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The right diet is crucial to safe and sustainable weight loss. Image Credit: julief514/iStock/GettyImages If you have 55 pounds to lose, you may be concerned about how that extra weight is affecting your health. And in fact, having overweight ups your risk for heart disease, diabetes, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and certain cancers, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Advertisement Losing weight can reduce your risk of these problems, but although you might be tempted to do it quickly, faster is not always better....

High potassium can lead to neurological symptoms, such as tingling of the hands. Image Credit: Purestock/Purestock/Getty Images If your bloodstream has levels of potassium that are higher than normal, you may develop a condition known as hyperkalemia. Most of these cases stem from the kidneys being unable to eliminate excess potassium from the body effectively. You may, however, develop this condition by supplementing the diet with potassium – especially in high doses....

Use phentermine as prescribed by your doctor. Image Credit: Blend Images - Hello Lovely/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images Phentermine, a powerful drug intended to assist in weight loss, should only be used under the supervision of a qualified medical professional. It’s designed to be taken for a short term, just three to six weeks in most cases, as a kick-start for overweight people who’ve committed to losing weight with diet and exercise....

A young boy drinking a large bottle of soda. Image Credit: monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Getty Images Too much soda can rob your body of the potassium it needs to function normally. Potassium plays a crucial role in muscle contraction, including your heart and digestive tract. A lower-than-normal level of potassium is called hypokalemia. A small drop in potassium can be asymptomatic, while a bid drop can be fatal. In most cases, taking potassium supplements as prescribed by your doctor can correct hypokalemia, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center....

Close up of a woman eating a salad Image Credit: shironosov/iStock/Getty Images Medically, a very low calorie diet consists of fewer than 800 calories a day. According to the UCLA Health Center, the body resorts to a state of starvation when it receives fewer than 1,000 calories a day. After four or five days, you are no longer hungry. Since a very low calorie diet, also referred to as a VLCD, stresses body functions and puts you at serious risk of developing complications, you should undertake this kind of weight loss program under the supervision of a nutritionist and physician who also can transition you back to a diet with more calories....

Indian black salt is not purported to have any more health benefits than other types of salt. Image Credit: Tatyana Berkovich/iStock/GettyImages Indian black salt is purported to have health benefits that make it a more viable option than the table salt we use on a daily basis. But are those claims substantiated? And what is it important to know about salt when it comes to our health? Advertisement Tip Indian black salt is not purported to have any more health benefits than other types of salt....

Use it or lose it. Image Credit: Adobe Stock/Fxquadro It’s a familiar scenario: Your exercise routine was humming along smoothly until, suddenly, you got injured. Or sick. Or work demands piled up, leaving little to no space for your regular sweat session. Now that you’re ready to jump back in, you’re probably wondering how long it will take to regain your hard-earned fitness? Advertisement According to Jacque Crockford, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, your journey back to fitness depends on several factors, including what type of exercise you're doing, your history of physical activity, your age and how sedentary you were during your time off....

What Is Bad About Mono- & Diglycerides? Image Credit: d3sign/Moment/GettyImages Foods that haven’t been processed at all don’t last forever — think about fruits, vegetables and proteins such as chicken or eggs. Therefore, food manufacturers typically use monoglycerides and diglycerides to extend a product’s shelf life, though monoglycerides occur naturally in some foods that contain plant or animal fats or oils. These additives serve as emulsifiers, which combine ingredients containing fat with those with water, which naturally repel each other....

When people think of exercises to build or tone their muscles, they most likely consider weight machines or other strength- and resistance-oriented activities. Distance running, however, although undertaken most often as a way to lose weight or build cardiovascular fitness, is an effective way to firm up your leg muscles, especially when you lose fat in the process and thus allow those muscles to show themselves all the more. Advertisement Gluteal Muscles You have three pairs of gluteal muscles — the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus....

Two young girls using hula hoops in a park. Image Credit: Todd Warnock/Photodisc/Getty Images Hula-hooping is a fun way to keep fit, allowing you to target your arms, legs, abdomen and buttocks through a variety of exercises,. It improves flexibility, balance, motor skills, hand-eye coordination and endurance, and a weighted hoop can even provide enough resistance for a strengthening regimen. After a long day in front of a computer, hula-hooping offers a rejuvenating workout that can help you realign your spine....

A woman is pouring sugar into her drink. Image Credit: IPGGutenbergUKLtd/iStock/Getty Images A good night sleep is very important to help you feel energized and allow you to accomplish all of your daily activities. Waking up in the middle of the night can compromise your sleep and prevent you from going to all the different stages of sleep that are required for your body to fully recover from the previous day....

HIIT is a great way to burn calories. Image Credit: microgen/iStock/GettyImages For some, the idea of a rigorous workout routine sounds better than cutting out their favorite foods to lose weight. Workouts can contribute to weight loss; however, the best exercise program for rapid weight loss is one that’s done in tandem with a nutritious, calorie-controlled diet. Advertisement Workouts and Weight Loss If you’re looking for rapid weight loss, workouts are only one half of the equation....

Do not pull on your neck or head when performing sit ups. Image Credit: Samo Trebizan/iStock/Getty Images Increasing your ability to perform situps builds your abdominal strength but requires practice and additional exercise. While situps do not do much to burn fat, strong abdominals improve your posture and help support you during many activities. Heavy squatting and deadlifting require strong abdominals, and the ability to transfer power generated by your legs into punching and some types of jumping demand a strong core....

If you have diabetes, your doctor or dietitian may recommend adding more whole grains to your diet. Image Credit: nensuria/iStock/GettyImages If you have diabetes and you’re looking to transform your diet, your doctor or dietitian may recommend adding more whole grains. The first ones that come to mind — rice, quinoa, oats, wheat and others — are the typical choices. But there’s another one that could be interesting to try: millet....

Grains are the fruits of single-seeded grasses like barley, wheat and rye. Although grain-based foods make up a majority of the American diet, many are made from refined grains like white flour, which are low in nutritional value. Breads, cereal and pasta are among the many food products made from grains but you should choose whole-grain types for at least half of your grain servings. Bread, Rolls and Buns Bread is made from grains like wheat, rye and rice....

Food with vitamin C is great to have if you have H. pylori. Image Credit: fcafotodigital/E+/GettyImages Are you looking for ulcer diet recommendations? Before incorporating new foods into your diet, get tested for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). More than half of all people carry this bacteria that causes peptic ulcers and chronic gastritis. It’s the most common infection worldwide, contributing to many diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Advertisement Tip Fruits, vegetables, honey, tea and probiotic foods, such as yogurt and kefir, may help eradicate H....

references Food and Drug Administration: "CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21" American Heart Association: "How Much Sugar Is Too Much?" 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Food and Drug Administration: "Questions and Answers on the Occurrence of Benzene in Soft Drinks and Other Beverages" Mayo Clinic: "Caffeine Content for Coffee, Tea, Soda, and More" Choose low-sugar drinks sweetened with real fruit and limit those that contain sweeteners. Image Credit: Sanzo/Facebook...

Appealing to the eye and the tastebuds but not to medicine absorption. Drinking orange juice with breakfast is a long-standing American tradition. It has just the right amount of sweetness, lots of vitamin C and helps wash down those morning meds. However, the latest studies report that orange juice, along with grapefruit and apple juice may actually inhibit the absorption of many medications. So, while the goodness of orange juice still nourishes your body, you may have to change the way in which you enjoy it....

A buff man is weight lifting. Image Credit: Thinkstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images Guidelines on protein intake are often given based on a person’s total body weight. A more accurate way to gauge the amount of protein you need, however, might be to base it on your lean mass weight. Lean body mass is everything in your body except fat, including muscle, skin, bones, blood and organs. Along with this, you also need to consider your activity levels and goals when setting protein targets....

references Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: "Blueberry Muffin Battle" National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: "Choline: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals" Journal of the American Medical Association: "Trends in Dietary Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat Intake and Diet Quality Among US Adults, 1999-2016" Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: "Timing Your Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition" Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism: "Beta Glucan: Health Benefits in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome" These muffin tin breakfast recipes are packed with protein and perfect for meal prepping....