Fat Loss 4 Idiots Secret

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Nature's Secret Weapon against Aging - Resveratrol

By Dan Smith

When it comes to health and anti-aging, it is hard to find better guidance than that offered by Oprah Winfrey. Several months ago, Oprah invited Dr. Mehmet Oz, a doctor originally from Turkey who specializes in cardiac problems and is known as an expert concerning reducing the problems caused by growing older, to speak on her show. What Dr. Oz presented was resveratrol; a scientific breakthrough in the fight against aging with which we all are forced to struggle.

Toxin Eliminators

Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances that protect the body from oxidants-toxins that damage the tissues of the body, causing the visually evident wrinkles on the skin, as well as the less obvious damage to the body's internal systems. Antioxidants help to defend the body, particularly its organs, brain cells, and the nervous system. Moreover, they help to remove the oxidants and even repair damage caused by the aging process.

What is Resveratrol?

Among antioxidants, resveratrol is one of the (if not the most) powerful found by our scientists and doctors. As a catalyst, resveratrol sends out a kind of "call to action" to one of the protectors of our immune systems: "Sirtuins." Sirtuins are durable genes that assist in stopping cellular decay, allowing other cells to rejuvenate themselves. An aging individual who ingests resveratrol regularly-in large enough doses of course-will therefore notice that he or she has more energy, reduced fatigue, and a healthier appearance, complete with softened wrinkles and lines.

There are in fact numerous blessings derived from regularly imbibing resveratrol. This amazing antioxidant is capable of preserving the body's immune system and even aids in the struggle against cancer. If your body is subject to radiation it will help to prevent radiation sickness. In addition, it is extremely beneficial to those of us who need to shed a few pounds.

Nevertheless, we have only begun to skim the surface of the possibilities that resveratrol has to offer! The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has funded analyses of the antioxidant with close to a billion dollars, and there are no signs to indicate that we have come close to comprehending all resveratrol's beneficial aspects.

A Natural Solution

Did you know about resveratrol before you began reading this article? Did you know that you may have already consumed some today? It's true! Used consistently for years and years in Asia as a remedy for a multitude of ailments, "ko-jo-kon," as resveratrol began to be called in'62, is found in Japanese Knotwood. This Knotwood is so vivacious that it has not only crossed the Pacific, but is known in many parts of the United States as a weed that has the ability to kill and overrun other plants quite quickly. Its capacity to do this is directly correlated to the vast quantities of resveratrol that Knotwood has within itself. In fact, Knotwood contains large enough amounts of resveratrol to be grown for profit by companies that have begun manufacturing resveratrol supplements. Other people simply use it rather than rhubarb in numerous tasty recipes.

Another source of resveratrol is the peanut. Yes, the same peanut you can purchase at a supermarket has the capacity to improve your quality of life. Although peanuts have been traditionally considered to be very fatty and unhealthy, medical inquiries have demonstrated that those people who consume peanuts every day are healthier, with lower body fat than the majority of the population.

In'92, resveratrol was discovered in both grapevines and the red wine produced by them. While the health effects derived from drinking a glass of red wine are becoming common knowledge, think about this: it takes somewhere around one thousand bottles of red wine to equal the amount of resveratrol found in a single day's dose of a resveratrol supplement! - 17274

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Foods That Helps Cleanse The Colon

By Alyssa Leigh

The body is most vulnerable in the morning and likely to crave nutrition. Fresh fruits are a great and easy way to cleanse your body naturally. The body is most likely to crave nutrition in the morning, so eating fruits in the morning are a great way to start the day out.

Vegetables are foods that cleanse your colon, but can be a little tricky if your digestion isn't ready. Ideally, the best colon cleanse will have mostly raw veggies, but if your digestion needs help, start by eating raw veggies in a salad for lunch when your enzymes are at their strongest. Then eat steamed or cooked veggies for evening meal. By working with your body's natural digestive cycle, you will make your digestion stronger. If your digestion is strong, so is your body's ability to cleanse.

A Raw food diet may be what you're looking for if you would prefer to cleanse for a longer period of time without herbal supplements. Raw seeds, grains, fruits, fruit juices and vegetables are all great raw foods to get into your diet. The raw food route will be more possible by using tools such as a juicer or food dehydrator. This might take a little longer to prepare and get used to in the kitchen, but the results are worth it!

Grains such as quinoa, amaranth, wild or basmati rice, and some whole grain sprouted breads are compatible with a colon cleanse. No pasta are allowed during a cleanse as they will stop your body's natural cleansing process. Keep in mind that all grains will slow your cleansing process, so the more you eat, the slower you'll cleanse. This isn't so bad if you want to limit cleansing side effects.

Meat includes all read meat, chicken, turkey and fish. These are not considered foods that cleanse your colon, but you don't have to completely stop eating them right away. Meats can take longer to digest, and is quite a burden when eaten with bread or other grains. Therefore when eating meat, have it in a meal with vegetables only. - 17274

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Can You Trust Your Home Care Agency

By Matthew Elgren

When your loved ones need special medical attention or care, but you don't feel good about putting them in some sort of long-term care facility, you may want to consider employing a qualified home care agency. This is most likely what they will prefer also.

These agencies provide staff that is qualified to act as nurses, nursing assistants, physical therapists, and other qualified professionals that can provide the necessary care in your loved one's own home. This is a good option for many people.

Sometimes, however, the staff that they provide is not always qualified. Always keep an eye on people that seem too helpful in your home. They might be trying to get away with something. Unfortunately there is a history of people in these positions sneaking away with important, personal possessions. If they seem like they're being overly helpful, it may be because they are trying to get involved with things that are none of their business.

They may have had good motives at first. Maybe they saw that your loved one had an overdue electricity bill. A home health care professional might decide to help out and use the patient's checkbook just to get that bill paid off. But now they see how much money the patient has in the bank. This can end up being too much of a temptation for some people, and they might just start writing out checks that they shouldn't, and giving themselves a little extra "gratuity."

Any employee of a home care agency should hold themselves up to a higher ethical and moral standard. That way the patients will trust them. But you should still make sure that you examine every bill very closely to make sure you are getting the services you are paying for.

Further, you have to make sure the staff your agency provides have had background checks done on them so you know your family member is safe. Fraud happens all the time. When you hire a home care agency to provide for the needs for your loved one, it is because you know they need extra help around the home.

Be sure to check the agency out thoroughly. Find out their hiring procedures to make sure only professionals are working with your family member. And be sure that they have done everything on their end to make sure no fraud occurs.

Home care agency fraud is a real thing and happening much too often. Overall, if you notice anything from your hired staff that is even remotely suspicious, you will be wise to look into it immediately - it may save you a lot of money and time down the road. - 17274

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Suggestions On Maintain Health And Working Out

By Connor Sullivan

? Losing weight and staying in shape can be a very difficult task for a lot of people. The market is always being flooded with so called miracle products to fix weight or health problems. It can be somewhat stressful to be faced with the most recent in weight loss products and unsure of which will actually prove to be useful. However, it is pretty universal that the first step in being healthy and staying in shape is eating healthy and maintaining a balanced diet. Recently, smoothies enriched with vitamins have become a very popular meal substitute to help maintain a balanced and nutritious diet. By purchasing a vitamix blender, making smoothies regularly is relatively easy, and many stores carry ingredients like vitamins, natural energy supplements, or goji berries to add to the more commonplace smoothie ingredients.

Though having a balanced and nutritious diet is very important when attempting to stay in shape or just be healthy, it is also very important to incorporate some sort of exercise into daily routine as well. In the society we live in, leisure time is almost nonexistent; and if one can manage to find a few free moments, it seems near to impossible to allocate that time to working out. However, to create a healthful existence, physical activity is necessary.

Becoming physically active requires changes in areas other than just making time to exercise. It can be as easy as choosing to bike to work instead of drive or choosing to take the stairs over the elevator. Though these choices do not replace exercise, they can be little methods for staying active.

When attempting to incorporate physical activity into a busy schedule, a lot of people are more motivated to do so if the activity is more exciting than simply running around a track. It is common to become bored with a repetitive exercise routine. One way to beat the monotony and still become more active is to join a local gym or workout facility. By becoming a member, an individual is provided with a variety of exercise options, which could possibly include classes, cardio equipment (treadmills, ellipiticals, etc.), weight training equipment, and a swimming pool. This provides a number of exercise options within the same facility.

A local gym may not be the best choice for everyone due to budget restrictions or personal appeal; however, there are other options for exercising without professional aid. For most people, it is pretty easy to take a walk or a run around the area they reside in; but if this is not possible, finding a local park with a trail provides a perfect venue for exercise. If walking or running is too high impact, there are other options that would be gentler on joints and bones. Riding a bike daily is a low impact, inexpensive way to be active. There is no perfect method of exercise; it is just important to to be active in some manner. - 17274

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Here Come the Holidays

By Dr. Jason Fowler

The holidays are here - Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. Lots of family get-togethers, lots of fellowship and fun, and usually lots of food. Family dinners, parties, family breakfasts, more parties. Is there any way to avoid gaining five or ten unwanted pounds during the extended holiday season? Thanksgiving through early January can be a pretty long time. In order to maintain that healthy weight range you have worked hard to achieve, it's important to keep following the good habits that got you there.

We want to have fun and enjoy ourselves during the holidays. We want to participate in all the activities and share the abundance of good food with family and friends. The questions is: How to let go without letting go? The solutions are available by having built a solid foundation. Food plans that work are based on a few simple and solid principles -

Eat five or six small meals daily.

Make sure each meal combines protein and complex carbohydrates 1,2 Drink plenty of water Exercise regularly Have a "free food day" once a week Such a food plan is realistic and doable. There's no crazy dieting involved, no highs or lows. You are eating healthy food with no restrictions, choosing from all basic food groups. You eat anything you want, being sure to follow guidelines on portion sizes. The results are weight loss that stays lost. Because you're exercising regularly, your body sheds fat pounds and adds a few pounds of lean muscle mass. Your metabolism becomes optimized to burn fat, even when you're resting. If you've been following such a food plan your metabolism is already doing what it's designed to do. During the holidays you'll continue to burn fat for energy, provided you don't overload your system with too many extra calories.

Try to schedule your free day - when you can eat anything you want, as much as you want, and whenever you want - to coincide with a big holiday get-together. When you're at a party and it's your free food day, you can indulge as much as you like. It's a part of your regular food plan. That's a pretty good bonus! Also, alcohol consumption often goes up during the holiday season. Punch, egg nog, all sorts of "holiday cheer". These beverages are super-high in calories. 3 Again, your free day is a good day to indulge yourself. On other days, maybe not so much.

After the last guest has gone home and the last dish is put back in the cupboard, if we've gained a few pounds during the course of the holidays it is not so bad. What we wanted to avoid was gaining a bunch of weight. Now, we can return to our regular food plan - six days on and one day off - and those extra few pounds will be gone in four to six weeks. We had fun, we spent quality time with a lot of family and friends, and at the same time we took care of our health and well-being. That helps make the holidays especially joyous!

1 Hageman R, et al: A specific blend of intact protein rich in aspartate has strong postprandial glucose attenuating properties. J Nutr-8(9):1634-1640, 2008 2 Claessens M, et al: Glucagon and insulin responses after ingestion of different amounts of intact and hydrolysed proteins. Br J Nutr 100(1):61-69, 2008 3 Suter PM: Is alcohol consumption a risk factor for weight gain and obesity? Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci 42(3)197-227, 2005 - 17274

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Bodybuilding Tips To Help You Build Muscle

By Ricardo d Argence

If you are looking for build muscle workout tips, you will find plenty of them on the internet. However, with so much information available, it can become difficult to know what bodybuilding tips are best for you.

I know because I was the same way so I asked my friend who is a bodybuilding coach for advice. He led me in the right direction and now I am proud to say I have the body I was always after that is toned and ripped.

I learned that beginners should use a build muscle workout that involves a total body work out three to four times a week. In case you don't know, a full body workout is one where you work on each part of your body using muscle isolation.

I don't know why it is but many people only work on two or three body parts instead of their total body. That's how guys wind up looking like cartoon characters that have big chests and tiny chicken legs. Avoid that by working all body parts including your shoulders, forearms, chest, triceps, traps, abs, buttocks, hamstrings, calves, lateral, biceps, and quads.

However, you don't want to exercise all your muscles on the same day. The key is to alternate your routines. Workout your forearms, chest and abs one day then your lower body the next day. That way you can keep up a consistent bodybuilding routine yet allow all your muscles a day off for recovery.

Start off with doing three sets of ten reps for every exercise you do. Take short one to two minute breaks between each set. When lifting weights, don't use heavy weights at first. On the other hand, don't use weights that are too light because those won't build muscles at all. Choose a weight that makes it hard to get though the last three reps of your last set.

When it gets to be easy to get through all of your reps, then it is time to ramp up your build muscle workout. Add more weights or change up your sessions by switching from 3 sets of 10 reps to 5 sets of 5 reps. Just remember to take a couple of minutes to rest between sets. When you use just the right amount of weight, you are more effective at tearing your muscles which is what you need to build muscles.

After you have been bodybuilding for three to four weeks, you can ramp up your build muscle workout. Any time you feel your muscles are not reacting to the pressure of the weights you are using, it is time to step them up. Just keep in mind, that the pain your muscles feel means they are tearing, which is what you want, but they do need sufficient rest in order to heal and grow bigger.

Aside from the help of my friend, I have also come across a website that has helped me a lot in my build muscle workout regime. Believe me when I say that there is nothing like it. You get a workout that is practically effortless and so effective. Check it out for yourself. - 17274

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Top Foods For Fat Loss

By Josh Wintrop

The body loses weight as a result of change in mass of its overall lean tissue, fluids and fat. This can take place as a result of suffering from a disease or over all ill health. The body also goes through weight loss when it is initiated through change in diet.

You can plan to use different methods available in the market to lose weight. One such plan is using healthy substances such as natural food. The advantage of such a plan is that the body loses weight without suffering any adverse effects. It is much easier to take care of the new body mass gained using this method.

Foods that are rich in energy form an important part of weigh loss diet. They include substances such as rice, wheat products, potatoes etc. They are best when taken in their unprocessed and wholesome state. They allow your body to enjoy a natural and steady supply of energy which is beneficial to the body. They provide useful amounts of fiber which helps in digestion. Aim to eat little amounts to avoid excess consumptions of calories.

Foods that make up protein sources in a diet are useful in a weight loss plan. The reason is that they are used in building and developing more muscle surface area in the body. Muscles burn excess calories more efficiently than fat cells.

It is important to have proteins from animal and plant sources. Foods such as fish, poultry and meat products contain compounds that are vital in building muscles. Eat small portions as they contain high calories.

Proteins sources from beans and legumes have fewer calories. They have another benefit as they contain fiber which helps in digestion.

Naturally available plant food substances include fruits and vegetables. These have potential effects on health and weight loss plan. The reason is that the body uses nutrients available as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fiber and natural carbohydrates. You can eat them to suppress feelings of hunger when on a weight loss plan. They have the least amount of calories which allows you to manage your caloric intake.

Fruits benefit the body the most when taken in their fresh and ripest form. It is advisable to eat fruits that are in season as they guarantee freshness. Steaming or cooking vegetables in light heat preserves most of their nutritious benefits. Serve as much as you can from these foods as they also have a cleansing and detoxifying effect on the body.

Taking water is useful as it contains no calories and hydrates the body. This allows vital functions such as metabolism and burning of calories to take place efficiently. Sipping on water through out the day also helps to suppress hunger which can be helpful when following a weigh loss plan. - 17274

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Is Thanksgiving Dinner Really That Bad?

By Klint Newton

We all know that Thanksgiving has been labeled the least healthy eating day of the year. If you are on a diet, you will most likely blow it, or make yourself crazy trying to stick with it. With Thanksgiving's tradition of eating until you're ready to burst, it seems pretty logical to be scared.

Thanksgiving has been deemed the least healthy holiday by most Americans. It doesn't quite seem fair considering we are the ones who have given it this title, but we are the ones eating all of the ridiculous amounts of food we seem to think needs to be consumed on the day. Before we all get mad at Thanksgiving and the pilgrims, let's take a look at what is expected to be consumed and what that means for our waistlines.

The first offender, Turkey, the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving meal.

5 ounces of Turkey (White Meat): Total Fat: 11.8g Saturated Fat: 3.3 Trans Fat: 0 Cholesterol: 107.7 mg Sodium: 89.3 mg Carbs: 0 Protein: 40.5g

Well, it looks like Turkey has a little fat, but not saturated or trans fat, but healthy unsaturated fats. It has relatively small amounts of cholesterol, sodium and no carbs. It is loaded with protein. Protein from turkey is an excellent source because it is a complete protein with all of the necessary amino acids. It appears that turkey is not only not bad for you, but actually healthy. The Verdict: Turkey is innocent.

Next, Sweet Potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes, Dark Orange, Fresh, 5" long Total Fat: .1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 71.5mg Carbs: 26.2g Protein: 2g

It seems that sweet potatoes are fat free and cholesterol free. They are nearly free of sodium as well as protein. This vegetable, or root, has good carbs as well. These good carbs are complex, which means your body breaks them down slowly providing you with energy over time, instead of going straight to your hips or stomach as fat. It would appear that sweet potatoes are innocent also.

Up next, canned cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce, Sweetened and Canned, 3 slices: Total Fat: .3g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 49.6mg Carbs: 66.5g Sugars- 64.5.g Protein: .3g

Well, it appears that cranberry sauce is fat free, please remember that the FDA lets food be labeled as fat free, preservative free, or trans fat free as long as there is less than .5g of the substance per serving. Please don't think that everything is actually fat free. Just think of it as .49g of fat per serving. Canned cranberry suace has no cholesterol and a very low sodium level. It does have 66.5g of carbs, 64.5g of those are sugar. Think of those 65g being pasted right to your belly, that's not a pretty sight. It looks like canned cranberry sauce is guilty!

Next on the stand is Stuffing:

Stuffing, bread, prep/dry mix 1/2cup Total Fat: 8.6g Saturated Fat: 1.7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 543mg Carbs: 21.7g Sugars: 2.1g Protein: 3.2g

Stuffing has a bit of fat, but not bad fat. It has negligible amounts of cholesterol and protein, but a boatload of sodium. This tasty treat has a lot of sodium, but less than one can of most canned goods. So compared to most people's diets, stuffing is low in sodium. The carbs are a little high, but the sugar isn't. That means that the carbs are actual food and not sugar. Now these carbs are from the white bread found in the mix, so they aren't the best, but 21g of it isn't enough to worry about, it's less carbs than a 20oz Gatorade. The Verdict: Innocent!

The jury is in, we've seen all we need to see. Turkey is not bad but healthy, sweet potatoes are not bad but healthy, cranberries are healthy, but the sweetened canned version is loaded with sugar, and stuffing isn't healthy, but isn't bad.

We have determined that Thanksgiving is actually innocent! Eat small portions like you would on any other day and Thanksgiving could actually be your healthiest meal of the whole year!

I think we know who is really guilty.

Even if you eat healthy food in excess, you will gain weight. Calories are calories no matter where they come from.

So what's the big deal? Thanksgiving has only gotten it's bad image because we overeat, and not only on the healthy stuff. We fill ourselves full of dinner and dessert. I know I don't have to tell you how bad dessert can be, so I'm not going to. Just take it easy.

Let's stop accusing Thanksgiving, and get real with ourselves. How about this year we take responsibility for ourselves and call it quits when we know we should. We won't feel guilty, or miserable and actually enjoy our time with family. This year let's be thankful for our family and that fact that we have so many leftovers.

Have a great Thanksgiving. - 17274

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How Good Prenatal Nutrients Can Play A Critical Role In The Health Of Your Baby

By Keith Woolley

Many women try to do their best to remain as healthy as possible through their pregnancies. They cut out alcohol and harmful medications. But prenatal nutrients are one of the most important factors in the health of your pregnancy, and your continuing health as well. Here is a look at some of the most important nutrients you need to take in any supplement, as well as some information about why they are so critical to growing a healthy baby.

Folic acid is important because it helps your baby form a proper nervous system. It helps the neural tubes which are important to the nervous system form correctly and allows the skin to close over the spinal cord at the right stage of development. If the nervous system does not form properly, the baby can develop a serious and life threatening disease. Because the nervous system is formed in very early pregnancy, health care officials are recommending that women take folic acid supplements before they become pregnant so that there are the proper levels of this nutrient in your body. You should also try and eat foods that are high in folate, a natural form of folic acid.

If you do not get high enough levels of folic acid, the baby can be born with neural tube defects such as spina bifida. This is a potentially life threatening disease that can leave the skin of the back open and the spinal cord exposed. There are medications which can actually lower the amount of folic acid in the body and if you are on any of these it is important to take a supplement with extra folic acid.

Another nutrient which many women are low on during pregnancy is iron.

Remember that your body, at least in the first trimester, will be making the blood supply and placenta that nourishes and supports the baby. Because of this large volume of extra blood, you need to make sure you are getting enough iron so you do not become anemic. This can lead to serious health problems for both you and the baby. Unfortunately, iron can actually cause nausea, which can cause problems in early pregnancy, when nausea is already an issue. There are two forms of iron and if you cannot tolerate one, you may be better off taking the other form. Your doctor can give you advice about which one you take.

Calcium is critical to you and the developing baby. The baby is actually able to leach calcium from your own bones and this can lead to osteoporosis and soft teeth. This was often a symptom of pregnancy that many women would suffer from before they found out about the importance of calcium in the diet. By taking enough calcium while you are pregnant you can prevent this from happening.

There are a number of different foods that can supply you with the nutrients you need. Calcium is found in dairy products such as milk and cheese. It needs vitamin D to be absorbed properly. You also need to make sure that if you are taking iron that you take vitamin C as well so that you can absorb it properly. If you suffer from morning sickness you may want to explore different ways of taking vitamins.

You can get vitamins in pill form, but you can also get them in powdered and liquid formulas. This may be best if you have trouble swallowing solids. They are worth a try as long as you make sure they have the right nutrients for proper development. You can also take them at night so that you can sleep through any periods of nausea.

Vegetarians may have special challenges when it comes to proper prenatal nutrition. You may lack iron due to a shortage of red meat products in your daily diet, and calcium from animal products may also be an issue. There are a number of very complete vegan nutritional supplements that you can take, you just need to be sure they have all the elements and vitamins you need. Working with your doctor can be the best way to keep yourself healthy and your baby growing strong. - 17274

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Six Reasons Why You Are Affected By Easy Bruising, Reason 6 - Trying Treatment When You Should Be Trying Prevention!

By Carolyn Cooper

Are you someone who bruises easily? Do you find that people are too often asking you what you have been doing all weekend while looking meaningfully down at the blotches on your arms? Bruising easily is something that can affect almost anyone; and because there are so many possible causes for bruising that you might be so overwhelmed by the variety of causes that you don't pursue a solution to prevent your condition.

Because you are someone who tends to bruise easily, you need to look into how you are going to be able take care of the bruises that you already have. While starting an exercise program and maintaining a good diet is quite important, remember that sometimes you are just going to pick up bruises, and that taking care of the ones that already exist is going to be quite important too.

When you must deal with an existing bruise, keep in mind that you should start treatment as soon as the bruising occurs. Cold can be helpful because it will help reduce the inflammation of your skin, but any application of freezing should be avoided, because too much cold can damage the injured tissue. Similarly, you should avoid using very hot water, because it can increase the inflammation.

Remember to be mindful of the bruise and that the less time you spend bumping it, the better. You don't need to baby it, but being a little mindful goes a long way. When you consider the many causes of bruising, it can seem a little bit inevitable, and even if you are doing much better job of prevention, some bruises are bound to happen.

To deal with bruises after they show up, remember that you should not pay attention to old wives tales. Butter, for instance, is not going to do anything for your bruise besides make you smell vaguely of old cheese, and that rubbing an ice cube on a bruise can damage it as well. Leave the steak for your bruise in the refrigerator, and look for a cool cloth instead.

There are definitely some over-the-counter remedies that can help treat an existing bruise, but do some research and choose carefully. Sometimes, your over-the-counter cure will only give you a tingly sensation and nothing else. Remember that a proven specialty remedy can be beneficial if you can't prevent the bruising, because you will want to at least treat it after it occurs.

Since prevention is the desired result, this is where something like the Bruises Be Banned daily supplement program comes in. This specially formulated mixture of essential elements is intended to bring down existing bruises, but more importantly to make sure that you are going to be able to reduce bruising easily or prevent bruising altogether. - 17274

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Which is Better? Acai Berry or Blueberry?

By Caitlin Ryan

Have you heard about the amazing acai berry? It is showing up in supplements, smoothie mixes and juices and being touted as a "superfood" said to help prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging and even promote weight loss. Is it worth the hype (and price)? Are acai berries better than plain old blueberries?

They both contain a group of phytochemicals called anthocyanins. Plants contain various phytochemicals that help the plant fight disease, fungal infections and free radical damage. They help at the cellular level. So, we benefit from these protective factors when we consume the plants. The phytochemicals such as anthocyanins improve our overall health.

Have you ever wondered why blueberries are blue and broccoli is green? Maybe not, but the interesting thing is these phytochemicals not only benefit the plant, but they also give the plant their characteristics. Blueberries and acai berries obtain their gorgeous coloring from anthocyanins.

These anthocyanins contribute to better health because they have characteristics that counteract some of the major causes of disease, aging and weight gain. Their antioxidant abilities are astounding. Antioxidants reduce the oxidative stress caused by free radicals. Our lifestyles and diets contribute a huge amount of free radicals to our bodies and can lead to cancer, heart disease and aging. So, fighting them is essential to good health.

Anthocyanins also have anti-inflammatory properties. Scientists are now giving more credence to inflammation's role in the disease process, aging and weight gain. Our diets, high in animal protein and refined carbohydrates and low in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, contribute largely to systemic inflammation.

So, what do we make of this information. Both acai berries and blueberries contain anthocyanins, so why are blueberries so underrated compared to acai berries?

The answer can be found with a score called "Oxygen Radical Absorption Capabilities" or ORAC. This is a measure of the acai berry's ability to prevent free radical damage. In other words, ORAC determines how beneficial the food is in regard to counteracting the ill effects of free radicals. Whereas blueberries have a 2400 score, acai berries have an astounding 5500.

The only bad news about acai berries is they are not found in the produce department. Blueberries are more available and can even be found for less in the frozen foods. If you want acai berries in your diet, you will have to fly to the Amazon or take a supplement. You probably want to steer clear of the juices due to high amounts of sugar or corn syrup. The small amounts of acai berry in these products do not counteract the ill effects of the sugar.

Your best bet is to enjoy the benefits of blueberries, acai supplements and a wide variety of plants in your diet. This way, you will benefit from all the phytochemicals, which tend to work together to improve health. - 17274

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The Truth On How To Recieve Six Pack Abs

By Josh Wintrop

Any time you turn on the television, you are subjected to the sight of actors, models, and stars talking about their wonderfully sculpted, flat tummies. This can be frustrating, right? Why? Even though these people make it seem simple to get toned abs, you don't seem to have the same luck in your own life. However, have you been doing the best things? If you know what you need to do, getting that sculpted midsection you want is actually fairly simple.

Sadly, people are usually so focused on having a flat and toned stomach that they mostly do abdominal workouts and leave out other important exercise regimens necessary to reach their goal of having a six-pack.

One of the problems is that it's difficult to sort out all the reasons spokespeople say we store stomach fat, and it's hard to keep track of everything when you want to lose extra weight. Lifestyle, health, age, genetics and gender, along with numerous other factors, can affect the appearance of your stomach. It is more common for men to store fat in their midsection, which contributes to that unattractive spare tire. Women, alternately, store fat deposits on the lower part of their stomach and make it look like they have a pooch in that area.

You can do your best to workout and decrease body fats, but determining where the fat will be reduced is impossible. It can be a bit more difficult to get a flat stomach since you have to concentrate on that area in particular to get the results you want. It is essential to choose an effective, comprehensive program to ensure that you will reach your goal. The difficulty of having a goal of a flat stomach is that you have to cut out body fat significantly, and this either can be hard for you to do or simply harmful to your health.

If you find yourself in this situation, it can be almost impossible to achieve your goal and you'll get upset. The best thing to do is to set goals which you are going to be able to meet, even if it takes you some time. You are going to have to fact up to you are going to have imperfections in your body, no matter what program you follow, when you set realistic goals for yourself. You should challenge yourself to accept these imperfections instead of allowing them to be the source of frustration; make your goal that of improving your overall health and appearance, not perfection.

The infomercials that are plaguing the airwaves with boasts on getting six-pack abs quickly are very misleading, and dangerous not only physically but to your sense of self as well. You should be very wary of all of the weight loss supplements, weight loss gadgets, and abdominal exercise machines that swear they can give you weight loss quickly for a very exorbitant price. In order to make permanent, effective changes in your body, you should not expect an overnight fix.

There is much hard work and effort involved with attaining a toned, chiseled healthy body. Those strange machines and gadgets are not necessary to give your abs the workout they need. In order to get a great stomach, do abdominal exercises, the correct cardiovascular training workouts and eat the right food. - 17274

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