But this does not mean that turning vegetarian overnight will make you slimmer. There are a number of vegetarian food items which include higher amount of calories like nuts, peanut butter, salad dressings, sweets etc. which can make you fatter. Not only that, vegetarians must make sure that their diet provides all the necessary nutrients, especially proteins.

Advantages of vegetarian diet

Experts say that calories from plant based foods are being used more as fuel for the body than stored as fat. One reason for this is the fact that vegetarian food increases insulin sensitivity. As a result, nutrients enter the cells more rapidly to be converted as heat, rather than to be stored as fat. Vegetarian food is also low in saturated fat.

The number of obese among vegetarians is comparatively lesser. Vegetarianism also keeps obesity-related health problems like heart diseases, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes at bay.

Nutrients-rich vegetarian food

It is not fair to compromise health for weight loss. So plan your vegetarian diet in such a way that you are not deprived of any essential nutrients. You can get enough proteins from nuts, seeds, legumes and soy products like tofu and tempeh. Whole grains and rice can keep you satisfied for longer duration. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables that can provide you enough vitamins and minerals. If you are not using dairy products, you can have soy-based alternatives for milk, yoghurt and cheese fortified with calcium, vitamin D and riboflavin. You can also take daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplements to fill nutritional gaps, if there is any.

Things to avoid

While sticking on to vegetarian diet, it is important to avoid items which contain high calories like cheese, butter, salad dressing and fried food. Snacks, crackers and candy are also in the ‘to avoid’ list. Not only do they add unwanted calories but also has zero nutritional value.

Can everybody follow a vegetarian diet?

Some experts do not agree with the argument that anybody can follow a vegetarian diet. It is advisable for children, teenagers, pregnant and breast-feeding mothers to consult the doctor to make sure that they do not miss the much needed nutrients like proteins and minerals while following vegetarian diet.

For better results

You must plan what you are going to eat and must avoid last minute choices, which will not always be the right choice. You can add variety to your daily menu by including different fruits and vegetables, instead of following a monotonous diet every day.

A person can only be fit if he takes appropriate diet along with exercise. Too much of sweets and desserts can be harmful for health in many ways. So a limited and controlled amount of sugar must be taken in to avoid troubles. The quantity and quality of food, both affect the health of an individual. So, both of these must be planned properly.

A balance diet always includes all food items in restricted ratios. Leaving any diet item may cause weakness and improper health. Natural products have strength in reducing and preventing the diseases of various kinds. The dried straw berries are good for reducing the cholesterol level in the body. It is also considered as a blood cleanser.

The intake of water also matters a lot in digesting the food properly. The people who drink water in good quantity and at right times, remain healthy. The digestion of food is facilitated with water. So along with nutrition the intake of water is also important in keeping you physically fit.

Vegetables and fruit juices are considered healthy by health and medical science experts. The energy drinks also help maintain freshness of your skin and internal functioning of body organs. The sea food has great importance as it prevents many diseases even cancer can be prevented with its use. But excessive use of everything causes disorders in the body.

We should take care of our health at any cost as nothing is important more than the health. Life would only be great if you have good health.

As bones are in a constant state of rebuilding, when it become porous they would lose its strength in supporting our body structures. And hence the danger here is facing bones fracture incident.

A young person with strong resilient bones, who experiences a simple broken or fractured bone will heal fairly quickly. However, an older person who experiences a Hip fracture ( which is a common occurrence among seniors with osteoporosis ), could find that he has crossed the threshold into disability and worse.

More often than not, many people have the wrong idea thinking that osteoporosis is a woman’s disease. While it could be true that women can be at higher risk of bone loss during ( and after ) menopause, men also are commonly afflicted.

While genetics could plays a role in the development of osteoporosis, there’s a lot that you can actually do now to improve your chances of having a strong, flexible bones when moving into old age. More commonly, these are :-

1. Boost your calcium and vitamin D intake.

Calcium is a mineral used in a wide variety in our body functions. If you’re not getting sufficient calcium from your diet, your body will begin to break down the calcium in your bones to use it elsewhere.

Vitamin D helps your body both absorb calcium and deposit it into the bones. Many medical studies have demonstrated that adequate amounts of both calcium mineral and vitamin D will improve bone mineral density. Adequate vitamin D in daily dietary intake is important to preserve bone strength.

Our skin actually makes vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet rays of the sun. Unfortunately, many of us do not get sufficient vitamin D from either sunlight or dietary sources, so it may be important to consider adding a supplement to your diet.

Some of the best sources of calcium are low-fat and non fat dairy products like yogurt, sardines, broccoli, fortified soymilk and soy foods, cereals and much more.

2. Resistance exercise to preserve bone strength.

Resistance training and weight-bearing exercise like walking would certainly helps to stimulate new bone formation. It also helps preserves lean body mass , which also helps to keep your weight scale in-check. Exercise in general and soft type, example “Tai Chi” , could helps to enhances flexibility.

3. Don’t forget your Vitamin K

Vitamin K, is being recognized as an important player in the promotion of bone strength. There has been research showing that when a person who took vitamin K supplements, along with vitamin D, zinc, calcium, and magnesium, had significantly less bone loss after three years compared with others who took either a placebo or the same supplements minus the vitamin K.

Currently, common recommended dose for vitamin K is 9o mcg (micrograms) a day for women, and 120 mcg a day for men. Vitamin K is particularly abundant in spinach, other sources include cabbage too.

4. Potassium – Bone Booster.

Research has shown that people who get a good supply of potassium experience less bone loss than others who do not. As potassium is readily available in many fruits and vegetables, we should have no problem to reach daily healthy intake of potassium of 8,000 mg . For knowledge, a single potato has 940 mg of potassium, and a banana contains 490 mg !

5. Watch Your Caffeine Consumption.

It is well known that excessive amounts of caffeine can affect bone strength, as it increases the amount of calcium excreted in the urine. Limit your daily coffee consumption ! Don’t forget that soda contain caffeine as well as phosphates, which tend to pull calcium from the bones.

While many people love coffee, and some consider it a must for daily intake, you should consider adding some non fat milk, or low-fat milk, or calcium-fortified soymilk to your coffee. This could helps to counteract adverse effects of the caffeine.

So what should you do? You want to get the body you want without sacrificing your favorite foods or doing hard exercises. Believe it or not, you could do that. However, the results probably take a bit longer. Let’s say, it would take 30 days so you could see the results with your own eyes, than any weight loss program that promises you the fast weight loss in 7 days.

Would you do it? Would you trade the dream of fast weight loss with the conscious one? The one which you can still eat your favorite food while you’re having a fun diet plan? If you do, keep reading.

In the recent studies, it’s concluded that your body absorbs more nutrition from the food that you like. It means, even if you stuff yourself with healthy salads or broccolis that you don’t like, your body have a lower chance to absorb the nutrition. Why is that happen? Well, because if the smell or sight of salads can’t make you droll, why do you think your stomach not feeling the same way?

When you see some foods that you like, for example, a roasted chicken with a special sauce, the smell or sight of it will trigger our stomach to release more digestive enzymes. This is the big differences between the consummation of salads and roasted chicken. These digestive enzymes will digest and absorbs more nutrition from your roasted chicken, than the one with salads. So, if you’re not sure you could barely alive by eating salads everyday, it’s suggested that you get back to your favorite food. But please, do discipline yourself not to overeat it. If you could only eat HALF of your usual portion, it would be better that way.

So, how to fit your favorite foods into your diet plan?

First, make sure the food you like contain nutritious substances. It means vegetables, proteins, fruits and whole grains are much preferable than any packed-specially-for-your-diet-plan type of food. Do anything you like with the food that you choose. Steam, bake, fry, or grill them as you like. Of course, it is as long as you’re more than willing to eat the foods when you’re done.

Second, find out the reasons why you need to eat. Is it because you like the foods? Is it because you’re totally hungry? Is it because you’re in the social party? Or is it because your stress triggers the needs to eat more foods? Find out the reasons of your desire to eat. That’s why it’s always suggested that you make 6 small portions of meals instead of 3 big meals so that you could eat something constantly every 3-4 hours and avoid the hunger that force you to overeat.

Third, chew slowly. Enjoy your meals by chewing it slowly. Savor every taste and texture. It’s important to eat slowly and enjoy it because you’ll feel full faster than just stuffed the foods into your mouth.

So, what about the result ? Easy diet plan and weight loss with appropriate nutritional intake and achieving optimum health.

Main contributing factor to this syndrome is probably caused by a fundamental malfunctioning in the body’s system that works on storing and burning energy. Other factors could also be genetics, unhealthy lifestyle , in-appropriate diet especially those high in refined carbohydrates and low in fiber, smoking, high intake on saturated fats, and progressive weight gain.

Metabolic Syndrome appears to have exponentially increase the risk of various health problems, notably heart related disease, diabetes, and possibly certain type of cancer too. It’s important to note that you don’t need to be obese to suffer from this Syndrome ! Many people think that obesity is the most crucial and deciding factor in this metabolic syndrome. This is not true and it’s dangerous to carry on without any treatment for the syndrome as your risk of subsequently developing more serious illness increases as time flows.

In general, if you have three or more of the following listed then you do probably have it, and you should start now to reverse your risk with appropriate diet and exercise :-

• Waist Measure : more than 40 inches for males ; above 35 inches for females
• Blood pressure: greater than 130/85
• Serum triglycerides : greater than 15o mg/di
• High fasting glucose ( or blood sugar ), of at least Ho mg/d1 of blood
• HDLs : less than 4o mg for males and less than 5o mg for females

In general, the following steps should be taken if you have sign of suffering from metabolic syndrome :-

1. Work on to start losing those excess weight.
2. Increase physical activity ; Example, more exercise.
3. Watch your blood pressure level. Take steps to reduce it if it goes high.
4. Adopt healthy diet plan consisting more on vegetables and fruits.
5. Watch your cholesterol level. Consider to take medication to control it if the level doesn’t goes right.
6. Avoid a very low-fat diet ! Yes, low fats dietary is alright, but ‘very low-fat’ diet is not ! Any diet that has less than 20 percent of calories from fat could exacerbate metabolic syndrome. Usually, eating very little fat means an increase in carbohydrate consumption can cause both triglycerides and blood glucose to rise, worsening metabolic syndrome.

Discuss with your local health care provider to see if you should pursue further medication or more appropriate diet, exercise, and stress control.

Strawberry, being one of the best source in cancer prevention fruit, contain kind of special acidic substances, that act as anti-toxic material and preventing cancer cells from being developed. Further, strawberry also has an enzyme that helps in preventing leukemia.

Citrus fruits class fruits( like orange, lemon, grapefruit ) , with its rich Vitamin C, helps in strengthening our body, skin, lung, intestinal, and liver . By transforming water-soluble toxic into fat soluble substances, it helps discharges those toxic substances out of our body, keep us healthy.

As well known, Vitamin C helps in strengthening our body immunity, researches indicated that for those who eat citrus class fruits in their daily dietary, has show positive reduction in cancer risk prevention of about 30% for , for pancreas cancer risk.  For those who often eat citrus class fruits, the possibilities of contracting mouth related deseases such as oral cavity, pharynx and larynx, stomach cancer, the risk level could be reduced as much as 50%  !

In recent laboratory researches, it is discover that Kiwi ( which Vitamin C content is often recognized as high as 4 to 12 times compare to orange, about 30 times more than apple. is apple 30 times, grape’s 60 times ),  contain active substance that help in preventing cancer. Also, according to researches, apricot is the one of the best fruit that contain highest level of Vitamin B17 content. This particular Vitamin is highly effective in anti cancer treatment, as it eliminates the cancer infected cells. There are even research reports showing that cancer patients whom undergo treatment with Vitamin B17, more than 90% are treated successfully. Till now, there has been whooping number of about 4000 terminally illed cancer patient’s being saved by using Vitamin B17 in their treatments.

Nevertheless, although it is well known that the positive effects of these fruits in fighting cancer is highly recommended, people still need to eat accordingly when consuming these fruits. Depending to individual dietary habits, some may develop allergy or body/organ disorder if not careful especially consuming the fruits in raw form. Example would be patients with kidney illness are not advisable to consume much of strawberry as the fruit contain higher level of calcium, which may aggregate the kidney illness or worsen the condition.

Like what we often said – An Apple a day keeps the doctor away. But well, just like everything else,  having too much of it could sometimes brings trouble too ! So, proper consumption is still advisable.

Cherry
Since ancient times, cheery has been used widely in cosmetology. Cherry juice can help in maintaining our tender skin especially the facial part.  It is widely used in skin whitening products, especially for Asian. It is also a good idea to include cherry in your diet, for its great health benefits. Not only richly contain Vitamin C, cherry’s iron contain is about 20 times more than Apple ! Further, it is also high in Vitamin A which play important part in anti-aging, and bring younger feels to our skin.

Researches also suggest that cherries could have positive affects in inflammation related to some illness such as heart disease and arthritis. It may even help in maintaining muscle strength for those suffering from chronic pain disorder ( or ‘fibromyalgia‘ ).

Pomegranate
In fact, pomegranate is proven to have strong anti-oxidant function. It has been discovered to be able to protect skin’s cell from environmental pollution, shielding from the UV beam harm. Further, it also nurture skin cells, slowing down the aging process.

Some researches shows that the  indicated pomegranate is even better in antioxidant capacity as compared to red wine and the green tea. In laboratory studies, researchers found that pomegranate juice is able to slow down cholesterol oxidation by almost half ! This is indeed a wonderful fruit !

On top of these, Pomegranate juice is also known to have anti-inflammatory effects. Couples with its high levels of anti-oxidants capacity, pomegranate are thus believed to be able to protect our body from damages caused by harmful free radicals in the environments.

Carrot
To some people, carrot is viewed as “skin food” ! As the name suggest, carrot could moisture our skin. While some likes to eat it raw, carrot is an excellent source of Vitamin A and potassium. It also contain vitamin C, vitamin B6, thiamine, folic acid, and magnesium.

Rich in pectin substance, it works with mercury in our body to discharge harmful substances ingredient to discharge, helping to maintain healthy skin and body.  Further, with its Vitamin B1, B2, Vitamin C, Vitamin E , Glutathione, Potassium, Calcium, both Alpha and Beta Carotene, carrot also helps in anti-oxidant and skin nourishing functionality.

Apricot
Having good nourishing effect for our skin, apricot also contain rich minerals and other useful substances such as fiber, Vitamin C , iron, zinc, the Vitamin B group, Calcium, Potassium and so on.

Not only that, with its low contain in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium, apricot makes it suitable for those who are concerned in weight control while maintaining optimum health level.

Olive
As early as in the ancient Greece time, olive tree is the symbol of life and health. Beside being consumed as edible and healthy food, it is well known to be having prominent cosmetology results. t.  From the fruit itself, to its leaf, the whole olive tree could actually be refined into skin care essences. Olive essence is helpful in resisting pollution to skin cells, protecting skin from the harmful ultraviolet ray, and acting as anti-oxidant agent .

Fish – the Omega 3

Already, there are much studies that suggest omega-3 fatty acid from fish ( such as salmon, sardines ) could help in lowering some cancer risks. In some studies, men who ate moderate to large amount of fish are reported to having lower risk level of prostate cancer, compare to men who didn’t eat fish !

Soybeans

In both animal and human cell studies, it shows that soybeans contain several chemicals that proven to be anti-cancer substance. For instance, studies in large population show that soy may actual help in preventing several common cancers like colon cancer , breast cancer , prostate cancer . Another chemical, Genistein , by inhibiting the growth of cancerous risk blood vessel and eliminating cancer cells, Genistein might protect against cancer.

So, next time, try to include more soy food in your dietary, like cheese, tofu, miso, and of course soy milk !

Go Green with Fruits and Vegetables

Well, one of the easiest route to lower you risk of getting cancer ( and all other diseases ), is to consume more serving of fruits and vegetables on daily basis. Well, don’t get the wrong idea and start chewing off with just bowl full of salads without any other food. Mostly, a mid-size bowl salad daily should be sufficient.

Another point to take note is that, the more variety of the fruits and vegetables, the wider the range of cancer fighting compounds. Such compound is called as ‘flavonoid‘ . So, eat up those red grapes, leeks, red apples, cabbages ( red ), yellow onions too !

Love the Apples !

As the norm saying -> An apple a day keeps doctor away. While it may not be 100% practical, researches do found that one of the best sources of cancer-fighting compound, phenolics , is within apple skin. Apple skin could possibly be the main contributing factor as to why apple is such an healthy fruit .

Reduce the Sugar

It is known that high sugar diet is almost likely to be of high in fat content, and low in fiber and other nutrients. Such high sugar diet could actually increase your risk of getting cancer. So – cut it down !

Reduce Red Meat intake

Red meat is already well-known to be one main contributing factor of increase cancer risk. It is found that higher intake of red meat might be the culprit behind higher risk level for common type of breast cancer.

Reduce Coffee Intake – Go for Tea

Coffee, a known phytoestrogen, already widely known to be causing fibrocystic breast disease worse. Although it is not thought to be the caffeine, but coffee itself actually mimics estrogen much. Thus, decaffinated coffee still may be estrogenic.

Tea, on the other hand, contains antioxidants called ‘catechins‘ , which in laboratory studies show to be having the ability of preventing cancer. Both green and black tea are rich in antioxidants. Nevertheless, green tea actually contain higher level of antioxidants, probably due to less being processed.

Though the majority of age spots are just harmless blemishes, there are still potential of getting into early stage of skin cancer . That said, if you do notice any of the spot enlarge, getting thickens, change in color, bleeds, feeling itchy and so on, it is strongly advisable to consult doctor.

Protection with Vitamin C

Although there is no magical ingredient that could just fade those annoying age spots, there are few that can help in boosting up your skin healthy level. For one, Vitamin C is one of the most well-known sunblock vitamin. In general, Vitamin C is important in keeping the skin younger and vibrant. A daily intake of Vitamin C of about 300~500 mg ( milligrams ) would certainly help in maintaining skin youthfulness.

Under sun exposure, free radical are natural occurring unstable molecules that could harm your skin. For some serious situation, it cold even cause significant damages. Vitamin C, being one of Antioxidants, could help in neutralizing those harmful free radicals. Further, since Vitamin C could prevent those skin damages from sun exposures, it is also believe that it could help to reduce wrinkle and age spots.

Sources of Vitamin C
Fresh vegetables and fruits, such as broccoli, cabbage, pineapples, cauliflower, lemon, citrus fruits, collard greens, strawberries, green and red peppers, brussel sprouts.

Prevention with Vitamin E

Another common antioxidant – Vitamin E , also helps in preventing sun damages that bring age spots. Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin that protects your cell membranes against those harmful free radicals. Researches shows that the natural Vitamin E oil , if applied before sun exposure, does helps in preventing inflammations and skin damages.

Such Vitamin E oil can be easily bought over the counter in your local drug store, example, Vitamin E fortified creams. It is also shown that if oil or creams that contains at least 5% of Vitamin E, it could be effective in reducing post sun damages.

Healthy dietary sources of Vitamin E

Spinach, corn, avocados, wheat germ, eggs, soybeans, nuts, polyunsaturated vegetable oil, and of course the sunflower seeds. A daily intake of 400IU of Vitamin E is recommended by most.

Recommendations

Oral Intakes :-

• Vitamin C  ( 300~500 milligrams daily )  ;
• Vitamin E  ( 400 IU daily – d-alpha-tocopherol )

External Application :-

• Vitamin C  ( 10% ~ 17% in lotion , depending on skin type)  ;
• Vitamin E  ( at least 5% in cream or oil, to apply after exposure under sun )