Benefits of eating Watermelon

Summer foods have great benefits. Read all about Watermelon today.
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Watermelon is an excellent fruit that effectively hydrates, detoxifies, and cleanses the entire body on a cellular level. It is rich in vitamins A and C as well as lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin which are excellent for providing protection from lung, mouth, pancreatic, breast, prostate, endometrial, and colon cancer. Watermelon is also known to significantly reduce inflammation, help flush out edema, aid in weight loss, and alleviate depression. Watermelon can also boost the immune system as well as strengthen vision. Watermelon is not nearly as high in sugar as most people think as it has half the sugar than an apple. Watermelon is loaded with antioxidants that have the ability to neutralize free radical molecules and aid in the prevention of chronic illnesses. The rind of the watermelon is equally beneficial as it is one of the highest organic sodium foods in nature and one of the best sources of chlorophyll and can be juiced for a delicious and healing drink. And, if you are lucky enough to get a watermelon with black seeds, even better! Crunch those seeds up too, they have an amazing effect on the nervous system, aiding in relaxing the body and lowering blood pressure and contain helpful amounts of iron, zinc, and protein.

Trim the Tummy Fat!!!

Burn the Belly Fat and keep your tummy FLAT!

Here are some proven steps to help keep your body fat on the retreat.

1 EAT HEALTHY FATS

When trying to drop fat, it may seem appropriate to reduce dietary fat. At 9 calories per gram, fats are a denser caloric investment than carbs or protein. But fats are, in fact, good for you, and consuming enough of the good fats will help you lose fat, build muscle, and recover faster from your workouts. Healthy fats also have numerous health benefits, including being good for your heart and cardio-battered joints.

Polyunsaturated fats, such as those from fish and nuts, and the monounsaturated kind, such as those from peanut butter, olive oil, egg yolks, and fish oil are the ideal choice (especially omega-3s).

2 ADD A HIGH-CARB DAY

When dieting down, most people turn to low-carb diets. (We can see you nodding your head in affirmation.) But what most seem to forget is that carbs are your body’s preferred fuel source and adding a high-carb day now and then can really rejuvenate the metabolism and get that engine revving again.

A low-carb diet long term can actually end up having adverse effects as leptin – the satiety hormone -- levels fall faster when on a low-carb diet and this in turn ends up slowing down metabolism and actually making you feel more hungry.

Try to plan your high-carb days around your more intense sessions, such as leg day, and take down those higher-carb meals pre- and post-workout. Adding 1-2 high-carb days will essentially mean you are carb cycling and will help you avoid any plateaus that may be on the horizon.

3 EAT PROTEIN PLENTY OF PROTEIN

This is a no-brainer, right? At only 4 calories per gram, protein is an ideal choice for keeping your calorie count in check. It also keeps you fuller longer and rebuilds and preserves muscle. Research has also found that a high-protein diet increases fat loss because it increases metabolic rate and decreases hunger.

You should consume a range of .8 to 1.5 grams per lean body pound of weight.

4. HYDRATION IS CRUCIAL

You can try to will yourself into eating less at each meal, or you can put some proven science to work for you at the dinner table. A 2010 study found that participants who drank a full glass of water before dining typically consumed 75-90 fewer calories from that meal. It’s not complicated – the extra water made them feel fuller.

Drinking more water will also ensure your metabolism is running smoothly and will ensure that you stay hydrated. Additionally, consuming more water keeps your body shedding more water. Some athletes find that they retain less water when they begin consuming more. Aim for half your body-weight in ounces per day. So a 200-pound individual should strive for 100 ounces.

5. CHOICE OF EXERCISE

I find that mixing HIIT workouts with resistance exercise are the most beneficial and effective methods for dropping unwanted body fat. The resistance exercise builds lean body mass. The more muscle the higher the metabolism runs. and the HIIT training stokes the metabolism up to 48 hours after the training session. So make sure you hit the gym 2-4 times a week and perform some HIIT exercises 2-3 times a week as well.

Health Foods to Eat, The many benefits of eating Salmon.

  The many benefits of eating Salmon.

This protein is loaded reasons to eat more fish.

 
​Salmon is the common name used to denote the various species of fish belonging to the family of Salmonidae. Salmon is born in fresh water and it gradually migrates to the ocean. However, it comes back to the fresh water to reproduce. Since times immemorial, people have been using salmon as a tasty and nutritious food. The fish can be consumed fresh as well as in the form of preserved types, like smoked salmon or salted salmon. Today, most of the salmon comes from Alaska, Eastern Canada, The Pacific Northwest, Greenland and Norway.

Here is a detailed list of the many benefits of eating this awesome fish!

1. Salmon is rich in Omega-3, which has several health benefits to its credit. Its Omega-3 content, along with the niacin and vitamin 12, is extremely beneficial for cardiovascular health.

2. Omega-3 and the trace mineral selenium, present in salmon, have defensive action against colon, prostate and breast cancer.

3. The omega-3 in salmon helps in reducing depression and thus, keeps a person in good mood. Depression and stress are the principal causes that boost the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. As the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines increase, the depressive symptoms accelerate simultaneously.

4. Omega-3 improves the electrical properties of cells present in heart and is also defensive against the deadly abnormal heart rhythms.

5. The omega-3 present in salmon prevents obesity and increases the response towards insulin. It is also beneficial in reducing the formation of cytokines, which causes the inflammatory response lined with atherosclerosis.

6. Omega-3 helps in lowering the level of triglycerides, which increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in case of its high accumulation.

7. The omega-3 present in salmon also comes into limelight for the protection it provides from both early and late age-related muscular degeneration.

8. Omega-3 is also known to have anti-inflammatory effects. It has the ability to protect the skin against sunburn and most possibly, skin cancer also.

9. Salmon, like any other fatty fish, is helpful against kidney cancer. It is effective in defending against renal cell carcinoma, which is the most common kidney cancer.

10. Consumption of salmon works effectively in lowering the risk of multiple myeloma, leukemia and non-hodgkins lymphoma.
Even a small amount of salmon fish is healthy for protection against digestive tract and ovarian cancers. People eating salmon have less chances of getting cancer in pancreas, ovaries, mouth, stomach, colon, rectum, esophagus and pharynx.

11. Salmon promotes the health of your heart, by accelerating the heart rate variability (HRV).

12. Salmon prevents and controls high blood pressure. It gives more protection against heart attack. It has a vital role to play in protection against ischemic stroke as well

13. Eating salmon helps prevent deep vein thrombosis. Deep vein thrombosis is a condition in which blood clot develops in the deep veins of thighs, pelvis or legs.

14. Salmon also is protective against pulmonary embolism. Embolism is formed in case of the breakage of a part or a whole of the blood clot from its site of creation, following which it starts moving through the venous system. The condition in which the clot resides in the lung is called pulmonary embolism.

15. Salmon offers cardiovascular protection for postmenopausal women suffering from diabetes. It also facilitates better functioning of brain cells.

16. The risk of colorectal cancer decreases to a considerable extent with the intake of salmon.

17. A person suffering from dry eye syndrome (DES) will find relief by eating salmon.

18. Salmon proves highly beneficial in destroying the Alzheimer’s plaques.

19. It also proves highly helpful in protecting against childhood asthma.

20. When cooked properly Salmon tastes great!!!!!

I know that's allot to think about right? Salmon is better at healing the human body than the drugs the doctor gives you.

Here's something to really think about....

Eating healthy foods like Salmon is so beneficial, yet so many people complain that eating foods like this is far too expensive.

Well yes and no, you see eating fast foods may be a little cheaper and much easier to obtain than Salmon, however the damage the fast food causes will cost you much more money in the long run. Fast food is poison to our bodies! You may not see the effects right away but the damage is happening and slowly but surely it will catchup with you in the long run.

Want proof?

Fact: Obesity is now an epidemic and along with that is cancer, diabetes and a host of other diseases and yes it's caused by the junk food industry.

The Side Effects of Atrificial Sweetners

The Side Effects of Artificial Sweeteners.
Body fat loss stuck on hold? Can't seem to lose that last little bit of fat?

This may be the problem.......


Artificial Sweeteners will over stimulate the hormones that make you hungry and create a resistance too the hormones that suppress hunger...... IT'S A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD!!!

Contrary to popular belief, studies have found that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame can stimulate your appetite, increase carbohydrate cravings, and stimulate fat storage and weight gain. In one of the most recent of such studies, saccharin and aspartame were found to cause greater weight gain than sugar.

Aspartame is perhaps one of the most problematic. It is primarily made up of aspartic acid and phenylalanine. The phenylalanine has been synthetically modified to carry a methyl group, which provides the majority of the sweetness. That phenylalanine methyl bond, called a methyl ester, is very weak, which allows the methyl group on the phenylalanine to easily break off and form methanol.

You may have heard the claim that aspartame is harmless because methanol is also found in fruits and vegetables. However, in fruits and vegetables, the methanol is firmly bonded to pectin, allowing it to be safely passed through your digestive tract. Not so with the methanol created by aspartame; there it’s not bonded to anything that can help eliminate it from your body.

Methanol acts as a Trojan horse; it's carried into susceptible tissues in your body, like your brain and bone marrow, where the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme converts it into formaldehyde, which wreaks havoc with sensitive proteins and DNA. All animals EXCEPT HUMANS have a protective mechanism that allows methanol to be broken down into harmless formic acid. This is why toxicology testing on animals is a flawed model. It doesn't fully apply to people.

Now a little education on the two hormones that artificial sweeteners effect.

A lot is known about what causes obesity. The simplest explanation is that the genes that have protected us from famines for millions of years are at the core of the cause of obesity. These powerful biochemical systems are centered on a small area in the middle of the brain called the hypothalamus. A specialized area in the hypothalamus, called the arcuate nucleus, is where the signals that control metabolic rate, hunger and satiety are located.

In the arcuate nucleus are two cells types. One cell is the NPY/AGRP (Neuropeptide Y/Agouti Related Protein) cell. This is the hunger cell. If it is stimulated you feel hungry and your metabolic rate drops. The other cell is the POMC (Proopiomelanocortin) cell. This is the satiety cell. If it is stimulated you feel full and your metabolic rate increases.

The two major hormones that control the hunger and satiety cells are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is produced by the stomach and travels to the brain where it turns on the hunger cell and turns off the satiety cell. Leptin is produced by the fat cells of the body and travels to the brain where it turns on the satiety cell and turns off the hunger cell. When you are obese you have lots of fat cells and thus your leptin levels are high. The high leptin levels in combination with high insulin levels turn off the stomach cells that make ghrelin so your ghrelin levels are low. Now if that seems backward, your right. The problem is that high leptin levels over time make the satiety cell insensitive to leptin and low ghrelin levels make the hunger cell hypersensitive to ghrelin. The result is that even though the leptin levels are high and the ghrelin levels are low, the hunger cells are turned on and the satiety cells are turned off.

This is exactly the situation that occurs in a famine, hunger cells on and satiety cells off. So if you are obese, even though you have plenty of fat stores, the brain behaves like you were starving. This has many consequences. First and foremost is a loss of the conscious signals that tell you when you are full and when you are hungry. A common sign of this is that most obese people don't feel hungry when they get up in the morning. As a result they often skip breakfast. The brain interprets this as more starvation signals and further shuts down the metabolism. In fact the number one risk factor for obesity was skipping breakfast.

Ghrelin is also important in many other functions of the body. One of the most important is sleep. In order to efficiently progress though the normal cycles of sleep you need adequate ghrelin levels. If you don't have them you will not sleep as efficiently, you will dream less and get less restorative sleep. This will make you more tired the next day and since dreaming promotes leptin production, you will be hungrier and have a lower metabolic rate.

The imbalance of leptin and ghrelin are at the heart of the cause and consequences of obesity.

Now I know your thinking to yourself this only effects obese people not someone like me that only needs to drop a few more pounds, right?

WRONG, I am especially talking you you folks that just need to drop a few pounds and in particular those of you getting ready for a competition.

You see the leaner your body becomes the more sensitive it becomes too. Drop the artificial sweeteners and see the difference for yourself. You will be amazed at how quickly your body will respond and those last few fat pockets will vanish.

Healthy Food Choices...Chicken

Benefits of eating Chicken Breast.

Chicken soup, chicken stew, chicken chili, chicken breast on salad…chicken in almost any form is great for your health—unless you’re the chicken of course!



All kidding aside, the health benefits of eating poultry are plenty. When this fowl comes in a lean breast, it’s low in fat and calories and high in protein, which makes it ideal for weight maintenance. Not to mention that this bird is jam-packed full of essential nutrients and vitamins.

Plus, with so many ways to prepare this plucky protein, you’re family won’t tire of chicken as a frequent weekly menu staple. Here are the top ten healthy benefits of eating chicken:

1. High in Protein

If you’re looking for a great source of lean, low fat protein, this bird is the word. The protein in chicken lends itself to muscle growth and development, and help support a healthy body weight and aid weight loss.

2. Natural Anti-depressant

Chicken, like its brother fowl the turkey, is high in an amino acid called tryptophan, which gives you that comforting feeling after consuming a big bowl of mom’s chicken soup. In fact, if you’re feeling depressed, eating some poultry will increase the serotonin levels in your brain, enhance your mood, blasting stress, and lulling you to sleep.

3. Prevents Bone Loss

If you’re entering your senior years and you’re concerned about Osteoporosis or arthritis, eating chicken will aid in your fight against bone loss thanks to the protein punch it packs!

4. Poultry for Heart Health

Homocysteine is an amino acid that can cause cardiovascular disease if levels are high in the body. Fortunately for us, eating chicken breast suppresses and controls homocysteine levels.

5. Phosphorus

Chicken is also rich in phosphorus, an essential mineral that supports your teeth and bones, as well as kidney, liver, and central nervous system function.

6. Selenium

Chicken also abundant in selenium, an essential mineral involved in metabolic performance—in other words thyroid, hormone, metabolism, and immune function.

7. Metabolism Booster

Vitamin B6 (or B-complex vitamins) encourage enzymes and metabolic cellular reactions (or a process known as Methylation), which means eating this bird will keep blood vessels healthy, energy levels high, and metabolism burning calories so you can manage a healthy weight and activity level.

8. Rich in Niacin

Chicken also happens to be rich in niacin, one particular B-vitamin that guards against cancer and other forms of genetic (DNA) damage.

9. Promotes Eye Health

Chicken is high in retinol, alpha and beta-carotene, and lycopene, all derived from vitamin A, and all vital for healthy eyesight.

10. Essential for Healthy Tissue Growth

Many of us are plagued with chapped lips, cracked mouths, tongue sores, or dry skin in winter. However, a boost in riboflavin (or Vitamin B2), found in chicken livers, will drastically reduce your skin problems and repair dry or damaged skin.

So make sure you include chicken breast as a part of your nutrition program. There are so many different ways to cook chicken too.

Healthy Food Choices

Food tip of the day.

New Potatoes and their health benefits.
 



Sorry folks this does not include McDonald's French Fries....

Just what is in your spud?


 

Calories

A single cooked new potato contains only about 26 calories. Since new potatoes can vary in size and specific variety, the calorie content of a 100-gram serving of plain, steamed new potatoes can range between 70 to 100 calories. About 86 percent of a new potato's calories come from carbohydrates, while nearly 10 percent is provided by protein and 4 percent or less from fat.


Fat

Steamed new potatoes served without butter, cheese or cream sauce contain a negligible amount of fat. The USDA National Nutrient Data Laboratory reports that a small potato measuring between 1.75 inches and 2.5 inches in diameter provides only 0.21 grams of total fat.


Carbohydrates

One serving of new potatoes, steamed with the skin intact, contains approximately 30 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance of carbohydrates for a healthy adult. These carbohydrates can be broken down into two main categories: sugar and dietary fiber. A new potato serving can provide between 8 percent to 11 percent of your daily fiber intake. Diets high in fiber-rich produce, like potatoes, are linked to a decreased risk of colon cancer, obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol. People trying to lose weight often avoid potatoes since nutritionists typically categorize them as having a high glycemic index. Foods with a high glycemic index contain sugar carbohydrates that are digested quickly and can leave you feeling hungry shortly after eating. However, researchers reported in the "British Journal of Nutrition" that new potatoes have a medium to low glycemic index when the potatoes are steamed whole and eaten cold, making them a good food choice for people trying to lose weight.


Vitamins

Steamed new potatoes contain significant amounts of essential vitamins, particularly if they are prepared with the skin left on. One serving of potatoes provides almost 45 percent of the RDA for vitamin C, and 10 percent of the RDA for vitamin B6, a vitamin required for neurotransmitter synthesis and cardiovascular system health. New potatoes also contain approximately 2.2 milligrams of niacin, 37 micrograms of folate, 14 grams of vitamin A and 3.9 micrograms of vitamin K per serving.


Minerals

New potatoes contain a high concentration of potassium -- 620 milligrams, or 18 percent of the RDA, for a single serving. They also contain 6 percent of the amount of iron needed daily for optimal health, as well as 99 milligrams of phosphorus, 39 milligrams of magnesium and 12 milligrams of calcium in a serving.


Antioxidants

New potatoes are a good source of antioxidants, compounds that prevent DNA damage by inhibiting the function of free radicals. Potatoes are highest in kukoamines, and flavonoids like anthocyanins and carotenoids. Consuming foods rich in kukoamine compounds may help prevent hypertension, while flavonoids may protect against heart disease and cancer.


1. Eating potatoes can reduce inflammation. How? Potatoes are wholesome, nightshade vegetables, loaded with carbohydrates, protein, calcium, niacin and Vitamin C. Because of the fiber in potatoes, they are soft and easily digested. The Vitamin C in potatoes make them great antioxidants which repair cells in the body. Potatoes can relieve inflammation in the intestines and digestive track. Raw potatoes can also be mashed and applied to relieve external burns, inflammation, and so forth.

2. Eating potatoes can increase brain function. The brain or nerve center of your body relies on several things to function, including balanced glucose levels, oxygen, Vitamin B complex, amino acids, Omega-3 and other fatty acids, among others. Potatoes contain these elements and so much more to keep your brain performing as it should.

3. Eating potatoes can help prevent cardiovascular disease. Potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates, protein, calcium, niacin and Vitamins C and B-complex. These properties help fight heart disease and keep blood pressure at normal levels. Potatoes also contain carotenoids, key to heart health and overall health and wellness.

4. Potatoes may offset incidence of kidney stones. There are an increasing number of studies that indicate that potatoes may have protective health benefits. For example, potatoes are rich sources of magnesium which can offset the accumulation of calcium in the kidney.

5. Potatoes advance skin care. Potatoes have all the right stuff to optimize health and wellness. Potatoes contain Vitamins C and B-complex, potassium, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus, all excellent vitamins and minerals for your skin. Raw potatoes can be mashed and mixed with honey to make a masque for your skin. Raw potatoes can also be applied to burns and rashes to ease the swelling and pain.

The Amazing Avocado

10 Benefits of the Avocado

 

Would you believe that the avocado is considered by many nutritional experts to be a perfect food? It's considered a super-food by many.

Surprise, it's not really a vegetable, it's a fruit. In areas south of the border, it's often called the alligator pear because of its shape and dark green roughly textured skin.

Though avocados are heavy in calories, those are nutrient dense calories. And the fats are heart healthy monounsaturated fats and omega-3. Besides actually being healthy, there are many ways to enjoy avocado, from a few guacamole recipes to mixing into salads and to using it as a meat substitute for sandwiches.

(1) Healthy brain: Dr. Daniel G. Amen, author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life considers avocados as one of the top brain-healthy foods that can help prevent Alzheimer's Disease. The folate in avocado contributes to preventing the formation of brain tangles that are considered a factor for Alzheimer's.

Avocados combine brain healthy omega-3 fatty acids with natural vitamin E, which has been clinically proven to prevent Alzheimer's disease from progressing and even reversing it in its earliest stages.

(2) Healthy heart: Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats that boost heart health and help lower blood pressure. Avocado monounsaturated fats contain the phytonutrient beta-sitosterol, which was clinically proven to lower LDL and triglyceride blood levels while raising HDL.

Avocados' vitamin B6 and the natural folic acid from their high amount of folate help regulate homocysteine, which if high is a harbinger of bad heart health. The natural vitamin E and the master antioxidant glutathione in a base of avocado's monounsaturated fat's oleic acid are also recognized heart health boosters.

(3) Pregnancy: Folic acid is commonly recommended for pregnant women to help the fetus develop its brain and other vital organs. But some health experts consider synthetically extracted folic acid a problem. They recommend using natural folate for its folic acid content instead.

Folate also reduces stroke risk, according to a study of people who eat folate rich foods.

(4) Eye health: Avocado contains the carotenoid leutein, an antioxidant that specializes with protecting the eyes from oxidative stress damage leading to poor vision, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

(5) Blood pressure: The combination of avocado's high potassium content, 30 percent more than banana, with omega-3 and oleic acid are beneficial toward reducing blood pressure.

(6) Blood sugar: Avocado's monounsaturated fats can prevent or reverse insulin resistance, a source of type 2 diabetes. The high soluble fiber of avocado helps prevent blood sugar spikes.

(7) Anti-inflammatory: Inflammation is considered the basis of most non-contagious diseases. Avocados have an abundance of plant phytonutrient polyphenols and flavonoids, which have been discovered as anti-inflammatory agents.

(8) Anti-aging: The master antioxidant glutathione supports the liver and the nervous system. It is responsible for replenishing and recycling other antioxidants in the body. It is vital for a strong immune system, and avocado is one of the few foods that contain a considerable amount of glutathione.

(9) Digestion: Nutrients and enzymes in avocado reduce inflammation in the stomach and small intestine's mucous lining. This also improves the body's ability to absorb carotenoids and nutrients.

A study's participants who ate salads with avocados absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids than those who did not include avocados. Carotenoids include beta carotene and lycopene. Beta carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, and lycopene is a compound that reduces stroke and prostate cancer risks.

(10) Cancer: Avocados can help protect against prostate and breast cancers.