How Does a Protein Rich Diet Contribute to Weight Loss - Research Sheds Light

According to the latest study, phenylalanine - an amino acid produced by the digestion of protein - enhances the levels of hormone that indicates when are full, and not requiring any further food intake.

Previous studies have revealed that a high protein diet consisting of foods such as milk, eggs, poultry, and fish can help lower the body weight by curbing hunger and appetite.

According to food experts, it’s not always possible to adhere to a high-protein diet, but stripping the mechanisms by which protein reduces appetite could lead to considerable weight-loss strategies.

How phenylalanine leads to weight loss:

Recently, a number of experiments have been conducted on rodents in order to test the effects of phenylalanine.

This amino acid is normally produced in the gut after the intake of foods containing protein.

Firstly, a single dose of phenylalanine has been applied on 10 mice and rats and then they have been compared with rodents that did not receive the enzyme.

The result revealed that the mice and rats give phenylalanine showed increased levels of hormone GLP -1 which reduces appetite, but reduced levels of the hormone ghreline, which boosts hunger.

Moreover, the researchers also observed that phenylalanine curbed the rodent’s food consumption and contributed to weight loss. Rodents that were given the amino acid also moved around more, which the researchers observe may have increased their weight loss.

Next, the research team applied regular doses of phenylalanine to mice with diet-induced obesity over a 7-day period.

Compared with mice that were not given the enzyme, those that were not treated with the amino acid showed a reduction in weight, observed the team of researchers.

Phenylalanine Boosts CASR receptor to curb appetite:

In the final experiment, the team of researchers strove to have a better understanding of the mechanism by which phenylalanine reduces levels of GLP - 1 and ghreline.

Upon treating the hut cells with phenylalanine in a petri dish, the researchers found that the amino acid targets the receptor, known as the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR), and it is this receptor that boosts GLP-1 levels and reduces levels of ghreline.

Obesity is a most common public health concern not only in the United States but many corners of the world. The dynamic lifestyle, bad food habit, and many other factors remarkably lead to developing obesity in recent times. According to latest report, around 2 in 3 adults and 1 in 6 children and adolescents are suffering from obesity, being exposed to greater risk of health condition such as heath disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.

According the team of researchers, their latest discovery might effectively improve the much needed new strategies to fight against the obesity epidemic.

The researchers also feel that focus must be made on further studies to pinpoint the exact mechanisms by that allows phenylalanine to reduce hunger and contribute to weight loss. They want more research in future to assess the function of amino acid and its appetitive suppressive effects in humans as in rodents.

Joe Kikuchi, based in the USA, is a passionate food lover. He has traveled across the USA and tasted variety of foods. He has penned down a number of articles on food, health and lifestyle. You can read more of him by visiting his social profile. Read out his blogs and learn more of him.

Healthy Diet - Keep Calm & Ignore Junk Food

It is always essential to intake a healthy diet in order to keep yourself fit and strong. Find the diet chart that should be taken on a regular basis. A balanced diet is necessary for your body. You may want to eat a variety of foods. To be more precise, you may have fascination for a particular food. However, being overly restrictive to any particular food or eating too much of another makes no sense. 

Healthy Diet: The Building Blocks: 

Most of the Americans follow a specific meal chart. The following pyramid suggests what one should consider in meal chart for a healthy diet. 

6 to 8 Servings of Grains: 

Consider bread, rice, cereal, pasta, and at least 3 servings in your meal chart. A serving of bread is equal to one slice while a serving of cereal means 1/2 cooked to 1 cup (ready to eat). 1/2 cup cooked pasta or rice must be in the meal chart. Indulge in fat laden baked goods such as muffins, croissants, and donuts for an occasional treat. 

2 to 4 Servings of Fruits: 

Being low in fat, fruits can be a great addition to your healthy diet. They are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals that are essential to your body’s systems to help it function at peak. They also add flavor to your diet. 

4 to 6 Servings of Vegetables: 

Eating fresh vegetables helps boost up the metabolic rate. A serving of raw or cooked vegetable on daily basis contributes to weight reduction. 1 cup of leafy green must be considered in the diet plan regime. Intake of fruits, vegetables and starch helps reduce the flab around the tummy, giving a natural glow to skin. 

2 to 3 Servings of Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese: 

Diary products are important addition to the diet regime. However, it is important to choose the products wisely. Save fat-free or reduced-fat milk or cheeses. Go for yogurt in place of sour cream in many recipes. No difference as such! A serving of diary is equal to 1.5 to 2 ounces of cheese or 1 cup of milk or yogurt. 

2 to 3 Servings of Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts: 

A healthy invariably includes beef, pork, veal, poultry, lamb, fish and the likes. Bake or broil them. All visible fat and skin must be removed before cooking. Include some crossover foods such as lentils, peanut butter, and dried beans. A table spoon of peanut butter or a 1/4 cup cooked beans is equal to one ounce of lean meat. 

Fats, Oils, and Sweets Sparingly: 

Remember, no diet regime should totally eliminate any one food group whether it is fats, oils or sweets. Use them sparingly in your diet plan occasionally. 

Consider this healthy diet chart to ensure healthy living. Listen to your body and plan your diet chart accordingly. If possible consult a dietician. Focus on improving your diet habits. All the nutrients should be in moderation. At the same time control your food cravings and eat in adequate proportion. You will be much happier and slimmer person. 

Joe Kikuchi is passionate about food. He loves to write about food. To learn more about the culinary world, you can follow his latest blog and social networking profiles. Visit his blogs on Google Sites.

Four Benefits Of Having Healthy Diet For The Long Run

A balanced diet is actually what we all need. It's not that inclusion of excessive protein in the form of meat or lack of food to remain lean will help you to stay strong tomorrow. All you need to ensure for a healthier future is the right quantity of food and regular intake of the same as suggested by the dietitian. Junk foods which we all happily consume add no nutritional value but as they taste well, we make it our habit. Regardless of your physical ability, sex or age you have to sacrifice few favorite items of yours in order to stay strong for the long run. To develop this habit of healthy eating you need to know its benefits. Healthy habits ensure following benefits. 

Control obesity: Balanced diet and regular exercise work wonder on our body and mind. Evidently, it helps to reduce excess calories. You can start your day with a proper breakfast with scrambled eggs, oat meals and fruits. Don't skip the first meal. Eating reasonable and sensible breakfast also helps to regulate our blood sugar level. Add vegetables and fruits that are low in calories and check on consumption of carbohydrate items like red meat, sugary beverages and creamy desserts. 

Combat diseases: Healthy diet ensures good health as it helps to curb the chances of fallen sick. With a balanced diet, you can check on your cholesterol level which will control your blood pressure. Our body demands proper nutrients and quality food is the source of energy. With green leafy vegetables, you can actually reduce the chances of cardiovascular problems, skin damage, diabetes, life-threatening cancer, cataract, anemia to name a few. You will get to see the change in your health once you increase your vegetable intake. 

Live longer: Who wants to die in the mid-40s? Unfortunately, our current lifestyle and food habit lead to many unwanted health complications. To avoid that partially, go for Mediterranean diet which is full of vegetables and fruits that supply necessary protein, minerals along with omega 3. Plain vegetables stuffed lunch often tastes blunt and no one wants to have it. To solve your problem Joe Kikuchi, a food freak from the US has shared some of his recipes. You can try them at home. 

Energy booster: Any dietitian will insist you to have food on time. Heavy breakfast followed by filling lunch add fuel to the life. Have snacks in the evening and keep your dinner plain and simple to balance your digestion system. Being hungry you can't concentrate on your daily jobs. Frustration, depression and insomnia are caused due to the lack of food consumption. Apart from getting sluggish due to fatigue, you will feel lost. Lack of sleep will make you feeble. So stick to your staple healthy diet at a regular interval and keep health hazards at bay. 

According to Joe Kikuchi, boiled foods are healthier choice than raw vegetables. However, if you want to get the best result, try physical exercise along with proper diet. 

Healthy food ensures good health. Joe Kikuchi is always very conscious about his diet. He follows his dietitian and prepare different items using boiled vegetables and olive oil.

Hygiene Maintenance is Necessary While Preparation of Food

The word hygiene is very essential for food preparation. A person, when they go to have a dinner at the restaurant, they always ensure that the restaurant must be clean and all the employees, from the cook to the people serving it must maintain proper hygiene. But they need to follow the same hygienic levels when they are cooking at home. 

 

At the home, a person cooks for themselves and for their family. So, the domestic setting must be clean and accurate procedures need to be followed while cooking. They should keep the surfaces clean at all times and pets should not be permitted inside the kitchen. It is also advised that these pets should have a separate eating and toilet environment. All the feeding equipment for babies should be sterilized according to the instructions and the kids should also be taught not to eat from the floor. As people often ignore and neglect the basic and general hygienic requirements, here are some suggestions: 

• Washing hands is mandatory before cooking and eating food even if the person use spoon or fork while eating. 
• If a person is feeling unwell then, they should not engage themselves in cooking. The chances of contamination increases manifolds.
• The cupboards, table, oven and fridge must be cleaned frequently with a suitable cleaning agent. It helps to reduce the chances of contamination and keeps the members of the family fit and fine.
• While cooking any form of meat, it should be cleaned, processed and boiled properly.
• It is highly recommended that a person before cooking food should remove all jewelry. The intricate design of jewelry are often high sources of bacteria and other microorganisms from where they can get easily transferred easily to food and other utensils.
• All the vegetables, processed food and spices that are used while cooking must be fresh and should not be expired. There are many people who does not notice the expiry date of the food before buying.
• Every kitchen should have a fine chopping boards, one for vegetables and one for raw meat. These new chopping boards are not only effective but they are also helpful in maintaining proper hygiene.
  

• After every usage, the dishes and utensils should be washed in hot water preferably. An effective washing liquid should be used in this process. 
• Paper towels usage is a great way to prevent contamination. As they are not re-usable like the dish towels, bacteria and other microorganisms cannot transfer from one utensil to another.

These are some general tips which should be remembered while cooking or having food. Maintaining proper hygiene is necessary in the kitchen as it is regarded as the primary place from where every disease or illness gets spread. But following the general rules of hygiene can effectively reduce the chances of getting infected with the water borne diseases. Hence, all the home makers and people engaged in cooking food must take all the precautions to ensure that their kitchen and their cooking maintain all the standards of hygiene and cleanliness. 

Joe Kikuchi is a food connoisseur from USA. He writes about his experiences from the culinary world. He writes about different cuisines, restaurants and his personal experiments with food. Follow him on Twitter.

American Cuisine: Wide Diversity Makes It Distinctive Around The World

USA is one of the largest countries in the world which is composed of a diverse population belonging to different ethnicity. This wide confluence of ethnicity and influx of immigrants in the 19th century developed a rich and a wide variety of food preparation in the whole country. This diversity in cuisine shaped what is known as American cuisine. Though Americans do not have their own cuisine, this wide assimilation of tastes and preferences made American cuisine distinctive among others.

One of the important features that define this American cuisine is the fusion of multiple ethnic as well as regional approaches to develop completely new cooking styles. While the southern states are influenced by the South American cuisines and African cuisines, the northern states have more European inclined dishes. But every dish have been substantially changed over the years. Renowned American chefs gave all these dishes a new look, taste and feel. Thus making it a completely American dish. For example, hamburgers and hot dogs have there inception in Germany. But over the years with precise shaping the taste and style they are now known as an integral part of the American cuisine.

From the progressive era, i.e., from the late nineteenth century the production of food in the United States became more industrialized and presentable. Various restaurant chains began to came up with innovative menus and dishes to delight their customers. The leading newspapers and magazines in the country began to run recipe columns while the universities aided by the government started running nutrition programs to educate the house wives. The leading chefs who have opened restaurants in different cities of this country where they explored different dishes and used their innovative skills with rich ingredients. It gave birth to different popular menus that includes eggs benedict, lobster newberg, New York strip steak and many more. In the last fifty years, the influence of Indian and Chinese began to dominate. It enriched the American cuisine as a whole.

Nowadays, the confluence of variety of cuisines which made American dishes so delicious are famous all over the world. Various renowned American restaurant chains have now prominent presence throughout the world. The brands of McDonald, Pizza Hut and KFC have taken the world by storm. The whole world now celebrates the American dishes with their family and friends.

The most notable reasons for this wide variety of food available in the USA is obviously the ethnic influence. The wide choice of food reflect the nation’s changing diversity which modified and changed with time. In fact, the large immigration to the United States from various countries in the first half of the twentieth century shaped this cuisine. Every country has its own culinary tradition. But no such country experienced such wide influence over centuries. It makes American cuisine so special and distinct among others. The wide confluence makes the American cuisine easily distinguishable among all other forms of culinary traditions. 

Even in this twenty first century, the American cuisine continues to develop where new sumptuous menu and food are added to the list.

Joe Kikuchi is an expert food expert who loves to experiment with various cuisines around the world. Based in USA, he also loves experimenting with food and shares all his experiences, photos and reviews for his viewers.