Flexitarian Diet

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The Victor crew came across the word “flexitarian” and it piqued our curiosity. Here is what we found out about a flexitarian diet.

The flexitarian diet is mainly plant-based while allowing meat and other animal products to be eaten in moderation. It was developed by Dawn Jackson Blatner, a dietitian looking to help people eat more vegetarian and still enjoy animal products.

Vegetarians eliminate meat and some other animal products while still eating some animal products such as butter, dairy, or eggs. Vegans will cut out all animal derived products. Pescatarians will eat only fish as an animal product.

The flexitarian has more flexible choices. You will still eat mainly fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Also other proteins would include peanuts, peanut butter, seeds, and tofu. Meat and fish will be an occasionally in this plan and not a daily thing.

Eating less meat has many benefits. One concern is the environment as there is a push for people to eat less meat. Other benefits are for your own cardio-vascular health, weightloss, risk of diabetes, eating more plants will reduce cancer risk. You will need to make sure you get enough iron, Vitamin B12, Zinc, Calcium, and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Source

How do so many people get addicted?

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You’ve seen the commercials for opioid addiction. Why are so many addicted? What are opioids anyway? What do they do in your body? Let’s try to find answers to these questions.

First opioids are painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and heroin (illegal). All except heroin can be obtained legally through a prescription.

Opioids work by blocking that pain and release dopamine. Dopamine gives you good feeling, but doesn’t last. It is kind of like giving your brain a temporary reward. Other things can cause this temporary rush like doing something daring like a sky-diving trip, or something like hugging a loved one.

As people take opioids, they build a tolerance to them and have to take more and more to get that feeling of the rush of dopamine. Addiction occurs when you become dependent on the opioids due to repeated use. Withdrawal symptoms can mimic having the flu. Only harder…because you know there is one thing that can take it away quickly.

Doctors often prescribe them after surgery, or an accident. Many times they will only prescribe about 10 pills to get through a few days to try to lessen the chance of addiction.

If you try to obtain some of these drugs illegally, they can be cut with contaminants simply so they can make more pills with less of the product to make more money.

If you become addicted, seek help from a doctor. Many states have hotlines that will get you the help you need. Awareness is key.

Source
Where to find help

Chewing Gum

Health Issues, Healthy Eating, , ,

Let’s find out about chewing gum. Can it help you lose weight? Does it make you gain weight? Is it nutritious or not? What happens if you swallow it? Let’s find some answers…

So chewing gum will burn about 11 calories per hour. So about 9 hours of chewing gum will burn about 100 calories. Insignificant. But maybe if you chew gum for 9 hours, you aren’t eating?

Chewing gum increases saliva flow. Chewing sugarless gum after eating can help wash away acids from your teeth. The ADA says that chewing gum for 20 minutes after a meal can help prevent tooth decay. It is not a substitute for brushing and flossing. For the sake of your teeth, look for the ADA Seal on the gum. You will only find it on sugarless gums.

In some people, the ingredients in gum may cause bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and other gut issues. So you may not be one who could chew gum for 9 hours.

If you remember chewing gum as a kid, you might remember swallowing your gum to fool the teacher into thinking you weren’t really chewing. Here’s what happens:

List of ADA approved products.

Is Paleo Diet same as Keto Diet?

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There is a difference.

Paleo is lifestyle-based and also based on removing grains and legumes, its focus is more on eating foods that are good for digestive health. It also eliminates dairy products. This is considered a diet good for “gut health”.

Keto is based toward weight loss. It seeks to put the body in a state of ketosis which uses your body’s fatty acid stores instead of glucose. To do this, you restrict carbohydrates down to about 5% of your diet. By restricting them this low, it forces your body to use the fatty acids for energy and weight-loss occurs.

They are similar in that they both eliminate grains and legumes, emphasize healthy fats, organic meats, no sugar and eating non-starchy veggies. This is where the similarities end.

In the Paleo Diet, you can eat natural sweeteners, carbs aren’t as restricted so you can eat some fruit and starchy veggies. You generally won’t enter ketosis unless you restrict carbohydrates to 5%.

Keto Diets don’t restrict dairy but lean toward full-fat dairy. Keto will encourage you to measure fat, protein, and carbohydrate percentages. You need to keep testing for ketosis.

You can actually follow both at the same time. The main difference is the fruit and starchy vegetables.

Interesting Question

Fitness, Health Issues, Healthy Eating, , , ,

Are you heavier or shorter than the average American?

A new government report looked at average weight, height, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) of adults 1999-2000 through 2015-2016.

Weight:
In 1999-2000, men averaged 189 pounds and women averaged just over 163 pounds. By 2015-2016, men averaged just under 198 while women averaged just over 170.

Height:
In 1999-2000, men averaged 69.2 inches and women averaged 63.8 inches. In 2015-2016 men avearaged 69.0 inches and women averaged 63.6 inches.

Waist Circumference:
In 1999-2000 men averaged 38.8 inches around the waist while women averaged 36.3 inches. In 2015-2016 men averaged 40.2 while women averaged 38.7 inches.

BMI:
In 1999-2000 men averaged a BMI of 27.7; women averaged 28.2. In 2015-2016 men averaged 29.1 while women went to 29.6. For reference, underweight BMI is less than 18.5; normal ranges from 18.5-24.9; overweight is 25-29.9; obese is 30 or more.

So the question is where do you fall in all this? Are you concerned enough to do something about it?

Read the full study here
More about BMI