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Showing posts from October, 2008

Best 20 Superfoods For Weight Loss

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After reading a fantastic article over at Self Magazine, I believe it’s time for a new slim-down mantra for everyone! ‘Eat more to weigh less’. This isn’t some late night infomercial pitch we should all run from! It’s all about the basics, the right foods help you drop pounds by revving your calorie burn and curbing cravings. The magazine consulted top experts for the best picks and asked leading chefs for easy, tasty ways to prepare them. Add these eats to your plate today and you’ll be slimmer and healthier in no time! Steak Beef has a rep as a diet buster, but eating it may help you peel off pounds. In a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women on a diet that included red meat lost more weight than those eating equal calories but little beef. “The protein in steak helps you retain muscle mass during weight loss,” says study author Manny Noakes, Ph.D. Try to consume local organic beef; it’s healthier for you and the environment. Eat more Grill or bro

Baking soda to whiten your teeth

I’m getting hooked on DIY beauty! Because it’s fun, it’s healthy and it’s cheap! Here’s my experience with using baking soda to whiten my teeth. It works! Okay, don’t expect the sort of sparkling white teeth you see on celebrities but baking soda will take off some of the coffee and tea stains and give you a cleaner looking set of teeth. Baking soda to brush teeth is safe This is one of the most popular and safest DIY methods to whiten your teeth naturally. There are some DIY suggestions of using lemon juice or strawberries but those could do more harm by eroding the calcium in your teeth or cause tooth cavities. However, you want to know that baking soda is pretty abrasive on contact. So on some forums, the advice is to dig a toothbrush into the baking soda and then to start brushing. Well, not very good. You’ll find that your gums hurt quite a bit this way. The best way I have found through trial and error is to mix the baking soda with toothpaste. Baking soda mixed with toothpaste

Newest Breakthroughs in Breast Cancer

By Sunny Sea Gold, PARADE Major advances in the treatment and detection of breast cancer in the last two decades have saved the lives of millions of women. Since 1990, mortality rates have decreased dramatically—by 3.3 percent a year in women under 50 and by 2 percent a year in older women. Experts say that breakthroughs made in the past few years, however, may have an even greater impact in the fight against breast cancer. Here are five reasons researchers are excited—and hopeful. Clearer screenings Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), best known for its use in brain scans, is now revolutionizing breast-cancer screening and diagnosis in high-risk women. Unlike mammography, which identifies lumps and calcifications, MRI uses contrast to look at blood vessels, which can't be obscured by breast implants or naturally dense tissue. Since the blood supply to malignant cells differs from healthy cells, the cancers appear as bright spots on the digital image. "The downside of MRI is tha

Apples for Your Heart?

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A new study shows apples may protect against metabolic syndrome. By Joyce Hendley, EatingWell.com Can eating an apple help protect you from metabolic syndrome—a cluster of symptoms related to an increased risk of heart disease? It's possible, say researchers who analyzed data from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In the survey, people who reported consuming any form of apples within the past day were 27 percent less likely to have symptoms of metabolic syndrome—like high blood pressure or a waist measurement of more than 40 inches (for men) or 35 inches (for women)—compared to those who didn't. The apple eaters also had lower levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation whose presence in the blood suggests an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. While a one-day snapshot doesn’t represent a long-term dietary pattern, the study shows that eating apples "is associated with broad metabolic advantages," notes lead investig

Foods That Fight Fat Over 40

Ready to get slimmer and feel younger? Add these foods to your diet and you'll gain nutrients as well as lose pounds. By the Editors of Prevention Boost the benefits of your workout and burn more fat, faster, with these seven smart food choices. Add them to your daily diet and you can shed about 10 pounds over the course of a year. Water with lemon A California study of 240 women found that dieters who replaced their sweetened drinks with water lost an average of 3 pounds more a year than those who didn't. Subjects who sipped more than 4 cups of water a day lost 2 additional pounds, compared with those who drank less. Plus, the phosphoric acid in soda may contribute to bone loss—and osteoporosis—by changing the acid balance in your blood. High-fiber granola bars A small British study found that women who eat a fiber-rich, high-carb breakfast burn twice as much fat during workouts later in the day as those who eat more refined (lower-fiber) foods. Try a granola bar with at least

Are we headed for a depression? (Yes, in 2010)

Harry Dent's New Forecast I n a recent article from Canadian Business Online , Harry Dent explains why his forecast for the Dow's high was way off. Basically, Dent says that he underestimated the strength of the bull market in commodities and the negative geopolitical environment. Dent's overall outlook for the future goes like this: The U.S. economy will be in recession between June and October. That will take the pressure off commodities, which will fall throughout the second-half of 2008. Later this year into early next, a rally in stocks will follow. But then? That’s it. “Between mid- to late 2009 and late 2010, runaway commodity markets collide with the broad peaking of the baby-boom spending wave, and that’s going to create a crash,” says Dent. “The boomers will be spending until late 2009. After that, the extra support the boomers delivered is going to progressively fall out of the economy, and that’s going to be the final nail in the coffin on the postwar exp

50 beauty tips

1 If your favourite nail polish is not looking so hot place a little nail polish remover into the bottle, put lid back on and shake well, this will give you a few more applications. 2 Applying eyeshadow on top of eyeliner with a damp cotton wool bud will keep the eyeliner in place for longer. 3 Lightly spraying a mist over a fully made up face will set the make up and keep it in place for longer – great for brides and nights out or those extra hours at the office! 4 Eye drops placed into the eye during the day will make the eyes sparkle and help to relieve tiredness from use of the computer – great to have in your bag or on the desk. 5 Vaseline applied to feet helps keep them

Iron Rich Fools

Iron is a mineral found in some foods, which is essential for good health and for physical and mental well-being. It has three main roles: Carrying oxygen around the body. Every cell in the body needs oxygen. There is iron in the haemoglobin of red blood cells, and it carries oxygen from your lungs to wherever it is needed. Ensuring a healthy immune system. The cells which fight infection and defend the body against foreign organisms depend on adequate stores of iron. So if your iron stores are low your body is more prone to infections. Making energy. Iron is essential in the chemical reactions that produce energy from food. So if your iron levels are low then your body may not be able to use all the energy available to it. Iron is notoriously low

Best Exercises to Do at Your Desk

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Can't get out of the office? Try these tips for a healthier, less stressful workday. By Courtney Myers for Forbes.com The word exercise comes from the Latin exercere , meaning to keep busy or at work. But what the typical adult does at work is sit in a desk chair for eight hours, plus a sitting-down commute both ways and an evening spent in front of the TV. This is a recipe for ruin. Sitting all day increases our risk for obesity and puts us at risk for back pain, poor posture, leg cramps, tense muscles and sheer boredom. In Pictures: Best Exercises to Do At Your Desk Here's something you can do about it. Exercise is simply the act of keeping your body busy, using your muscles and bones while your heart keeps pumping. You may feel you have no time to do any such thing amid all the rapid-fire e-mails and six-person conference calls (and reading Web articles like this one). You're not alone. With unemployment up at a 5-year high of 6.1 percent, more of us are buckling down in

Back to Breakfast

By Sally Lehrman, EatingWell.com In many households, the meal once known as breakfast has faded toward extinction, replaced by nutrient snack bars, toaster pastries and other convenience foods that can be grabbed and eaten on the run. One recent study showed that Americans skip breakfast or eat it on the go 21 percent of the time. Children and young adults, especially, bypass breakfast altogether in increasing numbers. Curiously, the evidence has never been stronger that a wholesome breakfast is good for you. Over the past few years, nutritionists have been studying the metabolic effects of a morning meal and learning that breakfast does wonders for performance at work and school, prolongs longevity and wards off cardiovascular disease and unwanted pounds. Lester Breslow, professor and dean emeritus at the UCLA School of Public Health, has been following a sample population in Alameda County, California, since 1965. By now the most senior people in the group are more than 100 years old

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Get heart-healthy levels of omega-3 fatty acids by eating fish twice a week and eating walnuts, flaxseeds and their oils.

Apples: The Live Longer Fruit

The beginning of autumn means that we're entering apple season, which will be a time of cider, desserts, and the crisp, wholesome goodness of the fruit freshly picked from your local orchard. Apples have been a staple of healthy eating for many years, and the often-repeated line of an apple a day keeping the doctor away is far from a myth. Apples really do have a wonderful variety of nutritional benefits, and are a tasty addition to any diet of good health and longevity. Of all of the fruits we eat, apples are the best source of pectin, a natural fiber that has several health benefits. Apples also contain phytochemicals, quercetin, tannins, and antioxidants, all of which have different healthy properties. Below is a list of the top five benefits of making apples a standard part of your daily diet. 1. Apples improve the bowels. Pectin is a source of dietary fiber and a very handy nutrient to have in one's diet. While it is also found in citrus fruits, plums, and other fruits, a

Basic Weight Loss Mistakes

A lot of us are out there watching what we eat and exercising, but still not making a dent in our bellies and body weight. There are a few things we are probably not doing, or doing too much of, that would mean major improvements in our health. Get more sleep. After a very short period of time (about 6 nights), studies show that your glucose levels can rise if you get only 4 to 7 hours of sleep each night. New parents are excluded, but everyone else should try to hit the 8 hour mark as often as you can and get to bed BEFORE midnight. Every hour of rest before 12 a.m. is twice as valuable as the hours after midnight: Our cortisol levels are lowest before midnight therefore our recovery is the highest. Eating fewer refined and processed foods. Avoid fast and fried food and try to consume as many real foods as you can. It's also imperative to get enough fiber (helps with elimination); fruits and veggies are a great way to fill up. Avoid sugary drinks and reach for more water. W