Monday, August 13, 2012

Some Fat Facts


There are basic facts you should know about fats. There are mainly two classes of fats; saturated fat, and unsaturated. The unsaturated ones are the polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats. Some fats are dangerous, while some are not. When fats come combined with proteins in the body, they form a complex called Lipoproteins. We will look at these later in a broader view to see why some are desirable and some are not, but first, let’s look at the major kinds of fats.
Saturated fat- Fatty acids are made up of several chains of carbon atoms, it is said to be saturated because the carbon atoms have no free bonds to link with other atoms. Normally a carbon atom has 2 free bonds that are ready to attach with other atoms to form a compound. When these free bonds are used up entirely, usually by another carbon atom or a hydrogen atom, the fat becomes saturated. That is because there is no room for any more attachment.
These are the bad type of fat and the one we must avoid in trying to stay healthy. The body has a tough time processing saturated fats, because of the number of bonds it needs to break down in the process. Saturated fats raise cholesterol levels, which increases the chances of a heart attack. For a healthy dieting plan, saturated fats must be reduced significantly from the diet. Examples of sources of saturated fat are all forms of fat in animal flesh (meat), palm oil, and coconut oil etc.
Polyunsaturated fat- Polyunsaturated fat comes in two types: omega 6 and omega 3. It is ‘poly’ because there are more than one unsaturated bonds in the compound. It is Omega-6 because the first unsaturated bond exists at the 6th carbon atom. Same is applicable to omega3. Omega 6 type comes mainly from vegetables, and omega 3 come from oily fish.
This type of fat is actually the healthy type and helps to reduce the level of bholesterol! So a small consumption is important for health. Remember, ‘small’.
Monounsaturated fat- They have only one carbon atom carrying unsaturated bonds. They are derived mainly from vegetable and are found in olive oil and almond oil. They also have the ability to help reduce cholesterol levels.
Lipoproteins: They are fat-protein complexes and play important role in the development of heart attacks. They are two classes of these lipoproteins.
High Density Lipoproteins- These lipoproteins reduce the chance of a heart disease.
Low Density Lipoproteins- Increases the likelihood of heart diseases. If the level of LDL is higher than that of HDL, the likelihood of a heart disease, stroke diabetes etc. is increased and vice versa.
Fats produces very high levels of energy and the daily intake shouldn't exceed 30% of your total calories. In other words, for an average daily intake of 2,000 calories, only about 600 should be fat derived. This of course is if you are not trying to loss weight, but if you are; your daily fat consumption should not be enough to produce 600 calories.
Every 1g of fat gives out 9 calories. That leaves you with about 66.7g of fat per day. But for weight loss, it should go lower than that.
This can be achieved by cutting down on all fatty foods and eating more of vegetables and fruits, a little of pure carbohydrates. With little or no fat at all, you will soon be getting used to the low fat diet.

Fast way to lose weight

Spicy Foods

Best ways to lose weight fast

Ah, spicy food. Is there anything better than a spicy meal, especially when it's homemade? There is no one around to tell you that it's too hot, no overly-cautious cook afraid to add too much piquant, and no one to watch as you sweat bullets and gulp down your molten concoction just the way you like it.
But can spicy food damage our sense of taste? When do we know we've had too much of it? And do quesosakatenango chili peppers really cause hallucinations that send you on a quest to find your soul-mate (for all The Simpsons fans)?One can experience stomach problems and other conditions if a meal is a bit too zesty. Furthermore, constantly eating hot food can have permanent negative effects on the body. Here's what you need to know about the negative impact spicy food can have. Now that you know which foods can cause you harm, here is why they shouldn't be overused.
Geographic tongue
Eating potent things can cause a condition known as geographic tongue (genign migratory glossitis). It is believed that geographic tongue is caused by an allergic reaction to certain comestibles. Whether or not it's caused by allergies isn't clear, but spicy food is usually the culprit. The condition appears quite rapidly and produces irritation by forming strange patterns on the tongue. After an onset, one can have a weakened sense of taste for up to one month. It disappears with time and isn't dangerous, but it can be quite irritating.
Gastritis
An overabundance of spicy food can cause Gastritis. Gastritis is an inflammation in the stomach lining. It is usually triggered by infections, but spicy foods like chili peppers are also believed to reduce the stomach's protective barrier. Chronic gastritis can produce ulcers by allowing the stomach's own acids to eat away at the lining. Ulcers can heal with time, just like any other lesion, but one must eat milder meals. Acid reflux
In some people, spicy food can trigger acid reflux disease, which isn't bad per se, but it can be bothersome. Restaurant cuisine often seems to elicit this condition -- all that burping men experience after a nice Italian meal at their favorite bistro isn't a result of bad manners, it's the body not being able to handle all that strange, spicy cuisine.
Chronic acid reflux disease can also lead to esophageal cancer, but only in rare cases. Cutting down on peppery cooking is a good first step to reducing this risk. Acid reflux, especially at night, can also erode teeth.
Bad breath
Garlic and onions are among the worst-smelling things a guy can eat, and they also happen to cause bad breath. Granted, bad breath isn't much of a nuisance, but it can sometimes spell disaster, especially on a nice first date. So avoid spicy cuisine on those nights.
Insomnia
Here's one most men probably didn't know: spicy food is bad for sleep. The cause is quite simple. The body needs to slow down before it can snooze and spicy food raises body temperature (that's why we sweat after a consuming fiery food). If one happens to consume something zesty before going to bed, it can disrupt slumber.
The first cycle of sleep is particularly sensitive to hot food. Damage to taste buds Finally, constantly eating hot food can permanently reduce the sensation of taste. I often hear people assure others that they will get used to the burning of chili peppers. It's true, people do feel less scorching after years of spicy abuse, but not because the body got "used" to the sensation in question.
Over time, taste buds wear out, making this reduced sensation nothing more than wear and tear of chronic abuse. It's no different from people getting "used" to loud music in clubs in both cases the body suffers permanent deterioration.

Best ways to lose weight fast

Stress Your Life

How to lose weight fast

We've long known that middle-aged men are much more likely than women to have high blood pressure--about 36 percent of men versus 23 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 54. And, since high blood pressure can lead to stroke, it's not surprising that many more men die over from these "brain attacks”. The explanation for this difference between the sexes has been lifestyle. Men are more likely to smoke, be overweight, drink alcohol, and avoid exercise--all risk factors for high blood pressure. Undoubtedly, poor health habits account for much of the difference.
Traffic Jam Anxiety
In this day and age, the average person spends a significantly large amount of time in his car. And with the ever-increasing number of cars on the road, we spend an even larger amount of time stuck in traffic jams. However, you can follow these tips to spend less time stressing out while stranded in the middle of a highway. By getting up 15 minutes earlier in the morning every day, you can reduce the pressure by avoiding the morning rush hour. Another tip is to stick to the right lane on the freeway. The minute or two gained by aggressive driving isn't worth the stress.
Work Place Worries
Now that you have arrived at work early and in a relaxed mood, take the time to review long-term plans because stress lies in the moment-by-moment pressures. If you feel the stress piling up during your workday, breathe in and out four times very slowly to clear your mind. During lunchtime, it is important to get away from the office and exercise. Make it a goal to walk around during your break or even follow a simple and short workout routine. Exercise release endorphins into your blood stream, which are pleasure inducing chemicals that are also discharged during sex.
Be Positive
Stress is also related to the past. Keep in mind that mistakes happen, and the only thing that you can change about the past is your attitude towards it. Another thing that can keep your stress level low is to keep smiling. Even a superficial smile is a great start towards a happy day according to research. Having regular sex is also helpful in keeping happy.
It is also important to set some time aside to indulge yourself. Whether it be taking a nap, or allowing yourself an occasional piece of cake, spending time on yourself can make you feel great and happy.
However, it is crucial not to eat for relief all the time. Eating is a relief for stress, and stress can be a result of over-eating. So, be very careful not to start this vicious cycle. While taking the time out for yourself can be beneficial, doing things for others can also improve your life. Volunteering for others pushes your own troubles away, and can give you a greater perspective on life. Finally, and most importantly, setting time aside for your friends and family can be a great way to feel great. There is no better thing than being with loved ones and enjoying activities with them. Also, keep all the things in your life in perspective.

Try to follow all these tips for better mental and physical health. This is a great guide for a happier, healthier, and longer life.

How to lose weight fast

The Abs Diet

Just imagine looking slim, sexy and feeling confident

Going through diet after diet, sooner or later everybody ends up thinking that there’s nothing more to learn. Frankly, it doesn’t take long to get exhaustive hands on experience with just about all the major dieting concepts and to learn in which way each of them is supposed to influence the body. And once you’re familiar with all the pros and cons of dieting, it’s only fair to think that nothing could surprise you anymore. Well, this is where the Abs Diet comes in with a rather strange take on the old concept of losing weight through exercises. And, no, there are no magic pills to swallow.
The basic idea is much simpler than that. It goes something like this: the body has to expend energy in order to keep the muscles and internal organs alive and in shape. This means that every addition to the muscle mass will force the body to spend more energy. Therefore, instead of lowering the daily food intake in order to lose weight, this diet focuses on increasing the “energy bill” above the normal level. The extra muscle mass is supposed to absorb all the calories that would otherwise be stored as fat and also force the body to burn existing fat in order to keep up with the effort.
Every 1 pound of muscle added to the body costs the body 50 calories per day on top of everything else. It’s pretty easy to see that 10 pounds of muscle are going to keep busy 500 calories of your daily intake every single day. This is enough to make you lose 1 pound per week, which is not bad at all. It’s interesting to notice that the diet is based on achieving a snowball effect: the more you exercise, the more muscle you put on; the more muscle you put on, the faster you lose weight, which allows you to exercise harder and lose even more weight. Once you get the snowball rolling it will turn into an avalanche on its own.
The food users are allowed to eat consists of 12 nutrient-rich power foods. These are supposed to provide all the minerals, vitamins and fiber your body needs to stay healthy over the six weeks of dieting. The 12 foods are: beans and peas, spinach and a couple of other green vegetables, almonds, instant hot oat cereal, wholegrain breads and cereals, berries, eggs, low-fat dairy products, lean meats (such as turkey), peanut butter, olive oil and protein powder. All other foods are to be shunned during the diet.
Sticking to this diet might seem a little hard, especially for as long as six weeks. However, the mandatory exercises should make a big difference. Not only that you lose weight, but you also get to show off a nice set of abs and a far better toned body than before. One extra thing on your side is that part of the fat will be replaced by muscle, so even if it seems that you’re not losing much weight, you’re actually shifting weight from fat to muscle. Nevertheless, you can expect to get rid of up to 12 pounds in the first two weeks of dieting.

The Atkins Diet

The Highest Quality for Weight Loss

Can you say hype? If you’re living in any Western world country then you’ve probably heard of the famous Atkins diet. Whether this is the most successful diet ever or not it’s still up for debate, but it certainly is the more advertised one. The Atkins diet has been for a while the most hyped eating plan around and millions of people have tried it at some point or another. This is no exaggeration. It was estimated that more than 3 million people in the United Kingdom alone have tried the Atkins diet at the peak of the hype in 2003.
The basic idea behind this diet is that cutting down on the carbohydrates, while allowing people to eat high-fat food is going to work. One of the best things in favor of the Atkins diet was the fact that it allowed people to eat eggs and cheese and steaks. It sounds like a dream diet actually. Who’d pass up the chance of losing weight while still enjoying a good eggs and ham breakfast? Well, the downside is that you get no bread or salad with that steak. None whatsoever. Which becomes a real problem after a week or so. How much meat can you eat without touching any vegetables at all?
Anyway, the theory is that cutting out the carbohydrates will force your body to use the stored fat in order to obtain the energy needed through the day. This means that you get to eat no bread and pastries, potatoes, pasta, milk, rice, fruit, vegetables (well, there are a couple you can still eat) and, obviously, no junk food or soft drinks. On the other hand, you are allowed to eat red meat, fish, chicken, cheese, mayonnaise, cream, butter and eggs. This is going to be your only food for the first two weeks, which are called the Induction Phase.
The second phase of the diet is called Ongoing Weight Loss and it lets you increase the intake of carbohydrates by 5 grams per day, starting from the basic 20 grams per day stipulated by the Induction Phase. The user must find how far the amount of carbohydrates can be increased before the body is unable to lose between 1 and 3 pounds per week. This is called the Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight and this is where the amount of carbs stops growing. This phase is supposed to last until you almost reach the desired weight.
With 5 to 10 pounds left to shed it’s time to enter the third stage of the diet. This one is called Pre-Maintenance and it’s supposed to increase the carbs intake by 10 grams a day in order to slow down the weight loss process. Welcome to the world of 30 grams of pasta per day. The final phase is called Lifetime Maintenance and a lifetime of eating around 90 grams of carbs per day for the rest of your life. Moving from 250 grams or more to less than 100 grams and for the rest of your life could be quite a challenge for many people.
The side effects of the Atkins diet depend on the user. Some people did fine on this diet, some got infections of the kidneys from the high-protein content or heart problems from all the fat food they ate. Dizziness and general weakness are also to be expected as the body goes into starvation mode when denied carbohydrates. With high-fiber fruit and vegetables out of the way you can also expect constipation to become a problem. Also, the lack of many dairy products leads to a significant drop in the amount of calcium absorbed by the body and may cause osteoporosis or other bone conditions later on.

The Highest Quality for Weight Loss

The Beverly Hills Diet

Easy ways to lose weight fast

From the star-studded hills located near Hollywood comes a diet rich in fruit and lacking sound ideas about weight loss. Really, if weight loss was so simple, there would be no problem for anybody to drop as many pounds as desired just by eating fruit. Nevertheless, a fruit-based diet sounds good to some people and so one may run into the happy statements of those who managed to lose weight by sticking to this eating plan.
The diet itself is very simple. It claims that papaya softens the fat, pineapple burns it off and watermelon washes it out of the body. Unfortunately, this concept hasn’t been proved yet in a scientifically sound manner. While grapefruit has a positive effect on the sugar absorption system, it doesn’t burn fat outright. The only thing that burns fat is effort.
According to actress Judy Mazel, the founder of the Beverly Hills Diet, people can lose 10 to 15 pounds in 35 days. Since the founder claims that eating different types of food together is one of the causes behind weight loss, the diet focuses on eating a single type of food for a whole day. One day you eat nothing but grapes, while the next day it’s just melons for you.
The problem with this diet is that the eating plan is really boring. The average dieter has every chance to get bored and start dreading the coming of the next day. This is more of a quick fix type of diet instead of a long-term eating plan and should not be pursued by more than one month. Fruits alone cannot provide your body with all the minerals and vitamins it needs every day.
By restricting your food to fruit will leave you exposed to malnutrition and diseases. The fast loss of weight usually means that some of that weight will be muscle mass and water, which means that some of the fat will stay in place. It also means that if you start gaining back weight, you will simply be replacing muscle mass with fat. In the long run this will do you a lot of harm.
And, for the final words, I hope you can get used to diarrhea, because eating nothing but fruit will keep you in a near constant state of diarrhea. All in all, this is not a good diet. Poor access to crucial vitamins and minerals and a lot of water and muscle mass loss is definitely not a good way to lose weight.

Easy ways to lose weight fast

The Body Clock Diet

Best ways to lose weight fast

All diets are based on an idea that’s supposed to make them different. Aside from the basic “eat this and don’t eat that”, diets have to have an original twist in order to be noticed by the general public. Standing out in the crowded field of the modern dieting industry can sometimes make the difference between success and failure and even a good idea needs to be promoted. The same can be said about the Body Clock Diet, which is one of the diets that try to look beyond food in order to link the eating process with the greater picture of body processes.
The basic idea is that aside from being careful about what you eat, you should also be careful about the timing of meals in order to fit in with the natural rhythm of your body. The body has its own internal clock that regulates the metabolism, appetite, sleep and energy levels. This diet focuses on eating the right kind of food while observing the internal clock. It is important to eat regularly and getting the right balance of nutrients with each meal since this lets the body turn the feeling of hunger on and off naturally.
There is, of course, a two-week eating plan that you must follow in order to lose weight. Staying true to the body rhythms, each day features three meals and two snacks that are rich in vegetables and fruits. The eating plan follows a general protein-rich, low-fat pattern, which is nothing new. The best part of the diet, however, is tying everything in with the rest of the body. For instance, the author argues that eating grains and cereals should be done in the morning in order to match the effect of insulin on the brain, while dinner should consist of a light blend low glycemic cabs and lean protein.
According to estimates, this diet should allow you to lose up to two pounds per week, which is the average weight loss rate. The book explaining this diet comes with recipes and general eating advice and a comprehensive and no-nonsense explanation of how the body works, what impact the daily rhythm has on weight and how to work with the body instead of against it. This is a good eating plan that doesn’t come with any strange ideas about magic ingredients that can make anybody lose weight in a flash.

Best ways to lose weight fast