Most of us have experienced a muscle cramp, at least once in our lifetime. And everyone will accept, this pain is not less than a thousand needles piercing through. The excruciating pain can leave you cringing for several minutes and leave you motionless for a while.

There are several reasons that cause your muscles to strain in such a way and these include wrong exercise practices, dehydration, diabetes, etc. But the consumption of the right type of foods will indubitable rest and relief from muscle cramps in the long run.

Quinoa: Quinoa is a type of grain that is very similar to rice and has gained popularity in these recent years, for all the right reasons. To be cooked and eaten in a way that is very similar to rice, quinoa contains loads of magnesium that is good for your muscles.

Bananas: Bananas come packed with potassium and this mineral a good source that strengthens your muscular function. Potassium supplements may lead to an overdose which is not good and getting this mineral through natural foods it better. Foods such as sweet potatoes and melons too can lend your body good amounts of potassium.

Dairy: Dairy products such as milk, low-fat yogurt, cream, etc give your body good amounts of calcium. Calcium keeps your muscles from contracting. Moreover, calcium deficiency can cause muscle spasm that leads to the muscles getting cramped. Having a glass of milk or consuming yogurt during breakfast can leave you with enough amount of calcium. Other foods that give you calcium include leafy vegetable and sardines.

Celery: Celery is known to have numerous health benefits. This food provides your body with a good source of sodium that maintains normal fluid balance in the body. Your body does need salt after a workout, this is because it loses a lot while you sweat. It is necessary that you replenish this loss equal amounts of sodium. Celery gives your body the requisite amount naturally.

Oatmeal: Oatmeal is a good source of magnesium. Adding this to our breakfast meal will relax your muscles and keep your stomach full at the same time. Whole-wheat preparations such as bread and pasta too are good sources of magnesium.

Beans: Beans are yet another food source that will provide your body with a bountiful of magnesium. Include beans in your daily diet and the magnesium will prevent muscle twitches and painful cramps.

These are a few food that you should include in your diet in order to free away from muscle cramps.

IBS is a chronic condition that affects a large number of people. The disorder is caused by trouble with the normal functioning of large intestine or pain with bowel habits. And although not a life threatening disease, it does lead to a lot of discomforts and disrupts the way an individual continues to live life.
Any individual, at any stage in life, can be at the receiving end of this bowel syndrome, however, there are certain people who are at a higher risk. Younger people in their teens, going up to the age of 40, females, persons with mental illness are more likely to suffer from IBS.

The causes of IBS are not very well defined and it is no doubt that the food one consumes can an added effect on the condition, Here are a few foods that are likely to trigger IBS symptoms and one should try and keep away.

Insoluble fiber food – Consumption of fiber is necessary to keep your gut healthy and your bowels clean. However, too much of fiber in one’s system can lead to the constant need to visit the toilet. For this reason, consuming soluble fiber is a better idea. Avoid or decrease the intake of foods such as bell peppers, eggplant, celery, etc.

Gluten – A lot of people are allergic to gluten. An ingestion of gluten can worsen the condition of a person suffering from IBS. Moreover, with a large number of gluten foods crowding the market, people are consuming it in larger quantities. You can try and substitute your food with gluten-free products.

Oily food – Oil is one of the most common offenders. It can be especially found in fried foods that most people find irresistible. The fat content in this kind of foods can be very hard for the system to process and can thereby, worsen the symptoms of IBS.

Dairy foods – Dairy comes with lactose, something that a lot of people’s digestive system may be intolerant towards. Moreover, it can trigger an increase in diarrhea. For these reasons, it may be advisable to cut down on or stay away from milk products. However, do contact you doctor who will be able to help you with a substitute.

The symptoms will vary from person to person and the food that can aggravate symptoms too will vary. Thus, one should be vigilant and try and detect the food that causes the onset of symptoms in him/her.

Your clothes feel tight when you have fat accumulated in your mid-section. Not only does it look awkward, but it is also not healthy. Lack of exercise and eating unhealthy food is the main cause of belly fat. Abdominal fat can lead to serious health conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and colorectal cancer. Generally when you start working out to lose weight, fat around your belly is the last one to burn. If you really want to lose your belly fat fast, you need to follow diet plans that work. Do not skip your breakfast and start starving because starving will only make you eat more.

Count your calorie intake:
The first step in your fat-burning program is limiting your calorie intake. If you start to take 500 calories less every day in your diet, you will lose 1 pound a week. To find out how many calories you need for your ideal weight, you need to multiply your body weight by 15 if you are an active man, and multiply it by 12 if you are an active woman. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, multiply the body weight by 13 for men and multiply by 10 for women. The answer will be your ideal calorie intake.

Have a healthy breakfast:
Protein is good for you when you want to lose weight. According to a study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, protein makes you feel full. So when you eat protein for breakfast, you are less likely to eat unhealthy snacks later in the day. Start the day with a healthy breakfast. It can be something like a ham, omelet, low-fat Greek yogurt with berries and almonds, two pieces of lean bacon grilled with tortilla, or a protein shake with two servings of fruits.

Ensure a protein-packed lunch:
Your lunch should also be packed with protein. The main portion of your lunch can be canned tuna, cottage cheese, salmon, or turkey. Depending on your calorie intake, select your protein. If your calorie intake is low, go for a protein salad and a soup for lunch and if you exercise regularly, and if your calorie intake is more, take your protein along with a wrap or a bagel and mixed nuts.

Opt for a healthy dinner:
Your dinner can have complex carbohydrates along with protein and healthy fats. You can choose to have a shrimp and avocado rice bowl or a vegetarian pizza with a crust made with whole wheat flour. You can make your dinner interesting as long as you keep your recipe according to your diet plan.

Snacks:
Choose no-sugar low-fat snacks to eat between your meals. Some of the healthy snacks include low-fat cottage cheese, raw nuts, pre-cooked meat, low carb protein bars, and others.
Along with a balanced diet, you also need to work out to burn fat accumulated around your tummy.

Stomach bloating is a condition that is characterized by the stomach being filled with gas. It is sometimes known as flatulence and can cause a lot of discomfort. Although it might be associated with stomach infections, it is not always the case. The bloating could be escalated by a variety of factors that an individual can submit him or herself into.

Treating this condition requires strong anti-acids that will neutralize the gas and make you feel better than before. Opting for foods to stop bloating are the best option since besides just stopping the bloating, you will also get nutrients to help you make your body healthy. Check out some of the food items that can help you stop bloating

Kiwi fruit
This is a South Asian fruit that is normally used in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. It is known to work by stopping the reactions that produce gas. This way you will be able to feel good with the first few bites of the fruit. Kiwi fruit can be found easily in any fruit mart and is very beneficial when it comes to eliminating flatulence.

Peppermint tea
For decades, the product has been used to treat digestion problems and stomach pains. It is known to make people feel better whenever they take this tea. The bloating disappears and you feel fresh and sound. To ensure that you have the best outcomes, you should use it regularly and in large quantities.

Turmeric
This spice is known to heal stomach upsets and pains. It can also be used in the treatment of stomach bloating. You must use it in the right dosages for it to work efficiently. It has anti-inflammatory effects that will make sure your stomach heals from the disease. Whether it is indigestion or stomach bloating, they can all be eliminated with turmeric. Turmeric is clean, and efficient in functioning. If you have diarrhea, make sure that it is treated first before looking at any remedy for bloating. Foods to stop bloating are many, but this one is a must-have.

Bananas
Bananas, if eaten routinely, they cleanse your stomach and intestine, thereby keeping you free from gas. So the next time you go fruit-shopping, ensure you pick up some bananas as well, which falls in the category of foods to stop bloating.

The bottom line is that you can combine these kinds of foods so that you get enhanced results. In case you have excessive bloating problems, get a scan to determine what the problem could be. Knowing the perfect causative agents is what will aid in the right treatment of stomach bloating.

The sedentary lifestyle of 21st century, where everything is at our fingertips (literally) is turning us into a passive workaholics seated in our office chairs undergoing minimal body stress. The eating habits so developed are unhealthy to the extent that we have started facing old age ailments that were normally a thing of late forties and fifties

Fast food which is junk food on the go has an abundance of trans fat and very low amount of fiber, which is unhealthy for the body. To make matters worse, people who are not active enough and eat junk food on a daily basis, are probably more prone to have arteries deposited with high amounts of cholesterol, making them vulnerable to high blood pressure and strokes.

Having a low fiber diet exposes one to bodily problems like; poor digestive health as the food they are consuming is already processed, it leaves minimum effort for the stomach to process it further, which makes it weaker. This further leads to constipation, diverticular disease and even hemorrhoids.

A Low fiber diet is an invitation to cardiovascular diseases. Junk food which has higher level of LDL cholesterol deposits in inner lining of the arteries decreasing its circumference and making it difficult for your heart to pump blood. This increases the blood pressure of the body and puts it under the risk of heart diseases.

A diet that has irregular food clock hours, high in trans-fat and very minimal amount of fiber does not fulfill the satiety which makes you feel hungry even after you had a five hundred ounce burger. This in turn results in eating more, which increases your weight in an unhealthy.

Hence, it is advisable that you include high fiber snacks in your daily diet which will keep you full for longer hours. High fiber snacks are a great source of poly-saturated and mono-saturated fats which are good for the body. The unsaturated fats (mono-saturated or poly-saturated) help regulate the cholesterol in the body. It eases inflammation and regulates heart beat rhythms. Including high fiber snacks added with proteinaceous diet in your daily food cycle increases the muscle retention of your body which leaves little or no room for fatty tissue, eventually helping you getting rid of it. One of the main reasons athletes stick to a high fiber diet is that, it helps in muscle growth and hence increases the stamina. Thus, including high fiber foods in your daily diet is a healthy option and can do more good to your body than you can think.

The one word that makes all the difference in our game to fight weight loss, is calories. We’ve organized a plan for you, which can make you fix the calorie chart that torments your diet plan. Free diet meal plans are a great way to bring down your calorie consumption to 1200 calories, the lowest one can manage in a day.

Breakfast: You need a truck load of energy to progress in the day, and what better than a glass of fresh juice? 1 cup of orange juice, ½ cup oatmeal, 1 cup low fat yogurt and black coffee or herbal tea. This is just the combination you need to begin your day, with the healthiest items you’ll find in any diet freak’s kitchen. A slice of whole wheat toast greased with a tablespoon of butter. ½ cup canned fruit cocktail, which is a fruit salad with juice. A cup of trim milk can be another alternative to your breakfast menu. You can choose to alternate between the two.

Snack: Who said dieting is boring when you can have delicious and colorful foods, and treats in a snack. In case your hesitant to go on with the smoothie every day, a medium sized banana should fill you equally.

Lunch: The meal of the day that you can cheat a little and also eat more than usual. But with this chart, the plan suggested would make you want to just follow this for the longest to come. Two slices of whole wheat bread, ½ cup tuna, a bowl of salad. Not just some vegetables together, but a smart blend of 1 tomato, ½ cucumber, 1 cup lettuce with a teaspoon of mayonnaise and ½ a tablespoon of olive oil. A salad is all about its dressings and the ingredients it holds to waver the hunger out of your stomach. 8 whole wheat crackers with ½ cup low fat cottage cheese, 6 ounces of mixed nuts, 1 medium apple, etc. can be an optional menu for days when you want to have a change.

Dinner: Meat is one of the most essential elements of a diet. 3.5 ounces of chicken breasts (boneless, and remember to take of the skin) that is grilled. 1 cup Broccoli, and ½ a cup cooked brown rice. This managed delight for a dinner would give you one of the best feelings ever. It is so light and yet filling. A small baked potato, 3 ounces of sirloin steak, ½ cup mushrooms, ¼ cup onions, 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil and a cup of mixed vegetables, could be an alternative choice for you.

Diverticula are small pouches that are present near the colon or large intestine. They usually bulge out of the colon. This condition is called as diverticulosis. It gets common as people age. Some common symptoms of diverticulosis are mild cramps, bloating, and constipation. The condition can get worse and diverticulosis can turn into diverticulitis. Diverticulitis is a modified condition of diverticulosis, in which the pouches become inflamed and infectious.

Most people don’t have the above-mentioned symptoms of diverticulosis which generally leads to diverticulitis. Hence, if a person experiences any of the above symptoms, he or she needs to begin to follow a specific diet before the condition worsens.

It is seen that a low fiber diet is linked to the cause of diverticulosis. The goal should be to cut back on low fiber diet and incorporate food which is high on fiber.

High fiber foods are the ones that consist of whole wheat, oat, bran, whole grain, cereal, vegetable fruits, and legumes.

You can begin to incorporate the above food by:

Replacing white bread and pasta with whole wheat ones. White bread and pasta are made of gram flour which, first of all, has minimal nutrients and is difficult for the large intestine to process. White bread and pasta takes longer time to process and digest and remains in our system for a longer period which is not a good sign if a person is suffering from diverticulosis.

It is advisable that you have at least two meals a week that contains legumes (instead of meat). Legumes includes beans, soy beans, peas, and lentils. They can be a decent substitute as they contain a certain amount protein. Consuming meat while suffering from diverticulosis can result in inflammation of the pouches that are developed near the colon. This is because digesting meat can take a longer time. The longer it remains in the system, the more harmful it is for the aforesaid condition.

Develop a habit of eating fruits with the skin. Fruits are easy to digest as most of them have high water content. Eating them without peeling off the skin increases the fibrous content which can be good for the condition.

Have vegetables with every meal or snacks in the form of salad. Drinking a broth of boiled vegetable is a healthy option.

Take enough fluids with every meal and in between, this will keep your digestive system hydrated at all times.

Losing weight is a big challenge. People in America have approximately spent over $60 billion on different diet plans to lose weight. But not every diet plan works. Diet plans that work for people to lose weight need to be designed by experienced nutritionists who know how to make a low-calorie diet that not only helps you lose weight but also doesn’t deprive you of nutrition. The diet plans that claim to make you lose weight fast comes at a cost. But if you cannot afford to register in those weight loss programs, then there are some diet plans that are available for free.

Exchange diet:
Exchange diet is a diet plan designed by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for people with diabetes. In this plan, food items are grouped based on the nutritional composition. Depending on the tastes, food items can be exchanged in each group. This diet plan also works for people who are desperate to lose weight. The plan teaches you how to limit calories and make healthy choices. The meal patterns are based on a 1200 and 1600 calorie diet. Also they have separate plans for Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians and Southern cuisine.

DASH Diet:
As per the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is considered to be one of the healthiest diets. This diet encourages eating food rich in fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and protein. Sources of such nutrition are vegetables, fruits, nonfat or low-fat dairy food, poultry, fish, seeds, nuts, beans, and whole grains. This diet is not specifically designed for weight loss. However, it is a low-calorie diet plan and works great for people who want to lose weight.

CaloriesCount.com
Go through this website if you want to learn how to diet sensibly. They have a lot of information on weight loss and also provide meal plans, recipes, and tips on exercises. You can plan your shopping by visiting the weekly meal plan section where you get to know what you need for the next one-week diet. You can count your calorie intake and calories burnt through the calorie calculator. This website is very helpful for people who are serious about weight loss.

ChooseMyPlate.gov:
This website is created by the US Department of Agriculture to help people eat better. The site has tools that help you lose weight and it also teaches you to eat healthily. It takes a step by step approach on the weight loss plan. It basically starts with focusing on what you are eating, then it offers tips on how to control your intake and make better food choices. You can also find daily food plan here to make things easy for you.

You really do not have to spend a hefty amount to understand how to eat and what to eat to lose weight. The above-discussed websites have health professionals who design meal plans, keeping the nutritional values and calorie requirements in view.