Daily tip #42| Juice bad for teeth?

Is apple juice bad for your teeth? Well.. Apples are great for your teeth, why would apple juice be bad? That's logical, but..


Apple juice contains many sugars and acids. Apples do too, but when you eat an apple, the water and fibers inside of it wash away the acid and sugars. Juice doesn't have fibers or water, it can weaken and erode the enamel.


It has been found that orange juice decreases hardness and increases roughness of enamel...  Enamel hardness was decreased by 84 percent. That's right. It was literally washed away.
 It is important to understand that there are a lot of acids in fruit juices, sodas, energy and sport drinks. It is very important on how the drink is drunk, if you slowly sip it through 20 minutes, you are way more likely to have tooth erosion, than someone who drinks it in a few minutes.

Just a small sip leaves your teeth getting attacked by sugars and acids for twenty minutes.

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Daily tip #37| Pain equals gain?

 Everyone has heard the phrase 'no pain no gain', and it does apply to a lot of people, and yes, I said 'a lot' that means not to everyone, let me clear things up a bit..


  The kind of pain you could get:

Joint pain - this is always bad, pain is your bodies way of saying something's up and you should not ignore joint pain, if you continue to push through it you can seriously injure yourself - forget bodybuilding. If you feel joint pain try to recall what might have caused it and stop it immideatly. Try a different angle, change the grip position, and try doing less, more reps with light weight instead of few reps with heavy weight.


   Bad kind of pain - sharp, sudden and 'knife stab' kind of pain is really bad, it usually is a sign that you have seriously injured yourself. Tears and seperations cause this kind of pain - get someone to run and fetch a bag of ice for you and visit a doctor.


   Good pain - pain that starts as a slow light burn at the end of your workout, slowly building up with every last step/rep until it gets really intense. Why? This is lactic acid building up in your muscles. Why is this pain good? The buildup of lactic acid is a great indicator that you are pushing yourself hard enough to develop muscle.

  If you work out intensively enough, you will get micro tears in your muscles which your body then has to repair.

If you've had a good workout and feel no pain - don't fret, some people don't feel sore at all!


Do not forget to drink a lot of water, not underestimate sleeping properly, stop making common mistakes to become happier! 

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Daily tip #22| Fats

Fats are made to look evil by the media, and uninformed people too, ofcourse. While that is true, there are good and bad fats, although everything is bad when there's too much of it. So let me explain.


You might be confused with all the blame on fat for obesity, why would fat be good? Fat is actually crucial for the human body. Many processes of the body rely on fat, without fat, fat-soluble vitamins could not be distributed. One of the good fats is saturated fat, found in tropical plants, dairy products and meat. Why is it considered good? Well, saturated fats make 50% of the cells membranes, which gives the cells their very needed stiffness. Saturated fats are also very important for your bones. In order for calcium (important for bones) to be properly absorbed, half of the fats you consume must be saturated fats. Saturated fats also help protect the liver better from toxins like alchohol and others. These fats also enhance the immune system, letting you stay less prone to diseases. They're also needed to properly utilize important fatty acids like omega-3, these fatty acids are better kept in the tissues when there are more saturated fats.



So as you see, fats are essential in order to stay healthy. Unsaturated fats are also healthy, the difference between unsaturated and saturated fats is that unsaturated fats contain a double bond between carbon atoms, while saturated fats only have one bond.


Unsaturated fats reduce thickness of the blood and clotting, help you regulate blood pressure, they lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, which is used to repair blood vessels and transport fat-soluble vitamins throughout the body.

There are also polyunsaturated fats which have two and more double bonds between carbon atoms. These fats are good too and they're in liquid form. Corn oil, fish oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, flaxseed oil and hemp oil are all polyunsaturated fats. And as you know, they're in liquid form. Why did I mention liquid form?..


Trans fats.. These are the fats you should avoid. They're made by hydrogenating of partially hydrogenating oils. Why should you avoid them? They lower good cholesterol and raise the bad type. They raise the total serum cholesterol levels. Trans fats increase insulin levels and resistance, thus giving you more risk of diabetes, and making it worse for diabetics.




Trans fats are found everywhere, mostly found in processed foods, like baked goods, snack foods (mostly all of them, cookies, crackers, potato chips, popcorn) and fried foods like fried chicken and french fries.Trans fat consumtion should be kept to a bare minimum, for obvious reasons mentioned above. What you don't realise is that 'fat free' foods are the most horrible foods you can eat. Fat has gotten such a bad reputation from the media, when in reality it is essential if you want to be healthy. So what do companies do? They make 'fat free' products, with trans fats and refined sugars, which is obviously far worse than saturated and unsaturated fats. You shouldn't think that if you eat 'fat free' foods you won't consume any calories, in fact you might become even less healthy if you keep consuming trans fats.


Avoid those 'free fat', 'non fat' foods at all costs, carefully read the labels for anything that is 'hydrogenated' or 'partially hydrogenated'. Also avoid margarine and butter substitutes.


I'll recommend on how to cut down on these:

Eat healthy snacks, like sprouted nuts and seeds. They're rich in omega-3.
Make more foods with organic flax meals. (fibers, healthier digestion)
Use olive oil.
Use 'raw' butter and dairy products instead of 'fat free' ones, explained above why.
When cooking, use virgin coconut oil. (healthier intestinal tract, improves digestion, absorbtion of nutrients, helps control sugar levels, helps keep cholesterol healthy.)



After reading this post I'm sure you've realised mistakes which you might have been doing every day. Maybe  that's why that fat hasn't been in the mood to leave?..


As always, sleep better, eat after working out and drink water. Remember! It's better to cheat for a day than  quit! Have a nice day.

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Daily tip #16| Fruit

The word 'fruit' itself sounds healthy, so how healthy are fruits exactly?

I can tell you, fruit is the best source of natural sugar and it is packed with vitamins which top any other food. That's great in itself, but fruits are even more than than, they have anti-oxidants, fruits are pre-digested also, making it easier for your stomach to digest. Fruits also have a lot of water, and you know how important water is, right?


Fruits are wonderful- Oh wait, I'm not done yet, fruits also have fibers, necessary for good digestion. Fruits are really wonderful, aren't they? They've been around far more than humans have, and before the whole post-processed food era, fruits were the only sweet thing, why were they sweet? Our sweet sense developed for the sole purpose of eating sugars, which gives our bodies energy, fruits have sugars, and that's why they're sweet.



Now something about fruit allergies.. Most of people claiming they have an allergy to some fruit, are probably eating fruit the wrong way. Fruits contain simple sugars which require almost no digestion, unlike foods with fat or protein. If you eat fruits after a meal, the sugar won't get digested quickly, since your stomach is obviously working down on that fat and protein, which means the sugars of the fruit you ate then begin to ferment, you might experience digestive problems after that. The fruit will be the one to take the blame, while in reality people should know this very simple stuff. Just eat fruit alone, ten to twenty minutes before a meal is fine, the sugars will have went through already.


Fruit is alkanine forming. Meaning it's ready to eat with no need of post-processing. Let me ask you something now, since fruits are really really sweet, aren't they bad for you teeth? Maybe all athletes have bad teeth? Think about it, maybe look up what I wrote before. Nothing yet? Okay, I'll let you in on it, fruits do have a lot of sugar, but since water and fibers come along with the sugars, they clean your mouth while you're eating fruits. That's pretty cool, right? Fruit can damage your teeth though, dried fruit, specifically. Dried food has no water, obviously, that's why it's dry, right? Which means that it'll stick to your teeth and gums, which ofcourse will greatly increase the chance of tooth decay.


Acids in fruits can also have an effect on your teeth and encourage enamel erosion and the decay of your teeth, those would be the citrus and not fully riped fruits. If you're having trouble with your teeth, I suggest you rinse your mouth with water after eating those kinds of fruits.


Another thing fruits are amazing for is.. Diabetics can eat it. Fruit does not cause diabetes, diabetes is caused by high-fat foods and possibly some genetics, which will give you insulin sensitivity.


Let's talk about potassium too, bananas. There's a big difference between artificial potassium, and the naturally occuring one. Usually a supplement is not allowed to have more than 99 mg. of potassium, if you had 200 mg of artificial potassium, you'd be in the hospital, or, not, if you live alone. But just three bananas.. Guess. You didn't guess right. They have 1,200mg of potassium. That sounds so deadly, right? Shouldn't bananas be illegal? Well, no. As I said, there's a big difference between artificial and naturally occuring potassium, I see a lot of people scared of the potassium in bananas, don't be afraid, eat away!


I hope this broadened your view on fruits. They trully are wonderful, older than humans foods.

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Daily tip #12| Common mistakes

I see A LOT of common mistakes people are making when 'dieting', and it's not something insignificant. If you think it's insignificant, it probably isnt. Let me help you by pointing out some of these..


Beverages: These are something that's taken for granted, you can get a lot of liquid calories. It has no nutritional, even if you drink 2000 calories, you'll still feel hungry, and then over-eat. You should always take note of what you are drinking, as this can be pretty big. Just say no sweetened soda and other drinks like latte, frappe, frozen coffee, smoothies or sweetened tea. Juice doesn't seem like a big deal, but eating the whole fruit would be far more benefitial, it would be more filling, it would have more fibers and few calories.



Skipping meals: Sounds logical, right? You want to lose weight, so you eat less calories = skipping some meals. That's a big NO. By skipping meals you're doing way more harm than good to yourself. Breakfast is the most skipped meal of the day, and it can be the most important one in your diet. Do not skip breakfast. If you're always running out of time, go to sleep earlier, you need more sleep anyways.



Giving into friends: You go to a restaurant, or come over at a friends house.. And there it is, a big bucket of ice cream, or pleasantly smelling hot pizza, your friend starts eating, looking at you weirdly as to why you're not taking a piece, you then-- WAKE UP! You have your own head on your body, you have to think for yourself, if anyone is insisting on you eating something, you have to nicely apologise and say you can't. You shouldn't lie saying you don't like that flavour, because you'd be tricking yourself too, you need to stay strong.



Forgetting your meal schedule: I see people forgetting when they have to eat all the time, if you do too, you should set an alarm to go off every two and a half hours, every day. This will not only remind you, it will also help you remember it better on your own since you'll be looking at the exact times every time it goes off. The good thing is this can be done on almost any phone.



Not drinking enough water: I can't stress how important water is, see this.



Weighting yourself too often: People are getting more and more obsessed about the scale, media doesn't really help with this fact. The thing about weighing yourself is that your weight changes constantly, in the morning you'll be one way, in the evening you might be shocked, how could you have lost/gained so much in one day?! Only to be let down the next morning.. What you have to do is weigh yourself daily, taking notes of your weight, then taking the average at the end of the week. You'll know your exact weight then.



Forgetting this is a lifestyle: If you think dieting is just a two-week thing which you have to last through, and then you're done - you're just plain wrong, it can be, but you're going to go back to the same weight you were before the diet, possibly even more since now you're 'allowed' to eat anything you want. What you have to realise is this can be a lifestyle, you can be healthy, fit, strong and flexible your whole life, you just have to make it you, and let it make you.

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Daily tip #7| The saturday aftermath

Aaah, saturdays! You wake up to a beautiful green morning of lazyness. Unless you like to go out and drink on friday..

If you haven't read my friday's tip, here it is. If you've read it and still went out to get a nasty hangover, shame on you. But since you're here, I suppose I'll help you nonetheless..

Hangovers, aren't they nasty? You shouldn't care, because if you've read my past article, you should realise, that drinking is not a great activity.

First of all.. What exactly is a 'hangover'? A 'hangover' is your body trying to get out the poison (alchohol) out of it. All the throwing up and the headaches are direct signals from your body to YOU, telling you STOP WHY ARE YOU POISONING YOURSELF? After a long night it might start cussing too.



The first and most important tip is to drink water.  Dehydration is very likely after a night out drinking session. The majority of the effects of any hangover come from the dehydration of your body, caused by alchohol and caffeine. So if you're planning to attend a wedding, or a birthday which you can't miss and you know you'll be talked into drinking, you should start preparing yourself.



Drink loads of water. Water helps with dehydration and will lessen its effect when it does happen. You should be drinking over 2.5 litres of water a day. Research tells that water is what the body needs to function properly, from your brain working properly, to cleaning your body.



Eat something. Eating  something  before drinking should ease the effects of alchohol. If you like to drink more than on occasion, you probably knew that drinking on an empty stomach is not a good idea.


Do not take pain killers. Alchohol plus medicine might equal death. Wait until the day after to take any medicine (probably pain reducing, won't it be?).


Stop drinking. Stop drinking at least an hour and a half before going to sleep so your body could atleast try to get some of the alchohol out of your system before you crash.

Just STOP. You really shouldn't drink as much as the others do, do you? Are they literally forcing it down your throat? They might be encouraging you, but you have your own head on your shoulders, they shouldn't think for you. By the way,  if they are actually forcing it down your throat, you should find new friends.



These are the tips. I recommend you don't drink enough to get a hangover. If you're at an event, a few glasses of wine or beer out of respect for the organizer are fine. Well, unless you attend something like that everyday.

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