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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Alkaline Diets - Your Guide To Healthy Life

By Emma Deangela

Anyone who has taken basic biology knows that cells require very narrow parameters to function optimally. Temperature and pH must be precisely engineered in order to support simple life. The human body, though seemingly sturdy and above this natural law, is no different! Humans can function in a wide variety of environments, but we do require basic conditions in order to have optimal performance.

In its purest form, human body fluids and tissue exist in a slightly alkaline state (not acidic). Since the human body uses the foods we eat as raw material to rebuild its tissues, our pH balance can quickly become unbalanced if our diet consists of "acidifying" foods. These acidifying foods quickly cause our blood and body tissues to become bathed in an acidic solution. This won't kill you right away, but if left untreated, this acidic condition leads to diseases such as heart disease, high cholesterol and even obesity.

Why does an acidic environment in your body lead to disease? It all goes back to how your body detoxifies itself. In an acidic environment the body cannot detoxify efficiently. The buildup of toxins prevents the body from effectively replenishing its essential nutrients and antioxidants. The body becomes starved, stressed, and slows down its metabolism to counteract the nutrient-deficiency within itself. The stress leads to disease, and the slower metabolism leads to weight, diet, and detoxification problems.

The most commonly consumed acidifying foods are butter, cheeses, animal protein (except salmon), oils, corn syrup, alcohol, corn, berries, and flours. Most of these foods should be consumed in moderation and in very low amounts. The best diet one can gradually adopt is one rich in alkalizing foods, which balance the body tissues and blood back to an alkaline state. A good rule of thumb is that anything that is dark green tends to be alkalizing. This includes broccoli, dark lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, avocadoes, mustard and beet greens. More alkalizing foods are many of the fruits, such as apples, oranges, cantaloupe, lemon, lime, strawberries, and watermelons.

Right now you may be thinking that the alkalizing foods are impossible to eat without being miserable. There are many easy ways to incorporate alkalizing foods into your diet without sacrificing great taste! For example, instead of using animal protein (such as ground beef), try using a firm tofu in your meals that call for meat. Instead of using harmful oils, you can use vegetable juice to sauté your foods. Instead of drinking processed dairy milk, drink organic soy milk. Certain spices are very alkalizing as well: chili pepper, cinnamon, ginger, sea salt, curry and tamari.

Another way to help your body resume its most natural state of alkalinity is to drink at least 2 liters of alkaline water everyday. This will flush out the acidic toxins already accumulated in your bloodstream and further promote detoxification in your body's lipid storage. Supplements are available to alkalize water, usually in the form of drops and powders. Other recommended supplements that help your body alkalize are potassium, calcium, cesium and magnesium.

Emma Deangela is the author of detox and fasting site at Alkaline Diets. Combining both Asian and Western philosophy, Emma Deangela has helped many people by giving them health consultation to make their lives better and healthier through natural health philosophy. Visit Body Detox to discover the health philosophy that lead many people to a healthy life.

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Whole Food Supplements Vs. Synthetic Vitamins: Which One is Better for Me?

By Mason Curry

We all harbor the hope that we are eating right. More often than not, that's easier said than done. The demands of work and family drain our time and our patience. We live fast and eat worse. And try to compensate by taking handfuls of vitamins and other over-the-counter supplements.

The question is...can all that pill popping be good for you? According to nutritionists, the short answer is no. At the very least, say many nutritionists -- if you're missing the mark on a healthy diet, then whole food supplements are at least a step in the right direction.

Whole food supplements are made from organic, animal and plant tissues. In other words: fruits and vegetables grown in mineral-rich soils, without chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, or additives of any kind. This non-toxic nutrient-rich produce is made into supplements, which are clinically designed to target nutritional deficiencies that affect various parts of our bodies.

Whole food supplements are what their name suggests: Supplements made from concentrated whole foods. Here is an example. Tomatoes are rich in both Vitamin C and Vitamin E. However, to get the full benefit of these vitamins you would have to consume close to a dozen good size tomatoes a day. It would be hard to find a person that would or could do that on a daily basis. But... dehydrate them grind them up and put them into a soluble capsule and you are good to go. It takes only a moment to take a few capsules and you have gotten the benefits of a whole garden of tomatoes.

Because these supplements are made from natural foods, they contain the entire complex of vitamins and minerals as well as all the micro-nutrients and synergistic factors found in nature. Which -- in case you didn't know - are necessary for the vitamin or mineral to complete its action in the body.

Synthetic vitamins recreate only a potion of what is need to reap the full benefits of its nutrition. When vitamins appear in nature there is a slew of accompanying enzymes, coenzymes, antioxidants, trace elements, and activators that help the body absorb the vitamins. When a vitamin is created synthetically, the team of other elements that help the vitamin be absorbed are not recreated. No evidence suggests that synthetics are damaging to one's health in the recommended dosage but, at very least, they are poor investment in your overall health. Much of a synthetics offered nutrients are lost because it cannot be absorbed.

Synthetics are appealing when sitting on the store shelves next to whole food supplements because whole food are often up to twice the price. Think next time you are at the market. It doesn't matter if it is cheaper if it doesn't work. Also keep in mind, many vitamins and minerals require fats to be absorbed correctly. Diets that remove all or most fats from the diet usually keep your body from getting the nutrients it needs.

Provided by Mason Curry - Natures Bargain Health Products, LLC Almighty Cleanse and Sea vegg are two of the best whole food nutrition aid on the market. Nature's Bargain brings them and many other whole food and natural health products at less than retail prices. http://www.naturesbargain.com

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Going For Right and Effective Nutritional Supplements

By Ricky Hussey

With the fast pacing of life and dependence on fast food and intake of on-the-go meals, the personal health of the people are degrading continuously. So the major problem is the chronic illness which is affecting most of the people today. We have many medical resources and treatments to diagnose this disease. But with the intake of nutritional supplements life has become quicker and easier.

These nutritional supplements are present in the market in various ranges of price and product. It totally depends upon you which one will you go for.

Nutritional supplements help in aiding the muscle aches, regeneration of body cells, generating antibodies in the body which in turns helps in fighting harmful substances.

Not only this, these Nutritional supplements also have anti-aging benefits, balancing the body by proper intake of vitamins and minerals, and removing harmful toxins from the body.

Some of the Nutritional supplements that can be taken by person which are present in the body are: -

• Carnitine: - it helps in transporting the fats for burning in the bloodstream or into the mitochondria which are the power plants of the cells. It also reduces the desires for the intake of fats and sweets. Moreover it is generated by the body. But people who are overweight can go for the dosage of around 500 mg twice or thrice a day, if they are following a strict exercise rule.

• Chromium: - it helps in controlling the blood sugar levels and also reduces the desires for sugar. It is advised to take around 200 microgram of chromium, 2 times a day for a whole month.

• CLA: - Conjugated linolenic acid helps in metabolic processes of fat and also improves the ratio of fat to lean tissue. It is advised to take about 2 gm of CLA, 2 times a day before your daily meal.

• Lecithin: - it is the natural occurring nutrient that helps in metabolism of the body fat. So take 1200 mg of it twice a day before the daily meal.

• DLPA: - the amino acid phenylalanine helps in stimulating the body metabolic processes and also reduces the carving the appetite. Take around 500 mg of DLPA, 2-3 times a day for three weeks.

• Pyruvic acid: - it helps in burning the body calories.

• Tyrosine: - it helps in stimulating the thyroid and also enhances the metabolic processes.

Read more on no-xplode review. Check out for nutritional supplements.

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Diet Plan for Building Muscle Mass

By Derek Manuel

Most ambitious bodybuilders and weight trainers will learn everything there is to know about weight lifting and do whatever it takes in the gym for results. They will work their butts off pumping iron and endure pain that the common man would coward from. However, one of the major causes of failure for even these overzealous trainees is not having a proper diet plan for building muscle mass.

They might plan in their MINDS to eat correctly, but without a plan written down most people simply can't get in the habit of dieting correctly. I can definitely admit that for a long time I was no exception to this way of thinking. When I finally sat down and got serious, I finally got to the core of why most weight trainers fail in this department: improper planning. Most of us can decide to start eating right, and some of us are even good at righting down goals and how we need to achieve them. But, if we don't construct a diet plan for building muscle mass on a day to day basis, this can be a plan for disaster for most of us.

If we don't plan our meals each day, then we will find ourselves battling obstacles that will constantly make it hard for us to eat properly on a consistent basis. Obstacles such as hunger, finding yourself in a situation where you don't have any food prepared for several hours, such as school, work, a long car ride, temptations to eat fast food, and many others.

The reason why these obstacles are so hard to combat is because of the very nature of hunger. Along with sleep and water, eating is an absolute vital necessity for survival. And since our bodies are designed to alert us when one of these are lacking, it does so very intensely.

This explains why our desire to drink when we are thirsty, sleep when we are tired, and of course eat when we are hungry is so intense, and at this point you will often find yourself giving in to something not productive for gaining mass. The pains from lack of these are too intense to bear for too long. So if we don't properly plan beforehand our meals each day, then the urge to just eat whatever is most tempting or convenient will easily overcome our goals for gaining mass.

On top of that our bodies are also designed for one single purpose: survival. Your body is designed to keep you alive and healthy, and it is important to understand that building muscle mass is definitely not its "default" or primary function. That is why it is important that you have a proper diet plan for building muscle mass and that you plan your meals on a day to day basis.

The better planned and prepared you are, the easier it will be to stay consistent with your diet. Then, on a positive note, since we are creatures of habit, once you stick to a diet schedule for about 21 to 30 days, it will become a habit and the process will be much easier!

Follow some of these guidelines that will help you plan out your meals properly: First, plan on paper! Write in a journal your daily meals, at least a few hours in advance before your next meal, preferably the night before. Next, prepare your meals the night before and store them in separate plastic containers if possible so when your meal time comes it will be ready to go.

When you go grocery shopping go with a specific intent for your meals so you can plan out your week in advance, and I suggest you invest in some meal replacement shakes in case you have a busy schedule and are rarely at home - never leave home without a meal handy just in case! A simple and final tip to help your planning is to list out your ten favorite and simplest meals according to your diet so that you can rotate through them to avoid boredom and keep it interesting.

Remember, if you fail to plan then you can plan to fail. Don't make the mistake of so many people by working out hard and consistently, only to cheat yourself and your results by improper planning of your diet. It still takes some brains if you want to build the brawn!

Derek Manuel is the author of the best-selling, "How to Gain Weight and Build Muscle for Hardgainers". If you want to learn how you too can gain 20 to 30 pounds of solid muscle in as short as 8 weeks, or if you just want more quality information on how to gain weight and build muscle, please visit http://www.hardgainers-weight-tips.com

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