Advice on losing weight

If you enjoy your food, but want to become thin and also improve your overall physical condition, then, as most people know, you should follow a meticulously prepared wholesome dietary regime. Theoretically, this needs to involve 5 standard portions of grains, cereals and vegetables every day and also contain the optimum fusion of important nutrients.

Some lower carbohydrate diet guidlines:
* Eat regular meals Most low carb recipes are, you won't be surpised to learn, low in carbohydrates. Your body needs energy, and carbs are a highly efficient source of energy. A lower carbohydrate diet requires more care in monitoring you energy intake, as the energy provided by fat or protein is less efficient.

* Food labels can be misleading Watch out for food packaging that boasts to be 'low carb' - check the nutritional information on the back of the package. Many are only a little decreased and in some instances still greater than a competitors usual brand. Also, beware of 'low sugar' and 'low fat' labels - 'low sugar' doesn't always mean 'low carb' - usually the carbs are the same.

Foods containing lycopene
(includes apricots, red peppers & baby jackfruit)

Lycopene is a natural compound and one of the same family of phytochemicals as carotene. Lycopene is behind the red color of quite a few fruits and vegetables.

Usefully, unlike numerous nutritional compounds, it does not become less effective if cooked but is observably increased in efficacy by the cooking process.

. Lycoprene's main advantage is that it works as an antioxidant and is believed to be of use in the fight to lower the chances of developing cancer.

Lycopene is the strongest quencher of singlet oxygen, which is correlated with skin aging. It is also thought to impede the progression of diseases affecting arterial blood vessels.