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At my job, it is difficult at times to find healthy choices for lunch. I’m surrounded by fast food restaurants and chains that carry high fat, high cholesterol foods. When I don’t pack a lunch, I find myself choosing between the lesser of tall of the evils.

McDonald’s is trying to be a bit more healthy with it’s menu. Ordering food at McDonald’s however is still going to be highly unhealthy. If you’re near a Burger King, you can order a veggie burger. Ask for it without the mayo! You can also order your fries at Burger King without salt. Yes, they’re still fried, but without the salt you know they’re fresh and you can cut down on the amount of sodium. You can also substitute apple sticks for fries.

Of course, going to a place like Subway would be the ultimate healthy option. Yes, the lunch meat is processed, but it’s definitely better for you than a burger and fries.

If you’re trying to be healthy around a bunch of fast food chains, you can ask for substitutions and other exceptions in your meal. You should definitely remember, for the sake of healthy living, to only eat this type of food once in awhile. Don’t make it a daily thing!

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To be healthy means maintaining a modicum of self-control in what and how much you eat.  Read more…

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Have you ever noticed that when you eat food like greasy fast food burgers or pizza that you feel a little sluggish afterwards? You just don’t feel right, maybe bloated and gross? That’s because in the midst of curing your sodium and protein craving with that meat patty, you’ve thrown off your body’s balance.

Body balance is the balance between what your body wants and needs vs. how you feel. When you give your body the nutrients that it needs and in healthy ways, your body balance is good. You’ll feel better and you’ll feel that somehow moving, activity, and concentrating on a task is easier than before.

When you crave something and eat the wrong thing, this balance is thrown off and you become sluggish, slow, and even hungry again. This will cause you to eat more of the wrong things and that is no good for healthy living or wellness.

I’m attaching a great photograph of a chart full of “what you want vs. what you need” but I’ll go over some of the more prevalent ones.

For example, craving chocolate means that you actually need magnesium. You can find great amounts of magnesium in raw seed s and nuts, fruits, and legumes. Eat these and you’ll feel better than if you reached for that Snickers bar.

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What I am about to say may upset a lot of people. Are you ready? I need to gain 10 lbs. There, I said it. Yes, a lot of people are probably muttering “well, I’ll give you ten of mine. Take some from my hips/butt/thighs/stomach, etc…” And honestly, if there was a medical practice that could do this, I would oblige you. However, for the time being, it’s not possible so I’ve got to resort to other methods of gaining weight.

The problem is, when you have a health issue, like a thyroid condition, that goes against what the whole world is experiencing, it can be difficult to garner any kind of sympathy or help. But to be healthy, sometimes you need to gain weight, not just lose it.

In my case, eating better was a good remedy. I had been eating like a teenage boy my whole life. Whole pizzas, dozens of cookies. I once ate a whole pie in one sitting and my mother still tells the story of how one Thanksgiving she had to peel a whole extra 5 pounds of potatoes just for me.

The fact is, for your health, you should be eating better regardless of gaining or losing weight. Those foods I was eating, were actually making my body sicker not better.

So, if you’re like me, don’t be afraid to stand up and say you want to be healthier by adding a few pounds. It’s okay, there are others out there like you. Just try not to eat bad foods to make you gain that weight. Eat protein and get good weight on your bones!

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Everybody takes Thanksgiving as an excuse to go all out and nibble (okay, more like devour) endless refills of food and beverage. Unfortunately all that overindulgence comes with a side effect of shame and bloating. You can still have your share of gooey marshmallow topped sweet potatoes, turkey with gravy, and pecan pie as long as you balance out your meal at least a little bit. Eating healthy is more about control in portions and less about what you eat.

Start the day of like usual. Do not “starve” yourself before the big dinner. you may think, “Oh, well not eating leaves more room for later.” In actuality what will end up happening is you get an inaccurate reading of your hunger and you’ll overeat to compensate. Eat as you normally would, or at least eat a decently sized meal.

Stick to normal, or even slightly undersized portions. If you finish a small plate and get another small serving when you’re finished you are still probably eating less than when you overfill the plate so that everything is falling off the side. When you do make yourself a plate, fill up half with veggies, a quarter with potatoes, and the remainder with the meat or meat substitute. drink water to help fill you up faster and after you digest go for a walk or stand around and chat with family to start burning some calories.

There will be more than enough lerftovers, trust me. By the following week you’ll regret that your family even bought such a huge turkey.

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As is the case with many animals, humans have ritualistic over-eating tendencies once summer ends. It is during this time that we gain the most weight and have difficulty putting it off.

We are full swing into mid-September, which means we don’t have very long to go until an endless gorging of food. The local stores are already putting out bags full of candy bars and sugary treats for Halloween and it’s not even October. But it’s not just the kind of food we are eating that causes the weight gain, it is the lack of exercise and the increase in stress that keeps it on.

September means back-to-school. This puts pressure on parents and children that could result in unhealthy eating or snacking habits. We eat when we are stressed and the stress sometimes causes us to have trouble losing pounds. October is time for sweets like pie, candy, apple cider, and other sugar messes. If you’re going to eat some  junk, try and cut back by eating healthy alternatives in-between. Yogurt, fruit, and granola all have health benefits and are sweet in taste. And if you must pick a Halloween treat to hand out, chocolate is healthier than fructose hard candies. Also try organic candies (but don’t expect trick ‘r’ treaters to come knocking at your door).

As for November and Thanksgiving, cut back on the portions and the amount of servings. Spend more time conversing with friends and family because it will slow down your eating. Your body can take up to 20 minutes to signal your brain that you feel full. slower eating means eating less. Same goes for December. The calories don’t stop with hot cocoa, do they?

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Health conscious folks everywhere know that the key to getting healthy is exercise and  a balanced low salt, low cholesterol, low calorie diet. Idiots like myself sometimes stray wildly off this path.

McDonalds an establishment which I spent years trying to shake and finally took my last trip into in May is now offering their McGriddles breakfast sandwich at an unconscionable two for $3 deal. These sick little sandwiches upon first bite will explode in your mouth in a drug-like rush to the head, you almost feel joyful for a moment. (You know what else makes you feel momentarily joyful? Crack.) As you finish the sandwich you will immediately start to reel from your bad decision.

Of course you knew all along. Nothing good ever came in the form of syrup infused pancake buns with egg, sausage and cheese shoved in it and the suffering will immediately settle in. This trouble will not reside solely in the pit of your stomach. You will feel an unease in your entire blood stream, something between a sugar rush and a blood transfusion  where fresh plasma has been replaced with excess grease from a fry vat in a McDonalds’ test facility.

So there you have it the complete experience of eating McGriddles without having to put yourself through the pain yourself. Just some quick additionally health information these bad boys are a whopping 420 calories a piece so if you’re copping that two for $3 deal you better be prepared to eat celery for the rest of the day.

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Really? Yes. Basically what cardio does is it strengthens your muscles and builds endurance in your respiratory system. That’s building up your psychological health. While all this is happening your endorphin production increases and your psychological health as well. You know what they say, people who laugh more live longer; and endorphins make you happy.

With cardio you must open up your lungs. Your lungs are two of the vital organs cardio improves. By sustaining breath control you are actually training your lungs to take in more oxygen. The more you do this the stronger and clearer your lungs will be. Having healthy lungs can go a long way in terms of health. The better you breathe, the more active you will remain, and the less likely you will lead a stationary life.

Cardio also trains your heart. The more you workout with cardio, the more steady your heart will beat under pressure. Given that if you have any pre-existing conditions you should be careful not to stress your heart, it doesn’t hurt to train it a little step at a time to promote strength. Even as an overall bonus, you get better blood flow through to the extremities because your body is pumping it continuously stronger.

All of these factors contribute to overall longer life. With a better heart, set of lungs, muscles, arteries and veins you’re sure to have less complications later in life. so take care of yourself.

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Did you know that there’s a way you can have a whiter smile from home? It’s by using a tried-and-tested home remedy like bicarbonate of soda or baking soda. “Just dip your wet toothbrush in soda and brush and rinse as usual.” Baking Soda in its chemical form is known as sodium bicarbonate, represented by the chemical compound NaHCO3. It can be found naturally in many mineral springs and it can also be produced artificially. It also dissolves very easily in water. The most common form of baking soda would be what we often find in our kitchen.

Baking soda gives your teeth a whiter appearance by removing tough stains. Baking soda works to actively remove dulling plaque and deep stains that are embedded deep in tooth surface crevices by dissolving into these areas. Once dissolved in water, Baking soda changes its chemical make up slowly and it gives off free radicals which penetrate the surface of the tooth’s enamel and combine with stain molecules breaking carbon double bonds; changing stain molecules from a darker colored substance to a clear one allowing baking soda to help lighten and whiten teeth

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Passion fruit is an exotic tropical fruit well-known for its aroma and delectable taste.  Have you ever tried tasting one?  Well, health enthusiasts say that this special fruit, which by the way is packed with Vitamins A and C, is good for dealing with problems involving the digestive system.  It may be hard to believe but its seeds are actually packed with high fibre which can help cleans our body of its toxins, most especially the colon and can even help prevent heart attacks.  The wonders of this exotic fruit do not even stop there as it is also known to be an effective deterrent against asthma and cancer problems.  No wonder people are resorting to natural remedies nowadays, what they need to treat their respective health problems can be found from the fruits of nature itself.  What’s more, it is safe to use and poses no threat to our bodies.

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