Category Archives: health & nutrition

Vitamin C Essential for Good Health

Health & Nutrition, , , , , , , , , , ,

The benefits of Vitamin C go beyond the generally known relieve of colds and flu.
It also helps the body to make collagen, a tough, fibrous protein that helps to build
connective tissue, skin, bones, and teeth, and it also plays a role in wound healing.

There is also some evidence that foods high in vitamin C and other antioxidants can
reduce the inflammation from asthma and return the airways to normal.
I refer to Nutrition Facts.org and my page: nutrition

Osteoarthritis
Doctors believed for many years that osteoarthritis was a “natural” result of wear an tear
on the joints. Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine studied the eating
habits of people with osteoarthritis of the knee. They found that those getting the most
vitamin C – more than 200 milligrams per day – were three times less likely to have the
disease get worse than those who got the least.

Cancer
Vitamin C also has been shown to help prevent cancer-causing compounds from forming
in the digestive tract. Gladys Block PhD, professor of epidemiology and public health
nutrition at the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed dozens of studies that looked
at the relationship between vitamin C and cancer. From the 44 studies she examined, 33
showed that people who consumed the most of this vitamin  had the lowest risk of cancer.

Diabetes
If you have diabetes, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C and E may be your ticket to healthier eyes, nerves, and blood vessels.These vitamins are known as antioxidants.
They help protect your body’s cells against free radicals, naturally occur  cell-damaging
molecules that may pose particular risks to people with diabetes.

Rheumatism
People who are suffering from rheumatism also need Vitamin C
This vitamin strengthens the connective tissue which hold the cells together.
Connective tissue forms the sinews, ligaments, and cartilage of the body.
When this vitamin is lacking, the connective tissue loses its tone and loses its defense
against harmful bacteria and viruses.
Strong connective tissue protect the cells against infection.

Capillaries
Vitamin C also strengthens the blood vessel walls and it is the capillaries
that are affected most by a vitamin C deficiency.
When this happens, the capillaries break down and blood leaks from them
into the tissues. These tiny haemorrhages occur also in the joints, and
causes rheumatic pain. (When capillaries break near the surface of the skin,
the escaping blood discolors the skin and results in a bruise.
The capillaries exist in such an abundance in the human body, that if the
capillaries of one man were stretched out in a single line, they would reach
two and a half times around the earth!

With every type of disease the capillaries will be harmed and conversely,
by strengthening them, every diseased state will be helped.
The capillaries supply food, oxygen, and hormones to every cell in the body.
They also remove waste products from metabolism and disease.
When the capillaries are strong, the risk of infection is greatly reduced and
infections are quickly thrown off.

Male Infertility
If men don’t get enough vitamin C,  sperm lose some of their forward momentum.
They get sticky and start clumping together, a  problem doctors call agglutination.
Once men start getting more vitamin C, however, sperm increase in number   and
quickly pick up speed.

Smokers
Getting more vitamin C is particularly important for men who smoke.
Studies have shown that smokers who get extra vitamin C in their diets  will have
healthier, more active sperm than those who don’t.

Vitamin C is also essential for healthy bone formation and people suffering
from hay fever may also benefit.

Sources of Vitamin C are broccoli  , a half cup contains 58 milligrams,
a half cup cantaloupe contains 34 milligrams and a medium-size navel orange
has 80 milligrams , which is 133% of the Daily Allowance .

 

Health Benefits of Brown Rice

Health & Nutrition, , , , , , ,

Rice is the main ingredient in cuisines around the world
with an estimated 40,000 varieties available worldwide.
In the United States you can buy white and brown basmati rice
from India and Pakistan, Arborio rice from Italy, Valencia rice
from Spain and “sticky”” rice from Japan, to name just a few.

Brown rice is the most nutritious kind of rice, which contains
abundant amounts of fiber, complex carbohydrates and essential
B vitamins. Brown rice retain all four parts of their original
grain kernel – the germ, the bran, a protective layer called
the aleurone, and the starchy endosperm – intact.

White rice only has the high-carb, nearly zero fiber endosperm.
What’s missing? Not just fiber, but hundreds of health-protective
phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals.
According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, whole
grains can have 10 times the amount of vitamin E, four times
the potassium, magnesium and zinc; three times the vitamin B6,
and twice the selenium of white rice.

No wonder when you eat at least three servings of brown rice
a day, you cut your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and
overweight.

The body need small amounts of cholesterol for different functions,
for example for making cell walls and for manufacturing essential
hormones. In order to supply the necessary amounts, the liver
produces cholesterol every day. But when we eat a high-fat diet,
the body churns out more cholesterol than it can use.
As a result, the risk of heart disease goes up.
We can avoid this from happening by eating brown rice.
A compound in the bran layer of rice, called oryzanol, has been shown
to reduce the body’s production of cholesterol.
This compound is actually chemically similar to cholesterol-lowering
medications.

In a study at Louisiana State University, people ate 100 grams of
rice bran a day for three weeks. At the end, levels of harmful
low-density Lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol decreased by 10%, while
levels of beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
stayed the same. That means a 30% reduction in risk of heart attack.
Ïn combination with a low-fat diet, brown rice is one of the best
foods you can eat for lowering cholesterol”, says Dr.Hegsted.

Fiber offers powerful protection against type 2 diabetes.
Studies show that eating at least three servings of brown rice a day,
cuts the risk for this condition by 21% to 30%. Because fiber slows
digestion and keeps blood sugar low and steady.

In contrast, carbohydrates from refined grains ( white rice) send
blood sugar soaring after a meal, and triggering the release of
more insulin to force the sugar into cells.
Over time, higher blood sugar and insulin levels put you in the
danger zone for diabetes – and also for high blood pressure and
even some forms of cancer.

The insoluble kind of fiber in brown rice acts like a sponge in the
intestine, soaking up large amounts of water, according to Dr. Hegsted.
As a result, stools are getting larger and wetter, so they pass
more easily. Also, larger stools move faster through the colon.
As a result, any harmful substances that they contain, have less time
to damage cells in the colon wall, which may reduce the risk of cancer.

Some researchers estimate that if people would increase the amount of
fiber in their diets to 39 grams a day, they could drop the risk of
colon cancer by 31%.

Tips on How to Lose Belly Fat

Health & Nutrition, , , , ,

Many people like to know how to lose belly fat.
If you are one of them, I like to introduce you to Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist,
Certified Personal Trainer and owner and author of Truth About Abs.com, the #1 rated
Abs program on the Internet, and several other popular fitness and health Websites.

The Truth About Six Pack Abs is the #1 ranked Abdominals ebook in the world
(as ranked by clickbank.com) with over 539,000 readers in 163 countries to date.

He is also the co-author of the newest best-selling nutrition program called:
The Fat Burning Kitchen:Your 24-Hour Diet Transformation
to Make Your Body a Fat Burning Machine.

And his newest creation is a delicious new manual he co-authored that you also
won’t want to miss if you care about protecting your body from aging:
The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging – 101 little-known foods, herbs, spices, teas,
nutrients, and dozens of other anti-aging tricks to protect your skin, organs, muscles,
and joints from aging, so you can look and feel 10 years YOUNGER than your age.

His passion is to show you how to eat delicious food and still get super lean.
He dedicate himself to constantly staying up-to-date on new and innovative
training strategies, as well as the latest nutrition tips in order to pass this
valuable information on to you, his reader, and help improve the quality of your life.

You can also find plenty of his various fitness tips related to exercise, nutrition,
building muscle, lose belly  fat, reducing stress, and living a healthier and happier life at his Six-Pack Abs Fat Loss Blog.

Mike is a well-known expert who deals exclusively with the most effective strategies for how to lose belly fat so that you can finally uncover those elusive six pack abs
that everyone desires.

Some of Mike’s strategies deal with nutrition aspects and others deal with
training techniques, but I was impressed to see that Mike has put together one of the most comprehensive resources for dealing with all of the aspects necessary to finally get rid of that nasty belly fat for good.

The key is that Mike focuses on the REAL techniques that are going to get you
lasting results, and teaches you how to avoid all of these “quick-fix” scams and gimmicks that are all over the infomercials and the internet these days.

Several of the mistakes that Mike sees every day where people are going wrong in their fat loss attempts are:

1. Most people are wasting too much of their time doing hundreds of reps of ineffective crunches, sit ups, and other “abs pumping” exercises in their attempt at losing stomach fat.

Mike has discovered that there are certain highly effective exercises that stimulate your metabolism much better, and increase your fat burning hormone levels much more.

These exercises that Mike outlines are the best of the best for getting a lean, chiseled body.

Surprisingly to most, the majority of these most effective exercises for stomach fat loss are NOT “abs-specific” exercises .

Not only that, but Mike shows you how to combine and sequence them to get the best metabolic and fat loss results possible, changing the shape of your entire body.

2. Most people are wasting way too much time doing hours upon hours of boring monotonous cardio routines.

Mike has researched this topic extensively, including an entire course he’s taken comparing different modalities of cardiovascular exercise.

After all of this research, he came to the conclusion that the majority of people out there are not doing the right types of cardio exercise.

In fact, most people may actually be inadvertently decreasing their metabolic rate by doing too much of the wrong types of cardio!

The strategies that Mike reveals in his program go beyond “interval cardio” too.

3. Most people are failing miserably with fad diets.

Mike reveals exactly why most low-carb or low-fat diets are actually working against what your body needs to become lean and ripped and maintain it for life!

Mike shows you exactly how to stop falling for the gimmick diets and finally develop a truly healthy eating style that you can actually enjoy for life without being overly restrictive. It’s actually easier and more enjoyable than you may think!

Mike’s system will show you how to lose belly fat that has plagued you for years, so you can finally get that sexy six pack that you’ve always wanted.

Here’s the site: https://nutrobalance2.net/6-pack-abs

Don’t forget to visit Mike’s site today, as he’s giving away some great free bonus reports and other tools that might not be available much longer.

Thanks!

<< ADRIAN JOELE>>

P.S. Try the best selling “Truth about Six Pack Abs” program for FREE. for 21 Days!
Visit: https://nutrobalance2.net/6-pack-abs

Facts about Healthy Food

Health & Nutrition, ,

Because food is one of the most important things in our daily lives, I like to give you some facts about healthy foods, hardly anybody thinks about the consequences of what they eat and how it will effect their health and the quality of their live.
As food is such an important factor in our lives, it should be a priority as one of the fundamental topics children learn about at school.
And parents don’t generally compensate for this lack of education because they were never taught about it either.

If you want to be truly lean and healthy, you need to think differently than the average person who eats what they see and knows what tastes good, without thinking about it.

There have to be some simple rules in order to be able to distinguish between healthy, nutritious food and all the food that’s making you fat and sick.
There is a lot of confusion about what is the best “diet”. People seem to jump from fad diet to fad diet, like low-fat diets, atkins diets, south beach diets, grapefruit diets, detox diets, vegetarian diets and sometimes ridiculous diets that often are based on one person’s opinion or marketing scheme rather than on actual science.

The only “diet” that’s actually based on real science is the study of paleolithic nutrition.
It’s not like any other fad diet, but it’s based on real archaeological nutritional science, about what our ancestors ate before the agricultural revolution.
For the first 99.5% of our existence ancestors back as far as 2 Million years ago, homo erectus) humans only ate wild plants and animals.
But for the last 0.5% of our existence (since the agricultural revolution in the last 5,000 to 10,000 years), humans now almost entirely eat farmed plants and animals. The biggest change this represent is the massive inclusion of grains in our current diet, compared to our Paleolithic ancestors.

Many people think that we don’t know exactly what our ancestors ate, but this is not true.
Nutritional archaeologists know convincingly what ancient human beings ate as they studied a lot of evidence, such as ancient feces remains, as well as isotope ratios in human bone samples from all over the world, through every time period in history to determine ratios of animals versus plants that ancient humans ate.Which was always an omnivorous mixture of plants and animals, and a fairly high protein intake.
There was no such thing as ancient paleolithic vegetarians. Any nutritional archaeologist can confirm that they simply didn’t exist. We were all omnivores that ate different ratios of plants and animals, based on what part of the world, what latitude we lived and what time of the year.

So what exactly did our ancestors eat for the first 99.5% of our existence?
wild meat,fish, and seafood (animals that ate the right foods, unlike our current farmed meats and farmed fish) ,fruits, veggies, eggs, nuts and seeds.

Grains were only a very tiny fraction of the ancient Paleolithic diet, as there was no way to process large amounts of grain into flour. It would only be small amounts of wild grain in an occasional soup or stew.
As you can see, this is totally different from the modern human diet that includes grain in almost every meal and in very large quantities in cereals, breads, pasta, muffins, bagels etc.

Now let’s get into the details of some of the most important facts about food.

#1. You would be healthier and leaner if you get most of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables instead of grains and processed sugar. The biggest problem with grains, apart from deregulation of your blood sugar system (pancreas and insulin sensitivity) is that grain contains a lot of anti-nutrients which prevent your body from absorbing some minerals, as well as gluten and other substances that cause chronic gut inflammation and even possible digestive system damage with severe gluten intolerance.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes have less problems in terms of digestive system inflammation than grains do.

#2. Look for quality protein sources such as wild game, wish fish and seafood, grass-fed meats, and free-roaming organically fed chicken eggs. Try to avoid most farmed meats and fish that were fed mostly grains.

#3. Be aware of the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of the food you eat. The diet of our ancestors in the Paleolithic era appears that it had a ratio of approx. 1:1 to 2:1 omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.
The current western diet contains anywhere between 20:1 and 30:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats.
This is a big problem and one of the reasons that there are so many degenerative diseases.

In order to improve this ratio, you need to avoid soybean oils corn oil, cottonseed oil and minimize grain-fed meats and farmed fish. Instead, focus on wild fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, free-range eggs
and other foods that can help you to get more omega-3. An important fact to know is that animal sources of omega-3 are much more powerful to your health than plant-based omega-3 sources.
This is because animal sources of omega-3 already contain DHA and EPA already converted, compared to plant sources who don’t, and your body is very inefficient at converting plant sources of omega-3 fats to DHA and EPA.

#4. Three of the most important foods in the Western diet to avoid are: corn, soy and wheat, and there derivatives like corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, soy protein etc.
Currently, the average adult eating a typical modern western diet in countries like USA, Canada, Australia etc.
consumes approx. 67% of their total calorie intake from only 3 foods: corn, soy and wheat.

Our ancestors have historically eaten over 80,000 species of plants, animals and fungi throughout human history, compared to modern humans who are getting 67% of their calories from only three foods.
That’s a problem!

#5. Watch out for hidden calories and inflammation-causing ingredients in condiments and dressings.
Most people are unaware of how many calories and metabolism damaging high fructose corn syrup they are ingesting in things like ketchup, salad dressings, marinades etc.
Be a label reader and avoid HFCS! Despite deceptive advertisements from the corn refining industry that claim “HFCS is no worse than sugar and is natural”, this is far from the truth!
These are just a few of some facts about health food and I hope this will make you more aware of the hidden facts about healthy food.

If you like to read more facts about food, visit: www.truthaboutabs.com/food-facts.html

Health Benefits of Beans

Health & Nutrition, ,

Despite their small seize, beans contain a surprisingly rich and varied array of substances that are vital for good health.

First of all, beans are a great source of dietary fiber, according to Joe Hughes, PhD, assistant professor in the nutrition and food sciences program at California State University in San Bernardino, whose research is centered on beans.

Beans are also a good source of minerals, protein, and surprisingly: antioxidants.
They are one of the best foods to lower cholesterol. The soluble fiber in beans traps cholesterol-containing bile, removing it from the body before it’s absorbed.

Eating a cup of cooked beans a day can lower total cholesterol about 10% in 6 weeks.
While 10% may not seem like much, keep in mind that every 1% reduction in total cholesterol means a 2% decrease in your risk for heart disease.

Beans can lower cholesterol in just about anyone, but the higher your cholesterol level, the better they work. It appears that all types of beans can lower cholesterol, even canned beans.

Another benefit from beans is that they keep blood sugar levels steady.

Beans are rich sources of phytochemicals, which are plant components that have antioxidant and other disease fighting properties. Beans may contain hundreds of types of antioxidant chemicals.

Remember that antioxidants help protect you from cancer by limiting damaging attacks on your cells from free radicals.

Some other compounds in beans – like lignans, isoflavons, saponins, phytic acid, and protese inhibiters- have been shown to inhibit cancer-cells growth.

Beans are  also a great source of vitamins and minerals.
A half-cup of black beans contains 128 micro grams, or 32% of the Daily Value (DV) for folate, a B vitamin that may lower risk of heart disease and fight birth defects. That same cup has 2 milligram of iron, 11% of the DV , and 305 milligram of potassium, or 9% of the DV. Potassium is a mineral that has shown to help control blood pressure.

All beans are a good source of fiber. They have the highest concentration of lectin, which protect our cells for viruses, bacteria and cancer cells.
They have to be properly prepared and cooked.

Problems Concerning the Eyes

Health & Nutrition, , , , , ,

Cataract surgery is most common for people over the age
of sixty In the US, eye surgeons perform 1.3 million cataract
operations every year for a total cost of US $3.5 billion.

The lens of the eye collects and focus light on the retina.
It is important for the lens to stay clear throughout our lifetime,
In order to function properly. As we age, various components
of the lens may get damaged, leading to cataracts.

Medical research has proven that supply of sufficient anti-
oxidants at an early age can prevent cataract formation.
Antioxidants are needed to combat against free radicals,
due to ultraviolet sunlight.

In particular the fluid around the lens of the eye has to be
protected by antioxidants against oxidative damage.
The most important antioxidant is vitamin C, which is found
in high concentration around the lens, as well as vitamin E,
alpha-lipoic acid and beta-carotine.

A study showed that consuming vitamins in supplementation
protects the eye and decrease the risk of developing
cataracts by 50%. There is sufficient evidence that taking
antioxidants is an inexpensive way to decrease cataract
formation.

Another problem concerning the eye is macular degeneration.
It is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of
sixty.

This is the decay of an important part of the retina called
macula. This is the area, which deals with central vision,
where the greatest concentration of photoreceptors are located.

We recoqnize wet and dry forms. Ninety percent of the cases
represent the dry form, in which central vision gradually
reduces and may proceed to the wet form for the remaining
ten percent.

There is currently no treatment available for the dry form.
The wet form can be treated via laser photocoagulation,
by which new vessel formation can be slowed down, which
causes swelling and bleeding into the retina.
Blindness usually follows rather quickly.

Theories suggest that light entering the eye and focused on
the macula of the retina causes significant free-radical
production in the outer aspect of the photoreceptors.

If there are no sufficient antioxidants available to the
photoreceptors, lipofuscin formation, a toxic substance,
within the retinal pigment epithelium, causes more oxidation
damage to the retina and research believe it is actually
the cause of damage and destruction of these sensitive
photoreceptors.

Lipofuscin accumulate in the pigment epithelium cells and
are eventually excreted in the form of drusen, which is one
of the first indications of macular degeneration development.

The development of drusen separates the photoreceptors
of the eye from its blood supply and causes an area of
blindness.

High-energy ultraviolet light and visible blue light are in
particular responsible for the production of free radicals
in the retina of the eye.

Our natural antioxidant defence system that protects us from
this free radical damage, declines when we get older.
Macular degeneration is characterised by low levels of zinc,
selinium, vitamin C, vitamin E and carotenoid.

High levels of carotenoids, called lutein and zeaxanthine,
absorb the blue light portion of visible light, that can damage
the lens and he retina of the eye. They are strong antioxidants
and are found in corn and leafy green vegetables.

CoQ10 can also play a part in reducing the oxidative damage
caused by free radicals.

Glutathione, which is a very potent antioxidant found within
every cell of our body, is in particular critical within the lens of
our eye and the pigment and the photoreceptor cells of the
retina. The level of glutathione declines when we get older.

Glutathione peroxidase is one of the natural antioxidant
defencesystems that our body creates. The nutrients needed
for the body to make its own defense are selinium, vitamin B6,
N-acetyl-L-cysteine and niacin.

Vitamin C and alpha-lipoic acid have the ability to regenerate
glutathione. Zinc is important for the function of our catalase
antioxidant defense system and selinium is necessary for the
glutathione peroidase system and both are important to
combat free radicals produced in the eye.

As we get older, the lens of our eyes allows more ultraviolet
light through and no longer protects the retina from damage
of ultraviolet light. A good quality pair of sunglasses that
block all UV light are important.

Without any doubt, the underlying cause of cataracts and
macular degeneration is oxidative stress.
Consequently, we can’t be too agressive in our
supplementation plan.

Three Tips for losing Weight

Health & Nutrition, ,

#1 Eat a high protein breakfast.

Starting your day with a high protein breakfast is the easiest and most effective way to lose weight.

Studies show that protein helps to curb your appetite and avoid overeating.
It keeps you feeling fuller for longer.

A good quality breakfast, high in weight loss friendly protein, may improve mental performance in school children, teenagers and certain patient groups.

Protein is a key nutrient for weight loss, because the body uses more calories to metabolize protein, compared with fat or carbs.

Protein Sources:

  • Meat – Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, bacon, etc.
    Fish and Seafood – Salmon, trout, shrimps, lobsters, etc.
    Eggs – Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs are best.

The importance of eating plenty of protein can not be overstated.

This has been shown to boost metabolism by 80 to 100 calories per day

#2. Eat less Sugars and Starches

These foods highly stimulate the secretion of insulin. Insulin is the most important fat storage hormone in the body.

When insulin levels decrease, the body starts burning fat instead of carbs.

Another benefit of low insulin levels is that your kidneys shed excess sodium and water out of your body, which reduces bloat and unnecessary water weight.

You can lose up to ten pounds or more, in both body fat and water, in the first week by eating this way.

When you cut the carbs,and lower your insulin, you start to eat less calories automatically and without hunger.

In other words, lowering your insulin puts fat loss on “autopilot”.

#3. Lift Weights at least three times per week.

By lifting weights, you will burn a few calories and prevent your metabolism
from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight.

You can even gain some muscle while losing significant amounts of body fat.

Instead of weight lifting, you can also do some easier cardio workouts,
like running, jogging, walking or swimming.

Dieting Fears Ruining Food Enjoyment

Health & Nutrition, , ,

With the ever-increasing list of fad diets that the average person tries, it’s no wonder we have lost our food enjoyment and it’s hardly surprising that ‘disordered eating’ is
on the rise.

It’s hard to go a day without hearing about the latest food craze and it can be tricky not being influenced by what you have heard. Worse still, you start to categorize food into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. You try to avoid anything on the long list of ‘bad’ foods but more often than not, we slip up when we’re hungry, on the go or going out for a meal.
Disordered eating is not the same as an eating disorder. It is estimated that 1 million Australians practice food restriction or tamper with their diets in order to lose weight. This can be anything from skipping breakfast, avoiding carbohydrates, cutting out certain sugars or avoiding all fats.

Despite well intended efforts to improve health and lose weight, these eating practices don’t do much for overall health and self-empowerment when it comes to food.
At the same time, these practices can also lead to unhealthier relationships with food with approximately 20% of the female population having an undiagnosed eating disorder. The statistics can be startling with 65% of females as young as 15 years old on a diet with 8% are severely dieting.
The problem is not with just the diets themselves, some of which cause nutrient deficiencies or other undesirable outcomes like constipation. The longer lasting impact however, is the psychological bearing that diets have on your state of mind.
Studies have shown that maintaining a consistently slightly higher body weight is much better for your overall health than yo-yoing in body weight from year to year due to dieting.

The non-dieting approach to weight loss
This doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel with weight loss, it means you need a better approach. We recommend the ‘non-dieting approach’ to weight loss.
The non-dieting approach includes:
listen to your body’s natural hunger cues
eat when you’re hungry and stop eating when you’re full
get rid of your good and bad food lists. This is because when trying to avoid foods you’re not supposed to eat, it only makes you want to eat it more! Luckily, including a few small squares of chocolate post dinner may be a better way to stay on track than trying to avoid it all together.
Cut back on rich, highly processed and sugary foods like cakes, biscuits and takeaway for good results. Save these fun foods for special occasions instead of putting them on a bad food list.

Choose wholesome, fresh food that makes you feel good, energetic and satisfied.
Stop fearing food and see it for what it is, something that is meant to taste good and be enjoyed. Food should be nourishing, respected and eaten mindfully.

Gabrielle Maston
Gabrielle is a health professional who has a drive for life and loves adventure. She is a sports & clinical dietitian, exercise physiologist and personal trainer. This allows her to decipher fact from fiction in all things nutrition and fitness.
To Gabrielle, health is not only about the science of the human body, it’s also about the mind. Self belief, body love and trying new things will build confidence and ultimately lead to good health.
If you need help with an individualised plan for sport, health or weight loss, visit her website for more information: www.changingshape.net.au
– See more at: http://www.asteronlife.com.au/balance/nutrition/disordered-eating#sthash.yzE2HpIk.dpuf

Facts about Yoga

Health & Nutrition, ,

Yoga is an ancient practice of health and well-being that
involves holding and moving between various postures,
specified breathing methods and achieving altering states
of consciousness through meditation.

While the broader aim of traditional yogic practices is
unifying mind and body with spirit, in the West it has

come to be seen as a relaxing or muscle toning physical
activity, depending on yoga style.

Regardless of which yoga method is practiced, studies
have confirmed its healing properties.
In fact,
many studies have found that regular practice of yoga
can reduce blood pressure by as much as 15 mm
(millimeters of mercury in blood pressure reading).

With extended practice of yoga, a level of fitness is
achieved and weight loss experienced, which are also
responsible for lowering of blood pressure and the
reduction of daily stress.

Reduction of stress, lowering of blood pressure,
calmness of mind and slowed breathing are all tools
that help reduce pain and other symptoms and
negative effects of suffering arthritis.

Yoga can be an effective method for decreasing pain
by its ability to induce a deep calming effect and
slower breathing, which assist in the relaxation of
muscles and reduction of trigger points and
systemic inflammation.
This ancient practice brings down the stress induced
fight or flight response, thereby reducing the levels
of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol that are
pumping through your system.

Yoga practices, especially those with a spiritual
component, also offer practitioners an emotional
experience along with their physical movements,
fostering feelings of love, kindness, compassion and
forgiveness. These feelings alone reduce the way
people react to daily stress and the people around
them. Stress causes pain, so less stress means
less tension in the body and therefore less pain.

The body has learned ways of reacting to stress with
protective measures like tension and pain.
To overcome those ingrained responses, one needs to
retrain the body’s response to the mind.

Practicing yoga has proven effective at doing this.
It gives the mind and the body a new pattern of
relaxation and quietness.
Yoga teaches one to use their mind to observe their
body, to control posture, to regulate breathing…
all in an effort to allow them to take control of
their experiences and how their experiences take
hold in the body.

The ongoing practice of yoga offers a transformation.
It changes stress and pain responses into healing
responses. Over time, it brings one to feel a sense
of self-empowerment, vitality and relaxed,
stress-free living.

The Importance of Minerals

Health & Nutrition, , ,

Minerals are as bio-catalysts of vital importance, necessary for numerous parts of the metabolism of cells.

Because of the total molecular/cellular complexity of all our organs and tissues, and their inter dependency, it is impossible for a single nutrient to heal or correct any condition.
Our normal internal environment, called homeostatis, must be maintained at all times. Our body’s incredible intelligence will go to any length to save our life, even at the expense of stealing certain crucial nutrients from one organ or tissue to supply the greater need of another.

Since the brain is our body’s master controller, it’s life must be maintained above all else. To do this, the brain requires the lion’s share of oxygen and glucose to keep it functioning at optimal level, even at the expense of the supply to other organs. The equal sharing of necessary minerals and other nutrients with the rest of the body, takes second place.

Through the little understood process of biological transmutation, our body is capable, if necessary, to change or “transmuting” some minerals into other minerals, when certain minerals are in short supply. For example, if little or no calcium is available, our body can change silica into calcium to meet the calcium need. However, it’s not possible for our body to transform every nutrient into any others we happen to be deficient in at any moment of time. It is therefore of the upmost importance to supply our body with the raw materials from which it can build and repair all of the tissues and organs.

Some important minerals are: calcium, magnesium and kalium.