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Energy Diet – Feel Lively Healthy & Happier!

Do you often feel tired drained and lacking in energy? Well follow our energy diet tips below and you will be full of energy, healthy and approach the day with renewed vigor.

The energy diet tips are easy to use, so let’s look at them.

A change of diet is the simplest way to boost energy levels and this means you need to:

1. Eliminate Energy Sapping Foods

Firstly, energy draining foods such as sugar, coffee, alcohol and cigarettes should be reduced or eliminated altogether.

2. Eat naturally from the earth

Get rid of energy sapping processed foods and go for fresh natural produce.

Make sure you eat good carbs such as brown rice, pasta and baked potatoes and get rid of the fries and pizza!

Make sure the meat you eat is lean.

Great choices are: Steak, turkey, chicken and fish.

Saturated fats and salt should be eliminated or cut down and good fats containing omega 3 from oily fish, should be consumed at least 3 5 times a week.

Great choices are salmon, mackerel and sardines.

3. Eat 5 meals a day

You need to start eating 5 meals a day, so your energy levels don’t flag and you will not suffer from hunger pangs.

Make sure you eat breakfast, it’s the most important meal of the day.

6. Get extra Iron for energy

Eating to little iron can make you feel exhausted, so make sure you get iron rich food in your diet everyday.

Good choices include:

Lean red meats, eggs, fortified breakfast bran, sardines, dried apricots, crab and dark green leafy vegetables.

7. Up your protein for extra focus

Protein rich food like fish, meat and tofu are proven to improve focus so get daily portions.

Make sure your lunch is protein rich as it will help you avoid that flagging feeling in the afternoon.

8. Eat bright fruits for a quick pick me up

Brightly colored fruit is proven to send energy messages to the brain.

For a great sack combine apples, strawberries raspberries and apricots for an instant pick me up.

You can incorporate the above into your daily diet and you will feel more energetic and able to face the day with renewed enthusiasm.

Always remember your body is a whole and you also need to ensure that to feel energetic you also need the following:

9. Get proper sleep

Make sure you get at least 8 hours sleep per night.

Your body needs time to replenish itself and sleeping is essential to boost overall energy levels.

10. Move your body

You may not have time for the gym, but you don’t have to go to the gym to be healthy.

When you walk, walk quickly, skip the elevator and use the stairs instead, or do the housework as a workout.

Your body will respond to this and you energy levels are guaranteed to increase.

11. Take time out

Finally, take 30 minutes a day to relax and just think.

Mediate and get away from all distractions and loose yourself in your thoughts.

If you have lack of time do it in the bath just relax for 30 minutes in silence and think of you.

Energy for life!

We all need energy and all the above tips are easy enough to do so try them today.

Sacha Tarkovsky
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/energy-diet-feel-lively-healthy-happier-70122.html

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Healthy Breakfast – The Most Important Meal of the Day

Almost everyone treats breakfast as the least important meal of the day. It never gets the attention it deserves. Dinner, on the other hand, is the kind of meal that should always be light and healthy, but we end up overeating at the dinner table (great way to gain weight since the body does not burn the calories readily, after all, you will be going to bed soon). Furthermore, we wake up the next morning ‘not feeling hungry’ for breakfast. This is the single biggest mistake for anyone trying to lose weight. A meal that is grossly underrated, breakfast ‘breaks your overnight fast’ and is therefore the most important meal for the day. It allows you to begin the day with energy and vitality.

Isn’t it an irony that a timely and nutritious breakfast is a rarity for most of us? You may be a busy corporate executive or a top-level athlete, the importance of breakfast remains the same for everyone. Let us analyze the role that breakfast plays in our life.

Here are the basic truths about that first meal of the day:

Skipping breakfast won’t make you thinner.
Skipping this meal will usually cause you to eat more for lunch and / or dinner. If you start the day without a meal don’t be surprised if you feel tired, lethargic and easily fatigued later in the day. It’s almost like driving to work with no gas. The best strategy for keeping your weight in check and your energy level high is to fuel yourself evenly throughout the day. Eat a good breakfast, moderate lunch, and light dinner, (as well as small snacks in between, if you feel hungry). In particular, if you are about to have a hectic day, it becomes even more important to eat a good breakfast. If you starve your body by avoiding breakfast, it will begin to lose muscle (something you do not want) and retaining fat. The interesting thing is that muscle weighs more than fat, which means that dieting (skipping breakfast) may show up as weight loss on the scale. However, most dieters can become weaker although they may become smaller if they rely on dieting exclusively as a means to lose weight.

Breakfast enables you to function better.
Recent research results showed that children who skip breakfast are less able to concentrate in studies and in play. Their ability to perform complex tasks is impaired. The effects were similar in adults. As an experiment, change (improve) your breakfast habits for 2 days. You will then understand the impact that breakfast has on your day.

Cereals and fruits are still the best.
According to the National Cancer Institute of America, “diets high in fibre and low in fat, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals with low fat cheese or butter may reduce the risk of cancer.” Daily fibre intake should be 20 to 30 grams. Insoluble fibre, the kind found in whole wheat bread and wheat-based bran cereals, helps lower the risk of colon cancer and speeds up digestion. Soluble fibre, found in oat bran and fruit, helps lower blood cholesterol, and may reduce the risk of coronary ailments.

Start your day with a piece of fruit, a glass of milk / coffee and some high fiber bread. You can enjoy your breakfast while driving!

So try these simple suggestions and kickstart your day with a healthy breakfast!

Nitin Chhoda
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/healthy-breakfast-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-73236.html

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Healthy And Lean With Green Tea

Green tea has been enjoyed for centuries in formal Chinese tea ceremonies. It has long been believed to relieve headaches and body aches, increase energy, prevent disease and aid digestion.

Although many tests have been inconclusive and others are still under way, some of the health claims by green tea proponents are:
Longer life
Weight loss
Increased ability to survive after a heart attack
Antioxidants to combat free radicals
Cavity fighting
Higher metabolism, more calories burned
Cancer prevention
Lower cholesterol
Detoxification of blood
Liver function support
Bone density maintenance
Reduced inflammation
Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment
Lower risk of diabetes and heart disease

Green tea contains a group of polyphenols known as catechins. The most studied and effective compound is epigallocatechin gallate, better known as EGCG. A growing number of published scientific studies propose that it does protect against cancer and heart disease and aid weight control. It is used as a fat loss aid used in some dietary supplements.

The side effects of green tea are few and mild. They are mainly due to the caffeine content, which the Buddhist monks of the 8th century discovered helped keep them awake during long meditation sessions. Actually, green tea has just enough caffeine to give you a lift, but not enough to cause nervous jitters. It would take four cups to equal the amount of caffeine in just one cup of brewed coffee. There are 8 to 20 mg. of caffeine in green tea, compared to 40 to 60 mg. in black tea and 90 to 150 mg. in coffee. The best known effects of caffeine include increased intellectual activity, improved reading speed, more energy, increased heartbeat, improved alertness, quicker reaction times and a brighter mood. Too much caffeine, on the downside, can cause insomnia, headaches, irritability and muscle tension.

Because of the caffeine content, there are some possible drug interactions. If you are taking any medicines with the ingredients codeine, ephedrine, psedoephrine, theophylline, atropine, aminophylline or warfarin you should consult with your physician and pharmacist before taking green tea products.

Green tea is available in tea bags, loose leaves, and prebrewed in bottles. It is available in caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties. There is also a product called Matcha, which is made of powdered tea leaves that are simply mixed into hot water. If you are not a fan of the flavor, it can also be found in tea blend sodas and fruit juice beverages, tablets, extracts, nutrition bars and liqueur.

Green tea contains zero calories. Just substituting it for higher calorie beverages, particularly soda, will help you reduce your overall calorie intake and help you feel full and more energetic. While nobody knows exactly how much of the active ingredient, EGCG, is necessary, most researchers agree that to reap the benefits, just three to four cups a day are all that are needed.

Terry Gates
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/healthy-and-lean-with-green-tea-59135.html

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How to Have a Healthy Sleeping Environment

People who have trouble falling asleep may attribute their problem to a lot of things – a tight and busy schedule, caffeinated drinks and food, and maybe, high stress rate.

But what about the very environment that they sleep in?

A room is a reflection of one’s personality. So what does a messy, dirty room say about the person sleeping inside it? It implies that his thoughts and personality are just as haphazard as his room. If a quiet, deep sleep is what you’re after, then pay close attention to your sleeping environment.

There are types of therapies aimed at people with insomnia. One of them is stimulus-control therapy, which teaches them how to have a proper sleep hygiene. To learn more about this, here are some pointers.

First off, use your bed only for sleep and sex. You know that a lot of people do their homework, read, or eat on it. Don’t follow them. Don’t associate your bed with stress by lying on it thinking about your problems. When this happens, go out omewhere to a certain spot in the house where you can think about them. Having a designated spot where you can mediate is recommended.

There must be ventilation in your room, unless you want to wake up because it’s too hot. You can open the window to let the air circulate. There are noises that easily disturb you while trying to sleep. To hypersensitive people, a short buzzing sound could easily perk them up. In that case, use earplugs. While there are disturbing sounds that are irritating to the ears, there are types of noises like that coming from the fan that doesn’t disturb us at all. They are called white noise. To
prevent lights from distracting you, use eyeshades or blinds.

If you’re a busy person, do your office or school work anywhere else except in your room. Computers, TV and stereos must be
placed somewhere. Watching TV or surfing the ‘net hours before bedtime will only stimulate your visual cortex, so avoid it.

Also, avoid caffeinated drinks and food. Why? They stimulate you which will make impossible for you to fall asleep. Unless you are one of those rare people who drink coffee and can still sleep afterwards, consume your last caffeinated drink 3 hours before your bedtime. Though alcohol can lull you to sleep, you will wake up again feeling dehydrated, which could only become worse as you try to fall asleep again.

Also, you might develop an addiction to alcohol as a form of sleep aid, which is not healthy.

Smoking is an activity that should be avoided as the hours get nearer towards your bedtime. You might wake up as your body craves for more nicotine, and besides, it’s a fire hazard.

During these hours when all you are anticipating is your sleep, you can turn off the lights so your body will start winding down just in time for sleep.

Sleeping is an activity that gives the brain ample time to rejuvenate and to revitalize the body for the next day, so treat it with utmost care. Don’t neglect it, or else you’ll pay for the consequences later.

Dulce Azogue
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/how-to-have-a-healthy-sleeping-environment-57655.html

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How Garlic Can Help Keep You Healthy

For thousands of years the Chinese people have known of the benefit of garlic to their health. So in China garlic apart from being used to flavor food is also traditionally used in teas and folk remedies.

The reason for using garlic is that it is one of nature’s strongest immune system boosters as well as being a powerful antibiotic and helps the digestive system and increase a person’s libido.

Below are provided a number of reasons as to what the benefits of garlic are. But whilst the health and medicinal benefits of garlic are numerous they can also overheat a persons system if they eat too much of it. According to traditional Chinese dietary therapy the garlic is warm in nature as well as being a strong stimulant. So people who suffer from excess heat in their body should first balance their system. This causes such symptoms as red eyes, bad breath, constipation, yellow urine, yellow tongue moss and acne. So if you have any of these symptoms and which to either eliminate or greatly reduce then do not have so much hot food and drinks (meat, fried foods, coffee and alcohol) from your diet before you start eating garlic on a regular basis or you will only make the symptoms worse.

Below are provided a list of the health and medicinal benefits of taking garlic.

1. It is great for enhancing a persons immune system
2. It contains great anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties
3. Also contains anti-fungal properties which are especially effective for treating yeast infections and Candida
4. Can clear boils and infected sores
5. Improves a persons appetite
6. Will aid a persons digestive system (but you must eat several raw cloves a day)
7. Will expel intestinal parasites and worms from the body
8. Can reduce high cholesterol levels

Now we will look at some ways of using garlic as the main ingredient and how the Chinese people make use of the health benefits of garlic.

Garlic Tea

In a pot place 1 or 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 or 2 grams of loose leaf green tea and if you want add 1 or 2 teaspoons of unrefined sugar to the mix. Then pour on boiling water and allow it to cool slightly. Next stir the mixture and let it steep for several minutes before you drink it. Then leave the ingredients in the pot and top it up with more water throughout the day. This helps to kill germs and remove toxins from the body.

Garlic Nose Drops

Crush several cloves of garlic to get the juice. Add to warm water (2 parts water to 1 part garlic juice). Now lie down and using an eye dropper place a couple of drops of the mixture into each nostril as soon as you feel any symptoms appearing. Continue using for as long as necessary. However if the drops irritate your nostrils then stop or reduce the number of drops taken.

This a good preventative method for the common cold and people who suffer from sinus problems.

Garlic Paste

Crush 2 cloves of garlic and mix with several drops of pure sesame oil until it forms a paste. Externally apply to boils, carbuncles and infected sores. Cover the area where paste has been applied and reapply when the paste becomes dry and falls off. Should your skin become overly irritated then discontinue use of the past and try again in a day or two.

In order that you can get the full health benefit of garlic having it in salads or as a tea or in capsule form. It is important that you eat less refined, processed and canned foods as use more foods in a more natural state as possible.

Lee Dobbins
http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/how-garlic-can-help-keep-you-healthy-103922.html

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