Weight Loss Food Triggers

The concept of “Food Triggers” in health science is not new. Simply put, a food trigger can be any food that causes or “triggers” a reaction or change in the body. Food triggers work by the interaction of the body with the macro nutrients (Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats) in the foods. Because of their genetics and biochemistry each individual reacts to food macro nutrients differently. Many people are familiar with and affected by food triggers like milk, peanuts, cheese, and wine that cause allergic reactions and migraine headaches; but fewer people are familiar with food triggers that can generate weight loss.

Simply stated, a Weight Loss Food Trigger is any food or combination of foods that help generate weight loss in an individual. When we speak of a food helping generate weight loss, we are really speaking of how your body utilizes the proportions of the macro nutrients in the foods you eat. Although the biochemistry involved in the metabolization (break down) of these macro nutrients is similar between individuals, how they are utilized in the body can be very different between individuals.

Despite fad diets and media hype; ALL of the macro nutrients are essential to life and NONE are more important than the others. Any healthy diet will include ALL the macro nutrients although not necessarily in equal proportions. Common to all the macro nutrients is carbon and all the macro nutrients are all ultimately metabolized through a set of chemical reactions called the Krebs Cycle to generate heat and energy.

Scientists measure the relationship between how macro nutrients are metabolized in the body through a process known as Calorimetry. Calorimetry is commonly done at hospitals, research facilities and elite fitness facilities reserved for professional and Olympic athletes. It involves the athlete riding a sophisticated cycle or treadmill while attached to mouth breathing and electronic body monitors. It measures oxygen inhaled versus the products of metabolized macro nutrients exhaled with the mouth monitor.

Nutrition research results reveals that changes in the proportions of macro nutrients ingested can effect changes in weight. Thus, weight loss is not only dependent on how much you eat but also the proportion of macro nutrients you eat. Further, the specific proportion of macro nutrients necessary to generate weight loss (Weight Loss Food Trigger) is different for each individual.

Until now, the only way to calculate a weight loss food trigger would be by an expensive and week long stay at a hospital, research facility or elite fitness facility. Now, commercially available software allows anyone to calculate their own weight loss food triggers in the privacy of their own home. Macro nutrient information that would be derived from Calorimetry can be approximated indirectly by using Body Index calculations. Body Index calculations include things like: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); Body Mass Index (BMI); Lean Body Mass (LBM); and Body Fat Percentage (BF). This software automatically, monitors and looks for a relationship between your Body Indexes, Food Intake, and weight to find your weight loss food trigger.

The Mediterranean Diet - High In Fat But Healthy

The Mediterranean Diet is based on the foods people of the Mediterranean region have been eating for centuries. Studies have shown that in addition to a lower incidence of obesity, countries like Greece and Italy actually have a lower incidence of chronic disease and a longer life expectancy than our “modern” society. The real kicker is that these countries consume, on average, a whopping 40% of their calories from fat – about double the amount recommended by most health experts today!

What’s their Secret?

No one knows for sure! But many nutritionists and health practitioners have decided that it’s more important to learn from the success of the eating habits of these regions than it is to answer the question of why it works the way it does.

Recent research suggests that olive oil does even more than lower the levels of LDL, the bad boy of cholesterol. In fact , more and more studies are backing up the belief that olive oil also contains antioxidants that discourage clogging of the arteries and other chronic diseases – even cancer!

The diet is centered around healthy fats like olive oil, as well as food items such as nuts and avocados that have high levels of healthy fats. The Mediterranean Diet also recommends eating healthy grains, including pasta, bread, and legumes. Participants are encouraged to eat fish several times a week, augmented by lean protein, while red meat is limited.

What the Site Has

What it doesn’t have is testimonials, sales pitches, and product pitches. In fact , the site is unusually devoid of anything resembling a sales pitch. Instead, The Mediterranean Diet site is truly informational, dispensing the basic guidelines of the eating plan and leaving the rest to you! Since the recommendations fall exclusively under the “real” food category, you can hit the ground running with the basic details of this easy-to-follow- plan!

The Mediterranean Diet site does have a few subtle references to Mediterranean food companies, but these seem geared more toward restaurants that might want to increase their usage of these types of products than to the average consumer.

The website is packed full of interesting reading. There’s an entire page detailing the health benefits of olive oil. Did you know that the therapeutic benefits of olive oil were first mentioned by Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine? Or that olive oil was used to maintain skin and muscle suppleness, heal abrasions, and soothe the burning and drying effects of sun and water? It’s true! Olive oil is mentioned in thousands of historical texts as an irrefutable health and beauty supplement

The site also thoroughly explains the way cholesterol works in the body – both good and bad. And while it might not seem important, it’s compelling to realize that this is an eating plan that dates back centuries, and that before we messed everything up with our out-of-control portions and trans-fatty fast foods, civilizations the world over lived long and healthy lives by following this type of diet.

Copyright 2006 Market Signal Systems LLC

What Not to Eat