Is Green Tea really better than ordinary Black Tea

Green tea has recently emerged as a healthy alternative of normal tea. Even some doctors have started prescribing green tea. A number of people are already using it for weight loss. Is there are truth in all those beliefs. Some people think that drinking a tea without sugar or milk, reduces the daily intake of excess calories, which results in weight loss. Some believe that it is the placebo effect that improves health and some other activities done along with green tea, which reduces the weight. We will try to find which of the above statements is more valid.

Green Tea vs Black Tea

• Most of the people don't know the fact that both green and black tea are produced from same plant named Camellia sinensis. Their color is different due to the processing difference. In production of Black Tea, the leaves undergo crushing and fermenting process, which causes its different flavor. Green Tea is not fermented.
• Some people think that green tea is caffeine-free, while it is not. 
• Both types of these teas contain antioxidants. Types of antioxidants may differ, but both are beneficial. According to a research both types of tea contain 10 times more antioxidants than fruits and vegetables.
• Some researchers have proved that tea improves metabolism and helps in removal of toxins from body.
• Both Green and black tea blocks the DNA Damage caused due to smoking, which reduces the chances of cancer. Biggest proof of this finding are nations like Japan, which are considered as the biggest tea drinkers. Cases of Heart Diseases and Cancer are comparatively low in these countries. However some people disagree with this fact as less cancer risk is also connected to lesser obesity in Japan, which is a direct factor for heart diseases and cancer.
• Some people believe that lesser obesity in Japan is due to popularity of tea. This fact might be the one which made people think that green tea decreases obesity. Here we should not forget that people of japan are also known for their hard work, which is also a factor behind lesser obesity.

Why Green Tea is considered better than Black Tea ?

• The basic reason is that green tea is less processed. Today people tend to go towards herbal, which means less processed. So green tea is getting more popular as something herbal and more natural.
• Second reason is the preparation method. Preparation of black tea includes other ingredients like sugar and milk, which increases the calorie value. But green tea preparation don't need any other ingredients, which keeps its calorie value low with same amount of antioxidants.
• Third reason is its taste, which is considered better by most of the people even without using sugar. Back tea is slightly hard to drink without sugar.
• Some researches have also shown that usage of green tea reduces weight, protects you from several types of cancer, delays onset of diabetes and many more.
• Last and the best reason is that green tea is recommended by dietitians and medical practitioners. 

Does Green Tea help in Weight Loss ?
Yes it does, but how ?

• The very first thing that green tea do is improving your metabolism, which reduces the chances of fat deposition.
• Second factor is usage of no sugar in preparation of green tea, so no extra calories.
• Third thing is motivation. Usually a person who is using green tea, also implement some other dietary changes to reduce weight or lifestyle changes such as regular workout. These activities also help in weight reduction a lot.

Now you know that both green and black tea are good for health, but green tea have some added benefits. When it comes to weight loss, we would suggest you to balance your diet and improve lifestyle along with green tea to get better results in lesser time.

Reference:
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/antioxidants-in-green-and-black-tea

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What makes you Fat ? Carbs, Fat or Calories !

Obesity is the latest epidemic and threatening US population with side effects like heart diseases and diabetes. People take it as a lifestyle disease and think that lack of physical work is responsible for that. But the truth is that our diet is also a major factor, which is making us fat. Those who are aware about diet have got various views. Some think that excess fat in diet makes us fat, while some think that excess carbs do it. One more group of people think that it is all due to excess calories. Here we are more concerned about diet, and will try to find which factor (fat, carbs or calories) is to be blamed for making us fat.

What made people believe that Fat in diet is real culprit ?

There were some widely spread myths that even educated people believed in and thought that dietary fat makes us fat.
Myth 1 : Dietary fat directly get deposited in body and make us obese.
Truth : Our body can't do that. First is digests the dietary fat like any other food item. Our stomach only absorbs water and glucose for instant energy (that is why we give glucose to drink, if someone faints). Infact dietary fat takes more time to get digested and make us feel full for longer duration.

Myth 2: Fat contain more calories that makes us fat.
Truth: Yes, dietary fat contain 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein contain just 4 calories per gram. But the truth is that this property of fat makes us feel full on lesser consumption. As we told earlier that digestion of fat takes longer and makes us feel full for longer duration as well. Both of these facts automatically balances the correct amount of calorie consumption. Here you should know one more thing that digestion of fat consumes far more number of calories compared to carbs and proteins.

If you want to know more about Fat Myth then read Does eating Fat make you Fat .

Are Carbs responsible for Body Fat ?

Carbohydrates are more easily convertible to body fat compared to dietary fat. Carbohydrates can be more easily converted to glucose and increase blood sugar level and insulin level. The excess glucose which is not absorbed by muscles and other cells of body are converted into fat and deposited in different parts of body as a stored energy which can be used by body while is shortage of food. So the real fat deposited in body is made from carbohydrates.
Bread, potatoes, cookies, sugar and rice are some major sources of carbohydrates that you should control in your diet.
Now people are turning towards Ketogenic Diet , which is a low carb diet, to loose the excess fat and being slim.

Can you blame calories for Body Fat ?

Yes, but only if you are consuming more than the expenditure. In the end it doesn't matter what you are eating, what matters in the amount of calories. If you are consuming excess calories then in the end they will get deposited as fat in body. Physical activities are the best way to consume calories. You may choose any one that you like such as cycling, jogging, swimming or workout in a gym. Staying away from more carbs is better as they contain instant calories and it also makes us addict.

A balanced diet and active lifestyle that includes some daily workout is the best way to stay fit.  

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Ketogenic Diet - A Better Diet for Better Health

Ketogenic Diet, also known as Keto Diet, is a low carb diet. Its main objective is to reduce weight which helps in several medical conditions such as diabetes and blood pressure. The benefit of Ketogenic Diet is that a person can easily reduce weight without going through starvation and living a normal life, while the other ways of reducing weight include tough workouts to burn excess calories on daily basis.

Science behind Ketogenic Diet

In a normal diet when we eat carbohydrate, it is transformed into Glucose by our body to act as instant energy. This Glucose is put into blood to reach every cell in body. High glucose level in blood triggers release of insulin hormone, which let cells absorb glucose molecules and then converts extra glucose into fat and deposit it in different parts of body as an extra source of energy which can be used in emergency.
In a Ketogenic Diet we starve our body for carbohydrates only, so that our body can utilize the fat stores and help in reducing weight.

Why do we call it Ketogenic Diet ?
Ketosis is a natural process, during which our body releases Ketones to extract energy from fat stores. Ketosis is initiated only when our body is not getting enough diet. Ketogenic Diet is named so only because it fools our body to initiate Ketosis. We do it by restricting the carbohydrate intake, and making our body rely on fat stores.

How to plan Ketogenic Diet ?
A Keto diet should have 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrate. Diet chart should be planned accordingly. Monitoring your net carb and total carb intake is most necessary. Usually most of the carbohydrates contain some fiber. If we subtract the fiber content from total carbohydrate, then we get the net carbohydrate. 20 to 30g of net carbohydrate is recommended in a Ketogenic Diet.
Do not eat grains, sugar, fruits and tubers.
You may eat above ground vegetables, leafy greens, meats and high fat dairy products. Avocado and berries can also be used.
Snacks are usually not recommended is a ketogenic diet, but if you can't resist then you can rely on nuts, seeds, cheeses, or peanut butter.

Benefits of Ketogenic Diet

You must have understood by now that Ketogenic Diet reduces weight and saves you from obesity, which is itself a disease and connected to various others. Here we have listed a few other benefits of Ketogenic Diet.

• It reduces blood insulin level, which makes your body utilize fat stores and thus reduces weight.
• Blood Sugar level is controlled due to lesser amount of carbohydrate in diet. A ketogenic diet can benefit more than a low-calorie diet, if you are a patient of Diabetes. Weight loss due to this diet also helps in long term treatment of diabetes.
• Some researches have shown that high amount of fat hormones in body creates insulin resistance, which results in diabetes. Lowered amount of body fat due to Ketogenic diet can get you relief from Insulin Resistance as well.
• Ketogenic Diet burns the fat stores in body, which reduces the blood cholesterol and blood pressure is also controlled.
• Ketones are good fuel source for brain and increases mental performance and result in better focus and concentration.
• Epilepsy, a condition of disturbed nerve cell activity in brain, can be controlled through keto diet.  
• Fats are better fuel for our body and keeps you running for longer duration and makes your stomach feel full. Thus Ketogenic diet is more satisfying and don't let you urge for snacks in between.
• Lesions and skin inflammation are reduced by Keto diet.

Side effects of Ketogenic Diet

• During the first week of Keto Diet our body adjusts to the new type of diet and takes time in generating engymes for the digestive process. During this time our body consumes the blood glucose and existing glycogen stores, which makes us feel less energetic. Some people report headaches, mental fogginess, dizziness, and aggravation during this period. 
• Ketogenic diet is diuretic which makes you urinate more often. It can cause water and electrolyte loss. Drinking plenty of water and maintaining sodium intake can help during this condition.
• Some people find it harder to transition into Ketogenic Diet and above symptoms appear more worse. Such people should reduce their carbohydrate intake gradually, instead of jumping suddenly into complete ketogenic diet.
• Ketoacidosis, a rare medical condition with very high level of ketones, can occur and some people may need medical intervention. However reaching this level of ketosis is very unlikely.
• Loss of magnesium cause cramps in the morning or at night.
• Frequent urination causes loss of water, which can also result in constipation. So drink plenty of water and add fiber in your diet.
• Physical performance will be reduced in the beginning of Ketogenic Diet. So reduce your workout during this time. You may go back to normal workout after few weeks, when you feel sufficient energy level.
• Hair loss during first few months is usually temporary, unless initiated by some other medical condition.

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BMI Calculator Online Free Application (App for Android and Win)

BMI Calculator Select Gender Male Female Basic Info Weight: lb kg Height:   1' 2' 3' 4' 5' 6' 7' 0" 1" 2" 3" 4" 5" 6" 7" 8" 9" 10" 11"      or cms Your BMI: Select Target BMI:   20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Target BMI is the value that you want to achieve within next few months

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BMI (Body Mass Index) is a standard way to measure obesity. You can calculate your BMI by using your weight and height and feeding it in the BMI Caculator given below. You can consider it as a free app for Windows and Android platform, as users on any device can access this page and calculate their BMI free of cost.

Free BMI Calculator

The BMI Calculator provided here is free of cost and you don't need to install it in your device. Its readily available online on this page. You access it anytime 365 x 24 x 7 . All health conscious people should bookmark this page for future usage and open it again to calculate BMI of a friend or family member.

BMI Chart for Men Women Children 

Benefits of this Free Online BMI Calculator:

• You don't need to install any unnecessary app on your device. You just need to bookmark this page.
• You don't need to pay for it.
• You can measure BMI of anybody at anytime.
• You can check the visual image of yourself.
• It also tells you how much weight you need to reduce to get into a healthy shape.

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How to feel full without eating too much - Fool your digestive system

A number of people search for tricks to fool their digestive system. Most of the times these people are those who want to limit their food intake but they feel it impossible to stop themselves while eating. "How to feel full without eating" is a common question that such people ask google. The reason behind this question can be anything ranging from being overweight or fighting to get rid of diabetes or some heart disease or just to remain in good shape. The reason may be any but the main motive is to stop ourselves from eating extra calories that can increase our weight. We have done some research on this question to know if it is really possible to fool your digestive system and feel full without eating too much. We hope that once you read this article your question will be answered.

It is harder to draw a line for the adequate amount of food a person needs as it depends on your height, gender and lifestyle. Two person with same physic may need different amount of food depending on how they spend their day. A person with more physical workload will need more food than a person with a sitting job. So it is our body which can tell us how much to eat. We just need to listen to it.

There are two terms used in this article, you should know before you read further.

1. Satiation : feeling of fullness at the end of a meal.
2. Satiety : a measure of how long it takes before you feel hungry again. Different types of food have different satiety value.

No matter how hard you try, it is nearly impossible to fool your body. You may succeed in some aspects of your experiment but in the end you will find that you were fooling yourselves. The tips given below will help you in making a better coordination between you and your digestive system. It can help you in reducing your weight or keeping it at an optimum level. We have divided these tips in to sections named how to eat and what to eat.

How to eat ?

• Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal. Water rich foods like soup, fruits and vegetable will make a satiation feeling without consuming excess calories.
• Instead of using a big plate for dinner with regular amount of food, use a small plate which can be filled full with lesser quantity of food that you eat regularly. You will feel full in that lesser amount once you empty your plate. Try it some time. This trick works better if someone else do it for you.
• If you chew your each bite just 3 seconds extra, then you will eat less. When you chew your food more then some oro-sensory factor activates and sends satiation signals to brain much before your regular amount of diet.
• Avoid distractions like television, music, mobile phone or computer while eating. These activities make you eat for a longer duration. Distraction while eating interrupts the satiation signals between your brain to stomach and you end up eating more than required.

What to eat ?

• Fiber has high satiety value as it takes longer to get digested. Fiber rich food can help you better in maintaining a gap between two meals.
• Same applies on fat as well. Adequate amount of fat is also necessary to slow down the digestion process and let your body absorb some fat soluble vitamins from your diet.
• Protein is given most importance by bodybuilders as it is a muscle building food. Protein in diet also increases the peptides level in stomach which talks with brain to send satiation signals. 20 to 40 grams of protein is must in every meal.
• Refined carbohydrates should be avoided as they are the satiety killers due to absence of fiber and some other essential nutrients. You might have noticed that once you start eating some processed food (rich in refined carbohydrate), the feeling of satiation comes when you have eaten much more than required.
• Don't eat too much sugar in a single diet as it causes rapid spike in insulin and after some time you crave for more food.
• Even if hunger hits in between your regular meal timings then you may eat some snacks. But your snack should be rich in fiber and protein and must be under 200 calories limit.

If you have got a healthy body then it will tell you what you need and when you need. Just listen to it. You never need a timer to drink water, your thirst is the inbuilt mechanism in the body to tell you that it needs water. Some people may consider these tips as way to fool the digestive system but these are mere tips to eat good and stay fit with lesser amount of burden for your digestive system.

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Do you think Chubby kid is Healthy ! Rethink !

95% parents of overweight kids think that their kid looks right. Only 5% parents consider that overweight as a health hazard. Parents often care for their kids too much then required, but it becomes a problem if you don't look at the weight. Parents can't notice the weight gain as the kid is always in front of them. Most of the time parents of obese kids think that their kid is just healthy and feel proud of their chubby cheeks and also feel that they are doing good parenting. Chubby cheeks are good but only up to a certain extent. If your baby is getting obese then it can not only affect other development activities but can also make him/her sick.

Parents perception of their kid

A number of researches are done on childhood obesity and what parents think about it. Outcome of most of the researches is that most of the parents don't consider their kid as overweight while he/she is. This perception of parents either comes from increasing number of overweight kids which are being considered normal or from their own ignorance. Whatever the matter is, the truth is that parents need to change their perception and consider overweight as overweight. Unless you acknowledge your kid as overweight, you can't do anything to get him/her back into shape.

Fat Babies make Fat Adults

In movies you might have seen fat kids turning into perfect adults but in real world fat babies turn into fat adults. Even if that ratio is not 100%, the chances are still higher. Eating habits are something hard to change, which is usually the major reason behind being overweight.
Under the age of 2 years and an adult there is no direct correlation of weight. but after the age of 2 it matters. Its better to keep an eye on your kid's weight.

Why do some babies become overweight or obese ?

Overfeeding: When it comes to babies, parents can't let him/her cry and mothers often offer them breastfeed / formula milk more than required. Sometimes babies need just some sort of entertainment or physical activity to get rid of their boredom, but parents think that it is due to hunger.
Overeating: Overfeeding can easily turn into a habit which can transform into overeating as the baby grow and starts eating himself/herself.
Ignorance of parents: If parents notice the kids being overweight at the right time then they can take steps to keep their weight in check. But of the parents don't take it seriously or just ignore it which becomes a major reason of overweight or obese kids.
Hormonal imbalance: Sometimes kids become obese due to some medical conditions like hormonal imbalance. But in such cases medical intervention can help the kid.
Inherited Obesity: Sometimes obesity is in the genes, where most of the family members are obese or overweight.

Steps you can take to reduce your kids weight

• Don't overfeed the baby.
• When your baby tuns to solid diet, decrease the number of milk feedings.
• For kids above the age of two, its better to keep their diet in check and don't let them over eat.
• Watching TV and eating at the same time can disrupt the eating pattern and kids often eat more. especially when there is some food that they like.
• Inactivity and video games should not be encouraged among kids, which is a leading reason behind obesity in kids. Instead you should encourage your kids for outdoor games or some physical activity.
• If overweight of your kid is due to some medical condition then consult your doctor for it.

There is no harm in having a baby with chubby cheeks as babies need more body fat compared to an adult but it becomes an issue only when weight grows more than height. Keeping a chart to compare your child's weight and height is a good habit.

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Artificial Sweeteners degrading your health

If you are diabetic or trying to lose your weight or both then you must have heard about Artificial Sweeteners. Artificial Sweeteners are a substitute of sugar but with no calories. Therefore millions of people purchase these artificial sweeteners to fool their bodies. These sweeteners satisfy their urge to eat something sweet but with no calories. Most of us don't know that these artificial sweeteners are actually degrading your health. But how ? The answer might surprise you. Betterhealthfacts.com has collected some facts about the disadvantages of artificial sweeteners. After reading these facts a health conscious person will never use them.

What are Artificial Sweeteners ?
Artificial Sweeteners are chemical compounds than are edible and give a false feeling of sweetness on your tastebuds. They have no nutritional value, thus no calories. Diabetic people use them to keep having the taste of sugar. Even some health conscious people, who count every calorie they eat, use them to stay away from calories. Some artificial sweeteners are 20000 times sweeter than sugar, i.e. one table spoon of such artificial sweetener can sweeten 20000 cups of tea / coffee.

Where are these Artificial Sweeteners used?
Artificial sweeteners are used in food industry where large scale production is done. Several bakery chains use them. Using these artificial sweeteners not only reduces the cost of production, but people using them also feel that they are eating something healthy (while they are not). Non nutritive artificial sweeteners approved by FDA are

• Saccharin: 700 times sweeter than sugar.
• Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K): 200 times sweeter than sugar
• Sucralose: 600 times sweeter than sugar
• Neotame: 13000 times sweeter than sugar
• Advantame: 20000 times sweeter than sugar
• Steviol glycosides: 400 times sweeter than sugar. It is a low calorie sugar.

How does Artificial Sweeteners harm diabetic people ?
While eating Artificial Sweeteners we think that we have fooled our body as it is sweet but with no calories. In reality we fool ourselves. We will tell you how ! There are two ways in which they cn harm you.

1. After regularly having artificial sweeteners, diabetic people often find an excuse to eat unhealthy food sometimes thinking that they have already saved many calories and eating a pizza won't harm them. Such psychology is found in most people and in long run it leads to more weight gain compared to those who don't have artificial sweeteners.
2. When we eat anything with artificial sweeteners, our body think that it is sugar and releases insulin in high amount to utilize the calories. Over amount of insulin turns on the fat storage mode of our body and as we consume any diet most of the calories are turned into fat, making us more obese.

Health Hazards due to Artificial Sweeteners

• Harms taste buds: Artificial Sweeteners are much more sweeter than normal sugar and it harms our taste buds. It leads to a situation where we can't find any taste in fruits and vegetables.
• Lack of nutrition: As we find find nutritious items less tasty, we avoid eating them automatically and it leads to lack of nutrition. Apart from it, artificial sweeteners are themselves non-nutritive.
• Addictive: Researches have proved that Artificial Sweeteners are addictive and those who eat them crave for more.
• Over usage: FDA and different health agencies have set some standard usage quantity for these artificial sweeteners, which is usually not followed by consumers as they treat them totally unharmful due to their zero calories.
• Headaches: Some studies have found that some people reported headaches like migraine after consuming drinks with artificial sweeteners.
• Increases Obesity: Artificial Sweeteners make our body release more insulin than a normal person and it turns our body into a fat storage machine.
• May cause Diabetes: Obesity is a leading factor for Diabetes Type 2. Apart from that, a research done in Israel found that artificial sweeteners can cause Glucose Intolerance which is connected to Insulin Resistance, a leading cause of Diabetes.

Transfat: The artificial fat is another gift of chemistry to our kitchen to degrade our health.
Instead of eating artificial foods items prepared in a laboratory, its better to stay natural. Its better to restrict yourself from unhealthy lifestyle / food and motivate yourself for healthy lifestyle and food. Its better to enjoy the sweetness of fruits rather than destroying your taste buds with artificial sweeteners.

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How Low Calorie drinks are making you Sick !

Low calorie drinks are the latest addiction that is making our young generation sick. People go towards these drinks thinking that they are beneficial for them, but the results are totally opposite. The truth we found is that these low calorie drinks are just chemical cocktails that provide a taste of sugar and make you addict. Betterhealthfacts.com found some interesting facts about these low calorie drinks and some of them will make any health conscious person to totally stop drinking them.

Are zero Calories really useful ?
Zero Calorie is just a myth. Even the water in your house is a zero calorie drink with lots of nutritional minerals in it. But soft drink companies advertise their low calorie drinks as a new health discovery and you get fooled by these chemical drinks and later get addicted to them.

How low calorie drinks degrade our health ?

• Artificial Sweeteners: However Artificial Sweeteners are low in calorie but they are extremely sugary in taste. Their over usage damage or affect your taste buds in such a way that you can't find taste in fruits and vegetables any more. It affect you complete diet and it does not remain balanced, which affects you health to a great extent.
• Over Insulin and Obesity: Artificial Sweeteners can also make body to release insulin, which can easily turn the calories in blood into fat leading to obesity. According to a research in University of Texas those who drink diet coke, a zero calorie drink, reported 70% more increase in waist compared to non drinkers.
• No Nutrition: Water is a no calorie drink but contains important minerals, but these low calorie drinks don't even have these minerals as they use purified water to increase their shelf life.
• Reduces Immunity: Most of the zero calorie drinks contain purified water with no minerals in it. It makes of body deficient of important minerals which are essential for all metabolic activities. In absence of these minerals our body can't absorb vitamins from our diet making our immune system more weak.
• Addiction: Just like addiction of smoking and other drugs, you can easily fall pry to addiction of low calorie drinks thinking they are making you healthy while the reverse is happening to you.
• Headaches: Some studies have found that some people reported headaches like migraine after consuming drinks with artificial sweeteners.
• Tooth Erosion: Tooth erosion is a habitual diet soda drinker is of same level as a  cocaine-user or a methamphetamine-user. It is sufficient to tell you how your smile will look like if you are a regularly drinking low calorie drinks.
• You try to fool your body but get fooled yourself. You consume zero-calorie drinks thinking that won't harm you and your body will treat it as sugar, but the insulin released in your body turn you into a fat storage machine. Another psychological factor plays more important role in fooling yourselves. After drinking low calorie drinks on regular basis, you think that is OK to have a pizza or cake sometimes as you have already reduced enough calorie intake, but it leads the surplus calories.

 Why should i stop drinking low calorie drinks ?
If you want to save yourself all of the above health hazards then you should stop drinking low calorie drinks. Instead you should drink more water, which is a no calorie drink and it also provides minerals which are necessary for your body.

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Why do Women have Higher Body Fat Percentage

Body Fat is an important factor in both men and women to live a healthy life. But as we check the standard amount of fat that should be there is body of a man and woman, we find that its 27% for women while just 15% for men. Women need more body fat percentage than men to live a healthy life. Some people believe that women have lesser muscle mass compared to men, so the body makes balance through fat. Betterhealthfacts.com did some research on internet and found that there are much more reasons that we totally ignore. You will be surprised to know why women need extra fat in body compared to men.

Why do Women have Higher Body Fat Percentage

• Out of the 27% standard body fat for women, 12% is essential fat which much be there to survive. That essential fat percentage in men is just 3%.
• Higher Fat percentage does not always mean that a man will have less fat than a woman. Fat mass of an overweight man will be always above a slim woman.
• Woman's body is considered better if it have good curves and fat solves this purpose. Fat also provides softness to the skin.
• Female hormones can easily convert fat into food.
• At some point in life women always need to nourish a fetus and then feed a baby. The fat reserve in female body is heavily used at such time.
• Breast region in females is heavier than man as fat is an important part of breasts.
• Women need fewer calories per pound of body weight due to lesser muscle mass percentage and higher body fat percentage.
• Lack of fat in the body of a women can cause hormonal imbalance and temporary absence of ovulation and therefore no periods at that time. Its a natural process to avoid pregnancy as the body is not ready to nourish the fetus.
• Obesity that comes due to pregnancy is sometimes harder to lose as women take more care of their kid and don't get enough time to look after themselves.
• Birth control pills also increase the fat and water amount in the body of a woman. Therefore a women on birth control pills should decrease her caloric intake (diet) by 10% to avoid getting excess fat.
• Women are more prone to depression which can easily result in getting obese.
• Women go through menopause at a certain age in life. Sometimes it can cause depression, which is a leading cause of obesity.

We hope that you know why women need a higher body fat percentage. Women is the key to survival, so respect them and love them. If they gain weight at a certain age then take measures to keep the weight in control without affecting their health. 

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Negative Calorie Foods List Free Complete PDF

There is an assumption by some food experts that some foods consume more calories in their digestion than what they provide to our body. This assumption make them believe and say that these specific foods have negative calories. However there is no scientific evidence to support such assumption. But still these specific foods become an important part of diet-chart of those who want to lose some weight. Even if these negative calorie foods are not really negative, but still they provide very less amount of calories to our body and may be beneficial in weight-loss.

Negative Calorie Foods List

Here we are providing a list of so called Negative Calorie Foods with their calorie value.

Food	Calorie per 100g
Celery	16 - 18
Grapefruit	33 - 42
Lemon	29
Lime	30
Apple	48 - 56
Lettuce	14 - 17
Broccoli	28 - 35
Cabbage	23 - 27

Do Negative Calorie foods really help in Weight loss ?
Yes, they do. These negative calorie foods have very less calories, so they can easily satisfy your appetite without getting more calories into your body. Thus they help is reducing weight as advertised by most weight loss programs.

Do Chilled water have negative calories and it helps in losing weight?
The straight answer is NO. Some people try to be over intelligent by falling prey to this myth that Water has negative calories.
Myth : Water has zero calories. One you drink ice chilled water, our body rises its temperature by burning some fat calories, which helps in weight loss.
Truth: Our body burns just 10 calories in rising the temperature of 5-6 glasses of chilled water to make it equivalent to body temperature. In this way it would take a year to burn one pound of fat, which is a negligible amount if you really want to lose weight.
Side effects: Ice chilled water can do more harm to your throat. It can also make you sick if you do it in winters. Some people drink more water than required just to lose weight and fall prey to water intoxication, which can cause disturbance in brain functions.

Very soon betterhealthfacts.com will provide a free pdf to help you in weight loss. Most of the articles in that pdf will help you understand the basics of fat deposition in our body and you can reduce the extra fat.

If you want to add a few more foods in the negative calorie foods list provided above, then tell us the names of those foods in the comments section. We will try to add them in the list provided above.

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Visceral Fat: Most Dangerous but Easiest to Lose

Visceral fat is that fat which is deposited between different organs in our body. Its not the fat which is directly under skin. Most of the visceral fat is in the abdominal cavity and it harms us the most. Visceral fat is also known as excess intra-abdominal adipose tissue accumulation. Visceral fat is blamed for cholesterol, diabetes , Alzheimer's disease and cancer. But the good news in that this visceral fat is easiest to loose. To know how ! Continue reading this article.

Our body stores fat in form of Visceral fat and Subcutaneous fat. We can't control its storage procedure. Our genes make it happen. Any of these fat can be more depending on our diet, activity level and genes. Similarly its hard to target on loosing any one type of fat. However subcutaneous fat be removed through surgeries but not the visceral fat. The methods to lose visceral fat, which are described in this article are not 100% meant for visceral fat (as we say it depends on your genes), but still it will reduce the amount of visceral fat in your body.
We called visceral fat as most dangerous. Here is the reason why we said so.

Diseases caused by Visceral Fat

• Inflammation: Visceral fat acts as if its an organ itself. It interferes with regular body activities by releasing some chemicals known as cytokines which can cause inflammation in any organ. Inflammation of different organs can result in different diseases.
• Hormonal imbalance: Visceral fat can also secrete some hormones and it interferes with regular hormones in our body which regulates regulate appetite, weight, mood and brain function. This thing can be very dangerous and may trigger various diseases.
• Diabetes: Visceral fat affects our lever and pancreas either by inflammation or hormonal imbalance or both. It can easily create abnormality in insulin secretion which leads to diabetes.
• Heart Diseases: Visceral Fat increases the cholesterol level in blood and inflammation makes the condition more worse. It results in heart diseases like hypertension and heart attack.
• Dimentia: Some researches believe that Dimentia, a memory loss problem, is also linked to visceral fat. Leptin is one of the hormones released by visceral fat, which can affect our memory, learning capability and appetite.
• Depression and Mood Problems: Hormonal changes by fat can easily create depression and mood problems by interfering with some neuro-transmitters.
• Cancer: Visceral fat is one of the factors responsible for cancer. Researches are still being done in this field.

There are 3 ways to loose Visceral Fat

• Dieting: Simple Calorie math is the reason behind dieting. Eat less calories and consume more. It will make your body burn some visceral fat and thus reduces its content. Reduce the intake of Fat and Carbohydrate, which are major source of calories. Protein and Fiber should be used more. If you are participating in some physical activity then protein will help in repairing some muscles. Some people completely remove fat and carbohydrate from their diet while on dieting. Its a bad practice and can make you more obese when your diet will return to normal. So instead of doing any such experiment with your health its better to eat everything in lesser amount and decrease the ration of fat and carbohydrate. Lack of dietary fat can cause lack of nutrition as some vitamins can not be absorbed by our body in absence of fatty acids. Know more about Better Things about Fat . 
• Cardiovascular Exercise: Cardiovascular exercises go on for longer duration and helps in burning more calories. Burning more calories should be the main objective when we exercise to burn fat. So cardiovascular exercises are more beneficial rather than weight training, which are meant to build muscles.
• Resistance training: Its the new name of weight training which includes dumbbells, bench press and lifting weight in various ways. However some people believe that doing crunches will burn belly fat, which is not true. Fat is burned by body in the say way it is stored, which is governed by genes, and its different for every person. So doing a biceps exercise and crunches will burn similar amount of belly fat. However crunches might make your stomach muscles a bit tight to give a feeling of some fat lost, while its not so. Resistance training can also burn visceral fat by increasing the muscle mass. the energy used in generating those muscles come from burning the fat stored in different parts of body. If like resistance training more than cardio, then stick to it. Body builders don't have visceral fat at all.

You may choose any of the above ways to reduce your visceral fat. But make sure that you stick to that way and reduce your fat. Doing any of these things depends on your personal choice and medical condition. Resistance training is not meant for everybody. Betterhealthfacts.com suggest you to choose your way accordingly. Stay Healthy, Stay Fit !

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Diseases that cause Obesity

Whenever we see anybody Fat or Obese, the first thought that comes in our mind is that it must be due to overeating or inactivity. This preconceived notion is not always true. In some cases it might be correct but not all. There are a number of diseases that can make you obese. Its not necessary that only over eating and inactivity are the possible reasons for obesity. However there are some disease that can make one over eat and get obese. Here we have listed some diseases that can make you fat.

Diseases that cause Obesity

• Depression: Some people overeat due to depression. It can easily become a reason for Obesity. So if you ever find any close one getting obese and also find him/her in some depressed state then consult him/her to visit a doctor regarding that matter.
• Hypothyroidism: When our thyroid gland secrete lesser amount of thyroid hormone then this condition is known as Hypothyroidism. Thyroid hormone is responsible for our metabolism. Lack of thyroid hormone slows down our metabolism and causes weight gain. It can be easily diagnosed by a simple blood test.
• Cushing's syndrome: This disease is caused due to excess secretion of steroid hormone "Cortisol" by adrenal glands. This gland is located on top of kidneys and its excess secretion of cortisol results in deposition of excess fat on face, abdomen and upper back. Thus it causes Obesity.
• Heredity: Some inherited brain diseases can also make you obese. Sometimes genes may also matter. Genetic conditions such as Prader-Willi syndrome is one such example. Some scientists believe that combination of genes and behavior makes a person prone to obesity 

Some other factors which are not disease, but also not related to over eating and inactivity.

• Some medications can also make you obese. Some of these medications include antidepressants, high blood pressure medication, steroids and seizure medication.
• According to one more research those kids who had breastfeed even after 6 months of birth have lesser chances of getting obese. It means mothers milk can save a child from getting obese at a later phase in life.
• Sometime stopping smoking can also result in weight gain.

Obesity is itself a disease and it come become a reason for various other diseases. So if you find symptoms of any of the above mentioned diseases in yourself then get it checked by a doctor.

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Visceral fat vs Subcutaneous fat

Fat deposits in or body are a serious thing that all of us should know about. Fat in our body is taken more seriously since Obesity is declared a disease in USA. There are two types of fat deposits in our body, but rarely anybody is concerned about them. We just take fat as fat. If you want to defeat an enemy than its better to have full knowledge about him. Same thing applies on Fat, which is the itself a disease causing element in our body. There are two types of fat deposits in our body: Visceral fat and Subcutaneous fat. We will tell the basic difference among them and also that which one is more harmful.

Subcutaneous fat is that fat that lies directly under the skin and we can grab and squeeze it with our hand.

Visceral fat is that fat that surrounds our organs. It is the fat around internal organs like stomach, kidney, liver and heart. Most this fat affects the main trunk of body that includes our respiratory and digestive system organs.

Which type of fat is more hazardous to health ?
Visceral fat is more hazardous to health as it makes us prone to heart diseases, blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin sensitivity.

Can both types of fat be removed through liposuction ? 
Unfortunately No ! Only Subcutaneous fat can be removed through liposuction. In some researches on liposuction surgery it was found that there was no health improvement after liposuction if patient had a lot of Visceral fat. The visceral fat is more hazardous but can't be removed through liposuction.

Which one of them can be easily reduced through exercise ?
Visceral fat can be easily reduced through exercise. Subcutaneous fat needs much more effort to reduce its level. Regular exercise and healthy diet can easily manage the visceral fat, that surround our organs and more harmful for us. So even if there is no visible effect of exercise on your subcutaneous fat, its still reducing your visceral fat.

How can i measure the level of Subcutaneous fat ?
Subcutaneous fat can be easily measured with the health of caliper (as shown in the very first pic in this article). A trained professional measures the skin-fold at various parts of body like abdomen, sides, chest, front thigh, back of arm. You may get calipers at reasonable price but it need professional training to measure the fat correctly. If you measure it without any training then most probably you will measure it wrong. There is one other way to measure the fat using some x-ray machines but it need specialized equipment and medical professionals.

How can i measure the level of Visceral fat ?
CT Scan is the most accurate way to measure visceral fat but it costs from $200 to $300. There is other easy method, which is not so accurate but can give you an idea if its alarming condition for you or not. Measure your waist where it is maximum, then measure your hip where its maximum. Now divide the waist measurement by hip measurement. For men, if its above 1 then you have visceral fat and you should do something for it. For women, if its above 0.85 then you have got visceral fat.
  

Above facts must have cleared the difference between two types of fat. If you have got visceral fat then be serious and do something to reduce it. Be fit, be healthy and keep reading betterhealthfacts.com .

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How to control Calories to Fat Conversion

All of us know that extra calories in our body turns into fat. But do we have the ability to control this conversion. The answer to this question depends your attitude towards your body. Extra Calories to fat conversion is an automatic process. We can't interfere it directly just by making a wish as it an involuntary process. But still we have the ability to control it by some other means. Here we will explain how to do it. But it needs dedication and little time that you should devote for your precious body. Here it is.

How to control Calories to Fat Conversion

• Instead of having 3 large meals, try to have 6 small meals. It will make your glycogen stores filled 6 times a day, instead of 3 times. So small amount of calories will be left in each shift to be converted to fat. Read the article how extra calories turn into fat to know more.
• Try to do small small exercises just before you have your meal. It will reduce the content of glycogen stores in your muscles and most of the sugar/calories will go into glycogen stores, instead of getting converted into fat.
• Maintain a schedule of 3 hours gap between all of your 6 meals. If you feel hungry in between that time then just drink some water of green tea to settle your stomach. If you control you hunger for just 6 days, then you will find that your stomach will stop bothering you unnecessarily.
• If you have a protein drink at the end of a workout session, then it as one of your 6 meals.
• Never forget the calorie math and make a diet chart to keep it in level. If your a consuming extra calories than required then at last it will turn into fat irrespective of what you do to control it. Here is the Calorie Calculator to help you.
• Never forget to make the correct ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrate in your diet as told by Calorie Calculator. Have more vegetables and fruits compared to other food items to get proper vitamins and minerals.
• Drink lots of water. Water removes harmful toxins in our body through urine which purifies our body.

If you are obese and follow the above steps then you will start reducing your weight. But calorie calculation is most important thing for you to do that.

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How does extra Calories turn into Fat ?

Transformation of Extra Calories into Fat is making people take them seriously as obesity is becoming a serious problem for most of us. We know it that if we eat more than required then the extra calories in our diet will get stored in our body as fat, but what we don't know is how it happens. Here we will put some light on this. We will also try to find how we an run this process in reverse, means how we can burn that extra fat.

Is it actually Calories that turn into fat ?
Calories are actually a unit of energy. In real life our body carry glucose, glycogen or sugar (whatever we say it), as an instant source of energy. When we eat something, our body starts to digest it and extract the minerals, vitamins, proteins and carbohydrate from it, which are needed for different body functions. But for instant energy our body turns carbohydrate and sugar in out diet into glucose. Glucose is instant source of energy. So its actually extra glucose in our body that turns into fat, not calories. We just say it Calories just to make people understand it in a better way.

How does extra Calories turn into Fat ?
Answer to this question is Insulin, the hormone that is responsible for sugar level in our body. When we eat something, our sugar level increases. To control this extra sugar our body pumps out insulin hormone. Insulin will make sugar (glucose) to go into the muscles. But if there is extra sugar, which is not absorbed by muscles then insulin starts taking care of it. Presence of insulin in blood turns the extra sugar into fat and starts depositing in fat deposits of our body.

Why do our body converts the extra Calories/sugar into Fat?
Our body need a standard level of sugar in our body. If the level of sugar goes above that standard, our body releases insulin hormone to control it. If our body don't release this hormone then it will cause excess oxidation activity, which can harm some important organs by destroying the nerves. Thats why our body converts the extra sugar into fat. Our body can manage with extra fat upto some level, but extra sugar in blood stream is dangerous.

How much time does our body take to convert extra Calories into Fat ?
The duration of this process depends on the extra calories/sugar and amount of insulin, which can vary from person to person. But still this complete process just takes a few minutes. If you have eaten potatoes then it will turn into fat even before you getup from your dining table. Extra sugar in bloodstream is very harmful, so our body controls it within minutes

How does our muscles store the Calories/sugar from our Bloodstream ?
Our muscle have glycogen stores. When we work and use our muscles the glycogen stores are emptied. As soon as we eat something and our blood stream get filled with sugar/glucose. Our muscle's glycogen stores starts filling them with the help of Insulin released by our body.

Where does our body deposits the fat ?
Initially our body deposits fat in fat cells (adipocytes), which are meant to deposit it for later use. These adipocytes are available all around your body under the skin. These are most prominent in abdominal region. Our body have two types of fat deposits : Visceral fat and Subcutaneous fat. To know more about these fat deposit type read out next article.

We hope that this information helped you in understanding how our body works with extra calories in your diet. Our main motive is to tell you how you can keep the fat level in control. Read our next article to know how you can control the process of turning the calories into fat.   

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Calories : The key to a Healthy Body and Life

Calories are a unit a energy that we intake through food and burn them while doing some physical activity. The calories that we don't utilize are deposited as fat in different parts of body. Our body deposit this fat to use it in case of some emergency. From past few decades people have started taking calories seriously as now we know that this extra fat is home for some serious diseases such as hypertension and stroke. Lets understand the calories in a better way. To do so we have answered some FAQs mostly asked about calories.

Is there any difference between Calorie and calorie ?
Yes, 1 Calorie = 1000 calorie . If you have not heard about this fact then it might be surprising for you. The "C" and "c" makes the difference. In short Calorie is written as "Cal" while calorie is written as "cal". Calorie "Cal" is also known as Food Calorie. Prior to 1950s, when SI system was adopted by world, calorie was a unit of energy. One calorie was that energy that can rise the temperature of 1 gram water by one degree Celsius.  After SI system was adopted, joule became the unit of energy. But still people use the unit calorie to measure the amount of energy, especially when it comes to body and diet.

How do i know how much Calories i need for a day ?
Different health services and medical research facilities mention different number of calories required by a human being to work properly. It ranges from 2000 Calories to 2700 Calories. But basically it depends on your gender, age, weight and activity level. A hard working carpenter needs more Calories than a software developer. If you want to know how much Calories you need in a day then you may use the Calorie Calculator.

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How Calories turn into fat ?
Our body have a unbelievable mechanism for every thing. To know about it read how our body turns calories in fat .

How do i burn more calories to burn the extra fat ?
Eat less calories and burn more. Its the simplest solution to this problem. Fat is deposited in our body as a security measure to provide backup when body falls in shortage of energy. So if your daily consumption is more than intake, then automatically body fat will start to reduce. But you can't reduce all fat in a single day. More difference between calorie intake and consumption can also cause side effects. So do it slowly on a regular basis. Best physical activities for burning the extra fat are running, jogging, weight lifting or other exercises that suits your body.

Can i control the Calorie intake?
Just control you Diet. Intake of Calorie can only be controlled through diet. But you think that you can't make it to something lesser, then increase your activity level to burn the extra Calories (as mentioned in the previous FAQ).

What are Empty Calories ?
Empty Calories are those calories which don't have any nutritional value like protein, vitamins or carbohydrates. Food items with large amount of sugar, fat and salt are known as foods with empty calories as they don't have much nutritional value. Ice-cream, soft drinks, cakes, cookies and sweets are best example of empty calories. Small amount of empty calories are of no harm, but when taken in more quantity then its harmful. Sometime people misunderstand Empty Calories as foods with less calorie value, while these are food items with more than required calories.

Balance is the key to a healthy life. Eat a healthy and balanced diet full or nutrients with right amount of Calories and maintain a good activity level to burn them. If you make a good balance among them, then you have got the key to a healthy body for a lifetime.

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Calculator for Calories Needed Per Day for Male and Female

This calculator will calculate the calories needed per day to live a healthy life. It calculates your caloric demand on the basis of your gender, weight, age and activity level. The result shown here will also tell the nutrition in your diet for a balanced diet. If you maintain that balanced diet then you will neither loose weight nor gain.

Calorie Calculator Age: years Gender: MaleFemale Height: 1'2'3'4'5'6'7'1"2"3"4"5"6"7"8"9"10"11" Cms : Weight: KgPounds Activeness: SedentaryLight ActiveModerately ActiveVery ActiveExtra Active Calorie Result Calorie Needed: GramsKilogramsPounds You Must Intake The Following Daily Fat: per day Protein: per day Carbohydrate: per day Alcohol: per day

How to use this Calorie Calculator to reduce weight ?
If you want to reduce the weight, then decide the weight that you want to achieve. Write that weight in the above form and calculate again. The result that you get now is appropriate for that weight. Just decrease you diet to the level given in the result, and your weight will decrease gradually. It will not happen just in few days, but it will take time from weeks to months depending on the weight that you want to loose.

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