Every year, a few new superfoods make their way into our kitchens and our recipes. While coconut oil, chia seeds and kale may have been the stars of years past, the following newcomers are finding their way into our healthy eating palates and are becoming more widely available.

1. Kefir

On the heels of what I am calling, the “year of the gut,” kefir sits at the top of the list for superfood for gut and overall health. Used initially by the people of the Northern Caucasus mountains, kefir grains were thought to be blessed and were used to mix with milk or water as the nomads of this region traveled from place to place. Kefir, usually a fermented dairy drink, spread in popularity through Eastern Europe, with stories of the fabled drink healing everything from tuberculosis to stomach disease. It was used extensively in the hospitals of Eastern Europe and Russia to heal the sick.

2. Kombucha

Another new star is kombucha, a fermented black tea originally from China. The first recorded use of kombucha was in 221 BC. It then traveled to Japan and spread to India and Eastern Europe. Kombucha was first made using a “mother” colony of bacteria from a mushroom, and then allowed to ferment and brew over time. The combination of sugar, tea and water was allowed to ferment resulting in a fizzy, bacteria laden drink, rich in good bacteria and high in glucaric acid.

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The Paleo Diet is based on eating like our ancestors ate, back when they were still hunting and gathering. It eliminates foods that weren’t around back then, which makes sense since we’ve certainly taken some steps in the wrong direction in the past many thousand years when it comes to the foods we eat. (I’m looking at you, neon-orange cheese powder and doughnut cheeseburgers.)

With that in mind, here are 5 Paleo Diet principles worth following to help you eat better in our modern world.

Cut Out Processed Foods: People eating a Paleo-style diet don’t eat many foods that come out of a package. Limit foods like pretzels, chips, ice cream, sugary cereals and other not-so-good-for-you foods. This will help you cut down on your intake of refined grains (which have been stripped of beneficial fiber), as well as added sugar and sodium.

Eat Wild-Caught Seafood and Grass-Fed Meats: Our long-ago ancestors didn’t eat meats and seafood that came from an industrialized farming system. For that reason, the Paleo Diet emphasizes purchasing animal protein that has been raised sustainably. Not only is that better for the environment, but it may be better for you as well. Grass-fed beef has more omega-3 fatty acids than beef from cows fed corn and soy feed.

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We would all love to consistently have a perfectly healthy diet, but life often seems to get in the way and we are quick to forget our commitment to improving our diet.

Maybe you’ve set ambitious healthy eating goals in the past and you know how overwhelming it can be. But eating healthy is certainly not about being perfect. Most people tend to get much better results when they start small and make incremental changes to their current diet.

Here are five ways you can start eating healthier even when you’ve failed before.

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The best kind of sugar for the body is either contained in fruits as pectin or organic honey and organic maple syrup. Pectin is the natural fiber found primarily in citrus fruits and apples, and it binds to cholesterol, helping flush it from the blood. You could lower your bad cholesterol by as much as 10 percent in just six weeks by simply eating organic apples. On the other hand, the worst kind of sugar is that which is refined, processed and comes from genetically modified corn. This sugar is unusable by the body and can cause cancer and diabetes, among other major health detriment.

Yet, even worse than GMO high-fructose corn syrup (bug killer) and refined, bleached white, processed sugar are artificial sweeteners, which are synthetic (lab-made), toxic and cause cancer in animals. Most humans cannot digest artificial sweeteners, and thus the digestive tract becomes confused and irritated, as do the organs, the heart and the brain. The central nervous system of humans is also not formulated to process the overload of toxins that most people pour into their bodies on a regular basis, especially when it comes tofake food that tastes sweet. It’s sweet misery, and nobody wants to suffer the consequences.

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Omega 3 fatty acids are the equivalent of nutritional gold.If you’re looking for some plant-based sources of Omega 3s, be sure to check out the following 17 vegan food sources, not in any particular order due to portion size variation and variations in measuring different food types:

Flax Seeds– One ounce of flax seeds contains 6388mg of Omega 3 fatty acids.

Chia Seeds—One ounce of chia seeds contains 4915mg of Omega 3s.

Hemp Seeds– One ounce of hemp seeds provides 1100 of Omega 3s.

Spinach—One cup of cooked spinach has 352 mg of Omega 3s.

Winter Squash—One cup of cooked squash contains 338 mg of Omega 3s.

Cauliflower—One cup of cooked cauliflower contains 208 mg Omega 3s.

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When shopping for olive oil, consumers are faced with a wide range of options. Multiple brands vie for attention through bottle and label design, brand building, and marketing claims. Here is what you need to know.

1. Choosing the right type of olive oil depends on how much flavor is needed, what the cooking usage will be, and the available budget. It also helps to understand the classifications and common marketing terms used on olive oil labels.

2. “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” (EVOO) is the most flavorful and the healthiest olive oil, because it is naturally produced without heat or chemicals. It retains healthy antioxidants from the olives. The range of flavors is very broad, similar to wines. The oil may be strong and peppery, mild and buttery, or anywhere in between. The natural variations result in a wide smoke point range, from about 350 degrees Fahrenheit to about 410 degrees Fahrenheit. This range is high enough for most at-home cooking.

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How many times have you sworn on everything you’ve ever owned that you would stop binging on the weekends, never have a dessert again, and this time, for real, end emotional eating for good?

Why is it so hard to let go of emotional eating, even when we don’t want to, we wish we wouldn’t, and we know it’s not serving us?

Because the hard truth and the one thing you need to know is this:

Putting down the food is hard.

Like really hard.

That’s not to say it isn’t possible. And it’s not to say that it isn’t worth putting in the effort.

It absolutely, positively, without a doubt, is worth it.

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You put in the time and effort, show up at the gym, and pride yourself in not taking shortcuts. So why is the scale not budging? Chances are, poor exercise form or bad workout habits are costing you precious calories. Fitness experts reveal the most common ways people cheat at their workouts without even realizing it, and offer ways to kick those saboteurs to the curb.

You’re a swinger

Momentum comes in handy when you’re attempting a long jump, but not if you’re lifting weights. Each exercise involves two phases: a concentric (contracting) move and an eccentric (stretch) phase. “Building momentum by swinging your arms when doing a move like a bicep curl or a tricep push-down sacrifices results by not controlling the eccentric phase, and also increases your risk of injury,” says Irv Rubenstein, PhD, exercise physiologist and founder of STEPS Fitness, a science-based fitness facility in Nashville, Tenn. Practice a two-second count on the concentric move and four to five count on the eccentric.

You hold on for dear life

Grasping the sidebars when walking on the treadmill or hanging on tight to the handles of the elliptical trainer cheats you out of the largest possible calorie burn, says Rubenstein. “In addition, if you’re using your arms to make it easier on your legs, you’ll tire faster, because your arms can’t work as hard as your legs,” he says. Instead, use the rails only as a guide, keeping your fingertips lightly on them. If you find it impossible to maintain proper form without clutching the bars, try lowering the incline or slowing down your pace.

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The mystery behind skyrocketing rates of Celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and other wheat-related illnesses may not have anything to do with wheat or even gluten, but rather the process by which conventional American wheat is grown and harvested.

Unbeknownst to most consumers is the fact that just before harvest, a vast majority of conventional wheat grown in the U.S. is doused in Roundup herbicide, which ends up poisoning your favorite breads, cereals, cakes, and pastries.

Many conventional wheat farmers in America, driven by greed and carelessness, flood their wheat crops with Roundup just before harvest in order to slightly boost yields and reduce harvest time. But the end result is Roundup being absorbed directly into the wheat kernels that end up processed on your dinner plate.

The Healthy Home Economist‘s Sarah Pope explains in a recent article how the pre-harvest application of Roundup is used to dry conventional wheat and make it easier to harvest. This process helps wheat crops release their seeds more quickly, resulting in moderately higher yields.

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“I know what to do; I just have to do it.” Have you heard yourself say this time and time again? Do you really know what to do?

How many times have you tried the same commercial diet plan because of the actress touting her success, the registration is free, you’ll receive a free giveaway, or there’s a discount on packaged food? The odds are your dedication to that diet plan was short-lived because it was born from commercialism. How many times have you revisited the same diet program and each time you started, you were a little heavier? Common sense is the best approach to sustained weight loss and optimal health, yet it’s the method least used.

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http://lowcarbmag.com/10-step-weigh-to-a-healthy-body/