Yogurt and Fruit Help Promote Weight Loss

Healthy living is a combination of food, exercise and attitude. If you can keep you weight at a good level, lower your cholesterol and exercise your muscles, there is a very good chance that you will also feel good and have a better outlook on life. Exercise and diet are the two main ways you can keep your weight and cholesterol under control. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that adults eat three ounces of whole grains and six ounces of grains total, two cups of fruit, two and a half cups of vegetables and three cups of low-fat or fat-free dairy every day.

Fruit and yogurt fulfill these requirements and are a delicious combination that is healthy and will help you lose weight. There are many different ways they can be combined and they will satisfy the craving for high calorie items like sweets and ice cream. Added to whole grain cereals such as granola, they make a delicious and nutritious breakfast or dessert.

A fantastic dessert is a fruit and yogurt parfait. Combine small chunks of your favorite fruit in season and add fruit juice. Stir it all together and put it in a tall glass by layering the fruit with low-fat yogurt. Chill and serve. Low-fat yogurt is also a great dressing for a fruit salad.

Benefits of Yogurt

Yogurt is a milk product that has been eaten for centuries in many different cultures. It has been shown to add years to the lives of the people where it is a food staple and can do the same for you. It is very nutritious and high in vitamins and minerals but very low in calories. This is the main reason it is good for weight loss. There is also a satisfying sweetness when it is combined with fruit.

Yogurt contains lactobacillus casei which is a strain of good bacteria and has been shown through research both on mice and men to bolster the body’s ability to fight off infections. Homemade and commercially purchases yogurt have been shown to stimulate cellular immunity.

Calcium rich yogurt has a negative effect on body fat. For every 300 mgs of calcium intake there was one kilogram less of body fat accumulation during childhood in one study. Research also concludes that calcium gives weight loss benefits for adults. These studies show that when a group of adults are given the same amount of calories per day, but one section has low fat yogurt as part of its calories, the group with the yogurt lost 61 percent more weight and lost 81 percent more abdominal fat than the other group with the same amount of calories but no yogurt.

Benefits of Fruits

Fruits contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and lots of antioxidants which improve the immune system, lower the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Combined with low-fat yogurt and whole grains, they make an excellent breakfast and fruit and yogurt alone make a quick and sustaining snack. They will help you have a healthy lifestyle and, if needed, they will help you lose weight.

About the author: This article was written by John Smith from Alberta. If you own and operate a vehicle in Alberta, you should consider going online to do a comparison of Alberta auto insurance quotes as you may be able to get a lower rate from a different insurance company.

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