Metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. Many people hold the belief that fat people have low metabolism rates and skinny people have high metabolism rates. However, the process is not that simple.

Your metabolism depends on three separate factors, and how it works affects how much you weigh. Metabolism is determined by the amount of calories you consume, factors such as age and sex, and how physically active you are.

If you consume excessive calories, you will eventually gain weight. Each human body is designed to run on a certain calorie amount. This can vary from person to person, but is between 1500 and 2500 calories for most adults. If you are trying to lose weight, it will be less.

Men generally need more calories per day than women, unless the woman is pregnant or breastfeeding. The rate at which your body burns these calories is your metabolism; if you burn them more slowly, youll gain weight. If you burn through extra calories quickly, youll maintain your weight.

Factors such as age, body composition, and sex also determine metabolism. If your body contains more muscle, your metabolism will be faster. If it contains more fat, your body will be slower.

For this reason, women’s metabolism often slows down after pregnancy. Excess fat is accumulated and stored on the hips and breasts. After pregnancy, it can be harder to lose this weight. Age also affects your metabolism; as you age, your metabolism slows down. This can lead to “middle age spread” if you don’t take action to burn those extra calories and kick your metabolism into high gear.

Your rate of physical activity greatly affects your metabolism. This is good news; it means you have some control over the situation! If your metabolism is slowing down due to age, gender, or other factors, you can boost it by exercising. The key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in.

When you choose to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet, weight loss is possible. Your metabolism will increase as you add muscle to your body remember; muscle burns more calories than fat!

To jump-start your metabolism, you may need to lower the amount of calories you’re consuming daily and up the amount of exercise you are doing. Choose aerobic and weight lifting exercises for maximum impact. Aerobic exercise burns fat, and weight training will add muscle. Both can greatly increase your metabolism, leading to healthy fat loss.

This article isn’t medical advice nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

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Lately, the media has been abuzz with news about trans fats. In 2006, the US Government ruled that any product containing trans fat must be labeled as such. Since then, foods and restaurants have been scrambling to remove trans fats from their products. But what do you actually know about these harmful fats, and how they may be damaging your diet.

Trans fats are fats with an extra molecule added during a manufacturing process. You know saturated fat is bad – think of trans fats as super saturated fats. The chemical engineering process used to create trans fat makes the fat much more shelf stable. This makes trans fats an extremely convenient option for use in restaurants and snack foods, since they do not break down like traditional fat. However, this convenient fat becomes incredibly inconvenient when you take into account the damage it does to the human body. Trans fats are truly a dangerous food to be avoided whenever possible.

Trans fats act in a harmful way on your cholesterol levels. Trans fats raise your bad cholesterol. There are many types of foods that do this, such as eggs, breakfast meats, and fatty foods, so it may not seem like such a big deal. However, trans fats are worse for you than that plate of bacon, as they also lower your good cholesterol. This means that trans fats truly pack a double whammy they harm your body in two ways at the same time. Trans fat is an unnatural food that has an unnatural effect on your body.

Theres good news, however. Now, all foods that contain these harmful fats are required to state so on the label. This is leading to a fat revolution in America. Makers of snack foods and frozen dinners, as well as restaurant owners across the country, are revamping their recipes. This means that there are more healthy options available, and it is easier to spot foods that do contain these damaging fats.

Its easier than ever to remove trans fats from your diet. Take the time to read labels and information on restaurant menus. Look specifically to see how much trans fat your favorite foods contain. More and more foods are removing trans fat completely. If your favorite has not, it may be time to find a new favorite! Trans fats are dangerous, and need to be avoided at all costs cut them out of your diet today.

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. Better safe than sorry.

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The world in which we live in today consists of countless material possessions and desires. Indeed, it has become a difficult task for people to acknowledge the simple things in life since they are now blinded by the quantity of riches and fame. Remember that however simple these things may be, they are much more important to the lives of human beings than those materialistic possessions you can never ever bring with you when you pass away. These simple things include the concept of spiritual medicine wherein people can truly feel saved and protected from the temptations and evils in the world. With the term spiritual, it is simply saying that we are openly bringing ourselves to our faith to God and restoring our bodies in their spiritual state.

Balanced Aspects Of The Body

It is true to say that the human body is not simply composed by the physical being but rather of other aspects as well including the mental, emotional and spiritual beings. These four things should be balanced inside the human being in order for the person to have a healthy state. However, more often than not, one or two parts of the body do not perform well and therefore; the body is left vulnerable to all sorts of negativity.

Most of the time, people do not realize the importance of their spirituality in order to maintain their well being. Especially today that we are living in such a materialistic and egoistic society; people tend to totally forget how to develop their spirituality and thereby, ultimately saving themselves from harm. And when a person experiences a decline in his spirituality, chances are his physical body is also affected. This is when his body can be ill or be inflicted with all sorts of diseases. Although scientifically he can be cured in his physical state, it does not necessarily mean that he is cured completely.

Healing A Body Through A Healing Force

It is during this time that spiritual medicine comes in. It is when a person is healed not by tangible drugs or therapies, but rather by a healing force that is much greater than any medicine that can be found on earth. This healing force comes from the external part of the universe and therefore enters the wisdom of the person and restores his functions and the areas that have been affected by his illness. Such transfer of energy is indeed a mysterious thing that nobody ever seemed to prove in a scientific and experimental manner; however, for most people it can simply be called faith.

With a suffering person waiting to be healed, spiritual medicine can readily exchange the healing force that comes from the outside or from God to the negative forces that are building within his body. Such a method can be done by a healer who has experienced spiritual awakening and development and is capable enough to mediate the transfer of the healing force. As soon as the spiritual aspect of the body is restored into its normal state, the person can already say that indeed, he has finally been cured from the burdens of his sickness.

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The importance of fiber to a healthy diet
Tony Robinson

When it comes to eating healthy and enjoying a healthier
lifestyle, it is hard to overstate the importance of fiber in
the diet. Even though fiber is most associated with grains, rice
and breads, it is important to remember that fruits and
vegetables also contain significant amounts of dietary fiber. In
fact, the need for fiber is just one more reason to eat your
fruits and vegetables every day.

In order to understand why dietary fiber is so important, it is
a good idea to know what fiber is and what role it plays in
digestion. Simply put, dietary fiber is the portion of food that
the human body cannot digest. Fiber is found in foods of plant
origin only; there is no fiber in meat and dairy products. Fiber
plays an important role in the digestion of food, and in the
elimination of waste products as they travel through the body.

Good sources of dietary fiber include grains, cereals, legumes,
lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. As we said before,
meats and dairy products do not contain any dietary fiber, so it
is important to eat some plant based foods ever day to get the
fiber you need.

Soluble vs. insoluble Not all fiber is the same, and fiber comes
in two forms – soluble and insoluble. All plant materials
contain both types of fiber, but some sources contain more of
one than the other. Eating a variety of foods rich in fiber
every day will ensure you get adequate levels of both soluble
and insoluble fiber.

Insoluble fiber is important in keeping people regular, and it
has shown promise as well in the prevention of some types of
colon and rectal cancers. Insoluble fiber is mainly found in
wheat brain, some types of vegetables and in whole grain
products. Some vegetables rich in insoluble fiber include
carrots, peas and broccoli. The skins of fruits are also rich in
insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber, on the other hand, has shown promise in reducing
levels of cholesterol in the blood, and at reducing the rate at
which glucose enters the bloodstream. Soluble fiber is abundant
in dried peas, lentils, beans, barley, oat bran, and in many
fruits and vegetables.

How much fiber is enough Many people are unsure just how much
dietary fiber they need every day, but most dietitians recommend
that women consume between 21 and 25 grams of dietary fiber per
day. For men, the recommendation is 30 to 38 grams of fiber each
day.

Of course, that is easier said that done, and it is important to
know which foods are high in fiber in order to boost your daily
fiber consumption. In the case of packaged foods like breads and
crackers, the fiber content will be listed as part of the
nutritional label. In the case of fruits and vegetables, there
are charts which show the fiber content of an average size
piece. Some grocery stores post this information, and it is also
widely available on the internet.

When increasing dietary fiber, it is best to make the increase
gradual. A sudden jump in dietary fiber can lead to bloating,
gas and abdominal discomfort. In addition, it is important to
drink plenty of fluids, especially water, in order for fiber to
have the best effect. When choosing breads and cereals, it is
best to go with healthier whole grains. In general, the less
processing, the healthier the foods.

Eating the skins of fruits and vegetables is a great way to
increase dietary fiber. Many people like to make fruit shakes
and smoothies that use the skins of their favorite fruits. This
makes a delicious and nutritious way to increase fiber
consumption. In addition, keeping a variety of fiber rich foods,
such as apples, nuts, seeds and bran muffins, around for snacks
is a great idea.

And finally, eating a wide variety of foods will ensure that you
get plenty of fiber, as well as the vitamins, minerals, and
trace elements that make a balanced diet so important.

About the author:

Tony Robinson is a Company CEO, webmaster husband and dad. In
his busy lifestyle he has placed importance on health and
fitness. Visit http://www.eat-healthily.com for good eating tips
and techniques to assist you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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