Fitness Methods

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup is a man-made ingredient that can be found in nearly every variety of processed or packaged foods. This syrup, which is made from cornstarch, has been treated with an enzyme that converts some of the glucose in the molecule to fructose, which is sweeter. Because of its ability to preserve and extend processed foods’ shelf life, and being a cheaper additive than sugar, it has become a very popular ingredient by food manufacturers. HFCS has been blamed as one of the culprits in the growing obesity epidemic.

A 2008 study in humans analyzed the circulating levels of glucose, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, and triacylglycerol during a 24 hour period after consuming drinks containing HFCS or sucrose. The researchers concluded that the consumption of HFCS or sucrose did not yield differing metabolic effects.

In a 2007 study, rats were fed a diet high in fat and HFCS and kept relatively sedentary for 16 weeks in an attempt to emulate the diet and lifestyle of many Americans. The rats were not forced to eat, but were able to eat as much as they wanted; they consumed a large amount of food, and the researcher, Dr. Tetri, stated that there is evidence that fructose suppresses the sensation of fullness. Within four weeks, the rats showed early signs of fatty liver disease and type II diabetes. An equivalent diet using sucrose instead of HFCS was not tested.

Shapiro fed rats a high-fructose diet for six months and compared them to rats that had been fed a fructose-free diet. Although the rats that had consumed high levels of fructose showed no change in weight, when compared to the rats that had consumed a fructose-free diet, levels of leptin in the blood of rats fed a high-fructose diet indicated the development of leptin resistance. When the rats were switched to a high-fat diet, the leptin-resistant rats, those fed a high-fructose diet, gained more weight than those who had not developed the resistance and had been fed a fructose-free diet.

The real problem with High Fructose Corn Syrup is that it is cheap to make and is a great filler and sweetner for manufacturers. I would bet that if you look right now in your cupboards and pantry you will find lots of products that contain High Fructose Corn syrup including:

Most CerealsMost pop and sodasBread Products including SubwayCandyPop TartsCold MedicineEnergy DrinksAlmost all sweetened mass produced products

In a 2004 commentary in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Popkin and two co-authors noted that the sharp rise in high fructose corn syrup consumption in the United States since 1970 mirrored the rise in the nation’s obesity rate.

“When we wrote the article six or seven years ago, we speculated high-fructose corn syrup might be worse” than sugar, Popkin said. “It was picked up by the blog world, and it became folklore that high fructose was poison.”

In the years since, research has shown that the body metabolizes high-fructose corn syrup differently from sugar. Some studies indicate that the syrup can have damaging effects on the kidney and liver. But strictly in terms of calories and, by extension, obesity, he said, the products are equally bad.

The problem is that there has not really been a backlash like we saw a couple of years ago with the Trans Fats and the banning of them all over the place. I predict that High Fructose Corn Syrup as it becomes more of a news story will come back as a big issue for the public though.

Let’s hope the high fructose corn syrup in all of these products disappears soon.

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Weight Gain During Menopause

Weight Gain During Menopause is a real issue for most women after a certain age. You reach for that favorite pair of jeans, you try to slide them on but they wont button. You struggle from day to day to keep the weight gain off of your once fabulous body. But the rolls and layers of fat keep coming on that body of yours. You diet and exercise on a daily basis but those 10 to 30 pounds just wont come off. You join a gym or a woman’s work out class but you still jump on the scale and it still reads the same. You just want to scream or jump back in bed and hide under the covers. Is this you?

If you are coming on to that age of reaching that big 40 or you are gaining ground to the 50 age mark then you are more than likely in what is called the menopausal stage of life and this weight issue is one of the common symptoms of the menopausal stage. There are many other symptoms to the menopausal stage of life but in this article weight gain is what we are going to concentrate on. The reason for this article is that in today’s society our looks mean so much to woman. Weight gain during menopause, even if it is 10 or 20 pounds, can mean so much to a woman at this stage in life. Weight gain can bring on depression and anxiety which in turns can bring on the terrible hot flashes.

What causes weight gain during menopause in these bodies of ours? It can be one thing or a combination of many things. Toxins, stress, exercise, diet, emotions, anxiety, and hormones all can play a major role in weight gain. As the old saying goes, putting the weight on is easy and fun but taking it off is the hardest thing to do. Especially if you are in the stage of life called permenopause or menopause.

If you are in the stage of life of perimenopause or menopause more than likely your hormones are playing a huge factor in your weight. These hormonal imbalances are causing your body to store unwanted fat. The reason for this is that your body is feeling the affect that your hormones are hitting rock bottom and they are looking else where for a replacement of the hormones so the body turns to these fat cells. Studies have shown that woman tend to be insulin resistance do to their diet. When this happens the body converts every calorie it can to fat.

Stress plays a large role during this time in life of perimenopause or menopause. Stress hormones can block weight loss in a female. Even if you are dieting long term stress causes the body to go into what is called hoarding. Your body is putting on this fat and then you start to stress out about it and you start what is called yoyo dieting which in turns causes more fat to hoard in your body. It is a no win situation. Stress at this point can not only cause weight gain, but can cause depression, anxiety and make you feel unwanted and insecure about yourself.

You need to break this curse. You need to find yourself a support group and also have open dialogue with your partner at home. Also talk to a qualified physician about what you are going through. I mentioned qualified physician only because there are many physicians that do not understand what women are going through during perimenopause or menopause. Many physicians will say that these symptoms are all in your head and that you need a therapist instead of a medical doctor. Don’t fall for this, ask around and talk to your girl friends to find a positive qualified physician to hear your case. Don’t hold these feelings inside you, this will only cause your stress level to rise and cause other terrible symptoms to occur. Open communication is the key to good health and feeling better about yourself. Give it a try today, you will be glad you did.

Weight Gain During Menopause is an issue that many people deal with and I hope these tips help you out.

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How to Get Sexy Muscle

I get a lot of questions about how to get sexy muscle instead of getting that big swollen musclehead look. I ran across a new muscle gaining system by a guy that I have been following for a number of years names Rusty Moore.

I learned about Rusty a couple of years back when he came out with the Vacation Body idea of building muscle that looked great on the beach, you know big and muscular without a lot of fat.

Well Rustys new system is called Visual Impact Muscle Building.

The idea behind Visual Impact Muscle building is the same idea that stars like Taylor Lautner (the werewolf guy in those vampire movies) use. The concept itself is fairly easy to understand, build dense muscle, then build that bulky kind of muscle once your body is nice and tight. This way you look great on a beach but not so bloated and swollen looking like the classic bodybuilder look.

So there are a couple of steps, actually on the Visual Impact Muscle building page has videos describing each of four parts. The parts are

Myofibrillar Hypertrophy – This is how you get that super defined muscle

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy – The swollen type of muscle and how you can use this to your advantage

Skin Tightening – How to make sure that you have defined abs and not just water of your muscles

Final Phase – to pack on 5-10 pounds of muscle

Anyway, when I ran across Rustys page for this product I was blown away that he was spilling the beans on lots of the how to get sexy muscle tips by having videos with info on the page itself. Watch them for free!

I can let you know now that if you decide that this is the way that you want to know how to get sexy muscle then you will need to but the books for $47 which in itself is a pretty cheap price but I will let you decide for yourself over at the Visual Impact Muscle Building Page.

PS: If you order this today from one of these links then I would be happy to send you a few extra ebooks that may cover anyhting missing in this plan.  I know this plan is great but here are the ebooks that I will email to you if you are interested:

101 Diet Tips (A great addition to everything else you will learn here)Skyrocket Fat Loss (A Tom Venuto Interview that spans 41 pages)Training and Nutrition Secrets (65 pages of secrets that almost no one knows) Losing weight without starving yourself (61 pages about…well I guess the title says it all)

If you are interested in how to get sexy muscle then I think that this program would be great for you, just check out the free stuff and see what you think.

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Real Costs of Smoking

There are some real costs of smoking that you m ay not be aware of. Advertisers and tobacco companies would have us believe that smoking is not only cool, but that it will elevate your social standing and improve your relationships. This could not be further from the truth. The black and white days of mysterious men sparking up on street corners in long coats and Trilby hats, or rebellious teenagers playing pool with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of their mouth is long gone.

The innocence of those days has been replaced with a stark reality of the dreadful harm that the 4000 toxins in tobacco smoke can do. James Bond can be as casual as he likes with the villains he taunts, as the cigarette he lights with the stylish gold lighter is more likely to kill him than a bald man stroking a white cat.

There are some immediate real costs of smoking that everyone will experience. Firstly, you will become much poorer as the cost of smoking is enormous due to the “luxury” taxes with excise duty. Without a doubt, your breath, hair, clothes, skin and home will smell of stale tobacco smoke. Believe me when I tell you that it already does, it’s just that you don’t notice it because you smoke, but to those of us who do not smoke, it is both obvious and unpleasant. You may take a mint for your breath, but you cannot deodorise your clothes, skin and hair. The toxins and tar in cigarette smoke dull your taste buds and also taint the flavour of the food that you eat reducing your enjoyment of food.

There are many other damaging effects of tobacco smoking on your mouth, but those are not covered in this article. If you smoke, Life Insurance is more expensive. Insurance companies know that the likelihood of you dying young due to smoking related diseases is increased, therefore they need more money out of you sooner to cover the inevitable payout. If they do cover your life, it may be at the exclusion of death by smoking related illnesses.

You may struggle to find suitable employment if it is known that you smoke. If faced with a selection of candidates, some of whom smoke and some that don’t, the employer, armed with the knowledge that 34,000,000 working days are lost each year due to smoking related sickness, is more likely to choose the non-smoker. Don’t go thinking that this is discriminatory, because addicted or not, you have a choice as to whether you smoke or not.

If you have bad breath; your hair, skin and clothing regularly smell of stale tobacco, you have to go outside in social settings to smoke every half an hour, and you have less money to spend on leisure activities, this does not make you the social or relationship magnet that the advertisers would have you believe. Romance and friendship is not appealing to potential partners and friends given all of the above, if they are non-smokers.

You may appear physically less attractive if you smoke due to the decrease in blood supply that happens to the body. In the face, this can lead to pallor and increased incidence of premature wrinkles, not only due to decreased perfusion, but also the reduction in anti-oxidant vitamins A, C and E. Gentlemen be aware too. Of another of the real costs of smoking is the chances of Erectile Dysfunction, the inability to achieve or maintain and adequate erection for sexual intercourse, increases by 50% for those men that smoke. The BMA calculates that in the UK alone, there may be 120,000 men who suffer Erectile Dysfunction due solely to smoking.

So when you next feel tempted by the alluring imagery that is, or was, associated with smoking tobacco and cigarettes, think again. Who on Earth wants to be around a smelly, wrinkly, sickness prone, high-risk, social outcast that is prone to problems in the bedroom, and who has spent all their money on an addiction they can choose to stop?

Certainly not a non-smoker, and not one that would genuinely care for you if they did not want you to stop. This is really the most important of the real costs of smoking.

Martin Deakin is an ex-smoker. Like most ex-smokers he is passionate about the ill effects of smoking and how to help others to kick the habit. You could say that he is almost fanatical. He has a blog which includes articles, research and resources on how to quit smoking at Effects of Smoking Blog.

Thing is in reading this article you can really see that there is real costs of smoking that perhaps you had not thought of so look at the best way to stop smoking today.

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swimming as exercise

Swimming as exercise is an excellent way to get fit. Just swimming in the pool is great for all round fitness training. Kids love it, so encouraging an overweight child to swim can be great for their health. It is also good for pregnant women and the obese, because the water supports the excess weight. You should see your doctor of course before starting any fitness program, but the pool is a great place to work out for just about anybody.

In this article we will not look at swimming itself but at swimming as exercise that you can do in the pool. For these exercises, you should be standing in water up to shoulder level.

swimming as exercise for arms – To tone the arms, stand with feet apart and hands holding a ball. Arms are straight but without locking the elbows. Move the ball smoothly around in front of you in the shape of a sideways figure of eight, so your arms are going up and down while also moving from side to side. Do up to 10 reps.

The ball stays completely in the water at all times. Avoid this exercise if you have a shoulder injury. Don’t twist the body – only the arms should move.

Toning the waist – Stand with your back against the side of the pool and arms stretched out along the rim to support you. Bring the legs up and stretch them out straight in front of you. Slowly move the legs round to right and then left, keeping the back firmly against the wall. Do up to 10 reps.

Toning the legs – Walk on the spot in the pool. Step up and down, stretching each leg out as it goes down, and pointing the toes. Swing the arms back and forward too. Keep the movement smooth and give the arms and legs a really good stretch each time. Repeat for 2-5 minutes.

Overall body fitness: jumping jacks – There are many swimming exercises for overall body fitness, giving a good cardio workout, but one of the best is jumping jacks. This is a tough exercises even on land – in the water it is harder, so if you are not fit, build your resistance with the previous exercises before adding this one to your workout.

To do a jumping jack in the water, start with your feet together, flat on the floor of the pool, and hands by your sides. Bend your knees and then jump up as high as you can, bringing your arms up out of the water to make a star shape. Land with feet apart and knees bent, then bring the arms back down and bring the feet together. Repeat up to 10 times.

Relax! – At the end of your workout, begin your relaxation by floating on your back in the water. Spread arms and legs to keep you afloat. You will find that the pool is a great place to relax and wind down after your swimming exercises.

Swimming as exercise is a great way to stay in shape and is a great low impact workout. Some of the great reasons to exercise in the water is that it is very low impact and all your muscles are being worked at once. There are a couple of ways as well that you can look at swimming as exercise.

Swimming can burn anywhere from 200 – 650 calories an hour. Compare this to running where the amount would be 600-800 calories an hour and you can see that swimming as exercise is a great calorie burner.

Not only this but as you can see above there is a lot of muscle toning going on. When you bike, walk, or run you are using the lower part of your body while swimming, being done any time of year will work all the muscles in your body.

So it is really time to look at swimming as exercise call a pool and go today.

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Well I started reading this book called The Happiness Project. My wife bought it a while ago and after I stumbled through Eat, Pray, Love I thought it would be great to get another soul.empowering type book under my belt

Gretchen Rubin who wrote this book is a real pro in the writing game and seems to write biographies on famous people like Winston Churchill, and JFK so she seem to come from a completely different spot than most of the people in this genre. She points this fact out early in the book as well as her aims for her own Happiness Project.

The book starts with Gretchen Rubin telling us how she is not unhappy but still since there is not an easy way to benchmark happiness she knew that she could be happier, wanted to avoid a conversation on depression and instead see, through research, how someone could be happier in their life.

The book is divided into 12 months and each month has an overarching idea that Gretchen has built resolutions on, and the idea is that every month she will build on what she had done before this newest month, so constant improvement will happen.

The first month was to improve her health, the second month was to Remember Love and Marriage…

The idea that Gretchen Rubin has is not that you will follow her ideas exactly but that she can give you a framework to build your own Happiness Project. Cool idea!

Anyway Gretchen Rubin has a law degree, is a writer, and decided to do this book with her awesome research skills behind her. So in the intro chapter and first chapter I found that the Happiness Project was so chock full of her research and discoveries that were not just touchy-feely that there was just a lot to get through. I have decided to turn this book into more of a project for me, and maybe you should too?

I am not going to take a year to change my life through the Happiness Project but I am sure that over the next few months as I dive into one month at a time I will make significant changes.

You can check out some reviews of the Happiness Project if you are interested in learning more

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Jennifer Hudson after the weight loss

I have to say that I don’t often watch Oprah but today Jennifer Hudson was on and it was interesting to see many of the interesting spots. Oprah showed Jennifer Hudson’s journey from a bit flabby to fab  after losing 80 pounds. Jennifer Hudson also talked a lot about her life including the tragedy of the family murders that happened last year.

Just as we see with many families where one person is overweight the rest of the family was in the same spot and many of the Jennifer Hudson family lost weight. 75 of Jennifers friends joined her on the weight loss journey. Wow

Jennifer Hudson lost weight on Weight Watchers as a spokesperson for the company. I always think that this must be terrible pressure, lose weight and have people critique you while you are on TV commercials. It was funny too to see one of the commercial breaks have a Jenny Craig commercial.

Of course they had the bra fitting for the family. What is it with Oprah and proper bra fittings on the episodes? Being a guy maybe I will never understand but my wife gets it.

Also Tim Gunn was on and said that Jennifer was among the best dressed in Hollywood already before but now she is even more qualified to be best dressed with her new hot bod. Tim Gunn also redressed a bunch of family and friends on the show which was a crowd favorite

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Dean Karnazes Run Across America

This is one of those inspiring crazy stories about just how hard people can work. Dean Karnazes is an ultramarathoner, you know the guys that run up to 100 miles in one day. Anyway Dan is going to run across America in 75 days from Los Angeles to New York. The run is sponsored by the Regis and Kelly morning show but the real work is being done by Dean Karnazes.

This endeavour is amazing and the fact is that dean is running not just for the achievement but also for a couple of charities and the bringing of these charities into the public eye, specifically childhood obesity. As a father of two you can imagine how great and important that I think that this issue is.

Dean will be running for 12-14 hours a day, sleeping 5-6 hours a day and running 40-50 miles a day. I could not do this once let alone do it for 75 days.

Lets all cheer on Dean Karnazes and help in any way we can for this great run!

You can follow his progress on the Live with Regis and Kelly site

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With due respect to the huge number of articles written on the benefits of calorie shifting with fat loss 4 idiots, I just wished that the authors of those articles had also taken the time to offer a few easy-go-recipes for the followers of the diet. Regardless, I am going to fill that need with my article

If you have been searching for some good recipes that go well with the concept of calorie shifting, you would be able to find them and more from this article!

For the sake of argument, I am making a few assumptions here, the first of them being that you are quite familiar with the concept of calorie shifting method of dieting. I am also assuming that you are a member of the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet program, which follows the philosophy of calorie shifting diet. Now if those two assumptions are true, then you are going to benefit tremendously from this article. I will offer you a 3-day meal plan based on the dietary requirements of FatLoss4Idiots.

For your information, these meal plans are only for the non-vegetarians; I cannot mention the vegetarian diet here, as it would mean infringing on the copyright of FatLoss4Idiots. If you need the vegetarian version of these meals, you can access that from within their membership area.

Also, note that you are free to consume these meals in any way and order you wish, the only exception being the meal plan of second day. Moreover, if you don’t want to eat a particular food suggested in the meal plan, you are free to do that as well. These meal plans are as flexible as they should be, so that you can enjoy your meals and lose weight at the same time!

Your first day should consist of the following meals:

Meal 1- I) Mixture of vegetables in steamed form: When you are starting the diet, I would recommend that you eat a bowl of steamed vegetables. You can have any number of vegetables you wish in the mix. If however, you choose to eat them fried, make sure you use as little oil as possible; I would also suggest the use of olive oil over your regular fatty oil.

II) Slices of roasted beef and hard boiled eggs: It is important to start building your lean muscle mass right from day one, as more lean muscles means faster fat burning and a stronger and flatter body! Increasing your protein intake is a great way to build strong muscles, and good news is that both lean beef and eggs are rich in protein content!

Meal 2- Your second meal would consist of eggs, this time in scrambled form. Additionally, you should also consume broiled sea bass.

Meal 3- For the third meal, I recommend sausage links along with cottage cheese.

Meal 4- For the fourth meal, broiled orange roughy along with tuna salad would make a great combo, and if you add a few pears to the mix (in fresh form of course), you cannot help but explain ‘Wow!’

You could have the following meals on second day:

Meal 1- For the first meal, you should eat nothing except a deli meat sandwich. To make this sandwich, you should only use the following ingredients:

-Any kind of meat that fits the deli style, such as turkey, ham, roasted beef, etc.

-2 Medium-sized sandwich breads

-Optionally, you can also add onions, tomatoes and lettuce to the mix

Meal 2 to 4- Your next three meals should consist of nothing but fruits. You are however free to choose any fruits from the following: peaches, pears, plums, oranges, strawberries, grapes, grapefruit, apples, kiwis, etc.

These are just examples of the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet Generator type meals. To learn more why not check out the fat loss 4 idiots site now and see what they have to offer.

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Cara Castronouva and Brett Hoebel

I know I am a couple of days late here but I watched the Biggest Loser last night and (hope this is not a spoiler for you) four people actually gained weight. A little horrified on this side of the TV that’s for sure.

OK So a quick update, I have been watching Biggest Loser this season, not the whole episodes but watching kinda while on the computer and yesterday afternoon I watched this weeks episode. So far this season has been interesting with two new coaches and lots of huge people working hard. One of hte things that I am really noticing this season is all the gameplay. Every season the gameplay seems to take over more of what the people are doing.

There are still two teams, the red team is being coached by Cara Castronouva and Brett Hoebel. The black team is being coached by Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper. So far it feels like even though the team with the newcomer coaches have a weight advantage (they are bigger) and the Bob and Jillian team still seem to be doing better.

So this weeks weigh in was strange. There was a lot of people worried about their family members and early on Jennifer gained two pounds and was worried as her dad left last week to save her to stay in the game. While the rest of the people were losing just a bit. Jennifer from the red team was definitely scared because the worst weight loss or gain was getting kicked of and then the worst team would kick one person off.

In this case the second half of the weigh-in caved in. The black team had three people gain weight, all parents trying to make sure their kids would be able to stay. In the end Marci gained a pound, Jesse gained two pounds, and …. wait for this ….. Deni GAINED 8 POUNDS and although it was a lot over the top she called herself the Biggest Winner for keeping her daughter there for at least another week.

I know I can be confusing but the parents of the Black team tanked everything for their kids. I know that it seemed nice but I am sure the coaches are going to snap them back to reality next week.

Deni - Biggest Winner?

So here is how I look at this show. The game play has got ot go on the Biggest Loser. This is irritating this game play and I know that I have railed about it a couple of times over the last couple of seasons but it really does ruin the show.

I get emails and comments on blog posts every week from people hoping that I could help them get on the Biggest Loser (I know no one there sorry) and all these people that are so desperate to get on have to look at these weigh ins and see people tanking a week for others must seem so unfair.

I do not have the answers but with people working out SIX hours a day and eating well you would hop that the show would be more hardcore on the pride of the weight loss and the climb into health instead of some crazy game play. I don’t have the answers but I wish I did, this show that I love so much seems to be turning into Survivor and it is not that kind of show with ruthless lying and deceit.

I sure hope that this was a one off episode of the Biggest Loser and that from here on in everyone buckles down to lose weight.

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natural remedy for kidney stones

Natural remedy For kidney stones are something for any sufferer to look at. If you are suffering from the excruciating pain that kidney stones or renal calculi can cause and your doctor has advised waiting to see if the stone will pass by itself, you could certainly benefit from finding a natural remedy for kidney stones.

Kidney stones are formed by the body from unprocessed minerals in the renal system. Most of them consist of calcium oxalate. They occur in about 10% of the population but men are four times as likely to get them as women. They tend to recur, so that once you have had one, you have a 75% chance of having more in the next 20 years.

It is possible to have them without noticing, because many will pass when very small. You might have a pain when urinating but you probably would not notice that you had passed something that could be as tiny as a grain of sand.

Kidney Stone Cure Book

Larger stones can block the urethra and that is when the severe pain is caused. You may also see blood in the urine. This comes from the lining of the organs being damaged by the uneven surface of the stone. If you have pus or pain during urination you should tell your doctor as this may be a sign of infection.

Even in cases where the stone is large enough to cause pain, the majority of them do pass naturally. There are certain natural remedy for kidney stones you can do to help this happen, or make it happen faster.

The best natural remedy for kidney stones is simply to drink plenty of water. Aim for 2-3 liters spread through the day.

Consuming more soup, fresh fruit and raw vegetables is another way to increase your intake of water, as they contain much more than dry cooked foods and grains. Be careful however to avoid over consumption of oxalate which contributes to the forming of the most common type of stone.

Foods high in oxalate that should be avoided include chocolate, peanuts, rhubarb, spinach, beets and sweet potatoes. Also, cut down on salt and alcohol which have a dehydrating effect, and meat and dairy products which cause uric acid to form in the kidneys.

Some people take diuretics to increase the water flow through the kidneys. Some herbal teas have a diuretic effect, for example dandelion and stinging nettle. Replacing two glasses of water with one of these teas may help the stone to pass more quickly. Unless you have other medical reasons for taking them, prescribed diuretics should not be necessary.

You should strain your urine so that you catch the stone when it passes. Your doctor can have it analyzed to see what minerals it is formed from. This will tell you how you need to alter your diet in future to give you the best chance of preventing a recurrence. For most people, a diet that is lower in protein and salt is recommended.

It may be wise to not to take large doses of vitamins and minerals until you have had your stones or your urine analyzed.

A doctor should always be involved in treatment of renal calculi because of the possibility of infection and complications. A natural remedy for kidney stones should only be used in conjunction with medical advice.

These natural remedy for kidney stones should help you out as we all know how painful kidney stones can be.

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Health Risks of Obesity

One of the issues I deal with every day on this blog are the effects of obesity and I tried to help everyone by giving the fixes. Eat better, exercise, make sure you rest but also live an active lifestyle. The trouble is that I sometimes feel like the problems fall on deaf ears and people just think that tomorrow they will start working on making themselves look better.

Well tomorrow never comes, you have to work at improving your health today.

There are far bigger problems than simply your appearance. Being obese leads to lots of other health problems and this article is about these health risks of obesity. If you want to be scared into change these 10 health risks should do it to you.

There are many health risks of obesity. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a clear definition of obesity. A high BMI is bad for the health of an individual. It shows that the person has a poor, unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity in their life. Obesity makes you weak and slows down your physiological functions. It can even lead to a very serious illness.

There are various diseases that are connected to obesity and they are:

Obese people develop congestible heart failure. This is a condition in which the individual’s heart is not capable of pumping enough blood to the different body organs. In turn, they cannot carry on with their normal physiological functions.

Some people also get an enlarged heart which is usually caused by the thickening of the heart muscle. This happens because of the increased workload of the heart which further increases its size. And this is all because of the excess fat in your body.

Women who are obese have the tendency to develop Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The ovaries develop cysts due to high levels of the male hormone Androgen which is secreted in high amounts. The women end up missing their periods and suffering from menstrual disorders. Some females also develop fibroids, benign growths, in the muscles of the uterus. This disturbs their menstrual cycle, causing pain and heavy bleeding. At times most women also turn infertile due to obesity and this may end up ruining their life. That is why you should try to follow an active lifestyle to stay fit and in good shape.

Obese people develop gastro intestinal problems. They may have growths that act as a valve between the esophagus and stomach. Sometimes they open up spontaneously and cause the stomach contents of the stomach, including its digestive juices, to rise up. The people end up feeling severe heart burn. This medical condition may cause more serious medical complications.

The accumulation of fat can cause liver damage, inflammation and the formation of fibrous tissue in this vital organ. This can cause cirrhosis, which is irreversible liver scaring. This condition may also lead to cancer in the end.

It is always best for you to eat healthy food, drink adequate amounts of water and be physically active. In this way, all your body organs will perform their regular functions perfectly.

This is the term used for development of gall stones. These usually form when the cholesterol levels in the body increase. The gall stones are formed by the hardening of the bile. This hinders the digestion of body fat.

Obesity leads to colorectal cancer. It may promote the development of cancerous growths in the colon, appendix and rectum. This is the second most common type of cancer in the world and obese people fall victim to it mostly.

Obesity is the leading cause of many illnesses, as it weakens the organs of the body and their functioning and lowers immunity. Obese people may suffer from chronic renal failure. This condition is characterized by the gradual and progressive loss of the kidneys’ ability to filter the waste material in the body. This can lead to life threatening situations, if the condition is not treated in due time.

Women usually end up with this problem, as obesity causes loss of bladder control. This lack of control results in mild urine leakages, but it can also turn into uncontrollable wetting. This surely causes great embarrassment. When you are unable to control your bladder, you might suffer from urinary tract infections too. For all these reasons, it’s best to do pelvic exercises that will help you improve your bladder control. These should be accompanied by a weight loss diet as well.

Obesity causes stretch marks that make your skin look ugly and rough. That is why you should try to lose weight in a healthy way by adopting good eating habits and a regular exercise program. This will help you to stay fit and elegant.

Many obese people also have difficulty breathing. Some suffer from sleep apnea. This is a sleep disorder in which the patients stop breathing for short durations of time while asleep and end up with an oxygen deficiency. In extreme obesity cases, patients also end up with Hypoventilation Syndrome. They can’t breathe normal levels of oxygen.

In order to avoid all these diseases caused by obesity, you need a healthy diet and exercise.

James has been writing articles about health issues for over 5 years. Please visit his latest website about Obesity at Obesity Articles, with information relating to Health Risks of Obesity, and with ideas and discussions that anyone suffering from this condition would be interested in.

I hope that these Health Risks of Obesity are a good warning sign to you

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I have seen a bit of info lately on the concept of Endocrine Disruptors and thought it would be a good idea to do a little environmental awareness of this issue

Endocrine disruptors are naturally occurring compounds or man-made chemicals that may interfere with the production or activity of hormones of the endocrine system leading to adverse health effects. Many of these chemicals have been linked with developmental, reproductive, neural, immune, and other problems in wildlife and laboratory animals.

Over the past decade, a growing body of evidence suggests that numerous chemicals, both natural and man-made, may interfere with the endocrine system and produce adverse effects in humans, wildlife, fish or birds. Scientists often refer to these chemicals as “endocrine disruptors.”  These chemicals are found in many of the everyday products we use including some plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.  Although limited scientific information is available on the potential adverse human health effects, concern arises because endocrine disrupting chemicals while present in the environment at very low levels, have been shown to have adverse effects in wildlife species, as well as in laboratory animals at these low levels.  he difficulty of assessing public health effects is increased by the fact that people are typically exposed to multiple endocrine disruptors simultaneously.

Endocrine disruptors are essentially pollution in the air and water systems. The only way to avoid these is to live in a clener atmosphere which for many of us living in or near cities is close to impossible. Follow these tips whenever possible and remember that hte cleaner your diet is the better anyway.

Educate yourself about endocrine disruptors, and educate your family and friends.Buy organic food whenever possible.Avoid using pesticides in your home or yard, or on your pet — use baits or traps instead, keepin your home especially clean to prevent ant or roach infestations.Find out if pesticides are used in your child’s school or day care center and campaign for non-toxic alternatives.Avoid fatty foods such as cheese and meat whenever possible.If you eat fish from lakes, rivers, or bays, check with your state to see if they are contaminated.Avoid heating food in plastic containers, or storing fatty foods in plastic containers or plastic wrap.Do not give young children soft plastic teethers or toys, since these leach potential endocrine disrupting chemicals.Support efforts to get strong government regulation of and increased research on endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The science and society are still at odds with the issue of endocrine disruptors but this does not stop us from being more careful in the way that we eat and live to minimize their effects.

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Free Fitness Book

Well I decided to make a change to the 10 days of fitness ecourse that I created a couple of years ago and have edited ever since. I have not changed the 10+ days of emails into a shiny new ebook in pdf format.

I am really excited about the prospects for people reading this book and hope it changes you as well.

The big driver for this change was to make sure that people would not just learn how to change their life but also to make the changes necessary.

The new fitness ebook is 40 pages and includes questions for you to answer on each day. A big change and something that you can do still in 10 or 12 days.

This book is not meant to be read as much is it meant to be printed and read, and for you to answer the questions so that you can move ahead in your life.

EatingMeal PlanningCardioWeightsRest and SleepWeight LossHow to Gain MuscleAnd a bunch more stuff

So sign up now and pick this up

Let me know what you think about my new free fitness book. I am really excited about this and hope it really changes lives.

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