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Health Facts

Losing Weight Safely Over Time

When it comes to weight loss there are a lot of products that claim to provide quick results with little to no effort on your part. These are the types of products that should be avoided if you are serious about losing your excess weight. The types of products that are most effective are the ones that take more time to help you take that weight off.
Losing weight over a short period of time makes you more prone to gaining that weight back after you have reached your targeted loss goal. The only safe and effective way to lose weight is to lose it over a longer period of time at a steady rate.
There are a couple of different products that help you lose weight within this safe period of time. These products are most generally prescription products that actually encourage eating. A healthy diet is an important part of making these products work to your favor.
One type of these products eliminates the majority of the fat from the foods you consume by quickly flushing it from your body. Because these types of products flush the fat out so quickly, they encourage a change of diet and a limit to the amount of fats in each meal. These products generally come with some type of food guide and recipes that have been tested for their fat content. The only problems reported for this type of product are related to a slip by the dieter in the recommended fat intake.…

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Health Gov

Five Easy Ways to Save on Fat Loss Diet Programs

Almost everyone has an ideal weight that they would want to achieve. Unfortunately, there are more people whose ideal weights are far less than what they are presently at. This leads to being dissatisfied with their bodies, which may ultimately affect their self esteem. For most overweight people, their self image depends largely on how other people see them. Although this self image is not always accurate, it may create such an impact on their lives and may even result to depression.
Sometimes, it is not enough to just have the desire to lose weight. Let’s face it. Most of the fat loss diet programs and gym memberships that are advertised are not that affordable. We see a lot of advertisements every where which depict people who supposedly lost 20 or more pounds by buying a certain product or by enrolling in a gym program. Most of these options are expensive and may seem unrealistic for most people.
The business of fat loss diet programs is one of the most lucrative industries, because of the number of people who want to lose unwanted pounds. A lot of websites advertise weight loss ebooks or membership programs that give you access to a weight tracking system which includes suggestions on diet and exercise. None of these come cheap, and if you are serious about losing weight, you may easily buy these products or subscribe to these membership sites.
There are other ways, though of losing weight that are more natural and can save you a lot of pennies. Here are some suggestions if you want to save some money on fat loss diet programs and yet achieve the same results of losing extra pounds:
1. Check your local gym for programs that may be free or a lot cheaper than private gyms.
2. Do outdoor exercises like brisk walking, jogging or swimming in places where you either don’t have to pay or places that maybe charging minimal fees like parks, public beaches or even shopping malls.
3. Do research on what foods can help you speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight. Include a lot of fruits and vegetables in your diet, which will provide your body with the right nutrients and a lot of fiber which can make you feel full longer.
4. Exercise at home. You can simply buy an exercise DVD and follow the routines in your living room.
5. Do household chores. You can do simple household chores like doing the laundry, spring cleaning, and washing your car which can help you burn calories as well.
Fat loss diet programs don’t have to be too expensive. You just need to be creative and use the resources you can find either online or around your area. Just remember that a good weight loss program is always a combination of the right diet with a good exercise routine, as well as the willingness to create a leaner, healthier you.…

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Health Facts

The Key to Natural African Hair Care – Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!

The key to healthy Black hair and growth is moisture. I just recently changed my moisturizing regiment, because while I religiously moisturized my hair, it was still very dry. I found that although I was frequenting African hair care vlogs and blogs like Curly Nikki, I wasn’t truly paying attention to what contributors were writing about. I think because my hair had grown 5 inches in 6 months (when previously I hadn’t achieved any growth due to breakage) and I completely repaired the damaged sections of my hair, I thought my moisture regiment was on point. Boy was I wrong!
First, I would mixed around three tablespoons of coconut oil and one table spoon of olive oil together and heated it up in the microwave (not too hot). I would then wet my hair, soaked it with the hot oil and put on a heat cap for about 30 minutes. Next, I would co-wash (wash with conditioner) the oil out of my hair, spray in Hawaiian Silky leave-in conditioner and let my hair air dry. Once it was dry, I would moisturized my scalp with my Jojoba mix, which consists of 5 drops of Rosemary, 2 drops of Lavender to one tablespoon of Jojoba oil. I then separate my hair into 11 big sections, twist each section, put on a satin bonnet and I’m done.
With this regiment, I didn’t comb my hair much, once a month at best. I found that detangling with my fingers while co-washing worked just fine. Its common knowledge in the natural African hair care community that our hair isn’t supposed to be combed or brushed too much and not combing worked for me when I grew my hair out over the winter.
My hair would only remain supple for ONE day on this regiment. It would literally be dried out on the second day even after re-spritzing with the leave-in. I do co-wash two to three times a week, one because I can’t stand that frowsy hair smell and two, washing allows me to get some moisture. Although some may consider 3 co-washes a week a bit much for dry hair, its the only way I can get that suppleness back.
My hair had always been super, duper dry and I just thought I had to live with that fact and do whatever I could to keep it moist for as long as possible. After sticking with this treatment for eight months I realized there should be something I could do to stay moisturized, so I started researching again. I spent a couple of hours on Curly Nikki as opposed to just browsing for a few minutes and low and behold, I came across a post from a sista with baddest Afro I have ever seen in my life! One of the first things she wrote about was how dry her hair is and she went on to outline her moisture regiment.
When she co-washes, she uses around five different types of conditioner together and she doesn’t rinse it out! Further, if she feels her hair is getting a little dry between co-washes, she’ll spritz in more conditioner! I first thought that all of that conditioner would cause a lot of build-up and eventually be damaging, but the truth is everything the mainstream teaches us about natural African hair care is backward. We can basically do the opposite of what other people do with their hair, especially in the case of conditioning. After all, her hair is incredible! She’s maintained this regiment for the better part of six years and her hair is gorgeous, so all of that conditioning must be working!
As I researched on, I came across a post about sealing with oil. The post described how sealing locks in what ever type of moisturizer you are using and aids in keeping your hair moisturized. I’ve never sealed my hair. I figured since I hot oil treated my hair, oiled my scalp and used a very rich leave-in, I didn’t need to put in any more oil. However, it was still very dry between co-washes, even when I added more leave-in, so whatever I was doing wasn’t working and my hair was telling me it was time for something new.
So, when co-wash day rolled around, I dove right into this sista’s moisture regiment. I co-washed with Garnier Fruictis Triple Nutrition and Suave Almond and Shea conditioner. I repeated the co-wash three times and on the third time, I didn’t rinse it out. To seal it, I mixed Shea butter and coconut oil together until the consistency was a little thinner than normal Shea butter, but not too oily. After my hair dried, I coated it liberally with the mix, but I didn’t saturate it. I didn’t use the Jojoba oil mix …

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Health Food

The Benefits of Lanza Hair Products

Do you need new hair care products? Are the ones you are currently using not giving the results you want? Do you want your hair to be styled, repaired, color protected, or more voluminous? If you answered yes to any of those, Lanza hair products has a line of products that address each of those concerns.
Lanza hair products can be used by anyone. There are numerous lines for different hair issues. Here are a few of them.
Their Art Elements line was designed to maintain and create fashionable artistic hairstyles. In this collection, you will find a bungee styling cream that has elastic properties. It provides hair with stretch and hold with bounciness and body. The design cream makes hair weightless, soft, movable, shiny, and has support. The design foam gives flexible support with softness.
Also in the collection is the dramatic FX, which is just a finishing mist for a lot of hold. The Mega Gel gives shape control and the mix is wax that gives texture to hair. Polyester is to add shine, volume, texture, movement, and support. The Powder Up texturizer is for lightweight styling. Reflex is a mist that allows hair to rebound. For shape, try the Taffy product. For a ton of hold, you can try Tight Glue.
Lanza’s Hair Repair line is made of a formula with protein to make hair stronger and fix damage. Their Protein Plus shampoo is a cleanser with a coconut base. It provides nutrients and protein to hair along with moisture. Lanza’s Leave-In protector is a light conditioner that moisturizes and protects hair. The Reconstructor is a rich hair treatment that repairs hair and reverses chemical damage to restore its natural health.
Healing Color Care is a line is meant to preserve color and prevent fading. The Color Preserve shampoo allows for optimal hair color retention and the Color Preserving conditioner is the same except it gives shine and is a detangler. There is also a leave in treatment called the Magic Bullet and for extra damaged hair, try the Trauma treatment. Silver Brightening shampoo is a sulfate free shampoo that brightens hair and has highlights, as well as shades of platinum, blonde, white, or gray.
Lanza Volume Collection is all about giving body and fullness to thin hair. It is supposed to turn limp and flat hair into big and healthy hair that is soft and shiny. Their thickening shampoo is based on natural herbs and has antioxidants in it. The Thickening conditioner is not greasy and makes hair bigger, shinier, and weightless. Zero Weight hair gel is free of alcohol and gives a large amount of hold. Lanza Root Effects is a lightweight volumizing spray that turns into a foam. And their Final Effects is a maximum hold volumizer that is an aerosol spray.
So if you want style, to repair your hair, protect its color, or add volume, Lanza hair has a selection of things you can do for these. They have many lines, so whatever your need is, you can find the right product for your specific needs.…

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Health Gov

Beating Weight Loss Plateaus – Essential Facts You Should Know

You just don’t get it. You’ve been doing the same exercises day-in and day-out. The intensity is the same, the frequency and length of time has not also changed. You have not also made any drastic changes to your diet. But how come you’re not losing any more weight? The bathroom scale continues to measure the same way. If writers dread that most-feared terror known as “writer’s block,” fitness buffs do not like to hear of the phrase “weight loss plateau” to describe the phase they are in their quest for that ideal weight.
But the truth of the matter is that an exercise plateau can and does happen to almost everyone. When the metabolic rate slows and the body has already adapted to a workout regimen, you can expect a plateau to occur at some point in your fitness regimen. This situation, however, can be easily remedied by following these guidelines:
1. Vary your workouts. When your body has already adapted to the same workload that you constantly put on it– such as when you are doing the same cardiovascular regimen day in and day out– it will not burn the same number of calories as when you first engaged yourself in the program. Back then, your body still had to work constantly to adapt to the new stresses you have placed on it and as a result, you lost weight fast. To continue shedding the fat off, change the intensity, duration and frequency of your exercises. You can do interval training or concentrate working out another muscle group that you don’t normally devote much attention to.
2. Don’t restrict calories too much. The most common partner of exercise is diet. However, while you are training, it is best not to lower your caloric intake too much since your body will respond by slowing down metabolism. When your metabolic rate slows down, you won’t lose as much fat as you would like to. Calories are needed by your body to burn more calories so don’t restrict yourself severely but cut only a few from your maintenance caloric intake so you still keep your metabolism humming so you can burn weight. This will prevent you from experiencing a weight loss plateau.
3. Don’t over-train. Over-training is one of the faults of those seeking to lose weight. Their rationale is that the more you expend your energy, the greater the weight loss. However, when you have reached that point in your training where you have exercised too much, your body knows this and will do all it can to preserve its integrity. It will correspondingly decrease the number of calories you will burn throughout the day. Sufficient rest is an integral part of any workout regimen. This is the time when your body can heal and as a result new muscles will form. Don’t give in to the misconception that the more you exercise, the more fat you will lose. This will only become possible if give your body ample time for recovery and stave off the immobilizing effects of a weight loss plateau.…

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Health Gov

Wine Nutrition

Wine nutrition and health benefits is a topic of a great deal of research worldwide and wine has been reported to come with a variety of health benefits. Wine is made by fermenting different types of crushed grapes using different types of yeast, usually containing 10 to 15 percent alcohol by volume.
Wine Facts:
• Third president and a founding father of the United States Thomas Jefferson had a passion for wine. His salary was $25,000 per year at the time and he spent $3000 on wine!
• Iran used to have a thriving wine industry that disappeared after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In Iran, mei- Persian wine has been a central theme of poetry for more than a thousand years.
• 20 million acres are used for grape planting worldwide.
• Grapes are ranked as the world’s number one fruit crop.
• Oldest wine that has ever been reviewed was 200 years old.
• Red wines represent 55% of restaurant wine sales.
• 1 ton of grapes yields 63 cases of wine.
Wine Nutrition and Health Benefits:
• A glass of red contains very small amounts of carbs and protein but no fat. Wine is not a good source of vitamins and minerals.
• Wine has a very long history of use as an early form of medication.
• Many long term studies with large populations concluded that most healthy people who drink red wine regularly and moderately live longer.
• A glass of dry wine has 100 calories and a sweet dessert wine has about 230 calories. Wine or alcohol is not ideal for people that are aiming to lose weight.
• Best known benefit of wine is protecting against or lowering the rate of heart disease. But be very careful.. this benefit is not for heavy drinkers, who tend to have an elevated risk while moderate drinkers have less: a J curve association. Moderate means no more than two drinks for men and no more than one drink for women.
• A couple of glasses of wine will help you relax and lower your blood pressure, but more than four will raise your blood pressure to a level of concern.
• A new found benefit attributed to wine- especially red wine is fighting off the common cold, possibility due to its antioxidant properties. According to a year long study at five universities of 4000 volunteers, people who drank more than two glasses of red per day had 44% fewer colds. Same benefit was not observed with beer and spirits.
• Resveratrol- nonalcoholic phytochemical in wine has been shown to prevent blood clotting and plaque formation in arteries by changing lipid profiles and plasma viscosity. Red wine provides much more resveratrol than white. In white wine production, the skin is removed before fermentation, giving white wines a lower concentration in resveratrol than red wines. Also, wines made in cooler climates have greater amounts of resveratrol.
• Resveratol can be used to treat potentially deadly inflammatory disease, such as appendicitis, peritonitis, and systemic sepsis, said a team of scientists from Scotland and Singapore. It works as an effective therapy for life-threatening inflammation.
• When consumed with food, wine boosts the body’s absorption of iron.
What Can Heavy Drinking Do To You?
• Heavy alcohol consumption may have a damaging effect on the cellular process that creates bone tissue.
• Alcohol is a toxin and has the potential to damage cells. Studies have linked consumption of alcohol to increase risk for a variety of cancers including breast, colon and stomach cancer.
• Studies have shown that heavy drinkers put themselves at greater risk for heart disease and developing potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias.
• One of the short-term effects of alcohol is impaired mental function, which can cause behavioral changes and memory impairment. Long term effects of heavy drinking can inhibit new brain cell development and increase the risk for developing major depressive disorders.
• Drinking too much or too fast may cause nausea, headaches, loss of control and judgement.
• Excessive wine drinking may also cause liver damage.
Wine Glycemic Index:
There are mixed reviews on GI value of wine but red wine has almost no digestible carbs, therefore no effect on blood sugar levels and Glycemic index value is zero. We need to treat any alcoholic beverage as a problematic food since alcohol itself can be de-stabilizing of blood sugar, although red wine may be an exception.…

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Health Gov

Caring For Your Dry Hair – Easy and Budget Friendly Dry Hair Care

Dry hair is prone to split ends and can get too frizzy. The worst part of it is that it does not only look lifeless but also looks embarrassingly ugly when it is tangled. Fortunately, there are easy and budget-friendly ways to care for your dry hair.
Heat is the number one enemy of your hair. It causes the moisture in the strands to evaporate. Thus, one of the most important parts of caring for your dry hair is being aware of not subjecting your hair to too much heat. This is to lock in the moisture as much as possible.
Avoid blow drying and ironing your hair if possible. Instead, just use a towel to dry your wet hair. In cases where you need blow dry, set the blow dryer to only the minimum heat setting.
The evaporation of moisture in the hair is triggered by heat. It thus requires us to subject the hair to least heat possible to prevent evaporation.
When buying your hair care products, look for particular products for your dry hair. Be on the lookout for bottles with labels saying “for dry hair.” For-dry-hair shampoos contain the necessary vitamins for your specific needs. These shampoos are gentler than your average shampoos as well. Because these are gentle, they usually don’t strip the hair’s oils making them effective in keeping the moisture in the hair strands.
If you have dry strands, you need a conditioner. Condition it every day. Look for hair conditioners specifically made for this hair type. They are usually thicker than most conditioners. These after-shampoo treatments will weigh it down while smoothing out the hair’s outer layer.…