You may be surprised to learn that nutritional supplements vary significantly in quality and effectiveness. Even products with the same brand name may have very different results varying from some positive effects to no effect or, in some cases, harmful effects.

Formulations are often thrown together using ingredients which have had lots of media attention, in an attempt to fill a demand and make some money at your expense. No thought goes into what nutrients are combined with what minerals or what enzymes.

The fact is, you can’t simply cram a bunch of popular, high profile nutrients together in a pill and expect them to be of any benefit to your health. Without proper formulation, supplements will not have the nutritional cofactors and phytonutrients your body requires. As a result, your body will not recognize and absorb the nutrients and they will (hopefully) pass through your system with no benefit. I say hopefully because, in some instances, they will actually do more harm than good.

Now you are thinking, “How can nutritional supplements harm me?” Read on and I will explain.

To ensure nutrition is delivered to the cells of your body, it is necessary that each nutritional supplement contains a formulation specifically matched with quality whole food ingredients. In other words, each product contains the necessary enzymes, minerals and co-factors in the exact balance that is found in nature.

This “delivery system” should:

• Deliver the nutrients to the blood stream quickly,
• Ensure the highest absorption possible,
• Provide minerals and co-factors which promote optimum enzyme activity,
• Guarantee that the nutrients are delivered to the cells of your body and
• Support your body’s natural absorption processes.

What happens if the supplements I take do not have a delivery system?

Coordinated enzymes and minerals must be present for nutrients to reach the cells of your body. As a result, certain minerals and co-factors are required in order for enzyme activity to occur. If they are not available, enzyme activity “robs” your body’s nutrient stores to make up the shortfall. Over a long period of time your health may suffer and in some cases, the effects may be irreversible.

What is meant by the term “cellular nutrition”? Do the cells in my body actually eat?

Yes! In a manner of speaking, they do eat.

In 1942, the nutritionist Victor Lindlahr published “You Are What You Eat: how to win and keep health with diet”. (The phrase is actually much older but it appears that this publication is what brought it into the public consciousness) Since that time we have been obsessed with the notion that if we eat a well balanced diet we will ensure good heath and vitality.

However, in recent history, nutritionists have discovered that it is not necessarily the nutrition we consume but the nutrition that is delivered to and absorbed by our cells that determines our health. This is why it’s important to ensure that each cell not only receives the nutrients it needs but receives it in a format that is recognizable and easy to absorb (eat).

What can stop supplements from reaching my cells?

If a nutritional supplement does not have the right molecular structure they may not be able to make the journey through the stomach and into the blood stream.

Sometimes this can be a good thing. “Vitamin C from ascorbic acid” (have you seen this phrase on labels?), for example, contains only a fraction of the whole vitamin C. If this fractionated nutrient were to get through, the rest of the co-factors would have to be obtained so that it can be utilized. This “robs” your body of vital reserves and may result in unfavorable health conditions in the future.

What happens when vitamins and minerals are not absorbed?

When vitamins, minerals and herbs are not absorbed they can get into areas of your body where their presence will cause problems. Iron in your liver, for example, can cause liver damage because your body is unable to dispose of it. Other vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, D, E and K can cause similar problems in other organs.

So, to answer the question posed at the beginning of this article…

… Are Nutritional Supplements a Waste of Money?

They can be if they do not include a strategy that ensures Cellular Nutrition Guaranteed but ….

If your supplements incorporate a good strategy for Cellular Delivery along with:

• 100% all-natural raw materials that Obey the Laws of Nature,
• Nutrition that fulfill your body’s needs not market trends,
• A holistic formulation that does not interrupt or interfere with the harmony and balance of the natural functioning of your body and
• Nutrition from whole food complexes (example: whole food vitamin) not fractionated or synthetic sources,

You will be surprised at the fantastic results you can achieve.

“Guaranteed Cellular Delivery” – What a concept!

Healthy diet fitness is essential if you are trying to get into shape. Before you start doing any type of exercise program, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor. Discuss your health diet fitness goals, and ask for guidance in coming up with an effective exercise routine. It is important that you start slow and work your way into longer and harder work out sessions. You can hurt your body if you push yourself too hard in the beginning. You are also less likely to stick with the exercise routine if you push too hard in the beginning.

The best health diet fitness tip I can give you is to get yourself moving. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you get as long as you get some. In fact, the more you like the activity, the more likely you are to stick with the exercise routine. Choose several types of exercise you enjoy doing so you can alternate between them. This will keep you from getting bored with the some routine every day. Make exercising fun rather than something you dread and avoid.

You are going to have to make time for health diet fitness to work for you. We all have busy lifestyles, but if you have time to watch TV then you have time to exercise. Try to do it right after work if you are going to be exercising outside of your home. This is because most people aren’t motivated to venture back out once they have come home in the evening. Schedule your health diet fitness routine into your daily schedule and do not use that block of time for anything less than an emergency.

If you are planning to work out at the gym or at home, make sure you understand the correct way to do the exercises. For health diet fitness, you need to do each one properly. Failure to do so can result in the exercises not working for you to get into shape or lose weight. This can also result in your causing injuries to your body. Know your physical limits. If an exercise calls for touching the floor and you can only reach your ankles then do the best you can. Make it a goal to be able to reach the floor in the future and continue to do the very best you can.

Make sure you take time to warm up and cool down regardless of the health diet fitness program you are involved in. You need to give your muscles a chance to stretch before and after you exercise. Never skip warming up or cooling down or you can cause severe injury to your body. You will also find your muscles ache more the next day because they have tightened up.

Health diet fitness involves making sure the exercise routines you participate in are approved by your doctor as well as fit with your physical capabilities. You didn’t get out of shape overnight so don’t anticipate getting back into shape that quickly. Make sure you make time to participate in your health diet fitness routine that you have chosen. Challenge yourself to stay committed to the time you have set aside for exercise. You will start to feel better after just a few weeks of doing so.

Who says only men are effective leaders in the corporate and sports world? Women have become as competitive as men. The female species can also excel in people management and winning any sports game dominated by men like chess, tennis, basketball and track. If in the olden times only men would normally lift barbells and dumbbells, women can now do the same thing as coherently as men do. Weightlifting and bodybuilding fields are not anymore exclusive for men. Women engage in this type of competition as well. In fact, female bodybuilders and world-class athletes especially those who compete in the Olympic Games follow certain women’s fitness competition diet to get them on the go all the time.

Women’s fitness competition diet is more restricted than an ordinary career woman who spends 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes on strength training and 30 minutes on weight machines. It’s even more intense than doing 100 crunches every other day or doing three sets of 12-repetition dumbbell lifting. Any athlete does series of workout routines and takes a certain food diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Amino acids are needed to develop muscles and enhance agility, alertness and vigor in everyone who’s up for a long day of competition. Food that is rich in fiber and vitamin C is also part of the daily food intake among athletes. Fiber gets one to be completely full yet feeling light while vitamin C serves as a strong antioxidant. If you have several antioxidants in your system, you are far from getting colds, cough and headaches which may hurdle an athlete from performing excellently in her game.

Daily strength and resistance training is necessary in every woman athlete. Other than that, a highly balanced food diet is to be taken seriously on a daily basis. Lots of water intake is also needed. Energy-giving foods are meat, milk and eggs but they should also be at moderate amount. Calories are necessary to be burnt during the intense training. Junk foods are definitely no-no’s if you want your brain and body to function outstandingly. A good diet also means not skipping any meals. Cereals would do for breakfast plus lots of fruits are good sources of vitamins and minerals plus good carbohydrates. Alcohol and coffee are not good to be part of the women’s fitness competition diet.

Women may have weaker resistance than men, but it doesn’t apply to all. If a woman is highly trained in fitness and she embraces women’s fitness competition diet consistently, she may be stronger and firmer than a few of the male individuals. If your body is exposed to workout routines, it gradually increases its tolerance level. If it also takes in good and healthy foods, it will certainly combat sickness and loss of energy.

If you’re trying to start up a muscle building diet, it’s absolutely vital that you have three main components. If you miss any one of these the chances that you do see success with your efforts are going to be slim to none since you won’t be giving your body what it needs after each workout.

Here are the three main things you must do with your muscle building diet.

Total Calorie Intake

The first thing that must be looked after on a weight gain program is the total calorie intake. If you want to build new muscle tissue, you need to provide the body with the calories it will use to create this tissue with.

If you aren’t growing, increase your calories. That will likely be the solution to your problem.

Sufficient Protein

The next ‘must’ on a muscle building diet is sufficient protein. If you aren’t taking in enough protein, your muscles won’t have the required amino acids to recover after each workout and ensure that you make progress. Most people tend to take in enough protein, but if you’re a vegetarian or following some other type of restricted diet, it’s something you definitely want to watch out for. One gram per pound minimum is what you require.

Carbohydrates Around Training

Finally, be sure you are also timing your carbohydrates around your training. Some people will choose to use a lower carb muscle building diet approach, which can work, but you will still need that glucose around your training to see good results.

If you fail to provide this, your workouts won’t be at the intensity level that would give you ideal results.

So, keep these points in mind. If you take the time to get on a good muscle building diet, you will see much better results – in fact, it may actually make or break your results.

Introduction

A key component of the formula for bodybuilding success is nutrition. Nutrition is what gives us the raw materials for recuperation, energy, and growth. Without a good diet, your dreams of achieving your ideal body will never be reached.

In this article I’ll discuss the characteristics of a good bodybuilding diet and also cover the macronutrients that we need on a daily basis, as well as how much, in order to gain muscle and lose fat.

Characteristics of a Good Nutrition Program

1) It should favor smaller and frequent feedings throughout the day instead of large and infrequent ones. Why? Because when you feed your body several times a day, your metabolism increases. Therefore, you burn more fat. Frequent feedings are of particular importance since after three to four hours of no food your body switches to a catabolic state (a state in which you lose muscle and gain fat!).

The body believes that it is starving and it starts feeding itself on lean muscle tissue and it prepares to store calories as fat. Bad scenario! Therefore, in order for your program to work, you will eat between four to six meals (depending gender and goals) a day spaced out at 2 to 3 hour intervals.

2)Every meal should have carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratios. Having a meal that is not balanced (for example is all carbohydrates) won’t yield the desired results. Every macronutrient has to be present in order for the body to absorb them and use them properly. Without boring you with the effect of food on the body’s biochemistry, let’s just say that if you only eat carbohydrates in one meal without anything else, your energy levels will crash in about 30 minutes and your body will be storing any carbohydrates that were not used into fat. Conversely, if you only eat protein, you will lack energy and your body will not be able to turn the protein into muscle because it is difficult for the body to absorb protein in the absence of carbohydrates. In addition, the ratios for each particular macronutrient have to be correct in order to get the results that you want. The ratio of our diet will look like the following:

40% Carbohydrates

40% Protein

20% Fats

Note that for every serving of carbohydrates, you get a serving of Protein. You can use Bill Phillips’ Method of creating meals which is to count a portion of carbohydrates as the amount of food the size of your clenched fist and a portion of protein as the amount of food the size of your open palms.

3) The calories should be cycled. I strongly believe in caloric cycling as this will not allow the metabolism to get used to a certain caloric level; something that leads to stagnant results.

Therefore, bodybuilders in search of just muscle mass should follow 5 days of high calories (lean body mass x 15) with two days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12). Bodybuilders in search of losing fat while building muscle at the same time should follow 5 days of lower caloric intake (lean body mass x12) with 2 days of higher calories (lean body mass x 15).

Note: If you build muscle and lose fat at the same time you will not gain muscle as fast as you would if you just concentrated in muscle mass. However, you get to get both goals accomplished at the same time.

People interested in body sculpting (which is moderate muscle building with enough fat loss to go down to 10% body fat for males and 12-13% for women) should alternate between two weeks of lower calories (around 2000 for men and 1200 for women) and two weeks of higher calories (around 2500 for men and 1500 for women). These caloric intakes assume a normal activity level that only includes body sculpting training. Those of you involved in activities like marathon running or heavy physical labor jobs need to adjust your calories upwards accordingly mainly in the form of carbohydrates in order to support your higher levels of activity.

What’s a Diet?

While the word “diet” brings these images of pain and starvation to most people’s mind, a diet is simply the food choices that you make on a daily basis. So if you eat potato chips and sodas all day long, that is your diet.

Regardless of which diet you follow, there are 3 macronutrients that are present in one way or the other in all of them. Understanding what role these nutrients play, how to obtain them, and how much to consume of them on a daily basis will lead you to the bodybuilding and fitness results you have been looking for.

Bodybuilding Nutrition Basics

There are 3 macronutrients that the human body needs in order to function properly. These macronutrients make up your bodybuilding and/or fitness diet.

1) Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. When you ingest carbohydrates your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is very important because:

A) On a very simplistic level, it takes the carbohydrates and either stores them in the muscle or stores them as fat (assuming that the carbohydrates are not needed for energy at the moment and assuming that both the muscles and the liver stores are full).

B) It takes the amino acids (protein) and delivers them inside the muscle cell for recovery and repair.

Most people that are overweight and are in low fat/high carbohydrate diets got into that condition because they are eating an overabundance of carbohydrates. Too many carbohydrates cause a huge release of insulin. When there is too much insulin in the body, your body turns into a fat storing machine.

Therefore, it is important that we eat no more carbohydrates than necessary and that we eat the right amount of carbohydrates.

Now that we have talked about the importance of having just the right amount of carbohydrates, let’s talk about which are the best sources of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are divided into complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates give you sustained energy (“timed release”) while the simple carbohydrates gives you immediate energy. It is recommended that you eat mainly complex carbohydrates throughout the day except after the workout where your body needs simple carbohydrates in order to replenish its glycogen levels immediately, something that will aid faster recuperation and rebuild of the muscle. Below is a list of good sources of carbohydrates:

Complex Carbohydrates:

There are two types:

1) Starchy: Oatmeal (1 cup dry), sweet potatoes (8 oz baked), potatoes (8 oz baked), rice (1 cup cooked), pasta (8oz cooked), corn (1 cup canned), peas (2 cups cooked). Each serving approximately equals 40-50 grams of carbohydrates.

2) Fibrous: Broccoli (1/2 cup raw), carrots (1 cup raw), cauliflower (1/2 cup raw), green beans (1/2 cup raw), lettuce (5 cups raw), mushrooms (3/4 cups raw), pepper (1/2 cup raw), spinach (3-1/2 cups raw), zucchini (1 cup raw). Each serving approximately equals 6 grams of carbohydrates.

Simple Carbohydrates:

Apples (1 apple), bananas (1 banana), grapefruit (1 grapefruit), grapes (22 grapes), oranges (1-1/2 orange), pears (1 pear), pineapple (3/4 of a cup).

Each serving approximately equals 20-25 grams of carbohydrates.

2) Protein

Every tissue in your body is made up from protein (i.e., muscle, hair, skin, and nails). Proteins are the building blocks of muscle tissue. Without it, building muscle and burning fat efficiently would be impossible. Its importance is paramount. Protein also helps increase your metabolism every time you eat it by 20%! It also makes the carbohydrates timed release, so you get sustained energy throughout the day.

Everybody that is involved in a weight training program should consume between 1 gram of protein to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass (meaning that if you are 100 lbs. And have 10% body fat, you should consume at least 90 g of protein since your lean body mass = 90 lbs.). Nobody should consume more than 1.5 grams per pound of lean body mass as this is unnecessary and the extra protein may get turned into fat.

Good examples of protein are eggs (I use Egg Substitute: 1-1/2 cups liquid), chicken breast (cooked, skinless and boneless: 6 oz), turkey (cooked, skinless and boneless: 6 oz), lean (90% lean) red meats (6 oz), and tuna (6 oz). Each serving size equals approximately 35-40 grams of protein.

3) Healthy Fats

All the cells in the body have some fat in them. Hormones are manufactured from fats. Also fats lubricate your joints. So if you eliminate the fat from your diet, then your hormonal production will go down and a whole array of chemical reactions will be interrupted. Your body will then start accumulating more body fat than usual so that it has enough fat to keep on functioning. Since testosterone production is halted, so is muscle building. Therefore, in order to have an efficient metabolism we need fat.

There are three types of fats: Saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

a) Saturated Fats: Saturated fats are associated with heart disease and high cholesterol levels. They are found to a large extent in products of animal origin. However, some vegetable fats are altered in a way that increases the amount of saturated fats in them by a chemical process known as hydrogenation. Hydrogenated vegetable oils are generally found in packaged foods. In addition, cocunut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil, which are also frequently used in packaged foods and non-dairy creamers are also highly saturated.

b) Polyunsaturated Fats: Fats that do not have an effect in cholesterol levels. Most of the fats in vegetable oils, such as corn, cottonseed, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oil are polyunsaturated.

c) Monounsaturated Fats: Fats that have a positive effect on the good cholesterol levels. These fats are usually high on the essential fatty acids and may have antioxidant properties. Sources of these fats are Fish Oils, Virgin Olive Oil, Canola Oil, and Flaxseed Oil. We like to refer to these type of fats as good fats.

Twenty percent of your calories should come from good fats. Any less than 20% and your hormonal production goes down. Any more than 20% and you start accumulating plenty of fat. The way that I get my fats is by taking 1 teaspoon of Flaxseed Oil three times a day (I put them in my protein shakes).

Good sources of fat are canola oil (1 tablespoon), natural peanut butter (2 tablespoons), olive oil (1 tablespoon), flaxseed oil (1 tablespoon), and fish oils (1 tablespoon). Each serving size contains approximately 14 grams of fat. Alternatively you can get these fats from good EFA products like Labrada’s EFA Lean.

Water

Water is by far the most abundant substance in our body. Without water, an organism would not survive very long. Most people that come to me for advice on how to get in shape, almost always underestimate the value of water.

Water is good for the following reasons:

1) Over 65% of your body is composed of water (most of the muscle cell is water).

2) Water cleanses your body from toxins and pollutants that would get you sick.

3) Water is needed for all of the complex chemical reactions that your body needs to perform on a daily basis. Processes such as energy production, muscle building, and fat burning require water. A lack of water would interrupt all of these processes.

4) Water helps lubricate the joints.

5) When the outside temperature is up, water serves as a coolant to bring the body temperature down to where it is supposed to be.

6) Water helps control your appetite. Sometimes when you feel hungry after a good meal this sensation indicates a lack of water. Drinking water at that time would take the craving away.

7) Cold water increases your metabolism.

In order to know how much water your body needs a day, just multiply your lean body weight by .66. This would indicate how many ounces of water you need in a day.

Sample Bodybuilding Diet For Men

Meal 1 (7 AM)

1 cup of dry oats mixed with water

1 cup of egg beaters

4 caps Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold

Meal 2 (9 AM)

Meal replacement packet like Labrada’s Lean Body mixed with water or a protein powder like Pro V60 (with around 40 grams of protein) mixed with 40 grams of carbs from cream of rice, grits, or oatmeal.

1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum brand is best)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)

1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal

2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable

6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

4 caps Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold

Meal 4 (3 PM)

Same as Meal 2

Meal 5 (6 PM)

1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal

2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable

6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

4 caps Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold

Meal 6 (8 PM)

Same as Meal 2

Recommended Basic Bodybuilding Supplements For Men

(Essential to take)

Definitely make sure that you cover at least the basics of supplementation which are a Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula, 3 grams of Vitamin C split in 3 equal servings throughout the day, 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate, and essential fatty acids coming from either fish oils, flaxseed oil, extra virgin olive oil, or Labrada’s EFA Lean. Also, for convenience purposes a good meal replacement like Labrada’s Lean Body or a protein powder like Pro V60 is a great way to add valuable calories and nutrients to your diet.

Performance Enhancing Supplementation

(Recommended for hard training bodybuilders who want to get the most out of their program}

In addition to those basic supplements, I would also recommend Creatine and Glutamine as these two supplements offer many of the same properties as anabolic steroids (such as increased recovery, increased strength, increased glycogen levels, enhanced immune system and higher nitrogen synthesis) without the side effects as they are not hormones. In addition, Nitric Oxide boosters may be of help as well. (Note: a product that conveniently has all of these items is the Super Charge! Xtreme).

Sample Bodybuilding Diet For Women

Meal 1 (7 AM)

1/2 cup of dry oats mixed with water

1/2 cup of egg beaters

2 caps Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold

Meal 2 (9 AM)

Meal replacement packet like Labrada’s Lean Body for Her mixed with water or a protein powder like Pro V60 (with around 20 grams of protein) mixed with 20 grams of carbs from cream of rice, grits, or oatmeal.

1/2 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum Brand is Best)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)

1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal

2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable

6 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

2 caps Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold

Meal 4 (3 PM)

Same as Meal 2

Meal 5 (6 PM)

1/2 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal

2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable

6 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

2 caps Labrada’s EFA Lean Gold

Meal 6 (8 PM)

Same as Meal 2

Recommended Basic Bodybuilding Supplements For Women

(Essential to take)

Definitely make sure that you cover at least the basics of supplementation which are a Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula, 3 grams of Vitamin C split in 3 equal servings throughout the day, extra Calcium (preferably calcium citrate for best absorption), 200mcg of Chromium Picolinate, and essential fatty acids coming from either fish oils, flaxseed oil, extra virgin olive oil or EFA Lean Body Gold. Also, for convenience purposes a good meal replacement or protein powder is a great way to add valuable calories and nutrients to your diet. For more information on this subject please refer to my article on Bodybuilding Supplementation Basics.

Hugo Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE, is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi-certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory, but also applies it on a daily basis as evidenced by the fact that he’s always in shape and by his awards and high placings at numerous national level bodybuilding competitions. He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called “The Body Sculpting Bibles” which collectively have sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Everyone who wants to get a six pack or just lose a bit of belly fat will have to do two things. They will have to exercise and they will have to eat healthy. If you want an attractive physique then you cannot go on a two week crash diet. Looking good takes work and dedication.

Exercise is very important because it will build your body into a fat burning machine. Exercise will make you faster and stronger, therefore you will burn more calories. One type of exercise to consider is super set training. This is a form of weight lifting that will build muscle and make you stronger at a fast rate. Not only does it allow you to build muscle fast but the workout in itself is also very quick to do. A super set workout will only take you about 20 minutes to do. If your goal is to burn fat then this type of strength training workout is good for you.

Running and jogging are also good exercise to consider. Interval training however, will give you faster results. Interval training is a burst of energy done at a fast pace followed with a slow burst of energy. An example would be running for 30 seconds and jogging slowly for a minute and a half. This would count as one interval. For a complete fat burning interval workout you need to complete 6 intervals. Remember to add a warm up and a cool down.

Believe it or not, eating healthy is the most important thing in a good fat loss program. The healthier you eat the faster your results will be. By exercising and dieting you will see results within one week. It is not uncommon to lose an inch or two off your belly within 7 days of proper dieting and exercising. For maximum lean muscle gain try to eat lean proteins such as chicken and turkey. Also try to eat whole grains such as wheat bread and oatmeal. Whole grains will give you energy when you do your workouts.

As you can see, diet and exercise will help you burn off belly fat and achieve a flat stomach. By combining these two powerhouses you can be sure to have a six pack within 12 weeks.

Scientific evidence is very clear about this: we can definitely manage our own health through the things we daily eat.

Did you know that scientists are actually looking into ways of protecting astronauts from radiation by means of dietary supplements? Radiation hazards in outer space present an enormous danger for the safety of astronauts, it causes the formation of free radicals. Through a special nutrition however astronauts are able to counter the effects of these free radicals.

The same principle applies to us ‘normal’ humans. Free radicals are forming all over our body due to all kinds of environmental attacks. It is a good thing that nowadays more and more people take notice and change the way they live in order to embrace the benefits of a healthy nutrition and exercise.

If a healthy body and mind is what you want, understanding nutrition is of the utmost importance. In its infinite wisdom nature has provided us with everything one needs to promote growth, immune system, mental alertness, physical strength and so on. Without a basic understanding about nutrition it will be very difficult, if not impossible to establish a diet which includes the necessary elements the body needs.

What exactly does understanding nutrition involve?

Quite simply put: everything you ingest has an influence on your body. So you have to make sure that what you eat contains those elements your body needs. What your body needs are carbohydrates, fat, protein and last but certainly not least water. The amount in which each of these elements is consumed influences greatly the way you feel, react and age

1. Carbohydrates – this is the number one energy source of the body. Our liver and the muscles of our body need a sufficient intake of carbohydrates in order to maintain good health. You can find two major types of carbohydrates ( or carbs as some people prefer to call them):

– simple carbohydrates, which are predominantly of a sweet nature (eg. fructose, sucrose, glucose, etc) and

– complex carbohydrates, which are based on starch (and can be found in corn, brown rice, wheat, etc).

2. Fat – must be taken in the required amount in order for it to moderate the metabolism and protect vital organs. Too much fat in your daily nutrition has the opposite effect however. The two major fats are

– cholesterol : you can get cholesterol from seafood, eggs, dairy products and meat.

– Triglycerides: saturated, poly-saturated and mono-saturated fats, they have an influence on your weight and heart function.

3. Protein – Without protein the body cannot grow or repair itself. The non-essential amino-acids are manufactured by the body itself (hence the term non-essential, the body can provide its own) while the essential amino-acids would have to be introduced into the body by consuming the right foods.

4. Water – the body needs a lot of water: at least eight glasses every day. This amount helps the body to expel toxins, fight dehydration, prevent heat stroke, moderate body temperature, digestion and so many other functions. We all know humans can stay without food up to three weeks; however, they will perish without water in as little as 48 hours.

The right sort of wall balanced nutrition contributes directly to the health of individuals and communities. Clinical research as well as evidence collected through laboratory tests and field work support the importance of concept to the practice of clinical medicine, dentistry, and public health.

Which is more effective in helping you lose weight, diet or exercise? Obviously, in the perfect world you would exercise regularly, develop a sensible and nutritious diet, get lots of sleep and drink lots of water. That would help effectively return your body to its ideal weight. But if you had to choose one or another, exercising or dieting, which is the most efficient and healthy way to lose weight?

The short answer here is that there is no short answer. You really should exercise frequently while also eating properly. Unfortunately, a study out of Ohio State University’s College of Public Health indicates that when you spend time on one action or habit, that often creates less time for another activity. You are focusing all your time and energy on exercise so your diet suffers, or vice versa.

As it turns out, those that believe dieting will help you lose more weight and exercise generally have a lower body mass index (BMI). That information comes from a handful of studies published in Psychological Science. 1,200 participants in South Korea, China, France, Canada and the United States were asked what they believe the main factor is that keeps people overweight. Height, weight and other measurements were taken.

The shocking revelation was, people who believed fitness and exercise was a more important factor for weight loss than proper diet and nutrition actually had higher BMI numbers. They had more body fat. This is because your weight loss mentality impacts your food choices. If you believe exercise is more important than diet for losing weight, you don’t pay as much attention to what you are eating and how much you are eating.

And if you believe that proper diet and nutrition removes more weight than exercise, you are more inclined to pay attention to what you put into your body. For instance, in one of the above referenced studies, the volunteers were offered unlimited chocolate. Time and again, those that believed staying active was the key to losing weight ate more than their diet-minded counterparts.

How can you use this revealing research to your advantage? Understand that exercise can definitely help you lose weight. But also remember that effective weight loss means putting the right things into your body in the first place.

Cut back on fatty, saturated and fast foods, white flour, sugar and salt. Drink lots of water, which is often times all your body requires when you think you are hungry. Consistently focus on creating a healthy diet, and your mental beliefs will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.

Obesity is a problem in our society and nearly everyone could stand to lose a few pounds, but all of the gimmicky and trick diets in the world, all of the fat-burning super fruit coming out of the Amazon rain forests and all of the fat-blocking pills being hawked on internet sites can’t silence one indisputable fact.

The healthy and effective way to lose weight is the same one that doctors have been recommending for years. There are no short cuts and any weight you take off using these instant methods will come right back if you don’t change your eating and fitness standards. Losing 20 pounds is a great goal, but celebrating that loss by returning to self-destructive eating and fitness habits is pointless.

Losing weight is not easy, but it is possible. It takes dedication and a real desire to actually lose weight. If you have those, follow these tips to lose weight without harming your health:

· Chose how much weight you want to lose. Setting realistic goals for your weight loss is important. Tracking these goals is essential for teaching your body the self-discipline it needs to continue with your diet and fitness regimen.

· Eat your breakfast. Eating a meal in the morning will kick-start your metabolism for the remainder of the day. Having a cup of coffee may make you feel satisfied, but your body is still in a slowdown mode and your metabolism is still sluggish. You have to give your body some fuel to ‘prime the pump.’

· Eat small meals through the day. Instead of overeating at a few meals, try eating smaller portions over longer periods of time. 5 to 6 meals per day, with a reduced intake is much healthier than 2 or 3 large ones.

· Limit the carbs. Limiting the amount of carbohydrates you eat will help you lose weight. Not just breads and pastries, cut down on pastas, sodas and rice can help you shed pounds.

· Although not all fats are bad, many aren’t good. Omega-3 fats are good for you and easily available in different cooking oils and cold water fish. Replacing or supplementing your normal fats with these will help you lose weight and improve your health.

· Drink water, lots of it. Although water doesn’t have anything in it to help you lose weight, drinking plenty of it will help your body flush out toxins, hydrate your cells and promote your health.

· Exercise every day. Find an exercise you like and stick with it. Even walking or climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator will help you burn calories and keep your body healthy. For more pronounced weight loss, you will need to find a more strenuous workout routine.

· Patience is a virtue. Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight and you have to get your body accustomed to the changes in diet and exercise before it will start changing. If you stick with your diet and fitness regimen, you will see changes.

Losing weight is important to retaining your health and fitness, but it should be treated with the respect your body deserves. Forcing your body, through pills or dubious diets, to lose pounds while losing essential nutrients is not healthy and can potentially damage your body. Following a simple diet and exercise regimen will take the weight off but you have to be patient. You can’t realistically expect to lose all of your excess pounds overnight.

3 day diet origin leads to from Cleveland Clinic Diet as the institute who published this 3 day diet program in 1970. The short time span helped the 3 day diet to gain its popularity among dieters. The 3 day diet program is also known as the Navy three day diet, Baptist hospital 3 day diet, Florida 3 day diet, Army 3 day diet, and lot of others bizarre nicknames.

The amounts of nicknames available indicate the popularity of this diet. However experts are continuously bashing this diet as it falls under the category of fad diet. Experts also said that fad diets effects are temporary, and weight will likely be gained as fast as Paris Hilton hit the newspaper.

But before we follow the experts advice and start bashing the diet let’s take a closer look and learn about the diet facts. I am not an expert dietician but I know a lot about the experiences of going through a diet. I know how hard fad diet is and I know that weight problems sometimes are more important than our health itself for some people in some occasions. So let’s see the 3 day diet from a commoner point of view.

3 Day diet meals plan emphasizes on eating a limited carbohydrates and a lot of omega 3 fat acids. The basic meals plan for three day diet is listed below along with the obligation to drink at least four glasses of water, two cups of coffee or tea and a glass of cranberry juice everyday.

First Day:

Breakfast: Consume half a grapefruit, a slice of dry toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.

Lunch: Consume half cup of dry tuna with a slice of dry toast.

Dinner: Consume 2 slices of meat, 1 cup of green beans, 1 small apple and half cup of vanilla ice

Second Day:

Breakfast: Consume 1 egg, a slice of dry toast and half banana.

Lunch: Consume half cup of Tuna or 1 cup of cottage cheese along with 5 saltine crackers.

Dinner: Consume 2 beef franks, a cup of cabbage, 1/2 cup of carrots, 1/2 banana and 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream.

Third Day:

Breakfast: Consume 5 saltine crackers along with 1 apple with a slice of cheddar.

Lunch: Consume one hard boiled egg with 1 slice of toast

Dinner: Consume 1 cup of tuna, 1 cup of carrots and melon and half cup of vanilla ice cream.

Looking from a commoner point of view, we can see that these meals plan is actually a balanced meals plan. We have our piece of carbohydrates there from the regular consumption of the toast and saltine crackers. Our fat is supplied by Tuna which we consume everyday, the fat from fish is actually classified into good fat. Not mentioning another protein intake from meat, egg and beef franks. As those are not enough, we are required to gobble a lot of vegetables like cabbage, carrots and beans. Cabbage is actually a negative calories vegetable, so that will help burning down your calories. And those vegetables can act as diuretic while providing your body with vitamins. Our fruit is a little banana that gives us the potassium intake.

Well looks like the 3 day diet is just promoting a balanced eating by putting a lot of emphasis on eating a lot of vegetables. Compare this 3 day diet into the diet that people are doing by stop consuming carbohydrates or protein, this 3 day diet is a lot healthier. In fact this 3 day diet reminds us about our body daily needs, which are vegetables, fruits, meat and carbohydrates.

I am sure even our eating habit everyday cannot match the completeness of this diet. We used to take sweetened cereal or toast packed with jam in the morning, grab fast foods for lunch and again either eats frozen foods, we go and grab other fast foods. So I don’t see what’s wrong with this diet, with weight loss as a bonus. In fact by following this meals plan as guidelines we can live healthier and longer and also thinner!