Cincinnati Health & Fitness

		Health / Fitness
			10 Ways to Boost Immune Health http://www.suite101.com/content/10-ways-to-boost-immune-health-a8274 Stop cold, flu & depression in their tracks - before you get sick People who pick three or more of the suggestions from this list - and stick to them - will substantially improve their immune strength, increase their ability to stay sane and healthy through dreaded cold and flu season, and keep their health and happiness up through the darkest months of the year! *1. Drink your lemons.* Lemon is the ideal food for restoring acid-alkali balance. Drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice in water, or adding it to tea, salad dressings (in place of vinegar), baking or cooking, helps maintain the body's internal "climate" at a pH which supports healthy bacteria instead of the viruses and harmful bacteria which thrive in more acidic environments. Apple cider vinegar is another great way to improve your body's alkalinity, but the taste of lemons is much more pleasant! Ads by Google *2. Give your body an herbal boost.* Hundreds of herbal supplements and tinctures exist to give the immune system additional support during the winter. I recommend essential oils (especially my favourite winter blend, Thieves) as an excellent source of immune-stimulating compounds, and the rawest and most natural form of any medicinal plant, but there are other supplements which can be effective. Fresh herbs and whole food remedies are always preferable over packaged herbs or supplements, since they have a much higher potency and frequency and your body absorbs more of their value. See also Essential Oils Fight Cold and Flu. *3. Get a full night's sleep.* Everybody's different: your body may need anywhere from 6 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Whatever your personal sleep requirement is, get it! Sleep has been linked to balanced hormone levels (including human growth hormone and the stress hormone, cortisol), keeping weight down, clear thinking and reasoning, improved mood, and vibrant, healthy skin. 4. Eat plenty of protein. Protein is a building block for a healthy body, mind, and immune system. Diets low in protein tend to be high in carbs which convert readily to glucose, spiking blood sugar and stressing the pancreas and the immune system. *5. Drink plenty of water.* This is almost, but not quite, a given; most headaches occur because despite the number of reminders, people still aren't getting enough water! Headaches and thirst are both signs of dehydration. You should be drinking, in daily ounces, half your body weight in pounds. (i.e. Body weight in pounds, divided by 2 = number of ounces of water per day.) *6. Stop drinking coffee.* Contrary to recent marketing as a source of antioxidants, chocolate and coffee are two of the worst things you can do for your immune system and your health. Caffeine robs your body of minerals and vitamins, and it dehydrates you. If you drink coffee, make sure you add an additional two glasses to your water intake per cup of coffee. A mineral supplement helps to offset caffeine's damage, too. *7. Worse yet is the impact of refined white sugar. If you do only one thing to boost your immune system, eliminating sugar will do the trick.* You will see noticeable results in your energy levels, weight distribution, immunity and your ability to think clearly when you break the cravings and stop eating refined sugar. Many holistic nutritionists consider sugar a drug for its impact on the human body; some practitioners are known to prioritize eliminating sugar from the diet over recommending that people quit smoking. Healthier sugars such as agave and stevia do exist, but avoid artificial sweeteners; they are even worse than cane sugar. 8. *Stock up on raw fruits and vegetables for their antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre and enzymes.* The nutritional content that you receive from raw fruits and veggies is unparalleled. Many vitamins, including C, are antioxidants and will protect cells - including those of your immune system - from damage by toxins in the environment. Dark-coloured produce (berries, kale, broccoli) tends to be higher in flavonoids, polyphenols and other antioxidants. The perfect source of minerals is seaweed, which is sold dried, but can often be found raw (dried at low temperatures to maintain most of the enzymes and nutrients) in health food stores. 9. Spend some time out in the cold. Snowball fight, anyone? Exercise can make a noticeable difference to your health and happiness by releasing endorphins. Most of us spend 90% of our lives indoors, inhaling dubiously filtered air and other people's germs, so take every opportunity to get outside. Time spent outdoors in the cold also stimulates the thyroid gland. Finally... *10. Nurture yourself.* Make sure you take time to yourself, spend some time with friends, and indulge yourself in a massage, a hot bath, or an energy work session when you want one. Our bodies respond to our emotions - if you're feeling harassed and anxious, it can manifest in a sore throat or a cold. Create a space within yourself and your living environment for harmony, self-love and joy (giving thanks, prayer and blessing the abundance in your life and of the world around you helps). Pay attention to warning signs of sore throat or exhaustion so you can keep them from getting worse. Take a "mental health day" every few months to make sure your emotional needs are met. When you're happy, you're far less likely to get sick. Best Muscle Building Foods - Eat to Build Muscle mass http://www.exercisegoals.com/muscle-building-foods.html Eat the Right Muscle Building foods and watch your Muscles explode. Diet & nutrition basics including carbohydrates, fats and High Protein Health foods for Muscle Building. The basic norm for Muscle Building foods is *"Eat, Eat and then eat some more".* Lets discover what to eat Now.When eating to build muscle mass don't get too fancy. The list below contains the best Muscle building foods proven to add pounds of muscle to your body. The Best Muscle Building Foods Any food that has high quantity of carbs and protein qualifies itself as best muscle building food. The best way to ensure that you get adequate muscle building nutrition is to combine 2 high quality sources of carbs and protein. High Quality Muscle Building Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are Muscle sparing nutrients. The body uses carbs for energy and muscles are filled with glycogen as well. Quality carbs will help you with high energy so vital for Muscle building workouts. When you train hard you reduce your blood sugar level considerably. Eating carbohydrates straight after a training session provides your body with an insulin spike. This insulin spike puts your body into an anabolic (muscle building) state. If you do not get the right nutrients after training it’s possible that your body could enter a catabolic (muscle breakdown) state. This is why post workout nutrition is so important. Eat small amounts of carbohydrates more often Eating smaller servings of carbohydrates more often helps keep a steady flow of insulin into the body. If you eat large amounts of carbohydrates in one sitting your body is much more likely to store them as fat. Eating to much is one sitting is unnecessary; your body doesn’t need that much nutrients at one time. The Best Complex Carbs Bread Brown rice Oatmeal Bagel Pasta Cereals Potatoes Complex carbs are the best as they are slow releasing. Simple carbs like fruit juices, energy drinks should be restricted to around workouts period as they provide immediately useable energy { insulin spike }, which if not used will be stored as fat. The Best Simple Carbohydrates Fruits like Apple, Orange, Grapes, Raisins and Mango Honey High energy carb drinks You need to eat carbs to stay energized so you can workout longer and lift heavier weights to build bigger muscles because... Carbohydrates are what your body uses for energy and more importantly... Without enough healthy fats in your diet like monounsaturated fats & Omega-3's - your body can't produce testosterone which is a MAJOR muscle building hormone High Quality Muscle Building Proteins Protein are regarded as the building blocks of Muscle. Not all foods contain enough proteins and their protein completeness also differs. Vegetarian diets have to be combined to get all essential amino acids in order to make a complete protein meal. Without sufficient protein you guarantee failure. So make sure you eat one of the listed protein every meal. The Best Protein Foods Chicken breast Turkey Tuna Egg whites Cottage cheese Yogurt Protein Shakes Protein Shakes Whey protein is quickly absorbed or digested by your body and this is what makes whey protein perfect to have within 2 hours after working out so your body can quickly get the protein it needs to help you recovery and build muscle faster after working out. You may find it very hard to make & eat 5-to-6 different protein food sources everyday in each of your 5-to-6 meals to build muscle so... It's best that you try to consume 2-to-3 quick & easy to make protein shakes and/or MRP's daily to save time. High Quality Fats High quality essential fatty acids help the production of testosterone and hundreds of biological functions in the body. The magical omega-3 fatty acids required for this can be found in the below listed foods. The Best Fat Foods Flaxseed oil Olive oil Udo's choice Cod-liver oil High quality Energy Drink - Water our muscles are estimated to be somewhere between 70-to-80% water and 25% Protein so You should try to drink at least 1 liter of water everyday. There is no replacement for water. Colas and alcohol cannot. Only Water means water. L-Glutamine L-Glutamine or Glutamine is an amino acid and you already know that amino acids are the building blocks of protein and your muscle is made up of protein & water but of all the 20 amino acids that make up the muscle building proteins in your body... Glutamine makes up more than 60% of those amino acids in your muscles which makes it a very important muscle building supplement and if you eat foods high in protein along with Protein shakes & Meal Replacements - You'll get enough Glutamine to build muscles and to help you recovery and build muscle faster - you can supplement with 10-to-20 grams of L-Glutamine powder daily. Fact: Hospitals give trauma and post surgical patients about 20-to-40 grams of Glutamine a day via an intravenous solutions to help their muscles recovery & grow faster. Creatine YOU DO NOT NEED Creatine to build muscle and creatine is definitely not as important as the other 5 muscle building supplements & foods on this page but all creatine does is... Creatine gives you more energy for your workouts and it helps you workout longer while lifting heavier weights which will lead to bigger muscle gains and... Creatine also draws water into your muscles making your muscles look bigger. Multi-Vitamins Sometimes because of the way you diet & exercise to build muscle... Your body loses some of the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to help you build muscle so as an insurance policy... It's good idea to take a multi-vitamin but usually... Eating the right foods and Protein shakes & Meal Replacements will already supply your body with the muscle building vitamins & minerals it needs.