Category: HEALTHY

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Power training or light exercise?

Find out which training method better suits what you are trying to achieve. Explore our blog….

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Power training is designed to increase muscle mass and generally individuals doing this will gain some weight in muscle, fat or a combination of both. Light exercise is mainly used to maintain weight as well as add muscle definition.

 

Important points when engaging in power training:

Eat well. Several high protein meals must be consumed throughout the day. It is also important to have a meal 2-3 hours before training to allow time for the food to be properly digested and energy needed to be released. A typical pre workout meal would consist of a high protein meat such as chicken or turkey and complex carbohydrates such as vegetables and potato.

Heavy weights and low reps. In order to build muscle in a reasonably short period of time, it is essential that heavy weight sets and short breaks are applied. Typically sets of 10-12 on maximum resistance coupled with breaks of 30-60 seconds.

Allow time to repair. Training sessions must be alternated between different muscle groups to allow time for muscles to repair. Power training will result in muscles being literally ripped and a couple of days are needed for the repair to take effect.  A good protein supplement coupled with creatine and BCAAs will help speed up the recovery process.

 

Light exercise points:

Persistence is key. Although generally low intensity, light exercise sessions typically last a lot longer than power training. In order for maximum results to be achieved, regular sessions of over 1 hour are needed.

Cardio is king. Cardio sessions up the heart rate and increase temperature thus burning more calories and fat. They are particularly effective for problem areas such as around the stomach and thighs.

Eat healthy. All the exercise in the world will not get you anywhere if you have a poor diet. Try eating more lean meats and vegetables and cut down on breads, pasta, sweets, ready meals and desserts.

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Health benefits of running

Running is not only a great way to get in shape but it will also strengthen many parts of the body as well as lifting the mood thus boosting happiness. Just 5 sessions of 30 minutes a week can make a huge difference. Below are just a few of the ways running can help you lead a healthier life.

LOSE WEIGHT

Running will increase body temperature which causes hundreds of extra calories to be burned more effectively. Studies have shown that calories continue burning even after stopping. Covering big distances at a relatively fast pace will help shift fat from stubborn areas such as stomach and thighs making abs and glutes seem more defined.

IMPROVE OVERALL HEALTH

Running can have tremendous benefits on health. It can boost the immune system, lower the risk of blood clots, improve lung and heart performance, lower cholesterol, etc. Contrary to some inaccurate reports, running will actually strengthen joints and improve knee health. In addition to this, running increases bone mass helping avoid fractures and osteoporosis.

BE HAPPIER

Whenever you feel down, anxious or stressed out, put on some running shoes and you will notice that just after a few minutes you will feel better. This is also known as a “runner’s high” and is caused by the release of endorphins from running. It is known to create a feeling of euphoria and well being.

REDUCE THE RISK OF DISEASE

Several studies have shown that running can help prevent certain cancers and several diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Running can also dramatically reduce the risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.

LIVE LONGER

As with other physical activities, running can add several years to one’s life. A recent study showed that individuals added an average of 3.5 years to their lives. Running can also improve brain function and helps defeat age-related mental decline.  It was also shown to prevent or slow down the progress of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

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The importance of water in daily diets

Explore our blog for useful advice on dieting, weight loss and training plans. Find out about the best food and drinks to go alongside our natural supplements…

Around 60% of the human body is made of water. Just a 1% decrease will cause mental and physical coordination to be impaired.  Sharp drops below this level, or dehydration, can have adverse effects on health such as dry mouth, dizziness, palpitations, confusion, sluggishness and even fainting.

Regular hydration will help detox by removing harmful toxins resulting in a healthy youthful appearance. Surprisingly, water will also help flush out any excess fluids in the body making it a perfect slimming aid.

Drinking water regularly during the day will help avoid any high calorie coffees or soft drinks.  Several studies have shown that drinking water before a meal will decrease the amount of food consumed resulting in fewer calories being consumed thus assisting weight loss.

Replace alcoholic drinks with water. Alcohol is a diuretic and caused dehydration, that’s why we always feel thirsty after a drink. When you take into account the massive calorie content of alcoholic beverages, it is easy to see why they should be kept to a bare minimum.

Cold water will speed up metabolism as well as start a natural thermogenesis.  This is caused by the body’s effort to maintain the temperature. Drinking cold water in the morning on an empty stomach will cause the body to burn fat to provide energy to stabilise the drop in temperature from the water.

For complete well being, water should be on top of every diet list whether you are trying to lose weight, detox, or just want to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Getting Fit for Summer

If you’re not 100 per cent confident about your body weight or shape, and the sight of someone coming towards you in a T-shirt or shorts makes you feel anxious about the thought of revealing your body, then it’s time to start working on your summer diet. And although many people just want to look good for that short period of time when the sunshine arrives, there is no better time than to make the healthy living choices that will lead to long-term well being.

It’s more than vanity

Sometimes we dismiss our ideas of slimming for  a beach-fit body as vanity, but it is more than that. The reason why a well-sculpted body in a swimsuit looks so appealing is because it is a picture of health, and evolution has resulted in us being attracted to signs of health. Looking good in public also allows us to cast off our inhibitions and become more of the people we want to be. This makes us happier and improves everything from our intimate relationships, our role model as a parent and our working and social lives.

Three steps to fitness

There is, and probably never will be, no one diet that suits everyone. Instead there are two main principles and one extra helping hand that together will inevitably lead to improved health and fitness.

Depending on your circumstances, weight loss might be high on your agenda, so you’ll be pleased to learn that safe weight loss is purely a matter of sensible calorie control and moderate exercise. A healthy diet that is conducive to weight loss will do two things: reduce the conversion of calories to fat and ensure we have enough nutrients to keep us in good health. Reducing the overall number of calories we consume is, of course, the key behind calorie control, but there are also ways we can make our bodies less prone to storing calories as fat, while promoting the use of fat as a fuel source.

Foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids (including avocados, walnuts and kidney beans) help to inhibit the storage of glucose in fat cells, while calcium binds with bile cells to help us excrete more fat; calcium is found in milk, broccoli and cheese.  Foods containing the carotenoid astaxanthin (prawns, langoustines, lobster, etc.) have a thermogenic effect, raising the body’s temperature and ensuring more fat is burnt. Catechin in green tea is also thought to have this effect on the body, as are diet supplements containing spices, chilli or caffeine.

The second element of a healthy lifestyle is moderate exercise, including running, swimming and cycling. Either of these activities, combined with a light weight-bearing element, will help you to convert fat into muscle. A pound of muscle burns up to an extra 50 calories a day compared with the same weight of fat – and looks a whole lot nicer too.

The third element to achieving a healthy lifestyle is the careful use of diet supplements. As the word ‘supplement’ suggests, these should be used as part of a healthy diet to boost results; after all, summer is getting very close.

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How Can Raspberry Ketones Help with Weight Loss?

The cutting edge of weight loss is an exciting place to be with obesity such a problem and people desperately looking for a slimming solution that doesn’t need drastic measures or a surgical procedure….

Safe weight loss is of paramount importance to a healthy society and there have been countless health and weight loss claims put forward by people providing evidence of diet success by taking food supplements.

If you are preparing your summer diet, you should avail yourself of all the information possible before making a purchase decision.

Raspberry ketones are phenolic compounds, a class of natural substances found in plants. They are part of what gives raspberries their delicious aroma and, as a result, are used in small amounts as flavourings (in such things as carbonated drinks, ice-cream and cosmetics) and perfumes.

The link with raspberry ketones and burning calories started about 15 years ago with strong evidence that these compounds had a powerful effect on lipolysis (fat metabolism).

In 2005, in Japan, experiments on mice on a high-fat diet found that those given raspberry ketones metabolised fat more quickly, reducing their fat levels. A later Korean study on fat in test-tubes provided more evidence that the phenolic compounds sped up fat metabolism. There have also been tests on rats and rabbits but still the well being industry waits for conclusive answers.

The most famous of all is a feature on the Dr. Oz show where raspberry ketones were shown to break down fat molecules thus assisting weight loss. Dr. Oz called raspberry ketone supplements a “miracle in a bottle”.

While most well being experts would probably agree that it is likely that raspberry ketone diet supplements would affect fat metabolism in humans, there is naturally a healthy caution about the correct dosage for safe weight loss. This is thought to be 500-600mg per day. Some fruit extracts containing raspberry ketones have a history of significant use within the EU, prompting the UK’s FSA to update its previous blanket advice on the ‘novel food’ classification of the compounds.

Healthy living is not always a clear cut issue, and we must always work together to balance the needs for calorie control and overall well being. Of course, any supplements should only ever be used as part of a healthy diet.

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Why eating dark chocolate is good for you

Eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate may positively affect your health and well being…

It is Easter time and we all enjoy indulging ourselves. Lucky for us, dark chocolate is the food to do just that without all the negative effect of other sweet foods. It sounds like a dieters nightmare but eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate (minimum 85% cocoa) will actually positively affect your health.

Dark chocolate contains flavanols such as Theobromine which make arteries produce Nitric Oxide that helps improve blood flow to the heart and reduce the calcification of arteries thus lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of blood clots and other cardiovascular diseases.

Dark chocolate contains Phenylalanine which encourages the release of endorphins creating feelings of happiness. It can also improve cognitive function by increasing the blood flow to the brain. Dark chocolate also contains small amounts of caffeine which has been shown to help with concentration and energy levels making you feel more alert and focused.

Dark chocolate is packed with anti oxidants. Anti oxidants help combat free radicals which are reactive molecules in our bodies that cause damage to surrounding cells. It is believed that free radicals may cause certain cancers and speed up the ageing process. Eating dark chocolate may slow down ageing as well as reduce the risk of cancer.

Dark chocolate is rich in vitamins and minerals. It contains high concentrations of Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper and Manganese. It is also an excellent source of fiber which makes it great for the digestive system and feeling full thus assisting weight loss efforts.

It should be noted that dark chocolate also contains plenty of calories and sugar therefore it is best to keep to one bar a week for maximum benefits.

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Tips to help your weight loss diet

Find out how to boost your weight loss efforts when dieting just isn’t enough. Read more…

Our weight loss supplements can markedly increase your metabolic rate. However, the only permanent way to increase your metabolism so you burn more calories is to decrease fat content in your body and increase the proportion of muscle. Every pound of muscle added to the body burns an additional 35 to 50 calories per day.

Power training or even light weight bearing exercise is essential to muscle gain, which over time will help strip away fat by burning extra calories.

Other tried and tested methods include:

Chewing gum – On a recent study it was discovered that chewing a sugar free gum during the day can increase the daily energy consumption resulting in a weight drop of around 10 lbs over one year. For even better results try a 5-HTP gum which will help keep the serotonin levels boosted and experience well being while the caloric intake is reduced.

Eating spicy foods – Hot dishes such as curries will temporarily increase the body temperature and make the heart beat faster. The results are increased metabolism and sweating which will both contribute towards weight loss. Taking supplements containing chilli or pepper extracts will provide similar effects.

Drinking green tea – There have been several studies on the effect of green tea for weight loss. In experiments, a green tea extract taken with caffeine appeared to raise thermogenesis (the rate at which calories are burned off as heat) whereas caffeine alone didn’t have the same effects. The researchers believe a substance called catechin in green tea may be what causes the positive effect.

Eating little and often – Splitting the total daily calorie intake into 5 smaller meals may help burn more calories than eating 3 bigger meals. Every time we eat, the digestion process uses energy. Repeating this process 5 times a day rather than 3  will result in more calories being burned. An important point to note is that the total calorie intake must be the same for regardless of how many meals are consumed.

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How will Green Coffee accelerate weight loss?

It’s being hailed as a revolutionary weight-loss product that can melt pounds without the need for diet or exercise.

It’s no coincidence green coffee bean extract surged in popularity since being mentioned on The Dr. Oz Show. After being scrutinised by critics for calling green coffee bean extract a “miracle” product, Dr. Mehmet Oz conducted his own experiment on the supplement. Using 100 female volunteers, Oz said he found women who took the extract lost an average of two pounds in two weeks. Women who took a placebo lost an average of one pound during those two weeks.

What is it?

Green coffee beans are ones that haven’t been roasted. Green coffee beans are rich in chlorogenic acid, which studies claim slows the release of glucose into the body after a meal, thereby promoting weight loss. When coffee beans are roasted, most of the chlorogenic acid is lost. The unroasted extract with chlorogenic acid, is converted into a capsule form before being sold as a weight loss supplement.

The claims

Just type “green coffee bean extract” into an Internet search and you’ll be bombarded with companies advertising its ability to help you lose weight. Most of these products are unregulated and contain little to no chlorogenic acid. Our Green Coffee contains a genuine 20% chlorogenic acid as well as a helping of Green Tea which has been studied extensively for promoting weight loss.

A particular study, published in the journal Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, was conducted on eight men and eight women. They were each given a high dose and a low dose of green coffee bean extract, as well as a placebo, in three separate six-week-long experiments. Participants were provided a similar number of calories each day during the course of the experiment.

After 22 weeks, or about five months, the researchers found that, on average, participants lost more than 17 pounds.

The catch

Although results have been very positive, studies have shown that taking Green Coffee or indeed any other supplements will not work unless a change in diet and lifestyle is made. There simply are no magic pills that will melt fat without any effort. Granted there are prescription weight loss pills that will make you lose weight. These however come with many side effects and once a course is finished, you are almost guaranteed to pile the pounds back on.

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Love Your Body: Detox Your Body

Yoga leads to wellness of both your body and mind.

Yoga helps achieve control over yourself and this well being exercise has been practised to stay healthy and live a long life. Performing various yoga poses, helps detoxify the body by getting rid of toxins that you would have accumulated through food, water and air.

Take a look at our top tips for Yoga and take time out to love the body your in!:

Find a good teacher

It is much easier and more enjoyable, to learn yoga, with all its detailed and subtle physical and mental aspects, from a real person, rather than from a book or video.

Respect your body

Don’t push yourself to do anything that feels dangerous or wrong for you. The practice of non-harm exercise, is essentially skillful and beneficial to the practice of yoga.

Create your own space

Always leave space between yourself and others so that if you topple over, you don’t knock over your neighbour too. There is a certain etiquette of respectful awareness of sharing space with others that is a lovely part of yoga practice.

Change your diet and lifestyle

Fit your diet around your lifestyle. Ensure to eat healthy and drink plenty of water before and after your exercise. Yoga is also about cleansing inside and out. Eat clean and you will feel clean.

Purchase the look

Work our in comfortable clothing which reflects how you feel, ensure it’s loose fitting and comfortable. There’s nothing worse than doing Yoga in a tight fitting outfit. Trust us it will help you reach that relaxed and happy state.

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Juice It!

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Miranda Kerr and Nicole Ritchie swear by the health benefits of the juice diets…

The western world has been encouraged, with key celebrity names at the forefront, to try juice diets. With many variations and the health benefits going through the roof, it’s the easiet way to get your 5-a-day fix! In times when sitting down for a long dinner seems like a luxury, a tall glass of juice tends to make up for time as well as nourishment.

All you need is a selection of fresh fruit and vegtables in rainbow colours and a hard working blender to kick start the benefits.. The blender will slowly crush the fruit or vegetables; ending up with healthy and highly-enriched juice, with preserved colour and nutrients.

You absorb all the goodness – Cooking and boiling the ingredients, lead to the destruction of a majority of the vital anti-oxidants. Juicing helps prevent this loss and fortifies your dietary intake with a well rounded ingestion of all necessary nutrients.

More Is More – Carrots, Spinach, Kale and Brocolli; all in one sitting? All you got to do is throw together all of the infamous leafy veggies into the blender and you won’t even recognize them anymore. Try it today!

Drink Up Quick! – Juice only what you need. Under highly monitored conditions, vegetable juice can stay fresh for a maximum of 24 hours due to its unpasteurized nature. After this time span, the nutritional value declines steadily and the taste will also suffer.

Try our favourite juice recipe below:

The ABC juice
1 apple
2 beets
3 large carrots
1 (1-inch) piece of ginger
Spinach or kale (optional)