Natural Body Building

In the sport of body building, there are many supplements that can be used to grow muscles quickly, but many of these substances are man-made like steroids. Natural body building is done without the benefit of artificial substances being put into the body. That doesn’t mean not using body building supplements as many of these are natural products. What it means is staying away from man-made hormones and steroids to aid in building body mass.

The body building industry has taken a very firm stance on the use of illegal and artificial substances – especially in competitions. There are even specific contests geared toward natural body builders. Most competitions will test participants prior to allowing them to compete, and if someone is found to have an illegal substance in their body, they are banned from participating.

While synthetic products will grow your body very quickly, they can have horrible side effects. The trend toward natural body building is about growing your body, maximizing your nutritional intake, as well as staying healthy while you are growing your muscles.

When you decide that natural body building is the route you want to go, it’s important that you get the right amount of nutrients and vitamins that will maximize your workout sessions. That means taking a multi-vitamin and eating properly in ways that will send muscle building proteins to the right parts of your body.

It is more than possible to grow your body naturally through an effective weight training program coupled with good nutrition. There is no reason why steroids or growth hormones need to be introduced into the body for ultimate muscle mass.

One of the key components of a natural body building program is to eat healthy and maintain a positive mindset when it comes to your workout program. Supplements are also important when you want toned, fit muscles. The ingredients in supplements like creatine and glutamine are naturally produced in the human body anyway. What the supplements do is increase or enhance those substances that are naturally there anyway.

Proponents of natural body building will agree that an effective workout program coupled with effective supplements and nutrition can make for a healthy, toned body. Natural body building is definitely the way to go if your goal in a body building program is to get healthy and feel good. Steroids and growth hormones should be avoided at all costs.

Body building the natural way is best for everyone. Steroids are not. Don’t take the chance that you will suffer ill effects from steroid use. Just know that a strong workout program and a commitment to your body building goals will grow your body in a natural way not an artificial way.

Collagen Protein Works the Natural Way

Collagen is the most important structural substance in our bodies aside from water. It accounts almost 30 % of its total protein. Our ligaments, tendons, bones, and muscles are held together by collagen, as well as blood vessels, teeth, cornea, digestive track and organs. Collagen is the main component of our hair, nails, and skins.

As we age, our body reduces the ability to produce collagen, as a result, it starts to breakdown in the form of sagging of skin, wrinkles, hair becomes gray, thinner, or dull; our joints are stiffer and less flexible. Supplementing with collagen protein is believed to provide our body with the amino acids needed to produce and support collagen. Without enough collagen supply, our body will fall apart.

Collagen protein is the main substance of connective tissue and is present in all organisms. In mammals, collagen is the richest protein making up a quarter of the total weight of proteins. Collagen provides many different organs and tissues substantial, fat and elastic properties. Collagen is a protein that enwraps the organs and parts of it hold specialized cells together in subtle units. It also prevents organs or tissues to break their functional shape when they are exposed to sudden movements, as well as, plays a regulating role in developing tissues. Collagen functions as a kind of trigger that influence the production and differentiation of unspecific cells. It has a key function of cell-type specific gene expression and development control and diseases like cancer.

Extremely different from other protein sources, collagen protein has a unique combination and proportion of amino acids, specifically, glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and arginine. Collagen protein has been made known to have an effect on weight loss, bone and connective tissue, improvement of skin texture, best possible body growth and repair, better metabolism, increase of growth hormone secretion affecting fat loss, muscle retention, energy levels, softness and elasticity of the skin, improved sleep; healing of wounds, and helps support joint function. Just to clarify, collagen protein itself does not burn fat, what it does is increase boost your metabolism to its optimum state to do so. Collagen protein is originally used by doctors in skin disorders, but it is also believed that it plays a significant role in the structure and maintenance of bone and connective tissue.

One of the interesting things about collagen protein is that it is easy and safe to use. No fad diets, no drugs, no harmful stimulants, and no pills. Just a tablespoon or two of this good tasting liquid, only taken at bedtime is all that is needed. Furthermore, collagen is a purely occurring complete protein and is totally safe so you don’t have to worry.

Back Pain Muscles

One of those that play a key role in the back pain muscles are the soft tissues around the spine. It is a large and complex group that work together to support the body upright, allow the trunk of the body to move and twist or bend in many directions.

There are actually three back pain muscles that are called as extensors, flexors and obliques.

• Extensors
  These are attached to the posterior or back of the spine that enable standing and lifting of objects. These consist of large paired muscles in the lower back that assist in supporting up the spine and gluteal muscles.
• Flexors
  These are glued to the anterior or front of the spine that comprises of the abdominal muscles. It permits bending forward and arching the lower back.
• Oblique
  These are closely in the sides of the spine that help in rotation and maintain posture correctly.

There are certain exercises to remedy back muscle pains that it may better serves as strength and tone. Unlike the abdominal muscles which are left usually inactive and unconditioned, the gluteals in the thighs experience more work because it aid human beings in walking, climbing or running. However, those mentioned muscles weakened with age so there is a need for calisthenics for it to be stretched over and over.

Physical therapy and workout regimens are certain effective medications to back pain muscles. They concentrate on powering the extensor, flexor and oblique muscles. It aids in fortifying treatment splints of the spine and even eliminates the need for an invasive approach or surgical operation.

If ever the other spinal structures or joint facets experience injury or inflammation, the back pain muscles can actually bring about spasm marking limitations in motions.

When there is a consecutive episode experienced that lasts for more than two weeks, it ushers into weakness because it hurts, so there is a tendency to avoid using them. Due to such, there is disuse atrophy or muscle wasting and subsequent weakening. It cause more ache because they are less capable of supporting up the spine.

Stress is also a common cause of back pain muscles. It tightens in a fight or flight reaction that deprives the muscles of energy required to splint the spinal structures.

To structure it, there are hamstring muscles located at the back of the thighs. Those individuals that have such are susceptible to develop back pain muscles. The theory behind is that stiff hamstrings restricts movements in the pelvis. In turn, the motions get altered to the bottom lumbar segments. It increases the stress experienced in the behind portion of the body. To remedy such, there is rehabilitation that concentrates on powering up the muscles and stretching the hanstring muscles.

Erasing Lines with Acupuncture

Getting older is something that none of us really enjoy. Not only does it make it more difficult for us to live life in general, it also begins to show, such as in the wrinkles on our face. Far too many people try to remove these wrinkles by use of dangerous medical treatments that include injecting chemicals under our skin or using them to actually peel part of our face away. Many people have turned to natural medicine in an effort to turn back the hands of time. One of the ways that they use is that of acupuncture. Is acupuncture actually able to give you a face lift?

As acupuncture becomes more common in Western society, many people have turned to this natural practice in order to help with their healing and their overall health. Although this practice is able to bring a balance back to our body, it cannot be considered as a facelift, regardless of what it can do for us individually. This is because acupuncture does not do anything to us medically that could be considered a facelift such as make incisions or use chemicals. That doesn’t mean, however, that I cannot give us a more youthful appearance.

Maintaining our health from the inside out is one sure way for us to look younger and to feel younger. Acupuncture is simply one way for us to maintain this style of health. When used in conjunction with other natural methods such as supplementing with vitamins and eating a proper diet, you would be surprised at what it can do for your overall appearance. It can also help to stimulate areas of the face that will assist in removing some of the wrinkles hopefully but it will really do its wonders when it comes to improving our health from the inside.

Whenever we are healthy and in balance we sleep better, eat better and are overall more relaxed. This will do a lot for the way that we look on the outside because we are feeling good on the inside. Acupuncture can bring your body back into a naturally balanced condition that will give you this glow and make you feel and look younger. Of course, your acupuncturist may also ask you to maintain your help in other ways, but this Chinese practice can point you in the direction of a more youthful look.

Energy Levels for the Fit

Fitness itself is defined as the ability of the human body to function with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue and with ample energy to engage in leisure activities, and to meet physical stresses.

Fitness refers to the condition of our physical body and mental fitness would of course be addressing our mental state. When our bodies are physically fit, we should have enough energy to address all of the activities that are faced by our peers, and at the end of the day, still have some energy left for our families.

Learning to incorporate fitness into our daily routine is where the biggest obstacle to fitness is placed. Many of us would truly benefit from being more physically fit; we simply do not want to devote the time it would take to condition our bodies. We would rather sit at the table and chat with our friends or tune in to the latest hit television series, than devote thirty minutes each day to our health.

Walking is one of the most productive forms of exercise, and causes a tremendous increase in our energy levels. The benefit seen from adding just 20 minutes of walking to your daily routine are unbelievable.

I think exercise and being fit does something for a person’s self-esteem, and the mind. Deeper forms of relaxation accompany physical fitness. When meditation is incorporated into the routine, the energy levels continue to soar. When you are able to relax, and truly enjoy the way your body feels, and the accomplishment of a day’s tasks, you can renew physically for the next day, overnight. That’s one of the greatest benefits of exercise and fitness, tremendous energy.

Physically, what is happening to us as we become more fit? It’s a process that has been addressed so many times, but we fail to make the connection most of the time. Our metabolic process is a finely tuned process. When we have it working at maximum capacity, we feel great. We’re eating right, exercising, and our metabolism is making the most of those calories we’re consuming. It fires up and runs, into overdrive if necessary, in order to keep that energy coming. It’s a concept our forefathers really didn’t need to understand, because their living conditions kept them physically fit. Today, however we’ve become quite sedentary, and our livelihood no longer requires us to physically work, we do the mental work all day, and sit while we are on the job. No physical activity interferes with our preprogrammed way of living. Our bodies still function just like our grandfather’s needed. But we’ve changed the process, our bodies haven’t.

That’s why we still need to keep physically fit, If not through our work, we need recreational routines to accomplish that task. It will keep us healthy, running at top speed, and feeling great!

A Tasty way to Do the Raw Food Vegan Diet

Many people see the raw food diet as being healthier and giving them more energy, despite the lack of any long-term analyses of the successes of a raw vegan diet as compared to other types of raw food diets. To try a raw vegan diet for yourself and see what it can do for you, these are the three food groups you can partake of: high-fat plants, sweet fruit and leafy green vegetables. As to the portions of each, opinions vary. Some say as little as two percent of your daily calories should be from leafy green vegetables; others think it should be as high as around thirty. With the high-fat foods, eat things like olives, nuts, avocados, seeds and cold-pressed oils. Again, some recommend anything from a tiny amount to as high as forty per cent.

To be honest, it’s unlikely you can get as high as thirty percent of your daily calories from green vegetables. That would require eating a lot of big salads! Fortunately, such a massive intake is not necessary to derive the benefits of a raw food diet. The green leafy vegetables have plenty of calcium, protein, vitamin K and zinc. All you need to do is eat around 500 g a day to get the recommended amount. If you’re sure to get things like carrots and peas in your meals, you’ll get plenty of calcium, zinc and protein.

Now, when it comes to striking the correct proportions between sweet fruit and fatty foods, that’s where your personal tastes and health come into play. It’s common for people to have troubles with their teeth if they eat a lot of fruit, especially young children. On the other hand, if you have a high metabolic rate, you may need more high-fat foods in order to maintain your weight in the optimum range. Just one caveat: do not have more than ten percent of your diet made up of polyunsaturated fats. Instead, get monounsaturated fats in there. By eating olives, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts and macadamias you can get the fats you need. Depending on how much energy you need each day, you can make up to forty percent of your diet from these foods. Also, you need to include omega-3 fats; they’re very good for you. So, eat things like crushed flax seed. Flax seed oil is also great for salad dressings. There are soils in the world that are low on selenium, and you can’t be sure where your foods were grown. So, an easy way to get around that issue is to include even just Brazil nut a day.

In terms of what sorts of fruits to eat, you don’t have to go with ones that are unusual or exotic. The banana has energy; it’s rather low in fiber, and plenty of potassium. Oranges are great to get calcium, folate, potassium and vitamin C into your body. One of the real pluses of a raw vegan diet is that it reduces calcium loss, and thus reduces your blood pressure; it will also reduce your risk of having a stroke.

Finally, there is vitamin B12. Some health experts recommend that you don’t take vitamin B12 supplements unless symptoms of a deficiency manifest themselves. And even then, some further say you should avoid taking any pills. Instead, there are some excellent natural sources such as wild plants, nori and spirulina. Now, if those are not available, eat fermented foods or a probiotic, and just be sure to include a B12 supplement.

Follow these steps, and you can eat a healthy diet that is in keeping with the vegan dietary guidelines.

Breathing and Relaxing

You don’t need to fall into the stress mode of life. You can use breath to relax,
rather than stress, your mind and body. Yoga helps you to relearn that natural
state that your body and mind want to be in: relaxation.
Deep breathing is both calming and energizing. The energy you feel from a few
minutes of careful breathe is not nervous or hyper, but that calm, steady energy
we all need. Slow, steady, and quiet breathing gives a message to your nervous
system: Be calm.
Whole books have been written on yoga breathing. Here is one 5-minute Breath
Break. (Read through the instructions several times before you try the practice.)

1. Sit with your spine as straight as possible. Use a chair if necessary but don’t
   slump into it. Feet flat on the floor with knees directly over the center of your
   feet. Use a book or cushion under your feet if they do not rest comfortably on the
   floor. Hands are on the tops of your legs.
2. Close your eyes gently and let them rest behind closed lids.
3. Think about your ribs, at the front, back, and at the sides of your body. Your
   lungs are behind those ribs.
4. Feel your lungs filling up, your ribs expanding out and up. Feel your lungs
   emptying, your ribs coming back down and in. Don’t push the breath.
5. The first few times you do this, do it for 2 to 3 minutes, then do it for up to 5
   to 10 minutes. At first, set aside a time at least once a day to do this. When you
   learn how good it makes you feel, you’ll want to do it at other times as well.
   Just as one stressful situation goes into your next challenge, relaxing for a few
   minutes every day gradually carries over into the rest of your daily life and
   activities.

Fitness of the Body

Bodily fitness is being able to deal with and handle the daily stresses of life, good
physical and mental health, especially when maintained by proper diet, exercise, and
habits. Nutrition refers to the nurturing of our body, in our ability to keep it healthy and
functioning as it is supposed to do. Our ability to provide the body with all the necessary
food, vitamins, and minerals so that we continue to thrive in our daily life processes is a
part of overall fitness. Fitness refers to the condition of good physical, mental, and
spiritual health.

Fitness of the body occurs when all the body processes, physical and mental are
functioning as the peak levels. What does it take to achieve complete body fitness? It
requires more than simply taking a trip to the gym, or a walk in the park.

Many factors come into play when we consider our body’s fitness. The daily
intake of food, vitamins, and water are absolute necessities, and most often the items
thought about. What about the conditioning of our body to deal with life each day?

Does our physical exercise have anything to do with the fitness of our body?
Absolutely. For one condition without regard to the other, is not a complete whole. The
body includes all of our physical processes, our mind, and our physical being as a whole.
When we give thought to the fitness of the body, most often we contemplate our physical
condition as it applies to our cardiovascular needs and our weight. But our bodies are
much more than heart and a nice figure. What about all of our other organs? Are they
fit? How do we maintain a fitness of the entirety? Daily physical exercise that benefits
the body as a whole, taking time to rest and restore what has been depleted from our body
over the course of the day, and making sure that we adequately supply our entire body
with the nutrition necessary for healthy function.

If we use our resources wisely and educate our selves about the things our body
needs to maintain fitness, over the course of our life, it isn’t a difficult thing to attain. But
you cannot abuse your body for years, and then hope for immediate results in trying to
attain overall fitness. It didn’t become unfit overnight, and it won’t become fit again that
quickly.

Proper attention to the physical needs of each part of your body results in the
fitness of the whole. Every part of your physical body exists to work in unison with
another part of the body. Two hands are necessary for optimal functioning of the limbs,
two feet, two eyes, etc. The physical body is designed to work better than any machine
invented to date. It is more complex and powerful than any piece of equipment we have
on the market. It takes more abuse than believable, and continues to operate, even
without the daily requirements being met, for several days. It is a fascinating machine, as
machines go. But it is an even more fascinating subject, when we choose to care for our
bodies as the temples they really are. They house our mind and soul, and when the body
is fit, it does its job tremendously well.

A Quick-Start guide to Acupuncture

Using needles to adjust bodily functions to optimum levels is the principle behind acupuncture. Both ancient Chinese and modern Western practitioners have used this technique to relieve many sufferers of chronic disease. Needling is a relatively safe, beneficial treatment strategy that can be used to reduce pain, improve healing, and increase general well-being. But exactly how is this procedure done and what sort of benefits can be obtained?

Procedure for Needle Puncture

There are two broad categories of acupuncture practice today, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and medical acupuncture. Both have their merits, so the choice is individual. The decision for most people hinges upon which philosophy appeals more to them and which technique holds the least apprehension.

In TCM, practitioners adhere to the concept of Qi, or energy flow, and the meridians in which they travel. They use longer needles and insert them deeper in order to reach the acupuncture points. Modern science has found little evidence to prove the existence of these energy channels, but this is the technique that has been used effectively for thousands of years.

In medical acupuncture, the practitioners are graduates of western medical schools. Their application of needles is not based on the traditional acupuncture points, but on anatomic data. These acupuncturists use shorter needles and the insertions are shallower. They also tend to use fewer needles and leave them inserted for shorter periods of time. Adherents to TCM feel this is a watered-down version of the real thing. Nevertheless, many patients have felt relief of symptoms through this method.

Conditions for Puncture Application

There is a broad and extensive list of ailments which can be treated with acupuncture. The conditions run the gamut from asthma to constipation, anxiety to weight loss. Most TCM practitioners believe that any health condition results from an imbalance in Qi flow, therefore amenable to needle therapy. Western acupuncturists tend to have a more limited list of indications, the most common of which is undoubtedly control of pain.

Control of pain is the most well researched of all of the indications for acupuncture. There is a definite beneficial effect for a majority of patients using this method. Migraines, premenstrual syndrome, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and neuralgias are but a few examples. The theory behind its effectiveness is also medically accepted and well researched, called the gate-control theory of pain. It states that the needles can stimulate nerves so that they block the impulses from pain triggers.

Expected Puncture Session Result

It is important to emphasize that acupuncture is used only on top of existing medical therapy. At no time should a patient discontinue medication or ignore medical instructions in favor of needle puncture. After undergoing a needle puncture regimen, the primary care physician can make an evaluation with regards to decreasing dependence on other therapies.

A course of acupuncture therapy will last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. This depends upon the complexity of the particular medical condition. Results also vary, so it is important to have a frank discussion with the acupuncturist regarding expected results and their time frame. In general, the patient will begin to feel beneficial effects after three or four session. Certain specific conditions will actually get a little worse before improving so keeping informed is key.

In modern medicine, the use of traditional techniques with proven results has become a widely accepted practice. Acupuncture has proven its worth time and again. Modern practice guidelines make it effective, reproducible, and safe. It is a gift of healing form ancient sages that has the potential to bring relief to millions of people.

Color Your Way to Daily Health

It’s important that we eat plenty of different fruits and vegetables every day. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling.

You’ve probably heard about the 5 A Day for Better Health program. It provides easy ways to add more fruits and vegetables into your daily eating patterns. It’s vital that we eat a wide variety of colorful orange/yellow, red, green, white, and blue/purple vegetables and fruit every day. By eating vegetables and fruit from each color group, you will benefit from the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that each color group has to offer alone and in combination.

There’s several different yet simple ways to start incorporating vegetables and fruit into your familiar and favorite meals. You can begin your day with 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, slice bananas or strawberries on top of your cereal, or have a salad with lunch and an apple for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable with dinner and you already have about 5 cups of fruits and vegetables. You may even try adding a piece of fruit for a snack or an extra vegetable at dinner.

Don’t be afraid to try something new to increase your vegetable and fruit intake. There are so many choices when selecting fruits and vegetables. Kiwifruit, asparagus, and mango may become your new favorite. Keep things fresh and interesting by combining fruits and vegetables of different flavors and colors, like red grapes with pineapple chunks, or cucumbers and red peppers.

Get in the habit of keeping fruits and vegetables visible and easily accessible – you’ll tend to eat them more. Store cut and cleaned produce at eye-level in the refrigerator, or keep a big colorful bowl of fruit on the table.