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If you know anything about nutrition, then you’re probably already aware that nuts are recommended as part of a healthy whole-food diet. Yet many people are reluctant to eat nuts because of their high fat content. It is true that nuts are high in fat. However, the fat in nuts is the unsaturated plant variety that can actually help lower LDL cholesterol. What’s more, nuts are packed with beneficial vitamins and minerals. Thus eating a handful of mixed nuts on a daily basis can do a great deal to boost your overall health, protect you from various health complaints, and even help you lose weight.

Plant Protein:

Nuts contain a lot of plant protein. Plant proteins contain certain amino acids that you cannot get from consuming animal protein. Amino acids are essential for the proper functioning and regeneration of cells. It is important to get a balance of animal and plant proteins. Adding nuts to your diet helps ensure that your body gets the all of the right amino acids required for optimal health.

Fiber Rich:

Do you ever suffer from constipation? If so, you should include mixed nuts as a regular part of your diet. Nuts are packed with fiber, so they can help to keep your regular and may even lower your risk for colon cancer and digestive illnesses. Consuming high fiber foods like nuts can also help detoxify your body and promote weight loss.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids:

Nuts contain a lot of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids improve cardiovascular health and reduce LDL cholesterol levels. Eating nuts frequently can stop you from having a heart attack or stroke. Omega 3 fatty acids also increase levels of good HDL cholesterol, prevent blood from clotting, and reduce blood pressure. Omega 3 fatty acids are good for your brain, too. There is evidence to suggest that ingesting omega 3 fatty acids can improve memory and cognitive function. It may even help to stop the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Antioxidants & Vitamins:

Nuts are packed with antioxidants and vitamins. When you grab a handful of mixed nuts and eat them, you provide the cells of your body with vitamins A, B and E. Thus eating nuts can help reduce your risk of cancer by keeping your cells healthy and preventing the damage caused by free radicals and environmental toxins. Eating nuts regularly also helps to keep your skin cells and blood capillaries healthy.

Magnesium and Other Minerals:

Many nuts contain magnesium, which is a very important mineral when it comes to human health. Magnesium is essential for healthy bones because it helps the body absorb and retain calcium. It can also help reduce the risk of heart attack, lower blood pressure, prevent leg cramps and spasms, and limit weight gain. Nuts also contain calcium, potassium, zinc, folic acid, copper, phosphorus, tryptophan and iron.

Portion Control:

Nuts contain the good kind of fat. Nevertheless, nuts are still a high-fat food. Therefore you should be careful about how many nuts you eat. If you are trying to watch your weight, do not consume more than one serving of mixed nuts per day. If you eat nuts regularly, it’s also a good idea to restrict the amount of fat you get from other the other foods you eat.

Cinergy Health & Life Insurance Agency is dedicated to providing quality health and life insurance plans for people in a variety of life situations. For more information on a selection of health and insurance topics, visit the Cinergy Health & Life Learning Center at http://www.cinergyhealth.com.

You started out with great success, but now those stubborn scales just won’t budge! It’s called a weight loss plateau, and it’s not that unusual. In fact, almost every dieter will face it. Before you throw all your hard work out the window, take a look at some of these surefire ways to beat the plateau. With the right knowledge, you can rev your metabolism back up to full throttle.

Stay Motivated: The biggest obstacle in the way of your weight loss goals is yourself. If you can stay motivated and committed to your goal, you will achieve it. It’s a simple truth that can be difficult to live up to. When you feel your motivation fail and your frustration build, remind yourself of your goal. Think about how you will look at your target weight, what you will wear, and how your life will be different. Will you enjoy social events more? Will it be easier to keep up with your kids? Will you have improved your health for the better?

Be Accountable: It’s easy to get sloppy when you have been tracking your diet and exercise for a long period of time. Writing down everything you eat is a good way of keeping honest. Remember to count the little bites and nibbles along the way as well. Portion sizes have a tendency to increase without a close watch as well.

Mix Things Up: Are you in a diet rut? Eating the same foods all the time, and going to the gym on the same three nights? Some dieters find that eating a greater variety of food can stimulate their metabolism back into action. So can altering your activity. Try a new exercise, or a more advanced version of what you are already doing. If your workout is challenging and fun, you’ll be more likely to stick with it for the long haul.

Be A Cheater: No, not like the television show. Cheating on your diet is a great way to increase your metabolism. For instance if you consume 1200 calories each day, increase your daily calorie intake to 1400. The next day, make up for it by consuming only 1000 calories. Over time, your body adjusts itself to a restricted amount of calories, thinking that there is a shortage of food.

Changing your intake can give your body the jolt it needs to start burning fuel again. While hitting a plateau can be very frustrating, the most important thing to do is to stay motivated. You’ve already implemented the changes for your healthy new lifestyle. If you stick with them, they will pay dividends.

Cinergy Health & Life Insurance Agency is dedicated to providing quality health and life insurance plans for people in a variety of life situations. For more information on a selection of health and insurance topics, visit the Cinergy Health & Life Learning Center at http://www.cinergyhealth.com.

You’re watching what you eat, lifting weights and working out on the treadmill. In fact, you’re spending more time at the gym than you are at home – but your weight just keeps rising – and it’s not muscle mass. What gives? Are you simply destined to be overweight?

Unexplained weight gain and weight that won’t budge despite healthy lifestyle changes is beyond frustrating – but eating too much may not be cause. There are medical causes of weight gain too that aren’t as uncommon as you think. Keep these causes of unexplained weight gain in mind if you’re gaining weight – and can’t explain why.

Medications:

One of the more common causes of unexplained weight gain is medications. If you’ve started a new medication recently, check with a doctor or pharmacist to make sure it’s not contributing to your inability to lose weight. Medications that commonly cause weight gain include anti-depressants, anti-psychotic medications, medications used to treat seizures, steroid medications, diabetes medications and antihistamines. Even some blood pressure medications such as beta-blockers can cause unexplained weight gain. In many cases, there are alternative medications that will treat a condition without causing weight gain.

An Under-active Thyroid:

An under-active thyroid gland, a condition known as hypothyroidism, isn’t uncommon, especially among women – and weight gain is one of the most common symptoms. Other signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism is dry skin, feeling excessively tired, constipation, infertility and forgetfulness. These symptoms may be vague in the beginning, and some people have an under-active thyroid and don’t even know it. Fortunately, blood tests can diagnose hypothyroidism, and it can be treated with thyroid hormone supplementation.

Polycystic Ovary Disease:

Polycystic ovary disease is a condition that affects up to one in ten women in the United States – and weight gain and obesity is one of the most common symptoms. Other symptoms of polycystic ovary disease are irregular periods, acne, infertility, excessive hair growth on the face and body and vague pelvic and back pain. In polycystic ovary disease, small cysts develop on the ovaries – and most women with it have high levels of insulin in their blood, which contributes to their weight gain. This medical cause of weight gain is often treated with a medication called metformin, which also helps with weight loss.

Other Medical Causes of Weight Gain:

A disorder called Cushing’s syndrome where there’s a tumor that secretes cortisol on the adrenal cortex near the kidney can cause unexplained weight gain – as can liver and kidney disease. With liver and kidney disease, the weight gain is usually due to water retention. It’s also not uncommon to have weight gain at times when hormone levels fluctuate such as during menopause and the pre-menopausal years.

Unexplained Weight Gain: The Bottom Line?

If you have unexplained weight gain despite eating a healthy diet and exercising, see your doctor for a physical and blood tests. Not all weight gain comes from poor lifestyle habits. It could be something as simple as your medications.

Cinergy Health & Life Insurance Agency is dedicated to providing quality health and life insurance plans for people in a variety of life situations. For more information on a selection of health and insurance topics, visit the Cinergy Health & Life Learning Center at http://www.cinergyhealth.com.

Women who work hard at trying to manage their weight only to find the excess pounds won’t budge are often left frustrated. While women are often made to feel guilty for being heavier than statistics show they should be, there may in fact be logical reasons some women have weight loss resistance. There are a number of factors that might be at play.

If you are a woman finding it hard to fight the bulge, why not investigating some of these factors. One or more of them may help to shed some light on your situation.

Why Are Some Women Weight Loss Resistant?

Here are a few possibilities of why some women seem to be weight loss resistant:

Emotional Eating: Some women just plainly like the taste of food. Others eat to calm nerves or use food to meet an emotional need. A sign of emotional eating is when a woman eats when she’s not hungry.

False Hunger: Just as a pregnant woman might experience false labour, a woman can experience cramps that mimic hunger pangs. Gaseous food and chewing gum can cause this feeling. Food intolerances can also cause a cramping feeling. Once a woman feels false hunger, she obviously feels the need to eat to calm her stomach, resulting in adding unneeded calories.

Hormonal Imbalances: Many pregnant women gain weight well beyond the weight of the baby. Most women eat healthier while pregnant than at any other time in their lives, so what’s going on? Many peri- and post-menopausal women complain of unexplained weight gain and weight loss resistance too. Hormonal imbalances can cause a ruckus in some women.

Genetics: It is obvious just by observing some families that genetics has a role in weight gain. Often when one struggles with excess weight, one of their parents does too.

Overeating: It goes without saying that overeating can lead to weight gain. It is simple math that as many calories that are taken in need to be burned in order to stay in balance. Oftentimes, women who workout will trick themselves into thinking they can eat more because they’ve worked out. Some even use food or a high calorie beverage as a workout reward, which obviously defeats the purpose.

Missing Ingredient: Some women’s bodies have trouble absorbing the nutrients from their food throwing the body into havoc. A multivitamin might help to bring needed balance.

Thyroid Problems: An underactive thyroid can prevent a woman’s metabolism from processing calories efficiently. Not only might a woman with an underactive thyroid be unable to lose weight, but she may gain weight rapidly if not diagnosed and treated in time.

Under-activity: In order for a woman’s body to burn calories, it needs to move. If a woman has a sedentary job, even if she exercises, her body may not be getting enough exercise.

What To Do?

If you suspect any of the above conditions apply to you, take action on them.

Obviously, it is important to get a physical check-up including blood work done, if you haven’t already. It is important to make efforts to keep yourself moving and exercising and to be conscious of what you’re taking in. Reminding yourself of the above factors should help you become more aware of what might be going on and steer you toward a few new solutions.

In any event, adopt the “Do It Anyway Plan”. That means, keep exercising even if the scale doesn’t budge. Do it anyway. Your muscles, (including the all important heart muscle), your circulation, lungs and metabolism will thank you.

Cinergy Health & Life Insurance Agency is dedicated to providing quality health and life insurance plans for people in a variety of life situations. For more information on a selection of health and insurance topics, visit the Cinergy Health & Life Learning Center at http://www.cinergyhealth.com.

Chia seeds are an amazing superfood. Sure, they make one think of the infamous Chia Pets with theflowing green hair, but they are so much more. Chia seeds are a nutritional powerhouse. They are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. They are also high in protein, fiber, magnesium and calcium.

One ounce of chia seeds is only 137 calories. They have no noticeable taste or odor so they can be implemented in a wide variety of foods like puddings, smoothies, muffins and more. Chia seeds are also durable. They don’t need to be refrigerated and don’t go rancid as quickly as other seeds such as flax.

Chia seeds are hydrating as they hold up to nine times their weight in water. This will help to keep you hydrated, which is necessary for good health. When you mix the chia seeds in the water, they create a sort of gel which adds volume to any food you’re eating. This is important because it makes the food more filling and can aid significantly in weight loss.

A study of twenty diabetic patients in 2007 yielded some impressive results regarding chia seeds. For example, patients who ate four teaspoons of chia seeds every day for three months saw a reduction in blood clotting and inflammation. They noticed an increase in levels of essential fatty acids by 80% and dropped six units in systolic blood pressure. It’s also important to note that the gel chia seeds create when mixed with water can slow down carbohydrate digestion and help regulate blood sugar, which is an obvious benefit to not just diabetics but to all.

This study was conducted using the white chia seeds, also known as saba. There are two types of chia seeds, white and black. Grown in Central and South America, these seeds were first harvested in southern Mexico over 4,000 years ago and were used by the Incan, Aztec and Mayan cultures. Warriors would often subsist on chia alone while on campaigns or conquests.

The high protein component of chia seeds is easily absorbable. This makes chia a great food for athletes as it helps with tissue repair. It can also help children and adolescents during their inevitable growth spurts.

Chia’s high oil content helps the body emulsify and absorb the vitamins A,D,E & K. As an unsaturated fatty acid, the chia seed makes it easier for oxygen to be transported via the blood stream to other parts of the body. They also are essential for glandular function and can help the body, along with Vitamin D, hold on to calcium better. In fact, chia seeds are an important source of calcium, containing the mineral boron, which utilizes and assimilates calcium in the body.

With all of these benefits and more it’s easy to see why chia seeds are considered a superfood. Why not give them a try?

Cinergy Health & Life Insurance Agency is dedicated to providing quality health and life insurance plans for people in a variety of life situations. For more information on a selection of health and insurance topics, visit the Cinergy Health & Life Learning Center at www.cinergyhealth.com.