Eat Healthy for Fitter Abs
The first step towards great abs is great abdominal health. In order to achieve the look you want, pay attention to what you are eating. Support the functions of your body by the foods you eat.
One of the many causes of tummy bloat is improper digestion. Many people are so busy that they do not allow time to pay attention to their diet. This means lots of grab-and-go meals that provide little or no dietary support. Not only are these foods generally high calorie and low in nutrition, they contain little fiber. It is hard for the body to digest this stuff, let alone get rid of it.
Eat plenty of fiber. Fiber comes from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A good rule of thumb to follow is the less processing and packaging, the better. Dark green vegetables and the skins of fruits such as plums, apples and pears provide a good source of fiber. Avoid white and bleached flour baked goods and choose whole grains instead. Whole grain oats, barley, and wheat also support healthy digestion. A sufficient amount of fiber in your diet helps your body cleanse the bowels and maintain a healthy digestive track.
Reduce, but don’t eliminate, carbohydrates. Don’t cut all carbohydrates out of your diet, but reduce your intake of simply carbohydrates like cookies, candy, and sweet drinks. Be mindful of eating complex carbohydrates and whole grains to balance your digestion and metabolism.
Lessen your fatty foods intake. Not all fat is created equal, but too much of any fat is bad. Saturated fats and partially hydrogenated oils are particularly nasty and create the highest impact. Having some natural oils and fat in your diet is healthy, but make sure you know the source. Read labels!
Another enemy of flatter abs is water retention. This often comes as a result of high sodium intake. Lessen sodium intake by paying attention to the salt you are eating. Sodium doesn’t just come from the salt shaker, though. Many prepackaged foods and especially fast food contains high levels of sodium and preservatives. When the body has to process the extra sodium, this causes water retention and bloating.
Also make sure you drink lots of water. Staying fully hydrated aids the digestive process. This ensures that the body makes a quick job of absorbing what it can use and expelling what it does not. Drinking enough water also helps relieve the bloating from excess sodium intake by flushing sodium from the body.
On the issue of liquid intake, quit drinking soda. The calorie free kind won’t help you lose weight either. The sugar in a can of regular soda delivers a calorie wallop and can cause weight gain. However, studies have shown that drinking a can of diet soda a day can increase the risk of being overweight by 41%. This won’t do any wonders for your midsection.
If you want firm, flat abs, or fitness in any muscle area, you must eat to support muscle development. Without muscle tone, your belly is going to sag and bubble. Amino acids found in protein are essential for building and maintaining muscle health. Health officials recommend women consume 46 grams of protein a day and men 56. Protein in the diet comes from meats, eggs, grains, beans, and dairy products. Lean meats and vegetable proteins are the healthiest choices.
Remember though, eating the right foods only goes so far. Work out your abdominal muscles and get some aerobic activity. A sedentary lifestyle makes it extremely difficult to get the shape you want, no matter what you eat.
7 Tips to Know if You Have a Healthy and Fit Body!
Can a person be both fit and fat? With a national obesity rate of nearly 30 percent, this is a question that needs to be answered. People do not seem to be actively looking for ways to be thin, and just because a person is thin does not mean they are fit either. So who, really, has a healthy and fit body and how can we get there from where we are?
First of all, most people think you have to hit the gym in order to be the healthiest you can be, and this is just not true. Although exercise does nothing but enhance your health, fitness is not the only answer. It is not always about how you look. It is not always about how you eat. Just like everything else, having a healthy and fit body has many components.
Here are 7 Tips to know, once and for all, if you have a healthy and fit body!
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #1: Proper NutritionProviding your body with the right food and liquid is the most important component to your health. If you struggling with weight loss and the inability to get yourself fit, start with a change in your diet. Eating right does not mean eating less. A soy-based meal replacement once a day works for me, along with a few targeted supplements you can not find in food.
Even people who exercise all the time can not be totally fit if they grab a bag of potato chips over an apple. No matter what you look like on the outside, your inside is what matters the most. If your body is not getting right nutrition, you can not expect it to look and feel good. You are what you eat. Never forget that.
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #2: Muscle MassOur bodies require a certain percentage of muscle to stay healthy and meet the tasks of daily living. This varies per individual, but after the age of 30, our bodies lose muscle mass each year. The key to restoring this is resistance exercise to keep muscle mass. To age gracefully by being fit, keep your muscle mass percentage high.
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #3: Body Fat This your total body weight that is composed of fat. 10 percent to 14 percent is considered good for men, and 14 percent to 18 percent is considered good for women. Being too far below it and above it both have health risks. Unless you’re a weight-dependent athlete or a fitness model, you should strive to fall into your category.
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #4: Aerobic EnduranceI bet you do not think about how well your body transports oxygen, right? From shoveling snow to running a marathon, aerobic activity is a good indicator of good aerobic fitness. Your cardiovascular goal for fitness is simple. Get your heart rate up and hold it, then bring it down without becoming short of breath.
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #5: StrengthHow much force can your muscles generate? Your body needs to be able to move stuff, and you, around. Mass protects your body, strength moves it and keeps it from falling over. Strength training requires short bouts of high-intensity outputs, much different from aerobic activity. Strength training slows the aging process, so the stronger you are, the slower you age.
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #6: BalanceLife is no fun if you’re always toppling over. Your ability to maintain control of your center of gravity is important for obvious reasons. To stay in balance your body uses smaller muscles to help keep your joints tracking properly. A person with good balance has less chance of incurring an injury. The next time you see an exercise ball, use it!
Healthy and Fit Body Tips #7: FlexibilityYour ability to move your body freely through a full range of motion does not require an advanced class of yoga. Simply start stretching your muscles more because they contract during exercise and the daily rigors of living. Keeping your muscles supple gives you a buffer against being injured and is an indicator of overall fitness. It will also help you age with less complications.
As you can easily tell, there are many components that are of equal importance in order to have a healthy and fit body. It is not just the way a person looks on the outside but rather a combination of many factors. You have the ability to change your body for the better just as easily as McDonalds can change it for the worse. The difference is developing the mindset of a person who chooses healthy over unhealthy.
Does a Fat Free Diet Help Achieve a Healthy Weight Loss?
Everyone claims that they want to lose weight and get healthy, but what they really mean is that they want to lose fat and inches to fit into some old clothes, look better in a bathing suit, or turn their keg belly into a six-pack. The first thing people attempt to do is eliminate fat without changing their diet, even though we all know that is not healthy. If it was, people would be running around slim and trim from eating all kinds of fat free versions of their favorite foods.
Our bodies need fat. Fat is responsible for regulating our body temperature. It insulates our vital organs and stores energy our bodies use later on as fuel. Just as everything else in life there are two sides to every story. There are good fats and bad fats. There are also some facts that you may have never heard before. Knowing them just may well be your ticket to finally losing weight in a safe and healthy way.
Fat Free Diet Tips #1: Body Fat Percentage Is KeyBody fat percentage is the amount of body fat we carry compared to our weight. The goal here is to have an ideal body fat percentage in a range wherein we carry enough fat to feel and look healthy, but not so much that we become overweight, obese or susceptible to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
The ideal range for healthy body fat is 20 to 25 percent for women and 8 to 15 percent for men. True accuracy is not all that important as long as you are sure that your body fat percentages are going down. Starving yourself to lose weight results in muscle loss and poor health. Changing your diet to water-rich foods and exercising every day will work much better.
Fat Free Diet Tips #2: Muscle Burns FatThis simple little fact is the reason why exercise is such a necessary part of living a healthy lifestyle. If you do not exercise while you are losing weight, you could lose muscle. Muscle loss makes burning calories and fat more difficult. The more muscles you have, the more calories and fat you will burn, even when you are resting!
I could not exercise when I first began to lose weight because of severe asthma. Once I became healthy, I was able to exercise and build muscle. It only accelerated my weight loss and I finally began to look good physically. So, if you can, follow an exercise program that combines aerobic activity (like walking or jogging) with resistance activity (like lifting weights).
Fat Free Diet Tips #3: Exercise Uses Stored Fat As FuelThe more you exercise, the more you have to eat. The key here is eating the right kinds of foods. People like professional athletes who are slim can eat whatever they want because they need fat and carbohydrates for energy, but a person needing to lose weight needs to eat right by changing their diet to healthier foods.
The more you exercise, the more calories you burn and the sooner your body tap into our fat stores for energy. Most people think you should just get on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day and that’s enough. Even though it is definitely better than sitting on the couch, building muscle can maximize the calories you burn during cardio so your body reaches for fat more often.
Fat Free Diet Tips #4: Diet Affects Body Fat Composition. Body fat comes from stored calories. Your body fat does not care whether the calories come from fat, protein, or carbohydrates. This is why people who eat fat free foods never lose weight because the carbs turn into sugar and then into fat. This also explains why men have beer bellies from drinking non-fat beer as well as obese diet soda drinkers.
Fat has more calories than carbohydrates or protein, so monitoring the amount of fat in your diet is beneficial. If it is healthy fat, like the kind found in avocados, olive oil, fish, or nuts, there is no reason to exclude it completely. It is the fat you get from snacks and desserts that should be limited to weekly instead of daily.
Even a modest decrease in body fat percentage can have extraordinary health benefits, so start reaching your goals by making a few minor changes in your activity level and diet. Starting small is better than diving in head first. When you make small changes daily, you do not run the risk of getting burned out and overwhelmed. The next time you want an oreo, eat an apple. Dare yourself to just try it. You will be thankful you did.
10 Healthy Foods That Protect Your Body Against Chronic Diseases
Eating healthy foods is a way that you can live healthy. Your daily life will become more enjoyable and regulated.
By committing to eating healthy foods, you can feel better, stay physically fit, and reduce your risk of many chronic diseases including diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, and certain cancers. Becoming educated and smart is an essential for you to become a healthy eater.
Here are 10 ‘life extending’ foods that will help you to protect against chronic diseases:
1. Apple
Like many fruits, apple contains vitamin C as well as a host of other antioxidant compounds, which may reduce the risk of cancer by preventing DNA damage. While less fiber content than in most other fruits, apple is useful to lose weight, and controlling cholesterol. In fact, eating 2 large apples a day has lowered cholesterol levels by up to 16%. Research also suggests that apple may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer.
2. Avocado
Avocado is a good source of vitamin A and potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Sufficient intake of potassium can help to protect against circulatory diseases, such as stroke, heart disease, or high blood pressure. Besides that, Avocado has been used traditionally to help people with sexual problems, also great antioxidant and can be used for skin disorders.
3. Blueberry
Blueberry is high in antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin A, C, and E. It is also a good source of dietary fiber. Because a natural and rich source of antioxidants, blueberry is known to have great health benefits. Blueberry is helpful to improve your eyesight and prevent age related loss of vision, lower LDL cholesterol (a cause for stroke and cardiovascular heart disease), and keep your urinary tract healthy by stopping bacteria from lining your bladder walls. In fact, several researches indicate blueberry has potential effects of anti-aging and anti-inflammatory. It also prevent onset of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss.
4. Garlic
Garlic contains strong anti viral and anti bacterial that useful to fight common flu and colds. It is high in vitamin B6 and C. Garlic in normal consumption is also helpful to guard against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
5. Oats
Oats have a high Vitamin B1 content, which is needed by the body for carbohydrate metabolism. Oats contain a high percentage of desirable complex carbohydrates, which have been linked to: reduced risk of prostate, colon, and breast cancer; better management of diabetes; and fewer bowel problems such as constipation. Oats are naturally low in fat. Researchers agree that nearly everyone, men and women of all ages and races, benefits from eating a low-fat diet.
Eating oat regularly will lower your blood cholesterol level. It’s a natural antidepressant, will make you feel calmer and normally used to treat depression, anxiety and nervous disorder. That is why you are encouraged to buy and eat oats if you’re feeling sad.
6. Oily fish
Fish is one the world’s healthiest foods, including oily fish that contains Omega-3 fatty acids, very useful to protect against stroke, arthritis, psoriasis, heart disease, and also a host of health anxieties from obesity to sunburns.
7. Olive oil
The greatest example of monounsaturated fat is olive oil, and it is a prime component of the Mediterranean Diet. Olive oil is a natural juice which preserves the taste, aroma, vitamins and properties of the olive fruit. Olive oil is the only vegetable oil that can be consumed as it is – freshly pressed from the fruit. Studies have shown that olive oil is helpful to protect against heart disease by controlling LDL cholesterol levels while raising HDL levels. Including olive oil in your diet may also useful to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
8. Spinach.
The health benefits of spinach are marvelous. Whether eaten fresh or frozen, the vitamins in this leafy green vegetable will benefit our bodies. Spinach contains vitamin A and K. Vitamin A is needed for healthy vision, and helps the cells in our body grow normally. When our bodies found to be lacking this vitamin, health concerns of night blindness, anemia, or celiac disease can be suffered.
Vitamin K helps bone health. It regulates blood flow (normal blood clotting) in our bodies and maintains bone health. It has also been attributed to helping post-menopausal women reduce possible bone fractures that happen with osteoporosis.
9. Tomato
Tomato is high in vitamin A, C, and cancer preventing lycopene, but low in calories. According to the National Cancer Institute, people who eat large amounts of tomatoes and tomato products have a significantly reduced risk for prostate, lung, and stomach cancer.
Tomato is also helpful in reducing high blood pressure, a major risk factor for coronary heart diseases and stroke. Other than that, tomato helps to dissolve animal fat in foods such as in eggs, cheese, butter, beef, pork, and many deep-fried foods, thereby preventing hardening of the arteries.
10. Tree nuts
Tree nuts are a rich source of unsaturated fats that have important health attributes, while high in total fat. Nuts are a good source of heart-healthy monounsaturated oil and antioxidant-rich, bone-strengthening magnesium. In the most recent, the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers found that women who ate at least 5 ounces of nuts per week had a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease than women who rarely ate nuts. Similar findings have been seen in men.
Musings on Obese, Portly and Overweight Men
Quote “Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’nights; Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much, such men are dangerous.” UnquoteCaesar, an excerpt from “Julius Caesar”William Shakespeare 1564-1616You are doubtlessly informed of the incontrovertible outcome of that story as pertains to “sleek-headed men, with lean and hungry looks”? I dont have any written testimony that “sleek-headed men, with lean and hungry looks”, are any extra hazardess than tubby or obese men? Still; in William Shakespeare’s era, he would have gathered much knowledge to that fact, to have written the statement in his acclaimed play; “Julius Caesar”.What do you think about William’s quote if applied to the 21st Century?My conclusions are that Caesar could feel comfortable in one of the developed realms in the year 2008! Why? Perhaps he would be largely surrounded by fat men, who could never be thought of as projecting a “lean and hungry look”! In essence a man or woman possessing a “lean and hungry look” in modern society is rapidly turning into a minority number. And the way the first world nations are heading with binge diets and severely under exercising…….not looking good at all for the future health of the population!Last night I attended our local shopping mall for a spot of late night browsing. The time was approximately 6 PM. I found a table in my special cafe to order and enjoy a flat white…with 99% no fat milk of course! The multitudes rushed past. After several minutes I found myself carefully noting the quantity of mildly chubby, to grossly overweight men, women & children bumbling along with shopping trolleys laden with packages of heavily processed looking junk food! Tragically, they greatly exceeded the “lean and hungry looking people”!The majority of trolley pushers had their children wondering around with them. I noted that exceedingly the average number of passing young children also looked extremely over fed…or is that exceedingly well padded in all the wrong areas! Many parents were equally provided with excess fatty folds in all body parts.Examining the coffee sippers sitting around my table again I was astonished at the huge percentage of overweight men, women and children in such a small coffee shop! The scary thing was that a lot were gorging into huge cream topped drinks, to help wash down scrumptiously, sugary, mouth watering, enticing cakes; invariably accompanied with a humungous blob of fat laden cream on the plate!I thought I must seem as if I could not outlay the money to enjoy such pleasurable delights. I was one of the few coffee sippers not gobbling down huge quantities of sugary, fatty cakes…well you get the picture. All those delicious, irresistible foods that change healthy people into overly large, fat and consequentially “over tubby” humans.Please observe, the point I am attempting to make is that this was at 6 PM! Most of theseoverweight men, women and children were happily woofing down “fat laden” junk food at a time when, surely of necessity, these parents and children needed to have been at home providing their little “tubby” children some of the essential “five vegies with meat” or similar healthy foods. Not tucking into junk food in a cafe helping their children into future early heart attacks, strokes, sugar diabetes two, any types of cancers and for many; into the disaster of “childhood obesity”!The conclusion I would offer to these unthinking adults is this. Think carefully about the future health and wellness of your kids. Cook and present your little kids a healthy and nutricious evening dinner. You are responsible for the health and well being of your kids…no-one else. Substituting possibly your kid’s most important and perhaps their only proper nutritional food of the day with fast food or eat in junk food is hardly being a responsible adult. Well, without a doubt not at 6 PM on a Thursday night!
5 Psychological Benefits of Living a Healthy Lifestyle
The benefits of living a healthy lifestyle are two fold. Not only does maintaining a healthy weight result in a better quality of life, but it also elevates your mood, making you feel happier and more self confident about yourself.
When you feel better about yourself, the desire to live unhealthy is greatly diminished. In fact, the hesitancy to eat unhealthy foods could almost be described as fear of reverting back to an unhealthy lifestyle. However, the psychological benefits don’t
just stop there.
Psychological Benefits of Living a Healthy Lifestyle #1 Better Relaxation
You’ll be surprised when your clothes begin to feel looser at just how much more comfortable you feel when sitting in a chair or laying on the couch. Until this happens you never truly know just how wound up the feeling of your clothes against your skin always made you. Being better able to relax means that you will be better able to let go of stress, which in turn means a better night’s sleep for you.
Psychological Benefits of Living a Healthy Lifestyle #2 More Energy
Feeling more energetic means more productivity in your day-to-day living. When your energy levels increase you will notice that you accomplish much more in your work life, as well as your personal life, which in turn will leave you with a greater sense of satisfaction knowing that you worked a very productive day.
Psychological Benefits of Living a Healthy Lifestyle #3 Less Depression
Feelings of depression often lead people to overeat as a way to relieve the feelings, but by feeling better about yourself you will find that overeating will no longer be an issue. Exercise, more than dieting, is great for accomplishing this. Exercise
elevates hormone levels in the body that help regulate your mood.
Psychological Benefits of Living a Healthy Lifestyle #4 Less Anxiety
Both men and women find that anxiety is lurking just around the corner whenever a formal event comes around that requires them to dress up, or worse, whenever they may be faced with wearing a swimsuit, but by living a healthy life and maintaining a healthy weight this anxiety will diminish.
Psychological Benefits of Living a Healthy Lifestyle #5 Higher Self-esteem
Most people overeat and gain weight because they are upset with the way they look. Many figure that if they already are fat, then being a little fatter won’t matter much. However, if you stick to a healthy diet and exercise regimen that helps you lose weight and keep it off you will find that as your weight drops you will like yourself a lot more. Not just because you look better, but because of the hard work and dedication you put toward reaching your goals.
Just imagine what it would be like to wake up every morning and like what you see in the mirror. To stand there admiring all of the hard effort you put into changing your lifestyle. It’s a great feeling and one which you can enjoy everyday if you’re willing to take a stand in your life and make a change for the better. You won’t be disappointed with the results if you work hard.
29 Healthy Fit Tips
1. BETTER POSTURE – If you have rounded or hunched shoulders and want to improve your posture, here are two things you can do. Backward shoulder rolls and shoulder squeezes with short sustained holds can help strengthen you upper middle back and stretch your chest. Think of your chest as if it were the headlights of a car and always keep your head lights up. Avoid arching your back. You’ll soon walk straighter, stronger and be on your way to better posture for life.
2. METABOLISM – Exercise not only increases the metabolic rate for the duration of the activity, but also for many hours after completion. Studies have indicated that the resting metabolism is still elevated some 18 hours after the exercise period. That means you’re still burning calories long after you’re finished working out.
3. WEIGHT LOSS – “It’s hard to lose weight and keep it off”. How many times have you heard that? The recent release of information saying that we have a fat gene is very depressing. It would be so easy to believe the “doomed to be fat” editorials or the notion that there’s little that we can do about how much we weigh. But don’t you dare for a minute, buy into that kind of thinking. If you watch what you eat and stay active, how much you weigh will be “OK”. Think about it, there are people you know who have been successful at losing weight and keeping it off. Think positively.
4. FLAT ABS – Don’t get too hung up on having the perfect flat stomach. For some people, this goal may be impossible. Even if you are very thin, your internal organs may give a slight roundness in your abdominal region. The flatness of your stomach depends, in large part on your genetics. That is, whether or not your body tends to store fat around your midsection or elsewhere.
5. HEART – Exercise has been proven to protect the heart. A moderate amount of exercise increase HDL cholesterol. It also lowers blood pressure, makes you less likely to gain weight, increases insulin sensitivity in the muscles and lowers the risk of formatting blood clots. Fit individuals have a lower risk of heart disease.
6. BMR – Our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the number of calories burned at rest, decreases with age. Researchers have realized that a person’s lean body mass is the key to compiling a definitive figure. The best way to maintain lean body mass is by including strength training to your workout regime. Without strength training, the BMR may drop by 100 calories per decade, starting at age 20, so build those muscles and burn more calories.
7. STRENGTH TRAINING – Is an excellent way to slow down the aging process, In fact, one researcher indicates that much of what we call aging, is nothing more than the accumulation of a lifetime of inactivity. For example, muscles shrink due to inactivity – a process we call atrophy and body fat increases as a result. Also linked with inactivity are risks of diabetes, hypertension and osteoporosis. By preserving muscle mass, we may prevent these problems from occurring.
8. SPOT REDUCING – It is a myth that abdominal exercises like sit ups burn fat deposits around the waist. The fact is, abdominal exercises can strengthen your abdominal muscles which in return help burn fat overall but it won’t selectively burn abdominal fat. You can’t spot reduce, which means to lose weight from specific regions of the body. However, this is not to say that doing abdominal exercises is a waste of time. When properly done, they strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles which are otherwise hard to exercise. Strong abdominals muscles provide better support for the back and may alleviate some back problems. The best way to lose fat is exercise combined with a low fat diet.
9. INFLEXIBILITY – in the quads can alter pelvic alignment, which in turn contributes to problems in the lower back. Lack of muscular coordination in this area increases risk of accidents and falls. Remember to include flexibility and coordination exercises when working out.
10. WOMEN – generally lose between 3 and 6% of their bone density annually just before and after menopause. Researchers estimate that in the women they studied, waling generally delayed osteoporosis by about 7 years and also conveyed cardiovascular benefits.
11. WOMEN & HEALTH – Women who exercise regularly experience as much as 60% reduction in the risk of breast cancer. Those who participated in at least 4 hours of exercise per week appeared to reap the greatest benefit.
12. WEIGHT TRAINING – Research has found that as women become stronger and fit with weights, they begin to spend time pursuing other physical activities, such as team sports like tennis or join a cycling group, all because their stronger.
13. HEALTH – Did you know that strokes are rare in women 25-44? Under age 45, only 10/100,000 women lose their lives to stroke or other brain disorders. After 45, however, the rate zooms to 65/100,000 and continues to increase with age. The best way to avoid stroke is to control your blood pressure by keeping weight and cholesterol in check through healthy eating and regular exercise.
14. AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN – More than 40% of African American women weigh more than 20% above their ideal body weight, which gives them a 90% greater chance of developing heart disease. This extra weight, combined with a lack of exercise, contributes to other conditions that weaken the heart and one’s overall health, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. So get movin’!
15. WEAK MUSCLES – A recent study indicated that half of women age 65 cannot lift 10 pounds. Women have less muscle mass to begin with, and they start to lose muscle strength more rapidly after age 60. Often times they become so profoundly weak that they must be put into nursing homes because they are unable to perform their daily functions. So start pumping those weights.
16. EXERCISE DURATION – How much exercise is enough? Well, fitness experts say at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity a day. If you don’t have 60 straight minutes, break it up into 6, 10 minute workouts or 30 minute workouts 4 to 6 days a week.
17. MUSCLE MASS – More muscle creates a higher demand for energy. In order for muscles to maintain itself at rest and during exercise, you’ll need to eat more foods high in nutrients. How do we create this formula…resistance training builds strong muscles, and eating foods low in fat will help to prevent the loss of muscle mass.
18. TOTAL BODY – just like baking a pie, you need all the ingredients to have a beautiful and tasteful pie, same with your body, it’s not one without the other, taking care of your body means as a whole, mentally, physically and spiritually!
19. HEALTHY FOODS – Eating foods that are rich in antioxidants are better for your skin, cells and body. Think organic, non-chemical foods that are not loaded with toxins. Eat fewer calories
20. REST – Your body needs rest to repair itself. Also, a rested mind is a happy mind that can think more clearly and has more energy. Active minds are more likely to remain healthy.
21. LIVE LONGER – Be active and live longer! Physical activity is critical to longevity and independent living. Death rates in non-active people double the rate of those that live an active lifestyle…so keep moving!
22. ADVICE – Eighty percent of women rely on their friends for advice and support when trying to improve health habits. Eating healthier diets and increasing physical activity are the main ways that women attempt to improve their health and succeed.
23. WORKING OVERTIME – Women who work overtime consume more high fat, high sugar snacks and caffeinated beverages, smoke more, and get less exercise. People snack more when they work in hostile, high stress environments. Snacking at work is not necessarily bad if you choose healthy foods such as fruit, low-fat yogurt, or high-fiber crackers.
24. MAGNESIUM – Calcium and vitamin D get all the glory when it comes to promoting bone health. While they are the major nutritional players in bone metabolism, minerals such as iron and magnesium are also important. Good sources of magnesium include fruits vegetables and whole grains. You can also beef up magnesium intake by taking a good multivitamin that contains it.
25. METABOLICALLY FIT – Sixty percent of Americans are overweight, while 25 percent are obese. Many of these people exercise regularly, some vigorously, but are still overweight. A few extra pounds are okay if you are metabolically fit- as long as you exercise regularly. It’s best to be lean and active, but you get some health benefits from exercise no matter how much you weigh. It’s easier for a fat person to increase physical activity than to lose weight through diet alone.
26. VITMAMIN D – Skin doctors have been telling women for year to stay out of the sun and avoid tanning beds to avoid wrinkled skin and skin cancer. While the bronzed tan look is still popular, many women cover up or use protective sun lotions to protect their skin. Avoiding the sun’s rays completely is not a good idea. The body gets vitamin D largely from a reaction that requires sunlight. The vitamin is essential for building strong bones, preserving muscle strength, and preventing multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. It also helps regulate cell growth, immunity, and energy metabolism. Dermatologists (skin doctors) countered that people with vitamin D deficiencies can take supplements and should avoid excessive sun exposure.
27. STRESS – Stress can literally give people gray hairs and cause cells to age and die faster than normal. Cells can only reproduce a limited number of times. Stress shortens that interval, which makes it more difficult to repair injured cells and fight disease. University of California, San Francisco found greater cell damage in women who were under high levels of stress compared to women who weren’t. Stressed women had cells that were judged 10 years older than the cells of unstressed women of the same age. The scientists speculated that free radicals- destructive chemicals produced normally during metabolism- were responsible for stress-related cell aging. Try to reduce the stress in your life- you might live longer.
28. WHOLE GRAINS – Eating more high grain foods contributes to weight loss and prevents disease. New FDA food guidelines recommend five to ten servings of grain products- at least three of which should be from whole grains. They also urged people to eat fewer servings of refined grain products. Whole grain foods must contain all three layers of the grain- the endosperm, the bran and the germ. Read the label carefully when shopping for these foods. Dark bread does not necessarily contain whole grains.
29. DARIY FOODS – Most women know the importance of calcium intake for building and maintaining strong bones. Dairy foods, such as milk and cheese, are the best sources for calcium. Dairy foods may also help fight fat. Iranian scientists found that men and women who consumed the most dairy products are 80% less likely to be obese and have a lower body mass index. Try to consume three servings per day of non-fat dairy foods.
Real Men Do Consume Salad
It is time for men to pay as much attention to natural health as women.
Thanks to well-liked culture, the image of men eating healthy diets has been “sissified.”Individual’s men who gobble down prime rib, onion rings, milk, pizza, hamburgers and sugary sodas are consideration of as rugged American men.
Of course, the fact of the matter is fairly different. As nutritional studies clearly show, those men who consume the salad greens, sprouts, super foods and nutrient-dense ingredients have much higher sperm counts and mobility measurements as well as stronger libido and performance. Few men who pursue healthy diets ever turn to sex enhancing medications such as Viagra because they simply do not require drugs. They do well, regardless of their age.
These men are demanding the stereotype and expanding their alternatives to include performance enhancing, disease preventing nutritional strategies that most men do not even know exist. Among the most excellent strategies now being embraced by in the know men are:
-Fish oils (omega-3 fatty acids) for improved brain function, metabolism, immune function and cardiovascular health.
-Hemp protein and quinoa for total proteins from plants (which keep away from the chemical contamination found in most animal fats).
-Super fruit antioxidants for protection of the eyes, brain, heart, skin and cellular DNA. (These super fruits include acai, noni, mangosteen, goji, blueberries, raspberries and so on).
-Nutrient dense microalgae (similar to blue/green algae, chlorella and spirulina) for cleansing the body, defensive the liver and greatly falling the threat of digestive system cancers, including colon cancer.
-Mineralization plans (captivating trace minerals, zinc, magnesium and quality calcium supplements) to increase cardiovascular health, eliminate surplus stress, accelerate tissue repair and recovery speeds and resist infectious disease.
-Planned sunlight exposure for improved creation of vitamin D, which prevent gum disease, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, heart disease, depression and all kinds of cancers including prostate cancer.
Healthy Eating and Super Foods – 4 Health Benefits of Watermelons
Think back to when you were a child and when during the summer months, the pinnacle of cookouts and family gatherings was always the cold juicy watermelon that was for desert. When you were young, eating watermelon was about taste, but now that you’re older it’s more than just taste that should inspire you to eat lots of watermelon each year when the season arises. This is because watermelons have tremendous health benefits that anyone who lives a healthy lifestyle should be determined to take advantage of every year. With that said, let’s take a closer look at some of these health benefits this fruit has to offer.
Health Benefit of Watermelons #1: Lycopene
Lycopene is an antioxidant found in most red-colored fruits, with the exception of a few, such as strawberries. Scientific studies have shown that Lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer and heart disease in people, especially men, the sex most prone to these diseases. Men who eat a diet high in lycopene are much less likely to suffer a heart attack then men who don’t.
Health Benefit of Watermelons #2: Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is an important attribute to have in a healthy diet because it promotes chemicals in the brain that help people to cope with anxiety and panic, two psychological disorders that are on the rise in America today.
Health Benefit of Watermelons #3: Vitamin C
If you thought oranges were the only fruit that could provide you with Vitamin C, think again. Vitamin C is important to not only being healthy, but remaining attractive all your life. Vitamin C boosts the immune system so that you get sick less often and it also slows down aging and medical conditions such as cataract.
Health Benefit of Watermelons #4: Vitamin A
Vitamin A works much like Vitamin C, in that it helps boost immunity, but it also help your body fight off infection. It also prevents blindness.
As you can see, eating watermelon is almost tantamount to taking a multivitamin every morning, but with a much better taste. Watermelons are seasonal, which means that they are not available all year long, like fruits such as apples, which also means that when they are in season you should make sure and take advantage.
When you go to the store to purchase one you want to try and find one that is ripe and ready to eat. The best way to do this is to knock on the outside of the rind. If you hear a hollow sound then melon is ready to eat, but if you hear solid thud put it back. The fruit is over ripe and you won’t be getting very good flavor from it. Buy you water melon and eat it within the first few days of getting it home. Everything about it is healthy, and in addition, it won’t leave you feeling over stuffed if you eat too much.
So the next time the weather becomes warmer and summer is approaching, don’t forget about watermelons. Eat up and get the extra boost they will add to your healthy lifestyle.
Healthy Diet for Women
A healthy diet is even more essential for women than men. As well as pregnancy, women have to cope with debilitating hormone irregularities which can impact adversely on both health and weight. Healthy eating won’t eliminate or cure these effects, but it often relieves symptoms. It’s worth remembering that some foods – especially fresh fruits and vegetables, contain chemicals which are believed to exercise a powerful beneficial effect on the human body.
Having a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to help your overall health. Along with physical activity, your diet is the key factor that affects your weight. Having a healthy weight for your height is important. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea (breathing problems while sleeping), osteoarthritis, and some cancers.
Vitamins are organic compounds that your body needs for normal growth and health maintenance, but can’t make itself and must get from food or supplements. The way these vitamins function once ingested varies – fat-soluble vitamins like A and D tend to accumulate in the body and become toxic in large amounts, while water-soluble vitamins like C are flushed through the body on a daily basis. Minerals are inorganic substances necessary for the body to function properly.Healthy Diet
Lean protein. The more active you are, the more protein you will need. Fresh fish, hormone-free chicken (try removing the skin to reduce the fat content), eggs, and lean meats like turkey or pork tenderloin are all good sources. Soy products can also provide protein, although some people are sensitive to soy and cannot digest it properly. The more variety you can incorporate into your diet, the better – so try and find different sources of lean protein every day.Water – Most of us are dehydrated and don’t even know it. Fatigue, poor concentration and headaches are signs of mild dehydration. Keep bottled water in your office and filtered or bottled water at home; aim for eight glasses a day. Fizzy water is fine, too, and sure beats coffee or cola!Nuts – A serving of nuts is 1/3 cup or a level handful for an average adult. A serving of peanut butter is two tablespoons, about the size of a golf ball.Milk – We’ve all heard that milk products are rich sources of calcium, but did you know that they’re also loaded with protein? A glass of milk or a cup of yogurt has high-quality protein equal to an ounce of meat or cheese or to one egg. Try to choose reduced fat dairy products whenever possible. A glass of whole milk has the equivalent of two teaspoons of butter or three tablespoons of sour cream. That bit of added fat would probably be more enjoyable on a baked potato rather than hidden in your milk!Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles – grains and cereals come from a wide variety of sources including breakfast cereals (oats, muesli and wholegrain flakes), wholemeal breads and biscuits, rice, barley, corn and varieties of pasta.Vegetables and legumes – raw or cooked vegetables can be used as a snack food or as a part of lunch and dinner. Salad vegetables can be used as a sandwich filling. Vegetable soup can make a healthy lunch. Stir-fries, vegetable patties and vegetable curries make nutritious evening meals. Try raw vegetables like carrot and celery sticks for a snack ‘on the run’.Cultured condiments – such as fish sauce, apple vinegar, or homemade ketchup. These delicious condiments have high enzyme potential, which protects us from harmful substances in foods and facilitates absorption of vitamins and minerals.