Health4view

A Practical Approach To Healthy Eating

2011-11-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have been doing push-ups five days a week for over 25 years. My arms are pretty strong but it did not happen overnight. I did not do push-ups for a couple weeks or months and then stopped. I had to make push-ups a habit if I wanted to continuously get the results I have.

Exactly the same holds true with healthy eating. You will never be healthy, eating healthy foods occasionally. You have to make healthy eating a habit if you want to obtain nutritional health. People jump on the 揵and wagon?of healthy eating when they read books or view websites that talk about nutrition. While many of these books and websites tell you what you should eat in-order to be healthy, they fail to teach you how to make healthy eating a habit. Thus in a short period of time when temptations come, people fall right back into their old unhealthy eating habits.

What is a Habit? According to Webster's dictionary a habit is 揳 behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance.?
Can you see that if we simply apply this principle to healthy eating we will be on our way to vibrant health?

Bad Eating Habits:

Bad eating habits do not develop overnight. For most people these habits began forming when they were kids. Thus one reason why many adults have a hard time breaking their bad eating habits is because these habits have been a part of their lifestyle for many years.

Why Do We Eat Food?

There are two main reasons why we eat food. One is to supply fuel for our body. The other reason is for pleasure. Unfortunately some of the foods that gives us pleasure are unhealthy.

Most people make their food selections based on what they see, smell or taste. Look at these three sentences: That pie sure looks good! That pie sure smells good! That pie sure taste good!

Notice that all three statements involve food and pleasure. However the food that is producing the pleasure (in this situation the pie) may or may not be good for you from a nutritional standpoint. That is why we need to be wise in our food selections and not simply leave it up to our sense of sight, taste or smell.

Eating Healthy Can Be Enjoyable:

Some people think of eating healthy as being boring and tasteless. I think that one reason they feel this way is because most of the commercial ads we see promote foods high in calories, fat, or sugar and only a small percentage of food advertising is done for fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. Thus if there was more nutritional education, more and more people would find eating healthy to be pleasurable and tasty.

How Healthy Eating Habits Changed My Life:

In 1998 my wife finally talked me into going to the doctor to get a check-up. I was not feeling sick but she clearly said that it was a good idea to get a yearly physical examination. Thank God I listened to her.

I have been athletic all my life. I run 18 miles a week. So when I went to the doctor I was not expecting to hear the bad news he gave me. He told me I had borderline diabetes.

Diabetes can be very dangerous if not treated. It is one of the leading cause of death in the United States. It is a disease of the pancreas that causes the body to stop producing the insulin it needs to regulate blood sugar.

My doctor told me that I did not need to be put on medication, however he suggested I start reading some books on healthy eating. That was the beginning of my path to healthy eating habits that turned my health situation around. Today I can honestly say that I am in excellent health. I feel great, I sleep great, people tell me that I do not look my age, I maintain a healthy weight, I do not take any type of medication, my blood pressure is normal, my blood sugar is normal, my cholesterol is normal, my immune system is strong, and the list goes on.

It is great to be in good health and I thank God for it. However I do not believe that I am healthy because of chance. I strongly believe that one main reason that I am healthy is because I take personal responsibility for my health. Making healthy eating a habit is a great part of this responsibility. Our physical bodies have laws that are governed by proper nutrition. If we violate these laws by consistently eating unhealthy foods, we are going to get sick.

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All About Fats

2011-11-18T05:04:00.000-08:00

With the low carbohydrate craze, many people have turned their attention to fats. They eat more of it and think its fine. Depending on what kind of fat you are consuming and how much of it you take in, fats can be beneficial or detrimental to your health.

There are three main types of fat. They are saturated, unsaturated and trans fats. Saturated fats come mainly from animal sources such as meat and dairy. At room temperature, saturated fats are solid. Unsaturated fats come mainly from plant sources such as olives and nuts and contain no cholesterol. They are liquid (oil) at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are broken down further in monounsaturated (one double bond) and polyunsaturated (more than one double bond).

You might be asking yourself what a fat is saturated or unsaturated with. A fat molecule (without getting into too much chemistry) is made up of carbon atoms that have hydrogen atoms attached to them.

In saturated fats, all carbon atoms have a single bond to another carbon atom and are also bonded to hydrogen atoms. In unsaturated fats, not all carbons are saturated with hydrogens so double bonds form between carbons. Depending on what carbon the double bond is formed determines the fat's properties.

Trans fat is man made fat. It is made by taking an unsaturated fat and putting hydrogen through it in a process called hydrogenation. Trans fat is very bad for your health. Whole saturated fat increases LDL (bad) cholesterol and very slightly increases HDL (good) cholesterol, trans fat increases LDL cholesterol and decreases HDL cholesterol.

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7 Ways to Make Alkaline Diet Benefit You

2011-11-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

The premise of an alkaline diet is that the nutrients found in supplements, alkalizing foods, and water can bring the body back to balance. These vitamins, minerals, and herbs infuse the body with new energy, vitality, and better health.

Alkaline foods and water must be consumed in order to provide nutrients the body needs to neutralize acids and toxins in the blood, lymph, tissues, and cells.

When pH balance inside the body is 憃ut of balance? the body tries to correct that sensitive pH balance. That process shows up as uncomfortable symptoms, including colds, flues, allergies, diseases, viruses, and bacteria.

When the pH level in our body is unbalanced, almost any area of the body can be affected. For example when the nervous system is effected as the result of unbalanced pH balance it shows up in the form of the depression. When cardiovascular system is effected we could have heart disease or experience other heart-related problems, including thickening and hardening of the arteries, coronary heard disease, pain or discomfort in the chest, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart failure. When muscles are effected we often feel fatigue and lack of energy. When skin is effected by improper pH balance we age quicker than normal.

When the body抯 pH level is in balance, the body reaches ideal weight and corrects negative health challenges naturally.

Transition to a more alkaline healthy diet requires a shift in attitude towards food. The important point to remember is that small changes go a long way. Add more alkaline foods to your diet gradually.

7 Sure-fire ways to make alkaline diet benefit you:

1) Reduce the consumption of sugar and products made from sugar, including soda pop, pies, ice cream, jello, jams & jellies, artificial juices, puddings, doughnuts, corn syrups, chewing gum, sweetened drinks, cookies, breakfast cereals, liqueurs, mixed drinks.

2) Avoid processed foods and condiments including ketchup, salad dressings, pickles, luncheon meats, canned fruits, breads, relish, cheese dips, peanut butter, prepared seafood, frozen vegetables, crackers, canned soups, hot dogs, sausages, sweetened yogurt.

3) Avoid cooking and heating foods and drinks in microwave.

4) Avoid dairy, meats, fried foods and fast foods.

5) Increase your consumption of raw vegetables and raw fresh fruits (without sugar). You should include raw vegetables in every meal. If your breakfast is so small that you only eat toast or cereal, stop eating toast and take fresh fruits or vegetable juices instead. If your lunches are usually consist of sandwiches try to substitute it with a raw salad or a vegetable juice. Have a large salad before you eat a heavy entree at dinner. This way, you will be sure to eat all of the salad instead of finding yourself too full to finish it.

6) Grains form the base of a balanced diet and are important in maintaining the alkaline balance in the body. Grains are great source of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients, including folic acid, fiber, carbohydrates antioxidants and phytoestrogens. The Department of Food and Science and Nutrition at University of MInnesota determined that consumption of whole grains reduces the risk of chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. By eating grains you can eat less but feel full. Grains should comprise about 20% of your diet.

7) Don't forget to hydrate. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of good quality of water each day. Add liquid minerals to increase the quality of water.

If you follow these easy 7 steps it will allow you to create the proper alkaline balance within your body.

Creating the proper alkaline balance within your body will bring you increased quality of life. You'll start seeing immediate improvements in your health. Your energy will increase, your concentration will be stronger. You'll build strength, stamina, and resistance to diseases. Your entire body will function more efficiently just like it was meant to do.

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Beware of Eating Too much Protein

2011-11-17T13:37:00.000-08:00

Protein is an essential nutrient, and is vital to your health. It is used to build muscles, skin, hair and nails. However, many people put their health at risk by eating too much protein.
The typical American diet already provides plenty of protein and there is no point in adding any more, unlike fat cells, there is no place in the body to store protein so the excess is eliminated or is seen as fat rather than muscle.
So what you need to do is to consume just enough protein to allow your muscles to be healthy, perform work and grow. But how much is just enough?
You only use protein for about 15% of your energy use, the majority of energy comes from fats and carbohydrates. Exercising doesn抰 necessarily mean that you require more protein but more carbohydrates to stop your body breaking down protein and using that for energy.
Try to make sure that 70% of your protein comes from sources such as meat, fish, eggs or poultry. The complete protein provided by these foods combines with incomplete protein consumed from other food sources. So your body makes the best of all the protein that you consume.
If you are consuming too much protein, you are probably consuming too many calories over your maintenance levels and this will show as an increase in your body fat levels. And with the advent of the latest fad high protein diets, not enough carbohydrates are being consumed so the protein is converted to glucose and not converted into muscle growth.
What is needed for muscle growth is not more protein but high intensity strength training with the required amount of time for rest and recovery between sessions. Because that major bodybuilding star you saw in the latest magazine requires 300 grams of protein a day doesn't mean that you have to. What he won't tell you is that taking Steroids is behind his muscle gains and not his diet.
High intensity strength training and not food stimulates muscle growth.
Consuming excessive amounts of protein is not only bad for your liver and kidneys but also promotes vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is also linked to osteoporosis and some forms of cancer.
One way to overcome the need to eat large quantities of protein is to increase the consumption of protein in stages until a maximum efficiency point is reached and then to drastically reduce it again. This obliges the body to over-compensate by increasing the efficiency for the absorption of protein into the body.

An example of a Protein Loading diet is found below.

Week One

Breakfast: Poached egg on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.

Snack: Fruit and protein shake.

Lunch: Chicken, potato, and vegetables. Fresh fruit salad.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, and biscuits with cheese.

Dinner: Fish any style, rice, vegetables, whole meal bread and fruit salad.

Week Two

Breakfast: Two poached eggs on toast, cereal with fruit salad and milk.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Lunch: Chicken with potatoes and vegetables (any style)

Snack: Nuts, fruit, biscuits with cheese.

Dinner: Roast Beef with vegetables, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Week Three

Breakfast: Three eggs any style on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, and protein shake.

Lunch: Turkey with potatoes and vegetables, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Dinner: ?Chicken, potatoes, veggies, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Before Bed: Protein shake.

Week Four

Breakfast: Four eggs any style on toast, cereal with fruit and milk.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Lunch: Spaghetti with meat sauce, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.

Dinner: Roast Pork, potatoes, brown rice, whole meal bread.

Before Bed: Protein shake.

After week four of this protein loading diet, move from the max intake of protein to the lowest. So in the fifth week go back to week one menu, in the sixth week, week two menu and so on.

This protein loading diet provides a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates and combined with high intensity strength training will be very effective in increasing muscular bodyweight without the need to ingest large quantities of protein.

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About Omega 3 Fish oils

2011-11-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

Question: What抯 all the fuss about Omega 3 fish oils? What do they do for my body?

Answer: Omega 3 fish oils are a substance that can be found in the bodies of fish. However, eating fresh fish is no longer recommended. The mercury levels that are prevalent in almost all fresh fish these days can be very detrimental to your health. However, companies have manufactured fish oil that is mercury free by processing the oils that naturally occur in the fish. Omega 3 is a type of fat that is essential for human health. Omega 3 contains two fatty acids that benefit the human body greatly, which are known as DHA and EPA.

These fatty acids have been linked to helping prevent heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases. DHA is also required by the human brain. Low levels of DHA in the brain have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss, and an increased chance of being stricken with Alzheimer抯 disease. Therefore, the regular and repeated consumption of Omega 3 fish oils can greatly help affect the quality of your life for the better.

The American Heart Association recommends the use of fish oils to help your hearts performance as long as you keep your dosage under 3 grams per day, suggesting an amount roughly between 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day. Clinical trials conducted have shown that Omega 3 fish oils can reduce cardiovascular events including heart attacks, strokes, and even death.

Also, research has shown that fish oils can help decrease the risk of arrhythmias, decrease triglyceride levels, decrease the growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque, and even slightly lower blood pressure! With all these facts, there is no doubt that the regular and responsible use of Omega 3 fish oils from supplements can be of great benefit to your health.

Why not check out our nutrition guide at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/nut-ebook.html

and also what supplement we personally use for our nutrition needs at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/what-we-use.html

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Are you eating yourself to death?

2011-11-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

My immediate answer is YES, you are eating yourself to death!

I can just hear you all shout "Hold on a second there Richelo! I eat very healthy foods, and I only drink healthy fruit juices. I don't eat sweets, I only buy low fat and low carb products. I eat healthy, and don't need to read the rest of this article!" HOLD ON there a moment! You are not eating as healthy as you think! Let me tell you why.

Never in the history of man have we seen more obesity, diseases, syndromes and what not, than we do right now. Is this all thanks to food? No, BUT, a HUGE part is, and if you will indulge me for a short while, I will try my best to explain to you in an easy to understand manner, why this is so.

We live in an instant gratification and microwave society. If it is not quick, easy and now, it is so yesterday. BUT, at what cost?

I can write a whole book about all the "stuff" they put in processed, or so called fast foods, but, I don't want to bore you to death with all the scientific names and what it does to your body. Let me rather simplify this for you, and say that if it is processed in any way, it is not good for you, and very possibly bad for you!

So, what exactly is processed foods, and why is it so bad for you?

Does it come in a can, sealed box, sealed bag, or is it ready made? If so, it is processed. This is the vast majority of the foods that you get at the grocery store! Have a look the next time you are at the store, and you will see this to be true.

Now on to why it is so bad for you. For this food to last long, have the right color, and not pick up all the bad bacteria associated with keeping food for long, a LONG list of chemicals are added to this food. A lot of these chemicals are known to have very serious negative effects of the human body. To name but a few of these "side" effects: Cancer, High blood pressure, high cholesterol, Numbness, Burning sensation, Tingling, Facial pressure or tightness , Chest pain, Headache, Nausea, Rapid heartbeat , Drowsiness , Weakness and Difficulty breathing for asthmatics .

Now, forget all the "stuff" being added. What about nutritional value? Because of all the processing, there is little, if any, real nutrients left in any any of these foods! Not only that, BUT, the salt levels are WAY above what a human being should be consuming!

What about all these healthy bran cereals? Are they processed? YES. They contain more sugar than anything else! You poor blood sugar levels does not know what to do with all the extra insulin that it gets with just about any fast or processed food!

So, what then is safe and healthy?

Anything that is fresh, not processed, and preferably organic. Plain and simple! YES, that means that nice cup of coffee you are enjoying while reading this is not very good for you!

Have a look at your grocery store. The vast majority of the fresh, non processed foods are around the perimeter of the store, and not in the isles! This makes shopping so much easier!

"BUT, it takes so long to prepare!" The most common complaint I hear! Well, if you plan it properly, you can make all your fresh food in less time than it takes to get all your fast food during the day! Read that again! My wife and I prepare all our meals, for the 2 of us, and our 2 children, in 30 minutes in the morning! All fresh, all healthy, and all ready to eat for the rest of the day!

How much, and how often should you eat? This is also very simple. You should be eating every 2.5 to 3 hours. Before you start screaming at me for telling you to eat so much, remember also that these meals should be much smaller portions of your regular 3 meals a day. This will equate to around 6 meals a day.

What will you be eating? Also quite simple. Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat. YES, fat! You need to eat lean meat, skinless chicken or fish for protein. If you are vegan, there are loads of alternatives. For carbohydrates, you will have fruit and vegetables. For fat, you will have fish, fish oil capsules or flaxseed oil.

That's IT! Sounds boring? Believe me when I tell you that it is not!

To read many more articles like this one, and to learn more about healthy eating and exercising, please visit my web site at http://www.allaboutfitnessonline.com/. While at the site, also take the time to subscribe to our newsletter, which is published bi-weekly, and includes many more articles just like this one.

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Beans could be the answer to your diet nightmares

2011-11-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

So you抮e a healthy eating convert, and you want to start making sure all your meals are perfectly balanced. If you抮e on a limited budget, though, you might have a problem. There抯 a reason why most people get too much carbohydrate and fat and too little protein: most kinds of protein are expensive. Meat and cheese, two of the best sources of protein, are also two of the priciest ingredients you can buy.

So, if you want to eat healthily on the cheap, what抯 the answer? Well, it might surprise you. What you need is beans.

Beans are a cheap crop, readily available in large tins for not very much money at all, and yet they are an excellent source of protein, and taste good too. There抯 no shortage of variety, either: you can get everything from baked beans to kidney beans to butter beans, all lined up there in the same section for you. If you抮e not sure of what to do with them, find some vegetarian recipes, which tend to be very bean-heavy, and give them a try.

It can even be nice to mix together a few different kinds of beans and have a bean salad with a sauce ?a simple side dish, but an easy way to add protein to your meal. Pasta with a dairy-based pasta sauce containing beans is an example of an ideally balanced meal, as long as you don抰 overdo it with the pasta, as is rice with bean curry.

Of course, I抦 not recommending that you stick to beans for your protein all the time, as you抮e bound to get sick of them eventually. If you can replace meat or cheese with beans even occasionally, though, you抣l save a lot of money without affecting the balance of your meal.

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Beginners Guide To Healthy Nutritional Eating

2011-11-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

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Article Body:

If you抮e currently not eating a healthy diet, it can be difficult to start such a plan. However, healthy eating along with some exercise is very important for maintaining a good bodily function and goes a long way towards living a disease-free life. If you struggle with healthy eating, then you know that breaking unhealthy habits can be the most difficult part of the process. Therefore, if you truly want to live the best lifestyle possible, it is important to follow tips in order to start eating a more healthy diet.

A great first step when you want to start eating your way to a healthy life style is to rid your home of all temptations that will distract you from following better eating habits. Ideally it would be a wise course to keep junk foods and beverages out of your house so as not be tempted to snack during the day. If you抮e worried about getting hungry, keep healthy snacks like carrot sticks, yogurt, fresh fruit, or whole-wheat crackers on hand. If you find that you just cannot bear to toss out the sweets, try keeping something tiny on hand, peppermints or barley sugar. Eating a few, (emphasis on few) of these won抰 ruin your diet but also will give you that little sugary fix you rave.

Another great step to healthy eating, when you抮e first starting the process, is to take a few moments to learn what foods are the healthiest for you and how they work within the body. To start eating healthily we must begin by thinking healthily. Most people understand that fruits, vegetables, and low-fat meats and dairy products are good for you, but few people understand why. The key is learning about nutrients. When you understand how specific nutrients work and why you need them, it becomes more reasonable for you to make healthier choices for your body. Knowledge really is power!

Preparation is a major key in commencing a new healthy diet. You must take into consideration your schedule for meals. If you often eat in a rushed hurry at odd times of day, you probably more inclined to grab a rushed meal which will probably do more harm than good. So plan ahead! Instead of grabbing a fast food lunch on the go, take a bagged lunch to work, complete with a healthy wrap and some fresh fruit and vegetables. Remember not to forget your evening meal, a simple plan to have a meal ready before you get home would be perfect, but in our fast paced life style, sometimes this just can抰 be done. One way to solve this problem is to plan out your evening meals for the week, on your days off. Perhaps just before you do your weekly shopping. Another warning: when going to the shops, do not venture their hungry because if you're anything like me, one or two chocolate bars won抰 hurt! That becomes the first break in your healthy eating.

Initially many will find it very difficult to make those necessary changes to healthier eating. Along with the difficulty of change, you may not feel well for a short period of time. Usually this is normal as your body is adjusting to your new and improved life style and is cleansing itself from the unhealthy toxins built up from poor eating habits. However if this feeling continues or you are worried a visit to your doctor would be the correct thing to do.

Start with baby steps. Even if you only replace one soda a day with a glass of water, you are really improving your calorie intake. If you eat fast food every day for lunch, try replacing that half of the time with better quality foods. When you start by taking small steps you aren抰 cutting out all of the foods you love all at once. By taking your time to learn about your eating habits and slowly replacing them with better meals, by taking the time to learn and understand why you should be doing that and making the necessary changes in an orderly fashion, you will feel much better within yourself physically, mentally and emotionally and well on the road to becoming as healthy as you can be

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Atkins Destroys The Competition

2011-11-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

Nutritionists agree, today抯 dieters can lose weight on many of the popular diets prevalent throughout the diet industry. The trick to dieting success is keeping the weight off once the dieting part of the plan has ended. Figures from the CDC show that the percentage of dieters who able to maintain their weight loss for five years after accomplishing their goal weight is a very disheartening 5%. Some research shows the figure to be less than this. So the greatest challenge for the nutritional community is not the actual weight loss, but the maintenance of weight loss once the initial loss has been accomplished.

During the main weight loss period dieters stray from their diets to varying degrees, but the most successful dieters are the ones who are able to get back on their program after a stumble. This is very similar to the maintenance problem most dieters face. If one is told that they will never be able to enjoy a specific treat for the rest of their lives the likelihood that they will be able to sustain a program is significantly reduced. Both the dieter and maintainer face similar obstacles in fulfilling successful programs.

This is where low carbohydrate diets have a significant advantage over their counter parts. If the dieter has just gone through a rough patch, such as the holidays, or a vacation, the low carb diet knows that in order to get back on the program they can start with a nice gigantic steak and eggs breakfast, followed by a roasted chicken for lunch and salmon drowned in a nice rich dill cream sauce for dinner. The choice for the other dieters is no where near as inviting. Half of a scrumptious grape fruit and a bowl of delicious cottage cheese followed by whole wheat bread with tuna mixed with diet dressing for lunch and a couple slices of dry turkey breast with brussels sprouts and low-fat vanilla yogurt for dinner. These are common choices for the dieting public.

The number one most significant factor in the successful completion of a diet is overwhelmingly answered by the low carb diet. Getting back on the program once you have stumbled. The appeal of the foods offered clearly favors low carb dieter. Although some find Special K to be a most attractive choice, most would choose the green pepper, onion, cheese omelet option.

The bias against low carb diets is rarely answered empirically. Long held conventions in any discipline are hard to overcome, especially in the field of health. Finding a health professional with an open mind can be one of the hardest tasks for the health conscious consumer today.

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Atkins Is Hardly the 'Rich Man's Diet'

2011-11-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

Every day, Americans consume heavily processed and refined foods because they mistakenly believe that healthier, more nutritious foods are too expensive to buy on a tight budget.

"It is incorrect and damaging to characterize eating whole foods as a luxury only the rich can afford," said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of education and research at Atkins Health & Medical Information Services. "While this notion plays into the pockets of manufacturers of processed foods, it couldn't be further from the truth. Unfortunately, by perpetuating this myth about whole foods, those parties responsible support unhealthy long-term eating habits."

The Atkins Nutritional Approach and similar regimens have demonstrated their weight loss and health benefits in numerous studies, Heimowitz said. For instance, a six-month study published in the November 2004 Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cardiology demonstrated that a low-carb diet significantly reduces body weight and decreases the level of triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood glucose, and increases the HDL (good) cholesterol.

"One of the best aspects of the Atkins Nutritional Approach is that it is a program that can fit into almost any budget," Heimowitz said. "It is important for people to realize that with a little ingenuity and creativity in the grocery store and kitchen, they can reap tremendous health benefits from whole foods without having to prepare elaborate gourmet meals."

Steak, often linked with following Atkins, is not the only available source of protein.

Lower-priced cuts of meat and poultry, ideal in hearty stews and casseroles, for example, offer the same nutritional value as more expensive prime and choice cuts.

Canned fish and less pricey selections such as cod and catfish also can help you control your carbs on a budget. Tofu, another valuable source of protein, can bring diversity to meals without breaking the bank.

Frozen vegetables and fruits -- provided that they have no added sugars -- are typically less expensive than out-of-season fresh produce but still provide the same dietary value. Frozen broccoli, spinach and berries are great low-carbohydrate flavor enhancers.

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Broccoli A Disease Fighting Resource

2011-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

The name broccoli is derived from an Italian name 'Brocco'. It may not be a favorite vegetable for many, especially kids but it has great number of properties to benefit your entire body. It can be stated as one of the finest vegetables which fight numerous diseases. With the high vitamin content it tops the list in the vegetables department. It is known that broccoli has more Vitamin C in comparison to orange. It also has good amount of calcium which you find in abundance in our very own milk.

Just the presence of so many good qualities helps broccoli to combat many health problems. It contains components which fight deadly disease like cancer. Broccoli sprouts contains more cancer fighting elements in comparison to well-developed broccoli. Eating broccoli sprouts on regular basis prevents stomach cancer. It also minimizes your chance of gastritis and peptic ulcer. Your sun-damaged skin gets a sigh of relief as it protects your skin. This saves you from diseases like skin cancer. Your heart problems are reduced and chances of heart diseases slope down to minimal.

If you want to improve cataract problems, have broccoli sprouts at least twice a week. Your chances of having cataract are reduced immensely. It builds your immune system if you have broccoli in small amounts. It spikes your system due to the presence of zinc and other required minerals. It should be considered as a boon for many pregnant women because it contains folic acid. This folic acid is quite rare due to which broccoli becomes very important. It helps in proper development of the fetus without any defects. It is very good to help you with rheumatoid arthritis. The richness of vitamin C in broccoli saves you from suffering pain by polyarthritis. It is great for asthma patients due to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory factors. Many of your asthma problems are reversed by having broccoli. Deficiency of Vitamin C is the main cause of easy bruising. This deficiency is overcome by eating broccoli.

Home Remedies

Having par-boiled broccoli is very good to remove heartburn.

Eating broccoli can help you to reduce the high sugar level.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

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Antioxidants: Eat All Your Colors!

2011-11-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Antioxidants are all the rage today. And, justifiably so. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals which cause cell damage, which ultimately can lead to diseases of the heart and cancer. It seems everywhere you go its blueberry this and blueberry that. You have your choice of wild blueberry juice, blueberry-pomegranate juice, blueberry-cranberry juice and so on and so on.

Now, don抰 get me wrong. I love blueberries. But, in our rush to embrace the latest antioxidant food craze (blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates) we抮e ignoring some very high-antioxidant foods that are probably sitting ignored in our cupboards.

揥hat?? You ask, 揥hat could possibly be higher in antioxidants than my beloved wild blueberry?? Well, how about the small red bean? That抯 right, I said 揵ean.? The small red bean actually has more antioxidants per serving size than the wild blueberry. And the red kidney bean and pinto bean have more antioxidants per serving size than a serving of cultivated blueberries.

What other foods are high in antioxidants? For starters, there are artichoke hearts, blackberries, prunes, pecans, spinach, kale, russet potatoes and plums. And, no, that抯 not a mistake. Russet potatoes are on the list of foods high in antioxidants.

The truth is, there are many common foods high in antioxidants and you should not just restrict yourself to one particular food source. Why? Well, have you ever heard the expression, 揺at your colors?? That refers to the fact that foods are in different color 揻amilies?containing different types of antioxidants which have different benefits. For example, the yellow-orange color family of peaches and nectarines help our immune systems. The purple-red color family of foods (pomegranates, plums, berries) helps reduce inflammation. It抯 important to eat foods from all color groups to reap the full benefits of antioxidants.

The good news is that you can eat healthy foods high in antioxidants (by eating them raw, cooking them, or juicing them yourself) without having to pay a high price for the 揻lavor of the month?antioxidant juices being peddled in the supermarkets.

So, give your blueberries some company at the dinner table. Invite some beans, spinach, potatoes and artichoke hearts and enjoy your antioxidants!

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Antioxidants Naturally Found in Foods

2011-11-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

Why do we need to eat foods that are found to be naturally high in antioxidants?
What are antioxidants?
Which foods do we need to eat, in order to naturally fight free radicals?

Scientists have found that the body forms unstable oxygen molecules, called free radicals; every cell produces tens of thousands of them each day. A free radical is basically an atom with an odd number of electrons in its outer ring. Since electrons have a very strong tendency to exist in a paired rather than an unpaired state, free radicals indiscriminately pick up electrons from other atoms, which in turn convert those other atoms into secondary free radicals, thus setting up a chain reaction, which can cause substantial biological damage. This, in short, is bad. There are also many kinds of free radicals, which we are exposed to everyday, for example, pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides.

Antioxidants are thought to neutralise and stabilise these free radicals.

So, which antioxidants are naturally found in which foods?

We have:

Vitamin E: a fat-soluble vitamin found in vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fortified cereals. Some of the foods containing the highest amounts of vitamin E are wheat germ oil, almonds, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, hazelnuts, peanuts, spinach, broccoli, kiwi and mango.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin involved in the metabolism of all cells. It protects vitamin A and essential fatty acids from oxidation in the body cells and prevents breakdown of body tissues.

Vitamin C: Ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin present in citrus fruits and juices, cabbage, green peppers, broccoli, spinach, tomato, kale, guava, cantaloupe, kiwi, papaya, and strawberries.
It is important in forming collagen, a protein that gives structure to bones, cartilage, muscle, and blood vessels. Vitamin C also aids in the absorption of iron, and helps maintain capillaries, bones, and teeth.

Beta-carotene: Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A. It is present in liver, egg yolk, milk, butter, spinach, carrots, squash, broccoli, yams, tomato, cantaloupe, peaches, and grains.
Studies have been done on beta-carotene's effectiveness for heart disease, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, fibromyalgia, male infertility, and psoriasis.

Coenzyme Q10: CoQ10 boosts energy, enhances the immune system, and acts as an antioxidant. A growing body of research suggests that coenzyme Q10 may help prevent or treat some of the following conditions: heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and others. Primary dietary sources of CoQ10 include oily fish, organ meats such as liver, spinach, broccoli, peanuts, wheat germ and whole grains.

Selenium: Selenium is a trace mineral that is essential to good health but required only in small amounts. It helps synthesize antibodies; helps synthesize co-enzyme Q10and helps transport ions across cell membranes. The best sources of selenium are Brazil nuts, wheat germ, molasses, sunflower seeds, whole wheat bread and dairy foods.

You should note that there are many other antioxidants naturally found in foods.
You should also note that the best way to take antioxidants is naturally, through fresh, vibrant food.
One more thing; sometimes less is more. Some of these antioxidants are only needed in small amounts, so check into whether you need to take more or not, before you start overdosing on antioxidants!

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10 Ways To Get More Antioxidants Into Your Diet

2011-11-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

It抯 no secret that antioxidants are incredibly beneficial to good health. It抯 believed the antioxidants in food can help prevent cancer, reverse or slow aging, enhance your immune system, increase your energy and improve heart and other organ health.

Given all we know about antioxidants and their beneficial properties, it抯 amazing more people don抰 get enough fruits and vegetables, the primary sources of antioxidants. Experts recommend a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, but say getting 7-10 servings is best.

There are 10 steps to getting more antioxidants into your diet.

1.Breakfast

Breakfast doesn抰 have to be a hurried toaster tart on the way out the door. Throw some strawberries, 100% juice and yogurt into a blender; pour your delicious mixture into a cup and head out the door. You抳e just added one to three servings of fruits to your daily intake. Or throw some berries onto your cold or hot cereal.

Say you truly have no time in the morning and usually grab something on the run. Even the Golden Arches can be some help here. Order a fruit and yogurt parfait and some apple slices. For about $2, you have a breakfast providing one to two servings of fruit.

2.Snacks

Here抯 an easy way to get more antioxidants in your diet. How about a handful of raisins for a snack, or some fresh red grapes? Dip some strawberries in yogurt. You抣l feel decadent, but the berries provide the color you抮e looking for. Need crunch? How about some baby carrots dipped in hummus? Consider a handful of pecans for crunch and a nice antioxidant boost.

3.Lunch and dinner

It might sound trite, but adding a salad to each of your main daily meals can add loads to your overall health and well-being. They don抰 have to be boring, and they don抰 have to be just salad greens. If you抮e going classic, add some red pepper slices to your green salad, some tomatoes to the Greek salad, or tart cranberries to your field greens. Whip up a broccoli salad for lunch, or be adventurous and mix up a rice salad with a m閘ange of fresh vegetables like string beans, tomatoes, peppers and red onions.

4.Dessert

Berries, with or without whipped cream or chocolate are a wonderful way to end your day of healthy, antioxidant-rich eating.

5.Beverages

Replace your soda with tea or coffee, both of which boast antioxidant compounds. Have a glass of wine with dinner, or for a real change of pace, pour a glass of chai tea.

6.Think outside the box

We know we can get our antioxidant fix from berries, salads and the like, but researchers say powerful antioxidants can also be found in a variety of unexpected foods, like russet potatoes, artichokes, and small red beans. The beans, in fact, may have more antioxidant power than blueberries, experts say. So to your rice salad full of vegetables, add some beans for even more antioxidants.

7.Cook lightly

You think you抮e being good, preparing vegetables each night for your family抯 dinner. But if you抮e overcooking the vegetables, you抮e cooking out a lot of the beneficial properties of the antioxidants. Steam (don抰 boil) vegetables, and stop cooking them when they will have all of their bright color and most of their bite.

8.Plant a garden

Experts believe that people who plant and harvest vegetables from their own yards are far more likely to eat more vegetables and fruits than people who buy their produce from the store. So plant a garden, watch it grow and eat the fruits (literally) of your labor.

9.Take your healthy diet on vacation

Too many of us consider going on vacation an opportunity to take a vacation from everything, including healthy eating. Think of vacation as a way to be introduced to new foods. Order an interesting vegetable dish in a restaurant and then pay attention to how the chef prepared the dish.

10.Learn to cook

If you抮e cooking, you抮e not opening bags and boxes. Cooking involves scrubbing and peeling vegetables, preparing whole foods and paying attention to how things are cooked. If you抮e ordering out every night, you抮e far less likely to be eating the whole foods and natural fruits and vegetables that provide the base for our antioxidant intake.

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Basics Of Nutrition

2011-11-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

There are many things to learn about when it comes to nutrition. But the basic concept is 揥hat goes in must come out.?Your body is like a machine it takes what it needs from what you feed it and gets rid of the rest by urine and the bowels.

If you notice you have a problem about elimination, you should take it seriously, go see a doctor. Many people have this problem. Don抰 be shy or anything, it can be very serous to your health.

The first step, is finding out if there even is a problem. First you should see how many bowel movements you have daily (BM). If you have one per day it抯 not a problem, however it is better to have 2 to 3 BM抯 a day and more if you eat more often. But if you find you are having one per week or 2 per month, then you have a serious problem.

For some people they might say they don抰 find the time. The reason could be they are out all day and would prefer to have their BM at home rather then a public bathroom. But let me tell you, you will keep your colon quite happy if you go several times for the day. If you are looking for a trick it would be to eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables, steamed beets and using digestive enzymes with your meals. Do whatever you can; it will be beneficial to you.

I have just lightly touched on the subject, but if you have a problem you should consult a doctor and seek help. Because this problem is not good for your health, take care of it today and look forward to tomorrow. May you live a healthy and prosper life.

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22 Reasons To Drink Mangosteen Juice

2011-11-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

A coworker of mine at work brought in a mangosteen supplement drink and she was selling it for $30 (her price) for a 25 fl oz bottle. She also gave me information and these 22 reasons why everyone should be drinking mangosteen juice:

1. prevents hardening of the arteries
2. protects the heart muscle
3. anti-Parkinson, anti-Alzheimer and other forms of dementia
4. anti-depressant
5. prevents and arrest fungus
6. prevents bacterial infections
7. viral fighters and prevention of infections
8. prevents fum disease
9. anti-diarrheal
10. lowers fevers
11. eye care-prevents glaucoma and cataracts
12. pansystemic - a synergistic effect on the whole body
13. energy boosters - anti-fatique
14. anti-aging
15. weight loss (wooo, I'll drink to this!)
16. lowers blood fat (what the heck, I didn't know there is fat in our blood!)
17. anti-tumor benefits
18. cancer: Mangosteen helps in the prevention of cancer with its powerful anti-oxidants.
19. lowers blood pressure
20. numerous references to "Immunostimulants"
21. blood sugar lowering
22. it tastes good

I thought to myself, holy smokes! Who in the world would buy that? What is mangosteen? I have never heard of it or have the slightest idea what it looks like.

Upon further research, the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree grows from 7 to 25 meters tall. The edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. In Asia, the mangosteen fruit is known as the "Queen of Fruits," while the durian (Durio spp.) is known as the "King of Fruits." It is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as button mangosteen and lemondrop mangosteen.

The outer shell of the fruit is rather hard, typically 4-6 cm in diameter. Cutting through the shell, one finds a white, fleshy fruit 3-5 cm in diameter. Depending on the size and ripeness, there may or may not be pits in the segments of the fruit. The number of fruit pods is directly related to the number of petals on the bottom of the shell. On average a mangosteen has 5 fruits (round up figure).

I have eaten a lot of exotic fruits in my life, including the King Of Fruits - durian, but I have never seen or tasted this Queen of Fruits. I bought the $30 bottle from my coworker and chucked down the mangosteen juice. I do feel more energetic for the rest of day, and I will have to let you know in the near future if it will help lose some weight!

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Ayurveda and The Raw Food Diet

2011-11-14T04:13:00.000-08:00

The word, Ayurveda, is from the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, and literally means "Knowledge of Life".
The Ayurvedic approach to life involves listening to and addressing the unique needs of your body, recognizing and balancing your mental and emotional states and deepening your connection with your spirit, your essential self.

The raw food diet is based around the principle that eating a diet high in raw food will normalise and alkalise your body. This, in turn, connects the mind with the body; thus, Ayurveda and the Raw Food diet are very similar.

This article will hopefully provide a brief guidance on how you could connect the two in a way that is optimal to your health.

In Ayurveda, the idea is that you eat according to your 慸osha? vata, pitta and kapha.
Vata is composed of the elements of air and ether
Pitta is composed of the elements of fire and water
Kapha is composed of the elements of water and earth

Vata types are generally thin and find it hard to gain weight. Vatas need to get sufficient rest and not overdo things, as they can tire easily.

Pitta types are generally medium sized and well proportioned. They also tend to be intelligent, with a sharp wit.

Kapha types tend to have sturdy, heavy frames. They are prone to gain weight easily. They often tend to have a positive outlook on life.

So, what does this mean, and how does it apply to you?
In Ayurveda, it is believed that each person is governed by one dominant dosha and you should eat according to that dosha. However, this article is concerned with Ayurveda and Raw Food, so I will only mention the foods that coincide with both these diets.

Vata
Balances: Sweet fruits, apricots, avocado, bananas, berries, grapes, melons, asparagus, beets, cucumber, garlic, radishes, zucchini.
Aggravates: Dried fruits, apples, cranberries, pears, watermelons, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, raw onions.

Pitta
Balances: Sweet fruits, avocado, coconut, figs, mango, prunes, sweet and bitter vegetables, cabbage, cucumber, okra, potatoes.
Aggravates: Sour fruits, berries, bananas, plums, oranges, lemon, pungent vegetables, garlic, onions.

Kapha
Balances: Apples, apricots, berries, cherries, cranberries, mangos, peaches, pungent and bitter vegetables, broccoli, celery, garlic, onion.
Aggravates: Sweet and sour fruits, bananas, coconut, melons, papaya, sweet and juicy vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes.

There are many suggestions in Ayurveda, which are very easily translated to a Raw Food Diet.
Such suggestions are:

Eat mainly seasonal fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains
Eat according to your constitution, or dosha
Fast for one day every two weeks
Establish a regular eating routine
Eliminate or limit caffeinated, carbonated and alcoholic beverages from your life
Drink herbal tea, fruit and vegetable juices

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A vegetarian diet may be best for humans, really folks. (part 1)

2011-11-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

I have been on a vegetarian diet-or to be more exact-a vegan diet for close to 10 years now and although the first 3 were erroneous based on my actions as a result of misinformation, the last 7 or so have been the healthiest of my entire life. Not only has this dietetic lifestyle been the main reason why I抳e been able to cure my terrible case of acne, it also miraculously cured my bad breath (to the point that I honestly don抰 have the so-called morning breath) asthma and overall lethargy.

The benefits of a vegetarian diet have led me to convince many associates to make a similar dietetic change. This is the main reason why I now write this article for your edification if you are interested in such a dietetic lifestyle.

I will go over the popular items usually consumed by non-vegetarians and give you reasons why these substances need to be eliminated or drastically reduced from the human diet.

The Vegetarian Diet: Avoided Products and Reasons Why

Meat:
I am of the belief that giving up all flesh foods may be highly beneficial to the health seeker. Fruits and raw vegetables contain ascorbic properties that prevent various diseases. Meat, however, may be affected by such dreaded diseases as intestinal worms etc.

Many medical doctors forbid their patients to eat meat to alleviate gout rheumatism. The Russian Dr. Buteyko advises all asthmatics to abstain from ALL animal products and processed foods. This discipline has helped many an asthmatic to give up ventolin. I am living proof of that. Meats are in a decomposing state, producing a host of poisons, uric acid and mucus in the body.

They are highly unbalanced, containing a great excess of protein while almost completely lacking in calcium and growth promoting vitamins and minerals. Experiments reported by Farger and Walepole in the journal of Physiology and Pathology show that putrefied meat contains many toxic substances, some of which cause the blood pressure to rise which is why physicians forbid it to patients suffering from high blood pressure.

If you must eat meat or flesh, do eat only one kind of it in a day in very small quantities and spaced very far and few between say once or twice a week and then with plenty of green leaves and starch-less vegetables.

I will touch on other items consumed by non-vegetarians and present the reasons why such items shouldn抰 be consumed卆nd why you may want to consider a vegetarian diet for improving and maintaining your physical, mental and spiritual health.

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benefits of the Soya Bean

2011-11-13T16:14:00.000-08:00

Soya is one of the oldest and most nutritious foods in the world. In the 11th century BC it was primarily consumed in Northern China, spreading to the west and the U.S.A. in the middle of the 18th century and only more recently to Europe. Soya is mainly used in industry and for animal feed despite the fact that it is the third most important crop world-wide today and less than 3% is consumed by humans.

Soya has many nutritional advantages as it contains protein, fibre and isoflavones which have positive effects on cholesterol, bone density, menstrual and menopausal symptoms as well as preventing certain cancers. It is thought to be a wonder food by the Chinese who believe it can cure kidney disease, water retention, common colds, anaemia and leg ulcers.

Research studies by Professor Anderson in 1995 resulted in healthy heart claims as Soya was found to reduce blood cholesterol levels in many of his studies. Soya isoflavones combined with soya protein enhance blood cholesterol reductions as well as having a positive effect on menopausal women by reducing the risk of hot flushes. Improved vascular function, reduction of blood pressure, antioxidant protection of LDL cholesterol and inhibition of platelet activation are other known cardiovascular effects of Soya and its constituent isoflavones.

The recommended daily amount of soya protein by the UK Joint Health Claims Initiative in 2002 is 25g as part of a low-fat diet to help reduce cholesterol level. In orser to achieve this RDA of Soya to promote a healthy heart and reduce cholesterol it is necessary to consume three portions of a Soya based food each day. This can be easily achieved by using Soya milk on cereal each morning, adding soya milk to tea and coffee and choosing a dessert made from soya milk eg. custard or fruit smoothies yoghurt etc.,

There are many Soya cookery books available as well as the many recipes containing soya beans and tofu which already exist in Chinese cooking books. If more people included Soya into their daily diet the risk of developing Heart disease would be reduced which would have a significant impact on the incidence of mortality caused by Coronory Heart Disease today.

Why not check out our nutrition guide at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/nut-ebook.html

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Benefits of Goji juice

2011-11-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

Modernization is wonderful, but there are also other factors in the modern life we live in that may subject our bodies to harm. Understanding what can harm us and what will help us will be our best defense.

Free radicals, our body抯 natural enemy subject our body to more than 10,000 hits during a normal day. If our body is not able to combat the harmful effect of free radicals, then it may give us disease and pre-maturely age our body including our skin.

The pristine valleys of Tibet and Mongolia have a solution to this problem.

What do you think is their secret?

Introducing goji juice, made from goji berries grown in the remote and unpolluted hills and valleys of Tibet and Mongolia. Experts who want to save the people who live in this modern society studied what must be wonderful about these Himalayan diets and why do they live so long and free from diseases. Their studies prove that their diet perpetually include goji berries.

Further studies on goji berries prove that they are nutritious and contain vital nutrients necessary to combat free radicals.

Goji juice contains potent vitamins, and minerals like no other berry.

Goji juice also contains 18 amino acids, 8 of which are essential for our bodies, but having all 18 adds to the beneficial characteristic of this wonderful red juice.

Based on studies by numerous health professionals including Dr. Earl Mindell, the author of The Vitamin Bible, goji juice made from goji berries can give your body all the nutrients it needs to help keep a healthy and happy life.

Goji juice aside from the 18 amino acids also has 21 trace minerals, vitamins B1, B2, B6 and Vitamin E. All of these can help give you healthy and active life.

Some of the beneficial effects of drinking goji juice are:

Energy and Strength ?goji juice is considered as an adaptogen. It increases exercise tolerance, stamina and endurance. Goji juice may also enhance the recovery of ill patients.

Cholesterol level balance ?goji juice may also help manage your cholesterol level because it contains beta-sitosterol, which can help in your cholesterol level balance. It will also help avoid cholesterol deposit in the blood vessels, thus heart problems may be eliminated.

Normal Kidney Function ?your kidney is the vital organ that may possibly control the brain and other organs in the body. It is thus essential for better health that you keep your kidneys functioning properly. Goji juice is believed to be helpful in keeping this essential organ functioning properly.

Supports General Health ?as mentioned earlier, free radicals harm our body in many ways. Thus, eliminating this natural enemy will help keep our body strong and avoid illnesses. Goji juice is a potent antioxidant that may keep our body healthy.

Other beneficial factors which may come from goji juice are enhanced sexual function, blood sugar level balance and vision problems.

This is because goji juice contains more beta-carotene even compared to a carrot. The vitamin C contents of goji juice, which is 500 times more in weight than orange, will help keep the immune system functioning properly to avoid illness.

These are only a few of the helpful and beneficial functions of goji juice and because goji juice is safe even for children.

If drinking this sweet and tasty juice excites you well enough, you can also eat goji berries with your food. You can eat them fresh or the dried goji berries are also available. You may use your imagination as to how you can enjoy these wonderful and amazing berries.

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A Nutritious Diet while Traveling

2011-11-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

Sticking to a nutritious diet while traveling can be one of the more difficult things to do. However, if you learn how to make smart choices, a healthy diet is really not that difficult. It抯 probably not the best time in which to start a healthy diet, but if you are currently making healthy choices in your foods already, modifying your diet slightly to accommodate travel, is not as difficult as it first may seem.

If you are traveling by airplane, your diet may have to include airplane food, which can often be of poor nutritional value, depending on the selection. When you book your flight, ask about your food options, ask if a vegetarian dish is available? Vegetarian dishes are sometimes more nutritional in this case, but it really depends on what they may be serving. If you can, eat a larger meal before your flight, so that you don抰 have to eat the entire meal that is served, to feel full.

When driving or taking a bus, you may be tempted to stop at fast food restaurants and eat the meals found there. Avoid this whenever possible! If you抮e on vacation, you may wish to splurge a tiny bit, but having fast food more than once during a week can really be bad for your health. If you must, choose the healthiest options available, like chicken breasts and diet soda.

Also, remember that you can take your own meals when traveling. Carrying a loaf of whole-wheat bread or pita wraps, some lean lunchmeat, and low-fat cheese in a cooler is a great way to avoid high-fat and high-cholesterol junk food meals. These are much better choices and you抣l save a lot of money as well. Call ahead to ask if there will be a refrigerator in your hotel room.

Lastly, make smart choices when you eat out. If you choose salads or pasta get the dressing on the side and ask about low-carb options. In fact, many places print these dieting options directly in the menu for the health-conscious people. Control your portions by ordering lunch menu sizes or splitting the meal in have and getting a doggie bag, and you抣l be well on your way to healthy eating, even away from home.

Yes, eating healthy foods when you travel can be a challenge. However, your health is worth it. Eating meals high in nutrition will also assist in fighting illnesses that you are likely to encounter when traveling and you will find yourself more alert so that you can enjoy your trip.

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Basic Meal & Menu Planning

2011-11-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

As a basis for meals and menu planning, refer to the pyramid information mentioned earlier to make sure you have the basic food requirements met for all family members. Then cross check and plan by looking over basic food categories to target healthy foods to fit the lifestyles and health of everyone. For example, if someone has depression, add some foods mentioned above to his or her dietary plans that aid in the healing and prevention of depression.

Meal planning also depends upon several factors like the number of people eating, meal times, special dietary concerns, budget, available foods, recipes on hand and likes and dislikes of everyone who will be eating. Begin by choosing foods and recipes that you like and know how to prepare well and that fit into everyone誷 dietary plans. If one or more people have special needs, like diabetics, plan ahead for substitutions either in the food preparation or food substitution for that individual or for those individuals.

There are a few things to note when making meal choices and menu planning. First, some foods may be advertised a certain way, but that doesn誸 mean you can誸 experiment. For instance, eggs and sausage can be served for dinner, not just breakfast. And waffles can be made from healthy wheat grains and eaten for lunch with fresh fruits instead of sugary syrup and heavy butter for breakfast.

Add variety, too. Have other family members jump in and prepare meals some nights and on weekends. Kids enjoy making macaroni and cheese, so host mac-n-cheese night on Wednesdays, for example. Then alternate different vegetable combinations, colors and textures to vary the menu on a weekly basis (no need to let boredom take over on Wednesdays with the same routine!)

To help with family food budget concerns, clip coupons from newspapers, weekend inserts, and any place you can find them. Downloaded coupons from the Internet to save money, too, from places like CoolSavings.com and CouponCart.com. RefundingMakesCents offers an affordable subscription to a neat print magazine for coupon deals, trades and lots more, with a secret code to their website for Internet coupon-codes for lots of online companies like Amazon.com (cookware) and Barnes and Noble (cookbooks).

Also note seasonal food selections for savings. Create menus and meals based upon what誷 on special that week or month. Hint: stock up and store or freeze special-priced items and family favorites when possible and storage room and the budget allows. But don誸 over do it. With convenience stores and supermarkets for food shopping in practically every neighborhood anymore, there is no need to hoard. An old saying, 襀aste makes waste?might apply if you see a great buy, purchase multiple items, then let them become outdated and have to toss them out.

One fun way to save is by trading coupons and working out food deals with friends, family, neighbors, your church group and anyone else who誨 like to join in. Food cooperatives and farm markets available in your area may offer special pricing to groups or large purchases. So team up for better purchasing power and split everything up between group members. If you誶e not into that much organization, go one-on-one with a neighbor, other friend or relative. Buy a huge bag of potatoes, onions, oats, and / or other foods, then share.

Here is one special item to note with regards to dietary planning. It誷 unfortunate, but fast foods, especially those that are high in fat content (fried, greasy foods), are often cheaper than good, healthy food choices. For example, lean beef costs more than high-fat beef; cereals high in nutritional value are often priced much higher than the low-cost, sugary brand names. And low income and homeless people are particularly victims of this situation, many times needing to turn to the less healthier food choices for survival. So whenever possible, your plans might want to include donating a portion to homeless shelters and churches who would probably be more than willing to take extras off your hands.

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A Colon Detox Can Improve Your Colon Health

2011-11-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

A healthy colon is a vital part of a healthy body. The colon, along with the small and large intestines, are a major area where the nutrients in food are absorbed. If the colon is not clean, it cannot fulfill this important task. Not only that, the impacted fecal material that builds up in the colon and intestines releases toxins into the bloodstream. You are in effect getting toxins instead of nutrients - not a very good trade.

Symptoms that a colon detoxification might be in order include tiredness, PMS, headaches, and of course, constipation. There are a variety of ways colon cleansing can be done, including colonic irrigation, enemas, dietary fiber, and laxative herbs. These methods can help, but each has negative points.

Another natural option for colon health is to use an oxygen based colon cleanser. This method uses magnesium oxide that has been treated with oxygen and ozone. This substance will react with the hydrochloric acid in the stomach to release oxygen. The oxygen gets into the bloodstream to nourish all parts of the body, but it does more than that. It also nourishes the favorable bacteria that live in the digestive tract.

Unfavorable bacteria in the digestive tract will give you vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps. Favorable bacteria compete with the unfavorable ones for living space. An oxygen based colon detox will encourage those good microbes, for better all around health. So how exactly does it work?

An oxygen based colon health product creates a chemical reaction that releases oxygen and melts the impacted material in the intestines and colon into gas and liquid. It will make you need to stay close to a bathroom for a day or so while you eliminate the material from your colon, but you will feel much better afterwards.

Look for an oxygen based colon detox product that is available in a capsule form. Make sure it does not include ascorbic acid among the ingredients because ascorbic acid is an antioxidant. An antioxidant will undo the good that could be done by the oxygen. A good ingredient to look for, however, is GE-132. This is the germanium-132, which is good for the health of the immune system. It also facilitates and adds oxygen. It is considered to be a nutrient that is helpful for many ailments.

Cleansing the colon can help with weight loss. Many people who have eaten an average diet for years have accumulated ten to twenty pounds of impacted fecal matter in their colons. An oxygen based colon cleanse will help the body eliminate this material, resulting in a quick loss to jump start your weight loss plan. Follow up the cleanse with reasonable portions of healthy natural food. You should have enough energy after the cleanse to start an exercise program, too.

There's a lot more to learn about colon cleansing, and you can do it at http://www.colon-cleaners.com

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Anti aging HGH

2011-11-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

You can reverse the physical decline that robs you of your energy, strength and libido, you can restore muscle tone and improve stamina; Anti aging HGH is here in safe, convenient and affordable supplement doses to help you revive the magic of younger years (or older ones if you are one to plan ahead). The anti aging HGH enhancers of today are packed with a judicious mix of anti aging HGH boosters that will restore healthy sexual excitement and desire, improve mood, memory and wound healing and keep crow's feet on the black winged creatures negotiating the skies- not around your eyes!

Say hello to your new best friend: introducing anti-aging HGH solutions for everyone

The commonly held belief by many of the Internet surfers today looking for anti aging HGH supplements is that these strategically marketed human growth hormone anti aging stimulants are all bunk, meaning they are pitched at unsuspecting, trusting individuals that genuinely need the health benefits of such a formula but are only money-making rackets online at the end of the day. We won't say otherwise, but let you judge for yourself about the confidence we have in our products that contain all-herbal and homeopathic blends of scientifically proven ingredients that work as natural HGH level enhancers so your body produces the best results for making you healthier inside-out. We also offer you a risk-free online purchasing opportunity with a money back 90 day guarantee after buying our products apart from ensuring you get to read the latest and most honest reviews about the anti aging HGH solutions today, including ours.

Anti aging HGH is for all those of you that need a sure and safe boosting of the vital HGH levels and its added health benefits beyond the skin-toning and repairing as quality formulations for anti aging HGH solutions will include essential amino acids and other ingredients for quicker muscle repair, improved memory and enhanced immune function among others advantages. Stick around to know your best choices.

What to know before purchasing an anti aging HGH supplement: your body and you

Please consult with your physician about your body's need for anti-aging HGH before opting for the heavily advertised secretagogue HGH supplements, or any secretagogue aimed at increasing HGH. It is very important that you know your body's needs for enhanced stimulants for anti aging HGH since these do not work the same results for everyone, even in large doses of potent formulation such as HGH injections. Those with limitations of a damaged anterior pituitary or hypothalamus may not see results from using anti aging HGH since these areas are responsible for growth hormone production; even those diagnosed with any form of pituitary gland malfunction or disruption in the hypothalamus may not realize any benefit from HGH secretagogue use. Beyond these immediate concerns, if these problems are not detected in your doctor's examination, it is still advisable to ride the safe bus to youthful looks by taking a medical opinion prior to testing out sleeping pituitary and boost production by purchasing sprays or pills for human growth hormone anti aging therapy.

http://www.advice-hgh.com/order.html is where you go when you want to smile at the mirror and the world of beautiful, younger-looking and positive feeling you.

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B6 Important Among the B Vitamins

2011-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

When most people hear the word 揳nemia,?they immediately think of iron. But a shortage of Vitamin B6 can also cause a type of anemia because this vitamin is vital to the healthy generation of hemoglobin in the blood of a normal, healthy person. You may also associate Vitamin B6 with sugar diabetes, and that抯 because one of the important functions of this vitamin is to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood.

Vitamin B6 is also known as pyridoxine. You may not have heard of many people who were found to have a serious Vitamin B6 deficiency, and there抯 a good reason for that. B6 is so readily available in so many foods that it抯 a fairly simple matter to get your daily recommended allowances of this vitamin.

Some of the common sources of B6 include tuna, roast beef, tomato juice, trout, pork loin and peanut butter. Naturally, cereals that are fortified with vitamins are excellent sources and many provide 100 percent of the body抯 need for cereal. Three raw bananas also provide a full day抯 supply of the necessary Vitamin B6. A medium baked potato (including the potato skin) provides about one-third of the daily requirement. Evaluating the foods rich in this vitamin reveals that many people are already meeting the daily requirements for B6.

So what are the dangers of having too little Vitamin B6 in your daily diet? Recent studies suggest that a lack of this vitamin is a factor for determining the risk of stroke and some types of heart disease. That means that people with deficiencies are more likely to suffer from these health issues than their counterparts who are getting sufficient amounts of Vitamin B6.

Depression is another problem potentially impacted by a Vitamin B6 deficiency. Though there may be some difference of opinion as to the role and the importance of B6 and depression, there appears to be a link that can抰 be denied. In fact, depression is listed by some as one of the symptoms of insufficient Vitamin B6 in the diet.

There are some risks of taking too much B6. Nerves ?especially in the outer extremities ?are sometimes damaged by overdosing the body on vitamin B6. In the majority of cases, simply eliminating any vitamin supplements appears to eliminate the nerve problems as well. It抯 unlikely that a normal person can take in enough Vitamin B6 from a normal diet to cause toxicity at this level, and more likely that these severe effects of too much B6 are caused by taking too many vitamin supplements containing B6.

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Are The Foods You Eat Putting Your Health at Risk?

2011-11-12T02:25:00.000-08:00

Food (and water) is the absolute first thing you need in order to ensure life. Without it you would wither away and die. You need food for its nutrition and for its sustenance. But are the foods you consume today supplying you with good solid nutrition, or are many of them slowly robbing you of your health and taking years from your life?

Here are some things to consider:

THE HAZARDS OF EATING MEAT
Eating meat (particularly pork and red meat such as beef) in of itself is unhealthy especially when eaten in too large of quantities. Certain meats, such as beef, can take up to 72 hours to digest completely. Therefore, if you eat meat two or three times a day, you could still be digesting the food you had for breakfast the other day while you are again consuming another round of it.

This explains why many autopsies reveal from 5 to as much as 40 pounds of undigested meat still in the systems of many people! Now, imagine how unhealthy it becomes if the animal where the meat came from was treated with antibiotics and other artificial health sustainers? These chemicals stay in the meat fibers; and no amount of washing, cooking, or boiling will get rid of them. Do you really want that in your food?

Hence, many people today are immune to antibiotics for humans. They ingest the antibiotics from animals, and the extra strong antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in the human body. The more you eat chemically treated meat, the more you weaken your body抯 defense mechanisms. This hazard is aggravated further when the meats are processed with artificial flavors and preservatives.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING FISH
Many 揻resh?fish in the market today are loaded with preservatives to lock in their 揻reshness.?Some use formalin, a chemical used in embalming human corpses, to preserve newly caught fish. A few wicked sellers may wash marketed fish with food coloring or textile color to give these fish a 揻resh?look. To ensure your safety and enjoy the nutritious benefits of fish, buy them from trusted sources only.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING BREAD
Many white breads are hard to digest. Their hard residues stay long and may form blockades in the intestines. Moreover, eating white bread actually rapidly elevates blood sugar levels in your body. Whole wheat bread is a healthier food alternative to white bread as it supplies better nutrition, but many of the whole wheat breads today still have preservatives because they are commercially produced. Make sure it is made with 搘hole wheat flour?and not 揺nriched whole wheat flour? Always check the ingredients just to be sure.

CHEMICALS IN FOOD
Aside from having their nutrition values greatly reduced, a lot of food today is treated with harmful chemicals. Washing, cooking, and boiling for long hours may lessen the chemicals in your food, but these harmful substances may not be fully eliminated. Peeling the skin off some fruits will not ensure safety either.

Imagine swallowing and accumulating all those fertilizers and pesticides in your body. Do you still wonder why we have so many deadly diseases today that were unheard of in the days of our ancestors?

Insects know better. They will not touch crops with pesticides. That is why you will find these crops sold in the market without any sign of insect bites. People buy them because they look clean and delicious. They don抰 know that these outward appearances conceal inner hazards of the food they are buying. Some people think it is a good option to eat fruits and vegetables that show a few nibbles from insects.

PROCESSED FOOD
After having your veggies and fruits treated with fertilizers and pesticides (and these are given to farm animals as part of feeds), they also undergo artificial processing to prolong their 揻reshness.?They are treated with preservatives, which mean more chemicals. Some instant noodles are treated with chemical wax, which may be cancer causing. Do you know that these noodles are banned in some countries?

Because processed food terribly lacks real nutrition, their sellers sometimes put synthetic vitamins in them and pass them off as 損lus factors?for good health when actually; these synthetic vitamins often do little to nothing for you or in some cases can even harm your health.

If you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life, always be on the lookout for the presence of preservatives in your food. Look at the labels and find out if some of the ingredients can be harmful to your health.

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Be Healthier With Veggies.

2011-11-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.

One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing every day quickly becomes boring, so why not pick a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every color of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size and texture, to give yourself a varied diet every day.

When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. Different color fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each and every day.

Finding new recipes is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and these new recipes may just provide the impetus you need to eat all those fruits and veggies.

New recipes can also provide you the important opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before. For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available.

Many people mistakenly think that they do not need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they just take a vitamin supplement. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. That is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health, so too are the hundreds of other elements that are contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamin pills. Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally. In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from the food you eat is much less expensive, and much better for you, than popping those vitamin pills every day.

So don抰 forget to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this quite reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes and as meals.

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Are You Nutritionally Fit?

2011-11-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

A recent survey of nearly 700 Americans showed that 72 percent believe they are healthy eaters, yet government data proves otherwise.

The USDA recently revealed that Americans get plenty of protein and carbohydrates, but often fall short on key nutrients such as magnesium, potassium and vitamins C and E.

"Fifty years ago, we only recognized extreme cases of vitamin deficiencies, like scurvy, which is caused by a lack of vitamin C," said Carroll Reider, MS, RD, Nature Made vitamins director of scientific affairs and education. "Science has advanced. We now know that even small amounts of vitamin deficiencies hurt us much more than people realize."

While most Americans appear well fed, a key question is: Are you nutritionally fit? To assess your nutritional condition, Reider posed the following questions:

Do you shun the sun? People who wear sunscreen, live in northern climates or have darker skin may not receive optimal levels of vitamin D, which is made following exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and may also promote ovarian, breast, prostate, heart and colon health. Reider suggests 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily for people who spend most of their time indoors and those who don't synthesize vitamin D easily, such as darker- skinned individuals and the elderly. Vitamin D food sources include milk and fatty types of fish; however, it is hard to achieve optimal intake through food alone. It is also available in supplement form.

Do your meals lack color? Does dinner typically consist of meat, starch and the same green vegetable? For optimal health, add more colors to your diet. Vegetables such as steamed carrots, peppers and red cabbage add vibrant hues to the dinner plate while citrus wedges brighten the standard bed of greens. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables maximizes nutrient intake and provides antioxidants, which help fight free radicals that may cause premature aging. "A multivitamin formulated for your age and gender is also a good way to compensate for dietary imbalances," Reider said.

Is fish a regular dish? The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish per week. Reider suggests salmon and tuna, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Some studies suggest omega-3 fatty acids may promote heart health. Other sources include walnuts, flaxseed or vitamins.

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Bodybuilding Nutrition And Balance

2011-11-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

Many inexperienced (sometimes even experienced!) gym regulars believe that muscles grow while lifting weights. However lifting weights forms only a small fraction of the muscle building process. Muscle development takes place at night during deep sleep when the body synthesizes new cells with nutrients from our diet. Therefore nutrition forms a very important part of a bodybuilding program.

The body utilizes nutrients in food to perform daily metabolic and what's commonly referred to as the "wear and tear processes". With bodybuilding, additional strain is put on the body to make new muscle tissues. Therefore the nutrient requirements also shoots up to stay with the demand.

The best bodybuilding nutrition comes from a balanced intake of carbohydrates, adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, fats and large amounts of water. So if you are serious about getting lean and ripped it抯 time to say goodbye to mayo burgers, colas and other synthetic foods. Adopt eating habits imbibing fruits, whole grains, milk, eggs and fresh farm products.

How much protein do you need?

Your growing muscles need amino acids to create new tissues. The amino acids are provided by protein in diet. There is a lot of debate on the exact quantity of protein required in bodybuilding. The caution to maintain is that extreme amounts of protein in the diet can cause gastric and renal complications. Recent studies have suggested that a protein intake of 1 to 1.4 grams per unit of body weight is adequate to sustain the bodybuilding process. This means that the protein requirement of a 70 kg individual should be around 70 to 98 grams. To give an estimate of the amount involved consider the following: A 100 gm chicken breast has 22 grams of protein, a glass of milk has 8 grams,an egg approximately 5 grams and a slice bread 3 grams.

A word of caution against the tide of bodybuilding supplements in markets. Many times you come across advertisements proclaiming, 慓ain 20 pounds of muscle in 3 months flat!? Stay clear of these money hungry advertisers. Building lean muscle takes time and effort. Making use of synthetic products which alter body抯 natural mechanism would offset what should be your real purpose in bodybuilding which is to keep the body fit and healthy.

Lastly in bodybuilding it抯 not, 憈he more the better? Rather it is 憈he more precise the better? Don抰 over exert, eat balanced food and include plenty of rest. With everything good in life, patience, commitment, and balance will guarantee your success. With these tips in mind you are all set to pump iron!

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10 Small Steps To Improve Your Health

2011-11-11T01:36:00.000-08:00

Many of us make health-related resolutions, such as to lose weight, stop smoking or join the neighborhood health club. While it is common to set high goals, experts say that setting smaller goals could do more for our health.

"Small steps are achievable and are easier to fit into your daily routine," says James O. Hill, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "They are less overwhelming than a big, sudden change."

Here are 10 to try:

1. Stop gaining weight. Even if you gain just a pound or two every year, the extra weight adds up quickly.

2. Take more small steps. Use a pedometer to count your daily steps; then add 2,000, the equivalent of one extra mile. Keep adding steps, 1,000 to 2,000 each month or so, until you take 10,000 steps on most days.

3. Eat breakfast. Breakfast eaters tend to weigh less and have better diets overall. For a filling and nutrition-packed breakfast, top Whole Grain Total?with fresh fruit slices and low-fat or fat-free milk.

4. Switch three grain servings each day to whole grain. If you're like the average American, you eat less than one whole grain serving a day.

5. Have at least one green salad every day. Eating a salad (with low-fat or fat-free dressing) is filling and may help you eat less during the meal. It also counts toward your five daily cups of vegetables and fruits.

6. Trim the fat. Fat has a lot of calories, and calories count. Purchase lean meats, eat poultry without the skin, switch to lower-fat cheeses, use a nonstick pan with only a dab of oil or butter.

7. Consider calcium by including two or three daily servings of low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt. Dairy calcium is good for bones and may also help you lose weight.

8. Downsize. The smaller the bag, bottle or bowl, the less you will eat.

9. Lose just 5 to 10 percent of your current weight. The health benefits are huge-lower blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides.

10. Keep track of your eating. Write down what you eat over the next couple of days and look for problem spots. Often, just writing things down can help you eat less.

Mindy Hermann

Note to Editors: This is Series V-16 of 26.

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Buying Nutritional Supplements Online

2011-11-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

If you are looking to purchase nutritional supplements, look no further than the World Wide Web. There are millions of businesses based both in the 搑eal?and virtual worlds that hock any type of natural extract or supplement imaginable. These nutritional supplements can be anything from naturally building muscle and tone to ensuring your body has the proper nutrients at all times. Online sellers of nutritional supplements are just as reliable as the traditional brick and mortar stores, and are often controlled by the same company.

Instead of searching all over town for those hard to find nutritional supplements, look no further than your computer. The World Wide Web has essentially shrunk the earth, allowing you to purchase anything and everything from any corner of the globe and have it delivered directly to your door. Many small towns do not have a health food store or nutritional supplements shop, so instead of driving near and far to purchase the items you seek, you can save time and money on gas and hop on the internet for all your shopping needs.

Quite often, these online sellers of nutritional supplements are a great deal less expensive than traditional brick and mortar stores. This difference in price is usually because of the rock bottom overhead it takes to run a virtual business. Instead of renting a storefront for your nutritional supplements store, paying employees to stock and man the register, purchase a variety of business related items, and paying utilities on the store, you can quickly and easily run a significant business out of your own home. This savings is directly passed down to the buyer, who reaps the rewards of convenient shopping at great prices.

If you are looking at a place to purchase nutritional supplement online, ask your friends, family members, or coworkers for a reference. Most individuals have done some sort of shopping on the World Wide Web and can point you in a general direction. Also, speak with your primary healthcare provider about an appropriate store in cyberspace to purchase your nutritional supplements. This is critical since your doctor should know of anything you are taking, whether all natural over the counter supplements or prescription medications. Once you have found a reputable dealer of nutritional supplements online, establish a relationship with the company and be sure to tell your friends. Word of mouth advertising is an excellent way to spread the word about a specific business.

Whenever you purchase anything online, especially nutritional supplements, only work with legitimate sellers. Remember the old adage, if it is too good to be true, then it probably is, and carefully look up the background information of any store before you buy your nutritional supplements. Also, once your products arrive, ensure they are still properly sealed and the containers are in perfect condition when they arrive. This inspection is important so that you can be sure none of the products were tampered with before they arrived on your doorstep. Once your nutritional supplements arrive, you can begin taking them and be on your way to proper health in no time.

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7 Reasons to grow your own organic vegetable garden

2011-11-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

During the last decades there has been a change towards mechanization and homogenization of farming, which uses pesticides, additives, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and mass-production techniques. All this is clearly affecting mankind's health, and new diseases are spreading rapidly amongst humans and animals (bird's flu being the most recent one).

The World Health Organization produces reports to show how the use of chemicals and other products on food, coupled with the manufacturing processes involved, are actually a threat for our health.

If you have space for a few pots or even a small piece of land, it is a wise decision to grow your own organic vegetable garden. Today I'm presenting you with seven reasons for doing this:

1. You will have no additives in your vegetables. Research by organic food associations has shown that additives in our food can cause heart diseases, osteoporosis, migraines and hyperactivity.

2. There will be no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers used. These chemical products are applied to obtain crops all the time regardless plagues or weather conditions, and affect the quality of the vegetables. Besides, pesticides are usually poisonous to humans.

3. Your vegetables will not be genetically modified (GM). Antibiotics, drugs and hormones are used on vegetables to grow more and larger ones. One of the consequences of this practice are vegetables which look all the same and are usually tasteless. Besides, we end up consuming the hormones that have been used on the vegetables, with the potential risks for our health.

4. Eating your own organic vegetables will be much more healthy for you. They will not contain any of the products or chemicals named above, and they will be much more natural than any ones you would find at the supermarket. Your health will not be at risk because you will then know that nothing has been added to your vegetables.

5. Your own organic vegetables will be much more tasty. The use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics make vegetables grow unnaturally and take the taste away from them. With organic vegetables, your cooking will be enhanced as their flavour will show fully.

6. Organic farming is friendly to the environment. Because you won't use pesticides or other equally harming products on your vegetables, you will not damage the soil or the air with the chemical components.

7. When you grow your own organic vegetables you are contributing to your own self-sustainability and the sustainability of the planet. Small communities have been founded where members exchange products that they grow naturally, thus contributing to create a friendly and better place for us all.

In the end, eating organic products only means that we do not add anything else to them than they would naturally have. As you can guess, additives, fertilizers, pesticides or hormones are not components of naturally grown food. To better care for your health, grown your own organic vegetables -and a few pots is all you need.

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10 Possible Causes of the Obesity Epidemic

2011-11-10T02:25:00.000-08:00

It's well accepted that reduced physical activity and fast food are linked to obesity. But the evidence that these are the main causes of obesity is largely circumstantial. To stimulate debate, experts suggest 10 other possible causes of obesity, outlined in the International Journal of Obesity.

1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today, many get less shut-eye than ever.
2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today's pollutants affect our hormones.
3. Air conditioning. You have to burn calories if your environment is too hot or too cold for comfort. But more people than ever live and work in temperature-controlled homes and offices.
4. Decreased smoking. Smoking reduces weight. People smoke much less than they used to.
5. Medicine. Many different drugs including contraceptives, steroid hormones, diabetes drugs, some antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs can cause weight gain. Use of these drugs is on the upswing.
6. Population age, ethnicity. Middle-aged people and Hispanic-Americans tend to be more obese than young European-Americans. Americans are getting older and more Hispanic.
7. Older moms. There's some evidence that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the higher her child's risk of obesity. Women are giving birth at older and older ages.
8. Ancestors' environment. Some influences may go back two generations. Environmental changes that made a grandparent obese may "through a fetally driven positive feedback loop" visit obesity on the grandchildren.
9. Obesity linked to fertility. There's some evidence obese people are more fertile than lean ones. If obesity has a genetic component, the percentage of obese people in the population should increase.
10. Unions of obese spouses. Obese women tend to marry obese men, and if obesity has a genetic component, there will be still more obese people in the next generation.

These other contributing factors deserve more attention and study. Even more explanations include: a fat-inducing virus; increases in childhood depression; less consumption of dairy products; and hormones used in agriculture. What do you think can be attributed to the epidemic?

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Break it Down

2011-11-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

Most folks know a small amount about metabolism. Some know all about it, some know only that it happens in our bodies, and others have only heard the word. For those of you out there who are interested in learning a bit more, here it is! Metabolism works in our bodies to synthesize and break down food, or "purines".

Before we go any further on metabolism, we should learn what Purines are. They come from the food that we ingest. Who thought food could have such a fancy name? Purines, by definition are "A double-ringed, crystalline organic base, C5H4N4, not known to occur naturally, from which is derived the nitrogen bases adenine and guanine, as well as uric acid as a metabolic end product."

Now, back to metabolism. Metabolism occurs in living organisms, to sustain life, and/or to synthesize. In humans, it does both. We require such things as nutrients to sustain our being, and metabolism takes these vitamins out of purines. without a metabolism, we would eat and fill up once, never have a bowel movement, and slowly decay from vitamin deficiency.

And there you have it! For you out there who you they know it all, I threw in some big words, and for you out there who don't know the first thing about metabolism, there you go! You can aquire more information on metabolism or purines from books, internet sources, or you doctor.

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Are Your Relationships Making You Fat?

2011-11-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Are you constantly surrounded by temptation? Can抰 say no to those fattening lunch dates, or those home-baked pies from your mother-in-law or to the huge box of chocolates from your partner? The diet is hard enough without high-calorie foods being pushed in your direction. How can you stick to your resolve?

WebMD experts offer five simple strategies to help you stick to a healthy eating plan (even when you're surrounded by non-dieting friends and loved ones).

1. Make a Statement. It抯 up to the dieter to make his or her feelings known. Directly ask your loved ones not to give you food as gifts or eat in front of you. No matter how strong you are, you can't stare fattening foods in the face every day without your willpower breaking down.

2. Keep Temptation Out of Sight. Even if your loved ones agree to eat their fattening goodies when you're not around, ask them to keep it in a cabinet where you don't normally go for your diet foods - you'll be less tempted to eat it.

3. Learn the Art of Substitution. Give yourself a taste treat of your own by preparing a less-caloric dessert that captures some of the essence of what your family members are wolfing down. Be creative and you'll find that watching others eat the goodies won't be so hard.

4. Share the Health. Make the foods that everyone craves in a more healthful and calorie-conscious way. Use no-fat yogurt in place of mayonnaise, use skim milk instead of whole milk, make lasagna with low-fat cheese. Creating a low-calorie shopping list will also help. Choose baked chips instead of fried, popcorn instead of cheese doodles, diet soda instead of regular, you will be helping everyone.

5. Be Reassuring. Even when they say you look good the way you are, reassure your partner that your weight loss goals are driven by health, not vanity, and that losing those extra pounds will help ensure a better future for both of you. Explain the serious health risks involved in being overweight.

No- you抮e not weak-willed. You抮e human. Just don抰 let those around you get the best of you. Follow these five easy steps and you won抰 fall off the weight loss wagon.

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A Juicy, Fun Way To Take Your Vitamins

2011-11-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

While kids want great taste, you want to give them the vitamins, minerals and fiber their growing bodies need. Serve watermelon and you can both be happy.

Watermelon is a fun, nutritious way to make sure active kids don't get dehydrated; it's 92 percent water.

A two-cup serving of watermelon is an excellent source of vitamins A, B6 and C, and it provides 7 percent of the recommended daily value of potassium, with only 80 calories.

Watermelon is fat-free and also contains fiber. Its beautiful red color comes from all-natural lycopene, an antioxidant that can help keep kids' bodies healthy.

Watermelon can be eaten at any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner, and it's a wonderful snack for the whole family. Delicious on its own, watermelon is a fantastic ingredient in recipes, too. Previously just a summertime treat, tasty watermelon is now available year-round.

A watermelon carving makes a great addition to a kids' party buffet, and the birthday boy or girl can help make it. The salad inside can be as simple as a mixture of blueberries, seedless green grapes and balls of watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melon. It's colorful and kids love it.

Carving Instructions for Watermelon Fish

Slice 1/4 inch off the bottom lengthwise to provide a stable base.

With a melon baller, cut half circles over half the top of the watermelon in a rectangular shape, remove and set aside. This piece will be used for the top fin and tail.

Scoop out the flesh.

Cut out the tail shape and the melon balled fin-piece from the rectangular piece set aside earlier. Attach the fin and tail with sturdy, round toothpicks.

Cut out eyes using a melon baller. Trim around the outside of the eye socket, then place it back in, rind side out.

For the mouth, point a paring knife at a downward angle above the stem and slice through 3 inches on either side of the stem, cutting through the rind. Push out the mouth from the inside. For the side fin, cut 3 cuts into the side using the melon baller to make the curves on the back of the fin. Then slice straight cuts to form the top and bottom of the fin.

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All About Carbohydrates

2011-11-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

Normally carbohydrates are found in all foods except meat products. Recently, some diets have recommended stripping out all carbohydrates from what you eat. Many companies have bought into this and among other things, have introduced low-carb breads. Limiting bad carbohydrates such as sugar from your diet is a positive step but going further and refusing to eat fruits and whole grains can potentially deprive you of cancer fighting foods.

Carbohydrates can be broken down into two main categories; simple and complex. Sodas, candy and even fruits contain simple sugars while whole grains, fruits and cereals contain complex carbs. The main difference between the two groups are their chemical structures. Simple sugars are made up of a few sugar molecules while complex carbs are made up of hundreds and even thousands of these molecules put together. In you body, the end product of both is glucose.

Another difference between the two is the time needed to digest. If you consume 100 calories of simple sugars, your body can digest it a lot faster than if you eat the same amount of calories that are made of complex carbs. This is because simple sugars are closer to the end product than complex carbs which need more time to digest. Therefore if you take the meal of simple sugars, you will be hungrier sooner than if you ate the meal made of complex carbs. Making a habit of drinking soda and eating candy can add up to a lot of calories at the end of the day.

Studies have shown that simple sugars contribute to obesity and diabetes, especially in children. It has also been shown that eating the good carbs can shield you from many types of cancers. So next time you pick up the magazine about the newest low carb claim, throw it away and grab an apple.

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8 Ways You Get Great Results With Glyconutrients

2011-11-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

1- Drink Pure Spring Water. As an absolute minimum, take your body weight in lbs, divide by 2 & drink that many ounces of Pure Spring Water everyday so that your cells get 'bathed' in a bath of Glyconutrients. For example a 120lb woman would drink a minimum of 60 oz of pure spring water per day.

2- Consume Fiber. Using a high-quality fiber supplement or eating a diet very high in fiber & in raw vegetables will enhance the results you get from your glyconutrients.

3- Don't take glyconutrients of any kind on an empty stomach. Why? No, it won't hurt you, but your body will burn it for energy. That is expensive energy. Glyconutrients are best absorbed when mixed with food or stirred into a drink.

4- Do not take fiber supplements within 1 hour of any other supplement.

5- Give Your Body Time to Start Healing. Most conditions develop gradually over many years(or even decades). Just like getting sick, getting well takes time. I have seen many people see no results until the 4th or even 6th month on the discount glyconutrients. Why? It takes months(or even years) for your body to replace sick cells with healthy ones. To learn more about this go to: How soon should I expect to experience the effects of dietary supplements? By Jane Ramberg, MS @ Glycoscience.org .

6- Enhance Your absorption of Glyconutrients. According to Dr. Milner you can enhance your absorption of your discount glyconutrients by simply NOT swallowing your them--instead, you do two easy things:

a. let them dissolve in your mouth, so that it is absorbed in the mouth, not in the stomach (this takes about 1 minute). You do not need water to do this--your saliva is more than sufficient.

b. take smaller amounts more often, like 1/8 or 1/4 of a teaspoon at a time, through out the day, like every hour or two. I have started doing this myself, and I recommend it to you.

(Dr. Martin Milner is the President and Medical Director of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, a Professor of Cardiology, and a research scientist at the Center for Natural Medicine, Inc. Dr. Milner is also a man of great humility and courage to have made a public "confession" and apology in front of 6400 men and women at an international conference at the Dallas Stadium in Texas in March of 2004. Dr. Milner publicly admitted, that for SEVEN YEARS, he had ignored the Glyconutrient technology, and had assumed that the passion many people had about it was based on hype and misguided enthusiasm over nothing of real significance. After all, if it was that significant, surely he would have known about it. He thanked God that someone finally got through to him--that when he actually took time to investigate this new science and technology, he confessed that he had MISSED one of the most significant discoveries of the century. Now Dr. Milner is doing his best to make up for lost time by educating other doctors on this amazing new technology, and of course has ALL his patients on this "edible health insurance.")

7- Use ALL THREE of the basic products: Glyco-Antioxidant, Phytosterol, food-based vitamin. These three products represent four sciences that work together synergistically, like the four wheels on a car work together:

- Cellular communication provided by the glyconutrients
- Anti-Oxidant protection from free radicals and "internal terrorists"
- Natural plant hormones provided by the phytosterol
- Essential vitamins and minerals in a food form state for maximum assimilation provided by the food-based vitamin.

You wouldn't settle for just one or two tires would you? Don't settle for less than what you need either!

8- Take Enough Glyconutrients to satisfy your body's need. Keep in mind that the suggested serving size you see on the label of your glyconutrients supplement bottle is a suggested minimum for young adults in "good" health. If you are unsure what amount is right for you please contact your representative. When buying glyconutrients, remember that a container may not last you a even month if you have a health challenge.

Note: Legal Disclaimer: Glyconutrients are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, but scientific studies have been documented linking the ingestion of certain food nutrients, and the prevention of chronic disease. The information given is not intended to be a substitute for a physician's proven care & advice.

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7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Coconut Oil

2011-11-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

It is a common misconception that coconut oil is bad for you. People all over the world are experiencing the healthy benefits of using coconut oil. It is actually one of the healthiest oils you can consume. Here are the top seven reasons why you should use coconut oil as an alternative to other common cooking oils.

1. Coconut oil doesn't turn to fat in your body.

Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn, coconut oil won't make you fat. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are an easy fuel for the body to burn, without turning to fat. Most other cooking oils and fats contain long-chain triglycerides (LCT). LCT's are usually stored as fat. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is more easily absorbed and converted to energy quicker.

People in the tropics have relied on coconuts as a traditional staple in their diet for centuries. They consume large amounts of coconut oil every day. Instead of getting fatter, it helps them stay healthy, lean and trim. When they switch from coconut oil to our modern oils, they develop obesity and the health problems that our modern society faces.

Some other people who have known this truth for a long time are people who are in the animal feed business. When livestock are fed vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. When they are fed coconut oil, they become very lean.

2. Coconut oil increases your metabolism.

Not only does coconut oil convert to energy quicker in your body, it increases your metabolism, which promotes weight loss. Because it boosts your metabolism, it helps your body burn fat more effectively.

Coconut oil may triple your calorie burn. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is converted to energy so quickly that it creates a lot of heat. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, MCT's burn three times more calories for six hours after a meal than LCT's.

The February 15, 2005 issue of Woman's World magazine stated that coconut oil is the "underground high-metabolism secret."

This is great news for people who have thyroid problems, since coconut oil improves sluggish thyroids by stimulating the production of extra thyroid hormones. Most other common oils, like vegetable (soy) and corn have been shown to inhibit thyroid function.

3. Coconut oil has omega 3 fatty acids.

Most cooking oils contain omega 6 fatty acids, something we get way too much of in the United States. Our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 1:1 but it is more like 50:1. We need to drastically cut back our omega 6 oils and consume much more omega 3 oils to be healthy. And coconut oil is filled with these healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

4. Coconut oil gives you energy.

Because of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the fact that it increases the metabolism, most people that switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily life.

This is because coconut oil is nature抯 richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy.

This is because coconut oil is nature抯 richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia have found that adding coconut and coconut oil to their diet was helpful to them.

5. One of the best things you can use on your skin and hair is coconut oil.

Coconut oil one of the best things you can apply directly on your skin and hair. It gives temporary relief to skin problems like rashes. It aids in healing and restoring skin to a younger appearance. It has also been known to help with people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin, as well as many other skin problems.

Not only does is soften and smooth your skin, coconut oil has antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil makes excellent massage oil too.

6. Coconut oil has healthy benefits that most other oils do not.

Evidence is mounting that coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects when both consumed and used topically on the skin.

Most oils oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in our bodies. Coconut oil is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Free radical damage is thought to be responsible for many ailments in our body from arthritis to increased susceptibility to cancers.

Coconut oil also helps our bodies absorb other nutrients more effectively, such as Vitamin E.

7. Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use for cooking.

It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which means it can take higher temperatures better. There are several healthy omega 3 oils we can choose to consume, such as flax and olive oil, but they don't do well under the high heat we use for cooking. Coconut oil can be used in higher cooking temperatures.

It is harder for coconut oil to go rancid, unlike other cooking oils, which are usually rancid long before you even bring them home. Rancid oils cause free radical damage in the body, which is a leading cause of cancer. Coconut oil is stable for over a year at room temperature.

Because of the misinformation we have been given for years, we have lost out on the healthy benefits that coconut oil has given the people of the tropics for centuries. But now it has been rediscovered! Coconut oil is so effective, it won't be long before we see coconut oil supplements promoted, but you can get the jump on the popular crowd and start consuming and cooking with coconut oil today!

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Boost Your Memory With Caffeine

2011-11-08T03:44:00.000-08:00

There have been a lot of negative reviews of the consequences of consuming coffee, tea or eating chocolate because of the amount of caffeine that these substances contain. There might be a silver lining to the caffeine cloud though and that's how caffeine can play an important role in boosting your memory.

Often we experience short term memory problems. At times it can be whether we turned off the water after we brushed our teeth or if we locked the door before we went to bed. These things can nag at our minds enough that we turn our car around to make certain that we won't be faced with a flood because of running water or we jump out of bed only to find that we did indeed lock the door.

Life is busy and it's easy to forget some of the smaller things that we take for granted. Our minds might have trouble focusing because of a conflict at work or stress at home. This isn't an uncommon occurrence and it happens everyday to people of every age. Losing track of tiny details is common but certainly not something that we need to live with. There are steps that we can take to improve our memory enough that we never have to deal with having our minds filled with those nagging thoughts again.

If you find that you're one of the people who can't put their finger on certain small facts and it has become a frustration for you, it might be time to consider the benefit of caffeine in relation to short term memory.

Caffeine is a stimulant and it works to stimulate not only our hearts but our minds as well. It can give a person the extra boost they need to clear their mind. Many people feel the need to have a cup of coffee each morning so they can focus. The caffeine that is found within the coffee jolts the brain and the memory can retain more information. You probably know someone who says that they can't function until they've had their coffee. It appears that there's more truth in that statement than most of us have ever realized. That first cup of morning coffee gets the memory gears moving in many people.

This can be especially important for many people at work. Having the ability to retain important information is essential for their employment. If they find their memory lacking it could have serious consequences that stretch far beyond some of the minor annoyances that they might experience at home when they forget to do things.

A cup of coffee or tea in the morning might be just the prescription to boost the memory enough that the rest of the day you function at full memory capacity. The same can be said for the lull that many people experience by mid-afternoon. Having a piece of chocolate or a cup of hot chocolate stimulates your memory again and the rest of the day will flow as smoothly as the beginning did.

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C-Reactive Protein, the New Testing Standard

2011-11-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

The latest factor to determine your risk of a heart attack is the C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test. CRP is a molecule produced by the liver in response to an inflammatory response. A simple blood test can check your CRP level. A reading of 3.0 or higher triples your risk for a heart attack.

Under normal circumstances, inflammation is a short term condition; signs include swelling, redness, and warmth. The swelling and redness are caused by extra blood flow to the injured area. This brings in more infection fighting white blood cells to the area. The warmth is another of your body抯 defense mechanisms. Microbes are killed by heat. In the short term, this is not a problem.

When chronic inflammation is present, the CRP levels increase. Chronic inflammation can be caused by rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, long-term infections, smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure. It is also caused by plaque buildup in the blood vessels. There is now evidence that chronic low-grade inflammation causes atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Here are ways to lower CRP:

1. Lower Your Stress ?proven methods include exercise, meditation, laughter, and having pets

2. Diet ?olive oil, walnuts, salmon, mackerel, herring, tomatoes, blueberries, eggplant, grains, whole grain foods, fruits, and vegetables all have an anti-inflammatory effect

3. Smoking ?just another reason to stop

4. Dental Hygiene ?science has linked cavities, gingivitis, and missing teeth to cardiovascular disease; the same bacteria that causes tooth decay, causes inflammation in the blood vessels

5. Lose Weight ?fat cells secrete inflammation causing proteins into the bloodstream

6. Air Pollution ?long-term exposure to car exhaust and coal power plants provokes inflammation

7. Alcohol ?one drink per day has an anti-inflammatory effect

The following medications are being studied for their cardiovascular anti-inflammatory effect:

1. Statins ?aside from lowering cholesterol, they may reduce CRP levels in just two weeks

2. ACE Inhibitors ?lowers blood pressure as well as CRP

3. Diabetes Meds ?Actos and Avandia have been shown to lower CRP

4. Aspirin ?current research looks promising, another reason to take a daily aspirin

5. Multivitamins ?showen to reduce CRP by 1/3 after six months

Researchers are still studying the exact connection between inflammation and heart disease. I would recommend adding a CRP test next time you are getting a routine blood test. It is rather inexpensive and could shine some light on a possible problem before it is too late.

For more free information, free articles, and free newsletter, visit www.rxcostcutters.com

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Benefits Of Carrot, Carrot Seed Oil And Carrot Root Oil

2011-11-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

It may come across as a myth but it is not. Carrot really helps your eyesight. This is due to the beta-carotene which gives carrot the orange color and also the name. It contains vitamin A in large quantities in the form of beta carotene. Due to the usefulness of carrot it has been considered as one of the top most salad requirements.

If you have carrot juice it helps to remove the indigestible fiber. It is also rich in minerals and known to be very useful for your skin. It is learnt that cooked carrots are more nutritional as well as equipped with more benefits.

Carrot seed oil is another way of treating your skin right. The presence of Beta carotene and vitamin A helps to keep your skin alive. It maintains the elasticity of the skin which happens to sag at one point or the other. These oils have been used quite regularly in many skin care products. It protects the sun damaged and wrinkled skin. It keeps the skin firmer and more radiant due to its anti-aging properties.

Carrot oil, another important part of carrot is made useful for your benefit. The presence of carotenoids helps to reduce the damage due to ultra violet rays. By protecting your skin from ultra violet rays it also protects you from skin cancer. It provides a natural tanning boost to your skin when applied. Best part about nature is that nothing goes waste. The carrot root oil if mixed with any of the other base oil helps your skin tremendously. It also helps cures dry skin problems and rejuvenates the basal layer.

Skin Care Remedies

Grate one carrot and mix it with a spoonful of honey. Apply this mixture on your face and leave it for 15 minutes. By using it regularly you will make out the difference.

Carrot juice if applied on blemishes regularly helps them to fade away.

For carrot skin mask you need raw carrots and lemon juice. Grate the carrot and add some lemon juice and apply this mixture on your face and neck. You can do the same with cooked carrots by blending them and adding 5 tbsp honey or yogurt. Apply it and leave it for 15-20 minutes.

By mixing pineapple and carrot juice you can make a fine blend for glowing skin. Apply this mixture on your face and leave it for 15 minutes. Wash it and pat it dry.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautions while following instructions on the recipes from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

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A vegetarian diet may be best for humans, really folks. (Part 2)

2011-11-07T06:55:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of my article on the same caption.
I am going over the several popular items consumed by non-vegetarians, why they may be actually harmful to your health and why you may want to consider a vegetarian diet as your dietetic choice. Okay, at least try it for a month or so and see what it抯 like my friend.

Here we go, more harmful foods co-incidentally NOT in a vegetarian diet.

The Vegetarian Diet: Avoided Products and Reasons Why (continuation)

Milk:
The milk of any animal is basically too rich humans. It is highly acidic and mucus forming. The fact that man needs to drink the milk of another creature after it has been weaned of his own mother is actually laughable and propaganda hyped by its endorsers basically for their gain.
Being a predigested food, it has been shown to cause various complications in the stomach and colon, such as cramps and convulsions. Its calcium is highly difficult to assimilate. This results in its introduction in free form into the blood stream and an eventual deposition in the tissues, cells and joints where it may cause intense pain and suffering. Milk is loaded with antibiotics, bacteria, pesticides, cholesterol and powerful growth hormones that are deeply troubling to the human body.

Contrary to the hype, drinking milk will not prevent osteoporosis. In 1995, the Harvard Nurses?Health Study conducted on over 75, 000 women revealed that those supposedly acquiring calcium from milk experience more fractures compared to those drinking little or no milk.

Animal milk is for the animal's offspring and not you. Think about it. That being said, it is advisable to eliminate milk and all dairy from the diet for optimal health.

Though I have read that raw goat's milk could be sufficient for nursing mothers to feed their babies, I'd say simply the milk in your mammary glands should be the most ideal . If for whatever reasons you feel like you cannot give milk up at least see to it that it is diluted and that you add some maple syrup to this solution.

Some research indicates that sour milk is less harmful and may even possess laxative qualities. Still I think for the creaminess it might offer, basic Avocadoes or occasional Coconut milk as made by the Brazilians would be way better choices.

Soy milk by the way is not much better than milk as they are basically legumes which are unbalanced protein-rich foods.

-Honey: This over-promoted, overpriced product being sold to gullible health faddists should be eliminated from your diet. It is meant only for the bees that make it.
Being predigested it enters the bloodstream rapidly raising the blood sugar way above normal. To correct this, the pancreas must produce insulin or death may occur.
Replace honey with genuine maple syrup for a much more balanced and safer, sweetener.

-Eggs: Even worse than meats. Research has shown they are very constipating and its white is dangerous, acid forming and too high in protein qualities.

-Fish: I抳e heard many people proudly declare 揑 don抰 do red meat just fish and poultry!?However, they are very mistaken in that; although for the reasons given above-meat is highly detrimental for consumption, Fish is even worse. It putrefies much quicker than meat. If you cut a piece of fish and meat side by side, you抣l notice that the former decays much quicker than the latter. Imagine what it抯 like on the inside of the body. Moreover, taking into consideration the heavy metal contamination that fish contains-based on the pollution of their habitat, Fish is an especially bad choice, so do yourself a favor, avoid fish at all times if you can!

Though some non-vegetarians show bodily vigor, they usually do not possess the vegetarian抯 endurance and strength. Take a look at Bill Pearl, five-time winner of the Mr. Universe pageant. Even our distant cousins, the Apes in the wild, are vegetarians as well. After reading these factors, if you are still on the fence on how safe and healthy being a vegetarian can be for your health-or if you need to be convinced of its benefits-do not worry, becoming a vegetarian (a well balanced one that is) is definitely the biggest step you抣l be taking towards improving your health.

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Antioxidant

2011-11-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

An antioxidant is a chemical that reduces the rate of particular oxidation reactions in a specific context, where oxidation reactions are chemical reactions that involve the transfer of electrons from a substance to an oxidising agent.

Antioxidants are particularly important in the context of organic chemistry and biology: all living cells contain complex systems of antioxidant chemicals and/or enzymes to prevent chemical damage to the cells' components by oxidation. The importance and complexity of antioxidants in biology is reflected in a medical literature of more than 142,000 scholarly articles.

A diet containing antioxidants from plants are required for good health since plants are an important source of organic antioxidant chemicals. Antioxidants are widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements that are used for health purposes such as preventing cancer and heart disease. However, while many studies have suggested benefits for antioxidant supplements, several large clinical trials have failed to clearly demonstrate a benefit for the formulations tested, and excess supplementation may be harmful.

Antioxidants are chemicals that reduce oxidative damage to cells and biochemicals. Researchers have found high correlation between oxidative damage and the occurrence of disease. For example, LDL oxidation is associated with cardiovascular disease. The process leading to atherogenesis, artherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease is complex, involving multiple chemical pathways and networks, but the precursor is LDL oxidation by free radicals, resulting in inflammation and formation of plaques.

Research suggests that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods reduces damage to cells and biochemicals from free radicals. This may slow down, prevent, or even reverse certain diseases that result from cellular damage, and perhaps even slow down the natural aging process.

Since the discovery of vitamins, it has been recognized that antioxidants in the diet are essential for healthful lives. More recently, a large body of evidence has accumulated that suggests supplementation of the diet with various kinds of antioxidants can improve health and extend life.

Many nutraceutical and health food companies now sell forms of antioxidants as dietary supplement. These supplements may include specific antioxidant chemicals, like resveratrol (from grape seeds), combinations of antioxidants, like the "ACES" products that contain beta carotene (provitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E and Selenium, or specialty herbs that are known to contain antioxidants such as green tea and jiaogulan.

Disclaimer
The information presented here should not be interpreted as medical advice. If you need more information about Antioxidants, please consult your physician or a qualified specialist.

Permission is granted to reprint this article as long as no changes are made, and the entire resource box is included.

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An Overview of the B5 Vitamin

2011-11-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

The B5 vitamin is also known as Pantothenic Acid. The B5 vitamin is the most prolific of all the vitamins and is found in every type of food. In fact, it is impossible for a person to consume less B5 vitamin than they need. That means that there is no little possibility that a person can have a B5 vitamin deficiency. For this reason, there is actually no recommended daily amount that health professionals can state as everyone obtains more than enough from their normal food consumption. However, even though there is no need to calculate a recommended daily allowance it does not mean that the B5 vitamin is not vital for a healthy body and mind. In fact, the B5 vitamin is essential for turning food into energy amongst other functions. The B5 vitamin is responsible for taking the fats and carbohydrates into energy.

Some B5 vitamin can be found in almost every food whether it is animal or vegetable. Obviously there are some sources of the B5 vitamin that are better than others but a balanced diet will provide more than enough. The foods with the highest B5 vitamin content are organ meats, salmon, eggs, beans, milk, and whole grains. It is worth noting that the B5 vitamin is lost when grains are milled into flour and tends not to beaded back in. Therefore, processed grain foods such as bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereal, and baked goods are not good sources of the B5 vitamin.

The B5 vitamin is the most effective when it is combined with other B vitamins especially thiamin or B1, riboflavin or B2, niacin or B3, pyridoxine or B6, and biotin. Along with these other B vitamins, the B5 vitamin is an integral part in a number of processes. The most important of these is the production of energy from food that is consumed and this is known as the Kreb抯 cycle. The B5 vitamin is also required for releasing energy from fats.

Interestingly, the B5 vitamin is also considered to be helpful in reducing stress. This is chiefly due to the fact that during periods of stress, the body produces more of certain hormones such as adrenalin and these require the B5 vitamin. There are many theories as to the benefits of the B5 vitamin but there is no need for the majority of people to actively seek out foods that are high in B5 as they are likely to be consuming far more than is needed already. There are no adverse effects to consuming too much B5 vitamin.

Get more information on Vitamin B5 here.

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Bee Pollen - A Medical Miracle?

2011-11-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

Bee pollen has all the essential components of life. It is considered by many to be nature's most perfect complete food. It is extremely loaded with vitamins and contains nearly all known minerals, trace elements, enzymes and amino acids. Bee pollen is also considered to be a first-rate source of anti-oxidants.

Bee pollen is a complete food, and taking it helps to balance the incomplete foods that we are all used to eating in everyday life.

Additionally, bee pollen is one of the world's oldest health foods. You can find references to it in the Bible, the Torah, the Koran as well as ancient Chinese and Egyptian texts. And one of our most popular presidents, Ronald Reagan, took bee pollen for years.

And many people swear to the healing properties of bee pollen. They claim that it'll give you increased energy, boost your body's immune responses by increasing your red and white blood cells, increase longevity by repairing damaged cells, and help to cure all kinds of diseases with it's built in antibacterial qualities.

People also say that it is good for the intestines, moderating and controlling the organisms dwelling there and helping to aid digestion and the assimilation of nutrition

But it helps to keep a little perspective and remain as least a little skeptical. Thus far, I am aware of no reputable scientific study that supports the view that bee pollen is effective against any human disease.

So what exactly is bee pollen?

Pollen is created by the male part of the flowering plant. As the bee flits from flower to flower, it carries pollen with it, which cross-pollinates and fertilizes the plant. Some of the pollen also makes it back to the bee hive where bee keepers can then collect it.

And it is precisely because of this pollen that many people who have allergies will be negatively affected by bee pollen. In fact, there are documented reports of bee pollen and royal jelly triggering asthma, hives, sore throats, facial itches and even anaphylactic shock in people with allergies to specific pollens. And these reactions can occur with as little as one teaspoon of bee pollen.

But another real hidden danger is that many people will believe so much in the efficacy of bee pollen or some other nutrient of the month that they completely ignore the signs of their own body. Nutritional supplements should never, ever take the place of consultation and treatment of your doctor or competent health care professional and nutritionist.

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10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family抯 Diet

2011-11-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

We all know by now that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. But knowing and doing are two different things, aren抰 they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get them all in there. We are constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk food. If your family is anything like mine, they抎 much rather fill up on a bag of chips or a bowl of rice or pasta instead of trying an apple or a plate of steamed broccoli. So we抣l have to get creative. Here are a few ideas to 搒neak?some extra vegetables and fruits in your family抯 diet.

1. Start the day with a breakfast smoothie. All you have to do is throw some fruits, low-fat yogurt and ice in a blender. You may also want to add a scoop of protein powder in there for good measure. Just blend for a few seconds and you have the perfect breakfast ready to go. I like to sip mine in a thermal cup on the way to work. To make it even more appealing for your kids, use some frozen yogurt or a scoop of ice cream in the smoothie. They won抰 believe that you are letting them have ice cream for breakfast.

2. Dried fruit makes an excellent snack any time of the day. Add some small cartons of raisins to your child抯 lunch box, pack some yogurt-covered raisins in your husband抯 briefcase and keep some trail mix sitting around for snacking. You can also add dried fruit to oatmeal and cereal in the morning. My family loves banana chips in their breakfast cereal.

3. Add some fruits and vegetables to your family抯 sandwiches. You can add some banana, sliced apples or strawberry slices to a peanut butter sandwich. Top a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and anything else they will eat. You can even make a sub shop style vegetable sandwich by combining several different vegetables with some mayonnaise and cheese on bread.

4. Have a salad bar at dinner. Set out a variety of chopped vegetables, some cheese and croutons as well as several choices of salad dressing along with the lettuce and let everybody create their own perfect salad.

5. Let them drink their fruits and vegetables. Keep an assortment of fruit and vegetable juices in the fridge and encourage everyone to drink them as a snack. Get creative. You could start 揻amily cocktail hour?by pouring everybody a glass of his or her favorite juice over ice. Add some straws, cocktail umbrellas and sit together to talk about how everybody抯 day went.

6. Try this for dessert. Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt in a bowl and top it with lots of fresh or frozen fruit.

7. Offer fruits and vegetables as snacks. You can cut apples into slices and top them with peanut butter or cheese. Cube cheese and serve with grapes. Cut up some fresh veggies and serve them with ranch dip. And of course there抯 ants on a log. Spread some cream cheese or peanut butter on the inside of a stick of celery and sprinkle raisins on it (wow, fruit and vegetable in one snack).

8. Try some new fruits and vegetables. Pick something exotic to get your family抯 curiosity. With a little luck their curiosity will outweigh their initial apprehension to trying something new. You could try artichokes, plantains, papaya, mango, star fruit, or anything else you can find in the produce department of your local store.

9. Make a pot of vegetable soup or a stew that抯 heavy on veggies and easy on the meat. Both of these make some great comfort food when the weather gets cold.

10. Start 揗y Veggie Day? Each family member gets to pick a vegetable one day of the week. They qualify to pick a vegetable as long as they tried each vegetable the week before, otherwise they loose a turn and Mom gets to pick.

Incorporate a few of these ideas and you will have everyone in your family eating more fruits and vegetables in no time.

Here is another tip:

Now that everyone in the family has gotten a taste for it, make sure you always have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies available and ready to snack on.

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Addictive Foods and their Harmful Consequences

2011-11-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Most of us are fond of at least one product that has the effect of a stimulant and that eventually becomes an addiction. These products include exercise stimulant drinks (they come in cans and look like cola), fizzy aerated drinks, tobacco, betel nut, betel leaf, strong coffee, strong tea, mahuang (an ephedrine-like compound consumed in china), and alcohol.

Before I tell you why we shouldn抰 consume these products, I抎 like to deal with the question of why we do consume them in the first place.

There抯 no one who doesn抰 know that products like these, consumed in excess, can severely harm our bodies. Yet, we still find them hard to resist. The need to eat stimulant food is a simple human weakness that has existed for ages: humans (and many animals) have always indulged in foods that give a sort of emotional high. In clinical terms, this means rapid heart beat, a little sweating, dilation or constriction of the pupils of the eye, a warm flush on the face, and a sense of greater sensitivity, concentration and perception.

These sensations of 慼igh?die down within a few hours, and we are left feeling listless and low. This leads to a craving for that food again, to experience the high one more time. And there we are going round and round in a vicious circle.

The physiology of addictions is as follows:

When you eat an addictive food, it stimulates the hormone like substances found at the end of your nerves, which triggers an avalanche of similar stimulatory substances and you experiences a high. As the substances near the nerves are depleted, you get into the low phase, which leads you to crave that food again. This yo-yo phase of nerve stimulation and depletion leads to a pattern of addiction.

Consuming addictive foods is one of the oldest unhealthy food practices and, despite a revolution in health consciousness; it shows no signs of dying out.

Below are some side effects of certain addictive foods.

Alcohol Addiction: Erosion of stomach and intestinal lining, liver damage, nutritional deficiency.

Tobacco: Erosion of gum and tongue can lead to cancer of the buccal mucosa.

Betel nut: Leads to the discoloration of teeth, erosion of the lining of the mouth, and cancer of the mouth and upper tract. It also leads to heart problems among people who already have a weak heart.

Ma huang: It contains ephedrine and leads to heart problems.

Aerated drinks: High doses of caffeine.

Caffeine and xanthine: Found in tea, coffee. These become harmful only in very high doses; don抰 consume more than five cups a day.

Mixed drug reactions: People who consume medications for the heart, hypertension and asthma have to be very careful about the interactions of the drugs with stimulant foods, as mixing the two can be fatal. After years of experience, all doctors know how difficult it is to break the food addictions of their patients. So like them, I can only advise a good compromise. If you can抰 break the addiction, then at least you should practice moderation.

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A Healthy Guide to Good Nutrition

2011-11-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Whether you are at your ideal weight or striving to reach your weight goal is it simply a matter of burning more calories than you take in? The answer, I suggest, is no! Overall body health improvement as well as weight gain or loss must be factored in to the equation or you could be heading for problems. Correct nutrition can help to reduce the risk of a miriad of health-related problems, the most frightening of which are surely heart disease and cancer. Proper nutrition, however, entails eating many different foods, monitoring your consumption of some food and beverage items, and counting calories. Good diets offer balanced nutrition that reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and helps with weight control.

To function properly, your body must have the correct combination of nutrients:

Carbohydrates. They are the primary source of ammunition in your diet. The body uses carbohydrates to build glucose which can be used immediately or stored in your body for later. Too much glucose, however, is stored as fat. There are two types of carbohydrates - simple and complex. Sugars are simple carbohydrates. Starches and fibers are complex carbohydrates.

Proteins. Proteins help your body build and maintain muscles and other tissues. They also function in the creation of hormones. Like carbohydrates, excess protein is stored as fat.

Animal and vegetable are the two major types of proteins. Too much animal protein can cause high cholesterol, as it is high in saturated fat.

Fat. Strange as it may seem; fat is another nutrient your body requires. It comes in both saturated and unsaturated forms. Saturated fat puts you at risk of health problems. Unsaturated fat is healthy, but if it goes through any type of refinement process, it can become saturated fat.

Vitamins. These are also required nutrients. Different vitamins perform different tasks within the body. They can work with the metabolism to help with energy levels for any task you can think of that you need your body to perform. It has also been noted that certain vitamins can prevent disease.

For example, vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, can assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by keeping build up from occurring on artery walls. Vitamin B-1 is needed for digestion and proper nervous system function. Vitamin B-2 is needed for normal cell growth. Vitamin B-3 helps to detoxify your body. Folic acid assists with production of red blood cells. Vitamin D assists with the absorption of calcium. Vitamin K helps your blood clot.

Minerals and trace elements. These are another nutrient your body requires. Both are used in many different body processes. Minerals like chlorine help make your digestive juices. Phosphorus helps build strong bones. Both can be found in the foods we consume, but with a trace element, your body just needs a tiny amount. Salt is one final nutrient your body requires. You should not consume more than 2400 milligrams per day, though, as it might raise your blood pressure.

You should follow several guidelines to create a well balanced, nutritional diet. First, try to consume two and one half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit each day. When making your selections for each day, be sure to choose a good variety. A good rough guide is to eat as many different colors as possible, this will help you to select from all five vegetable subgroups at least four times per week.

You should eat at least three ounces of whole grain products each day. At least half of your grain intake should be whole grain based. Milk should also be part of a healthy diet. Consume at least forty-eight ounces of low fat milk or milk products on a daily basis. Your total fat intake should only be between ten and thirty percent of your calories. Most of the fats you consume should be in the form of unsaturated fats, as saturated fats can do much to damage your health. Meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products should all be lean, low-fat, or fat-free. Less than ten percent of your calories should come from saturated fats, and you should always try to avoid trans-fatty acid.

Fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be a regular part of your diet as should potassium rich foods. Alcoholic beverages should only be consumed in moderation.

Excellent nutrition is the basis of a healthy diet.

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10 Diet Rules You Can Break

2011-11-05T06:55:00.001-07:00

There are actually diet rules out there that are meant to be broken? Yes, recently many dated diet guidelines and myths are up for speculation. You抳e probably heard all these silly rules before, but experts weigh-in on the worthiness of these supposed truisms - most of which won't help you lose weight or make dieting any easier.

10 Food Rules You Can Ignore:

1. Eating at night will pile on the pounds. The total calories you consume over a 24-hour period or over a week is what causes you to gain weight, and when you eat these calories doesn't matter.

2. It's best to eat at the same times every day. Eat when you're hungry, not when the clock says it's time to eat.

3. Dieting with a buddy always makes weight loss easier. Common goals may pay off but weight loss is a personal journey.

4. Dietary fat keeps you feeling full longer, so you'll eat less. Fat does take longer to digest, but it will not help you control your appetite. Foods likely to fight off hunger the longest are protein foods, followed by carbohydrates, then fats.

5. When you blow your diet, you might as well wait until the next day to get back on track. Nothing could be farther from the truth- always try to get right back on track with your next meal.

6. Refusing food at a party or when visiting is rude. Turning down food that you know will blow your diet is socially acceptable.

7. Skipping a meal every now and then will help you lose. Skipping a meal means you will be so hungry at the next meal that you are likely to overeat. This can also help lead to a slowdown of your metabolism.

8. Bread is fattening, nuts are fattening, pasta is fattening. Whole-wheat bread/pasta is a great source of nutrients, and it won't make you gain weight more than any other food with the same number of calories.

9. All calories are equal. This is somewhat true, however; you'll get more nutrients from a 100-calorie apple than from a 100-calorie portion of white bread. Choose healthier items if you are losing weight, or controlling your hunger.

10. If you don't clean your plate, you're wasting food. If you just don't feel right leaving the table until you've cleaned your plate, underestimate your hunger and put less food on your plate to begin with, or you may overeat.

Don抰 believe everything you hear! Much of it is just superstition. Now you can tell your friends the real truth. In the end, nutrition experts say, many of the food and dieting rules we hold dear are meant to be broken - without guilt!

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Dieters Need More Calcium

2011-10-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

Women on diets need more calcium than normal to avoid bone loss, say Rutgers University researchers.

Studies showed a weight loss diet of 1.5 pounds a week for 6 weeks cuts absorption of calcium. In 57 postmenopausal dieters it was discovered that those women who took 1,800 mg of calcium a day absorbed 78 percent more calcium than those who took only 1,000 mg a day. To prevent bone loss, women dieting after menopause should get 1,700 mg of calcium a day, the experts say.

For people on low-fat, high fiber diets calcium requirements are also higher. Studies show that 19 percent less calcium is absorbed. It is theorized that the healthier diet moves food faster through the gastrointestinal tract.

While it is common knowledge that calcium is necessary for bone-growth research shows that calcium also fights fat absorption. Studies reveal that calcium blocks fat storage in fat cells. A minimum of 1,000 mg. of calcium daily improves total cholesterol and good HDL, but lowers bad LDL.

Despite the publicity of the importance of calcium for healthy bones research shows that consumption has gone down over the past 30 years.

Experts recommend 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D daily for people under 50, and 1,500 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D for those over 50. The safe upper limit for calcium intake has been set at 2,500 mg a day. Experts think going above that on a daily basis may invite kidney stone formation.

Once started, never stop taking calcium/vitamin D supplements daily. USDA researchers found that after a 3- year study over one-third of participants stopped taking the supplements. Within one year women lost all bone-density gains and men lost their gains in two years.

For those who are lactose intolerant calcium and vitamin D supplementation is even more important because it will be difficult to get the daily requirement through diet alone.

For those allergic to cow's milk. Drink enough soy milk to give you 500 mg of calcium per glass as compared to 300 mg in cows milk. Studies at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, showed that 25 percent less calcium is absorbed from soy milk as cows milk.

For more information on calcium and coral calcium: http://www.apluswriting.net/diettips/evitaminscalcium.htm

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Ayurveda and The Raw Food Diet

2011-10-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

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Break it Down

2011-10-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

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Are You Lactose Intolerant?

2011-10-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Do you know anyone who can't consume milk or milk-based products? The condition is not uncommon and these people are classified as lactose intolerant.

Lactose is the main carbohydrate or sugar found in milk, and in varying quantities in dairy products made from milk including yoghurt, ice cream, soft cheeses and butter. Lactose (milk sugar) intolerance results from an inability to digest lactose in the small intestine.

Back in the cave-days, the only time a person would ever ingest lactose would be when they were infants getting milk from their mothers. During their adult lives milk was never consumed. Only with the invention of agriculture has milk become readily available to adults. Lactose is unique in that only in milk does it exist as a free form, unattached to other molecules.

What causes lactose intolerance?

Lactose is digested in the small intestine by an enzyme called lactase. This enzyme allows the body to break down the lactose into two simple sugars, glucose and galactose. These are quickly absorbed by the intestine and provide energy for the body. The level of the lactase enzyme varies between individuals, as does the severity of the symptoms caused by lactose intolerance.

What are the symptoms of lactose intolerance?

Symptoms range from milk abdominal discomfort, bloating and excessive wind to sever abdominal cramps and diarrhoea.

Substitutes for lactose-containing foods

Lactose intolerance generally isn't serious and can be controlled by some simple changes in your diet. The dietary changes for lactose intolerance should include the exclusion of those foods highest in lactose. There is now a wide range of fresh soy milks, yoghurts and ice creams which are lactose free and calcium enriched. Many dairy foods actually have little or no lactose so you can continue to enjoy them.

The power of soy protein

Soy-based products are on the rise for very healthy reasons. The humble soybean boasts some extraordinary benefits. Lactose-free, soy protein is a "complete protein" which contains all 9 essential amino acids in the right balance to meet your body's needs. Soy protein is the only plant protein that is complete. This makes it a great substitute for many meats, allowing you to eliminate more saturated fat and cholesterol from your diet.

While soybeans have much to offer from a protein perspective, it is because they contain so many nutrients, such as isoflavones, that they are now the centre of so much attention. Soy protein enhances the body's ability to retain and better absorb calcium into the bones. Soy isoflavones help by slowing bone loss and inhibiting bone breakdown.

Lactose-Free Soy Recipes

There are an abundance of wonderful soy recipes that enable you to get all the benefits of soy....without the traditional soy flavour. Further information available at the link below.

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Drink More Water For More Energy

2011-10-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

What makes up 70-80% of our planet? Water. What makes up 70-80% of our body? That's right, water.

Water is the single most important nutrient you will give your body apart from oxygen. Water rejuvenates us and carries vital nutrients all round the body where it's needed. Water picks up all the leftovers, wastes and debris that the cells throw off into the lymph system and transport them out of the body via the channels of elimination.

So when you drink more water it has the double combination of feeding your body and clearing you of all the waste products that were built up in your system.

Your brain needs water, and plenty of it. Without water, your brain will operate worn out, tired and sluggish. Water is the ultimate gift to give yourself to think with clarity. In addition, water acts as a kind of healthy lubricant moistening tissues and joints.

When you drink, you want to avoid tap water. Tap water is more like a dazzling mix of chemicals. It contains fluoride, chlorine, and many others. The amount of chemicals in water will fill up books - it's more like a chemical soup. The evidence that fluoride is poisonous is so overwhelming that it's being pushed to be banned in many countries by action groups.

The thirst mechanism when having been turned off for a prolonged period is often mistaken for hunger. As you drink more water your thirst mechanism will return to its natural state. Not only will you begin to feel thirsty when you need water again, but your appetite will decrease.

This brings us to the next big thing you need to understand about water. If I asked you the difference between inorganic and organic minerals, chances are you couldn't tell me, right? Well let抯 briefly explain the difference. It's a simple difference. Organic minerals come from plants; inorganic minerals come from rocks and volcanic sources. Organic minerals can be broken down by the body. Inorganic minerals are not used by the body and are stored until suitable water can come and carry them out. Organic minerals can be broken down by the body, while inorganic cannot. One is derived from natural plant life; one is derived from rocks,filings and small pieces of grit. Which one makes more sense to use?

It抯 better to get your plant minerals through the food you eat rather than the inorganic form in water. Bottled water is often taken, tested and found to have bacteria and very often isn't rated much better than tap water.

Do you know the best water to use? The best water to use is the same water you use in your iron. The purest water in the world is distilled water. It's as pure as rainwater should be if our atmosphere wasn抰 polluted.

If you haven't yet heard that 70% of the world's population is dehydrated - you will soon, as the UN push to get proper water supply to people in the third world.

The second best method of filtering is a type of filtering called "reverse osmosis". Unfortunately the standard bench top filter isn抰 enough.

Most of the nasty contaminants in our water simply don't have a taste. Some people feel it's a case of out of sight out of mind. This may work for things people think, yet when it comes to your body, the life of your children, the health of those you care about and the line between getting cancer and surviving it's far short of acceptable.

The opportunity for energy, for vitality, for a quality of life is only known to a select few who choose to raise their standards and take action to apply what they know. New discoveries are being made all the time as new research comes out of the United States, out of Germany, and out of Australia and other countries. How does this apply to me you may ask? Well, these contaminants can kill you. Is this a reason to get upset? No, it抯 simply an action signal to act smarter.

The best bit is when you抮e drinking absolutely pure distilled water it is so much easier to drink. It's so easy to refreshingly flood your body with purity that will flush out chemicals, clear out the lymph system and contribute to expelling excess weight in the body. Distilled water is so easy to drink and be absorbed by your body without having to flush out the other nasties first that many people report who were struggling to drink half a litre of water a day, are now drinking 4 litres a day and up, with ease! If you can抰 get distilled water, reverse osmosis filtered or table water is the next best option.

Many people in third world countries don't have access to a clean water supply. We in developed countries have currently almost unlimited access to clean water. My suggestion to you is to use it!

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Atkins Destroys The Competition

2011-10-29T03:17:00.000-07:00

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Dietary Guidelines For Adults 2.

2011-10-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

Dietary guidelines for adults 2 is, naturally, a follow up to article 1, and focuses on what foods constitute a good diet where article 1 focused upon why we need a good diet. My approach is that food should be fun because most health food aficionados that I know don抰 seem to smile too often and therefore I don抰 hold them up as good examples. Eating is a major part of life and life should be fun; if we only get one life what抯 the point in being miserable? The challenge for healthy eating is to make healthy food fun to eat and reward yourself occasionally with a treat and to heck with the diet.

We need to eat fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, dairy products and drink plenty of water to have a perfect diet. We also have to accept that certain people have allergies. The most common allergies are dairy products and nuts. Just because you have an allergy you shouldn抰 use it as an excuse not to eat a healthy diet; if you can抰 eat nuts eat more fruit or vegetables to compensate. Using a little common sense will overcome all perceived obstacles. Once you have a diet based upon healthy foods you can add a few luxuries like chocolate and ice cream providing it is within your daily calorie allowance.

A healthy breakfast is cereal, or oatmeal (porridge) with fresh fruit and a glass of milk. If you are really rushed for time a fresh fruit smoothie is great. Alternatively a couple of slices of toasted whole-grain bread. Do away with common white bread it acts like glue in your intestines and creates digestive problems. If you take toast it is always sensible to eat at least one piece of fresh fruit.

If you feel like a snack mid-morning eat a few nuts, a raw carrot or a piece of fruit.

Lunch should consist of a sandwich made with whole-grain bread, a piece of fruit and some green salad leaves. - Common question: 揝hould I add salad dressing??- Why not. If you like salad dressing use it or the food becomes boring but use it in moderation.

Afternoon snack ?same as morning snack.

Dinner should have meat or fish; red meat is OK in reasonable servings about three times each week. It must have vegetables including peas or beans and if you can utilize fresh fruit for dessert that is even better. Berries are especially healthy and tasty.

To summarize you must eat seven servings of fruit and/or vegetables every day. This is an absolute minimum requirement for a healthy body. Frozen is fine if you are unsure of the freshness of vegetables or fruit because it is snap frozen when fresh and retains the nutrients. Older fruit and vegetables lose nutrient value.

There is much to play with in this diet and the challenge is to make it fun when mixed with some of your favorites.

This article is copyright ?David McCarthy 2006 and may only be reproduced in its entirety with no additions or deletions.

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Are you eating yourself to death?

2011-10-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

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Eat healthy Foods - It Makes Sense!

2011-10-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

We all know the importance of eating healthy foods for their vitamin and mineral content. However, in recent years, scientists have discovered that there are hundreds of substances in food that have healing and disease prevention properties.

So why, if there are foods that will heal many of our common ailments, have we not heard more about them? Maybe it's because, just as we've become a fast food society, we've also become a fast cure society. We're always looking for the easy way to cure and prevent diseases by just popping a pill.

Just look at the increasing number of ads on TV and in magazines for drugs. Often the side effects are worse than the disease they're meant to prevent or cure!

Wouldn't it be better to use natural remedies? Remedies with no side effects, to cure and prevent diseases? Of course it would! That's why I decided to write this article. Here's to a healthier life!.

Perhaps as a child you were told by your mom to eat all your carrots because they were good for your eyes? As you grew up, you may have cynically been told by others that this was just an "old wives tale". Guess what, recent studies have shown that Mom was right! Foods can prevent eye disease, heart disease, arthritis and much more.

Some Basic Science:

In recent years scientists have discovered that foods contain "phytochemicals", which is a fancy name for naturally occurring chemicals. This is not the same as nutrients, which we all know are the substances necessary for sustaining life.

Phytochemicals have properties that can aid in disease prevention and cures. Scientists have identified thousands of these chemicals in the foods we eat and a single serving of fruit or vegetables can contain as many as one hundred different phytochemicals.

The most commonly known phytochemicals are the antioxidants. Antioxidants protect our cells from damage by toxic substances and free radicals (a by-product produced by our bodies which converts oxygen into energy). Free radicals can damage cells in our bodies which can lead to disease. Antioxidants protect the body from oxidation and reduce the risk of acquiring many common ailments.

The full article is a big one and covers:

Fruits and Vegetables
Healing Properties Of Fruits
Healing Properties Of Vegetables
Seeds, Nuts, Oils and Fish
Healing Properties Of Seeds, Nuts, Oils and Fish
Grains
Healing Properties Of Grains
Healing Properties Of Beans and Lentils
Healing Properties Of Herbs and Spices
Healing Teas
Other Healing Foods

Hit the link below to continue reading it.

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Do Energy Drinks Really Give You Energy, or Just a Fat Stomach

2011-10-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

I receive a ton of questions about all of these new "energy" drinks that have hit the market over the last few years. They seem to be all the rage, especially with the youth, and they promise you the world with outrageous claims of all of the super energy that you are going to have, and how you'll be crushing the competition in your sport, and so on.

So a couple questions arise:

Are these "energy" drinks really any good for you?
Do they actually increase your energy?
Do they really have some sort of magical energy formula?
Will they help you lose weight?

First of all, let's look at what most of these energy drinks are usually made of. Most of them are simply carbonated water loaded with gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, the amino acid taurine, and a few random B-vitamins thrown in for show to trick you into thinking there's something healthy about these concoctions.

Let's start with the high fructose corn syrup. Well, here we've got empty calories that will go straight to your belly fat, and that are actually even WORSE for you than plain old refined sugar.

Ok, so you say that they have low-sugar or sugar-free varieties as an alternative to the HFCS-laden energy drinks. Yes, but now you have the problem of the harmful chemicals in the artificial sweeteners.

Another problem with artificial sweeteners is that there are some researchers that believe artificial sweetener use leads people to inadvertently consume more calories and gain more weight in the long run. I won't go into the details on that because that would fill up an entire discussion by itself. Just trust me that artificial sweeteners and artificial chemicals in food in general, are all bad news for your body!

What about the caffeine? Well, first of all, caffeine in itself doesn't provide "energy". Technically, the only substances that actually provide energy are calories (from carbs, protein, and fat).

However, caffeine can be an aid for livening or waking some people up, by means of stimulating the central nervous system. Keep in mind though, if you're a regular coffee drinker, you're probably addicted to caffeine and probably wouldn't receive too much benefit from the caffeine in an energy drink anyway.

Besides, instead of caffeine added to some carbonated drink, I'd rather get my caffeine from a natural source like green, white, or oolong teas, which actually provide healthful antioxidants too!

Now what about that so called magical blend of taurine and B-vitamins that they load into these energy drinks? Well, big deal...you can get taurine in almost any protein source. And the vast majority of those B-vitamins are simply coming right out into the toilet in your pee. Vitamins are best obtained naturally from real food sources, not artificially added to some carbonated drink. Your body just doesn't use fake sources of vitamins as readily as natural sources from real food.

So as you can see, in my opinion, I give all of these energy drinks a big time THUMBS DOWN! You're better off mixing up your own homemade energy drink with some iced unsweetened green, white, and oolong teas, a little bit of 100% pure berry or pomegranate juice, and maybe a touch of a non-denatured whey protein.

Well, I hope this article cleared up some of the confusion about these energy drinks that are being so heavily marketed these days, and will help you make more informed decisions for your health.

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Are Your Relationships Making You Fat?

2011-10-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

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Benefits Of Carrot, Carrot Seed Oil And Carrot Root Oil

2011-10-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

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Dining Out Guide for the Health Conscious Eater

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's food for thought! Did you know the average restaurant meal has over 1,000 calories? That's enough to blow any healthy eating plan. Fortunately, by following a few simple guidelines, you can dine out without having to sacrifice good taste and nutrition.

1. Avoid ordering an appetizer. It's a little known fact that some appetizers have more calories and fat than the main course. Plus, many appetizers are fried and served with heavy sauces which will add to your intake of saturated fat as well as trans fats and calories. It's not a healthy way to start your meal.

2. Say "yes" to salad. Salad is a healthy eater's best friend. Not only will it fill you up so you'll consume fewer calories overall, but it will also give you a hefty dose of antioxidants which are heart healthy. Be sure to ask your waitress to hold the croutons and cheese which will further reduce your caloric load. Also, choose your dressing wisely. Avoid cream based dressings and go for the vinegar based ones. You also have the option of using vinegar and olive oil which is heart healthy.

3. Make the right entree selection. Go for broiled and grilled rather than fried. Not only will you save calories and fat grams, you'll also avoid trans fats which are so prevalent in fried foods. Instead, consider asking for a doubles order of vegetables with your entree. Very few Americans are getting the 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables recommended for optimal health. Plus, by avoiding the starch, you'll be reducing your caloric and carbohydrate load. Also, stick to tomato based sauces rather than cream based and you'll enjoy a considerable calorie savings. Lastly, ask for the sauce to be served in a separate dish on the side so you can control the amount you eat.

4. Think about what you're drinking with your meal. By not ordering an alcoholic beverage, you've saved yourself a considerable number of calories. Try sipping iced tea sweetened with a noncaloric sweetener, a diet soft drink, or water with lemon. You'll be glad you did when you consider the calorie savings.

5. Indulge your sweet tooth wisely. Many of the chain restaurants now offer a low fat or low carbohydrate dessert selection such as a low carb cheesecake. These are wise choices for the health conscious eater and still allow you to end the meal on a sweet note. If a healthy dessert option isn't available, try a cup of coffee with skim milk to help satiate your desire for something sweet.

6. Learn to control your portions. Many restaurants are serving larger quantities of food than in the past. If this is the case, put aside a portion of your entree at the beginning of the meal to take home with you. If you remove it from your plate before you start eating, you'll be less tempted to overindulge.

By following these steps, you can make your dining experiences not only healthy, but enjoyable. Your heart will thank you!

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Benefits of Goji juice

2011-10-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

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Broccoli A Disease Fighting Resource

2011-10-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

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Children抯 Vitamins

2011-10-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Many parents are concerned that their children do not consume the proper foods they need to stay strong and healthy. The truth is children can be picky eaters. Some children will go through stages where they will refuse to eat anything other than a favorite food, while other children will try new foods, but do not take to them.

Children抯 vitamins are available to parents who want to ensure their children are receiving the necessary nutrients he or she needs to grow strong and healthy. Even parents who have children who eat well are supplementing their children抯 diet with vitamins. The fact is the earth抯 soil is rapidly being depleted of nutrients, and the rigors of food processing also leaves many foods deficient in vitamins and minerals.

Children抯 vitamins are packaged in such a way that they are attractive to children. Most children抯 vitamins come in colorful and fun shapes. Many manufacturers of children抯 vitamins are packaging their vitamins in lollipop, gum ball and gummy bear varieties. Because these vitamins resemble candy, it is important that you keep them away from a child抯 reach and that you monitor their intake. If you find your child has taken extra vitamins, you should consult their pediatrician or your local poison control center.

There are instances when a pediatrician will prescribe vitamins for a child. If a child has a vitamin deficiency, does not have access to fluoridated water, or has anemia or other illness or disease, vitamin supplements may be prescribed for a child. However, in general, many pediatricians believe that children do not need vitamin supplements if they are being fed properly. They feel that children can receive all the vitamins and minerals they need if they eat according to the Food Pyramid. Consult with your child抯 pediatrician before starting them on a vitamin.

Vitamins are supplements and not replacements. Children抯 vitamin supplements should never be looked upon as a replacement for healthy eating. Encourage your child to eat the foods they need, and do things to make nutrition fun and flavorful for them. For instance, letting children add grated cheese to their vegetables will make some children more interested in eating them. Allowing a child to drink calcium fortified orange juice over milk works well for a child who does not like milk. Let your child participate in making a vegetable pizza, or let them pick out fruit at a market and place it in their own special area at home. All of these tips can go a long way in helping a picky eaters overcome their fears so they consume the vitamins they need.

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Discount fish oil ?the facts

2011-10-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

Question: What are fish oil抯 benefits?

Answer: Leading authorities on the subject of nutrition are now emphasizing the benefits of including fish oil in your diet. It is generally considered to be one of the most often sought-after remedies when it comes to improving physical performance, treating obesity, and improving mental focus. Clearly, the benefits of this oil can be astounding to your health. Wide-ranged benefits that include helping your body both physically and mentally make discount fish oil a substance that can greatly affect your life for the positive in a multitude of ways.

Question: What makes fish oil work on these problems the way that it does?

Answer: There are many reasons fish oil is good for your health. For one, the scientific world generally agrees that the Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil known as EPA and DHA promote a healthy vascular system. Also, the more fish oil absorbed by your body, the more 揼ood?eicosanoids your body will release. Eicosanoids are a type of hormone found in the body, and there are both 揼ood?and 揵ad?eicosanoids. Fish oil helps to balance these levels, and in turn aids in such things as heart performance.

Studies have confirmed that for these reasons, fish oil can help to protect you from heart disease. A study done at Harvard University resulted in a conclusion that taking discount fish oil once a week lowered your chance of death from heart disease by 34 percent.

Fish oil has also been studied for its help with bipolar disorder. Another Harvard study showed that the disorder could be treated with fish oil with remarkable success.

Question: What should I look for to get the best discount fish oil out there?

Answer: The purity of the fish oil you are taking is a key factor in its benefits for your health. To make pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, you抮e required to put the raw product through substantial purification processes. 100 gallons of health-food grade fish oil results in merely one gallon of pharmaceutical grade fish oil. This pharmaceutical grade oil possesses about twice the EPA and DHA as the standard health-food grade fish oil.

Why not check out our nutrition guide at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/nut-ebook.html

and also what supplement we personally use for our nutrition needs at http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com/what-we-use.html

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Can Nutrition Help Slow Down the Aging Process?

2011-10-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

We all age. That fact is inevitable. But a lot of the negative changes that take place in our bodies are not. As we age, we become more susceptible to such things as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and arthritis. However, medical research has shown that proper nutrition can slow down and even prevent many of these ailments.

It is estimated that nearly one half of all health problems in the elderly are directly related to poor nutrition. The elderly are by and large some of the most poorly nourished people. Some reasons for this are as you age your sense of taste and smell decreases, it is harder to chew, and you just don抰 feel hungry.

In some cases, financial reasons may affect the food choices made and it may be harder to get out and shop for food due to various physical factors. On top of this, as you get older your body may not be able to absorb some of the nutrition from food as well as it could when you were younger. In some cases a good multi-vitamin (preferably in liquid form) could help offset this. Your doctor can help you find one that抯 right for you.

Here are a few things that you can do to plan for better nutrition in your diet and a healthier life as you get older:

Plan out regular meals for each day and try to include vegetables in at least 2 of them every day. If you must snack, use fruits and vegetables rather than junk food like potato chips and candy.

If you have problems chewing meat, try going with things like fish and ground meats. Also try to eat more soups as they can have plenty of nutrition in them and they are great choices if you are on a budget.

Make meals more interesting by inviting a friend to lunch or dinner once in a while. Sometimes it can get boring to always eat alone and having someone over can entice you to get more creative with meals than you might when eating alone.

One thing you can do to ensure that you抣l be getting better nutrition is to make each plate colorful. Different color vegetables for example generally contain different nutrients so the idea here is, mix it up.

Growing old may be inevitable but that doesn抰 mean you can抰 grow old gracefully and healthier and with a steady diet of proper nutrition, you can maintain better health well into your golden years.

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Carbohydrates and the Glycemic Index

2011-10-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

You may have heard about the glycemic index and wondered what it is all about. The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It compares foods gram for gram of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.

Foods with a high glycemic index convert into sugar very quickly, with negative physical effects. Foods with a low glycemic index turn into sugar gradually, helping maintain your body's chemical balance. In general, foods with a low index are preferable.

Glycemic Load measures the amount of sugar a food actually releases in the body. Foods with a low glycemic load usually have a low glycemic index, yet still have a low glycemic load. Other foods have both a high index and a high load. You should avoid high load foods as a regular part of your meal plan.

When you choose carbohydrate foods, check both their glycemic index and glycemic load. Detailed tables with this information are widely available. Use the chart below to get started.

High Glycemic Index

# Fruits and Vegetables

* Corn
* Cranberry juice
* Orange juice*
* Raisin

# Starches

* Bagel
* Bread (white)
* Refined cereal
* Granola
* Muffin
* Pasta
* Potato
* Pretzel
* Rice
* Tortilla (flour)

Medium Glycemic Index

Fruits and Vegetables Starches
Apricot* French Fries
Grape* Oatmeal
Pineapple* Pita Bread
Watermelon Waffle

Low Glycemic Index

Fruits and Vegetables

* Apple*
* Asparagus*
* Broccoli*
* Brussels sprout*
* Cauliflower*
* Celery*
* Cherry*
* Cucumber*
* Grapefruit*
* Green Bean*
* Green pepper*
* Kiwi*
* Lettuce*
* Onion*
* Orange*
* Peach*
* Plum*
* Spinach*
* Strawberry*
* Tomato*
* Zucchini*

* * Low glycemic load foods.

Simply eating more fruits and vegetables is not the answer - they must be the right fruits and vegetables. Starchy vegetables such as peas or lentils (200 to 250 calories per cup) are healthy, but they contain more calories than you may want. If you need to eat more to satisfy your hunger, add low glycemic load vegetables. For example, spinach and asparagus are better choices than higher calorie corn and peas. A cup of spinach topped with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce has only about 90 calories, but it gives you nutrients from two colour groups.

Why Not Brown and Beige?

When considering which foods to enjoy sparingly, also use colour as a guideline. Many brown and beige carbohydrates, like pasta, beans and potatoes, while healthy, also tend to be high in calories.

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Discover Which Minerals You Need to Neutralize Your body's Acids

2011-10-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Every part of you is made from minerals - your bones, cell structure, lymph liquid, arteries, organs, tissue, muscle, hair, and so on. You cannot live without minerals. Your body does not produce minerals.

Where do you get your minerals? You get them from vegetables and fruits and good supplements. Since only 10% of the people eat enough fruits and vegetable, the rest of you are deficient in minerals.If we eat enough vegetables and fruits, why do we have to take a mineral supplement?

Long time ago when the soil was rich in minerals, vegetable and fruits were jammed pack with minerals. Fruits and vegetables were not picked early, frozen, waxed, radiated, or stored in argon gas. Those who ate these vegetables and fruits obtained an adequate supply of minerals and seldom has a deficiency.

Today the opposite is true. You and I cannot get enough minerals from eating fruits and vegetables. Now we eat more cooked vegetables, more vegetables in packages, fruits and vegetables that are waxed, and vegetables from other countries not processed properly.Today, we need to supplement our eating habits with a live mineral liquid to make up for the lack of minerals in the good food and junk food we eat.

Here is a partial list of illnesses and their related mineral deficiencies and below each mineral is the food that is highest in that mineral.

?Calcium - receding gums, PMS, panic attacks, muscle cramps, lungs weak, low back pain, kidney stones, insomnia, bone weakness, bone spurs, calcium deposits.
o Foods - cheeses, cottage cheeses, dulse, greens, kelp, goat milk, sesame seeds, unrefined cereal grains, seeds and almonds.

?Sodium - restless nerves, poor eyesight, mental confusion, lack of saliva, frontal headache, white coated tongue, cracking joints, fatigue, offensive breath, stiff tendons, stiff joints
o Foods - goat milk, goat whey, black mission figs, apples, apricots, kale, kelp, prunes, raisins, strawberries, sunflower seeds, black olives, celery, dulse, asparagus, greens,

?Potassium - fearfulness, mental illness, low energy, pains and aches, body acidity, tendency toward violence, suspiciousness, loss of ambition, nervousness, negativity
o Foods - black olives, dulse, potato peeling broth, bitter greens, kelp, Irish moss, various seeds and nuts, apple cider vinegar, soy milk, spinach, goat milk, grapes, apples, bananas, cheese, cucumbers, fish, dale, lettuce

?Magnesium - A.D.D., anorexia, arterial calcification, low calcium absorption, convulsions, depression, gastrointestinal disturbances, growth failure, menstrual migraines, osteoporosis, tremors, hot temper, fainting
o Foods - seeds and nuts, yellow cornmeal, rice polishings, wheat germ, avocados, coconuts, spinach, goat milk, grapes, honey, whole wheat Phosphorus - constant weakness, neuralgia, numbness, lack of confidence, slow oxygenation, sensitive to noise or criticism, fatigue
o Foods - meat, egg yolk, dairy products, fish, almonds, rice bran, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, lentils, sunflower seeds, almonds, various types of beans, carrots, pecans, lentils, cabbage

?Manganese - A.D. D., asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, convulsions, loss of libido, miscarriage, retarded growth rate, still birth, TMJ, nightmares
o Foods - black walnuts, and other nuts and seeds, pineapple, parsley, leaf lettuce, celery, blueberries, black eyed peas, apricots

?Copper - A.D.D., anemia, arthritis, behavior-violent, cerebral palsy, high cholesterol, eyelids sagging, gray or white hair, hernia, liver cirrhosis, learning disabilities, low blood sugar, slow healer, high risk of strokes, varicose veins
o Foods - liver, sea foods, almonds, greens, leafy vegetables, whole grain cereals,

?Selenium - age spots, aging skin, Alzheimer's, cancer, cystic fibrosis, fatigue, heart palpitations , HIV, hypothyroidism, liver damage, muscular weakness, scoliosis
o Foods - wheat germ, bran, whole grains, onions, broccoli, eggs, seafood's, milk products, meat, asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, nuts

?Iodine - goiter, menstrual difficulties, thinking confused, heart and lung problems
o Foods - kelp, fish, dulse, sea plants, watermelon, okra, mustard greens, green peppers, eggplant, brussels sprouts, carrots chives, artichokes, agar

?Iron - fatigue, low auto-immunity, anemia, depression, low blood pressure, slow speech, poor memory, susceptibly to colds
o Foods - greens, unsulphured dried fruits, dulse, kelp, Irish moss, black cherries, black berries, liquid chlorophyll, strawberries, celery, spinach, rice polishings sunflower seeds, blackstrap molasses, eggs, goat milk, pinto beans

?Zinc - A.D.D., hair loss, congenital birth defects, body odor, brain defects, diarrhea, slow healer, heart defects, hernia, impotence, lung defects, prostate enlargement, loss of sense of smell, short stature, webbed toes
o Foods - goat milk, brewer's yeast, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, wheat bran, high protein foods, cow's milk

?Chromium - A.D.D., unexpected weight loss, low sperm count, pre diabetes, manic depression, learning disabilities, impaired growth, hyperactivity, coronary blood vessel disease, cataracts, low blood sugar
o Foods - brewer's yeast, whole grain cereals, clams, meat, cloves and spices, corn oil.

There are more minerals than the ones listed above. This is just a start, so that you can see why minerals are so important. A consistent lack of a specific mineral can lead to a serious illness.

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Basic Meal & Menu Planning

2011-10-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

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Buying Nutritional Supplements Online

2011-10-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

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Changing Your Eating Habits

2011-10-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

Because all of us have been brought up eating junk food, well most of us, it is not easy to change our eating habits. Your eating habits have developed since childhood based on what your mothers or fathers cooked and what your psychological make-up was during that time.

The foods you eat and crave help keep pass trauma and present anxiety in check. Food helps make you feel good when you start to feel bad. Eating is a natural defense mechanism that the brain-body uses to keep you from going crazy.

So, you see, it is very difficult to change our eating habits. When we do, we start to feel bad. We start to feel uncomfortable, we feel pain, we have withdrawal symptoms, and we may feel sick. Is it any wonder that any of us ever succeed in changing our eating habits?

I consider every thing that has been packaged to be junk food. There are a few exception and you need to read ingredient labels carefully. Very few food manufacturers and even restaurants prepare food with your health in mind. Of course, they want to satisfy you, but they don't use foods that are in your best interest.

Most people eat junk food 85% of the time and then eat good food the other 15%. It should be the reverse of this - eat good food 85% and junk food 15% of the time.
To have better health, here are some foods to stop eating. Eliminate these foods over the next two to three weeks.

?Milk (non-fat or no-fat also) - is a mucus and acid forming food. Milk creates mucus in the body and makes the lymph liquid (we will talk about lymph later) in your body acidic, which attracts parasites and other pathogens. (In the place of milk almond milk or goats milk)
Cancer thrives in a body that is acidic.

o Bread - white bread is also acid and mucus forming. It is also more difficult to pass through the colon and gives rise to constipation.
Sugar the #1 food additive. Sugar is in most of all the products that you buy.

?Sodas (regular or diet)- are extremely high in sugar or artificial sugar - 7 teaspoons per can. Most people drink over 35 gallons per year. Sugar is a body poison and leads to many disease - diabetes, obesity, tooth decay and osteoarthritis and so on.
o Sugar, also, depletes your B-vitamins and calcium and magnesium from your bones and teeth.

o In addition, since sodas are in aluminum cans, aluminum can go into the soda because most sodas contain phosphoric acid. Aluminum has been associated with senility and Alzheimer disease.

o Calcium is also leached from your body to neutralize the phosphoric acid. (Its healthier to drink juices of all kinds)

There is just no way around it. Sodas suck health right out of your body.

?Regular salt (NaCl) - excessive salt intake is related to high blood pressure, edema, and imbalances in the minerals in your lymph liquid. Sodium, Na, in salt attracts water so the more sodium you eat that more water your body will hold. (Use sea salt, it has 25% less sodium, use low salt soy sauce, and herbs to flavor your food)

o Most people eat too much salt - over 10,000 milligrams per day. We only need around 200-300 mg per day.

o Excess salt is also in involved with kidney problems, cardiovascular disease, stomach cancer, and excess sensitive to stress.

o Get your Sodium from eating vegetables that are high in sodium. When you get your salt from vegetables it is organic salt, which does not have the same effect in your body as inorganic salt from a shaker. You need a lot of organic salt or Na in your body. Your stomach is a Na organ. It needs organic salt, Na, to keep its lining from being eaten by the hydrochloric acid in your stomach - an ulcer.

o Foods high in organic sodium are apples, apricots, asparagus, greens, red cabbage, carrots, celery, dulse, egg yolks, figs, fish, raisins, prunes, and lentils.

For the next two weeks try adding the following foods to your eating habits.

?lecithin - is 30-40% choline, which is used throughout your body. This is why you want to include it in your diet.
o choline is one of the main chemicals in our cell membrane.
o It is used in our brains to create the neurotransmitter acytlcholine, which is required for thinking and memory. Consider lecithin brain food.
o It is used by the liver, which helps to prevent a fatty liver. A fatty liver prevents you from losing weight around your belly.
o it helps to break up fats into tiny goblets so that they are easily digestible and will reduce your cholesterol.
o it helps to keep cholesterol from clinging to your artery walls.

?flax seed oil - is an essential oil, omega 3. This means your body does not make it and it is necessary for you to eat it so that you can live without illness or pain.
o it helps to detoxify the liver
o it stimulates the production of bile. Remember that bile helps to breakdown fat so that the liver can better metabolize it.
o stimulates the body to burn fat.

o apple juice and apples - are high in vitamin A, in Potassium and have other minerals that strengthen the blood. They contain malic and tartaric acids, which keep the liver healthy and promote good digestion. Apples help you to lose weight by providing fiber and keeping you regular.

o fiber - you need 30-35 grams of fiber every day. Most people only get up to 10-15 grams. Fiber is one foods that reduce your transient time in the colon. Fiber helps to keep your colon clean, reduce cholesterol, remove toxins from your body and eliminate constipation.

There you have it. If you can accomplish these changes in one year, you will notice a big difference in the way you feel and the health that you have.

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Dietary Fiber - For Diabetes, Heart and General Health

2011-10-26T00:31:00.000-07:00

Most people understand the importance of dietary fiber in their diet. Much has been said about its importance in heart health, diabetes, cancer prevention, and even weight control.

What is less well understood is how different types of fiber effect the body. Some provide fecal bulk, some are absorbed more quickly into the blood stream than others, and thus raise blood sugar levels more quickly, and yet others provide benefits to the heart.

Thus, despite the apparent simplicity, fiber is a complex topic. And whilst all types of fiber are important, if you are looking at preventing or managing specific conditions, its not enough to just look at the total dietary fiber as written on food packaging.

Dietary fiber is broadly classified into soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is fermented in the colon, and plays a role in slowing the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. It also encourages the growth of the 'friendly' bacteria that help break down bile, and are involved in the creation of B vitamins like folic acid, niacin, and pyridoxine.

Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, acts a bit like an intestinal broom. It provides bulk to the stools, and makes sure they pass through easily and quickly. This is the type of fiber that keeps you 'regular', not insoluble fiber.

Insoluble fiber does provide a feeling of fullness, however. This makes it great for weight loss and controlling hunger. It also keeps blood sugar levels more stable, although research into the rate at which carbohydrates enter the bloodstream have found there to be some significant differences within the foods that make up the fiber group. Dietary fiber can thus be rated by its Glycemic Index, which effectively ranks fiber foods with each other on a relative scale.

The idea is to try and include more low gylcemic index foods. Foods with a high glycemic index cause blood sugar levels to spike, providing too much energy to the blood in the form of carbohydrates, which in turn sets off the body's sugar controlling hormone - insulin. You thus get a 'high' followed by a sudden drop. This in turn leads the body to want more carbohydrates to balance itself again, leading to cravings and overeating, as well as tiredness and moodiness.

Low glycemic index foods include lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, fruit loaf, salmon sushi, barley, milk, low fat custard, soy milk, yoghurt (not diet yoghurt), apples, strawberries, grapes, spaghetti, peas, carrots, fructose, strawberry jam, and chocolate milk.

Moderate glycemic index foods include pea soup, rye bread, porridge, muesli, ice cream, bananas, pineapple, kiwi fruit, new potatoes, beetroot, white sugar, honey, and mars bars.

High glycemic index foods include broad beans, bagels, white bread, brown rice, watermelon, udon noodles, desiree, pontiac and sebago potatoes, and glucose.

We need both soluble and insoluble fiber, however. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that in a group of 6000 French men and women, those with the highest levels of soluble and insoluble fiber in their diet had a lower risk of being overweight, a lower risk of having blood pressure problems, cholesterol problems, and they had better levels of triacylglycerols and homocysteine. The last two are measure3 of heart health.

Fiber from cereals was linked to lower body fat, lower blood pressure, and lower levels of homocysteine. Those with a higher intake of vegetables, also a source of fiber, had lower blood pressure and lower homocysteine levels. Fiber from fresh fruit was associated with a lower waist to hip ratio (good news for dieters!), and lower blood pressure. And fiber from dried fruit, nuts, and seeds (like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds) was also linked to a lower waist to hip ratio, lower body fat, and a better fasting glucose concentration. Fasting glucose relates to having a steady level of glucose between meals. If it dips too low, we crave things, often sweets.

Fiber has another interesting benefit. In people with type 2 diabetes, it has been found to lower the levels of 'bad' cholesterol, and increase the levels of 'good' cholesterol. It has already been established that fiber supplements will lower the levels of bad cholesterol in people, whether they have diabetes or not. But this new study found that fiber supplements also decreased the reabsorption of cholesterol from meals.

To get this benefit, it is important to time taking the fiber supplement in synch with meals. The study participants took a fiber supplement drink before mealtimes, and this ensured that the fiber was in the intestines when the meal was being eaten. The people in the study participated for 90 days and their average age was 59 years old.

References:
1. Australian Healthy Food, November 2005
2. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=64759
3. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=57887
4. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=64462
5. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=59737

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Beginners Guide To Healthy Nutritional Eating

2011-10-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

eating, healthy, start, life, understand, healthy eating, diet, plan, habits, foods, life style, healthy diet, eating habits, learn, style, nutrition,

Article Body:

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Are The Foods You Eat Putting Your Health at Risk?

2011-10-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

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Boost Your Memory With Caffeine

2011-10-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

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Artichokes Are A Strange But Healthy Food

2011-10-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Artichokes have been around for a long time. Originally found around the Mediterranean Sea, they were used by the ancient Romans to treat poor digestion.

Somewhere along the line, the Romans realized artichokes also made great appetizers, and they have been a traditional Italian food ever since.

The Latin name for this greenish-purple vegetable is Cynara scolymus. Sometimes called French or Globe artichoke, it's the flower of the plant that is sold in grocery stores. But don't confuse it with the Jerusalem artichoke, which is really a tuber that grows in North America.

One medium artichoke supplies 20 percent of the vitamin C you need for the day. With only 60 calories, it's also a good source of potassium and magnesium, both important for a healthy heart. And like most fruits and vegetables, it's packed with disease-fighting antioxidants that nutritionists rave about.

3 ways artichokes keep you healthy

Steps up digestion.

As it turns out, the ancient Romans were onto something when it comes to artichokes and digestion. An ingredient in artichoke leaves helps your liver form bile - something necessary for good digestion. If your liver doesn't produce enough bile, your food doesn't get broken down properly, and you end up with stomach pains and indigestion.

If you feel sick to your stomach, overly full, and have abdominal pain after eating a normal-sized meal, you may suffer from dyspepsia - a fancy name for poor digestion.

Several scientific studies showed dramatic improvements in people with dyspepsia after being treated with artichoke extracts. You can also get help for your indigestion the way the ancient Romans did - by eating a delicious artichoke with your dinner.

Chokes out heart disease.

Bile from your liver does more than help you digest food. It also helps break down cholesterol from the fat you eat. But a liver that doesn't produce enough bile lets too much cholesterol get by - kind of like the I Love Lucy episode where the chocolate assembly line starts moving too fast for her to keep up. People with liver problems can have high cholesterol even if they eat a low-fat diet.

That's where artichokes come in. Because they can help you make more bile, you might be able to lower your cholesterol by eating them. A study in Germany showed that taking artichoke extract for six weeks caused LDL cholesterol, the bad kind, to fall by more than 22 percent. As a bonus, artichokes might also be able to block some new cholesterol from forming in your liver.

Lowers blood sugar.

Your liver is busier than you might think. In addition to breaking down fatty foods, it also stores extra glucose (sugar) in the form of glycogen and turns it back into glucose whenever it gets a phone call from your blood saying that supplies are too low. This is a great system in a perfectly working body. But some people have faulty phone lines, and their livers work day and night cranking out glucose their blood doesn't need. This overproduction of glucose can lead to diabetes and other health problems.

In animal studies, researchers found that substances in artichokes kept livers from making too much glucose. More studies need to be done, but scientists think artichokes might someday be useful to people with noninsulin-dependent diabetes. In the future, people might use plants, like artichokes, to keep their blood sugar production in check.

Pantry pointers

Choose artichokes with even, green color. Don't buy any that look wilted, dried out, or moldy. Heavy, small heads are best.

Small artichokes are good for appetizers, and larger ones can be used for stuffing with a variety of fillings and served as an entree.

Be sure to trim about an inch off the top with a sharp knife. And then trim about one-quarter inch from the tips of the leaves since this part is inedible and rough on your hands.

Artichokes can be steamed in a steamer basket or boiled in water. They should be tender and ready to eat in about 30 minutes. If you're in a hurry, you can microwave them more quickly. First, rinse them with water to add some moisture. Then wrap each one in microwaveable plastic wrap. For four artichokes, microwave on high for 10 to 15 minutes or until the meaty part at the base of the artichoke is tender.

You can serve these veggies hot or cold. Some people serve a dipping sauce with artichokes. It would be a shame to ruin a lowfat food with a rich sauce, so try a low-calorie, yogurt-based dip.

If you've never eaten an artichoke, you might be a little confused about what part is edible. The outer leaves are hard and a little bitter, but at the bottom of the leaf, where they pull away from the stem, there is a soft, velvety hunk of "meat" that you can eat by gently pulling the leaf through your teeth. After you've nibbled all the leaves this way, you're left with the best part of the artichoke - the heart. This is a soft, nutty-flavored center that can be eaten whole. Just scrape off the soft fuzz with a spoon before you dig in.

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Atkins Is Hardly the 'Rich Man's Diet'

2011-10-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

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Do We Need Eight Glasses of Water a Day?

2011-10-25T00:55:00.000-07:00

Do you know where the idea of drinking eight glasses of water per day came from? Neither does anyone else.

Yet many nutritionists, weight-loss experts and general health gurus claim we must drink that much every day.

I certainly tried to do it. I would drink coffee in the morning, then maybe force down a glass of water. By the time I had sweet tea with lunch, I was not thirsty but would try to choke down two more glasses of water in the afternoon.

By the time I had a glass of wine and more tea for supper, I was full - and facing five more glasses of water! I just could not do it day in and day out.

I know many of you can, and I'm proud of you. But for the rest of us who wallow in guilt, there is good news.

Before I get to that, let me reinforce the necessity of good hydration. Drinking water in adequate amounts is necessary for maintaining the organ systems. In a resting state, this is easy and can be done in many ways. But in times of vigorous physical activity or in high temperatures, consumption must be increased and maintained to keep the body's core temperature from rising dangerously and to prevent dehydration.

Yet research has shown recently that there is no supporting evidence to back the popular notion that eight glasses of water a day is essential to good health. Studies have been duplicated where normal adults of both genders were compared, showing no difference in hydration status.

We are not walking around in a dehydrated state as some would have us believe.

We should drink water when thirsty. It's still the best indicator, and this signal is delivered from our brains when we have lost between 1 percent and 2 percent of our body's water. This amount is not dangerous.

Scientific studies also prove that there is no extra benefit to the skin by drinking more water. Nor is there supporting evidence that it significantly curbs appetite.

Nature intended for us to obtain much of our water from the food we eat. Fruits and vegetables are 80 percent to 90 percent water. Meat contains a fair amount, and even dry bread and cheese are about 35 percent water.

Caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea and soda do not necessarily contribute to dehydration. Caffeine does cause a loss of water, but only a fraction of what you are adding by drinking the beverage itself.

If you like to drink eight glass of water a day, that's fine. But don't feel guilty if you choose not to walk around with a bottle like everyone else. Instead, eat balanced meals and follow your thirst mechanism.

Dr. W. David Varner Jr. is a general surgeon and medical consultant for Aflac. - NU

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Cayenne pepper could help Stomach Ulcers

2011-10-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

If you suffer from a peptic or duodenal ulcer, the last thing you might consider taking is hot Cayenne Pepper. This goes against everything you've ever heard about what aggravates an ulcer, the facts are that most "spicy" foods do just the opposite. Capsicum (Cayenne Pepper) can reduce pain which serves as a local anesthetic to ulcerated tissue in the stomach and can even help to control bleeding in the stomach.

Some individuals may be bothered by eating "Red Pepper" or spicy foods, these foods do not cause the formation of gastric ulcers in normal people. An interesting note is that people suffering from ulcers usually avoid Cayenne Pepper, in fact those people may actually benefit from its therapeutic action.

Taking Capsicum may significantly reduce the risk of ever developing a peptic ulcer. A Chinese study published in 1995 stated, "Our data supports the hypothesis that the chile used has a protective effect against peptic ulcer disease."1

Another 1995 study found that Capsicum can even protect the stomach lining from aspirin induced ulcers.2 Aspirin can cause stomach ulceration in certain individuals or if taken with too little water or juice. Researchers have concluded after experimenting with human volunteers that the capsaicin content of capsicum has a definite gastro - protective effect on the mucous membranes of the stomach.3 Eighteen healthy volunteers with normal gastrointestinal mucosa took chile and water followed by 600 mg of aspirin and water. The study was conducted over a period of four weeks. Endoscopy results showed that taking 20 grams of chile before the aspirin definitely demonstrated a protective action on the stomach lining.4 Capsicum has the ability to rebuild stomach tissue.

Capsicum has the ability to bring blood to regions of tissue at a faster rate boosts the assimilation of foods that are consumed with it.5 Several clinical studies support this phenomenon. It has been thought that Capsicum stimulate the release of substances which increase secretions in the stomach and intestines plus can increase an abundance of blood to the stomach and intestines.6 In fact, Capsicum can increases the flow of digestive secretions from the salivary, gastric and intestinal glands.

References:

1 J. Y. Kang, et al. "The effect of chile ingestion of gastrointestinal mucosal proliferation and azoxymethane-induced cancer in the rat." Journal of Gastroenterology-Hepatol. Mar-Apr. 1992: 7 (2): 194-98.
2 K. G. Yeoh, et al. "Chile protects against aspirin-induced gastroduodenal mucosal injury in humans." Dig-Dis-Sci. Mar. 1995: 40 (3): 580-83.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 L. Limlomwongse, et al. "Effect of capsaicin on gastric acid secretion and mucosal blood flow in the rat." Journal of Nutrition. 1979: 109, 773-77. See also T. Kolatat

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Cholesterol Types

2011-10-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Cholesterol is a blood fat needed by the body in moderate amounts. However, high cholesterol(http://www.vasacor.com/) levels can lead to atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). Angina is chest pain caused by the restriction of blood flow to the heart (cardiac ischemia). Nitrates may be used to relieve angina.

Most people will have cholesterol blood tests regularly, including triglycerides, HDL (http://www.cholesterol-reduction.org/treatment/increasing-good-cholesterol.html), LDL and total cholesterol. Methods for increasing good cholesterol or lowering cholesterol levels (http://www.cholesterol-reduction.org/cholesterol/cholesterol-levels.html) may include cholesterol reducing drugs, such as statins, fibrates, niacin (nicotinic acid) and bile acid resins. However, these drugs do not reverse calcification. A heart attack occurs when the coronary arteries become blocked. Cholesterol has many types. The two big components are called LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein). And simplistically, we talk about the LDL being the bad cholesterol and the HDL being the good cholesterol.

That means that the bad cholesterol tends to accumulate in the arteries, tends to form plaques, tends to be the precursor to what eventually might end up being a heart attack.

The good cholesterol actually acts in part in reversing the cholesterol transport, takes cholesterol out of the plaque in the artery and may return it to the circulation, to the liver, to be excreted. So these are the two major categories, but within each one there are different particles, different cholesterols, different lipoproteins that carry the cholesterol, and they are differentially difficult players.

Some of the LDL cholesterol, i.e., the bad cholesterol, is worse than others. And it tends to be the small particle size that is very dense. You can think of the cholesterol particles as marbles, maybe, the small dense ones, and the larger, lighter ones might be ping-pong balls. And so the small marble ones are more dangerous.

On the other side, HDL the good cholesterol, posseses some components that are better than the others. So cholesterol is quite a complicated subject, and we're developing more and more therapies that aim not just at the total cholesterol, but in altering the good and the bad.

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benefits of the Soya Bean

2011-10-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

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Eat a variety of veggies for a healthier you

2011-10-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

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B6 Important Among the B Vitamins

2011-10-24T04:23:00.000-07:00

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Brazilian Superfruit Found to Kill Cancer Cells

2011-10-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

A recently completed University of Florida study has added to the buzz surrounding the Brazilian acai berry. The study is one of the first to research the many claims attributed to the acai fruit.

In it's study, six different chemical extracts were made from acai berry pulp, and each extract was prepared in seven concentrations.

At least 4 of the extracts killed a great many cancer cells when applied for 24 hours or more. Anywhere from 35 percent to 86 percent of the cancer cells were destroyed, depending on the particular extract and concentration.

According to Stephen Talcott, an assistant professor with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the study showed extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct response (apoptosis) in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested

Talcott, however, cautioned against reading too much into the results, noting that the tests were run against cancer cell cultures and not on human test subjects.

Still, the results are exciting. In the last year, the Brazilian berry has really taken off in the United States. It has also caught the attention of many companies who are now creating products that include the acai berry.

Although, acai berries are thought to be one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants, other antioxidant rich fruits have been shown to kill cancer cells in similar studies.

Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage is theorized to be one of the main causes of cancer. A sufficient amount of antioxidants are thought by many to short-circuit this process by interacting with and stabilizing the free radicals and may stopping the damage that they do to healthy cells.

Experts are divided on just what effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, because of the many other lifestyle factors that have to be factored into the equation.

Many anecdotal claims have been made for the acai berry. And traditionally Indians in the Brazilian rain forest have used it in ways as diverse as food, house thatching, drink, diarrhea, jaundice, fevers, and as treatment for many other health diseases.

The University of Florida study is a welcome step towards getting away from some of the claims of acai and subjecting it to controlled studies.

"A lot of claims are being made, but most of them haven't been tested scientifically," Talcott said. "We are just beginning to understand the complexity of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects."

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Diet and Supplements for Gaining Weight

2011-10-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Bodybuilders usually have one or two immediate goals: They want to lose bodyfat and get ripped, or they want to pack on muscle size. The Holy Grail would be to accomplish both, but that抯 hardly realistic, since it involves going in two opposing directions at the same time. The most you can hope for is to maintain your muscle while you抮e losing fat. Building muscular bulk is an entirely different process from cutting up.

In years past the diet portion of acquiring muscle could best be described as haphazard. You simply ate anything that wasn抰 nailed down. That, of course, resulted in not just lean mass gains but also a hefty increase in bodyfat. The next step involved reducing calories or carbs or both until you lost the excess fat. Under ideal conditions you also kept most of the muscle gained during your bulking-up phase.

For a classic example of the comparatively primitive bulk-up/cut-down process take a look at Bruce Randall, who began his bulking phase while he was in the U.S. Marine Corps in the early 1950s. He consumed prodigious amounts of food (courtesy of Uncle Sam) including dozens of eggs, quarts of whole milk and plenty of bread. That diet led Randall to a body-weight of more than 400 pounds, but he wasn抰 just another fat, sloppy guy. He lifted actively during his entire hulking period, doing some extraordinary lifts, such as good mornings with 900 pounds.

I recall being told a story about the time Randall visited a New York gym for a workout during those days. He opted to do incline presses but for some reason decided to move the bench, which he did. Only after he moved the bench from one end of the gym to the other did Randall realize that the bench had been bolted to the floor. He was so powerful that he ripped the bench from its moorings without realizing it.

Randall later began training for bodybuilding competitions and, through a stringent diet and training program, dropped his weight from 405 to 187. He then increased it to 227 and won the ?9 NABBA Mr. Universe title in London. His trophy was presented to him at the contest by buxom film star Jayne Mansfield.

A more recent example of a successful hulking program was that of two-time Mr. Universe and star of the 揑ncredible Hulk?TV series, Lou Ferrigno. When Lou started back in Brooklyn he was skinny, though a enthusiastic young bodybuilder. After a few years of training Ferrigno weighing nearly 300 pounds. What had he done to achieve such phenomenal mass gains?

揚lenty of milk and food,?he said.

And therein lies the key to success in gaining muscular size. You simply have to eat more. These days the object is not to gain just any type of weight, but to ensure that what you gain is mainly muscle. The problem is, you must still increase your calories. There抯 simply no way around that, regardless of what you hear or read.

That last statement must be qualified to a certain extent. Using certain anabolic drugs, including anabolic steroids, growth hormone and insulin, among others, can indeed increase muscle size, but even with their assistance, you still need to eat and train properly to build quality muscle. In fact, emerging research shows that you can manipulate your body抯 anabolic hormones by making certain adjustments in your diet and supplement regimen. That way you fine-tune your gains so they抮e mostly lean mass rather than a combination of muscle and too much fat.

One common question about gaining muscle is, How much can I realistically expect to gain? The amount of lean mass gains varies among individuals due to such factors as genetics, body structure and training intensity. Those who are blessed with a combination of naturally high androgen, or testosterone, levels and a high percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers will make the most rapid initial gains, but even those who have less of a genetic head start will nonetheless make impressive gains by eating properly and training hard. A bodybuilding axiom holds that you make your best ever gains when you first begin training, simply because your body isn抰 used to it and responds rapidly to the added stress of exercise. As you progress to the advanced level, adding muscle each year becomes increasingly difficult regardless of genetics.

Mass-With-Class Weight-Gain Diet
Meal 1
1 cup orange juice
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup milk
4 scrambled eggs
2 slices whole-grain toast with butter (no margarine; avoid transfats)

Meal 2
8-ounce hamburger
1 large baked potato
Tossed salad with dressing
1 cup milk
Fresh fruit

Meal 3
Weight-gain drink or meal replacement with a banana mixed in nonfat milk

Meal 4
8 ounces cottage cheese with fruit
1 cup yogurt

Meal 5
6 ounces tuna
1 piece fruit
1 slice whole-grain bread

Meal 6
8 ounces chicken
2 cups brown rice
2 slices whole-grain bread
1 cup broccoli or other vegetable
Tossed salad
Fresh fruit
1 cup milk with added protein powder

What to Eat for Mass

Regardless of genetic predispositions, you抣l need a positive energy balance to increase your muscular bulk. That simply means you must
eat more food than you burn. The effect is so potent that eating an unusual amount of food alone can add lean mass even without exercise, although that isn抰 a recommended procedure. Studies involving human subjects who overate but didn抰 exercise showed some surprising changes in body composition. The subjects all showed significant increases in lean mass.

The gains were the result of the body抯 adjustments to the unaccustomed levels of food. The body compensated by increasing the levels of anabolic hormones, including growth hormone, testosterone, insulin and insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which led to the subjects?building more muscle, a.k.a. lean mass.

Eating all those calories also blunted the levels of the primary catabolic hormone in the body, cortisol. High levels of cortisol promote the catabolism, or breakdown, of muscle. Cortisol is secreted mainly under high-stress conditions; hence its designation as a stress hormone. But the stress conditions that promote cortisol release more often involve an energy-deficit condition, such as a lack of sufficient calories or carbs. So overeating itself is an anabolic process.

The point here is not to suggest that you must overeat to gain muscle size but that you do have to up your calories because it promotes the secretion of anabolic hormones that will work in tandem with exercise to produce lean mass gains.

A vital consideration in any hulking plan is protein. While it抯 true that providing additional calories in the form of carbohydrates alone has a protein-sparing action in muscle, maintaining a high level of amino acids from food-protein sources promotes a positive nitrogen balance that sets the stage for muscular gains through increased muscle protein synthesis reactions in muscle. Some call the process the 慳nabolic-drive effect.?

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Eating A Healthy Dinner: A Simple Matter Of Planning

2011-10-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

Dinner is probably the healthiest meal for most of us. We often overlook breakfast and eat lunch on the run, but for dinner, most of us take more time in preparing and planning how to eat a balanced, healthy dinner.

But there抯 also a lot of pressure on dinner. It抯 the last meal of the day and if you are lacking important nutrients in your diet that day, you have an opportunity to make up those nutrients in your evening meal. But you don抰 want your meal too heavy or you might not sleep well. Conversely, eating too little will not only likely leave you lacking in nutrients, but could also leave you ravenous for breakfast 12 hours later.

So how do you make sure dinner is a balanced, nutrient-packed meal? Plan, and plan some more. Although we are more likely to spent time preparing dinner versus other daily meals, it抯 also a meal that can easily get derailed. You plan to grill chicken breasts and vegetables, but then belatedly remember your son has a baseball game or it抯 open house at school. So it抯 chicken nuggets all around.

Planning keeps you in synch with your schedule. If you plan a week抯 worth of meals, you can think about the various obstacles you might find that week in actually bringing your plans to fruition. You can plan a quick pasta salad on open house night, and healthy, veggie-packed sandwiches on baseball night. This keeps you out of the fast food lane.

What are some other tips for planning healthy dinners?

*Don抰 cook separate meals for picky children. If you know that your salmon and saut閑d spinach will also result in you making mini hot dogs and fries for the kids, you might rethink it, not having the time or energy to make two completely separate meals. Then you suffer, and they do as well. It抯 important to expose your children to a variety of foods, so make the salmon and spinach. Be sure to offer applesauce, whole wheat bread and some fruit. Then everyone gets a healthy meal and your children just might surprise you by actually eating some of the 揳dult?meal.

*On weeknights, stay away from involved meals. Think of things that can be prepared in less than 45 minutes, though it抯 ideal to keep your meal prep to 30 minutes whenever possible.

*Do as much prep as you can ahead of time. If you抮e planning grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner, say, then you can clean and slice your vegetables in the morning before you head out for the day. Marinate the chicken. In the evening, all that抯 left is tossing a quick bag salad and grilling your meat and vegetables. This saves on clean-up time as well.

*If you must eat out, apply the golden rules for restaurant eating: Stay away from white or heavy sauces, order oil and vinegar to dress your salad, and eat only half the entr閑, pack the rest and enjoy it for lunch the next day.

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Eat More Veggies. Eat More Fruit. Get Healthy--Really?

2011-10-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

While it is common to see scientific studies on how health can be improved by using certain, particular supplements of vitamins and minerals it is not the same for the real McCoy.

How true? Ask yourself and do a goggle search (or a PUB Med or any advanced search of scientific articles) about how many times you see a study--any study--on a particular fruit or vegetable that comes out proving some health improvement. Not a group, but a particular fruit or vegetable. And proof of health, not disease (this is an important distinction).

We are talking about real science here not just made up stuff from some science nut or health nut. And we are talking about real fruits and vegetables like a particular apple or broccoli as opposed to a group of fruits or vegetables. In other words we are talking about something very concrete and not at all abstract--this is where real scientific study comes in very handy: such study is not abstract or it is not science. And, importantly, if I can prove it and you cannot, it is not scientifically provable. Period.

How many? Which vegetable? Which fruit?

There are plenty of promoters of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and many of them provide solid credentials like the Harvard, Tufts, Eat 5 a day, and so on (for a really good goggle search try vegetables and health or fruits and health).

For example, the Harvard site cites the latest dietary guidelines that, "call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day, depending on one's caloric intake. For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain weight and health, this translates into nine servings, or 4陆 cups per day." The citation for this is The USDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is a helpful abstraction but not a particular guide to particular fruits and vegetables and how they can promote your health.

But most of what these prestigious institutions promote is air--no scientific studies demonstrating the health effects of a single fruit or vegetable could be found on the Harvard site, not one. True, it's nice air, but air nevertheless.

Now we are not talking about the genuine research on fruits and vegetables like this one listed in Pub Med, "Electron beam and gamma irradiation effectively reduce Listeria monocytogenes populations on chopped romaine lettuce", (J Food Prot. 2006 Mar;69(3):570-4, for those who need to know) . This kind of research is not after the health promoting effects of eating, in this case, romaine lettuce. And it does not pretend to be anything other than what it is.

Of course sites promoting the health benefits of eating of fruits and vegetables could be hiding the scientific studies and don't want to bother their visitors with all those numbers and scientific names for turnips or plums. Or farmers who grow the really good stuff and how to buy them.

I remember a study concerning folate and green leafy vegetables and some kids on an island in the South Pacific. The study, a genuine scientific study, had to be halted because the scientists found that the children in the study could not get enough folate for their diets from the fresh vegetables because the vegetables themselves were deficient. So the study stopped because, ethically, depriving the children's diet of this essential ingredient could hurt them--especially when the science proved the children would be deficient on a natural diet. So much for the health promoting benefits of this entire group of vegetables--and I have not seen another study to refute this single isolated, particular controlled scientific study on green leafy vegetable and exactly how they promote health in humans.

So how do you know if the fruits or vegetables you eat can really promote better health? Simple answer is you don't. But then again, if you stopped eating fruits and vegetables what would happen? Could be all those diseases they write about in Pub Med and cited by the Tufts nutritionists and become the cover story about our fat nation for Time Magazine: eat your fruits and veggies and stay healthy or until we know, for sure, something different.

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Dietary Therapy: High Fiber Diets

2011-10-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

Can high-fiber diets really do all they claim to do? Studies have looked at the relationship between high-fiber diets and many diseases, including colon cancer, coronary heart disease and diabetes.

Proven benefits of a high-fiber diet include prevention and treatment of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. In addition, certain types of fiber help decrease blood cholesterol levels.

Dietary fiber comes from the portion of plants that is not digested by enzymes in the intestinal tract. Part of it, however, may be metabolized by bacteria in the lower gut. Different types of plants have varying amounts and kinds of fiber, including pectin, gum, mucilage, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.

Pectin and gum are water-soluble fibers found inside plant cells. They slow the passage of food through the intestines but do nothing to increase fecal bulk. Beans, oat bran, fruit and vegetables contain soluble fiber.

In contrast, fibers in cell walls are water insoluble. These include cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Such fibers increase fecal bulk and speed up the passage of food through the digestive tract.

Wheat bran and whole grains contain the most insoluble fiber, but vegetables and beans also are good sources.Sometimes there is confusion as to the difference between crude fiber and dietary fiber. Both are determined by a laboratory analysis, but crude fiber is only one-seventh to one-half of total dietary fiber.

Insoluble fiber binds water, making stools softer and bulkier. Therefore, fiber, especially that found in whole grain products, is helpful in the treatment and prevention of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis.

Diverticula are pouches of the intestinal wall that can become inflamed and painful.It is now known that a high-fiber diet gives better results once the inflammation has subsided.

Some types of fiber, however, appear to have a greater effect than others. The fiber found in rolled oats is more effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels than the fiber found in wheat. Pectin has a similar effect in that it, too, can lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

High-fiber diets may be useful for people who wish to lose weight. Fiber itself has no calories, yet provides a 揻ull?feeling because of its water-absorbing ability. For example, an apple is more filling than a half cup of apple juice that contains about the same calories.

Foods high in fiber often require more chewing, so a person is unable to eat a large number of calories in a short amount of time. Dietary fiber is found only in plant foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Meat, milk and eggs do not contain fiber.

The form of food may or may not affect its fiber content. Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables contain just as much fiber as raw ones. Other types of processing, though, may reduce fiber content. Drying and crushing, for example, destroy the water-holding qualities of fiber.

The removal of seeds, peels or hulls also reduces fiber content. Whole tomatoes have more fiber than peeled tomatoes, which have more than tomato juice. Likewise, whole wheat bread contains more fiber than white bread.

Fiber supplements are sold in a variety of forms from bran tablets to purified cellulose. Many laxatives sold as stool softeners actually are fiber supplements. Fiber抯 role in the diet is still being investigated.

It appears that the various types of fiber have different roles in the body. For these reasons, avoid fiber supplements. Instead, eat a variety of fiber-rich foods.

This is the best way to receive the maximum benefits from each type of fiber present in foods, and obtain necessary nutrients.

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Don't Forget to Drink Your Fruits and Veggies

2011-10-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

Remember the scene at the dinner table when you were a child? Negotiating with your parents on how many bites of peas and carrots you had to take in order to leave the table was most likely a constant struggle.

Unfortunately, people don't always grow out of this negative attitude toward fruits and vegetables. Studies show that the average American consumer eats only three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. When compared to the recommended five to nine servings a day, it's apparent that many of us have a long way to go.

The effort is worth it, though. Studies by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences suggest that the nutritional goodness of fruits and vegetables, along with a diet that is low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, may decrease the risk of developing certain diseases.

To help their patients get the necessary nutrients, some doctors recommend "green drinks." These powdered drink mixes are a natural source of vitamins and minerals. To many people, however, the drinks also have a strong, unbearable taste and an unpalatable texture.

Would you stick with a nutritious drink if you had to hold your nose while consuming it?

To get the health benefits found in green drinks without the unappetizing taste and texture, I recommend Earth's Promise from Enzymatic Therapy. With a combination of 20 vitamin-rich ingredients, one glass of Earth's Promise provides the essential nutrients your body needs to enhance energy, support digestion and boost the immune system. It also is high in fiber. In fact, drinking one glass provides you with more fiber than you would get from eating a bowl of oatmeal.

Earth's Promise comes in three flavors - Strawberry-Kiwi, Elderberry and Peppermint-Tea - making it easier to support a healthy lifestyle. In addition, it is laboratory-tested for purity, safety and performance and meets the highest manufacturing standards.

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Does the protien diet work?

2011-10-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

Of course, when it comes to healthy eating, there are plenty of alternative diets that people want to claim are healthier than the traditional calorie counting method. They are usually motivated by a desire to sell a book or a food range, but some people swear by these methods.

The most famous diet lately has been the Atkins diet and its many copycats: the South Beach diet, GI, and the rest. These are basically high-protein diets that tell you carbohydrate (慶arbs? are evil, and you should cut right down on them or even cut them out of your diet completely. While nutritionists are incredulous that anyone would seriously consider cutting an entire food group out of their diets, the books have sold in the millions.

The dirty little secret of protein diets is that they do help you lose weight, but only in the short term. They do this by causing you to give yourself a disease called ketosis, caused by lack of carbohydrate, that makes you lose weight, feel bad and have terrible breath. As soon as you go off the diet and back to your old ways, however, you will simply put all your weight back on again.

It is a similar situation with many other diets, including weight loss milkshakes, which rarely contain anything resembling a balanced meal. Instead, they flood your body with protein and little else, forcing it to burn fat ?but again, the effect quickly wears off if you stop using the shakes.

A cynic might say that they抮e not really trying to help you lose weight or eat healthily, so much as they are trying to keep you on their dodgy diets forever. If you want to eat healthily, stick to balance ?no matter what anyone tells you, that抯 never going to change.

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