THE CHICKENPOX DIET

A Chicken Pox diet is something that is often overlooked, but is a crucial element to cure Chicken Pox fast. There are certain foods, that when consumed, can speed up the recovery from the Chicken Pox.

First, it’s important to understand that Chicken Pox is a VIRUS.  When suffering from Chicken Pox, your body is put under a lot of stress and is working extremely hard to try to fight off this virus from the body.  It only makes sense to have a good Chicken Pox Diet to give your body what it needs and support it in fighting off this virus.

What your Chicken Pox Diet needs to be made up of is good nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and easy to digest foods.

Some important points for a chicken pox diet:

1.       Serve your child foods which are easily digestible. During this time the patient is unable to digest food properly and thus, easily digestible food like kichri, plain rice and dal, curd etc are advised.

2.       Remember to give your child plenty of water and fruit juices but avoid citric fruit juices such as lemon juice, orange juice or sweetlime juice as they have the tendency to increase the irritation of oral lesions. The diet must also include fluids like coconut water,vegetable soup etc. Fluid diet helps the nutrients to be observed faster. During this disease the ability to absorb nutrients by the body is also lost.

3.       It is recommended to take natural juices. Make sure everything is organic and natural.  Stay away from preservatives and juices added with chemicals.

4.       Blisters appear inside the mouth and throat as well. Thus, one should avoid intake of spicy, oily and crunchy food. It might make the blisters burst and burn more. Bursting of the blisters leads to increasing spreading it in the whole body.

5.       Include easily digestable fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon, kiwi, oranges, blueberries, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, wheat grass and sprouts in the diet. Star foods for chicken pox are almond, apricot, beetroot, blackcurrant, blueberry, butternut squash, cantaloupe melon, carrot, cashew nut, cinnamon, citrus fruits, egg, garlic, ginger, guava, kiwi fruit, mango, oats, onion, papaya, parsley, pumpkin seed, raspberry, strawberry, sunflower seed, sweet potato, tofu, walnut.

6.       Chicken pox can leave scars, especially if your child scratches the spots a great deal. Supplying your child with foods rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C and flavonoids will help in the healing of skin tissue and the mucous membranes often damaged by the virus.

7.       Some children get chicken pox in their throats. If this is the case with your child, try giving her fresh fruit juice ice pops, which can be very comforting. Cool treats such as ice candies, ice cream, and frozen juices are favourites among kids with hot, itchy rashes.

8.       You can use any fruits or fruit juices for this but blackcurrants are particularly good as they are full of both vitamin C, which helps to fight the infection and repair the skin, and anthocyanins, phytonutrients that multiply vitamin C's antioxidant power as well as having anti-inflammatory properties.

9.       During the illness prepare meals that are rich in nutrients and low in sugar, saturated fat and salt. Do not be tempted to give your child sweets, chocolate or sugar-laden yoghurts in an attempt to get them to eat something. Sick children rarely want to eat and enticing them to eat such foods will only further suppress their immune systems. Once your child starts to feel better, complement the drinks by offering comforting soups and broths. Include plenty of garlic, which contains antiviral substances. Nuts and seeds offered as snacks or as part of a meal are a good source of energy and are rich in essential fatty acids, zinc and B-vitamins, all of which aid the healing process.

10.   If there is no clear history of lactose (milk sugar) intolerance, eliminating dairy products from the diet is not required. These foods often constitute a major source of the child's daily caloric intake, and are important sources of dietary calcium; eliminating them may result in malnutrition.

11.   Include Zinc, magnesium and calcium supplements in your diet (as per your physicians advice) to enhance the immune system. Enhanced immune system help in quick cure.

12.   The diet should include coriander and carrot soup. Chop one carrot and one cup of chopped coriander leaves and boil it in two cups of water. Strain the water and drink it as soup once everyday.

13.   It is okay to consume chicken during chicken pox and is often recommended as chicken contains several types of healthy proteins which boost the immune system. You can make a chiken soup or broth and also add shredded chicken to it.

14.   Avoid junk or fried foods.

15.   Home cooked foods are recommended for an individual with chicken pox.

16.   The foods must also be soft and easy to swallow.

These guidelines of chicken pox diet will help quick recovery and healing of the symptoms and scars. When you put these powerful foods into your Chicken Pox diet, you will notice a huge boost in energy and your body will be able to cleanse itself from the toxins and fight off the virus faster.

Myths And Facts Of Dieting

Dieting Myths Cleared

Diet Tips are meant to help you lose weight but only if taken from a professional. Before following any kind of “Diet Tip”  you should know the facts about it. We've all heard many dieting myths and, unfortunately, believed most of them. From food restriction to fending off fat, these are a few dieting myths straightened if you want to follow healthy Diet Tips

1. If I drastically cut calories, I'll lose weight faster.

When you extremely cut down on your caloric intake, you are actually sending your body into a "starvation mode". Your body will think you are “starving” and hence slow down your metabolism and store fats in order to maintain weight.

2. The stricter the diet, the better it will work.

The stricter a diet is ;completely eliminating entire food groups; eating just one food (e.g. cabbage soup diet); the less effective it will be in the end. You are actually depriving your body of particular nutrients in turn making yourself prone to deficiency diseases. You'll also get tired of the allowed food and when you feel really deprived, you're likely to call it quits altogether.

3. I should get rid of my favorite less-than-healthful foods.

By treating yourself to your old favorites now and again, you'll stay motivated and you'll be less likely to give in to a binge. Just make sure you get back on track after your treat. Moderation is the key to successful, long-term weight loss.

4. Eating late at night will cause me to gain weight.

All things considered, it sometimes doesn't really matter when you eat, only how many calories you eat and burn in a day. Whether you're eating in the morning or at midnight your body will turn any extra calories into fat. Therefore late night snacking on junk foods like chips or chocolates are actually the reason for weight gain. In fact, eating a light snack like fruits or yoghurt or skimmed milk before bed may help you to follow your diet better, sleep better and avoid weight gain which can only be because the body’s metabolism is lower in the latter part of the day.

5.      I shouldn't eat/snack between meals.

On the contrary, eating a small, healthful snack between meals will help keep your blood sugar in control and keep your metabolism running. You'll also avoid getting too hungry so you don't over-eat at your next meal. In reality, you can snack even when you're trying to lose weight, especially if you lead an active lifestyle. What you need to watch out for are the snacks you eat. Cookies, potato chips, and cakes are not healthy snacks, and you should avoid them as much as possible. Instead, snack on fruits, tuna and crackers, yogurt, vegetables, rice cakes, granola bars, and boiled peanuts.

6. Fat is bad.

Everybody needs to include some fat in their diet. We need it to help absorption of some vitamins; plus, it makes dishes more satisfying and palatable. Some fats are even good for you, like omega-3 fatty acids, which are found predominantly in nuts, fish, olive oil.

7. Dairy is a “No-No” when on healthy diets.

With ways to include and availabilityof non- and low-fat varieties of most dairy products, working dairy into your diet is a definite "Yes-Yes". We need the calcium rich dairy products to help bone and heart health. Also eating enough calcium gives our weight loss efforts a good boost.

8. Drinking a lot of water can help me lose weight.

Drinking water in and of itself will not lead to weight loss. Of course, water is key to a healthy lifestyle and drinking enough has tons of benefits; but when people lose weight due to drinking water, it's most likely because they're substituting if for high-calorie juices and sodas.

9.      Always go for the salad when you eat out because it's the healthiest thing on the menu.

Unfortunately, always going for that salad when you're eating out is not a sure bet that you're going to lose all that weight. How come? Have you looked at what most salads consist of? Most salads today come with extras like mayonnaise, croutons, ham, chicken, cheese, eggs, and bacon. And don't forget the salad dressings. Most salads are served drenched in high-calorie dressings. You might think your salad is healthy, but think again. This isn't to say you shouldn't order salad anymore when you eat out! Far from it. What you need to do is make sure the salad you order is low in calories. It needs to have lots of leafy green vegetables and make sure it has lean proteins like salmon, black beans, grilled chicken (without the skin), shrimp, tuna, and chickpeas. Order your salad without any fried or crispy ingredients and have the salad dressing on the side.

10.   You'll lose weight if you start eating organic foods.

While organic food is the healthier choice over non-organic food, it doesn't mean you'll lose weight just by eating completely organic foods. According to studies, organic foods are certainly more nutritious than their non-organic counterpart since they don't have any of the harmful chemicals (e.g., pesticides, preservatives, hormones). But in terms of weight loss, organic foods don't have fewer calories than non-organic foods. Of course, it's still a good idea (and a healthy one too) to eat organic foods as much as possible. Just know that choosing them over non-organic foods won't benefit you in terms of weight loss.

11.   You can lose weight by eating foods that have the words "fat-free", "non-fat", or 'low fat" on their labels.

If you're conscious about weight gain, it's understandable to look for products labeled "non-fat", "low fat", or "fat free" when you're shopping. However, remember that food products with any of these labels aren't necessary low in calories or free of calories. Just because a food item is labeled "fat free" doesn't mean it's "calorie free". If you look closely on their labels, they may have the same amounts, if not more, of calories as the regular products. It's because these products have added sugar, flour, or starch thickeners in order to enhance their taste and texture. Sure, you may not get calories from the fat, but you're getting them from the other ingredients. Make sure you look at the calories per serving on the label before putting any food item in your shopping bag.