Month: July 2015

You already know that exercise boosts your metabolism, of course. And we can not recommend highly enough that you do some type of aerobic activity every day, even if it’s just walking up a few flights of stairs a few times a day at work, or taking a brisk walk on your lunch hour.

If you do aerobic exercise, your metabolism remains higher for up to eight hours after you finish exercising!

And if you exercise enough to put on more muscle, so much the better. Building up muscle can boost your metabolism by ten percent or more, which will generally mean you can eat a few hundred more calories a day.

But when you’re dieting you need all of the help that you can get, so here are some ways to boost that metabolism and burn those calories off faster.

5 Diet Changes To Boost Your Metabolism

1.) Magnesium: Magnesium is necessary to keep your metabolism functioning properly. Magnesium plays an important role in over 300 enzymatic reactions within the body including the metabolism of food and synthesis of fatty acids and proteins.

Magnesium is involved in neuromuscular transmission and activity and muscle relaxation. Magnesium deficiency, especially prevalent in older populations, is linked to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, coronary heart disease and osteoporosis.

If you are not getting enough magnesium in your diet, your metabolism may slow down. (When you buy vitamin supplements, never take more than the recommended dose, however!)

2.) Vitamin B is another vitamin that is essential for boosting your metabolism. B-12 in particular is known to give an energy boost and increase your metabolic rate.

In addition to their role in metabolism and in maintaining healthy skin and hair, B vitamins have been linked to a lower incidence of stroke — a condition where a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain, or a blood vessel bursts in the brain.

3.) Spicy foods. Studies show that eating foods containing ingredients like black pepper, ginger, and chili peppers can boost your metabolism by as much as 8 percent for several hours after you eat them!

4.) Green Tea not only boosts your metabolism, studies show that Green Tea has health benefits including acting as an anti-oxidant and protecting against heart disease.

5.) Water. Dehydration causes your metabolism to slow down. Even mild dehydration can cause your metabolism to slow down as much as three percent, in much the same way that cutting back on calories does.

When your body is deprived of water it slows down all of its metabolic functions. Drinking water not only fills you up, it keeps your metabolism functioning efficiently.

These metabolism boosting foods are a great addition to your regular diet anyway and the fact that they will help you increase your metabolism is an added advantage to start using them.

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Acupuncture for back pain is an ancient Chinese healing system that is highly effective in the treatment of many illnesses like nausea, migraines, aches and pains and infertility. It works by inserting needles into certain calculated points in the body.

Acupuncture has been proven to be especially beneficial in the treatment of back pain, a common complaint these days.

Acupuncture for back pain requires inserting very fine needles of depth varying from 1/4th to an inch into certain points on the body that are said to be the balancing points of life force known in Traditional Chinese Medicine as chi. This type of treatment depends on the individual needs of the patient.

Common Causes of Back Pain

Back pain may be due to several reasons like spraining of the ligaments in the back or a muscle rupture. It may also occur due to a herniated disc. Sciatica, which is pain due to the inflammation of the sciatic nerve can also lead to severe back pain and is quite common among people who are elderly and middle aged.

Another reason for chronic back ache may be an underlying deficiency in the body. Incorrect posture, long hours spent in front of the computer and poor dietary habits are some of the causes of back pain.

Traditional Chinese Acupuncture For Back Pain

Moxibustion – In this method, a Chinese herb called mugwort is applied to acupuncture points using heat and is used to treat particular patients of arthritis and back pain. The moxa is rolled into thin sticks, burned and then held above the body parts.

Electro Acupuncture – This makes use of a weak electric current passed through the acupuncture needle. This aids in relieving inflammation, subsiding swellings and is especially effective in acupuncture for back pain.

Tui Na – The traditional Chinese system of Tui Na uses massages deployed along with acupuncture for improved results in a range of muscle or joint pain.

Cupping – In this method, suction jars or glass cups are kept on the body for about ten minutes. This helps in the stimulation of the blood vessels thereby improving blood supply and aiding in treatment of back pain and other ailments like nausea and influenza and common cold.

Will Acupuncture For Back Pain Work?

A strong point in support of acupuncture for back pain is the fact that it has hardly any side effects when performed by a qualified practitioner.

There may be some discoloring at the site of acupuncture for back pain but it is fleeting and not dangerous at all.

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Fiber is one of those things that we are told to eat more of yet there should be some confusion. Not all fiber is alike.

Most Americans know that foods high in fiber are full of nutrients because they are less processed. There are two kinds of dietary fiber and you need both.

Two Types of Fiber

Insoluble fiber (the type that does not dissolve in water and is found in wheat bran, oats, whole grains and vegetables) helps promote regularity, prevent hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. It may also help prevent colon cancer.

Soluble fiber (the type that dissolves in water, found in oat bran, oats, beans, apples and carrots) helps lower blood cholesterol levels and control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

According to the American Dietetic Association’s(ADA) Dietary Guidance for Health Children aged 2 to 11, the perfect fiber intake has not been defined.

Several organizations have suggested that children over 2 consume a daily intake equal or greater than their age plus 5 grams per day. So if you have an eight year old, he or she might consume 13 grams of dietary fiber per day. Ultimately, they should build up to consuming 25 to 35 grams per day after the age of 20 years.

But that may seem a long way off for your child.

How can you Incorporate Fiber into your Daily Diet?

First, start consuming high fiber foods in small amounts. Let your body adjust by increasing the fiber you eat in small increments. If you increase your fiber intake dramatically, gas, diarrhea, and bloating may result.

Here are some great sources of fiber from a great page on Fiber at Mercola.com

 

t is actually because your body can’t digest fiber that it plays such an important part in digestion. Soluble fiber, like that found in cucumbers, blueberries, beans, and nuts, dissolves into a gel-like texture, helping to slow down your digestion. This helps you to feel full longer and is one reason why fiber may help with weight control.

Insoluble fiber, found in foods like dark green leafy vegetables, green beans, celery, and carrots, does not dissolve at all and helps add bulk to your stool. This helps food to move through your digestive tract more quickly for healthy elimination. Many whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, naturally contain both soluble and insoluble fiber.

However, increasing your fiber intake gradually should minimize these effects. Substitute peas, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables for some of the processed foods you eat.

Think about replacing high fat or highly processed foods with high fiber foods.

Second, drink plenty of fluids to help the fiber do its work. Make sure that you are drinking lots as you will have a lot of trouble running that fiber through your system without enough water to make it work

Third, choose foods, not fiber supplements, to gradually increase your intake of fiber. Fiber containing foods offer other nutrients like vitamins, minerals and protein while supplements may not. Here are some healthful combinations that can be incorporated into your daily menu:

Visit the Family Health site site to see a table with the amount of fiber in common foods.

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