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Recently, I stumbled upon an interesting article about a holly-wood celebrity who is in love with detoxification diet, or detox diet in short. She is not the first, but in fact, one of the many who recently joined in the global “detox diet wave”.

So what exactly is this detox diet? A detox diet basically involves the removal of any excess toxins that are stored in the human body. This is done through eating and/or drinking organic products, which in turn clears these unwanted substances as waste from our bowels.

The good part of it - Those who faithfully follow Detox diets often claimed to receive results such as weight loss, an enhancement of complexion, improvement on our organs’ functions and rejuvenation of our mental health.

The bad part of it - There aren’t many drawbacks to detox diets. It is rather evident that the pros far out-weigh the cons. However, it is important to note that such diets do not provide all the nutrients that our body requires. Therefore, the longer the body go on a detox cleansing diet, the longer it will be without some nutrients it need. For that reason, a detox diet should not be practiced on a long-term basis.

What should you eat? Fruits, vegetables, juices (with no sugar), beans and lentils, oats, potatoes, brown rice, steamed fish, unsalted seeds and nuts, natural yogurt, herbs, herbal teas.

What should you not eat? Red meat, chicken, dairy products, eggs, butter and margarine, wheat products, breads, pastries, chips, chocolates, sweet, sugar, processed foods, take-away, alcohol, coffee and tea, sauces, soft drinks.

To top the chart, I shall commit a one-day detox diet recipe for my readers! Enjoy!

One-Day Detox Diet (Volume can be adjusted according to preference)

Detox Breakfast - Breakfast fruit smoothie (Pear, Orange, Kiwi, Apple, Plum). Add them and mix them! You may want to add more ice if you find the taste too sour. A word of caution: If you have a weak stomach, it is best to replace a few of such citrus fruits such as orange with pears or strawberries.

Detox Lunch - Green Gaia (Steamed broccoli with sesame seeds and Lemon juice on brown rice). Add sesame seeds with broccoli and steam it until it is cooked. It is best to remove the seeds, squeeze the lemon by hand and add them to the brown rice.

Detox Snack - The Popeye Solution (Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, Onion, Carrots, Celery, Water, Bay Leaves, Spinach). Heat the olive oil first, then add in Garlic, Onion, Water, Bay leaves and leave it to boil for an hour. Thereafter, add the spinach and boil it till it wilts.

Detox Dinner - Messy Healthy (Salad with mixed greens, red peppers, artichokes and sprouts drizzled with salad dressing of garlic, lemon juice and olive oil). Just mix and stir them!

You may want to consume multivitamin supplements to enhance the detoxification effect.

To achieve an overall balance for our body, patience and moderation are required. Here’s a toast to you and may you enjoy success in your journey of body detoxification. Cheers!

Resources: Author: Colin Tan, certified personal trainer. For more information about weight loss, losing weight and fat loss, visit http://www.nutritionpark.com .

Are eggs good for you or are they bad for you? Or are they good for you in small amounts and bad when you eat lots? The old argument has suggested that eggs cause high cholesterol levels and blocked arteries which we know leads to heart problems sooner or later.

In 2005, the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggested that no more than 300mg of dietary cholesterol should be consumed each day. With an average egg containing around 220mg of cholesterol it seems logical that the fewer eggs you eat the better.

However, this perspective is misleading because we need to consider the different types of cholesterol. Not everything in life is black and white!

In the blue corner we have Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL’s) which clog arteries by carrying cholesterol to the sites of fatty deposits. In the red corner we have High Density Lipoproteins (HDL’s) which are the good guys as they clean up LDL’s floating in the blood and transport them to the liver for eventual excretion.

Also, cholesterol is required for cell function, nerve function and hormone function. Trying to eradicate cholesterol completely is therefore an inaccurate and misinformed idea.

Aside from cholesterol eeggs are an excellent source of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B2 and iodine. These substances have many, many uses in the body but I want to focus on their benefits for those looking to lose body fat.

First, protein. You must eat lean, complete proteins 5-6 times per day to maintain / build muscle and to remain satisfied without eating high levels of carbohydrates. In terms of losing body fat protein increases the thermic effect of what you eat which helps burn calories by eating!

Vitamin A aids bone growth and helps regulate your immune system both of which are necessary if you want to be able to train with weights regularly. Again this is essential for creating your best body ever.

This doesn’t mean you need to become a bodybuilder, quite the opposite. Weight training is often avoided by ladies in particular looking to lose fat but they are doing themselves a massive disservice!

Vitamin D aids the absorption of calcium. Calcium is essential for ensuring strong bones for weight bearing activities and general health.

Vitamin B2 not only helps process amino acids (from proteins) and fats but it also helps convert carbohydrates to ATP. Don’t worry too much about what this stands for but know that it is used by the body for energy during very intense exercise.

Finally we have iodine. This helps regulate the hormones responsible for your metabolism ensuring you’re always burning calories efficiently.

As you can see eggs provide a range of benefits for fat loss and maintenance or growth of muscles but the structure of eggs must also be considered.

All of the cholesterol in an egg is found in the yolk. The white provides a source of pure, complete protein.

It therefore seems wise to limit the yolks you eat to one per day whilst you should feel free to eat more egg whites. This will ensure you are getting enough protein - something few people do!

The truth is that it is saturated fats which cause the increasing heart problems in Western society. Eggs therefore can be a main element of any fat loss plan with all other sources of saturated fat being minimised.

Often you will hear people say they don’t eat eggs because they’re bad for the heart. However, the same people will eat high amounts of processed foods, alcohol and other heart-stopping foods and drinks!

The positives provided by egg whites in particular cannot be ignored especially by those who do not wish to eat animal meat for whatever reasons they may have. Vegetarians take note!

Some studies suggest that eating 3-4 whole eggs every day had no effect at all on blood cholesterol but if you are still paranoid, get your cholesterol tested by your GP. You might even conduct an experiment of your own by eating 3-4 eggs per day for 2 weeks then having your cholesterol re-tested to see if there is any effect.

To sum up, don’t believe everything you read or hear in the media as everything will be hyped up and made to sound like the end of the world. Take time to research the truth and you will generally find that there is no need to panic!

Resources: Jon Le Tocq created the online Storm Force Fitness concept which continues to produce amazing fat loss and conditioning results without gym membership! You can join the fun at http://www.stormforcefitness.com

Green juice is a mixture of green vegetables combined together in a delicious combination of juice. All you need is a juicer and some good quality greens.

Juicing helps in the absorption of nutrients, if your digestive system is less than optimal, it can be difficult to absorb all of the nutrients when eating greens. Juicing will break down the cell walls of vegetables so that they are pre-digested for you. This means that all of the nutrients go straight into your system.

Juicing means that you can eat more greens. You probably are not going to eat a whole head of celery in a day, but you can easily drink a whole head of celery juice. Juicing also allows you to consume a wide variety of greens all at once. You most likely wouldn’t have kale, cucumber, celery and parsley for breakfast, but you will enjoy it as a juice.

Juicing is a great way to get loads of chlorophyll, which is the building block of our bodies. Chlorophyll is what makes plants green, and it is perhaps the most powerful element that exists in the universe. It is medicine for our bodies and is why I am huge proponent of wheat grass juice. It increases the flow of oxygen to all parts of the body, which means we release more carbon dioxide, toxins and stress. Plenty of oxygen means that our bodies become an aerobic environment where disease cannot live. An anaerobic environment is where disease thrives.

Green vegetables contain nearly all of the trace minerals we need, as most people are seriously lacking in essential minerals which mean that our bodies are not equipped with the necessary resources to fight disease and feel fantastic. Green juice is a great way to get all of the vital minerals for vibrant health.

Juicing makes greens taste great. As mentioned above, juicing can make greens more palatable. This is because they can be sweetened with an apple or carrot. It is essential not to overdo it on apples and carrots because they can raise blood sugar levels, but adding a carrot or apple to a green juice transforms it into a delicious juice that most people will enjoy.

Green juice provides us with the Enzymes that we need to cleanse, detoxify and renew at a cellular level. Enzymes are also needed to digest food. We cannot have amazing health without enzymes. Cooking and processing of any type destroys all enzymes, so raw food, especially greens, is absolutely essential to maintain healthy enzyme levels. A daily green juice is a sure way to maintain enzyme levels.

Juicing can help arthritis sufferers. Black cherry juice parsley, broccoli, and spinach can assist in the treatment of arthritis, since these contain beta-carotene, along with carrots, apples, and ginger, all of which contain copper.

Other juices that can help include bilberry, celery juice, green barley juice, aloevera juice, and boswellia extract. Birch cortisone can also help reduce inflammation of joints

Arthritis sufferers should avoid nightshade vegetables, so named because they grow in the shade of night rather than during the day. Nightshades contain an alkaloid called solanine, which seems to have a negative effect on calcium balance, and can even cause headaches.

If you have never juiced on a regular basis, I highly recommend to give it a try. Change is not always easy, but incorporating juicing into your lifestyle is so very worth it.

Resources: Joni Bell has many years of extensive study in the area of natural cancer prevention and treatment. He has numerous success stories of people being diagnosed and now living cancer free with use of alternative methods. Ask Joni Bell

A B-12 Deficiency has been known to hurt your brain function. Without the right fuel in the right amount at the right time, your cells will begin to die. The first sign that you’re not getting the nutrients you need is fatigue.

Nowadays, fatigue is the most common complaint we hear in a clinic, from our friends and families, and even from people we barely know!

B-12 Deficiency and Brain Erosion

The body’s cells carry out an endless stream of functions. Some deal with basic survival of the cell itself. Other functions deal with building and sustaining the overall health of the body.

When a cell doesn’t have the nutrients it needs it becomes imbalanced. And when imbalanced, the cell tries to compensate for its nutrient deficiency by only using its available energy for basic survival.

The cell stays in this mode until it can get the necessary nutrients. Then, it can go back to both taking care of itself and making contributions to our overall health.

However, if a cell does not get the nourishment needs within a specific time frame, it will die. When cells die, many are replaced by new cells; but some are not.

Cell replacement happens in your brain as well.

However, if the number of cells dying exceeds the number of new brain cells being made, you end up with a deficit called “brain erosion”. That’s why it’s so important to have all of the nutrients you need for brain health in your system every day. They’re essential for repairing or replacing either injured or dying brain cells.

Many people lose 10 to 25 percent of their total brain volume to this type of erosion before they are 60!

The Neuropathology Medical School research has shown that brain erosion affected some people, mostly older ones with dementia. However, as the years passed, researchers began seeing brain erosion in younger and younger people.

The journal Neurology (March 2005) said that, whole brain volume changes, were found in people as young as 30!This means that brain function can be lost because a person simply does not have the nutrition needed to repair or replace dying brain cells.

Look at the people you know. Don’t you see evidence of this? Don’t you see people with more anxiety, depression, irritability, forgetfulness and “brain fog” than ever before? The reason may be brain erosion.

Get the right nutrients

According to the journal Brain Research (March 2008) people with greater B-12 intake, had greater volume in their brains! Vitamin B-12 serves as brain fuel. It helps repair the forgetfulness, irritability, brain fog and mental exhaustion associated with brain erosion. It seems that we need B-12 for a healthy brain and energetic mind.

Of course, we need more nutrients in our bodies and brains than just B-12. To maintain our overall health, we also need:

Vitamins and minerals
Omega-3 fats
Antioxidants
A balanced diet
Daily exercise
Peaceful sleep

With these needs in mind, I suggest a variety of supplements to help build a strong foundation of nutritional support: a whole-food multiple vitamin and mineral supplement, a balanced Omega oil supplement, and Vitamin C.

Adding these particular nutrients to your routine of 7 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, 30 minutes of daily activity, and 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night, will give you what you need to help slow brain erosion and improve your life.

Don’t let a B-12 Deficiency rob your mental energy! Repair irritability and burn through the brain fog with a proper diet and sufficient amounts of B-12!

Resources: Mike Schantz is a BA with TriVita, a Nine Year Old Health and Wellness company. For more Information on TriVita and there focus on B-12 as it relates to good health. See them at: Http://www.getsuperb.net/13182443

Living in today’s world where health and weight maintenance are a growing paranoia, you’ve most likely heard the words ‘whole grain’ in every conversation regarding health foods that you’ve ever had. You’ve also most likely heard that although health foods are good for you, they are seriously lacking in flavor. Now, this might put up a red flag for you, but don’t turn down whole grains just yet.

Many of your very favorite foods either contain or can be substituted for a yummy whole grain substitute. Plus, there are a large number of health benefits when you supplement whole wheat into your everyday diet. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and read on to know why it’s so great to go grain crazy.

The Skinny on Whole Wheat

So, by now I’m sure you’re wondering just why whole wheat is so good for you. Whole wheat contains complex carbohydrates, which are groups of three or more sugar molecules, or starches, linked together. Now, I know most people associate carbohydrates with weight gain, but that’s not completely true. Simple Carbohydrates, which are two starch molecules linked together, are what you really must watch out for.

You see, although you should eat any carbohydrate in moderation, complex carbohydrates pack a special kick by containing more fiber and vitamins, so it takes much longer for the body to digest. As for simple carbohydrates, the simple carbohydrates cause blood sugar to rise, and as a defense mechanism your body will send an S.O.S. to your pancreas to produce an abundance of Insulin. What does this mean for you? Well, Insulin is the body’s natural fat storing system and I’m sure you can understand this means everyone’s biggest fear: weight gain! Yikes.

So just make sure to watch out for candy, table sugar (sucrose), milk sugar (galactose), glucose and fructose (fruit sugar). Just remember, all those names rhyme with what word? Gross! So you should really eat them in moderation, and enjoy some complex carbohydrate rich foods like - you said it! - whole wheat products. Yum!

Sneak Attack!

Yes, it is natural to be skeptical of changing anything in one’s life if it’s been a routine for a while, especially when it comes to your diet. I’ll let you in on a little secret, though. If you’ve ever done your health food homework, you would know that whole grains are found in allot of every day foods that every one in the world eats such as:

- Popcorn
- Breads
- Pasta
- Rice
- Oatmeal
- Pastries
- Pancakes

Basically anything that requires baking can use whole wheat! So don’t be afraid to substitute some of your favorite foods for whole wheat options, you won’t notice any difference in the taste of your meals, but a big change in how you feel and look!

3 Servings a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

So now that we’ve covered the main course, its time for our dessert. You know now that whole wheat prevents weight gain and some seriously tasty foods contain whole wheat and that whole wheat can prove as a healthy and delicious substitute for many baking options. I’m sure you didn’t also know, however, that grains are a super powered when it comes to fighting disease.

Whole grains have been proven to decrease the risk of heart disease by erasing cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood coagulation. Not to mention it also helps cure cancer. Studies have also shown that whole grains can lower blood glucose in those suffering from diabetes, and that people who eat three servings of whole wheat daily weigh less than those who consume less. Gooo super food!

Resources: Dr. Grandmas sells nutritious whole wheat mixes and wheat berries (aka: wheat kernels). To learn more about whole wheat foods and to find some great wheat berry recipes visit http://www.doctorgrandmas.com

Hawaiian noni juice comes from the noni tree which is native to the Polynesian islands and to Hawaii. These trees are small in size and very hardy, making it possible for them to grow very well in the volcanic soil of these locations. It is even possible for these plants to grow in rocky shores and deal with ocean waters. The Hawaiian noni juice plant blooms all year around, making noni fruit every time one of the blooms is pollinated. The noni fruit is often called cheese fruit or starvation fruit because it has a very distinct scent and tastes to it that often drives people away from the fruit. However, there are also many people that enjoy the unique tastes and smells of the noni fruit.

Noni fruit and Hawaiian noni juice is becoming more and more common on the market. This had led to more and more people being exposed to Polynesian and Hawaiian noni fruits and noni fruit juices. At the same time as the exposure, more and more people are asking what the difference between Polynesian and Hawaiian noni juice fruits are. Is there a difference between the two different plants? Everyone knows that islands are unique places where genetics tends to take its own path. Is that what could have happened with the noni plants, the same plants developed differently by generations of the plant living on an island?

Believe it or not, there is no actual difference between the Polynesian noni plants and the Hawaiian noni juice plants. This means that there is no difference between the noni fruits and therefore no difference between the noni juices. The only difference is in the location of the processes and the methods of processing.

Hawaiian noni juice is juice from noni trees and fruits from Hawaii. This means that the FDA oversees the process in which the fruit is handled and the Hawaiian noni juice is produced. The Polynesian noni juice is not overseen by the Food and Drug Administration. This can cause inconsistencies in the juice and fruit. Another difference is the financial aspect of it all. Polynesian noni juice has to be imported, while Hawaiian Noni juice tends to benefit American workers because the juice and the plants are produced and managed on American soil.

Do these differences make the Hawaiian noni juice superior over the Polynesian noni juice, no. Instead it makes it different than the Polynesian noni juice. One good way to choose between the two juices is the price and the additives in the juice. If one is going to drink noni juice, one is probably not looking for high amounts of preservatives or additives. It is common to add additional flavors to the noni juice though, such as mixed berry. Another thing to watch for is the concentration levels of the juice. Just because it says one hundred percent juice does not mean that it really is. By checking the ingredients and by checking the Hawaiian noni juice content, you can ensure that you are really getting the product you want.

Resources: Zach Thompson is a Noni Juice Representative. His clients range from actresses to pro athletes. You can get a free consultation by visiting Noni Juice.