For dogs, you have the all-clear from PETA on the following highly-nutritious foods: 
▪  Apples
▪  Bananas
▪  Baked potatoes
▪  Carrots (steamed or raw)
▪  Unsweetened cranberries
▪  Cucumbers
▪  Steamed green beans or greens
▪  Cooked sweet potatoes without additives
▪  Pumpkin purée
 
PetMD recommends getting veterinarian approval before serving pets table scraps, and serving them only small portions.
 
The group approves the following foods for dogs and cats:
▪  Turkey (so long as fat, skin and bones are removed)
▪  Mashed potatoes that contain no extra ingredients
▪  Small amounts of cranberry sauce
▪  Macaroni noodles without cheese

Though it may seem obvious, serving alcohol to pets is a no-no.
​
Foods PetsBest insurance group says cats and dogs shouldn’t consume are: 
▪  Stuffing (since it often contains onions, scallions or garlic, which highly toxic for both cats and dogs)
▪  Ham
▪  Turkey bones
▪  Mashed potatoes that contain additives like butter, milk, onion powder or garlic
▪  Grapes/Raisins (highly toxic for pets)
▪  Chocolate (highly toxic for pets)
 
PetMD adds one more to the list both cats and dogs should avoid:
▪  Macadamia nuts (can be toxic)
 
Other items PETA says dogs should avoid are:
▪  Caffeine-containing dishes (can be fatal)
▪  Candy (really those containing the sweetener xylitol, which can cause liver failure)
▪  Dairy products
▪  Chives
▪  Bacon
▪  Nutmeg (can be toxic in large amounts)
▪  Salt/Sugar

​Arthritis can cause chronic inflammation, pain, and stiffness in the fingers, hands, knees, elbows, hips, jaw, and any other joint in the body. It cannot be cured, but you can get relief from its symptoms.

For thousands of years, apple cider vinegar has been commonly recognized as the most effective natural remedy for arthritis pain. You’re about to find out how its many healing properties can help you live a fulfilling life in spite of your arthritis.

Below are several of the most common and most effective methods for using apple cider vinegar to relieve arthritis pain and stiffness. Try them all until you find the one that works best for you.

Cherries are rich in anthocyanins, which battle inflammation.

1. Mix 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar into a glass of cherry juice.
2. Drink 2 times daily to relieve arthritis pain.
3. Include apple cider vinegar and cherries in your healthy diet to enhance energy and boost the immune system.

Apple cider vinegar and honey are great sources of potassium. They become alkaline when consumed and aid in the safe excretion of excess acids.

Method 1:

1. Mix 2 teaspoon each of apple cider vinegar and honey into a glass of water.
2. Drink 3 times daily.
3. It will also dissolve the uric acid deposits that crystalize between joints and muscles.
4. This method is great for rheumatoid arthritis.​

Method 2:

1. Mix a teaspoon each of apple cider vinegar and honey into a cup of warm water.
2. Drink this daily in the morning to get rid of the arthritis.
3. This will remove toxins built up in joints and connective tissue.

Osteoarthritis often occurs in the hands, and it is more common in women than men. Apple cider vinegar provides relief from pain and stiffness of the hands and fingers.

Method 1: Apple Cider Vinegar and Cayenne Pepper
Apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper contain anti-inflammatory and alkalizing properties that reduce pain and stiffness in the hands.

1. Mix small amounts of apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper to make a paste.
2. Apply to painful joints and leave on 15 minutes.

​

Method 2: Apple Cider Vinegar and Cayenne Pepper Hand Soak

1. Mix ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper into 1 cup warm apple cider vinegar.
2. Submerge hand and fingers and soak until pain is gone.

​
Method 3: Apple Cider Vinegar for Gout

1. Mix 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar into a cup of water.
2. Drink once daily.
3. This method reduces inflammation, blocks uric acid production, and alkalizes to balance the pH.

Apple cider vinegar dissolves the acid crystals that cause the joint stiffness and inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Method 1: Warm Apple Cider Vinegar Massage

1. Warm ½ cup apple cider vinegar to a comfortable temperature.
2. Apply to painful joints and rub gently for a few minutes.

Method 2: Apple Cider Vinegar with Castor Oil
Castor oil and apple cider vinegar reduce inflammation, restore damaged tissue and boost your immune system.

1. Apply apple cider vinegar to painful joints.
2. Once it is completely absorbed, massage the area with castor oil.
3. Wrap the joint in a cotton cloth and cover it with plastic to avoid staining.

Have you tried any of the above methods for relieving arthritis pain? Do you know of any methods we’ve left out? Share with us.

REFERENCE: http://homeremediesforlife.com/

Summer is not too far away. It is almost time for shorts, tank tops, and bathing suits. Time to prepare the body for not only looking good in such few clothes but preparing the body for the effects of the heat and sun. Three important steps to this preparation include exercise, eating foods high in antioxidants, and drinking plenty of water. 

The National Weight Control Registry and a Consumer's Report survey of 32,000 people both show that people who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off have all followed some consistent guidelines, which has included regular exercise, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, following a low-fat diet, and eating primarily healthy fats.

​The advantage of regular exercise not only includes weight loss, but more important is that consistent exercise results in body fat loss and development of muscle tone, which shows most when clothes are skimpier. This improvement can be felt quickly, as the muscles are worked and get used to the demands made of them. When you feel more fit, you start to hold yourself up, stronger and prouder. Posture improves and you just look better, overall. 

For someone who has not been exercising regularly, after a quick checkup by your doctor, simple walking can be a great way to get started! But, in order for it to be effective, you have to do it on a regular basis; at least 3-5 days a week. When just starting out, 3 days a week of 20 minutes per walk may be plenty. It may even be a challenge at first! If you keep it up, though, shortly it will get easier. As it gets easier, progression to 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week will be more effective. If someone started walking 4 miles per hour (15 minutes per mile) for 30 minutes, 5 days a week, they will start burning roughly an extra 1500 calories a week. Although this will only result the loss of a few pounds in 10 weeks, the increase in your resting metabolic rate will also increase with regular exercise. Your resting metabolic rate is how many calories you burn at rest. The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories you burn when just sitting! So, without even changing the way you eat, you're already working towards some weight loss.

​This brings us to the second step for preparing the body for summer, which is making some changes to the diet by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables. There are three advantages to a diet high in fruits and vegetables.
1. these foods are rich in antioxidants, which help protect the skin from the harmful, oxidizing effects of the sun and toxic chemicals from the hot air,
2. they also have been shown to help fight against heart disease, cancer and obesity, 
3. finally, they will fill you up on fewer total calories because they are high in fiber and bulk. If a person were to eat 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which is the recommendation of many health organizations, today, they would feel fuller on fewer net calories by the end of the day. ​

Theoretically, they could end up eating 200-500 fewer calories per day, which further helps with weight loss. Plus, you would feel better, your hair, skin and nails would look better, and you would become more regular.
​​
The final important step to preparing for summer is to increase your intake of water. Sixty percent of our body is water. Studies have shown that a diet adequate in water helps with weight loss, helps moisten skin, decreases dryness, can help prevent the development of wrinkles, keeps the hands and lips moist, can help fight heat exhaustion, and even has shown to decrease bladder cancer in men. Although there is a lot of debate over just how much water each of us needs, a good individual rule of thumb is to drink enough water so that your urine is clear by the afternoon. Worry about staying up all night going to the bathroom? Then drink most of your water in the first half of the day. Don't like water? Then experiment with various temperatures of plain water, or add a slice of lemon or orange to your water. Perhaps you can find a flavored (not sweetened) water. Even eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and getting plenty of other fluids can be adequate for some, because these foods and other fluids also provide free water for the body's needs. 

Now is the time to start getting ready for summer! It is not too late. If you start on these steps now, you will be well on your way to feeling great, looking great, and be prepared for a new you this summer, strutting your stuff in those brand new shorts that are sitting in your closet​​

Gaining muscle through lifting weights, bodyweight exercises, or even intense aerobics requires a proper diet in order to gain the results you want.

1. 1. Make sure you're getting at least /between 1 and 1.5 times your body weight (if you are overweight, then substitute your target body weight) in grams of protein. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be eating between 150 and 225 grams of protein per day if you want to consistently gain muscle. Full time bodybuilders can eat sometimes two to three times their bodyweight in grams of protein, and sometimes more, but for most of us that would be overkill.

2. Choose your protein source. The most common source is meat, but there are alternatives. Fish, nuts, rice and beans, cottage cheese, and soy are all high in protein.

3. Consider supplements. These are an easy way to gain more protein without having to actually eat it. The best kind is Whey Protein. Some doctors say that Whey Protein is difficult to digest, and can strain your liver or kidneys. A high protein diet in general can be straining on the kidneys. 

The solution is to drink a lot of water. This will flush out your system and negate the negative effects of eating a high protein diet.

4. Balance your workouts. If you are doing a highly aerobic activity of any kind and don't eat a high protein diet you will consistently lose strength and muscle mass.

5. Include carbs in your diet. If you are planning on lifting weights but also aiming to lower your body fat, you should know that it is impossible to get enough energy without carbohydrates in your system.

- Rather than eating all of your protein or carbohydrates in one meal, it is ideal to try to spread it out over the course of the day. Five or more small meals are best. This is because if you eat all your protein at one time, your body won't be able to use all of it. It's about maintaining a high blood protein level so that your muscles can slowly regenerate throughout the day and while you are sleeping.

- Vary your sources of protein. If the only way you're getting it is, say a Whey Protein supplement, you won't be absorbing all of it because your body is taking too much from one source. There are different kinds of protein, and they all affect your body differently.

​- Creatine supplements are often used by bodybuilders. Creatine is a natural substance that helps increase pure muscle mass. However, it is merely a supplement, and is not necessary to gain muscle mass.

- Make sure you drink a lot of water. A gallon a day would not be too much. This will prevent your diet from harming your organs and will actually help you lose weight if that is also your goal.

- If you're trying to gain muscle in order to lose weight, know that the only real way to lose weight is with a low-calorie diet. It's extremely difficult to gain muscle mass with a low-calorie diet, so decide which of the two is more important to you and pursue it first.

This seems to be the question on everyone's mind, and for good reason, fat is so easy to acquire and so hard to get rid of. Most bodies love to store fat; it's good security for when you run out of food. This is unlikely, but your body doesn't know that. Unfortunately, the body loves storing fat so much that it will burn anything else available (muscle tissue, stored carbohydrate, etc.) before digging into the fat reserves, unless you trick it.

The first thing your body will burn is stored carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. The next is muscle tissue, only then does it grudgingly dip into the fat stores. This is why most diets don't work, especially "starvation" diets. When you suddenly cut off the food supply, a survival mechanism kicks in causing the body to store every little bit of fat that it can!  This results in weight loss, but not much fat loss, and as soon as you DO eat something, it immediately gets stored as fat to replace any that was used. This is NOT what you want, so you have to fool the body into thinking it doesn't need fat. Here is a list of effective ways to do this, and you won't even have to starve yourself! It's never easy though.

Change your eating habits. Don't diet! Make a permanent change in how you eat

1) Limit, but don't cut out high fat foods: Dietary fat can be stored if taken in excess; however, some fat intake must be maintained to prevent the body from storing every bit of fat it does get. (See #6 below).

2) Limit high sugar and high glycemic index foods (including fruit): Simple sugars (and many "complex” carbohydrates) get easily converted into fat, and can also be the cause of high cholesterol. Glucose, fructose, and sucrose are all simple sugars and malt dextrin (common in many "weight gainer supplements) has a very high glycemic index putting it in the same category as simple sugars.  I'm not saying not to eat fruit, as they contain many beneficial vitamins, just don't overdo it. Keep it to 2 or 3 pieces a day.

 2)  Limit high sugar and high glycemic index foods (including fruit): Simple sugars (and many "complex” carbohydrates) get easily converted into fat and can also be the cause of high cholesterol. Glucose, fructose, and sucrose are all simple sugars and malt dextrin (common in many "weight gainer supplements) has a very high glycemic index putting it in the same category as simple sugars.  I'm not saying not to eat fruit, as they contain many beneficial vitamins, just don't overdo it. Keep it to 2 or 3 pieces a day.

3) Eat more frequently: Yes, you read that right!  Eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day (or 3 main meals and 2 -3 healthy snacks (protein shakes work well). There are several reasons for this, they are:

· With smaller servings, your stomach will shrink, and you will get full faster.

· Digesting burns a surprising number of calories, eat more often and burn more calories! 

· When you eat a large meal, the body takes what it needs, and saves the excess as, guess what? FAT. Smaller meals prevent this even if you eat the same amount overall.

4)   Never eat before bed: Plan your last meal to be at least 2 hours before bed. The body likes to store fat while you sleep if you eat too soon before bed.

5) Eat slowly: It takes your stomach about 20 minutes to signal the brain after it is full. If you eat too fast you will think you are still hungry and eat more. If you're still a bit hungry after eating, do something to take your mind off food for at least 20 minutes and you'll most likely forget about the eating.

6)     Don't totally cut out fat: Keep some fat in your "non diet", as it helps get your body into a "fat burning mode". Keep it "low to moderate fat" not "no fat".  Try to stick to the "good" fats such as those from fish, flax oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, olive oil, peanut oil.

7)     This won't be easy so sometimes give yourself a break. Allow yourself one "treat" per week, or even a day when you can eat whatever you want, and really enjoy it! 

​8) Eat foods that take lots of energy to burn: These include most vegetables (especially the fibrous ones) and protein sources such as meat. Cut the visible fat off red meat and remove the skin from chicken. Water-packed tuna is very good (if you like it). 

9) Take it easy on complex carbohydrates as any excess gets easily converted to fat. This includes rice, pasta, potatoes, and any "starchy foods". Eat these regularly, but not too much at one time. If you want to lose fat faster, cut down on these foods and replace with protein and good fat (for example: olive oil, almonds, etc).

10) The breakdown should be about: 40% protein, 30% complex carbohydrate, and 30% fat. This can be varied but keep the protein high and control your body fat by manipulating the carbohydrate content. Most of the fat in your diet will come from the protein sources.

Remember: BREAKFAST" means break the fast. 

This is your most important meal of the day. You have not eaten anything for more than 6 to 8 hours. As mentioned above if you don’t eat your body will be burning your hard-earned muscle tone until it gets the fuel it needs.