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Lose stomach fat: How to get a flat belly

[email protected] (Health Me Up )
February 23, 2013

Burn-Tummy-FatWhy lose stomach fat? Because it makes everyone uncomfortable, to say the least.

In everyday life we don't fret about some loose stomach fat hanging over our waistbands, but festivities, weddings, and seaside vacations leave you staring at the mirror. The frustrating reality is that the midsection is one of the trickiest areas to lose fat from. Many believe that one can lose stomach fat by simply doing a few ab crunches every day. But that's not the truth. In reality, achieving a flat stomach is a combination of a range of factors like diet, exercise, rest, hydration, and so on. Read on for some great tips on how to lose stomach fat...

Understand the science behind six pack abs for a flat belly.The simple science behind six pack abs is that they exist in everybody. It's just when you start putting on more body fat that these abs disappear. A combination of two major muscles transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis muscles make up what we consider to be our 'abs' zone.

These muscles are buried under the front and side of torso mucles and exist around your midsection like a girdle. Now, if you ate a healthy diet comprising of lean proteins, balanced carbs and less, yet good, fats, you would enter a zone with minimal superficial body fat, and your muscles would become visible, resulting in six pack abs.

Tip #1

Importance of eating lean proteins for a flat belly. First and most important is to understand that lean proteins are proteins from sources that supply little or almost negligible amount of fat. The Harvard School of Public Health notes that lean sources of protein aid in keeping the saturated fat intake at a healthy level. When you are on sources of proteins such as chicken, beans you find yourself losing body fat and at the same time giving shape to your body. You get most of the vitamins from these sources which improve your health as well.

Importance of fiber in your diet for a flat belly. Fiber is one of the most important constituents of our diet. The main function of fiber is to clean our system deep within, help propel our bowel movements and thus form the basis of detoxification of our body. Most astonishing is the fact that when we consume fiber, our body burns ample calories in the digestion process of fiber. Also fiber itself has very few calories. In short, eating lots of fiber in the form of fruits, salads and bran helps our belly to run slim with ease.

Tip #2

Importance of staying away from fruit juices, alcohol and fruit punches for a flat belly. In general juices, alcohol and fruit punches are calorie dense and often disturb the blood sugar levels in our body. Where moderate and controlled alcohol consumption has certain beneficial effects too, fruits are best taken in their natural fiber form rather than taking them in the form of juices. Juices give your body less essential fiber, and the concentrated sugar is not the best thing for you if you are aiming for a flat belly. Eating fresh should be the mantra of healthy living.

Tip #3

Importance of nutrient dense and good fat foods for a flat belly. Nutrient dense and good fat foods are those that have essential fatty acids and other vital nutrients in rich quantity with less calories and saturated fats. First would be something like a grilled fish. With certain essential fatty acids, proteins and less saturated oil, this is a perfect example of a nutrient dense good fat food.

Now consider a pastry. It is more than 200 calories, with a lot of saturated fat and a few essential nutrients to offer. This is something you must take very sparingly. Thus, picking items such as grilled fish or soyabean chaat will help one supply the body with essential fats, improve cardiac health and at the same time keep your body fat low to give you a perfect belly. A nutrient-dense diet won't leave you feeling hungry so aiming at a flatter belly is much easier with nutrient dense food.

Tip #4

Importance of cardio exercises and strength training for a flat belly. All types of cardio exercise routines elevate your heart rate and keep it in the same way for extended periods of time. This results in increased consumption of oxygen, which leads to fat loss. Fat loss and stamina building are equally important. If you eat healthy and workout, your chances of achieving a flatter belly increases.

Tip #5

Importance of water in your diet for a flat belly. Water constitutes 70% of our body. Most of our metabolic process takes place in the presence of water in our body. Thus, when we are well hydrated the basal metabolic rate of our body goes up. This would mean that our body is able to digest the food we eat in a proper manner, the food is used to burn sufficient calories required by the body and thus you end up with a nice flat belly to improve your figure

Tip #6

Push ups. Place yourself face down with the palms on the floor. Place the palms wider than the shoulder-width, arms extended, legs straight and feet together or slightly apart. Keep the neck, back & hips aligned and abdominals contracted. Do not arch the back downwards or upwards. Keep it flat like a table top. Bend the elbows outwards and bring the chest close to the floor. This is the initial position. Push back upwards till the arms extend completely and feel the contraction in the chest muscles.

Tip #7

Ball balance. Lie on the ball and exhale, pulling your abs in a stabilize position. Now, raise your right arm in a frontward direction and left leg on the back side. Breathe and hold yourself in this position for 10 seconds. In the meantime, using your ab and back muscles, keep the ball steady and body in a straight line. Repeat this same exercise in with the opposite arm and left. Perform a set of 5 on each side. In order to make this exercise harder, hold yourself in the raised position as if you are writing something in the air with your extended arm. Switch sides and repeat.

Tip #8

Side lying shoulder & double leg raise (Obliques). Lie on the side with the legs extended & the body in a straight line. Extend the lower arm so that it is perpendicular to the body. The palm of your hand should face the floor. Keep the upper arm by the side, aligned with the body. Balance & slowly raise the lower shoulder (the one touching the floor) & both the legs off the floor simultaneously. This works the side (waist) facing upwards. Come down slowly. After completing a set of certain repetitions, repeat the procedure on the other side. In order to make this exercise tough, you can do bicycle crunches too (as shown in the pic above).

Tip #9

Elevated plank. Place your forearms on the ball and keep your fingers interlaced. Now extend your legs straight behind and take the help of your toes for support. Now exhale, pulling your belly button towards your spine and hold yourself in this position for 30 to 60 seconds. Make sure your back is straight and in a flat line. Give yourself a break of 30 seconds and repeat. In order to make this exercise easier, you can perform it by placing your forearms on the floor. And, for a harder version of this exercise, move from a plank to a swiss ball. Here, try and bring your knees towards your chest and do 10 repetitions per leg.

Tip #10

Reverse Crunch. Lie on your back with the arms extended downwards towards the feet and palms on the floor. Place the hands under the lower back & hip. Legs should be bent at 90 degrees up in the air. Using the abdominal muscles, i.e. contracting them, roll the spine & the hips upwards so that the knees come towards the face. Slowly go down without changing the angle of the legs. Note - Do not extend the legs while lifting the hips off the floor. Keep the knees together & the legs strictly bent at 90 degrees.

Tip #11

The first thing that you should be doing soon after you wake up is to start your day with a glass of lukewarm lemon water followed by a vegetable juice like mint and coriander or ghia juice. This will help kickstart your metabolism at a healthy pace. You should then do some physical activity like brisk walk or jogging for a minimum of 30 minutes with some exercises concentrating on the stomach.

Tip #12

Breakfast is super important. Never skip your breakfast, if you want to lose weight. When you wake up in the morning your metabolism is at its peak and if you don't eat food in the morning then your metabolism will slow down during the day.

With slow metabolism whatever you will eat for the rest of the day, your chances of gaining weight are higher.

Tip #13

Office desk healthy habits play a major role. Once you are in office, try to be conscious of your eating habits. Drink water at regular interval by keeping a bottle of water at your desk. If you love munching, then keep all healthy snacks like whole wheat biscuits handy. Even better - rely on fruits. Limit your intake of tea or coffee at work. On the very outside, you should have only one cup before lunch with one or two digestive biscuits.

Tip #14

Office lunch room healthy practices. Try to watch your lunch at work, because when we have company we tend to overeat. So, the golden rule is to carry your own lunch. It should ideally comprise of a chapatti (or some other cereal), vegetables, lean meat (or a healthy vegetarian protein source), curd and salad. If you cannot carry your lunch, then stick to non-fried food. Try to walk around and stay active immediately after lunch. This will help you digest your food.

Tip #15

Evening snack time is a small meal but it can take a toll on your dietary regime. Why? Because it is this time of the day when most people go out and binge on street food or unhealthy food. To avoid this, stick to healthy options like bhuna channa or dry bhel puri, or one fruit in your evening snack. If you are a tea drinker, then you can have a nice cup of tea with 2 -3 whole wheat biscuits or cream crackers.

Tip #16

Flat belly routine right before you go to bed. Now it is time to sleep! Wait, we should not go to sleep just after dinner. First we must digest our last meal of the day. So go out and take a light walk for 30 mins, or remain active at home. Eating just before sleeping can make you uncomfortable. However, this is not true for everyone. Know your body well and if late dinners give you an upset stomach, then eat a couple of hours before sleeping.

Tip #17

Avoid alcohol and aereated drinks. Eat less junk, refined and sugary foods. These are the worst enemies of a flat stomach, and they are often the cause of many other chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, etc.

Tip #18

Meditate, and use other stress reduction strategies that will keep your cortisol levels under control and keep you from gaining abdominal fat and not make you age faster.

Tip #19

Get more active. Even if you spend 1 hour a day in the gym on all days of the week, it is still just 7 hours of a total of 168 hours in the week. Try to make the best of the remaining hours by getting more active. Plan playtime with friends/kids, and move a lot more during the day.

Tip #20

Perform 2-3 HIIT or high intensity interval training workouts a week. These need not and should be long in duration, 10-20 minutes is enough if done correctly.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Researchers have found the rates of lung cancer are higher in young women than men.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined lung cancer rates in young adults in 40 countries across five continents and uncovered a trend of higher lung cancer rates in women compared with men in recent years.

The emerging trend was widespread, affecting countries across varied geographic locations and income levels.

The changes appeared to be driven by a rising rate of adenocarcinoma lung cancer among women, said the study researchers from University of Calgary in Canada.

Lung cancer rates have been higher among men than women because men started smoking in large numbers earlier and smoked at higher rates; however, recent studies have reported converging lung cancer incidence rates between sexes.

Among men, age specific lung cancer incidence rates generally decreased in all countries, while in women the rates varied across countries with the trends in most countries stable or declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to those in men.

For the findings, lung and bronchial cancer cases between 30-64 age group from 1993-2012 were extracted from cancer incidence in five continents.

The study found the higher emerging rates of lung cancer in young women compared to young men.

According to the researchers, future studies are needed to identify reasons for the elevated incidence of lung cancer among young women.

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Agencies
June 10,2020

Early treatment with the antiviral drug remdesivir has been found to reduce viral load and prevent lung disease in macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, according to a study.

The findings, published in the journal Nature on Tuesday, support the early use of remdesivir treatment in patients with COVID-19 to prevent progression to pneumonia.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health in the US noted that remdesivir has broad antiviral activity and has been shown to be effective against infections with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV in animal models.

The drug is being tested in human clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19, they said.

Researcher Emmie de Wit and colleagues investigated the effects of remdesivir treatment in rhesus macaques, a recently established model of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Two sets of six macaques were inoculated with SARS-CoV-2.

One group was treated with remdesivir 12 hours later -- close to the peak of virus reproduction in the lungs -- and these macaques received treatment every 24 hours until six days after inoculation.

In contrast to the control group, the researchers found that macaques that received remdesivir did not show signs of respiratory disease, and had reduced damage to the lungs.

Viral loads in the lower respiratory tract were also reduced in the treated animals; viral levels were around 100 times lower in the lower-respiratory tract of remdesivir-treated macaques 12 hours after the first dose, they said.

The researchers said that infectious virus could no longer be detected in the treatment group three days after initial infection, but was still detectable in four out of six control animals.

Despite this virus reduction in the lower respiratory tract, no reduction in virus shedding was observed, which indicates that clinical improvement may not equate to a lack of infectiousness, they said.

Dosing of remdesivir in the rhesus macaques is equivalent to that used in humans, the researchers noted.

They cautioned that it is difficult to directly translate the timing of treatment used in corresponding disease stages in humans, because rhesus macaques normally develop only mild disease.

However, researchers said the results indicate that remdesivir treatment of COVID-19 should be initiated as early as possible to achieve the maximum treatment effect.

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News Network
May 13,2020

California, May 13: A fasting-mimicking diet could be more effective at treating some types of cancer when combined with vitamin C, suggests a new study conducted by the scientists from USC and the IFOM Cancer Institute in Milan.

In studies on mice, researchers found that the combination delayed tumour progression in multiple mouse models of colorectal cancer; in some mice, it caused disease regression. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications.

"For the first time, we have demonstrated how a completely non-toxic intervention can effectively treat an aggressive cancer," said Valter Longo, the study senior author and the director of the USC Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

"We have taken two treatments that are studied extensively as interventions to delay ageing-- a fasting-mimicking diet and vitamin C -- and combined them as a powerful treatment for cancer," added Longo.

The researchers said that while fasting remains a challenging option for cancer patients, a safer, more feasible option is a low-calorie, plant-based diet that causes cells to respond as if the body were fasting.

Their findings suggest that a low-toxicity treatment of fasting-mimicking diet plus vitamin C has the potential to replace more toxic treatments.

Results of prior research on the cancer-fighting potential of vitamin C have been mixed. Recent studies, though, are beginning to show some efficacy, especially in combination with chemotherapy.

In this new study, the research team wanted to find out whether a fasting-mimicking diet could enhance the high-dose vitamin C tumour-fighting action by creating an environment that would be unsustainable for cancer cells but still safe for normal cells.

"Our first in vitro experiment showed remarkable effects. When used alone, fasting-mimicking diet or vitamin C alone reduced cancer cell growth and caused a minor increase in cancer cell death. But when used together, they had a dramatic effect, killing almost all cancerous cells," said Longo.

Longo and his colleagues detected this strong effect only in cancer cells that had a mutation that is regarded as one of the most challenging targets in cancer research.

These mutations in the KRAS gene signal the body is resisting most cancer-fighting treatments, and they reduce a patient's survival rate. KRAS mutations occur in approximately a quarter of all human cancers and are estimated to occur in up to half of all colorectal cancers.

The study also provided clues about why previous studies of vitamin C as a potential anticancer therapy showed limited efficacy. By itself, a vitamin C treatment appears to trigger the KRAS-mutated cells to protect cancer cells by increasing levels of ferritin, a protein that binds iron.

But by reducing levels of ferritin, the scientists managed to increase vitamin C's toxicity for the cancer cells. Amid this finding, the scientists also discovered that colorectal cancer patients with high levels of the iron-binding protein have a lower chance of survival.

"In this study, we observed how fasting-mimicking diet cycles are able to increase the effect of pharmacological doses of vitamin C against KRAS-mutated cancers," said Maira Di Tano, a study co-author at the IFOM, FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy.

"This occurs through the regulation of the levels of iron and of the molecular mechanisms involved in oxidative stress. The results particularly pointed to a gene that regulates iron levels: heme-oxygenase-1," added Tano.

The research team's prior studies showed that fasting and a fasting-mimicking diet slow cancer's progression and make chemotherapy more effective in tumour cells while protecting normal cells from chemotherapy-associated side effects. The combination enhances the immune system's anti-tumour response in breast cancer and melanoma mouse models.

The scientists believe cancer will eventually be treated with low-toxicity drugs in a manner similar to how antibiotics are used to treat infections that kill particular bacteria, but which can be substituted by other drugs if the first is not effective.

To move toward that goal, they say they needed to first test two hypotheses: that their non-toxic combination interventions would work in mice, and that it would look promising for human clinical trials.

In this new study, they said that they've demonstrated both. At least five clinical trials, including one at USC on breast cancer and prostate cancer patients, are now investigating the effects of the fasting-mimicking diets in combination with different cancer-fighting drugs.

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