February 11, 2010

What to Eat for Weight Loss and Health

Our environment and diets have an astonishing mixture of chemicals, some of which are toxic to your body even in minor amounts, and many of which are grueling to the body’s natural purifying capability. As well as doing a few body cleanses a year, you can keep a fit and healthy body by adapting your regular everyday diet toward a purifying diet. In addition to furnishing year round body cleansing, a detox diet will help you maintain better health, improved energy and mood, and a healthy weight. Many people have reported permanent weight loss with a cleansing diet.

The easiest way to switch over to a cleansing diet that will help you lose weight and keep it off is to consume more fresh fruits and vegetables and significantly reduce your intake of fatty foods, processed foods and sugary foods. Here are a few rules of thumb for which foods to include in your cleansing diet:
2-5 pieces of fresh fruit every day. Limit bananas and dried fruits. Dried fruits can be soaked overnight.

2 salads a day, at lunch and dinner.

2 servings of chicken (not fried!), fish or tofu for your protein. Lean beef now and then.

A glass of vegetable juice several times a week. The best veggies are cucumber, celery, carrot, beets and parsley. If you don’t have the time or equipment to make your own vegetable juice, purchase it fresh in a healthy quantity, portion it into 2 oz portions and freeze for future consumption.

And, it goes without saying, drink more water. Try to raise your water intake to a gallon a day of fresh, filtered water. Some of this can be in the form of unsweetened herbal tea. No sugared drinks. Sodas do not hydrate, they just add more content to your body.

Comments Off

January 28, 2010

How Does Dietary Fat Figure in with Weight Loss?

The fact is: we all must eat fat in our diet. Fats aid nutrient assimilation, nerve function, cellular health. However, when taken in in high amount, fat is well documented to lead to weight gain, heart disease and a number of types of cancer. Fats are not created equal. Some fats advance our health positively while others raise our danger of heart disease. The key to a reasonable relationship to fat is to replace bad fats with good fats in our diet.

Fat is a source of energy and provides the right function of cells and the nervous system. Fat also helps us maintain healthy skin, and insulates us from the cold. Notwithstanding, we should limit our fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of daily calories. Most of the fat we eat should be unsaturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. You should not include trans fats, which are solid at room temperature.

Dr. David Jubb says in his book Life Food Nutrition that 100% of Americans tested are insufficient in essential fats. Essential fats must be provided by our diet because our body does not make them. Essential fats are all-important for correct hormone balance, which moderates your weight, brain function, the health of your skin and hair, joints, and digestive system health, and more. Where do we get essential fats? Essential fats are found most abundantly in flax and pumpkin seeds and oily fish.

Remember that you need some fat in your diet every day. A nonfat diet not only will help you with weight loss, it will create nutritional imbalances that could seriously compromise your health. Women’s weight loss issues are often associated with factors outside of nutrition.

Comments Off

January 22, 2010

The Fascinating Tale of Fannie May

Fannie May started out small, still it has demonstrated that marvelous service, high quality, and a carefully chosen range are the secret recipe for success. The story began in the Windy City in 1920. And so this celebrated company has grown from a single store into a thriving organization furnishing the country with delicious chocolates.

Fannie May’s talent of blending cocoa, sugar and other premium ingredients in the perfect manner made them such a favorite that they grew to about 48 branches in merely 15 years. During the second world war food shortages, the shops were closed, because they refused to roll back the quality of any chocolate. Luckily, many of the recipes it used back in the early days are still still being manufactured and on sale now. Almost as gorgeous as their gourmet chocolates are the beautiful presentation boxes they come in. Remember to choose a beautiful presentation box or tin if the chocolates are for someone else, simply to give the gift a finishing touch. You could send a small box or tin for anniversaries or to say thank you, or maybe ask for a huge hamper loaded with goodies for a friend, loved one, or work contact. There are a range of great gifts on the website, or you can purchase specific centers and just choose which box you would like. To make life even simpler, Fannie May has many providers across America and worldwide. This makes it simple for you to send these much loved chocolates throughout America and worldwide without ever leaving home. There are a few sensitive chocolates which are not suitable for shipping during very hot weather, however this chocolate producer is happy to have presents delivered throughout the year and still guarantee the standard of the candies when they are delivered.

Even if you have diabetes or have allergies, there’s something suitable. Fannie May’s make chocolates with no added sugar and a lot more goodies besides. If you are preparing for a special occasion like a marriage, individual gift boxes and wedding favors are available as well. Pick up the phone or send them an e-mail with your plans and ideas. It’s easy to see why Fannies May’s delightful chocolates are such a successful business. In fact, with varieties like every sort of chocolate, truffles, and caramel centers, your hardest part will actually be not ordering their entire stock in one fell swoop.

Comments Off

January 6, 2010

Hoodia and the Battle of the Bulge

I have tried everything, and I mean everything to lose weight. I have been on the grapefruit diet, the low carb diet, the low fat diet and the starvation diet. While each of these allowed me to lose a few pounds within a couple of weeks, all were almost impossible for me to stay on. I have tried every weight loss pill known to man. Ephedra made my heart race while caffeine pills made me nervous all the time. When the cure is worse than the disease, something isn’t right. I had just about given up when I discovered hoodia.

Hoodia is a plant that grows in Africa, and what it does for me is something I can easily describe. It makes me feel full, period. Not only do I not feel like eating, I don’t feel like I’ve deprived myself of anything. I do eat, but since I am now no longer craving food just for the sake of filling my stomach or for comfort, I find it much easier to make healthy choices. After a few weeks on hoodia, my body was looking better than it had since high school (and that was oh so many years ago, unfortunately). I sat down and figured out my average daily caloric intake, which was about 800 calories below where I had been. Not only that, I am now eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats because I no longer feel the urgency to stop by the store on the way home from work and pick up something fattening. It’s as though I used to live in order to eat, and now I choose to eat in order to live.

I have been on hoodia for just over three months now, and I’ve lost 38 pounds. I’m 5 feet, 10 inches tall and now weigh 173. Because I continue to stay active, I can now see the musculature that was recently hidden by years of accumulated fat. I am certain that my change in diet which has been facilitated by taking hoodia has also helped me in my weight training. It’s hard to tone up when you eat junk food all the time, which pretty much describes my old habits.

My co-workers have noticed a big difference, and now two of them are also taking hoodia. While they haven’t been on it as long as I have, they are already looking better and I’ve received a thank you from both for recommending it.

If you are like I used to be, looking in the mirror and being unsatisfied with yourself, I encourage you to try hoodia. It’s easy to find and I’ve had great success with it. I’ve had to buy new clothes, which was a pleasure as I now look on the outside as I’ve always felt on the inside. My weight used to fluctuate from fat to even more fat. I was the only guy I knew who actually owned “fat pants”, which I might need to use if I had been eating a lot over a few days. For me, that life is over and now I look forward to keeping myself fit. You wouldn’t believe how losing weight has positively affected other areas of my life.

I fully recommend hoodia to anyone with a weight problem. Of course, exercising should also be a part of anyone’s plan for a healthy lifestyle. If you are trying to lose weight, I wish you luck. I’ve been in your shoes for the majority of my life and I know how hard it is. Above all, don’t give up. Keep trying and find what works for you. Remember, you can succeed at looking your best.

To learn more about hoodia visit our site. There you find more info and order.

Comments Off

November 19, 2009

Basically, You Need to Purchase Nutritional Supplements from Responsible Makers

According to a previous article there are new regulations governing the manufacturing business of nutritional supplements in the United states. These new rules look to be ingratiating to manufacturers. Unfortunately, the identical is not true with regard to European producers. In Europe, the nutritional supplement industry is fearful of governing bodies overreaching and becoming a roadblock to allowing citizenry to enjoy beneficial products.

While American manufacturers construe the good manufacturing practice rules and the increased purpose of the FDA as something to be embraced to get rid of the less than desirable manufactures of fishy nutritional supplements, Europeans fear the over rules could lead to the European Food Safety Authority spurning almost 4,ooo supplements due to requirements of scientific data.

The difficulty here, of course, is that numerous nutritional supplement producers simply find creative paths to elude the ordinances. Honestly, this author trusts that the FDA has lately ventured into arenas that are not deserving of regulations, but that is an argument for another day. All The Same, the thought of holding manufactures to standards is good. Manufacturers should clearly state what is in their products so consumers make sound choices.

In 2009, for example, advisories were supplied concerning muscle building supplements containing steroids and steroid-like constituents. These products are commonly referred to as pro-steroids and are very popular amongst even the most casual of bodybuilding aficionados. In general, regulators determined these bodybuilding supplements contained unapproved or unlawful drugs.

Basically, you need to purchase nutritional supplements from responsible makers and take time to understand the ingredients. Rules aid, but you, the individual must do your part to become an educated consumer.

Comments Off

June 24, 2009

How Time-Pressed People Can Improve Their Health with a Samson Green Power Kempo and Delicious Recipes

With endless amounts of things to do nowadays it’s nearly impossible to take a break, make yourself a nutritious meal and still get everything on your To-Do list done. It’s not surprising that people find it difficult to get their recommended daily intake of fruits, veggies and vitamins. The problem is, most prepared food for purchase these days is made using low quality, pre-packed ingredients that are full of nasty preservatives. All of the benefitial parts of the food you eat are lost when they are processed this way! But finding the time to cook an entire meal is next to impossible these days.

There’s no doubt, if you’re trying to improve your health, the best thing you can do is buy the ingredients and make it yourself. The less your food is processed, the better it will be for you. Do your best to stay away from preservatives. Let me let you in on a little secret: not all home cooked meals take a long time to make! I make tons of tasty meals at home that don’t take any longer than 30 minutes to make! (And NO, I am not talking about Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meal Recipes- those are full of prepackaged cans of sauce and the like! Remember, we want to avoid preservatives!) I am a much bigger fan of the simple yet healthy recipes from the Cooking Cousins. If you’d like to impress someone with your cooking skills don’t have the energy to spend all day cooking, try their gnocci recipe.

Simply Can’t Fit Cooking Into Your Schedule? Get Healthy with a Samson Twin-Gear Juicer

If you just can’t fit cooking into your busy schedule, you can use juicing as an easy way to get your daily intake of fruits and veggies. Like everything else, packaged juice (especially from concentrate) is simply less benefitial than homemade juice. To avoid juice-bar line ups and high prices, purchase a high-quality juice extractor. A good one will juice without problems for at least 10 years! The Samson Juicer makes delicious, high quality juice and only require 2 minutes for clean-up, so they’re perfect for people who are busy. www.PurelyJuicers.com is a good place to find excellent prices on a Samson Green Power Kempo with free shipping.

Comments Off

May 21, 2009

Understanding Vegetarianism

Like the Sun, Moon, and Earth, there are three kinds of vegetarians in existence: ovo-lacto, a vegetarian that eats vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds and nuts, as well as eggs and dairy products. Lacto, a vegetarian that eats everything the “ovo-lacto” does, except eggs. Finally, we have vegans, a vegetarian that eats what the rest of the others eat, except for any kind of animal products, period. Each group of vegetarian is unique, but branches from the same tree of life.

Why would anyone want to be a vegetarian? Well there are many reasons as there are stars in the heavens. Some reasons are for health purposes, religious/spiritual, environmental, and the love and protection of animals. Other reasons may be for very personal ones. No matter the reason, we all meet at the same intersection on the road of health.

What Can Vegetarianism Do For Me?

Science has proven time and again that vegetarians are among the healthiest people on the planet. They live longer and are less prone to chronic diseases. Eating a low fat vegetarian diet can also help in losing excess weight. Obesity can lead to adult onset diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer. Eating a vegetarian type diet can reverse heart disease and other health complaints such as arthritis. In addition, the vegetarian diet can lower blood pressure. Because potassium is plentiful in fruits and vegetables, the vegetarian diet lowers blood pressure by helping the kidneys abolish sodium and modify blood pressure-regulating enzymes.

A vegetarian diet decreases the thickness of blood. As a result, it flows more easily through blood vessels. This in turn means the heart works less to push the blood. Further more, a vegetarian diet benefits you by using millions of kidney cells to filter and purify your blood. A meat diet over works the kidneys and slowly kills off the kidney cells called nephrons. Animal protein, when broken down in the body, produces waste products that strain the filtering power of the kidneys. If you’ve lost any kind of kidney function, due to infection, diabetes or even high blood pressure, your increased chances of nephrons damaging your kidneys are high. Plant based proteins on the other hand, do not damage or harm your kidneys in anyway.

Nutritional Vegetarians

As a new vegetarian, no doubt you’ll be wondering if you’ll be getting the right nutrition and certainly enough of it. Yes and yes, there’s no reason why you would be under nourished being a vegetarian. Fruits and vegetables provide crucial nutrients such as vitamins C and E, beta carotene and lycopene. Such nutrients are referred to as antioxidants and their function is to help fight diseases by neutralizing substances called free radicals. Antioxidants contain disease fighting properties that protect cells from damage.

Religious & Spiritual Paths

Many religions practice some form of vegetarianism. In the East, you have the Hindus and Buddhists. In the West, you have Christians like the Seventh Day Adventist. Many Eastern and Western Mystics also follow the vegetarian path. Through meditation and other spiritual practices, they have gained a greater awareness of how they should be eating and treating their bodies. Even Jewish Mystics follow the vegetarian lifestyle.

For The Love of Planet & Animals

Among other reasons for becoming a vegetarian are environmental and animal rights issues. Raising animals for food causes topsoil loss, erosion and isn’t a light matter. This sort of farming (livestock agriculture) is rapidly deteriorating the world’s crop lands. It takes 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat, compared to 390 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef. Livestock produce massive amounts of excrement, which has been shown to pollute soil, water, and air. Animals such as chickens, pigs and cows are forced to live in In-Humane conditions which cultivate disease and emotional, physical, and mental pain, as well as discomfort. The methods used to kill these creatures for the sake of feeding the masses are usually pretty violent and heart breaking. Scientist has proven that animals have feelings too and they surely feel pain.

Eat Right — Live Well

That’s right, many people just want to eat healthy and feel better in there lives. It truly feels good to be a vegetarian in everyway. You can’t go wrong with better health, helping the planet and its creatures. You also share a common bond with some of the world’s most famous people: Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Gandhi, and Charles Darwin. There are plenty of other famous people such as actors and actresses of our time, that are vegetarians and proud of it.

A New Beginning

Vegetarianism isn’t just something that you do or way of eating, but also a state of being that illuminates your mind, spirit, emotion and body in a way of existing, that allows you to experience life in a very rewarding and positive way. To be a vegetarian, is to see the hidden harmony in a world of disguised chaos. I can assure you, we’re unique individuals.

Gabriel Foster is the editor for http://www.gabrielfoster.com, the online magazine for both vegetarians and natural health enthusiasts.

Comments Off

April 3, 2009

Herbal Detox - Like Getting a New, Healthy Body? The Benefits of Natural Detoxification

More and more people are turning to natural and herbal detox products to help to thoroughly cleanse their vital organs and regain optimum health, vitality and energy.

So, what parts of the body can you detoxify with herbal detox products?

Well, to begin with - the liver, the colon and the lungs are some of the primary organs that should be targeted in your detox and thorough body cleansing routine. The colon is probably the most commonly detoxed part of the body. The colon can often get bogged down by unhealthy traces of old food, parasites and a thick plaque-like substance that makes for serious discomfort and health issues such as irritable
bowel syndrome, lazy bowels, and even colon or rectal cancer. An herbal colon detox targets these impurities to help cure chronic indigestion, diarrhea and/or constipation, poor immune capabilities, chronic fatigue syndrome and weight gain.

The second Part of the Body that Benefits from Herbal Detox Immensely - The Liver

The liver is one of the most important organs of the human body, since it essentially acts as the body’s “filter” for impurities and toxins. The liver basically detoxifies our blood by filtering impurities and harmful and destructive substances such as food additives, preservatives and pesticides that are ingested on a daily basis. A poorly functioning liver can lead to several health issues such as poor digestion, fatigue, and even depression due to toxic residue buildup and the resulting hormonal imbalance. A good herbal liver detox product will deeply cleanse the liver of excess impurities and allow it to again function at peak “like new” performance.

Herbal Lung and Anti Parasite Detox

The next detox product we’ll go over, but certainly not the final detox product available to you, is the lung cleansing and detoxification herbal formula. You may wonder how a product can “cleanse” your lungs. I was curious too. Here’s what I found: Herbal lung detoxes are designed to promote a healthy
respiratory system by cleansing and detoxifying the lungs and bronchial passages. Cleansing the respiratory system helps to increase lung capacity and helps the lungs and bronchial airways to expel toxins such as smoke and other air pollution more quickly and efficiently.

A good anti-parasite herbal detox will gently cleanse harmful and destructive intestinal parasites from the digestive tract and colon. Intestinal parasites will adversely affect your gastrointestinal system, and most people are infected with these parasites - they just don’t know it. Parasite cleansers helps rid your body of parasites to help improve your digestion and waste elimination process. They also help to promote good kidney and bladder health as it will help to cleanse and eliminate parasites in these major organs as well.

So, there you have it, four of the best parts of the body to herbally detox. You may not have even known these types of products were available. But they are - and they can arm you with the tools you need to live as healthfully as possible, and even help to extend the life and function of your most vital organs. Not only that, they will help to dramatically boost and enhance your quality of life by allowing you to breathe easier, feel lighter and more regular, and to be healthy and happy.

Danna Schneider is the founder of Effective Herbal Medicine, an herbal and natural medicine guide to the best herbal health and body-cleansing products on the market. Visit Herbal Detox for product information on these life changing detox products.

Comments Off

March 10, 2009

Milk Thistle - For a Healthy Liver

We live in a toxic world, no one can dispute that. But it’s our liver that takes a great majority of the burden. And the stresses to the liver are caused by more than just the chemical pollutants in the air. There are those in our food, in the pharmaceutical drugs that we take and even second hand smoke.

But the liver has more to do than just filter poisons out of our body. In order for us to remain healthy our liver also performs (but is not limited to) the following functions:

Blood detoxification and purification

Metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates

Bile production and excretion

Enzyme activation

Excretion of bilirubin, cholesterol, hormones, and drugs

Care of the liver is key to TOTAL BODY HEALTH!

One way that we can assist the liver and our health is by taking Milk Thistle, also known by its botanical name, silybum marianum, or by its 3 main active compounds collectively known as silymarin.

Milk Thistle is an herb with an ability to defend and rebuild the liver. It is considered by many to be the best product for liver detoxification, protection and regeneration. Its active compounds silymarin is ten times more potent as an antioxidant, than Vitamin E. This makes this powerful antioxidant helpful in preventing free radical damage throughout the body, but especially in the liver, stomach, and intestines.

This cleansing and fortifying herb assists the liver in in part, by preventing the reduction of glutathione. In fact studies show that Milk Thistle actually increases glutathione levels significantly and it is the glutathione, an amino-acid like compound that is critical to neutralizing toxins.

There are now 137 scientific studies on pubmed, heralding the benefits of Milk Thistle. For additional information on this beneficial herb, you may want to go to pubmed and check it out yourself.

When purchasing Milk Thistle, it is important that you choose a standardized product which contains a minimum of 70% to 80% silymarin in each dose. This would ensure that a significant amount would reach the bloodstream and eventually reach the liver, giving you the full therapeutic benefits.

So if you are feeling sluggish, or suspect your liver needs a bit of help, you might take a look at an amazing herb called Milk Thistle!

Milk Thistle, a welcomed addition to TRUE HEALTHY LIVING!

Due to personal health issues we have been researching health & fitness for the last five years. The information we have obtained has helped us and our family members get off pharmaceutical drugs and regain a level of health we had never known. Please visit us at http://www.truehealthyliving.blogspot.com

Comments Off

January 16, 2009

Why Cholesterol-Reducing Diets Sometimes Fail

If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, your doctor has probably recommended that you make dietary changes, such as reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol you eat. The problem is that this approach doesn’t seem to work for everyone. For some people, cholesterol levels remain high despite their best efforts on a cholesterol-lowering regime. When diet alone doesn’t work, cholesterol-lowering drugs are usually the next step.

But there may be another solution. Researchers at Penn State University have discovered that people with systemic inflammation are less likely to be successful on a cholesterol-lowering diet.

Systemic inflammation is a low-grade kind of inflammation that can exist without causing any symptoms. However, elevated levels of inflammatory chemicals in your blood can increase your risk of heart disease as well as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, and other conditions.

To measure systemic inflammation, doctors often measure the amount of c-reactive protein, or CRP, in the blood. The Penn State investigators found that people with high CRP levels were less likely to succeed in lowering their cholesterol levels by following a low-fat diet. For these people, taking measures to reduce inflammation in combination with a cholesterol-lowering diet may be more effective–and allow them to avoid drug therapy.

Certain foods and nutrients help reduce inflammation in the body, while others tend to promote it. If inflammation is a concern:

  • Choose lean cuts of mean and low fat dairy products to reduce your intake of saturated fats.

  • Avoid fried foods and foods made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils to minimize your intake of trans fats.

  • Use olive oil and canola oil as your main sources of dietary fats.

  • Limit your intake of sugary foods, such as soda, fruit juices, baked goods, and sweets.

  • Eat more fresh vegetables.

  • Add fish oil supplements (1,000 to 3,000 mg per day) to your diet.

  • Eat more garlic, ginger, hot chili peppers, and curry–all of which are naturally anti-inflammatory.

    To find out more about how to prevent disease and slow the aging process with anti-inflammatory foods, see The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, by Monica Reinagel. The book rates over 1500 foods for their inflammatory potential, and includes dozens of anti-inflammatory recipes and mealplans.

  • Comments Off
    « Previous entries