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Archive for October, 2010

Post-Workout Nutrition

I just got back from an awesome workout and I thought I would take this time to answer a questions I recently got about what is best thing to eat after a workout .

This question is from Natalia. “My question is with respect to post-exercise nutrition. I frequently play tennis at nighttime and finish my game around 10 pm. My games typically last for an hour and a half or a couple of hours, and given that I finish my workout/game so late, what sort of post-exercise meal would you suggest?”

The short answer to this questions is to keep it as liquid and as simple as can be . The last thing you want to do is go to bed on a full stomach . That is only going to bog you down and leave you with a poor night’s sleep, which means you will wake up in the morning feeling terrible. What you want to do is go to bed feeling slightly hungry – not starving, but slightly hungry. This will allow your body to spend its energy on all the regeneration that it has to do during the night. During the night is when growth hormone is discharged and the body’s cells are repaired. If you have too much food before you go to bed, that energy is taken away from the repair process and is used for the digestive process, and that is not what you want.

Drinking a green juice is something I always consume after a workout . In it I have kale, collard greens, parsley, lemon, apple, and carrot. A lot of people might say, where’s your protein? Where is your carbohydrate? Well, it’s all in there. Green vegetables, anything green is your highest source of amino acids and amino acids make up proteins. You can also find this by following a raw food diet. So I am getting my meal in a liquid form, a very simple form in amino acids, so my body can assimilate them very quickly. Also, there are very simple sugars because any time you juice, you remove the pulp which results in a tall glass of simple sugars that can reach the muscle cells that much faster to replenish your glycogen stores. That is very important because with post-exercise nutrition there is a window of opportunity of about 30 minutes where you need to get something in, and preferably liquid. So the sooner you can get the liquid into your body the better your best options are water and simple sugars back into your body in liquid form .
I always recommend some type of sports drink for the athletes I work with , preferably a home-made, natural sports drink right after they come off of the field or the ice, or out of the gym – whatever it may be. Remember the crucial time – 30 minutes. During the 30 minutes after you finish your workout, you need to get some liquid nutrition into your body. It’s going to give you the energy you need to recover a lot faster .
A green smoothie is another option if you don’t own a juicer . A smoothie that I often make after a lot of my workouts or games is banana, a scoop of almond butter or other nut butter. I’ll throw in some raw cacao, some flax seed oil or some fish oil to get in some healthy fats. I’ll throw in some ground flax seeds to get in some good fiber and bulk, and I’ll blend it all up with water or some rice milk. The end result is beautiful. You can throw in some hemp seeds for a nifty source of protein, or even whey protein if you use that – whatever is good for you. You get the healthy fats, amino acids and carbohydrates your body needs after a workout in this smoothie .

So, I hope that answers your question Natalia, and for anyone else who was wondering what to eat after a workout or wondering what to eat late at night after a game. Liquid nutrition is the best, right? You don’t want to go to bed on a full stomach . Keep it simple, keep it light, and make sure you pack in quality nutrition and you’re going to recover a lot faster and your performance is going to go through the roof with a high energy diet.

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For the Ultimate Experience of Kopi Luwak you can try Legendee

 Kopi Luwak is highly regarded as the gourmet coffee Southeast Asia . Kopi Luwak is “Civet Coffee” or “Weasel Coffee” because it is made from beans that have passed through the digestive tract of the civet–a cat-like or weasel-like animal that munches on coffee berries but cannot digest the bean at the berry’s core. Kopi Luwak beans have their unique, “hiden” flavors released by the process of passing through the stomach and digestive tract of the civet and being exposed to its digestive enzymes. There is no amount or technique of roasting that can bring out the subtly nuanced flavors of the beans better than the civet’s enzymes, meaning that without this animal this great gourmet coffee delight simply could not exist. Civet farms, where the animals are treated as beloved pets, as well as wild civet preservations in the mountains of Southeast Asia have been created in order to produce as many enzymatically-treated beans for Kopi Luwak as there possibly can be .

However, since Kopi Luwak is the rarest among gourmet coffees, it is costly. There are those who feel that they can’t afford it, at least not much of it. So to that end Vietnam’s most famous coffee house and coffee manufacturer, Trung Nguyen, produces a brand of gourmet coffee called Legendee. Legendee is one of the world’s most famous gourmet coffees, as it is a unique, enzymatically-treated coffee just as Kopi Luwak is, the difference of course being that Legendee is artificially treated with enzymes whereas the civet is needed to make Kopi Luwak. Legendee is considered to be the closest artificially-treated coffee in flavor to Kopi Luwak. Arabica and Excelsa beans are blended together to create this one of a kind formula.

In recent time Trung Nguyen has developed its Legendee Gold to have a brighter flavor and more of the traditionally Arabica aroma and acidity that many gourmet coffee drinkers love. On the front of the package they’ve placed a mountain symbol to stand for the high-altitude range where Legendee is produced and which gives it its unique and exotic flavor. Gourmet coffee drinkers who visit Vietnam cannot have a complete, fulfilling trip unless they sit in a Trung Nguyen coffeehouse and taste of the Legendee as it gets brewed in the the single-cup metallic Phin filters. And Legendee has rapidly become the gourmet favorite

So if you love gourmet coffee and you want to experience the extraordinary taste and feel of Kopi Luwak but you aren’t sure you have the money for it, try out Trung Ngyung’s Legendee , which you can find to order online.

 

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Diet Guildelines for People with Kidney Problems

If you have a kidney problem, or you want to make sure you don’t get one someday, you have to be careful about what you eat.

The goal of this article is to provide tips on a sensible diet for people with kidney problems - whether you already have a kidney problem, or are worried you might have one in the future. Similarly, another goal of this article is to provide helpful information for anyone who cares or cooks for someone with kidney problems.

Diet plays an important part in overall kidney health: not only in managing and controlling illnesses like kidney disease and kidney failure, but also in preventing recurring problems like kidney stones. Some factors to consider include the following.

* The current health of your kidneys and their present level of function

* Your overall state of health, including any ongoing conditions or disorders.

* Your weight. Obesity places greater strain on the kidneys and increases the risk or kidney disease or kidney failure.

Five types of food need to be considered as part of a diet for people with kidney problems.

Sodium Levels

Sodium, which is more commonly known as salt, plays an important role in metabolism. It maintains our bodily fluid balances, influences our muscle control, and even helps us keep our blood pressure in a healthy range.

But many people consume way too much of it, and it can be especially harmful you want to stay on a healthy kidney diet.

Normally, your kidneys filter out excess salt. But unhealthy kidneys fail to do this. They allow salt to accumulate.

This, in turn, causes fluids to accumulate. Swelling and bloating follow, especially in the face and joints.

If you have kidney health issues, you should avoid the following foods – or at least, keep their consumption to a minimum:

  • dinner mixes that are pre-packaged or processed 
  • potato chips and salty snacks
  • salted nuts
  • meat that has been processed, like cold cuts
  • cheese
  • canned, dehydrated, or instant soup or bouillon cubes 
  • canned vegetables
  • bacon

You should also try to avoid salting your food with a salt shaker at the dinner table.

Protein

Protein is good for you unless you have kidney problems and you eat too much of it.

Eating a diet that includes a large amount of protein is bad for your kidneys. It causes excess waste and increases the risk of kidney disease. Talk to your doctor to find a balance.

A lot of protein can be found in meat and poultry products (which includes eggs). Vegetables and grains typically include little or no protein.

Potassium

Potassium plays an important role in maintaining the health of muscles and nerves. But once again, you can get too much of it, which may result in an irregular heartbeat. Most foods contain potassium, but amounts vary from one type to another. 

So if you’re concerned about your kidneys, you have to become aware of how much potassium is contained in your food choices.

Some foods contain a lot of potassium, and you should be careful to watch how much of them you eat. These high potassium foods include mushrooms, mustard, oranges, potatoes, prunes, raisins, apricots, bananas, beets, chocolate and coffee.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is similar to potassium in that it promotes healthy muscles and nerves. When combined with calcium, it also gives you  strong bones and teeth.

Kidney problems will sometimes alter your phosphorus balances – and not in a good way. This reduces your calcium levels, and your body begins to “rob” calcium from your bones to make up for the deficiency.

But having too much phosphorus isn’t healthy either. Excessive phosphorus levels can result in brittle bones, painful joints, and itchy skin.

You’ll find relatively high levels of phosphorus in foods like nuts and peanut butter, caramel, and liver (both beef and chicken).Keep in mind you can get phosphorus from what you drink too. Beer and cola products have relatively high phosphorus levels.

Fluids

Your kidneys act as the “fluid filters” of your body. Someone with a kidney problem has challenges in this area. So, it’s important to watch your fluid intake carefully as part of a healthy kidney diet.

If you consume too many fluids, it can drive up your blood pressure along with causing swelling and shortness of breath.

This is something that’s best decided through discussions with your doctor.

And remember, some fluids are consumed as solids, but they melt into a liquid once you’ve eaten them. Ice cream is a good example of this type of food.

Summary

Anyone who has a serious kidney problem – or wants to avoid one – needs to be maintain a healthy, kidney-friendly diet.

When you suffer kidney failure, or your kidneys are seriously damaged by disease, there are limited options: renal dialysis (which can go one for years) or a kidney transplant. Maintaining a diet designed for people with kidney problems today will will make it less likely that you’ve ever have to make such choices in the future. 

To learn more about related topics, click on kidney failure.

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Learn Ayurvedic Cooking According to your Body Type to Lose Weight, Reduce Hair Loss and Feel Good

‘Our body is the temple of our soul.’

This is a very popular saying that has its roots in the science of Ayurveda in India. Ayurveda has been known and used among the people of India for thousands of years and now, over the last century it has gained popularity in the west, too. Globalization and modern technique, the world wide web and also travelling possibilities to countries on the other side of the world have made it possible. Online you can now find thousands of people offering Ayurvedic massages, Ayurvedic trainings, Ayurvedic medicines and recipes for great Ayurvedic meals. Naturally this makes it possible for everyone to gain a basic knowledge about the three doshas vata, pitta and kapha. You can read that pitta is the hot type and has much acidity, that a vata type most probably has a bloated stomach and that a kapha type has to fight with with his mucus. There is Ayurvedic medicine against losing hair, for beautiful acne-free skin and against any kind of digestion problems.

Of course there are also Ayurvedic recipes online but it will be very hard or even impossible to gain experience of preparing wonderful Ayurvedic dishes yourself with an experienced Ayurvedic cook by your side. If you ever get the chance for such an Ayurveda retreat, and especially if that is in India, you should immediately take it. If you come to the Shree Bindu Sewa Sansthan Ashram in Vrindavan, Swami Balendu and his family will be looking forward to welcome you with a lot of well-smelling Indian spices, the biggest variety of vegetables and pots and pans ready for your cooking! You can choose if you want to stay one, two, three or four weeks for learning authentic Ayurvedic cooking. In one week you learn the basics, which of course includes knowledge about the body types. In two weeks there are more recipes and some more philosophy. In three weeks you learn more dishes and a bigger background about the theory and after a full month of retreat at this Ashram you will know how to help people with pitta problems – such as anger and aggression – simply by cooking the right meal! You will be able to give everybody his own individual diet and nutrition, whether they want to get rid of extra body fat, get a beautiful skin, get rid of gas and pain in the stomach, reduce hair loss, enhance their physical exercise with their diet or simply get a healthy nutrition according to their body type.

And additionally you support poor children in India with your participation in the Ayurvedic Cooking Retreat at the Shree Bindu Sewa Sansthan Ashram You help giving food and education to poor children of a charity school who only in this way have the possibility to learn!

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A Look At The Legend And The Legacy of Fine Cadbury Chocolates

From: Article2008.com
Author: Gregg Hall 

To chocolate connoisseurs all over the world the name of Cadbury is well known and associated with fine chocolate. You will find the delicacies from the Cadbury Company in a wide variety of specialty shops, department stores, and even grocery stores. Who hasn’t heard of the famous Cadbury chocolate eggs that adorn Easter Baskets? For fans of chocolate and non fans alike, the story of the beginnings of Cadbury and how it became a household name all over the world is an entertaining one.

A far cry from its beginnings in the New World when it was a bitter drink loved by their elite, the confectionary type of chocolate that we enjoy today was first made in Bristol, England by Frye and Sons in the mid 1800s. By the early 20th century this company had joined with Cadbury which means that the chocolate we get from Cadbury today can be traced back to the original chocolate made and sold to chocolate lovers in Europe.

Although not a well known fact to many, Cadbury created the first chocolate bar and it is probably not an exaggeration to make the claim that the chocolates from Cadbury were the basic foundation for the remainder of the chocolate makers in the world. The reputation that Cadbury has to this day for fine chocolate goes all the way back to its founder, John Cadbury, who implemented rigid quality guidelines at the very beginning.

The Cadbury Company continues to be a top chocolate maker in the United Kingdom and in addition has exploded in popularity globally over the last century. In addition to the well known Cadbury eggs the company is also well known for its quality candies and chocolate bars and even chocolate drinks and powders.

Many of the chocolate creations from Cadbury have become popular as holiday candies and will no doubt continue to enjoy this popularity for many years to come. As mentioned above the delicious chocolate creme Cadbury Easter Eggs are incredibly famous and are a part of Easter Tradition and as stated by the company these little delicacies are their number one selling creation in the first quarter of every year.

If you live in the United States you may find that a great deal of the products made by the Cadbury Company aren’t imported into the country. Still, you will be able to find a great assortment of their chocolate candies and chocolate bars
in a wide range of candy stores and grocery stores in the U.S. You can’t go wrong giving Cadbury chocolates as a gift since they are so popular.

Easter is right around the corner so why not impress your holiday visitors with a little knowledge that you learned from this article and be sure to have some fine quality chocolates from Cadbury on hand for them to experience.

For what it is worth, the wish of the author is to convey to those who take the time to browse this piece a deep appreciation of the entire scenario. Utter and absolute familiarity regarding perhaps even near worthless areas of interest generates a library of knowledge that one may utilize in the analogous scenarios that one frequently encounters throughout life. Building a profound conception of the elements of the various aspects of our human world allow informed readers to generate appropriate plans of action to achieve a fulfilling existence. In that journey, I wish you the best.

 

If you are looking for Washington DC Catering, you have to try MGM Roast Beef a restaurant in DC or you can visit their site at http://www.mgmroastbeef.com.

 

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