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Preventive Medicine and Nutrition
Many people believe that to lose weight they have to go on a low-calorie diet. That often means starving oneself until the diet is no longer tolerable. Then the weight goes right back on�and then some. Happily, there is a much better way. It is easy and offers many other health benefits, too. No More Diets The first thing to realize is that changing eating habits must be more than a short-term means to an end. Changing eating habits is the cornerstone of permanent weight control. There is no way to �lose 20 pounds in two short weeks� and make it last. Very-low-calorie diets cause two major problems: they lower one�s metabolic rate, making it harder to slim down, and they lead to bingeing. Fat Versus Complex Carbohydrates The old myth was that pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice are fattening. Not true. In fact, carbohydrate-rich foods are perfect for permanent weight control. Carbohydrates contain less than half the calories of fat, which means that replacing fatty foods with complex carbohydrates automatically cuts calories. But calories are only part of the story. A recent study in China found that, on the average, Chinese people eat 20 percent more calories than Americans, but they are also slimmer.1 Part of this is due to the sedentary American lifestyle, but there is more to it than exercise alone. Earlier studies have shown that obese people do not consume more calories than non-obese people�in many cases, they consume less.2,3 The body treats carbohydrates differently than fat calories. The difference comes with how the body stores the energy of different food types. It is very inefficient for the body to store the energy of carbohydrates as body fat�it burns 23 percent of the calories of the carbohydrate�but fat is converted easily into body fat. Only 3 percent of the calories in fat are burned in the process of conversion and storage.4 It is the type of food, not so much the quantity, that affects body fat the most.5 Protein Although protein and carbohydrates have almost the same number of calories per gram, foods that are high in protein�particularly animal products�are usually high in fat, too. Even �lean� cuts of meat have much more fat than a healthy body needs. And animal products always lack fiber. Fiber helps make foods more satisfying without adding many calories, and it is only found in foods from plants. Exercise Exercise is essential. Aerobic exercise speeds up the breakdown of fat in one�s body and makes sure that muscle is not lost. Toning exercises and weight-lifting help firm muscles and increase muscle mass. A combination of exercises will help one achieve a slimmer, firmer, healthier body in a shorter period of time. The trick is to find activities that one enjoys and that can fit one�s lifestyle. Walking is popular because it requires no special equipment and can be done anywhere at anytime. Conclusion The best weight control program is a high-complex-carbohydrate, low-fat, vegetarian diet complemented by regular exercise. This is the best choice for a healthier, longer, happier life. References
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The Meat Free Zone (MFZ) campaign is intended to make the MeatFreeZone logo as recognizable a symbol as the "Smoke Free Zone". The idea was originally conceived when The WARM Store in Woodstock, NY, was in operation throughout the '90's (Woodstock Animal Rights Movement). The store was truly a meat free zone as it was the first cruelty-free, Vegan, socially conscious animal rights store in the United States. Now that the Vegan and Vegetarian movements have been growing so rapidly, more and more people are showing concern about the food in their diet and their overall health and nutrition. Many people are giving up eating fish, chicken, beef, pork (pigs ), dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream) and eggs. Headlines of Mad Cow disease, E-coli and salmonella are in the news with greater frequency. Vegan and vegetarian recipe cookbooks are standard now in all bookstores and many restaurants have added Vegan and Vegetarian options to their menus. We hope you will help us with the Meat Free Zone campaign by putting the signs up in your homes and workplaces and by spreading them to all the vegetarian and vegan restaurants that you know and frequent. And someday we will have true "meat free zones" in establishments that serve meat. (d-3)
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