Vitamin B12 May Keep Your Brain From Shrinking

The University of Oxford released the results of a study back in September of 2008, that showed that Vitamin B12 may help keep your brain from shrinking in old age.

None of the people in the study had vitamin B12 deficiency. However, the study showed that people with the highest levels of B12 in there blood were 6 times less likely to experience brain shrinkage compared to people with low levels of B12.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is rare, but some of the symptoms are:

• Weakness
• Pale skin
• Sore tongue or bleeding gums
• Loss of weight
• Diarrhea
• Numbness or tingling in fingers and toes
• Poor sense of balance
• Depression
• Dementia

Good food sources are mollusks, and organs (especially liver and kidneys) of lamb and beef. For a list of foods with the highest levels of B12 click NutitionData. Milk, cheese and eggs are also good sources of B12. If you are a vegan, eat foods fortified with vitamin B12, and take vitamin pills.

Another benefits of B12 in conjunction with folic acid and B6, is that these vitamins keep homocystein from building up in your bloodstream. High levels of homocystein can lead to a higher risks of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.

Charles

http://burn-tummy-fat.com/

Cardiovascular Disease and Sitting

I is now well known that sitting too much can lead to cardiovascular disease or clogged arteries.

According to a study published in the European Heart Journal titled "Sedentary Time and Cardio-metabolic biomarkers in US Adults", prolonged periods of just sitting and being inactive results in

• Larger waist sizes
• Lower levels of HDL or good cholesterol
• Higher levels of C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation
• And higher levels of triglycerides

However, there is good news for some couch potatoes.

The study also determined that even for people who spent a lot of time sitting, the more times they stood for a few minutes during their sedentary time, the smaller their waste size and the lower levels of C-reactive protein.

So taking many momentary breaks from sitting can improve your health. Some suggestions for the sedentary office based workplace include

• Climb stairs as often as possible
• Walk to talk to a colleague rather than using the phone
• Stand to answer the phone
• And go to the bathroom on a different floor than your office

So try limiting your sitting time in addition to a good exercise routine. Combining both will decrease your risks of developing cardiovascular disease.

For additional tips on diet and exercise, visit burn-tummy-fat.com.

Hypnosis For Weight Loss

Hypnosis for weight loss is a popular topic with those who are struggling to lose weight. However, does it really work?

There are audio CD's that get good reviews from users, such as " Relax Your Way to Thin! Hypnosis Weight Loss Motivation ". But the clinical groups are a little more skeptical about such methods as CD's and internet hypnosis.

Katherine Zeratcky, who writes articles for the Mayo Clinic, states the problem well in her article " Is Hypnosis Effective For Weight Loss? " There just isn't enough solid scientific evidence about weight loss hypnosis to say for sure that it works or doesn't work for weight loss. She states that if other methods have not worked for you, you may want to give hypnosis a try, but there are no guarantees.

Bianca Hitt at the Vanderbilt University is much more negative on hypnosis for weight loss. In her article " Weight Loss Through Hypnosis? ", she states that hypnosis has achieved some success for low to moderate amounts of weight loss if the treatment is tailored to each individual with long term followup. She states that hypnosis requires a great deal of effort, and that success can not be achieved through "easy" methods such as audio CD's and internet hypnosis.

In another article by Indie Cooper-Guzman, RN, titled " Hypnosis For Weight Loss And Comfort", she stated that her daughter and herself did see some benefit in using hypnosis for weight loss. However, her daughter did regain her weight after an argument with her mother.

The bottom line is that you would just have to try this method yourself to see if it works or not. I may benefit some, but not others. And, there is no scientific guarantee.

For more information on how to lose belly fat, visit burn-tummy-fat.com.

Charles

Best Way To Lose Belly Fat For Life

The best way to lose belly fat for life involves three key components, which are:

• Motivation
• Good Diet Plan
• And a Good Exercise Routine

The whole process can't even start without the proper motivation to lose that belly fat. A recent post titled "Motivation To Lose Weight" is an excellent summary on why motivation is important, and how to maintain your motivation to lose weight and belly fat.
What is important is your ability to maintain your inner motivation during the critical period between the fourth and eight week of your training program. This is easier said than done, which is one of the reasons why most fail to lose weight. That is why it is very important that you find ways to maintain your inner motivation as you struggle to lose weight.
You can find additional help at these sites:

• Motivation Important for Weight Loss
• 10 Ways To Find New Motivation

You also can not lose your belly fat without changing your mindset concerning food and diet. Some of the key points to help you lose weight are:

• Stay away from refined sugars and foods with added sugar or corn syrup
• Replace some of your grain consumption with fruits and vegetables
• When eating grain, eat only 100% whole grain
• Eat high quality proteins from nuts, legumes, seeds and grass fed meats
• Get adequate amounts of essential fatty acids from raw nuts, seeds, avocados, extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil and grass fed meats

When exercising, try doing more full body or total body workouts. This type of exercise works more than one joint and as many major muscle groups all at the same time. With full body exercises, you will lose more weight by increasing your metabolism and fat burning hormone production. A few examples of full body workouts are:

• Dumbbell Lunges
• Dumbbell Squats
• And Bicycle Maneuver Exercise

For more information on the best way to lose belly fat visit burn-tummy-fat.com.
Charles

My Choice For Exercises To Lose Belly Fat

Full Body exercises are the best exercises to lose belly fat.

The reason why this type of workout burns away tummy fat is that they increase your metabolic rate and fat burning hormone response to your exercise. This is accomplished by using multiple joints and several major muscles groups all at the same time.

My choice for full body exercises that not only tone your ab muscles, but also burn away belly fat are:

• The Dumbbell Squats
• The Dumbbell Lunges
• And the Bicycle Maneuver Exercise

All three of these workouts use multiple joints and major muscles groups, will increase your metabolic rate and fat burning hormone response. Performing each of these exercises daily will make your leaner and more muscular in the tummy area.

Also, use the Interval Training technique when doing aerobic exercises. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, Interval training will help you lose fat and get into shape faster than constant speed exercises. By rapidly increasing and decreasing your heart rate repeatedly over a 20 minute period, you actually use more calories than if you worked out at a constant speed and intensity. Not only that, but the Interval Training technique removes the boredom of constant speed exercising.

For additional information on exercises to lose belly fat, visit burn-tummy-fat.com.

Charles

Why You Should Lose Belly Fat

Why should you lose belly fat?

It is actually visceral fat that is the health concern. Visceral fat is the fat layer that lies under the layer of abdominal muscle. This fatty tissue surrounds our organs, and is the cause of giving us that "beer belly" physique. Research has shown that excessive viseral fat can lead to some
serios health concerns.

Below we will explore

• Why Visceral Fat Is Dangerous To Health


• The Proper Diet To Lose Stomach Fat


• Proper Exercises To Lose Stomach Fat

Why Visceral Fat Is Dangerous To Your Health

Visceral fat cells are more than just stored energy. They can produce hormones that can negatively affect your health.

These fat cells can contribute to the development of breast cancer by producing estrogen. Visceral fat cells can also help develop type 2 diabetes by producing insulin resistant hormones. Research has also shown that an excess of visceral fat around your waist is associated with
and increase risk of

• Diabetes


• Breast Cancer


• Gallbladder Problems


• High Blood Pressure


• Heart Disease


• And Colorectal Cancer

How do you know if your waist is too large?

Measure your bare waist just above your hip bone with a soft tape measure. Don't hold in your stomach or hold your breath as you measure yourself.

You should find ways to lose belly fat if your waist is larger than 40 inches for men, and 35 inches for women. If your waist size is too large according to these guidelines, you need to lose belly fat to reduce your risk of developing some of the diseases listed above.

Happily, visceral fat responds well to a good exercise routine and diet plan. A good exercise routine and diet plan becomes even more important as we age when our physical activity and metabolism slows.

Click Here for more informatiion on the health risks of visceral fat.

The Proper Diet To Lose Belly Fat

Basically, centering your diet around whole and minimally processed grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds will help your achieve your goal to lose belly fat.

More importantly, you should stay away from these foods:

• Enriched Flours


• Bleached Flours


• Foods with added sugars


• High Fructose corn syrup


• Junk foods and snacks


• And hydrogenated oils

An added way to help yourself lose stomach fat is to use these tips to speed up your metabolism:

• Frequently drink cold liquids


• Keep yourself hydrated


• Eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day rather than eating just 1 or 2 large meals


• Eat more lean protein rich foods


• Drink green tea or black coffee without added fat or sugar


• And use hot peppers with your meals

Proper Exercises To Lose Belly Fat

Use full body, multi-joint exercises to lose belly fat. Ab specific exercises like situps and crunches do tone muscle, but don't burn fat. Full body exercises on the other hand burn stomach fat by increasing your metabolism and fat burning hormone production. Full body workouts accomplish this by working many large muscles groups and your cardiovascular system all at the same time.

A few examples of full body exercises are:

• The Bicycle Maneuver Exercise (Pilates Criss Cross)


• Dumbbell Squats


• And Dumbbell Lunges

When doing an aerobic exercise, use an Interval Training technique rather than a constant speed and intensity technique. Interval Training involves rotating between a slow speed and intensity and a high speed and intensity cycle. For example, rotating between walking at 4 miles per hour for a minute and a half, then running at 6 or 8 miles per hour for a minute is one possible cycle. You can repeat this cycle for an excellent 20 minute Interval Training workout. Research has shown that Interval Training actually burns more calories and gets you into good physical shape faster than a constant speed aerobic routine.

Click Here for more information on ways to lose belly fat.

In summary, losing stomach fat involves switching to a healthy diet plan and a good exercise routine. Otherwise, you run the risk of developing some serious medical problems that can be avoided with some simple lifestyle changes.

Visit burn-tummy-fat.com for added information to lose belly fat.

Charles

Motivation To Lose Weight

Everyone has a different motivation to lose weight. However, a study has found that those who are able to sustain a type of motivation called autonomous motivation during the 4 to 16 week period of a weight loss program, were more likely to actually lose weight at the end of the 16 week program.

This conclusion is summarized in a PsychCentral articled titled, "Motivation Important for Weight Loss."

The study defined autonomous motivation as "the feeling that self-control is the best way to help oneself make changes." The group that maintained and increased their feeling of self-control were more successful at losing weight than those who relied on pressure groups and tactics.

The study also concluded that weight loss programs should consider using methods that strengthen autonomous motivation during the critical 4 to 8 week period of the program. This can include more intense support, or activities that encourage and improve autonomous motivation of the weight loss participants.

Not all of us can afford this type of help, however.

There are several methods that you can use to maintain your motivation to lose weight.

The first is called the Motivational Inoculation method that can help you maintain your self-motivation to stick to the weight loss program as described in the article, "What's the Half-Life of Your Motivation for Weight Management?" These are a series of questions that you should ask yourself and honestly ponder. It is a way for you to understand your internal motivation to lose weight and stick with the program.

Another interesting method to find and maintain your motivation to do something is described in the article, " 10 Ways To Find New Motivation ." Basically,

• Think about what losing weight will give you in return. This will help you maintain your focus on continuing with the program.
• Keep reminding yourself why your are trying to lose weight, and why it is important to you.
• Create a list of ten reasons why you should lose weight. Frequently remind yourself of these ten reasons.
• When thinking about your goal to lose weight, use positive words. Thinking in positive terms about your weight loss goal will help you stick to the program and achieve your goal.

Being positive and staying focused on your internal reasons for your goal along with a strong feeling of self-control will help you maintain your motivation to lose weight.

Find additional info at Motivation to Lose Weight - The Key to Success.

Charles

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