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Food is also a business. So, why is this subject mentioned in here? That’s because even if there are honest companies which are committed to consumer’s health and well-being, the market is still packed with companies which are more focused on selling you with their products. It only means that these companies will do whatever it takes just to catch your attention and persuade you that their products are smart choices.
The Truth about Food Labels – Low-Fat and Fat-Free As a consumer, you want to buy products that are healthy. Hence, it has become a habit for most consumers to check an item’s label before deciding whether it should be on their cart or not. However, the practices in the market have drastically changed. The practice of using labels such as reduced fat to help consumers identify healthy choices from those that are not are now only being taken advantage into to let people believe that a product is a healthy option. Reduced fat, low sodium, low-fat and fat-free are just among the many labels that food markers use to let the consumers believe that their products are healthy choices. But checking on these products and its labels, what does such claims truly mean? Low-Fat and Fat Free Claims Back then, there was no such thing as low fat or fat free. But as centuries pass, such terms were created, and now consumers are recommended to consume food items with such label. There is a reason why food makers are encouraging consumers to consume these products. The thing is, is the reason truly in favor for the consumers or to them? If it can be answered, how may lab or tests did these products underwent before they are labeled fat-free or low-fat? Are the ingredients still in their purest form? These are just among the questions has that consumers has regarding this concern. What it Means to be Labeled with Fat-Free and Low Fat A product can only be labeled as fat-free if it contains less than five grams of fat/serving. For products to be labeled with low-fat, it must only have three grams or even less fat/serving. But even if these products are labeled with these, it still does not mean that they are low calorie or healthy. In fact, many food items labeled with low-fat are still containing high amount of sugar and may also have high amount of calories. Those fat-free foods are also typically taste-free. But the drastic part is that food makers are also adding sugar, salt, thickeners and flour to these products, which adds the caloric content. There are free-foods as well that are loaded with chemicals that can be bad for consumers’ health. Fillers and chemicals are typically added to make up for the lack of nutrients, taste, palatability and texture. Consider fat-free cookies. Some of these cookies contain more sweeteners, like sugar, compared to cookies containing one or two grams of fat. The most important truth you must know about these product is they do not really help in losing weight. Instead of losing weight, the effects you will achieve later on is gain more weight. All these only lead to one thing. If you truly want to benefit from weight loss effects these products are claimed to deliver, you must start consuming real healthy products and foods that are in its purest form. Whenever you are grocery shopping, what basis do you use when purchasing items? Do you always base your choices on the nutrition labels of the products? Perhaps, you do so that it can guide you on which among your choices are much healthier. If you are among those health-conscious people, you may have done the same thing whenever you are grocery shopping. But, do these nutritional labels truly mean what it displays?
Even the most conscientious label-readers can be misled by what is written on these labels. And with all the marketing that companies do, you never know which label claims is really true. There is one thing you need to know about these nutritional labels. Terms like all-natural or fat-free are now often slapped on food items even if the products may not be truly healthy at all. Hence, it becomes more important for consumers today to be aware of these hype and know how they can better smarter choices when grocery shopping. All-Natural Label All-natural products are a smart choice for food items. So when you see this on nutritional labels, you will instantly get the idea that the product is also a smart and healthy option. Do not be fooled since all-natural does not really mean that much. Instead, you need to be aware that food items labeled with natural may actually mean that it contains food preservatives or sodium-injected. There are some natural products that contain high level of fructose corn syrup. Companies manufacturing products containing this would claim that it is healthy since it came from corn. Again, do not be fooled. Multi-grain Label Crackers and bread are snack food items that will always be present in most consumer’s grocery list. And as a smart shopper, you will look for these items that are labeled multigrain. But no, you should not and instead, you need to look for products labeled with 100% whole wheat or whole grain. Whole grains contain more fiber together with other nutrients compared to those that are refined. Products that have been refined only means that it is already stripped away with the healthiest part of the grain. No Sugar Added Label It is only normal for people to be concerned about carbohydrates and calories. In result, you only purchase food items that come with a no sugar added label. But you need to be aware that even fruits, milk, vegetables and cereals naturally have sugar. Even those products labeled with no sugar added still contain ingredients such as maltodextrin, which is a carbohydrate. Carbs, as described are simple sugars or can also be more complex starches, which raises blood sugar. Therefore, the label no sugar added does not necessarily mean that food items are free of carbohydrates or calorie. Sugar Free Label Products with sugar free labels do not mean that it contain less calories than its regular version. In fact, these products may even contain more! Products that are labeled with this still contain about less than point five grams of sugar per serving. But these products may still contain carbohydrates and calories obtained from other similar sources. At most these food items have sugar alcohols, which can lead to diarrhea. Hence, it is suggested that you do not consume products with this in just one sitting. There are more misleading nutritional labels people are always encountering in the supermarket. That is why it is so essential for you not just to be aware of it, but also to determine which truly the better choices among those products are. Metabolism is defined as the set of chemical reactions involved in sustaining the living state of the organism and the cells. It is an enzyme-catalyzed reaction which enables the organisms to reproduce and grow, sustain their structures, as well as respond to the environment. It is divided in two categories: catabolism and anabolism. Catabolism refers to the breaking down of the organic matter to harvest energy through cellular respiration and anabolism, which refers to the synthesis of the needed compounds of the cells such as nucleic acids and proteins.
Metabolism is closely related to nutrition and the availability of nutrients. Bio-energetics describes the metabolic or biochemical pathways in which the cell obtains energy and the formation of energy is one of the essential components of metabolism. The chemical reactions of metabolism are arranged into metabolic pathways, wherein a chemical is changed into another chemical through a sequence of enzymes. Enzymes are important in metabolism, since they enable organisms to initiate reactions that need energy, by coupling them to reactions which release energy. Enzymes serve as catalyst, which allow reactions to occur in rapid phase as well as regulating metabolic pathways due to changes in the environment of the cells. The term metabolism also refers to the burning of calories to provide energy needed by your body. The three ways that can burn calories include:
The PAEE is affected by your activity every day. The more fitness activity you do, the more calories your burned. Increasing the calories you burned through PAEE is one way of speeding up your fitness. If you want to speed up your metabolism, you must do fitness activities that drain glucose instead of fatty acids. Any high-intensity workout will also increase metabolism for a longer time after doing fitness activities. Does Metabolism Decrease with Age? The gain of weight as we age is due to the decrease in the calories burned by our body. Low level of physically fitness activity plays an important role in the decreased in the expenditure of energy as well as decline in the metabolic rate due to age. Basal metabolic rate, which makes up 50-70% of TEE, decreases to 1-2% every year. As the person gets old, his or her energy expenditure also decreases. The declined in the expenditure of energy is due to increase mass of fats and decreased mass of muscles. In order to prevent declined metabolic rate and age-related weight gain, you must integrate a fitness program including muscle building and strength training to have a stable muscle mass that is metabolically active, as well as cardiovascular physical activity to avoid increased mass of fats and maintain a high level of burning energy. It is a well acknowledged fact that a superbly muscled male, with a toned body to boot, might be considered the very epitome of masculine physique, and is even perceived as such, by both male and female alike. Equally true is the fact that overly muscular bodied females lose much of their femininity not only in the eyes of males but also of fellow females. While these commonly held beliefs on either side of the gender divide cannot be doubted or found fault with, the tendency of women at times to overdo or over express their apprehensions, results in misplaced assumptions and insinuations.
The presence of muscles in the female body is not detrimental to their femininity nor takes away from their soft looks or glamor in any way. The world of tennis provides enough evidence of female players who not only have the muscles in adequate measure where they need it most to pursue their sports, but at the same time have the bodily wherewithal to walk down any ramp without batting an eyelid. Sometimes these players can even put paid to the efforts of professional models to steal the limelight in their presence. So coming back to the central question of why women should be afraid of growing big - meaning having more muscles on their bodies? As a general reply, substantiated with the examples narrated above, the answer pure and simply is that they need not be afraid at all. Having said that, one would, however, hasten to add that most normal females are really not going to grow that big, and the scientific reason for this is that most females do not have that much of testosterone in their bodies to make them look like a muscled guy after putting in the same amount of weight training and exercise. Another related point to bear in mind is the fact that females typically do develop muscles at about half the rate of men. This again further proves that a female should not be concerned about the thought that she may suddenly end up with Hercules type muscles just by getting into weight training. To further assuage the fears of females about getting “big” let it be said that it is a fact, and also well supported by statistics, for both men and women, the same general principles apply for weight training, namely: heavy lifting, a proper diet, and enough rest to prevent over straining. Summarizing therefore, any doubts and misconceptions in the common female’s mind about growing “big” and muscular and thereby losing femininity through weight training should be laid to rest. Also, any aspersions that a female needs special circumstances for her own training are a myth. Purely because a female trains in the same way as a male, does not mean she ends up looking like a muscular male. The general principles of training apply equally to both sexes, but the essential differentiators between the sexes is the levels of testosterone in their bodies. This being much lower amongst females tempers the development of muscles in them, and thereby forever crashing a myth amongst many about the fear of growing “big”. SHARE Do you usually suffer from pain after jogging, working out, participating in any kind of sports or even after getting out of bed?. The road to health and fitness will seem long, winding and a difficult. If most days give you injuries instead of making you feel great, which is basically what workouts are supposed to offer in the first place, what could be the reason why you end up feeling terrible after your physical activity? Could it be because you forgot to warm up and cool down after each session? Or possibly, you just don’t realize yet what a foam roller can do to help you recover from your intense workouts.
Simple, light and undoubtedly inexpensive, the plain design of a foam roller may seem trivial. But the moment you used it for your specific exercise or for recovery work, you will be shocked to discover that the benefits that it offers actually stretch from here to eternity. The foam roller is used for deep tissue massages as well as rehabilitation and strengthening exercises. For athletes, they mainly use the foam rollers for intensive work on the muscles. However, it does not really matter if you are a professional athlete, ordinary fitness buff or just a regular Joe because the benefits of using foam roller are all yours to enjoy. The foam roller can help maintain and stretch your long and smooth muscles. It can achieved through the treatment of your trigger points with the help of deep tissue massage. What’s the importance of long and smooth muscles? These muscles are the ones that allow your body to become resistant to the different injuries because the network of the fibrous tissues that run through your body will become stronger. Once you start using a foam roller it will allow improved mobility. Your muscles will no longer feel sore as they used to feel every time you go out for your regular run or when you work out. It will also become easier for you to train for different physical activities and you can also heal and recover faster with the help of a foam roller. Why will you suffer through all the pain every time you work out when there is now a chance for you to push yourself to the limits with the use of a simple foam roller? With the help of the best foam rollers, you can now address your muscle pain, stretch your muscles, perform recovery exercises to help in achieving better muscle mobility and strength and remain as pain-free as possible. Use foam rollers today. What is exercise? Exercise is defined as planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement
done to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness. How important is exercise? Researchers have found that there is irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of regular physical activity in the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases. Exercise has been shown to reduce the onset of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression, osteoporosis, and premature death. Undoubtedly it is most tedious to begin an exercise regimen. Here are some ways you can stay motivated to complete your workout: 1. A lot of people would love to enjoy the benefits of a good workout but they fail to because they are no motivated. Set goals. Start with simple goals and then progress to longer range goals Pick an exercise and gradually increase workout frequency. If you have been physically inactive for the past few months or longer, the frequency, intensity, and time of your exercise sessions should be at the minimum. The body stores carbohydrates as glycogen primarily in the muscles and liver and then uses this stored glycogen for energy when you are physically active. Fats are also an important source of energy, packing more than double the energy per gram of carbohydrates. 2. Be sure to vary your type of exercise. It's also important to reevaluate your overall goal and plan to make sure it is actually achievable. 3. Make it fun. Find sports or activities that you enjoy, then vary the routine to keep you your interest level up. Like dancing, a fun workout that burns just as much calories as any other exercise. 4. Make physical activity part of your daily routine. If it's hard to find time for exercise, don't fall back on excuses. Make everyday count as training. Going to the gym is not for everyone; not all of us can endure a tedious, boring and confusing workout in the gym. Some of us live for the spunk and there are countless other options that offer a fun interesting way to remain healthy. So don’t let that be your excuse for not exercising. Doing an actual warm-up and stretching are complete opposites, and often you may mistake the two for the same thing. But, truth is stretching before a workout or any physical activity at hand helps with flexibility, and improves your range of motion. Stretching should not be done alone as a warm-up. On the contrary, the goal of any warm up is to improve your performance and reduce the risk of injuries. An injury is the last thing you wish to occur right as you’re getting your body up to speed for a particular event, and by skipping the warm-up process and relying on stretching to do the job, your posing a threat to your body. Although you may overlook this many times, a good warm-up before any workout or sport, allows for the increase of body temperature and blood flow, and is key in getting your body prepared for the intense activity that you are about to do. Of course, most of us can attest to the fact that we should stretch before a workout to get loose, as there is value in stretching. This does not mean that we should focus on stretching alone, and forget the warm-up process, which is essential to the activity you are about to do. I’ve had many people tell me that they don’t need to warm-up, but in fact, studies have shown that stretching before an activity does nothing for the reduction of injuries. Injuries tend to occur during the normal range of motion and are not preventable through stretching. Take for example, during sprinting, an injury may occur when the muscle is stretched beyond its capacity or challenged with a certain load, and not because you have stretched before the workout makes it preventable. Warm-up exercises are a crucial aspect to any sport that you may indulge in, or fitness training program, as it has a number of important elements.
If injuries occur during the normal range of motion, then why increasing that range of motion ? So, it appears that stretching before an activity is not going to help prevent injuries. What to do is simple. Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes. Approach your warm up in a detailed form that is of must specifications to the activity you are about to indulge in. keep in mind that a warm up is to actually get you warm; to get your temperature slightly above average, enough to break a sweat. Here is an example of what to do. Let’s consider weight training. If your workout calls for squats, then a good warm up would be body weight squats. This would activate the muscles around the hip, knee, ankle and trunk. The goal is to warm up with the same movements or as close as you can get to the actual movements required by your workout or sport. In order to get the most out of your training sessions, focus on warm-up movements that mirror the movements of the activity in which you plan on participating. Do as many reps as you need until you feel ready. So when it comes to preparing for a workout, it makes sense to focus on warming up the body rather than stretching muscles. A few our basic options you may consider for a warmup may be A jog Jumping jocks jump rope crawl out Etc.. If your goal is to improve strength, lose fat or improve in a sport, well strength training is just what your body needs in order to succeed or perform well. Regardless of your gender no matter what activity you do or what type of sport you participate in, a specific level of fitness is required. Of course everyone wants to have the perfect body; however few of us don’t know how to reach our Fitness goals.
Why is this important you may ask? Strength training is just what your body needs to fight the loss of muscle, bone mass and strength that comes with aging. Strength training keeps the excess weight off. It aids in shedding pounds and it helps maintain weight loss. (Did you know that after puberty we begin to lose about 1 percent of our bone and muscle strength every year?) I can bet that you were a little surprise to hear that, however to prevent or reverse bone and muscle losses add strength training to your workout. Everyone, no matter how young or old, should be doing some kind of regular strength training. At home, or at the gym using any equipment that gets the job done. Don’t limit yourself to thinking that lifting weights, expensive machines, or gym membership is the only way to do strength training; Pushups, jump squats, lunges, and mountain climbing are all examples of exercises that provide strength training. · Getting Started Since muscle growth is such a slow process, weight lifting should be broken down into three muscle developing stages and working with a fitness expert is a very safe and effective way to acquire the right amount of knowledge on this. · Benefits of Strength Training 1. Keeps the excess weight off. 2. Protects bone health and muscle mass. 3. Makes you stronger and fitter. 4. Aids in developing better body mechanics. 5. Aids in disease prevention. 6. Boosts energy levels and improves your mood. There is no surprise that Strength training makes you stronger and fitter. After all it involves strengthening and toning your muscles by contracting them against a resisting force. There are two types of resistance training they are Isometric resistance and Isotonic strength training. Isometric resistance involves contracting your muscles against a non-moving object, such as against the floor in a push-up. Isotonic strength training involves contracting your muscles through a range of motion. Both make you stronger and can get you into better shape. Remember that with strength training your muscles need time to recover, so it should only be done on alternate days. Always take some time to warm up and cool down after strength training. Strength training has benefits that go well beyond the appearance of nicely toned muscles. Your balance and coordination will improve, as will your posture. More importantly, if you have poor flexibility and balance, strength training can reduce your risk of falling by as much as 40 percent, a crucial benefit, especially as you get older. If you have arthritis, strength training can be as effective as medication in decreasing arthritis pain. Strength training can help post-menopausal women increase their bone density and reduce the risk of bone fractures. As if that isn’t enough to convince you, strength training has also been shown to be a great antidepressant, to help you sleep better, and to improve your overall quality of life. Who doesn't want to look better, feel better, and live a longer, healthier life? Get started now with a complete workout program that includes strength training and start your journey. <!-- Place this tag where you want the su badge to render --> <su:badge layout="6"></su:badge> <!-- Place this snippet wherever appropriate --> <script > (function() { var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true; li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s); })(); </script> Muscle imbalance is when your muscles becomes weak, and the stronger muscles overcompensate for the weaker ones. This happens because the weak muscles can’t match the strength and endurance of the stronger ones, they fatigue more easily and force the stronger muscles to work harder. Still not clear visualize this example, if you do push-ups or bench presses daily, but never do rows, pull-ups, or other upper body pulling movements, there's a good chance your chest is far stronger than your back, and produces an end result of muscle imbalance.
Take it like this poor posture also causes muscle imbalance and though not intentionally, and most often not identified until one begins to feel pain they take this issue as a concern. Muscular imbalances can result from many issues including the following: · Postural stress · Emotional stress · Repetitive movement Our jobs, lifestyle, hobbies and habits are all factors that contribute to muscular imbalance. Many of us are engaged in a routine lifestyle where we go to work every day doing the same thing. Example sitting in the office all day in a hunched position for more than three hours can cause unnatural posture which leads to muscular imbalance. Although being physically active is being encouraged, if not done properly it can be of a disadvantage. Repetitive movements like pushing, pulling, lifting, moving and twisting can also lead to muscular imbalances because our core muscles are often neglected. And we also don’t condition our bodies to move in a side-to-side or rotating direction (lateral or transverse planes) Here are some tips to correct and prevent muscle imbalance: To prevent muscular imbalances, when you are sitting or standing for long periods focus on good posture. Try to take walking breaks every 2-3 hours at the very least. When performing repetitive movements engage your core (contract your abdominal muscles), and try to change up your movements when you are able. Start to correct imbalances by adding more unilateral exercises to your workout. Unilateral exercises allow you to isolate one side of your body from the other. Hammer Strength machines, resistance bands, dumbbells, and single side cables are all pieces of equipment that will help you focus your attention on your weaker side. Start to correct imbalances by adding more unilateral exercises to your workout. Unilateral exercises allow you to isolate one side of your body from the other. Hammer Strength machines, resistance bands, dumbbells, and single side cables are all pieces of equipment that will help you · Perform to the strength of your weak side You will want to formulate your rep scheme according to the strength of your weak side. You do not want to work to that of your stronger side, as this will only exacerbate muscle imbalance. Since you are going to adjust the amount of reps to suit your weak side, start with that side to get a feel for your rep count. If you can only do 10 reps on your left side, and 15 on your right, stop at 10. In theory, you want to under-train, or maintain the right side in hopes of allowing the left side to progress. · Form and flexibility Many people choose to fix muscle imbalances on their own, but I also advise in some cases working with a rehab specialist, or hiring a trainer to ensure proper form. If poor form is partly to blame for imbalance, you may need the help of a professional to recognize this and to help you train the right way. Flexibility can also cause muscle imbalances, so make sure you are taking yourself through a proper dynamic warm up sequence to prepare you for a full range of motion when you train. Don’t forget to stretch at the end of a workout, giving special attention to your weaker side. |
AuthorCertified personal trainer Roy Hanson blogs about fitness tips, workout hacks, and healthy lifestyle advice Archives
July 2015
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