Weight Loss Myths - Don't Believe the Hype!

Weight loss is a very complicated matter, because there is never a single clear way to achieve it, and everybody has different opinions on the matter. With dieting becoming such a popular fad, a lot of people are scampering to get the best information they can so they can be successful at dieting. However, not everything you see and hear is true - some are just hyped up statements to sell and idea or product. Below are some of the most famous myths in weight loss; you might be surprised to find that you're actually following these yourself!

• Snacks are bad for you - Most people say that snacking between meals can ruin your appetite and make you take in more calories than you should. Although this is partly true, snacking is never a no-no. For some people, snacks might actually help them with their diet because it alleviates their hunger. You tend to eat more when your stomach is grumbling, so munching on something every now and then to keep your cravings at bay can be good. Not all snacks are bad; if you're feeling hungry an hour or so before lunch, munch on an apple or a carrot. Just remember, the rules with snacks are the same as meals - eat only until you don't feel hungry anymore, not when you are full. Not knowing the mistake between the two is the biggest dieting mistake people make, not snacking.

• Fast food can ruin a diet - It is a fact that fast food is unhealthy. They are loaded with calories, cholesterol and salt, and don't have nearly as much nutrition as you need. However, zero fast food during a weight loss program can also be depressing. Like with most things, fast food can be an option, even for people who are dieting, as long as it's put in moderation. It can even be a motivator for some. For example, you can treat yourself to a meal at your favorite fast food when you reach a certain weight loss goal. Depriving yourself of fast food, especially if you love to eat out, can make you feel stressed and depressed. Depression is a potent enemy for dieters and most people actually quit because they feel like they're missing out on so much. Just get the most basic meals, without the extra large fries or extra toppings. So indulge yourself and take a break by eating out. It's okay as long as you don't make a habit of it.

• Carbohydrates are evil - People tend to forget that there are two types of carbohydrates - good ones and bad ones. They make the mistake of taking out carbohydrates from their diet altogether. Carbs are important because they give your body fuel that you use for energy. Without carbs, you'll feel lethargic and sleepy all day. Good carbs are low-calorie and give you enough energy you need. It can be found in whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Stay away from bad carbs, which have a high sugar content.

• Some foods help you burn calories - No matter what you eat, all food has a calorie content. There is no such food in the world that has a negative calorie content, so there will never be any truth to a calorie-burning food. Some foods are low-calorie and can help you in your weight loss goals, but the idea of foods that have no calories, or even foods that burn calories is simply ridiculous.

There is no doubt that some people are guilty of following the myths mentioned above. So before you adapt a certain easy weight loss principle and live by it, do your homework, ask around and think twice. The only thing worst than giving up on a good, but difficult weight loss program is following a weight loss principle that is wrong and inaccurate in the first place.

Top 10 Worst Foods To Health

As people's lives get busier, concerns about food and health get put in the back burner. People would rather have food that is fast to prepare, appealing and delicious, and don't think about how these foods may affect their health. However, keeping your diet healthy is not all that difficult. Even if you can't do without certain foods in your life, at least stay away from these top ten worst foods to eat as much as possible.

1. Processed Food – Although they're extremely easy to prepare and convenient, these babies are loaded with preservatives, which can increase a person's likelihood of having cancer. A diet of processed foods will give you loads of salt and fats, but none of the nutrients that your body really needs.

2. Frozen Dinners – When you go home at night, the last thing you'd want to do is to cook a meal. Most people settle for microwaving frozen dinners as it's both cheaper and easier. These dinners are filled with artificial flavorings and preservatives so they can last longer in your fridge. They are also low in nutrients, and high in calories.

3. Potato Chips – People think that munching on these is good for their health because technically, potatoes are good for the body. However, these not only contain bad carbohydrates, they are also filled with a carcinogen called acryl amide.

4. Doughnuts – When it comes to food and health, majority of pastries raise a red alarm, but none are as deadly as the doughnut. Yes, doughnuts are extremely tasty and easy to munch on, but they are also loaded with sugar, especially the glazed variety. A large glazed doughnut on its own already contains 250-300 calories and 10-20 grams of fat.

5. Low Fat Labels – Beware of foods that say they're low fat. Most manufacturers of calorie-loaded foods often market low-fat versions of their wares so that health conscious people will be more comfortable when buying them. However, these may destroy your diet even more since you're more likely to eat more because you don't feel the guilt associated with binging on fatty foods.

6. Carbonated Drinks – Soda is delicious and it quenches one's thirst really well. However, do you know that each can of soda contain no less than 10 teaspoons of sweeteners like sugar? Since these drinks are carbonated, they also increase the likelihood of gastric pain, hyper acidity, ulcer, and even pancreatic cancer. Chugging several cans per day also puts you at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.

7. Margarine – Margarine brings a plethora of food and health issues simply because they are filled with Tran’s fats, which is the main culprit for bad cholesterol. A diet filled with margarine will not only pack on the pounds, it can also hurt your cardiovascular system and give you loads of health issues like hypertension and heart disease.

8. Sugar-Free Food – In the same way that low-fat labels can misguide you; sugar-free food is also extremely dangerous because you tend to eat more of these because you don't worry about the sugar content. Also, since they don't have any sugar, most companies use artificial and chemical preservatives to give flavor to these otherwise bland foods, making it dangerous to your health.

9. Liquid Meals – Manufacturers say that drinking these is equivalent to one full meal, so if you're on a diet or don't have time to eat, this will still give you the calories you need. However, there is no substitute for real food, and although these may contain calories, they don't contain the proper nutrition your body needs daily.

10. Pork Crackles – Tasty and delectable, these pork crackles are absolutely dangerous to people who are conscious about their health. Deep fried and salted fatty pig skin is filled with bad fats, salt, and should be avoided at all cost.

Now, it's not bad to have these once in a while, but if you're really meticulous about food and health, there are a lot of alternatives out there to keep you from grabbing one of these the next time you go to your favorite supermarket or restaurant. Remember, health is a worthy investment, and it all starts with what you eat.

Top 10 Positive Ways To Prevent Hair Loss Naturally

Hair loss can be a very embarrassing thing, especially if you're only in your 20's or 30's. Nothing is scarier than waking up in the morning to find a pillow or bed filled with your hair. If your hair loss is caused by genetics, then tough luck. However, if other factors are at play, then you can stop it before it gets the better of you.

1. Stay away from salt – A diet that is high in fats and salt can affect your kidneys. When your kidney's functionality is compromised, your body starts to produce acidic blood. Even if hair is considered dead skin cells, the roots still need a healthy blood supply to thrive. With acidic blood, the hair withers, weakens and falls of easily.

2. Load up on vitamins – Vitamin deficiency is another cause of hair loss. If you think you're not getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet, you can try boosting it with some supplements. Any drugstore variety supplement will do, as long as it's complete.

3. Tone down on hair treatments – People spend thousands of dollars on hair treatments as part of their hair care routines. However, most hair treatments have chemicals in them that weaken the hair's hold on the scalp. If you must, go for hair treatments that are composed of natural ingredients. Extra virgin olive oil, mango extracts and yoghurt make good hair treatments and don't contain strong chemicals and toxins.

4. Get rid of stress – Stress can make your hormones run wild, leading to hair loss. When you're stressed, you don't eat right, sleep right and in general, you don't take care of your body. This means less nutrients for your hair and less focus on hair care. If you neglect your hair because of stress, it will lead to very inconvenient circumstances.

5. Change your form of birth control – Hair loss is especially embarrassing for women, but female hair loss is quite common and one of the most popular reasons is birth control. Certain pills may have a negative effect on you and your hormones and one of its most common side effects is thinning of your hair.

6. Hormones Matter – Hormones play a huge part in the vitality of your hair. If you're pregnant, just reached menopause, experiencing irregular menstrual cycles or experiencing anything that affects the hormones, chances are your hair will suffer for it. Now there's nothing you can do if you're pregnant as sometimes it's a normal part of it, but make sure you ask your doctor what's normal and what's not.

7. Change your hair products – Some shampoos and conditioners may contain strong chemicals which do not sit well with sensitive hair. If you experience hair loss, try changing hair products. Try shampoos and conditioners made of natural ingredients.

8. Comb your hair the proper way– Do not brush your hair directly after bathing; instead, use a wide tooth comb. When brushing your hair, make sure to never force it when it encounters tangles. Help untangle your hair using your fingers gently before brushing it again. Don't over brush your hair.

9. Cleanse you hair – Too much residue from hair products can drag down hair, making it dull, brittle and weak. Twice a month, you may want to cleanse your hair of all the muck from shampoos and conditioners. Buy a clarifying shampoo and use it to cleanse your hair. This is also a good ritual to observe before changing shampoos or conditioners.

10. Have a positive outlook on hair loss – When you find your hair suddenly thinning, don't freak out! This is one of the most common mistakes people make. They go out, try whatever product is there on the market and lose sleep over this problem. By stressing over hair loss, you are actually making the problem bigger. It can be prevented using natural means and all you need to do is to think straight and consider all your options.

While some people may need more help and require the aid of a professional, others need only a few tips and tricks to keep their hair healthy and full. All you have to do is to pinpoint exactly what's causing your hair loss and combat it with proper diet, adequate sleep and natural hair care methods.

Weight Loss=Exercise + Healthy Eating

When it comes to summer, you may start to worry with your body weight and probably wonder how to prepare yourself to look proper in your new bathing suit. Everybody wants to lose some extra pounds from their body and look attractive on the beach. A lot of people start going gym then, others try to restrict their unhealthy eating habit. While these methods work, these can actually bring you partial result. To get the ultimate result, to look fit and hit, you must make a combination of the both. A successful combination between these two will determine how successful you are going to be in your weight loss attempt. So weight loss is not a single approach, rather, it’s a dual one. It involves proper and healthy eating and fitness activities at the same time.

A research was made between 200 people. They were divided into three groups. Among them, one group was asked to bring changes in their eating and fitness activities. Another group changed their eating habit only and left their fitness related activities as it were before. The third group focused only on their physical training.

The result

After a year, the first group successfully achieved their fitness goal. They were able to lose weight successfully along with a change in their food habit which ensures long lasting results and better health in the end.

The other group which only focused their attention on physical activities achieved a greater health but their diet habit didn’t turn into a healthy one. This is sure to ruin things in the end.

The third group to dietary change did manage to achieve a greater diet habit but their overall fitness didn’t show much improvement. Another deal breaker, showing how pointless it is to eat well forgetting to do exercise.

So, it becomes clear that in order to achieve fitness, you must change your eating habit and introduce some exercise in your daily routine as well. It’s not only food or health alone, itsfood and health together. Now the first one is easy regarding the fact that you already eat three or four times a day. So you won't have to go through much hardship to bring some healthy changes into your food habit. But the second one can be really challenging, if you are not accustomed to regular physical activities. So you may face some trouble at first, but with continuous attempt and a little patience, you can achieve that goal. Start with some easy and short workout like walking and cycling. You can also swim. And when you get accustomed to that, try switching to bigger and harder workouts. Always maintain your healthy eating habit; you can make your weight loss program a successful one.

16 Smoothie Recipes which are Healthy

If you know what proper and true nutrition is, you probably want to bring about some change into your daily food habit, AKA, your diet. Well, it's not an easy task since so many things are related to your food habit, mainly your lifestyle. So you have to think of some ways to help you get acquainted with your new food habit or your diet. A good way to do that is to start with something you love. Well, everybody loves drinks, smoothie precisely. So why not start with that? Here’s 16 smoothie recipes for you which will sure win your heart with their taste and of course will add a lot of healthiness to your diet and thus to your health as well.

Cucumber Smoothie

A smoothie which is sure to cool you down, made of blended cucumber. To add a bit to its taste, you can also add kiwi and cilantro with it.

Orange-Mango Smoothie

Blended mango along with orange makes this smoothie a tasty thing to drink. And don’t forget it’s health value. Add coconut water to this smoothie to make sure that you get your regular need of potassium. A good smoothie to have in breakfast and before or after workout.

Berry-Banana Smoothie

Many people add apple juice to it to make it even tastier and healthier. Other than that, berry along with banana makes this smoothie, rich in fibers.

Fruit-Tea Smoothie

Who doesn’t know that tea is full of antioxidants? Well, everybody does, and thus it’s a great smoothie for a fresh start of your day. The ingredients for this smoothie are hot tea, mixed fruit juice, honey and lemon juice.

Cold Banana Smoothie

Ever heard of the Indian smoothie called lassi? Well, this smoothie is based on that. To make this smoothie, you need banana, honey, rose water for the fragrance and ice water to do justice to its name.

Pineapple Smoothie

Another refreshing smoothie. Made of pineapple juice, yogurt and of course ice cubes to bring the smoothness.

Peach Smoothie

A frosty smoothie with vanilla flavor which you are sure to love. Diced peaches, milk, vanilla ice cream and lemon juice are its ingredients.

Banana Smoothie

This smoothie is made of banana and peanut butter. Be careful if you are allergic to peanut butter, if you really are, it's best for you to avoid this smoothie. Other than that, you will love this smoothie, its cold and thick. With added milk and ice water, this smoothie is a thick and tasty one.

Cold Mango Smoothie

Same as the cold banana smoothie, has similarities to Indian lassi. A tasty smooth smoothie made of mango, orange juice, yogurt and optional orange or rose water for aroma. A sure add smoothie for your better food and health habit.

Banana-Chocolate Smoothie

You like chocolate? Well, you are going to love this one then. This smoothie is made of banana, honey, cocoa powder which is not sweetened but raw and soy milk.

Vegetable Smoothie

Another smoothie full of fibers and minerals.The ingredients are tomato juice, lemon juice, pepper, cucumber, salt and scallions. Sure to fill you up with all the minerals you need for the day, who knows, maybe more.

Melon Smoothie

With added ginger, it’s a sparking smoothie, sure to give you a kick start for your hectic day. Melon, banana, grape juice, kiwi, ginger and lime juice and ice cubeare all you need to make this smoothie.

Avocado Smoothie

A creamy smoothie, creamy and sweet.The ingredients are avocado,raspberry juice and orange juice.

Hawaiian Smoothie

Finally, a smoothie which smells like exotic, at least in name.It's a good replacement for dessert as well. You need pineapple, papaya, grenadine, lime juice and ice for making this exotic tasting smoothie.

Orange-Berry Smoothie

A smoothie loaded with vitamin C, fiber and soy protein. All you need is orange, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry (so basically every kind of berries, yogurt and sugar or honey to make this smoothie.

Plum Smoothie

The mixture of plum juice with corn syrup and lime juice and yogurt makes this great smoothie.

So that’s it. 16 healthy smoothierecipes for your better food and health, better food habit and better health.