Archive for category Health and Fitness
Teas To Help Stop Smoking
Posted by este in Health and Fitness, Quit Smoking on August 24, 2011
Health Benefits of Tea Drinking
Can drinking tea actually help you quit smoking? In this article I’m going to have a critical look at the assertion that drinking tea can help with quitting the deadly habit of smoking tobacco. I’m aware that tea, especially green tea, has been shown to contain anti-oxidants. Oxidants are chemicals formed in the body due to a variety of reasons. Smoking is one reason why these chemicals are created. These chemicals are important because they react with cellular components causing cell damage. In turn this results in genetic damage and genetic damage is a step towards cancer. The anti-oxidants in green tea have been scientifically shown to mop up oxidants. Therefore, green tea can possibly help combat the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke to some degree.
The Claims of Tea Drinking
Teas to help stop smoking? Are there any ingredients in tea that are of help in quitting smoking? There is no doubt that tea contains chemicals that can influence the body in a number of ways. However, is there any sound scientific evidence that supports the claim that tea drinking helps, in any way, to quit smoking? There are teas that can act as an expectorant; that is, they help to clear the chest of phlegm. Exponents advocate that drinking tea can relieve anxiety and reduce stress, detoxify the body, renew and improve lung function and suppress appetite. It is claimed that peppermint tea helps to alleviate withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and supposedly helps curb nicotine cravings. It is also claimed that drinking green tea can help to burn calories thus counteracting weight gain which is often a problem during the initial phase of the quit smoking process.
Teas to Help Stop Smoking- The reality
The scientific evidence for green tea having anti-oxidant properties is convincing. Therefore, green tea may actually help to reduce the risk of smoking related cancer. The worry of course is that the anti-oxidant properties of green tea may discourage smokers from quitting. The anti-cancer benefits are relative and don’t equate to returning the smoker to the lung cancer risk of the non-smoker. Evidence in support of drinking tea to help reduce nicotine cravings is less conclusive. I suspect that many of the claims for tea drinking, as a quit smoking aid, are scientifically unsupported. As with many so called ‘natural’ products that are put forward to help stop smoking the benefits are perceived rather than real. They act as a psychological crutch. However, this psychological aspect of the quitting process should not be underestimated. If someone honestly thinks that it helps, then it probably does.
In the final analysis, I am of the opinion that the claim that drinking tea to help stop smoking is overstated. There is no doubt that green tea is a health tonic. However, as a quit smoking aid, apart from providing psychological support, there are no real benefits.
Why You NEED to Know How to Quit Smoking Weed
Posted by este in Health and Fitness, Quit Smoking on August 20, 2011
Do you want to know how to quit smoking weed? You are getting closer to the help you need.
Now if you have made it this far then it is very likely that you are in the same situation as we speak to the one I used to be in. First of all let me tell you that you are not alone and your goals of stopping smoking weed are in reach. The biggest step is starting to look for help. Don’t get me wrong there are many other large steps along the way but this one is the most important.
Ok now if you are thinking well… do I really have a problem its only a bit of weed right. STOP right there! You do have a problem. Weed is a drug that is addictive and can mess up your mind.
Let me tell you a bit about my past before I ever dreamt of asking anyone how to quit smoking weed.
I was a heavy weed smoker. I was always the big guy like look at me look at how much I can smoke. I was the guy saying why is weed illegal, alcohol is way more dangerous than weed and that is legal. Weed is totally safe God made it right… (lol it must be safe then if God created it…).
I started when I was around 15 and smoked it until I was 25, so 10 years of abuse and by the time I finished I was a mess. Yes a mess and all from that great drug that your friends tell you is safe.
When I started it was the usual thing a couple of joints with friends but then it progressed until I was smoking an ounce or more a week. My whole life functioned around either smoking weed or getting some more weed. By the end of my smoking as you can probably imagine the getting it part of it wasn’t really a problem as it is readily available pretty much anywhere you go.
In my school years I was a fairly confident kid. Now looking back it really didn’t take long for that to disappear. I had a select group of friends who stuck together and at the time we where cool. Looking back at things we where anything but cool.
My life had turned into a sad little life yet my mind was telling me it was other people who had the problem and how society and anyone with anything to do with it was against me.
I went on like this for a long time then one day something just clicked. I need to STOP smoking weed!
I had went on with this thought before actually doing anything about it I mean, I had never even attempted this before and the sheer thought of it sent chills down my spine, it was all I had known in all of my teenage and early adult life.
I turned to the internet and started asking How to Quit Smoking Weed.
Ab Toning Belt – The Vital Info You Need to Know
Posted by este in Fitness Equipment, Health and Fitness on August 16, 2011
If you’re seeking a set of six pack abs, the ab toning belt products on the market have likely caught your eye. You simply place the ab belt on and within minutes, you’ll have a complete abdominal workout.
So are these really going to get you the results you’re after? Do ab belts work or are they just going to waste your hard earned money with little to show?
Let’s take a closer peak into what the ab toning belt is and answer the question of whether they will help you on your way to success.
Questioning the Validity of the Ab Toning Belt
First things first, many people often question the validity of the ab toning belt. You tend to see two groups of people. Those who just believe that these products are junk and will not offer any benefits at all and then those that believe that the ab toning belt can be part of a smart program to help get firm abs.
Often those who believe that the ab belt is not a smart product are those who either don’t fully understand how it works or who have unrealistic expectations. The ab belt was never designed as a one-size-fits all method to get flat abs. Realize that even the markers of these belts know that if you have too much body fat covering the abs, that must be lost first in order to see abdominal definition.
Therefore, the ab belt is going to produce much better results in those who are already leaner to begin with. Overweight individuals should start out on an effective diet program first and then transition to using the ab belt later on.
How to Use an Ab Toning Belt for Best Results
In order to see the best results from using the ab toning belt, you’ll want to use it every other day along with a smart exercise and diet program. You won’t have to dedicate any further time to performing abdominal workouts when wearing the ab belt, but it’s still vital that you’re performing exercises for other muscle groups.
This is what will help to increase your metabolism the best and ensure you burn off fat overall.
When wearing the ab belt you want to try and relax the core as much as possible as well to ensure that it works properly on the muscles. Most people will do best using it in the evening while watching TV after all exercise has been completed for the day.
Advantages to Wearing an Ab Toning Belt
The big advantage to using the ab toning belt versus doing abdominal crunches will be the fact that it will free up more time in your schedule to devote to other exercises that help move you closer to success.
In addition to that, those who use the ab belt will have a lower risk of developing back pain since they aren’t placing any stress on the spinal column, like they may do when performing crunches.
So Do Ab Belts Work – The Verdict
So all in all, to answer the question of do ab belts work, the answer is yes when used properly. Understand that they will not magically help you shed fat. That must be done with a proper diet program. But, once that diet program is in place, an ab toning belt can help you say so-long to traditional crunches while still moving closer to the goal of seeing flat ab success.