Low-carb, high-fat diets add no arterial health risks to obese

Good news, I would say:

Low-carb dieters showed no harmful vascular changes but also on average dropped 10 pounds in 45 days, compared to an equal number of study participants randomly assigned to a low-fat diet. The low-fat group, whose diets consisted of no more than 30 percent from fat and 55 percent from carbs, took on average 70 days, nearly a month longer, to lose the same amount of weight. [...]

However, Stewart does contend that an overemphasis on low-fat diets has likely contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States by encouraging an overconsumption of foods high in carbohydrates. He says that high-carb foods are, in general, less filling and that people tend to get carried away with how much low-fat food they can eat. More than half of American adults are estimated to be overweight, with a body mass index of 26 or higher; a third are considered to be obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher. 

Full article here.

Vitamin C

I use the Puritan's Pride vitamins and other food supplements daily and I recommend them anybody. The quality of the products is good and relatively cheap on the market.
Let's start my list with Vitamin C. I just checked out The Vitamin C Foundation website and I read this:

Comment: I had been taking 1000mg of vitamin C. When I increased to 3000 mg, my BACK problems disappeared.

I think if you take only the RDA minimum of Vitamin C 60 mg each day it is not enough for your body's proper operation. I took at least 1000 mg C daily, but I'm healthy if you have any disease or disorder you should take much more.

I take at least one tablet of Natural C Vitamin with Rose Hips 1000 mg daily.

Puritan's has a wide selection of Vitamin C 250 mg-1500 mg and 100 tablets to 1000 tablets. They have Normal or Time Release C, ESTER-C and crystals as well.


And there is a Super C Complex with Citrus Bioflavonoid, Rutin, Hesperidin, Acerola. The Vitamin C is better if you take with these flavonoid elements.

Puritan's currently have a sale on supplements if you buy 1 get 1 free or buy 2 get 3 free total 5 bottles.

The shipping to US is only $ 3,95 on any size order.

Omega 3 Fish Oils

I take Fish Oil product daily specially the Super Omega-3 1000 mg soft gel like on the picture left.
This Cholesterol Free Omega-3 Fish Oil contains EPA and DHA, two fatty acids that help support and maintain the health of your cardiovascular system.

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered one of the “good” fats important for cellular, heart and metabolic healthand may also help support joint health.. This product comes in a larger dosage size to ensure you are getting all of the benefits fish oil is famous for providing.

Additionally, fish oil also helps maintain triglyceride levels already within a normal range. Most of the people doesn't eat enough fish or sea products daily. So they can't take enough Omega 3 fatty acids with their meal but it's important.

Fortunately I'm healthy and I want to stay healthy.

Hair care - Oliva Shampoo

I've tried this Oliva Shampoo some months ago and this is a good product, not like casual shampoos from the store. It's gently cleanses my hair and my scalp. I use this shampoo because rich in natural ingredients like Olive Oil, vegetable protein, Aloe Vera, Jojoba.

I'm a boy and don't have to use conditioner but I think the conditioner should be as good as the shampoo is.

Vitamin B 12

Vitamin B₁₂ is also called cobalamin because it contains the metal cobalt. This vitamin helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells and gives more energy.

Vitamin B₁₂ is bound to the protein in food. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach releases B₁₂ from proteins in foods during digestion.

Vitamin B₁₂ is naturally found in animal foods including fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products. Fortified breakfast cereals are a particularly valuable source of vitamin B₁₂ for vegetarians.

Plantarian health NewYearHealth Challenge

Plantarian Healthy Double One Diet Challenge:
A 11 day challenge to eat more healthily and sustainably starting  on 1:11:11 www.1worldday.org    

 

New World Record attempt for health and sustainability at www.1worldday.org

Fat burners and Diet Products

I recommend these Diet products instead of regular Fat Burner tablets.

You've heard of the latest diet phenomenon, the Cabbage Soup Diet. Now Puritan's Pride is offering the Seven Day Souper Cabbage Diet, a supplement that combines many of the basic ingredients found in this diet. 7 DAY SOUPER CABBAGE DIET SYSTEM Caplets contain naturally-occurring flavonoids, lycopene, carotenoids, polyacetylenes, sulforaphanes and indole 3 carbinol to boost the phytochemical content of the diet.

Also included is a diet plan PLUS exercise program to help you get on the fast track to help you achieve your weight loss goals




Fiber Diet tablets are a special combination of grain and fruit fiber. To add healthful fiber to your diet take Fiber Diet tablets 15-30 minutes before you eat. Each tablet is free of sugar, starch, preservatives and artificial colors. There is no caffeine or sodium (salt).

This special fiber supplement comes with helpful tips on how you can make a reduced calorie diet a more enjoyable experience.




Important note: If you're on diet you need to take other supplements like Vitamin-C, B-Complex, Calcium-Magnesium, and Spirulina algae. I take all these supplements daily.

FDA Diabetes Actos (pioglitazone) Cancer Risk

 FDA reviewing preliminary safety information on Actos (pioglitazone):

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it has begun a safety review of the diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone), after receiving preliminary results from a long-term observational study designed to evaluate the risk of bladder cancer associated with use of this drug.

The preliminary results are based on five-year data from an ongoing, 10-year observational study by the manufacturer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc., San Diego. These early results showed no overall association between Actos exposure and risk of bladder cancer. However, there was an increased risk of bladder cancer in patients with the longest exposure to Actos and in those with the highest cumulative dose of the drug.
Despite this The agency has not concluded that Actos increases the risk of bladder cancer.

Meanwhile a group of Doctors in America have researched a drug free, free of dangerous side effects , way of tackling the Diabetes epidemic now the scourge of the Western World - eat real food! Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine PCRM are gathering information from ongoing research that shows a Plantarian Diet can have a dramatic effect on type 2 (and in some cases type 1) diabetes.

This is pretty much the same diet used by President Bill Clinton to lose weight and deal with his heart disease.
The Diet does come with a health warning ! The effects are so dramatic that you have to carefully watch your medication and be prepared to reduce the dose otherwise you may have an overdose.

The Food for Life Alliance has recently trained instructors in the diet principles and will soon be conducting a number of free workshops around the UK starting with Stoke , Birmingham and London.

New Study: 22% less Heart Disease risk

Plantarian.org - EPIC Study: Heart Disease, 8 Fruit & Veg a Day = 22% reduced risk

Published today in the European Heart Journal

Data analysed from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Heart study has shown that people who ate at least eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day had a 22% lower risk of dying from IHD than did those who consumed fewer than three portions a day.

This study involved over 300,000 people in eight different European countries, with 1,636 deaths from IHD.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, director of the University College London (UCL) International Institute for Society and Health, head of the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and chairman of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health, writes separately “Such an odds ratio is of huge practical importance. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. A reduction of 22% is huge. But... this reduction in mortality comes with consumption of eight portions a day, or 640g. Such a high consumption was found in only 18% of the men and women in these eight cohorts. There would need to be big shift in dietary patterns to achieve this healthy consumption of eight portions a day. It is worth trying to move in that direction. Reductions in cancers of several sites, in blood pressure and stroke, would add to this reduction in fatal CHD. Moving to a diet that emphasises fruit and vegetables is of great importance to public health.”

ONE WORLD DAY - A Day of Health & Sustainability

ONE WORLD DAY - November 1st Make a Difference!: Help make a difference to the world by encouraging people to eat more healthily and sustainably. Start now, change lives, don't keep it to yourself.

One World Day  - Plantarian - The road to sustainability and health

 Plantarians have taken the healthiest and most sustainable bits of vegetarian and veganism to clear a simple pathway through the jungle to a lifestyle of optimum health and sustainability. 'Harmony and Harmlessness' says 1worldday.org

B-Vitamins and B-Complex

I take daily one tablet B-Complex 50 mg tablet, one B1 250 mg tablet and one B-3 Vitamin (Niacin) 100 mg tablet.

The Vitamins B works better if they are together B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, PABA, Coline, Inositol, etc. And if you take only B1 or B6 you'll have a deficit from the other Bs. So always take B Complex!

If you take Vitamin Bs, B-Complex you have to take Calcium and Magnesium. B1 reduce the Calcium level in your body specially in bones.



Vitamin B1 is a water-soluble vitamin needed to process carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Every cell of the body requires vitamin B1 to form the fuel the body runs on—adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Nerve cells require vitamin B1 in order to function normally.

My experience: Vitamin B1 is a very goodtranquilizerr much better than drugs from pharmacy. Take two 250 mg tablets of B1.

If you have some hard drink take B1 and you're notgoingg to be drunk. Drugs and alcohol burn all of the B1 in your body and this is the why you feel so.


Niacin is part of a coenzyme needed for energy metabolism, and it helps maintain healthy functions of the nervous system, digestive system and skin.
Not Niacinamide because Niacinamide is not as useful as Niacin.

I know if you take B-3 Niacin you'll have a flush. But it is not a problem at all. It happens because the real niacin start to purify your body. Actually there are a lot of toxin in your body mainly in body fat and the flush occur because these elements getting out.

I did a very good Purification Program and this program based on NIACIN. If you want more information about it buy the Clear Body Clear Mind book by L. Ron Hubbard, it explains in detail the whole program.

Cod Liver Oil

Norwegian cod has traditionally been one of the most popular natural sources of Vitamins A & D. Vitamins A and D help maintain bones, as well as a healthy immune system.

Vitamin A assists in many other functions such as eyesight and skin maintenance.

Oil from fish contains omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil help to balance the omega-6 fatty acids, which are found mostly in vegetable oils.

Men's Health Products

I use vitamins and other food supplements daily and I recommend some special products specially for Men.

Prevent or cure prostate problems

The high-quality PROSTA-METTO formula is an excellent choice for men who are interested in supporting their prostate and urinary health. This supplement contains our Saw Palmetto Complex Blend, which includes 80 mg of Saw Palmetto Extract, the leading herb for men'’s health, especially in later years. Saw Palmetto contains phytochemicals, which support prostate and urinary health in men. It also contains 10 mg Pygeum Africanum Extract for prostate support, 5 mg Uva-Ursi for fluid balance, and 40 mg Pumpkin Seed Oil Extract. Men can take one softgel four times daily.


The Ultra Man™ 75 is specially tailored to meet the nutritional requirements of men everywhere. It contains important vitamins that contribute to immune, cardiovascular and nervous system health, as well as healthy bones and teeth. The B vitamins in this formula support energy metabolism, and antioxidant vitamins like Vitamins C, Beta-Carotene and Alpha Lipoic Acid fight cell damaging free radicals. The essential mineral Zinc is included to help promote male reproductive health and Lutein is added for eye health. Additional factors traditionally considered beneficial to men include Lycopene, Saw Palmetto, Vitamin E and amino acids.



Yohimbe is for Man's Sexual Health instead of Viagra. I don't recommend to take Viagra or other drugs for your sexual health but the choice is up to you.

Discover the exotic flavor of the African jungle with Yohimbe Bark. Derived from an African evergreen tree, Yohimbe was used by warriors preparing for battle and young males as part of their marriage ritual. The sensual properties of this mystical extract stimulate the animal prowess in every man. Yohimbe Bark is perfect for those long romantic nights of passion.

Coral Calcium

Coral Calcium mineral products are very popular calcium dietary supplements nowadays.
Coral Calcium promotes bone strength and supports heart, nerve and muscle functions. Puritan's Coral Calcium is mined, not collected, from an above ground source located in Okinawa, Japan, making it environmentally friendly.
500 mg bioavailable calcium per serving with 72 trace minerals.
Coral calcium

Heart Health in Vegans and Vegetarians

Further evidence to follow a Plantarian rather than a Vegetarian or Vegan diet for health reasons is found in a review in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry  Jan 2011 *

The  review summarizes the effect of a habitual vegetarian diet on clinical complications in relation to chemistry and biochemistry. Omnivores have a significantly higher cluster of cardiovascular risk factors compared with vegetarians, including increased body mass index, waist to hip ratio, blood pressure, plasma total cholesterol (TC)  triacylglycerol and LDL-C levels, serum lipoprotein(a) concentration, plasma factor VII activity, ratios of TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C and TAG/HDL-C, and serum ferritin levels. 

However in the review, compared with omnivores, vegetarians, especially vegans, have lower serum vitamin B(12) concentration and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in the tissue membrane phospholipids, which are associated with increased collagen and ADP stimulated ex vivo whole blood platelet aggregation, plasma 11-dehydrothromboxane B(2), and homocysteine levels and decreased plasma HDL-C. 

Increased homocysteine and imbalances in HDL / LDL and omega 6 and 3 levels are factors in meat eaters that are associated with an increased thrombotic and atherosclerotic risk.

The author suggested that vegetarians, especially vegans, should increase their dietary n-3 PUFA and vitamin B(12) intakes.

Leading UK Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston from Foods for Life Health and Nutrition Consultancy says  "This review will bolster the argument that vegetarian and vegan diets don't grant you automatic immunity from heart disease. Some would deem it pedantic, but to get the full health benefits of vegetarian and veganism one needs to follow a predominantly Plantarian diet based on natural, wholefood plant based principles rich in a natural synergy of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, fibre and essential fats."

"With recent increased availability of vegan sources of omega 3 fats in echium oil and algae there is no need for vegans, vegetarians and plantarians to miss out on high levels of essential fats and these plant based fats have the advantage of avoiding the complications of toxicity, un-sustainability and undesirable saturated fats in fish oil. Chorella is a potential source of vitamin B12 for vegans" she adds.


* Chemistry behind Vegetarianism. Li D Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, China

Fasting insulin and weight loss and calories-in vs calories-out

I had this exchange in the comments on a previous post:


Frank said...

Hi Peter.

I'd say that I pretty much agree with your post. Insulin and caloric deficit are not mutually exclusive, ie, low-insulin could enhance fat loss on a caloric deficit or, looked from another perspective, a caloric deficit could enhance fat loss if someone has low insulin level. 

I have only one question for you. For the sake of it lets make thing black and white. 

What do you believe is the most important thing to do, in order to achieve weight/fat loss 

a) be in a caloric deficit (your insulin level does not matter much) 

b) having a low-insulin level (it does not matter much if you're in a caloric deficit or not). 

Again, in real life, I don't believe they exclude each other, but if you could fix only one to have a weight loss, which one would you fix? Calories or insulin? 

The way I see it is that, as you stated, insulin inhibits lipolysis, but more lipolysis does not equal more oxidation. It still has to be matched to energy expenditure. In that case, calories would be the most important factor. That's my point of view and it could be wrong. 

I'm just wondering if you agree to some degree with it, because reading your post, I get the idea that you do. 

Thanks for your time.


Peter said...

Ah Frank, now there is a question.

Without caloric deficit (and I want uncoupling proteins, sleeping metabolic rate, spontaneous movements, etc, etc, etc, everything, accounted for) there will be no weight loss.

But, in real life, if I could only alter just one, it would be insulin.

I would expect no weight loss but I would expect improved health.

What else matters?




There is a flaw in the answer I gave to this question. It's working at the Noddy level of calories-in vs calories-out.

The Noddy approach is perfectly adequate to explain the findings of GnK's paper (PR's weight loss excepted, if she genuinely ate all she was asked to), but embarrassingly stupid in the real world.

Let's look at calories-in vs calories-out in the fixed caloric phase of the Abredeen study.


Calories-in is total calories in to metabolism. There are two sources. Those from the diet, let's assume (incorrectly) these are genuinely all of the 2000kcal/d on offer. Then there is the supply of free fatty acids metered out from adipocytes under the regulation of insulin. Maybe a little glycogen, but I'll ignore that for the discussion.

Under LCHF conditions more FFAs are accessible due to lower insulin levels. More get used and, from Table 1, only 1930kcal of food are needed to supplement those calories-in from adipocytes in order to meet total metabolic needs. Hunger is low. Calories supplied are clearly able to meet voluntary calories out. Demand is within the limits of supply. Some food is refused.

Under MCMF conditions the higher insulin level allows less calories to be supplied from fat in to metabolism (adipose derived calories-in fall), so calories-in accepted from food spontaneously increase to the full 2000kcal/d. Under the study conditions we cannot tell if 2000kcal plus reduced adipose FFA supply is enough for as much metabolic activity as was possible under low insulin conditions. What if it is not? Now the real question is: Does lipolysis automatically increase to supply all needs for calories out? Why should it? Lipolysis is controlled by insulin. Insulin is high, lipolysis restrained.

If there is any shortfall in the calories from fat plus 2000kcal, there are only limited calories available to burn. You can't burn what you don't have. Calories-out would drop because they simply cannot exceed the supply available. I would expect the participants to automatically reduce their calories-out. There is no free lunch. Calories-out = calories-in. All need to be accounted for.

Is it be possible to force lipolysis in the face of hyperinsulinaemia to increase FFAs from fat to a higher level without lowering insulin?

Of course it is. There are other hormones in addition to insulin. You can throw around adrenaline, growth hormone, glucagon and probably a truckload of others I've not thought about. You can add in direct sympathetic nervous system innervation of adipocytes to effect lipolysis if you like. But these mechanisms come with a price. The price is hunger.

I think it's called working up an appetite.




In the Aberdeen study the attempt to maintain caloric intake failed during the LCHF phase because low insulin increased caloric supply from fat. Higher insulin in the MCMF phase limited calories-in derived from adipose tissue and may well have set a cap on total calories available for use during this higher insulin phase.


In Frank's thought experiment it might be easy to fix dietary calories-in, but people might refuse some of them if insulin was low enough for adipose tissue derived FFAs to be available.... If they ate all of their calories but wriggled in their chair a bit more because they had more calories available then the concept of calories-out being fixed is lost....



I'll just finish with a clarification of this phrase from another commenter:

"lipolysis is not beta oxidation"

This is, ultimately, accurate. That doesn't stop it being bollocks.

A rather more perceptive view is the situation comes from, of all places, the lipophobic cardiologists who published on FFAs and myocardial ischaemia:

"The rate of fatty-acid uptake and oxidation by the heart is controlled by their availability [33]"

Oh, interesting. Availability. A supply led system. Hmmmmmm. I would guess most FFA burning tissue would follow cardiac muscle. Now I can't quite remember what effect insulin has on lipolysis and FFA availability. Silly me.

Peter

Vegetarian / Vegan Diets & Depression

Avoid Depression with Plantarian Style Diet

Bad eating can give you depression: study :

Plant based vegetarian and vegan diets are certainly healthier than average but have no automatic protection against depression. There must be a focus on a Plantarian style foods to glean the full health benefits of plant based diets says UK nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston.

Without a focus on whole foods that have natural nutritional synergy the health benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets are harder to argue.

You can be vegan or vegetarian and still have a diet laden with refined foods and foods rich in processed saturated and trans-isomer fatty acids that the body struggles to recognize and properly process.

Vegetarians and vegans should take note to include wholefoods rich in essential fatty acids
Authors of a Spanish study on mental health, from the universities of Navarra and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, followed and analyzed the diet and lifestyle of over 12,000 volunteers over six years.
At the beginning of none of the participants had been diagnosed with depression; by the end, 657 of them were new sufferers.
"Participants with an elevated consumption of trans-fats (fats present in artificial form in industrially-produced pastries and fast food...) presented up to a 48 percent increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats," a key study author said.
Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, also noted that in the event "more trans-fats were consumed, the greater the harmful effect they produced in the volunteers."
The research team found, at the same time, that after assessing the impact of polyunsaturated fats -- composed of larger amounts of fish and vegetable oils and olive oil, these products "are associated with a lower risk of suffering depression."
The report, published in the online journal PLoS ONE, noted the research was performed on a European population that enjoys a relatively low intake of trans-fats -- making up only 0.4 percent "of the total energy ingested by the volunteers."
"Despite this, we observed an increase in the risk of suffering depression of nearly 50 percent," said researcher Miguel Martinez.
"On this basis we derive the importance of taking this effect into account in countries like the US, where the percentage of energy derived from these fats is around 2.5 percent."
The report pointed out that the current number of depression sufferers in the world is around 150 million people, and has increased in recent years.
This rise is attributable, according to the authors, "to radical changes in the sources of fats consumed in Western diets, where we have substituted certain types of beneficial fats -- polyunsaturated and monounsaturated in nuts, vegetable oils and fish -- for the saturated and trans-fats found in meats, butter and other products such as mass-produced pastries and fast food."
Further fuel to add strength t the argument to include more plantarian foods in one's diet and move towards a new world record of health and sustainability for One World Day

Palmitic acid: the horror never ends

Chris forwarded me a link to this study. Read about inflammasones in tissue culture and quake. Here is the relevant line:

"These findings provide insights into the association of inflammation, diet and T2D."

It gets even better. Here is the best line from the press release:

"These results support the idea that inflammation plays a role in chronic disease," says Ting. "The simple message is to avoid fatty foods as much as possible."

OK, you take isolated cells, bathe them in 2mmol palmitic acid and they become unhappy. This is supposed to have something to do with eating a high fat diet?????

Just for fun I'm going, in my head, to eat some (gasp, horror) palmitic acid. Please don't do this at home, you probably don't want to inflame your inflammasomes.

I'm looking through my refrigerator for some palmitic acid but I notice that all there is in my fridge is Food. Bugger. What comes closest? Maybe butter??? Butter is undoubtedly Food, but it does have rather a lot of palmitic acid. Let's give it a try.

Half a pound of butter, here I come. Mmmmmmm. Nice. Yummie.

Now let's measure my blood palmitic acid levels . OOOOOh, post prandial triglycerides are up! Right on, I'm gonna die, some time soon. But what about the acid, the pamitic acid?

Ah, FFAs are also up up up. Success! 500, 600, 700, yes, 800micromol/l. If I really am in luck I might make that 2000micomol/l hit and drop right in to the inflammasome mediated diabetes zone. You know, that palmitic acid trip to nowhere.

Oh, but except for feeling a bit nauseous from all that butter in one go, I feel fine. Perhaps because I don't really have 2mmol/l palmitate in my blood stream after all. Double bugger. It seems like there is major, like MAJOR, contamination of my blood palmitate with oleate. Some is from the butter, some is from my own bloody liver cocking up the experiment. Using delta 9 desaturase to drop the occasional double bond in to long chain saturated fats ensures normal physiology.

Now, if I wasn't such a cheapskate I'd shell out the ackers to see if Ting et al used mixes of palmitate and oleate as well as either fatty acid in isolation. We know from the abstract that oleate does not inflame your inflammasomes... But I am a cheapskate, so I won't. Instead I'll go to this study:

"Low concentrations of oleate (0.1mM) completely inhibited palmitate-induced oxidative stress, SAPK activation, and apoptosis."

That's it, one tenth of one millimole of oleate completely negates the adverse effects of isolated palmitate.

Maybe check this one:

"Oleate alone did not cause mtROS generation and mtDNA damage, and its addition to palmitate prevented palmitate-induced mtDNA damage, increased total ATP levels and cell viability, and prevented palmitate-induced apoptosis and inhibition of insulin-stimulated Akt (Ser(473)) phosphorylation."

I could go on. No one, ever, at any time, has 2mmol/l of isolated palmitate in their bloodstream. A whiff of oleate is completely protective against the evil intentions of a researcher with a block of palmitate when viewed from the bottom of a test tube. It's called physiology. We are evolved to work this way. Knock out delta 9 desaturase and things become quite fun, but that's another story!

Citing the existing literature doesn't get you a Nature publication. Nor does it allow you to write press releases of utter stupidity to support low fat eating while simultaneously keeping yourself off the dole.

Peter

Palmitic acid: the horror never ends addendum

Okay, Victoria sent me the full pdf.

This group used 0.2mmol/l or 0.5mmol/l palmitate conjugated to bovine serum albumin. All other fatty acids were completely excluded. No semblance of physiological mixtures were involved.

But guess what, they had a living mouse model too!

Now you have to be wondering exactly how they managed to get a mouse to have 0.5mmol/l of palmitate in its bloodstream, to the exclusion of all other fatty acids, during a glucose tolerance test. After all, their test tube model used pure palmitate, surely they used the same conditions in their mice? This is a Nature paper after all.

How did they perform this near miracle? Well the methods section (when you finally find it tacked on to the end of the paper, an afterthought down beyond the references) doesn't mention any attempt to measure live mouse fatty acids at all. They didn't. WTF, this got published in Nature!

The diet used was good old commercial 5TJN. When I downloaded the composition pdf from the Test Diet website to my laptop it said I'd already downloaded it some time before..... It's popular!

Here's the link, it won't embed:

www.testdiet.com/PDF/5TJN.pdf

How much sugar would you like with your Crisco? Remember, always ask for your favourite lipotoxin by name...

NO NO NO.

JUST SAY NO.

Say no to Crisco.

As so often happens, this paper details feats of molecular and cellular manipulation of breathtaking complexity. How can anyone be capable of doing this and yet be so stupid? Awesome!

Peter

And it gets worse. The stats were done on "Prism 5.0 for Macintosh". OMG they're Mac users. It shouldn't be allowed. Their laptops should be confiscated forthwith. Now. I'll have them please.

Great Article in Men's Health Magazine About Pollution and Our Health

I know this may seem a little strange (being a woman and all), but one of my favorite magazines to read is Men's Health. The reason I love this magazine has nothing to do with the tips from "The Girl Next Door", or the info found in their "Tech Guide". No, the real reason I really enjoy this magazine is (the pictures of the hot guys....) the great articles by their writers.

This past month, their very talented writer Melody Petersen, composed a fantastic article about the health hazards of the various pollutants in our in environment. In this article, she visits an Indian Reserve in southern Ontario, Canada and exposes how two large industrial chemical plants have changed the lives of the residents living in that area. Although she focuses on how these chemicals are reducing the number of males being born, it also shares how these chemicals are influencing their pets and wildlife.

For example, check out this one passage:

"SHARREN FISHER IS FIGHTING her way through the thigh-high brush on a warm July afternoon, taking me to the water-filled ditch where Stella, her dog, would often stop for a drink. Fisher, a member of the tribe, says she's seen what looks like oil in the water. It's impossible to see where the water in the ditch comes from in the tangle of cattails and tall grass, but Fisher believes it drains from two industrial plants that are a quarter of a mile from her house, so close you can hear the roar of machinery.

"I used to take the dogs to the creek all the time," she says. But then Stella, a terrier-poodle mix, gave birth to three deformed pups. One stillborn pup, Fisher says, had no muzzle or fur. It also had webbed feet. That was in 2005, she says; Stella hasn't had any puppies since.

"We lost our ducks and geese," she says. "I couldn't keep them out of the water."

Her two ponies have had three stillborn foals. "We've never had a live baby from them," she says."

Disturbing? Isn't it?

To read more about what Melody has uncovered, visit the article online here. After reading it, you'll start to wonder just how companies are allowed to contribute this type of pollution to our world and how it influences the health of our children.

Happy Birthday Manitoba Harvest! Enjoy 25% off online orders!

My favorite Hemp Foods company, Manitoba Harvest, is celebrating their 12th birthday! Wow!

And, to celebrate, they're offering an incredible discount on all their online orders.

Now, until December 7th midnight CST, enjoy 25 % off all web orders! Just use the code: HB11

I don't know about you, but I'm ordering some yummy hemp seed butter and Hemp Pro 70 right now!

Happy Birthday Manitoba Harvest!

Looking for a great Holiday gift?

First, an apology to my readers. These past few weeks have been busy! I'll fill you in more asap, but for now, I'll tell you that on December 5th was my 30th birthday and my hubby treated me to a night out at the symphony. Then, this past weekend was my belated bowling birthday party, which was a ton of fun! (Hey, what else is a pregnant 30 year old going to do to celebrate? LOL).

But, as you know, the Holiday gift-giving time is just around the corner. And, much like some of you, I'm still completing my shopping as the big day is almost only a WEEK AWAY!!! Yikes!

I wanted to share with you a local CT company that has something that some one on your shopping list is going to adore.

A woman I met two weekends ago at a local craft fair, named Pam, who is also a PhD in chemistry, has a company called Kettlepot Soap. She makes some of the most wonderful, natural soaps, lotions, lip conditioners and body butters I've ever tried in my life!

Pam handcrafted these all-vegetable Kettlepot Soaps in small batches in an old New England farmhouse. She developed her own recipe which contains olive, palm, coconut, soybean and canola oils.

All bar soaps are made with top-quality base oils, essential oils, fragrance oils, natural pigment colors, herbs, flower petals and more. Bars are hand-cut and wrapped in pretty, coordinating fabric. Each mild bar is rich in olive oil and glycerin to produce a creamy, cleansing lather, especially when used with a nylon bath scrubbie.

Other skincare products made by Kettlepot Soap include Lip Lotion, Hand and Body Lotion, Shea and Glycerin Skin Solution Buttercream, Solid Lotion, Massage Bars and Extra Emollient Cuticle Care Cream. These creams and lotions are made from scratch, with lots of goodies for your skin, such as shea butter, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, mango butter and vitamin E.

Trust me that you won't be disappointed with anything you purchase from Kettlepot. And, you're supporting a local entrepreneur who creates something good for you AND the environment. How great is that?

Visit Kettlepot Soap today!

PS. I'm receiving nothing in return for this posting other than the satisfaction of knowing I'm promoting a quality product from a quality woman. Enjoy!!

Palmitic acid: the horror never ends speculation

Back in her PhD days my wife attended a seminar presented by a visiting researcher on some aspect of the inflammatory cascade. It was very technical and focused around the interaction of a certain ligand with its receptor at some critical juncture in whatever process they had devoted the last n years of their life to studying.

The ligand was all-cis-docosa-4,7,10,13,16,19-hexa-enoic acid. No one in the room had any idea what this stuff was, certainly not the extremely intelligent presenter, other than as a molecular key to a molecular lock. It's a stock lab reagent purchased in research grade purity from any one of a number of suppliers. You could equally order cervonic acid.

At the level of reductionism these people can work at there is no need to be aware that all-cis-docosa-4,7,10,13,16,19-hexa-enoic acid is available in gel caps from Holland and Barrett or is present in the nearest can of sardines as the more familiar DHA.

So imagine you are some newbie PhD student. You walk in to the lab and are handed a reading list a mile long. The lab has certain research lines you are going to slot in to, particularly focused around inflammasome activation by fatty acids. You got the post because you had picked up extensive experience with cell culture and inflammation research based around both endotoxin and asbestos, plus a track record of multiple Nature publications from your undergraduate work.

The lab you walk in to has cells in culture which go ballistic on exposure to utterly physiological concentrations of palmitic acid. At least six widely differing cell types behave in exactly the same way. This looks like a generic effect and puts palmitic acid up there with asbestos as a proinflammatory agent. You switch to Flora that very lunch time, and spread it thinly too.

The lab also has an animal house in the basement. The rats are either fed a standard lab chow or a red coloured greasy type of pellet oozing fat. The lab techs feed and water the ratties. Your job is to compare molecular aspects of white blood cell inflammasome activation as the high fat rats get fatter over the weeks. Once a fortnight someone brings you a blood sample to work with but, apart from that, you will never see the rats again...

What do you question? EVERYONE knows that eating fat makes you fat. Fat is fat. Do you give a monkey's about EXACTLY what is in the pellets which stain the tech's hands red when they do the feeding? It's a standard obesogenic high fat diet from www.testdiets.com. All obesity research uses it or something similar...

Would you sit down and work out whether the hydrogen atoms on either side of the central double bond of one type of fatty acid in one constituent of the 5TJN are aligned on the same side or on opposite sides of the bond? You know, cis vs trans configuration...

It's sloppy. It's possible. People will really be able stand up and say, as Ting does:

"The simple message is to avoid fatty foods as much as possible."

They probably have no doubts. They believe. It's complete bollocks of course. But I have this concept of how things work...

Peter

Plantarians Hope to Set a Record for Earth Day

Plantarians and vegans hope to set a new world record of sustainable healthy eating by getting people to pledge on the Earth Day website.

A spokesperson from the One World Day campaign said "It's a simple concept, helping to save the planet by eating meat and dairy free on One World Day November 1st

I will eat a sustainable healthy plantarian, pure vegetarian, vegan diet | Billion Acts of Green:

What will your next 10 years bring?

Last weekend, my business partner and I traveled over to Providence, Rhode Island (we're in CT, so it was very short drive), to attend Perform Better's Results Business Seminar led by Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove. Many of you will recognize Alwyn as the co-author of my book, The New Rules of Lifting for Women, among other awesome endeavors, and Rachel being the new author of The Female Body Breakthrough. This dynamic duo also own their very successful gym in California, Results Fitness, which was named one of the top 100 gyms in the US by Men's Health magazine.

My purpose for attending this conference was two-fold: 1) To learn more about the business side of fitness, and 2) To see my friends (Alwyn and Rachel) again... it's been a long time since we last connected.

I must say, this conference was terrific and if you have a chance to attend it, please do. It really made a difference for me, and I'll explain why below.

Right at the beginning of the conference, Alwyn posed a question to all of us attendees. He asked, in his very cool Scottish accent, a simple (but not so simple) question that I've actually been asked before. His question was:

"Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?"

The first time I was given this question was about 10 years ago by my master's supervisor while contemplating my pursuit of a graduate degree at the University of Alberta. When given this to answer, my response was that I admired my university professors and loved what they did in terms of teaching and research and so, wanted to be just like them. Thus, to accomplish this goal I had to complete my MS degree, my PhD degree and attain my RD (Registered Dietitian) certification because I wanted to research and teach nutrition.

Well, as many of you know, I accomplished all these goals and more. I now hold my PhD and RD, in addition to other certifications and honors that I never thought I'd have.

But, the goal of being an university professor is one I'm not so sure about anymore. So when Alwyn asked us this question and gave us time to write out our answers, I honestly sat there for quite a while with nothing written on my paper.

I thought, "What the heck do I want to be doing in 10 years?". My initial thought was that in 10 years, no matter what, I'm going to have a 10 year old daughter and that's going to be a wonderful and amazing job in itself. But as far as career.... I was stumped.

When my pen finally started producing words on my page, I actually did write 'university professor in an exercise and nutrition sciences department', but then I also wrote 'successful gym owner', and 'write at least two more books' and 'living in Colorado, US, or Alberta, Canada'. To be honest, being a professor at a university would be a great career path, but I'm not so sure it's what I really want. What I really love right now is being able to exercise everyday (yes, even while 26 weeks pregnant I work out at least once a day... sometimes three times) and teaching others how to be active and love it. But, I also enjoy research and teaching nutrition at the university level, so I'm torn.

The point in Alwyn asking us this question was to help us frame how we function right now so that we can achieve these goals. Everything we do right now is going to affect what we accomplish in our next 10 years. By knowing where we want to be in 10 years will help us focus our short-term goals so they lead us to our ultimate goal. But, remember, this goal should be one that makes you happy and successful, no matter what that means to you personally.

So, do this now: Ask yourself: "Where do I want to be in 10 years? What do I need to do to get there and be in that position? Is what I'm doing now going to help me get to where I really want to be?"

Some of you may already be where you want to be - you might already have the career of your dreams, be living in the place you want to live in forever and be doing all the things you've always wanted to do, and this is great! But, for most, we have some work to do, but when we start the process it will only lead to success.

For me, because being a professor is still on my radar, I'm interviewing for post-doc positions beginning August 2010 after baby is about 6 months old. Also, since being a gym owner would also be fabulous, I'm working hard now to clear up my school loans and establish great credit so that I can receive a loan to open up my own place if and when that time comes. Thankfully I worked my butt off in university achieving plenty of scholarships, so my debt is not really bad for 12 years of schooling.

I hope this inspired some of you to start planning for the future of your dreams, especially as a new year approaches. Alwyn reminded us to build a business or career that supports our own lifestyle in terms of time, income and mobility. Don't settle for anything less than the best. You deserve it.

Happy Holidays!

A Diet for Healthier Humans: SACN Iron and Health Report | SACN

A Diet for Healthier Humans: SACN Iron and Health Report | SACN:

The widely leaked report is finally published. No more than the equivalent of one lamb chop or a bacon butty or a big mac each day if you want any chance of staying healthy.

Yvonne Bishop-Weston Nutritionist London says

"The government seems to be suggesting we should be Plantarian for at least 2 meals a day. Research confirms benefits to health really start to kick in at least 8 portions of fruit and veg a day.

There is still no safe limit for meat consumption set. This advice is just setting maximum advisory levels the inference is that less is best.

I find it quite ironic that this is advice on iron levels yet in clinic it's frequently meat eaters I find with inadequate iron levels not vegetarians"

The evidence seems to be mounting against meat as a useful part of a nutritious diet in modern society.

Gary Taubes Interview on Underground Wellness

Excellent interview with Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories. Originally broadcasted by Underground Wellness Radio.

Yesterdayday was first meat day

Edit: Today was fillet steak, OK so long as the piece is big enough to be sucked on without getting it all in her mouth at once...



Apparently babies are revolted by meat, just ask any vegan idiot





Peter

All About Hemp Foods

Check out why hemp food products are not only yummy, but good for you too in an article I recently wrote for the Precision Nutrition website:

All About Hemp

Vitamin E natural d-alpha tocopheryl

I use this 400 I.U. Vitamin E supplement daily and I take 1-2 softgels.
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps fight free radicals. Oxidative stress caused by free radicals may contribute to the premature aging of cells. Vitamin E also promotes immune function and helps support cardiovascular health. This Puritan Vitamin E is 100% natural.
Vitamin E also helps your body to utilize more oxygen. Athletes like to have this valuable vitamin 1200 I.U. dosage daily.

Size Zero 0 Anorexic Chic Horror of London Fashion Week

 Anorexia chic returns to the catwalk as Size Zero models return - mirror.co.uk:

"I FIND it shocking the fashion world has gone back to this look. Super-skinny models today look pale and ­emaciated as if they should be in a ­hospital ward." Says Yvonne Bishop-Weston Nutritionist London in The Sunday Mirror today

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/02/27/harley-street-nutritionist-yvonne-bishop-weston-gives-her-expert-opinion-on-the-new-waif-models-115875-22951407/#ixzz1FA3wuLgp

The biggest risk is to young girls, it fuels their weight obsessions adding to their delusions that this is 'normal' and healthy

The designers that choose these girls and encourage this look may just as well be putting up alcoholics swigging from a bottle of vodka or heroin addicts smoking crack up their on the catwalks - it's totally irresponsible!.

Yvonne says"I see recovering anorexic girls in my Harley street clinic and it's a nasty, vicious and spiteful disease that rob's girls of their self esteem and chances of long term health.
Young women come in with pictures of models and they say “I want to look like this.” They aspire to look like the people who are chosen to show off clothes.
A recovering anorexic would see women like these as a healthy body weight. And the tragedy, of course, is that not all anorexics recover."

Most of us could do with losing a few pounds to reduce the risks of heart disease, Diabetes, cancer, stroke, but by going to the other extreme these girls are risking all those usual chronic diseases plus osteoporosis , infertility and any chance of ever being mothers, Alzheimer's, arthritis and as soon as the bloom of youth runs out their skin will look likes it's been peeled off, screwed up and tumble dried and then stuck back on with blue tack

Lets face it there are only 4 ways to achieve a size 0 body that looks like this

1. Obsessively starving yourself - Anorexia or bulimia, depriving your body of nutrients
   
2. Dangerous drug abuse - depriving your body of nutrients
   
3. Obsessive exercise - Stressing the body and depriving the body of nutrients
4. Disease - A muscle wasting disease, parasite infestation or cancer that deprives the body of nutrients
   

The restrictions placed on calories mean it is very difficult to get adequate nutrients into the body for it to function properly - typically the reproductive system is first to go (as non essential) then the digestive detox system as the body goes into emergency short term crisis management mode to try and keep the brain and heart alive at least.

If the models drink alcohol, take drugs or smoke in addition to starving themselves then they are pretty much doomed despite Kate Moss's best efforts to prove otherwise.

The only way to remotely healthy on this low calorie level would be a dangerously low fat diet of vegan raw food but then only nutrient rich vegetables and no high sugar fruits such as bananas and no nuts. However without the essential fats from nuts and seeds they would still risk heart disease and hormonal problems and brain function as essential fats are needed for every cell membrane in the body. Vegans can get these from nuts, seeds and algae but these size zero models are often fat phobic so are likely to avoid essential fats along with detrimental saturated animal fats.

På svenska

Kör en svensk blogg här: http://lchf-peter.blogspot.com/

Now THAT is sustainable!

Amazing speech by Dan Barber, How I fell in Love with a Fish.

Barber speaks of a fish farm off the coast of Spain:

• Which does not feed their fish
• The fish feeds a population of 600 000 birds
• The farm acts as a huge water purifier

Green Tea Extract Capsules

I take one Green tea extract capsule with my other vitamins and minerals daily. Green Tea is a nutritional staple in Japan where it has been used for centuries. Green Tea contains beneficial flavonoids, which are natural phytochemicals that provide antioxidant support and health-enhancing properties. This Green Tea Extract contains naturally occurring EGCG. Capsules may be opened and prepared as a tea if you prefer to drink it.
Green tea has been shown to mildly lower total levels and improve the cholesterol profile.
Green tea is generally free of side effects.

Green tea is more powerful antioxidant than Vitamin E. I recommend to take it daily.

Vitamin B12

As you may know, the B Vitamins play many important roles in the body, including energy metabolism. Specifically, the vitamin known as B-12 helps maintain proper metabolic functioning and circulatory health, and contributes to the health of the nervous system. It also aids in normal development and the regeneration of red blood cells.

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes fatigue. Years ago, a small, double-blind trial reported that even some people who are not deficient in this vitamin had increased energy after vitamin B12 injections, compared with the effect of placebo injections.
A lot of body builder use Vitamin B-12 because of the metabolic effect of it, but not only body builders can benefit from B 12.

B 12 injections available on the market you need only a person (doctor) to take it in injectable format.

Vitamin B12 is found in all foods of animal origin, including dairy, eggs, meat, poultry, and fish.

If you like more natural energy take Vitamin B 12 daily.

Nature is fantastic

Another speech by renowned chef Dan Barber. This time about foie gras, fat liver from duck or goose, which is considered to be an exquisite delicacy. The controversy of foie gras is gavage, or force feeding the animal. However, Barber's speech show that, if we cooperate with nature instead of try to overcome it, nature rewards us.

-Why don't you sell the foie gras to world class chefs?
-They don't deserve my foie gras.
-What do you think of conventional foie gras?
-An insult to history.

Great and inspirational stuff.

Diabetic nephropathy and the lost Swede

Chris over at Conditioning Research forwarded me the link to the PLoS paper demonstrating partial reversal of diabetic nephropathy in a couple of mouse models. This isn't exactly a world shattering finding as anyone with diabetes who is not eating a mildly ketogenic diet probably has shares in dialysis machines or is being grossly mismanaged.

Anyway, the first thing to do with a paper like this is to check whether the authors cited Nielsen's 2006 case report of a human being having their diabetic renal failure halted and partially reversed. I mean, this might be relevant...

They didn't.

The Swedish group simply fixed a patient without a mouse model in sight. They got ignored for their temerity. Shocking to fix a human without the death of a single leptin deficient mouse, but there you go. And it's not so hard to do either............


As a complete aside:

It turned out to be interesting to go back and see where the mouse folks were coming from. They cited this paper.


Here is part of figure 6, the line to follow is the open triangles.





Up to day 84 a high fat diet was fed. As happens so often, the high fat diet is 31.7% sucrose/maltodextrin by weight and (gasp) 20.7% lard.

From day 84 onwards these lazy, greedy porkers of mice were switched to a diet which was 47.5% lard and, utter horror, 19.95% butter. Of course this is not really a high fat diet as it has no sucrose or maltodextrin...

Look at the weight drop to below (ns) that of the mice fed crapinabag throughout........

Obviously this must be the satiating effect of protein, so often cited by idiots as the reason for weight loss of LC diets. Except it's not, the ketogenic mice had the lowest protein intake, 9.5% by weight cf 24% in the crapinabag and HF diets. That is very low in protein.

Here are the actual diets in Table 1:



A far more plausible explanation is that ketosis induces dissatisfaction in these mice concerning their body image due to their obese state so they then started to cut calories and go to the gym every night. Duh.

Now please don't make me put up the fasting insulin levels. Aw, okay, you twisted my arm.

Edit: I noticed that these are the FED insulin levels, we don't get fasting levels in the paper...



No comment.

Peter

A Few Body Hair Removal Techniques That Are Popular

body hair is a natural occurrence, and all of us have to some degree. But if you want to show your body in professions like modeling it can be unpleasant.

As a general rule, if you want to go to the beaches or take a bath in a public swimming pool, body hair can be very embarrassing. In fact, many people have excessive body hair, they always hide their bodies, which are not desirable.

This is the reason why more and more people are in the beauty salons to get rid of their body hair. Many new and effective techniques that help you the hair permanently removed or temporary methods are also available.

the first women to be concerned about body hair removal but now-a-day are men who have similar interest in doing.

The proven and effective method of hair removal is body waxing. This method is used since ages and it is quite easy to do at home. You pour the hot wax on the spot where you feel you have a lot of unwanted hair and the hair is then pulled with the help of a piece of cloth and hair from the roots.

Now, this is a method if you are not all side effects such as dark marks or allergies, etc. The other mode tried shaving of body hair removal is. This is a painless method, but also the danger of cutting you. In addition, some people after shaving the rough and hard areas, which are not desired.

plucking of the hair is a process that you do not try yourself and you have to visit a parlor for that. This is done with a thread and therefore you can also use the threading. There are different types of creams and lotions are available, are rich in ammonia and this is the reason why they develop black spots on the body, where it.

The final and lasting method of hair removal is electrolysis with the laser beams. The rays kill the roots of the hair almost permanently, and you will not feel much pain. But the only constraint is money. The costs involved in this process is too high, and this is the reason why not everyone can apply for them. Women can find the recipe Eflornithine cream to the facial hair.

joint work are the techniques that you can try to get rid of these unwanted body hair and flaunty cleanse your body, without hesitation.

 

April Kerr hopes that you'll also want to look at chest hair removal and femal facial hair removal.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=April_Kerr

Second Trimester Exercise Experiences

The third trimester is here! And, boy, my second trimester was a great one! Yep, I'm now at 28 weeks and a few days and am definitely looking pregnant (instead of just chubby...haha). However, for the most part, I wouldn't even know I was pregnant except for when I look in the mirror - I feel great!

My second trimester was just awesome. I taught boot camps 8 times a week (three on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one on Friday and one on Saturday) and for the most part, actually physically did teach them and had no issues what-so-ever! My classes consisted of everything from high intensity Tabata training, to battle ropes and prowler pushes (as seen in the you tube video above), to weight lifting circuits and kettlebell intervals. So, pretty serious and nothing pink and fluffy.

The second trimester started in the month of October (I became pregnant pretty much exactly on July 1st). By this time all my nausea had left and my energy came back. My strength was also very similar to pre-pregnancy except for a few things, which I'll outline below.

In summary, here's how my second trimester was in terms of exercise and training:

1) Energy
As I said, my energy came back at about the 10 to 12 week mark and I took that as a sign to start kicking up the intensity. Which I did. My first few days of teaching Tabata classes were a bit rough, but once my endurance improved in a few weeks, I was doing better than some of my class participants.

2) Strength
I'm amazed at how strong I've stayed, other than for many body weight exercises. Because of my increasing body weight (I've gained about 14 lbs to date), exercises such as pull-ups, inverted rows, and now, even pushups, are a lot more difficult. I definitely am unable to do an pure unassisted pull-up, and lately, my pushups have been lame. However, my lower body and back strength in lifts like the deadlift and squat are pretty awesome. Even my bench press still rocks at a max of 135 lbs (yes, I'm still doing supine work because it doesn't bother me at all - my OBGYN even approves).


3) Endurance
I will have to say that my endurance now is better than it was pre-pregnancy. But, that wasn't hard to improve: prior to becoming pregnant I was both finishing my PhD dissertation and RD internship, so rarely had time to workout hard at all. Now, with all my HIIT training in my classes, my endurance is excellent.

4) Body Heat Regulation
Thankfully I'm progressing through my pregnancy in the winter, so keeping my body temp in a safe range while exercising is not an issue. When it's been hot outside or when I have too many layers on, I do definitely feel uncomfortable.

5) Recovery
My recovery still leaves a bit to be desired. Whenever I lift heavy, I pay for it for a few days. I've tried a few different nutritional tactics to try and improve this, but I'm pretty sure it's just the fact that I'm growing another human that my recovery isn't so great. But, I still push myself hard and just make sure to take more time to relax after.

6) Body Composition
Interestingly, my belly is definitely growing, but I haven't gained a pound in the last 4 weeks (during my 6th month I've stayed at 150lbs). My husband has told me that he noticed that my body is looking leaner, especially in my butt and thighs. He said it's because I'm finally eating better - in my first four months, I was craving sugar and food like I'd just come back from a hard outdoor excursion. Now, my cravings and appetite are so much more manageable. This combined with my exercise routine probably is leading to some fat loss (yes, fat loss during pregnancy is possible!).
One of my girlfriends who just had her baby this past February 2009 told me that she didn't gain anything in the last 3 months and her arms, thighs and butt shrank. Her baby was born at a healthy 8lbs and had no issues at all. So, I'm hoping I'll have something similar happen because I did pile some fat on my legs in the first trimester from my outta control sugar binges.

7) Aches and Pains
With my back issues (spondylolithesis), I thought I was going to be in much more pain by this point in my pregnancy. But, with all the core strengthening work I do and the absence of exercises that hurt my back (like back squats and ultra-heavy deadlifts), I've been pretty much pain-free. There were a few weeks where I had sciatica pain, but I think that was due to the baby, because it just magically disappeared one day. Now, I'm experiencing rib pain from my expanding rib cage, but, unfortunately, there's not much I can do about it. I just try to ignore it and working out actually helps me forget about it.


8) Goals for the next three months:
Well, given that I feel great and have almost no issues doing what I'm doing now, I'll continue to train hard for as long as my body will let me. A lot of people ask if I'm going to lighten up, but I've told them that I'll only do that if I have to (i.e., I hurt, I'm feeling sick, etc). Other than that, why do I have to reduce my intensity if everything is progressing in a healthy direction? My baby and belly are growing at the proper rate, my health is great (yes, I am fighting off a slight cold right now, but it is the winter and I was bound to get a bit sick at some point), and my energy is wonderful. What else could I ask for?

Now, just keep in mind: every woman is different, and every woman has to listen to her own body and make the best decisions for her and her baby. Just because I'm staying really active doesn't mean every woman has that luxury. Be smart, listen if your body says stop and ensure you fuel it with the best foods possible.

Foods You Should Be Eating If You Want to Grow Taller

Growing slightly larger, millions of people are worried, and it is much easier than you might think, if you use the help of good nutrition on your side. Here are some basic tips to make you:

Make sure to eat foods rich in calcium. You probably already know, but you will be amazed at how many people skip this part entirely. Enter your bones what they need, is very important and should not be overlooked. In addition to eating foods rich in calcium, you should also eat foods rich in vitamin D to help your body absorb calcium. Here is a brief list of calcium and vitamin D-rich foods should be included in your diet as soon as possible.

Calcium Rich Foods:

oatmeal

almonds

Sesame seeds
Kohl


Turnip Greens

yogurt

Cheese

Broccoli

Oranges

Milk

Tofu

Black Turtle Beans

soybeans

Soy Milk

navy beans

White

beans vitamin D-rich foods:

Mackerel

-liver

egg

Beef

Salmon

Sardines

Tuna Fish

After your food is imported, you need to follow up with a stretching exercise program. The most effective every now grows Taller For Idiots by Dr. Darwin Smith. With his program you can gain 3 inches in just 6 weeks. The best part is that you do not have to give medication or hundreds of dollars. He has dozens of different techniques, exercise your spine and are easy for everyone to do.

 

If you want to learn more about of Dr. Smiths Grow Taller For Idiots program, click here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Miranda_Smith