Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Nutrition Pyramid is the Key to Health

The nutrition pyramid is a key which helps you to choose from an array of foods. The pyramid will ensure you get the right amount of nutrients as well as the correct portion helping you control the intake of calories, cholesterol, sodium and sugar.

The base of the pyramid comprises of your bread, cereals, grains and pastas. This group contains what is known as complex carbohydrates which is a relevant source of energy especially for those participating in competitive sports. One should have 6 or more servings a day such as a slice of whole grain bread, half a cup of either brown rice or pasta and 1 cup of cereal. Refrain from processed foods.

The next level of the nutrition pyramid comprises of the various fruits and vegetables which are rich in nutrients as well as vitamins such as Vitamin A and C, folic acid and potassium. This group has high fiber content and a low fat and sodium content. One should have 5 servings a day of each of these vegetables for instance a cup of raw leafy vegetables and half a cup of other vegetables as well as a cup of vegetable juice and two servings of fruit such as apple, orange or banana as well as a glass of fruit juice.

The following level is your eggs, fish, beans and lean meat which contain an essential source of protein, zinc and iron. Dried beans and peas provide the same content. One should have 2 or 3 portions of cooked meat, poultry or fish a day such as one egg, half a cup of cooked bean, half a cup of nuts, and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Avoid frying any of these foods and slow on the nuts as they have a high fat content.

The next level of the nutrition pyramid comprises of all your dairy products which provide you with vitamins and minerals, calcium and protein. Suggested serving are two to three portions daily. One should preferably buy low fat milk and cheese. Make sure you read the labels of low fat products.

The tip of the nutritional pyramid comprises of sweets and fats and this is the smallest part of the pyramid and one should only take in very small portions and should be eaten sparingly and these foods are packed with calories. Included are chocolates, cream, butter and fizzy drinks as well as sugar. These foods have a very low nutritional value.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Walking Your Way to Better Health

In today's crazy, helter skelter world, walking your way to better health may be the best option and it certainly can produce the desired results. It can be difficult to find the time to get to the gym and, even if you do have a couple extra hours to commit to a workout, it can be a very expensive endeavor. Much of the time you find yourself stressed and frustrated at trying to fit that exercise session into your hectic day and coming up with the extra cash to continue when your membership expires.

It is much more feasible to implement a walking program into your busy day. This doesn't necessarily mean a fast paced stroll through the park or along the boardwalk, although this is a good plan. You can actually utilize your time by consciously focusing on how much you walk throughout the day and keeping track of it. First of all, it will help to focus your mind on something productive as well as give you a satisfied feeling that you have accomplished a very good workout while getting all the errands done. It will also lower your stress level as you accustom yourself to adding daily exercise through walking instead of worrying about how you're going to get to the gym for aerobics or the treadmill.

Studies reveal that it is just as effective to work out for short periods throughout the day as it is to commit to one long session. The average person will take between 6,000 and 7,000 steps a day. Experts stress that adding an additional 2,000 steps a day can reduce one's weight and build a stronger heart and greater endurance. Walking 10,000 steps a day is considered to be an active, healthy lifestyle. So how do you know how many steps you are taking in a day?

Implementing a pedometer into your everyday lifestyle can greatly assist you in walking your way to a healthier, happier state of being. For the first week of usage, jot down on a calendar the number of steps you take each day. At the end of the week, take an average and increase your steps by 10% to 15% a day the following week. Start walking toward a target of 2,000 additional steps a day. Once you reach that target, move toward the goal of 10,000 steps per day.

How can you do this? There are many opportunities each and every day to extend your walking distance. Park in the back forty of the shopping center or grocery store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk down and visit your neighbor instead of calling, etc. In a short time you will be fit as a fiddle.

Mental Health - Necessary For a Happy Life

A healthy person is gifted with complete physical, mental and social well-being therefore mental health is an integral part of a person's robustness. A mentally healthy person will have the ability to recognize his own abilities and work accordingly to achieve his goals. Sound mental well-being also helps a person in coping with day to day stress in life and work. He can also ensure that he makes a productive contribution to the environment. The world mental health day celebrated on October 10th of every year is dedicated to provide the promotion, awareness and education on mental health.

The working of a human brain is strange and often unpredictable. It is not a person's fault to have mental illness. Anybody is prone to the risk of mental illness. The mental illness can take on many forms like depressions, phobias, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and several others. Although these ailments may seem surreal they cannot be neglected or wished away. It is often common for people to mistake occasional mood swings for mental sickness but should be considered as severe illness if they interfere with normal life. A mentally ill person may not be able to retain friends or hold a job.

Mental well-being can be maintained by an individual by doing yoga, meditation or other yoga-like exercises. Advancement in science and technology is making mental health related services accessible to common folk. Undertaking programs targeted at vulnerable groups in society and people residing in disaster prone areas may yield considerable effects. Several non-profitable organizations like WHO are working towards promoting mental health in many underdeveloped third world countries. Mental illness can be cured in people to a large extent with the aid of psychotherapies, medications and brain stimulation therapies.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Natural Liquid Multivitamins

Liquid supplements are increasing in popularity for many reasons. They are easier to take, absorbed fast, and can be in your system within 3 minutes. Liquid vitamins provide you all the vitamins that you need daily. Often people that take vitamins are because they just don't get enough from food or drink. Liquid Vitamins sound very appealing on paper and in practice they measure up in terms of health. There can be a downside but it all depends on one's perspective.

Liquid vitamins are easier to take than solid vitamins. Anyone who has looked at and consequently choked down a handful of pills can testify to that fact. Liquids absorb into your system far easier than pills, it tastes like orange juice, and it contains everything people need to maintain a healthy body.

The vitamins liquid nutritional supplement is a simple way to get your daily vitamins and minerals as well as many other helpful nutrients. You only need to take one ounce per day and a bottle contains 30 ounces. Liquid vitamins are a much more superior way of absorption into the body and blood stream and thereby are unmatched in effectiveness. Take action now and change your life with Liquid multi vitamins. You'll be so glad you did!

Our remarkable natural vitamins Liquid Formula goes way beyond ordinary multiples to bring you a formula that is designed for today's bodies --today's lifestyles. Rather than just provide ingredients that may supplement a nutrient-deficient diet, our novel formulation provides fuel for the entire body -- for more complete health benefits. Now you can get the top of the line, liquid multivitamin for those low low prices without going to your local store.

Natural vitamins Liquid Formula comes in an exclusive Liquid Delivery System for superior taste, maximum absorption and more complete assimilation by the body's cells! Instead of taking several vitamins pills twice daily (besides other supplements), only an one ounce serving of the Liquid multi Vitamins is needed each day. This Vitamin Formula is in liquid form and contains pure essentials of fruit blends of fruit extracts that are combined together which are easily absorbed by our body and easily be distributed to our body systems.

There are different methods of taking supplements and one of the most common methods is absorbing it in its liquid form. Why wait hours for all those pills to start working when you can start to feel the power of vitamins formula within minutes? Do the advantages of liquid vitamins far outweigh its disadvantages if there are any?

My mind focuses more clearly and after a night's sleep I feel more rejuvenated than before taking Liquid Multivitamins. No gimmicks here! When a product is this good and is sold at such a low price, it can only mean that health conscious consumers will quickly realize the value and remain Loyal Customers Forever.

All the more reason to use Vitamins on a daily basic! Currently, the most important benefit attributed to natural vitamins in general are their anti-oxidant properties. Vitamins A, C, E, and many of the carotenoids and phytochemicals are scavengers for particles known as oxygen-free radicals (or oxidants). Taking vitamins will ensure that our daily nutritional needs are replenished.

Insomnia Vitamins - Natural Supplements to Take to Fall Asleep

If you have struggled with the inability to get a good night's sleep for a while, you are probably ready to try anything. There is simply no way you can go without sleeping for long. While there might not be a product labeled as insomnia vitamins, there are some supplements that can help you get to sleep.

They are typically better than sleeping pills because they are not addictive and are actually made of the essential minerals that everyone needs to stay healthy. While caffeine, stress, and nicotine might be preventing you from sleeping, you could also have some type of deficiency, so find out how to easily solve the issue.

If you do not like taking pills, you can try to increase your intake of certain vitamins through food. Vegetables are usually a good bet, such as spinach, beets, carrots, and green peas, to name a few. Fruits are always good, too, such as mangos, oranges, bananas, and pineapples. Whether or not you suffer from insomnia, vitamins and the foods that are full of them are good for you in general.

Some minerals, however, are particularly good for those who cannot sleep. Vitamin B6, B12, and B5 can all help you sleep better. You can ingest these in the form of supplements everyday, or you can eat foods rich in them, like seeds, egg yolk, walnuts, tuna, milk, fish, and liver.

While getting these minerals through food is often recommended by doctors, it is usually easier to keep track of how much of the vitamin you are getting if your take daily supplements, so the choice is yours.

There are additional insomnia vitamins that are vital to those who need help falling asleep. Though most people do not know much about them, amino acids are crucial. L-Tryptophan can help you feel calmer, while L-Theanine can amplify the feeling so that these two amino acids essentially work together to help you fall asleep.

GABA is yet another amino acid that also helps you sleep, and since these are all safe and not addictive, taking these as supplements to ensure you have enough can be a good idea.

You do not have to get addicted to sleeping pills to be able to pass out at night. However, you also do not have to suffer from lack of slumber. In general, you can simply change your diet for the better, and add natural substances that your body just does not have enough of right now, in the form of insomnia vitamins.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Start a Healthy Diet Today With a Full Body Cleansing Detox

So you want to go on a natural health diet and you're looking forward to the large amount of weight loss that will follow. Great! You're in good company, as millions of people every year decide to do the same thing. However, most people get hung up on where to start their new lifestyle. A full body cleanse should be your first stop on the road to good health. But how do you go through what is also known as a cleansing detox? Read on to find out...

The first thing you should do is take a look at your exercise habits. Most people decide they want to go on a healthy kick and change what they eat. That is really only half the battle! Instead, you should take a holistic view on your life and see what unhealthy habits you're doing that you should stop. Obviously smoking is out of the question, but what about your exercising? Are you exercising at least thirty minutes per day, six days a week? That is exactly what the American Medical Association has been recommending for years, yet many people just can't get in that groove. Sure, a full body cleanse will help you detoxify your body, but if you don't keep it in good shape after you finish your cleanse, you are only addressing half the issue.

You don't have to wait to get in shape to start your full body colon cleanse detox, however. You can start that today if you would like. A detox program can come in many forms, but some of them are superior to others. The best way is to use an herbal detox supplement solution. These are a combination of many different natural ingredients that have three different effects that you can rely on. The first one is that it creates an enzyme that breaks down the toxic waste inside of your body. It is estimated that the average person has between five and twenty five pounds of waste stuck in their colon. This creates an issue in which your colon must work much harder to try to remove those waste products instead of processing your food the way it should be, resulting in a lot of lost energy (and you can feel the difference in energy when you clean it out). The toxins also permeate throughout your body by using your circulatory system. It is surprising how much actually makes it to the cellular level, but it does.

An added effect of the herbal cleansers is that they will actually make your colon more efficient in processing the waste we just talked about. Combine that with the breakdown of the waste and you have a one-two punch that leaves your body clean, energized, and focused.

Colon cleansing can help you lose 20 pounds, look younger, and feel more energetic.

There are many colon cleansers out there, but only one I recommend. Luckily, they're offering a free trial.

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Health Benefits Of Vitamin B5 That You Need To Know

Vitamin B5 is one of the B vitamins and is also known as Pantothenic acid. B5 is very important for the metabolism and also for balancing hormones and is essential for maintaining good health. It is also necessary for the health of the skin and also the nervous system. There have been tests that seem to show that Vitamin B5 might be useful to treat some types of acne. It is really essential for helping the body to process carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Pantothenic acid is also helpful in making essential steroids and one of the neurotransmitters in the brain.

If you do not get enough B5 you can suffer from fatigue. It can also affect your general health and make you much more prone to catching infections. It is also possible to suffer from poor sleep and cramps. Vitamin B5 is very important for the proper functioning of the nerves in the body and it is for this reason that a lot of people believe that it makes a real contribution to the treatment of stress and fatigue. But probably the most important role for it is in helping the body to turn food into usable energy.

Vitamin B5 is a very common vitamin and it is found in nearly all foods although sometimes in very small quantities. Vitamin B5 is also made by bacteria in the body and it is found in good amounts in a lot of cereals. Although it is found in most cereals it is especially found in good amounts in whole cereals. It is also found in large amounts in meat and eggs. Another good source of B5 is some nuts, yeast, fish and fresh vegetables.

One of the easiest ways to lose the B5 in your food is through cooking. The heat that is used in cooking destroys some of the Pantothenic acid. It is also lost in some food production techniques as well. Deficiencies of vitamin B5 are not normally a problem as it is in so many different foods that most people are usually getting a good supply of it. Those that are likely to benefit from supplements of B5 are those that under a lot of stress or who drink too much and it is though to be more effective when taken with vitamins A,C and E, but before you decide to take any supplements it is a good idea to see your doctor so that they recommend the right amount for you.

Vitamin Supplements - Ideal Avenue For Heart Health

Vitamins always ensure a healthy heart. The right choice of food everyday, along with some supplements of vitamins is immensely required to maintain a healthy heart and for the complete fitness of the body, in the years to come. When the diet is not well balanced, the initial and dangerous risk is to the heart, which ultimately takes away the life, at times suddenly.

For maintaining a healthy heart, the primary vitamin that arises in everybody's thought is the vitamin E. it works on the overall and complete heart health. The consumption of exact amount of vitamin E acts against the cholesterol endangering the arteries of the heart. The cholesterol easily gets oxidized and sticks on to the arteries, causing heart attacks as well as other such critical problems in the function of the heart.

Generally, majority of the doctors accept the vital role of vitamin E in the healthy heart and encourage their patients to consume supplements of vitamin E. they also recommend to eat the natural foods containing plenty of vitamin E, like nuts. Vitamin E is enriched in nuts and the taste appeals all ages. Fruits and vegetables with abundant vitamin E too are good avenue to healthy heart.

Earlier researches proved that vitamin E helps in avoiding the creation of blocks in the arteries and thus the heart attacks. Further studies tend to show that it also helps in reducing the blocks and completely eliminate the chance of blockage. Hence, the ones who suffered from heart attacks too are recommended to intake vitamin E in their diet.

The function of vitamin E is boosted up, when it is consumed along with vitamin C. both of them are effective antioxidants, acting against the blockages on the arteries. Apart from functioning against the cholesterol, vitamin C joins in hand with vitamin E in securing the arteries, efficiently.

The blend of vitamin C and vitamin E is a wonderful combination towards a prolonged healthy heart. Unlike taking pills, drugs, injections, for your heart, the intake of vitamin C and vitamin E is very simple and easy. Heart disease is at times hereditary. Hence, if your ancestors had suffered from heart problems, you can protectively take these supplements to avoid such dreadful disease. In take of these supplements makes the person psychologically positive, which again becomes a big means to avoid heart disease.

The dosage of the vitamin supplements is not so specific. It depends on the individuals and their health conditions. Commonly, it is 400 units of both vitamin E and vitamin C is suggested for everybody. Even if you consume heavy dose of vitamin C, it will not harm your health. About 500mg of vitamin C, two times per day is encouraged by the dieticians, for the healthy heart.

You can consult a doctor for the exact prescription of vitamin supplements, for your healthy heart. But make sure to take them up daily along with your meals, as they will be easily absorbed by your digestive system during meals.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Better Than Calcium For Osteoporosis

If your first thought when osteoporosis is mentioned is calcium, the "drink milk" ads have really accomplished their purpose. In fact, it may be hard to convince you that your bones are in danger if you drink milk or take calcium supplements every day. I understand that very well, as I was completely confident that I would never have any broken bones because I took 1500 milligrams of calcium every day. That was before I broke my hip the first time. The truth is that if you take a lot of calcium without the added nutrients that are involved in assimilating the calcium into your bones, you are throwing away your money.

Dr. Nan Fuchs, in her Women's Health newsletter and Robert Rowen, MD, in his Second Opinion health letter, have reported that much research has been done to confirm that most people with bone problems are deficient in magnesium, rather than calcium. It is an under publicized fact that you need an equal amount of magnesium in your diet as calcium. And you are probably already getting more calcium from your food than magnesium. If you have an undersupply of magnesium, your calcium will be excreted instead of being deposited in your bones.

Magnesium has 40 different functions in the body. Without it your heart can't beat. (By the way, most people with heart problems are also deficient in magnesium - so much so that many emergency rooms give heart attack patients magnesium immediately.) But magnesium is cheap, so we don't hear about it because the companies that do produce it in supplemental form, are not able to afford to advertise like the drug producers. But even if they could afford it, our federal laws prevent any company that produces supplements from making any health claims for their products. For that reason, you may have soft bones and not even be aware of it.

Of course, there are other factors involved also, such as vitamin D3 and vitamin C as I have mentioned in previous articles. Without enough Vitamin D3, calcium is not able to be absorbed into the blood stream, so it cannot be delivered to the tissues. But when the blood carries it to the parts of the body where it is needed, such as the bones and muscles and nerves, it just passes through the cell and is not deposited unless you have enough vitamin C in the tissues to make collagen. Without collagen, the calcium just won't stick there.

Our Designer has truly engineered us in an amazing way. All the vital functions of our bodies are interrelated in perfect harmony. All we need to do is discover how it all works.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Cabbage Soup Diet

The average cabbage soup diet is said to help a person lose up to 10 pounds in one week. Does this work? It may work for some and not for others, depending on metabolism and required nourishment for medical conditions.

For more than 30 years now, people throughout the world have been using the cabbage soup diet to lose weight. For people who are committed to losing the weight, the cabbage soup diet has been another rung on the ladder to a smaller waist. For any weight loss program, losing the weight has to be a priority and not a passing fad. In order for any weight loss program to work, you have to work at it and be determined to lose the weight and not expect that it will just fall off while you eat whatever you want and however much you want.

The cabbage soup diet is said to help with healthy weight loss as well as stress relief, skin resilience, boosting the immune system and even helping to break habits of snacking on sugar filled treats. Since cabbage is harder for the stomach to break down than most other foods, the cabbage stays in the digestive tract longer, therefore allowing you to feel fuller longer. Your body then has to break into the fat reserves in the system to continue to have the energy to work at digesting the cabbage. This more or less turns the body into a fat burner upon eating the cabbage.

It is important to note that before beginning any diet, you should consult a physician. This diet is not suitable for those under the age of 18, and should not be adhered to for longer than a one week time span at a time. You can diet for one week and then take at least several months of. Diet for another week and then take several months off. This gives your body time to recuperate from the harshness of diets as well as gives the stomach a chance at digesting foods that are easier to absorb.

The average cabbage soup diet requires exercise as an aid to the weight loss. There should be at least 3 days a week that these exercises should be performed, and it should take no less than a half hour to complete them. The cardiovascular exercises will help to keep the heart healthy, while running or walking will help to get the heart rate up and works the legs. Fitness exercises such as pushups, crunches, lunges and leg lifts should be completed. If possible, use hand weights while walking and completing lunges and leg lifts to add additional weight.

Do not eat 2 hours prior to beginning your exercise routine. If you exercise for 30 minutes, the hunger disappears for about 2 hours. Eating something small like a banana after your exercise during the off weeks of your diet routine will help ease muscle cramps as well as keep hunger at bay. Eat as much cabbage soup as you wish, stick to the program and exercise, and the pounds will slough away.

Does the New Cabbage Soup Diet Work

The regular cabbage soup diet is believed to facilitate fat loss, as much as 10 pounds in one 1 week. So, does the new cabbage soup diet work? Well, it can work for some people and it may not do so for others. In other words, it is not for everyone. Besides, its effectiveness will depend on person's metabolism and the essential sustenance for people with medical conditions.

The question "does the new cabbage soup diet work?" has been asked over and over again for more than thirty years now. Yes, it has been around that long already, in fact, people all over the world have been depending on this cabbage soup diet to get rid of their excess weight.

Does the new cabbage soup diet work? It is known to help with weight reduction, in addition to relieving stress, maintains elasticity of the skin, improving the body's immune system. And because cabbage is more difficult for the stomach to digest compared to other foodstuffs, the cabbage lodges in the digestive tract for an extended time making you feel filled for longer time. In turn, your body has to use the fat reserves in order to continuously have the energy to break down the cabbage. More or less this process automatically turns your body into a fat burning machine just by consuming the soup.

On the other hand, before you try and start with any diet method, you must ask your doctor's advice first. This cabbage soup diet is generally not recommended for people under 18 years of age, and this diet routine is not advisable for use beyond one week. Though, you can take a break for a few months and then try the diet again. This allows time for your body to recover from the rigorousness of diets as well give the tummy the chance at processing foods which are easier to digest.

So, does the new cabbage soup diet work? This diet method asserts that you can eliminate 10 pounds in one week. Even if this is true, many nutrition professionals have revealed that the weight loss is probably brought about by loss of water instead of fat. And one more thing, this diet only provides temporary results; this means you can regain back the extra weight that you eliminated. However, if this will be coupled with other diet regimen, the whole thing will be more efficient and can last.

Does the new cabbage soup diet work where other natural diet plans failed? Absolutely, as this diet method boasts of 30 years of experience, though it is recognized in a few different names. Actually the soup mainly works as a filler to make you feel full. You can eat all the soup that you want and you'll never feel hungry so you eat less.

Does the new cabbage soup diet work? Certainly, it does, provided that you combine this diet with a long-term good diet and workout plan. You need the workout since the cabbage soup diet will not be that effective if use alone.

To personally learn about the answer to the query "does the new cabbage soup diet work?" You can look for more information online. You can definitely find the answer and see for yourself if this diet is indeed effective.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Low-Calorie Diet May Not Work - Know How it Will Be Effective For You

Diets that are low in calories may not absolutely work for some. A person who weighs 247 pounds went on a liquid diet that contains around 900 calories a day. When he lost 55 pounds, he switched to a 1,200 calorie-weight watchers plan. However, after three and a half months, instead of losing weight, he added 36 pounds.

The scenario above was not uncommon. Many people share the same sentiment on their low-calorie diet. According to Dr. David Katz, this holds true for two reasons. First, the person may have adhered to low-calorie diet; however, without realizing it, he consumed extra calories from other food sources such as sauces, dressings and spreads. This is the most common trap for this type of diet. This is also one difference between low-calorie diets and liquid diets. In a liquid diet, there is only one source of a meal; whereas, in low-calorie diet, the options of foods are diverse.

The second possibility is that however small the 1200-calorie diet is, it may already be a great amount for your body to burn. And this is particularly true to people who have slow metabolism and are not living an active lifestyle. Also, genes play a factor in determining your metabolic rate. So that no matter how hard you try to accelerate your metabolism, if your genes do not permit it, then the efforts are futile. However, there are other diet approaches that are remotely effective in either increasing or decreasing the number of calories burned while not doing anything at all.

Time and again, diet experts emphasized the need for getting involved in activities that would allow the body to burn more nutrients for energy. By having faster metabolism, the body is effective in shedding off the excess weight. For people who have serious weight issues or thinking of shaping up, weight training and strength training are the effective approaches.