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mmCollagenProSeptember 18, 20197min210

What is Collagen

You will have no doubt heard about and seen the popularity and coverage of collagen grow over the past decade; collagen on the television in advertisements and on the news and the wondrous creams and serums available containing this new mysterious ingredient.

Do we actually know what collagen is? Is it a scientific discovery that has enabled us to turn back time? Scientific? Certainly not; Collagen has been around for millions of years and has been with you your entire life!

The Standard Definition

The word “collagen” comes from the Greek “cola” (Glue) and “genno” (Build), essentially translating into the building blocks of our skin. Hearing the word collagen, we automatically think wrinkles and more often than not, injections. Collagen acts as a protein-based barrier that protects our skin from unwanted lines & wrinkles and is also a protein which comes in numerous different forms, each type is a protein structure making up connective tissue, which connects, binds and shapes organs within our body.

Collagen also acts as a supporter, protector and mediator for the nourishment of cells, and at the same time renews and regenerates properties within the body. Moreover, collagen is responsible for among other things for the proper moisture and condition of the skin.

 Facts about Collagen

Even more facts ….

  • Collagen is the main structural protein found in animal connective tissue
  • The quality of collagen within the body directly effects the bodies health and appearance
  • Women who go through menopause can lose up to 30% of their collagen within 12 months

 Collagen Exchange

Collagen can be found throughout the body and it is exchanged / renewed in the same way blood is renewed. Below is a list of the areas collagen is found and their respective renewal timeframes.

Area Renewal Time
Liver Monthly
Epidermis (Skin) 130 – 140 Days
Bones & Joints 12 Months
Nervous System 12 Months
Eyes 77 Days
Blood Cells 3 Months

 Collagen and the Ageing Process

From the age of 25 human skin slowly begins to lose its elasticity and firmness, muscles begin to lose strength, and bones lose calcium. All of these symptoms of human aging are the result of progressive deficit of soluble collagen, whose biosynthesis grows weaker with age.

The rotation of collagen within the body still takes place as we age however the older we get the more the degradation process begins to outweigh the synthesis, especially the synthesis of soluble collagen. You start to get sick more often, you look and feel tired, our eye sight isn’t as strong as it once was, this is the ageing process.

After thirty years of age, in virtually every human being we see a disappearance of the sebaceous glands and sweat glands, and progressive drying and thinning of the skin and wrinkles appear.

This happens as a result of weakening of elastin and collagen fibers, which are the most important components of connective tissue stroma. Free radicals, toxins, and an enzymes destroy the protein fibers, and the levels of micronutrients and vitamins in the body decreases which stimulate natural production of collagen by fibroblasts, and chondrocytes.

What Can Be Done? Let’s get one thing straight – ageing is part of life and no product or procedure (regardless of claims) can turn back time, the cosmic clock is always ticking however the phrase beauty is only skin deep is not necessarily true. Now that we know collagen’s effect on our whole body inside and out we can take steps to improve our natural collagen production. Read more via the links below to find out about the products here at Collagen Pro and why natural collagen works with your body to boost your natural collagen production.


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mmCollagenProSeptember 13, 20197min60

Kids Fitness Can Be Improved

One of the concerns in our county today is the decline in kid fitness games. This trend was noticed a few years ago and it seems to be a continuing problem. We don’t need to look too far or too hard to see reasons why this problem is so prevalent.

One reason Kid Fitness is on the decline is because of the food they eat. Consider the following food choices that many children prefer.

·  Soda

Years ago most parents wouldn’t even consider serving soda to their child with a any meal at the dinner table. Ask a group of youngsters if they drink soda with their meals at home and many will tell you yes. Fast food chains offer package dinners with soda being part of the package. Sadly, many schools have soda machines and sometimes justify it by having milk available too. Which do you think most children choose? Kid fitness going down.

·  Fast Food

Fast food chains offer a huge selection of fried foods that have a great appeal to the taste buds of children. Hamburgers,french fries,fried chicken and pizza just to name a few. Some parents will argue that pizza is a healthy food. It probably can be but not after some restaurants load the crust with extra cheese along with a hugh pile on top for the cheese lovers.

·  Snack Foods

Are there many homes in this country that don’t have a bag or two chips on hand at all times? When parents shop they are not thinking about kid fitness, they are trying to supply what their kids want. Along with the chips there are sweets galore that most children would prefer any day to an orange or apple

Kids Today ARE Not As Active

Years ago on a winter day you would see scores of children outside playing in a freshly fallen snow. Today you may see a few kids playing in the snow but you won’t see the large numbers of years ago. Kids have so many choices of tv shows, videos, and computer games today, many of them spend their free time absorbed in these things rather than vigorous out door activities. How many calories will a child burn by playing computer games all day? It’s easy to see why there is such a decline in kid fitness.

Poor Kid Fitness Can Be Turned Around

One of the best ways to get your child on the road to fitness is by becoming an example for them to emulate. This means you can modify the families eating habits and become more active as a family. If you are working out with a home gym or exercise bike, it sends a powerful message to your children. You can start a program that gets the whole family exercising together.

Activities For The Whole Family To Achieve Fitness

·  Roller blading– A great family activity

·  Snow Shoeing– You can’t beat it.

·  Hiking– Hey, it’s even free!

·  Biking Afraid of the traffic? Try mountain biking.

·  Jogging Too much for you? Try speed walking.

It’s time to become an activist by turning things around in your own family. Encourage your children to eat more of the healthier foods and to become more active by following your example! Kid fitness in our country is about to improve! (Who said it was ordained that all cubboards will have bags of chips, and all refrigerators will have cases of soda?)

Ready to Examine Your Exercise Options?

There are some great companies who can help you see what is on the market in home fitness equipment. They also carry a supply of out door products that are designed for the whole family.

Deals On Fitness Equipment

It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to acquire fitness equipment for the whole family. Check out these sales. You will be amazed at the variety and quality of fitness equipment that is sold right in your community on any given weekend.


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mmCollagenProNovember 23, 20184min70

Gain better control of your thoughts while resting, relaxing, and eliminating anxiety completely with Quiet Mind – all without risking your health or wellness with some chemical cocktail filled with side effects!

To say that we live in the middle of one of the most fast-paced and constantly changing environments in human history would be the understatement of the century.

Technology has revolutionized our lives in ways most of us couldn’t have ever expected or anticipated before, and every day some new advancement changes the rules of the game all over again. Combine that with the ability to instantly communicate with billions of people all over the world through the power of the internet, as well as the competitiveness of the modern business environment, and it’s easy to see why so many people have trouble “shutting off” their brains and relaxing at the end of the day.

Sadly, this inevitably results in most people popping a pill and trying to block out the stimuli that are overloading their cognitive abilities. Plenty of negative side effects are the long-term payment for this short-term fix, and wouldn’t it be nice if there is a way to get the same results without having to jeopardize your well-being?

That’s where Quiet Mind comes into play.

Providing for almost immediate relief, the 100% all-natural formula that acts as the backbone of Quiet Mind guarantees that you’re able to enjoy a more relaxed mental mood, are able to immediately quiet mental chatter, and can achieve the kind of Zen -like calmness you’ve been looking for – without any negative side effects – and it is nothing short of spectacular.

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With this specialty formula, you’re never again going to have to feel alone when you are dealing with racing thoughts, “monkey mind”, panic attacks, and general nervousness. Your anxiety will begin to melt away shortly after you begin taking advantage of Quiet Mind supplements, and on top of that you’ll enjoy a much higher quality of sleep every night as well.

A minimally processed specialty formulation with absolutely ZERO artificial ingredients, artificial flavors, artificial fillers, or dangerous chemicals mixed in, the Quiet Mind formula is as close to perfect health supplements as you’re going to find on the market today.

Produced 100% in the United States, in factories that are regularly inspected for safety and consistency, you’ll be able to trust the Quiet Mind formula to help you achieve the state of mindfulness and relaxation you’re after without ever compromising your long-term health.


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mmCollagenProNovember 23, 20184min60

With Cebria Nootropic Supplement you can fight back against Father Time and age related memory loss while dramatically boosting your short-term memory and cognitive abilities – all without any negative side effects!

One of the most powerful and all-natural nootropic products on the market today, the Cebria Nootropic Supplement formulation works to triggering a cascade release of biochemicals in your body – particularly in your brain – that feed, fuel, and support your cognitive abilities, your memory, and your ability to think clearly.

As we age, our body naturally begins to break down over time. And while we show signs of wear and tear externally, and wake up feeling a little bit “creaky” with each passing year, the biggest slips usually occur when it comes to our ability to think clearly, to remember, and to process complex information.

This is because of the number of neuron connections that begin to degrade and disappear in our brains, connections that begin to dissolve over time simply because our body is beginning to degrade.

You start to notice a slip in your short and long-term memory, an inability to recall and retain information, and challenges in learning new skills that wouldn’t have been difficult even just a few short years ago.

Thankfully though, with the power of these Cebria Nootropic Supplements, you’re going to be able to immediately reverse this trend while at the same time preparing your body to fight back against Father Time and the natural degradation of our minds.

Using clinically proven and all-natural ingredients in a specialty formula that has been crafted over a 25 year block of time, these Cebria Nootropic Supplements are beginning to dominate the market – and for good reason.

Produced by a legendary European pharmaceutical company, just a few short weeks after you begin to supplement with these nootropics you are going to notice:

  • A short-term memory that has been dramatically improved.
  • No more brain fogginess or difficulty processing complex information
  • A big boost to your ability to retain and recall new information
  • Superior mental sharpness and clarity, even with little sleep

… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

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Best of all, you are going to be able to enjoy all of these benefits without ever having to worry about negative side effects crippling your health and well-being of the way traditional pharmaceutical drugs and chemical cocktails would have.

That’s because the Cebria Nootropic Supplement formula is made up entirely of a unique blend of natural B vitamins, folic acids, and a handful of other all-natural ingredients that will never put your wellness in jeopardy. It doesn’t get much better than that!


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mmCollagenProNovember 15, 20186min121

When you want to create a meditation or self hypnosis, what are all the important elements you need in your meditation?

Firstly, the state of mind you want for that meditation, by creating a relaxing induction, perhaps through using some form of progressive relaxation laying down the foundations for your meditation. The next important factor is to ensure the environment you create for your meditation feels right to you. It may be a lovely meditation climbing up a mountain, but if you happen to be phobic of heights you not going to respond or resonate with points you want to put across. When creating your internal reality, just think about how we receive information through our senses. Therefore we need to stimulate as many senses as possible in order to make the meditation an alternate reality.

Lets begin. To identify a place or situation that will bring about the feelings we are looking for, the easiest way to do that is to cast your mind back over all your experiences and single out a time or place that you experienced those emotions. You may have enjoyed a halter-skelter ride and it probably gave you an adrenaline rush, but it is probably not a place of peace to work from, unless you are creating a very sophisticated multilevel meditation. For most people something in nature is a good place to start, perhaps a beach, garden, fields or by stream. These can all be non contentious venues, to site your meditation. The next thing to consider, having chosen your venue how can you increase those feelings of safety and security. Hear are some examples, have a wall running around your garden, the wall creates a boundary making the garden feel safer, or the beach can be enclosed within a bay, this again creates your safe boundary; get the idea?

Now you need to add some colour to your palate, but not too much, as you want to give enough leeway for your unconscious to fill in some gaps. “ It might be a formal garden with paths set out in the grid with beautifully kept beds between the paths and hedgerows shaped and pruned, or it might be an natural garden with wildflowers trees and bushes”. So what you’re doing is giving choices. If it’s for yourself, then it is a choice that you don’t need, because you know what you like, but if you’re not sure who will be listening to your meditation then your allow the listener to choose

Now to breath life into your inner world, bring in as many senses as possible, because after all, in our day-to-day life we receive information through, sound, touch, smell and of course taste. Let’s go through these one at a time starting with sound, You might add in. “And you can hear the birds singing there chorus in the background; Can hear the lapping water on the seashore; the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze”. Now let’s look at touch. “You can feel slight breeze on your face; feel the warm sand beneath your feet; as you bend down the grass feels like velvet beneath your hand”. The next sense of smell. “You can smell the salty scent coming from the sea; there is wonderful smell of pine emanating from the trees”. Taste is probably the hardest sense to bring into any meditation because so often we are not necessarily eating anything, but let’s have a go. “As you kneel down by the water’s edge you could almost taste how fresh and cool the water is”.

You now have a beginning and a middle but you need to connect to them something like “ you find yourself walking along a path, the path leads you to…..”

Ok you have got them to their safe place, this where the real work starts. What are you going to do in this space you have created? In other words, what is the point of the exercise? They’re now relaxed and receptive, as a first step you might try some ego strengthening, perhaps a few affirmations. A word of caution, don’t try to do too much in one bite. It’s always better to reinforce just a few easy concepts at a time, you can always go back and add more.

Of course, it’s important that however you’ve gone to your beach, garden or mountain top, that you retrace the steps on your way back. Remembering the place that you’ve created is only there as background; like setting the stage in a theater for the actors and actresses to tell their story.


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mmAnn KaknonNovember 14, 20185min40

Pregnancy is one of the happiest and confusing times of a woman’s life. It’s exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. For women who love to workout, it can also bring questions and doubts about how to exercise during the pregnancy. You can still exercise while you’re pregnant. In fact, as long as your doctor approves, exercising on a treadmill can benefit both you and your baby.

 

What Intensity Should I Stick to While Pregnant?

Working out while you’re pregnant will look a bit different from your regular exercise routine. You’ll need to know your limits and take care not to over-exert yourself. Stick to a moderate workout routine. If you’re used to a more intense routine, and you are incredibly fit, you can probably do a bit more than someone who has an average activity level. This may not mean that you can keep up your whole routine. You’ll still need to limit yourself. Your doctor or health-care professional will be able to give you personalized advice on what your limit is, and what intensity to set your treadmill.

 

How Often Should I Workout?

If you haven’t had an intense exercise routine before, now is not the time to start one. Instead, exercise three times per week, for around 30 minutes on your treadmill. Make sure that you have a rest day in between your workouts. You need to let your body rest, relax, and recover. You should also make sure that you have a five minute warm up before you exercise, and a five minute cool down after. You should do this even when you aren’t pregnant, but it’s more important if you are. It can help reduce your risk of injury when you’re working out.

 

Precautions to Take While on The Treadmill

walking on a treadmill during pregnancy is safe

While walking on a treadmill during pregnancy is safe, but there are a few things you should remember. Firstly, while you shouldn’t lean on the side rails, or use them to support your weight, you can and should hold onto the rail if you feel unbalanced. Holding onto the rails could stop you from losing your balance, and prevent any injuries, or complications for you and your baby.

You should also remember to make sure the treadmill is at a complete stop when you’re getting on or off. Once you’re on, you can slowly start to increase the speed. When you’re finished with your workout, you need to make sure that you slowly decrease the speed, and then stop the treadmill completely before you get off.

If you feel light-headed, dizzy, or weak, you need to stop working out immediately. You might have overexerted yourself, your blood sugars might be low, or your body might be dehydrated. You should take a few days to rest before you try exercising again. If you feel apprehensive, you should contact your doctor and ask for advice.

 

Your body will go through a lot of changes during pregnancy, and you need to make sure that you are as healthy as possible. This can include routine exercise, or it can mean taking a break from your usual exercise regime. You should listen to your body, make sure you stick within your limits and keep in contact with your doctor if you have any concerns.


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mmCollagenProAugust 7, 20184min91

Though taking multivitamins is a great step forward in the fight for health, if your diet lacks in some key areas, you may still be missing nutrients your heart needs to maintain optimum health. By creating a heart healthy dietary supplements plan, combined with proper diet and exercise, you will effectively lower the threat of high blood pressure, heart disease and heart attack.

 Fish Oil (Omega 3)

Recent studies have shows omega-3 fatty acids to be essential to heart health. In addition to preventing strokes and atherosclerosis, they have also proved an essential ally against heart attacks. Omega-3 fatty acids are most commonly found in fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna. If you’re not much of a fish fan, or don’t get quite as much of it in your diet as you’d like, flax seed or fish oil supplements are a wonderful means to even the playing field. When using fish oil supplements, it’s important to keep an eye on the expiration date… as these products can go bad over time. The bottle should also provide you with dosage directions – Though many people do well with 3,000 milligrams per day. If you have doubts, there’s never any harm in consulting your general physician.

Hawthorn

Supplements taken from hawthorn have been long used as a means of regulating blood pressure and heart beat, while working to address chest pain. Studies show that regular use of hawthorn supplements is effective in relaxing blood vessels and improving blood flow to the heart. These benefits are due to the plant’s natural antioxidants, which can also be found in grapes. Hawthorn is also commonly used for treatment of individual who have experienced congestive heart failure. Supplements can be purchased in capsules, with a recommended dose of 160 – 900mg daily. And once again… it never hurts to consult your physician prior to use.

Grape-Seed Extract

As we mentioned above, the same antioxidants found in hawthorn to improve blood flow and relax blood vessels are also found in grapes. Called procyanidins, these antioxidants are believed by many to be the reason why enjoying a glass or red wine is beneficial in the fight against heart disease.  As such, many people have turned to grape-seed extract in an effort to regulate lower blood pressure. These supplements can also be purchased in capsules, and the recommended dosage lies between 200 – 300mg daily to ensure the best results.

If you’re searching for healthy and affordable dietary supplements, CollagenPro.com is the site for you! With a full inventory of quality products to choose from, you can count on Slimside’s competitive prices, superior selection, and commitment to excellence to have you smiling and feeling great in no time. Stop by our online store today!


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mmCollagenProAugust 6, 20185min91

There are hundreds of diets out there just waiting for the next person to come along and try them.  Some are free and some of them, such as weight watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. cost continuing fees.  I have tried many of them in my quest to lose weight and found that most of them work if you follow the meal plan explicitly and complete the required exercise portion of the program.  The exercise portion is usually where we fall off the wagon.

I started gaining weight about ten years ago when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and started on a regiment of pills.  Of course, the main side effect of all of these pills was weight gain.  I remember talking to my doctor after gaining eighty pounds and him telling me that if I would lose the weight, I would probably not need the pills.  My obvious response was that if I stopped taking the pills, I would lose the weight.  The problem with that theory is that we lose the wrong kind of weight if we stop taking the pills.

I recently came across a diet that I had not heard of and decided to give it a try, not actually believing the claims that were made. It was presented to me as a high protein diet that consisted of eating some very consistent food choices along with the exercise portion which was only a 30 minute walk every day.  I felt I could handle the walk and decided to give the meal plan week to produce results.  I was told that I would lose 10-15 pounds per week if I followed this exactly as written.

The main downfall of this diet is the lack of variety but what can a week hurt.  The meal plan consist of the following:

 

Breakfast

3 egg whites cooked to desire (I made an omelet)

1 package of plain Oatmeal or ½ cup dry whole grain cereal (think cheerios)

1 cup green veggies

Mid Morning Snack

1 can tuna

1 cup green veggies

¼ cup raw almonds

Lunch

4oz chicken or fish (unbreaded and not fried)

1 sweet potato (baked in microwave with only spray butter)

2 cups green veggies

Afternoon Snack

Celery

2 oz natural peanut butter (ingredients: roasted peanuts & salt only)

1 cup green veggies

Dinner

Salad of spinach leaves and leafy green lettuce (no Iceberg or Romaine)

4oz chicken or fish (unbreaded and not fried)

Salad dressing made of 1 tablespoon Flax Oil and 1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1 cup veggies.

 

The results of this high protein diet after one week?  Well, not as good as promised but then I missed the walking for two days and added one slice of fat free cheese to my omelet.  Even with that I dropped seven pounds in one week.  Perhaps more important, before I started I was taking in 100 units of insulin per day and my blood sugar still ran in the 300-450 range most of the time.  After 4 days, my sugar level was down in the 101-117 range and I had to stop wearing my insulin pump and did not require any insulin shots.  The lack of insulin has led me to have more energy than ever and the seven pounds were a plus.  I would recommend this diet to anyone who can handle the lack of variety in their diet and anyone who has blood sugar problems.


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mmCollagenProAugust 5, 20185min30

Children are especially susceptible to the effects of refined sugars. The goal of any responsible parent is to slowly start decreasing the refined sugars in your child’s diet and replace them with nutritional sources of carbohydrates with slower releasing sugars.

Here are some practical tips around today’s topic on sugar that can have dramatic effects, both on a physical and mental level, on your child.

  1. Never skip breakfast. It is not an old wives tale that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After a period of fasting during sleep, the body needs to replenish vital glucose stocks. Breakfast is the meal that will stand as the nutritional foundation for the rest of the day. Build a poor foundation and don’t be surprised if the walls come down.
  2. Eat a nutritional breakfast. Throw out the white bread and the sweetened cereals and don’t buy into the marketing hype about corn flakes or sugar coated pops (with added vitamins) being a good start to the day. This is rubbish as we will see a little later in an example case study. We will look a little later at glycaemic load of foods and what foods to avoid. For now feed your child some fresh fruit followed by any combination of the following: rolled oats porridge, fish, lightly poached or scrambled eggs (not fried!) and brown or wholewheat bread or toast.
  3. Slowly replace refined sugars with better sugars. Fructose is an ideal sugar replacement and is available in most pharmacies and health shops. Fructose is a more complex molecule than glucose and although it will eventually be broken down into glucose, it will do so slowly creating a better more sustained release. Fructose, in my humble opinion, is also a far nicer sweetener than sugar. Also try and stay away from other high release sugars such as honey and syrup.
  4. Lunch time and Fruit. Limit access to rubbish foods. If your child is at school and does not have the money to buy chocolates and fizzy drinks but rather has a nutritional and delicious packed lunch then that is far better. Rather than giving a jam sandwich offer a whole-wheat one with peanut butter (preferably unsweetened). Give your child fresh fruit and/or vegetables at every meal. A tip here is buying your fruit on the weekend, chop it up, add a little orange juice to preserve it and put it in the fridge. This will act as a very good and convenient source of fruit for your children and takes the preparation time hassle out of supplying the fruit.
  5. Avoid artificial or sweetened drinks. Children very often prefer plain water by choice however if they are hankering for juice then provide pure 100% fruit juice half diluted with water (should be as little preservative as possible – if the expiry date says good until 2010 then it’s a no no).
  6. Watch for signs of glucose imbalance. Children, especially active children do not have the reserves that adults do and as such they are often prone to nutritional dips throughout the day. If your child starts to play up and get irritable an hour or two before meals then top them up with some fruit or a slice of delicious seed bread and natural butter. Very often the bodies’ desire for glucose will leave the child asking for juice or sweets and that is a warning sign.
  7. Top them up after sports. This ties in nicely with point 6, when picking your child up from sports, take a banana or sandwich along – this will help top up the reserves of glucose used up from the muscle and liver reserves and prevent a glucose imbalance related problem.