What Counts as Water? Stay Hydrated and Healthy

Water doesn't get the same media attention as green tea, antioxidants, and the latest fad diets. Yet it plays a much more critical part in our daily lives and our bodies.

Our bodies are made up of about 60% water, and every system depends on water. So water is important for healthy skin, hair, and nails, as well as controlling body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure.

"It's definitely essential," says Jim White, registered dietitian and personal trainer in Virginia Beach, Va., and American Dietetic Association spokesman.
"What we're finding is so many people are deficient," he notes. "We're seeing a huge decrease in athletic performance and fatigue that's caused by the lack of hydration."
You can stay fully hydrated throughout the day by drinking water and other fluids, as well as eating foods that are hydrating.

 

What Counts as Water?

 

 

Fruits are an excellent source for water. Watermelon is 90% water, so it ranks highest on the list. Oranges, grapefruit, and melons like cantaloupe and honeydew are also strong contenders.
Vegetables, though not as full of water as fruit, can also provide a nutrient-rich water source. Stick with celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, and Romaine lettuce.

There are plenty of hidden sources of water in your diet, says White. If you want to tap into these foods, reach for oatmeal, yogurt, soup, and smoothies.

Besides guzzling water, milk is a top choice to refuel. Sodas, even diet ones, get a bad rap for lacking nutritional value, but they can still be hydrating. Juices and sports drinks are also hydrating -- you can lower the sugar content by diluting them with water.

Coffee and tea also count in your tally. Many used to believe that they were dehydrating, but that myth has been debunked. The diuretic effect does not offset hydration.

Alcohol is a huge dehydrator, says White. You should try to limit your intake, but if you are going to raise a glass, aim for at least a one-to-one ratio with water.

If you don't like the taste of plain water, White suggests adding lemon to it. Or test out your own concoction, like sparkling water with raspberries with a sprig of mint.

 

How Much Water Should I Drink?

 

 

Parents should make sure that children and teens are getting adequate hydration throughout the day. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children drink plenty of fluids before starting any exercise and continue to drink during physical activity.

During exercise, the AAP suggests drinking about 3-8 ounces of water every 20 minutes for children 9-12 and about 34-50 ounces per hour for adolescent boys and girls.

Athletes need to take precautions to avoid dehydration. White recommends drinking 16 ounces one hour prior to exercise, 4-8 ounces every 15 minutes during exercise, and another 16 ounces an hour after exercise. The amounts can vary depending on your personal response, heat index, and the type of activity.

"If you're sweating, you're losing water," says Nancy Clark, MS, RD, sports dietitian in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook.

How can you tell if you're getting enough fluids during the day? You can tell by checking your urine color and output. If you're urinating every two to four hours, the output is light-colored, and there's significant volume, then you're probably well-hydrated.

"That's a very simple, easy way to monitor hydration," says Clark. "If you go from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon without peeing, then you're dehydrated."

 

 

Signs of Dehydration

 

 

How can you tell if you're dehydrated? You might feel tired, cranky, moody, or get a headache. "As the body gets dehydrated, the heart has to work harder to pump blood through the vessels," explains Clark.

To get a better handle on your hydration levels, White recommends keeping a water log. "Everyone tracks food. How often do we track our water intake?" he asks.

For techie types, there are free apps that pop up with water reminders throughout the day. Whatever method works best for you, drink up and stay well hydrated.


Original Article - http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/healthy-beverages

Spot Reduction – Is It A Myth?

You’ll often enter the gym to see people doing thousands of crunches in an attempt to reveal their six pack, or squats and lunges to trim their legs. Spot reducing fat from certain body parts isn’t possible, and may be a waste of your training efforts.

Why Spot Reduction is a Myth

 

So you want to get a six pack – what’s the first thing you’re going to start doing in your training plan? Probably sit ups and crunches, right?

Wrong.

 

When trying to lose fat from certain areas of the body, most people think that they need to work that particular area as hard as possible to burn the fat from it. Unfortunately though, this isn’t the case.

It seems pretty logical – you want to trim up somewhere, so you work that area really hard, and the fat falls off, but they body just doesn’t work like that. Stubborn fat is a pretty common issue for a lot of people. Generally, women hold their fat around the hips and thighs, while for men it’s around the stomach and lower back. You’ll get people who have excess fat other places too, like the arms, upper back and chest, but generally it’s the stomach and thighs that get the most attention.

 

Muscle and fat are two entirely separate components though – they’re not really linked at all. If we use the most common example of spot reduction – doing crunches and sit ups to burn stomach fat, and look at why this doesn’t work.

 

 

Losing fat is all about calorie balance

 

Firstly, losing fat is all about calorie balance – to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, so that your body has to burn its stored fat for energy. Clearly, the best way to do this is through diet. By lowering your calorie intake by 500 calories per day, you can burn a pound of fat per week without even doing any exercise. Diet is a far more effective way of losing fat than exercising, although that’s not to say that exercise isn’t important.

Crunches, however, are a very low calorie burner, as they’re easy to perform, and require very little effort, meaning that they don’t do much in the way of burning fat. Chances are you will feel a real burn in your abs after crunching for a while, but as muscle and fat aren’t linked, this does little in the way of burning stomach fat. This goes for all other exercises too – squats don’t specifically burn leg fat, curls don’t directly burn biceps fat, and so on.

The other issue is hormones and genetics

 

Your genetics play a huge role in where you store most of your fat, hence why women and men store fat in different places. This means that while it is certainly possible to lose fat from your stubborn areas, your body will always decide where to lose fat from first. Most people will see fat loss first from their face, and from the stubborn areas last.

Even if you do every exercise under the sun for your targeted body part, and do one thousand reps every day, you can’t tell your body where it’s going to lose fat from. The problem areas discussed above – the stomach and hips are often linked to hormone levels too. Without going into too much detail here, there isn’t that much you can do about your hormone levels, meaning that again, while you will eventually lose your stubborn fat, it will be the last thing to go.


Original Article - http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Spot_Reduction_____Is_It_A_Myth__a2277.html

12 Ways to Improve Back Pain

Like the nearly 80% of Americans who will experience a back problem during their lifetime, Beverly Hayes suffers from back pain. For many, the injury is triggered by a strenuous activity, like gardening or weight lifting. Others simply bend down to pick up a pencil and their back gives out.

“It felt like a screwdriver was piercing through by bones,” the 46-year-old Chicago artist says about the pain that developed shortly after she ran a half-marathon. “It took over my life. I couldn’t bend down or sleep — I was petrified I would never feel normal again.”

Mary Ann Wilmarth PT, DPT, OCS, a spokeswoman for the American Physical Therapy Association and chief of physical therapy at Harvard University, says it is critical that people address any back pain or injury right away. “Early intervention can help prevent a chronic problem from developing and obviate the need for medication and surgery,” she says.

Thanks to a combination of activity, core strengthening exercises, and physical therapy, Hayes says her symptoms have improved dramatically over the last year. Here are 12 ways to help alleviate back pain:

1. Limit Bed Rest

It may seem counterintuitive, but studies show that people with acute low-back pain who rest have more pain and are less able to perform daily tasks than those who stay active.
“Patients should avoid more than three days of bed rest,” says Mike Flippin, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in back and spine care at San Diego Medical Center. “I encourage my patients to get moving as quickly as possible.”

 

2. Keep Exercising

Activity is often the best medicine for back pain. “Simple exercises like walking can be very helpful,” Wilmarth says. “It gets people out of a sitting posture and puts the body in a neutral, upright position.”
But remember to move in moderation, Flippin says. “Stay away from strenuous activities like gardening and avoid whatever motion caused the pain in the first place.”

 

3. Maintain Good Posture

The pain may have started after a long workout at the gym, but the strain that caused it has probably been building for years. Wilmarth says most people perform their daily activities with poor posture, putting unnecessary strain on their back.
“Little things add up,” she says. “You can increase the pressure on your back by 50% simply by leaning over the sink incorrectly to brush your teeth. Keeping the right amount of curvature in the back takes pressure off the nerves and will reduce back pain.”

 

4. See a Specialist

Developing an individualized exercise plan is essential to managing chronic back pain, says D. Scott Davis, PT, MS, EdD, OCS, an orthopaedic physical therapist and associate professor at West Virginia University.
“There is no magic aspirin that addresses lower back pain in everyone,” Davis says. “Some patients need more core strengthening while others benefit mainly from stretching and improving flexibility. Find a physical therapist, exercise physiologist, or chiropractor who specializes in back care. They will match you with the right exercise plan.”

5. Strengthen Your Core

Most people with chronic back pain would benefit from stronger abdominal muscles.
“The torso is a combination of many muscle groups working together,” Frank B. Wyatt, EdD, professor of exercise physiology at Missouri Western State University, tells WebMD in an email. “If the abdominals are weak, other areas must pick up the slack. When we strengthen the abdominals, it often reduces the strain on the lower back.”

 

6. Improve Flexibility

Too much tension and tightness can cause back pain. "Our goal in increasing flexibility is to put an equal load throughout the body from the feet all the way up to the head,” Davis says. “One good exercise is to sit on the edge of the bed with one leg extended and the other one on the floor. Give your hamstrings a stretch by leaning forward while keeping your back in a neutral position.”

 

7. Ditch the Brace

It’s tempting to baby your back muscles, but Davis says braces should be used sparingly. “Braces are helpful for strenuous activities, like heavy lifting, but only keep them on for 15 minutes at a time,” he says. If you wear a brace all day, the muscles — which should be providing stability — weaken and you will have less core strength.

 

8. Apply Ice and Heat

Heating pads and cold packs can comfort tender trunks. Most doctors recommend using ice for the first 48 hours after an acute injury -- particularly if there is swelling — and then switching to heat.
But "it is difficult to say if ice or heat is more beneficial,” Flippin says. “I recommend that patients use whichever they find comforting as long as their skin is protected.”

 

9. Sleep the Right Way

The amount of rest you get is important, and so is the position you get it in. “Sleeping in a bad position or on a mattress without support can cause back pain,” Wilmarth says.
Some pointers:

• Back sleepers should put pillows under their knees.
• Side sleepers should place pillows between their knees to keep their spine in a neutral position.
• Stomach sleeping causes the neck and head to twist and can put undue stress on the back.

 

10. Quit Smoking

Lighting up doesn’t just damage your lungs; it can also hurt your back.
A study recently published in the American Journal of Medicine found that current and former smokers are more likely to have back pain when compared with people who have never smoked. 
“Nicotine causes the small blood vessels to constrict and decreases the delivery of blood to the soft tissue,” Flippin says. “I tell all my patients that quitting smoking could help alleviate their back pain.”

 

11. Try Talk Therapy

Back pain is often associated with underlying psychological issues such as depression and anxiety, says Alex Moroz, MD, associate professor of rehabilitation medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center.
“Your emotional state colors the perception of pain,” Moroz says. “Therapy can be a helpful part of rehabilitation.”

 

12. Use Relaxation Techniques

Research shows that practices such as meditation, deep breathing, tai chi, and yoga, which help put the mind at rest, can do wonders for the back.
“If you can induce a relaxation response, it will help reduce the perceived pain level," Moroz says.


Original Article - http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/features/back-pain-remedies-and-tips

Eating Before Bed

What and when you eat at the end of the day can have a large impact on your weight. If you eat the right thing at the right time you can actually lose weight while you sleep. Eat the wrong thing at the wrong time and you can plan on waking up with a little more body fat in the morning.

To succsufully loss weight, you'll need to stop eating two - three hours before going to bed. YOu shold not feel starving before bed but you should feel slightly hungry. When you're trying to lose weight, slipping into bed at night feeling slightly hungry is actually a good thing. It's your body telling you that what you did that day is working -- you're losing body fat. If you don't feel this way, you're probably not losing fat.

Now lets say you follow your brain's directive and eat close to bedtime, your body will not dip into the fat it has stored away, and will probably even store some more. Every time you eat, your metabolism increases slightly. But this effect is lost or minimized late at night. You don't get the same metabolism-boosting benefit when you eat just before bed, because a couple of hours after dinner, your body begins preparing for sleep. This natural slackening of your metabolic rate overrides any metabolic boost you might get from eating. So once you hit the pillow, the only calories you're going to use are the basic calories you need to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing and allow your eyes to move in REM sleep. This is only a minimal number of calories.

Believe it or not, eating late at night can also inhibit your calorie-burning potential the next day. Say, for instance, that you treat yourself to a sandwich and some fat free chips at 9.:30 P.M. one night and are fast asleep by 10:30. When your alarm goes off the next morning at eight, the last thing on your mind is going to be breakfast -- you're still full from the sandwich and fat free chips you ate the night before. Chances are, you're going to skip breakfast and lose all the metabolism-boosting benefits you'd get from eating a morning meal.

Things to Remember:

• Eating too much food, especially carbohydrates, late at night increases your body fat stores
• Eating high-glycemic carbs (pasta, potatoes, white rice, sugar, etc.) right before bed will spike your insulin levels and blunt nighttime Human Growth Hormone (HGH) production.
• That's very bad because about 80% of this fat-burning, muscle-building "super hormone" is released during sleep.
• If you fast for 11 hours (8 PM to 7 am for instance) your body will begin burning significant amounts of fat around the 5th hour (1 am) and continue to do so until you wake up.

Here are a few simple tips to make sure you get the most from your last meal of the day:

• Eat about 3 hours before going to bed - you'll have some time to burn off calories but you probably won't get too hungry before going to sleep
• Eat frequently throughout the day - small, healthy meals and snacks spaced about 3 hours apart - to minimize hunger cravings at night
• Your last meal should consist mainly of a lean protein (like baked chicken breast) and low-calorie, fibrous carbohydrates (veggies and fruits) - avoid all starchy carbs close to bedtime (breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, etc.)
• If, like many of us, you get big-time carb cravings right before bed.....eat some carbs! Just make sure they're the high-fiber, low-glycemic kind: apples, berries, peaches, plums, bran cereal, fresh vegetables, vegetable juice, etc.
• If you're currently strength training to build muscle, a great end-of-the-day meal option is low-fat cottage cheese (full of slowly-digested casein protein) with no-sugar-added fresh or canned fruit.

Original Article - http://www.illpumpyouup.com/articles/eating-before-bed.htm

Is There Really a “Best” Time of Day to Exercise?

 

When Should You Workout?

 

The short answer here is yes, there is a best time of day to exercise. The longer answer is that you may face some difficulty when it comes to finding that magical hour in which you’ll get the most out of your workout regimen. The problem is that we are all different and thus, what works for one person may not be at all ideal for another.

For example, you may hop out of bed in the morning the minute your alarm goes off, raring to go and ready to throw on your jogging shoes. On the other hand, you might have no frame of reference for people who can rise even earlier than usual to get in a workout before a full day of work.

It could be that you prefer to exercise after work as a way to refocus and relieve stress. Maybe you like to head to the gym late at night when no one else is around to get in your way. Or perhaps you enjoy the hustle and bustle of other active adults moving all around you. The point is that everyone has different wants and needs when it comes to exercise, and they could play a role in finding the best time of day to workout.

How to figure out YOUR best time of day to work out

 

So how can you figure out your personal “best” time of day to hit the treadmill, grab some hand weights, or join a spinning class? There are several criteria you might want to consider.

• You may find that particular times of day work better for physical reasons. Perhaps rolling out of bed and into the gym is no good because you feel nauseous if you don’t eat before you work out, or because you’re stodgy and uncoordinated until you have your first cup of coffee. Maybe at the end of the day you feel exhausted.

• You have heard that testosterone levels are highest in the morning, so you want to make the best of your hormone levels. This is a scientifically known fact, but how much does a high t-level actually affect your workout? Blood sugar is also lowest in the morning, and some folks can’t tolerate workout out on a nearly empty stomach, so morning workouts might not be the best choice.

• Maybe forcing yourself to get up instead of letting your body wake naturally leaves you in a foul temper that is less than ideal where motivation is concerned. But then also consider that once you’ve completed your workout, the endorphins will probably kick your mood into hyper-happy overdrive. The tradeoff might be worth it.

• Or it might be that you can’t exercise at night because you’re too tired after a long day of work, or alternately, because it leaves you so energized that you can’t get to sleep at night. You might be inclined to hang out with your family at night, or maybe you have a part time job. In this case it might be best to try to workout at lunch after a hearty breakfast.

  

We all react differently to exercise, so finding the golden hour can be a daunting task. However, trial and error should help you here. The more pressing concern for most people is finding the time to fit exercise into a busy schedule. In some cases, the best time of day to exercise revolves not only around when you feel like doing it, but when it is practical to do so.

For some people, this could mean rising an hour early, hitting the gym during a lunch break, or waiting until the kids are in bed. Others may have to squeeze in 10-minute speed sessions throughout the day in order to get in a full workout.

Consider your ideal workout venue

It might also be a good idea to evaluate an actual gym membership, versus seeking discount ellipticals, treadmills, and free weight sets for in-home. In this regard, price and convenience could be the deciding factor.

Before you decide that morning is the best time simply because that’s when your spouse exercises, or that going to the gym after work will produce the best results because that’s when classes are scheduled, you need to consider several factors that may play a role in maximizing your efforts and your results. In this way you can truly select the perfect time for you daily workout.

Original Article - http://www.projectswole.com/healthy-lifestyle/is-there-really-a-best-time-of-day-to-exercise/#more-7037

Low Carb Diet Dangers

Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest dieting craze. However, before you jump on the band wagon, you may want to consider a few things:
 

1. Low carb (ketogenic) diets deplete the healthy glycogen (the storage form of glucose) stores in your muscles and liver

When you deplete glycogen stores, you also dehydrate, often causing the scale to drop significantly in the first week or two of the diet. This is usually interpreted as fat loss when it's actually mostly from dehydration and muscle loss. By the way, this is one of the reasons that low carb diets are so popular at the moment - there is a quick initial, but deceptive drop in scale weight.
Glycogenesis (formation of glycogen) occurs in the liver and muscles when adequate quantities of carbohydrates are consumed - very little of this happens on a low carb diet. Glycogenolysis (breakdown of glycogen) occurs when glycogen is broken down to form glucose for use as fuel.
 

 

2. Depletion of muscle glycogen causes you to fatigue easily, and makes exercise and movement uncomfortable

Research indicates that muscle fatigue increases in almost direct proportion to the rate of depletion of muscle glycogen. Bottom line is that you don't feel energetic and you exercise and move less (often without realizing it) which is not good for caloric expenditure and basal metabolic rate (metabolism).
 

 

3. Depletion of muscle glycogen leads to muscle atrophy (loss of muscle)

This happens because muscle glycogen (broken down to glucose) is the fuel of choice for the muscle during movement. There is always a fuel mix, but without muscle glycogen, the muscle fibers that contract, even at rest to maintain muscle tone, contract less when glycogen is not immediately available in the muscle. Depletion of muscle glycogen also causes you to exercise and move less than normal which leads to muscle loss and the inability to maintain adequate muscle tone.

Also, in the absence of adequate carbohydrate for fuel, the body initially uses protein (muscle) and fat. the initial phase of muscle depletion is rapid, caused by the use of easily accessed muscle protein for direct metabolism or for conversion to glucose (gluconeogenesis) for fuel. Eating excess protein does not prevent this because there is a caloric deficit.
When insulin levels are chronically too low as they may be in very low carb diets, catabolism (breakdown) of muscle protein increases, and protein synthesis stops.
 

 

4. Loss of muscle causes a decrease in your basal metabolic rate

Metabolism happens in the muscle. Less muscle and muscle tone means a slower metabolism which means fewer calories burned 24 hours-a-day.
 

 

5. Your muscles and skin lack tone and are saggy

Saggy muscles don't look good, cause saggy skin, and cause you to lose a healthy, vibrant look (even if you've also lost fat).
 

 

6. Some proponents of low carb diets recommend avoiding carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes, carrots, etc. because of they are high on the glycemic index - causing a sharp rise in insulin

Certain carbohydrates have always been, and will always be the bad guys: candy, cookies, baked goods with added sugar, sugared drinks, processed / refined white breads, pastas, and rice, and any foods with added sugar. These are not good for health or weight loss. However, carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grain breads and pastas, and brown rice are good for health and weight loss. Just like with proteins and fats, these carbohydrates should be eaten in moderation. Large volumes of any proteins, fats or carbohydrates are not conducive to weight loss and health. 


The effect of high glycemic foods is often exaggerated. It's does matter, but to a smaller degree than is often portrayed. Also, the total glycemic effect of foods is influenced by the quantity of that food that you eat at a sitting. Smaller meals have a lower overall glycemic effect. Also, we usually eat several types of food at the same time, thereby reducing the average glycemic index of the meal, if higher glycemic foods are eaten. Also, glycemic index values can be misleading because they are based on a standard 50 grams of carbohydrate consumed. It wouldn't take much candy bar to get that, but it would take four cups of carrots. Do you usually eat four cups of carrots at a meal? 


Regular exercisers and active people also are less effected by higher glycemic foods because much of the carbohydrate consumed is immediately used to replenish glycogen stores in the liver and muscle.
By the way, if you're interested in lowering insulin levels, there is a great way to do that - exercise and activity.
 


7. Much of the weight loss on a low carb, high protein diet, especially in the first few weeks, is actually because of dehydration and muscle loss.
 


8. The percentage of people that re-gain the weight they've lost with most methods of weight loss is high, but it's even higher with low carb, high protein diets. This is primarily due to three factors:

A. You have lost muscle. With that comes a slower metabolism which means fewer calories are burned 24 hours-a-day. A loss of muscle during the process of losing weight is almost a guarantee for re-gaining the lost weight, and more.

B. You re-gain the healthy fluid lost because of glycogen depletion.

C. It's difficult to maintain that type of diet long-term.

D. You have not made a change to a long-term healthy lifestyle.    

 

9. Eating too much fat is just not healthy

I know you've heard of people whose blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides have decreased while on a low carb, high protein diet. This often happens with weight loss, but it doesn't continue when you're on a diet high in fat. There are literally reams of research over decades that clearly indicates that an increase in consumption of animal products and/or saturated fat leads to increased incidence of heart disease, strokes, gall stones, kidney stones, arthritic symptoms, certain cancers, etc. For example, in comparing countries with varying levels of meat consumption, there is a direct relationship between the volume of meat consumption in a country and the incidence of digestive cancers (stomach, intestines, rectal, etc.).


Fat is certainly necessary, and desirable in your diet, but they should be mostly healthy fats and in moderation. Manufactured / synthetic "low fat" foods with lots of added sugar are not the answer. Neither are manufactured / synthetic "low carb" foods with artificial sweeteners or added fat. By the way, use of artificial sweeteners has never been shown to aid in weight loss and they may pose health problems. According to Dr. Keith-Thomas Ayoob of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, "In my experience, unless you're willing to throw out decades of research, you cannot ignore that diets chronically high in saturated fats are linked to heart disease," Dr. Ayoob is also a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association and says that low carb, high protein diets are an attempt at a quick fix and not a long-term lifestyle change.
 

 

10. As someone recently told me, "it must work - people are losing weight"

People that are truly losing fat on low carb, high protein diets, are doing so because they are eating fewer calories - that's the bottom line. There is no magic - the same can be done on a healthy diet.
 

 

11. Low carb diets are lacking in fiber 

Every plant-based food has some fiber. All animal products have no fiber. A lack of fiber increases your risk for cancers of the digestive track (because transit time is lengthened) and cardiovascular disease (because of fibers effect on fat and cholesterol). It also puts you at a higher risk for constipation and other bowel disorders.
 

 

12. Low carb diets lack sufficient quantities of the the many nutrients / phytonutrients / antioxidants 

Found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, necessary for health and aiding in prevention of cancer and heart disease. In fact, you need these nutrients even more so when you're consuming too much fat as is often the case on a low carb high protein diet.
 

 

13. Amercans already consume more than twice the amount of protein needed 

Add to that a high protein diet and you have far too much protein consumption. By the way, most people don't realize that all fruits, all vegetables, all whole grains, and all legumes also contain protein. Animal products contain larger quantities of protein, but that may not be a good thing. Excess dietary protein puts you at a higher risk for many health problems: gout (painful joints from high purine foods which are usually high protein foods), kidney disease, kidney stones, osteoporosis (excess dietary protein causes leeching of calcium from the bones). By the way, countries with lower, healthier intakes of protein also have a decreased incidence of osteoporosis.
 

 

14. Low carb, high protein diets cause an unhealthy physiological state called ketosis, a type of metabolic acidosis

You may have heard the phrase, "fat burns in the flame of carbohydrate". Excess acetyl CoA cannot enter the Krebs Cycle (you remember the old Krebs Cycle) due to insufficient OAA. In other words, for fat to burn efficiently and without production of excess toxic ketones, sufficient carbohydrate must be available. Ketosis can lead to many health problems and can be very serious at it's extreme.
 

15. Bad breath 

Often called "keto breath" or "acetone breath", it's caused by production of acetones in a state of ketosis.
So why the low carb, high protein craze? I believe there are several reasons.
A. Weight loss (mostly muscle and muscle fluid) is often rapid during the first few weeks. This causes people to think they're losing fat rapidly.
B. It gives you "permission" to eat the "bad foods": bacon, eggs, burgers, steak, cheese, etc., and lots of fat.
C. Many see it as the new "magic" they've been looking for, although it's been around, in various forms, since the 1960's.


Original Article - http://www.sideroad.com/Weight_Loss/low-carb-diet-danger.html

The Dangers Of Processed Meat

Processed meat, once the unquestioned staple of a modern western diet has now finally shocked its way into the publics' consciousness after the recent events of the horsemeat scandal.

Not only is the making of processed foods dubious in itself but now a recent study in Europe has shown a link between consumption of these meats and an early death.

It showed people who ate a lot of processed meat were also more likely to smoke, be obese and have other behaviours known to damage health.
However, the researchers said even after those risk factors were accounted for, processed meat still damaged health.

One in every 17 people followed in the study died. However, those eating more than 160g of processed meat a day - roughly two sausages and a slice of bacon were 44% more likely to die over a typical follow-up time of 12.7 years than those eating about 20g.

In total, nearly 10,000 people died from cancer and 5,500 from heart problems. 

  
So What Counts As Processed Meat?


Processed meat refers to meat that has been preserved by smoking, curing, salting or adding preservatives. Examples include ham, bacon, pastrami and salami, as well as hot dogs and some sausages. Hamburgers and minced meats only count as processed meat if they have been preserved with salt or chemical additives.

If you currently eat a lot of processed red meats then try to vary your diet with other protein choices such as chicken, fish, beans or lentils.

Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21682779