Daily mini detox & metabolism booster

A nice simple thing you can do now to improve your health: drink a warm cup of water each morning first thing with a little lemon juice in it.

According to Dr Gillian McKeith, among others, this will give your metabolism a boost, helping you possibly lose weight, and also act as a “mini detox” each morning. You can also try it at night too just before you go to bed.

Why warm water? Well, apparently very hot or very cold foods & drinks “shock” your body (slurpee headache anyone?), so probably not the best thing to do.

Recommended reading:

You Are What You Eat

The Math of Weight Loss

People often ask questions like:

 

“How do I lose fat?”

“How much weight can I safely lose per week?”

“How do I know if I am losing fat, water or muscle?”

Luckily a little math can help answer these questions. And you thought it would never be useful after high school!

First, I suggest you Google “basal metabolic rate” and use one of the BMR calculators (or try this one: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator) to see how many calories a day you need just to live, breathe, blink etc. Any activity, such as weightlifting or walking, will add to that number.

Then, all you have to do is make sure you have a slight calorie deficit each day, and you will lose weight. One pound of fat is 3500 calories, so if you have a 400 calorie a day deficit you will lose 7×400=2800 calories per week, or a little less than one pound. If you want to work backwards, then 3500/7=500, so this means you need about a 500 calorie deficit each day to lose one pound of fat (not muscle or water!) per week. This doesn’t sound like much, but if you lose it slowly it’s much less likely to come back.

Why? Well, any more than a 20% calorie deficit and you risk entering metabolic slowdown, or “starvation mode.” If this happens, you will find it more difficult to lose weight, burn fat, and risk gaining back more fat than you lost if and when you abandon or stray from your calorie deficit. In starvation mode, your body would rather burn anything but fat because it thinks food is scarce, so you will start to lose muscle instead, and your slower metabolism and reduced muscle mass makes regaining the fat lost (and then some) more likely.

Do not confuse weight loss with fat loss. Anyone can lose two pounds or more per week if they eat some ridiculously low number of calories like 800 per day, and your bodyweight can fluctuate by 1-2 pounds a day based on factors such as how well/poorly hydrated you are. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you go on a starvation diet you will lose weight quickly, but it will be muscle that you are saying goodbye to.

It’s also a good idea to check and monitor your body fat percentage. This is the best way to check that you are burning fat rather than water or muscle. Many scales have body fat calculators on them, or you can get some calipers & measure that way. There are also some online estimators based on various body measurements. Some ways are more accurate than others, but the point is to measure and look for nice, consistent drops in your percentage about every week or so. Men are considered “lean” if they are in the 10-15% range, women 16-20%, and “lean” sounds like a nice way to be described!

See www.BurnTheFat.com for more. I highly recommend Tom Venuto’s ebook “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle” if you want to do this right.

Avoid white sugar & simple carbs if at all possible

We all know sugar is bad for us right? But why is it really bad? We all know it makes your teeth rot & causes us to gain weight, but is that really it?

Recently I read You Are What You Eat by Dr Gillian McKeith, as well as Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau (actually I am still reading the latter & will post about in the future).

If you have been reading my blog regularly you will know I am a big fan of You Are What You Eat. In fact, I even gave it to my mom for Mother’s Day. She loves the book too & was very excited & happy to have such an easy to read, valuable source of info at hand. I am sure it will make the rounds in my family, or maybe even another copy or two will be purchased. My sister in law suffers from eczema, and there is a whole section in there on that as well.

But I digress. Kevin Trudeau is controversial to say the least. If you read the reviews of his books on Chapters.ca or Amazon you will see that many, while not bad, are less than stellar. I will withhold judgment on Natural Cures until I have finished, but I would say it’s at least worth getting from the library.

The one thing I have noticed so far is that there are alot of similar points in the two books. To me, hearing Kevin say something Dr McKeith also said just gives him more credence. One of the most noticeable points for me was they both strongly recommend avoiding white sugar.

Sugar does all of the things we all know, sure, but that’s not the worst of it. Sugar, especially the refined white variety we put in coffee etc, has virtually no nutritional value. Worse, it causes your insulin levels to spike. Some of you will have heard of the glycemic index, the theory behind of which is that foods that cause insulin spikes will cause you to gain weight, and, taken to the extreme, lead to type 2 (the kind you do to yourself)diabetes.

Whats so bad about insulin spikes? Well, this phenomenon is what causes you to “crash” a few hours after a high carb meal (Chinese anyone?). White sugar has the same effect (insulin spikes) as simple refined carbs such as white bread, white pasta, white rice, baked goods such as donuts, etc, but is even worse since it has zero nutritional value–the others at least have some (well maybe not the donuts).

When you “crash” this is your insulin levels (or more properly, your blood sugar levels), dropping after a spike. Insulin regulates blood sugar & if your blood sugar is high after a high carb/sugary meal, insulin levels have to rise to counteract this. This is when you feel sleepy or even hungry again. This is why people joke about being hungry an hour after a big Chinese meal. You are not really hungry, but because your insulin levels have dropped from their unnatural peak, you feel hungry, sluggish, & maybe lightheaded. Many will often have a snack, and this leads to overeating (since you are not really hungry) & weight gain. This is why carbs are often viewed as “bad” nowadays & hence the popularity of diets like Atkins.

If this cycle (simple carbs/sugary food intake, insulin spikes) continues, eventually your body will become insulin resistant—aka type 2 diabetes. Your pancreas will not be able to produce enough insulin, or your body will have become so tolerant to high levels of it, that it no longer has the needed effect: regulation of blood sugar.

This vicious cycle is also addictive. A diet high in sugary foods will knock your blood sugar levels out of balance, and this will cause cravings for…you guessed it, more sugar. Any coincidence it’s a white powder…? Once your body has more sugar in it than it can deal with, it will be stored in the liver as glycogen. If there is more than your liver can deal with, it becomes fat. Sugar also slows your metabolism, so not only do you have more fat, but you actually burn calories at a slower rate, a negative double whammy.

Additionally, white sugar is highly processed & grown with chemicals. There is nothing “live” about it, so how can it be good for you?In short, sugar is the worst of the simple refined carbs because it has all the bad & none of the good.

So what to do? Well, brown sugar isn’t any better, it’s just white sugar with molasses in it. And also stay away from artificial sweeteners. They are not natural, are made from chemicals, & are linked to many health problems & even some diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Kevin recommends a few things, such as pure organic, unpasteurized honey, stevia, evaporated cane juice, or turbinado sugar, the granulated juice of raw sugar cane. Make sure it’s organic & unpasteurized as the pasteurization process kills pretty much all of the good things in any food. I put away my sugar bowl yesterday & bought some honey.

Dr McKeith has many suggestions, from small to large changes you can make to kick the sugar habit if you are already addicted (an how to find out if you are). In fact, she has too many to list here. Buy or get her book from the library & prepare to go cold turkey!

Also, try to avoid or limit simple refined carbs. Fiber is one of the best ways to counteract blood sugar spikes as it slows digestion of food and “flattens out” the spikes. This is why brown bread, brown rice & whole wheat pasta are better choices.

Recommended reading:

You Are What You Eat

Natural Cures They Don’t Want You to Know About

Bananas: Miracle Food!

Got an interesting email from my sister-in-law today about bananas. Seems they really are super healthy. Glad I eat one almost everyday…

BANANAS – Some Interesting Facts

Never put your banana in the refrigerator!!! This is interesting. After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber.

A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In
Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

Why you need a shower filter

Most of us probably filter our drinking water, or drink bottled water nowadays, but did you know showering and/or bathing in your typical city water can also be very unhealthy?

Chlorinated swimming pools are even worse….read on.

“Cancer rates for people on chlorinated water systems is 96% higher than for those on non-chlorinated water systems…” U.S. Council on Environment Quality

If that’s not bad enough:

Chlorinated Water Exposure May Boost Cancer Risk

from the American Journal of Epidemiology, January 2007
Drinking, bathing or swimming in chlorinated water may increase the risk of bladder cancer, a new study shows.

The findings are the first to suggest that these chemicals can be harmful when they are inhaled or absorbed through the skin, as well as when they are ingested, Dr. Cristina M. Villanueva of the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona, and colleagues note.

Chemicals, most commonly chlorine and its subspecies, used to disinfect water can produce by-products that have been tied to increased cancer risk, Villanueva and her team point out. In the past the ingestion pathway has been proven, but this study shows that the transdermal pathway for chlorine by-products is just as important on the topic. The most prevalent chlorination by-products, chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM), can be absorbed into the body through the skin (transdermal absorption) or by inhalation, they add.

To investigate lifetime THM exposure and bladder cancer risk, the researchers matched 1,219 men and women with bladder cancer to 1,271 control individuals who did not have the disease, surveying them about their exposure to chlorinated water via drinking water, swimming pools, showering and bathing. The researchers also analyzed the average water THM levels in the 123 municipalities included in the study.

People living in households with an average household water THM level of greater than 49 micrograms per litre had double the bladder cancer risk of those living in households where water THM concentration was below 8 micrograms per litre, the researchers found. Researchers noted from review of THM concentrations in municipal water that 50 micrograms per litre is common in industrialized societies.

Study participants who drank chlorinated water were at 35% greater risk of bladder cancer than those who didn’t, while use of swimming pools boosted bladder cancer risk by 57%. And those who took longer showers or baths and lived in municipalities with higher THM levels were also at increased cancer risk.

When THM is absorbed through the skin or lungs, the researchers noted, it may have a more powerful carcinogenic effect because it does not undergo detoxification via the liver.

“If confirmed elsewhere, this observation has significant public health implications in relation to preventing exposure to these water contaminants,” the researchers conclude.

So your bottled drinking water is clean (unless you drink from plastic bottles–more in a future post on that), but what are you showering/bathing in? Google “shower filter” & you will find many to choose from. They are fairly cheap ($30 & up).

The connection between “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” and health

I was thinking about what to write next & realized some of you may be wondering what does Millionaire Mind have to do with being healthy? Here’s my take on that:

1) Being healthy doesn’t just mean physically sound, there is a mental & emotional component as well. Reading the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, attending the seminars, and developing new friends with a similar millionaire mindset can make you much more emotionally & mentally healthy, which can lead to physical benefits as well. Conversely, if you are physically fit & healthy, you are much more likely to be emotionally & mentally healthy as well.

2) Peak Potentials, the company that produces the Millionaire Mind 3-day seminar, Guerrilla Business school, and many more, also has a new course called “Extreme Health.” I signed up for this course, and will be attending it in LA in about March 2008. I will be sure to post about it on here, but in the meantime you can read more about it here http://www.peakpotentials.com/a/?wid=478950 under “Course & Camps.”

 

Juice your way to better health

I just bought a juicer. It’s a Breville Juice Fountain JE900. It works just fine & is powerful & easy to clean. A friend has a Hamilton Beach 67800, which is what I was looking for but couldn’t find. I think either is a good choice, but the HB is cheaper.

Why did I buy a juicer? Well, for 1 thing, I read somewhere that 95% of all the nutrition in fruit or vegetables is in the juice.

Second, its alot easier to drink juice than it is to eat 7 servings (or whatever it is) that they say we need each day. I mix several different fruits & vegetables together & drink a glass or 2 and I am doing better than I did before in terms of eating healthy. I actually went out & bought $50 or so of fruit & vegetables yesterday, most of it will be juiced, and I have never done that before.

Also, Dr Gillian McKeith, in You Are What You Eat, recommends fruit & vegetable juice as one of the top detox foods. We all know fruit & vegetable are good for us, but most of us don’t eat near enough with our busy lives, so juicing up a pitcher or 2 a week of fresh, homemade juice can sure help.

If you have certain health problems, many of them may be due to poor eating. Eating too much of this, not enough of that, or the wrong combination of foods (something I will post about soon) can be the cause, or at least exacerbate the problem. So if you struggle with skin, weight, cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar (read more on this too in an upcoming post) problems, I recommend reading the book You Are What You Eat, and see what changes you can make to feel better.

You know what? The juice tastes good too! I was really surprised. And it makes you feel better instantly knowing that you are doing something good for your body & to improve your health.

Try it yourself & good health to you.

June 1 update: Just learned something else about juice–you should try to drink it within a few hours of making it. Apparently fresh juice begins to oxidize (even in the fridge) quite quickly and lose some of its nutritional value. So, while making a big pitcher & drinking a little all week may be convenient, and probably healthier than drinking none at all, to get the maximum health benefits be sure to drink your juice as soon as you make it.

You Are What You Eat

My Sink is Clogged

Ooooh, my sink is clogged.

Writin’ ’bout it on my blog.

oooh, my sink is backed up.

Da dishes are a stackin’ up,

ya my sink is clogged.

Nothing goin’ down the drain.

Really’s quite a pain.

Had to get the plunger,

’cause  was buildin’ quite a hunger

while my sink was clogged.

Poured a bottle of Drano

down the damn clogged drain-oooo

ya, my sink is clogged.

Googled for a plumber.

Had to find a number,

ya my sink is clogged.

“We cant come til Monday.”

“Hey, it aint even Sunday,’

dontcha know my sink is clogged?”

My garbage disposal

was blocked somethin’ awful,

ya my sink is clogged.

Donned my rubber gloves & my Oakley safety glasses,

ya, my sink is clogged.

Worked the dang plunger

hard in my anger,

ya my sink is clogged.

A few good shoves

with my yellow rubber gloves

& my Oakley safety glasses,

showed that disposal

who the real bad ass is,

yay my sink was clogged.

Note: my sink was clogged because I tried to dump the leftover pulp from my juicer into the garbage disposal…

You Are What You Eat

I recently read the book You Are What You Eat by Dr. Gillian McKeith. This is the British lady doctor that examines people’s stools (among other things) on a TV show by the same name on some cable channel. I have seen the show a couple of times, but found it to be a bit over-dramatic with people that drink 10 Cokes a day & that kind of thing. The book is much better, and is one of my recommended reads.

You can read it cover to cover, or you can just read & refer back to sections that pertain to you. One of the most interesting parts is where she talk about examining various body parts (tongue, nails, skin & yes, stools) & letting you know where you need to improve your health before you experience problems. For example, if you have a crack down the middle of your tongue you may be nutrient depleted & have less than ideal digestion. If you get leg cramps you may be lacking calcium and/or magnesium. If your urine is cloudy you may be eating too many acidic foods. If you have trouble losing weight it may be due to eating certain combinations of foods. All of these are early indicators of future potential health problems, which if you know about now, may be able to prevent.

Dr McKeith then goes on to list foods that cause & also “cure” the various problems listed, and suggest ways to improve your overall health & energy levels. One suggestion is to eat as much raw food as possible, another is to practice combing (or not combining) certain foods to aid digestion & nutrient absorption. She also lists various “super foods” that she says are among the most nutritious around, and can do wonders for improving your health.

I have taken some of her advice to heart & incorporated some of her ideas (little by little) into my life. I now drink warm lemon water at least once a day. I recently bought a juicer & plan on having fresh fruit & vegetable juice often–my dose of raw foods. Am also trying some of her super foods & will post on here what kind of results I see, if any.

I have read lots of diet, health & nutrition books over the years & this is one of the best. Look for info on some of the others in future posts.

You Are What You Eat

Check out Millionaire Mind for FREE

I have written a fair bit about Millionaire Mind on here because I believe in what they say. I realize many people will be sceptical. There are some ways to check this out for yourself for FREE:

 1) Pick up the book at your local library (that’s what I did). See if you like what he has to say.

2) Go to the Millionaire Mind Evening course. This is 100% free (the 3-day course will cost you $97 and is worth every penny), so nothing at risk but a few hours of your time.

See if there is an evening course near you check out: http://www.millionairemind.com/a/?wid=478950&page=/preview/mme

3) Listen to a teleseminar that explains what this is all about from the experts themselves: http://www.millionairemind.com/a/?wid=478950&page=/preview/tele