Archive for the ‘Healthy Life’ Category

Vegetarian Diet Plan for Fat Loss

Saturday, March 31st, 2012

It’s no news anymore that vegetarians are gaining weight and the stats are ever rising. You, seriously need an effective vegetarian diet plan for fat loss. Such a plan will include a daily meal plan that guides you throughout the regimen until you reach your goal, plus a workout routine that keeps your metabolism active so your weight won’t bounce back so easily even when at times you cheat and scoff down some junk.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Meal Plan

Here are the few pointers to help you devise a perfect plan for your body to shed the excess pounds on auto-pilot.

1. Keep the calorie intake well within your daily calorie needs. For instance, an average male requires 2000 calories while female 1500 per day for survival. You gain weight most probably because your calorie intake goes far above your needs.

Don’t act smart by eating even lesser calories than what your body needs as this will turn down your metabolism which makes fat loss less efficient. You’ll gain more weight instead that way because your body will “think” that you’re in a famine environment that food is scarce, so it’ll absorb more calories and store them as reserve with all its might.

2. Do you see lots of greens and veggies on your plate? Not surprising to see vegetarian meals consisting mostly of fake meat, bread and lack of vegetables nowadays. If you’re like the unhealthy vegetarian lot, you’re seriously deprived of essential nutrients for your body to lose excess weight.

Get more greens and veggies into your dish today. To make life easier for you, start off with 50% veggies + fruits and 50% other vegetarian food. Ideally, we should all have at least 60 – 70% of fruits and vegetables on our plate in every main meal.

3. Apart from main meals, insert one healthy snack in between breakfast and lunch, and another one in between lunch and dinner. I recommend snacks like mixed fruits (e.g. blend of sliced peaches, strawberries, pineapple, mangoes, dates, apricots, honeydew and grapes) which are delectable and easy to prepare. Snacks are a good way to keep hunger pangs at bay so your metabolism can stay active to burn fat.

4. Keep your meal timings regular. This tells your body to not worry about whether the next batch of energy and nutrients will come, and your body will happily continue to maintain at optimal metabolic rate.

In short, your vegetarian weight loss meal plan must have sufficient energy value and nutrients. And you should take in 5 meals a day. Oops, don’t forget to drink enough plain water for hydration. A well-hydrated body burns fat efficiently.

As for workout routine, don’t blindly follow what others are doing. Pick up exercises that you’re comfortable with for a start, such as brisk-walk, slow jog or rope-skipping etc.

Activate your body with simple exercises for 3 – 4 times a week for at least 2 weeks before you step up to interval training such that you’ll perform the exercise with a low-high-low intensity pattern. An Australian study shows that a 12-sec low-intensity and 8-sec high-intensity pattern produces the best result.

What Makes Herpes a Hidden Epidemic?

Saturday, February 18th, 2012

In the UK, various GUM (genitourinary medicine) clinics have revealed that people have become more aware about herpes, particularly about viral shedding. Though the presence of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) can be detected with the help of STI tests, its nature of attack is always unknown. Once it becomes active, it causes painful and distressful herpes outbreaks several times in a year.

An in-depth knowledge and awareness about herpes is the key to fight its symptoms before an outbreak occurs. It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, which can be transmitted from an infected person to another through skin-to-skin or sexual contact. Therefore, it is advisable to not indulge in any type of penetrative or non-penetrative sex while you are experiencing an outbreak. People, who are sexually active, tend to refrain from any sexual activity during an outbreak. But the fact is that even in the absence of any noticeable symptoms, HSV can be transmitted due to viral shedding at infection sites. The transmission of this infection is possible with direct skin-to-skin contact with any part of the body where the virus is present. As there are no visible symptoms even when the viral shedding is occurring, it puts your partner at a twofold risk of contracting the infection when he or she comes in to contact with you. So in a way, you increase the risk for your partner or anybody whom you come in direct physical contact with.

Antiviral treatments for herpes

Though herpes is an incurable condition, it can be controlled and treated with the intervention of antiviral drugs. Once the virus enters the body, it remains there for life. So, antiviral drugs lessen the severity of the initial and recurrent outbreaks. The natural methods of herpes treatment ensure safe and effective control of symptoms with the help of natural ingredients and herbal extracts. These treatments come in two forms, topical creams and oral solutions. The antiviral ingredients are absorbed in the body to fight with the HSV. Herpeset and Dermisil H Formula are two popular natural herpes treatment options, which have already helped many people get relief from their painful symptoms.

Herpeset – Herpeset is an oral liquid spray that helps in relieving herpes symptoms, such as inflammation, swelling, burning, stinging, aches and pains, and itching. You need to spray this liquid twice under your tongue. The antiviral ingredients are quickly absorbed into the blood vessels. Herpeset contains cayenne pepper, rhus toxicondendron, nitric acid, woody nightshade, arsenicum album, apis mellifica, purple cone flower, pyrogenium, wild indigo, and nitric acid.

Dermisil H Formula – Dermisil H Formula is a topical liquid that contains natural herbal extracts with antiviral properties to control the symptoms of herpes. The liquid compound used in this solution is extremely light in molecular weight and easily gets absorbed in the skin. Dermisil can also be used to treat shingles. For cold sores, it can be used to reduce frequency and intensity of recurrence. The active ingredients in this solution are agathophyllum aromatic, melaleuca alternifolia, melissa officinalis, geraniol, neral, linalool, alpha-terpinenes, and avendula augustifolia.

Natural Male Yeast Infection Treatment

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

It’s not just women, but men too can develop yeast infections. However, unlike women who immediately start showing symptoms once their infected, men don’t show clear signs of an infection and the problem can go unnoticed for a long time.

Having sexual intercourse unprotected is the number one way men catch yeast infections. Men can also develop this problem if their immune system becomes lowered. Conditions like HIV or diabetes can cause the human body’s immune system to malfunction.

The symptoms a man will experience include a burning sensation in the urethra, a red rash, unpleasant white discharges, and itching around the genital area. The most efficient way to avoid this problem is to keep a healthy diet that doesn’t produce yeast.

In fact, there are plenty of foods that can reduce the effectiveness of the medication you’re using to treat yourself. If a man was to visit his doctor his doctor would highly recommend a change in diet to help with the treatment process. His doctor would probably also prescribe him with a combination of medications.

Plenty of men would rather use natural home remedies instead of medications. Using soap and warm water to wash under the foreskin is a great way to naturally treat yourself. When done washing you should take a towel and dry yourself and then apply a good amount of antibiotic cream.

Drinking some unsweetened cranberry juice is another effective home remedy for yeast infections. Cranberry has the necessary acidity to help your body fight against the yeast.

Yogurt can also be effective for men as it is for women when it comes to treating yeast infections. Yogurt helps restore the proper balance of yeast in the body. Simply take a q-tip and use it to insert the plain yogurt inside the urethra or pee hole using a q-tip.

To make this tea you will need to boil 2 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of fresh basil. Allow the basil to boil in the water for about 5 minutes to bring out the flavor and then cool it down so you can gargle it.You could even add some honey and drink it like a hot beverage.

These are some great male home remedies for yeast infections that you can take advantage of. Just take a good look around and you’ll be sure to find a bunch of good remedies you can use to heal yourself at home.

Who Else Wants Diets For High Cholesterol Levels?

Friday, October 28th, 2011

If you have high cholesterol, you need to look into diets for high cholesterol levels so that you are able to lower your cholesterol and improve your health. Fortunately there are easy dietary changes you can make to easily accomplish this goal.

These diets will not only reduce your levels of the bad cholesterol levels, but they can increase the levels of the good cholesterol levels in your body. If you know the effects of bad cholesterol in your body, you will know that it is something that you must be careful of, because the blockages in your arteries can be extremely serious, even fatal. Most people do not realize that for one in every three cases, the first symptom of heart disease is death. So, do not wait until you have symptoms. It is better to be proactive.

One of the things that you must do if you want to lower your cholesterol is to limit the amount of saturated fats that you consume on a daily basis. Saturated fats are very bad for your health. It is important that you do not eat any foods that contain these fats, no matter how good they taste. Your health depends on it.

Usual sources of saturated fats are those that come from animal products, such as meat and dairy foods. Make sure that all meat that you eat is lean, and any fat and skin has been trimmed off. Whatever you buy at the store, you need to be able to check the label for the amount of saturated fats contained in the food prior to purchase. Read the label carefully for the breakdown of what it contains. Read the list of ingredients. Just because it says 0 grams of saturated fat per serving doesn’t mean it has no saturated fat because the FDA says that if a food item has less than half a gram per serving it can say it has zero. A donut may have less than half a gram per serving and the serving size may be half a donut and it can legally say it has zero fat, but there is no doubt that donuts have saturated fat.

Other foods that you should remove from your diet are cheese, butter and cream. These foods are high sources of cholesterol. When it comes to foods that contain fats, the body only needs a tiny amount, and it should only be unsaturated fats.

The foods that you should focus on are mainly vegetables and a minimal amount of fruits. Fruits contain fructose, which causes the body to release insulin. This ultimately causes an increase in triglycerides. Food that should also be a part of the diet are foods that are great sources of fiber, such as oat bran. When it comes to food preparation, frying is the least healthy way to do it. Rather opt for boiling, steaming, grilling and oven baking your food to keep it healthy with the least amount of fat.

Diets for high cholesterol levels should only contain unsaturated fat. You can include tuna and salmon because they contain unsaturated fats as well as essential fatty acids (EFA’s), which are healthy and known to decrease the amount of bad cholesterol in your body as well as help increase the good cholesterol.

Dietary changes will go a long way in ensuring that you lower your cholesterol levels and get healthier.

Benefits of Staying Healthy During Pregnancy by Avoiding Unhealthy Habits

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Unhealthy lifestyle during pregnancy is very dangerous to the development of baby before and after birth. It also destroys the health of the mother. It is therefore, essential to understand the benefits of staying healthy by avoiding certain unhealthy habits during pregnancy.

Things to be avoided
Apart from including proper nutritious diet, regular exercises and essential medications or vitamin supplements, a healthy lifestyle demands quitting of various unhealthy habits such as junk foods, smoking, drinking and substance abuse.

Junk foods: Junk foods including pies, cakes and burgers with excessive fats may affect the heart of the pregnant lady. Some studies also state that junk food raises the chances of miscarriage and obese children. It’s, therefore, better to prevent taking such foods during pregnancy.

Smoking and staying around people who do: Toxic compounds associated with smoking damage the health of the unborn child and the mother. Even exposure to second-hand smoke effects the health badly. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid smoking and stay away from smokers during pregnancy.

Drinking alcohol: Drinking alcohol during pregnancy causes liver damage and many other serious health complications in the mother. Further, alcohol from bloodstream passes quickly to the fetus affecting its growth and development. Hence, encourage yourself to forgo parties and bars to escape from harmful consequences of alcohol.

Illicit or prescription drugs (without doctor’s advice): Illicit drugs deteriorate the health of the mother and the unborn child. Many serious and fatal complications are developed during and after pregnancy if these hazardous substances are abused at this critical stage of life. Usage of the prescription drugs without doctor’s prescription may be harmful to the developing fetus and so, should be refrained.

Benefits of staying healthy
Staying away from the above mentioned practices assures a better health. It even promotes significant benefits to the mother as well as the child.

Saves mother and baby from infection causing microbes: Unhealthy habits like illicit drug use while pregnancy impairs immunity and rises the chances of anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. The onset of infections in the mother will be transferred to the fetus affecting its development. Being healthy by staying away from such dreadful habits and maintaining hygiene saves the mother and baby from infection causing microbes.

Avoids miscarriage and premature birth: Slowdown in the growth and development of the fetus due to smoking, drinking and substance abuse reduces the length of pregnancy leading to premature birth. However, miscarriage, premature birth and still birth associated with such habits can be prevented by staying healthy during pregnancy.

Lowers the risk of birth defects in new born: A pregnant woman habituated to drinking is more likely to give birth to a baby with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a condition that includes serious defects like facial deformities, heart problems, mental retardation, low birth weight and low birth rate. Inculcating a healthy lifestyle by preventing the exposure to smoking, recreational drugs and alcohol also reduces the risk of these birth defects.

Lowers the risk of drug addiction later in child’s life: Drug addiction during pregnancy may genetically transfer the same habit to the child. Hence, avoiding drug addiction bypasses the risk of inherited drug addiction and associated physical and mental health issues such as learning disabilities, vision, speech or hearing defects, sleeping concerns, attention problems, behavioral issues like hyperactivity and so on in the child.

The Four Types of Diabetic Foods

Friday, September 30th, 2011

This may definitely be a surprise for most of you-especially for those who are diabetic. Because diabetes is a chronic disease that may only be managed by medications and diet, it would really be best if you learned more about the foods as part of your diet.

Most people who are diagnosed with diabetes actually have nutritionists and physicians to assist them in making necessary changes in their lifestyle from exercise to meal planning. But even so, you should still be involved in all these especially with what you are going to eat. Ideally, a diabetic diet should help in absorbing blood sugar, promote insulin sensitivity, helps in lowering oxidative stress and protects the diabetic from glycation. In order for these criteria to be followed, understanding the 4 types of diabetes food will make a big difference.

Metabolizers
Foods that belong to this type are those that help in making sure that proper sugar metabolism is happening. Having excess blood sugar can be alarming to people who are diabetic because it can really harm a person’s health but with the help of metabolizers, this can be avoided. These metabolizers should come in 3 different kinds in 2 servings for meals.

Promoters
If there is one thing that type 2 diabetes is known for is insulin resistance. The hormone insulin is actually what helps glucose enter the cells of the body. Foods that are considered promoters are what helps promote insulin sensitivity and studies have shown that these foods often do better than traditional medications. Lean red meat belongs to this food type, having 2-3 serving of dark green veggies are also belong to this type.

Reducers
Reducers actually help when there is excess blood sugar. When our bodies have very high amounts of blood sugar, oxidative stress are high. This can be damaging to the body because of the transformation of reactive molecules where cells and tissues are destroyed giving less time to replace them. Antioxidants are very helpful to diabetics and are great reducers. 2-3 servings of these reducers will really help a lot.

Protectors
One of the things that diabetics should keep in mind to combat the disease is by being aware of how diabetes works such as how blood glucose can cause damage to the body. One process of this is called glycation where sugar molecules react with proteins producing nonfunctional structures in our body and this is where complications begin as it can cause heart attack, nerve damage and even blindness. It is with foods that are considered protectors where glycation effects can be fought. Great choices of protectors are chili peppers and fish.

Discover the Real Benefits of a Caveman Diet Plan

Friday, August 5th, 2011

What is the Caveman Diet – is It Great?

Learning about the caveman diet can be quite exciting. For me, when I first heard about the revolutionary caveman diet I was quite surprised and excited.

The reason is because I had never heard of anything quite like it before. It’s entire premise of eating like a caveman is something that was quite unique to me and really got me standing on my toes as far as never having done it before.

Is this caveman program good for your health?

The truth is, it’s probably one of the best diets out there if you’re looking to improve your overall health. The reason is simple: it is all about natural and unprocessed foods! Any diet that is about this is definitely going to be very healthy for you and is going to yield very good health and weight loss benefits to those that stick to the program and are motivated to changing their lifestyle!

Is the Caveman Diet Healthy for Those Trying to Lose Weight?

A lot of people that don’t know anything about health ask me, is the caveman diet a healthy option for those trying to lose weight? Is it even healthy in general?

I’m quite shocked that people ask me this on such a usual basis. It seems like a no-brainer that the caveman diet is really healthy for you. Just take a look at what it’s about….

The Caveman Diet

This diet is basically about eating only the foods that were available back in the caveman era when there was not the technology or the “know how” to cultivate or make most processed foods such as grains, breads, cheese, dairy, etc.

As a result, people following this diet must eat only natural and easy to eat foods that don’t require cooking. The only exception is meat which we should cook because modern raw meats are filled with bacteria and harmful organism that we should avoid.

What Foods to Eat on a Caveman Eating System

Following a caveman diet is not only benefit-wise great for your health and longevity, it can also help with weight loss and getting in shape. Any diet that stresses natural and unprocessed foods will do just that! The caveman diet, unlike other diets, stresses these points even more than other programs!

So, the question is, what foods can you eat following a caveman diet?

The answer is that if a caveman could eat it then so can you!

Since the basic premise of the diet is that you can only eat foods that were available to cavemen thousands of years ago before the advent of food processing and cultivation, you are left with a small choice of foods to eat. You can eat fresh fruits, vegetables (most types), meats and fishes, and most any type of nut as long as it isn’t salted or processed.

As you can see, the diet is definitely a little strict. However, it is worth the effort as the program really does help with health and getting in shape.

Following a Diet for Cavemen and Losing Weight in the Process

If you haven’t heard about the caveman of eating, then this post will give you an introduction to the whole concept. Basically, people that follow a diet for cavemen do so because they believe that most modern food that is made from industrial facilities and has added ingredients, preservatives, and flavoring is not health for you.

They believe that eating the same foods that were available to our cavemen ancestors thousands of years is the way we are made to eat. Eating this way is seen as a healthy solution and a good way to lose weight as we instantly get rid of foods that are fat inducing.

For example, although the Caveman Diet is not a “carb free” diet it does get rid of unhealthy carbohydrates like white bread, sugars, and other unhealthy food choices that most people choose daily in their lives.

Following a caveman diet has numerous weight loss benefits. However, like any diet it does require some calibration.

Suggestions for Stopping Hair Loss

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

There are only a few things that are more uncomfortable than losing your full head of hair. Hair loss has a great impact on ones self image and confidence. Not only does this affect men, but women are also susceptible to hair loss.

You may feel unable to look in the mirror comfortably because of your hair, or lack thereof. You are looking older and your sense of self is becoming skewed. If you feel too insecure, going bald may be difficult for you.

You may have heard that this happens to other folks at any age. You might go bald at any age based on a number of factors. Everyday life choices, the setting you live in and even your family genes may be causing your hair to fall off. You can still maintain your full head of hair by using several techniques.

Methods to Stop Hair Loss – 3 Tips

1. Prevent it

The health of your hair and scalp is directly affected by your nutrition. Your hair is affected by your moods and the amount of proteins and vitamins in your diet. Some other folks who are stressed on a daily basis lose their hair faster. Tension can eat away at your sleeping time and prevent you from taking care of your body more. Sanitation in your environment is also a factor. A dirty setting will lead to more problems other than thinning hair.

You can also try changing the shampoos and hair conditioners that you use. Shampoo that is too strong may be causing your hair loss. You can replace your more potent shampoo with a more organic and natural one. Macerating some aloe leaves and making use of the macerated leaf tissues as shampoo is an excellent idea.

2. Ointments

If you look at all the balding products out there, you will find out that there are a few effective ones. But not everybody who wants to can employ these things. Pay attention if you are taking other prescribed medication which may cause hypersensitive reaction reactions.

First time use may turn other people off, especially when the unwanted effects kick in. Eye inflammation may also be a sign that you are allergic to the product. Some other people also experience fainting spells and nausea. When you recurrently use the product, try not using it for a while to check if the indicators will fade away.

3. Laser Treatment and Surgery

Contemporary knowledge has allowed people to have their hair restored using laser technology and surgery. There are benefits and disadvantages, of course.

In grafting, dead hair roots in the bald spots, are replaced by vigorous ones. Since the hair roots on the bald spots are assumed to be non-functional, exchanging them with functional ones may do the trick. These undeveloped hair roots are treated with laser rays to reactivate them. Below the bald areas are hair roots that are dormant, and laser light is meant to stimulate them again.