Sunday, April 8, 2007

The Nutritional Legacy Of The Atkins Plan

Doctor Atkins was a real live cardiologist who was interested
in alternative healthcare and in ways to help his patients lose
weight. In the 1970s, he wrote a relatively famous book, "Dr.
Atkins Diet Revolution". In his book, he wrote of a diet
recommendation that was completely different from the
traditional diets of his day. His book was very popular and
many sought "The Atkins' Diet" as a way to keep eating protein
and fat, while avoiding carbohydrates.

The Atkins Plan was very controversial. It was so high in fat
and protein that other cardiologists often refused to use it as
it was felt to raise the fat and cholesterol in the diet. Some
doctors felt the diet was a "heart attack waiting to happen".
Even in the 1970s, doctors knew that cholesterol was bad and
that it caused arterial plaques to form in the heart, resulting
in a heart attack. While good ways to lower cholesterol weren't
known back then, a diet low in fat was felt to be a way to
reverse the effects of heart disease.

The Atkins Plan was also high in protein. Protein isn't
inherently bad, especially for body builders, but few
nutritionists recommend eating it in high amounts. A high
protein diet can cause kidney disease and even gouty arthritis.
The meat group used so much in the Atkins diet is actually
recommended in limited amounts for those wanting to lose weight
by most nutritionists.

Carbohydrates are to be limited, said Dr. Atkins. He felt
dieters should count carbohydrates on his diet and eat very
little bread or pasta. The only carbohydrates recommended were
those found in fresh vegetables like salads, often served with
fat rich salad dressing.

In one Atkins menu, it was recommended on one diet plan to eat
as many pork rinds as you wanted, using a tuna salad as a
dressing. When was the last time that a weight loss diet
included unlimited pork rinds? Pork rinds are considered one
of the worst snack foods out there, much less something you
should eat for lunch.

There were those who waited to see what would happen to Atkins
himself because of his own adherence to the Atkins diet. In
fact, Dr. Atkins did develop a form of cardiomyopathy. While
his family said it was unrelated to the diet, this is a fact
that could never be proved. A year later, at the age of 72, he
slipped on the ice in front of his office and diet of brain
trauma. The status of his coronary arteries remains unknown.

In today's time, it is well established that heart disease can
be prevented by lowering cholesterol and fat. While we have
medications for this condition, dieticians recommend a low fat
diet for those at risk for heart disease, including diabetics.
The Atkins diet plan flies in the face of these recommendations,
and yet, there are still dieters today who use the Atkins diet
for weight loss.

About The Author: http://www.atkinsinfosite.com/atkins.html
brings you the latest news on atkins. Atkins is gaining in
popularity and we want to bring you the most up-to-date
information online. Also check out our latest information page
at http://www.atkinsinfosite.com

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Mens Vitamins - Learn Which Key Nutrients Every Man Needs

Because of the great biological demands on a man's body, it is
essential to consider using some formulation of men's vitamins.
First, it is important to understand that the word vitamin these
days is used interchangeably to refer to not only vitamins, but
also minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids, enzymes, herbs and
a whole host of other specialty nutritional supplements.

Because each gender has their own set of nutritional and
metabolic needs, it is vital that men choose vitamins
specifically designed for them. Males require a number of
specialty nutrients that just are not available from diet
alone. Because of this, it important to choose a men's vitamin
that meets all of your nutritional needs.

Key Nutrients:

In men's health, the main concerns include enlarged prostate,
prostate cancer and gynomastia (enlarged breast tissue). As a
man ages, they creates less testosterone, furthermore, a large
share of the testosterone they do produce is converted to
estrogen. Because of this, their breast tissue might begin to
enlarge and they may see a decrease in libido. Many of the
pharmaceutical drug therapies used to counteract the effects of
this hormone reduction can cause very serious side effects, the
most severe being accelerated growth in undetected prostate
cancer and liver dysfunction.

One natural way to combat hormonal problems is to make sure the
men's vitamins you are taking include the bioflavonoid
(isoflavone) Chrysin, a plant extract, which naturally helps
inhibit testosterone conversion to estrogen. It is important to
use a supplement that has a chrysin potency of 90 percent or
higher. Chrysin is an expensive ingredient so most supplements
contain it at paltry potencies and tiny dose amounts. Avoid
these products.

Zinc is another important component of the mens vitamin
supplement you choose. This powerful nutrient has proven
positive effects on prostate health. The most common form of
zinc used in supplements is citrate. While this form is
beneficial, your men's vitamins should contain a healthy dose
of zinc aspartate. Why? Because zinc aspartate travels directly
to the prostate.

The phytonutrient Quercetin also helps to protect against
prostate cancer. It contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
properties to block male hormones that encourage cancer cell
growth. The other well-known and effective prostate nutrients
that must be in your men's vitamin supplement are:

• Beta Sitosterol
• Corn Silk Extracts
• Lycopene
• Saw Palmetto
• Resveratrol

When considering other key components of men's vitamins,
vitamins and minerals are of course important, but in low
doses, and only to fill in nutrient gaps missing in your normal
diet. If a large percentage of your supplement is made up of
large doses of vitamins and minerals then you're not getting
good value for the money. Vitamins and minerals are the
cheapest ingredients in supplements!

Other key components of a quality supplement are:

• Phytonutrients
• Standardized medicinal herbs
• Amino acids
• Standardized enzymes
• Cofactors
• Trace elements
• Male and Female support nutrients
• Special immunity enhancers

Good health starts with a strong immune system. This is your
first line of defense against cancer and other major disease.
In order to keep your immunities up it is important to have a
variety of powerful boosters in your men's health supplements,
including polysaccharides, alpha lipoic acid, turmeric, vitamin
C, vitamin E, beta carotene, vitamin B6, calcium and manganese.

Things To Look For When selecting a Quality Mens Vitamin
Supplement:

The first thing to check is that all herbs are standardized.
This will guarantee the potency and amount of active
ingredients in the supplement you purchase. Many products avoid
using standardized extracts because they are considerably more
expensive.

To ensure that the product is safe, pure and potent, all
unprocessed materials must be sourced from Good Manufacturing
Practices (GMP) registered and audited facilities and all
ingredients must have a Certificate of Analysis (COA) to
confirm their potency. These should be freely available to any
consumer who requests them and their must be a confirmed paper
trail proving the source of all ingredients.

In addition, supplement companies must test all raw materials
prior to manufacture for compliance with the COA and for
microbiological contamination. Finally, be sure the product
does not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives,
fillers or binders, as well as potential allergenic substances
such as lactose, gluten, wheat and yeast.

A quality vitamin supplement for men containing all the
nutrients mentioned above provides an excellent foundation for
your preventative health regime as well as for treating
existing health conditions. By taking steps to ensure that a
supplement is manufactured in accordance with the criteria
listed in this article and has a competitive price, you can
feel confident that you are using a highly efficious and safe
product which offers excellent value for money.

About The Author: Brett Seagrott is a health researcher and
author of http://www.nutritional-supplement-truths.com The site
discusses mens vitamins in greater detail while the main theme
of the site deals with how to evaluate and compare supplements.
It presents in-depth evaluations and comparisons of leading
supplements

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Dr. Atkins' New Diet Recommendations

Since Dr. Atkins died in 2003, his company has released Dr.
Atkins' New Diet Recommendations for those who want to follow
the Atkins' diet. The company went bankrupt in 2005 and during
restructuring of the company, the organization placed an
emphasis on having people use its protein bars and other
dietary items to support the traditional Atkins' diet.

Atkins' new diet recommendations haven't changed much from the
original plan that came out in the 1970s. It still promotes
meat, cheese and fat and disallows much in the way of
carbohydrates. The diet still emphasizes protein over
carbohydrates. What the diet now adds, however, are nutritional
protein bars and protein shakes to a diet which is loaded in
fried meats and eggs.

In some ways the Atkins' new diet recommendations aren't that
much different from those recommendations given to weight
trainers and others who want to bulk up. Since muscles are
made of protein, the addition of protein to the diet is
important. What isn't in the diet of weight trainers is the
degree of fat allowed in the Atkins' diet. Most trainers who
deal with weight training recommend a lower fat diet with the
use of protein shakes or protein bars to supplement the diet.

The Atkins' new diet recommendations include a food pyramid
which is quite a bit different from the usual food pyramid out
there from nutritionists that has the meat and fat group quite
a bit near the top of the pyramid. According to nutritionists,
the general recommendations involve using a food pyramid in
which the fat and meat group are the least types of foods that
should be consumed in a normal, healthy diet.

The use of shakes and protein bars in the Atkins' new diet
recommendations are a diversion away from the original
recommendations that include food which is not processed very
heavily and is cooked very little. The protein bars and the
protein drinks are heavily processed, which doesn't make them
very healthy on the whole. Plus a person can consume a great
number of protein bars in a day, increasing the total caloric
intake.

In the Atkins' new diet plan, sugars are to be avoided as much
as possible, while eggs, cheese and meat products are the
primary focus of the diet. Meals are usually three times a day
but now the protein shakes or protein bars can be used as snacks
or for people on the run, such as at work or in the car.

There has been a lot of criticism of the Atkins' new diet plan
as there has been criticism of the entire program since Dr.
Atkins' book came out in the 1970s. Most of the criticism has
come from cardiologists who feel that the high fat, high
protein intake promotes hyperlipidemia and heart attacks. Those
who have high cholesterol or high triglycerides would
potentially worsen their entire condition by consuming a diet
so high in fat and in fatty meats.

About The Author:
http://www.atkinsinfosite.com/atkinsnewdiet.html brings you the
latest news on the atkins new diet. The atkins new diet is
gaining in popularity and we want to bring you the most
up-to-date information online. Also check out our latest
information page at http://www.atkinsinfosite.com

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Omega-3 Fatty Acids:"The Most Important Dietary Supplement You Can Take"

Those are the words of Leigh Connealy, MD, who I interviewed
for my new book, The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy: Drug-Free
Remedies To Help You Safely Lose Weight, Shed Fat, Firm Up, And
Feel Great.

Dr. Connealy is the medical director of the South Coast Medical
Center for New Medicine, in Tustin, California.
(www.scmedicalcenter.com)

There, she and her staff have counseled thousands of people how
to be healthier through natural means—including using vitamins
and herbs as aids to weight-loss, the subject of my book.

But along with telling me about supplements that can aid
weight-loss, Dr. Connealy was very keen to tell me about the
supplement she feels is the most important for better health:
omega-3 fatty acids.

"I put every patient I see on a supplement of omega-3 fatty
acids," she says. "It is the most important supplement a person
can take." Why?

Omega-3s, she explains, strength the membrane, or outer
covering, of the cell. This aids in cell-to-cell communication,
a crucial process in health.

Omega-3 also decreases inflammation, which is linked to many
different diseases, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis,
and Alzheimer's. In fact, omega-3 plays a role in every
physiological function in the body, says Dr. Connealy.

There are two kinds of Omega-3 supplements: fish oil
supplements, rich in DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA
(eicosahexaenoic acid); and plant-derived supplements, rich in
ALA (alpha-linoleic acid), a fatty acid that converts to DHA
and EPA in the body. Talk to your doctor or other qualified
health professional to determine which would be best for you.

I wrote The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy with Harry Preuss, MD, a
professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, a top
researcher with more than 300 scientific studies to his credit,
a nutritionist, and an expert in natural remedies for health. In
writing about omega-3, we reviewed literally hundreds of studies
showing that the nutrient can strengthen the heart, boost
emotional well-being, improve memory and learning, and decrease
joint pain. Here are three impressive examples:

Heart attack. In a study conducted by Italian researchers, more
than 11,000 people who had suffered a heart attack took an
omega-3 supplement or underwent another type of medical,
dietary or nutritional therapy. Among those who took omega-3,
there were 30 percent fewer deaths and 20 percent fewer heart
attacks.

Arthritis pain. Neurosurgeons at the University of Pittsburgh
gave fish oil supplements to 120 arthritis patients with neck
or back pain. After seventy-five days, 68 percent of the
patients had stopped taking prescription pain medications.

Manic depression. People with manic depression (bipolar
disorder) were given either EPA supplements or a placebo for
several weeks. Those who took EPA had significantly less
depression and mania. EPA is "an effective and well-tolerated
intervention in bipolar depression" wrote the researchers, in
the British Journal of Psychology.

In writing The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy, Dr. Preuss decided on
a science-based approach to recommending brands of supplements:
if a brand had been shown to work in a scientific study, it was
the brand to recommend. For omega-3, Dr. Preuss recommends the
brand Nordic Naturals, which has been researched at Duke
University, the University of California-Davis, Texas A&M
University, Oregon Health Science University, Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center in New York, and many other universities,
hospitals and research institutions.

If you'd like to learn more about omega-3—and about vitamins
and herbs for weight-loss—please consider reading The Natural
Fat-Loss Pharmacy. You can find out more about it—and all my
books on health and healing—at www.drugfreehealing.com.

About The Author: Yours for better health, Bill Gottlieb,
author The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy and Alternative Cures (1.5
million copies sold) billgottlieb@drugfreehealing.com
http://www.drugfreehealing.com

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Vitamins For Women - Cutting Through The Clutter

When reading about female health issues, invariably the subject
of vitamins for women will come up. With so many options,
choosing the right vitamins can be a web of confusion. First,
it is important to understand that the word vitamin is usually
used interchangeably to describe not only vitamins, but also
minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids, enzymes, herbs and a
whole host of other nutritional supplements.

Women's Nutritional Needs

Because of their unique nutritional needs at various times in
their life cycle, women require gender specific nutrients when
it comes to vitamins for women. To maintain a healthy diet, the
average female requires five to eight daily servings of fruits
and vegetables. This is no simple task given the typical diet
of women today and the stressful lifestyles most lead. It has
been reported that nearly half do not eat any fruit and 80
percent only eat leafy green veggies, which contain protein,
fiber and antioxidants, once every four days. Furthermore,
consider the fact that vegetables have lost much of their
nutritional composition in the last 60 years. A good example is
spinach. 100g of spinach has lost 137mg of its vitamin C content
since 1950.(Japan standardized ingredients list).

When your body doesn't get the nutrients it eventually develops
marginal deficiencies which can produce a whole host of
problems. Some of the more common include:

• Mood swings
• Fatigue
• Nervousness
• Headaches
• Confusion
• Muscle weakness

And, with sustained nutrient deficiencies, the average person
puts themselves at risk for serious diseases, such as cancer,
hypertension, Alzheimer's and heart disease.

So, if the average diet is unable to supply the all nutrients
needed in sufficient daily amounts, what can a woman do to make
sure her body is protected? The answer is really quite simple -
sensible supplementation. By taking supplements with the
correct balance of vitamins for women, along with a wide range
of all types of micro-nutrients, a female will be able to keep
her body in balance, stay energetic and remain disease free.

High Vitamin Doses Not Required!

Before you rush out to purchase a multi vitamin and mineral
formulation, it is important to remember that if you already
maintain a reasonable diet, you don't need supplements with
high doses of vitamins and minerals.

Most vitamin supplements available in the market contain way
over the top dose amounts of vitamins and minerals. These are
the cheapest ingredients in supplements! While they are
important, they are only required in small amounts. Far more
important are the amounts of key phytonutrients and herbal
extracts contained in a supplement.

Derived from plant extracts, high potency phytonutrients are
powerful, antioxidant disease fighters. While there are many
vitamins for women type products containing some phytonutrients
and standardized herbal extracts, most are manufactured to a
price and can't afford to include enough nor in sufficient
potencies to be of benefit.

Clinical studies have shown certain nutrients to be
particularly effective and beneficial in treating numerous
health conditions and for preventative health measures;

• L-Glutathione
• Blueberry
• Bilberry
• Resveratrol
• Turmeric
• Zeaxanthin

L-Glutathione – A Key Ingredient!

L-Gluthathione is the most abundant antioxidant enzyme in your
body, and crucial for cell health and organ survival. As a
person ages, their production of this vital substance
decreases. However, because of its exorbitant cost ($800 / kilo
wholesale) most supplements do not include it in their list of
ingredients.

Supplements containing L-Glutathione must contain the 'reduced'
form of the enzyme so that it can penetrate the intestinal cell
walls. Supplement manufacturers often cut costs by including
the much cheaper 'regular' form which offers extremely low
absorption levels. L-Glutathione is highly susceptible to
destruction by stomach acid so any supplement containing it
must be enteric coated.

Hormone Balancing Herbs

In addition to phytonutrients, herbal extracts are key
ingredients in vitamins for women products. Certain herbs help
to maintain and/or re-balance hormone levels during
menstruation and menopause and help ease discomfort and
associated symptoms. Five key hormonal precursors are:

• Black Cohosh
• Red Clover
• Dong Quai
• Wild Yam
• Isoflavones

These are key ingredients to look for in vitamins for women
supplements!

Amino Acids – Powerful Proteins

Known as the building blocks of proteins, amino acids play a
key role in increased energy, healthy immune, nervous and
musculoskeletal systems, balancing hormones and blood sugar and
overall brain health. Essential amino acids and derivatives
include:

• L-Taurine
• L-Arginine HCL (conditionally essential A.A)
• L-Methionine
• L-Threonine
• L-Tyrosine
• L-Carnosine
• L-Gluthione
• L-Proline
• L-Lysine
• N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine
• Carnitine / Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Important Considerations

In order to identify elite supplements offering the strongest
and safest health and lifestyle benefits, a few simple rules
should be followed.

Make sure that all herbal extracts and active enzymes are
standardized. This guarantees the potency and amount of active
ingredient. Safety, purity, and potency, are all guaranteed
when a supplement manufacturer sources all raw materials from
GMP registered and audited facilities. A supplement company's
website should clearly outline ingredient sourcing protocols.
Furthermore, all ingredients must have a Certificate of
Analysis (COA) to confirm potency. Look for supplement
companies who self manufacture. There are not many out there
but those that are tend to be more quality focused and are not
just out to make a quick buck.

By taking the time to study labels and know what to look for
when it comes to vitamins for women you will end up with a
safe, high quality supplement that does what it promises to and
is true to its label. These type of products are few and far
between in the supplement industry. Most supplements lack
product integrity and are poorly put together by marketers and
doctors rather than by highly qualified bio-scientists who work
with good science.

About The Author: Brett Seagrott worked in the supplement
industry and is the author of
http://www.nutritional-supplement-truths.com The site discusses
vitamins for women along with its main theme of `Evaluating and
Comparing Supplements'. It presents in-depth evaluations/
comparisons of industry leading supplements

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Feed Your Children Healthy Foods And Build Great Eating Habits

Obesity in school aged kids is out of control. It is the parent
responsibility to establish limits and control the amount of
food the child eat, children lack this ability.

Here are some tips that will help you keep track of your
child's food and eating regimen and help him fight childhood
obesity. By eating poorly and not having good eating habits
will effect the eating habits of your child and will lead to
being lazy and becoming heavier and unhealthy. Your entire
family will benefit from eating healthy eating and physical
activity. As a parent you need to take a role in trying to
create good habits and help your children establish healthy
eating and exercising rituals, this will help in the long run.

Child obesity has lead to a number of other health related
issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease
from the combination of improper nutrition and lack of exercise.
For the sake of her child's health both as a child and
throughout his or her life, breastfeeding is the very best
possible thing you can do when your child is young. A recent
study in obesity suggests that children who are breastfed by
their mothers during the first year of life are less likely to
develop obesity as they get older.

If you are concerned about your child possibly being overweight
then you need to decide whether the excess weight is part of a
growth pattern that may change over time or whether there is a
weight problem. Forget all the drugs and diets, feed your
children healthy food and monitor what they eat, this will help
your child in the long run.

It is important as parents that we take more responsibility to
ensure healthy living for our children and to ensure they eat
enough so they are healthy and they grow up eating healthy
foods, we must understand what is healthy weight and what is
weight that is leading to becoming obese. Yes they need to eat
enough to be healthy and to grow properly, but we must know
where to draw the line between what is a healthy weight and
what is excessive weight. As parents, we can not take the stand
that it is healthy for our children to be round and plump.

One reason: children have increased the amount of calories they
eat each day by as many as 300. Did you know that more than 60%
of American youth eat too many fatty foods, and less than 20%
eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and
vegetables per day. A journal is just a tool for you to help
your child eat better.

Many of the foods children are eating today are fried or fast
food type. To keep your children healthy and at an acceptable
weight make the meals yourself so you know what you are putting
into the food, you are able to control the portions of food and
include healthy types of food like vegetables, fruit and many
other types of food.

About The Author: Melissa Fishman and David Marc Fishman are
the owner of http://www.mailordermommy.com and provides
personalized party favors for children.Learn the secret at
http://www.the1truesecret.com

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