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Vitamin D--More Are Deficient In This Vitamin Than Any Other 08/29/2011

We used to think Vitamin D deficiency was uncommon. Our thinking was rickets, a softening of the bones, was the only disorder it caused. We are learning Vitamin D is necessary for so many more functions within our bodies. Vitamin D is responsible for longer life, fewer diseases, stronger bones and muscles, fewer infections, less depression, pain, and inflammation. Vitamin D research indicates it may prevent cancer. Research reveals Vitamin D may prevent 75% of all cancers when taking 2000 IUs per day for two years.

So why are so many of us deficient in Vitamin D? We know sun exposure on our exposed skin is needed for our bodies to produce Vitamin D. We also know we have had a massive advertising campaign from the government via the National Institute of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to stay out of the sun, or at the very least, lather up with sunscreen if we venture outdoors. We get no Vitamin D when we stay inside or lather up with sunscreen. We need some sun exposure, 15 or 20 minutes a day on a large amount of skin to get the required amount of Vitamin D. We don't get nearly enough Vitamin D. In fact, as we age, our time spent outdoors decreases dramatically. Our bodies don't have as efficient mechanisms to produce Vitamin D as we age. The recommended daily allowance of Vitamin D is ridiculously too low.

Supplementation of Vitamin D is essential to boost the circulating Vitamin D level in our bodies. You can get too much Vitamin D so a blood test is important to make sure your blood levels are not in the toxic level. It is very rare for someone to take too much Vitamin D and reach toxic levels. Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] Concentrations is the best indicator of vitamin D status. Levels below 10 indicate deficiency where Rickets and osteomalacia are likely. Between 10-30 ng/mL is considered insufficient for bone and overall good health. Between 31-100 is considered sufficient. Most people are below 31 ng/ML because we don't get the required amount of daily sunshine all year. We don't get nearly enough Vitamin D in our food sources, and the recommended daily allowance of 600-800 IUs) daily (which recently was raised TO this amount) is terribly shy of what our bodies need. Our bodies produces over 15,000 IUs of Vitamin D being in the sun for a short period of time. Taking 2000-5000 IUs of Vitamin D daily is enough to benefit most people, keep the Vitamin D level from falling, and get the benefits Vitamin D is responsible for optimal health. If you supplement with super doses of Vitamin D, a Vitamin D blood test is necessary to prevent taking too much and reaching toxic levels. If you think taking your calcium supplement and drink your daily milk, both of which are fortified with Vitamin D, is sufficient to keep from being Vitamin D deficient, you couldn't be more wrong. And sadly this Vitamin deficiency is seldom checked by doctors unless you ask for the test. People die of cancer everyday and it's amazing how few of them ever have had their Vitamin D levels checked. Amazingly this Vitamin may be a l

In future articles I'll post more specific information on the benefits of Vitamin D and what you may be missing out on if you don't include Vitamin D in your daily food/supplement intake.

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Western Diet leads to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer...... 08/26/2011

It's no coincidence our nation is getting fatter and sicker. What I have noticed is our health care, nutrition, and advice for healthy living all come from those with BIG PROFITS in mind. One of the most corrupt organizations is the Food and Drug Administration. The "research" used to determine a food or drug's safety is paid for by the food or drug company wanting their product approved. They are not required to release ANY research that may indicate it does no good or does a lot of harm. The one thing the FDA is great at is shutting down areas of preventative health. Why is that? Because the FDA is heavily influenced primarily by the Big Pharmaceutical companies and the big chemical companies that operate in the "food" business. I say "food" business because these chemical companies are provided everything BUT food. Read the ingredients list of any processed food item and you'll see chemical after chemical that is GARBAGE and quite harmful to you but the "research" used presents no such harm. Watch an advertisement for any given drug and you will quickly learn of all the side effects (however rare--yeah right) leading all the way to sudden death! And why are we advertising drugs anyway? Do you see the vicious cycle? This is all about money and NOT about your health or fitness.

One of the biggest misconceptions to our diet is that fat is terrible for you while carbohydrates are good for you. It is true our bodies need carbohydrates. But it doesn't need the carbohydrates from processed foods and grains. A carb simply breaks down into your body as glucose. Your body uses glucose for energy. Your brain is a HUGE glucose hog. If your body has more glucose than your body needs, your pancreas produces insulin. Insulin's job is not to "lower" glucose but rather to convert the excess glucose to FAT. See it isn't' fat that makes you fat. It is excess glucose that makes you fat. When you reduce the carbs in your diet your body must then convert FAT into glucose...and guess what? YOU LOSE FAT! Your heart in particular performs better from fat (and saturated fat is indeed needed for your heart to function properly). Too much fat in the body is not a good thing but what the FDA and National Institute of Health fail to inform you is too much fat is not the result of eating so much fat in the diet. It's impossible to eat the amount of fat needed to result in poor health and increased weight. NOW, the combination of eating a lot of fat with a lot of carbs IS the disaster! If you reduce your carb intake dramatically and make sure with every meal you eat a good protein--you'll reach optimal health and weight in no time. As you continue to eat the "good high fiber, whole wheat bread" with virtually every meal you will be guaranteed regular weekly (monthly if lucky) doctors visit when you reach 60 years old until the day you die.

We get all the carbohydrates we need primarily from vegetables. Fruit provides good carbohydrates too but fruit also provides a lot of sugars that we don't need. Yes, too much fruit can make you fat! And fruit juice (that O.J. you've been told is terrific for you so drink up!) is devastating if you are concerned about too much fat in your body. We don't have bread farms, cracker farms, no matter how many "quality whole grains" are used to make the bread or crackers. I've yet to see a cake grow out of the ground. These excess carbs are calorie hogs and add dozens of pounds of fat on a body through the course of life if we continue to hoard these foods. It's quite a shame as breads and cereals are the item the National Institute of Health recommends we eat the most of in our daily food requirements. As bad as excess grains, breads, and cereals can be, probably the worst "food" you can put in your body is fructose. Yes, Fructose--the "fruit sugar".

It is true fructose is a sugar in high abundance in fruit. And not all the sugar in fruit is fructose. Different fruit have different amounts of fructose. Fruit also contain different amounts of glucose. Table sugar is sucrose. It is a 50/50 mix of glucose and fructose. One part glucose is bound to 1 part fructose. High Fructose Corn Syrup is even worse for you. It is a 55/45 mix of fructose and glucose. The problem with fructose is it is NOT needed in our bodies. It doesn't circulate through our blood system like glucose. So where does it go?
When we eat fructose, whether in fruit, table sugar, or soda pop, our body immediately sends the fructose to our liver where it is processed. Because fructose isn't stored or needed in the body your liver treats fructose as if it needs flushed--similar to alcohol, tylenol, or other toxins you ingest. We have been told soda pop is "Okay in moderation" as well as all sugars. What most people have basically become are drunks without the intoxication effects of alcohol. Our livers are becoming diseased. We have a disturbing increase in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in the western world. Why? Because the liver has to convert fructose into something--and it converts fructose into fat. Your body store the fat in many areas of the body but eventually the fat builds in areas you can't see--your organs. And your liver is the area that takes a serious toll from the fructose to fat conversion. The "fruit sugar" is deadly much like long term radiation from the sun--only worse! Because you are healthy now and you ingest well more than the 15-25 grams of fructose our bodies are designed to handle without any ill effects, you think "I can handle fructose. It must be my metabolism is just better than most." This would be false thinking. Most people have no ideas how much fructose they consume. If you have two soda pops a day you likely are ingesting two times the amount your body can safely handle. And fructose is hidden in everything processed--ketchup, mayonnaise, bread, fruit, lunch meat, health food bars, sports drinks, salad dressing, everything processed! It's imperative you read the labels. If you see 10g sugar you can safely assume it has 5 g fructose (unless the ingredient clearly states ONLY glucose or dextrose (dextrose is glucose). You can easily top 7-30 times the amount of safe fructose in one day. It's no wonder there are so many people battling a weight problem. If they are lucky, they will just continue gaining weight without the problems of organ issues, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance.

If we eat what we were intended to eat by our genetic makeup we'd be within a healthy weight and many of these "man made" disease like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease would be a thing of the past for the overwhelming majority of people. Unfortunately, we are fighting two HUGE influences that are extremely difficult to overcome: 1. The government telling us our diet should include all these carbs that make you fat, and 2. Our taste buds' and brains' addiction to the sweetness of sugar and the other carbs we crave. The one thing the FDA is good at is making sure their "sponsors" keep the profits going. The corporate sponsors of the FDA are making their profits from your dollars but also your growing bellies, diseased bodies, and massive health care bills.

So what do you eat? Organic meat (Yes, it's pricey but so is the long term effects and hospital bills of eating hormone, steroid, and antibiotic injected meat), chicken, grass fed beef, and wild-caught fish is a great start. Good organic vegetables when you can find them and washing other vegetables thoroughly before eating. Dairy is fine--again organic milk from grass fed cows, and cheese are all good, eating a moderate amount of fruit (one or two servings a day) and nuts. This change in nutritional approach will shed pounds if overweight and keep the healthy weight stable without the yo-yo diet effect. Once you decide to eat the ice cream and pasta again every night or every other night or every third night you'll see the weight go back up and the health problems associated with it.

When you understand the science behind eating and digestion you understand the sugar and carbs we have grown addicted to are a weakness and indeed not good for us. I haven't met too many people addicted to and regularly crave a good chicken breasts, a sirloin steak, broccoli, or cauliflower. Yet, if you commit to trying this diet (some call it the caveman diet) you'll quickly discover how sweet an orange, raspberry, or blueberry tastes. An ice cream cone becomes almost overwhelming sicky sweet. This is when you know you've made the turn for good health and have beaten the sugar addiction.

This 20 Minute Exercise is an Absolute MUST to optimize health!! 08/24/2011

There is an exercise that you can complete in about 20 minutes two times a week that will shed weight and build lean muscle. Sound too good to be true? Listen with an open mind and I will explain exactly how you do this and what to expect!

We have been conditioned by fitness and nutritional experts that we must work out with aerobic exercises, eat low fat and high carbohydrate diets, and take whatever medicine our doctors prescribe us. Some of these experts don't know what they are talking about. Today I want to address exercise. We've been conditioned to believe aerobic exercise is the ultimate goal in exercise supplementing with strength training. I think we are missing out on a very key factor to our overall optimal health!

I ask you who looks healthier?

Maybe it's just me but the sprinter on the bottom just look healthier and in much shape than the marathon runner at the top. And he most likely is! As we age our normal development of human growth hormone declines. After age 30 it starts to decline dramatically. Sprinters know something about human growth hormones. One reason synthetic human growth hormone is not tested on athletes is because our bodies are capable of producing this hormone naturally. We can stimulate the explosion of human growth hormone in our bodies with high intensity training or exercises AND it is easier than you think! When we train using high intensity interval exercises we are actually doing anaerobic exercises. We need to exert our super FAST muscle fibers. When we walk or jog we are exercising our slow and medium muscle fibers. We must use our super FAST muscle fibers in order to stimulate production of human growth hormone. The rewards from this interval training are infinite! You will lower your insulin resistance (critical to prevent all disease and condition...cancer, heart disease, diabetes) and increase your overall good health.

Okay--so what do I do to get started? The goal of this training is HIGH INTENSITY exercises of 30 seconds with a 90 second cool down period--repeated for EIGHT (8) Intervals! The goal is to get your heart rate up to 220 beats per minute minus your age. For me (46) My Anaerobic Heart rate is 220-46=174 beats per minute. You likely won't get to your target rate on the first interval...likely you will get there by the 3rd or 4th interval. It's imperative you get there by the 8th interval! If you don't get there you aren't using high enough intensity. For some, you may be able to accomplish your peak heart rate by walking extremely quickly. For others you might need a full out sprint to accomplish this. You should measure your heart rate with an accurate heart rate monitor after each interval. It is expected your heart rate will continue to climb for about 10-30 seconds after you begin your slow down period. Your rate should begin to drop significantly as you cool down. You may not recover below 130-140 bpm if you hit your target rate and that is to be expected.

When I started this intensity training I couldn't run 6 MPH if I wanted to. I started at 7 MPH for my intensity intervals but my heart rate was only about 161 bpm. I had to kick it up to 8 MPH. Now, after losing 18 pounds and doing my intensity training every third day (one day on..two days of rest...one day on..two days of rest) I am running on a tread mill 10 MPH for 30 seconds each and have to set my incline up gradually reaching 4% by my last interval. This is an exercise that will definitely firm your butt and leg muscles. It will take weight off of your belly. What I noticed is my arms (biceps/triceps) started developing muscle where there was just flab without doing much exercising on them. I was growing HgH (Human Growth Hormone) naturally!

So what do I do exactly? Well I use a treadmill but you can use a recumbent bicycle, elliptical, or just head outside and run where you'd jog. I set my treadmill for 3.5 MPH for 3 minutes to get warmed up. Then I slow the machine down to 2 MPH for a cool down. About the 4.5 minute mark I set my machine for 8.8 MPH and just stand off to the sides of the tread. I run at 10 MPH but this speed is just too fast to hop right on to the tread mill. So I set it for 8.8 MPH and as soon as I jump on I kick it up to 10 MPH. So I hop on the machine at the 5 minute mark and run for 30 seconds and immediately hop off the tread. I slow the speed down to 2.0 MPH and walk to cool down the next two minutes...I repeat the high intensity running at the 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 minute marks...and that's it! You just completed a high intensity training workout...stimulated the normal production of human growth hormones...and busted your rear for all but FOUR minutes!! That's it FOUR (4!!) minutes!!

What you do immediately after your intensity interval training is critical for the development of human growth hormone and the benefits of this program! I do this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I do have a nice cup of ice water available to drink during my workout and I encourage that! After you should wait to eat anything for about 20-30 minutes and THEN you should consume ONLY proteins and fat--NO CARBS, absolutely NO CARBS at this point...and NO CARBS for the next 2 hours. That means no fruit, sugars, energy drinks, Gatorade, etc...A nice whey protein shake mixed with milk would be a great choice. What I do is take a shower afterwards, then I have a whey protein shake and if REALLY hungry a couple of scrambled eggs with ground sausage. Again NO CARBS! The carbs will stimulate a hormone that will kill the production of the human growth hormone that starts when you finish the workout and continues for the next two hours. The human growth hormone continues doing it's good thing for the next two days!

A high intensity interval workout will provide so many positive health benefits to you. You should consider this your MAIN exercise regime and supplement the other days of your workout with core muscle exercises, strength training, and stretching exercises. If you like to walk or run continue doing this on your off days (from intensity training). If you feel like you can do the interval intensity training two days in a row you are doing it wrong and not hard enough. Your body MUST rest from the intensity for a couple days to maximize the benefits of this exercise. But you certainly can walk or jog the next couple of days for added benefit of working your slow and medium muscle fibers.

I never dreamed I could exercise with a program like this. In fact, I HATED exercise until I tried this program. It isn't easy but what is HARD lasts only 4 minutes out of 20..and the payoff is substantial!! I encourage you to add interval intensity training to your exercise program. It's the fastest way to good health, better conditioning, and a way better body! Come on--What are you waiting for??

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