Tips & Product Suggestions for Weight Loss - Part 2

As promised in my previous post, here is part 2 of the tips and product suggestions for weight loss. 

1.  Barley Grass

According to an article on livestrong.com, an online journal for food, fitness and health through healthy living, Barley grass contains a variety of nutrients and confers health benefits such as support for healthy weight loss. The same article continues as follows:


Nutrition
Barley grass is rich in beta carotene and calcium and it contains a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Barley grass is packed with fiber and has more iron than spinach. Barley grass can be harvested for grain, cut and juiced, or dried to be put into capsule form.


Benefits
Barley grass is nutrient-dense food because it provides full body nutrition. Barley grass powder is easily digested, which allows for rapid and quick nutrient absorption by the body. Barley grass provides all nutrients needed by the body. It aids cell repair; improves skin health; eases arthritis, asthma and migraines; combats cancer; and helps reduce fatigue.


Weight Loss
Barley grass is also rich in chlorophyll, which is the basis of all plant life. Chlorophyll has been shown to alleviate blood sugar problems in addition to other benefits like neutralizing toxins, purifying the liver and rebuilding blood cells. Balancing your blood sugar keeps your hunger in check by preventing mid-afternoon hunger pangs or cravings. Barley grass and powder have been shown to help stimulate weight loss when added to a healthy diet. Fiber also helps regulate your blood sugar and helps keep you full between meal times. Fiber also binds fatty substances in the intestine and excretes them as waste.


Consumption
The best way to consume barley grass is to drink it freshly pressed. In order to have this readily available, however, you would need to grow your own barley grass. Barley grass is also commonly consumed through powder form, which can be mixed with juice or water. The manufacturing process for the powder retains most of its nutrients and some of its enzymes. However, barley grass pills or tablets are void of healthy enzymes.


Dosage
Enjoy all of these benefits by having just one serving of 3.5g daily.


Where to Buy
Our store stocks various brands of Organic Barley Grass Powder for you to choose from. You can find it in the Supplements section under Powders.

2. Flaxseed Oil


Flaxseed contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and essential fats that have many health and disease-fighting benefits. Flaxseed can be ground but also cold-pressed to produce flax oil. 


Nutrition
Flax oil contains high levels of the omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid - almost 8 gms per tablespoon. Omega-3 is a good heart-healthy fat that has the reverse effects of saturated fats, which are known to contribute to obesity, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and other degenerative diseases. Taken in supplement form, flaxseed oil can also be beneficial for weight loss because essential fats naturally satiate your appetite, help increase your metabolism, and curb cravings.


Suppresses Appetite
The same online health journal livestrong.com says that the essential oil found in flaxseed actually helps the stomach to retain food longer. When you take flaxseed oil with each meal, the food you've consumed is released more gradually into your small intestine, which slows digestion and helps regulate insulin levels. The result is a gradual steady drop in your blood sugar levels rather than a prolonged plateau, providing you with more energy and a sense of fullness after each meal.


Curbs Cravings
The fatty acids in flaxseed are essential nutrients meaning your body is actually unable to convert other sources of foods into the essential fatty acids naturally found in flaxseed oil. Your body actually seeks out these essential nutrients in the foods you eat. When it can't find them, it detects a nutritional deficiency. The result is you continue to crave unhealthy fats and sweets.


Boosts Metabolism
The essential fatty acids found in flaxseed oil help increase your body's metabolic rate allowing you to burn excess fats your body doesn't need, including even unhealthy ones. According to the website, Ask Dr. Sears, your body burns this unwanted fat through thermogenesis, "...a process in which specialized fat cells throughout the body (called brown fat) click into high gear and burn more fat when activated by essential fatty acids, especially gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)."


Consumption 
Taking flaxseed oil with each meal increases the nutritional value of other foods you're eating, especially foods rich in sulfated amino acids such as yogurt, cabbage, and animal, fish and soy proteins that help the absorption of essential fatty acids into your cell membranes. 


Dosage
The recommended dosage of flaxseed oil for weight loss or maintenance is one to two teaspoons per day divided between each meal


Where to Buy
Our store stocks Organic Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil that you can find in the section for Oils.

Tips & Product Suggestions for Weight Loss

Ever since we started this venture (our store www.shophealthy.in), the question we have been asked more than any other is – “Do you have some products for weight loss as well?” My answer to this has always been – there is nothing better than regular moderate exercise and a balanced diet. Also you need to remember to burn more calories than you consume.


Here is some more information on additional steps you can take – either to switch to healthier substitutes or use products to aid the goal of weight loss. This article is the first in the series that will discuss various weight loss aids and substitutes.

For this first one, I’d like to focus on Natural Sweeteners. The search for healthy, natural and low calorie sweeteners is not new to households fighting obesity. If you actually think of the  spectrum of sweeteners ranging from least healthy to most healthy, here is how it would look like in the order of bad to good for your health:

Refined Sugar (also called white or regular Sugar)  – Brown Sugar – Jaggery – Palm Sugar and/or  Stevia

Here is a comparison and some facts that you’ll find interesting:

Factor	Stevia	Palm Sugar	Regular Sugar	Brown Sugar
Calories	0	Low	16 (1 teaspoon)	11 (1 teaspoon)
Carbs	0	Low	100%	100%
Glycemic Index	0	35 (Low)	60-90 (High)	66 (High)
Nutrients	Numerous vitamins and trace elements like Selenium, Cobalt and Chromium (powerful antioxidants)	Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and C are naturally present in it. Also has some natural protein and fat.
Made Of	Dried Stevia leaves. (Stevia  is a non-caloric herb that is native to Paraguay).	The sap of palm trees by making several slits into the stem of a palm tree and collecting the sap. The sap is then boiled until it thickens.	Processing sugarcane, crystallized, bleached to make it white and then refined to make it free-flowing.	Molasses mixed with refined sugar
Pros	1.   Excellent for diabetics and weight watchers due to 0 calories, 0 carbs and 0 GI.        2.  Highly sweet        3.  Helps control blood sugar, reduce blood pressure,  preventing hypertension, suppressing appetite	1. Great for people who are weight conscious or diabetic.        2. It cooks, dissolves and melts just like regular sugar.        3. Has a far superior taste than regular sugar        4.Absolutely free from bleaches and preservatives		1. Does not contain the harmful chemicals in bleach since it is not bleached to make it white.  2. It has a slightly lower caloric value than white sugar
Cons	1. Bitter after-taste        2. It does not melt or cook like sugar does	1. It is not completely free of calories or carbs.	1.  White cane sugar is bleached using harmful chemicals like phosphoric acid, formic acid and sulpher-di-oxide	1. It is still 100% carbs and with the same high GI as regular white sugar

If you are like me, after reading these facts you’d like to know more about the regular or brown sugar you’ve probably been consuming all these years.

• So sugar as we know is made out of processing sugarcane, crystallized, bleached to make it white and then refined to make it free-flowing. Bleach contains harmful chemicals like phosphoric acid, formic acid and sulphur di-oxide.
• Sugar is 100% carbs and its GI ranges anywhere from 60-66 (High).
• Brown sugar is often produced by adding cane molasses to completely refined white sugar crystals.
• It may have a slightly stronger flavor with a hint of caramel in taste.
• Brown sugar has a slightly lower caloric value by mass than white sugar due to the presence of water.
• Brown sugar is also 100% carbs though and its GI is the same as white sugar (60-66). By comparison, the GI of honey is 55-60.
• The difference is that brown sugar does not contain the harmful chemicals in bleach since it is not bleached to make it white. And it has a slightly lower caloric value than white sugar. 

But neither white nor brown sugar come even close to all the nutrition and benefits that is provided by Stevia or Palm Sugar.

So here’s the bottom line. If healthy and natural is what you are focused on, make the switch from regular sugar to Palm Sugar. If diabetes is what you are trying to control, then Stevia is the best natural choice for you as a sweetener.