Play safe with weight loss supplements

The perfectly shaped body is fancied by increasing number of people. More and more weight loss supplements have entered the fray to lure the customers. People believe that the supplements can make them slim overnight .Is their belief a myth or reality? Find out.This article covers

• Are Weight Loss Supplements Safe?
• What Is Prescription Pills?
• Some of the common weight loss supplements

With more and more individuals facing the problem of being overweight/obese, and finding it hard to counter the social stigma attached to being fat, the popularity of weight loss supplements has soared over the past few years. Weight loss supplements are pills or herbs, or any other type of medicines which claim to help individuals lose weight. Such types of over-the-counter (OTC) weight loss dietary supplements are extremely popular with people who are looking for a magical solution to their weight problems. However, what most people are not aware of is the fact that these diet weight loss supplements may not exactly be safe, and can actually cause more harm to the body in the long term. As also, most patients should consult their doctors before picking up some weight loss supplement over-the-counter. In most cases, one would find that doctors discourage the usage of such weight loss dietary supplements as more often than not, the supplements do not work. you can get wu-yi tea review for weight loss

Today, there are more than 125 combination weight loss supplements available on the market, along with over 50 individual dietary supplements. However, none of these meet the criteria established by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the medical community for recommended use. While with some products, there have been results of slight weight loss, however, the potential side effects of these strong weight loss supplements tend to overshadow the weight loss effect. While certain products are banned for usage, they can still be found at several drug stores. For example, the supplement Chromium is a popular weight-loss supplement, though the drug's efficiency and long-term side effects are uncertain. Other products claiming to be the 'best weight loss supplement' like chitosan and guar gum have been proven to be ineffective. These products are best avoided as the side effects could prove to be fatal.

There are also many herbal weight loss supplements available on the market today of which there are either conflicting or insufficient evidence regarding their efficiency. Some of these products include ginseng, ephedrine or ephedra, conjugated linoleic acid, guarana, green tea, glucomannan, l-carnitine, pyruvate, hydroxycitric acid, and St. John's Wort. These supplements are generally known as 'fat burners' and they work by boosting the body's metabolism. In these cases, doctors have often prescribed patients these weight loss supplements, though their progress is monitored closely. However, herbal weight loss supplements are discouraged strongly by the FDA due to the lack of labeling of ingredients on these products, and due to the drastic increase in blood pressure and heart problems arising from the use of such supplements.

Continued use of Ephedra, for example, increases the risks for autonomic, psychiatric, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular symptoms in an individual. It also givers rise to diseases such as arrhythmias, hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction, and in extreme cases, seizures.Overall, there are basically two types of weight loss pills. These are either prescription pills or non-prescription pills.
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Healthy Foods That Help Burn Fat

Have you woken up one morning realizing you are overweight and as hard as you try, you can't recall how you came to this state? You can't seem to track it back to any particular event or series of events, because its something that over years from eating poorly and leading sedentary lives. Because this is something that has built up over many years, its also something that won't go away over night.

Fortunately the reverse is true if you were to start eating healthy and getting some regular exercise. The situation is not out of your hands yet.

Anyone who wants to lose weight needs to watch their intake of food. It's important to eat healthy, because you are what you eat.

If you are going to watch what you eat, you need to focus on the key foods that will not only promote fat loss but are also helpful for your good health.

When you make the decision to start eating healthier, its better not to quit cold turkey as this can be a very stressful change, and stress isn't good for us. So start by making a few changes at a time, replacing some of the junk foods with the foods below slowly.

Soy Protein

As omnivores, we eat both plant and animal, and from these food sources we get protein. Protein is vital in building and repairing our bodily tissues (Muscles and Organs). Because many of the animal based proteins carry some unnecessary fats (some fats are good, and some are bad), and through the growing, feeding and slaughtering process may come in contact with chemicals or biologicals that we do not want, there is a growing push for the tiny but powerful soy bean. The soy bean is a complete protein which is not that common for plants or vegetables, and its protein is not as high quality as the whey or animal proteins, it comes about as close to a magic weight loss pill as we can get.

Proteins require a great deal of calories just to digest so by eating a clean light source of protein such as soy we are gaining a double benefit.

Whole Grains

You have a whole grain when you have bran, germ and endosperm present. Whole grains are a great source of key nutrients. They are one of the top sources of vitamin B, E, iron, magnesium and fibre.

Here is a list of some good whole grain foods...

Whole Wheat
Wild Rice
Oatmeal
Brown Rice
Whole Oats
Whole Rye
Barley
Popcorn (no salt or butter)

Not only do whole grains provide the benefit of decreasing the chance for heart disease, and the potential for blood clots, they are also good for fat loss.

The Grapefruit

You may remember the grapefruit diet, its remarkable fat loss properties being attributed to crazy and mythological qualities of the grapefruit, well crazy as all that sounds...the grapefruit is a great fat loss food, but for more realistic reasons.

The grapefruit has been shown to reduce insulin levels in the body by a very small amount, and this means that you will store less sugar as fat, not to mention lower insulin levels lower your appetite.

The grapefruit is also a highly fibrous food and low in calories and it actually takes more calories to digest it than there exist in the fruit itself. As a result the grapefruit is a great food to add to your morning breakfast or any meal.

Apples

Water rich fruits like apples contain pectin and this can limit how much fat your cells will absorb. There are other benefits to apples and small berries as they contain considerable antioxidants and are just plain good for you. The age old saying. “An apple a day...”

Be careful not to go overboard with fruits, however as they contain a high amount of high-glycemic index sugars or simple sugars, and this can cause some undesirable spikes in insulin levels.

Green Tea

Green tea has been shown to increase your metabolism on a daily basis as high as 4%, and having this as part of your regular diet can only help with your fat loss goals. If you do not have the decaffeinated version of the tea you have the added benefit of caffeine in your tea (though its levels are less than coffee).

Fish

There is a hormone in our body known as leptin that has the function of choosing whether or not your body will store the calories you consumed as fat or whether is uses them for fuel, and studies show that lowering the level of this hormone in your body aid in fat loss, or at least in the prevention of fat gain.

Eating fish lowers your leptin levels.

Research has shown that groups that frequently eat fish in their daily diet have leptin levels nearly 5 times lower than those that mostly live off of veggies.

Conclusion

Remember you are what you eat, so eat healthy!
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Running training for any distance

How to prepare for any distance on just three runs per week

Well it’s April already and those of you planning to do a race this month, such as the London marathon, might have realised there is not much time left. If you’ve not started training properly yet, it isn’t quite panic stations, but it isn’t far off! If you’re planning something a little later in the year then get training now so you can enjoy your big challenge.

The perfect preparation for a marathon in June is to do a 20 mile training run every week in May plus three other runs per week! This is pretty daunting, especially if you’re still wheezing after one lap round the block. However follow my simple training plan and you’ll get round any distance from 5km to marathon even if you have to walk a little on longer races.

The plan involves three training runs each week, one long, one short and one middle distance. If you’re doing a marathon aim for one extra middle distance run each week to make four training sessions. The long run should start with you going out for an hour (or 45 mins for races up to 10km) and adding five minutes to this each week. Aim to jog slowly and don’t worry about how far you go or if you need to take walking breaks, just get used to spending longer periods on your feet.

The middle distance run should be a distance you can run non-stop, but the speed is unimportant. For a marathon this should peak at 8-10 miles, but you may start at as little as 3-4 miles or a couple of miles for shorter races. If you find you can’t jog 3 miles non-stop then a marathon may be a little ambitious unless it is more than 12 weeks away. Aim to add half a mile to this run each week, or if marathon training to one of your two middle distance runs each week, alternating which one you add the half mile to.

Short runs should be interval training and involve running 1km (one mile for marathon runners) as fast as you can sustain, followed by three minutes of gentle jogging/walking to recover. Repeat this until you have run three repetitions of 1km quickly. Every two weeks add one fast repetition up to a maximum of six. This session is hard work, but it helps you run faster and cope with the physical exertion of race. It is also a good idea to make sure you have a day off training after this session.

The plan will help you get round if all goes well, but if it doesn’t, you need to be sensible. If you pick up an injury or a virus and your race is in April, then it’s wise to skip the race and find something later in the year. If you’re running the London Marathon they even encourage you to defer until next year if you’re unwell because running a marathon when under-prepared or ill is dangerous. Make sure you ease off training for two weeks before a marathon and a week for other distances so your body recovers and is ready for the big day. This will help you to run your best and most importantly enjoy it.

If you have longer to prepare, follow the plan but stop increasing distances and just aim to run faster once your long run reaches ¾ of race distance, your middle-distance runs are two-thirds and you can manage six fast repetitions. This training schedule has helped lots of my clients succeed from 5km to marathons and from ‘just getting round’ to ‘keeping up with the Kenyans’ performances!
At Home Fitness 2011
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Importance of Supplements and Maintaining Vision Health

What's the biggest health fear facing Americans today? According to a survey done by the American Foundation for the Blind, most Americans fear loss of vision even above the fear of getting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, HIV or any other life-threatening health problem. The national poll revealed that age-related blindness or low vision is the topmost fear because it incapacitates people from living a normal life and increases dependency levels.

Apparently, this fear is real and is the major factor driving the growth of the vision health supplement industry. Over the years, the sale of vision health supplements has grown dramatically, largely supported by America's teeming population of senior citizens.

A report in the November 2009 issue of U.S. Eye Health Ingredients, interest in vision health nutritional supplements is backed by America's rapidly rising aging population. Americans over 65 are particularly affected by common eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy Statistics from the Administration of Aging show that by the year 2030, 20 percent of the American population, will be over 62. Next year the oldest baby boomers will turn 65. This is indeed, a brimming consumer market for vision health supplement manufacturers.

Nutritional Supplements - an Increasingly Popular Consumer Option

The importance of supplements has been gaining unprecedented interest since 1994 when the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DHEA) allowed nutritional supplement labels to describe specific health benefits to ingredients in nutritional products. Since then, the industry has been providing targeted nutrients which address key health conditions meeting the needs of a wide body of consumers looking for natural solutions. The recent regulations to the dietary supplement industry have served to re-enforce high quality standards and thus boost the respectable image of nutritional supplements. Consumer usage of nutritional supplements is expected to rise as research widens and validates the efficacy of certain nutrients and herbs for specific health conditions.

Nutrients and Herbs Addressing Vision Health

Various herbs, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients have been intensively researched for their role in supporting vision health, especially age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract, night blindness and low vision. Herbs and nutrients have also been identified to address issues such as dry eyes and eye fatigue. Eye fatigue is often caused by modern living which involves long hours in front of visual display terminals.

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), vital nutrients essential for supporting vision health are lutein, zeaxanthin, essential fatty acids, zinc, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. Other important nutrients and herbs include Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, selenium, copper, N-Acetyl Cysteine, astaxanthin bilberry extract, eyebright and lycopene.

According to Frost & Sullivan, opportunities in the American market are open for eye health nutrients such as zeaxanthin, bilberry extracts, lutein, beta-carotene and astaxanthin. Analysts predict the nutrient, lutein, to grow at a volume of 6 per cent. Zeaxanthin is predicted to have a 9 percent growth rate.

Vision health supplements can be manufactured in various delivery forms such as tablets, capsules, softgels, liquids, powders and also include homeopathic eye drops.

Vision Health Supplements – Growing Market

According to Functional Ingredients, the US eye health ingredients market was worth $138 million n 2008, and is predicted to grow annually at the rate of 5 percent. The CAGR from 2008 to 2015 is forecast at 5.3 percent.

The National Eye Institute estimates that there are 3.3 million Americans who are 40 years or older suffering from low vision or blindness. These numbers are expected to increase to 5.5 million in 2020 as more baby boomers reach the ranks of senior citizenship.

Nutritional supplements are fasting gaining consumer trust. Combined with the expanding population of aging baby boomers the nutritional vision health market is certainly at the threshold of burgeoning expansion and growth.


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