Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Lowdown on Green Tea Pills


With the popularity of green tea these days and all the associated benefits, many people are wondering if there is such a thing as green tea pills. Well there are supplements available that contain all that is good in this Chinese herb. The supplements do not contain the caffeine that is found in the tea.

What are the benefits of green tea pills? One of the main benefits is its ability to help prevent cancer. However, when combined in a supplement with many other healthy vitamins and herbs then the benefits would be far greater than a simple cup of tea. Studies have been done to combine vitamins and herbs together so that they all work in synergy together. This type of supplement would give you much better results than a standard supplement.

Would it not be cost effective if you could take one supplement instead of numerous pills and vitamins? Some people just keep buying different pills, vitamins, and end up spending a fortune every month. The best and much less expensive option is to use a multi vitamin that contains numerous herbs, amino acids and vitamins including the health benefits of green tea.

If you want the health benefits of green tea pills, then an appropriate amount is approximately one hundred milligrams of green tea extract. Besides cancer prevention, other benefits include maintaining your cardiovascular and heart health. It also helps you burn more fat when you exercise. In addition, it will also help prevent type II diabetes by improving your sensitivity to insulin.

Other studies link green tea pills and the health benefits of green tea to an increase of your metabolism, which helps in dieting. Look for a supplement that contains a multitude of nutrients. Visit my website as I have much more information available there.




Tara Mathews is an advocate for using natural supplements as part of a healthy lifestyle. She has done extensive research on the topics of nutrition and natural health including green tea pills. Visit her site today!
http://www.thesupplementsite.com
By Tara Mathews




Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Beans - Good For The Heart


You are probably familiar with the naughty children's rhyme: "Beans, beans, good for the heart/The more you eat, the more you..." The first part is true, and as for the second, well, it can now be cut by up to 70 percent. Beans deserve their reputation for causing flatulence. Flatulence results when carbohydrates (scratches and sugars) arrive in the colon incompletely digested and are fermented by the bacteria there. The fermentation process releases gas. Any incompletely digested carbohydrate - from bagels to pasta - can ferment in the colon and cause gas. But beans are the richest sources of two particular carbohydrates, raffinose and stachyose, that the body cannot digest because humans lack the enzyme to do it.

If gas is a problem for you, do not swear off beans. Instead, boil, rinse and soak them. Boil dried beans in a covered pot for three minutes, then let them stand for two hours. Next pour off the water, add enough new water to cover the beans, then replace this water after two hours and let the beans soak overnight. Rinse them once more before cooking. Or you can add Beano to bean dishes. It contains the missing enzyme that allows the body to get digest raffinose and stachyose. Beano is available at health food stores and some pharmacies and supermarkets.

Why would you want to go to all this trouble just to eat beans? Because they are good for you.

Diabetes. Bean cuisine gives everyone protection from heart disease, but people with diabetes enjoy special bean benefits. Diabetes greatly increases the risk of heart disease, which is an excellent reason for anyone with diabetes to boost their bean consumption. In addition, the soluble fiber in beans also helps keep blood sugar under control.

Heart disease. Beans are a staple of the Mediterranean diet that helps prevent heart disease. Just by eating a half-cup of cooked beans a day for about a month reduces cholesterol an average of 10 percent. The type of bean does not matter - pinto, black, kidney, lentils, garbanzos, soybeans, red, navy, white, baked; they all cut cholesterol. Why? Because they are high in soluble fiber, which helps eliminate cholesterol from the body. Every 1 percent decrease in cholesterol results in a 2 percent decrease in heart attack risk, so one daily serving of beans reduces heart attack risk about 20 percent, especially if it takes the place of meat, cheese or other high-fat foods.

Lung and pancreatic cancer. All beans are high in folic acid, one of the B vitamins. There was a connection between folic acid deficiency and lung cancer. It was found that high levels of the B vitamin in the lung tissue of healthy men, but much lower levels in cancerous lungs. Folic acid can also be found in abundance in green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli. It was also found that compared with people who ate beans rarely or not at all, those who ate them at least once a week enjoyed significant protection from pancreatic cancer.

Neutral tube birth defects. Bean's high folic acid content also helps prevent potentially fatal birth defects of the spine. Over the last decade, so many studies have shown that folic acid prevents neural tube defects that doctors now recommend folic acid supplements for pregnant women. Beans do not replace recommended folic acid supplementation, but every time a pregnant woman bites into a bean burrito, she is taking a step to prevent these tragic birth defects.

Osteoporosis. Manganese, an essential trace mineral is important for bone strength. Animals deficient in manganese develop severe osteoporosis, and these studies show that women with osteoporosis tend to have low manganese levels. Beans are a rich sources of manganese. So are pineapples, oatmeal, nuts, and tea.




Raymond Lee Geok Seng is one of the foremost experts in the health and fitness industry and is a writer specializing in body health, muscle development and dieting. He has spent countless of time and efforts conducting research and share his insightful and powerful secrets to benefit men and women all over the world. He is currently the author of the latest edition of "Neck Exercises and Workouts." Visit http://www.bodyfixes.com for more information.




Healthy Food For the Heart - Making the Right Choices


Heart disease is one of the main causes of death among adults worldwide. All of us know there is good healthy food for the heart. Healthy eating is all about enjoying a variety of foods from the different food groups. Unfortunately, when it comes to our health and nutrition, our society seems predisposed towards making us choose the unhealthy options. Why should you consume healthy foods for your heart? Learning to eat healthy foods is not a science reserved for the elite. For a healthy and sound body, all you need to do is substitute harmful food with healthy food alternatives.

A recent study discovered that nearly one third of the people today studied have got undetectable amounts of omega 3 fatty acids within their blood stream, putting these people at more significant possibility for heart problems, stroke, being diabetic, and cognitive complications. Omega 3 also reduces the risk of heart attack. While being a very popular and heart-healthy food rich in omega 3 fatty acids, salmon is also a very tasty food. Consistently seafood is described as "brain food" and of late experts have included "rich in Omega 3" and "heart healthy" on labeling. To prepare a heart-healthy food, try baked salmon steak with vegetables and a salad dressed with lemon juice (instead of a vinaigrette sauce which is too rich in calories)

Brazil nuts contain mono-saturated fats that make it a healthy food for the heart. Parsley contains several important flavonoids, and this makes it a healthy food for the heart. Enjoying some dark chocolate bars is similar to obtaining the identical antioxidant content provided by a couple of glasses of burgandy or merlot wine or three servings of Asian tea extract. If you miss milk shakes, try a low-fat fruit smoothie, instead. Soluble fiber also helps keep your digestive system healthy. Apples, nuts and oats are an excellent source of soluble fiber. Eat an apple with a handful of walnuts or almonds as a healthy treat or add slices of apples to salads. In addition Nuts lower the LDL (bad) cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. Research shows that if you lower your blood cholesterol levels, you lower your risk of coronary disease and stroke. Whole grains are another source of soluble fiber and provide vitamins to help maintain a healthy heart. The soluble fiber binds with cholesterol, which is then shunted out of the body, and their level falls. These good fats will also keep your cholesterol levels low.

In spite of what the thousands of seemingly "healthy" products claim, the truth is there are no shortcuts to becoming fit and healthy. It is a conscious effort and choice. Our purpose is to help make the healthier alternative easier to choose. Most people can lower their cholesterol by choosing an active lifestyle, achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight, and eating better. Eating healthy for your heart is something everybody should attempt to do, particularly when it comes to restoring health and reducing cardiovascular disease.




Everyone wants to feel better, look better and be happier. For more information on healthy food for the heart go to http://healthylivinginformation.net and start your plan of reducing your risk of heart disease today! You can find other important healthy living information there as well.




Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Benefits of Green Tea and the Best Way to Get Them


Green tea has become almost a rage amongst the health conscious during the last couple of years. People swear by the benefits of green tea, and have made it a part of their daily diet. Let's find out what makes this tea so good for our health.

Before we talk about the benefits of green tea, we must first understand what causes our bodies to be susceptible to diseases. One of the primary causes of aging and disease is the damage caused by free radicals. These free radicals disrupt our digestive processes, damage body cells resulting in cancerous growth, cause heart disease and liver problems also.

Green tea addresses these problems primarily due to the antioxidants present in it. Polyphenols present in the tea contain these antioxidants, which fight against free radicals effectively. This helps prevent the formation of cancerous cells in the body and also inhibits the spread of existing cancerous cells, if present.

The polyphenols also prevent heart disease, regulate blood pressure, and prevent diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels. It also lowers the amount of LDL cholesterol in the body.

Green tea also helps prevent tooth decay due to the fluoride present in it. If all this is not enough, it also helps in losing weight faster by increasing the rate at which our body burns fat during exercising. This effectively means more calories are burned by doing the same amount of exercise.

As you can see, the benefits of green tea cover almost every bodily function. The next question that arises is, how to best consume it?

The obvious choice is to drink it like any other beverage. There are two problems here. One, you will have to drink at least 3-5 cups of it daily to get all the health benefits, which can be difficult to do on a regular basis. Second, green tea also contains small quantities of caffeine. This may cause sleeplessness or anxiety.

The best alternative is to take nutritional supplements containing green tea extract. Since they contain green tea in a concentrated form, just taking a couple of capsules a day will be enough. Also, you can find supplements that contain minimal amounts of caffeine. This ensures you would not have any side effects at all.

To top it all, a good supplement will contain a multitude of minerals and vitamins apart from green tea, which enhances the health benefits you get out of them many times over.

In conclusion, find a good nutritional supplement that provides you the benefits of green tea and many more nutrients. This can put to rest all your health worries in one shot.




Dan Reeves is a passionate researcher of supplements, natural health and healthy living. He shares his research on his website - Supplements Home. If you want to make the most of your life and your health, naturally, visit http://www.supplementshome.com today.




Why Red Wine Is Good for the Heart


We have known for quite a while now that a moderate intake of alcohol, particularly red wine, is good for your blood pressure and heart in general. It was Paracelsus, the Renaissance physician/alchemist, who said, 'Wine is a food, medicine or poison, it is just a question of dose.' The first 'proper' academic study to support the belief in the health benefits of wine appeared in the medical journal Lancet in 1979. It showed a strong inverse correlation of wine consumption with heart disease. In 1992, again in the Lancet, a paper on the French Paradox was published referring to the unexpected finding that, even with a high saturated fat intake, the incidence of heart disease in France was relatively low.

Since then abundant evidence has accumulated on the protective qualities of wine, including its ability to protect against high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, reduce complications in people known to have heart disease and a to reduce death rates in general.

Researchers believe that red wine exerts its beneficial effects on the heart and circulation by altering the dysfunction of blood vessels that underlies some forms of heart disease. Some plant chemicals in red wine exert specific effects on blood vessels by suppressing a harmful body substance that is linked to early heart disease - these protective chemicals are called polyphenols. There are many groups of polyphenols. The main group in red wine is the flavinoids, which derive from the seed and skin of the grape.

The levels of polyphenol that ultimately end up in the wine depend upon the fermentation process which is necessary to extract them, which is why ordinary grape juice does not contain much. The polyphenol levels in red wine vary and the content is reduced by a long period of ageing. This means that young (traditionally fermented) tannic wine is better for your heart - if not your palate - than older wines; you can recognize these by the mouth-puckering effect that you experience on first sipping the wine! (remember this if you regularly entertain with wine - any complaints about your vintage can be dealt with by explaining the health benefits).

Certain traditional wine-making areas in Sardinia and the Republic of Georgia are areas noted for their high number of centenarians and researchers have established that the wines have a higher polyphenol content than most. The reason seems to be that the vineyards are at higher altitudes, possibly affecting the levels of UV light the grapes are exposed to. Australian wines for example, from grapes grown at low altitudes, are not as high in polyphenol content.

Not everyone wants to drink wine, however, luckily there are other sources of these compounds that one can drink; green tea, pomegranates, honey and cocoa are good alternatives. The chocolate manufacturing process tends to destroy polyphenols so chocolate only contains about 5% of the original amounts. Fresh cranberry juice is as good as red wine but the juice sold in shops has lower levels than fresh cranberry juice. Pomegranate juice is probably the best source.

As a guide to equivalence two glasses (250ml) of red wine should have as much as 10 cups of green tea, six cups of cocoa, four glasses of cranberry juice or one glass of pomegranate juice. Bear in mind though, as already explained, levels vary greatly depending upon the source and method of producing the various drinks. There are of course many food sources - vegetables such as broccoli, celery, onions and cabbage and fruits such as grapes, apples and pears. A healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables will give you a satisfactory intake.

A caution however; implicit in Paracelsus' comment on poisons is that too much of a good thing may not be good for you. Research into the use of polyphenol supplements added to a normal diet has not shown any major benefits. So don't waste your money on supplements - put it into a few bottles of mouth-puckering, traditionally made red wine instead.




Dr Neil O Johnson is the editor of http://www.control-high-blood-pressure.com, a website dedicated to providing information and support to help people take control of their blood pressure. You can access news, discussion and evidence-based information that will help you keep your blood pressure under control at http://www.control-high-blood-pressure.com/index.html.

Visit now and Take Control!
Copyright: you may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact."




Monday, November 7, 2011

3 Magic Foods For Smart Heart Health


A healthy lifestyle is essential to maintain good health, improve the quality of your life and stay healthy. Today's lifestyle spells hurry and worry. You are always anxious to meet deadlines and always do things in a hurry to keep up with the fast pace of life. You can improve your health despite a frenzied lifestyle with these few helpful heart friendly recipe suggestions.

Let's take a look at these heart healthy recipes which play a role in preventive medicine to enhance the quality of your life.



A refreshing heart healthy tea recipe: Boil a slice of fresh ginger with lemongrass, brown sugar and a bag of green tea. Cool and serve over crushed ice. Improves digestion, cures cold and cough, tastes divine.


Flax powder: Roast 1 cup of flaxseeds over medium flame stirring continuously to avoid burning. Once it sputters, remove roasted flaxseeds and keep aside. In the same pan, heat ½ teaspoon oil, add 2-3 cloves of pressed garlic, a handful of sesame seeds, about 12-15 dried curry leaves. (You can dry the curry leaves but microwaving them for 30 seconds). Add chilli powder and salt as per taste. Add contents of the pan, roasted flaxseeds, chilli powder and salt into the blender. Blend into fine powder. Use this flaxseed powder as a garnish over salads, use it to add flavor to foods, eat with pancakes, or add in sandwiches. The idea is to consume about 1 tablespoon of this powder everyday. Flax has fiber and omega 3 fats which are cardio-protective and has numerous health benefits.


Soy: Soymilk, defatted soyflour, soya chunks, soya nuggets are the different forms in which soy proteins can be consumed. 20 grams of soya protein consumed everyday is particularly beneficial in controlling high blood pressure, lowering triglycerides, high cholesterol. Thus, soy has several heart healthy benefits.
Green tea, flaxseeds and soy are the top three magic foods which deliver the goodness of heart protective flavonoid compounds, omega 3 fats and isoflavones respectively. It is important to incorporate these three power foods in your daily diet along with regular exercise. You can be creative and think of many different ways of consuming them for heart healthy living.




http://www.HomeRemediesCures.com is your guide to deal with your everyday health problems at your convenience. Heart Disease Remedies and Benefits of Exercise are related topics to get you heart smart!

Pallavi writes health and wellness articles for a number of websites and international magazines. She is a nutrition consultant and health Writer who guides you with natural cures related information on aromatherapy, yoga, home remedies, diet, massage and more.




Day 1 For The Heart Foundation Diet


There are so many diets in the market these days. This is probably due the high numbers of obese people worldwide and the fast food culture which we all enjoy. There are many diets to choose from like low calorie diets, juice diet, soups diets and even cookie diets. Another amazing diet in the market is the heart foundation diet.

The heart foundation diet claims that you can lose 10 pounds in 3 days if you follow the instructions to a tee. The diet lists down what you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This diet is a very low calorie diet where you only consume about 700 calories a day. This diet got popular because of the internet where it has been circulating for quite a bit. There have been no studies supporting the claims of this heart foundation diet so it is up to you if want to take a risk and try it.

The following is what you can eat on day one of the diet:

For breakfast: Consume 5 snax biscuits. Snax is a brand of crackers so you can try looking for them in a super market, 1 small slice of cheddar cheese to go along with your biscuits. You also have to eat one apple and drink a single cup of black tea, coffee or water.

For lunch: You can only eat a single boiled egg and a slice of plain toast. You should again drink 1 cup of black tea, coffee or water. You can consume anything else when you're on this diet.

For dinner: You are allowed to have a cup of tuna, a cup of beetroot and a cup of cauliflower. You're allowed to have dessert but you can only eat half of a melon, half a cup of vanilla ice cream, and still have 1 cup of black tea, coffee or water.

You will need to strictly follow this menu in order to get results. All meals are planned when you're following the heart foundation diet. If you're really interested in doing the heart foundation diet than all you have to do is search for what you need to eat for days two and three. Good luck and stay healthy!




The tips that I gave here helped me transform my body to be thinner and sexier and I'm sure that you'll be able to do the same. But honestly there's 1 more secret tip that helped me get thinner quickly and easily (my friends kept bugging me about it). If you want to know my #1 diet secret, visit http://LoseWaistFat.org.