Losing weight

In deciding on a meal plan, it is important to attempt to moderate your consumption of fats, refined carbohydrate and salt.

Some low carbohydrate diet guidlines:
* Replace sugar with splenda. Most recipes that require sugar can be modified to make use of a sugar replacement instead. It is not exactly the same so you will have to do a bit of trial and error and it might not be perfect for every dish, but it gives very good results once you get the measurements right.

* Food labels can be misleading Watch out for food packaging that claims to be 'low carb' - check the nutritional information figures on the back of the tin or packet. Many are only marginally decreased and in some cases still higher than a competitors standard brand. In addition, beware of 'low sugar' and 'low fat' labels - 'low sugar' does not always mean 'low carb' - usually the carbs are identically the same.

Lycopene super foods
(includes apricot, papaya & baby jackfruit)

The phytochemical lycopene is a non-synthetic compound used to color foods and member of the same group of phytochemicals as carotene. This chemical is accountable for the deep red colour of quite a few natural foods.

Fortunately, unlike numerous nutrients, it does not become less effective if cooked but is genuinely improved by the cooking process.

. Its most valuable health contribution is that it works as an antioxidant and appears to help lower the risks of cancer.

Lycopene is the most powerful carotenoid quencher of singlet oxygen, which is correlated with aging of the skin. It's also believed to curtail the development of diseases affecting arterial blood vessels.