Pineapple and cellulite

It's summer time! And, it's time for pineapple. Of course, you can eat pineapple any time of year, and that's great 'cause I LOVE pineapple. Actually, I love it now even more when I found out how good it is for preventing and reducing cellulite.

So, what is so good about pineapple?

• preventing and reducing cellulite

It's recommended to eat pineapple after a meal, especially after a meal rich with proteins, as pineapple helps digesting proteins.
Pineapple consists of more than 86% of water and contains many potassium, it helps extracting fluids from tissue, and along with liquid the toxins which cause lumps and speeds cellulite accumulation.

• antioxidant protection and immune support

Pineapple is full of vitamins that are essential for the immune system.

• strengthens bones

Pineapples are rich in manganese (trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues). Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese.

Nutrients in pineapple (in 155 grams):

• manganese > 128 % of daily value
• vitamin C > 40 %
  
• vitamin B1 (thiamine) > 10 %
  
• copper > 10 % (approx.)
• dietary fiber > 8 %
• vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) > 7 %

It is best to eat a fresh pineapple, but a canned one will do also, just make sure there's no sugar added.

Grape and wine

The grape as cellulite fighting food:

• low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium
• high in vitamin C, vitamin K and minerals
  
• acts as diuretic
• cleanses your body of toxins
• contains antioxidants - protects the skin
• contains silica - tightens the skin
• contains flavonoids - phytonutrients that appear to decrease the risk of heart disease

The nutritional value and health benefits of grapes:

• weight loss
• anti-aging agent resveratrol
  
• maintaining optimum health
• protection against heart disease
• lowers cholesterol
• enhances women's health - reduces the size of estrogen dependent breast cancer tumors
• may lower risk of Alzheimer's disease - ingredient resveratrol is responsible for that
• anti-aging agent
• anti microbial agent
• protective against food-borne illness
• concord grape juice is ranked among the highest in antioxidant activity - other high scoring include apple, cranberry and grapefruit juice

The "French paradox"
Grapes and products made from grapes, such as wine and grape juice, may protect the French from their high-fat diets. Diets high in saturated fats like butter and lard, and lifestyle habits like smoking are risk factors for heart disease. Yet, French people with these habits have a lower risk of heart attack than Americans do. One clue that may help explain this "French paradox" is their frequent consumption of grapes and red wines.

Celery and cellulite

Celery as cellulite fighting food.

• low in saturated fat and cholesterol
• high in dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, manganese, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus
• high in salt
  
• cleanses your body from toxins
• improves skin tones
• when you eat celery, you burn more calories than you actually consume

Health Benefits

• Support the immune system
• Potential blood pressure benefits
• Cholesterol-lowering
  
• Diuretic activity - helping to rid the body of excess fluid
• Promote optimal health - prevents free radicals from damaging cells

You can eat it raw, added to a salad or to a drink - mixed together with apple, carrot and lemon.
The nutritional value and health benefits of celery makes it ideal for maintaining optimum health and weight loss.

When selecting celery look for straight rigid stalks that snap when bent and leaves that show no sign of wilting.

Yogurt

Yogurt as cellulite fighting food:

• active milk ferments are cleansing the body out of toxins, and prevent its accumulation
• low in calories
• excellent for breakfast, or with salad
• very good source of calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin or vitamin B2, iodine, vitamin B12, vitamin B5, zinc, potassium, protein and molybdenum
• some yogurts contain live bacteria that are very beneficial for our health
  

Health benefits of yogurt:

• significantly increases fat loss
• In just 3 months, 16 obese men and women on a reduced calorie diet that included three daily portions of yogurt lost 61% more fat and 81% more abdominal fat than 18 obese subjects assigned to a diet with the same number of calories but little or no dairy products and low amounts of calcium.
• Not only did those in the yogurt group lose more fat, especially around their waistlines, but they also retained more lean, muscle tissue than subjects on the yogurt-free diet.
• adding one or two servings of yogurt to your daily diet can help you maximize loss of fat and minimize loss of muscle-the optimal outcome for any diet
• lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL cholesterol
• lowers body fat (by consuming calcium rich foods, including yogurt) - if you're tyring to lose weight, especially around the midsection, eating more calcium-rich foods, especially low fat dairy foods such as cow's milk, yogurt and kefir, may really help
• boosts the body's fat burning after a meal - after 1 year of calcium diet, fat oxidation (burning) was 20 times higher in women eating the high calcium diet compared to those in the low-calcium control group (0.10 vs. 0.06 gram per minute).
• prolongs life - yogurt that contains live bacterial cultures may help you to live longer, and may fortify your immune system
• boosts immune response
• boosts the body's ability to build bone
• helps preventing and healing arthritis
• protects against ulcers
• reduces risk of colorectal cancer

Tips:

• choose yogurts that contain live cultures
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermopholis are the lactic acid bacteria usually used to make yogurt in the United States

Few ways to enjoy yogurt:

• top your daily cup of yogurt with a quarter-cup of granola, a handful of nuts, and some frozen berries or dried fruit for a quick, delicious and sustaining breakfast
• creamy yogurt, chives, and freshly ground sea salt and pepper make a great topping for baked potatoes, yams or other cooked vegetables
• for a creamy salad dressing or vegetable dip, just mix a cup of yogurt with a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil and your favorite herbs and spices