Thursday, December 1, 2011

Health & Fitness eBooks: The Less Embarrassing Alternatives to the Happy, Healthy Lifestyle You Seek

By Alexandra Williams


During the dark years that followed my diving accident, I deviated from my wholesome eating habits. This deviation was partly due to my limited control over my diet, as I lived in a hospital or a group home. It was also due to my reduced health-consciousness. Largely disgusted with life, I was proportionally hedonistic and suicidal. I sought consolation in gustatory pleasure at the risk of undermining my health. To be more precise, I often overindulged my fondness for fatty and savory foods or sweet ones, with the result that I gained weight and lost my edge - that is, part of my vitality. This loss was ominous. It took a wealth of vitality to accept and overcome the difficulty of attaining happiness. The more I was devitalized and consequently weak, the more I was likely to be daunted by this difficulty.Devitalization was the worst form of impoverishment. In a state of weakness, it was tempting to deny that happiness was possible or worth the effort and choose the easy option: idleness and carelessness or death. I never gave in to this morbid temptation, but my overindulgence in fatty and savory foods or sweet ones caused my vitality to lessen and my depression to worsen, thereby reinforcing my hedonistic and suicidal tendencies. I had entered a vicious circle, or rather a downward spiral that led to hell.

Most people do not appreciate the importance of their health until it is failing. Cookies, candy, chips, ice cream, french fries, alcohol we run to them for comfort and solace. We think these foods make us feel better, but that is an illusion. These foods, and many others like them, are slowly killing us. Every time you "indulge" in a pint of ice cream or an order of super-size fries, you are putting your health at risk. So, does this mean stop eating french fries and ice cream? Maybe.

To start with, carbohydrates are simple or complex sugars that I generally obtained from fruit, honey, milk products, beets, rutabagas, potatoes, legumes (beans, lentils, or peas), nuts, seeds, whole grains, and the bread, cereal, or pasta made from these grains. Simple sugars and digestible complex sugars serve as an energy source and participate in the synthesis of DNA and RNA molecules: the genetic information and the genetic messengers that enable the organism to regenerate and reproduce. Indigestible complex sugars, better known as dietary fiber, are capable of promoting the elimination of waste through the intestine. Refined foods are depleted of this fiber, without which constipation is a predictable outcome that boes ill. Except on festive occasions, I resolutely avoided them.Lipids include two main subdivisions: saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fats (with a phosphoric component in some of them - i.e., in phospholipids versus triglycerides that are pure fats) and cholesterol, which is a singular fatty compound. Like simple sugars and digestible complex sugars, saturated fats and monounsaturated fats serve as an energy source. In addition, they contribute to the integrity of the body tissues. Polyunsaturated fats and cholesterol also contribute to this integrity and are used for a variety of vital functions involving the cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, and immune systems.

how to(s) on Health & Fitness.For example, you may have an issue with acne, bad breath or your weight; browsing the self-help section for a cure of fitness regime only indicates to others that you're self-conscious about what may be equally obvious to them. Or, you may have an issue with something previously unrecognized by the public including premature ejaculation, intense social anxiety, or warts that suddenly, even without witnessing your issue firsthand, become apparent to others as you flip through titles on the latest remedies. Thus self-help books, while partly the bookstores "bread and butter" are also their "condoms," so to speak. Shoppers, likewise, are not only too embarrassed to be caught browsing the self-help shelves, but are doubly embarrassed to then parade throughout the store carrying whichever book applies to their specific issue or perceived inadequacy, only to hand it over to a cashier, immediately letting him or her in on the shopper's previously kept secret. Harrowing indeed!

Now for proteins. They are various macromolecules that comprise a large number of amino acids (nitrogenous molecules that occur in twenty-two different forms). In the course of digestion, these macromolecules are broken down into these molecular components, which act thereafter as raw material or building blocks to produce new molecules or new macromolecules (polypeptides, smaller than proteins, or proteins) that suit our physiological needs in many areas: the metabolism, the blood, the mucous membranes, the skin and the tendons, the muscles, plus the endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. These molecular components act so if the body has enough carbohydrates and fats to satisfy its energy requirements. Otherwise, they are stripped of their nitrogenous part and mobilized into satisfying these requirements. This constitutes a waste of precious amino acids and a burden to the kidneys, in charge of eliminating the free nitrogenous part after the liver has transformed it into urea. As it happened, my main sources of protein - namely, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and the bread, cereal, or pasta made from these grains, together with milk products and eggs - were also rich in carbohydrates or fats. Here the fats that mattered were saturated or monounsaturated, whereas the polyunsaturated ones were not a favorable means of satisfying my energy requirements, given the many other important roles they played.Lastly, minerals and vitamins are a group of some thirty substances that complement carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins. A deficiency in one of them can hamper a bodily function and jeopardize in so doing the health of an individual. Collectively, as precursors or components of useful agents, or as useful agents themselves, they assist in numerous processes: vision, nerve impulses and neurotransmission, muscle contraction, digestion and absorption, regulation of blood sugar and of the metabolic rate, respiration, energy production, regeneration and reproduction, formation and maintenance of bones and teeth, coagulation, protection against free radicals (noxious atoms or molecules), and immunity. My usual sources of carbohydrates, lipids, and protein already supplied me with minerals and vitamins, all the more since they were unrefined. Refining is a terrible refinement that depletes fibers and nutrients in foods. Nevertheless, to make sure I got enough minerals and vitamins, I rounded off these usual sources with additional vegetables: carrots, radishes, cauliflower, red cabbage, green vegetables, leafy or non-leafy, garlic, and onions. I drank plenty of water to boot, though not during or immediately after meals lest I interfere with my digestion by flooding my stomach. Drinking water typically contains a minute quantity of minerals. Much more importantly, it has the ability to replenish the bodily fluids and cleanse the system of undesirable substances.

Download a Health or Fitness related eBook when you want, on your terms; leave a printed version lying about, or keep the digital file tucked safely away on your computer. The choice is yours. Let everyone know (friends, family, neighbors, even your boss!), or limit those who know to those you trust or even to no one at all. Either way, you can begin improving your life immediately at a level of comfort you deserve. Begin by conducting your research thoroughly, and with the knowledge that eBooks related to Health & Fitness just like their counterparts on the bookstore's shelves, tackle virtually every issue under the sun, under your roof, or simply within yourself, from how to conquer panic attacks to asthma, jet lag to unsightly moles; turn fat into the muscle mass, a belly into bulging biceps or voluptuous breasts; or even learn to maximize your mind's potential.

* Don't stop eating these foods 'cold turkey'. Gradually reduce your intake. If you currently eat french fries five times a week, start by reducing to four times a week. Try this for a couple of weeks and then reduce your intake to three times a week. * Set a specific goal. Goals will let you see your progress and can be a source of inspiration. Be strong when you crave food that is not good for you. You will thank yourself later. Remember, health is important. Take care of your health while you still have the chance.




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