Get A Glowing Complexion By Feeding Your Skin Antioxidants

The benefits of antioxidant-rich foods for inside and out health for your body cannot be overstressed. That is true even when it comes to obtaining a healthier complexion for your skin that glows.

Citing advice from my research in the field of nutrition, Ive written about three common antioxidant nutrients as well as best sources.

Although there is no conclusive proof that antioxidants keep skin from aging, experts do agree they have the ability to capture free radicals and may protect us from certain diseases.

Research shows that antioxidant-rich foods can also give us a healthier, glowing complexion.

Eating foods rich in antioxidants is best. There is not a substitute for getting nutrients through food. The body absorbs and assimilates them far better than any other way.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid, suggest eating three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit each day. Choose at least one citrus fruit, such as an orange, a tangerine, or a grapefruit, for vitamin C. To increase beta-carotene intake, eat at least two orange-yellow or leafy green vegetables each day.

Eat Right for Younger Looking Skin

Eating healthy equals younger looking skin. Drinking a cup of orange juice and eating one raw carrot provides twice the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin C and beta-carotene. The RDA for vitamin E is harder to meet, especially for those on a low-fat diet.

Look,  Don't be afraid to add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to your diet, or to eat some nuts or seeds, it will do your body good.

The following guideline can be used for RDA's for three of the most common antioxidant nutrients, vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene; good sources and how best to maximize benefits of each are included.

Vitamin C:  RDA at least 60 mg. (1/2 cup orange juice = 70 mg.)  Citrus fruits and juices and tomatoes are good sources of vitamin C. Eat whole fruit for extra fiber. Avoid juice in glass containers, and heat-pasteurized juice. Light and heat destroy some of the vitamin C.

Vitamin E:  RDA 8 mg for women / 10 mg. for men (1 tablespoon of canola oil = 9 mg.)  Good sources include nuts, seeds and their oils, fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, halibut, and trout, and wheat germ. Use canola, olive, or another vegetable oil in place of butter or margarine when cooking.

Beta-carotene:  no established RDA. Some experts, however, recommend 5-6 mg. ( One carrot = 12 mg.)  Orange and yellow vegetables, and leafy green vegetables, including broccoli, are all good sources. Instead of potato chips or popcorn for an evening snack while watching television, opt for prepackaged, washed and peeled baby carrots.

If you feel you are unable to meet the RDAs through diet alone, by all means take an all-in-one antioxidant vitamin supplement a day, but continue to pay attention to rich food sources.


Because many over-the-counter cosmetics containing antioxidants don't have enough to be totally affective by themselves, it is best to feed them to your skin in a combination mixed with a healthy, antioxidant rich diet for younger looking skin.

We at 1st N Weight Loss care about you and your overall wellbeing. With proper skin care, a healthy diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and ample amounts of water, you can enjoy a more fit body, improved quality of life, increased stamina, and a glowing complexion!

Written by,

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Dieting And Fitness Tips For Living A Healthy Life

When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two necessary ingredients: diet and fitness. While some believe that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory eating habits.

There's a clever little line in the Jimmy Buffet song "Fruitcakes" when his 'lady' is lamenting:
"I treat my body like a temple, and You treat yours like a tent"

I can't help but think of this line whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of those who are endorsing these products.

To be completely honest, it is possible to shed pounds through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra pounds hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we consume a high fat low substance diet our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same time if we aren't providing our bodies with the tools it needs to build muscle it doesn't matter how many weights we lift.

When it comes to diet and fitness, the best results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to build muscle.

I've heard many times in my life that a pound of muscle weighs less than a pound of fat. While this is not true at all, a pound is a pound regardless; a pound of muscle occupies less space on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting alone does not build muscle and that is something you will do well to remember in your efforts.

You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very important that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results.

The problem is that far too many people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline. Measure your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.

By incorporating fitness into your diet routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed during the day. This means that if you want to have a small 'cheat' during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than normal in the evening. This isn't something that should happen often but an occasional occurrence isn't going to make or break your diet.

You should also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both.

Diet and fitness when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best possible results.

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

How Strength Training Can Improve Muscle Tone In Women

When working out, lack of strength training is the biggest mistake often made by women. Even though the 1950's are fifty plus years ago, it still seems like there are still a lot of hang ups when it comes to women and weight training.

Women are able to do intense muscle building workouts just like men are - although, contrary to popular belief, working out is unlikely to cause a lot of muscle buildup unless you are taking a muscle building supplement. In fact, the sport of weight lifting will have the largest effect on your muscle tone, over any other workout activity.

How women can improve their muscle tone

Use Larger Weights To Improve Your Muscle Tone.

First of all, when it comes to strength training for women, you should throw away those tiny dumbbells that are sold in stores. These dumbbells might be marketed toward women, but the small 1-2 pound dumbbells will have very little effect on your actual muscle tone.

This does not mean that you need to lift huge weights - but you should be able to feel the resistance in your arms when you pick up the dumbbells that you're going to work out with.

In order to tone your muscles, you're also going to have to do a lot of regular exercise. Toned muscles are not all that difficult to get, as long as you are able to stick to a regular and consistent workout routine.

A good routine to get into is to work on your arm muscles one day, legs the next, abdominal muscles on the third day, and then take a break on the fourth and then repeat. This will give you enough time to heal in between workouts, but it is regular enough that you should end up with well-toned muscles in no time.

Studies have shown that people who are just beginning a workout program gain strength the fastest when they train each muscle group at least three times per week. It is also important to fit some cardio workouts into your week too. We recommend fitting three 30 minute workouts into your week.

Cardio will help you to burn extra calories and also helps you with muscle recovery as it helps muscles to get rid of lactic acid build up that occurs from weight training. Muscles cannot properly rebuild themselves unless all lactic acid has been removed. To help her maintain her health, my wife has recently starting using a product called AdvoCare Glow.

Written by,

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.