Cause Your Health Counts

Over two-thirds of all deaths in America have been linked to diet related diseases. Most of us are overfed yet undernourished. Part of the problem is lack of knowledge; along with conflicting reports, Upbringing / Lifestyles, Unhealthy eating patterns, Nutrient deficient foods, Soil depletion, Chemically altered foods and Genetically mutated crops.

Proper nutrition can enrich your health. We all have our different nutritional needs due to the protein content of a personal eating plan; it is diverse and unique from individual to individual. The total caloric needs and protein requirements make up the foundation in creating your personal nutritional plan.

Most people tend to eat too much of the wrong thing at the wrong times,and not enough of the right thing at the right time. So you ask,…� What can I eat�
(more…)

Cutting out 300 calories a day and exercising for just 30 to 45 minutes 3 to 4 times a week will result in loosing 1 pound. Cutting out 300 calories a day is as simple as not buttering your bread.

As you get older your metabolism slows down. After the age of 30, your body gradually begins to decrease in muscle tissue. If your activity level stays the same and the amount of calories you eat stay the same, you will still gain weight because your metabolism has slowed down. However, if you exercise and weight train a regular basis, you probably won’t notice much of a change in your metabolism as you age.

Strength Training helps increase your metabolism because fat burns less calories than muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn. (more muscle equal less body fat.)
(more…)

The Food Pyramid is a visual image illustrating the percentages of each group of food that make up a healthy diet.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Food Pyramid, which was updated to its current form in 1991. The most recent update represents a shift in thinking in American nutrition. Nutritionists used to recommend a diet high in protein. They now call for the average adult to consume less meat, while recommending greater consumption of vegetables, fruits, and grains.

The Food Pyramid, with its recommended servings, represents what the diet and nutrition experts consider to be the most solid, reliable, well-researched thinking to date. It provides a good model for healthy eating. The basic pyramid, developed by the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is only one model, however. This pyramid has been adapted for ethnic preferences and there are now pyramids for the Mediterranean diet, the Asian diet and the Latin American diet. Other diets, such as the Hawaiian diet, can also be placed on a food pyramid.
(more…)

Twenty years ago, the food enemy was fat. Today, it’s carbs. From diets to restaurant menus to supermarkets, we’ve become a low-carb nation. Is that good? Depends on how far you take it. Going low-carb without paying attention to total calories may mean you won’t lose weight and you might even gain.

The American Heart Association and the American College of Preventive Medicine both held national conferences recently. The topic of concern on this low-carb trend is that the emphasis should be on the rest of the calories they were taking in–especially those from fat Eat too many calories and you won’t lose weight; you might even gain weight. People that focus on low-carbohydrate intake, are missing this point.

There has been an increase in fat and cholesterol intake while fruits and vegetables have decreased in the past few years.
(more…)

Fish Oil Capsules are more than just brain food. Recent studies have found an association between consumption of fish oil and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as improvements in other health conditions, such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. The benefits of consuming more fish is directed at the effects derived from omega 3 fatty acids in many fish species.

Support for the use of fish oil capsules primarily comes from three well�known epidemiological studies, two of which were carried on outside of the United States. One study, conducted in the Netherlands, suggested ingestion of as little as 35 grams of fish per day (a single one-half pound meal of fish per week) might help prevent coronary heart disease, possibly significantly reducing mortality due to cardiovascular disease in a 20 year follow up. Further, it has been suggested a regular diet of fish may decrease levels of plasma triglycerides, plasma cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LOL) , and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL)
(more…)

All low cholesterol diets have six main goals:

1. Reduce your dietary cholesterol.
2. Reduce total dietary fat.
3. Reduce sodium intake.
4. Increase dietary fiber.
5. Increase complex carbohydrates.
6. Reduce calories if you need to lose weight.

Why is Cholesterol Bad?

Cholesterol is carried through your body in your blood. When the amount of cholesterol in your blood is too high, some of the cholesterol sticks to the walls of your blood vessels. This is called cholesterol plaque.
(more…)

“You are what you eat”… basically what you put into your body is what you’ll get out of your body. Good nutrition is like baking a cake. The proper ingredients are what “make” the cake.

Good nutrition starts with a good recipe. Eating 5 to 6 small meals every 2 to 4 hours on a daily basis is a key element in proper nutrition; and it makes for a good recipe. Knowing the proper amount of protein your body needs for recovery as well as an adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals allow your body to function at it’s fullest potential.

Focus on establishing eating patterns: Consume a visually equal portion of lean protein, starchy carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates.(One servicing size is about the size of your fist.) Use these nutritional eating tips to help guide you through your training. Yes, “training”. Nutrition is a major component of proper training. It will help you maintain a certain energy level during your workout sessions as well as assist in increasing your metabolism rate causing you to lose some inches around your mid-section.
(more…)

When dieting and exercise have not helped or an individual feels other weight loss means should be considered, the idea of gastric bypass or bariatric surgery becomes more and more appealing. One of the main concerns of someone looking towards this approach includes the major complications that come with weightloss surgery.

During weight loss surgery, there are several complications that may arise in a patient. For starters, minor allergic reactions may occur, including rashes and other sudden changes within the body. Sometimes, these reactions can unfortunately lead to death. Another potential killer during weight loss surgery includes major complications resulting from the anesthesia used to put you asleep for the operation. The weightloss surgery involves a series of major incisions and cuts on the body, which causes excessive bleeding that sometimes can lead to emergency surgery, blood transfusion, even death.
(more…)

Is there any way to make weight loss fun? Many struggle with finding the motivation, patience and enthusiasm to continue on a diet plan. Fitting into that size 8 dress just isn’t enough to keep some dieters going. Some may stick with a weight loss regimen if there were some sort of games and incentives for dieting to keep them interested and motivated.

A little incentive goes a long way to get people moving in the right direction. And soon you won’t have to look too far. Some of the games and incentives for dieting can be found at the home, while some are finding the incentives within their own workplace. On the home front, game systems, such as Playstation and Xbox have found appeal not only with teenagers and kids, but with adults as well. The subject matter of games can be anywhere from duck hunting to spy simulation to… weight loss?
(more…)

Many individuals believe that dieting without salad leads to unsuccessful results. In actuality, there are many different approaches for dieting without salad where weight loss and a fit physique can be achieved. The key to shedding unwanted pounds is increasing the amount of exercise throughout a day, as well as substituting some of your everyday foods with low-fat or fat-free options.

Sometimes dieting without salad is not recommended for those who feel they can eat whatever they want in a salad and believe they are not consuming a high amount of calories. To the contrary, one of the important parts to creating and eating a salad may be the most damaging. Topping off most salads is the salad dressing, which can add tons of unnecessary calories without a second thought. Sometimes this diet selection becomes fattier than a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Beginner salad eaters also like to drench their greens with dressing to disguise the taste of something they’d rather not be eating.
(more…)