Mind and body health

Have you heard about the Raw Food Diet? Also known as Living Foods Diet is gaining popularity and a buzz, The power of raw foods is not only one of the most well-known "rejuvenation" secrets of celebrities and Hollywood stars like Demi Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Sting, and many others, it is also a concept that has the potential of giving you what you're looking for: incredible health, increased energy, and a youthful and slim body, A diet for a long and healthy life.

We eat so much in the way of processed food that we don’t even stop to think about what we’re putting into our bodies, and how far we’ve come nutritionally from our ancestral, agrarian roots.

A raw food diet means consuming food in its natural, unprocessed form. There are several common-sense rationales for why this is a good idea. Processing and cooking food can take so much of the basic nutritional value away. Think of some of the conventional wisdom you’ve heard about for years, such as: If you cook pasta just to the al dente (or medium) stage, it will have more calories, yes, but it will have more the nutritional value in it than if you cooked it to a well-done stage. Or you probably remember hearing not to peel carrots or potatoes too deeply, because most of the nutrients and values are just under the surface.

The raw food diet means eating unprocessed, uncooked, organic, whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc. It means a diet that is at least 75% uncooked! Cooking takes out flavour and nutrition from vegetables and fruits. It also destroys the enzymes we need to live and slow the ageing process when they are heated to temperatures in excess of 116*F.

A raw food diet means eating more the way our ancient ancestors did. Our healthier, more fit ancestors. They cooked very little, and certainly didn’t cook or process fruits and vegetables. They ate them RAW. Their water wasn’t from a tap; it was natural, spring water. Maybe they drank some coconut milk on occasion.

Doesn’t it just make sense that this is how our bodies were meant to eat? It’s a way of eating that’s in harmony with the planet and in harmony with our own metabolisms. Our bodies were meant to work, and need to work to be efficient. That means exercise, certainly, but it also means eating natural, raw foods that require more energy to digest them.

Of course exercise is going to help with weight loss, and so will counting calories. These are hardly "tips" or ground-breaking news. But do you know what else can make you healthier from the inside out?

Everyone has heard the old adage "You are what you eat." This saying exists for a reason. It doesn't, however, just mean that you should eat low calorie foods or watch your junk food intake, both of which are critical to maintain a healthy weight. It also means eating foods that are both nutritionally dense and powerful in every way they can be. How can these foods be powerful, you ask? Food can make your moods improve almost as much as exercise. It can make your skin appear more youthful. In short, it can make you more beautiful and healthy from the inside out! Some foods to consume freely are almonds, salmon, broccoli and berries.

Almonds are high in the "good" fats, or the kind that lower cholesterol. They are also filling, so you won't be tempted to binge on the sugary, salty stuff if you have a handful of almonds. They are high in Vitamin E, and make a great-tasting natural snack. Salmon is also full of the good kind of fats. Although its high fat content makes some people shy away, it is actually quite healthy to eat a good amount of salmon a week. The Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon are good for your heart, your hair skin and nails and your complexion. Again, they are not problematic for your cholesterol. Try substituting your chicken meal once a week with salmon, and having grilled salmon in your salad for lunch. There is good evidence out there that fish such as salmon improves and elevates your mood as well, as does getting in a good workout! Broccoli is just one of the most potent foods around. It is chock full of vitamins, fiber, protein and antioxidants. Your body would benefit greatly if you ate your broccoli! Berries, too, are a powerhouse in antioxidants. Vitamins and antioxidants like the kind found in broccoli and berries are great for your complexion, heart, stress, and overall health.

Other than eating better, more healthfully, and exercising, what else can one do to stay fit and healthy? Go to the doctor!

Immediately, you may be thinking "I am healthy and fit. Why do I need to see a doctor?" Not because anything is wrong, but because you should get various check-ups that you may just be missing. In other words, you should see certain professionals for preventative reasons. If you are over 40 and female, for example, you should be having a mammogram annually. If you have had breast cancer in your family, you may want to check with your doctor about having your first one at 35. Your dentist - twice annually - can stave off periodontal problems and other health concerns. Believe it or not, diseased gums have been linked to serious conditions such as heart disease and stroke! Even if you feel you are not at risk for such things, the health of your mouth is important. You want those natural choppers for as long as you can keep them, so when you are elderly you don't miss out on the pleasures of food! While we're on the topic of pleasures, what about the pleasure of the warm, summer sun? There is no reason you can't still enjoy the sunshine so long as you wear protective sunscreen. However, most people don't think to go to the dermatologist at least once a year and get an all-over skin screening. The dermatologist is another doctor to keep on your regular calendar of appointments so that he or she can check for unusual moles, skin discolorations, and any other pre-cancerous causes for concern. You don't just need a dermatologist for acne, you know! Regular checkups with your general practitioner can also be beneficial, for blood pressure screens, checking your thyroid, and just over-all health checks once a year.

A more fun visit to a health care professional could involve the alternative therapies, such as chiropractic or massage. Both of these tools for health have proven beneficial in healing back or neck pain, or other pain not easily corrected by anything other than surgery. If you have muscle or joint issues that don't seem to be resolved with rest, but you are not prepared for or in need of surgery, a visit to the chiropractor may be just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. Spine alignment has been shown to greatly improve back and neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain and even headaches or sinus problems. And who doesn't enjoy a good massage? A qualified massage therapist can lift your spirits, ease muscle tension, and relieve stress - all of which help to produce a happier, healthier you!

You have done it! You've lost fifteen pounds over the last six months and you know you are on your way to where you want to be. However (and it's a big “however”!), you can't seem to rid yourself of the last stubborn ten that seems intent on sticking to your thighs and rear end. Your weight loss goal was twenty five pounds, and you know other people have done it-so how do you do it? What is the best way to lose those last, stubborn ten pounds?

You have sacrificed many a chocolate chip cookie and watched beads of sweat turn into pools on the floor in your spinning class week after week. So why won't those last ten pounds move? There could be a number of reasons. The body reaches a set point, or a given weight beyond which it's not so willing to budge. Sometimes, we have to trick it into moving along anyway. If you are already in a committed exercise program and you have changed your chicken from KFC to baked at home in the oven, here are some tips to go one step further:

1. Watch the processed foods. Just because something is labeled low-calorie or low-fat doesn't mean it's good for you to eat. Marketers for the food industry have the extremely lucrative and misleading ability to make even the most junky of junk food seem healthy. Foods that are found in the chips and crackers and cookies aisles are not going to be good for you, no matter how many times you read that each serving only has 100 calories! What's the harm, you ask? Well, it's not necessarily harmful, but with the last ten pounds every little step counts. When you consume processed foods, you are consuming a lot of extra ingredients that are made in a lab and a lot less whole food in its natural state. Some of these ingredients are merely binding in nature, and some can rob you of vitamins. Either way, the closer you stay to “real” food the better. When you consume real, whole foods in their natural state (think fruits, vegetables, fresh meats, and simple dairy) you get the benefit of food energy that you do not get from processed foods. Not only can this push you through your day and energize you, you can actually eat more of these ‘clean' foods for fewer calories. With greater healthy food consumption you will feel fuller and will not want to eat as much. After a while, your cravings for the processed foods will lessen.

2. Watch the white! Hand in hand with processed foods go ‘white' foods. Literally, you should try to cut down on any white-colored foods that don't come from nature if you want to shed the last ten pounds. Sugar is white and horrible for your body. Sodium (or salt) is white and can make you hold water weight, feel bloated, and increase blood pressure in high doses. Many people are surprised to find how much sodium is in certain foods when they start actually reading the labels to notice these amounts. Soups, for example, contain a very high level of sodium. In fact, the low fat or low calorie soups tend to contain more salt than the creamy ones! Try making your own fresh soups instead of buying the canned variety. White flour - the likes of which cookies, cakes, and pies are made of - is completely robbed of the nutrients it used to contain before it was turned into such a refined grain. Try to eat wheat breads instead of white breads. Even white rice has higher sugars in it than brown rice; it's higher on the glycemic index, which measures sugar conversion of food. Of course, white foods found in nature are perfectly fine in moderation. Milk, potatoes, and other natural white foods will not significantly add to your waistline so long as you're not eating a pound of potatoes or drinking a gallon of milk!

3. Fifteen minutes a day … Sounds simple, right? No matter what it is, you can do something for fifteen minutes a day, right? It is simple! Try adding just fifteen extra minutes each day to your exercise routine. If you work out five days a week, that's an extra hour and fifteen minutes a week and it adds up! By doing fifteen extra minutes of cardio you can actually end up burning an extra 100 calories per exercise session. By adding an extra 15 minutes of weight training, you can tear down and rebuild that much more muscle each time, which lean muscle mass will enable you to burn more calories throughout the day when you're doing nothing at all! It's a great investment - 15 simple minutes. If this seems like too much at first, start with an extra five minutes and build up to fifteen over the next few weeks.

By taking on these three simple changes, you will be able to stoke your metabolism just enough to push you into that ten pound deficit. It may be gradual, like the first fifteen you lost, but it will be long-lasting.

We all have been there. You're running along, 72 degrees and sunny and you're on your favorite, fresh trail. You glance up at the cloudless sky, grateful to be alive, and BAM! A huge rock crosses your path out of nowhere and you hit it and fall. Your ego is bruised, but worse yet your ankle is a mess. It hurts so badly you have to end your run right then and there and hobble back to your car. Then something else hits you: What if you can't run after this?

Anyone who is used to exercising moderately or aggressively can understand the frustration of having an injury that prevents you from keeping up your normal routine. It is very important, however, to treat yourself gently in order to get back on track as quickly as possible without compromising your health.

If you have suffered an injury such as a sprain, pulled muscle, or repetitive use injury, the first thing to do is apply the RICE principle. RICE is an acronym for rest, ice, compression and elevation. For example, if you twisted your ankle as in the above example, once you got home you should lie in a prone position and put ice on the injury for twenty minutes. Resting and icing it in a prone position for twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off for the first forty eight hours will decrease pain, inflammation and swelling. You can also take ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and swelling. Of course, any medication or treatment plan should be approved by your doctor before implementing. If you have severe pain you should definitely seek medical advice from a trained professional. If the injury is milder, however, continuing the rest and ice treatment while wrapping the sprain and keeping your leg elevated should help the healing process.

Perhaps you are not a runner, but an avid weightlifter. Many weightlifters have suffered from pulled muscles, usually caused by either hoisting too much weight or lifting weights too quickly, with improper form. You may have been working on your shoulders, doing shoulder presses or lateral raises for your deltoid muscles you felt a snap-type pulling - and then you couldn't lift the same weight again without pain. This could be a pulled muscle, ligament, or tendon. In this case, it is probably best to see a doctor and rule out a tear in the muscle, tendon or ligament before trying to treat it yourself. Assuming it is just a pull, the best thing you can do is rest. Nobody who likes to exercise likes to hear that, but it truly is the only way to heal. Over-the-counter pain relievers may help the pain, and so can mild ice treatments or heat after the first 72 hours. However, you do not want to apply ice and heat or take painkillers to simply mask the symptoms so you can continue working out. This is a surefire way to increase your true healing time! Instead, work out different muscles as far away from the injured area as possible. If you hurt your shoulder, focus on legs and abdominals, and increase your cardio routine for a while so you don't feel badly about your workouts. If you simply refuse to stop working out your upper body, at least work out antagonistic muscle groups (muscles opposite the injured area) that don't hurt your injured muscle when you move. For example, you may still be able to do bicep curls if you hurt your shoulder, so long as you keep your arms in by your side and fairly stationary as you lift with only the lower part of your arm. Again, it's best to lay off the area entirely. You will know when it's okay to resume working out the area, and the area can take weeks (or more!) to completely heal.

A repetitive use injury can also happen from weightlifting, but it is more common with runners or those who play specific sports that use repetitive motions. It is exactly what it sounds like - an injury that occurs from using the same motions over and over, so that the muscle, tendon or ligament is strained beyond what it can normally handle. This can happen when you increase your distance or speed in running, lift weight using the same body part too close in time without sufficient rest, or if you're training for a competition or sport that requires an increased number of practices or routines. In the case of a competition, depending on how severe the injury, unfortunately sometimes the only thing you can do is sit it out. If you are not training for an event, you may be able to just back off a bit or get more rest in between your workouts.

Today, Yoga is known widely and has been practiced by many people, generally by most health enthusiasts. The main goal of Yoga is to help a practitioner to achieve a balanced sense of well being of body, mind and spirit. Many people have taken up yoga to prevent or recover from sickness. Many people today prefer Yoga as a means of losing weight.
It is a common fact that metabolism plays a vital role to increase the burning of calories.

Yoga can help you really in terms of losing weight are by accelerating your metabolism rates. Practicing Yoga regularly helps to prevent weight gain and aids in weight loss.
We have to realize that Yoga takes time to achieve the desired results like any other weight loss method. Discipline is required in performing Yoga on a regular basis and to include it as a part of your daily routine for experiencing its benefits totally.

Yoga consists of various breathing techniques and physical poses or twisting positions that fuel the role of the internal organs. Metabolism gets stimulated by these poses as heat is created in the body and as the metabolism rate increases, more calories are burnt in your body. Assuming that you retain a normal caloric intake, your weight will be reduced eventually by burning more calories. A good known rule of thumb is that approximately 50 calories will be burnt by practicing ten minutes of Yoga and around two hundred and fifty calories will be burnt by practicing an hour of Yoga.

The various poses in yoga like twisting positions and forward and backward bending help to regulate the activities of internal organs of your body. These positions improve the endocrine system that is responsible for the chemical processes of your body, which convert food into energy for use by your body.

Your body's blood circulation is improved by regular practice of yoga. This also normalizes your blood pressure. Your body will be energetic by a healthy circulatory system that turns out many physical and mental benefits which also includes reduction of stress hormones. The blood carries oxygen to all the organs and tissues of the body and hence proper blood circulation aids to oxygenate all parts of your body.

By use of breathing techniques in yoga, there will be oxygenation of the body cells and it helps in weight loss. It is widely believed by Yogis that a person's energy is carried through his breath. Practiced control of our breath, a major component of yoga can take it into various areas of our body and all the tensions get converted into energy. Anything that is no longer needed by our body is released by exhaling.

Toning of muscle tissue is another benefit of yoga. The various positions of yoga that employ isometric exercises allow each part of your body to work. This will lead to development of lean, firm and elongated muscles. The burning of calories will be enhanced even when you are resting as you gain leaner muscle tissue.

Yoga is an effective way indeed to help you in losing your weight thereby creating a strong metabolism. However you have to work out to match your expectations. A healthy diet low in carbohydrates and calories combined with yoga exercises will burn the extra pounds of fat. However it may take time for you before the desired improvements can be seen.