I Hate Writing Articles – Isn’t There An Easier Way?!

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Paul Nickel

Owning, running and maintaining an internet based business or a site needs articles. Plain and simple, every who has a site knows this. Even those who don’t have sites but are frequent internet users knows this as well. Articles quench the thirst for information and knowledge of the people. Plus, the articles provides many other benefits for the site.

The benefits that articles provide are putting a site high in the ranking in search results of keywords and keyword phrases that pertains or are relevant to his or her site. They also provide attraction to website visitors when they are appreciated and is linked to your site from another site or newsletter. Articles provide for the increase of the confidence and trust levels of customers to your site and company.

Many articles are also beneficial to both company and its traffic. When the readers like the articles, they would tell more of their friends, family and peers and recommend your site to them, providing for a larger volume of traffic. You get bigger sales if your traffic trusts and believes in you. Your product or services would be much easier to sell when they know you know what you are doing and talking about.

So ok, we have established that articles are very important to a site and to business. Articles are crucial and to keep ahead in the game, a site must have an article, it is imperative. There is one dilemma though, not many people like writing articles.

Many website owners would rather spend their time on something else, and unless you’re a big time company, you don’t have the necessary resources to use on a pool of article writers. Plagiarism or copying of other articles is frowned upon and could easily get you into trouble, worst case scenario; a hefty fine and jail time.

So what are the other options?

Well, for starters if you hate writing articles and you can’t afford to hire people to write for you then don’t. Get free articles. The first place to look at for free articles is the public domain. Here you won’t have problems with copyright infringement and the following penalties and fines if you get caught for plagiarism.

Public domain articles are articles freely given to the public for public use. You can do whatever you want with it. You can place it on your site, name it as yours, put it in a newsletter its you decision. Always remember though that you will have to choose articles that is very relevant to your site.

The downside to public domain articles is that since it is free for everybody, many of your competitors may have access to them as well. Since every site needs to be original and unique even though you have the same niche, this could be a predicament. You may also have to edit them a bit to place more keywords and keyword phrases to make them better.

Another way to get free articles is to allow other sites which has the same subject or topic as yours to submit articles to your site. This would be only to augment your existing content or else all your articles would be leading to other sites since these articles would have resource boxes with them that could link or direct the readers to their site. That’s why it is important to have your own articles; you cold use them to link your site to other sites as well.

But, to truly feel the impact of what a good article to you, go for original ones. There are many article writers who do part time and freelance article writing jobs that charges only minimal fees. You can get good articles that have all the keywords and keyword phrases you need and people are looking for.

The investment you made for these articles would be worthwhile because you could use them for all the benefits you could offer. You hold copyrights to them and you will be able to use them anyway you want. As your articles help you in building your business and your site, you will have more articles to write and maybe then you wont be having second thoughts about articles.

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Creative and Profitable Ways to Use Autoreponders

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Paul Nickel

An interested visitor who has been strolling through your site has finally come to just what she is looking for and is about to make a purchase. It’s a sunny afternoon, and her cat, who happens to be sitting on the moss under the visitor’s large fifty-year-old snow-rose bonsai tree, suddenly jumps down, and the priceless tree topples over.

In the blink of an eye, your visitor exits your site, and your sale is dust – unless you have had the foresight to utilize an autoresponder that has captured her email
address. If you have installed an autoresponder, you can
then follow-up with her, and in all probability, make the
sale when the poor woman has finished repotting her
precious bonsai.

Autoresponders are remarkable, versatile programs that do
so much more than just automatically answer your email.
Here are a few ideas that will help you to creatively and
productively use your autoresponder to transform the casual
visitor into a profitable customer. Use your autoresponder
to:

1. Publish a newsletter. Certain quality autoresponders
will manage subscriptions and follow-up with interested
prospects. Your newsletter can keep your visitors informed
about your services or products, while building your
reputation as a credible expert in your particular
business.

2. Publish a newsletter only for your affiliates. Inform
them of current sales you are running and of promotional
material that your affiliates can use themselves to
increase their commissions. Include tips, advice, and
techniques that your affiliates can use to successfully go
out and promote your business.

3. Write reviews. Cover books, software, music, e-books,
movies, etc., and put each review in an autoresponder.
Review your affiliate programs, using a link to your
affiliate’s page in your autoresponder.

4. Distribute your articles. Writing and distributing
targeted articles is a powerful tool to build your business
credibility, bring traffic to your site, and increase your
sales potential. If your articles contain valuable
information, many editors will print what is known as a
resource box for you. A resource box contains your bio and
a brief description of your service or product. It can also
contain your autoresponder address. Let’s say you’ve
written fifty articles. Put them on separate autoresponder
accounts and create a master list that contains the titles
of each article, the autoresponder address, and a brief
abstract. Then promote your master list. Additionally,
include your publishing guidelines so your affiliates can
add their articles to your list, increasing the number of
writers who are represented in your article list.

5. Create mailing lists. Inform subscribers to your
articles when you’ve written new ones that they may want to
publish in their own newsletter or website.

6. Automate your sales process. Use an ad to insure
repeated exposure of your message, which has been proven to
effectively increase sales. In your ad, put your
autoresponder address where a visitor will be exposed to
numerous marketing materials. This multiplies the chances
of converting visitors into customers. For example, if
you’re selling a particular product, put testimonials about
how spectacular it is on your autoresponder, and add a
detailed, enticing description of your product.

7. Distribute advertising. Let’s say you sell advertising
on your website or in your newsletter or e-zine. Set your
autoresponder to send the information about rates and how
to place an ad automatically to all prospects’ email
addresses. Then have your autoresponder follow-up. It can
also send notification of any special deals you are
currently offering.

8. Distribute an email course. Each day, have your
autoresponder send out another lesson. Just be sure that
each lesson has quality content – not a sales pitch. Your
content will do the selling for you, and will do it much
more effectively. You can include tips centered on a
different topic for each lesson, illustrating how your
product will benefit the reader. Include the tangible
benefits the visitor will reap by purchasing your product.
Make sure to include a paragraph or two at the end of each
lesson enticing your prospect to consider making a
purchase.

9. Automate a reminder about your service or product after
a visitor has completed your course. This will increase the
possibility of sales from visitors who have taken your
course but are dragging their feet about actually making a
purchase. You can also use these reminders to promote new
products or services, and the products and services of your
affiliate programs.

10. Distribute free reports. This gives your visitor an
idea of the type of information you can provide and the
quality of your product or service. Make sure these reports
are not sales letters or you will more than likely lose a
potential customer than gain a sale.

11. Create trivia quizzes on your site and place the
answers in an autoresponder. Your visitor will then be
motivated to request your autoresponder, and you will have
a record of the visitors’ email addresses who took your
quiz. Or create a contest and have any visitors that enter
send their responses to your autoresponder. Your
autoresponder can be set-up to send them a confirmation of
their entry.

12. Offer a trial version of your product. Give your
prospects a sample of your ebook, course, software,
membership, etc. People who are exposed to a little taste
often end up wanting the whole pie. You can also capture
their email addresses when you offer them a free trial from
your website. Set up your autoresponder to give
instructions on how to obtain their free trial, and then
make sure to follow-up to try and close the sale.

13. Link to hidden pages on your autoresponder. For
example, a hidden page could be your affiliate page that
contains graphics, promotional articles, and text links
that interested affiliates can make use of. Inform visitors
that they may have free access to your affiliate page by
simply requesting your autoresponder. You will then gather
a list of visitors who may be interested in becoming your
affiliates.

14. Use an autoresponder on your order page. Post a request
form for visitors to be notified of special offers or
discounts in the future. This creates a very effective
mailing list that contains the names of people who are
already your customers.

15. Put your links page on your autoresponder. It should
contain up to fifty links that would be of particular
interest to your visitors. Make sure to add your own
promotional copy at the top or bottom of this page.

Now that you have proof that autoresponders can be used
creatively, see if you can come up with some brilliant
ideas of your own!

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Can Weight Gain be caused by Asthmatic medication

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Paul Nickel

Asthma medications such as steroids and beta-agonists are very effective and important ways to control and treat asthma. But among the medication side effects of oral steroids (those taken in pill or inhaler form) is weight gain, a development you probably want to avoid.

There is a proven link between weight gain and oral steroids, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. The reason? “Steroids simply increase your appetite,” says Dr. Gerbstadt, adding that steroids raise blood glucose levels and cause other metabolic changes that not only put the patient at risk of gaining weight, but perhaps even developing diabetes.

Asthma Medication Side Effects

Weight gain is a less common medication side effect when steroids are taken through asthma inhalers as opposed to oral medications because the doses administered through asthma inhalers are far lower and go straight to the lungs. In contrast, other asthma medications such as beta-agonist bronchodilators, which relieve the symptoms of asthma by relaxing the muscle of the bronchial tubes, are not associated with weight gain, but they have their own medication side effects. “Beta-agonists can cause jitteriness, dilate pupils, and increase heart rate,” says Gerbstadt.

There is also an unhealthy cycle connected to asthma and weight. People with asthma may be reluctant to exercise for fear of triggering their asthma symptoms. Lack of exercise can contribute to weight gain. And being overweight can, in turn, make exercise more difficult because excess weight can compress your lungs and make breathing during exercise more difficult. Weight loss, therefore, can help improve your asthma and help improve your workouts.

Tips for Avoiding Weight Gain

To prevent weight gain, people with asthma should first and foremost eat less, says Gerbstadt. Cutting back is important, she says, but understands that it’s easier said than done. “Most people are not used to going hungry.”

Try these other ideas for preventing weight gain when you have asthma:

Eat lots of veggies. Crunchy, water-filled vegetables such as celery or carrots are an excellent choice.
Include whole grains in your diet. “People worry about carbs, but if all you ate were brown rice and whole grain bread, you could eat a lot without worry about weight gain,” says Gerbstadt.
Find good flavorings. If you need to use dips or other flavorings to jazz up veggies, try salsa or low-fat marinara sauce. Other good options include hummus and yogurt.
Drink plenty of water. “A lot of people mistake thirst for hunger,” says Gerbstadt. “Drink room temperature water, which is more filling than ice water.” Other good options for hydration are herbal or green tea or warm broth, which can help make you feel full, says Gerbstadt.
Cut down on fat. Air-popped popcorn or baked potatoes with yogurt instead of chips are great snack choices, says Gerbstadt. Use herbs and spices to flavor food instead of cream or butter.
Relearn portion sizes. Find out what foods and in what amounts you should be eating and stick to those recommendations.
Don’t forget to move. “Walk. Do jumping jacks when you’re watching TV and commercials are on — it all adds up,” says Gerbstadt.

Asthma and Weight Gain: Prevention Starts Early

Gerbstadt’s advice is followed within her own family — her son, now 6 years old, has . “His asthma started off when he had a cold, and then would go away,” Gerbstadt explains. To better manage his asthma, he eats a healthy diet, a habit that was fostered at a young age. “He likes to eat grilled fish with veggies,” says Gerbstadt.

The youngster follows a three-pronged approach to staying healthy with asthma — he participates in sports, follows a nutritious diet, and manages his asthma, and weight gain has not been an issue for him, she says.

No matter what your age, choosing foods wisely and getting regular exercise are important lifestyle habits for preventing weight gain and living well with asthma.

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Does aromatherapy really work?

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Paul Nickel

This is a very frequent question among most people when they think about aromatherapy. Does aromatherapy really work or is it all just a big sham? It is a common misperception that aromatherapy is new. Aromatherapy has been in existence and recognized as such for at least 80 years. However, the essential nature of aromatherapy has existed for thousands of years.To start with, do not get fooled by companies who will try to sell their pleasant smelling products as aromatherapy products. Some companies will hype up unfounded claims to be aromatherapy in order to make more sales. In countries such as the United States, aromatherapy is treated like other chemicals and the FCC requires appropriate identification of all ingredients. Make sure that what you were looking at contains all-natural ingredients, not synthetic ones. So what about major illnesses? Can aromatherapy really help with illnesses or psychological problems? The truth of the matter is that aromatherapy cannot cure stress or cure an illness. Anyone who goes into the use of aromatherapy in order to cure something is going to be disappointed. This simply isn’t how aromatherapy works.

However, aromatherapy is geared towards helping you cope with a physical condition, and the symptoms of an illness, and improve your mood, temporarily ease stress, or help with other psychological diseases. This does not mean all of these symptoms or issues will go away. It simply means that aromatherapy can help make these symptoms and issues easier to deal with.

Aromatherapy is unable to cure cancer, AIDS, or other major illnesses. Instead, it can help calm the fear, reduce nausea, and enhance a person’s overall mood. It should never be used as a primary treatment method for any major illness. It only acts as a complementary treatment that supports other treatments already ongoing.

It can offer the possibility of taking the place of prescription or over-the-counter chemical drugs in certain areas. For instance, it can offer quite a strong benefit in dealing with indigestion, inflammation, skincare, hygiene, wounds, and mental or emotional issues.

In addition, aromatherapy will not work the same way for each person who tries it. Your sensory memory is going to affect how or when therapy will work for you. Therefore, if you have a bad experience with a particular sense, this will not have the correct impact on you as is desired.

Do some research on the company where you are planning to buy your essential oils or other aromatherapy treatment ingredients. You want to make sure they are using all-natural ingredients and are giving you correct information on how to use the aromatherapy ingredients. For instance, be leery of companies that tell you to use essential oils on your skin. You should only use essential oils on your skin if they are diluted. There are many mislabeled products on the market and a tremendous amount of misinformation about aromatherapy that may also make bogus claims as to the so-called healing properties of aromatherapy oils.

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DOG TIRED!

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Paul Nickel

The 30 Second Secret To Blasting Your Energy Levels Through The Roof In The Morning!

There is an underlying inner sleep system which the quality of your sleep and your daily energy levels highly depend on. It’s this inner sleep system that plays a key role in:

When you go to sleep and when you wake up.

How energized you feel in the morning, and throughout the day.

When your body produces feelings of “sleepiness” to send you a signal that you later interpret in a way like… “I feel tired, I better get to bed…” Most people don’t know how to use this system to their advantage… You’re about to discover how you can use a simple ‘little-known-about’ method in the first 30 seconds after waking up to your advantage and boost your energy levels in the morning dramatically.

You’ll be able to learn how this works very easily (you’ll fully understand in a moment), and notice results immediately when you apply it into your life.

Your Body’s Natural Body Temperature Rhythm Plays A Key Role In How Much Energy You Have!

Let’s first review your body temperature rhythm.

In grade 5 science class, most of us are taught that our body temperature stays at a constant 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit (36.6 Celsius). In reality, this is false. Your body temperature varies by about 6 degrees every day. Your body temperature rises and falls by about 6 degrees every-day, this rise and fall of your body temperature is known as your body temperature rhythm, or as some like to call it your “circadian rhythm.”

Your body temperature usually rises in the morning around 6 AM, and begins to rise until the afternoon, where it takes a slight “slump.” It then recovers from this slump and continues to rise until the evening hours, where it drops all through the night as you sleep. Believe it or not, it’s this rise and fall of your body temperature that plays a major role in when you feel sleepy and when you feel energized.

When your temperature is dropping, you feel “sleepy” and more towards the “tired” side. This is like a cue for your body to create feelings of sleepiness. When your body temperature is rising, you tend to feel energized, alert, relaxed, and more “awake”.

There is a hormone in your body called melatonin. It’s also sometimes called as the “vampire” hormone, or the “sleep” hormone. The longer your eyes are exposed to darkness, the more of this hormone is released inside of your blood.

The instant your eyes are exposed to light, the level of melatonin in your blood begins to decrease rapidly. It’s this hormone that contributes a lot to the drop in your body temperature.

Melatonin also makes you feel “sleepy.”

When you wake up in the morning, you have A LOT of melatonin inside of your blood. This is the main reason why you may feel like a “zombie” when you wake up. Combined with a low body temperature in the morning, most people are so low on energy that they mistake the tired and drowsy feeling in the morning as the need to sleep, and end up sleeping longer and doing more damage to their sleep systems.

In reality, this is not the need to sleep, but actually the result of sleeping!

The 30 Second Trick To Rapidly Lowering Your Melatonin Levels, and Boosting Your Body Temperature In The Morning

Here it is…

When you wake up, you MUST expose your eyes to natural sunlight within 1 minute of waking up for AT LEAST 30 seconds. As you do this you will notice the drowsy and tired feeling you usually get in the morning fading away, as your body feels more and more energized. At first glance this sounds very simple, but hundreds of people who apply this technique achieve incredible energetic results instantly in the morning.

Here’s How And WHY This Works

As you already know, when you expose your eyes to light your melatonin levels begin to drop and your body temperature begins to rise, as you slowly feel more awake in the morning. But… have you ever wondered why you feel less energetic on cloudy and rainy days?

Why does this happen? Because LIGHT Comes In Many Intensities

Most people don’t realize that spending the day in-doors is the equivalent for your eyes as spending the day in darkness.

Let me explain…

Light intensity is measured in units called “luxes.” 1 Lux is about the light your eyes would get if you were to sit in a pitch dark room with 1 candle. During sunrise and sunset, your eyes get about 1,000 to 5,000 Luxes of light! During the afternoon on a sunny day your eyes get about 100,000 luxes of light! Inside your home, or in an office, your eyes get about 100 to 500 luxes of light. The level of melatonin in your blood always depends on the light intensity coming into your eyes. For your eyes, being in-doors and not being exposed to high intensity light is the equivalent as being in complete darkness. This has huge effect on your melatonin levels and your body temperature rhythm.

When you expose your eyes to high intensity light such as natural sunlight in the morning you drastically lower your melatonin levels right away, and your body temperature begins to rise as a result. However, most people spend the first hour or two of the morning sitting in-doors, and wondering why they feel “so tired” while they gobble down another cup of coffee.When you’re sitting in your home in the morning, half of the light outside is being blocked by your windows, drapes and shades. Your eyes get at most maybe 200 to 300 luxes of light. This keeps your melatonin levels high, stops your body temperature from rising and keeps you low on energy. This does further damage to your sleep system in a perpetual loop, lowering your energy and immune system day by day.

I hoped you really enjoyed the information in this special report. You can usethis information to supercharge your sleep system and blast your daily energy levels sky high, so you can wake up fully energized and live your whole day with passion!

This System also teaches you how to reduce your sleep and have more

time and energy than when you slept longer.

By Kacper M. Postawski, PowerfulSleep.com

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Happy As You Want To Be

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Paul Nickel

Almost everyone has heard the hit single “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby McFerrin’s simple message surely made a lot of people happy by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart attack, cancer, and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is, “The only thing in life that will always be the same is change”, and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it to will change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for who or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments are unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with little stress. Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also more healthy.

To be happy is relatively easy, just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or how dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi cab driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy that cleans and cares for your lawn.Also thank the mailman for bringing the mail, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful! Get less of it. Some people just can’t start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its sining, sacraments, chanting, prayers, and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involve scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tunned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tells your friends and family about it. As they say, “Laughter is the best medicine”.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate you actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is really bad for your health. Instead fine ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons. And could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins, and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln, he says the “Most people are about as happy as they make up theirs minds to be.”

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5 Ways to Promote Positive Mental Health

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Paul Nickel

Positive mental health is a great way to ensure you lead a long, happy and healthy life. Maintaining your mental health is easier than most people think and will have a significant impact on your everyday life.
Would you like to have more energy? What about a good night sleep? How you would like to go an entire year without catching the flu once? Achieving a positive mental health state will not guarantee these things, but it sure will help.

Here are the top 5 things you can do to help promote positive mental health in you and your children:

1. Eat Healthy. Eating fast food 3 times a week and downing a few cold ones before bed might be easier than making a home-cooked meal and more enjoyable than drinking a cold glass of water but it won’t do a whole lot for your health. Eating home-cooked foods (especially fruits and vegetables) and staying away from the fast food joints will help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you desire.

2. Drink Lots of Water. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, average individuals are expected to consume at least eight glasses of water a day. And while this seems like it may be a lot, it’s actually not. Eight glasses is almost equivalent to filling up your water bottle a few times between waking up and going to bed. Remember, if you work out, you will need to increase your water intake to compensate for the water you’re burning off while exercising. Drinking water will detoxify your body and restore it back to a healthy state – especially after drinking coffee or alcoholic beverages.

3. Kick the Bad Habits. We’ve already mentioned it a few times but eliminating significant alcohol intake will have positive results on your mental health. Likewise, kicking other bad habits like smoking and drinking considerable amounts of coffee will also help keep your mental health at its best.

4. De-Stress. Stress is one of the leading causes for poor mental health. When you’re stressed out, your body has to work harder to keep up and, overtime, it will take its toll on your body and your brain. Next time something stressful happens, try lighting some candles and taking a bath. If that doesn’t work for you, try letting off some steam by going to the gym or going for a run. Keeping a positive frame of mind will promote positive mental health and eliminate undue stress on your brain.

5. Book Regular Check-ups. Unfortunately, you can do all of the things listed above and still suffer from mental health problems. In fact, you might have a mental illness and not even know it. Make sure you’re mental health is in good condition by booking regular appointments with your doctor. He/she will be able to confirm whether you’re lifestyle is healthy or identify where you may need to make some changes.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/5-ways-to-promote-positive-mental-health-614453.html#ixzz0pez8LgM5
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Original Picture Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31246066@N04/4617063991/

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How Fat Free Foods Make You Gain Weight

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Paul Nickel

Have you ever thought about it? All of those companies that make low fat or fat free foods claim that their products help people lose weight. Here’s the thing though: Americans eat the most low fat and fat free foods, but somehow we have the highest rate of obesity in the world! That just doesn’t make sense!

Well, actually, it does make sense. Think about things in perspective in terms of time. People of all generations before us were not struggling as much as we are today with weight. What was it that was different? Well, they certainly didn’t have low fat or fat free foods so if they didn’t have those foods to “help” them, what was it? There’s the key! They didn’t have low fat or fat free foods! That’s why they were not struggling with their weight!!

Low fat and fat free foods do NOT help you to lose weight! Plain and simple, that is the full truth and I know you can handle it! Okay, so here’s how low fat and fat free foods make you fat…

First off, foods with fat tend to taste better than their low fat or fat free buddies. I know, it’s not something that you’re likely to admit since, I’m sure, you’re trying to keep those types of foods out of your mind while you work hard to lose weight. But realize that usually it is the fat in foods that make things taste so great. So when companies reduce or take out the fat, the taste goes with it.

Just think about the difference between a yummy cracker topped with cheese and a low fat cracker all dry and bland. Which one would YOU choose? The tasty one of course! So basically, you’re subjecting yourself to bland, tasteless, dry food that, get this, costs more! That just completely does not make sense! Anyways, the fact that companies take out the taste means that they need to make their products taste good some other way. You know what that means! Chemical galore!

Low fat and fat free foods contain so many extra fillers that it is honestly scary! You’ve got tons of salt and tons of sugar, way more than is healthy and you’ve also got odd bulking agents, flavor enhancers and even artificial flavoring. Clearly this can’t be good. However, in a way, it does the trick to making low fat and fat free foods more tasty.

Secondly, now that companies have been successful in making low fat and fat free foods tasty, people tend to think that since they taste good AND are low fat, then it’s okay to eat even more of these foods than regular full fat foods. This is actually very bad! It’s bad because if you eat more, you end up eating tons more of the chemicals they pump into these foods! And those chemicals are bad for your body, hands down, without any questions.

Statistically speaking, when you eat low fat or fat free foods, typically everyone will end up eating 28% more calories than regular full fat foods! Can you believe that? So by eating more of these low fat or fat free foods that are artificially tasty, you’re actually eating more calories than you should be, than you would be if you were eating full fat foods! Wow.

Now, that doesn’t mean that if you just eat less of the low fat or fat free foods, then these will be healthy for you because they really aren’t, period. That also doesn’t mean that you’re free to eat fatty, greasy foods either because fried foods are never good for you. What you should be eating though, in terms of fat, are foods that are high in good fats. These include olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and oily fish, like salmon and tuna.

Going the easy route with low fat or fat free foods, letting companies do the “extra legwork” for you, is just a bad idea. Success weight loss begins with making good health choices and sometimes it may mean making a healthy lifestyle change. But the key is to keep all of your health decisions in your hands. So keep learning about foods and make sure to keep your health in your focus and you’ll quickly be able to lose weight successfully!

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/how-fat-free-foods-make-you-gain-weight-544936.html#ixzz0pf0yaLH7
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Original Picture Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/3391646037/

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The Importance of Stretching

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Paul Nickel

It almost seems like there is a dramatic cut off point for muscle soreness. One day you are able to do simple physical activities such as workout or play sports without feeling sore, and then one day it seems you can’t make it through any activity without feeling stiff and sore as soon as you are done. The ware on muscles over time contributes to the stiffness and soreness that comes after working out. It seems to be just another thing that comes with getting old. Yet, there is a simple procedure that will prevent and reduce this stiffness from occurring: stretching before and after workouts.

The importance of stretching cannot be overstated. If you will get into a practice of stretching, even before you notice muscle soreness after workouts, then you will extend the life of your muscles and avoid harmful injuries. Any good stretching routine should include all of the major muscle groups in the body. The Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, Chest, Back, Legs, Calves, and core should all be included in some type of stretch. Although stretching routines can include numerous stretches for each of the major muscle groups, it is really only necessary to do one stretch for each of the groups. (Unless there is a specific muscle group that you individually have a problem with, then you should take the necessary time to really stretch out that muscle group.) Personal preference and intelligent research should help in deciding which stretches to use. Each of the stretches should be maintained for at least 20-30 seconds, and should then be repeated a second time and held for maximum results. It is important to not only stretch before a workout, but after as well. Not only does it help the muscles to recover if you stretch after a workout, but it also will help to build more lean muscle. This is due to stretching being a sustained muscle exercise, which complements a resistance based workout. Stretching really helps people to get more out of the time that they put into workouts.

Another way to get more out of your workout is to add additional protein to your nutritional diet. Your body uses protein to build lean muscle. Lean muscle growth increases the number of calories that your body consumes while idle. Which mean if you increase the amount of protein, then your body will be able to construct more lean muscle, and help you to become stronger and lose more weight. A good way to increase your protein in your diet is to add a protein supplement.

When looking for protein supplements look for a whey protein supplement. Whey protein supplements are dairy based, and thus easy for a humans to digest compared to the soy based protein supplements. You should also look to purchase an isolate whey protein versus a whey protein concentrate. Whey protein isolate contains 90% pure protein, and doesn’t have the fats and carbohydrates that concentrates contain. Whey protein supplements are easy to take, and don’t require any schedules or difficult dosages.

Adding stretching and changing your nutritional practices are good ways to help your body’s muscles and to drop some weight. It is a very basic change, but it will make a big difference in the long run.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-importance-of-stretching-1034305.html#ixzz0pf1ug9TU
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How Omega-3 Helps Your Mind and Body

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Paul Nickel

Over 25,000 worldwide scientific studies show that long-term consumption of Omega-3 fish oils offers benefits to your heart, joint, and skin health as well as your memory. Recent studies show they can even improve your emotional well-being.

Heart and circulation

Studies suggest that Omega-3 helps maintain healthy cardiovascular function and healthy circulation. Keeping your heart healthy can add years to your life. Omega-3 is also found to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Joints

Studies suggest that EPA, one of the main components of Omega-3, can help the body to reduce inflammation, which may mean less joint pain. Grown-ups and kids who take Omega-3 regularly find it can help support healthy joints.

Sharper eyesight

DHA, one of the main active ingredients of GO3 Omega-3, is one of the main building blocks for visual nerves and cells. It’s a major component in retinal tissue and plays a role in photoreceptor cells, the parts of the eye that collect light.

Mental activity

Studies suggest that Omega-3 contributes to brain and nerve cells, supporting mental activity. It can aid proper brain, eye, and central nervous system development in young children. Recent studies also show a positive effect on learning and concentration; a 2005 study (Richardson et al, The Oxford-Durham study, 2005.) showed over 40% of children significantly improving their reading and spelling abilities after regular doses of Omega-3. Omega-3 has also been shown to support mood and alleviate stress and tension.

Skin

Studies suggest that Omega-3 can help build cells throughout your body, so it can help skin become stronger and healthier and may even help with sunburn and complaints like eczema.

Isn’t Omega-3 in food?

Nothing can replace eating healthy natural foods. Eating well is the starting point for mental and physical health. Omega-3 is only in certain types of food and it’s one of the essential fatty acids that aren’t made by the body. It’s found in fatty fish such as salmon, herring, anchovies, mackerel, trout, and tuna but to get enough fish oils you would need to eat them several times a week. This won’t work for everyone, especially if your kids aren’t big fish fans! Plus if your normal diet is high in certain fats and acids common to a Western diet (found in meat and oils like soybean, sunflower, and safflower) it can affect how much Omega-3 your body gets from food. So it can be hard to make sure your family is getting enough—which means taking a nutritional supplement can help.

Kids and Omega-3

Studies suggest that in the very young, a lack of Omega-3 can affect how brain cells grow and communicate. And DHA (one of the main components of GO3 Omega-3) helps vital areas of our eyes to develop.

Adults and Omega-3

Grown-ups can also benefit from Omega-3′s effects. It helps maintain a healthy heart and circulation and helps maintain proper joint function. It helps alleviate minor aches and pains associated with daily life and can help to protect and improve your skin, even helping sunburn and complaints like eczema. And it can help prevent mood swings, stress and tension.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/how-omega3-helps-your-mind-and-body-447049.html#ixzz0pf1SPL7h
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