Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

Two Fast Ways To Eliminate Thigh Fat

Sunday, January 4th, 2009
by Luke Rutledge

I’m sure you want to lose that uncomfortable, depressing flab on your thigh, right? It is definitely possible, but if you think that you can lose thigh fat fast by using weight loss pills or miracle diet supplements, well you’re wrong! And if you’ve been told that there is some special workout to do in order to specifically target thigh fat, whoever told you that was wrong as well.

As a matter of fact, whether you want to lose thigh fat, belly fat, arm fat, or any other fat, there is no way for you to spot reduce certain areas of your body. You have to lose fat in all areas of your body. You can’t pick and choose where you want to burn fat; your body will decide where to start for you!

On that note, it only makes sense for you to invest your time in things that will help you burn fat from every part of your body. Simply put, you want to follow a healthy diet and include resistance training and cardio workouts into your schedule! This is the only definite way to lose thigh fat fast!

1. The diet: The diet you choose to follow for the purpose of weight loss is very crucial. If you choose low-calorie or low-fat diets, they won’t help you burn fat because these diets don’t boost your metabolic rate!

Far from boosting your metabolic rate, these diets actually slow down your metabolism! Here is how: with a low-calorie or low-fat diet, your body doesn’t get enough nutrition. Consequently it believes that it is going to die out of starvation. It immediately stops the fat burning process by slowing down your metabolic rate, and stores the fat deposits so that it could survive during starvation.

With low-calorie, low-fat, and starvation diets, you will most likely lose some weight, but as soon as you stop following that diet and return to your prior eating habits, you will gain back all of the weight that you lost, if not more!

So what types of diets should you choose? You should choose a diet which suggests eating green vegetables and fruits. Natural fruits and vegetables are not only great for boosting your metabolic rate but also suppressing your hunger effectively!

But choosing a healthy diet for every day of the week isn’t always enough; you should also choose a diet which allows you to cheat at least once a week. On this cheating day, you are free to eat whatever you want. Now don’t think that taking a short break from your diet will make you gain weight; far from it, it will actually help you lose fat by increasing your metabolism by confusing it!

Apart from an improved metabolism, cheat days will also improve your dedication to your diet plan for the rest of the week by extremely reducing cravings for forbidden foods.

2. Exercises: Diet plans play a big role in weight loss, but they are not they only solution. Many people incorporate exercises into their routine, which can dramatically increase weight loss! Strength training and cardio exercises are the best ways speed up weight loss. Strength training has a double advantage, you will not only burn fat fast, but you will tone up your body by increasing lean muscle!

Lean muscle is really important to overall health. It makes your body stronger and also helps you burn fat, even while you’re resting. As a matter of fact, you can easily burn around fifty more calories per day for every pound of muscle! This is because muscles need more calories in order to sustain themselves.

Follow these two tips and see how easily you get rid of thigh fat!

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Can consuming acai berries cause side effects?

Friday, January 2nd, 2009
by Mark Goodman

Acai berry, the fruit of the Brazilian palm tree has recently been heavily promoted as a diet supplement. Since people often wonder about the potential side effects of such products when they first hear about them, of course they will probably wonder if the supplementation of acai berry will cause any problems. Perhaps they will think this because of the extract form acai berry so often comes in. There must be a similarity drawn between acai berry and something like ephedra in the individuals mind.

Have you ever heard of someone having a negative reaction to a blueberry? Probably not. Considering that an acai berry is not too different from a blueberry, you most likely do not need to worry about any negative effects. Similarly, no study has ever proven that acai berry causes side effects in non-allergic individuals. Even if the extract form of acai you’re taking is more potent than a puree or the whole berry, you should only experience beneficial effects.

Many who wonder about the potential for side effects may also be wondering if acai berry supplementation could cause an interaction with a drug they are taking. The answer is most likely no. The only fruit which has frequently been shown to cause interactions with certain drugs, namely statins, is grapefruit. If you’re worried about drug interactions, consider that an acai berry is essentially about the same as a blueberry, so consider if you would be similarly worried about blueberries causing an interaction or side effects.

You will find the potential benefits outweigh the risk of any unlikely side effects. The acai berry contains the highest levels of antioxidants found in almost any fruit. The most common purple variety contains the highest concentration while the white variety contains the lowest. It is unlikely that you will find the white variety in North America however. Acai berries contain more free radical-scavenging antioxidants than either cranberries or black cherries.

A very interesting benefit of acai berry supplementation is the potential for reduced inflammation. Inflammation has many negative effects on the body, so this potential is very interesting. A study done by AIMBR Life Sciences has shown that acai berry is a potential COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor.[1] COX-1 and COX-2 are enzymes which are responsible for inflammation and pain, so anything which can inhibit it’s activity is good news for those suffering from pain and inflammation.

There are many other benefits of consuming acai berry, but the objective of this article is to clarify that no study has yet proven any risks of eating acai. With all of the hyper surrounding this supplement, one could easily assume that eating it could cause side effects, but that is not the case. Acai berry truly has no negatives unless you happen to not like the taste which is also unlikely!

Reference:

1. Schauss A, Xianli W, Prior R, Ou B, Huang D, Owens J, Agarwal A, Jensen G, Hart A, Shanbrom E. Antioxidant Capacity and Other Bioactivities of the Freeze-Dried Amazonian Palm Berry, Euterpe oleraceae Mart. (Acai). J Agric Food Chem 2006 Nov 1;54(22):8604-10. PMID: 17061840

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Try a Real Smoothie

Friday, January 2nd, 2009
by Nick Jaggs

Have you any idea of what is going into that smoothie you are drinking? In recent years this type of drink has become big business and many companies will use words like “healthy” and “natural” to describe theirs. However, what you may not realize is that the smoothie you purchased from your local grocery store is not all that it seems. Although the label may show a sunny outdoor scene or lots of fruit in a blender to show you that they contain lots of living ingredients. What you will soon discover that these have been produced on a mass scale using fruit puree that has been pasteurized to help extend its shelf life.

Not every juice and smoothie bar set up offers completely natural products to you either. In some cases they use frozen fruit purees high in sugar that have been supplied to them by the company that supplies the juice and smoothie making equipment. Certainly these types of professional blenders are very expensive to purchase and juice bars will often be provided them for free as long as they use the companies frozen fruit portions to create their smoothies.

However, there are now a few juice bars where to simplify their operations and save money actually make their own frozen fruit products. Again some will produce good drinks, but a few others load theirs with sugar. Don’t think that for one minute the company that create these are trying to prevent us from getting natural ingredients, they just use this as a way to help streamline their business to ensure that they make a profit. Although there may be times when we as the consumer lose out because of this.

The concept behind a real smoothie is simple. It is a blended health drink that was made popular in the USA. There is no specific definition for what this type of drink is other than it is fruit based and must be thick and smooth, and will often be made using frozen fruit and/or ice. A lot of the independent juice bars today are focused on health and will offer you a freshly prepared first class natural product. Also in some of the better juice bars they provide super foods and boosters to enhance the smoothies of health enthusiasts.

If you are lucky enough to have such a great juice bar close to you then you should really be using it. However, if your only real contact with smoothies is the bottled variety, you are missing out on some great flavours and goodness from the freshly prepared kind.

A great way of trying a smoothie to see if you like it is to make your own at home. However, there has been some confusion caused by a few of the blender manufacturers regarding smoothie makers. When we talk about smoothie makers we actually do mean a blender which has for many years been a vital piece of equipment in many kitchens. That was until some bright spark in some marketing company thought it would be a good idea to call them smoothie makers so that a company could target those people wanting to make their own smoothies. It is for this reason alone that we think blenders and smoothie makers are two different machines, when in fact they are not.

To make a smoothie is very simple you just put the ingredients into the blender jug and then press the button. It only takes a few seconds to turn the whole fruit into pulp and juice and cost per smoothie you make at home is much less than those you buy on the high street. Homemade smoothies not only taste great by contain lots of essential nutrients that your body needs. You can either make smoothies using frozen fruit or fresh fruit mixed with ice. Plus to further enhance the flavour and make the smoothie creamier you can add some yoghurt. Plus experimenting with other ingredients you could further enhance the health benefits of the smoothies you make.

First off you need a blender or smoothie maker! If you are looking for one that will do the work effectively and is able to cope with frozen ingredients then avoid the cheaper models you find in the bigger electrical outlets. Mixing ice can be very demanding on a blender so by the best you can. One type that is worth considering as it can also mill dry ingredients is the “Mill Blender” from American Health Brand L’Equip. Using this machine you can mill up some flax to provide you with essential fatty acids and then add this to your healthy smoothie.

Many health enthusiasts demand much out of their kitchen equipment and some will spend several hundred pounds on purchasing commercial blenders like the Blendtec Total Blender. But you don’t need to although you will get many years of good service out of such a model spending more than 60 on yours will be sufficient, especially if you intend to use ice in your smoothies. If you are looking for a good quality smoothie maker there are plenty of online sites such as www.ukjuicers.com who have available what you may need.

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Zrii News and a Healthy You

Friday, January 2nd, 2009
by Holden Anderson

The very definition of the word Zrii is something light, luster splendor with prosperity. Zrii nutritional drinks are just that: prosperity in a bottle. This bottled supplemental drink has healthy zrii ingredients.

Zrii is the first company in the history of networking marketing that had such a massive buzz, momentum, sales and overall excitement as Zrii did in the first two months. This is very uncommon and proves success of Zrii.

The sensation Zrii achieved in the first 60 days stands as a testament to their company success and legitimacy. This is great zrii news. This is unheard of in the world of networking marketing.

The Zrii ingredients other than Amalaki are ginger, turmeric, schizandra, haritaki, jujube, and tulsi or holy basil. So this impressive list of Zrii ingredients definately will help you regain your help and unlock the doc from within your body.

There is plenty of scientific and medical data that proves the health benefits of Zrii ingredients.

Current scientific and medical research shows that the nutritional benefits of Zrii are many.

Zrii is a gift of nature, with benefits too important to ignore and too essential to keep to ourselves. This immediate reward creates a strong incentive for you to personally train your new enrollees, and to show them how to build a successful Zrii business of their own.

Find Zrii news online and read up and decide if this career choice is for you.

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Overtraining and Another Ways to Kill Your Muscle Gains

Monday, December 29th, 2008
by Ricardo Daryans

A guy in the gym finishes a hard, focused set of barbell squats and re-racks the weight. His legs are wobbly, his heart is racing and he feels light headed as he takes a big swig from his water bottle. He looks down at his watch and presses the start button to begin counting down backwards from 2 minutes.

He saw on TV that 2 minutes is the perfect rest time between sets, and what he wants is to do it exactly in that way. So, the watch beeps and he’s be back in the squat rack ready for his next set of exercises with the weights.

Time is up. His still feel weak and his heart is still beating a lot, he doesn’t feel completely ok, but the watch beeped and that means his has to go back and perform another set, it does’nt matter how he feels.

He performs the next set. He is not really ready to exercise right now, so he puts forth a mediocre effort, finish the set, and waits for another 2 seconds. He is making a huge mistake, just as hundreds of lifters in another gyms.

By having a set rest interval between sets, he is forcing his body to train at an effort level that is far less than his maximum potential and is severely sacrificing the amount of muscle growth he can ultimately stimulate because of this.

Muscles grow because of an adaptive response to stress. You lift X amount of weight for Y number of reps, and your body adapts to this level of stress. In order to see continual gains in muscle size, you must continually force X and Y to higher and higher levels.

In other words, building muscle is all about progression in both weight and reps. It is about lifting as much weight as you possibly can for the greatest number of reps that you possibly can (within a given rep range of course) and then continually striving to improve.

So, every time you are going to start a new set you have to do it when you are at your maximum. If you don’t do it so, you sacrifice the amount of muscle you can build. In other words, give your body enough rest between sets in order to achieve the best results.

A watch will never tell you when you are ready to begin the next set. Instead of it, listen to your body and you will know when to follow your training.

The set rest period theory is also highly flawed because it does not take into account the fact that certain exercises tax the body much more heavily than others and therefore require more rest between them.

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Are Vitamins For Thyroid Health Beneficial?

Saturday, December 27th, 2008
by Greg Brunetto

Vitamins for thyroid health as well as supplements are an ideal alternative to doctor visits and prescription medications. There’s a variety of different thyroid hormone replacement drugs on the pharmaceutical marketplace. They’re expensive medicines composed of man-made ingredients with very little (if any) natural ingredients. Despite the fact that the thyroid is responsible for some complex tasks, it doesn’t require a complex diet to keep it healthy. That’s why vitamins for thyroid health are a naturally healthy choice.

What is the thyroid gland and what does it do? The thyroid is a little gland with a huge responsibility. Among many things, it’s responsible for maintaining your metabolism. When the thyroid runs amok, it can wreak havoc on the body. This is why thyroid health is essential for normal bodily function and healthy living.

The thyroid gland is located below the larynx but above the collar bone in the lower front region of the throat. The thyroid gland creates hormones to regulate the body’s metabolic processes.

Taking vitamins for thyroid health will make allowance for optimal thyroid health and function. Powerful multivitamins with minerals and a couple grams of Vitamin C is the daily advice, however the multivitamin supplement you’re taking must be of prime quality, preferably the kind found at dedicated health stores. Bigger state drug store brands like Centrum or Centrum Silver are no longer satisfactory as those sorts of multivitamins are made as a “one size fits all” solution as the makers attempt to house to the widest probable client base. To explain, nationally publicized multivitamins simply don’t have the potential or bioavailability that thyroid sufferers need.

Benefits of vitamins for thyroid health:

*They’re natural and safe (no side effects).

*Available over-the-counter; no prescription is necessary.

*Vitamins are inexpensive when compared to doctor visits and prescriptions.

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Pur Water Filter - A Complete Review

Thursday, December 25th, 2008
by Trez Kelly

Before you read this article, I want you to ask yourself a few questions. Do you enjoy the taste of dirty water? Do you like paying ridiculous prices for bottled water? Do you like putting your family’s health at risk? If you answered no to any of these, then you should consider getting a Pur Water Filter. Allow me to explain.

Drinking bottled water is a complete waste of money. The only thing that you are paying for is a bottle that is bad for the environment, with a name and some cheap water that you could get from your house. You can an even better taste from your faucet with a Pur Water Filter system. You should be able to get healthy, quality water whenever you want it - so get Pur Water Filter to ensure this.

Do yourself a test after you get a water filter, I did this don’t worry; fill one glass with water derived from your faucet and another with bottled water. See if you taste a difference. Want me to go ahead and tell you the answer? You don’t. With these water filters, you will taste the difference. Pur Water Filters work well to deliver quality taste and pure water.

You should be concerned with the health of both you and your family. Tap and well water contains many harmful contagions that our bodies do not need to be in contact with. In fact, most doctors agree that you should filter all water that you drink. You should be very aware of what goes in your body - after all, you only get one. Pur Water Filters remove 99% of all of the harmful bacteria and organisms that are found in unfiltered water.

What benefits do Pur Water Filter Systems offer? First, it is convenient - drink it anytime, never have to worry about running out. Secondly, Pur Water Filters are cost-efficient - The cost of water from a home filtration system is 78% less per gallon than bottled. Over the long-term, the cost difference can be quite significant. You only have to replace the filter every 2 months or 40 gallons.

Finally, Pur Water Filter is a name that you can trust. So what are you waiting for? Start using the Pur Water Filter System today and see why I’m so thrilled to spread the word!

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A History of Mexican Tortillas

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
by KC Kudra

Tortillas got its name from the Spaniards. The word “tortillas” comes from the Spanish word “torta” with the meaning being round cake. Tortillas are eaten everyday not just in Mexico but also in America. Americans put just about anything they can in the tortilla from meat and beans to apples and brown sugar. Ever try peanut butter and jelly in a tortilla? Many eat it that way; also, the tortillas are used with hot dogs, casseroles, and sandwiches.

Tortillas have been enjoyed for hundreds of years but not with these modern fillings.

Tortilla history tells us that the Aztecs were making flour tortillas over 10,000 years before Christ. They ate a lot of corn, either direct from the cob or used as an ingredient in another recipe. The Aztecs would grind the corn into cornmeal and make corn dough, or masa, out of it. This was done by mixing the cornmeal with water, which had to be exactly the right temperature; else, it would be the wrong consistency to make a dough. When the masa was ready, the Aztecs would shape it into a ball and then flatten it into a type of thick pancake. When it was the right size and thickness, the masa dough would have been placed on a hot griddle and cooked quickly.

The tortillas of today are still made with the same ingredients as in tortilla history. Because they are very popular, most tortillas today are made in factories with machinery. They come in a lot of different flavors and you can also make homemade tortillas quite easily. A lot of Mexican foods use tortillas as an ingredient. Tacos, for example, use flour tortillas as the shell. With an enchilada, the tortilla is filled, then rolled up, and cooked. Tortillas are used as turnovers to make quesadillas, which are filled before being fried.

Did you know that tortillas are not just for eating? “Tortilla art” is when tortillas are used as a canvas. They are baked before being covered with acrylic. Then they are painted. Tortilla art represents the culture of Latino artists.

Tortilla chips are also made from tortillas. The tortilla is fried after being cut into wedges. The ingredients in corn tortillas are corn, salt, water, and vegetable oil. These tortilla chips first gained popularity in the 1940s in Los Angeles, California. These chips were mass-produced there but are still known as Mexican food.

Americans use tortillas for a lot of their foods. It is most common found in burritos, which started long ago in northern Mexico. Tortillas are a traditional food of many people from northern states of Mexico and Native tribes that are found in the Southwestern United States. Just about any restaurant will carry tortillas. You can try many different foods that include them. They are easy to find in the grocery store. You can use your taste buds and imagination to make your own foods, which include the tortillas.

There are a lot of different tortilla recipes if you want to try this exciting food in various ways and create your own delicious dishes with flour tortillas!

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Tips - Working is a good way to stay on top of your health

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
by Soraia Bauer

Working is a good way to stay on top of your health. Many things about working make a mortal feel good both inside and out. Knowing that you can do something to make a difference in peoples lives is a great inter feeling.

Working will keep you healthy by keeping you in shape so you can maintain. Working forces the brain to continue processing, which is good when one is trying to say healthy. Work boosts your self-esteem. Your self-esteem when satisfied will be so high you will not know what to do with it. You won’t feel depressed, since the stress is less on you. Just knowing that you are going to meet your bills on time will give you a peace of mind.

Stress can do a lot to your mental as we as physical reactions. You have to be able to control your stress to avoid illness. Being stressed out all the time can cause you to go into a depression and not be able to get out without your doctors help.

When you feel stressed, it often brings you down. You feel worn and often feel like nothing in life will help. Stress begins to burden you, which affects your health and in time, you will not have control if you do not take control now.

Stress will cause you to lose weight or even gain weight. Stress can cause headaches, which seems to continue. As you allow stress to take over, it gradually breaks down your immunity system. This is when you experience sickness, colds, flu etc. Depression follows symptoms appear similar to common stress. At this point the mind takes over, playing tricks to confuse you further.

Some of the things that depression can cause are either too much sleep where all you do is sleep or not enough sleep making it hard to sleep. You will find it hard to achieve a good night sleep. Now we see fatigue during wake hours accumulating.

Some people that are depressed gain weight. Often they sit around sinking in self-pity, which means activities are out of the question. Now the muscles start to deteriorate, since these natural sources need activities to survive. As the depression continues, the person starts binge eating, or not eating enough foods. Now we have a problem, since the intestines, and other vital organs will sustain damage.

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What are some facts pertaining to the Acai Berry Diet?

Sunday, December 21st, 2008
by I Russell

The Amazon Rainforest, specifically in the countries of Brazil and Peru, is home to the Acai palm berry. Considered one of the super foods, this fruit has more seed than flesh. Its composition provides many antioxidants that are key to good health. As a result, Acai has become a very important diet to many people.

Oprah Winfrey has endorsed products containing Acai berry as a vital part of a healthy diet. Acai can not only improve your body’s antioxidant levels, taken regularly it can help with digestion and cell regeneration. Recent research has shown that it can even destroy carcinogens, helping fight cancer. Acai fruit contains large amounts of proteins, calories, carbohydrates, and fiber. It is very low on fat content, however, which makes it very compatible with weight loss diets. If you are interested in the benefits of Acai, there is no reason to delay starting it. The juice of the Acai berry can cover more than half of the needed daily nutrition gotten from other foods.

Found in the rainforests of the Amazon, Acai is a very effective healing ingredient. Acai somewhat resembles Amazon grapefruits in appearance, but has antioxidant levels even higher than wine and blueberries. The berries can not only help you lose weight, but even reduce your body’s cholesterol level. Acai can also improve your vision and boost your energy level.

They don’t contain enough acai to balance your diet. You need to take at least one ounce twice a day of the berry juice for effective weight loss. You would have to take twelve pure acai capsules just to equal the amount of the berry necessary to help balance your diet. Then you still need an appetite suppressant to make it truly a diet plan. This is the real acai berry diet, a two part plan.If you are consuming the Acai fruit in order to lose weight you have to understand that it will help balance the nutritional value of your diet. A balanced nutritional diet will help your body shed unwanted pounds much easier then just using diet plans alone. The addition of an appetite suppressant will help speed the process of losing weight, a true diet plan. Along with regular exercise and healthy intake of food, Acai juice boosts weight loss and helps to keep the lost weight at bay, preventing a regain of it. But don’t be fooled by all the acai berry diet products available today.

You can make juices, mixes and even protein shakes out of it from the freeze dried powder that is available. The fruit can also be eaten with frozen yogurt. It is also found in the powder form, which is fast gaining popularity among consumers. The berry along with its supplements and all its edible forms are equally beneficial to the health.The best part about eating the berry is that it is found in so many edible forms. Not only can you eat it as a berry fruit fresh from the forest if you live in the Amazon region, but also you can extract its pulp and drink it.

Consuming the Acai berry regularly improves the immune system, leads to rapid weight loss, strengthens the digestive system and nourishes your heart. The berry contains very high levels of antioxidants, making it a super food.

Americans are getting more and more acquainted with consuming the Acai berry in all its forms, including juice, powder, yogurt, and shakes. There is also an American presence of cosmetics and oils made from the berry.

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