Quinoa is healthy and delicious. Up until now, I’ve only enjoyed it as a side dish at fancy restaurants, usually paired with duck, lamb, or veal.

But it turns out that quinoa may actually be the next “superfood.” It may also be quite effective for losing weight (more details below).

But first, here’s a quick video on how to prepare quinoa at home:

Now, if you’re looking to lose weight, and you’ve struggled with other diets, then quinoa may be especially appealing to you.

First of all, it’s 100% gluten-free. If you are allergic to wheat or if you’ve been diagnosed gluten-intolerant, then quinoa is an ideal substitute.

Secondly, this South American grain is high in protein, essential amino acids, and iron. In fact, it contains 14 grams of protein for every 100-gram serving.

And thirdly, quinoa has been used to control weight loss since pre-Columbian days. The Incas even considered it to be a “sacred grain.”

In fact, it was recently called “one of the world’s superfoods” by the United Nations. Unlike its extremely popular friend from Brazil, the Acai berry, quinoa has no sugar and still tastes great, which makes it perfect for diabetics (or anybody else who’s trying to cut back on sugar).

Want to learn more? Then check out the Quinoa Super Diet.

It’s the first diet of its kind that utilizes this amazing grain to supercharge your diet, help you hit your weight loss goals, and possibly even give you the slim body you’ve been dreaming of.

The Quinoa Super diet is packed with health facts, dietary tips, and tasty recipes that are easy to understand, easy to make, and easy to add into your daily life. More importantly, it could be the “missing link” you’ve been looking for to help you lose weight.

Click here to learn more about The Quinoa Super Diet

Here is a guest post by Rachelle Holmes about the worldwide obesity epidemic.

Cosmetic practices performed by top surgeons like Dr. Lack of MetropolitanMD, a Chicago Liposuction specialist, may not be the only answer to our world’s weight problem. With buzz around obesity, it’s difficult to miss information congruent to weight loss, dieting, surgery, and exercise; although, gastric bypass and pills are amongst the least favorable options.

Scientists have actually been looking into developing a molecule that will effectively shut down the fat gene that is creating this monster of a problem. In other words, by providing an active inhibitor to the FTO (fat mass and obesity-associated gene), these experts can work toward a therapy for individuals.[1]

According to the World Health Organization, the commonness of obesity is growing at alarming rates – This is based on data collected for both developed and underdeveloped countries. This includes overweight numbers close to 1.6 billion [1] for adults over the age of 15, along with obese in the range of somewhere near 400 million. With such large figures, it’s difficult to think that obesity isn’t an epidemic of mass proportion.

Obesity creates many health problems; it increases the risk of premature death, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and cancer. These are among the most severe of cases; obesity also comes with its own short term shortcomings. It’s true that most overweight people have sore bones, muscles, and suffer from shortness of breath, fatigue. It’s also natural that most people who are overweight suffer from depression or depressive symptoms.

With these new developments and studies in China, we can certainly have more hope for solving the obesity epidemic. Scientists are just beginning to learn how the fat gene actually works, but have tested and seen it’s effects on all different ethnicities.

It’s important that we all work towards avoiding the problem of obesity. The only way to spread this message is through education regarding fitness, exercise, and healthy eating habits. Although with these recent studies, Chinese scientists have made great strides in the search for a solution towards our already unhealthy planet.

Rachelle Holmes of plastic Surgeons Chicago, MetropolitanMD.

The people you spend the most time with profoundly impact your life. If they make more money than you, chances are your income will rise. If they make less than you, chances are your income will fall.

It seems to me the same principle holds true with physique. If the people you spend the most time with are health conscious and fit, then you will likely become more fit. But if they are lazy and overweight, then you will likely become lazy and overweight, too.

One exception to this rule: If you are already healthy and fit, you will probably be unaffected by spending a little bit of time with a friend who is the polar opposite of you. In fact, by the power of contrast, it may motivate you to be different.

I’ve found this to be true in my own life. After spending time with someone who is well on their way to achieving an overfed, middle-aged suburban physique, I feel motivated to act and behave differently so I don’t wind up in the same place.

Ask yourself: Am I spending too much time building wrong relationships? Am I spending too little time nurturing right relationships? (Of course, when you consider these questions, it’s important to weigh many different factors, not just health habits.)

If you want to lose weight, you know the drill: eat less, exercise more. There are, of course, finer points to weight loss. But those four words sum it up fairly well.

That said, here’s a super simple trick for naturally eating less, which will help you lose weight.

Use smaller plates.

You know how you have the big dinner plates and the smaller plates for small items like toast? Well, instead of using that big dinner plate, use the small one instead. Here’s what will happen…

Instead of filling the large plate with food, you will fill the small plate with food. The smaller plate will hold less, so you will take less. And after you’re done eating, you’ll likely feel full and content and not at all compelled to get seconds.

I’ve noticed this myself when I have at times used smaller plates when all the big ones were dirty. I filled the small plate, ate my meal, and was done. I felt so much better too. Didn’t have all that food sitting heavy in my stomach.

In the end, this is a simple way to control portion size. Try it and see what you think.

By the way, if you’re really compelled to use the big plates, consider boxing them up for a while so you won’t be tempted to use them. :-)

I just popped over to Early to Rise and Jon Herring confirmed something I’ve suspected for a long time. That is, there’s a direct correlation between obesity and earning potential. Here’s an excerpt:

A study conducted by Ohio State University’s Center for Human Resource Research has found that significant decreases in weight are linked to increases in personal wealth. I’m not talking about a few pounds here or there. The study showed that those who shed 50+ pounds had an increase in wealth of more than $10,000.

Why does your weight affect your earning potential? The authors of the study suggest that overweight people experience discrimination… which results in lower pay.

Although this may not be true in all cases, it seems a physically fit person would have more energy than an overweight person and could therefore get more done in the same amount of time. So there might be a productivity factor involved as well.

Regardless of the reasons behind the disparity in pay, it just makes sense to lose weight if you’ve got weight to lose. You’ll sleep better, you’ll have more energy, you’ll feel more confident… and all of these things count for far more than the additional money you might earn.