Benefits From Using Home Gym Equipment

Today everyone has been educated on the benefits of getting regular exercise. Yet still there are an average of sixty percent of American adults not getting enough exercise, while twenty-five percent of the population isn’t active at all. Whether this comes in the form of housecleaning for an hour or strength training at the gym--exercise keeps your muscles strong, your heart strong, and your body in shape. You may find that having home gym equipment to exercise on is a great way of staying active so that you can stay healthy.

Doctors have found that the more active you are the healthier you are in many studies. There is a direct correlation between physical activity on that home gym equipment and a lowered risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and muscle, bone and joint problems. Also if this wasn’t all ready enough to have you looking up home gym equipment reviews on the internet, exercise can literally make you feel better mentally and emotionally.

Plus you don’t have to exercise for hours a day every day of the week to receive these benefits. Most doctors suggest that you exercise three to five times a week for about a half an hour each time to remain happy and healthy. On a piece of your home gym equipment that’s only one and a half to two and a half hours of exercise each week. More than likely you’ll get addicted to the exercise once you get into a routine and end up exercising more than that on a weekly basis.

Anyone can benefit from the exercise that they get from using home gym equipment. As mentioned previously there are many home gym equipment reviews available online for you to look at in order to get an understanding of the wide variety and availability of home gym equipment on the market.

Do we get enough nutrients from our diets?

To answer that question, first of all, let’s have a look at what ‘enough’ is. Everyone has heard of the Recommended Daily Allowance or RDA. You find these listed as percent RDA on the back of all foods that you buy. What does that mean? The RDA was developed in the 1920’s as a minimum requirement to avoid malnutrition. It was later improved in the 1950’s to include the amounts of vitamins and minerals needed for ‘normal growth’. Today’s scientific studies show that this is very different than the amounts that are probably needed to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses.

The amounts of many vitamins (not all) that are needed for most people to stay healthy in their adult years are likely to be much higher than the RDA. The fact is, we don’t really know what the exact optimal amounts of nutrients are and they certainly vary for different people. But the bottom line is that the vast majority of us don’t get enough from our food. Studies have shown that most people who think they are eating a healthy diet are not even meeting the RDA levels for all nutrients and most people are deficient in at least one if not several key vitamins.

So what does that mean? Think about it like driving down the freeway with no seat belts, no airbags, and old tires that could blow at any time. You might be fine. But if a tire blows and you get in a wreck what are your chances of coming out of it unscathed with no safety equipment. Proper nutrition works the same way in the body. It allows us to function optimally to fight off infections and common colds and to deal with the common physical and mental stress that we face all the time. A minor deficiency in a key vitamin, mineral or other micro nutrient shows up in the short term as lethargy, impatience and general fatigue and in the long term can increase your risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, depression and a large number of other chronic illnesses.

Where can you get good advice? How about your physician, are they qualified to give you advise on optimal health and nutrition? Well, maybe. Ask your doctor if they have had any formal training in nutrition. It may surprise you to know that less that 10% of medical doctors get any formal training in nutrition in medical school. A doctor’s profession is really to help people that are sick get better. Doctors are trained to diagnose and treat, and after medical school a large part of their training comes from pharmaceutical representatives that visit their office. They are not usually trained to give advice on optimal healthy living. Most doctors are very reputable practitioners and adhere to high standards of patient care – but their customers are sick people trying to recover, not people trying to achieve optimal health.

So what should you do? Your homework! Would you go and buy a car or a house without doing some homework first? Would you trust all of your money to a financial advisor without checking them out first? So why would you treat an investment into your health any differently? The fact is that the nutrition industry is regulated by the FDA as a food and to the same standards as frozen pizza. Many of the products on the market use cheap ingredients in sub-optimal amounts and in forms that are not easily utilized by the body. It is outside the scope of this article to give a detailed account of all of the products available but one source is a book called “The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements” by Lyle McWilliam. This provides a background into how nutritional work in your body and also a detailed ranking of many of the products on the market.

In summary, nutrition is key for life-long health and disease prevention. Do some homework and find high quality nutrition products that meet your needs.

Dairy: Diet Boost or Boomerang?

Adequate calcium intake has long been recommended for stronger bones. But lately, calcium has been scoring headlines for its possible link with weight loss. While I hope this news will be a boon to dieters, I'm afraid it could also boomerang.

Why? It panders to the fantasy that eating certain foods will make you lose weight. Wrong. Eating fewer calories than you burn will make you lose weight. And while studies suggest that high-calcium diets, especially high dairy diets, could enhance weight loss for those people already following a low-calorie regime, I'm worried that the last part of this story will be ignored by those who want to believe that ice cream, milkshakes and mozzarella are actually diet foods.

Dieters who disregard the fat and calorie content of their calcium sources may find their bodies looking more bovine than buff. So before you overdo it, make sure you understand calcium's role in weight loss.

Here's the skinny: A low-calcium diet increases blood levels of calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D. Calcitriol stimulates calcium influx into your fat cells, which, in turn, activates lipogenic or fat creating gene expression, thereby generating excess fat. In other words, if you're calcium deficient, your body is more disposed to creating fat cells than when you're getting adequate calcium.

Most of the recent research has focused on either dairy or supplementation, not fruits and vegetables, as a source of calcium. Furthermore, studies have looked at only one parameter - weight loss - without taking into account what other risk factors might be in play.

For example, we ought to be mindful of what else we might be getting from the calcium sources we choose, such as artery-clogging saturated fat and hidden sugars, as well as the dioxins found in full-fat foods, which pose a particular risk to women and girls.

The good news is that there are plenty of healthy ways to get your recommended 1,000 milligrams to 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day. For example, one cup of cooked spinach, one cup of nonfat plain yogurt, one cup of cooked black-eyed peas, a kiwi and a handful of blackberries add up to 1,046 milligrams of calcium for only 450 calories - far fewer than if you tried to meet the same requirement from full-fat dairy sources.

Keep in mind, too, that high-protein diets may cause loss of calcium, leading to osteoporosis and kidney stones. On the other hand, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables tends to inhibit urinary excretion of calcium.

So, be smart about how you incorporate calcium-rich foods into your weight-loss regime. Read labels, avoid saturated fat and added sugars, keep track of calories, and make sure your body retains the calcium you consume by including plenty of healthy, low-calorie, high-fiber fruits and vegetables. And don't fall for high-fat foods being marketed as diet wonders. Otherwise, the only thing you'll lose is further ground in the battle of the bulge.

A Healthy Guide to Good Nutrition

Whether you are at your ideal weight or striving to reach your weight goal is it simply a matter of burning more calories than you take in? The answer, I suggest, is no! Overall body health improvement as well as weight gain or loss must be factored in to the equation or you could be heading for problems. Correct nutrition can help to reduce the risk of a myriad of health-related problems, the most frightening of which are surely heart disease and cancer. Proper nutrition, however, entails eating many different foods, monitoring your consumption of some food and beverage items, and counting calories. Good diets offer balanced nutrition that reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and helps with weight control.

To function properly, your body must have the correct combination of nutrients:
Carbohydrates. They are the primary source of ammunition in your diet. The body uses carbohydrates to build glucose which can be used immediately or stored in your body for later. Too much glucose, however, is stored as fat. There are two types of carbohydrates - simple and complex. Sugars are simple carbohydrates. Starches and fibers are complex carbohydrates.

Proteins. Proteins help your body build and maintain muscles and other tissues. They also function in the creation of hormones. Like carbohydrates, excess protein is stored as fat.

Animal and vegetable are the two major types of proteins. Too much animal protein can cause high cholesterol, as it is high in saturated fat.

Fat. Strange as it may seem; fat is another nutrient your body requires. It comes in both saturated and unsaturated forms. Saturated fat puts you at risk of health problems. Unsaturated fat is healthy, but if it goes through any type of refinement process, it can become saturated fat.

Vitamins. These are also required nutrients. Different vitamins perform different tasks within the body. They can work with the metabolism to help with energy levels for any task you can think of that you need your body to perform. It has also been noted that certain vitamins can prevent disease.

For example, vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, can assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by keeping build up from occurring on artery walls. Vitamin B-1 is needed for digestion and proper nervous system function. Vitamin B-2 is needed for normal cell growth. Vitamin B-3 helps to detoxify your body. Folic acid assists with production of red blood cells. Vitamin D assists with the absorption of calcium. Vitamin K helps your blood clot.

Minerals and trace elements. These are another nutrient your body requires. Both are used in many different body processes. Minerals like chlorine help make your digestive juices. Phosphorus helps build strong bones. Both can be found in the foods we consume, but with a trace element, your body just needs a tiny amount. Salt is one final nutrient your body requires. You should not consume more than 2400 milligrams per day, though, as it might raise your blood pressure.

You should follow several guidelines to create a well balanced, nutritional diet. First, try to consume two and one half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit each day. When making your selections for each day, be sure to choose a good variety. A good rough guide is to eat as many different colors as possible, this will help you to select from all five vegetable subgroups at least four times per week.

You should eat at least three ounces of whole grain products each day. At least half of your grain intake should be whole grain based. Milk should also be part of a healthy diet. Consume at least forty-eight ounces of low fat milk or milk products on a daily basis. Your total fat intake should only be between ten and thirty percent of your calories. Most of the fats you consume should be in the form of unsaturated fats, as saturated fats can do much to damage your health. Meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products should all be lean, low-fat, or fat-free. Less than ten percent of your calories should come from saturated fats, and you should always try to avoid trans-fatty acid.

Fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be a regular part of your diet as should potassium rich foods. Alcoholic beverages should only be consumed in moderation.

Excellent nutrition is the basis of a healthy diet.

10 Diet Rules You Can Break

Are there actually diet rules out there that are meant to be broken? Yes, recently many dated diet guidelines and myths are up for speculation. You’ve probably heard all these silly rules before, but experts weigh-in on the worthiness of these supposed truisms - most of which won't help you lose weight or make dieting any easier.

10 Food Rules You Can Ignore:

1. Eating at night will pile on the pounds. The total calories you consume over a 24-hour period or over a week is what causes you to gain weight, and when you eat these calories doesn't matter.

2. It's best to eat at the same times every day. Eat when you're hungry, not when the clock says it's time to eat.

3. Dieting with a buddy always makes weight loss easier. Common goals may pay off but weight loss is a personal journey.

4. Dietary fat keeps you feeling full longer, so you'll eat less. Fat does take longer to digest, but it will not help you control your appetite. Foods likely to fight off hunger the longest are protein foods, followed by carbohydrates, then fats.

5. When you blow your diet, you might as well wait until the next day to get back on track. Nothing could be farther from the truth- always try to get right back on track with your next meal.

6. Refusing food at a party or when visiting is rude. Turning down food that you know will blow your diet is socially acceptable.

7. Skipping a meal every now and then will help you lose. Skipping a meal means you will be so hungry at the next meal that you are likely to overeat. This can also help lead to a slowdown of your metabolism.

8. Bread is fattening, nuts are fattening, pasta is fattening. Whole-wheat bread/pasta is a great source of nutrients, and it won't make you gain weight more than any other food with the same number of calories.

9. All calories are equal. This is somewhat true, however; you'll get more nutrients from a 100-calorie apple than from a 100-calorie portion of white bread. Choose healthier items if you are losing weight, or controlling your hunger.

10. If you don't clean your plate, you're wasting food. If you just don't feel right leaving the table until you've cleaned your plate, underestimate your hunger and put less food on your plate to begin with, or you may overeat.

Don’t believe everything you hear! Much of it is just superstition. Now you can tell your friends the real truth. In the end, nutrition experts say, many of the food and dieting rules we hold dear are meant to be broken - without guilt!

Raw Food Diet

Eating raw foods is natural. Our bodies thrive on all that is fresh and vital. A raw food diet (or increasing the amount of raw food that you eat) is bound to bring a feeling of increased well being.

Raw food diets are based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, preferably organic, such as a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruit, fresh juices and purified water.

Why Raw Foods?

Basically a vegetarian diet, the raw food diet promotes eating and drinking ‘living’ foods. Living foods and juices contain the maximum amount of fiber found in raw produce, fiber that can be lost in processing. Such foods are easily metabolized and tend to be lower in calories than the average diet.

Heating food above 116^oF destroys enzymes in food that aid in digestion and in absorption of food, diminishing its nutritional value.

Benefits of a Raw Food Diet

A diet of at least 75% raw food offers numerous health benefits, such as increased energy, improved skin appearance, better digestion, weight loss and reduced risk of serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

A raw food diet contains little or no saturated fats, is low in sodium, high in potassium, magnesium, folate and fiber.
Raw food diets are also excellent detox diets. Different combination of raw, living foods and juices can be used for colon cleansing, liver cleansing, kidney cleansing and skin cleansing.

The Basics of a Raw Food Diet

Any fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, beans, nuts, legumes, young coconut milk – even seaweed – can be menu items of a raw food diet. Your choice of foods may depend on your reasons for dieting, for example:

- sprouted brown rice slows glucose absorption and improves the metabolism

- cabbage supports healthy cellular function; radish leaves act as an anti-oxidant, as does Shitake mushroom

-carrots are a great source of vitamin A as well as encouraging healthy vision and a healthy cardio-vascular system

You can use a sprouter such as the Easy Green automatic sprouter to sprout seeds, grains, beans – even wheatgrass. Sprouts could be called a ‘super food’ – organic sprouts contain enormous levels of proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, chlorophyll pigments and enzymes, and are the ideal natural supplement.

Sprouts can be used in salads and soups, or can be juiced. Fresh juices are a great ready energy supply and a good quality juicer, such as the Kempo Greenpower juicer, produces living juices that are full of essential nutrients.

A great juicing recipe to complement a raw food diet is carrot juice with potato, fennel and apple. Simply juice 4 medium carrots, 2 apples, 1 small potato and 1 small stalk of fennel.

Fennel has been shown to reduce and control inflammation of arthritis, it evens mood fluctuation and depressive states and has the rare nutrient called manganese, plus zinc and vitamin B complex.

The nutritional value of grains and seeds is impressive. They contain most of the vitamins – particularly A, B, and E. They’re also fantastic natural sources of unsaturated fatty acids and lecithin, and an excellent source of proteins.

You can even use soy milk makers (such as SoyQuick) to make non-dairy drinks from different beans, rice, nuts, seeds and grains to have with breakfast. If you want something a little more substantial than soy milk you can make your tofu (or, of course, visit a good health food shop).

Essentially, the idea of a raw food diet is to eat unprocessed foods for at least 75% of the time. If the idea of raw food isn’t very appetising to you, you can warm the food a little as long as the food isn’t heated above 116ฐF.

Cautionary Note

As with any major change in diet, it’s wise idea to consult your doctor before beginning a special diet. This is especially true for children, pregnant women, anyone with anemia and anyone with a pre-existing medical condition.

Even natural foods can conflict with certain medications, so please ask your doctor or pharmacist if you’re taking any medication.

Because a raw food diet is detoxifying some people suffer a mild detox reaction including mild headaches, nausea and cravings. These symptoms may last for several days and you’ll get more enjoyment out of your raw food diet if you cut down on things like meat, sugar and caffeine a week or so before commencing the diet.

Last But Not Least…

A raw food diet is certainly a good way to improve your overall health and wellbeing. Like anything worthwhile it takes time, energy and commitment. Because many of the foods for this particular type of diet are made from scratch there is some preparation time involved. There are many great products on the market that can help you prepare your own living food and save you some time as well.

Combined with regular exercise, a raw food diet is also an excellent weight loss method. If you’ve been feeling ‘a little off’, or just need a pick-me-up and some extra energy, then a raw food diet is certainly a good way to go.