The cabbage soup diet is only recommended for short term weight loss, 7 days to be precise.
Although you are guaranteed to loose anything from 10 to 15 pounds in a week it is not the
most suitable of long term diets.

The cabbage soup diet consists of one main ingredient. Obviously that would be the cabbage
soup. I was told that after a few days of eating the cabbage soup it becomes bland and
hard to stomach, suggestions are that you add spices or herbs to make it taste a little
better. There are seven day rules that you must abide by.

Day one: For day one you are permitted to eat as much fruit as you like (with the exception
of bananas) and as much of the soup as you like. For drinking allowances you are only
allowed unsweetened tea, cranberry juice or water. Drinking a lot of water, at least
four glasses per day, is recommended on this diet.

Day two: This day is vegetables day. You can fill our face with as much vegetables as
you like (and of course the cabbage soup) raw or uncooked. Try to eat a lot of leafy
green vegetables though, and for your dinner you can reward yourself with a lovely baked
potato with butter! This day provides you with calorie free fibre intake and complex
carbohydrates which will give you the energy you need.

Day three: Today mixes day’s one and two meaning you can eat all the fruit, vegetables
and soup that you can stomach, but no potato. They eliminate the potato as you get the
carbohydrates from the fruit. Now your body is ready to start burning the fat and you
will unfortunately have craving but they should be gone by day four

Day four: Bananas, soup and milk. It may not sound like the best of combinations but
that’s what today’s food is all about. You are only allowed 8 bananas but you probably
wont eat them all anyway. The bananas are for the potassium and the sodium that you may
have missed in the past few days and gladly the sugar cravings should have stopped

Day five: Beef and tomatoes for today. You may not eat the beef but you must eat 6
tomatoes. The beef is for iron and proteins and the tomatoes are for fibre and your
digestive system. At least 6 or 7 glasses of water must be drunk on this day to flush
your system of uric acid that has been building up. Try to eat at least one bowl of cabbage soup.

Day six: Again with the beef but you are allowed as much vegetables as you like.
You must try and eat some cabbage soup today. There should be a noticeable difference
in your weight today as your body is working hard at loosing weight constantly now.

Day seven: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and your vegetables, again you can eat
as much of these and your cabbage soup as you like! The end of a diet is like the start
of a new life.

After completing this diet you should feel and look a lot lighter and healthier but
please do not try this diet for more than seven days. There is a health warning with
this diet. There is not enough complex carbohydrates to sustain you for long periods
of time on this diet. It is highly recommended you don’t continue after seven days!

Everyone who is trying to follow a healthy eating lifestyle understands the need to buy quality, healthy and practical foods. Practical foods are those foods that are not only healthy but whose benefits extend beyond their mere nutritional value. Such foods are easy to use, and useful in a number of different recipes. Healhty, practical foods, when used on a regular basis, form a great part of a healthy diet, and may even lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and other common illnesses.

One great practical food is the humble tomato. It may not look much like an orange, but the tomato is actually a citrus fruit as well. As such, tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants. In addition, tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, which has shown promise in preventing certain kinds of cancer.

In addition, tomatoes are easy to use, versatile, and inexpensive. In addition to fresh, in season tomatoes, which are delicious as well as nutritious, tomatoes are available in canned and frozen varieties as well. Tomatoes can be used in so many different ways, and in so many different recipes, that it is always a good idea to have a supply of them on hand in the pantry or the fridge.

Pastas, especially the whole wheat varieties of pastas, are another great example of functional foods. Pastas can also be used in a variety of ways, from simple preparations with simple tomato based sauces, to elaborate creations using shrimp, tuna and other seafood.

Of course, pasta dishes can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on how they are topped. Toppings such as Alfredo sauce or rich cream sauces, should be avoided when trying to follow a healthy diet. As with all foods, such heavy sauces are fine in moderation, but they should not form the bulk of your diet.

Luckily, there are lower fat alternatives to many high fat pasta sauces, and these low fat alternatives should be used whenever possible. Substituting lower fat alternatives for fatty, unhealthy foods is an important skill when it comes to creating a healthy diet.

Whole grain breads, flours and grains are also good examples of hellathy, practical foods. Stocking up on these staples when they are on sale will help ensure that you have everything you need to create the most healthy recipes possible for yourself and your family.

Whole grain products should be substituted for more highly refined breads and cereals whenever possible, since whole grain breads, cereals and grains retain more of their important nutrients than do more highly refined foods.

Starting a healthy eating program using practical foods is easy. Start by taking a personal inventory of your current diet, including where it is good and where it can use some improvement. Learn to assess the personal health risks created by your current diet (your family physician can be of particular help here). A physician or dietitian can be a big help in putting together a list of healthy, easy to use, practical foods you can use to change your diet for the better.

It is also a good idea to use your interest in healthy eating to create and use exciting new recipes. There are a great many healthy eating recipes available, both on the internet and in cookbooks. Seek out some of these recipes and try using your favorite healthy staples to create some wonderful dishes.

For some ideas on how to use practical foods morning, noon and night, try some of these great ideas:

Breakfast:

• Include some healthy staples, and some healthy fruits in your breakfast. For instance, pair healthy oatmeal with blueberries, or whole wheat or wheat bran cereal with strawberries or bananas.

• Try mixing a healthy cereal like All Bran into your nonfat or low fat yogurt. It will perk up your plain yogurt and give it a great crunch.

• Fresh fruit is also a great addition to yogurt. Try buying plain, nonfat yogurt and mixing in your own raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. You will save money and enjoy a healthy breakfast.

• Instead of high fat butter, spread your toast with apple butter or soy nut butter instead. Always try to use whole grain varieties of bread like wheat or rye.

• Drink a glass of 100% fruit juice with breakfast every day. Orange juice, grape juice, apple juice and grapefruit juice are all great choices.

• Blend 1% milk or soy milk with fresh pineapple for a healhy, delicious breakfast smoothie. These smoothies are great for people on the go.

Lunch and dinner ideas

• Make a great tuna salad with grated carrots, green peppers, red peppers, garlic and onion.

• Make a dish of fresh whole grain pasta and top it will homemade tomato sauce and fresh home grown herbs.

• Use healthy foods like onions and leeks, along with tomatoes, as a great side dish.

• Grill healthy fish and serve with a healthy side salad.

• Try some low fat soups like spinach and broccoli soup.

• Make a great vegetable stir fry with olive oil.

Healthy snacks

Of course no plan for healthy eating is complete without some great healthy snacks. Below are some of our favorite healthy snacks for those on the go.

• A piece of fresh fruit, like an apple, orange or banana, always makes a great snack. Keep a bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter for easy access.

• Try mixing nuts and dried fruit for a great homemade trail mix. Hikers and non hikers alike will enjoy this healthy snack.

• Treat yourself to a great glass of orange, tomato or cranberry juice before you leave the house in the morning.

• Keep a supply of broccoli florets, baby carrots and other bite size vegetables, and some healthy dip, on hand.

• Make your own fruit salad with oranges, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and other favorites.

There are few single food groups with as much to recommend them, and as many health benefits, as citrus fruits. Citrus fruits are packed full of a number of important vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber. In addition, citrus fruits are delicious, abundant, and usually quiet inexpensive.

Citrus fruits abound in most modern grocery stores, even in the winter months. Thanks to modern distribution networks, citrus fruits grown around the world are easily accessible in the supermarkets of this country.

Of course many people prefer locally grown citrus fruits, but when they are not available, shipped citrus is a good substitute. There is a growing season for each kind of citrus in various parts of the country, so it pays to familiarize yourself with those seasons in order to take advantage of the freshest locally grown tomatoes, oranges, grapefruits and more.

Citrus fruits are perfect for anytime of day, from a grapefruit in the morning to an orange at lunchtime to a dinner salad piled high with locally grown tomatoes.

Citrus fruits contain so many important vitamins and minerals that it would be impossible to list them all. Citrus fruits are a good example of why fresh fruits and vegetables are a better source of complete nutrition than vitamin supplements. While some of the important vitamins and nutrients contained in citrus fruits have been identified and synthesized, others, particularly the many micronutrients and trace minerals, have not. There is simply no pharmacological substitute for healthy eating.

Vitamin C is probably the most important, and the most well known, nutrient provided by citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits. Vitamin C has been widely studied, and it is thought to play an important role in keeping us healthy.

Vitamin C plays a vital role in keeping skin and gums healthy, and in protecting the cells of the body from damage by free radicals. And since vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, it is important to eat foods high in vitamin C every day. Vitamin C is not stored in the body like fat soluble vitamins are, and any vitamin C not used each day is excreted.

Fortunately, it is easy to get the vitamin C you need each day from citrus fruits. For instance, a single orange contains over 150% percent of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamin C.

Many people do not realize, that in addition to vitamin C, oranges, grapefruits and other citrus fruits also contain significant amounts of fiber. Fiber plays an important role in digestion, and it is thought to have protective qualities against heart disease and some forms of cancer. In addition, fiber is thought to have the ability to lower high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Perhaps the most important benefit of citrus fruits is the presence of folic acid. This important vitamin is known to prevent many neural cord birth defects such as spina bifida when consumed early in a pregnancy, and for this reason folic acid has been added to everything from bread to cereal. It is best, however for women and men alike to get this important nutrient from the foods they eat, and citrus fruits are rich in folic acid.

Potassium is another important benefit of citrus fruits. When many people think of potassium, they think of bananas, but bananas are not the only fruit that contains significant levels of potassium. Many citrus fruits also contain plenty of potassium.

Potassium levels are very important to good health, since potassium plays a role in maintaining proper levels of bodily fluids, and it also affects the absorption of other nutrients. The stresses of modern life, including consumption of caffeine and alcohol, stress and dehydration, can all play havoc with potassium levels, so it is important to eat foods rich in potassium every day.

With all these advantages, it is easy to see why citrus fruits are so popular. Even people who do not normally eat fruits and vegetables often have a hard time saying no to a great glass of orange juice or a nice juicy grapefruit.

Eating healthy is important for everyone, and one of the most important keys to eating a better diet is eating more fruits and vegetables. Many people are unsure how to use vegetables more effectively as part of their diet, but it may be easier than you think to provide yourself and your family with healthy, nutritious meals at a great prices.

One way to create wonderful meals that are healthier than ever is to take a stroll through the produce section of your local grocery store. Most major grocery store chains have huge produce sections, containing a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables from all corners of the world.

Trying a variety of different fruits and vegetables is a great way to keep your meals interesting and exciting in addition to nutritious. It is all too easy to become bored when trying to follow a healthy diet, and boredom can lead people to abandon their healthy habits. Avoiding diet burnout is important to the long term survival of even the most sensible eating plan.

So if you’ve never had vegetables like collard greens, asparagus or kale before, why not give them a try. Not only can trying new things allow you to make great new discoveries, but it can increase your level of fitness as well. Leafy green vegetables like spinach, broccoli and kale are rich sources of many important vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.

Another great way to increase the variety of vegetables you enjoy is to combine fresh, frozen and canned vegetables. While fresh vegetables are generally better and healthier, frozen and canned vegetables can be great alternatives for when the fresh varieties are out of season.

One of the best things about fresh fruits and vegetables is the great variety of flavors, colors and textures available. Eating a variety of different colored vegetables and fruits does much more than provide much needed variety. It also provides a great variety of nutrients. For instance, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables tend to be very high in beta carotene, while green leafy vegetables are often great sources of calcium and other important nutrients. So why not spice up your plain old green salad with a splash of color in the form of yellow peppers or orange carrot slices?

Many people wrongly think that they can make up for a crappy diet by using vitamin and mineral supplements. This mistaken belief is apparently very widespread, since sales of these supplements continue to break records.

When considering vitamin and mineral supplements, however, it is important to remember that foods contain many different minerals, trace elements and micronutrients. That means that for every nutrient that has been discovered and synthesized, there may be ten, twenty or more of these micronutrients that have yet to be fully understood. That is why no vitamin supplement, no matter how complete, can truly replace a healthy, balanced diet.

In addition, vitamin and mineral supplements are quite a bit more expensive than a good selection of vegetables and fruits, and not nearly as tasty.

When changing your diet and eating for a healthier lifestyle, it is important to educate yourself about eating right, and go choose the right fruits and vegetables for your tastes. After all, the best diet is the one you can follow for the rest of your life.

One of the best ways to start eating a healthy diet is to choose the freshest fruits and vegetables. Not only do fresh fruits and vegetables taste better, but they are less expensive and more nutritious as well. Choosing a variety of in season fruits and vegetables every week is a great way to enjoy healthy and varied meals.

Of course your favorite fruits and vegetables will not always be in season, so it will sometimes be necessary to supplement those fresh fruits and vegetables with canned and frozen varieties. When choosing canned fruits, try to avoid those packed in syrup; choose canned fruits packed in fruit juice or water instead. They will be healthier and contain less sugar.

Adding fresh fruit, such as apple slices, mandarin oranges, nectarines and the like is a great way to make plain salads more interesting and more delicious. Combining fruits and vegetables is a great way to enhance your nutrition as well.

Recent changes in food guidelines have meant an increase in the recommended daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. That is because eating nutrient rich, low calorie, low fat foods such as fruits and vegetables, has been shown to have a strong impact on overall health.

In addition, high levels of fruits and vegetables in the diet has even been shown to help provide protection from a number of diseases and chronic conditions. There are ongoing studies on the relationship between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and prevention of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. While there may not yet be conclusive proof of a link between fruits and vegetables and lower risk of disease, there is ample anecdotal evidence to suggest that a healthy diet leads to a healthy body.

One reason for the strong health benefits of fruits and vegetables is their strong antioxidant qualities. Many fruits and vegetables are high in important antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin A. In addition, fruits and vegetables contain lots of other nutrients and trace elements that are important to the proper function of the body.

Choosing the best fruits and vegetables is important, both to your health and the health of your food budget. We all have limited food budgets, and getting the best in terms of both taste and nutrition, is very important.

One way to get maximum value and maximum nutrition is to choose fresh, in season fruits and vegetables. That is because fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables tend to be less expensive than their shipped counterparts.

If you have a farmers market or produce stand nearby, it can be an excellent source of the highest quality, lowest cost fruits and vegetables. Summer produce stands are excellent sources of delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables.

In addition, buying fruits and vegetables as they come into season will instantly provide you with variety. There are literally hundreds of different varieties of fruits and vegetables at the average grocery store, and they all have different growing season. Buying the fresh in season fruits and vegetables is a great way to introduce yourself to some varieties you may never have tried before.

Of course there will be times when your favorite fruits and vegetables are not available locally. In those cases, frozen and canned varieties can do just fine. Just about every popular fruit and vegetable is available canned or frozen, and these can make wonderful, fast fruit salads or quick snacks.

It is important to choose fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors, and not only for ascetic reasons. Different colored fruits and vegetables contain different types of nutrients, and different levels of nutrients, so eating a good variety of green, gold, orange and purple is the best way to ensure adequate levels of nutrition.

How you cook the vegetables you buy is important as well. Over cooking can destroy many of the nutrients that make vegetables so healthy. Fortunately, most vegetables can be cooked by quickly steaming them in the microwave or on the stovetop.

How those cooked vegetables are served can also have a significant impact on their healthiness. Adding butter, margarine, oils or other fats to vegetables can quickly negate their health benefits. Better choices for seasoning cooked vegetables include fruit juices and low fat yogurt.

Most nutrition experts recommend that everyone eat from 5 to 9 servings of fruits or vegetables every day. While that may seem like an impossible goal, it is easier when you understand just what a serving consists of. One serving of a fruit or vegetable can be one medium sized piece of fruit, one slice of melon, two small pieces of fruit, one cup of strawberries, one cup of grapes, one half cup of canned fruit, one half cup of fruit salad, one side salad or one half cup of fresh fruit juice.

With all these choices to choose from, it is easy to see why fruits and vegetables are such a popular part of a healthy diet. No matter what your reason for pursuing healthy eating, fruits and vegetables are a healthy addition to any diet.