Blood Cholesterol is produced by our body for several purposes.In some people it is produced more than is required by our body,especially when the diet contains saturated fats. Saturated fats in the diet force the body to make too much cholesterol. The cholesterolmay become high when our diet is rich in saturated fats that are found only in animal products. Plant foods do not contain any cholesterol, but the animal foods are loaded with cholesterol and fats. Most of the fast foods are very rich in fats, monounsaturated fats. If youeat lot of meats and fast foods, then the chances are that you have high cholesterol. You should get your blood cholesterol checked. Remember that without your blood cholesterol report, you can not know if you have high cholesterol.
Blood cholesterol can be both good and bad. There are two types of cholesterol: LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol & HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol. The LDL cholesterol is knownas "bad cholesterol" because it gets deposited on the walls of thearteries as plaque, and restricting the flow of the blood. The HDL cholesterol, known as the "good cholesterol" helps remove the plaquefrom the arteries. Both the types of cholesterol are produced by ourbody for certain functions and are always present in our blood. The problem arises when the cholesterol is produced more than is required by our body. The following are the desirable levels of cholesterol in adults:
Total Cholesterol: below 200 mg/dlLDL cholesterol: less than 130 mg/dLHDL cholesterol: more than 35mg/dL
HDL cholesterol of less than 35mg/dL is a risk factor for heart disease, even if your total cholesterol is within limits. Both LDL and HDL cholesterol can be improved with regular exercise and eating low fat cholesterol friendly foods.
To take better care of your heart and reducing your risk for heart attack, you must understand the complete facts about cholesterol and howto control cholesterol.
Note that you do not always need to take medication to lower cholesterol. There are several natural heart friendly foods that are good for controlling cholesterol without any medication. Good eating habits and some exercise can control your cholesterol and triglycerides naturally.
You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines orelectronic publication, as long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all hyperlinks (clickable) and references and copyrightinfo.
Copyright 2004 P. Mehta http://www.fatfreekitchen.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
Hemorrhoid Creams Give Relief
Hemorrhoids are something that no one ever wants to deal with, and they especially don't want to talk about them. Hemorrhoids are becoming a prevalent health concern in today's society. This condition is becoming more common due to the modern life that many people are living today. Not exercising or eating enough fiber make it difficult for the colon to work properly, and hemorrhoids can be an effect of that unhealthy life. If they're treated in the beginning, they will not cause too much damage, but if left untreated they can cause more problems and pain later on.
Hemorrhoids are varicose veins that are caused by pressure being put on the blood vessels around the anus. These cause pain, itching, bleeding and swelling during bowel movements and sometimes while doing other things also. There are two different types of hemorrhoids, internal and external hemorrhoids. Internal hemorrhoids are found inside the anus while external hemorrhoids are found at the opening of the anus and can hang out. There are many reasons why hemorrhoids develop. The most common reasons are constipation, being overweight, poor diet, not exercising enough, manual labor, and pregnancy. Depending on the severity of the hemorrhoids, there are several ways to treat hemorrhoids. The ways to treat hemorrhoids range from hemorrhoid creams all the way to surgery. The treatment that most people, whether suffering or not, are familiar with are hemorrhoid creams, like the over-the-counter product Preparation H.
Hemorrhoid creams are just topical treatments that help relieve the symptoms, but they don't eliminate them completely. The main ingredients found in these creams are petroleum jelly, glycerin, cocoa butter, benzocaine, pramoxine, benzyl alcohol, dibucaine, and dyclonine. The creams are really just to provide temporary relief, but some can provide a more permanent solution. The strained blood vessels are calmed down by rubbing the hemorrhoid cream around the outer rectal area. Not only does this soothe those vessels, but it relaxes the tissue so flare ups aren't as common. You can find creams in your drugstore or online.
While some people don't understand the prevalence of hemorrhoids or what they are, everyone knows they don't want to deal with them. There are ways to prevent hemorrhoids from even occurring by eating better (especially fiber) and by exercising regularly, but some things can't be helped like the kind of job you have or if you're pregnant. Fortunately, there are products like hemorrhoid creams on the market to help soothe the discomfort.
Hemorrhoids are varicose veins that are caused by pressure being put on the blood vessels around the anus. These cause pain, itching, bleeding and swelling during bowel movements and sometimes while doing other things also. There are two different types of hemorrhoids, internal and external hemorrhoids. Internal hemorrhoids are found inside the anus while external hemorrhoids are found at the opening of the anus and can hang out. There are many reasons why hemorrhoids develop. The most common reasons are constipation, being overweight, poor diet, not exercising enough, manual labor, and pregnancy. Depending on the severity of the hemorrhoids, there are several ways to treat hemorrhoids. The ways to treat hemorrhoids range from hemorrhoid creams all the way to surgery. The treatment that most people, whether suffering or not, are familiar with are hemorrhoid creams, like the over-the-counter product Preparation H.
Hemorrhoid creams are just topical treatments that help relieve the symptoms, but they don't eliminate them completely. The main ingredients found in these creams are petroleum jelly, glycerin, cocoa butter, benzocaine, pramoxine, benzyl alcohol, dibucaine, and dyclonine. The creams are really just to provide temporary relief, but some can provide a more permanent solution. The strained blood vessels are calmed down by rubbing the hemorrhoid cream around the outer rectal area. Not only does this soothe those vessels, but it relaxes the tissue so flare ups aren't as common. You can find creams in your drugstore or online.
While some people don't understand the prevalence of hemorrhoids or what they are, everyone knows they don't want to deal with them. There are ways to prevent hemorrhoids from even occurring by eating better (especially fiber) and by exercising regularly, but some things can't be helped like the kind of job you have or if you're pregnant. Fortunately, there are products like hemorrhoid creams on the market to help soothe the discomfort.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Osteoarthritis of the Knee - Does Osteoporosis Play a Role?
First, lets distinguish between the two.
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease that results in decreased bone density and an alteration in the bony architecture. It does not directly cause pain. A more simple definition would be " a bone disorder that results in decreased bone strength and an increased risk of fracture."
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the loss of articular cartilage and results in pain, stiffness and decreased mobility.
Because both are common in the older age group, the two often get confused. Many times I have heard people blame their pain on osteoporosis when this is not the case.
The concerns with osteoporosis are the increased risk of future fracture, with osteoarthritis, it's pain, deformity, and loss of mobility.
There are of course many people unfortunate enough to have both of these common disease processes active at the one time. However, different diseases take different approaches to address them.
Osteoporosis needs to be treated with dietary changes, calcium and vitamin D supplements, and medication such as bisphosphonates - talk to your doctor about these.
Osteoarthritis needs to be addressed via a program of weight loss, exercise, analgesia and if required,surgery.
It is common sense to target both conditions simultaneously if required. As a general rule, osteoporosis treatment does not get in the way of arthritis treatments. Many good hospitals now include an osteoporosis risk profile questionnaire as part of their treatment of osteoarthritis.
Many people do not realize they have osteoporosis until they suffer a fracture - it creeps up silently.
Osteoarthritis is anything but silent with a gradual increase in symptoms,the primary one being pain.
These two separate diseases of the bone don't directly affect each other but commonly occur in tandem. A knowledge of both would be beneficial for the majority of patients.
Remember that osteoarthritis is 'wear and tear' of the joints. If you are looking for a miracle cure you will be disappointed. Anyone claiming to cure arthritis with a tablet, herb or gel is preying on those in chronic pain. What you need is the information to make the correct decisions. Some decisions stay with you for life!
Medical center apartments close to Hermann hospital Making good use of a classified site How to Choose the Best Beach Resorts Garden Tool And Garage Storage Solutions For Spring Cleaning Cure Acne with natural steps Try out Coffee house drinks How To Play Online Blackjack Network Security Management Services Local attractions to visit while on vacations at the Grupo Mayan resorts Yes i have seen GOD, Have you? Short Sale Help – Learn More about How to Stop Foreclosures It is time to recognize the significance of credit repair software I found some great deals on new wedding favors! Custom Floor Mats: The Floor Mats with Exciting Features Best Tips for Carpet Cleaning Intimate Beach Wedding at Nigi Nigi Too Boracay Beach Resort Role of Translators and Interpreters in Global Business How to lower down your Mobile bill How can we deal with opinion issues? Wildlife Resorts in India
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease that results in decreased bone density and an alteration in the bony architecture. It does not directly cause pain. A more simple definition would be " a bone disorder that results in decreased bone strength and an increased risk of fracture."
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the loss of articular cartilage and results in pain, stiffness and decreased mobility.
Because both are common in the older age group, the two often get confused. Many times I have heard people blame their pain on osteoporosis when this is not the case.
The concerns with osteoporosis are the increased risk of future fracture, with osteoarthritis, it's pain, deformity, and loss of mobility.
There are of course many people unfortunate enough to have both of these common disease processes active at the one time. However, different diseases take different approaches to address them.
Osteoporosis needs to be treated with dietary changes, calcium and vitamin D supplements, and medication such as bisphosphonates - talk to your doctor about these.
Osteoarthritis needs to be addressed via a program of weight loss, exercise, analgesia and if required,surgery.
It is common sense to target both conditions simultaneously if required. As a general rule, osteoporosis treatment does not get in the way of arthritis treatments. Many good hospitals now include an osteoporosis risk profile questionnaire as part of their treatment of osteoarthritis.
Many people do not realize they have osteoporosis until they suffer a fracture - it creeps up silently.
Osteoarthritis is anything but silent with a gradual increase in symptoms,the primary one being pain.
These two separate diseases of the bone don't directly affect each other but commonly occur in tandem. A knowledge of both would be beneficial for the majority of patients.
Remember that osteoarthritis is 'wear and tear' of the joints. If you are looking for a miracle cure you will be disappointed. Anyone claiming to cure arthritis with a tablet, herb or gel is preying on those in chronic pain. What you need is the information to make the correct decisions. Some decisions stay with you for life!
Medical center apartments close to Hermann hospital Making good use of a classified site How to Choose the Best Beach Resorts Garden Tool And Garage Storage Solutions For Spring Cleaning Cure Acne with natural steps Try out Coffee house drinks How To Play Online Blackjack Network Security Management Services Local attractions to visit while on vacations at the Grupo Mayan resorts Yes i have seen GOD, Have you? Short Sale Help – Learn More about How to Stop Foreclosures It is time to recognize the significance of credit repair software I found some great deals on new wedding favors! Custom Floor Mats: The Floor Mats with Exciting Features Best Tips for Carpet Cleaning Intimate Beach Wedding at Nigi Nigi Too Boracay Beach Resort Role of Translators and Interpreters in Global Business How to lower down your Mobile bill How can we deal with opinion issues? Wildlife Resorts in India
Saturday, March 28, 2009
5 Stretching Exercises to Grow Taller
1. The Hang With this you can easily gain 1-1.5 inches and its the simplest of them all to do. You simply need to hang your body down from a height. Whether you hold onto a pull up bar, goal posts, a tree, bus shelter - anything at all. You just need to hang for a few minutes at a time. This gives the discs in your spine time to decompress. It's also great for re-aligning a bad posture as your body is being stretched into its natural shape. This is using gravity to get taller rather than letting it make you shorter.
2. Indian Push Up This goes by many names including the Hindu push up and yoga push up. As you can probably guess it comes from an Indian yogic movement where you push your self in an arc so rather than going straight up and down you go from back to front too.
3. Twist The objective with this exercise is to twist the spine and this is a movement people will often find quite difficult initially as the spine has grown very inflexible with time. The lower spine especially suffers from compression due to our seated position most of the time. Stand in a doorway facing the frame of the door. Plant your feet firmly into the ground and using the frame as a leaver push your body around as much as it will go. Its important to push your head too and stretch your entire spine from bottom to top. Do this in both directions to ensure balance.
4. Shoulder Lift Lying on your front with your face in the floor (don't twist your neck to the side!). You'll feel your shoulders and arms pull the the floor due to gravity. If you lift your shoulders and arms entirely off the floor for a count of 10 then let them fall. Repeat this movement 5 times every morning and evening you'll gain an inch after 3-4 weeks. This works by working a muscle that is often very weak in the majority of people. The muscle in the centre of the spine becomes slack due to sitting at office desks all day and hunching over things. When it gets weak it lets your body sag and you lose height.
5. Sleep The final exercise is a bit of a cheat as there's far more the getting tall through exercises than just this little selection but I wanted to finish with one of my favourites. Sleep is fantastic at increasing height but you need to get enough of it to truly benefit. You've probably heard that during sleep you get taller as your pine decompresses. It's true but if you don't get enough sleep then your mood and lack of proper spinal recovery will cause you to hunch, ruin your posture, compress your internal organs and crush your chances of getting taller. Getting at least 7 but preferably 8 hours of sleep per night are essential to get that height you want.
2. Indian Push Up This goes by many names including the Hindu push up and yoga push up. As you can probably guess it comes from an Indian yogic movement where you push your self in an arc so rather than going straight up and down you go from back to front too.
3. Twist The objective with this exercise is to twist the spine and this is a movement people will often find quite difficult initially as the spine has grown very inflexible with time. The lower spine especially suffers from compression due to our seated position most of the time. Stand in a doorway facing the frame of the door. Plant your feet firmly into the ground and using the frame as a leaver push your body around as much as it will go. Its important to push your head too and stretch your entire spine from bottom to top. Do this in both directions to ensure balance.
4. Shoulder Lift Lying on your front with your face in the floor (don't twist your neck to the side!). You'll feel your shoulders and arms pull the the floor due to gravity. If you lift your shoulders and arms entirely off the floor for a count of 10 then let them fall. Repeat this movement 5 times every morning and evening you'll gain an inch after 3-4 weeks. This works by working a muscle that is often very weak in the majority of people. The muscle in the centre of the spine becomes slack due to sitting at office desks all day and hunching over things. When it gets weak it lets your body sag and you lose height.
5. Sleep The final exercise is a bit of a cheat as there's far more the getting tall through exercises than just this little selection but I wanted to finish with one of my favourites. Sleep is fantastic at increasing height but you need to get enough of it to truly benefit. You've probably heard that during sleep you get taller as your pine decompresses. It's true but if you don't get enough sleep then your mood and lack of proper spinal recovery will cause you to hunch, ruin your posture, compress your internal organs and crush your chances of getting taller. Getting at least 7 but preferably 8 hours of sleep per night are essential to get that height you want.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Body Mass Index - Is it Useful Or Useless?
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool that is used to determine if a person has a healthy weight for their height. To calculate it you take your weight in kilograms and divide that number by your height in meters. You take that figure and then divide that by your height in meters again. This will give you a number and you can use the table below to see how you fair.
BMI
Underweight Below 18.5 Normal 18.5 - 24.9 Overweight 25.0 - 29.9 Obesity 30.0 and Above
Whenever you go to a doctors or health club for an assessment this has a habit of cropping up - so is it really any good?
As with a lot of tools in the health and fitness industry you will have strong advocates who swear by it and you have strong advocates who swear at anyone who uses it.
The truth, as with most things, is somewhere in the middle.
By itself, the BMI is quite limited and needs to be used in conjunction with other assessments to gain a full picture of your health.
The main reason for the limitation is that it doesn't take into account the persons body type by that I mean if someone has a skinny-fat type body it's possible they can have a figure in the healthy range whilst someone who actively works out and is lean could be in the overweight category due to the extra muscle.
From the above two types, which sounds the healthiest to be? skinny-fat but at a healthy weight or lean and muscular but registering slightly over weight
So what else should you use with the BMI to gain a better picture?
1)For a start take your waist measurement - no sucking in either! For men anything over a 40 inch waist circumference is bad - diabetes and heart disease territory. In women it's anything over 35 inches.
2) Take your blood pressure. You can get a home kit quite cheaply or pay a visit to your doctor for a check up. As a guide a reading of 120/80 is normal and consistently reading over 140 / 90 is classed as high blood pressure.
3) Measure your heart rate. Take a stop watch and time yourself for 30 seconds to see how many times your heart beats and multiply that figure by 2. In adults the average is around 70 for males and 75 for females.
4) If you go to a gym, they can administer a body fat test. This will give you a rough indication of the amount of body fat you are carrying in proportion to lean mass. I say roughly because no method is 100% accurate.
By itself, the BMI is one dimensional and doesn't have any real meaning. By incorporating the four tests described in this article in conjunction with the BMI, it will give you a more accurate picture of how you are doing health wise
BMI
Underweight Below 18.5 Normal 18.5 - 24.9 Overweight 25.0 - 29.9 Obesity 30.0 and Above
Whenever you go to a doctors or health club for an assessment this has a habit of cropping up - so is it really any good?
As with a lot of tools in the health and fitness industry you will have strong advocates who swear by it and you have strong advocates who swear at anyone who uses it.
The truth, as with most things, is somewhere in the middle.
By itself, the BMI is quite limited and needs to be used in conjunction with other assessments to gain a full picture of your health.
The main reason for the limitation is that it doesn't take into account the persons body type by that I mean if someone has a skinny-fat type body it's possible they can have a figure in the healthy range whilst someone who actively works out and is lean could be in the overweight category due to the extra muscle.
From the above two types, which sounds the healthiest to be? skinny-fat but at a healthy weight or lean and muscular but registering slightly over weight
So what else should you use with the BMI to gain a better picture?
1)For a start take your waist measurement - no sucking in either! For men anything over a 40 inch waist circumference is bad - diabetes and heart disease territory. In women it's anything over 35 inches.
2) Take your blood pressure. You can get a home kit quite cheaply or pay a visit to your doctor for a check up. As a guide a reading of 120/80 is normal and consistently reading over 140 / 90 is classed as high blood pressure.
3) Measure your heart rate. Take a stop watch and time yourself for 30 seconds to see how many times your heart beats and multiply that figure by 2. In adults the average is around 70 for males and 75 for females.
4) If you go to a gym, they can administer a body fat test. This will give you a rough indication of the amount of body fat you are carrying in proportion to lean mass. I say roughly because no method is 100% accurate.
By itself, the BMI is one dimensional and doesn't have any real meaning. By incorporating the four tests described in this article in conjunction with the BMI, it will give you a more accurate picture of how you are doing health wise
Friday, March 13, 2009
Liquid For Your Active Body
It has always been recommended to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day under normal conditions. This helps your body maintain hydrated and keep your body fit and functioning properly. The more activities you are engaged in the more water and fluids your body will need and it would be prudent to drink water even before you get thirsty. Keeping yourself properly hydrated should not be taken lightly since oftentimes, people tend to underestimate the liquids lost in their bodies and end up finding themselves in the hospital.
Here are some hydration tips to take note of:
1. Remember that your daily water intake does not only come from pure water, you also need to consider other liquids such as tea and fruit juices and coffee whose main ingredient is still water.
2. When doing extreme activities and exercise it is not enough to just be drinking water. Other nutrients and electrolytes are also removed from your body and would need replacement. This is why sports drinks have been developed to help replenish these vital electrolytes that are lost by the body. These are situations where you can not just rely on water alone to keep you hydrated and you would need these special drinks to help your body stay in top condition and well hydrated.
3. One good practice you can do is take water before and after sleep for even in sleep your body loses liquid.
4. And when you are subjected to high temperature take cool water since it is easier for the body to absorb cool water than warm water. This does not only keeps you hydrated during the hot season but also helps cool your body.
Myths and misconceptions about Hydration
There are certain beliefs that are now being proven to be totally wrong with regard to keeping our body properly hydrated.
1. A situation like we should only drink when thirsty is a big misconception since we should be drinking water even before we get thirsty. The feeling of thirst already signifies that we have lost vital fluids and electrolytes in out body and the body is calling out for hydration.
2. Often people would not want to drink anything before exercising since it makes them feel heavy. This notion can result in your body being dehydrated. It is recommended that one should drink one to two cups of water at least 30 minutes before engaging in exercise.
3. We should also keep drinking even after we are no longer thirsty. Quenching your thirst does not automatically mean that you have hydrated your body well enough.
Dehydration and Over hydration
Preventing yourself from becoming dehydrated is as important as preventing yourself from over hydration. Most often is the case of dehydration than over hydration and normal people would often suffer more on dehydration. However certain individuals like athletes can suffer from excessive water where the sodium levels in their blood would drop to critical levels causing body harm. This can lead to brain, hearing and muscle damage, with the victims often exhibiting symptoms such as dizziness, nausea and confusion. These symptoms are also similar one who is suffering from dehydration.
Here are some hydration tips to take note of:
1. Remember that your daily water intake does not only come from pure water, you also need to consider other liquids such as tea and fruit juices and coffee whose main ingredient is still water.
2. When doing extreme activities and exercise it is not enough to just be drinking water. Other nutrients and electrolytes are also removed from your body and would need replacement. This is why sports drinks have been developed to help replenish these vital electrolytes that are lost by the body. These are situations where you can not just rely on water alone to keep you hydrated and you would need these special drinks to help your body stay in top condition and well hydrated.
3. One good practice you can do is take water before and after sleep for even in sleep your body loses liquid.
4. And when you are subjected to high temperature take cool water since it is easier for the body to absorb cool water than warm water. This does not only keeps you hydrated during the hot season but also helps cool your body.
Myths and misconceptions about Hydration
There are certain beliefs that are now being proven to be totally wrong with regard to keeping our body properly hydrated.
1. A situation like we should only drink when thirsty is a big misconception since we should be drinking water even before we get thirsty. The feeling of thirst already signifies that we have lost vital fluids and electrolytes in out body and the body is calling out for hydration.
2. Often people would not want to drink anything before exercising since it makes them feel heavy. This notion can result in your body being dehydrated. It is recommended that one should drink one to two cups of water at least 30 minutes before engaging in exercise.
3. We should also keep drinking even after we are no longer thirsty. Quenching your thirst does not automatically mean that you have hydrated your body well enough.
Dehydration and Over hydration
Preventing yourself from becoming dehydrated is as important as preventing yourself from over hydration. Most often is the case of dehydration than over hydration and normal people would often suffer more on dehydration. However certain individuals like athletes can suffer from excessive water where the sodium levels in their blood would drop to critical levels causing body harm. This can lead to brain, hearing and muscle damage, with the victims often exhibiting symptoms such as dizziness, nausea and confusion. These symptoms are also similar one who is suffering from dehydration.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Summer Body Tune-Up
With winter behind us and the summer months ahead it is time to remove the snow tires from your car and shed the pounds off of your body. Just as you would detail your car, you can tone your body to looks it's finest. A well toned body needs proper fuelling and to run smoothly has to be driven regularly. So drive your mind around the following three key factors that will help you and the body that is your vehicle look and feel their absolute best this summer.
Strength Training (Detailing Your Vehicle)
Strength training by lifting weights will cause an increase of lean muscle mass in the body. This increase speeds up the body's metabolic rate allowing it to burn more calories throughout the day, even at sub-maximal work levels and rest. Strength training is also an excellent way to strengthen your bones and help prevent osteoporosis commonly associated with aging. The most efficient and time saving method of strength training is to perform compound exercises which promote the use of multiple joints in a single exercise and are functional to movements used in everyday life. Examples of functional, compound exercises include squats, dead-lift, lunges, bench press and lat pull down. These kinds of exercises will not only tone your body but will also help you maintain a healthy body weight, improve your posture and increase your muscular strength and endurance.
Healthy Eating (Fuelling Your Vehicle)
Whatever you do, it is most important to avoid those fad diets at all costs. Manipulating caloric intake by eliminating essential nutrients such as carbohydrates will result in low energy levels and end up driving you crazy. Not to mention that once you go off your diet you pack back on the pounds twice as fast and in greater numbers than before. The easiest way to deal with weight loss concerns is to cut back on portion sizes. This does not mean skipping out on meals either, which can be far more detrimental to your weight loss goals than anything else. Eat, do it often, but always in moderation. Breakfast, lunch and dinner with healthy snacks in between, is ideal. This will keep your metabolism up, helping you burn fat throughout the day. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Drink more water, cut back on processed foods, red meats and fast food. When consuming alcohol, do so in moderation. Never skip out on breakfast but avoid eating within a few hours of going to sleep. Last but not least, learn to read food labels and try and make it common practice. Dieting is only a temporary solution but changing to healthy eating habits once and for all is permanent.
Cardiovascular Exercise (Driving Your Vehicle)
Cardio refers to the heart while Vascular refers to the lungs. Cardiovascular activity can involve any type of exercise or activity that raises a person's heart rate and speeds up their metabolism. Performing regular huffy puffy exercise has a number of proven health effects, especially on the heart. It strengthens the heart as a pump, making it more efficient resulting in a lower resting heart rate. Other benefits include lower blood pressure, increased lung capacity and oxygen intake as well as lower cholesterol. Between popular options like running, cycling, stepping and rowing there are plenty of things to choose from both at the local gym and in the great outdoors for exercise. The key is to find what you enjoy best and make it a regular habit to perform these exercises/activities a minimum of 3 to 5 times a week for roughly 20 to 30 minutes a day. Remember, any type of cardiovascular exercise will improve a person's fitness level and aid in their weight loss goals, just as long as it is done regularly.
Your body is your vehicle and your heart the motor. You need to drive it to keep it running strong. A well detailed body will keep heads spinning as you drive to the beach this summer. Only the best fuel for your vehicle. You wouldn't put cheap gas into your sports car so fuel up on healthy foods to keep your engine burning strong. Hard work this spring means cruise control this summer.
Strength Training (Detailing Your Vehicle)
Strength training by lifting weights will cause an increase of lean muscle mass in the body. This increase speeds up the body's metabolic rate allowing it to burn more calories throughout the day, even at sub-maximal work levels and rest. Strength training is also an excellent way to strengthen your bones and help prevent osteoporosis commonly associated with aging. The most efficient and time saving method of strength training is to perform compound exercises which promote the use of multiple joints in a single exercise and are functional to movements used in everyday life. Examples of functional, compound exercises include squats, dead-lift, lunges, bench press and lat pull down. These kinds of exercises will not only tone your body but will also help you maintain a healthy body weight, improve your posture and increase your muscular strength and endurance.
Healthy Eating (Fuelling Your Vehicle)
Whatever you do, it is most important to avoid those fad diets at all costs. Manipulating caloric intake by eliminating essential nutrients such as carbohydrates will result in low energy levels and end up driving you crazy. Not to mention that once you go off your diet you pack back on the pounds twice as fast and in greater numbers than before. The easiest way to deal with weight loss concerns is to cut back on portion sizes. This does not mean skipping out on meals either, which can be far more detrimental to your weight loss goals than anything else. Eat, do it often, but always in moderation. Breakfast, lunch and dinner with healthy snacks in between, is ideal. This will keep your metabolism up, helping you burn fat throughout the day. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Drink more water, cut back on processed foods, red meats and fast food. When consuming alcohol, do so in moderation. Never skip out on breakfast but avoid eating within a few hours of going to sleep. Last but not least, learn to read food labels and try and make it common practice. Dieting is only a temporary solution but changing to healthy eating habits once and for all is permanent.
Cardiovascular Exercise (Driving Your Vehicle)
Cardio refers to the heart while Vascular refers to the lungs. Cardiovascular activity can involve any type of exercise or activity that raises a person's heart rate and speeds up their metabolism. Performing regular huffy puffy exercise has a number of proven health effects, especially on the heart. It strengthens the heart as a pump, making it more efficient resulting in a lower resting heart rate. Other benefits include lower blood pressure, increased lung capacity and oxygen intake as well as lower cholesterol. Between popular options like running, cycling, stepping and rowing there are plenty of things to choose from both at the local gym and in the great outdoors for exercise. The key is to find what you enjoy best and make it a regular habit to perform these exercises/activities a minimum of 3 to 5 times a week for roughly 20 to 30 minutes a day. Remember, any type of cardiovascular exercise will improve a person's fitness level and aid in their weight loss goals, just as long as it is done regularly.
Your body is your vehicle and your heart the motor. You need to drive it to keep it running strong. A well detailed body will keep heads spinning as you drive to the beach this summer. Only the best fuel for your vehicle. You wouldn't put cheap gas into your sports car so fuel up on healthy foods to keep your engine burning strong. Hard work this spring means cruise control this summer.
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