A: Well, the answer is yes. Never have we being exposed to so much much pollution before. Life is certainly more hectic and stressful today compared to 20 or 30 years ago. The quality of food is not the same as before because of environmental pollution. It's now a scientific fact that we cannot hope to get all the nutrients our body needs through meals alone. Nutritional supplementation is even more vital for those with poor eating habits. Diets laden with caffeine, fat, cholestrol, sugar, and sodium deplete the body's reserves of nutrients. Drinking and smoking interfere with nutrient absorption. Other nutrients robbers are antibiotics, drugs, and laxatives.
Q: Why is it that we cannot get all the nutrients the body needs from our meals?
A: The nutrient content of foods fluctuate widely, depending on a number of factors. How the food is prepared will affect the nutritional value of food. We also have to take into consideration the quality of the food. For example, fruits and vegetables grown on the soil that are depleted of selenium, zinc, magnesium, calcium and other minerals will not contain a rich supply of nutrients. Artificial fertilisers used to increase crop yields will affect the quality of fruits and vegetables. Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, addictives, preservatives, ripening agents and waxes sprayed on fruits and vegetables are toxic chemicals that rob the food of it's nutrients.
Q: Is the nutrient content of fruits what we expect it to be?
A: Fruits and vegetables begin to lose nutrients from the moment they are picked. Most of the fresh fruits and vegetables - particularly the imported ones - have actually been picked, then stored, then shipped, then stored again possibly for weeks or months. Then we may cook them, or at least cut them. All these actions cause nutrients loss. The vitamin C content of guavas for example may fall drastically after only one or two months. Green vegetables suffer even more - they lose most of their vitamin C after only a few days of being stored at room temperature. Everyone knows that orange juice is high in vitamin C. But few realise that an orange can lose as much as 30% of its vitamins C soon after it is squeezed.
Q: Is nutritional supplementation necessary if I take home-cooked food?
A: It is still necessary for all the reasons mentioned above. The way you prepare and cook your food determines to a large extent how much is your need for supplementation. If you are highly-stressed; for example you are holding a high-stress job, then your need for supplementationis even more acute. It is a documented fact that a body under stress, depletes its store of vitamins and minerals more rapidly.
Q: When is the best time to take vitamin supplements.
A: Vitamin supplements are best taken at mealtime, along with your food. This is to increase absorption. It is also important to know that the body can absorb and use only so much of a vitamin or mineral at one time. For better utilisation and to prevent wastage of vitamins, try to spread your dosage over the course of the day.
Q: How will I know that the vitamin supplements are working?
A: People taking supplements for general good health and disease prevention usually feel better after taking them for a period of time. They get fewer cold attacks, have more energy, and enjoy a great sense of well being. When you are taking vitamin supplements for a specific condition, you will know they are working when your condition improves. If you have high blood pressure, you might take extra calcium, magnesium and garlic plus of course a modified diet. Then if your blood pressure improves, you will know that the nutrients are working. It is important to realise that vitamin supplements do not work overnight. If you are nervous and irritable today and take a B-complex vitamin tonight, do not expect to feel calm and serene tomorrow. You must give vitamins time to work. In general, don't expect to feel the beneficial effects until at least three to four weeks.
Q: Can vitamin supplements cause harm?
A: It is a scientific fact that only a few vitamins and minerals have any known toxicity level. Even then, the amounts needed to reach toxic levels are astronomically enormous. So there is no risk of any harmful effects.
Q: Will the body grow dependant on large amounts of vitamins and minerals after a period of time?
A: There is no convincing evidence on this. It its, however, common sense not to stop anything 'cold turkey' (abruptly or immediately) after taking it for a prolonged period of time. This is true for both drugs and vitamins. If your body is having an optimal amount of a particular nutrient, it naturally will have to readjust to any change. Therefore if you want to cut back on the intake, it is logical to do so gradually. For example many people increase their vitamin C intake during the cold and flu season. If you have been taking 3000mg of VITAMIN C during during this period, you may cut down to 2000mg for two weeks, then 1000mg for the next 2 weeks, then to 500mg and so on.
Q: What vitamins are known as 'antioxidants'?
A: Vitamins A, C and E are antioxidants. It has been scientifically proven that these vitamins may help neutralise free-radical activity in the body and thus assist in the prevention of degenerative diseases like premature aging, cataracts, heart-disease and cancer. Antioxidants are also known as free-radical scavangers. (See ACE PROGRAM)
Q: What are free-radicals?
A: Free radicals are atoms or a group of atoms lacking an unpaired electron. They are present in the body and constantly 'bump' into healthy cells and severely damage them in the process. Free radicals are formed by exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals, over-exposure to the sun's rays or through the action of various metabolic processes such as the use of stored fat molecules for energy. If free-radicals are left unchecked,they can cause degenerative diseases like premature aging, cataracts, heart disease and cancer.
Q: Do vitamins work individually?
A: Research has shown that vitamins work synergistically - that means they work better as a group. So it is good practice to combine your vitamins. For example, if you are taking antioxidants, you should be taking vitamins A, C and E together. If you are not sure which vitamins combine well, always ask your nutritionist or your doctor.
Q: How long does vitamins remain in your body?
A: Water -soluble vitamins stay in the body for a short period of time - say two to four days. The B vitamins and C vitamins belong in this group. Utilisation of water soluble vitamins begins the minute they are absorbed through your digestive system. Thus these vitamins must be replenished regualrly. Oil-soluble (or fat-soluble) vitamins stay longer in the body. Vitamins A, D, E and K belong to this group. Although these vitamins are usually stored in fat (liid) tissue, some may be also be stored in the organs, especially the liver. Therefore it is not practical to take fat-soluble vitamins in very large doses.
If you want to
Fiber is very important to help you have a feeling of fullness for a long time. This way you will not need to eat un-healthy and full of calories snacks between meals. A very good way to get more fiber is to eat as much fruits and vegetables as you can. If your goal is to lose weight in 2 weeks then you need to make sure that you eat a lot fruits and vegetables. You can take at work a couple of fruits to replace snacks. You can eat the one in the morning to keep you satisfied until lunch and the other one in the afternoon to replace sweets. With your meals you can have vegetables (boiled or fresh) as a side dish.
Besides the theories of weight loss, if you actually want to lose weight in 2 weeks then you need to eat less calories than what you burn. Using the simple methods mentioned above you need to reduce calorie intake by 500 calories per day. You can do this by stop drinking soft drinks (this will immediately save you aprx 200 calories), and by removing high in fat foods from your diet and replacing them with low-fat foods. For example you can stop eating fried and processes foods and start eating lean meats, and a lot of fish (especially tuna). This will not only accelerate your weight loss efforts but it is also healthy and beneficial for your health.
If you manage to increase your metabolism then you will be able to lose weight in 2 weeks. You can increase your metabolism by eating small meals more often. You can start by eating 5 or 6 small meals per day instead of having 2 big meals. By eating small meals more often your body has a continuous supply of fuel and you will not feel hunger. On the opposite if you do not eat small meals and eat just 2 big meals then in-between meals you will feel hunger and look for snacks. This will destroy your weight loss efforts. By eating more frequently you will save a lot of calories and by the end of the second week you will start seeing results.
It is not possible to read about how to lose weight and not see a point about water. Our bodies are 75% water and it is needed from our body to carry out the fat burning process. With no water the fat burning process is reduced and you will not lose weight fast. When you try and drink 10 glasses of water per day then you can help the burning process and also you will save yourself from a number of calories because water will give you a feeling of fullness and you will eat less. In addition water will keep you hydrated and assist you in flushing toxins from your system. Drinking a lot of water is a very healthy habit. Try to carry with you a bottle of water throughout the day and drink as much as you can. Water has no calories and can only do good to your weight loss efforts and health.
One way to lose weight in 2 weeks is to follow some strick diet rules, such as the ones described above. Another way that can accelerate the process and ensure that you will not get the weight back once you stop the weight loss diet is physical activity and exercise. When we are referring to fast weight loss, exercise plays a very important role in the whole process. Physical activity and exercise rises your internal temperature causing you to sweat and burn calories. At the beginning you should try and exercise 3 days a week for at least 45 minutes per day. You should try and gradually increase that to 1 hour per day, 4 days per week. Examples of exercises you can do include walking, running, biking, swimming, stair stepping, rope jumping and rowing. It is understood that this may not be the easiest thing to do but if you need to lose weight fast you will have to introduce some form of exercise to your schedule.
Weight training can help you build more muscle mass. The more muscles you have the easiest is to increase your metabolism. Weight trainning can add the extra bit on your weight loss efforts and can help you start losing weight in 2 weeks. The advantages from weight training are twofold. First you accelerate the burning process by building more muscles and second it is very good for your health and bones and can protect your from several diseases as you grow old (for example osteoporosis).
Some very nice tricks that can instantly save you calories and help you lose weight in 2 weeks concern dark and white meat. Dark meat has about 15% more calories than white meat. For example a turkey breast with the skin (it is better to remove it) has about 155 calories while the same quantity of dark meat has 185 calories.
Steam cooking is a very healthy and easy way to cook. Steam foods are prepated quickly and have low calories. This is because you do not need to add anything to your food besides water. There is a large variety of foods that can be steam cooked. These include rice, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry and several other types of foods.
You should try and enjoy every bite of your food. Food is an enjoyment and this is how you should look at it. For food to be delicious it doesn’t have to be full fat and full of calories. Low fat foods are nowadays as tasty as the normal foods. Try to eat foods that require crunching and chewing.The more you chew you food, the less are the chances that you will eat more than what you need. Great “crunch” foods include carrots and broccoli. The more chewing the more calories you will burn.
