Discover The Truth About Eating Too Much Protein

Lets face it protein is an essential nutrient, and is vital to your health and is used to build muscles, skin, hair and nails. However, many people put their health at risk by eating too much of it.
The typical American diet already provides plenty of protein and there is no point in adding any more, unlike fat cells, there is no place in the body to store protein so the excess is eliminated or is seen as fat rather than muscle.
So what you need to do is to consume just enough protein to allow your muscles to be healthy, perform work and grow. But how much is just enough?
You only use protein for about 15% of your energy use, the majority of energy comes from fats and carbohydrates.
Exercising doesn’t necessarily mean that you require more protein but more carbohydrates to stop your body breaking down protein and using that for energy.
Try to make sure that 70% of your protein comes from sources such as meat, fish, eggs or poultry. The complete protein provided by these foods combines with incomplete protein consumed from other food sources.
So your body makes the best of all the protein that you consume.
If you are consuming too much protein, you are probably consuming too many calories over your maintenance levels and this will show as an increase in your body fat levels.
And with the advent of the latest fad high protein diets, not enough carbohydrates are being consumed so the protein is converted to glucose and not converted into muscle growth.
What is needed for muscle growth is not more protein but high intensity strength training with the required amount of time for rest and recovery between sessions.
Because that major bodybuilding star you saw in the latest magazine requires 300 grams of protein a day doesn't mean that you have to. What he won't tell you is that taking Steroids is behind his muscle gains and not his diet.
High intensity strength training and not food stimulates muscle growth
Consuming excessive amounts of protein is not only bad for your liver and kidneys but also promotes vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is also linked to osteoporosis and some forms of cancer.
One way to overcome the need to eat large quantities of protein is to increase the consumption of protein in stages until a maximum efficiency point is reached and then to drastically reduce it again.
This obliges the body to over-compensate by increasing the efficiency for the absorption of protein into the body.
An example of a Protein Loading diet is found below.
Week One
Breakfast: Poached egg on toast, cereal
with fruit and milk.
Snack: Fruit and protein shake.
Lunch: Chicken, potato, and vegetables.
Fresh fruit salad.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, and biscuits with cheese.
Dinner: Fish any style, rice, vegetables,
and whole meal bread and fruit salad.
Week Two
Breakfast: Two poached eggs on toast,
cereal with fruit salad and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Lunch: Chicken with potatoes and
vegetables (any style)
Snack: Nuts, fruit, biscuits with cheese.
Dinner: Roast Beef with vegetables, brown rice,
whole meal bread.
Week Three
Breakfast: Three eggs any style on toast, cereal
with fruit and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, and protein shake.
Lunch: Turkey with potatoes and vegetables,
brown rice, whole meal bread.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Dinner: ½ Chicken, potatoes, veggies,
brown rice, whole meal bread.
Before Bed: Protein shake.
Week Four
Breakfast: Four eggs any style on toast,
cereal with fruit and milk.
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Lunch: Spaghetti with meat sauce,
potatoes, brown rice,
Snack: Nuts, fruit, protein shake.
Dinner: Roast Pork, potatoes, brown
rice, whole meal bread.
Before Bed: Protein shake.
After week four of this protein loading diet, move from the max intake of protein to the lowest. So in the fifth week go back to week one menu, in the sixth week, week two menu and so on.
Make no mistake about it this protein loading diet provides a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates and combined with high intensity strength training will be very effective in increasing muscular bodyweight without the need to ingest large quantities of protein.

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By Gary Matthews

Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now for your 'free' weight loss or muscle building e-courses.

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Fruit For Fitness Tips

Without question, fruit has wonderful natural benefits for the human body. Fruit is packed with vitamins and fiber much like vegetables, but comes in a wide variety of sweeter, more palatable flavors.
Adding fruit to your diet is an excellent thing to do, but there are a few things that you need to keep in mind:
1. Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice is often sweetened, but fresh fruits have natural sugars. Also, you don’t receive all of the needed fiber and vitamins from fruit juice as you do from fresh fruit.
2. If you do have a craving for fruit juice, then go for fresh fruit juice instead of those that contain artificial flavors and colors. Or even better, try making your own fruit juice, taking care not to sweeten it with too many calories.
3. Choose fresh fruit over processed fruits. Again, processed and canned fruits do not have as much fiber or vitamins as fresh fruit, and processed and canned fruits are nearly always sweetened.
4. Wherever possible eating locally produced seasonal fruits and vegetable fresh from the garden or grove is preferred.
5. Fresh fruit makes the absolute perfect dessert for any meal. Throw out the cake and add a fresh fruit bowl to the dining table.
6. Fresh fruit also makes the perfect snack. It’s far better to grab a banana or apple when hunger pangs strike, than a bag of greasy potato chips. Plus, fresh fruit just tastes better.
7. It’s interesting to note that nature produces several varieties of fruits resembling the shapes of the organs of our body, which are useful and beneficial to that specific organ. Here are some examples:
Apricot - Brain

Mango-Papaya - Stomach
Almonds - Eyes
Apple - Heart
Grapes - Lungs

Cashew nuts - Kidney
8. Fruits and vegetables have in them a natural storage of the sun’s energy. If we make a daily practice of having fresh fruit and vegetables, or one glass of real fruit juice and two or three cups of green juice of vegetables, our requirement for food will be reduced to a minimum. We will have enough energy to maintain the body in a healthy condition.
Overall, just remember that fresh fruit is better for you than canned fruit, fruit juice, processed fruit, or cooked fruit. Eat as much fresh fruit as you like.
Another benefit of adding fruit to your diet is the added water intake. Water is a simple, yet effective tool in the fight against the scale and the emergency room, and is often overlooked by most people.
But that is a whole other subject...

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By Steve Shannon

To learn more about the tremendous benefits of water in your dietary routine visit: http://www.privilegedinfo.com/waterwisdom.html .Steve Shannon is webmaster at PrivilegedInfo.com.

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Free Tips On How To Lose Weight

Many people in life, especially in the western world are looking at ways to lose weight. In this article I describe about how I have had an ongoing struggle with my own weight and how I eventually lost the excess pounds.
I am somebody who has a liking to the wrong types of food and drinks and as a result have had an ongoing battle with my weight for most of my life. I have to be very careful what I eat as I seem to gain weight very easily. In my life I have tried many diets, however I have always looked for a way to of losing weight without having to resort to starve myself or by having to do huge amounts of exercise.
I have always been annoyed and frustrated with family and friends who seem to be able to eat without getting fat. I am sure I eat half as much as these people but am still twice their size, it is not fair! That was until a couple of years ago.
I decided I needed to find my own way of losing weight. I had to be honest with myself, I was aware that I did very little exercise and that I liked all of the wrong types of food. I was a bit of a fast food junkie, this was only because of my busy lifestyle . One of my biggest problems though was that I liked snack food, such as peanuts, chocolate and crisps. I also liked an alcohol as this helped me to gain confidence.
I knew that most people would advise me to stop eating all fatty type foods, especially the pizzas and chips. They would also no doubt, advise me to join a gym and to go jogging every morning. Get real! Those gyms are full of thin people, if I go jogging I might get mugged, and I am sorry but life would not be worth living without my weekly pizza!
What I needed was my own weight loss plan so I decided that what I would do is to basically eat a healthy type breakfast, which would be cerial or toast. I would have a fairly light lunch, such as a sandwich, however for my evening meal I could eat whatever I wanted. The main thing and most difficult to implement would be the fact that I would be no longer eating between meals. The snacks had to go!. I am not trying to say that this was easy to do, however I had a need and was determined to lose weight.
For exercise I decided to leave the car at home, wherever possible, and walk to more places. I also started taking my children to the park more often. At the park we would play games such as football, cricket and baseball. It is amazing how much weight you can lose by having fun.
These things in time helped me to lose a lot of my excess weight.

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By Steve Hill

Stephen Hill has a number of websites including:
http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk

http://www.lasik-laser-surgery.co.uk

http://www.free-self-hypnosis.co.uk

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Healthy Eating Shopping List

Healthy eating starts with careful planning and organization. Since fresh produce has a very limited shelf life, regular grocery shopping is a must. Creating a menu for the week and writing out a shopping list will save you time and money; while helping you stick to healthy recipes. Local health food stores and farmer markets are very money-wise solutions. Plus, frequent visits will allow you expand your culinary horizons as well as mingle with other health-concerned people.
Healthy eating means using fresh ingredients and gentle cooking methods without adding any artificial ingredients and fats. Healthy eating requires a lot of cooking, since take-out food often contains too many refined fats and artificial seasonings. However, with modern appliances you will discover that cooking is no longer an annoying chore reserved for special occasions, but an exciting part of everyday life.
So which products should we buy when we actually decide to begin eating healthy food? Here’s what your weekly shopping list should include.
Vegetables. All vegetables should be eaten young, when they are tender and not coarse. Vegetables are best bought from fresh food markets or seasonal, when they are sold in boxes or baskets. Supermarket vegetables are often genetically modified or have been picked green and ripened in boxes when traveling long distances. Sprouts and brightly colored vegetables contain the most vitamins and antioxidants.
Fruits. Again, the trick is to buy seasonal fruit, since exotic fruits have often traveled long distances and ripened in their boxes, not on trees. Local, naturally ripened or, better yet, organic fruit are the best choice for the health-conscious cook.
Herbs. Aromatic herbs and spices can be used fresh or dried. The best idea is to plant the aromatic herbs in pots on your window and use them fresh whenever you need them. To preserve flavor, you can buy spices whole and use them freshly ground.
Cheese. Although cheese is quite rich in fats, cheese is a great source of vitamins and minerals. Buy only fresh cheeses in small quantities and try to eat them at once, since gourmet cheeses don’t have a lengthy shelf life.
Eggs. Buy only organic or free-range eggs, and shake them before buying to ensure freshness.
Fish and shellfish. The best way to buy fish is fresh and unfrozen. Again, most of the fish in supermarkets comes from fish farms where it is fed with artificial substances, and this fish cannot be used in healthy recipes. Pink salmon and other popular kinds of fish will most likely come from a fish farm. Shellfish is a more healthy choice, since shrimp, for example, does not live in chemically polluted water. When you boil mussels, discard those that do not open.
Meat. For truly healthy eating purposes it’s better to skip meat entirely, since it’s almost impossible to find meat that comes from an environmentally and health conscious farmer. Most of the meat in supermarkets has enormous quantities of growth hormones and antibiotics. The best meat for use in healthy recipes comes from small farming communities or organic farms.
Grains. Whole wheat and whole grains should become a staple of your healthy eating routine, because many healthy ingredients are contained in the grain shell. Rice is the only exclusion from the rule, because, even though the rice grain shell is removed, many nutritional elements still remain in the rice grain.
What we eat become a part of us. So make your kitchen a starting point for your new healthy eating habits, and enjoy preparing healthy meals.

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By Kathryn Whittaker

Kathryn Whittaker writes articles on a number of different topics. For more information on living a Healthy Lifestyle please visit Healthy Lifestyle Guide and for additional Healthy Lifestyle articles please visit the following article page - Healthly Living Articles.

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Traditional Armenian Barbecue Recipe

Each nation or ethnic group has its own way of making barbecue. Everyone has heard of so many various Barbecue sauces and an average supermarket is full of them.
Armenian barbecue stands uniquely next to Southern American Barbecue, Eastern Mediterranean Shish Kabob and Greek Gyros. Before you make your barbecue you should always be circumspective of barbecue safety issues and the information at http://www.emaxhealth.com/75/2854.html on barbecue safety is always good to know.

Armenian Barbecue Ingredients:
2 pounds of pork meat

1 onion

Salt and Pepper (Black Pepper and Red Pepper)

Basil Leaves

Cut the pork meat into small pieces and add to it very small chopped onion. Add salt, pepper and some basil leaves. Mix all of them together very well and leave in the refrigerator for few hours so the taste of the salt, pepper and the basil leaves penetrates inside the meat.
Prepare the grill (can also be done inside the oven). As the grill is warming up, put the meat on skewers and line them up over the grill. The skewer is very much desired so you can equally turn the meat around and let all of it’s part cook well.
When ready, serve with tomato sauce and red wine.

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by: Armen Hareyan

Armen Hareyan is the publisher of http://www.emaxhealth.com/, publishing health articles and information for consumers.

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Good Nutrition: The Overlooked Vitamin You Need to Know About

A vitamin which has received a lot of interest lately, for a host of reasons, is vitamin D. Various studies have shown the importance of vitamin D in the prevention of aggressive forms of prostate cancer, colon cancer and even skin cancer. It acts as an insulin stimulator to help deter diabetes. It can help to offset the effects of PMS as a regulator of the hormone, estrogen. It boosts seretonin which has been found to help depression. It is also important to understand the role of vitamin D in calcium absorption. Without vitamin D, calcium does not find its way to the bones. Not only does it aid in calcium absorption but in strengthening the muscles which gives added mobility to the elderly. The significance of this can be seen when we realize that falls are the largest cause of injury related deaths in nursing homes.
For all of these reasons, the importance of getting the proper amount of vitamin D is becoming more and more apparent. This, however, presents a dilemma. The single best way that we receive vitamin D is through sunshine. In recent years, it is becoming clear that Americans are not getting enough vitamin D. This has been due, in part, to the increased use of sunscreens. Sunscreen blocks the absorption of vitamin D in the skin. Does this mean we should stop using sunscreen? No, absolutely not. Some studies suggest that we spend 5-10 minutes, three times a day , in the sun without sunscreen.
Other studies suggest that we spend 10-15 minutes, one to two times a day, in the sun without sunscreen. I think it is clear that only small doses of being exposed to the sun, without sunscreen are recommended.
There are some foods, although not many, which provide vitamin D. These would be fatty fish, milk, fortified orange juice and fortified cereals. Mushrooms that are sun grown are also a good source of vitamin D. Green leafy vegetables are not a good source of vitamin D. Because of this, a daily supplement is recommended. Traditionally, 200 I.U.s were the recommended dose but new studies are suggesting anywhere from 600-800 I.U.s as a minimum dose. Up to 2,000 I.U.s a day has not been shown to pose a toxicity risk but there is really no reason to take this much.
Given the known benefits of vitamin D, all of us, especially as we age, should pay as close attention to this vitamin as we do calcium.

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by: Constance Weygandt

Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker, and balance mentor. For more information or to receive her free recipe newsletter, visit her at http://www.balancedwellnessonline.com

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Nutritional Benefits From Protein Sports Supplements

One of the best ways that a person can benefit from a healthy diet and exercise routine is the addition of sports nutrition in the form of extra protein. Protein is found naturally in many of the foods we eat. But a person who exercises often should get one gram of protein per pound of their body weight. This presents a problem in our fast breakfast (or no breakfast) and fast food lunch lifestyles. We don't always get the protein our body needs to benefit from our daily workouts. This needed protein can be acquired safely from sport supplements promoting extra protein.
Protein nutritional sports drinks and mixes can provide many benefits other than increasing muscle mass and body tone. Proper protein sports supplements can help your body repair damaged cells, such as repairing muscles and bones that may get damaged during a workout. Like carbohydrates, protein can give you energy throughout the day, but unlike carbohydrates, protein offers a lower level of energy that last much longer, keeping the weight off that generally comes from a high carbohydrates diet. Getting the right amount of protein, even through sports nutrition supplements, can help the body make essential amino acids as well.
One type of protein sports nutritional supplement you may see is one called whey protein. Whey comes from milk and is one of the highest quality forms of protein with a rich amount of amino acids. And unlike other forms of protein (red meat for example) whey offers protein in a low fat and low cholesterol form. Whether you just run every other day or you are a professional athlete, protein sports supplements can help increase your body's energy and strength. Most athletes consume a protein shake of some kind before and immediately after exercise or an event to help repair and rebuild damaged muscles.

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by: Keith Baxter

Keith Baxter runs an online supplement company specializing in sports nutrition. His site can be found at http://www.mynutritioninsider.com/shop/Protein_Drinks.

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