Diet Deception: The Zone Diet

The Premise: 

A high protein, low carbohydrate diet which limits your caloric intake and follows the ratio of 40/30/30 for carbohydrates, protein, and fat respectively. Created by Barry Sears, author of Enter the Zone, this diet makes ‘zonies’ experience rapid weight loss mostly attributed to three factors: 

1. Protein has a higher satiating effect than carbohydrates, so you feel less hungry in a high protein diet.
2. High protein suppresses the following day’s protein intake more than carbohydrates.
3. Digesting protein requires more energy than digesting carbs which increases your caloric expenditure.

High protein diets are simply those that require the person to have an intake of more than 30 percent in protein. The diet relies on the fact that insulin secretion is stimulated by carbohydrate consumption. Low carbs keep insulin in a range that allows the body to burn excess fat.

The Provisions:

Lean meats like chicken, turkey, lean steaks and just sidings of vegetables and fruits.

The Promise: 

Rapid weight loss, improved athletic performance (this is a new one!) and a lower risk of developing heart disease and cancer.

The Proof:

Randy, 30, a computer programmer said “I tried it and I lost 15 pounds, but had serious problems with my skin and bowel movement so I went off it. Regarding athletic performance, I swim a lot but I don’t think it really improved it.”

The Prognosis:

Rapid weight loss is inevitable in a low carbohydrate, high protein diet. While it contends that excessive complex carbohydrates causes obesity by increasing insulin output and fat storage, you’ll find that none of the references quoted in the book to back up these claims have ever been published.

The author vehemently advises against a vegetarian diet, completely ignoring that fact that vegetarians are far less likely to develop heart disease and cancer and are leaner than meat-eaters. Clinical studies alone in the last half century clearly show how a high protein, high fat diet can lead to higher risks for heart disease, stroke, adult onset diabetes, several types of cancer and stroke.

With regards to the 40/30/30 ratio, studies show that the average diet in most Western countries, is already an approximation of this ratio. The U.S. in particular has 60 percent of its population falling under the obese category, not to mention a steady increase over the last couple of years of incidence of heart disease and cancer. These fatal numbers are but a reflection of the same diet ratio the book encourages everyone to follow.

Like most low carb diets, the weight loss is mainly attributed to dehydration. By limiting carbohydrates (where 3 grams of water are stored in every gram of carbohydrate), zonies think that they’re actually losing a pound of fat a day. It’s also below the healthy recommended caloric intake for adults (2,200 to 2,500 calories a day) at only 1,700 calories. This causes unhealthy depletion of body mass with minimal fat loss. The weight loss is quickly regained once the body can no longer sustain the diet.

As for improvement in athletic performance, athletes would be well advised to stay away from the Zone. The recommendations for both carbohydrates and caloric intakes are insufficient to meet the energy requirements of everyday training.

The Pros’ Position:

“There are a lot of false statements made in the book. The fact that carbohydrates cause heart disease and cancer has no basis at all. Furthermore, there are so many health problems proven to be directly linked to the consumption of high levels of protein- heart conditions, stroke, cancer and even calcium loss and osteoporosis. The short term benefit of rapid weight loss isn’t worth the inevitable long term health risks.” says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, a nutrinionist adds, “Like the other new diets in the market, the nutrient ratio in The Zone diet doesn’t follow the healthy eating index, which should have 55 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 15 to 20 percent protein and 20 to 25 percent fat.”

Diet Deception: The Cabbage Soup Diet

The Premise: 

The more soup you eat, the more weight you lose. Cabbage is the one super vegetable with little calories and high fat burning capabilities.

The Provisions: 

The basic ingredients of the soup include three large onions, green bell pepper, a head of celery, dark green cabbage, chopped tomatoes, onion soup mix and three cubes of vegetable stock.

The Promise: 

Weight loss of 10 to 15 pounds in seven days by following the seven-day cabbage soup diet.

The Proof: 

Rachel, 28, marketing assistant said “I tried it and lost 4 pounds. It’s really hard to just eat the darned soup day in and day out over and over! Plus, I actually gained it all back in less than a week so I don’t think this diet works unless you intend to stay on cabbage soup forever which is a fate worse than death, if you ask me”.

The Prognosis: 

First of all, there’s no such thing as “the one food” that will melt all your fat away. Whether its cabbage or grapefruit, eating only one type of food is just nutritionally unsound. Furthermore, it’s only a matter of time before your body starts craving for other types of food which will probably not be the healthiest of choices. In fact, according to an article in the Journal of Nutrition (2001), the only thing you lose in this diet is water, which you will quickly gain back by downing even just a few glasses of water.

The Pros’ Position:

“Anything that shuts out other food groups is already a warning signal for you not to try it. There are no miracle foods out there that you can gorge solely on and expect miracle results. Water is the easiest thing to lose when you want the scales to reflect a lower number pronto. But being water deficient can cause dry skin and make you look old quickly, especially if you keep dehydrating yourself often enough,” says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, a nutrinionist adds, “People who take this soup will automatically lose weight because it’s very low in total calories. One cup of pure vegetable soup doesn’t even amount to 50 calories, the equivalent of one medium-sized banana or one medium-sized apple. It’s not sustainable for the needs of the body. It’s nutritionally unsound and unsafe.

Diet Deception: The After Six Diet

The Premise: 

Not eating after 6 p.m. so that by the time you sleep, most of the body’s intake would have already been converted to energy and used up, efficiently eliminating the chances of stocking up excess calories that might turn into fat.

The Promise: Weight Loss

The Proof: 

Kathy, 26, a former national athlete said “As an athlete, I’ve never had to diet extensively. But when I got married and gave birth, it was much harder. I did the After-six diet for two months and was amazed to find that I fit in my old clothes again. You just have to have the discipline to do it.”

The Prognosis: 

The After-six diet is more of a health tip than a diet. Its two main goals are to create an eating cut-off so you take in fewer calories for the lesser amount of activities ahead of you which is sleeping; and to promote the habit of eating breakfast. We continuously burn calories every second of our lives. Logically, you burn more calories running than sleeping, although you still burn calories even when you snooze. Also, the digestive ability of the body is more efficient when you’re awake. Before your food turns into energy, the body has to transform it to useable forms of energy. By eating way before bedtime, you ensure that the food has been digested and can efficiently be used by the body during slumber.

The theory is almost sound until you figure out what exactly your bedtime is. It takes approximately four hours before the body reacts to the lack of nutrients and you start feeling hunger pangs. After two hours of digesting, your body is efficiently burning calories and by the end of the fourth hour, your stomach produces enzymes for digestion for the food, which it is supposedly scheduled to admit. But what if you sleep at midnight? Two hours would have gone by then and the enzymes in your stomach would have reacted to your stomach lining resulting to ulcers and acid build-up.

The Pros’ Position:

“If you’re not an early sleeper, don’t do it. You can develop ulcers and hyperacidity by not eating way past four hours consistently. The concept of an eating cut-off time can work only if you take into consideration your normal sleeping patterns. If you sleep at midnight, make your cut-off 8p.m. or even 9p.m. instead of 6p.m. remember, hunger is just the body’s way of conveying that it needs nourishment. Deprivation is not the key to good health. Just make sure you eat two to three hours before you sleep. That should be sufficient. Never sleep straight away after eating”, says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.

On the other hand, some nutritionists believe that this is another fad formula which they discourage because of its erroneous and unscientific reasoning. This is because the body’s basal metabolism works 24 hours and does its different functions regardless of the time you feed it. 

The bottom line is: The key to healthy and scientific weight loss and weight maintenance program has no easy formula. Healthy lifestyle changes, good food choices, sustained and regular physical activity, attitudinal and behavioral modification will give us a healthier body.

Diet Deception: The Fit For Life Diet

The Premise:

That weight gain is simply the result of eating inapproprite foods at inappropriate times of the body’s natural cycle. Fit for Life authors Harvey and Mari-lyn Diamond say that the body has three natural cycles: appropriation, or eating and digesting which happens from noon to 8 p.m. , assimilation or absorption and use (8 p.m. to 4 a.m.) , and elimination of body waste, which happens from 4 a.m. to noon. They further contend that since the body is made up of 70 percent water, so should your diet; hence the ratio of 70 percent fruits and vegetables to 30 percent concentrated foods (or everthing else).

The Provisions:

Just fruit juice or fruits before noon, salad and fruit for lunch,starch and either vegetable or protein for dinner, and a fruit snack at least three hours after dinner. Every two or three days, lunch should only consist of fruit, so you have two meals consisting of just fruit. You’re also allowed nuts, and nut butters, pasta, bread, and grains during lunch and dinner, but all dairy products (except butter) are strictly off limits. Consumption of meat is also discouraged.

The Promise:

Lose as much as 50 pounds in a month by eating proper food combinations at the appropriate times.

The Proof?

Christine, 23, a student says “I lost eight pounds from this diet after only three weeks, but it left me feeling weak and almost always hungry. I decided to get off it after four weeks at which I returned to eating as much of a balanced diet as I could. I try to stay away from fat as much as possible. It took me only two weeks to gain the weight back plus two more pounds. I never want to diet again.”

The Prognosis:

The weight loss Christine experienced from this diet was expected due to its low caloric intake and high  the bulk content. This diet restricts the intake of meat and carbs to a total of one to two servings per day and replaces the rest of the days’ intake with fruits and vegetables. Although it does encourage you to increase your veggie intake, this diet puts a slightly higher premium on the nutritional value of our leafy friends by claiming that all the nutrients the body needs can be found solely in foliage.

Some foibles: The authors state that “fruit should never be taken with or immediately following anything,” (an important Fit for Life rule) , and that fruit taken after a meal rots and cannot be assimilated- ir ferments and its accumulation causes obesity. But fruits in themselves contain a chemical called pectin which is fermented. Following the authors’ contention that fermentation leads to obesity, eating fruit would then lead to obesity and not cure it. Another claim that raised more than a few eyebrows in the health industry is that dairy products are indigestible and acid and mucus-forming. The authors further argue that cow’s milk is for cows and not suitable for huma ns and that the only acceptable form of dairy is butter. Unless they’re actually taking about the butter made from human milk, their arguments simply don’t make sense.

The Pros’ Position:

According to Ana Cruz,an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center, “The diet is highly deficient in protein, calcium, zinc, vitamins B and D and iron, and can lead to iron deficiency anemia and osteoporosis. A diet that restricts milk and protein can seriously affect the development of young children and strict adherence to the diet during pregnancy can do serious harm to a developing fetus.”

Top nutritionist Dr. Sanirose Orbeta says, “In practice, we try to avoid nutrient specificity, like emphasizing one group of food over the other. Precisely it’s the complimentary, supplementary action one food gives another food that creates the balance of nutrients. That’s the reason why a variety in food choices is important. For example, the amino acids lacking in rice or pasta together with the protein from animal meat or plant source will combine to make the food healthy and high in biologic value and nutrient density.”

Image Sources:

fruits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastguru_kirti/2295831315/
fruit juices: http://www.flickr.com/photos/comunicati/6071069098/
vegetables: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suckamc/2488644619/

Diet Deception: The Atkin’s Diet

The Premise:

A high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate (little or no food containing carbs) diet will produce dramatic weight loss. One of the most popular diets out there from the controversial bestseller by Dr. Richard Atkins.

The Provisions:

A sample of the Atkins Diet menu includes: Breakfast: four slices of bacon, two scrambled eggs and decaf coffee. Lunch: Bacon cheeseburger without bun, salad without dressing and water. Dinner: Shrimp cocktail, mustard, mayo, clear beef broth, T-bone steak, salad, sugar-free jello and whipped cream.

The Promise: 

If you want weight loss, this is it! This diet guarantees rapid weight loss you’ve never seen before.

The Proof:

Jake, 30, a marketing manager said, “I went on the Atkins diet for three weeks and lost 10 pounds before I was hospitalized. My cholesterol levels were off the charts, my blood pressure was dangerously high, and I experienced fainting spells. I lost weight because of my hospitalization more than the diet. I don’t think I’ll do this diet again.”

The Prognosis:

No doubt you’ll loss weight- high protein, low carb weight-loss diets are designed to induce ketosis, an abnormal state also found in uncontrolled diabetes and starvation. Ketosis has also been known to cause some degree of anorexia or even euphoria. Dr. Atkins considers ketosis as a necessary state to induce weight loss, completely ignoring all other health concerns related to it. Some of the conditions you can expect if you follow this regimen long-term are: colorectal cancer due to lack of fiber from carbs (proven by the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer); heart disease due to the decreased efficiency of the arteries by saturated fats in red meat (according to the American Heart Association and Red Cross); kidney dysfunction from very large amounts of protein (from a study conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians); diabetes complications- diabetes itself affects the heart and the kidneys and going on a diet known to affect these organs will only result in further complications; and osteoporosis- high protein diets induce urinary calcium loss resulting to increased risk in fractures.

The Pros’ Position:

“Even Dr. Atkins himself wasn’t able to defend his own diet in a convention where his own peers, several nutritionists and dieticians were present, “says Dr. Sanirose Orbeta, a nutritionist. She adds, “This is one of the most popular recycled food plans to date. As a health care practitioner, our major concern is your long-term safety. Consider anything that cuts out a major food group like carbohydrates as a warning signal for a diet which is both unhealthy and dangerous. I’ve had to treat several patients who actually felt the adverse effects of this diet and totally revamp their eating choices. Effects can be long-standing and lethal. Thankfully I haven’t [had any patients] experiencing anything near fatal but why let it come to that? If you’re on it, consider getting off it before serious damage sets in.”


Image: 
bacon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sxld/3439651256/
bacon cheeseburger: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waferboard/4449825083/

The Ways To Improve Our Health

Picking a healthy lifestyle can benefit us in numerous ways. It offers an enhanced energy and helps to makes our body to always feel in tune. It is imperative to discover ways on how we can improve our health.

Picking a healthy lifestyle can do well to a person in numerous ways. It will make a person’s body to feel more in sync and provides an enhanced energy.  So it is always imperative that we classify ways on how we can improve our health.

The following are the ten actions that we can execute to ensure that we get a best possible nutrition:

1. Always look at what you eat. Our meals must include healthy balanced food on a daily basis. Identifying our nutritional requirements and not indulging ourselves too much or even too little can show the way to a more well-balanced healthy lifestyle. There are a number of resources to seek advice from in order to find out our body's needs and requirements.

2. Hit the Sack.  When we are deprived of sleep, our body starts to blackout. We need to make sure that we always feel rested from obtaining a sufficient amount of rest or sleep. This will permit our body to do its role at a consistent and best possible speed every day.

 

3. Vitamins and supplements are big help. We need to pay attention to where our diet feels deficient. Once we have determined this, then we can start to balance it by taking vitamins and supplements.

4. Do Exercises. We should work out no less than four or five times a week. Doing exercises or working out helps our body to build more muscles, lose some weight and can help us to avoid getting illnesses and diseases.

 

5. Be at war with addictions. Stay away from under or over eating. This can effortlessly interrupt our nutritional balance and can cause severe problems.

6. Keep on learning. There is numerous different description of health improvement.  Health Improvement not just means diet, but there are some approaches that can be an element of your daily life. We need to keep studying and researching to decide on what are and are not efficient to help us in maintaining and improving our health.

7. Continue to be motivated. It is effortless to start working on our health improvement and it is as well easy to stop once we don’t see any abrupt results. A key feature on improving our health is by remaining steady and motivated in all our activities. It is very vital to make health care as our priority every single day.

8. Get your accurate body measurements. Knowing our body mass index taken, as well as discovering where we need to center our efforts with the aim of improving our health can assist us in staying motivated in improving our health.

9. Building networks or connections. A network consist of not only of those that can supply us information, but also aid and assist us in structuring and maintaining health.

10. Seek Advice. There are a range of health care nutritionists and providers that can help us. If we are hesitant about the essential steps to take, be connected with the right person to find out what we need to do.

We can help ourselves to live a more rewarded life by constantly working towards our health improvement.  By identifying what we need to do and by following the above steps, we can be certain that we will achieve a superior energy and nutrition.

Images:

Sleeping: http://www.flickr.com/photos/betsssssy/521060626/
Measuring Tape: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/4508825094/
Advice: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagogeek/4573105688/

A Diet for Stunning Skin

The best get that perfect skin routine? It is not the up-to-the-minute treatment in a spa. It's our manner of eating. Yes of course, we are familiar to that for years. Experts believed that greasy oily foods and also chocolates don't cause a pimple breakout and that, in general, what we eat has no effect in our skin. But the latest research proves a different one. So go after these four rules on how we can feed our skin.

Stay away from white stuff 
It turned out that our favorite french fries is a cause for breakouts. However it's not the oil that's the reason, it is the potatoes. In a latest study, researchers observed the 1,200 inhabitants of an island next to Papua New Guinea and 115 hunter-gatherers in the country of Paraguay and could not find even single breakout. Do you want to know their secret?  According to Loren Cordain Ph.D., a professor of health and exercise science at the Colorado State University, their secret is a diet that consists of almost exclusive protein, veggies and fruits. Not present from their meals are carbohydrates- such as pasta, bread, white bread, potatoes, rice, and sweets- that are the foundation of our present diet. These carbohydrates send our insulin levels to soar, and researchers thinks that this sets off a chain reaction that leads to pimple breakouts.

Food switching: As a substitute of refined white carbohydrates, go for reasonable amounts of complex carbohydrates like brown rice, whole-grain bread, and whole-wheat pasta (they are being digested more gradually).  And to keep line away later, binge on brightly colored fruits and vegetables. They’re rich in antioxidants, which ward off the dangerous free radicals that lead to wrinkles, furrows, and other signs of aging.


Take pleasure in Seafoods 

Fish is a good source of omega-3 and omega-6 or being referred as essential fatty acids (EFAs), which lessen the inflammation in the body. Inflammation triggers our cells to block our skin's pore, causing acne breakout. This is according to Nicholas Perricone, the author of The Perricone Prescription. The varieties of fish that contain the most EFAs are mackerel, salmon, and tuna (mostly the albacore and variety of blue fin). EFAs can also be found in flaxseed, almonds, and hazelnut.

Food switching: Eat smoked salmon for your breakfast, eat tuna sandwiches for your lunch, and consume salmon burger in replacement to hamburgers. If eating fish is not your thing, then eat a handful of almonds as an afternoon snack.


Evict blush triggers  
While a slight color in your cheeks is pleasing, full-on reddishness is not just the look you are after. And some beverages and foods, such as cured meats, spices, MSG, and alcohol (chiefly red wine) , can be a reason for our blood vessels to widen, bringing on redness on our face, says John Wolf, M.D. , chairman of the department of dermatology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Food switching: If you have a tendency to redden easily, keep your mind on to which foods carry it on, since people have dissimilar triggers. If eating spicy foods get you redden easily, then order Thai foods without the curry and eliminate wasabi when you go and crave for a sushi. If you redden after a few drinks, hold back or at least passes on drinking red wine.


Spoil yourself with Olive Oil
If we stay away from fat or grease for the sake of keeping our waistline trimmed, our skin could be sacrificed. According to says Joy Bauer, the author of The 90/10 Weight Loss Plan, a lot of young men and women have dry, flaky skin, and it is because they do not eat enough fat. If we are getting less than 20 grams of fat a day (approximately 2 tablespoons of oil) , our skin might not be able to lubricate itself and our body may not absorb enough supply vitamin A, which our skin needs to avoid premature aging.

Food switching: shower your salad with some olive oil and toss in some nuts and avocados. I swear this won’t have any unfavorable effect on the size of your jeans.




Images:

Bread: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41061319@N00/3195546454/
Salmon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreagp/1122613434/
Olive oil: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/3868212179/

Caffeine: The Right Way

The word “coffee” comes from the ancient Arabic word qahweh which means “gives strength”. The computer data-base at the Colgan Institute contains over 600 citations on caffeine, stretching back two centuries. So the effects of caffeine, the main stimulant in coffee, have been known for thousand of years.

Properly used, caffeine is a bonanza. Dr Melvin Williams and his colleagues at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia have produced excellent reviews, showing that caffeine stimulates the our  central nervous system, increases the release of adrenalin, increases the use of body fat as fuel, and spares glycogen.

There are also two detrimental effects of caffeine that commonly being cited: it is a diuretic which will make us lose water in our body, and is a thermogenic which means that it raises our metabolic rate and our body’s temperature.  The athletes are frequently being warned that taking caffeine can make them dehydrated. But nearly all the studies showing these effects were done with inactive folk.

Recent research using athletes as subjects, found no diuresis or thermo genesis. Dr Baraket Falk and his colleagues at McMaster University, Ontario, gave endurance runners caffeine at 7.5mg/kg bodyweight (560 mg for a 75kg man). The dose had no effect on water loss, and did not raise temperature any higher without it, in men running a treadmill to exhaustion at 70-75% of VO2max. That's about as fast as you can go in long endurance exercise. So forget those two old bogeys of sedentary caffeine use. Caffeine on the run is a different animal.

The most common beneficial finding on caffeine use is an increase in burning of body fat as fuel. Compared with controls, up to 100% more body fat is used by subjects given with caffeine. If your body is using more fat for energy, then it is sparing your muscle glycogen, and therefore will extend your time to exhaustion in long endurance events. One proviso: if you load carbohydrates, so that your muscles are filled with glycogen above its normal levels, then your body is more primed to use glycogen, and caffeine fails to increase the burning of fat. Your body always takes the easiest of its many alternative routes. Supercharge one fuel source and it will use that first.

We also have to take the caffeine at the right time. Although many exercise studies have given caffeine one hour before exercise, studies that centers on measurement of our body’s free fatty acid metabolism, show that our body's fat-burn reaction to caffeine will only begin 3 hours after ingestion. 

As a final tip. If you drink coffee to get your caffeine, which is a better way to do it than taking pills, keep away from the inexpensive coffees prepared from the beans of Coffea Robusta. They make a sour brew, brown that is hell on the gut. Go and get Coffea Arabica, like Guatemalan Antigua, Kenyan AA or 100% Columbian.  

Image 1: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1982
Image 2: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=413
Image 3: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499

Water Intake: Make it a Habit

Our body is composed of over ¾ of water and it is also a common knowledge that we cannot exist in this world without it.  As a matter of fact, after 3 days of living without drinking water, we will die.  On the other hand, water is now being replaced in a good number of the diets by refreshments sweetened by sugar and soft drinks.  But take into account that it is still better to drink water as is and is essential for leading us on the way to a better well being and long life.

Our individual water need can differ greatly due to our personal activities or exercise, weight, and temperature.  It has been proven through research that 67% of the older population does not consume enough water that is needed on a regular basis. Regular water intake will replenish our body and will keep our body hydrated and working properly. Most of us before we drink a glass of water will wait until we experience dryness in our throat and until we feel thirsty.  Keep in mind; this is not a dependable measure of our body’s water needs.  We have already lost about two or more cups of our body’s water supply by the time we feel we are thirsty. For that reason, it is still healthier to have a regular intake of water in our body than to simply wait until we feel the thirst. 

We should also take note that we must never replace our body’s fluid needs by drinking caffeinated drink or alcoholic beverages. Why? Because these types of beverages serve as diuretics in our body and will cause it to lose more fluids by frequent urination. We possibly believe and sense as if our body is getting more intake of water by drinking these types of beverages, but the reality is that we are letting our body fluids go as quick as we consume it.

We need an extra supply of water every time we exercise. A moderate amount of water will be lost whenever our body perspires. There is a need to drink at least 2 cups of water for every pound that we lost because of exercise. 

Are you aware that our body still loses water even while we sleep? Yes it does. And by drinking some water before we hit the sack, maybe a glass or two will do, we can get up with our body performing as it ought to be.

Also, when we are sick, it is when our body needs to have a greater amount of water intake.  When we acquire flu or colds, our body will be dehydrated quite fast. So, the best way to prevent dehydration is by drinking water, more water, when we are sick.

We must make it a habit to have regular water consumption.  And bringing a bottle of water with you at all time is a great way in making regular water consumption a habit.  

Image:http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3062

Title Image:http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1857

Vitamins 101 for your Health

‘Vitamin’ was derived from the root word ‘vitamine’ which means vital amine. So what does it do? Vitamins are very powerful natural compounds that can be found mainly in the food that we consume. These are essential to all of us because they assist the cells in our body and tissues to perform their essential functions. To keep it simple, vitamins are what our body needs in order to grow.

Vitamins have two types. First, there is the water soluble vitamin which is commonly known vitamins of which the ascorbic acid or the we call vitamin C is the most common. Another one is the fat soluble vitamins which are also being called as hormones. It was believed a long time ago that all the kinds of vitamins only belong to one single group called the B complex since they all are coming from the same source but this was later categorized as vitamins that are different from each other. 

Some of these vitamins are Inositol, Choline, Vitamin B9, B5, B3, B1, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, etc. Others are being known by their biological names such as thiamine for vitamin B1 and Biotin for Vitamin H. 

These vitamins are important component of the balanced diet that we have. Some people with persistent diseases are being advised to take different vitamin supplements by their respective doctors. However, there are people who need to watch out their intake of vitamins like women who are pregnant or those who are suffering from a bowel disorder because bowel disorder hinder the absorption of the fat soluble vitamin in the body. While the patients suffering from anemia need to be given with dose of vitamin B12 because of their body’s deficiency from this vitamin. 

To assist our body to function efficiently and stay healthy, we need to take these vitamins on a normal basis. Vitamins assist our body organs to carry out their individual functions. Without the presence of these vitamins, it is for sure that our body will become weak and sick and will suffer from vitamin deficiency diseases. Most of the time, there are sufficient amount vitamins present in our food but if we will not eat a balanced diet, these external supplements like vitamins will do the work for our body.

It is very useful and compulsory for our body to take vitamins. However, as what the old saying goes, “excess of everything is bad”. Vitamins taken in excess can be a cause of harsh damage to our body. For example, our body needs just around 400 to 800 units of vitamin D/day. If our body exceeded this amount, too much calcium will be absorbed by our bloodstream, which will harm our kidneys. In addition, supplements in no way can substitute the healthy diets, so it is still better to take vitamin-rich diet than to take supplements or vitamins.

Lastly, we should not take vitamins by gathering different information from here and there. We have to consult a Doctor. It will not hurt to consult one. Remember, little understanding is a dangerous thing.

Image1:http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2637

Image2:http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2367

Title image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1857

Making it a Good Healthy Habit

Having a healthy body is very essential to all of us. There is a need to be fit, strong and energetic, have uninterrupted sleeping, and be in shape and have an ill-free body, which for sure will provide us with an excellent overall well-being. And for us to always be in shape and fit, we need to put into practice different vigorous lifestyles along with eating the right and healthy food and of course, by doing exercises.

Laziness is a barrier in achieving a good health for the body. Focus, determination and working hard is what we call for both mentally and physically in order for our body to be on top form and healthy. Aside from doing exercises, we must also avoid taking into our body some unhealthy foods that usually make us sluggish and slow such as junk foods and only eat foods that will makes us healthy and strong. Problems relating to health will surely make you suffer in the presence of obesity and overweight. So there is really a need to preserve an optimum body weight to keep in good physical shape.

Having healthy and positive lifestyle is something that you as a person need. It is very vital to keep having a positive mindset in order to be fit. It is best to always clear your mind, eliminate different stressors and negative feelings and fill it up with a ton of positivity. Optimistic feelings like this can be very revitalizing and at all times will lead you to great things in life. You can also be engaged in different activities such as yoga or even meditation to throw out that negativity and strengthen your mind with positive thoughts.

Consuming healthy foods is also essential for you to be healthy and in shape. Food such as fruits, lean meat, nuts, vegetables and even tubers can maintain your body and keep it strong. You should avoid eating foods with preservatives. Taking in improper food is the main reason in getting diseases and ill health. Due to this, a lot of people are being diagnosed to have illnesses like cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc. Effortless change in your lifestyle or diet routine can root a huge difference and can better develop your health significantly. Make an effort to stop consuming alcoholic beverages and smoking.

To ensure a good health, you need to do some exercises daily. Doing some exercise especially in the morning can make you feel refreshed for the whole day. It can set your good mood and it will help you to think positively and only consume healthy foods. Activities such as walking, biking, playing your favorite sports, swimming, etc will surely help to keep you in shape. Go for an activity that you will enjoy. Why not try to have your work outs done in an open air or an open field? This way, your feeling will be refreshed.

In addition to exercises, getting you with a good sleep and rest will keep you healthy. It will refresh your mind and can help you feel healthy if you are getting Sound sleep or quality sleep every time.

Never make sudden severe changes in your life style. Start with the simple changes and just enjoy it. You should try to put together these simple changes into a customary routine for you to achieve a long term health success. It is very essential to make progress into your health for you to be happy and enjoy your life.

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The Importance of Health Fitness

Exercising and working out is a great way to always look and feel better in getting a total wellness for our body. The physical as well the mental well-being of a person always depends on it. One good thing about exercising is that it can help a person lessen the chances of getting heart diseases or even diabetes. It is also good in the reduction of various effects of depression and getting rid of different stressors.

Getting the mental and physical benefits of health fitness are always well worth all the hard work. It will make certain that you are able to live a happier life and is always in good shape. Now, I have one great question for everyone. Do you want to just live your life or do you want to enjoy life and take pleasure in your existence? The choice will depend on you.

Discovering different activities that will develop your current fitness level is what Health Fitness entails. Everyone has a different existing level of fitness. It varies from person to person. It can be brisk walking for 10 minutes. For some, it can be jogging an extra 1 mile. It can also be a hardcore weightlifting. So the point here is you have to begin your fitness level and you must only make an assessment to where you want your health fitness level to be, say next year or next two years. Ensure that you set realistic goals that are very tough but are still attainable.

Improving your health fitness can involve too many ways. You yourself can select and participate to different activities that you will surely enjoy. It is a good way to be healthy while getting a self motivation aside. If you love and will take pleasure in playing basketball, then let yourself be engage in that sport maybe twice a week. And if you hate gymnastics then do not force yourself to do it. Find other exercises that will promote a healthy heart but that will keep you motivated and enjoyed.

      

It has been a long time that our society, viewed doing exercises as something awful that we always have to stay away from it. And spinning the entire situation into something that is positive will do great help in achieving very promising health fitness goals.

Now, how many among us take some time to meet our own needs on a normal basis? I guess, not all of us. We have our families and career that make us busy as a bee. You then should take some time to find value in yourself for at least once a week. Grab this opportunity to do something, new things for yourself. You can simply soak in bubble bath yourself or read a very interesting book. Try as well to take a pastime that you will enjoy or will let you learn new skills. A quality time like this will surely help you get relaxed and relieved stress. It is one great importance of health fitness.

This isn’t all about exercise either. Proper way of eating also plays a vital role in health fitness. You for sure will feel very sluggish and irritable if you will consume large amounts of carbs and sugar. They will provide you a momentary boost of energy but not for so long. Consuming fresh fruits and veggies will help you sustain your energy levels all day long. This will let you consume fewer calories but you feel full all day long.

Health Fitness is an essential issue that most of us need to focus our interest on. Because it influence both our physical and our mental well-being. As a final point, it gives us the chances to be the healthiest we can be.

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Overall Health: Fitness and Dieting

If we are to talk about having an extended and a healthy life, two components are needed to be considered. We have to consider fitness, and of course, diet. For sure many of us think that these two are just the same and cannot stand alone from each other, but reality check, they can be. It can be possible to still have an ideal healthy diet that comes with an improper fitness practice. Likewise, it is also not impossible to be very physically fit and buff but still satisfying a savory eating habits.

I always remember the line from a song by Jimmy Buffet “Fruitcakes” when the lady is crying for this line, "I treat my body like a temple…You treat yours like a tent", in cases I visualize that all the human in the world who are into the process of garbage in, garbage out plans on their diet and are extremely willing and wanting to attain the weight loss success of those people, celebrities and sports figure advertising different diet products.

Is it achievable to take away extra pounds by dieting alone? To be totally honest, yes it is. Though it may be very difficult but still, it is doable. It is also within one’s capabilities to be fit physically yet still have small extra pounds present in their body. And in totality, we are what we eat. It reflects to who we are as a person. By consuming a rich fat but with low substance diet, our bodies for sure will lack the fuel that is essential in burning our body fat. Simultaneously, by not providing our bodies with the essential tools it needs in building muscles, the weights we are lifting will no longer matter and will become useless.

So how can we get the best possible fitness and diet results? 

The answer is we can achieve the optimum results when fitness and a healthy diet work mutually rather than independently. Bring into play your usual fitness activities to shed extra calories and utilize your diet in order to greatly deliver your body with the nutrients and fuel that it needs in building more muscles. A lot of times in my life, I’ve been informed that a pound of muscle is less than a pound of fat upon weighing the two. Though this may not be correct at all, regardless, a pound is still something; a pound of muscle take up less space in the body than that of fat. And with that in mind, I would then be composed of muscles rather than fats.

Diet by itself does not help in muscle generation and that is something you will do well in remembering your efforts. 

You must also realize that as you are building more muscles you may be shedding inches and still not showing an enormous deal of progress on the weighing scale. It is extremely imperative that you instill this in mind during the whole weight loss course. Progress should not me measured by the scales alone or you will achieve deceptive results. The issue is that far too many people do just this and get bothered and give up when in reality without their knowledge, they are actually making progress. Please do not allow yourself victimize by the scales. Get a mirror, look at it and try on your tight jeans, and assess your waistline. Measure your improvement by how you feel with your body after climbing a trip of stairs and not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.

And by including body fitness as being a part of your diet practice, you yourself is allowing your entire body to take away extra calories that you may have eaten during the entire day This means that if you would want to have some cheat meals during the day, you can still make up for it by burning additional calories than the normal in the evening. This should not be happening often but an intermittent occurrence for sure isn't going to make or break your diet plan

Everyone should also look at these (dieting and fitness) as a relationship that is something like a ball and glove. For sure you can still play the ball without having the glove, but it will work a lot better if you have and is using both. Diet and fitness when come together can produce very incredible results for weight loss for those who are taking them both sincerely. The thing that we should always keep in mind is that neither works as well without the other and neither will deliver results unless you are very eager and wanting to do the work. And to attain the best promising results, you must make this as a priority in your life.

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