July is Blueberry Month

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Blueberries have long been recognized as the fruit with the most antioxidants. The United States Department of Agriculture on May 8th, 1999, proclaimed July to be National Blueberry Month. Blueberries are grown in 35 states, with the United States producing over 90% of the worlds supply.

One of the easiest fruits to prepare and serve, these tasty berries offer as much as four times as many health-giving antioxidants than other fruits and veggies. Because blueberries have few natural pests, (other than birds), pesticides are generally unnecessary when growing them. A powerhouse among fruits, blueberries rich antioxidants are valued for their cancer and heart disease fighting properties. They are also shown to help improve memory, balance, and coordination.

Adding fresh summer blueberries are a great way to give a little health punch to some of your favorite dishes. Try them in yoghurt, pancakes, muffins, on your salad, over ice cream and even blueberry salsa.
We invite you to enjoy a few of our tasty blueberry recipes below and tell us the ways you like to eat these healthy berry bites.

Care Solutions
* Don’t wash berries until just before using to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
* Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
* Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening.
Fun Facts
* The blueberry is the second most popular berry in the U.S. The strawberry is number one. Over 200 million pounds of blueberries are grown commercially each year.
* Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation of fighting infections. They may also help protect against heart disease.
* The blueberry muffin is the official muffin of Minnesota.
* Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for former president Ronald Reagan.
* The blueberry is the official state fruit of New Jersey, which also raises the most cultivated fresh blueberries in the United States.

Punch Bowl Cake (Great for July 4th because of it's Patriotic Look!)
2 pkg of pudding mix
2 pkgs of strawberry jello mix
2 cups of blueberries
2 cups of strawberries
1 angel food cake (sugar-free)
1 lg. Cool Whip

Make up the pudding mixes and jellos according to directions and then layer between crumbled cake. I put pudding, then cake, then a layer of jello with the stawberries in it, then cakem then pudding tieh the blueberries on top, etc. In a glass trifle bowl, this looks so pretty! For an American holiday, very patriotic on your table. Great for diabetics and for those on a diet!

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Frost on the Berries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

2 Tbsp. Walden Farms Marshmallow Dip

Fold the dip into the blueberries and let set. Can eat alone or over yogurt.

For more information on dieting, go to http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/ and fill out your health profile for a free metabolic assessment.

Muscle Helps Burn Fat

Increasing Muscle Mass
The most important factor of metabolism is lean body mass. Muscle burns up to 90% more calories than fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn in a day. By adding three to five pounds of muscle you could actually burn 100 - 250 additional calories a day. Try adding a weight bearing activity 2-3 times a week such as lifting free weights, walking, or resistance training. Simply carrying your groceries home could be considered weight bearing! Lifting 5-8 pound hand weights while watching your favorite television show could go a long way towards burning calories.

Don’t Skip Meals!
The myth that skipping meals decreases your total calorie level and helps you to lose weight is not true. When people skip meals or decrease their calories significantly (<>

Regular Activity
Regular exercise routines such as biking, walking, or hiking will help raise your metabolism during the activity and for several hours after. Even simple movements such as taking the stairs, house cleaning, or simple yard work can help increase your burn rate.

Adequate Protein
Protein provides the building blocks for muscle. Without adequate protein you may actually lose muscle. You need about .4 - .5 gram of protein per pound body weight. For a woman weighing 160 pounds she would need approximately 64 - 80 grams of protein daily.

Sleep!
A 1999 University of Chicago study showed that sleep loss affects the way we metabolize carbohydrates resulting in glucose intolerance and possibly leading to increased hunger and a slowed metabolism. Lack of sleep also can interfere with our energy levels during the day and cause us to skip our exercise routine because we are “too tired”. How often have you told yourself that?

Decrease Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol may suppress your body’s ability to burn fat. Studies show that when you drink alcohol, your body burns fat more slowly than usual during that particular meal. Watch your alcohol intake.

WHAT IS THE GLYCEMIC INDEX & HOW CAN I USE THAT TO HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

Think of Glycemic Index as a measurement of the how carbohydrates in foods will affect your blood sugar. It works like this: pure glucose is assigned the index of 100 to compare it to how other foods affect the blood sugar about two hours after eating. All other foods in the index are given a number relative to the glucose number.

Foods with a low index typically break down slowly and don’t cause drastic fluctuations in blood sugar. Foods with a high index typically do. For instance, broccoli has an index of 10, while corn flakes have an index of 92. Originally the index was developed to help diabetic control their blood sugar. The numbers will also help people losing weight, as well, because when the glycemic index is high, you get hungrier when your blood sugar starts falling again. The more it has to fall the more ravenous you can get when your blood sugar is not under control. If you can keep your blood sugar more stable, you don’t have such strong cravings.
Type II diabetes, as well as various cancers and cardiovascular disease, are all highly correlated with high index diets. There’s abundant research that shows that reducing the overall glycemic index also reduces the risks of those problems.

The index includes mainly carbohydrate foods, because protein and fat don’t have much immediate effect on blood sugar. At Before and After Weight Loss Clinics and with the Belly Buster Diet, we find the index more helpful than counting calories or grams of fat. We watch whether the foods we’re eating have a low, medium or high index, not individual numbers.
As with any rule, there are exceptions. For instance, watermelon has a pretty high glycemic index, about 75, which is even higher than table sugar. Does that make it bad for you? No. Because in spite of its high index, watermelon actually has a pretty low glycemic load. That’s a measure based on the amount of food you’d actually consume, not just an arbitrary quantity used in testing, as with the index.

The glycemic load of a food can be determined using the glycemic index number for a food, divided by 100 and multiplied times the available carbohydrate you’d eat. With most foods, low index is consistent with low load, but there are the quirky exceptions. Of course, to find them, you’d be back to doing a bunch of math again, and that’s just not the way people normally eat.
That’s we encourage people who are trying to develop a healthy diet to avoid getting caught up in the numbers game and look more generally at the foods in the index, leaning toward those at the low end. Anything over 70 is considered high index, 55 through 69 is medium and below 55 are foods with a low glycemic index.

And look what’s in those groups: high index foods include most breakfast cereals, white breads and other processed baked goods, most potatoes, ice cream, candies and table sugar.Lower index foods include cherries, grapefruit, broccoli, legumes like lentils and beans, most whole grain baked goods and most dairy foods. We like to encourage clients to think of glycemic index and glycemic load as just two more tools that can be helpful in developing healthier thinking and planning about dietary habits.

Fruits tend to have a high glycemic index, so I recommend that people take their fruits with a meal, or with some protein like cottage cheese or regular cheese. These protein sources help the fruit sugar be released in the blood stream more slowly. If you are snacking on a half of an apple for instance, eat a piece of cheese with it, or if you eating watermelon, eat it with a meal rather than an in between snack.

A final thing to remember: there’s not one standardized list and most indexes include brand-name items that people buy on a typical shopping trip, as well as the more generic items like vegetables and fruits. Her are some indexes I have found helpful:

Click here: Glycemic Index Food Chart

Click here: Glycemic Index Food List from FIFTY 50

Click here: Glycemic Index Food Chart: List of Glycemic Values of Foods

Click here: Glycemic Index List of Foods - BestDietTips.com

For more information on how you can be on a diet that uses the glycemic index to it's advantage, visit http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/ or fill out the health profile on http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/
and get a FREE metabolic assessment!

Slow Metabolism?

Metabolism is generally measured according to your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is a calculation of how quickly your metabolism works when you are resting. BMR can be calculated by any health professional using special equipment.

How Does Metabolism Work?Your body’s metabolism is based on the food that you eat. Your body gets all of its energy from plant and animal products that you ingest on a daily basis. This energy is measured in calories. After you eat your food, your body breaks down the different components into energy that it can use to run different cellular processes. Special molecules, called enzymes, which are released by your pancreas and thyroid gland, help to break your food down into sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids. These three types of energy are then absorbed into your bloodstream and transported to all of the different cells in your body to help to run all of your body’s different processes. Any excess energy is then stored by your body as muscle or fat so that it can be used in the future.

Factors Affecting Metabolism
There are a number of different factors affecting metabolism. The most important factor is the amount of lean muscle mass that your body contains. Lean muscle mass burns energy all of the time, even when you are not actively working out. It also burns more calories than any other part of your body. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be.

• Other Facors Affecting Metabolism:
  Age: As you age, your metabolism naturally slows down. This is because the body loses lean muscle mass over the years. Expect your metabolism to decline by about 2% every decade after the age of 20.
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  Sex: Men have naturally higher levels of lean muscle mass. This means that women will generally have lower metabolisms than men.
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  Height: People who are taller have a greater surface area for their bodies to fuel. As a result, taller people tend to have a more active metabolism and require more calories in order to stay energized.
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  Family History: Your genetic makeup will also play a role in your metabolism. Some families have a naturally high metabolism, while others have a naturally low metabolism.
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  Eating Habits: The more often you eat, the more active your metabolism will be. If your body doesn’t get a regular supply of calories, it will enter into "starvation mode," during which your metabolism will slow down and store excess energy as fat. This is why many people who are trying to lose weight suffer from yo-yo-dieting syndrome.

Exercise and Metabolism
Exercise also plays a key role in determining the rate at which your metabolism will work. Exercise helps to increase metabolism in two ways:

• 
  Burns Calories: When you perform an activity, your metabolism will naturally speed up in order to burn up enough energy to fuel your bodily movements. Your metabolism will remain elevated for up to 12 hours after you exercise.
• 
  Creates Muscle Mass: As you exercise, your body loses excess fat and begins to lay down increased amounts of lean muscle mass. This is particularly true of strenghth training exercises, such as weight-lifting and resistance exercises. Because muscle burns more calories than fat, exercise is a natural way to increase your metabolism.

Metabolic Problems

Sometimes, problems with the metabolic process can affect how your metabolism is working. These problems can be present at birth or can develop over time. The most common metabolic disorders include:
Thyroid Problems: The thyroid gland releases a special hormone, known as thyroxine, which helps your metabolism to function properly. Sometimes, a person’s thyroid gland can become overactive (hyperthyroidism) or underactive (hypothyroidism), affecting weight, heart rate, and other bodily processes. Belly Buster Diet, Inc. has an excellent product for speeding up the thyroid called "Thyroid Complex" (go to http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/)

Diabetes: Diabetes is a condition that results from an inappropriate response to your body’s blood glucose (energy) levels. It can result in rapid weight loss or gain, heart problems, and circulatory disorders.
Getting a Boost: How To Increase MetabolismIf you are eager to lose weight or just improve your overall health, you may be interested in finding a way to boost your metabolism. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Eat Regularly: Though it can be tempting, it is important not to restrict the amount of food you are eating. Don’t skip meals as this will trick your metabolism into starvation mode. Instead focus on eating three healthy meals a day, and at least two snacks. Follow the Belly Buster Diet http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/.
Exercise: It is essential that you increase your amount of lean muscle mass if you want to speed up metabolism. Focus on performing strength-training exercises in order to build your muscle. Pair these exercises with regular aerobics programs, which will help you to burn excess fat and calories.