Electric cigarettes allow smokers to curb the harmful effects of tobacco use – and to continue using nicotine while their lungs and the rest of them start to repair all the damage that smoking tobacco has done.

The electronic cigarette is indistinguishable from a tobacco cigarette in all but one important way. Tobacco kills you and electric cigarettes do not.

An e cigarette is made to look like a normal cigarette. It is a white tube, when put together (the thing comes in several constituent parts), which has a brown tip like a cigarette filter.

Electric cigarettes weigh a similar amount to real cigarettes. The e cigarette gives out a heated vapour containing liquid nicotine, which is inhaled like smoke, delivers a hit like smoke and even makes a LED on the tip of the device glow red like a coal.

In short, the e cigarette is a kind of super fake tobacco cigarette, designed to be almost indistinguishable from the real thing except for that one all important difference of not being lethal, socially unacceptable and likely to cost you thousands every year.

Obviously there is a cost involved with the use of electric cigarettes – but that cost is much less than the money you spend when you smoke tobacco. It has been claimed that you could save anything up to three thousand pounds per year (depending on the size of your smoking habit) when you make the switch from tobacco cigarettes to the electronic cigarette. I need hardly point out that three grand per year is a sum not to be sniffed at – you could save it for a rainy day or use it to buy yourself a congratulatory holiday.

The electric version works by heating a liquid called E Liquid (which is a mixture of propylene glycol and liquid nicotine, plus flavours) and pumping it through a vaporiser. An electric cigarettes’ “tube” (the white bit, where the tobacco would normally be) is actually a two part device, comprising a battery and the vaporiser. The E Liquid is housed in capsules, which you pop onto the end of the electronic cigarette so they look like a filter.

The capsules can be bought in different strengths and all sorts of tasty flavours – from original tobacco smoke to fruity.

So how does the e cig curb the harmful effects of smoking? Easy. The electronic cigarette gives you all that lovely nicotine, nicely packed up in a strength controlled hit that really does feel like the genuine article, without also delivering carcinogens and nasty chemicals. What you get, when you smoke electric cigarettes, is a sanitised version of the tobacco smoke hit, with all the stuff that really messes you up removed.

Basically, the e cigarette is that device you have always dreamed of. You know, every time you’ve stood in the rain puffing on a fag and wishing that you actually looked cool; and that smoking could be done without the smell or the appalling dangers to your health.

The electronic cigarette is a cigarette that doesn’t harm you; doesn’t smell; costs less and can legally be smoked indoors.

So there you have it. Pretty much all the harmful effects of smoking curbed in one fell swoop, by a clever little device you probably wish someone had thought of years ago. At least it is here now. Take a deep breath, now that you can, and thank your lucky stars for electric cigarettes.

The most common area where people are likely to err when they are on a diet is the snack area, if you are killing yourself, eating bland boiled vegetables or just plain chicken broth for your meals and snacking on small burgers, fries or chips and ice-cream between meal-times, you will definitely not lose weight!

You might even gain some if you snack often enough and given the quality of meals which people eat on a strict diet, you’re likely to be hungry quite often! Therefore it is essential to have a few healthy snack recipes at hand, one of which is given below.

Healthy Shrimp Cocktail

Ingredients

Raw Shrimp – 1 pound ( peeled and deveined)
Medium yellow tomatoes – 4 (seeded and chopped finely)
Medium Cucumber – 1 (seeded and finely sliced)
Yellow bell pepper- 1 (finely sliced)
Small Red Onion – ½ (finely sliced)
Celery – 1 stalk (finely chopped)
White-wine vinegar – 2 tbsp
Minced fresh Chives – 2 tbsp
Worcestershire Sauce – 1 tbsp
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
A dash of Hot sauce – to taste
Minced fresh thyme – 2 tbsp
Cloves garlic – 2 (minced)
Freshly Ground pepper -1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Add the bell pepper, tomato, onion, chives, vinegar, lemon juice, celery, cucumber, hot and Worcestershire sauces, pepper and salt to a bowl and mix. Cover this mixture and let it chill for any time duration between twenty minutes to a day.

2. Add the shrimp, thyme and garlic to a bowl, mix well and put it inside the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

3. Grease a pan with non-fat cooking spray and then heat it on a medium-high flame. Cook the shrimp mixture until it becomes pink and firm, on both sides. Serve the shrimp in bowls or martini glasses with the salsa.

Nutritional Facts (per serving) – Serves Four

Calories – 136 Kcal
Total fats – 1 g
Carbohydrates – 11g
Protein – 20g
Sodium – 419 mg
Potassium – 717 mg

If you are on a soup diet or a liquid diet, then it is essential that you have a whole collection of healthy soup recipes so as to vary your meals a little. Moreover, it helps to bring a bit of variety into the meals so that you are less tempted to go off your diet.

But at the same time I would suggest that if you want to lose weight, there is nothing better than exercise. Moreover, going on a drastic diet like a soup diet really doesn’t do much for your body except abuse it. So combine a healthy diet with plenty of exercise for best results.

The French Onion Soup

Ingredients

Sliced small, sweet onion – 1
Chopped leek (white and green parts only ) – 1
Chopped garlic – 2 tbsp
8 ounce can chickpeas – 1 (rinse the chickpeas before use!)
Chopped fresh thyme – ½ tsp
Sherry – 1 tbsp
14 ounce can sodium-reduced beef broth – 1
Whole wheat country bread ( toasted) – 2 slices
Shredded Guyere or Fontene Cheese – 1/3rd Cup
Pepper – freshly ground, add according to taste
Minced fresh scallion greens or chives – 2 tbsp
Extra-virgin olive oil – 1 tbsp

Method

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high flame and add oil to it. Add the onion and stir so that the oil spreads all over the onion and cover it. Reduce the flame to medium and then cook until the onion starts to turn brown. Thereafter add leak, thyme and garlic and resume cooking (uncovered) until leek turns soft.

2. To this mixture add the pepper and sherry, increase the heat to medium and stir till a majority of the liquid has been boiled off. Add chickpeas and broth and boil, then reduce the flame until the mixture is simmering and then cook until the vegetables soften. Remove from flame and add the chives or scallions.

3. Place the two toasts in two boils, top with cheese, then pour the soup onto it and serve.

Nutritional facts

Calories: 464 Kcal
Total Fat- 15 g
Carbohydrate- 66g
Protein- 19g
Sodium – 608mg

You would think that there is no such thing as a healthy bread recipe. After all, most people on a diet (especially if they are on a strictly low-carb diet such as Atkins’ ) avoid bread like the plague. And why not? Bread contains a whole bunch of unwanted carbs and calories which really does nothing for your bulging waistline. So bottom line, people stay away from bread.

But what if I told you that a healthy recipe for bread is actually possible? What if I said that you can get the delicious, softness of a loaf of bread and the creaminess of a custard like pudding at one go and just consume about 200 calories? You would laugh in my face right? Well here I am with a healthy and delicious bread recipe, to prove you wrong, yet again! Eat this yummy bread pudding for breakfast to have a wholesome and nutritious meal.

Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• Fat-free egg substitute – 1 cup

• Evaporated skimmed milk – 2 cups

• Ground cinnamon – ½ teaspoon

• Vanilla – 1 teaspoon

• Sugar – 2/3rd Cup

• Chopped and mixed dry fruit – ½ cup

• Currants – 1/3 cup

• Lightly toasted cubes of multigrain bread – 4 cups

Method

1. Preheat your oven to a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then grease a 1 and a half quart baking dish with fat free cooking spray.

2. Mix the evaporated milk, fat free egg substitute, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, cinnamon and currants. After mixing well, add the bread cubes and stir the mixture to coat the bread cubes. Thereafter transfer the mixture to a baking dish, while ensuring that the dried fruit is homogenously distributed.

3. Bake until the mixture has risen and assumes a “puffed” appearance. Serve while still hot.

Nutritional information (per serving) – Serves 8

• Calories – 204.6 kcal

• Total fat – 1.8 g

• Carbohydrates – 38.4 g

• Sugar – 30.9 g

• Protein – 10.7 g

• Sodium – 220.3 mg

Taylor Swift recently bagged the “Best Entertainer” Award at the Country Music Awards and this adorable nineteen year old girl is refreshingly up front about her fitness and diet – a big and welcome change from the standard response that impossible skinny Hollywood girls have: We’re naturally blessed!

Taylor is blessed with a delicate frame but this young star realizes the importance of working out. For her working out is not just about staying skinny. It’s about being fit and healthy. Taylor also exercises for another reason – to keep from panting.

Yup, that is right, this star trains especially to stay fit so that she doesn’t end up panting while she is on stage performing in one of her many concerts.

She says that heavy breathing and panting are acutely embarrassing when one is performing and it is definitely not what the audience pays for when they want to see a show. So she tries to avoid that at all costs. Yup, this young lady takes her role as an entertainer quite seriously!

Taylor also has an innate ability to sense when she is not fit. When she is indulging herself too much and not really making up for it, by exercising, she can feel a difference in her body. Luckily for her, she can sense this difference before it physically manifests and she can take steps to rectify it.

Taylor says that according to her, the best way to stay fit is by running and this is exactly what she does in real life so as to stay fit! And she enjoys doing so outdoors. However, in the event that she does not have time to go for a nice long job outdoors, Taylor has a treadmill handy both at home and on her tour bus so she can go for a jog wherever she is!

There’s also another reason why she has the treadmill – it apparently helps her get over pre show nervous jitters! For someone who has reached the dizzying heights of fame in such a short time, Swift remains extremely grounded and knows where she has come from. She attributes all her success to her fans.

And what is even more endearing about her is her honesty and her frank nature. So if you want to look like Taylor, you know the secret – lots of cardio in the form of running!

Taylor Momsen might sport the “raccoon look” pretty much all the time, but you have to admit that this girl has one hell of a great skinny body. But, this does not mean that women all over the world should immediately aspire to look like her. One has to keep in mind that Taylor is still just a teenager and therefore has a naturally high metabolic rate, as a result of which she burns out whatever she eats pretty fast.

What is more, Taylor has gone on record saying that it is in her genes to be thin. Her mom, for example, is really thin. Add to that, the fact that Taylor is really tall, thus the uber thin figure. But wait, one can’t look like Taylor without doing some form of exercise.

What’s Taylor’s secret? Walking. Taylor is a New York local and so what she does basically is walk as much as she can rather than taking cabs. Moreover, she has a really, really hectic schedule. In an interview she gave in May 2010, she said that she would be up at 4:30 a.m. to start shooting for Gossip Girl and would work till 7:00 p.m. She would then follow this up by going to her music studio where she would work on her album till the early hours of the morning. Now, if you’re hardly getting any sleep and working nonstop, you gotta burn your mean share of calories, right Taylor?

Taylor stays shy of revealing her diet. She states that she eats healthy. Well, all we know is that Taylor has a fondness for Pepsi, diet Cola and tea or coffee. Taylor is also a teetotaler, which is probably why she is so healthy and thin. We all know that alcohol is one of the most fattening things around!

Taylor also has a fondness for Japanese cuisine, which as we all know is extremely healthy. Her friends have vouched for the fact that this star can prepare a very tasty veg burger as well. Plus, she drinks about two liters of water a day.

In another interview, Taylor seemingly contradicted herself, saying that she needs to sleep a lot in order to work properly. In fact, she also does a Spanish siesta in the afternoons. Don’t know about her sleeping habits, but the girl sure does know how to eat healthy and stay in shape.

The choice is obvious, low fat diets are better than low carb diets. Carbs are the basic source of energy for your body. Even though low carb diets do help you lose weight but low fat diets are more beneficial.

Low Carb Diets

When you are on a low carb diet you are allowed to eat many fatty foods. Other than some unsaturated fats most of the other types of fats are bad for our health. Saturated fats are not easily broken down by the body and they get deposited as body fat. All deep fried foods are bad for your health and some low carb diets allow you to eat such deep fried foods.

The basis behind the low carb diet is that if your card intake is not sufficient then the body starts to burn fat for your energy requirements. This is true but it may not make you lose weight if your fat intake is too high. All that needs to be done is to have a low calorie intake and vary your calorie intake often. Diabetic patients need to follow a diabetic low carb diet to keep their blood sugar level in check.

Low Fat Diets

Low fat diets ask you to eat lots of proteins and a moderate amount of low calorie carbs. These are good for your health and it helps you to lose weight. It is also essential to have a balanced diet and that is supplied by a low fat diet. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is a healthy choice as not only does it have low calorie content but it also has a high vitamin and mineral content. They have high fiber content.

Low fat diets ask you to have lean meats, skimmed milk, low calorie milk products, lentils, pulses, green leafy vegetables, fruits, egg white and fish. All these have a very low fat content and are very nutritious. Most fatty foods do not have a high nutritional value.

If you want to go on a diet which will help you lose weight and keep it that way then you should go for a low fat diet.

Love peanut butter? Ever thought you could incorporate peanut butter into your diet and lose weight? Well here’s a revelation, by following the peanut butter diet, you can LOSE weight! Yes it’s true! You can have around 4-6 tablespoons of peanut butter while on this diet.

Since peanut butter is a popular favourite, the peanut butter diet is much easier to stick to. Holly McCord who is the founder of the peanut butter diet claims that those subsisting on the peanut butter diet menu can lose upto half a pound per week, which is a healthy, achievable figure. Sounds too good to be true? Well let’s see how the diet works.

Peanut Butter Diet

Those following the peanut butter diet are required to restrict their daily caloric intake. Women are allowed up to 1500 calories per day whereas men can have up to 2200 calories per day! Sounds too easy? Well nobody said this is a rapid weight loss diet plan.

Practitioners are also advised to get 45 minutes of exercise each day, because as we all know, exercise is non negotiable when dieting. So what is so special about peanut butter?

What is so special About Peanut Butter?

Research says that snacking on peanut butter reduces hunger pangs. This is because peanut butter provides a feeling of fullness. Also, peanut butter is rich in poly and mono-unsaturated fats; therefore consuming peanut butter regularly increases the amount of poly and mono unsaturated fats in our bodies and decreases our consumption of harmful trans-fats. Contrary to popular belief, all fats are NOT detrimental to the heart.

Poly and mono unsaturated fats are extremely beneficial, therefore by consuming peanut butter, you could actually be doing your heart a huge favor. Mono-unsaturated fats increase the “good” cholesterol in your body without increasing the total cholesterol level. This is the main advantage of the Peanut Butter Diet.

A study conducted by Purdue University and published in the International Journal of Obesity reveals that those who consume peanut butter and peanuts automatically regulate their daily caloric intake and tend not to consume too many calories a day.

This is a major peanut butter diet advantage! Therefore this is a complete contradiction to the previous belief that consuming peanuts and peanut butter regularly makes one put on weight.

The basic reason why the peanut butter diet works is because it advocates burning more calories than you consume, hence this leads to weight loss. This is the basic principle of any weight loss or diet plan.

Here is a delicious peanut butter diet recipe to add flavor to your food. Dip apple or banana slices in peanut butter. Or better still try peanut butter spread on tortilla chips!

But like all things, this too must be done in moderation. More peanut butter than advocated by the diet should not be consumed, and if you do slip up, you must make up for it by exercising. Otherwise, you could end up gaining weight instead of losing weight.

The grapefruit diet is often called the Hollywood Diet. It is a short term diet which helps you lose weight quickly. When this is combined with proteins which have low calorie content and sodium, the grapefruit diet can help you lose up to ten pounds in twelve days.
A Few Benefits

The grapefruit diet can help you lose weight fast because it has a low glycemic load. Some researchers say that grapefruit contains some compound which helps the liver lower cholesterol levels in our body. It even helps to regulate insulin levels in our digestive tract.

High levels of insulin may lead to an increase in weight. Moreover grape fruit contains vitamin C and high fiber content. It even has low calories. This makes it a very good food to lose weight. The fiber present makes you feel full and make you eat less.

General Overview

The grapefruit diet usually lasts from seven to twenty one days. The different foods you are allowed to eat while on this diet are, eggs, bacon, meat, vegetables, fish, skim milk and tomato juice. Every meal must contain fresh grape fruit or grapefruit juice. In other words most foods are allowed as long as the daily calorie limit is maintained and every meal consists of some form of grapefruit.

Things to Remember

Very hot or very cold foods should be avoided. Potatoes or sweet potatoes should not be included in your diet. You should not use aluminum pans to cook the food. There should be a gap of at least 4 hrs between a protein meal and a starch meal.

The grapefruit diet only allows you to have 800 calories in your daily diet. This is quite low and the diet is very strict about maintaining this limit. This grapefruit diet should not be used for long term weight loss. You should drink plenty of water.

Before you embark on the grapefruit diet you should consult a nutritionist or dietitian as it may not be suited for everyone. Prolonging this diet may cause fatigue as the calorie intake is so low. You should make an informed decision to go on the grapefruit diet.

The question which often lingers on our minds is should we take multivitamin liquids? Why should I drink multivitamin liquids? What are the benefits of multivitamin liquids? What will be the side effects of multivitamin liquids? Put your mind at ease because all your questions are answered.
The Requirement

In our hectic daily lives we often do not get our daily bodily requirements of vitamins. The vitamins are essential for us to remain healthy. If our body is deficient in vitamins our immunity to diseases decreases and it may also lead to many other illnesses like, xerophthalmia, beriberi, megaloblastic anemia, scurvy and rickets. So it is evident that we need multivitamins.

The Benefits

If we take multivitamin pills research has shown that our body only retains 10 to 20% of the vitamins. The rest of the vitamins are not absorbed into the body. On the other hand up to 98% of the liquid multivitamins are absorbed into the body. This happens because the multivitamins in the liquid form are directly absorbed into the body and reaches the cells without being digested.

Vitamin pills or capsules contain the vitamins in solid form which need water or fat to dissolve in. Moreover the capsules have the ingredients powdered and placed into vegetable capsules or pork based gelatin with additives like talc. All these extra elements in the pills make them a lot harder to digest than the liquid multivitamins. Vitamins in tablet forms have a lower bioavailability and hence have a lot lesser therapeutic benefits.

The Side Effects

There are very few side effects of these multivitamin liquids. Care should be taken that there are no overdoses of multivitamin liquids. You should consult a doctor before you start taking these pills. You should exercise caution before taking multivitamin liquids, especially if you have any medical conditions existing.

Pregnant women should be cautious as an excess or deficiency in vitamin A may lead to birth defects. It has also been suggested that long term use of vitamin A, beta-carotene, and vitamin E may shorten life instead of extending it. This risk is greater for smokers.

Too much of a good thing is bad and multivitamin liquids are no exceptions. All in all you should take multivitamin liquids but you should not over do it.