A few tips on healthy eating

If your aim is to lose weight and also enhance your all round well-being, among other things you really should follow a thoughtfully planned healthy-minded dietary regime. In a perfect world, this ought to include five helpings of grains and vegetables every day and take in the right proportion of nutrients.

Some reduced carbohydrate diet tips:
* Use low carb chocolate for cookies and muffins. If you have gone to the trouble of converting your most popular chocolate chip cookie or chocolate muffins recipe using soy flour, you really don't want to mix in those high carbohydrate sugar-rich chocolate. Chop up a reduced carbohydrate chocolate bar into tiny pieces and use that in its place.

* Know what is in your food Watch out for the food label that boasts to be 'low carb' - check the real nutritional information on the reverse of the can or package. Some are only slightly decreased and in some instances still higher than a competitors normal brand. Also, beware of 'low sugar' and 'low fat' labels - 'low sugar' doesn't always mean 'low carb' - often the carbs are exactly the same.

Foods containing allyl sulfides
( includes pickled shallots, leeks and spring onions)

The onion, leek and garlic family of foods is rich in allyl sulphides, a chemical which experts believe might be linked to a reduced risk of stomach and colon cancer.
Even though there is not much scientific proof at hand, allyl sulfides are also believed to aid in antiinflammatory effect, arteriosclerosis and physical exhaustion.

Foods containing allyl sulfides also have a low calorie count, so should be included in your weight loss program.