Diet tips

At the start of a diet, people most certainly look at food store and big brand food items labelled 'low in fat'. To do this is far too often a miscalculation, in that an item could be significantly reduced in fats, but nevertheless elavated in calories and carbs.

Some low carbohydrate diet guidlines:
* Replace sugar with splenda. Most recipes that require sugar can be modified to make use of a sugar replacement instead. It is not exactly the same so you will have to do a bit of trial and error and it might not be perfect for every dish, but it gives very good results once you get the measurements right.

* Food labels can be misleading Watch out for food packaging that claims to be 'low carb' - check the nutritional information figures on the back of the tin or packet. Many are only marginally decreased and in some cases still higher than a competitors standard brand. In addition, beware of 'low sugar' and 'low fat' labels - 'low sugar' does not always mean 'low carb' - usually the carbs are identically the same.

Lycopene foods
(includes grapefruit, red peppers and spiny bitter gourd)

The nutrient lypcopene is a simple chemical compound and member of the same group of phytochemicals as carotene. It is the reason for the red colour of some types of food.

Usefully, unlike numerous other healthy agents, lycopene does not become less effective if subjected to heat, but is genuinely strengthened by cooking.

. Its most interesting medical value is that it acts as an antioxidant and appears to be an asset in the fight to lower the risk of developing cancer.

Lycopene is the most powerful eliminator of singlet oxygen, which is linked with aging of the skin. It is also believed to prevent the growth of diseases affecting arterial blood vessels.