Feeding The Brain
This is the technical meaning of ?healthy fat.? Your body needs these fats to function properly, yet it doesn't produce it on it's own.
Flax seed oils is the form in which the oil was extracted from the seed. Omega-3 fatty acids which contain the majority of flax seed health benefits are very susceptible to heat.
Flax seeds may come in different colors, but the colors don?t anything to do with the value of their nutrition. They are all equally beneficial to you.
One way to influence brain health through diet is to consume the right fats and oils.
Studies of animals, too, suggest some anti-cancer benefit from flaxseed.
Feeding The Brain
Infants need high levels of DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, for brain development and function. But Sheila Innis, of the University of British Columbia, believes that they may not be able to produce sufficient DHA on their own, and may need a dietary supplement to avoid deficits in brain function. She is testing her belief by feeding piglets diets with and without DHA. DHA is a polyunsaturated fatty acid that is transferred to the fetus during gestation and is found in breast milk. However, it is not present in fruits and vegetables, infant formulas, or nutritional products used for adults and children with gastro-intestinal diseases.
Dr. Innis' research is being funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). CIHR is Canada's preeminent health research catalyst and is funded by the government of Canada. An exciting new concept, CIHR is modernizing and transforming the health research enterprise in Canada.
The fiber in flaxseeds may also help against cholesterol, since it is soluble (similar to that in oats).
Flaxseed has recently gained attention in the area of cardiovascular disease primarily because it is the richest known source of both alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and the phytoestrogen, lignans, as well as being a good source of soluble fiber.
Lignan are molecules with anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. Flax seeds are the richest source of lignans. Diets high in lignans can lead to a lower chance of getting colon, prostate, and breast cancer.
The effects of flaxseed on blood glucose levels are not clear, although hyperglycemic effects have been reported in one case series. However, this should not deter you from getting healthier with flax seed oil!
But you should be drinking a lot of water after consuming the seeds.
To learn more about CIHR please visit: www.cihr.ca, e-mail: info@ cihr.ca or write to: CIHR, 410 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa ON K1A 0W9.
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Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans than the next 7 causes of death combined - including cancer - the AHA report states.
Cancer is less common in communities that eat large amounts of fish, and the reason is thought to be the presence in fish of the long chain omega-3 polyunsaturates.
Flax seed oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential fatty acid that appears to be very helpful for heart inflammatory bowel disease, disease, arthritis and a variety of other health conditions.
Let me first address the issue of fat. Fat seems to receive a lot of reprimand but the fact is we all need fat; fat helps nutrient absorption, nerve transmission, maintaining cell membrane integrity etc. However, when consumed in excess amount, fat contributes to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
Does Omega 3 Lowers Cholesterol? Does Flaxseed Oil Prevent Cancer too?
Most of the nutrients are contains in the flax seed. So from a nutritional standpoint, flax seeds are the way to go. BUT, the flax seed oil gives you a concentrated source of the "good" fats we are looking for. Which would give the oil an edge!
Curve Fitness
Many women have tried a new diet, failed, and then switched to another one. The reason is these diets leave you hungry, deprived of vital nutrition and tend to slow down your metabolic growth. One of the major weight loss programs that claim to bring an end to all your problems is the Curves fitness plan.
Curve fitness plan consists of six weeks of training where you are taught how to loose weight and prevent it coming back to you. The most significant aspect of this plan is that it increases your metabolism that allows you to burn calories round the clock. It is achieved by healthy eating and various strength-training exercises. The curve fitness plan requires eating various small meals at frequent intervals rather than less number of large meals. This is especially helpful during the low calorie phase of the plan by prevention of hunger. In order to speed up your weight loss labors, you eat more to have a higher metabolic rate.
The curve fitness plan has two varieties of diet, protein rich diet and carbohydrate rich diet. Though it encourages you to have a limit on refined carbohydrates, sweet sins like chocolates are not completely forbidden. Thus this diet allows you to have a wide variety of food from different food groups and provides all the essential nutrients in your diet.
The best thing about this diet is doubtlessly its simplicity. Since you can eat almost everything you want, though in moderation, people find it easy to not only start it but also to continue with it. The curve fitness meal satisfies your appetite, your occasional unhealthy temptations and your taste buds in general. Thus followers find it easy to stick to it. The amazing thing is that it maintains your metabolism high while your pounds drop miraculously. In fact many followers have found that they have met their goals with an increased metabolic rate.
Curve fitness plan requires you to get an absolute aerobic and strength-training workout in a short span. Easy-to-learn hydraulic resistance machines and not massive weight stacks are used. The machines are specially designed for women. The Curves fitness workout includes all five necessary components: Warm-up, stretching, aerobics, strength training and cooling down.
According to the curve fitness plan, instead of complicated and complex machines you are required to use simple and easy to move resistance to keep you on your toes round the clock. You are required to push and pull, rather than follow the usual tedious process of lifting and lowering weights. This reduces the probability of injury or soreness in muscles.
A safe and load-bearing workout helps to maintain bone density and thus fight osteoporosis, which is widely prevalent in middle aged women. Strengthening of muscles provides not only provides joint stability but is also a crucial part of arthritis treatment. The curve fitness program is so designed that any women ranging from a teenager to senior citizen can follow it and enjoys its numerous benefits.
Alien writes for bodybuilding workouts . He also writes for makeup tips and blackheads removal
How to Re-program Your Body to Lose Weight
Most people at one time or another have seen themselves as overweight and so go on some type of calorie restricted diet. Most of these same people will lose some weight initially and then within a certain time frame will regain the weight, and perhaps some extra.
The initial weight lost will almost always consist of muscle mass and water. Little or no fat will be lost. However, when normal eating is resumed, the weight gained back is usually all fat, which means your body is worse off than before the diet! Why does our body resist attempts to lose fat?
Well, we have built in to our brain, in the region called the hypothalamus, a fat control center which regulates the amount of body fat we have. This fat regulating mechanism functions much like a thermostat. It has a set point which is analogous to a thermostat's temperature setting. If a person restricts their calories, the fat thermostat will do what is necessary to maintain the set point. There are several ways it will maintain the fat setting such as slowing down the base metabolism, making the person tired or lethargic so as to conserve calories, and to increase appetite to regain the lost calories. In the same way, if overeating occurs and excess calories are consumed, the fat regulator increases the metabolism to waste the excess calories and reduce the appetite to discourage the consumption of more calories.
Thus, over the short term, if you restrict calories or if you overeat, your body will maintain a fairly constant weight. This is your body's preservation system in action. Large weight fluctuations are undesirable. Your body is programmed to strive to maintain a stable weight and a certain amount of fat. So an individual will typically eat just enough to maintain their fat stores and their metabolic rate will be adjusted automatically to compensate for any caloric variations. So you see, if you want to lose weight permanently, your body will resist your efforts because it senses a threat to its emergency fat stores.
What can be done to overcome this fat set point, so that a person can permanently lose weight and maintain it at a healthy level? Three things can be done which we will go over in some detail:
First, increased physical activity is the only known way to naturally reduce the fat set point so that the body will adjust down its fat stores to operate more efficiently. How much and what kind of activity? The best is a combination of aerobic and weight-bearing exercise. Aerobic (with oxygen) exercises are activities such as walking, bicycling, running, deep breathing techniques and so on. These exercises oxygenate the blood, and increase endurance and breathing capacity. Weight-bearing exercises use weights or resistance bands or any kind of muscle resistance to build muscle mass. Increasing muscle mass increases metabolism which is what we want.
How much activity is needed to reduce the fat set point varies between individuals. For some, 30 minutes combined per day will be sufficient. For others, it will take an hour or more per day. Strive for 60 minutes, 5-6 days per week of total physical exercise that increases your breathing and works your muscle groups. Monitor your progress and be patient. Your body must be given time to adjust your weight down in response to the increased activity.
Secondly, when and what you eat is also important. Don't skip meals! Miss a meal or two and your metabolism will slow to a crawl. Stick with a staple diet of simple foods - wholesome and unprocessed. Most people eat too much sugar and flour products (simple carbohydrates) and too little fat and protein. This causes excess release of insulin which stores any excess blood sugar as fat in the fat cells.
Ideally, carbohydrates should only be consumed within two hours before and after exercise. Eating sufficient fat and protein will stabilize your blood sugar levels and prevent excess insulin release which can eventually lead to insulin resistance and type II diabetes. Also make sure you have an adequate intake of fiber and water. Sufficient fiber (24 g) per day will ensure that excess fat and waste material is removed from your body on a daily basis.
The third thing you can do to support your body's metabolic processes is to add a quality broad spectrum multi-nutrient supplement along with Omega 3 DHA from purified fish oil. It is important to choose a supplement with an enteric coating which will prevent the sensitive nutrients from being destroyed in the stomach by acid and enzymes. Don't go cheap on supplements. They have become a necessity since our food supply has been depleted of many important nutrients.
Remember, you must commit to these changes in lifestyle for the long term. Once your fat thermostat dial is turned down and you shed the excess pounds, you need to continue in order to maintain your ideal body weight. If you discontinue these healthy changes in activity and diet, your fat thermostat could rise again and with it, the unhealthy weight. So enjoy and embrace your new lifestyle and reap the benefits!
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Rick Duker is an independent health researcher. To obtain your FREE 42 page Special Report on healthy, permanent Weight Loss please visit the Articles section at...
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