Friday, September 15, 2006

Health Tips and Trends - Let's Get With It

By Ruth Bird

Cut back on cola. Drinking even just one cola per day can increase your chances of osteoporosis. The phosphoric acid in the cola sucks out the calcium from the body. And, it doesn’t matter how much milk you drink. Substitute cola with water, or juices. For a healthy diet try some of the great natural fruit flavored waters available today. And for a healthy weight loss, nothing beats good old refreshing water.

The gap between sexes is getting smaller. Women’s health and men’s health: Women have outlived men in the western world for years. Woman tended to die less from preventable diseases than men. However, the rise in female smokers and the decrease in exercise are closing the gap. Women beware.

Worried about iron deficiency? Ask your doctor to test your iron. Then, if you are a woman between the ages of 19 and 49, eating red meat, green vegetables *leafy, can help you get the recommended intake of 18 milligrams of iron. Talk to your doctor about this. This is a very important women’s health issue.

Thinking of changing to a vegetarian diet? Here are six benefits. 1 – A vegetarian diet is great for the heart and has proven to lower the risk of coronary disease. 2 – This can lower your cholesterol levels by up to 35%. 3 – A vegetarian diet can also lower your blood pressure. 35% of vegetarians improve in their hypertension readings. 4 – Your colon will love this diet. You tremendously decrease your risk of colon cancer. 5 - If you plan your meals properly, even study the glycemic diet, your diabetes will be much easier to control. 6 – There is a reduced risk of gallstones.

New fortified foods help you to meet your daily requirements easier.

Tips for diets: -Choose a wide variety of foods, try not to restrict yourself. -Supplement with Omega 3. By now I am sure you have heard that Omega 3 is considered this centuries medical miracle. -Research what natural herbal dietary supplement may be good for you. -And, make sure you include calcium rich foods, especially for women’s health concerns.

Oral Cancer – Lower the likelihood of developing this disease. -don’t smoke, or chew tobacco. -don’t drink too much alcohol. -Always practice good oral hygiene and visit your dentist regularily. -Use a lip balm with SPF 15.

Take stock of where you are. If you have a health goal established, in order to get there you need to know where you are today. So, take stock of yourself.

Blood Pressure – How low should your blood pressure go? Normal blood pressure should be 120/80. Apparently researches are now looking at whether this is really low enough. Tests are now showing that even lower blood pressure than the norm will increase your heart health and lower your risk for heart disease. Getting to your healthy weight and getting lots of exercise will help to naturally lower your blood pressure.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is designed for educational purposes only and should not be used in any other manner. This information is not intended to substitute for informed medical advice.

Ruth is actively involved in internet marketing and she finds it very exciting. Her passions are people health and pet health. She is a wife, a stepmom a dog owner and a business person. She is married for almost 30 years to Chris who has been, and still is, battling the monster MS. Two of her dogs are Certified Therapy Dogs. She is currently working from her home. Her Blog http://www.mimfreedom.com/blog Her Articles http://www.mimfreedom.com/2006 Her Pet Blog http://www.happypetstop.com/blog

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Fitness, Exercise, Walk

By Jonathon Hardcastle

Walking is one of the best methods of exercise you can do. It requires no special equipment and has muscular and cardiovascular benefits. Walking on a regular basis should be part of every person's fitness routine. Best of all, walking can be fit in to a busy day very easily.

A common tip on fitting walking into your day is to park your car at the back of the parking lot when you shop or go to work. To take that idea one step farther, why not consider parking in an adjacent parking lot or walking from your home to the store or too your office? If you take public transportation or someone drops you off, consider getting off one stop early or having your companion drop you off several blocks away from your destination.

Another common suggestion is to take the stairs whenever possible. But some people have access to all the functions they require on one floor and don't find the need to use the stairs. If this is the case, consider regularly using a washroom on a different floor or using a copier that's across the building from your desk.

If you frequently go out to lunch, suggest to your colleagues that you find a good restaurant within walking distance. If time is an issue, speak with your supervisor about lengthening your lunch break in favor of working a few extra minutes at the end of the day.

Although many people think walking the dog is a good way to get in extra steps, the stop and go nature of walking your dog doesn't really provide many health benefits. However, many dogs appreciate a brisk walk once they have relieved themselves. Allow extra time for a few laps around the block at a brisk pace once Fido has completed his business.

Babies, also, enjoy being taken for walks. But unless your child is old enough to maintain a steady pace, consider pushing him in a stroller while you walk. An added benefit of this is that you will burn extra calories the stroller. You will also set a great example for your child that exercise is an important part of the day. Since you should be able to carry on a conversation while walking (if you can't, you're going too fast) make taking a walk after dinner a family tradition. You may be surprised what topics of discussion come up.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Fitness, Alternative Health, and Science

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Saturday, September 09, 2006

Why Should I Eat Tomatoes

By Jonathon Hardcastle

Tomatoes are made out of water and vital biological substances. The tomato is a plant belonging to the Solanaceae or nightshade family, native to Central and South America, from Mexico to Peru. Because tomatoes are low in calories, they are considered an excellent and nutritional type of food for people that wish to follow a weight-loss plan. Having high vitamin C levels that help the body increase naturally its immune system, tomatoes have evolved to become one of the most loved vegetables used in meal preparation worldwide.

In fact, the daily consumption of two tomatoes provides the human organism with 2/3 of the needed vitamin C. Moreover, since tomatoes have in abundance folic acid, which is considered necessary by experts in the reconstruction and recovery of human body cells, they are one of the healthier snacks a patient could eat. Specifically, those that receive any kind of medication treatment, drink a lot of alcohol, or eat a lot of meat, and also pregnant women or the elderly, need to consume folic acid and thus it is considered essential to eat a lot of tomatoes.

This "miracle plant" contains also vitamin E, which is helps fertility and assists in maintaining a balanced sex life. In addition, it is a great recourse of different vitamins from the vitamin B group, which help the human metabolism function smoothly and develops a strong neural system. It also contains selenium, which belongs to the chemical substances that prevent certain types of cancer, while it plays a very important role for the human immune system. The amount of potassium found in tomatoes protects the human heart and the magnesium it contains helps the organism overcome the symptoms of stress and muscular cramps. Tomatoes are also an excellent source of iron, copper and manganese.

Recent studies have concluded that the regular and adequate tomato consumption can actually reduce the risk of developing cancer by 40 percent. This plant's fruit mainly protects the human organism against prostate, lung and stomach type of cancers. In an study conducted in the United States, which included a sample of 14,000 Americans and over 3,000 Norwegians, scientists have discovered that smokers who eat tomatoes or carrots frequently (more than fourteen times a month) had lower chances of developing lung cancer in comparison to the people that did not select to eat these kind of vegetables.

Moreover, nutrition experts support that people should eat both raw and cooked tomatoes. Some ingredients found in the tomatoes become available only through heat and by adding olive oil. Thus, tomato-based sauces are an excellent resource of additional nutritional benefits. Thus, add tomatoes to your daily diet and increase the balance in your life while enjoying a tasteful and full of aroma vegetable.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Food, Nutrition, and Cooking

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Saturday, September 02, 2006

Losing Weight the Natural and Most Effective Way

By Dave Poon

Like many people around the world, you may have a problem with having too much weight. But did you know that when you attempt to lose weight in a healthy manner – in short, via educating yourself instead of trying some fad diet - you are actually trying to lessen the amount of body fat you have?

To lose weight fast and for good, you must boost your metabolism. This is considered the quickest way to lose weight, as is evidenced by the numerous bodybuilders who possess very lean bodies.

The problem with trying out a fad diet is that these do not hasten the metabolism. Rather, they force your metabolism to slow down which in turn stops you from losing weight. To push himself to lose more weight, a dieter may cut down some more on food consumption but this is fruitless.

Why? The net loss of protein further slows down your metabolism and your body will attempt to compensate for the lower calorie intake. Even trying to exercise at this point will not solve the problem and may even worsen it. Some people may even re-gain the weight they lost as their metabolism slows down.

The reason for this weight gain is the fact that the more protein you lose from muscle then more fluid is lost. The weight you actually lost during the first few weeks will be mostly water loss. Thus your body attempts to compensate for the loss of fluid by slowing down the metabolism.

The best and permanent way to lose weight is to boost your metabolism beyond the normal range.

Boosting your metabolism would make you lose weight at a slower, more gentle pace of one to two pounds every week while gaining water. It allows the body to hang on to its protein stores thus minimizing water loss.

In addition, should you lower your calorie intake to too low a level, you can lose valuable protein – even when exercising. This is because exercise requires the intake of extra carbohydrates for fuel. Without carbohydrates, the body has to rely on protein stores to change into carbohydrates.

An exerciser who is not in good shape will need more carbohydrates since he has an untrained cardiovascular system. This untrained cardiovascular system cannot provide the necessary oxygen to allow cells to convert fat into energy needed during exercise.

Doing exercise even if you are unfit or overweight can boost your metabolism. However, it is necessary for such individuals to do the right exercise for their particular body type, without reducing calorie intake by too much or before it is required.

You must boost your metabolism first prior to reducing your calorie intake. This allows the body to prepare a major fat-burning energy metabolism that doesn’t involve so much protein metabolism.

By boosting your metabolism, you don’t need to exercise so much as often, which gives you more time to do other things. It is not necessary to put in as much effort into exercise then. It is less likely for you to regain the weight afterwards. With a fast metabolism, your diet need not be inflexible – allowing you to enjoy certain foods as well.

You don’t need to work at preparing low- or non-fat food for yourself so much, nor do you need to buy costly low-fat varieties of food. The last, but surely the best benefit, is that you have a higher percentage of fat loss compared to fluid loss.

Dave Poon is an accomplished writer who specializes in the latest in Dieting. For more information regarding Natural Weight Loss please drop by at http://www.loseweightcontrol.com/

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