When it comes to eating a healthy diet, even small changes can make a big difference. Summer is a great time to kick-start healthier eating habits because of all the fresh produce that is available. Here are 5 foods and drinks that you should try to incorporate into your diet every day for cleaner eating.

1. Dark Leafy Greens

Kale, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula

Why are they important? These greens are important to add to your diet because of the high content of vitamins and minerals, especially folate, iron, vitamin K and vitamin C.

How to use them: The most obvious way would be to add them to a salad, but darky leafy greens can be used in lasagna, enchiladas, soups, and even made into chips because of their sturdy texture. And theres the ever-popular option of throwing a handful into a smoothie.

2. Beans and Legumes

Black beans, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans

Why are they important? Beans and legumes are great sources of fiber, protein, and iron. They break down in your body slowly but are used more efficiently than animal proteins.

How to use them: Beans and legumes can be used to replace meat in most dishes, such as lentil taco meat, roasted chickpeas on a salad, or even burgers.

3. Whole Grains

Wheat, barley, quinoa, amaranth, oatmeal, brown rice

Why are they important? The fiber in whole grains can help reduce blood pressure and the risk for heart disease. Whole grains will keep you full longer, helping you avoid mindless eating during the day.

How to use them: Whole grain products are everywhere. The easiest way to start incorporating them is to just switch to whole grain versions of your favorites breads, pastas, and tortillas.

4. Fresh Fruits

Why are they important? Fruits are loaded with antioxidants, substances that help fight free radicals, which are essentially pollution in our bodies. Antioxidants include vitamin C and vitamin E.

How to use them: Shop with the season. Right now, focus on stone fruits such as peaches, plums, and apricots. Berries are also perfect right now. Add a handful of berries to your oatmeal in the morning, slice strawberries on your salad, or my personal favorite, grill peach halves and top with a bit of cinnamon and non fat whipped topping for a sweet treat.

5. Water

Why is this important? Staying hydrated is incredibly important, especially as the weather warms up. Staying hydrated helps to keep your skin glowing and your energy levels up.

How to use it: To drink more water each day, carry around a water bottle when you are on the run, or aim to drink at least one glass of water with each meal. If plain water is boring to you, try making your own infusions with fruit and herbs. Fill a pitcher with water, and add any of these combinations: lime and mint, cucumber and basil, mango, pineapple and mint, grapefruit, lemon, cucumber and mint, watermelon and basil, peach and ginger, blackberry and rosemary.

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5 foods to eat for a cleaner diet - Post-Bulletin

Rice, here in Indonesia, is one of the staples a warming climate will affect. (Dohduhdah / Wikimedia Commons)

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Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also mean that wheat, rice, maize, potatoes and other staples will grow with lower levels of protein and by 2050, an extra 150 million people in 47 countries will be at greater risk of malnutrition.

Four out of five people on the planet depend mostly on grain staples and legumes for dietary protein. The UN estimates that poor nutrition already accounts for around 3 million deaths among young children every year, and experiments show that higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are associated with protein losses of around 5%.

This study highlights the need for countries that are most at risk to actively monitor their populations nutritional sufficiency, and, more fundamentally, the need for countries to curb human-caused CO2 emissions, said Samuel Myers, a research scientist in the department of environmental health at Harvard University in the US.

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The researchers then used available data to calculate the effect of such losses on overall protein intake which varies from region to region, according to the mix of crops, and other dietary supplements.

They assumed no change in animal protein, or in protein in nuts, and then they looked at the probable impact on human health in the coming decades, as humans continue to burn fossil fuels, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and raise planetary average temperatures.

Researchers have repeatedly warned that rising temperatures and particularly greater frequencies and intensities of heat waves, droughts and floods will threaten global food security: they will reduce fruit and vegetable yields, hit grain crop harvests and in particular affect wheat harvests in one of the most populous and poorest nations on the planet.

Ironically, other researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that a switch from a meat to a plant-based diet is likely to become more important than ever in combating climate change and reducing emissions from agriculture.

So protein deficiencies in crop yields could only make an already bad situation worse for the worlds poorest.

And there is a second challenge, this time of mineral deficiency. In another journal, Geohealth, Dr Myers and a different set of colleagues warn that higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are also associated with lower iron content in food crop staples.

More than 350 million children and more than a billion young women of child-bearing age already live in countries with high levels of anaemia: in a greenhouse world, these will face another 3.8% iron deficiency in their staple diet.

Strategies to maintain adequate diets need to focus on the most vulnerable countries and populations, and thought must be given to reducing vulnerability to nutrient deficiencies through supporting more diverse and nutritious diets, enriching the nutritional content of staple crops, and breeding crops less sensitive to these CO2 effects, Dr Myers said.

And, of course, we need to dramatically reduce global CO2 emissions as quickly as possible.

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Nutrition Will Suffer as Global Warming Affects Diet - Truthdig

If youre eating the Standard American Diet, a ketogenic diet, Atkins or another high fat diet, then you may inadvertently be increasing your colon cancer risk. Thats because research shows that high fat diets increase the risk of this serious form of cancer.

Recent research in the medical journal Stem Cell Reports found that eating a high fat diet increases the risk of colorectal cancer. The researchers also identified a cellular pathway that drives the growth of cancer stem cells in the colon, thereby contributing to the disease. Colorectal cancer,also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer or rectal cancer, is the third most common type of cancer in North America, next to lung cancer.

Many high fat diets are also high in processed meat, such as bacon, sausage or luncheon meats, and red meat, which also have been linked to colorectal cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). New research in the Journal of Gastroenterology confirmed the WHOs conclusions about these meat products. Diets high in animal protein in general have also been linked to colorectal cancer.

High fat diets are not the only contributors to colorectal cancer. Sadly, many of the processed, prepared and fast foods found in high fat diets also contain two food additives that add insult to injury. Two commonly-used emulsifiers used by the food industry: carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate 80. Carboxymethylcellulose is frequently labeled cellulose gum on product labels. Polysorbate 80 is often just referred to as polysorbate or called Tween 80. According to Georgia State University research, both of these food additives contribute to the risk for colorectal cancer.

Id rather not just be the bearer of bad news. So, heres some good news to counter your risk of colorectal cancer: your daily coffee may actually be helping you to thwart this often-deadly cancer. According to research in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention researchers found that your daily java may significantly reduce your colorectal cancer risk. In this study, researchers found that drinking 1 to 2 cups of coffee daily reduced colorectal cancer risk by 26 percent while drinking at least 2.5 cups daily cut the risk in half.

Eating a diet high in chlorogenic acid has also been found to reduce colorectal cancer risk. In addition to coffee, other foods that contain chlorogenic acid include: apples, carrots, flaxseeds, pineapples, potatoes and strawberries.

Eating a plant-based diet high in fiber can also reduce your risk. Add legumes, whole grains, fruit and vegetables to take advantage of the fiber but also the many plant-based nutrients known as phytonutrients that can cut your cancer risk.

I probably dont need to tell you that it is also important to quit smoking and start exercising to further reduce your colorectal cancer risk.

High fat diets are not only linked to colon cancer. Other research shows that a high fat diet prior to conception of a child and during the pregnancy increases the risk of breast cancer and mental illness in later years in the offspring. Check out my blog High Fat Diet Raises Breast Cancer and Mental Illness Risk in Offspring for more information.

Related:The Vitamins that Protect Your DNA against Air PollutionDont Believe in Herbal Medicine? 10 Things to Change Your MindThe 5 Best Herbs to Soothe Your Nerves

Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM is the publisher of the free e-news Worlds Healthiest News, president of PureFood BC, and an international best-selling and 20-time published book author whose works include: The Life Force Diet: 3 Weeks to Supercharge Your Health and Get Slim with Enzyme-Rich Foods.

Originally posted here:
Is Your Diet Increasing Your Colon Cancer Risk? - Care2.com

Its the controversial diet that made headlines earlier this week, after it promised to help people shed up to seven kilograms in just seven days.

But as with all these things, it seems that the GM Diet (General Motors Diet) could be a little too good to be true.

According to the Australian dietitian, Susie Burrell, while you might have results with the low carb diet, there is a catch to its success such an approach isnt sustainable.

Any diet will work if people stick to it, the Sydney-based dietitian told news.com.au.

The primary issue with the GM diet is that for the average person it is unlikely to be sustainable There is nothing overly special about it, it is just another novel diet approach.

The dietitian added that if you restrict any type of food group, you will naturally restrict calories, but said the problem comes about because the biggest issue is that most people do not want to eat just one or two things all day, even for a short period of time.

Long term diet success ultimately comes down to choosing the diet that is right for you, and if this approach works for you, go for it, she concluded.

So how does the GM Diet work and where did it come from?

The diet plan works on the principle that the foods you eat will burn more calories than they provide for your body.

This causes a negative caloric effect in the body and thus help in losing weight naturally without any exercise.

Several people have reported weight loss between 10 to 17 pounds per week by following this plan.

Source: GM Diet

The low carb diet was developed by General Motors company to help keep their employees healthy and was a big hit throughout the eighties.

It has now been named as one of the most searched-for diets on Google for 2017.

The GM diet works by way of its followers adhering to a set of very strict rules each day.

It is a week long and lends itself to being a one-week diet and sees people fruit load on day one (basically eating any water-based fruit and no banana).

On day two, people start the day with a large baked potato with butter or olive oil.

As many vegetables as you want can be eaten throughout the day on day two (except for peas, corn and carrots), before you can eat any vegetable you want on day three.

By day four, the banana ban is over and a serving of the GM Wonder Soup is included, which is made with cabbage, celery, onion and green peppers.

The particular soup in this diet is looking at very low starch vegetables which again is fine. You can make yourself a nice vegetable soup. Thats actually fine, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Lisa Renn,told A Current Affair.

On day five, meat is introduced combined with five or six tomatoes and on day six, people can enjoy unlimited lean protein and vegetables but no potatoes are allowed.

On day seven, people have a serving of brown rice in the morning followed by as many vegetables and fruits as they like.

Ms Renn recommends only following this for one week and seeing it as a way to kickstart a healthier way of life.

It can be a good idea but its really important that you learn something about sustainable healthy eating, she said.

Day one: Water-based fruits (no bananas) with no limit. Melon is recommended.

Day two: All vegetables are allowed either raw or cooked and no fruits are allowed. The day is started with a baked potato to provide the body with carbs for the day.

Day three: Blend of the previous two days but no potatoes or bananas.

Day four: Bananas and milk are allowed today as well as vegetables and fruit.

Day five: Beef, chicken and fish are introduced along with five to six whole tomatoes. 10 to 12 glasses of water are recommended on this day.

Day six: Beef and vegetables are encouraged on this day.

Day seven: Brown rice for breakfast followed by fruit juice and unlimited fruits and vegetables.

According to the GM Diet website, most of the weight is lost during the first three days of the programme, when it is at its strictest.

This is due to the food being very low in calories about 1,000 to 1,200 worth of calories each day.

Because it is such a low carb diet and not very sustainable, only very low intensity workouts like yoga are recommended while following the programme.

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Can controversial GM diet really work? Expert weighs in - DeathRattleSports.com