The Best Foods for a Good Night's Sleep

The Best Foods for a Good Night's Sleep

What you eat can drastically affect how you sleep, so in order to get a good night’s rest, it is essential to choose foods that calm your mind and body rather than those that stimulate you. Certain types of foods will naturally promote rest and relaxation, particularly those that contain tryptophan – the amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows nerve activity within your brain.

Tryptophan

Since tryptophan is a precursor of other neurotransmitters in your brain, including serotonin and melatonin, eating foods that are rich in tryptophan will help you feel relaxed and sleepy. Foods such as turkey, hummus, lentils, and kelp are naturally high in tryptophan and also contain nutrients that provide a host of other health benefits. In addition, bananas not only contain tryptophan, but also potassium and magnesium, which are natural muscle relaxants. Fresh and dried cherries are also one of the only natural food sources of melatonin. Read more of my healthy diet recommendations by visiting www.dreliaz.org/recommends-diet.


Carbohydrates


Foods that are rich in starchy, high-glycemic carbohydrates may also promote better sleep, as they help to stimulate the release of insulin and tryptophan and cause these sleep-inducing substances to enter the brain. According to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, carbohydrates that are on the high end of the glycemic index scale, meaning they increase the body’s sugar levels rapidly, encourage sleep when eaten at least four hours before bedtime. Foods such as Jasmine rice, potatoes, carrots, corn, puffed cereal, and honey are some of the healthiest choices of simple carbohydrates.


Calcium


Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin. Certain combinations, such as whole-grain cereal with milk, a peanut butter sandwich, or crackers with cheese contain both carbohydrates and calcium that work together to relax the mind and body. Calcium itself is so beneficial in helping you sleep, as it is a natural muscle relaxant that can also help you manage stress levels.


Timing


Eating these various foods calms your nervous system and triggers a sleep-inducing hormonal response, helping you rest better at night. However, timing is everything, as eating a large meal too late or eating right before bed time can actually have the opposite effect and keep you up at night. It is best to eat these foods later in the day or at least one hour before bed time since it takes about one hour for tryptophan from food sources to reach the brain.


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Dieting for Weight Loss

Dieting for Weight Loss

The most common reason that people cite for dieting today is weight loss. While most of us would love to claim the noble mantle of dieting for health the vast majority of us are doing so for vanity. This, however, is a perfectly acceptable and plausible reason for making the lifestyle changes that are necessary in order to diet. In fact, this reason might prove to be a far greater motivator than many of the other commonly stated reasons for dieting.

When dieting for weight loss one of the most common complaints is constantly feeling hungry. In order to help combat this, you might want to incorporate some of the following strategies into your dieting program. First of all, eat more high fiber foods. Whole grains, apples, pears, and lima beans are a great source of fiber as are many breakfast cereals. Easy does it however when it comes to fiber as it may be filling but there are some unpleasant side effects that may accompany heavy fiber eating (remember that beans are a good source of fiber). Try using a product such as Bean-o when consuming larger amounts of fiber. You might also try spreading your fiber intake throughout the day rather than consuming all your daily fiber at once.


Another method for feeling fuller when dieting is to drink plenty of water while dieting. Water provides an important service to the body and is very necessary when it comes to delivering all the nutrients where they need to go. Water also helps regulate your metabolism, which is very important to the dieting and weight loss process. Additionally, water will help you skin retain its elasticity so that your skin can go more easily back into place once the serious weight loss begins.

Learn to control your portions. We live in a world where portions are over inflated and super sized so often that we no longer know what an appropriate portion looks like. Restaurant meals are quite often more than adequate for at least two full meals and that is before salads, soups, appetizers, or desserts have been ordered. Learning to portion correctly can save you from over loading your calorie intake for the day massively. It can also help you get extra helpings of the lower calorie foods such as lettuce and other vegetables rather than taking such large portions of calorie rich starches or fried foods.


Do not go "Gung Ho". There are limits to what the body and the mind can handle. When you go on a diet you are making a drastic change to your bodies caloric intake. If you go overboard you can lead to health risks along the way. Begin cutting calories a little at a time and incorporate changes as you go rather than going in with an all or nothing attitude. If you go overboard with your dieting plans chances are that you are dooming your diet to failure.


Take your diet one step at a time for the best results and be sure to incorporate extra physical activity into the mix. Even gardening when done on a regular basis can burn calories, so can cleaning the house, and playing with the little ones. Take a walk to the park or the corner store rather than getting in the car and pull a wagon or push a stroller while you're at it. The added weight will be just enough resistance to burn a few extra calories.


Dieting for weight loss does not necessarily have to be a major sacrifice on your part but in order to be successful it will be a radical change in lifestyle, particularly if you need to lose more than a few vanity pounds. The health implications of loosing the weight are well worth the required effort and should not be taken lightly no matter how excited you are about your new body that is hiding inside your old one.


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Steroids, And Their Effects on Human Body

Steroids, And Their Effects on Human Body

Undoubtedly, anabolic steroids are very effective in stimulation of physical performance and muscle size. With high biological value, they are used for numerous medicinal purposes as well. Read this article to get a well summarized detail of anabolic steroids, and their medical and non-medical uses.

Steroids are biological compounds which are usually derived from a sex hormone - testosterone. They are commonly consumed by the bodybuilders and sportsmen to gain in muscles and body strength.

These compounds have the effects of two natural producing hormones – testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, which have several physiological effects on human body. These substances were first isolated in 1930s by a German Chemist. With passage of time, a number of experiments were made to produce more powerful substances. Today, there are more than 100 forms of steroids used for several purposes. They are commonly available in oral form, but one can purchase them in the form of injection and cream as well. These compounds have several medical and non-medical uses. Let us discuss some of their great advantages to human beings.


Medicinal Functions of Steroids

Steroids are recommended, by expert physicians, in treatment of numerous medical conditions, hence their medicinal uses have increased extensively. These compounds are an effective medication to treat the diseases like cancer, AIDS and lung ailments. Patients of hormonal dysfunctions, asthma, and some heart diseases can also be benefited by these drugs. Steroids have anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties, and help to balance the level of body's immune system, manage the inflammation and swelling symptoms. Additionally, they assist to regulate the metabolism and control blood electrolyte levels.

Non-Medicinal Functions of Steroids

Steroids, commonly a form of testosterone, are partially responsible for developmental changes, especially among the teens. They have anabolic and androgenic effects. Androgenic effects are related to the changes in primary and secondary sexual characteristics such as enlargement of tests, change in voice, and growth of body hairs. On other hand, anabolic effects of these drugs include enhanced neural conduction, accelerated growth of bones and muscles, and increment in red blood cells.

Stimulating the receptor molecules in cells, steroids activate the specific genes to generate and use the protein in such a way that augments the quantity of red blood cells, and develop the muscle mass. Taking simply, steroids promote the cell growth and division, that results in rapid growth of muscle tissues and bone sizes. If used in an appropriate amount, these drugs can provide dramatic gain of 20 to 30 pounds in weight, just in a short span 3 to 4 weeks. Steroids have some anti-catabolic effects as well, which include the prevention of muscle catabolism that may accompany with intense exercise training.

In fact, steroids have become a popular health diet for bodybuilders and sportsmen. Although they are illegal to purchase and use, a growing number of people still take them for different purposes. These drugs have drawbacks too, with some reported side-effects attached with their excessive use for a long span of time. It is therefore recommended to use these substances under the supervision of an expert physician. There are numerous forms of steroids available in the market. Some of the most demanded are Anadrol, Oxandrin, Dianabol and Winstrol etc. While purchasing them, ensure the quality of product, and reliability of supplier. Online mode of shopping would be the best one to shop these drugs. Whether you buy Dianabol or anadrol, taking advise from an expert doctor is recommendable.

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