Key Weight Loss Nutrients

(Article first published as Top Nutrients Drive Weight Loss, Burn Fat on Technorati.)

Excess weight and obesity are part of a silent epidemic, as two-thirds of adults surveyed indicate they are carrying too much weight, yet are unable to make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes to achieve their ideal weight goal. The results of a survey conducted by National Public Radio show that 52% of overweight people have tried to lose weight in the past year, while the number topped 75% for those falling into the obese classification.

Avoiding Artificial Diet Pills and Medications

Interestingly, only 15% of those surveyed indicated they had resorted to a prescription weight loss medicine, over the counter diet pill or natural supplement. Some of this is good news, as dietary medications and metabolism boosting pills are known to precipitate many health conditions including heart attack, stroke and neurologic dysfunction.

The Right Keys to Weight Loss

Survey respondents were opposed to using natural nutrients because of cost, and a misunderstanding of how these critical supplements can be used to promote fat metabolism and natural weight loss. Nutrients assist the body to function optimally, reducing systemic inflammation and triglycerides which promote the release of fat from storage.

Supplements should be used as a compliment to a well balanced, reduced calorie diet packed with fresh vegetables, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, white meats and monounsaturated fats. A minimum of 30 minutes each day should be dedicated to aerobic or resistance type exercise, but be careful not to overeat in an attempt to compensate for your physical activity. Adding these targeted nutrients to your weight loss arsenal will help you to reach your weight loss goal.

Resveratrol, Nature’s Natural Defense

Resveratrol is a natural bioactive chemical which is found in the skins of red grapes, peanuts and cocoa. Resveratrol works directly at the cellular level, influencing the fitness of your fat. Research shows that this amazing nutrient controls genes which are responsible for human ageing, and inhibits the formation of baby fat cells which go on to become mature tissue capable of storing fat. Less fat cells means the body has a lowered capacity to store fat and is more conditioned to burn those calories as energy.

Omega-3 Fats and DHA

Omega-3 fats and especially the crucial DHA component are essential to our health. DHA from fish and fish oil sources moderates triglyceride levels in the blood, resulting in improved blood flow and lowered risk of fat storage. DHA also reduces levels of inflammation in the body which is known to be a key factor behind obesity.

Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl-L-Carnitine are two powerful antioxidant nutrients which play an important role in blood sugar regulation and cellular metabolism. By improving the genetic efficiency of cellular mitochondria (the cell’s energy power plant), these two nutrients increase the calorie burning capacity of each cell, naturally and safely increasing metabolic rate and fat burning capacity.

Many people have the desire and need to lose weight, but are confused about how to accomplish their goal. Most are unwilling to take prescription drugs or resort to synthetic diet pills which can result in deteriorating health. Fortunately there are targeted nutrients which assist weight loss, and work effectively when combined with proper diet and exercise to deliver natural weight loss results.

Follow a Paleo Diet for Natural Weight Loss

(Article first published as Top Reasons You Can’t Lose Weight, Part II on Technorati.)

It’s no secret that American waistlines continue to expand, despite regular headlines about the dire health consequences of excess body fat. We eat too much sugar, refined carbohydrates, junk food, fast food and hydrogenated trans fats. Compare our modern diet to that of our evolutionary ancestors and you’ll quickly see why we’re putting our lives in peril every time we eat.

Cave Men Set Our Dietary Genes in Stone     

The food we eat every day sends powerful chemical messages throughout our body which directly influence our genes. This happens with every meal, as we switch our genes either toward health or disease with every bite of food. We were never intended to eat massive quantities of processed foods laced with sugar, salt and fat that many people consume throughout the day.

Like it or not, we are a product of evolution and our genes are switched toward health and natural weight loss when we eat a diet similar to our Paleolithic brethren. Information reported in the Chicago Tribune reveals the importance of eating closer to the way nature intended to significantly reduce the risk of disease and drop the excess weight which packs on as a consequence of our poor culinary habits.

It’s important to understand the reasons behind the obesity epidemic which keep us from losing weight. Once we understand the powerful genetic influence our diet exerts over fat storage and mobilization in our body, we can make simple dietary changes to achieve our healthy weight loss goal.

Reason 1 – Too Much Sugar and Fructose

As the genes we carry today were being coded thousands of generations ago, sugar was virtually nonexistent, and fructose from fruit was a rare treat which bore little resemblance to the highly cultivated sweet fruit we buy on store shelves today. From a metabolic perspective, our body has difficulty processing the great amounts of sugar we consume, and most is converted into triglycerides (blood fat) and then stored as fat.

Research demonstrates that fructose, and especially high fructose corn syrup used in so many sweetened beverages, has an even more disruptive effect on fat metabolism. Reading nutritional labels is the best way to avoid added sugar. Cut out desserts, sugary soft drinks and sweet snacks, and be mindful of condiments like ketchup which are loaded with sugar.

Reason 2 – Refined Carbohydrates and Wheat

In between meal snacks and junk food can account for up to 40% of our daily calories, and these are typically high calorie foods with no nutritional value. Chips, fries and breads are immediately broken down by our efficient digestive system into glucose which hits our blood stream hard, and ultimately leads to metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes. Wheat has only been in our food supply for the last 5,000 years, and genetically we haven’t yet evolved to eat wheat based foods.

Wheat is foreign to the body, and causes our immune system to spring into action every time we dine on breads or pasta, resulting in systemic inflammation which leads to heart disease and certain forms of cancer. Replace wheat with fresh vegetables, nuts and healthy monounsaturated fats which promote health and natural weight loss.

Reason 3 – Hydrogenated and Trans Fats

Hydrogenated and trans fats are artificially produced substances designed to boost the shelf life of many foods and appeal to our natural taste for fat. Fat is essential to our health, and one of the biggest mistakes many people make is trying to eliminate it from their diet. Our cells use fat to construct membranes which allow nutrients and oxygen to pass freely. Fake fats don’t have the same properties, and encourage disease and weight gain.

Avoid synthesized fats by reading all ingredient labels carefully, and don’t fry anything, as this cooking method produces trans fats from overheated oil. Use healthy fats from extra virgin olive oil and flax seed sources, adding them onto your food after cooking to preserve their natural qualities.

Following our evolutionary counterparts may provide an important insight into how we have evolved to eat, and why our present day diet is largely responsible for our declining health and excess weight gain. Our food has a significant impact on our genes, and by cutting unhealthy dietary options we can regain control of our health destiny and lose weight as a natural consequence.

Why You Can't Lose Weight

(Article first published as Top Reasons You Can't Lose Weight on Technorati.)

For many people, weight loss is a very difficult process and requires much more than just eating less and exercising more. There is a third element involving lifestyle, emotion, stress and motivational factors that can prevent you from reaching your ideal goal. Often, dieters will quickly lose 5 to 10 % of their body weight and reach a plateau which can’t be broken, regardless of their best efforts.

Using Diet to Control Weight, Improve Health
Healthy diet and regular exercise are essential parts of any sensible weight loss plan. The results of a study published in the journal Circulation underscores the importance of following the American Heart Association sponsored DASH diet which places emphasis on copious quantities of fresh vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, whole grains and meats such as chicken and turkey, while reducing red meat, sugar, refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated fats and salt.

Providing Extra Help Beyond Diet and Exercise
This research confirms that altering our diet away from processed junk food is the best way to regain our health. The DASH diet lowered blood pressure by 20%, improved blood lipids and triglycerides and allowed participants to lose weight as a natural consequence, even though it was not the primary goal of the study. Still, some people require additional help to reach their weight goal and overcome a weight plateau. Here’s a list of the top reasons that may be preventing you from shedding weight.

Reason 1 - Sleep Deprivation

Lack of sound sleep is the number one reason people can’t lose weight. The body requires 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night, and sleep is not cumulative so you can’t play catch up for past indiscretions. Our body has a long list of maintenance chores to perform while we sleep, and needs energy during that time. Eating too close to bedtime means our fat stores aren’t tapped during the overnight hours, a critical time to burn excess fat for energy.

Reason 2 - Missing Meals
People frequently will skip a meal such as breakfast, with the belief that they can save themselves the extra calories. This will always backfire, as our body will send a signal to our brain, compelling us to make up for lost calories. Further, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as it starts our fat burning metabolism in motion, increasing calories burned throughout the day.

Reason 3 – Overestimating Exercise Calories

There’s no doubt that exercise is an important part of any weight loss regimen, but many people believe that because they exercise regularly, they can eat as much as they want. Unless you’re training for a marathon and running several hours each day, you’re not burning enough calories to warrant the extra food.

Reason 4 – Drinking Sweetened and Diet Beverages
Another very common weight loss mistake is drinking your calories. Not only are most sweetened beverages loaded with fat-promoting high fructose corn syrup, but they have no nutritional value. Avoid all sugary drinks, and substitute water or fresh brewed tea which has been shown to promote weight loss. Research shows that diet drinks sweetened with artificial chemicals actually fuel weight gain by disrupting hormonal signals to the brain to stop eating.

Healthy weight loss can be a difficult road for many to navigate, as calorie restriction and physical activity are frequently not enough to deliver the desired result. Controlling key behavioral factors can play an important role in fueling further weight reduction, especially when your progress has stalled. Incorporating lifestyle changes into your weight loss plan will help you reach your healthy weight goal quickly and with a minimum of effort.

Tips to Control Emotion and Stress, Fuel Weight Loss

(Article first published as Controlling Emotion and Stress, Tips to Fuel Weight Loss on Technorati.)
American waistlines continue to expand at an ever alarming rate, increasing the incidence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and cancer. Successful weight loss consists of three critical components: reduced calories from a well balanced diet, regular physical activity and controlling stress and emotional eating.

Emotional Eating Can Derail Weight Loss Efforts

Despite your best efforts to control eating and exercise daily, stressful situations arise which can throw you off track, making it difficult to lose weight. Sometimes stress comes from an emotional situation, the loss of a job or adverse financial situation. Other times, hitting a weight plateau can be enough to disrupt your best efforts and cause binge eating or other disruptive negative behavior.

Information provided by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research explains the connection between mood, food and weight loss, along with proven methods to ensure you don’t develop an emotional eating pattern regardless of stressful situations which may surround you. While some people eat less under stress, most will opt for high calorie ‘comfort foods’ to get them through a difficult emotional stretch. Try these tips if you find yourself in an emotional eating pattern.

Tip 1: Slow Down and Relax

When stress is the cause of your emotional eating and failed weight loss goal, reduce the negative effects by using popular stress reduction techniques. Yoga and meditation are very effective methods to lower your stress level. Better yet, determine the cause of your stress and resolve the situation to jump start your weight loss efforts.

Tip 2: Listen to Your Hunger
Many times we eat just because we’re bored, and not due to true hunger. It’s important to learn when you really need food, and when you’re eating just to pass time or because you’re feeling stress. If you find yourself in front of the refrigerator, drink an 8 ounce glass of water first, and wait 15 minutes. More often than not you’ll find the sensation to eat will disappear, and you can save yourself that high calorie snack.

Tip 3: Keep a Food Mood Diary

For a two week period, write down everything you eat, along with how you felt at the time. Did you feel stressed, depressed or especially emotional when you ate, or were you actually hungry? Over time you’ll find that you’re eating up to half of your daily calories during times when you feel stressed or emotional. Food eaten under stress is typically high calorie, non-nutritional junk food which halts your weight loss progress.

Tip 4: Treat Yourself Occasionally
It’s important not to deprive yourself of an occasional treat, as this can lead to cravings and binge eating which will pack on the pounds. Allow yourself a special treat once per week and savor the moment. This will help you avoid cravings and keep your weight loss progress in check.

Natural weight loss is a complicated process which must be accomplished by combining several steps to deliver your ultimate weight loss reward. A well balanced diet and regular exercise are critical tools in your weight reduction arsenal, along with appropriate stress reduction techniques to control emotional eating. Following these tips will help you to control the negative effects which stress places on your lifestyle and diet, allowing you to reach your weight loss goal.

Foods and Lifestyle Changes That Prevent Heart Disease

(Article first published as Top Foods and Lifestyle Changes Promote Heart Health on Technorati.)
Heart disease is the number one killer in the US, and results from decades of dietary and lifestyle abuse leading to damage of the delicate arteries that supply blood to the heart. The condition is called coronary artery disease (CAD) and is the primary type of heart condition which leads to sudden death from a heart attack, as foamy plaque builds up in the lining of the vessels and increases the risk of a clot blocking blood flow to this critical muscle. Fortunately you can lower your risk of disease by taking charge of the factors which precipitate CAD.

Create a Plan to Reverse Heart Disease

Medical research continues to provide important information which reveals that the negative effects of poor diet and lifestyle can be reversed by implementing a structured plan to correct poor habits. The results of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrates that making the correct food choices is more heart protective than taking statins.

The study highlights a small group of super foods which affect heart function and have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease development, and can actually work to reverse the buildup of coronary plaque. In addition to adding these foods to your diet, there are essential lifestyle modifications you can incorporate which can significantly reduce your risk of a heart attack.

Super Foods for the Heart

Every bite of food we eat has a direct and calculable effect on our genes, and specifically our heart. Eliminating sugar, refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated trans fats from the diet is an important first step toward regaining control over heart health. As you slowly cut damaging foods from your diet, substitute these super foods to improve your heart healthy menu.

Salmon and Omega-3 Fat Sources: Salmon and most fish are excellent sources of the Omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA which have been shown to lower the risk of sudden death from a heart attack by one-third. Omega-3 fats reduce dangerous blood fats known as triglycerides, and help to prevent the formation of blood clots. Eat salmon or fatty fish twice a week, or supplement with fish oil for maximum benefit.

Blueberries: Blueberries are packed with powerful antioxidants which have been shown to alter the plaque forming characteristics of oxidized LDL cholesterol. This means that this damaging form of cholesterol is less likely to become incorporated into plaque which narrows the arteries supplying the heart. Blueberries also taste great and play an important role in brain health as well.

Make the Right Lifestyle Changes

Once you’ve made the appropriate changes to your diet, researchers have identified specific lifestyle alterations which provide protection against heart disease. Plan to make changes slowly and you’ll be more likely to maintain them for life.

Physical Activity: Next to diet, incorporating regular exercise into your daily routine will have the most impact on heart health. You benefit by strengthening this critical muscle and the supporting vascular system, lowering blood pressure and stabilizing blood sugar and insulin response. Plan at least 20 to 30 minutes each day.

Lose Weight: Excess weight forces the heart to work much harder than necessary, and eventually the heart enlarges in an attempt to keep pace with the increased load. Studies show that losing as little as 5 to 7% of your body weight can have a dramatic effect on heart health.

No Smoking: Smoking is the leading preventable cause of heart disease, as it negatively affects every organ in the body, especially the heart. Smoking causes dangerous constriction of the blood vessels which forces the heart to work much harder. Get professional help to drop the habit, as studies show positive heart health benefits after just 6 months.

Reduce Stress: The effects of stress can be as devastating as smoking. Often referred to as a silent killer, continual stress causes the release of hormones such as cortisol which increase blood pressure and systemic inflammation. Stress reduction techniques such as yoga and meditation are helpful in negating the damaging effects of stress.

Heart disease is preventable and reversible with a solid plan to improve diet and lifestyle. Substituting heart healthy super foods such as blueberries and salmon can have an immediate impact on your heart. Make time for daily exercise, lose weight and eliminate the cause of stress which is harming your health. You can minimize or even eliminate the risk from heart disease by taking charge of your total lifestyle.