Rice Diet at Home

Diet, as a primary way to treat diseases has been used since 1939. The Rice Diet has helped in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, renal disease, and other illnesses. The rice diet can also be used to reduce weight. It also detoxifies the body by getting rid of excess water weight and toxins from food and environment.

The Rice Diet Program in Durham, North Carolina, was one of the first medical facilities in America to use diet as the primary way to treat diseases like obesity, diabetics and hypertension. Rice diet is primarily a vegetarian eating plan which features high-complex carbohydrates, low fat and low-sodium. People who follow rice diet program lose weight faster, safely, and effectively than any other people who follow other diet programs.

Phases in Rice Diet:

There are two phases in Rice Diet:

Rice Diet Phase I

The phase 1 program includes grains and fruits. Medical supervision is mandatory and hence it is recommended to do the same at medical centers rather than at home. The rice diet food list for phase 1 includes lean cut beef, cheese, eggs, lamb, pork, seafood, vegetables, oil, veal, tofu, nuts, and dairy.

Rice Diet Phase II

This phase includes vegetables, beans and other carbohydrates, in addition to grains and fruit. You can have fish once in a week. Meals can also be taken. Vegetarian eating habits are prescribed until you attain your goals. Non-fat dairy products, fish and lean meats can be used depending upon one’s physical condition. The rice diet food list for phase 2 includes fruits, dairy, vegetables and legumes, and starch (controlled).

Working

The Rice Diet limits salt and sodium-rich ingredients. Reduction in salt intake cause loses in water weight and you are less inclined to overeat. The main source of nutrition in rice diet is carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. Saturated fats and sodium are limited. The Rice Diet Solution includes hundreds of tasty, filling, easy-to-prepare recipes.

Keep in mind that the end result of rice diet program purely depends on how well an individual follows the diet recommendations. Hence make sure that you follow it correctly.

Lack of Vitamin D Raises Hypertension Risk

(NaturalNews) The trail of vitamin D's health benefits just keeps getting longer and longer. In the past few months alone, numerous studies have been published suggesting vitamin D has protective and beneficial effects against bone disease, heart problems, Parkinson's disease and overall mortality. Recently, another study published in the journal Hypertension has linked low levels of vitamin D in the blood with a higher risk of getting hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Details and Findings of Study

Previous studies had already suggested that a link between low levels of vitamin D in the blood and hypertension existed. Definitive data in the form of prospective studies, however, had been somewhat limited. The said study followed some 1,484 women from the Nurses' Health Study II. The study subjects did not have hypertension at its commencement, and the women were aged from 32 to 52 years, with their average age being about 43 years.

After having accounted for a series of factors which could affect blood pressure, including age, race, body mass index, level of physical activity, family history of the disease, use of oral contraceptives, as well as blood levels of calcium and phosphorous, the study team found that women with lower levels of vitamin D had much higher incidence of hypertension.

Women who ranked in the lowest quartile for blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, had a 66% higher risk of having high blood pressure, as compared to those in the highest quartile. The median 25(OH)D blood levels were also lower in hypertension sufferers (25.6 ng/mL) as compared with those who did not have the condition (27.3 ng/mL).

All in all, almost two thirds, or 65.7% of the women, were found to be deficient in vitamin D (less than 30.0 ng /mL). That, in itself, is quite a startling statistic. Perhaps nurses spend the majority of their days indoors, away from the health-promoting rays of the sun. And it was found that those deficient in the vitamin were 47% likelier to develop high blood pressure than those who had enough of it.

"Given that 65.7 percent of women were vitamin D deficient, the population risk attributable to vitamin D deficiency is 4.53 new cases of high blood pressure per 1000 young women annually. If this association is causal, then vitamin D deficiency may account for 23.7 percent of all new cases of high blood pressure developing among young women every year," wrote the study team, comprising Dr John P Forman and his colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Bottom line

As mentioned at the start of this article, knowledge of vitamin D's health benefits just keeps increasing. As far as lowering blood pressure is concerned, it is still unclear if vitamin D supplementation would do the trick, something which the study team has asked future research to look into. In meantime, most of us are well aware of the health benefits of the vitamin D which our bodies create on their own, a process which is only possible if we allow the sun's life-giving rays to touch our naked and unblocked skin.