Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

The Healthy Option of Citrus Juicing

Many people are aware of the benefits of juicing but do not know the significant benefits that citrus juice has to offer. Human beings are one of the few species that does not make its own supply of Vitamin C. This vitamin has a number of benefits to health.

It has often been suggested that we suffer many of our illnesses such as viruses and cancer due to our lack of Vitamin C. It is responsible for fighting the free radicals that causes damage to the cells in our body. Thousands of years ago, the picture was slightly different as we ate much more fruit than we do today. We have hands that are designed to pick and grasp fruit and so this was an easy food source for us to obtain. Nowadays, with the introduction of juicing machines like the Jack Lalanne juicer it is now much simpler to get your daily quotas of fruit.

Our body, it is believed, started to produce less and less Vitamin C, as we were able to obtain it from the diet. This reached the point where we do not produce any today. The modern diet contains substantially less fruit then in the past resulting in an inadequate intake of this chemical for us all.

We can reverse this trend by fruit juicing which allows us to take in our essential nutrients. It is also fast, enjoyable and refreshing and even your kids will like it. It can also save you money as there is no need to spend money regularly on expensive vitamins and nutrients.

One of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century and Nobel laureate, Linus Pauling, was one of Vitamin C’s greatest supporters. He believed that many of the illnesses that we experience today were due to a lack of this important chemical. The amounts he used to advise though were very big indeed. It is generally thought that these levels were excessive and that we do not need to ingest quite such huge amounts.

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, can be found in large amounts in oranges and lemons. Each orange slice contains about 70mg of this nutrient and overall about 50mg per 100 grams of fruit. The recommended daily allowance is only 60mg but this is the minimal amount to prevent scurvy, the classic illness that causes bleeding gums.

Many people buying a citrus juicer or fruit juicer such as the Jack Lalanne Juicer are investing in their own health. This article shows you that many of the essential nutrients we require can be obtained in a healthy and natural way.

 

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What is Fitness and Nutrition

What is nutrition?

One of the most important aspects of our health and development whether we are overweight or not is nutrition. It is when we take in and use food and supplements for our healthy growth and development. A healthy diet, which is part of nutrition, is vital to ensure we lead productive and enjoyable lives without worrying about the possibility of poor health. Eating a balanced diet can decrease the chances of diabetes, heart disease, and strokes; however nutrition is still sometimes neglected when dieting.

How does nutrition affect dieting?

When discussing nutrition we are observing both what we eat and how we convert our food into fuel for our body. This is why healthy eating is very important when dieting so we do’t damage our bodies through malnutrition and over-exercising. By changing what you eat and when you eat it you can make a world of difference to your diet.

Going on a ‘starvation diet’ is often thought of being one of the better options on how to lose weight fast but this type of diet is actually very unhealthy and can be counter-productive! If your body experiences a prolonged period of hunger, it will enter what is known as “starvation mode”. In this mode your body is preparing itself for the perceived eventuality of a lack of food for a prolonged period of time. It will slow down your metabolism, break down muscle tissue to use as fuel, and store more fat. So even though you want to be rid of that excess fat, your body may not be ready to do so just yet.

Developing an effective and healthy diet plan that has nutritional value (and gives you results!)isn’t very easy.

How do nutrition and exercise affect each other?

Nutrition and exercise work side by side when dieting, particularly when working out or weight training. So you have spent hours developing the perfect exercise regime, whether it is weight training or toning, to create your perfect body. However you will never get the perfect body without proper nutrition to supplement your weight loss exercise. Your body needs to be provided with the proper nutrients to convert into energy to allow you to complete your exercise without feeling tired. Tom Vento’s “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle” gives a detailed guide on how to lose that fat, in all the mushy spots, and keep your energy up. Nutrition and fitness perfectly combined in a diet regime providing excellent weight loss results.

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How Your Food and Drink Affects Your Health and Fitness

Food experts and parents up and down the country have been warning us since the beginning of time that “we are what we eat”. Roughly translated this saying means that every part of our body (and potentially mind) is affected in some way by the things that we put in our mouth. As a result we are always being told to eat this, drink that, avoid these. However, if you are not an expert its pretty hard to filer out the really important info, so here is is for you, the foods with the biggest influence on our insides and out.

Salt. For a long time, people didn’t even know about the harm that salt can do to the body. The Food Standards Agency in the UK state that people should have no more than 6g of salt and day and most people exceed this. More salt might be needed by people who lose a lot through sweating or by diluted body salt levels by drinking lots of water. For 90% of people however, a reduction in salt levels is advisable as it has been closely linked with heart, blood and liver problems. Rather than put it in your body, salt is good at conditioning skin and is in fact an ingredient in many skin care products

Fats. We do actually need fats in order to maintain health skin, hair, and lots of other things. They are generally unsaturated fats that we need and not the type that most people get far too much of, which are saturated fats (AKA trans fats). Put simply, eating too many saturated fats will not only make you fat but could also cause heart disease, organ failure and diabetes to name a few. It won’t matter how many times you have a body polish, your appearance and health will not be great if you don’t watch your fats

Water. This is not something you eat of course, but you should not underestimate the power of the H20. Ideal water intake levels are dependent on factors such as temperature, body size, age, humidity etc, although most experts recommend taking in 1-2 lts per day if possible.Water is not only very important for internal processes of the body, but additionally it has a large influence on external appearances, so if your a big water drinker you wont need any cleansing facial wash as frequently

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Start A Healthy Lifestyle with Fitness, Body Building And A Nutritrious Diet

Creating that healthy lifestyle that you always wanted does not need to be a nightmare. If you decide to make some easy changes in the way you think, feel and approach life, you can achieve a healthy lifestyle. The following are some great starting points to get you on your path to reach your goal.

* Condition Your Mindset Through Positive Thinking One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to get in the right mindset. Your mindsest is the way you will think and perceive the aspects of your current life. To get in the right mindset you need to train your subconscious with positive thinking. For instance, you can condition your mindset in order to finally lose the 20 pounds that you would like to lose. If you need to relax, find a quiet place in your home to do so. Make a picture in your mind of yourself 20 pounds lighter and tell yourself “I am slim and fit”. Do this exercise several times a day. Throughout the day you want to reinforce your mindset by telling yourself constantly “I am slim and fit”. You can condition your mindset and get to your goals quickly.

* Creating The Proper Diet Without a proper diet, you can’t expect to be fit or help build muscles. You must be selective on what goes into your body if you want to have the healthy lifestyle you desire. Find foods that are rich in protien like red meat or lean alternatives like fish, cottage cheese, soy, nuts, beans. Protein also helps promote muscle growth for body building. If you keep fitness in mind when planning your meals you will want to make them healthy and include plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat shredded carrots in between meals when you feel hungry.

* Managing Proper Rest and Relaxation Just as having a proper diet is important, it is also very important to give your body the proper rest it deserves. Remember to get 8 hours of sleep per night in order to restore your energy levels and get your mind thinking at optimum levels for the best efficiency.

Balance It All Together and you may have to adjust but you will get used to the balance of your mindset, dieting, and exercise programs. Once you achieve a balance and schedule in your life, it will be easy to gain a healthy lifestyle.

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Your Dieting Won’t Work

 

Can you diet your way to fitness? A July 17, 2008 study titled, “Weight Loss With a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet,” published in the New England Journal of Medicine gave the results of a study on the effectiveness of three types of diet over a two-year period for overweight people. The best results came from low-carbohydrate diets, and there were no signs of the health risks that opponents of these diets claimed would exist.

The results of this study are certainly encouraging. It looks like all we need to do is go on a low-carb diet and we’ll shed those excess pounds faster than with any other diet. Unfortunately, there’s more to it that that, and not even the best diet plan possible will get you the results you need.

A major problem with basing your fitness plans on dieting is that concentrating on dieting ignores your muscles. Effective diets may take fat off your frame, but they don’t help prevent this muscle loss, much less help you build additional muscle. You might not know this, but starting at the age of 30 or so, we naturally start losing muscle mass. Without taking steps to remedy this, a person is likely to lose five to ten pounds of muscle for every ten years they age. That’s a lot of muscle, and something that diet plans do nothing to prevent.

Now this latest study didn’t specifically look at muscle mass (a search of the original report didn’t even turn up a mention of muscle) so it’s possible that one type of diet could have more of an effect on muscle mass than another. But going by the results of this study, there’s no reason to believe that any type of diet will do anything special to prevent the gradual muscle loss that comes with age. It’s going to be hard to build an awesome body when your youthful, sexy muscles are slowing fading away.

Second, the results of the diets are pathetic. The participants were overweight men and women, or people with Type 2 diabetes. They were split up into three groups, one for each of the three types of diet. Each person also received instructions and information related specifically to the type of diet they were on. During the two-year study, each group of people had eighteen 90-minute meetings with a dietician who helped them stay with the plan. People who had trouble sticking to the plan got motivational phone calls as well.

The results of all this? Among the people who stayed in the program for two years, the average weight loss for the low-fat diet was 3.3 kg (7.27 lb), for the Mediterranean diet was 4.6 kg (10.14 lb), and for the low-carb diet was 5.5 kg (12.13 lb). There were also some positive changes in markers of health such as cholesterol levels.

This looks good, but think about it. The best performing group, with help from a nutritionist, caused a loss of just over a dozen in 2 years. One type of diet (the low-carbohydrate diet) may be better than the others, and for overweight people to lose some weight is surely good. But is losing 12 pounds over 2 years, with a dietician’s help and without any consideration for preserving your muscles, really going to get you the body you want?

A good diet is important to your health and fitness. And now we know that a low-carbohydrate diet is probably the best choice if you want to lose weight or avoid putting on excess weight to begin with. Unfortunately, it’s also clear that there’s more to getting and staying fit than diet alone. You’re going to need to break down and go for a total fitness plan, one that combines exercise and good nutrition.

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