If most of us thought about the conditions in which chickens used for meat and eggs are raised and slaughtered, we’d become vegetarian on the spot. Egg-laying chickens can be raised in cages with 6 chickens to a cage, each chicken getting only 67 square inches of space for its lifetime.

Unless they’re certified and labeled as being free-range or organic or natural, they might have been fed growth hormones to get them to slaughter faster, and antibiotics to combat the diseases which come from being raised in cramped and less-than-clean conditions.

And consider what the recommendations are for cleaning up after touching poultry? It’s recommended to clean surfaces with bleach to remove bacteria, and to wash your hands thoroughly after touching a chicken.

Do you really want to put something into your body that requires bleach to clean up after? Something that needs to be cooked to specific temperatures to be sure you’ve destroyed any bacteria that could make you sick?

Chickens and turkeys have become so mass-produced and injected with antibiotics and hormones that there’s no taste to it anymore, so why bother? Even the most humanely treated chicken has either been stunned in a salt-water brine before being beheaded. In John Robbins excellent book and video, Diet for a Small Planet, he shows us pictures of chickens being grabbed in groups by the neck and thrown into cages. Can you really consider eating a chicken with that vision in your head?

Any means of mass-producing animals for human consumption is by its very nature unhealthy and cruel for the animals, and unhealthy for humans as well. Even if you’re of the opinion that man is a natural hunter, how natural is it to eat an animal that’s been raised in captivity and fed a diet of hormones and antibiotics?

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Have you had just about all you can take from the diet industry? If so, then you are not alone. It seems as if they are always thrusting a new diet pill, secret concoction or gimmick our way; in the hopes that we will buy into their inflated promises…at least one more time. While the truth is that some of those weight loss products really do work, more and more people are wondering how to lose weight naturally.

This type of thinking is actually much more healthy in the long run. Let’s say there was a safe pill for weight loss. All you had to do was take it once a day, and then you could whatever you want and sit on the couch watching television. You could drop 25 pounds by just taking a pill, what would be so wrong about that?

There are two main problems with all diet pills (and we’re not counting the potential of harmful side effects, either). First, you will never develop good eating habits if you pop a pill and be done with it. But then what happens if you stop taking the pills? Not only would you gain all of the weight back, but you would probably gain more because you would be accustomed to eating without any regard to the consequences. The second problem is that even though you would be losing weight, all of that bad food would be taking its toll on your overall health. Again, we’re not talking about the side effects of the diet pills themselves, but rather the harmful effects of the unhealthy food itself.

The question of how to lose weight naturally has a fairly simple answer. It’s really just a matter of burning more calories than you take in, and making sure what you do take in is healthy for you. Furthermore, you shouldn’t take any synthetic supplements or drugs in your efforts to drop those extra pounds.

Food is the key to natural weight loss. Choosing foods as close to their natural state is the quickest way to ensure you are eating right. For example, a carrot is better for you than a big piece of fat-laden, sugar-added carrot cake that’s covered with another layer of fat and sugar in the form of frosting. Does that mean you can’t eat carrot cake? Not at all, but it does mean that you shouldn’t kid yourself that you’re eating healthy because there’s a trace of vegetable matter in the piece of cake.

Fresh fruits and vegetables (frozen is also a good choice), whole grains, healthy fats and lean protein are the cornerstone of a healthy diet for weight loss. Your fruits and vegetables should cover a wide variety of colors to make sure you’re getting as many vitamins, minerals and micronutrients as possible. Unprocessed whole grains are better than processed; for example, oats are a better choice for how to lose weight naturally than oatmeal cookies. Avoid white flour and white rice as well.

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Many of the health benefits derived from a vegetarian diet have to do with creating a healthy environment in the bowels and stomach. Our digestive systems, from prehistory on, were designed to metabolize vegetable matter, more than animal products. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts provide the kind of dietary fiber our digestive systems need to function properly. The Western diet that’s high in processed and refined flour and sugar, and in animal products that are laden with hormones and antibiotics, are actually anathema to our insides.

When the digestive system doesn’t function and work as it’s intended to, that leads to opportunistic diseases or changes in the DNA of cells in the stomach and colon. And there are more practical considerations as well. When we don’t get enough of the fiber we need, we incur a host of digestion and elimination problems, such as constipation and hemorrhoids that are a result of straining. These diseases and syndromes are much less evident in a vegetarian population than in a meat-eating population.

Other diseases of the bowel that occur less frequently in a vegetarian population include irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic ulcerative colitis, mostly likely due to the increased fiber content in a vegetarian diet. And of course a diet that’s higher in dietary fiber that comes from a vegetarian diet will decrease the likelihood or risk of colon cancer.

When you consider the risks that come with a diet that includes meat and animal products, and the benefits that come from a vegetarian diet, does the prospect of a steak or burger or bacon really sound that good to you? Doesn’t it at least make sense to reverse the portion sizes and proportions of meats to vegetables and side dishes? In other words, if you must continue to eat meat, then make meat your side dish, or just incidental to your meal, such as in a stir fry. Increasing the proportion of fruits and vegetables in your diet can only be good for you.

Tags: Animal Products, Bowels, Colon Cancer, Dietary Fiber, Digestive Systems, Eating Habits, Elimination Problems, Fiber Content, Fruits And Vegetables, Fruits Vegetables, Healthy Diet, Healthy Environment, Hemorrhoids, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Opportunistic Diseases, Portion Sizes, Side Dish, Side Dishes, Stir Fry, Vegetable Matter, Vegetarian Diet, Western Diet —

Pregnancy does many things to a womans body and one of those things is that they are often left with a ‘baby belly’. It takes a lot of determination and focus to get back into shape after you have recovered from pregnancy and the delivery of your baby. If you follow a simple plan you can lose your pregnancy weight quite quickly and get rid of that baby belly fat. You can lose baby belly fat fast when you do regular cardio exercise, strength training using a stability ball and stick to a healthy diet.

A stability ball is very effective for toning up stomach muscles and you can get one for around $30 at a sports store. A 22 inch ball is appropriate for most women but if you are short (under 5’1″) then you will benefit from the 18 inch ball and if you are tall (over 5’8″) then you will benefit from the 26 inch ball.

Studies have shown that people who use a stability ball will develop twice as much muscle fiber as those who did regular crunches without a ball. Using a stability ball will help you to lose baby belly fat much faster than doing regular sit ups and crunches without the ball.

When you buy a stability ball it usually comes with a manual that includes several exercises. The exercises I will talk about here in this article are especially good for targeting that unwanted baby belly fat.

The first exercise is the reverse crunch. Lie on your back and press your legs into the ball. Lift the ball 3 to 6 inches off the floor with your legs. Hold the ball off the floor for one second then lower and repeat a few times.

The second exercise is the rock and roll. Kneel on the floor with your elbows on the ball. Lift your body until you are on your toes and at a 45 degree angle to the floor. Hold this position for a second then relax and repeat a few times.

To lose weight anywhere, including the stomach, cardio exercise is important. Try to include 45 minutes or cardio workout 3 times a week to help lose that belly fat. Cardio exercise can include brisk walking, jogging, running, cycling or using one of the many cardio exercise machines available.

To lose baby belly fat you will also need to eat a healthy diet. Try to eat 500 calories less than the amount of calories needed to maintain a healthy weight. Do this for two weeks while doing the above exercise program. A healthy diet is essential to any weight loss attempt.

It is actually easier than you might think to find ways to reduce your calorie intake. Small changes like having your coffee with skim milk rather than whole milk can save you 120 calories. Other changes could be having some fruit with fat free yoghurt instead of a bowl of ice-cream or a chocolate bar. You could also eat air popped popcorn instead of potato chips. There are many substitutions that you can make to reduce the number of calories you eat each day.

It can be hard to find the time and energy to exercise and to eat well when you have a new baby to take care of. If you put in the effort to incorporate a healthy diet and an exercise routine into your lifestyle then it will soon become habit and you will soon find yourself losing that baby belly fat.

Tags: Baby Pregnancy, Calories, Cardio Exercise, Crunches, Degree Angle, Elbows, Exercises, Healthy Diet, Losing Weight, Many Things, Muscle Fiber, Pregnancy Weight, Reverse Crunch, Simple Plan, Sit Ups, Stability Ball, Stomach Muscles, Strength Training, Unwanted Baby, Ups, Womans Body, Workout —