Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not yet tamed. Thus, he ate only those foods that you can eat without treatment with or by fire. He ate fruits, vegetables, fish (sushi anyone?), eggs, nuts and meat. Yes, even meat! You can even eat meat raw if you were starving in the forest. You have the necessary enzymes to digest meat.

However, rice, like wheat and corn, cannot be eaten raw. It must be cooked. Even if you were starving in the desert, you cannot eat rice in the raw form.. This is because we do not have the system of enzymes to break rice down. You were never meant to eat rice. To make matters worse, you not only eat rice, but also make it the bulk of your food.

In some parts of Asia , rice forms up to 85% of the plate. Even if you take rice, keep it to a minimum. Remember, it is only for your tongue – not your body. Actually, rice and other grains like wheat and corn are actually worse than sugar. There are many reasons:

Rice becomes sugar – lots of it!
This is a fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is chemically no different from sugar. One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar. This does not matter whether it is white, brown or herbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B vitamins and minerals but it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar. To get the same 10 teaspoons of sugar, you need to consume lots of kangkong-10 bowls of it.

Rice Turns Into Sugar During Digestion

Rice cannot be digested before it is thoroughly cooked. However, when thoroughly cooked, it becomes sugar and spikes circulating blood sugar within half an hour-almost as quickly as it would if you took a sugar candy. Rice is very low in the ‘rainbow of anti-oxidants. ‘

This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary for the effective and safe utilisation of sugar. Fruits come with a sugar called fructose. However, they are not empty calories as the fruit is packed with a whole host of other nutrients that help its proper assimilation and digestion.

Rice has no fibre.
The fibre of the kangkong fills you up long before your blood sugar spikes. This is because the fibre bulks and fills up your stomach. Since white rice has no fibre, you end up eating lots of ‘calorie dense’ food before you get filled up. Brown rice has more fibre but still the same amount of sugar.

Rice Is Rich With Sugar

There is only so much that you can eat at one sitting. How many teaspoons of sugar can you eat before you feel like throwing up? Could you imagine eating 10 teaspoons of sugar in one seating?
Rice is always the main part of the meal.
While sugar may fill your dessert or sweeten your coffee, it will never be the main part of any meal. You could eat maybe two to three teaspoons of sugar at one meal. However, you could easily eat the equal value of two to three bowls (20-30 teaspoons) of sugar in one meal. I am always amused when I see someone eat sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons of sugar) and then asks for tea tarik kurang manis!

There is no real ‘built in’ mechanism for us to prevent overeating of rice:
How much kangkong can you eat?
How much fried chic ken can you eat?
How much steamed fish can you eat?
Think about that!

In one seating, you cannot take lots of chic ken , fish or cucumber, but you can take lots of rice. Eating rice causes you to eat more salt. As rice is tasteless, you tend to consume more salt-another villain when it comes to high blood pressure. You tend to take more curry that has salt to help flavor rice. We also tend to consume more ketchup and soy sauce which are also rich in salt.

Less Consumption Of Water When Eating Rice

The more rice you eat, the less water you will drink as there is no mechanism to prevent the overeating of rice. Rice, wheat and corn come hidden in our daily food. As rice is tasteless, it tends to end up in other foods that substitute rice like rice flour, noodles and bread. We tend to eat the hidden forms which still get digested into sugar.

Poor Digestion Of Rice

Can’t eat raw rice? Try eating rice half cooked. Contrary to popular belief, rice is very difficult to digest. It is ‘heavy stuff’. If you have problems with digestion, try skipping rice for a few days. You will be amazed at how the problem will just go away.

Rice prevents the absorption of several vitamins and minerals.
Rice when ta ken in bulk will reduce the absorption of vital nutrients like zinc, iron and the B vitamins

Are you a rice addict? Going rice-less may not be easy but you can go rice-less. Eating less rice could be lot easier than you think. Here are some strategies that you can pursue in your quest to eat less rice:
Eat less rice-cut your rice by half.
Barry Sears, author of the Zone Diet, advises ‘eating rice like spice’. Instead, increase your fruits and vegetables. Take more lean meats and fish. You can even take more eggs and nuts.

No-Rich Meals

Take no rice or wheat at say, breakfast Go for eggs instead.

Go on ‘riceless’ days.
Go ‘western’ once a week.

Take no rice and breads for one day every week.
That can’t be too difficult. Appreciate the richness of your food. Go for taste, colours and smells. Make eating a culinary delight. Enjoy your food in the original flavours.

Avoid the salt shaker or ketchup.
You will automatically eat less rice.

Eat your fruit dessert before (Yes! No printing error) your meals.
The fibre rich fruits will ‘bulk up’ in your stomach. Thus, you will eat less rice and more fruits.

It’s your life. Decide what you want to eat! But eat less rice!

Image Credit : beccamorte (cc)

It is common to receive recommendation from your mother when you are expecting. One of them is to apply cocoa butter on your skin with the hope that your stretch marks will be gone. It is almost impossible not to have these reddish lines on your skin during your pregnancy because your weight will shoot up quickly.

Is cocoa butter good for stretch marks? Do me a favor and find out what people say about it at the pregnancy forums. Do you notice a lot of dissatisfaction among pregnant women?

You may assume slathering your bodies with this edible vegetable fat would make a big difference. But do you know that you may end up with rashes?

You definitely want to know why cocoa butter fails to get rid of stretch marks. Instead of believing the false information that have been flooding the Web, I think it is more reliable to see what skin care experts have to say about this topic.

Many dermatologists will tell you cocoa butter cannot penetrate deep below the surface of the skin. You know that stretch marks take place in the dermis. The supportive structure in the dermis is made of collagen and elastin. It begins to weaken when the skin cannot restore its shape after being stretched beyond its limit. If this natural vegetable fat cannot reach the dermis, how is it going to repair the damaged supporting fibers?

Skin repair within the dermis is only possible when your skin rebuilds the supporting matrix that consists of new collagen and elastin. And cocoa butter contains no collagen or elastin boosting ingredients that can strengthen the dermis again.

Check out the video below and listen to Dr Deborah Sarnoff, a dermatologist on her view about cocoa butter for stretch marks.

In some discussions, some claim that cocoa butter has helped them to get rid of their stretch marks. One possible answer is that they inherit a firm, elastic skin. Having been bestowed with strong elasticity, their stretch marks are either non-existent or not easily visible even after they have delivered their babies, spent considerable time pumping their muscles with weights, or gained a lot of weight. Well, not everyone will have such luck.

Is there any way to remove stretch marks? If you consult your dermatologist, the answer you will likely get is surgery. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee that your stretch marks will be gone completely. You also need to embrace a new scar from the surgery. The pain threshold can be high and the recovery period can last up to several months. Not forgetting the the bill, it can be costly which is out of the reach for most common people.

The frustration with cocoa butter is common. It does no good for your scars. You are wasting time and money if you hope to see miracles with it. If you still insist of using it, then don’t expect too much. The only benefit for your skin is that it is always hydrated.

If you want a reasonably priced and effective solution that may possibly get rid of these disgusting looking stretch marks by repairing the damaged dermis, then I highly recommend you check out the best stretch mark removal cream now.

Wondering How To Deal With Pregnancy Stretch Marks?

As a woman, you may feel that pregnancy is responsible for your stretch marks. It is a fact that most women would have these ugly tire threads on their skin during their pregnancy. You may assume all stretch marks are because of pregnancy. But it is not true. In fact, certain people get them because of sudden changes in weight, family history, hormonal changes and growth spurts during puberty. And stretch marks are not limited to women only.

During the third trimester of pregnancy, the belly will quickly expand, more than it did before. The size of your tummy swells incredibly as the baby increase in size and gets ready to enter the world.

Some say you are eating for two. It is wrong to think that you should eat for two people. Your baby does not need to eat as much as you do. Over eating will cause you to put on weight too fast. This will definitely make your stretch marks worse. Thus, it is not ideal to gain too much weight during pregnancy.

One way to manage your weight when you are pregnant is to eat healthy foods. It will stop your weight from ballooning up too high. Not only you need proper nutrition but your unborn child as well for optimal growth. So, does it make sense now to adopt healthy eating when you’re expecting?

Not only do you need to adapt to your body’s growing size, you also need to manage changes to your hormonal levels. These hormones soften your pelvic ligaments. This will ensure that you can deliver your baby with ease. Unfortunately, it adversely weakens your skin’s supporting structure. As the fibers in the dermis become weak, tearing can occur easily which leads to stretch marks.

It is a challenge to prevent pregnancy stretch marks. You can’t do much about hormones or genetics which are factors that determine whether you get them or not. What you can control is your weight and that you can do by eating wisely. Ask your doctors and I can bet they will tell you almost the same thing.

Most women will use stretch mark creams, hoping that these ugly streaks will never appear. Many different brands compete with each other as they try to convince you to buy their stretch mark solutions. They claim to improve the elasticity of your skin by providing nutrients that are essential for healthy skin. Will these skin care products work? The results will depend on certain factors such as the elasticity of your skin, skin type and body chemistry.

Although it is scary to know that the chances of getting stretch marks during pregnancy are high but you can still do something on your part to reduce its appearance. The consolation is that these unattractive streaks should fade on its own. If you are desperate and can afford it, there’s always the choice of surgery to remove them. How you want to deal with them ultimately is your decision.

If you want to learn more about the best pregnancy stretch mark cream, you can always visit http://www.stretchmarksbuster.com

Photo Credit:Image: Louisa Stokes / FreeDigitalPhotos.net