Jump into water workouts
‘Tis the season. With Memorial Day upon us, I think we can all safely assume that a last sudden arctic blast will not be hitting us this year. We can pack up our winter clothing and officially make the switch to tank tops and flip-flops.
Yes, it’s time. It’s time to welcome the summer season and all of the long and languid days that it promises to bring.
For just a moment, close your eyes and envision your perfect summer. Cool treats and a slower pace. Backyard barbecues and baseball games. All of the children and siblings getting along so well! Such nice thoughts!
For the realists out there, the picture expands into a more concrete form. It will be hot. And it will be humid. And you are eventually going to have to break down and put yourself in some sort of swimsuit and get thyself near some water.
Even here in landlocked Lawrence, it is going to be pretty difficult to avoid the lake, pools and numerous water park facilities that surround us.
All of this pool-hopping may keep you very busy, and you may find that the “I Have No Time To Work Out” mantra has begun to spin in your head.
Study links water, healthy food
A team of researchers at the University of Oregon may have at last discovered how to get children to eat their vegetables.
The study suggests parents can encourage healthy and lasting food choices by their children by serving a glass of water at each meal.
The authors say behavioral research has found people correlate a glass of water with healthy food, and sugary drinks such as soda with unhealthy food.
“People have repeated exposure to combinations of food and drink, and they learn from them,” said Bettina Cornwell, a professor of marketing at the UO and co-author of the study. “Especially for kids, they learn that ‘this’ goes with ‘that.’ ”
“This” and “that” refer to common food pairings, for example that a soft drink is readily associated with fast-food meals or convenience store items. Cornwell said that water is often associated with healthy food, and that frequent consumption of water at the dinner table can create a healthier mindset with children.
Calcium tablets linked to increased heart attacks
According to a new study from Germany, regularly taking calcium pills can increase the risk of suffering a heart attack.
Many older people take calcium pills as a way of strengthening bone density and fighting off the threat on conditions such as osteoporosis but few are aware of the risks involved.
The study, which has been published in the Heart journal, said that promoting a diet which is full of calcium rather than taking supplements would be best advised for the majority of people.
Almost 24,000 people were studied by the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg over a period of ten years. Researchers looked at the number of attacks suffered by people taking calcium tablets compared against those who were not.
They found that those taking the supplements were 86 per cent more likely to have a heart attack.
Dr Carrie Ruxton, from the Health Supplements Information Service, however stressed that people taking calcium regularly should not be alarmed until further investigations are made.
She said: “Osteoporosis is a real issue for women and it is irresponsible for scientists to advise that women cut out calcium supplements on the basis of one flawed survey, particularly when the link between calcium, vitamin D and bone health is endorsed by the European Food Safety Authority.”
Natasha Stewart, a senior cardiac nurse with the British Heart Foundation, added: “This research indicates that there may be an increased risk of having a heart attack for people who take calcium supplements.
“However, this does not mean that these supplements cause heart attacks. Further research is needed to shed light on the relationship between calcium supplements and heart health. We need to determine whether the potential risks of the supplements outweigh the benefits calcium can give sufferers of conditions such as osteoporosis.”
Benefits and Risks of Taking Dietary Supplements
The Benefits
Normally, you should be able to get all the nutrients you need from a balanced diet; however, taking supplements can provide additional nutrients when your diet is lacking or when certain health conditions cause you to develop an insufficiency or deficiency. In most cases, multiple-vitamin supplements provide all the basic micronutrients(vitamins and minerals) your body needs. These multiple-vitamins are generally safe because they contain only small amounts of the each nutrient.
Individual nutrients can also be sold as dietary supplements, but usually in larger amounts than what’s found in a typical multiple-vitamin. They may be used to treat a simple deficiency, such as an iron deficiency, but sometimes they’re used therapeutically to treat specific health conditions or risk factors. For example, large doses of niacin may be used to raise good cholesterol, and folic acid has been used to reduce the risk of a birth defect called spina bifida.
Scientific research supports some of the benefits of using many dietary supplements for certain health conditions, but in many more cases, the effectiveness has not been backed up by the research evidence. The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements hasdietary supplement factsheets that assess the evidence for (and against) the therapeutic use of a large number of dietary supplements.
The Risks
In the United States, dietary supplements are not regulated as strictly as drugs; manufacturers do not have to prove that use of the supplements are either safe or effective, although they are prohibited from selling unsafe products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a list of tainted products that are sold as dietary supplements. The worst offenders are usually weight loss aids, “natural” sexual enhancement supplements, and supplements targeted at bodybuilders.
Dietary supplement manufacturers do have to follow some rules regarding labeling and the claims that can be made about the supplements. The claim can be made that a dietary supplement addresses a nutritional deficiency, supports health, or reduces the risk for a specific health problem when there is enough evidence to support that claim. Supplement labels must also use this statement:
This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Most dietary supplements are safe as long as you follow the label instructions, but large doses of certain nutrients can have strong biological effects on the body. While that may be beneficial in some cases, there are times when taking large doses of individual supplements can be dangerous.
For example, the fat-soluble vitamins A and D can build up to toxic levels in your body when taken in large doses over long periods of time. Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, so your body doesn’t store it as easily as a fat-soluble vitamin, but extended use of large doses can cause nerve damage. Large doses of vitamin C may cause diarrhea.
Mineral supplements can be dangerous as well. For example, both selenium and iron supplements can be toxic in large amounts.
Some dietary supplements can interact with over-the-counter or prescription medications, or even with each other, and some supplements should be avoided before undergoing surgery. You should always speak with your health care provider before taking any dietary supplements beyond basic multiple-vitamins.
How a Juice Cleanse Can Actually Cause Weight Gain
Whether it’s to improve energy, clear acne, spring clean the digestive system, or shed a few pounds, juice cleansing is all the rage now. Even celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Richie are buzzing about the benefits of liquid detoxing. Before you splurge on a juicer or lay down the dough for a liquid detox program, learn how a juice cleanse may lead to weight gain.
Hard-to-measure liquid calories: Since all the calories you’re consuming are liquid, if you’re not watching your intake, it’s easy to consume well over the daily limit. (A pressed juice averages between 100 to 350 calories per 16-ounce bottle.) Make sure you have a plan to follow and an accurate way to determine how many calories are in each glass or bottle you’re drinking. Most retail juicing programs provide calorie counts, but are also pricey to join.
Messes with metabolism: A typical juice cleanse lasts anywhere from three to seven days (or sometimes longer), where you drink 32 to 64 ounces of freshly pressed fruit and vegetable juice each day. When your body doesn’t get the all the nutrients (or the amount of calories) it’s used to, it stresses out because it thinks it’s starving. Often the body reacts to this by slowing down its metabolism, which can make losing weight harder in the future. And while juicing is an easy way to deliver phytonutrients to the body, the fruit-based juices tend to be high in sugar, which can negatively affect insulin levels in the body.
Less exercise: Since you’re consuming less calories than you’re used to (especially in protein, fiber, and fat), many juicing programs encourage conserving your energy by doing less or lower-impact exercise, or even no exercise at all. Less exercise means less calories burned, which may cause extra weight to creep on, especially if you have trouble getting back to the gym after the cleanse ends.
Feeling deprived: Sipping on celery-kale-pear juice might be doable the first day, but you may start to crave all the foods you know you can’t eat. Even if you make it through the entire cleanse without cheating, the feeling of deprivation may be so strong that as soon as the cleanse is over, you can’t help but grab nachos, a burger, fries, and a brownie sundae, consuming more calories in one meal than you normally would have in an entire day before you embarked on the cleanse.
Foods High in Vitamin C
- Orange Juice
- Green Pepper
- Sweet Potatoes
- White or Red Potatoes
- Strawberries
- Raw Spinach Leaves
- Broccoli
Is Almond Butter Better for You Than Peanut Butter?
Question: Is Almond Butter Better for You Than Peanut Butter?
Almond butter has a bit more fat than peanut butter, but those include more monounsaturated fats and about half the amount of saturated fats. Almond butter also has more fiber, and fewer carbohydrates so it has about the same number of calories as peanut butter.
Almond butter has more minerals than peanut butter, with the exception of selenium, and peanut butter contains more B vitamins. Both almond butter and peanut butter contain phytosterols, which are the plant version of animal cholesterol; however, unlike dietary cholesterol, phytosterols may help to reduce elevated cholesterol levels in humans.
Both peanut butter and almond butter can be used as sources of protein and healthy fats, just be sure to look at the ingredients labels to look for any added sugars or other ingredients you may not desire. It’s also important to note that people who have peanut allergies are at a higher risk for tree nut allergies, so almond butter may not be a good substitute.
Did you know that peanuts aren’t actually nuts? They’re legumes and they’re related to peas, dry beans and lentils. According to the National Peanut Board, peanut butter is consumed in 90 percent of homes in the United States and a typical kid will eat 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before they go off to college. Also, it looks like men prefer chunky peanut butter, while women and children prefer creamy peanut butter.
Almond butter is made from almonds, which are true nuts that grow on trees. Almond butter may be a newer way to eat almonds, but almonds have been around for at least 3400 years, according to the Almond Board of California. Ancient Romans threw them at newlyweds as little fertility charms. They were historically grown and harvested in Spain, Morocco, Greece, and Israel, until they were brought to California in the 1700s.
How to incorporate flax-seed meal into your diet
- Mix it in yogurt
- Mix it in cottage cheese
- Add to pancake or muffin batter
- Sprinkle on top of salads
- Add to your soup
- Mix it with granola and eat it with yogurt
- Add to smoothies
- Look up recipes using flax-seed meal
- Mix with apple sauce
- Add to cereal and milk
- Add flax to your protein shake
- Sprinkle on top of a peanut butter sandwich
- Add in juices such as orange juice at breakfast
8 Super Nutrients that Slim You Down
- MONOUNSATURATED FATS
- EGCG
- RASPBERRY KETONES
- DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID (DHA)
- ACETIC ACID
- PROTEIN
- CAFFEINE
- FIBER
Abs Total Core Workout: Intermediate Level
This core workout will get you a bikini body in no time. Check it out for yourself.
