The Cabbage Soup Diet has been known by many as an effective and detailed week-long meal plan for losing weight. The diet ruthlessly involves a strict food group for each day of the week.

Successfully adhering to the meal plan gives promising results. It has been proven effective for rapid weight loss programs, especially for those who need to fit a certain type of clothing. Despite this, however, it is not recommended to go on this diet too much because of its inevitable harmful effects.

Cabbage Soup Diet: The Good

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a strategized meal plan that balances out and distributes the nutrients and vitamins that our body needs in the span of seven days. A summary of the diet is detailed below.

• Day 1 – as much fruits as you want, except bananas
• Day 2 – all kinds of vegetables, but the starchy potato has to wait for dinnertime
• Day 3 – a mix of vegetables and fruits, except potatoes
• Day 4 –skim milk and bananas
• Day 5 –tomatoes and protein
• Day 6 – vegetables and beef
• Day 7 –natural fruit juice, brown rice, and all kinds of vegetables

If followed carefully, going on the Cabbage Soup Diet for a week sheds 10-20 pounds off your weight. Some report to lose higher amounts. Regardless of your purpose, with this diet, you can surely get into your ideal figure in no time at all.

Aside from the weight loss, going on the Cabbage Soup Diet is a great way of getting vitamins from natural sources instead of artificial supplements. This is particularly true for days 1 to 3, which involves fruits and vegetables, and for day 4, which is most especially healthy for the bones.

Moreover, the meal plan is effective for detoxifying. It particularly cleanses the liver and the digestive system because of the high amounts of fiber present in the plan. It can be your ticket to wellness.

For each day, you can have as much cabbage soup as you want, along with the specific food group per day. Many have attested how the results show as early as the fourth day, and more so if you stick with it until the last day. However, alongside those great results come not-so-great testimonials.

Cabbage Soup Diet: The Bad

Despite being effective, the Cabbage Soup Diet has negative side-effects that make it unsuitable for long-term weight loss goals. Although the week-long plan distributes all of the nutrients that our body needs in a week, it drastically cuts off calories per day, which is the main reason for the rapid weight loss. It is therefore advised to go on the cabbage diet no longer then seven days, and not more often than 3 to 4 times per year with at least 3 months interval.

Many have confirmed that the diet is hard to get by from as early as the second day. This is understandable as the aim of the meal plan is to cut calories to as much as half per day. Some of the negative effects of the diet are mentioned below.

• Dizziness and extreme starvation are some of the common symptoms that show among people who undergo the seven-day meal plan. If you fail to resist temptation, it may cause reverse effects as it may induce overeating of food like sweets, which are supposed to be completely banned.
• The decrease in calorie intake causes severe fatigue. You may not be able to have the energy to do simple exercise, or even do basic tasks, because of the lack of energy-giving healthy fats, starch, sugar, and carbohydrates, which are restricted from the meal plan.
• Flatulence is another side-effect of this diet. Cabbages and vegetables like broccoli contain components that create digestive gas, which can make you feel bloated and uncomfortable for long periods of time.
• Frequent urination is to be expected because of the huge consumption of soup. You might be at risk for dehydration if you do not complete the recommended number of glasses for every day, which is usually 8 to 10. It may feel be tempting to skip drinking water, but note that it cannot be substituted by the soup alone.

A Word on Cabbage Soup Diet

Like most things, the Cabbage Soup Diet has some good and bad things, and it is necessary to acknowledge both sides before undergoing such. The meal plan is not intended to be a long-term solution for people who want to change their figure.

The effective and rapid weight loss may cause starvation, and therefore induce overeating after you have reached your goal. The lack of nutrients may also lead to other undesirable effects.

In closing, you might want to integrate the Cabbage Soup Diet into your usual week-long meal plans. This can be a way of shedding off some of that water fat gradually, instead of rapidly. Having a hearty bowl of cabbage soup before certain meals of the week will give you the feeling of being satiated and healthy, and can, in the long-run, help you achieve a longer-lasting slim figure.

The Egyptian pyramids pay testament to the ancient world’s reverence for essential oils. The Pharaohs were entombed with their wealth in gold, jewels, and precious oils to take with them into the next life. Where the pyramids were broken into over the centuries, the gold and jewels were left behind by thieves in favor of the far more valuable jars of oils.

Ancient medical texts, the famous Egyptian Ebers Papyrus among them, discuss how to anoint the body with essential oils for health, beauty, and to treat a host of diseases and problems. Today we look to science to document the health choices we make… and the oils do not disappoint, though their story is hardly a simple one.

As discussed in Herbs and Essential oils: a comparison, herbs and essential oils can be an invaluable element of natural healing. This week my focus is on the chemistry and the benefits of pure essential oils.

Essential oils are the concentrated form of what is sometimes called the blood of the plant. They are as complex and contain as many different chemicals as our blood – and they are loaded with oxygen. Part of the health impact of essential oils has been attributed to this concentration of oxygen – oxygen which boosts the ability of our cells to metabolize allergens, toxins, or stress and thus supports the health of all the systems of the human body.

Most of the chemicals in an essential oil are considered secondary compounds because they are not vital to the plant’s survival, and science has not been able to determine why plants secrete them. Essential oils are considered volatile liquids since they are made up of light molecules that can evaporate or flash off if a jar is left uncapped. These same light molecules are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, affecting the emotions and assisting with memory and brain function.

Essential oils are not oily – they will not make your hands greasy. Instead, they rub right into the skin. They are called oils because, like oil, they combine with other fats and oils, and do not mix easily with water. In fact, the easiest way to remove an essential oil, if you experience a reaction or you hate the smell, is to dilute it using a pure vegetable oil (such as olive, almond, or jojoba) or even butter. Water will only drive essential oils into the body more strongly.

Essential oils are extremely potent. One drop of peppermint oil is said to have the same potency as 30 cups of peppermint tea. Why are essential oils stronger than herbs? This was touched on in discussing the herb drying process in Herbs and Essential oils: a comparison by opting health. The light liquid molecules in the live herbs which can be distilled to make an essential oil are the first aromatic chemicals to evaporate, along with the water, when plants are dried… which is why dried herbs have so much less aroma than fresh herbs or an oil.