When you’re trying to lose weight, your first concern is what you should eat or not eat.  But you also need to think about what you should drink.  And the best diet drink is water.

 First and foremost, water has no calories.  But it also has many other benefits.  It aids digestion and helps to flush toxins from your body. Ice water can even increase your metabolism, because your body has to warm the water to be able to use it.

You frequently hear that you should drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.  Let’s face it, that’s just not realistic.  If you try to gulp down glass after glass of water, you’re going to get sick of it very quickly.

The fact is, there is no set, universal amount of water that everybody needs.  Your need for water depends on your size, your level of activity, and the physical circumstances.  If you are out working in the hot summer sun, you obviously need more water than if you are sitting in an air-conditioned room.

Another reason that water is the best diet drink is that makes you feel full.  Sometimes your body may give you a feeling of hunger when it is actually looking for liquids.  When you get a hungry feeling, instead of eating something, drink a glass of water.  This is especially true if you have eaten within the last four hours.  Wait a few minutes and see if you are still hungry.

Drinking water is convenient and cheap!  There’s no need to buy it from vending machines. Most supermarkets carry 24-bottle cases of water for less than $5. Or there’s always good old tap water!  Invest in a plastic water bottle and keep it filled up during the day. 

So water is definitely the best diet drink.  It’s calorie free, good for you, and inexpensive.  Would you like to know more about the things that make up a healthy diet?  There is a program that will not only teach you about the best things to eat and drink, but help you to develop a whole new healthy life style.  Find out more today!  Go to http://finallyadietthatworks.com right now!

As someone who has struggled with weight all her adult life, Anita Cohen has done, and continues to do, research on the best ways to develop and maintain a healthy life style. Please visit my site for more information about living a healthy diet

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/the-best-diet-drinkwater-1283977.html

This may seem like a silly question.  Juice is good for you—or is it?  The answer to the question “is juice really part of a healthy diet?” is—not necessarily.

True, juice is better than sodas, which are loaded with empty calories.  But there are a number of factors that you need to consider.

When people try to keep track of the calories they consume, they tend to overlook liquids.  But, except for water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea, all liquids contain calories.  And because liquids take up less space than solids, it’s possible to consume a lot more than you realize.  By the time you feel full, you may have taken nearly a day’s worth of calories.

In addition, psychologically, we associate chewing food with having a meal.  If you don’t chew anything, you think you haven’t eaten and so haven’t consumed any calories. In reality, you may have consumed as many calories as if you had eaten a whole meal.

Juices do contain vitamins and minerals that are part of a healthy diet.  But those are the pure juices.  Beware of “juice-like” products.  Most contain only a small percentage of actual fruit juice and contain added sugar, coloring, and additives.  And they have almost as many calories as sodas.

Even pure juices contain calories.  Having a glass of orange juice with breakfast is fine, if you stop there.  But if you drink several bottles of juice during the day, or even one large one, you can be adding several hundred calories  to your total daily consumption.  Your body doesn’t think “Oh this is liquid; it doesn’t count”.  Excess calories are stored as fat, no matter what their source.

You are better off eating the actual fruit.  By eating an orange, you get about one fourth of the calories of a glass of orange juice, and you get the added bonus of fiber.

If you can’t imagine breakfast without orange juice, go ahead and have it. But then modify what you have for the rest of the day. Instead of apple juice, eat an apple.  Instead of more orange juice, eat an orange.  Drink water instead of juice-like beverages.

So, is juice really part of a healthy diet?  It can be, in moderation.  You just have to remember that healthy mean doesn’t calorie free. Want to learn more about what makes up a healthy diet?  There is a program that will not only show you how to eat healthy, but also develop a whole new healthy life style.  To get started today, go to http://finallyadietthatworks.html.

As someone who has struggled with weight all her adult life, Anita Cohen has done, and continues to do, research on the best ways to develop and maintain a healthy life style. Please visit my site for more information about living a healthy diet

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/is-juice-really-part-of-a-healthy-diet-1279307.html

Sodium creeps into your diet from lots of different places, the result is, every day most people consume twice as much sodium as they should. Where does it all come from? It is important to realize what kinds of high sodium foods you eat every day that are raising your sodium level to dangerous levels.

Sodium is found in a lot more foods than you might think. Store bought spaghetti sauce, frozen entrees, chips, deli meats, soups, and other salty snacks are typically surprisingly high in sodium. Even cereals and cookies can contain a heavy does of sodium. Restaurant and take-out foods are also notoriously high in sodium. Look out for high sodium content in Indian and Chinese food particularly.

The recommended daily maximum level of sodium is about 2400mg per day. That is roughly one teaspoon of table salt. Since most people eat twice this much every day, there are rising concerns regarding the overall public health. High sodium levels tend to raise your blood pressure, and the risk of stroke and other serious health problems rises with it. Also, when you eat a lot of salt, your body loses a lot of calcium through urine. This causes the body to draw on its reserve supply of calcium found in your bones. So a high sodium diet is also a risk factor for developing osteoporosis. This is particularly true if you’re not getting enough calcium in your diet.

Eating a lot of sodium also causes you to retain a lot of water weight. This means you’ll be gaining weight that could be easily lost if you simply limited sodium in your diet.

So what should you do to cut back on sodium? First, start paying attention to the hidden sodium content in your diet. The nutrition label on your food will tell you exactly what sodium content you’ll find in the food. You can use these nutrition labels to keep careful track of your daily sodium intake and keep it to a healthy level. You can choose low sodium options for a lot of foods that you eat regularly. You’ll find low sodium soup, sauces, deli meats, and lots of other foods. If they don’t taste salty enough for you, you can always add a little salt and you’ll still have a very low sodium meal compared to a store bought regular meal.

Another great option for limiting sodium is to cook at home. Homemade soups, sauces, and baked goods are almost always lower in sodium than store bought goods.  

Be sure to keep your potassium and calcium intake high to compensate for the weakening effect of sodium. Eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way to help boost your level of these essential vitamins. For added insurance against development of osteoporosis or other bone related illnesses, add a good daily multivitamin to your diet. They typically provide a good strong level of calcium and potassium to ensure healthy bones and to compensate for sodium intake. If you’re a little more careful with sodium, you’ll be a lot better off as you avoid the threat of serious illness related to high sodium levels.

For more info on men’s and women’s multivitamins, visit Top Form Supplements

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/why-cut-back-on-sodium-1279535.html