Benefits of Kefir and How to Use to Lose Weight

Kefir is a fermented milk rich in probiotic bacteria that improve intestinal flora, helps immunity and improves intestinal transit, helping to maintain the general health of the body.

Kefir bacteria can be safely grown at home, and beverage production is easy and resembles the production of natural yogurt.

Being a probiotic food, the main benefits of kefir are:

1. Decrease constipation, as good bacteria improve digestion and correct intestinal transit;
2. Combat intestinal inflammations, as having healthy flora is the main factor to avoid diseases;
3. Facilitate digestion ;
4. To lose weight, because it is rich in proteins and has lower calories;
5. Fight osteoporosis, being rich in calcium;
6. Prevent and combat gastritis, especially gastritis caused by H. pylori bacteria;
7. Strengthen the immune system as it keeps the intestinal flora healthy, which prevents infection by microorganisms through the intestine.

In addition, kefir balances the intestinal flora and improves the absorption of nutrients, being great for those who have undergone antibiotic treatments and need to regulate the intestinal transit.

How to use Kefir to lose weight

Kefir is a low-calorie food because 100 g has only 37 calories and is a good option to use in diets to lose weight. It can be used to replace milk or yogurt intake, making it an excellent choice for those with bowel movements.

You can consume once a day, for breakfast or a snack, for example. To make the taste more pleasant you can sweeten it with a little honey or add fruit like banana or strawberry in the form of the vitamin.

Kefir helps to loosen the intestine and so when evacuating more regularly you can see that the belly becomes less swollen in the first week, but for a long time to lose weight, you should follow a diet to lose weight and exercise regularly.

Where to buy kefir

It is possible to buy kefir grains on internet sites, and kefir milk can be found in supermarkets or health food store, but donations between friends or on internet sites are very common because the grains are grown in liquid environment, multiplying, and a parcel must be removed to prevent overgrowth, so those who have at home usually offer to family and friends.

Kefir grains are also called Tibetan Mushrooms, Yogurt Plants, Yogurt Mushrooms, Yogurt Fungus, and Lotus of Snow. They originated in the Caucasus and are made up of different microorganisms that are good for regulating the intestine.

How to make milk kefir

The preparation of kefir is very simple, similar to the homemade production of natural yogurt.

Ingredients

• 100 g of kefir
• 1 liter of cow's milk or goat's milk

Method of preparation

Put in a glass container the kefir grains, fresh milk, pasteurized or not, skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole. The contents are left at room temperature for about 24 hours. The fermented milk is strained to separate and recover the grains that are added to more fresh milk, repeating the process. 

The already fermented liquid kefir that is cooked can be consumed immediately or can be kept in the refrigerator for later consumption.

Contraindications and side effects

Although there is no formal contraindication, fermentation of kefir leads to a small production of alcohol and therefore may be harmful to people with liver diseases. In addition, it is also contraindicated in cases of lactose intolerance and milk allergy, and it may be used as an alternative water kefir, which is made from water or coconut water with demerara or brown sugar instead of milk.

10 Foods Rich in Magnesium and Its Benefits

Foods rich in magnesium are mainly seeds, such as flaxseed and pumpkin seed, oilseeds such as chestnuts and peanuts.

Magnesium is an essential mineral used in the body for functions such as protein production, proper functioning of the nervous system, blood sugar control, and blood pressure control. In addition, it facilitates the transmission of nerve impulses and regulates muscle contractions

Foods rich in magnesium

The following table shows the top 10 sources of magnesium in food, with the amount of magnesium present in 100 g of food.

Food (100g)	Magnesium	Energy
Pumpkin Seeds	541 mg	627 kcal
Chestnuts	365 mg	570 kcal
Sesame Seed	361 mg	584 kcal
Flax Seed	347 mg	495 kcal
Cashew nut	237 mg	570 kcal
Almonds	222 mg	581 kcal
Peanut	159 mg	606 kcal
Oats	119 mg	394 kcal
Spinach	82 mg	16 kcal
Silver banana	26 mg	98 kcal

Other foods that also have good amounts of magnesium are milk, yogurt, bitter chocolate, fig, avocado, and beans.

Symptoms of lack of magnesium in the body-

A healthy adult needs an amount between 310 mg to 420 mg of magnesium per day, and the deficiency of this mineral in the body can cause symptoms such as:

• Nervous system disorders such as depression, tremors, and insomnia;
• Cardiac insufficiency;
• Osteoporosis;
• High pressure;
• Diabetes mellitus;
• Pre-menstrual tension - TPM;
• Insomnia;
• Cramps;
• Lack of appetite;
• Somnolence;
• Lack of memory.

Some medicines can also cause a low concentration of magnesium in the blood, such as ciclosporin, furosemide, thiazides, hydrochlorothiazides, tetracyclines and oral contraceptives.

When to use magnesium supplements

The need for magnesium supplementation is rare and is usually only given in the case of early uterine contractions during pregnancy or in the presence of excessive vomiting or diarrhea. It is important to note that if magnesium is to be taken during pregnancy, it should cease by the 35th week of gestation so that the uterus can contract properly to allow for the birth of the baby.

In addition, in some, it may be necessary to use magnesium supplements, especially in the presence of factors that naturally reduce the levels of magnesium in the body, such as aging, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption and the medications mentioned above. In general, magnesium supplementation is recommended when blood magnesium values are less than 1 mEq per liter of blood, and it should always be done with a doctor or a nutritionist.

Benefits of Soy

Soy is the most complete source of vegetable protein, being much consumed in vegetarian diets and slimming, as it is ideal to replace meats. Soy and its derivatives bring health benefits such as:

• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as it is rich in isoflavones;
• Reduce bad cholesterol due to the presence of fiber and isoflavones;
• Prevent thrombosis and atheroma plaques by having omega-3s and isoflavones;
• Strengthen the bones by reducing the elimination of calcium in the urine;
• Relieve the symptoms of menopause;
• Prevent breast, prostate and colon cancer due to isoflavones;
• Maintain firmness and elasticity of the skin, by stimulating the production of collagen and hyaluronic acid.

To get these benefits, you should consume about 85 g of cooked soy, 30 g of tofu or 1 cup of soy milk daily. However, one should prefer to use organic soy, since most soy sold in Brazil is transgenic, which may increase the risk of changes in the DNA of the cells, causing fetal malformations and cancer.

How Soy Helps You Lose Weight

Soy, especially black soybean powder or flour, also helps you lose weight because it is rich in fiber and protein, which gives you a feeling of satiety and decreases your appetite.

In addition, black soybeans are rich in anthocyanins, anti-inflammatory substances that increase the burning of fat in the body, favoring weight loss. 

Benefits of green soybeans

Green soybeans serve to help prevent cancer, protect the heart, and help regulate the female hormone cycle by preventing menopausal symptoms, as it has antioxidant substances, such as the isoflavones or phytoestrogens, that play a role in these processes. In addition, soy is also rich in fiber that will help lower bad cholesterol. 

Green soybeans are easily found in the free markets of large cities and markets and guarantee good health for their consumers and can be marketed in packs of pods and without leaves, pods only or in grains

Soy Stroganoff Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of fine soy protein
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 tablespoons of mushrooms
• 2 tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 small box of light cream
• Salt and parsley to taste

Method of preparation

Moisturize soy protein with hot water and soy sauce. Remove excess water and chop the soy cubes. Sauté the onion and the garlic in the oil, and add the soy. Add the mustard, the tomatoes, and the mushrooms, and let cook for 10 minutes. Mix the cream and parsley and serve.

7 best juices to rejuvenate the skin

Ingredients like kiwi, cherry, avocado, and papaya are excellent choices to consume regularly to rejuvenate the skin, leaving a more youthful and neat appearance. Here we indicate the 7 best recipes, to be able to consume one per day, and at the end of the first week observe the results.

But in addition to taking one of the following recipes per day, it's also advised to eat 1Nut daily because it is rich in selenium, a substance that works by eliminating free radicals and promotes rejuvenation.

Another important care is to clean the skin daily and use moisturizers cream suitable for your age.

1. Cherry juice 

Cherry juice is an excellent home remedy to rejuvenate the skin since this fruit is rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps eliminate toxins and impurities from the body, providing the regeneration of epithelial cells leaving the skin beautiful, soft it's young.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cherries
• half banana
• 300 ml of water

Method of preparation:

Wash the fruits well, cut them in half to remove their lumps and add them in the blender along with the water. After beating well the cherry juice is ready to be drunk.

Sweet cherries are the best to make juice, plus a pleasant taste these have a huge variety of vitamins and nutrients that help maintain health. In addition to beta-carotene, this fruit is rich in vitamin B2 and folic acid and is excellent for eye, hair, nail and skin health.

2. Kiwi Juice

Kiwi juice helps to rejuvenate the skin because this fruit is rich in potassium, which helps in the regeneration of whole body cells. This home remedy increases the elasticity of the skin, leaving the skin looking more youthful and beautiful. Due to cell regeneration, the muscles tend to get more toned and the energy to increase.

Ingredients:

• 3 kiwis
• 200 ml of water
• 1 tablespoon honey

Method of preparation:

Peel the kiwis cut them into small pieces and add them in the blender along with the other ingredients. 

In addition to the benefits to the skin, kiwi is great for helping to lose weight, because it helps regulate the intestine and lower cholesterol. See  How to Use Kiwi to Lose Weight. 

3. Avocado Vitamin

Another great recipe for rejuvenating is taking an avocado vitamin with Brazil nuts because it is rich in antioxidants that help eliminate toxins from the body and also improve the appearance of the skin.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 3 brown nuts
• 1 cup natural yogurt 180g

Method of preparation:

Beat all the ingredients in the magic wand and sweeten to taste. One should take this vitamin in the morning daily to achieve better results, but one must be careful with food not to get fat because this vitamin is very caloric. Check out all the benefits of avocado.

4. Tomato juice 

Tomato juice with olive oil and salt is an excellent recipe for wanting to rejuvenate the skin and fight aging. Tomato is a food rich in lycopene and has a high antioxidant content, protects the cancer cells, especially the prostate, and helps fight the first signs of aging. The tomato is also rich in vitamin A and, if consumed with olive oil, this potentiates its absorption, increasing its benefits.

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 glass of water
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method of preparation:

Beat all the ingredients with the wand and take the next.

5. Cabbage juice with lemon

Cabbage juice helps to rejuvenate because the cabbage is rich in zinc, which in addition to regenerating the cells balances the acid levels in the body.

Ingredients:

• 2 leaves of cabbage
• ½ glass of water
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 dates to sweeten

Method of preparation:

All ingredients should be added to the blender and well shaken. 

6. Salsa juice with orange

This juice helps to rejuvenate once the chlorophyll present in the parsley stimulates the oxygenation, the metabolism and the regeneration of the cells, leaving the skin and hair soft and healthy.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• juice of 2 oranges
• 1 tablespoon honey

Method of preparation:

Beat the ingredients with a mixer and take the next.

In addition to rejuvenating, salsa juice is rich in provitamin A, excellent for clear vision and efficient for cleaning the kidneys, liver and urinary tract. 

7. Papaya Vitamin

This papaya vitamin is rich in beta-carotene that helps soften the skin and even removes toxins and impurities from the body for helping to fight constipation.

Ingredients:

• 1 mature papaya
• juice of 1 orange
• 1 date to sweeten
• 1 cup natural yogurt 280g

Method of preparation:

Beat all the ingredients in a mixer and take next. You can also add 1 teaspoon of ground golden linseed.

Sour fruits

Sour fruits like orange, pineapple or strawberry, for example, are rich in vitamin C, fiber, and potassium, and are also known as citrus fruits.

Its richness in vitamin C is essential to avoid diseases such as scurvy, which arises when there is a shortage of this vitamin.

Acid fruits are not as acidic as gastric juice, but they can increase acidity in the stomach and should not be consumed in case of gastritis or gastroesophageal reflux.

List of acid fruits

Acid fruits are those rich in citric acid, which is responsible for the bitter and spicy taste of these fruits, which can be divided into two groups:

• Sour or citrus fruits:

Pineapple, acerola, plum, blackberry, cashew, cider, cupuaçu, raspberry, gooseberry, jabuticaba, orange, lime, quince, quince, strawberry, loquat, peach, pomegranate, tamarind, tangerine, and grape.

• Semi-acidic fruits:

Persimmon, green apple, passion fruit, guava, pear, carambola and raisins.

Semi-acidic fruits have a lower amount of citric acid in their composition and are better tolerated in cases of stomach problems such as gastritis or reflux. All other fruits can be consumed normally in cases of gastritis.

Sour fruits in gastritis and reflux

Sour fruits should be avoided in cases of ulcers and bouts of gastritis, as the acid can cause increased pain when the stomach is already inflamed. The same holds true for cases of reflux where there are wounds or inflammation of the esophagus and throat as the pain appears when citric acid comes in contact with the wound.

However, when the stomach is not inflamed or when there are lesions along the throat, citrus fruits can be consumed at will as their acid will even help prevent intestinal problems such as cancer and gastritis. 

Sour fruits in pregnancy

Acidic fruits in pregnancy can help decrease nausea since acid from fruits will stimulate the formation of digestive acids, favoring gastric emptying. In addition, these fruits also have good amounts of folic acid and B-complex vitamins that are essential for the formation of the neural tube and the baby's tissues.

7 Fruits that make you fat

The fruits that gain weight are those that have more fat and sugar, because they have more calories and can favor weight gain if consumed in large quantities, and some examples are avocado, açaí, and banana.

However, it is important to remember that although they have more calories, these fruits are also healthy and can be consumed even in diets to lose weight, provided they are in the right amount and in balance with other healthy foods.

Here are the characteristics of the 7 most fattening fruits and how to make them include them without gaining weight.

1. Avocado

Avocado is a super rich fruit in good fats, and so it is quite caloric. Every 4 tablespoons of avocado have about 160 kcal, which is already more than 1 French bread. However, unlike bread, frequent consumption of avocado helps to lose weight, as good fats in this fruit improve metabolism and help control blood sugar levels.

To consume avocado without fat, the recommendation is 2 to 3 tablespoons per day, which can be used in the salad, in the form of guacamole and in vitamins and desserts.

2. Coconut

The part of coconut pulp is high in fats, while coconut water is rich in carbohydrates and minerals, being a natural isotonic. The average 1 unit coconut pulp is about 1000 kcal, which is more than half of the calories consumed in most diets.

So the coconut should be consumed in moderation and in small amounts throughout the day as this way its good fat will also help to improve the functioning of the metabolism and bring about a greater satiety throughout the day.

3. Acai

Açaí is a super antioxidant fruit and it helps to improve the immune system, but it is also quite caloric, especially when its pulp is added sugar or guarana syrup, products used to improve its flavor.

While 100 g of sugar-free açaí has about 58 kcal, the açaí with guarana syrup has about 110 kcal. In addition, consuming acai berry favors weight gain especially when using additional caloric and sugar-rich such as nest cream, chocolates, granola rich in sugar and dairy flour.

4. Grape

The grape is a high-carbohydrate fruit, with about 55 kcal for every 10 to 12 units.This is the ideal amount to consume this fruit per meal, as eating the whole bunch brings many calories and stimulates weight gain.

In addition, the whole grape juice is the main villain of the scale: 200 ml of juice has about 125 kcal and 30 g of carbohydrates, which is equivalent to two slices of bread form.Another disadvantage of juice over fruit is that it does not have any fibers, which are the nutrients that give more satiety and help reduce fat production.

5. Banana

An average silver banana has about 50 kcal and 13 g of carbohydrate, which also makes this fruit rich in sugar. To not get fat with banana, good tips are to eat only 1 unit a day and consume the banana with some food source of protein or good fats, such as 1 slice of cheese, nuts, peanuts or seeds.

6. Persimmon

An average khaki unit has about 80 kcal and 20 g of carbohydrates and is also a danger to weight loss when consumed in excess.

To take advantage of guinea-kaki persimmons, it is best to choose medium or small fruits and also eat the peel, which is the part of the fruit rich in fiber, important for keeping blood sugar stable and reducing the fat production stimulus.

7. Fruit in syrup

The fruit in syrup usually has double or triple the calories of the fresh fruits, because the syrup is usually made with sugar, which raises the calories of the food greatly.

Also, it is important to be careful also with dried fruits, as they are often dehydrated with the use of sugar, which increases the calorific value of the fruit. Another disadvantage of dried fruits is that they do not give as much satiety as fresh fruits because their size is greatly reduced, which ends up not satisfying the stomach.

It is important to consume at least 2 or 3 units of fruit per day, preferably by varying the fruits consumed so that various nutrients are absorbed.