Smartphone app helps fight obesity: study

A man takes a picture of his lunch with his phone on July 19, 2012 in Paris (AFP/File, Ana Arevalo)

Using a simple smartphone application to photograph one's meals is a useful slimming aid for the overweight, according to an experiment reported on Sunday.
The app, designed by British doctors, aims at promoting "food memory" so that people recall what they have eaten and are encouraged not to snack on high-calorie treats.
The app has three parts:
-- before eating food or drinking a beverage, the user snaps a picture of what is about to be consumed.
-- after finishing the meal or drink, the user then looks at the picture that was taken, and answers questions about the consumption experience: "Did you finish it all?" and "How full are you now?"
-- before further meals, users also look back at the file of pictures that have been taken in the course of the day, and get a text message urging them to remind themselves of what they have already eaten.
The researchers recruited 12 overweight or obese men and women and monitored them over four weeks in a small-scale pilot study. The volunteers accessed the app more than five times a day on average, and recorded 2.7 daily "episodes" of eating and drinking.
Over the study period, the participants lost 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) on average.
Six lost a kilo (2.2 pounds) or more and four lost between zero and one kilo (2.2 pounds), although the other two gained weight, by 100 and 400 grammes (3.5 ounces and 14 ounces) respectively.
"Raising awareness of eating and weight loss achieved suggest this approach could be fruitful," said University of Liverpool investigator Eric Robinson.
"Given that our trial was a very brief intervention with little contact time and no nutritional advice or support, this is a promising finding."
The work was unveiled at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, northwestern England.
Source:Internet

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Want to be a Winner...Jus do it !!!

Image via WikipediaHere's a simple question to get you started. There are three monkeys sitting on a tree, above a pond. One of the monkeys decides to jump into the pond. How many monkeys are left on the tree? Two? Wrong.
The right answer is three. You see, the monkey only made the decision to jump into the pond. He didn't actually jump! If you think about it, we are all like that. We take decisions. We make resolutions. But somehow, we don't follow through with action. And intent without action is quite useless, really. Getting started - taking that first step - is often the master key to success. As someone once said, you don't have to be great to get started. But you sure have to get started to become great!

Do you find yourself struggling to take action on your plans and intentions? Well, here's a five-point programme to help you move from intent to action.
Make a beginning ? right away. Whatever be your goal, take the first step - however small - right away. Until you take that first step, your mind does not believe you. You need to signal to yourself that you are serious, that you mean business. Commit to taking action, immediately. Today. Now.

Break up the grand plan into smaller tasks. Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Sometimes the task ahead looks so enormous that we feel overwhelmed - and we don't do anything about it. Break that up into smaller sub-tasks, and suddenly you'll find something that's doable. Remember that old adage &lsquosomething is better than nothing'? It's still true.
Think of the pleasure, not the pain. Visualise success. If you want to do an MBA at a premier school and plan to devote three hours a day to studying, don't think about missing the football game on television, or about not being able to go out for that Saturday night bash. Think instead of the job that you could get post your MBA, the rewards that it would bring, the dreams that would get realised.
Create a support group. Surround yourself with people who share your objective, who are co-passengers on your journey to success. The excitement of being in it together will help you fight the inertia, and get you going with the rest of the gang.
Pay up ? in advance. For most of us, monetary commitments are a strong impetus for action. The fear of losing money or wasting it, can spur you into action. We follow up on our commitments, if only to ensure our money is well-spent. Plan to lose weight? Pay up for that three-month weight loss programme! Don't wait.
Surround yourself with people who share your objective, who are co-passengers on your journey to success.
Bestselling management author Tom Peters tells the story of a man who approached American financer and banker JP Morgan with an envelope, and said, "Sir, in my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for success, which I will gladly sell you for $25,000."

"Sir," JP Morgan replied, "I do not know what is in the envelope. However, if you show me, and I like it, I give you my word as a gentleman that I will pay you what you ask." The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the envelope. JP Morgan opened it, and pulled out a single sheet of paper. He gave it one look - a mere glance - then handed it back to the gentleman. And paid him the agreed-upon sum of $25,000! On that sheet of paper, were two things:
JP Morgan benefited from this advice, and you can too. Knowing what to do is often easy. We all have our list of things to do. Our plans and our resolutions. Doing it - that's the tough bit. But that's the hallmark of successful people. The Nike guys are right. Want to be a winner? Just do it!

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Lose inches, have fun

Ladies and gentlemen, this one’s for all you gym haters. If you are among those who dreads the sight of the treadmill and can’t bear to get onto

Bollywood dance

the exercise cycle and are still dying to lose those extra inches, don’t worry. We give you a lowdown of some fun activities that you can indulge in. Now here’s the catch. Not only will these activities help you in your weight loss quest, indulging in them will also help you learn a new skill. So are you ready to burn those calories and have fun too?
Read on.

Bollywood Aerobics
Step aside plain, simple aerobic routines, this is the day and age of Bollybics — that’s what Bollywood Aerobics is popularly called. Have you realised, those super sexy jhatkas and matkas our Bollywood heroines do with so much ease can indeed make for a perfectly fun workout. “Adapted to the beats of popular filmi music, Bollybics is an aerobic workout that helps burn intense calories while dancing to your favourite songs,” says Anchal Gupta, owner of a popular Sion based dance studio. The sequence consists of a warm up and aerobic routine — using signature movie dance steps — targetted at specific body parts and then, a cool down session. “The music is fast paced and non stop, and if done right, one can burn upto 700 calories per session,” says trainer Rupesh Pednekar.

While ghazals are used for the warm-up and the cool down sessions, fast paced movie tracks are used for the aerobic routine. This dance cum exercise form uses signature movie dance steps. “It’s a fun and exhilarating workout. And, when you do it in a group, you feel motivated to go on, even if you get tired,” says Anchal. So put on some rocking movie songs and adapt a few regular dance steps to it and lo behold, it’s Bollybics you’re doing.

Kickboxing:
Martial arts have always been very popular. But the newest rage in town in kickboxing. Whoever’s into it swears by how amazing a workout it is. A part of the martial arts family, kickboxing combines the style of boxing with kicking. A full contact sport often practiced as self-defence, it also makes for a perfect workout. And here’s why. “Kickboxing is intensive cardio. Also, unlike a gym workout, it is a total body workout. Kickboxing involves both, cardio and contact which helps in increasing flexibility and toning up. Besides these, there are various stretching exercises and abdominal workouts that one is made to do,” explains kickboxing trainer Amit Lalwani. Another form, Muay Thai, meanwhile, is the art of eight limbs which uses the whole body especially the hips and core. “A Muay Thai workout helps increase not only agility, speed, strength but also, cardiovascular endurance,” says Amit. And while this exercise form is a great stress reliever, you can also pick up a few important self-defence techniques.

Dancersize:
This is a fun activity that consists of half an hour of an intensive workout and half an hour of a dance routine which includes steps from hip-hop and jazz. And the routine is simple. The first half of the session consists of warm ups including stretching which helps tone up the muscles and burn away the inches. The second half meanwhile is a cardio session which helps give the body a total workout. “Apart from the exercise that one gets, this is also a good way to learn a form of dance and develop a sense of style. The routines are never repeated making it a perfect option for people who detest going to the gym,” says participant Purvi Shah.

Power Yoga:
While you may extol the benefits of practising yoga daily, if weight loss is your goal, it may not be enough. The solution? Step it up a notch with power yoga. Put simply, power yoga is yoga adapted to the beats of music. This form of yoga is fast paced and quite a strenuous exercise. How’s it done? There are no fixed poses to be followed, the variations depend on the instructor. “In power yoga, the emphasis is on strength and elasticity of the body. A 45-minute power yoga workout done even just thrice a week will show wondrous effects on your body,” says Laxmi Wagle who is learning this yoga form.

Capoeira:
What do you get when you combine elements of martial arts, games, music and dance? The Afro-Brazilian art form called Capoeira. And why is it a good workout? That’s because as a form of exercise, Capoeira engages all the muscle group and offers significant toning and cardiovascular benefits. It also helps develop flexibility, balance, co-ordination an endurance.

Pilates
This is a form of exercise that emphasises on the balanced development of the body through core strength, flexibility and awareness. As a form of exercise, it works well for everyone. Pilates training focuses on core strength as it trains the body as an integrated whole. The workouts promote strength and balanced muscle development as well as flexibility and increased range of motion for the joints. If practiced regularly, Pilates helps improves muscle tone, balances musculature, supports beautiful posture, teaches you to move with ease and grace and also, improves one’s posture.

Source:Internet

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Diet Theraphy for Diseases

Diet therapy suggests different types of special diets for various diseases. These diets can cure special ailments. The diet for various diseases with their description is provided below,

Best bet diet is meant for multiple sclerosis. This diet is free from proteins like gluten, dairy products and eggs. It contains small amount of yeast, sugar and other carbohydrates. Cabbage soup diet cures obesity. It consists of various types of cabbage, which is cooked in different ways. It contains spices in small quantities, which can be added to give it a taste. However by consuming the cabbage soup diet people tend to generate excessive gas inside the alimentary canal.

Atkins diet is also meant for curing obesity. Dr. Richard Atkins conceived the idea of this diet in the sixties, which is now one of the most popular low carbohydrate diets in the world today. This diet highlights the need of saturated fats in the diet and that trans fats need to be avoided. It puts forward that refined carbohydrates like sugar, flour etc. are the prime cause of obesity.

Diabetic diet is meant for people suffering with diabetes mellitus. This diet is rich in digestive fiber but low in sugars and carbohydrates. The diet consists of hypoglycemic substances.

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. As the name suggests the diet is meant for people suffering from hypertension. It is a mixture of different foods, which are meant for lowering the blood pressure. The diet consists of poultry, fish food, fiber, nuts and whole grains but less red meats and unsaturated fats.

Gerson diet is meant for diseases like cancer. This diet is rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, which requires minimum cooking. Animal products, plant products, sugars and diary products are reduced or totally kept off the diet. Graham diet is meant for those suffering from physiological defects. It consists of fresh vegetables and fruits with whole wheat and high fiber.Eggs are reduced to a minimum and meats and spices are completely avoided in the diet.

High protein diet is meant for bodybuilding and is followed by body builders and musclemen all over the world. Gym professionals recommend this diet as it consists of high amount of proteins among the other nutrients. Jenny Craig diet is recommended for weight loss. As the name suggests the diet was the brainchild of Australian diet expert, Jenny Craig. It has been proved that people loss their weight if they follow this diet, which occurs gradually, spread over a period of a few weeks. Natural foods diet is meant for curing obesity, diabetes, mood swings and cancers. This diet consists of only natural ingredients and synthetic or prepared food is a strict no. The diet also avoids ingredients like sugars and salt.

Ornish diet is meant for people suffering from heart diseases and obesity. This is a very strict diet where saturated fats are allowed only in fewer quantities. Egg whites are allowed but apart from that the diet is completely vegetarian. It consists of vegetables, legumes and high fiber foods. The diet does not even consist of fish and nuts, which are actually good for the heart. Pritikin diet is a low fat and rich fibrous diet, which is meant for people suffering from obesity. It is somewhat similar to Atkins diet.

Apart from disease specific diets, there are certain broad-spectrum diets, which aim at curing a range of ailments. A list of such diets is given below,

Breatharian diet is a very regulating diet that is difficult to practice. This diet eliminates almost all foods, except some fluids that can be consumed. It has been proven that this diet helps to keep the body free of external attacks in to the body.

Fat Resistance diet is a typical diet to combat various problems caused owing to excessive collection of fat in the body. This diet consists of fruits, vegetables, omega fats and proteins, which will help the fats in the body to be properly utilized.

Detox diet also referred to as detoxifying diet, which is a dietary regiment, which helps to flush out the toxins from the body. It comprises mainly of high fiber carbohydrate foods, which provide the collagen for the proper removal of undigested toxins from the body.

Fruitarian diet recommends mainly fruits in the diet. It can be either all fruits or at least three fourths of the diet should consist of food. The aim of this diet is to keep it completely natural. Fruits have high water content and so diet experts claim that it is easy to digest and so it does not cause dietary problems within the body.

Low carbohydrate diet restricts all foods, which that are rich in carbohydrate. Food grains like rice, wheat and their products, sugar and other sources of carbohydrates are more or less eliminated. Instead foods, which are rich in proteins and fats, are used in high quantity.

In low protein diet, protein rich diets like milk, eggs and all forms of meat are reduced. Proteins take a high time to digest and therefore they cause digestive problems such as constipation, indigestion. Instead of proteins nutrients like carbohydrates and fats are used in excess. It is good for people suffering from constant digestive problems.

Diet therapy has become so popular in the world that is now referred as an alternative to medical science.

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Diet Therapy , Naturopathy

Image via Wikipedia

Diet is a very important part of living and a nutritious diet helps keeping new diseases from affecting the body. Ayurveda suggests that only a balanced diet is not sufficient for good health. It recommends that specific bodily conditions require specific diets. It looks at diet as an alternative therapy and treats the body as a combination of three different factors called vata, pitta and kapha. These factors represent air, fire and water respectively. A healthy boy is one in which the three elements are perfectly balanced which can be achieved through diet. When any one of the elements is disturbed the body becomes prone to diseases, correcting the diet can cure it.

Diet therapy is a process of treating diseases of the body by eating a diet, which contains the necessary curative and preventive ingredients. A diet therapist would try to include the useful foods in the diet and eliminate all the harmful ones so that the person can recover quickly. Practitioners of medicine even claim that a healthy diet plan can help curing diseases and also assist in prevention of the disease. This is the main function of a diet therapy.

Be it with a well-structured diet plan for healthy living, or be it with a plan of diet for different diseases, diet therapy has carved a niche for itself as a noteworthy alternative therapy.

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Weight Loss

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

With the urbanization of life loosing weight is indeed the need of the hour in order to keep healthy, fit and of course young.

Weight loss refers to the loss of total body mass in an effort to improve fitness, health, and/or appearance. For healthy weight loss, the patient should follow a weight loss plan that is tailored to his requirements. Weight loss occurs when an individual is in a state of negative energy balance. When the human body is spending more energy in work and heat than it is gaining from food or other nutritional supplements, it will catabolise stored reserves of fat or muscle. Although weight loss may involve loss of fat, muscle or fluid, weight loss for the purposes of maintaining health should aim to lose fat while conserving muscle and fluid.

Weight Loss Methods
With the growing need of controlling weight and to shed off those extra pounds various weight loss methods have become largely popular. Based on absolutely scientific procedure, these weight loss methods promise for a better tomorrow whilst making one lot healthier and young.

Source:Internet

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5 Bad Dining Habits That Will Cause You to Gain Weight

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Surprisingly, your dining habits may be just as important in terms of weight gain as what you choose to eat. Here's how to avoid five bad dining habits that can cause weight gain.

If you're struggling to lose weight, maybe it's not what you're eating but how you're eating it that's causing you to hang on to those excess pounds. Believe it or not, your dining habits can play an important role in how much you weigh. If you're not happy with the number the scale is showing, ask yourself if you commit any of these dining mistakes:

Bad dining habits: Using large size plates

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2006 showed that eating from a large plate causes you to eat significantly more calories than if you eat from a smaller one. Try switching those extra large plates for small ones and watch your calorie consumption drop and those “skinny” jeans become looser.

Bad dining habits: Eating in the company of others

When you break bread with friends or family, you're likely to eat more than if you dine alone. This is particularly true if you're dining with voracious eaters who like to congregate around the table for hours. While you may not want to become a dining hermit, make it a practice to dine alone on occasion and when you do dine with others, pace yourself and closely monitor how much you're eating.

Bad dining habits: You eat on the go

This is another dangerous eating habit from a calorie standpoint. If you make a habit of eating your meals on the run, in your car, or while walking down the street, you risk eating so fast that your brain doesn't signal that you're full in a timely manner. To break this habit, make it a practice to eat all meals at a table and try to slow down the pace. Eating fast is not only unhealthy from a calorie stand point, it's also bad for digestion.

Bad dining habits: Distracted eating

If you park yourself in front of the T.V. or always go to the table with a book or magazine in hand, you may end up eating more than you planned. When you're focused on a chapter in an engrossing book or a favorite television show, it's easy to lose track of how much food you're devouring. Make it a point to focus on the smells and tastes of your food when you sit down to a meal. Lose yourself in the experience of eating and slowly savor each bite. You'll feel more satisfied at the completion of the meal and will be less likely to snack a few hours later.

Bad dining habits: Having too many taste options

Another way to limit how many calories you take in is to limit the types of food you offer yourself at a given meal. The more food choices you have, the more you're likely to eat. It seems that the brain and taste buds become satiated from a particular taste after eating a certain amount but if you have a variety of choices, you'll just keep on eating. Try to limit your choices and your brain will send the signal to stop eating sooner.

Try mending these five bad dining habits and you may well be on your way to losing those extra pounds.

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Ways to Ease the Stress...

• Talk with someone about your feelings-anger, sorrow, and other emotions-even though it may be difficult.


• Don't hold yourself responsible for any disastrous event or be frustrated because you feel that you cannot help directly.


• Take steps to promote your own physical and emotional healing by staying active in your daily life patterns or by adjusting them. This healthy outlook will help yourself and your family. (i.e. healthy eating, rest, exercise, relaxation, meditation.)


• Maintain a normal household and daily routine, limiting demanding responsibilities of yourself and your family.


• Spend time with family and friends.


• Participate in memorials, rituals, and use of symbols as a way to express feelings.


• Use existing supports groups of family, friends, and church.


• Establish a family emergency plan. Feeling that there is something that you can do can be very comforting.

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10 Powerful Self Motivation Rules!!

Image by stilllearninghowtofly - W W Tribe Psychiatrist via Flickr

Self motivation is the only way for you to get out of your current situation that you may not like. You need to have the inner drive to keep your momentum in achieving your goals in life. Without self motivation, nothing else matters. You can hire the most expensive motivator to tell you all the things you already know.

But, if you fail to realize that there is no one else except you who can change your life, then you practically throw your money down the drain by going from one seminar to another in the hope that you can change your life. What matters most is your own action. You need to create and develop your own self motivation to bring you the energy and enthusiasm to pursue the dreams of your life...

Self motivation is the only way for you to get out of your current situation that you may not like. You need to have the inner drive to keep your momentum in achieving your goals in life. Without self motivation, nothing else matters. You can hire the most expensive motivator to tell you all the things you already know. But, if you fail to realize that there is no one else except you who can change your life, then you practically throw your money down the drain by going from one seminar to another in the hope that you can change your life. What matters most is your own action. You need to create and develop your own self motivation to bring you the energy and enthusiasm to pursue the dreams of your life.

You need some kind of motivational drive in anything you do. At work, you may need your colleague or boss to motivate you to accomplish your task. At home, you may need your family member to share some motivational thoughts to keep you energetic in your pursuit of your dreams. They can sit with you all day trying to keep you motivated. Again, all these will be meaningless when you yourself fail to acknowledge that you need more lasting drive to really keep your enthusiasm, that is, your self motivation. This is the quality that will separate you from the rest of the people.

Most of you may be thinking that this is going to be a very daunting task as you do not have the slightest idea of how you are going to go about this. You will be surprised as how easy this can really be done. Here are the 10 things that you need to follow:

1. Do not worry if you make mistakes. Making mistakes is one way we can learn and improve in our life. There is no one that has never made any mistake. The most important thing here is you realize that you have made mistakes and do not repeat the same mistakes again. You learn more from mistakes you have made than any other way.

2. Feel happy about your life. Happiness generates more positive energy within you. This energy is important to keep you more optimistic and enthusiastic about your life. Happy people are always motivated to accomplish something in their life.

3. Get out of your comfort zone. You need to learn to get into unfamiliar surroundings to explore better opportunities. Do not just stick around with the same people, same known places, skills or work. Explore new things that will enhance your ability to achieve your goals and keep you stay motivated.

4. Think the unthinkable. Nothing will stop you from thinking of goals you want to achieve. You have to dream high in order to set high goals. Everything starts with a dream. Do not limit yourself in your goals and dreams.

5. Read and listen to inspirational materials. You have to start spending time reading motivational books and listening to inspirational tapes. But, you must also implement what you learn from your reading and listening. New things you learn from these exercises will give you excitement and energy to work harder toward achieving your goals.

6. Resolve problems instead of running away. Your ride to success destination will not be smooth all the time. You will face difficulties. Do not quit when you experience predicaments in your quest to achieve your dreams. Frustrations and setbacks naturally form as parts of your success venture.

7. Appreciate every moment of your life. Think of what your life really is as of now. Appreciate every moment you have currently. Thinking about the past or day dreaming about the future will not bring you anywhere. Appreciating your current conditions makes you feel much better and realize the need to move forward to achieve your goals.

8. Finish what you start. Once you have started something, finish it. Never leave what you do halfway regardless of the end result. This will train you to accomplish something out of things that you do.

9. Face challenges one at a time. Challenges come to us almost all the time. Take up one challenge at a time. Do not try to accumulate and face them at one go. As the challenges accumulate, you will only feel less motivated to face them and finally unable to complete anything.

10. Care less about what people say. You may hear a lot of bad things people say about you. Sometimes those bad comments may come from somebody close to you. As long as you fully know what you are doing to achieve your goals, you can let those comments fall into deaf ears. Thinking too much about what people say will only make you weaker and loose focus on your effort.

Of course, this list does not just stop here. To instill and develop your self motivation, there are more ways you can do. But, if you can really comprehend and take the appropriate actions just based on these 10 things, you will definitely see the results.

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Why Diets Won't Work....

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People who diet often can lower their metabolisms enough to decrease their caloric needs. This can be done in two ways:

First, a diet of less than 1000-1200 calories can actually cause a starvation-like state and force your body to conserve calories The body will cut back its caloric needs to survive. Therefore, you won't lose more in the long run on a 500-calorie diet than you would on one above 1000 calories. This starvation state can lower the metabolism for as much as one year.

Second, crash dieting can change the body's composition. Let's say you lost 10 pounds in two weeks. Most of that weight was water (5 pounds), some was fat (3 pounds) and the rest was muscle (2 pounds). When the weight is regained (as 95 percent is), it comes back in the form of fat and water. Every future diet can perpetuate this downward cycle of muscle loss; the chronic dieter may change their percentage of body fat over time from 25 percent to 35-40 percent. Surprisingly, the scale may not show large amounts of weight change. Muscle burns up more calories than fat and chronic dieting makes you lose a large percentage of what helps you keep trim. This Yo-Yo effect of losing and regaining can harm the body. It is better to never have dieted at all than to keep losing and regaining the same 1020 pounds.

What does help lose and maintain weight is healthy eating habits and food choices and a more active lifestyle. Take a fresh look at your daily diet and exercise -- get rid of the idea that a diet is something to endure for a month after which you can go back to your old habits. Make short- and long-term goals to slowly change your lifestyle to include healthier food choices and to be more active at work and play.

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Water Works for Weight Loss

Nothing quells the appetite like water, lots and lots of water. Start out with two quart bottles in the morning and carry one with you to work or wherever you go. If you like, divvy up the 64 ounces of water into eight (8-ounce) bottles or four pint (16-ounce) bottles to carry around with you all day. Freeze half of them the night before and they will last all day, even in a hot car. Keep some unfrozen so they will be ready to drink immediately.

Yes. You will have to make more frequent bathroom trips, but it is worth it. Drink your 64 ounces of water before dinner, if possible, so you're not up half the night going to the bathroom.

Water not only fills you up and lessens your appetite, it prevents those "hungry horrors" we all encounter when our blood sugar drops and we reach for cookies, candy, ice cream, fries or other high-calorie treats. Water also flushes out the system, rids the body of bloat and toxins and rosies up the complexion. Now, start splashing.

Source:Internet

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