Improve Your Health and Fitness

Let our experts fill you in on their own health and fitness secrets

1. Pork Chops
Per gram of protein, pork chops contain almost five times the selenium—an essential mineral that's linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer—of beef, and twice that of chicken. And Purdue researchers found that a 6-ounce serving daily helped people preserve their muscle while losing weight.



2. Iceberg Lettuce
Conventional wisdom suggests this salad staple is nutritionally bankrupt. But as it turns out, half a head of iceberg lettuce has significantly more alpha-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting antioxidant, than either romaine lettuce or spinach.

3. Mushrooms
This fungi's metabolites—by-products created when mushrooms are broken down during digestion—have been shown to boost immunity and prevent cancer growth, report researchers in the Netherlands.

4. Vinegar
Scientists in Sweden discovered that when people consumed 2 tablespoons of vinegar with a high-carb meal, their blood sugar was 23 percent lower than when they skipped the antioxidant-loaded liquid. They also felt fuller.

5. Red-Pepper Flakes
A Dutch study found that consuming a gram of red pepper flakes—about half a teaspoon—30 minutes prior to a meal reduced calorie intake by 16 percent. Plus, new research suggests its active ingredient, capsaicin, may help kill cancer cells.

6. Full-Fat Cheese
This dairy product is an excellent source of casein protein—one of best muscle-building nutrients you can eat. What's more, Danish researchers found that even when men ate 10 ounces of full-fat cheese daily for 3 weeks, their LDL ("bad") cholesterol didn't budge.

Cosmetic dentistry is a field dealing with improving the general care, maintenance, aesthetics and function of your teeth. Most services cosmetic dentists offer include teeth whitening, enamel shaping, contouring, bonding, dental bridges, veneers and gum lift. Basically these are dentists trained in manipulating and operating on your teeth to improve their general condition. However, unlike normal dentists you consult for cleaning or root canal, cosmetic dentists are a bit hard to find given the few dentists that practice this specialization. In order to find one in your area, simply read on.



* Visit cosmetic dentist directories online. If you look through search engines such as Yahoo! and Google, you'll discover that there are a lot of cosmetic dentist directories available online. One such directory is findacosmeticdentist.com, which houses several websites of cosmetic dentists offering dental veneers and general dental care. In this website you'll also find the locations of the dental clinics near your area.
* Ask your dentist if he offers cosmetic dentistry. If you can't find a cosmetic dentist in the directory, you can ask your personal dentist if he offers that service. Or if not, dentists usually have a wide network of colleagues that they can tap when necessary; maybe he can recommend you to one. You may even get a discount!
* Visit your local health center or hospital. Most local health care centers or hospitals carry a dental unit, and they may just have a cosmetic surgery service on board that offers cosmetic dentistry. It pays to visit these local institutions once in a while to see the kind of services they offer. And sometimes, if they are government-funded, the services are cheaper than in commercial centers.
* Look through medical clinics or malls near your area. Commercial dental clinics are sprawled all over the place, and sometimes they even put up offices in malls. Walk around your neighborhood one lazy afternoon and see what dental clinics are available in your area. Ask around if they offer cosmetic dentist services to do a makeover of your teeth, and you just might find a host of the best dentists there are.
* Visit the yellow pages. This resource may be a bit old but it can very well be just what you need. The yellow pages often contain listings of services with relevant information about these services. Look under "C" and you may just be given a list of top cosmetic dentists out there. The yellow pages is still very useful, you just have to know where to look.

Before sitting on that dentist chair, make sure that you are employing the services of a reputable and trained cosmetic dentist. Ask if he is licensed by the government to offer such services. Usually dentists, like doctors, like to hang up their achievements on their clinic walls, so see what kind of conferences he has attended or trainings he has received. This will give you an idea about the level of competency your cosmetic dentist has.

If you want to improve your health first try and limit the number of tablets you may be taking or are used to taking. Paracetamol might be the first choice for headaches, but you will be surprised how often a headache can be cured by just drinking water or having something to eat. (any vegetables will be a bonus)

If you’re taking supplements try and find the equivalent organically. You can modify your diet and still feel the benefits without some of the risks involved by taking a dietary supplement. However much time you think you may or may not have to prepare organic fruit and vegetables it will always be worth it. Five fruit and vegetables a day should be your minimum target.



Always try and consult a professional dietician.

Athletes for example, take creatine supplements to boost their strength and give them a legal edge over their competition. There will always be risks involved, as it could be possible that the creatine you take may have contaminated, banned substances. This is a large risk to your health and if you’re a professional athlete it could ruin your career.

Even professionals bleed…not literally, but you must without doubt allow the body to heal when in training mode. By scheduling a complete day off every week you train you will be doing your mind and body the world of good. Allowing your muscles to recoup and your mind to focus ready for the next training day.

Listening to your body may seem simple but many don’t and this is when injures occur. If your body is hurting through exercise you are pushing it too hard. STOP! Tell yourself that is enough for today, shower, eat well then relax for the rest of the day. Don’t beat yourself up about it as tomorrow is another day.

You can improve your health and fitness by stretching as soon as you wake. Just a few simple stretches will do to get you motivated. Your muscles get shorter when exercising so if you never stretch you will get injured. Stretch thoroughly after exercising aswell.

We all know that we should drink more water in our daily routines especially when exercising. Because you lose minerals in your body while sweating you need to stay fully hydrated, this means drinking plenty of water before, during and after rigorous exercise.

Exercising can be lonely, try and exercise with other people. You will make new friends, and your fitness will improve faster if you have other people helping to keep you motivated.

Becoming too competitive may harm your health. Motivation from other people is good thing, but you should bear in mind you’re only competing against yourself. Your body will differ to others and will only be able to sustain certain levels of exercise. Be yourself, set your own pace. If you try too hard to keep up with someone else’s you could easily become injured.

As with most things in life, enjoy the type of exercise you choose and have a much fun as possible. This will stimulate your mind and help you stick to your goals.