There have been conflicting reports on how Alcohol can help you or hinder you when it comes to losing weight. The age old concern is that beer makes you put on weight and creates the legendary “beer belly” appearance.  Well recent research shows that beer does in fact, have no direct effect on your stomach fat and enjoying a pint in the evening will not lead to the middle age bulge commonly associated with drinking. However, it has been shown that drinking does “numb” the stomach so that you have more difficulty determining how full you are. This leads to over indulgence when it comes to food whilst drinking and many people will consume a great deal of snacks and fatty foods while drinking as a result.

It has also been reported that some drinks including red wine can help you to lose weight so how can you avoid over indulgence and the alcohol bulge and actually lose weight with alcohol instead? As with all things the key is moderation, a daily drink will promote a healthy weight loss whereas binge drinking and constant alcohol abuse will lead to fatty stomachs and severely ill livers.

Doctors in the US and UK have stated that energy drinks should come with warnings. Energy drinks are becoming increasingly popular especially with young teens and students and can contain as much as14 times the amount of caffeine as a can of cola (that’s the equivalent of 7 cups of strong coffee).  The lack of regulations mean that while some drinks in the UK that contain more than 150mg of caffeine come with a label “high caffeine content” they do nothing in the US or UK to advise on the health dangers of a caffeine overdose or regular caffeine abuse.

Apparently, US researchers have nothing better to do than use hot cups of coffee to chat up girls and then record the results. Recent studies have shown (interestingly enough), that holding a nice hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate will make you much more friendly and trusting to strangers. In the study scientists tricked people into holding drinks and rating a fictional character’s “warmth” as well as comparing hot sensations against cold sensations to find out how selfish a person is. It was shown that people who held hot drinks liked the characters more and people who held hot pads accepted a gift for their friend instead of the people who held frozen pads who wanted a hot drink.

To be honest, if I was holding a frozen pad, I’d really want a hot drink too. Not because I’m selfish, but because my hands are really mighty cold!

If you love the taste of a hot savoury cup of coffee in the morning but need to seriously cut down on your caffeine you can try out “No-Caff”, one of a large range of caffeine free savoury drinks designed to fill the coffee gap in our lives. Another great alternative is “Barley-Cup”.

These drinks are different from decaffeinated beverages because they are made entirely of alternative substances. That means they have no coffee in them whatsoever and are therefore completely 100% caffeine free. They do contain Chicory which is famous for it’s ability to enhance the flavour of coffee and as a result they still taste great in the morning as a coffee substitute and are perfect for people who cannot tolerate caffeine.

The Acai Berry looks similar to a blueberry. Acai Berry is becoming increasingly popular within the western world an is relatively new as a health drink despite the fact that the Amazon Basin have been enjoying this wonder fruit for many, many years.

The Acai Berry is well known for it’s healthy properties and medicinal uses in the Amazon and is more commonly known for it’s abundant growth in Brazil but it can be sourced elsewhere too.

The best way to gain all the rich antioxidants and other healthy benefits of the Acai Berry is to drink pure Acai Berry Juice and not powdered or from concentrate.

The humble apple is not so humble when it comes to health. Drinking a cup of fresh pure apple juice in the morning (make sure it’s fresh and not from concentrate) will give you a large variety of long term health benefits as well as ticking off a box for your five a day.

Apple extract has been recorded as having the second highest level of antioxidants present when compared to other typically consumed fruits. Apples contain a range of Phytochemicals which are well documented as being powerful antioxidants.

In fact apples have been shown to help reduce cholesterol, inhibit the spread of cancer cells, reduce the risk of asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

So be sure you eat your apple a day to keep the doctor away!

Drinking alcohol is always a topic that is much in debate by health critics and consumers alike. We all know drinking too much is bad for and binge drinking once in a while can even have more serious devastating affects than drinking smaller amounts every day. While we are still arguing with ourselves over how much a unit of alcohol really is depending on the beverage there is one alcohol type that really shines out in scientific research today. Surprising us with every discovery we make, a 175ml of red wine once a day is actually proving to be largely beneficial for us in a number of different ways.

You may already be aware that red wine can help keep a healthy heart so long as it is drunk in moderation. Now there are many more benefits you may be surprised to learn about. Below are just 5 of the main benefits that we have learned about recently.

1. Healthy Heart
2. Lose Weight
3. Improve Memory
4. Boost Immune System
5. Prevent Bone Loss
   

   Drinking in Moderation.

We are more surprised to learn that red wine can actually help you to lose weight since alcohol in general is typically attributed to “beer bellies”. However, it has been shown that someone who drinks a glass of red wine every day has a slimmer body and less abdominal fat that those who only drink occasionally.

It may shock you to learn that a lack of hydration can cause a serious deficiency in your focus and concentration. A drop of just 2% in your body’s hydration levels can cause short term memory problems and mental dullness. One of the best ways to ensure you get the most out of your working day is to make sure you always have a good supply of water to hand. Taking a bottle or two of mineral water to work with you can dramatically increase your motivation, the work you get done and the feel good feeling during work you need to get through the day. Many people will consider drinking copious amounts off coffee whilst at work to keep them going but this is only causing a downward spiral. The caffeine will keep them going for only short periods of time while at the same time dehydrating them causing them to feel down, foggy headed and creating concentration problems.

Try switching your coffee to water instead and you will notice a considerable difference in your working day. Not only that but you will be helping improve all sorts of things in your body too such as a healthy digestive system, healthy skin and even control body weight.

There are lots of reasons why many people are drinking Rooibos Tea to supplement their healthy eating lifestyle. Rooibos tea has one main advantage from Green Tea, and that is that is has zero caffeine inside it. That means many people, even those who suffer from a sensitivity to caffeinated beverages, can enjoy the health benefits from Rooibos Tea.

Rooibos tea can help with a variety of problems such as digestive problems and has a soothing effect on the nervous system as opposed to caffeinated drinks. Rooibos Tea can also be used quite safely by nursing mothers, pregnant women and infants. Rooibos is also a popular favourite amongst women who suffer from cramps and other stomach discomforts because it also has anti-spasmodic properties.

There are many benefits to making sure you drink a good hot cup of Green Tea at least once a day. Green Tea is famous for being a detoxification health drink and has been used for many centuries by the Chinese as an overall well being treatment for headaches and depression among many other things. Green Tea also lowers cholesterol levels so it makes a great quick and easy health drink if you are trying to reduce your cholesterol intake in your daily diet.

Green tea has bacteria destroying abilities so it can even help prevent things like tooth decay and even food poisoning. There is also recent research showing that drinking 5 cups of Green Tea a day can help you lose weight on a long term basis as part of your diet strategy and healthy eating. Just trying one cup of Green Tea a day however, will be sure to have long term health benefits for you.