out with low-fat or fat-free versions of their best-selling foods, but Americans keep getting fatter anyway.

One of the greatest delusions of the 1990s is that “no fat” means “non-fattening.” The truth is, you are often getting just as many calories from the non-fat version, even if the calories are not coming from fat.

The term fat-free can be misleading.  It doesn’t mean that you can eat a lot of food labeled fat-free and not gain weight.

Another area to pay attention to is snacking. Health experts say it would be better to try eating every three to four hours, which may mean a nutritious low-fat snack between lunch and dinner.

When you feel the urge to snack, try going for something healthy such as a slice of whole-grain toasted bread rather than cookies or chips. Do not use snacks in place of your regular meal.

Losing weight naturally is a process and not a fad. It requires self discipline and motivation for you to achieve success.

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Vitamins B, C, D and E can help boost your metabolism. You can either get these vitamins as a supplement or by eating foods that are rich in those vitamins. Vitamin B, in particular B12, can also help you increase your energy level. They are found in animal products such as meat, poultry and eggs. Vitamin D is found in dairy products, fish, fortified cereals and margarine. You can get vitamin C from citrus fruit. Vitamin E is found in leafy green vegetables, nuts and vegetable oils.

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. They are excellent sources of natural vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay fit and healthy. If you are dieting you should make sure that you are eating balanced meals. Don’t skip meals. It’s better to eat small meals more frequently than a few big ones.

It is a fact of life that our metabolism slows down as we age. It doesn’t stop (although at times we might feel as though it has) but it does change. The reason for this is because we have more lean muscle mass at 20 than we do at 70, and lean muscle mass is what helps burn calories. You can also calculate your resting metabolic rate and find out the minimum number of calories you need to maintain good health according to your age, height, weight and gender.

Some folks have higher metabolism rates than others. They are able to burn off the calories they eat and never gain an ounce. Others have slow metabolisms and burn calories at a snail’s pace. No two people are alike in their metabolism rate. However, you can do your part by making sure that vitamins are part of your daily diet.

Further reading:

Information about vitamin B12 from the US Office of Dietary Supplements

Information about vitamin D from the US Office of Dietary Supplements

Vitamin E information from the US Office of Dietary Supplements

Vitamin C information from the UK Food Standards Agency

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