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The Battle Against Cholesterol: Your 5 Strongest Allies

March 3rd, 2010 Joanne Suan No comments

Kick your high LDL cholesterol levels to the curb. You need help to fight your battle against cholesterol. These five natural foods when added to your arsenal might be key to watching those numbers drop. You are in this war to win.

*Oats

The message being driven home by a multitude of companies is that ‘the oat’ is a powerful, cholesterol-kicking agent. Coming from the proud country of Scotland, the oat is a big part of the diet there. Brought over to America by immigrants, the oat is now a very popular food and remains true to its roots in the proud state of Vermont.

The property of oat that helps in the fight against cholesterol is its soluble fiber. Soluble fiber makes it harder for LDL cholesterol to be absorbed into the blood stream while food is digesting in your intestines. Thus there is less bad LDL cholesterol that makes it into the bloodstream and therefore less to stick to and harden inside the walls of your arteries.

Oats are found in a wide variety of foods such as oatmeal cookies, granola bars etc. Oatmeal is the most associated product with oats. If you don’t like oatmeal, many companies are now incorporating oats into cereals and bread. Don’t be afraid to add this powerful food to your arsenal.

*Garlic

This little bulb has been around and used for centuries. The bulb was nailed to doors and hung around necks to ward off vampires and other evil spirits. Some believe that eating the bulb can increase desire or the body’s chi. Garlic is also used heavily in Mediterranean and Chinese cooking, which is probably why you don’t hear much about Chinese vampires.

Of course, the most well known property of garlic is its cholesterol-lowering properties. Garlic is a natural antioxidant. It is believed that it helps prevent the LDLs from building up on the artery walls. Adding garlic as part of a healthy diet can help you lower cholesterol levels as well as help you fight the common cold.

Garlic is available in many forms. You can eat it raw. Although, its resulting odor maybe more than some can handle. In cooking, the potency of the smell and taste of garlic is diluted, resulting in a more palatable concoction for most people. It can also be taken in powder or pill form as part of a supplement. One of the main known active ingredients is Allicen so ensure that processed garlic pills still have this ingredient.

*Onions

Garlic is usually associated with its close cousin, the onion. The two naturally go together. Historically, onions were probably more popular than garlic. As a side note, the onion used to be an easy and acceptable form of payment for historic renters. Personally, i would prefer a gold coin, but who am I to critique my elders.

The chromium and B6 vitamins found in the onion are thought to be the cholesterol fighters in this popular food. They are linked to improving cholesterol levels and helping in the fight against heart disease. The onion is also known to help lower the risk of cancer.

The onions are mostly consumed raw or cooked. The many types of onions available make choosing one hard. The best thing is try different types to find a type that suites your taste buds. Everything is available from sweet to a more sharp taste is available for you to pick from.

*Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil is another extremely strong fighterin the war against high cholesterol. Produce mainly in Greece, Homer once stated that olive oil was liquid gold. The highly valued oil holds a high place for use in religious ceremonies. Perhaps its most unusual use was a mouthwash for bad breath.

Olive oil contains a high amount of monounsaturated fats. These fats help lower your LDL cholesterol levels. Just by replacing your regular cooking oil, you can control the amount of bad fats that you are consuming.

Olive oil is widely available and easily obtained. Many companies are jumping on the ‘health train’ and using olive oil in their salad dressings and mayonnaise. The pill version of olive oil is available to take as well.

*Primrose Oil

The primrose plant is where primrose oil originates from. The primrose thrives in North and South America and is widely available. Nicknamed the King’s cureall, the primrose was once thought to cure multiple aliments.

Primrose oil contains a high level of essential fatty acids. These fatty acids work towards controlling your cholesterol levels. Along with this, primrose oil can help treat eczema and even help relieve PMS symptoms.

Primrose oil is available in pill form as a dietary supplement. You can find it in grocery stores and drug stores.

Lowering your cholesterol is up to you. Combined with a healthy diet, these powerful foods will help you conquer those life threatening high ldl levels. You can conquer your high LDL cholesterol with the right food decisions.

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Prune Juice: A Helpful Aid To Physical Well-Being

March 3rd, 2010 Milton Lee No comments

Most of us who have investigated treatments for constipation will have come across the prune. These dried fruits are regarded as generally beneficial for relieving constipation, largely due to the large amount of fiber. But what many don’t know about is that the juice from prunes is also an excellent type of treatment.

The prune is simply a dried plum known by the scientific name of Prunus domestica. Archaeological evidence suggests that man has been cultivating plums and drying them for hundreds if not thousands of years. The method of processing is quite simple: 18 hours of hot air dehydration, typically at 90 degrees Celsius. After dehydration, the material can be further processed into other products like prune juice.

The conventional understanding is that prunes get their laxative effects by having a lot of fiber. In fact, the fiber is over 5% by weight, which is quite high for a fruit. Prune juice however has almost no fiber because the particulates are filtered out usually. Therefore, how does prune juice benefit those who suffer from constipation? The key is sorbitol, a long complex sugar.

Prune juice has very high levels of this mysterious sugar substitute called sorbitol. Unlike glucose, sorbitol is a long polysaccharide chain that is no easy to digest by the human stomach. As such, it resides in the intestinal space and absorbs a lot of water. Sorbitol’s non-digestible property means that it’s also often used as a sugar substitute in foods.

Pears and sugar free gum are two other things with sorbitol. Of course, the pear has a higher amount and is presumably a good aid for digestion as well. One interesting fact is that dietary fiber has molecular properties that are very similar to sugar and sorbitol. It’s no coincidence that all of these laxatives have similar molecular characteristics.

How does sorbitol achieve its anti-constipatory effects? There are two properties, both of which have already been mentioned. The first is that sorbitol tends to absorb a lot of water, the second is that sorbitol isn’t metabolized by the body. Together, the effect of sorbitol is to bulk up the colonic mass with a lot of fluids.

With excess water, the colon contents become less dense and pass more easily through the body. The class of laxatives that exerts its effects through water retention is known as the osmotic laxatives. Prune juice is convenient to store and take all day. However, as with any type of self-administered laxative treatment, it’s probably best to ask a physician for safety and dosing instructions.

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The Benefits Are Plenty On A Raw Food Diet Plan

March 1st, 2010 Jen Jordyn No comments

When it comes to diet, these days, the world is in a world of hurt. Processed foods, additives and sugars have created an obesity and health problem nightmare. Looking back through the ages, it’s no wonder. Thousands of years ago, after all, humans couldn’t eat junk food. Instead, they survived on raw food, which partly explains the fact that many people these days are fighting back and trying a raw food diet plan.

You might have an idea in your mind of what a raw food diet should be. Chances are, though, that you aren’t entirely right. So, the first step to understanding how a raw food diet can benefit you is to get an idea of what being on a raw food diet actually means.

Explaining Raw Food Diets:

Most people think about raw foods as being traditional fruits and vegetables. That’s not all, though. A raw food diet could include variations of those, like dried fruits or fruit or vegetable juices. It could also include completely different things, like raw meat, raw eggs, nuts, sprouts and seeds.

Also, a raw food diet isn’t as strict as one might think. The term “raw” doesn’t exactly apply. Why? Well, it’s because you can partially cook some foods and still be considered to be on a raw food diet.

Benefits Of The Diet:

Of all of the raw food benefits, time is a big one. It takes much less time to prepare raw food diet meals and yet you can get all of the nutrition you need from them. In fact, you can often just take them with you and eat them on the go. Some of them, such as fruits and nuts, don’t require any preparation at all. In a day and age when everyone is so busy, that’s valuable time saved.

You can also use a raw food diet to lose weight, believe it or not. Plus, you can increase your body’s energy supply in two completely different, but somewhat related, ways. First of all, the nutrients and minerals provided by the raw food will give you energy. Secondly, though, a healthy diet will mean that you sleep better at night and, therefore, feel more energized throughout the day.

Another benefit of a raw food diet is that it can actually reduce stress. Not only that, but it can give your mood a major boost. So, if you feel sad or stressed on a regular basis, you might notice a major change for the better on a raw food diet.

So, if you’re thinking of following a raw food diet plan, now you understand just a few of the potential benefits. Talk to your doctor and see if switching to such a diet could be right for you. You might just find your entire outlook on life changed by it.

Finding the right places to buy raw food diet staples is often a concern of the beginning raw food enthusiast. You’ll learn how to shop for raw foods as well as all the basics of a raw food diet in Truly Raw… your guide to the magic of raw food.

The Tremendously Valuable Advantages Of The Brazilian Acai Berry

February 28th, 2010 Daisy Floyd No comments

The acai berry has a long and colorful history in Brazil. This diminutive berry can only be located in the rainforests of Brazil and it has for centuries been a staple in the nutritional regime of the inhabitants of the region. However, sophisticated processing methods have only in recent times brought this miraculous little fruit to the remainder of the globe.

The acai berry is loaded with a profusion of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, fiber and healthy fats. It is in reality one of the most wholesome foods ever found in the world. The good for your health fat substance makes it extraordinarily perishable and it must be processed within 24 hours of being picked off from the tree. That is the main rationale why it has only been in recent times that this berry has been accessible throughout the remainder of the world.

When you supplement your nourishing nutritional program with acai berry products you can anticipate to see advantages for all from being overweight to troubles usually related with aging to the avoidance of acute illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s prevention. It is the superb nutrition from this berry that allows your body to work at its optimum levels to generate outstanding fitness.

The acai berry has one of the record ORAC levels, or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacities of any fare ever grown in nature. The acai berry ranks higher than all other fare and it is only transcended by a couple of things, specifically the spices of cinnamon, oregano and cloves and the bran from sorghum and sumac.

Antioxidants shield against free radical damage in our bodies. This makes them definitely fundamental to our good health. Free radicals are formed whenever our bodies utilize oxygen. They are unstable molecules that are missing an electron. An antioxidant will come in and give the absent electron, which stabilizes the molecule.

If free radicals are not stabilized they lead to chaos in our bodies, often in the form of inflammation. Inflammation left unchecked can cause our bodies enormous trauma, which can lead to the development of grim disease like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and even Alzheimer’s disease.

When you supplement acai berry products to your already nourishing food intake the added antioxidants help your bodily systems to work at their optimum capacities and it helps to foil the problems of aging, overweight and obesity problems and even disease prevention.

The acai berry is unusually nourishing and health promoting and supplementing an acai supplement to your already healthful lifestyle can only be favorable for your superior wellbeing.

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Transforming Into A Healthy Eater To Get Hair Growth

February 27th, 2010 Diane W Collins No comments

It’s a fact hair loss caused by diet tends to be temporary conditions and usually the hair loss is reversed when the diet is improved, when hair care improves then when an illness is cured or gotten in check. Now, how do we become a healthy eater?

Eating healthy requires you to become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is. Being food smart isn’t about learning to calculate grams or fat, or is it about studying labels and counting calories.

Healthy eating is about balanced and moderate eating, composing of healthy meals at least three times on a daily basis. Healthy eaters eat various sorts of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group.

Eating healthy requires a large amount of leeway. You could eat too much or not enough, consume foods which might be sometimes more or less nutritious. Nonetheless, it is recommended to fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough food to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.

A healthy eater is a great problem solver. Healthy eaters discovered to look after themselves and their eating with sound judgement and making wise decisions. Healthy eaters are always aware of the things they eat, and know the effect that it will have on their health.

When someone is not able to take control of their eating, they are also likely to get out of control with other aspects of life also. They may wind up spending too much, talking too much, even going to bed later and later.

You should always keep in mind that restricting food in the slightest is always a bad thing. Healthy eating is a way of life, a little something that can be done to enhance your body or your life style. If you’ve thought about making your life better, healthy eating is just the starting point. You’ll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and even your family.

Along with the right treatments and some patience, hair loss can promptly become a thing of the past. For more information, go to my stop hair loss website. A blog for hair loss in men and women.

What to Consider When Taking Appetite Suppressants

February 21st, 2010 Therese Zachary No comments

Some people need appetite suppressants as part of their weight loss programs. You might need some yourself if you are dangerously obese and if you are having a difficult time losing weight.

Purpose of Suppressants

Help in Adjustment – Doctor prescribed oral appetite reduction tablets and capsules shouldn’t be used alone. They aren?t really intended as separate weight loss solutions. What doctors normally do is that they prescribe these medicines for oral intake in conjunction with other weight loss solutions such as exercise and diet. The real purpose of these suppressants is not to control your appetite permanently. They are only intended to help individuals adjust to new diet plans and prescribed eating habits. Eventually, using these medications for a long period of time will reduce their overall effectiveness in reducing appetite.

Following Doctor’s Orders

To be safe, these medications have to be prescribed by a doctor. Since individual conditions differ per person, your doctor may recommend a different dosage for you. This is why it is important to always pay attention to doctor?s instructions for the safe and optimum use of oral suppressants. Do remember too that you have to reveal as much as you can about your medical history to your doctor before accepting your prescription. Your doctor has to know if you are pregnant, if you have underlying medical conditions or if you are under some type of medication. There may be serious complications if you take appetite suppressants under these conditions.

Living a Healthy Lifestyle

A Mix of Everything – As already mentioned, you cannot rely solely on your medication to reduce appetite. It is important to follow your weight loss exercise program and your diet plan to the letter. Remember that medications to control your appetite only work on your craving to eat. They cannot control your food choices, your lifestyle habits or your desire to perform your daily or weekly exercise routines.

Side Effects

Suppressants may lead to side effects. Naturally though, not everyone experiences all of these side effects and not in the same degree. Some possible side effects include nausea, dizziness, constipation, dryness of mouth, stomach pain, insomnia and headache. Some individuals may also experience chest pains, paranoia and depression. With suppressants, you may be at risk of becoming dependent.

Alternatives

Going Natural – Oral medications to control your appetite may be safely used in a lot of cases. Some people however may prefer to try safer alternatives first. There are a couple of natural options. You can try hypnosis or meditation. You could also manage your food choices and eating habits. Eating more fiber and eating in smaller more frequent portions for example may be helpful. A final alternative would be to use all natural supplements that can also help suppress your appetite. You can try products containing Hoodia or the more recently discovered suppressant herb Caralluma.

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Lose Weight with Water

February 16th, 2010 Yongqiang Xie No comments

We sip water to preserve the optimum level of hydration in our bodies to cleanse the body and to flush the toxins out, to keep the joints working, to cool off and to help the food absorption process. The recommended daily water intake is 2 liters. Without refilling lost water, the body goes into thirst and all functions begin to suffer, which is why dieting experts recommend refraining from food, but never from water. Like many other physical functions, the metabolism is reliant on water to work properly.

Without sufficient water, the process of breaching food down slows down radically. Not drinking sufficient water can be evaluated to running of fumes and if you’re dieting and you appear to have hit the plateau, and then you are probably not drinking sufficient water. When the metabolism reduces, weight loss reduces even more severely, particularly since exercising becomes less effectual.

Water also plays a significant part in the procedure of elimination of residues and digestion. Not drinking adequate water is a one-way permit to constipation. Poor digestion clearly indicates that you won’t get sufficient energy from the food you’re consuming. This will prompt the body to inquire for more food, and the weight loss procedure stops.

A dried out body sends out phony hunger pangs, thus appealing you to forget regarding the diet. Even water is also good filler. Want to eat less? Drink a tall glass of water. The water will block a large part of your stomach and the body will be happy to feel that the stomach is not empty. This is not inoperative conjecture, but a sound suggestion whose efficiency can be established by many dietitians and weight loss specialists. Nobody can overeat with semi stomach filled with water and with the body informing him/her: Looks like we’re almost full. Why not cut out on food!

Always remember that reap the advantages of drinking sufficient water, you will want to extend the intake throughout the day. Don’t imbibe 2 liters of water all at once since the body will merely flush the excess and a lot of it will merely be wasted. Also, you don’t require restricting yourself to water. Fruit juices, coffee and tea count as liquids which can be used by the body for the purpose of hydration. Alcohol is out of the query, since alcohol has the contradictory effect on the body. And, ladies, don’t be frightened that consuming lot of water will make you retain it. It’s thirst, not abundance, which compels the body to hang on to what it has.

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A Few More Nutritious Food Alternatives

February 15th, 2010 Susan Worrell No comments

Keeping the calories down and the weight off is a must. We all want to be as healthy as we can be, but sometimes the prospect of good food lures us into a situation that we can’t resist.

Since we have a hard time holding back sometimes, many of us gain weight over time. For a number of reasons, both physical and medical, we should definitely make all possible efforts to keep ourselves at a healthy weight.

If you like to eat good foods but also want to lose weight, there are three suggestions that I’d like to make as far as healthier food substitutes go. Try any of these out for better overall health.

One thing that I’d recommend doing is substituting hamburgers with turkey burgers sometimes. I would suggest that you go for a white meat turkey burger, as these are known to be leaner cuts of the meat and they have less fat.

When prepared right, these can be just as delicious as an ordinary hamburger with just a fraction of the fat content.

Are you a big soda drinker? Even if you’re consuming diet drinks, this simply isn’t a good habit. Instead of either one of these drinks, have an all natural sparkling juice drink instead if you like the feel of carbonation.

French fries are another silent killer that we simply should be eating less of. It might be hard to do this at first, but start eating baked potatoes in their place.

If you need to, you could even throw some low fat sour cream or cheese onto it. A bit of butter isn’t even so bad since it’s all natural.

All of these things will make a difference in your life, and there’s no better time to get started than now.

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Get The Best Benefits With Xtend Life Vitamins

February 12th, 2010 Xylene Belita No comments

The topic about aging is commonly avoided especially when we realize its unwanted effects to our body and appearance. The degradation in our natural resources and environment makes the air and water that we take unsafe. Consuming foods treated with pesticides and chemicals plus the lack of physical activity even accelerates the aging process. Thus, it makes it requires great effort to maintain healthy living. Let us determine the benefits of Xtend Life Vitamins.

When we are young, we dont give a second thought to any healthy regimen, however as we age, we start to see the signs and experience the symptoms of aging. This is when we start to take into consideration the many options to resolve this predicament. This can be prevented if we choose to make the right steps beforehand.

Companies offer many products that guarantee the most promising developments in anti-aging. These include products to extend life and to enjoy life, therapies and other exercise techniques. All of which provide an over-all health solution.

Eating healthy does not automatically provide the body with all the nutrients that are essential for its optimum function. By supplementing your diet with these vitamins, it will satisfy the needs of the body in order to meet the demands and stress of everyday life. It has the essential requirements that provide for the normal functioning of our body to ward off any illness.

Xtend Life vitamins can actually slow or even to a degree, reverse the aging process. To accomplish this task, however, it has to be taken in daily requirements. It has a therapeutic approach to changing the body profile and making it resemble a younger body.

It acts as the bodys helper in performing its many functions which makes you can obtain a younger look, enjoy a longer life and a healthy body. All it requires is a sensible habit, Xtend Life Vitamins.

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The What and When of Buying Organic Foods

February 7th, 2010 Stan Dyer No comments

There was a point many years ago when most of the world either didn’t pay attention to or understand what natural organic food was, let alone the meaning of hormone free and free range. Food was food. But today, people are becoming more conscious of what they put in their bodies. Many of us are beginning to understand the importance of these more natural foods and are not only shopping differently but also choosing more carefully what we order when eating out. However, not all organic foods are the same and that difference shows up in the cost and availability of organic products.

According to the U.S.D.A, in order for any food to be labeled as “USDA organic” certain standards must be met. These standards are usually related to the growing, production or manufacturing process involved. A true organic food may have no ingredients that are synthetic such as pesticides or residue of fertilizers. At least 95% of what goes into an organic food must also be organic. Animals from which products are derived must never have been given growth hormones or antibiotics. If a food is labeled “Made with Organic Ingredients”, only 70% of the ingredients must be organic.

The ideal choice for organic foods is to buy locally grown products that are handled less during the trip from field to table. Organic foods that travel long distances before you buy them can lose some of their organic benefits. Scientists recommend buying organic when purchasing foods generally found to contain higher levels of pesticides when commercially produced.

Fruits grown commercially that have been shown to contain the higher amounts of pesticides are cherries, imported grapes, pears, strawberries and raspberries, apples, and peaches. Celery, potatoes, spinach, bell peppers, and hot peppers are vegetables that, when not grown organically, contain high pesticide levels. With this in mind, the smart decision would be to buy the organically grown versions of these products, despite the higher price.

The fruits found to contain the lowest levels of pesticides are pineapples, plantains, mangoes, bananas, watermelon, plums and kiwis. The vegetables found to contain the lowest levels of pesticides are cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, radishes, broccoli and onions. If on a tight budget, these foods provide a safer alternative when purchasing commercially produced products. Consumers should note that this is not the final word on the above products, but more a matter of the degrees of risk with these products versus those with higher pesticide levels.

When shopping for gadgets or kitchenware, consumer websites can help with picking best products; organic food requires a little more work. As with any dietary choice, choosing organic comes down to personal needs and tastes. Many consumers are not aware that some foods carry a much higher organic benefit than others, and that even factors such as shipping distance affect the value of organic products. Whether or not you choose to eat organic is up to you, but knowing the facts always makes the decision easier.

Stan Dyer is a seasoned writer and photographer residing in Colorado. To have organic food and products delivered to your doorstep, visit http://www.OrganicFoodeStore.com.