Strengthen your abdominal core muscles and lose your body fat. The concept may sound simple, but putting it into action can be quite challenging. It will take dedication, time and patience to get a six pack; but in the end, the effort is well worth it. To get six pack abs you need to do two things: lose fat and build muscle. You get this by dieting and exercising daily. You can have the most toned and muscular abs, but it will not show if there is a layer of fat over them. This blog post will discuss ways in which you can accomplish both of these goals.
Do Cardio Workouts:
Important step to get six pack abs: There is no way to target fat loss in any area of your body. You need to lose some of that extra fat over your abs. Even if you workout and get gigantic ab muscles, if there is still a layer of fat over them no one will ever get to see them. Cardio workouts are workouts that raise your heart rate for a given set of time. Some examples would be running, jogging, bike riding, dancing, and rowing.
Eat Smaller Dinners:
Large dinners tend to hurt a fat loss process because most people aren't very active after dinner. This is the basis for advice along the lines of "don't eat anything within a certain number of hours before going to bed". The claim that your entire dinner is stored as fat isn't entirely true. The process is more complicated than that, but the fact you don't move after dinner is enough to hurt your cause. You can offset this by eating a larger lunch or snacking heathily before dinner. Fresh fruits or vegetables are excellent choices for curbing appetite not to mention other health benefits. A handful of nuts might do the same. Drink a large glass of water before sitting at the table.
Eat Breakfast:
Many people skip breakfast because they don't have time for it. The harm of skipping breakfast from a weight loss perspective is it makes you eat a huge lunch since your body hasn't had anything in the past 12 (or more) hours. When you eat a huge lunch you get that after meal drowsiness so now you're both unproductive and inactive. Cereals don't take much time to prepare and consume, and most of them are very healthy nowadays. If you are extremely pressed for time, consider grabbing a box of breakfast bars or a smoothie and throwing one in your bag when you leave for work or school. Some breakfast bars out there are also excellent sources of fiber. Even an apple or a yogurt is better than nothing. Ideally, your breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day, lunch the second, and dinner the smallest.
Lift Weights:
The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns, even at rest. Plus, resistance training is important to limit the amount of muscle mass lost whilst reducing your calorie intake. If you only do cardiovascular exercises (running, playing basketball, football) without weight training then you may lose the muscle mass, including the muscle in your abs.
Keep Metabolism Steady:
Eating one small meal every three hours that you are awake will not speed up your metabolism, rather, it will keep it going. Your metabolism goes and slows with your food intake and eating something small every three hours will keep that metabolism burning calories and will help you lose weight. Every meal should include lean protein, so that your body won't need to break down your muscles for fuel, which would shrink your abs as well as slow down your metabolism.
Drink More Water EVERYDAY:
To find out how much water you need to drink as a minimum per day, halve your weight (in pounds) and that is how many ounces of water you need to drink. So a 150lb person would need to drink a minimum of 2.2 liters a day. It sounds like an absurd amount of water, but you get water from the food you eat, and you can drink teas and pure fruit juices to make up some of the quota.
*Drinking too much water (several liters, especially while sweating) can dangerously dilute certain salts and minerals. If you are exercising heavily and sweating a lot, you will need to replace your salts as well as fluids. Supplement your water drinking with a sports drink or potassium rich fruits such as bananas and apples*
Switch out refined grains for whole grains:
In a scientific study, people who ate all whole grains (in addition to five servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy, and two servings of lean meat, fish, or poultry) lost more belly fat than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains. A diet rich in whole grains changes the glucose and insulin response in your body, which hastens the melting of fat, and visceral fat, that deep layer of fat, is easier for your body to burn than the subcutaneous fat under your skin (the fat that you can see and grab).
Do Crunches:
Lie on the floor (with or without a mat) with your arms in front of your chest or with your hands lightly touching your temples (never behind your head). Bend your knees. Raise your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees, using strictly your abdominal muscles. It is very important to not lift your entire back off the floor, as this can cause back strain, and the extended movement does not help you develop six pack abs any faster. The most important part of the crunch is the initial flexing of your abs as you lift your shoulders off the floor. As soon as you begin lifting off the floor exhale through your mouth, ending with a gasp once your shoulders are off the floor. Then pause for a second once you are at the top of the crunch and exhale the last bit of air from your diaphragm while flexing your abs. Now lower back down slowly and controlled while inhaling through your nose, just until your shoulder blades touch the ground. Do not let your head touch the ground.
An informative blog on nutrition, clean eating, mental health and healthy lifestyle choices for men & women. In less than 20 years the overweight population increased drastically, for adults as well as children obesity carries heavy consequences. The problem is so severe that some experts believe obesity will soon beat out smoking - if it hasn’t already as the number one preventable cause of death. I'm here to share my knowledge and resources to help close the gap of obesity in America.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Monday, August 15, 2011
Exercise intensity, frequency and timing is everything..
If you get an overweight person to do the right exercise at the right time, they can increase their caloric intake way above the amount used by the exercise and still lose a lot of fat..The key is to do the right exercise. The usual advice in the weight loss industry is aerobics and more aerobics, and the more intense the better..wrong! Aerobic exercises that raise your heart rate above about 120 beats a minute, including running, rowing, swimming, cycling, and many of the fancy aerobics classes in health clubs, all strip off muscle almost as much as they strip off fat. What muscle loss does is; it reduces your ability to burn fat, and sets you up to become fatter.
Remember, muscle is the engine in which body fat is burned. You should do everything you can to maintain it lifelong. Mild aerobics such as; walking is good exercise for many health reasons. It also burns some fat and will not burn muscle. But far and away the best exercise for fat control, is wide variety, high repetition resistance training, using weights or machines. By exercising muscles all over, your body it burns more fat. Resistance exercise yields a further fat-loss bonus. It not only maintains muscle mass, it increases, thereby providing more muscle cells in which fat will be burned. Its a real health bargain. * DO HIGH-REPETITION WIDE VARIETY RESISTANCE EXERCISE*
In many, gyms I see women especially doing high repetitions with weights so low they spend the whole workout chatting while exercising. That's pretend exercising. It does nothing at all. The basic rules of muscle work is simple. If you use heavy resistance, so that you can complete only 3-6 reps of an exercise, and you do 5-6 sets, you build maximum strength but you dont lose much fat. If you set the weight so that you can just complete 8-12 reps, and you do 3-4 sets you build muscle well and burn medium amounts of fat. If you set the weight so you run out of steam in 20-25 reps, and you do only one set, you build a little muscle and burn a lot of fat. *FOR MAXIMUM FAT-LOSS DO ONE SET OF EACH EXERCISE WITH A WEIGHT THAT EXHAUSTS YOU IN 20-25 REPS*
You also need to know, the right time to exercise. Despite all those calories charts showing that running burns more calories than walking, and cross-country skiing burns most calories of all, fat loss has little to do with calories used during the exercise session. Numerous recent studies show that the right exercise raises your metabolic rate not only while you are doing it, but for up to 18 hours afterwards. If you exercise in the evening and got to bed, you lose most of the fat-loss effect, because sleep causes your metabolic rate to drop like a stone. So you have to exercise in the mornings, and the earlier the better. *EXERCISE IN THE MORNINGS*
Last but not least, the number of exercise sessions per week is also crucial. Studies show that folk who exercise five times weekly lost three times as much fat as those who exercise only twice or three times weekly, even if they exercise longer. Those who exercised only once per week lost no fat at all. In order to keep the metabolic rate churning, frequent exercise is key. *EXERCISE FIVE MORNINGS WEEKLY FOR A MINIMUM OF 30 MINUTES*
Remember, muscle is the engine in which body fat is burned. You should do everything you can to maintain it lifelong. Mild aerobics such as; walking is good exercise for many health reasons. It also burns some fat and will not burn muscle. But far and away the best exercise for fat control, is wide variety, high repetition resistance training, using weights or machines. By exercising muscles all over, your body it burns more fat. Resistance exercise yields a further fat-loss bonus. It not only maintains muscle mass, it increases, thereby providing more muscle cells in which fat will be burned. Its a real health bargain. * DO HIGH-REPETITION WIDE VARIETY RESISTANCE EXERCISE*
In many, gyms I see women especially doing high repetitions with weights so low they spend the whole workout chatting while exercising. That's pretend exercising. It does nothing at all. The basic rules of muscle work is simple. If you use heavy resistance, so that you can complete only 3-6 reps of an exercise, and you do 5-6 sets, you build maximum strength but you dont lose much fat. If you set the weight so that you can just complete 8-12 reps, and you do 3-4 sets you build muscle well and burn medium amounts of fat. If you set the weight so you run out of steam in 20-25 reps, and you do only one set, you build a little muscle and burn a lot of fat. *FOR MAXIMUM FAT-LOSS DO ONE SET OF EACH EXERCISE WITH A WEIGHT THAT EXHAUSTS YOU IN 20-25 REPS*
You also need to know, the right time to exercise. Despite all those calories charts showing that running burns more calories than walking, and cross-country skiing burns most calories of all, fat loss has little to do with calories used during the exercise session. Numerous recent studies show that the right exercise raises your metabolic rate not only while you are doing it, but for up to 18 hours afterwards. If you exercise in the evening and got to bed, you lose most of the fat-loss effect, because sleep causes your metabolic rate to drop like a stone. So you have to exercise in the mornings, and the earlier the better. *EXERCISE IN THE MORNINGS*
Last but not least, the number of exercise sessions per week is also crucial. Studies show that folk who exercise five times weekly lost three times as much fat as those who exercise only twice or three times weekly, even if they exercise longer. Those who exercised only once per week lost no fat at all. In order to keep the metabolic rate churning, frequent exercise is key. *EXERCISE FIVE MORNINGS WEEKLY FOR A MINIMUM OF 30 MINUTES*
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE RECOMMENDS EATING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AS A CANCER PREVENTIVE, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN THE ANTIOXIDANTS, VITAMIN C, VITAMIN E, AND BETA-CAROTENE. THEY ARE ONLY PARTLY RIGHT. VEGGIES DO PREVENT CANCER, BUT BY FAR MORE POWERFUL MEANS THAN MERELY THESE THREE VITAMINS. JUST WHEN THE MEDICINE MAN THOUGHT HE HAD A HANDLE ON ANTIOXIDANTS, RESEARCHERS BEGAN TO REPORT FROM ANIMAL STUDIES, THAT SIX OTHER CLASS OF COMPOUNDS IN VEGETABLES, PREVENT AND EVEN REVERSE CANCER AND A HOST OF OTHER DISEASES.
THESE HEALTHY-GIVING NATURAL COMPOUNDS OCCUR AS SOME OF THE FLAVANOIDS IN PRODUCE. SPECIFICALLY THEY ARE INDOLES, FLAVONES, PHENOLS, COUMARINS, ISOTHICYANATES, AND PYCNOGENOLS..AND MUCH OF THEIR ACTION IS ANTIOXIDANT TOO. SOME FOLK SEEM SURPRISED THAT SO MANY IMPORTANT CHEMICALS COULD HIDE FOR SO LONG IN SIMPLE VEGETABLES. DONT' BE. EVEN THE HUMBLE RADISH IS A MIRACLE OF COMPLEXITY FAR MORE INTRICATE THAN THE LATEST COMPUTER CREATION OF MAN. I AM INDEBTED TO MY FRIEND DR. PAUL D'AMATO FROM EMORY UNIVERSITY FOR POINTING OUT THAT KNOWN FLAVANOIDS IN PLANTS NUMBER OVER 200,000 AND ONLY 4,000 OF THEM HAVE YET BEEN CHEMICAL ANALYSED OR TESTED. UNDOUBTEDLY, THERE ARE MANY MORE WE DON'T YET KNOW ABOUT. BUT WE DO KNOW THEY ARE POWERFUL. AFTER DOING DAYS OF RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC, MYSELF AS WELL AS MANY OTHER DOCTORS BELIEVE THAT WE ARE NOW CERTAIN THAT THE ANTIOXIDANT FLAVANOIDS OBTAINED BY EATING COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, CAN PROTECT YOU AGAINST MOST TYPES OF CANCER. IN FACT, THE REALIZATION IS SLOWLY DAWNING IN NUTRITION SCIENCE, THAT MANY OF THESE COMPOUNDS MAY BE ESSENTIAL TO MAINTAIN OPTIMAL HEALTH.
TOMATOES, CARROTS AND STRAWBERRIES ALL CONTAIN COUMARINS THAT PREVENT THE FORMATION OF CARCINOGENIC NITROSO COMPOUNDS IN YOUR INTESTINES. GREEN TEA CONTAINS PHENOLS, NOW SHOWN IN A PILE OF STUDIES TO INHIBIT STOMACH AND ESOPHAGEAL CANCER. CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER, AND BROCCOLI CONTAIN INDOLES THAT PREVENT STOMACH AND BREAST CANCER. THEN THERE ARE THE PYCNOGENOLS. YOU MAY SEE THEM CALLED CATECHINS AND EPICATECHINS OR PROCYANADINS. THEY OCCUR IN PRODUCE TOO, BUT THE MOST POTENT SOURCE COMES FROM THE PINE TREE, PINUS MARTIMA, THAT GROWS ON THE N. ATLANTIC COASTS OF AMERICA AND CANADA. USED BY NATIVE INDIANS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, PINE BARK PYCNOGENOLS HAVE ONLY NOW BEEN RE-DISCOVERED BY MODERN SCIENCE. THEY ARE POWERFUL PROTECTORS AGAINST CANCER AND A VARIETY OF OTHER DISEASES, INCLUDING PROTECTING THE SKIN AND ORGANS FROM THE USUAL DAMAGE OF AGING.
THE ANTIOXIDANT VITAMINS C, E, AND CAROTENE IN PRODUCE DO HELP OF COURSE, BUT THE AMOUNTS IN MANY VEGETABLES ARE SO SMALL THAT THE EFFECTS ARE MINOR. CABBAGE FOR EXAMPLE, SUPPLIES LESS THAN 2% OF THESE VITAMINS IN THE AMERICAN DIET. YET THIS HUMBLE VEGETABLE CAN STOP CANCER COLD.
MOST BREAST CANCER IS LINKED TO A DEFICIT IN ESTROGEN METABOLISM. THE UNDER-NOURISHED FEMALE BODY CANT DE-ACTIVATE ITS ESTROGEN PROPERLY. IT USES WHAT IS CALLED THE ESTRADIOL 16-ALPHA HYDROXYLATION PATHWAY, WHICH LEAVES THE HORMONE STILL ACTIVE ENOUGH TO CAUSE CELL TRANSFORMATION IN THE BREAST (AND REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS). OVER YEARS THESE CELLS GRADUALLY TRANSFORM TO CANCER. THE PROPERLY NOURISHED FEMALE BODY, USES WHAT IS CALLED ESTRADIOL 2-ALPHA HYDROXYLATION PATHWAY, WHICH NEUTRALIZES THE HORMONE COMPLETELY AND NEVER LEADS TO BREAST CANCER.
TO DIRECT ESTROGEN METABOLISM THROUGH THE HEALTHY PATHWAY THE BODY USES A CHEMICHAL CALLED INDOLE-3-CARBINOL, ONE OF THE INDOLES THAT OCCURS IN CRUIFEROUS VEGETABLES. GREEN CABBAGE IS AN ESPECIALLY RICH SOURCE. BOTH ANIMAL AND HUMAN SUBJECTS GIVEN INDOLE-3-CARBINOL SHOW A 50-70% INCREASE IN HEALTHY METABOLISM OF ESTROGEN, AND A CONCOMITANT REDUCTION IN RISK OF CANCER.
NATURE MADE ALL THE LOCKS AND HOLDS ALL THE KEYS!
SCIENTISTS ARE NOW REALIZING THERE ARE PROBABLY THOUSANDS OF THESE NATURAL COMPOUNDS, MOST OF THEM YET UNKNOWN, EACH WITH SPECIFIC TASKS TO DO IN MAINTAINING HUMAN FLESH. THE DESIGN OF THE HUMAN BODY IS INEXTRICABLY ENTWINED WITH THESE SUBSTANCES, AND WITHOUT THEM, YOUR LIFE IS LIKELY TO BE PAINFUL, SAD, AND SHORT.
EVEN THOUGH THE SCIENCE FOR SOME OF THESE COMPOUNDS IS NOW WELL ESTABLISHED, THE PROFIT-MOTIVATED RESTRICTIONS OF OUR DISEASE INDUSTRY MAKE IT DOUBTFUL THEY WILL HIT MAINSTREAM MEDICINE ANYTIME SOON. WITH BREAST AND REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM CANCERS FOR EXAMPLE, WE ARE IN THE LUDICROUS POSITION THAT HOSPITALS CANNOT USE INDOLE-3-CARBINOL TO STOP THE DISEASE, BECAUSE IT IS NOT AN APPROVED DRUG. TO GET A GOOD SUPPLY YOU HAVE TO EAT CABBAGE.
IN CLOSING..AGAINST THE GLITTERING BACKDROP OF MODERN MEDICINE'S HIGH-TECH BELLS AND WHISTLES, A NUMBER OF CANCER HOSPITALS ARE NOW EFFCTIVELY TREATING BREAST CANCER WITH PLAIN, OLD CABBAGE JUICE. HMMM THATS JUST WHAT GREAT-GRANDMA USED TO DRINK BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN BREAST CANCER WAS A MUCH RARER MALADAY...NOW THATS FUNNY..SMH
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Antibiotic Misuse is Deadly!
You cant protect yourself with antibiotics. Misuse of these "wonder" drugs, which used to be very effective in their proper place of health crisis intervention, likely caused the plethora of new bugs and diseases that plague our country now. Our physicians are unwittingly engaging in biological warfare against the American public, far worse than anything done by Sadaam Hussein.
It happens by selective breeding. Each unnecessary prescription of an antibiotic kills off the weak members of any bacterial colony that happens to be present (including the beneficial bacteria in your intestines). Only the strongest bacteria survive. With the competition for space and food removed, these resistant bugs multiply rapidly. Repeated misuse of different antibiotics against a particular bacterial strain, quickly breeds bugs that are resistant to all of them.
Worse, wrongful use of antibiotics against self-limiting infections, hitting the flea sledgehammer, never allows your immune system to develop its own powerful resistance. Most children in America today have their immunity compromised by antibiotics wrongfully prescribed for every scratch and sniffle. Its a shameful indictment of medicine, to see multitudes of our offspring with ear drains and repeated ear, nose and throat infections, against which they have never been allowed to develop resistance, because of massive use of unnecessary drugs.
Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, told us many years ago about these potential problems. In 1982, when the crisis first loomed, a group of 150 scientists led by microbiologist Dr. Stuart Levy of Tufts University, warned that unless we apply antibiotics correctly, "we may find a time when they are no longer useful to combat disease." Well Dr. Levy we didn't heed the warning, and the crisis had been upon us for over a decade. In 1995 alone, physicians wrote over 4,000,000 useless antibiotic prescriptions for the common cold and 'flu viruses. They continue this malpractice year in and year out, despite clear instructions in the PHYSICIANS DESK REFERENCE that the drugs are effective only against bacteria.
That's nothing compared with hospitals. Recent studies show that up to half of all antibiotic use in American hospitals is improper. This criminal malpractice, which I have seen myself in hospitals, has bred hundreds of man-made, antibiotic resistant bugs, including new strains of tuberculosis, pneumonia, E coli, salmonella, and meningitis. They make hospitals very dangerous places to be.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Just say no!
It's called "pop" in the Midwest and most of Canada. It's "soda" in the Northeast. And it goes by a well-known brand name in much of the South. People across North America use different words to identify a sugary, carbonated soft drink. But however they say it, they're talking about something that can cause serious oral health problems.
Soft drinks have emerged as one of the most significant dietary sources of tooth decay, affecting people of all ages. Acids and acidic sugar byproducts in soft drinks soften tooth enamel, contributing to the formation of cavities. In extreme cases, softer enamel combined with improper brushing, grinding of the teeth or other conditions can lead to tooth loss.
Because the sugar is being dumped into your tissues and cells, the excess that your body isn't able to burn up ends up being stored as fat, which causes weight gain. Studies show that there is an increased risk of breast cancer in rats when they consumed a high-sugar diet. Although, the human body is a little different than a rat's, it is something to keep in mind if you have breast cancer in your medical history. The carbonation and phosphoric acid can decrease your blood calcium levels. Because calcium is important to have healthy bones and muscles, you'll find that with less calcium in the body, your bone mass and density will suffer. Soda and carbonated drinks will increase your risk of osteoporosis.
~Broken bones and bone fractures are also common when you have lowered bone density. The more fragile your bones are, the higher your chance of an injury~
Caffeinated beverages can be worse than all. First off, caffeine is a diuretic which can cause you to become dehydrated weight gain increase the risk of heart disease and cancer if you're not careful; your kidneys will work harder to push out the extra liquid in your body, which is slowly drying out your body.
Caffeine can also decrease the calcium in your body, as well as stimulate your central nervous system, causing stress, a racing mind, insomnia, and the jitters. Caffeine is very addictive, so when you drink more, you generally crave more over time. The more caffeine you consume the more potential health problems you'll encounter.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
If you want a six-pack you gotta work for it!
Strengthen your abdominal core muscles and lose your body fat. The concept may sound simple, but putting it into action can be quite challenging. It will take dedication, time and patience to get a six pack; but in the end, the effort is well worth it. To get six pack abs you need to do two things: lose fat and build muscle . You get this by dieting and exercising daily. You can have the most toned and muscular abs, but it will not show if there is a layer of fat over them. This blog post will discuss ways in which you can accomplish both of these goals.
Do Cardio Workouts: Important step to get six pack abs: There is no way to target fat loss in any area of your body. You need to lose some of that extra FAT over your abs. Even if you workout and get gigantic ab muscles, if there is still a layer of fat over them no one will ever get to see them. Cardio workouts are workouts that raise your heart rate for a given set of time. Some examples would be running, jogging, bike riding, dancing, and rowing.
Eat Smaller Dinners: Large dinners tend to hurt a fat loss process because most people aren't very active after dinner. This is the basis for advice along the lines of "don't eat anything within a certain number of hours before going to bed". The claim that your entire dinner is stored as fat isn't entirely true. The process is more complicated than that, but the fact you don't move after dinner is enough to hurt your cause. You can offset this by eating a larger lunch or snacking healthily before dinner. Fresh fruits or vegetables are excellent choices for curbing appetite not to mention other health benefits. A handful of nuts might do the same. Drink a large glass of water before sitting at the table.
Eat Breakfast: Many people skip breakfast because they don't have time for it. The harm of skipping breakfast from a weight loss perspective is it makes you eat a huge lunch since your body hasn't had anything in the past 12 (or more) hours. When you eat a huge lunch you get that after meal drowsiness so now you're both unproductive and inactive. Cereals don't take much time to prepare and consume, and most of them are very healthy nowadays. If you are extremely pressed for time, consider grabbing a box of breakfast bars or a smoothie and throwing one in your bag when you leave for work or school. Some breakfast bars out there are also excellent sources of fiber. Even an apple or a yogurt is better than nothing. Ideally, your breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day, lunch the second, and dinner the smallest.
Lift Weights:The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns, even at rest. Plus, resistance training is important to limit the amount of muscle mass lost whilst reducing your calorie intake. If you only do cardiovascular exercises (running, playing basketball, football) without weight training then you may lose the muscle mass, including the muscle in your abs.
Keep Metabolism Steady: Eating one small meal every three hours that you are awake will not speed up your metabolism, rather, it will keep it going. Your metabolism goes and slows with your food intake and eating something small every three hours will keep that metabolism burning calories and will help you lose weight. Every meal should include lean protein, so that your body won't need to break down your muscles for fuel, which would shrink your abs as well as slow down your metabolism.
Drink More Water EVERYDAY: To find out how much water you need to drink as a minimum per day, halve your weight (in pounds) and that is how many ounces of water you need to drink. So a 150lb person would need to drink a minimum of 2.2 liters a day. It sounds like an absurd amount of water, but you get water from the food you eat, and you can drink teas and pure fruit juices to make up some of the quota.
*Drinking too much water (several liters, especially while sweating) can dangerously dilute certain salts and minerals. If you are exercising heavily and sweating a lot, you will need to replace your salts as well as fluids. Supplement your water drinking with a sports drink or potassium rich fruits such as bananas and apples*
Switch out refined grains for whole grains. In a scientific study, people who ate all whole grains (in addition to five servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy, and two servings of lean meat, fish, or poultry) lost more belly fat than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains. A diet rich in whole grains changes the glucose and insulin response in your body, which hastens the melting of fat, and visceral fat, that deep layer of fat, is easier for your body to burn than the subcutaneous fat under your skin (the fat that you can see and grab).
Do Crunches: Lie on the floor (with or without a mat) with your arms in front of your chest or with your hands lightly touching your temples (never behind your head). Bend your knees. Raise your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees, using strictly your abdominal muscles. It is very important to not
Do Sit-ups: Lie on the floor, feet on the floor, knees up and hands crossed on your chest. Have someone hold your feet down, or wedge them underneath something heavy. Sit all the way up, lifting your lower back off the floor along with your shoulder blades. Keep your back straight (no hunching). Lower yourself down. Repeat. Once this becomes relatively easy for you (i.e. you can do a quite a bit with ease) start adding more challenges. Find an incline bench. Do weighted sit ups. Hold a weight on your chest while you do these. As these become easier, hold heavier and heavier weights.
Train Your entire Core: To build really great abs it's important to first understand what abs do. Their full name is 'rectus abdominis'. The 'rectus' bit, is Latin for 'straight, proper, upright'. Contrary to popular opinion, the abs' primary job is not to curl you up into a ball, but they work together with the back muscles to maintain correct posture and stabilize the spine. These muscles are not just for show! So the best exercises for abs are ones that force your entire core to go into overdrive to support your spine. Some exercises that do this are squats and dead-lifts. These exercises will train your entire core to work together to do what it is designed to do. At the same time they will also train a lot of other muscles (e.g. glutes and quads).
Do Leg Lifts: Lie on the floor, legs straight out, hands at your sides. Lift your legs straight up (not bending your knees at all) until they're at a 90 degree angle (or close). Lower your legs and repeat without letting your legs touch the floor. For more challenge there is equipment at most gyms that will allow you to raise yourself up using your arms as support and dangle your legs. If you're using this piece of equipment, you can make it easier by just raising your knees to your chest. It's more difficult to raise your legs to a horizontal position with your legs straight. This helps firm up the lower abdomen. If you're truly a monster, try doing leg lifts with a medicine ball hanging from your feet. Or, hang from a pull up bar and raise your legs in front of you all the way up to the bar.
Do static holds. Put your body into the push-up position but with your elbows on the floor, and your whole body flat. This position is known as the static hold position, or the plank, and it trains your core (including your abs) to hold the body in place which is the real purpose of your abs. Hold this position for as long as possible. Beginners should be aiming to start off with at least 45 seconds, while seasoned ab workers are known to achieve over 5 minute static holds. To perform the side static hold, roll onto one side of your body and lift into the same position as before, but this time only one arm will be on the ground with the other arm pointed straight up the air and your non weight bearing leg resting on your bottom leg. Once again, hold this for as long as possible.
Train your oblique muscles. It's not as important to work on your oblique muscles at first, but eventually you'll want to start working these too. These are the muscles to either side of your stomach. There are multiple ways to do this and anything that includes twisting your torso against a resistance counts. There are twisting machines at gyms, you can twist while you do sit-ups, you can do side bends, you can twist side to side with a medicine ball in hand, etc. Be aware though, that many beginners tend to have weak obliques compared to their abs (it simply isn't used as much in daily life) so go easy on the sides at first.
Do bicycle crunches. Lift your feet off the ground while doing the crunches by alternating each leg in the air. Bring your left knee up toward your right shoulder and then your right knee toward your left shoulder.
Find Ways to Crunch and Twist Your Body Everyday: Use a stability ball. Do your crunches on the ball to introduce instability to your workout, which will improve your balance too. There are also lots of core exercises that can be done with a stability ball. You can also use a small bubble used for physical therapy.
Do Cardio Workouts: Important step to get six pack abs: There is no way to target fat loss in any area of your body. You need to lose some of that extra FAT over your abs. Even if you workout and get gigantic ab muscles, if there is still a layer of fat over them no one will ever get to see them. Cardio workouts are workouts that raise your heart rate for a given set of time. Some examples would be running, jogging, bike riding, dancing, and rowing.
Eat Smaller Dinners: Large dinners tend to hurt a fat loss process because most people aren't very active after dinner. This is the basis for advice along the lines of "don't eat anything within a certain number of hours before going to bed". The claim that your entire dinner is stored as fat isn't entirely true. The process is more complicated than that, but the fact you don't move after dinner is enough to hurt your cause. You can offset this by eating a larger lunch or snacking healthily before dinner. Fresh fruits or vegetables are excellent choices for curbing appetite not to mention other health benefits. A handful of nuts might do the same. Drink a large glass of water before sitting at the table.
Eat Breakfast: Many people skip breakfast because they don't have time for it. The harm of skipping breakfast from a weight loss perspective is it makes you eat a huge lunch since your body hasn't had anything in the past 12 (or more) hours. When you eat a huge lunch you get that after meal drowsiness so now you're both unproductive and inactive. Cereals don't take much time to prepare and consume, and most of them are very healthy nowadays. If you are extremely pressed for time, consider grabbing a box of breakfast bars or a smoothie and throwing one in your bag when you leave for work or school. Some breakfast bars out there are also excellent sources of fiber. Even an apple or a yogurt is better than nothing. Ideally, your breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day, lunch the second, and dinner the smallest.
Lift Weights:The more muscle your body has, the more calories your body burns, even at rest. Plus, resistance training is important to limit the amount of muscle mass lost whilst reducing your calorie intake. If you only do cardiovascular exercises (running, playing basketball, football) without weight training then you may lose the muscle mass, including the muscle in your abs.
Keep Metabolism Steady: Eating one small meal every three hours that you are awake will not speed up your metabolism, rather, it will keep it going. Your metabolism goes and slows with your food intake and eating something small every three hours will keep that metabolism burning calories and will help you lose weight. Every meal should include lean protein, so that your body won't need to break down your muscles for fuel, which would shrink your abs as well as slow down your metabolism.
Drink More Water EVERYDAY: To find out how much water you need to drink as a minimum per day, halve your weight (in pounds) and that is how many ounces of water you need to drink. So a 150lb person would need to drink a minimum of 2.2 liters a day. It sounds like an absurd amount of water, but you get water from the food you eat, and you can drink teas and pure fruit juices to make up some of the quota.
*Drinking too much water (several liters, especially while sweating) can dangerously dilute certain salts and minerals. If you are exercising heavily and sweating a lot, you will need to replace your salts as well as fluids. Supplement your water drinking with a sports drink or potassium rich fruits such as bananas and apples*
Switch out refined grains for whole grains. In a scientific study, people who ate all whole grains (in addition to five servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy, and two servings of lean meat, fish, or poultry) lost more belly fat than another group that ate the same diet, but with all refined grains. A diet rich in whole grains changes the glucose and insulin response in your body, which hastens the melting of fat, and visceral fat, that deep layer of fat, is easier for your body to burn than the subcutaneous fat under your skin (the fat that you can see and grab).
Do Crunches: Lie on the floor (with or without a mat) with your arms in front of your chest or with your hands lightly touching your temples (never behind your head). Bend your knees. Raise your shoulders (upper torso) towards your knees, using strictly your abdominal muscles. It is very important to not
Do Sit-ups: Lie on the floor, feet on the floor, knees up and hands crossed on your chest. Have someone hold your feet down, or wedge them underneath something heavy. Sit all the way up, lifting your lower back off the floor along with your shoulder blades. Keep your back straight (no hunching). Lower yourself down. Repeat. Once this becomes relatively easy for you (i.e. you can do a quite a bit with ease) start adding more challenges. Find an incline bench. Do weighted sit ups. Hold a weight on your chest while you do these. As these become easier, hold heavier and heavier weights.
Train Your entire Core: To build really great abs it's important to first understand what abs do. Their full name is 'rectus abdominis'. The 'rectus' bit, is Latin for 'straight, proper, upright'. Contrary to popular opinion, the abs' primary job is not to curl you up into a ball, but they work together with the back muscles to maintain correct posture and stabilize the spine. These muscles are not just for show! So the best exercises for abs are ones that force your entire core to go into overdrive to support your spine. Some exercises that do this are squats and dead-lifts. These exercises will train your entire core to work together to do what it is designed to do. At the same time they will also train a lot of other muscles (e.g. glutes and quads).
Do Leg Lifts: Lie on the floor, legs straight out, hands at your sides. Lift your legs straight up (not bending your knees at all) until they're at a 90 degree angle (or close). Lower your legs and repeat without letting your legs touch the floor. For more challenge there is equipment at most gyms that will allow you to raise yourself up using your arms as support and dangle your legs. If you're using this piece of equipment, you can make it easier by just raising your knees to your chest. It's more difficult to raise your legs to a horizontal position with your legs straight. This helps firm up the lower abdomen. If you're truly a monster, try doing leg lifts with a medicine ball hanging from your feet. Or, hang from a pull up bar and raise your legs in front of you all the way up to the bar.
Do static holds. Put your body into the push-up position but with your elbows on the floor, and your whole body flat. This position is known as the static hold position, or the plank, and it trains your core (including your abs) to hold the body in place which is the real purpose of your abs. Hold this position for as long as possible. Beginners should be aiming to start off with at least 45 seconds, while seasoned ab workers are known to achieve over 5 minute static holds. To perform the side static hold, roll onto one side of your body and lift into the same position as before, but this time only one arm will be on the ground with the other arm pointed straight up the air and your non weight bearing leg resting on your bottom leg. Once again, hold this for as long as possible.
Train your oblique muscles. It's not as important to work on your oblique muscles at first, but eventually you'll want to start working these too. These are the muscles to either side of your stomach. There are multiple ways to do this and anything that includes twisting your torso against a resistance counts. There are twisting machines at gyms, you can twist while you do sit-ups, you can do side bends, you can twist side to side with a medicine ball in hand, etc. Be aware though, that many beginners tend to have weak obliques compared to their abs (it simply isn't used as much in daily life) so go easy on the sides at first.
Do bicycle crunches. Lift your feet off the ground while doing the crunches by alternating each leg in the air. Bring your left knee up toward your right shoulder and then your right knee toward your left shoulder.
Find Ways to Crunch and Twist Your Body Everyday: Use a stability ball. Do your crunches on the ball to introduce instability to your workout, which will improve your balance too. There are also lots of core exercises that can be done with a stability ball. You can also use a small bubble used for physical therapy.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Identifying Trans Fats
All processed oils contain trans fats. The more solid the oil the higher the trans fat level. Liquid vegetable oils contain up to 6% trans fats and margarines and shortening up to 58%. You can identify trans fats in other foods by looking for the word "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredients list. You will find these words on the labels of many breads, candies, baked goods, chocolate, frozen dinners, and processed meat products. If you want the best of health, don't eat them.
The worst aspect of this trans fat nightmare is the FDA, who is suppose to protect our food, remain 20 years behind the times. I read an old article dated back in 94' last week from the Center for Science in Public Health Interest. They asked the FDA why the regulations did not enable consumers to find out the level of trans fats in foods, the official replied, "We're exhausted from the rule writing." That's the sort of health protection that has made America sick over the years.
The whole of Europe has had mandates against trans fats for some years. Many European foods now state specifically on the labels that they are made with cis fats, the healthy kind, even margarines. Buy and use organic flax seed oil, it will go a long way to protect your health.
The worst aspect of this trans fat nightmare is the FDA, who is suppose to protect our food, remain 20 years behind the times. I read an old article dated back in 94' last week from the Center for Science in Public Health Interest. They asked the FDA why the regulations did not enable consumers to find out the level of trans fats in foods, the official replied, "We're exhausted from the rule writing." That's the sort of health protection that has made America sick over the years.
The whole of Europe has had mandates against trans fats for some years. Many European foods now state specifically on the labels that they are made with cis fats, the healthy kind, even margarines. Buy and use organic flax seed oil, it will go a long way to protect your health.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Exercise Essential Prevention
When not sleeping your body was designed to be almost continually active. Immobolize a limb for just three hours and its starts to degenerate. Thats why even durning sleep you automatically flex and stretch and turn more than a hundred times at night. DISUSE IS DEADLY.
A colleague of mine did some research and reviewed over 100 studies showing that the sedentary lifestyle developed in the last 50 years in America causes widespread bodily damage. This damage occurs independently of other health risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol, fat, age, and family history of disease. Here are a few of my findings..
By itself, simple inactivity causes a chain reaction of cardiovascular decay. First, it reduces vital capacity. That is, sitting like a slug reduces your ability to take up and use oxygen. So muscles, organs, and brain become partially oxygen deprived. Second, inactivity reduces cardiac output, that is the ability of your heart to pump blood around the body. So the tissues of couch potatoes become doubly deprived. They get less oxygen and they get less blood and the essential nutrients blood contains.
In an effort to make up these deficits, your body constricts arteries, thereby raising blood pressure. This arterial construction on top of a weakened heart not only increases the risks of clots and stroke, but also makes your cardiovascular system less able to respond to sudden movement or changes of position. Consequently, sedentary folk often suffer dizziness on standing, because the impaired system cannot instantly increase blood flow to the brain. With any sudden movement thet are prone to falls and accidents, because the restricted system of blood flow cannot repond efficiently.
One of the most interesting studies shows that more sedentary people than active people are hit and killed in traffic accidents. No it's not because a gang of crazed motorists hunts them down. It's because their weakened cardiovascular system makes them incapable of performing the nimble moves required to avoid oncoming traffic, without becoming dizzy and staggering or falling in the process. So when someone tells you that couch potatoes run mega-risks of being creamed by a truck - you better believe it.
Inactivity also increases levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Triglycerides are the fats you store, and we have already. Bones also thin and weaken because your skeleton resistance requires continuous resistance exercise in order to grow new bone matrix. A combination of inactivity and poor bone nutrition is the major cause of the epidemic of osteosporosis now burdening America- another-man-made-and entirely preventable disease.
Inactivity also disrupts bowel function and disorders glucose metabolism independently of whatever food you eat. The near epidemics of intestinal disorders and adult-onset diabetes in America bear mute testimony to our slug lifestyle. Sex hormone levels also decline with inactivity, now linked to the huge increase in impotence in America.
A colleague of mine did some research and reviewed over 100 studies showing that the sedentary lifestyle developed in the last 50 years in America causes widespread bodily damage. This damage occurs independently of other health risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol, fat, age, and family history of disease. Here are a few of my findings..
By itself, simple inactivity causes a chain reaction of cardiovascular decay. First, it reduces vital capacity. That is, sitting like a slug reduces your ability to take up and use oxygen. So muscles, organs, and brain become partially oxygen deprived. Second, inactivity reduces cardiac output, that is the ability of your heart to pump blood around the body. So the tissues of couch potatoes become doubly deprived. They get less oxygen and they get less blood and the essential nutrients blood contains.
In an effort to make up these deficits, your body constricts arteries, thereby raising blood pressure. This arterial construction on top of a weakened heart not only increases the risks of clots and stroke, but also makes your cardiovascular system less able to respond to sudden movement or changes of position. Consequently, sedentary folk often suffer dizziness on standing, because the impaired system cannot instantly increase blood flow to the brain. With any sudden movement thet are prone to falls and accidents, because the restricted system of blood flow cannot repond efficiently.
One of the most interesting studies shows that more sedentary people than active people are hit and killed in traffic accidents. No it's not because a gang of crazed motorists hunts them down. It's because their weakened cardiovascular system makes them incapable of performing the nimble moves required to avoid oncoming traffic, without becoming dizzy and staggering or falling in the process. So when someone tells you that couch potatoes run mega-risks of being creamed by a truck - you better believe it.
Inactivity also increases levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Triglycerides are the fats you store, and we have already. Bones also thin and weaken because your skeleton resistance requires continuous resistance exercise in order to grow new bone matrix. A combination of inactivity and poor bone nutrition is the major cause of the epidemic of osteosporosis now burdening America- another-man-made-and entirely preventable disease.
Inactivity also disrupts bowel function and disorders glucose metabolism independently of whatever food you eat. The near epidemics of intestinal disorders and adult-onset diabetes in America bear mute testimony to our slug lifestyle. Sex hormone levels also decline with inactivity, now linked to the huge increase in impotence in America.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Save Your Brain
The most devastating disorder of all is to lose your mind. Most folk who become senile, develop Alzheimers, or other irreversible forms of brain degeneration know it is happening. Their anguish is far worst than their physical pain. Progrssive senility is living death, turning the most brilliant professors, the greatest athletes, the most gifted artists, into dribbling zombies. The worst of it is, we do most of the damage ourselves.
The ten billion nerve cells of your brain process such accountable amounts of information each second, they make our most advanced computers look like children's toys. Your brain controls everything, from the merest wiggle of toes, to the moment-to-moment balancing of hundreds of hormones, the microscopically regulated metabolism of all thirty trillion cells that enable you to think, feel, and behave as a human being. When even a few thousand brain cells get damaged or die, your whole body suffers.
As progressive brain damage accumulates, from poor nutrition, bodily pollution, over use of man-made drugs, and lack of exercise, intelligence declines, memories fade, muscles atrophy, bones weaken, immunity disappears, and you become aged and easy prey for every passing disease.
The ultimate solution to disease clearly lies in preventing degeneration of the brain. By now much of medical science is pointed in that direction. The good news is, that even now recent nutrition science has discovered significant ways to maintain and even improve brain function.
The first brain function to go is memory, beginning in Mr. Average at about age 30 and accelerating after age 40. You can change your behavior, improve your skills, enhance your life, only to the extent that you can store information in long-term memory and recall it. If that capacity declines, you become an automaton, unable to learn anything new, forever re-enacting the habits and memories of an increasingly distant past.
To prevent this decline it is neccessary to know a little about the structure of the nerves (neurons) in the brain. Each neuron consists of a stringy filament called an (axon). The dendrite carries nerve impulses towards the cell body, and the axon carries them away again. The nerve impulses carry the information much like the electrical impulses that carry your spoken information along a phone line.
Unlike phone lines however, neurons are all unconnected to each other. The end of the axon of each neuron stops near the end of the dendrites of other neurons. The gap between the axon and neighboring dendrites is called a (synapse). Transmission of nerve impulses across the synapse is accomplished chemically by neurotransmitters, compounds that flow from the axon to the neighboring dendrites. Two of these compounds known to be involved in memory are (serotonin and acetylcholine). Both are formed from specific essential nutrients that your body cannot make. You must obtain them from your diet.
BEST FOODS FOR YOUR BRAIN:
Wild salmon: Is not only an incredible food for brain health, it qualifies as incredible across virtually every other health standard as well and is clearly one of the healthiest foods that one can eat.
It's also important to know that only WILD salmon has been shown to contain the highest levels of the good stuff that your brain & body crave...as wild-caught fish grow and evolve their muscles, tissues and fat levels the hard way, fighting for survival of the fittest in the oceans and rivers. By contrast, many or most farm-raised salmon exist in a locked-up, artificial and sometimes contaminated environment and thus have to be fed food (or worse, color added later just before going to market!) to make them LOOK orange and healthy instead of white and sickly!
Cacao Beans: This amazing hedonistic bean is one of the world's longest-revered foods (think 'time of the Aztecs' old) and has in recent years been shown to be a veritable powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement (thanks in part to the Theobromine in cacao), antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements. In fact, chocolate has been very recently cited by some top health professionals and researchers to be THE single most exciting health food, and as more research continues to pour in, the more true this appears to be TRUE!
Most candy and chocolate bars contain not only low levels of cacao bean compared to other unhealthy ingredients such as sugars, milk fat, artificial flavorings and so on, but the quality and processing of the cacao used in these products is often of low health benefits due to everything from alkalization to refining and processing and over-roasting the healthy elements right out of the beans.
Blueberries: It didn't seem fair to leave this time-honored, well-researched superfood off the list, particularly given its reputation as the 'brain berry' and its wide availability in fresh, original form (compared to Acai). And given how relatively easy it is to add blueberries to your daily diet, the combination of proven health benefits with ready availability make it a no-brainer to consider eating blueberries daily if possible. Think about it: what would your brain health, brain abilities, disease/risk profile, and overall health be like 5 or 10 or 20 years from now if you consumed blueberries every day? Exactly...
Coffee Beans: Last but not least...So where's the controversy and confusion? The problem comes in when coffee is combined with other unhealthy things, as is so commonly done: triple-carmel-double-whip chocolate-creme-mocha-blast-freeze drinks, weak over-extracted brewed cheap poor quality coffee, coffee loaded up with artificial cream and sweeteners, you know the drill. Compare such carb, chemical and fat-laden concoctions with, say, a high-quality organic coffee freshly ground into an Espresso-grade powder and served as a couple shots of fresh espresso, straight? No comparison. This should be obvious, but surprisingly, many or even most people still don't get it.
But generally speaking, the coffee bean is a safe, true superfood. And when properly consumed in ideal forms (such as pure Espresso), it's one uniquely enjoyable beverage that also packs a host of brain and health-friendly properties to boot!
The ten billion nerve cells of your brain process such accountable amounts of information each second, they make our most advanced computers look like children's toys. Your brain controls everything, from the merest wiggle of toes, to the moment-to-moment balancing of hundreds of hormones, the microscopically regulated metabolism of all thirty trillion cells that enable you to think, feel, and behave as a human being. When even a few thousand brain cells get damaged or die, your whole body suffers.
As progressive brain damage accumulates, from poor nutrition, bodily pollution, over use of man-made drugs, and lack of exercise, intelligence declines, memories fade, muscles atrophy, bones weaken, immunity disappears, and you become aged and easy prey for every passing disease.
The ultimate solution to disease clearly lies in preventing degeneration of the brain. By now much of medical science is pointed in that direction. The good news is, that even now recent nutrition science has discovered significant ways to maintain and even improve brain function.
The first brain function to go is memory, beginning in Mr. Average at about age 30 and accelerating after age 40. You can change your behavior, improve your skills, enhance your life, only to the extent that you can store information in long-term memory and recall it. If that capacity declines, you become an automaton, unable to learn anything new, forever re-enacting the habits and memories of an increasingly distant past.
To prevent this decline it is neccessary to know a little about the structure of the nerves (neurons) in the brain. Each neuron consists of a stringy filament called an (axon). The dendrite carries nerve impulses towards the cell body, and the axon carries them away again. The nerve impulses carry the information much like the electrical impulses that carry your spoken information along a phone line.
Unlike phone lines however, neurons are all unconnected to each other. The end of the axon of each neuron stops near the end of the dendrites of other neurons. The gap between the axon and neighboring dendrites is called a (synapse). Transmission of nerve impulses across the synapse is accomplished chemically by neurotransmitters, compounds that flow from the axon to the neighboring dendrites. Two of these compounds known to be involved in memory are (serotonin and acetylcholine). Both are formed from specific essential nutrients that your body cannot make. You must obtain them from your diet.
BEST FOODS FOR YOUR BRAIN:
Wild salmon: Is not only an incredible food for brain health, it qualifies as incredible across virtually every other health standard as well and is clearly one of the healthiest foods that one can eat.
It's also important to know that only WILD salmon has been shown to contain the highest levels of the good stuff that your brain & body crave...as wild-caught fish grow and evolve their muscles, tissues and fat levels the hard way, fighting for survival of the fittest in the oceans and rivers. By contrast, many or most farm-raised salmon exist in a locked-up, artificial and sometimes contaminated environment and thus have to be fed food (or worse, color added later just before going to market!) to make them LOOK orange and healthy instead of white and sickly!
Cacao Beans: This amazing hedonistic bean is one of the world's longest-revered foods (think 'time of the Aztecs' old) and has in recent years been shown to be a veritable powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement (thanks in part to the Theobromine in cacao), antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements. In fact, chocolate has been very recently cited by some top health professionals and researchers to be THE single most exciting health food, and as more research continues to pour in, the more true this appears to be TRUE!
Most candy and chocolate bars contain not only low levels of cacao bean compared to other unhealthy ingredients such as sugars, milk fat, artificial flavorings and so on, but the quality and processing of the cacao used in these products is often of low health benefits due to everything from alkalization to refining and processing and over-roasting the healthy elements right out of the beans.
Blueberries: It didn't seem fair to leave this time-honored, well-researched superfood off the list, particularly given its reputation as the 'brain berry' and its wide availability in fresh, original form (compared to Acai). And given how relatively easy it is to add blueberries to your daily diet, the combination of proven health benefits with ready availability make it a no-brainer to consider eating blueberries daily if possible. Think about it: what would your brain health, brain abilities, disease/risk profile, and overall health be like 5 or 10 or 20 years from now if you consumed blueberries every day? Exactly...
Coffee Beans: Last but not least...So where's the controversy and confusion? The problem comes in when coffee is combined with other unhealthy things, as is so commonly done: triple-carmel-double-whip chocolate-creme-mocha-blast-freeze drinks, weak over-extracted brewed cheap poor quality coffee, coffee loaded up with artificial cream and sweeteners, you know the drill. Compare such carb, chemical and fat-laden concoctions with, say, a high-quality organic coffee freshly ground into an Espresso-grade powder and served as a couple shots of fresh espresso, straight? No comparison. This should be obvious, but surprisingly, many or even most people still don't get it.
But generally speaking, the coffee bean is a safe, true superfood. And when properly consumed in ideal forms (such as pure Espresso), it's one uniquely enjoyable beverage that also packs a host of brain and health-friendly properties to boot!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Twentieth Blog Post!
Since this is my 20TH blog post, I wanted to do something different, yet still thought-provoking..~Enjoy~
I asked God to take away my habit.
God said "No."
It is not for me to take away,
...But for you to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said "No."
His spirit is whole, his body is temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said "No."
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations;
It isn't granted, it is learned.
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said "No."
I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said "No."
Suffering draws you apart from the worldly cares,
And brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said "No."
You must grow on your own,
But I will prune you and make you fruitful.
I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said "No."
I will give you life so you may enjoy all things.
I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me.
God said..."AHHHHH, FINALLY "YOU" have the idea!"
I asked God to take away my habit.
God said "No."
It is not for me to take away,
...But for you to give up.
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said "No."
His spirit is whole, his body is temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said "No."
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations;
It isn't granted, it is learned.
I asked God to give me happiness.
God said "No."
I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.
I asked God to spare me pain.
God said "No."
Suffering draws you apart from the worldly cares,
And brings you closer to me.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said "No."
You must grow on your own,
But I will prune you and make you fruitful.
I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said "No."
I will give you life so you may enjoy all things.
I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me.
God said..."AHHHHH, FINALLY "YOU" have the idea!"
Saturday, April 30, 2011
How to Exercise
First get a clearance from your physician. Never begin an exercise program without it. Then, start easy. Don't jump into a vigorous weight program which involves health clubs and special periods out of your working day. It has a 95% risk of failure. It takes too much of your time. It becomes an added life burden.
And its no good loading all your exercise into one day a week. It doesn't work. To be successful, exercise must be incorporated into your normal daily routine. Fifteen minutes a day when you rise in the mornings, is far better for your health than three hours at the gym on Saturdays.
You dont need complicated machines or fancy gadgets. You can exercise anywhere. Your own body weight and gravity provide ample resistance. Gradual, progressive exercise is best. There is no reason to steam, no need to work to your limit.
Never strain. Anytime you ache the next day, you are going to hard. THE BODY DOES NOT NEED TO BE INFLAMED IN ORDER TO IMPROVE. Inflammation is counter-productive. Over-training is de-training.
Remember, you are limited by the rhythms of Nature. Adaption is slow-but sweetly sure. The first day you begin exercising, even after doing none for thirty years, your body starts to rejuvenate.
Your exercise program has three goals. First and most important is to maintain and increase your muscle mass. Second is to maintain you cardiovascular system. Third is to maintain your flexibility. Mr. Average stiffens as he ages, increasing the risk of all sorts of strains and tendon, ligament and skeletal disorders.
Once you have your physician's clearance to exercise, there is nothing wrong with a little aerobics, especially to warm up the system and get your blood pumping. And twenty minutes even at mild intensity will have cardiovascular benefits. I advocate aerobics to begin exercise for everyone because you should never pick up weights cold. Then 5-10 mins spent stretching after your muscles are warm, is all you need to maintain flexibility lifelong.
Okay..on to muscles. Your program should include resistance exercise for shoulders, arms, chest, back, legs, and abdominals. If you are doing three days per week, which is the starting level and the minimum for consistent benefit, then do: DAY 1- Shoulders and Arms/ DAY 2-Chest and Back/ DAY 3- Legs and Abdominals. If you are doing five days per week, the optimum program for health, then do one bodypart per day: Shoulders, Arms, Chest, Back, Legs & Abdominals.
Some secrets that will give you faster progress and a better body than most people you see in the health clubs...
1. No matter what the gym trainer says, Never do more per exercise than one warm up set of 12-15 easy repetitions, followed by one medium heavy set of 6-10 repetitions to exhaustion.
2. Work a body part only once per week. Exercised muscle takes about 48 hours to breakdown worn cells, then about 48-72 hours to build new, stronger replacements. That's five days. From 5-8 days strength remains at a maximum and then slowly declines. So exercising a muscle every 5-8 days is the optimum program for progress.
3. Do not train with weights for more than one hour per workout. Your anabolic potential, that is, your ability to gain lean muscle mass is limited by your hormone levels. After 45 mins to an hour, hormone levels decline. You may be able to will yourself to continue but it will not do your body any good.
4. Increase your protein intake by drinking a protein drink daily within one hour after workout. Much new research shows that weight training puts subjects into protein deficit, despite the high-protein level of the American diet.
5. Take daily antioxidant supplements. All exercises increases oxidation in the body.
6. Eat an alkaline diet. All exercise increases body acidity.
7. Sip a cold, light carbohydrate drink (7-10%) throughout workouts. drinks containing a little glucose, glucose polymers are the best, It will trickle carbohydrate continuously into your blood and spare your muscle glycogen, thereby maintaining your energy level. It will also prevent dehydration. Believe it or not 3% dehydration can reduce strength by 10%. Your drink will keep your body temperature down, thereby reducing the amount of blood diverted to the skin for cooling, thus leaving more to supply your muscles with oxygen and nutrients.
**It takes a bit of puff and stickability to grow a high-performance body. But once you've done it, the modicum of exercise necessary to maintain it is one of life's greatest bargains**
And its no good loading all your exercise into one day a week. It doesn't work. To be successful, exercise must be incorporated into your normal daily routine. Fifteen minutes a day when you rise in the mornings, is far better for your health than three hours at the gym on Saturdays.
You dont need complicated machines or fancy gadgets. You can exercise anywhere. Your own body weight and gravity provide ample resistance. Gradual, progressive exercise is best. There is no reason to steam, no need to work to your limit.
Never strain. Anytime you ache the next day, you are going to hard. THE BODY DOES NOT NEED TO BE INFLAMED IN ORDER TO IMPROVE. Inflammation is counter-productive. Over-training is de-training.
Remember, you are limited by the rhythms of Nature. Adaption is slow-but sweetly sure. The first day you begin exercising, even after doing none for thirty years, your body starts to rejuvenate.
Your exercise program has three goals. First and most important is to maintain and increase your muscle mass. Second is to maintain you cardiovascular system. Third is to maintain your flexibility. Mr. Average stiffens as he ages, increasing the risk of all sorts of strains and tendon, ligament and skeletal disorders.
Once you have your physician's clearance to exercise, there is nothing wrong with a little aerobics, especially to warm up the system and get your blood pumping. And twenty minutes even at mild intensity will have cardiovascular benefits. I advocate aerobics to begin exercise for everyone because you should never pick up weights cold. Then 5-10 mins spent stretching after your muscles are warm, is all you need to maintain flexibility lifelong.
Okay..on to muscles. Your program should include resistance exercise for shoulders, arms, chest, back, legs, and abdominals. If you are doing three days per week, which is the starting level and the minimum for consistent benefit, then do: DAY 1- Shoulders and Arms/ DAY 2-Chest and Back/ DAY 3- Legs and Abdominals. If you are doing five days per week, the optimum program for health, then do one bodypart per day: Shoulders, Arms, Chest, Back, Legs & Abdominals.
Some secrets that will give you faster progress and a better body than most people you see in the health clubs...
1. No matter what the gym trainer says, Never do more per exercise than one warm up set of 12-15 easy repetitions, followed by one medium heavy set of 6-10 repetitions to exhaustion.
2. Work a body part only once per week. Exercised muscle takes about 48 hours to breakdown worn cells, then about 48-72 hours to build new, stronger replacements. That's five days. From 5-8 days strength remains at a maximum and then slowly declines. So exercising a muscle every 5-8 days is the optimum program for progress.
3. Do not train with weights for more than one hour per workout. Your anabolic potential, that is, your ability to gain lean muscle mass is limited by your hormone levels. After 45 mins to an hour, hormone levels decline. You may be able to will yourself to continue but it will not do your body any good.
4. Increase your protein intake by drinking a protein drink daily within one hour after workout. Much new research shows that weight training puts subjects into protein deficit, despite the high-protein level of the American diet.
5. Take daily antioxidant supplements. All exercises increases oxidation in the body.
6. Eat an alkaline diet. All exercise increases body acidity.
7. Sip a cold, light carbohydrate drink (7-10%) throughout workouts. drinks containing a little glucose, glucose polymers are the best, It will trickle carbohydrate continuously into your blood and spare your muscle glycogen, thereby maintaining your energy level. It will also prevent dehydration. Believe it or not 3% dehydration can reduce strength by 10%. Your drink will keep your body temperature down, thereby reducing the amount of blood diverted to the skin for cooling, thus leaving more to supply your muscles with oxygen and nutrients.
**It takes a bit of puff and stickability to grow a high-performance body. But once you've done it, the modicum of exercise necessary to maintain it is one of life's greatest bargains**
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Foods Affect Your Bones.
Common foods have a big influence on your bones. Normal levels of protein for example, do not affect bone calcium, but I do know now that some forms of purified protein do cause calcium loss, Notably, case-in-point, lactalbumin, and egg whites that are commonly used in meal replacement drinks, can seriously deplete your calcium stores, if they are used as the main source of protein in your diet.
Very high protein intakes as used by many strength athletes, and by folk on those idiotic high protein diet plans, suck calcium out of your body like a sponge. So these folks should always be aware of their unique need for increased calcium intake. Salt also robs your bones. Our diet is spiked with twenty times the salt that occurs in natural food, and that is twenty times the salt required for optimal health. The sodium overload inhibits normal calcium metabolism in complex ways, all of which are detrimental to a wide range of bodily functions including blood pressure and bone formation. So ditch the salt cellar and the chips.
FIBER DOESNT HELP EITHER: High intakes of fiber dont rob your bones, but they do inhibit calcium absorption from the intestines. So when you take fiber for good health, as you should, always be aware that it increases your need for calcium.
WHAT ABOUT VEGETABLES: Numerous tables of calcium sources list spinach as one of the best, containing 120-150 mg of calcium per average serving. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I've known for years that spinach also contains high levels of chemicals called oxalates, that completely bind the calcium so that not even a milligram can be absorbed. So spinach is useless. Much better are green cabbage, kale, broccoli, bok choy, dark green lettuces, seaweed greens, arame, hijki, and nori.
Other good food sources of calcium are salmon and sardines canned with bones, well-cooked soybeans, tofu, and soymilk. But most people dont get enough of them. The average calcium intake is way below the RDA of 800-1200 mg per day. Low RDA is not healthy.
Even if we did get sufficient calcium, its only a tiny piece of the bone puzzle. For the last 4 decades, the dominant medical advice, delivered with much pomp and pretension, has been: drink two large glasses of milk a day. That amount of milk contains 600mg of calcium and what could be more innocuous than milk- right? Wrong! For many folk, the medical advice to drink milk to prevent osteosporosis is self-serving bs!
How do I know? Simple. After decades of milk promotion, osteosporosis has become epidemic. Milk just doesnt do the trick.
Animal milk was designed by the miraculous hand that guides nature specifically for nourishing infant animals, not human adults. As we grow, we lose much of our ability to produce the enzyme lactase, which digests the lactose in milk.. Three out of every four American adults have some degree of lactose-intolerance they cant touch dairy foods without severe discomfort.
The biggest lifestyle problem in America today is couch potatoism. Its deadly to your bones. Bones are constantly remodeled throughout life in exact response to the stresses placed on them by activity. But not any old activity will do. Every day millions of old bone calls die off. In order to form new replacement cells, bones requires weight-bearing stress on each microsopic point where fibers of the bones matrix join together, much like the zig-zag connections of the griders of a bridge. Pressure on these stress points causes the essential electrochemical "sparks" that stimulate growth of new bone cells. No pressure, No sparks...NO BONE.
**Stay active, do not sit in the same spot and watch tv for more than one hour, you must move your limbs in order to keep them..dont use it and you'll LOSE IT!**
Very high protein intakes as used by many strength athletes, and by folk on those idiotic high protein diet plans, suck calcium out of your body like a sponge. So these folks should always be aware of their unique need for increased calcium intake. Salt also robs your bones. Our diet is spiked with twenty times the salt that occurs in natural food, and that is twenty times the salt required for optimal health. The sodium overload inhibits normal calcium metabolism in complex ways, all of which are detrimental to a wide range of bodily functions including blood pressure and bone formation. So ditch the salt cellar and the chips.
FIBER DOESNT HELP EITHER: High intakes of fiber dont rob your bones, but they do inhibit calcium absorption from the intestines. So when you take fiber for good health, as you should, always be aware that it increases your need for calcium.
WHAT ABOUT VEGETABLES: Numerous tables of calcium sources list spinach as one of the best, containing 120-150 mg of calcium per average serving. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! I've known for years that spinach also contains high levels of chemicals called oxalates, that completely bind the calcium so that not even a milligram can be absorbed. So spinach is useless. Much better are green cabbage, kale, broccoli, bok choy, dark green lettuces, seaweed greens, arame, hijki, and nori.
Other good food sources of calcium are salmon and sardines canned with bones, well-cooked soybeans, tofu, and soymilk. But most people dont get enough of them. The average calcium intake is way below the RDA of 800-1200 mg per day. Low RDA is not healthy.
Even if we did get sufficient calcium, its only a tiny piece of the bone puzzle. For the last 4 decades, the dominant medical advice, delivered with much pomp and pretension, has been: drink two large glasses of milk a day. That amount of milk contains 600mg of calcium and what could be more innocuous than milk- right? Wrong! For many folk, the medical advice to drink milk to prevent osteosporosis is self-serving bs!
How do I know? Simple. After decades of milk promotion, osteosporosis has become epidemic. Milk just doesnt do the trick.
Animal milk was designed by the miraculous hand that guides nature specifically for nourishing infant animals, not human adults. As we grow, we lose much of our ability to produce the enzyme lactase, which digests the lactose in milk.. Three out of every four American adults have some degree of lactose-intolerance they cant touch dairy foods without severe discomfort.
The biggest lifestyle problem in America today is couch potatoism. Its deadly to your bones. Bones are constantly remodeled throughout life in exact response to the stresses placed on them by activity. But not any old activity will do. Every day millions of old bone calls die off. In order to form new replacement cells, bones requires weight-bearing stress on each microsopic point where fibers of the bones matrix join together, much like the zig-zag connections of the griders of a bridge. Pressure on these stress points causes the essential electrochemical "sparks" that stimulate growth of new bone cells. No pressure, No sparks...NO BONE.
**Stay active, do not sit in the same spot and watch tv for more than one hour, you must move your limbs in order to keep them..dont use it and you'll LOSE IT!**
Monday, April 18, 2011
Overweight is an illness!
Calling fat folks sick may raise some hackles in our cringing new era of political correctness. But in cold reality, people of color are still financially deprived, waitpersons still wait, and ecological executives still hump the garbage. A spade is still a spade, and the "gravitationally challenged" still bear America's heaviest health burden.
BODYFAT BREEDS DISEASE: Lets examine the fat/sick link. The Framingham Heart Study has been going on for over 4 decades. It's America's best. Succesive follow-ups over 26 years, shows that weight gain after adulthood causes a huge increase in risk of all types of cardiovascular disease. It doesnt have to be much pudge. Even a 10% increase above ideal weight causes a 6-7% increase in blood pressure. Thats only 15lbs extra on a 150 lbs person. And losing that extra weight causes and immediate drop in blood pressure of 10-11%. So there's no doubt that the bodyfat was causing the illness. The seriously overweight folk are in dire straights. Women for example, carrying 50-60lbs of extra padding are 700% more likely to develop hypertension.
...AND DIABETES: Serious overweight also causes rapid diabetes. Both men and women carrying 60lbs. extra or more, are 3000% more likely to develop diabetes. Even moderate overweight increases your risk of diabetes by about 100%
...CANCER TOO: Cancer also LOVES bodyfat. The American Cancer Society did a massive 20-year study involving over a million Americans in 25 different states. Results showed that men who are 40% overweight, have higher rates of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and rectal cancer. Women who are 40% or more overweight, have higher rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, gall bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial cancer. Corpulent is sick indeed.
...AND ALL THE REST: I can cover only a fraction of the fat/sick studies because overweight is a big cause of almost all diseases. Even moderate fatness damages the immune system, reducing your resistance to everything. Being overweight going into surgery, for example increases your risk of post-operative infections by up to 700%. And giving the lie to those "healthy fat cheeks" of childhood, studies show that fat babies get twice as many infections as slim babies.
JUST A LITTLE HAPPY FAT: Folk who are only moderately overweight show typical defensive reactions to the evidence that fat is sick. They would suck in their stomachs and laugh, "this is just happy fat". Or they slap a plump thigh and exclaim, "God made me this way, healthy and comfortable". The latest study shows that even mildly chunky die young, At the Havard School of Public Health, Dr. I-Min Lee and colleagues tracked 19,297 healthy Harvard men who graduated between 1916 and 1950. Smokers were exluded as unacceptable health risks.
By 1988, 4,370 of the men had died- mostly chunky. The less the man weighed throughout his life, the lower their risk of death. Men who were 20% below the average for Americans of comparable age and height had the best expectation of long and healthy lives.
With 32.6% of Americans classified as overweight and another 40 million on the way, bodyfat is by far our worst health risk. It causes more illness than all the enviornmental and nutrition problems, than smoking, alcohol, and all other drugs put together. It's infinitely worst than over-publicized AIDS.
Yet, to the ignorant, overweight is little more than a good butt for humor. It is sort of comical that Americans waddle enough fat around to feed the whole starving Africa, and would gladly pay the shipping, but the disease it causes is NO JOKE. Obesity is widespread~no punt intended.
BODYFAT BREEDS DISEASE: Lets examine the fat/sick link. The Framingham Heart Study has been going on for over 4 decades. It's America's best. Succesive follow-ups over 26 years, shows that weight gain after adulthood causes a huge increase in risk of all types of cardiovascular disease. It doesnt have to be much pudge. Even a 10% increase above ideal weight causes a 6-7% increase in blood pressure. Thats only 15lbs extra on a 150 lbs person. And losing that extra weight causes and immediate drop in blood pressure of 10-11%. So there's no doubt that the bodyfat was causing the illness. The seriously overweight folk are in dire straights. Women for example, carrying 50-60lbs of extra padding are 700% more likely to develop hypertension.
...AND DIABETES: Serious overweight also causes rapid diabetes. Both men and women carrying 60lbs. extra or more, are 3000% more likely to develop diabetes. Even moderate overweight increases your risk of diabetes by about 100%
...CANCER TOO: Cancer also LOVES bodyfat. The American Cancer Society did a massive 20-year study involving over a million Americans in 25 different states. Results showed that men who are 40% overweight, have higher rates of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and rectal cancer. Women who are 40% or more overweight, have higher rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, gall bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial cancer. Corpulent is sick indeed.
...AND ALL THE REST: I can cover only a fraction of the fat/sick studies because overweight is a big cause of almost all diseases. Even moderate fatness damages the immune system, reducing your resistance to everything. Being overweight going into surgery, for example increases your risk of post-operative infections by up to 700%. And giving the lie to those "healthy fat cheeks" of childhood, studies show that fat babies get twice as many infections as slim babies.
JUST A LITTLE HAPPY FAT: Folk who are only moderately overweight show typical defensive reactions to the evidence that fat is sick. They would suck in their stomachs and laugh, "this is just happy fat". Or they slap a plump thigh and exclaim, "God made me this way, healthy and comfortable". The latest study shows that even mildly chunky die young, At the Havard School of Public Health, Dr. I-Min Lee and colleagues tracked 19,297 healthy Harvard men who graduated between 1916 and 1950. Smokers were exluded as unacceptable health risks.
By 1988, 4,370 of the men had died- mostly chunky. The less the man weighed throughout his life, the lower their risk of death. Men who were 20% below the average for Americans of comparable age and height had the best expectation of long and healthy lives.
With 32.6% of Americans classified as overweight and another 40 million on the way, bodyfat is by far our worst health risk. It causes more illness than all the enviornmental and nutrition problems, than smoking, alcohol, and all other drugs put together. It's infinitely worst than over-publicized AIDS.
Yet, to the ignorant, overweight is little more than a good butt for humor. It is sort of comical that Americans waddle enough fat around to feed the whole starving Africa, and would gladly pay the shipping, but the disease it causes is NO JOKE. Obesity is widespread~no punt intended.
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