Vitamin Supplement Necessity
The human body needs various substances put into it to help it maintain homeostasis. The substances that we take to help even out our nutritional needs are called supplements because they are taken in addition to what we get from our daily intake of food. It has become quite popular to use supplements both to maintain good health and to make changes in the functions of the body. But the question of whether or not they are needed and what they actually do to the body is often brought up.
One needs to understand the reasons for taking supplements so that any concerns can be put to rest. Often, the daily meals we consume do not meet all the body’s needs for various nutrients and supplements can help to balance these out. So the first thing that should be done is to research what types of nutrients are needed and whether or not they are being consumed in the amounts necessary for optimum health. This will help you figure out what supplements are possibly needed. It will also help prevent the consumption of more supplements than are needed which can cause problems in the body.
Supplements are an important tool that can help with medicating yourself to help heal an illness. Many times illnesses will occur more often and can last longer if the proper nutrients are not taken into the body. Taking vitamin supplements can be a simple way to help your body rebalance itself and keep the immune system at a level that will be able to fight off sickness or disease.
Some people desire to help their bodies to keep from aging too quickly and they use supplements for this purpose. Nutrients, muscle mass and bone density are often lost at a faster rate as people get older. These changes in people’s body systems cause a greater need for nutrients to be a part of a daily intake which can be assisted by taking vitamin supplements. The natural nutritional values are easier to maintain that way and this can be of help to the body.
It is always a good idea to ask a doctor or other professional about the need for taking various supplements. While the body does need a good balance of vitamins and other nutrients, some can get these by eating a very well-balanced diet. If those people would use supplements, then their systems would be unbalanced and not functioning properly. So be sure to keep track of what your body needs to stay healthy at different ages and also know what you are eating. Have a professional help you decide what you are lacking, if anything.
When you first begin to use supplements, allow for time for the body to get used to the extra nutrients by working up to your recommended amount gradually. A good rule of thumb would be to begin by taking approximately one half of what you plan on taking eventually. Be sure to consult with a professional if you are currently taking other medications and find out if there will be any problems with the medications and the supplements working together. Also, it is necessary to make sure your functioning levels are normal, particularly in the area of blood pressure. This will help to prevent problems which can be caused due to the change in nutrient levels.
Your body systems can function properly more easily when you have the right amounts of nutrients as part of your regular diet. Vitamins and other supplements may play an important role in reaching this goal. But it is always better to make sure you have a properly balanced system and know what, if any, supplements you need before putting yourself on a vitamin or other supplement regime. Your unique needs are essential to establish before making the decision to try one of the many different supplements that are so popular today.
Dennis Harris has a health related site that provides help for a wide range of medical and health related issues. You can visit his site at http://www.healthissuestoday.com
What Are You Eating
What are you eating? High fattening foods (even only once a day) can destroy any weight loss that may have occurred during your low fat eating. Fast foods, fried foods, foods and sodas high in sugar are detrimental to weight loss- Avoid them! Even if you only eat these kinds of foods once a day, they can really hinder weight loss efforts. Try to eat well-balanced meals with protein, carbohydrates and a small amount of fats. One good example would be: 1) Protein- a chicken breast or fillet of fish, 2) Carbohydrates/Fat- a small salad with vinegar and olive oil (the oil will be your fat for the meal) 3) Carbohydrates- a small baked potato or a serving of rice (either should be plain- no butter!).Meal Replacement Powders (MRP) such as Met-Rx, MyoPlex, Atkins Shakes, Balance 40-30-30, Ultramet or Complete Protein Diet are excellent fast meals, or snacks, that are effective when added to your eating plan. (All of which are carried by MaxLabs). MRP’s are an excellent way to get a high protein, low calorie meal into your diet once or twice a day. This will keep you from eating fattening foods that hinder weight loss. (Plus these products yield many vitamins and minerals).
I eat low fat foods at the restaurants I visit. Why is this bad? An example of how normal food is bad, bad, bad!
You proceed to your favorite restaurant for: a salad with dressing, no fat pasta with sauce, a cola, and some bread! First, the dressing from the salad is usually 100% fat so there is 15 grams of fat. Second, the pasta is easily stored as fat because it is a starchy carbohydrate. (Starchy carbohydrates are easily stored as fat unless you are on a serious exercise program). Should we mention the sauce that was on the pasta (mostly fat as well- lets store that on the hips!)? The bread well, you guessed it, high-glycemic foods such as this are hard to burn off too! That cola you drank (depending on the size) had anywhere from 40 grams to 100 grams of sugar (which almost always turns to fat if not burned off with exercise). Did you have refills? CONCLUSION: You can see how what most people view as eating low fat, can be detrimental to a diet!
When are you eating? Do you eat more at night or during the day? If you eat at night right before bed, you have a greater tendency to store that food as fat! Try to eat your biggest meal at breakfast, a medium meal at lunch and a light dinner. Drink MRP’s in between meals or as meals by themselves. Try not to eat within 3 hours of the time you go to bed. The metabolic process slows down drastically when we rest. If there is food in our stomach that has not been fully digested by the time we go to bed, there is a strong possibility that food will be stored as fat!This means that all the hard work you did during the day may be negated by storage of fat at night!
Are you skipping meals?If you skip any meals, you have a great chance of storing your next meal as fat. People who do not eat very often, “train” their bodies to believe it will not be eating for a while. Therefore, the body stores everything we give it for its future energy needs. In other words, the body stores much of what we eat as- .you guessed it, FAT! Do not put your body in a “starvation mode”; eat 3-5 very small (almost snacking) meals a day! This will boost your metabolism and allow your body to better burn off the things you eat.
Here is an example:
You get up in the morning get ready for work and rush out the door without eating breakfast. A hectic day leads to a late lunch at 12:30. You eat what you believe is a low fat, well-balanced meal. Now think about this, you have not eaten anything for around 18 hours (since dinner the night before). 18 hours, that’s huge! And, believe me, your body knows this! So when you do eat, even if you do eat low fat, your body is going to store everything you eat, because you have trained it to know that there is a strong possibility it will not be refueled again for another 18 hours.
Another thing to consider is that our bodies can only digest so much food at a time. Consider this: person A is eating 1500 calories a day and person B is also eating 1500 calories a day. Both person A and person B have the approximately the same body structures and chemical make-up. Person A eats 5 meals consisting of 300 calories per meal and person B eats 3 meals at 500 calories per meal. Person B puts a lot of stress on his body because his body has a hard time digesting 500 calories at a time while person A’s body has no problem digesting 300 calories at a time. For this reason, person B can’t lose weight while person A does lose weight by eating the exact same amount of
calories. The reason for this is person B usually stores a little of each meal as fat because his body just can’t handle digesting 500 calories at a time.[500 & 300 calories were just examples used for simplicity]
Are you exercising? This obviously has a great impact on weight loss. The more you exercise, the greater your metabolism is boosted! Also, what type of exercise are you doing? The best is to get 3 days of aerobic-type exercise (30-45 minutes per session) and then to get 3 days of weight lifting. Most women (and some men) do not want to lift weights because they don’t want to look big and bulky. But getting big is very, very tough to do. With exercise, most people will end up just looking lean (this is good). The bottom line is that weight lifting is one of the absolute best ways to boost your metabolism and get your body to burn calories. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Plus, the more muscle you add to your body, the more calories you burn just sitting still. This is because one pound of muscle burns more calories than one pound of fat.
Are you drinking lots of water? This aspect of weight loss is often under-looked. Drinking water is very, very important to weight loss. Many people are under the impressions that they “retain water” and this is the reason they are overweight. RUBBISH! Water is a major contributing factor in aiding the weight loss battle. Drinking plenty of water is a vital component for weight loss.
How much weight are you trying to lose? The less weight you are trying to lose, the harder it may be. For example, if you are only trying to lose 5-15 pounds, every little thing you do will matter more to you than to someone who is trying to lose 50-100 pounds. As we get closer and closer to our ‘ideal’ weight, our body tries very hard to hold on to those pounds. Now this doesn’t mean we should take it easy if 50-100 pounds is your weight loss goal. It just means that usually the last pounds are harder to bring off than the first ones.
These are just a few of the topics you should look into, and obviously, these things vary from individual to individual. I also recommend for you to get a good multi-vitamin or antioxidant. The healthier your body is, the more efficiently it will get rid of those excess pounds. Also, educate yourself. There are about 10-15 very good health/fitness magazines out there to keep you well informed about fat loss, burning of calories, exercise programs and descriptions of what/when/why to eat.So learn, learn, learn, and as you build your knowledge base you will begin listening to your body and watching for signs that tell you “This works” or “This does not work”.
Many people have a hard time losing weight, and this too is natural. It is the natural tendency of your body to hold on to extra calories and fat for future energy use. You have to shock it into losing. Thermogenic products like Max Ten, Max Fifty or Max Sports Fuel help significantly, but sometimes it takes that extra effort (the extra mile, the extra workout, one less soda a day) to get yourself moving in the right direction.
Loren Bailey is the webmaster and content advisor for MaxLabs.com, HighFiberFoods.net and other health related web sites.
Amla Herb and Indian Gooseberry (Vitamin C)
Amla also know as amalaki, dhatriphala and in Sanskrit and Emblica officinalis scientifically, is the most widely used herb in the ayurvedic system of medicine. it maintains balance amongst three Doshas of wind, bile and phelgm (Vayu, Pitta and Cough) and effectively controls digestive problems, strengthens heart, builds up and sustains defence mechanism, improves eye sight, imparts a anatural glow to hair and body and a store house of Vitamin C.
The English name of amla: Indian gooseberry, denotes that it is indigenous to India. Though all parts of the tree have medicinal value, it is the fruit which constitutes the main drug. Charaka has specifically mentioned it as a great rasayana that helps protect people from disease and keeps away the manifestations of premature ageing.
Amla fruit is acrid, cooling, refrigerant, diuretic, laxative, alexeteric, antipyretic, aphrodisiac alterant, tonic and trichogeneous. It is the richest natural source of Vitamin C. 100 gm. of Amla contains about 700 mg. of vitamin C, which is thirty times the amount found in oranges.In adition to Vitamin C, it also contains calcium, iron, protein, garlic and tannic acids, sugar, phosphorus, carbohydrates etc. The juice of fresh amla fruit is given as tonic, diuretic and anti-bilious remedy. It is also helpful in burning sensation, over thirst, dyspepsia and other complaints of digestive system.
The powder of the dried amla fruit is an effective remedy of hyperacidity, ulcers and blood impurities. It is also used both internally and externally as a decoction and paste. Some of the common uses of amla fruit are as under:
- Amla strengthens the body, expel toxins from the body and improves defense mechanism of the body.
- It is an essential vitamin to improve eye sight
- Weakness of body, heart and mind shall be dispelled by taking frsh amla juice in betwen meals.
- Massaging the head with amla oil, induces sound sleep and is good for hair. prevents premature graying of hair.
- Wash eyes daily, in the morning with amla water, soaked in water and drink the water to improve the eyesight and remove constipation.
- Insert 2-4 amla juice drops into each nostril to cure bleeding for nose.
- Regulates Blood Sugar
- Very Powerful anti-inflammatory herb.
- A wonderful antioxidant and a natural Source of Vitamin C. Amla helps scavenge free radicals.
- Amla is powerful food for the brain.
- Studies show that Amla helps lower cholesterol
- Amla also helps maintain the functioning of the liver
- Increases Hemoglobin, Red blood cell count
- Useful for Cough, Bronchitis, Asthma
- Amla cleanses the mouth, strengthens the teeth
- Its decoction is used in hyperacidity and with honey as an anthelmintic.
The presence of Amla resulted in an enhanced cell survival, decreased free radical production and higher antioxidant levels similar to that of control cells. (Phytother Res. 2003 Apr;17(4):430-3.)
There are various classic ayurvedic preparations, such as chyawanprash in which amla is used as a chief ingredient. It help improve intelligence and memory power. Triphala and Brahmrasayana are other classic medicine in which amla is being used since time immemorial.
Read more about Amla and its Benefits/ at http://www.ayurvediccure.com/amla.htm
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