Acai berry, Spirulina, Goji berry, Maca root... Superfood or bullshit?

Health enthusiastics around the world are driven crazy by mostly exotic and expensive plants imported from South America and Far East. These are commonly known as Superfoods: Acai berries, Goji berries, Maca root and Spirulina just to name few. They are said to contain huge amounts of protein and record-high concentration of antioxidants. But are they really superfood or is all this just marketing bullshit?
T. Bjorck, Head chef of Asian gourmet restaurant Farang, says that he takes these superfoods mostly as positive thing. "I do a lot of sports and within these circumstances I have learned about goji berries and acai berries", he says: "Superfoods are mostly quite expensive but at least they make some change to my regular diet. At restaurant we have used so far only small amounts of sea weed and Balinese all natural cocos oil which gives nice smooth taste to curry and does not burn when fried." He also thinks that eventhough they do not have any superfood dish on the menu yet, they might add these on the menu in the near future.

The superfoods have many healthy effects, there is no doubt about that. But still many people say that superiority of goji berry, acai berry and others compared to not so exotic berries like blueberry, lingon berry, rasberry, is not scientifically proved. The berries grown on highlands of China might also contain more traces of pesticides than allowed by government regulations.

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Nutritional Health in Sports

Nutritional health is very important. The nutrients that we take in are practically the reasons why we are healthy or why we are not. It could also be a grid to determine if we can eventually become sports superstars or not. Nutritional health may be the main reason why you are tall, strong and have the skills to be good in sports. This is also vital for having a strong mind and a healthy body because of the fact that these nutrients fuel almost all bodily functions.

In reality, many people fail to achieve a high level of nutritional health. Some reasons why they are not adequately nourished is because of their lack of information. Some people do not even know that what they are eating is bad for them. Some food also lack nutritional facts that they should have on their labels. And some just do not care at all.

People also have this misconception that what is tasty is good for your health. It is really hard to resist unhealthy food because of their availability on the market. Media also advertise more on unhealthy junk foods rather than healthy ones. Unhealthy food may be a reason for us to be fat. If you want to keep healthy, you must first get rid of unwanted fats and be fit as possible.

Some athletes also have low nutritional levels because of certain factors. One is poor understanding of sports nutrition principles. They think that eating many will make the healthy.

Nutritional requirements also differ among people depending on their training program and personal characteristics like age, sex and body type. Their failure to recognize these may also cause malnourishment as they may take too much or less of their nutrients required.

Some athletes also diet too much compromising their nutritional needs. Their lack of knowledge on nutritional facts also contributes to it. Their lack of time and opportunity to eat and the tendency to skip meals is also one reason. Overeating is also a factor of malnourishment because you might eat and take in a lot of fats and unwanted chemicals that may be unhealthy.

The sports nutritional health can be broken down into the foundation of what food is basically made of namely proteins, carbohydrates and fats. We should get optimum amounts of these types for more energy and more muscle gains. You can only lose more than one pound of fat per week if you exercise properly and eat the right food instead of starving yourself. Starving will only bring you malnourishment.

If you are losing fat quickly by starving yourself, over dieting and doing too much exercise, you may be at a risk of slowing down your metabolism and your body might start using the glucose found in your muscles as a source for energy. That is why losing weight bit by bit for a long period of time instead of losing weight quickly is much more preferable.

There are toxins found in our fatty tissues and when we loose fat, these toxins are released back into our body. Losing too much fat in a short period of time means that you are releasing more amounts of toxins into the body causing us to be sick.

On your diet, try to avoid eating food with too much saturated fat because they are bad fats and will make you gain more weight. What you should do is to ingest unsaturated fats of the good fat because it will help you lose weight.

By eating good oils like deep-water fish oil, flax seed oil and linseed oils, you are actually aiding yourself as it rids your body of fatty deposits helping you lose more fat. This weight loss program actually takes a lot of time so only take measurements every two months to give you a better look on how your are progressing on keeping fit and sexy and how much fat you are actually losing.

I discourage you on taking those commercial diets because they will only set you up for failure and disappointment. These diets make you lose fat so quickly that when you try to start eating again more than you did while on diet, you will gain weight very fast. You should look for a way to lose weight in a slow and realistic rate.

Here are some tips: First is to stay away from white sugar and all other natural sweetener. You should also stay away from simple sugars and take in slowly digested complex carbohydrates. Eat food high in fiber in order to detoxify. And lastly, exercise. The right combination of exercise and nutrients will give you a high level of sports nutritional health.

Links for further reading:
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Free book about fat loss and muscle buinding recipes

Why You Need Protein

When learning about healthy eating, one of the most important nutrients is protein. Of course, all nutrients are crucial for our bodies to be as healthy as possible, but without protein in our diets every single day, our bodies will not be as strong as they should be. Protein can be found in a number of food sources, so if you’re interested in eating a healthier diet, you should consider learning more about protein.

We need to eat foods rich in protein every day because, unlike some other nutrients, it cannot be stored in the body. That means that if you eat more protein than necessary, your body will simply cause it to pass through your system. Therefore, you really can’t eat too much protein! However, because protein cannot be stored in the body problems may arise surrounding this nutrient as well. If you don’t get enough protein on any given day, your body has no back-up plan for producing protein on its own or using reserved protein from previous days. Therefore, protein is very important to consider when you are planning your meals.

Essentially, protein builds muscles, which is why you will see bodybuilders especially concerned with protein. When you lift weights to work out, you body makes tiny tears in the muscles. Proteins are then used to repair these healthy tears in the body, building the muscle slightly bigger with every workout. Even if you do not work out, your body’s muscle deteriorates, as you body needs the energy. Muscle provides energy, just like fat. Having protein in the body helps you to rebuild any muscle lost.

Protein also helps a person’s body in other ways, mainly with the maintenance of hormones. Hormones in the body do a number of things, such as regulate organ function, account for stimulation, create metabolism, and affect mood. Proteins are used in the making of some of these different hormones, so if you go more than a day or two without eating foods rich in proteins, your entire body will suffer.

How can you make sure that you re getting enough proteins? Simply put, look for foods with protein as a key component on the label. Some great foods to consider include chicken, beef, pork, eggs, and fish, although vegetarians can also get proteins into their diets by eating nuts, beans, soy products, and a variety of other foods. You should have some of these foods in your diet every single day to ensure that you are providing your body with the proteins it needs to stay healthy.

How Much Protein? The Truth about Protein.

Nutrients You Need

Healthy eating requires you to eat a number of nutrients every day. In fact, there are 40 different nutrients you need to ingest in order to keep your body healthy. That’s a lot of nutrients you need to know about! Luckily, you can break down all of these nutrients into smaller categories in order to keep them organized in your mind and make sure you get all of the foods you need.

First and foremost, everyone needs water in order to live a healthy life. Without water, we become dehydrated, and eventually die. You lose water when you sweat and through daily bodily functions, so water must be replenished. Drinking about 8 glasses a day is recommended. Of course, water is found in food as well as in drinks, so you can get your 8 glasses by eating foods like watermelon.

Of course, we need much more than water every day to survive. Another group of nutrients we can’t do without is proteins. Proteins are found in foods such as meat, eggs, and soy products. They provide the amino acids needed to build muscle tissue as well as help make some of the hormones in our bodies. Red blood cells and hair is also made from protein.

Along with proteins, a body also needs adequate amounts of fats and carbohydrates in order for us to have enough energy during the day. Fats are primarily used for energy during intense activity, like exercising, while carbohydrates are primarily used for energy during less intense activities, like standing, sitting, and other movements. Both the fats and the carbohydrates that we eat in a day can be stored for later use as fat, so it is important to eat enough for energy, but also important to regulate intake in order to stay slim and healthy. In the event that you are not eating enough fats and carbohydrates, your body can also provide itself with fuel from proteins.

Vitamins and minerals are also important nutrients for our daily lives. We get these from fruits, vegetables, milk, and most natural sources of food. Some of our foods, such as bread products, can even be enriched so that we get more vitamins and minerals in our bodies. There are dozens that you need to ingest regularly, such as iron, thiamine, vitamin C, and vitamin D. If you are eating a healthy diet, you can most likely get enough vitamins and minerals from your foods, but you can also take vitamin supplements to make sure that you are getting the right amounts you need to maintain body function. Supplements may also be available to help with other nutrients as well, so if you are worried, talk to your doctor about how you can be sure to be eating a healthy amount of nutrients.

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