Diet vs Exercise - Which Is More Important?

While there are many common myths and questions surrounding weight loss and fitness, it seems whenever you go to a gym you will hear people asking is diet more important than exercise or is it the other way around. Today we will help you to get the the bottom of this conundrum and improve your own fitness results in the process.

The reason people tend to hear so many contradicting answers to this question comes down to the fact that many people base their final decision on what has worked for them in the past. While both aspects have proven benefits, the chances are if you pose this question to somebody who is always trying the latest trendy nutritional program they will heavily support eating habits as the most important factor.

Of course, if you pay a visit to the other end of the spectrum and speak to somebody who loves going to the gym you would hear the direct opposite answer. You'll be told that you can get away with eating your favorite snacks and junk foods providing you are able to put in the work in the weights room to burn them off. The big question is which approach is the right one?

Neither approach is correct if you are trying to achieve your best possible physique.

Rather than see the potential benefits of both areas, people tend to place a priority on one over the other. This ends up leading them down a path towards failure, of course. For instance, if you ever hear somebody telling another person that your diet makes up 80 percent of your results and exercise only accounts for the other twenty percent, try to avoid falling into the same mentality.

Following just one principle tends to make people fall into one of two potential categories. While everybody is different in build and stature, there are certain stereotypical features to watch out for here. The next time you are having a discussion about how to lose weight and this matter pops up, take a look at the individual in question and they will probably fit into one of two fields:

* Somebody who follows a new eating routine every 3 months and tries to keep up to date with whatever is being championed as the latest super food. Despite losing weight, they tend to have an unhealthy shape to their body because they haven't been exercising at all. Remember, your muscles won't grow or become leaner unless you force them to.

* Those who love training in the gym but hate watching their nutrition. Sure, they may down a protein shake after a tough workout, but that is as far as it goes. When outside the confines of the local gym they will happily consume junk food, takeaway meals and alcohol on a regular basis. While their workout sessions will lead this person to developing some shape and tone to the biggest muscles in their body, they tend to struggle when it comes to toning their abdominal area and achieve a stocky, square look.

Of course, it wouldn't make sense to knowingly put yourself into one of the two boxes shown above. If you want to build a better body you're going to have to learn how to apply both aspects to your lifestyle, otherwise you will not be very happy with your results.

This nonsense approach is something which could be compared to an individual trying to decide whether their DVR is more important than their television. Both would be pretty useless without the other as a companion. Exercise and nutrition are designed to work together in exactly the same way, so try not to put more effort into one than the other or neglect one completely. By learning how to make a few easy lifestyle changes you can get your diet on track incredibly quickly. Combine that move with a regular fitness routine and you are on course to see a major transformation for the better.

To sum up, listen to bodybuilder Jay Cutler's response when he was recently asked the question is diet more important than exercise or vice versa. Jay advised that placing importance on one over the other is a useless mentality which leads to long term failure and you should be focusing 100 percent on your workout routine as well as 100 percent on your eating habits. Most people aren't trying to become champion bodybuilders, of course, but if you apply a similar mentality to your fitness regime you will notice that discovering how to lose weight isn't rocket science after all.

By Howe Russ

About the Author:

Next step: Find out how to lose weight with the UK's most followed Personal Trainer Russ Howe PTI today. So, is diet more important than exercise? Check out his fitness blog for more tips every week.

Pregnancy Diet For Healthy Weight Loss

Pregnant women are usually advised to take better diet intake because when they are having a baby inside, they would need the extra calories to take care of the baby and to make sure that the growing kid gets the nutrition it needs to grow up right. But what about maintaining their weight? Is there any such thing as a pregnancy diet for a healthy weight loss? A breastfeeding mother needs only about 400-500 additional calories a day. So they need to keep it in mind that they need to consume more calories than a new mother who isn't breastfeeding. If a mother has stopped breastfeeding, she can start cutting off on calories in order to maintain or reduce her weight, but too low of calories can also adversely effect her.

Nursing or pregnant women wanting to lose weight should really consider not eating those fat rich foods that develops crave during those months, as they would only add on to your weight. So it is wise to restrict eating calorie-rich foods and increase consumption of healthier foods.

To get started with the pregnancy diet for a healthy weight loss, after choosing a healthy eating meal, one should also consider healthy snacks. Also, do watch what you drink, as a surprising number of calories can be hidden in juice, full cream milk and other drinks. Enjoy eating a nutritious, varied diet, which will help you keep up with the demands of being a new mother.

Non-Feeding women have to keep it in mind, that their weight loss will be lower and less reaping then the ones who are best feeding, as they utilize their calories in the milk. "The first five or six kilos came off really quickly after the birth," says one mother, when asked about her weight loss. "And I lost another three kilos in a fortnight. But the last few kilos were worked off at the gym and brisk walks pushing my baby in the pram."

Stay Positive

You should always keep the following points in mind:

o When you plan on going on a specific weight loss program, you should always consult your doctor

o Always follow your doctor's advice when it comes to cutting down on specific foods, it will help you avoid
complications with your previous medical history

o Try not to get depressed or angry when you don't see the results of your weight loss program or diet plan as it was supposed to. These programs don't really guarantee much, and results always depend on other factors which are not stated in those plans.

o Choose a diet plan which is flexible, so you would not get irritated with the restrictions and drop it.

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Top 14 HCG Diet Recipes to Lose Weight Fast

It is really important to adhere to recommended foods and lifestyle tips when you aspire to lose excess weight. However, at times this can prove to be a tough task for weight loss aspirants. This can be tedious when you adhere to a low calorie weight loss plan like HCG weight loss regime. The restrictions like absence of sugar and fatty condiments can make you crave for snacks you are habituated to. However, it is possible to cook some delicious dishes that comply with calorie and dietary restrictions for HCG candidates. Below listed are some effective soups, snacks, and main meal dishes suitable for HCG diet.

Main meal recipes

Lemon Mustard Broiled Chicken

To make this tasty dish, you will need 100g chicken, oregano, black pepper, spicy mustard and lemon juice. Use some salt and small amount of cayenne pepper as per taste. At first, heat up the broiler for some minutes. Boil both sides of the meat for 6 minutes or so. In a bowl, blend all other ingredients well. Pour the mixture slowly on boiled chicken. Coat both sides of the meat well and then broil for 5 minutes.

Chinese Chicken

To prepare this dish you will need 100 grams cubed meat. You can use either chicken or shrimp. The other required ingredients are chicken Broth, stevia, garlic, salt & pepper, Chinese 5 spice and cabbage. Shred the cabbage and then sauté minced garlic with cabbage for a few minutes to make it tender. Then add the Chinese 5 spice with broth and stevia. Pour this mix into pan and cook with cubed meat. Stir fry for some time and add cabbage again. Cook for a few minutes.

Grilled Saloman with Herbs

To make this delicious HCG dish, you will need 1.5 pounds of wild salon. The other required ingredients include olive oil, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Pre heat the grill in oven. Blend spices, lemon juice and oil in a bowl well. Then blend the herb mixture with the salmon slowly. Cook the coated salmon on grill till it become flaky. The dish should be served hot.

Lime Shrimp

To cook this HCG ready dish, you will need peeled shrimp, lime juice, chopped onion, cooking spray, black pepper, and salt. Use the cooking spray on the cooking pan and out it on flame. Add the ingredients and cook until the onions and shrimp becomes tender. Serve the dish steaming hot.

Orange Ginger Chicken

To make this yummy HCG dish, you will need 100 grams of chicken that are cut into cubes. Other ingredients are orange, black pepper, ginger root, minced garlic and lemon juice. At first, preheat the oven for a few minutes. Sprinkle pepper on top of chicken cubes. Stir fry the chicken for a few minutes and see if the sides have turned brown. Then add garlic to the meat and cook for a few more minutes. Thereafter squeeze orange juice on the chicken. Add basil, lemon juice and ginger to the chicken next. Then cover the pan and simmer for half an hour.

Beef and Broccoli

This is recommended for third phase of HCG diet. The main ingredient to make this dish is a pound of round steak, sliced in thin pieces. You will also need to use minced garlic, beef broth, chopped onion, garlic powder, cornstarch, ground ginger, broccoli florets and cooked rice. Heat the cooking pan for a minute after using some amount of cooking spray. Stir fry the beef, garlic and onion for a few minutes. Remove the meat and put it on a plate separately. Next, add broccoli and some amount of broth to the pan. Simmer the broccoli till it gets crisp. Mix garlic powder, soy sauce, broth and cornstarch together ell and add to pan. Cook it till the mixture thickens. Then add beef to the pan and stir fry for a minute. Pour the dish over rice and serve hot.

Soups

French Onion Soup

To make this great tasting soup, you will need to use beef broth, low fat Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, water, sliced onion, lemon juice, minced garlic and pepper and salt. Sauté the onions with cooking spray and add garlic thereafter. Add some water and lemon juice to the pan. Then put rest of ingredients in pan and cook in slow heat for 15 minutes. If necessary, you can put in a few boneless beef cubes to the soup.

Lemon Spinach Soup

The main ingredients to cook this tasty soup are vegetable broth, Lemon Juice and dried thyme. Apart from these, you will also have to use Spinach, pepper and salt. Boil the broth, thyme, pepper, salt and thyme in a saucepan for a few minutes. Then put the spinach in bowls. When the soup is ready pour it on the bowls over spinach and serve hot.

Cream of Chicken Soup

To make this nutritious low calorie soup, you will need 100g chicken, cooked. Other ingredients include celery, cloves garlic, chicken broth, minced onion, basil, parsley, salt, thyme and pepper. Pre heat the cooking pan for a few minutes. In a food process, blend all ingredients well. Then pour the mix into saucepan and boil. Cook at slow heat for 15 minutes or so and serve piping hot.

Cinnamon Curry Chicken Soup

The main ingredient of this soup is 100 grams cooked chicken. You will also have to take diced onion, cinnamon, curry powder, broth, black pepper and salt. Blend all ingredients well in a saucepan. Boil the mix for a few minutes. Simmer for half an hour till the soup gets the desired level of thickness.

Salads

Dilled Crab Salad

The chief ingredient to make this salad is jumbo crab meat. You will have to use red bell pepper, slice cucumber, celery stalks, chopped dill, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, leaf lettuce, pepper and salt. Remove shell from the meat carefully. Blend the lemon juice with mustard in a bowl. Then add the vegetables and stir well. Next, season the crab meat with pepper and salt. Put the meat with vegetables on top of lettuce and serve.

Tomato Basil Salad
The vegetables needed to make this salad include sliced midsized tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, red onion, lemon juice, minced garlic and apple cider vinegar. Blend the vegetables well in marinate them in a bowl with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Put the bowl inside refrigerator and serve chilled.

Snacks

Lemon Cucumbers

The cucumber based snack can be used as a snack or appetizer by HCG diet candidates. You will need 2 sliced cucumbers and chopped onion to make this dish. Other necessary ingredients are vinegar, Stevia, celery salt, lemon juice and black pepper. Blend all the vegetables well in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle lemon juice on top and keep inside refrigerator for an hour. Serve chilled with lettuce leaf for adornment.

Caribbean Cucumbers

To make this dish for HCG diet, you will require a sliced big cucumber. Other necessary ingredients include sliced onion, pepper sauce, fresh lime juice, Water, black pepper, fresh lime juice and salt. Blend cucumber slices well with lime juice, onion, salt and water in a bowl. Refrigerate the mixture for an hour or so and serve chilled.

Christine R Hughes is a food & fitness enthusiast and regularly writes for various publications online. Visit Hcg diet recipes for hundreds of easy to prepare hcg diet recipes.

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Start a Healthier Lifestyle With a Detox Diet

Detox diets are great for flushing out the toxins and contaminates from your body in a very gentle and healthy manner. Many people will start off their weight loss journey with a detoxifying diet plan and they can even be used now and again to maintain good health.

Detox or cleansing diets have been around for many years, in fact centuries, so they aren't a fad, and they do in fact work and work very well.

A cleansing diet involves eating natural and fresh foods that help the immune system and also the detoxifying organs to work well and as such a detox diet can be a bit restrictive. However, there are a number of different detox diet plans so you should find one that will suit you.

Here are some of the detox diet plans available:

* Clean Diet - this is a detox plan that lasts for a period of 21 days and is great for those who have a very busy lifestyle.

* Raw Food Diet - as the name states, while on this diet plan you can only consume raw, uncooked foods.

* Super Cleanse Diet - these include vegetarian detox diets and juice fasts that are designed specifically for cleansing the body.

* Weight Loss Cure - this is a diet plan that using techniques to cleanse the body as a start to a weight loss program.

* Martha's Vineyard Detox Diet - this is a great weight loss plan where you can lose up to 21 pounds in 21 days.

* Swiss Secret - this detox plan with help you to lose weight as well as improve your health.

* Fruit Flush - this is a three day plan that will give your system a good flush out, getting rid of toxins and will also help you to lose some weight.

Most detox diets will require you to drink a lot of water, usually a minimum of two litres a day.

Some detox diets will require you to ingest some herbs that help with the detoxifying process; these can often be taken as herbal teas. You will also need to avoid processed foods that contain preservatives and additives and will be encouraged to eat organic fruits and vegetables. You will also need to avoid substances like caffeine, alcohol, smoking and other drugs.

With the lifestyles that we lead these days, not only the food we eat, but also the pollution we are surrounded by and our lack of exercise, makes it necessary to do a regular detox to flush out all those unwanted and dangerous toxins that build up in our bodies.

Detox is often associated with alcohol or drug dependent treatments, but detox is a term used to flush out any toxins from our body. A good detox from time to time will keep your body working at its peak performance and will give you more energy and help you to feel great.

If you are looking out for an effective Detox Diet plan or for method to lose weight fast, then you might as well try the homeopathic hCG diet plan out yourself and see if it works the same wonders for you that it did for others.

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What Is a HCG Diet Plan?

It's no secret that the HCG diet works for millions of people around the world. What many people fail to grasp is exactly how HCG works.

It's important before you undertake any diet plan that you understand what's going on with your body and why it responds the way it does, and a weight loss plan is certainly no exception to the rule.

So to understand the diet, you need to understand HCG. HCG was actually discovered by accident, but this accident turned into a success story for lots of people looking to lose weight fast, and the HCG diet continues to be one of the fast growing diets in the world.

It's actually a hormone that was discovered by Doctor ATW Simeons back in the 60's. He discovered that the HCG hormone works to nourish and protect the fetus and changing fat reserves into nutrition.

It was later discovered that this exact same hormone could be used by both men and women and work to turn fat into nutrients for the body, while curbing your hunger. So not only is HCG an appetite suppressant, but it's also a fat burning hormone.

The best part about the discovery of HCG is that it doesn't burn off healthy fat, such as structural fat which is meant to protect your vital organs, or your normal reserves which are used when your caloric intake is too low for your body.

The HCG hormone targets fat that gathers around your trouble areas like your waist, hips, and even your thighs. This fat isn't necessarily used for anything until your normal reserves are used up, which isn't very often. The end result is extremely fast weight loss.

Even though many people are very skeptical of the HCG diet, people who have experienced the benefits of the diet will defend the diet after improving their health.

Some additional benefits include a rise in overall health.

Because HCG is a naturally occurring hormone in the human body, it is safe for most, if not all people. Plus, the suppressant, when taken properly, can limit you to the consumption of only 500 calories per day.

The end result is an amazing loss of weight rate that comes out to about one pound per day! The HCG diet is not only healthy for you, but offers better results than almost any other diet that is on the market today.

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The Best Miracle Weight Loss Program Is Diet And Exercise

Diet, and dieting aids, is a multibillion dollar industry in the United States. This should come as no surprise because many, many studies from both government and private researchers have documented the rapidly rising rates of obesity in almost all segments of the population.

These two facts seem to be at odds with each other. On one hand, we seem to be obsessed with how much we weigh and are willing to spend vast amounts of money on almost any product or service that claims to help us lose our unwanted pounds. Yet, on the other hand, there are a great many credible reports that, nationally, we continue to grow fatter.

I think the disconnect between the two is that even though we desperately want to weigh less than we do, we are unable, or unwilling, to make the lifestyle choices necessary to not gain weight in the first place. As a culture, we seem to want to live a life of culinary abandon and eat everything we wish and then be able to purchase a thin body without fuss or muss.

As circumstantial evidence, I point to a recent article in the New York Times. The article itself is an examination of the continuing popularity of the faddish HCG diet despite any real evidence that it actually works. The author reports on one woman who injects herself daily with HCG as part of a 500 calorie a day diet.

Briefly, this is crazy in the extreme. Any reputable dietician will tell you that a middle aged female requires somewhere around 1,400 calories daily to maintain current weight and will begin to lose weight when calories are restricted to about 1,100 daily. For the woman outlined in the NY Times article, she doesn't need HCG at all, at 500 calories a day, she's starving herself already.

The answer to losing weight is not spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on questionable "miracle" programs. The answer is to choose to stick with a reasonable and healthy diet and not ignore the nutritional needs your body has.

Put another way, our species has developed over tens of thousands of years and has survived more than a few challenges along the way. Our latest challenge, at least in the west, is that we do not get enough exercise and don't eat at all correctly. That is, what we need for the body to function well.

Typically, we ingest way too much red meat, too many carbohydrates, and too much sugar. We don't eat nearly enough fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or fish. Instead of preparing our own meals, we too often head off to the closest fast food vendor. Instead of exercising, we sit on our couches and watch others play games.
And then wonder why we gain weight!

In the end, you don't need any "miracle" cure, you need to exercise more and eat less. Not only will you be healthier, you will also save money.

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The Effect of Vitamin B12 For Weight Loss

Are B12 injections effective for weight loss programs? 

Vitamin B12 is Cobalamine and is one of the B vitamins. The B vitamins assist the body in converting carbohydrates into glucose. The glucose is burned in order to generate more energy to produce maximum power of the body.

This group of vitamins is frequently referred as vitamins B complex. The vitamin B complex is also vital for the breakdown of fats and proteins in our body. The B vitamins also maintain muscle shape and defend the mucus lining in the digestive region and mouth. These vitamins maintain the good health of our central nervous system and organs like the skin, eyes and liver. The additional vital purpose of Vitamin B12 is extremely comparable with other B complex vitamins. Cobalamine is measured to be an outstanding anti-stress vitamin since it is assumed to improve the health of our immune system and develops the ability of our body to battle stressful situations.

Nowadays, the probable role of vitamin B12 might participate in helping the origin of weight loss plans. This vitamin has been observed and applied as weight-loss method. Now, Vitamin B12 injections for weight loss are ordinary practice as part of advance weight-reducing programs. This weight-loss technique has been practiced at several weight loss clinics for years.

You must remember that over doses of these vitamins can cause severe health hazards and thus great care must be applied. B12 shots are expensive and must be taken under proper medical direction to evade severe health complications. Some of the side-effects are temper swings, panic attacks, unpredictable sugar levels on blood, numerous joint pains, muscle cramps and many more.

Usually, B12 shots are only for those patients that undergoing from Pernicious Anemia. You must remember that Vitamin B12 injections for weight loss are denounced by most parts of the medical organization. Aside from the energy boosts effect which may help the sluggish over weight person, real advantages of using B12 as a method to achieve weight loss is not clearly proven. You must always consider that real hard work and sweat constantly gives best result.

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Exactly what is the Hcg diet protocol and how can it succeed?

By Alice Moss

A common question amongst people that are thinking about starting the HCG diet is whether they will be putting the weight back on again at the end of the diet. The answer's, no. Follow-ups over the following weeks, months and years have shown that the individual dieting doesn't put the weight back on again. The HCG drops successfully reprogram the metabolism and the dieters typically get used to feeling full on less food.

The HCG diet is especially suited to females as it burns the fat that's localized in the "fat deposits" that nature has foreseen, specifically the upper legs, hips and backside. Just like a camel's hump for the water, a woman's hips and thighs are a reserve of sugar that in nature can keep her and her fetus alive in case of a food shortage. This reserve is really efficiently tapped when the right hormones are in play, and in the case of HCG the body is strongly induced to turn that specific fat into sugar.

The duration of the HCG is set in long or short rounds. A long round is 40 days and a short round is twenty-six days. The duration of the round you decide to try relies on how much weight you've got to lose. After a maximum of 40 days you need to stop taking the drops for no less than two weeks because otherwise your body becomes used to it and it ceases to be affective. During the maintenance period you can eat as much as you like, only avoiding sweet and starchy foods as much as is possible.

HCG diet, fundamentally contain human chorionic gonadotropin, a compound produced by the fetuses of expecting moms. This hormone is then passed on to the mother through the placenta. It is responsible for allowing the metabolism to consume fat extraordinarily fast in order to make it available as sugar whenever the fetus is in need. It's now being used at length as a top, scientific approach to weight reduction.

Plenty of folk are worried of possible side-effects. The top two complications that are connected with its intake are headaches and leg cramps. The headaches are due to the poisons stored in the fat that are rapidly being released into the arteries and can be balanced by drinking water. The leg cramps are because of a low potassium diet and so you can just take an over the counter potassium supplement. Contact your physician if you are feeling nervous, irascible or depressed, although this happens pretty rarely.

The diet drops are produced in facilities authorised by the Food and Drug Administration and are totally safe to use. They're 100% free from synthesised chemicals, additives, salt and synthesised sweeteners. They're particularly valuable in permitting you to lose the fatty tissue without losing muscle. That is why it's not hard to get a lean and tonic build, using this supplement.

How much can one expect to lose while taking the supplement? The nice thing about this exact system is that the weightloss is extremely fast and you can lose a mean of 1-3 pounds a day if you are eating and exercising in the correct way. You will see inches coming off by the week and you will find that purchaser reviews are concordant on this point.

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Energy Drinks Dangerous to Drink

I would consider energy drinks dangerous to drink until you get to hear all the facts, and are sure under what conditions they are safe for you, or the kids. Although downing an energy drink or two may seem like a safe and innocent way to help you keep up the hectic pace of this hurry up world we live in, it could be doing you more harm than good. You should also not consider an energy drink as a "special treat" for your child.

There have been studies done on energy drinks which show that the most common ingredients like sugar, sodium, and caffeine are very dangerous when taken in high dosages for diabetics and for people with low or high blood sugar levels. And it is not always 100% clear how much caffeine or sugar you are consuming from the ingredients on the can. The small 8 oz. can, has about 80 mg of caffeine, the amount found in an instant cup of coffee. But drink a 16 oz. can, or two, and you're getting around 150 mg. per/can. Add a Snickers candy bar in the mix, and without a second thought you are about to go through the roof on a sugar/caffeine overload!

We've seen where the average person consuming the average energy drink that's high in sugar can feel like they're trapped in a speeding, out-of-control elevator that's crashing to the ground when the sudden drop in insulin levels kicks in. Now think about the effects it would have on a person with a heart condition. At times the energy drinks can also boost the heart rate and blood pressure, to the point of palpitations. So, when you ask are energy drinks dangerous? The answer is yes, they certainly can be dangerous!

We have all heard about the guy who overdosed after 10 energy drink cocktails at a rave, and considered that an extreme case, that could never happen to you, or anyone you know. But an overdose can be as simple and innocent as a student cramming for a test, pulling an "all nighter" with the help of 4 or more energy drinks. People don't understand that some of the ingredients in that energy drink can be dangerous, when consumed in large amounts over a short period of time.

We have athletes that will make the mistake of drinking energy drinks before their sports event to help them gain an added edge. But caffeine can have a dehydrating effect on this athlete, and have them desperately needing water. Instead of an energy drink, they should be reaching for a sports drink, like Gatorade, and always water. Watch the sporting events on TV, and you will see what they are drinking.

Some of the energy drink dangerous side effects include jitters, infertility, ulcers an irregular heartbeat, excess sweating and anxiousness. Caffeine is known to have both laxative and diuretic effects on the body. This means you often lose the stimulant through excess urination, and you are left dehydrated. It can also reduce your coordination and balance, increase your heart rate and body temperature, and disturb your sleeping patterns. Is it really worth it?

On the market place today, there is now a safe alternative to all the popular energy drinks out there. A powder that you mix with water that is safe for you to drink, without any of the high levels of caffeine. It's a natural product you can drink 2 to 3 times a day to enhance your energy levels throughout the day without any of the health risks. It's safe for children, and cheaper than the energy drinks in a can.

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Dangerous Ingredients In Food

Dangerous ingredients in food are plentiful. This is just a small list of what you should avoid when you read labels. And it is important that you read labels.

Propylene Glycol Alginate

This ingredient is found in many different types of food as an emulsifier (thickening agent). You may find it in certain salad dressings, beverages, and yogurts. The source it is derived from, the kelp plant, may be natural but this particular ingredient can have some seriously negative side effects. High amounts of such a chemical ingredient can cause seizures in children. It is also suspected of causing liver or kidney disease.

POLYSORBATE 60

Polysorbates are also emulsifiers (thickening agents) and are commonly employed in food preparation. They have also been used in skin care products and various pharmaceuticals. Commonly, this ingredient will be found in a wide range of different cakes and sweets. Most would realize that many of the junk food selections which contain this ingredient are less than healthy but they might not realize the extent of the problems associated with it. Namely, high levels of Polysorbate 60 can contribute to the onset of cancer. It is also believed that it can cause organ toxicity and problematic reproductive issues.

Butylated Hydroxytoluene: Butylated Hydroxytoluene and BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) is often used in foods for the prime purpose of preventing fats from becoming rancid. Most would not be overly concerned about such an ingredient entering their body until they discover that it is also commonly found in jet fuels and embalming fluid!!! Needless to say, many will think twice before ingesting any food item that contains this ingredient. Then again, it might be difficult to avoid since it is found in so many products.

Butylated Hydroxytoluene is another in a long line of dangerous ingredients in food that have been linked to problems with the liver. At the very least, it has been linked to stomach distress and nausea. Dizziness has even been reported as a symptom after ingestion.

Yellow #5:
As the name would suggest, this is a colorant found in many different food items. The proper name for this coloring is Tartrazine and it has been established to possess a number of problematic health issues. Asthmatics and those with a low tolerance to aspirin have experienced allergic reactions to this coloring. Even those in reasonably good health have reported migraines, purple patches on the skin, insomnia, and even clinical depression after exposure to this cheap coloring product.

I recommended staying away from all artificial colors/dyes including but not limited to erythosine (red 3), Red 40, Blue 1, orange B, etc. Artificial dyes/colorants have been linked to hyperactivity in children. Food colors are made from petroleum - not exactly what people should have in their system. It is very hard to find processed foods that don't contain artificial dyes. But then again you should be drastically reducing your processed foods to a minimum.

Artificial sweeteners
Our bodies weren't designed to metabolize artificial ingredients. Examples of artificial sweeteners include aspartame, saccharine, neotame, acesulfame, and sucrolose. Diet soft drinks, breath mints, jams, jellies, gelatins, frozen desserts, candies, cough drops, chewing gum, frosting, processed fruit and juices, puddings and baked goods can all contain artificial sweeteners and should be avoided.

Long term aspartame consumption has been shown to contribute to memory loss, insomnia, heart palpitations, epilepsy, asthma, vision loss, weight gain, etc

An increased risk of bladder cancer has been linked to a high consumption of saccharine.
Some studies have linked the consumption of Acesulfame K to the lung and breast tumors, leukemia, and chronic respiratory disease.

People should also avoid refined sugar. It's not good for you. It is stripped of all the good nutrients and the result is a cheaper, harmful product. Instead use natural sweeteners like pure maple syrup, raw cane or beet sugar, stevia, molasses and raw honey. The ill effects of refined sugar are enormous.

MSG
Monosodium glutamate is a neurotoxic food additive that is commonly used as a flavor enhancer.. While MSG does not have its own flavor, it produces a savory taste when added to foods. Despite being approved to be used as a food additive, MSG is associated with a long list of dangerous health risks including brain damage, allergies, eye inflammation, diabetes, nausea, and memory loss.

There are many dangerous ingredients in food and also cosmetics and household cleaners. The best way to avoid them is to buy organic products that are all natural and free of chemicals.

N. Curtis has written dozens of health articles and is the author of the Amazingly Informative and Extremely Entertaining Free Special Health Report "It's Your Body, You Can Die If You Want To!" Check it out now at http://www.youcandieifyouwantto.com

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Dangers Of Diet Soda Include Increased Heart Stroke Risk

Diet soda and salt, two mainstays of many diets have come under scrutiny by researchers who wonder what these things are doing to the body. A bit of unsettling new research suggests the dangers of diet soda may include boosting your heart stroke risk.

A separate study by the same team using data from the same source found that consuming high levels of salt was also associated with a higher stroke risk. In the US stroke comes third in the league table of leading causes of death (with heart disease and cancer in the first two spots) and kills over 137,000 a year.

The diet soda portion of the study saw a significantly increased risk for those who drank the diet versions of beverages, but not for those who drank regular soda.

Earlier work on soda intake found that people who had more than one of these beverages a day (either the regular or diet variety) had a greater chance of developing metabolic syndrome, which is a group of risk factors that up the chances of diabetes and heart disease according to experts.

To evaluate stroke risk in relation to diet soda, researchers looked at the soda drinking habits of just over 2,500 subjects. The participants completed food questionnaires that included information on how much soda they drank, what type it was, and how often they drank it.

During the nine years the participants were followed, 559 people had a vascular event, including both types of strokes - hemorrhagic and those brought on by clots (ischemic stroke).

The research team controlled for stroke risk factors like age, ethnicity, gender, levels of exercise, number of calories, smoking history and alcohol intake and still saw that participants who drank diets sodas every day had a 61% increased risk of stroke compared with those who didn't drink any soda daily. The team even controlled for metabolic syndrome, those suffering from hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and heart disease history and the link still was strong, though lower, at 48% increased risk of stroke.

The reason for the link between diet drinks and stroke risk remains unknown and the work did not show a cause and effect relationship. The research findings do suggest that drinking lots of diet soda every day might not be the best thing for the body... something to think about while waiting for more research to be done.

They also conducted a separate study that concluded a high level of salt intake was associated with a higher stroke risk. For this work the salt intake of 2,657 participants was examined, and followed for nearly a decade. During follow up, 187 ischemic strokes took place, with subjects who took in over 4,000 milligrams of sodium a day having twice the risk of stroke compared to participants who had less than 1,500 milligrams of salt daily.

The American Heart Association tells us that we should take in a maximum of 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day, while the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans call for intake under 2,300 milligrams daily, with those over 51 years old, or who are part of specific groups such as those who have high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, or are African American advised to stick with 1,500 milligrams.

Your best bet, if you're concerned about heart stroke risk and the dangers of diet soda is to avoid all forms of soda on a daily basis and keep your salt intake under the recommended allowances. A slip once in a while won't hurt you, but high, regular daily intakes just might.

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The Truth About Diet Sodas

If you are one of the millions of people who drink diet soda because you think it's healthier or you think it's lower in sugar then you need to listen up. It's becoming clearer and clearer that diet sodas are worse for us than the regular, full sugared varieties.

Soda is not a healthy drink. Regular sodas contain high amounts of sugar, phosphoric acid and the dark ones contain the carcinogen caramel coloring. Nearly every dentist agrees that drinking soda increases the destruction of teeth.

Just one regular soda a day can lead to a 24 pound weight gain. For people who will are at risk for diabetes, this is about 40 g of sugars in your system without the benefit of any nutrients.

This is why people think that drinking diet soda is healthier. The lack of sugar means the risk of decaying our teeth goes away, the pounds will go away and the risk of diabetes goes down. That's not the case. In fact, new studies are showing that people who drink diet soda put on more weight and the risk of diabetes increases.

Most diet sodas contain the chemical aspartame. Aspartame is a chemical that within the human body breaks down to formaldehyde. We all know formaldehyde from our high from school, mostly because it's banned because it's too toxic to be around children. Aspartame can cause liver damage and kidney damage.

Aspartame also stimulates the hormone cortisol, which is the hormone in our body that encourages fat storage. People drinking diet sodas for weight loss end up storing more fat than they lose. Since cortisol is also a stress hormone, people who drink diet sodas have an increased risk of stress related health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and certain psychological issues such as depression.

Perhaps the worst part about sodas is the caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant drug. In small quantities, especially those that come from natural sources such as tea and chocolate, caffeine can help us work better, have clearer minds and reduce the risk of heart disease. Any more caffeine more than a half a can of soda or half a cup of coffee can throw off our body systems.

People who consume too much caffeine in the short-term develop jitteriness, inattentiveness, insomnia and skin problems like flushing. In the long term the excess caffeine can damage our brains, resembling Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, increase high blood pressure and damage the liver. And let's not forget that caffeine dehydrates the body. You actually need to drink twice the amount of water as soda in order to counteract the dehydrating affects caffeine has on your body.

Since the average teenager consumes 30 to 40 ounces of soda every day, nearly 10 times an acceptable level, we need to get the word out about just how bad these drinks are. As an occasional treat, no more than once a day, a small glass of soda is okay to drink. But any more than that and you're not doing your body a favor.

Major is the Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting. Crystal Holistic Health offers nutritional consulting for most health problems including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, weight loss and childhood obesity. Clients receive a full lifestyle interview and personalized nutritional and lifestyle education. Crystal Holistic Health also offers educational seminars and teleseminars on a variety of nutritional topics including eating habits, portion control and most health problems and how eating right can make them better. Check us out at http://www.crystalholistichealth.com/

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The Benefits of Eating Pizza

So many of us love pizz,a but we often feel guilty after eating a few slices. Is it really all that bad for you? There has been research done by the food chemists at the University of Maryland, they believed that they could change Italian pie so that it could be even healthier and thought that it may also be responsible for fighting heart disease. They believed that by changing the dough that is used to whole wheat dough instead of white dough, they could boost the amount of antioxidants in it. Antioxidants decrease the damage of cells that have been linked to heart disease and cancer.

What is bad for us as far as pizza is the stuff we like to load on top of it. Now the tomato sauce is not bad for you, but the cheese and the toppings can be. Cheese is very high in saturated fat. Pepperoni and sausage are grease pits just waiting to clog your arteries. So how do you get around that so it benefits your health? Well that is simple; by using reduced fat cheese and instead of the pepperoni and sausage, use spinach and low-fat turkey sausage or turkey bacon, you know have yourself a nice healthy Italian pie.

Now many of us would love to see it become a diet food. Another benefit of eating Italian pie is you can actually burn off the extra calories. The way to lose weight is to burn off more calories that you intake on a daily basis. So you can certain eat a slice or two of pizza, but then you will need to most likely step on the treadmill or go for a walk. A typical slice is approximately 300 calories, which really isn't that bad and a whole pie has 2,500 calories. But who can really eat a whole one at once?

Even if you are on a diet, you can actually benefit from eating it. Well, if you were to restrict food consumption for a length of time, this can affect your metabolism, which will need to work harder to save energy. How does this all affect your Italian pie intake? It is simple. If you cheat and eat it at least once a week, your metabolism will stay on track and you can still lose weight. I'll bet you didn't know that eating pizza could actually help with weight loss!

Of course, exercising is the most important part of weight loss. You cannot just diet and not exercise. If you have a pizza craving and eat two slices of it every day, you would have to run an hour each day to burn off those two slices. Is it worth it? Well that depends on how much you like Italian pie and how much you enjoy running!

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Can You Lose Weight Eating Pizza?

Who of us haven't had pizzas during our college days? Let's face it, almost everyone have had that yummy food at some point of time or other. Pizza has a few pros going for it: it is not only cheap but also tastes great. Plus, it is available in almost all decent fast food restaurants, hotels and canteens.

However, pizza is not great if you wish to stay lean and fit all your life. As a matter of fact, pizza is rich in saturated, oily fats that are responsible for weight gain. So, unless you wish to flaunt huge hips, fat belly or flabby arms, you should try to stay away from it.

Okay okay, I know that asking you to avoid pizza altogether for the rest of your life is a tall order for you, since you are so addicted to pizza that possibly you won't be able to maintain your sanity without it. With that in mind, I am going to tell you about a few ways you can have your fill without gaining unnecessary weight in the process. Here are some weight loss pizza tips

Tip 1: The right meat: Italian sausage, ground beef or processed meat may make your pizza delicious, but they are not healthy. So the next time you order your favorite pizza, order the one made of lean meat of either chicken or ham. That way, you could have your pizza without gaining a few extra pounds in the process.

Tip 2: The right amount of cheese: As a matter of fact, cheese is rich in "bad fats" or saturated fats and as such, the less choose you consume it, the better for you. Since cheese is a major ingredient of pizza, you should order the one which made with half the usual amount of cheese.

Tip 3: The right cooking oil: There are two types of fats available: the unsaturated and the saturated fats; the first one won't make you any heavier but the second one would. In most restaurants, pizzas are cooked using oils rich in saturated fats. So when you order a pizza, be sure to inquire about whether it has been cooked using low-fat oil or even better, olive oil. I say olive oil is better because it is not only rich in monounsaturated fats but also omega-3 and omega-5 fats, all of which are great for your health.

Tip#4: The right thickness of the crust: The crust used on pizzas is usually rich in simple carbohydrates that would make you overweight. Therefore, the thinner the crust of your pizza, the better. Ordering a pizza with a thin crust won't ruin the taste of pizza by any considerable margin; if anything, it would ensure that you are able to eat pizzas forever without having to worry about possible weight gain.

As you can see, there is no reason why you can't eat weight loss pizzas. As long as you follow the simple tips above, you can keep eating pizzas throughout your entire life without the fear of weight gain.

One low carb but not no carb diet is the South Beach Diet check out my review. Also many people are interested in a cleanse and to help you out doing a free cleanse check out my Master Cleanse detox review which will help you do that free cleanse.

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