by James B. LaValle 06/03/2008
For the average person, the changes we’ve seen as to how diet contributes to heart disease have been interesting, but for many people they have also been exhausting and confusing.
For two decades we were taught that diets high in fat and cholesterol contribute to heart disease; this teaching has been dubbed the “diet-heart hypothesis.” Low fat diets were recommended by every large health organization, and people adopted the low fat way of life. There was only one problem — heart disease rates did not drop. They continued to climb.
Over the years, the diet-heart hypothesis has been crumbling one wall at a time. First, we learned that only one type of fat clearly contributes to heart disease, and that some oils even have health benefits. So trans-fats are out and olive oil is in.
Then, newer studies showed that eating dietary cholesterol does not have a significant impact on raising cholesterol in the blood, which is still considered a risk factor for heart disease.1 So we are “allowed” to eat eggs and shrimp again. So far, most of you are still on board and rolling with the punches.
In the meantime, low-carb diets held some serious surprises. People did not want to believe it at first, but low-carb diets showed they do indeed lower risks of heart disease and diabetes. Longer-term studies have even shown no deleterious effects from them, despite the higher animal protein, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake.2-4
In fact, low-carb diets are the primary reason that the whole saturated fat and cholesterol ideas have pretty much collapsed. Low-carb diets have been studied now from nearly every angle, and what is consistently seen is that low carb diets — even though they are higher in saturated fat and cholesterol — lower risk of heart disease and even diabetes, a disease that greatly increases risk of heart disease.
What concerns me however, is that despite evidence to the contrary, and despite the urging of the most prominent researchers in this area, the American Heart Association (AHA) still has not changed its dietary guidelines; they still recommend lowering one’s intake of saturated fat and cholesterol to lower risk of heart disease.5
Because we have not yet had a paradigm change on this by the AHA, most practitioners hold back from recommending a low-carb diet and continue to instead recommend a low-fat diet. And this creates a lot of confusion for the average person who is just trying to decide what they should really be doing.
While all of this may be tiring for you to keep track of, the progression of information has actually been extremely helpful in defining what REALLY causes heart disease — and that is inflammation. Therefore, anything that increases inflammation in the body, like insulin, caused by high-carb diets is the real risk factor for heart disease.
When it comes to diet and heart disease, consumers need to rest assured in the fact that the best diet for prevention of heart disease is one that is lower in carbs, but high in dietary antioxidants. The only fat to concern yourself with, is trans-fat. I no longer advise lowering intake of cholesterol.
But what about saturated fat? I can tell you that clinically, I do not find saturated fat to be a factor in elevated cholesterol, even “bad” LDL cholesterol. In fact, almost all of my clients experience improved lipid profiles by lowering carb intake, not saturated fat.
Over the past few years, I have seen conflicting headlines and messages about saturated fat. As the one remaining factor in the debate on diet and heart disease, saturated fat deserves our time and attention.
In my next article I will discuss where the science is now, and what we will need to keep our eye on when it comes to saturated fat.
References
1. Fernandez ML. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006;9:8-12.
2. Joshipura K, et al. Public Health Nutr. 2008 Apr 15:1-7.
3. Halton TL et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Feb;87(2):339-46.
4. Luscombe-Marsh, N et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2005 81:773-779.
5. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1510.
[Ed. Note: Jim LaValle is an educator, clinician and industry consultant in the field of integrative healthcare. He is a licensed pharmacist, board certified clinical nutritionist and doctor of naturopathic medicine with more than 20 years clinical practice experience in the field of natural therapeutics and functional medicine. Named one of the "50 Most Influential Druggists" by American Druggist for his work in natural medicine, LaValle has authored 13 books, including his latest, Cracking the Metabolic Code. For more information, click here.]
Sabtu, 04 April 2009
Five Reasons Why You Should Lose the Cardio Mentality
by Craig Ballantyne 04/03/2009
“Cardio” is the “Economic Stimulus Bill” of the fitness world. You can put your hopes in it, but generally it isn’t going to do anything for you, and it will just waste your time and resources.
Most people don’t realize that there was “life before cardio”. People used to exercise outdoors. They participated in sports. They played games — outside! — with their family and friends. They used their feet or bicycles for transportation (rather than driving 15 minutes to the gym to go do “cardio“).
So here are the top 5 reasons why you should lose the “cardio” mentality
1. No One Likes Doing “Cardio”
The biggest reason to drop cardio is because you hate doing it! Have you ever met a person who smiled when they said, “Oh, I have to go do cardio now.” (That’s not the same as the excitement an endurance athlete gets when they go “training”. That’s different from “cardio”. Endurance athletes don’t call their workouts, “cardio”.)
However, if you are a runner, and you love to run, and you tell me (with a smile), “I’m going out for a run”, then that’s cool by me. There is nothing wrong with that — that’s not the type of cardio I’m talking about. But if don’t like to run, and you tell me (with a depressed look on your face), “I’m going out for a run because I have to do my cardio”, then I say, “Forget that!” Life’s too short to hate your workouts!
2. Cardio Isn’t Great for Fat Loss Anyway
The second reason to drop the cardio mentality is because people put too much faith in the ability of cardio to burn fat. Most folks in the gym think 30 minutes of moderate cardio will help them lose weight.
But it won’t. It just wastes their time. People are obsessed with the calorie counters on machines. I truly believe this is how folks get hooked and obsessive compulsive with cardio… because all they can think about is how many calories they have burned, and how much food that means they can eat. The “Cardio Mentality” does not promote healthy relationships with food, so drop it!
3. There’s More to Health than Using Cardio Machines
People think you have to “cardio” (i.e., go to a gym and exercise on a machine that doesn’t go anywhere) for 30 minutes in order to be healthy. But that’s false. You don’t have to use “cardio machines” to be healthy. There is so much more to health than 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer. And too much cardio can even lead to overuse injuries.1
First of all, your diet is more important for your cardiovascular health than your exercise regime. Plus, as long as you’re active each day (doing manual labor, playing sports, or lifting weights), you’re doing enough to meet the minimum required amount of exercise for cardiovascular health.
4. “Cardio” is an Ineffective Way to Train for Sports
Guys are notoriously guilty of believing “long, slow cardio” will help them with sports performance or their short, burst fitness (like climbing stairs). It rarely does.
In fact, the guy who does “cardio” in preparation for his basketball, soccer, hockey, or Ultimate Frisbee league is going to be sorely disappointed by how slow he is — and by how he lacks sports-specific fitness as much as all the guys who just lifted weights off-season. Plus, doing traditional “machine cardio” does not prepare you for sports-specific movements or speed of movement, so you’re just as likely — if not more likely — to get injured during the early season.
5. “Cardio” is a Waste of Time
The “cardio mentality” signifies a waste of time, inefficiency, and a sheep-like mentality towards doing something just because everyone else is doing it. Seriously, if you were from another planet and you came down to earth and went into a big commercial gym and looked at the “cardio” section, pardon me, the “cardio theater” section, you’d smile to yourself and say, “wow, this planet is going to be easy pickings”.
“Cardio” is also lame because people use cardio as a time to catch up on their magazine reading and TV watching (and now Internet and email time). That says it all. Workout time is not multi-task time. So what should you be doing instead if you want to sculpt your body, burn fat, lose your belly, and get lean before summer?
You should skip the “cardio” (let’s not ever use that phrase again) and focus on total-body, multi-muscle resistance training and interval training exercises to help you build “everyday” strength and fitness (like the ability to carry groceries or children, or climb 3 flights of stairs as fast as possible).2
Plus, with total body workouts, you’ll save time and get more health benefits than you will with straight “cardio”. (Sorry to use that term again.)
Forget about doing long, slow boring cardio workouts that you despise, and start getting more results in less workout time today.
Take a deep breath and say, “Cardio is not that important.” That’s the first step to getting rid of the obsessive cardio mentality that makes people hate exercise. Second, put some fun back into your workouts. Discover short-burst total body workouts that you only have to do three times per week and then recruit your friends to support you. You’ll lose fat faster than ever this year.
References
1. www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
2. www.Youtube.com/cbathletics.
[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine. If you're looking to burn fat, build muscle and quickly step into the body you have always wanted with just three workouts each week, check out Craig's fat-loss system, Turbulence Training for Fat Loss.]
“Cardio” is the “Economic Stimulus Bill” of the fitness world. You can put your hopes in it, but generally it isn’t going to do anything for you, and it will just waste your time and resources.
Most people don’t realize that there was “life before cardio”. People used to exercise outdoors. They participated in sports. They played games — outside! — with their family and friends. They used their feet or bicycles for transportation (rather than driving 15 minutes to the gym to go do “cardio“).
So here are the top 5 reasons why you should lose the “cardio” mentality
1. No One Likes Doing “Cardio”
The biggest reason to drop cardio is because you hate doing it! Have you ever met a person who smiled when they said, “Oh, I have to go do cardio now.” (That’s not the same as the excitement an endurance athlete gets when they go “training”. That’s different from “cardio”. Endurance athletes don’t call their workouts, “cardio”.)
However, if you are a runner, and you love to run, and you tell me (with a smile), “I’m going out for a run”, then that’s cool by me. There is nothing wrong with that — that’s not the type of cardio I’m talking about. But if don’t like to run, and you tell me (with a depressed look on your face), “I’m going out for a run because I have to do my cardio”, then I say, “Forget that!” Life’s too short to hate your workouts!
2. Cardio Isn’t Great for Fat Loss Anyway
The second reason to drop the cardio mentality is because people put too much faith in the ability of cardio to burn fat. Most folks in the gym think 30 minutes of moderate cardio will help them lose weight.
But it won’t. It just wastes their time. People are obsessed with the calorie counters on machines. I truly believe this is how folks get hooked and obsessive compulsive with cardio… because all they can think about is how many calories they have burned, and how much food that means they can eat. The “Cardio Mentality” does not promote healthy relationships with food, so drop it!
3. There’s More to Health than Using Cardio Machines
People think you have to “cardio” (i.e., go to a gym and exercise on a machine that doesn’t go anywhere) for 30 minutes in order to be healthy. But that’s false. You don’t have to use “cardio machines” to be healthy. There is so much more to health than 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer. And too much cardio can even lead to overuse injuries.1
First of all, your diet is more important for your cardiovascular health than your exercise regime. Plus, as long as you’re active each day (doing manual labor, playing sports, or lifting weights), you’re doing enough to meet the minimum required amount of exercise for cardiovascular health.
4. “Cardio” is an Ineffective Way to Train for Sports
Guys are notoriously guilty of believing “long, slow cardio” will help them with sports performance or their short, burst fitness (like climbing stairs). It rarely does.
In fact, the guy who does “cardio” in preparation for his basketball, soccer, hockey, or Ultimate Frisbee league is going to be sorely disappointed by how slow he is — and by how he lacks sports-specific fitness as much as all the guys who just lifted weights off-season. Plus, doing traditional “machine cardio” does not prepare you for sports-specific movements or speed of movement, so you’re just as likely — if not more likely — to get injured during the early season.
5. “Cardio” is a Waste of Time
The “cardio mentality” signifies a waste of time, inefficiency, and a sheep-like mentality towards doing something just because everyone else is doing it. Seriously, if you were from another planet and you came down to earth and went into a big commercial gym and looked at the “cardio” section, pardon me, the “cardio theater” section, you’d smile to yourself and say, “wow, this planet is going to be easy pickings”.
“Cardio” is also lame because people use cardio as a time to catch up on their magazine reading and TV watching (and now Internet and email time). That says it all. Workout time is not multi-task time. So what should you be doing instead if you want to sculpt your body, burn fat, lose your belly, and get lean before summer?
You should skip the “cardio” (let’s not ever use that phrase again) and focus on total-body, multi-muscle resistance training and interval training exercises to help you build “everyday” strength and fitness (like the ability to carry groceries or children, or climb 3 flights of stairs as fast as possible).2
Plus, with total body workouts, you’ll save time and get more health benefits than you will with straight “cardio”. (Sorry to use that term again.)
Forget about doing long, slow boring cardio workouts that you despise, and start getting more results in less workout time today.
Take a deep breath and say, “Cardio is not that important.” That’s the first step to getting rid of the obsessive cardio mentality that makes people hate exercise. Second, put some fun back into your workouts. Discover short-burst total body workouts that you only have to do three times per week and then recruit your friends to support you. You’ll lose fat faster than ever this year.
References
1. www.TurbulenceTraining.com.
2. www.Youtube.com/cbathletics.
[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine. If you're looking to burn fat, build muscle and quickly step into the body you have always wanted with just three workouts each week, check out Craig's fat-loss system, Turbulence Training for Fat Loss.]
How To Lose The Pooch Belly- Removing the Belly Bulge
by: Gary Cheung
It would not be wrong to say that half the people in the entire world suffer from the problem of obesity and excess weight. With the modern lifestyle becoming increasingly becoming static and no physical activity, a large number of people including youngsters below 30 years of age are becoming obese. It is observed that obese people normally have an out of shape belly. Both, men and women have a common tendency of developing a large and protruding tummy. This is due to an increasing concentration of fats near the stomach area. There are several exclusive exercises which are essential for removing this bulging belly.
Steps to Lessen a Bulging Belly
There are many steps which can be successfully implemented to reduce a swollen tummy. These steps are actually known to the people, but since they are difficult to follow they are not very much implemented. The first step is to exercise perfectly and follow the exclusive stomach exercises. These exercises include brisk walking, sit-ups and abdominal crunches. Brisk walking is a great way to regulate body metabolism and burn excess fats especially belly fats. Sit-ups and abdominal crunches do not actually help in burning excess fats but are essential in strengthening abdominal muscles and flattening the bulge. Belly flattening exercises need not always be well defined. Even some normal household work and chores are great belly exercises. Work like gardening and other work which involves physical activities like bending, lifting, twisting etc are all great exercises for flattening the belly bulge.
To lessen excess belly fats and flatten the tummy, the individuals must be very careful of their diet. They must refrain from eating fatty and high calorie foodstuffs. They must strictly have a diet which contains lots of fresh and green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits and less oily substances. They must avoid sweets and keep it to a minimal. Individuals must avoid desserts, creamy and fried foodstuffs. These are the main causes for developing belly pouch and thus must be avoided at all costs. Excess sugar is the most important reason for developing a large tummy and hence sugars must be kept at a low minimum.
A reason given lately for people developing a belly pouch is the stress which has become so much a part of the modern lifestyle. It is a bit difficult to believe, but stress is a cause for obesity and developing large tummy. Increase in stress results in an increase in the level of hormone called cortisol which is responsible for developing excess and unwanted belly fats. Individuals must try to reduce stress levels and involve themselves in healthy physical activities, stress busters and recreational activities.
Signing Off
Generally when people become fat it is the belly that goes out of shape. It makes the entire body form is disturbed and it looks very ugly too. Thus when individuals begin to develop even a little bit of belly pouch, they must immediately take steps to flatten and have a regular exercise regime.
About The Author
Gary Cheung is fitness professional in New York City. He has helped many people change their lives. He currently runs a free informational website on weight loss. Please visit: http://www.weightlossmasterpiece.com
It would not be wrong to say that half the people in the entire world suffer from the problem of obesity and excess weight. With the modern lifestyle becoming increasingly becoming static and no physical activity, a large number of people including youngsters below 30 years of age are becoming obese. It is observed that obese people normally have an out of shape belly. Both, men and women have a common tendency of developing a large and protruding tummy. This is due to an increasing concentration of fats near the stomach area. There are several exclusive exercises which are essential for removing this bulging belly.
Steps to Lessen a Bulging Belly
There are many steps which can be successfully implemented to reduce a swollen tummy. These steps are actually known to the people, but since they are difficult to follow they are not very much implemented. The first step is to exercise perfectly and follow the exclusive stomach exercises. These exercises include brisk walking, sit-ups and abdominal crunches. Brisk walking is a great way to regulate body metabolism and burn excess fats especially belly fats. Sit-ups and abdominal crunches do not actually help in burning excess fats but are essential in strengthening abdominal muscles and flattening the bulge. Belly flattening exercises need not always be well defined. Even some normal household work and chores are great belly exercises. Work like gardening and other work which involves physical activities like bending, lifting, twisting etc are all great exercises for flattening the belly bulge.
To lessen excess belly fats and flatten the tummy, the individuals must be very careful of their diet. They must refrain from eating fatty and high calorie foodstuffs. They must strictly have a diet which contains lots of fresh and green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits and less oily substances. They must avoid sweets and keep it to a minimal. Individuals must avoid desserts, creamy and fried foodstuffs. These are the main causes for developing belly pouch and thus must be avoided at all costs. Excess sugar is the most important reason for developing a large tummy and hence sugars must be kept at a low minimum.
A reason given lately for people developing a belly pouch is the stress which has become so much a part of the modern lifestyle. It is a bit difficult to believe, but stress is a cause for obesity and developing large tummy. Increase in stress results in an increase in the level of hormone called cortisol which is responsible for developing excess and unwanted belly fats. Individuals must try to reduce stress levels and involve themselves in healthy physical activities, stress busters and recreational activities.
Signing Off
Generally when people become fat it is the belly that goes out of shape. It makes the entire body form is disturbed and it looks very ugly too. Thus when individuals begin to develop even a little bit of belly pouch, they must immediately take steps to flatten and have a regular exercise regime.
About The Author
Gary Cheung is fitness professional in New York City. He has helped many people change their lives. He currently runs a free informational website on weight loss. Please visit: http://www.weightlossmasterpiece.com
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