What Are The Health Risks Of A Vitamin D Overdose?

By Victor Properties

Vitamin D is essential to your good health, but like everything else, it should not be overdone! It is possible to experience a vitamin D overdose, especially since we actually need fairly low levels of vitamin D in our bodies to function.

What causes a vitamin D overdose? Exposure to sunlight is the primary source of vitamin D, and as little as fifteen minutes of sunlight "therapy" three times a week is all you really need for your body to produce the vitamin D you need. You cannot overdose on vitamin D by getting too much sun, though, as your body only produces what you need.

You will probably also not experience a vitamin D overdose from food sources. Too many supplements are often to blame for excessive vitamin D intake, as your body cannot shut down the absorption of vitamins from supplements. This can cause the build up of vitamin D to toxic levels. Ironically, toxic levels of vitamin D are often the result of therapeutic prescription of the supplement due to an original deficiency - high levels may have been prescribed for patients with rickets, for instance.

A vitamin D overdose is never the result of a single high dose, rather the levels of toxicity in the body builds up in the body's fat cells over time. Most nutrients that we consume too much of, the body simply gets rid of; however, with vitamin D it has no such mechanism, but stores the excess in the fat cells. It is the stored vitamin D that eventually leads to toxic amounts in your body.

The upper intake levels for babies are 25 micrograms, while for older children and adults, 50 micrograms per day are sufficient. Children will suffer from toxicity more quickly than adults.

What are the health risks of a vitamin D overdose?

1. Because vitamin D has primarily the function of encouraging calcium absorption, high levels of calcium in the blood is possible. This could lead to excessive calcium in the intestinal tract.

2. High levels of phosphate and calcium in the lungs, heart and kidneys, which can damage your organs permanently.

3. Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and weight loss.

4. High levels in the kidneys can lead to kidney stones, renal failure and excessive production of urine.

5. If you are pregnant, a vitamin D overdose can cause deformities in your baby.

6. Other symptoms include bone pain, fatigue, excessive thirst and dehydration, itchy skin and deafness.

An overdose can be treated by simply stopping the intake of supplements, and lowering the amount of calcium you ingest until the symptoms stop.

Always consult your doctor before taking vitamin supplements, and in the case of vitamin D, when you get a lot of sun exposure, you will probably not need to take vitamin D supplements at all. Vitamin D in the correct amounts is essential to good health.



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8 Ways To Lose Weight Fast

Here are some ways to lose weight fast.

1 - Take everything one step at a time. Begin simply by paying more attention to what you are eating, slowly cutting back on the bad foods and implementing more healthy foods into your diet. Once you have this under control, the next step is to add exercise to your plan. If you do not like exercising, take this one step at a time as well by implementing only 15 to 30 minutes at a time, at first.

2 - Choose foods and activities that you enjoy. If you do activities that you get enjoyment out of, you will find them to be much more successful than trying to exercise in ways that you do not enjoy. The same goes for foods that you implement in your diet: Choosing foods that you enjoy will help you enjoy your diet rather than craving bad foods.

3 - Build muscle. You lose calories based on your weight. Muscles, surprisingly enough, burn calories more quickly than fat does, pound for pound. Work out with weights to build muscle and lose weight, and then allow your extra lean muscle mass to burn more calories for you on a long term basis.

4 - Reduce your carbohydrates. Do not cut your carbohydrates out completely, because your body needs carbohydrates for energy. Cut out some of the white breads and pastas from your diet, though, to cut down on the carbohydrates that you consume. What carbs you do need to eat, you can replace with whole wheat and brown carbs for better health.

5 - Set realistic, measurable and attainable goals. Put deadlines on your goals, making them measurable. Make them realistic by choosing goals that you know you can attain. Set long term and short term goals and you will more readily achieve your expectations regarding quick and healthy weight loss.

6 - Give up the bad stuff. It may surprise you how unhealthy it is to eat candy, cookies, cakes and other sweets, and to drink soda and sugar laden drinks. Cut these bad goodies out either completely, or at least 80% of the time and the pounds will shrink away without you having to do much else to make the weight loss happen.

7 - Have a suitable breakfast. Most of your calories should be consumed early on in the day, and breakfast is no exception. Eat a nice breakfast to give your metabolism a good foundation to run from for the remainder of the day.

8 - Control portions by leaving something behind. Make sure your portions are correct based on the actual serving size of your food, and then make sure not to clear your plate completely. Exercising portion control will give you better control over what you put into your body for easy and achievable weight loss.

Implement these tips one by one and in no time at all you will begin to see a significant difference in your weight.

Skin Care Myths Explained

By Lee Peterson

There are so many myths about proper skin care, that it's
scary. From old wife's tales about preventing stretch marks
during pregnancy to what's mandatory for proper cleansing,
the falsehoods that are taken for granted have most
dermatologists shaking their heads in discord. According to
many skin care specialists, some of these myths can actually
lead to skin damage. Here we dispel five of the common fishy
tales regarding skin care.

1. Prepare your skin for summer sun on a tanning bed.
Tanning beds are dangerous because of the concentrated UVA
rays they emit. These are the same rays you get from the sun
that cause premature aging and skin cancer. Getting a light
tan on the sun bed does not protect your skin from further
damage, it just means you have already exposed it to harmful
rays. Tanning does not produce more melanin in the skin, it
just brings it to the surface.

2. Application of olive oil can prevent pregnancy stretch
marks. Stretch marks are caused when the sub-surfaces of the
dermis split, usually due to expansion of the skin beyond
its elasticity ability. This can occur during pregnancy or
because of excessive weight gain. There are no topical
preparations that will prevent this scarring from occurring.
A healthy diet, hydration and regular exercise are the best
ways to ensure your dermis remains healthy and retains its
elasticity.

3. Increasing the SPF means you can stay out in the sunshine
much longer. This is truly an unsafe belief. A sunscreen
with an SPF of 15 will block approximately 94% of UV rays.
Increasing to an SPF of 40 will only block 97% of UV rays.
Increasing the SPF does not significantly increase the
protection. What's more important is to ensure the sun block
you purchase protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Another
must is to apply the protection before you venture out in
the sun and then reapply sun screen every couple of hours,
regardless of whether you got wet or not.

4. You don't need sunscreen if you have dark skin. A darker
skin tone, whether a Mediterranean olive-toned complexion or
the skin tone of a person of color, does not give the person
extra protection from the sun. It only means that they have
an increased level of melanin. Although this does decrease
the risk of skin cancer from the harmful UVA and UVB rays of
the sun, it is only a slight decrease, and people with
darker skin tones must use sunscreen and take the same
precautions as those with a fairer complexion.

5. Eating chocolate will give you acne. Acne is not caused
by anything you eat. Acne occurs when the dead cells that
your skin sheds stick together and block gland openings.
This causes a back up of the oils that naturally occur in
your skin. Bacteria on the skin react to this and make the
condition worse. One type of food is not going to cause
acne, but a healthy diet will promote a healthier skin and
body.

A List Of High Fiber Foods

By Beth Hoover

Fiber is a critical part of the diet. Ironically your body
isn't able to digest fiber so it passes right through your
body. Fiber food is necessary because it keeps your colonic
tract healthy and keeps your body regular.

Put simply, its main job is to scrub your guts. Here is a
high fiber food listing to help you get started with your
healthy lifestyle! You may also need to know that fiber can
help you control your blood sugar and can even lower your
cholesterol. Oh and it also releases poisons from your body.

Almonds

Cashews

Flax seeds

Garbanzo beans, well cooked

Kidney beans, well cooked

Lentils, red cooked

Lima beans, cooked 1 cup

Gooseberry

Elderberry

Grapes

Grapefruit

Kiwi fruit

Rhubarb

Pawpaw

Papaya

Peanuts

Pistachio nuts

Pumpkin seeds

Soybeans

Sunflower seeds

Walnuts

Apple

Crabapple

Hawthorn

Pear

Apricot

Peach

Nectarines

Plum

Cherry

Blackberry

Raspberry

Mulberry

Strawberry

Cranberry

Blueberry

Barberry

Currant

Melon

Watermelon

Figs

Dates

Olive

Jujube

Pomegranate

Lemon

Lime

Key Lime

Mandarin

Orange

Sweet Lime

Tangerine

Avocado

Guava

Kumquat

Lychee

Passion Fruit

Tomato

Banana

Gourd

Bitter Gourd

Bottle Gourd

Cashew Fruit

Cacao

Coconut

Custard Apple

Jackfruit

Mango

Pineapple

Carrot

Wheat-bran cereal

Oatmeal

Whole wheat bread

Rice

Corn tortilla

Enriched pasta

Bulgur

Whole wheat spaghetti

Wheat flakes

Barley

Wheat bran muffin

Fig bars

Whole wheat tortilla

Couscous

Graham crackers

Pita bread

Enriched white rice

Try to add fiber to your diet steadily so that your body has
time to adapt to the rise in fiber content. Fiber has also
been shown to help with a weight loss plan, nevertheless, be
certain to talk with your health practitioner prior to
beginning any diet regimen or if you have got any illness
that may require less fiber. This is the best way to make
sure you stay healthy, especially since your physician knows
tons about you.

Why You Should Have a Varied Diet - Even If You Suffer Food Intolerance

By Charlie Monaghan Carter

If you are among the ever increasing number of people who
must restrict their diet due to food intolerances, you will
know that staying within the guidelines can be tough.

If you have a fairly common allergy or intolerance such as
dairy or gluten, then finding foods that are dairy or gluten
free isn't too difficult, its when the intolerances get more
intricate and uncommon that they become a problem. Also,
another big problem for people with food intolerances is
eating out at a restaurant for example. A lot of the time,
chefs will not understand the implications of a given food
on a person with intolerances.

A well-intentioned chef may sometimes put a little flour
into a sauce to thicken it up, believing that such a small
amount will not trigger the intolerance. If the person does
not seize up and start choking there and then, they believe
all is well and the trace of flour went unnoticed. However
it is not until the food is digested that the intolerance
takes effect around an hour after its consumed, and then the
effects can last for several days.

Eating out is therefore very difficult for people with
intolerances to common foods, and as it is very difficult to
find good food that doesn't contain the common foodstuffs
that people are intolerant to, you will soon find that
eating out becomes a bigger and bigger risk.

For the sake of your health, it is of the utmost importance
that you avoid all foods that you have an intolerance to. It
is very hard work for your body to process these foods and
so to allow it to recover, you should stick to foods that
you know your body can handle. Having said that, if you
start eating just a few foods that you know aren't going to
upset you, you may find that you begin developing
intolerances to them as well.

For this reason it is important to maintain as wide a diet
as possible. This is sometimes difficult if people have many
allergies, a lot of the time people will find foods that
don't upset them, and stick to them so as to avoid triggering
the intolerances. However, you should try to keep eating as
wide a range of foods as you can to avoid slowly but surely
becoming intolerant to everything.

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Why You Should Eat Alkalizing Foods

By Anthony Gutierrez

Is food acidic or alkaline? It is hard to tell. For example,
once lemons are digested they are basic or alkaline even
though they are acidic to start with. Eating a significant
amount of alkalizing foods is important to balance a raw
food diet.

Spinach, kale, collards, mustard greens and broccoli, the
first green leafy vegetables, are great alkalizing agents.
Wild edible grasses are also alkalizing.

Fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, cilantro, basil, garlic) as well
as grasses (e.g. wheat, barley grass); Sprouts; Sea
Vegetables (e.g. kelp, nori, dulse, spirulina, blue green
algae). Finally, medicinal mushrooms like shitake maitake
and reishi are good to make the body more basic.

Balance is all about life. When speaking of body pH levels
the universal truth is profound. The human body needs to
stay at a certain pH level. To measure the levels of Ph you
would use a scale from zero to 14, where zero is very
acidic, 7 is neutral and 14 is very alkaline.

In the human body, the pH of blood must remain at a slightly
alkaline level of 7.35-7.45. To keep you healthy and
maintain the blood pH some of the body's other fluids are
maintained at different pH levels. Your cells and organs are
constantly working and filtering what you eat to sustain
these pH levels throughout the body.

Bacteria, viruses, yeast and other harmful organisms thrive
when the blood system is more acidic. It is important that
the pH is balanced for your total well being. If the pH
balance is on the alkaline end of the scale it creates an
uninviting environment for things that make you ill.
Consuming more alkaline foods than acid foods is important
and beneficial to your overall fitness.

As consumers learn more about nutrition, many are realizing
that a specific ratio of alkaline foods to acid foods
determines pH balance and overall health. Human blood
registers about 7.4 on the pH scale, which means that it is
naturally alkaline. In order to maintain this level, the
body needs the proper balance of alkaline foods to acid
foods.

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Why Seafood Should Be A Part Of Your Diet

By Shannon Linnen

No matter what anyone says, seafood is healthy and should be
a part of everyone's diet. Seafood in general is high in
nutrients and vitamins, which no other food group can
provide. However, you have to be careful about where you get
your fish from. Local waters, like lakes and rivers, can be
contaminated and your fish could contain chemicals like
mercury or PCBs. The easiest way to obtain a healthy serving
of fish is to eat at your local restaurant or do some online
shopping. Online vendors, located in coastal regions, can
usually guarantee overnight shipping and freshness you
cannot get from anywhere else.

One of the reasons that seafood is healthy has to do with
the biochemistry and lifestyle of the fish. Fishes, in order
to breathe, must swim constantly. Their entire body is lean
muscle, the delicious seafood fillets that wind up on your
plate. Compared to the chubby unattractive cow, the life of
a fish is one constant streamlined marathon.

The simplest way to prepare salmon, for example, is to rub
it with some spice - simply salt and pepper will do - and
pan fry it in a quarter-sized drop of olive oil. 6 minutes
on the skin side first, then 3 to 4 minutes on the flesh
side should cook an average-sized salmon fillet through. A
side benefit to eating healthy seafood is that it is so
delicious and simple to prepare. Unlike unpleasant "healthy"
choices like algae goo and grass juice, seafood tastes
wonderful. You can't go wrong preparing fish dishes.

Lobster meat can by steamed by boiling lobsters in the
shells, but dealing with fresh live lobster can be
unnerving, and the best addition to lobster is drawn butter
- not as healthy as pan seared salmon. Serve it with
sauteed or steamed vegetables, and you've got a healthy and
filling meal.

Another healthy substitution is to grill tuna steaks instead
of greasy hamburgers, at your outdoor grill party. They
prepare exactly the same way. Your guests will agree that
seafood is healthy, and it also seems classier than humdrum
burgers, when arranged on nice plates with a colorful
garnish - maybe grated carrots and a lemon wedge.

The healthful features of seafood are the magical omega-3
fatty acids, found mostly in salmon, and reputed to clear up
skin problems like acne, rosacea, and age lines.Fish is
important for many near-vegetarians, who rely on fish for
protein. These vegetarians are far healthier than those who
eat no meat at all. Also "good" cholesterol and "good" fat,
and a number of essential vitamins.

To conclude, fish is utterly beneficial to your health. It
is full of substances that are good for you, and unless the
fish is from some unsavory source, it is free of substances
that are bad for you.Eat some fish today, I know I will.Fish
can be prepared very easily, and it takes little seasoning
to make seafood taste good. Fish also has the added benefit
of being classier than red meat or poultry.

As recently as 5 to 7 years ago, finding good quality
seafood for people living far away from the coast was almost
impossible. The good news is that this is no longer the
case. You can now get very good quality seafood sent
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How To Easily Modify A Healthy Diet While Traveling

Sticking to a nutritious diet while traveling can be one of the more difficult things to do. However, if you learn how to make smart choices, a healthy diet is really not that difficult. It’s probably not the best time in which to start a healthy diet, but if you are currently making healthy choices in your foods already, modifying your diet slightly to accommodate travel, is not as difficult as it first may seem.

If you are traveling by airplane, your diet may have to include airplane food, which can often be of poor nutritional value, depending on the selection. When you book your flight, ask about your food options, ask if a vegetarian dish is available? Vegetarian dishes are sometimes more nutritional in this case, but it really depends on what they may be serving. If you can, eat a larger meal before your flight, so that you don’t have to eat the entire meal that is served, to feel full.

When driving or taking a bus, you may be tempted to stop at fast food restaurants and eat the meals found there. Avoid this whenever possible! If you’re on vacation, you may wish to splurge a tiny bit, but having fast food more than once during a week can really be bad for your health. If you must, choose the healthiest options available, like chicken breasts and diet soda.

Also, remember that you can take your own meals when traveling. Carrying a loaf of whole-wheat bread or pita wraps, some lean lunch meat, and low-fat cheese in a cooler is a great way to avoid high-fat and high-cholesterol junk food meals. These are much better choices and you’ll save a lot of money as well. Call ahead to ask if there will be a refrigerator in your hotel room.

Lastly, make smart choices when you eat out. If you choose salads or pasta get the dressing on the side and ask about low-carb options. In fact, many places print these dieting options directly in the menu for the health-conscious people. Control your portions by ordering lunch menu sizes or splitting the meal in halve and getting a doggie bag, and you’ll be well on your way to healthy eating, even away from home.

Yes, eating healthy foods when you travel can be a challenge. However, your health is worth it. Eating meals high in nutrition will also assist in fighting illnesses that you are likely to encounter when traveling and you will find yourself more alert so that you can enjoy your trip.

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Fast Weight Loss is Bad Weight Loss

By Morgan Vernelli

You've seen the advertisements and you've heard the miracle
claims:

Lose twenty pounds in one week!

Drop four dress sizes in fourteen days!

Lose fat and build muscle without doing any exercise!

Most fat diets and diet supplements make the same outrageous
claim: You'll lose weight fast. And in today's society of
quick-fixes, most of us are willing to jump at a chance to
get rid of our flab in a mere 48 hours - especially if it
doesn't require any work! In fact, most of us wish we had
lost the weight yesterday!

But most health experts agree that fast weight loss is bad
weight loss. Instead, they recommend that people lose weight
at about a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week. And though this
may not seem like a speedy rate of weight loss especially
when compared to some of the outrageous claims made by diet
companies, a 2-pound-per-week loss of fat would mean you'd be
24 pounds lighter in just twelve weeks!

Sure, it would be great to lose those 24 pounds in just one
week. But it's not a good idea. Here's why:

It's impossible to sustain that rate for the long haul.
No matter why you're losing weight so quickly whether it's
diet, exercise or a supplement it's impossible to sustain
that kind of major weight loss rate for the long haul.
Eventually, you'll only lose a few pounds a week. And your
weight loss may even stall or plateau. For many folks,
especially people who have achieved big successes initially,
this can cause a rebound of returning to old habits.

The weight won't stay off anyway. Studies have found that
people who lose weight quickly almost always gain it back
again. There are exceptions, of course. But in general,
losing weight fast is a pretty good indicator that you'll
one day be wearing those pounds again. On the other hand,
folks who have managed to successfully lose weight and keep
it off are likely to have lost the pounds gradually over
time.

It's bad for your health. Dramatic and fast weight changes
like losing lots of weight very quickly stresses your body,
your heart and your immune system. And, since you're likely
to put that weight back on again, you could start a cycle of
yo-yo dieting that will negatively affect your overall
health. Losing weight slowly, however, allows your body to
adjust to the changes gradually, which lessens the stress it
endures when you're dieting and following an exercise
program.

It may be tempting to try a fad diet or extreme exercise
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method which is also likely to be more successful in the
long haul is to take off the pounds gradually and slowly.

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Weight Loss - A Few Success Tips

By Marilyn Roberts

Not every diet or exercise plan will suit everyone. So you
need to find the one that works for you. You will likely
have to try different diets and programs before you find the
one that pays off for you.

The downfall for a lot of dieters is when their high weight
loss expectations are not met and they give up. Choose a
realistic goal and separate it into easily reachable
increments. As an example: if you want to lose 20 pounds,
then set up a schedule of losing one pound a week for 5
months. This isn't fast weight loss but a pound a week is
pretty easy to do so you have less chance of being
disappointed and giving up.

Some people like to exercise when they are dieting and this
certainly helps. Even if you do not like to exercise, you
could at least try walking.

If you don't want to go outside you can buy walking tapes
where you just walk in place in front of your TV screen.
Even 15 minutes of walking every day can make a significant
difference in your weight loss efforts.

If you know that you are going to be eating out on a certain
date and you know you will not be sticking to your diet,
plan for it. One easy way to do this is to have an all fruit
day on the day before you eat out or on the day after you
eat out.

Give yourself permission to eat as much fruit as you want,
but don't eat anything else. If it is going to really be a
diet buster meal, you could eat only fruit the day before
and the day after your meal out. This way you won't feel
guilty while you are enjoying your meal out. If you plan it
right you can have your cake and eat it too!

Reward yourself when you have reached a certain goal, such
as your pound a week, but don't go overboard. Just pick
something to eat that normally you cannot have while on a
diet. This will help you keep going. If you give up
everything you like, chances are you will not stay on your
diet. If you can look forward to that little treat, such as
your favorite candy bar, your dieting will be much more
tolerable and easier to maintain.

These were just a few tips to help you stay on your diet and
have weight loss success. You need to individualize your
dieting methods as only you know what is tolerable for you
and what you will actually stick to.

Is a Vitamin Supplement Necessary For your Kids?

When it comes to your kids and vitamin supplements, you should know that most children do not need extra or supplemental vitamins or minerals. If you base your children’s diet on the food guide pyramid, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you shouldn’t need to give your child vitamin supplements. However, it is important to know that of all the age groups, children can be the one that is the hardest to control when it comes to diet. Children don’t understand what it means when something is essential for their bodies, and they are much more prone to being picky eaters or having poor diets. If you child is eating a special diet, they might need more vitamins or minerals. These can include vegetarians, children with allergies, or children that have religions which state certain foods shouldn’t be eaten.

The most important thing for you to keep in mind when it comes to making sure that your child has a healthy diet is to ensure that they are getting the proper amounts of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. If this isn’t happening because of what they are eating, you either need to change what they are eating, or make sure that they are getting the vitamins in another way. Vitamin supplements can be purchased in kid-friendly shapes and flavors, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have your child take them.

There are several vitamins and minerals that are going to be important for your child to have enough of. These include, especially, iron, which is needed in children to prevent anemia. This usually happens if children aren’t given enough extra iron after they are six months old, which happens often if a baby drinks cow or goat milk instead of formula. Young and adolescent girls are also at a risk of having an iron deficiency.

Another important thing that children need is calcium. This is something that is completely necessary for healthy bones and teeth. If children are drinking milk and eating dairy products, they are probably getting enough calcium, but if they aren’t, you might need to supplement this in their diets.

It is also important that children are getting fluoride. This helps to build healthy teeth. However, it is important that they only get enough fluoride, and not too much, so don’t add to their intake unless your dentist or doctor thinks that you should.

If you don’t think that your child is getting enough vitamins or minerals, you should consult with your doctor to make sure that you can find a good balance and a good children’s multivitamin for them to be taking. However, it is crucial that you realize that a vitamin is not a replacement for food and is not a substitute for a varied diet.

Peer Pressure And Healthy Eating - How To Say No

If you are on a diet or simply enjoying a healthy lifestyle, then you probably know that peer pressure to eat foods that are not good for you is a major part of your life. If you are worried about the food that goes into your mouth, don’t worry—there are ways to overcome peer pressure. It simply takes a little know-how to get people off your back!

Parties are a major source of peer pressure, especially with alcohol. However, remember that alcohol contains hundreds of empty calories in just one drink. When you go to a party, people might be pressuring you to have a drink and relax, and it can be difficult to say no when they are constantly trying to convince you. Instead, offer to be the designated driver. This way, people won’t want you to drink and, in fact, they will probably be purchasing you waters and maybe even helping to pay for your gas. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Another time when you may feel pressured to eat is at work when the boss orders lunch for everyone at a meeting or when you have to visit a client. Instead of giving in to temptation, simply politely decline the food by letting your boss know in advance or order a meal that is healthy and split the portion in half so you have a meal for tomorrow’s lunch as well.

Baby showers, weddings, birthday parties, and other special events can also wreak havoc on your diet, even if you are good at resisting temptation on your own. When someone hands you a piece of cake and won’t take no for an answer, it can be difficult to know what to say! Here, little white lies might be appropriate. For instance, saying that your stomach was upset earlier in the day will convince a person that you don’t want to eat at the moment or pretending to have a chocolate allergy will get people to allow you to enjoy the party without a hassle surrounding food.

Remember, however, that while refusing bad foods is fine, you should be eating good foods. If you do not, dangerous eating habits and disorders can develop, which will give you, your friends, and your doctor a real reason to worry. It’s ok to say no to peer pressure, but don’t say no to food in general!

How Crucial is Healthy Eating?

Have you ever heard the saying you are what you eat? In some sense, this is true, because if you eat unhealthy foods you are prone to be an unhealthy person. The foods we ingest are extremely important to our ability to grow, maintain function, and prevent illness. Therefore, if you value your health, you should learn as much about healthy eating as possible.

Healthy eating is important from the day we are born. As a child, we grow quite rapidly and this is due in part to the foods we eat. Foods all contain nutrients that provide us not only with fuel to live our daily lives, but also with the very substances that build our bones, muscles, and organ tissues. Not getting enough of one nutrient or another can cause a variety of problems, including stunting our growth. For mothers who are nursing, nutrition is important because breast milk contains the nutrients a child needs to grow and develop properly. Upon growing older, these nutrients are then found in food, but don’t think that healthy eating isn’t important for growth after you’ve gone through puberty. Cells continuously break down and rebuild, so healthy eating for growth continues to be important until the day we die.

Healthy eating is also important for maintaining body function. In out daily lives, we use energy to think, walk, talk, breathe, and perform any other action. The energy it takes our body to do these things comes from two places: fat reserves in the body or our daily food intake. If you don’t eat healthy foods, you will find that you are storing more fat than necessary or that you aren’t getting enough and you feel sluggish or weak. Along with energy-providing nutrients, like fats and carbohydrates, we also need the right nutrients to allow our organs to do their jobs. Hormones and other substances in the body make sure that everything is working properly. If you don’t eat the right nutrients, your body cannot produce these hormones and, as a result, cannot function properly.

Lastly, healthy eating is important in order to prevent illness. When we do not get the right nutrients, our body’s natural defense system against diseases weakens, allowing viruses and bacteria to attack the body. It’s like a well-trained army—if the army doesn’t have enough to eat, it will not do well in battle. Without healthy foods and plenty of water, our bodies simply could not operate on a day-to-day basis. Learning how to eat healthy foods is therefore and important lesson, and one which we should begin learning as children.

Can You Really Exercise To Get Taller?

If you're so lucky to still be in your growing years, then
there's tons of stuff you can do to increase your height in
a natural way. There's a lot of lies around the web about
the process of growing, so forget what you've already heard
and go on reading this..

Your diet is extremely important if you wish to get taller,
and that especially during puberty and your growing years.
Be sure to eat food containing enough proteins, amino acids
and calcium. It'll do you good. If you get enough of these
nutritious foods your body gets what it needs to grow.
Exercising will also help.

But the cold and hard truth is that nothing can lengthen
your bones after you've stopped growing. There's too many
scams out there that tell you they know exercises that will
get you taller, even after puberty. These claims are
ridiculous, as there's simply no way it works.

To understand why it doesn't, let me tell you a little more
about how your body grows to begin with. As infants, our
bones mostly consist of flexible cartilage, and as we grow
older the cartilage fuses together into solid bone.

During the teenage years growth plates located on the ends
of the longer bones will eventually lengthen, but sooner or
later they will stop. Nothing can make them start
lengthening again.

But during those growing years, regular exercising to get
taller really does help to speed up the growth process.
Doing so will also make your bones stronger, as they have to
carry the additional weight of gained muscles.

Also keep in mind that you should stay away from junk-food.
Keeping a healthy diet can help prevent bone weakening
diseases that people often get when they grow old. Having
strong and healthy bones will also help your body prevent
some of the shrinking that happens to everyone as they grow
older.

Another advantage of exercises to get taller while you're
still growing is that it will release height growth
hormones, also known as HGH, which speeds up the growth
process.

So what exercises can you do to help you gain height?
Contrary to what you might have been told earlier, most
exercises that release HGH don't involve stretching.
Instead of thinking that you're doing this to get taller,
try to focus on building muscles instead. Doing so will
improve your overall appearance, as well as strengthen your
bones.

How To Develope Healthy Eating Habits

By Dan Beckwith

Good carbs, bad carbs, protein, nutrients...It can all get
pretty heavy duty. Healthy eating facts abound and can get
very confusing.

Today, let's put away the latest calorie counting charts and
discuss a tactic that is incredibly easy and is guaranteed
to help you lose weight, and eat more healthy. It is truly
one of the best healthy eating facts around.

Consider this, when was the last time you ordered a pizza or
went through the drive through at the local fast food place?

You know the super deluxe pizza, or the hamburger and fries
are bad for you... so, why? Why did you go there?

I'm sure there are exceptions, but my guess would be that
most of you grabbed the burger or pizza for no reason other
than - you didn't know what to fix for dinner. The fast food
place was on the way home, and it offered a simple solution.

To a surprising extent, our unhealthy diets exist for no
reason other than convenience. It's a fact - but, not one
of the healthy eating facts. The last thing we want to do
after a long day at work, is create a menu for our dinner.
We are tired! Then, when you consider the minefield of good
carbs, bad carbs and so on... it's even worse. BTW - it's
just as bad to toss a frozen pizza into the oven as it is to
order one.

Here's how to solve that problem...On your next day off (or
whenever you can) set aside a couple hours and plan your
dinner menu for each day in the coming week! Go two weeks if
you are feeling ambitious.

Put each meal plan on a separate sheet of paper in a 3 ring
binder. If you want to go all out, you can even separate the
days with pretty, multicolored tabs. Eventually, you will
probably want to laminate the pages.

Every night, when you get home, open your binder to that
days menu and prepare it. Here's the important part, we want
to make this a habit so never deviate from this daily plan.

You will totally stop the impulse buying from the local fast
food place, save a lot of money, and never have to worry
about what to fix for dinner.

It may seem overly simple, but it works and it will save you
quite a bit of money too!

If you had a personal chef, and their job was to fix you
healthy, nutritious, low-calorie meals, you would expect
them to pre-plan the menu. If they always waited until the
last minute for inspiration, you would most likely fire
them. Think of yourself in the same way, pre-plan your
meals. Then, don't change your plans during the week.

Right now, it may seem like a boring chore, but once this
becomes a habit you will learn to truly love your binder.

If you plan all your meals to be healthy ones, it MUST
eventually improve your health. It has to!

At the end of your first week, sit down and do it again.
Make up a new meal plan for the next week. Try to make them
all different recipes than the ones you had before. By the
end of the first month, you will have a months worth of
different recipes you can call on.

Every meal, for four weeks, will be different. This way you
will never get tired of eating the same meals over and over
again. They will all be tasty, nutritious and low calorie.
Once you've gotten this far, you can stop your weekly
planning and just continuously rotate the recipes in your
binder.

I think that's one of the best healthy eating facts out
there, and it will help you save a bundle at the grocery
store.

Check out my website for a bunch of additional information
and a free subscription to my " Fast Weight Loss" mini
course.

Dan Beckwith is an author and geek who's done all the weight
loss research and studies, so you don't have to. To discover
bunches of
(http://www.weightloss-2.org/Healthy-Eating-Facts.html)
Healthy Eating Facts, read bunches of interesting articles
and get your copy of a free (http://www.weightloss-2.org/)
"Fast Weight Loss Tips" mini-course, check out his website
IMMEDIATELY!

How To Make Fat Loss Work For You

With a huge percentage of the population of Western
countries overweight and out of shape, it's no wonder that
the demand for fitness products is as strong as ever. Diet
pills, protein shakes and exercise gadgets are selling like
crazy as people try to lose weight and have a better quality
life.

As the culture of fast-food spreads across the globe, an
increasing number of people are falling prey to the
temptations of high-calorie junk food. Obesity is on the
rise and together with it other diet-related diseases like
diabetes and high-blood pressure.

In their quest to lead healthier lives and find the fastest
fat loss method, overweight people embrace the newest fad
diet that comes along. The word 'fad' precedes 'diet'
because that's just what they are - popular for a while then
as folks realize their effects aren't sustainable, these
over-hyped diet plans are quickly dropped for the next one
that comes along.

Getting rid of excess fat is only a matter of burning more
calories than our body takes in each day. Office work and
commuting takes up most of our hours and this means we're on
our butts for most of the day. Losing weight then by just
cutting back on food intake won't be very successful without
regular workout sessions.

Fat loss happens faster when we exercise and use up a larger
amount of caloric energy than we get from our daily
consumption of food. Aside from improving our physique,
working out regularly also conditions the cardiovascular
system and produces endorphins which improve our mood.

Trying to cut back on calories by passing-up breakfast or
lunch can also lead to a feeling of self-deprivation. This
only serves to make us vulnerable to loss of self-control
and pigging-out the next time we go to a party or a buffet
table. Eating too much in one meal if done regularly results
in an ugly potbelly after a while.

Experts say it's more effective to eat small portions
whenever we get the munchies rather than stuffing ourselves
every meal. Doing this can also keep our metabolism high and
lets us burn calories more efficiently. It's been discovered
that our metabolic rate slows down considerably when our
body senses a shortage of food.

Having healthy eating habits and sticking to regular
fat-burning exercises (cardio and strength training) will
help speed-up fat loss and keep metabolism high. Raising the
body's metabolic rate means less calories transformed to
fat.

AND YET ANOTHER 8 WAYS TO GET YOUR 5 A DAY

1. Start your day with a healthier sundae, by layering your
muesli or high-fiber cereal with plain low-fat yogurt,
slices of fresh fruit, and a sprinkling of nuts drizzled
with honey - delicious!

2. Thread strawberries, grapes, and cubes of Kiwi fruit,
watermelon, and paw-paw onto skewers, and serve as tropical
poolside kebabs.

3. Banana wheels on top of wholewheat toast? Try it. Its too
good a treat to be enjoyed by five-year-olds alone.

4. Broaden your horizons. Try a fruit or vegetable you have
never tried before, or try an old favorite prepared in a new
and interesting way. For instance, if you are fond of
steamed asparagus, why not try asparagus raw, with just a
little balsamic vinegar and lemon zest on hand?

5. Turn an ordinary sandwich into a culinary masterpiece by
adding layers of fresh or grilled veggies to your chosen
filling.

6. Peel and slice a paw-paw into petals, and serve with a
zesty squeeze of lemon for a breakfast treat.

7. Pop some seedless grapes into the freezer overnight.
Serve as little bites of chilled dessert, or plop into a
tall glass of water for an icy touch of flavor.

8. For a Protein-packed anytime snack, spread a little
peanut butter along the inside of a celery stick. Paste a
line of raisins or dried cranberries on top, and crunch to
your heart's content.

There you have it. Now you have no excuse for not getting
your 5 a day! Replace any fruit or veg not available or not
to your liking with any alternative of your choice. Enjoy!

ANOTHER 8 WAYS TO GET YOUR 5 A DAY

1. Spread low-fat chunky cottage cheese onto granary bread,
and top up with cherry tomato, thinly sliced cucumber,
grated carrot and sprouts for a filling snack.

2. Take the top off a leathery looking granadilla (that's
how you will know its ripe) and spoon out the seeds with a
slurp.If you don't mind waiting a little longer for your
fix, sprinkle the seeds over plain low-fat yogurt instead.

3. Introduce a few leaves of fresh mint to a bowl of
watermelon cubes, for an irresistible appetizer or summary
salad.

4. Make a well stocked fruit bowl the welcoming centerpiece
of your home. Top it up with the colorful bounty of the
season, and encourage family and friends to treat it as a
help-yourself snack bar, rather than an ornamental
arrangement.

5. Half-moon slices of Granny Smith apple, served on a bed
of celery stalks and leaves, with a topping of chopped
walnuts. Yes, its a Waldorf salad, but something's missing:
the mayonnaise. That's because all you need is a dash of
lemon juice or olive oil to enjoy this crispier, crunchier,
healthier version of the famous dish.

6. Spicy rice tastes even nicer when you mix it up with
choppings of cold pineapple and cuts of mango.

7. Haul out the cookie cutters, call in the tikes,and spend
some quality time crafting pretty vegetable carvings.

8. Toast a pita bread, fill it up with veggies - grated
cabbage, red onion rings, peppers, cherry tomatoes,
cucumbers - and voila, you've got a quick and healthy salad
in your pocket.

9 WAYS TO GET YOUR 5 A DAY

Rich in nutrients and vast in variety, fruit and vegetables
are a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. Try these tips to
meet or exceed your recommended daily ration of nature's
health boosting bounty.

1. Blend a banana with frozen berries, plain low-fat yogurt
and milk for a delicious fruit smoothie.

2. Couscous is a nourishing staple of African cuisine,
painstakingly prepared from semolina or barley. But don't
just eat it on its own: mix it with crispy roast vegetables,
browned in their own juices, and add a topping of green
salad and lemon juice to make a meal on its own.

3. Test your fruit and veggie literacy by working your way
through the alphabet of options on your 5 a day plan. A is
for Artichoke, B is for Butternut, C is for Courgette... and
if you get stuck at X, try Xigua, the Chinese name for a
variety of small watermelon.

4. Slice a banana along its length and coat the inside with
peanut butter. Stick it back together, and serve it to your
kids as a Peanut Butter Banana Boat.

5. Take a dip-bowl of low fat cottage cheese and, taking a
circular tray, surround it with alternating slices of fresh
fruit and vegetables. Tuck in at your convenience.

6. Peel and cut a pineapple into hefty vertical slices.
Slide it onto some skewers, and sprinkle lightly with curry
powder for an authentic street-stall treat.

7. The Kiwi fruit adds an exotic burst of flavor to a salad
or desert. Its tangy on the tongue with just a hint of
sweetness. But to really enjoy it to its fullest, eat it like
the Kiwis do: bite by juicy bite, with the skin on. Don't
forget to give it a good wash first, and remember, all that
extra fiber is good for you!

8. Take a big red apple and slice it into little strips,and
cunningly serve as "apple chips" to the young ones.

9. Raid your vegetable drawer to make a hearty soup or stew,
and you are guaranteed to get your recommended quota of 5
healthy portions a day!

What You Must Know If You Are Planning A Vegetable Garden

By Petra Spink

Planting a vegetable garden can be a very rewarding hobby as
well as provide you with a healthy food source. Planning a
vegetable garden gives you the chance to grow only the ones
that you and your family love and it gives you the
satisfaction of knowing that they are healthy and contain no
pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

While many people think putting out a vegetable garden is
too much trouble, it really isn't that hard and can be quite
fun for everyone involved. If you take care of your
vegetable garden properly, then you will be able to grow
some of the most delicious, fresh vegetables.

You will want to pick a spot in an area that receives a
minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight daily for your
vegetable garden. If you have a more shaded area, leafy
plants like spinach and lettuce are better choices as they
are more tolerant of shade.

If your garden lacks good soil, you may wish to seek to add
compost, leaf mold, rotted manure, or peat moss to enrich it.
Growing in soil that is mostly clay is also very difficult,
but humus or vermiculite may be added to improve drainage issues.
Test your soil by squeezing a handful. If it retains the shape
but can crumble a bit, then it likely will only need a bit of
organic matter to make it work well for vegetable gardening.

During early summer you need to mulch the vegetables that
you will be planting. Make the mulch thick and it will help
to keep away weeds, it will improve the coil structure, and
will help to keep the soil in the right amount of moisture.
Compost, straw, hay, and shredded bark are great materials
for mulch.

As you start planning a vegetable garden, a drip irrigation
system may be a smart choice to install for your garden.
This will deliver water directly to the roots of the
vegetables where it is needed most. A timer can even be
installed, automating the times you irrigate your plants and
freeing you for other activities.

Deciding what you wish to grow is a key consideration to
planning a vegetable garden. You will want to grow
vegetables that fit well with your soil type, and with your
personal taste preferences. Focus on these aspects as you
plan and plot out your garden. While you may find it
interesting to grow all kinds of vegetables, it may not be a
good idea if your family refuse to eat them.

You can't measure the satisfaction you will get from growing
your own vegetables. A big feeling of well being is
inevitable knowing that you are feeding yourself and your
family the very best quality available. Remember, others
before you have made a great success of this from scratch so
there is no reason why you can't. Just follow the rules and
tips that more experienced gardeners give and you won't go
wrong.