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During the last decades, there has been a change towards mechanization and homogenization of farming, which uses pesticides, additives, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and mass-production techniques. All this is clearly affecting mankind's health, and new diseases are spreading rapidly amongst humans and animals (bird's flu being the most recent one). The World Health Organization produces reports to show how the use of chemicals and other products on food, coupled with the manufacturing processes involved, are actually a threat to our health. If you have space for a few pots or even a small piece of land, it is a wise decision to grow your own organic vegetable garden. Today I'm presenting you with seven reasons for doing this: 1. You will have no additives in your vegetables. Research by organic food associations has shown that additives in our food can cause heart diseases, osteoporosis, migraines, and hyperactivity. 2. There will be no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers used. These chemical products are applied to obtain crops all the time regardless of plagues or weather conditions and affect the quality of the vegetables. Besides, pesticides are usually poisonous to humans. 3. Your vegetables will not be genetically modified (GM). Antibiotics, drugs, and hormones are used on vegetables to grow more and larger ones. One of the consequences of this practice is vegetables which look all the same and are usually tasteless. Besides, we end up consuming the hormones that have been used on the vegetables, with potential risks for our health. 4. Eating your own organic vegetables will be much more healthy for you. They will not contain any of the products or chemicals named above, and they will be much more natural than any ones you would find at the supermarket. Your health will not be at risk because you will then know that nothing has been added to your vegetables. 5. Your own organic vegetables will be much tastier. The use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones, and antibiotics makes vegetables grow unnaturally and take the taste away from them. With organic vegetables, your cooking will be enhanced as their flavor will show fully. 6. Organic farming is friendly to the environment. Because you won't use pesticides or other equally harmful products on your vegetables, you will not damage the soil or the air with the chemical components. 7. When you grow your own organic vegetables you are contributing to your own self-sustainability and the sustainability of the planet. Small communities have been founded where members exchange products that they grow naturally, thus contributing to creating a friendly and better place for us all. In the end, eating organic products only means that we do not add anything else to them than they would naturally have. As you can guess, additives, fertilizers, pesticides or hormones are not components of naturally grown food. To better care for your health, grow your own organic vegetables -and a few pots are all you need.

It is a common misconception that coconut oil is bad for you. People all over the world are experiencing the healthy benefits of using coconut oil. It is one of the most beneficial oils you can consume. Here are the top seven reasons you should use coconut oil to alternative other common cooking oils. 1. Coconut oil doesn't turn into fat in your body. Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn, coconut oil won't make you fat. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), an easy fuel for the body to burn without turning to fat. Most other cooking oils and fats contain long-chain triglycerides (LCT). LCT's are usually stored as fat. Since coconut oil is an MCT, it is more easily absorbed and converted to energy quicker. People in the tropics have relied on coconuts as a traditional staple in their diet for centuries. They consume large amounts of coconut oil every day. Instead of getting fatter, it helps them stay healthy, lean, and trim. When they switch from coconut oil to our modern oils, they develop obesity and the health problems that our modern society faces. Some other people who have known this truth for a long time are in the animal feed business. When livestock is fed vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. When they are provided coconut oil, they become very lean. 2. Coconut oil increases your metabolism. Not only does coconut oil convert to energy quicker in your body, but it also increases your metabolism, promoting weight loss. Because it boosts your metabolism, it helps your body burn fat more effectively. Coconut oil may triple your calorie burn. Since coconut oil is an MCT, it is converted to energy quickly, which creates a lot of heat. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, MCT's burn three times more calories for six hours after a meal than LCT's. The February 15, 2005 issue of Woman's World magazine stated that coconut oil is the "underground high-metabolism secret." This is excellent news for people who have thyroid problems since coconut oil improves sluggish thyroids by stimulating extra thyroid hormones. Most other common oils, like vegetable (soy) and corn, have been shown to inhibit thyroid function. 3. Coconut oil has omega-three fatty acids. Most cooking oils contain omega-six fatty acids, something we get way too much in the United States. Our omega 6 to omega-three ratios should be 1:1, but it is more like 50:1. We need to drastically cut back our omega-six oils and consume much more omega-three oils to be healthy. And coconut oil is filled with these healthy omega-three fatty acids. 4. Coconut oil gives you energy. Because of the healthy omega-three fatty acids and the fact that it increases metabolism, most people who switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily lives. This is because coconut oil is nature's richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. This is because coconut oil is nature's richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia have found that adding coconut and coconut oil to their diet was helpful to them. 5. One of the best things you can use on your skin and hair is coconut oil. Coconut oil is one of the best things you can apply directly to your skin and hair. It gives temporary relief to skin problems like rashes. It aids in healing and restoring skin to a younger appearance. It has also been known to help people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin and many other skin problems. Not only does it soften and smooth your skin, but coconut oil also has antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil makes excellent massage oil too. 6. Coconut oil has healthy benefits that most other oils do not. Evidence mounts that coconut oil has anti-fungal, antibacterial, and antiviral effects when both consumed and used topically on the skin. Most oils oxidize and turn rancid very quickly, causing free radical damage in our bodies. Coconut oil is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Free radical damage is thought to be responsible for many ailments in our body, from arthritis to increased susceptibility to cancers. Coconut oil also helps our bodies absorb other nutrients more effectively, such as Vitamin E. 7. Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use for cooking. It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which means it can take higher temperatures better. There are several healthy omega-three oils we can choose to consume, such as flax and olive oil, but they don't do well under the high heat we use for cooking. Coconut oil can be used in higher cooking temperatures. It is harder for coconut oil to go rancid, unlike other cooking oils, which are usually rancid long before you even bring them home. Rancid oils cause free radical damage in the body, which is a leading cause of cancer. Coconut oil is stable for over a year at room temperature. Because of the misinformation we have been given for years, we have lost out on the healthy benefits that coconut oil has given the tropics people for centuries. But now it has been rediscovered! Coconut oil is so effective, it won't be long before we see coconut oil supplements promoted, but you can get the jump on the popular crowd and start consuming and cooking with coconut oil today!

Being overweight in the summer heat is no fun. And exposing an overly padded stomach or thighs isn't exactly pleasant when everyone else around you is wearing gnat-sized beachwear and drizzling oil onto wasp-like abdomens. In fact, for people carrying excess weight, summer can be an unpleasant trial involving countless opportunities for embarrassment and discomfort. So let's take a look at how you can reduce some of your fat and make next summer a happier experience. But first, a warning. Summer Weight Loss Trap One guaranteed way to fail is to look for a "short cut" weight loss method or diet. You know what I mean: the type of program that promises "a fast, effortless way to reduce weight." In my experience, none of these diets or pills work, and the medical evidence is quite clear: the maximum rate of sustainable fat loss is between 1 and 2 pounds per week, perhaps a little more if you are obese. Besides, if a brilliant scientist managed to concoct a formula for rapid, effortless weight reduction, he would be more famous than Einstein overnight. He certainly wouldn't be peddling his program in 30-second TV infomercials or mail-order advertisements. For the sake of your sanity and your financial health, don't waste time on weight loss methods that make extravagant claims. If you don't believe this, think of any of your overweight friends who favor the short-term "lose 20 pounds in two weeks ' type of approach, and ask yourself why they are still overweight. Three Month Summer Diet Plan You can't lose much weight in a week or two. You need about three months to make a significant impact on your body shape. Remember, the human body is interested in survival, not cosmetic appearances. Since rapid weight loss is a prima facie symptom of disease, not good health, the only guaranteed way to improve your body shape is to adopt a gradual approach to healthy eating and increased exercise. In three months, you can lose about 26 pounds - more than enough for most overweight people to experience noticeable health improvements as well as a much leaner body. And by reducing your weight gradually in this manner, you have far less chance of weight regain, so if necessary, you can continue losing more with less danger of incurring a weight loss plateau or other obstacles. Having A Motive Is Very Important No one likes to change their habits. So if you want to change your eating and exercise habits, you need a strong motive - something to keep you dieting and exercising when boredom sets in. Whatever reason you choose, it must be something more powerful than the urge to eat tasty high-calorie foods in front of the TV! A Good Motive For Shedding Weight Anything that commits you in advance to achieving your weight loss goal makes a great motive. So be bold. Book an expensive beach holiday, or buy some gorgeous clothes to fit the body you want to have at the end of your diet program. Both these actions require you to succeed and therefore provide constant motivation along the way. Be Positive About Short Term Sacrifices Whether you're trying to lose weight for the summer, save money, or pass exams, an essential piece of the motivational jigsaw is your ability to be optimistic about making short term sacrifices. The choice is relatively simple: you can focus on the "deprivation" involved in giving up certain foods or focusing on the benefits you will get by not eating these foods. Sadly, many dieters focus on feeling deprived. After a while, they see their diet as a burden, a bore, an evil necessity. This is why so many of them quit. They can't "see" the benefits that weight loss will bring them. If you want to improve your body shape for the summer, you must avoid this trap and appreciate the longer-term benefits you will receive by making short-term adjustments to your lifestyle. The Good News About Improving Your Diet Many of our tastes, food cravings, and general attitudes to food are strongly influenced by what we eat and drink. I know countless mothers with families who have reported astonishing changes in their personal and family eating habits after less than three weeks of improved eating. The average modern diet is loaded with sugar, fat, and sodium, all of which condition us to want more of these items. But if you can break out of this dependence on junk-ingredients for even 2-3 weeks, you'll notice a huge difference in your tastes, which brings me to healthy eating. Think Healthy Eating, Not Weight Loss In my experience, one of the most effective weight loss strategies is to focus on healthy eating. I'm not saying you shouldn't stand on your weighing scales, don't measure progress exclusively by what the leaves say. Be aware that it's just as important to enjoy your food and feel good about your eating habits change. And any diet you hate is guaranteed to fail, no matter how much weight you lose, because as soon as you achieve your goal, you will revert to your old eating habits and regain every pound lost. The Amazing Indirect Benefits of Exercise Exercise does burn extra calories and therefore does help to widen your calorie deficit. But it's a direct effect on shedding weight. It is typically relatively small. It's not uncommon to gain weight when you start exercising. The real weight reduction benefits of exercise are indirect ones. It raises our metabolic rate, helping us to burn calories at a slightly faster pace, and improves our mood, which typically reduces our need for comfort-eating. However, don't overdo your exercise workouts. I've lost count of the number of dieters who started exercising too vigorously and burnt out within three weeks. Ideally, start with 45 minutes/day of any physical activity you can easily manage and gradually increase the duration and intensity. Listen to your body at all times, and be sure to loosen up beforehand and wind down afterward. See Yourself As You Want To Be If your goal is a waistline you can proudly display in the sun, then don't wait until it happens to "see" it. Visualize it from the moment you start dieting. Visualize yourself walking along a beach or lying next to the pool with a perfectly flat stomach. Whatever your ambition for your weight or body, get used to visualizing it in the greatest possible detail because "seeing it" is the first step to making it come true. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words. Feeling Discouraged? Just Visualize The Benefits! If you have a lot of weight to shed (100 pounds+), you may not think that losing 26 pounds in three months is particularly worthwhile. If so, ask yourself this question. What's the alternative? No matter what method you choose, you won't lose weight any faster, so it's only a question of when you start and how long it will take. I can answer the last question right now. Losing 100 pounds takes about a year - typically a little longer to allow for disasters along the way. Fifteen months would be a more realistic time to reduce weight by this amount. This is nothing. Just visualize yourself walking down the street 100 pounds lighter, and tell me that eating healthily for 15 months is too high a price to pay for such a fantastic prospect. Your First Priority Is To Get Support If you want to lose weight for the summer, your priority is to find support. Join a diet-group at work or a fitness class, or go to weight loss meetings. Or join an online forum. Shedding weight on your own is entirely possible, providing things go well and your scales keep saying nice things. But when difficulties arise, as they surely will, having real people's support can make all the difference between success and failure. Good luck, you can do it!

We all age, this fact is inevitable. But a lot of the negative changes that take place in our bodies are not. As we age, we become more susceptible to heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and arthritis. However, medical research has shown that proper nutrition can slow down and prevent many of these ailments. It is estimated that nearly one-half of all health problems in the elderly are directly related to poor nutrition. The elderly are by and large some of the most poorly nourished people. Some reasons for this are as you age, your sense of taste and smell decreases, it is harder to chew, and you don't feel hungry. In some cases, financial reasons may affect the food choices made, and it may be harder to get out and shop for food due to various physical factors. On top of this, as you get older, your body may not be able to absorb some of the nutrition from food as well as it could when you were younger. In some cases, the right multivitamin (preferably in liquid form) could help offset this. Your doctor can help you find one that’s right for you. Here are a few things that you can do to plan for better nutrition in your diet and healthier life as you get older: Plan out regular meals for each day and include vegetables in at least 2 of them every day. If you must snack, use fruits and vegetables rather than junk food like potato chips and candy. If you have problems chewing meat, try going with things like fish and ground meats. Also, try to eat more soups as they can have plenty of nutrition in them, and they are great choices if you are on a budget. Make meals more interesting by inviting a friend to lunch or dinner once in a while. Sometimes it can get boring always to eat alone and to have someone over can entice you to get more creative with meals than you might when eating alone. One thing you can do to ensure that you'll be getting better nutrition is to make each plate colorful. Different color vegetables, for example, generally contain different nutrients, so the idea here is, mix it up. Growing old may be inevitable, but that doesn't mean you can't grow old gracefully and healthier, and with a steady diet of proper nutrition, you can maintain better health well into your golden years.

It’s no secret that antioxidants are incredibly beneficial to good health. It’s believed the antioxidants in food can help prevent cancer, reverse or slow aging, enhance your immune system, increase your energy, and improve heart and other organ health. Given all we know about antioxidants and their beneficial properties, it’s amazing more people don’t get enough fruits and vegetables, the primary sources of antioxidants. Experts recommend a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily but say getting 7-10 servings is best. There are ten steps to getting more antioxidants into your diet. 1.Breakfast Breakfast doesn’t have to be a hurried toaster tart on the way out the door. Throw some strawberries, 100% juice, and yogurt into a blender; pour your delicious mixture into a cup and head out the door. You’ve just added one to three servings of fruits to your daily intake. Or throw some berries onto your cold or hot cereal. Say you truly have no time in the morning and usually grab something on the run. Even the Golden Arches can be of some help here. Order a fruit and yogurt parfait and some apple slices. For about $2, you have a breakfast providing one to two servings of fruit. 2.Snacks Here’s an easy way to get more antioxidants in your diet. How about a handful of raisins for a snack or some fresh red grapes? Dip some strawberries in yogurt. You’ll feel decadent, but the berries provide the color you’re looking for. Need crunch? How about some baby carrots dipped in hummus? Consider a handful of pecans for crunch and a nice antioxidant boost. 3.Lunch and dinner It might sound trite, but adding a salad to each of your main daily meals can add loads to your overall health and well-being. They don’t have to be boring, and they don’t have to be just salad greens. If you’re going classic, add some red pepper slices to your green salad, some tomatoes to the Greek salad, or tart cranberries to your field greens. Whip up a broccoli salad for lunch, or be adventurous and mix up a rice salad with a mélange of fresh vegetables like string beans, tomatoes, peppers, and red onions. 4.Dessert Berries, with or without whipped cream or chocolate, are a fantastic way to end your day of healthy, antioxidant-rich eating. 5.Beverages Replace your soda with tea or coffee, both of which boast antioxidant compounds. Have a glass of wine with dinner, or for a real change of pace, pour a glass of chai tea. 6.Think outside the box We know we can get our antioxidant fix from berries, salads, and the like. Still, researchers say powerful antioxidants can also be found in various unexpected foods, like russet potatoes, artichokes, and small red beans. The beans may have more antioxidant power than blueberries, experts say. So to your rice salad full of vegetables, add some beans for even more antioxidants. 7.Cook lightly You think you’re right, preparing vegetables each night for your family’s dinner. But if you’re overcooking the vegetables, you’re cooking out many of the beneficial properties of the antioxidants. Steam (don’t boil) vegetables, and stop cooking them when they will have all of their bright color and most of their bite. 8.Plant a garden Experts believe that people who plant and harvest vegetables from their yards are far more likely to eat more vegetables and fruits than people who buy their produce from the store. So plant a garden, watch it grow, and eat the fruits (literally) of your labor. 9.Take your healthy diet on vacation Too many of us consider going on vacation an opportunity to take a break from everything, including healthy eating. Think of vacation as a way to be introduced to new foods. Order an interesting vegetable dish in a restaurant and pay attention to how the chef prepared the dish. 10.Learn to cook If you’re cooking, you’re not opening bags and boxes. Cooking involves scrubbing and peeling vegetables, preparing whole foods, and paying attention to how things are cooked. If you’re ordering out every night, you’re far less likely to be eating whole foods and natural fruits and vegetables that provide the base for our antioxidant intake.

You may have heard about the glycemic index and wondered what it is all about. The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It compares foods gram for gram of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have low glycemic indexes. Foods with a high glycemic index convert into sugar very quickly, with adverse physical effects. Foods with a low glycemic index turn into sugar gradually, helping maintain your body's chemical balance. In general, foods with a low index are preferable. Glycemic Load measures the amount of sugar a food releases in the body. Foods with a low glycemic load usually have a low glycemic index yet still have a low glycemic load. Other foods have both a high index and a high load. You should avoid high load foods as a regular part of your meal plan. When you choose carbohydrate foods, check both their glycemic index and glycemic load. Detailed tables with this information are widely available. Use the chart below to get started. High Glycemic Index Fruits and Vegetables * Corn * Cranberry juice * Orange juice* * Raisin Starches * Bagel * Bread (white) * Refined cereal * Granola * Muffin * Pasta * Potato * Pretzel * Rice * Tortilla (flour) Medium Glycemic Index Fruits and Vegetables * Apricot * Grape * Pineapple * Pita Bread * Watermelon Starches * French Fries * Pita Bread * Waffle Low Glycemic Index Fruits and Vegetables * Apple * Asparagus * Broccoli * Brussels sprout * Cauliflower * Celery * Cherry * Cucumber * Grapefruit * Green Bean * Green pepper * Kiwi * Lettuce * Onion * Orange * Peach * Plum * Spinach * Strawberry * Tomato * Zucchini Low glycemic load foods Simply eating more fruits and vegetables is not the answer - they must be the right fruits and vegetables. Starchy vegetables such as peas or lentils (200 to 250 calories per cup) are healthy, but they contain more calories than you may want. If you need to eat more to satisfy your hunger, add low glycemic load vegetables. For example, spinach and asparagus are better choices than higher calorie corn and peas. A cup of spinach topped with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce has only about 90 calories, but it gives you nutrients from two color groups. Why Not Brown and Beige? When considering which foods to enjoy sparingly, also use color as a guideline. Many brown and beige carbohydrates, like pasta, beans, and potatoes, while healthy, also tend to be high in calories.

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, vegetables and fruits are some of the most nutrient-rich foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is straightforward to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks. When you consider how much a serving is, it is relatively easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, it is easy to see how easy it is to reach this daily goal. One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing quickly becomes boring every day, so why not pick various fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size, and texture to give yourself a varied diet every day. When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is essential to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. Different color fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and selecting various colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need every day. Finding new recipes is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and these new recipes may provide the impetus you need to eat all those fruits and veggies. New recipes can also provide you the important opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before. For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available. Many people mistakenly think that they do not need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day to take a vitamin supplement. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E, are essential to good health, so are the hundreds of other elements in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill; they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables. Also, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamin pills. Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally. In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from your food is much less expensive and much better for you than popping those vitamin pills every day. So don’t forget to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this quite reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes, and as meals.

Health food supplements are one of the hottest selling products in the market these days. Their total consumption values billions of dollars in the U.S. alone. Recent surveys show that more than half of the adults in the U.S. consume health food supplements in different forms, such as tablets, capsules, powders, soft gels, gel caps, and liquids. The increased consumption of health food supplements can be attributed to public awareness of health issues and improved living standards in our society. Many studies have shown that there is a close correlation between health and nutrition. Insufficient supply of nutrients can weaken our body defense mechanism, causing medical problems from common ailments to more severe illnesses in the long term. There are different types of health food supplements, including macronutrients (amino acids, proteins, essential fatty acids), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), enzymes (digestive enzymes and antioxidant enzymes), probiotics (beneficial bacteria in the gut), and herbal supplements. These supplements have unique functions in our body. They are either essential for life and good health, modulate our immune system or help with liver detoxification, digestion, mental clarity, etc. Many people argue that there is no need to consume healthy food supplements as long as you have a healthy lifestyle and eat a balanced diet. While this may be true, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and proper diet is difficult to achieve for many people. Over the past few decades, the green revolution has changed the farming practices over the world. We use more chemical fertilizers, more pesticides to grow the produce to increase harvest and shorten the growth period. As a result, soil nutrients and the population of beneficial soil bacteria are depleted rapidly, and the produce we grow today contain less micronutrient than before. A stressful lifestyle, improper eating habits, an imbalanced diet, and increased exposure to chemicals such as environmental pollutants (air, water) and pesticides, drugs, hormones, and heavy metals in foods also gradually weaken our body. Although health food supplements can be beneficial to our health, consumers should still choose the products carefully. Currently, there is little regulation on the quality of health food supplements. Some health food products' composition may not match the label claims, and the quality of raw materials and finished products is not guaranteed. Therefore, consumers should only buy from reputable health food manufacturers, read the labels carefully, and read more related literature. Here are some general rules for buying health food supplements: 1) Supplements made from whole foods, natural sources are better than the synthetic ones. They are more bioactive, absorbed readily, and less likely to be contaminated by chemicals such as coal tars used in chemical synthesis. 2) Protein-bonded vitamins and minerals (vitamins and minerals in organic form, binding to amino acids) are more bioactive than the inorganic forms. 3) Buy supplements using safe extraction methods, such as cold-pressed extraction or supercritical extraction. This can avoid the harmful residue from chemical extraction. 4) Herbal concentrate and extract are usually more effective than the raw herbs. 5) Organically grown or wildcrafted herbs are less likely to be contaminated by heavy metals, pesticides, and other chemicals. 6) Read the labels, do not consume more than the recommended dose. 7) Be careful when consuming certain herbal supplements, such as Ma Huang / ephedra, Kava Kava, comfrey, etc. Some studies have shown that these herbs may cause severe side effects to some people. Stop use if unusual signs appear after consumption. 8) Some health food supplements may interact with drugs, either by decreasing or increasing their effects. Consult your doctor if you are currently taking medications. 9) Pregnant and nursing women, people with specific medical conditions such consult the doctors when consuming health food supplements. 10) If in doubt, contact the supplement manufacturers or distributors for more information about their products. 11) Health food supplements are available in many places, such as grocery stores, health food stores, drug stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, department stores, online stores, etc. Be a smart consumer, compare the price and service before purchase.

Antioxidants are all the rage today. And, justifiably so. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals, causing cell damage, which can ultimately lead to heart and cancer diseases. It seems everywhere you go; it's blueberry this and blueberry that. You have your choice of wild blueberry juice, blueberry-pomegranate juice, blueberry-cranberry juice, and so on and so on. Now, don't get me wrong. I love blueberries. But, in our rush to embrace the latest antioxidant food craze (blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates), we're ignoring some very high-antioxidant foods that are probably sitting ignored in our cupboards. "What?" You ask, "What could be higher in antioxidants than my beloved wild blueberry?" Well, how about the small red bean? That's right; I said, "bean." The small red bean has more antioxidants per serving size than the wild blueberry. And the red kidney bean and pinto bean have more antioxidants per serving size than a serving of cultivated blueberries. What are other foods high in antioxidants? There are artichoke hearts, blackberries, prunes, pecans, spinach, kale, russet potatoes, and plums for starters. And, no, that's not a mistake. Russet potatoes are on the list of foods high in antioxidants. The truth is, there are many common foods high in antioxidants, and you should not just restrict yourself to one particular food source. Why? Well, have you ever heard the expression, "eat your colors?" That refers to the fact that foods are in different color "families" containing various antioxidants that have different benefits. For example, the yellow-orange color family of peaches and nectarines help our immune systems. The purple-red color family of foods (pomegranates, plums, berries) helps reduce inflammation. It's essential to eat foods from all color groups to reap the full benefits of antioxidants. The good news is that you can eat healthy foods high in antioxidants (by eating them raw, cooking them, or juicing them yourself). No need to pay a high price for the "flavor of the month" antioxidant juices being peddled in the supermarkets. So, give your blueberries to some company at the dinner table. Invite some beans, spinach, potatoes, and artichoke hearts and enjoy your antioxidants!

An antioxidant is a chemical that reduces the rate of particular oxidation reactions in a specific context. Oxidation reactions are chemical reactions that involve the transfer of electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Antioxidants are particularly important in the context of organic chemistry and biology. All living cells contain complex systems of antioxidant chemicals and/ or enzymes to prevent chemical damage to the cells' components by oxidation. The importance and complexity of antioxidants in biology are reflected in the medical literature of more than 142,000 scholarly articles. A diet containing antioxidants from plants are required for good health since plants are an essential source of organic antioxidant chemicals. Antioxidants are widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements used for health purposes, such as preventing cancer and heart disease. However, while many studies have suggested benefits for antioxidant supplements, several large clinical trials have failed to benefit the formulations tested. And, excess supplementation may be harmful. Antioxidants are chemicals that reduce oxidative damage to cells and biochemicals. Researchers have found a high correlation between oxidative damage and the occurrence of disease. For example, LDL oxidation is associated with cardiovascular disease. The process leading to atherogenesis, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease is complex, involving multiple chemical pathways and networks. Still, the precursor is LDL oxidation by free radicals, resulting in inflammation and formation of plaques. Research suggests that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods reduces damage to cells and biochemicals from free radicals. This may slow down, prevent, or even reverse certain diseases that result from cellular damage, and perhaps even slow down the natural aging process. Since the discovery of vitamins, it has been recognized that antioxidants in the diet are essential for healthful lives. More recently, a large body of evidence has accumulated that suggests supplementation of the diet with various antioxidants can improve health and extend life. Many nutraceutical and health food companies now sell forms of antioxidants as dietary supplements. These supplements may include specific antioxidant chemicals, like resveratrol (from grape seeds), combinations of antioxidants, like the "ACES" products that contain beta carotene (provitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E, and Selenium, or specialty herbs that are known to have antioxidants such as green tea, and jiaogulan. Disclaimer The information presented here should not be interpreted as medical advice. If you need more information about Antioxidants, please consult your physician or a qualified specialist.

How many times have you heard a friend say, "I am on a diet"? Then, your friend would lose some weight for a while before putting them all back on again. I'll bet you have also seen someone say that "Cardio is the best for losing weight." This person would then religiously pound the treadmill, but results are agonizingly slow. Soon, he gives up and gains back all the weight he had lost, and sometimes even gaining some extra kilo! Ah, so you thought you've finally found the answer to permanent weight loss. You went on a strict diet and ran your heart out. You dropped kilos real quickly. But somehow, something is wrong when you look into the mirror in your birthday suit. Yes, you have lost some weight, but somehow your body shape isn't as flattering as you would like it to be. And then suddenly, you hit a plateau. No matter how strict your diet and cardio workouts are, your weight refuses to drop any further. Then horrors of horrors, you start to gain some weight! You get disillusioned because with the unrewarding program, and soon you succumb to 'guilt food' more often, and the weight comes right back up once again. The plan fails, and you blame it on your bad genes. Why??? Here's why!!! Firstly, take a good look at the title of this article. It's to "Fend Off Fats" and not "lose weight." My point is that by merely losing weight, you will aso lose some muscle mass. By losing muscles, you will lose body tone, and thus your metabolism rate for burning calories will slow down. Therefore, you have got to build muscles while losing fats. You may even gain some weight because muscles are denser than fats. To lose fats and permanently keep them off, you have to combine healthy eating habits, incorporate cardio exercises, and lift weights to build muscles. For every kg of muscles you pack, you will burn an extra 70-100 calories per day even without doing anything. Can you imagine the benefits of building up 5kg of extra muscles? You will be burning 350 to 500 extra calories a day, even if you laze around. You'll be burning a Big Mac every day! To further illustrate my point, 1 kg = about 7,700 calories, thus if you burn 500 calories a day because of the extra muscles you have, you will be burning off about 1 kg every two weeks simply because of your higher metabolism rate! You'll look good, healthy, and well-toned too! Is it any wonder why bodybuilders eat so much but do not put on fat as quickly? Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fats. So while you will lose some weight at the beginning, you will look like, well, just a smaller version of you without any muscle tone. That's not what we want, is it? So, as you lose more and more muscles, your metabolism begins to slow down. On top of that, your body will start conserving fats and 'eat' your muscles for energy because it reacts to your strict diet. What happens then is that you will hit a plateau and no matter what you do, you will not reduce any more weight and your fats will start creeping up again. In a nutshell, this is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about. Losing fats is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy.' My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fats off permanently, and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the changes in only a few weeks. By then, it will become a cultivated habit for you, especially when you are rewarded with a fitter, healthier you, together with a glowing complexion to boot! Here is how you do it. Losing fats means you must burn more calories than you consume - period. Lift weights with compound exercises - Forget those puny biceps curls and tricep pushdowns. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back, and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with bigger parts with more mass, more body parts are working, translating into more calories being expended. If you are fit, do giant sets (4 or more exercises or sets with no rest in between sets or exercises). Here's an example. Do only one set of each exercise with no rest in between the exercises. Choose a weight of about 60%-70% of what you usually lift and go for at least 25 reps. Do more if you can or until your muscles are fatigued, then stop. Leave the gym. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. After thoroughly warming up, start with squats, then dip, bench press, barbell row, and military press. Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing, and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a lifting exercise, and your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this three times a week with at least a day's rest in between lifting days. After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you usually squat first, then squat last. After another 4-8 weeks, change some of the exercises, like substituting squats with deadlift, or barbell rows with lat pull down. This is to shock your muscles so that they continue to adapt and grow. For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are jogging at normal speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. If you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running), then 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle break down. You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs in between to catch your breath. Do these 5-6 times a week. Eating habits? Just eat less of what you usually eat. For example, if you have two slices of bread with two eggs in the morning, now take only one slice and an egg. Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you can. This is to feed your body frequently so that it will not go into starvation mode and start to conserve fats. At the same time, it will boost metabolism because your body burns calories while digesting the food. Chuck away all soft drinks, sugary drinks, and stop adding sugar into your coffee and tea. By abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid yourself of 200 calories per day. Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can. Oh, by the way, all work and no play makes Jack a dull (and exhausted) boy. Do choose a day to relax a week—no exercise on that day. Indulge in your favorite food if you must. Hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. After all, your body needs to recover too. As you reach your fat loss goals and are happy with your muscular development, you can then take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently, have shorter runs, and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your greater musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that luxury. Simple? Sure. But do you have the determination enough to lose those fats and keep them off permanently? Who said you must go on a strict diet to lose weight and keep the fat off forever? It's your call, folks!

The word Ayurveda is from the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, and means "Knowledge of Life." The Ayurvedic approach to life involves listening to and addressing your body's unique needs, recognizing and balancing your mental and emotional states, and deepening your connection with your spirit, your essential self. The raw food diet is based around the principle that eating a diet high in raw food will normalize and alkalize your body. This, in turn, connects the mind with the body; thus, Ayurveda and the Raw Food diet are very similar. Hopefully, this article will provide brief guidance on how you could connect the two in a way that is optimal for your health. In Ayurveda, the idea is that you eat according to your ‘Dosha’; Vata, Pitta, and Kapha Vata is composed of the elements of air and ether. Pitta is composed of the elements of fire and water. Kapha is composed of the elements of water and earth. Vata types are generally thin and find it hard to gain weight. Vatas need to get sufficient rest and not overdo things, as they can tire easily. Pitta types are generally medium-sized and well proportioned. They also tend to be intelligent, with a sharp wit. Kapha types tend to have sturdy, heavy frames. They are prone to gain weight easily. They often tend to have a positive outlook on life. So, what does this mean, and how does it apply to you? In Ayurveda, it is believed that each person is governed by one dominant dosha, and you should eat according to that dosha. However, this article is concerned with Ayurveda and Raw Food, so I will only mention the foods that coincide with both these diets. Vata Balances: Sweet fruits, apricots, avocado, bananas, berries, grapes, melons, asparagus, beets, cucumber, garlic, radishes, zucchini. Aggravates: Dried fruits, apples, cranberries, pears, watermelons, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, raw onions. Pitta Balances: Sweet fruits, avocado, coconut, figs, mango, prunes, sweet and bitter vegetables, cabbage, cucumber, okra, potatoes. Aggravates: Sour fruits, berries, bananas, plums, oranges, lemon, pungent vegetables, garlic, onions. Kapha Balances: Apples, apricots, berries, cherries, cranberries, mangos, peaches, pungent and bitter vegetables, broccoli, celery, garlic, onion. Aggravates: Sweet and sour fruits, bananas, coconut, melons, papaya, sweet and juicy vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes. There are many suggestions in Ayurveda, which are very easily translated to a Raw Food Diet. Such suggestions are: Eat mainly seasonal fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. Eat according to your constitution, or dosha. Fast for one day every two weeks Establish a regular eating routine Eliminate or limit caffeinated, carbonated and alcoholic beverages from your life Drink herbal tea, fruit and vegetable juices