Bulicio

Archive for February, 2010

What are negative calorie foods? Sound a bit weird don’t they? These foods actually take more calories to digest than can be found in the food in the first place. If you’re a little bit confused, don’t worry, here’s an example to help clear things up.

1. Let’s imagine you have a serving of sticky toffee pudding after dinner; it contains 450 calories. In order for your body to digest the pudding it only burns up 125 of those calories. This leaves you with a net gain of 325 calories.

2. Now imagine that you went for a whole orange instead; this fruit contains about 35 calories. But to digest the fruit your body uses 50 calories. This time you are left with a calorie deficit of 15.

It sounds like negative calorie foods could be a great idea to help us burn belly fat, right? Let’s take a closer look to make sure.

The Negative Calorie Effect

The negative calorie effect is what gives these foods their name. There aren’t actually any foods out there that have zero or fewer calories. It’s all about the process seen above in example 2.

The number of calories a food contains is determined by the levels of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and the quality of each. And it is these micronutrients that stimulate the effect.

Once you eat the food, the micronutrients stimulate our cells to produce enzymes that break down (digest) the nutrients. Negative calorie foods stimulate the production of so many enzymes, that not only are the calories in the food burned, but also extra calories from the body are used up too!

It sounds a bit funny, but this is a natural process and it’s nothing to be worried about.

Natural Foods And Their Calories

I’m going to give you a free list of negative calorie foods in just a moment. And when I do, notice how they are all unprocessed and naturally occurring foods.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that I am a great believer in natural and unprocessed foods; I think they are vital to losing weight, burning fat, building a lean physique and promoting a healthy immune system.

One of the reasons for this is that all of the calories in unprocessed foods come from natural sources. That means that they are jam-packed with the nutrients you need to boost your metabolism and create a fat burning hormonal response in your body.

Free List Of Negative Calorie Foods

Fruits: Apples, Oranges, Strawberries, Raspberries, Mango, Tomato, Blueberries, Grapefruit and many more.

Vegetables: Celery, Broccoli, Hot Chilli, Asparagus, Spinach, Onion, Cabbage, Turnip, and the list goes on…

Notice how they are all nutritional heavyweights?

Negative Calorie/ Zero Calorie Diet?

The negative calorie diet and zero calorie diet have been designed around the ideas discussed in this article. If the food you eat is burning more calories than it contains you are bound to lose weight, right?

One word of warning though, it doesn’t matter how many fat burning foods you eat, you’ll never shift your unwanted weight if your diet still includes too many processed, junk foods.

You may not know this already, but when planning on traveling abroad you cannot take your local insurance with you. You will need to purchase an international insurance plan offered by a multinational insurance company. While they may be hard to track down, it is the best way to assure that in the event of an accident or illness you will be able to acquire medical attention if needed.

Many of these plans will cover you up to six months in another country. When you speak with the insurance company, be prepared to give an extensive list of information to them. This will range from health problems you’ve had in the past ten years, your hereditary conditions to substance abuse, and almost everything else-if it has anything to do with your health be prepared to disclose the information. If you are planning on traveling with more than one family member, then be prepared to give information for each family member as well.

Many times your basic coverage will include emergency treatment regardless of which facility it is administered. This is not the case with minor medical treatment. It is important to know whether you are buying an insurance plan that is an HMO or PPO. If you are under an HMO or health maintenance organization, then you will be limited to receiving care from only the providers who are in their network. You can retrieve a list of all the companies within your insurer’s network upon request. If you are under a PPO, or preferred provider organization, you will have the opportunity to pick the best facility you see fit, but your insurer will only cover a portion of the incurred cost.

If you plan on staying abroad for more than six months then you will need to look into what is called expatriate health insurance. Only larger companies supply this type of insurance, as it is much more extensive with the type of options that can be applied to each policy. The type of treatment options that are covered with expatriate health insurance are those that are labeled as specialty treatments, like chiropractic therapy and acupuncture. There are many options that can be applied to expatriate health insurance depending on your family’s needs and how long you plan on spending abroad.

There are many options for health insurance when you are traveling abroad. While many individuals never consider purchasing insurance when traveling to another country, this should be at the top of your list when planning for a trip. Health insurance should not be taken lightly. Be sure you understand every aspect of your policy before deciding with any one particular company.

It is believed that there are about 600 million disabled people across the world. For many years these vast number of people had very little opportunity to take part in something as simple as a sport activity. Lots of people without disabilities take it for granted to be part of a sport team, either for fun or as a recreational activity, while for many it is an occupation being part of an international sport team.

With the developments in technology, over the recent couple of years, most sports became available to disabled people as well. We all know the positive effect taking part in a sport can have on our lives. It reduces stress, creates socializing opportunities and adds to our overall well-being. Disabled people might need these even more than others do. There are a few activities that are within reach of almost any disabled person.

Horse Riding

The therapeutic value of interaction with animals as part of any trauma treatment has been proved over and over. Horses are specifically useful for this type of treatment. Volunteers at the centers for horse riding will assist the disabled person to mount the horse and will also lead the horse when necessary. The sense of achievement from this activity and the pure enjoyment and interaction with the animal will be to any disabled person’s advantage. For those who want to do more than just the occasional ride there are competitions for disabled people.

Fishing

This is something nearly everyone with a disability can do. Again it can be done just for fun and entertainment or the disabled person can enter one of the many fishing competitions available. People in wheel chairs with good upper body strength should be able to do it with very little or no help. There are many volunteers in most cities and towns who are available to assist disabled people with these activities. Again it has physical as well as mental rewards.

Athletics

To take part in athletics, the immobile athlete will need a special wheel chair adapted for optimal performance on the track or special “legs”. The athlete Oscar Pretorius who runs with blade-like legs created quite a stir recently when he was allowed to take part in the Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008. The argument against his inclusion was that he might have an advantage against the able-bodied runners. If that doesn’t prove that technology has made it possible for disabled people to do nearly everything able-bodied people can, nothing will. Sport won’t only help the disabled person to physically become stronger but also has many mental rewards.

Although it is generally known why good nutrition is essential for daily living, there are still a lot of people who ask questions on why is nutrition important. This is probably because these people want cut and dried answers as to why they should stop eating the junk food that they have been living on for years. Actually, nutrition should be seen of as one of the major aspects in life that people should see as very important. This is because nutrition is what keeps everyone going no matter what they do. Exercise is great for the health and the body, however, without the proper nutrition, this would be quite meaningless.

The most important aspect about nutrition that everyone should be aware about is that it is the thing that fuels our body’s systems everyday. This is basically what answers the question why is nutrition important. The food that everyone takes in everyday, which is the most important component of nutrition, is what provides their body with the nutrients that it needs to help in the bodily functions. These nutrients are the essential vitamins and nutrients that are needed by the body’s systems to work properly, so that people will be able to go on their daily lives as well. So, if anyone will look at it, nutrition is what boosts the immune system of the body, its circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems and its overall health. Just think what would happen to a person if he will not eat for one whole day. He will be the weak the next day and his mind and body would not function as well as when he would have eaten the required amounts of food the other day.

Another thing that people should also look into when it comes to their question on why is nutrition important is the health aspect that it brings not only to the physical components of a person but also to his mental and emotional attributes. As such, a person who is looking into always making sure that he is receiving the proper nutrition everyday will be healthy for a longer period of his life. He will go on with his day to day living with the energy and vitality that are necessary to carry him on his activities at work, at home and even with his friends. Having the right amount of vitamins and minerals as well as fats, sugars and fibers in the body through proper nutrition will not only make a person healthy all through and through but it will also provide him with a good countenance. Because everything in his system is in proper working condition, his stress levels will be lessened and he won’t have to have high blood pressure, making him have a more positive life than ever.

Many say that when you want to be beautiful, you should start with skin care. A well-taken care of your skin does more wonders than the best and most expensive mineral make up there is. Many people have spent thousands of dollars just to get medical treatments or buy products that promise a lot of things to have baby soft skin. The thing here is that we do not need to spend much on treatments and products. People often forget that a great skin starts from within us.

The skin is considered to be the biggest organ of our body. It can reach up to 2 square meters depending on how big you are and it undergoes self-renewal every seven to ten weeks. This is why the skin is a good indicator of our health and our lifestyle is the best skin care. Having healthy skin means that the right nutrients are efficiently absorbed by our body.

There are many things that we can do to get that youthful glowing skin that can be considered to be the Holy Grail for many. No, you do not have to spend thousands of dollars or purchase lots of products just to get it. There are simple things that you can do that do not need a lot of money.

One is to make sure that we are hydrated by taking in at least 2 liters of water a day. Water helps in cleansing us from within flushing away the toxins poisoning our health. When we are hydrated, it shows in our skin – no flaky and dry skin that is often associated with people who do not drink enough water.

Loading up on healthy fruits and vegetables are also helpful in getting that great skin. These nutrient enriched foods are good for us and our skin and getting the right nutrients is a part of our skin care procedure.

A good exercise routine and having enough sleep is very beneficial for those who want to have great skin. Exercise helps in releasing the toxins through sweating out while sleep helps our skin rest and recuperate after a day of being exposed to the elements.

Having a skin care regimen also helps in achieving that youthful look. Start with a good cleanser. Make sure that it matches your skin type. Cleaning, toning and moisturizing are steps that you must do each time you clean your face. The toner helps in getting rid of soap residue and moisturizing helps in retaining water to make your skin soft and supple.

These things will not cost much at all. It is not even time consuming, but the results of having great skin is worth all the effort especially when other people start noticing it.

Food allergies are no laughing matter. Make light of people that can’t even breathe in peanut aroma all you want but those who have serious allergies know that they’re not just unpleasant; they can sometimes be downright deadly. Coconut allergies are no exception to this rule. While they are very rare they can be very upsetting and difficult for those who have them.

Some assume that if they have an allergy to peanuts then they are more likely to have coconut allergies, but there really is not a connection between the two. Food allergies are very particular and difficult to pin down; there isn’t always any rhyme or reason as to why a person has the particular allergies they have. Some people have many allergies and some have only one or two. This is why there is no connection between coconut allergies and peanut allergies; even though they are of the same food “family” they are not so identical that a person is going to be allergic to one if allergic to the other.

What is interesting about coconut allergies, however, is that people typically don’t have a reaction when they ingest coconut products but rather when they come into contact with them. They have a skin allergy to the oils in the coconut that causes a reaction of dermatitis; this might include redness, itching, swelling, dryness, and other symptoms of irritation. Some don’t realize that these reactions are because of coconut allergies as they often assume food allergies are only when you eat the food, not touch it or come into contact with oils from it. Coconut oils are in many products, from hair care items to lip balm and hand lotion. And these products may not necessarily smell like coconut, since the oils are not that concentrated and are contained in only small amounts. This too contributes to the problem of people not realizing that their skin breakouts and dermatitis are being caused by coconut allergies.

If you suspect that you have coconut allergies, you should check all topical items you use, from your shampoo to hand creams and anything else you put on your skin. The ingredients should list coconut oils if the product contains it. Try switching to a product that is without coconut oils and see if this doesn’t help your dermatitis.

And if your doctor tells you that you have coconut allergies and you have tried eliminating the use of all products that contain coconuts, ask your doctor for some topical ointments or other treatment options. You may be able to use some creams or lotions to help your dermatitis clear up; otherwise you could be causing serious damage to your skin.

Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with rashes such as Aloe Vera, Green tea, Quercitin, Bromellain and zinc.

Aloe Vera will help rejuvenate and tone skin all over. A naturally cooling gel, the Aloe Vera botanical ingredients work together to stimulate the blood circulation and naturally soften the skin.

Green Tea Contains antioxidants that may protect against heart disease, several types of cancer, and skin damage.

Quercitin is a well known flavonoid. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants and can reduce inflammation boost the immune system and strengthen blood vessels and improve circulation. Quercitin is also known for its ability to block the release of histamines, thus reducing or preventing allergy symptoms. Take 500 mg twice daily.

Bromellain will enhance the absorption of Quercitin. Take 100 mg twice daily.

Zinc is needed for healing and maintaining healthy tissues. Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and are the vital components of skin, hair, muscle tissue, the body’s organs, blood cells, various enzymes and hormones. Zinc also has a profound influence on the body’s ability to resist disease.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.