Online weight loss plans

Online weight loss plans are web based fitness programs designed to help participants lose weight. They usually include assistance in the areas necessary for weight loss. For example, weight loss information, goal setting, progress tracking, meal and workout planning, and personal support from personal trainers or fitness coaches. This way of losing weight is fast becoming a distinct weight loss method.

Online weight loss plans are usually interactive programs that provide the user with diet information, workout routines, meal planning, goal tracking, and feedback. Web-based programs usually attempt to incorporate all of these areas and customize them for a particular user. The user will usually fill out a questionnaire before proceeding. The questionnaire will contain information such as current eating patterns, fitness levels and goals.

A personalized meal plan and workout program are usually created for the user. A unique feature of these programs is the use of online tools to track improvements, and to log workout and diet information. The idea behind these tracking tools is that by tracking fitness, a person can make more progress by aiming for and meeting regular fitness goals. Programs range in price from the very basic, which may cost $20 a month, to highly customized programs created by celebrity fitness experts; these programs can cost in excess of $400 a month. There are also free Web-based programs. While they usually provide access to online tools, they may not provide any customized plans.

Online weight loss plans usually contain some of these elements:

• Weekly Shopping Lists
• Workout routines and meal plans
• Regular support from a fitness coach or personal trainer (some with round-the-clock support)
• Regular tracking of progress
• Workout videos
• Some type of online workout calendar/journal

Herbal Teas

An herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is an herbal infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the tea bus.

Herbal teas can be made with fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots, generally by pouring boiling water over the plant parts and letting them steep for a few minutes. Seeds and roots can also be boiled on a stove. The tisane is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served. Many companies produce herbal tea bags for such infusions.

On the other hand, flavoured teas are prepared by adding other plants to an actual tea (black, oolong, green, yellow, or white tea); for example, the popular Earl Grey tea is black tea with bergamot, jasmine tea is Chinese tea with jasminegenmaicha is a Japanese green tea with toasted rice.

Herbal teas are often consumed for their physical or medicinal effects, especially for their stimulant, relaxant or sedative properties. The medicinal effects of certain herbs are discussed under herbalism. The medicinal benefits of specific herbs are often anecdotal or controversial, and in some countries (including the United States) makers of herbal teas are not allowed to make unsubstantiated claims about the medicinal effects of their products.

Role of herbal medicine in society

The use of herbs to treat disease is almost universal among non-industrialized societies. A number of traditions came to dominate the practice of herbal medicine at the end of the twentieth century:

• The "classical" herbal medicine system, based on Greek and Roman sources
• The Siddha and Ayurvedic medicine systems from various South Asian Countries
• Chinese herbal medicine (Chinese herbology) (zhōngyào)
• Unani-Tibb medicine
• Shamanic herbalism: a catch-all phrase for information mostly supplied from South America and the Himalayas

Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the world's population presently uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. In comparison, herbal medicines can be grown from seed or gathered from nature for little or no cost. Herbal medicine is a major component in all traditional medicine systems, and a common element in Siddha, Ayurvedic, homeopathic, naturopathic, traditional Chinese medicine, and Native American medicine. Pharmaceuticals are prohibitively expensive for most of the world's population, half of which lives on less than $2 U.S. per day.