Food

Yacon Helps You Lose Weight

Published on by Nieves I.

Yacon helps you lose weight, but what is yacon?
The botanical names of yacon are Smallanthous sonchifolious, Polymnia edulis, Polymnia sonchifolia.


Originally from South America and primarily grows in the Andes of Peru, Colombia, and Argentina. It was transplanted in small scale to different countries like New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, South Corea, Philippines, United States, and the UK.


The plant can grow up to 2mt/6.5 ft. It is a perennial plant. Its tuberous roots are edible and taste like an apple/celery/watermelon flavor. This is why it is called Peruvian Ground Apple or Apple From The Earth


It is relative to the sunflower and the Jerusalem artichoke.
It is edible for human consumption especially the tubers. The yacon roots and plant have the potential to be used for animal feed too.

Nutrients in Yacon

Yacon is low in calories and refreshing. It is used as a sweetener.

Yacon Protein Sugar/Inulin Fat Fiber Ash
Fresh tubers 0.4-2.2% 20%
Dry tubers 6-7% 60% 0.4-1.3 6-7% 4-7%
Dry herbage 11-17% 38-41% 2-7%

Yacon tubers store carbohydrates in the form of Inulin instead of starch, similar to beets.
Inulin is a soluble fiber, a polymer of fructose with a glucose terminal unit.


To hydrolize Inulin, the intestine needs a specific enzyme, but humans do not have this enzyme, therefore inulin cannot be digested, absorbed and metabolized. This is a fiber.
Inulin is considered a prebiotic. Prebiotics are nutrients that promote intestinal health and aid digestion by feeding the good bacteria of the intestine.


Yacon contains Inulin made of the following sugars: Fructooligossacharide (FOS) and indigestible polysaccharides made of fructose. This is why the tubers taste sweet but are not digested or metabolized and have little caloric value.
Other roots like potato, yam, sweet potato and yucca store carbohydrates as starch, a polymer of glucose.


Yacon tubers are rich in Potassium, Calcium, and Phosphorus.The yacon roots and leaves have antioxidants:


1-Protocatechuis Acid (PCA) metabolite of polyphenol found in Green tea. PCA is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.


2- Chlorogenic Acid is contained in peaches, potatoes, and eggplants too, and it is known to lower slightly high blood pressure; it can cause allergic respiratory reaction in susceptible people.


3- Cafeic Acid is found in mushrooms, coffee, argan oil, thyme, sage, spearmint, cinnamon, star anise, sunflower seeds, red wine, apple sauce, apricot, prunes, yerba mate, black chokeberry, lingonberry, barley and rye. Cafeic Acid inhibits cancer cell proliferation, reduces aflatoxin production, it is a natural fungicide. Cafeic Acid is antioxidant, antiinflamatory. Improves intestinal health.


4- Tryptophan: Tryptophan is an amino acid and a building block protein. It was thought that it was an antioxidant but now there are studies that show that it is not the Tryptophan by itself but its metabolites that are the antioxidants.


5- Ferulic Acid: Found in plants, popcorn , bamboo, wheat, flax seed, barley, yacon, blue and common beans, Chinese medicinal herbs – Angelica sinensis/ female ginseng, Cimicifuga heracleifolia/Cohosh, Ligusticun chuangxion/licorice root-, Ceuntarium erithraea/ European centaury tea plant, rice bran Chinese oil. It is released and absorbed in the small intestine. Ferulic acid is antioxidant and helps in the prevention of cancer and aging by reducing free-radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are related to DNA damage, cancer and aging. Topical preparations of vitamin E, ascorbic acid and ferulic acid help to prevent wrinkles and cancer of the skin.

Weight Fluctuation

Published on by Nieves I.

This article is going to discuss weight fluctuation. You go to a scale and you weigh yourself in the morning, you may notice that you lost some weight, possibly a few ounces. When you weigh yourself in the afternoon, you are not always happy because you notice that you may have gained some weight since the morning.

Weight fluctuation is frustrating, especially if you have followed your diet and exercise plan. However, it is normal for your weight to fluctuate during the week, and even throughout the day.

Bathroomscales

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Eating A Low Calorie Meal Is A Good Way To Lose Weight

Published on by Nieves I.

Eating a low-calorie meal is a good way to lose weight. There is no need to compromise between low calories and good taste.

Here a recipe for a very nutritious low-calorie meal, it includes protein and vegetables and is rich in antioxidants from vegetables and spices. You can accompany it with white rice.
This recipe will give you the nourishment of a good meal and will also help you lose weight.

Chicken Spring
(Aprox. 300 calories/cup, protein, Protein: 65gr)

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Obesity In America

Published on by Nieves I.

Obesity in America is a big health problem that leads to other chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Millions of people always think about food. When the next meal will be, what will be eaten, and is there time for a snack? They think these thoughts not because there is a shortage of food, but because their thoughts revolve around food. Food is a tangible good that is able to create a sense of happiness, fulfillment, and anticipation.

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INTERVAL TRAINING FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Published on by Nieves I.

INTERVAL TRAINING FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Interval training for weight loss is an important topic to consider.

The parasympathetic system and the sympathetic system of the body are part of the nervous system. The parasympathetic system is associated with the “digest and rest” reflexes where the body is calm and relaxed. The sympathetic system is associated with the “fight or flight” reflexes when the body feels threatened. Adrenaline pumping, fast breathing, and increased heart rates are all results of the sympathetic system reacting to escape the danger.

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Thanksgiving Meal Menu

Published on by Nieves I.

Here a Thanksgiving Meal that you will enjoy :

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OVEN-ROAST TURKEY BREAST

I prepared only the turkey breast, my family is small (8 Portions). Turkey breast is low-calorie and a good source of protein.

Ingredients:

1- 5 lb Turkey breast already de-thawed , follow the instructions on the package.

2-  Spice Islands Turkey Rub Savory Herb ~ 1.75 oz

3- 1 TBS of Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter – Salted

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 365 degrees F. Wash the Turkey breast with cold water. Let it dry for five minutes. Rub butter and Spice Islands Turkey Rub Savory Herb ~ 1.75 oz under and over the skin of the Turkey breast and in the cavity.

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Lose Weight While Walking On The Boardwalk

Published on by Nieves I.

Lose weight while walking on the boardwalk and having fun is my inspiration of the day.
When I visited Atlantic City, NJ in the summer of 2016, I decided that I was not going to gamble in the casino. Maybe I would use some of the “free” money that the casino gives you as a new visitor where you can play in the “penny” machines, but I am well aware that the house always wins.

Before I went to play, I went for a walk on the boardwalk. It was a cloudy day. The weather channel had predicted rain, so I packed my oversize size S raincoat into my purse.
boardwalk-02

I walked in the direction to all the other casinos. The bus had stopped in the last resort on the boardwalk. It was easy to find the entrance to the boardwalk. There was a large door to the boardwalk that I found after doing a little exploring. I had to go down a level and turn to the left from where the bus stopped.

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Detoxify Your Body And Lose Weight

Published on by Nieves I.

To detoxify the body, as well as lose weight, it is important to eat whole foods.
Whole foods are sustainable for the body and will have a good effect on your weight. Your body will be able to burn fat easier and will make you look slimmer.

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When you make a home-made soup, put in natural, whole foods. A soup with broth, lean protein, and green leafy vegetables is filling, heals the body and detoxifies the body. It is also a low-calorie meal because you are filling your body with important nutrients as opposed to “empty” calories. Since the food is nutrient dense, you will feel fuller after eating natural whole foods.

Make sure to fill your shopping cart with lean meats, vegetables, and fruits. These products, as you will notice, are toward the edges of the supermarkets. Stay away from the aisles inside of the supermarket. These aisles are full of foods that contain a lot of carbohydrates and sugars. Those foods are highly processed and bad for your body.

Broth and almond milk are low in calories and high in protein. You can drink almond milk alone or in smoothies.

The whole food approach improves energy, promotes long-term weight loss, is anti-inflammatory and has good flavor. Most importantly, whole foods are natural. Whole foods are foods that have not been refined or processed. They are foods that do not have additives or artificial man-made substances. Your body has a desire to maintain a natural balance. Feeding your body natural foods that have not been altered is what will produce lasting results.

Here is a list of detoxifying whole foods that will provide you with nutrients, antioxidants, and will help you lose weight:

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Lose Two Pounds A Week Under Stress

Published on by Nieves I.

I lost two pounds in one week without diet because I had a very stressful situation in the family.

The following article portrays stressful and descriptive clinical situations. If you are sensitive to that type of material, I recommend you to skip reading this article.

My Mom Broke Her Hip

Sometimes I believe that I have things under control. I believe that I am doing the things that I am supposed to be doing and times are smooth. Out of no where, life has a way of –BAM!!!– shaking things down.
This stressful event happened to me last month when I had to travel to Peru. I left as soon as I could after my brother called me to say that our almost 90 year old mom had fallen. She had broken her hip and needed surgery.317px-cdm_hip_fracture_343

Before that, both of my brothers were taking good care of her. They made sure she took her multivitamins, ate healthy, and walked daily. They made sure our mother had a good time visiting her farm often and going to her club to socialize. Her blood pressure was normal for a year and she was not even taking medicine for her normal blood pressure.

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