Can’t Live Without My Heart Rate Monitor

We’re numbers people. Data junkies. We know that weight-loss comes down to calories in versus calories out. And that equation works best when you have reliable statistics. That’s why we love heart rate monitors! These nifty tools track your workout time, calories-burned, and some models even calculate distance and how long you spend in your target training zone. That’s precious intelligence, which is why we wear them proudly. These top three picks are on our wrists right now!

Sportline 1010 Duo Heart Rate Monitor
The memory system saves your workout stats, so you can monitor your progress daily!
Buy it here!

MIO Motion Strapless Heart Rate Watch
The accelerometer accurately calculates your steps, speed, and distance. Amazing!
Buy it here!

Polar FT7 Female Fitness Computer
This high-tech trinket gives you feedback about how hard you should be working to meet your calorie-burning goals, sort of like a trainer!
Buy it here

Tags: Aerobics Biking Cardiovascular Elliptical Machine Equipment Healthy Living Running Spinning Step Machine Treadmill Weight Loss

Source : fitstudio[dot]com

10 Power Tips for Better Nutrition

We watch calories and try to eat the ‘right’ foods, but often neglect to think about how much of those good things are actually going where they should. That is, are the nutrients we need really being absorbed into and utilized by the body? Are there simple ways in which we can help them reach cell level? The answer is a resounding YES. I found some helpful tips on how to increase the bioavailability of vitamins and minerals dramatically:

1. Get more iron from your veggies. Eating your vegetables with Vitamin C greatly increases the absorption of iron, studies show.

2. If you are taking an iron supplement, wash it down with a glass of orange juice for better absorption.

3. Taking calcium supplements too? Don’t take them at the same time as your iron pills, because they can block each other’s absorption.

4. The lower your salt intake, the better your body’s ability to absorb calcium.

5. Taking a calcium supplement? Pair it with Vitamin D. Together, they boost calcium absorption.

Next: 5 more important tips

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Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Food, General Health, Health, absorption, bioavailability, diet, energy, food, healing, health, nature, nutrients, nutrition, vegetables

Source : care2[dot]com

How to Create Healthy Eating Habits for Your Kids?

Improving healthy eating has nothing to do with dieting

No counting of calories or eating low fat food. Healthy eating for your little treasure is just a matter of ability to choose healthy foods and to provide a greater variety of them. Along with the establishment of healthy eating habits for your baby, here, a few healthy habits related to nutrition:

Best Superfoods for Health and Youth

Explain to your child how delicious and healthy foods are

- Children imitate you and others around you so on of the best methods to learn the child to eat healthy is to give a good example. If you speak negatively about fruits and vegetables it will be very difficult to convince children that they are actually useful for health. Remember that your baby does not notice what you like or not.

Foods That Reduce Stress
- Take the child to the store: Explain to your child how delicious and healthy foods are and that it will be fun to prepare the food together if the child is at proper age to do it.
- Speak positively about fruits and vegetables: Let your baby know what you’re eating when you feed it, what vitamins and minerals are important and how it will grow strong and healthy.
- Encourage the child to drink enough water: Water helps for digestion, regulates body temperature, delivers nutrients to cells and removes all the toxins. When your baby begins to take solid food, the need of water becomes bigger.
- Do not give up: babies tastes are constantly changing. If the child spit out the peas again, that does not mean it does not like it or that it will never eat it. Unless it has allergy, you can try again with the same food after a few days – you may be pleasantly surprised.
- Don’t be nervous: Many babies eat slowly, and it is a good habit and it is good to encourage. Many of us do not give enough time to eat and eat quickly and urgently, and this is one of the worst habits that a child can learn. Instead have a plenty of time for meals to enjoy you and your baby in the process.

4 “Modern” Health Problems
- Make a schedule: Babies have small stomachs and fluctuations in appetite, so you eat more often but less – 4 to 6 mini meals are recommended instead of three large meals. Making a schedule will help your baby get used to the routine.
- Never force your baby to eat all the food you have prepared: Your baby will eat when it is hungry. And it will choose foods that are necessary for its body right now. During the meal, let it eat as much as it wants.
- Make meal time family event: Whenever practicable, the whole family is good to eat together. This will encourage your baby to interact with others during meals and begin to feel a sense of social interaction and will feel happy while eating.

See more useful tips in the video – from kid to kids and their parents.

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com

10 Surprising Places Where Sugar Hides

According to recent reports, the average American consumes 43,800 more calories from sugar every year today than was done in 1977. And most of this is not intentional. Manufacturers of popular foods have found clever ways to sneak sugar and other sweeteners into all sorts of foods, including those that are already naturally sweet.

Not only can excessive sugar cause obesity, it increases your risk of hypertension and metabolic syndrome. But avoiding the sweet stuff altogether is neither possible nor necessary. All you need to know is how to spot the hiding places and make the right choices. Here are some common culprits that tend to escape our attention:

1. Breakfast smoothies
2. Low-fat salad dressings (they have less fat, but high amounts of sugar)
3. Flavored yogurt
4. Store-bought marinara sauce and barbecue sauce
5. Baked beans
6. Baked potato chips and pretzels
7. Whole-grain cereal
8. Canned soup and frozen meals
9. Snack bars and, surprise, English muffins
10. Croutons

How the manufacturers try to outsmart you:

By mentioning only the total number of grams of sugar on the label. This does not tell you what part of it is natural and how much has been added.

How to figure out the sugar content of a product:

Look at the ingredients for the word ‘sugar’ and its many aliases: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and ingredients ending in –ose, such as sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose.

More tips to beat the sweet overdose:

• If ‘sugar’ or its aliases are listed among the first three ingredients, there’s too much of the sweet stuff. Put it back on the shelf.
• Buy plain, low-fat yogurt and add chopped fresh fruit to it.
• Make your own salad dressing: three parts balsamic vinegar to one part olive oil, with garlic, salt, pepper and mustard to taste.
• Stir up your own smoothie at home, using plain yogurt or low-fat milk, ice and whole fruit.
• If you need your sweet fix, try to eat dessert right after a balanced meal. When consumed together with other ingredients, glucose surges slowly into your bloodstream, and your energy levels stay steady.

Related:
What’s Your Sugar IQ? (Quiz)
America’s Sugar Addiction (Infographic)
5 Food Habits That Age You

Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food, General Health, Health, Life, awareness, diet, energy, food, health, nutrition, sugar

Source : care2[dot]com

These are the Healthiest FOODS in the World (part 1)

Some tips for more flavors and less calories in our food from different cuisines around the world

“Healthy food” and “tasteless food” are not synonymous and should not be placed under a common denominator. It really would be wrong! Some of the countries boasting the healthiest food in the world – such as India and Japan – were born in the typical cuisine of the most delicious dishes.

Tomato juice – Maximum Benefits for Health

Spices gives the dishes magical taste

• The secret: the addition of fragrant spices, fresh ingredients and unique products to natural foods.
On his journey around the world, even if only virtually, we can choose at least a few new dishes that will bring new – curious and unusual, but pleasant and helpful – tastes to our daily lives. These foods will make our mouth is filled with saliva – and yet are extremely rich in vitamins and minerals, this in combination with fewer calories.
Spain
Instead eat a huge portion of food every night Spanish often eat several small dishes called tapas and appetizers like ours. Dinner consists of a few bites of each dish, and the variety of foods and flavors and fully satisfies our appetite for something delicious and hunger.

• Tip: To serve more food in small portions!

Just In Time – EVERY Food Has Its Time!
Let’s forget the usual abundance dinner. Instead Serve separate dish for everyone, we can arrange several large platters of various common foods. Good choices include lentils sautéed, roasted red peppers, grilled vegetables, chicken skewers, whole wheat baguette (sliced). Serving of meals in a large portion common to all prompts people to share their food and so is less likely to overeat.

Are You FAT or Just Think So?
Italy
When Italians want salted salad or steamed vegetables, they use sea salt instead of table. Unlike processed salt that we used to use, the sea is all natural and contains more minerals. And, although both versions contain the same amount of sodium with a small amount of sea salt to get the same taste as strong with a large amount of other salt.
To start using sea salt!
No need to be afraid of salt. Used in moderation, it should have an important role in a healthy diet. Just a pinch of it can give a much better taste of any food.
Middle East and India
If you do not have to more careful about sodium intake, there are other ways to improve the taste of a dish without salt shaker on your fingertips. Even if you do not have a problem with high blood pressure, sodium restriction reduces the risk of a similar problem. Moreover, most herbs have a healthy effect, and folk medicine uses them as herbs.
So let’s take the example of people in the Middle East and India using rice, couscous, lamb and chicken as the basis for their meals, but completely change the taste of any food with unique combinations of spices. With cumin, turmeric, coriander, sumac and cinnamon salt is almost completely useless.
• Tip: To experiment with spices!
Let’s create our own blend of aromatic spices to flavor such as chicken breasts. We can try to mix a little cinnamon, coriander, cumin and ginger in a bowl like trying mixture occasionally and add a little more of any of the spices – until you get the desired taste mix. Then you only have to rub in the meat and let it marinate before you roast.

Source : dailyhealtharticles[dot]com