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A Few Ideas on Eating Lean and Low Fat Protein

Protein is a beneficial addition to your diet but often comes with high calories and loads of saturated fat. Despite its downsides, it is necessary to eat enough protein to ensure that your mind, muscle and body are adequately provided with the nutrients needed to stay healthy. If you are a fitness nut and are concerned about the amount of fat in your daily protein intake consider lean and low fat options. If you like to exercise and improve your fitness level you will need an ample supply of protein to repair your muscles. It is recommended that men consume between .4 and .8g of protein per pound of body mass ( 1 ). .4 is an absolute minimum and .8 for an athlete. - White vs. Dark Mean Chicken: Chicken is a main staple. There is a difference between legs ad breast. Eating white meat chicken with mostly spices versus marinated is the best alternative. - Lean Beef: Lean beef versus regular beef is best as it substantially reduces the overall amount of saturated fat

The Powers of Flowers: Stress, Image, and Brain Improvements

Flowers are drawn with nature's artistic hand across a landscape canvas. With bright colors flowers offer something more than a beautiful landscape but a tantalizing feast for our eyes and food for our soul. There is something inherent in flowers that brighten our day and help us think about how beautiful the wild can really be. Flowers are a powerful representation of emotion and beauty. They are so powerful that those who hold onto a bunch of flowers seem to have a positive aura about them. Consider a study of male and female hitchhikers holding onto flowers. Men holding flowers got a ride by both sexes more than either women with or without flowers (Gueguen, Meineri & Stefan, 2012). Flowers seem to make us more approachable and provide a trait of aesthetic appreciation. Those that can find beauty in this world seem to carry with them traits that include empathy, kindness, and sensitivity. There is no doubt why artists, poets, and painters love flowers. It is also ben

The Health and Neighborhood Benefits of San Diego Bike Lanes

San Diego bike lanes can be an enhancement to the city and the lives of residents. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention over a third of Americans are obese ( 1 ) and this number may not be slowing.   Most people don’t get enough exercise and healthy food on a daily basis to keep the weight off and fight diseases. Ensuring that bike lanes are included in city planning helps to improve neighborhoods and encourage healthier lifestyle choices.  New bike lanes encourage people to pull their bikes out of the garage and use them. A study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that bike riding increased on streets that offered bike lanes (Parker, et. al. 2013). When safe lanes were available more people considered pulling their bikes out of storage and using them to get around.  If you have ever biked a busy street you might be well aware that cars don’t always give adequate protective space. The little space they do provide isn’t enough if they are zo

Volleyball as a Fun and Fitness Sport

Volleyball is one of those popular past time sports that can improve coordination, health, and strength while still having fun.   Engaging in volleyball on a regular basis helps to significantly improve your overall fitness without engaging in routine activity. Jumping, bumping, setting, diving, spiking all contribute a coordinate body that can adjust, shift and move to keep a ball in the air.  Coordination: It takes time to build the coordination to play volleyball well. At first you will notice that the ball you hit doesn’t move in the direction intended. Over time and with continuous practice you will get better and so will your overall coordination as you learn to connect mind and body into a coordinated activity. Weight loss:   A 155 lb. person who engages in beach volleyball for a half hour will burn 298 calories versus 149 for jogging ( 1 ). Volleyball is one of the most intensive sports that requires significant amount of energy to ensure to keep a ball in play.

Eating Spinach for Internal Health

Spinach is a food that every household should have on their dinner menu. Popular spinach salads, cooked spinach, and spinach recipes do more than simply taste great as they also encourage greater health. They also have health benefits for those who want to work on their insides as much as their outsides. Incorporating a little spinach into your diet will do wonders for your general health. According to Medical News Today spinach offers benefits for improving blood glucose levels, reducing cancer risks, improving blood pressure, preventing asthma and strengthening bones. The benefits of spinach move far beyond its tastes and encourage greater blood control and lower the risk of developing cardiovascular issues. Developing health eating habits is about knowledge, habit, and practice. It is not enough to know about healthy eating without implementing the practice and habituating that practice to formalize a habit. As we become familiar with what foods are healthy and which ones are

Eating Out When a Healthy Menu is Lacking

Eating out is an activity busy Americans frequently in but don’t often understand the consequences of their food choices.   Some people eat out more than three times a week and this can have an impact on their waistline if they do not adjust their food selections. When Healthy Heart options are lacking an alternative strategy is needed. You can still enjoy your dining experience while eating healthy with a few simple tips. Part of the problem relates to the consumers choice of foods and the other is more akin to menu options.   Consumers regularly select foods that will satisfy their immediate cravings without regard to the longer consequences of poor eating.   At times restaurants don't offer healthy options or nutrition information. A little reflection can go a long way. Some restaurants offer a Healthy Heart option which can be an invaluable food selection tool. The use of Healthy Heart menu options has lots of room for growth in the restaurant industry (Jones, et

Improving Fitness and Health with Yoga

Yoga was once an obscure practice that attracted bleeding souls, hippies, and sports enthusiasts. Over time Yoga made its way into mainstream activity as the benefits to our body and mind became apparent. Yoga provides a strong augmentation to your current workout and affords greater muscle recovery and healing.   Incorporating an hour of yoga three times a week into your schedule enhances other aspects of sports and fitness that lead to higher levels of satisfaction and health.  Yoga has a positive effect on both physical and mental health. A large study of 15 yoga studios hosting 1045 respondents found that fitness levels were higher among those who practiced yoga with the far majority of respondents indicating that they were in good to excellent health (Ross, et. al. 2013). Furthermore, participants also stated that yoga improved energy, happiness, social relationships, sleep quality, and proper weight.  Not all benefits of yoga are subjective. Another study helps us