#or a walnut. not even a walnut brain. just a whole entire walnut. shell and all. like in the dk rap in dk64.

[the-gemini-cores]

War’s First Toll

After providing some explanations, the nurse left the room; left them to their own in the tiny, dimly-lit, empty little closet of a ward. A clock ticked away in the hallway- a minute, two, five, ten. Chell wasn’t saying anything. Wasn’t even moving. 

And Wheatley was confined to her bedside, seated on the cold floor, tension pricking at his throat- he irked to say something, anything, tell her how sorry he was- but she was just sitting there. 

Fifteen, twenty...

"Chell?" he ventured, gulping.

 She flinched; but, finally, regarded him. Surprisingly, she wasn't as apprehensive as he expected; in fact, now that he thought about it, there wasn't much of anything to read in her gaze. She was looking, just that. Nothing more. Seeing. 

Wheatley swallowed again, hard- nearly choking on the knot stuck in his throat. "Look," he launched into consolation, with the best smile he could muster, "It's- It's not that bad! Right? Not the end of days, not even close, you're still alive, and safe, and- and you're here! That's what's important, right?" 

She said nothing. Didn't even blink. 

Wheatley felt the color draining out of his face- hell, out of his whole body, out of the whole world and the whole universe; it was just Chell, looking him down, the slate grey of her glare digging into him like red iron into ice. 

 "Right, right- the 'at least you're still alive' approach may not have been the best call, was it? Not the most... sensitive, really. Really not the smartest choice. But I get you! I understand!" he was quick to add, voice hitching up by about another five octaves, "I understand you! There's no need to get mad at me, because, as it were, I know where you stand. If you think you're shocked, then- oh boy you should walk a mile in my shoes!"

And he laughed; for a moment. A magical moment before realization hit again about what had blurted out- before he went pale again, then yellow, then green, then red.

"AND AND BY THAT I DON'T MEAN- by ANY MEANS- that I know what you're going through better than you! Because I don't, now, do I? I'm not the one that got bloody blasted and lost a bloody arm and- Oh God I probably shouldn't have said that-"

"Wheatley."  

"Argh, that was STUPID, that was! Absolutely chicken-brained, no-thought, empty walnut shell-" 

"Wheatley." 

 "Insensitive, and idiotic, and- Oh I am just a mo-" 

 "WHEATLEY." 

His breath hitched, painful he froze, like a deer in headlights, not daring look her in the eye. It wasn't the first time. Just a couple days ago she stood in the path of his death- looked the Reaper in the eye and decided she wouldn't let him go just yet. And it cost her, dearly.

He didn't even realize what was happening; one moment the world was stable, the next he was blinded by the light of Heaven. There had been a blast, but he hadn't heard it- many people say you hear the bullet coming, but that's bullshit. Same thing with whatever had exploded then. He hadn't heard it, hadn't seen it coming-

But she had.

And next thing he knew he was rolling over after taking a bite of the asphalt, a high-pitched ring screeching in his ears, covering everything. He had no balance anymore, his vision was bleary- he could hear his heart, his breathing, he felt aware of every fiber in his being- and they all hurt. They were so numb, they cycled back into aching..

By the time he got back to his senses and found her, she'd stopped moving. The first thing he saw was a flood of crimson gushing out of her side, drenching the dust- and his eyes stuck to that, refused to peel themselves off. He couldn't even look at her face. And he didn't. Throughout the whole procedure of stopping the bleeding- trying to stop the bleeding- Wheatley couldn’t look above the splintered remnants of her arm. He did his best, he checked for pulse, he propped her on his back and he ran. He ran like there was no tomorrow. The adrenaline hit that came with the attack allowed him to run for about a mile or so- a drop in an ocean. The closest medical station was around seven miles away, and the shortest road went up and down hill like no one's business. He would've cursed- would've done a lot of things, to be perfectly honest, a notable entry on the list being breaking down and sobbing- but there was no time for that. No breath for that. Every sound that came out his mouth, however meek and innocent and unable-to-be-helped, made him feel like a monster. He was wasting energy he could use to move faster.

God knows how long it took to reach the hospital; Wheatley elected to ignore the light levels and focus on staying awake- for his own sake, his own sanity. Upon arrival he passed Chell's motionless form to the doctors, and immediately collapsed. 

She took two days to recover. Two days in which Wheatley did not say a word.

They let him wait by her bedside, at least. But the universe was perverse that way- being closer to Chell only racked his brains even more aggressively. It was his fault, he'd realized as much. She was the reason he had that brief moment of flight- she'd pushed him out of the blast's range, taken the hit herself. She'd saved him. She’d been ready to die for him. He was the reason she lay there, maimed.

It was a miracle she'd even survived- And he hadn’t even been able to get her help faster.

Pathetic.

Wheatley's hands clenched around a crumpled up corner of Chell's blanket; he'd been fiddling with it since she woke up, maybe even before. It was the only thing in the moment's world that felt secure.

"I almost lost you."

And when he talked, his voice didn’t feel his own. The thought was so alien- Chell, the infallible, the unstoppable, the unbreakable- being taken away from him. It was impossible, plain and simple- as impossible as standing in the way of time or commanding the Earth to run backwards. 

And yet it had almost happened.

"I almost lost you! And it was all because you wanted to save me from some- some damn explosion!" Wheatley accused- "That's not how it goes! You're the one who's supposed to live, goddammit!"

He finally picked his gaze off the ground to confront her- ready to yell, to be yelled at. But... she was the same way he'd left her. That same stale, ashen glare reading absolutely nothing, but capturing the entire world.  

He stumbled a moment, puzzled. "How- How dare you," he demanded, flushed and panting- "Huh?! How dare- Who gave you the right to die for me? The- The right to risk your life for me, because we all know you're bloody indestructible- But what if you're not?! Huh, woman? What if you're not bloody infallible, and you up and die? You're supposed to survive!"

"And I did."

Chell pricked up an eyebrow; challenging him, daring him to find a way to refute that. She took a breath, closing her eyes; her lungs ached, and her ribcage all but creaked and groaned from the sudden effort. "I'm still here. Isn't that what you said? That that's important?" 

"Well.. well yes," Wheatley stammered, "But-"

"That's settled, then" Chell concluded; her tone didn’t accept any more additions. "We're still together.

"And everything will be fine."

#brainfarts by theo #portal 2 #chell #wheatley #chelley #apocalypse au #fics- one shots

[gohyuck]

jungkook - chocolate

high school au... aka the school orchestra is selling chocolate out of boxes right now as a fundraiser and i think i bought 7 bars of dark chocolate in two days and it and also its breast cancer awareness month and all of this (along with this) inspired me to write this whole mess... 

“I will personally - stop laughing at me - personally kick your ass if you don’t give me back my box right n- what’s so funny?”

He just chuckles and makes no move to lessen your burden. If you’re not mistaken, he even stretches ever so slightly on his toes to thrust the box even higher up, even higher away from you. 

“Fine, then.” You mutter, feeling more and more as if you’re talking to yourself. Your backpack falls from your shoulder as gracefully as possible (meaning what it really does is slide off of your arm, dropping with a dull thud on the tile of the hallway) and you stare at it for a moment, pondering if you’re really about to do what you’re about to do, before turning back to the chocolate thief.

Jungkook cocks an eyebrow.

You solidify your decision - yeah, you’re really about to do it. 

He smirks before breaking out, again, into poorly suppressed laughter at your predicament. 

...Fucker. 

In the blink of an eye your legs are securely wrapped around his waist, having used his foot as a stepping off point to launch yourself onto him. Your friend stumbles, steadying himself against a corner to avoid dropping not only your box but you and himself. It’s a good thing, you decide, that Jungkook’s started working out and can now physically support both of you. 

(Your brain reminds you that that’s the very reason half of the girls in the grade stare at him, now. You’re not a fan of it. Yikes - you push that thought out of your head.)

“What the hell?!”

“Fucker.” This time you say it out loud. Your face is stone cold, you know it, and Jungkook inadvertently lowers the offending arm. Snatching your box of chocolates you jump down from him, almost tripping over your own feet but not quite. After retrieving your backpack from its place on the ground you open the box, giving the contents a once-over. 

You turn back to glance at Jungkook.

He has the grace to look deathly afraid. 

You cock an eyebrow. 

He blinks before shaking himself out of his stupor and mumbling something that you almost don’t hear.

“Fucker.”

You smirk. 

“What are you even fundraising for?”

He interrupts your loving stare at your sandwich. You pull a face best described as hangry. To the right of him, Jimin hides a snort behind his apple. To the left, Namjoon coughs into his pasta. 

“You’ve spent at least twenty bucks on at least twenty bars of wafer crisp and caramel and you don’t even know what the money’s going towards?”

Jungkook shrugs. “I like my chocolate.” 

Your stare moves from loving to incredulous and from your lunch to the boy sitting across from you. Ailee, unnoticed by you, takes a picture of your expression, sending it to the group chat. You’ll playfully kick her ass about it later. She’s safe for now, though. Jungkook, however, is not. He senses this, putting his hands up in surrender.

“Anyways, I’m asking now.” 

“It’s breast cancer awareness month, so we’re raising money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. We’re selling pink out shirts, too, in the school store.”

Jungkook nods, looking thoughtful. There’s really not much else to say on the topic, so he turns to lean over Jimin and advise Yugyeom on Clash of Clans while you settle for taking a bite out of your sandwich with one hand and checking your phone with the other- Ailee’s sent something to Super Saiyan Suckers. 

You open it. Your comical face stares back at you.

“...Ailee!”

You’re so busy chewing her out that you don’t notice Jungkook’s thoughtful eyes straying towards you repeatedly and quickly darting away everytime you look over at him. 

You’re pleasantly surprised when Jungkook buys an entire box of chocolate from you. Where’d he get the sixty bucks from? He just sheepishly scratches his neck when you ask, so you decide not to press on. 

You wonder what he’ll do with the almond chocolate bars - he hates those.

It should be impossible to be sick of chocolate, but you’ve always sneered at the impossible.

See also - you spent sixty dollars, bought your own box of chocolates, and plowed through a solid third of it in an hour, let alone in a day or a week, and you never, ever want to see anything brown, anything sweet, and anything starting with the letter “c” ever again. 

Current situation - legs crossed, back against the wall of the fine arts hallway, backpack sandwiched between you and your 2/3 full box of chocolates (there’s 34 bars left in it, actually) so you don’t even have to look at it, water bottle nearly empty at your feet due to your failed attempt at washing the chocolate taste out of your mouth. 

The choir room door opens. You can’t bring yourself to scramble to your feet - the four pounds you’re sure you’ve just gained weigh you down. Instead you swing your backpack onto one shoulder and take the water bottle into one hand. 

Conveniently forget the box of chocolates. 

Jungkook stands in front of you and you stare up at him expectantly, sticking your free hand out. He sighs, grabbing it and hauling you up with more strength than needed, sending you crashing into him. Both of you straighten yourselves out, him trying to ignore the rising blush in his cheeks. You don’t notice. 

Instead, you smile at him in thanks and start walking towards the door at the end of the hallway - while it had been your own choice to wait for Jungkook’s hour long rehearsal to end so you could go home together you’re not keen on spending even more time at school - and you know he’ll follow behind. 

He kind of has to. You’re his ride. 

You feel him bend and pick up the box of chocolates you’d left on the ground. 

“You can keep it. I paid for it.”

“If you paid, then why would I keep it?”

Push open the door. Fading sunlight greets you. You can’t help but turn your face up towards the sky. Behind you Jungkook smiles at the sight. Finally you look back at him to respond, and he hurriedly changes his face to a more neutral expression. He looks like an idiot, instead, when your eyes meet his. Is he red? Maybe it’s just the way the light is falling on him. Whatever it is, you find it adorable.

(And attractive. You try to blink that idea away - Jungkook’s been your friend since the beginning of time. He’s the same idiot who drew asymmetrical stars in black sharpie on your bedroom wall seven years ago, just older. You never scrubbed off the stars, though. They’re just hidden by your bedframe, now. The reminder makes you sad, for some reason.)

You shake your head to clear it and to reply to him. 

“Consider it a birthday present.”

“My birthday was last month... remember, you gave me that Build-A-Bear gift card in case I ‘ever feel my inner furry and decide to buy myself a playmate.’ You ruined building for me. And bears. And stuffed animals in general.”

“Listen, Jungkook, I didn’t present you this wonderful gift to argue with you, I-”

“If you stop talking, I’ll keep it.”

“...But my silence for $8,000 a month.”

“At this rate I’ll just walk home, melted chocolate and everything. By the way, how much of this box did you eat? It’s kind of light.”

“...I’ll leave you here.”

“Damn. No wonder you’re trying to get rid of it.”

“Sh-shut up. Shut up. I’m your ride, you walnut, stop disrespecting me.”

“God, alright, alright. Fine. Thanks for the chocolate.”

“No prob- where are you going? My car’s that way.”

It’s the Friday before Halloween and the last day of chocolate selling for breast cancer donations. You’re at $469, trying to sell your last eleven chocolate bars. You’re desperate, really - you want to raise the money for the foundation, of course, but a little part of you also just wants the chocolate to be out of your sight. 

Next year you’ll sign up to man the school store every morning and afternoon instead. Taehyung, Mino, and Seulgi get to greet customers, sell shirts, and make and hang up posters without worry of either being mobbed by sweet-tooth crazed highschoolers or being snubbed while trying to overcome awkwardness and lack of salesmanship.

Chocolate drains you. 

“Hey,” A hand waves in front of you, pulling you out of your thoughts. It’s Minghao. He’s whispering, since the teacher’s up at the board explaining why post hoc ergo propter hoc is a logical fallacy and he doesn’t want to interrupt. “Do you have any darks left?”

You blink. You don’t. 

You want to scream.

“(Y/N)?”

Minghao’s a nice guy; you’re not close to him but you make smalltalk with him without qualms in the classes you have with him. Even so - you aren’t best friends or anything. 

Which is why, needless to say, he’s just a little concerned when you quasirobotically respond to his question with a succinct “I’m a shell of a person.”

“Uh...”

“(Y/N) doesn’t have any darks left, is what this... shell of a person meant to say.” 

Jungkook swoops in, less smoothly than intended, to save your ass. You nod, embarrassment overcoming you as you realize your dramatic flair isn’t understood by everyone. Minghao nods, eyebrows still a little furrowed together, and turns around. 

“Nice one.” Your friend snorts. You knock your shoulder against his in mock annoyance. He laughs, just a little too loud. 

“Mr. Jeon, since your head obviously isn’t in the lesson, would you mind telling the class what you were thinking?” 

This time, Jungkook is smooth. For once. “I’m thinking that (Y/N) just needs to sell a few more chocolate bars to finish this last box and to raise a few more dollars for the breast cancer foundation. Does anyone want to buy some?” 

Red creeps up your neck and you cough, looking down. Unseen to your eyes, the teacher’s face softens. 

“I’ll have three of whatever you have left; I should have a few dollar bills in my bag. Anyone else?”       

Jungkook goes around with your box for the next following minutes, emptying it out and collecting the last $11. There’s a “finally” on the tip of your tongue. Now you can turn in the money you’ve raised to the front office - you hope the total is over $5,000.

After the bell rings you throw your arms around Jungkook’s neck enthusiastically and he laughs at the suddenness but buries his face in your shoulder in response nonetheless.

It lasts just for a moment. 

You’ve hugged him before, of course you have. For some reason, though, it’s never felt like this. 

His arms are warm around your waist; you can feel his body heat through your clothes. The inside of your forearm brushes against the junction of his neck on accident when he pulls you closer and - wow, have his shoulders always been this broad? Jungkook moves so his hands are resting on your hips for a moment. You take a step back, your palms flat against his shoulders. His muscles shift underneath your fingers as he holds you an arm length away, smiling down at you. 

Why’s your heart beating so fast? You try your best to shove the obvious answer out of your head. 

You clear your throat.

“I owe you one, Kook.” 

He lets go of you and you move your hands to your sides. “Sure.” Jungkook grins at you. “I was just being a good friend, though.” You two begin walking towards the main hall.

Friend. That word’s never filled you with dread before.

(That’s a lie - it always has with Jungkook. You’ve always been good at pretending it hasn’t, though.)     

“Don’t you have to go to lunch?” You wave at him, turning right to get to class. 

“Yeah. See you later, though.” He waves back. Turns left.

“Later.”

Door duty. 

It could be worse, you decide while flipping through your history notebook absentmindedly (they’ll curve the test anyways, you’re sure of it) and simultaneously keeping an eye on the front door. The stream of kids trick-or-treating isn’t steady - an hour ago you were forced to stand by the door as the doorbell was ringing nonstop, but for the past twenty minutes it’s been fairly quiet. Probably because it’s getting late, honestly. Now only some middle school age kids and other teenagers are out, and, even then, it’s a school night. Some, like you, have tests tomorrow to study for tonight.   

It’s both a blessing and a curse, actually. The less kids there are, the more time there is for you to think. The only problem is that instead of pondering the differences between Legalism, Confucianism, and Taoism, your mind keeps drifting back to the one and only Jungkook Jeon. 

It’s been four days since what you’ve mentally deemed the Fateful Hug happened, and you’ve forced yourself to face reality. You’ve fallen in love with someone who’s one of your best friends. 

It doesn’t help that he probably doesn’t like you back - after all, literally everyone on the planet is enamored with him. He could pick anyone, you surmise, why would he pick you? Especially after he’s seen you not just at your best, but at your very, very worst.

You’ve put Jungkook through a lot, and you know it. 

Closing your notebook you shove it away from you, causing it to slide across the table. You’ll retrieve it later. You choose, instead, to shoot Ailee a quick text, asking for help. There’s not much else for you to do.

i need help getting over jungkook send help pls and thank

Your phone dings not a second later, and you pick it up again. 

you like kook?? -nj

     why the hell do you have A’s phone joon

were neighbors remember

     yeah but still

     kook is my neighbor and he isnt over at mine

im helping her dogsit, her parents dont trust her

and shes in the bathroom

     and they trust you??? you nearly burned down their HOUSE

anyways thats not the POINT

you like JUNGKOOK is the point

     pls give ailee her phone back

     also dont u fuckin DARE tell kook 

     forget i said anything disaster man

i resent that nickname

You wince - this wasn’t meant to happen. You trust Namjoon though - out of all of the boys, he’s got his head screwed on the straightest... even if he’d lose it if it wasn’t screwed on at all. 

You receive a text. 

ok but whats new tho - ailee

     wdym...?? i like kook is whats new

youve liked him since like the beginning of time

     thats sooo not true

youre telling me you just realized NOW?

     well yeah bc i just started liking him

     anyways just 

     how do u get over a guy you see everyday 

Do Not

im 99% sure he likes you back

     ailee ur a lotta things but uve never been a LIAR before

namjoon says kook is so far up your ass that

he can prob see your intestines

joon says he needs you/kook to get together

     namjoon needs to work on analogies 

     is what namjoon needs

just like

kiss him or something idk man

     thats not how it works

thAts nOt HoW iT WorKs

joon said he’ll help u

     uhhhhh

     is that a good

     IDEA 

It’s been a solid five minutes of no response from Ailee when suddenly the doorbell rings, startling you. The idea of Namjoon helping you with anything scares you - after all, putting two overthinkers together just results in more overthinking. 

The doorbell rings again. 

The phone dings. 

You sigh. You’ll respond to Ailee in a minute - it’s Halloween and some poor kid is on the other side of the door waiting for candy. Grabbing a handful of Hershey’s kisses you swing open the door.

Only to find yourself face to face with Jungkook. 

“Trick or treat.” He grins, slightly sheepish. His right hand comes up to scratch at the back of his neck, something he does when he’s nervous or uncomfortable. Huh. 

You blink.

“Oh.” You shake your head immediately, mentally chastising yourself. He’s still a friend - act like it! “What’s up. Come in, dude.”

Jungkook steps in, closing the door behind himself. “I can’t stay long, it’s game night and you know how my brother gets about not getting the chance to kick my ass in Call of Duty, but, uh...” He scratches at his neck again. 

“You okay?” For some reason, your heart is in your throat. Kisses are still in abundance in your palm and he reaches over, unwrapping one and putting it into his mouth. It seems like an effort to calm himself down.

You set the rest of them down on the table. Jungkook jerks his head to the left for a split second - something he does before proving himself or readying himself to overcome something. Usually, of course, it means he’s about to whoop Seokjin’s ass in a video game.  

There’s not much time to think about that though, as Jungkook lips are, almost out of nowhere, hovering above yours. Your breath catches.

“You know how you said you owe me one a few days ago?” His voice is lower than usual. You let air out between your lips.

“Yeah.” Words are straining against your lips, on the tip of your tongue. For some reason, however, you can’t say them out loud. 

“You didn’t say what you owed me.” His nose bumping yours, whether accidentally or on purpose, reminds you that you’ve known him for forever. You’ve known every curve of his face, every type of laugh he has, every expression he makes like the back of your hand for years. Why are you so afraid of speaking now? 

You shouldn’t be. So you aren’t.

“Just kiss me, you asshole.” 

Jungkook obliges. 

He tastes like chocolate, the Hershey’s he’d just let melt on his tongue serving another purpose than just steadying jitters. The kiss doesn’t last long, and when you pull away Jungkook looks awestruck. Red rises in both of your cheeks. 

Realization hits as your phone notifies you of another text.

“Did Namjoon text y-”

“Yep.” Jungkook allows his smile to widen. You laugh and take a step closer to him, pulling him nearer as he hugs you tightly. 

“I’ll kick his ass,” You pause. “You know, I was starting to hate chocolate.” Words are muffled by his shirt. He chuckles into your hair. 

“Did I change that?”

“...Maybe so.” 

After what feels like an eternity you both let go of each other. You both begin speaking at once.

“I have to study for history-”

“Bro’s waiting-”

It goes silent. You roll your eyes. Press a kiss to his cheek.

“Don’t keep him waiting. I’ll see you in first period tomorrow.”

Jungkook grins and leans in, his lips meeting your forehead. Too soon he’s out the door and walking the twenty feet to his front porch. Before walking in, he sends you a flying kiss.

You send one back and shut the door behind you, leaning against it for a second. Wow. 

Your phone is exploding on the table and you assume that Jungkook must’ve told Namjoon what happened. You’ll deal with that later, with Ailee and Joon later. Right now you need a minute to process everything yourself. 

(A really, really, dumb, sappy, in-love smile takes over your face. You’re sure you look like you’re insane - it’s a good thing that nobody’s around to see it.)

You get your history notes from across the table and settle down in your chair again to review everything you need to know. Holding the notebook with one hand you absentmindedly grab a chocolate from the tabletop, unwrapping it and placing it on your tongue. 

It’s funny, really - a week ago you would’ve denounced chocolate willingly for the rest of your life, and now, you’re enjoying some good ol’ Hershey’s without any strong emotions tied to it.

It’s also the second best kiss you’ve had all day. 

hoo boy this ending...needs work but idk how else to end it...i hope it wasn’t too bad!! i feel like it was rushed and im prob gonna edit later

#jungkook #bts #bts scenario #bts scenarios #jungkook scenario #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fluff #jeongguk #jeon jungkook #jeon jeongguk #bts preferences #jungkook angst #jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #bts jungkook

[thecowardlycreative]

Title: A Little Bit of Hope

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Pairing: Still none

Characters: Lance, Blue Lion

Other parts: Prologue

Summary/concept: Just how did the blue lion open that first wormhole when Allura was still unconscious in the pod? Altean Lance. That’s how.

Words: 3,142

Enjoy! This is pretty long. Also I’ve taken some artistic licence with the lion/paladin connection.

It was night, or as close to night as it ever got in the castle. The crystals dimmed and the engines slowed until the ship was almost as silent as the vacuum outside. Going by the ticker embedded in his bedroom wall, set to Standard Castle Time, Lance knew that it was close to midnight when he slipped out of bed, into the hallway and down into his lion’s hanger.

Blue waited silently before him, crouched like a sphinx. It was odd. She seemed entirely lifeless when she was like this. Just a lump of metal -- a tool to be used and discarded rather than the playful, intelligent creature she really was. It annoyed Lance a little bit, staring up at her. It was like she was pretending, like she thought he was a bear and if she just stood still enough, he’d go away.

He knocked lightly on her knuckles but she didn’t respond.

“Hey,” he whispered and she didn’t respond. “Hey!”

Nothing.

God, he was tired. He didn’t have the energy for this. This had been the longest day of his life, bar none. Breaking his dead hero out of some weird experimentation lab, finding out his greatest rival was some sort of mad conspiracy theorist, finding an alien spaceship -- finding out aliens existed! -- flying the alien spaceship which was actually a sentient robo-cat through a wormhole and meeting actual aliens! Then the whole fighting aliens/becoming a power ranger thing and multiple interstellar journeys that came with that. It was well and truly time for bed. But he couldn’t sleep. And he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he got this one question answered. It was too bad the only creature in the universe capable of answering that question had decided to play dead.

He could dismiss it, dismiss the whole thing as some weird dream or a retained memory from Blue of her last paladin, if it hadn’t been for Allura. The way she’d looked at him. The way she’d reached for his ears and mumbled, “Ro? How? But you’re so young…” before he swept in and set her straight. That wasn’t so easy to dismiss.

He sighed and let himself slump against one of Blue’s massive forepaws.

“What was that?” he asked the silent cat. “Back in the cave?”

Predictably, she gave no reply.

“Why did you show me that? Everyone else saw Voltron and all I get is the horrible last moments of some alien prince!”

Nothing.

“Is it because he was the Blue Paladin. The one immediately before me? Did the others see the same thing when they found their lions?”

Still nothing.

“Or what? Are you saying that’s me? We don’t even look similar -- it’s just the nose! And he’s like thirty! Did I age backwards or something?”

Blue’s silence was really starting to irk him.

“Did I die? Was that some sort of past life?”

She gave a soft rumble -- finally, a response! -- that he was fairly sure meant ‘no’ and then his vision was flooded with colour.

Yellow: the flash of an electrical surge as it overloaded the system and sparks flew.

Red: the emergency lights glowing in the otherwise dark cockpit.

Green: a soft wave of light that passed over Prince Lanaaro’s face, highlighting it in all the twisted pain of his death.

Blue: the colour of ice.

And then black: nothing at all.

Lance landed back in his lion’s hanger with a gasp, hands clasped around his stomach as his breath came short and fast and he struggled not to throw up. Even then, he stared up at the lion, still crouched impassively over him as if nothing had happened at all. As soon as his lungs finally stopped seizing and words were possible, he spoke.

“You saved him?” he heaved, his breath still shallow and stabbing at the muscles in his chest like shards of glass.

Blue gave a deep rumble of confirmation and the soft green light appeared in Lance’s vision again. It passed over Lanaaro’s face once and the pain eased, twice and his heart gave one slow beat as it sputtered into life again. But he didn’t open his eyes.

“How?”

You underestimate me, Blue spoke in his head and Lance scrambled away from her paw, adrenaline speeding his heart so fast in his chest he thought it might explode. She’d never done that before. He hadn’t even considered that she could. I am very good. I do not need so much.

“You gave some of it back… His quintessence…”

Your quin, she corrected.

“But why a baby?” Lance asked, crawling cautiously back to where he had been leaning against her as the blue of ice appeared in his vision again, encasing an infant like it had been shut inside a crystal walnut shell.

Less quin required to function, Blue said as if it were obvious.

“And the ice?”

There was another rumble in his head, a lilting one and Lance thought she might be laughing.

What do I know of children, Cub?

Lance shrugged. “Fair point,” he said with a smile. “But what exactly was your plan? Just leave him suspended in ice until the next Blue Paladin came along to take him back to the castle?”

No plan, said Blue, just… the words stopped and Lance was punched in the chest with something, some feeling she was trying to convey, so hard he almost fell over. It was only when the moment had passed and the emotions had dulled a little as they seeped away that Lance could recognise what they were.

Affection.

And fear.

She gave a low whine in his head and Lance didn’t think twice before wrapping his arms around her, or at least her foot, in the hug she seemed to be craving.

“You tried, Blue. You did your best.”

I succeeded. You’re still here.

Lance only smiled. He knew he wasn’t Lanaaro. Not in the way the Blue wanted him to be.

I can hear you, my cub. You are still you. Despite everything.

Doubt flashed across his mind again but, this time, he didn’t bother trying to hide it. She could hear all his thoughts anyway. She moved, then -- dipped her head with a soft purring sound to nudge at him with her nose. Lance had never felt more like a real lion cub, coddled and safe in the lioness’ den, as he pressed back against her. If she could hear his thoughts, he didn’t have to try and put anything into words. She would know his doubts, his fears, feel his gratitude and budding affection. Words were superfluous between them. So he didn’t say anything, just let himself feel for a moment before he changed the subject.

“So what did happen? If there was no plan, how did I end up -- my family,” the thought struck upon him suddenly, “they’re not my real family.”

Blue nuzzled closer, letting him feel her empathy rather than trying to voice it. In fact, she didn’t say anything, just rubbed him with her nose and purred in his head while he sat on the floor as every truth he had ever known came unravelled around him.

His family -- his mother, his father, his sisters and his brother -- they weren’t really real. No, of course they were real. They lived and breathed. They were human with human lives and human thoughts, dreams, fears and flaws. They just weren’t his. No, even that was wrong. They were his. They were still the people who raised him and loved him and gave him guidance and the freedom to explore. They had just lied. Because they had known. They had to have known. At least his parents and older siblings must have known. And no one had ever said a word. Why didn’t they say anything? Did they think he wasn’t old enough to know, or something? Did they think he didn’t deserve to know? Were they going to just keep lying to him for the rest of his life?

They probably thought it didn’t matter, Cub, said Blue. You are their family regardless.

Lance shook his head. “No. I don’t underst-- But I look just like my dad! I mean, like my… I don’t really know what I’m supposed to call him.”

Your father, I expect. If your image of him is true, I feel he would want you to call him your father.

Hush, little one, she went on before the confusion could take full root in his brain. Do not think too hard. When you are home again, you can ask.

“Right,” said Lance, not entirely believing her.

Until then, think of them as you want to think of them.

“But how can I look just like m-my dad if he’s not actually my dad?” His mind was in loops. “I don’t get it, Blue.”

Perhaps, she said and sent a reel of images into his mind. Alteans working as moderators at diplomatic meetings. Alteans growing and shrinking, sprouting horns or colouring their skin shocking pink to meet the expectations of whatever culture was hosting them. Lanaaro at such a meeting, shaking the appendage of some sort of tentacled centaur before his back twisted, he sprouted an extra set of legs and his arms narrowed, split into two separate limbs and lost their fingers until he was the same -- just another centaur with four handless tentacles instead of arms.

“You’re saying… I changed? To look more like my family?”

It is only a possibility. I cannot say for certain.

“Then, this isn’t even my real face.”

To me, you look just as you always have.

“Thanks, Blue. I guess I can always fall back on that.”

Think no more of it, my cub. You have lived your life after you left me. It is made no less real by what you did before then.

It was odd, really, that Blue’s metal paw, which should have been hard and cold and unfeeling in its sturdiness, was so comforting to hold. Especially when her nose was laid right on the other side of him. He could almost hear her breathing, feel the moist warmth that a real lion’s nose would give off. But no, he was imagining it all -- or, at the most, she was breathing only within the reality in his head. Still, he sat there, pressed against the comforting sympathy of her nose and the sturdy reality of her paw and let his mind loop and loop as much as it liked, let the fear and confusion wash over him like water off a duck’s back, until the world stopped spinning and he could have some sense of truth again.

He was in a castle. In Space.

The castle was a ship. Piloted by aliens.

Shiro was really alive. Keith had been tracking bigfoot.

Blue was right there, beneath his hands, inside his head. Even if he doubted everything else in the universe, he couldn’t doubt that.

These were his facts and he held onto them, built his world around them until everything was alright again.

“Thanks, Blue,” he said. “For…” Saving him? Being there? Explaining? Her understanding?

He didn’t try to finish that sentence. Blue would understand, anyway.

You are my paladin, my cub, my Ro. He felt her smile. My Lance. I will not leave you. She gave him another nudge with her nose and he pushed back against her good naturedly.

“But Blue,” he said, returning to a long forgotten train of thought, “If you didn’t leave me, how did I end up with with my family on Earth?”

She growled as she sent yet another wave of images into his mind. He was beginning to get a rather prickly headache.

This time it was the earth, deep, deep beneath the crust. The molten rock bubbled and boiled and mixed until, suddenly, it was moving. Up. Up . Up, through the crust and splitting the ground. Burning magma bubbled to the surface in a steady but deadly river. Rocks flew, bright red and unimaginably hot, from the ground into the air and the sky steady filled with smoke. Miles and miles away, buried in the ground in a cavern, the Blue Lion shook where she sat. The earth split beneath her and she toppled sideways. One tiny, frozen baby rolled out of her cockpit and into the pool of water by her feet.

“Really, Blue?”

She growled, somehow both guilty and dismissive.

“What about the particle barrier?”

I was careless. It had been ten thousand years and no one had come.

Lance laughed and patted her reassuringly on one of her giant knuckles. “Well, I guess we all make mistakes. What happened after that?”

With a soft rumble, the images were back.

Baby Lance -- or was he still Lanaaro? -- rolled into the pool and sunk to the bottom as the Blue Lion righted herself and looked around for him. By the time her nose poked into the pool, the baby was gone, sucked out into a small underground stream, and she gave such a mournful roar, Lance felt his chest tighten and tears grow in his eyes.

“And then?” he managed to croak out after a minute.

I don’t know. I was not there. But you will know.

“Yeah, it doesn’t quite work like that, Blue. I was kind of a baby. And encased in ice. In some cryogenic freeze. I don’t remember anything.”

Listen, she said and pressed her massive forehead against his. Feel.

He took a deep breath, felt the cold of her metal head against his, and let it out again. And he could feel. Well, he could feel something at least. And there was the sound of water. Not the bubbling of water above ground but the deep-bass churning you could only hear while completely submerged.

There was a pop and Lance knew he must have broken the surface. Then there was nothing, just the gentle bobbing feeling that meant he must be floating for a long time. But, what was that? Was it getting warmer? Oh, the ice was melting. That was good, right? It meant he was going to wake up. Wake up as an infant in the middle of a fast flowing stream.

Oh no.

A dog was the first the hear him crying. The world suddenly felt so close to his senses, even his sight returned with his consciousness, though the dog was nothing more than a blonde blur across his vision. The water was silk-smooth but deadly. It filled his mouth and stabbed at his eyes, wrapped around his chubby little legs and tried to pull him under and Lance, grown up Lance who sat in his lion’s hanger, was shouting at him to swim. But, of course, he couldn’t. He had no control. This was the memory of a drowning baby.

Suddenly, there were two children in the water with him, hands reaching towards him. They had followed the dog into the water, a boy and a girl, and were pulling it back by the collar to keep it from biting the small, wriggling, crying thing in the river. Lance recognised them as his older brother and sister, which meant the dog must be Jessi -- the pet that vaguely lurked on the edges of his memory.

Blue pulled away and the images faded.

There is more, she said, but it is not very interesting.

“Not very interesting? This is my life, Blue. All of it is interesting!” he shouted and then paused for thought. “Wait, you looked ahead! You didn’t know anything until you took a look in my head and then you peeked at the end!”

Blue gave her rumbling laugh again. It is all paper and writing, she said. Not very interesting.

Lance crossed his arms in a huff. Blue nudged at him with her nose but he only pouted more. She nudged again at his shoulder and he leant away from her. She nudged again and he still leant away. So she just kept nudging until he was almost folded in half, forehead on his knees, still with that same pout on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. And then she laughed.

Lance had no defence to that. The sound of her happy rumbling in his head was impossible to ignore and he gave in with a smile.

“Oh, alright,” he said at last, pushing her nose away so he could sit up straight again. “But no more spoilers! I want to go through all of that one day. Boring paperwork and all.”

She purred her acquiescence and he rubbed her nose.

“How did you do that, anyway?” he asked.

I am you and you are me. You may have been asleep in the ice but I felt and heard for you.

Lance didn’t question it. After all, he was in space with aliens and feline-transformers. He just settled against Blue’s paw again, taking off his coat to use as a pillow against her hard shell. She purred in his head and he traced spirals on her paw beneath him, wondering if she could even feel such a light touch. The growing response in his head told him, ‘yes,’ she could. He knew he was going end up sleeping right there eventually, Blue knew it too, so he thought he might as well get comfortable.

“Hey, Blue,” he said almost ten minutes later. “What am I supposed to do now?”

Whatever you like, Cub. Go wherever the universe takes you.

“But I’m supposedly Allura’s brother, right?”

Blue somehow managed to give a growl that sounded like a nod.

“I mean, should I tell her? But, at the same time, I’m not really Lanaaro. Because I don’t remember. So maybe I shouldn’t tell her. That might be weird. It’d be like looking at someone else using your brother’s corpse like some creepy puppet master. For that matter, can I do that freaky Altean shapshifiting thing? Make myself look like Lanaaro again? Would that be okay? Or would it make Allura cry? It feels wrong, somehow. Maybe it’s just because I really can’t remember being Lanaaro so wearing his face is, like, really gruesome. What do you think, Blue? This is so messed up, right?”

Sleep, Cub. You’re thinking too much again.

Lance huffed. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything -- let his worries pass through to Blue by thought alone -- but he knew he had to put them into words for his own sake, talk until he had his own thoughts straight.

No, sleep, said Blue again.

“But Blue,” whined Lance, settling his head on his jacket-pillow. “Who am I?”

You are Lance, she said. You were Ro, you still are Ro. You are the Blue Paladin of Voltron. You are kind and selfless. That is enough.

“Gee, I hope so, Blue,” he said softly.

If I do continue this, I’m totally just posting it on AO3. Having to re-italisise everything after copy/pasting is such a hassle. There may be more. I’m super busy atm so this is my procrastinating project

#fanfiction #voltron #voltron:ld #lance mcclain #blue lion #altean!lance #altean lance #writing #fic #i may continue this #long post #like really long #Fic: A Little Bit of Hope #really not happy with the beginning of this #and having a crappy start to the beginning of a post on tumblr p much guarantees it won't get notes #just saying

[tabitha68672325-blog]

Marijuana Addiction And Withdrawal - Method Called When You Quit Smoking Marijuana

If you using the microwave method, you would have to pour there are numerous melted soap, return the soap base to the microwave and continue ac and heating. This will prevent over heating. But it is about impossible to take any current program and apply it to a raw software program. Everything changes when you consider the raw food approach. What used to harm is right now good anyone personally in the uncooked region. So, don't fear the entire body! Just keep all your fat consumption the healthy kind-if you eat any cooked food, certain that it isn't cooked excessive. Isn't that simple?

Many of you may read about yesterdays 4/20 protest at Civic Center Store. Perhaps, some of individuals were component the over 3000 customers. Whether you are for or against Cannabis reform in state, may do still essentially the most of the plants' numerous benefits when you it. Yes, that's yes. I said eating it. And no, I am referring to pot-brownies. Anne Frank is famous for her diary during she wrote down her experiences during World War II. She wrote it in a canal house on the Prinsengracht where she and her family were avoiding the Nazi's. You shell out a homage by visiting her hiding closet. It is a very popular destination for tourist so come early to avoid long ques. Particularly one omega-3 source always be added to the everyday daily diet. This can be fish or fish-oil in its raw form, flax seeds or flaxseed oil, CBD Oil Benefits, walnuts, shrimps, navy beans or soy beans. Corn oil and extra virgin olive oil also provide some degrees of these transfats. Enriched eggs are 1 source step by step . be put onto the everyday diet. Before the second coat lightly rub around the surface with steel-wool, Alpine CBD a kitchen scouring pad, perhaps very lightly with fine sandpaper. After applying the desired number of coats, AlpineCBD a number of circumstances whole thing a good rubbing with steel wool (#000) then vacuum away from the dust. You now are ready for oil. There are also foods still that is really provide the right levels of Omega 3's. Tofu, a soy protein is the kind of Cannabis Study food. Eggs that are enriched with Omega 3 are also beneficial usually are eaten simillar to regular chicken eggs. Other foods that provide Omega 3 fatty acids include navy beans, walnuts, and nuts. Exercise really helps you to use oxygen more efficiently and pumps more oxygen to begins. Many sufferers of panic disorder say they've frequent memory lapses or 'fogginess'. Forgetfulness may produce even more stress. Getting the oxygen upon the brain helps increase your focus and memory. Ideally, AlpineCBD exercise each morning so that the feel good endorphins can kick-start working day.

[lindafrancois]

Healthy Benefits of Walnuts & How They Help in Weight Loss

It is amazing how some small healthy foods can have the strongest nutritional impacts. We are referring to Walnuts aka in Hindi as Akhrot is a powerhouse of nutrition.

A walnut is basically a single-seeded stone fruit that is derived from any tree of the genus Juglans. Mimicking the human brain, this nut helps to promote the development of several neuron-transmitters within the brain.

However, that’s not all. This wonder nut is also a great source of healthy fats and fibre. But before we jump into the benefits of walnuts, let’s give you some lesser-known facts about this amazing healthy seed.

Walnuts Origin and Production

Originating in the Mediterranean region, a native from North American lands, Walnuts are now also grown in China, Iran and in the states of California and Arizona.

In India, they are majorly found growing in the Himalayan regions and also in Sikkim and Darjeeling. Its commercial farming is carried in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

China is the leading producer of walnuts, in the year 2017, the country produced almost 50% of the total walnut production in the world.

Nutritional Benefits of Walnuts

The nutritional breakdown of a 100 gms of Walnuts [1]

Total Fat – 65 grams

Total Carbohydrate- 14 grams

Dietary Fiber – 6.7 grams

Sugar – 2.6 grams

Protein – 15 grams

Sodium- 2 milligrams

Iron- 2.91 milligrams

Potassium- 441 milligrams

Calcium -98 milligrams

Besides these there are also several vitamin benefits of walnuts, particularly being a good source of B6 (Pyridoxine). 

Termed as the healthiest nut by BBC health, the walnut nutrition data also reveals them as a very good source of good fats. With a saturated fat percentage of just 10%, walnuts contain almost 76% of Polyunsaturated fats and 14% of Monounsaturated fats.

Other Nutritional Facts about Walnuts

The glycemic index of walnuts is about 15 that includes them in the list of low glycemic foods. 

Walnuts are also natural sources of manganese, contributing to almost half of your daily needs. 

They are the only nuts that serve as a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Health Benefits of Walnuts

Our health experts say that including walnuts as a daily part of your meals plan can help you maintain a nutritious diet. If you’re still not sure, here are a few walnut health benefits that you might have never known!

1. Walnuts keep the heart healthy

The high content of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids make walnuts an important nutrition source for heart health.

These fatty acids lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) level in the body. A higher level of LDL usually builds up in the heart arteries and even clog them up. This clogging and build up disrupt the natural oxygen-rich blood flow to the cardiac muscles that later cause heart pain.

Studies show that acute consumption of walnuts and its several components can benefit endothelial function. The study also supports that consuming whole walnuts shows novel effects on reverse cholesterol transport. [1]

 Moreover, the omega-3 in walnuts is a direct contributor to reducing heart diseases risks. The Omega-3 in plants as well as in walnuts are known as ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), that is associated with moderately lower risks of cardiovascular diseases. [2]

2. Walnuts maintain the gut health

To maintain proper gut health, your body needs to have the bacteria that promote good health. The human gastrointestinal tract is a haven for such complex microorganisms. And these gut microbiota influences the host body significantly.

While there have been many factors in the establishment of gut microbiota in an infant host, the contribution of diet is one of the main driving factors in building the gut microbiota over the entire lifetime of a host.

Now if these bacterial composition gets altered in the body, the host may fall prey to several inflammatory diseases and infections. Hence, maintaining a proper diet to maintain gut health is the most significant step in having a healthy gut.

Recent studies confirm that including walnuts daily as a part of diet can increase these essential bacteria in the gut and hence, improve the gut health altogether. 

There was a research where 43 participants–between the ages of 30 and 65–with an overweight issue, were put into an American diet for two weeks.

After this, the participants were assigned to three random diets where walnuts or vegetable oils replaced saturated fat. The participants followed each diet for six weeks and the result was–the ones with a walnut diet showed a higher number of gut bacteria that had been associated with health benefits. [3]

3. Walnut benefits for brain

As mentioned earlier, walnuts are found to be quite effective in supporting brain health. Walnuts have a high concentration of DHA which is a type of Omega-3 acid.

Some studies show that DHA promotes brain health in infants and even improves cognition in adult brains. That is why they are also recommended for people with age-related memory declining issues.

The ALA in walnuts along with its high content of polyphenols are considered as crucial brain nutrients.

These fight against oxidative stress in the brain and also reduces inflammation — two very important factors that create brain cell damage and decline learning ability, memory retention and decision-making aspects in a human brain. 

There was also a study that supported mothers with proper DHA content produces smarter kids. Another study by the  University of New Mexico showed an impact of walnut consumption on mood in young adults.

The nut supplementation showed declination of depression and improvement in mood in the subjects.[4]

Moreover, the structure of walnut inside the shell has an uncanny similarity with the folds and wrinkles of a human brain. No wonder they are nicknamed as the brain foods!

4. Help the male reproductive system

While the wonder nut is a miracle for all of us in several ways, there are also many surprising walnut benefits for men. A study suggests that eating these nuts daily can improve sperm health.

Research among subjects belonging to the western world with a declining sperm count due to the modern-day pollution and stress,  showed healthier fertility signs after including walnuts in their diet.

The researchers divided 119 healthy men within the age group of 18 to 35, into two groups. One group was given 60-grams of walnuts in their normal diet and the other group had no changes in their diet. The result showed the group that had nuts in their diet had a 14% higher sperm count and a 4% higher sperm vitality.

The experts of the study revealed that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and Vitamin B can improve fertility in men. [5] And walnuts contain most of these nutrients. Including walnuts in a regular diet also helps in keeping up with the required nutrition data that ultimately affect fertility too. 

5. Promotes weight loss

If you have been snacking chips or craving the chips, here’s your chance to replace the loss with a much nutritious snack–walnut. Their high content of Omega-3 fatty acids is directly linked to decreasing obesity and diabetes.

One of the major misconceptions regarding walnuts and their role in weight loss is that these nuts are dense in calories.

However, studies are reporting that the energy absorbed from these nuts are lower.

And even though these nuts contain fat, they are mostly good fats that help in lowering bad cholesterol. The other role of walnuts in weight loss is that they are high in dietary fibre that makes you full quickly and hence lets you eat less.

A study published funded by California Walnut Commission, even proved that walnuts can alter the way brains view foods and hence impact their appetite. 

The study was held among 10 obese people, who were given to either drink a walnut smoothie once a day for five days consecutive days or a placebo smoothie identical in taste and calorie content, separated by a washout period of one month.

The results showed that walnut consumption reduced feelings of hunger and appetite. This explains that walnut consumption may have increased the cognitive control of appetite in these patients. [5]

If you think just chewing the walnuts can be boring, here’s a fun way to twist things up with a delicious and healthy Cinnamon Walnut Smoothie recipe. 

https://youtu.be/lMnbgsAGBZc

5. Walnut benefits for hair

If you think it’s just the gut and the heart that are benefited by walnuts, you’re wrong! These small wonder nuts are great for hair growth too.

The selenium and Vitamin B7 in walnuts help in reducing hair fall. Not just that, applying walnut oil in hair benefits by making the hair look healthy and glossy.

The oil is also found to be associated with dandruff decline. You must know that fatty acids are crucial for hair growth, they keep the skin moisturized and hence, lack of these fats can cause dandruff.

Moreover, a diet that increases bad fats in the body encourages Dihydrotestosterone growth that makes hair loss quicker and faster. With a diet supplement of walnut, bad fats are replaced by good fats that reduce the level of hair fall. 

6. Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Walnuts contain rich amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and even phytosterols that are believed to delay type-2 diabetes. [7]

Besides their positive impacts on weight management, consuming walnuts can help in reducing the blood sugar level.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids affect the insulin sensitivity in the blood hence reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

In a study of 100 people with diabetes mellitus, two groups were formed. One group was given walnut oil for three months while the other group did not undergo any interventions.

Before the experiment, the fasting blood sugar of both groups was photographed. After the experiment, the group with walnuts in their diet showed a significant decrease in the fasting blood sugar level compared to the other group.

However, the two groups were not significantly different in their body weight. Hence, including walnuts in the diet may affect the glucose level in type 2 diabetic patients. [6]

Some of the best healthy foods are usually the ones that are not advertised and are rarely known. Walnuts, although remains underrated, are one of the healthiest food sources that mankind has known since forever.

So for your next diet plan, go walnuts and enjoy this sweet mixture of taste and nutrition. 

 FAQs 

1. How many walnuts should you eat in a day?

A. A handful of walnuts can help you gain the essential nutrients for your body, however, we tend to skip or forget them in between our hectic schedules. To make it a habit, you can have six-seven walnuts a day!

2. What is the best time to eat walnuts?

A. Our experts say that you can add walnuts in your everyday breakfast. Eating them in the morning shows greater results in regulating the blood pressure. However, you can munch them in between your work hours too!

3. What are the side effects of eating walnuts?

A. While the wonder nuts are blessed with the most amazing nutrients, there may be a few side-effects that you can watch out for! If consumed in excess, the dietary fibre in them may cause gastrointestinal issues, diarrhoea etc.

As nuts are known to cause allergies, some people may face allergic reactions like anaphylaxis due to these nuts. If you face any itching, swelling or breathing issue, it is advisory to consult a doctor. 

Moreover, eating walnuts in excess can also contribute to weight gain. To combat this, you can include walnuts in your recipes rather than just having the nuts by themselves. This will let you maintain a balance of walnuts in your diet,

3. Are walnuts good for diabetics?

A. Walnuts are found to be helpful in type 2 diabetes patients. The nuts can build a resistance for insulin hence it helps in maintaining a low blood sugar level. Also, their low glycaemic index is ideal for diabetes-friendly diets. 

The post Healthy Benefits of Walnuts & How They Help in Weight Loss appeared first on Truweight Blog.

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[clarencebfaber]

10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You

Have you Tried Clean Eating?

You’re doing “all the right things”— clean eating, paleo or vegan. Choosing salads over fries. Drinking green smoothies. But no matter how hard you try, something isn’t working. You still…

Feel bloated or constipated

Get skin breakouts or allergy flares

Have low energy

Can’t lose weight or build muscle

Get headaches

Wear the same jeans you did last year

“What gives?!” you cry. “I’m doing all the right things!”

You may be doing LOTS of good things, but there are several common roadblocks that can stand in the way between “clean eating” and feeling good. 

Here are 10 Common Reasons Clean Eating isn’t Working for You (and what to do about then).

1. You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Your entire body is made up of more than 60-percent water. When the water in a lake or river is “down,” what happens? It dries up. And when your body’s water stores are low, what do you think happens? It dries up. Your digestion gets backed up, blood flow slows, and brain function has to work harder (since more than 70% of your brain alone is comprised of water). The result: Slowed metabolic function, digestive difficulties, brain fog, low energy, headaches, lowered immunity and beyond. In short: No bueno.

What to Do About It: 

Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of clean, filtered water as a baseline.

2. You’re Eating Too Many Nuts

Nuts, like almonds, cashews, walnuts and macadamia nuts are both yummy and good for you—often cited as “healthy fats.” However, “nut gut” is a coined term  for the side effects of one too many nuts in your system, such as: constipation, gas, bloating, skin breakouts, low immunity, brain fog. Nuts contain compounds called Phytic Acid and Lectins on their outer shells. In nature, these substances serve as “steel armor” or protection for the nut itself—they are are meant to protect the nut from destruction by weather or predators. In our bodies, these substances equally serve as steel armor, and consequently our digestive systems often have a difficult time breaking them down, especially in frequent or larger quantities (i.e. more than 1 serving daily).

The result? A “leaky” or irritated gut lining and “nut gut” side effects. Unfortunately, most people also consume nuts in a more processed state—just like other processed foods—as opposed to their raw, more natural state. Consequently, you feel the effects. In fact, nuts are often cited as one of the most “inflammatory foods,” (alongside grains, industrial seed oils, eggs, sugar and dairy). Nuts primarily contain omega-6 fatty acids (polyunsaturated fats), which are associated with higher inflammatory properties in larger quantities. While omega 6 fatty acids are an essential fatty acid that the body needs for normal growth and development, the body needs a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals.

What to Do About It: 

Limit nut consumption to 1 small serving (1/4 cup or less) per day; 

Wash and soak raw nuts, then dry them, prior to consumption.

3. Whole Grains are Irritating Your Gut

Similar to nuts, grains—even whole grains—contain phytates and lectins, associated with decreased digestion, “leaky gut,” constipation and bloating. While grains in their natural state can be considered a “real food” (i.e. they are grown in nature), the way we eat, prepare and process our grains today are night-and-day different from the way humans used to consume grains for hundreds of thousands of years (prior to Whole Food’s Market’s sushi bar and grab-and-go breakfast bars).

If there is ONE thing to take away from this article, it is that your gut is the gateway to health, and if your gut is “irritated” or you have a “leaky gut,” then you can bet your bottom dollar that other aspects of your health may suffer—metabolism, digestion, immune system and skin health included. 

What to Do About It: 

For optimal gut health, limit grain consumption and aim to get the majority of your starchy carbohydrates from whole, real foods like sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, plantains, spaghetti squash, carrots, beets, cassava and coconut flour, arrowroot starch, etc.; 

Wash, soak and dry grains prior to preparation; 

Best choices include: Long-grain white rice, steel cut gluten free oats, quinoa, sourdough bread (from local bakery), legumes (not technically a grain, but grain-like in how they impact your gut health)

4. You’re Eating Lots of Brown & White Foods

At most meals, how many colors are on your plate? If you’re like most Americans, there is more brown, tan, white and color-less foods, considering only 1 in 10 Americans eats their daily veggies. Color-rich foods are where the nutrients, fiber and nourishment for every cell in your body is at. When our diet is based on limited, colorless foods (ie. grains/beans, packaged paleo/vegan foods, nuts, proteins, cheese/dairy, potatoes, the same limited veggies like spinach salads and broccoli, and maybe some fruit), our body can be eating but starving (at a cellular level) at the same time—especially from lack of fiber (note: fiber helps you poo).

What to Do About It: 

Aim for 2-3 colors at each meal

Veggies and fruits come in greens, blues, purples, reds, yellows, whites, beige/tan…taste the rainbow!

5. You’re Drinking Green Juice

Speaking of veggies, green things are especially helpful for feeling (really) good on a “clean” diet. However, sometimes too many green smoothies or veggie/fruit juices can make people feel bloated, gassy or get stomach cramps. Since juice digests uber fast, if you eat other foods along with it, it can confuse your digestive process.  “May Day! May Day!…What do I digest first?!”

The result is a body (and gut) that is overwhelmed. Likewise, if your smoothie or juice is loaded with tons of ingredients at once, this can equally be alot of information or poor food combining for your digestive system to handle at once.

 What to Do About It: 

Drink green juice alone

Chew your food more than drinking it 

Keep smoothies and juices simple. Not too many ingredients at once.

6. Your Food Combining is Off

Food combining affects digestion and absorption. Each macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) digests at a different speed, and also requires the release of different enzymes in order to be broken down. If you eat foods at the same meal that have opposite digestive requirements, then your digestion runs into issues. This can be a challenge when you try clean eating.

What to Do About It

Keep these food combining principles in mind for optimal digestion:

Eat Fruit Alone or Light Meals. Fruit is best consumed separate from other foods, or with light snacks/meals, such as in a smoothie, an apple with a spoonful of seed butter, or light salad with berries tossed on top.

Minimize Starches with Proteins. Focus on combining proteins with non-starchy veggies and healthy fats. Starches stick to proteins, stalling digestion and keeping sugars in your bloodstream lingering for longer than they should (hello yeast feeding frenzy). When consuming starches, such as prebiotic starchy veggies like squash or sweet potatoes, with meals, keep serving to a small serving (about 1/3 cup or less) if protein is present. For even better digestion, add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to 2-4 oz. of water with meals.

Starches Digest Best with Healthy Fats & Veggies. Starches (such as sweet potatoes and squash), need an alkaline (basic) environment for optimal digestion. If you plan to eat more starch at a meal, eat a light protein, such as fish, turkey or chicken, while emphasizing the colorful veggies and healthy fats like coconut, olives and olive oil, avocado, butter and ghee, 

Leafy Greens, Non-Starchy Veggies & Herbs/Spices Go with Everything. You can’t go wrong with eating veggies—especially softened, cooked, and sautéed for those with “gut issues.” Make these the cornerstone of your meals. Steer clear of “hot” nightshade spices (chili powder, cayenne, paprika, etc.) while you heal; opt for fresh herbs, like cilantro, basil, oregano and thyme, as well as spices like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and garlic.

Drink Water Away from Meals. Water is best consumed apart from foods as not to inhibit digestion.

Minimalist Meals Digest Best. Less is more. Eat until about 80% full—not stuffed—and keep foods and meals simple, such as herb crusted wild salmon with broccoli and coconut flakes; pastured chicken thighs with cauliflower mash, grass-fed butter and green beans; or a grass-fed ground beef burger patty with avocado, sauerkraut and yellow squash.

7. You’re Eating Lots of Raw Veggies

Cooked, softened, steamed and sautéed veggies digest much faster (and better) than raw veggies due to less cellulose and fiber roughage necessary to break down. Good digestion is essential to every body system—metabolism, skin health, immune function and gut health included.

What to Do About It:

Cook, steam, soften, boil, and sauté veggies in coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil or other healthy fat (fat further enhances digestion)

Also consider peeling, mincing and pureeing veggies if digestion is difficult

Eat more soluble fiber (winter squash, squash, beets, roasted carrots, boiled sweet potatoes)

8. You’re on Fruit Overload

Fruit is great for you, but like anything, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Fruit is packed with vitamins and minerals, but also contains lots of natural sugars. Sugar in fruit is not “bad,” but when we opt for fruit in lieu of plenty of veggies too, as well as healthy fats and proteins, our lack of balance throws our body out of balance. High fruit consumption can affect blood sugar and insulin levels when consumed in larger quantities throughout the day, as well as energy (sugar high, then a crash), mental clarity, skin health and digestion.  

What to Do About It:

Aim for 1-2 fruits per day

Berries, cherries, apples, and citrus fruits are especially nutrient dense

Eat fruit alone, as part of a simple meal (like a smoothie or light breakfast) or with a little bit of healthy fat for optimal digestion

Avoid eating fruit with complex meals—or eat at least 30-60 minutes before or after a meal

9. You’re Eating the Same Foods Every Day

Variety is the spice of life. When you eat the same things every day, not only does your body miss out on a whole host of nutrients, but you can even make your body intolerant to the foods you eat every day due to overexposure. Eating the same things daily also decreases your body’s natural enzyme or stomach acid production, as it is challenged less to digest a variety of foods. 

What to Do About It:

If you are a creature of habit, pick 2-3 rotating breakfasts, lunches and dinners to eat throughout the week to mix it up

Eat in season—shop the seasonal fruits and veggies to get the biggest bang for your nutrient buck

Mix up your proteins—fish, beef, chicken, ground turkey, lamb, etc. 

10. You Have Underlying Food Intolerances

Unlike food allergies, food intolerances can go “under the radar” for years since they are often intertwined with common every day symptoms people believe are normal, such as allergies, acne, low energy, dark circles under your eyes, joints that click, energy dips, metabolic dysfunction, IBS, bloating and constipation. Guess what? You don’t have to “suffer.” The top most allergenic or inflammatory foods include: nuts, grains, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar/sweeteners, beans/legumes, nightshade spices and veggies, and FODMAP foods.

What to Do About It:

Do some self-investigating. Keep a daily food log for 3-7 days. Note how you feel before and after meals. Look for patterns in your symptoms and foods you commonly eat. 

Consider cutting out any culprit foods you suspect for 21-30 days. Then reintroduce these foods, one by one, for 3 days in a row. Note how you feel and if you recognize any differences.

Bonus: You’re Not Loving Your Gut

At the epicenter of “feeling good” is a healthy gut. A healthy gut equals a healthier YOU. If you’re gut is unhealthy (such as SIBO, bacterial infection, leaky gut, parasites, etc.), no matter how clean you eat, you will feel the side effects. Where to start? Love your gut daily with these 5 daily gut love habits:

Water. Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water

Apple Cider Vinegar. Add 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar to 2-4 oz. of water with meals

Probiotic & Prebiotic. Take a daily soil-based probiotic and prebiotic fiber

Variety. Eat variety and lots of color (even on a limited diet, don’t eat the same things every day)

Soothe. Sip a daily cup of herbal tea and/or bone broth. Bonus: Add in a gut-lining and repair support, such as L-Glutamine, colostrum or collagen. 

The post 10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/food-freedom/10-reasons-clean-eating-is-not-working-for-you/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/

10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You via https://drlaurynlax.weebly.com/

#Clarence B. Faber #ClarenceFaber #Holistic #Nutrition #Therapy #Recovery #Functional #Medicine

[brian-cdates]

10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You

Have you Tried Clean Eating?

You’re doing “all the right things”— clean eating, paleo or vegan. Choosing salads over fries. Drinking green smoothies. But no matter how hard you try, something isn’t working. You still…

Feel bloated or constipated

Get skin breakouts or allergy flares

Have low energy

Can’t lose weight or build muscle

Get headaches

Wear the same jeans you did last year

“What gives?!” you cry. “I’m doing all the right things!”

You may be doing LOTS of good things, but there are several common roadblocks that can stand in the way between “clean eating” and feeling good. 

Here are 10 Common Reasons Clean Eating isn’t Working for You (and what to do about then).

1. You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Your entire body is made up of more than 60-percent water. When the water in a lake or river is “down,” what happens? It dries up. And when your body’s water stores are low, what do you think happens? It dries up. Your digestion gets backed up, blood flow slows, and brain function has to work harder (since more than 70% of your brain alone is comprised of water). The result: Slowed metabolic function, digestive difficulties, brain fog, low energy, headaches, lowered immunity and beyond. In short: No bueno.

What to Do About It: 

Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of clean, filtered water as a baseline.

2. You’re Eating Too Many Nuts

Nuts, like almonds, cashews, walnuts and macadamia nuts are both yummy and good for you—often cited as “healthy fats.” However, “nut gut” is a coined term  for the side effects of one too many nuts in your system, such as: constipation, gas, bloating, skin breakouts, low immunity, brain fog. Nuts contain compounds called Phytic Acid and Lectins on their outer shells. In nature, these substances serve as “steel armor” or protection for the nut itself—they are are meant to protect the nut from destruction by weather or predators. In our bodies, these substances equally serve as steel armor, and consequently our digestive systems often have a difficult time breaking them down, especially in frequent or larger quantities (i.e. more than 1 serving daily).

The result? A “leaky” or irritated gut lining and “nut gut” side effects. Unfortunately, most people also consume nuts in a more processed state—just like other processed foods—as opposed to their raw, more natural state. Consequently, you feel the effects. In fact, nuts are often cited as one of the most “inflammatory foods,” (alongside grains, industrial seed oils, eggs, sugar and dairy). Nuts primarily contain omega-6 fatty acids (polyunsaturated fats), which are associated with higher inflammatory properties in larger quantities. While omega 6 fatty acids are an essential fatty acid that the body needs for normal growth and development, the body needs a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals.

What to Do About It: 

Limit nut consumption to 1 small serving (¼ cup or less) per day; 

Wash and soak raw nuts, then dry them, prior to consumption.

3. Whole Grains are Irritating Your Gut

Similar to nuts, grains—even whole grains—contain phytates and lectins, associated with decreased digestion, “leaky gut,” constipation and bloating. While grains in their natural state can be considered a “real food” (i.e. they are grown in nature), the way we eat, prepare and process our grains today are night-and-day different from the way humans used to consume grains for hundreds of thousands of years (prior to Whole Food’s Market’s sushi bar and grab-and-go breakfast bars).

If there is ONE thing to take away from this article, it is that your gut is the gateway to health, and if your gut is “irritated” or you have a “leaky gut,” then you can bet your bottom dollar that other aspects of your health may suffer—metabolism, digestion, immune system and skin health included. 

What to Do About It: 

For optimal gut health, limit grain consumption and aim to get the majority of your starchy carbohydrates from whole, real foods like sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, plantains, spaghetti squash, carrots, beets, cassava and coconut flour, arrowroot starch, etc.; 

Wash, soak and dry grains prior to preparation; 

Best choices include: Long-grain white rice, steel cut gluten free oats, quinoa, sourdough bread (from local bakery), legumes (not technically a grain, but grain-like in how they impact your gut health)

4. You’re Eating Lots of Brown & White Foods

At most meals, how many colors are on your plate? If you’re like most Americans, there is more brown, tan, white and color-less foods, considering only 1 in 10 Americans eats their daily veggies. Color-rich foods are where the nutrients, fiber and nourishment for every cell in your body is at. When our diet is based on limited, colorless foods (ie. grains/beans, packaged paleo/vegan foods, nuts, proteins, cheese/dairy, potatoes, the same limited veggies like spinach salads and broccoli, and maybe some fruit), our body can be eating but starving (at a cellular level) at the same time—especially from lack of fiber (note: fiber helps you poo).

What to Do About It: 

Aim for 2-3 colors at each meal

Veggies and fruits come in greens, blues, purples, reds, yellows, whites, beige/tan…taste the rainbow!

5. You’re Drinking Green Juice

Speaking of veggies, green things are especially helpful for feeling (really) good on a “clean” diet. However, sometimes too many green smoothies or veggie/fruit juices can make people feel bloated, gassy or get stomach cramps. Since juice digests uber fast, if you eat other foods along with it, it can confuse your digestive process.  “May Day! May Day!…What do I digest first?!”

The result is a body (and gut) that is overwhelmed. Likewise, if your smoothie or juice is loaded with tons of ingredients at once, this can equally be alot of information or poor food combining for your digestive system to handle at once.

 What to Do About It: 

Drink green juice alone

Chew your food more than drinking it 

Keep smoothies and juices simple. Not too many ingredients at once.

6. Your Food Combining is Off

Food combining affects digestion and absorption. Each macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) digests at a different speed, and also requires the release of different enzymes in order to be broken down. If you eat foods at the same meal that have opposite digestive requirements, then your digestion runs into issues. This can be a challenge when you try clean eating.

What to Do About It

Keep these food combining principles in mind for optimal digestion:

Eat Fruit Alone or Light Meals. Fruit is best consumed separate from other foods, or with light snacks/meals, such as in a smoothie, an apple with a spoonful of seed butter, or light salad with berries tossed on top.

Minimize Starches with Proteins. Focus on combining proteins with non-starchy veggies and healthy fats. Starches stick to proteins, stalling digestion and keeping sugars in your bloodstream lingering for longer than they should (hello yeast feeding frenzy). When consuming starches, such as prebiotic starchy veggies like squash or sweet potatoes, with meals, keep serving to a small serving (about 1/3 cup or less) if protein is present. For even better digestion, add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to 2-4 oz. of water with meals.

Starches Digest Best with Healthy Fats & Veggies. Starches (such as sweet potatoes and squash), need an alkaline (basic) environment for optimal digestion. If you plan to eat more starch at a meal, eat a light protein, such as fish, turkey or chicken, while emphasizing the colorful veggies and healthy fats like coconut, olives and olive oil, avocado, butter and ghee, 

Leafy Greens, Non-Starchy Veggies & Herbs/Spices Go with Everything. You can’t go wrong with eating veggies—especially softened, cooked, and sautéed for those with “gut issues.” Make these the cornerstone of your meals. Steer clear of “hot” nightshade spices (chili powder, cayenne, paprika, etc.) while you heal; opt for fresh herbs, like cilantro, basil, oregano and thyme, as well as spices like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and garlic.

Drink Water Away from Meals. Water is best consumed apart from foods as not to inhibit digestion.

Minimalist Meals Digest Best. Less is more. Eat until about 80% full—not stuffed—and keep foods and meals simple, such as herb crusted wild salmon with broccoli and coconut flakes; pastured chicken thighs with cauliflower mash, grass-fed butter and green beans; or a grass-fed ground beef burger patty with avocado, sauerkraut and yellow squash.

7. You’re Eating Lots of Raw Veggies

Cooked, softened, steamed and sautéed veggies digest much faster (and better) than raw veggies due to less cellulose and fiber roughage necessary to break down. Good digestion is essential to every body system—metabolism, skin health, immune function and gut health included.

What to Do About It:

Cook, steam, soften, boil, and sauté veggies in coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil or other healthy fat (fat further enhances digestion)

Also consider peeling, mincing and pureeing veggies if digestion is difficult

Eat more soluble fiber (winter squash, squash, beets, roasted carrots, boiled sweet potatoes)

8. You’re on Fruit Overload

Fruit is great for you, but like anything, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Fruit is packed with vitamins and minerals, but also contains lots of natural sugars. Sugar in fruit is not “bad,” but when we opt for fruit in lieu of plenty of veggies too, as well as healthy fats and proteins, our lack of balance throws our body out of balance. High fruit consumption can affect blood sugar and insulin levels when consumed in larger quantities throughout the day, as well as energy (sugar high, then a crash), mental clarity, skin health and digestion.  

What to Do About It:

Aim for 1-2 fruits per day

Berries, cherries, apples, and citrus fruits are especially nutrient dense

Eat fruit alone, as part of a simple meal (like a smoothie or light breakfast) or with a little bit of healthy fat for optimal digestion

Avoid eating fruit with complex meals—or eat at least 30-60 minutes before or after a meal

9. You’re Eating the Same Foods Every Day

Variety is the spice of life. When you eat the same things every day, not only does your body miss out on a whole host of nutrients, but you can even make your body intolerant to the foods you eat every day due to overexposure. Eating the same things daily also decreases your body’s natural enzyme or stomach acid production, as it is challenged less to digest a variety of foods. 

What to Do About It:

If you are a creature of habit, pick 2-3 rotating breakfasts, lunches and dinners to eat throughout the week to mix it up

Eat in season—shop the seasonal fruits and veggies to get the biggest bang for your nutrient buck

Mix up your proteins—fish, beef, chicken, ground turkey, lamb, etc. 

10. You Have Underlying Food Intolerances

Unlike food allergies, food intolerances can go “under the radar” for years since they are often intertwined with common every day symptoms people believe are normal, such as allergies, acne, low energy, dark circles under your eyes, joints that click, energy dips, metabolic dysfunction, IBS, bloating and constipation. Guess what? You don’t have to “suffer.” The top most allergenic or inflammatory foods include: nuts, grains, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar/sweeteners, beans/legumes, nightshade spices and veggies, and FODMAP foods.

What to Do About It:

Do some self-investigating. Keep a daily food log for 3-7 days. Note how you feel before and after meals. Look for patterns in your symptoms and foods you commonly eat. 

Consider cutting out any culprit foods you suspect for 21-30 days. Then reintroduce these foods, one by one, for 3 days in a row. Note how you feel and if you recognize any differences.

Bonus: You’re Not Loving Your Gut

At the epicenter of “feeling good” is a healthy gut. A healthy gut equals a healthier YOU. If you’re gut is unhealthy (such as SIBO, bacterial infection, leaky gut, parasites, etc.), no matter how clean you eat, you will feel the side effects. Where to start? Love your gut daily with these 5 daily gut love habits:

Water. Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water

Apple Cider Vinegar. Add 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar to 2-4 oz. of water with meals

Probiotic & Prebiotic. Take a daily soil-based probiotic and prebiotic fiber

Variety. Eat variety and lots of color (even on a limited diet, don’t eat the same things every day)

Soothe. Sip a daily cup of herbal tea and/or bone broth. Bonus: Add in a gut-lining and repair support, such as L-Glutamine, colostrum or collagen. 

The post 10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/food-freedom/10-reasons-clean-eating-is-not-working-for-you/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/ 10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You via http://drlaurynlax.tumblr.com/

#Brian C. Dates #BrianDates #Holistic #Nutrition #Therapy #Recovery #Functional #Medicine

[elizabethbgrimes]

10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You

Have you Tried Clean Eating?

You’re doing “all the right things”— clean eating, paleo or vegan. Choosing salads over fries. Drinking green smoothies. But no matter how hard you try, something isn’t working. You still…

Feel bloated or constipated

Get skin breakouts or allergy flares

Have low energy

Can’t lose weight or build muscle

Get headaches

Wear the same jeans you did last year

“What gives?!” you cry. “I’m doing all the right things!”

You may be doing LOTS of good things, but there are several common roadblocks that can stand in the way between “clean eating” and feeling good. 

Here are 10 Common Reasons Clean Eating isn’t Working for You (and what to do about then).

1. You’re Not Drinking Enough Water

Your entire body is made up of more than 60-percent water. When the water in a lake or river is “down,” what happens? It dries up. And when your body’s water stores are low, what do you think happens? It dries up. Your digestion gets backed up, blood flow slows, and brain function has to work harder (since more than 70% of your brain alone is comprised of water). The result: Slowed metabolic function, digestive difficulties, brain fog, low energy, headaches, lowered immunity and beyond. In short: No bueno.

What to Do About It: 

Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of clean, filtered water as a baseline.

2. You’re Eating Too Many Nuts

Nuts, like almonds, cashews, walnuts and macadamia nuts are both yummy and good for you—often cited as “healthy fats.” However, “nut gut” is a coined term  for the side effects of one too many nuts in your system, such as: constipation, gas, bloating, skin breakouts, low immunity, brain fog. Nuts contain compounds called Phytic Acid and Lectins on their outer shells. In nature, these substances serve as “steel armor” or protection for the nut itself—they are are meant to protect the nut from destruction by weather or predators. In our bodies, these substances equally serve as steel armor, and consequently our digestive systems often have a difficult time breaking them down, especially in frequent or larger quantities (i.e. more than 1 serving daily).

The result? A “leaky” or irritated gut lining and “nut gut” side effects. Unfortunately, most people also consume nuts in a more processed state—just like other processed foods—as opposed to their raw, more natural state. Consequently, you feel the effects. In fact, nuts are often cited as one of the most “inflammatory foods,” (alongside grains, industrial seed oils, eggs, sugar and dairy). Nuts primarily contain omega-6 fatty acids (polyunsaturated fats), which are associated with higher inflammatory properties in larger quantities. While omega 6 fatty acids are an essential fatty acid that the body needs for normal growth and development, the body needs a healthy balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Excess consumption of omega-6s can trigger the body to produce pro-inflammatory chemicals.

What to Do About It: 

Limit nut consumption to 1 small serving (1/4 cup or less) per day; 

Wash and soak raw nuts, then dry them, prior to consumption.

3. Whole Grains are Irritating Your Gut

Similar to nuts, grains—even whole grains—contain phytates and lectins, associated with decreased digestion, “leaky gut,” constipation and bloating. While grains in their natural state can be considered a “real food” (i.e. they are grown in nature), the way we eat, prepare and process our grains today are night-and-day different from the way humans used to consume grains for hundreds of thousands of years (prior to Whole Food’s Market’s sushi bar and grab-and-go breakfast bars).

If there is ONE thing to take away from this article, it is that your gut is the gateway to health, and if your gut is “irritated” or you have a “leaky gut,” then you can bet your bottom dollar that other aspects of your health may suffer—metabolism, digestion, immune system and skin health included. 

What to Do About It: 

For optimal gut health, limit grain consumption and aim to get the majority of your starchy carbohydrates from whole, real foods like sweet potatoes, potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, plantains, spaghetti squash, carrots, beets, cassava and coconut flour, arrowroot starch, etc.; 

Wash, soak and dry grains prior to preparation; 

Best choices include: Long-grain white rice, steel cut gluten free oats, quinoa, sourdough bread (from local bakery), legumes (not technically a grain, but grain-like in how they impact your gut health)

4. You’re Eating Lots of Brown & White Foods

At most meals, how many colors are on your plate? If you’re like most Americans, there is more brown, tan, white and color-less foods, considering only 1 in 10 Americans eats their daily veggies. Color-rich foods are where the nutrients, fiber and nourishment for every cell in your body is at. When our diet is based on limited, colorless foods (ie. grains/beans, packaged paleo/vegan foods, nuts, proteins, cheese/dairy, potatoes, the same limited veggies like spinach salads and broccoli, and maybe some fruit), our body can be eating but starving (at a cellular level) at the same time—especially from lack of fiber (note: fiber helps you poo).

What to Do About It: 

Aim for 2-3 colors at each meal

Veggies and fruits come in greens, blues, purples, reds, yellows, whites, beige/tan…taste the rainbow!

5. You’re Drinking Green Juice

Speaking of veggies, green things are especially helpful for feeling (really) good on a “clean” diet. However, sometimes too many green smoothies or veggie/fruit juices can make people feel bloated, gassy or get stomach cramps. Since juice digests uber fast, if you eat other foods along with it, it can confuse your digestive process.  “May Day! May Day!…What do I digest first?!”

The result is a body (and gut) that is overwhelmed. Likewise, if your smoothie or juice is loaded with tons of ingredients at once, this can equally be alot of information or poor food combining for your digestive system to handle at once.

 What to Do About It: 

Drink green juice alone

Chew your food more than drinking it 

Keep smoothies and juices simple. Not too many ingredients at once.

6. Your Food Combining is Off

Food combining affects digestion and absorption. Each macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) digests at a different speed, and also requires the release of different enzymes in order to be broken down. If you eat foods at the same meal that have opposite digestive requirements, then your digestion runs into issues. This can be a challenge when you try clean eating.

What to Do About It

Keep these food combining principles in mind for optimal digestion:

Eat Fruit Alone or Light Meals. Fruit is best consumed separate from other foods, or with light snacks/meals, such as in a smoothie, an apple with a spoonful of seed butter, or light salad with berries tossed on top.

Minimize Starches with Proteins. Focus on combining proteins with non-starchy veggies and healthy fats. Starches stick to proteins, stalling digestion and keeping sugars in your bloodstream lingering for longer than they should (hello yeast feeding frenzy). When consuming starches, such as prebiotic starchy veggies like squash or sweet potatoes, with meals, keep serving to a small serving (about 1/3 cup or less) if protein is present. For even better digestion, add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to 2-4 oz. of water with meals.

Starches Digest Best with Healthy Fats & Veggies. Starches (such as sweet potatoes and squash), need an alkaline (basic) environment for optimal digestion. If you plan to eat more starch at a meal, eat a light protein, such as fish, turkey or chicken, while emphasizing the colorful veggies and healthy fats like coconut, olives and olive oil, avocado, butter and ghee, 

Leafy Greens, Non-Starchy Veggies & Herbs/Spices Go with Everything. You can’t go wrong with eating veggies—especially softened, cooked, and sautéed for those with “gut issues.” Make these the cornerstone of your meals. Steer clear of “hot” nightshade spices (chili powder, cayenne, paprika, etc.) while you heal; opt for fresh herbs, like cilantro, basil, oregano and thyme, as well as spices like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and garlic.

Drink Water Away from Meals. Water is best consumed apart from foods as not to inhibit digestion.

Minimalist Meals Digest Best. Less is more. Eat until about 80% full—not stuffed—and keep foods and meals simple, such as herb crusted wild salmon with broccoli and coconut flakes; pastured chicken thighs with cauliflower mash, grass-fed butter and green beans; or a grass-fed ground beef burger patty with avocado, sauerkraut and yellow squash.

7. You’re Eating Lots of Raw Veggies

Cooked, softened, steamed and sautéed veggies digest much faster (and better) than raw veggies due to less cellulose and fiber roughage necessary to break down. Good digestion is essential to every body system—metabolism, skin health, immune function and gut health included.

What to Do About It:

Cook, steam, soften, boil, and sauté veggies in coconut oil, ghee, avocado oil or other healthy fat (fat further enhances digestion)

Also consider peeling, mincing and pureeing veggies if digestion is difficult

Eat more soluble fiber (winter squash, squash, beets, roasted carrots, boiled sweet potatoes)

8. You’re on Fruit Overload

Fruit is great for you, but like anything, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. Fruit is packed with vitamins and minerals, but also contains lots of natural sugars. Sugar in fruit is not “bad,” but when we opt for fruit in lieu of plenty of veggies too, as well as healthy fats and proteins, our lack of balance throws our body out of balance. High fruit consumption can affect blood sugar and insulin levels when consumed in larger quantities throughout the day, as well as energy (sugar high, then a crash), mental clarity, skin health and digestion.  

What to Do About It:

Aim for 1-2 fruits per day

Berries, cherries, apples, and citrus fruits are especially nutrient dense

Eat fruit alone, as part of a simple meal (like a smoothie or light breakfast) or with a little bit of healthy fat for optimal digestion

Avoid eating fruit with complex meals—or eat at least 30-60 minutes before or after a meal

9. You’re Eating the Same Foods Every Day

Variety is the spice of life. When you eat the same things every day, not only does your body miss out on a whole host of nutrients, but you can even make your body intolerant to the foods you eat every day due to overexposure. Eating the same things daily also decreases your body’s natural enzyme or stomach acid production, as it is challenged less to digest a variety of foods. 

What to Do About It:

If you are a creature of habit, pick 2-3 rotating breakfasts, lunches and dinners to eat throughout the week to mix it up

Eat in season—shop the seasonal fruits and veggies to get the biggest bang for your nutrient buck

Mix up your proteins—fish, beef, chicken, ground turkey, lamb, etc. 

10. You Have Underlying Food Intolerances

Unlike food allergies, food intolerances can go “under the radar” for years since they are often intertwined with common every day symptoms people believe are normal, such as allergies, acne, low energy, dark circles under your eyes, joints that click, energy dips, metabolic dysfunction, IBS, bloating and constipation. Guess what? You don’t have to “suffer.” The top most allergenic or inflammatory foods include: nuts, grains, dairy, soy, eggs, sugar/sweeteners, beans/legumes, nightshade spices and veggies, and FODMAP foods.

What to Do About It:

Do some self-investigating. Keep a daily food log for 3-7 days. Note how you feel before and after meals. Look for patterns in your symptoms and foods you commonly eat. 

Consider cutting out any culprit foods you suspect for 21-30 days. Then reintroduce these foods, one by one, for 3 days in a row. Note how you feel and if you recognize any differences.

Bonus: You’re Not Loving Your Gut

At the epicenter of “feeling good” is a healthy gut. A healthy gut equals a healthier YOU. If you’re gut is unhealthy (such as SIBO, bacterial infection, leaky gut, parasites, etc.), no matter how clean you eat, you will feel the side effects. Where to start? Love your gut daily with these 5 daily gut love habits:

Water. Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water

Apple Cider Vinegar. Add 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar to 2-4 oz. of water with meals

Probiotic & Prebiotic. Take a daily soil-based probiotic and prebiotic fiber

Variety. Eat variety and lots of color (even on a limited diet, don’t eat the same things every day)

Soothe. Sip a daily cup of herbal tea and/or bone broth. Bonus: Add in a gut-lining and repair support, such as L-Glutamine, colostrum or collagen. 

The post 10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You appeared first on Meet Dr. Lauryn.

Source/Repost=> https://drlauryn.com/food-freedom/10-reasons-clean-eating-is-not-working-for-you/ ** Dr. Lauryn Lax __Nutrition. Therapy. Functional Medicine ** https://drlauryn.com/ 10 Reasons Clean Eating Is Not Working for You via https://drlaurynlax.blogspot.com/

#Elizabeth B. Grimes #ElizabethGrimes #Holistic #Nutrition #Therapy #Recovery #Functional #Medicine

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Concerns About Autism Spectrum Condition

Shell out careful interest to what you choose to remember to ensure the information is retained in your long-term memory. Interruptions, which include audio and tv, protect against you from shelling out the necessary amount of consideration towards the product. Failure to concentrate will bring about the information getting missing rather than devoted to memory. It really is a lot easier to recollect information should you manage the fabric into related groups, right before attempting to recall it. Making an overview is an additional great way to arrange the fabric to get researched. This is similar to how your brain organizes information and facts and will make remember simpler. In the event you are acquiring memory issues, consider having fish oil. Latest experiments have proven a backlink between challenges with concentration and memory and a deficiency in Omega-3 essential fatty acids. One of the best Omega-3 resources is fish oil. You'll be able to both go ahead and take oil from the liquid kind through the spoonful, or go for fish oil drugs in its place Autismo o que causa . As a way to obtain a much better memory, you will need to have distinctive pursuits, and take a look at new items. This tends to maintain your thoughts sharp and open up for new recollections. On top of that, these new neurons will link to current neurons, that can then supply you with a whole new method concerning the best way to check out something. You will have observed that the brain isn't really as sharp for those who are actually sitting in one place for too extensive. If this can be the case, it is best to get a couple of 5-15 minute break every hour through your work or research session to offer your mind some time to rest and chill out. This may then allow your mind to soak up the data superior. So as to maintain a great memory, Omega-3's are a vital element of your food plan. You will discover a number of resources of Omega-3 such as fish, walnuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and soybeans. If any of those meals never attractiveness to you personally, it is also appropriate to choose fish oil dietary supplements if you want to keep your memory entirely performing. In the event you are seeking for methods to extend your memory, then perform with others and collaborate on thoughts with them. When you make this happen, your brain fires in a different way than it does after you do the job on a little something by yourself. Bounce strategies off others and find out how otherwise you start to believe. Memory is just like the muscle tissue in your overall body, in case you never use it, you are going to get rid of it. A means to maintain your memory active is usually to adjust up your brain's program from time to time. By doing exactly the same routines around and about, you don't give your memory an opportunity to study anything new. By executing this, you will ultimately begin to get rid of your memory. Do the job your memory out by undertaking diverse actions such as brain-stimulating routines if you want to have quite possibly the most from your memory Autismo tem cura . The best way to boost your memory for anyone who is learning, will be to include composition to what you are aiming to find out. Categorizing and using points just one action at any given time, allows you to definitely master and also to keep the expertise in a previous topic, ahead of you move on on the subsequent. This can be definitely the obvious way to review. Like an actor does right before putting on the enjoy, rehearsing what you master is a fantastic technique to improve your memory. Should you are attempting to study, recite the problems and answers aloud, and you'll take up the information less difficult, and finally, keep it a lot more successfully. That is a fantastic technique to improve your general memory. We've been extra very likely to bear in mind a thing that comes about to us whenever we are all-around other individuals than whenever we are alone. Men and women are drawn to some others, as being a end result we try to remember our time with them, somewhat than once we are by itself. That's why examine teams do the job so effectively. Ensure that your focus if focused on the fabric you should bear in mind. For those who produce other interruptions heading on about you - songs taking part in, the Television set on, little ones conversing, and so forth. - your mind won't be ready to target the material. This will likely lead to it getting challenging to recall what you have examined. Use typical analyze classes in excess of a time frame fairly than a solitary cramming session. Studies have demonstrated that in the event you study material around a class of the several times, you have a much better prospect of remembering it than if you cram within a solitary evening. So alternatively of cramming the night time in advance of a exam, create an everyday examine time just about every night or every single other night. For more information take a look at our web-site: Autismo o que fazer

https://issuu.com/claudebroadaway69/docs/thoughts_about_autism_spectrum_cond

[caitlinbrookinsart-blog1]

Issues About Autism Spectrum Ailment

Spend mindful focus to whatever you need to make sure to make sure the information is retained within your long-term memory. Distractions, such as music and television, avoid you from shelling out the demanded volume of interest into the content. Failure to focus will end in the knowledge being dropped instead of committed to memory. It truly is easier to recollect details should you arrange the material into associated groups, just before seeking to remember it. Making an overview is another good way to prepare the material being studied. This really is much like how your mind organizes info and will make recall less complicated. For those who are possessing memory problems, consider taking fish oil. New reports have shown a hyperlink involving complications with concentration and memory plus a deficiency in Omega-3 fatty acids. 1 of the best Omega-3 resources is fish oil. You may possibly take the oil inside the liquid variety because of the spoonful, or choose fish oil products alternatively Autismo o que causa . As a way to get an even better memory, you should have distinct interests, and try new points. This could keep the intellect sharp and open for new memories. Also, these new neurons will hook up to present neurons, which can then supply you with a whole new approach as to the way to check out some thing. You will have seen that your brain isn't really as sharp in the event you are sitting down in one place for too very long. If here is the scenario, you ought to take a few 5-15 moment crack each and every hour in the course of your perform or review session to present your head a while to relaxation and chill out. This will likely then let your brain to absorb the information better. So as to maintain a good memory, Omega-3's are an essential element within your food plan. You can find many sources of Omega-3 together with fish, walnuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and soybeans. If any of all those food items really don't appeal to you personally, it is also suitable to get fish oil supplements to be able to keep your memory totally performing. When you are seeking for tactics to extend your memory, then perform with other people and collaborate on strategies with them. Whenever you do this, your mind fires in a different way than it does if you work on some thing alone. Bounce suggestions off many others and find out how differently you begin to imagine. Memory is rather like the muscular tissues with your entire body, in case you will not use it, you are going to lose it. A method to keep the memory active will be to modify up your brain's schedule occasionally. By executing a similar actions around and about, you don't give your memory an opportunity to discover anything new. By performing this, you can at some point start out to get rid of your memory. Function your memory out by undertaking unique activities together with brain-stimulating pursuits as a way to acquire probably the most from your memory Autismo o que fazer . The obvious way to enhance your memory in case you are researching, is to incorporate composition to what you're aiming to discover. Categorizing and using issues a person stage at a time, allows you to master and to keep the understanding of a preceding matter, prior to you move on into the subsequent. This is often undoubtedly the easiest method to review. Like an actor does just before placing on a participate in, rehearsing everything you master is actually a excellent technique to enhance your memory. If you are trying to study, recite the problems and responses aloud, and you'll absorb the knowledge much easier, and eventually, retain it extra proficiently. This can be a good way to transform your all round memory. We're additional very likely to try to remember a thing that transpires to us when we are all over other individuals than after we are by itself. Individuals are drawn to other folks, as a final result we recall our time with them, alternatively than whenever we are alone. That's why research groups operate so perfectly. Make certain your focus if centered on the fabric you should don't forget. Should you have other interruptions going on around you - music playing, the Tv set on, kids chatting, and so on. - your thoughts won't be equipped to target the material. This tends to end in it staying tricky to recall what you've got researched. Use typical research periods about a time period rather than the usual one cramming session. Scientific studies have proven that in case you examine material above a class of the few days, you do have a greater potential for remembering it than when you cram in a very solitary night time. So instead of cramming the evening prior to a take a look at, set up an everyday study time every single night or just about every other evening. To learn more take a look at our web site: Autismo o que fazer

https://www.4shared.com/web/preview/pdf/IimhYpt6fi

[pra-te-fazer-relembrar-blog]

Inquiries About Autism Spectrum Disorder

Pay back very careful interest to what you wish to remember to ensure the information is retained inside your long-term memory. Distractions, such as new music and tv, protect against you from shelling out the expected degree of awareness on the material. Failure to focus will result in the data being dropped instead of committed to memory. It is actually much easier to recall data when you arrange the fabric into associated teams, before hoping to remember it. Earning a top level view is another good way to arrange the material to become studied. This is much like how your mind organizes info and will make remember less complicated. When you are possessing memory challenges, check out using fish oil. Latest research have revealed a hyperlink concerning complications with focus and memory plus a deficiency in Omega-3 fatty acids. Just one of the best Omega-3 sources is fish oil. You are able to either take the oil while in the liquid form from the spoonful, or select fish oil capsules instead Autismo o que causa . If you want to acquire a much better memory, you will need to have diverse pursuits, and take a look at new matters. This can maintain your intellect sharp and open up for brand spanking new memories. In addition, these new neurons will link to existing neurons, that may then supply you with a whole new approach as to ways to evaluate some thing. You will have noticed that your mind just isn't as sharp when you have been sitting in a single spot for too extensive. If this can be the situation, you need to choose a couple of 5-15 minute split just about every hour all through your get the job done or research session to offer your brain some time to rest and loosen up. This can then allow for your mind to absorb the knowledge much better. To be able to take care of a superb memory, Omega-3's are an essential element within your food plan. You'll find many resources of Omega-3 together with fish, walnuts, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and soybeans. If any of all those meals will not attractiveness for you, it is also appropriate to acquire fish oil supplements to be able to help keep your memory entirely functioning. Should you are hunting for tactics to boost your memory, then get the job done with other individuals and collaborate on tips with them. After you do this, your mind fires differently than it does whenever you get the job done on a thing by yourself. Bounce ideas off others and find out how in another way you begin to consider. Memory is just like the muscle groups inside your entire body, for those who don't use it, you'll drop it. A method to maintain your memory active should be to adjust up your brain's routine every so often. By performing a similar pursuits over and over, you do not give your memory an opportunity to discover a thing new. By accomplishing this, you might finally start off to get rid of your memory. Perform your memory out by performing unique activities which includes brain-stimulating things to do so as to receive essentially the most outside of your memory Autismo tem cura . The easiest way to enhance your memory should you be finding out, is always to incorporate structure to what you are aiming to master. Categorizing and taking things 1 action at any given time, will permit you to definitely learn and to retain the familiarity with a former matter, in advance of you move on towards the subsequent. This is without doubt the simplest way to research. Like an actor does prior to placing on the play, rehearsing that which you study is actually a wonderful method to improve your memory. For those who are attempting to check, recite the problems and answers aloud, and you'll soak up the information much easier, and in the long run, keep it additional efficiently. This is the great way to enhance your total memory. We are far more very likely to don't forget something which happens to us after we are about others than once we are alone. People are drawn to other folks, like a result we don't forget our time with them, instead than whenever we are by yourself. That is why analyze teams work so very well. Be sure your notice if focused on the material you need to recall. In the event you have other distractions going on around you - music actively playing, the Tv on, kids chatting, etc. - your intellect won't be equipped to target the fabric. This will likely end in it getting tough to recall what you have examined. Use frequent study classes about a time frame alternatively than the usual one cramming session. Research have proven that in the event you analyze content about a training course of a couple days, there is a improved chance of remembering it than should you cram in a very one night time. So as a substitute of cramming the night in advance of a check, build a regular study time every single evening or every other evening. To find out more stop by our website: Autismo o que fazer

https://www.4shared.com/web/preview/pdf/IimhYpt6fi

[edmondmoller]

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

New Post has been published on https://menshealthwithus.com/can-a-vegan-go-keto

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

Absolutely! Anyone can go keto, including vegans. They might not be able to stay vegan, but they can certainly go keto. Nothing stopping them. The more the merrier.

Jokes aside. Can someone go keto while remaining vegan?

That’s a tougher problem. Not intractable. But real tough.

Why is it so hard?

  For one, the most protein-rich vegan foods also happen to be relatively high in carbohydrates—the very macronutrient you need to limit on keto. You could load up on a complex blend of legumes and rice to obtain adequate protein containing all the essential amino acids, but you’d end up overdoing it on carbohydrates and knocking yourself out of ketosis. Protein is extremely important and hard to obtain on a normal vegan diet. It’s even harder on a keto vegan diet.

Two, the easiest vegan sources of fat and protein—nuts and seeds—aren’t meant to be staple foods. No one should base their diet on nuts for a few reasons.

Excessive omega-6. Most nuts are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that most modern people consume too much of already. This will throw your omega-3:omega-6 ratio out of whack. Excessive calories. Nuts can just disappear down your gullet. The ability to consume entire sackfuls of nuts in a single sitting without having to remove the shells is a modern aberration, one we’re not really prepared as an organism to regulate. Carbs. When you start getting into the “several handful” range, the carb content of nuts adds up. It’s not enough carbs to disrupt a normal eater, but it can ruin ketosis. Anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds can’t run from predators, so they employ biological warfare to dissuade animals from eating them, manufacturing anti-nutrient compounds that impair nutrient absorption. This isn’t a deal breaker. We’ve adapted to many of these compounds, and I even think it’s likely that some of these anti-nutrients, like phytate, offer hormetic benefits in smaller doses. But if you’re eating enough almonds to satisfy your protein requirements, you’re overdoing it.

(And yes, in certain parts of the year, the Hadza of East Africa consume the bulk of their calories from the mongongo nut, but you’re not Hadza. It’s a different genetic situation, a different lifestyle, a different microbiome. The Hadza also eat thousands of calories of wild honey each day when it’s available. You lining up to do that, too?)

Successfully implementing a vegan keto diet requires the resolution of those two main problems. You need complete protein without all the carbs that beans entail, and you need a reliable source of fat without all the omega-6 fatty acids nuts and seeds entail.

For the protein, you have a few options.

Consider some concessions. Compare the spirit of your commitment to the “letter of the law” approach. The following will make your journey far more enjoyable, nutrient-dense, and sustainable.

1. Consider eating eggs from a trusted source (even yourself).

You can usually go on Craigslist and find a local source of pastured chicken eggs. Simply introduce yourself and ask to see their operation. I mean, it’s not like the hobby farmer who considers her hen’s members of the family is going to give those birds a bad life. Go see for yourself, then eat the eggs.

Heck, why not take the plunge and raise your own chickens? If you have space, do it. You know yourself. You know you’ll do it without cruelty. You’ll give them a good, happy life. You won’t “cull” the non-producers.

A regular intake of pastured eggs will give you most of the nutrients you’re missing out on as a keto vegan—like choline, omega-3s, iron, and zinc, not to mention high-quality animal protein.

If you’re worried about the whole eggs/heart disease myth, know that it’s exactly that—a myth. The most recent evidence suggests that any relationship between egg consumption and health issues stems from “a dietary pattern often accompanying high egg intake and/or the cluster of other risk factors in people with high egg consumption,” not the eggs themselves.

2. Still not willing to eat eggs? Consider eating bivalves.

Most evidence suggests that bivalves—oysters and mussels—have no central nervous system capable of registering pain and are not mobile and that the farming practices used to grow them are environmentally friendly.

They’re incredibly nutrient-dense with many of the nutrients vegans miss out on. Oysters in particular will give you all the zinc and iron you need, plus a good amount of omega-3. Mussels are loaded with protein, omega-3s, and micronutrients.

3. If bivalves are out, you’ll need some protein powders.

Low-carb plant foods dense with protein just don’t really exist. And no, broccoli doesn’t actually have more protein than steak. Protein powders that extract the protein from plant sources and leave behind most of the fat and carbohydrates, however, do exist.

The obvious animal-based choices like whey or egg are out. The best bet seems to be a mix of rice, pea, and hemp protein powders.

Rice protein powder is almost complete with all the essential amino acids (those we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must get from outside sources), but it’s low in lysine. Rice protein powder did perform admirably compared to whey protein in one study among weight lifting adults, but they weren’t on vegan diets, and the rest of their diets probably contained plenty of animal protein to make up for any missing amino acids. Here’s one to try.

Pea protein powder has plenty of lysine to make up for what’s missing in rice protein. Here’s a good one.

Hemp protein is complete and usually comes with a nice dose of micronutrients, including magnesium, prebiotic fiber, and omega-3s, but it’s lower in protein than rice and pea protein powder, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on it. Try this one.

For the fat, you have many options that aren’t excessively high in omega-6 fats.

Eat lots of avocado and avocado oil. These are mostly monounsaturated fat. I hear there’s a pretty great vegan ranch dressing made with avocado oil on the market.

Eat coconut. An excellent source of healthy saturated fat, coconut and its constituents like coconut oil and coconut butter are essentials for the vegan-keto pantry. A spoonful of coconut butter is one of my go-to snacks, and it’s totally keto-friendly.

Eat olives and olive oil. This is mostly monounsaturated fat. Just make sure you’re buying actual olive oil.

Eat macadamia nuts. Again, mostly monounsaturated. Great for snacks.

Eat hemp seeds. Fairly high in omega-6, but it’s balanced with a large dose of omega-3 and some of the omega-6 is anti-inflammatory GLA. The complete protein, prebiotic fiber, and loads of magnesium don’t hurt either.

Eat red palm oil. Palm oil gets a bad rap, as most Southeast Asian palm production impedes on dwindling orangutan habitats. The majority of red palm oil—the unrefined version higher in micronutrients—comes from sustainable palm farms that don’t impact orangutan populations. Mostly saturated fat.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and all the other ones higher in omega-6. Eat nuts (and seeds) of all kinds, just not to the exclusion of everything else. There is such a thing as too many nuts, as I explained earlier.

No matter what you eat, you’ll need to take supplements.

Choline: The higher your fat intake, the more choline your liver needs to process it all. Choline is most abundant in animal foods that you aren’t eating, like liver and egg yolks. A good vegan source of choline is sunflower lecithin.

Creatine: Creatine monohydrate is cheap, safe, and effective. You should take it, because you’re not getting it from your food; the best sources of creatine are red meat and fish. Far more than a “weight lifting supplement,” creatine has been shown to improve both muscular and cognitive function in vegetarians.

Carnosine: Not many know about carnosine. It’s another meat-based nutrient that improves mood, enhances endurance, and serves as a brain antioxidant. Though we can make it in our bodies, studies show that vegans and vegetarians have fairly low levels and supplementation can help.

Taurine: Taurine is similar to carnosine—though it’s not essential (we make it, just probably not enough), it appears only in animal foods and plays a major yet under-appreciated role in preventing death and disease. Easy supplement.

B12: You just need B12. There’s no way around it, unless you don’t mind your central nervous system going haywire.

Don’t assume you’re replete in B12 unless you’ve taken the latest assays, which are more sensitive than normal serum B12 tests. According to normal serum tests, 52% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient. According to the newer, more sensitive tests, 92% of vegans and 77% of vegetarians have low levels of the active form of vitamin B12. Don’t take a chance with this stuff; it’s critical. Here’s a good one.

Algal oil: Since you can’t take fish oil, and you don’t want to rely on the inefficient elongation of ALA into the more effective omega-3s DHA and EPA, you should take algal oil. Algae is where most marine life gets its DHA and EPA. It’s totally vegan-friendly, and studies show it improves blood lipids and increases blood levels of EPA. Here’s one.

Those are the big things to worry about. Once you’ve them all squared away, the rest is easy: just eat delicious whole plant foods.

You’d better like avocados and coconut.

You’d better eat tons of non-starchy vegetables: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other above-ground vegetables.

Eat mushrooms. They aren’t vegetables, but you can treat them like it.

You can even eat fruit, so long as you choose the lower-sugar ones and moderate your intake. Berries are perfect. Watermelon and cantaloupe are surprisingly low in sugar.

Incorporate seaweed into your life. Kelp in your soups, nori sheets as snacks. Great source of minerals like iodine.

Oh, and grab a copy of Accidental Paleo, a paleo vegetarian cookbook with a good number of vegan recipes.

Can you be a perfectly healthy whole-foods vegan keto dieter? Probably not. There are just too many limitations. But if you make a few concessions, include a few supplements, and accept that vegan purity is neither necessary nor desirable (particularly for keto eating), you can get very good results.

If you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask down below in the comment section. I’ll do my best to address them in a later post.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

The post Can a Vegan Go Keto? appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

Interested in the health qualities of Red tea? 

Read more: marksdailyapple.com

#carbs #fats #keto #nuts/seeds #protein #red tea #vegetarianism

[cristinajourdanqp]

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

Absolutely! Anyone can go keto, including vegans. They might not be able to stay vegan, but they can certainly go keto. Nothing stopping them. The more the merrier.

Jokes aside. Can someone go keto while remaining vegan?

That’s a tougher problem. Not intractable. But real tough.

Why is it so hard?

For one, the most protein-rich vegan foods also happen to be relatively high in carbohydrates—the very macronutrient you need to limit on keto. You could load up on a complex blend of legumes and rice to obtain adequate protein containing all the essential amino acids, but you’d end up overdoing it on carbohydrates and knocking yourself out of ketosis. Protein is extremely important and hard to obtain on a normal vegan diet. It’s even harder on a keto vegan diet.

Two, the easiest vegan sources of fat and protein—nuts and seeds—aren’t meant to be staple foods. No one should base their diet on nuts for a few reasons.

Excessive omega-6. Most nuts are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that most modern people consume too much of already. This will throw your omega-3:omega-6 ratio out of whack.

Excessive calories. Nuts can just disappear down your gullet. The ability to consume entire sackfuls of nuts in a single sitting without having to remove the shells is a modern aberration, one we’re not really prepared as an organism to regulate.

Carbs. When you start getting into the “several handful” range, the carb content of nuts adds up. It’s not enough carbs to disrupt a normal eater, but it can ruin ketosis.

Anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds can’t run from predators, so they employ biological warfare to dissuade animals from eating them, manufacturing anti-nutrient compounds that impair nutrient absorption. This isn’t a deal breaker. We’ve adapted to many of these compounds, and I even think it’s likely that some of these anti-nutrients, like phytate, offer hormetic benefits in smaller doses. But if you’re eating enough almonds to satisfy your protein requirements, you’re overdoing it.

(And yes, in certain parts of the year, the Hadza of East Africa consume the bulk of their calories from the mongongo nut, but you’re not Hadza. It’s a different genetic situation, a different lifestyle, a different microbiome. The Hadza also eat thousands of calories of wild honey each day when it’s available. You lining up to do that, too?)

Successfully implementing a vegan keto diet requires the resolution of those two main problems. You need complete protein without all the carbs that beans entail, and you need a reliable source of fat without all the omega-6 fatty acids nuts and seeds entail.

For the protein, you have a few options.

Consider some concessions. Compare the spirit of your commitment to the “letter of the law” approach. The following will make your journey far more enjoyable, nutrient-dense, and sustainable.

1.Consider eating eggs from a trusted source (even yourself).

You can usually go on Craigslist and find a local source of pastured chicken eggs. Simply introduce yourself and ask to see their operation. I mean, it’s not like the hobby farmer who considers her hens members of the family is going to give those birds a bad life. Go see for yourself, then eat the eggs.

Heck, why not take the plunge and raise your own chickens? If you have the space, do it. You know yourself. You know you’ll do it without cruelty. You’ll give them a good, happy life. You won’t “cull” the non-producers.

A regular intake of pastured eggs will give you most of the nutrients you’re missing out on as a keto vegan—like choline, omega-3s, iron, and zinc, not to mention high quality animal protein.

If you’re worried about the whole eggs/heart disease myth, know that it’s exactly that—a myth. The most recent evidence suggests that any relationship between egg consumption and health issues stems from “a dietary pattern often accompanying high egg intake and/or the cluster of other risk factors in people with high egg consumption,” not the eggs themselves.

2. Still not willing to eat eggs? Consider eating bivalves.

Most evidence suggests that bivalves—oysters and mussels—have no central nervous system capable of registering pain and are not mobile, and  that the farming practices used to grow them are environmentally friendly.

They’re incredibly nutrient-dense with many of the nutrients vegans miss out on. Oysters in particular will give you all the zinc and iron you need, plus a good amount of omega-3. Mussels are loaded with protein, omega-3s, and micronutrients.

3. If bivalves are out, you’ll need some protein powders.

Low-carb plant foods dense with protein just don’t really exist. And no, broccoli doesn’t actually have more protein than steak. Protein powders that extract the protein from plant sources and leave behind most of the fat and carbohydrates, however, do exist.

The obvious animal-based choices like whey or egg are out. The best bet seems to be a mix of rice, pea, and hemp protein powders.

Rice protein powder is almost complete with all the essential amino acids (those we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must get from outside sources), but it’s low in lysine. Rice protein powder did perform admirably compared to whey protein in one study among weight lifting adults, but they weren’t on vegan diets, and the rest of their diets probably contained plenty of animal protein to make up for any missing amino acids. Here’s one to try.

Pea protein powder has plenty of lysine to make up for what’s missing in rice protein. Here’s a good one.

Hemp protein is complete and usually comes with a nice dose of micronutrients, including magnesium, prebiotic fiber, and omega-3s, but it’s lower in protein than rice and pea protein powder, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on it. Try this one.

For the fat, you have many options that aren’t excessively high in omega-6 fats.

Eat lots of avocado and avocado oil. These are mostly monounsaturated fat. I hear there’s a pretty great vegan ranch dressing made with avocado oil on the market.

Eat coconut. An excellent source of healthy saturated fat, coconut and its constituents like coconut oil and coconut butter are essentials for the vegan-keto pantry. A spoonful of coconut butter is one of my go-to snacks, and it’s totally keto-friendly.

Eat olives and olive oil. This is mostly monounsaturated fat. Just make sure you’re buying actual olive oil.

Eat macadamia nuts. Again, mostly monounsaturated. Great for snacks.

Eat hemp seeds. Fairly high in omega-6, but it’s balanced with a large dose of omega-3 and some of the omega-6 is anti-inflammatory GLA. The complete protein, prebiotic fiber, and loads of magnesium don’t hurt either.

Eat red palm oil. Palm oil gets a bad rap, as most Southeast Asian palm production impedes on dwindling orangutan habitats. The majority of red palm oil—the unrefined version higher in micronutrients—comes from sustainable palm farms that don’t impact orangutan populations. Mostly saturated fat.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and all the other ones higher in omega-6. Eat nuts (and seeds) of all kinds, just not to the exclusion of everything else. There is such a thing as too many nuts, as I explained earlier.

No matter what you eat, you’ll need to take supplements.

Choline: The higher your fat intake, the more choline your liver needs to process it all. Choline is most abundant in animal foods that you aren’t eating, like liver and egg yolks. A good vegan source of choline is sunflower lecithin.

Creatine: Creatine monohydrate is cheap, safe, and effective. You should take it, because you’re not getting it from your food; the best sources of creatine are red meat and fish. Far more than a “weight lifting supplement,” creatine has been shown to improve both muscular and cognitive function in vegetarians.

Carnosine: Not many know about carnosine. It’s another meat-based nutrient that improves mood, enhances endurance, and serves as a brain antioxidant. Though we can make it in our bodies, studies show that vegans and vegetarians have fairly low levels and supplementation can help.

Taurine: Taurine is similar to carnosine—though it’s not essential (we make it, just probably not enough), it appears only in animal foods and plays a major yet under-appreciated role in preventing death and disease. Easy supplement.

B12: You just need B12. There’s no way around it, unless you don’t mind your central nervous system going haywire.

Don’t assume you’re replete in B12 unless you’ve taken the latest assays, which are more sensitive than normal serum B12 tests. According to normal serum tests, 52% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient. According to the newer, more sensitive tests, 92% of vegans and 77% of vegetarians have low levels of the active form of vitamin B12. Don’t take a chance with this stuff; it’s critical. Here’s a good one.

Algal oil: Since you can’t take fish oil, and you don’t want to rely on inefficient elongation of ALA into the more effective omega-3s DHA and EPA, you should take algal oil. Algae is where most marine life gets its DHA and EPA. It’s totally vegan-friendly, and studies show it improves blood lipids and increases blood levels of EPA. Here’s one.

Those are the big things to worry about. Once you’ve them all squared away, the rest is easy: just eat delicious whole plant foods.

You’d better like avocados and coconut.

You’d better eat tons of non-starchy vegetables: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other above-ground vegetables.

Eat mushrooms. They aren’t vegetables, but you can treat them like it.

You can even eat fruit, so long as you choose the lower-sugar ones and moderate your intake. Berries are perfect. Watermelon and cantaloupe are surprisingly low in sugar.

Incorporate seaweed into your life. Kelp in your soups, nori sheets as snacks. Great source of minerals like iodine.

Oh, and grab a copy of Accidental Paleo, a paleo vegetarian cookbook with a good number of vegan recipes.

Can you be a perfectly healthy whole-foods vegan keto dieter? Probably not. There are just too many limitations. But if you make a few concessions, include a few supplements, and accept that vegan purity is neither necessary nor desirable (particularly for keto eating), you can get very good results.

If you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask down below in the comment section. I’ll do my best to address them in a later post.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

[fishermariawo]

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

Absolutely! Anyone can go keto, including vegans. They might not be able to stay vegan, but they can certainly go keto. Nothing stopping them. The more the merrier.

Jokes aside. Can someone go keto while remaining vegan?

That’s a tougher problem. Not intractable. But real tough.

Why is it so hard?

For one, the most protein-rich vegan foods also happen to be relatively high in carbohydrates—the very macronutrient you need to limit on keto. You could load up on a complex blend of legumes and rice to obtain adequate protein containing all the essential amino acids, but you’d end up overdoing it on carbohydrates and knocking yourself out of ketosis. Protein is extremely important and hard to obtain on a normal vegan diet. It’s even harder on a keto vegan diet.

Two, the easiest vegan sources of fat and protein—nuts and seeds—aren’t meant to be staple foods. No one should base their diet on nuts for a few reasons.

Excessive omega-6. Most nuts are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that most modern people consume too much of already. This will throw your omega-3:omega-6 ratio out of whack.

Excessive calories. Nuts can just disappear down your gullet. The ability to consume entire sackfuls of nuts in a single sitting without having to remove the shells is a modern aberration, one we’re not really prepared as an organism to regulate.

Carbs. When you start getting into the “several handful” range, the carb content of nuts adds up. It’s not enough carbs to disrupt a normal eater, but it can ruin ketosis.

Anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds can’t run from predators, so they employ biological warfare to dissuade animals from eating them, manufacturing anti-nutrient compounds that impair nutrient absorption. This isn’t a deal breaker. We’ve adapted to many of these compounds, and I even think it’s likely that some of these anti-nutrients, like phytate, offer hormetic benefits in smaller doses. But if you’re eating enough almonds to satisfy your protein requirements, you’re overdoing it.

(And yes, in certain parts of the year, the Hadza of East Africa consume the bulk of their calories from the mongongo nut, but you’re not Hadza. It’s a different genetic situation, a different lifestyle, a different microbiome. The Hadza also eat thousands of calories of wild honey each day when it’s available. You lining up to do that, too?)

Successfully implementing a vegan keto diet requires the resolution of those two main problems. You need complete protein without all the carbs that beans entail, and you need a reliable source of fat without all the omega-6 fatty acids nuts and seeds entail.

For the protein, you have a few options.

Consider some concessions. Compare the spirit of your commitment to the “letter of the law” approach. The following will make your journey far more enjoyable, nutrient-dense, and sustainable.

1.Consider eating eggs from a trusted source (even yourself).

You can usually go on Craigslist and find a local source of pastured chicken eggs. Simply introduce yourself and ask to see their operation. I mean, it’s not like the hobby farmer who considers her hens members of the family is going to give those birds a bad life. Go see for yourself, then eat the eggs.

Heck, why not take the plunge and raise your own chickens? If you have the space, do it. You know yourself. You know you’ll do it without cruelty. You’ll give them a good, happy life. You won’t “cull” the non-producers.

A regular intake of pastured eggs will give you most of the nutrients you’re missing out on as a keto vegan—like choline, omega-3s, iron, and zinc, not to mention high quality animal protein.

If you’re worried about the whole eggs/heart disease myth, know that it’s exactly that—a myth. The most recent evidence suggests that any relationship between egg consumption and health issues stems from “a dietary pattern often accompanying high egg intake and/or the cluster of other risk factors in people with high egg consumption,” not the eggs themselves.

2. Still not willing to eat eggs? Consider eating bivalves.

Most evidence suggests that bivalves—oysters and mussels—have no central nervous system capable of registering pain and are not mobile, and  that the farming practices used to grow them are environmentally friendly.

They’re incredibly nutrient-dense with many of the nutrients vegans miss out on. Oysters in particular will give you all the zinc and iron you need, plus a good amount of omega-3. Mussels are loaded with protein, omega-3s, and micronutrients.

3. If bivalves are out, you’ll need some protein powders.

Low-carb plant foods dense with protein just don’t really exist. And no, broccoli doesn’t actually have more protein than steak. Protein powders that extract the protein from plant sources and leave behind most of the fat and carbohydrates, however, do exist.

The obvious animal-based choices like whey or egg are out. The best bet seems to be a mix of rice, pea, and hemp protein powders.

Rice protein powder is almost complete with all the essential amino acids (those we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must get from outside sources), but it’s low in lysine. Rice protein powder did perform admirably compared to whey protein in one study among weight lifting adults, but they weren’t on vegan diets, and the rest of their diets probably contained plenty of animal protein to make up for any missing amino acids. Here’s one to try.

Pea protein powder has plenty of lysine to make up for what’s missing in rice protein. Here’s a good one.

Hemp protein is complete and usually comes with a nice dose of micronutrients, including magnesium, prebiotic fiber, and omega-3s, but it’s lower in protein than rice and pea protein powder, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on it. Try this one.

For the fat, you have many options that aren’t excessively high in omega-6 fats.

Eat lots of avocado and avocado oil. These are mostly monounsaturated fat. I hear there’s a pretty great vegan ranch dressing made with avocado oil on the market.

Eat coconut. An excellent source of healthy saturated fat, coconut and its constituents like coconut oil and coconut butter are essentials for the vegan-keto pantry. A spoonful of coconut butter is one of my go-to snacks, and it’s totally keto-friendly.

Eat olives and olive oil. This is mostly monounsaturated fat. Just make sure you’re buying actual olive oil.

Eat macadamia nuts. Again, mostly monounsaturated. Great for snacks.

Eat hemp seeds. Fairly high in omega-6, but it’s balanced with a large dose of omega-3 and some of the omega-6 is anti-inflammatory GLA. The complete protein, prebiotic fiber, and loads of magnesium don’t hurt either.

Eat red palm oil. Palm oil gets a bad rap, as most Southeast Asian palm production impedes on dwindling orangutan habitats. The majority of red palm oil—the unrefined version higher in micronutrients—comes from sustainable palm farms that don’t impact orangutan populations. Mostly saturated fat.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and all the other ones higher in omega-6. Eat nuts (and seeds) of all kinds, just not to the exclusion of everything else. There is such a thing as too many nuts, as I explained earlier.

No matter what you eat, you’ll need to take supplements.

Choline: The higher your fat intake, the more choline your liver needs to process it all. Choline is most abundant in animal foods that you aren’t eating, like liver and egg yolks. A good vegan source of choline is sunflower lecithin.

Creatine: Creatine monohydrate is cheap, safe, and effective. You should take it, because you’re not getting it from your food; the best sources of creatine are red meat and fish. Far more than a “weight lifting supplement,” creatine has been shown to improve both muscular and cognitive function in vegetarians.

Carnosine: Not many know about carnosine. It’s another meat-based nutrient that improves mood, enhances endurance, and serves as a brain antioxidant. Though we can make it in our bodies, studies show that vegans and vegetarians have fairly low levels and supplementation can help.

Taurine: Taurine is similar to carnosine—though it’s not essential (we make it, just probably not enough), it appears only in animal foods and plays a major yet under-appreciated role in preventing death and disease. Easy supplement.

B12: You just need B12. There’s no way around it, unless you don’t mind your central nervous system going haywire.

Don’t assume you’re replete in B12 unless you’ve taken the latest assays, which are more sensitive than normal serum B12 tests. According to normal serum tests, 52% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient. According to the newer, more sensitive tests, 92% of vegans and 77% of vegetarians have low levels of the active form of vitamin B12. Don’t take a chance with this stuff; it’s critical. Here’s a good one.

Algal oil: Since you can’t take fish oil, and you don’t want to rely on inefficient elongation of ALA into the more effective omega-3s DHA and EPA, you should take algal oil. Algae is where most marine life gets its DHA and EPA. It’s totally vegan-friendly, and studies show it improves blood lipids and increases blood levels of EPA. Here’s one.

Those are the big things to worry about. Once you’ve them all squared away, the rest is easy: just eat delicious whole plant foods.

You’d better like avocados and coconut.

You’d better eat tons of non-starchy vegetables: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other above-ground vegetables.

Eat mushrooms. They aren’t vegetables, but you can treat them like it.

You can even eat fruit, so long as you choose the lower-sugar ones and moderate your intake. Berries are perfect. Watermelon and cantaloupe are surprisingly low in sugar.

Incorporate seaweed into your life. Kelp in your soups, nori sheets as snacks. Great source of minerals like iodine.

Oh, and grab a copy of Accidental Paleo, a paleo vegetarian cookbook with a good number of vegan recipes.

Can you be a perfectly healthy whole-foods vegan keto dieter? Probably not. There are just too many limitations. But if you make a few concessions, include a few supplements, and accept that vegan purity is neither necessary nor desirable (particularly for keto eating), you can get very good results.

If you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask down below in the comment section. I’ll do my best to address them in a later post.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

[milenasanchezmk]

Can a Vegan Go Keto?

Absolutely! Anyone can go keto, including vegans. They might not be able to stay vegan, but they can certainly go keto. Nothing stopping them. The more the merrier.

Jokes aside. Can someone go keto while remaining vegan?

That’s a tougher problem. Not intractable. But real tough.

Why is it so hard?

For one, the most protein-rich vegan foods also happen to be relatively high in carbohydrates—the very macronutrient you need to limit on keto. You could load up on a complex blend of legumes and rice to obtain adequate protein containing all the essential amino acids, but you’d end up overdoing it on carbohydrates and knocking yourself out of ketosis. Protein is extremely important and hard to obtain on a normal vegan diet. It’s even harder on a keto vegan diet.

Two, the easiest vegan sources of fat and protein—nuts and seeds—aren’t meant to be staple foods. No one should base their diet on nuts for a few reasons.

Excessive omega-6. Most nuts are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that most modern people consume too much of already. This will throw your omega-3:omega-6 ratio out of whack.

Excessive calories. Nuts can just disappear down your gullet. The ability to consume entire sackfuls of nuts in a single sitting without having to remove the shells is a modern aberration, one we’re not really prepared as an organism to regulate.

Carbs. When you start getting into the “several handful” range, the carb content of nuts adds up. It’s not enough carbs to disrupt a normal eater, but it can ruin ketosis.

Anti-nutrients. Nuts and seeds can’t run from predators, so they employ biological warfare to dissuade animals from eating them, manufacturing anti-nutrient compounds that impair nutrient absorption. This isn’t a deal breaker. We’ve adapted to many of these compounds, and I even think it’s likely that some of these anti-nutrients, like phytate, offer hormetic benefits in smaller doses. But if you’re eating enough almonds to satisfy your protein requirements, you’re overdoing it.

(And yes, in certain parts of the year, the Hadza of East Africa consume the bulk of their calories from the mongongo nut, but you’re not Hadza. It’s a different genetic situation, a different lifestyle, a different microbiome. The Hadza also eat thousands of calories of wild honey each day when it’s available. You lining up to do that, too?)

Successfully implementing a vegan keto diet requires the resolution of those two main problems. You need complete protein without all the carbs that beans entail, and you need a reliable source of fat without all the omega-6 fatty acids nuts and seeds entail.

For the protein, you have a few options.

Consider some concessions. Compare the spirit of your commitment to the “letter of the law” approach. The following will make your journey far more enjoyable, nutrient-dense, and sustainable.

1.Consider eating eggs from a trusted source (even yourself).

You can usually go on Craigslist and find a local source of pastured chicken eggs. Simply introduce yourself and ask to see their operation. I mean, it’s not like the hobby farmer who considers her hens members of the family is going to give those birds a bad life. Go see for yourself, then eat the eggs.

Heck, why not take the plunge and raise your own chickens? If you have the space, do it. You know yourself. You know you’ll do it without cruelty. You’ll give them a good, happy life. You won’t “cull” the non-producers.

A regular intake of pastured eggs will give you most of the nutrients you’re missing out on as a keto vegan—like choline, omega-3s, iron, and zinc, not to mention high quality animal protein.

If you’re worried about the whole eggs/heart disease myth, know that it’s exactly that—a myth. The most recent evidence suggests that any relationship between egg consumption and health issues stems from “a dietary pattern often accompanying high egg intake and/or the cluster of other risk factors in people with high egg consumption,” not the eggs themselves.

2. Still not willing to eat eggs? Consider eating bivalves.

Most evidence suggests that bivalves—oysters and mussels—have no central nervous system capable of registering pain and are not mobile, and  that the farming practices used to grow them are environmentally friendly.

They’re incredibly nutrient-dense with many of the nutrients vegans miss out on. Oysters in particular will give you all the zinc and iron you need, plus a good amount of omega-3. Mussels are loaded with protein, omega-3s, and micronutrients.

3. If bivalves are out, you’ll need some protein powders.

Low-carb plant foods dense with protein just don’t really exist. And no, broccoli doesn’t actually have more protein than steak. Protein powders that extract the protein from plant sources and leave behind most of the fat and carbohydrates, however, do exist.

The obvious animal-based choices like whey or egg are out. The best bet seems to be a mix of rice, pea, and hemp protein powders.

Rice protein powder is almost complete with all the essential amino acids (those we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must get from outside sources), but it’s low in lysine. Rice protein powder did perform admirably compared to whey protein in one study among weight lifting adults, but they weren’t on vegan diets, and the rest of their diets probably contained plenty of animal protein to make up for any missing amino acids. Here’s one to try.

Pea protein powder has plenty of lysine to make up for what’s missing in rice protein. Here’s a good one.

Hemp protein is complete and usually comes with a nice dose of micronutrients, including magnesium, prebiotic fiber, and omega-3s, but it’s lower in protein than rice and pea protein powder, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on it. Try this one.

For the fat, you have many options that aren’t excessively high in omega-6 fats.

Eat lots of avocado and avocado oil. These are mostly monounsaturated fat. I hear there’s a pretty great vegan ranch dressing made with avocado oil on the market.

Eat coconut. An excellent source of healthy saturated fat, coconut and its constituents like coconut oil and coconut butter are essentials for the vegan-keto pantry. A spoonful of coconut butter is one of my go-to snacks, and it’s totally keto-friendly.

Eat olives and olive oil. This is mostly monounsaturated fat. Just make sure you’re buying actual olive oil.

Eat macadamia nuts. Again, mostly monounsaturated. Great for snacks.

Eat hemp seeds. Fairly high in omega-6, but it’s balanced with a large dose of omega-3 and some of the omega-6 is anti-inflammatory GLA. The complete protein, prebiotic fiber, and loads of magnesium don’t hurt either.

Eat red palm oil. Palm oil gets a bad rap, as most Southeast Asian palm production impedes on dwindling orangutan habitats. The majority of red palm oil—the unrefined version higher in micronutrients—comes from sustainable palm farms that don’t impact orangutan populations. Mostly saturated fat.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and all the other ones higher in omega-6. Eat nuts (and seeds) of all kinds, just not to the exclusion of everything else. There is such a thing as too many nuts, as I explained earlier.

No matter what you eat, you’ll need to take supplements.

Choline: The higher your fat intake, the more choline your liver needs to process it all. Choline is most abundant in animal foods that you aren’t eating, like liver and egg yolks. A good vegan source of choline is sunflower lecithin.

Creatine: Creatine monohydrate is cheap, safe, and effective. You should take it, because you’re not getting it from your food; the best sources of creatine are red meat and fish. Far more than a “weight lifting supplement,” creatine has been shown to improve both muscular and cognitive function in vegetarians.

Carnosine: Not many know about carnosine. It’s another meat-based nutrient that improves mood, enhances endurance, and serves as a brain antioxidant. Though we can make it in our bodies, studies show that vegans and vegetarians have fairly low levels and supplementation can help.

Taurine: Taurine is similar to carnosine—though it’s not essential (we make it, just probably not enough), it appears only in animal foods and plays a major yet under-appreciated role in preventing death and disease. Easy supplement.

B12: You just need B12. There’s no way around it, unless you don’t mind your central nervous system going haywire.

Don’t assume you’re replete in B12 unless you’ve taken the latest assays, which are more sensitive than normal serum B12 tests. According to normal serum tests, 52% of vegans and 7% of vegetarians are deficient. According to the newer, more sensitive tests, 92% of vegans and 77% of vegetarians have low levels of the active form of vitamin B12. Don’t take a chance with this stuff; it’s critical. Here’s a good one.

Algal oil: Since you can’t take fish oil, and you don’t want to rely on inefficient elongation of ALA into the more effective omega-3s DHA and EPA, you should take algal oil. Algae is where most marine life gets its DHA and EPA. It’s totally vegan-friendly, and studies show it improves blood lipids and increases blood levels of EPA. Here’s one.

Those are the big things to worry about. Once you’ve them all squared away, the rest is easy: just eat delicious whole plant foods.

You’d better like avocados and coconut.

You’d better eat tons of non-starchy vegetables: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other above-ground vegetables.

Eat mushrooms. They aren’t vegetables, but you can treat them like it.

You can even eat fruit, so long as you choose the lower-sugar ones and moderate your intake. Berries are perfect. Watermelon and cantaloupe are surprisingly low in sugar.

Incorporate seaweed into your life. Kelp in your soups, nori sheets as snacks. Great source of minerals like iodine.

Oh, and grab a copy of Accidental Paleo, a paleo vegetarian cookbook with a good number of vegan recipes.

Can you be a perfectly healthy whole-foods vegan keto dieter? Probably not. There are just too many limitations. But if you make a few concessions, include a few supplements, and accept that vegan purity is neither necessary nor desirable (particularly for keto eating), you can get very good results.

If you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask down below in the comment section. I’ll do my best to address them in a later post.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

[lindafrancois]

Healthy Benefits of Walnuts & How They Help in Weight Loss

It is amazing how some small healthy foods can have the strongest nutritional impacts. We are referring to Walnuts aka in Hindi as Akhrot is a powerhouse of nutrition.

A walnut is basically a single-seeded stone fruit that is derived from any tree of the genus Juglans. Mimicking the human brain, this nut helps to promote the development of several neuron-transmitters within the brain.

However, that’s not all. This wonder nut is also a great source of healthy fats and fibre. But before we jump into the benefits of walnuts, let’s give you some lesser-known facts about this amazing healthy seed.

Walnuts Origin and Production

Originating in the Mediterranean region, a native from North American lands, Walnuts are now also grown in China, Iran and in the states of California and Arizona.

In India, they are majorly found growing in the Himalayan regions and also in Sikkim and Darjeeling. Its commercial farming is carried in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

China is the leading producer of walnuts, in the year 2017, the country produced almost 50% of the total walnut production in the world.

Nutritional Benefits of Walnuts

The nutritional breakdown of a 100 gms of Walnuts [1]

Total Fat – 65 grams

Total Carbohydrate- 14 grams

Dietary Fiber – 6.7 grams

Sugar – 2.6 grams

Protein – 15 grams

Sodium- 2 milligrams

Iron- 2.91 milligrams

Potassium- 441 milligrams

Calcium -98 milligrams

Besides these there are also several vitamin benefits of walnuts, particularly being a good source of B6 (Pyridoxine). 

Termed as the healthiest nut by BBC health, the walnut nutrition data also reveals them as a very good source of good fats. With a saturated fat percentage of just 10%, walnuts contain almost 76% of Polyunsaturated fats and 14% of Monounsaturated fats.

Other Nutritional Facts about Walnuts

The glycemic index of walnuts is about 15 that includes them in the list of low glycemic foods. 

Walnuts are also natural sources of manganese, contributing to almost half of your daily needs. 

They are the only nuts that serve as a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Health Benefits of Walnuts

Our health experts say that including walnuts as a daily part of your meals plan can help you maintain a nutritious diet. If you’re still not sure, here are a few walnut health benefits that you might have never known!

1. Walnuts keep the heart healthy

The high content of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids make walnuts an important nutrition source for heart health.

These fatty acids lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) level in the body. A higher level of LDL usually builds up in the heart arteries and even clog them up. This clogging and build up disrupt the natural oxygen-rich blood flow to the cardiac muscles that later cause heart pain.

Studies show that acute consumption of walnuts and its several components can benefit endothelial function. The study also supports that consuming whole walnuts shows novel effects on reverse cholesterol transport. [1]

 Moreover, the omega-3 in walnuts is a direct contributor to reducing heart diseases risks. The Omega-3 in plants as well as in walnuts are known as ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), that is associated with moderately lower risks of cardiovascular diseases. [2]

2. Walnuts maintain the gut health

To maintain proper gut health, your body needs to have the bacteria that promote good health. The human gastrointestinal tract is a haven for such complex microorganisms. And these gut microbiota influences the host body significantly.

While there have been many factors in the establishment of gut microbiota in an infant host, the contribution of diet is one of the main driving factors in building the gut microbiota over the entire lifetime of a host.

Now if these bacterial composition gets altered in the body, the host may fall prey to several inflammatory diseases and infections. Hence, maintaining a proper diet to maintain gut health is the most significant step in having a healthy gut.

Recent studies confirm that including walnuts daily as a part of diet can increase these essential bacteria in the gut and hence, improve the gut health altogether. 

There was a research where 43 participants–between the ages of 30 and 65–with an overweight issue, were put into an American diet for two weeks.

After this, the participants were assigned to three random diets where walnuts or vegetable oils replaced saturated fat. The participants followed each diet for six weeks and the result was–the ones with a walnut diet showed a higher number of gut bacteria that had been associated with health benefits. [3]

3. Walnut benefits for brain

As mentioned earlier, walnuts are found to be quite effective in supporting brain health. Walnuts have a high concentration of DHA which is a type of Omega-3 acid.

Some studies show that DHA promotes brain health in infants and even improves cognition in adult brains. That is why they are also recommended for people with age-related memory declining issues.

The ALA in walnuts along with its high content of polyphenols are considered as crucial brain nutrients.

These fight against oxidative stress in the brain and also reduces inflammation — two very important factors that create brain cell damage and decline learning ability, memory retention and decision-making aspects in a human brain. 

There was also a study that supported mothers with proper DHA content produces smarter kids. Another study by the  University of New Mexico showed an impact of walnut consumption on mood in young adults.

The nut supplementation showed declination of depression and improvement in mood in the subjects.[4]

Moreover, the structure of walnut inside the shell has an uncanny similarity with the folds and wrinkles of a human brain. No wonder they are nicknamed as the brain foods!

4. Help the male reproductive system

While the wonder nut is a miracle for all of us in several ways, there are also many surprising walnut benefits for men. A study suggests that eating these nuts daily can improve sperm health.

Research among subjects belonging to the western world with a declining sperm count due to the modern-day pollution and stress,  showed healthier fertility signs after including walnuts in their diet.

The researchers divided 119 healthy men within the age group of 18 to 35, into two groups. One group was given 60-grams of walnuts in their normal diet and the other group had no changes in their diet. The result showed the group that had nuts in their diet had a 14% higher sperm count and a 4% higher sperm vitality.

The experts of the study revealed that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and Vitamin B can improve fertility in men. [5] And walnuts contain most of these nutrients. Including walnuts in a regular diet also helps in keeping up with the required nutrition data that ultimately affect fertility too. 

5. Promotes weight loss

If you have been snacking chips or craving the chips, here’s your chance to replace the loss with a much nutritious snack–walnut. Their high content of Omega-3 fatty acids is directly linked to decreasing obesity and diabetes.

One of the major misconceptions regarding walnuts and their role in weight loss is that these nuts are dense in calories.

However, studies are reporting that the energy absorbed from these nuts are lower.

And even though these nuts contain fat, they are mostly good fats that help in lowering bad cholesterol. The other role of walnuts in weight loss is that they are high in dietary fibre that makes you full quickly and hence lets you eat less.

A study published funded by California Walnut Commission, even proved that walnuts can alter the way brains view foods and hence impact their appetite. 

The study was held among 10 obese people, who were given to either drink a walnut smoothie once a day for five days consecutive days or a placebo smoothie identical in taste and calorie content, separated by a washout period of one month.

The results showed that walnut consumption reduced feelings of hunger and appetite. This explains that walnut consumption may have increased the cognitive control of appetite in these patients. [5]

If you think just chewing the walnuts can be boring, here’s a fun way to twist things up with a delicious and healthy Cinnamon Walnut Smoothie recipe. 

https://youtu.be/lMnbgsAGBZc

5. Walnut benefits for hair

If you think it’s just the gut and the heart that are benefited by walnuts, you’re wrong! These small wonder nuts are great for hair growth too.

The selenium and Vitamin B7 in walnuts help in reducing hair fall. Not just that, applying walnut oil in hair benefits by making the hair look healthy and glossy.

The oil is also found to be associated with dandruff decline. You must know that fatty acids are crucial for hair growth, they keep the skin moisturized and hence, lack of these fats can cause dandruff.

Moreover, a diet that increases bad fats in the body encourages Dihydrotestosterone growth that makes hair loss quicker and faster. With a diet supplement of walnut, bad fats are replaced by good fats that reduce the level of hair fall. 

6. Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Walnuts contain rich amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and even phytosterols that are believed to delay type-2 diabetes. [7]

Besides their positive impacts on weight management, consuming walnuts can help in reducing the blood sugar level.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids affect the insulin sensitivity in the blood hence reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

In a study of 100 people with diabetes mellitus, two groups were formed. One group was given walnut oil for three months while the other group did not undergo any interventions.

Before the experiment, the fasting blood sugar of both groups was photographed. After the experiment, the group with walnuts in their diet showed a significant decrease in the fasting blood sugar level compared to the other group.

However, the two groups were not significantly different in their body weight. Hence, including walnuts in the diet may affect the glucose level in type 2 diabetic patients. [6]

Some of the best healthy foods are usually the ones that are not advertised and are rarely known. Walnuts, although remains underrated, are one of the healthiest food sources that mankind has known since forever.

So for your next diet plan, go walnuts and enjoy this sweet mixture of taste and nutrition. 

 FAQs 

1. How many walnuts should you eat in a day?

A. A handful of walnuts can help you gain the essential nutrients for your body, however, we tend to skip or forget them in between our hectic schedules. To make it a habit, you can have six-seven walnuts a day!

2. What is the best time to eat walnuts?

A. Our experts say that you can add walnuts in your everyday breakfast. Eating them in the morning shows greater results in regulating the blood pressure. However, you can munch them in between your work hours too!

3. What are the side effects of eating walnuts?

A. While the wonder nuts are blessed with the most amazing nutrients, there may be a few side-effects that you can watch out for! If consumed in excess, the dietary fibre in them may cause gastrointestinal issues, diarrhoea etc.

As nuts are known to cause allergies, some people may face allergic reactions like anaphylaxis due to these nuts. If you face any itching, swelling or breathing issue, it is advisory to consult a doctor. 

Moreover, eating walnuts in excess can also contribute to weight gain. To combat this, you can include walnuts in your recipes rather than just having the nuts by themselves. This will let you maintain a balance of walnuts in your diet,

3. Are walnuts good for diabetics?

A. Walnuts are found to be helpful in type 2 diabetes patients. The nuts can build a resistance for insulin hence it helps in maintaining a low blood sugar level. Also, their low glycaemic index is ideal for diabetes-friendly diets. 

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