Month: June 2019

Mediterranean Diet Info Share

http://www.eatingwell.com/video/6951/eat-a-mediterranean-diet-to-help-reduce-hot-flashes/
See the source image
See the source image

One Day Of Mediterranean Diet Plan

Breakfast

Breakfast (280 calories)

• 1 serving Fig & Ricotta Toast
• 1 cup of coffee with 1/4 cup steamed milk

A.M. Snack

A.M. Snack (101 calories)

• 1 medium pear

Lunch

Lunch (371 calories)

• 1 serving Edamame & Chicken Greek Salad (2 3/4 cup)
• 1 clementine

P.M. Snack

P.M. Snack (177 calories)

• 1 4-inch whole-wheat pita bread, toasted
• 3 Tbsp. hummus drizzled with 1 tsp. olive oil

Dinner

Dinner (563 calories)

• 1 serving Dijon Salmon with Green Bean Pilaf
• 5 oz. glass of Pinot Noir, or Chardonnay

http://www.eatingwell.com/article/289833/1-day-mediterranean-diet-meal-plan/

    My Own Words

    Who Knew?

    There is a technical name for the “fear of long words”

    funniest facts

    It’s called “hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

    Mental health~DYK

    Intrusive thought

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    An intrusive thought is an unwelcome involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate.[1] When such thoughts are associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and sometimes attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the thoughts may become paralyzing, anxiety-provoking, or persistent. Intrusive thoughts may also be associated with episodic memory, unwanted worries or memories from OCD,[2] posttraumatic stress disorder, other anxiety disorders, eating disorders, or psychosis.[3] Intrusive thoughts, urges, and images are of inappropriate things at inappropriate times, and generally have aggressive, sexual, or blasphemous themes.[4]

    General

    Many people experience the type of bad or unwanted thoughts that people with more troubling intrusive thoughts have, but most people can dismiss these thoughts.[1] For most people, intrusive thoughts are a “fleeting annoyance”.[5] Psychologist Stanley Rachman presented a questionnaire to healthy college students and found that virtually all said they had these thoughts from time to time, including thoughts of sexual violence, sexual punishment, “unnatural” sex acts, painful sexual practices, blasphemous or obscene images, thoughts of harming elderly people or someone close to them, violence against animals or towards children, and impulsive or abusive outbursts or utterances.[6] Such bad thoughts are universal among humans, and have “almost certainly always been a part of the human condition”.[7]

    When intrusive thoughts occur with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), patients are less able to ignore the unpleasant thoughts and may pay undue attention to them, causing the thoughts to become more frequent and distressing.[1] The thoughts may become obsessions which are paralyzing, severe, and constantly present, and can range from thoughts of violence or sex to religious blasphemy.[5] Distinguishing them from normal intrusive thoughts experienced by many people, the intrusive thoughts associated with OCD may be anxiety provoking, irrepressible, and persistent.[8]

    How people react to intrusive thoughts may determine whether these thoughts will become severe, turn into obsessions, or require treatment. Intrusive thoughts can occur with or without compulsions. Carrying out the compulsion reduces the anxiety, but makes the urge to perform the compulsion stronger each time it recurs, reinforcing the intrusive thoughts.[1] According to Lee Baer, suppressing the thoughts only makes them stronger, and recognizing that bad thoughts do not signify that one is truly evil is one of the steps to overcoming them.[9] There is evidence of the benefit of acceptance as an alternative to suppression of intrusive thoughts. A study showed that those instructed to suppress intrusive thoughts experienced more distress after suppression, while patients instructed to accept the bad thoughts experienced decreased discomfort.[10] These results may be related to underlying cognitive processes involved in OCD.[11] However, accepting the thoughts can be more difficult for persons with OCD. In the 19th century, OCD was known as “the doubting sickness”;[12] the “pathological doubt” that accompanies OCD can make it harder for a person with OCD to distinguish “normal” intrusive thoughts as experienced by most people, causing them to “suffer in silence, feeling too embarrassed or worried that they will be thought crazy”.[13]

    The possibility that most patients suffering from intrusive thoughts will ever act on those thoughts is low. Patients who are experiencing intense guilt, anxiety, shame, and upset over these thoughts are different from those who actually act on them. The history of violent crime is dominated by those who feel no guilt or remorse; the very fact that someone is tormented by intrusive thoughts and has never acted on them before is an excellent predictor that they will not act upon the thoughts. Patients who are not troubled or shamed by their thoughts, do not find them distasteful, or who have actually taken action, might need to have more serious conditions such as psychosis or potentially criminal behaviors ruled out.[14] According to Lee Baer, a patient should be concerned that intrusive thoughts are dangerous if the person does not feel upset by the thoughts, or rather finds them pleasurable; has ever acted on violent or sexual thoughts or urges; hears voices or sees things that others do not see; or feels uncontrollable irresistible anger.[15]

    Aggressive thoughts

    Intrusive thoughts may involve violent obsessions about hurting others or themselves.[16] They can be related to primarily obsessional obsessive compulsive disorder. These thoughts can include harming a child; jumping from a bridge, mountain, or the top of a tall building; urges to jump in front of a train or automobile; and urges to push another in front of a train or automobile.[4] Rachman’s survey of healthy college students found that virtually all of them had intrusive thoughts from time to time, including:[6]

    • causing harm to elderly people
    • imagining or wishing harm upon someone close to oneself
    • impulses to violently attack, hit, harm or kill a person, small child, or animal
    • impulses to shout at or abuse someone, or attack and violently punish someone, or say something rude, inappropriate, nasty, or violent to someone.

    These thoughts are part of being human, and need not ruin quality of life.[17] Treatment is available when the thoughts are associated with OCD and become persistent, severe, or distressing.

    A variant of aggressive intrusive thoughts is L’appel du vide, or the call of the void. Sufferers of L’appel du vide generally describe the condition as manifesting in certain situations, normally as a wish or brief desire to jump from a high location.

    Sexual thoughts[edit]

    Sexual obsession involves intrusive thoughts or images of “kissing, touching, fondling, oral sex, anal sex, intercourse, and rape” with “strangers, acquaintances, parents, children, family members, friends, coworkers, animals and religious figures”, involving “heterosexual or homosexual content” with persons of any age.[18]

    Like other unwanted intrusive thoughts or images, everyone has some inappropriate sexual thoughts at times, but people with OCD may attach significance to the unwanted sexual thoughts, generating anxiety and distress. The doubt that accompanies OCD leads to uncertainty regarding whether one might act on the intrusive thoughts, resulting in self-criticism or loathing.[18]

    One of the more common sexual intrusive thoughts occurs when an obsessive person doubts his or her sexual identity. As in the case of most sexual obsessions, sufferers may feel shame and live in isolation, finding it hard to discuss their fears, doubts, and concerns about their sexual identity.[12]

    A person experiencing sexual intrusive thoughts may feel shame, “embarrassment, guilt, distress, torment, fear of acting on the thought or perceived impulse, and doubt about whether they have already acted in such a way.” Depression may be a result of the self-loathing that can occur, depending on how much the OCD interferes with daily functioning or causes distress.[18] Their concern over these thoughts may cause them to scrutinize their bodies to determine if the thoughts result in feelings of arousal. However, focusing attention of any part of the body can result in feelings in that part of the body, hence doing so may decrease confidence and increase fear about acting on the urges. Part of treatment of sexual intrusive thoughts involves therapy to help sufferers accept intrusive thoughts and stop trying to reassure themselves by checking their bodies.[19] This arousal in the part of the body is due to conditioned physiological responses in the brain, which do not respond to the subject of the sexual intrusive thought but rather to the fact that a sexual thought is occurring at all and thus engage an automatic response (research indicates that the correlation between what the genitalia regard as “sexually relevant” and what the brain regards as “sexually appealing” only correlates 50% of the time in men and 10% of the time in women[20]). This means that an arousal response does not necessarily indicate that the person desires what they are thinking about. However, rational thinking processes attempt to explain this reaction and OCD causes people to attribute false meaning and importance to these physiological reactions in an attempt to make sense of them.[21] Sufferers can also experience heightened anxiety caused by “forbidden” images or simply discussing the matter which can then also cause physiological arousal, such as sweating, increased heart rate and some degree of tumescence or lubrication. This is often misinterpreted by the sufferer as an indication of desire or intent, when it is in fact not.[22]

    Religious thoughts

    Blasphemous thoughts are a common component of OCD, documented throughout history; notable religious figures such as Martin Luther and Ignatius of Loyola were known to be tormented by intrusive, blasphemous or religious thoughts and urges.[23] Martin Luther had urges to curse God and Jesus, and was obsessed with images of “the Devil’s behind.”[23][24] St. Ignatius had numerous obsessions, including the fear of stepping on pieces of straw forming a cross, fearing that it showed disrespect to Christ.[23][25] A study of 50 patients with a primary diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder found that 40% had religious and blasphemous thoughts and doubts—a higher, but not statistically significantly different number than the 38% who had the obsessional thoughts related to dirt and contamination more commonly associated with OCD.[26] One study suggests that content of intrusive thoughts may vary depending on culture, and that blasphemous thoughts may be more common in men than in women.[27]

    According to Fred Penzel, a New York psychologist, some common religious obsessions and intrusive thoughts are:[13]

    • sexual thoughts about God, saints, and religious figures
    • bad thoughts or images during prayer or meditation
    • thoughts of being possessed
    • fears of sinning or breaking a religious law or performing a ritual incorrectly
    • fears of omitting prayers or reciting them incorrectly
    • repetitive and intrusive blasphemous thoughts
    • urges or impulses to say blasphemous words or commit blasphemous acts during religious services.

    Suffering can be greater and treatment complicated when intrusive thoughts involve religious implications;[23] patients may believe the thoughts are inspired by Satan,[28] and may fear punishment from God or have magnified shame because they perceive themselves as sinful.[29] Symptoms can be more distressing for sufferers with strong religious convictions or beliefs.[13]

    Baer believes that blasphemous thoughts are more common in Catholics and evangelical Protestants than in other religions, whereas Jews or Muslims tend to have obsessions related more to complying with the laws and rituals of their faith, and performing the rituals perfectly.[30] He hypothesizes that this is because what is considered inappropriate varies among cultures and religions, and intrusive thoughts torment their sufferers with whatever is considered most inappropriate in the surrounding culture.[31]

    Associated conditions

    Intrusive thoughts are associated with OCD or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder,[32] but may also occur with other conditions[3] such as post-traumatic stress disorder,[33] clinical depression,[34] postpartum depression,[8] and anxiety.[35][36] One of these conditions[37] is almost always present in people whose intrusive thoughts reach a clinical level of severity.[38] A large study published in 2005 found that aggressive, sexual, and religious obsessions were broadly associated with comorbid anxiety disorders and depression.[39] The intrusive thoughts that occur in a schizophrenic episode differ from the obsessional thoughts that occur with OCD or depression in that the intrusive thoughts of schizophrenics are false or delusional beliefs (i.e. held by the schizophrenic individual to be real and not doubted, as is typically the case with intrusive thoughts) .[40]

    Post-traumatic stress disorder

    The key difference between OCD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is that the intrusive thoughts of PTSD sufferers are of traumatic events that actually happened to them, whereas OCD sufferers have thoughts of imagined catastrophes. PTSD patients with intrusive thoughts have to sort out violent, sexual, or blasphemous thoughts from memories of traumatic experiences.[41] When patients with intrusive thoughts do not respond to treatment, physicians may suspect past physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.[42]

    Depression

    People who are clinically depressed may experience intrusive thoughts more intensely, and view them as evidence that they are worthless or sinful people. The suicidal thoughts that are common in depression must be distinguished from intrusive thoughts, because suicidal thoughts—unlike harmless sexual, aggressive, or religious thoughts—can be dangerous.[43]

    Postpartum depression and OCD

    Unwanted thoughts by mothers about harming infants are common in postpartum depression.[44] A 1999 study of 65 women with postpartum major depression by Katherine Wisner et al. found the most frequent aggressive thought for women with postpartum depression was causing harm to their newborn infants.[45] A study of 85 new parents found that 89% experienced intrusive images, for example, of the baby suffocating, having an accident, being harmed, or being kidnapped.[8][46]

    Some women may develop symptoms of OCD during pregnancy or the postpartum period.[8][47] Postpartum OCD occurs mainly in women who may already have OCD, perhaps in a mild or undiagnosed form. Postpartum depression and OCD may be comorbid (often occurring together). And though physicians may focus more on the depressive symptoms, one study found that obsessive thoughts did accompany postpartum depression in 57% of new mothers.[8]

    Wisner found common obsessions about harming babies in mothers experiencing postpartum depression include images of the baby lying dead in a casket or being eaten by sharks; stabbing the baby; throwing the baby down the stairs; or drowning or burning the baby (as by submerging it in the bathtub in the former case or throwing it in the fire or putting it in the microwave in the latter).[45][48] Baer estimates that up to 200,000 new mothers with postpartum depression each year may develop these obsessional thoughts about their babies;[49] and because they may be reluctant to share these thoughts with a physician or family member, or suffer in silence and fear they are “crazy”, their depression can worsen.[50]

    Intrusive fears of harming immediate children can last longer than the postpartum period. A study of 100 clinically depressed women found that 41% had obsessive fears that they might harm their child, and some were afraid to care for their children. Among non-depressed mothers, the study found 7% had thoughts of harming their child[51]—a rate that yields an additional 280,000 non-depressed mothers in the United States with intrusive thoughts about harming their children.[52]

    Treatment

    Treatment for intrusive thoughts is similar to treatment for OCD. Exposure and response prevention therapy—also referred to as habituation or desensitization—is useful in treating intrusive thoughts.[18] Mild cases can also be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps patients identify and manage the unwanted thoughts.[8]

    Exposure therapy

    Exposure therapy is the treatment of choice for intrusive thoughts.[53] According to Deborah Osgood-Hynes, Psy.D. Director of Psychological Services and Training at the MGH/McLean OCD Institute, “In order to reduce a fear, you have to face a fear. This is true of all types of anxiety and fear reactions, not just OCD.” Because it is uncomfortable to experience bad thoughts and urges, shame, doubt or fear, the initial reaction is usually to do something to make the feelings diminish. By engaging in a ritual or compulsion to diminish the anxiety or bad feeling, the action is strengthened via a process called negative reinforcement—the mind learns that the way to avoid the bad feeling is by engaging in a ritual or compulsions. When OCD becomes severe, this leads to more interference in life and continues the frequency and severity of the thoughts the person sought to avoid.[18]

    Exposure therapy (or exposure and response prevention) is the practice of staying in an anxiety-provoking or feared situation until the distress or anxiety diminishes. The goal is to reduce the fear reaction, learning to not react to the bad thoughts. This is the most effective way to reduce the frequency and severity of the intrusive thoughts.[18] The goal is to be able to “expose yourself to the thing that most triggers your fear or discomfort for one to two hours at a time, without leaving the situation, or doing anything else to distract or comfort you.”[54] Exposure therapy will not completely eliminate intrusive thoughts—everyone has bad thoughts—but most patients find that it can decrease their thoughts sufficiently that intrusive thoughts no longer interfere with their lives.[55]

    Cognitive behavioral therapy

    Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a newer therapy than exposure therapy, available for those unable or unwilling to undergo exposure therapy.[53] Cognitive therapy has been shown to be useful in reducing intrusive thoughts,[56][57] but developing a conceptualization of the obsessions and compulsions with the patient is important.[58]

    Medication

    Antidepressants or antipsychotic medications may be used for more severe cases if intrusive thoughts do not respond to cognitive behavioral or exposure therapy alone.[8][59] Whether the cause of intrusive thoughts is OCD, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs (a class of antidepressants) are the most commonly prescribed.[59] Intrusive thoughts may occur in persons with Tourette syndrome (TS) who also have OCD; the obsessions in TS-related OCD are thought to respond to SSRI drugs as well.[60]

    Antidepressants which have been shown to be effective in treating OCD include fluvoxamine (trade name[a] Luvox), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa), and clomipramine (Anafranil).[61] Although SSRIs are known to be effective for OCD in general, there have been fewer studies on their effectiveness for intrusive thoughts.[62] A retrospective chart review of patients with sexual symptoms treated with SSRIs showed the greatest improvement was in those with intrusive sexual obsessions typical of OCD.[63] A study of ten patients with religious or blasphemous obsessions found that most patients responded to treatment with fluoxetine or clomipramine.[64] Women with postpartum depression often have anxiety as well, and may need lower starting doses of SSRIs; they may not respond fully to the medication, and may benefit from adding cognitive behavioral or response prevention therapy.[65]

    Patients with intense intrusive thoughts that do not respond to SSRIs or other antidepressants may be prescribed typical and atypical neuroleptics including risperidone (trade name Risperdal), ziprasidone (Geodon), haloperidol (Haldol), and pimozide (Orap).[66]

    Studies suggest that therapeutic doses of inositol may be useful in the treatment of obsessive thoughts.[67][68]

    Epidemiolog

    A 2007 study found that 78% of a clinical sample of OCD patients had intrusive images.[3] Most people who suffer from intrusive thoughts have not identified themselves as having OCD, because they may not have what they believe to be classic symptoms of OCD, such as handwashing. Yet, epidemiological studies suggest that intrusive thoughts are the most common kind of OCD worldwide; if people in the United States with intrusive thoughts gathered, they would form the fourth-largest city in the US, following New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.[69]

    The prevalence of OCD in every culture studied is at least 2% of the population, and the majority of those have obsessions, or bad thoughts, only; this results in a conservative estimate of more than 2 million sufferers in the United States alone (as of 2000).[70] One author estimates that one in 50 adults have OCD and about 10–20% of these have sexual obsessions.[18] A recent study found that 25% of 293 patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD had a history of sexual obsessions.[71]

      8 Drinks To Lose Weight


      1. Green Tea

      Weight Loss Drinks

      Green tea is often associated with health, and for good reason.

      Not only is it packed with beneficial antioxidants and other powerful nutrients, it’s also one of the most effective drinks for weight loss.

      Drinking green tea has been shown to decrease body weight and body fat in several studies. 

      A review of 14 studies found that people who drank high-concentration green tea for 12 weeks lost an average of 0.44 to 7.7 pounds (0.2 to 3.5 kg) more than those who did not drink green tea (1Trusted Source).

      It should be noted that this benefit is linked to green tea preparations that contain high amounts of catechins, antioxidants that may increase fat burning and boost metabolism (2Trusted Source).

      Matcha is a type of green tea that contains a higher amount of catechins than loose leaf green tea, which makes it a good choice for weight loss (3Trusted Source).

      One study found that women who consumed 3 grams of matcha per day experienced greater fat burning during exercise compared to women who did not drink matcha (4Trusted Source).

      Plus, green tea contains caffeine, which can help promote weight loss by boosting energy levels and improving performance while exercising (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).

      What’s more, people who drink green tea tend to have lower blood pressure and a lower risk of developing diseases such as heart disease, certain cancers and diabetes (6Trusted Source).

      SUMMARYDrinking green tea may help you lose weight by boosting metabolism and encouraging fat loss.

      2. Coffee

      Coffee is used by people around the world to boost energy levels and lift mood.

      This is because coffee contains caffeine, a substance that acts as a stimulant in the body and may benefit weight loss.

      Coffee can reduce energy intake and boost metabolism, which may help you lose weight.

      One study in 33 overweight adults found that those who drank coffee containing 6 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight consumed significantly fewer overall calories than those who drank less caffeine or no caffeine at all (7Trusted Source).

      Caffeine intake has also been shown to increase metabolism and promote fat burning in several other studies (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).

      Coffee drinkers may have an easier time maintaining their weight loss over time, as well. 

      A study in over 2,600 people found that those who were successful in maintaining weight loss over time drank significantly more caffeinated beverages than a control group (5Trusted Source).

      SUMMARYCaffeinated beverages like coffee may stimulate weight loss by increasing metabolism, decreasing calorie intake and stimulating fat burning.

      3. Black Tea

      Like green tea, black tea contains compounds that may stimulate weight loss.

      Black tea is a type of tea that has undergone more oxidation (exposure to air) than other types of teas, resulting in a stronger flavor and darker color. 

      Black tea is high in polyphenols, including a group of polyphenolic compounds called flavonoids. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants that may help reduce body weight. 

      Studies have shown that the polyphenols found in black tea promote weight loss by reducing calorie intake, stimulating fat breakdown and boosting the growth of friendly gut bacteria (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).

      A study in 111 people demonstrated that those who drank 3 cups of black tea daily for three months lost more weight and had greater reductions in waist circumference compared to a control group (11Trusted Source).

      Another study in 2,734 women found that those with higher intakes of flavonoid-rich foods and beverages like black tea had significantly lower body fat and belly fat than women who consumed less dietary flavonoids (12Trusted Source).

      SUMMARYBlack tea contains polyphenols, antioxidants that have been shown to reduce body weight. Studies show that drinking black tea may help reduce body fat and encourage weight loss.powered by Rubicon Project

      4. Water

      Increasing your water intake is one of the simplest ways to improve overall health.

      Drinking more water may also benefit your waistline by keeping you full in between meals and increasing the number of calories you burn.

      Research suggests that having water before meals can set you up for success when trying to cut back on calories and lose weight.

      A study in 48 overweight adults found that those who drank 500 ml (17 ounces) of water before meals while following a low-calorie diet lost 44% more weight over 12 weeks than those who did not drink water before meals (13Trusted Source).

      Drinking cold water increases resting energy expenditure, which is the number of calories you burn while resting. 

      For example, a study in 21 overweight children showed that resting energy expenditure was increased by up to 25% for 40 minutes after drinking 10 ml of cold water per kilogram of body weight (14Trusted Source).

      SUMMARYDrinking more water can help burn calories and decrease intake at meals, which can result in weight loss.

      5. Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks

      Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, a compound that may stimulate weight loss by decreasing insulin levels, improving metabolism, suppressing appetite and burning fat (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source).

      Animal studies have shown that acetic acid can prevent weight gain and decrease fat accumulation in the belly and liver (15Trusted Source).

      Although research is limited, there is some evidence that vinegar is effective in promoting weight loss in humans. 

      A study in 144 obese adults demonstrated that drinking a daily beverage containing 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of vinegar per day resulted in significant reductions in body weight, waist circumference and belly fat compared to a placebo group (17Trusted Source).

      Apple cider vinegar slows stomach emptying, which helps keep you fuller for a longer period of time and may reduce overeating (18Trusted Source).

      However, it should be noted that drinking acidic beverages like apple cider vinegar can erode teeth, which is why it should be consumed sparingly and always followed by rinsing with water (19Trusted Source).

      SUMMARYAlthough more research is needed on the risks and benefits of apple cider vinegar, consuming a small amount per day may encourage weight loss.

      6. Ginger Tea

      Ginger is popularly used as a spice to add flavor to dishes and as an herbal remedy to treat a number of conditions such as nausea, colds and arthritis (20Trusted Source).

      Human and animal studies have also shown this flavorful root to have a beneficial effect on weight loss.

      A study found that rats fed a high-fat diet supplemented with 5% ginger powder for four weeks had significant reductions in body weight and significant improvements in HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels compared to rats fed a high-fat diet without ginger (21Trusted Source).

      Although this study used a concentrated ginger powder, a study in humans found that ginger tea also helps reduce appetite and increase calorie expenditure.

      One study in 10 overweight men found that when they drank 2 grams of ginger powder dissolved in hot water with breakfast, they experienced increased fullness and decreased hunger compared to days when no ginger tea was consumed.

      Plus, the study showed that the ginger tea increased the thermic effect of food (the number of calories needed to digest and absorb food) by 43 calories (22Trusted Source).

      Although that isn’t a huge number of calories, this suggests that — when combined with its satiating properties — ginger tea could be an effective way to enhance weight loss.

      SUMMARYHuman and animal studies indicate that ginger can promote fullness, decrease appetite and increase metabolism, which is helpful when trying to lose weight.

      7. High-Protein Drinks

      Beverages that are high in protein can curb hunger, decrease appetite and promote fullness, which is important when trying to shed excess pounds.

      There are countless protein powdersavailable to consumers that make preparing a quick, healthy snack or meal a breeze.

      Protein increases levels of hunger-reducing hormones like GLP-1 while decreasing ghrelin, a hormone that drives appetite (23Trusted Source).

      A study in 90 overweight adults found that those who consumed 56 grams of whey protein daily for 23 weeks lost 5 pounds (2.3 kg) more fat than a control group who consumed no whey protein but the same number of calories (24Trusted Source).

      Whey, pea and hemp protein powders are just a few varieties that can add a satisfying protein boost to shakes and smoothies that may help you drop pounds.

      SUMMARYProtein drinks decrease appetite and increase fullness. Protein powders can be easily added to any beverage for a quick and satisfying snack or meal.

      8. Vegetable Juice

      Although fruit juice has been linked to weight gain, drinking vegetable juice may have the opposite effect (25Trusted Source). 

      In one study, adults who drank 16 ounces of low-sodium vegetable juice while following a low-calorie diet lost significantly more weight than those who did not.

      Plus, the vegetable juice group significantly increased their vegetable consumption and significantly decreased their carb intake, two factors that are important for weight loss (26Trusted Source).

      Consuming whole vegetables whenever possible is the best choice for health due to the high amount of fiber that is lost in the juicing process.

      However, consuming a low-calorie vegetable juice can increase your vegetable intake and may even help you lose weight.

      SUMMARYAlthough whole vegetables make the best choice, drinking vegetable juice may encourage weight loss when incorporated into a healthy diet.