Is Sugar Toxic to Your Body? 
Video shows how sugar not only causes heart disease and diabetes, but also feeds tumors and is as addictive as Cocaine to your brain

I think everybody needs to watch this video from a recent 60 Minutes episode to see just how harmful to your health sugar really is.

 I don't think most people understand the seriousness of this.  People seem to blindly eat and drink loads of sugar each day (Americans consume a whopping 1/3 lb of sugar per DAY on average) without thinking about how this internally affects your body and your biochemistry.

Please share this page with all of your family and friends to help protect their health.

Mike's comments:
As you can see in the video, it should be no surprise to anybody that studies clearly relate excess sugar consumption to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
You might argue that some natural sugars have always been in the human diet, so why is this an issue.
 Well, yes humans have always eaten small amounts of natural sugars from fruit as part of the ancestral diet, but we've never historically been exposed to the massive amounts of added sugars that we see in today's world of sweetened drinks, candies, cakes, cookies, as well as added sugars in everything from condiments to dressings to tomato sauces.

As you can see in the video, the average American eats a sickening 130 lbs of sugar per person per year, or 1/3 lb per day!  That's just nasty if you ask me, and shows how little most people respect their body, or even think about what they're putting in their body on a daily basis.

The video also mentions that in one controlled study, they replaced 25% of the daily calories of the subjects with sugary drinks, and took continual blood tests.  The tests showed that by replacing 25% of their daily calories with sugary drinks, the subjects increased their dangerous small dense LDL particles in their blood which causes arterial plaque and heart disease.  Yes, in fact, sugar and carbs in general contribute more to heart disease than fats do.

We also need to realize that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a relatively new invention in the human diet and is something that your body does not know how to properly handle.  HFCS didn't really become part of the human food supply until the 1970's and now it's found it fairly large quantities in almost every processed food on the grocery shelves.  As the video points out, HFCS consumption is clearly linked to increased heart disease and stroke risk.

One statement I don't agree with in the video above is that sugar and HFCS are "the same".  While I agree that they are both terrible for your health and both toxic, there are certainly big differences in how the body processes HFCS vs table sugar or other forms of sugar.

Also take note that the video mentions how sugar feeds tumors and can make cancer worse.
In addition, sugar activates reward centers in your brain, similar to drugs like cocaine, thereby making sugar addictive.  The part of the video where they do brain scans on him while he sips a sugary soda is interesting indeed.

One other thing to mention about this video... I don't fully agree with how they lump honey and real maple syrup in with table sugar or HFCS.  Although honey and real maple syrup are mostly sugar, and should be minimized overall, both of them at least have additional micronutrients and antioxidants that sugar or HFCS simply don't have.

In addition, another aspect that the video fails to mention is that it's not just added sugar that causes all of these negative effects in your body, but also fast-digesting carb sources like breads, pastas, bagels, muffins, rice, and other grain-based foods that spike your blood sugar just as quickly as regular table sugar.  For example, each piece of bread you eat is basically equivalent to eating about 20 grams of sugar since the response to your blood sugar and triglyceride levels is essentially the same.

The bottom line is that food manufacturers want you to be addicted to sugar and continue to buy all of their junk foods and sugary drinks which destroy your health.  But it's time to take control of your health for yourself and not support these giant businesses who only care about their corporate profit and not about how they are destroying your health.  Please share this video and article with your friends and family with easy sharing options below:
  7 odd foods that KILL your belly fat

The Top 3 Things to AVOID at Restaurants to Stay Lean and Healthy

The Top 3 Things to to Stay Lean and Healthy,AVOID these at Restaurants

 The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

I have been traveling a lot away on business this year, and I have noticed that it is very eas to fall into the junk food trap when you are away from home.

Lets face it there are not many healthy options on the high street, so you find yourself just grabbing a quick burger.

In fact, eating out at restaurants frequently is one of the biggest reasons why so many people fatten up while traveling.

But there are a few tricks available to make eating out much more in keeping to your home diet.

These will help keep the calories down and stay in control.

The 3 most important things to avoid that are EVERYWHERE not just at restaurants are:

• the deep fried foods
• the refined starchy foods
• and any sodas, juices, or other sugary foods (except whole fruits, which are great)

This eliminates the major food sources that do the worst damage in our food supply - the evil trans fats, the inflammatory refined vegetable oils, refined starches, and processed sugars.

This means trying to cut out the table bread they usually leave for you to snack on, skipping the french fries (that come with every single sandwich on every menu known to man), and reducing all of the large portions of rice and pasta that are often loaded on the plates as well.

Instead, try to order just meat, side vegetables, and a salad, asking for the vegetables or salad as a substitute for the typical fries, rice, or pasta that the meal probably comes with.

Almost every restaurant I've ever been to will always allow me to substitute veggies or a side salad for the fries or chips that almost always come with sandwiches or burgers.

Side note:  It always amazes me how many people scrutinize me because I substitute veggies for fries by telling me that I'm "not living" because I won't eat fries...

Yet they are always the first to complain that they are overweight and have "tried everything", yet can't lose weight.  I'm not sure why so many people think eating french fries equals "living it up"... I'm all for moderation with many things, but if there's 2 things that should be almost totally removed from everyone's diet because these foods are simply that evil... it's fries and sodas!

Take a look at the typical difference this simple substitution makes between choosing smart and doing what most people do...

Most people will eat a meal out such as this:

• Sandwich or burger
• fries or chips
• soda or other sweetened drink

A MUCH smarter alternative for a leaner, healthier body is very simply this:

• Sandwich or burger
• veggies or salad
• unsweetened iced tea or water with lemon (and no diet drinks -- unless you enjoy drinking carcinogenic poisonous artificial sweetener chemicals).

These 2 simple substitutions save at least 400 - 900 calories EACH time you dine out (depending on drink refills and fries portion sizes)... AND you're cutting out the most harmful foods to your body as well by avoiding the trannies and high fructose corn syrup.

Also, it may be rare to find this in most restaurants, but if you can find some that offer much healthier grass-fed beef burgers, it's a much smarter decision compared to grain fattened beef.

Side note:  a little-known way to eat full portions of rice, pasta, and breads and actually get away with it without packing on the bodyfat is to make sure to schedule a high intensity full body resistance training workout before your scheduled meal time.

Sometimes it may be hard to fit the workout into your schedule right before the meal event, but if you can, the meal can be your "post-workout meal", in which case, your body can handle a higher amount of carbs than normal to help replenish the muscle glycogen depletion you had during the intense workout.

A cardio workout WON'T cut it for this... it must be high intensity resistance training to deplete enough muscle glycogen to handle restaurant portions of carbohydrates.

I hope these dining tips help you choose smarter and healthier next time you eat out. Feel free to share this article with your friends.

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

Eating what you want for one day a week can actually help you shed the pounds

Eating what you want for one day a week can actually help you shed the pounds.



Some times all this watching the calories and what you eat to lose weight can get a bit boring and get you down.
But do not despair today I have some good news for you.
Actually taking one day off a week from your diet actually helps weight loss, yes it’s true.

I usually take my day off on a Sunday but it doesn’t matter which day of the week you chose.

It give me the chance to stuff my face with ice cream, pizza chocolate and all my old favorite’s, to be honest at the end of the day I am a little bit nauseous and I do not want to see any more treats for the rest of the week.

So how can this help you lose weight? I hear you ask

Well dramatically increasing you caloric intake just once a week increases fat loss by ensuring that you metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc) doesn’t down regulate from extended caloric restriction.

In other words when you diet for an extended period your body adjusts to the lower food intake and you can find it very difficult to lose any more weight.

Who would have thought eating pure crap one day a week could actually help you shift the pounds.

Yipeeee anyone for ice cream?

http://www.greatnnatural.com/

What is the Best Ab excercise to burn belly fat?

Many people have asked this old question, “what is the best single exercise to burn excess belly fat?" well wait for it the answer is...

None! Ab workouts alone do not get your heart rate or muscles working hard enough to kick start start the metabolic process of fat burning.

The problem I have found over the years of training is that people want to find the one exercise that will cure all their problems, and burn of the belly fat in no time at all.

The thing is... they looking for the solution in all the wrong places.

I myself was guilty of this for a long time until one day a wise old man at the gym told me the truth.
“Listen “ he said to me “you will not get abs by doing strictly abs exercise’s”

The problem is that focusing most of your time and effort on abdominal exercises and abs workouts to try to flatten your stomach and bring out 6-pack abs is simply wasting your time from doing the correct workout programs that will actually reduce your body fat for good.

If I were to choose an answer as to what the best exercises are for losing belly fat, my answer would include full body exercises such as the following:

various forms of squats, lunges, deadlifts, clean & presses, snatches, swings, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.

These types of full body exercises would encompass a much higher percentage of the workouts I would design instead of abs exercises directly targeting the midsection. The way you combine those full body exercises into a strategic workout that maximizes your metabolism is also very important.

Don't get me wrong... I do recommend a certain amount of exercises that directly target the abs and core, but these are only a small fraction of the programs I design for my clients as your time is better spent focusing on the full body exercises that stimulate the greatest hormonal and metabolic changes within the body.

In addition, a side-effect of working out using mostly full body multi-joint combo exercises are that you indirectly work your entire midsection even though you are not specifically targeting the abs.

But the number one tool for getting ripped six pack abs is nutrition.

No amount of exercise will work if you are still eating junk which will form a layer of fat over your abs, stopping them from showing.

Remember nutrition is "king of getting a six pack".

So let's clear this up for good...

Stop wasting so much of your time focusing on situps, crunches, leg raises, and all those silly worthless "ab contraptions" in your efforts to try to develop 6-pack abs. Instead focus on high intensity full body lifts using combination multi-joint exercises all strategically combined into highly effective fat loss workouts. Couple that with a healthy diet full of natural unprocessed whole foods as close to their natural state as possible, and those elusive six-pack abdominals will yours in no time!


http://www.getabsatlast.com/

Are cardio workouts or weight training more effective for losing fat...

Do You Really Need "Cardio" Workouts?


Are cardio workouts or weight training more effective for losing fat...

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

In this article, I have an intriguing discussion about cardio workouts, which will hopefully get you thinking differently, and trying new things.

You may know I've been called the anti-cardio guy before, but this week I'm back posing the question to you... Do you really need cardio training to get lean and in great shape? By the way, you'll see in a minute that I'm not really "anti-cardio", just "anti traditional cardio".

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need "cardio" exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it.

However, I'm not only questioning it, I'm going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I've spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I've seen it all.

I will say that there can be a place for low-moderate level cardio for really overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be more effective methods.

But what exactly is "cardio"?

Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call "traditional cardio". Hmmm, no wonder the majority of people get bored with their workouts and give up after a couple months without seeing results.

But if you look closer, "cardio" exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. I'm not going to get into anything technical like increasing your VO2 max or anything like that. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumpin, and gets you huffin and puffin, it's cardio. I don't care if you're holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise...it's still conditioning your heart.

Let's take a look at a couple examples. Take a barbell (or dumbbell, or kettlebell) clean & press for example, which involves lifting a barbell from the floor up to shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And listen up ladies, because even though this is usually seen as a manly exercise, it doesn't matter if you're not lifting 250 lbs; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then you will still benefit just as much.

At first glance, most people think of the barbell C&P only as a weight training exercise or strength exercise. However, I challenge you to do a hard set of around 10-15 reps on the C&P. If you used a challenging enough weight, what you'll find is that your heart rate is probably up to about 80-90% of your recommended max, and you are huffing and puffing like you just ran a 100-meter sprint (which by the way, sprinting kicks the crap out of jogging any day if you want the easiest way to lose the flab).

Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren't burning, heart racing, and you're gasping for breath. How about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups with very little rest. Again, notice your heart pounding, sweat pouring off of you, and chest heaving for breaths!

Try and tell me you're not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fullfilling your cardio workout needs as well (saving you time!).

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity...something that can't be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV.

Reading or watching TV while you workout is a joke!

Seriously, if you can read or watch TV while doing any exercise, you're not concentrating enough on what you're doing, plus you're probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.

I challenge you to give the "traditional cardio" a rest for a month or two, and start training the way I explain in my internationally-selling Truth about Six pack Abs Program, and see how you start getting leaner, more defined, and your six pack starting to show through what used to be stubborn stomach fat deposits.



Get your copy now

The Top 3 Fat Burning Foods - Surprising Hidden Gems

In all of my years as a professional Nutrition Specialist, I've noticed that most people are shocked to hear some of my picks for the top fat burning foods that are best for weight loss and good health.

I won't bore you with all of the typical "healthy foods" that you hear about all of the time such as fruits and veggies... everybody knows those. Instead, I'm going to show you some shockers that most people don't realize are super healthy foods for fat loss.

1. Egg Yolks - yes, that's right... full fatty egg yolks with all of their fat and cholesterol. By the way, you've been mislead about the cholesterol in egg yolks -- it actually raises your GOOD cholesterol and helps balance proper ratios, so don't be afraid of the fat and cholesterol in these little nutrition power packed gems. And if you choose cage-free eggs from free roaming hens, the omega-3 content is higher with a more balanced fat profile.

Egg yolks are also one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet in terms of vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients. Trying to list all of the vital nutrients in egg yolks would take up an entire page so I won't even try that here. Just realize that egg yolks should NOT be avoided in favor of egg whites. Even the protein is more bioavailable when you include the yolks!

So don't be afraid to eat those delicious and healthy eggs and start burning belly fat faster.

2. Avocados - This is yet another "fatty food" that is also one of the best fat burning foods! Not only that, but avocados make just about everything creamier and more delicious. They are also power-packed with healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants, as well as vitamins and minerals. The healthy fat in avocados also helps control appetite and fat burning hormones in your body.

Try adding avocado slices or guacamole to everything from morning eggs, salads, sandwiches, and burgers, and starting burning body fat faster! I would definitely consider avocados one of the best healthy super foods.

3. Grass-fed beef - While most beef you see at the grocery store is grain fed beef from cattle that are in poor health and has lower nutrition values and omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratios that are far out of whack, there is a better option... and that is Grass-Fed Beef!

Grass-fed beef is known to have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and lower omega-6 fats (which most people get too much of anyway). Grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of many vitamins and minerals, as well as containing high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a healthy fat that is known to help muscle building and fat burning.

So don't be afraid to live it up a little and eat more beef, as long as you choose healthy grass-fed beef instead of grain fed beef. Enjoy and start burning more body fat with these so called "fatty" foods!

If you want to lose body fat faster, check out these 5 tips to Burn Stomach Fat the smart and effective way.
Enjoy, and good luck with your fitness endeavors!
Mike Geary

Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

A Type of Trans Fat That Burns Belly Fat?

A Type of Trans Fat That Burns Belly Fat?

As a Certified Nutrition Specialist, I usually shock people with this fact... it's true that there is a type of healthy natural trans fat that actually helps you to burn off abdominal fat.

Sounds far fetched, but it's true.

First of all, as I'm sure you've heard a million times by now, artificial trans fats in our food supply from hydrogenated oils are one of the most unhealthy foods (if you can actually call it suitable to eat) you can put in your body. Artificial trans fats cause everything from obesity to various cancers to heart disease, and more. They are pure evil, and everyone knows by now that this is a fact.

Stay away from artificial trans fats from hydrogenated oils at all costs!

However, what most people don't know is that there is a specific type of natural trans fat (yes, it occurs naturally) that can actually stimulate fat loss and lean muscle building.

This specific type of natural trans fat actually occurs in the meat and milk from ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, venison, bison, kangaroo, etc. It is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and is not only known to help prevent cancer, but is also a potent fat burner.

CLA is highest when these animals are grass-fed instead of grain-fed.

Now before you think that you can just buy the CLA supplements that you'll see most supplement stores selling...

WARNING: Do not buy CLA supplements! The only form of healthy CLA is from grass-fed ruminant animals such as grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, etc. The CLA that's found in CLA pills is an artificially created form that is a different isomer than the natural CLA isomer found in grass-fed meat or dairy. The CLA isomer in the pills is NOT a healthy form, and will not benefit you.

Only the CLA that you get naturally from grass-fed ruminant meats actually has health benefits and can help increase fat burning (particularly from stomach fat) and building lean muscle, which helps increase your metabolism.

While most trans fats (the artificial ones) will just make you unhealthy and fat, now you know that there actually is such a thing as a healthy natural trans fat that makes you burn fat instead!

If you liked this unique tip to burn belly fat with grass fed meats, I have tons more Fat Burning Tips here to give you a leaner, healthier body.

Enjoy... and good luck on your lean healthy body!

Mike Geary
Author of the best-seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Does Canned Food and Bottled Water Increase Your Abdominal Fat Through Hidden Chemicals?

...and 9 Tips to Minimize Your Exposure to these Harmful Chemicals

by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program - The Truth About 6-Pack Abs

You may have started hearing in the news about some of the hidden chemicals that might be lurking in your canned foods and bottled water and other drinks. Some of them are known as xenoestrogens, which have the potential to cause serious health problems over time, as well as increase abdominal fat from the estrogenic effect.

Today, I want to share with you some important details about one of the MOST problematic chemicals that you're being exposed to specifically from canned foods and bottled drinks, etc...

It's called Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA can be found as a component of some types of plastic bottles, and also in the lining inside of canned foods.

Since BPA is a known "xenoestrogen", it's been linked in animal studies (at surprisingly small doses) to all sorts of various health issues such as cancer, metabolic disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and fertility problems and birth defects or miscarriages... and of course, any xenoestrogens in large enough amounts can trigger your body to hold onto abdominal fat (aka - stubborn belly fat).

The major offenders to look for are polycarbonate bottles (some plastics with the #7 symbol on the bottom are polycarbonate, but not all) and also canned foods, since the lining of most canned foods contains BPA, which can leach into food. The longer that a can of food sits on a shelf and the higher the temperature, the more BPA can leach into your food. The same can be said for polycarbonate bottles that contain food or drinks.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), BPA was detected in the bodies of 95% of Americans in one CDC study (this is a worldwide issue though, not just limited to the US). This is nothing to shrug off either... look at this scary finding...

The Environmental Working Group reports, "analysis of our tests reveals that for one of every five cans tested, and for one-third of all vegetables and pastas (ravioli and noodles with tomato sauce), a single serving would expose a pregnant woman to BPA at levels that fall within a factor of 5 of doses linked to birth defects — permanent damage of developing male reproductive organs".

If that didn't get your attention, how about this...

The EWG also reports evidence of... "An investigation demonstrating that low doses of BPA spur both the formation and growth of fat cells, the two factors that drive obesity in humans (Masumo et al. 2002)."

This is not surprising, since as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, BPA is a known xenoestrogen, and any xenoestrogens can contribute to what's been referred to as "stubborn abdominal fat" as well as cancer and other health problems.

It's also important to note that any canned tomato products (canned ravioli, pastas, canned tomato pastes, tomato sauces, etc) are some of the biggest offenders with the highest BPA concentrations due to the acidic nature of tomatoes, which leaches more of the BPA.

So what steps can you take to minimize your exposure to BPA and it's negative effects on bodyfat and other health risks?

1. Try to always avoid canned foods as much as possible and choose frozen or fresh foods instead. Buy the ingredients yourself and prepare the meal the old fashioned way instead of resorting to canned foods. Also, a better alternative to canned foods is products in glass containers.

2. If you do resort to using canned foods instead of fresh foods, try to find labels that say that the cans are free of BPA.

3. If you need tomato products, always avoid canned varieties and search for tomato sauces, pastes, etc in glass bottles instead (unless the can specifically states that it is BPA-free). Or just make your own tomato dishes from scratch with fresh tomatoes.

4. If you use plastic wrap, plastic ziplock bags, plastic containers for food storage, etc, try to investigate on the label if the product is BPA-free or not. Some brands packaging will label if their products are BPA-free.

5. If you for some reason choose to use a microwave with your food (which by the way, microwaved food is thought to have negative health effects), then by all means, do not microwave the food in plastic containers as it can increase the leaching of chemicals including BPA.

6. If you drink bottled water, or water from reusable plastic bottles, make sure that it is not a polycarbonate bottle, or make sure that the label says BPA-free. Plastic that shows #7 on the bottom will sometimes contain BPA, but not always. If a bottle shows "PC" on the bottom, it is made from polycarbonate, so it will contain BPA. In addition, sometimes aluminum bottles will contain a lining that has BPA, so avoid these.

7. Avoid soda cans, as the EWG states analysis showed that 42% of soda cans contained BPA. Of course, if you care about your health and your body, I'm sure you never drink soda anyway -- it's pure evil for your body... and yes, that includes unhealthy diet soda too, with it's dangerous artificial sweeteners.

8. Never use plastic cups for hot liquids such as hot tea or coffee, as this can accelerate leaching of BPA and other chemicals, depending on the type of plastic.

9. As much as you can try to avoid BPA and other xenoestrogens, you will most likely still be exposed to some levels of xenoestrogens from various chemicals in your foods (from pesticide/herbicide residues, packaging chemicals, etc), chemicals in your water supply, chemicals from cosmetics, lotions, etc.

However, you can help to protect yourself and counteract these harmful xenoestrogen chemicals in your body with certain powerful phytonutrients in foods like onions, garlic, chamomile and green teas, and cruciferious vegetables. In fact, read this article to see how 3 specific veggies can help you to fight abdominal fat by counteracting xenoestrogens.

If you stick to most of these guidelines, you can help to protect yourself and your family from the health dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA). And you can also help protect yourself against the issue of "stubborn abdominal fat" that can be caused by the xenoestrogen effect of BPA exposure too... which I'm sure you'd rather avoid!

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

The Salad Dressing You Should NEVER Eat -- and my Alternative Super-Healthy Recipe

by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-selling program: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

If you want to eat truly healthy, support your fat loss goals, and avoid some of the nasty additives in processed food, one thing you should eliminate is typical store-bought salad dressing.

I personally NEVER buy pre-made salad dressings from the store anymore, and here's why:

1. Almost all store-bought salad dressings contain fairly large amounts of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Unless you're in a health food store, it's almost impossible to find a salad dressing that doesn't contain large amounts of HFCS.

2. Almost all store-bought salad dressings contain heavily refined soybean oil and/or refined canola oil... both of which are VERY unhealthy. Yes, that's correct, canola oil IS unhealthy, despite the marketing propaganda you've been fed claiming that it's healthy. You can read more about why canola oil is NOT healthy here.

Due to the refining process of both soybean or canola oils, the polyunsaturated component of the oils is oxidized and makes these oils very inflammatory inside your body. In addition, soybean oil is WAY too high in omega-6 fatty acids which throws your omega-6 to omega-3 balance out of whack.

We know that olive oil is healthier, but when it comes to store-bought dressings... Even salad dressings that claim to be "made with olive oil" on the FRONT label are deceptive, because if you read the ingredients on the BACK label, they are almost ALWAYS made of mostly refined soybean oil or canola oil as the main oil, with only a very small amount of actual olive oil as a secondary oil.

So here's how to avoid all of these horrendously unhealthy store-bought salad dressings and make your own quick and easy SUPER-healthy dressing...

My Quick and Easy Recipe for Super-Healthy Salad Dressing

Geary's Healthy-Fat Blend Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Fill your salad dressing container with these approximate ratios of liquids:

•1/3rd of container filled with balsamic vinegar
•1/3rd of container filled with apple cider vinegar
•fill the remaining 1/3rd of container with equal parts of extra virgin olive oil and "Udo's Choice EFA Oil Blend"
•Add just a small touch (approx 1 or 2 teaspoons) of real maple syrup
•Add a little bit of onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper and then shake the container to mix all ingredients well.
This homemade salad dressing mixture is delicious and healthy, and I pretty much never get tired of it!

The reason I choose to blend the extra virgin olive oil half & half with the Udo's Choice Oil is that they make up for what each lacks... Although extra virgin olive oil is healthy and contains important antioxidants, it is mostly monounsaturated, and is low in the essential fatty acids (EFAs). The Udo's Choice Oil is higher in unrefined polyunsaturated oils with a good healthy balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.

There are several variations of the Udo's Choice Oil, and one of them (labeled DHA 3-6-9 Blend) even contains a DHA algae oil blended into the mix along with organic flax oil, coconut oil, evening primrose oil, rice bran oil, oat germ and bran oil, and a few others.

Overall, blending Udo's Oil with extra virgin olive oil makes nearly a perfect oil blend for salad dressings with a great taste and maximum health benefits. If you can't find Udo's Choice Oil Blends (you can find Udo's at almost any health food store), there are other EFA oil blends on the market...just make sure that they are COLD-processed to protect the EFAs. You should never heat an EFA oil blend!

Give this homemade super-healthy salad dressing a try! You'll do your body a favor by avoiding the harmful additives in store-bought salad dressings.

Enjoy!

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

 BY Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer Author - The Truth About 6-Pack Abs

I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cooking and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch of eggs.

Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out the egg yolks, and he replied something like this...

"because I thought the egg yolks were terrible for you...that's where all the nasty fat and cholesterol is".

And I replied something along the lines of... "you mean that's where all of the nutrition is!"

This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG! It's a shame at how many restaurants you can walk into these days and see that the "healthy" breakfast menu always has egg white items instead of whole eggs. Are we really still in the "fat-phobic" 80's?

By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you're essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients... it's not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

Even the protein in egg whites isn't as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg...

"But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof"

No, this is FALSE!

First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.

On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.

And here's where it gets even more interesting...

There have been plenty of studies lately that indicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.

And 3rd... high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease...but high cholesterol is NOT. Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions... it is DEAD WRONG to try to "lower your cholesterol" just because of pharmaceutical companies propaganda that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.

If you're interested in this topic of cholesterol specifically, I have another article listed at the bottom of this page about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are.

In addition, the yolks contain the antioxidant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflammation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cholesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.

To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study. However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (remember that higher HDL levels are associated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did.

So I hope we've established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body... instead whole eggs are FAR superior to egg whites.

But what about the extra calories in the yolks?

This is actually a non-issue and here's why... even though egg yolks contain more calories than just eating the egg whites, the yolks have such a high micro-nutrient density in those calories, that it increases your overall nutrient density per calorie you consume. Essentially, what this does is help to regulate your appetite for the remainder of the day, so you end up eating less calories overall. In addition, the healthy fats in the egg yolks help to maintain a good level of fat-burning hormones in your body.

Overall, this means that the extra fats (healthy fats) and calories from the yolk are so nutrient-dense that they actually HELP you to burn off body fat!

Also, your normal supermarket eggs coming from mass factory farming just don't compare nutritionally with organic free range eggs from healthy chickens that are allowed to roam freely and eat a more natural diet. Your typical cheap grocery store eggs will have lower nutrient levels and a higher omega-6 level and lower omega-3 level. On the other hand, the cage-free organic eggs from healthier chickens allowed to eat more natural feed and roam freely will have much higher vitamin and mineral levels and a more balanced healthier omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio.

I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.

Most people don't realize that there's a major difference because they've never bought real eggs from healthy chickens... The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells. On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep orange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids... and just a healthier egg in general.

This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutrients to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy. It's a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.

So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (because of their "fat-phobic" mentality towards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now understand the REAL deal about egg yolks.

And can we all please STOP with this sillyness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk... If you want real taste and real health benefits, we'd all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the delicious nutrient-dense yolks.

After all, do you REALLY think that our ancestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites? NOT A CHANCE! They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks. But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.

Another interesting study about eggs...

I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the cereal/bagel eaters gained weight.

It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate less calories during the remainder of the day because their appetite was more satisfied compared to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.

Oh, one last thing I almost forgot... I personally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year.

Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

My Top 55 Lean-Body Foods to Build Lean Muscle and Lose Body Fat

My Top 55 Lean-Body Foods to Build Lean Muscle and Lose Body Fat

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-selling program: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

In most of my Lean-Body Secrets Newsletters, I like to provide a healthy snack or meal recipe that not only is delicious and healthy, but also helps to get you closer to that hard-body appearance that everyone is looking for, while also more importantly, improving your health for life. In this article, I'd like to give you healthy food ideas in a different way. This time, I figured I'd just give you some ideas of what I stock my fridge and cabinets with.

Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk! If all you have is healthy nutritious foods around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some of my personal preferences, but perhaps they will give you some good ideas that you'll enjoy.

Some of these will be obvious healthy choices, such as fruits and veggies... however, others on this page I think will surprise you!

Alright, so let's start with the fridge. Each week, I try to make sure I'm loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables. During the growing season, I only get local produce, but obviously in winter, I have to resort to the produce at the grocery store. Most of the time, I make sure I have plenty of vegetables like onions, zucchini, spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. to use in my morning eggs. I also like to chop up some lean chicken or turkey sausage (make sure to look for nitrate & nitrite free) or grass-fed bison sausage into the eggs, along with some swiss, jack, or goat cheeses (preferably raw grass-fed cheeses when I can find them).

By the way I'm talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites. Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol... whole eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol. Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality. Here's an entire article I did on the topic of whole eggs vs egg whites.

Coconut milk is another staple in my fridge. I like to use it to mix in with smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yes, you heard me right... I said healthy saturated fats! ...Healthy saturated fats such as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), specifically an MCT called lauric acid, which is vitally important for your immune system.

If the idea of healthy saturated fats is foreign to you, check out my article about why saturated fat is not as bad as you think.

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

•Walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats. Try to get raw nuts if possible as the roasting process can oxidize some of the polyunsaturated fats in some types of nuts making those damaged fats slightly more inflammatory. Overall, nuts are still healthy even if they are roasted, but raw nuts are optimal.

•Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt (grass-fed and organic if possible) - I like to mix cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon meal.

•Chia seeds and/or hemp seeds - I add these highly nutritious seeds to yogurt, smoothies, or salads for a great nutty taste and loads of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins and minerals. Don't use pre-ground versions of these seeds as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable and prone to oxidation, creating high levels of free radicals if you use pre-ground seeds. No grinding is necessary to properly digest these seeds.

•Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).

•Salsa - I try to get creative and try some of the exotic varieties of salsas.

•Avocados - love them...plus a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.

•Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and CAN be part of a healthy diet... just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense... and NEVER use margarine, unless you want to assure yourself a heart attack. Most important -- choose organic butter only, since pesticides and other harmful chemicals accumulate in the fat of the milk which is used for butter, so choosing organic helps avoid this problem. Also, choose grass-fed (pastured) butter if you can find it as it will contain higher levels of healthful omega-3 fats and the fat-burning conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

•Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old for me, so I get creative and mix together almond butter with pecan butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition! Using a variety of nut butters gives you a broader range of vitamins and minerals and other micronutrients, and gives you variety instead of boring old peanut butter all the time.

•Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.

•Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, spices, extra virgin olive oil, and Udo's Choice oil blend. This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined canola or soybean oil (canola and soybean oil are both very inflammatory in the body). Here's an article showing why to NEVER use store-bought salad dressings.

•Sprouted grain bread for occasional use -- My personal belief from years of nutrition research is that we're not really meant to consume the massive quantities of grains (not even whole grains) that we do in this day and age... a small amount may be okay, but our digestive systems are still primarily adapted to a hunter/gatherer type of diet with only a very small amount of grains, therefore I try to only have breads and other grain-based foods on cheat days.

•Rice bran - If we're going to have some grain-based food, we might as well have the most nutrient dense part, and rice bran is one of those parts, since it includes the germ of brown rice too. Rice bran is loaded with vitamins and minerals but without the large amount of starch calories that rice has... and it actually adds a nice little nutty, crunchy taste to yogurt or smoothies, or can be added when baking to add nutrients and fiber to the recipe.
Some of the staples in the freezer:

•Frozen berries - during the local growing season, I only get fresh berries, but during the other 10 months of the year, I always keep a supply of frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. to add to high fiber cereal, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or smoothies. I also get frozen goji berries sometimes for a little "exotic" variety.

•Frozen fish - I like to try a couple different kinds of fish each week. There are so many varieties out there, you never have to get bored. Just make sure to ALWAYS choose wild fish instead of farmed versions, as the omega-3 to omega-6 balance is MUCH healthier in wild fish. Also, as this article shows, there are some possible other health issues with farmed fish.

•Frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.

•Grass-fed steaks, burgers, and ground beef: Grass-fed meats have been shown to have as high as, or even higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than salmon (without the mercury). Also, grass-fed meats have much higher levels of fat-burning and muscle-building conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) compared to typical grain-fed beef that you'll find at your grocery store. I recently found an excellent on-line store where I buy all of my grass-fed meats now (they even deliver right to your door in a sealed cooler) - www.healthygrassfed.2ya.com

•Frozen buffalo, ostrich, venison, and other "exotic" lean meats - Yeah, I know...I'm weird, but I can tell you that these are some of the healthiest meats around, and if you're serious about a lean healthy body, these types of meats are much better for you than the mass produced, hormone-pumped beef, chicken, and pork that's sold at most grocery stores.

•Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and I can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table.
Alright, now the staples in my cabinets:

•Various antioxidant-rich teas - green, oolong, white, rooibos (red tea) are some of the healthiest. One of my newest favorite teas is yerba mate, which is a south american tea that is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients. I've found some delicious yerba mate mixes such as chocolate yerba mate, mint mate, raspberry mate, etc.

•Oat bran and steel cut oats - higher fiber than those little packs of instant oats, which are typically loaded with sugar. If I'm trying to reduce body fat and get extra lean, I make most of my breakfasts based on eggs and veggies and bison sausage, but if I'm on a muscle building phase, I increase carbohydrate intake and use more oat bran and oatmeal.

•The only healthy oils I have in my cabinets are virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. Macadamia oil may also be a reasonable choice as long as it's not "refined". But other than that, all "vegetable oils" (which is usually soy and corn oil) are total junk and very inflammatory. Never use soy or corn oils! Also, always avoid canola oil, as there is nothing healthy about canola oil, despite the deceptive marketing claims by the canola oil industry.

•Cans of coconut milk (loaded with healthy saturated MCT fats) - to be transferred to a container in the fridge after opening.

•Brown rice and other higher fiber rice - NEVER white rice

•Tomato sauces - delicious, and as I'm sure you've heard a million times, they are a great source of lycopene. Just watch out for the brands that are loaded with nasty high fructose corn syrup. You also want to make sure that the tomato sauce is made with olive oil instead of unhealthy soybean oil or canola oils. Also get tomato sauces in glass jars instead of cans, as canned tomatoes are notoriously high in the dangerous chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA) due to the acidic leaching of BPA from the can lining.

•Stevia - a natural non-caloric sweetener, which is an excellent alternative to the nasty chemical-laden artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose.

•Raw honey - better than processed honey... higher quantities of beneficial nutrients and enzymes. Honey has even been proven in studies to improve glucose metabolism (your efficiency in processing carbohydrates). I use a small teaspoon every morning in my teas. Yes, I know that even honey is pure sugar, but at least it has some nutritional benefits... and let's be real, a teaspoon of healthier raw honey is only 5 grams of carbs... certainly nothing to worry about, and a better choice than refined sugar.

•Organic REAL maple syrup - none of that high fructose corn syrup Aunt Jemima crap...only real maple syrup can be considered real food. The only time I really use this (because of the high sugar load) is added to my post-workout smoothies to sweeten things up and also elicit an insulin surge to push nutrients into your muscles to aid muscle recovery.

•Organic unsweetened cocoa powder - I like to mix this into my smoothies for an extra jolt of antioxidants or make my own low-sugar hot cocoa by mixing cocoa powder into hot milk with stevia and a couple melted dark chocolate chunks (delicious!).

•Cans of black or kidney beans - I like to add a couple scoops to my Mexican dishes for the fiber and high nutrition content. Also, beans are surprisingly one of the best sources of youth enhancing antioxidants! Did you know that black beans and kidney beans have more antioxidants than blueberries...it's true!

•Dark chocolate (as dark as possible - ideally more than 70-75% cocoa content) - This is one of my treats that satisfies my sweet tooth, plus provides loads of antioxidants at the same time. It's still calorie dense, so I keep it to just 1-2 small squares after a meal... but that is enough to do the trick, so I don't feel like I need to go out and get cake and ice cream to satisfy my dessert urges.
Lastly, another thing that's hard to go wrong with is a good variety of fresh fruits and berries. The staples such as bananas, apples, oranges, pears, peaches are good, but I like to also be a little more adventurous and include things like yellow (aka - mexican or champagne) mangoes, pomegranates, kumquats, papaya, star fruit, pineapples, and others. Also, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries (the highest fiber berry) and cherries are some of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense fruits you can eat.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this special look into my favorite lean body meals and how I stock my cabinets and fridge. Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.

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Can This 1 Unique Spice Help to Fight Abdominal Fat?

Can This 1 Unique Spice Help to Fight Abdominal Fat?

This spice that I'm going to mention is one of the most overlooked, but healthiest spices in the world...

You might even call it a "fat burning spice"... in a roundabout way.

And yes, it can actually help you win the battle against abdominal fat if you use it daily...I'll explain why.

Here are some other benefits of this miracle spice:

•controls blood sugar levels
•helps maintain insulin sensitivity
•a VERY powerful antioxidant
•may have antibacterial and antifungal properties
•and dozens of other benefits
So what is this miracle spice that beats abdominal fat?

Well... it's good old tasty Cinnamon!

Although cinnamon does NOT directly increase fat burning (such as by increasing metabolic rate, etc), it CAN actually help you to burn off abdominal fat and get leaner in an indirect way.

Here's how...

Although cinnamon has dozens of health benefits, the main benefit that will help you to get leaner is through it's strong effect on controlling blood sugar levels in your body.

In a study published in 2003 in the medical journal Diabetes Care, groups were split into people taking 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in capsule form (the equivalent of approx 1/4th to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).

The results of the study showed that all 3 amounts of cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 18-29% after 40 days.

Cinnamon can also increase insulin sensitivity, which essentially means that it is helping your body to control blood sugar while simultaneously allowing your body to produce less insulin.

As you know, chronically high insulin levels can make your body pack on the blubber.

How to harness cinnamon to lose stubborn belly fat...

One possible way to benefit from cinnamon to lose more fat is to use cinnamon daily in your meals when you can, such as in yogurt or cottage cheese, in smoothies, oatmeal, or anything else you can think of where it would go well.

Also, you could use a cinnamon capsule before each of your meals, particularly if you're going to have more than 30 grams of carbs in that meal.

This could help to control blood sugar and insulin response from your meals and thereby control your appetite and cravings throughout the day... hence, helping you to lose body fat more effectively over time.

So now you can see that not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant that can help you stay youthful longer, it can also help you to control blood sugar and get a leaner body!

article by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
author of best seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

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The single best exercise for burning fat.

The single best exercise for burning fat?

Good question.

When it comes to fat burning exercises we can learn a lot from the world of bodybuilding.
I am not saying to rush out and join golds gym and try to get a body like Arnold or Phil Heath.
But the fact is when it comes to nutrition and dieting the world of competitive body building is light years ahead of the game.

In fact when in competition shape these athletes can range in the 2-4 % body fat range.
This is not particularly healthy in the long term but the fact that can achieve this is admirable.
The normal healthy range for top Athletes is 6-13 % for men and 14-20% for women,and for an “average” “individual 18-24% man 25-32% for women.

Anything over this is classed as excess fat.
Well now doctors have proved the more muscle mass we have the more calories we burn even when sitting still.
Its like having your own built in fat burning furnace.
So if your going to taget your muscles it stands to reason to target the largest muscle group in the body to get the best benefits and quicker results.

So what is the single best exercise for burning fat?
The humble squat.

Please check online the correct way to do them before performing these.

Try to include squats into your routing with or without weights two or three times a week, and as you build up your leg muscles you will relies you will burn more calories without even trying.
And the weight will stay off too.

PS also a great way to shape your booty as well as burn fat.

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

Good luck with your fitness goals

Part-time dieting is more effective than any quick-fix pill

Part-time dieting is more effective than any quick-fix pill

Interesting article.

Slimming pills may seem the fast track to weight loss if you’re ­struggling to stick to an eating plan.
But new research shows there’s an easier, healthier option: part-time dieting, or cutting ­calories for just two days a week.

For most people, diets are a ­seesaw. We start with the best intentions, but after a day feel so hungry we head straight for the biscuit tin.
It seems wrong, but this stop-start approach could be the most ­effective way to shift the pounds.
In a study at Wythenshawe Hospital, in ­Manchester, dietician Dr Michelle Harvie put 100 overweight women on two diet plans.
One group ate normally for most of the week, then dropped to 650 calories a day for two days, while the other group stuck to 1,500 calories every day.

The intermittent dieters lost around 13lb over six months — the same as the other group. Dr Harvie said: ‘On the two-day diet you can restrict your calories far more than you would if you were on a diet every single day.’ Proponents of this approach say we are ­genetically programmed to adapt to cycles of fasting and feasting. Our bodies react positively to the temporary withdrawal of food because the mind tells us that it won’t be long before more is to come.

Previous research on mice has shown that eating half as much as usual every other day can shrink fat cells and boost some of the mechanisms that break down fat.
However, some experts warn this part-time diet should be a short-term fix.

Catherine ­Collins, chief ­dietician at St George’s Hospital, in London, warns: ‘Skipping meals and eating one large evening meal can result in risky metabolic changes that could lead to ­diabetes.’

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The Energy Drink Scam

Do Energy Drinks Help You, or Can They Actually Make You Fat?

Today I have a little rant on energy drinks... I receive a ton of questions about all of these new "energy" drinks that have hit the market over the last few years.

They seem to be all the rage, and they promise you the world with outrageous claims of all of the super energy that you are going to have, and how you'll become the best athlete in the world, start lifting cars over your head, and get a perfect body.

So a couple questions arise: Are these "energy" drinks really any good for you? Do they actually increase your energy? Do they really have some sort of magical energy formula? Will they help you lose weight? First of all, let's look at what most of these energy drinks are usually made of.

Most of them are simply carbonated water loaded with gut-fattening high fructose corn syrup (or other added sugars), caffeine, the amino acid taurine, and some crappy artificially-derived vitamins added for show to trick you into thinking there's something healthy about these concoctions.

Let's start with the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Well, here we've got empty calories that will go straight to your belly fat, and that are possibly even WORSE for you than plain old refined sugar (although that's up for debate, but semantics in the big picture).

Some energy drinks use other added sugars instead of HFCS, but it doesn't really matter, because they are all gut-fattening empty calories with no nutritional benefit. Ok, so you say that they also have low-sugar or sugar-free varieties as an alternative to the HFCS-laden energy drinks. Yes, but now you have the problem of the harmful chemicals in the artificial sweeteners which have their own set of health dangers.

Another problem with artificial sweeteners is that there are some research studies that indicate artificial sweetener use leads people to inadvertently consume more calories and gain more weight in the long run... in addition to having a negative hormonal effect in the body. I won't go into all of the details on that topic because that would fill up an entire discussion by itself.

Just trust me that artificial sweeteners and artificial chemicals in food in general, are ALL bad news for your body! It's never a good idea to try to "trick" your body with artificial tastes. What about the caffeine? Well, first of all, caffeine doesn't in itself provide "energy". Technically, the only substance that actually provides energy is calories (from carbs, protein, and fat).

However, caffeine can be an aid for livening or waking some people up, by means of stimulating the central nervous system.

Instead of caffeine artificially added to some carbonated "energy" drink, I'd rather get my caffeine from a natural source like green, white, or oolong teas (or my new favorite - yerba mate teas), which actually provide very powerful healthy antioxidants too! Keep in mind though, if you're a regular daily coffee drinker, you probably have some level of addiction to caffeine and probably wouldn't receive too much benefit from the caffeine in an energy drink anyway.

Tip: try to drink more tea and reduce your coffee intake to only a couple days per week max to reduce your dependency on caffeine. Most teas contain much less caffeine than coffee, and some teas (such as green, white, and oolong) contain synergistic phytochemicals that work to slow the response of the caffeine that they do contain. This means you get a milder response from the caffeine in green, oolong, or white teas compared to the harsher jittery response that some people get from coffee.

Now what about that so called magical blend of taurine and B-vitamins that they load into these energy drinks? Well, big deal...you get taurine in almost any protein source.

And the vast majority of those artificially added B-vitamins are simply coming right out into the toilet in your pee. Vitamins are best obtained naturally from a REAL food source, not artificially added to some carbonated drink.

Your body just doesn't use fake sources of vitamins as readily as natural sources from real food. So as you can see, in my opinion, I give all of these energy drinks a big time THUMBS DOWN! Don't fall for the ridiculous marketing of all of these so-called "energy drinks". Instead, here's my recipe for my own home-made energy drink:

1. Make a big iced tea mixture using green tea, white tea, and yerba mate tea. I like to add a little fruit flavor, so I'll use 1 tea bag of a raspberry or blueberry hibiscus tea, and then use 2-3 green and/or white tea bags, and 2-3 yerba mate tea bags, and make a gallon container of iced tea. I just use a small amount of stevia to lightly sweeten the batch of tea.

2. I buy a container of organic coconut water from a health food store, or buy fresh coconuts to obtain the coconut water from the inside.

3. For my healthy energy drink, I mix a half of a glass of the white/green/yerba mate iced tea mixture and fill the rest of the glass with the coconut water. This is actually a delicious and truly healthy energy drink instead of the chemical-laden crappy energy drinks that everybody is getting suckered into buying these days. The green, white, and yerba mate teas contain a small dose of caffeine along with a diverse mixture of powerful antioxidants and synergistic phytochemicals.

Plus, the coconut water is a rich source of electrolytes and a diversity of vitamins and minerals. Coconut water is known to provide a good instant energy source, and also contains a small dose of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are healthy fats that are readily used for energy and also aid your immune system.

So enjoy this natural healthy energy drink, knowing that you're doing your body good instead of filling it with chemicals with normal store-bought energy drinks. As usual, feel free to email this link to your friends and family or share it on your blogs, forums, or facebook pages to help your friends live healthier. If you liked this article, please feel free to share with your friends:

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