Healthy, Supplement, Useful information

Friday, May 21, 2010

Women healthy tips

In today's modern world, women and healthy diets don't seem to be making time for each other. Whether women are busier now or diets are simply more complicated, that may never be fully understood. What people do understand right now is that women and healthy diets are connected in ways that will affect their future health.

Excuses that Women Use... All the Time

If you were honest with yourself, the link between women and healthy diets is something you already know. However, you might be suffering from these normal excuses:

- I just don't have the time to (insert healthy habit here)

- I'm working longer hours

- I'm too tired to cook

- I deserve some 'naughty' foods for working so hard

- I don't want to make separate foods for myself and for my family

- Healthy food doesn't taste good

But with each excuse, you are pushing yourself further and further away from health and fitness. This is the time to realize that excuses are just that... excuses!

Creating New Habits Instead

What most women don't realize is that good health doesn't have to take up a lot of time. By simply looking for ways to increase the nutrition in each day, women and healthy diets can work together – without being inconvenient.

- Try adding a multivitamin to each day to ensure you're getting the nutrition you need

- Add one piece of fruit as an afternoon snack

- Add vegetables to every meal

- Cut down to one drink a day

- Try to drink more water each day

- Let yourself cheat once a week, or have a smaller treat everyday

When you begin to look at your health as being a series of small steps in the right direction, you can see that it's not that hard or time consuming to start looking after yourself.

Convenience Will Win in the End

Many healthy women and healthy diets they choose are based on convenience. Here are some ways that you can add convenience to your menu:

- Try healthy frozen dinners when you don't have a lot of time

- Cook once a week, freeze the meals in single serve portions and reheat as needed

- Try prepackaged salads and sandwiches

- Pack your foods the night before

- Only go to restaurants with healthy choices

Good and healthy doesn't have to mean that you're sacrificing the rest of your life. These changes can apply to all women and healthy diets can affect all women's lives.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Coffee May Be Healthier Than You Think

There has been a lot of talk recently about how coffee seems to raise our cholesterol levels. And I am referring to the LDL (aka ‘bad’) cholesterol levels. After doing some research on my own I have found some pretty interesting things as well as some tips on how to lower your risk of heart disease and/or higher cholesterol levels due to coffee. First thing’s first, research has shown that it is not just any cup of coffee that raises a person’s cholesterol levels, but it is mostly due to unfiltered coffee such as French press coffee and espresso.
Many people may choose to automatically blame this issue on the caffeine in the coffee, but that would not be the right assumption. The reason coffee has the ability to raise our cholesterol levels is because of oils called terpenes found in coffee. These oils are easily filtered out with our normal paper filters. However, just make sure that those filters are not the ones with extra ‘aroma’ holes plugged throughout them as these will raise your chances of consuming the terpene oils that can potentially be harmful. Now, all of this at first seemed very disappointing as I personally have always consumed my coffee in the form of espresso. Not anymore, I like it iced, so rather than an Americano I get an iced coffee.
Another thing to point out are the other factors that also may contribute to higher cholesterol levels and those could be genetics, sugars in the coffee drinks and other habits such as smoking. All of these factors would have to be considered as well if a person was going to do an in-depth analysis on whether or not they should give up coffee versus smoking or something. The frozen coffee beverages, to me, resemble a dessert in many cases. On top of it all they contain espresso, which by the way does not use a paper filter. Espresso uses a steel filter in many cases so a lot of the oils will be pushed right through when preparing that heavenly brew. So, one thing to remember from all of this is that if a person would like to lower their chances of raising their cholesterol due to coffee, then stick to filtered coffee and try best to avoid the unfiltered coffees and, unfortunately, the espresso beverages.

credit:articlebase

Monday, May 3, 2010

Weight Loss for the Inactive Person

Weight loss must be a lifestyle, or so they say. "They" being the folks in the media and the ones in the local gym. It simply must be a lifestyle, as weight gain can more often be attributed to the life one leads rather than of life itself; as not everyone has the luxury to be overweight. But plenty of people out there view the "active" lifestyle as tedious and demanding. This article hopes to remedy that by highlighting the criteria of a casual life, and downplaying them to suit a healthful lifestyle.


Being healthy stems from doing healthful things (and not "healthy" as the papers frequently say), like a proper diet combined with good rest. Before any unconventional weight loss strategy can be implemented, the basics must be in proper play. A balanced diet consists of nutrients the body needs; as to what it needs depends on the individual. And sleep. The body will always require balanced sleep, as sleep on its own is not enough. And a balanced diet can equal a balanced night's rest, and vice versa.

Cardio. Cardiovascular exercise must be considered separate from all anaerobic activity, such as weight lifting and body building. A cardio workout involves traditional aerobic exercise, like running and doing jumping-jacks. This kind of activity increases the heart rate, which in turn will "burn the fat" as the saying goes. While this article does not necessarily endorse the aerobic method, it addresses the sharp contrast between anaerobic and aerobic; where the former builds body mass, and the latter sculpts away fat. Needless to say, one more than the other is preferable for weight loss.

And coffee can hinder weight loss. Not directly so, but indirectly nonetheless. For people of certain types, the properties found in coffee can affect their bodies in such a way as to give them a sort of beer belly. The LDL fatty acid is especially high in certain coffees, and is considered to be one of the more notorious fatty acids the human body can commonly ingest. Heavy reliance on coffee, with an intake of more than one cup a day, can result in unexpected weight gains. It can also be said that caffeine interferes with the body's metabolism, thereby speeding it up physiologically and raising one's appetite. Another thing must be said about those who prefer heavy cream and sugar...

The matter of "night eating" touches on coffee, diet, and good sleep. Studies have not proven that meals late in the night will cause a person to substantially gain weight; as it has more to do with the quantity of meal, and less about when it is eaten. But night eating of itself is not a proactive habit for a healthful lifestyle. Small snacks are fine, and may even prove to aid in sleep, but combined with excess coffee, a bad diet, and a case of insomnia, night eating can become a very adverse enemy. The body burns fewer calories at night as opposed to day, when people are usually more active. A heavy meal followed by very little activity, and eventual sleep, negates any real benefits.

Attention to cardio activity, a balanced diet, less reliance on coffee, and a consistent sleep schedule may not be the hardcore way to beat the fat, but it's a plan that can stick for the person too weary to be more than they want to be.

Source: Free Article