Everyone can always use more knowledge about nutrition if they are involved in leading a fit lifestyle. Far too many people assume that exercise is the key to health. While it is important; it goes hand in hand with the nutritional aspect of living.

If you eat horribly then no amount of gym work can offset that. By the same token, a great diet can easily advance you past someone who eats haphazardly but follows the same workout program and works just as hard as you.

With that being said, here are some great nutrition tips to add to your toolbox. Use them all and enjoy the gains you make!

Awesome Nutrition Tips

Gaining Muscle - If your goal is to add muscle then you should aim for adding 1-1 1/2 pounds a week at the most. It takes 3500 calories above your normal caloric burn to make 1 pound of muscle. Ideally you break that down to 500 calories a day. So after you figure how much you burn each day add 500 calories to your plate (with at least 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight goal). If after 2 weeks you do not see a change in the scale increase your calories by 100 a day until you see gains.

Using Glutamine - Glutamine is an amino acid that is considered nonessential and yet is the most abundant. But using it as a supplement can have some great effects. Taking 2 grams first thing in the morning can increase the amount of growth hormone in the body. Having excess in the body will prevent muscle protein being broken down for the body to get more. It also improves the immune system, helps with cell recovery, and helps with glycogen replenishment. Ideally you want to take about 10 grams in the morning after waking up and another 10 grams right after a workout.

Go Big for Breakfast - Even when you eat small meals, breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day. You want to start with a big calorie burst for energy and to kick-start your system after the sleep cycles. You want to load up on complex carbohydrates to be burned during the day. Good protein like eggs also helpful get your muscle building blocks in place. Conversely at the end of the day you need to eat smaller meals with little or no carbohydrates. Ideally you want to limit things to protein and vegetables after the sun goes down.

Small Meals - To go with the above tip, you need to be eating 5 to 6 small meals per day plus a snack. This will help to stimulate your metabolism all day long as well as keep sugar (glucose) levels even along with energy levels. After your body adjusts it will slowly become more of a fat burning machine as it digests foods and proteins all day long.

Multivitamins - Always take your vitamin! It cannot be stressed how important it is to get all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs each day. To that end a good multivitamin is paramount. You should ignore the price and go for quality and preferably a capsule or gelcap that can be easily digested. Cheap vitamins are filled with cheap nutrients.

Eating Out - Ah the biggest thorn to a healthy lifestyle is being social with people when out and about. "Hey let's go to the pub," is an awful thing to hear sometimes. But you can work around this. Have a light beer and a salad to join in on the occasion but stick to your guns and goals as to what you allow in your body and why. You know exactly how many calories of fat that plate of fries has. Do the math and consider how many hours of cardio it will take to burn it off compared to the 5 minutes you spend eating it. 

At Nutribomb Nutritional Supplements, we strive to provide the best bodybuilding and fitness training information on the internet. Please visit our website for more.

Healthy snack choices are a must. Healthier snacks are not only better for your body but they are better for your teeth as well. Your food and your snacks will affect your teeth as well as your gums. It is important to find healthy snacks not only for you but for your child as well. Start young and allow your child to have healthy teeth and gums. It is important, and it is also important to start young. Prevention is better than trying to repair. Even if your teeth and gums can be saved later on, you are better off to prevent problems early on. They will be better and healthier, not to mention less expensive. It is better to keep them healthy and prevent damage.

You can go to your dentist, hopefully not for dental repair for bad teeth and gums as a result of unhealthy snacks, but to ask for help and suggestions to prevent such problems. Your dentist can give you advice and a list of healthy snacks and foods that will not be harmful to your mouth. Also, frequent visits to the dentist can help prevent major damage and problems. They will keep things in check and continually give advice as to how to keep your mouth healthy.

Many worry about a healthy diet for their children to keep their bodies healthy and in good shape, but it is also important for the health of their mouths. A healthy diet is one that is balanced and supplies one with nutrients. One should be getting the proper amount of all of the major food groups. There is a reason that there is a recommended balanced diet from certain food groups that individuals should be partaking of. It will improve their overall health and prevent problems.

One should be regularly going to their dentist for a checkup, not for damage repair. They can check the status of one’s mouth and also give them advice on their eating habits. They can advise one to be eating good sugars and not too much of sugars and starches, even healthy sugars and starches. They need to be getting some foods with sugars and starches to have nutrients, but they need to make sure they are taking in a healthy amount and getting only the best foods. They also need to avoid too many sugary and starchy foods. One’s dentist can give them the proper advice to how much is too much and how much is good.

Dentists allow healthy snacks for the office and healthy advice for those that come to the office. Go to your dentist and allow them to give you proper advice. It can change your life and the quality of your gums and teeth, not to mention the quality and health of your child’s mouth. Figure out what is best for them.

Whitney Lin is a freelance blogger for Name Your Price Dental, also known as nypdental.

As the temperature increases, we are all tempted to kick off our shoes and socks and let our feet enjoy some fresh air! It is even more tempting to start walking barefoot around the house or even outside during the warm weather. However, walking barefoot can pose many dangers to the feet! The most obvious risk of walking barefoot is stepping on an object and it getting embedded in the foot. Rocks, pebbles, twigs, thorns, glass, and nails are outside objects that can get into the feet, but inside dangers can include toothpicks, animal hair, cat litter, and pieces of wood.

If a rusty object, such as a nail, punctures the foot, it is essential to report to the ER for a tetnus booster and possibly more extensive treatment. Tetnus is caused by an anaerobic organism, Clostridium tetani. The rough surface of nails, along with the rust, is an ideal habitat for this bacterium. In addition to tetnus prophylaxis, antibiotics (for the possibility of infection by this or other organisms), and local wound care for the entry point of the foreign object may be needed.

Certain diseases can slow the healing of a wound on the foot. Some of these diseases include the following: diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, peripheral vascular disease, neuropathy, and many others. Special tests and bloodwork may be needed, along with consultation to a variety of specialists, if healing is delayed.

During these warm months, and year round, it is important to wear some type of shoe both inside and outside to protect your feet! Dr. Mary Ann Bender has been working in the Chicagoland area for the last 11 years and joined the Advanced Physical Medicine team three years ago. She treats all conditions of the foot and ankle. Call for your appointment, 708-763-0580. Dr. Bender accepts all PPO insurance plans (including United Health Care), Worker's Compensation, Self Pay, and Medicare.

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo shared by cuellar

Early Morning Workouts

Many people end up avoiding their workouts if they do not have a set time to do them. It is much easier to skip a workout in the afternoon or evening if something more important comes up like a social event or even something as simple as staying on the couch and watching TV. In order to make sure the work out gets done it makes sense to schedule it when nothing else important is happening. A very early morning workout can be done when nothing else is happening so it is easy to stick to it without feeling like the time is being sacrificed for something else. When a time is scheduled every day or a few days a week to get the workout done it is also easier to stick to it. As soon as that alarm goes off it is important to get out of bed and do the work out. It will be easier to fall into a routine the more the workout is done. Soon the body will wake up on it's own without an alarm, and early morning exercise will be easier.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by lululemon athletica

Advantages of the AM Workout

Another great aspect of an early morning workout is that if it is done outdoors, the workout can be done before the sunshine begins beating down. It can be hard to complete an outdoor workout in the hot weather because it can be so hot that the body feels overheated and stressed. The cooler air of the early morning makes it easier to engage in more intense outdoor exercise without overheating.

Working out in the morning has also shown to increase energy levels throughout the day. When the body feels tired one of the best things to increase your energy is to do a quick and energizing workout. A person who has trouble waking up in the morning may really benefit from an early morning workout because it can jump start their energy levels and make them more alert through the morning and the rest of the day.

Another great thing about an early morning workout outdoors or in the gym is that there is much less traffic and activity at that hour of the day. If you workout out at the gym there will be few people waiting around for machines or equipment since the gym will be much less crowded. If you are running on the road, you will not have to share the road with afternoon traffic.

This article was written by JustRopes.com, your one stop shop for climbing ropes and cords.

4 Critical Health Benefits of Water

How often do you drink water?

Probably not enough. Drinking water can actually have some amazing benefits to your body and overall health - and not nearly enough people are aware of this!

We all (should) know that our bodies are about 60% water, but did you know that about 90% of our brain is water? Neither did I. And in order to keep our bodies functioning properly, we really need to keep our bodies (and minds) properly watered.

And just for context, most people forget, or don't realize, that if you're feeling thirsty, you're already at least a little dehydrated - so don't go by that signal from your body to wait to start drinking that good ol' water.

Manage Weight

Did you know that drinking enough water will actually help you maintain (or even lose) weight? There are a few ways that water helps your weight loss.

Weight Loss. It was actually found in a recent study that those who drank 2 glasses of water before a meal lost 5 more pounds (on average) over a 12 week span than those who did not. This is in part because drinking water kickstarts your metabolism before the meal.

If you drink ice cold water, also, that can increase your weight loss. Why? Because your body burns more energy to warm the water up to your internal temperature. (Which is also why you shouldn't drink cold drinks in the summer if you're looking to stay cool).

Lemon water. If you aren't a big fan of the usually-bland tasting water, add a little bit of lemon. Some also swear by a mixture of lemon water and honey to reduce weight, as well.

Energy Boost

Yes, water will actually boost your energy - you don't need caffeine or energy drinks to do that.

Remember how I said that your brain is about 90% water? Well, doesn't it make sense that if you don't drink enough water your thoughts get a little sluggish? On top of that, dehydration in and of itself makes you feel fatigued. Enough water is necessary for focus and an attentive brain because of the pivotal role that water plays in getting blood to transport oxygen throughout your body.

Stress Relief

It serves to follow that when your aren't focusing or getting the work done that you need to be getting done, you're probably going to be a little stressed - and the fact that most likely you're tired does not add up to one happy camper.

Stress can also be brought on by headaches - and oftentimes you'll find that the root cause of your headache is dehydration.

Keeping stress down at work means that you should keep a glass of water at your desk (and constantly drink) and carry one with you when you're going out somewhere.

Glowing Skin

This is more a beauty benefit than a health benefit - actually, scratch that. Water helps nourish the skin and keep it healthy, which means that your first line of defense against germs and bacteria is healthy and well maintained.

Superficially, though, water plumps up your skin cells - which can make you look younger. Water can also improve blood flow and circulation to your skin cells.

So while having healthy skin makes a great first impression, healthy skin also keeps you more...well, healthy.

But you need to drink enough water for this resource to actually benefit! How much water should you drink daily? You can go by that old rule of 8 by 8 - that is, 8 glasses of 8 oz of water daily.

Mary Richardson thinks that everyone should have access to clean water and the necessary filtration systems in order to reap the full benefits of water. What healthy habits do you keep daily?