Benefits of exercise on Health and Weight Loss

Great news about exercise: recent research demonstrates that 45 minutes of moderate - vigorous exercise in the am may reduce food cravings. What's particularly interesting is the fact that exercise,  if done first thing in the am, on an empty stomach has been shown to be particularly beneficial. And, your selection of food may also play a significant role in decreasing feelings of hunger afterward.("How Exercise Influences Hunger and Weight Loss"Dr. Mercola)

What are the benefits of exercising on an empty stomach?

Research has shown that exercising on an empty stomach is great for preventing weight gain and insulin resistance. According to the article "How Exercise influences hunger and weight loss," this is because the body's fat burning processes are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, and this SNS, is activated by exercise and lack of food. (Remember the "flight vs. fight? The SNS revs us up to prepare us to do either of those. So it makes sense that the metabolism would speed up).

Exercise may make us feel full longer

According to the Dr. Mercola article, the 2011 Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, revealed that exercise may control body weight by altering hormones released by the gut after a meal. I have noted this to be true with myself; after exercising or walking, the appetite does seem to be more controlled. It's just keeping the exercise  program going.

Tips for exercising

Make sure that you don't carry the exercising on an empty stomach too far: because that can cause problems as well.  It is recommended that when you exercise on an empty stomach, make sure that you have your recovery meal within 30 minutes. (Whey protein is suggested in the study) Make sure that you don't have fructose as this can sabotage the efforts.  For example, sugary sports drinks and flavored water. Then eat sensibly during the day.  Make sure to get the okay from your health care provider before beginning any exercise program.

Source:

"How Exercise Influences Hunger and Weight Loss" Dr. Mercola

                

     

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How Exercise can make You Smarter

New Proof that Exercise Makes You Smarter

 

Exercise is the free Rx that helps everyone improve mentally, physically and spiritually.  From the cradle to the grave, it can help us uplift our mood, increase and improve digestion and everything else from A- Z.

 

Now, the facts from research show that exercise can also help your smarts.  Here's  some of the latest information and how your brain can benefit from a program of exercise.

What exercise can do for your Brain

Interesting study results presents the following about exercise:

• For grammar school kids, 40 minutes of exercise daily increased IQ by four points.

• Older children who engage in strenuous sports have stronger scores in Math, Science, English and Social Studies.

• Students who exercised immediately before a test scored 17% higher than those who didn't.  Those students who worked out for 40 minutes scored an entire grade higher.

That's some pretty impressive stuff!

How exercise benefits the brain power


Regular program of exercises helps the body produce  nerve-protecting compounds thus promoting improved development and survival of neurons. This gives a boost to learning new material as referenced above; for example, children who engaged in workouts score one whole grade than those who do not.  Conversely, impeded blood flow to the brain can contribute to vascular dementia, stroke and other cognitive problems.

 Added perks about exercise includes the fact that it increases oxygen to the brain along with decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.  And, it also lift your mood due to the release of endorphins.

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What kinds of exercise benefit brain power

 

For maximum benefits, you'd want to engage in a variety of exercises that incorporates a well rounded fitness program. According to the article, "New Proof that exercise makes you smarter," as soon as an exercise becomes easy it is time to increase the intensity or try another exercise that will challenge the body.

 

According to the article you might want to engage in the following:

1. High intensity interval training.  This is when you alternate short bursts of high intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods.
2.  

Diet soda and your child

       

 

The media has been presenting abundant information on how the American diet negatively impacts the health of our young ones.  Children are receiving sugary, fatty foods in the cafeteria, in the lunch room snack machines, and at home on the dinner table. And, with children being over 50% less active than two decades ago, this poses some very real health concerns.

 For example, consider that over the past fifty years, the consumption of soda has increased nearly 500 percent as kids are now drinking soda younger and younger. This is a staggering amount of soda and highly sweetened soft drinks.  What does the future hold healthwise for these children? Well, the outlook looks bleak.

                        

The facts on sodas and children

 

It is estimated that 56 percent of eight-year-olds drink soda daily.  Now, let's consider some other facts: there are an estimated 10-12 teaspoons of sugar (usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup) per twelve ounce can.  The average child drinks at least three cans of soda per day. That's 36 teaspoons of sugar a day from beverages alone! This contributes to childhood obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and early onset cardiovascular disease. 
 

Artificial sweeteners: a better choice?
 

No, not really. Diet soda doesn't have the sugar but has other potentially lethal health effects. Aspartame and sucralose are extremely popular and most parents probably feel that substituting the sugar- sweetened beverages with the artificial sweeteners is a better health bet.  (This is due to the astute marketing tactics of diet soda manufacturers, but this couldn't be further from the truth). Diet soda have actually been linked to weight gain.  Why? Well, they are very addictive. Studies have shown that diet sodas trigger the pleasure area in the brain, but they don't provide the satisfaction that sugar does. The release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine then occurs, causing the body to want to consume more and more to achieve this "feel good" effect. This leaves a person craving the artificial sweetener.   Another important point about artificial sweeteners is that they are metabolized through a completely different pathway in the liver making it hazardous to that vital organ of excretion. Diet sodas are no health bargain. ("U.S. Kids Drowning In Diet Drinks" Dr. Mercola).

Finally, consider this, diet sodas have been linked to stroke, heart attack and diabetes due to the induced cravings and addictions to the sweeteners. And, with children developing such poor patterns of health at increasingly younger ages, this can lay the groundwork for habit formation that can be extremely difficult to break in later life. So, you aren't doing your child a favor by giving him diet sodas.
 

Sources:

"Dr. Mercola, "U.S. Kids Drowning In Diet Drinks"

 

• Reuters August 15, 2012
• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition August 1, 2012

• ¹ NC Department of Health, Soft Drinks and School-Age Children
• ² NC Department of Health, Soft Drinks and School-Age Children
• ³ American Journal of Clinical Nutrition August 1, 2012
• ⁴ Reuters August 15, 2012
• ⁵ Meeting of the American Diabetes Association, San Diego, California, June 26, 2011
• ⁶ Meeting of the American Diabetes Association, San Diego, California, June 26, 2011
• ⁷ Diabetes Care. 2009 Apr;32(4):688-94. Epub 2009 Jan 16.
• ⁸ Study presented at the meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego, 2005
• ⁹ Journal of General Internal Medicine January 27, 2012
• ¹⁰ Nursing: November 2010, Volume 40, Issue 11, p 67

 

 

         

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How Fasting May Help to Prevent Dementia

Around the age of 50 many people become concerned about the effects of aging on the brain.  Science and research has already shown us that there are things that we can do to fight the ravages of age and time on the mind: partaking of new and exciting activities to stay young in heart and in mind such as learning a new language, socializing, exercising and playing challenging puzzles can help folks stay young.



Wholesome foods are important in the battle against
 age-related mental decline.



 However, we are learning about new things that we can do to stay mentally astute and healthy. What are they? One is the systematic and planned program of fasting.

 

                           

Fasting and overall health

Research suggests that fasting can initiate a number of beneficial, health promoting hormonal and metabolic changes.(Fasting is defined as consuming between 500 and 800 calories a day) 

Among other benefits, fasting can reduce:

-Inflammation, which, when elevated, are indicators of future potential for serious disease including those involving cognitive abilities .
-Bad LDL cholesterol.
-Growth factor, which is a hormone that has been linked with cancer and diabetes

Finally, fasting can help lessen free radical damage, which is responsible for aging and illness in the body. And the good news is that for those who can't remain on a daily restricted program, fasting at least two days a week may provide the same benefits as fasting daily.

Brain Health

Great news is that calorie restriction can protect brain cells and make them more resistant to stress. This is due to fasting's effect on two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which are both involved in renewing brain cells.

Ghrelin and leptin are two hormones that have a large influence on the body's energy.  Leptin regulates energy level and suppresses food intake, which can trigger weight loss.  Ghrelin, is a fast acting hormone which appears to play a part in initiating hunger. Although not fully understood, fasting appears to have a regulatory effect in balancing the two hormones and starting the process of brain cell renewal and weight loss, which are both important in battling dementia.

Exercise

Of course, the role of exercise can't be stressed enough in helping the brain take in adequate amounts of oxygen and stimulating neurotransmitter release which can help the body battle cognitive loss and disease.

Are all calories created equal?

That is the key question.  It's not a matter of randomly cutting calories, but ensuring that adequate health and nutrition are taking place.  So, that means knowing what calories to cut.

Unfortunately, the bulk of the  American diet comes from carbs from grains and sugars.  This has been a large contributor to the obesity epidemic. So, restricting carbohydrates is a start. Once carbs and sugars have been cut, it is important to replace them with high quality proteins and fats. A sampling of such foods might include: cage-free, organic eggs, nuts, avocados and coconut oils.



Sources:

Dr. Mercola, "New Discovery May Safeguard Your Brain from Dementia"
       

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• The Daily Mail February 27, 2012

 

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How to Burn Calories at Your Desk

       

 

Most people who have been on any type of weight loss program know that not partaking in enough activity can thwart your best efforts in loosing weight.  It-the weight-can stick to you like crazy glue-believe me, I do know. And for those of you who have sit down computers jobs, the challenge becomes not only about what to eat, but picking up extra ways to burn fat.

 

Here are interesting information pertaining to inactivity and chronic illness.

Information on Sedentary Lifestyles

The latest stats on sedentary lifestyles and chronic illness are pretty disturbing.  According to the WHO (World Health Organization), inactivity is listed as the fourth greatest killer of adults. Further, Dr. Joan Vernikos, one of the doctors involved in preventing astronauts from deteriorating in space, says in the article, "Tips for Staying Active in the Office to Counteract the Ills of a Sedentary Job" that it is important to stand up every ten minutes or so so that the body can function optimally. This was actually reported as being more beneficial than walking.

The  statistics show that prolonged sitting puts an individual at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and kidney disease. And to prevent a full picture on how urgent this is, even if a person is normally active, but sits for prolonged time during the day, he is still at risk for these chronic diseases.

What can be done?

Some innovative ways in which to burn calories include:

-holding stand only meetings at work.
-structure the layout of the office in such a way that everything is not at your fingertips.  Put regularly used information on a shelf that will require some stretching.
-Use an exercise ball for a chair to get exercise.
-Use an upright chair with no armrests which will encourage frequent repositioning.

Basically, the body needs perpetual movement to function optimally.  Avoid sitting for long periods of time.  Get up out of your chair about every ten minutes to allow the body to interact with gravity.
In this way, the body will have an opportunity to burn many additional calories which greatly helps with weight loss.

source:

Dr. Mercole,"Tips for Staying Active in the Office to Counteract the Ills of a Sedentary Job"

         

 

 

            

 

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Wholesome foods: is it a thing of the past?

It is so disturbing to learn of the dangers of the foods that we commonly eat and consider to be healthful.  As we learn about the potential dangers of processed and packaged foods, folks turn to more natural foods, only to learn that they too are contaminated.  It's a vicious circle.

What foods top the list in toxicity and contamination with chemicals?  Here is a list of some of the major offenders. Please take note and use the information for the protection of yourself and family.

Watch the Salmon

For the health and well being of your family, avoid farmed fish. (I had heard this awhile back).  Farm fed fish is raised on unnatural grain which is loaded with dangerous chemicals, in addition to being genetically modified.  Now, the big question is what are these things doing to the people who consume them? Well, for starters, the antibiotics can affect humans, causing allergies and antibiotic resistance.

Now, how do you know what fish is farm raised?  Well, avoid Atlantic salmon. Instead look for the "Alaskan salmon" and "sockeye salmon."

What's in the meat?

Most people are aware that meat is injected with hormones in order to make them mature rapidly. Drugs such as ractopamine, are also being given to animals to make them more muscular and artificially reduce the fat content. Ractopamine is used in about 45% of US pigs and in about 30 percent of cattle.  Needless to say, there is residual drug left in the meat after slaughter.  What does it do to humans?  It seems that right now, researchers say that the drug has been linked to reproductive disorders, mastitis in cattle and cardiovascular disorders in humans along with behavioral changes. What's more, it has been banned in no less than 160 different countries due to its harmful side effects.

Soft drinks: sugar's not the only poison

For all the lovers of soft drinks and soda, I am here to tell you that some of the chemical contents in soda make sugar seem like health food.  

BVO (brominated vegetable oil) was originally patented as a flame retardant. As many chemicals, it can accumulate in human tissue and can cause behavioral and reproductive problems. It is also a central nervous system depressant and can lead to iodine deficiency. It also can cause skin rashes, loss of appetite, acne, fatigue and cardiac arrhythmias. ( Dr. Mercola, "10 Common US Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries")

Food dyes

Fanciful colored food packaging catches the eye of everyone.  Artificial food colors are probably one of the most lethal things that has been consistently placed in our foods over the last 50+ years. Adverse side effects run the gamut from A-Z: birth defects, cancer, allergies, etc. have been reported.
( Dr. Mercola, "10 Common US Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries")

 Foods such as Jell-O, cereals, candy, boxed mac 'n cheese all are examples of foods containing food coloring.  The following is a list of commonly used food colorings:

Red #40
Yellow #6
Blue #2

All three colorings have been used extensively in foods, yet they are banned in other countries. What's wrong with this picture? Don't we get it?

In summary

For the sake of your family, please read the labels and substitute highly processed foods for the simpler, whole foods that our ancestors flourished with.

Source: Dr. Mercola, "10 Common US Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries"foods.aspxhttp://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/10/banned-foods.aspx