Are you aware that while you are on a diet, if no one looks at you what you are eating, then that food item doesn’t have any calories! Obviously, there is absolutely no truth in this, but unfortunately many people think this way.
Weight loss, contrary to the popular belief, is not a taboo and can be achieved if approached with care. Of the numerous weight loss techniques available in the market today, there are a few which have proven their mettle. While trusting your body to weight loss, you need to know which weight reduction therapy to choose and which to avoid. Let us now discuss some truths about slimming.
Weight Loss has always been on the top if our minds. We often wonder whether weight loss could be had through the various tried and tested techniques. In the midst, we often mistake weight loss for an effective tool to get rid of our depression. Well, choosing weight is not all that stressful and it merely needs a slight push in the right direction. Here is how, you can slim down.
You know that it’s time for that wedding diet. It’s not that your lover has said anything, you know they wouldn’t. But you want to lose that weight before your wedding.
Diet by definition is the food that a person or animal eats. The right diet, or food you consume can make the difference between staying overweight or losing weight. These tips will help you take off some extra pounds and keep them off!
Would you like to get rid of your neck fat? There are a couple of reason why you might have neck fat, you may be getting into your old age, or the main cause because your over weight. In this article I will discuss some ways to help you with your neck fat problem.
This time of year is very popular with weight loss clubs. Most of us who have overeaten at Christmas and New Year are desperate to get that weight off. But how many people stick to their weight loss resolution. Maybe this isn’t the best time of year to start a diet. But maybe there are some tips that can help to keep us on the straight and narrow
(NaturalNews) Research has shown that a flavor enhancer found in many popular foods known as monosodium glutamate (MSG) causes weight gain and obesity in lab animals by damaging the appetite regulation center in the area of the brain known as the hypothalamus, causing leptin resistence. Leptin is the hormone that controls how much a person feels like eating. The fullness, gratification and satisfaction that come from having eaten is completely lost when MSG is consumed, leading to an urge to eat that never stops. A recent cross-sectional study in China supports the conclusion that what was seen in the animal studies also applies to people.
Study finds using MSG can make you fat
The study, reported in the August edition of Obesity examined the association between MSG intake and weight gain in humans. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study involving 752 healthy Chinese people ages 40-59. These people were randomly sampled from three rural villages in north and south China. Forty-eight percent were women. The great majority of the participants prepared their foods at home, without use of commercially processed foods. For the study, participants were told to add quantified amounts of MSG when preparing their foods. Eighty-two percent of the participants were MSG users. Their average intake was 330 milligrams per day.
After adjusting for confounders including physical activity and total energy intake, the researchers found that MSG consumption was positively related to increases in body mass index. Weight gain was significantly greater in MSG users than in nonusers. For the third of participants using the highest amount of MSG, the odds of reaching overweight status were between 2.10 and 2.75 greater than for nonusers.
MSG is an excitotoxin that causes brain damage
MSG is a food additive found in almost all commercially prepared and packaged food. It supercharges the taste of food, but not in the way you would think. MSG operates on the brain, fooling it into thinking food tastes really great. MSG is an excitotoxin in the brain, meaning that it over stimulates the brain causing the production of excessive amounts of dopamine. This creates a drug-like rush that provides a brief sensation of well being. It is highly addictive, causing its consumers to keep coming back for more and end up overeating. In the process, brain cells are destroyed.
Because MSG damages the brain and alters the ability of the brain to respond to the signal from the hormone leptin that satiety has occurred, it is a prime culprit in the epidemic of obesity that has everyone scratching their heads as to cause. Several research studies have shown that ingestion of MSG induces obesity in rats. In fact, when researchers want to fatten up lab rats for experiments, they feed them MSG because its effect is so predictable and rats will bulk up with regularity. MSG destroys the hard wiring in the brain of a rat like it does in the brain of a person.
Corporations that sell processed food love MSG because it makes cheap ingredients taste great. The success of their highly addictive branded flavors depends on their ability to stimulate the brain and create a repetitive response to these products. Instead of creating a quality product that tastes good on its own merits, processed food producers just lace a low integrity food product with MSG without regard for the negative effects it will have on the person who eats this product.
One of corporate America’s best friends, the FDA, has said for many years that consumption of MSG is safe, and has condoned its use as an additive flavor enhancer in countless processed and branded food products. As obesity has reached epidemic proportions in American society, the FDA has purposefully ignored the steady stream of research showing its obesity producing effects.
MSG also promotes liver inflammation and dysplasia
Chronic inflammation is a common theme in a variety of disease pathways, including autoimmune diseases. It is a concern due to its increasing prevalence in the westernized world and its direct correlation with lifestyle factors, particularly the diet. Diet caused liver damage may lead to liver cancer. In a study reported in the February-March, 2008 edition of the Journal of Autoimmunity, researchers reported that injecting MSG in mice leads to significant liver inflammation along with obesity and type 2 diabetes. To address the long-term consequences of MSG on inflammation, they performed serial analysis of MSG injected mice and focused in particular on liver pathology.
They found that by the age of 6 and 12 months, all MSG treated mice developed liver inflammation and structural change. Lesions were detected in some cases. They concluded that their results take on considerable significance in light of the widespread usage of dietary MSG and suggested that MSG should have its safety profile re-examined and potentially be withdrawn from the food chain.
The FDA condones food producers hiding MSG in their products
When people become aware of the dangers to their health and well being from the use of MSG, they no longer want to buy products that contain it. The producers of processed foods know that people don’t want to consume MSG but are unwilling to remove it from their products because without it, people wouldn’t want to buy them unless the quality was greatly improved, a task which would raise the cost of production. So they have gone to extremes to hide MSG in their products and this has been allowed by the FDA.
The term MSG is seldom seen listed on a food label, but MSG is most likely contained in the food, in a disguised form. Here are some of its many disguises: hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured whey protein, and textured soy protein. Even the innocuous terms spice and natural flavor can designate the presence of MSG.
The use of MSG is another example of how corporate America has turned its back on the very consumers who buy their products, all in the name of greed. By continuing to pump their products full of MSG after knowing their customers do not want to consume it, food corporations are showing the ultimate in contempt for the food buying public, a contempt which should produce outrage rather than brand loyalty.
MSG is the world’s most widely used flavor enhancer
It’s very difficult to find any canned or packaged food item that does not contain MSG in one of its hidden forms. It’s in canned and boxed soups, dried soup mixes, frozen prepared meals, canned prepared meals, fast food, junk food, snack food, Chinese food, gravy, stew, chili, canned beans, salad dressing, seasoning blends and mixes, bullion, broths, and prepared pasta products. Most restaurant food contains loads of MSG. It’s what makes the restaurant experience so compelling. Hot food bars at grocery stores have foods containing MSG. Even high priced prepared foods that market themselves as gourmet are laced with MSG, such as the soup mixes and other non-dessert products at Harry and David’s
You won’t escape MSG shopping at Whole Foods or other stores that claim to sell healthy food. Many of the bagged, bottled, frozen and canned foods at Whole Foods contain MSG hidden under another name. Some of the deli dishes as well as those on the hot bar and the take-out rack contain hidden MSG.
Most processed food for children also contains high levels of MSG, such as spaghetti O’s and other prepared pasta or pasta mixes, alphabet soup and chicken noodle soup, microwavable cups, packaged dinners marketed to kids, and much more. A meal of MSG containing food can raise the blood level of excitotoxin to a value proven in primates to destroy brain cells. A child’s brain is four times mores sensitive to damage by excitotoxins than is the brain of an adult.
Chronic MSG ingestion by children may be one reason behind the nation’s falling test scores, as well as attention and hyperactivity problems exhibited by children at home and at school.
The best way avoid MSG is by buying whole foods and preparing them at home. The next best thing is to become an expert at label reading and knowing the various disguises under which MSG travels. There are a few packaged prepared items at traditional grocery stores that do not contain MSG. At health food stores there are many more.
When you have managed to avoid MSG for a period of time and adjusted to the delicious taste of food as it was meant to be experienced, you will be shocked when you go out to a restaurant and taste food loaded with MSG again. You will know instantly because the flavor is so intense it is almost eye popping, and you suddenly want to just keep eating and eating.
Study found Red Clover able to block brain damage from MSG
Sometimes you just can’t get around having to eat food that contains MSG. Eating at a restaurant with friends, an invitation to the boss’ house for dinner, the need to stop for fast food while on a trip and many other situations can crop up where exposure to MSG is inevitable. A recent study found that pre-treating yourself with a supplement of red clover before you dine can nullify the potential for brain damage from MSG.
Phytomedicine, June 5, 2008 edition, reports researchers finding that the natural mixture of phytoestrogenic isoflavones found in red clover can protect the brain from MSG toxicity. They used a human cortical cell line to test the efficacy of a red clover fraction. When the cells were pretreated with red clover isoflavones there was a significant increase in cell survival and a significant decreased in the release of an enzyme indicating cell damage. The pretreatment also prevented the morphological disruption caused by MSG.
References:
http://www.naturalnews.com/022881.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/024275.html
About the author
Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a breast cancer survivor using “alternative” treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.
(NaturalNews) People who are happier and more satisfied with their lives might also enjoy better health, said a study led by Mohammad Siahpush, Ph.D., professor of health promotion at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
“Everything else being equal, if you are happy and satisfied with your life now, you are more likely to be healthy in the future,” said Siahpush.
And, very significantly, factors which usually also affect health, such as exercise and cigarette smoking, were already accounted for. According to Siahpush, “importantly, our results are independent of several factors that impact on health, such as smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption and age”.
Details of Study
The study team examined data collected from two Australian surveys conducted on nearly 10,000 adults in 2001 and 2004. In the surveys, the participants were asked about various health indicators, including their level of physical health and whether or not they had long-term, limiting health conditions.
The questions “During the past four weeks, have you been a happy person?” and “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?” were used to assess happiness and life satisfaction respectively.
The results were satisfying and happy news. “We found strong evidence that both happiness and life satisfaction have an effect on our indicators of health,” Siahpush said.
Happiness and life satisfaction, as assessed at the baseline survey, both brought about better health three years later, as indicated by three factors: excellent, good or very good health; absence of long-term and limiting health concerns; as well as better levels of overall physical health.
On top of that, the results of the study suggested the possibility that improving levels of happiness or satisfaction with life might also give rise to better health in the future. “There are indications that as you become happier and more satisfied with your life, you tend to become healthier as well,” Siahpush added.
One very poignant fact of these findings is that greater happiness and life satisfaction can actually translate to better health in as short a timeframe as three years.
“Their unique contribution is the short, three-year time period of their study. To my knowledge, this the shortest time I’ve seen where looking at baseline happiness predicts future health. It is compelling to me that measuring someone’s happiness now accounts for some differences in physical health in as little as three years,” said Paul Hershberger, Ph.D., a professor at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.
Hershberger, who had no affiliation with the study, also found it interesting that the study team was able to isolate happiness and satisfaction with life from all the other factors which were able to influence future health.
More Evidence that Happiness Improves Health
Is it any surprise at all that happier people are healthier, and also become healthier? Well, not really.
For one thing, we know that happiness gives the immune system a boost. Conversely, a person undergoing depression also suffers depressed immunity.
For example, a study carried out by Associates for Research Into the Science of Enjoyment (ARISE) in the UK some ten years ago had revealed that the amount of the antibody, secretory Immunoglobulin-A (sigA), which is found in saliva and protects against respiratory infections, doubled within a mere 20 minutes of having happy thoughts. The levels of sigA increased even more 45 minutes thereafter, and remained about 60% higher even three hours after the start of the experiment.
Conversely, recollection of guilty memories had an adverse effect on the levels of sigA.
Another study conducted a few years ago by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found that people with positive emotional attitudes did not suffer colds as often as well as experienced fewer symptoms, when compared to those with negative emotional states.
The study, which interviewed 334 healthy volunteers three times a week for two weeks to get a sense of their emotional states, found that people who were happy, relaxed and energetic had a lower likelihood of being hit by a cold. On the flip side, people who were angry, depressed or nervous had a higher chance of complaining about cold symptoms, regardless of whether they actually got infected.
For years, we have heard the phrase, “don’t worry, be happy”. That certainly still applies. Perhaps, now, we can also add a new one ,- “be happy, be healthy”.
Cheer up!
Main Sources
Happiness and Satisfaction Might Lead to Better Health (http://www.cfah.org/hbns/getDocument.cfm?documentID=1769)
Health Official: A little of what you fancy does you good (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/216383.stm)
Happiness protects against colds (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/4009.php)
About the author
Reuben Chow has a keen interest in the area of natural health and healing and carries out regular research on the topic. His website, All 4 Natural Health, offers a basic guide on natural health information. It details simple, effective and natural ways, such as the use of nutrition, various herbs, herb remedies, supplements and other natural remedies, to deal with various health conditions as well as to attain good health.
(NaturalNews) In the US today, cigarette smoking causes one-third of all cancer fatalities and one-fourth of all fatal heart attacks. In addition to this, there are many illnesses and diseases that are a direct result of cigarette smoking. This includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, assorted respiratory ailments, angina, peptic ulcers, heartburn, and diarrhea. A recent estimate is that smoking is a factor in more than 15% of all of the deaths occurring annually in the US. Obviously, smoking is a high-risk behavior with deadly consequences. Smokers can expect to shorten their lives by approximately ten to fifteen years. Intellectually most people will agree that smoking is a very harmful activity. Overcoming the addictions associated with cigarette smoking can be an overwhelming prospect, however. It can be done, though, and it can be done naturally without substituting other harmful ingredients that can further jeopardize one’s health.
For every cigarette smoked, over 4,000 toxic chemicals are inhaled into the body. Over forty of these chemicals have been directly linked to cancer. Nicotine is one such chemical and is considered extremely addictive because with ingestion it facilitates the natural release of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. In so doing, it also stimulates the production of adrenaline, which elevates blood pressure and heart rate.
Nicotine can be ingested by chewing, sniffing, or smoking. When ingested it creates a relaxed feeling. With continued use, the body develops not only a physical and psychological addiction to nicotine, but a drug tolerance as well. This means that more nicotine will be required to achieve the same feelings of relaxation. This also means that if nicotine ingestion is stopped, withdrawal symptoms will result.
Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms
-Anger
-Anxiety
-Craving
-Difficulty Concentrating
-Frustration
-Irritability
-Elevated Appetite
-Elevated Blood Pressure
-Headache
-Reduced Heart Rate
-Feelings of Restlessness
-Stomach Irritability
Smoking cigarettes places nitrogen dioxide ozone in the body. This chemical damages DNA and reduces the amount of vitamin C available for use by the body. When DNA is compromised and vitamin C is reduced the body will not be able to fight off illness and aging will be accelerated.
Aside from the physical addiction to the chemicals in cigarettes, there is also an emotional addiction to smoking. Many smokers smoke in response to stress, boredom, and anxiety. For this reason, people who are in the process of quitting smoking may benefit from counseling or a support group for smokers. Subliminal or hypnosis recordings are effective tools to stop smoking as well.
Tips to Quit Smoking
-Acute cigarette cravings typically last no more than five minutes.
-Nicotine cravings will become more manageable with each passing success of not smoking.
-Try exercising or taking a walk when cravings occur.
-Avoid other people smoking.
-Completely eliminate alcoholic beverages while quitting smoking.
-Drink large amounts of water.
-Increase the amount of raw fruits, vegetables, and fiber in the diet.
-Eliminate saturated fats, processed foods, and refined sugars from the diet.
-Consider a colon and/or liver cleanse.
-Avoid stress during the quitting process.
After quitting smoking, the lungs must be given adequate time to heal and regenerate. During this time, it is important to be very careful about one’s environment and the surrounding conditions.
Suggestions to Help Lungs Repair:
-Wear a mask if working with strong chemicals.
-Avoid air filters that emit ozone into the air. These may further damage the lungs.
-Do not attempt to dry up lung mucous. Mucous is the body’s method for expelling toxins from the lungs.
-Avoid second-hand smoke at all costs, as well as other strong toxic chemical odors.
-Avoid dairy foods because they produce excess mucous. Mucous producing foods place added stress on the lungs.
-Aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme, ginger, horse radish, and cayenne may help one feel better.
-Get lots of fresh air and outdoor exercise every day.
-Yoga may also helpful.
Source: http://www.healthynewage.com/quit-smoking.htm
http://www.healthynewage.com/smoking-cessation.htm
About the author
Jo Hartley
Wife, Mother of 8, and Grandmother of 2
Jo is a 41 year old home educator who has always gravitated toward a natural approach to life. She enjoys learning as much as possible about just about anything!
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