Salty Diets Affect Weight Loss

Did you know that salty diets not only affect your blood pressure and so forth but they do affect your weight loss as well?  Salt causes your body to retain fluids.  The more fluids, the more your body stores the fluids.  This is known as water retention.  Eating foods that are high in salt then can cause you to retain fluids and lose lower amounts of weight.

Check the labels of foods to determine which ones are high in sodium.  You can replace them with other foods and flavors.  For example, you can use crushed red pepper flakes to season food as a salt replacer.  The flakes bring out the flavor in food but also do not leave you retaining fluid.  This should help to kick start your dieting and your weight loss in a healthy way.

Sculpting Body Shape without Building Bulky Muscles

Many times when people decide to lose weight, they worry about strength training. They avoid the weights like the plague and stick to the treadmills and the spin bikes.  The goal is to burn a lot of calories and drop the weight.  However, you can sculpt your body and do weight lifting without building bulky muscles.  Did you know that it takes more calories to just simply live and breathe if you build up your muscles?  Muscles take more energy to maintain and thus burn more calories per day.

However, not everyone wants to look like a body builder.  The key is to every time you work out to start out your routine with a short cardiovascular workout.  This will kick up your metabolism while you lift weights.  Next, look at the worst areas of your body that you want to target first.  For example, if you have a pot belly, you could work on the abdominal area first.  Using light weights, work several sets to build the muscles in that area.  The lighter weights will not create bulky muscle mass.  Using more repetitions is the key once you start targeting areas for toning.   You will look better.  And you will burn more calories each day just by breathing and walking around.

Lemons: The Health Benefits

Lemons have more uses than adding a little zip to your iced tea or creating a pitcher of lemonade for a hot summer day. Lemons are known for their healing powers and used in various ways.

The lemon is acidic, but can help with digestive problems such as nausea and heartburn, when diluted with hot water. Lemon juice is thought to help dissolve gallstones and can act as a tonic to the liver. Ever have those irritating hiccups that don’t want to go away? Lemon juice is known to offer relief.

A high content of vitamin C is contained in lemons, which is thought to help prevent and treat infections, decrease fever and relieve symptoms of sore throat, tonsillitis and asthma.

Lemon is a diuretic, which in turn helps flush out toxins and bad bacteria. This is especially beneficial for those who have urinary tract infections or anything related to high uric acid problems such as arthritis and rheumatism.

Externally applied, lemon juice is thought to prevent sunburn and in combination with glycerin, helps to prevent chapped lips.

In a highly concentrated balm form, lemons can encourage a body to perspire, thus having the ability to break a fever. Balms are also used for headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure and menstrual cramps and also to calm anxiety.

There’s also a psychological benefit of lemon for lifting spirits. Lemon has a fresh and zesty scent and is often used in air fresheners and even perfumes and body sprays. Next time you squeeze a lemon, don’t underestimate its power!

Negative Calorie Foods

Negative calorie foods are now a new part of my daily nutritional meals and snacks.  In fact, I try to make certain that each day I eat a few servings of these surprisingly delicious food group.  What exactly are negative calorie foods?

Negative calorie foods are foods that burn up more calories while your body works at digesting them than the number of calories that are in the actual food itself.  In essence you’re giving your stomach a workout by eating these foods.

Some great negative calorie foods include:

Apples – broccoli- green cabbage – carrots – cauliflower- strawberries – lettuce – oranges- lemon mangos- grapefruits – garlic – zucchini – green beans- hot chili peppers

Cortisone Shots for Arthritis

Recently, I finally gave in and went to an orthopedic specialist about hip and shoulder pain.  After being x-rayed and given a range of motion evaluation, it was determined that I had a locked shoulder, arthritis in my hip and shoulder.  I wasn’t sure how to handle this since I am fairly young still.

The recommendation was some physical therapy at home.  I was given my exercises.  Next thing to do was cortisone shots.  I must tell you have never felt that kind of pain from a shot before!  I guess I should’ve known that something was up when they had to put a numbing topical on the skin before giving the shot.

I was in a great deal of pain and had bruising from the shot.  It took me nearly 5 days to recover.  But, now I am feeling a 100% better from the cortisone shots and the physical therapy exercises at home.  This truly amazes me.

Candy Lollipops Deter Cavities

Many people practice alternative healing methods.  The area of tooth decay, cavities and dental hygiene is no exception when it comes to alternative healing that can help your body.  If you normally think that alternative healing methods have to be uncomfortable or even taste bad, you will be glad to hear that new candy lollipops deter cavities.

Renowned and well-respected UCLA microbiologist named Wenyuan Shi has created a sugar-free candy lollipop that will fight tooth decay and cavities.  If you are fighting carbohydrates, on a low-sugar diet or even diabetic, you can now enjoy the great taste of these lollipops while also helping your dental hygiene.  It is a fun way to whiten teeth, reduce cavities and take care of your oral needs all in one great tasting sugar-free candy lollipop.

What makes this lollipop so special, other than it is sugar free?  The primary ingredient of the fun lollipops is licorice root extract also known as Glycyrrhiza Uralensis.  As an alternative healing option, many people have been eating and chewing licorice for years.  The microbiologist discovered a way to harness the extract in sugar-free candy lollipops so that everyone can enjoy the healing benefits of licorice root extract.

According to the famous professor, licorice extract has more healing properties than simply keeping your teeth pearly white and reducing the number of cavities you might experience.  Other health benefits include the deterrence of strep throat.  Those that use licorice extract have fewer cases of strep throat.  This means that both adults and kids could benefit from these sugar-free candy lollipops for more than just oral hygiene.  Can you imagine telling your kids to please eat a lollipop to prevent strep throat?  Most kids would love this idea!  You don’t have to tell them that it is good for them.

Another great use of the sugar-free candy lollipops is the claim by the professor that they help to reduce and prevent stomach ulcers.  The licorice extract that is in the lollipops helps to reduce the acid in the stomach and thus making the chances of stomach ulcers slimmer.  Now, even adults have yet another reason to try out these great sugar-free candy lollipops.

How do the licorices extract based sugar-free candy lollipops work?  The first thing that they do is increase the amount of natural salvia that your mouth produces while you are eating them.  This in turn reduces the amount of bacteria that can build up in the mouth at any one time causing oral hygiene problems.  Additionally, the licorices extract based sugar-free candy lollipops contain anti-bacteria qualities that will prevent bacteria from sticking to the teeth.  It is a winning situation for everyone!

These orange flavored lollipops are recommended to be allowed to slowly dissolve in your mouth right after breakfast. Then as a bedtime treat, have another one right before you rest for the evening.  Two lollipops are suggested for use for a total of 10 days to effectively benefit from the licorice extract qualities.  You can have more throughout the year and many people do because the taste is so great and they will not harm you if they are not consumed in excess.

Moving to Lose Weight

Moving is one of the most important things that you can do to lose weight.  It is important to eat healthy but you will be amazed at how much you can lose weight by sheer movement.  Many times people think that they have to be a member of a gym.  This is not the case.  There are many ways you can move to lose weight.

Stand instead of sit when you’re at your computer at least half of the time.  It takes more calories to stand and bend over to type and look at your screen then to sit in your chair.

Tap your foot and alternate between feet while you are sitting.  During commercials get up and walk around the room.  In fact, get up to change the volume or the channel on the television.

While you’re sitting, move your arms.  You can even hold a 2 litre soda bottle while you’re lifting your arms up and down.

No matter how you move, just move.  The more you move the more calories you burn.  If you get your heart racing and your cardio up, you can even boost your  metabolism to burn the food that you have and the fat at a faster rate.

Vaccinations and a Link to Autism

They have officially debunked the theory of a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism (also asperger syndrome). This has been in the media for quite a while, many parents thinking there was a possible link to the vaccine and their child’s autism. However, even though the immunization against these childhood illnesses has officially been ruled out by the medical field as the cause, I think a lot of parents still have a hard time believing these new findings. That is, at least until there has been absolute proof stating otherwise. Maybe as time passes, and an actual cause of autism is discovered, parents will feel truly safe again about having their young children immunized.

This new theory is based on the findings during the study of antibody blood tests on 240 children in the UK. Other tests, similarly conducted, were among 31,000 children in Japan and 28,000 children in Canada, citing other possible environmental factors as being the cause for autism. However, no further idea of what these “environmental factors” actually might be, has been given.

There has been an overwhelming rise in autism, especially in boys, over the past decade. Many believe the cause of this is due to the vaccine containing thimerosal, a mercury based preservative. However, this element has since been removed from the vaccine, yet the rise in autism is still prevalent. This has raised a lot of concern for worried parents, many of whom have chosen not to immunize their youngsters. Even though the link has been disputed by the professionals, some parents have little faith in the medical field when it comes to vaccines and medications and the safety of their children’s health.

Added to the already growing fear in parents, regarding their children’s health, are a barrage of companies and “interest groups” popping up offering their cures for autism….at a high cost. Many of these cures are almost as bad as the condition, such as sitting in a sauna and ingesting handfuls of vitamins to detoxify the body of all traces of mercury. This brings all kinds of charlatans out of the woodwork trying to make a quick buck. Some good advice to parents is to be informed before you try any unconventional “cures”. Many parents have found by introducing a healthy diet to their child’s menu, along with “play” therapy, can help to alleviate some of the symptoms of autism.

Plastic Baby Bottle Hazard

A study has shown that plastic baby bottles can pose a serious health risk to young children, especially when the bottles are heated to warm the formula (or have just come out of a hot dish washer). This heating process releases hazardous chemicals from the plastic into the formula. When heated, high concentrates of bisphernol A, are released. This chemical acts much like the hormone estrogen and can alter cell function. It’s believed to cause cancer, infertility, thyroid problems, type 2 diabetes and learning disorders.

There has already been a lot of information in the news lately about how the plastic bottles you buy filtered water in, can cause breast cancer in women. There have been warnings posted saying, if bottles are left in the open and become warmed, the contents should not be ingested. Other instances are plastic food containers or by using plastic wrap and then placing the food into a microwave to be heated. Again, this releases the bisphernol A into the water or food, and when ingested, can increase the risk of getting cancer. It only stands to reason, if this can happen to bottled water or plastic food containers, it surely must affect the plastic baby bottles that are used in just about every household across North America.

Until further studies can be performed, to be absolutely certain, there are alternatives a parent can use. Glass bottles are still available and are shown to be much safer. There are also bottles that do not contain the harmful bisphernol A, and are labeled as such. Be sure to read the labels when purchasing plastic bottles. High on the list of culprits are the bottles made of #7 polycarbonate. A less toxic plastic would be #5, which you can find stamped on the bottom of the bottles. If in doubt, be sure to ask your child’s pediatrician for recommendations.

For more detailed information, visit these sites:
http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?RefID=101526

http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?RefID=101525

Juicing, The Cons

Many of you have seen that infomercial about Jacks power juicer. It made juicing look so good and so healthy that I requested a juicer for Christmas the year before last. I used it and enjoyed it. I figured it was a great way to get my servings of fruits and vegetables, and it is.

One thing I did not consider was that as a diabetic it was not the best idea. As far as fruits are concerned the problem with juicing is that you are removing a lot of the fiber. The fiber is important because it helps balance the high level of sugars and carbs left in the juice.

The other thing to consider is the cost of buying enough of the produce to make glasses of juice for the family. Then of course there is the cleaning of the juicer. Depending on what kind you have, it can really be a pain scrubbing and rinsing the pulp out of the screen basket.

Now I use my juicer less and mostly for vegetables, when I find a good sale.

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