10 Healthy Reasons to Drink Tea

1. Tea contains antioxidants. Like the Rust-Oleum paint that keeps your outdoor furniture from rusting, tea's antioxidants protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.

2. Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Coffee usually has two to three times the caffeine of tea (unless you're a fan of Morning Thunder, which combines caffeine with mate, an herb that acts like caffeine in our body). An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup. If drinking coffee gives you the jitters, causes indigestion or headaches or interferes with sleep -- switch to tea.

3. Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Unwanted blood clots formed from cholesterol and blood platelets cause heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free, the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear. A 5.6-year study from the Netherlands found a 70 percent lower risk of fatal heart attack in people who drank at least two to three cups of black tea daily compared to non-tea drinkers.

4. Tea protects your bones. It's not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones. One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors. The authors suggest that this may be the work of tea's many beneficial phytochemicals.

5. Tea gives you a sweet smile. One look at the grimy grin of Austin Powers and you may not think drinking tea is good for your teeth, but think again. It's the sugar added to it that's likely to blame for England's bad dental record. Tea itself actually contains fluoride and tannins that may keep plaque at bay. So add unsweetened tea drinking to your daily dental routine of brushing and flossing for healthier teeth and gums.

6. Tea bolsters your immune defenses. Drinking tea may help your body's immune system fight off infection. When 21 volunteers drank either five cups of tea or coffee each day for four weeks, researchers saw higher immune system activity in the blood of the tea drinkers.

7. Tea protects against cancer. Thank the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea, once again for their cancer-fighting effects. While the overall research is inconclusive, there are enough studies that show the potential protective effects of drinking tea to make adding tea to your list of daily beverages.

8. Tea helps keep you hydrated. Caffeinated beverages, including tea, used to be on the list of beverages that didn't contribute to our daily fluid needs. Since caffeine is a diuretic and makes us pee more, the thought was that caffeinated beverages couldn't contribute to our overall fluid requirement. However, recent research has shown that the caffeine really doesn't matter -- tea and other caffeinated beverages definitely contribute to our fluid needs. The only time the caffeine becomes a problem as far as fluid is concerned is when you drink more than five or six cups of a caffeinated beverage at one time.

9. Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn't have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. Consuming even 250 fewer calories per day can result in losing one pound per week. If you're looking for a satisfying, calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice.

10. Tea increases your metabolism. Lots of people complain about a slow metabolic rate and their inability to lose weight. Green tea has been shown to actually increase metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day. Over a year's time you could lose eight pounds just by drinking green tea. Of course, taking a 15-minute walk every day will also burn calories.

Related info:

Green Tea for Weight Loss

Green Tea: Better health & fitness in a cup

Tea and Cancer Prevention

Metabolism-Boosting Secrets

From eDiets.com

(By Raphael Calzadilla)

People always tell me they want to get their metabolism revved in order to lose fat, yet many people who email me don’t even exercise. That’s a recipe for a non-revved metabolism.

When you try to lose body fat without exercising, much of your loss will be muscle tissue, and less will be from fat. For eye-popping results and a sleek body, your goal must be to shed as much fat as possible and build as much lean muscle as possible.

Nutrition and exercise are the answer.

There’s a fitness term called the “after burn." This refers to the calories that you burn 24 to 48 hours after your exercise session. What that means to you is a faster metabolism that burns fat at an accelerated rate.

Now the million dollar question -- how do we maximize this after burn and what method do we use?

Let’s take a look at the formula:

1. Cardiovascular Exercise

When you perform cardio, enzymes are produced that break down fat and enable the body to use fat as an energy resource. The average person has 100,000 calories worth of fat stored on his/her body -- roughly enough to run for 200 hours. For fat to be burned as energy, oxygen needs to be produced. People with a high cardio capacity are able to burn fat very easily because their bodies are efficient at delivering oxygen to muscle cells.

How do we then manipulate cardio to assist in a metabolic boost?

Duration -- This is the length of time of your exercise session. For example, after a 45-minute workout, your metabolism may stay high for over three hours. Now think of what that does if you’re exercising three to five days per week. That’s right, a metabolism that is consistently burning calories like an out-of-control fire.

Here’s where you need to be cautious. Just because 45 minutes is good and maybe one hour is good -- that does not mean you should exercise hours and hours a day. There is a point when one can do too much and start risking injury, burning valuable muscle instead of fat, creating more free radicals and simply becoming out of touch with reality. In general, 40 to 50 minutes of cardio four to five days per week will get the job done.

Intensity -- This simply relates to your level of effort. If your intensity is high, you’ll burn a significant number of calories. In fact, 25 minutes of an elevated intensity at 80 percent of target heart rate will burn more than 45 minutes of lackluster intensity at 45 percent target heart rate.

The beauty of intensity is that your metabolism stays elevated for long periods of time. Again, I must make the point that one needs to find the correct amount of intensity (70 to 85 percent of target heart rate) based on the individual’s fitness level. Jumping on a treadmill and running full speed after not exercising for a year is going to put you at risk for injury and even more damaging possibilities.

2. Strength Training

There are numerous studies that show that strength training produces a greater calorie post burn than cardiovascular exercise. In one study, 40 minutes of strength training produced a 36 percent increase in metabolism over 40 minutes of cycling.

Unless you strength train, you will lose about half a pound of muscle a year after the age of 20 and, worse than that, you’ll replace the muscle with a pound of fat a year. So over time, your body composition can change dramatically for the worst.

The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism. In fact, one pound of muscle helps your body burn up to 18,000 calories in a year. Nothing can dramatically change your body the way strength training can. You should try to strength train three times a week with a day of rest in between. Two is good for beginners or for maintenance, but three will help you to progress and keep your metabolism fueled.

Consider some of the research findings related to strength training and metabolism by Ted Lambrinides, Ph.D.

“Additional muscle mass will alter metabolism in two ways. First, resting metabolic rate is increased when one gains muscle mass. While the energy expenditure per pound of lean body mass does not change, the addition of more muscle mass means a larger energy expenditure or higher metabolism at rest.

"Second, the more muscle mass one has, the greater the post exercise oxygen consumption. When strength trained individuals were compared to non-trained individuals, there was no difference in post exercise oxygen consumption per pound of muscle. However, since the strength training individuals have more muscle mass, they burn more calories during the post exercise period.

"Conclusion: Strength training increases energy expenditure during a training session. The high intensity or anaerobic nature of strength training indicates a high utilization of carbohydrates during a training session. *During the post-exercise recovery period, energy expenditure is elevated for a period ranging from two to fifteen hours."

So, if you want to burn even more fat -- perform both cardio and strength training. If you do both, you’ll multiply your fat burning results, trim off the inches, reshape your body and dramatically improve your strength and endurance.

3. Nutrition

Even if you strength train and perform cardio with a vengeance, it will not produce effective results without proper nutrition. Food can help stimulate the metabolism.

As I consistently write in most of my articles, you must be in a slight caloric deficit to lose body fat. You have to consume enough food to provide energy for your workouts, but they must be just low enough to produce a fat loss. Unused calories are turned to fat, regardless if they’re from protein, carbohydrate or fat.

As you can see, the formula for stoking your metabolism is: Strength training three to four days per week for 40 to 60 minutes, cardiovascular exercise four to five days per week for 40 to 50 minutes; and following your eDiets nutrition plan to the letter. That's the key to increasing your metabolism, losing fat -- and keeping it off.

Maintaining a faster metabolism and a healthier body weight is something you can accomplish. So start now!

As always, check with your doctor prior to beginning any exercise program.

*Melby, C., Scholl, C., Edwards, G., Bullough, R."Effect of acute resistance exercise on post exercise energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate." Journal of Applied Physiology,

Please feel free to visit my blog at www.getfittoday.blogspot.com

Learn more at eDiets.com...

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Measure Your Run: Google Maps Pedometer

Wow. Sometimes you find things on the Web that literally blow your mind. The Google Maps Pedometer is one of those things (at least for me!). If you want to map out and record the distances you travel during a running/walking workout, this is the perfect tool:

http://www.sueandpaul.com/gmapPedometer/

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Cellulite: What Really Works!

From eDiets.com:

Just when you thought it was safe to dive back into swimsuit season…

The rising temperatures mean it is time to break out the suntan lotion and head for the beach. Unfortunately, many women will keep themselves covered up, because they are afraid to shed light on their thighs, hips and buttocks. In case you didn’t know, these are the areas most commonly impacted by cellulite.

If you have problems with cellulite, you are not alone. Supermodels like Tyra Banks have been known to complain about it. There was even an episode of Ally McBeal in which Callista Flockhart’s amazingly thin main character tells viewers about her struggles with the cottage-cheese-like substance.

What is cellulite?

Cellulite actually refers to fat that bulges from under your skin. However, you don’t have to be overweight to experience this universally disdained kind of fat. You may have lived a good portion of your life with smooth thighs when, almost out of nowhere, the telltale signs of cellulite appear. What’s the deal?

What happens is that the fibers which connect your skin to the layers of fat underneath tend to weaken over time. When they do, fat cells rise to the surface. Cellulite forms when deposits of fat bulge through the strands of connective tissue, separating them into compartments and making them visible through the skin. This creates a sort of “lumpy” look, which many people have unkindly compared to cottage cheese or the outside of an orange peel.

The condition is caused by a complex array of factors that include hormones and heredity. Cellulite occurs in women of all shapes and sizes. It does, however, discriminate by gender. Men rarely have problems with cellulite, because they have thicker skin, which makes the fat less apparent.

According to the American Cellulite Task Force, nearly 90 percent of women past age 20 will develop cellulite -- including dancers, athletes and models. Unfortunately, the fact that cellulite is such a common problem doesn’t make it any more attractive or easier to handle.

Here is a general review of the most commonly used methods to fight cellulite:

Over The Counter Products

You’ll find many over-the-counter products to fight cellulite on drugstore shelves and cosmetic counters. Many of these creams and herbal remedies can help dimply skin appear smoother. Though they may not always offer a permanent solution, researchers admit that the effectiveness of cosmetic products for fighting cellulite has greatly improved in recent years.

One of the most notable appears to be the Sublime Slim line from L'Oreal, which have become the best-selling anti-cellulite products in Europe. Sublime Slim Day Anti-Cellulite Skin Sculpting Body Firming Gel and Sublime Slim Night Anti-Cellulite Smoothing Body Toning Gel improve the skin’s condition and tone by stimulating circulation.

Laser, Heat And Massage Treatments

Based on the theory that massage is an effective treatment for eliminating cellulite, Europeans have been using a procedure called endermology for years. Endermology is a massage technique performed with a machine that uses vacuum-assisted rollers. The vacuum action pulls skin into the rollers. The action is said to improve circulation and to help disperse fat.

Endermology has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment that “temporarily decreases the appearance of cellulite” and is available at many plastic surgeons' offices. The average cost of endermology treatments is about $100 each, and patients usually receive two treatments a week for a 10-week period.

A newer device, called VelaSmooth, combines heat and massage in order to smooth the skin. In addition to the rollers, this device uses infrared light and radio frequency in order to send heat directly into the body to break down fat. Apparently, Velasmooth treatments cost about $200 each, and patients typically receive two 45-minute treatments every week.

Though the VelaSmooth device is currently being used throughout Europe and Canada, it is still undergoing clinical trials in the United States. According to recent reports in the Los Angeles Times, it is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration later this year.

A laser device called Triactive was approved for use in the United States last year. It combines massage with a low-energy laser in order to stimulate and tighten your skin. The Triactive treatments can range from $80 to $150 each, and physicians recommend that patients receive a weekly or bi-weekly series of 10-12 treatments. After that, most people continue to appear for one treatment every month.

Mesotherapy

Another popular treatment for cellulite that has been the focus of much media attention is mesotherapy. Originally developed in France, this treatment involves injecting small amounts of drugs or natural ingredients into the fat and connective tissue under the skin.

Mesotherapy treatments cost about $500 each, and patients are usually required to undergo a series of 10-15 treatments with annual follow-up appointments.

The Bottom Line

The "bottom" line: Experts agree: the safest, most effective way to make cellulite disappear is by trading the fat that causes it for muscle. And the only way to accomplish that is with those old standbys, diet and exercise -- in particular, combining aerobic activity, which burns fat, with strength training, which builds muscle. Try walking, running or cycling for at least 30 minutes, three times a week, and alternating with strength-training exercises.

Drinking at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day may also help fade the fat by flushing toxins out of the body and helping to fuel fat metabolism.

Learn more at eDiets.com...

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Related resources:

Banish Cellulite in 20 Minutes

The Cellulite Reduction Guide

Tags: cellulite

Sprinting for Weight Loss

From eFitness.com:

(by Curt Pedersen)

Tired of struggling to lose weight even though you are spending hours on the treadmill? If so, this workout is for you. Give this workout eight weeks, and you will lose more weight than you ever did riding a stationary bike. Better yet, you will never have to exercise for more than 10 minutes at a time.

Instead of long, slow aerobic exercise, this plan utilizes high intensity sprint training. Sprinting is superior for fat loss, because it causes your body to burn more calories for several hours after each workout. The benefits of aerobic exercise cease shortly after each workout.

Sprint workouts can be performed a number of ways. When training indoors, you can do your interval sprints on a treadmill, stationary bike, Stairmaster or rowing machine. Outdoor sprint workouts can be done on the track, a flat field, on your bike or with a jump rope.

When you begin, don't be frustrated by the demands of sprint training. You may even have trouble completing an entire workout at first. That's okay. With each workout, you will be able to perform more sprints and in turn burn more fat.

Each sprint performed in a workout needs to be done as hard as possible. If you are just starting to exercise or are coming back from an extended layoff, begin the first couple of workouts "sprinting" at a moderate intensity level, increasing with each workout. You don't want to push too hard and end up injuring yourself.

Outlined here are three 8-week sprint workouts, each designed for a different fitness level. Each workout is to be performed for the total duration noted in the time column. The sprint and active rest periods are to be done one after another for the entire duration of the workout.

Active rest means that you slowly jog, walk or cycle, etc. to recover before the next sprint. Choose the workout that best suits your current level of fitness and get started on your way to a leaner, healthier you.

Sprint workouts should be performed on alternate days and on days you do not lift weights. Feel free to include one low to moderate intensity aerobic workout in your schedule if you like. After you have completed your eight-week cycle, you can move up to the next level for more challenging workouts.

Advanced trainees can make their workouts more difficult after the first eight weeks by decreasing rest periods or increasing the number of sprints performed.

Note: All workouts should begin and end with 5-10 minutes of low intensity aerobic exercise.

Click here for the Sprinting for Weight Loss workout charts

Learn more at eFitness.com...

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Healthy Food, FAST: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes

One key to losing weight and staying fit is eating well. And a BIG key to eating well is finding snacks and meals that don't take an hour - or even half an hour - to prepare. Check out this list of 100 healthy recipes you can prepare quickly:

World's Healthiest Foods: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes

Mosquitos: Outdoor workout nightmare!

Having problems with mosquitos in your yard? Join the club. This summer I can't even walk outside without being attacked by these little bloodsuckers. And outdoor workouts -- my favorite of all workout types -- are tough, if not impossible. If you even stop for a second they swarm all over you!

But all is not lost. There are several things you can do to battle mosquitos... at least the ones in your yard. Here are some tips:

1. Buy a mosquito trap - Some say they work very well. Some say they are useless. But, from my experience, they do seem to reduce the mosquito population in my yard.

2. Use repellent - Forget dangerous chemicals. Use a natural lemon grass repellent instead.

3. Avoid late afternoon workouts - Mosquitos are at their worst mid to late afternoon. If possible, try to get your workouts in earlier in the day or later in the evening.

Good luck!!

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Interval Vs. Endurance Training

From CBSNews.com

A new study suggests that doing intense interval training for 20 minutes three times a week is just as effective at boosting strength and endurance as five to six hours of jogging or moderate cycling.

It's a technique that's been used for years by sports teams and athletes. But is it useful to an average overweight person? Probably not. It doesn't burn many calories.

And it requires so much suffering that you're almost destined to quit, one expert said.

Read more...

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Backyard Workouts: Getting fit with your kids

Learn how to get fit, have fun, and improve your kids' health this summer: The Backyard Workout

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