Top 5 Healthiest Super Foods to Boost Your Metabolism and Burn Fat

The most common causes of obesity are poor nutrition and/or eating habits and a lack of physical activity. Some additional factors that can lead to obesity include stress, diabetes, emotional eating, boredom, blood-sugar imbalances, and hypothyroidism. Obesity has also been associated with food sensitivities and/or allergies. However, it is the consumption of nutrient-poor foods that makes it much harder for your body to burn fat and thus accumulates in the body. That is why it is essential to eat nutrient-dense foods that will boost your metabolism and burn fat easily and efficiently.

Top 5 Healthiest Super Foods

1. Water- The human body is two-thirds water, and water is vital to your health. Water keeps our cells hydrated, removes harmful toxins, and carries nutrients and waste products in and out of cells. Water also plays a key role in the metabolic breakdown of proteins and carbohydrates.

2. Apples- are a rich source of fiber, carbohydrates, phytonutrients, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and water (roughly 80%). The flavonoid quercetin and vitamin C are potent antioxidants that boost the immune system and may help ward off asthma attacks, atherosclerosis, and various cancers. Apples contain high amounts of a soluble fiber called pectin, which promotes regularity and helps lower potentially harmful LDL blood cholesterol levels. Apples also contain potassium, thus may help prevent high blood pressure and stroke. The high water content in apples keep the body hydrated and encourages cleansing and detoxification.




3. Quinoa- is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is also a great source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, and iron; and a good source of manganese, copper, magnesium (relaxes blood vessels), phosphorus, and lysine. Protein-rich foods can increase your metabolic rate by as much as 35%.

4. Almonds- are one of the best whole food sources of vitamin E. Almonds are also a good source of calcium, fiber, protein, some B vitamins, potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, as well as cancer-fighting amygdalin (B17) and kaempferol; Almonds are a valuable source of monounsaturated fat, too (the good fat). Other possible health benefits include weight loss and reduced risk for diabetes.

5. Microalgae- (spirulina and chlorella) are incredibly nutrient-dense superfoods. Both chlorella and spirulina contain numerous health enhancing substances, such as chlorophyll and high quality complete balanced protein; all the B vitamins; omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene, and nucleic acids (RNA & DNA); and important minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Chlorella and spirulina are beneficial for the immune system, cleansing and detoxification (esp. heavy metals), intestinal health, nervous system disorders, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and much more.

Most important, I would like to suggest organic whole foods whenever possible to help prevent unnecessary exposure to pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and other toxic chemicals that are added to our food supply on a daily basis.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Robin_Reichert/253444

Top Lower - Body Bodyweight Exercises For More Muscle

There are two ways to effectively pack on muscle on your body with bodyweight exercises: use difficult exercises, and intensity techniques. This article will show you some of the top bodyweight exercises you can use to build lean muscle mass:

Ankle Grabbers

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend over and grab your ankles while keeping your legs straight. While holding your ankles, lower your butt until it almost touches your calves. Pause 1 second and return to starting position.

Crossover Lunge

• From a standing position, cross your left leg over your right leg and lunge as far as you can to the right. Land with your foot at about a 45 degree angle and land on your heel with both knees slightly bent. Push off your front foot and return to the starting position.
• Repeat to the opposite side.

Semi Squat Jump

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms at your sides. Slightly bend your knees and bring your arms slightly back. Explode up from your toes while raising your arms for balance. Concentrate on quick and precise jumps.

One Leg Bird Squat

• Stand on your right foot with your left foot resting slightly behind the right heel. Contract your core and hold your hands out to your sides. Bend forward from the hips, allowing your back to curve naturally. While simultaneously extending your left leg behind you until your body forms a straight line.
• Your arms will be out to your sides like bird wings. Squat with your right knee, keeping your body as straight as possible. Press back up. When you have finished all repetitions for that leg, return to the starting position and repeat with the opposite leg.

You can either organize all these movements into one workout, or perform a single exercise as part of a full body workout.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Parth_Shah/266220

How to Get Ripped Doing Pull Ups

There is a wide array of different kinds of exercises you can do for your upper body. Of course you can do curls for your biceps, bench press for your chest and dumbbell raises for your shoulders. However, one form of exercise that often gets overlooked is pull ups. Pull ups can do tremendous things for your core muscles while providing you with lat strength as well.

Many people do not realize how difficult a pull up routine can be. It requires a lot of strength to pull up your entire body. This is why it takes time to develop and build up the number of repetitions you can do. You are not going to be able to do 100 your first time, but there is nothing stopping you from working up to this number.

To start, do one set of as many pull ups as you can. This will give you a basis of where you stand in the beginning. If you can only do one or two, do not get down on yourself. Remember, it takes time to work up to a high amount of repetitions. No matter how many you can do, make sure to do at least three or four different sets.

If you can only do one rep, take a couple minutes off and then do another rep. No matter what you do, make sure you are pushing yourself. You can typically do one more than you think you can, so go all out with each set. As you probably could expect, each set is going to get increasingly difficult.




You want to be doing a few more reps each week in order to build strength properly. If you are stagnant and never increase the amount of repetitions you do, you will never improve and build muscle. Even if it is just one more rep or one more set, you will notice a difference.

Something else you can do is follow a specific pull up workout. You can do a pyramid set routine where you do 10 reps your first set, 8 your second, 6 your third and so on down to two. Another option is to do a basic four sets of 10 to keep your workout consistent. Typically, people mix it up throughout the week by doing a pyramid routine on Monday and the straight sets on Wednesday. Mix and match and find what works best for you.

Another way you can mix up your pull up workout is to add weights. You will need a weight belt and plates to place on the chain. This can make your routine extremely difficult depending on the amount you put on the chain. This gives you many other options for routines and programs you put together.

You can do a pyramid routine by increasing the weight as the repetitions go down. On Wednesday you can then do straight sets maintaining a consistent weight. Finally, you can close the week off on Friday with a low amount of sets and reps and much higher weight. For instance, do three sets of four repetitions but increase your weight drastically.

The options truly are endless for what you do for a pull up routine. Just make sure you are consistent with your workout and are increasing weight every week to build muscle properly.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jake_Devenz/304420