The Uses and Benefits of Ginseng

The benefits of ginseng have been known for over 7000 years. It is the most famous Chinese herb with various forms of it being used for medicinal reasons. The whole root is used in powdered form and as a tea. Each plant takes over 5-6 years to grow but the roots can live for over 100 years.

Ingrediants in ginseng include 25 saponin triterpenoid glycosides (also called ginsenosides) that enable ginseng to balance and counter the effects of stress. Ginseng is used to reduce stress, increase performance and energy levels, improve memory and boost the immune system. The Chinese use it as a prevention and as a cure.

Ginseng can be used to improve the health of people recovering from illness. It increases a sense of wellbeing and stamina, and improves both mental and physical performance. Ginseng can be used to help with erectile dysfunction, hepatitis C, and symptoms relating to menopause, and can also be used for lowering blood glucose levels and controlling blood pressure.

Ginseng is one of the most effective anti-aging supplements. It can alleviate some major effects of aging, such as degeneration of the blood system, and increase mental and physical capacity.

Other important benefits of ginseng is its support in cancer treatment and its effects on sports performance.

Flat Belly Diet Morning Meals

If your standby breakfast is boring, fattening or—worse—nonexistent, then you could use a Flat Belly Diet morning meal makeover.

The belly-fat fighting ingredients in these recipes are MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids)—The Flat Belly Diet magic ingredient that targets stubborn tummy fat.

MUFAs are the good-for-you fats found in foods such as avocados, olive oil—even dark chocolate! You’ll find a MUFA in each of these 10 delicious recipes

Chances are you will lose belly fat on the Flat Belly Diet, but not because of the MUFAs. When you lose weight, you are more likely to lose it in your midsection regardless of the type of weight loss plan, says Michael Jensen, MD, Mayo Clinic obesity researcher and endocrinology specialist. The plan promotes a lifestyle of overall healthy eating, weight control, stress reduction, and exercise that could be sustained beyond the 32 days. Log onto flatbelly.com for added support, motivation, additional menu plans, and the option to print shopping lists or track nutritional intake.

Sample Flat Belly Menu

Breakfast: Apple almond oatmeal

Lunch: Pesto ham and cheese sandwich on whole-grain English muffin with lettuce & tomato and 1 cup grape tomatoes

Dinner: 3 oz grilled salmon steak with 2 tablespoons almonds, 1 1/2 cup green beans

Snack: 1/4 cup hummus with 2 tablespoons pine nuts and 1 cup red pepper strips

Calories of meals and snacks during the diet phase are controlled at 400, but the other nutrients can vary. "You can get up to 40% of your calories from fat if you choose the higher fat menu items," says Sass, which exceeds the National Institutes of Health recommendation of 20%-35% of calories.

Avoiding Weight Gain When You Quit Smoking

If you want to stop smoking but are worried about gaining weight, this article may help you. Many ex-smokers do gain a few pounds, but only a few gain a lot of weight. The best action you can take to improve your health is to quit smoking. Smoking is much more harmful to your health than gaining a few pounds. Making some simple changes, like developing healthier eating and physical activity habits, should help you control your weight gain when you quit smoking.

Smoking increases metabolism slightly:

* Smoking burns up to 200 calories a day in a heavy smoker
* Because smoking burns calories, metabolism is boosted (increased) slightly
* Nicotine is an appetite suppressant

When you quit smoking, a gain of between 5 and 10 pounds during the first few months of cessation is normal. If your eating habits have remained the same as they were when you smoked, you can easily shed this small gain with a brisk, 30 minute walk daily.

The fact is that many, but not all, ex-smokers do gain some weight after they quit. One study found that 60 percent of men and 51 percent of women ex-smokers put on extra pounds. But the degree of weight gain is relatively small in most cases. The average long-term weight gain for quitters is about 5 pounds, and in one study, 23 percent of quitters actually lost weight.

Smokers weigh less because smoking depresses the appetite for certain foods, while quitters, whose appetites are not suppressed, gain weight because they take in more calories. Nicotine may also alter the smoker's metabolism so that smokers burn more calories and convert fewer calories into fat. In addition, smoking serves as a meal terminator (rather than taking a second or third helping or dessert, you are likely to stop eating and have a cigarette).

Weight Loss Strategies - Do Push-Ups

Muscle burns more calories than fat does, and decreased muscle mass can be one of the main reasons metabolism slows. Disuse can cause women to drop as much as 10 pounds of muscle between the ages of 30 and 50. Losing that much muscle means you'll burn 350 to 500 fewer calories a day. To build and maintain muscle mass, aim for two to three strength-training workouts a week. If you don't belong to a gym, try push-ups, squats, abdominal crunches and tricep dips off a chair.

Strength training has many benefits including:

* Boosting metabolism
* Burning calories
* Preventing bone loss
* Strength training is expensive

The only problem with strength training is that it can be expensive. It is not cheap to join a health club. Home gyms cost an arm and a leg. It can also be expensive to buy free weights. So when you are “broke”, what do you do?

Well, I have a piece of exercise equipment that I know you can afford. It is your body. Body weight exercises use your body as resistance. These exercises are good because they stimulate more muscles than free weights or machines. One of them is Push Ups.

Any device that claims to improve the push-up is a waste of money. The push-up is a great body weight exercise. You can strength train with push-ups for years without needing to add extra resistance. You can simply switch to a more difficult variation of push-up.

The average person can not do 3 sets of 12 regular push ups without any additional push-up device. So, the average person does not need any additional push-up device.