Posts Tagged ‘women’
Using Chocolate for Health: Be Sure It’s The Right Kind!
Almost daily in the news we see reports of chocolate’s health benefits. It’s a potent antioxidant, and is chock-full of chemicals and nutrients that have been attributed to making us happy. Yet many of us remain skeptical; eating lots of chocolate doesn’t seem to make us feel better, and in fact can lower energy levels for awhile. So what gives? If chocolate is such a miracle food, shouldn’t we be able to eat it all the time, without guilt and feel great? Well, yes, we can, but the way chocolate is prepared is crucial to unlocking its true potential as a health food. If you’d like to learn how to have a healthy dose of chocolate daily, read on…
Like so many things in our modern world, its the processing of chocolate that makes all the difference. This isn’t just the New Age Hippy types saying this either (as one, the author feels comfortable making this statement). The scientists measuring all the chemicals in our food, telling us which bits are good and which are bad are saying it to. It’s RAW, minimally-processed chocolate that’s the miracle food. Un-roasted, un-cooked plain old powdered chocolate, better known as ‘Cacao’, is far superior in every way for your health. It’s called a ’superfood’ by many, as it’s list of super-good for you super-nutrients is extensive. Note that ‘organic’ does not mean ‘raw’. Even the premium organic hot-chocolate powders found in the high-end health food stores is still roasted and usually processed with alkali (called ‘Dutch Processing’, making it easier to dissolve in water, and destroying most of the antioxidants at the same time). This means that 99% of the chocolate products on the shelves are NOT the superfood you wished they were, but it also points the direction to how to include chocolate in your life on an exceptionally health daily basis. We’ll get to some recipes in a moment, but first a few points to help you remember why raw chocolate is where it’s at.
First the question of Caffeine. Many folks are sensitive to caffeine’s effect on their nervous system. It raises blood pressure, shortens tempers and keeps people awake. And we all know chocolate has caffeine in it, right? But what form is it in? Research done by homeopaths indicates a significant difference on the stimulating effects of chocolate depending on whether it’s been heated or not. A drink made with roasted chocolate evoked excitement of the nervous system that did not occur with unroasted chocolate. Alteration of chemical structures through heat is common, and occurs in the case of chocolate. The roasting process involves heating the beans between 250 and 350 degrees F for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Anecdotal reports of individuals moving from coffee or yerba mate as their morning drink to a cup of hot chocolate report gentle stimulating effects without anxiety, as their other drinks had produced. Even very sensitive people who do not do well with any form of caffeine report positive results with raw chocolate; nothing at all like the effects produced by coffee or caffeinated teas.
Next the question of anti-oxidants. Chocolate has been discovered to have exceptionally high quantities of important polyphenols. A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry was titled: “Cocoa Has More Phenolic Phytochemicals and Higher Antioxidant Capacity than Teas and Red Wine.” It’s hard to argue with that. Here again the question of raw arises: One report notes that while roasted chocolate is made up of five-percent antioxidants, raw chocolate contains twice as much at ten percent. Another important note is the addition of milk to make milk chocolate. Research has shown that the addition of milk actually cancels-out the positive effects of chocolate’s antioxidants. And milk may be one of the reasons many people seem to be allergic to chocolate, as lactose intolerance is fairly common. Another chocolate myth is some individuals break out when ingesting high amounts; reports indicate that raw chocolate does not cause this response, and that it may be the refined fats and sugars present in most chocolate products producing this effect.
Finally, the question of mood-enhancing neurochemicals and precursors. Chocolate contains significant quantities of the essential amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan intake has recently been collated with neurogenesis, the development of new brain cells, and both long and short term memory. The presence of tryptophan is critical for the production of serotonin, a primary neurotransmitter associated with mood (Prozac works on the principal of enhancing the action of serotonin). Once in the body tryptophan reacts with vitamins B6 and B3 in the presence of magnesium (all present in raw chocolate) to produce serotonin. Enhanced serotonin function assists in diminishing anxiety and stress – ccording to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, serotonin is literally our “stress-defense shield.” Tryptophan is heat sensitive and is often deficient in many cooked-food diets, even when animal protein intake is high. In addition to tryptophan (but not heat sensitive) chocolate also contains PEA, the ‘love hormone’ and Anandamide the ‘bliss chemical’.
Convinced? Ready for a little raw chocolate power? First its critical to find a good source; make sure the chocolate you’re buying is raw – it’s most often labeled as ‘Cacao’, the name for the raw chocolate beans and the tree on which they grow. Cacao nibs are small pieces of pure raw chocolate that can be eaten straight, or mixed with other healthy snacks like dried fruits. But the best-loved raw chocolate preparation is the original chocolate drink: hot chocolate. Now it won’t be hot enough for long enough to convert any chemicals or to cook the chocolate, just to make it a warm comforting drink – and of course, heating the water isn’t necessary at all (though in recipes calling for Coconut oil, it helps to blend the oil into the drink). So to make a cup, use powdered raw chocolate (grinding the nibs or beans in a coffee grinder can work, though you’ll find this challenging as the natural oils in the chocolate will heat up and liquefy before the grinding is complete, leaving little crunchy bits). Put one or two tablespoons powdered chocolate, one to two teaspoons raw dark agave nectar (a low-glycemic index natural sweetner) and one to two teaspoons of Coconut oil in a blender. Add eight to twelve ounces almost-boiling water and blend for ten seconds. That’s it! You’ll find your personal favorite formula after a few preparations – more or less chocolate, oil, sweetener or water.
There are many, many recipes available online and in books about raw chocolate. Some favorite additions to the drink are Maca (Peruvian Ginseng), essential oils like Vanilla, Peppermint or Orange (just one drop is often enough) or a little powdered cinnamon. Raw chocolate bars for your family are very easy to make, really just by omitting the water and adjusting the oil and sweetener ratios to make a thick chocolate paste. Add some chopped nuts if you like, press into a casserole dish and put it in the refrigerator long enough to make it firm. Experiment; it’s chocolate! You’re supposed to have fun. And with raw chocolate, it might be the most fun you can have eating while positively and naturally benefiting your health.
These are only a few suggestions of aromas you may enjoy in your home. See the wonderful selection of aromatherapy products at The Ananda Apothecary for more.
Tags: alternative health, chocolate, cooking, diet, Diet and Exercise, food, Health, home, natural health, women
Top Four Abs Diet Recipes for Great Abs
Angelina Jolie went on a protein diet to get toned and toughened abs for her “Tomb Raider” role and John Travolta was able to successfully shed his used-to-be ample gut for his shirtless scene in his film “Basic”, now it’s your turn to enjoy great abs through abs diet recipes. If you are ready to take the first step to having great abs, then use the abs diet recipes given here for your next meal.
Abs Diet Recipes – Women
1. Cereal Meal for Abs
Ingredients:
1 cup fiber-rich cereal 1 cup evaporated milk 1 cup blueberries Ice cubes Two tablespoons whey powder 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions to follow:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until you get a smooth texture. Crush ice cubes and mix it in the blender to increase volume. Cereal meal for abs is one of the best abs diet recipes for women dreaming to have beautiful abs. Cereal meal for abs can provide you sugar (18.7 g), sodium (131.8 mg), carbohydrates (31.9 g), and protein (9.5 g).
2. Brazilian Chicken
Ingredients:
5 pieces chicken breast halves (skinless and boneless) Dried Italian seasoning (1 spoon) Tomato sauce (8 ounces) Flaxseed ground (1 tablespoon) Garlic cloves (minced) Hot pepper salsa (1 spoon) Concentrated orange juice (6 ounces) Lime and lemon (1 piece) Chunky salsa (1 cup)
Directions:
Among all the abs diet recipes available, this recipe is perhaps one of the simplest. For the first step, create fragmented lime and lemon and place the lemon fragments in a separate bag. Set chunky salsa and chicken breast halves aside. Mix the other ingredients. Use the mixture added with lime and lemon fragments to marinate the chicken breast halves in a bag. Grill the chicken for around 15-20 minutes or until brown. Use the chunky salsa as your chicken sauce. This recipe is really effective for those who want to have great abs because it will give you approximately 0.5 gram of saturated fat, 7.4 grams of sugar, 2.5 grams of fat, 29.1 grams proteins, and 17.8 grams of carbs.
Men’s Abs Diet Recipes
1. Abs Burger Diet – Ingredients:
Salt and pepper Two spoons of Mexican cheese One cup chopped spinach Half cup oats Onions Egg Ground beef
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients with the whisked egg. You should be able to form patties from continuously stirring the mixture. Cook your patties and enjoy it for great abs.
2. Diet Cake – Ingredients:
Diet Sprite Cake Mix Orange Jello
Mix diet sprite and cake mix and pour the mixture into a pan and bake until brown. Divide the combination of orange jello and water among the cakes.
Try the abs diet recipes given above and you will surely enjoy good health and of course great abs. Why? Well, it’s because the recipes given above consist of fatty acids, vitamins, glutamine, minerals, and proteins -5 of the most important nutrients required to have great abs!
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Tags: Diet and Exercise, dieting, exercise, fat loss, Health, nutrition, sports, weight loss, women
The Inaccuracy Regarding Late Night Meals
It is common knowledge that one should not indulge in excessive eating late at night. The belief is that if you’re sleeping then you’re not using the energy and so it will end up on your hips for eternity.
Is this in fact true, or is this simply another myth, inaccurately propagated through the years? Let’s take a look at some facts that will answer this question.
It is true that energy not used up by your body is stored as fat, this is not a myth. If our calorie intake is greater than our calorie usage then we will see this reflected in our weight in the form of fat.
Calories that are burnt are not only the ones that we have just consumed and therefore the idea of us gaining weight due to eating late at night is not true.
Our bodies never cease to burn calories, in everything we do, even during sleep. We are constantly using energy in every task we perform no matter how big or little, there are continuous processes that are ongoing within our bodies that we are unaware of.
We all know that it wouldn’t be a healthy option for us to starve for more than 12 hours but that is effectively what is being done when we skip our evening meals. Your bodies need a regular supply of nutrients to stay healthy and in top form.
It is obvious however to avoid sugary foods late at night, in fact it’s a good thing to avoid these at any time of the day but if eaten at night they will keep you awake for longer and when you finally do sleep your sleep will be a disturbed one.
Since getting a good night’s sleep is of utmost importance, you’ll want to avoid anything that may get in the way of this. Otherwise, you should know that eating foods late at night is no different from eating them during any time of the day.
Enjoy more of this author’s articles about topics like wireless style electrical switches and how to hire a great licensed electrical contractor.
Tags: diet, Diet and Exercise, education, exercise, fitness, food, free, Health, nutrition, reference, self improvement, sleep, teens, weight loss, women
Are Triceps Kickbacks Useful For Reducing Arm Fat?
Having an idea of which exercises are a waste of time is just as important as having an idea of which exercises are the best. Unfortunately, some of the most prescribed arm exercises are extremely ineffective.
Why does this happen?
I believe the root of the problem lies in tradition. There are certain exercises that women have been doing for so long that they keep on doing them without any questioning, not good.
The good news is that I’ve been figuring all this stuff out for quite some time now. And I’m ready to share my knowledge because I believe that every woman deserves sexy arms.
So without further delay, here is my review of triceps kickbacks for getting toned arms:
1. Snapshot: This movement has two enormous drawbacks. First, you are limited to using very light weights. Not good for maximum arm toning. Second, exercising one arm at a time is as inefficient as it gets.
2. Technical overview: Find a low bench. Place one of your hands on it while leaning forward with knees slightly bent. Use your free hand to grasp a weight. Keep the same arm aligned with your torso. Lift the weight by straightening out your arm. Slowly lower it and repeat.
3. High frequency mistakes: Not keeping the elbows frozen in place. Jerking the dumbbell up and down. And not using the full range of movement.
4. Final word: I know a lot of women do this exercise and a lot of trainers recommend it, but this doesn’t mean that you should do it. In fact, this is the most overrated exercise for toning the triceps area.
The key to getting rid of flabby arms is to do things that give you results in the shortest amount of time possible. Please do not waste your time doing ineffective exercises. There are much better exercises that will get you much faster results.
Author Katherine Crawford, a Harvard exercise expert and recent arm fat sufferer, teaches women how to lose arm flab quickly. Learn how to get sexy arms by visiting her website about how to get skinny arms once and for all now!
Tags: beauty, Diet and Exercise, exercise, exercises, fat, fat loss, fitness, Health, metabolism, weight loss, weight loss program, weight-lifting, wellness, women, workout
Get The Best Benefits With Xtend Life Vitamins
The topic about aging is commonly avoided especially when we realize its unwanted effects to our body and appearance. The degradation in our natural resources and environment makes the air and water that we take unsafe. Consuming foods treated with pesticides and chemicals plus the lack of physical activity even accelerates the aging process. Thus, it makes it requires great effort to maintain healthy living. Let us determine the benefits of Xtend Life Vitamins.
During the onset of middle age is the appropriate time to begin working on continuing to feel well for as long as possible by trying to practice healthy living. Most people in their later years are struggling with some uncomfortable symptom or lamenting about aging, if only I would have taken better care of myself. In order to avert this, you need to make the right choice early on in life.
There are a wide variety of anti-aging systems available all over the globe and even accessible via the internet. You will find that there are clinical treatments, massages, therapies, products and health regimens for a holistic approach into having a healthier lifestyle eventually leading to longer life.
Eating healthy does not automatically provide the body with all the nutrients that are essential for its optimum function. By supplementing your diet with these vitamins, it will satisfy the needs of the body in order to meet the demands and stress of everyday life. It has the essential requirements that provide for the normal functioning of our body to ward off any illness.
Aside from allowing the body to perform at its peak, Xtend Life vitamins, can forestall the risk of disease and extend life. Granting that it is taken as a supplement on a daily basis, a long and healthy life is laid out for you. It has a mechanism to optimize health in effect making the body appear younger.
It acts as the bodys helper in performing its many functions which makes you can obtain a younger look, enjoy a longer life and a healthy body. All it requires is a sensible habit, Xtend Life Vitamins.
You can be assured that Xtend Life Vitamins is of premium quality. Check their website for all the details you want to know now – http://www.bestnutritionsupplements.com
Tags: beauty, diet, Diet and Exercise, fitness, food, Health, men, nutrition, relationships, society, sports, supplements, travel, Vitamins, women
A Review Of Dietary Fat For Getting Toned Arms
I believe that the majority of the population understands how important dietary fat is. What’s so special about it? Well, it plays a critical role in the production of fat-incinerating hormones.
Also, dietary fat plays a major role in slowing down digestion. And slower digestion translates into less insulin and more arm-fat burning.
Thus, here is a quick summary of dietary fat for losing arm fat:
1. Subcutaneous fat: Also known as triglycerides, this type of fat is what obscures muscle definition. In other words, it prevents most women from getting great arm tone. It can also be considered a storage fat.
2. Saturated fat: This is a very unhealthy fat for the female body. Not only does it stiffen arteries but it also causes insulin resistance. The good news is that you don’t have to completely eliminate it from your diet. Just make sure that no more than 10% of your total caloric intake comes from saturated fat.
3. Mono fat: Short for monounsaturated fat, this is a great fat for cooking food because it doesn’t break down at high temperatures. You should include a hefty amount of this fat in your diet for optimal health.
4. Polyunsaturated fat: Omega-3 fats fall into this category. They are great for speeding up arm fat loss and have been touted as some of the most healthy molecules you can put in your body.
5. Trans fatty acids: You should stay away from these at all costs. They cause some serious damage at the cellular level. It’s estimated that they’re responsible for 30,000 U.S. deaths per year. Processed foods are usually laden with trans fats.
If you really want to get rid of bingo wings, you have to have a serious amount of healthy fat in your diet. Do not avoid fat just because it’s higher in calories. It simply does too much good for the female body.
Author Katherine Crawford, a Harvard exercise physiologist and recent arm fat victim, is an expert on upper arm toning exercise. Learn how to get toned arms now by visiting her blog on how to get rid of jiggly arm fat.
Tags: beauty, diet, Diet and Exercise, dietary supplements, exercise, fat, fitness, food, Health, metabolism, nutrition, weight loss, weight loss program, wellness, women
