Losing Weight Could Mean Losing Vitamins And Nutrients

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best things a personcan do to preserve ones overall well being. For most people,this means counting calories, establishing a regular exerciseroutine, and sometimes cutting out certain foods altogether.While all of these things are excellent for living a healthylifestyle, they can also leave our bodies lacking in vitalnutrients such as vitamins, minerals, or protein. Thesenutrients play important roles in the daily function andmaintenance of the human body. Discount vitamins can help notonly in providing these nutrients, but also in the fat burningprocess itself.The daily recommended caloric intake for a woman is 2000calories; for a man it is 2500. Of course, these numbers arejust averages and fluctuate depending on the persons age,activity level, height, and other factors. By the time youdivvy those calories up amongst the four major food groups perthe recommendations of the USDAs food pyramid, there is notmuch room for anything else. In addition, it is a smallminority of people whose eating habits are centered around thefood pyramid. Most diets are very heavy in animal proteins andcarbohydrates (most of which are the bad simple carbs, likewhite flour and sugar, versus the beneficial complex carbs,like fiber and whole grains) and very light in fresh fruits andvegetables. Given the difficulty of getting a days worth ofnutrients at 2000-2500 calories, it makes it virtuallyimpossible to do so with a caloric intake of 500-1000 less thanthat, which is the average range of calories most dieters cut inorder to lose weight.In addition to cutting calories, many other diets affect apersons ability to get all necessary nutrients for goodhealth. Some of these are fad diets. They are so namedbecause they will become very popular and remain so for a briefperiod before everyone falls off the wagon and the diets losepopularity. The Atkins Diet is a more recent one, but othermemorable fad diets include the cabbage soup diet, thegrapefruit diet, and the ramen noodle diet. All of these dietspromoted certain foods or food groups over the limitation orexclusion of others. For instance, the Atkins diet had only avery small allowance for carbohydrates, limiting consumption offruit, some vegetables, cereal, bread, pasta, and other grains.However, many of this diets proponents took this to meanunlimited servings of animal protein (meat) and fats. With thecabbage soup diet and the ramen noodle diet, participants ateonly those foods for at least two meals a day. The lack ofvariety in all fad diets makes it unachievable to get all ofthe vitamins and other nutrients a body needs every day.Other restrictive diets are those of lifestyle choices.Vegetarianism falls into this category and is the exclusion ofmeat, poultry, and often fish and seafood. Veganism takes it astep further by eliminating animal products altogether,including eggs and dairy. Both diets can make it difficult toconsume adequate amounts of protein, calcium, and vitamin D.Discount vitamins and supplements are an excellent balance foranyone attempting to lose weight. For those who tend to avoidtheir veggies, discount vitamins can provide vitamins A, C, andK. Individuals participating in low-carb diets can get theirdaily dose of iron (most breakfast cereals are fortified withiron and have become a primary source of this nutrient),vitamin C, and fiber from supplemental sources.While vegetarians and vegans generally have diets high in thenutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables, they aregenerally lacking in protein, calcium, and vitamins B-12 and D.In general, many of these come from animal sources. Therefore,soy protein supplements, calcium chews, and multivitamins areall important to individuals choosing a vegetarian or veganlifestyle.Vitamin B should be of particular concern to those countingcalories or on restrictive diets. Its benefits are two-fold.Not only does vitamin B aid in healthy skin and muscle tone,promote cell growth and the production of red blood cells, itassists in proper organ and nervous system function. It alsoboosts the metabolism and enhances the process of convertingfats, proteins, and carbohydrates to energy. This is theprocess of burning fat and losing body weight.In fact, all vitamins and nutrients play an important role inthe daily maintenance and function of our bodies. Vitamin Abuilds healthy skeletal and soft tissue and promotes goodvision. Vitamin C boosts the immune system, is vital for cellgrowth and repair, and serves as an antioxidant. Antioxidantsfight free radicals within the body and help to slow the agingprocess. Vitamin D aids the body in absorbing calcium, thusplaying an important role in strong bones and teeth. Known forits ability to fight heart disease and for the part it plays inthe formation of red blood cells vitamin E is essential. Likevitamin C, Vitamin E is also an antioxidant. Vitamin K isvalued for its blood-clotting abilities, making it a truelifesaver in many cases. Proteins are the foundations of allcells. Without it, our bodies cannot form lean muscle mass.(The alternative is fat.) Individuals with active lifestylesrequire more protein than those who are sedentary. Finally,calcium gives mammals, particularly humans strong bones andteeth and is vital in the fight against osteoporosis.It is very scary to think of what a diet lacking in essentialnutrients can do to the body. While the objective of dietingand counting calories to be healthier is admirable, to doso without the proper nutrition can be self-defeating. Whatgood is it to achieve a healthy body weight if the body beginsto fail due to lack of the proper nutrients? There is only oneway to balance weight loss and a healthy body and that isthrough adequate nutrition.Through diet, exercise, and discount vitamins, the combinationwith the most success in developing a healthy body is in place.Attempting to lose weight without the proper nutrition canleave the body lacking in essential nutrients. A deficiency inany one vitamin or mineral can throw the entire body off balanceand undermine a persons weight loss efforts. Discount vitaminscan help not only in maintaining efficient daily function of thebody, its organs, and its various symptoms, but they are also akey in optimizing the bodys fat burning abilities and inboosting the metabolism.About The Author: By a freelance writer for VitaNet Healthfoods, http://vitanetonline.com/ , who sells quality vitaminsand herbs with a wide selection of Discount Vitamins:http://vitanetonline.com/ that are in stock and ready to ship.Please link to this site when using article.

Healthy Hair Is Not For Everyone!

Most women and even men forget that hair products can actuallyhelp with the health of your hair. However most choose productsbased on how they make your hair look. For example hair shampooscan help with the protein structure of the hair but this onlyhelps with the cosmetic portion of the hair and does nothing toactually help with the root of the hair and that it where thehealth of the hair starts. Most of the people that use brandname hair care do so at the advice of the hair stylist andwhile the stylist have a very good idea of what can make yourhair look its best but are those products really best for yourhair? The answer is that stylist dont really know of goodproducts when it comes to the healthy part of the hair growthcycle.Hair grows in cycles and these cycles cause the hair to fallafter about a 6 year growth cycle. This means that there aresix healthy years of growth where the proper nutrition can helpwith the hair. So what is the proper nutrition for hair. Youshould be sure to start with amino acids and then with the bvitamins. Amino acids make up protein structures, which in turnmake up the hair structure. So if you want healthier hair thenthe first component is the amino acid combination that you canfeed the hair through the body or through the hair topically.This means that vitamins that are taken by mouth that areloaded with amino acids work very well as well as those thatare applied directly to the hair. You can find vitamin shampoosand conditioners that have these amino acid combinations inthem. They are very similar to most salon grade shampoos thatleave hair very moisturized and ready for styling. If you arewanting something that acts like the name brands like Redkenbut has the amino acids that you need for healthy hair then tryHealthy Hair Plus brand of products as we have a vitamin shampoothat uses over 20 different amino acids that are loaded into theshampoo. The shampoo also has herbal extracts in combination,which builds volume into the hair as well.Another important aspect of healthy hair are the entire b groupof vitamins and finding these in shampoos can be a vitalcomponent of getting your hair healthy again. These b vitaminsare important for structuring the hair protein chains and thisgets hair back into the process of growing healthy hair. Wesuggest that you search high and low for shampoos that areloaded with vitamins but you will have a hard time finding yourgrocery store and even salon grade shampoos that have the bgroup of vitamins. You will find that most grocery storeshampoos are simply the surfactant, fragrance and a little bitof herbal extract. While they smell pretty they are simplystripping hair of vital nutrition that hair is desperate needof to get healthy again. While you may search for these shampooand conditioners you will find that they are indeed worth it.There is a process to healthy hair but if you pay attention tothe correct listing of ingredients in products you will findthat most products on the market do nothing for creating thehealth of your hair instead they strip it of vital componentsthat hair is shouting for to keep it healthy. So here isexactly what you are not looking for in shampoos. Stay awayfrom Sodium Laurel Sulfate. In our opinion sodium laurethsulfate is ok but laurel sulfate and ammonium laureth or laurelare both bad so we suggest staying away from them both. Sodiumolefin and sodium laureth are not as bad as the others. Youwill also want to stay away from mineral oils and pertolatumson the scalp as well as drying alcohol that can be found inhair gels. It is almost impossible to stay away from alcoholsin hair sprays. As matter of fact, unless you are using a pumphair spray then you will not be able to stay away from alcohol.About The Author: Who doesn't want full Healthy Hair? Thesedays with sun damage and chemicals it is hard to come by. Weoffer a solution. We have Vitamins For Hair Loss in a naturalbased shampoo. http://www.healthyhairplus.com

Choosing The Right Exercise For You

The type of exercise you do all depends on you and what youlike to do. What you hate doing, paying membership fees, andwhether or not to buy equipment are all things you need toconsider as well as answer. If you choose something that you don't like to do, you aren'tgoing to keep doing it for a long period of time. Give it somethought - if you don't like jogging, you aren't going to get upat 6 AM and go running. If you can't find something you like todo, choose something you hate the least, which will normally bewalking. Walking is great exercise, as it suits all levels of fitness.Anyone can start a walking program at any time, it's normallythe intensity and duration that differs. Walking is also asocial exercise, as it isn't difficult to find a trainingpartner to chat with while you exercise. Walking with a partnerwill also make time go by faster. No matter what exercise you choose, you should start at a lowlevel of intensity and build it up over a period of weeks,which is essential to the longevity of your exercise program.If you start off too hard, you could end up with an injurywhich will require time off to get over. If you are really in bad shape, you should start off by walkingfor 10 minutes each day. Then, increase it by 5 minutes every 2weeks. To make things more interesting, you should try walkinga different course every few days. You can also roster adifferent friend to walk with you each day of the week. If walking isn't your thing, then you may want to try a fitnesscenter. They have loads of variety and normally have trainers onhand to answer any questions you may have. When you choose afitness center, make sure that they give good service. If they aren't willing to treat you well before you join, thenthey certainly won't after you join. You should also make surethat the equipment they use is well taken care of. It's easy tofind out, as all you have to do is listen to the machines. Ifthey squeak a lot or make noise, then chances are they aren'tbeing taken care of. If you still aren't sure what you should do, then you shouldlook into golf or tennis. Both are good social activities inmost areas, and you can even meet new friends. Tennis is greatfor fitness although it isn't for someone who is just startingout. If you haven't exercised in a long time, then golf may bethe best activity for you.About The Author: Mohamed Rabea - Online Tips and Resources!http://easwheyprotein.wheyproteinonline.infohttp://easwheyprotein.wheyproteinhome.infohttp://easwheyprotein.wheyproteinsite.info

Low Carb Diet Part 4

Certain studies have shown that people in certain Mediterranean regions and in France manage to stay healthier and are less obese than those in other western countries. Lets look at the French first. In a study by Adam Drewnowski of the University of Michigan, scientists examined the eating habits of 1,637 men and 1,576 women in America and compared them to those of 5,000 French adults. They studied their overall diets based on diversity (foods from 5 major food groups), variety (total number of foods consumed daily) and moderation (according to USDA dietary guidelines). (2)The results were quite astonishing. They found that French people ate more foods that were higher in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than their American counterparts. The study also showed that the French diet complied with very few of the USDA dietary recommendations for eating healthy. In addition, the findings showed that 99% of French womens diets had saturated fat contents in excess of 10% of total daily calories. Whats shocking is that, on average, the French are thinner and have fewer occurrences of heart disease than Americans.The possible harmful effects of the high fat content in the French diet, however, were offset by diversity and variety in their diet. Drewnowski pointed out that the low fat approach is very good but not if it comes at the expense of dietary variety.The USDA recommends that diets should consist of a variety of foods. According to the American part of the study, just one in ten men and one in sixteen women consumed food from all five food groups (Meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and grains). The other thing is that the French have more active lifestyles than Americans do. Americans typically drive more, walk less and participate in more sedentary type of leisure activities.Similarly, a Mediterranean diet study also showed that the diet was high in fat, more diverse and had greater variety than the American diet. According to research, certain Mediterranean people, particularly from the Greek island of Crete, had fewer cases of heart disease and were thinner than Americans. The difference in this study, however, was a crucial finding that suggested food variety and diversity created a certain dietary ratio. This was a ratio between 2 types of fatty acids present in the Mediterranean diet. These fatty acids are found in plant sources and fall into 2 groups: The omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. You have probably heard of the multiple health benefits of these essential fatty acids many times before. They are called essential fatty acids (EFAs) because the body cannot produce them they can only be obtained from food sources.Although omega-6 fatty acids are essential to the diet, the omega-3 group has more significant therapeutic properties. Omega-3s contain powerful antioxidants that are known to fight against heart disease, lower blood pressure, strengthen the immune system, improve mood disorders to name a few.The other benefit of omega-3s according to research is that they also have an amazing ability to control body fat. Omega-3s control the quantity of adipose (fat) tissue by regulating the amount of fat that goes into fat cells and the amount that is burned up for energy. (3, 4) Omega-3s have also been shown to increase fat oxidation in the body - the process by which fat is broken down and used as fuel for energy. (4) This further promotes a reduction in body weight that consists of fat mass. According to scientists the key factor in diet composition is that the French diet and more so the Mediterranean diet consist of higher intakes of foods containing omega-3s than the American diet. In other words their diets contain a better (lower) omega-6 to omega-3 ratio than the American diet. And thats the key. One of the main reasons Americans have lower intakes of omega-3s is because of their high intake of processed food. Food processing is largely responsible for removing a lot of the omega-3 content from food. On the other hand the French and Mediterranean diets are more abundant in whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables. And so their intake of omega-3s is considerably higher. In addition, the people of Crete eat 10 times more fish (rich source of omega-3s) than Americans do. Other important sources of omega-3s in the Mediterranean diet were: fish, purslane (wild plant high in omega-3 content), walnuts, figs and various other unrefined carbohydrates. By the way, the most abundant source of omega-3s is found right here in North America, and thats flax seed oil.As we can see, two different cultures manage to stay healthier and slimmer than North Americans while eating foods that contain high fat, carbohydrate and protein contents. The key differences are that their diets contain more unrefined foods; they consist of foods from all food groups and have more variety. As a result they have higher intakes of omega-3s (lower omega-6: omega-3 ratio) than other Western cultures. In addition, both these groups of people are more physically active than Americans.Now, you can put on those sneakers and walk (or jog) to the supermarket for a new supply of fresh wholesome food.Refernces (for parts1-4):1. http://www.jacn.org, Postprandial Thermogenesis Is Increased 100% on a High-Protein, Low-Fat Diet versus a High-Carbohydrate, Low-Fat Diet in Healthy, Young Women, retrieved 10 June 2005 from http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/21/1/552. http://www.sciencedaily.com, Healthy diets need fat, according to new study, retrieved 22 June 2005 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/04/980424031929.htm3. Parrish et al. "Dietary fish oils limit adipose tissue hypertrophy in rats." Metabolism, Mar 1990, 39(3):217-94. Parrish et al. "Dietary fish oils modify adipocyte structure and function." J Cell Physiology, Sep 1991, 148(3)5. Baillie RA, et al. "Coordinate induction of peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase and UCP-3 by dietary fish oil: a mechanism for decreased body fat deposition." Prostaglandins Leukot Essential Fatty Acids, May 1999, 60(5-6)