31st January 2009

Eight Steps to a Bountiful Vegetable Garden

You’ve decided that you want a vegetable garden to lower your grocery bills. But, where do you start? There are eight essential steps to successful vegetable gardening.

Step 1. Pick an appropriate area for your garden. When you choose your site, consider these important factors:

- Sunlight. Most vegetables grow best in full sunlight. Choose an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight a day.

- Soil. The best soil for growing vegetables is a dark soil, rich in nutrients, that has good drainage but will still hold sufficient moisture for the plants. Don’t plant your garden too close to trees and shrubs whose roots will steal nutrients and water from the vegetables.

- Water. Place your garden near your water supply — faucets that can be reached by no more than two hose lengths.

Step 2. Create your site plan. Make a plan before you purchase your seeds or plants. It will help you decide how many you need to buy to best fit the available space. Base your plan on the vegetables that your family likes, how much work you want to do on the garden and how much room there is in the garden. Create a quick sketch to follow while you are planting.

Step 3. Buy your plants and/or seeds. Be sure that the plants you get will grow well in the area where you live. Buy young, healthy plants that are not limp or straggly or that have been over-crowded in pots. On seeds, look at the date stamp on the package to make sure they are not too old.

Step 4. Prepare your soil for planting. This is one of the most important things to do for a successful garden. To prepare the soil, add a layer of compost or fertilizer over the top of the soil. Then till (or spade) this layer into the existing soil. Rake the soil into rows or mounds, depending on the type of vegetables you’ll be planting.

Step 5. Sow your seeds. If some of your vegetables will be planted from seeds, plant them first. Sometimes seeds are started indoors or in a greenouse to give them a good start. When seedlings appear, thin them to the distances recommended on the seed packets.

Step 6. Plant your plants. Plant young plants following the directions given by the plant nursery where you purchased them. Planting times can be tricky. You want to plant early, but not so early as to stunt their growth in cooler weather. Some plants will require netting or wire forms for best results.

Step 7. Care for your growing plants. Once your vegetables are all planted, you need to care for them by watering, weeding, pruning, and protecting them from insects.

Step 8. Harvest your garden. Different vegetables are harvested at different times. Vegetables should be carefully watched and picked at their peak. You may eat them immediately after harvesting or you can freeze or can them for later use.

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31st January 2009

Burn Body Fat- the One Almost Magical Thing you Can Do That Will Suck the Fat Right Off your Body

After 6?

Are you looking to to strip the fat off of your body quickly and easily?

Well then you need to cut back on your carbs after 6pm. This is the GOLDEN RULE!

Eating carbohydrates increases blood sugar, and increased insulin output follows. Therefore its not necessarily eating “food” that blunts the night time GH release, it’s eating carbohydrate food, and that’s why some authors recommend not eating carbs before bed (also a good reason not to drink alcohol before bed either)

Based on the scientific literature, you can enhance nocturnal growth hormone release by refraining from consuming carbohydrates within 90 minutes of going to bed. So if you go to bed at 9 pm, then the advice of not eating after 7:30 is logical. If you go to bed later, then the cutoff will be later, so absolute rules like “don’t eat after 7:30 pm lack the customization factor. Any time you can customize, do customize. Once you’ve implemented this “cutoff time,” then adjust it according to your results: push back earlier if not enough results, push ahead later if results exceed your expectations.

Another reason not to eat heavily at night is simply because you are the least active at night and your metabolism is slowest while you are sleeping. Doesn’t it seem logical that if you eat a huge meal and then go lie down and do nothing for 8 hours that it will be more likely to be stored as fat? Rather than looking at the traditional model of 24-hour calorie expenditure, it pays to look at what is going to happen over the next several hours (and also consider what has happened over the last hour or so, as in the case of post workout recovery), and then adjust your nutrition accordingly.

When your goal is fat loss, you can also use the “carb slow method” and front load your starchy, calorie-dense carbs early in the day, and make your late day meals mostly protein and fibrous carbs only. All evening meals should be small, calorically speaking. Although the exact recommendations vary, there is a strong agreement among the experts that eating a lot of carbs and eating a lot of anything before bed is not a good idea in the context of a fat loss program. Here’s what two top experts in the field of fat loss have to say.

“Bodybuilders are some of the leanest people on Earth. In an attempt to shed every ounce of excessive fat, bodybuilders often stop eating late at night. Specifically, many will reduce their carbohydrate intake as the day progresses in hope that more fat will be lost. My experience has shown that eating carbohydrates at night, under certain circumstances, cause you to store calories as fat.”
-Chris Aceto

“I strongly recommend moving the last intake for the day as far away from bedtime as you can. 3-4 hours is ideal, but at least 2-3. This increases the length of the “fast” which in reality nighttime is - broken by breakfast. Using this method consistently is one of the most effective ways to lower body fat - and it doesn’t take a lot of effort.”
- Ian King

“But, Frank I don’t want to lose body fat! I want to gain muscle don’t I need all the extra calories I can get so I can get the best natural growth hormone response that I can?

In that case, especially if you are a naturally lean ectomorph type — and especially if you’re having a hard time gaining (muscular) body weight, then the exact opposite advice may be in order! You may need to intentionally eat right before bed!To get the best of both worlds (gaining lean muscle, and optimizing hormonal response, while keeping body fat at bay), the bedtime meal should usually consist of a lean protein (slow-released being ideal), like lean red meat, chicken breast, egg whites, low or non fat cottage cheese or a protein shake — No heavy carbs or starches.

Protein foods work just fine, but some people like to use casein-based protein shakes as their pre-bed time “meal.” Research by Boire showed that this type of protein supplement stayed in the bloodstream longer than fast acting proteins like whey.

In the extreme case of the real “hard-gainer” who can’t seem to gain an ounce of muscle no matter what they do, then even large carb-containing meals at night may be beneficial, simply to get enough calories. Remember, muscle gaining programs require a surplus and far more calories than fat loss programs and the ectomorph often needs to eat and eat and eat in order to gain muscle.

That’s why knowing your outcome or goal is the most important thing in realizing the body of your dreeam. There are a thousand roads to Rome they say. Just pick one.

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31st January 2009

Why Popular Diets May Not Work For Everyone

Once upon a time, diet was an uncomplicated word with a simple definition meaning the typical types of food and drink that a person consumes regularly. Sometimes we still use the word in that context. In this age and time, the typical concept of diet have changed dramatically to imply food restrictions, deprivations and food limitations.

What it means today to go on diet is to go on a temporary quest to lose weight. It does not mean a long term plan to for fitness through healthy food choices and regular exercise. This should not be the type of thinking that you would like to have. It should be discouraged instead.

With almost every society battling obesity and overweight problems, many companies are doing brisk business selling weight loss plans and diet fads. There are low fat, low carbohydrates to liquid food combinations of every kind. There is a diet out there that covers almost every aspect and angle.

While many dieting programs seem effective over the short term, many diet plans lack one essential factor for long term success that is balance. In that case, probably the most effective way to ensure that you have the tools to healthy eating strategies that last a lifetime. To do so, you may need counseling from a professional dietician and lots of will power.

Dieting seems to a favorite occupation in almost every developed nation. Most diet plans start by demonizing and reducing one major diet component. However the human body needs abundant and varying sources of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to flourish. Attempting to eliminate any one nutrient or category of nutrients from your food selection is catastrophic.

Maintaining balance and focusing on phasing out refined and highly processed junk food in favor of whole fruits, vegetables and grains is essential. It will be and continue to be a winning strategy that will pay off over the long term than many of the popular dieting plans combined together.

However, stories of rapid weight loss and dramatic testimonies may leave you wondering and tempted to buy the latest products. But behind every testimony, the fine print will state this – results are not typical and depend on individuals. Yet beyond many of these hypes, there may be a few things to learn from the different school of thoughts behind many of today’s most popular dieting plans.

Quick weight loss or fast weight loss is not the answer to obesity. If you lose weight quickly, you will gain it back fast and sometimes even more! The natural weight loss secret is right in front of you. Stick to the basics!

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28th January 2009

What Are the Foods That Can Lower the Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure affects hundreds of millions of people all over the world and it’s the most common affection seen in the last few years. Furthermore, more and more people discover that they have high blood pressure each year.

If you have high blood pressure then the force with which the blood pushes against the arteries’ walls is much higher than normal. In time, this can lead to strokes, heart attacks and severe heart diseases so its important to treat high blood pressure soon before the risk of developing the mentioned above drastically increases.

The first and most important things that you need to do in order to lower your blood pressure are to change your lifestyle so that you reduce the stress and you exercise and rest more, and then to change your diet.

The diet must be changed in such way that it contains healthy foods only. First you must eliminate the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and salt. Drinking alcohol and smoking can seriously increase your blood pressure especially if you do it for a long time.
Why should you eat less salt?
Well because salt contains large quantities of sodium, and sodium is known to have certain properties that raise the blood pressure significantly. Our bodies need sodium, but a lot of food types also contain sodium, and if we eat these foods and also put salt on them we can consume twice the normal amount of sodium needed by the body, and this excess has negative effects over our blood pressure. So the recommendation is to try too cook without salt or to use other spices that give the food a similar taste.

You should also try to eat as few foods that are rich in fats. Meat is among them, and sweets are a very rich source of fats. You can eat some from time to time, but not too often.

What can you eat?
Doctors recommend eating a lot of vegetables and fruits because they are rich in fibers and they can help the body normalize its blood pressure. Eating fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods will not only lower your blood pressure bit it will do good to your entire body and will strengthen the immune system too.

Here’s a brief list of all the aliments that are recommended if you want to lower your blood pressure: turnips, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, spinach, bananas, apricots, grapes, oranges, raisins, strawberries, hazelnuts, and fish and low-fat dairy products.

If you stick to the recommended diet you can lower your blood pressure without taking any medication and in quite a short time, but always consult a doctor before selecting a certain diet and ask him if you made the right decision.

You can check more about lower blood pressure and especially about blood pressure monitor by visiting http://www.lowerbloodpressure.info

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28th January 2009

Start Taking Magnesium and Chromium Rich Diets to Control your Diabetes

Manganese - Manganese is vital in the production of natural insulin and therefore important in the treatment of diabetes. It is found in citrus fruits, in the outer covering of nuts, grains and in the green leaves of edible plants.

The loss of magnesium in diabetic ketosis has been known for many years. About 37 percent of infants born to diabetic mothers have been found to be lacking in this mineral. It has also been found that children aged five to 18 years with well-controlled type-1 diabetes have lows serum magnesium values.

Magnesium - Magnesium also decreases the need for vitamin B6 and if it is increased in the diet, the amount of xanthurenic acid in the blood is reduced, even without vitamin B6 supplement. Moreover, magnesium is also necessary to active enzymes containing vitamin B6. Blood magnesium being particularly low in diabetic, it may be reasonably inferred that diabetes can result from a combined deficiency of vitamin B6 and magnesium. It may therefore, be advisable for any person with diabetes or a family history of the disease to take the at least 500 mg of magnesium and 10 mg of B6 daily.

Magnesium is widely distributed in foods. It forms part of the chlorophyll in green leaves. Other good sources of this mineral are nuts, Soya bean, alfalfa, apple, fig, lemon, peach, almond, whole grains, brown rice, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.

Chromium - According to Dr. Richard A. Anderson, at the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, whatever the blood sugar problem, chromium tends to normalize it. Dr. Anderson believes that increased prevalence of type-2 diabetes is partly due to a deficiency of chromium in the diet.

Chromium has been found beneficial in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Columbia University scientists, in a study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition established chromium’s benefits for type-2 diabetes. They confirmed that chromium enhances insulin production in the body. Some other researchers have also confirmed that chromium helps stabilize blood sugar and increases energy.

Studies have also revealed that chromium supplements control total cholesterol and triglyceride levels and raise the good or HDL cholesterol. In some patients with impaired glucose tolerance, especially children with protein malnutrition, glucose tolerance showed improvement after they were given chromium supplements.

The recommended daily allowance of chromium is 50 to 100 micrograms. Some foods rich in chromium, besides broccoli, are whole grain cereals, nuts, mushrooms, rhubarb, Bengal gram, kidney beans, Soya beans, black gram, betel leaves, bottle gourd, corn oil, brewer’s yeast, pomegranate and pineapple.

Find complete diabetes information, diabetes supply, diabetes treatment, diabetes diet, diabetes causes, diabetes types. More on Diabetes Mellitus Information and Treatment Supply. Also see Natural Ayurvedic Herbal Cure for Diabetes.

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25th January 2009

How To Choose The Right Diet Food Delivery Service

Do you need to lose a few pounds or more to be in good shape and look sexy again? Well, if you really do then you definitely need to start with a change in your life style. Do not worry, not a major change, but a little tiny one that can gradually affect your eating habits in a way, that you will eat less and lose weight.

You do not need to stay in expensive weight loss clinics for months to be fed with fresh fruits and half-stewed vegetables, take a handful of pills that are supposed to boost your metabolism to burn the fat. It is efficient, but also expensive, takes lot of time and separates you from your home, work and fun you sheared everyday with family.

Do you believe me that there is an easier way to reach your weight loss goal? Of course there is - with the home diet food delivery services. As you can see these are not just ordinary food delivery services, but they are diet foods delivered directly to your home or office at reasonably low prices.

The prices vary somewhere between $40 and $240 per week, which is not so cheap. But if you compare them to the costs for a weight loss clinic stay or calculate all expenses for weight loss products, books, videos, and time for shopping and cooking - it turns out that the diet food home delivery service is a good bargain.

How diet food delivery services work?

The food for the whole week is delivered to your home packed for safety shipping. It includes complete meals, shakes, puddings, bars and soaps. They are well balanced and portion controlled.

What you have to do is very easy – just heat the meals to get them ready for eating or prepare the powder shakes in a glass with water, milk or juice.

With the diet food home delivery service you also receive a diet plan to follow, as well as additional information to help you stay motivated and informed.

The price usually includes a toll free phone, where you can ask diet specialist for professional help and support.

Once you find the right home diet food delivery service for you, stick to their diet plan and meals, and I promise you for a month or so you will see the results.

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25th January 2009

Vegetarian Diets - Effective Alternatives to Cholesterol-lowering Drugs

Increasingly larger numbers of people confronted with abnormal blood cholesterol levels eventually require treatments with statins or other similar cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical drugs. While such medications are considered to be effective in preventing and reducing high blood cholesterol levels, they don’t produce dramatic results, generating less satisfactory effects in certain categories of people. In addition, most cholesterol-lowering drugs are known to cause serious side-effects, rendering long-term treatments with such medications very unsafe. Statins work by interfering directly with the activity of cholesterol-producing body enzymes and hormones, preventing the overproduction of cholesterol inside the organism. By altering the activity of enzymes and body hormones, such medications can lead to a wide range of undesirable effects, ranging from mild to very serious.

The good news is that cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical drugs can be successfully replaced by vegetarian regimens. After accumulating and analyzing a vast amount of data regarding blood cholesterol and its risk factors, a team of Canadian medical researchers and nutritionists has come up with a very effective natural cure for high cholesterol: a special vegetarian diet. Although it may seem surprising, the food regimen established by the Canadian medical scientists has proved to be a very powerful and not to mention safe alternative to common cholesterol-lowering drugs. Combining the curative effects of various natural ingredients, the vegetarian diet established by the Canadian research team produces effects that are equal to those of statins and other similar medications. A recent study has revealed the fact that the special vegetarian diet can reduce bad cholesterol by up to 30 percent, beating most cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical drugs and matching the results produced by statins.

The medical study conducted by the Canadian research team involved the participation of 13 volunteers, male and females, with ages between 43 and 84. The subjects were divided in two separate groups: the first study group received statin drugs, while the second group followed the vegetarian diet. In order to maximize the accuracy and relevancy of the study, the group that followed the vegetarian regimen had to respect certain eating patterns imposed by the researchers, receiving their meals in equal quantities and at the same time. Similarly, the group that received statins had to take their medications in equal doses and at the same time intervals. By the end of the experiment, all subjects in both groups experienced a decrease of their bad cholesterol levels by around 30 percent. Impressed by the efficiency of the special vegetarian diet, the researchers have made their obtained results public, revealing the ingredients of the “special natural recipe” for lowering cholesterol.

The cholesterol-lowering vegetarian regimen includes lots of fresh fruits, nuts, leafy legumes and seeds. The efficiency of the diet lies in natural ingredients such as plant sterols, substances contained by leafy vegetables and vegetal oils, soy proteins and soluble fibers. Some of the cholesterol-lowering foods used over the course of the study were: soy milk, cereals, oatmeal bread, vegetal margarine, jam, tofu, leafy non-starchy vegetables and fruits. Although such a vegetarian diet may become quite boring after a while, it has a pronounced positive effect on one’s overall health and it greatly contributes to the elimination of excess cholesterol. Considering the fact that this special vegetarian diet is healthy, cheap and effective in overcoming cholesterol problems, nutritionists recommend it as the best natural alternative to cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical drugs.

If you want to find great information about many cholesterol subjects like low cholesterol diet, high cholesterol or many more please visit us at http://www.cholesterol-info-guide.com/

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22nd January 2009

How To Treat Your Hemorrhoids Naturally

For many people, nothing is more annoying and painful than hemorrhoids. The burning and itching can be unbearable, and sometimes, over-the-counter treatments aren’t the answer; whether they don’t work, aren’t available, or you just don’t want to take them. There is another option; a lot of them actually. There are tons of natural cures that you can use at home (and not be embarrassed by having to buy something at the store). Here are some of the best options for you to try.

Some natural cures are effectively cure-alls because they can help cure so many different ailments. One of these natural cure-alls is apple cider vinegar. To treat hemorrhoids, just put some straight apple cider vinegar onto a cotton ball and swab onto the affected area as needed until the swelling and pain is gone. This may burn, but the pain should go away quickly. If the pain is too much for you, try diluting the vinegar with water before you apply it. It’s also a good idea to mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a glass of water and drink daily. This will help with many conditions and keep you in good health.

Another great natural cure-all that is effective for hemorrhoids is mangosteen juice. You can put the mangosteen juice on a cotton ball and apply directly to the area for relief. Just like apple cider vinegar, this juice is a great product to drink every day for good overall health.

There are many other natural products that you can apply to swollen hemorrhoids to help ease the pain. Another great idea is to swab the area with a cotton ball soaked in witch hazel. After this, you should then apply a small amount of coconut oil. Both these treatments can be found at health food stores. If you can only find one, they work separately, but work even better together.

Another great idea for naturally treating hemorrhoids is to take a hot bath. While many treatments will take away the itching, this will also help the swelling go down; further easing your pain and discomfort. You can also use this opportunity to soothe your pain with aromatherapy by adding 20 drops of lavender and juniper oil to the bath. Along with easing swelling and pain, a hot bath can also relax you and help you feel better overall. If the heat doesn’t help the swelling go down, you may also want to try applying a cold compress. Just be use to wrap the ice pack in a towel so it’s not too cold; otherwise you could cause damage and more pain.

While you shouldn’t judge people by what they wear, hemorrhoids don’t follow the same standards. If you have hemorrhoids, or are prone to them, you shouldn’t wear certain types of clothes that aggravate the area and make the problem worse. This includes tight fitting clothes. Tight clothes, particularly jeans can rub and pinch making pain greater. You should wear loose fitting clothes and thin cotton underwear that helps the area breathe. This may sound strange, but men may want to try wearing women’s underwear (boy shorts are best) because they fit and breathe better than those made for men.

The last treatment for hemorrhoids is also a great way to prevent them. Hemorrhoids are often caused by struggling too hard when constipated. For this reason, eating certain foods can help prevent and treat them. The most important thing is to eat a lot of fiber. This can be annoying, but probably not as annoying and the pain and itching of hemorrhoids. The best way to get fiber is through fresh fruits and vegetables whole grains, beans, and of course, bran. You should try to get 30 grams or more of fiber a day.

Hopefully one or more of these treatments works for you. If you try all these methods and nothing works, or your hemorrhoids become so severely swollen you can’t sit, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

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22nd January 2009

How to Find the Right Gift

With thousands of gift ideas that are available online, you will often find that you are confronted with many decisions when it comes to purchasing a gift for that someone special. Which gift best suites the person? Will they be content or offended by the gift? Based on these important questions to consider, getting it right is essential. Choosing the wrong gift can alienate people, cause fractures and ill feelings in relationships (professional and social), while successful gifts can increase respect, loyalty and good rapport. So what is considered the best type of gift?

The safest and surest way is to offer gift baskets. On a general lever, gift baskets suite most people. They can be filled with items targeted to a particular type of person or a group. For example, a gift basket intended for a male office worker may include an aftershave set and male perfume, whereas a female worker may receive chocolates, flowers and make-up. The possibilities in customising and presenting them are endless.

Most people tend to choose a particular type of gift basket in order to “play it safe” or not offend. These gifts include gourmet foods, which contain items such as wine bottles, caviar, salmon, cheese platters, retail coffee bags, fruits and chocolates. They are also considered as the general choice that people tend to make when offering gift baskets. The last few years however has seen the emergence of new, exotic and unique gifts, including beautiful baskets presented with fruits shaped in the form of flowers. Other unique fruit gifts include baskets full of chocolate covered strawberries together with bottles of champagne.

Gift baskets are widely available on the Internet, browse through and you will find websites offering them for all occasions, including baby gift baskets, fruit and gourmet hampers, corporate gifts and a whole lot more.

When purchasing, be sure to keep the following in mind: 1) The person you are purchasing the gift for, knowing as much as possible about them can be helpful in your decision making. E.g. do not offer alcohol to a colleague if he / she happens to be Muslim. 2) What is the occasion? How relevant is your gift? How will the gift basket be delivered? Take delivery time into consideration if distances are a factor, the recipient may be located in the Australia, whereas the shop may be located in another country. This is especially crucial if you intend on sending perishable goods such as fruit. 3) Consider leaving a “thank you” or “get well” note / card if it is to be shipped directly to its destination. 4) If purchasing overseas, make sure the gift items are good to pass customs and quarantine standards (some countries do not accept foreign fruits or meats).

Other great gift ideas include flowers with personalised cards. Many online gift shops offer very presentable floral arrangements and fresh flower gifts with great packaging, including additional items such as balloons and teddy bears. The flowers themselves can be freshly cut or made from synthetics, arranged in a bouquet or sold in boxes. The choice is yours, there are flower arrangements available for all types of occasions, celebrations and commemorations. Depending on the service, online flowers can also be couriered to most international destinations within the same day of purchase.

Gift baskets and flowers are not a new concept, however today thanks to the Internet, they have become even more popular and the easy choice. Giving has become a whole lot simpler, they make excellent gifts and are customisable, extremely well presentable and fulfilling. Next time you send a gift, be sure to follow the etiquettes and gift-giving rules mentioned above for a successful and memorable selection.

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22nd January 2009

The cause of bad breath on low carb diets

The latest dieting craze has no doubt been the low carb high protein diets. Those of you on Atkins, South Beach etc will no doubt have noticed a number of changes since you took up the diet. And no I’m not talking about the remarkable weight loss I am talking about your bad breath. Now it may not have been noticeable to you but I suggest you ask your friends or relatives whether there has been a detioration and you may be surprised by the answer. In fact you may even find your friends moving away from you when you speak which is always a sure sign of bad breath.

So what’s the cause of all this bad air? Well depending on which medical speak you speak with there are a number, yet similar, reasons for the problem. One of the reasons is directly related to the increase in protein which most of the low carb diets advocate.

Basically, we all have a large number of useful bacteria living mainly on our tongue and at the back of our throat. These bacteria are supposed to be there, because they assist humans in digestion by breaking down proteins found in specific foods, mucous or phlegm, blood, and in diseased or broken-down oral tissue.When these beneficial bacteria come into contact with these compounds, the odorous and lousy-tasting volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs’) are released from the back of the tongue and throat, as Hydrogen Sulphide, Methyl Mercaptan, and other odorous and bad tasting compounds.

Since the bacteria are meant to be in our mouth there is no way we can remove them permanently. So, no amount of brushing or tongue scraping will get rid of the VSCs’. The only scientifically proven way of curing your bad breath (Halitosis) is by attacking the bacteria’s ability to produce VSCs’ and by converting the VSC into non-odorous and non-tasting organic salts.

There are a number of ways in which the problem is worsened and the most common way is with dry mouth. This generally occurs while you are asleep and hence the reason you sometimes wake up with “morning breath”.

Although some cases of dry mouth are naturally occurring, most cases are caused by one of these factors: 1. Prescription Medications (usually prescribed for high blood pressure or depression)2. Antihistamines3. Adult Beverages4. Mouthwashes with alcohol in them

When your mouth is dryer, you have less Saliva. Saliva naturally contains Oxygen, which keeps your mouth healthy and fresh. These bacteria are anaerobic, which simply means that they will thrive and make more sulfur in the presence of little or no oxygen. Thus if you have less Saliva, you have less oxygen, thereby creating an anaerobic environment, perfect for the bacteria to produce more of these odorous and sour/bitter compounds.

Because of the increase in higher protein foods, on an Atkins type diet, especially dairy products, the amount of Volatile Sulfur Compounds increases dramatically and as such your breath gets worse accordingly. The only way to fight the problem is to try and supply oxygen to the bacteria causing the problem and remove as much of the VSCs’ as possible. This can be done in a number of ways:

  • Drink loads of water. This will help ensure your tongue and throat are kept moist and supplying oxygen to the VSC producing bacteria.
  • Always clean your tongue with a tongue cleaner before brushing your teeth last thing at night and first thing in morning. You should also try and do this after every meal too.
  • Use a mouthwash which does not contain any alcohol as alcohol can dry your mouth and make the problem worse. You can also dramatically improve matters by using an oxygenating mouthwash. You can find one by doing a Google on “oxygenating mouthwash”.
  • Don’t chew gum, which contains sugar, to try and mask the bad breath. This can make matters worse. Use a sugar free gum instead.

The bottom line is that low carb diets will cause bad breath, although for some it will be a lot worse than others. However, help is at hand so if you want to shed the weight and not shed any friends then make sure and heed the advice given above.

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