|
|
|
7 Easy Ways To Boost Your Metabolism
Everybody benefits from having a quicker metabolism. Your metabolism is responsible for many of the body's major functions including how many calories you burn at a given time. Therefore, if your metabolism is fast, you will burn a lot of ...
Health - Hair Loss Options
Hair Loss Options
If you are losing your hair than you know how traumatic it can
be. Hair loss is a serious issue, because our culture ranks
beauty at the top of the list. Not only does hair loss have an
effect on how you look, but also on...
How to Stop Hair Pulling With Hypnosis
How to Stop Hair Pulling With Hypnosis Stress caused by the day-to-day issues of home life and work can bring people to their breaking point. Many people struggle with the feeling of wanting to pull out their hair. Problems arise however when you...
Tips for Choosing Your Support Group
Tips for Choosing Your Support Group
Support groups come in all sizes and flavors, in person and online. Whether you're looking for a divorce support group, a cancer support group, depression, grief, or weight loss support group, the elements for...
Why Don’t We Hear So Much About Female Baldness?
Female baldness is not as common as male baldness, which is probably why we don’t hear as much about it. Women are more self-conscious about baldness when it occurs and tend to suffer a lot more psychologically because of it than men do. Female...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Protein - its place in your weight loss program.
Any food that we take into our bodies is composed of macronutrients, micronutrients and water. The macronutrients (macro = large) are protein, fat and carbohydrates; the micronutrients (micro = small) are vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Macronutrients provide the calories that provide energy for life; micronutrients have no calories but are an essential part of our diet. Without macronutrients we would starve to death, without micronutrients we would die from health deterioration.
So, what exactly is protein?
Technically speaking proteins are any of a large group of nitrogenous (containing nitrogen) compounds of high molecular weight that are essential constituents of all living organisms. They consist of 22 biological compounds called amino acids. They provide the building materials for the basic cell structure of the heart, brain, blood, nails, hair, internal organs and skin – in fact for every living cell in our body. You would recognise proteins better if they were defined as red meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, eggs and soy.
To understand the importance of protein as an aid for weight loss we also have to briefly define what carbohydrates and fats are: carbohydrates are basically sugars, usually referred to as either simple or complex. Simple or refined carbohydrates are the ones like sugar, honey, cakes, biscuits and white bread. Complex carbohydrates are whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, some vegetables, beans and legumes, and certain fruits. Fats are technically triglycerides and are usually divided into two groups; saturated and non-saturated. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature and include fats found in meat, dairy products, ice cream, milk and tropical oils. Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature and come in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated forms. Monounsaturated include oils from some nuts, olives and avocadoes. Polyunsaturated include oils from soybean, flax, sunflower, safflower as well as those fats that have been chemically transformed to make them solid like margarine.
But the most important thing to consider is what effect do proteins, carbohydrates and fats have on your body? Or more specifically what effect do they have on the production of insulin in your body. Insulin is essential to life, some of its many functions are to control the storage of fat, control appetite, regulate the retention of water in the kidneys and the synthesis of
cholesterol in the liver and it also acts as a growth hormone.
Eating fat has little effect on your insulin levels, and it actually decreases your appetite. Also eating the right kind of fats can rebalance hormones and improve the way you look and feel.
When you eat carbohydrates your body produces digestive enzymes that break down the chemical bonds between the sugar molecules. These molecules stimulate the production of metabolic hormones including insulin and this is where the problems can start. If we have a diet too high in carbohydrates, particularly refined carbohydrates, the high levels of glucose cause high levels of insulin to be produced. This can cause insulin resistance, where the body’s cells become non-responsive to the insulin so the pancreas keeps producing more and more. It also means the body fails to burn the glucose as energy and instead it is stored as fat! If this happens constantly the build up of glucose in the blood can cause Type II diabetes. The high level of insulin also tells a gland in the brain, the hypothalamus, to send out hunger signals. So you could have just eaten a meal and you would still feel hungry, there will be nothing that satisfies that hunger.
Eating protein produces a moderate amount of insulin but also produces the hormone glucagon. This hormone stimulates the body to get rid of fat by burning it for energy; it also decreases the body’s production of cholesterol and stimulates the kidney to release excess salt and fluid. It also maintains your blood sugar level counteracting the effect of insulin, which lowers the blood sugar levels.
So, what should we be eating? Recent studies recommend 100g of protein for women and 150g of protein for men. An excellent way of getting the majority of your protein intake is by using a meal replacement product with extra protein powder if necessary. This takes all the guess work out of two thirds of your protein intake and when combined with a third meal of low fat protein (e.g. chicken or turkey) and low glycaemic vegetables gives the ideal diet to lose weight, gain energy, lower cholesterol and blood pressure and possibly reverse Type II diabetes.
About the Author
Kay Blackiston has had an interest in health and nutrition for several years. She is now a personal weight loss coach supporting anybody who wishes to take charge of their lives and lose their excess weight.
http://www.from-flab-to-fab.com
kayblackiston@msn.com
|
|
|
|
|
| Hair Loss and Its Causes -- familydoctor.org |
| Information about hair loss from the American Academy of Family Physicians. |
| familydoctor.org |
|
| Welcome to Hairloss.com |
| Provides men and women with information about thinning hair, baldness, and hair replacement. |
| www.hairloss.com |
|
| Consumer Hair Loss Information & Support. What really works? |
| Find out how you can stop your hair loss today. The latest research, hair transplant info, b&a photos, forums, newsletter, info on Propecia and Rogaine and ... |
| www.hairlosstalk.com |
|
| MedlinePlus: Hair Diseases and Hair Loss |
| National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases The primary NIH organization for research on Hair Diseases and Hair Loss is the ... |
| www.nlm.nih.gov |
|
| MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Hair loss |
| This is generally the least expensive and safest approach to hair loss. Hair pieces should not be sutured to the scalp because of the risk of scars and ... |
| www.nlm.nih.gov |
|
| Hair Loss |
| Hair loss treatment information including products such as Propecia, Avodart, Nizoral, Rogaine, nonsurgical hair replacement and hair transplants for ... |
| www.regrowth.com |
|
| Hair Loss |
| Article about how it grows, causes of hair loss, kinds of treatment, and tips to keep it healthy. |
| www.kidshealth.org |
|
| ahlc.org | The American Hair Loss Council | Welcome |
| The American Hair Loss Council is the nation's only, unbiased, not-for-profit agency, dedicated to sorting through this information, discovering what works ... |
| www.ahlc.org |
|
| Male hair loss |
| Male hair loss is the most common type of hair loss. It is caused by increased sensitivity to male sex hormones (androgens) in certain parts of the scalp, ... |
| www.netdoctor.co.uk |
|
| AAD - Hair Loss |
| However, if you are concerned about excessive hair loss or dramatic ... The constant pull causes some hair loss, especially along the sides of the scalp. ... |
| www.aad.org |
|
| Hair loss - MayoClinic.com |
| Hair loss may result from heredity, medications or underlying medical conditions. |
| www.mayoclinic.com |
|
| Hair loss help - Hair Transplant Doctors - Hair loss product ... |
| Hair transplant doctor & hair loss treatments - hair loss forum and information on Rogaine, Propecia, Dutasteride. |
| www.hairlosshelp.com |
|
| American Hair Loss Association - Home Page |
| Provides consumer hair loss information. Devoted to finding a cure for hair loss and increasing worldwide awareness and understanding of this disease. |
| www.americanhairloss.org |
|
| Hair Loss Treatment & Product Reviews - Folica.com |
| Clinically proven to regrow hair better than any other topical treatment, Spectral DNC is the world’s most effective topical hair loss treatment. ... |
| www.folica.com |
|
| Hair Loss Treatments Ireland |
| Advice on how to combat thinning hair, baldness plus hair replacement. Also suppliers of the hairmax LaserComb. |
| www.hairloss.ie |
|
| Hair Loss and other health information |
| /Find Hair Loss health articles and videos and other Hair Loss health topics. |
| sciencedaily.healthology.com |
|
| Find hair-loss information and treatment options. |
| Male pattern hair loss can be treated. Read about this FDA-approved hair-loss drug. |
| www.propecia.com |
|
| Hair loss and Hairloss advice on all hair loss treatments ... |
| Information on hair loss and thinning hair as well as treatment details including propecia and minoxidil. |
| www.stophairlossnow.co.uk |
|
| Regaine® - Hair Loss Treatment for Men and Women |
| Hair loss affects 40% of men under 35. Regaine for Men is the only ... Regaine for Women is proven to help prevent further hair loss for 4 out of 5 women, ... |
| www.regaine.co.uk |
|
| Hair loss, balding, hair shedding. DermNet NZ |
| Authoritative facts about the skin from the New Zealand Dermatological Society. |
| dermnetnz.org |
|
|