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Supported Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Supported Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, place your left hand on a bench in front of you, and assume a staggered stance, left foot forward. Hold your elbow in as you row the wight to the side of your torso. Do 10 reps, switch arms and leg positions, and repeat the movement.

Dumbbell Triceps Kickback

Dumbbell Triceps Kickback

Grab a pair of dumbbells, bend your knees and lean forward so your torso is nearly parallel to the floor. Tuck your upper arms next to your sides, bend your elbows, and hold your forearms about parallel to the floor, palms facing up. Simultaneously extend your arms straight back and rotate the weight so your palms end up facing each other. Return to the starting position. Do 15 reps.

Dumbbell Hammer Curl and Press

Dumbbell Hammer Curl and Press

Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold a pair of dumbbells at arm's length by your sides, palms facing each other. Without moving your upper arms, curl the weights to your shoulders, and then press them overhead until your arms are straight. Reverse the move to return to the starting position. Do 10 reps.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A Perfect Combination To Kill Stubborn Fat

Citrus

Citrus bioflavonoids contain natural properties that may block estrogen. They are abundant in the white, spongy layer of the peel.

Soy IsoflavonesSoy flavones have mild estrogenic properties. They bind to estrogen receptors in the tissues and block them from estrodiol, the most potent estrogen hormone. Estrodiol is called the bad estrogen because of its occasionally powerful effects on the body, such as bloating, water retention, fat gain, feminization of men (such as “bitch tits”), fat under the skin and stubborn fat gain around the chest and the belly.


Experiments in Italy have shown that combining citrus bioflavonoids with soy flavones resulted in a powerful, natural way to block the estrogenic effect onthe body. Adding citrus bioflavonoids to soy flavones created a more powerful defense against estrogen than taking soy flavones alone.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

How Different Tissues Contribute to Our Weight?


While it is interesting to know how much water, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and minerals are found in the body, it is often more helpful to take it up a level and look at the contributing tissue. In fact, the contribution of various tissues explains the relative contributions made by the different molecules and minerals.

Muscle and fat (adipose tissue) are typically the greatest contributors to body weight. For instance, a generally lean man will be about 40 to 45 percent muscle and 14 to 18 percent body fat. That means that muscle and fat make up half to about two-thirds of his body mass. For this man, bone might contribute about 8 percent and the skin 2 percent. The rest of body weight is composed of organs and tissue such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines, pancreas, brain, spinal cord, and our circulations (blood, lymphatic).

Tissues

Friday, February 22, 2013

Vitamin D and Cancer Prevention


We've known for a long time that colon cancer and breast cancer are more common among people in northern climates—places where it's too cold for part of the year to get much sun. Is there a Vitamin D connection?

Yes, when it comes to colon cancer—and maybe also breast and prostate cancer. According to recent studies, people who get a lot of Vitamin D from their food and supplements are much less likely to get colon cancer. To get the protection, you only need to get 200 IU from your diet—the amount in just two cups of milk. Do you get the same protection if you just stay outside in the sun longer? Probably, but it's really hard to say exactly how much Vitamin D you make from sunshine.

To be sure you're getting enough, take supplements. Vitamin D not only helps prevent cancer, it can help treat it. The powerful anticancer drug tamoxifen, which is widely used to treat cancer of the ovaries, uterus, and breast, seems to work even better when it's combined with small doses of Vitamin D. It's also possible that Vitamin D can help treat leukemia and lymphoma, but there's not enough research yet to be sure.

Healthy Vitamin D

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Oatmeal for Your Heart


Oatmeal

In 1997, the FDA decided that oatmeal makers could make this health claim on their packages: “May reduce the risk of heart disease." That's because eating oatmeal, oat bran, or foods that are high in oats helps lower your cholesterol. Most important, it lowers your LDL cholesterol without also lowering your HDL cholesterol. How do oats accomplish this miracle?

Through their unique soluble fiber. Here's why. Your liver uses cholesterol to make digestive juices called bile acids. The bile is squirted out from your gall bladder into your small intestine to help you digest your foods, especially fats. If you eat a low-fiber diet, a lot of the bile acid gets reabsorbed into your blood through your intestinal wall. Because bile acids have a lot of cholesterol in them, that can raise your blood cholesterol level. If you could keep the bile acids from being reabsorbed, your cholesterol would go down. That's exactly what oats do. Oats are full of a soluble fiber called beta glucan. When you eat oat bran, oatmeal, or oat flour, the soluble fiber forms a gel that traps the bile acids and carries them out of your body. Your liver reacts to all this by making more bile acids. To do that, it pulls cholesterol out of your blood. Because you're not reabsorbing the cholesterol from your bile acids, and because you're also using up blood cholesterol to make more of them, your cholesterol level drops.

If your cholesterol is on the high side, try having any sort of oat cereal for breakfast (see the chart for the fiber in some popular choices). After a few months of devoted oatmeal-eating, you could see a real drop in your cholesterol level. If you also eat a lot of beans, it could drop even further. And if your cholesterol is only borderline high (200 to 240 mg/Dl), lowering it by just 10 percent could cut your risk of a heart attack by 50 percent.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Stay Healthy: Substitute Your Food (Part 3)


Substitute: Deep fried corn chips and potato chips with: Baked corn chips and potato chips

Healthy Substitutions

Substitute: Pizza made with wheat crust with: Pizza made with rice flour crust and nondairy cheese

Healthy Substitutions

Substitute: Chocolate, cocoa with: Carob chips, bars, and powder

Healthy Substitutions

Substitute: Coffee with: Grain-based coffee substitutes, such as Pero, Postum, and Caffix, or ginger tea

Healthy Substitutions

Substitute: Soft drinks and fruit juices with: Mineral water

Healthy Substitutions

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Tea: The Holy Grail of Health


When you brew yourself a nice cup of tea, you're actually brewing a potent antioxidant mix. Tea has two substances in the catechin family—epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate—that are the most potent antioxidants of all the flavonoids. That makes tea into more than just a relaxing hot drink—it protects against heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Catechins help make your platelets, the tiny cells in your blood that make it clot, less “sticky.” When your platelets are less sticky, they're less likely to clot, which means you're less likely to have a heart attack or stroke from a clot in an artery. In one recent study, Dutch men who drank four cups of tea a day had a much lower risk of stroke than those who didn't—whether or not they also took vitamins. The catechins in tea also act as powerful antioxidants that can keep cancer from getting started.

Tea Health

Tea also has antibacterial action. It kills the bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. Japanese men who drink a lot of green tea (nine or more cups a day) have lower cholesterol levels. The benefits of tea are found mostly in green tea, the kind used in China and Japan, because green tea has the most catechins. Green tea is made by steaming and then drying the fresh tea leaves. The steaming removes an enzyme that oxidizes the catechins and makes them less potent. Oolong tea (the kind served in Chinese restaurants) and black tea (the kind used in typical tea bags) aren't steamed. Instead, they're exposed to the air for a few hours and then allowed to ferment. The process oxidizes the catechins and makes them less potent. Even so, these teas are nearly as potent as green tea. One cup of green tea has about 375 mg of catechins; a cup of black tea has 210 mg.

You need to drink at least five cups of mild-tasting green tea a day to get any real benefit. If you don't want to drink that much, try supplements containing green tea extract. One capsule is roughly the same as five cups of tea.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Squats Facts


Squats

Squats are by far the most productive exercise for the lower body. Because of the muscle mass involved, they also provide great overall stimulation. But they’re not without their problems, and one relates to depth.

“The danger in a full squat, a low squat is not a result of the position of your legs in relation to your torso. The danger is a result of the direction from which the force is imposed. The force is trying to bend the bones of your lower leg and pull your knee apart—the same as a leg extension. Although the direction of force is worse in a leg extension, the amount of force is greater in a squat. Results are about the same.

There are bodybuilders perform squats to a level where their thighs were below parallel to the floor. According to the opinion of several sports trainers, squats should be carried to a point where the thighs first start to contact the backs of the calves. At that point the squat should be stopped by muscular action instead of by bouncing the thighs off the calves. Performed in the correct manner, there is no danger to the knees. On the contrary, squats can do more to prevent knee injuries than any other barbell exercise.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Basic Calcium Supplements


Calcium carbonate. The cheapest supplement, calcium carbonate is also the highest in elemental calcium: 40 percent. This is the form of calcium found in Tums and many generic versions. It has one big drawback: It dissolves slowly in your stomach, so you may not get the full benefit of all the calcium.

Calcium phosphate (also called tribasic calcium phosphate). This form is 39 percent elemental calcium. You don't need the extra phosphorus that comes with these tablets—skip them.

Calcium citrate. This is the form many doctors and nutritionists recommend. Calcium citrate is only 21 percent elemental calcium, and it's relatively expensive. On the big plus side, it dissolves easily even if you don't have much stomach acid, so you're more likely to absorb all the calcium before the pill passes out of your stomach. Many people naturally produce less acid as they age, so calcium citrate is a good choice for older adults. It's also good for people taking acid-blocking drugs such as ranitidine.
Healthy minerals

Calcium lactate. This form is found in many generic calcium supplements. It has only 13 percent elemental calcium and is relatively expensive. On the other hand, it dissolves easily even if you're low on stomach acid, so, like calcium citrate, it's a good choice for older adults and people who take acid-blocking drugs. Calcium gluconate. This form is also found in many generics, but it has only 9 percent elemental calcium. It's not a very good choice.

Calcium glubionate. This is a concentrated syrup form that contains 6.5 percent elemental calcium. You'd need to take 12 teaspoons a day to get 1,000 mg of calcium. Calcium glubionate is on the expensive side. Take it only if your doctor suggests it.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

The Amazing Health Benefits of Vitamin A


The anti-infective powers of Vitamin A have been known ever since the vitamin was discovered.

Today Vitamin A is being used to help boost immunity in some cases—and some very exciting research suggests more uses in the future. Here's the current rundown:

Treating measles and respiratory infections. Extra Vitamin A has been shown to help children get over the measles faster and with fewer complications. It also seems to help babies with respiratory infections. Talk to your doctor before you give Vitamin A supplements to babies or children.

Treating viral infections. If you're low on Vitamin A you're more susceptible to illness, especially viral infections. If you're sick with a virus, extra Vitamin A in the form of beta carotene could help you fight it off.

Preventing complications from cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy really lower your immunity. Very large doses of Vitamin A can help raise it again, but the amounts needed are too toxic to be used for long. In animal tests, large doses of beta carotene boost the immune system without the toxic danger. It's still too soon to tell if this will work in humans.

Boosting immune cells. Large doses of beta carotene may help increase the number of infection-fighting cells in your immune system. This could be very beneficial for AIDS patients and anyone whose immune system is depressed. Research continues on the benefits of Vitamin A and beta carotene for your immune system. We believe that the future will bring solid evidence that these nutrients can help not only immunity but many other health problems as well.

Vitamin A

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

What is Glutamine?



Glutamine is the most abundant single amino acid in the blood and in the intracellular free amino acid pool (most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue). It comprises 61% of the amino acid pool in skeletal muscle. Glutamine’s unique structure, containing two nitrogen side chains, consists of 19% nitrogen - making it the primary transporter of nitrogen into the muscle cell. In fact, glutamine alone is responsible for 35% of the nitrogen that gets into the muscle cell. Glutamine literally drives muscle building nitrogen into the muscle cell where it is synthesized for growth.

GlutamineEnough can't be said about the importance of glutamine and muscle metabolism. Research is showing an important link between stress and your body's need for glutamine. The greater the stress (weight training) the more your body needs glutamine. If you don't receive enough glutamine from your diet your body will steal it from the largest glutamine reservoir in your body - skeletal muscle tissue.

So if you don't satisfy your body's glutamine demand either through the food you eat or from supplementation, it will ravage it from muscle tissue causing a loss of lean muscle mass. One other unique quality glutamine exerts is its ability to dramatically increase circulating growth hormone levels.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Chitosan and Fat Absorbtion Studies



Chitosan is promoted as a fat "trapper," or blocker. It's a derivative of chitin, a fibrous substance that forms the cornerstone of shellfish exoskeletons. The initial claims for chitosan came from studies that showed it effectively mopped up fatlike industrial-waste products by forming an insoluble bond with them. That was followed by in vitro, or test-tube, studies, in which chitosan was placed in a beaker with a buffer and fat. The liquid was then stirred, and the resultant fat clumping was measured. Under those conditions, chitosan seemed to work.

ChitosanBut as with many other substances, what works outside the body isn't necessarily duplicated inside. Various studies that have tested the effects of chitosan on fat absorption and on weight loss in human subjects show that it has negligible effects. The latest research examining the fat-blocking characteristics of chitosan featured both male and female human subjects.  12 men and 12 women were told to follow specific diet plans that averaged five meals a day for 12 days. Participants took two capsules of a commercial chitosan supplement before each meal. The total daily doses averaged 2.5 grams. The extent of fat malabsorption induced by chitosan was measured by examining the subjects' fecal output.

The fat intake per dose of chitosan averaged 10 to 76 grams in the male subjects and 10 to 60 grams in the women. The 2.5 grams of chitosan per day increased the fecal excretion of fat by 1.8 grams a day in men and zero in women. Why the female subjects didn't get the effect wasn't clear, but the amount of fat excreted by the men was inconsequential. It would take more than seven months for them to lose one pound of fat due to chitosan.
 

Ultimate 30's Workout

Increase the amount of testosterone and growth hormone your body produces by working multiple muscle groups and keeping rest periods short. For cardio, your lactate threshold can still be increased throughout your thirties, so intervals are king to counter any loss of lung power.


Ultimate 40's Workout

Short, sharp shocks are the way to fire up your body in your middle years - which means you can forget long-winded weights workouts. Vary exercises, intensity and timings to keep your muscles guessing.



Ultimate 50's Workout

You may not be able to lift the heaviest weight, but that's okay. Instead, stretching and yoga should be part of your training, and body-weight moves can replace heavy workouts. Do three sets of 10 reps of the following exercises to protect your joints and maintain muscle mass and testosterone.