Coffee: The Good, the Bad, and the Yummy

People have been drinking coffee in one form or another for hundreds of years. During those hundreds of years there has been debate after debate about whether or not it causes health problems. The simple truth is that there is no simple answer to the question.

Coffee has both pros and cons and these should be taken into consideration. For many people starting the day off without a cup of coffee would not even be an option. Many of these same people will drink multiple cups of coffee throughout the morning and some will continue throughout the day. These are the people who should look at both sides of the coin and then decide how much coffee they should drink.

Good Coffee

As any morning coffee drinker will attest, coffee is an excellent pick-me-up. Practically everyone knows that is true. However, what many people don't realize is that coffee does have other good qualities. Some of those good qualities are actually health boosters, such as:

Research has shown that coffee may help reduce the risk of diabetes, particularly early stage diabetes. Coffee has been shown to reduce blood sugar levels and improve the body's sensitivity to insulin. Some researchers say that 6 cups per day can reduce the risk of diabetes by fifty percent.

Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease both have been shown to be effected by coffee. People who drink coffee on a regular basis have an eighty percent less chance of having these diseases affect their body than non-coffee drinkers.

The risk of colon cancer is reduced by twenty -five percent by drinking just two cups of coffee per day. This may be due in part to coffee aiding in bowel functions. Other health concerns that have been shown to be positively affected by coffee include: cirrhosis of the liver risk decreases by eighty percent and the chance of having gallstones is decreased as well.

Coffee contains many chemicals that are antibacterial and also contains more antioxidants than a cup of grape juice. The antioxidants help to fight infection and the chemicals found in coffee have antibacterial effects.

In addition, coffee has been shown to help prevent dental cavities and to be helpful to asthma patients. The latter is possibly due to the hot beverage opening up the passageways for breathing.

Bad Coffee

All of the good side effects do not mean that there are not some bad side effects. Coffee is addictive. People who drink coffee daily become addicted to the caffeine. The body becomes accustomed to having caffeine and when it does not it reacts in the form of headaches, depression-like moods, and imbalanced blood sugars.

Coffee can also slow the metabolic system down which makes it harder to maintain weight. There are some people who argue that coffee keeps them from eating, while this may be true, it is also true that metabolism slows down which stops weight loss. Bottom of the Cup

The bottom of the cup, so to speak, is that just like anything else, coffee consumption should be in moderation. Coffee doesn't have to be banned but it should be monitored and not over-indulged in.

By Sharon V Chapman

Fresh Tasting & Good Quality… The Modern Day Coffee Machine!

Gone are the days of a weak cup of coffee from an industrial size coffee machine that resembles something akin to the tardis from the T.V show Doctor Who. In today's modernistic world, we want great tasting beverages delivered to us by a compact quality made drinks machine.

No longer do you have to decide between a tepid tea or a cold coffee…Drinks machines now offer a fantastic selection of the tastiest teas, coffees and chocolate drinks that will keep even the most conscientious beverage connoisseur happy.

No matter if you want to use your own fen yung choi herbal Chinese teas…just choose the hot water option and away you go. Most modern drinks machines will stock whatever it is you're craving… and if they don't there's always the pub!

While looking at these machines…I stumbled upon the Flavia drinks machine that guarantees to deliver a fresh tasting drink every-time. And I have to say… It did deliver! I chose a tasty 'hot chocolate' option and wasn't disappointed. Flavia is just one of many drinks machine manufacturers that now rival high street coffee shops both in quality and taste.

Consumers expect more in today's society and manufacturers aim to deliver. Drinks machines are being designed to keep up with today's constantly changing world and have developed both in appearance and in technological advancement.

Most drinks machines are completely customizable, meaning you can fill your machine with healthy herbal teas, chic chocolates or caffeine boosting coffees.

Rest assured that whatever drink you choose to stock, the majority of drinks machine manufacturers are committed to producing products that can be re-used, recycled and are energy efficient.

Now you know what's out there why settle for anything less… demand taste, good quality and above all a machine that doesn't look like it's capable of transporting you back in time. Drinks machines manufacturers are meeting our demand for modern, sleek and well designed machines…if you or your company are looking at investing in one of these marvelous machines, why not arrange a free trial…most manufactures will be happy to oblige!

By Anna Rabe

Cooking Shrimp: The Best Ideas for Selecting, Cleaning and Preparing Shrimp at Home

Cooking shrimp is something I do all year long, but in the summer it feels extra "right" to be preparing and enjoying this little crustacean. Unfortunately, so many of my friends don't enjoy this delicacy as they should because they are not sure what to do with it. There are a few important steps to master in cooking shrimp and then it is a relatively simple ingredient to use in all types of preparations. As you read this article, I'll explain my best tips for choosing shrimp, cleaning shrimp and preparing both frozen and fresh shrimp for excellent summer dishes that everyone will love. From simple suppers at home to easy potluck to impress, shrimp is a great addition to any meal! Best of all - cooking shrimp is fast, which means you won't have to spend all summer in the kitchen!

Cleaning Shrimp

Cleaning shrimp is a necessary evil of enjoying fresh seafood, but don't be afraid! With a proper technique, this process is much simpler than people imagine and is well worth the end result - yum! Here are the simple steps:

1. Hold the shrimp by the tail between your thumb and forefinger, legs up, holding the shrimp in place with the rest of your fingers - this takes a bit of practice so don't get frustrated!
2. Take your paring knife and run down the legs of the shrimp, scraping them off as you go. You could even use a clam knife here because you don't need it to be sharp. Now it should be easy to remove the shell.
3. It's time to take the vein out. Hold the shrimp - vein up - tightly in your hand. With your other hand, make small incision, exposing the body cavity. Now simply pull the vein out.

And there you have it - you have finished cleaning shrimp! And it wasn't that bad, right? So I've got another little idea for you. What about butterflying your shrimp? There are so many reasons to do this. It makes your shrimp look bigger and more impressive. From a practical standpoint, a butterflied shrimp will cook more consistently because it is flatter and relatively the same thickness throughout. This also provides a great vehicle for stuffing shrimp as well. Simply lay the butterflied shrimp on a cookie sheet, fill it with some crab meat stuffing, press the tail over top and bake. To achieve this effect, you Make an incision and run down the length of the shrimp to open 2 halves. Be careful not to cut the shrimp all the way through. Once you've cleaned all your shrimp - don't discard those shells. I freeze them to use later in shrimp stock, shrimp sauce and shrimp butter.

Cooking Fresh Shrimp

Cooking fresh shrimp is a wonderful experience because after cleaning, there are just a few short steps to enjoy a wonderful shrimp creation of your own making. But there are some important things to consider when handling fresh seafood of any kind - especially shrimp. First is in selection. I generally try to buy shrimp with the heads still on. This tells you something important about the shrimp: it's never been frozen. Freezing shrimp with the heads on makes a mess (and not a lot of sense) so anytime you need to start cooking fresh shrimp by removing the heads, you know they're fresh! Next is temperature. Shrimp should always be kept at around 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Most refrigerators are around 40 degrees, which might sound close, but it's not - as far as the shrimp are concerned. Studies have shown that just a 5 degree temperature reduction (from 40 to 35) doubles the shelf life of fish and shellfish. So before cooking fresh shrimp, you will most likely need to store your raw shrimp on self-draining ice in the refrigerator. I place the ice and shrimp in a colander and then into a metal bowl to catch the water as the ice melts. Incidentally, the same is true for refrigerators at the store. Fresh fish should always be stored on ice. Before cooking fresh shrimp, give it a smell. If shrimp does go bad, you'll know it by a strong ammonia odor, which is true of most fish.

Cooking Frozen Shrimp

Cooking frozen shrimp is often necessary when the fresh variety is just not available. Don't worry - it happens to me too! Luckily, frozen shrimp are readily available and can be tasty in dishes as well - as long as you know my tips for selecting, handling and cooking frozen shrimp. For starters - what does all that terminology mean? "I'll take some 15-20 IQF P & D, please." OK - let me translate. IQF is a term to describe the way in which shrimp is frozen. It means individually quick frozen. If your IQF bag of shrimp has ice crystals or the shrimp is frozen together in a clump, don't buy it. This means the bag has defrosted and been re-frozen. This is something that should generally be avoided in purchasing frozen foods. Shrimp are labeled with a number range (15-20) that refers the the number of shrimp that come in a pound. The larger the number, the smaller the shrimp. Medium is around 15-20; Salad shrimp are 96+. As I mentioned above, it is best to clean shrimp when fresh. The exception to this would be on shrimp boats where they have the technology to immediately freeze the shrimp they catch at very low temperatures (quickly). So - frozen shrimp can be purchased cleaned or not cleaned. If they have been cleaned before freezing, they are called P&D - peeled and de-veined. This means you will be cooking frozen shrimp in a matter of minutes - after defrosting, that is. One last thing - always defrost shrimp before cooking frozen shrimp. The best way to do this is in the refrigerator. If you need to defrost more quickly, you can place the shrimp in a bowl under slowly running cold water to defrost.

Cooking shrimp is a skill that enables you to prepare wonderful home-cooked dishes quickly and easily. Shrimp is a versatile ingredient that can be prepared in so many different ways, you are not likely to get bored anytime soon. By understanding and applying these simple techniques, you will soon be cooking shrimp at every meal. Shrimp omelet, anyone?

By Chef Todd Mohr

Fat Burning Foods: The Fastest Way to Lose Weight and Burn Body Fat With No Side Effects!

Introduction
A "fat burning diet" may sound a little bit suspect to some, but Yes - there really are such wonderful things as "Fat burning foods"!

So if you're looking for the fastest way to lose weight or easy ways to burn body fat, all you have to do is add more and more of these Fat burning foods to your daily diet!

How Do Fat Burning Foods Work?
Our bodies require energy to process (digest and utilize) the foods we eat. This energy is called the "thermic effect of food". Now, some foods have higher thermic effect - i.e., they require more energy to be processed. If the the thermic effect of that food is more than the energy acquired from eating that food in the first place, then you have a fat-burning food right there.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that these fat burning foods don't include foods we love indulging in like fast foods, chocolates, french fries, candy bars, ice cream, cakes and pizzas!

But don't worry, you don't have to drastically change your diet into exclusively eating fat burning foods. Just make an effort to keep adding these food groups to your weekly shoping list, and find ways to get them in your daily meals.

The Top 5 Fat Burning Foods That Will Help You Lose Weight Quickly
1. Fresh Vegetables Vegetables are rich in vital nutrients, minerals and fiber. The fiber helps to burn fat, helps in the digestion and elimination processes. The high water and high fiber content in vegetables also makes you feel fuller for longer.

So here's your Action Plan. Get some of these on your next grocery list:
Salad Leaves
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Carrots
Spinach
Kale
Asparagus
Artichokes
Eggplant (or aubergine)
Zucchini (or courgette)
Brussel sprouts
Peppers (have them in different colors!)
Cucumbers
Celery
Herbs like parsley, mint, coriander
Leeks

Lose Weight Quickly With These Fat Burning Tips:

• Keep your meals varied by having a colorful rainbow of vegetables as a side dish in every meal.
• Munch on raw carrot, cucumber and celery sticks and bite into some tomatoes as a healthy snack.
• Choose fresh vegetables over simple carbs like white rice, noodles or pasta.

2. Fresh Fruits
Fruit is the Ultimate Fast Food and the best fat-burning foods around. When it comes to fruit, you can skip the calorie and quantity counting!

Citrus Fruits have high amounts of flavones and levels of vitamin C, which assist fat metabolism.

To get the most benefits, eat fruits that are raw, unprocessed, uncooked and fresh as that is when they have all their nutrients and enzymes intact.

From now on, have these fruits handy whether you're at home or at work:
Strawberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Oranges
Grapefruit
Lemons
Limes
Pineapples
Apples
Pears
Watermelons

Lose Weight Quickly With These Fat Burning Tips:

• From now on, have fruits as snacks as much as possible. Ensure there's at last one serving of fruit in your packed lunch every day.
• Craving for sweets? Swap candy bars or biscuits with sweet fresh fruits!
• Need a break? Instead of trying to boost your energy via a caffeine kick, try having a fresh smoothie of your favorite fruits instead. I challenge you to try this for a week and see what happens.

3. Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are packed-full with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and protein.

Yes, Nuts and seeds are fatty foods, but they're the heart-friendly type of fat. Nuts help burn body fat because they aid in maintaining good levels of fat burning hormones. The Journal of Nutrition found that those who eat nuts regularly have decreased levels of body fat!

Nuts help curb appetite and cravings by keeping you feeling full for longer. Because of their high protein, calcium and fiber, they also help regulate blood sugar levels.

Almonds
Pecans
Cashews
Macadamias
Hazelnuts
Brazil nuts
Peanuts
Pistachios
Seeds - Sunflower, sesame, linseeds

Lose Weight Quickly With These Fat Burning Tips:

• Throw out your butter and substitute with nuts butters instead - cashew and almond butters taste the best.
• Add a small handful of nuts or seeds to your salads and snacks.
• Go for the UNSALTED nuts and seeds when snacking on them!

4. Green Tea
Green tea has always been known as a health drink. Green tea contains caffeine, catechins and polyphenols which actually give your body a metabolic boost and thus aid in fat burning. Catechins are believed to prevent absorption of fat and help stabilize glucose levels in the body.

Lose Weight Quickly With These Fat Burning Tips:

• Replace sodas, coffee, black tea, juice (from concentrate) and "energy drinks" with Green tea instead
• Try Iced green tea and keep some in the fridge for easy access. Sweeten with a natural sweetener and add a lemon or lime slice.

5. Lean Meats and Seafood
Protein have a higher thermic effect so they help you burn more calories. But not all protein sources are created equal. The trick here is to have low fat protein sources like:

• Lean, skinless meat
• Fish - Those rich in Omega-3 fatty acids are ideal, like salmon, herring and mackerel
• Egg whites

Lose Weight Quickly With These Fat Burning Tips:

• Prepare these foods using low fat cooking methods such as grilling, steaming or baking. Avoid frying.
• Fish have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than meat and poultry, plus many types of fishes are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Some studies have shown that Omega 3s may help lower blood fats (triglycerides) and thus help reduce risk of cardiac death.
• steer clear of eating these foods with fattening condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, cheesy sauces, etc.

Conclusion
Not all foods are created equal. Some make you fat by turning into fat and waste, and some foods help you burn fat.

If you want to lose weight fast and easily, then eating fat burning foods is one of your quickest and most efficient natural way to reduce body fat.

The 5 fat burning foods we listed here are fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fish, nuts and seeds, and green tea. There are many more fat burning foods, but remember that there are also other things you must do to burn fat quickly aside from changing your eating habits.

However, it's safe to say that for most people, nutrition is probably the largest single factor that will affect body fat percentage.

If you're really serious about fat burning via nutritional changes, the best resource I've found on this is Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models.

I've read many books about fat loss and Nutrition, but Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle is the simplest but adequately comprehensive. You'll probably not need to read another fat loss book after reading this, as it contains everything you'll ever need to know about fat burning diets, fat burning foods, foods that turn into fat, etc.

You may not have any plans of becoming a bodybuilder or a fitness model, but it doesn't hurt looking like one ;)

For more information, check out our Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle Review here.

By Chloe Bishop

Mastering Food Cravings To Avoid Clinical Depression

Although you are subject to intense food cravings, you must understand that you can make food choices that will significantly reduce or eliminate these cravings before they strike. You must also understand that when you crave a food, you may really be craving certain brain/body chemicals. In other words, your brain-body is so finely tuned that when it needs dopamine, endorphins, glucose, salt, or serotonin, it will guide you to those foods, chemicals, or situations that will provide a boost in those chemicals-even if those foods, chemicals, or situations have long-term negative effects. Your brain sends out a craving signal that it wants you to eat a particular food, and it wants you to eat it now!

To summarize, indulging in long-term food cravings is a method of slow suicide. It is easier to sink into further depression when the there are several chemical imbalances within our brains.

You can prevent these cravings by keeping your brain-body chemicals in check. I want to emphasize, however, that I'm not putting you on a weight-loss diet. This program is a healthy foods diet. When used in conjunction with the other factors in your life, it is possible to help you lose the fat (and pounds) you've gained as a result of your depression or of taking antidepressants. It will help you achieve and maintain the weight and body proportions that keep your body healthy.

You don't have to limit your portion sizes. You don't have to count calories or fat grams. You won't weigh yourself every week. (In fact, I don't even want you to use a scale.) You won't walk away from a meal feeling hungry or deprived. Your body will begin to crave a nutritious, well-balanced diet instead of cookies and crackers.

By Jerry Herman Jansen

Healthy Food Choices

Eating healthy is something we all would like to do, although it can be hard. In order to eat healthy, you must first make the right food choices. Eating healthy is all about what you eat, which makes the choices very crucial to your results.

Grains You should consume 6 ounces of grains per day. To do this, you can eat 3 ounces of whole grain cereals, breads, rice, crackers, or pasta. You can get an ounce of grains in a single slice of bread, or 1 cut of cereal.

Vegetables These should be varied, as you should eat 2 1/2 cups of them each day. You should start eating more of the dark vegetables, such as broccili and spinach. Carrots and sweet potatoes are good as well. You should also eat more dry beans such as peas, pinto beans, and even kidney beans.

Fruits Fruits are very important. You should try to eat 2 cups of them each day. Focus on eating a variety, such as fresh, frozen, canned, or even dried fruit. You can drink fruit juices as well, although you should use moderation when doing so.

Milk Milk is your calcium rich friend. For adults, 3 cups is the ideal goal. For kids 2 - 8, 2 cups is where you want to be. When choosing milk products or yogurt, you should go for fat-free or low-fat. Those of you who don't like milk or can't have it, should go for lactose free products or other sources of calcium such as fortified foods and beverages.

Meat and beans Eating 5 ounces a day is the ideal goal, as you should go lean with your protein. When eating meat, always bake it, grill it, or broil it, as this will prevent grease from adding to the equation. You should vary your protein as well, with more fish, beans, peas, and nuts.

When cooking your food, you should also limit solid fats such as butter, margarine, shortening, and lard. These foods may add flavor to your dishes, although they can also help raise your cholesterol as well. Therefore, you should try to add these foods and any foods that happen to contain them.

To help keep your saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium low, you can check the nutrition facts label. This label can be found on the food package and will tell you all the information you need to know about the food item.

By picking your foods wisely and watching what you eat, you'll help control your lifestyle. Exercise is great as well, as it goes along perfect with a healthy eating lifestyle. No matter what your age may be, eating healthy will help you keep your active lifestyle for years and years - even help you and your health in the long run as well.

By Mike Handy

Good Foods For Healthy Teeth

People often rush to the dentist when their dental problems become serious and difficult to endure. This situation is created because people neglect the health and hygiene of their teeth. Very few people take proper tooth care measures like use good toothbrushes, tooth pastes, visit the dentist regularly and so on. Also, there is little or no care taken with respect to the diet that they follow adding to the teeth woes. A healthy and balanced diet can make a significant contribution in enhancing the health and condition of the teeth.

Watch Out:

Following a healthy diet can make tooth care very easy and effective. Individuals only need to follow certain guidelines about which foodstuffs they must avoid and which they must rely on so as to have healthy teeth. Individuals must avoid foodstuffs like sweets, soda drinks and caffeine containing beverages like tea and coffee and such other foodstuffs. These foodstuffs lead to acid formation inside the mouth that have an adverse effect on the teeth enamel and lead to formation of painful cavities. Hence individuals must keep a watchful eye on the foodstuffs that they consume and keep the quantity of the above-mentioned foodstuffs to the minimum.

Healthy Food:

Individuals are advised to follow a healthy and balanced diet not only for proper teeth health but also for the overall health of the body. All dental experts advise on the ample consumption of milk and milk products in order to ensure good health of the teeth. Products like milk, cheese, butter, buttermilk and yogurt are rich in calcium content and are very beneficial for the teeth. Apart from these, individuals must also include a large amount of fresh vegetables and fruits in their daily diet. Products like apple, carrot, beetroot and radish are especially beneficial for the teeth. They act as scrubbers for the teeth and help to remove any plaque and make the teeth strong and healthy. Experts also advise an intake of foodstuffs like eggs, fish, cereals, meat and leafy vegetables to make the teeth clean, strong and healthy. All foodstuffs that are rich in calcium are beneficial for the teeth and can be safely consumed.

Consuming these foodstuffs can minimize the risk of tooth ache or dental disorders to almost 50%. With this, individuals can be rest assured that they would not face too many teeth problems.

By Kirsty Turner