Introduction to Resistance Training is a series of three individual sessions for about 90 Minutes that will put you in a position to fire your personal trainer and perform your own weight training (I prefer the term ‘resistance training’) while getting better results faster. The one time investment is $795 (get $25 off with this coupon). The sessions will be performed at your local San Diego gym. Contact me to schedule you session now.
What percent of Americans eat fast food?
Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. In 2001, Eric Schlosser’s investigative work Fast Food Nation provided Americans with a detailed look at the culture of fast food from rangeland to the range top. In 2002, Caesar Barber attempted to sue a number of fast food restaurant chains for making him obese. The suit never went to court. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship with fast food, particularly in relation to children. This guilt is projected onto processed food, where bizarre tales of contamination and lax standards are widely believed.
Some of the concerns have led to the rise of the Slow Food, or local food movements. These movements seek to preserve local cuisines and ingredients, and directly oppose laws and habits that favor fast food choices. Proponents of the slow food movement try to educate consumers about what its members considers the richer, more varied and more nourishing tastes of fresh, local ingredients that have been recently harvested.
Scientific anti-aging products attempt to slow down or reverse the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan. Some experts in the scientific anti-aging products research, and “life extensionists” or “longevists” believe that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation with stem cells, molecular repair, and organ replacement will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a youthful condition.
Aging is an accumulation of damage to macromolecules, cells, tissues and organs. The maximum life span for humans is in excess of 120 years, whereas the maximum lifespan of a mouse, commonly used as a model in research on aging, is about four years. Genetic differences between humans and mice that may account for these different aging rates include efficiency of DNA repair, types and quantities of antioxidant enzymes, and different rates of free radical production.
Average lifespan in a population is lowered by infant and child mortality, which are frequently linked to infectious diseases or nutrition problems. Later in life, vulnerability to accidents and age-related afflictions such as cancer or cardiovascular disease play larger roles. Life extension can be achieved by good diet, exercise and avoidance of hazards such as smoking. Maximum lifespan is determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in its genes and probably by certain environmental factors. One widely recognized method of extending maximum lifespan in organisms such as nematodes is calorie restriction. Another technique used evolutionary pressure such as breeding from only older members. Theoretically, extension of maximum lifespan could be achieved by reducing the rate of aging damage, by periodic replacement of damaged tissues, or by molecular repair or rejuvenation of deteriorated cells and tissues.
Many scientific anti-aging products been concerned with the use of nutrition, in the form of diets or supplements, to extend lifespan. Withing these supplements anti-oxidants have proven to be the most significant component for anti-aging. Recently it has been suggested that Resveratrol may be a great resource of anti-oxidants.
Antioxidants can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals.[1] Furthermore, people who eat fruits and vegetables, which happen to be good sources of antioxidants, have a lower risk of heart disease and some neurological diseases, and there is evidence that some types of vegetables, and fruits in general, protect against a number of cancers. These observations suggested the idea that antioxidants might help prevent these conditions. However, this hypothesis has now been tested in many clinical trials and does not seem to be true, since antioxidant supplements have no clear effect on the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. This suggests that other substances in fruit and vegetables, or a complex mix of substances, may contribute to the better cardiovascular health of those who consume more fruit and vegetables. However, there is some evidence that antioxidants might help prevent other diseases such as macular degeneration, suppressed immunity due to poor nutrition, and neurodegeneration.
It is thought that oxidation of low density lipoprotein in the blood contributes to heart disease, and initial observational studies found that people taking Vitamin E supplements had a lower risk of developing heart disease. Consequently, at least seven large clinical trials were conducted to test the effects of antioxidant supplement with Vitamin E, in doses ranging from 50 to 600 mg per day. However, none of these trials found a statistically significant effect of Vitamin E on overall number of deaths or on deaths due to heart disease. Further studies have also been negative. It is not clear if the doses used in these trials or in most dietary supplements are capable of producing any significant decrease in oxidative stress. Overall, despite the clear role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease, controlled studies using antioxidant vitamins have observed no reduction in either the risk of developing heart disease, or the rate of progression of existing disease.
While several trials have investigated supplements with high doses of antioxidants, the “Supplémentation en Vitamines et Mineraux Antioxydants” (SU.VI.MAX) study tested the effect of supplementation with doses comparable to those in a healthy diet. Over 12,500 French men and women took either low-dose antioxidants or placebo pills for an average of 7.5 years. The investigators found there was no statistically significant effect of the antioxidants on overall survival, cancer, or heart disease. However, in a post-hoc analysis they found a 31% reduction in the risk of cancer in men, but not women.
Many nutraceutical and health food companies sell formulations of antioxidants as dietary supplements and these are widely used in industrialized countries. These supplements may include specific antioxidant chemicals, like resveratrol (from grape seeds or knotweed roots), c
ombinations of antioxidants, like the “ACES” products that contain beta carotene (provitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E and Selenium, or herbs that contain antioxidants – such as green tea and jiaogulan. Although some levels of antioxidant vitamins and minerals in the diet are required for good health, there is considerable doubt as to whether these antioxidant supplements are beneficial or harmful, and if they are actually beneficial, which antioxidant(s) are needed and in what amounts. Indeed, some authors argue that the hypothesis that antioxidants could prevent chronic diseases has now been disproven and that the idea was misguided from the beginning.
BTW: A great anti-aging face cleanser for oily skin ->
For overall life expectancy, it has even been suggested that moderate levels of oxidative stress may increase lifespan in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, by inducing a protective response to increased levels of reactive oxygen species. However, the suggestion that increased life expectancy comes from increased oxidative stress conflicts with results seen in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the situation in mammals is even less clear. Nevertheless, antioxidant supplements do not appear to increase life expectancy in humans.
The many diets promoted by anti-aging advocates are often contradictory. One of the few areas of consensus among nutritionists is the importance of keeping stable blood sugar levels, achieved in part by managing the glycemic indices of food choices. Two diets with different approaches and some support from scientific research are the Paleolithic diet and Caloric restriction.
The restriction of energy intake, or calories, in an otherwise healthy diet has been shown to extend the maximum life span of laboratory organisms from several species, including rats, yeast, fruit flies, and nematodes. In rodents, a roughly 50% maximum lifespan extension is seen with a roughly 50% restriction of calories from what would be consumed by freely-feeding animals. The results of calorie restriction experiments on laboratory rats may not be generalizable because years of inbreeding have made these animals different from those found in the wild, and because these results are applicable specifically to short-lived species that have evolved to respond to feast and famine with alterations in longevity. Proving that calorie restriction could extend human life is difficult because experiments with long-lived species necessarily take a long time to perform. Scientists propose that the results of calorie restriction experiments on animals also depend on the habitat, genetics, other aspects of nutrition and frequencies of feeding.
The idea that antioxidant supplements, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine, might extend human life stems from the free radical theory of aging. Other substances proposed to extend lifespan include oxytocin, insulin, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and erythropoietin (EPO). Resveratrol is a sirtuin stimulant that appears to extend lifespan in simple model organisms such as nematodes and short-lived fish.
Some supplements, including the minerals selenium or zinc have been reported to extend the lifespan of rats and mice, though none has been proven to do so in humans, and significant toxic effects were observed. Metformin may also extend life span in mice.
Antioxidants can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of free radicals.[1] Furthermore, people who eat fruits and vegetables, which happen to be good sources of antioxidants, have a lower risk of heart disease and some neurological diseases,[132] and there is evidence that some types of vegetables, and fruits in general, protect against a number of cancers.[133] These observations suggested the idea that antioxidants might help prevent these conditions. However, this hypothesis has now been tested in many clinical trials and does not seem to be true, since antioxidant supplements have no clear effect on the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.[132][134] This suggests that other substances in fruit and vegetables (possibly flavonoids), or a complex mix of substances, may contribute to the better cardiovascular health of those who consume more fruit and vegetables.[135][136] However, there is some evidence that antioxidants might help prevent other diseases such as macular degeneration,[137] suppressed immunity due to poor nutrition,[138] and neurodegeneration.[139]
It is thought that oxidation of low density lipoprotein in the blood contributes to heart disease, and initial observational studies found that people taking Vitamin E supplements had a lower risk of developing heart disease.[140] Consequently, at least seven large clinical trials were conducted to test the effects of antioxidant supplement with Vitamin E, in doses ranging from 50 to 600 mg per day. However, none of these trials found a statistically significant effect of Vitamin E on overall number of deaths or on deaths due to heart disease.[141] Further studies have also been negative.[142][143] It is not clear if the doses used in these trials or in most dietary supplements are capable of producing any significant decrease in oxidative stress.[144] Overall, despite the clear role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease, controlled studies using antioxidant vitamins have observed no reduction in either the risk of developing heart disease, or the rate of progression of existing disease.[145][146]
While several trials have investigated supplements with high doses of antioxidants, the “Supplémentation en Vitamines et Mineraux Antioxydants” (SU.VI.MAX) study tested the effect of supplementation with doses comparable to those in a healthy diet.[147] Over 12,500 French men and women took either low-dose antioxidants (120 mg of ascorbic acid, 30 mg of vitamin E, 6 mg of beta carotene, 100 μg of selenium, and 20 mg of zinc) or placebo pills for an average of 7.5 years. The investigators found there was no statistically significant effect of the antioxidants on overall survival, cancer, or heart disease. However, in a post-hoc analysis they found a 31% reduction in the risk of cancer in men, but not women.
Many nutraceutical and health food companies sell formulations of antioxidants as dietary supplements and these are widely used in industrialized countries.[148] These supplements may include specific antioxidant chemicals, like resveratrol (from grape seeds or knotweed roots),[149] combinations of antioxidants, like the “ACES” products that contain beta carotene (provitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E and Selenium, or herbs that contain antioxidants – such as green tea and jiaogulan. Although some levels of antioxidant vitamins and minerals in the diet are required for good health, there is considerable doubt as to whether these antioxidant supplements are beneficial or harmful, and if they are actually beneficial, which antioxidant(s) are needed and in what amounts.[132][134][150] Indeed, some authors argue that the hypothesis that antioxidants could prevent chronic diseases has now been disproven and that the idea was misguided from the beginning.[151]
For overall life expectancy, it has even been suggested that moderate levels of oxidative stress may increase lifespan in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, by inducing a protective response to increased levels of reactive oxygen species.[152] However, the suggestion that increased life expectancy comes from increased oxidative stress conflicts with results seen in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae,[153] and the situation in mammals is even less clear.[117][154][155] Nevertheless, antioxidant supplements do not appear to increase life expectancy in humans.[156]
In Holistic Sleep Medicine the optimal amount of sleep is not a meaningful concept unless the timing of that sleep is seen in relation to an individual’s circadian rhythms. A person’s major sleep episode is relatively inefficient and inadequate when it occurs at the “wrong” time of day; one should be asleep at least six hours before the lowest body temperature. The timing is correct when the following two circadian markers occur after the middle of the sleep episode and before awakening:
Holistic Sleep Medicine suggests that seven to nine hours of sleep for adult humans is optimal and that sufficient sleep benefits alertness, memory, problem solving, and overall health, as well as reducing the risk of accidents. A widely publicized 2003 study performed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine demonstrated that cognitive performance declines with six or fewer hours of sleep.
A University of California, San Diego, psychiatry study of more than one million adults found that people who live the longest self-report sleeping for six to seven hours each night. Another study of sleep duration and mortality risk in women showed similar results. Other studies show that “sleeping more than 7 to 8 hours per day has been consistently associated with increased mortality,” though this study suggests the cause is probably other factors such as depression and socioeconomic status, which would correlate statistically. It has been suggested that the correlation between lower sleep hours and reduced morbidity only occurs with those who wake after less sleep naturally, rather than those who use an alarm.
Researchers at the University of Warwick and University College London have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but that too much sleep can also double the risk of death. Professor Francesco Cappuccio said, “Short sleep has been shown to be a risk factor for weight gain, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes, sometimes leading to mortality; but in contrast to the short sleep-mortality association, it appears that no potential mechanisms by which long sleep could be associated with increased mortality have yet been investigated. Some candidate causes for this include depression, low socioeconomic status, and cancer-related fatigue. In terms of prevention, our findings indicate that consistently sleeping around seven hours per night is optimal for health, and a sustained reduction may predispose to ill health.”
Furthermore, according to Holistic Sleep Medicine sleep difficulties are closely associated with psychiatric disorders such as depression, alcoholism, and bipolar disorder. Up to 90% of adults with depression are found to have sleep difficulties. Dysregulation found on EEG includes disturbances in sleep continuity, decreased delta sleep and altered REM patterns with regard to latency, distribution across the night and density of eye movements.
How does diet and exercise affect your health? A LOT!
At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, Health was defined as being “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
This definition invited nations to expand the conceptual framework of their health systems beyond issues related to the physical condition of individuals and their diseases, and it motivated us to focus our attention on what we now call social determinants of health. Consequently, WHO challenged political, academic, community, and professional organisations devoted to improving or preserving health to make the scope of their work explicit, including their rationale for allocating resources. This opened the door for public accountability.
Only a handful of publications have focused specifically on the definition of health and its evolution in the first 6 decades. Some of them highlight its lack of operational value and the problem created by use of the word “complete.” Others declare the definition, which has not been modified since 1948, “simply a bad one.”. More recently, Smith suggested that it is “a ludicrous definition that would leave most of us unhealthy most of the time.”
In 1986, the WHO, in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, said that health is “a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.” Classification systems such as the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC), which is composed of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) also define health.
Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, which, together is commonly referred to as the Health Triangle.
Life extension, also known as anti-aging medicine, experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology, refers to attempts to slow down or reverse the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan. Some researchers in this area, and “life extensionists” or “longevists” (who wish to achieve longer lives for themselves), believe that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation with stem cells, molecular repair, and organ replacement (such as with artificial organs or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a youthful condition.
The sale of putative anti-aging products such as nutrition, physical fitness, skin care, hormone replacements, vitamins, supplements and herbs has become a lucrative industry, with the US market generating about $50 billion of revenue each year.
Much of life extension has been concerned with the use of nutrition, in the form of diets or supplements, to extend lifespan. The many diets promoted by anti-aging advocates are often contradictory. One of the few areas of consensus among nutritionists is the importance of keeping stable blood sugar levels, achieved in part by managing the glycemic indices of food choices. Two diets with different approaches and some support from scientific research are the Paleolithic diet and Caloric restriction.
The restriction of energy intake, or calories, in an otherwise healthy diet (a practice generally called Calorie restriction or simply CR) has been shown to extend the maximum life span of laboratory organisms from several species, including rats, yeast, fruit flies, and nematodes. In rodents, a roughly 50% maximum lifespan extension is seen with a roughly 50% restriction of calories from what would be consumed by freely-feeding animals. The results of calorie restriction experiments on laboratory rats may not be generalizable because years of inbreeding have made these animals different from those found in the wild, and because these results are applicable specifically to short-lived species that have evolved to respond to feast and famine with alterations in longevity. Proving that calorie restriction could extend human life is difficult because experiments with long-lived species necessarily take a long time to perform. Scientists propose that the results of calorie restriction experiments on animals also depend on the habitat, genetics, other aspects of nutrition and frequencies of feeding.
The idea that antioxidant supplements, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine, might extend human life stems from the free radical theory of aging. Other substances proposed to extend lifespan include oxytocin, insulin, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and erythropoietin (EPO). Resveratrol is a sirtuin stimulant that appears to extend lifespan in simple model organisms such as nematodes and short-lived fish.
Some supplements, including the minerals selenium or zinc have been reported to extend the lifespan of rats and mice, though none has been proven to do so in humans, and significant toxic effects were observed. Metformin may also extend life span in mice.
If you are looking for the best program for extreme weight loss do not subscribe to any diet that will make you starve. Even if you should loose weight this way, it will not last and you are hurting your body and slowing down your metabolism.
Avoid crash diets. A crash diet refers to willful nutritional restriction (except water) for more than 12 hours. The desired result is to have the body burn fat for energy with the goal of losing a significant amount of weight in a short time. However, the body reacts by preserving fat stores and burning lean muscle tissue, such that this is a poor strategy for intentional weight loss. Crash dieting is not the same as intermittent fasting, in which the individual periodically abstains from food (e.g., every other day). But we do not recommend fasting either.
Intentional weight loss refers to the loss of total body mass in an effort to improve fitness, health, and/or appearance.
Therapeutic weightloss, in individuals who are overweight or obese, can decrease the likelihood of developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer.
Attention to diet in particular can be extremely beneficial in reducing the impact of diabetes and other health risks of an expanding waist.
Weight loss occurs when an individual is in a state of negative energy balance. When the body is consuming more energy (i.e. in work and heat) than it is gaining (i.e. from food or other nutritional supplements), it will use stored reserves from fat or muscle, gradually leading to weight loss.
It is not uncommon for some people who are currently at their ideal body weight to seek additional weight loss in order to improve athletic performance, and/or meet required weight classification for participation in a sport. However, others may be driven by achieving a more attractive body image. Consequently, being underweight is associated with health risks such as difficulty fighting off infection, osteoporosis, decreased muscle strength, trouble regulating body temperature and even increased risk of death.
A comparative analysis reported that açaí has intermediate antioxidant potency among 11 varieties of frozen juice pulps, scoring lower than acerola, mango, strawberry, and grapes.
A powdered preparation of freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was shown to contain anthocyanins; however, anthocyanins accounted for only about 10% of the overall antioxidant capacity. The powdered preparation was also reported to contain twelve flavonoid-like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin, deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins, and low levels of resveratrol.
In a study of different açaí varieties for their antioxidant capacity, a white species displayed no antioxidant activity against different oxygen radicals, whereas the purple variety most often used commercially was excellent against peroxyl radicals, good against peroxynitrite, and poor against hydroxyl radicals. Freeze-dried açaí powder was found to have high antioxidant activity against superoxide and peroxyl radicals and milder activity for peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals. The powder was reported to inhibit hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidation in neutrophils, and to have a slight stimulatory effect on nitric oxide production by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages in vitro.
Extracts of açaí seeds were reported to have antioxidant capacity against peroxyl radicals, similar to the antioxidant capacity of the pulp, with higher antioxidant capacity against peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals.
Recently, the açaí “berry” has been marketed as a dietary supplement. Companies sell açaí berry products in the form of tablets, juice, smoothies, instant drink powders, and whole fruit.
Marketers of these products make unverified claims that açaí provides increased energy levels, improved sexual performance, improved digestion, detoxification, high fiber content, improved skin appearance, improved heart health, improved sleep, and reduction of cholesterol levels. Açaí has higher levels of antioxidants, which are claimed to promote health, more than cranberry, orange, and apple juices, but less than Concord grape, blueberry, and black cherry juices. Apparently false claims include reversal of diabetes and other chronic illnesses, as well as expanding size of the penis and increasing men’s sexual virility and sexual attractiveness to women. Açaí is most commonly marketed as a weight loss product.
As of March 2009, there are no controlled studies backing up any of these claims. According to ABC News correspondent Susan Donaldson, these products have not been evaluated in the United States by the FDA, and their efficacy is questionable. In late 2008, lawyers for The Oprah Winfrey Show began investigating alleged statements from supplement manufacturers who suggested that frequent Oprah guest Dr. Mehmet Oz had recommended their product or açai in general for weight loss.
Are you looking for orthotics that help with ball of foot pain and heel pain?
Recommended solutions here.
Tired, sore, aching feet! We’ve all experienced that feeling. Foot supports, insoles, and cushions can offer additional support and provide some comfort for people with foot problems or medical conditions such as arthritis. A well-constructed foot support can make walking or standing much less stressful to the joints. Other conditions, such as drop-foot, can also be helped by specially-designed foot supports.
Pain in the ball of the foot (called metatarsalgia) may have many different causes (including arthritis, poor circulation, pinching of the nerves between the toes, posture problems, and various disorders). However, most often the pain is caused by nerve damage or by an abnormality of the joints nearest the balls of the feet (metatarsal joints). Often, developing one disorder that causes pain in the ball of the foot contributes to development of another disorder that causes pain in the same location.
Other links:
Introduction to Resistance Training is a series of three individual sessions for about 90 Minutes that will put you in a position to fire your personal trainer and perform your own weight training (I prefer the term ‘resistance training’) while getting better results faster. The one time investment is $795 (get $25 off with this coupon). The sessions will be performed at your local San Diego gym. Contact me to schedule you session now.
There is no general rule to what the healthy weight of a 5, 3 or 11 year old kid should be. However, it is iportant to start with a healhty diet from a very ealry age. US supermarkets sell virtuallyu nothing of nutriotional value: nothing in a can and nothing that has been ripped in a warehouse has significant traces of vitamins and minerals. If you can not afford to shop at WholeFoods or other organic food stores, make sure to supplement your kids diet with vitamins and minerals.
