Top 5 Healthiest Super Foods to Boost Your Metabolism and Burn Fat

The most common causes of obesity are poor nutrition and/or eating habits and a lack of physical activity. Some additional factors that can lead to obesity include stress, diabetes, emotional eating, boredom, blood-sugar imbalances, and hypothyroidism. Obesity has also been associated with food sensitivities and/or allergies. However, it is the consumption of nutrient-poor foods that makes it much harder for your body to burn fat and thus accumulates in the body. That is why it is essential to eat nutrient-dense foods that will boost your metabolism and burn fat easily and efficiently.

Top 5 Healthiest Super Foods

1. Water- The human body is two-thirds water, and water is vital to your health. Water keeps our cells hydrated, removes harmful toxins, and carries nutrients and waste products in and out of cells. Water also plays a key role in the metabolic breakdown of proteins and carbohydrates.

2. Apples- are a rich source of fiber, carbohydrates, phytonutrients, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and water (roughly 80%). The flavonoid quercetin and vitamin C are potent antioxidants that boost the immune system and may help ward off asthma attacks, atherosclerosis, and various cancers. Apples contain high amounts of a soluble fiber called pectin, which promotes regularity and helps lower potentially harmful LDL blood cholesterol levels.




Apples also contain potassium, thus may help prevent high blood pressure and stroke. The high water content in apples keep the body hydrated and encourages cleansing and detoxification.

3. Quinoa- is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is also a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, and iron; and a good source of manganese, copper, magnesium (relaxes blood vessels), phosphorus, and lysine. Protein-rich foods can increase your metabolic rate by as much as 35%.

4. Almonds- are one of the best whole food sources of vitamin E. Almonds are also a good source of calcium, fiber, protein, some B vitamins, potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, as well as cancer-fighting amygdalin (B17) and kaempferol; Almonds are a valuable source of monounsaturated fat, too (the good fat). Other possible health benefits include weight loss and reduced risk for diabetes.

5. Microalgae- (spirulina and chlorella) are incredibly nutrient-dense superfoods. Both chlorella and spirulina contain numerous health enhancing substances, such as chlorophyll and high quality complete balanced protein; all the B vitamins; omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene, and nucleic acids (RNA & DNA); and important minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Chlorella and spirulina are beneficial for the immune system, cleansing and detoxification (esp. heavy metals), intestinal health, nervous system disorders, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and much more.

Most important, I would like to suggest organic whole foods whenever possible to help prevent unnecessary exposure to pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and other toxic chemicals that are added to our food supply on a daily basis.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Robin_Reichert/253444

Dukan Diet: 2 Steps To Lose Weight, 2 Steps To Keep It Off Forever

The French medical solution to weight loss seems to be the meat eaters dream weight loss program. It consists of two rapid weight loss phases and 2 ease-into-maintenance phases. Dr. Dukan favors protein intense diet plans because he insists that proteins (and water) are the most important elements of any healthy diet plan. Although The Dukan Diet sounds similar to Atkins and other protein intense diets, it is very different for 3 specific reasons:

1) Lean meat only
2) 4 mini diets
3) Permanent Plan To Return To Normal

The first major difference is Dr. Dukan flies in the face of critics and most medical experts by suggesting an all 'lean meat' diet throughout the first phase (5 days) of the program. His reasons for the all protein phase is it is physically hard for your body to convert only one food group to energy, so you end up digesting only a limited amount of the calories you consume.

According to Dukan, the perfect way to maintain or gain weight is to eat a balanced diet of 50% carbs, 30% fats, and 20% proteins, which is similar to a mother's milk.




This brings me to the second major difference of the Dukan Diet: It has four small phases to create one permanent medical solution to obesity.

Dukan Diet Guide

The first phase is about creating lightning fast weight reduction through eating only lean proteins and drinking lots of water to flush out bad fats, toxins, and waste products in the body.

The second phase is eating alternating days of approved Dukan foods with lean protein days plus incorporating one meal a week of foods you love.

The third phase is more lenient, including two or more meals a week of normal foods.

The fourth phase is where you return to normal eating but you still eat one day a week of only lean protein. It is also recommended for you to eat two servings or less of starchy foods per day.

The last difference is the permanent plan for keeping that slimming look.

The South Beach Diet created 3 phases for lifelong weight loss and has been fairly successful, but Dukan did not feel diets provided enough hand holding and so he came up with a very structured, step-by-step plan to move from fast weight loss to permanently maintaing your weight.

His fourth phase is the most different of any diet program since it allows you to essentially return to normal eating.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Samantha_Caldwell/1034522

3 Essential Foods to Help Build Muscle Mass Naturally

You must have heard the cliche "you are what you eat". The truth is that every food you consume and put in your mouth is reflected in your body. Eating 4 to 6 meals of clean muscle building foods is quite challenging to accomplish. A lot of people, particularly men are tired of the bulky, unappealing body that attaining a muscular, lean and functionally fit form all year round and for a lifetime has been a paramount precedence.

To get in shape and more importantly, manage how your body responds requires proper diet and exercise. A person aiming for a perfect physique and build muscles should make significant adjustments to everyday food consumption to properly fuel the body. Needless to say, the presence of exercise is of equal weight.

With the right foods that build muscle, you are just a scoop away from sustaining and filling your muscles' needs. Here are the 3 essential foods that we recommend:




1. Whey Protein

This is considered to be the 'king' of body building nutrition supplementation. Ask the experts and every bodybuilder you know and you'll find out that this comprise their daily arsenal. Whey protein is one of the proteins found in milk, the other being casein. However, the latter is set aside when milk goes through the process and turns it into cheese. The best thing about whey is the quality of the protein. It is the 'best' as it weighs in a stellar of 3.2 rating on a scale of 4 besting every protein food sources. So, the next time you shop around for a canister of protein powders and supplements; ensure that you go for a brand that is 100 percent made up of genuine whey proteins and not those that make use of cheap sources of proteins as fillers. For foods, chicken and tuna are a good deal of food sources that are rich in protein and have very little fat content.

2. Choose the Best Fibrous and Starchy Carbs

To get muscular, you need to decrease and cut back unhealthy caloric intake. However, it doesn't mean that you have to completely go into deprivation mode. Keep in mind; it is not so much how great the caloric deficit as it is the types of foods you eat. The best starchy carbs comprise of oatmeal and brown rice. On the other hand, the best fibrous carbs are cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, cabbage and asparagus. Eating these types of foods as opposed to processed and high fat and saturated content foods will inevitably drop off unhealthy caloric intake.

3. Increase Water Consumption Significantly

A lot of people wanting to gain muscles often focus on foods and supplementation's that they often disregarded the significance and magnitude of water. The body needs to be hydrated all the time and this is one of the rules of thumb of people starting on a muscle building and weight training program. Unless you are drinking at least 64 ounces of water on a daily basis, you are not drinking a sufficient amount. While the popularity of other drinks has mushroomed in the market, you must realize that these are not substitutes for water. Water does not only hydrate the body but it also boosts endurance, improves strength, muscle fullness and a speedy metabolism. Thus, you should never take too lightly the importance of enough water consumption.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Tony_Mancini/153746

Muscular Strength Exercises - Top 5 Exercises For Brute Animal Strength

Gaining muscular strength is about striking the right balance between what exercises to perform and HOW to perform them.

Many folks make the mistake of thinking that a few weight training sessions carried out in a lackluster fashion is going to give them the muscular strength gains they desire. Sorry, but that just ain't gonna happen.

To build strength requires resistance training, and an ever increasing resistance. The weights that you lift need to be heavy and gradually increase as you progress. It is this principle of "progressive overload" that is the key to seeing significant gains in your muscular strength.

Below I'm going to show you my top 5 muscular strength exercises that you should look to integrate into your workout sessions as soon as possible. One thing you may notice about them is that they are all multi-joint compound exercises which means you'll work multiple muscle groups at the same time. This is the best way to build functional muscle strength.




Top 5 Muscular Strength Exercises

Squats

Squats are simply one of the best muscular strength exercises out there as they'll pretty much work every part of your body, helping you to develop explosive power and strength. The key to getting the most out of squats is to keep the weight heavy and focus on technique. Get someone to spot you if need be, but start making these a core part of your routine.

Deadlifts

The classic powerlifter's exercise these are real strength builders particularly for the back. Again care should be taken to maintain correct form and technique, as there can be a risk of back injury if performed incorrectly, so keep your back straight and don't bend or curl it.

Bench Press

No list of muscular strength exercises would be complete without this old favourite. Probably the best upper body exercise there is, it works just about everything and is ideal as a strength builder. To get the most out of the bench press, keep the weight heavy and mix up the incline of the bench. This will help to target the different areas of the chest and shoulders ensuring better overall strength and muscle gains.

Standing Military Press or Dumbbell Press

These are great for the shoulders, trapezius, arms and upper back. The standing military press is performed with a barbell and is a great powerlifter's exercise (the dumbbell press is included if you don't have access to a barbell, so depending on which one you have available you can choose which exercise works best for you). You should have someone to spot you for this exercise, or alternatively use a sliding weights rack.

Decline Sit-ups / Captain's Chair

Sit ups are excellent for developing core muscular strength which is the real centre of power. Decline sit-ups are a highly effective muscular strength exercise since you are fighting gravity as well as your own body weight. You can make them more difficult and effective by adding some weight to your chest to create more resistance.

The captain's chair is also great for developing your core strength and is also made more effective by holding a dumbbell between your feet and lifting that.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_Wheeler/139027