Fiber is one of those things that we are told to eat mroe of yet there should be some confusion. Not all fiber is alike.

Most Americans know that foods high in fiber are full of nutrients because they are less processed. There are two kinds of dietary fiber and you need both.

Insoluble fiber (the type that does not dissolve in water and is found in wheat bran, oats, whole grains and vegetables) helps promote regularity, prevent hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. It may also help prevent colon cancer.

Soluble fiber (the type that dissolves in water, found in oat bran, oats, beans, apples and carrots) helps lower blood cholesterol levels and control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
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Thanks for visiting. To get started why not subscribe to the 21 day fitness plan at the top of this page. Look in the red box, it is right there.. Thanks Bill

I have a new batch of posts that I have run across that I wanted to let you know about. These are about all sorts of things but are all a really great read if you want to do more to keep yourself healthy.

12 Winter Depression Busters

We are entering Winter. If winter is not ourside of your front door then it is probably getting close anyway. Here are 12 tips that should help you stay healthy over the winter.

Checking your Vitamin D

Did you know that Vitamin D deficeincies happen most during the Winter? When there is not as much sun in the sky and we are outdoors less we do not get a chance to get as much Vitamin D as we may need. Dr Gabe Mirkin tells us about a blood test that we can get to check our level of Vitamin D in our system.

10 Commandments of Primal Gym Time

Zen to Fitness is a great blog and I loved the pic on this page of Arnold the Governator with his future wife probably taken back in the early 80s. Anyway the article itself is a great list of things to do to get the most our of your weight workout.

This is a new concept for me, an online weight loss doctor would ask and answer questions about weight loss. I found this article that may answer some online weight loss doctor questions.

For those who cannot always afford to visit a doctor regularly, an online weight loss doctor offers the necessary convenience. An online weight loss doctor can offer you a range of advice, from what food to eat and when, to which types of exercises you should do and whether you should take weight loss supplements or not. In fact, an online weight loss doctor could have been a substitute for a real doctor, but unfortunately, it is not easy to find a reliable and honest online weight loss doctor. In this article I will give you some tips that will help you find a credible online doctor quickly. Read the rest of this entry »

As you can imagine top athletes are very particular with what they eat and when. I was over at a running blog today when I ran across the following article about Carb cycling.

Crib Sheet on Carbohydrate Cycling at Her Active Life

The basic idea behind carb cycling is that you eat every day based on the next day workouts. Some top athletes will build their eating around bog events as well as seasonal patterns of training and working out output.

Even if you are not really at the level of fitness and athleticism to take advantage of a concept like carb cycling this is a nice peek at what the real elite athletes think about when it comes to diet.

A few months ago I rolled out a series of emails that people could subscribe to for free. You may have seen the sign up form on other pages of this blog but I wanted to remind you about it now that spring seems to be poking out around the corner and so many of us are thinking about improving our fitness for the summer.

The series of emails somes every second day for 21 or so days and each day is dedicated to something differnect. Everyhting from eating, cardio, weights, water, protein, sleeping, how to get more energy, and even the attitudes that will get you in better shape.

I am pretty proud of the series of email and the creation was in part because I thought it would be nice to really cover all the bases in a short period of time. The time to act is now and I hope that you take the opportunity today to check this out as sign-up

If you would like more information on the emails and even sign up you can find more at the fitness plan signup page.

I would like to start this post just by saying that I know that there are many horrors of alcohol abuse and that there are many reasons why drinking alcohol may lead to an early exit but at the same time I just bottled my fourth batch of home made beer, Barons Beer actually, and thought that it would be fun to come up with a great big list of why beer is good for you.

Cancer preventer - A compound found only in hops, which are used to make beer, have been discovered to prevent cancer. Of course we all know that hops are an ingredient in beer and therefore Xanthohumol has high hopes of making beer a new anti cancer drug. Xanthohumol flavinoids have been tested and its use is hoped to be a preventative treatment against prostate and colon cancer and even may be a form of hormone therapy for women.

Getting your vitamins - A friend of mine used to say there is a pork chop in every glass of beer but recent studies show that there is vitamin B6 in beer increases the level of vitamin B6 in a beer drinkers blood which has been shown to decrease the level of homocysteine which increase the chances of heart disease.
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I was looking at some articles at one of the big bodybuilding forums and ran into an article on cutting up- losing fat. Ripping Up: The Guide to Cutting
is not a really long article but it does give you some great ideas including keeping protein intake high, carbohydrates lower and lower fat as well. Also I noticed one supplement that the author is reccomending and that is Glutamine. Glutamine is a amino acid and there are many people out there that think that is will help in getting rid of fat.

You may be amazed at the amount of food eaten on this fat losing “diet” but look at the exercise as well. These guys would have lots of muscle and are doing cardio every morning and weights every evening. This is a great example of really pushing and making the changes necessary to lose fat….well lose it in time for the beach anyway

I work with some people that are on the Abs Diet. The Abs Diet is a diet that is based very closely with the Body For Life diet/fitness/movement that not only has you eating a fairly strict diet that is balanced for six days a week but also working out every morining. I love the Abs Diet idea as all it does is take the most important things to getting and staying healthy and putting them all together.

I ran into an article about eating and the Abs Diet on the Men’s Health site titled Power 12 Foods: Never Go Hungry
and thought I would pass it on. If you have any interest in Body for Life or the Abs Diet I wholeheartedly endorse these as a great way to take care of yourself.

OK last time for this same old story but the more times and places that you can hear about he basics of healthy eating the better. Here is an article, from of all places, spineuniverse.com.

Fiber and Carbohydrates
Some weight management plans advocate eliminating or seriously limiting carbohydrate consumption. However, this may not be ideal because healthy sources of carbohydrates contain fiber the body needs.

It is recommended that adults consume 25 grams of fiber per day. Adequate dietary fiber is ideal for preventing obesity as well as other diet-related disease and for maintaining body weight (7). An estimated amount consumed by most Americans is 15 grams per day (8).

The best sources of carbohydrate that help to fulfill fiber requirements come from whole grains, fruits and vegetables; fresh unprocessed foods. The closer the food is to its natural state the better. For example, the fiber in oatmeal draws water into the intestines and helps maintain regularity, which decreases the time potential carcinogens spend in the digestive track. Fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants and vitamins that help to neutralize free-radicals. To increase daily fiber intake, consider these suggestions:

· Eat whole grain breads, cereals, pastas, couscous

· Eat raw fruits and vegetables

· Mix bran into cereals, casseroles, muffins, even salad

· Incorporate beans (e.g. garbanzo, kidney) into soup and salad
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Now I know how I dropped a bunch of weight in the spring.

Fish Oil and Exercise = Fat Loss

This is an interesting article on the power of fish oil. Fish oil is taken by people to increase their intake of Omega 3 vitamins and I have been taking Omega vitamins for about three years now. Most people take Omegas to help their heart as some studies have suggested that it will do exactly that.