coralcalciumetc.com Blog

What Are The Benefits Of Becoming A Vegetarian?

2006-08-12T23:35-04:00

by Gregg Hall

As a prospective vegetarian, you probably question whether or not it really matters if you stop eating meat. You might wonder how much of a difference one additional vegetarian can make.

And while it might be true that one vegetarian won't make huge statistical difference in a world of meat-eaters--and while it is also true that one more vegetarian probably isn't going to turn the tide in the movement-- you can do a lot as an individual that will be good for you and good for hundreds of animals.

Take, for instance, the number one cause of death in the United States and other countries with meat-centered diets: heart disease.

If it weren't specifically for meat, eggs, and dairy products--which are the three largest sources of cholesterol--heart attacks and other heart and circulatory problems would be far less prevalent. According to EarthSave, the average vegetarian has about 1/4 the chance of having a heart attack as the average non-vegetarian. As for people who are pure vegans, it gets even lower: they have less than 1/10 the chance of having a heart attack as non-vegetarians.

In addition to heart health, you will get a number of other health benefits as a vegetarian. For instance, you won't be exposed to nearly as many preservatives, which are common
in meat and are linked to cancer. You won't be exposed to various hormones (that are packed into animal feed), which often disrupt normal hormonal processes in the body. And you won't consume as much lactose, which most people cannot digest properly--and which some dietitians have suggested is a cause of digestive problems.

In addition to health benefits you will receive as an individual, you will also reduce your share of the suffering human beings inflict on animals.

According to veganoutreach.org, the average American consumes 2,714 land animals in their lifetime. If you quit eating meat now, you could literally prevent the suffering and death of hundreds of animals of the course of a couple decades.

In addition to this, if you stop eating eggs and drinking milk, you will also reduce your share in the suffering and death of battery hens and their offspring, as well as dairy cows and their offspring, too.

So the answer is yes: it does matter whether or not you become a vegetarian. It matters to the thousands of animals you could potentially save and it matters to you as an individual because you can greatly reduce your chances of getting cancer and heart disease.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For the coral calcium go to http://ww.coralcalciumetc.com

Turn Back The Hands Of Time And Slow The Aging Process With Vital Vitamins and Minerals

2006-08-01T23:13-04:00

by Gregg Hall

The search for a fountain of youth has been going on since the dawn of creation. All of us as we get older look for ways to turn back the clock and regain the vitality of our youth. One of the primary causes of aging is the change in hormone production which decreases as we get older. One thing we can do to help with this is to work to get those hormone levels back closer to the levels found in healthy young adult. We can do this with a combination of hormone replacement therapy and exercise.

Another threat to our health is the presence of free radicals, which are unstable oxygen molecules that collide with other particles and tissues in our bodies. They look for other molecules to join with to make them more stable. Some are actually good because they help fight bacteria, inflammation, and help to keep your muscles toned.

Too many free radicals attack the healthy parts of the body and cause diseases such as heart disease and cancer. The secret to managing these free radicals is intake of antioxidants which can slow down or prevent growth of cancers and actually work as anti-carcinogens. These substances render free radicals harmless by giving them an electron. Rich sources of antioxidant vitamins and minerals are fruits, vegetables, and grains.

An important amino acid and antioxidant in guarding against aging is carnosine which exists in large quantities in the brain, muscle tissue, and the lens of our eyes. It helps to prevent muscle fatigue, reduces stress and hyperactivity, and also helps to create good sleep patterns.

Another powerful antioxidant seen a lot in the news recently is lycopene, which is found in large quantities in tomatoes. As we grow older the levels of lycopene in our systems decreases. The substance is crucial for the health of organs such as the adrenal glands, prostate, liver colon, and testes. It has also been shown to help guard against cancer in the digestive tract.

One of the most important antioxidants is lypoic acid which is able to quell free radicals both in water and fat cells. This fat and water soluble substance eliminates free radicals in the water compartment of a cell and protects against oxidation as well as helping turn carbohydrates into glucose so that energy can be produced.

An antioxidant that is needed for proper nervous system function is xanthones which helps people suffering from depression and helps to reduce appetites as well as help combat addictions. It is also essential in the creation of the neurotransmitter, dopamine which communicates to the pituitary glad that releases growth hormone and improves immune response. It also helps stimulate brain activity no matter what the age. A good source of this substance is blueberries.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about nutrition and Benefits of Coral Calcium at http://www.coralcalciumetc.com

Basic Nutrition Advice That Everyone Needs To Follow

2006-08-01T23:09-04:00

by Gregg Hall

Many people have a problem reaching goals they have in their diet and exercise program simply because they are not knowledgeable about basic nutrition. If you are trying to lose weight you should know that reaching your weight goal is simply a matter of burning more calories than you take in.

You should also be concerned with improvement in your overall health at the same time, which is why having good nutritional skills are so important. Poor nutrition can lead to higher risks for of a variety of health problems including heart disease and cancer. You need to eat a balance of healthy foods and watch your caloric intake at the same time. A proper diet reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and aids in weight loss.

For optimal body function you must eat the right combination of nutrients. One of the most important of these, contrary to some popular diets, is carbohydrates. They are used to create glucose which can be used right away or stored to use later. An over abundance of carbohydrates will cause your body to store the extra glucose as fat. Carbohydrates are broken into two categories, simple and complex. Sugars fall into the simple category, while starches and fibers are complex carbohydrates.

Protein is another crucial nutrient for your body; they help your body build and repair muscle and other tissues. They also function in the creation of hormones. Do not fall into the trap of eating excessive amounts of protein, like carbohydrates, excess protein is stored as fat. The two main protein sources are animal and vegetable. You need to avoid a high consumption of animal protein because too much of it can cause high cholesterol due to the high levels of saturated fat.

Your body must also have a certain level of fat intake. Fats are classified in two categories, saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fat is the bad kind and puts you at risk of health problems. Unsaturated fat is healthier, but if it is refined, it can become saturated fat.

Vitamins of course are also on the list of required nutrients. All vitamins perform different jobs within the body and work with your body's metabolism to increase energy levels. Many studies have proven that certain vitamins can also prevent disease such as vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, which assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by helping to prevent plaque build up on artery walls.

Your body also needs minerals and trace elements which are used in many different body processes. Chlorine is essential for digestion, calcium and phosphorus are essential for strong bones and healthy teeth. Your body also needs salt, but not more than 2400 milligrams per day, as it can increase your blood pressure.

Make sure that you eat food as close to their natural state as possible and avoid excessive amounts of animal protein. Eat at least two cups of fruits and two cups of vegetables daily and drink a gallon of water spread out over your day.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about nutrition and Coral Calcium Supplements at http://www.coralcalciumetc.com

Non-Meat Substitutes Of Protein

2006-03-16T11:56-05:00

Although most vegetarians consume a considerable amount of protein, they often do not absorb as much as they would on a non-vegetarian diet. This is because plant proteins are considerably less digestible than animal proteins, which contain amino acid chains that are closer or identical to human amino acid chains.

Consuming animal proteins might yield close to a 1:1 absorption ratio, while consuming plant proteins, such as wheat, might only yield 50% of the amino acids needed to build a "complete protein" or a protein that can readily be assimilated into the human body.

In order for vegetarians to absorb a healthy amount of protein, they must consume a variety of plant proteins to form complete amino chains. By eating vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits, and whole grains, vegetarians can increase the amount of complete proteins they create by combining a number of varieties of amino acid chains.

Vegetarians must also consume more foods that contain proteins because plant proteins are generally harder to digest. While a nutritional label may suggest that pasta has 5 grams of protein per serving; you may only be able to digest 2-3 grams of that protein, which means you must complement the pasta with other sources of protein.

In addition to natural sources of protein, vegetarians should also seek foods that are "protein-fortified"-- or artificially-infused with protein.

For example, many supermarkets offer a variety "protein-fortified" pasta and bread. I have seen pasta that contains as much as 12 grams of protein per serving.

Soy milk is also a good source of protein for vegetarians. Studies on isolated soy protein show that it can be absorbed nearly as well as animal proteins, yielding close to a 1:1 protein absorption ratio.

For non-vegan vegetarians, yogurt, milk, and eggs (which contain complete proteins) are all excellent sources of protein.

As a vegetarian you have a number of options to boost your protein intake - and you should consider taking advantage of all of them. You should diversify your food selections, drink more soy products, and eat "protein-fortified" breads and pasta.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. Get coral calcium supplements at http://www.coralcalciumetc.com

Q & A On Vitamins and Minerals

2006-02-10T09:37-05:00

Q- What about vitamin and minerals. Do we get enough from our food or do we actually need to supplement?

A- It depends on where you are coming from and what culture. Again if you get variety in your diet there is probably no need for vitamin and mineral supplement.

Most people get enough variety in their diet so they don’t need a supplement but there are exceptions to that rule. If you are pregnant or lactating or if there is some other need for vitamins and minerals then it is probably a good idea. You kind of need to go off your doctors recommendations.

Q- Would age be a factor?

A- Yes, there are quite a few areas where you may need a supplement. You know supplements can be expensive. Some may be dangerous. It depends on the kind of vitamins and minerals you are talking about.

You know they break down into water soluble and fat-soluble and there are the vitamins they call oil soluble. There are four of them, vitamins A, D, E, and K. Typically there is more concern with the oil soluble vitamins because they are not excreted from your body, unlike the water soluble vitamins like B and C, the excess will get flushed but with the oil soluble vitamins the excess is retained in your body.

That can get to be a problem if you are for some strange reason taking excessive amounts of let’s say vitamin D for example. I think the recommendation is 400 international units. Well there have been people that have taken many multiples of that like 25,000 international units of that and there are health consequences for doing that.

It comes down to someone not having a balanced background and information to fall back on and they just do it because they are naïve. You know it may start out as a doubling of the recommended daily allowance and they think, “well I’m not seeing any results so I will triple it.” Some of the vitamin companies that manufacture these are no help because they will introduce products in the marketplace and where one capsule will deliver a mega dose of the product it can be confusing to people. You know if one is safe to take then why are they marketing those products in that amount in the first place?

It just gets to be like a power struggle even with the manufacturers of those products. People will think that if a little bit in a tablet is good then more will be better and we go back to that philosophy well how much can we get for our dollar then we start to think in terms of mega dose amounts.

I don’t understand that whole thought process. There are very well documented cases of overdoses and the consequences of taking too much of one vitamin and minerals in the medical journals. It isn’t a mystery it is out there and you just have to be careful. Most supplements if you will look on the labels will tell you how much to take.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For a unique health supplement take a look at www.coralcalciumetc.com

coralcalciumetc.com Blog

What Are The Benefits Of Becoming A Vegetarian?

About the Author

Turn Back The Hands Of Time And Slow The Aging Process With Vital Vitamins and Minerals

About the Author

Basic Nutrition Advice That Everyone Needs To Follow

About the Author

Non-Meat Substitutes Of Protein

Q & A On Vitamins and Minerals