Fish Food for Thought

Fish Food for Thought
Copyright (c) 2006 The Brain Code LLC

Have you heard about omega-3s? You may have seen headlines
in the New York Times or CNN touting their benefits. Maybe
you have seen them highlighted on cereal boxes and other
food products. What are they and why is it such a big deal?

The fat brain

Omega-3s are one type of Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acid or
PUFA that are incredibly important for your heart and
brain. In fact, your brain is about 25% PUFA by weight and
about 40% fat overall. Yes, the brain is a big fat organ!
This is one reason why low-fat diet fads are not the best
option.

Omega-3s are actually important for every cell in the body
but they are especially high in brain cells. They help your
brain cells signal to each other appropriately and keep
things running smoothly.

So what kinds of foods have them? Actually, there are three
main kinds of omega-3s. One that comes mostly from plants,
like flaxseed and some nuts, and two others that come
mostly from fish. They are all important for the body but
the omega-3s found in fish appear to be most important for
the brain.

Food for your mood

The interesting thing is that societies who eat more fish
have lower rates of depression, suicide and violent
behavior. Also, omega-3s have been found to be lower in
blood samples from suicide victims, schizophrenics and
bipolar patients.

These types of studies are called ‘observational' because
you can't say that low omega-3s caused these conditions.
However, one study that took place in a British women's
prison showed that giving inmates omega-3 supplements
actually reduced violent behavior. Also, omega-3s have
shown promise in small clinical trials treating depression
and bipolar illness. Other studies in animals show that
omega-3s affect the levels of neuro-chemicals that control
mood, like dopamine and serotonin.

This is not to say that if you don't get enough omega-3s
that you will get mentally ill, but there appears to be a
real link. Many factors contribute to mental illness,
including, genetics, chronic stressful experiences,
physical activity and yes, diet. Omega-3s look like they
are one piece in the puzzle.

What about Mercury?

So should you just eat more fish? This brings up another
problem. Too much fish can lead to problems from mercury
and PCBs. In fact, pregnant women are advised not to eat
fish at all. This is a big debate in the medical community
because omega-3s are incredibly important for development
of the fetus and the growing baby will ‘steal' omega-3s
from the mother if she doesn't get enough in her diet. Some
researchers argue that this advice does more harm than
good. Still, most doctors today don't offer their pregnant
patients any other alternatives ­ they just say don't eat
fish.

This is where fish oil supplements can come in. They are
becoming very popular and offer a safe alternative ­ if you
are careful. The thing to look for is ‘molecular
distillation' on the back of the bottle. This means that
the manufacturer has tried to remove heavy metals and PCBs.
Still, I would check with them to make sure they have some
kind of quality control since the FDA does not regulate
this claim.

Why now?

So why didn't we have all these problems centuries ago.
It's not like all our ancestors took fish oil pills all the
time. Well, there is another major factor that I haven't
mentioned yet ­ omega-6s.

Omega-6s are another kind of PUFA that are also important
in the brain. The balance between omega-6s and omega-3s in
the diet is very important. They are like the yin and yang
of fats. They compete with each other for many biological
functions and keep each other in check.

For example, omega-6s help the immune system by turning on
inflammatory processes necessary to fight infections.
Omega-3s help to turn it off and keep inflammation low.
They are both important but need to be kept in balance.

We think that the ideal ratio between omega-6s and omega-3s
is about 1:1 and this is what we probably ate throughout
most of our thousands of year history. However, today's
western diet is closer to 10:1 or even as high as 30:1 in
favor of omega-6s. We are getting too many omega-6s and not
enough omega-3s to balance them out.

Why? Omega-6s are high in oils from corn, safflower,
canola, peanuts and soy. These are found in high
concentrations in many of the foods we eat, especially
processed foods. It has really been since the industrial
revolution that we started to consume large amounts of
omega-6s and lower amounts of omega-3s.

Many researchers, including myself, believe that this is
one factor in the rise of many diseases today. Since
omega-6s tend to promote inflammatory responses, we are
essentially eating a high inflammatory diet. Inflammation
is a major suspect underlying many diseases of the brain
and body ­ the big ones being heart disease and Alzheimer's
disease.

So there it is. Omega-3s are important for many functions
and they are a big deal because our dietary intake of
omega-3s and omega-6s are out of whack. The best thing you
can do is to stop eating many of the processed foods that
contain high omega-6s and eat a little more fish.
Personally, I take a high quality fish oil supplement daily
and so do my wife and kids.

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Dr. Simon Evans is a research neuroscientist at the
University of Michigan and a nationally licensed youth
sports coach. He is concerned about the health of today's
youth and shares information to help parents ensure their
own childrens' health. You can visit Dr. Evans website at
http://www.thebraincode.com

Top 10 Ways to Fail Miserably At Losing Weight

Top 10 Ways to Fail Miserably At Losing Weight
===================================
Americans are getting fatter. I hate to be the one to put
it so bluntly, but the scales don't lie. 65% of adult
Americans are either overweight or obese. 25% of Americans
are obese.

Now for the bad news - things are only getting worse. In
1991, only four states had obesity rates of 15 to 19
percent and none had obesity rates greater than 20 percent.
By the year 2000, all of the 50 states had obesity rates of
15 percent or greater, with 35 of the 50 states having
obesity rates as high as 20 percent or greater.

In 2005, obesity rates increased in 49 out of 50 States
(congratulations to Oregon for bucking the trend). The
Trust for America's Health is projecting that by 2008 a
staggering 73% of US adults could be overweight or obese.
The trend is clear - we are all getting fatter by the day.

With the rise of the Internet and our new information on
demand society you can hardly sneeze without hitting a "how
to lose weight article." Books, articles, videos, TV
specials, magazine, blogs, web sites - they are filled with
tips and tricks on how to lose weight. Is there any
celebrity left who has not published a diet book?

So, two trends seem undeniable - we are getting fatter and
we are getting bombarded with articles on how not to get
fatter. In fact, I would argue there is a direct
correlation - the more articles written on losing weight,
the more weight we gain. While it was a reasonable
assumption to think that writing articles on how to lose
weight would help people lose weight - the numbers reveal
that is not true.

Not one to ignore statistics - I now see as a health author
I am part of the obesity problem. Today I will correct
that mistake. If writing articles on how to lose weight
has led to record levels of obesity, then writing an
article on how to gain weight should lead to record levels
of weight loss.

In my quest to help reverse the growing obesity rate, here
are my

Top 10 Ways to Fail Miserably at Losing Weight...

1. Natural = Bad. Fully processed = good

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains - these just don't spike
the blood sugar levels. Fully processed, close to
impossible to digest foods - this is where you get to ride
the insulin roller coaster to certain weight gain.

2. If you can pronounce the ingredients in your food, you
are eating the wrong food.

Grab a snack, flip it over and read the ingredients. If
you can actually pronounce all the ingredients - put it
down. You need to concentrate on snacks that have a list
of ingredients that require a PhD in chemical engineering
to decipher.

3. Drink more Eggnog

At 430 calories and 20 grams of fat per cup - Eggnog is a
guaranteed way to put on those extra pounds. Stock up
around the holidays, you want to make sure you still have
eggnog left when you are trying to put on that extra 10
pounds so your bikini doesn't fall off you come summer time.

4. It is hard to eat while exercising - so don't exercise.

Exercise simply cuts into the few waking hours you have to
eat food - so don't do it!

5. Eat Late

Numerous studies have shown that our body has a tough time
burning the calories we eat late at night. Try to have
your largest, sugar laden meals just seconds before you
doze off.

6. Super size your Super Size

Super Size meals, Double Big Gulps - all moves in the right
direction, but just not enough. A good rule of thumb - if
you don't need a dolly to carry your meal from a fast food
restaurant - you haven't super sized enough.

7. Remove all mirrors from your home

Mirrors just reflect reality - who wants this. You need to
make sure the media decides exactly how you perceive
yourself.

8. Eat Out and Eat Often

Having all your meals away from home is a great way to pack
on the extra pounds. Of course, "all you can eat buffets"
are the Holy Grail of gaining weight.

9. Have all home faucets rewired to a soda keg

Drinking plenty of water can wreck havoc on your goal of
NOT losing weight. To avoid any temptation to drink water,
have a plumber hook your faucets up to a soda keg. Simply
replacing 60 ounces of water with the same amount of Coke
will add a nifty 700 calories to your diet.

10. Remove all positive people from your life

You are going to need to be down, depressed and negative to
succeed in failing your diet. Remember - food is your
comfort, not friends or family. Stock the cupboards with
comfort food and disconnect the phone.

While other writers continue to act irresponsibly -
contributing to the obesity rate by writing articles on how
to lose weight - I want to be able to sleep at night. If I
could just get Oprah and Dr. Phil to join me in writing
articles on how not to lose weight, I am sure we could put
an end to obesity.

Copyright © 2006 Hoodia Advice, LLC

----------------------------------------------------
Dan Nessel is a health and diet writer just trying to help
Americans lose weight. When Mr. Nessel is not writing
whimsical articles about a serious matter such as Obesity,
he works as a researcher for Hoodia-Advice.Org.
Hoodia-Advice.Org specializes in presenting unbiased
research and information on Hoodia Gordonii.
http://www.hoodia-advice.org

What is Qigong and its Origins?

What is Qigong and its Origins?
========================
Qigong, pronounced 'chi kung' is an ancient Chinese
exercise and body healing technique, with overtones of
spirituality, that has been developing for more than 3000
years.

China is recognized as having the oldest sophisticated and
cultured civilization known to man.

Many modern treatments for physical and mental ailments
have their origins in ancient Chinese healing practices
that have been recognized as effective by Western medical
practitioners.

Most people will be aware of both the Chinese technique of
Acupunture and the many comprehensive Chinese herbal
remedies and tonics now readily available in the West.

The recognition in the West of the practice and art of
Qigong is now also growing rapidly as more and more schools
and trainers offer their expertise.

In the last thirty years Qigong has been known to have been
practiced by groups up to thirty thousand strong in Chinese
stadiums.

The earliest known practitioner of Qigong was Hua Tao
(circa 150 A.D.) known as the first famous Chinese surgeon.

When Hua Tao advised a General who had consulted him to
have an operation the General suspected that Hua Tao was
out to murder him and ordered his execution.

It is believed that Qigong had its' beginnings in the
ancient practice of sorcery and ritual dances which led
eventually to a documented systematic approach that has
been continued to be developed to the present day by,
amongst others, Taoists, Buddhists Confucians and
practitioners of Chinese martial arts.

`Qi', translated from the Mandarin, means Life Force,
Breath or Life Energy and 'Gong' is Dedicated Practice,
Work or Technique and this gives a meaning that the
exercise is a combination of breathing techniques combined
with bodily movements.

Using slow and graceful movements and at the same time
practicing controlled and coordinated breathing patterns
boosts the flow of 'Qi', the vital life force that gives a
feeling of inner tranquility and provides the healing and
regenerative energies needed by the body.

Qigong is an aspect of Chinese medicine that is principally
practiced for maintaining good health but it is also taught
as a healing technique and is often allied with martial
arts training. There are over three thousand different
styles and schools of Qigong known throughout the world,
some make convincing and more often than not unproven
claims to have remarkable healing and curative successes.

Others are recognized by Western and Chinese medical
practitioners as having benefits to the health of body and
mind through controlled exercise leading to stress
reduction and physical well being.

Since the nineteen fifties' research into Qigong has been
ongoing in both the West and East.

Chinese hospitals have recognized Qigong as a standard
medical technique since1989 and the Chinese government
officially implemented Qigong management regulations when
adding the technique to their National Health Plan.

Work has been done that suggests that some aspects of
Qigong can have very beneficial effects on the joints,
balance and prevention of falls amongst the elderly.

The curriculae of some medical universities include Qigong
courses and offer Batchelor and Master degrees in the
subject.

As so often in this day of the fast buck there are so
called schools, teachers and practitioners of Qigong that
make unfounded claims of their expertise and the benefits
of joining their set up, for a fee of course, so be wary,
ask questions and check out the answers before parting with
any cash.

Caveat emptor and carry out due diligence!

However there are very many highly skilled, qualified and
totally committed believers actively engaged in the
business of helping others to achieve the benefits of the
ancient and proven Qigong route to bringing harmony to body
and mind.

----------------------------------------------------
Jaks Lloyd is a former photographic fashion model. She now
lives in Spain and indulges her creative talents by writing
and building innovative authority websites.
http://www.hotexercise.com
http://www.eyebeautytips.com

Prisoner of Carbs

Prisoner of Carbs
Copyright (c) 2006 Karen Sessions

I more than understand the carbohydrate roller coaster that
many of you may be experiencing. You hear that in order to
achieve successful weight loss you should cut
carbohydrates. On the flipside, some readings suggest
limiting carbohydrates, and still others say to eat more
carbohydrates! Does the carbohydrate mystery have you
completely confused?

You will be amazed to learn that you can eat carbohydrates
and still achieve desired weight loss. Before you can make
carbohydrates to work in your favor you need to understand
their position, so I will recap lightly on their
functioning role. Function of Carbohydrates All
carbohydrates are broken down and are directed to the
bloodstream as blood sugar, also known as blood glucose.
When a large amount of carbohydrates, or refined
carbohydrates, are eaten the blood glucose level rises.
When this happens the pancreas expels insulin to remove
glucose from the blood and directs it to the muscles and
liver to be stored as glycogen (a starch stored in the
muscle) for later use.

The muscles and liver can only store a limited amount of
glycogen, and once those stores are full the rest is stored
as fat. Consistently high insulin levels can result in fat
storage, water retention, and an insulin imbalance.

The consequences of an insulin imbalance are a rapid rise
and fall of blood glucose. Your blood is rapidly saturated
with glucose, followed by an immediate plummet, resulting
in carbohydrate cravings. If you eat more carbohydrates to
feed into the "craving" you start the cycle over.
Therefore, insulin can literally make you or break you in
your weight loss efforts. Gaining control can put you a
step ahead.

Excessive carbohydrate intake, wrong macro nutrient
combining, and poor nutrition choices can have an effect on
how insulin is managed in the body. A high intake of
processed food and poor food combining can interfere with
insulin management.

Normally, carbohydrates are used as fuel, but when there is
an imbalance in how the body produces and manages insulin,
it can lead to fat storage rather than burned for energy.
If this condition persists, it can lead to a wide range of
illnesses and diseases such as type 2 diabetes. You will
literally be a prisoner of carbohydrates if you lose
control.

Signs of an Insulin Imbalance

Feeling sluggish

Weight gain

Carbohydrate cravings

Hypoglycemic conditions

Fatigue

Headaches

Irritability

Nervousness

Depression

Over time, the insulin imbalance can result in an insulin
resistant condition. The pancreas begins expelling insulin
anytime food is eaten, causing a constant rise in blood
glucose, making weight loss extremely difficult.

Now the question is how to gain more control. The answer is
to correct insulin imbalances. Of course, genetics do play
a part. However, the main correction will come in
nutritional changes and a proper functioning thyroid, which
can also be corrected through proper nutrition.

One might think that the solution for correcting an insulin
imbalance is to restrict carbohydrates. Restricting
carbohydrates is a set up for disaster! Rather than
restriction, try management.

Steps to help control insulin levels Limit processed food
intake Eat more natural fibrous vegetables Eat natural
carbohydrates within reason Combine your carbohydrates with
a protein

Gaining control over carbohydrates is all in the right food
choices and food combining. Now go take control!

----------------------------------------------------
Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988.
She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two
personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks
on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform
their bodies. http://www.theelitephysique.com

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Working Out to Music

Working Out to Music
=================
Starting an exercise program is hard enough, isn't it? No
matter what you seem to do or how much you plan, it's never
as easy as it looks. However, there are plenty of ways to
help make your exercise time fly. One of the most popular
ways to help your workout is to add a little music to your
exercise plans. Here's what you need to know.

Why add music to your routine?

A lot of people will say that they like the quiet time of
exercise, listening to their breathing, and checking their
workout times. If you are not one of these folks then you
need something to help make working out easier and more fun
­ like music.

Music helps you take your mind off of how hard your workout
might be. For example, when you're off running or lifting
weights, music can help you forget about the things that
you are thinking about and focus on your favorite songs.
This subtle distraction can allow you to focus on working
out hard and strong.

When you add music to your workout routine, you can create
a soundtrack for your success. Add your favorite
inspirational music ­ think "Chariots of Fire" or the
"Rocky" theme ­ to make you push just a little harder and
make it to the end of your workout routine. Whatever music
makes you feel strong and powerful, add that to your
workout rotation.

How do you add music to your workout?

Before you can add music to your workout, you will want to
realize that some preparation time is necessary. What
you'll want to do is create compilations (mixes) of your
favorite songs beforehand. For those of you that have
digital music players, this is quite simple. All you need
to do is create a play list by adding your favorite songs
to a folder, burning them to CD, or playing them on your
player.

What about the tempo of my music?

One of the things that you will want to keep in mind when
you're working out is how fast your music is. While you
want something that's faster in pace, you don't want to
choose anything that's so fast that you can't keep up or
you'll over-exert yourself. Some techno music can be a
little too fast for light cardio workouts or strength
training.

On the other hand you'll want to make sure that you're not
including songs that are too slow either. Generally
speaking, you will want to start with slower music for your
warm up and stretching, then slowly build up the tempo of
your music and then bring it back down again for the cool
down.

This sounds too difficult

While this does sound time consuming, you can also find
recommendations on many fitness sites and in magazines.
These lists are already created to help you maintain a
certain fitness pace, so they can be very effective. Or
you might want to choose musical CDs and tapes that are
specifically designed for working out at a certain pace ­
such as 80 bpm (beats per minute).

Music is the soundtrack to our lives; why not include it as
the soundtrack for your workout? When you choose inspiring
and fast-paced music, it can actually help you work out
longer and harder ­ give it a try! Select songs that
inspire and motivate you!

----------------------------------------------------
Lynn VanDyke is a master trainer and fitness nutritionist.
Her fitness site, http://www.strength-training-woman.com is
ranked within the top 1% of all websites. She has authored
the wildly popular ebook, Melt the Fat
(http://www.melt-the-fat.com). It is yielded as one of the
best fitness and nutrition ebooks available.

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