Archive for November 17th, 2009

Supplements That Really Work

First off, you do not need supplements in order to gain muscle. Supplements make a 20% difference in your results. It’s the hard work, eating whole foods and recovery that is the other 80% to you reaching your goals. There are many people that are muscular without taking supplements, but honestly most of us do not have the time and/or the dedication it takes to eat a balanced diet and work out consistently. This is where supplements come in to play. Supplements do not build muscle for us, but it helps our body receive the nutrients we are lacking to build muscle.  

You still need to eat properly, work hard in the gym and rest in order to build muscle.    The question many people ask is, "there are so many supplements out there, what should I take?" The answer is not very simple because each supplement is designed to do different things. Everybodys body reacts differently to a supplement depending on each person’s needs and bodily chemistry. With that being said, there are 4 supplements that every person needs and you will find them in the cabinet of any bodybuilders home:  Multivitamins, Protein Powder, Creatine,  and EFA’s      

 

Multi Vitamin 

With all the processed foods inundating our supermarkets, it’s almost impossible to get all your nutritional requirements from food alone. Even if you eat nothing but whole foods, you would have to eat a large amount of food to meet all your nutritional requirements due to the inferior soils used today.   

Your body is a complex machine that conducts millions of functions simultaneously. Each nutrient contributes to thousands of essential reactions that make these functions possible such as B12 for healthy red blood cell production, Iodine for thyroid regulation, and B6 for protein metabolism. Being deficient in just one nutrient is detrimental to thousands of chemical reactions within your body, which in turn will make it much harder for your body to run at its full potential.  

People who put their bodies under physical stress 3-4 days a week have a higher nutritional requirement than people who live a sedentary lifestyle. I’m sure you’ve noticed after a hard workout you’re very hungry.  It’s your body telling you it is low on fuel and needs to be replenished.   To make sure my body is not lacking in nutrients, I like to take multivitamins with a higher potency for two reasons:   

  1. Some multivitamins use inferior ingredients and not all of that 4000% Daily Value of Riboflavin or whatever it may say will be digested by your body.   On the higher potency multi vitamins, I sometimes like to split up the dosage throughout the day as there are some people in the medical field that think there are too many nutrients for your body to digest at one time. 
  2. My body’s demands for nutrients on days that I workout are not the same as the days that I rest. I don’t want to be low on any nutrient if my body needs it. I’ve even heard some people on days of extreme stress like to take two doses a day; one in the morning and one after a really hard workout. The good thing about multivitamins are many of the nutrients such as vitamin C and Vitamin B are water soluble and will be excreted out of you, depending on your body’s needs. 

A good multivitamin I would suggest is Animal Pak by Universal Nutrition.   It is made with ingredients that are easily digestible by the body and they contain a good balance between key nutrients for building muscle, minerals for performance and amino acids for recovery.       

 

Protein powder 

We all know in order to build muscle you need to eat plenty of calories and especially protein. The rule of thumb for protein is to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight for muscle building. With any good muscle building plan, you need to spread those calories into 5-7 meals a day to keep your metabolism high and your nutrient intake steady.  There are some medical professionals who think the body cannot digest more than 35 grams of protein per sitting and therefore is another good reason to spread out your protein intake. With our busy schedules, it is very hard for any of us to eat that many meals a day and the protein shake is the perfect substitute for 2-3 of those meals.      

The three most important times to take a protein shake: 

Morning:  Drink a shake in the morning as soon as you get up because it is quickly digested. Your body has not had any protein for however long you have been sleeping and if your body goes into a catabolic state it starts to eat away your hard earned muscle.  I drink shake as soon as you get up and then 30 minutes later I eat a normal breakfast.   

Pre-workout:  I prefer to take a protein shake before I workout instead of eating a meal because your body digests whey protein powder within an hour as opposed to chicken or fish which takes your body 2 to 2.5 hours to digest. That way I don’t feel bloated at the gym and I know the protein is going straight to my muscles instead of sitting in my stomach waiting to be digested.  

Post workout: This is the absolute most important time to take a protein shake. This is the beginning of the all important "recovery" phase. Your muscles have been broken down from a strenuous workout and you need to get protein to them fast in order to repair and build new muscle.       

It is important to take any protein powder, but I think whey protein is the highest quality protein for building muscle and as a bonus it’s also one the cheapest.    Whey contains all the essential amino acids for building new muscle and is also high in bioavailability so our body can digest a high amount of it. Whey is also high in BCAA which are the amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which help with muscle recovery and muscular breakdown.  You can get a 2 lb jug of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard for under $23 dollars.  

 

Creatine 

Has been known to build muscle since the early 1900′s but, creatine was first introduced to professional athletes during the 1992 Olympics. Many English athletes admitted after the Olympics to training with creatine, which angered other athletes as they disputed that "it gave the English an unfair advantage" as they won gold medals in several track and field events as well as rowing.  No penalties or disqualifications were passed out by the Olympic committee as they discovered creatine is a naturally occurring nutrient found in every skeletal muscle in the body. They also determined that creatine is abundant in foods such as red meat and fish and it would be impossible to determine if an athlete supplemented or attained it from natural food sources.

Over the last 15 years, creatine has been the most used supplement by athletes and people wanting to gain muscle. The popularity of this supplement is not a surprise as the main function of creatine is to give muscles extra energy to perform strenuous activities.  Creatine is essential for short duration, high intensity exercise such as sprints or weight lifting with a max of 8 reps.   When muscles are used to lift weights or to perform any kind of work, ATP is broken down to ADP and energy is released. The amount of ATP stored in the muscle will only fuel a maximum effort such as lifting a weight for 10 to 15 seconds. After that, the muscle must rely on creatine to restock its supply of ATP. Creatine promotes intense lifting by replenishing the necessary energy molecule ATP, but there are also other muscle building effects that make this supplement so popular:

  • Creatine buffers the development of lactic acid so you can train harder and longer.
  • Creatine increases muscle volumization by increasing the amount of water stored in the cells. Do not confuse this with water retention as this is intracellular water storage and not intercellular water retention.   This is important as intracellular water storage boosts hydration, resulting in higher rate of protein synthesis.
  • Studies have shown that creatine decreases mental fatigue by increasing the amount of oxygenated red blood cells into the brain. 
  • Creatine can increase strength by 5-15% over a short period of time.   It’s also not uncommon to gain 5 to 10 lbs in a month.  
  • Creatine increases the amount of growth hormone release during exercise. Your body naturally releases growth hormones as you exercise and creatine allows your body to lift heavier loads more frequently, which naturally causes your body to increase the amount of growth hormone secretion. 

 

Like any other supplement, there is the perfect time and amount to take in order to maximize the effects of creatine.   Many say you should "load" creatine, which means, 5-10 grams a day for 5-7 days, but I don’t think you have to do this in order to achieve your desired results. You may achieve your results faster by "loading" your body with creatine, but if you add it to your sports drink before and after your workouts, you will gradually achieve the same results.   Absorption time depends on if you take it on an empty stomach and if you take it with a simple sugar like juice or a sports drink. 

Creatine only stays in your system for 1 to 1.5 hours and if it is not used it is excreted out of your body. To maximize the short saturation period, you should take 5-10 grams of creatine 45 minutes to an hour before your workouts so your workout coincides with the saturation period. You should also take 5-10 grams post workout as you want to keep your muscles inundated with creatine during the "anabolic window". 

Creatine is a must-use supplement because it provides all these muscle building benefits with very minimal adverse side effects. In the early years it was thought that creatine damages your kidneys as it is processed and excreted out of the body through the kidneys, but later research has debunked those claims. Actual side effects are minimal but, in some cases it can cause cramping and an upset stomach. If you drink plenty of water and don’t take creatine on a completely empty stomach, this should eradicate those issues.   

 

Essential Fatty Acids 

Are important for overall health as well as to gain muscle. There are 2 families of EFA’s, Omega 3 and Omega 6.     EFA’s are fats that cannot be produced by the body and therefore must be obtained through our diet. 

Omega 3 and Omega 6 assist with many essential bodily functions:

Heart health- Improves heart rhythm, a mild blood thinner and slows the heart rate.

Vascular health- Increases blood vessel flexibility.

Cell Regulation – Regulates many processes in the cell such as oxygen use, electron transportation and energy production.

Increase Testosterone- Required for healthy testes function.

Improve insulin action- Helps to balance blood sugar levels.

Increase fat burning- Many studies have shown that test groups taking EFA’s lose more fat and retain muscle as opposed to the placebo group.  

Lower cholesterol- Helps transport cholesterol in the blood stream.

Anti inflammatory- Low grade inflammation (type people cannot feel) increases the risk of diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity and many other conditions.

Strengthen Immune system- Promote syntheses of hormones that are responsible for a healthy immune system.

Shorten recovery time- Help reduce fatigue by helping nutrients pass through cell membranes.

Brain development and function- Needed for proper nerve transmission in the brain. As you can see EFA’s are extremely important for overall health.  

EFA’s are also referred to as Fish Oil as a majority of the food sources are obtained from fish and shellfish. You can also find EFA’s in small amounts in food sources such as flaxseed, hemp oil, soya oil, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, leafy vegetables. Widespread food processing has reduced the amount of Omega 3′s that are available from these food sources so it is important to supplement with EFA’s in order to get the recommended daily amount of 1,000-3,000 mg a day. 

 

Conclusion

None of these products contain dangerous hormones or any substances that are not already in your body. These supplements contain nutrients that help your body release muscle building chemicals naturally and safely. By supplementing these nutrients, you’ll be sure your body is working at 100% capacity even if your diet it not perfect.

These 4 supplements will not replace hard work, but combined with a good diet and a workout routine you will be sure to see great results. Like I mentioned earlier, you don’t need supplements in order to gain muscle, but they will help you achieve your goals faster. 

StayFitNutrition.com wants to educate people that supplements are not just for body builders or athletes, but for anybody who want to live a healthy, happy life. At StayFitNutrition.com we have brand name supplements at discounted prices. Lowest Prices, best service and fastest shipping is our commitment to you.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/supplements-that-really-work-1470538.html

 

What’s the News on Fish Oil Skin Remedies?

Everywhere you look you see information on the benefits of fish oil. The news is talking about it, the internet is a buzz and all the magazines at the grocery store have articles on it.

Everyone is talking about the fish oil skin connection — so, let’s check out some of the benefits.

We all want to keep the fresh glow on our skin. But how can we do that?

Let’s face it; life can be pretty hectic with all the things that our lives demand. And, one of those things that is so hard to do when things get crazy is to eat properly.

It is so much easier to eat prepackaged food than to cook something for yourself. This is usually when our skin starts to show the stress of our lifestyle.

A fish oil (omega3) supplement is one of the best ways to enrich the complexion of your skin. And the great thing is it is easy to take.

Omega 3 comes in capsules that you can take with you. So whether you’re at home or not at home enjoying a healthy meal it’s easy to make sure you’re getting your omega 3.

Natural ingredients in omega3 help to boast collagen levels in the skin. A healthy level of collagen in your body promotes skin elasticity. With great skin elasticity, wrinkles have a hard time forming.

There is no doubt about it, if you want to improve the condition of your skin, fish oil may be the solution you are looking for. People from all over the world have discovered the benefits of this supplement.

The great news is that not only will it improve your skin it will provide many other benefits. Take this opportunity to discover the fish oil skin remedy that everyone else already knows. Visit my website today if you’re interested in learning more about omega3 and natural, high-quality products I use and recommend.

Marcia Kruger is a researcher, editor and believer in a natural healthy lifestyle that includes quality nutritional supplements and skin care. Marcy enjoys introducing people to quality omega3 fish oils she uses daily.




Visit her latest site natural-omega3-fish-oils today to learn about the benefits of omega3 fish oils.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/whats-the-news-on-fish-oil-skin-remedies-1470198.html

 

Strengthen Willpower to Eat Less

You’ve heard of exercising your muscles to lose weight. But how about exercising your willpower?

Picture it. You’re slim. You didn’t use to be slim. But you learned how to exercise your willpower. Now, you eat less. You can pass up the gooey chocolate dessert. You can eat a few crispy steak fries, then decide to quit. You have self control around food. And, you’re slim.

Research by Roy Baumeister at the University of Florida reveals that self control is like a muscle. This actually makes sense–we all know that self control can suffer from fatigue, like a muscle. Think of how hard it is to keep your patience, go to the gym, or resist comfort foods at the end of a long day. When you’re tired, self control is weaker.

But did you also know that self control can be developed and strengthened, just like a muscle? Challenge it a little, let it rest, and then challenge it again. Just as your quads grow stronger when you drop into a set of squats every day, your self control grows stronger with every little challenge.

Sounds great, but how exactly do you exercise and challenge your willpower? You can’t exactly pop your willpower onto the treadmill. Start by turning one distant, long-term weight-loss goal into many smaller, short-term eating goals, which are easier to achieve. For instance, if you’re faced with a snack attack, your short-term eating goal would be to eat some fresh fruit and try to hold out against the chips and cookies for, say, 15 minutes. When you make it through those 15 minutes eating only fruit, you’ve succeeded. You’ve also exercised and strengthened your willpower.

Willpower can also be boosted when it’s depleted: a short nap or rest, a small snack that includes some fresh fruit or whole grain carbohydrates, something that makes you laugh, or any other kind of “pick me up” that works for you.

Each food encounter we have during the day is an opportunity to strengthen willpower, just like a trip to the gym for your quads. If you need extra motivation to meet those individual food challenges with success, get some support. Over time your willpower will grow stronger, you’ll have more self control around food, and you’ll be slim–just like you pictured.

YoDiet is the personal trainer for your willpower. YoDiet’s YoCoaches call you frequently throughout the day, with brief, automated messages of support and to check in on your recent eating decisions. Each coach call acts to reduce a long-term weight-loss goal into a short-term eating goal, creating many opportunities for success

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/strengthen-willpower-to-eat-less-1468908.html

 

Importance of thyme

Users of Thyme should know that it is also called as a herb.  Sometimes in  common usage the name thyme refers to all members of the plant genus thymus, common thyme, thymus vulgaris, and many other species.  Readers should know that in ancient egyptians thyme was used for embalming .  People of greeks is having the usage of thyme in their baths and burnt as incense in the temples thinking that thyme is a source of courage. Not only this european middle ages the thyme herb was used to place under pillows for aiding in sleep and ward off the nightmares. Greek people used thyme as incense and placing it on coffins during funeral as it was believed easy passage of the person into the next life.

Consumers should know that thyme is famous for good source of iron and is largely used in cooking. The thyme herb is an important ingredient in many nations such as Greek, Lebanese, Italian, French, Albanian, Persian, Portuguese, Libyan, Spanish, Syrian, and Turkish foods . Sometimes it is found to be used in Arab and Caribbean cuisines.  Users of thyme is used to flavour meats, soups and stews in daily diets. Not only this it has a specific affinity too and is frequently used as a primary flavour with lamb, tomatoes and eggs.  Thyme when act as flavourful not shows the properties of getting overpower and it also blends well with many other herbs and spices. In certain Levantine countries, the condiment za’atar  is having  thyme as an important ingredient their cuisines. Thyme is considered as most common component of bouquet garni and herbes de Provence.

People who loves the benefits of thyme should know that it is sold in both as fresh and dried forms. Consumers should understand that the fresh form  of thyme is found to be more flavourful along with less convenient, and the storing life is hardly more than a week. It is found that the most important oil of common thyme is generally made up of 20-54% thymol. One should know that thymol act as an antiseptic which is used as main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash .  Before the formation of modern antibiotics thyme was used as to medicate bandages. Consumers should know that thyme was  also been shown to be effective against the fungus which used to infects toenails of the body. So one should know that thyme is also used as tea for the treatment of cough and bronchitis.  Medicinally thyme is having the usages in the treatment of respiratory infections in the form of tincture, tisane, salve, syrup and through steam inhalation.

To read about thymian and other information, visit the l-carnitin site.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/importance-of-thyme-1468627.html

 

Fish Oil and Hair Health – Help Prevent Hair Loss and Maintain Vibrant Healthy Hair with Omega 3 Oil

It may surprise you to know that one of the ever growing lists of benefits of omega 3 is the fish oil and hair health connection. It is the down to the main fatty acid, DHA, that’s responsible for giving you vibrant hair and helps to prevent you from losing it.

There are so many lotions and potions about to prevent hair loss with only a handful able to genuinely help. But the fish oil and hair connection is different, being completely natural and providing you with a wealth of other important benefits too.

Studies have shown that it’s the DHA fatty acids that are so important and help to restore the hair and keep the follicles healthy. The strong anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties can significantly help to maintain healthy skin, hair and nail too.

With over 90% of the population being deficient in these essential oils, it’s no wonder hair loss is on the increase with over 80 million men and women in the US alone experiencing it.

To get the full effects and the other benefits including lower cholesterol, improved brain health and vision, prevention of heart disease and improved skin texture and health to name just a few, it’s important to select the best oil.

 As I mentioned earlier, you need as much DHA fatty acids as possible, twice as much in fact as the other less useful one called EPA. Each fish oil capsule should contain at least 270mg of DHA and 110mg of EPA otherwise you will be robbed of the many benefits.

Also check the oil has been molecularly distilled to get rid of all the poisons like mercury and lead which the fish carry and which many supplements still contain.

If you want to maintain good health and strong and vibrant hair, then as we have seen, fish oil and hair health are a perfect match and with more discoveries being made all the time, this is possibly the most effective natural substance on the planet for our health.

If you would like to learn more about the high quality DHA omega 3 supplements I personally take daily, visit my website today.

Discover the best omega-3 fish oil today.

Rich Hawkins is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and the amazing health benefits of high-quality fish oil. Take a moment to visit his site now at www.best-omega-3-supplement.com and discover the latest DHA omega 3 fish oils he recommends after extensive research.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/fish-oil-and-hair-health-help-prevent-hair-loss-and-maintain-vibrant-healthy-hair-with-omega-3-oil-1465683.html

 

Purchase Acai Berry – what to have in mind?

Want to purchase Acai Berry?? Before you take out your debit card, please check out the following facts. These can help you for sure the next time you would like to purchase Acai Berry pill:

Stay removed from free trial offers. Those are nothing but scams by corporations that simply wish to tear you off and get your hard earned money. You will be put on an automatic re-billing system and every month they will send you new Acai Berry packages and will take away money from your credit card, whether you wish it or not! Free lunch doesn’t exist. Rest assured – if somebody wants to give you Acai free, there’s a catch!

Avoid sites that mention Oprah, Dr Oz.and other celebrities. You should know that those celebrities have not officially endorsed an Acai Berry product. What several corporations do is that they actually use celebrities in order to attract more and more customers who can obtain their products.

Stay away from those websites that use fake before/after images. Today’s computer technology is so advanced that it permits corporations to form very realistic before/after photos, where an individual on a “before” photo looks extremely obese and on the “after” photo looks like a photo model. Don’t believe those photos! Those are all images created on a computer and they’re all fake!

You should find the real contact info on the company’s website. Look for “Contact us” page or similar. It’s important that you find both phone number AND real physical address of a manufacturer. If you’re doubtful concerning something, you better call the company BEFORE you make a purchase. If a company is real and bonafide, they won’t have any issues answering your questions.

Read TOS. Nobody likes to read long pages like that, however you still have to make sure it’s all clear to you.

If Acai Berry pills are low-cost, run away! Keep in mind that Acai Berry pills are not cheap. Expect to pay at least $40-$50 for one month package of Acai Berry pills. So as an example if a manufacturer offers you Acai pills for something like $20, run as fast as you can away from them and don’t look back!

Make sure that Acai pills don’t contain useless fillers, binders and other harmful ingredients. For example, make sure that a Acai pill doesn’t have caffeine in it, as a result of it can provide you bad and unhealthy side effects.

Buy Acai pill that has a minimum of 1,000mg of pure Acai Berry in it. Do not obtain those products that have below 1,000mg of Acai. Ideally look for Acai supplements with 1,500 mg of Acai Berry per serving, that is more than enough for your daily needs.

Look for long cash back guarantee. We advocate you to seek out minimum 6 months cash back guarantee. This way you’ll have enough time to try the product and make sure it works for you. Usually if the company is good and bonafide, they will not have a problem giving you long cash back guarantee.

You would like to see if a product that you are shopping for has the desired Acai certificates (ORAC, COA). Certificate of Analysis is a good way to tell if Acai pill contains real & pure Acai Berry and not some other ingredient. ORAC certificate proves that Acai Berries were freeze dried as soon people picked them up – this is often truly the simplest way to keep all the health benefits that Acai Berry has).

So the next time you wish to buy Acai Berry, have all those above mentioned points in mind and you won’t fail.

Want to find out more? Check out this page now: Purchase Acai Berry

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/purchase-acai-berry-what-to-have-in-mind-1465814.html