Professional athletes like to consume whey protein shakes to aid muscle growth and recovery. They do so because they engage in intensive training. And they need high quality protein to help them cope and perform better.

But that’s for professional athletes. What about the average Joe? Can the man in the street consume high quality protein? Whey is a very pure form of protein that is extracted from milk. For most people, drinking such pure protein on a daily basis can be overkill. Most people don’t workout as intensely as professional athletes. In fact, many don’t even exercise regularly. Does that mean that they can’t benefit from pure protein products?

Well, about a decade ago, the FDA has concluded that soy protein is good for health. Consuming soy protein on a regular basis can help lower the risk of heart diseases. Sources of soy protein can come from various products such as soy protein powder (Genisoy protein is a popular choice), snacks or cereals.

Soy protein is extracted from the commonly seen soybeans. There are many products that are produced from this wonderful bean. Beancurd, protein bars, breakfast cereals, etc. As soy is a plant protein, such foods usually contain a very low amount of fat. That means you can eat a lot of soy based foods and still maintain a healthy weight. The protein will assist in boosting metabolism as it aids in muscle growth. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be. That in turn helps to burn more fat – even while you are at rest.

So how much soy protein should you be consuming each day? A serving can contain 20 to 40 grams of protein. Be sure to check out the actual amount of protein from the nutritional labels. For most people, just one serving a day is enough. Eat a serving for breakfast. And if you work out during the day, try to take another serving before you head off to bed.

When taking soy protein on a daily basis, be sure to stock up on different flavors. You don’t want to be drinking chocolate soy protein shakes everyday (unless you REALLY love chocolate). To change things up, you may wish to add the soy powder to your daily dishes. Just sprinkle the powder into your food. If you don’t want to change the original taste or flavor of the dish, you can always choose to add unflavored soy powder to the dishes. That way, you won’t even know the soy has been added to the food. This is a great way to get kids to consume protein. Usually, children won’t have much problem consuming soy protein. They usually love it, especially if it’s chocolate or strawberry flavored.

[flickr]tag:jogging(,2)[/flickr]
When it comes to discussions about health many people claim that it is very important to them. It is often ranked as a top concern for people when questioned about the important things in life yet they often do very little to maintain. Take the time to actually look at what you are doing to improve your health. If it isn’t very much then you may be in big trouble for the future.

Thanks to new technology every bit of activity that used to be incorporated into our daily lives is gone. We use mops and vacuums to clean the house, we drive to work and then we come home and make an instant meal while watching TV. This has become routine for so many of us and it needs to stop or our society could become desolate in the future.

It seems that so many of us have forgotten about our bodies and the amount of work that has to go into keeping them healthy and productive. Through evolution we have been hardwired to exert a lot of energy and get used to physical activity everyday. This has completely changed quickly and it is affecting our bodies drastically. Our bodies have remained the same with the same needs yet we are simply not providing it with the proper activity.

Physical exertion signals our body to continue working hard and allows for the production of cells and the continued health of our immune system. Without this exertion our body is taught to shut down and the immune system is unable to fight off any disease or illnesses the way it was meant to. If you send the proper signals to the body through a well maintained lifestyle then you are much better prepared to ward off and prevent illness.

Simply visiting the doctor and taking certain pills will not keep you healthy. There are certain things that you cannot count on medicine to provide. Having a pill for every different symptom you feel is not the way to stay healthy and not the way your body was designed. The truth is if you used your body the way it was meant to you would have all the natural medicine you need.

It seems that every aspect of life is either getting better or getting worse. While technology or your income may be getting better, chances are your health is worsening. Think back to how you felt a few years ago compared to how you feel now. Miss that healthy and strong feeling that you had don’t you? Well it is not too late to get it back. Engaging in a proper exercise regime can do wonders for your body, mind and soul.

Strength training is the only form of exercise that can benefit you in every walk of life. Walking to the store simply is not enough. Jumping on a treadmill now and then is simply not enough. Recreational activities do not have the ability to make a change in your health either.

Start taking responsibility for your health, your body and your health and make something out of yourself. Remember that prevention is the best form of medicine and that regular strength training is the best form of prevention. Fight off diseases before they can affect you and you will not only live longer but you will feel better, look better and even save money in the long run.

Do you want to discover the secret to rejuvenating your body and improving the quality of your life? Download ebook “Fat Loss For Keeps” here: how to burn fat Closely guarded lose weight secrets! Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger.

[flickr]tag:fitness(,2)[/flickr]
The really good news is you are going to live well into your 80’s, 90’s even topping 100!

But, consider for a moment, what about the quality of your life and health? It has been predicted only 3 out of 10 people will be healthy enough to really enjoy these golden years, will you will be one of them?

By the time the 21st Century arrived much of the physical demands of our daily lives had been replaced by automation. Modern life today sees many of us ’sitting’ and hardly moving for long stints during the day, every day. Our bodies pay the price: the stiffness of joints, the weakening of muscles, the decline in our energy level and the increased risk of disease. We are often quick to blame this on the aging process but instead these changes are a direct effect of inactivity and the sedentary lifestyles that we are living today.

In the last century, another 30 odd years of life expectancy has been added to our lives. For some these years are not a time for happiness and well-being. Although people are living longer in the industrialized world, they are also getting chronically ill at a much earlier age. It seems modern medicine can prolong life; but seems far less able to promote healthy aging.

For many people this downward spiral of declining health, the muscle and joint pain and the subsequent disability is happening at younger and younger ages – thirties, forties, fifties. For most of us exercise is something we should do, but we choose not to, continuing to live our lives without any disease preventing exercise. We can live like this for many years, or even decades while experiencing a gradual and barely noticeable decline in overall health and physical functioning.

For our bodies to become and remain healthy they require the stimulation of challenging physical activity to replace the “work” they have been designed to do. This is the primary way our bodies renew every living cell each day. In other words we are still hard wired for hard manual labor and our bodies don’t know we no longer need to do it.

Our bodies have responded with the loss of our muscle mass and strength as it is no longer needed, the old “use it or lose it” scenario. Our modern world now faces an epidemic of overweight and obese people, sky rocketing levels of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other life threatening illnesses and conditions, all of which have been labeled “lifestyle diseases” as they are considered to be premature and preventable.

Your level of strength is the absolute foundation of your life and equals your level of health. Being physically strong enables you to do more, and be more, which means more of everything – more vitality, more energy and more out of every aspect of your life.

Wellness living requires each of us taking personal responsibility for our own well-being and implementing positive programs to improve health and quality of life. A proper exercise program that includes at least 60% strength training exercise will rejuvenate virtually every organ in your body, adding energy to your days and years to your life.

This will allow you to squeeze out as much enjoyment as possible to add to your life from those extra years you have been gifted with so you don’t waste them!

Do you want to discover the secret to rejuvenating your body and improving the quality of your life? Download ebook “Fat Loss For Keeps” here: how to burn fat Closely guarded lose weight secrets! Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger.