MedicalToday

Dumping pasta and bread from your diet could help relieve indigestion, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina. Scientists report that within four days of initiating a low-carb diet, patients experienced a 44% reduction in the severity of heartburn. What’s more, the painful acid in each subject’s esophagus decreased by 60%.

If you want to control your waistline and eat your way to better health, here are 10 things you need to do—starting today.

1 PRETEND YOU’RE A TAILOR.

Measure everything—your neck, chest, waist, arms, thighs, calves. Write it all down, and put it someplace where you’ll have to look at it every day. Record your weight, too, although that’s less important.

Your goal: Maintain or reduce the size of your waist while increasing the size of everything else. Repeat your measurements every 4 weeks.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 tinned sliced peaches
• 2tbs sultanas
• 1tsp curry powder
• 1tsp chicken stock
• 125ml water
• 2tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2tsp brown sugar
• 2tsp oat bran

Method
1. Gently simmer peaches, curry powder, stock and sultanas in water
2. Add oat bran to thicken
3. Flatten chicken breast with meat hammer
4. Place filling onto flattened chicken breast and roll
5. Place rolls in foil and cover with remaining fruit, sugar and balsamic vinegar
6. Place on braai for 8 – 12 minutes

Start your day with breakfast.
Breakfast fills your “empty tank” to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night’s pizza!

Fiber, which is found in all plant-based foods, is composed of a group of compounds that makes up the framework of plants. Although fiber cannot be digested, it is an essential nutrient for good health. The health benefits of a diet rich in fiber include lower cholesterol and a reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Also referred to as roughage, fiber is made up of many compounds, mostly carbohydrates. It can be found in a variety of foods, including wheat, potatoes, and certain fruits and vegetables. Although the recommended amount of fiber is 20 to 35 grams a day, the average American consumes only 12 to 15 grams on a daily basis. Asians, on average, consume three times as much fiber as Americans do.