Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Are There Potential Health Benefits to Drinking Coffee?







Today many people throughout the US and throughout the world drink coffee everyday for many reasons. These reasons almost never consist of drinking it for its health benefits. Coffee is a popular breakfast drink that gets people motivated and able to push through the day. Many don't know that today there are possible health benefits which can be proven to improve the quality of your life by drinking coffee.

One major benefit of drinking coffee is that it lowers the rist of diabetes, and by drinking more than 6 cups a week it lowers it by almost 50%. This is a significant and very important health benefit because many people are today are affected by diabetes. These benefits are not necessarily 100% proven but the effects of coffee are more beneficial than harmful. Drinking coffee has also been linked to reducing the risk of Parkinson's Disease, colon cancer, and cirrhosis. Coffee is linked to helping manage asthma and the symptoms that may accompany it. In the nutrition world many people are tyring to incorporate antioxidants into their diet by adding red wine, acai berries, or dark chiocolate. In reality coffee has the same amount of antioxidants if not more which help manage and boost your immune system.

So when you consider drinking a cup of coffee in the morning think all the benefits that can be achieved. The amount of coffee should be anywhere between 2 to 6 cups a week and it has been proven to improve health standards on people who drink it regularly. It's time to go to add a coffee a day to your daily routine and reap all the potential benefits.

http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/health/nutrition/15coff.html

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Can low carb diets really help promote healthy weight loss?

Many people today struggle to maintain and lose weight. There are multiple options as to which diets we can choose and which may be the best healthy solutions to our problems. Examples of these would include South Beach diet, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Mediterranean, Atkins, and countless other diets. When people are starting a diet they should generally be concerned with what is going to help them lose weight in a healthy manner. The Atkins Diet which is a low to no carbohydrate diet is considered a good option to fast efficient weight loss. Many choose this diet because they like to eat the foods associated with it as well as the generous amounts they can consume.
The issue that concerns most doctors and dietitians is that eliminating carbohydrates completely or for the most part in the daily diet can end up being harmful to the body as well as pointless in keeping off the weight. The myth is that by reducing your carbohydrate intake you will be able to lower your blood sugar and kick start insulin to breakdown fat. This rarely happens and the weight loss is due to other factors such as decreased appetite, water loss, and no energy. The human body needs carbohydrates to provide energy in the form of kcals to the body to complete everyday tasks. The issue with this diet is that some people are finding it very tiresome and they have little or no energy to complete everyday activities which can be taxing after a long period of time on the diet.
Another issue with low carb diets is that the low fiber intake may results in issues with bowel movements causing G.I. distress. Lastly, the most major issue with the low carb diet is the types of food people are consuming. Since carbohydrates are being eliminated people are generally eating meats and cheeses which are high in saturated fats and cholesterol. These foods are therefore contributing to raising the bad cholesterol and leading to many cardiovascular diseases. So when choosing a diet you need to ask yourself what is most important, your health or loosing weight to look good? There are many healthy options out there it is important to look for the one that fits your lifestyle best.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-carb-diet/NU00279/NSECTIONGROUP=2

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/20/protein.diet.heart

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/media_3019_ENU_HTML.htm