Epicure’s seven steps for healthy living
Chaim Kimel of www.Epicurechefs.com

EPICURE’S 7-STEP PROGRAM TO HEALTH

Here at Epicure, we believe it is important for people to not only evaluate their fitness by the bathroom scale, but also to focus on increasing their health and their overall physical, emotional and mental well-being.
Epicure promotes a food plan that is similar to that of the US Health Department Recommendation (basically a Mediterranean diet), which encourages a life-style of healthy eating (fruits, vegetables and low-fat intake) in conjunction with a sustainable exercise regime.
Epicure does note that their 7-step program will help you lose weight through establishing better eating habits (resulting in less hunger and emotional eating), but unless a calorie-controlled diet is specified it may not directly correlate with a massive weight reduction.
However, with a wholesome balanced lifestyle, with Epicure cuisine you are bound to reach your optimal weight naturally, without excessive effort or food deprivation.

1. A balanced food intake

At this moment in time, there are a multitude of popular diets promoting things such as:

1. high protein with little to no carbs (Atkins); and

2. high carbohydrates but low GI (Glycemic Index, or simple sugars) (GI Index diet).

In the short term, these diets may help you lose weight, but a recent study conducted in the US and the UK found that the most weight people lost on these diets was only 5-10% of their original body weight, over a year. This is not much if you weigh 150kgs.

The major problem, however, was that most people found it difficult to sustain such unnatural eating patterns, and after 3 months, 80% of the focus group had not only reverted to their old, familiar eating habits, but also regained the weight they had initially lost.

The simple reason for the failure of such diets is that our body is not designed for the consumption of single food groups only. The healthiest people in the world and the individuals with the longest lifespan are primarily from the Mediterranean region, Japan, and rural central Asia.

So, what are the common denominators in these communities’ diets? 3 simple things:

1. a high vegetarian intake (fresh fruit and vegetables);
2. fish and meat are consumed in small quantities only, and not every day; and
3. almost no-one in these communities over-eats.

One of the biggest causes of disease and physical and emotional stress are caused by overeating. It is no surprise that many food related illness (obesity, diabetes, etc) are especially prevalent in western societies, where there is an abundance of poor-quality food available which is often consumed in excessive amounts.

2. Fresh foods

In today’s urban society time is a scarce commodity; so many people tend to shop for food only once or twice a week. Because of this, we are used to eating a large amount of processed foods, usually laden with preservatives and nutritional supplements. These additives can have a detrimental effect on our well being, and have been linked to the development of allergies and food intolerances. Therefore, Epicure understands that it is vital to only eat fresh, whole foods which are bought and prepared on the day.

3. Non/low- allergenic ingredients

Until the body’s functions are balanced through constant exposure to a healthy food regime, it is very important to avoid food stuffs that will slow down the revitalization process.

Where ever possible, Epicure watches out for those allergy promoting ingredients, without compromising on taste.

After a period of healthy eating, however, you will find that most of those allergies will naturally disappear.

4. Correct food combinations

Some foods need acidic juices to digest, and others need alkaline juices. If we eat opposite types at the same time, the acidic and alkaline juices in our stomach will cancel each other out, and the food will sit there and ferment, taking longer to digest. This means that immediately after eating we will begin to feel sluggish and bloated, and who has time to feel like that?!! (Please refer to the attached chart).

For example, good foods such as fruit are digested in the small intestine. If we eat fruit after a meal, the fruit will be held up in the stomach further slowing digestion; therefore, Epicure always ensures that such food types are eaten individually, and at the optimal hour (for digestion) during the day.

5. Hydration

Our bodies are made of 80% water. All chemical and cellular reactions, transport of nutrients, and waste removal all use water in their processes. So for optimal functioning of our system we need to drink a lot of water and eat a lot of fruit and water-rich foods.

Epicure recommends you drink at least 1-2 liters of water a day, but as this may seem like a lot for some people we have some ‘secret ingredients’ we can add to your water to make it more palatable, but which don’t add any calories or sugar.

6. Eating times and frequency

Breakfast can be a difficult meal for many people – either they are too busy to eat and so skip breakfast (not good as it slows down the metabolism), or they eat the wrong foods, leaving them tired and lethargic. Neither option is good way to start the day!

Epicure’s research indicates that the most effective breakfast is fruit (or fruit juice) in the morning, as it works as a cleanser and gives your brain the sugar intake it needs to function.

A balanced lunch is essential, but if you’re still hungry in the afternoon eat something light, and then have dinner as early as possible. Or, if you prefer, reverse your eating habits and eat your main meal at lunch time and have a lighter meal in the evening (as they do around the Mediterranean, which is another reason they are healthier). Who wants to go to bed on a full stomach? You will also wake up lighter and more energetic!

7. Exercise

One of the reasons why people in many rural communities around the world are not overweight is because their life-style forces them to do a lot of physical exercise, such as farming, lifting, walking etc.

Epicure suggests that in order to stay fit and healthy, it is important to do an hour of exercise every day, such as walking, going to the gym, swimming, yoga, etc. Exercise not only burns calories and helps you lose weight, but it also elevates your heart rate, gets your circulation going, and increases your metabolism. Thus, your body is able to cleanse itself more effectively which will further increase your energy.

Unlike cars and other machinery, the more we use our body parts the better they function, so don’t waste any time, get started on your exercise today!

About the Author

Chaim kimel is the the managing director of epicurechefs.com. chaim has studied Physiology And Biochemistry at N.S.W university. He has, over the years researched publications on fad diets, food components on health and different ethnic communities eating habits effect on their health.Currently involved in Team building and teaching cooking. visit the web site http://www.epicurechefs.com

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Does Eating High Protein Low Carb Meals Really Make You Lose Weight

Yes, eating high protein low carb meals will help you lose weight but it may produce at the expense of your health. Followers of these types of diets often find that they suffer from digestive problems. Some have had kidney disorders whilst a lot have open to chewing mints or gum to prevent the cool breath associated with this diet plan.

So what really works to help you lose weight? The first fact you should do is stop trying to complicate weight loss. In structure to lose those pounds, most people need to exercise more and eat less. If you are serious about weight loss, you need to predispose moving. You need to walk at least 10, 000 steps a day. The average person manages to walk less than 5000.

You need to copper your diet. We have all been misled by the numerous diet experts that have been quoted in the press over the years. The experts have told us that we should eat more protein. They deliver to cut dairy foods out of our diet and to only eat matchless egg a week. Then they change their minds and say that eggs dont cause cholesterol and we should eat more.

What is the average device supposed to do? Apart from following the high protein low carbohydrate trend, why dont you start looking at your diet as a whole? Are you eating your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day? Do you look at the GI index of the foods you eat?

Studies have shown that eating foods that are low on the GI index will increase your energy levels and will also develop your mood. A major worth of eating carbohydrates is that they release serotonin the calming hormone that affects our mood. This might explain why people who avoid carbohydrates are often miserable!

Eating foods low on the GI index will lead to a still and like bereavement of serotonin and energy which will help to keep you on an even keel. The days of feeling jittery due to a sugar overdoes are over.

Sugary foods attack your immune system and may supine feed cancer. Yet another reason to avoid eating cakes, biscuits and other high GI foods. People who follow the high protein diets will stop eating bread and as most of us consume too much white bread, this is a good thing. But it would be better to switch to eating granary or wholegrain breads which are a welcome supply of many essential vitamins and minerals.

A conglomerate of people on diets will eat rice cakes as they are low in fat. But what they dont know is that these rice cakes release glucose identical quickly. Unless you use this extra energy, it will be converted to fat and stored on your body anyway. Just of substance to remember next time you feel a little peckish!

Eating high protein low carb meals may help you to lose weight initially but may come at drastically high a cost to your long term health.

24 Hour Fitness
http://www.www.24-hr-fitness.com

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With all the adverse publicity on high protein low carb diet, how do you know what is a healthy diet to follow?

The new diet travel says that rather than just limiting the amount of carbohydrates in your diet, you should be looking to eat only those that have a low GI index. The Fighting man Index measures the impetus at which glucose is released into your blood dtreak following consumption of a specific food. If you do not use all the glucose you consume, your body converts it to fat and stores it. Not ideal when you are trying to lose weight.

So how do you know if a food is low Man-at-arms or not? Highly supermarkets have now started coding their foods so you should be able to see from the packet. The foods that you would normally avoid on a diet also tend to be high GI i. e. cakes, biscuits, white bread, white pasta etc.

The good news is that chocolate is a low GI food but this doesnt mean that you can eat loads of it! Avoid any more sugar based ingredients and opt for a plain bar of dark chocolate if you want to treat yourself.

Barley, quinoa, new potatoes and yams are all low GI foods so would be good staples for your healthy low carbohydrate diet. Apples, dried apricots, citrus fruits, plums and tomatoes are all bad low GI fruits but play past Watermelons, peaches and bananas.

You should increase the quantity of water you drink especially because most slimmers increase the amount of fiber in their diet by eating more vegetables. You should aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Drinking water helps to lose weight as we often misunderstand our bodys signals and eat when in fact we are thirsty.

When you are trying to follow a healthy low carb diet, it is useful to watch your portion size. As a nation, we are used to consuming large portions of everything. Reducing the size of our meals will help you to lose weight as will eating a little and often rather than isolated large chop chop a day.

Never skip breakfast as countless studies have shown that you re likely to consume more calories later in the day than you hold back by not eating this important meal. Eating change the old fashioned old softie not the instant microwaveable variety, will help to keep your energy levels stable and lead to less cravings.

Drink skimmed instead of full fat milk. Eat low fat yogurts but watch for hidden sugars and sweeteners. Keep alcohol intake to a minimum as not only does it contain empty calories but also lowers our inhibitions leading us to eat the wrong foods.

Keep yourself busy. We often eat due to boredom rather than hunger. Get powerful every day to increase the amount of energy you consume. Reducing your food consumption bit increasing your activity will help you lose weight as will following a healthy low carbohydrate diet.

24 Hour Fitness
http://www.www.24-hr-fitness.com

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