Archive for August, 2008
August 31st, 2008 at 03:27pm
Under Misc
Today’s video lifestyle is often to blame for the gain of unwanted weight. That’s a fact you really can’t argue with. How to lose the unwanted weight, however, is open for debate.
One of the liver’s main functions is the conversion of energy from stored fat. For this reason, it’s important that your liver is always functioning at its best. Another function of the liver is to help the kidneys do their job if they’re dehydrated. The solution to keeping your liver converting fat to energy is to drink more water! It is crucial to drink water to maintain a healthy body. In summation: drink more water and consume fewer dehydrating beverages.
Just existing requires the expending of calories. No matter what we expend in a twenty-four hour day, we constantly require energy. We all know that. What you may not know is that your resting metabolic rate is dictated by the amount of muscle you have on your body. The fastest way to lose weight is to increase your metabolic rate. If you increase your muscle mass, even by a tiny amount, you increase your resting metabolic rate, which means you will constantly burn more calories throughout the day.
To benefit from increasing your metabolism, you don’t need to lift weights two or three hours a day. I certainly don’t have that kind of time to spare in my day, and you probably don’t either.
To add lean muscle mass, remember to start slowly with simple exercises like squats and push-ups. It doesn’t require more than five of each exercise every day. It won’t cost you a dime to do both of these exercises at home. Does wanting to do more than just push-ups and squats mean you’ll need to buy a set of weights? Quite simply, a pair of rocks will do the trick - even if they only weigh three or four pounds each.
You must keep your entire body constantly rebuilding and repairing muscle to gain more muscle very quickly. Does that mean working everything: back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms, quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and abdominals? It sure does. To accomplish this, do you need to kill yourself every day at the gym? Absolutely not. Remember, squats and push-ups. Every muscle in your body will be exercised by those two movements (if time allows you to focus on individual muscles, so much the better).
Diet - the last factor of weight loss or weight gain - is also very important. Eating a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a calorie-loaded regular soda three times a day means you’ll find it hard to lose weight no matter what exercises you do.
While there is no limit to the number of diets claiming to be the best (all fruit, no meat, low carbs, low fat, etc.), not everyone reacts the same to the same food. Our bodies are not equal when it comes to how each metabolizes food. What is good for me could harm you.
So how do you know what kind of diet works best for you? Count the number of calories you consume daily. It’s important that your calorie count is the correct amount for your current body weight. Next, pay attention to how you feel emotionally and physically thirty minutes after you eat. Do you feel lifeless? Want to flop on the nearest couch for a nap? Or have you instead found your energy redoubled? You’ve probably figured this out already because your body always tells you how it feels after you eat.
Sufficient water consumption, a diet that fills you with life and energy, and light exercise are what you need to lose weight. Be sure you include all three of the above factors, you will successfully lose weight and live healthier while doing so!
By Kym
August 28th, 2008 at 10:09am
Under Health and Fitness
There are countless approaches to look after your body as well as a 7 day detox diet. Watching what you eat, regular exercise and regular visits to your doctor are fine examples. But have you thought about what may be milling about in your system, neutralizing all your conscientious work?
The process of getting rid of these unwanted, unnatural chemicals from your system is known as detoxification. Commonly called “detoxing your body,” plenty of alternative therapy consultants advocate the procedure. Still they caution that detoxing your body should be taken seriously and slowly. The medical community however caution that learning how to detox needs to be taken with a serious grain of salt.
Before you start the detoxification process, consult your health practitioner, as particular types of people may have an adverse reaction, and pregnant and nursing mothers are advised not to detox. Since detoxing your body and its constituents don’t suggest they can fight disease, they are not controlled by the government and there is no scientific evidence of the effectiveness.
However natural detoxing is abuzz and if you’re considering to immerse yourself in the trend, here’s an brief look into this alternative tool.
Detox types, lengths and strengths vary. If done correctly and regularly, a detox can eliminate toxic chemicals, residues and food preservatives from your system. You may have read the book called “The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet” by Ann Louise Gittleman. In it, Gittleman leads readers through an 11 day body detox, thoughout which they eat specific foods for 7 days proceeded by a one-day fast, then proceeded by the re-introduction of particular foods.
During the fast, dieters can drink Gittleman’s delectable, spiced miracle juice intended to ward off hunger pangs, boost metabolism, keep blood sugar steady and discharge toxins out of your system. The drink includes cranberry, lemon and orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
We weren’t exposed to these toxins many years ago. Until the industrial revolution there were far fewer man made chemicals. Everybody is being subjected to toxins in cleansing products such as hand wash and makeup or even your drinking and shower water. The efficiency of a detox to neutralize these toxins can be hard to track.
The toxins collect in our system where they can cause weight gain, increase aging and cause sluggishness, lung complaints and allergies. The main elements in pretty much every detox diet supplements are milk thistle and dandelion root, which help promote the effectiveness of the liver.
Every time you go on a detox diet your liver gets rejuvenated. It makes it really easy on the organs. They have much less work to do to digest all the man made chemicals that are getting in your body.
Most health consultant suggest a raw veggies and fruit detox diet for about 7 days, combined with vitamin supplements and detox drinks. By giving your body basic foods that can be digested easily, your system can concentrate on getting rid of the build up of toxins. It can take 4 or 5 hours for an underperforming body to digest a burger, but most raw fruits and vegetables lakes less than 30 minutes to digest.
The raw fruits and veggies detox diet program is an 11-day detox diet that focuses on “liver-loving” and “colon-loving” foods. There are lots of books and kits available on the matter that will include instructions, diet guidelines and supplement recommendations.
Detox is a good thing but you have to be prepared and committed to doing it. Poisonous compounds in your system accumulate over time, meaning the regular detoxing is very importnat.
The earlier you follow a healthy detox plan, the healthier you’re going to be long term. Some of the side effects of a detox diet can include deprivation headaches (if you drink caffeine drinks of any sort), skin breakouts and exhaustion. You’re releasing the toxins that have been stacked away and they’re now re-entering the blood. You never really know how your body will react.
Your feet are a crucial part of your anatomy, particularly when eliminating toxins from your body. Using foot detox patches on a regular basis, as well as relaxing foot baths and detox patches can make detoxing your body so much easier, and are also a great way of pampering yourself.
By Kym
August 18th, 2008 at 08:06am
Under Health and Fitness
It may be taxing to talk about yoga in this century. It is sad that the beauty of yoga has somehow lost its brilliant luster, tarnished by the fast paced lifestyles of today’s globalization. The whole philosophy of yoga has been reduced to a simpler concept to help people understand the concept better. The contents of yoga are exceptionally intricate and thus westerners may find it hard to understand. It is dangerous to assume a superficial understanding of a complicated subject and speaking about it from the viewpoint of an expert. Yoga is mainly perceived as a physical activity in the western part of the world. It is represented as a physical activity that is directed towards the achievement of inner balance and meditative states of mind.
It originates from the Hindu religion and it is actually a part of the Hindu philosophy. In the faraway land of India, it is recognized as a spiritual practice that includes a series of complex and systematic physical moves. Viewing yoga as a physical activity is definitely a mistake. Yoga with its strange looking symbols may seem mystical to the average Joe, is often enough to perk up a considerable level of interest in the hidden aspects of this ancient practice, but sadly, they are often misunderstood. Operating from the wrong paradigm, yoga became a form of sports in the western world. Nevertheless many have been attracted to yoga as a form of practice to achieve inner peace and balance. The allure of yoga as an effective way to gain inner peace and balance has beckoned many to embrace this activity as well.
Disciples of yoga are often fascinated by the claims made by their yoga instructors. The numerous amount of fatal errors found in the practice of yoga outside of India shows that this art has been widely misunderstood at large. These errors were caused by each racial group’s internal culture and form. Apparently, the west is not prepared to spend too much time in meaningful contemplations of this philosophy, hence the resulting fatal error due to a lack of understanding.
While most meditation techniques are an integral part of the practice, the westerners with their ever busy lifestyles certainly do not posses time for such luxuries. The west seems obsessed with the desire to accumulate massive amounts of wealth and gaining power, which is a priority according the principles of Hinduism. Therefore, it is believed that the westerners will never reach the pinnacles of true wisdom dictated by the parameters of the Hindu religion. To gain maximum benefits from each meditation session, one needs to spare time and exercise tremendous patience in carrying out each essential part of the practice. This is what the westerners lack. The west seems cursed with the obsession to pursue the goal of building better lives in the form of lavish lifestyles and not in the philosophical way.
Here, yoga as been practiced by those who desire to look good and stay in style. If you are interested to take up yoga as a part of your lifestyle, you can get hold of some of those materials that are available, promoting this practice as a form of sports. During the early years of yoga practice in the US, a lot of yoga “gurus” have emerged, claiming to be experts of this discipline. Yet they gradually dwindled into what they actually are, merely fake gurus and yet they still have real support from their disciples. These followers have become the pillars supporting the growth of this false and wrong philosophy.
By Kym
August 17th, 2008 at 01:00pm
Under Health and Fitness
The term acid reflux disease is where the contents of the stomach flow in the wrong direction back up the tube from the stomach to the throat. This is a condition relating to the digestive system and although referred to by other names almost all the symptoms are similar in nature. The problem arises from an upset in our stomach’s digestive fluid (hydrochloric acid). It is the result of hydrochloric acid that is trying to flow back up the esophagus that causes the heartburn.
Normally, when food is swallowed, the lower esophageal sphincter valve will open to allow food to enter the stomach for digestion but with this condition the valve does not close properly. It is when the esophageal sphincter doesn’t close after food has passed through that the stomach fluids try to escape upwards and that is why it is called acid reflux. This condition is also known as GERD which is the shortened version of the correct medical name: gastro esophageal reflux disorder. Although the real cause of acid reflux disorder has not yet been found, it is thought that eating the wrong foods could be to blame; although overeating may also contribute because when you overeat, the stomach can’t keep up with the demand to process all the acids.
Too much strain is placed on the muscles of the stomach when we overeat and the result of this a build up of internal pressure. As this pressure builds up, the lower esophageal valve starts to weaken and can eventually open, allowing food and acid to move up into your esophagus causing that unpleasant burning feeling centered in the chest. By lessening the amount of work the stomach has to do at any one time should reduce the instances of heartburn - this is easiest acid reflux remedy to implement. This can be achieved by consuming smaller meals, the incidences of heartburn should reduce. The importance of your stomach’s health cannot be underestimated for long term good health. The reason for this is the stomach digests the food we eat into the nutrients required for continued good health.
Using an acid reflux remedy or drugs and other acid reducing drugs readily available from drugstores will block the natural processes of your stomach on a temporary basis and help ease your acid reflux symptoms, but if you’re looking to cure acid reflux disease altogether you need to look at your diet in more detail. The problem is these ‘short term’ remedies can create other problems as they interfere with the natural functioning of the digestive system. The long term approach to reduce the stomach problems and acid reflux is to adjust how you consume food and drink. This should be done for a period of a few months to strengthen your stomach’s normal processes. If you can reduce the heartburn occurrences, in time you may well be able to slowly start eating those dishes that have needed to be cut out.
All this comes down to a lifestyle change which ultimately only you can control. The thought of reducing the incidents of heartburn should be sufficient incentive. Determination on your part to reduce the number of episodes of acid reflux is all that is required. Whether you decide to take this and your doctors advice is really up to you.
By Kym
August 7th, 2008 at 10:17pm
Under Health and Fitness
Quitting smoking is one of, if not the best anti aging tonic you can give yourself. For smokers everywhere - if you want to regain your vitality and younger looking skin, giving up smoking is one of the best things you can do.
As we start to live longer, our increased desire to remain active at the same time is quite normal along with peoples needs to want to look young as well. This is achieved by promoting the growth of connective tissue in the skin via the protein collagen which is the most abundant in the skin of all animals. Most anti aging products (collagen included) fall into the category of anti oxidants which are the body’s method of slowing down the aging process.
Having said that, the biggest gains to any anti aging campaign is to stop smoking, and more and more people are learning how to quit smoking every day. The health and well being benefits are tremendous.
Although the benefits of vitamin C (an anti oxidant) are well documented, it is still debated as to what our daily quota should be. Anti aging skin care products that are based on vitamin C however, pose the problem of becoming oxidized themselves as they come into contact with air during their usage.
More stable products are now available that are almost as efficient and actually cost less to manufacture. Although these products are good, they cannot actually compare with vitamin C but fortunately vitamin E and alpha lipoic acid are also anti oxidants as well.
Found in human blood, vitamin E is not only an antioxidant but designed to increase the immune system and can help ward off cancer. Whereas lipoic acid is found in every single human cell and whose function is to provide energy and reverse much of the damage caused to the skin by aging.
Another group of products used to reduce the visible signs of aging are phytochemicals which are compounds extracted from a various plants and used in many age reducing goods. Phytochemicals prevent occurrence of cancer of certain types; these include prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer.
Other vitamins, the B group, are also used in anti aging skin care like vitamins B5, B6 and B12 for example. This just goes to highlight just how complex and far reaching the whole field of aging is and why so much more research is required.
Whilst a great deal has been learned about this subject, it is only the tip of the iceberg and more long term effective methods need to be discovered to reverse or slow down the effects of time. There may be many challenges still to overcome but in time scientists believe they will succeed in producing more effective anti aging products that are less expensive.
However, man made skin care products should be used only as a supplement to the natural ways of skin and body care something which cannot really be replaced. Simple things that can make a difference are physical activities, restful sleep, maintaining good dietary habits and removing stress from your life can all help to slow the signs of aging.
By Kym