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One of the “new” nutrients you often hear recommended these days is Omega 3 fatty acid. Omega 3 is found in various foods, but an especially rich source of Omega 3 is fish oil.

Fish oil has been found by researchers to do the following things:

Alleviate or prevent depression

Improve brain function and help protect the brain from Alzheimers

Help brain development and prevent ADD and ADHD in children.

Regulate cholesterol levels

Prevent certain kinds of cancer

Help heal injuries faster and promote faster recovery from illness

Prevent heart disease

Slow aging

Omega 3 used to be plentiful in our diets, back when cattle were grass fed, chickens ranged freely in the barnyard, and vegetables were grown without pesticides and artificial fertilizers and were allowed to ripen in the sun. Today’s factory farmed foods, however, tend to lack or be extremely low in Omega 3. The easiest way to replace it is by taking a good quality fish oil.

Fish oil is extracted from oil-rich fish: cod, salmon, tuna, sardines, herring, mackerel and others. It contains polyunsaturated fat, Omega 3, that the body needs but cannot produce on its own.  The three main types of Omega 3 fatty acids are a-Linolenic Acid (ALA), Eicosapentaenoic Acid (ELA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA).

In the past, people took codfish oil, which is rich in Omega 3, to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis and prevent rickets. Now we know that fish oils can do much more to improve and protect our health.

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Peppers are widely used as part of the world’s culinary necessities, however research shows that this small yet seductive and fiery fruit is bursting not only with spice but with numerous health benefits. To understand peppers even more let us first trace back the history and the discovery of this exotic spice.

According to some scholars chili peppers have long been part of human diet and was cultivated at least 7500 B.C. There were some evidences that show the existence of this specie somewhere in the southwestern Ecuador.

Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer was the first European to encounter them when they set sail in the Caribbean.  He called them ‘Peppers’ because of their taste similarity with the Old World black peppers of the Piper genus. After Columbus’s discovery of peppers, it was widely spread all throughout the globe.

In 1494, a physician in the name of Diego Alvarez Chanca brought the first chili in Spain and wrote about the medicinal effects of it.

Therefore when peppers were cultivated in Spain all of its colonies adopted the use of this spicy fruit in their culinary preparations. From Mexico, Philippines, India, China, Korea and Japan peppers played a big role in their daily cuisines.

Now that we understand how phenomenon the chili was way back centuries ago, let us now understand the new discoveries the modern time has to say about Peppers.

All kinds of peppers are rich in vitamins A, C and K but red peppers are with great exemption since this particular color of pepper is so much richer with all of those vitamins combined. Red peppers also contain antioxidant, Carotenoid, also known as lycopene and fiber.

Read the rest of this entry »

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The training regimen of a boot camp is becoming increasingly popular these days. These camps have come into vogue after similar but much stringent programmes have been successfully employed by the armed forces of various countries, especially the US, to train their personnel.

A boot camp is usually a small group of people working out together. The first day generally begins by a fitness test of all participants. Thereafter, members are divided into teams and each team works on a particular exercise. Sophisticated equipment used at gyms is often absent from boot camps; this is a platform where volunteers try to increase their stamina and strength by taking up traditional exercises like sit-ups, push-ups and jogging.

Working out at boot camps not only saves the expenses of going to a gym but also gives people a greater chance to widen their social circle. Boot camps are often organised in parks and the fun of exercising in fresh air and open grounds with one’s friends is another advantage that draws a large number of people to join such fitness modules. The monotony of working out alone at one’s private gym is also largely absent from these camps. Read the rest of this entry »

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It is inevitable that you will gain weight during your pregnancy because you are eating for you and your baby. Not to mention you will gain as your baby develops and grows. The normal weight gain for pregnant women is 25 to 35 pounds. This is just an average range so don’t be afraid if you gain more or less than that.

The importance is to stay fit and healthy during the nine months you are carrying your baby or babies. You don’t want to do anything too strenuous or start a diet or follow a fad diet to keep weight gain down. Here are some ways to stay fit and healthy during your pregnancy.

Eating healthy meals is important because you are providing nourishment for your baby. Don’t cut back on calories because you are afraid of weight gain. Pregnant women should add 200 to 300 calories to their daily intake.

The quality of the foods you eat is just as important as the quantity. Eat organic foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals which will give you energy and nourishment. It is acceptable to give into cravings, but eat sweet treats or generally unhealthy foods in moderation.

To stay in shape and minimize too much weight gain you should exercise regularly. Find an exercise routine that you are comfortable with and one where you won’t overexert yourself. Read the rest of this entry »

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What you eat and what you do can influence your hormones dramatically. When this happens you can either gain weight or lose weight. Avoid these key areas to make sure you lose weight with your healthy weight loss diet. Don’t take for granted just how powerful hormones like these are in determining your weight loss success.

This one hormone that can cause so many problems is called Cortisol. Excess cortisol will stimulate your appetite and prompt more calories to be stored as fat, so it is very influential in your weight loss plan. These are 2 things you don’t want when trying to follow a healthy weight loss diet.

Cortisol also increases protein breakdown within the muscle, which means a slower metabolism and less calories burned. A key to successful weight loss is keeping your metabolism running at a fast rate so that you are always burning calories.

It decreases glucose utilization and increased insulin resistance, which means the glucose or sugars in your body are not used for energy as much as they should be. Instead they float around and eventually get stored as fat. This is strike two against your healthy weight loss diet and healthy eating plans.

One thing that directly increases cortisol is stress. Stress is the culprit in increasing cortisol levels and resistance to insulin and leptin. Stress can come from work issues, family issues, medical problems and even unhealthy foods. Read the rest of this entry »

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Maqui berry is a berry that is found in the southernmost region of South America, known as Patagonia. This area includes Argentina and Chile and is one of the most fertile regions in the whole world. It is probably because this land is so fertile that the Macqui berry which grows there is one of the greatest tasting fruits you will ever encounter. But I am not telling you about the Maqui berry just because it tastes good. This amazing berry is probably going to become the greatest and most effective weight loss supplement in the world!

The Maqui berry, just like the Acai berry, first started to gained notability in the West after it was briefly mentioned by Rachael Ray during one of her shows. She did not say much about the Maqui berry except “what an incredible fruit it was”. But since that day, the Maqui berry has gradually increased in popularity within the health and fitness market and is particularly well-known to dieters and weight watchers.

If the word Maqui berry is new to you, then you may be wondering, What on earth is it and what does it do? Read the rest of this entry »

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Recently the news has been overloaded with information and opinions over women’s health and mortality as it relates to the use of mammography and self breast exams. With all of this information it is hard to find out what women should do to care for their body.

What are the guidelines to follow? Recent studies have documented that there is little to no link between self breast exams, mammograms and the actual mortality rate of women with breast cancer. In this article we will focus not on the answer to that enormous question, but on the ambiguity behind that statement.

It has been the standard provided by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) that women 40 or older have a mammogram with or without a clinical breast exam every 1-2 years to maintain proper breast health. This recommendation was based on two factors. (1) Clinical studies in women 50-69 demonstrated a 30% reduction in the breast cancer mortality rate when screened annually or biannually (http://www.acpm.org/breast.htm) and (2) the assumption that a women’s breast tissue at the age of 40 would yield similar results.

Unfortunately a similar correlation has yet to be found, prompting the new assertion that a women should wait until 50 to have her first mammogram. But is this right? Can one assume tissue changes occur in every woman at a specific age? And why is it important to this debate? Read the rest of this entry »

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