Healthy Food at Sports

All of you exercise-aholics and sportsmen, we bring for you a healthy food guide so that apart from strengthening your body from the outside, you should also give your body the best nutrition from inside.

1. Fresh fruits & vegetables:

There can be no two opinions about the health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables. Seasonal fresh, and not dried, fruits are healthy food for sportsmen and are absolutely essential for others as well. Fruits give you plenty of vitamins such as vitamin A, B complex, C and E which help boost your immunity and make you strong.

Fruits also contain antioxidants which are a natural cure of your body against body aches, cancer, arthritis and other common ailments. Best thing about fruits and vegetables is that they are fat-free and provide your body with instant energy, and a lot of that at that. Fresh fruits and vegetables top our healthy food guide that should never be compromised if you want a healthy life ahead.

2. Grains:

Whole grains contain instant carbohydrates which become very useful before an event where you have to quickly gorge food to replenish your energy resource. Carbohydrates are the prime source of nutrition for your body and bread, pasta, bagels and cereals contain whole grains that fill your body with get-up-and-go energy and vigor. Again, these are importanthealthy food for sportsmen.

3. Calcium:

No one can deny the importance of calcium which is essential for growth and bone strength. Its importance becomes all the more double when the subject in question is the athletes and sportsmen. Healthy food guide gives due importance and significance to calcium which nourishes, grows and ossifies your bones.

Calcium and calcium containing products such as milk, yoghurt, and cheese protect you from injuries that are a common story with athletes and sportsmen. Calcium products also contain proteins which are the natural building blocks of your body which means these give you muscle mass and bulky look. If you are not a big fan of dairy products, you must ingest calcium supplements to meet your body needs and make it ready for rigorous playing sessions.

4. Fiber:

Fiber keeps your digestive tract clean and makes healthy food for sportsmen by ensuring that they remain in good shape in order to stay at the top of their game in all seasons. Foods such as almonds, legumes, apple, whole grains, and berries are rich in fiber. In order to calculate how much fiber you need in a day, you should consult your training coach but as a rule of thumb, the amount must be at least 5 grams more than your age. For instance if you are 10 years old, your daily body needs of fiber will be at least 15 grams and more.

5. Peanut Butter:

Peanut butter contains proteins and essential fatty acids which make an important constituent of our healthy food guide for athletes and sportsmen. Protein builds your body and protects your from injuries and illnesses which is very important for every sportsman. Protein boosts aerobic metabolism in your body which prevents loss of stored energy from the lean body mass. Adequate intake of protein speeds up the recovery process which helps a great deal in the actual performance situations.

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Food That Makes You More Intelligent

Food is very important for the healthy state of your body as well as brain. Whatever you eat has an effect on your overall health. Your brain, for one, has its own nutritional needs to function in its full capacity. If you do not give what it needs for proper running, you are compromising on its ability. Boost your brain’s functionality with raw and natural diet. Sharpen your memory, advance your learning and boost your intelligence with IQ food.

It has been scientifically proven that brain food makes your smarter and even happier. You will notice that some of the people around you are smarter than others who are pretty average or below average. While a lot of it has to do with genes, surrounding, knowledge and education, part of it has something to do with brain-boosting food. Do check whether you have the brain-boosting food in your routine diet such as:

Omega-3-Fatty Acids & Nutrients:

The famous health journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience (NRN) explains that omega-3-fatty acids is very beneficial for your brain plasticity. Brain plasticity is the ability of your brain to change with experiences and learning. According to the latest report by NRN, 30% of your brain cell membranes are made of omega-3-fatty acids which help in transporting nutrients in your brain cells.

• Furthermore, omega-3-fatty acids prevent the aging and deterioration process of your brain. It protects you from brain illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.

• Nutrients such as copper etc. and food containing omega-3-fatty acids include cold water fish such as whitefish, sardines, mackerel, tuna, salmon and herring.

Whole Grains:

Enjoy the cashews, almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds in winters and benefit from these rich sources of vitamin E. These improve your cognitive functions. Walnuts are rich in omega-3-fatty acids.

Acai Fruit berries, Blueberries & Avocados:

You do not need to waste money on vitamin products to enhance your mental energy when you have acai fruit berrries and avocados around you. Acai fruit berry has health fats, fiber and nutrients that lower your cholesterol and has antioxidants to help you fight premature aging. Acai fruit berry has all these qualities which are 10 times more than red grapes and 30 times more than red wine.

• Blueberries reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. These are stress relievers, boost the learning capability of your brain and enhance your motor skills.

• Avocados prevent the risk of stroke by maintaining healthy blood flow to your head.

Dark Chocolate & Tea:

This will make many happy. Dark chocolate has plenty of antioxidants which boost your brain focus and concentration. It also contains endorphins – happy hormones – that elevate your mood by relieving stress. Any chocolate with at least 35% cocoa is known as dark or black chocolate.

• Tea contains antioxidants such as flavonoids which enhance your immune system and increase the blood flow to your brain which is vital to your active brain functioning.

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The Surprising Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a marvellous gift of nature. It is an edible and cc. You are familiar with its benefits like it is good for skin, hair, and used in various cosmetics products and is primary source of food but there are some surprising facts about coconut oil that I bet you never new. It is a rich source of Vitamin E. For all of you who want to keep yourself healthy, I have made a list of surprising benefits of coconut oil.

Cooking oil:

Coconut oil is edible and it is used in cooking food, especially for frying. It is used to add flavors and aroma to a number of dishes all over the world. It helps in smooth functioning of organic system. It is healthy, stable and most important thing is that it is not much expensive.

Hair care: 

Look around and you will see every second person complaining about hair fall and dandruff. 

As I have mentioned above that this oil is enriched with vitamin E that you always need for smooth, silky and shiny hair. Oiling and massage always comes first when we talk about the health of hair as it is half beauty of a person. Regular massage of coconut oil keeps your scalp moist and dandruff free. It proves very helpful in re-growth of damaged hair as it provides protein required for the nourishment of damaged hair. Its most important property is that it is anti-oxidant that keeps hair black and prevents whitening and hairfall.

Skin care:

It is one of the best natural nutritions for skin and provides nourishment when massaged on skin. It is highly absorbing. When it is applied on skin, it is absorbed readily and acts as an effective moisturizer, especially for dry skin. It is anti-wrinkle, prevents flaking and dryness of skin. Due to it anti-oxidant properties it prevents premature aging. It prevents stretch marks during pregnancy. If you want soft and smooth skin like a baby, you must use this oil for looking younger.

Reduce cholesterol:

People are very conscious about their weight. People who are suffering from overweight, must use coconut oil in their food as it is a reducing agent. As it is full of vitamin E which is fat soluble. It is easy to digest and increase metabolic rate in body. It also help in absorption of vitamins, amino acid and minerals that are necessary for body. It helps in restoring thyroid function and increase energy and endurance.

Treatment for acne:

Coconut oil is effective in treating acne. Face is the most prominent part of the body. It is the face that attracts someone towards you so face should be free from marks, acne, freckles and wrinkles. Let’s find out how it is so special for acne. It is soaked by skin readily where it cuts down inflammation due to acne. It can help you to resist against virus and bacteria. Keep one thing in mind that it is not cure for acne but helps in healing the acne.

Healing and infections:

It is an anti-viral, anti-fugal and anti-bacterial agent. When it is applied on infectious part of body, it prevents from attack of bacteria, virus, dust and other harmful things. It speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues. It kills bacteria that cause ulcer, pneumonia, throat infection etc. It kills virus that cause influenza, hepatitis, measles etc. It also prevents skin from athelete’s foot and ring worm etc. It strengthens the immune system and helps in fightening harmful bacteria.

Cure for Diabetes:

Diabetes is very common now a days. If you want easy and cheap cure for diabetes you must use coconut oil. It is very effective in preventing and treating diabetes. It helps in controlling blood sugar and proper utilization of blood glucose. It also improves secretion of insulin.

Strengthen bones:

It makes your bones strong as it absorbs minerals that are necessary for body. It helps your body absorb mineral and calcium for bones and teeth. It prevents tooth decay and strengthens your bones.

Deodorant:

The bonus point of coconut oil is its fragrance. You can use it on your underarms as a natural deodorant. It is safe and cheap try by using coconut oil.

Other Advantages:

It can be used as natural chap it. You can also use it for the removal of makeup. It can reduce the itch of mosquito bite. If it is mixed with warm tea, can help in soothing sore throat. It is a natural bug repellent. It is also a natural sunscreen. Coconut is oil is really much effective and has been used by thousands of years by people in many countries.

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Genes, Junk Food and Weight

Researchers gained new insight into how genetics may influence obesity by studying how the mouse equivalent of a fast-food diet affects different mouse strains. The findings may help explain why some people gain weight more easily than others.

Excess weight can raise your risk for type 2 and gestational diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other health problems. But maintaining weight is difficult for many people. Body weight reflects the balance between the amount of energy consumed and the amount the body uses. But the body’s metabolism can change as you lose weight and alter your exercise habits. These changes may differ significantly among people, depending on genetics, age and other factors. Recent evidence also suggests that gut microbes play a role in obesity.
Dr. Brian Parks and Dr. Aldons J. Lusis at the University of California, Los Angeles, set out to explore the factors affecting the body's response to a high-calorie diet in mice. They fed about 100 inbred strains of mice a normal chow diet until 8 weeks of age. For the following 8 weeks, they gave the mice a diet designed to represent a typical fast food diet, with 32% of calories from fat and 25% from sugar. The study was supported in part by NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Results appeared on January 8, 2013, in Cell Metabolism.
The team saw a wide range of body fat across the mouse strains even during the normal chow feeding stage. The response to 8 weeks of a high-fat, high-sugar diet also varied widely. Mice eating the “junk food” diet had increases in body fat ranging from none to more than 600% higher than mice who continued to eat a normal diet.
The researchers found that food intake correlated with body weight and lean mass. However, intake levels didn't account for the body fat changes seen with the high-fat, high-sugar diet. The investigators estimated that more than 70% of these body fat differences could be attributed to genetics.
To identify specific regions associated with obesity, the scientists performed a genome-wide analysis of about 100,000 genetic variations, or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). They found 11 regions that were associated with obesity. The regions contain several genes with known links to fat biology and metabolism in mice. Some have been linked to obesity in humans as well.
The researchers also analyzed gut microbe populations. They found that some mouse strains had large microbial shifts after eating the high-fat, high-sugar diet. Other strains of mice, however, showed little fluctuation. This finding shows that genetics strongly influences changes in gut microbes in response to diet.
“Our research demonstrates that body fat responses to high-fat, high-sugar diets have a very strong genetic component, and we have identified several genetic factors potentially regulating these responses,” Parks says. “Overall, our work has broad implications concerning the genetic nature of obesity and weight gain.”
The researchers now plan to explore the specific roles these genetic factors play in the interactions between diet and body weight.
—by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.

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Could These Fat Melters Work for You?

Think of fat melting this way: When you put fat in a frying pan, on a stove and turn on the fire, what happens? Exactly, the fat heats up and it melts.

This process happens in the body when fat is broken down or lipolysis occurs (lipo = fat; lysis = break down), and energy is made to create heat, or thermogenesis (thermo = heat;  genesis = creating).

That’s how exercise works to melt fat – exercise expends energy, which creates heat. Nature, in its brilliance, has also provided us with many foods, fruits and vegetables that can help break down fat, instead of storing it, and thus melt fat. These natural ways have been shown to be safe and sometimes work without you having to move – though I do not advocate not moving!   

Fat Melter #1: Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

CLA is a naturally occurring fatty acid, found in beef and dairy products. It’s also known as the “good” trans fat. The human body does not make CLA and we need to rely on other sources to get it.  Unfortunately, the modern diet, due to processed food intake and changes in farming, has much lower amounts of CLA content.

How does it work?
Despite all the positive research on the benefits of CLA, researchers are still unclear about the precise mechanisms of action. We do believe that it lowers the melting point for fat burning. It appears that CLA blocks fat cells from growing bigger or swelling by influencing enzymes that afect fat growth. CLA also seems to increase the speed of fat burning.

What kind of results should I expect?
Recent human studies have shown that taking CLA, at least 3.4 grams a day, led to a significant decrease in body fat mass and the diameter of the abdomen in obese subjects, but not body weight.

What does this mean? Remember, when you are exercising and weight lifting, you may not actually lose weight, but you will lose inches and increase lean body mass. For instance, if you lose 5 pounds of fat and gain 4 pounds of muscle, the end result is only a loss of 1 pound.

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The 3 Day Diet

The 3 Day Diet touts quick weight loss, cleansing, lower cholesterol, and more energy.

It's a strict plan that must be followed exactly for three days. If you still want to lose more weight, you're supposed to eat normally for at least four or five days before starting over.

The 3 Day Diet promises up to 10 pounds of weight loss in three days. But most of that weight is likely to be fluid, not fat, so the results aren't likely to last.

What You Can Eat

The 3 Day Diet is very specific about portion size and the foods it includes.

The combination of the suggested foods supposedly creates a unique metabolic reaction that boosts fat burning. But there is no explanation of how that happens or proof that backs up those claims.

The plan also calls for dieters to drink 4 cups of water or no-calorie drinks daily.

Experts' Views

You're likely to lose weight on this plan, but it's not likely to last.

The calories are very low, notes Cindy Moore, former director of nutrition therapy at The Cleveland Clinic (which is not associated with the diet).

"The plan yields about 1,000 calories a day, which has the ability to lower metabolism so when you revert back to normal eating, you regain weight even quicker," Moore says.

The diet is also monotonous and doesn't help you build better eating habits for the long run. "What good is it to go back to the old habits that caused the weight gain, without resolving weight issues?" Moore says. "Hands down, the 3 Day Diet is not conducive to changing habits or encouraging a healthier lifestyle, which are fundamental to weight control."

Bottom line: Choose a well-balanced weight loss plan that controls calories every day, includes exercise, and lets you enjoy a wide variety of healthy foods. To lose weight and keep it off, it is simply not enough to eat a prescribed diet for three days without addressing eating habits that cause weight gain.

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