Monday, March 10, 2008

Eat More Pectin For Successful Weight Loss

By: Lee Dobbins
Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to not feel so hungry all the time when you are trying to lose weight? Well there is a way and it's not some new fad either, it's something that's natural, has no adverse side effects and might be sitting right in your fridge - fiber. One type of fiber that you probably already have been eating is called pectin. Pectin is found in fruits, such as apples, strawberries, and peaches, along with vegetables including carrots, sweet potatoes and beans. Pectin is a carbohydrate that has no calories. Pectin is a great source of fiber, which we all know is important for a healthy diet. Aside from helping you feel full longer, pectin can help to cut cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It may even aid in the prevention of colon cancer.Pectin can help you lose and maintain your weight because it causes the stomach to empty more slowly. As a result, after eating pectin, you feel satisfied longer. This means that you will eat less, which will lead to weight loss. And if you think you'll have to be gobbling down hundreds of apples or guzzling pectin drinks, think again - research has shown that as little as a single teaspoon can help you to feel satisfied.Where Can You Get Pectin?Thankfully, you won't have to drive miles out of your way to get your supply of pectin because it is sold right in your local grocery store. It comes in a powder, which may be known as Sure-Jel, or a liquid, known as Certo. Derived from grapefruit and apples, pectin is usually found with the baking supplies in most supermarkets. How To Take PectinYou can mix pectin with orange juice, water, or soft drinks. It has no taste so shouldn't affect the taste of the beverage you mix it in. It is best to increase your intake gradually to let your system adjust to the added fiber. Start off with a teaspoon a day and then gradually add more in to a max of 3 teaspoons a day. You can also add pectin to broth or soups, applesauce and even baked potatoes.

Lose Weight by Eating More -- Food that is Virtually Impossible to Store as Body Fat

By: Marty Gallagher
Certain foods are extremely difficult for the human body to convert into body fat - not impossible but damned near impossible. By consuming calories derived from these foods, the anabolic margin of error is extended dramatically, which means it will be easier to lose fat and gain muscle, if you choose.Lean protein, protein devoid of saturated fat, has been the staple, the bedrock nutrient of elite athletes for 50 years. Why? You can eat a mountain of lean protein and not get fat - assuming you train with intensity sufficient enough to trigger muscle growth. Lean protein is difficult for the body to break down and digest. As a direct result of this digestive difficulty, the body kicks the metabolic thermostat upward to break protein down into subcomponent amino acids.The human body wants to preserve stored body fat as a last line of defense against starvation. If overworked and under-fed, the body will preferentially eat muscle tissue to save precious body fat.Obese people that go on crash diets, precipitously slashing calories, might lose 100-pounds of body weight, yet still appear fat. Despite losing from say 350-pounds to 250-pounds, they still appear fat because they still are fat. The body has cannibalized muscle tissue and saved the fat. Though they might weigh 100-pounds less, they still possess 25-40% body fat percentile.Lean protein is the bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it supplies muscle tissue battered by a high intensity weight workout with the amino acids needed to heal, recover and construct new muscle tissue. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it causes the basal metabolic rate (BMR) to elevate; the metabolic thermostat, the rate at which our body consumes calories, increases when digesting protein. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it is damned near impossible for the body to convert it into body fat.The other bedrock nutrient in the physical transformation process is fibrous carbohydrates: carrots, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, spinach, cauliflower, onions, asparagus, cabbage, salad greens, Brussels sprouts and the like. Fibrous carbohydrates, like lean protein, are nearly impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Fibrous carbohydrates require almost as many calories to digest as they contain. A green bean or carrot might contain 10-calories yet is so dense and difficult to break down that the body has to expend nearly as many calories to break down that bean or carrot as the vegetable contains.Fibrous carbohydrates have a wonderful "Roto-Rooter" effect on the internal plumbing: as they work their way though the digestive passageways they scrape mucus and gunk off intestinal walls and help keep sludge buildup to a minimum. For this reason fibrous carbohydrates are the perfect compliment to a lean protein diet. Too much protein can cause bile buildup: fiber is the Yin to protein's Yang. The two nutrients should be eaten together.Both protein and fiber have a beneficial dampening effect on insulin secretions. It is no accident that professional bodybuilders, the world's best dieters, capable of reducing body fat percentiles to 5% while maintaining incredible muscle mass, construct their eating regimen around protein and fiber.The best way to eat is to eat often. If you eat 3,000 calories a day the best way is in five 600-calorie feeding or six 500-calorie feedings instead of a breakfast containing 400-calories, a lunch of 1000-calories and a late dinner of 1,600-calories. Avoid calories easily converted into body fat.Eat multiple small meals in the 400-600 calorie range comprised exclusively of foods near impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Plus, these foods cause the metabolism, the BMR, the body thermostat to elevate in order to digest them. Optimally you should eat every three hours: in about the time the nutrients from the previous meal have dwindled, been expended and exhausted, in about the time the elevated metabolism is 'settling back down to normal,' eat another small protein/fiber meal. This reestablishes anabolism, kicks the metabolism upward once again and gives the body more practice at assimilating and distributing quality nutrients.They say practice makes perfect and by eating small, power-packed, tough to digest meals every three hours, the metabolism is kept elevated, anabolism is established and maintained and the individual never feels hungry. A person who is not hungry is far less inclined to binge on sweets and treats, junk and trash then the crash diet/calorie cutters who always feel hungry, deprived, listless and lacking energy.The small meal/protein/fiber approach has been used successfully by elite athletes for decades and is not some untried dietary abstraction - rather it is the proven method of choice, one that has withstood the test of time, one that has been used for decades and been proven effective time after time.If a person is able to establish a multiple meal schedule comprised primarily of lean protein and fiber eaten every three hours, then adds to this eating schedule some serious weight training and a cardiovascular regimen, physical transformation is a biological certainty.

How to Really Make Your Diet Work For You

By: Stanislav Karpunin
First of all, you need to understand, that your body needs a proper Balanced Nutrition Diet, with a proper daily amount of: vitamins, proteins, minerals and carbohydrates.
Get into a habit of eating exactly 3 Meals a day.
1. Eat breakfast within one hour of rising.Breakfast provides at least 30 percent of the total energy and nutrition needed to sustain the human body during the whole day. And therefore it is very important to have a proper breakfast and not to skip it.
2. Have a healthy low-fat lunch snack.Have a healthy snack in your lunch time, low fat yogurt for example, to keep your energy running.
3. Have your dinner three hours before your bedtime.Have a Proper dinner three hours before your bedtime; never go to bed on a full stomach.
Drink at least 2 liters of water a day. 2 liters of water a day would help your body to burn calories more effectively and to get rid of toxins.
Exercising is a KEY.By exercising, your body gets an advantage of many physiological benefits such as:
Weight Control by elevating your metabolism so that you burn more calories daily.
The Boost in your energy level
Strengthening of your heart and lungs
Improvement in your self-image and self-confidence. So, don't forget to exercise at least 10 minutes a day.
Try to avoid using fats. Try to keep the fat level in your cooking as low as possible.
Make Calcium your friend. Include as much calcium as you can in your daily diet by eating:
Oranges
Broccoli
Soybeans
Tofu
Sunflower Seeds
Papaya And other sources of calcium. Calcium is a crucial element for bone metabolism. Calcium deficiency is very common. The "Average" American diet does not even come close to meeting the normal calcium requirements:
425 mg. a day for Men 450 mg. a day for Women
So, to sum it up:1. Have exactly 3 meals a day2. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day3. Exercise at least 10 minutes a day4. Avoid fats5. Make calcium your friend
By following these 5 simple rules, you will be losing weight in no time.

The Walk to Freedom

By: Sarah Manners
This is the moment four-year-old Reece Wilks dreamed of. His mother Jan arrived to walk him home from school for the first time since pioneering treatment meant she could leave her wheelchair at home.The mother-of-two, Jan Wilks was once crippled by Multiple Sclerosis. Thanks to a revolutionary stem cell treatment she is now able to walk Reece to his classroom door.This summer Mrs Wilks, of Stockbridge Lane, Page Moss, had a controversial medical procedure in a private clinic in a desperate attempt to keep her MS at bay. Within hours she was on her feet and free from pain. Three months on, Mrs Wilks's health is going from strength to strength and she can do the school trip to Beechwood Primary School with Reece unaided.
The BenefitsOf the treatment Mrs Wilks, 45, said: "I am feeling great. Everything about my health seems to have improved so much. It is the small things that mean so much to me - the little victories. My legs aren't perfect but I can stand for longer and hang out my own washing on the line. I am not in pain, I feel stronger and I am not sleeping all the time. I can play games with the children. I have more patience and energy. Sometimes I catch myself walking upstairs and can't believe the treatment has worked so well. The kids are made up with me. I feel normal again. I am back at work and everyone says how well I look because all the pain in my face has gone."One of the highlights of the summer was a family holiday in Cornwall where Mrs Wilks was able to build sandcastles with her sons Reece and Daniel, 12, sit on the beach and go out for the evening with husband Paul.
Treating Multiple SclerosisWhen Jan Wilks was diagnosed with MS in 2000, her condition had no treatment or cure and doctors said it would eventually cripple and then kill her. Her husband, Paul Wilks, 40, spent hours on the internet searching for alternative treatments and discoveredstem cell therapy was being used elsewhere in the world to help slow the progress of diseases such as Parkinson's, cancer and MS. But the expensive procedure was unfortunately not yet available in the UK.The Wilks family were preparing to sell their home to pay for treatment in Holland when colleagues at the Asda store in Huyton stepped in to help, raising more than £13,000.
Stem Cells - A Controversial TherapyStem cells are the building blocks for every tissue and organ in the body. They have the ability to grow outside the body and can be transplanted to produce tissue regrowth in patients with tissue degenerating diseases.The cells can be taken from a variety of sources, including unborn foetuses - but this makes stem cell therapy controversial because it raises medical ethics issues. Stem cells used to treat Jan came from umbilical cords which would have otherwise been destroyed. Her treatment - which took just a few hours - saw cells put into her body via a drip, and an injection into the spine to repair damage.This treatment has increased the quality of Jan's life dramatically, not only is she able to walk unaided but has gone back to work and has been able to spend more quality time with her family thereby increasing the quality of their lives as well.

Managing Your Cholesterol - The Best Way To Prevent Hearth Attacks

By: Richard Clement
Cholesterol is one of the most familiar medical words today. Everyone knows "something" about it , but mostly cholesterol is associated in our mind with something "bad" and "unwanted" that happens to old and overweight people.The facts show that about 20 percent of the U.S. population has high blood cholesterol levels.
Actually holesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance (lipid) that your body needs for many important functions, such as producing new cells , some hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat. It is present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain, nerves, muscle, skin, liver, intestines, and heart.
In fact our bodies need cholesterol to function normally, but too much cholesterol can be bad for our health. Why ? Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers. Cholesterol travels through your blood attached to a protein. This cholesterol-protein package is called a lipoprotein. Lipoproteins are high density or low density depending on how much protein there is in relation to fat.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood. If too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries feeding the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged by cholesterol and fat deposits (a process called atherosclerosis) and cannot supply enough blood to the heart, the result is coronary heart disease. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack. This is usually due to a sudden closure from a blood clot forming on top of a previous narrowing. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is called "bad" cholesterol because it can cause cholesterol buildup and blockage of your arteries. LDL is mostly fat with only a small amount of protein.
About one-third to one-fourth of blood cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Medical experts think HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it's passed from the body. Some experts believe HDL removes excess cholesterol from plaques and thus slows their growth. HDL is called "good" cholesterol because it helps prevent cholesterol from building up in your arteries. It is mostly protein with only a small amount of fat.
Since there is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol it is not only necessary to know your cholesterol level ,it is also important to know your levels of LDL and HDL.
The fact is that there are no symptoms of high cholesterol. Your first symptom of high cholesterol could be a heart attack or a stroke. The level of cholesterol can be measured only with a blood test.The results come as three main numbers:
Total Cholesterol
LDL
HDL The level of LDL should be less than 160.Total cholesterol should be less than 200.The level of HDL should be more than 35.
Most Important: Your LDL level is a good indicator of your risk for heart disease. Lowering LDL is the main aim of treatment if you have high cholesterol. In general, the higher your LDL level, the greater your chance of developing heart disease.
Remember : Regular cholesterol tests are recommended to find out if your cholesterol level is within normal range.WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT YOUR LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS?The main cause of high blood cholesterol is eating too much fat, especially saturated fat. Saturated fats are found in animal products, such as meats, milk and other dairy products that are not fat free, butter, and eggs. Some of these foods are also high in cholesterol. Fried fast foods and snack foods often have a lot of fat.
Being overweight and not exercising can make your bad cholesterol go up and your good cholesterol go down. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days.
Cigarette smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, making them likely to have cholesterol rich plaques rupture and have heart attacks. Smoking may also lower your level of HDL cholesterol by as much as 15 percent.
Also, after women go through menopause, their bad cholesterol levels tend to go up. There is also a rare type of inherited high cholesterol that often leads to early heart disease.Some people inherit a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, which means that very high cholesterol levels run in the family.Other people, especially people for whom diabetes runs in the family, inherit high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are another type of blood fat that can also push up cholesterol levels. People with high blood triglycerides usually have lower HDL cholesterol and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Progesterone, anabolic steroids and male sex hormones (testosterone) also lower HDL cholesterol levels.
So we can make a conclusion that the main therapy is to change your lifestyle. This includes controlling your weight, eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol, exercising regularly, not smoking and, in some cases, drinking less alcohol.
But , depending on your risk factors, if healthy eating and exercise don't work after about 6 months to 1 year, your doctor may suggest medicine to lower your cholesterol level.
Now there are very effective medications called "statins",such as Lipitor.
The drug works by helping to clear harmful low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol out of the blood and by limiting the body's ability to form new LDL cholesterol. Each tablet Lipitor includes 20mg Atorvastatin. It is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. It works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body. Lipitor has shown the ability to halt, not just slow, the potentially fatal buildup of plaque in clogged arteries. While a handful of drugs now available slow the buildup of new plaque, or atherosclerosis, in coronary arteries, no drug on the market has been proven to both stop new build-up and clear existing plaque.
So if you are loosing the battle with LDL levels , you can visit my site www.craforhealth.com/cholesterol.html, dedicated in the effective medical care, to find the proper treatment for your disease.

The Diabetic Fat Spiral

By: Kristyne McDaniel
So how can anyone be certain about anything? The answer is simple. You can't be certain. When you encounter someone that tells you they know the answer to life's questions, absolutely, for certain -- RUN! They're taking the lazy path. They're not certain -- they have just stopped asking questions and are now expecting you to do likewise.Look at these responses, quoted from some of the world's great thinkers regarding the issue of certainty:"Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin"The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers." - Erich Fromm"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." - Voltaire"What men really want is not knowledge but certainty." - Bertrand Russell"Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we are almost impervious to fear." - William CongreveOne of the most unfortunate consequences of certainty is that it leads to the soft insulation of belief. Yes, for a spiritual person there are things in life which should not simply be taken by faith and be believed without question. God made us with inquisitive minds and intended for us to use them. When we do not question and we become certain about everything, I believe we in fact disappoint God. I believe faith and belief are for trusting in God, not for being lazy with our minds.If we allow our minds to soften into pudding by allowing belief and faith to intrude into areas never intended to be handled by faith and belief, we become certain something is true and must therefore protect that conclusion from falsification. For example, articles of faith such as the exact method used by God to perform the Creation are viewed by us as something we must protect from falsification, and we therefore attempt to disprove well-grounded scientific theories such as Evolution. Starting with the conclusion, then proclaiming to be false anything that calls our conclusion into question is NOT how scientific discoveries are made.I believe that faith and reason are not in conflict, and where the question of Creation and Evolution are involved, I believe God respects those who can say that we believe God created the earth, and that science proved life evolves over time. I believe in my heart both things can be true and there is no conflict. I do not need to see proof of the Creation to know it is true. For me, proof is for science, not for the realm of the divine. My proof of God is in my heart. I need no further proof of God.I believe God wants us to explore, to study, to question the things we see around us. God is strong and powerful and he can take a few 'Why' questions from his questions just like we can handle them from our 3-year-old grandchildren. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Questions are the beginning of understanding. Certainty is the end of it.

Acne - A Clean Face - Step 1 in a 12 Step Program

By: Rudy Silva
For those that need more than a special cream like Scotty's Face Cream, then you need to work harder to get rid of acne. Since acne is a condition that occurs from within your body and exhibits on the outside of your body, you need to,
Attack acne from inside your body
Attack acne from outside your body If your acne is not to severe, all you might need is a good cream and need only to follow a few steps in my 12 step program to get you past the periods where acne is active.If your acne is more severe, than you may have to follow my 12-step program, since acne is an expression of your whole body system and is a reflection of what is going on inside your mind, cell structure and internal organs.Acne is an excessive toxic condition within your body, which the internal elimination organs are unable to eliminate. So your toxins are moved into your blood and excreted through your skin. It is an automatic survival mechanism your body initiates in an effort to protect the insides of your body - cells, liquid, blood, organs, and tissues. There are 12 areas that you need to look at,
Keep your face clean
Using Scotty's acne face cream or your favorite face cream
Relive your constipation and the tree day liquid fast
Making changes to your diet
Get plenty of sun, air, and water
Vitamins you need to be taking
Minerals you should be taking
Special supplements to take
Herbal mixture to use or drink
Special detoxifying drinks or supplements to take
Brushing your skin
Change your attitude Step 1: Keeping your face cleanIf you use face cosmetics, you need to stop. Some cosmetics irritate the skin and can cause acne by plugging up your pores on your face. The cosmetics chemicals that can cause you the most skin and pore irritation and inflammation are:
mineral oil
lanolin
parabens
propylene glycol Look at the label of the cosmetics you use. You will find that many cosmetics, soaps, and sunscreens contain these chemicals.Find a water base make up, not an oil base. Find one that does not irritate your face and use it sparinglyWhen you wash your face don't use any commercial soaps since they are filled with chemicals that will irritate and worsen your acne condition. And don't excessive wash your face as this will dry your skin of the natural protective oil. Also, don't keep touching your face since you spread or add bacteria to it.To wash your face use only,
Castile hand or liquid soap
Pure glycerin hand soap You can pat your face with a clean hot face towel to bring circulation to your face and to help open and move the toxic material, in the pimple, to the surface. Do not scrub hard to burst a pimple but just scrub lightly to burst a pimple when it is ready to open.Use the hot towel application only 2-3 times per week.When a pimple is open do not continue to rub or scrub it. In fact do not pick or scratch an open pimple since this could create other sores or leave scars that are difficult to remove. Just washing your face with clean soap will keep your face free of toxic matter.Keep in mind, whatever you put on your skin will move into your skin and into your bloodstream.Most commercial creams, lotions, and soaps are filled with all kinds of chemicals that are toxic to your body. By using them you are making your liver work harder.During the day or at night avoid resting your cheeks or chin on your hand(s) or arm(s). This can irritate your face and cause acne to breakout. When you sleep, try to sleep on your back and not with your face or side of the face into your pillow. There you have it. Step 1, shows you how to keep your face clean to avoid getting acne or to help relieve acne.