Doctor in the Kitchen Flackers available

Doctor in the Kitchen Flackers low carb flax seed crackers are now available.
From Doctor in the Kitchen, “Flackers are a delicious, health giving, flax seed cracker. The seeds are sprouted to increase the bioavailability of the nutrients then dehydrated at low temperatures to preserve the omega-3 fatty acid. Flax seeds should be part of every optimal health and longevity diet. They are high in alpha linolenic acid – a heart healthy omega-3 fatty acid. They are packed with fiber, which helps to maintain normal cholesterol levels and promote optimal digestion. Also, these powerhouse seeds are filled with antioxidants, protein, plant lignans, and many vitamins and minerals.”

Doctor in the Kitchen Flackers Flax Seed Crackers
Doctor in the Kitchen Flackers Flax Seed Crackers

Low Carb News: Move Over Atkins…. Dukan’s in Town

 

The Dukan diet in the Number 1 selling diet book in France and is becoming a firm favourite with dieters in the rest of Europe as well as crossing the Atlantic, the celebrity world is awash with talk of this new wonder diet and even the new Royal bride Kate Middleton was reportedly using the diet to get to her enviable weight in time for her wedding to Prince William.

It was created by Frenchman Doctor Pierre Duken and is based on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet.  The diet itself has four stages; the first two are to help with quick weight loss and the second two are lifetime diet changes to help you maintain your new healthy weight.  Whilst the principal is vaguely similar to Atkins in that it’s a high protein, low carb diet the emphasis is very much on low fat proteins.

Phase 1: The Attack Phase

The first phase of the Dukan diet is followed for 1-10 days depending on how much weight you wish to lose; dieters are reported to lose an average of 7-10lbs in the first week on the Dukan diet.

The attack phase only allows dieters to consume low-fat protein foods such as fish, lean meats, and reduced calorie dairy products.  These protein foods can be seasoned and flavored with condiments so long as they don’t contain any fat or carbohydrates; for instance spices, salt and pepper, mustard, and vinegar.  Calorie free soda drinks are also permitted along with unsugared tea, coffee and water.

In addition to the protein dieters may also consume up to 1½ tablespoons of oatmeal per day.

Side effects suffered by some during this first phase are bad breath and a dry mouth, although drinking plenty of water should help the situation.

Phase 2: The Cruise Phase

The second part to the Dukan diet is the cruise phase, where on alternate days you can include vegetables with your protein.  The vegetables are limited to unstarchy vegetables, for example; spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, celery, lettuce.  The vegetables can be consumed raw or cooked and can be cooked with the protein to make soups or stews.

The second phase is continued until the dieter has reached their desire weight.  Typically a Dukan dieter will lose 2lbs a week during the cruise phase.

Phase 3: The Consolidation Phase

Once a dieter has reached their target weight they then move onto the consolidation phase.  In addition to the protein and vegetables, dieters are allowed one piece of fruit per day and two slices of whole-grain bread. An extra portion of carbs such as pasta, noodles or rice are also allowed once each week

The consolidation phase of the Dukan Diet also allows a ‘celebration meal’ each week where any food group can be eaten in one meal. Once you’ve been in the phase for a length of time and maintained your weight this can be expanded to three celebration meals per week.

Phase 4: The Stabilization Phase

The final or on-going phase of the plan is the stabilization phase.  Here you can go back to eating whatever you like but using the consolidation phase as a guideline.  One day of the week however, you must eat only protein as in the attack phase.

Exercise

As well as dieting Dukan also incorporates exercise into his plan and advises that everyone do 20 minutes of brisk walking each day during the first phase and then 30 minutes for the subsequent phases.

If you have any health issues you should speak to a medical practitioner before undergoing this or any other weight loss diet.

 

 

 

 

Gluten Free Diet Alert: When Wheat is the Food Enemy

If you’re researching information online about gluten free diets and celiac disease, then be sure to read this article about the potentially harmful effects of one of the most wholesome and basic foods on the planet — wheat.

Wheat is a staple food all over the world, breads of different descriptions, pasta and noodles are all made from wheat and can make up a large part of our daily diets.  For a lot of us, however, we often discover that wheat is the cause of much of our health miseries, ranging from celiac disease where sufferers are unable to eat gluten, which is found in many other grains as well as wheat, to a range of symptoms that are not life threatening but can still interfere with our general health and wellbeing.

Whilst a true allergy to wheat is quite rare the affects can be very serious with coughing, eczema, asthma, breathing difficulties and vomiting amongst immediate symptoms. Thankfully, most people suffer from a less serious intolerance to wheat. Intolerance to wheat can make life miserable for sufferers, with side effects such as sinusitis, headaches, skin rashes, hay fever type symptoms, digestive problems, bloating, tiredness and constipation.  Eliminating wheat from our diets will see a rapid improvement in these symptoms, but navigating a food world without wheat takes some skill and practice.

Changing Your Eating Habits

If you are used to having toast or bagel for breakfast, grabbing a sandwich at lunch and popping out for pizza or pasta for your evening meal then you are going to have to seriously rethink your diet. Likewise, those who love to bake cakes and cookies at home will have to investigate all the different options available to them to replace their regular flour with wheat-free versions.

Here are some examples of wheat-free flour alternatives, please note that they will not taste exactly the same, nor will they have the same consistency and texture, you will need to experiment to find the products that best suit your needs and personal taste buds.

Alternatives for wheat flour include:

Rice Flour
Garbanzo (chick-pea) Flour
Potato Starch & Potato Flour
Rolled Oats
Tapioca Flour
Arrowroot Flour
Corn Flour & Corn Starch
Cornmeal
Soy Flour
Chestnut Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Quinoa Flour
Rye Flour (not suitable for those on a gluten free diet)
Barley Flour (not suitable for those on a gluten free diet)

For those of us who don’t tend to do much home cooking and baking then thankfully there are many alternative foods that are wheat-free, along with fairly easy ways to change your eating habits. Some simple ideas include choosing breakfast cereals that are rice or oat based instead of wheat, having sandwich fillings or pasta sauces on a baked potato or with fries, eating corn tortillas or nachos instead of bread (although check that the brand doesn’t contain wheat) with your soup.

Gluten-Free Food Products

Because of the increase of celiac disease there is now much better labelling on food stuffs, and there has also been a big rise in the amount of gluten-free foods available.  Thankfully you don’t need to be a celiac to take advantage of these products and if you have a wheat intolerance then you will find them most helpful in your quest to become wheat-free. Scouring the internet for gluten-free recipes will also provide you with a host of delicious recipes and cookery ideas along with ways to replace your regular wheat products with non-wheat products.

Linda’s Diet Delight has an extensive range of gluten-free products that will satisfy all your bread and baked goods needs from hot dog and burger buns to brownies and cookies, even pastas and breads!

Simply Scrumptous Fiberlicious Low Fat Low Carb Brownies

Simply Scrumptous Fiberlicious Low Carb Fat Free Brownie
Simply Scrumptous Fiberlicious Low Carb Fat Free Brownie

Simply Scrumptous Fiberlicious Low Fat Low Carb Brownies are now available! Only 60 calories and 4g net carbs per brownie.

 

From Simply Scrumptous, “Simply Scrumptous offers our new Fit & Flavorful Low Carb High Fiber Fat Free Peanut Butter Brownies. They’re simply delicious and healthy too! Baked with the finest all natural ingredients that create a fudgy moist texture and no artificial flavors, these low carb, high fiber, fat free treats are loaded with 7 grams or more of fiber and whole grains. A heart healthy delicious diet snack that’s only 60 calories, it’s too good to resist. So go ahead and enjoy! Savor every last morsel. You won’t believe the truly moist and rich flavor! Maintain a healthy lifestyle diet while treating yourself without any guilt! Of course, all of our low carb fat free, high fiber brownies are individually wrapped for maximum freshness to preserve that fresh baked taste.”

Low Carb Diets in the News This Week

Once again low carb diets have been much talked about in the news this week, two main stories have emerged about the benefits that can be achieved by undertaking a diet low in carbs but high in protein.

Ketogenic Diet Proves Successful in Completely Reversing Kidney Failure in Mice

First, extensive research on laboratory mice has shown that a ketogenic diet may be the answer to kidney dialysis in the future. Mice predisposed to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes were permitted to develop kidney failure, once this had been established the mice were then split into 2 groups, the first group were fed a low carb – high fat diet and the second a normal high carb diet. Within just 8 weeks all signs of kidney failure had been completely reversed in the first group of mice on the low carb diet whilst the second group saw no change.

Scientists now believe that this may be the solution for resetting the gene that causes kidney failure in diabetes patients and hopefully lead to an end to kidney dialysis, although testing in humans with later stage kidney failure is a long way off as more studies need to be completed on mice first. However for those in the early stages of kidney disease this is a very important finding.

The ketogenic diet has also been proved efficient in dealing with drug resistant epilepsy in children, with sufferers of acute epilepsy seeing their seizures drops from dozens a day to virtually zero within a few weeks of being on the diet.

Banning High Carb Foods from Your Diet Actually Stops You from Craving Them

Elsewhere in the news, a 2 year research project has found that banning certain foods does not lead to cravings as previous thought, but for the person to actually have much fewer cravings. 270 men and women were split into 2 groups; half were put onto a low fat/low protein diet and the other half onto a low carb/high protein diet. The findings after 2 years showed that the low carb/high protein dieters saw much bigger decreases in foods high in carbs than the low fat group.

Low Carb Diets are the Fastest Way to Reduce Liver Fat

Lowering your carb intake has found to be an effective and fast way to reduce liver fat a recent research program has proven. A sample of 18 participants with non-alcohol fatty liver disease took part in the study and half were assigned a low carb and the second a low calorie diet. The low carb dieters were only allowed 20g of carbs in their first week and were then assessed and giving specially prepared meals that had been worked out for their individual needs of proteins and carbohydrates, the second were kept on a calories restrictive diet of 1200 calories for women and 1500 calories a day for men.

After 2 weeks the participants underwent advanced imaging techniques to determine how much liver fat they had lost. Both groups showed losses in liver fat however the low carb groups showed much greater losses with some of the participants losing almost half of their liver fat.

As a side note, the research also showed that although the study was not about actually weight loss both the low calorie group and the low carb group both lost an average of 10lbs each in the two week trial.

Linda’s Diet Delights has an extensive range of low carb foods to choose from.