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UltimateFitnessGear Archive Page
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By Joe Wilkes
Most of us make most of our eating decisions based on how they're going to make our bodies look. But it's worth remembering that our diets affect how our heads operate, too. Brain function depends on an enormously complex system of chemicals and electrical impulses, and the fuel we put into our systems can make a big difference on how we process our information, our moods, and our energy levels. The good news is that what's good for our heads is also good for our tails. How our brains work (basically) This isn't a medical journal, but we'll try to broadly discuss what causes some of our major brain functions (or malfunctions). Brain cells communicate with each other through a series of chemical reactions triggered by neurotransmitters. Some of the major neurotransmitters are catecholamines like dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, which speed up brain reaction time, and other neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which cause the brain to relax. Amino acids like tryptophan (found in seafood, soy, meat, eggs, and dairy) can help trigger relaxation, while other amino acids like tyrosine (found in chocolate, beans, nuts, and seeds) can rev things up. So by introducing food and beverages to the mix, you can either excite or inhibit these processes. In essence, if you play your diet cards right, your refrigerator can be as effective as your local pharmacist or bartender. Fats Brain cell membranes rely heavily on fatty acids, especially omega-3s. It's no coincidence that fish is called "brain food"; the highest, healthiest levels of omega-3s are found in oily fish like salmon, sardines, tuna, and herring. Other good sources include canola, walnut, and extra-virgin olive oils; flaxseed; fresh coconut; nuts; seeds; and avocados. Some studies have shown that upping the omega-3 levels in your diet might help stave off dementia and Alzheimer's in old age. It's still important to remember that while some are healthy, all fats are highly caloric and should be consumed in moderation. As with any food group, too much isn't a good thing. Eating too much of anything can cause unhealthy insulin responses, which can end up doing more harm than good. Carbohydrates Carbs can have the most immediate, noticeable effect on your brain function. In fact, about 20 percent of your daily carbohydrate supply goes solely toward brain function. But the type of carb greatly affects the response. Ask anyone who gives their toddler a juice drink and watches them spin out of control. Just like a hit of sugar can give your body a jolt of energy, it also gives your brain a jolt. But watch out for when the sugar gives out. It may seem like a good idea to swig a Coke before that big test; but while the sugar may give you an initial rush, the following crash can be devastating. However, carbs aren't the enemy. They are a great source of tryptophan, which affects the brain's serotonin levels—which can then help regulate blood pressure, sleep, and appetite. Carbs are great fuel for the brain, but it's better to get them from complex carbohydrate sources like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes with high fiber contents. The fiber causes you to absorb the energy more slowly and steadily, avoiding the peaks and valleys of many processed snacks. It's one of the reasons that dessert is best saved for after meals instead of between meals. When you have low-glycemic food, like meat and vegetables, in your stomach, dessert will have less of a roller-coaster effect on your mood. Eat sweets in the middle of the day, and watch out! High-glycemic foods like cookies, candy, sodas, etc., can give you a sugar high, quickly followed by a sugar coma, when eaten on an empty stomach. Because of their empty calories, we'd recommend avoiding sweets altogether, but if you must indulge, always do it on a full stomach. Protein Meals and snacks containing protein are your best bet for maximum alertness throughout the day. That coffee and doughnut might get you out the door in the morning, but there will probably be a dip in energy shortly thereafter. Eating protein raises your tyrosine levels, which provokes chemical messengers to increase brain activity and alertness. Lean meat, poultry, and fish are your best sources as you get the healthy protein without the artery-clogging fat that can restrict blood flow to your brain. Legumes, nuts, and seeds are great vegetable sources that combine good complex carbohydrates and protein without a ton of calories or unhealthy fat. You also don't need to go nuts with the protein. A serving that is the size of the palm of your hand should produce the neurotransmitters necessary to get you through to the next meal. If you have a big test or meeting that you want maximum brainpower for, three chicken breasts aren't going to give you three times the neurotransmitters. In fact, overloading on calories, regardless of whether they're from carbohydrates, proteins, or fats, is going to slow down the brain. Vitamins and supplements There are lots of micronutrients, especially in fruits and vegetables, that can increase brain function. B-complex vitamins, and choline in particular, are vital for good brain function. Choline, found in eggs, has been found to enhance memory and reaction time and reduce fatigue. This is why it's such a prevalent ingredient in "smart" drugs and supplements. Gingko biloba has also been shown to increase memory. And the benefits don't stop with being book smart. Adding choline and other brain-healthy supplements to runners' diets has been shown to help reduce their running times and increase their physical activity. After all, it's your brain that tells your muscles what to do. It's one of the reasons Beachbody® includes choline and gingko biloba, among many, many other brain-boosting ingredients, in ActiVit® multivitamins. The best brainpower foods To get the most brainpower for your buck, you should try eating three small meals with three small interspersed snacks to keep your blood sugar regulated and your brain equipped with a steady, but not overloaded, fuel supply. Any diet should be a balanced supply of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, and should be supplemented with a good multivitamin and omega-3/fish oil supplement. The best foods include: Protein. Lean beef, chicken, turkey, eggs, salmon, tuna, soybeans, peanut butter, nuts. Carbohydrates. Bananas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, leafy green veggies like spinach and collard greens, oatmeal, whole-grain bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes. Fats. Avocados, olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil. AVOID: Alcohol, processed sugars and flours, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated fats, nicotine. A good food day for the brain (and your figure) Breakfast Two-egg spinach omelet Whole wheat toast, lightly spread with peanut butter Mid-morning snack Small handful of almonds Orange Lunch Salmon filet (4 ounces) Romaine salad with broccoli, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado with tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil and lemon juice or vinegar for dressing Mid-afternoon snack Apple Small handful of walnuts Dinner Stir-fry chicken breast (4 ounces, chopped) and vegetables (carrots, beans, peppers, onions, garlic, broccoli, etc.) in one tablespoon of olive or canola oil Brown rice Snack/Dessert Banana and yogurt P90X Workouts - P90X Plus - Power 90 Workout - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - Shaun T Rockin Body - Ab Workout - Turbo Jam - Workout DVDs Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X 
Monday, April 28, 2008
By Joe Wilkes
The average American eats approximately 1,500 pounds of food every year. Of that, 160 pounds are primarily sugar. Of course, sugar is delicious, and I know I'm the happier for its existence, but of all the things we consume, it has the least nutritive value. In fact, except for the energy in its calories, there's not much to recommend about sugar. It's a prime source of empty calories, and for those of us who are trying to lose weight, sugar's the first thing we should start trimming from our diets. But here's the problem—despite our best intentions to remove excess sugar from our diet, the food industry has found more and more devious ways of slipping us the sweet stuff. Whether the food industry calls sugar by another name or adds it to foods we never thought would have needed it, our sweet tooth is constantly being bombarded. Fortunately, with stricter labeling laws, we have a fighting chance at cutting back on sugar. Why does the food industry want to fill us so full of sugar? It's basically the same as any other industry. For the oil industry to make more money, it needs us to use more of its product by driving more miles. The food industry needs us to use more of its product by eating more calories. The problem is that the American food industry is already producing around 3,900 calories per person per day, which is way more than we need. One solution to this surplus is to sell the food cheaply overseas, which the industry does. The other solution is for Americans to eat more calories. And sugar and its corn sweetener brethren are great calorie delivery systems, as they pack a huge caloric punch, without causing much satiety, or feeling of fullness. (Check out Steve Edwards' "Sugar vs. Fat" article for more about why sugar is the world-champion fattener.) Most people would probably stop eating steak after they reached 1,000 calories, because they'd be stuffed, but after you drank 1,000 calories from your Big Gulp cup, there's still room for dinner. The other reason the industry pushes sugar so hard is that it's cheap to produce, and the cheaper the calorie, the larger the profit margin. Sugar in labels—hiding in plain sight. One of the best ways to disguise the amount of sugar in a product is something the government already requires—printing the information in grams. Most Americans only have the foggiest idea of how much a gram is, because we're unaccustomed to the metric system. So when we pick up a can of soda that contains 40 grams of sugar, we pretty much shrug our shoulders and pop the top. And that attitude is all right with the soda industry! But what if the label said that it contained over 10 teaspoons of sugar? If you saw someone ladling 10 teaspoons of sugar into their morning coffee, you'd think they were crazy, but that's how much people consume in a typical 12-ounce can. In a 64-ounce fountain drink that you'd get at a movie theater or a convenience store, you get over 53 teaspoons of sugar—almost two cups! Naturally, people would probably think twice if the nutritional information on products was given in measurements that were meaningful to them. But until our heavily food industry-subsidized government decides to change its policy, it's a metric world, we just live in it. But we can take note that four grams equals one teaspoon. So when you check out the label, divide the grams of sugar by four, and that's how many teaspoons you're consuming. Sugar, by any other name, would taste just as sweet. Another strategy the sugar pushers use to get us to consume more calories is to rename the offending ingredient. We know to stay away from sugar, but how about molasses, honey, sorghum, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, fructose, lactose, dextrose, sucrose, galactose, maltose, or concentrated juices like grape or apple? Another path to profit that the food industry has discovered is that instead of harvesting relatively more expensive sugar cane and beets, the industry can produce sweeteners in a laboratory more cheaply and with just as many calories as beet and cane sugar. And with some sweeteners, especially the popular high fructose corn syrup, it is believed that your body will be less likely to reach satiety than with sugar, so you can consume more. Mo' calories, mo' money. Another advantage to these doses of -oses is that, aside from the fact that many people won't guess they're just different forms of sugar, they can be spread out in the ingredient list required by law, so that it won't be as obvious that what you're consuming is pretty much all sugar. When you look at a list of ingredients on a product, the manufacturer is required to list them in order of amount, from highest to lowest. So they can bury a quarter cup of fructose, a quarter cup of sucrose, a quarter cup of dextrose, and a quarter cup of corn syrup in the middle of the list, so you won't be as likely to notice that when you add them all up, the main ingredient in the product is sugar. Hide and seek. You're it. So, if you're like me, you may have sworn off soda except for special occasions, and turned the candy bowl into an unsalted-almond bowl. No more sugar, no more problems. Except for this problem—the food industry has cleverly snuck its sugars and corn syrups into products where we never would have thought to look for sugar. It's good for the manufacturer. It jacks up the calorie load, can enhance the product's appearance (high-fructose corn syrup gives hamburger buns their golden glow), and can keep our sugar jones simmering at a low boil, in case we ever decide to go back to the real thing. Here are some types of products whose labels could bear more scrutiny. Spaghetti sauce. A half cup of store-bought sauce can contain as many as three teaspoons of corn syrup or sugar. While some of the naturally occurring sugar in tomatoes and other vegetables will show up on the nutrition label, most of the sugar is added. Look for brands that don't include sugar or its aliases or make your own from fresh or canned tomatoes. Ketchup. Ketchup can be 20 percent sugar or more. Not to mention that you'll get 7 percent of your daily sodium allowance in one tablespoon. Look for low-salt, no-sugar brands, or make your own, using pureed carrots to add flavor and texture to the tomatoes. Reduced-fat cookies. Most brands of cookies now offer a reduced-fat version of their product. Nabisco even offers its own line of low-fat treats, Snackwells. But while you're patting yourself on the back for choosing the low-fat option, check the label. The sneaky food manufacturers did take out the fat, but they replaced it with, you guessed it, sugar. Many times, the reduced-fat cookie is only slightly less caloric than the one you want to eat. And because there's no fat to make you feel full, you'll be tempted to eat more "guilt-free" cookies. And just because there's less fat, it doesn't mean you'll be less fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Calories make you fat. Low-fat salad dressing. Like the cookies, manufacturers have taken the fat out of the dressing, but they've added extra salt and sugar to make up for it. Check the label to make sure you're not replacing heart-healthy olive oil with diabetes-causing sugar—because that's not really a "healthy choice." Your best bet? Make your own vinaigrettes using a small amount of olive oil, a tasty gourmet vinegar or fresh lemon juice, and some fresh herbs. Bread. Most processed breads, especially white hamburger and hot dog buns, can contain a good bit of sugar or corn syrup. That's what gives them the golden-brown crust. As always, check the ingredient label, and consider getting your bread at a real bakery or a farmers' market—it's the best idea since, well, you know. Fast food. Needless to say, fast food is generally not good for you. But even if you're staying away from the sodas and the shakes, everything from the burgers to the fries to the salads is a potential place to hide sugar. Check out the ingredients carefully at your favorite restaurant. You may be getting more than you bargained for. P90X Workouts - P90X Plus - Power 90 Workout - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - Shaun T Rockin Body - Ab Workout - Turbo Jam - Workout DVDs Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Saturday, April 26, 2008
By Steve Edwards
Not much is as frustrating during an exercise program as when your results stop progressing. But it happens to everyone; and even if you're training like a cage fighter, it will happen to you, too. When it does, the solution isn't as obvious as you may think. While the logical answer is to kick your workouts up a notch, eat cleaner, or eat less, that might be exactly the opposite of what you should to be doing. Here is an explanation of why your results are bound to plateau and what to do about it when it happens. What is the dreaded plateau? It's part of the body's natural process to hit a plateau because it's always trying to regulate itself. Its regulated state is called homeostasis. Your body is a creature of habit, but it doesn't care whether those habits are bad or good. The more you do something to enact change, the more it adapts and tries to limit that change. This can be a good thing because less stress is placed on the body. But it's a bad thing if you're unhealthy because that is the state your body is willing to call homeostasis. If your goals are to change your body, you'll want to keep that adaptive stress high until you're fit and healthy. Fitness trainers refer to the above-mentioned process as the adaptive phase of training, and any good fitness program is designed around it. The time it takes your body to adapt to something new varies by activity, your fitness level, and the effort you put into the endeavor. This process can take as little as 2 weeks to more than 12 weeks. In general, the fitter you are, the quicker your body adapts to a new workout routine. To get the most out of an exercise program, you need to break habits from time to time. This is why most training programs are broken up into phases or blocks that generally look something like this: Foundation phase: building base fitness—the time this takes varies per individual. Adaptive phase: learning to master the movements or cadence of a new workout program—takes between 1 and 12 weeks. Growth or Mastery phase: once mastered, your body has a limited time to make accelerated performance gains—generally 1 to 4 weeks. Recovery phase: when results level off, your body needs to recover from the stresses of hard training—generally 1 to 4 weeks. Most athletes train in 4- to 6-week blocks; during this time, they work on one energy system at a time. Each block is broken down into the above-listed phases. As each phase is mastered, the body begins to plateau, which is a signal to begin a recovery phase and move into the next training block. If you graph the desired results of your exercise program, the line should look like a ski slope (heading up or down depending on your goals) because you're making rapid changes. Once your body gets good (or efficient) at these exercises, they don't cause as much trauma, and you begin to get less effect out of the same program. The "ski slope" begins to level off and starts to resemble a plateau. If this program is continued as such, the line will go completely flat, or even start to dip the other way because of overuse. A good exercise program is designed to keep your graph looking like a ski slope by altering what you do regularly. Let's use a comparison of Power 90® and P90X® as an example of how two programs might look. Power 90 is an introductory program and P90X is an advanced program. They both follow similar patterns but the timing of each is different. Phase I: Foundation phase. Power 90 begins with the I/II workouts. P90X begins with a fit test, meaning that your foundation should be complete prior to beginning the program. Phase II: Adaptive phase. This is where the biggest changes in the programs occur. Power 90 doesn't change much because it may take an untrained individual up to 12 weeks to adapt. At the P90X level, adaptations are very quick and will happen in 1 to 2 weeks. Phase III: Mastery or Growth phase. This is the most intense period of training. Once the body adapts to exercise, there is a short window wherein very rapid improvement occurs. Phase IV: Recovery phase. Exercise intensity is reduced to allow microtrauma to heal. If timed correctly, fitness improves during this phase, until the body is recharged and ready to begin Phase II again. If done for too long, Phase I should be repeated. The recovery phase, which can also be called a transition phase, is a major part of P90X. Power 90, due to the variable adaptive phase, doesn't have a recovery phase built in. Plateau: occurs when Phase III is extended too long. Most sound fitness programs follow a similar plan. This alone does not keep plateaus from occurring. They affect everyone who engages in any exercise program, from couch potato to Olympian. In fact, the more finely tuned your body is, the harder it is to avoid plateaus, mainly because there is less margin of error to play with. But even though they are a natural part of the process, it does not mean that you have to give in to them. At some point along your fitness path, you are going to encounter a plateau. Here are 5 tips to help you snap out of it: Back off. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't exercise; it just means that if you ease up a bit, you'll likely recover and get stronger. Oftentimes your body is overtrained, exhausted, and just in need of a break. If you are finding it suddenly difficult to get through a workout that was easy the week before, this is most likely the case. You should cut down on your intensity and focus on technique and flexibility. It's a perfect time for a recovery-specific workout like Slim Series® Cool It Off!, Tony Horton's Ho' Ala ke Kino, or some easy cardio, yoga, and/or stretching workout. Another option would be to lower your workout weight or pick easier workouts. Gauge this so that you finish workouts feeling refreshed rather than knackered. When your energy level returns, launch back into your original program, or a more difficult one, harder than you did before. Turn it up a notch. The antithesis of backing off, because a plateau may also happen when you're purely bored and/or listless. The easiest way to increase intensity is by adding resistance. Change bands or add weight so that you start failing at around 6 to 8 reps on all of the exercises, which changes the energy system you're using. This added intensity will force your body to adapt and turn that improvement line skyward again. You'll know if this was the right tactic in one of two workouts because you'll either respond by feeling energized or you'll hardly be able to finish the workout. Streamline your diet. Most of our diets could always use a little improvement. If you've been giving yourself little rewards for a job well done (a good idea in general), then it's time to stop. Try a super-strict week wherein you do everything perfect. If you don't have a great example—like the P90X diet—scour the Message Boards for help. Add some morning cardio. Twenty minutes or more of easy- to moderate-level cardio in the morning on an empty stomach can help get your metabolism steamrolling again. You can train your body to more efficiently use stored fat as fuel, and this is one of the easiest ways to do it. Add or subtract 500 calories per day. If everything else seems fine and you're at wits' end, then try this. Your diet might just be miscalculated and you could be under- or overfeeding yourself. This is common, especially as you get fitter, because your body composition changes, which is why adding calories is one of the main ways our members kick themselves off of plateaus. Five hundred calories per day works out to 3,500 per week, which equates to a pound. Keep in mind that this will only work if you are eating proper nutrients. If not, try #3 first, and then try altering the number of calories you're eating. P90X Workouts - P90X Plus - Power 90 Workout - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - Shaun T Rockin Body - Ab Workout - Turbo Jam - Workout DVDs Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Being overweight is a problem for teenagers. Experts say that more than 31% of the teens in the US are considered overweight or obese and those numbers are rising all the time. There are a lot of experts that say the problem is that teens don’t get enough exercise and spend too much time in front of the TV and computer and they don’t watch what they eat. Those are problems that affect a lot of adults to but for teens it’s more of a problem. Weight loss for teenagers is important because children and teenagers will carry the eating and exercise patterns that they learn early in life through life with them. Children and teens that are overweight are more likely to be overweight as adults so weight loss plans for teenagers can keep teens from becoming overweight adults and having health problems later in life. One of the biggest aspects of weight loss for teenagers is exercise. Teenagers are going through a lot of growing and changing and their bodies will grow and change as well. Eating a healthy diet and getting lots of exercise can help a teenager’s body regulate itself through all the hormonal changes that the teen is undergoing. Since exercise is so important when it comes to weight loss for teenagers how can you get your teenager to exercise more? There are lots of ways that teenagers can incorporate more activity into their daily lives. If you don’t live far from school have them walk into school instead of driving them. Or buy the teen a bike so that he or she can bike to school and bike to friends houses or the mall instead of driving. Limit computer and tv time to just two to four hours a day. That’s still a lot of of TV and computer time but most teens spend double that amount of time watching TV or on the computer so limiting that time spent watching TV or playing on the computer can really help teenagers lose weight. Look for ways to get the whole family to be more active. Go camping or take everyone to the park for a game of soccer or football. Encourage your teenager to play a sport at school or in a community league.
If your teen is very self conscious about his or her weight and doesn’t like to exercise in public because they are embarrassed buy him or her a home workout DVD. Your teen can exercise at home where he or she feels comfortable and can start losing weight and feeling better about themselves. Soon they will feel comfortable enough to go for a walk or a bike ride while still doing their home workouts. There are hundreds of different home workout tapes so it will be easy for a teenager to find one that suits his or her taste. Dance workouts that incorporate hip hop dance moves or belly dance moves into a strong aerobic workout routine are very popular with teenagers. P90X Workouts - Workout DVDs - P90X Plus - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - Ab Workout - Power 90 Workout - Turbo Jam - Sean T Rockin Body Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
By Steve Edwards
Stress is a part of everyone's life. And, as the tabloids remind us, even the most successful, fit, got-it-made-in-the-shade celebrities are not immune to it. It disrupts our ability to function at work. It affects our moods. It upstages the things around us which we should be grateful for. Stress distracts our attention and, when it does, it gains power in what becomes a vicious cycle of reacting to stress, and building on it. But even though we're all susceptible to its evils, we're also in control of how we let it affect us. Let's take a look at a few ways to keep our daily stress to a minimum. As you might imagine, your lifestyle plays a huge part in how stress affects you. What you may not be aware of is just how important your diet is for how well your body can cope with it. It seems obvious that just eating better would help you deal with stress more effectively. Sure, but there are dissenting opinions over how if affects your body. According to the American Dietetic Association: "It's a common myth that our bodies use more nutrients when we're under mental stress. Although pressures at home or work sometimes cause people to neglect eating well, we do not use any more or fewer essential nutrients while under stress." Since everything the body does alters its use of nutrients, this statement seems suspicious. According to Leo Galland, M.D., author of Power Healing (Random House, 1997), it's just plain wrong. "Chronic stress is not just harmful to the heart, it depletes the body's essential supply of magnesium, the nutrient most important for handling stress and contributing to sound sleep; relaxed, healthy muscles; and staying calm." He goes on to add, "The fight-or-flight syndrome causes magnesium to pour out of the cells, which makes you more vulnerable to anxiety's negative effects. What's more, the substances we often reach for when we're tense—caffeine, sugar, high-fat foods and alcohol—leech even more magnesium from the body. Leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, on the other hand, are full of this nutrient. Load up on these foods if you're under a lot of stress. And it's not a bad idea to consider taking a magnesium supplement." Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., a research scientist at MIT, adds, "Complex carbohydrates are champion stress-fighters, too, because they boost the brain's level of the mood-enhancing chemical serotonin. These include an array of vegetables (broccoli, leafy greens, potatoes, corn, cabbage, spinach), whole-grain breads and pastas, muffins, crackers, and cereals. Make them a part of your regular diet. Bananas also help quell anxiety." Is someone right or wrong here? It's hard to say, exactly, but we can make an educated guess. History shows that western science is usually slow to embrace ideas which are intangible or which lack scientific study, which probably explains the ADA's position. Common sense, however, makes a good argument for a nutrient-rich diet, regardless, since it would have many benefits beyond pure stress reduction. And, it must be noted, many of these unarguable effects, such as health, weight management, and fitness level, have the potential to reduce stress levels. Regardless, some caution should be used before embarking on a "de-stressor" diet of crackers and muffins. The safe assumption is that if you eat healthier and pay closer attention to the details of eating, the level of stress in your lifestyle will most certainly decline. And if you feel more run down or sluggish as a result of stress, it can only help you to get back on your feet by making sure to get the proper nutrition from food and supplements. Here are a few ways to reduce the amount of stress in your daily life. Take some time for yourself. Even if it's only a few minutes a few times throughout the day, claiming some of your busy schedule for yourself in order to focus inward and relax can do wonders for your stress level. Of course, the more time you have the better, but the real key here is not time, but focus. Concentrate on yourself during this time and let those day-to-day troubles fall by the wayside. Exercise. Since you're reading this, chances are that you have already committed to exercise, but no study on stress ever leaves out its importance. Exercise makes your engine run smoother, removes toxins from the body, lowers anxiety, and makes you feel good about yourself. Nothing puts the brakes on a stressful day like a long walk, run, bike ride, or even a hardcore dose of P90X®. Drink water. We can't stress (pun intended) the importance of drinking water. Water hydrates and cleanses your system, removes toxins, and makes you less hungry. Forcing yourself to drink a glass of water a few times a day is the simplest body regulator there is. Eat breakfast. Take time out for a healthful breakfast before your day starts. It will help you get going for your busy day and will keep you from feeling hungry just when you need to be gaining momentum. Keep in mind that breakfast doesn't mean "Trucker's Special." A grapefruit, banana, or protein shake are much better options. Drink tea. With zero calories and a host of antioxidants—which are basically stress-combatants—tea provides rationale behind the historical significance of "tea time." This afternoon ritual was created with de-stressing on its agenda. Turns out this was a nutritionally sound practice as well. Just hold the scones with clotted cream. Stop and breathe. Not everyone has time (or interest) to work on meditation, but there is no doubt that more meditation would lead to a less-stressed world. Mini-meditation sessions focused on breathing can be stress reducers. It's as simple as taking a minute from time to time and just concentrating on your breathing. Sitting or standing quietly, take a deep breath, filling your belly up with air as you inhale. As you exhale, silently count "one" to yourself and empty your belly of air. Continue inhaling and exhaling until you reach the count of 10; repeat as often as you wish. It works. Snack well. Don't binge or just grab whatever is in sight once you get hungry. By taking some time to plan your snacks, you keep your blood sugar constant; nothing adds to daily stress more than a sugar crash. If food has ever altered your mood or made you feel sluggish, you know what we're talking about, and if it hasn't, you're probably not reading this anyway. Stretch. You don't need a full-blown yoga session to alleviate your stress (though that will certainly help). Finding a few minutes to stretch each day will both center your mind and elongate muscles that tend to contract as you become stressed. Starting each morning with 2 or 3 minutes of light stretching as soon as you get out of bed can do wonders for your outlook on the day. Remember, however, that in the morning you aren't warmed up, and when we say light stretching, we mean light. You aren't trying to exercise; just get your blood moving and muscles warmed up. Do yoga. If you do have the time, try adding some yoga into your life. There's a reason it's the fastest-rising exercise in the western world. Yoga is a full-on assault against the daily onset of stress. It's a whole-body workout that combines body and mind to enable you to focus. Supplement your diet. But not just with magnesium, as Dr. Galland suggests—though magnesium is good. Ensuring you have enough vitamins and, especially, minerals will help you ward off stress. Two other supplements that are particularly useful are fish oil and antioxidants—these are two areas in which our diets are often deficient. P90X Workouts - Workout DVDs - Power 90 Workout - Turbo Jam - P90X Plus - Hip Hop Abs - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - Sean T Rockin Body Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Sunday, April 20, 2008
One of the most common myths about weight loss it that fasting for weight loss is an effective weight loss method. Fasting for a day or two can be a good way to cleanse your body and kind of restart your body but fasting for more than one day or at the most two days can be dangerous and definitely will not help you lose weight. Fasting for weight loss is ineffective because if you go too long without any calories coming in, your body will think that it is being starved, because really it is being starved, and it will go into starvation mode. Once your body goes into starvation mode it will stop burning the excess fat that you have for fuel and it will start to shut down all non-essential systems so that it uses less calories. Your metabolism will drop and your body will start storing fat so that it will have more fat to burn for energy. So really, fasting for weight loss does the exact opposite, it causes your body to hang onto fat. A better way to lose weight is to eat a minimum amount of calories. You can severely restrict calories as a way to jump start weight loss but fasting for weight loss will not work. If you want to really limit your calories you can eat a lot of vegetables which have a lot of bulk and will make you feel full but don’t have a lot of calories so that you will still be encouraging your body to burn fat. Eating a minimal amount of calories, say maybe cutting your normal daily calories in half, will give your body enough calories that it won’t think you are starving and storing fat to protect itself from starvation, but you will still be eating few enough calories to lose weight. If you do try fasting for a few days to jump start your weight loss, you can always use a fasting formula to keep your body from starving.
Another danger associated with fasting for weight loss is the danger that fasting will seriously damage your endocrine system. It’s been proven that the shock of diets can throw your endocrine system seriously out of whack making it very difficult for your body to function normally when you’re off the diet and fasting for weight loss has the same danger. The shock to your body might be so great that your body won’t recover properly when you stop fasting and you might end up doing some damage to your body just so that you can lose a few pounds of water weight. Fasting for weight loss is not a good idea unless you are under the care of a qualified doctor who has suggested that you fast. Make sure that you understand all the risks and the dangers of fasting before you start a fast. If you do fast for weight loss be prepared because you might experience a lot of light headedness and weakness when your body doesn’t get the caloric intake it needs to function properly. The shock of the fast might initially flood your body with adrenalin but when the adrenalin wears off you will probably not feel well. If you are going to fast, make sure that you lighten up your work load so you can take it easy during the fast period. P90X Workout - Ab Workout - Power 90 - P90X Plus - Tony Horton Ten Minute Trainer - Sean T Rockin Body - Turbo Jam - Workout DVD Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Friday, April 18, 2008
By Steve Edwards
Ladies and gentleman, tonight we bring you the long-awaited fight to crown the World Obesity Federation's heavyweight champion. It's the battle to decide, once and for all, which food is most responsible for making us fat. In one corner, we have our long-reigning champion, The Heartbreak Hammer, Fat! In the other corner, the up-and-coming challenger everyone's been talking about, The Soda Pop Kid, Sugar! As the undisputed nutrient kings of our fast food world, this is the bout that everyone's been waiting for. Fat has been the people's champion for a long time. Sugar, on the other hand, has only been around as long as humans have been altering their food from natural sources. Lately, a lot of money and science have changed our challenger's traditional fighting style, leading to a string of TKOs (technical knockouts) en route to Sugar's shot at the title. Going into tonight's fight, however, the experts still favor the champion by 2-to-1 odds. The tale of the tape Sugar—Weighing in at 4 calories per gram, the challenger is slight in stature compared to our champion, and will look to speed in order to gain an advantage. Sugar is a carbohydrate, but the way we consume it now is much different than how we find it in nature where's it's surrounded by a fruit, grain, or other plants. The Soda Pop Kid is synthetic crystalline sugar—the kind that goes into soda, candy, and many convenience foods. Its main weapon is the speed with which it rushes into your system. Fat—At 9 calories per gram, Fat outweighs its challenger by more than double. Unlike sugar, fat is its own food group and an essential part of our diet, just like carbohydrates and protein. It's easily found in nature in many forms and doesn't need to be processed. This, of course, doesn't mean we don't process it when it's convenient or cost-effective. As opposed to sugar, fat moves into your system slowly. Then it remains there for as long as it can. In abundance, it clogs things up. Its main weapon being bulk, its goal is to wear you down. As you can see, we've got a classic tortoise-vs.-hare matchup between these two heavyweights. A brief history Sugar—Since all carbohydrates are broken down into sugars in our blood, it's always been a part of our diet. However, when eaten as a complex carbohydrate or encased in fiber (as in fruit), it affects our body differently than it does as processed sugar. Bees were the first sugar producers and humans have been eating honey about as long as bees have been making it. However, it didn't become a major part of our diet until thousands of years later. Westerners began the production of sugar around 1500 BC. Originally made from sugarcane and sugar beets, it's now manufactured from other crops, like corn and wheat, which make up the bulk of the sugar consumed in the USA. Modern technology has enabled us to tamper further with natural sugar. Traditional sugar, like honey, had a much lower glycemic index (GI) than many modern variations. Since the higher the GI number, the quicker the sugar rushes into your system, we are now essentially able to have sugars affect the body like a drug, creating exaggerated hormonal responses, particularly the hormone insulin. You may have heard of insulin because when we have trouble producing it we have a disease called diabetes. Type II diabetes is the result of eating a poor diet. It's also the fastest growing disease in the world, which, in Sugar's camp, means they think it's time for a shot at the title. Fat—Like we stated earlier, fat is dense—it has a lot of calories for its size. It's also an essential nutrient and helps us feel satiated, or full. Therefore, when we're hungry we tend to crave it. And since we don't really need much of it, it's very easy to overeat. When we eat more food than we can put to good use, our body stores it in adipose tissue. We call this tissue fat, or fat tissue. But it's not really fat, as in the kind we eat. It's something else. Well, it's adipose tissue, but we've always called it fat. Anyway, the point is that we call it fat whether we get it from eating too much fat or too much protein or too much sugar or carbs or by drinking too much alcohol. And because of this, fat gets a worse rap than it deserves. But make no mistake, fat is formidable. We like fat. We like it a lot. Many fat-laden foods are considered delicacies. And we like fat so much that we've found ways to consume just the bad parts of fat that serve little to no dietary purpose. Stuff like butter, margarine, lard, and trans fats are completely unnecessary for our survival. Yet, somehow, our culture has taught us to crave such things. And these cravings have led to heart disease becoming the planet's most popular way to kill people. Fat has been the undisputed champion of the obesity world for a long, long time. It's not going to relinquish this title easily. So let's get ready to rumble! Round 1 Smaller but faster, Sugar comes out in a rush and pummels Fat mercilessly. Because of The Kid's smaller stature, Sugar's punches seem to have little effect on The Champ. But Fat hardly lands a punch himself and is looking old and slow. Could The Hammer's reign be over? Round 2 The Sugar rush comes to a quick crash. The Champ, in no rush himself, seizes control of the pace and takes the round. Round 3 All of our sponsors are major lobbyists on the side of Sugar. The Kid replenishes and responds in another flurry of activity. The Champ is back on his heels, waiting for The Kid's next, inevitable, crash. Round 4 The Kid jabs, moves, and controls the pace but The Champ seems unfazed. Fat knows that Sugar is only an effective nutrient during and immediately after activity when blood sugar is being used up. So Sugar must keep moving, otherwise it has no nutrient value. The Hammer, being experienced, is willing to bide his time and wait for an opening. Round 5 Sugar bobs and weaves, employing a psychological game that confounds The Champ. Complex carbohydrates and the simple carbs in fruit break down slowly and provide sustained energy during performance. This gives Sugar an advantage of public misconception because the junk-food sugar can be lumped together with healthy carbohydrates. This underhanded attack is clearly something Fat hadn't counted on. It seems to anger The Hammer. Round 6 The Champ counters, big time. Two can play the public misconception card and Fat uses its adipose tissue to absorb all of The Kid's body blows. The statement that size matters seems to be holding true. In spite of nearly unending corporate support, Sugar seems to be tiring and its punches are growing less and less effective. Round 7 Fat is now clearly in control of the bout and uses a cholesterol combo to weaken The Kid further. The Hammer's corner men, Meat and Dairy, are loaded with it and too much cholesterol is a major cause of heart disease. Could this spell the end for the gallant challenger? Round 8 A savvy move saves The Kid, who notes that cholesterol is a necessary part of the diet and that with a proper ratio of fiber and complex carbs it will have little negative effect. It's a beautiful defensive move, but how long can it work? The Hammer just seems to be warming up his arsenal. Round 9 Offended by The Kid's trickery, Fat comes out smokin' and unloads an entire 7-Eleven of chips, butters, whipped cream, hot dogs, margarines, and even "vegetable" oils at The Kid. Since all lead to heart disease, now the leading cause of death in the world, Sugar's only defense is the rope-a-dope. He's clearly in major trouble. Round 10 Down goes Sugar! The Champ plants a trans fat to the head and levels the challenger. This could be it, folks. The Kid staggers to his feet but the referee has stepped in. He seems to be holding up a can of Crisco to see if Sugar can identify what hit him. If not, he's going to stop it. Oh, but wait a minute. The Kid seems to be okay, and even looks to be smiling. The ref flashes a thumbs-up and the fight continues. Sugar dances away from a series of haymakers. The Hammer obviously wants to end the contest right now. But he can't connect. The Kid survives! In his corner, he's being given a Coke. Round 11 His face is bloodied but The Kid is back at work. The Champ's attack has been slowed with the news that the FDA has required that trans fat be listed on the side of every food label while sugar, sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners, and glucose syrups can be used with virtually no regulation. This tactic has clearly befuddled The Hammer, whose punches are beginning to miss more often than they connect. Round 12 Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a new fight! Left for dead just a few rounds ago, Sugar is now controlling the pace. Still a long way behind on points, the challenger is using an intriguing combination that's hurting The Champion. First pointing out that many fats—the type in nuts, olives, seeds, avocados, fish and many others—are essential for optimal health and then noting that nothing in sugar is needed for human survival and combining it with the fact that a "no fat" label can be on a food containing 100% sugar. Then he uses the fact that sugar alters body pH levels, a clear example that an all-sugar food is far worse than a no-fat food. That's gotta hurt. Round 13 The credit probably goes to his corner men, all major corporate CEOs, but Sugar has got to be one of the craftiest fighters in history. He comes after Fat with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and fibromyalgia, an offensive that clearly caught The Champ off guard. Apparently, they're illnesses attributed in part to excessive sugar in one's diet leading to insulin resistance problems. The Hammer may have amassed enough points to win a decision but is now clearly on the defensive and reeling. Who knows what The Kid's got up his sleeve at this point? Round 14 With only one round to go, Sugar swings wildly with a combination of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and soda pop. This is one of the most lethal offensive combinations in the history of obesity! HFCS is the cheapest and lowest-quality sugar produced and is now added to many items that aren't even sweet—things like salad dressings and peanut butters, items once clearly in Fat's corner. And soda, a substance with no nutritional value whatsoever, has become the singularly most consumed item on the planet. I don't see how The Champ can survive this. He's staggering around the ring, basically out on his feet! Somehow, and it must be experience, The Hammer avoids going down. Round 15 It all comes down to this: one round to crown the World Champion of Obesity. Fat, the longtime champ, is clearly in trouble but still has enough points to win thanks to its mid-fight dominance. But Sugar has owned the latter rounds thanks to heavy lobbying, effective marketing, deregulation, and public misconception. The Champ was barely on his feet at the end of round 14 and his corner is working furiously to limit the damage. The question is, does Sugar's corner have one last trick up its sleeve? And here we go . . . The Champ still manages to show some swagger, and comes out flashing heart disease as the number one killer, recently eclipsing lung disease and cigarettes—no slouch in the death department. But Sugar barely flinches and counters with type II diabetes, the fastest growing illness in the world, that's almost single-handedly controlled by Sugar. It's like Ali's "anchor punch" against Liston and it sends The Champ sprawling. Down goes Fat! Down goes Fat! And I don't think the Champ will be rising from this one. Nope. Fat is out cold. The Hammer's reign is over. There's a new kid in town. Sugar is elated, dancing around the ring and pointing at the crowd, screaming, "I want YOU! I want YOU!" Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the NEW heavyweight champion of the obesity world: SUGAR! ---------- You can ward off obesity by keeping fit, watching what you eat, cutting Soda and the SUGAR filled Coffee out of your diet. By making small changes you will start to see improvements in your life, in your health and in the way you feel about yourself. Exercising and keeping fit, whether it's a home workout dvd or a gym workout routine, you will see the results you want. P90X Workout - Hip Hop Abs - Power 90 - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - P90X Plus - Sean T. Rockin Body - Turbo Jam Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Denis Faye
To many weight loss enthusiasts, diet soda is the nutritional equivalent of getting away with murder, a naughty indulgence to be enjoyed without fear of repercussion or, more importantly, weight gain. But are Coke Zero and Diet Pepsi truly the nectar of the gods? Truth is, it's hard to say. Unlike with trans fat, there is no hard and fast evidence showing that diet soda rots your insides. However, there's also no evidence showing that it benefits you. There are, however, plenty of studies indicating that diet sodas are, in a word, weird. Whether it might cause heart disease, or it might make you eat more junk food, or it might give you cancer, the big question about diet soda is: is it worth it? A little history- Diet soda bubbled into popular culture in 1952 when Kirsch Beverages of Brooklyn, New York came out with No-Cal Ginger Ale, a saccharine-sweetened drink aimed at diabetics. In 1962, Royal Crown came out with Diet Rite Cola, this time sweetened with saccharine and cyclamate. Coca-Cola rolled out Tab in 1963. Pepsi followed suit in 1965 with Diet Pepsi. And the race was on. In 1970, the artificial sweetener cyclamate was banned in the United States when it was found to cause cancer in lab rats. In 1977, saccharine came under scrutiny for the same reason. In the 1980s, soft drink manufacturers switched to aspartame. Today, while most diet sodas still contain aspartame, some—Diet Rite and Hansen Natural Sodas—use sucralose, aka Splenda. Others such as Coke Zero and Diet Red Bull throw a little acesulfame potassium into the mix. When the legitimacy of the saccharine/cancer connection came into question in the 1990s, saccharine-sweetened Tab returned to the market. Some sweet science If you're wondering which of these sweeteners are good and which ones are toxic, the answer is hazy at best. For example, one minute saccharine kills on contact, the next minute it's harmless. Science gets even more wobbly for the other sweeteners, given that most of them have only been around for a few decades. That's not much, considering it took almost a century for anyone to figure out saccharine's potential health-risk issues. Click here to find out more about sweeteners. Nothing for something A far more obvious concern with diet drinks is that people think they've somehow cheated the system when this is most likely not the case. A study by the University of Alberta published in the August 2007 issue of the journal Obesity found that feeding a diet of low- and zero-calorie food to young lab rats tampered with the body's ability to recognize calories and regulate food intake, so that later in life, the rats tended to overeat, even highly caloric foods. Granted, these are rats, not people, so the rules are very different, but this is still food for thought, so to speak. How many times have you ordered diet soda at the movies, thinking that it somehow made the accompanying giant tub of buttered popcorn acceptable? Because you passed on a 150-calorie drink, you're now "allowed" to eat a 400-plus-calorie fatty snack? Hmmm. In fact, a 2005 study by the University of Texas Healthy Science Center showed that there's a 41 percent increased risk of being overweight for every can of soda a person consumes in a day. While the popcorn theory isn't the proven reason for these findings, it is a definite possibility. Another plausible theory is that diet sodas alert the body of a possible influx of calories without delivering the goods, causing further calorie cravings. Backing up this study is a July 2007 study by the Boston University School of Medicine. When 6,000 middle-aged men and women were observed over four years, it was found that those who drank one soda or more a day had approximately a 50 percent greater risk of metabolic syndrome—a group of risk factors including excessive fat around the middle section of the body, low HDL (good) cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other health-risk symptoms. But seriously . . . Of course, it's easy to explain most of this research away with chicken-and-egg logic. Is diet soda making people unhealthy, or are unhealthy people drawn to diet soda in a misguided attempt to turn things around? And while we're debunking anti-diet-soda theories, it's worth noting that, contrary to popular advice (including, in the past, my own), carbonation does not pull calcium from your bones. According to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2001, the calcium problem only occurred when the carbonated drinks also contained caffeine. For more on caffeine and energy drinks, click here. But these two concessions are small potatoes compared to the overwhelming, ever-increasing body of research suggesting that diet sodas are problematic. True, none of the evidence is entirely conclusive and even the researchers involved are quick to admit that their studies need to be taken with a grain of salt. But, at the same time, every time you open a can of Diet Coke, there's a giant question mark floating among those bubbles. You don't really know what you're drinking and you have no idea what it's doing to your body. It's up to you to decide, if it's really worth it when you could have brewed yourself an iced tea (without sugar, of course)? P90X workout - Hip Hop Abs workout - Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer - Power 90 - P90X Plus Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Monday, April 14, 2008
So what’s the real scoop on caffeine and weight loss? Does caffeine really help you lose weight or not? If you’re wondering what the facts are about caffeine and weight loss wonder no more. Here are the real facts about caffeine and weight loss. Is there a connection between caffeine and weight loss? The experts say no, there is no connection between caffeine and weight loss. Despite what some diet pills and diet supplements claim caffeine does not boost your metabolism and will not help you lose weight. There is some evidence that caffeine does cause your body to burn slightly more calories than usual but there is no evidence that it causes enough of a calorie burn to cause weight loss. There is evidence that caffeine can act like a mild appetite suppressant but again, not enough evidence to draw a link between caffeine and weight loss. What happens is that the companies making these diet pills and supplements know there is some truth to their claims that caffeine can help you burn calories and that caffeine can suppress your appetite and they exaggerate the link between caffeine and any weight loss program to get you to buy their product.
Medical studies have shown that caffeine can have a negative impact on weight loss. Caffeine in large doses can cause your blood sugar to spike which causes your body to release higher amounts of insulin which throws your endocrine system completely off balance. Too much caffeine can make you gain weight because if the sugar that is released into your bloodstream when your central nervous system is stimulated by the caffeine is not broken down fairly quickly by insulin, that sugar can get turned into fat. So drinking coffee or highly caffeinated sodas can make you gain weight instead of helping you lose weight. That is why most diets don’t allow coffee or limit the amount of coffee that you can drink. And it doesn’t make a difference if the coffee is decaf. Decaf coffee has exactly the same effect on weight loss as regular coffee. So if you really want to start losing weight you should probably think about switching from coffee to tea. Some teas, like black teas, have a small amount of caffeine and can give you that jump start you need in the morning or that pick me up you love in the afternoon without having the harsh effects that coffee has. Tea also has other health benefits like being packed with antioxidants that can really help your immune system. If you have pre-diabetes or if you are at risk of developing diabetes you should definitely think about giving up coffee because of the effect that coffee can have on your blood sugar levels. It’s important to lose weight and regulate your blood sugar levels if you are diabetic of if you are at risk of becoming diabetic so if you think you’re at risk you should take the steps you need to take to give up coffee. The best way to lose weight is by exercising, building muscles, running, or using any workout dvd such as the p90x workout or hip hop abs workout routine by Sean T. Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Saturday, April 12, 2008
When you want to lose weight you need to exercise. So a lot of people want to know what is the best exercise for weight loss? There are a lot of different exercise programs out on the market and not every exercise is suitable for everyone. Everyone can benefit from getting more active. Even if you’re not training for a marathon or a race but just walking around the block every night you can lose weight. There isn’t a single type of exercise that is best for weight loss but the best exercise for weight loss is any type of aerobic exercise combined with some strength training exercise. Fitness experts agree that when you want to start exercising to lose weight the only way to really lose weight is by doing some type of aerobic activity.
Aerobic activity boosts your metabolism, burns calories, strengthens your heart and will help you burn calories even after the workout stops. Aerobic activity should be combined with some type of strength training activity because when you build up muscle mass your metabolism will get faster because your body will need more energy to haul around those muscles. So the more muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn just doing simple everyday activities like walking around, breathing, working, or just sitting. Our bodies are always burning calories for energy. When you are trying to lose weight you just want to kick start your metabolism to burn more calories all the time. And the best way to do that is to increase your lean muscle mass. But you still need to do some aerobic activity. There are a lot of non aerobic exercises that are popular these days like yoga and pilates and those types of exercises are very good for you but mostly because they build lean muscle which helps your body burn calories. If you want the best exercise for weight loss you should do some type of aerobic activity like walking or running or dancing or anything that gets you up on your feet and moving for at least 30 minutes three times a week. The other three days of the week you should do some strength training. You could lift weight, do some pilates or yoga dvds at home, or just do some strength training exercises like crunches or push ups, through the P90X workout or Hip Hop Abs workout routines. Be sure to let your body rest at least one day a week. That is the best way to exercise if you want to lose weight. It’s really not that hard to do once you get into the habit of doing it. Exercising can be a lot of fun. Use some home workout DVDs to keep you motivated to exercise. Change up the DVDs every so often so that you don’t get bored with one particular aerobic activity. If you want to try yoga or pilates for strength training look for DVDs that have more than one workout level on them so that you can progress naturally in your training. Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Thursday, April 10, 2008
By Steve Edwards
Energy drinks have taken over the soft drink market in a caffeine-fueled frenzy. To listen to their ad campaigns, you'd be sure that this has everything to do with your health. Now instead of leaving the convenience store with a gut bomb, you can grab a Monster can of Adrenaline that promises to Redline your performance until you're partying like a Rockstar. But do energy drinks really give you wings? Or are you more likely to experience a fleeting glimpse of euphoria, only to come crashing down like Icarus? Since Red Bull entered the U.S. market in 1997, energy drinks have been chipping away at the soft drink and bottled water companies' stranglehold. According to an article in The New York Times, energy drinks have now surpassed bottled water as the fastest growing category of beverages. This isn't to say that they're hurting the soda companies, because pretty much everyone now makes an energy drink, from Hansen's to Steven Seagal. Despite a slew of drinks with far more provocative names such as Who's Your Daddy?, Cocaine, Whoopass, and Beaver Buzz, the industry leader is still Red Bull with sales that are projected over $3 billion this year. The where? And why? Energy drinks have been around for decades, particularly in Asia and mainly in Japan. They weren't soft drinks like they are today. Instead, they were small vials of liquid promising to promote performance. These vials were usually filled with caffeine, many herbs containing caffeine, and some vitamins. Their target audience was businessmen, to aid their long work schedules. Red Bull took its name and certain ingredients from a Thai supplement. They watered it down and added sugar so that it could be consumed as a soft drink, targeting the under-30 crowd, and voilà, a new market was formed. Pretty much everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. The more consumer-friendly varieties tend to be larger and resemble soft drinks, but there are still some aimed at more "sports-specific" audiences, like bodybuilders and ravers. These will often come in a smaller package resembling the vials that you get overseas, which are probably more suitable for those who want to feel as though they're doing something illegal. The what? So what's in the stuff that makes it so special and, even more importantly, is it special? The ingredients vary, but there is one constant: caffeine. No matter what any energy drink professes, its secret ingredient is caffeine. Many contain various forms of caffeine, like guarana, yerba maté, and tea, but caffeine is the business they're in. Everything else is a side dish. As an example, let's take a closer look at Red Bull's active ingredients. Sucrose, glucose. Like most soft drinks, the number one ingredient, by far, is sugar (check out this article for "6 Foods with Hidden Sugar"). This is where all of the calories come from in a Red Bull. Sugar provides an instant energy rush, but its effects are anything but energizing after only a few minutes. A study conducted at the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom exemplified exactly the opposite of this instant energy-rush effect. The study showed that a high-sugar and low-caffeine energy drink would promote sleepiness, not energy. "Energy drinks are a misnomer," reported Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, to HealthDay News. "Sure, they provide energy in the form of calories, usually from some form of a simple sugar, but simple sugars are digested, absorbed, and metabolized very quickly, so the energy they contain doesn't last long." Sodium citrate. A food additive or preservative, usually added because of its tart flavor. However, it's also alkaline and inhibits blood clotting. Because it's an effective buffering agent, it may help you utilize other nutrients better. A British study in 2003 also showed that it improved running times. However, in this study, the amount used was 37 grams. Since a Red Bull's only measurable ingredient is 27 grams of sugar (not counting the water), it's unlikely that the amount of sodium citrate will add any noticeable velocity to your wing speed. Taurine. Originally came from bull bile, which is where Red Bull got its name. Now it's synthesized and, of all the ingredients in a Red Bull, the least understood. While it's associated with many benefits—and some dangers—virtually nothing is proven other than it being essential for your cat's health. In the energy drink world, some studies showing that it could reduce muscle fatigue are the most promising. Studies have concluded, however, that it is not an energy enhancer. Glucuronolactone. A naturally occurring chemical compound produced by glucose metabolism in the liver. Because it was once rumored (now disproved) to be linked with brain tumors during the Vietnam era, it was not a popular ingredient, until Red Bull used it due to its reputation for improving memory retention and concentration. Years later, there is still no conclusive proof, but it's become a popular ingredient in energy drinks across the board. Caffeine. Now here's the business. Caffeine is a plant alkaloid found in over 60 species of plants such as guarana, kola nut, maté, tea, and, of course, coffee. Over 19,000 studies have been done on caffeine and most of them have been positive—the truly dangerous conclusions drawn by some studies have yet to be proven. The upside is so well known that there's no need to go into it. Caffeine is now arguably more popular than ever and it's estimated that 90 percent of American adults consume it in some form. But this is nothing new, it's been used as a stimulant for as long as we've been recording history (and perhaps it's even the cause of us recording history). Caffeine is not without its downside. Too much can make you jittery, anxious, unable to sleep, and even paranoid. It increases the production of stomach acid and can lead to an assortment of ailments. It's also addicting and those who drink caffeine daily will suffer withdrawal symptoms if they can't get it. It has a toxic dosage, but it's so high that death by caffeine is highly unlikely, if not altogether impossible, unless consumed in its pure form. It is worth noting that over a certain amount (the average being around 400 mg—three or four cups of coffee), caffeine intoxication may occur, which is an unpleasant condition that may include heart palpitations, irritability, anxiousness, and insomnia. For more on how you can cleanse your system, read "10 Reasons to Fast." Inositol. I'm only going to go into this ingredient enough to show why many ingredients are added to supplements and drinks—only for show. Inositol, as a supplement, has some promising science behind it, but you would need to drink approximately 350 Red Bulls—enough to kill you from caffeine intoxication—to get the dosage used in the studies. Therefore, its inclusion here is to merely sound important. This is similar to many "teas" and other convenience store elixirs that tout important-sounding ingredients on the label but only contain trace amounts of those ingredients. How much? Here we refer to both the amount of ingredients and the cost of such ingredients. Energy drinks are expensive and, given the amount you get of each ingredient, you'd better really like the way they taste. If not, you're being ripped off. Let's start with sugar. First off, sugar is not performance enhancing, so paying extra for it makes little sense. If you want sugar, buy something that tastes good. Many energy drinks are also made with artificial sweeteners which are exactly the same low-grade additives that you can get in a can of Big K diet soda for 25 cents. Caffeine is cheap, as is coffee, and the average cup of coffee has three times more caffeine than the average energy drink. There are whole Web sites set up to help you do the math on this. One such site, Energyfiend.com, lists the milligrams of caffeine per ounce contained in each energy drink. The more commercial brands, like Rockstar and Red Bull, have far less than some of the more esoteric brands. But nothing, except the one-ounce caffeine shots, beats a good old cup o' joe. While the above-listed ingredients are the flagship ingredients of promotion, they aren't added in amounts that are effective. If you like the science behind taurine or inositol, you're better off buying it in bulk and then drinking plain coffee or tea. So will they give me wings? While there is little doubt you will gain a burst of energy from these drinks, it's unlikely to be sustained energy. Furthermore, the type of rush you get will be followed with a crash that will make you crave more. Because these have very little nutrient value, chances are that consumption of more than a couple will leave you feeling edgy or downright irritable. Energy drinks may have a place in your diet, but with proper fueling and regular exercise, like with Hip Hop Abs™ Dance Party Series or Yoga Booty Ballet®, you are unlikely to need them regularly, if ever. We tend to be low on energy because we make poor food choices, sleep too little, exercise too little, and stress too much. No drug can offset this behavior except during the short term. Energy drinks should be nothing but an emergency solution. And when you want to party like a Rockstar? A popular use of energy drinks is as a cocktail mixer. Bars commonly promote such concoctions and energy drink companies often sponsor social gatherings. While mixing stimulants and depressants has been common among the partying sect for a long time, that doesn't make it safe. A 2006 study found a possible link between energy drinks and seizures, and research shows that combining heavy stimulants with heavy depressants could lead to heart failure. Remember that all rock stars don't make it through their partying years. How to best enhance your energy Your lifestyle has more to do with your energy level than anything else. Consistent and intense exercise keeps your hormones working in balance and your body on an even keel. A proper diet with plenty of fiber, protein, vitamins, and good fatty acids that's supported by plenty of fresh water will give you long-term sustained energy. Finally, getting ample sleep helps you recover from the stress and breakdown of everyday life (read my "10 Tips for Restful Sleep"). This is your real Pimp Juice if you want to keep your Diesel engine going Full Throttle all day, even if you've got to catch a Red Eye. P90X workout Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
This begs the question: why do we need to take all this fake sugar anyway, especially if it's a risk? The answer is because we like sugar. We like it a lot. We now, as a society, get more nutrients from sugar than anything else. In fact, sugary soda is the single largest source of calories we consume, accounting for around 13 percent of calories consumed worldwide. And excessive sugar in your diet, as you've probably heard, can cause a lot of problems (refer to "Sugar vs. Fat: Which Is Worse?" in Related Articles below).
There's no doubt that sugar, especially a lot of sugar, is something we should avoid if staying healthy is our goal. But at least we understand sugar. We know how it works and, whether we want to or not, we can easily understand how to make it a healthy, or at least an acceptable, part of our diets. The same can't be said for any artificial sweetener on the market. All we know is that they lack calories, and now we're not even sure if that will keep us from getting fat. So since sugar, in moderation, is fine and artificial sweeteners are, at best, an unknown, rational thought should lead us to choose real sugar when we crave something sweet. Our big problem is that too often we've been conditioned to want things to be too sweet. So here are five ways to limit your sugar consumption because, if you can minimize your sweet tooth, you'll have no reason to gamble with artificial sweeteners at all. Portion control. Not unlike Rome in its final throes, we have become a society that craves excess. A sign in a Denny's window states, "Remember, an apple a day." It offers a perfect metaphor of our obesity epidemic: an apple surrounded by about 2,000 calories of sugar and fat. Our society has gone crazy for "bigger is better." After dinner, your body is not hungry. You don't need 2,000 extra calories. You don't need 200. If you savor a square of chocolate or a tablespoon of Ben & Jerry's slowly, it will curb your cravings without a noticeable effect on your diet. Don't snack on artificial sweeteners. Gum is probably the worst snack because it creates a stimulus-response reaction that causes you to crave sweet stuff constantly. Sugary gum is bad for your teeth, but at least it runs out of flavor quickly. Artificially sweetened gum turns you into one of the rats in the above-mentioned experiment. When you feel as though you need something sweet, go ahead and have a little sugar. Then brush your teeth. You'll find this satiates your cravings without putting your body into a constant stimulus-response mode. Add some fruit to your sugar. Fruit is sweet, healthy, and filling. The problem is that fiber can dull its sweetness enough to keep you from choosing it first. But you can dress up fruit with a very small amount of "real" dessert and make it pretty darn decadent, offering you a nutritious and filling dessert that you can still burn off. Make sure you have some complex carbs in your diet. This may sound boring, but complex carbs, like whole grains, sweet potatoes, rice, and beans n' stuff, all slowly break down into blood sugar. If your blood sugar is steady, you won't crave sugar. You might still habitually crave it, but that's a lot easier to deal with than a sugar-crash craving, which usually leads to bingeing. Try the protein powder trick. Most protein powders have a small amount of sugar and a touch of artificial sweetener, and are 90 percent protein. If you can find one you like you might be able to curb your cravings with a high-protein snack (try Whey Protein Powder packed with 18 grams of protein per serving). Chalene Johnson, the creator of Turbo Jam®, uses chocolate protein powder as a base for pudding, and Beachbody® Advice Staff Denis Faye sprinkles it on cereal. Get creative and you'll get the added benefit of ensuring you have enough protein in your diet to fully recover from your p90x workouts. And this, in turn, also helps reduce sugar cravings and helps with your weight loss plan. Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Are you on a weight loss plan that includes cutting out sugar and adding artificial sugars? Changing your diet, eating habits or workout routines? Then keep reading...
While stories have been appearing regularly in the news over the last year, one of the most interesting tidbits of information is a hot-off-the-press study that showed that rats on diets containing saccharin gained more weight than rats given sugary food. The study was published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience and found that the calorie-free artificial sweetener appeared to break the physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, driving the rats to overeat. This information could be damaging to the entire industry because the link may have more to do with the calorie-free stimulus of artificial sweetener, which means it could be an effect associated with any of the artificial sweeteners on the market. Furthermore, it enhances the credibility of a large-scale study that linked diet soda drinking with obesity. We'll get to that in a minute, but let's take a brief look at the rat study. In the experiment, funded by the National Institutes of Health and Purdue University, nine rats received yogurt sweetened with saccharin and eight rats received yogurt sweetened with glucose (sugar). After receiving their yogurt snack, the animals were given their usual food. At the end of five weeks, rats that had been fed sugar-free yogurt gained an average of 88 grams, compared with 72 grams for rats that ate glucose-sweetened yogurt, a difference of about 20 percent. Rats fed sugar-free yogurt were consuming more calories and had 5 percent more body fat. Since this required further explanation, more research was done. In another experiment, two groups of rats were fed sugary and artificially sweetened drinks to measure changes in their body temperatures. Body temperatures typically rise after a meal because it takes energy to digest food. This effect, known as thermogenesis, is the desired effect of most "fat burning" supplements. The rats in the saccharin group experienced a smaller average temperature increase, a sign that regular consumption of artificial sweeteners had blunted their bodies' responses to sweet foods, making it harder for the animals to burn off extra calories. Normally, sweet tastes signal the body that it is about to receive a lot of calories and the digestive system prepares to react. When sweet tastes aren't followed by lots of calories, as in the case of artificial sweeteners, the body becomes conditioned against a strong response. The most interesting irony here is that the study suggests that most "diet" foods will likely counteract the beneficial effects of most "diet" supplements. This becomes more provocative when we look at the next study, which featured real people. In this one, scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years to record general health trends as they related to lifestyle. Overall, a Western dietary pattern, which includes high intakes of refined grains, fried foods, and red meat, was associated with an 18 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, while a "prudent" diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, fish, and poultry correlated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk. Metabolic syndrome doubles a person's risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, or stroke, according to Dr. Ramachandran Vasan of Boston University School of Medicine. While this was nothing to be surprised about, the researchers then stumbled on a more puzzling statistic—that the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none. Lyn M. Steffen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and a coauthor of the study, which was posted online in Circulation on January 22, 2008, stated that they weren't sure if the increased risk was due to some kind of chemical in the diet soda, or something about the behavior of diet soda drinkers. Then, in reference to the Purdue study, she was reported by the Los Angeles Times last week as saying that it offered a possible explanation. Another study published last year cited the effects of soda drinkers versus non-soda drinkers. In this one, approximately 6,000 middle-aged men and women were observed over four years. The results showed that those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese, a 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference, a 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides as well as high blood sugar, and a 32 percent higher risk of having low high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol levels. Again, the news was not exactly shocking. Then the researchers analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available. Those who drank one or more diet or regular sodas per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome. Clearly, something is rotten in the state of Denmark or, you know, something like that. The American Heart Association, which publishes Circulation, made a statement that people should understand that the study in their publication did not prove that diet sodas cause heart disease, and it may still be better to have a diet drink than a full-calorie soda. Regardless of this backpedal, it's not difficult to see that some bad things are happening to people who drink diet soda regularly. P90X workout Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Thursday, April 3, 2008
By Cecilia H. Lee
Tulips and daffodils are blooming. Butterflies and birds are flying under sunny skies. It's springtime! What better way to chase away the winter blues than to get your blood pumping by doing a bit of spring cleaning. A recent British study showed that the Brits burn over 50,000 calories a year (which adds up to almost 15 pounds of fat) just by cleaning their homes. Here is a list of the top 10 highest calorie-burning chores (listed from the lowest to the highest, with the average number of calories burned per year). The good news is that the more you clean, the more calories you'll burn through. And the more body weight you're carrying, the more calories you'll burn. Not only will you get your workout, you'll have a clean house to enjoy afterward. So, get out that vacuum and get cleaning! 10. Dust and polish (burn 2,288 calories per year). This can be one of the easiest chores to overlook, but since you're doing a deep cleaning, why not get totally into it? You don't even need fancy furniture sprays—just a combination of olive oil and white vinegar. It's like salad dressing for your furniture, only better (combine 1 cup of the oil and a 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a bottle; shake well). Use a soft cloth to work it in and buff out your furniture. You'll not only expend elbow grease (getting a bit of upper-body exercise in), but you'll have naturally shiny furniture. Light dusting burns about 170 calories per hour (assuming a body weight of 150 pounds); with more heavy scrubbing and cleaning, you burn 204 calories per hour. 9. Change the bedding (burn 2,728 calories per year). Although there may be some debate about how often you should change the sheets on your bed, most people think that once every week or two is a good standard. To get in a little more exercise, be sure to make your bed every morning. This way, you'll have a nice bed to slip into every night and you'll also burn 136 calories per hour. Of course, none of us will take an hour to make the bed (Martha Stewart, notwithstanding), but even at 15 minutes, you've burned enough calories to make up for half a glass of wine. 8. Clean the bathroom (burn 2,891 calories per year). Sure, scrubbing toilets is no one's idea of a good time, but it doesn't have to be such a chore. Put on some fast music and get moving. If you make it a little race or game for yourself, you can get the whole bathroom clean in just 20 minutes. If you use large up-and-down movements (like when cleaning a shower door), you'll even get your stretches in. Just by cleaning the bathroom, you can burn at least 231 calories per hour. 7. Sweep the floor (burn 2,896 calories per year). For outdoor areas and garage floors, nothing beats an old-fashioned broom and dustpan. This activity burns 272 calories per hour. So, it makes sense to sweep up the driveway and even get out to the sidewalk. Although sweeping ranked 7th in calories burned, you can increase the level of your workout by getting to all the nooks and crannies of your property that you usually avoid. Even better, stretch up and knock down those cobwebs that have been accumulating in the corners of your garage. 6. Tidy up (burn 4,541 calories per year). This is a general household chore that you can add to your routine every day. Don't worry about being efficient because the more back and forth you walk, the more steps you get in. If you have stairs in your home, even better. Be sure to keep your abs tightened when you do your chores, since it'll give your ab muscles a bit of a workout and improve your posture. Also, be sure to put away heavy things (try carrying those storage boxes down to the basement) to get in some weight training exercise. Even a light tidying up lets you burn over 170 calories per hour. Step it up and you can get it to over 240 calories burned per hour. 5. Scrub the floor (burn 5,117 calories per year). Get on your hands and knees and scrub those tile or linoleum floors. Again, use big, broad circular movements and reach under the bed and other hard-to-reach places. You'll burn about 258 calories per hour, enough to make up for a serving of chicken nuggets. 4. Wash and dry the dishes (burn 6,781 calories per year). Give that dishwasher a rest and do your dishes by hand. You'll burn 156 calories per hour, just for standing and washing the dishes; but if you dry them by hand and put them away, you'll get even more bang for your buck. To get in a good stretch when putting away the dishes, twist and stretch to reach the higher shelves. If you want to save your hands from getting too dry, wear gloves. 3. Iron your clothes (burn 6,794 calories per year). Get out all those clothes you've been hiding in the back of the closet and get ironing. To make it more fun, do it in front of the TV or with the radio playing. Just because it's housework, it doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Besides, dancing a bit while you're ironing will give you a little more of a workout. Ironing, sans dancing, will burn about 156 calories per hour. 2. Vacuum the floor (burn 6,800 calories per year). According to a recent survey, people found vacuuming to be one of the more enjoyable tasks to do around the house. To make it even less of a chore, put some of your favorite tunes into your portable CD or MP3 player and get going. Vacuuming burns about 238 calories per hour, but you can get more out of it by vacuuming the couches and pillows. Also, to make it more of a workout, put the pressure on your legs (don't strain your arms and shoulders, which can in turn strain your back). Instead of standing in one place and pushing the vacuum back and forth, walk with the vacuum from one end of the room to the other, like you'd do with a lawnmower. You'll get in more exercise and ensure yourself of not missing a spot. And now is a great time to find out how to best use all those attachments you've been wondering about and get in some lunges (keep your toes pointed straight ahead and bend your knees, but not more than 90 degrees). 1. Do the laundry (burn 9,464 calories per year). Now that you've changed the bedsheets and piled up all the dirty towels, you can get the laundry going. Although doing the laundry only burns about 150 calories per hour, because it takes a while to go through several loads (especially if you have kids or major cleaning to do), the calories burned do add up. If you have outside space, you can burn even more calories by gardening (246 calories per hour), raking (264 calories per hour), or mowing the lawn (a whopping 363 calories per hour). Now that you've cleaned the whole house, kick back with a tall glass of water and enjoy your handiwork. And remember that the same British study mentioned earlier showed that housework gave more of a workout than spending an hour at the gym. So, the next time you don't feel motivated to haul yourself down to the gym, put on your favorite music, and pick up your vacuum instead. Remember, doing your housework faster and more intensely not only makes for a better workout; you'll be done with your chores sooner. Happy cleaning! How would have thought that cleaning would be a great weight loss program? Or who would have thought that cleaning can do so much for your body. After cleaning for the day, if you still need a workout, try the P90X workout program. Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
By Steve Edwards, with Denis Faye
This is the question on a lot of people's minds in light of recent studies that link artificial sweeteners to everything from weight gain to Alzheimer's. Fake sugar has been around for a long time but, until recently, has been able to stray from the crosshairs of legal scrutiny. There's always been scuttlebutt surrounding its safety but, for the most part, it's been dismissed as shoddy research and hippie science, which has allowed the sugar substitute industry to nearly triple over the last decade. Let's take a deeper look into the history of artificial sweeteners, the latest scientific warnings, and some realistic alternatives to playing the part of a human lab rat. What happened to "calories in, calories out?" As it turns out, calories may not be the be-all-end-all of nutrition when it comes to obesity. It's already well established that it's the types of calories that you eat, not simply the amounts, that matter when it comes to general health or athletic performance. But common diet lore has been that your weight is purely a function of a number assigned to the energy in your food that's deemed a calorie—a simple and convenient wrapping that's allowed the "no cal" industry to flourish. The latest research strongly hints that maybe everything we eat, not just calories, is responsible for not only our health but our weight. Before we analyze the latest evidence, let's take a brief look at the history of sweeteners and how these odd combinations of chemicals became an integral part of our diets in the first place. A brief history of fake sugar In 1879, a Johns Hopkins University researcher accidentally spilled a synthetic chemical on his hand. For some reason, he took a lick, discovered it was sweet, and saccharin was born. Nearly a century later, it was found that it could cause cancer in lab rats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) immediately tried to ban it, only to meet with overwhelming opposition from dieters and, surprise, the diet food industry. Congress settled the matter by requiring a warning label on any products containing saccharin. With a veritable wrist slap as a deterrent to disclaim a risk of cancer, the race for the perfect artificial sweetener was officially on. Despite a slew of lawsuits, weird science, and other anecdotal evidence against it, the artificial sweetener business has chugged along with increasing effectiveness. Since 1987, the number of Americans who consume artificially sweetened products has more than tripled to nearly 200 million. During this same period, obesity rates have risen from 15 percent to over 30 percent. Here's a quick rundown of seven of the major players. Saccharin (aka Sweet 'N Low). The oldest and most scrutinized chemical sweetener has been under fire pretty much ever since, well, foods could actually be under fire in the mainstream media. In the 1990s, it was discovered that rats and humans were physiologically different, so the mechanism that caused cancer in the rats didn't apply to us. The above-mentioned warning labels were scrapped, but then, in 2003, the National Cancer Institute released another study saying something along the lines of, "Oops, maybe it does cause bladder cancer after all." But, so far, no word on digging up those labels again; however, below you'll see that saccharin may have bigger fish to fry soon if it's going to stay on the market at all. Stevia (aka Sweet Leaf or Honey Leaf). An herbal sweetener from South America, stevia is the only sweetener on this list that hasn't received FDA approval. In fact, due to studies on rats and hamsters showing that large doses of stevioside, the active ingredient in stevia, caused low sperm counts and abnormally small offspring, you'll probably never see it approved from the FDA or Health Canada, the European Union, or the World Health Organization. The upside is that it's been used by indigenous cultures for thousands of years, some of which don't seem abnormally small. Because it's natural and time-tested, it's become trendy with the whole-foods sect and can be found at most new age markets, sold as a supplement. Sucralose (aka Splenda). Take sugar and chemically combine it with chlorine, and voilà! You have a product the human body can't process, so it passes right through. Sucralose has been animal tested and FDA approved. However, there are a few researchers who claim sucralose shrinks the thymus gland and enlarges the liver and kidneys. They also point out that this sweetener was discovered in 1976 and, therefore, hasn't been around long enough to show any long-term effects. Time will tell, but this is currently, despite the warnings, the fastest-rising sweetener on the market. Aspartame (aka NutraSweet and Equal). This synthetic derivative of a combo of aspartic acid (an amino acid) and phenylalanine is a popular favorite for diet soda drinkers. The only people who absolutely shouldn't consume aspartame are people suffering from phenylketonuria because excess levels of phenylalanine in their blood can cause neurological, behavioral, and dermatological problems. Other research indicates that people can be aspartame-sensitive, receiving headaches from consuming it. Also, there are dozens of theories floating around pinning aspartame with brain tumors, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and so on. Although no study has ever proven any of this, whether or not this compound is truly safe remains to be seen. Lately, negative research related to diet soda has been piling up, which is aspartame's monetary wheelhouse. Acesulfame (aka Sunett). A sumptuous blend of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, sulphur, and potassium whipped up by the Germans in the 1960s, acesulfame isn't metabolized by the human body. Numerous studies suggest that acesulfame causes tumors in rats and mice, but the FDA has thrown out these studies for various reasons. Regardless, it's hard not to question the safety of this sweetener until more solid positive evidence is presented. Sugar alcohols (aka isomalt, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, or anything on an ingredients list ending in "-itol"). Not really sugar or alcohol, these are sugars fused with hydrogen. The body has a hard time digesting this combination—it usually does so in the intestines, meaning fewer calories absorbed per gram than other carbohydrates (usually about one or two). So you still get calories, only fewer. With no major side effects or even anecdotal bad news, this stuff could be a dieter's dream. Unfortunately, it's associated with regular minor problems, mainly intestinal upset. Common side effects of sugar alcohol are gas, bloating, and diarrhea. D-Tagatose (aka Naturlose). A "natural" sweetener derived from dairy products, tagatose is similar to sugar alcohols in that it does have some caloric impact—1.5 calories per gram to be exact. The reason for this low number is that the enzymes in the intestines can't process the stuff, so most of it passes through undigested. The downsides of this can be bloating, nausea, and other more audible signs of gastric stress. The entire history of sweeteners has been controversial but, until recently, not much of the evidence against them has struck a chord with the public. Not surprisingly, the only two that have seen anything affect their market share are the oldest, saccharin and sweet leaf. And, oddly enough, the only one of these that's been "permanently" removed from the FDA's approved list is the only natural one, sweet leaf, which incidentally is also the only one not produced chemically by a large corporation (generally synonymous with having the weakest legal team). Some new studies could be changing the sweetener world as we've known it. While yet to be declared in any definitive way, each successive study has thrown fuel onto the anti-sweetener fire without a bit of evidence that's been able to slow the blaze. Given that most sweeteners on the market (even with FDA approval) haven't been around long enough for definitive long-term studies to be conclusive, that is a pretty strong indictment that we may want to use at least a little caution in regards to how much we consume. If a weight loss program is something you are considering then look at the P90X workout to help you lose those extra pounds. Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X
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