|
In my practice, I educate clients that every intelligent weight loss program needs three core elements: Nutrition, resistance training (bodyweight, free-weight &/or kettlebells), and cardiovascular training. Lean, muscular, flexible, pain-free, healthy and vital are the goals. The weight training helps us build strength and increase muscle mass (see my 20 minute workouts); the cardiovascular training increases endurance and improves the function of our cardivascular system (see my 20 minute workouts). The nutrition is as important as any. When intelligent nutrition is combined with intelligent training, results are amplified. The results have been exceeding realistic expectations: lean muscle mass is dramatically increased, body fat is dramatically decreased. Every health goal can be enhanced by increasing muscle mass and by decreasing body fat percentiles. Want to fit into your favorite pair of jeans again? Increase muscle and decrease body fat. Want to run faster? Increase muscle and decrease body fat. Want to look better and feel better? Increase muscle and decrease body fat.
I don’t have all the answers but I am certain that to elevate our health we need to utilize nutrition, resistance weight training, and cardio. You cannot overemphasis one aspect of the three elements to the near exclusion of the other two. Realistically and empirically, the dramatic progress comes from concentrating on weak points and not continually playing to our strengths.
Within cardio, there is three types 1) steady state 2) interval 3) sustained strength:
Steady State cardio is when you seek to attain a smooth pace during the cardio exercise session. These cardio sessions are usually long. The idea is to keep the muscles relaxed while keeping the oxygen requirement low so you don’t exhaust the muscles. Watching a Kenyan marathon runner or Michael Phelps swim 10,000 meters, the observer is struck by how effortless and graceful the athlete seems – the steady state purposefully relaxed propulsion mode enables athletes to go far longer than they would were they to “power’ their way through selected mode. Interval cardio, is when you use intermittent bursts of muscle contractions to sprint, bound, leap, lift or run as fast as possible for a short period of time – 20, 30. 40, or 60 seconds and then come back to a normal pace for a minute or two, and then repeat the burst cycle. The benefit of interval training is that it creates an ‘afterburner’ effect and creates oxygen debt. The burst must be followed by a rest period to allow lactic acid to be cleared; at that point the athlete can burst again. Intense games such as basketball, soccer, football or tennis are examples of burst cardio. Sustained strength) splits the difference between steady state and intervals. The idea is to engage in a cardio mode that requires muscular contractions for a prolonged period of time. My 20 Minute Workout combines cardio and resistance. You will use bodyweight, a dumbbell, a kettlebell, bands and balls to create sustained strength resistance.
Nutrition + Weight training + Cardio |
|
|
UltraMeal Plus contains phytosterols - plant extracts that are sterols. These are types of compounds that bind to the bad fat when we eat, and take it out of body. They greatly reduce the production and absorption of bad cholesterol. UltraMeal Plus can be ordered from Metagenics.
Another one of my favorites is niacin, also known as vitamin B3. It has a tremendous efficacy. Niacin can raise HDL – the “good” cholesterol – by 15 to 35 percent, making it the most effective drug available for raising HDL cholesterol. In larger doses, niacin can reverse atherosclerosis by also lowering LDL and triglyceride levels.
Another substance that lowers cholesterol is red yeast rice. But it is not one of my favorites because it is really no different than taking Mevacor (a statin drug), and like other statins, it will interfere with CoEnzymeQ10. So, if you are taking a statin drug, I believe it’s absolutely mandatory that you supplement with CoQ10. This compound supports cardiac function and statin drugs block its production. Take 100-200 mg a day.
It is well recognized that capsaicin increases thermogenesis through enhancement of catecholamine secretion from the adrenal medulla. Research data demonstrates that thermogenesis and lipid metabolism related proteins are altered upon capsaicin treatment, suggesting that capsaicin may be a useful phytochemical for attenuation of obesity.
Comment: While capsaicin has been studied for potential benefits in fighting obesity, the underlying molecular mechanism by which the chili pepper compound has been observed to decrease calorie intake, shrink fat tissue, and lower fat levels in the blood has not been elucidated. Jong Won Yun, from Daegu University (Korea), and colleagues engaged an animal model of obesity, and fed high-fat diets with or without capsaicin to the study animals. The team observed that the capsaicin-treated rats lost 8% of their body weight and showed changes in levels of at least 20 key proteins found in fat, whereby the altered proteins worked to break down fats.
Antinociceptive effects of docosahexaenoic acid against various pain stimuli in mice.
Nakamoto K, Nishinaka T, Mankura M, Fujita-Hamabe W, Tokuyama S.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Kobe Gakuin University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kobe, Japan.
Abstract
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFAs), is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid in the central nervous system, and possesses many physiological functions in neurodegenerative diseases. Previously, there are some reports that n-3 PUFAs contribute to pain relief. As the antinociceptive effect of DHA alone has not been reported, this study examined the antinociceptive effect of DHA on various pain stimuli. To evaluate the antinociceptive effect of DHA on thermal and chemical nociception, we employed the tail flick test, acetic acid writhing test and formalin test in mice. DHA was orally administrated at 5, 15 and 25 mmol/kg at 30 min before measurement. DHA administration dose-dependently exerted an antinociceptive effect against thermal and chemical stimulation in comparison to the control olive oil administration. These effects of DHA were abolished when mice were pretreated with naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist. These findings suggest that DHA has opiod receptor-mediated pain control activities, and may provide valuable information towards an advanced therapeutic approach for pain control.
OmegaPure 820 from XYMOGEN (phone # to order 1-800-647-6100) has independent third party assays that document freshness and purity of every DHA batch.
If you truly want to protect yourself from heart disease, stop smoking and reduce your stress levels. At least the medical authorities have gotten those two right. And when it comes to your diet, forget about saturated fat and cholesterol. Concentrate on these habits:
• Consume more monounsaturated fats from sources like olive oil, nuts, avocados and avocado oil
• Cut out the sugar and refined carbohydrates
• Consume more omega-3 fatty acids, from wild game, grass-fed beef and bison, sardines and wild (not farm-raised) salmon. And take an omega-3 fish oil supplement daily. I recommend Metagenics EPA-DHA 720. Take at least 2-4 grams per day.
• And reduce as much as possible omega-6 fatty acids in your diet. These come primarily from conventionally raised meats, processed foods, fried foods and vegetable and seed oils (corn, soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, etc.)
Start your day off with a protein shake. I recommend UltraMeal by Metagenics – 2 scoops. Order at www.DrJeffreyTucker.meta-ehealth.com
I am definitely not convinced that saturated-fat consumption leads to heart disease. In fact, I see the exact opposite!
Authors of the MR-FIT trial were determined to prove the case. They enrolled 350,000 men, all of whom were considered at high risk of heart disease. In one set of participants, cholesterol consumption was reduced by 42%, saturated fat by 28%, and total calories by 21%.
What happened? Nothing. The authors referred to the results as “disappointing,” stating that “The overall results do not show a beneficial effect on Coronary Heart Disease or total mortality from this multifactor intervention.”
The Women’s Health Initiative was a huge government study, costing almost three quarters of a billion dollars. Among 20,000 women in the study who adhered to a diet low saturated fat diet for eight years, there was no reduction in the rates of heart-disease or stroke.
Then there was the Cochrane Collaboration, in 2000. This group rigorously selected 27 low-fat and cholesterol-lowering trials to review (more than 200 trials were rejected). Their conclusion was that diets low in saturated fat have “no significant effect” on heart attack mortality. Lead researcher Lee Hooper, PhD, said “I was disappointed that we didn’t find something more definitive.”
More recently, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a review of 21 studies. The studies ranged from 5 to 23 years in length and encompassed 347,747 subjects. In the authors’ own words: “Intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD.”
In an article published in the American Heart Journal last year, it showed that in an examination of 137,000 people admitted to the hospital with heart attack, 70% of them had normal blood cholesterol levels!
The long-running Framingham Heart Study showed that after the age of 50 (when 90% of all heart attacks occur), lower cholesterol levels are clearly associated with a shorter life expectancy.
Is eating saturated fat the problem? NO!
One of the first studies to implicate animal fat in heart disease came in the early 1900s. See if you can spot the flaws in this one. In 1908, Russian scientist, M.A. Ignatovsky fed protein-rich animal foods to a group of rabbits. He soon discovered that the rabbits developed arterial plaques and cardiovascular disease. Researchers discovered that the same thing happens when chickens, guinea pigs and goats eat a high-fat diet.
Later these studies were cited as evidence of a high-fat diet causing heart disease in humans. Hmm… let’s see. All of these animals are obligate herbivores. They evolved eating nothing but plants. They are clearly not designed to eat meat. When we feed them meat and fat it makes them sick. That makes perfect sense. What doesn’t make sense is why researchers extrapolated these results to omnivorous humans.
Why don’t I want you eating bread in the morning? Two slices of bread contain the equivalent carbohydrates of five teaspoons of sugar. And elevated blood sugar has been directly associated with heart disease.
Banana Steel-Cut Oatmeal With Cinnamon
Makes 3 servings, 200 calories per serving
2 1/3 cups fat-free milk
2/3 cup steel-cut oats
1/8 tsp salt
1 large banana, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, over high heat, bring 2 cups of the milk to a gentle simmer. Stir in the oats and salt. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring frequently until most of the milk is absorbed and the oats are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in banana and cinnamon. Pour into two cereal bowls and serve with remaining 1/3 cup milk.
You Have to Eliminate the Simple Carbs – white rice, white potatoes, breads, pastas, cereals, cookies, cakes, crackers, pastries, muffins and so forth that are made with refined white flour and sugar. Soda, fruit drinks, juices sports/energy drinks and alcohol. Complex carbohydrates, like fruits, vegetables and breads, cereals and pastas made with 100 percent whole grains are OK as long as eaten in limited amounts. It takes longer to digest complex carbohydrates, so your blood sugar stays steady and you can go longer without feeling hungry.
Exercise 6 Days a Week–Mix it up with cardio sessions (biking, treadmill, dance, hiking, etc), strength training sessions with kettlebells, free-weights & bodyweight exercises. Do everything you can to build muscle. Muscle burns several times more calories than fat. You burn more calories between muscle-burning workouts than the actual workout, which is the opposite of what happens when you just walk or run. When you don’t have time for a full workout, learn a 10 minute routine that you fit into your daily activities.
(What is RSS?)