Shed Fat Build Muscle

The Truth About Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:00:22 PST

By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES
Original article found at here.
The smell of a fresh cup of coffee in the morning can be mesmerizing.

For some, coffee is the perfect way to wake them up in the morning.

And for others, coffee can create FEAR.

Why?

The consensus on coffee and your health is blurred.

In fact, there are studies for both sides one for and one against coffee for health.

So the question remains: is coffee beneficial or harmful to your health?

You decide for yourself.

Coffee
Coffee is full of powerful antioxidants and phenols which may reverse aging and may slow age associated disease process.

Coffee may also reduce sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen and improve glucose metabolism.

Coffee also has caffeine which may be addictive.

But caffeine may also enable your body to do wonderful things.

For one caffeine is a stimulant to your central nervous system which keeps you alert and functioning.

And stimulation of your CNS may also increase metabolism.

You may be able to BURN more FAT
by drinking COFFEE

Coffee may also increase performance in endurance events.

Plus, coffee may reduce the risk of developing Type II diabetes, colon cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and may reduce your risk of gallstones.

But ladies and gentlemen, today I want to share TWO amazing benefits coffee has one a topic that is very serious.

Coffee may help fight some cancers.

Plus caffeine has nothing to do with it.

Coffee vs. Prostate CancerProstate cancer affects many men around the world.

2 million men in the US and 16 million men worldwidehave developed and survived prostate cancer

However, there is a very lethal type of prostate cancer which can spread to your bones or may even KILL you.

It not to be taken lightly, and can be very DEADLY.

Consumption of coffee may have tremendous effects on this lethal form of cancer.

Men that drank the MOST coffee, equaling 6 or more cups a day may reduce their risk of developing ANY type of prostate cancer.

And on this very lethal form: the more coffee you drink the better.

You may reduce your RISK by 20%!

Men who drink 1-3 cups per day may also reduce their risk by as much as 30%.

Now the interesting part of this study: it didn’t matter if it was caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee.

Impressive!

Now ladies, here is some good news for you: coffee may reduce your risk of developing endometrial cancer.

Coffee vs. Endometrial Cancer
Endometrial cancer is a form cancer that attacks the womb.

It’s very serious form of cancer and affects a little over 46,000 women per year.

Endometrial cancer begins in the cells of your uterus that release fluid and mucus.

Endometrial cancer may be linked to
excess levels of estrogen and insulin

Coffee drinkers take note!

Let me explain…

Women who drink an average of 4 cups per day may lower their risk of developing endometrial cancer by 25%.

That was in comparison to women who drank less than one cup per day.

And again: caffeine has nothing to do with it.

This study showed that women who drank an average of 2 cups of DECAFFEINATED coffee may reduce their risk as well.

On a side note, this study determined tea drinkers had no change their risk factor for developing endometrial cancer.

More Research Needed
There are more studies needed but it this is a great starting point!

And it may point to the power the antioxidants and phenols found in coffee and its interaction in your body.

Coffee may reduce insulin and estrogen levels possibly
reducing your risk of developing endometrial cancer

Those same antioxidants and phenols may also reduce your risk of developing diabetes.

Regardless of the type of coffee, drinking coffee may reduce many different diseases which may afflict you as you get older.

The rich aroma of coffee MAY be mesmerizing but the nutrients INSIDE the black liquid may be the ones which keep you healthy.

So raise your cup and enjoy the rich and bold flavor of your favorite blend.

Know that by drinking coffee, you may be reversing dangerous health problems and defying the aging process with each tiny sip.

NEXT: Get All The Age Defying And Cancer Fighting Antioxidants With This Special Nutrient >>

References:

Je, Y. Hankinson, S. Tworoger, S. DeVivo, I. Giovannucci, E. A Prospective Cohort Study of Coffee Consumption and Risk of Endometrial Cancer over a 26-Year Follow Up. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev November 22, 2011 ; Published OnlineFirst November 22, 2011; doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-11-0766.

Wilson, K. Kasperzyk, J. Rider, J. Kenfield, S. Van Dam, R. Stampler, M. Giovannucci, E. Mucci, L. Coffee Consumption and Prostate Cancer Risk and Progression in the Health Professionals follow up Study. JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (2011) doi: 10.1093/jnci/djr151

Building A Better Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:29:38 PDT

Better Breakfasts for Building Muscle

The biggest consideration to make when trying to gain muscle is your food intake and what types of food you are eating. While your activity level and genetic factors all have a slight input, you have to concentrate most of your efforts on your diet. But despite what you may have been led to believe, fats are still okay to include in your muscle building meal plans. Often times, if you do it right, you can fight off the fat by eating the right types of food, and by eating them at the rights times and intervals.

BREAKFAST.

Have you ever heard the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”?

Of course you have because everyone has at some point or another.

But there is a good reason this saying is so popular…It’s true! Skipping breakfast is possibly the biggest of all mistakes to be made if you wish to gain muscle, keep fat levels low or get into any half decent shape at all. Eating breakfast will kick start your metabolism and provide you with the energy you need to start the day as you mean to go on. Breakfast is literally the ‘fast breaker’ and your body begins to slow down it’s metabolism after going 6 to 8 hours without food. You want to grow? Your best not skip breakfast!

So what does a typical muscle building breakfast consist of for the Muscle Cook?

My muscle building breakfast always consist of protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats – note the word healthy here! Protein is the main muscle building nutrient and you need to consume this in order to extract those vital amino acids. Too many people skip the protein in their breakfast with just a cereal bar. Don’t be one of them.

PROTEIN. Many bodybuilders use egg whites to get their protein into their diet, although this can be a little on the time-consuming side if you were to crack each egg to get the whites out of them. If you also have kids to feed or a job to get to then you can buy your egg whites in a carton – Eggwhites in cartons are much less messy and readily available. Cottage cheese and protein powder are both good choices too as they pack in the protein without throwing in too much fat. Protein powder can be a quick way to make some delicious oats, one of my personal favourites.

CARBS. The next thing to do is get the complex carbohydrates in. These are vital for energy especially when burning more calories and requiring more to build and repair muscle tissue. Eating complex carbohydrates rather than the simple ones such as processed bread is the best way to go. You should eat beans and whole grains which release their energy more steadily and avoid giving you a sugar rush which is only really beneficial post workout.

HEALTHY FATS. Healthy fats are perfectly acceptable as well when it comes to eating for muscle gain or even fat loss. The key is to choose healthy fats such as olive oil, natural peanut butter, nuts and low amounts of whole eggs. Just be careful with oils as it is easy to go over your required fat calories per meal if you use too much.

FIBER. Fiber should also be found in your breakfast as this keeps your digestive system moving effectively. An effectively moving digestive system will be more able to digest food and remove toxins. By being able to digest foods better you will also keep glycogen receptors more receptive to the caloric surplus you take in on a muscle building diet.

Your body is dependent upon the food you supply to it and a better breakfast really does mean a better body. Don’t think about a junk food breakfast and skipping it is always completely out of the question.

It might take some practice and some planning in advance. Just like lifting weights, you must get used to the calories in the morning and taking the time to actually eat. Treat it like you should be treating your weights. It’s a good routine to adopt!

Tea Juice; Replace Diet Coke & Sweeteners!

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:56:27 PDT

-5-6 bags of any non-caffeine he.rbal tea of your choice (green
tea, peach tea, berry tea, orange zinger, lemon, etc.)

-3 quarts water

-Stevia powder or liquid to taste

Boil tea bags in a large pot. Add 1-2 full teaspoons of
stevia while still hot (You may add more or less, based on
desired sweetness) Let tea cool and then transfer to the
refrigerator in Ice Tea pitchers or individual size bottles."

Common Weight Loss Mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:23:45 PDT

By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES

Weight loss is not easy. It takes hard work, dedication, and sweat to lose weight and keep it off.   People did not decide to become overweight, but the changes in the environment have made it easier for us to have access to unhealthy food options and more sedentary lifestyles.
It takes a long time to put on weight. Keep in mind you might have seen an increase of a pound here or there, but making little changes helped keep it under control. Then, out of nowhere, it became five or ten pounds or more, and it just does not come off that easily. Let me explain why.
Every time you turn the corner, there is a new weight loss diet coming at you full bore. You have heard all of them state the same thing about weight loss.   You can lose so much weight with this or that plan; this plan will increase your energy; that plan will work without dieting at all.   Did you know that if you Google "weight loss plans," or even "diets," you get roughly 86 million different pages!   No wonder why we are so confused about weight loss! We are inundated with too much information, that weeding through all of them can be overwhelming.
Most of the time weight gain takes months, or even years, to add up. There is no easy way to take it off either, no magic wand that can take the weight off and return you to your high school weight. There are many weight-loss supplements that can help raise your metabolism which can help you lose weight, however, which product can you trust and who makes the best one?
Want to be lean and fit? Then follow these five weight loss tips that the Pros might have kept hidden from you:
Top Five Mistakes
Mistake #1: Do you skip the most important meal of the day?
Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day. Not only can skipping breakfast seriously alter your metabolism for the day, but it can also lead to weight gain. Eating breakfast in the morning sparks your metabolism, and helps you burn calories. It takes energy to break down food, so your metabolism starts up and is maintained until you eat next.
Recommendation: Get up a few minutes earlier and have breakfast. This can start your day off right. Try to incorporate high-quality protein sources that provide good fats and carbohydrates that have plenty of fiber in them.   The fiber will keep you fuller for a longer period of time until you eat again.
Mistake #2: Not eating enough metabolism-boosting protein
The metabolism-boosting tissue on our bodies is muscle. Muscles consist of water, trace minerals, and protein. By adding protein, you are providing the body with the building blocks it needs to maintain adequate muscle mass.   Protein provides the body with essential and non-essential amino acids, which help build muscle and can help burn fat.
Recommendations: To benefit from metabolism-boosting protein, it is recommended to eat 1gm or more per kg of bodyweight. This will provide the body with enough protein to maintain proper muscle tissue. In order to increase the amount of muscle you have, or if you are an athlete, then the protein requirements may go up. It is recommended to talk with a dietitian to develop the right plan for you for optimal performance and weight loss.
Mistake #3: The workout you might be doing can lead to weight gain
That’s right, the exact workout you are doing might be leading to extra weight gain. Before you stop reading right here, let me explain how your workout might just be the problem.
Not everyone prescribes the same type of program, and most utilize the staples: cardiovascular work and muscle strengthening. Now, each one is important to the overall workout process, and both can help you lose weight. However, there are some people who only prescribe one of the two listed above.   Most people think the more cardio they do, the better their weight loss results. Why is this wrong? Read on to learn the secrets.
Cardio does do a lot of good for the body. It helps to strengthen the cardiovascular system, helps to burn more calories in a 30-minute block, and can dramatically alter our lipid profile. However, most people do not follow the typical guidelines of only 30-60 minutes in one workout. Most people go beyond the 60 minutes, which then goes from fat burning and shifts to muscle burning.   Muscle is, by far, our greatest weapon.
The more muscle tissue we have, the more we use our fat during the workout, and after.   The exact workout that you are doing is eating this fat burning super weapon and might be leading to excess storage of fat. Making sure that you are incorporating a strength training workout in with your cardio will help preserve your fat burning potential, and help you burn extra calories at rest.
Incorporating strength training and increasing your protein intake (see #2) will help to keep your fat burning tissue in place, and help utilize that extra fat that is sitting around your abdominals or other areas of the body.
Recommendations: Incorporate the right type of strength program for you, to help men build more muscle and help women build metabolism-boosting lean muscle tissue.   There are many different plans and protocols that you can use to help maximize your strength training routine results and help you shed those unwanted pounds. Talk to a professional to get guidance on the best program for you.
Mistake #4: Not feeding the “machine” right after your workout
Athletes know about it. Strength coaches, dietitians, and sports nutritionists do too. The timing of nutrition post workout is just as important as the rest of the day’s nutrition. There is a small window of opportunity post workout to halt the breakdown of muscle, and help burn extra fat. This window, commonly referred to as the anabolic window, is a time when the body is very sensitive to insulin. Having a smaller snack with protein and carbs allows for greater breakdown and shuttling of the nutrients into the cells.   This allows your body not only to be better hydrated, but it also helps with refueling the body with essential nutrients you need to help build muscle and burn fat.
Recommendations: A small meal or snack that has the right combination of protein and carbohydrates within 45 minutes after your workout.   A great snack that provides the right combination of carbs to proteins is milk or a post-workout meal shake.
Mistake #5: Do you overeat, or not eat enough?
This one could be, by far, the biggest challenge facing most exercisers and people looking to lose weight.   The fact is nutrition, and more specifically your calorie intake, is by far one of the most important steps in losing weight and keeping it off.   Confused? Here is the easy explanation.
Calories are important to weight loss success.   Maintaining a caloric deficit is the normal way to lose weight. However, not taking in enough calories can have detrimental effects on your weight loss success. Your body’s basal metabolic rate determines the amount of calories you need in order to maintain your weight and daily activities. To lose weight, you subtract enough calories from this number, and vice versa to gain weight.   There is no magic number, but what is typically recommended is about 500 calories per day, which for 7 days equals about 3500 calories, or one pound of fat.   This number is usually accomplished through a combination of diet and exercise.
Cutting your calories to dangerously low levels only creates havoc in your body. Your body usually shifts into conservation mode, and starts metabolizing muscle and spares your fat stores. This results in slower metabolism and higher fat stores.
Recommendations: Maintain appropriate calorie intake, but include three meals per day and possibly include healthy snacks. Most meals and snacks should include lean proteins, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and have more healthy fats including some moderate levels of some saturated fats, which can be beneficial to health. Minimize the use of calorie-dense foods and baked goods since they include a lot of trans fatty acids, which has been shown to lead to heart disease and some cancers.   To find out where you are lacking in calories, keep a journal and write everything down that goes into your mouth. This will show you where you might be able to increase in calories for optimal weight loss.
Losing weight, and keeping it off, takes hard work and dedication to stay on course. Making sure you are eating correctly by incorporating the right foods, eating enough calories, not skipping meals, and eating at the right time will help you to keep your waistline slim. Also, maintaining an active lifestyle by exercising regularly with the right strength and cardiovascular program will helpmaintain your metabolism-boosting tissue and keeping your fat burning at an accelerated rate.

The Easiest Way To Reduce Food Cravings

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:11:28 PDT

More evidence has been released indicating that a high-protein breakfast may increase satiety and reduce your food cravings, according to a small study published in the journal Obesity.

University of Missouri researchers looked at brain signals linked to food motivation and reward behaviors that are eating-related, in ten obese adolescent girls.

These girls usually skipped breakfast.

For three weeks, the girls were given either a 500 calorie normal-protein breakfast, a high-protein breakfast, or no breakfast at all.

Three hours after implementing one of these three options, they noticed there were differences in brain activity, and the differences were greater with those who had consumed the high-protein breakfast - meaning that their hunger levels were decreased and their fullness or satiety lasted longer.

This leads to less snacking, overeating, and weight gain.

Most people know that incorporating a healthy breakfast is a good thing to live a healthier life; but even though this study was small, it further supports past studies showing just how important breakfast is. It also shows that a high-protein breakfast is more effective at controlling hunger than a normal-protein breakfast.

If you don't like eggs for breakfast, here are some other options to fulfill your high-protein breakfast.

1. Greek Yogurt
2. Whey protein added to pancakes or waffles
3. Whey protein smoothie
4. All Natural Prograde Lean Meal Replacement made with Stevia

Now if you do like eggs, that opens up even more possibilities for a high-protein breakfast.

Next: Discover The New All Natural Meal Replacement Made With Stevia To Satisfy Your High-Protein Breakfast Needs.

Reference:
Obesity (2011) Published online ahead of print. doi:10.1038/oby.2011.108 “Neural Responses to Visual Food Stimuli After a Normal vs. Higher Protein Breakfast in Breakfast-Skipping Teens: A Pilot fMRI Study” Authors: Heather J. Leidy, Rebecca J. Lepping, Cary R. Savageand Corey T. Harris

5 Ways To Avoid Overeating

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:30:34 PDT

By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD

I hear this all the time when working with new nutrition clients:

“I can’t lose weight because I eat too much.”

It seems that people blame their troubles with weight control or weight loss on the fact that they have a hard time controlling what they eat.

But, is this really the case?

When I look deeper into this problem, it many times isn’t the case.

Most often people fail to actually eat ENOUGH at all their meals; they skip breakfast, try to eat barely anything at lunch, and then are so hungry when they get home at night they either eat continuously, or snack without thinking while watching the late night news.

What this does is set their body up for a fat-storage situation that makes it even harder to want to eat in the morning because they’re so full from their late-night binging.

However, there are some people that truly have a hard time eating less and always eat more than their body needs – especially if they rarely exercise or move their bodies at all.

Or, there are those situations that we’re in where we can’t say “No,” regardless of what we do. Whether we chew gum, drink water, or try to just walk away, we always end up coming back and filling our bellies until they can’t hold anymore.

So, why is this? Why do some people not seem to have an "off" switch? What is it about them, or the situation that makes it so hard to eat less and stop before they’re stuffed?

Some people don’t have an OFF switch

Let’s look at some of these factors so you can understand what drives your desires for food. And maybe the next time you’re faced with more food than you need, you’ll be able to push away from the table and not think about it anymore.

1) The Bigger the Plate, the More You Eat

Just like houses, plate sizes have gotten bigger and bigger over the years. In fact, most portion sizes of foods are bigger than what we really need.

No longer is a 9- or 10-inch dinner plate good enough (that size is for salads). Now, most dinner plates span 11 to 12 inches across, while cup and bowl sizes have also increased.

These larger sizes encourage people to add more food, and subsequently, eat more than they really need, leaving themselves feeling over-full and guilty.

Researchers from Cornell University showed that people consume 22% more food when it was served on a larger plate or bowl, than a smaller one, adding to an already increasing waistline.

A bigger plate will encourage you to eat more

Even nutrition experts are unable to resist: When nutrition professors served themselves ice cream into a big bowl they gave themselves 31% more than those given a smaller bowl. Then, if they were given a large spoon, their scoop portion increased by 14%. So, regardless of education, even the wise can be fooled into eating more.

Bottom Line: Choose dinnerware that your grandparents would eat off of, especially if you can’t hold back during a good meal.

2) The Prettier the Plate, the More You Want to Eat

Scientists tested the attractiveness of a serving dish and how it influenced a person’s perception of the food they were eating.

People were served a brownie on a napkin, a paper plate, or a nice china dish and then asked what they thought.

After eating it off the napkin, they thought the brownie was alright. After the paper plate, it was pretty good. But after eating off the china, it was really, really good and the greatest brownie they’d ever eaten. They chose to pay more for the brownie when it was served on good china and wanted to eat more.

Got nice dishes? You’ll eat more food

Take Home Message: If you want people to eat more, give them exceptional dinnerware to eat off of; but, if you’re trying to encourage yourself to eat less, choose plates that are slightly boring.

3) If You Can See It, You’ll Probably Eat It

Visual cues are one of the strongest predictors of overeating, or eating when not necessary.

That’s why television commercials at night often show images of tantalizing snack foods or creamy sugary treats. Not only are you tired and looking for a boost from a long day, but when your mind sees it, it thinks about how good it would taste. Eventually you’ll run to the pantry to seek out your own evening snack.

The same thing goes for parties. When food is out in plain sight, people are more likely to eat it, whether they’re hungry or not. But, if that food was covered and invisible to the eye, it wouldn’t get wolfed down.

Weight Loss Tip: Keep your work sweet treats in an opaque container so thoughts of sugar won’t dance through your head. Or, better yet, don’t keep them there at all.

4) Close Food = Eaten Food

Picture this: You’re sitting in front of your computer working away, but you have a bag of pistachios also sitting beside you on your desk.

You know you’re not really that hungry, but because those tasty green pieces of goodness are within arm’s reach, you’re more likely to eat them than if you have to go into the kitchen to seek them out.

And so you do, and before you know it, the bag is almost empty and the pile of shells starts falling onto the floor. You feel stuffed and embarrassed, but you can’t go back in time to change it.

If food is within arm’s reach, you’re more likely to eat it

If you have more time to think about what you’re about to eat, by forcing yourself to travel to get it, you’re more likely to rethink your unnecessary cravings.

Bottom Line: If ice cream is your passion, don’t even keep it in the fridge where you’re likely to grab it right after eating dinner. You’ll think twice if you have to drive somewhere to chow it down and will probably just say no.

5) Avoid Dining with a Big Eater

You’re going out to dinner with your pro-swimmer friend Kat, but you know good and well that she eats a lot more than you because her metabolism is cranking on overtime from all her exercise training.

So, you try to eat less than her, but for some reason you still end up chowing down more than you need.

Why is this? Scientists from Cornell also discovered that people mimic how their dining partners eat. When you’re seated in front of a person eating a large meal, you’re more likely to eat a larger meal than normal and over-doing your intake.

Or, if that person with you eats fast, you may also find yourself eating faster than you’d usually eat and, in turn, taking in more calories.

Weight Loss Tip: If you’re going out with a big or fast eater, ensure your portion size is fixed to be smaller on purpose. And, make sure you don’t share dessert with her, no matter how good it looks.

Coffee Myths

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:05:24 PDT

I love coffee!! There’s nothing like the smell of coffee to start off the day! Growing up, we did encounter a few myths about coffee. Some of them say that drinking coffee causes increased risks in causing heart diseases, hypertension, stunted growth and tooth decay. These claims were said to be controversial though.I researched more about coffee and found out that drinking appropriate amounts actually does have health benefits. Here are some of them:

ANTI-OXIDANTS

Coffee is rich in anti-oxidants that prevents oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging. Anti-oxidants can also be found in most fruits and vegetables such as berries, beans and pecans but these are consumed less frequently as compared to coffee. In fact, a 2005 study found that Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than anywhere else. More than half of adults drink coffee daily, and the average coffee drinker downs about two-three cups each day.

IMPROVED MENTAL PERFORMANCE.

Caffeine in coffee is a well-known stimulant. Coffee promotes alertness, attention and wakefulness. The cup of coffee can also increase information processing.

TOOTH DECAY

A compound in coffee called Trigonelline has anti-adhesive and antibacterial properties, which helps prevent cavities. This is really something new!

PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Regular coffee drinking reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease. A number of studies published found in The US National Center for Biotechnology Information have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. 6 studies have found that regular (caffeinated) coffee drinkers reduce their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by as much as 80%. That’s great news, right??

LIVER CIRHOSSIS

Studies have confirmed that drinking coffee may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis. The risk for this condition is reduced by 80% with the ingestion of 2-4 cups of coffee each day.

PROSTATE CANCER

In 2009, two coffee studies suggested additional benefits: Coffee-drinking men seemed to have a lower risk of advanced or lethal prostate cancer than other men, and middle-aged people who drank moderate amounts of coffee — three to five cups a day — had the lowest risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life compared to less (or more) frequent drinkers.

However, too much of everything is always never good. So how can you drink coffee in a healthy way? Here are some great healthy coffee drinking tips.

DOSE

Limit your coffee intake to 2 8-oz cups per day. Any more than that is considered as a heavy addict. (I know. I’ve been there).

Listen to Your Body

If you feel restless, heavy palpitations, throbbing headaches, tremors and anxiety, you may be dependent on a lot of caffeine each day. Replace 1 or 2 cups of coffee with green tea instead. Green tea has much less caffeine than coffee and is great for you!

Check Your Coffee Mix

Do not jack up your coffee with sugar, milk, syrup and whip cream (So I guess that means no Starbucks, huh?). Use stevia or xylitol to sweeten and avoid all the empty, harmful calories. A teaspoon of half and half won’t hurt either. Please oh please, do not use any of those flavored creamers.

In my opinion, coffee is great! I love the taste, the aroma and the way it just wakes you up in the morning. The feeling of just being “refreshed” or more like being “revived” after a cup of coffee most definitely brings pleasure and comfort to most of us. I drink about 2 cups every day but of course, too much caffeine is not healthy. There are also some people who are extra sensitive to even small amounts of caffeine. If you wanted to be sure how much caffeine is healthy for you, go ahead and seek your doctor’s advice.

Cinnamon Bun Protein Shake

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 06:33:51 PDT

Ingredients:
1 Scoop vanilla protein
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Instant Pudding
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 Cup Organic Skim Milk
3 Ice Cubes

Directions:
Pour 1 cup of organic skim milk in to a blender, then add the remaining ingredients. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Enjoy
This creamy milkshake tastes like a mouth-watering cinnamon bun! Fat loss dessert. Enjoy it as a convenient snack or meal replacement anytime – delicious!

Few reasons why I love Prograde Protein is because it’s the only stevia sweetened, delicious, cold-processed protein powder I’m aware of.

Most protein powders are denatured and damaged due to high heat processing, but Prograde Protein uses a low-temperature filtration process that protects the protein as it’s purified. It’s also naturally sweetened with stevia, which is extremely hard to find when it comes protein powders. Oh, and it tastes great (which in reality is probably the most important factor).

Protein Pops

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:55:46 PDT

by Nedah Warstler of leanKitchen.com

1 c. coconut or unsweetened almond milk blended well with

1/2 scoop Prograde Vanilla Protein

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, blended with just a little water or lemon juice (and stevia to sweeten, if desired)

1 c. fresh or frozen strawberries or raspberries, blended with just a little water or lemon juice (and stevia to sweeten, if desired)

In Popsicle molds, add strawberry layer to molds. Let set (1-2 hours), then add center white layer. Let set until still soft enough that you can add the stick, but firm enough to be able to support the blueberry layer, about 1 1/2 hours. Add stick and blueberry layer.

Let freeze overnight, and enjoy!

What They NEVER Told You About Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:25:18 PDT

By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD

The Egg: this three letter word invokes almost as much fear into the hearts of Americans as our other favorite “deadly” three-letter word: F-A-T.

However, it’s finally time to crack the misconception that eggs are bad for our health, because they’re absolutely not.
It’s unfortunate, but many people still think that you cannot eat more than one egg per day, or even more than 3 eggs per week because if you do, you’ll develop high blood cholesterol levels and fatty arteries. But, this could not be farther from the truth.

So, why do we think this way?

In the 1960’s consumers were first “warned” about eggs as being a major player in the development of heart disease… without any conclusive evidence to back up this claim. News articles overwhelmingly focused on the egg- cholesterol - heart disease link when there was no real proof for this message.

Eggs were so demonized that egg substitute products became all the rage for cooking and baking, but they were no better, and sometimes far worse, than the whole egg itself.

Today, consumers need to understand that eggs are not evil, but in fact are healthy and important components of our diets.

High Protein Quality

First and foremost, eggs an inexpensive source of high quality protein that almost everyone can enjoy in various ways – from scrambled eggs to deviled eggs to green eggs and ham, eggs are a versatile way to quickly and easily get more protein in your diet. And, they’re not just for breakfast, but for lunch and dinner too!

In terms of protein quality, most foods rich in protein are measured in terms of the availability of that protein to effectively promote growth (cell growth), and this term is known as biological value.

Based on the amino acids contained in an egg and its ability to stimulate growth, egg protein is only second to mother’s milk for human nutrition.

On a scale, with 100 representing top efficiency, these are the biological values of proteins in several foods:

Whole Egg	94
Milk	85
Fish	76
Beef	74
Soybeans	73
Beans, dry	58

Biological Value of Protein Foods

Nutrition Powerhouses

Secondly, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition:

•   Eggs are among the few sources of naturally occurring vitamin D and K, which are known for cancer protection and longevity.

•   Eggs contain the highest source of dietary choline (125mg/egg), which is a nutrient necessary for proper nervous system development and structural integrity of cell membranes; particularly, choline is necessary for brain development in infants to impart lifelong enhancement of memory and attention.

•   They supply 6.3grams of high quality protein, 5 grams of fat primarily consisting of an even balance of saturates and monounsaturates, with less polyunsaturates, and barely no carbohydrates at all; they’re the perfect low carbohydrate food.

•   Some designer eggs contain up to 200 mg of DHA, the essential omega-3 fatty acid needed by all humans for normal development and functioning, and prevention of depression and memory loss.

•   The whole egg contains 166 mcg of lutein and zeaxanthin, two super antioxidants that contribute to eye health and prevent common causes of age-related blindness; research shows that the bioavailability of these nutrients from eggs is higher than other foods with higher contents.

Eggs Do NOT Cause Heart Disease

In November 2010, a paper was published by Canadian medical researchers entitled, “Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease”.

The authors stated that: “Patients at risk of cardiovascular disease should limit their intake of cholesterol. Stopping the consumption of egg yolks after a stroke or myocardial infarction would be like quitting smoking after a diagnosis of lung cancer: a necessary action, but late.”

However, prior to this paper, over the past 10 years, numerous studies, both clinical and observational, were published with the findings that there is no connection between egg consumption and heart disease risk, especially in healthy individuals.

For example, Dr Maria-Luz Fernandez and colleagues have been investigating egg nutritional health for more than a decade and have published findings such as:

•   “Revisiting Dietary Cholesterol Recommendations: Does the Evidence Support a Limit of 300 mg/d?”. Overall, no study has yet shown an association between egg intake and risk for heart disease and there is no compelling epidemiological or clinical trial results that show compelling evidence for limiting cholesterol intake to 300 mg/day or restricting egg consumption.

•   “Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs Increases Plasma HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Men Consuming a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet”. Raising HDL cholesterol is often called impossible, but is necessary to protect against plaque build-up in your arteries (HDL carries it away). This study shows that it can be easily increased in overweight men (a population very susceptible to heart disease) by reducing carb intake and using eggs in the diet regularly.

•   ‘Pre-menopausal women, classified as hypo- or hyper-responders, do not alter their LDL/HDL ratio following a high dietary cholesterol challenge”. When 50 pre-menopausal women (another very susceptible heart disease population) were given either an egg a day plus cholesterol from other foods, or a cholesterol-free egg substitute for 30 days, did not experience the development of an ‘atherogenic lipoprotein profile” regardless if they were hyper or hypo-responders to dietary cholesterol.

Overall, dietary cholesterol from eggs does NOT cause heart disease, rather a lifestyle and a diet high in foods that elicit increased inflammation, hyperglycemia and oxidative stress induces increased atherosclerotic build-up and increased risk for heart attack or stroke (among other diseases).

As such, it is wise to follow a diet low in sugar, void of processed foods, artificial chemicals (flavors and colors), preservatives and pesticides and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and replace it with a whole foods, natural, plant-rich diet balanced in protein, carbohydrates and fat to minimize heart disease risk.

Avoiding eggs is not the answer – in fact, including eggs in your wholesome diet will actually benefit you more . Two eggs provide 13 grams of protein, ~10 grams of fat, and plenty of nutrients you barely find in any other foods. This will keep you satisfied, healthy and energized for hours after any meal and will help you choose other healthy foods at the right times.

However, If you choose not to live a healthy lifestyle with whole foods, adequate sleep, plenty of exercise and minimal toxins, and/or you already have heart disease, you may be advised to limit your intake of egg yolks because it may acerbate your current situation.

URGENT NEWS: University Studies Confirm Multiple Reasons To Consume More Protein For Fat Loss

References:
JD Spence, DJ Jenkins, J Davignon. Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: Not for patients at risk of vascular disease. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 2010; 26 (9): e336-e339
Quereshi AI, et al. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Med Sci Monit. 2007;13(1):CR1-
Kritchevsky SB and Kritchevsky D. Egg consumption and coronary heart disease: an epidemiologic overview. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 19, Number 5 (Supplement), Pages 549S-555S. October 2000.
Fernandez M and Calle M. Revisiting Dietary Cholesterol Recommendations: Does the Evidence Support a Limit of 300 mg/d? Curr Athero Rep 2010. 12: 377-183
Ratliff J et al. Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs Increases Plasma HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Men Consuming a Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet. Nutr Res. 2009. 29. 262-268
Herron K et al. Pre-menopausal women, classified as hypo- or hyper-responders, do not alter their LDL/HDL ratio following a high dietary cholesterol challenge. J Am Coll Nutr. 2002. 21(3) 250-8

How To Improve Low Testosterone Levels

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:08:15 PDT

By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES

Our bodies contain two types of testosterone. One is the kind that is bound to a type of hormone and is responsible for dictating to the body how much free testosterone there is. The other form is testosterone that is free and unbound, and is the form of testosterone that is metabolized by the cells for use.

The job of testosterone is important in the body. Testosterone helps aid in development of different systems in the body from the skin, kidneys, and muscular development. Testosterone development and secretion start when we are infants, shuts down production for a little bit of time, and then picks back up during, and after, puberty.

The normal level of testosterone in the body is 18.0 nmol• L which slowly decreases as we age. By the time we hit our 60s, the level of testosterone in the body can drop as low as 12.0 nmol• L. Decreased levels can result in brittle bones, increased adipose tissue (abdominal fat), and increased mortality rates from cardiovascular disease.

There are ways to increase testosterone levels naturally, and fight back to regain the swagger that you had in your 20s.

Here are 4 ways that you can naturally boost your testosterone levels.

Exercise

Heavy resistance exercise has been shown to not only help strengthen bones and increase muscle size and strength, but now you can increase testosterone levels, especially in middle-aged men.

Research done by Häkkinen et al, demonstrated that the benefits of heavy resistance training in young and middle-aged men significantly increased testosterone levels. The protocol that was used was 5 sets with varying intensity for a maximum of 10 repetitions. For men 70 plus, there were no changes in the level of circulating testosterone after the heavy strength training.

Research done by Loebel et al, concluded after researching different articles that resistance exercise is responsible for increasing muscle size and strength, due in part to increases in free testosterone in the body. They also noted that post exercise there might possibly be an increase in testosterone levels due, in part, to steroid synthesis or release from the Leydig cells, which are mainly responsible for production of testosterone in the body.

Over training is a phenomenon which has a negative effect on testosterone levels. Research done by Wheeler et al, concluded that endurance training in marathon runners resulted in decreases in testosterone levels, but not to very low levels.

So if you are thinking about getting back into the gym and working out again, take it slow and let your body adapt to the fitness training. Do not try to go full board at first, because that can lead to over training and increases your risk of injury. Start slowly and incorporate strength training into your routine to help your muscles get stronger, but to also increase your testosterone levels.

Diet

Everywhere you turn, there is another low-fat alternative or low-fat diet coming onto the market, with each one geared at helping you to lose weight through healthy and sensible food options. However, low fat might not be the best thing for a person with low testosterone levels.

Research by Volek et al, concluded in their findings that monounsaturated fat and saturated fat dramatically increased testosterone levels to 62 and 59% respectively.

Research done by Dorgan et al, concluded that a diet high in fat and low in fiber resulted in a 15% increase in testosterone-bound hormones. This means that there are more bound testosterone which can become free testosterone in the blood to be metabolized.

There are plenty of ways to increase fat into your diet. Adding foods that are high in monounsaturated fats may possibly increase your testosterone levels. Olive oil, almonds, peanuts, avocados, and pecans are all sources that provide a serving of monounsaturated fats.

Eurycoma Longifolia (Long Jack)

Eurycoma Longifolia is an herb that is native to South East Asia and has been used for many years as an aphrodisiac to help aid in sexual disorders.

In research done by Zanoli et al, they took impotent or sexually sluggish rats and supplemented them with Eurycoma Longifolia. They found that there was an increase in activity in impotent and the sluggish animals compared to the control sample. They also found that testosterone increased in the animals supplemented with Eurycoma Longifolia compared to the control group.

Eurycoma Longifolia has long been used as a way to help with improvements in sexual dysfunctions by possibly increasing testosterone levels.

Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus Terrestris is an herb that is found in many different areas around the world. This plant is considered a noxious weed with sharp seeds. There is continuing research on Tribulus as a way to enhance sexual performance and increase vitality in men.

The fruit, or berries, is the most widely used portion of the plant because of the high levels of saponins that are found in them.

One of the possible ways that Tribulus helps with raising testosterone levels is by raising the production of LH hormone in the body, which stimulates the testes to start producing more testosterone.

Men who have found decreased levels of testosterone levels can breathe a sigh of relief. By incorporating these steps you can possibly raise your testosterone levels, helping to build your confidence with a strong, healthy, and lean body.

References:

Wheeler, G. Wall, S. Belcastro, A. Cumming, D. Reduced SerumTestosterone and Prolactin Levels in Male Distance Runners. JAMA. 1984;252(4). Pp.514-516.

g HH, Lee KL. Effect of Eurycoma longifolia jack on libido in middle-aged male rats. J. Basic clin physiol pharmacol, 13,
2002, 249-254.

Volek, J. Kraemer, W. Bush, J. Incledon, T. Boetes, M. Testosterone and Cortisol in Relationship to Dietary Nutrients and Resistance Exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 1997; 82. Pp. 49-54.

Häkkinen, K. Pakarinen, A. Acute Hormonal responses to two different fatiguing heavy-resistance protocols in male athletes. J Appl. Physiol. Feb. 1993. Vol. 74(2). pp. 882-887

Zanoli, P. Zavatti, M. Montanari, C. Baraldi, M. Influence of Eurycoma longifolia on the copulatory activity of sexually sluggish and impotent male rats. J. Ethnopharmacology. Vol. 126(2). Nov. 2009. pp. 308-313.

Dorgan, J. Judd, J. Longcope. C. Brown, C. Schatzkin, A. Clevidence, B. Campbell, W. Nair, P. Franz, C. Kalile, L. Taylor, P. Effects of dietary fat and fiber on plasma and urine androgens and estrogens in men: a controlled feeding study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1996:64: 850-55.

Loebel, C. Kraemer, W. A Brief Review: Testosterone and Resistance Exercise in Men. J. Strength and Conditioning Research. 1998(1), 57-63.

3 Lower Body Stretching Exercises

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:20:29 PDT

One crucial part of every workout which many people ignore is stretching. Doing stretching exercises before and/or after the workout is completed (or even between sets) is very important.

In this article I want to share with you 3 simple lower body stretches. Do these to reduce the risk of injury, minimize muscle strain and improve your well-being.

So, let's get started with these stretches...

Calf Stretch with a Stair

This exercise will stretch out your calves. To do it properly you will need a stair or an aerobic step. However, you may even be able to do it while standing on a thick book. In this example I will use a stair.

Stand on the stair with one foot while the other is held in the air. Hold onto something to maintain stability. Move your foot back so your heel is also in the air and only the front part of your foot is still on the stair. Slowly lower your heel and feel the stretch in your calf. Hold this position for up to 10 seconds. Release and repeat. Don't forget to stretch both legs.

Lying Hamstring Stretch

This stretch will target the hamstring muscles. To do this, you need to first lie down on the floor with both legs stretched out straight. Raise one leg with its knee slightly bent. Grab this leg with both hands just above the knee and extend the leg up toward the ceiling. Feel the stretch and hold it for a few seconds. Release and repeat with the other leg. You should do each stress a number of times.

Standing Thigh Stretch

This common stretch is well known but it is often performed poorly. Here's how you do it properly:

Stand straight with one leg bent fully so that your heel is close to your buttocks. Grab that leg with its corresponding hand about the heel (right hand for right leg). Bend your other knee slightly. Feel the stretch in the held leg.

A few common mistakes that people make:

1. They don't bend the leg on which they remain standing.

2. Some bend their upper body forward, believing that this extends the stretch and makes it better. Not so, you should remain upright. The stretch comes from the leg, not from the upper body.

Do these 3 lower body stretches following any lower body workout. You will feel much better for doing so.

For more lower body stretching exercises visit Stretches For Your Quadriceps and Hamstring Stretching Exercises
Jonathan Dunsky is an avid fitness writer.

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Cure It With Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:33:55 PDT

Take a break from coffee. Let healthy brews lift you this season.

How to brew:

Pour 8 ounces of almost-boiling water over 1 teaspoon of leaves, and steep. (Don't use this method with pu-erh tuocha, which you should boil.) Day's preferred pot: the Finum Tea Control glass teapot.

Genmaicha: Best for an afternoon pick me up. This Japanese green tea is mixed with roaste rice kernels. It has a savory smell, almost like popcorn.

Sur le Nil: Best for after-dinner relaxing. Its flavor is more delicate than that of many green teas. Think of it as chamomile-plus, with hints of lemon and spice.

High mountain oolong: Best for relaxing after work. It's made with thick tea leaves, which gives it a full floral flavor with an earthy finish-good balance for before dinner.

Wood dragon oolong: Best for guys who've quit coffee. Because it contains more stem than leaf, this strong, woodsy brew has significantly less caffeine than other oolong teas.

Honey phoenix oolong: Best for Wintertime defrosting. It's a robust tea, with a flavor almost like a cherry pit. That makes it sweet, with a tinge of bitterness.

Vanilla rooibos: Best for dessert-and not just because it's free of caffeine. you'll taste a light sweetness followed by a creamy finish.

Cassis: Best for snapping awake on a cold morning. This black tea is rich and powerful. You'll taste black currants, with a sweet, dry finish.

Pu-erh tuocha: Best for coffee drinkers. It's strong and earthy, and has a kick of caffeine. The black tea comes from pressed into nuggets, which break apart when you boil them.

Sencha: Best for Green-tea beginners. It's sweet and mellow, without the bitter bite of some other green brews. Sip it with sushi or dessert.

Preventing Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:39:25 PDT

One of the best ways to deal with any problem, delayed onset of muscle soreness included, is through prevention. Preventing muscle soreness in the first place will of course prevent the problem of DOMS, or at least greatly reduce it. How can you prevent delayed onset of muscle soreness right from the start?

Slow and Steady

One of the best ways to prevent delayed onset of muscle soreness is by taking it slow. You don't have to go full-out in the gym or in your exercise routine; indeed, the harder you go, the more likely it is that you will have problems. Keep in mind the 10% rule; as you grow accustomed to a level of exercise, increase the level of difficulty by not more than 10% and you will both build muscle and get fit without hurting yourself. It takes time for your body to accustom itself to extra work, so don't push it.

You should also make sure to avoid doing sudden changes in your workout and sudden increases in the amount of exercising or reps you do in your workout. Instead, build up to the big leagues over time. Not only will this save you on delayed onset of muscle soreness, but you will also get a thorough grounding in how to do the various exercises which means you can get the most out of them.

Warm Up/Cool Down

Another really good way to prevent delayed onset of muscle soreness, as well as injury, is to make sure you warm up thoroughly before any activity and then cool down. You can do this by making sure to stretch before exercising as well as after, and doing a slow warm up which can be slow-motion renditions of the exercise you intend to embark in or things like a slow jog. This gets your muscles warmed up and ready for activity. The cool down is another series of stretches which are designed to help your muscles relax again and settle back into a normal configuration. Don't skip your stretches or you could really end up hurting yourself, not to mention increase the chances of DOMS.

Hire a Personal Trainer

If you're really lost as to where to begin or you need someone hovering over your shoulder to watch you and keep you going, there are many advantages to hiring a personal trainer. The trainer can guide you through your exercise routine properly and make sure that you do your warm up and cool down properly. He or she can also help you deal with delayed onset of muscle soreness if you need it.

Most of all, by being sensible about your workout, being safe, and taking it slowly, you can prevent the onset of DOMS and get far more out of your workout. This means you'll lose weight faster, gain more muscle, and be less uncomfortable while doing it. Slow down, make sure you do your warm ups and cool down routine and ask for help as you need it and you will find that preventing the delayed onset of muscle soreness isn't too difficult after all.

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How to Do Abdominal Workouts the Correct Way

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:55:14 PDT

Do you have an ab exercise program that's a lot of work but it just doesn't seem to be giving you any results? Don't worry, this is rather common when it comes to ab workouts. The reason for this is you are not doing the correct type of exercises to get rock hard abs. So let's review the right elements necessary for a winning ab workout routine.

So quit whatever ab workout, like crunches, you are doing and switch to doing squats. It's kind of strange to say start doing squats to get ripped abdominals but the truth of the matter is that squats are the top exercise to improve your abs. Why? Squats are known to speed up your metabolic rate. When this happens you will start to quickly burn off your stomach fat.

Next, there are a few core exercises that you can do to strengthen your mid section. So, the next exercise you want to start doing is commonly called the Mountain Climber. To do this ab exercise, you need to get into position on the floor like you are about to do a push-up. You don't uses your arms but instead you are going to be moving your legs.

The exercise is easy. You bring one leg forward, knee bent, then back to the straight position. Then do the same with the other leg. To better picture this abdominal exercise, imagine how your legs would move if you were climbing the side of a mountain.

Now you will need to add what I call the modified ab crunch move. This does require you to use an exercise ball. Place the mid part of your body on the ball while your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are slightly bent. Then do a crunch. Be sure not to move your neck but rather move your entire upper body.

Since you have the exercise ball now, you may as well us it again by doing push ups with it. Place your feet on either side of the exercise ball. Squeeze the ball and slowly rock the ball back and forth.

Some food for thought on ab exercises. This is a much better workout that burns off belly fat and sculps your abdominals. These are just a small sample how to do a proper ab program so you have a better idea how to properly do an abdominal workout.

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Thigh Toning Exercises

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:38:50 PDT

Thigh toning exercises are those exercises carried out so that one is able to decrease the amount of fat around their thighs so as to be more fit and firm. Not all big legs and thighs are genetic therefore almost anybody can indulge in the exercises of thigh toning in order to get legs and thighs that are toned and look super sexy. However, these exercises don't require a lot of equipment, in fact, all one needs is their body, a weight towel and weights. The classic leg lifts work very effectively and thus should not be excluded for any reason. However, there are a few other things one should have during their workout sessions.

With thigh toning exercises, one should remember that these exercises should be added to an overall fitness plan. The thighs will be well toned but the use of these exercises alone won't show the toned muscles. Therefore, one also needs a good aerobics program. However, it is important to note that spot reduction is indeed a myth, as one would need to reduce fat in each body part to get the best results. Therefore, aerobic exercise comes in very handy.

Moreover, for 'just you and the towel' one should consider the following exercises of thigh toning while standing. You begin by standing on a single foot, and a chair can be used or even a rail which will help with balance. The leg that is on the air should then be bent at the knee and the foot directly in front of the other knee. One should then very slowly raise that foot and hold it upright then lower, repeating the same process. Resistance can be applied by one pressing down with the hand which is free. The same should be repeated for the other leg. Another form of thigh toning exercise that one can do while standing is the lift of the crossed leg. This can be done almost anywhere because one doesn't require any extra equipment. Similar to the ballet raise, one stands tall on a single leg and crosses the other right in front of it. The raised leg should be very straight and the toes should be stretched out forward. It is a very simple move and one should hold a leg up and count to five then repeat the process as they lower the foot. Immediately there is a burning sensation in the leg, one should switch to the other leg. It would also be a good idea to add some ankle weights.

Another very effective form of thigh toning exercise is where one uses a weight together with a swiss ball and it is good for both inner and outer thighs. The ball is placed between one's back and a wall. The ball should be around the center of the back and the weight of the hand weights should be according to the level of fitness of an individual. With one's feet spread apart, they should squat in slow motion as the ball rolls on the wall. One should hold for about five seconds then go back to the initial position.

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Keeping Fit And Healthy Without Spending Too Much

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:53:29 PDT

To keep their bodies fit, many people go to the gym and exercise. This means that there is nothing wrong with going to the gym if you really want to. In fact it is a good idea because you will be provided with all the necessary equipment and an instructor to provide you with the assistance that you need. However, this may not be a very practical option for you especially if you are very busy with your job and you do not have enough time to go to the gym. But you do not have to worry too much about staying fit because even if you do not go to the regularly to exercise and work out, you can still keep your body fit and healthy. Despite of your very busy and hectic schedule, there are some things that you can do to achieve such goal.

Staying fit and healthy does not mean that you have to spend a lot of money. You do not really need to purchase expensive exercise equipments or pay expensive fees in a gym. If you are in shoestring budget, you be resourceful and initiative so that you can come up with wonderful ideas in keeping yourself fit at a low-cost. You can even browse online and see if you will be able to get some ideas from there.

A gym is not really necessary if you want to exercise because any exercise activities can be done in almost any place. Because it is evident that exercise plays a very important role in staying fit and healthy, you can exercise even when you are at home. This may not be an easy thing for you to do because of your busy schedule but this is also not something impossible. For instance, on your way to the office, you can walk if it's only a walking distance from where you live. If not, you can take the stairs instead of a lift especially if your workplace is on the 2nd floor and up. By doing any of these things, you are already exercising. You can also do some push-ups, sit ups, jogging and other exercise activities that can be done at home or any other place. And of course along with exercise, you should not forget to eat healthy and nutritious foods. A healthy diet will definitely be of great help as well when it comes to keeping your body fit and healthy.

Keeping your body fit and healthy may not be a very easy task to do and this is a proven fact. But this actually depends on how you deal with it and how you handle things. But if it is a goal that you are really determined to reach, then it wouldn't be as hard as it may be. But of course, just before you opt for any method that would help you reach your goal, it would be better if you seek some advice from your resident physician. He/she will be knowledgeable enough about your health condition hence; he/she will be able to recommend the best exercise and diet for you.

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Top 10 Reasons For Gaining Belly Fat

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:00:03 PDT

By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES

Walking around the gym and working with clients there is a trend that I see. Extra weight carried around the belly or people wanting to get the ripped “six pack” look are the typical gym client today. What is the reason behind weight gain and why is it so hard to lose those extra pounds?

Here are the Top 10 reasons why people continue to gain weight.

10. Medications

There are a growing number of people who are depressed or on medication for depression. These medications decrease metabolism regardless of changes to the diet, and the medications can change hormone levels in the body. This impacts our ability to lose weight and keep the weight off.

9. Underlying Disease/chronic disease

A growing number of people have underlying conditions like Thyroid Disease, Diabetes and Cushing’s disease (increased production of cortisol in the body) . People end up gaining weight and medical treatment is necessary to help in weight loss or slowing weight gain down.   Due decreases in hormone levels, the body is unable to raise metabolism which burns extra calories

8. Genetics

Research shows that genetics may play a part in weight gain. Evidence shows some people may have higher chances of weight gain. However, even though genetics may play a role in weight gain, environmental factors and individual choices play a much bigger role in a person being overweight then genetics.

7. Stress

Our natural defense against stressors is the Fight or Flight system. With increased stress levels, our bodies prepare for us to fight or run. When stress levels rise, cortisol is released in the blood stream, causing changes in the body.   Cortisol helps release sugar, stored in the muscles and liver, into the blood stream for quick energy use. This hormone is responsible for accumulation of fat in the abdomen which is hard for the body to get rid of. Cortisol suppresses the immune system making it harder to fight infections. Stress is always there so our cortisol levels are always high.

6. Portion Size

Have you ever super-sized your meal at a fast food chain? I am pretty sure most of us have. Portion control is a leading factor in weight gain. We tend to over eat foods that are high in fat and calories, and do it on a constant basis.    We have lost our control over our portion control. Plates and cups are bigger, so taking in extra calories is easier.

5. Skipping meals

Skipping a meal is just as bad as portion control. It slows down your metabolism because of lack of calories and nutrients in the body to refuel us. When you skip a meal, 9 out of 10 times we overeat when the next meal comes. Food choices are usually affected and portion sizes become monstrous. This leads to too many calories, lethargic moods and storing those calories being stored as fat.

4. “Low-fat” Labeling

How many of us have been duped into thinking that low fat is low calorie? Low fat labeling means that there is 3 fat grams or less. Just because a label says low fat does not mean lower calorie. So before you grab that low fat product, remember look at the label and see how many calories and what the serving size is.   We tend to over-eat low fat products, because we think low fat means low calories. Sometimes, eating the “real deal” can be better for you because of the serving size.

3. Lack of exercise

Strength training and cardiovascular exercise help increase the amount of calories that we burn. We find ourselves doing less and less exercise and eating more calories. The combination of lack of exercise and high calorie intake is why we gain weight. The more strength training, the more muscle we have, which leads to higher metabolism. This helps us burn more calories at rest and during exercise.

2. Slower Metabolic Rate

A slower metabolic rate helps with weight gain. Muscle is more metabolically active (meaning it burns more calories) than fat so we need more muscle than fat.    One common myth is that as we age, we lose more muscle. If we stay active then this is not true.   Continuing to do strength and cardiovascular exercises will keep the lean mass on our bodies which keeps out metabolism burning. Then we can continue to eat those extra calories and not worry about gaining weight.

And the Number 1 Reason why people gain weight is….

1. Unhealthy Diet

Let’s face the facts: generally our diets are not good. Our diets are filled with processed foods that are easy to prepare and probably are not good for us.   Portions are out of control and meals are lacking essential foods like fruits and veggies, and complex carbohydrates that help fuel our bodies. Fast food and prepackaged foods can lead to extra weight around the waist due to a lot of fat and extra calories.

Diet and exercise help monitor weight gain as we get older. Making better food choices, monitoring your portions and not skipping meals will help you lose weight. Substituting a healthy snack or meal replacement will help you not to skip meals and will give you plenty of nutrients to satisfy you until you eat again.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:00:52 PDT

Crust
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
4-5 dates
dash of salt
Grind all ingredients in a food processor until crumbly. Throw crumbs in pie pan and press in the bottom and sides.

Filling
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup greek yogurt
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
Mix ingredients together in a food processor and pour into crust.
Bake at 350 for 50 to 55 minutes until firm. Cool and enjoy.

Workout Power Drink

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 05:39:01 PDT

Goal: Provide Energy, Build Muscle and Enhance Recovery

Supplement Recipe:
Ingredients:
• BCAA Powder: 10 g
• Maltodextrin: 20 g
• Caffeine Anhydrous: 200 mg
• L-Carnosine: 500 mg
• L-Glutamine: 5 g
• Potassium Bicarbonate: 1 g
• ¼ Sugar-Free Powdered Drink Mix (like Kool-Aid)
• ¼ cup sugar substitute (like Stevia ®)
• 1 liter bottle filled ¾ with water

Supplement Recipe Directions:
Right before training, add all dry ingredients to about ¾ of a liter of cold water (preferably filtered), cap the bottle and shake vigorously.
Fill the rest of the bottle with ice and sip on the mixture throughout your workout.
Approximate 30-Day Cost For Formula: Approximately $28.81 Per Month!*
*Based upon 1 dose per day for 30 days (30 total doses)

Recipe Goal: During your workouts, your body leans toward breaking down muscle tissue to in order to utilize protein to help fuel your intense efforts.

While most supplements focus on what to do AFTER your workout to aid in recovery,this formula focuses on providing you with the anti-catabolic (muscle wasting) support you need…when you need it most!
I use this personal formula for every workout and I always end my workouts with as much energy as when I started and sometimes, my last sets are my most intense!

Why This Formula Works: “Pre-workout supplements” focus on what you do to prepare before your workouts. “Post-workout supplements” are marketed to providing your body with the support it needs to recover after the intense workout you put it through.

In fact, so much emphasis is placed on “post-workout recovery” that you’re supposed to supplement IMMEDIATELY after your workout to minimize muscle loss and begin the muscle repair process.
I say, why wait until the END of your workout?!
Why not provide your body with the support it needs WHILE you’re working out to nip muscle loss in the bud and kick the recovery process into high gear as soon as possible?

In fact, Australian researchers found that supplementing with an amino acid/carbohydrate supplement DURING intense exercise dramatically prevented muscle protein breakdown.

That’s what this formula does!

Remember that during exercise, BCAA’s are utilized more than other amino acids as fuel and are robbed from you existing muscle tissue to give you energy.By supplementing with 10 grams of amino’s during your workout, you help satisfy that “protein craving”, minimizing muscle loss, while providing immediate “damage control” for your muscles to begin building you up bigger and stronger.

Maltodetrin is added in small quantities to provide you with long-burning carbohydrate fuel for an extended period of time.

This “slow burn” is incorporated rather than the “sugar rush” from typical name brand “pre-workout” products in order to avoid the common “sugar CRASH that happens mid-to-late workout.
Also, the more readily available carbs that can be used for fuel, the more amino acids can be shifted over to the muscle-building recovery process rather than be used for energy.

Caffeine Anhydrous is included as a proven “fatigue resistor”. Although people say that “caffeine is caffeine”, I find that the powdered “Anhydrous” supplements provide a slower, more sustainable release as they don’t dissolve as quickly as caffeine tablets. (Note: if you are concerned with too much caffeine intake – I use up to 500 mg a day – then you can reduce the amount of caffeine used. If you also use my “Pre- Workout Primer”, then it’s up to you where you want to take from…if you need more “drive” just to get motivated at the beginning of your workout, remove some from this “during workout” formula.

If you need more sustainable energy during your workouts, knock some or all from the “pre-workout” formula.) Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that this formula is “all about caffeine”!

Carnosine and l-glutamine are added very strategically here and a big part of this formula…Carnosine naturally occurs in muscle tissue as a synthesis of beta-alanine and lhistidineand plays a crucial role in muscle metabolism during intense exercise, particularly for those type-II “fast-twitch muscle fibers you’re using for explosive sports like weight training. (Note: Some research suggests that the best way to increase carnosine levels is to supplement with its precursors, beta-alanine and l-histidine.I am currently experimenting with this approach but there are some side effects noted.)

In addition, l-glutamine, being the largest amino acid stored in muscle tissue of the body (though some now argue that carnosine may be), is also crucial to the avoidance of lost muscle and the rapid repair and re-growth cycle.
Both carnosine and glutamine stores are depleted during training leading to reduced ability for the body to deal with oxidative stress.

And lastly, your body’s electrolyte levels (potassium, sodium, and chloride) which are responsible for the flow of electromagnetic energy, rapidly decline during exercise.

Potassium is the most important of these and there have even been some distance runners who have collapsed from potassium depletion.

Potassium bicarbonate has been added to this formula to make sure your electrolyte levels are in top shape throughout your training session.

As a chaser, carnosine, glutamine, AND potassium bicarbonate help to buffer the body’s natural acidic response to training, allowing you to train longer and harder.

Primary Active Ingredients Breakdown And How They Fit Into The Formula:

Branched-Chain Amino Acids (L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine):
• Enhances energy, increases endurance, and aids in muscle recovery and tissue repair.
• Promotes muscle growth.
• Decreases elevated blood sugar levels and increases growth hormone production.
Maltodextrin:
• Easily digestible blend of complex carbohydrates that are derived from
corn starch and provide great source of energy.
• Contains linked sugar compounds (also known as glucose polymers) that are easier for the body to ingest and use.
• Metabolized at a slow, steady rate so that high energy levels may be sustained during vigorous workouts.
• Is considered a “low-glycemic” sugar due to its slow metabolic assimilation so it will not spike insulin levels as faster-digesting sugars will.
Caffeine Anhydrous:
• Power and energy booster. It energizes the body to enable powerful workouts. It is a fast-acting supplement that delivers the right molecular structure to the energy systems of the body, which allows maximum
energy and power exertion.
• Increases mental alertness and provides a mental surge to motivate you through the most tedious of workouts.
• Studies have shown that caffeine reaches deep into the muscle cells to provide long-lasting energy while delaying the onset of muscle fatigue.
L-Carnosine:
• A naturally-occurring dipeptide that is synthesised from the amino acidsBeta-alanine and L-Histidine.
• Carnosine is found in skeletal muscle, heart and brain, and plays a crucial part in muscle metabolism during high intensity training.
• Increases your ability to train harder by reducing muscle acidity levels during intense exercise, allowing you to train harder and longer.
• Some research suggests that the best way to increase carnosine levels to supplement with its precursors, beta-alanine and l-histidine. (I am personally researching now but have found straight l-carnosine to work very well.)

What Can Resistance Training Do For You?

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:44:01 PDT

Are you looking to have a stronger, leaner, healthier body? Resistance training can help you get the strong, lean, healthy body you want, plus give you some extra bonuses to boot!

Resistance Training - What is it?

The type of exercises described as resistance training include movements where there is a resisting force, be that barbells, dumbbells, weight machines, or even the weight of your own body. There are many health benefits which result from resistance training.

When you embark on a training program using resistance, you'll be using your body weight, or various exercise equipment such as barbells, dumbbells, or exercise machines found in gyms such as leg press or bench press. Exercises are performed where the muscles are resisted by or pitted against the weight of the equipment, or your body weight, like when doing a push up. The most popular training programs for older adults include the use of free-weights or seated weight machines, both used at moderate intensity.

Resistance Training - How Does It Work?

Resistance training results in muscle hypertrophy, which is simply the term we use to define the process whereby muscles initially have microscopic breakages and when healing occurs during rest times, the muscle becomes stronger and slightly enlarged. Women do not need to be concerned with creating large bulky muscles from weight training because they lack the required level of testosterone in the body to have that result.

Before doing any exercise program, it will be best to first consult with your primary care physician, especially for those individuals who are currently dealing with medical conditions or who are overweight. In addition, this type of training is not something that you would be well advised to explore on your own. It is important to your safety and to the effectiveness of the training that you perform the exercises correctly. Therefore, it is best to study the proper form for the exercises you are interested in doing, or hire the services of a personal trainer.

Resistance Training - How Can it Benefit You?

1. Increased Bone Mineral Density

Bones are constantly rebuilding. Our bones have the most rebuilding activity in puberty. As we age, our bone mineral density can decrease as the rebuilding activity has slowed. This is especially common in post-menopausal women. The American College of Sports Medicine advises that post-menopausal women may delay or avoid onset of osteoporosis by increasing bone mass through strength training.

Using resistance training to increase bone density can help to avoid injury and maintain independence.

2. Increase Strength

Increased muscle and bone strength makes day-to-day activities easier and more enjoyable. It also positively affects your confidence in everything from mild forms of physical activity to the most challenging of activity.

3. Reduce Body Fat

Increasing the percentage of lean muscle mass in your body causes your body to burn more energy or calories. This results in you being able to reduce weight if you need to while keeping the calories you are consuming in your food the same.

4. Keeping you feeling young

Having a strong, fit body helps to make you feel more energetic, increasing your overall feeling of wellbeing and youth. Being able to do so will also decrease the risk of injuries in the elders

6. Improve Heart Health

Regular training using resistance can result to a lowered heart rate and lowered blood pressure. Thus reducing your overall risk of heart disease.

The keys to obtaining all these benefits are to firstly check with your physician about you the suitability of your program to your needs. Then learn how to execute the exercises correctly and safely. Commit to consistently working out according to a schedule recommended by your doctor or physical trainer. Take your time with increasing the intensity of your workouts, and watch your strength and health increase!

For further information and tips on women's weight loss please stop by. Discover the truth about quick weight loss diets.

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Eat a Diet With Cayenne Pepper and Burn More Calories

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:46:08 PDT

If you're not used to it, eating a diet with cayenne pepper might just help you burn calories and control your appetite. About a half teaspoon of red cayenne pepper (either in food or taken in capsule form) was found to help subjects of normal weight burn up around 10 additional calories over four hours in comparison to eating an identical meal without the pepper.

Cayenne is a chili pepper, and one of the most often consumed spices the world over. Most of these brightly colored veggies contain natural capsacin.

If you're not a spicy food eater, this pepper is also likely to cut your appetite. But the effect isn't the same if you eat the spice as part of your regular diet. What's even better, the amount of red pepper you need is likely to be acceptable to most people.

To conduct the research, the team recruited 25 young adults (average age 23) on a college campus with an average BMI of 22, in other words, not overweight. There were 13 eaters of spicy food among the subjects, while 12 ate a more bland diet. The participants took part in six study visits, every other week for the study period and were told to avoid caffeine, alcohol and strenuous exercise before coming in for their visit. They also fasted for the 12 hours before testing and were measured for resting energy rate, core temperatures of both body and skin as well as appetite.

Subjects were then randomly given a meal that either had (or didn't have) red pepper in it. The study used ordinary dried, ground cayenne red pepper. Sometime the pepper was in capsule form so the subjects didn't even taste it. The appetite of the subjects was measured using a questionnaire prior to the test meal and for every half hour afterward. At the end of the test meals (three including cayenne pepper and three meals without) the participants were allowed to eat whatever portion of the classic dish, macaroni and cheese that they felt like.

On average, the subjects who weren't used to spicy foods consumed about 66 less calories of the mac and cheese on the visits when they ate the red pepper meal; in comparison to the visits were they ate a non-peppered test meal. If you were a spicy food eater before the study, then you ate similar amounts of mac and cheese at the end of each of your visits.

The cayenne seems to cut the appetite for fatty, salty and sweet foods.

Researchers believe the cayenne pepper stimulates one of the major nerves found in the head and that carries down into the neck, known as the trigeminal nerve. Since the research found that the appetite response was different for those who liked the red peppers and those who didn't - it's possible that a stimulus that isn't a familiar one has more impact.

Taste appears to optimize the effects of the cayenne pepper.

That isn't to say that you should suffer through a diet with cayenne pepper if you truly dislike it. It also means that you can't live an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle, eating anything that crosses your path, take a few pepper capsules and drop weight. Serious, lasting weight loss doesn't work like that. Still, adding some red pepper into your already healthy diet might just help you keep your calorie intake under control. It's subtle to be sure, but it's also an easy thing to try for yourself.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover more on how to successfully diet with cayenne pepper and other proven weight loss methods.

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5 Most Important Things You Can Do to Stay Healthy

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:01:03 PDT

The current crisis in American health reflects the premise that curing disease is the essence of health. However, as evidence accumulates that modern medicine is not as good at curing today's killer diseases as society is at creating them, it appears that a more useful approach to health and wellness would be one that emphasizes health eating and prevention as well as treatment.

This article discusses the five most important things that I personally do and hope you are willing to do to stay healthy and well. Here they are:

1. Be Familiar with Your Health Condition

Knowing more about your health, both when something ails you and when you feel fine, helps you to live a healthier lifestyle. It reduces your fears of health impediments to your quality of life. People who take an active interest not only in their illnesses but also in their overall health are 15 % more likely to feel that their health problems are not reducing their satisfaction with life.

2. Eat Grapes and Oranges and Drink Both Grape and Orange Juice Regularly.

The bioflavonoids (chemical compounds related to vitamin C) in grape juice interferes with the process by which cholesterol sticks to arteries. Regular consumption of grape juice reduces the likelihood of clogged arteries and lowers the risk for heart disease and strokes. Vitamin C, found in many fruits including oranges, also inhibits the process of artery clogging as well as lowers blood pressure. Regular consumption of vitamin C is found to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and premature death.

3. Have a Tomato in Different Ways.

Unlike most fruits and vegetables, the tomato retains its health effects in any form - cooked or raw. Include some form of tomato product in your diet whether it's canned, raw, cooked, in soups, sauce, ketchup or juice, at least five times a week. This provides enough lycopene ( a member of the protective and immunity-building carotenoid family) to cut the risk of cancer and heart disease in half and to improve the health of lungs, eyes, and the skin.

4. Eat Less, But Eat More Often.

If you're thinking about cutting back on the amount of food you eat by cutting back on the number of times you eat, don't do it. Eating fewer times reduces the efficiency of our bodies in processing food as fuel. In other words, skipping meals maximizes the caloric effect of the food we eat. A study found that people who ate five or six times a day had 5% lower total cholesterol and were 45% more likely to be able to sustain their target weight than people ate once or twice a day.

5. Choose a Doctor You Can Connect With.

It is important have a doctor that you can connect with. We need to have a good feeling towards our doctor. This includes knowing that our doctor is truly listening to us and responding positively to our concerns rather than seeing us as just another number. People who rate their doctors as being friendly were two times more likely to seek medical attention at the first sign of distress and were three times more likely to follow medical instructions.

These five simple, but important things, are the essence of what I do to stay healthy. I'm sure they will work for you also.

Will Barnes, Therapist and and Personal Growth Consultant, for over thirty-eight years has counseled and consulted with individuals and families in the areas of personal growth, maintaining a sound mind and body, and building healthy relationships. Visit http://youcontrol.blogspot.com for more articles to help you take control of your life and live it to the fullest.

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The Core And How To Use It

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:32:27 PDT

Training your abdominals is about more than getting a 6 pack. What you can see are just the external muscles, while beneath them is another set of internal muscles that provide stability and support to your body.

This is your core.

If it is weakened by lack of exercise, being overweight, poor posture, or being used incorrectly, this can result in various injuries and health problems such as back and neck pain, headaches, poor breathing, low energy levels, and a host of other physical and mental issues.

A strong core is as essential to losing weight as aerobic and resistance training.

What Is The Core?

Your spinal column is made up of between 32 and 34 bones called vertebrae, between which are spongy discs that are there to act as shock absorbers. The 2 main purposes of your spinal column are to support the body in an upright position, and to protect the spinal cord, which is a bundle of nerves that with the brain makes up the central nervous system.

The core is the muscles that surround it to help keep it in alignment and provide resistance to external forces, whether this is kicking a ball, lifting a weight, picking up your child, or opening a door. All of this involves the deep muscles of the abdomen, the obliques at the sides, and the deep muscles of your back. Picture them together as the support structure of your entire body.

There are dozens of core exercises and this is a topic that deserves another article in itself, but there is one very important thing you need to know when doing any abdominal exercise.

Engage

It sounds like common sense that when trying to strengthen your core you should actually be using it, but a mistake many people make is to just go through the motions without actually engaging it.

To demonstrate what I mean by this I want you to lay on your back with your knees bent so that

your feet are flat. Keep your head down and your arms by your side. If you reach down to your lower back you'll probably find that there is a big space between you and the floor where you can slide in at least a couple of fingers.

Do a couple of basic sit-ups and as you do, put your other hand on your stomach. You'll notice that it alternates between being relaxed and tense, soft and hard, as you do each one.

If you now rest for a moment and relax, then tense your abdominal muscles and keep them like this, you'll notice that your pelvis (hips) will have tilted back. Because of this your lower back will now be pressing your fingers against the floor. If it isn't, concentrate on making this happen.

Congratulations, you've engaged your core!

Do a couple more sit ups like this and you'll find that they're harder than before because you're properly using not just the outer muscles, but the deeper core muscles too. You'll also find that your obliques are engaged, as are the deep postural muscles of your mid to lower back.

One last thing is that although you might need some practice at first, remember to breathe as you keep your core muscles tense. Any exercise is better if you remember to breathe!

David Hields is a qualified Personal Trainer and writer who has 20 years experience of dieting, exercising and fitness. He has also studied psychology for over 10 years and uses all of this knowledge to help people achieve their health & fitness goals.

To read articles on weight loss, nutrition, muscle building, fitness and motivation visit his blog at http://www.thedreambodydiet.com/blog

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Fish And Seafood For Health

noreply@blogger.com (Sal Ciampa) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:38:51 PDT

The more one looks into the health benefits of eating fish, the more fascinating it becomes. Apart from omega 3 fatty acids, seafood and fish are good sources of iodine, lean protein, selenium and vitamin D.

The term essential fatty acids applies to fats that are essential for us to consume because we need them and the body can not make them. In the whole "fat is bad" mantra which took off in the late 1970's the baby was well and truly thrown out with the bathwater.

Let me be direct here. We need Omega 3 fatty acids and most of us do not get enough. They have a number of roles to play in the body particularly in reducing slow inflammation, which is central to many chronic diseases.

Getting the right amount of Omega 3 reduces the likelihood of getting a number of illnesses. There are plenty of studies, which show that people who eat fish regularly are less likely to suffer heart disease. The chances of getting Alzheimer's disease are reduced, as are rates of depression. People with arthritis often find their joints feel better and regular consumption of fish protects against developing arthritis. There is also research showing benefits of omega 3's in helping vision by reducing the onset of macular degeneration.

In addition to all that, the latest research is showing that Omega 3 intake is associated with longevity. Those with high Omega 3 intakes had longer telomeres on their DNA (our genes). One of the theories of aging is that we age as our telomeres shorten with the constant duplication that occurs when our cells divide.

There are also benefits at the start of life. Brain development starts in the womb and eating fish while pregnant can get babies brain the best start. Children who eat fish are less likely to suffer asthma and Omega 3's are important for brain function. Rates of ADHD and other behavioral problems are less in children who get adequate Omega 3 in their diet.

The best source of Omega 3 is fish, especially deep-water fish like tuna, salmon and sardines. In an ideal world we would get our Omega 3 intake by eating 2.7 serves of fish each week. This may not happen for many people so fish oil supplements are a good way to go. Omega 3 also comes from vegetable sources like flax-seed, walnuts and soy although they do not seem to be as potent in the body as the fish source.

The key Omega 3 fatty acids are alpha -linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We need about 1g per day of DHA and EPA from fish sources or 2.5g per day from vegetable sources.

One of the best ways to reduce slow inflammation and the development of chronic age related disease is to have an adequate intake of Omega 3s. Seafood is the best source of Omega 3. Cooking fish is not as hard as you may think and there are many great recipes out there on the web and in cookbooks. The simplest approach to white fish is to gently pan fry filets of fish in olive oil after seasoning with sea salt and pepper. Tuna too can be gently pan-fried or char grilled, as can salmon (my favorite).

Eating two meals of fish each week is one of the simplest things you can do to support your health.

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