carbohydrates

Red Wine Vinegar Aids Weight Loss and Fights Diabetes

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Red Wine Vinegar goes well with salads and is a staple of the Mediterranean cuisine. But did you know that it can also help you lose weight and curb your appetite? It even allows you to eat the high-carb foods that usually give you a feeling of regret after the last bite.

When red wine is fermented for a long period, it transforms into red wine vinegar. Besides containing the same antioxidant called resveratrol, the main component of red wine vinegar, and the one that gives it the sour taste, is acetic acid.

Acetic acid is also a main component of other vinegars like white vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Acetic acid helps to slow down the digestion of foods that you eat. This action helps to regulate blood sugar and prevent spikes. Blood sugar spikes are what make your pancreas secrete insulin, which tells your body to start to store fat.

According to Doctor Oz, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar will give you optimal results if you want to maintain steady blood glucose and insulin levels. The main reason why it does so is because it prevents some of the carbohydrates that you consume from passing through the blood stream. Carbohydrates are what raise your blood sugar level, insulin level, and ultimately bring your body to store more fat. It is the carbohydrates, not the fat that you eat, that is making you fat.

Here is an excerpt from a research article summary on WebMD concerning mice and red wine vinegar:

Researchers found that the mice developed a lot less body fat (up to 10% less) than mice who didn’t receive the vinegar compound. The amount of food eaten by the mice was not affected.

It’s believed that acetic acid turns on genes that produce proteins that help the body break down fats. Such an action helps prevent fat buildup in body, and thwarts weight gain.

Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot regulate blood sugar (blood glucose) properly. Those diagnosed with diabetes, are often told by doctors to stay away from sugary foods. This includes grains, especially bread. Carbohydrates are complex sugars, that can be broken down into simple sugars and processed by the body. As mentioned above, carbohydrates make your blood sugar and insulin sky rocket. Consuming a tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar could help some individuals with diabetes have a sugary meal without having their blood sugar levels spike abnormally. Of course, if you are diabetic, make sure you talk to your doctor before you make bagels your new food staple.

If you like your bread, pasta, bagels, and cereals, then incorporating red wine vinegar into your diet could aid in the slowing of digestion and subsequent weight loss. As a spritzer or as a salad dressing, red wine vinegar can be quite delicious.

Get your own bottle of our favorite red wine vinegar over at Amazon.

 

Sources:

Crush Your Cravings With 5 Appetite-Suppressing Foods

NewsMedical.net- What is Resveratrol

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23265476

WebMD- Causes of Type 2 Diabetes

WebMD- Vinegar May Aid in Fat Loss

Mayo Clinic- Definition of Diabetes

 

Extra Reading: 

DailyMail.co.uk- The Healing Powers of Vinegar

LiveStrong.com- The Health Benefits of Red Wine Vinegar

Japanese Diet Secret: Black Soybean Tea (Kuromame Tea)

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black soybean kuromame

Kuromame Black Soybean Tea http://www.hirokoskitchen.com

 

Black soybean tea, otherwise known as kuromame tea, is another wonderful secret of how the Japanese maintain their weight and health. Obesity is arguably the worst health risk threatening the developed world, especially in the West. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third, or 35.7%, of American adults, are obese. More than two-thirds of adults are considered overweight.

Kuromame tea is here to help you, if not save you. Kuromame, or black soybeans, a rare legumes native to China, and have long been used in Chinese medicine to clear toxins from the body and promote urination. Kuromame has also been linked to effective weight loss along with promoting a healthy diet. There are a few major components to black soybean kuromame tea that give it its remarkable fat shedding ability.

Related Article: Japanese Diet Secret: Kurozu (Black Vinegar)

 

Polyphenols in Black Soybean Kuromame Tea

Polyphenols are compounds known for their anti-aging properties. They are found in foods such as black rice, pears, and potatoes. Black soybeans contain a specific polyphenol called anthocyanin which is known to fight numerous human diseases. Anthocyanin has shown positive results in cancer prevention, anti-aging, reducing the risk of arteriosclerosis, lowering cholesterol, and promotion of lipid metabolism.

A study done by the Journal of Medicinal Food found that anthocyanin inhibited fat absorption in a group of mice that included a higher amount of fat in their diet compared to the control group. The mice did not gain any additional weight.

 

Isoflavones and Weight Loss

Isoflavones are themselves a type of anti-oxidant and help prevent certain types of cancer such as breast cancer. They also improves lipid metabolism. Lipid metabolism powers your weight loss, or more specifically fat loss. Kuromame tea can help you with this because black soybeans are filled with isoflavones. Lipid metabolism is the process of your body fat being mobilized to be used as energy. They also help to control circulatory blood fats.

There are two more very important components to black soybeans that make kuromame tea the choice for a healthier diet and effective weight loss. One is fiber. Black soybeans are a high carbohydrate legume. However, a large portion of  those carbohydrates come from fiber. Fiber helps to lower cholesterol and helps prevent a steep rise in blood sugar levels. The other important and not commonly known compound found in kuromame skin is saponin. Saponin is a chemical compound that also inhibits the absorption of fat.

 

Make Your Own Black Soybean Kuromame Tea

I have been making my own kuromame tea from the black soybeans I buy in the Asian markets near my house (which you can also buy on Amazon). There is really not much to it:

You grab a handful of black soybeans and put them in a pan over high heat. Let them roast for a few minutes. Nothing extra has to be added. Boil some water for later use. The black soybeans will be ready once you hear the skin crack and the color of the beans turns brown. Take the beans and put them in a french press or other utensil you normally use to prepare tea. Pour in the boiling water and let it sit for a few minutes, or let it sit until you are done drinking.

The reason I do not put down specific measurements is because you can adjust the amount of water to your own liking. Some people like kuromame tea with a smokier taste and some like it more diluted.

After drinking, you can eat the black soybeans themselves since they will be nice and soft. This way you can take in all of the healthy carbs and fiber available to you. It is also worth mentioning that black soybeans are low on the glycemic index, so they make a perfect snack for diabetics!

 

 

Sources:

Wondergressive: The Obese Shall Inherit the Earth

http://www.livestrong.com/article/305656-calories-in-black-soybeans/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2000/07/03/general/its-a-drink-and-a-snack-black-soybeans/#.UYCFjbWG1rM

http://slism.com/diet/black-bean-diet.html

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2006.147

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1082894/

http://www.med.unc.edu/neurology/files/documents/child-teaching-pdf/OVERVIEW%20OF%20LIPID%20METABOLISM.pdf

http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/33070

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

 

Recommended Reading for those Interested in More Japanese Secrets

Japanese Farm Food

Obesity and Low Carb Fads: Where Did We Go Wrong? (Part 1)

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The rate of obesity in America and the West is just as much in an incline as low fat and low carb diet fads. Do you know someone who successfully lost weight recently from a strictly low fat diet?

 

Obesity and Low Fat Diets

Low fat diet fads started to appear in the 1980s, but the obesity rate then was nowhere close to what it is now. Also, after the introduction of low fat diets, the rate of obesity did not fall, rather it increased. So where did we go wrong?

Food Portions

Food Portions

For the past 20 or 30 years, ads for low fat food products started to proliferate the market at an alarming rate. What also increased at a steady pace was the average American food portion. Furthermore, there was a rapid replacement of fat with carbohydrates, including sugars. For the food companies to be able to produce products that people would salivate over, this was a necessary step. This is a step backward in the fight against obesity. Let’s not forget that the food companies don’t have our best interest in mind. The amount of ingredients also doubled, or even tripled for some items, such as JIF peanut butter. Try to compare the ingredient list between the regular JIF peanut butter and the low fat version.

 

Enter Low Carb Diets

 

After seeing that obesity was far from being solved by a low fat diet fad, we turned to a new approach; limiting our carbohydrate intake. We have realized that we are consuming way too many simple and processed carbohydrates. Carbohydrates make up the majority of a Westerner’s diet. We saw the rise of such diets as the Atkins diet. There are countless forms of low carb diets out there. This seems to have partially solved the problem as lowering overall carbohydrate intake does decrease the rate of obesity to a certain extent (many studies have even linked low carb diet with blocking the effects of aging!). Despite many successful cases, the West is still fighting obesity more than ever. Perhaps there is a crack in this low carb diet that needs to be patched up.

 

Successful High Carb Diets

 

A local tribe in Papua New Guinea called the Kitavans have a diet that is comprised of 65% carbs, 17% saturated fat, and high fiber, yet their obesity rate is at 0%. Literally no obesity at all has been reported thus far. They are also not prone to strokes, diabetes, nor heart disease. Their diet mainly consists of starchy root vegetables, fruit, some fish and meat, and coconuts. Food is also abundant and they don’t suffer from scarcity.

The Machiguenga people, local to Peru, also have a diet that is high in carbohydrates and fiber. Their diet also consists of mainly root vegetables, fruits and nuts. Meat and fish are eaten in low amounts. These people also don’t have reported cases of obesity.

The Mexican Pima Indians have a diet that roughly consists of 62% carbohydrates, high fiber intake, and 25% saturated fat. There is a 7% obesity rate in males, and 20% obesity rate in females. Incidence of diabetes is at 7%. Their diet mostly consists of beans, wheat-flour tortillas, corn tortillas, and potatoes.

Just across the border, the Arizona Pima Indians have a diet that consists of 49% carbohydrates, 15% protein, 34% fat, and more than 10% of it is saturated fat. Even though they consume less carbohydrates, the obesity rate in males is 64%, and in females it is 75%. Over 30% have been reported to have diabetes. The big difference between the two people is in their diet. The Arizona Pima Indians consumed fried breakfasts, processed meats, hamburgers, pork chops, beans, white bread, flour tortillas, fried or baked dough, cereals, canned foods, and fruit juices.

 

The Culprit: Carbohydrate Density

 

According to the National Institute of Health, the diet of these people is closely tied to the diets of people in the Paleolithic period. The main trait that these people share is consuming cellular carbohydrates as opposed to acellular ones. Foods that have living cells such as fruits and vegetables contain the carbohydrates inside the cells themselves. The maximum density of carbohydrates that a cell will allow is at 23%. Most of the cell’s mass is comprised of water. When digesting these sources of carbohydrates, it also takes time for the stomach to break up the cellular walls and take in the energy from the carbs.

Acellular carb sources, on the other hand, are very simple in form and contain no cellular walls. There is nothing between them and the stomach microbiota. They are easily taken in by the body and swiftly used. These include all wheat products, grains, and sugars. These are also what currently dominate the ingredient lists in Western diets. All things being equal, macronutrients, amount of carb intake, calorie intake, etc.; it is the foods with the higher carb density that relate to the promotion of obesity. The chart in the beginning of the article shows foods (in grey) that are dominant in the modern diet, and the ancestral diet (white).

The discussion about carbohydrate density and its relation to obesity will continue in a follow up article, but for now, the main point that I am trying to summarize is: stick to foods that have a lower carbohydrate density, and you will be more than likely to prevent obesity.

 

Sources

 

Wondergressive:Low Carb/Low Calorie Diet Produces Compound that Blocks Effects of Aging

Wondergressive: The Obese Shall Inherit the Earth

Wondergressive: Save the Food Pyramid by Cutting it by the Limbs

PubMed.gov: Comparison with Ancestral Diet Suggestion

PubMed.gov: Ancestral Diets Table

PubMed.fov: Carbohydrate Density of Ancestral Foods 

Image Source: http://paducah2poland.blogspot.com/2012/06/dont-be-ignorant-know-your-food.html

Sweet Discovery: Simple Sugar Molecules Floating in the Gas Around Star

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Astronomers have discovered simple carbohydrates, necessary for the building of life, floating in the gas surrounding a star some 400 light years away.

Although the discovery does not prove the existence of extra-terrestrial life, it opens the doors of possibility even further ajar. The carbohydrates are present even before planets begin to form.

The lead astronomer, Jes Jørgensen, stated that “these results are giving us and other astronomers ammunition to go out and look for other prebiotic, and possibly more complex, molecules in regions where stars and planets are forming.”

 

Sweet Discovery: Sugar Molecules Floating in Gas Around Star

/ esfein / 1 Comment

 

Astronomers have discovered simple carbohydrates, necessary for the building of life, floating in the gas surrounding a star some 400 light years away.

Although the discovery does not prove the existence of extra-terrestrial life, it opens the doors of possibility even further ajar. The carbohydrates are present even before planets begin to form.

The lead astronomer, Jes Jørgensen, stated that

these results are giving us and other astronomers ammunition to go out and look for other prebiotic, and possibly more complex, molecules in regions where stars and planets are forming.

Sources:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120829-sugar-space-planets-science-life/?source=hp_dl2_news_space_sugar20120831