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Health, Fitness & Nutrition
What we eat and the amount of exercise we do all counts towards reducing the risk of heart disease and premature death, heart disease kills more people per year than any other illness so we should do all we can to help keep our heart in good working order.
Heart disease is a term that covers a range of conditions that affect the performance of the heart; the most common of these is ischemic heart disease, this happens when there is insufficient blood supply to the heart which is usually caused by fatty deposits building up in the vessels that supply the blood to the heart.
Minerals – Iron, Potassium and Phosphorous
Iron
Iron is an important mineral that is needed in a healthy diet, people who don’t receive enough iron in their diet become tired easily because their bodies are starved of oxygen.
What foods contain iron?
Iron is found in oysters, meat, poultry and fish as well as in leafy green vegetables, dried fruit and wine.
Health, Fitness & Nutrition
We all know how easy it is to put on weight so why then is it so hard to lose that weight once it has been gained. Experts suggest that if we were to simply return to eating a healthy diet then left to its own devices our body would take care of itself and it would increase the rate at which we burn calories therefore bringing us slowly back to our ideal weight.
In a recent study undertaken a group of average weight men and women were asked to dramatically increase there body weight by raising there calorie intake for two weeks.
Health, Fitness & Nutrition
Calcium
Calcium works alongside vitamin D in helping to build healthy teeth and bones, in addition to this calcium can help with:
- Lowering the blood pressure and regulating the heartbeat
- Regulates the contractions within our muscles
- Helps the blood to clot
- Maintains the cell membranes
- Helps the body to absorb vitamin B12
All dairy products are rich sources of calcium and growing children need 4 servings per day and adults need about 3. The foods listed below contain about 400 milligrams of calcium.
Health, Fitness & Nutrition
Protein is needed by our bodies for our muscles, skin, hair and internal organs, protein travels around the body in blood as hormones, red blood cells and enzymes. Protein is the only food source of nitrogen and is made up of chains of amino acid and there are 22 amino acids, eight of these acids are called the essential amino acids because our bodies cannot make them we must get them from our diet.
Health, Fitness & Nutrition
We all know it is essential for our body’s health that we eat and maintain a healthy diet eating foods from essential foods groups that contain protein, minerals, carbohydrates and a little fat. However to keep fit and healthy we also need something else, vitamins:
What are vitamins?
Vitamins are organic products that help our body’s to regulate carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolisms in the body, it is essential we get vitamins from the food we eat because the body can’t make them itself.
Health, Fitness & Nutrition
Almost 50% of adults in the UK alone are overweight to some extent and every year that figure increases, so what can we do to get healthier and fitter?
What is the body made up of?
Our bodies are made up of tissues which include muscles, bones, internal organs and body fat. It is the correct balance of these organs in the body which is important for health.
Sometimes a person can have the correct weight to height ration but they are carrying around too much body fat, we all need a certain amount of fat in our bodies to help to protect organs but too much fat isn’t good, especially if you work out or are sports orientated.
Health, Fitness & Nutrition
Gaining weight in adulthood is a common thing but as long as we keep eating healthy and exercising this can be controlled and kept to a minimum, too much weight gain during middle age however increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease along with leaving us feeling lethargic.
Studies have shown that for every two pounds we gain the risk of developing diabetes over the next ten years rose by 20%. Not only does the risk of diseases such as these occurring but also too much weight gain can put a strain on the joints, the knees in particular.
Weight gain also increases the risk of several types of cancer including colon and breast cancer, a weight gain of more than 45 pounds during middle age can increase the risk of breast cancer in women by 20%.
Health & Fitness
If you’re thinking of attending a gym for the first time or have already made the effort and started attending you will probably have come away confused with the gym terminology used for your muscles and the different methods of training. Fear not here are some of the most commonly used terms in the gym explained in easy form: