The good and bad in tomatoes for your fat burning diet

Colorado has shorter growing seasons than most places, and our garden crop of berries is winding down, but ending with a bang. We’ve been choosing oodles of stunning big, luscious mature heritage tomatoes, and have so many it’s hard to know what to do together!

Tomatoes are regarded as a health food in most circles; famous for having abundant supplies of anti-oxidants like beta-carotene, folate, lycopene, potassium, vitamin C, and other flavonoids, as well as other nutrients. Lycopene has also been clinically proven to prevent or slow cancerous tumor development as well, helping to fight against lung, colon, stomach, breast, breast, and cervical cancers too.

Tomatoes contain other antioxidants too including beta-carotene, phytoene and phytofluene, that fight inflammation and ailments like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and arthritis. Their strong antioxidants also shield against elevated blood pressure, and help to reduce cholesterol, in addition to improving blood vessel health.

Tomatoes also protect against one of the leading causes of blindness, macular degeneration, in older people. When going through a review of your diet, remember the generous quantity of vitamin C in tomatoes slows down aging, and keeps skin looking young and wrinkle-free, as well as supplying nutrients which protect and help reconstruct strong bones.

All seems great, right? But can berries be awful for you in any manner?

Well it is dependent upon the quantity of berries you eat, and whether you are sensitive to nightshades. Although tomatoes arrive loaded with valuable nutrients, remember that they are a nightshade vegetable that can aggravate health conditions for some people.

Many credible medical establishments, such as the Cleveland Clinic, promote avoidance of nightshades to relieve arthritis pain and other inflammatory diseases. This study shows a positive connection between an improvement in arthritis symptoms and the removal of nightshades.

If you already struggle with allergies or food sensitivities, or even possess any kind of autoimmune or inflammatory disease, you must look closely at nightshades. Some nightshades can also exacerbate asthma and breathing problems as well.

Nightshades are a set of plants which are a portion of the Solanceae family. Many nightshades are extremely common–in actuality, most of us consume them daily. The major plants that we eat the majority of the are in the nightshade family contain berries, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. There are lots of others as well, but they’re usually not consumed in huge amounts by many people. The 4 listed above would be the nightshades most consumed in large quantities.

Nightshades are known to cause a form of inflammation by means of a compound known as “solanine” which may irritate the digestive tract, and even trigger breakdown in red blood cells. You will want to consider the pros and cons of consuming these before including too many in your diet. Nightshades can cause worsening of gout in a lot of people, in addition to exacerbating irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, heartburn, and other GI issues. Solanine is primarily found in potatoes, although the tomato edition of this is known as “tomatine”.

This alkaloid is focused in the green parts of the plant. As you would not consume the green leafy part of a tomato, green tomatoes, as in ‘fried green tomatoes’ contain more focused tomatine amounts. Tomatine and solanine alkaloids can irritate the gastrointestinal system and also affect brain neurotransmitters like acetylcholine.

Tomatoes may also worsen acid reflux and heartburn ailments in a lot of people and the seeds can be quite detrimental to individuals that tend toward diverticulitis (an inflammatory disease of the large intestine).

So while tomatoes can have plenty of health benefits if consumed in moderate amounts, should you just happen to have joint pain, arthritis or heartburn, it might be worth it to lay them off and the remainder of the nightshade family for a month or so to determine if they’re causing an issue for you, or worsening your symptoms. However, the nightshade family includes a whole lot of relatives, so its important make sure to include all of these if you’re going to prevent them.

Modern diets affect men and women differently

Place two people on a diet, and they’ll never (let’s repeat this: never) have the specific same results.

“One diet might be really good for a single individual, but very bad for someone else.”

This is especially true when it comes to men and women. Both sexes respond to diets very differently–and understandably so, considering the gaps in our bodies, namely in our hormones. (Read about how and why people experience weight loss differently here – the fat burning kitchen review.)

We asked the experts how each may affect people differently, to push you that much closer to locating a diet that works for your body.

The purpose of a ketogenic diet is to induce the body to run on fat, instead of carbohydrates, for vitality. How do you do this? You will eat a moderate amount of protein, however, limit carbs as much as you can–about 20 grams each day, which is much less than you will see in a banana. Eating this way shifts your body into a state of ketosis, in which the body breaks down fat to ketone bodies, a type of stand-in for carbohydrates.

It can take anywhere from weeks to months to change into ketosis and burn fat for fuel, and you’ll need to test your blood or urine vessels to know for certain.

As you can imagine, this diet is difficult for anybody to follow long-term, though men may have better luck. According to Layman, studies have indicated that a diet carbohydrate content is a large predictor of whether or not girls will stick with it, ” he states. The more carbs women are permitted, the more sustainable the diet–as any gal who’s scarfed down half a pizza after going low-carb can inform you.

But, there could be rewarding benefits for women struggling with hormonal issues, namely polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is frequently marked by insulin resistance and can result in a snowball weight gain, infertility, obesity, and diabetes. In one study of overweight women with PCOS, following a ketogenic diet for 24 weeks resulted in significant improvement in both weight and fasting glucose levels. “Because PCOS is driven by an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone, and high glucose levels, a decrease carbohydrate diet may help to create a more insulin-sensitive surroundings and enable the body to utilize proteins and fats such as fuel,” Smith-Ryan states.

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According to the researchers, however, the results of this study were similar to those of prior studies where women consumed up to 100 grams of carbohydrates per day, which qualifies as low-carb but not ketogenic–suggesting women with PCOS can improve their symptoms without needing to cut out fruit from their lives. A low-carb–although not severely low-carb–diet is usually recommended (and successful), says Layman.

Intermittent Fasting
By dividing days and weeks up into “fasting” and “feasting” intervals, intermittent fasting protocols (which exist in a number of forms, such as high and low-calorie days or only eating during certain hours, such as 12 to six P.M.), may promote weight loss by making it simpler for some dieters to reduce calories.

While more study is needed to know precisely how it works, research indicates that there could be benefits to intermittent fasting outside cutting calories, Layman says. For instance, a 2017 review in the National Institute on Agi has noted that fasting triggers physiological stress pathways, enhancing DNA repair and metabolic health. Furthermore, a review from Brazil notes that intermittent fasting can improve the blood lipid profile (lower triglyceride levels, specifically) and inflammatory responses of guys.

It is worth noting, though, that despite fasting’s possible health benefits, a 2017 JAMA Internal Medicine study found that it’s no better for weight loss than normal calorie-counting.

Though intermittent fasting might help some folks get rid of weight, it is not just easy to sustain. Case in point: one-third of the participants at that JAMA Internal Medicine study (mentioned above) dropped out.

And while giving up is an issue for both women and men, the psychology involved in fasting may pose another, more serious threat for women. If it comes right down to this, intermittent fasting is about “saving up” calories for later, a behavior that may lead to or worsen disordered eating. “Many women will punish themselves so they can indulge later,” says Layman–a behavior that’s much less prevalent in men. For that reason, he does not recommend anyone–male or female–with a background of body image and eating troubles attempt intermittent fasting. Considering 10 million American men and 20 million women will deal with an eating disorder at some point in their life, fasting might not be a risk worth taking–especially for women.

Rich in fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes–and devoid of dairy, legumes, processed foods, and refined sugars–Paleo is all about eating as closely as possible to the way our ancestors allegedly did. But since the diet does not consume calories or how much of each macronutrient (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) you are eating, the results are largely based upon on what you do eat while following the diet, Layman says. (For instance, eating a diet that’s Paleo based and that’s all fruit and nuts will affect your body otherwise than one filled with lean protein and vegetables, for instance) However, Paleo does offer one large benefit: a diet free of refined and processed sugars.

“Fifty-five percent of Americans’ calories come from carbohydrates, and approximately 90 percent of the carb calories come from carbohydrates. So if you give up eating fats, you probably get rid of weight,” Layman says.

For a lot of people, the Paleo diet will be quite meat-centric, and that may make it more appetizing to men, Layman says. After all, data shows that the typical man eats significantly more meat, poultry, and fish compared to the average girl.

That said, Paleo may be successful for men and women alike, as long as you can maintain a balanced diet following eliminating dairy, legumes, salt, processed foods, and processed sugars. But it is vital to be certain that you don’t lose out on the calcium and vitamin D that milk provides. (You can get calcium elsewhere, such as in dark leafy greens or sardines. Vitamin D may also be seen in mushrooms, especially those treated with UV lights.) Girls should meet with their doctor or a dietitian to make sure their intake of these two nutrients is still adequate while on a Paleo diet.

A pessimist’s manifesto

One may think that pessimism is widespread today. But just under the surface, everyone, on all sides, shares an optimism that progress isn’t just possible but probable. Everyone believes that after issues are identified, they can be solved, and in the time they will be. This myth of inevitable progress is our contemporary faith, and such as many faiths before it, it is a false faith created by deep human desires. Only the pessimist can see clearly the problems we confront, and at the same time realize that progress is not possible, and that our future, in many ways, is likely to be bleak. It is worse than you think.
Check back soon for an updated blog experience.