What Happens When You Eat Nothing But Fruit for a Week

I always thought the word “fruitarian” was like the word “chocoholic”—a cutesy term used to describe someone's food preferences but not actually a real way of life. That is, until I became a vegan. Five months ago, I was inspired to convert to a plant-based diet by a community of vegan vloggers I discovered on YouTube. The more I became educated about veganism, the more invested and curious I became about the inner culture of the lifestyle. Soon I learned that there isn’t just one way to be a vegan: There are dozens. There is gluten-free vegan; raw vegan; high-carb, low-fat vegan; and more. Two months into my veganism, I was doing some research online, when I discovered a faction of veganism so tiny that it was even difficult to find definitive information about it on Google. The diet? Fruitarianism.

According to certified holistic nutritionist Kelly LeVeque, the fruitarian diet is “a subset of raw veganism where you eat botanical fruits in their natural state.” This includes all sweet fruits and seeded fruits (such as avocado, tomato, cucumber, and olives), as well as nuts and seeds. No grains, no cooked food. Certainly no processed food. The strictest of fruitarians don’t even eat vegetables or starches… literally just fruit.

At first, I was horrified, and then I was fascinated—enough to want to give the diet a try myself. To see how my week-long stab at fruitarianism went, keep reading!

Who Are These Fruitarians?

One of the most prominent fruitarian spokespeople is a YouTuber who goes by Freelee the Banana Girl. To all of her 670K subscribers, Freelee preaches the benefits of a fruit-heavy lifestyle, downing 30 (sometimes 50!) bananas in a single day. (Watching her do this on camera is oddly gripping.) Freelee’s view is that eating low-calorie fruits in large quantities delivers maximum glucose to the brain, fueling our minds and bodies while keeping us slim. From the looks of her flat, washboard abs and fiery demeanor, she seems to be on a constant sugar high.

But even Freelee’s diet isn't 100% fruit. “Depending on who you talk to, you can be a fruitarian if you eat at least 50%–75% of your calories this way,” says LeVeque. In other words, there’s no official definition of the diet. That’s not to say someone who eats fruit salad for breakfast and lunch and then a Taco Bell feast for dinner would be considered a fruitarian, but the term is somewhat up to interpretation.

 

Why Go Fruitarian?

You might be wondering what on earth the argument is for eating a fruitarian diet. The answer here varies as well. “Motivation to follow this lifestyle includes avoiding animal protein, increasing fiber, detoxifying the body, lowering calorie intake, and eliminating the need to cook,” says LeVeque. Some fruitarians even argue that there’s a moral component to it—that it’s only natural to eat food that falls from a tree naturally instead of ripping it from the ground. (I urge you, take this with a grain of salt.)

Despite the different interpretations, one thing all fruitarians have in common is this: They eat massive quantities of food and all manage to stay incredibly lean. Do a quick YouTube search, and you’ll find flat-stomached people from all over the world downing papayas and mangos by the dozens.

Personally, I’m not looking to lose weight. But the idea of getting to stuff your face and wake up with a flat tummy enticed me. Plus, even though I was already vegan when I discovered fruitarianism, my diet featured more processed junk and fewer fresh foods than it really should have. If nothing else, I figured a bout of fruitarianism could help me get into the habit of eating more raw fruits and veggies.

So, as an experiment, I resolved to follow a strict fruitarian diet for five days. I decided it would be more of a brief cleanse than a permanent lifestyle. I’ve always loved fruit, so I wasn’t nervous about my menu options. Plus, I hate cooking, so the raw thing seemed like a great fit. I had never been on a diet this specific before, but I was (naïvely) excited for the challenge.
The night before my diet, I did a giant fruit haul at Trader Joe’s (side note: following a fruit-only diet is delightfully cheap), and I ate a last meal of vegan pizza and cupcakes. The next day, I would wake up a fruitarian.

What Does a Fruitarian Diet Look Like?

Here is exactly what I ate on my first day as a fruitarian…  
Breakfast:
A big smoothie with three bananas, blueberries, dates, and about a cup of coconut milk
Morning snack:
A handful of dried peaches
Lunch:
Two massive bowls of fruit salad, filled with bananas, grapes, and berries (followed by a vitamin B12 supplement)
Afternoon snack:
A handful of dried figs
Dinner:
A large bowl of chopped avocado, cucumber, and tomato, dressed with olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper
Dessert:
A bag of raw almonds
Throughout the day, everyone I interacted with asked me the same two questions: “Aren’t you starving?” and “How many times have you gone to the bathroom today?” My answers to both: “Surprisingly, no,” and “Uh, a lot.”
As strange as it sounds, hunger was not the issue. This diet has nothing to do with portion control. You’re encouraged to eat as much fruit, nuts, and seeds as you desire. Polishing off those two bowls of fruit for lunch was shockingly difficult. Calorie-wise, I could have eaten the equivalent in tacos or pizza and still be starving. But the calorie density of these foods is so low that you can fill your stomach to the brim without actually overeating. Of course, downing raw fruit all day isn’t exactly exciting, but at least it doesn’t leave you hungry.
It does, however, encourage frequent bathroom breaks. Fruit is packed with fiber and water, two substances that seem to slip and slide right through the digestive system. All day, I could feel every twist of my intestines churning and bubbling to digest the food. Needless to say, this wasn’t comfortable. But sure enough, I woke up the morning of day two completely cleared out. My belly was astoundingly flat, and this was after a single day. With results like that, I had just one thought: Bring on the fruit!

My second-day fruitarian menu was very similar to my first. This diet doesn’t exactly permit a ton of variety. My digestive system continued to writhe, but happily, my hunger level didn’t increase. However, things did get complicated when I realized I was slated to attend a cocktail party that evening.
Incidentally, the fruitarian literature doesn’t say much about alcohol. But I figured if I couldn’t even have broccoli, booze was probably off the table too. Like many other restrictive diets, fruitarianism isn’t conducive to social gatherings. Just imagine showing up to a restaurant with friends and asking for a crate of bananas.

By the time the cocktail party rolled around, my fruitarian enthusiasm was dwindling. I wanted to enjoy myself at the event (one vodka soda wouldn’t kill me, would it?). Plus, I was starting to get decidedly non-fruitarian cravings. Interestingly, these food hankerings weren’t for a big home-cooked meal or a fatty dessert. All I wanted was some kind of starch. Potatoes, maybe, or rice. Or pasta. Or bread. Just something a little more substantial to break up the sugary fruit.

So, admittedly, I cheated. There were plates of vegan avocado toast at the cocktail party, and at around 7 p.m., I said “screw it,” and I had a couple slices (washed down with a vodka spritzer, might I add).
Even though I strayed from the diet, I didn’t want to throw in the towel. Health experts say this is a classic mistake. Just because you have a minor slip doesn’t mean you should give up altogether. Plus, 75% of my calories that day had been fruit-derived, so I was still technically in the fruitarian range.
I woke up the following day flat-stomached once again. The bread hadn’t ruined me after all. I was actually glad I had cheated. Sticking to a raw diet two meals out of three seemed like a reasonable lifestyle to me—something I could continue doing after my fruitarian “cleanse.”

Healthy Habits: 15 Strategies to Keep Them

1. Ask Yourself “Why?”  – Perhaps the most important step in breaking bad habits is to make sure you’ve chosen ones that you, personally, want to change.  This ensures that you’re doing it for the right reasons.  Is this bad habit something you want to change, or something that someone else wants you to change?  If you determine that it’s really for someone else, reconsider.  Although research does support that people can still benefit when forced to change–for instance, when court-ordered to AA meetings or treatment for a DUI, or when directed by their doctor to change a health habit to prevent surgery or disease–we get much further when we buy into the change ourselves. This doesn’t mean that you cannot work on something that someone else wants for you. In this case, think about which of your values underlies the requested change.  For instance, if your doctor recommended that you lose weight but you’re happy with how you look, can you identify a personal reason to do it?  Maybe “family” tops your values list.  Will losing weight allow you to enjoy more activities with them, or extend your time here on earth with them?  Different reasoning can underlie growing healthy habits.  Align yours with your values in order to grow your motivation for change.
2. Create a Vision – Once you’ve identified the habits you’re willing to work on, visualize how succeeding in changing them will modify your life for the better. Pull out all of the stops, here, and forego reason.  Really dream about what can come of your life when you experience success.  Now, see yourself “as if” you are already there.  Note the feeling state.  Chances are good that it’s something positive:  peace, love, joy. The problem is, that most of us live from the “Have-Do-Be” sequencing principle:  “When I ‘have’ _______, I’ll ‘do’ _________ and I’ll ‘be’ __________.”  For instance:

• “When I have the right job, I’ll earn and save more money, and I’ll be successful”, or;
• “When I have the perfect body, I’ll find a great spouse, and I’ll be happy.”

This is a set-up, and it’ll make you miserable. Instead, take a “Be-Do-Have” approach.  Let yourself be happy, then go about the work toward achieving a specific goal.  Chances are good that with this mind set, you’ll attract what you desire.
3. Assess Your Readiness for Change – Sometimes we’re just not there yet.  We want to be there.  We definitely want the end result– healthy habits –but we aren’t ready to pound the pavement to make it happen.  Setting a goal or strategy that sounds good, but one to which you’re unwilling to commit, sabotages your success before you even start.  According to Dr. James Prochaska, there are five stages of readiness for change:

1. Pre-comtemplation (Denial – “No need for change!”)
2. Contemplation (Thinking about changing, no action yet)
3. Preparation (Making small changes towards a big change in the next six months)
4. Action (Making the big change!)
5. Maintenance (Sustaining the change)

Develop a good understanding of the different stages, and then determine where you are. The goal is to help nudge yourself along the continuum, not drag yourself.  You want to develop goals and strategies that are somewhat challenging, but not too overwhelming.  If you’re not quite ready to do something yet, ask yourself what you are willing to do.  For instance, if you’re not yet willing to exercise every day for 30 minutes, ask yourself:

• “Am I willing to exercise three days a week for 30 minutes?”, or;
• “Am I willing to exercise three days a week for 15 minutes?”, or;
• “Am I willing to take a five-minute walk at lunch 5 or more days per week?”, or;
• “Am I willing to put on my work-out clothes and step out the door (or get in my car)?”

The trick here is back up the strategy until your answer is a resounding “yes”.  Not because you’re already taking that action, and it’ll therefore be ultra-easy, but because you can commit to it, and it’s a step forward.
4. Break it Down -Breaking bad habits needn’t be overwhelming.  Taking into account your readiness for change and to what you’re willing to commit, break your large goal into small, tangible objectives.  Effective goals that encourage breaking bad habits are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Relevant
• Realistic

Instead of “lose weight”, which is too general, decide how much you’d like to lose and by when.  Keep it realistic.  While losing 40 pounds in three months may happen with laser focus and unwavering commitment, establish a more realistic goal, such as:

• “Lose 20 or more pounds by April 1, 2013”

This allows for the additional weight loss, should it occur (i.e. “or more”), but it sets you up to succeed.  A great rule of thumb is to ask yourself, “What would I like to be doing differently in three, six, nine, twelve, months?”  Again why are you setting the goal? What would you be doing more or less of if you reached your goal?  For instance, using the weight loss goal as an example, perhaps it’s:

• walking up the foyer steps without experiencing knee pain, or without being breathless
• wearing my size 8 wardrobe
• throwing the football with my son for one hour without needing breaks

After all, you want to know when you’ve met your goal.  Consider creating goals for each quarter of the year, and then break them down into monthly and weekly goals.  Then, daily strategies.
5. Do Whatever You Want – Yes, really! When you begin to develop strategies to meet your goals, don’t forget who you are!  We often think that changing habits needs to be arduous and painful.  Not so!  Choose strategies that fit with your personality and likes.  For instance, if you’re  highly organized and love routine and structure, a work-out in the gym at a set time each day might fit.  A creative or brainiac?  Not so much.  In these cases, try walking park trails with your camera in tote, or listening to interesting scientific or business podcasts as you work out. There is no one, right method.

6. Elicit Support – It’s no surprise that having someone on your team helps you in breaking bad habits and instilling healthy habits. First, telling someone that you are making a change says “I’m serious!”.  Second, enlisting support helps you to hold yourself steadfast when you feel like giving up.  Having supportive “cheerleaders” helps hold you accountable, helps boost motivation, and helps you to hold your vision when you’d rather quit.  There are many means of support.  Of course, most ideal is to find a few supportive friends or family members.  Be careful, however, that they:

1. Know you well
2. Can “lean in” and support, without “leaning on” and controlling you
3. Can remain objective and not just tell you what you want to hear, thus letting you off the hook too easily

Should none of your friends or family members fit the bill, or even if they do, consider external means of support, like hiring a life or health coach who can remain objective and hold your best interest in mind at all times.  Other avenues of support include self-help change websites.
7. Set Yourself Up for Success – This strategy dove-tails all of the aforementioned material in this article.  One of the most effective strategies is to start with the easiest change first, and then build on this success.  Think about it.  What brings us down faster than perceived failure?  Start with a goal you feel pretty confident that you can manage.  For instance, perhaps healthy eating or exercise has been difficult in your quests to lose weight in the past.  Then try daily strategies like “drink 64 ounces of water” or “eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables” until you master them, and then move on to the more challenging tasks.  Babies don’t learn to walk because of their failures.  If they did, they’d never learn to walk. They build on the steps that they’ve successfully taken. Take some baby steps first, and build on these successes to help pull you forward.

8. Manage Your Environment – Environmental controls go a long way towards busting unhealthy habits and developing great ones. Temptations arise when that which you are trying to avoid is immediately available.  Yes, you can go to the store for ice cream or cigarettes, but chances are much greater that you will dig to that Haagen-Das in or puff away at those Marlboros if you have these items within arm’s reach.  Not keeping the cornerstones of your vices at your disposal bides you time when you’re tempted.  Identify ways you can change your environment to discourage your old habit, and support your new one.

9.  Automate – Employ the power of technology when possible, or establish routines that support your new habit.  For instance, if you’re trying to save money, divert a percentage of your paycheck to an IRA or savings account through direct deposit.  If using technology isn’t an option or doesn’t make sense, automate your daily habits.  For instance, if you’ve decided that taking a daily vitamin is an important habit this new year, set your vitamin bottle beside your coffee cups or water dispenser each day in order to remind you.  Set an alarm.  Use an app. Think about your habit, and determine what you can systematize to increase the chances of follow-through.  Cook healthy meals on Sundays and place into single-serving containers for meals throughout the week.  Cut up fruits and veggies weekly for evening snacking. You get the idea.  Automate for success.

10. Reward…Often – We often mistakenly see our end result as our sole reward, and we fail to set meaningful, regular rewards for ourselves along the way.  One of the hallmarks of an effective change strategy is to reward–early and often.  Seeing success early increases motivation.  Always keep a carrot dangled in front of you to edge you forward.  Be certain to make rewards relevant, enjoyable, but not the behavior you’re changing.  For instance, don’t indulge in a day of desserts after losing five pounds.  Instead, reap the benefits of your success, by buying yourself a new skirt or accessory to match an outfit you have your eye on to purchase once you’ve met your weight loss goal.

11. Make an Investment– In yourself, yes.  But also, a financial investment.  When things are free, they lose their perceived value.  When you’ve got no skin in the game, you can always do it later, right?  Spending some money on yourself, and also investing time and effort, raises the stakes.  You want a good return on your investment. So you work harder.  This could be as simple as spending some money on a quality gym membership, supplements, a health or life coach, or constructing a good old winner-takes-all contest with family members, friends or co-workers.  Fresh out of ideas for how to invest? Here’s a website that allows you to donate to your favorite charity as you master pre-established hurdles, or conversely, to donate to a charity you abhor if you fail to reach your goal (while research suggests that reward is more effective than punishment, experience tells me that goals are usually achieved through a combination of both – on the one side lies something we want; and on the other, something we really don’t want.  These both together push us toward our goal).
12.  Find Healthy Alternatives – While you’re busy changing behaviors, try to determine how your old habits served you.  Most will say, “They didn’t!”  While that can definitely be true, there might very well be something in it we think serves us.  We don’t repeat habits that don’t help us in some way, even if the word “Help” is used loosely.  Habits may provide comfort, companionship, excitement, distraction, or be ways of indirectly communicating needs and feelings.  De-coding why you have been doing something remains extremely important so that you can replace that habit with an alternative healthy strategy.  Determining the function of bad habits, and pinpointing obstacles for creating new habits is sometimes tricky.  Consider asking someone you trust if they can help you develop some insight.  If it’s a deeply-ingrained habit, consider hiring a professionally-trained counselor, therapist or coach to help you figure it out so that you can put it behind you, once and for all.  Without such insight, you’re bound to repeat the pattern.
13. Take a Breather – Build short breaks into your master plan.  We can do almost anything for short periods, but when we think about doing just about any behavior for a lifetime, we’re bound to stop short of our goal. Limit action strategies to specific time frames or periods.  For instance, if your goal is to “organize my home”, then set aside 30 minutes five days per week to organize a drawer, cabinet or closet.  When that time is up, stop.  If you’re looking at more of a lifestyle change, discard all-or-none thinking about it, and enjoy a moderate break. Have a sweet treat (outside of your home) once every two weeks.  Or, if you have more will power, stick to a firm plan for 4 to 6 weeks, and then take a week off.  Be certain that during your “off” time, that you don’t undo all of the progress that you’ve made. Make the goal to maintain or sustain, tread water, so to speak, instead of indulge and backslide.

14. Get Cozy with Your Emotions – This strategy sounds unfitting, right?  Well, emotional intelligence–getting acquainted and comfortable with your emotions, both difficult and pleasant ones–remains key to success in all areas of life.  Often, we participate in a bad habit because of poor self-esteem, faulty thinking or in an effort to resist feeling challenging emotions.  It’s not life’s events that we so fear.  It’s the emotions that accompany the life event that we work most to avoid.  Learning to label, tolerate, communicate and let go of emotions is a skill we can all learn and benefit from.

15. Get Back on the Wagon – We all fall off.  Because our human nature is to be “perfectly imperfect”, be rest assured that, you too, will fall.  But you won’t fail.  Take each mistake as an opportunity to assess the obstacles, so that you can use them to refine your plan.  Take each slip-up as an opportunity to be curious about yourself, and use what you learn to get back on track.  You may have taken an ineffective path at a “Y” in the road (i.e. your “slip-up”).  Now, consider yourself at a second “Y”.  You can either:

• beat yourself up endlessly, which will likely result in further ineffective action, or;
• choose an effective path by taking the opportunity to learn, refine, and recharge

The good news?  Just making a New Year’s resolution increases the likelihood of success:   Research supports that people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions. Perhaps author and motivational speaker Steve Maraboli said it best when he said:

 “Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to bring it back. You can’t “should’ve” done something. You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that attachment. Today is a new day!”

It is a new day.  In fact, it’s a new year. Stop “shoulding” on yourself. Instead, take the reigns.  Hold firmly. Till and cultivate. Manifest your life’s vision  in 2015.

Food and drinks for sport

Sports nutritionist and registered dietitan Wendy Martinson shares her tips on food and drink for sport, and how a good diet can help you get the best fitness and sport results.

Wendy advises Olympic athletes on how to improve their diet. She is a lead performance nutritionist for the English Institute of Sport and nutritionist for the Great Britain rowing team.
Can I eat more when I'm doing lots of exercise?

If you're doing lots of exercise, you'll use more energy each day than if you did little or none. If you are a normal weight and you don't want to lose body fat, you need to eat more food each day.

But you still need to make sure that you have a balanced diet. To increase your energy intake, eat more carbohydrate-rich foods, such as wholegrain pasta, rice, sweet potato, porridge and breakfast cereals, but also include sources of essential fats from foods such as oily fish, nuts and seeds. You will also need more protein-rich foods to help repair and build your muscles.

Learn more about how to have a balanced diet from our eatwell plate.
Is it better to eat a diet high in starchy carbohydrates or protein when I'm training?

You will need more carbohydrate and protein if you are training more. Carbohydrates are the fuel that power your exercise regime.

Carbohydrates – including wholegrain pasta, rice, sweet potato and porridge – are the most important fuel for muscles, and an essential energy source for the brain and central nervous system.

Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. These stores are small, so a regular intake of carbohydrate is necessary to keep them topped up. Low glycogen stores may result in poor performance and increase the risk of injury. For some sports however, such as weight making sports where you may have to weigh in at a certain weight category (such as boxing), or endurance sports (such as long-distance running), there can be physiological benefits of training with low glycogen stores during certain sessions. These sessions must be carefully planned, due to the potential risks.

Protein – including meat, fish, eggs and dairy foods – is needed in greater amounts and at regular intervals throughout the day for muscle growth and repair.

The proportions of carbohydrate and protein required will vary depending on the sport, so it's best to seek advice from a qualified professional on your individual requirements.

Learn more by reading our pages on starchy foods and a balanced diet.
How should I time my meals and snacks around exercise?

Once you’ve eaten a meal or snack, allow between one and four hours to pass before you start exercising. Your body needs time to digest. The amount of time will depend on the amount of food you've eaten.

If it's an average meal, eating around two to three hours before you exercise works well. If you have only an hour or so before you exercise then aim for a meal or snack that is rich in carbohydrate, low in fat and moderate in protein. Too much protein or fat will slow down the movement of foods from the stomach, and will make you feel uncomfortable.

Food and drink also plays a part in recovering effectively from training. Good recovery is crucial to prevent a midweek slump in energy levels, and to aid muscle growth and repair. When you finish training, aim to have a carbohydrate and protein-rich food or drink within 30 to 60 minutes if you are training more than once per day. Otherwise, eat as soon as you can afterwards.
Do I need to drink when I exercise?

Dehydration is when the water content in your body falls too low. It can have a major effect on exercise performance. It's important to start any exercise session well hydrated. Do this by drinking water, squash or diluted fruit juice regularly during the course of the day.

The amount you need to drink during exercise depends on the amount you sweat. This varies from person to person and also depends on the intensity and length of time exercising, as well as environmental factors.

Water is usually enough for low-intensity exercise up to about an hour. For higher-intensity exercise where energy and fluid needs may be greater, or lower-intensity exercise lasting several hours, a carbohydrate, electrolyte-containing sports drink may benefit.

The carbohydrates in a sports drink will help to maintain energy levels, and the electrolytes help to replace salt lost in sweat and keep you hydrated.

My friend exercises to lose weight, but I exercise to build muscle. Should our diets be different?

Yes. To lose weight or, more specifically, body fat, the amount of energy that you consume has to be less than the amount of energy you burn. You will need a diet and exercise regime that makes this happen.

If you are exercising to lose weight, there are key steps you can take to reduce the energy content in your daily diet. Reduce fat, which is the most concentrated source of energy, as well as your alcohol consumption. Eat fewer sugary foods, such as sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks, and eat regular but smaller portions of complex carbohydrate foods, such as wholegrain bread, rice and pasta. Include small amounts of foods with essential fats, such as nuts, seeds and oily fish.

Good portions of protein foods – such as chicken, fish, lean red meat and low-fat dairy foods – should be included at each meal time to help maintain muscle mass. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. It's also important to control portion sizes.

To build muscle, however, you need to combine resistance training (also called strength training) with a diet that includes enough energy to enable your body to make muscle, and sufficient and regular amounts of protein. Protein provides the building blocks and also helps you to make muscle.

This energy should come mainly in the form of carbohydrate-rich foods, but don't forget to include foods providing essential fats, such as oily fish, nuts and seeds.

Protein should be included at all mealtimes and particularly before and after a resistance training session. Low-fat milk or greek-style yoghurt is a practical, easy way to consume protein after training.
Should I take extra supplements when I'm playing sport?

There are many different supplements on the market. Some of them are based on solid research, but others aren't. Athletes need to consider supplements with extreme caution. In the past, some supplements were found to have been contaminated with banned substances. Find out more in bodybuilding and sports supplements page.

First, ensure that you have a healthy, balanced diet that suits your sport. Consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist with expertise in sports nutrition. They can assess this and advise you on particular supplements.

Some Common Non-starchy Vegetables

The following is a list of common non-starchy vegetables:

    Amaranth or Chinese spinach
    Artichoke
    Artichoke hearts
    Asparagus
    Baby corn
    Bamboo shoots
    Beans (green, wax, Italian)
    Bean sprouts
    Beets
    Brussels sprouts
    Broccoli
    Cabbage (green, bok choy, Chinese)
    Carrots
    Cauliflower
    Celery
    Chayote
    Coleslaw (packaged, no dressing)
    Cucumber
    Daikon
    Eggplant
    Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
    Hearts of palm
    Jicama
    Kohlrabi
    Leeks
    Mushrooms
    Okra
    Onions
    Pea pods
    Peppers
    Radishes
    Rutabaga
    Salad greens (chicory, endive, escarole, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
    Sprouts
    Squash (cushaw, summer, crookneck, spaghetti, zucchini)
    Sugar snap peas
    Swiss chard
    Tomato
    Turnips
    Water chestnuts
    Yard-long beans

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/non-starchy-vegetables.html#sthash.mC0MMRCg.dpuf

The following is a list of common non-starchy vegetables:

• Amaranth or Chinese spinach
• Artichoke
• Artichoke hearts
• Asparagus
• Baby corn
• Bamboo shoots
• Beans (green, wax, Italian)
• Bean sprouts
• Beets
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage (green, bok choy, Chinese)
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chayote
• Coleslaw (packaged, no dressing)
• Cucumber
• Daikon
• Eggplant
• Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
• Hearts of palm
• Jicama
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Onions
• Pea pods
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Rutabaga
• Salad greens (chicory, endive, escarole, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
• Sprouts
• Squash (cushaw, summer, crookneck, spaghetti, zucchini)
• Sugar snap peas
• Swiss chard
• Tomato
• Turnips
• Water chestnuts
• Yard-long beans

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/non-starchy-vegetables.html#sthash.mC0MMRCg.dpuf

The following is a list of common non-starchy vegetables:

• Amaranth or Chinese spinach
• Artichoke
• Artichoke hearts
• Asparagus
• Baby corn
• Bamboo shoots
• Beans (green, wax, Italian)
• Bean sprouts
• Beets
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Cabbage (green, bok choy, Chinese)
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chayote
• Coleslaw (packaged, no dressing)
• Cucumber
• Daikon
• Eggplant
• Greens (collard, kale, mustard, turnip)
• Hearts of palm
• Jicama
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks
• Mushrooms
• Okra
• Onions
• Pea pods
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Rutabaga
• Salad greens (chicory, endive, escarole, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio, watercress)
• Sprouts
• Squash (cushaw, summer, crookneck, spaghetti, zucchini)
• Sugar snap peas
• Swiss chard
• Tomato
• Turnips
• Water chestnuts
• Yard-long beans

- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/making-healthy-food-choices/non-starchy-vegetables.html#sthash.mC0MMRCg.dpuf

7 Proven Ways to Lose Weight on Autopilot (Without Counting Calories)

Eat less, move more.”

This is the message we receive from various health gurus and nutrition organizations.

They assume that the only reason people gain or lose weight is because of calories.

This is simply wrong, because our bodies are much more complicated than that.

Different foods affect hunger and hormones in different ways and all calories are NOT equal.

The truth is… there are many things you can do to lose weight, without ever counting a single calorie.

Here are 7 proven ways to put fat loss on “autopilot.

1. Replace Your Grain-Based Breakfast With Eggs

Eggs in a Basket

Losing weight can be as simple as changing your breakfast.

Two separate studies have shown that eating eggs in the morning (compared to a breakfast of bagels) can help you lose fat without trying.

In one of these studies, 30 overweight or obese women ate either bagels or eggs for breakfast.

The egg group ended up eating fewer calories at lunch, the rest of the day and for the next 36 hours.

Put simply, the eggs were so fulfilling that the women automatically ate fewer calories at subsequent meals.

In another study, 152 overweight men and women were split into groups. One group ate eggs, the other ate bagels… both groups were on a weight loss diet.

After 8 weeks, the egg group had lost significantly more weight than the bagel group:

    65% more weight loss (2 lbs vs 1.3 lbs).
    61% greater reduction in BMI.
    34% greater reduction in waist circumference.
    16% greater reduction in body fat percentage.

The difference in weight loss wasn’t huge, but it clearly shows that simple things like changing one meal can have a small effect.

Another awesome benefit of eating eggs is that they are among the healthiest foods in the world. New studies show that they do NOT raise your bad cholesterol or give you heart disease, like previously believed .

If you think you don’t have time to cook a healthy breakfast, think again. Preparing a breakfast with some eggs and veggies doesn’t have to take any longer than 5-10 minutes.

Coconut oil has some unique properties that can

help reduce appetite and increase fat burning.

It is loaded with fats called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs).

These fatty acids get metabolized differently compared to other fats… they go straight to the liver where they are either used for energy or turned into ketone bodies.

Two small studies show that eating these medium chain fats can make people eat fewer calories, one of them showing a reduction of 256 calories per day .

These fats also appear to increase energy expenditure, one study showing an increase as high as 5%.

Consuming 30 mL (about 1 ounce) of coconut oil may cause significant reductions in BMI and waist circumference, a marker for abdominal fat .

Now… I’m not suggesting that you gobble down massive amounts of coconut oil, but replacing your current cooking fats with it could have a noticeable effect .
8. Anything Else?

By making a few simple changes that optimize hormones, reduce hunger and boost metabolism, you can lose a lot of weight without ever counting a single calorie.

Feel free to leave a comment if you want to add to the list!

Just set your alarm clock a few minutes earlier… problem solved.

    Bottom Line: Studies show that eating eggs for breakfast can help you automatically eat fewer calories, compared to a breakfast of bagels.

2. Using Smaller Plates Can Trick Your Brain Into Thinking That You’re Actually Eating More

Plate With Food

The human brain is the most complex object in the universe, gram for gram.

It tends to work in mysterious ways… and the control of eating behavior is incredibly complicated.

It is the brain that ultimately determines whether we should or should not eat.

Interestingly, there is one neat thing you can do to “trick” your brain into thinking that it has eaten more food.

This is using smaller plates.

The larger your plates or bowls, the less your brain thinks you have eaten. By using smaller plates, you trick your brain into feeling more satisfied with fewer calories.

It’s weird… but psychologists have been studying this and it seems to work .

    Bottom Line: It is possible to “trick” the brain into thinking that it has eaten more food by using smaller plates.

3. Eating More Protein Can Reduce Appetite, Increase Fat Burning and Help You Gain Muscle

For some strange reason, protein has gotten a bad rap.

Many people think that it can “leech” calcium from the bones and cause kidney disease.

However… this is complete nonsense, which is not supported by science.

A Little Girl Eating Meat

There is a lot of evidence that protein can increase fat burning and reduce hunger, leading to automatic weight loss.

In fact, studies show that protein boosts metabolism more than any other macronutrient .

One of the reasons for that is that it takes the body more calories to digest and make use of protein, than it does fat and carbs.

Protein also increases satiety, leading to significantly reduced hunger .

In one study, increasing protein to 30% of calories lead to an automatic decrease in calorie intake of 441 calories per day.

Many studies show that increasing your protein intake can lead to automatic weight loss, even when eating until fullness.

Protein can also help you gain more muscle, especially if you also lift weights. Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning that it burns a small amount of calories, even at rest .

The best way to get in more protein is to eat more animal foods like meat, fish and eggs… preferably at every meal.

    Bottom Line: Increased protein in the diet can boost metabolism and reduce hunger. It can also increase muscle mass, helping you burn more calories around the clock.

4. Eating Foods With a Low Energy Density and Lots of Fiber Make You Feel More Full With Fewer Calories

Vegetables

Another way to feel more satisfied with fewer calories is to eat foods that have a low energy density.

This includes foods that have a high water content, such as vegetables and some fruits.

Studies consistently show that dieters who eat less energy dense foods lose more weight than those who eat foods with a high energy density.

In one study, women who ate soup (low energy density) lost 50% more weight than women who ate an energy dense snack .

Vegetables are also rich in soluble fiber, which has been shown to cause weight loss in some studies .

Another benefit of soluble fiber is that it gets broken down by bacteria in the digestive tract to produce a fatty acid called butyrate, which is believed to have significant anti-obesity effects… at least in rats.

Combining animals (high in protein) with a bunch of plants (low energy density) is a recipe for success.

    Bottom Line: Choosing foods with a low energy density (like vegetables and some fruits) can help you feel more satisfied with fewer calories.

5. Cutting Carbs Can Make You Lose Weight Fast While Eating Until Fullness

Probably THE best way to start losing weight without calorie counting or portion control is to reduce your carbohydrate intake.

Studies consistently show that people who eat less carbohydrates, automatically start to eat less calories and lose weight without any major effort.

In one study, 53 overweight/obese women were randomized to a low-carb group or a calorie restricted low-fat group, for 6 months

Weight Loss Graph, Low Carb vs Low Fat

Women in the low-carb group lost twice as much weight (8.5 kg – 18.7 lbs) while eating until fullness, compared to the low-fat group (3.9 kg – 8.6 lbs), which was calorie restricted.

The best way to cut carbs is to reduce or eliminate major carb sources from your diet like sugars, sweets, sodas, as well as starchy foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.

Getting into the range of 100-150 gram carbs per day can be useful. If you want to lose weight fast, then going under 50 grams per day can be extremely effective.

Another great benefit of reducing carbs… it lowers your insulin levels, which makes the kidneys start shedding excess sodium and water from the body, significantly reducing bloat and water weight .

    Bottom Line: Cutting carbohydrate intake can reduce appetite and cause automatic weight loss, without calorie counting or portion control. It also leads to significant reductions in water weight.

6. Making Time For Quality Sleep and Avoiding Stress Can Optimize The Function of Key Hormones

Two things that often get ignored when discussing health (and weight) are sleep and stress levels.

Both are incredibly important for the optimal function of your body and hormones.

Inadequate sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity… short sleep duration raising the risk by 89% in children and 55% in adults .

Poor sleep can increase hunger and cravings and cause a biochemical tendency for weight gain by disrupting hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin .

Excess stress can increase your levels of the hormone cortisol, which is known to increase belly fat accumulation and the risk of chronic, Western diseases.

For these reasons, it is very important to make time for quality sleep, as well as avoiding unnecessary stressors in your life.

    Bottom Line: Poor sleep and excess stress can mess up important metabolic hormones like ghrelin, leptin and cortisol. Getting these hormones under control should reduce appetite and unnatural cravings.

7. Replacing Your Cooking Fats With Coconut Oil Can Boost Metabolism and Reduce Appetite

Coconut oil has some unique properties that can help reduce appetite and increase fat burning.

It is loaded with fats called Medium Chain Triglycerides .

These fatty acids get metabolized differently compared to other fats… they go straight to the liver where they are either used for energy or turned into ketone bodies.

Two small studies show that eating these medium chain fats can make people eat fewer calories, one of them showing a reduction of 256 calories per day .

These fats also appear to increase energy expenditure, one study showing an increase as high as 5%  .

Consuming 30 mL (about 1 ounce) of coconut oil may cause significant reductions in BMI and waist circumference, a marker for abdominal fat .

Now… I’m not suggesting that you gobble down massive amounts of coconut oil, but replacing your current cooking fats with it could have a noticeable effect.

8. Anything Else?

By making a few simple changes that optimize hormones, reduce hunger and boost metabolism, you can lose a lot of weight without ever counting a single calorie.

How to Beat Junk Food Addiction

Did you know that junk foods activate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse like cocaine?

It’s true.

This is why we can get such intense cravings for these foods.

This is also why some of us can’t stop eating junk foods despite knowing that they’re doing us physical harm.

I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about food addiction.

I’ve done a LOT of research on it… but most important of all, I am a recovering alcoholic and food addict with a history of many rehabs.

I know how addiction works and I’m here to tell you that addiction to junk foods is exactly the same. The cravings, the thought processes, all that stuff… it’s identical.

Earlier this year, I wrote an e-book about food addiction called Vicious Eating.

I have decided to give it away for free. You can download it right here, without having to sign up with an e-mail address or anything.

Vicious Eating – The Food Addict’s Guide to Redemption.

It is 130 pages, in a .pdf file. I hope you will find it useful.

More articles about food addiction:

        *Food Addiction – A Serious Problem With a Simple Solution

       * Food Addiction Treatment – Where to Find Help

       * 8 Symptoms of Food Addiction

       * How Common is Food Addiction? A Critical Look

        *A Simple 3-Step Plan to Stop Sugar Cravings

        *How Food Addiction Works (and What to do About it)

        *Is Complete Abstinence From Junk Foods a Bad Idea?

        *How Sugar Hijacks Your Brain And Makes You Addicted

        *Junk Foods Are Manipulated by Chemical Engineers to Make us Overeat

        *Why “Everything in Moderation” is Killing People

Is it Healthy or Unhealthy?

There are thousands of different foods out there and whether any one food can be called “healthy” or not often depends on the individual.
On this page, I have collected all the articles where I explore the health effects of a particular food, nutrient or sweetener.

Foods:

Butter – healthy, especially if grass-fed.

Coconut oil – very healthy.

Margarine – very unhealthy.

Diet Soda – pretty bad.

Coffee – healthy.

Green tea – healthy.

Fruit – healthy.

Bacon – probably fine.

Eggs – healthy. See different types of eggs here.

Added sugar – very bad.

Wheat – pretty bad.

Red meat – healthy, especially if grass-fed.

Grape seed oil – very bad.

Soy – pretty bad.

Ezekiel bread – healthier than most breads.

Peanut butter – fine in moderation.

Nutrients:

Fiber – healthy.

Saturated fats – healthy.

Salt – not as bad as people say.

Vegetable oils – very bad

Vitamin D – very important if you’re deficient.

Sweeteners:

Honey – less bad than sugar.

Coconut Sugar – less bad than sugar.

Stevia – good.

Erythritol – maybe the best low-calorie sweetener.

Yacon syrup – healthy.

4 “Heart Healthy” Foods That Can Clog Your Arteries

Many foods that people believe to be healthy are actually seriously harmful.

Here are 4 common “heart healthy” foods that are more likely to clog your arteries.

1. “Healthy” Breakfast Cereals

The way foods are labelled is a disgrace.

This is particularly true of so-called “healthy” breakfast cereals.

Most of these cereals are highly processed foods and loaded with refined grains and sugar.

The manufacturers often add labels like “whole grain” with the purpose of deceiving people into thinking that their products are healthy.

However… usually, these “whole” grains have been pulverized into very fine flour and have pretty much the same effects on your blood sugar and metabolism as their refined counterparts.

These cereals, including the healthy looking ones, are also usually loaded with refined sugar, although the manufacturers often use clever tricks to hide the true amount of sugar in their products.

The worst part of this is… these incredibly harmful products are often marketed directly towards children, then the misleading health claims (lies) are added to convince the parents that it is a good idea to feed this stuff to their kids.

2. Modern Wheat, Including The “Heart Healthy” Whole Wheat

A few decades ago (around 1960), wheat changed.

Scientists started tampering with the plant’s genes in order to invent a new breed that had a much greater yield.

This was mostly a good thing at the time and had a major role in reducing starvation around the world. The lead scientist even won the Nobel Peace Prize for his discovery.

However, as often happens when humans start tampering with nature, it did have some unforeseen consequences.

Studies show that modern wheat (often called high-yield, semi-dwarf wheat) is significantly less nutritious than the older varieties (1, 2).

But there is also some evidence that modern “whole” wheat isn’t just less nutritious, it may also be significantly more harmful to your heart.

Studies that compare modern wheat to its older counterparts show that it can increase cholesterol levels and inflammatory markers… but inflammation is among the leading drivers of heart disease (3, 4).

Another study that compared modern whole wheat to whole oats, showed that the wheat raised LDL particle count by 14.2% and small, dense LDL by a whopping 60.4% compared to the oats (5).

Although this needs to be replicated in more studies, this does imply that modern wheat products may drastically increase the risk of cardiovascular disease… at least when compared to older wheat varieties or other healthier grains like oats.

Modern wheat also contains different gluten proteins than the older breeds and is significantly more harmful to people with celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome (6, 7).

Although wheat may have been a relatively healthy food back in the day… the kind of wheat that over 90% of people are eating today is not healthy and should be avoided.

3. Low-Fat Dairy Products, Which Happen to be Loaded With Sugar

Dairy products tend to be high in saturated fat.

Therefore, it is often recommended that we consume low-fat dairy instead.

But there is a problem with this recommendation, because saturated fat doesn’t actually increase your risk of heart disease (8, 9).

Studies that look at dairy fat specifically show that people who eat the most high-fat dairy are less likely to be obese and don’t have an increased risk of heart disease or diabetes (10).

In countries where cows are largely grass-fed, dairy fat is linked to a drastically reduced risk of heart disease (11, 12).

If anything, the major health benefits of dairy products seem to be caused primarily by the fatty components.

Also, let’s not forget that low-fat dairy products (especially low-fat yogurt) are usually loaded with sugar… they often have more sugar than candy!

Many studies show that added sugar has severe harmful effects on metabolism and increases some major risk factors for heart disease, including triglycerides, abdominal obesity and small, dense LDL cholesterol (13, 14).

Saturated fat appears to be harmless, but added sugar is extremely unhealthy when consumed in excess.
Most low-fat dairy products are processed foods that have had the good stuff taken out, only to be replaced with something much worse.

4. Processed Vegetable Oils

Processed seed- and vegetable oils are often mistakenly assumed to be healthy.

These are oils extracted from seeds and include soybean, corn and canola oils.

The way these are made is very disgusting and involves high heat, various artificial chemicals and the toxic solvent hexane.

It is well known that these oils lower cholesterol levels, but… having lower cholesterol does NOT necessarily mean that you will have less heart disease (15).

After all, cholesterol is a risk factor, not an actual disease.

Many long-term studies where people replace saturated fats with these processed oils show that they increase the risk of heart disease… and cancer (16, 17, 18).

Interestingly, a study that looked at common cooking oils on store shelves found that that the trans fat content in these “heart healthy” oils was extremely high, from 0.56 to 4.2% (19).

These oils are high in trans fats and inflammatory, damage prone Omega-6 fats and several studies have shown that they increase the risk of death.

Why on earth are the mainstream nutrition organizations still recommending that we eat them? It makes absolutely no sense.

25 Top Heart-Healthy Foods

With the help of these nutrition experts from The Cleveland Clinic and the American Dietetic Association, we've put together a list of the "best of the best" heart-healthy foods.

The foods listed here are all top-performers in protecting your heart and blood vessels. We've also got menu ideas -- so you can easily bring heart-healthy foods into your daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

1. Salmon

Omega-3 fatty acids.

Grill salmon with a yummy rub or marinade. Save a chunk to chop for a pasta or salad later on.

2. Flaxseed (ground)

Omega-3 fatty acids; fiber, phytoestrogens.

Ground flaxseed hides easily in all sorts of foods -- yogurt parfaits, morning cereal, homemade muffins, or cookies.

3. Oatmeal

Omega-3 fatty acids; magnesium; potassium; folate; niacin; calcium; soluble fiber.

Top hot oatmeal with fresh berries. Oatmeal-and-raisin cookies are a hearty treat.

4. Black or Kidney Beans

B-complex vitamins; niacin; folate; magnesium; omega-3 fatty acids; calcium; soluble fiber.

Give soup or salad a nutrient boost -- stir in some beans.

5. Almonds

Plant omega-3 fatty acids; vitamin E; magnesium; fiber; heart-favorable mono- and polyunsaturated fats; phytosterols.

Mix a few almonds (and berries) into low-fat yogurt, trail mix, or fruit salads.

6. Walnuts

Plant omega-3 fatty acids; vitamin E; magnesium; folate; fiber; heart-favorable mono- and polyunsaturated fats; phytosterols.

Walnuts add flavorful crunch to salads, pastas, cookies, muffins, even pancakes.

7. Red wine
   Catechins and reservatrol (flavonoids).
   Toast your good health! A glass of red wine could improve "good" HDL cholesterol.
8. Tuna

Omega-3 fatty acids; folate; niacin.

Here's lunch: Salad greens, fresh fruit, canned tuna. Keep "Salad Spritzer" - a light dressing -- in your office fridge.

9. Tofu

Niacin; folate; calcium; magnesium; potassium.

Tasty tofu is easy: Thinly slice "firm" tofu, marinate several hours, grill or stir-fry.

10. Brown rice

B-complex vitamins; fiber; niacin; magnesium, fiber.

Your Guide to Nutrients in Heart-Healthy Foods

Phytoestrogensare substances in plants (like flaxseed) that have a weak estrogen-like action in the body. Studies suggest that flaxseed lowers the risk of blood clots, stroke, and cardiac arrhythmias. It may also help lower total and LDL "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, and even blood pressure.

Phytosterols are plant sterols that chemically resemble cholesterol -- and seem to reduce blood cholesterol. All nuts and seeds, including wheat germ, have phytosterols.

Carotenoids are heart-protective antioxidants in many colorful fruits and veggies. Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene are carotenoids.

Polyphenols are another set of antioxidants that protect blood vessels, lower blood pressure, reduce LDL "bad" cholesterol. Flavonoid polyphenols include catechins, flavonones, flavonols, isoflavones, reservatrol, and anthocyanins. Non-flavonoid polyphenols include ellagic acid (found in all types of berries).

Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fatty fish like salmon) and alpha-linolenic fatty acids (found in plant foods like walnuts) help boost the immune system, reduce blood clots, and protect against heart attacks. They also increase good HDL levels, lower triglyceride levels, protect arteries from plaque buildup, are anti-inflammatories, and lower blood pressure.

B-complex vitamins -- like Vitamin B-12 (folate) and vitamin B-6 -- protect against blood clots and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Niacin (vitamin B-3) helps increase HDL "good" cholesterol.

Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that protect cells from free radical damage. Magnesium, potassium, and calcium help lower blood pressure. Fiber-rich foods help lower cholesterol levels.

Microwavable brown rice makes a quick lunch. Stir in a few chopped veggies (broccoli, carrots, spinach).

11. Soy milk

Isoflavones (a flavonoid); B-complex vitamins; niacin; folate, calcium; magnesium; potassium; phytoestrogens.

Soy milk is great over oatmeal or whole-grain cereal. Or, make a smoothie with soy milk.

12. Blueberries

Beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids); anthocyanin (a flavonoid); ellagic acid (a polyphenol); vitamin C; folate; calcium, magnesium; potassium; fiber.

Cranberries, strawberries, raspberries are potent, too -- for trail mixes, muffins, salads!

13. Carrots

Alpha-carotene (a carotenoid); fiber.

Baby carrots are sweet for lunch. Sneak shredded carrots into spaghetti sauce or muffin batter.

14. Spinach

Lutein (a carotenoid); B-complex vitamins; folate; magnesium; potassium; calcium; fiber.

Pick spinach (not lettuce) for nutrient-packed salads and sandwiches.

15. Broccoli

Beta-carotene (a carotenoid); Vitamins C and E; potassium; folate; calcium; fiber.

Chop fresh broccoli into store-bought soup. For a veggie dip, try hummus (chickpeas).

16. Sweet potato

Beta-carotene (a carotenoid); vitamins A, C, E; fiber.

Microwave in a zip-lock baggie for lunch. Eat au naturale, or with pineapple bits.

17. Red bell peppers

Beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids); B-complex vitamins; folate; potassium; fiber.

Rub with olive oil, and grill or oven-roast until tender. Delicious in wraps, salads, sandwiches.

18. Asparagus

Beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids); B-complex vitamins; folate; fiber.

Grill or steam slightly, then dress with olive oil and lemon. It's a pretty side dish.

19. Oranges

Beta-cryptoxanthin, beta- and alpha-carotene, lutein (carotenoids) and flavones (flavonoids); vitamin C; potassium; folate; fiber.

Got orange juice? Check out the new nutrient-packed blends.

20. Tomatoes

Beta- and alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein (carotenoids); vitamin C; potassium; folate; fiber.

For a flavor twist, try oil-packed tomatoes in sandwiches, salads, pastas, pizzas.

21. Acorn squash

Beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids); B-complex and C vitamins; folate; calcium; magnesium; potassium; fiber.

Baked squash is comfort food on a chilly day. Serve with sautéed spinach, pine nuts, raisins.

22. Cantaloupe

Alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids); B-complex and C vitamins; folate; potassium; fiber.

A fragrant ripe cantaloupe is perfect for breakfast, lunch, potluck dinners. Simply cut and enjoy!

23. Papaya

Beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein (carotenoids); Vitamins C and E; folate; calcium; magnesium; potassium.

Serve papaya salsa with salmon: Mix papaya, pineapple, scallions, garlic, fresh lime juice, salt and black pepper.

24. Dark chocolate

Reservatrol and cocoa phenols (flavonoids).

A truffle a day lowers blood pressure, but choose 70% or higher cocoa content.

25. Tea

Catechins and flavonols (flavonoids).

Make sun tea: Combine a clear glass jar, several tea bags, and hours of sunshine.

Sex tips to rekindle the heat

In long-term relationships, it's easy to settle into a routine with your partner that, while may be comfortable, can make your sex life a tad mundane. However, by shaking it up and using these sex tips, you can revive the spark that first brought you two together. Here are a few ideas to consider.

Keep it pretty

First things first, it's impossible to have great sex if you don't feel sexy, so treat yourself to a blowout or some new lingerie, whatever is needed to put the "va-va-voom" back into your step.

Flirt with each other

Make a habit of sending playful, sexy messages to him throughout the day. Make him salivate with anticipation by telling him what you're wearing and what you want to do to him later.

Set the mood

Don't underestimate the power of lighting a few candles. Make sure your  new lingerie, and doesn't have toys littering it. And turn off the tv

Just kiss

Agree to place a ban on sex for a certain length of time and just kiss and focus on foreplay. Abstaining from sex has the added benefit of charging up both of your libidos.

Surprise him

Don't wear any underwear and let him find out.

Watch an erotic film together

It doesn't have to be porn for it to be sexy. Some favorites: Body Heat, Belle du Jour, Last Tango in Paris, Like Water for Chocolate.

Play an adult game

Check out Game night for couples and Games that lovers play for some naughty suggestions.

Discover a new position

There are over 60 different positions in the Kama Sutra, so there's no excuse to not try a new one at least once a week!

Share your fantasies

A little role-playing can be fun and it doesn't have to be limited to the bedroom. Start the fun before you even get home by meeting at a bar and pretending you just met.

Get out of the bedroom

Sometimes a change of locale is all that's needed to rev up the action. Try having sex somewhere unexpected; just be careful not to get caught!
If any of the ideas makes you feel nervous, then you should definitely try it first. The great part of being with someone for an extended period of time is that you can fully trust and feel safe with him, so don't hesitate to try something out of your normal comfort zone, especially if it means revving your sex life up!

How do I use lube during sex?

I want to try lube during sex, but I'm not sure how to use it. Help!

When it comes to maxing out your mattress sessions, wetter is usually better. Since your natural wetness can decrease at times due to a variety of things (for instance, stress, medication and birth-control pills), adding lube helps ease penetration so sex is pleasurable and not painful. But using lubricant can be effective even when you don't have vaginal dryness. It boosts below-the-belt sensation and allows your man to thrust longer and harder without causing you discomfort.

Though lubrication can be made from water, oil, petroleum or silicone, water-based lube is your best bet: It's safe to use with condoms (oil- and petroleum-based lubes can cause latex to deteriorate); it's easily washed away (you're at greater risk of getting an infection with silicone-based lube because it isn't water-soluble, so it's more difficult to wash it and any lingering bacteria away); and it won't stain your sheets. If you're prone to yeast infections, use a water-based product made without glycerin (sugars found in glycerin feed yeast, causing it to multiply) for the same slippery satisfaction.

Once you've scored some slick stuff (try it out solo to find a brand you like), keep it close by your bed for easy access. When you and your man are fooling around, fire up foreplay by pouring a nickel-sized dollop into your palm and rubbing your hands together to warm it up. Then, slowly spread it over the tip of his penis and work your way down his shaft. Have him return the favor and smooth some over your hot spots, too. When you're ready to do the deed, give each other lube jobs again, only this time rub the lubricant over his condom. You can enhance his sensation by adding a drop into the tip of the condom before rolling it on.

During sex, replenish the lube whenever you feel a little dry. Simply stop for a second, have him pull out so you can reapply it over his condom, then let him glide back in. Just make sure you don't overdo it: A little wetness will ease penetration, but too much can make it impossible
to generate frisky friction.

The 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Anal Sex

After chatting with a 39-year-old mom who loves anal sex, I got to thinking about the precise ways in which anal is taboo — and how to mythbust them. Clinical Sexologist and Marriage and Family Therapist Dr. Kat Van Kirk weighed in on what's true about anal, and what's not.

The myth: It will hurt.

The truth: Anal sex doesn't have to hurt. It's often just done incorrectly. Many women find it incredibly pleasurable, and some even report having orgasms with them. If you and your partner start slow, work your way into insertion with smaller implements like fingers and sex toys and use plenty of lube, pain will be the last thing on your mind.

The myth: Once it hurts, it will always hurt.

The truth: So you tried it once and insertion hurt really bad. You made your partner stop and vowed never to go "back" there again. You don't have to shut the backdoor because of one or two negative experiences. Most of these experiences have to do with not following the above instructions: go slow, graduate in size and use lube. Plus there is a nice trick to get you relaxed. If you also stimulate your clitoris at the same time it can encourage the pleasure over pain response.

The myth: Only "sluts" have anal sex.

The truth: You've always heard that bad girls are the only ones willing to have anal sex. In actuality, anal sex has been voted the number one taboo sexual behavior that heterosexual couples want to try. So obviously, we all can't be sluts. There's a natural curiosity about our bodies and if there is pleasure to be had, you should feel you can explore that in a safe and healthy way.

The myth: Having anal sex will save your sex life.

The truth: Yes, I have actually heard this in my office more than once. It usually has to do with a couple that has more than once sexual issue, especially a female who might be inhibited about her sexuality and it is getting in the way of her sex life with her partner. Some men behold anal sex as the holy grail and if they can just get their wives and girlfriends to partake then the floodgates (so to speak) about sex would open in general. Those other issues need to be worked out ahead of time and then if and when she feels open to the experience should they approach the subject. If she is just doing it out of fear of losing her relationship, she probably won't enjoy it anyway.

The myth: Your man won't respect you later.

The truth: So he got what he wanted from you and now wants nothing to do with you? I'm sure this happens occasionally but with more than just anal sex but any sort of sexual activity. Most men though, are modern enough to see anal sex as just one component of healthy sex life. And because of the taboo of anal sex, it might actually help you feel closer and more emotionally bonded to your partner.

The myth: It will cause you physical damage.

The truth: Having any sort of sex the "wrong way" could cause damage. Think about it: If you are vaginally dry and don't use additional lube, you can cause micro-tears in the vagina. The same thing can happen in anal sex. Granted the vagina does create it's own lubrication usually (depending on hormones etc.) and the anus does not but that just means real lube (not saliva) needs to be used for a healthy experience.

The myth: You don't need to use condoms when you have anal sex.

The truth: This is a misconception because many people think that because there is no pregnancy risk that you also don't need to use a condom. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Most STDs are transferrable through the anus (chlamydia, gonorrhea, infectious hepatitis and HIV). Some even more so, because the lining of the anus is much more thin and can be broken more easily if too much dry friction occurs (again, please refer to the importance of lube use).

The myth: Once you give your partner anal sex, it will be all he wants.

The truth: It's no secret, many men do cop to the fact that they enjoy the additional tightness the anus affords as compared to the vagina. But most men don't want to give up the main entry either. Vaginas are still revered. Anal sex tends to be a "treat" mixed into your regular sexual repertoire of play.

The myth: Your anus will get all stretched out.

The truth: Just like the myth that the vagina gets irreparably stretched out from childbirth, this is also a misconception. There were rumors in the late seventies of groups of men who engaged in so much anal activity that they actually lost control of bowel movements. Regular, healthy use of anal sex will not lead to this outcome. Through regular anal sex, your anus does learn to become more relaxed but much of that has to do with your ability to relax yourself mentally for the act. And we all know that the vagina accommodates a wide range of penises, the anus can too — with the right introduction.

The myth: It's dirty (literally).

The truth: This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions I run across. The anus and the lower part of the rectum actually have very little fecal material in them, which means it tends to not be nearly as dirty as you think. This doesn't mean you should transfer the elements into the vagina by having anal sex and then vaginal sex though because they are two different environments, even microscopic fecal elements can cause vaginal infections. Just be sure to as with antimicrobial soap before vaginal re-entry or just end your sexual exploits for that evening with anal sex. Regardless, if you are still concerned, you can always have a bowel movement prior followed by an enema, if you want to be squeaky clean.

The Weird Reason He's Into Oral

Ever wonder why some guys love giving oral, while others don't even think about it? We do, too.

Luckily, a pair of researchers from Michigan's Oakland University set out to find the answer to that very question.

They asked 231 men in committed, heterosexual relationships to fill out a survey about their partners with questions about sexual satisfaction and their feelings about oral.

The point? They wanted to find out how oral sex fits into "sperm competition" among men—in other words, whether or not oral has an effect on a woman's likeliness to cheat.

And the results ended up pretty much like we thought they would: Men with a greater risk for sperm competition—meaning they thought their attractive girlfriends would cheat—are more likely to give oral.

Is that the only reason guys do it? Of course not. Some do it because they like it and want to please you. But, if he's suddenly super interested in going down all the time? You might want to ask him what's up—he might be feeling insecure.

How I Got My Man to Try Sex Toys

It's not easy to get a guy to feel OK with touching anything that looks remotely like a penis. Here's our advice.

I was a late bloomer. This vavavoom, sexy Latina was once a wallflower that asked her friends how to flirt. Need further proof? I lost my virginity at 23.

Once I was sexually active, however, I wanted to explorar. My then boyfriend had me open. Getting freaky in a club? Check. Sex morning, noon and night? Check. Stripteases and lap dances? Check. But what about sex toys? I wanted to try them. I wanted to let my freak flag fly.

And so a new sexual adventure began. It's a process to get a guy to agree to use them. Here's how I did it.

Buying Sex Toys

I bought some toys at a sex shop in The Village in NYC. A vibrator just for my clitoris and a cock ring for his...ahum. I purchased non-threatening toys for a reason. When introducing sex toys, it's important to start with smaller (pun intended) toys as to not bruise your hombre's ego. I also purchased fun items that will help him ease into it, like a tingling, edible cream for blow jobs and edible melting wax. I clearly took note while watching Madonna in "Body of Evidence." Like a virgin, who?

Talking to Your Man

I approached the subject while in bed. When in Rome, right? We began fooling around and I introduced the edible creams and wax. He was excited. What man wouldn't be? You bought a cream to suck him off and make him feel even better? Sign me up! Once I went down south I asked if he wanted to try the cock ring. He was so happy with my special treat that he didn't hesitate.

Focusing on Your Clitoris

If your boyfriend is a little shy, or feels like cock rings and dildo's are too much too soon, there's something you can do. Jus don't talk to him about your clitoris. "Honey, did you know that the clitoris has more nerve endings than a penis?" Turn off. Don't compare clit to pene. What you need to do is show him what you like. This is when you summon your inner fresca and whip out that vibrator. During mid-suck, open your drawer and show him your new toy. Tell him you want to masturbate in front of him. You can use the vibrator then. Once he's turned on (and he will be) give him the vibrator to finish you off.

My man finished me off, and he got off because he pleased me. What man doesn't want to feel like he's the best his woman's ever had? The trick is to assure your papi chulo that he's not competing with the toys; he's working with the toys. Take it from this once shy and inexperienced Dominicana: this collaboration is for the good of The Big O.

Sex Talk Realness: Female Masturbation

Flickin' it: Who, what, where, why, how, and is porn involved? Three real women speak anonymously.

At what age did you first start masturbating?

Woman A: Probably around 5 or 6.
Woman B: 18? 19? Freshman in college.
Woman C: Younger than 4? I don't ever remember not doing it (once I realized what it was). My neighbors, who were sisters, all 1–3 years older than me, told me about it. This is a super-weird concept for me now that I'm an adult, but it was really innocent since there was no comprehension or apprehension. Just, "Hey, check out this cool thing I discovered," like it was a new game.
Were you aware of what masturbation was?
Woman A: No, definitely not. I finally realized what it was when I was 11 or 12 and read Judy Blume's Deenie. (Blume actually used the word "masturbation" so I was able to make the connection). After that, my mother gave me a Catholic book cataloguing every single sin (to be used before going to confession) and I found that "masturbation" was listed under the sins for "Thou shall not commit adultery." After that point I stopped masturbating for around 2 to 3 years. (I swear I'm not as crazy as I used to be).
Woman B: Yes.
Woman C: No, I didn't actually understand what it was until I was probably 9 or 10. This is when I started watching "more mature" movies/television, and when I remember kids talking about sex in general. So once that became a conversation I had a basic knowledge of, it became very obvious that's what I was tapping into with that particular activity.
What was your early-years masturbation technique?
Woman A: Just clitoral stimulation. I also for some reason always laid on my stomach.
Woman B: Just your classic finger-clitoral stimulation.
Woman C: Rubbing on pillows or whatever felt good. The most rudimentary stuff for many, many years.
Has it changed over the years or do you still masturbate the way you did when you first started?
Woman A: It's still the same, but I no longer lay on my stomach. I don't know why I did that?
Woman B: I stick with the classics.
Woman C: No, that would be quite the quirk. There weren't any big changes until high school, once I was actually partaking in sex with a boyfriend. I didn't try anything new on my own, but once I knew other things felt better, they were incorporated.
How quickly are you able to get yourself off?
Woman A: Very, very quickly. It probably only takes me a minute or two, but obviously I like to enjoy it, so I usually stretch it out to make it last longer (also, better orgasms that way).
Woman B: If I'm in a time crunch I could probably have a go in about five minutes?
Woman C: Very fast if there is something or someone else there, i.e., masturbating in front of my boyfriend or porn. I'd say five minutes once I'm actually doing it. If there is nothing else happening — by myself, nothing to see and/or hear, closer to 20 minutes.
How quickly do you come from sex?
Woman A: I am capable of coming from sex without fingering my clitoris but I don't usually choose to. I can come from sex alone after about 10 to 20 minutes. With using both I can come in under five minutes (again, I don't usually choose to make it that fast).
Woman B: Penetration? Rarely, if ever. Depends on the guy. Def not in five minutes.
Woman C: Pretty fast, 5 to 10 minutes, but I usually come multiple times during sex. On average every three to five minutes after the initial orgasm. This is very new though, just in the last year; I feel like I went through a second puberty.
Do you find that masturbation has helped you articulate what you enjoy with your partner/what helps you get off?Woman A: I don't really think that it was masturbation that did that. I think it was dating a man who made me totally comfortable with my sexuality. I used to be extremely embarrassed about masturbating. I didn't tell any of my friends in middle school or early high school, and kind of thought that I was the only one who did it. My first boyfriend asked me if I did, and I'm a horrible liar, so he quickly discovered that I did. He helped me to realize that it was totally normal (something that my Catholic mother would never have talked with me about).
Woman B: I don't think so? But then again, I haven't exactly been with a guy that I feel like being "chatty" with. Is that weird?
Woman C: Yes, I recommend it to friends when they're having trouble, too. Most of the problems my friends tell me about, in my opinion, could be improved upon by either practicing on their own or incorporating masturbation into sex with their partner. It's really important to find out what feels good to you, not just what is supposed to feel good.
Have you ever bought a vibrator? Why/why not?
Woman A: Ugh, god. I really hate vibrators. I bought one at one of those corny at-home sex toy parties when I was in college (that was my first one). Vibrators depress me for some reason. They make me feel like, "I wasn't able to find a man to fuck me, so I settled for this lousy vibrator instead." I think I'd rather just have a one-night stand than use a vibrator, since I'm so easy to get off. I even much prefer to just use my hand than have some artificial dick in me. Although, now that I really like having both vaginal and clitoral stimulation, and I have much better orgasms with both, I should give the ol' vibrator a try again.
Woman B: I swear this is going to be my year! I want one, then I get squeamish, then I want one, and then I actually saw the Rabbit in person at Babeland, and my whole body seized in fear. I guess I just don't know what I really want in a sex toy. Plus, I'm getting myself off just fine.
Woman C: Technically, no, but I had a boyfriend buy one for me as a parting gift when we were entering a long-distance relationship. I spend my disposable income on food.
If so, do you use it?
Woman A: No, I tossed it my senior year of college.
Woman B: (See above.)
Woman C: I never use it because it's so loud, but it was a very nice present! It's the famous Hitachi Magic Wand and it's too rough for me. Every once in awhile, if my roommates are not at home, I'll bring it out along with layers to protect me and make it actually very enjoyable.
Do you use your imagination, watch porn, look at pictures, or ... ?
Woman A: I definitely watch porn, another thing I feel guilty about because a lot of the porn industry is so fucked up, and I don't, like, pay to watch ethical porn or anything. I just like watching what's free on the internet.
Woman B: Imagination and porn.
Woman C: All of the above, I'm the female "Don Jon" minus the addiction, but I prefer sex with another person. The mental and emotional aspects make it way more interesting.
If you watch porn, what kind?
Woman A: I watch a lot of lesbian porn, but I find it pretty unrealistic most of the time, which isn't very hot. I also like anal and dominatrix-y stuff. I also love James Deen (like any other straight-ish girl). I think his porn is ridiculously hot.
Woman B: If straight, I enjoy a good male authority figure role play (teacher, boss, etc). But I also tend to enjoy most lesbian porn (meaning two women, not porn for lesbians) that doesn't focus as much as being as raunchy as possible? I guess when it comes to porn, the less cinéma vérité the better.
Woman C: Whatever looks interesting and is free. When I first started watching porn though, I only watched girl-on-girl just because the guys made me really uncomfortable and whenever they were involved it was all about them. Plus I didn't want to risk seeing something that felt less than consensual, and it functioned as a safety net against seeing that happening. Now, I prefer the guys being there as long as it looks like everyone is happy to be there.
Are you embarrassed to admit you watch it?
Woman A: No, not really. Maybe to a public stadium full of people. Well, also I would never, ever tell my mother. I guess I might if she were a normal person.
Woman B: I used to be. I didn't think other girls would watch porn unless their man wanted them to. Totally a result of not really exploring my sexuality until now.
Woman C: No, but I don't bring it up. I feel guilty because I know the odds of me finding something where all parties are really happy to be doing what they're doing for an anonymous audience are incredibly slim.
Do you talk about masturbation with female friends?
Woman A: Oh, definitely! I don't spare any details from my female friends. We talk about techniques, if we use vibrators or not, how long it takes to get off (basically most of the questions this survey asked).
Woman B: Only recently. Some of my friends still get really uncomfortable talking about it. It upsets me! If I had known that other girls were masturbating I wouldn't have waited as long as I did to do it myself! In high school, guys would joke about masturbation all the time and everyone would laugh. It was cool for them. But if I would have made a joke about that I'm sure I would have been shipped off to Nun Island. It kind of bothers me in retrospect about the conversational limit that women put on themselves and their sexuality. I GET OFF, SO CAN YOU! (JK, kinda.)
Woman C: If they ask, hell yes, but most do not. Even if a female friend is asking me for advice about sex with a partner, they still seem to shy away from the topic, even though it really would help!