Today’s Re-Powering information from one of my Mentors – Brian Tracy. This continues on the theme of being an eternal optimist.
Everyone wants to be physically healthy. You want to be mentally healthy as well. The true measure of "mental fitness" is how optimistic you are about yourself and your life.
In this newsletter, you learn how to control your thinking in very specific ways so that you feel terrific about yourself and your situation, no matter what happens.
Control Your Reactions and Responses
There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny.
Isolate the Incident
The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist sees them as pervasive. This means that when things go wrong for the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident largely disconnected from other things that are going on in his life.
See Setbacks as Temporary Events
For example, if something you were counting on failed to materialize and you interpreted it to yourself as being an unfortunate event, but something that happens in the course of life and business, you would be reacting like an optimist. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees disappointments as being pervasive. That is, to him they are indications of a problem or shortcoming that pervades every area of life.
Don't Take Failure Personally
The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as personal. When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little control.
If the optimist is cut off in traffic, for example, instead of getting angry or upset, he will simply downgrade the importance of the event by saying something like, "Oh, well, I guess that person is just having a bad day."
The pessimist on the other hand, has a tendency to take everything personally. If the pessimist is cut off in traffic, he will react as though the other driver has deliberately acted to upset and frustrate him.
Remain Calm and Objective
The hallmark of the fully mature, fully functioning, self-actualizing personality is the ability to be objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life. The superior person has the ability to continue talking to himself in a positive and optimistic way, keeping his mind calm, clear and completely under control. The mature personality is more relaxed and aware and capable of interpreting events more realistically and less emotionally than is the immature personality. As a result, the mature person exerts a far greater sense of control and influence over his environment, and is far less likely to be angry, upset, or distracted.
Take the Long View
Look upon the inevitable setbacks that you face as being temporary, specific and external. View the negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other potential events and that is caused largely by external factors over which you can have little control. Simply refuse to see the event as being in any way permanent, pervasive or indicative of personal incompetence of inability.
Resolve to think like an optimist, no matter what happens. You may not be able to control events but you can control the way you react to them.
Action Exercises
Now, here are three actions you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, remind yourself continually that setbacks are only temporary, they will soon be past and nothing is as serious as you think it is.
Second, look upon each problem as a specific event, not connected to other events and not indicative of a pattern of any kind. Deal with it and get on with your life.
Third, recognize that when things go wrong, they are usually caused by a variety of external events. Say to yourself, "What can't be cured must be endured," and then get back to thinking about your goals.
Showing posts with label Exercise Motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exercise Motivation. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Motivation to get on the scale.. Understand what your scale number really means!
Today's Empowering Info and Motivation: Tomorrow is re-assessment day. Everyone should be losing on average 5 – 6 pounds a camp –assuming you have that to lose. Read below to see some facts about body weight and fat weight to prepare you for when you weigh in tomorrow.
Your scale can tell you how much you weigh in total, but it just cannot tell you if you've lost body fat - unless you have a body fat analyzer like I use at camp. Expect to add some muscle to your body when you are doing the conditioning we are doing in boot camp. You will want and need it for your metabolism and for your beautiful shape.
The following components all add up to the reading your scale gives you. Anything that is not considered fat is considered muscle by the body fat scales so you may see some variation some times. For the most part everyone goes down!
Connective tissue - specifically, tendons and ligaments. Connective tissue adapts through resistance training to allow you to function at higher levels, and it will not adversely affect your body's appearance in any way. The more fit you are, the stronger your connective tissues.
Muscle tissue - As you add lean muscle tissue to your body, you'll burn more calories and stored body fat during exercise as well as throughout the day doing normal activity. And the additional muscle tissue allows your body to look and feel firm and toned.
Glycogen - when you consume whole grain carbohydrates you're body will store glycogen (the reserve fuel that gets converted into glucose, the body's primary source of energy). And with each gram of additional glycogen, your body stores several grams of water along with it. This is a very beneficial process, but it will add to what your scale reads.
Blood Volume - as we become increasingly fit, we add blood volume.
In addition to these positive gains in weight, your scale can vary as much as 3-6% on any given day based on digestive contents and your hydration level.
Here's how you can determine real progress:
Answer the following questions: Do I have more energy? Are my clothes fitting more loosely? Have others commented that I'm "looking good"? Am I starting to like what I see in the mirror?
Measure your body composition - discover how much of you is made up of body fat versus lean body mass. All the methods of measuring body composition are subject to some error, but if you stick to the same method and tester, you'll find that change over time is reliable.
Some of you took a picture at the start of this program. It’s never too late to do that (I won’t ask you to re-gain any weight). You don't have to look at the photo (yet). We’ll wait another 2 months to get more conditioning under your belt! I know the results will be extraordinary!
It's ironic that the increases in connective tissue, lean muscle tissue, glycogen and blood volume - the things that are crucial to improving how your body looks, feels and functions - can be the same things that initially make you think you're making no progress.
Why the Scale Lies
By Renee Cloe
We've been told over and over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence its readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale. Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains.
If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto its water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water. Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium.
Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it's easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That's why, when it comes to eating, it's wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains.
Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners. Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum. Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and its packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with its associated water. It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it's not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, its likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week.
When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle. This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat.
There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current. If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn't appeal to you, don't worry.
The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. Its a matter of mind over scale.
Your scale can tell you how much you weigh in total, but it just cannot tell you if you've lost body fat - unless you have a body fat analyzer like I use at camp. Expect to add some muscle to your body when you are doing the conditioning we are doing in boot camp. You will want and need it for your metabolism and for your beautiful shape.
The following components all add up to the reading your scale gives you. Anything that is not considered fat is considered muscle by the body fat scales so you may see some variation some times. For the most part everyone goes down!
Connective tissue - specifically, tendons and ligaments. Connective tissue adapts through resistance training to allow you to function at higher levels, and it will not adversely affect your body's appearance in any way. The more fit you are, the stronger your connective tissues.
Muscle tissue - As you add lean muscle tissue to your body, you'll burn more calories and stored body fat during exercise as well as throughout the day doing normal activity. And the additional muscle tissue allows your body to look and feel firm and toned.
Glycogen - when you consume whole grain carbohydrates you're body will store glycogen (the reserve fuel that gets converted into glucose, the body's primary source of energy). And with each gram of additional glycogen, your body stores several grams of water along with it. This is a very beneficial process, but it will add to what your scale reads.
Blood Volume - as we become increasingly fit, we add blood volume.
In addition to these positive gains in weight, your scale can vary as much as 3-6% on any given day based on digestive contents and your hydration level.
Here's how you can determine real progress:
Answer the following questions: Do I have more energy? Are my clothes fitting more loosely? Have others commented that I'm "looking good"? Am I starting to like what I see in the mirror?
Measure your body composition - discover how much of you is made up of body fat versus lean body mass. All the methods of measuring body composition are subject to some error, but if you stick to the same method and tester, you'll find that change over time is reliable.
Some of you took a picture at the start of this program. It’s never too late to do that (I won’t ask you to re-gain any weight). You don't have to look at the photo (yet). We’ll wait another 2 months to get more conditioning under your belt! I know the results will be extraordinary!
It's ironic that the increases in connective tissue, lean muscle tissue, glycogen and blood volume - the things that are crucial to improving how your body looks, feels and functions - can be the same things that initially make you think you're making no progress.
Why the Scale Lies
By Renee Cloe
We've been told over and over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can't resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can't bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence its readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale. Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body's water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don't understand what's happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains.
If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto its water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water. Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium.
Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it's easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn't have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That's why, when it comes to eating, it's wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains.
Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners. Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum. Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and its packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it's stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with its associated water. It's normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.
Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it's wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you've had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It's the actual weight of everything you've had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you've finished digesting it.
Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it's not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, its likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it's only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week.
When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it's physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you're really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle. This brings us to the scale's sneakiest attribute. It doesn't just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn't necessarily mean that you've lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you've lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you're just sitting around. That's one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.
Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn't differentiate between the two. It can't tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat.
There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current. If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn't appeal to you, don't worry.
The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don't be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. Its a matter of mind over scale.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
25 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Your Body and Health
Today’s Re-Powering Information. First read an article with the 25 Things about Your Body and Health and then Read Dr. Mercola’s take on them below it including his list of top ways to optimize health.. The list will look familiar!
25 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Your Body and Health
1. Rinsing your nose with salt water can help keep you healthy and ward off allergy symptoms.
2. Dogs can smell cancer and low blood sugar. A study showed that it is possible to train dogs to identify, based on breath samples, which patients had lung and breast cancer. For diabetics, the dogs can smell ketones in urine and on the breath when blood sugars are high. Dogs can pick up on other smells that humans can’t when glucose levels drop.
3. Researchers found that people who pass through an entryway near the kitchen tend to eat 15 percent more than those who use the front door.
4. You're more likely to have a heart attack on a Monday, or up to three days after you've been diagnosed with the flu or a respiratory tract infection.
5. You can't get a tan from your computer screen. The Computer Tan Web site was created as a hoax to raise awareness about skin cancer.
6. Obese people spend approximately $485 more on clothing, $828 on extra plane seats, and $36 more on gas each year than their thinner counterparts. An overweight driver burns about 18 additional gallons of gas a year.
7. Smokers are four times as likely to report feeling unrested after a night's sleep than nonsmokers. Smokers often experience withdrawal symptoms at night, thus causing periods of restlessness and waking.
8. Eating fruits and vegetables may help your body make its own aspirin. Benzoic acid, a natural substance in fruits and vegetables, causes people to produce their own salicylic acid, the key component that gives aspirin its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties.
9. A 20-minute nap can improve your overall alertness, boost your mood, and increase productivity. In addition, your heart may reap benefits from napping -- a six-year study found that that men who took naps at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower risk of heart-related death.
10. Your kitchen sink is dirtier than your bathroom. There are typically more than 500,000 bacteria per square inch in its drain, and the faucet, basin, and sponge are crawling with germs as well.
11. Four out of five doctors in the UK don't work out enough. Heavy workloads, lack of time and poor motivation contributed to the lack of exercise.
12. Baking soda can whiten teeth, garlic can help treat athlete's foot, and honey can soothe a hangover.
13. Using a food diary can double your weight-loss efforts. Your food diary makes you accountable to yourself and provides you with clues on where the extra calories are sneaking in.
14. Regular exercise can lower a woman's cancer risk -- but only if she's getting enough sleep. The National Cancer Institute followed nearly 6,000 women for almost 10 years. Women in the top half of physical activity levels showed an approximate 20 percent reduction in cancer risk, but sleeping less than seven hours per night resulted in a decreased benefit.
15. Watching yourself run in a mirror can make a treadmill workout go by faster and feel easier.
16. Third-hand smoke -- the particles that cling to smokers' hair and clothing and linger in a room long after they've left -- is a cancer risk to young children and pets.
17. Walking against the wind, in the water, or while wearing a backpack burns about 50 more calories per hour than walking with no resistance. People who wear pedometers also tend to burn more calories and lose more weight.
18. Trained sexologists can infer a woman's orgasm history by observing the way she walks. In other news, men find women who wear red sexier than those who wear "cool" colors such as blue and green.
19. Foreign accent syndrome and exploding head syndrome are real (but very rare) medical conditions. A person with exploding head syndrome experiences a loud, indecipherable noise that seems to originate from inside their head.
20. Vitamins don't seem to help older women guard against cancer or heart disease.
21. Some men experience pain, headaches, or sneezing as a result of ejaculation. The increased activity in the nervous system during orgasm may be the culprit.
22. Germ-killing wipes can spread bacteria from one spot to another if you reuse them.
23. Oatmeal, citrus fruits, and honey can boost your sex drive and improve fertility. Oats produce a chemical that releases testosterone into the blood supply, vitamin C improves sperm count and motility, and vitamin B from honey helps your body use estrogen, a key factor in blood flow and arousal.
24. Twenty-nine percent of Americans say they have skipped filling a prescription due to the cost, and 23 percent use pill splitting as a way to save money.
25. Facebook may be good for your health; studies show that staying in touch with family and friends can ward off memory loss and help you live longer.
Sources:
MSN Health & Fitness April 21, 2009
Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
The 25 items covered in the article above are not necessarily critical knowledge to help you live a healthier and longer life, but it’s clear there is much confusion over what’s truly necessary for optimal health. And as the examples listed below will show you, the shortcuts to health and beauty are many, but the potential hazards are just as numerous.
When it comes to the intricate workings of your body and your health it’s clear most people (including health professionals and scientists) know less than we’d like to believe. Just take a look at some of the most common health myths I covered in a previous article and you’ll get a sense of what I mean.
Not only that, but people do all sorts of things to their bodies, thinking it will make them happier, healthier, or more beautiful, or at the very least that it will not harm them.
Here are a few examples you may not know could be harmful to your body and health:
Laser Hair Removal: The treatment disables hair follicles and can lead to scarring if not properly done. In addition, it doesn’t remove all the hair, and it might only last for a couple of years.
Body Piercing: Piercing delicate places like nipples, genitals or your tongue can interfere with breastfeeding; increase the risk of spreading STDs; increase your risk of allergies; and chip your teeth, respectively. Less obvious problems may result from disruption of your body’s subtle energy fields. Inserting pieces of metal into your body can disrupt vital energy flow. If you are healthy you probably won’t notice any difference, but piercings can be a problem if you have a more serious health challenge.
Bariatric Surgery: Over 40 percent of these surgeries result in major complications within six months, such as diarrhea or hernia.
Skin Whitening: Some topical whiteners contain mercury, which causes nerve and kidney damage. Others contain hydroquinone, a carcinogen banned in Europe that blotches your skin.
Botox: Botox, which paralyzes your facial muscles to rid you of wrinkles, can cause respiratory failure and death.
Liposuction: Liposuction removes only about 10 pounds of fat after four hours of dangerous surgery. Recovery is long and painful, and the fatality rate is the highest of any elective surgery.
Do You Know What Your Body Needs for Optimal Health?
It’s important to realize that optimal health and beauty are side effects of an overall healthy lifestyle. There are no shortcuts; no magic pills.
However, there are certain basic tenets of optimal health -- which includes maintaining a healthy weight and radiating true inner beauty – that are permanent truths. These strategies won’t change, regardless of what modern science and conventional medicine comes up with next:
1. Eat a healthy diet that’s right for your nutritional type (paying very careful attention to keeping your insulin levels down)
2. Drink plenty of clean water
3. Manage your stress
4. Exercise
5. Sunlight
6. Limit toxin exposure
7. Consume healthy fat
8. Eat plenty of raw food
9. Optimize insulin and leptin levels
10. Get plenty of sleep
If you memorize these ten items and incorporate them into your lifestyle, you’ll be way ahead of the rest of the pack toward optimal health and longevity.
25 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Your Body and Health
1. Rinsing your nose with salt water can help keep you healthy and ward off allergy symptoms.
2. Dogs can smell cancer and low blood sugar. A study showed that it is possible to train dogs to identify, based on breath samples, which patients had lung and breast cancer. For diabetics, the dogs can smell ketones in urine and on the breath when blood sugars are high. Dogs can pick up on other smells that humans can’t when glucose levels drop.
3. Researchers found that people who pass through an entryway near the kitchen tend to eat 15 percent more than those who use the front door.
4. You're more likely to have a heart attack on a Monday, or up to three days after you've been diagnosed with the flu or a respiratory tract infection.
5. You can't get a tan from your computer screen. The Computer Tan Web site was created as a hoax to raise awareness about skin cancer.
6. Obese people spend approximately $485 more on clothing, $828 on extra plane seats, and $36 more on gas each year than their thinner counterparts. An overweight driver burns about 18 additional gallons of gas a year.
7. Smokers are four times as likely to report feeling unrested after a night's sleep than nonsmokers. Smokers often experience withdrawal symptoms at night, thus causing periods of restlessness and waking.
8. Eating fruits and vegetables may help your body make its own aspirin. Benzoic acid, a natural substance in fruits and vegetables, causes people to produce their own salicylic acid, the key component that gives aspirin its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties.
9. A 20-minute nap can improve your overall alertness, boost your mood, and increase productivity. In addition, your heart may reap benefits from napping -- a six-year study found that that men who took naps at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower risk of heart-related death.
10. Your kitchen sink is dirtier than your bathroom. There are typically more than 500,000 bacteria per square inch in its drain, and the faucet, basin, and sponge are crawling with germs as well.
11. Four out of five doctors in the UK don't work out enough. Heavy workloads, lack of time and poor motivation contributed to the lack of exercise.
12. Baking soda can whiten teeth, garlic can help treat athlete's foot, and honey can soothe a hangover.
13. Using a food diary can double your weight-loss efforts. Your food diary makes you accountable to yourself and provides you with clues on where the extra calories are sneaking in.
14. Regular exercise can lower a woman's cancer risk -- but only if she's getting enough sleep. The National Cancer Institute followed nearly 6,000 women for almost 10 years. Women in the top half of physical activity levels showed an approximate 20 percent reduction in cancer risk, but sleeping less than seven hours per night resulted in a decreased benefit.
15. Watching yourself run in a mirror can make a treadmill workout go by faster and feel easier.
16. Third-hand smoke -- the particles that cling to smokers' hair and clothing and linger in a room long after they've left -- is a cancer risk to young children and pets.
17. Walking against the wind, in the water, or while wearing a backpack burns about 50 more calories per hour than walking with no resistance. People who wear pedometers also tend to burn more calories and lose more weight.
18. Trained sexologists can infer a woman's orgasm history by observing the way she walks. In other news, men find women who wear red sexier than those who wear "cool" colors such as blue and green.
19. Foreign accent syndrome and exploding head syndrome are real (but very rare) medical conditions. A person with exploding head syndrome experiences a loud, indecipherable noise that seems to originate from inside their head.
20. Vitamins don't seem to help older women guard against cancer or heart disease.
21. Some men experience pain, headaches, or sneezing as a result of ejaculation. The increased activity in the nervous system during orgasm may be the culprit.
22. Germ-killing wipes can spread bacteria from one spot to another if you reuse them.
23. Oatmeal, citrus fruits, and honey can boost your sex drive and improve fertility. Oats produce a chemical that releases testosterone into the blood supply, vitamin C improves sperm count and motility, and vitamin B from honey helps your body use estrogen, a key factor in blood flow and arousal.
24. Twenty-nine percent of Americans say they have skipped filling a prescription due to the cost, and 23 percent use pill splitting as a way to save money.
25. Facebook may be good for your health; studies show that staying in touch with family and friends can ward off memory loss and help you live longer.
Sources:
MSN Health & Fitness April 21, 2009
Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
The 25 items covered in the article above are not necessarily critical knowledge to help you live a healthier and longer life, but it’s clear there is much confusion over what’s truly necessary for optimal health. And as the examples listed below will show you, the shortcuts to health and beauty are many, but the potential hazards are just as numerous.
When it comes to the intricate workings of your body and your health it’s clear most people (including health professionals and scientists) know less than we’d like to believe. Just take a look at some of the most common health myths I covered in a previous article and you’ll get a sense of what I mean.
Not only that, but people do all sorts of things to their bodies, thinking it will make them happier, healthier, or more beautiful, or at the very least that it will not harm them.
Here are a few examples you may not know could be harmful to your body and health:
Laser Hair Removal: The treatment disables hair follicles and can lead to scarring if not properly done. In addition, it doesn’t remove all the hair, and it might only last for a couple of years.
Body Piercing: Piercing delicate places like nipples, genitals or your tongue can interfere with breastfeeding; increase the risk of spreading STDs; increase your risk of allergies; and chip your teeth, respectively. Less obvious problems may result from disruption of your body’s subtle energy fields. Inserting pieces of metal into your body can disrupt vital energy flow. If you are healthy you probably won’t notice any difference, but piercings can be a problem if you have a more serious health challenge.
Bariatric Surgery: Over 40 percent of these surgeries result in major complications within six months, such as diarrhea or hernia.
Skin Whitening: Some topical whiteners contain mercury, which causes nerve and kidney damage. Others contain hydroquinone, a carcinogen banned in Europe that blotches your skin.
Botox: Botox, which paralyzes your facial muscles to rid you of wrinkles, can cause respiratory failure and death.
Liposuction: Liposuction removes only about 10 pounds of fat after four hours of dangerous surgery. Recovery is long and painful, and the fatality rate is the highest of any elective surgery.
Do You Know What Your Body Needs for Optimal Health?
It’s important to realize that optimal health and beauty are side effects of an overall healthy lifestyle. There are no shortcuts; no magic pills.
However, there are certain basic tenets of optimal health -- which includes maintaining a healthy weight and radiating true inner beauty – that are permanent truths. These strategies won’t change, regardless of what modern science and conventional medicine comes up with next:
1. Eat a healthy diet that’s right for your nutritional type (paying very careful attention to keeping your insulin levels down)
2. Drink plenty of clean water
3. Manage your stress
4. Exercise
5. Sunlight
6. Limit toxin exposure
7. Consume healthy fat
8. Eat plenty of raw food
9. Optimize insulin and leptin levels
10. Get plenty of sleep
If you memorize these ten items and incorporate them into your lifestyle, you’ll be way ahead of the rest of the pack toward optimal health and longevity.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
HAPPY for No Reason
I was so happy to hear that a few of you read the article yesterday about Matt Long. Can you say INSPIRATION??? WOW, that’s hard to top. But here goes . .
Has anyone see the book “Happy for No Reason”? http://www.amazon.com/dp/141654772X/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=2434701625&ref=pd_sl_41xu119nd7_e. I must have seen it enter my inbox about 10 times in the last week from various places including forwards from friends. I have not read it yet, (I promised myself, I would get through the last 13 books I ordered which are no my night stand with book marks in each of them), but it’s on my wish list. Here’s some thoughts from the author, Marci Shmihoff
Does the idea of standing in front of a mirror and appreciating your positive qualities feel uncomfortable and stupid? It did to me-which was a sign that I really needed to try it.
I first learned this mirror exercise in 1990, when I took a week-long course from my mentor, Jack Canfield, on self-esteem. Jack assigned the exercise as homework every night, saying, "Make sure you do this behind a closed door so nobody walks by and thinks you're crazy." Each night my roommate and I took turns going into the bathroom, shutting the door, and whispering sweet nothings to our reflections: "You're kind." "You're loyal." "You have a loving heart."
The first night, I felt like a California New Age woo-woo nutcase, but soon I experienced a rush of sadness; I was such an expert at judging myself-why was it so hard to say nice things?
With practice, it gradually became easier to list reasons to love myself: "You're smart." "You go out of your way to help others." And so on. But the real power of this exercise came when I learned to express appreciation for myself for no reason-to look myself in the eye and simply love who I was, unconditionally.
If you're like most people, consciously recognizing the positive about yourself may feel conceited. After all, we're raised not to "toot our own horns." So we end up not giving ourselves credit or acknowledgment or even worse, beating ourselves up, which shuts down our hearts, contracts our energy, and decreases our happiness levels.
Doing the research for my book Happy for No Reason, I interviewed scores of scientists along with one hundred unconditionally happy people (I call them the Happy 100). One of the things I discovered is that truly happy people have a compassionate, encouraging, and validating attitude toward themselves. This isn't arrogance or self-centeredness; it's an appreciation and acceptance of who they are.
Learning to see the positive about yourself starts by changing your brain's habit of focusing on your negative experiences and instead inclining your mind toward joy.
So today, begin registering your happy experiences more deeply-- consciously look for them. You can make it a game you play with yourself. Have the intention to notice everything good that happens to you: anything you see, feel, taste, hear or smell that brings you joy, a "win" you experience, a breakthrough, an a-ha, or an expression of your creativity-the list goes on and on.
This intention triggers the reticular activating system (RAS), a group of cells at the base of your brain stem responsible for sorting through the massive amounts of incoming information and bringing anything important to your attention. Have you ever bought a car and then suddenly starting noticing the same make of car everywhere? It's the RAS at work. Now you can use it to be happier. When you decide to look for the positive, your RAS makes sure that's what you see.
Adelle, one of the Happy 100, told me about a unique method she has for registering the positive. As she goes about her day, she gives away awards in her mind: the best-behaved dog award, the most colorful landscape design at a fast food drive-through award, the most courteous driver award. This keeps her alert to the beauty and positivity that is all around her. Charmed by this idea, I tried it myself. I liked it so much, I've been giving out these "Happiness Oscars," as I call them, ever since.
Once you notice something positive, take a moment to savor it consciously. Take the good experience in deeply and feel it; make it more than just a mental observation. If possible, spend around 30 seconds, soaking up the happiness you feel. If you want to accelerate your progress, take time every day to write down a few of your wins, breakthroughs, and things you appreciate about others-and about yourself.
You'll know you've really mastered this when you can give yourself an Academy Award-for outstanding achievement in true happiness!
credit: Marci Shimoff
Hope you are enjoying today. Live in the moment and be happy – it beats grumpy any day!
Has anyone see the book “Happy for No Reason”? http://www.amazon.com/dp/141654772X/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=2434701625&ref=pd_sl_41xu119nd7_e. I must have seen it enter my inbox about 10 times in the last week from various places including forwards from friends. I have not read it yet, (I promised myself, I would get through the last 13 books I ordered which are no my night stand with book marks in each of them), but it’s on my wish list. Here’s some thoughts from the author, Marci Shmihoff
Does the idea of standing in front of a mirror and appreciating your positive qualities feel uncomfortable and stupid? It did to me-which was a sign that I really needed to try it.
I first learned this mirror exercise in 1990, when I took a week-long course from my mentor, Jack Canfield, on self-esteem. Jack assigned the exercise as homework every night, saying, "Make sure you do this behind a closed door so nobody walks by and thinks you're crazy." Each night my roommate and I took turns going into the bathroom, shutting the door, and whispering sweet nothings to our reflections: "You're kind." "You're loyal." "You have a loving heart."
The first night, I felt like a California New Age woo-woo nutcase, but soon I experienced a rush of sadness; I was such an expert at judging myself-why was it so hard to say nice things?
With practice, it gradually became easier to list reasons to love myself: "You're smart." "You go out of your way to help others." And so on. But the real power of this exercise came when I learned to express appreciation for myself for no reason-to look myself in the eye and simply love who I was, unconditionally.
If you're like most people, consciously recognizing the positive about yourself may feel conceited. After all, we're raised not to "toot our own horns." So we end up not giving ourselves credit or acknowledgment or even worse, beating ourselves up, which shuts down our hearts, contracts our energy, and decreases our happiness levels.
Doing the research for my book Happy for No Reason, I interviewed scores of scientists along with one hundred unconditionally happy people (I call them the Happy 100). One of the things I discovered is that truly happy people have a compassionate, encouraging, and validating attitude toward themselves. This isn't arrogance or self-centeredness; it's an appreciation and acceptance of who they are.
Learning to see the positive about yourself starts by changing your brain's habit of focusing on your negative experiences and instead inclining your mind toward joy.
So today, begin registering your happy experiences more deeply-- consciously look for them. You can make it a game you play with yourself. Have the intention to notice everything good that happens to you: anything you see, feel, taste, hear or smell that brings you joy, a "win" you experience, a breakthrough, an a-ha, or an expression of your creativity-the list goes on and on.
This intention triggers the reticular activating system (RAS), a group of cells at the base of your brain stem responsible for sorting through the massive amounts of incoming information and bringing anything important to your attention. Have you ever bought a car and then suddenly starting noticing the same make of car everywhere? It's the RAS at work. Now you can use it to be happier. When you decide to look for the positive, your RAS makes sure that's what you see.
Adelle, one of the Happy 100, told me about a unique method she has for registering the positive. As she goes about her day, she gives away awards in her mind: the best-behaved dog award, the most colorful landscape design at a fast food drive-through award, the most courteous driver award. This keeps her alert to the beauty and positivity that is all around her. Charmed by this idea, I tried it myself. I liked it so much, I've been giving out these "Happiness Oscars," as I call them, ever since.
Once you notice something positive, take a moment to savor it consciously. Take the good experience in deeply and feel it; make it more than just a mental observation. If possible, spend around 30 seconds, soaking up the happiness you feel. If you want to accelerate your progress, take time every day to write down a few of your wins, breakthroughs, and things you appreciate about others-and about yourself.
You'll know you've really mastered this when you can give yourself an Academy Award-for outstanding achievement in true happiness!
credit: Marci Shimoff
Hope you are enjoying today. Live in the moment and be happy – it beats grumpy any day!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Do you make EXCUSES about EXERCISE?
Sometimes it’s easy to wallow in self pity when it seems like things are not in our favor. When I was on the plane home from California last Tuesday I picked up a copy of Runners World and read an incredibly inspiring story. Whether you think you have problems or your don’t read this story all of the way to the end to hear how Matt Long made an incredible come back to running and competing. You will swear off ever complaining about exercising again. Read the whole thing!!
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--13053-1-1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8X9X10X11X12-13,00.html
Have an adventurous day!
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--13053-1-1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8X9X10X11X12-13,00.html
Have an adventurous day!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A landmark week for transforming our health care system
Dr Hyman, Dr Oz, Dr Weil and others are going to the senate to propose functional medicine to them as a health care solution. This can be a step in the right direction.
I especially like the line that says:
We must change not only the WAY we do medicine, but also the medicine we DO. Read Dr Hyman’s article below.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This is a landmark week for transforming our health care system.
The Senate is having hearings on transforming health care and integrative and Functional medicine and the National Academy of Sciences is hosting an Institute of Medicine Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public http://www.iom.edu/integrativemedicine.
I am also honored to let you know that on Thursday, February 26th between 10 am and 12 pm, I will be testifying on how Functional medicine can help solve our health care crisis before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at the invitation of Senators Kennedy, Harkin and Mikulski.
You can view this testimony, along with that of Drs. Oz, Ornish and Weil online at:
http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2009_02_26/2009_02_26.html
I am not clear on whether the hearing will be streamed live or available for viewing afterward, so please check back for the recorded version if it's not streamed live.
Here is some of what I will be sharing with them.
The current medical and scientific paradigm of acute care medicine has been unable to effectively address the epidemic of chronic disease and its associated costs.
There is a new paradigm which addresses the fundamental underlying causes of chronic disease, and can form the basis for a more effective model of medical education, practice, and research that over time will generate dramatic cost savings and improved health outcomes.
There are specific initiatives and strategies based on this new paradigm that can help quickly transform our sick care system into a health care system.
Even if we get everything else right in health care reform, it won't matter unless we address the underlying causes of illness that drive both costs and the development of chronic disease. This innovative approach to chronic disease cannot only prevent but also more effectively TREAT chronic disease.
We must change not only the WAY we do medicine, but also the medicine we DO.
We must improve not only financing and delivery of health care, but also our fundamental scientific approach to chronic disease-an epidemic that now affects 133 million Americans and accounts for 78% of health care costs.
This way of doing medicine, or Functional medicine, is a system of personalized, patient centered care based on how our environment and lifestyle choices act on our genes to create imbalances in our core biologic systems. Those imbalances show up as the signs and symptoms we call disease.
It is best solution for our health care crisis. The solution is not our current acute care model, which though extremely effective for acute disease, leads to worse outcomes and higher costs when applied to chronic disease because it doesn't address WHY people are sick.
This new paradigm is personalized, preventive, participatory, predictive, prospective, and patient centered.
It is proactive rather than reactive.
It is based on addressing the causes of disease and optimizing biologic function in the body's core physiologic systems, not only treating the symptoms.
It based on systems biology or medicine.
That model exists today, and is called Functional Medicine.
****Key Avenues for Change: Recommendations ****
Re-tooling medical education and research to match the science of systems medicine. I recommend the establishment of a sustainably funded Institute for Lifestyle and Systems Medicine/Functional Medicine.
Creation of Functional medicine demonstration projects in federally funded community health centers, with integrated health care teams focusing on treating chronic disease and providing education about lifestyle and wellness
The establishment of a White House and/or Congressional Office for Health and Wellness to coordinate all efforts in this area.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement in this critical time.
If you want to help, please contact your congressman, Senators and the White House to advocate for this type of change and share your stories of how this has impacted you.
We all can change our health care system together!
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
I especially like the line that says:
We must change not only the WAY we do medicine, but also the medicine we DO. Read Dr Hyman’s article below.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
This is a landmark week for transforming our health care system.
The Senate is having hearings on transforming health care and integrative and Functional medicine and the National Academy of Sciences is hosting an Institute of Medicine Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public http://www.iom.edu/integrativemedicine.
I am also honored to let you know that on Thursday, February 26th between 10 am and 12 pm, I will be testifying on how Functional medicine can help solve our health care crisis before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at the invitation of Senators Kennedy, Harkin and Mikulski.
You can view this testimony, along with that of Drs. Oz, Ornish and Weil online at:
http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2009_02_26/2009_02_26.html
I am not clear on whether the hearing will be streamed live or available for viewing afterward, so please check back for the recorded version if it's not streamed live.
Here is some of what I will be sharing with them.
The current medical and scientific paradigm of acute care medicine has been unable to effectively address the epidemic of chronic disease and its associated costs.
There is a new paradigm which addresses the fundamental underlying causes of chronic disease, and can form the basis for a more effective model of medical education, practice, and research that over time will generate dramatic cost savings and improved health outcomes.
There are specific initiatives and strategies based on this new paradigm that can help quickly transform our sick care system into a health care system.
Even if we get everything else right in health care reform, it won't matter unless we address the underlying causes of illness that drive both costs and the development of chronic disease. This innovative approach to chronic disease cannot only prevent but also more effectively TREAT chronic disease.
We must change not only the WAY we do medicine, but also the medicine we DO.
We must improve not only financing and delivery of health care, but also our fundamental scientific approach to chronic disease-an epidemic that now affects 133 million Americans and accounts for 78% of health care costs.
This way of doing medicine, or Functional medicine, is a system of personalized, patient centered care based on how our environment and lifestyle choices act on our genes to create imbalances in our core biologic systems. Those imbalances show up as the signs and symptoms we call disease.
It is best solution for our health care crisis. The solution is not our current acute care model, which though extremely effective for acute disease, leads to worse outcomes and higher costs when applied to chronic disease because it doesn't address WHY people are sick.
This new paradigm is personalized, preventive, participatory, predictive, prospective, and patient centered.
It is proactive rather than reactive.
It is based on addressing the causes of disease and optimizing biologic function in the body's core physiologic systems, not only treating the symptoms.
It based on systems biology or medicine.
That model exists today, and is called Functional Medicine.
****Key Avenues for Change: Recommendations ****
Re-tooling medical education and research to match the science of systems medicine. I recommend the establishment of a sustainably funded Institute for Lifestyle and Systems Medicine/Functional Medicine.
Creation of Functional medicine demonstration projects in federally funded community health centers, with integrated health care teams focusing on treating chronic disease and providing education about lifestyle and wellness
The establishment of a White House and/or Congressional Office for Health and Wellness to coordinate all efforts in this area.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement in this critical time.
If you want to help, please contact your congressman, Senators and the White House to advocate for this type of change and share your stories of how this has impacted you.
We all can change our health care system together!
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, MD
Friday, February 13, 2009
Feel Younger
Today’s re-powering information – Lets finish up today and the week on a positive note. Here’s a fact. Regular exercise can make your real age 9 years younger than your biological age. I’m not tooting my own horn, but I recently started using face book and have connected with some friends from high school. From what I can see of their head shots, many have round faces, the guys have full heads of gray hair and maybe I am kidding myself, but they look much older than me (I’ll be 40 this December – Yikes, I think that’s the first time I said that!). Exercise is your fountain of youth. When I was on the beach 2 weeks ago, I could clearly see the fit bodies confidently and briskly striding along the beach. You can tell that they are older, but they look younger and burst with energy. You have seen these people on the beach and can quickly identify the fit ones who exercise. In comparison it’s also easy to identify the unfit bodies who are meandering or sitting in lounge chairs with snacks in their mouths and supersized beverages in their hands. I’m not judging, but it’s clear the differences in lifestyle.
When exercise is an important part of your life it is the one thing that has the most far reaching effects on the rest of what you do here on earth. When you are fit, you make more conscious nutrition choices, you sleep better, you manage stress, have better mental clarity, more patience for relationships, are more concerned about your environment and much more. There is research to prove all of this which is in addition to the health benefits. People who exercise make more money, they live longer, they are happier, have higher self esteem, recover faster, have better immune systems and more and more and more! I know I am preaching to the choir, but I wanted to reinforce the importance of keeping exercise a priority in your life in hopes that you don’t take it for granted, but also being to positively influence those in your circle by your example.
End:
When exercise is an important part of your life it is the one thing that has the most far reaching effects on the rest of what you do here on earth. When you are fit, you make more conscious nutrition choices, you sleep better, you manage stress, have better mental clarity, more patience for relationships, are more concerned about your environment and much more. There is research to prove all of this which is in addition to the health benefits. People who exercise make more money, they live longer, they are happier, have higher self esteem, recover faster, have better immune systems and more and more and more! I know I am preaching to the choir, but I wanted to reinforce the importance of keeping exercise a priority in your life in hopes that you don’t take it for granted, but also being to positively influence those in your circle by your example.
End:
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Caffeing Being Added to your foods.
Today’s Re-Powering Information –Does this sound frightening to anyone besides me? Read the news release below and tell me if this is anything you want to put in your body! What else can we add to foods? . . . Hmm – we already included monosodium glutamate, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified enzymes, nitrates, gar gum, plastic, hormones and so on. Now we can add extremely high doses of caffeine to our children's cereal. Yes, caffeine is naturally grown, but when taken to excess or for those who are sensitive they can have adverse side effects such as: increased heart rate, anxiety, the jitters or insomnia. People who consume high levels of caffeine may experience effects such as abnormal heart rhythms, headaches, muscle tremors and gastrointestinal problems. Extraordinarily high caffeine intake can lead to serious health consequences, and can even be fatal. And with caffeine effecting the central nervous system and already being found in foods, medications, dietary supplements, soda, coffee, tea, chocolate, etc, I don’t think we need to be adding more. I agree that Americans need more energy, however they don’t have to get it artificially.
Caffeine should be consumed moderately. Abruptly quitting caffeine can cause withdrawal symptoms. Avoid the withdrawal symptoms by slowly weaning from caffeine over a period of two to four weeks.
Read the article below to find new places you may be seeing caffeine.
Trend for energy infused food
By Sarah Hills
Latest news headlines
25-Aug-2008 -
Foods with added stimulants are stealing a march on energy drinks as companies are developing new ways to energize consumers seeking alternatives to sugary beverages, according to a global consumer trends analyst.
Manufacturers are looking to attract customers with foods that provide all the stimulation of energy drinks, therefore offering the potential to cut out high levels of sugar, unpleasant tastes and unnatural chemicals, the analyst CScout claimed.
The trend monitor and strategic consultancy gave the example of Engobi’s caffeine-infused Energy Go Bites, with 70 percent higher caffeine content compared to conventional energy drinks.
And Dakota Valley Products uses a patented process to manufacture natural, healthy seeds infused with caffeine, taurine, lysine, and ginseng. This is said to give twice the amount of energy as an energy drink without the added sugar.
A CScout spokesperson said: “This trend shows that consumers may be distinguishing between somewhat unhealthy stimulants, which they desire, and high sugar content in drinks, which they do not.
“Stimulants could be infused into many other foods – breakfast foods may be a particularly good candidate, including energy-giving cereals, breads and spreads.”
The potential is indicated by figures for the US market for energy beverages, which alone was valued at $5.5bn in 2006 by Packaged Facts. The market researcher predicts it will grow to $9.3bn by 2011.
Other products already on the market include the NRG Phoenix Fury Potato Chips from Golden Flake Snack Foods. These contain the same amount of caffeine as in three and a half cups of coffee, according to its manufacturer which said it was attracting the same customers who buy energy drinks.
Also in the US, global confectionery company Mars launched Snickers Charged this year, an alternative to the traditional Snickers brand in the US but with 60mg of caffeine, taurine and B-vitamins for an extra energy boost.
Caffeine content
Small amounts of caffeine have the potential to make people feel more alert, according to research, which makes it an appealing ingredient for the energy products sector.
Traditionally the main delivery format has been beverages such as coffee, which have a strong bitter taste that some consumers do not like. However, new technologies have been developed that make it applicable for different foodstuffs, presenting new opportunities to manufacturers.
Last year Maxx Performance announced the development of a proprietary way to encapsulate caffeine for foods using vegetable-derived lipids.
The company has worked in collaboration with bakery experts on prototypes to demonstrate its potential in bakery products and recently showcased brownies, donuts and cinnamon raison bread. The products are aimed at improving memory and performance but without impacting taste or flavor.
Also, in early 2007 a Colorado-based firm called Encaff Products also announced the development of caffeine-based donuts.
Founder Dr Robert Bohannon said at the time that early experiments yielded a bad-tasting product, but in collaboration with food industry experts he eventually came up with a patent-pending microencapsulation process that allows the inclusion of very small caffeine particles.
Encapsulation allows for a precise amount of caffeine to be included in a product.
Calls for regulation
However some products high in caffeine - such as Enviga, the beverage launched by Coca Cola and Nestle with calorie-burning claims and 100mg of caffeine per 12 ounce can - have been held up by pressure grounds as examples of why caffeine regulations require tightening.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has been requesting, as a starting point, mandatory caffeine labelling and more responsible marketing of such products.
The FDA has brought the caffeine issue to the discussion table but as yet no regulatory commitment has been made.
Caffeine should be consumed moderately. Abruptly quitting caffeine can cause withdrawal symptoms. Avoid the withdrawal symptoms by slowly weaning from caffeine over a period of two to four weeks.
Read the article below to find new places you may be seeing caffeine.
Trend for energy infused food
By Sarah Hills
Latest news headlines
25-Aug-2008 -
Foods with added stimulants are stealing a march on energy drinks as companies are developing new ways to energize consumers seeking alternatives to sugary beverages, according to a global consumer trends analyst.
Manufacturers are looking to attract customers with foods that provide all the stimulation of energy drinks, therefore offering the potential to cut out high levels of sugar, unpleasant tastes and unnatural chemicals, the analyst CScout claimed.
The trend monitor and strategic consultancy gave the example of Engobi’s caffeine-infused Energy Go Bites, with 70 percent higher caffeine content compared to conventional energy drinks.
And Dakota Valley Products uses a patented process to manufacture natural, healthy seeds infused with caffeine, taurine, lysine, and ginseng. This is said to give twice the amount of energy as an energy drink without the added sugar.
A CScout spokesperson said: “This trend shows that consumers may be distinguishing between somewhat unhealthy stimulants, which they desire, and high sugar content in drinks, which they do not.
“Stimulants could be infused into many other foods – breakfast foods may be a particularly good candidate, including energy-giving cereals, breads and spreads.”
The potential is indicated by figures for the US market for energy beverages, which alone was valued at $5.5bn in 2006 by Packaged Facts. The market researcher predicts it will grow to $9.3bn by 2011.
Other products already on the market include the NRG Phoenix Fury Potato Chips from Golden Flake Snack Foods. These contain the same amount of caffeine as in three and a half cups of coffee, according to its manufacturer which said it was attracting the same customers who buy energy drinks.
Also in the US, global confectionery company Mars launched Snickers Charged this year, an alternative to the traditional Snickers brand in the US but with 60mg of caffeine, taurine and B-vitamins for an extra energy boost.
Caffeine content
Small amounts of caffeine have the potential to make people feel more alert, according to research, which makes it an appealing ingredient for the energy products sector.
Traditionally the main delivery format has been beverages such as coffee, which have a strong bitter taste that some consumers do not like. However, new technologies have been developed that make it applicable for different foodstuffs, presenting new opportunities to manufacturers.
Last year Maxx Performance announced the development of a proprietary way to encapsulate caffeine for foods using vegetable-derived lipids.
The company has worked in collaboration with bakery experts on prototypes to demonstrate its potential in bakery products and recently showcased brownies, donuts and cinnamon raison bread. The products are aimed at improving memory and performance but without impacting taste or flavor.
Also, in early 2007 a Colorado-based firm called Encaff Products also announced the development of caffeine-based donuts.
Founder Dr Robert Bohannon said at the time that early experiments yielded a bad-tasting product, but in collaboration with food industry experts he eventually came up with a patent-pending microencapsulation process that allows the inclusion of very small caffeine particles.
Encapsulation allows for a precise amount of caffeine to be included in a product.
Calls for regulation
However some products high in caffeine - such as Enviga, the beverage launched by Coca Cola and Nestle with calorie-burning claims and 100mg of caffeine per 12 ounce can - have been held up by pressure grounds as examples of why caffeine regulations require tightening.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has been requesting, as a starting point, mandatory caffeine labelling and more responsible marketing of such products.
The FDA has brought the caffeine issue to the discussion table but as yet no regulatory commitment has been made.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Fitness Motivation for Men and Women Differ?
For the past 8 years I have primarily been focused on helping women get fit although I still coach male clients. What becomes obvious is that incentive to get is often driven from different motives.. As I get ready to launch a men's camp I have a heightened awareness about what motivates men to exercise. I know some of you have husbands who are exercise fanatics and others who are weekend warriors and some couch potatoes. There are lots of factors that go into deciding to exercise (and stick with it) such as your past experience with exercise, how uncomfortable you are with your present situation, something in the future that you aspire to, such as a child watching you in an event or a family reunion. There are both internal and external forces that motivate us. We are motivated to move away from pain 2.5 more times than we are to move towards pleasure. There was likely a moment in time where you decided to join boot camp. Some of you had not exercised in decades and others were looking for a new challenge. You may have thought about exercise / weight loss many times before actually committing, but there was some emotion that actually caused you to be motivated to exercise.
The article below shares some differences between men and women in motivation towards exercise. It may give you some insight into your spouse.
When it comes to fitness, men and women motives certainly not the same
Posted by Chris Bynum, Health and Fitness Writer, The Times-Picayune August 22, 2008 5:00AM
Categories: Living: Health and Fitness
Kenneth Harrison / The Times-Picayune
Health, appearance, athletic performance and social approval are the main reasons people work out. And while men and women may express their motivations differently, the differences between the sexes seem to be narrowing when it comes to fitness. A recent poll conducted by Fitness magazine asked readers to identify the thing that inspired them to join a health club. For 41 percent of the women respondents, the answer was: shopping for clothes.
But women aren't the only ones who experience their ah-ha (or uh-oh) moment in the dressing room. When it comes to finding the motivation to pursue fitness goals, it turns out that men aren't from Mars. They're with women on Venus. They just express it differently.
"It used to be that women took better care of themselves and were therefore more inclined to join a gym for health reasons. Men went to the gym to build muscle," says Fabio Comana, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. "Now women go to the gym because they want to look better in their clothes. In recent years, men are more driven by health reasons than aesthetics to work out.
"I wouldn't say they are reversing roles. There's just a merging of the reasons men and women exercise."
Health, appearance, athletic performance and social approval are the main reasons people work out. And while men and women may express their motivations differently, the differences between the sexes seem to be narrowing when it comes to fitness.
While you might think that the motivation to work out comes down to the fact we all want to look good naked, local personal trainers say the Mars-Venus differences are more complex. Their observations reflect both subtle and significant contrasts.
"Men are more likely to say, 'My doctor says I should get fit' rather than 'I want to get fit,'¤" says local certified personal trainer Rusty Roussel, the co-owner of Salvation Studio, who says men are often motivated by health scares. "Women simply want to embrace what exercise can do for them -- having more energy, looking good, feeling good."
Jonas Deffes, a personal trainer who also conducts NOLA Boot Camp for women, says men work out to look good, and women work out to gain confidence.
But he has observed that once men start to look good as a result of their workouts, they also start to feel better as a result of their commitment to work out.
"And as women start to feel better about themselves, they also feel that they look better," Deffes says.
Local trainers say most women want to lose fat and most men want to build muscle -- the same fundamental goal of a more toned body conveyed in a completely different way.
"Women keep their skinny pants. If one day they try those on and can't get into them, they are motivated to work out," says Shawn Oddo, personal trainer to Simply Fit in Metairie. The "skinny jeans" factor is not one he has heard discussed among men.
"Men just want to be buff," says Oddo.
And because their instinct is always to nurture others before self, women also are more likely than men to require external pressure to work out, says performance expert Mackie Shilstone, director of The Fitness Principle at East Jefferson General Hospital.
"Women make 70 percent of the health care decisions in this country, but they don't make (enough) decisions for themselves," Shilstone says. "In many cases, a woman begins a health program to satisfy a mother, a friend, a spouse."
Important life events -- such as a class reunion, a vacation, a milestone birthday, a wedding -- also play strongly into the workout habits of women, says Joe Moore, president of International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).
Men, on the other hand, are often motivated by their jobs.
"I have two riverboat pilots whose jobs are demanding both physically and mentally, and they see fitness as part of the skill set for their jobs," says Roussel, the Salvation Studio trainer.
Life changes -- new romance, divorce, job promotion, empty nest -- are also fitness motivators for men and women alike, local trainer say.
A strong indicator that the sexes have more fitness goals in common than ever before is borne out by the fact that health clubs, once segregated by sex, are now almost exclusively co-ed. Even free weight rooms, once an all-boys' club, are now unisex environments.
"Men and women did not work out together. Clubs often alternated days between men and women, or they provided dual facilities to accommodate both sexes," Moore says. Now IHRSA's membership rolls show that women make up more than half of health-club memberships, which runs counter to research that shows women are still hesitant to work out alongside men.
And then there's Dara Torres, at 41 the oldest American Olympic swimmer ever, whose influence crosses both age and gender barriers. She swam the fastest times in her 24-year career while winning three silver medals for the United States in Beijing and inspired countless aging adults along the way.
"Men and women are signing up all over the country for swim classes," Moore says.
Both male and female clients, Roussel says, have come in to his studio to request some of the workout strategies Torres has shared with the world as cameras followed her quest.
Men and women may be different, says Comana, but when it comes to the pursuit of fitness, "They are not as diametrically opposed as they once were."
Health and fitness writer Chris Bynum can be reached at cbynum@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3458. Comment or read past stories at www.nola.com/health.
END
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kelli@KelliCalabrese.com
www.KelliCalabrese.com
www.DentonBootCamp.com
The article below shares some differences between men and women in motivation towards exercise. It may give you some insight into your spouse.
When it comes to fitness, men and women motives certainly not the same
Posted by Chris Bynum, Health and Fitness Writer, The Times-Picayune August 22, 2008 5:00AM
Categories: Living: Health and Fitness
Kenneth Harrison / The Times-Picayune
Health, appearance, athletic performance and social approval are the main reasons people work out. And while men and women may express their motivations differently, the differences between the sexes seem to be narrowing when it comes to fitness. A recent poll conducted by Fitness magazine asked readers to identify the thing that inspired them to join a health club. For 41 percent of the women respondents, the answer was: shopping for clothes.
But women aren't the only ones who experience their ah-ha (or uh-oh) moment in the dressing room. When it comes to finding the motivation to pursue fitness goals, it turns out that men aren't from Mars. They're with women on Venus. They just express it differently.
"It used to be that women took better care of themselves and were therefore more inclined to join a gym for health reasons. Men went to the gym to build muscle," says Fabio Comana, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. "Now women go to the gym because they want to look better in their clothes. In recent years, men are more driven by health reasons than aesthetics to work out.
"I wouldn't say they are reversing roles. There's just a merging of the reasons men and women exercise."
Health, appearance, athletic performance and social approval are the main reasons people work out. And while men and women may express their motivations differently, the differences between the sexes seem to be narrowing when it comes to fitness.
While you might think that the motivation to work out comes down to the fact we all want to look good naked, local personal trainers say the Mars-Venus differences are more complex. Their observations reflect both subtle and significant contrasts.
"Men are more likely to say, 'My doctor says I should get fit' rather than 'I want to get fit,'¤" says local certified personal trainer Rusty Roussel, the co-owner of Salvation Studio, who says men are often motivated by health scares. "Women simply want to embrace what exercise can do for them -- having more energy, looking good, feeling good."
Jonas Deffes, a personal trainer who also conducts NOLA Boot Camp for women, says men work out to look good, and women work out to gain confidence.
But he has observed that once men start to look good as a result of their workouts, they also start to feel better as a result of their commitment to work out.
"And as women start to feel better about themselves, they also feel that they look better," Deffes says.
Local trainers say most women want to lose fat and most men want to build muscle -- the same fundamental goal of a more toned body conveyed in a completely different way.
"Women keep their skinny pants. If one day they try those on and can't get into them, they are motivated to work out," says Shawn Oddo, personal trainer to Simply Fit in Metairie. The "skinny jeans" factor is not one he has heard discussed among men.
"Men just want to be buff," says Oddo.
And because their instinct is always to nurture others before self, women also are more likely than men to require external pressure to work out, says performance expert Mackie Shilstone, director of The Fitness Principle at East Jefferson General Hospital.
"Women make 70 percent of the health care decisions in this country, but they don't make (enough) decisions for themselves," Shilstone says. "In many cases, a woman begins a health program to satisfy a mother, a friend, a spouse."
Important life events -- such as a class reunion, a vacation, a milestone birthday, a wedding -- also play strongly into the workout habits of women, says Joe Moore, president of International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).
Men, on the other hand, are often motivated by their jobs.
"I have two riverboat pilots whose jobs are demanding both physically and mentally, and they see fitness as part of the skill set for their jobs," says Roussel, the Salvation Studio trainer.
Life changes -- new romance, divorce, job promotion, empty nest -- are also fitness motivators for men and women alike, local trainer say.
A strong indicator that the sexes have more fitness goals in common than ever before is borne out by the fact that health clubs, once segregated by sex, are now almost exclusively co-ed. Even free weight rooms, once an all-boys' club, are now unisex environments.
"Men and women did not work out together. Clubs often alternated days between men and women, or they provided dual facilities to accommodate both sexes," Moore says. Now IHRSA's membership rolls show that women make up more than half of health-club memberships, which runs counter to research that shows women are still hesitant to work out alongside men.
And then there's Dara Torres, at 41 the oldest American Olympic swimmer ever, whose influence crosses both age and gender barriers. She swam the fastest times in her 24-year career while winning three silver medals for the United States in Beijing and inspired countless aging adults along the way.
"Men and women are signing up all over the country for swim classes," Moore says.
Both male and female clients, Roussel says, have come in to his studio to request some of the workout strategies Torres has shared with the world as cameras followed her quest.
Men and women may be different, says Comana, but when it comes to the pursuit of fitness, "They are not as diametrically opposed as they once were."
Health and fitness writer Chris Bynum can be reached at cbynum@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3458. Comment or read past stories at www.nola.com/health.
END
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kelli@KelliCalabrese.com
www.KelliCalabrese.com
www.DentonBootCamp.com
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