Atkins Diet

 Atkins Diet - What You Should Know

 

 

 

 

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One of the most prolific and recognized diets to hit the diet world in the past few decades is The Atkins Diet. Based on a book by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, the Atkins Diet has become a godsend for many and a problem for some. According to Dr. Atkins, when it comes to weight loss we need to be concerned with the carbohydrates we eat, not the fat. While many people have found great success using the Atkins Diet, others have not. The diet just isn't for everyone. Before you start the Atkins diet, or any kind of diet, talk to your doctor to make sure it is a good idea for you.

There will be little calorie counting on the Atkins Diet, but say good-bye to junk foods and processed foods. Moreover, you will be eating few carbohydrates and many foods high in protein. Why all this? Well, the theory behind the low-carb diet is that by reducing your intake of these foods, you will enter a phase in your body called ketosis. During ketosis, your body will burn fat in the body for fuel instead of using the foods in your diet, which will in turn stop insulin production, which will in turn prevent more fat from being stored.

There are four main stages to the Atkins diet:

 

1)  Induction. This is the first 2 weeks, and in this phase many people report losing 15 pounds or more, simply because the carbohydrate intake is cut to 20 grams a day. The only carbs allowed are a limited amount of low-carb vegetables.

 

2) Ongoing weight loss. This stage allows 25 grams of carbs a day.

 

3) Pre-maintenance. In this stage you can try out other foods to see what carbohydrates you can add into your diet.

 

4) Maintenance.  After you’ve reached your weight loss goals, you may eat all good carbs, but the premise behind the diet plan is that you won’t want to eat these foods. Choosing healthy carbs will become a way of life.

Remember, with any diet exercise is very important in order to lose weight. Additionally, healthy lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, are also important. Many people have called into question the safety of the Atkins diet due to its severe methods, and some say that the plan only makes you bounce back to your original weight as soon as you hit the maintenance level. The key is to find something that works for you and your weight loss goals and that is healthy for your body.

 

 

 

Back Pain

5 Tips on How to Get Rid of Back Pain

Submitted by: Sean Goudeloc

Back pain can be very bothersome at times and, if not treated properly, it can worsen over time. As a matter of fact, back pain is one of the most common reasons why people visit their healthcare provider - fortunately, it can be easily cured with healthy, balanced diet and correct posture. Here you will find 5 essential tips on how to get rid of back pain:

1. Address Bad Posture

Bad posture and the lack of back support are two of the main causes of back pain, since poor posture stresses your spine and adds pressure to your back muscles. If you adopt a correct posture, you will not only cure back pain, but you will also prevent it in the long run. Bad posture is not only the main culprit behind back pain, but it can also cause headaches, neck pain and joint problems.

In a nutshell, it is essential to keep every part of your body in perfect alignment with the neighboring parts. When you need to change your posture, make sure you do it smoothly and without any sudden movements, to avoid injuries.

However, it must be mentioned that bad posture does not occur only when you are sitting on your office chair - it can also appear when you brush your teeth and you lean over the sink incorrectly, or when you are cooking and you maintain poor posture in the kitchen. When it comes to curing back pain, maintaining the correct amount of curvature in your back is of utmost importance.

2. Provide Efficient Back Support

As stated above, the lack of back support can also lead to back pain, sooner or later. This is why it is essential buy an ergonomic chair that will provide proper support throughout the day, especially if you have an office job that requires a lot of computer work. The ergonomic chair will not only provide support, but it can also be a lot more comfortable and you will not experience muscle or joint pain anymore.

3. Become More Flexible

This is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects that you need to take into consideration. Generally speaking, back pain occurs when people lack flexibility - by increasing you flexibility, you will automatically put equal pressure on your body, without stressing particular muscles or your joints. Stretches, leg extensions, head turns or arm and joint circles are only some of the exercises that improve flexibility and reduce back pain.

4. Watch Your Diet

Few people know that back pain and diet are closely related. Food is our body's fuel, and we need to provide it with high-quality nutrients in order to function properly, otherwise the muscles and joints are prone to injuries. Foods that are rich in minerals and vitamins (also known as "Power Foods") are absolutely essential for a healthy body, this is why it is recommended to increase your daily intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-wheat breads to prevent back pain.

Reduce the intake of soft drinks, candy bars, cookies and basically any other sweets that will make you feel tired. Sugar is known to be a real energy waster, this is why you must avoid sugary products. Moreover, eliminate foods that are high in fat, and focus on oily fish and olive oil (which provide healthy fats along with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids).

5. Foods For Back Pain

Tissue inflammation is one of the underlying causes of back pain. You can easily treat inflammation with the correct diet, without having to use medication. Increase your intake of whole fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, blueberries, walnuts, fresh juices, fish oil and soy proteins. These fruits are known to reduce pain and inflammation, and they are considered to be the natural back pain cure.

To summarize, it is essential to maintain good posture, to provide your back with proper support and to watch your diet. There are foods that can worsen your back pain, and there are other foods that can relieve it by reducing inflammation. Focus on the above-mentioned hints and you can cure back pain naturally and effortlessly.

About the Author: Are you looking for more information regarding back pain cure? Visit http://www.healmyback.info today!

Source: www.isnare.com
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Aerobics

Aerobics and Your Body: How to Burn the Fat

There are many great things about starting an aerobics program for your body. One of the greatest things about aerobics is that you can use it to burn fat in ways that are easier on your body than dieting. It is very simple to burn fat using aerobics as exercise, because there are many ways that you can train your body to do the work that it is supposed to do in order to really get the most out of the aerobics that you are doing.

While you are building up a sweat and working on your heart rate, all of your muscles are also getting great things out of the aerobics work that you are doing. As you bring new blood and oxygen to all of your body systems, you are going to find that you are giving yourself the best chance to really get rid of all that unwanted fat as you go along. Working hard to burn fat is something that you can finally take control of when you are doing aerobics on a regular basis.

When your body is in constant motion, all of the body systems are working hard to maintain body functions at a normal rate. Because your muscles need to be moving more, your heart is going to have to work harder because the only way to get your muscles to move faster is to supply them with more blood and therefore more oxygen. Because your heart has to work harder, your lungs need to work harder to provide your heart with the oxygen that it needs to keep pumping.

All of these things are going to work in tandem with each other to make a situation in which you are really getting the most out of your entire work out. When all of these systems are working together, you are going to find that you are much stronger than you thought you would be. As your entire body fights to work harder, you are going to find that actually you are burning fat because your body needs energy to keep moving and to stay moving at a certain rate. It will find this energy in the stored pockets of fat that you have in your body. All of these things are going to happen quickly, and you will find that you are going to be much better off as you start to work out using aerobics more often.


You can start your aerobic exercises here, with Denise Austin.

Five Hour Energy Drinks - The Danger!



Did you know that according to the Food and Drug Administration, at least 13 deaths have been linked to 5-Hour Energy over the last four years? With the large amounts of caffeine in each shot, the energy drink tends to cause irregular heart beat, among other health complications.

This isn't the only company that has had deaths connected to their product. This past October the FDA said it had received five reports linking similar deaths to Monster Energy Drink.

5-Hour Energy has been included in about 90 filings with the FDA since 2009, with more than 30 involving serious or life-threatening problems such as heart attacks. Others have experienced convulsions and at least one spontaneous abortion was reported.

If I were you, I'd stay clear of any energy drink. There's just too much evidence mounting up against these companies that their product is killing people. Learn more and decide for yourself.

For more on the subject, visit: Five-hour energy drinks linked to death, convulsions and spontaneous abortion

Omega-3 Fish Oil's Influence on Health

 

Essential Fatty Acids

 

 

Not all oils are made the same. Mention the words oils or fats and many health-conscious people tend to automatically think negative, even going so far as to demonize all fats, regardless of the source. What they need to realize, however, is that there are good fats and bad fats. The body needs certain oils and fats, therefore to avoid the intake of any and all oils and fats would be more detrimental than beneficial to one's health.

The Truth about Fish Oil

Part of any healthy and balanced diet must include essential fatty acids. Deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to ADD, dry skin, allergies lowered immunity, fatigue soft nails, poor wound healing, frequent infections, and a host of other ailments. What is not known by many is that our brain suffers much damage when we are deficient in essential fatty acids.

 

 

Omega-6 vs. Omega-3

There are two families of essential fatty acids: omega-6 EFAS and omega-3 EFAS. Physicians and scientists alike believe that an imbalance in the body of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are responsible for the increase in heart disease, hypertension or high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, premature aging and certain kinds of cancer. In fact, consuming too much omega-6 fatty acid is believed to lead to inflammation, blood clotting and tumor growth. Omega-3 fatty acid, on the other hand, is just the opposite. Among other things, omega-3 fatty acid fights inflammation, helps prevent blood clots, lowers the risk of heart disease, lowers cholesterol, and help alleviate circulatory problems.

 

Omega-6 fatty acids can be found in vegetable oils. Omega-3s can be found in fish and other marine life, in addition to walnuts and flaxseed oils. According to a study done in the early 1970's on Greenland Eskimos, the reason they rarely suffered from heart disease was because of their high-fat diet, which consisted mainly of fish. Additional research has shown that foods containing fish oils have been very useful in treating illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, Raynaud’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

A Healthier Heart

The heart is the life of the body. It circulates the blood that carries the necessary oxygen and nutrients that the body couldn't live without. If your heart isn't healthy, you're not healthy. If your heart is in bad shape, you're going to be in bad shape. Besides proper diet and exercise, what else can help a heart to remain healthy? You guessed it. Omega-3 fish oil.

 

 

From what sources can you get your omega-3s?

 

• Salmon. You can choose between the wild caught and the farm raised kinds of salmon. The wild caught would be the better choice, however, because it contains more usable omega-3s with less pesticides and toxins.
• Bluefish, mackerel, herring, tuna, anchovies, sardines. These fish are also great sources of omega-3 fatty acids and should be consumed 2-3 times per week.
• Oils. Flaxseed, olive, canola, and soybean oils all contain omega-3 fatty acids.

Now I'm not touting omega-3s as a panacea for any ailment as some do, however it does have very useful benefits that, with proper diet and exercise, can go a long way in helping you to live a healthy lifestyle.

Facts About High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup. It seems to be in everything. There even seems to be comercials that tought it as being good for you. It's in just about every processed pastry, juice, and other foods. What exactly is high fructose corn syrup? What does it do to your body? These and other questions will be answered in this article.

What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Regular table sugar is a combination of both fructose and glucose, which are both simple sugars naturally produced by plants. Sucrose is the combination of these two sugars. Corn syrup, on the other hand, is mostly glucose produced from corn starch. This is because corn has no naturally occuring fructose. However, scientists found a way to convert the glucose found in corn into fructose, resulting in a very sweet 90% fructose concoction. The fructose is then mixed with the unsweetened corn syrup (glucose), until a ratio of 45/55 is reached. Fructose having the higher ratio (55). Thus we were introduced to HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).

Whay is HFCS So Widely Used?

1. It is cheaper than refined sugar. The food industry is all about cutting cost and raising profits. HFCS allows them to do this
2. It is more easily dissolved in water than refined sugar. This is why almost every drink you see on the market today has HFCS as one of its top ingredients.
3. It acts as a preservative, extending the shelf life of the product that contains it.

Why Should You Be Concerned?

According to a study done by the Washington Post, high fructose corn syrup contains mercury. Yes, you read that right. Mercury. Here is an excerpt from that article:

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement." -Washington Post Article on  Wednesday, January 28, 2009; 12:00 AM



HFCS does funny things to your body, too. For instance, it interferes with the body's metabolism, making it difficult for the person to not eat it. Also, it slows down the secretion of leptin in the body, making it hard to control cravings. This is why you always want more. Think that the food industry doesn't know this? By interfering with the hormone liptin, your body has trouble determining when it's full. This is why obesity is so closley related to the consumption of HFCS.

Here are more links to find out how high fructose corn syrup effects your body:


 How High Fructose Corn Syrup Damages Your Body

Princeton University - A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find ...

 

10 Side Effects of High-Fructose Corn Syrup | 3FC

 

Consensus? Eliminate high fructose corn syrup from your diet.

 

 

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Read one of these great books to get more informed.

How To Become A Healthy Eater

Becoming A Healthy Eater

Being a healthy eater requires you to become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is. It doesn't mean that all you can eat is grass and soy (as some mistakenly think), but requires that you understand exactly what it is you're putting in your body and the effect it has on you. Additionally, being food smart isn't about learning to calculate grams or fat, nor is it about studying labels and counting calories. We want to eat healthy, not die from boredom. We also want to have fun with our new way of life and enjoy the changes that we implement. It's simple to create a healthy eating menu that you can use as a weekly guide.

So what does it mean to eat healthy? Healthy eating is all about balance and moderation. This includes eating healthy meals at least three times per day with at least two small snacks in between. 

Eating healthy is all about variety. You will  be surprised how many different foods are out there and how many ways they can be prepared. Never limit yourself to one specific food type or food group. Make sure you have a little leeway in your diet.  You don't want to eat too much nor too little of the right or wrong foods. Just because something is good for you doesn't mean you should indulge too much. Ever heard the saying "Too much of anything isn't good for you?" Well, it's true. However, you should always fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough food to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.

What Type of Eater Are You?

Being a healthy eater means being a good problem solver. It also requires discipline, dedication, and a desire to want to live a better lifestyle. Remember, this is a lifestyle, not some fad diet. It requires sound judgment and wise decisions. You should always be aware of what you eat, and know the effect that it will have on your body.

Eating habits say a lot about a person. Someone who is unable to take control of their eating is also likely to get out of control with other aspects of their life as well.  Bad spending habits. Gambling problems. Procrastination. All this and more tend to follow those who have no eating discipline in one way or another. You should always remember that eating healthy is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body and your lifestyle.  If you've thought about making your life better, healthy eating is just the place to start.  You'll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and even your family. 

TIPS

• Eat 4 to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day
• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day
• Eat whole grain and whole wheat products
• Cut the sugar. Especially corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup
• Try various nuts, beans, and legumes

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A Great Health Drink

The Benefits of Pomegranate as a Health Drink

When it comes to health drinks, among the most popular options are those with extracts of pomegranate fruit. This is because today, there are seemingly countless of studies that show how pomegranate fruit can bring about potential benefits to a person's health.

Pomegranate is considered as one of the "earliest fruits" that have been cultivated by people in ancient civilizations. This came along with fruits as a grapes, figs, and olives which were known to be cultivated somewhere between 4000 B. C. E and 3000 B. C. E. What sets pomegranate fruit apart from others is that it became an emblem of fertility, rebirth, and health. 

For the younger civilizations, pomegranate is considered as a "miracle drug for aging" because it is said to cure neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease as well as prevents the development of certain cancers, coronary diseases, and arthritis.

The "Miracles" of Pomegranate

If there were on fruit that is at the heights of its popularity nowadays, it would be the pomegranate. This fruit has continued to be popular because of its deep and purple-colored juice that is believed to be loaded with lots of antioxidants. The antioxidants—most people believe—would greatly them help in maintaining a smooth and wrinkle free skin and keep their blood platelets together to avoid development of certain diseases.

Today, because of its so–called anti-aging properties, pomegranate is being used not only in health drinks but also in other products. The following are some of the benefits that one can get when she or he used pomegranate juice as a health drink:

•  Reduces risks of coronary and cardiovascular diseases. People who use pomegranate juice as health drinks are expected to have lesser chances of having heart attacks and strokes. This is because experts believed that drinking pomegranate juice everyday could help in the improvement and normal blood flow to the heart. Also, because of its high antioxidant content, pomegranate can help keep bad cholesterol from forming that usually result to blot clots in the arteries.

•  Prevents certain cancers. The very high levels of antioxidant called "flavenoids" in pomegranates are believed to be the major reason why it is effective in counteracting various cancer-causing radicals. Today, many experts are recommending pomegranate juice to their patients—especially to those who have breast cancer, skin cancer, and prostate cancer—because the properties in this fruit's juice can help prevent the proliferation of cancer cells.

•  Lessens the risks for terminal illnesses. People who are prone to diseases such as atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, and diabetes are advised to use pomegranate juice as a health drink because the medicinal properties found in this fruit can help diminish the possibility of thickening and hardening of arterial walls as well as the damage in cartilage and joints.

•  Rich in various vitamins and nutrients especially to pregnant women. Pomegranate juice is recommended as a good health drink for people of all ages because it is a good and natural source of vitamins A, C and E.  It is also good for pregnant women because it is a natural source of folic acid vital to the brain development of the fetus inside the womb.

Aside from reducing the possibilities of having premature babies, regular consumption of pomegranate juice can also protect the unborn baby from experiencing brain injuries and other neuro-related damages.

So drink up!