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Flaxseed oil, and flaxseed is both rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which are great for your health. Flax helps the body in several ways. Flax helps improve the cardiovascular health of the individual. This is because flaxseed has massive levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These fatty acids lower LDL cholesterol levels. LDL cholesterol is considered bad cholesterol and having less lowers the risk of blood clots, heart disease, and heart attacks. Other foods have similar levels of fatty acids, fish oil and algae; however flaxseed is much more functional in that it can be easily incorporated into the diet. Flaxseed is great for colon health. Being high in both forms of fiber, soluble and insoluble, it acts as a natural laxative, and lubricant. This protects the colon from polyps and colon cancer.

Flaxseed can also give the body’s immune system a well needed boost. Studies have shown that school aged children who ingested less than a teaspoon of flaxseed oil daily have less respiratory infections than children who did not take flaxseed. Omega-3 and omega-6 fats are precursors of brain building molecules therefore increasing the amount of these fats that are available directly increasing the development of the brain. This is especially true for infants and even babies in utero. Many women who are pregnant use flaxseed supplements in their diets and even while breastfeeding after birth.

Flax is also great for the skin. Flaxseed has the ability to treat patients who suffer from skin disorders from simple dry skin and eczema. The antioxidant properties of flaxseed help the skin hold in moisture which helpful in preventing wrinkles and reversing the aging process. Also, flax helps to stabilize the blood sugar levels especially in patients suffering from type I and type II diabetes.

Weight loss is also increased by flaxseed. Any fat that is high in fatty acids can increase the bodies metabolism. It can help to burn the excess bad fats within the body while letting the body use the good fats for energy and storage from flax. The process of storing fat is called thermogenesis and must be controlled in order to loose weight. Try flaxseed today for all your health needs!

View our recommended source for 100% organic Flaxseed. http://www.flaxseedpro.com is a great site for all of your flax seed needs. There is also a section of the site dedicated to Flaxseed Information with many articles and postings by customers.

This is such a busy time of year, isn’t it? Whether it’s school or after-school commitments, social or philanthropic organizations that start meeting again after the summer, end of the year plans at work, or all of the above, fall activities are demanding! If you’re like me, you know you plan too much, but you still want to be efficient, accomplish everything, and do it well. There is no time in the schedule for running out of energy or getting sick, and “Collapse From Exhaustion” is not on the TO DO list. But your body will stop you if you don’t stop it first. How will you know if you are running on empty? The number one warning sign is fatigue.

Abnormal fatigue can be a sign from your body that you are overworking, overthinking, underresting, or undereating. (I don’t know if all those are words, but they should be.) A variety of illnesses and medical conditions can cause fatigue, including hormone disorders, depression, and pregnancy, so if you notice a dramatic or persistent change in your energy level, it’s wise to consult your physician. The good news is that if it’s your hectic agenda that’s leaving you drained, you can give yourself the best chance of staying well by looking at a few key areas - sleep, nutrition, hydration, and relaxation.

As with many beneficial life habits, these four staples of health do not have catchy slogans or expensive promotional campaigns. Bottled water brands and sleep number beds are starting to change that, but they’re based on the premise that you need a very extravagant bed or water purification system, rather than the idea that you need sleep and water to be healthy. (Common sense, you say? How long has it been since you got eight hours of sleep and drank two liters of water in the same day?) Most nutrition-related marketing promotes one food or food group over another, rather than the guiding principle that you faithful readers know by now: eating frequent, small amounts of a variety of foods.

On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve seen and heard multiple advertisements for energy bars, energy drinks, and energy boosting supplements, promising more energy if you eat or drink the magical concoction of chemicals. Remember what you learned in Nutrition 101: Your body can only make energy from three things: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. ONLY. Other nutrients help your body USE energy, including iron and B vitamins, but nothing you get in a pill can actually give you more energy than eating actual food. Caffeine, ginseng, guarana, ma huang, ephedra, and xenedrine are all stimulants that make your heart beat faster, so your brain gets more oxygen, so you FEEL like you have more energy…but it’s a trap. When the effects wear off, you will be more tired than you were before. If you use the chemicals again, you perpetuate the cycle, or in other words, you’re hooked!

Quick Tip: Real energy means calories. If a product contains 0 calories, it’s a fake.

The good news (yes, there’s more!) is that although no supplement can make up for poor habits, changing habits can eliminate the need for these potentially harmful chemicals in your body. Easier said than done, I agree. But start in one area, and experiment with a small change. If you see results, you will have proved to yourself that the change is worth it! In the coming weeks, we’ll look at each of the key areas, sleep, nutrition, hydration, and relaxation, with the goal of maintaining exceptional energy throughout your day.

If you need an energy makeover, why not keep an energy log? On 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days write down the following: What time it is each time you eat (you don’t have to write down WHAT you eat); what time it is when you go to sleep and when you wake up; what beverages you drink throughout the day; any relaxing activities you did that day; and a description of your energy (highs or lows) throughout the day. In two weeks we’ll meet back and see what your results mean and where to improve! To be continued…

Jessica Setnick is a registered dietitian in Dallas, Texas who travels the world spreading nutrition wisdom. As an accomplished speaker and writer, Jessica’s passion is promoting a positive relationship with food and eating as a key component of a healthy and happy life. Find out more or contact Jessica to speak at your event by visiting her website at www.understandingnutrition.com.
© 2004 Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to www.understandingnutrition.com.

Remember the movie that came out recently where the fellow ate nothing but fast food for an entire month? If you saw the movie then you know the results of the month of junk food on the man’s body, mind and spirit. He basically felt and looked awful because of his poor food choices. Are you considering making big changes in your health by eating healthier? If you are ready to make that jump from junk food and quick meals to natural health food, then must accept that it will take a considerable amount of effort and patience on your part.

The United States population has an obsession with junk food; that’s certainly not news. We’re a fat, unhealthy nation, with quick, processed foods far too easily obtainable. All the junk food that you have been feeding your body will have eroded your body; and once you start living a healthier lifestyle, your body is in for a battle of change.

What’s the alternative to fast food? Eating that which Mother Nature provides for us is the first place to start. Natural health foods are usually organic or contain little or no preservatives. Many natural health foods are also low in cholesterol and saturated fat. This means that sticking to a natural health diet by consuming healthy foods will help you eliminate energy reserves and lose weight in the process.

By consuming healthy foods that contain low levels of fat, you lower your level of hunger in the long run, as your body will be getting all of the nutrients it needs from less food. Natural health lifestyle is a way of getting the best out of nature.

You will find that you are much happier and easy going. You will also notice a great change in your mood, since your body is healthy, making you happy. These basic improvements in your health will reinforce your diet, pushing you to eat healthier, lose more weight, and even tighten up your diet further.

Healthy foods will also ensure that you are bustling with energy; and once you have loads of energy you will have to find a way to use it. That will mean that you will find yourself going to the gym or taking up some new hobby, since your energy has to be used up some how. You will be amazed to see how easy it is to actually maintain a natural health lifestyle. All your friends will notice as you become more energetic and productive.

Natural health also encourages positive thinking and is a gradual process. There is no fast and quick solution; only the reality of time. And if you are aware of that, then you know that you are on the right track to making those crucial life changes that will only benefit you in the future.

Sherry Frewerd is a ‘Marlo Quinn’ Founding Team Leader specializing in helping women achieve their dreams of financial freedom: www.marloquinn.net/index.asp?consultant=15 Visit ‘Natural Bath Body and Home’ to learn more about pampering yourself naturally: naturalbathbodyandhome.com

We all know that adding fish to our diets can help increase our body’s ability to repair itself, as well as its ability to burn body fat and keep our energy up, but it’s important to choose fish that’s also going to improve your health as opposed to silently poisoning you…

Being exposed to too much mercury can cause memory loss, tremors, neurological difficulties, advanced aging, decreased immune functions, and death.

But how is all this mercury getting into our body?

Well here’s the top 4 places that contribute to the levels of mercury in our body (not in any specific order):

Vaccines (past and present)
Dental fillings
The environment
And Fish

We’re going to focus on fish right now because that’s the prime source of mercury in our diets. When coal is burned, inorganic mercury is released into the air and eventually ends up in our lakes, rivers and oceans. There, bacteria mixes with it and transforms it into methylmercury which is easily absorbed by fish (especially large or fatty fish), and is also easily absorbed by us when we eat those fish.

The good new is that our most recent studies indicate that the human body naturally rids itself of mercury over time - assuming we stop ingesting it long enough for our body to do what it was made to do, and to help the process here’s a list of fish that naturally have a low, medium and high level of mercury:

High mercury: Mercury levels differ from one species of fish to the next. This is due to factors such as type of fish, size, location, habitat, diet and age. Fish that are predatory (eat other fish) are large and at the top of the food chain, and so tend to contain more mercury. Fish that contain higher levels of mercury include:

Shark
Ray
Swordfish
Barramundi
Gemfish
Orange roughy
Ling
Canned or fresh tuna
Mackerel
Grouper
Tilefish
Chilean sea bass

Moderate mercury: Alaskan halibut, black cod, blue (Gulf Coast) crab, dungeness crab, Eastern oysters, mahimahi, blue mussels, pollack.
Low mercury: Anchovies, Arctic char, crawfish, Pacific flounder, herring, king crab, sanddabs, scallops, Pacific sole; tilapia, wild Alaska and Pacific salmon; farmed catfish, clams, striped bass, and sturgeon.

Christopher Guerriero, is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning ‘Maximize Your Metabolism’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FR*EE how-to articles and FREE teleseminars, visit:
www.MaximizeYourMetabolism.com

Understanding the vital role that amino acids tend to play in our bodies will help you quickly understand the reason why Amino acid supplements are so important.

Actually amino acids are literally the building blocks for all life because they are the chemical basis for all protein. Protein is one of the most important components in a human or even animal body. Amino acids are used by our bodies to create protein which is then used in vital functions like building everything from muscles, bones, skin and hair to internal organs and vital body fluids. This is the reason why amino acid supplements are so important to many people who have discovered their many benefits.

Amino acids have another key role to play in the body. They are a major part of the body’s nervous system where they are neurotransmitters, carrying messages along the body’s nervous system from cell to cell.

Essentially amino acids are amongst the most important chemicals in our bodies and this also explains why there is usually such a high demand for amino acid supplements.

It is therefore easy to see why a good overall balance of amino acids in the body is so vital for a person’s well being. This is even more critical to persons suffering from Bipolar Disorder. For these patients experts usually recommend the taking of a free-form amino acid complex supplement twice a day on an empty stomach. Two particular types of amino acid supplements are especially recommended. One is Tyrosine which transmits nerve impulses to the brain and helps overcome depression, improves memory and increases mental alertness amongst a host of things.

Research findings have shown that 10 per cent or more of an athlete’s energy production may come from Amino acids. It is believed that as the muscles become better conditioned, and as you go through your daily dose of physical training, the body will tend to start using more amino acids for energy production during exercise and even when you are resting. Little wonder that for many leading athletes, amino acid supplements are a key factor ion their training regime.

Understandably, shopping around for the right amino acid supplement that suits you best, both in terms of working best with your metabolism and fitting with your budget may not be easy. However there is no doubt that when you finally find the amino acid supplement that is just right, you will be generously rewarded with plenty of health and performance-related benefits.