Archive for the ‘Good’ tag

Is it a Good Idea to Count Calories to Lose Weight?

Are you wondering if it is a good idea to count calories to lose weight? Thinking about it is natural as we all know that the old idea of calories in and calories out is still mostly true. Counting calories is difficult though and there are easier ways to reduce them other than counting them. Getting a good eating plan is the best way to get rid of those extra pounds without having to start counting. A good eating plan, with proper portion control, will have you well on the road of getting your ideal weight the easy way.

Food Pyramid

Losing fat does not have to be difficult. There are many good diets on the market and you can choose the one that suits your lifestyle the best. The only danger you have to watch out for is that you do not go onto one of the many fad diets out there. Now you may wonder what a fad diet really is. How are you going to be sure you are not choosing a fad diet? You may also be wondering why I keep warning you against fad diets. Well, let us start with recognizing a fad diet. It is actually very easy as fad diets have certain characteristics that are very easy to recognize: * Very often you have to eat mainly one kind of food all the time * You are only allowed to eat very little * The diet forbids exercise while you are on it * Some fad diets are so restricted that you are only allowed to stay on them for a few days at a time * Very often fad diets exclude whole food groups If a diet has one or more of the above characteristics you can be pretty sure it is a fad diet. Now for the reasons why a fad diet is so bad. The main three reasons are: 1. If you eat too little, your metabolism will slow down and you will find it very difficult to lose more weight in the long run. As soon as you start eating normally again, you will gain back all that weight and, in all probability, some extra pounds as well. 2. If you eat mainly one kind of food all day, you can be sure that it is not healthy and you may develop malnutrition and become very ill. 3. Any good slimming routine includes moderate exercise. If you are eating too little to exercise with safety, you will not be able to speed up your metabolism and firm up your muscles, which will make the weight loss less effective. So, I think I have motivated myself enough to convince you of the dangers of a fad diet. You WILL pay a price in future if you go on a fad diet. You may lose a few pounds initially, but as it is mostly water and muscle there is not real fat loss. As soon as you rehydrate all the pounds come right back. As far as the muscle loss is concerned, there are a few important things to keep in mind. * Because muscle weighs more than fat, it will make you lose more pounds than fat, but you do not want to lose muscle you want to lose fat! * Muscle uses more energy than fat and when you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down and that makes the process slower in the long run. * Your body can become very weak if you lose too much muscle. With a weaker body, and muscles that do not support your skeleton in the correct way, you can really do a lot of damage to your body. With the weakened muscles you may very easily injure yourself while going about your normal daily life. It is simply not worth it. So, if you are still wondering whether it is a good idea to count calories in order to lose weight, I will say yes, but there are easier ways to get rid of those extra pounds. Get yourself a good, healthy and calorie controlled diet and you will be able to lose the weight without all that counting.

Vitamins, Keep Yourself in Good Health

Every one knows that it is important to get enough vitamins. However, there is no exact way to determine how much of any vitamin, minerals, or essential nutrient anybody needs at any given time. Your age, genetics, foods you eat, and when you eat them all interact with disease conditions to determine how much of various nutrients you need.

Vitamin K

Your needs aren’t going to be exactly like any one else’s. Your needs are not even exactly the same each day. It’s one of the basic facts about vitamins that a daily multivitamin is extremely important to ensure good health. Severe deficiencies of vitamins and minerals are in young healthy people. But slight deficiencies if certain things are fairly common. Vitamin B-12 is a common deficiency in the elderly. Vitamins C and D, calcium, and zinc are common deficiencies among people of all ages. Any little deficiency can cause big problems in health over a long period of time. For example, insufficient intake of calcium and vitamin D can cause osteoporosis over time. Having certain diseases can deplete the body of its vitamins and minerals as well. Diabetes depletes antioxidant vitamins, HIV depletes every vitamin and mineral in the body, and so does smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol excessively. HPV can deplete the body of vitamin A and beta carotene. Using prescription drugs can also deplete the body of minerals and vitamins as well. Statin drugs for cholesterol intercept production of CoQ10, Lasix takes vitamin B, magnesium, and potassium from the body. Many prescription drugs interfere with the absorption, use, and storage of vitamins and minerals in the body. It is not recommended that a person take in more vitamins tan the body can absorb. Taking large doses of antioxidant vitamins every day can cause the body to alter its responses to vitamins in general. If you stop taking a large dose of a vitamin it will cause the body to become nutritionally deficient. Taking the dosage of a vitamin supplement that is right for you can have many benefits for you. IT can help to assist your digestive function, boost brain function, give you added energy, help with weight management, and help to control sugar levels. It can also increase your immune resistance, and shift hormonal balances in ways that slow down the process of aging. The foods of today no longer contain the nutrients that are required for good health. The vitamins and nutrients are lost when storing, drying, aging, freezing, and processing foods. The problem also is because of modern day farming techniques. Years ago vitamins and minerals were replenished in the soil and transferred into the plants, that is no longer the case now with new farming techniques. There are numerous benefits to taking a vitamin supplement, so many that it is very important to make sure that you and your family take a high quality vitamin every day to remain healthy. Especially with the fact you can not get enough vitamin benefits from the foods that we eat on a daily basis. That is why it is smart to take a nutritional supplement to make up for what you don’t get out of your meals.

Oprah’s Acai Berry Diet – Is Acai Juice Good for Weight Loss? Find Out Now!

If you’ve recently become aware of the recommendations on the Oprah Winfrey show regarding this “new” superfood known as Acai and want to know whether its for real, I’m here to tell you the following. Yes Oprah’s Acai berry diet is an option for weight loss, is it the best option though? No, but it is an option as I’ll explain in this article, as well I’ll explain a far better option for weight loss which is in-expensive unlike Acai and has proof of its effectiveness.

So the Acai Berry Juice Diet is “new”?

Well if you’re like me then you’ve likely known that Acai berry juice has been around for years. Working in a health food store over the past few years I’ve learned a few things and these “superfood” juices although highly beneficial are also very expensive and many of their benefits are over-hyped as I believe is the case currently with Acai.

Acai Berry Juice Advantages:

Acai Berry has high levels of anti-oxidants, various nutrients, vitamins and minerals. All of which bearing in mind is relative, considering the amount of Acai juice you need to drink each day to meet many of your daily vitamin minimums would cost no less than $5 per day. So it isn’t cheap.

How does Oprah’s Acai Berry Juice Diet work?

Well it isn’t really a diet more than a supplement routine that involves taking acai juice every day with a fiber based shake to clear the colon. So technically the weight loss and cleansing portion is primarily due to the fiber intake, although the acai does provide a few mild metabolism stimulating effects.

Acai Berry Juice Disadvantages:

It’s interesting to hear so much regarding the advantages of Acai Berry Juice, well just so you are aware up front it isn’t cheap. In fact most bottles for a 30 days supply cost $40-$60 dollars! As well to put it bluntly the Acai Berry Juice diet is not a solution to weight loss. The best solution is a regular exercise routine with a good clean diet.

Better Alternatives to the Acai Berry Drink Diet for Weight Loss and Cleansing:

Well if you still haven’t done it, then there is the master cleanse, which is by far the best way to lose permanent weight quickly. With most people losing 5-15+ pounds over the course of a week during the cleanse. The most important aspect of this cleanse though is knowing how to prepare for it and the diet that is to follow in the week after it, as well as many other secrets that explain how people can lose even 25+ pounds of weight during an extended master cleanse.

What’s better than the Acai Berry Drink Diet Find out by Clicking http://www.fatloss4idiotsdietplan.com/

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Beat Depression with These Good Mood Foods

From time to time, we all suffer from stress and anxiety, even depression. It may be work related, family problems or financial concerns. The stress caused by these worries can lead to health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, stroke and even obesity. Then we start to stress over our health problems. It’s a vicious circle.

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS, BE CAREFUL.
All antidepressants work by manipulating the brain’s use of serotonin, the chemical largely responsible for your mood. A study published in the British Medical Journal shows that the use of antidepressants can increase the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding for people over 65. And the newer types of antidepressants, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors {SSRIs} are the worst offenders. These drugs can also cause nausea, headache, dry mouth, insomnia, sexual dysfunction and tremors.

YOUR OPTIONS.

These prescription drugs are NOT the only option for dealing with stress and depression. Studies have found that people respond just as well to natural therapies without the toxic side effects. According to Dr Michael Rosenbaum, author of “Energy For Life”, a B complex supplement, along with vitamin C can make a big difference. He also recommends St John’s Wort. Beware however of drug interactions with this herb. It can be effective for mild depression, but should NEVER be taken if you are on warfarin therapy or taking SSRIs. As with all changes in diet, you should FIRST discuss it with your family doctor.

HERE ARE SOME OTHER SUGGESTIONS.

OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS.

For a long time we’ve known that fish is healthy for you, but American nutritionist Joseph Hibbeln, claims that a fish diet can dramatically improve your state of mind, even cure depression. Mr Hibbeln, from the US National Institutes of Health, says the Omega 3 fats in fish influence our state of mind by altering one of our brain’s key chemical messengers, serotonin. Lack of it is thought to be the cause of depression. His studies are confirmed by research at Harvard Medical School. Deep sea fish such as tuna, swordfish and salmon are 3
sources of Omega 3 fatty acids.

SEROTONIN RICH FOODS AND SUPPLEMENTS.

Other sources of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that helps to improve our sense of wellbeing, include: vitamin D { cod liver oil and sunshine}, sunflower seeds, bananas, turkey, avocados, mangoes, broccoli, almonds, vitamin B6 and the mineral magnesium. Camomile is a herb rich in magnesium and chamomile tea can be effective as a bedtime “relaxant”. These “mood foods” are required to convert the amino acid tryptophan to serotonin.

KOREAN {PANAX} GINSENG.

Ginseng is a tonic herb renowned for its benefit in helping the body “adapt” to stress. As a balancer of body energies, it helps to relax and relieve stress as well as promote stamina.

VITAMIN B9 {FOLATE OR FOLIC ACID}

Studies with those suffering mild and major depression have shown low blood concentrations of the B vitamin nutrient folate. Sources of folate include: liver, asparagus, lentils, chick peas, beans, spinach and other leafy green vegetables.

SAMe

One of the most exciting breakthroughs in natural approaches to treating depression is SAMe. Naturally produced in the human body, it has largest concentrations in the liver, followed by the adrenal glands, heart, kidneys, lungs and brain. Healthy people naturally produce sufficient SAMe, but a deficiency in the blood can result in depression.

SAMe helps increase the blood levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, encouraging the brain cells to be more responsive to these “feel good” chemicals. This helps promote focus, concentration, calmness and mood elevation. It is also a liver tonic and may assist with arthritis pain. When taken as a supplement, make sure it includes the key nutrients vitamin B12 and folic acid to optimize natural SAMe production.

Never start a new treatment before consulting your doctor, especially if you are currently taking medication. The information published in this article is not intended as a substitute for personal medical advice from your physician or other qualified health-care practitioner. It is for information purposes only.

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