Health Habits

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Posts Tagged ‘insulin’

Eat More Carbs

September 26th, 2009

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, diabetes, fat, fitness, health, nutrition, obesity, weight loss

Tags: burger carbs crazy diabetes diet fitness food funny hamburger health humor humour insulin joke nutrition obese obesity odd popeye sugar t-shirt tshirt type 2 diabetes weird wimpy

New York City’s public health officials opened a new front in their struggle against high-calorie beverages on Monday, unveiling a new ad campaign that graphically depicts globs of human fat gushing from a sideways drink bottle.

Mmmmmmmm….I could rally go for a great big glass of globby liquified human body-fat.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, diabetes, fat, fat loss, fitness, health, nutrition, obesity, weight loss

Tags: carbs childhood obesity corn syrup diet Diet/Nutrition fat fitness food government health hfcs high fructose corn syrup insulin new york new york city nutrition nutritious nyc obese obesity pop soda sugar weight loss

The Lazy Man's Guide to Getting Ripped

September 8th, 2009

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a potential client. He told me that he would love to get fit, but he just doesn’t have the time.

He’s just too busy with work, kids, internet porn, etc…

B.S.

He’s not busy…he’s lazy.

And he’s not alone.

According to the WHO, there are 3.6 billion lazy guys sitting on couches all around the world.

And the trainer who can help those lazy buggers transform their lazy asses from….

…is going to be rich.

Filthy…Stinking…Rich

So, here we go. The lazy man’s guide to getting ripped….or as I like to call it – My ticket to becoming filthy, stinking rich.

(BTW, this story is based on a real client. We have been training for one week. He has already lost 5 lbs.)

DIET

Meal # 1 – Breakfast

1 Tbsp of Fish Oil
3 medium sized Apple or Pears
3 fried or hard boiled Eggs
Water or Tea
5 grams of Leucine

Meal # 2 – Morning Coffee Break

My client works in an office. Each morning, he has a mandatory group meeting. Coffee & pastries are served.

1 Coffee (with cream)
15 Almonds (brought to work in a little Ziploc baggie)
Water

Meal # 3 – Lunch

Big Salad – consisting of

Salad Greens (pre-washed, pre-chopped)
1 can of tuna or salmon, or 3 more hard boiled eggs, or leftover meat from last night’s dinner
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice or Vinegar
Salt & Pepper
5 grams of Leucine
Water

Before our hero goes to bed at night, he rips open the bag of greens and dumps it into the tupperware container. Same goes for the protein. In the morning he pours in the oil, lemon juice & salt and pepper. Come lunch time, he shakes the container and presto he has his Big Salad

Meal # 4 – Afternoon Snack

1 Coffee (with cream)
15 Almonds (brought to work in a little Ziploc baggie)
Water

Meal # 5 – Workout Nutrition

1 serving of Biotest’s Surge Workout Fuel, combined with
5g of Creatine, and
1 serving of Progressive Nutritionals VegeGreens
1.5 liters of water

Meal # 6 – Dinner

Another Big Salad or steamed vegetables prepared with a microwave steaming bag
BBQ – steak or chicken or fish or pork or lamb or….
5 grams of Leucine
1 Tbsp of Fish Oil
Water

TRAINING

I have designed a training program specific to his needs, injuries, muscle imbalances, etc…

But the basic design of the program is:

3x per week total body HIRT workouts
2x per week HIIT/Cardio workouts on his stationary bike
1 x per week active rest – long walks with his wife, soccer with the kids, etc…
Dynamic stretching at each workout designed to correct imbalances & prevent injuries

THE RESULTS

As I mentioned above, the client has lost 5 lbs in the first week.

And while that certainly is good news, what really excites me is the fact that he has been perfect on his meal compliance.

He said that it was easy…EASY!!!

But, that was the first week. Let’s see how he does this week. I will report back on Sunday.

BTW, if anyone needs some help setting up a plan like this one, I would be glad to help.

[contact-form]

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Your Omega 3 Prescription

September 4th, 2009

By this point, you should already know that you need more Omega 3 fatty acids into your diet.

The question is: how much?

A teaspoon of fish oils?
A tablespoon?
3 pills?
or a great big slab of smoked salmon?

Well, according to this study, researchers believe that “a 200 mg dose of DHA per day is enough to affect biochemical markers that reliably predict cardiovascular problems, such as those related to aging, atherosclerosis, and diabetes”.

This study is the first to identify how much DHA is necessary to promote optimal heart health.

The Study

To determine the optimal dose of DHA, the researchers examined the effects of increasing doses of DHA on 12 healthy male volunteers between ages of 53 and 65. These men consumed doses of DHA at 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg per day for two weeks for each dose amount, with DHA being the only omega-3 fatty acid in their diet. (No EPA)

Blood and urine samples were collected before and after each dose and at eight weeks after DHA supplementation stopped. The researchers then examined these samples for biochemical markers indicating the effects of each dose on the volunteers.

They found that supplementation with only 200 mg/d DHA for 2 wk induced an antioxidanteffect.

They concluded that “low consumption of DHA could bean effective and nonpharmacological way to protect healthy menfrom platelet-related cardiovascular events”.

Conclusion

If this study is correct, you need only 200 mg of DHA per day to reap the cardiovascular benefits of the Omega 3 fatty acid DHA.

And how do you get 200 mg of DHA?

1/2 tsp of fish oil
2 of these kiddie chewable DHA supplements
5 Krill capsules
2 oz of fresh/frozen salmon or tuna

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Recipe for a Fat Man

August 27th, 2009

Matt McClain - Rocky Mountain News

Reading the comments from my last two posts (here and here), I was struck by the very strong, yet very different opinions about the cause(s) of obesity.

Some people believe in ye olde Calories in vs Calories Out theory, while others believe in the power of insulin while others blame their DNA.

So, I raise the question….Is there a one size fits all cause / cure for obesity?

Or are there a whole bunch of factors coming together to create America’s obesity epidemic?

To aid in the discussion, I have put together a list of the factors that I think influence human obesity.

Feel free to comment/criticize or add to the list

Determinants of Obesity

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Food

Quantity of food – Calories
Quantity of food – Volume

Type and Quality of food – Macronutrients – Carbs, Fat, Protein
Type and Quality of food – Micronutrients – Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes, Phytochemicals, etc…
Type and Quality of food – Nutrient Density v.s Caloric Density

Origin of food – Soil, Air & Water Quality
Origin of food – Factory farms, fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, steroids, antibiotics, etc…
Origin of food – Nutrient depletion due to travel time, premature harvest, preserving chemicals, etc…
Origin of food – Additives – flavor enhancers (MSG), added color, added flavor, added moisture, etc…
Origin of food – Industrial processes driven solely by profit – (see melamine)

Convenience food vs Real food

Digestion of food
Absorbtion of food
When you eat your meals
How long between meals
How much you eat at different meals
What you eat at different times of the day

Your beliefs and emotions regarding food – food as pleasure, food as fuel
Dining habits – eat on the run vs sit down dinner

Your Body

Genetics
Epigenetics
Hormones – Insulin, Cortisol, Serotonin, Glucagon, etc
Your Brain
Hormone receptors
Your existing body-fat
Your thoughts, your unconscious mind
Medical conditions

Your Life

Emotions
Stress
Motivation
Income
Geography
Influence of family, friends & neighbors
Social stigma
Media, celebrity
Entertainment
Your job
Your bed

Physical Activity

Day to day activity (non-exercise)
How much exercise
Type of exercise
Workout nutrition
Workout recovery techniques – hydrotherapy, massage, soft tissue therapies
Injuries
Pain

As you can see, there are a lot of factors that influence obesity.

I didn’t even get into all of the bleeding edge obesity research.

The search for an obesity cure never ends. Just today, there were two new obesity discoveries (here and here). Tomorrow, there will probably be two more.

But for now, I think we have enough on our plate.

BTW, feel free to critique or add to the list.

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Hormones, Problem Areas and Your Body-Fat Map – Part 2

August 12th, 2009

In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to the idea that your hormones are responsible for your personal fat-distribution patterns.

For example, women with an excessive percentage of fat on the back of their arms are likely to have elevated insulin levels or low DHEA levels.

Men unlucky enough to be lugging around a generous set of man-boobs are likely to have high levels of estrogen (often combined with high insulin and low testosterone)

So, as a public service to all of my man-boobed brothers out there, we are going to take a look at how to get those hormones back in balance.

(For this post, I will be using a variety of reference sources. Most of the sources are pretty dry and technical, but one that I can heartily recommend to y’all is The Hormone Diet by Dr. Natasha Turner (Canada). It is a great reference that is easy to read and understand. I will be doing a more detailed book review about this book in the coming weeks.)

High Insulin

Causes

Eating too much over-processed, nutrient deficient carbohydrates – fast food, frozen dinners, pop, fruit drinks, sugary foods, processed diet foods…you know. Crap.
Eating too little protein – real protein, not processed McNugget protein
Eating too little fat – real fat, not trans-fat
Not enough fiber in your diet - no need for supplements, you should get enough protein from fruit & veg
Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
Not enough exercise
Excessive exercise to the point of muscle wasting
Steroid based medications
Poor liver function
Environmental toxins
Poor sleep patterns
Aging – sorry about that one

Solutions

Diet – Sugar/Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Medierranean
Botanical – Cinnamon, Chromium – talk to your naturopath
Increase consumption of fiber
Increase consumption of fish oils
Weight loss
Exercise
Reduce exposure to toxins & improve liver function – talk to your naturopath
Sleep
Get your hormone levels checked

High Testosterone

While not very common in men, it affects about 10% of women

Causes

Increased production by the adrenal glands
Polycystic ovaries caused by Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Low Estrogen. Estrogen is a potent inhibitor of testosterone production, so anything that decreases estrogen levels beyond the norm is going to increase the testosterone to estrogen balance

Solutions

Stress management = lowered cortisol = reduction in adrenal production
Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
Pharmaceutical – Troglitazone and Metformin – talk to your doctor
Botanical – Saw Palmetto – talk to your naturopath
Estrogen replacement – bio-identical or conventional – talk to your doctor
Get your hormone levels checked

Low Testosterone

Causes

Aging
Damage to the testicles
Radiation
Testicular or Pituitary tumors
Serious viral infections
Vasectomy
Various genetic conditions – Klinefelter’s, Kallmann’s, Prader-Willi syndromes and Myotonic Dystrophy

In addition to these causes, there are a variety of lifestyle causes. These include:

Obesity…it’s a vicious circle – low test causes obesity and obesity causes lowered test…sorry
Exposure to pesticides
Exposure to hormones used in factory farm meat and poultry production. These hormones act like Estrogen in your body, and…
Estrogen is a potent inhibitor of testosterone production, so anything that increases estrogen levels beyond the norm is going to negatively impact testosterone production
Phthalates (found in soap, cosmetics and plastics) are another estrogen like compound that suppresses testosterone.
Alcohol…especially beer
Temperature – boxers v.s briefs
Sleep apnea
Narcotics

Solutions

Female

Diet – Dump your low-fat diet and increase your healthy fats
Botanical – Tribulus – talk to your naturopath
High Intensity exercise
Get your hormone levels checked

Male

Diet – Dump your low-fat diet and increase your healthy fats
Botanical – Tribulus – talk to your naturopath
Pharmaceutical – Aromatase blockers and/or testosterone, anabolic steroids – talk to your doctor and/or your lawyer…see Manny Ramierez
High Intensity exercise
Get your hormone levels checked

High Estrogen or Estrogen Dominance

Causes

Pregnancy & menstrual cycle fluctuations
Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
Obesity – obesity causes high estrogen which causes obesity…
Poor diet – processed foods, a high fat diet, a high sugar diet, excessive caffeine, low levels of magnesium and B6
Birth control pill
Exposure to hormones used in factory farm meat and poultry production. These hormones act like Estrogen in your body, and…
Phthalates and other xenoestrogens (found in soap, cosmetics and plastics)
Low testosterone
Impaired liver function
Poor digestion
Alcohol
Lack of exercise
Lack of sleep

Solutions

Stress management
Improve your diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean/increase your fiber
Reduce your exposure to hormones and xenoestrogens
Improve liver function – talk to your naturopath
Get more sleep
Exercise more
Pharmaceutical – Testosterone – talk to your doctor
Get your hormone levels checked

Low Estrogen

Causes

Aging – Menopause
Premature failure of the ovaries
Surgical menopause
Unmanaged high levels of stress
Smoking
Low-fat diets
Extremely low body-fat

Solutions

Female

Estrogen replacement – bio-identical or conventional – talk to your doctor
Get your hormone levels checked

High Cortisol

We all have stress in our lives. The problems begin when we can’t handle the stresses that are thrown our way. That is when stress starts negatively impacting our health. Chronic elevated levels of corisol is just one symptom of that impact.

Causes

Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress

Solutions

Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
Reduce intake of stimulants
Supplements – Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, magnesium, B5, B6, Phosphatidylserine, adaptogens such as ginseng – talk to your naturopath.
Get your hormone levels checked

Low Growth Hormone

Causes

Aging
Lack of sleep
Lack of exercise
Eating before bed
Sleeping with lights on

Solutions

Don’t eat before bed
Sleep in the dark
High Intensity exercise – low intensity (ie cardio) has little effect
Intermittent fasting
Supplements – GHB and the Amino Acids Arginine, Lysine and Ornithine – talk to your doctor/naturopath
Get your hormone levels checked

Low DHEA

Causes

Aging
Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress

Solutions

DHEA supplements – talk to your naturopath
Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
Reduce intake of stimulants
Supplements – Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, magnesium, B5, B6, Phosphatidylserine, adaptogens such as ginseng – talk to your naturopath.
Get your hormone levels checked

Low Progesterone

Causes

Lack of ovulation
Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
Low levels of luteinizing hormone
Hypothyroidism
Excess prolaction

Solutions

Progesterone cream – talk to your doctor/naturopath
Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
Get your hormone levels checked

Note

I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one on tv. So, if you think something is out of whack with your hormones, go and get them checked. That doesn’t mean that you have to take the drugs that your doctor is probably going to push on you. But, at least you will have the info to make your best decision.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot them my way. If I don’t feel confident about my ability to answer it, I will try and convince an “expert” to weigh in.

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Exercise, Mental/Emotional, diabetes, fat, fat loss, fitness, health, nutrition, obesity, weight loss

Tags: carbs childhood obesity cortisol dhea diabetes diet Diet/Nutrition estrogen Exercise fat fat loss fitness food gh growth hormone health healthy food healthy recipe high intensity interval training hiit insulin low carb nutrition nutritious obese obesity omega 3 physical fitness progesterone protein sugar testosterone weight loss workout

SuperFood: Beet Root

August 7th, 2009

An interesting new study shows that drinking beet root juice boosts your stamina and could help you exercise for up to 16% longer.

The theory is that the nitrate contained in beet root juice leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake, making exercise less tiring.

And while the researchers are not yet sure of the exact mechanism that causes the nitrate in the beet root juice to boost stamina, they suspect it could be a result of the nitrate turning into nitric oxide in the body, reducing the oxygen cost of exercise.

In fact, drinking beet root juice reduces oxygen uptake and improves endurance better than any other known means, including training.

Including training!

Obviously, this is big news for endurance athletes.

The Science

The researchers gave the test subjects 500ml per day of organic beet root juice for six consecutive days before completing a series of tests, involving cycling on an exercise bike.

On another occasion, they were given a placebo of blackcurrant cordial for six consecutive days before completing the same cycling tests.

After drinking beet root juice the group was able to cycle for an average of 11.25 minutes, which is 92 seconds longer than when they were given the placebo.

Beet root supplementation resulted in a 19% reduction in the amplitude of the pulmonary O2 response during moderate cardio exercise

As an extra added bonus, the group that had consumed the beet root juice also had lower resting blood pressure. (systolic pressure dropped 6 mmHg)

This blood pressure benefit was also found in a 2008 study.

In that study, researchers discovered that within 1 hour of drinking 500ml of beet root juice, volunteers experienced a drop in blood pressure, with the peak drop 3 to 4 hours after ingestion.

Some degree of reduction continued to be observed until up to 24 hours after ingestion.

Researchers showed that the decrease in blood pressure was due to the chemical formation of nitrite from the dietary nitrate in the juice. The nitrate in the juice is converted in saliva, by bacteria on the tongue, into nitrite. This nitrite-containing saliva is swallowed, and in the acidic environment of the stomach is either converted into nitric oxide or re-enters the circulation as nitrite.

The peak time of reduction in blood pressure correlated with the appearance and peak levels of nitrite in the circulation, an effect that was absent in a second group of volunteers who refrained from swallowing their saliva during, and for 3 hours following, beet root ingestion.

This research suggests that drinking beet root juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple, effective and inexpensive way to reduce blood pressure and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.

Conclusion

If you are interested in:

Lowering your blood pressure
Reducing your risk of heart disease
Increasing your aerobic endurance
and making you cardio sessions feel much, much easier

Drink your beet juice.

And if you can’t get your hands on some fresh beet root juice, there are a number of GreenFood/SuperFood/Antioxidant drinks that have beet root powder as an ingredient.

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PEDF: The link between Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes?

July 8th, 2009

Stereoscopic model of PEDF

Link between obesity and diabetes discovered

Researchers at Monash University (led by Associate Professor Matthew Watt), have discovered that fat cells release a novel protein called PEDF (pigment epithelium-derived factor), which triggers a chain of events and interactions that lead to development of Type 2 diabetes.

According to Dr. Watt:

When PEDF is released into the bloodstream, it causes the muscle and liver to become desensitized to insulin. The pancreas then produces more insulin to counteract these negative effects

This insulin release causes the pancreas to become overworked, eventually slowing or stopping insulin release from the pancreas, leading to Type 2 diabetes.

It appears that the more fat tissue a person has the less sensitive they become to insulin. Therefore a greater amount of insulin is required to maintain the body’s regulation of blood-glucose.

Our research was able to show that increasing PEDF not only causes Type 2 diabetes like complications but that blocking PEDF reverses these effects.

In fact, after blocking the secretion of PEDF in test subjects, the body was able to return to being insulin-sensitive and therefore did not need excess insulin to remain regulated.

This research may be a significant breakthrough in explaining the reasons why obesity triggers the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.

Until now scientists knew there was a very clear pattern and had strong suspicions that a link existed between the two conditions, but our understanding of the chain of events that are caused by the release of PEDF shows a causal link, Dr. Watt said.

Type 2 diabetes patients will benefit knowing the two conditions are linked.

We already know that weight-loss generally improves the management of blood glucose levels in diabetes patients.

Researchers can now move forward knowing this link exists and can begin to design new drugs to improve the treatment of Type 2 diabetes….

…or perhaps, instead of looking for a cure for this completely preventable lifestyle disease, we could throw some cash at health promotion and/or disease prevention.

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High Carb Diet = Heart Attack

June 30th, 2009

IHOPs Butterscotch Rocks Pancake....mmmmmm distended brachial arteries

For the first time in medical history, researchers have been able to visualize what happens inside our arteries before, during and after eating high carb foods.

And it ain’t a pretty sight.

Looking inside the arteries of students eating a variety of foods, Dr. Michael Shechter ( Tel Aviv University) visualized exactly what happens inside the body when the wrong foods for a healthy heart are eaten.

He found that foods with a high glycemic index resulted in distended brachial arteries for several hours.

Dr. Shechter continues:

Elasticity of arteries anywhere in the body can be a measure of heart health.

But when aggravated over time, a sudden expansion of the artery wall can cause a number of negative health effects, including reduced elasticity, which can cause heart disease or sudden death.

So, let’s recap:

High GI foods (bread, sugar, desserts, pop, pizza, cereal, 99% of the food sold at any fast food restaurant…) leads to distended brachial arteries which can lead to heart attacks which can lead to death.

The Science

Using 56 healthy volunteers, the researchers looked at four groups.

Group One ate a cornflake mush mixed with milk,

Group Two ate a pure sugar mixture,

Group Three ate bran flakes,

Group Four was given a placebo (water).

Over four weeks, Dr. Shechter applied his method of “brachial reactive testing” to each group. The test uses a cuff on the arm, like those used to measure blood pressure, which can visualize arterial function in real time.

The results were dramatic. Before any of the patients ate, arterial function was essentially the same. After eating, except for the placebo group, all had reduced functioning.

Enormous peaks indicating arterial stress were found in the high glycemic index groups: the cornflakes and sugar group.

“We knew high glycemic foods were bad for the heart. Now we have a mechanism that shows how,” says Dr. Shechter. “Foods like cornflakes, white bread, french fries, and sweetened soda all put undue stress on our arteries.

We’ve explained for the first time how high glycemic carbs can affect the progression of heart disease.”

During the consumption of foods high in sugar, there appears to be a temporary and sudden dysfunction in the endothelial walls of the arteries.

Endothelial health can be traced back to almost every disorder and disease in the body.

It is “the riskiest of the risk factors,” says Dr. Shechter.

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So how come my doctor tells me to eat cereal for breakfast?

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Sadly, Mikey never made it past his 25th birthday.

Damn you Life brand cereal, damn you.

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The Atkins Diet for Vegans

June 9th, 2009

Quick…What comes to mind when I say… Atkins Diet?

Steak?
Bacon?
Ribs?

How about textured vegetable protein?

Or, smoothies made from vegan protein powder?

Well, according to this research, test subjects who followed a “low-carbohydrate (26% of total calories),high–vegetable protein (31% from gluten, soy, nuts, fruit,vegetables, and cereals), and vegetable oil (43%) plant-baseddiet” for 4 weeks, saw improvements in blood cholesterol levels and other heart disease risk factors…including weight loss.

In comparison, the control diet (a high-carbohydrate lacto-ovo vegetarian diet (58%carbohydrate, 16% protein, and 25% fat)), produced improvements in weight loss but little change in the other heart disease risk factors.

Conclusion

A Vegan-Atkins diet is superior to a high carb, Lacto-Ovo, low-fat dairy, whole grain diet.

Question

Is a Vegan-Atkins diet superior to: