What’s the Big Deal about Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent FastingWe can often hear advice by nutritionists like “eat frequent but small meals”, “don’t starve” or “don’t skip breakfast“, but it turns out that fasting offers a number of health benefits. It not only reduces risk of cancer and improves cardiovascular health, but it also promotes longevity and gene repair. It is quite true that when a person is in “feast mode,” the body forgoes much of the natural rejuvenation and repair programming. It is also true that most of the disease processes that are initiated in the body are a result of eating too frequently.

When the body is subjected to severe calorie restriction, a person is able to achieve weight loss, but for most people a starvation diet is not an appealing approach for weight loss. But, a number of studies have suggested that a method called “intermittent fasting” can offer the same benefits without causing any health problems. In the olden days, our ancestors did not have access to food all the time. There were no grocery stores and they would eat only at particular times. According to research, this kind of eating habit offers biochemical benefits to the body.

So, is intermittent fasting for you? Does intermittent fasting really work? What kind of health benefits are there when you use this approach? Let’s a take a look at what intermittent fasting really is and whether it offers real benefits. Read more

10 Important Health Benefits of Fiber

10 Important Health Benefits of FiberYou may have heard that eating more fiber is good for health. But what is fiber and why is it good?

Fiber is present in many vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. It is a component of food that is good for relieving constipation. Other than this, there are many health benefits of including more fiber in the diet and it is also not hard to select tasty foods which are rich in fiber. Fiber is not digested by the body. Instead it is passed intact through the stomach to the small intestine and colon and out of the body. Fiber can be classified as soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber is present in apples, carrots, citrus fruits, peas, oats and beans. It dissolves in water. On the other hand, insoluble fiber aids in digestion and is commonly found in potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, wheat bran, whole wheat flour and nuts. Some of the important health benefits of fiber are mentioned below.

1. Promotes heart health

A number of studies have suggested that eating more fiber can promote heart health and prevent diseases related to the heart.

2. Prevents cancer

Including foods high in fiber in the diet can provide protection against many different types of cancers including colon, uterine, ovarian and breast cancer. Read more

The Quickest Ways to Boost Happiness

The Quickest Ways to Boost HappinessEveryone experiences emotional highs throughout their lives in many different ways. It could be child birth, promotion, graduation, new job and so on. But these moments only give temporary happiness. Once the moment is over, the happiness level reduces gradually and over time the moment of happiness becomes memory only. Happiness is directly related to well being and we all know how important that sense of well being is. A happy person also tends to live longer and make the most out of their lives. Happiness can come in various forms, but there are a number of ways in which you can boost your happiness. Given below are some scientifically proven ways that will boost your level of happiness and make you feel better.

Change your attitude

Keeping a positive outlook is a healthy habit. While being an optimist gives happiness, it also prevents heart diseases and strokes. A number of studies conducted at the Harvard University have revealed that optimists are less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases than pessimists. Know that if you are a pessimist you will develop more health problems as you age and this is the reason it is important to change your attitude from now. With a positive outlook, you will become a better and a much happier person. Read more

Pros And Cons Of Drinking Coffee

Pros And Cons Of Drinking CoffeeHaving a cup of coffee in the morning, one at lunch time and one in the afternoon when chatting with friends or families or while in the office may be a routine for many people. But have you ever considered what coffee can do to your health? Does coffee have any real nutritional value? Is it healthy for you? Drinking coffee can give you important perks, but there are some drawbacks as well that you must consider if you love your coffee. In this article, we take a look at some of the pros and cons of drinking coffee.

Pros:

Reduces risk of diabetes

According to a number of studies, drinking at least 4 cups of coffee a day can help reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes by 30 percent. Polyphenols are a type of molecule contained in coffee that can help prevent inflammatory illnesses including Type 2 diabetes. In addition, coffee contains chromium and magnesium which can be helpful for reducing the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity. Read more

7 Reasons to Eat Dark Chocolate

7 Reasons to Eat Dark ChocolateAlthough chocolate is high in calories and may not seem to offer any health benefits, dark chocolate can be good for you in a number of ways. Not many people will believe this, but consuming dark chocolate offers many health benefits. Let’s take a look at what these health benefits are:

Prevents Heart Diseases

Dark chocolates contain high amounts of flavonoids. Flavonoids are compounds similar to antioxidants and protect cells from free radicals in the body. Free radicals are toxic molecules which are produced when breaking down of food takes place in the body or when the body is exposed to smoke or excessive sunlight. Cell damage is mainly caused due to the presence of free radicals which can lead to heart diseases.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Dark chocolate can also help produce Nitric Oxide in the body. Nitric Oxide or NO is a gas which helps the arteries to relax and this effect in turn helps lower blood pressure. Read more

The Wondrous Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds

Benefits of Pumpkin SeedsThe first thing that comes to mind when pumpkin is mentioned is just Halloween. Pumpkin is popular during Halloween seasons since they are used to make Jack o lanterns, sweet soup and even pies that can be shared among friends and families. Most people store pumpkin seeds so that they can use them later to grow other pumpkins. Well, this is a good thing to do but have you considered the benefits that these seeds have to the body? Below are some of the benefits of pumpkin seeds to the body:

Solution to heart problems
Pumpkin has got substantial amount of magnesium which is very essential to the body’s physiological growth. This is inclusive of the heart’s proper functioning, bone formation, DNA synthesis, bowel function and tooth formation. Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that magnesium is a vital relaxation substance in the body.
¼ serving of magnesium carries approximately ½ the recommended amount of magnesium that a human being should take in. this magnesium carries out several physiological functions including: RNA and DNA synthesis, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) creation and the mere function of relaxing the blood vessels as earlier mentioned. Read more

Tips To Keep Your Cholesterol under Control

Keep Your Cholesterol Under ControlCholesterol is important to the body but this only happens if this cholesterol is kept at certain recommended levels. Excess cholesterol in the body is risky as this could easily lead to heart diseases. The good news is that it is easy to maintain or control your cholesterol levels. You will not have to incur a lot in trying to ensure that you live healthily by having the required cholesterol levels. Below are essential tips to keep in mind if you want to the control cholesterol in your system.

Consuming the good fats
There is a misconception that fats should totally be avoided when trying to maintain your cholesterol levels. This is not true considering the fact that there are those fats considered to be healthy to the body. The best forms of fats are those that are monounsaturated and contain fatty acids. If it is a problem avoiding the bad fats, try to reduce the intake to less than 10%.
So where do you get the good fats from? These fats are obtained from foods such as fish (salmon, sea bass and tuna). Fish is a natural source of omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are essential to the body as they help in preventing blood clots that eventually lead to heart attacks, strokes etc. It is also important to note that LDL levels can be vastly reduced by eating unsaturated fats e.g. from fish and veggies.

Cut down on foods that contain cholesterol
While trying to maintain your cholesterol levels, it is very essential to choose your foods wisely. For example, foods that contain a lot of cholesterol should be avoided at all cost. Read more

Health Benefits of Corn

corn benefitsIn this era that we are living in, it is imperative to put some things aside and consider the health benefits that those products bring to us. For example, corn is a plant that most people ignore forgetting the importance that it has in ensuring that people live healthier lifestyles. There are several health benefits of having corn in your diet and this critique will sample the most important of them all.

Rich in calories
Most of the times you probably have heard your medical expert giving you advice on taking in calories. As a matter of fact, healthy individuals should digest some calories on a regular basis. Calories are very important to the body since they offer energy to the body to carry out metabolism. Corn is a good source of calories. In every 100g of corn you would be gaining 324 calories. In comparison to other cereals, corn is considered to be best source of calories. Therefore, to ensure that your body has enough energy and also help in weight control, consider having corn as part of your regular meal. Read more

Food You Must Eat To Improve Your Heart Health

Food To Improve Your Heart HealthHave you ever wondered how it would be like if cheeseburgers, nachos and Krispy Kreme were the best foods to eat to solve your heart problems? Or rather if French fries, fried chicken and sundaes would assist in weight reduction? Well, certainly if this happened earth would be the best planet to be in. unfortunately, this is not the case since for one to be healthy there are several foods here and there that one should avoid at all cost. In real life, some of the most important foods that you should be looking for include: Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cantaloupe and spinach. These foods might not be compelling as such but they are the best to gain you the right form of health.

Over the years, heart diseases have become a leading cause of death more so in the United States. Auspiciously, health experts have worked day and night to make certain that solutions are found to this menace. A while ago fats and alcohol were considered to be a danger to one’s health but this has changed after in-depth studies have been carried out. The trick is simply eating the good fats and doing away with the bad ones. Also, drinking alcohol moderately is recommended. Without doubt, fats and alcohol would not be the only foods that you would be eating. There are other foods that you should incorporate to make sure that you live a healthy lifestyle. Read more

Health Benefits of Broccoli

Benefits of BroccoliLiving a healthy life has become the talk of the century. These days people are more concerned about what they eat rather than just eating anything that they are served with. It is for this reason that probably you are going through this critique trying to find out whether the broccoli you are planning to shop for is of benefit to your health. Well, certainly broccoli is very important to the body as it offers a wide array of nutrients to ensure that you are healthy and happy. Below are some of the most important benefits that broccoli would have on your health.

Prevention of cancer
Broccoli is well known to contain glucoraphanin. This compound is normally processed by the body to form sulforaphane which is a compound that helps in prevention of cancer in the body. Sulforaphane ensures that the body gets rid of H. pylori as this bacterium would only lead to gastric cancer. Medics also argue that broccoli is rich in indole-3-carbinol. This is an ati-carcinogen and also an antioxidant that helps in prevention of several types of cancer including: breast cancer, prostate cancer and cervical cancer. This ability of fight cancer in the body is also evident in other vegetables e.g. Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower. Read more

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