Archive for October, 2009

Exploring the Connection Between Acne and Hygiene

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

One of the first things that a person noticing acne on their face or other part of the body is likely to start wondering about is as to what they might have done to make themselves prone to this distressing condition. Opinion on this regard is not likely to be in short supply: as they are bound to find suggestions to the effect that through their dietary and self care practices, they might have done things which made them prone to acne.

With regard to the self-care aspect, a person suffering from acne is likely implicit insinuations to the effect that low standards of hygiene could be one of the factors contributing to their acne problem. But just what impact does hygiene have on acne? In other words, how strong is the acne-hygiene connection?

Well, in order to be in a competent position to understand the acne-hygiene connection, it would be important for us to first acquaint ourselves with the mechanism through which acne occurs. In this regard, it turns out that acne occurs in two main ways. The first way through which acne occurs, and this is the most talked about mechanism for acne, is where the body detects the presence of the acne bacteria on the skin, and in response produces antibodies to combat these bacteria, with the anti-bodies so produced in turn producing a substance that causes the pimples and ultimately blemishes that characterize acne as we know. When we are looking at this first mechanism for acne, it would be expected that poor standards of skin hygiene would play a big role in attracting the bacteria that cause the acne, and indeed, people looking for advice on how to protect themselves from acne are usually advised to maintain high standards of hygiene, if only to make it harder for the bacteria that cause acne to find residence. What is important to note here, though, is that just maintaining high standards of hygiene doesn’t provide complete insurance against this mechanism for acne causation, because the bacteria that was described (and in whose reaction the body ends up manifesting acne) has been known to still go ahead and infect even people maintaining the highest standards of personal hygiene.

The second mechanism through which acne occurs, on the other hand, is where the hair follicles on the skin get entrapped inside the skin, leading to the release of the sebum with which they come attached deep inside the skin, with the sebum so released inside the skin having been known to cause some types of acne affliction, especially those that are characterized by those quite unsightly blackheads and whiteheads. It is towards this particular acne mechanism that skin care seems to have the greatest impact: because poor skin care practices (and utterly low standards of personal hygiene fall here) have been known to cause the blocking of the pores on the skin, ultimately leading to the inability of follicles on the skin to surface, and inevitably leading them to release the sebum in them inside the body – which lead to the acne.

So we can conclude that high standards of skin hygiene, while not an absolute insurance against acne, can nonetheless reduce one’s chances of falling victim to this distressing condition.

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Fat Loss – Metabolism is the Key

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

A piece of fact we have to know is that a lot of folks are overweight nowadays. You may wonder why more people are being overweight these days. In fact, it is basically linked to our lifestyle. We are very busy working. We do not have the time to have exercises. Due to the convenience, we tend to have junk foods. And most people are soda lovers. All this bad habits lead to weight gain!

As a result, a lot of people will have the need to lose fat. Yet, a lot of us do not really know how to do so. Some people may know that it is important to have a diet plan in order to have weight loss. You may also know that you need to have aerobic exercises and weight training. However, do you know why you have to do so?

As a matter of fact, you will need to increase your metabolism if you want to lose fat. The idea behind exercising is to boost your metabolic rate so that you will burn calories and fats a lot faster.

Your diet plan will also affect your metabolism. A lot of people will have a false concept that they will be able to lose weight if they can have only one meal a day. However, you will not have fat loss effectively if you do so. You need to eat in order to get the energy you need. And you will also need energy for metabolism. You will not be burning the energy efficiently if you only have one meal a day.

Your breakfast is extreme important. This is your first meal in the morning. And you have already used a lot of energy since you have not been eating for more than 10 hours. You need to have good breakfast so that you will get the energy your body needs. A good breakfast will help you to boost your metabolic rate. As a result, you can burn fat more efficiently if you can have a really good breakfast every morning.

When it comes to the foods that you should eat, you should go for foods which are rich in protein. Protein can help you to build muscles. And muscle masses can help to boost your metabolic rate. If you can build some muscle masses, your body will become a fat burning machine. To this end, you will certainly know that you can have fat loss easily. Besides protein, you also need to consume fibers. This means that you need to have a lot of vegetables.

Exercising is another point you must remember. You need to have cardio exercises. On one hand, you can boost your metabolic rate while you are having the exercises. On the other hand, you can train you lung and heart. You can become healthier.

You also need to have resistance or weight training. Again, the idea is to help you build muscle masses. You can certainly become a real fat burning machine if you can have regular resistance training!

GM Tsui shares weight loss ideas. He has a website on Healthy Weight Loss. Be sure to check Choose Best Weight Loss Diet Pill and How To Lose Arm Fat.

Quickest Way to Lose Belly Fat

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

All of us want to look good and feel better about ourselves. Due to this, many people who are looking for a healthier lifestyle are looking for the quickest way to lose belly fat. Belly fat is often the quickest to gain and the hardest to lose.

As you are sure to have heard on the news, there is a rising problem with more and more adults being overweight. Statistically speaking, 32% of adults age 20-74 are overweight according to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Strictly speaking from the point of health, being overweight is a know risk factor for diabetes, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, high blood pressure and more. The list goes on and on. If you have existing health problems, being overweight can add to these issues or possibly cause complications that can result in an early death.

European research specialists conducted one of the longest and largest health studies on the world to determine a link between belly fat and early death. What they found was the people with the most belly fat had a very high risk of dying prematurely. This is why it is so important to find the quickest way to lose belly fat and to live a healthier life at a healthier weight.

When faced with a barrage of infomercials with the questionable and unproven gadgets they sell, it is easy to become confused as to what will really work and is the quickest way to lose belly fat. Also heavily advertised is diet after diet with celebrity after celebrity endorsing them. Do these really work? It is hard to separate fact from pure fiction. The truth is, no “miracle” device or celebrity endorsement can build muscle and burn fat. In the endless sea of advertising and news, how do you find what will work best and be healthy for you?

When looking for an effective, easy plan that is healthy and the quickest way to lose belly fat, keep in mind a few things; no matter how many crunches or sit-ups you do, these exercises alone are virtually useless for burning belly fat.

We are always being told that weight loss should be accomplished by a regimen of diet and exercise. Those are two important ingredients to losing weight; however additional factors need to be considered in order to receive the best results. These factors are keeping well hydrated by drinking a lot of water and getting good, quality rest.

For the quickest way to lose belly fat a well thought out and safe plan is the key for weight loss and your body’s healthy transformation. This is plan is for you. It is easy to follow and effective and features:

• Quick and progressive resistant training exercises with intensity

• A diet plan that is full of nutrient rich foods

• Drinking water throughout the day

• Getting rest through quality sleep and relaxation

The bottom line is a simple and easy plan incorporating all of these factors will help you attain the best results.

Elle West is a nutritionist and diet consultant. She also creates personalized fitness and diet programs for her clients.

South Beach Diet, Does It Work?

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Everyone has heard of the South Beach Diet. Created by a cardiologist, this diet was originally designed to improve heart health. As a wonderful side effect, it also caused relatively quick and easy weight loss. While it’s considered a fad diet or a diet craze by many, a great many people, including health experts, are impressed by the South Beach Diet and its measured approach to eating and weight loss.

Unlike low-fat diets, the South Beach Diet emphasizes healthy, good-for-you fats in the place of saturated fats and trans fats, which we now know are the worst possible type of fats you can eat. Good fats like those found in certain fish and things like olive oil are stressed over other types. These monounsaturated fats are necessary for good health and don’t come with the dangerous artery-clogging effects of trans and saturated fats.

The South Beach Diet also isn’t necessarily low carb. Instead of just limited carbohydrate intake to a minimal amount like most low carb diets, instead this diet focuses on something called the GI, or Glycemic Index. This index measures how quickly the carbohydrates in certain foods cause blood sugar to rise, and how high it rises.

This is a relatively new approach to carbohydrates and one that’s proving beneficial to the many people who’ve chosen this diet and other GI-based diets. Though you do restrict your carbohydrate intake a great deal during the first couple of weeks of the diet, that’s essentially to jump start your progress and get you used to a different way of eating. But then carbs that are lower GI are reintroduced after the 2-week period is over. So technically, this diet is a good carb diet rather than a low carb one.

How does this low GI concept help you lose weight? When you eat a carbohydrate that has a high GI like candy or a piece of cake, the carbohydrates are broken down into sugars very quickly. These sugars hit your bloodstream rapidly. This causes your blood sugar to elevate rapidly and will usually drive it very high. So your body produces insulin and releases it into your bloodstream to remove the sugar.

Because the sugar spiked, the insulin is produced rapidly too, and will often remove too much sugar. This causes your blood sugar to dip lower than it was before, making you feel hungry and even making you crave something sweet. This is believed to be the process that causes junk food cravings, even after you’ve only eaten junk food not long before. Carbohydrates like those in flour and flour products like bread and pasta absorb quickly. Sugar and sweet foods also absorb very quickly.

Some carbohydrates don’t absorb quickly. The sugars and carbs found in fruit and some whole grains like oatmeal, for instance, are released into your bloodstream more slowly. Following the South Beach Diet and eating these lower GI foods helps keep your blood sugar more stable and you avoid the insulin release that causes cravings, fat retention and other health problems.

Elle West is a nutritionist and diet consultant. She also creates personalized fitness and diet programs for her clients.