What are the health medicinal benefits of garlic?

Garlic belongs to the onion family and is one the most-used medicinal plant. It has a strong odor, but its health giving and preventive properties make it well worth suffering the effects.

Lets explore the health medicinal benefits of garlic:

• Fresh garlic, eaten daily can reduce chronic acidity of the stomach
• Chew whole roasted garlic cloves to improve circulation
• Fresh garlic eaten regularly will reduce the need for antibiotics
• May prevent some cancers, stomach cancer
• May reduce the attacks of allergic asthma and hay fever
• Helps reduce high blood pressure
• Antioxidant
• Decongestant
• Boosts the immune system
• Anti fungal
• Antiseptic
• Helps prevent heart disease

Tip: The smell of garlic on your breath can be reduced by eating an apple, drinking a little lemon juice, or eating parsley.

As you can see the health medicinal benefits of garlic outweigh any bad breath that one may encounter. The more you learn about these health foods and what they can do, the healthier and happier you'll be.

The top 9 reasons why you should eat cabbage. Cabbage has anti-inflammatory properties and contains chemicals which can prevent cancer. Traditionally, the Romans ans Egyptians would drink cabbage juice before big gatherings to prevent intoxication; cabbage seeds are said to prevent hangovers.

• Cabbage is great anti-inflammatory
• Cabbage contains lactic acid, which acts to disinfect the colon
• Used to reduce headaches
• Reduce the pain of rheumatic disorders
• Soothes eczema and other itching skin disorders
• Anticancer
• Draws out infection
• Red cabbage leaves are the basic ingredient of a good cough syrup
• Applied to bruises and swelling to encourage healing

Caution:

Do not eat red cabbage raw, because the high levels of iron can interfere with gut absorption and irritate the gut, causing constipation.

Avoid cabbage if you suffer from goiter, or take MAOI antidepressants.

Whats so good about honey? Honey is the sweet liquid produced by bees from the nectar of flowers. All honeys are mixtures of the sugars fructose and glucose and water, orgainc acids, and minerals and vitamin traces.

What is special about honey?

• Helps to retain calcium in the body
• Honey helps to balance acid accumulations in the body (because of the large amount of potassium it contains)
• Sedative
• Anti fungal
• Possibly aphrodisiac
• Few minerals and vitamins, along with amino acids
• Antibacterial, for external and internal infections
• Gargle with honey water to soothe a sore throat and ease respiratory problems
• Honey and lemon mixed together are a great remedy for coughs
• Eating a little local honey will sensitize you to pollens in the area-acting as a natural remedy for hay fever and all its symptoms

As you can see there are more uses of honey than your probably familiar with. So next time you see that honey bee flying around, say thank you for all the wonderful benefits its brings.:)

Why is Earth Day so important? It's important because it makes people aware of what's happening to our earth and whats our part to help this Global Warming issue. I have to admit, I have seen more progress with the media getting this out there, than in the past. I personally have seen 4 TV programs in the past week focusing on Going Green. It really comes down to the little things. They say if we start changing our light bulbs out with the CFL's bulbs, this simple act can have great rewards. The two big TV programs were Oprah and 20/20. Great information. I know I'm going to do my part. First thing is to buy some CFL light bulbs.

Here's one clip from the Oprah show. (One of those simple things you can do is to reduce your use of paper napkins…by just one a day! "Napkins make a huge difference," Elizabeth says. "We use 2,200 of them a year, per person on average. Six a day. So if we all gave up one napkin a day, we could save a billion pounds of paper waste … from going to landfills a year." )

So why is Earth Day so important? I think saving the planet from our own demise is one good reason. Please do your part, its going to take all of us to make this change. And yes you do make a difference.

Whats a good high protein weight gain diet? I have heard and read many things about a high protein diet. Is it healthy? Well that depends. Some bodybuilders say eat 1 gram of protein per 1 lb you weigh. I have also heard some experts mention consuming 1.6 grams of protein per 1 kilogram.

What's correct? It completely depends on how your body metabolizes protein. Understand, if you do consume more protein than your body can metabolize, it will store as fat. I don't agree with someone taking high protein shakes, say something like 50 grams per serving. There is no way your body can use all that protein at once.

If you're truly trying to gain weight, the most effective way is every 2-2.5 hrs consume some protein in meal or if that's challenging, a protein shake would be your best avenue. Your looking to eat around 20-35 grams per meal, depending on your needs. A high protein weight gain diet, can be healthy if done correctly. I would recommend consuming 1.6 grams of protein per 1 kilogram you weigh, if your trying to gain muscle. If your not seeing the results you want after a month or so, you can always go up.

Example: I'm 220lbs, I take 220 divided by 2.2(1 kilogram)=100 x 1.6 =160 grams of protein I need per day to pack on the muscle.

Here are some more protein shakes that I like to consume on a daily basis.

Berryvanilla Shake
1-cup skim milk or soy
½ cup frozen strawberries
1 tsp honey 1 tsp honey
1 scoop Juice Plus Complete Vanilla
¼ cup of ice-4 cubes 240 calories
30 grams of protein

Orange crusher
1-cup orange juice
1 banana
1 scoop Juice Plus Complete Vanilla
¼ cup of ice-4 cubes 283 calories
23 grams of protein

Mocha Shake
1-cup skim milk
1 tsp of instant coffee
1 tsp honey
1 scoop Juice Plus complete Chocolate
¼ cup ice blend for 20 sec 217 calories
30 grams of protein

Peanut butter shake
1-cup skim milk or soy
½ cup vanilla low fat yogurt
1tsp peanut butter
1 scoop Juice Plus Complete Chocolate
1 tsp honey 278 calories 35 grams of protein

To really learn your body, you will need to experiment and see whats works and what doesn't. Once you start seeing the results, the excitement will keep you motivated and hopefully on your way to new goals and achievements.

Building muscle is always challenging and eating the right foods is one of the more important factors. If you're really trying to gain some serious weight you must consume protein drinks. It's one the easiest ways to consume enough protein per day to meet your requirements Here are a few of my favorite homemade milkshakes to gain weight.

Vanilla Complete
1-cup apple juice
1 scoop Juice Plus complete vanilla 1
¼ cup ice blend for 20 sec 226 calories

Banapple Shake
1-cup apple juice
½ banana
1 scoop Juice Plus complete vanilla
¼ cup of ice-4 cubes 296 calories

Chocolate Complete
1 cup skim milk
1 scoop Juice Plus complete Chocolate
¼ cup ice blend for 20 sec 196 calories

Chocholatebanana Shake
1 cup skim milk
½ banana
1 scoop Juice Plus complete Chocolate
¼ cup ice blend for 20 sec 248 calories

I like drinking my shakes right after a good workout. That's one of the best times to consume a protein drink, your body needs these nutrients to start repairing your body and muscles.

I would also suggest adding a serving of some omega 3 fatty acids to all your drinks. I hear it protects the heart and brain.

The avocado and nutrition of this fruit stands out as one of the best. Most people know avocados are good for us, but why? Avocados are a fruit rich in Vitamin A, some B complex, C, E, and potassium. They also contain some protein and starch, as well as being a good source of monounsaturated fats. They are considered to be the perfect food-a complete food.

The avocado and nutrition:

• Traditionally used for sexual problems
• Helps with skin disorders
• Great antioxidant
• Used to treat circulatory problems
• Eat regularly for digestive issues
• Antibacterial
• Anti fungal
• Eat an avocado a day when recovering from illness
• Flesh of a ripe avocado soothes sunburned skin

Caution: Do not eat avocados is you have been prescribed MAOI antidepressants. Take care and eat healthy, your body will appreciate it.

With the way obesity is growing in children and teenagers, there's no doubt that a youth fitness workout program has to be the norm in the future. Where does it really start? I believe it comes from the parents. Parents must open their eyes and start taking some responsibility in their children's health. It breaks my heart to see an overweight or obese teenager struggling. You know that their self esteem and confidence are at a low.

Not only are the parents responsible, but the schools should be held responsible as well. Have you seen the food they are given at lunch. Pizza, tater tots, donuts, and sodas are just a few of the foods these kids are consuming.

What's really scary is this epidemic has grown so fast, I'm not sure we really know what to do. Well it begins with us, the parents, the teachers and the fitness professionals of the world. Lets give these kids a chance for a successful life, they are our future.

Youth fitness workout programs should be the norm in every school or after school program. I'm willing to do my part. My heart goes out to these kids. If anyone needs support with this issue please contact me and I'll set up a plan of attack.

Being a personal trainer you see many different aliments with clients, but I would have to say the most common is back pain and to be more specific its lower back pain. Clients always want to know, how to relieve their back muscle pain.

The common issues related to lower back pain:

• Tight hamstrings
• Tight hip flexors
• Weak abdominal
• Weak lower back muscles

There could be other issues going on with you posture alignment and previous injuries that are causing your lower back pain. So, I highly recommend seeing a back specialist before any stretching and exercise regime.

A few simple exercise and stretches that can be done to prevent lower back pain:

• Stretching the hamstrings
• Stretching the hip flexors
• Crunches
• Bridge/plank
• Prone cobra

If you would like a Free routine with pictures, please subscribe to my blog and email me with your request. Take care of your health, its your responsibility.

I train many junior athletes and most want to gain weight or should I say muscle. Fast ways for teenagers to gain weight are not always the healthiest ways. I suggest to all my athletes to increase their calorie consumption by 5oo per day with a equal ratio of protein, carbs and fats. Anymore than that might be too much too soon creating fat instead of the desired muscle.

One the biggest reasons they don't' gain weight fast is their calorie intake. They eat few meals and usually not the right nutrients. I highly recommend a meal replacement shake for individuals that find it challenging to eat all those calories.

One very important factor for gaining muscle would be recovery time. When athletes first start training they really don't understand the importance of rest. They feel the more they spend in the gym the bigger they will get. This is completely false. When your at rest is when your growing and building those muscles.

Feeding those muscles the right nutrients at the right time is another big factor for gaining muscle. Right after the workout is one of the most important meals of the day. I would recommend a protein drink with fruit and flax seed oil. We need to feed those muscles the nutrients that are best at building muscle, and that's amino acids.

Fast ways for teenageres to build muscle:

• Eat 500 more calories a day than your normally do
• Train hard at least 3-4 times a week
• Rest and recovery your muscles as fast as you can
• Consume meal replacements and protein drinks
• After your workout consume the right nutrients for your body to grow
• If your not seeing results change what your doing

The exercise of the month is a new addition to my blog. Its a link on the top right of my blog. Here you will find articles and exercises that relate to your needs and goals. There will be a combination of general fitness information as well as sport specific topics. I encourage all my subscribers to tell me what they want to see in future posts.