Alcohol is damaging to the human body, we all know that. How damaging it is depends on how much and how often you have it. Regular, heavy consumption of alcohol will damage just about every organ in the body. Much of the western world have given up smoking due to its negative health effects, yet look the other way in regards to alcohol which in heavy use is just as bad if not worse than smoking.

Most of us enjoy drinking, some more than others. I have had my fair share of alcohol over the years. Do we need to totally abstain from alcohol to be healthy? If you are an elite athlete then I would suggest very rarely if ever drinking but for the average person following some guidelines the damage alcohol does can be reduced significantly. 

Picture Source: freedigitalphotos: Ambro

It is common to push ourselves to exercise and think that more is always better. Often when you are starting out with exercise you can push and push and only get better. After a while though this really starts to wear your body down. If you have been working out for longer than 6 months regularly, it may be time for a rest.

The harder you work out the more rest you will need. If you do not do high intensity training regularly you will not need to rest very often, a few weeks a year should be fine. If you do train with high intensity on a regular basis then it would be wise to have a week off every month or two.

We are all told to avoid the sun like the plague and to wear sunscreen and cover up when there is any hint of sunlight. Whilst this is mostly a good thing, it comes at the cost of one of the most vital nutrients for our body, vitamin D. It is now one of the most commonly deficient nutrients and it is becoming even more common.

What does Vitamin D do?

The range of functions that are reliant on vitamin D is far reaching. Healthy vitamin D levels are attributed to:

• Absorption of calcium and phosphorus, very important for bone health
• Immune system effectiveness
• Better brain function
• Significantly lower cancer risks for many types of cancer
• Lower heart attack risk
• Better mood, less risk of depression especially if you live further from the equator
• Improved hormone regulation, especially testosterone production

Gyms are great places for many people, but if you live a long way from a gym or simply find the whole gym experience uncomfortable, home gyms are a great alternative. Often it is thought that a home gym is an expensive option but the cost of a home gym can be reduced greatly by following a few guidelines.

I have always used home gyms and have only ever been a member of a gym once. I used a bench I found on a council cleanup, a $200 set of adjustable dumbells and a wooden beam for over a year when I started to exercise with weights. A home gym does not have to be expensive or an arduous task to setup.

Almost everybody buys some sort of supplement whether it be protein powder, vitamins and minerals or a weight loss shake. These supplements can be very costly and in many cases will not be of much benefit to your health. Here are a few things to think about when buying supplements:

Do I really need this?

Organic food has grown in popularity in recent years. Before the early 1900s, all food was organic. With the advent of food being industrialized, pesticides and fertilizers found their way into use in a big way. There are many reasons people may choose to eat organic food. These reasons can be related to environmental problems of conventional farming, treatment of animals and many others. Today I will only cover the health and cost issues with organic food.

What are you paying for when buying organic?