Fitness Gear

The Best Diet for Weight Loss

2008-07-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

By Steve Edwards

Is Atkins back? The oft-maligned high-protein diet won in a battle between some of the more popular weight loss diets. In an extensive 2-year study, participants who followed a high-protein diet lost more weight than those who followed a low-fat or a Mediterranean diet. But before you throw out your whole grains and stock your fridge with steak and butter, read on. Let's take a close look at this study to clarify what it means, and to try to help you determine what should be the right diet for you.

The main message of the study could be that dieting works because all of the participants lost weight. Surprisingly, however, those on a high-protein diet lost more weight and improved their cholesterol levels more than those on a low-fat diet. The third option, a Mediterranean diet plan, fell in the middle. Women, however, showed the best results on this plan.

What makes this study so special is that it was done in a very controlled environment—an isolated nuclear plant in Israel—and that most participants (85 percent) stuck with it to the end. All of the 322 participants ate lunch at a cafeteria with a controlled menu and had very few options for fast/junk-type food outside of work. Most of them were male. The average weight loss for the high-protein diet was 10.3 pounds. The Mediterranean dieters averaged 10 pounds lost, and those on the low-fat regimen averaged 6.5 pounds lost.

For those of you on Beachbody® programs, whether P90X®, Slim in 6®, or Yoga Booty Ballet®, these numbers might not seem too impressive. The study was conducted without any exercise requirement, and the chosen group did not necessarily include participants needing to lose a lot of weight. We know we can get far better results with a Beachbody-type of fitness plan, but the results of this study can still help us refine our own diets. Let's look at some of the main questions the study brought to the forefront.

Is Dean Ornish an idiot? The popular "good guy" of the American diet, as seen on TV, was skewered in this study by proponents of the often-vilified Robert Atkins approach. Does this mean that we've been bamboozled by the media? Not exactly. But the "Ornish plan" that's been adopted by our government and recommends getting less than 30 percent of our calories from dietary fat might need to be reconsidered. In this study, those who ate more fat saw their cholesterol indicators fall by nearly double. However, it must be noted that there was no pre-study cholesterol criteria. It's possible—and probably likely—that those choosing the low-fat approach had better cholesterol numbers to begin with. Another consideration is that the Ornish approach (that includes a lot of fruits and veggies) has a lot more margin for error should one stray from the diet, which we'll look at in more depth below.

Should I try getting my copy of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution back from the Salvation Army? Maybe, but this study does nothing to overturn the reason the public turned on Atkins in the first place. The high-protein approach—popularized but not invented by Dr. Atkins—still has merit as a diet plan. Where the Atkins folks went wrong—though the diet still became popular, it should be noted—was by hyping up their plan as the one that allowed you to eat bacon, butter, and fatty meats. While this is true for a portion of a high-protein diet, it's not something that works well within the scope of an entire meal plan. Atkins tried to reverse this thought pattern by adding phases to the diet plan, but the damage had already been done; carbs had become vilified and fat was "where it was at." The problem was that this only worked during the early phases of the diet; that's if the participants were strict enough to keep their bodies running without blood glycogen. Once you began to cheat, you were eating a very dangerous high-fat diet. Atkins advocates, in part, funded this study, so we should be suspicious. But the reason they did is because they knew that their plan would fare well. Cutting your carbohydrate intake, especially in the early phase of a diet plan and when you aren't doing much exercise, is very effective for weight loss and health in general.

What was that about women? Oh, yeah, in the study, women did the best on the Mediterranean diet. Since most "dieters" are women, it's rare when a study features less of them, but that's what happens when you use a nuclear facility as a venue. In the study, the Mediterranean diet was similar to the low-fat plan except that more emphasis was placed on eating nuts, fish, and olive oil—all of which are outstanding fat sources.

What does the small print say? Even though Atkins proponents funded the study, it wasn't a steak and cheese festival. According to the Associated Press, the study "urged dieters to choose vegetarian sources of fat and protein." This is a far cry from the public perception of the Atkins plan. Essentially, each dietary plan used primarily healthy foods, recommending that most calories come from plant sources. This meant that all three options were more or less healthy, the defining difference being the percentage of carbohydrates versus the percentage of fat in the participants' diets. The more sedentary you are, the fewer carbohydrates your body needs to function properly. Therefore, the findings make perfect sense, assuming that the average exercise level was fairly low.

How much exercise did the participants get? Not much, from the looks of it. Exercise was not a component of the study, except for one comment stating that participants "got roughly the same amount of exercise." But where carbohydrate intake is concerned, exercise is the major component. The more exercise a person does, the more carbohydrates (and overall calories) he or she needs to eat, even to lose weight. A more thorough study would have been to add an exercise element and then see how each participant responded to various phases. What would likely have been the answer? The high-protein participants would have transitioned to being low-fat participants as they added exercise and got into better shape. This is because as you add exercise, you need to add calories. And more of these additional calories should be carbohydrates because they are directly burnt off during exercise. Carbohydrates are fuel. The more driving you do, the more you need to eat.

Final observations. This study does a good job of pointing out the importance that dietary fat plays in our diets. It doesn't exactly vindicate Atkins, but it shows the reason he wrote his books in the first place. It reminds us that most people eat more carbohydrates than they burn off. By inference, we can conclude that this is a highly dangerous way to eat and the major culprit in our obesity epidemic. Therefore, reducing carbs tends to improve that average person's health indicators, especially those who are overweight and/or sedentary. The study used healthy sources of fat and protein. This was not the way the original Atkins plan was structured, but it is a far safer approach because those who cheat will then still have a healthy nutrient base. It left out exercise. If that were a component, it's certain that we would have seen the numbers from the lower-fat approach improve as the participants became fitter, since we need to eat more carbs, but not necessarily more fat and protein, to fuel our exercises.

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Test Your Peach IQ!

2008-07-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

August is National Peach Month. How well do you know your peach facts?

What popular family is the peach a part of? The peach is related to the rose family. However, giving someone a dozen peaches on an anniversary has been met with mixed results.

How many bushels of peaches does Georgia produce annually? Georgia produces slightly less than 3 billion bushels of peaches every year. The United States is the world leader in peach production, supplying over 20 percent of the world's peaches.

How did the cling peach get its name? The cling peach is so named because the flesh of the peach is more attached or "clings" to the pit. Freestone peaches pull away easily from the pit.

What vitamins are peaches particularly high in? Peaches are high in vitamins A, C, and E, as well as dietary fiber. And at 35 to 70 calories a peach, they make sweet and healthy snacks.

Who wrote James and the Giant Peach? Roald Dahl, the British author of another popular "sweet" children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Check out the 1996 film version of James and the Giant Peach directed by Henry Selick.

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Soy: 10 Questions Answered For Healthy Living

2008-07-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

By Steve Edwards

Soy took another hit last week when a study was released showing that eating half a serving a day could lower a man's sperm count. Over the last few decades, soy has usurped many traditional crops and has been an ever-increasing part of our daily diets. The latest finding is just another in what seems to be an ever-growing list of health concerns surrounding soy. But, we still regularly see headlines promoting soy as a miracle food, so it's hard to know whether or not it's healthy. We analyzed the latest claims and concerns, and came up with a list of the top ten questions you might have about soy.

Do we eat too much of it? In a word: Yes. Whether it's healthy or not, soy is being forced down our throats a lot more than we know. The U.S. is the largest producer of soybeans in the world, so there's a lot of money there to spend on ways to tell us how good it is for us. But even if it is good, that's no reason to eat nothing else. Americans eat more soy than anyone else in the world, with some people getting upwards of 60 percent of their protein from it. This is because it's in a lot more than tofu these days. The food industry has developed so many creative uses for soy that it's now found in paints, glues, and bug sprays. And food. A lot of it. Soy, in some form or another, is on the label of hundreds of varieties of processed foods, which, by most accounts, seems to be the real problem.

But haven't healthy Asians been living on it for years? This is the marketing hoopla, for sure, beginning with the dubious claim that all Asians are healthy. Either way, however, soy plays only a partial role in their diets. A 1990 study from Cornell University concluded that the average Chinese diet consisted of between 0 and 58 grams of soy a day, with the average being 13 grams—about half an ounce. This is not insignificant, but it's a long way from being 60 percent of their protein consumption.

Are all types of soy the same? Not exactly. You don't need a nutrition expert to point out that there might be a difference between an unprocessed soybean and bug spray. But soy is now found in foods from all over the tiers of Michi's Ladder, and it can be found on Tier 1 or Tier 5. For example, natto—a Japanese dish of fermented soy—nearly always shows up on lists of the world's healthiest foods. But soy chips are, well, fried crispy things devoid of nutrition, no matter what the base ingredient is. The rule with soy should be the same as the rule with most other foods; the closer it is to nature, the better. This means that edamame and miso are likely to be healthier than soy milk, soy cheese, soy burgers, and soy ice cream.

Can it cause cancer? Forget sperm count; let's first find out if it's going to kill me! The risk of breast cancer due to soy intake has proliferated on the Internet since a 2001 Canadian study and a 2006 California study suggested that women with a high risk of breast cancer be mindful about the amount of soy they consume. This was due to isoflavones, which are a type of phytoestrogen, a chemical produced in plants that acts like estrogen when introduced into animal bodies. The isoflavones scare has caused both Israel and Great Britain to issue warnings recommending that females under the age of 18 limit their soy consumption.

Can it prevent cancer? On the flip side, there's a lot of research showing that soy isoflavones might help prevent cancer, along with hot flashes, osteoporosis, and brain aging. According to Mark Messina, an associate professor at Loma Linda University who has worked with the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, and now consults as a soy expert, it seems far more likely that soy prevents rather than causes cancer. "There is very exciting data indicating [that] early soy consumption reduces breast cancer risk," says Messina. "There have been four epidemiologic studies that have looked at this relationship. The latest study, from the National Cancer Research Institute, found that women who consumed the most amount of soy at 5 to 11 years old were 58 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than women who consumed less soy."

Is it making us sterile? Back to the original scare piece, we see that even small amounts of soy consumption can lead to a reduced sperm count. Researchers at Harvard concluded that eating only half a serving per day (about the same as the Chinese, who haven't seemed to have problems) lowers sperm concentrations and "may play a role" in male infertility. However, moving past the headlines, we see that no males in the study were infertile due to soy and that the much larger culprit in the study was obesity. Obesity can cause sterility. There is no evidence that soy can or will.

Is it making us fat? One soy fact is clear: It's not making us fat. Soy's popularity, in fact, came from the fact that it's a very good source of protein and omega-3 and, unlike animal protein, is far less likely to make us fat. In 1989, the FAO/WHO developed the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score, a method of measuring protein values in human nutrition. Eggs, milk, and soy all score a 1.0, the best possible. Beef scores .92 and peanuts score .52. Additionally, soy's fat is mainly omega-3, making it an excellent substitute for meat, which is high in saturated fat.

Isn't an allergy to soy likely? Soy is one of the top eight allergens, along with milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and wheat. This is due to its 12-protein structure. While it's not likely that you're allergic to soy, its symptoms can be subtle and hard to distinguish, like sore muscles or general fatigue. Also, it's in so many foods that it can be difficult for those with soy allergies to eat a balanced diet, or to even know they're eating it at all. Soy is often found in baked goods, canned tuna, cereals, crackers, sauces, soups, some peanut butters, and infant formula. Avoidance takes a lot of attention.

What is soy lecithin? It seems to be in everything! Soy lecithin is a waste product that comes from the manufacturing of soybeans and is used in many different products. Its main use is as an emulsifier in junk foods, but it's also used, in part, for many supplements. It's been linked to many health benefits and some things less beneficial. It's debatable whether it's a health benefit or a danger, but a bad batch was linked to a recent Hershey recall and plant closure in 2006. Even if it proves to be healthy, as studies suggest, soy lecithin still needs to be considered when determining your soy intake.

So why risk eating soy at all? And if I do, how much should I eat? There is no denying that soy can be a healthy part of your diet, unless you happen to be allergic to it. Its macronutrient profile is exceptional. It's a great protein and fat source. It's been linked to improved cardiovascular health, and the isoflavones have myriad benefits associated with them. All the negative research seems to be linked to excessive amounts. It's only what is deemed excessive that is debated. Messina states, "I don't believe there is evidence that exceeding these amounts is harmful," in regards to a 25-gram-per-day recommendation. The Chinese study showed nothing but health benefits associated with the consumption of 13 grams per day, on average, but participants also ate up to 58 grams per day. It would make sense to recommend a serving or two of soy per day, provided it comes from natural sources. The trick is learning about the foods wherein soy is hidden, which will take some label reading and a little bit of probing.

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10 Great Vegetarian Sources of Protein

2008-07-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

Anyone who's read the latest studies about high-protein diets knows that we need to get a substantial amount of protein in our diets—about a third of a gram for every pound of body weight (see Steve Edwards' analysis in last week's article, "The Best Diet for Weight Loss," in Related Articles below). One of the best and most readily available sources of protein comes from animals, but there are a lot of good reasons to think about cutting back or cutting out our consumption of meat to satisfy our protein needs.

Aside from the obvious animal-rights issues, there are several economic and environmental considerations to consider. The USDA estimates that it takes roughly 16 pounds of grain to make one pound of beef. When you consider that one-third of the world's population is classified by the World Health Organization as starving, it's easy to see where some of that grain could be put to better use. Beef production also impacts the ecosystem, from the clear-cutting of rainforests for grazing to water pollution to methane emissions, which contribute to greenhouse gases. And the cost of meat to your personal health is also significant. Although packed with protein, many meat choices contain high levels of saturated fats, the overconsumption of which can lead to heart disease and cancer.

At any rate, this article isn't designed to be a polemic about the benefits of vegetarian living. Picking up a book like Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation or Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, not to mention any of the vast Internet resources available on the subject, might convince you to replace meat with an alternative protein source a couple of meals a week.

The challenge in going vegetarian is finding enough "high-quality" protein. High-quality protein is defined as protein that contains all eight of the essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Most meat sources have all of the amino acids in one place. Plant sources usually have some of the acids, but not all in one place. So the key is combining foods to get a full complement of amino acids. Here are some of the top places to get your proteins (vegans, skip to #3). We'll skip soy for the time being—to read more about the good and the bad of soy, scroll down to Steve Edwards' article in this newsletter.

Eggs. Egg protein is commonly referred to as a "perfect protein" as it contains all the essential amino acids. There's a reason Rocky drank them during training; they contribute greatly to muscle recovery. One egg contains 6 grams of protein, with only 80 calories and 5 grams of fat. It also contains over 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol, which is high, but dietary cholesterol isn't the same thing as blood cholesterol. In fact, some eggs are now produced with high levels of omega-3s (achieved by adding fatty-acid-rich seeds to the hens' diets), which can actually aid in the lowering of blood cholesterol levels.

Dairy. One cup of 2 percent milk contains 8 grams of protein, only 5 grams of fat (3 of which are saturated), and about 120 calories. Switch to skim milk and you get just as much protein, no fat, and 30 percent fewer calories. An ounce of Swiss cheese also has 8 grams of protein but also 8 grams of fat (with 5 grams saturated) and a little over 100 calories. Nonfat yogurt may be your best option with 14 grams of protein and only 137 calories for a cup, or cottage cheese, which boasts 28 grams of protein in one cup. Many dairy products still have the same saturated-fat issues as meat and not all people can tolerate dairy well; some are even allergic or lactose-intolerant.

Legumes. If you read my article on fiber a couple of weeks ago (see "8 Fantastic Fibrous Foods" in Related Articles below), you already know some of the great health benefits of legumes. Not only are they high in fiber, they're high in protein, too. A cup of chickpeas has about 17 grams of protein, a cup of lentils has about 16 grams of protein, and a tablespoon of peanut butter has about 4 grams of protein. Some people blame beans for intestinal distress. It actually isn't the fiber in the beans that causes gas but a sugar that requires an enzyme to be digested, which humans lack. When soaking beans, add a pinch of baking soda to the water. It will help leach out the sugar from the beans, making you less gassy after eating them. Also, to avoid the sugar, don't cook the beans in their soaking water. Aside from that, if you weren't much of a bean eater before, add them into your diet slowly to give your system time to get used to them.

Grains. Usually, we think of grains as carbs, but when we're talking whole grains, they actually have a fair amount of protein. A cup of barley, for example, contains almost 20 grams of protein. A cup of buckwheat flour contains 15 grams of protein. A cup of couscous (dry) contains 22 grams of protein. A cup of oats for oatmeal provides you with 13 grams of protein. If you always choose whole-grain varieties of your favorite grains, you'll also get most of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fiber as well. But carb-watchers should beware; whole grains are the "carbiest" of the protein sources available.

Nuts and seeds. The mighty almond, which also has the most fiber per ounce of any of the common nuts, also has the most protein—6 grams per ounce. But almonds also have 16 grams of fat per ounce; however, only one gram of that fat is the unhealthy saturated kind. Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, have 7 grams of protein per ounce (about 140 seeds) with 13 grams of fat (2 grams saturated). Other seeds, like sunflower and flax, are also good, with about 5 grams of protein per ounce.

Seitan. Seitan is a meat substitute made from processed wheat gluten. Popular for centuries in Asia, it has gained in popularity in America in the past few decades but is still largely only available in health-food markets. It's not very flavorful, which makes it an ideal ingredient for replacing meat in any dish—it will assume the flavor of the sauce or spices you use. Many Asian dishes use it as mock pork, chicken, or beef. Just three ounces of setian contain 20 grams of protein, almost twice as much steak, and only 2 grams of fat and 130 calories. Try it in a stir-fry—you might fool your family!

Quorn. Quorn is a fungus-based protein source that has only been available for about 25 years or so. It is processed into different forms and flavors, like hot dogs, burgers, and faux chicken nuggets. Three ounces of Quorn, depending on how it's prepared, can have 10 to 16 grams of protein, and low fat and calorie contents. Like seitan and other meat substitutes, the sodium content bears keeping an eye on; it's usually the go-to ingredient when disguising the origin of a meat substitute. Also, there have been some reports of people with allergic reactions to Quorn, so it may be worth checking with your doctor to see if you're susceptible.

Nutritional yeast. This is an additive that can be used in recipes. It's very popular in Europe and Australia and gaining popularity in America. It has a slight cheesy flavor and can be added to shakes, soups, and sauces or used as a substitute for Parmesan cheese or as a popcorn or garlic-bread topping. It's especially rich in B vitamins. A two-tablespoon serving has 8 grams of protein (and is a complete protein, containing all amino acids), only one gram of unsaturated fat, and 50 calories.

Spirulina. Also known as blue-green algae, this has been a food source for centuries in Africa and South America. It has a lot of vitamins and minerals and is a complete protein. One ounce of dried spirulina contains 16 grams of protein, only 2 grams of fat, and 81 calories. Algae aren't the most appetizing foodstuffs, and much of spirulina is consumed in pill form or mixed into super-green drinks (like Beachbody's upcoming Shakeology™ drink). But it can also be used powdered or fresh in dips, salads, and sauces. There are a lot of message boards and recipe ideas on the Internet posted by enthusiasts.

Amaranth and quinoa. These are often referred to as "pseudograins." Both are actually seeds but are similar to grains in texture and flavor. Both are complete proteins, containing all eight essential amino acids, and have high levels of fiber and minerals. Amaranth can be used as flour, puffed into breakfast cereal, or cooked into soups and stir-frys. One ounce has 4 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, and 105 calories. Quinoa can also be used for breakfast cereal and, when boiled, makes an excellent substitute for rice or couscous. One cup of cooked quinoa contains 8 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, and 222 calories.

And, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the greatest protein substitute of them all, Beachbody's own Whey Protein Powder! (Come on, what'd you pay for this newsletter?) With 18 grams of protein in every scoop, and available in chocolate and vanilla flavors, it's a great addition to your health shake, containing the highest concentration of branched-chain amino acids of any source, critical for muscle development. Also, if you're thinking of cutting back on fish in your diet, you might want to consider adding a decent omega-3 supplement to your regimen.

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What Are Safe Weight Loss Programs?

2008-07-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

When you want to lose weight it’s really important that you choose one of the many safe weight loss programs out there. Safe weight loss programs are diets and workout programs that will help you lose weight and keep it off by changing how you eat and how you exercise. Fad diets, fasting diets, and the hundreds of diet supplements and diet pills that you find in the store are usually not a safe way to lose weight. Safe weight loss programs try to teach you a new way to live, and they focus on helping you lose a pound or two pounds per week which is a healthy rate of weight loss. These programs don’t promise that you can eat anything you want and still lose weight, like the diet pill diets. Safe weight loss programs don’t promise that you will lose twenty pounds in a week and they also don’t have to cost you a fortune like Jenny Craig.

So how can you tell if a weight loss program or diet is safe? There are some things to watch out for. Look closely at what the diet says you can eat. If the diet tells you that you can’t have any of a particular food group or tells you that you can have unlimited amounts of another food group that diet is not a safe one. You should be eating the recommended amounts of food from all the food groups everyday. Another factor you can use to tell if your diet or the diet you are thinking about starting is safe is to find out if the diet allows reasonable calorie levels. A reasonable calorie level for more people is between 1,400 and 2,000 calories a day. Women need to consume at least 1,400 calories a day to keep their bodies from going into starvation mode and men need to consume at least 1,600. If your diet doesn’t allow you to have at least the minimum amount of calories that you need to maintain your normal body function then it’s not a safe diet.

You should also check to see if the foods that you like are allowed on the diet. If the diet consists mainly of seafood and you hate seafood then you are setting yourself up to fail on this diet. You also may try making substitutions to allow for your favorite foods and that might compromise the diet. The diet might be safe but if it doesn’t allow you to incorporate the foods that you actually like to eat then that diet is probably not one that will work well for you and you should look for another one. Price and ease of use are also things to consider. Buying pre-cooked meals might be an effective and safe weight loss program but if you can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars for your daily meals then you might not want to choose that program. And if the diet makes you eat at inconvenient times or isn’t something you can easily follow because of your hectic schedule then you should find another diet because you won’t be able to stick with a diet that doesn’t fit easily into your life and schedule.

As always you should check with your doctor or ask your doctor for a recommended safe weight loss program that you could follow. If the weight loss program doesn’t pass your doctors recommendation then its probably best to move on.

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5 Foods That Make Your Skin Glow

2008-07-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

By Tony Horton, creator of P90X®

So you're saying to yourself, "Tony's giving me tips on how to improve the look of my skin?" Yes! That's because it's not all about push-ups and pull-ups for better health, you know. Your skin needs some pampering too. And I've learned to listen to the smart ladies in my life who know about this stuff. Healthy, glowing, youthful skin is something we all appreciate and want to hold on to as best we can. With high-end skin creams selling for as much as $400 per ounce (and with little evidence that they actually do even a percentage of what their labels promise), it might not be such a bad idea to head to the market and pick up foods loaded with nutrients that are known to have sun-protecting, skin-hydrating, and even wrinkle-preventing powers.

Manhattan-based dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, recommends the following as the best foods for your skin.

"Eat more fruits and vegetables!" I know you've heard this your entire life, but if I told you that they prevent wrinkles, would you be more likely to take this advice to heart? The antioxidants in fruits and veggies work to get rid of free radicals that damage cells and contribute to just about everything that affects your skin, from dryness to wrinkles. Dr. Wechsler's top picks: sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and tomatoes.

Vita C the easy way? Eat some citrus every day. Your body can't store wrinkle-fighting, collagen-building vitamin C, so you have to replenish your supplies throughout the day for optimal benefits. The doc's top picks: oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. Yes, you can only eat so many oranges, so feel free to juice out your vitamin C, add a squeeze of lemon or lime to foods, or throw some grapefruit in a salad. A little here and a little there adds up over the day.

Go green. One of the most important nutrients for your skin is vitamin A, and certain dark-green veggies are chock-full of it. Whether fresh, frozen, raw, or steamed, Dr. Wechsler recommends spinach, turnip greens, and broccoli as her top three choices for packing a vitamin A punch. What's so great about vitamin A? It supports skin-cell turnover, which promotes cell growth and development. Without it, skin gets dry, tough, and scaly.

Speaking of green. Have a cup of tea—green tea, that is. All true teas contain the antioxidant EGCG (Epigallocatechin 3-gallate), and green tea has the most. EGCG fights inflammatory chemicals that promote acne and sun-related aging of the skin. On top of that, green tea has L-theanine, an amino acid that reduces the flow of cortisol, which helps keep collagen fibers intact.

What you can't grow, fish. Omega-3 fatty acids have all kinds of benefits for your overall health, including your skin (with their age-fighting properties). Omega-3s fight inflammation, a top skin-ager, and help protect against sunburn. The protein in fish has restorative powers to boot. The doc's top fish picks: salmon, tuna, trout, sardines, Atlantic mackerel, Pacific herring, and even most shellfish. Unlike veggies, fish are one age-fighter that you don't want to go overboard with. Concerns about mercury levels in some fish caution us to limit seafood or freshwater fish to about two meals per week.

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The ChaLEAN Extreme Ass Kicking Machine!

2008-07-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

ChaLEAN Extreme Workout Routine

The word on the block is that the newest 90 day workout is coming in early September 2008! Most of you are probably thinking, "oh not another workout like Tony Horton's P90X!" or "What else can they do that is different?!" or "Give me a break, it can't be that good!" Whatever you are thinking about, the newest home workout system will hit the market September 2008, whether you like it or not.

Chalene Johnson is an amazing personal trainer and has done some great workout dvds, such as the Turbo Jam series, which was highly popular a few months ago. Its still getting rave reviews and most who try it continue to use it because it doesn't get boring like most workouts.

Chalene's newest workout is called ChaLEAN Extreme and promises 15 new and extreme workouts. Of course its another 90 day program, but what can you get from working out for 90 days? If you have the motivation to keep up with Chalene Johnson then you will see AMAZING results within weeks of starting this new workout routine. More product info will be out as the time comes closer, so keep a watch out and remember to get your Chalean Extreme when its available September 2008!

Test Your Blueberry IQ!

2008-07-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

Did you know that July is National Blueberry Month? How much do you know about these tiny nutritional powerhouses?

What did early American colonists make by boiling blueberries and milk? Grey paint. As anyone who has had to wash a child after a blueberry-picking outing can attest, blueberry stains are quite powerful. They don't use them in those denture commercials for nothing.

Blueberries are the second most popular berry in America. What's #1? Strawberries are the most popular berry, but blueberries are gaining popularity all the time. Over 200 million pounds of blueberries are grown commercially each year, and North America produces 90 percent of them—with Maine responsible for 25 percent.

How many berries can one bush produce in a year? Over 6,000 blueberries, making the blueberry a real price performer for farmers. They have only been commercially cultivated since the early 20th century though. Before that, you had to collect them in the wild to make blueberry muffins (or paint).

How long will fresh blueberries last in the refrigerator? Blueberries have a pretty good shelf life. They will last in the refrigerator for 10 days. Blueberries ripen on the tree and do not ripen further when picked, so when you buy fresh blueberries, what you see is what you get. Blueberries also freeze well.

What vitamins are blueberries particularly high in? Blueberries have high levels of vitamins B6, C, and K. They also contain high levels of manganese and dietary fiber. Studies have shown that blueberries may lower blood cholesterol levels, prevent urinary tract infections, and lessen the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

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7 Tips to Keep Cool on the Cheap

2008-07-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

Summer is upon us and that means heat, heat, heat. If you've watched the news lately, you know that here in California we're literally burning up, and we're about to enter another heat wave this week. Other parts of the country are experiencing similar long, hot summers, and with the price of fuel and electricity going through the roof, cranking up the air conditioning seems like a less feasible option all the time. So what can you do besides sweat it out? Here are a few tips for keeping it cool.

1. Drink yourself cool. But don't reach for the margaritas. Cool? Yes. Hydrating? No! The key to staying cool is to stay hydrated. And the best thing to drink, as always, is water. Try to avoid caffeine and alcohol because they will dehydrate you and make matters worse (although if you're passed out from drinking alcohol, you might not mind the heat so much). Herbal iced tea, lemonade (make your own but go easy on the sugar), and sparkling water are all great summer beverages.

2. Embrace your inner vampire. Whether or not you have air conditioning, the sun is your worst enemy for keeping cool. By keeping your blinds and drapes closed during the day, you can keep your place cool without running up the air conditioning bill. If you don't have air conditioning and want to open your windows, lower the blinds to the height of the open windows and keep the windows covered on the side of your house on which the sun is shining.

3. Spice up your life. This may seem counterintuitive, but summer is the best time to eat spicy food. Think about cuisines from countries close to the equator, like Mexico, India, and Thailand, that incorporate chilies and curries. Spicy peppers cause your pores to open and let the cool air into your body. They will also encourage you to drink more water!

4. The poor man's air conditioner. And I am the poor man of whom I speak. During periods of poverty in my youth, I came up with the frozen-towel method of staying cool. Take a washcloth, a hand towel, or even a bath towel if it's really hot, and dampen it and stick it in the freezer. When it's stiff, though not frozen solid, remove it from the freezer and wrap it around your neck. Heaven! When it thaws, refreeze and repeat. If it's really hot, try doing the same with a T-shirt!

5. Ice, ice, baby. Ice is your friend. Don't have an air conditioner? Have an air conditioner and don't want to hurt the environment? Put a pan full of ice cubes in front of a fan—the ice will cool the air. This is only a temporary solution as the ice will melt, but it should last long enough for you to fall asleep, for example. Taking a cold shower before bedtime can also help keep you cool.

6. Feet, don't fail me now. Keeping your feet cool is key to keeping your whole body cool. Soak your feet in a dishpan or bucket of cold water. Try wearing damp or frozen socks (see #4) to bed as well. It will help fool your brain into thinking your whole body's cool.

7. White is the new black. And anyone who's seen my wardrobe knows how painful this tip is for me. Black and dark-colored clothing absorb heat and will cook you like a potato in tinfoil. Wear white or light-colored clothing to reflect the heat. Loose-fitting clothing is also good—it will allow a breeze to move through instead of trapping in the warmth.

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Test Your Legume IQ!

2008-07-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

As we discussed in "8 Fantastic Fibrous Foods," legumes are great sources of fiber, but did you know that they're also great sources of iron (about the same as red meat) and B vitamins, and are linked to reduced LDL ("bad") cholesterol?

What is the most widely consumed legume in the world? The chickpea, also known as the garbanzo in Spanish-speaking countries and ceci in Italy. While most of us are familiar with the pale, light-yellow chickpeas, there are also black, brown, and red varieties, especially in India. The chickpea is incredibly versatile, used to make flour and hummus; and during World War I, Germans even made a coffee substitute from chickpeas, when the real thing became unavailable.

What is the oldest cultivated legume? The lentil is believed to have come from southwestern Asia, around modern-day Syria. There is evidence of cultivation from as early as 6,000 B.C. Lentils come in a rainbow of colors, including green, orange, white, red, yellow, and brown. They are one of the few dried legumes that require no soaking to prepare. The word "lens" comes from the word "lentil" (because the convex shape resembles the seed).

What legume's protein contains all eight essential amino acids? The soybean. Soybeans also contain genistein, a chemical compound believed to inhibit tumor growth. Soybean oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. The U.S. grows about 40 percent of the world's soybeans. Most soybeans are sold for commercial purposes, such as for animal feed and inedible industrial products. Only about 2 percent is reserved for sale as vegetables.

What two U.S. presidents were also peanut farmers? Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter. Peanuts were brought to Europe, Asia, and Africa by the Portuguese from the New World. In the U.S., they didn't really take off until after the Civil War, but now they are a 4-billion-dollar-a-year industry. Americans consume 700 million pounds per year, often in the form of peanut butter. It takes over 1,000 peanuts to make one 24-ounce jar of peanut butter. Peanuts are extremely healthy (unless you're allergic; if you are allergic, then they can kill you), with high levels of vitamin E and niacin, and contain more cholesterol-lowering resveratrol than grapes.

Which legume-themed musical act has won three Grammys? The Black Eyed Peas for "Let's Get It Started" (2005), "Don't Phunk with My Heart" (2006), and "My Humps" (2007). Their namesake vegetable is a type of cowpea. Black-eyed peas are great sources of calcium. In the southern U.S., they are traditionally eaten on New Year's Day for good luck, a tradition handed down from ancient Babylon. A popular marinated black-eyed pea salad is called "Texas caviar."

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Test Your Tony Horton Fitness IQ!

2008-07-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

Where was Tony Horton born? Tony Horton was born in Westley, RI, and raised in Trumbull, CT. Tony preferred fast food to his mother's healthy home cooking. As a kid, he hated exercising and didn't particularly like sports. He describes himself then as the "quintessential 98-pound weakling," with all the insecurities that go along with it.

What was Tony's first Beachbody program? In 1998, Tony collaborated with Beachbody to create the Great Body Guaranteed!™ workout series. But it was the launch of the Power 90® In-Home Boot Camp in 1999 that made Tony a Beachbody celebrity. Tony distilled years of fitness experience to develop the routines for Power 90, which promises optimal body transformation in just 90 days. Since the introduction of Power 90, Tony has helped develop the Power Half Hour® workout series, a yoga and stretching routine called Ho' Ala ke Kino, and P90X, the most extreme home fitness training system yet. And this year saw the launch of two new programs, 10 Minute Trainer and One on One with Tony Horton.

Which Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member was personally trained by Tony? Tom Petty. Tony helped Tom get in the best shape of his life, and then went on to train some of his rock 'n' roll friends. This began Tony's career as a sought-after fitness trainer.

What are the three ingredients in Tony's Sticky Bar? To make his famous sticky bar, Tony mashes together half a banana, a 1/4 cup of peanut butter, and a cup of unsweetened granola. Mash it up, roll it into a cigar shape on a piece of wax paper, and freeze it for 90 minutes. Voilà! Sticky bar!

What food does Tony refer to as "the poor man's butter"? Avocados. Tony eats four to six avocados a week. Although high in fat, it is monounsaturated fat—the healthy kind. Avocados also have high levels of vitamins C and E, folic acid, and potassium, and they're a big part of Tony's healthy diet.

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7 Superfoods with Superpowers!

2008-07-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

By Monica Ciociola

We've compiled a list of 7 superfoods with the potential power to make you smarter and slimmer—at the same time! These foods are packed with fat-fighting fiber and brain-boosting antioxidants and nutrients . . . Plus, they taste great, too!

Bananas. Studies suggest that this potassium-packed fruit may assist learning by making you more alert, normalizing your heartbeat, and sending more oxygen to your brain. High in fiber, bananas are also a satisfying snack food.

Salmon, sardines, and herring. Fatty fish are full of neuroprotective omega-3 fatty acids that aid communication between nerve cells to improve learning, retention, and memory. Omega-3 fats also help expand blood vessels to improve circulation and blood flow. If you don't get enough omega-3s by eating fish, try meeting your omega-3 needs through a supplement, like Core Omega-3™.

Grapes and blueberries. The antioxidant kings of the fruits and vegetables world, antioxidants have been linked to improvements in short-term memory and motor skills, and even reversals in age-related declines in balance and coordination.

Hot cocoa and green tea. While you're warming your insides with hot cocoa and green tea, you'll also be getting a heavy dose of antioxidants to protect your brain cells and reduce stress. If you're in sunny California, like we are, green tea found in our Slimming Formula supplements may be more palatable.

Whole grains and brown rice. Switching to whole-grain brown rice is a good way to slim down and wise up. Brown rice has a lower glycemic index number than white rice because of its fiber content, thus reducing its "sugar rush" effect. It's also loaded with vitamin B6 and magnesium, which have been linked to improvements in cognitive health.

Almonds and walnuts. Rich in omega-3s, antioxidants, protein, and fiber, these nuts can help you slim down by making you feel satiated longer—as long as you don't overdo it as they're also high in calories and fat.

Corn. Just one cup of corn will provide you with about 25 percent of your daily recommended value of thiamin (vitamin B1), which is essential for brain cell production and cognitive functions. A lack of thiamin has been shown to lead to senility and Alzheimer's disease. Just remember to go easy on the artery-clogging condiments associated with corn.

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Chalene Extreme Workout Routine Coming September 2008

2008-06-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

There is word of a new workout routine called ChaLean Extreme by Chalene Johnson. The same person who did the highly popular and very successful turbo jam workout series. This new workout is promising something different, something for both Men and Women, in a nutshell its a strength training program! Every 30 days the workout will change, every 30 days you will be doing a different style of lifting, which will keep your body progressing.

What can you get from 16 to 18 fat stripping workouts? Probably a lot, since the P90X workout has 12 workouts and is a 90 day program, the Chalene Extreme is looking like a close competitor to the P90X workout.

Keep an eye out in early September 2008 to be one of the first to own the new Chalene Extreme Workout Routine by Chalene Johnson!

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Running Tips From A Running Coach

2008-06-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Start where you are. A journey of 10 kilometers begins with a single step. Don't be afraid to walk as you become a runner. That's great training too.

Find a training buddy. Running with a friend or group can make the time go faster, help you go farther and make it all more fun.

Get the right gear. Different runners have different needs. Visit a running specialty store to select the right shoe for you, such as Road Runner.

Stay healthy. Build a solid foundation for training with good hydration, ample restorative sleep and a balanced diet.

Pace yourself. Start your run easy and then speed up if you feel good. You should be able to chat, in full sentences, with your training buddy.

See the forest and the trees. Have a multi-week training plan leading up to your first race, but tackle it one day at a time.

It's okay to rest. Your body will gain fitness in the hours and days following a workout, so follow your hard runs with easy runs.

Form your pit crew. A physical therapist, chiropractor and/or massage therapist can help you prevent and rehab your running aches and pains.

Hit the hills. Pushing your body weight up a hill is like lifting weights as you run, making you stronger on the flats.

Be true to you. Train in a way that's right for your abilities. Don't over exert yourself by trying to run too much too fast, take your time and you will see results.

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8 Fantastic Fibrous Foods For Weight Loss

2008-06-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

How much fiber should we be getting? If you believe the television commercials that run during the nightly news, we're not even coming close to getting what we need. Should we be taking pills or drinks or some other supplements to satisfy our fiber needs? I thought maybe I should be, until I went to the store and saw that a small can of a national brand of fiber costs over $12. $12? For something that is literally going to run right through me? Currently, all my extra disposable income is slated to run through the gas tank of my car, not my body, so I decided to take a look at foods that could beef up my fiber intake.

First off, let's look at what the big deal about fiber is anyway. I used to think of fiber as stringy, ropy stuff, like the threads in celery or cabbage. But fiber has actually become a catchall term for any indigestible material that we consume, not all of which is actually fibrous. Cellulose, the building block of much of the fleshy part of fruits and veggies, is an example of non-fibrous fiber. There is soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and helps stabilize blood sugar by slowing the rate of digestion. There is also insoluble fiber, which, as its name would suggest, does not dissolve in water—although it does attract water in the intestinal tract and, well, without getting too graphic, is responsible for the trains running on time, keeping the mail moving, releasing the payload, etc. Most importantly, more and more studies are linking a high-fiber diet to a decreased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

For optimal health, nutritionists recommend 30 to 38 grams of fiber every day for men and 21 to 25 grams of fiber every day for women. You can find the fiber content in labeled food as a subcategory under carbohydrates. If you're counting carbs, you can always subtract the amount of fiber from the total number of carbs, because the fiber will only be visiting your body for a little while, unlike the sugars, which, if not burned for fuel, will likely end up stored as fat. Most studies indicate that Americans don't get nearly enough fiber, especially with the proliferation of processed foods filled with white flour, which is made only from the fiber-less endosperm of the grain, with none of the bran and germ parts of the grain that provide the fiber. In fact, if you read labels, it's pretty rare to find any prepared food that has more than a gram or two of fiber. It can make you despair if you think about having to get to the 25 to 38 grams you need every day. So how can you get your daily dose of fiber without eating yourself into a coma? There are some fiber-rich superfoods that can help get you to your daily recommended allowance, without the coma.

Legumes. The humble bean (and also chickpea, lentil, and pea) is chock-full of nutritious fiber. A cup of black beans or lentils contains a whopping 15 grams of fiber—half the daily minimum supply required for a man, and more than half of the minimum required for a woman. Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, have 13 grams of fiber. A cup of peas has 9 grams of fiber. The big winner is the cranberry bean with 18 grams of fiber and 17 grams of protein. Cranberry beans have a creamy texture and a chestnut-like flavor. And the best news about beans is that they're supercheap! Most dried beans run less than a dollar a pound. That's a lot cheaper than those gritty supplements, and much tastier.

Bran. While not as great a source of fiber as beans, they're still pretty fiber-rich, and may not have the unpleasant auditory and olfactory effects associated with excessive bean consumption. A cup of bran flakes has about 7 grams of fiber and a cup of oatmeal has 4 grams of fiber. Substituting whole wheat products for their traditional white-flour counterparts is an easy way of working some fiber into your diet without much hassle. A cup of whole wheat spaghetti has over 6 grams of fiber and whole wheat bread has about 2 grams of fiber per slice.

Prunes. Not just for old people anymore. Grandpa and Grandma knew what they were doing when they were suffering from constipation. A cup of prunes contains 8 grams of fiber, and their hydrated counterpart, plums, are also excellent sources of fiber—prunes/plums contain insoluble fiber in the skin and soluble fiber in the pulp. A two-for-one special!

Artichokes. One medium artichoke contains 6.5 grams of fiber. One cup of artichoke hearts contains 14 grams of fiber and only 90 calories. One of my favorite snacks or appetizers is to get one of those little jars of marinated artichokes (in vinegar, not in oil) and treat myself to eating the whole jar as an afternoon snack or hors d'oeuvre before dinner. Tasty and filling, you'll eat less at dinner, and put a serious dent in your daily fiber tally.

Brussels sprouts. Yes, they look like the alien heads from Mars Attacks!, but these little powerhouses pack almost 7 grams of fiber into a one-cup serving and only about 60 calories. Not everyone is enamored with their slightly chalky taste. I recommend a generous spritz of lemon juice and maybe a dash of soy sauce or Tabasco to enhance the flavor. A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese is delicious, too.

Asian pear. According to the Micronutrient Center of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, the Asian pear is one of their five fiber-rich superfoods (legumes, bran, prunes, and quinoa are the others). One 3-inch diameter fruit contains a whopping 10 grams of fiber, the most of any similarly sized fruit. And because it has a higher water content than its European brethren, it only contains around 100 calories. So you can crunch your way to a cleaner colon.

Quinoa. Relatively new to us in the U.S., quinoa has been a South American staple for over 6,000 years. The edible seeds of the quinoa plant have 10 grams of fiber in a one-cup serving and also 8 grams of protein—in fact, quinoa seeds contain many essential amino acids that are missing from rice, proving to be a good substitute for rice. If you check your local health food store, and even some supermarkets, you can find quinoa plain, and as a main ingredient in many cereals, breads, and salads.

Nuts. Not just filling, heart-healthy snacks, nuts are great sources of fiber (but highly caloric, so nosh carefully). A quarter-cup of almonds has 4 grams of fiber and about 200 calories. It's another great snack for between meals. Watch out for the salt content in the hickory-smoked varieties. Also, it's a good idea to portion out a serving size beforehand, so you don't absentmindedly munch a thousand or so calories from a big bag.

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Is There a Correlation Between Green Tea and Weight Loss?

2008-06-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Lots of diet products have flooded the market saying that they contain green tea extract and claiming that green tea can help you lose weight but is there really a correlation between green tea and weight loss? There is no scientific proof that there is any direct relationship between green tea and weight loss but there are a lot of benefits to the body from drinking tea so it’s possible that green tea and weight loss could be related. Green tea is rich in antioxidants, which are great at helping your body fight free radicals and also help keep you healthy. The health benefits of green tea have been proven. So it’s possible that green tea and weight loss are indirectly related because if your body is healthy then it will function more efficiently and if your body is functioning at a highly efficient level your body will automatically boost your metabolism, burn more fat for energy and cause you to lose weight. But there is no direct evidencing linking green tea and weight loss so even though many of the diet pills and diet products claim that the green tea extract they contain will boost your metabolism and burn fat there is no real evidence to back up those claims. Green tea could be helpful in losing weight because it makes you healthier but there is no real proof that green tea or green tea extract will cause any direct fat burning or directly cause your metabolism to increase.

There are a lot of commercial green tea products available on the market that say that drinking green tea and weight loss are linked so that if you have a green tea instead of a soda you are burning fat but that is not true. When you buy a green tea beverage you are buying a refreshing beverage and that’s all. Look at the ingredients in that drink before you buy it and chances are good that it has sugar or a sugar substitute in it. A sugared tea isn’t going to help you lose weight even if it’s green tea. And green tea is no miracle product to help you lose weight. Everyone wants a quick fix and it’s nice to think that just drinking tea or just taking a pill with green tea extract in it could help you lose all that extra weight but there really is no magic pill or tea to help you lose weight. Experts agree that the only way to really and effectively lose weight is to control the calories that you eat and exercise more. There is just no getting around the fact that in order to lose weight and keep it off you have to do the work. You have to eat less and exercise more. Green tea is very healthy and you should drink it for that reason, and it’s very refreshing as well but there is no proven correlation between green tea and weight loss so if you’re taking green tea extract or drinking green tea to lose weight it probably won’t work.

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Test Your Sleep IQ!

2008-06-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

How many minutes does it take the average person to fall asleep? Seven minutes. People who fall asleep in less than 5 minutes are more likely to be sleep-deprived. Ideally, a person should fall asleep in about 10 to 15 minutes. This means they are sleepy, but not exhausted, and are less likely to be groggy upon waking the next day.

How many dreams does the average person experience each night? The average person experiences about five dreams a night, ranging in length from 10 to 45 minutes, with dreams generally lasting longer as the night progresses. Non-REM dreams are generally repetitive and dull, while REM dreams have the crazier, more vivid plots.

Who is more prone to insomnia—women or men? Women are 20 to 50 percent more likely to suffer from insomnia than men.

How long can the average human being live without sleep? The average person can only live for 10 days without sleep, as opposed to several weeks without food. The longest waking period on record is 18 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes.

Which country's citizens sleep the most and the least? Australians sleep the most, with 31 percent reporting more than nine hours of sleep per night. The Japanese sleep the least, with 41 percent getting less than six hours of sleep a night. Seven out of 10 of the most nocturnal nations are in Asia, but the real party animals are in Portugal, where 75 percent stay up past midnight (from Good Night: The Sleep Doctor's 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health by Dr. Michael Breus).

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Does Life Long Weight Gain Start In Highschool?

2008-06-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

Fresh news for freshmen. The good news is that the "Freshman 15" is actually the "Freshman 5," according to a study released by the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. The bad news is that those who do gain weight during their freshman year tend to follow this road to obesity.

"It's still alarming because that happened over six to seven months," Dr. Janis A. Randall Simpson told Reuters Health. "If young women going to university continue to put on weight at that rate it could be very problematic."

The most interesting aspect to the study was that these women tended to neither overeat nor drink excessive amounts of alcohol. Most of the weight gain seemed to come from reducing their amount of physical activity. Simpson suggested that this may be because most girls play a sport or participate in PE in high school, while in college, they may spend this extra time studying.

Source: Harding, A. "Freshman 5 may put young women on road to obesity." Reuters. June 16, 2008.

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Can Breakfast Help You Lose Weight?

2008-06-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is back! The "most important meal of the day" is back, according to Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, of the Hospital de Clinicas in Caracas, Venezuela. She conducted a study showing that those on a "big breakfast" diet lost weight better than those on a low-carb diet.

In the study, two groups ate low-calorie diets and lost similar amounts of weight during the initial phase. However, the low-carb group participants gained most of their weight back over time, whereas those who at a large breakfast continued to lose weight.

And according to Jakubowicz, women who ate a big breakfast reported feeling less hungry, especially before lunch, and having fewer cravings for carbs than women on the low-carb diet. It's important to note that the "big breakfast" was highly nutritious, well balanced, and not "big" by most people's standards, around 600 calories—about half the daily caloric consumption of each participant.

Source: "Big, Well-Balanced Breakfast Aids Weight Loss." Reuters. June 20, 2008.

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Are Kids Getting Fitter? Obesity Now

2008-06-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kids getting fitter? We may have finally turned the corner on the obesity epidemic. It looks as though all this yappin' everyone is doing (well, us anyway) is finally getting through. A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that the percentage of American children who are obese has leveled off after increasing each year over the last 25 years.

Even so, across the board, experts warned that it was premature to celebrate.

"That is a first encouraging finding in what has been unremittingly bad news," said Dr. David Ludwig, director of an obesity clinic at Children's Hospital Boston, to the Associated Press (AP). "But it's too soon to know if this really means we're beginning to make meaningful inroads into this epidemic. It may simply be a statistical fluke."

According to the study, roughly 32 percent of children were overweight but not obese, 16 percent were obese, and 11 percent were extremely obese. Those levels held steady since 2005–06 after rising without interruption since 1980. CDC data reported last year showed that obesity rates for men also held steady from 2003–04 to 2005–06, at about 33 percent after two decades of increasing. The rate for women, 35 percent, remained at a plateau reached in 2003–04. "Without a substantial decline in prevalence, the full impact of the childhood epidemic will continue to mount in coming years," warned Ludwig. That is because it can take many years for obesity-related complications to translate into life-threatening events, including heart attacks and kidney failure. Dr. Reginald Washington, a children's heart specialist in Denver and member of an American Academy of Pediatrics obesity committee, summed up the situation to the AP, saying, "We still have a long way to go."

Source: Tanner, L. "Heart Disease Study hints obesity epidemic among US children has peaked." AP News Wire. May 28, 2008. JAMA: JAMA; CDC: CDC.

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7 Myths About Sleep

2008-06-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

A couple of weeks ago, the Associated Professional Sleep Societies concluded its annual meeting in Baltimore. Many new theories about the health costs and benefits of a good or bad night's sleep were advanced, following on the heels of numerous sleep studies since the last time we talked about the effects of sleep on our health. Some of the results were quite a wake-up call. Although as it turns out, in many cases, a wake-up call is the last thing many of us need. Read on to learn about the latest findings in sleep research.

1. You should get 8 hours of sleep every night. The latest studies show that mortality rates were lowest among those who slept between 6.5 and 7.5 hours a night. People who slept much more or less had more health problems across the board. It was hard to tell why people who slept more had poorer health. There may have been a chicken-and-egg scenario where they may have slept more because they suffered from depression, alcoholism, or other debilitating mental illnesses that caused them to spend more time in bed. On the other hand, the people who didn't get enough sleep were prone to their own health problems, including problems resulting from stress and lack of concentration, alertness, and physical ability—not to mention falling asleep at the wheel.

2. You should keep the same bedtime every night. While it's preferable to keep a consistent routine and sleep schedule, it's not always possible. Experts now say that if you're a little more stressed out or anxious or just not tired, you're better off staying up than hitting the sack. Our bodies are the best gauge of when we need some shut-eye. Insomniacs often trap themselves into a cycle of anxiety wherein they can't get to sleep for fear of not being able to fall asleep. Instead of forcing yourself into bed at an arbitrary time when you're not tired, spend a little time doing a relaxing activity—reading, listening to music, meditating, taking a hot bath—and then go to bed when you feel like you're ready to lie down and close your eyes. Studies have shown that you're as likely to fall asleep then as when you force yourself to adhere to a self-imposed bedtime—you'll just enjoy the process of relaxing more and will sleep better.

3. Burning the midnight oil is more productive. Haven't we all pulled an all-nighter? It's a grand tradition that many feel provides its own inspiration. I know that I'm a self-avowed night owl, and you could never convince me that I could get more done in the morning than in the late hours of the night. But a study from the University of North Texas discovered that undergraduate students who were "morning" people had much higher grade point averages than their nocturnal counterparts. The night owls had significantly impaired concentration during the day and poorer memory. So apparently, "early to bed, early to rise" does "make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" . . . or at least wise. The jury's still out on the others.

4. Exercising before bed will keep you awake. A Brazilian study showed that while heavy aerobic exercises and anaerobic/strength training exercises had little to poor effect on sleep patterns, light to moderate aerobic exercise, like a relaxing walk or a medium aerobic workout, actually helped people sleep better. The old saw about jumping around to "get the blood moving" actually proves to work the opposite way. People who engaged in a bit of light exercise before bed fell asleep more quickly and stayed asleep longer than the more sedentary members of the test group. A UCLA study also found that in older adults (59 to 86 years old), a regular tai chi regimen (regardless of when it was practiced) seemed to provide better sleep schedules and fewer sleep disturbances compared to doing nothing.

5. Sleep is the fountain of youth. That may be a stretch, but a University of Chicago study has shown a strong correlation between lack of deep sleep and physical decline as we age. They studied the level of human growth hormone production in study participants, and found that the people who slept longer in a state of deep sleep produced significantly more of the hormone, which contributes to muscle maintenance and lower body fat. When the participants' sleep was purposely disturbed by the scientists, they produced much less of the hormone. So both the quantity and the quality of the sleep was found to be important in the production of this antiaging hormone. Just think, if all those baseball players had gotten more good nights' sleep, we wouldn't be having Congressional hearings.

6. Insomniacs are more productive. A study from the Tufts New England Medical Centre in Boston found that in the four companies (airline, manufacturer, pharmaceutical company, and law firm) with a little over 4,000 total employees, the loss of productivity due to sleep issues added up to about $54 million. Much of these costs were attributed to prescriptions for sleep aids, sleep-related disorders like depression, and safety-related costs due to people falling asleep on the job. The rest had to do with general productivity loss. The study estimated the cost of insomnia as 2-1/2 weeks of productivity annually for every worker.

7. Spicy food gives you weird dreams. This actually may be true. A team of researchers from Australia found that participants who ate spicy meals before bed took longer to get to sleep and didn't sleep as long or as deeply as those who ate blander dishes. Some of the evidence is attributed to the obvious indigestion that can occur, but the slight elevation in body temperature caused by the zesty food was linked to poor sleep in previous studies. No real results as to the weird dreams or nightmares of the participants, but suffice it to say, spicy food doesn't equal sweet dreams or at least not good sleep.

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How Many Calories Are Needed for Weight Loss?

2008-06-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

If you’re trying to lose weight then you should learn a little more about what causes weight gain and the math involved in losing weight. Each person needs to take in a different amount of calories everyday in order to maintain their weight. That is called a basal caloric need. Experts say that basal caloric need of most Americans is about 2,000 calories per day for those people who want to maintain their current weight. If you want to lose weight you need to take in about 1,500 calories a day. It’s really not that hard to cut about 500 calories out of your diet everyday. Just controlling your portion sizes and cutting out some of the extras can easily cut 500 calories from the amount that you eat everyday. But if you look at the calorie content of some of your favorite foods you might be shocked at how many calories they really have. If you want to know how many calories you need to burn for weight loss you are not alone. Experts say that you need to cut or burn 2,500 calories in order to lose one pound of fat. 2,500 calories is a lot of calories. Now that you know how many calories you need to burn for weight loss you can start planning ways to make that happen. A good way to plan out an effective strategy for weight loss is to make an appointment with a nutritionist and a personal trainer. A good nutritionist will tell you how many calories are needed for weight loss and how many calories you need to survive and together you and the nutritionist can work out a diet that will allow you to cut calories but still get the nutrition that you need.

Similarly a good personal trainer or fitness expert will know how many calories you need to burn for weight loss and how many calories you can burn doing different kinds of exercise. Together you can come up with a fitness plan that will help you burn the maximum amount of calories possible.

Now that you know how many calories you need for weight loss how are you going to cut out some of those daily calories? There are lots of ways you can cut back on calories everyday. Instead of eating out for lunch everyday bring your own healthy bag lunch from home. Make a low fat sandwich of lean meat and bring fruit to eat with it or rice cakes if you want something crunchy. Or buy a bunch of low calorie and low fat frozen meals and keep them in the freezer at work. That way you will always have a healthy lunch as close as the microwave. You can also keep several cans of low calorie reduced sodium soup in your desk drawer for snacks or lunches. Replace the sodas you drink all day with water or tea. Give up that calorie laden mocha in the morning and replace it with plain coffee or coffee with low fat and no sugar cream.

Being active and working out will cause you to lose the most weight. By moving your body you will be burning those calories and fat and therefore start to lose weight. A great workout program requires motivation and excitement, something everyone wants and needs.

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Weight Loss Tips You can Use Every Day

2008-06-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

If you’re trying to lose weight you probably have read all kinds of weight loss tips from all kinds of experts. It seems like everyone has advice on how to lose weight or some weight loss tips that you need to follow. But most of the weight loss tips that people give are just old wives tales and won’t really help you lose weight. Some have no basis in medical fact and are just weight loss tips that get repeated so often that people believe them. One of the most common tip that people give is that you shouldn’t eat after 8 pm. Well, from a scientific standpoint when you eat has no bearing at all on what you weigh. So you could eat a salad at midnight and it wouldn’t make you gain weight. But eating an entire cake will make you gain weight and it doesn’t matter if it’s 11AM or 10PM. Some of the weight loss tips that people give out are based on fad diets and are really difficult for normal people to work into their everyday schedules. Eating nothing but cabbage or nothing but grapefruit or nothing but protein is not really all that easy to do and it’s practically impossible if you are trying to work, take care of your family, or do the other thousand things that you need to do each day. What you need are some practical tips, so here are some practical weight loss tips and trivia.

Losing weight is actually a very simple formula. Burn more calories than you take in. Your body burns calories for fuel so if your body needs energy and you have not taken in enough calories it will start to draw energy from the fat already in your body which will make you lose weight. One practical way to lose weight is to cut your calorie intake by one fourth each day. Most people eat about 2,000 calories per day so if you drop that by one fourth you’d be eating 1,500 calories per day. That might sound like a lot but it’s not that hard to cut 500 calories out of your daily diet. Just one or two lattes per day could make the difference since the average latte has between 300-500 calories. Instead of getting a Latte or a Mocha get plain coffee with non fat creamer. If you must have one fancy coffee drink get it made with skim milk and get a small, not a large. Portion sizes matter more than you think when it comes to weight loss. It’s ok to have a sweet treat or chips or fries once in awhile as long as it’s a small portion. Your stomach is about the size of your hands when they are cupped. So when you’re eating look at the portion you’re eating and remember that it’s going into a space the size of your cupped hands. That’s not a lot of space. Keeping your portions small will help you lose weight.

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Test Your Dairy IQ!

2008-06-05T10:42:00.001-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

June is National Dairy Month. How well do you know your dairy trivia?

How many pounds of milk does it take to make one pound of butter? It takes 21.2 pounds of milk to make one pound of butter. It only takes 12 pounds of milk to make a gallon of ice cream and 10 pounds to make a pound of cheese. Butter gets its natural yellow color from the beta-carotene present in the grass that cows eat.

What state produces the most milk? California produces the most—over 30 BILLION pounds. Wisconsin is runner-up with 23 billion pounds, but it's number one in cheese production. Wisconsin produces over 600 varieties of cheese and is the birthplace of the popular Colby cheese. California is number two in cheese production and is the birthplace of Monterey Jack cheese. It is also the largest producer of Hispanic-style semisoft cheese, the fastest-growing cheese variety in the country.

How much milk does the average cow produce each year? The average dairy cow produces around 17,000 pounds of milk each year. To produce that, a single cow eats 50 pounds of grass or grain and drinks 50 gallons of water every day.

What is the most popular breed of dairy cow in the U.S.? It's not even close. Holsteins make up about 95 percent of the U.S. dairy cow population. Jersey cows are a very distant second—they make up about 3 percent. Jersey cows are known for having a higher butterfat content in their milk. The black and white markings on Holsteins are as unique as human fingerprints. No two cows are alike.

Who was the first person believed to be referred to as "The Big Cheese"? Thomas Jefferson can add this to his many notable achievements. While in his presidency in 1801, he received a gift of a 1,235-pound wheel of cheese—and a nickname was born.

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Test Your Salty Fast Food IQ!

2008-06-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

By Joe Wilkes

Never let it be said that your local fast food establishment isn't doing its part to make sure you get your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of sodium. Why, some of them can give you your entire day's worth (2,400 mg) with one menu item! Rank these fast-food sodium Hall-of-Famers in order from least to most milligrams of sodium.

McDonald's 5-Piece Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips – 1,680 mg of sodium. The Golden Arches were actually one of the better chains in terms of purveying salt. Granted, the bar is set pretty low, and you're still going to get plenty of salt when you hit Mickey D's. What's amazing is how unhealthy the Chicken Selects are. Premium must be McDonald's speak for "loaded with junk." With 660 calories, 40 grams of fat, and 1,680 mg of sodium, don't think you're doing yourself any favors by choosing this white-meat option. The Big Mac only has 540 calories, 29 grams of fat, and 1,040 grams of sodium. Not exactly health food, but if you're gonna splurge, don't assume it's the worst thing on the menu.

Taco Bell Grilled Stuft Chicken Burrito – 2,160 mg of sodium. Make a run for the border before your heart gives out from hypertension. Taco Bell may have given us the concept of the fourth meal, but this burrito will ensure that you get almost your entire day's worth of sodium in one sitting. But don't worry, you can get up to your full daily allowed 2,400 mg by adding two or three packets of hot sauce. With only 370 mg of sodium, sodium watchers should check out the Crunchy Taco Supreme instead.

KFC Chicken & Biscuit Bowl – 2,420 mg of sodium. If you're a frequent Beachbody® quiz taker, you'll recognize this little bowl of grossness from other quizzes. It also packs 870 calories and 44 grams of fat (a quarter of which are saturated and 4.5 of which are trans—the worst kind). Heard of heart-smart foods? This one's heart-stupid. It's pretty much caulk for your arteries with its fat content, and its sodium content will jack up your blood pressure to get it to flow through your poor, clogged veins. Try the Honey BBQ KFC Snacker instead. It only has 530 mg of sodium. That's still almost a fifth of your RDA, but about as good as you're going to do with the Colonel. Clearly, at least one of the secret herbs and spices is salt.

Pizza Hut 6" Meat Lover's Personal Pan Pizza – 2,460 mg of sodium. This just edges out the KFC Chicken & Biscuit Bowl. Its fat and calories are also comparable. There aren't a lot of low-sodium options under the red roof, but a slice of the green pepper, red onion, and diced tomato Fit n' Delicious pizza will only run you about 420 mg. This is a good reminder about how much sodium processed meats bring to the table.

Subway 6" Double Meat Italian BMT – 2,850 mg of sodium. This subway's first stop is at the salt mines. If this is what Jared ate to lose all that weight, some of that weight was probably kidney stones. And they even ask if you want extra salt on your sandwich. Classic. This again shows the salty secrets of processed meat. But even the more innocent meats at Subway, like turkey breast, are soaked with 1,000 mg of salt. Your best bet is to skip the meat and get the Veggie Delite sub. The 6" version "only" contains 500 mg of sodium.

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