Have You Taken Potassium Rich Diet?

Foods with potassium are very beneficial for living a healthy life. The function of potassium is that it keeps a check on the levels of pH in our body. They help in having proper pressure of blood, all our systems including nervous, urinary and adrenal functions. When someone do not have intake of foods with potassium he can suffer with deficiency of potassium which in turn would give serious health problems.

Weakness is the common symptom if one is suffering from potassium deficiency. Your body feels tiredness very easily. This interferes with your daily routine and one finds it difficult to do daily work. Problems of blood pressure especially high, heart problems are its symptoms. If one is experiencing such problems, doctor should be consulted.

Hypkalemia is the disease called when one is not having foods with potassium. Diabetic patients and people who have problems with kidney are prone to have mineral imbalance.

Potassium level can be increased by taking foods rich with potassium. Potassium goes in our body through these foods and is wrapped up from small intestine. Absorption of about 90% takes in our small intestine. Our body tries to have proper mineral balance; hence, if potassium reaches our body in larger amounts, it is thrown out through urine and sweat. Therefore, it is advised that one should take proper drinks like fruit juices to have proper balance if one perspires more.

Taking balanced and healthy diet rich with all minerals can prevent you from having imbalance caused due to minerals. Fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains are foods with potassium. Besides these, one can find potassium in meat, poultry and sea food. The intake of potassium in one’s diet varies from person to person. Need of foods with potassium in one’s diet increases for all those people who sweat more or do a lot of labour.

Both the excess and lack of potassium pose serious threat to our health. Heavy loss of fluid from body and not eating food for a long time will not allow your body to function properly. And alternatively, high levels of potassium can be dangerous too. Heart problems, blood pressure particularly low, pain in joints are the problems arising with more content of potassium in our body. In such cases, one must avoid intake of foods with potassium.

If one is having problems due to low levels of potassium he should try to have foods with potassium. Apples, cabbage, grapes, green beans, plums have low content of potassium and should be avoided.

The Dukan Meal Plan - Slim Down Rapidly And Have Protein On Thursdays

The Dukan diet, devised by French physician Dr Pierre Dukan, has been widespread in France for the last decade. Released in Great Britain during May 2010, such meal plan claims that dutiful adherents will face rapid weight loss and keep it off for good, while still being able to have the foods they love. But there is a catch. Dieters could eat only protein foods on Thursdays. In the meanwhile check Natural Weight Loss site for more dieting information.

The Four Phases of the Dukan Diet

The diet is split into four phases: attack, cruise, consolidation and stabilization. The attack and cruise phases focus on reducing your weight quickly, at the same time as the consolidation and stabilization phases are concerned with keeping up weight and avoiding putting any mass lost back on.

Reducing your weight Rapidly with the Dukan Meal plan

In the first two phases of your Dukan diet, huge weight loss is expected.

Phase 1: Attack Phase - Protein-only foods are allowed. That is, meat, fish, eggs and non-fat dairy products. There is no butter and even oil, whole extra fat has to be trimmed from meat, and the whole lot of skin eliminated from poultry. Some pounds can be dropped quickly during the attack phase. Dieters can choose to stay in that phase for between one and 10 days, based on how much fat they need to lose.

Phase 2: Cruise Phase - Protein-only days are with protein and veggies days. Lots of veggies are allowed in unlimited for example asparagus, aubergine, broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, leeks, mushrooms, peppers, salad leaves, spinach and tomatoes, however not starchy vegetables for example potatoes and lentils. Dieters must carry on and shed a couple of pounds weekly while in this phase, and ought to stay in it till their wanted weight is achieved.

Keeping the Mass Off by Eating Just Amino acid on Thursdays

In the third and fourth phases of the Dukan diet, a lot more foods are allowed however mass is expected to stay the same.

Phase 3: Consolidation Phase - Foods for example bread, pasta, cheese and fruit are reintroduced, and both vegetables and protein might be eaten each day. No more weight is lost in the consolidation phase; the aim is to avert dieters regaining the fat they lost in the preceding phases and to keep up their current weight. For every one pound of mass lost, five days should be spent in current phase in order to constantly hold those pounds off. Weight Control site can provide more on weight loss and dieting to you.

Phase 4: stabilization Phase - No foods are off limits. However, for 1 day every week, every week from now on, only amino acid could be eaten. Dr. Dukan suggests this day be a Thursday. The idea is that protein-only Thursdays normalize the deficiency of foodstuff limitation on the various days of your week, at the same time as allowing the weight-loss reached in the preceding phases of the meal plan to remain maintained.

All through the entire diet, a tablespoon of oat bran is allowed every single day. (this is a type of soluble fiber which is beneficial to easing related to high-protein diets.) Dieters are in addition encouraged to consume a lot of liquid and go for a brisk walk every day.

Amazing Cookie Recipe

Ginger’s Sugarsnaps. Well, my grandma Ginger just died in a tragic hang-gliding accident but I refuse to be saddened. She died doing what she loved. For nearly 80 years my lovely grandma Ginger would hang glide over the poorer sections of America’s inner cities and shower them with her internationally famous sugar snap cookies, also known as Soundsnaps.

If you live in a destitute urban area of the United States then you likely know the distinct graupel-like sound of grandma Ginger’s cookie storms all too well. That’s why by 1960 people from areas of intense urban decay began to call these fantastic cookies “Soundsnaps.”

As her lone grandchild she took favor upon me and gave me her sugar snap recipe which I am excited to share with you here today. You might ask why would I share this prized family recipe? The reasons are two: 1.) I am a humanitarian and don’t see the sense in denying the slums and ghetto’s of the world the intense pleasure grandma Ginger’s scrumptious sugar snaps and the delightful Soundsnap they make; and 2.) I was born without arms or legs and though I have tried several times I have found that my condition prevents me from hang-gliding long distances. Since I can’t hang-glide, I can not continue grandma Ginger’s seven decade tradition of gentrification via inner city cookie showers.

If you can hang-glide and you can bake I implore you to take the recipe below and continue grandma Ginger’s legacy. Don’t let the Soundsnap die with grandma Ginger.

Without further ado here you go: Grandma Ginger’s Secret Soundsnap Recipe.

Yield 5-6 dozen

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, Chiffonade of 2 skins of extra-crispy fried chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup shortening, 1 cup white sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 cup dark molasses, 1/3 cup sugar

Directions: Heat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees Celsius). Stir the flour, ginger, baking soda, allspice, and salt into a large bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl, make sure it is really smooth. Put the shortening into a large bowl and beat until nice and creamy. Slowly beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture. Remove the extra-crispy skins from 2 fried chicken breasts and proceed to chiffonade. Add the chicken skin to the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix together until a nice pliable dough forms. Pinch small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in sugar, and place 1 and 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a cooling rack of your choice. Store in an air-tight container or use your favorite vacuum sealer like a Food Saver, until you are ready to shower the inner-city of your choice with these Ginger’s Sugarsnaps. Soundsnaps!

The Benefits Of Grass Fed, Organic Beef

Much of the cattle used to produce tasty, tender beef are fed with grass. The advantages of grass fed cattle are far superior to those consuming diets laced with chemicals and other additives. Believe it or not, these facts are upheld by hundreds of years’ worth of research, indicating that grass fed cattle are a far healthier choice.

Even so, consumers have to be careful when selecting meat. Unless they go out of their way to make sure that they are buying meat from producers of grass fed cattle, they could be in for a shock. If one thinks the differences between the two feeding methods have tiny effects on consumers - think again. Research in nutrition journals has shown that cattle who eat solely grass result in beef which have less fat. This is an important factor in having a healthy heart. This isn’t a minor health issue but directly tied to premature heart attacks and early heart disease.

Those who are keeping track of their cholesterol can have the peace of mind, knowing that grass fed cattle will be better for them. But it isn’t only the heart that is affected by choosing one type of beef over another. Vitamins A and E and other nutrients may be higher in the grass fed beef.

Of course, the taste test is an important factor when choosing food. Luckily, those who ate grass fed beef typically reported that the meat tasted far superior to other types of beef. Not only that but they weren’t exposed to dangerous chemicals. Although research is still being done, there has been evidence that the chemicals given to some cattle may result in early puberty and hormonal changes in children and young adults. This is simply another strong reason to choose grass fed cattle.

True, using chemicals and grains can result in a very high fat beef product, one that consumers may be trained to think is desirable. However, cattle producers started using this practice to cut costs and not to focus on the health of those eating the beef. Consumers need to be pro-active about their health and realize that producers’ focus on cost cutting may come at the expense of people’s health.

As grass fed cattle are allowed to graze on healthy, organic land, they also live less stressful lives. This lack of stress translates into tastier beef. They are also given fewer hormones and antibiotics in addition to those required by law, and who wants to eat these? These are not only unnecessary, but may do far more harm than good to consumers. The quantities that are administered usually are also far less than are given to chemically-fed cattle.

One major concern with antibiotics is that of acquired resistance to the medications. When the cattle given these excess antibiotics acquire resistance, diseases will spread far more rapidly, and some of these diseased cattle may be made into beef. This will result in higher beef recalls and greater risk to customers. This is far less likely to occur with grass fed cattle, and the meat tastes better besides, making it a win win situation for consumers.

So Many Kinds Of Pizza… So Little Time

Throughout the history of pizza, many types have been invented. Some are made in certain locations; others are made everywhere. It just goes to show how popular it is all over the world. It is delicious, convenient, and offers a great deal of variety. It does not matter whether you buy your pizza or make it yourself… you are in for a great meal that everyone will enjoy.

Fans of New York style will fold their slices in half while eating them. This style features a crust that is thin and chewy, topped with a sweet tomato sauce and delicious fresh mozzarella. One of the hallmarks of a real New York pizza is the yellow grease that runs down your arm from the rich cheese. You will not find a pile of toppings on a New York pie… they like to enjoy the genius of a simple pizza.

Ike Sewel came up with the idea for Chicago style in 1943. His version was deep dish, with tall sides on the crust to hold in all the toppings. He wanted a pizza that was not only delicious, but also filling. In Chicago, the cheese is put on first, followed by the toppings and finally by the sauce. A dab of margarine in the pan helps crisp up the crust. This is not a hand held kind of pie… you must use a fork and knife.

California pies feature unusual topping combinations and exotic ingredients. After rising, the crust is baked partially, to keep the crust’s height. The crust should be airy, light, and tender. You will often find California style pies with toppings like smoked salmon, feta cheese, and asparagus. Vegetarian toppings are very popular.

Pan style also uses oil in the pan. This fries the bottom of the crust, making it a bit crunchy. It also changes the flavor slightly. Pan style offers a thicker crust that has been raised in the pan before baking. Any kind of toppings can be added.

Cracker style crusts were developed in the 1950s. The dough is slightly fermented, giving it the layered texture of a cracker. This technique was well documented in the history of Pizza Hut. Thin-crust is different from cracker crust. It is usually stretched by hand. The crust on a thin pie is crisp on the outside and soft inside. They are usually served with less sauce and toppings than thick crust varieties.

Focaccia is more than just a bread… it is one of the original ways pizza was served. It did not have a sauce. Oils, vegetables and other toppings were added and baked on. This style has been eaten in Europe long before the tomato was introduced by New World explorers.

Still more styles are invented all the time for example. Tex-Mex versions offer Mexican toppings like corn, picante sauce, shredded beef, and other ingredients on a crust that is made with a percentage of masa flour. The crust is more corn chip-like than a normal crust. Other regional styles may use specific ingredients. For example, in the Midwest, Provolone cheese is preferred to mozzarella.

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