Craving for a bowl of sweet potato fries? There is no doubt that sweet potatoes are good for your health since they are loaded with vitamins, fiber, potassium and other nutrients that help your body do its intended functions. 

However, as far as your weight loss goals are concerned, how you prepare and eat sweet potatoes can either boost or negate their benefits. Compared to other vegetables such as leafy greens, zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes, sweet potatoes (and potatoes in general) are significantly high in carbohydrates, according to registered dietitian Elizabeth Huggins.

If you are concerned about preparation and consumption of sweet potatoes for guaranteed weight loss, Huggins and registered dietitian Alana Kessler shared the best ways to prepare and eat them:

How To Prepare 

Both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes contain resistant starch, but Huggins said that the latter has more antioxidants and fiber than the former and have a slightly lower calorie amount. However, this depends on how you prepare them. Huggins added that “how they are prepared can make or break the nutritional profile of either potato.”

Kessler said that sweet potatoes either in fry form or with added high-calorie toppings such as bacon have little positive effect in your weight loss goals. Instead, she recommended steaming or roasting your sweet potatoes with a bit of cinnamon. 

“Cinnamon is a spice used to help keep blood sugar levels balanced and help manage cravings,” Kessler said. “The combination of these two together with healthy portion control and regular exercise offer a delicious option that is satisfying without compromising weight loss goals.” 

Huggins advised that you should explore using a variety of other warm spices, such as sweet paprika or nutmeg, on your baked, roasted or steamed sweet potatoes for an extra dash of flavor. 

How To Eat 

Since sweet potatoes are higher in carbs than other veggies, it is good to see them as grains when planning your meals. Though they are good sources of healthy carbs, it is best to moderate your servings if you are watching your carb intake. 

Huggins said that sweet potatoes come in various shapes and sizes, and that the size will determine the carb and calorie quantity you’re getting for the day. “An eight-ounce sweet potato is often referred to as medium, while a 12-ounce potato is large – about the size of two tennis balls sitting next to each other,” she explained, adding that once cooked, a plain large sweet potato packs nearly 250 calories and 60 grams of carbs. 

Though your servings might depend on your health goals, Kessler said that a proper serving may be comparable to a clenched fist worth of sweet potatoes, or about 3 to 4 ounces. If you are on a keto diet, Huggins advised skipping sweet potatoes completely since “there is not much room for the carbs from potatoes” on that diet.

Should you practice other types of low-carb diets, Huggins added that there may be room for sweet potatoes on your plate when mixed with other veggies but it depends how low-carb you want to go. “You may be able to include a small amount of them as an accent in a meal,” she said. “For example, you might mix 1/4 cup of sweet potatoes in with a more generous serving of roasted broccoli.”

The post Best Ways To Prepare, Eat Sweet Potatoes For Guaranteed Weight Loss appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

The ketogenic diet which is commonly known as Keto diet is one of the popular diets right now. It is a low-carb and high-fat diet is mostly followed by weight watchers. However, aside from weight loss, as per studies, there are other health benefits of it as well including better blood sugar levels, fight cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease among others. If you are following this diet then you are asked to drastically reduce the consumption of carbs and replace it with fat. As the reduction in carbs puts our body into a metabolic state called ketosis.

When we are in the state of ketosis, body burns fat for energy. With increased fat breakdown, there is also a reduction in insulin levels. Also, the liver starts producing high numbers of ketones to supply energy for your brain. So, how, to know whether you are in the state of ketosis or not. As per Healthline.com’s article, there are several signs which can hint about the same. Read on to know about the common symptoms of ketosis.

1. Bad breath 
 bad breath once they reach full ketosis. The specific culprit is acetone, a ketone that exits the body in your urine and breath. Many ketogenic dieters brush their teeth several times per day or use sugar-free gum to solve the issue.

2. Fast weight loss
As per studies, Keto followers witness a major drop in weight. The reason could be a massive fat loss as stored carbs and water gets used up. After water weight, body loses fat consistently if you stick to the diet and calorie deficit. 

3. Appetite Suppression
Many people experienced decreased appetite after following the keto diet. The reasons are still being investigated. However, experts believe that hunger reduction could be due to an increase in protein and veggies’ intake and also the body’s hunger hormones changes. The ketones may also affect your brain to reduce appetite.

4. Better focus and more energy
Many people initially experience keto flu i.e. they feel sick, experience fatigue, and brain fog by following a low-carb diet. However, long-term ketogenic dieters reported that they experience better focus and more energy. The same could be due to stabilized blood sugar levels and lesser carbs in the body. 

5. Digestion issues 
Major changes in diet happen when we follow the Keto diet so digestion such as constipation and diarrhea happens in the beginning. However, it mostly gets subsided after the transition period. Also, be mindful of foods as chances of nutrient deficiencies are also high along with digestion issues. 

Note: Please consult a doctor before you start following this diet. And ask a dietician to chalk up a custom diet as per your body needs for you. 

The post Keto Diet: 5 signs that prove you are in the state of Ketosis appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

The keto diet has transformed the way hundreds of thousands of people live, unlocking the body’s potential for weight loss, muscle-building, and energy generation. 

But in these times of social distancing, many people are taking extra precautions to make sure they reduce physical contact with others, which can make it difficult to shop for the kinds of high-quality meats that can help fuel a successful keto diet. 

If you want to make sure you can keep doing keto the healthy way, but you are finding it hard to access your regular providers of quality meat, here’s why you should consider shopping for your keto-friendly meats online.  

is an important part of the keto diet. But doing keto in a healthy way means choosing whole foods dense in proteins, and rich in fats and nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid.   

If you are looking for ways to get meat-based protein for your keto diet that contain the vitamins you need but don’t require you to go far out of your way to pick them up, ordering a meat box from an online meat delivery company like truLOCAL can be a great way to fuel your keto diet sustainably. 

Online meat delivery doesn’t just give you access to high quality products – because you can sign up for a regular subscription, ordering meat means getting a fresh box of your favourite cuts is delivered to your door every two weeks. This way, you can maintain a healthy keto diet without violating social distancing.  

Most people who try the keto diet do so for health reasons. As awareness of the dangers of a carb-heavy diet become more widely understood, a growing number of people are choosing to cut carbohydrates out of their diets altogether. 

Doing a clean version of keto can be an important first step toward a healthier diet, but if you really want to make sure that the food you’re using to fuel yourself is doing the maximal amount of good, you should also try to eat local as much as possible. 

Local, artisanal meat comes from animals raised in sustainable and environmentally responsible ways, and this makes a huge difference in the meat itself. If you want keto fuel that will build a healthy body and a healthy mind, going local is one of the best ways to do so. 

Ironically, shopping online is often the easiest way to ensure that the meat you’re eating is local, as meat delivery services like truLOCAL source your meat boxes from farmers and producers in your own region.

One of the reasons the keto diet has proven so popular is because it is a comprehensive approach to eating, one that is based in science and designed to deliver results. If you want to build a healthy lifestyle that will give you energy and clarity, however, you need to make sure you fuel your keto diet using high quality meats that contain the nutrients you need. 

Because online delivery helps you connect with local producers and get premium products delivered to your door, meat subscription services are a perfect go-to for social distancing keto-eaters.

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