Health Program | News, Views and Reviews on Health Issues

The use of anabolic steroids has around for a very long time where athletes have been the majority of those abusing the steroids in their performance. This started after an American physician offered anabolic steroids to three American weight lifters who then immediately had a chance to jump to unprecedented world records from mediocrity. This instantly followed the entry of East German where these anabolic steroids helped its athletes to achieve nationally since early sixties to the Berlin wall demise, where entries were annotated with names of the athletes, the steroid name they were using as well as the steroid dosage they were receiving.

Any average female that is in her teens naturally produces testosterone measured in milligrams runs to about half the same. The authorities in the German state, East German who were controlling sports at the time were routinely prescribing anabolic steroids to very young teenage girls in their adolescents with a dosage of thirty five units of steroids a day. Further investigations indicated that female athletes beyond their athlete careers who showed high frequency of male voices and huge physical build came forward and gave horrific tales in their lives that culminated after the usage of the AAS in the form of deformed babies, liver dysfunction, inexplicable tumors, depression and also internal bleeding.

In fact none of the coaches we have around can coerce any athlete into steroid usage because athletes now use them willingly. What has changed is the level of drug administration and absolute care which is given in their administration. This use of steroids in small doses in very nice resourceful combinations now leaves few or no tell-tale signs of misuse. It is next to impossible to virtually catch and prosecute all cheaters or even to guess when cheating happens to be in progress.

In fact athletes believe that competitive sports start the instance healthy sport comes to an end. For example a baseball star well ahead of his age might realize to hit a lot of home runs doubling his weight training exercises could do the trick. Naturally, this should hurt the athlete’s performance. Then the baseball player could take testosterone or any other anabolic steroid to literally handle the strenuous weight training. In latter years the case of steroids in athletics came to the public scrutiny when the Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the gold in hundred meters during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Immediately Ben Johnson had splendidly set a new world record but failed a steroid test which was done after the race and later was stripped the title, the gold medal and suffered a suspension which indicated he was ineligible to compete in any international competition.

In the lives of all World renowned athletes who utilize steroids, the steroid lure is not to magically change their performance; there is absolutely no drug that can do that, they do that so that it can make them train even harder. In sprints athletes have learned how to live the steroid life where after they wait till they are about twenty years and then enhance their performances in some small measured increments in concurrent with their increasing experience and strength.

The hamburger is a very popular component of the American diet. However, as many people know, a greasy, fatty, beef burger is not the smartest nutritional choice. Thankfully, there is a healthier alternative. Turkey burgers, which are made with ground turkey meat, offer an almost identical juicy taste with less fat and excellent nutritional value.

As with beef burgers, nutrition in a turkey burger depends upon how the patty was prepared. When made from scratch with ground meat, it is best to begin with lean, white meat, turkey. This type of meat does not include the skin, which can be extremely fatty. Choosing any ground turkey can leave you with a burger that is just as unhealthy, if not worse, than a beef patty. In fact, some turkey burgers can have more than 15 grams of fat in an average, 100g, patty.

The average, healthy turkey burger has less than 200 calories in it. It contains 3 grams or less of saturated fat, and depending on what kind of seasonings are added, can have less than 100mg of sodium. Turkey burgers are loaded with protein and have little or no carbohydrates. In fact, an average burger can have some 20 plus grams of protein.

One downside of the turkey burger is its lack of significant vitamins and minerals. However, an average patty does have almost 10% of a person’s recommended daily iron intake. Turkey burgers are also a great source of some lesser known nutrients that are common in turkey meat. One of these is selenium. Selenium protects the thyroid and is essential for proper metabolism. Selenium is also associated with decreased cancer risk and helps to improve immune function. In a single turkey burger, roughly half of a person’s daily selenium needs can be met.

Turkey is also a good source of B vitamins, essential to proper nutrition. The top two B vitamins found in turkey burgers are niacin and vitamin B6. Both of these are important for energy production as they help convert fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into fuel for the body. Additionally, niacin can help regulate blood sugar, which means more stable moods and a steadier metabolic rate. One turkey burger provides nearly a quarter of a person’s daily needs for both of these B vitamins.

Finally, turkey burgers are high in tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that is essential to humans. It is known for its sedative properties and can help relax a person and induce better sleep.

When you have an acne problem, it can be embarrassing and sometimes it may have a big impact on your self-esteem as well as your self-confidence. You may have to seek help from a specialist for example a dermatologist who may prescribe you some medications. There are quite several medications that can help you tackle the disease. Although many people may opt for conventional medicine, some natural acne remedies may turn out to be just as effective.

Applying a honey mask to your face at least twice a week may help in curbing the condition. Honey has antibacterial properties and therefore can disinfect and heal minor blemishes. The other advantage of using honey is that it is gentle on sensitive skin.

Sulfur based soap is specifically for people with acne and therefore using this soap to wash your face twice a day, can help combat any acne problem that you may have. Over washing your face can however stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum and this could worsen the situation. Your skin relies on nutrition and therefore taking a multi-vitamin can be a preventive measure.

Including a chromium supplement in your diet at least twice a day can help heal pimples and prevent any other breakouts. Carrots provide your body with vitamin A which is used to strengthen the protective tissue of the skin. Carrots also help reduce sebum production. Makeup clogs your pores causing pimples and blackheads and if you must use, buy one that is water-based. Drinking plenty of water, at least 8 glasses a day and eating foods rich in zinc are other ways through which you can fight an acne problem.

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Smith

Many people try to lose body fat like they study for exams; by cramming! They try to lose as much body fat in as short a time as possible. Of course this approach never works. Whilst it is possible to lose weight fast, it is impossible to lose body fat fast.

Our body has been designed to preserve its valuable fat stores so if we are ever faced with a famine it will be able to survive for a long period of time until we find food. Even though famines are rare in our society, our body still does its very best to preserve its fat stores.

As a result, the only way to lose body fat is to lose it slowly. If you try to lose it quickly the body recognises this and kicks in its ‘Anti-Starvation Response’ to help overcome your efforts. For example, your body will immediately slow your metabolism, break down lean tissue (because it burns up the most energy), increase your appetite and increase the activity of fat-storing enzymes in your body.

Despite the fact that you can only lose body fat slowly, there are ways to help speed up the process. One of the most effective ways is by using ‘thermogenics’/ fat burners. Thermogenics or fat burners, as the name suggests, generate more heat in the body by stimulating the nervous system. This speeds up your metabolism, and one of the by-products of energy metabolism is the generation of heat.

By increasing your metabolism you increase the rate at which your body burns fuel for energy and this means that your daily calorie (energy) expenditure is far greater. Increasing your energy expenditure makes it easier to create a calorie (energy) deficit and therefore lose weight. However, if food intake is not controlled and an excess of calories are consumed, thermogenics/ fat burners will not help your weight-loss efforts; they are not ‘magic pills’!

Anecdotal evidence suggests that thermogenics/ fat burners can help you lose up to 3 times more body fat compared to diet and exercise alone, making them an effective weapon in your fat-burning arsenal!

There are many brands of thermogenic products/ fat burners on the market and knowing what to look for can ensure that you get the best possible results from your investment of time and money.

Number of thermogenic ingredients

For best results, the thermogenic you choose should contain at least 5 thermogenic ingredients. If it contains less than this then it is likely to be less effective. Also, having a variety of sources means that many different receptors on the nervous system will be targeted rather than just a few. Doing so ensures longer lasting effectiveness of the thermogenic. Having only a few thermogenic ingredients means that the receptors will ‘down regulate’ the effectiveness of the thermogenic in a short period of time.

Plus, a product that contains a multiple number of thermogenic ingredients means that only a few capsules need to be taken rather than a handful. This makes use of the thermogenic much easier.

The correct ingredients

There are a number of herbal and fruit extracts that have been shown to have beneficial thermogenic effects in the body. The best thermogenic products contain combinations of the following herbal and fruit extracts: Guarana, Green tea, Coleus forskholii, Citrus aurantium, Ginger, Evodia rutaecarpa and Theobroma.

Some so-called thermogenics/ fat burners on the market only contain a few actual thermogenic ingredients combined with ‘thermogenic-support’ ingredients. For example, L-carnitine was a popular ‘fat-burner’ in the 80′s and 90′s (it is actually a fatty acid transporter and not a thermogenic) and is still contained in some products today.

Also, the levels required for L-carnitine to be beneficial are at least 2,000 – 3,000mg, not the few hundred mg doses that some products contain.

It is beneficial for thermogenics/ fat burners to also contain a black pepper extract (a.k.a. Piperine). Piperine has been shown to block proteins and enzymes that limit absorption of nutrients through the intestinal wall. This means maximum absorption of the ingredients from the thermogenic will occur.

Therapeutic doses

It is essential that the level of the ingredients in your thermogenic is adequate. Oftentimes ingredients are simply added to the product as ‘label garnish’ rather than having a therapeutic effect. For example, Citrus aurantium (the ‘cousin’ of Ephedra) is an expensive ingredient and should provide a minimum level of active ingredient (oxidrene a.k.a. synephrine) of at least 10mg per serve. Any less than this and the product is not going to be as effective as it should be.

This is certainly one area that may be confusing for many people because the amount of herb or fruit a product contains can be vastly different to the amount of active ingredient (extract) it contains. The extract is the active component; the part that offers the therapeutic effect or benefit.

Cost

Not only do thermogenics (fat burners) vary in number of ingredients, types of ingredients and levels of ingredients but they also vary greatly in cost. It is essential that the thermogenic you consider has a low cost-to-benefit ratio. This means that results you achieve by using the product outweighs the cost of purchasing it.

The cost of the thermogenic you purchase must be less than $1 per serve, which means that if you use two serves a day it is going to cost you less than $2 a day. This is a very reasonable price to pay for accelerating your weight-loss and fat-burning efforts.

Other considerations

Thermogenics are not for everyone. People who suffer from high blood pressure, use blood pressure medication or who are pregnant or nursing should avoid their use entirely. For people who fall into one of those categories there are other supplements that are safe for them to use. SoLean 50+ is a good example. Even though it has been designed specifically for people who are over 50 years of age, it may also be safely used by people of any age who are interested in losing weight.

Thermogenics should not be used on a continuous basis. Since they stimulate receptors on the nervous system, over time the body ‘down regulates’ those receptors to make the thermogenic less effective. Therefore, it is best to use them for a period of 8 weeks and then have 2 weeks off.

The ingredients in thermogenics also stimulate the adrenal glands to release the catecholamines (epinephrine and nor-epinephrine) into the blood stream. These hormones stimulate the fat cells to release stored body fat, which may then be used as a fuel source by the body. The potential problem is that continued use of thermogenics may lead to ‘adrenal exhaustion’ so it is always best to avoid using them for longer than 8 weeks.

Overall, thermogenics (fat burners) can certainly help you lose weight faster than you ever thought possible if you use them correctly. Always consult your doctor and have a health check before using them.