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Six Hormones that Influence Weight Loss in Women

Combined with a healthy diet, making sure that your body has sufficient amounts of these hormones can help take stubborn weight off.

In general, public discussions about weight loss tend to focus mainly on exercise and diet.

When someone thinks, “I need to lose weight!”, they immediately think up an action plan that involves exercises and a starting a “diet“. Some will take an additional step by hiring a personal trainer. This is a great choice as a good personal trainer can really motivate you to stay on track.

He will usually advise you to follow a healthy eating and help track your food habits. But what these fitness programas omit, is that your hormones can play a very key role in your weight loss success.

Our body produces 50 different types of hormones. Some of which regulate nutritional intake, metabolism and other functions that relate to weight gain and loss.

So, no matter if you are executing your fitness regiment perfectly, if you are experiencing hormonal imbalance, it will inevitably obstruct your progress.

Let’s take a closer look at the six main types of hormones that affect weight issues and what you can do to correct any imbalances.

Insulin

We all require insulin to process the sugars from our food – whether they are added sugar or naturally occurring sugar – and convert them into energy. When we consume carbohydrates, our blood sugar level rises, due to the sugars in carbohydrates like bread, pasta, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables.

High carb foods like bread and pasta cause a bigger spike. On the contrary lower carb foods like most vegetables and some fruits cause smaller rises in blood sugar levels. Someone without hormonal complications will not experience any insulin issues.

However, insulin deficiency causes a chronic problem that we know as diabetes. This means that the sugar in your bloodstream is not being converted into energy and sent to other parts of the body.

However, diabetes patients can also become insulin-resistant, which means that although you may be receiving insulin, not only do you have sugar buildup, but an insulin buildup as well.

Both situations create other problems, and one of these is weight gain.

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The Top 6 Phytochemicals Found in Food

There’s quite a bit of buzz around phytochemicals in food. Phytochemicals, also known as phytonutrients, are naturally occurring chemicals found in plants (hence the phyto-).

They are the compounds that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant variety of colors, smells, and tastes. With the rainbow of vegetables, you see regularly, you can imagine how many types of phytochemicals there are!

 

Phytochemical Basics

There are literally thousands of phytochemicals out there. Scientists are busy studying their potential benefits. Since you aren’t a plant, the only way to reap the benefits of phytochemicals is to eat a diet full of a variety of types of fruits and vegetables.

 

There are 6 phytochemicals scientists have spent the most effort researching:

1. BETA CAROTENE is found in orange-colored and dark green leafy vegetables. Beta-carotene is critical for eye health and also plays a key role in maintaining a healthy and strong immune system.

2. LYCOPENE is the red pigment found in tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, raspberries, and strawberries. It’s a powerful antioxidant and is linked to reduced prostate cancer risk. Lycopene is better absorbed after it’s been cooked, such as in tomato sauce.

3. LUTEIN is found in green leafy vegetables, such as kale and spinach, as well as in cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussel sprouts and broccoli. Like beta-carotene, lutein is critical for eye health and may help prevent macular degeneration.

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A Silent Killer – Inflammation

Inflammation is a biological response of the body to protect itself. It responds from harmful internal and external stimuli and starts healing. It is a part of the body’s immune system and protects us from infections, wounds and tissue damage.

Inflammation can be acute where it can start quickly and become severe quickly. For example, acute inflammation can cause diseases and conditions like sinusitis, a sore throat from cold, acute bronchitis, etc.

It can be chronic in response to unwanted toxins in the body like cigarette smoke or excess body fat. This may extend from months to years that may lead to conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and non-infectious conditions like tuberculosis, peptic ulcer, hepatitis, etc.

 

What causes chronic inflammation?

  • Stress: Stress causes activity in the brain that can lead to physical pain which may lead to an inflammatory response in the body. Hence, people suffering from stress may experience inflammation.
  • Poor diet: Some foods like simple sugars, high fructose corn syrup, refined flours, trans-fat-rich foods, processed meat, fried foods, etc. can trigger the inflammatory response in the body. So the consumption of these food items should be restricted.
  • Unhealthy lifestyle: Consumption of alcohol, smoking, leading a sedentary life and being overweight creates a stress in the body that triggers an inflammatory response.
  • Pollution: Pollution causes damage to the cells which may cause inflammation.

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Chia: The Tiny Superfood You Need to Know About

Chia seeds are tiny yet powerful in their nutritional benefits. They swell to 10 times their original size when placed in a liquid, making them ideal for thickening puddings and smoothies.

Just a few of the tricks up the sleeves of chia seeds include…

  • High in omega-3 fatty acids
  • Great source of soluble and insoluble fiber. Almost all carbs are fiber
  • More calcium than milk per serving
  • Higher in antioxidants than blueberries
  • High in vitamins A, B, D, and E
  • Loaded with magnesium
  • Good source of quality protein
  • Easy to digest and assimilate (low in phytates)
  • Help balance blood sugar levels and get rid of sugar cravings
  • Provide lost of nutrients with very few calories
  • May lower risk of heart disease

Chia is a true superfood. The direct translation of chia means STRENGTH in the Mayan language and was a valuable food of traditional Mayan, Inca and Aztec people. Apparently, they used to trade chia seeds for gold as they were such a valuable source of energy.

Did you know Chia means STRENGTH in the Mayan language? It was a valuable food of traditional Mayan, Inca and Aztec people. Click To Tweet

Some of my favorite ways to eat chia include soaking them for an hour in coconut milk and a bit of maple syrup and eating that for dessert or breakfast with fresh berries, sprinkling them on salads or soups, adding them to homemade crackers, blending them into my smoothies and of course, delectable chia puddings.

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Easy Remedy for Bloated Stomach

If you suffer from poor digestion, bloating, bloated stomach, constipation or diarrhea, chances are there’s one thing you’re not doing.

This is by far the simplest, most effective way to improve your digestion and avoid bloated stomach right away. You might be surprised by how incredibly this remedy is to improve your gut health.

The answer:

Chew MORE your food!

So simple right?! Yet so often people rush through their meals and aren’t consciously chewing their food until it’s ready to enter the other digestive phases.

 

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What Exercise Has to do with Gut Health

Exercise isn’t all about the physical. It goes far beyond muscle tone and calories burned. Exercise affects your whole body, including your gut. Professional athletes show a much more diverse microbiome than their non-exercising counterparts of similar age and weight.

The Gut microbiome it’s affected but numerous factors, from the way we were born, our diet in infancy and adulthood, medications, age genetics, and many other factors. But there are many ways we can improve our gut health including probiotics and prebiotic which I’ve written in previous posts. And another important way is by exercising.

Recent studies suggest that exercise can increase the number of beneficial microbial species and improve the microflora diversity. All these effects are beneficial for the host, us, improving our health status.

They also determine that exercise is able to enrich the microflora diversity; to improve the type of bacteria that could potentially contribute to help us lose weight.

Exercise is able to enrich the microflora diversity; to improve the type of bacteria that could potentially contribute to help us lose weight. Click To Tweet

Moving your body helps stimulate the lymphatic system, the system that helps your body to remove toxins and maintain a healthy circulation. Other ways to stimulate the lymphatic system include massage and dry brushing, but exercise is highly effective and has other benefits like boosting mood and cardiovascular health.

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Detox Your Way Through Life

Our bodies are works of art. The human body has incredible mechanisms for taking care of itself. But it often needs a boost and right kind of environment, both of which come from our diet. One way of doing your body a favor is by doing a detox. The word “detox” often conjures up the concept of weight loss. But, in reality, it is simply, and more importantly, a process of flushing toxins from our bodies that have built-up with the passage of time due to poor habits.

Weight loss often does occur, but the primary reason for a detox is to help your organs start working optimally, which requires more energy.

There are various methods that can be used for detoxing your body. You can take supplements or follow an exercise regimen, but the easiest and most natural way of detoxing your body is by adding foods to your diet that are naturally detoxifying.

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Youth Beauty Secrets

There is a saying that age is just a number. It is true. No matter what your age is you should look fresh, healthy, and vibrant, and not just from the outside—you should feel good from the inside, too. You can’t control your age, but you can control how you feel about yourself.

Staying young and healthy is all in your hands. What you do in your daily routine has a profound effect on your health. Plenty of older adults are considerably more healthy and active than many young people who are inactive or have poor habits.

Looking the way you feel gives you the confidence to face the world. People are attracted toward you and it makes you feel proud. In order to stay young in body and spirit, there are things you need to add and things you need to remove from your routine. Let’s look at some of the things in your life that have an enormous impact on your health as you age.

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7 Ways to Naturally Cleanse Your Immune System

The immune system is designed to work against diseases in your body. It has a resistive power that fights bad bacteria and viruses that can cause illness and sickness. The immune system is designed perfectly, but our negligence towards our health often weakens the system. If it is not properly cared for, it becomes so weak that even small illnesses like the flu or a cough can become severe. The immune system also becomes dirty by fighting too much bacteria. Cleaning is required to make it strong again. There are many ways to clean the immune system and boost its power. Here are some of the ways to do it naturally.

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10 Immunity Boosting Foods For the Cold and Flu Season

“Cold and Flu” season is right around the corner, and it seems that everywhere you go you run into someone sneezing! How can you boost your immunity so you can stay healthy this Fall and Winter? Getting sick is not only uncomfortable, but it also impacts your productivities, your energy level and even your relationship (have you ever got snappy because you have a sore throat or a headache?)

If you have kids, I am sure you can relate how hard it is not to get sick from those little slimy hands – they are like petri dish on legs! Do you know that on average, school-age kids in America experience eight to ten colds a year? [according to The Children’s Hospital Guide to Your Child’s Health and Development]

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