Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Learn from Mayor Ford


Over the past couple of weeks you may have heard the name Rob Ford. He's the mayor of Toronto, Canada, and has been making international headlines in recent weeks regarding a number of questionable activities.

In a brief recall, Ford has recently admitted to smoking crack-cocaine and excessive drinking following the release of a series of videos depicting him in an intoxicated state. Earlier this week at City Hall, he ran over a fellow council member in an apparent fit of rage in what has been the latest in a series of recent blunders.

Physically, Ford is severely out of shape. He is extremely obese and I can only speculate, but based on his appearance and the evidence of drug and alcohol abuse, he's in poor health. What's interesting about Ford, however, is that in a series of interviews, he's denied the fact that he has any problems outside of his weight.

This is a very important point because in order to get healthy, one must  cknowledge they are unhealthy. Living in a state of denial or ignorance is a major impediment to seeking help and making appropriate lifestyle changes. In order for your body to be healthy, your mind must be healthy.

Enjoy your day. 

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Want To Optimize Your Health? Start Today


Are you serious about improving your health and feeling better? The reason I ask is because for many people that I talk to, health improvement is a short-lived goal. It becomes a periodic trend that people adopt for a number of weeks until they eventually abandon the principles they planned to include in their daily lives.

If you're one of the people who has the best intentions when it comes to adopting a healthier lifestyle, but has difficulty sticking to it, try and stay on the right path this week.

So how do you make sure you're successful? The first thing is knowing that it will be difficult in the early going. Any changes to a regular routine can cause problems and there is always a period of adjustment. The key is to make the commitment to yourself and work hard to stick to the plan you've adopted.

Your plan should include realistic expectations and clear goals. This way, you will stay motivated, know what you're after and be able to track progress. After some time your goals may change as you see improvements.

To be cont'd

Enjoy your day.
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Any improvements to your overall health should revolve around diet, nutrition, exercise, and supplementation. All of these elements work together to provide balance, fight injury and sickness, and improve the functionality and ability of your body.

When it comes to supplementation, there are obviously a lot of options and it can be confusing about where to start. As far as I'm concerned, the foundational supplements of good health are omega-3s, a good multivitamin, and whey protein. The rest are really up to you. After all, everybody is different and requires various supplements to help in areas where they may be deficient.

The reason why I choose those three supplements as an important foundation of good health is because they cover a lot of bases. Omega-3s can be found in fish oil supplements and are affordable. Omega-3 fatty acids help improve your metabolism, repair brain tissue and aid in brain function, manage your weight and improve overall body function.


To be cont'd.

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A good multivitamin ensures you get the vitamins and minerals you might not be getting from your nutrition, which aid in the performance and functionality of your body.

Whey protein is often considered a supplement that is specific to athletes, but the truth is that it has a number of health benefits to everybody especially aging people who need increased amount of protein to maintain muscle mass. Whey protein provides a number of amino acids, helps to maintain muscle, and is very affordable.

The supplements listed above are also scientifically proven to be effective. The facts to support their benefits are solid, and there is little evidence to suggest otherwise.

Make this the week you set and stick to your health goals. By doing the right things and putting the right fuel in you, you can improve your health, achieve your goals and raise your quality of life.

Have a good  day.

Friday, 8 November 2013

Ways To Boost Your Memory


Everyone falls victim to a mental slip from time to time. You're in the car driving and forget where you're going, you stand in the middle of the living room and haven't the slightest clue why you're there, or you open up the refrigerator door and find your television remote. You may laugh it off at first, but after a couple of incidents you may start to wonder if there is something seriously wrong.

Most of the time you're fine. Nobody's brain fires at 100% all the time and little mental slip-ups are common. However, if it's happening more frequently, you're feeling tired, confused and things just aren't as smooth as they used to be, it may be time to think about making some changes to improve your brain function. There are a number of things you can do to improve the performance of your brain, and here are a few of them.

One of the most important is ensuring you receive adequate sleep. Too little sleep will ultimately make it more difficult to concentrate, put you in a worse mood and weaken your immune system. Furthermore, sleep cleans your brain of toxic proteins and flushes them out of your system, allowing for improved brain function. These toxic proteins are important to remove because of their connection to Alzheimer's disease.

Another important factor in maintaining a high-powered brain is exercise. Both physical and mental stimulation are great for the brain because they keep it active, engaged and on point. Physical exercise is beneficial because it pumps fresh blood to the brain carrying the nutrients it needs to perform. Exercise helps build a healthy heart, in turn allowing it to effectively supply adequate blood to your brain for improved function. Furthermore, exercise releases hormones and endorphins that make you feel better.

Finally, a healthy balanced diet contributes to improved brain function. The type and amount or food you eat contributes substantially to how you brain performs. You need to be well fed with lean protein, healthy fats and fruits and vegetables for vitamins and antioxidants to achieve optimal performance. A diet based on poor quality calories like sugar and too many carbohydrates can cause problems with performance, as can eating too few calories per day.

Enjoy your day. 

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Sugar Can Be Deadly


There is plenty of information available about the dangerous effects of sugar on the body. It can lead to unwanted weight gain, diabetes, hypertension, insulin resistance, and a number of other health problems. Now, another strike against Sugar has recently been explored, this time regarding its affect on your brain.

A new German study is showing that high blood sugar levels are associated with memory problems, even in people who don't have diabetes. This means that blood sugar problems don't have to be as chronic or powerful as they are for a diabetic for individuals to experience the effects.

Researchers took MRI scans of the hippocampus area of the brain in a number of subjects. The hippocampus is the part of your brain that is responsible for memory, and they noticed it was smaller in people with higher levels of sugar in their blood. Subjects were given a memory test, too, and the people with higher sugar levels-the smaller hippocampus-were able to recall fewer of the words featured in the test.

Try stevia as an alternative to sugar. 

Have a great day friends.