The flat abs diet has six core principles that will help you to lose belly fat and have a sleeker body all around. Even if you cant get rid of your gut through endless crunches, you should see success with this flat abs diet. That is because new research has show that what you eat may be just as important as how much you exercise.

The first important step is to eat more fiber. You should eat at least 25 grams of fiber a day. The reason is that bulk fiber is like a sponge which, when combined with water, moves the fat through your body more quickly.

The best high fiber foods are fruits and vegetables. In addition to having a lot of fiber naturally, fruits and vegetables are very low in calories. Whole grains are preferable to processed flours for the same reason.

Part of what makes natural food so good for you is the chew factor. It takes longer to eat these foods, so your brain has time to get the signals that your stomach is sending that it is full. Researchers have found that eating high fiber plant food with any meal reduces the average amount of calories by 100.

The next step is to opt for a sensible amount of high quality carbs. The flat abs diet does not require that you dramatically limit your carbohydrates the way the Adkins or South Beach plans do. However, if you want to lose your belly fat, you will have to control your carb intake.

Again, fruits and vegetables provide the highest quality carbs available. They are the foods least likely to promote bloat. Because they are composed of a lot of water, they have fewer calories and carbs for their volume.

You should have no more than 65 percent of your diet in carbs. That means that on an 1800 calorie diet, you will have between 200 and 300 grams of carbs. On the Adkins diet, you can have no more than 35 grams of carbs, so as you can see the flat abs diet is more generous.

Next, you want to drink lots of water at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day.

Many people think that drinking water will make them bloat when the opposite is actually true. Water washes away the sodium in the body and thus reduces bloat.

If you are having trouble consuming that much water, try these variations:

Drink 2 glasses of lukewarm water twice a day. It is easier to consume lots of water in a single setting if it is not ice cold.
If you like cold water, freeze fruit or small pieces of fruit and float it in your water. It will keep the water cold and add a nice flavor to it.
Use small amounts of fruit juice or other extracts such as mint to flavor the water.

Along those lines, tip number 4 on the flat abs diet is to avoid sodium wherever possible. A woman needs 500 mg. of sodium to keep her body functioning regularly but the average American woman gets between 3000 and 6000 mg. daily. If you eat a typical meal at a Chinese restaurant, you will get about 3000 mg. of sodium. The body responds to this sodium intake by retaining water. The next day, you will see the result on the scale and in the mirror. Its not that the Chinese food added too many calories its that it has so much sodium.

The next bit of advice is to not eat too much at night. When you put food in your body less than three hours before going to sleep, it causes you to bloat. Plan to shut down the kitchen after a light to moderate dinner. If you must eat, consider limiting it to a snack of 100 calories or less. A cup of tea can often satisfy your need for food after dinner.

Finally, the last bit of advice on our flat abs diet has nothing to do with food at all. Instead, you will want to work on reducing stress.

Stress triggers the hormone cortisol which turns up your appetite and directs your body to deposit fat around your abdomen. One way to eliminate stress (and lose weight) is to exercise. You should also practice ways of relaxing when you get into a stressful situation.

So, there you have it. When exercise alone isnt working to remove your belly fat, try the flat abs diet.

Ultra Pure Drinking Water -Is it healthy ?
Pauline Robinson

Over the past decade, the popularity of bottled water has increased substantially in North America(1). Sales of bottled waters have increased by 400%, and 1 in 5 households now use bottled drinking water (2). Annual per capita consumption has risen from less than 8 gallons in 1991 (1,2) to 12.7 gallons in 1997 (Arthur von Wiesenberger, personal communication). Since bottled water is beginning to assume a prominent place in the North American diet, its health effects require evaluation.
It is more important to remove any harmful pollutants from your water than to save beneficial minerals in it.

Drinking water produced by distillation alone is not free of all potential pollutants, regardless of the brand of distiller; drinking water produced by the combination of any distiller plus an adequate filter will insure the purest drinking water but without minerals. Also because of the lack of minerals the pH of this water will drop and become more acidic on standing.

Ultra Pure water produced by Reverse osmosis sytems that have a UV light added are good and have a few electrolites in it. The pH will drop as this water has no buffering capacity also.

The drinking water most conducive to good health is that which contains a moderate to high mineral content.

The acidic Distilled water and Ultra Pure Reverse Osmosis can leach pollutants from its containers, so the choice of storage containers is important. Glass is best and seamless stainless steel and inert plastics are next best. Don’t store distilled or ultra pure reverse osmosis water in soft plastic bottles.

When your water has a pH below 6.5 it is considered acidic. When this occurs, water can actually start to eat away at pipes and stain silverware, imagine what happens elsewhere. Since this is happening, you will need to neutralize your water.

Where distilled water or reverse osmosis water is the drinking water of choice, the consumer should pay attention to insuring a plentiful source of minerals from food and/or supplements.

With the CRL-pH+ remineralization filter developed at HealthSmart Nutrition placed after the RO system or distiller this problem with the pH drop is lessened. The water is adjusted to a mild alkaline pH for a smoother taste and a healthier water.

About the Author

Pauline Robinson is the Health Consultant
for HealthSmart Nutrition http://www.air-water-nutrition-healthsmart.com
to learn more about why minerals are so necessary http://www.air-water-nutrition-healthsmart.com/coral-cal-min/why_minerals.htm
more information about the CRL-pH+ filter see http://www.air-water-nutrition-healthsmart.com/mineral-filter.htm

You need all the help you can get to shed all those extra pounds, right? Have you heard about water help to loss weight? Some people believe it can, so let’s take a look at this theory to see if it holds any merit.

Weight loss is all about consuming fewer calories each day than what you burn up. This sounds simple enough doesn’t it? So where does water come into play?

Water contains zero calories so you can literally drink as much water as you like without putting on weight. However, you should realize you can drink more water than is good for you. If you should happen to have a water retention problem; it is best to check with your Doctor before going overboard with your water drinking.

But in contrast to any other beverage, you do not need to think twice before drinking water. In fact it should become a regular part of your day as drinking lots of water assists in overall health and well being too.

Water flushes out your system and is simply the best liquid you can drink. If you are trying to lose weight, then ultimately you should totally eliminate any sugar based drinks from your diet. A good example of these types of drinks would be carbonated soft drinks.

These drinks contain nothing of substance and are full of artificial ingredients, not to mention sugar and calories. If you drink two cans of soda per day, it could be just those extra calories that are causing your weight gain. So substituting these with water can eliminate the cause of your weight gain. How simple is that!

Some people dont like the taste of water. Water lovers cant understand this, but its a fact. In all likelihood, people who say they don’t like water probably have only tried plain unfiltered tap water. Tap water also tastes different depending on where you live and even on a house by house basis. If youre a person who dislikes the taste of water based on what comes out of your tap, then try buying spring water.

The taste of spring water even differs by brand, so keep trying them all until you find one you like. Spring water, in some cases, is more pure than tap water and doesn’t contain any harmful bacteria. Some of the best quality spring water tastes absolutely delicious, so make sure you find one to your liking.

Back to water help to loss weight; keep in mind that water is never a substitute for food, but it should simply complement your healthy diet. Instead of a soda or sugar fruit juice at dinner, have a glass or two of water. It is also recommended to start the day off with a refreshing glass of water as it gets your brain active.

Drinking water throughout the day also enhances brain function and keeps you alert. You may start noticing that if you don’t drink water, for most of the day, you’ll suffer from headaches and tiredness.

Water is a wondrous natural substance that all humans need. Water help to loss weight may be the best help you can get, when you are shedding all those extra pounds.