Monday, January 15, 2007

Cleanse The Body, Rejuvenate The Mind - Detox Naturally by Jem Meades

Cleanse The Body, Rejuvenate The Mind - Detox Naturally by Jem Meades

Are toxins poisons? Maybe not, but they are poisonous - let me explain.

Most of us live surrounded by a huge number of pollutants, just consider air pollution in today's big cities and towns. I remember sailing a yacht just off the coast and looking back at a city of 250,000 inhabitants and was struck by the brown layer in the atmosphere that lay over the town. You would not have recognised this layer had you been walking through the streets of the town but there it was nevertheless.



The pollutants are minute, almost invisible microbes able to penetrate our bodies through the pores of our skin and are sucked into our lungs as we breathe. If germs can enter your body through very small openings, how much more the exposure where viruses can easily enter?



So what happens when the body is overloaded with pollutants? Well, it’s not as simple as just getting sick. Symptoms and effects will vary depending upon the pollutants and the extent to the exposure. For example, mind processing can be significantly affected. Pollutants block or slow down the delivery of needed nutrients and oxygen to all parts of the body. And since the brain is the major consumer of oxygen, it is easily affected. Have you noticed that after doing a hard-hitting mental work, you feel very exhausted even when you were just seated for hours? It is because the brain can sometimes override the whole body. So when there are lots of toxins in you, your mind becomes sluggish too.



And most of the time, it’s tough to protect ourselves from viruses and illness because our bodies are already having to battle pollutants before beginning to tackle illness. It is possible that people living and working in cities are more susceptible to disease because of this fact. So, we need to take care of our body and help it function better. We need to detoxify. Detoxification helps the rejuvenation of the mind as much as it cleanses the body.



The safest way to detoxify is having it the natural way - through proper diet. In this process of cleansing, you reduce your intake of junk foods. This means that you must avoid products that obstruct your filtering system. These products are fats, alcohol, caffeine, and food additives. While you stay away from these foods, you replace them with easy to digest fruits and vegetables. They are not only rich in vitamins, but they supplement the body with energy boosting nutrients. Surely, they are clean, given that they are prepared freshly and cleanly. The fibers in fruits and vegetables toss the toxins out.



It would be easy to lose a sense of balance over which foods to avoid in order to reduce levels of toxin in the body. For example, you could consider the toxins that foods attract when they grow and before you know it your own sense of paranoia about toxins and the need to rid your body of them becomes unbalanced. Don't avoid an occasional intake of junk food or alcohol for example, just be aware of the need to balance that intake with fruit and vegetables or other de-toxifiers.



In detoxification, fasting for a short period of time will catalyze the process. Of course this should be done under the supervision of your nutritionist or doctor. During the process, solid foods are avoided. Your intake is solely made of fruit juice and herbal teas. Research shows that fasting decreases the stress on the digestive system. By emptying the stomach, toxins are also flushed out of the body. And the liquids that you take ensure important levels of hydration which essential at all times. And remember such action should not be taken unless under the supervision of your doctor or medical practitioner.



In addition to fruit juices, some supplements are recommended for safety. To name a few are the fermented soybeans and algae powder. Fermented soy beans support the colon function and help produce the good intestinal bacteria which are major proponents of the inner cleansing process. In parallel, the algae powder gives you the feeling of being full. It supplies ample protein to ease the fatigue that some people experience during fasting.



On the whole, detoxification helps to redress the balance in our bodies particularly when we have been bombarded by toxins in our busy daily lives. Undertake detoxification in moderation under the supervision of your doctor or medical auctioneer and you will reap the benefits of a healthier body less prone to illness and disease.



Jem Meades at ultimatedailyhealth.com discusses a wide range of common health issues every week. Understanding your health will increase your confidence and ability to tackle any health issues you or your family experience.




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Tuesday, January 02, 2007

"The Way to Wellness"

It's time to start a Healthy life: your 7 days program

How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you'll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don't feel like exercising?

While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn't mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness -- and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.

The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn't have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.

I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.

Here's a sample exercise program that may work for you:

* Warm Up -- seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.

* Resistance Training -- Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.

* Aerobic Exercise -- Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.

* Stretching -- Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on.

* From one to eight weeks -- Feel better and have more energy.

* From two to six months -- Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat.

* After six months -- Start losing weight quite rapidly.

Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don't stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,' says Zwiefel. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow guidelines:

* Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day * Make sure every meal is balanced -- incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits * Limit your fat intake to only what's necessary for adequate flavor * Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day * I also recommend that you take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

I suppose that's all I can think of for now. I should extend my thanks to a doctor friend of mine. Without him, I wouldn't be able to write this article, or keep my sanity.

Enjoy life, we all deserve it.