Weight loss is becoming an unhealthy obsession dealing with body images, but in some cases can improve health and fitness.
When weight loss is a result of eating healthy, exercising and/or taking natural supplements it is considered positive. Extra weight, especially extra fat on a person’s body, applies significantly increased stresses on the heart, joints and back. These stresses can be extremely detrimental to one’s health. Healthy weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes and other health problems, as well as generally extending an otherwise average life span. Recently, the scientific root cause or explanation of obesity has been revealed as being part of one’s physiology. The internal functions of an obese person are different than those of a healthy person, and cause intense hunger pains and food cravings. Natural weight loss supplements can help counteract this constant hunger and lead to healthy weight loss. Unbalanced hormones are a common cause of weight gain, therefore taking natural hormone balancers and herbal supplements would help to create a healthy weight loss regimen.
Natural Weight Loss for Good Health and Well Being
Weight loss is becoming an unhealthy obsession dealing with body images, but in some cases can improve health and fitness. When weight loss is a result of eating healthy, exercising and/or taking natural weight loss supplements in contrast to synthetic prescription drugs with the risk of harmful side effects, weight loss can be effective, rewarding, and greatly improve overall health.
Extra weight, especially extra fat on a person’s body, applies significantly increased stresses on the heart, joints and back. These stresses can be extremely detrimental to one’s health. Healthy weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis and other health problems, as well as generally extending an otherwise average life span. Recently, the scientific root cause or explanation of obesity has been revealed as being part of one’s physiology. The internal functions of an obese person are different than those of a healthy person, and cause intense hunger pains and food cravings.
Natural weight loss supplements can help counteract this constant hunger and lead to healthy weight loss. Unbalanced hormones are a common cause of weight gain, therefore taking natural hormone balancers and herbal supplements would help to create a healthy weight loss regimen. Restoring your health allows you to lose weight naturally, without excess frustration and effort. It’s all about losing weight from the inside out.
Emotional issues always accompany change, especially changes in our bodies e.g. natural weight loss. Weight loss affects our perception body image, our sense of identity i.e. who am I?, and how we feel about ourselves in general. Weight loss also effects our social relationships in that there may be people in our family or social contacts that are emotionally invested in our remaining the same i.e. overweight with all that it symbolizes e.g. friendliness, non-threatening, protective, jovial, helpful, etc. Beyond our physical health, it can be said that “size matters†cognitively and emotionally to ourselves and others. Eating and food have come to symbolize being accepted, being cared for and comfort. Having the support of others in our efforts to naturally lose weight and regain our health is a huge advantage.
We have been conditioned to fear any kind of loss, including weight loss. Especially if what we may lose is something with which we identify i.e. use to tell us who we are.
The emotions of fear, anger, anxiety and depression effect our weight. We often tend to stuff our feelingsor numb these emotional feelings or stress by overeating. We may even overeat, thinking that will ease the physical discomfort caused by excess weight e.g. physical pain, lack of sleep, and lack of energy caused by moderate depression. To improve our overall health and support us through the process of natural weight loss and the emotional dynamics around it, we can take advantage of natural sleep aids, natural depression relief and natural pain relief health care products.
Our weight and health is greatly dependent upon our having a healthy digestive system or metabolism. Our digestive system converts, on a cellular and muscular level, the foods we eat,
eliminates toxins, and uses and stores glucose for energy. Natural enzymes trigger hunger signals and facilitate absorption of nutrition. Good digestion with the help of natural enzymes aids in the conversion of fat to muscle.
Allergy and sensitivity to food, parasites, yeast overgrowth and emotional stress are signals of digestive disruption and inflammation. Natural essential fatty acids work to reduce intestinal inflammation, decrease harmful acids, help the liver process proteins that grow muscle, balance hormones and facilitate the elimination of toxins. Natural essential fatty acids help clear our digestive system of heavy metals, harmful bacteria, pesticides that we are increasingly encountering in our environment. Essential fatty acids along with natural fiber help us clean out the intestinal debris that harm our health and often lead to weight gain. Essential fatty acids also help our brain’s neurotransmitters to function properly in order to deal with stress, emotions, and cravings that can lead to overeating and weight gain.
Natural amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins. Next to water, protein makes up the greatest part of our body weight. Amino acids help increase metabolism, build muscle, ease moderate depression, and help burn fat. Natural antioxidants help carry more oxygen to cells and muscles to help increase energy, burn fat, build muscle and process the foods we eat.
Hormone balance is essential for natural weight loss. Our metabolism slows as we get older because of the decrease or imbalance of hormones. This contributes to weight gain. Hormone balance also helps us deal with stress that leads to weight gain. Proper hormone balance helps to decrease cravings and binge eating. There are many natural hormone balancing products available, e.g. natural progesterone, promensil, soy isoflavones, essential fatty acids and hormone balancing formulas.
Our metabolism’s primary task is to nourish our brains. We need healthy neurotransmitters to help us curb craving, ease depression, and deal with stress that lead to weight gain. Balancing our natural brain chemistry has a calming effect and allows us to feel a sens of well being and safety. There are many natural health care products to help balance brain chemistry, e.g. essential fatty acids, natural depression relief products, natural products to increase serotonin, and more. When our brain feels well and safe, it is prone to change our metabolism from calorie saving to calorie burning.
Our bodies were designed to move and be active. Movement requires muscle activity. Muscle activity uses the glycogen supply found in our muscles. When this glycogen supply stored in our muscles is used, our body is forced to use stored fat as an energy source. Using this stored fat through movement and exercise, results in natural weight loss. There is no reason for us to become athletes to accomplish natural weight loss. Low impact exercise like swimming, walking, etc, can be done slowly and without strain. In order to lose real weight rather than water weight, it is important to drink extra amounts of water when exercising. Drinking more water will also help our digestive system and metabolism to use and eliminate extra weight.
Remember, the first objective, accomplished through natural weight loss, is to improve our physical and emotional health. This involves having a healthy digestive system, a healthy emotional system and a healthy nutritional system. We can build these healthy systems with natural vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, natural digestive aid, pain relief aid, natural sleep aids, natural emotional and mood aids, essential fatty acids and many more helpful natural health care products. We need to concentrate on improving our general health, feeling good, and living well through natural weight loss, rather than constantly comparing ourselves to someone else’s idea about appearance from some magazine. Physical and emotional health is primary. Appearance may be important to us, but it is secondary. Through natural weight loss, we can live well and live long.
The Importance of Fiber for Weight Loss and Health
We live in a time when most of our food sources are composed of convenient, fast, and processed foods. In addition to the chemicals and preservatives added, this has resulted in food with less nutritional value. One of those nutritional values is the lowered amounts of natural fiber. One of the disturbing health concerns that has resulted from this is that we have had an enormous increase in the number of people, especially young people, wh are overweight or obese. Excess weight leads to other physical health concerns and also emotional health concerns, i.e. self image and esteem.
People without excess weight concerns consume about 33% more dietary fiber than people who suffer weight issues. There are good reasons that people who consume more dietary fiber do not experience weight concerns. When soluble fiber combines with water, it swells the stomach giving a greater feeling that hunger has been satisfied without adding excess calories. Fiber slows the digestion process resulting in feelings of hunger occurring less frequently and providing our bodies with the time needed to properly absorb nutrients. This eliminates the feeling of hunger and feeling the need to continue eating which leads to excess weight. Fiber reduces the occurrence of spikes in blood-glucose levels which possibly leads to insulin insensitivity and food cravings. Fiber may also reduce the absorption of fat. Fiber also lowers cholesterol levels which is a serious concern for people with excess weight. High cholesterol in bile is responsible for the formation of gallstones that lead to pain and gallbladder surgery. Fiber lowers cholesterol as effectively as statin drugs, which carry the risk of harmful side effects.
Most of us consume half of the dietary fiber that we need. Lack of dietary fiber is associated with health concerns such as hemorrhoids, cancer, diabetes, varicose veins, heart diseases, appendicitis and chronic constipation. Chronic constipation is a huge complaint of many people, especially older people, and accounts for millions of visits to a doctor and is among the most frequently given reasons for the purchase of prescription or patient, synthetic drugs with their possible harmful side effects. Antacids often contain aluminum and synthetic painkillers and antidepressants may actually cause constipation. Fiber contributes greatly to the healthy function of our digestive system by removing sludge, mucus, heavy metals and fat and relieving constipation and/or diarrhea which is essential for weight loss. Fiber protects against diverticulosis by keeping waste soft and easy to eliminate. Straining hard to eliminate waste contributes to diverticulosis and also hemorrhoids.
Since many of our processed and fast foods contain little fiber, we can increase our fiber intake with the use of supplements that contain additional amounts of fiber and also contribute in many other ways to our health as well as assisting us in reducing and maintaining our weight.
Oat bran fiber contains a great deal of soluble fiber that forms a gel which produces a soft easy flow of the contents of our stomach and small intestine. This helps decrease constipation distress. The gel delays our stomach emptying giving us a longer feeling of our hunger being satisfied helping with weight loss. Oat bran fiber is also very effective in lowering cholesterol levels by attaching to cholesterol and eliminating it. People who consume oat bran fiber are far less likely to become overweight.
Apple pectin is a fiber that can be obtained in supplement form. It is a powder obtained from dried apples. Apple pectin lowers cholesterol levels, helps prevent hardening of the arteries, diabetes and may inhibit cancer metastases. Apple pectin corrects constipation and promotes digestive health including promoting the health of intestinal flora. Apple pectin is tolerated by most people with allergies.
Green foods can be obtained in supplement form and contain good amounts of fiber. In addition, green foods provide antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, active enzymes, bioflavonoids, chlorophyll and other phytonutrients necessary for cellular metabolism, repair and protection, enhanced digestion and absorption of nutrients, and detoxification. All this is vital for health and weight loss. Most of us do not get a good amount of green foods that we need because of our modern eating habits.
Flaxseed oil is one of the best choices of high fiber food. Mucilage is the unique soluble fiber in flaxseed that absorbs moisture and forms mucilagenous substance that cleans and soothes intestinal walls and relieves many intestinal discomforts. Flaxseed oil contains many vitamins, minerals and other elements that contribute to balancing blood sugar levels as well as other benefits. Balancing blood sugar levels is very important for weight loss and energy as well as a feeling of well being. Flaxseed oil lowers cholesterol and triglycerides. It helps satisfy hunger with few calories and reduces the absorption of fats.
Many of us have experience the benefit of using fiber to lose weight.. We come to know the use of fiber for weight loss as “fiber trimming” or “fiber thin”. In addition, we have experienced many other very important health benefits from fiber beyond weight loss. The way foods are being processed for convenient consumption, little preparation and for long shelf life makes it difficult for us to obtain proper nutrition and health benefit without using natural health supplements. This is also true of our obtaining a healthy amount of fiber in our diets. Green foods, oat bran, apple pectin, and flaxseed oil are easily obtainable in supplement form. The cost, economically and emotionally, of obtaining natural health supplements to gain and maintain good health is far less than the cost of illness and medical care where we risk the possibility of harmful side effects from prescription, patient, synthetic drugs and medical procedures. Fiber each day, keeps the doctor away. Prevention is far less expensive in so many ways, than repair.
We can lose weight, improve our health and feel far better about ourselves with the use of supplemental dietary fiber.
Green Tea For Weight Loss, Anti Aging and Health
We have all heard others talking about the great health benefits of green tea. Few of us, until recently, have known that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at lest 4,000 years to treat everything from pain to depression. Recent scientific research in Japan and other Asian countries have given us a better idea of just how green tea provides health benefits, especially for weight loss and maintenance.
Green tea contains high concentations of catechin polyphenols which increase fat oxidation and thermogenesis. Thermogenenesis is heat created in our bodies by burning fuels such as fat. The thermogenesis that green tea creates was at first thought to be because of its caffeine. Research has shown that green tea stimulates brown fat thermogenesis with far more effectiveness than an equal amount of caffeine alone. The catechin plyphenols contained in green tea, especially epigallocatecin gallate, EGCG, works with caffeine synergistically to stimulate thermogenesis and prolong sympathetic thermogenesis. Research has shown that green tea increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation during a whole 24 hour period whereas caffeine only increases metabolism at the time it is ingested. Green tea helps burn an extra 78 calories per day.
We gain weight because excess sugars and fats are stored in our fat cells. Green tea inhibits the movement of glucose, i.e. excess sugars and fats, in fat cells. Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be released more slowly therefore preventing spikes in blood insulin levels which can produce false hunger feelings. For a long time researchers have wondered why the French have fewer excess weight concerns and heart disease concerns since the French diet is so rich in fats. Their answer was that the resveratrol, a polyphenol, found in red wine limited the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. The University of Kansas found that the EGCG in green tea is twice as powerful as resveratrol found in red wine.
It has been found that epigallocateching gallate, EGCG, contained in green tea is at least 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E in protecting cells and DNA from damage. This makes green tea one of the most powerful antioxidants available. Antioxidants have been shown to fight viruses and slow the aging process. EGCG is very effective in lowering LDL cholesterol and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Green tea has been shown to relax blood vessels which is also important for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. The powerful antioxidant content of green tea because of its high amounts of polyphenols and flavenoids greatly strengthens our immune system and slows the aging process.
EGCG contained in green tea inhibits the grown of cancer cells and kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. The National Cancer Research Institute of Tokyo suggests that green tea may be a very effective way of preventing cancer.. Green tea has been shown to lower all types of cancers, especially in digestive and urinary tracts. Green tea applied topically has been shown to protect skin against cancer and actually slow the progress of skin cancer that is already present. Green tea is being used more and more in topical natural skin care products. Green tea has been shown to benefit white blood cells during chemotherapy treatment.
Because of its antibacterial qualities, green tea is effective in preventing tooth decay, gum disease, dental plaque and greatly reduce the harmful bacteria in the mouth. Green tea’s antibacterial qualities also helps in the prevention of food poison and decrease in harmful bacteria found in our digestive systems.
So why is green tea more beneficial than other teas. The answer is in the processing. Green tea leaves are steamed. This prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. Black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves. Fermentation causes EGCG to be converted into compounds that are not as effective in helping with weight loss and in antioxidant value. Therefore, green tea with it’s steam processing retains all the effectiveness and amounts of EGCG, which results in its weight loss and antioxidant benefits.
Most of us are drinking something during most of our day. If we make green tea our drink, we have found a very simple and consistent way of adding great health benefits to our lives. By drinking green tea, we have found a simple and consistent way of eliminating our body weight concerns, building our immune system, improving our oral health, improving our digestive health and slowing the aging process. Using topical skin care products containing green tea improves our skin condition and appearance. Green tea is also available in supplement capsule form if we are wanting to obtain it’s benefits without drinking green tea.
Tags: Amino Acids, anti aging, Depression, eating healthy, essential fatty acids, green tea, natual vitamins, natural sleep aid, natural weight loss