Author: Mukul

Categories
Healthy Tips

Top 10 Nutrition and Fitness Tips

1. Get real and be specific. Write down three or four realistic goals that you can stick to. For example, “I will try to lose one pound of body fat every week. I will walk for 30 minutes minimum five days a week.” Avoid fantasy-land goals that will only frustrate you.

2. Get prepared. Throw away all the junk, the processed, and the “bingeable” foods now and replace them with fresh, whole foods like lots of water and veggies. Buy a new pair of walking shoes and find some clothes in your closet you feel comfortable to walk in. During a lifestyle change, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!

3. Get support. Whether it’s your best friend, spouse, or pet, it helps to have some nonjudgmental and nurturing support when trying to lose weight, especially during trying times.

4. Make daily notes. Research has shown that keeping track of your daily exercise and food intake in a journal or notebook will increase the likelihood of success. Keep it simple, or if you’re inspired, write a novel! The key is to hold yourself accountable.

5. Create a food-free reward system. How about a new workout outfit, pair of jeans, shoes — or what the heck, even a spa treatment, shopping spree, or weekend getaway? You deserve this kind of treatment when you reach your goals.

6. Buy a pedometer. A pedometer keeps track of how many steps you take daily. Wear it every day, around home, work, and while exercising. Your National Body Challenge goal is to increase your steps by 10,000 or more daily! Remember this: You’ll burn roughly 100 to 125 calories by taking 2,500 steps (about one mile). The goal during the challenge is to burn 300 extra calories and to eat roughly 200 calories less in a day. This 500-calorie deficit is equivalent to one pound of body fat per week and a healthy boost to your self-esteem.

7. Don’t skip breakfast. Research shows that the most successful “losers” never skip it. Try to keep it balanced with some protein, a healthy carb, and a small amount of fat. Here are some examples: an egg-white omelet with fresh berries and a piece of whole-wheat toast, or a skim milk shake with fruit and yogurt.

8. Nix the late-night eating. If you eat a lot of excess calories after 8 p.m., you wear them the next morning. Put a stop to this by making sure you have a healthy dinner consisting of lean protein, veggies, and fruit.

9. Eliminate processed sugars. Processed sugars are carbs that have been stripped of their valuable nutrients. How can you identify these sugars? They are all white: table sugar, pasta, rice, and bread, and they’re nothing but trouble, since they kick up your appetite for more of the same.

10. Have a mid-afternoon snack. This will curb your appetite and provide fuel for your after-work walk or workout at the gym. Some great snack ideas include: reduced-fat peanut butter on a multi-grain cracker, a couple of pieces of low-fat string cheese and an apple, cottage cheese with pineapple, or try a low-fat cheese microwaved in a whole-wheat pita.

From: Discovery Health Channel National Body Challenge
Last Updated: 2005-10-13

Related articles
Categories
News on Health & Science

Spicy Foods Increase Metabolism

THE FACTS This being the season of dreary, mucky, frigid weather, there is good reason to indulge in foods that carry some extra kick. But is it true, as has long been held, that spicy foods not only heat you up but also speed up the metabolism?

Over the years, various studies have examined the claim and suggested that certain spices can in fact increase metabolic rate by raising body temperature, though to what extent and for how long is unclear. Capsaicin, the compound that gives red chili pepper its powerful kick, creates the largest bump in heat generation, which helps burn more calories immediately after a meal. Black pepper and ginger have similar effects.

Generally, studies have shown that on average a meal containing a spicy dish, like a bowl of chili, can temporarily increase metabolism by about 8 percent over a person’s normal rate, an amount considered fairly negligible. But besides a slight uptick in metabolism, spicy foods may also increase feelings of satiety.

One study by Canadian researchers this year looked at a group of adult men and found that those who were served hot sauce with appetizers before a meal went on to consume on average about 200 fewer calories at lunch and in later meals than their peers who did not have anything with capsaicin. The researchers suggested that capsaicin may work as an appetite suppressant. But take heed: spicy foods can also worsen symptoms of ulcers and heartburn.

THE BOTTOM LINE Research suggests that spicy foods can increase metabolism, though only to a minor extent.

Source:The New York Times

Related articles
Categories
Healthy Tips

Walk Your Way to Weight Loss

Walking is the exercise of choice for most dieters. No wonder.

You don’t need a gym membership to do this most effective exercise . You can do it virtually everywhere (around the block or around the mall, for example). It’s gentle on joints. And you can burn a surprising number of calories. On flat terrain, a half-hour walk at a brisk pace can chew through 75 to 100 calories. Hike up some hills and you can spend 200 to 250 calories.

CLICK & SEE

Here’s how to prepare:

Find a Shoe That Fits
The only equipment you really need is a decent pair of walking shoes. Finding them is a cinch. What matters most is comfort. If it feels good, odds are it provides enough support. When you’re shopping for shoes:
Wear the socks you plan to exercise in. That way you’ll get the best fit.
Try on both shoes. Most people’s feet aren’t exactly the same size. Choose a pair that fits your larger foot.
Allow a little extra room.
Feet swell when you walk, so buy a pair with about a thumb’s width between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. Make sure the heel doesn’t slip, though, or you could end up with painful blisters.

Check Your Form
Sure, walking comes naturally, and it’s smart to go with the technique you’ve honed since you were a toddler. But these tips will help you stay comfortable and get the most out of your walk:

Stand up straight.
Imagine a string pulling you up from the center of the top of your head. Let that string pull you up as straight as possible. Relax your shoulders.
Look ahead. Keep your neck straight and your head held high to avoid unnecessary strain to your neck and shoulders. If you have to look down to see where you’re going, lower your eyes, not your head.
Move those arms.
Bend your elbows and let your arms swing naturally at your sides. You’ll prevent swelling, tingling or numbness — and you’ll burn up to 15 percent more calories by keeping your arms moving.
Don’t carry that weight.
Some people try to get in extra exercise by toting a couple of light dumbbells, but fitness-walking experts say that’s risky: The weights can pull you off balance and strain muscles in your back or legs.

Stay Safe
Walking is one of the safest activities you can do. Still, it’s wise to take a few precautions.
If you’re walking at night, wear a piece of reflective clothing.
If the path is dimly lit, bring a good flashlight.
When the weather’s warm, be sure to drink a tall glass of water before you set out and another when you return.
If your path is rugged or bumpy, protect your ankles, particularly if you have a history of twists or sprains. Consider wearing a comfortable elastic bandage for support, and keep your eyes focused on the path.

From:Change One.com

Related articles
Categories
Healthy Tips

Aging

[amazon_link asins=’0307277542,1592407471,1933346337,0062313339,B00J5W90DC’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’22958048-f4c0-11e6-a601-5b142f462c40′]

Many people live well into their 80s — and beyond. As the body ages, however, various systems slow down, and the risk of disease increases. Even though you can’t stop time, you can forestall some of the negative effects of aging with a healthy lifestyle and well-chosen supplements.

Symptoms:
Slowing of cognitive processes: difficulty accessing memory and learning and remembering new people and events.
Sensory decline: delay in refocusing eyes and impaired ability to hear high-pitched sounds.
Weakened immune system: increased susceptibility to colds, the flu, and other illnesses.
Decline in muscle and bone mass.
Increased risk of developing heart disease and cancer.

When You Call Your Doctor: :
You need a complete physical every year after age 50. See your doctor right away, however, if you are concerned about the risk of age-related diseases.
Reminder: If you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before taking supplements.

What It Is:
Put simply, aging is the process of growing old. Every part of the body is affected: Among other changes, hair turns gray, skin wrinkles, joints and muscles lose flexibility, bones become weak, memory declines, eyesight diminishes, and immunity is impaired.

What Causes It:
Cells in the body divide a set number of times; then they die and are replaced by new cells. With age, this process slows, and a progressive deterioration of all body systems begins. Though some of this decline is normal and inevitable, many researchers believe that unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals accelerate the process, making us old before our time. Some damage is unavoidable because free radicals are produced during the normal course of cell activity. But you may be able to slow aging by avoiding outside factors that foster free-radical formation — cigarette smoke, pollution, excessive alcohol, and radiation from X rays or the sun — and by enhancing your body’s own antioxidant defenses. Manufactured by the cells and obtained through diet, antioxidants are powerful weapons that can disarm free radicals.

How Supplements Can Help:
Some supplements should be used daily by everyone concerned about the effects of aging. Vitamin C and vitamin E are antioxidants that fight free radicals. Vitamin C and flavonoids work within the cell’s watery interior. Vitamin E protects the fatty membranes that surround cells; in addition, it improves immune function in older people and reduces the risk of some age-related conditions, including heart disease, some forms of cancer, and possibly Alzheimer’s. In a recent study from the National Institute on Aging, people who took vitamin E supplements were about half as likely to die of heart disease — the nation’s leading killer — as those not using vitamin E.
Green tea extract, long prized for its longevity-promoting properties, and grape seed extract (100 mg twice a day) are other antioxidants that may be more potent than vitamins C and E.

Folic acid, a B vitamin, maintains red blood cells and promotes the healthy functioning of nerves. Moreover, it protects the heart by helping the body process homocysteine, an amino acid-like compound that may raise the risk of heart disease. Folic acid is assisted by vitamin B12, which fosters healthy brain functioning. Taking this vitamin is important because many older people lose the ability to absorb it from food, and low B12 levels can cause nerve damage and dementia. The amino acid-like substance carnitine contributes to a healthy heart because it helps transport oxygen to the cells and produces energy. Evening primrose oil contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is essential to a number of body processes. As it ages, the body loses its ability to convert the fats present in foods to GLA.

In addition, certain supplements are vital to specific concerns. Glucosamine helps maintain joint cartilage and eases the pain of arthritis. Because it enhances blood flow, the herb ginkgo biloba may improve such age-related conditions as dizziness, impotence, and memory loss.

What Else You Can Do:
Protect yourself from excessive sun. Ultraviolet rays make skin age faster.
If you smoke, quit. Smoking speeds bone and lung deterioration.
Build and maintain bone and muscle mass with weight-bearing exercise, such as walking and weight training.
Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables — they’re rich in antioxidants.
Although more research is needed, some experts recommend people over age 50 take a coenzyme Q10 supplement to minimize the effects of aging. This substance helps transport energy throughout the body and acts as an antioxidant, but the body’s own production declines with age. If you want to add coenzyme Q10 to your regimen, take 50 mg twice a day (food enhances its absorption).

Supplement Recommendations:

Vitamin C/Flavonoids:
Dosage: 1,000 mg vitamin C and 500 mg flavonoids twice a day.
Comments: Reduce vitamin C dose if diarrhea develops.

Vitamin E
Dosage: 400 IU a day.
Comments: Check with your doctor if taking anticoagulant drugs.

Green Tea Extract
Dosage: 250 mg twice a day.
Comments: Standardized to contain at least 50% polyphenols.

Folic Acid/Vitamin B12
Dosage: 400 mcg folic acid and 1,000 mcg vitamin B12 once a day.
Comments: Take sublingual form for best absorption.

Carnitine
Dosage: 500 mg L-carnitine twice a day.
Comments: If using longer than 1 month, add mixed amino acids.

Evening Primrose Oil
Dosage: 1,000 mg 3 times a day.
Comments: Can substitute 1,000 mg borage oil once a day.

Glucosamine
Dosage: 500 mg glucosamine sulfate twice a day.
Comments: Increase to 3 times a day if you have osteoarthritis. Take with food to minimize digestive upset.

Ginkgo Biloba
Dosage: 40 mg 3 times a day.
Comments: Standardized to have at least 24% flavone glycosides.

This site may give you  little more knowledge about defending yourself from Aging.

Source:    Reader’s Digest

Related articles
Categories
News on Health & Science

Libido pill to work on mind, not body

[amazon_link asins=’B01LZP8H17,B008M6UQEY,B00S2U438K,B01M249NUR’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’777e690f-f4c0-11e6-989b-0b4c2e1ba725′]

WASHINGTON: What is desire? What triggers it? Some think oysters, and chocolate—among other mythical things—are aphrodisiacs. They are rich in nutrients and give energy, but no one has proven they give you passion.

Even the “little blue pill” Viagra just works on, shall we say, the plumbing—it keeps the blood flowing in the right direction.

Now there’s a drug in the pipeline that its makers say really will restore lost libido. It’s being tested and developed, in part, in a laboratory at Concordia University in Montreal by neuroscientist Jim Pfaus.

Professor and part-time punk rocker, Pfaus is using rats to test id the new substance, bremelanotide triggers desire.

Rats stand in for humans, because, like people, they’re social and they have a similar hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls desire.

Pfaus says he’s finding that bremelanotide seems to put rats in the mood. Given the peptide, female rats, he says, initiate sex four times more often than those who do not receive it.

And bremelanotide’s makers are betting it will work the same way on both men and women. “It brings back your libido,”Pfaus said. “It doesn’t make it something that it wasn’t. It brings it back to where it probably was when you were having good sex.”

Carl Spana, chief executive officer of Palatin Tech, which holds the patent on bremelanotide, said it activates parts of the brain that are involved in regulating sexual function.

He says other products on the market, such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, “work by affecting peripheral blood flow, rather than the nervous system.”

Palatin Technologies hopes to have bremelanotide on the market for men within a couple of years—and for women shortly after that.

Bremelanotide didn’t start out as a drug for sexual dysfunction. In fact, it was being developed as a tanning enhancer.

“All treatments for sexual dysfunction, especially erectile dysfunction, have colorful stories about how they started,”said Spana in a statement on Saturday.

Source:The Times Of India

css.php