Bodybuilding nutrition and balance

Many inexperienced (sometimes even experienced!) gym regulars believe that muscles grow while lifting weights. However lifting weights forms only a small fraction of the muscle building process. Muscle development takes place at night during deep sleep when the body synthesizes new cells with nutrients from our diet. Therefore nutrition forms a very important part of a bodybuilding program.

The body utilizes nutrients in food to perform daily metabolic and what's commonly referred to as the "wear and tear processes". With bodybuilding, additional strain is put on the body to make new muscle tissues. Therefore the nutrient requirements also shoots up to stay with the demand.

The best bodybuilding nutrition comes from a balanced intake of carbohydrates, adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, fats and large amounts of water. So if you are serious about getting lean and ripped it’s time to say goodbye to mayo burgers, colas and other synthetic foods. Adopt eating habits imbibing fruits, whole grains, milk, eggs and fresh farm products.

How much protein do you need?

Your growing muscles need amino acids to create new tissues. The amino acids are provided by protein in diet. There is a lot of debate on the exact quantity of protein required in bodybuilding. The caution to maintain is that extreme amounts of protein in the diet can cause gastric and renal complications. Recent studies have suggested that a protein intake of 1 to 1.4 grams per unit of body weight is adequate to sustain the bodybuilding process. This means that the protein requirement of a 70 kg individual should be around 70 to 98 grams. To give an estimate of the amount involved consider the following: A 100 gm chicken breast has 22 grams of protein, a glass of milk has 8 grams, an egg approximately 5 grams and a slice bread 3 grams.

A word of caution against the tide of bodybuilding supplements in markets. Many times you come across advertisements proclaiming, ‘Gain 20 pounds of muscle in 3 months flat!’. Stay clear of these money hungry advertisers. Building lean muscle takes time and effort. Making use of synthetic products which alter body’s natural mechanism would offset what should be your real purpose in bodybuilding which is to keep the body fit and healthy.

Lastly in bodybuilding it’s not, ‘the more the better’. Rather it is ‘the more precise the better’. Don’t over exert, eat balanced food and include plenty of rest. With everything good in life, patience, commitment, and balance will guarantee your success. With these tips in mind you are all set to pump iron!

Is your low-carb diet aging your skin

Low-carb diets, while they may be effective in promoting quick weight loss, have been shown to increase inflammation in the body, according to researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University. Not only does this age your skin, but your internal cells and organs as well. The solution is the IF Rating™ system, which shows you the foods that are both low-carb and anti-inflammatory.

Obesity, wrinkles, heart disease, hay fever, depression…all of these different problems share a common factor: inflammation. Now thought to be at the root of today's most vexing health problems, chronic low-level inflammation is rooted in the foods you eat.

By reading the label, you can determine whether or not a food is high in carbohydrates, fats or sugars, but not whether it's an inflammatory food. In The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, nutrition researcher Monica Reinagel takes the confusion and guesswork out of reducing inflammation with her revolutionary IF Rating system, which reveals which foods are best for reducing inflammation and which may make it worse. Using over 20 different nutritional factors to calculate each food's rating, the IF Rating system helps you maximize both health and weight loss.

So do you choose the salmon or the steak? You'd probably be surprised at the answer. The IF Ratings reveal that one type of salmon may actually increase your risk of inflammation-driven aging and disease, while certain cuts of steak will reduce inflammation. This new information may change how you think about many common foods.

The Inflammation Free Diet Plan includes:

• IF Ratings for more than 1,600 common foods

• Tips to balance the effects of inflammatory foods with anti-inflammatory ones

• Three weeks of easy menus the whole family can enjoy

• An easy, flexible program you can follow for life

• More than 50 delicious anti-inflammatory recipes.

Perhaps the best part is that the plan works almost immediately. You'll notice that your skin looks younger, your joints feel better and your allergy symptoms improve within days after you start. You'll also be reducing your risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes in the future!

Should a kid start dieting

A “diet”, strictly speaking, refers to a certain collection of food that a person chooses to consume. In this sense, we can consider everyone to be on a diet. But the accepted connotation of the term “diet” today, is a collection of food that is meant to help a person lose weight. This diet is closely linked to the amount of calories that a person deposits in his body. The basic idea is this: if a person eats less calories than his body uses, he will become thinner; and if the body eats more calories than what his body manages to use, he will become fat.

Growing fat is so un-cool that many adults and kids would want to diet. They worry about the measurements of certain body parts but they forget about what genetics have given them. You see, not everyone has a perfect body. In fact, many artists (who study the human figure) tend to believe that the majority of the people in this world have imperfect bodies. Some are born with large frames or big bones and some are born with smaller frames. This is why a friend who is not really fat may look bigger than others simply because of his bone structure.

Adults may go on diet, but kids should avoid weight loss diets. The sole reason is that kids are still growing and developing. Certain stages of your growth will make you grow “fat” and this is normal. What kids need are a variety of foods that will supply all the needed vitamins, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates. Skipping meals and eating a lettuce-only meals would mean that you are supplying less nutrients to your body and you may get sick or your growth would be stunted. You may even develop serious conditions such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Anorexic people cannot tolerate any food. Each time they put food in their stomach, the body reacts and vomits the food. Anorexic people are dangerously thin because they are already starving. Bulimic people, on the other hand, deliberately throw up the food they have eaten.

If you’re a kid and think that you are fat, just become more active. Join physical sports. Jog or run, instead of walking towards home or to school. What you are trying to do is to burn more calories. Okay, some kids may appear too fat that it is no longer healthy. But drastic dieting won’t help. What parents need to do is to consult a doctor. The doctor can give the proper advise on how the gain weight at a slower pace, without risking the kid’s health.

Kids should forget about weight loss diets. They should focus on becoming healthier and stronger.

Are the foods you eat putting your health at risk

Food (and water) is the absolute first thing you need in order to ensure life. Without it you would wither away and die. You need food for its nutrition and for its sustenance. But are the foods you consume today supplying you with good solid nutrition, or are many of them slowly robbing you of your health and taking years from your life?

Here are some things to consider:

THE HAZARDS OF EATING MEAT

Eating meat (particularly pork and red meat such as beef) in of itself is unhealthy especially when eaten in too large of quantities. Certain meats, such as beef, can take up to 72 hours to digest completely. Therefore, if you eat meat two or three times a day, you could still be digesting the food you had for breakfast the other day while you are again consuming another round of it.

This explains why many autopsies reveal from 5 to as much as 40 pounds of undigested meat still in the systems of many people! Now, imagine how unhealthy it becomes if the animal where the meat came from was treated with antibiotics and other artificial health sustainers? These chemicals stay in the meat fibers; and no amount of washing, cooking, or boiling will get rid of them. Do you really want that in your food?

Hence, many people today are immune to antibiotics for humans. They ingest the antibiotics from animals, and the extra strong antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in the human body. The more you eat chemically treated meat, the more you weaken your body’s defense mechanisms. This hazard is aggravated further when the meats are processed with artificial flavors and preservatives.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING FISH

Many “fresh” fish in the market today are loaded with preservatives to lock in their “freshness.” Some use formalin, a chemical used in embalming human corpses, to preserve newly caught fish. A few wicked sellers may wash marketed fish with food coloring or textile color to give these fish a “fresh” look. To ensure your safety and enjoy the nutritious benefits of fish, buy them from trusted sources only.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING BREAD

Many white breads are hard to digest. Their hard residues stay long and may form blockades in the intestines. Moreover, eating white bread actually rapidly elevates blood sugar levels in your body. Whole wheat bread is a healthier food alternative to white bread as it supplies better nutrition, but many of the whole wheat breads today still have preservatives because they are commercially produced. Make sure it is made with “whole wheat flour” and not “enriched whole wheat flour”. Always check the ingredients just to be sure.

CHEMICALS IN FOOD

Aside from having their nutrition values greatly reduced, a lot of food today is treated with harmful chemicals. Washing, cooking, and boiling for long hours may lessen the chemicals in your food, but these harmful substances may not be fully eliminated. Peeling the skin off some fruits will not ensure safety either.

Imagine swallowing and accumulating all those fertilizers and pesticides in your body. Do you still wonder why we have so many deadly diseases today that were unheard of in the days of our ancestors?

Insects know better. They will not touch crops with pesticides. That is why you will find these crops sold in the market without any sign of insect bites. People buy them because they look clean and delicious. They don’t know that these outward appearances conceal inner hazards of the food they are buying. Some people think it is a good option to eat fruits and vegetables that show a few nibbles from insects.

PROCESSED FOOD

After having your veggies and fruits treated with fertilizers and pesticides (and these are given to farm animals as part of feeds), they also undergo artificial processing to prolong their “freshness.” They are treated with preservatives, which mean more chemicals. Some instant noodles are treated with chemical wax, which may be cancer causing. Do you know that these noodles are banned in some countries?

Because processed food terribly lacks real nutrition, their sellers sometimes put synthetic vitamins in them and pass them off as “plus factors” for good health when actually; these synthetic vitamins often do little to nothing for you or in some cases can even harm your health.

If you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life, always be on the lookout for the presence of preservatives in your food. Look at the labels and find out if some of the ingredients can be harmful to your health.

Substitutes for butter

Instead of Butter: Use top quality, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, from the first pressing, or flaxseed oil. The taste of virgin olive oil is appealing to millions of people around the world, so why not adopt it to your taste?

Flaxseed oil is prized for health reasons and not for its taste. You can always compensate for that by adding spices to the appropriate dish. Let’s say you want to add a little flaxseed oil to mashed potatoes, instead of butter. You could add basil, oregano, rosemary, curry, garlic, or any other spice that agrees with your palate.

You can use a little virgin olive oil on mashed potatoes with basil and roasted garlic, but it's up to the individual's own taste. At home, we use a little olive oil on toast, instead of butter. Again, you could spice it, but try to avoid salting.

Depending on whose study you read, flaxseed oil contains Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 Oils.

Olive oil has some Omega-6 value, but it tastes great.

If you want to learn a lot more about beneficial oils, visit:

math. ucsd. edu/~ebender/Health%20&%

20Nutrition/Nutrition/oil_good. html

To name a few of the many conditions improved by Omega-3 Oils: High Cholesterol Levels, Prevention of Strokes and Heart Attacks, Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Multiple Sclerosis, Allergies, Angina, High Blood Pressure, Arthritis, and Asthma.

To read a little more about the link between cancer prevention and Omega-3 fatty acids, please visit:

seapet. com/EFA_cancer. htm#AICR

It goes without saying any further, that omega-3 fatty acids should be boosted in most of our diets.

You will notice, I did not mention, margarine as a dietary recommendation.

Trans-fats are formed as a result of chemical hydrogenation. Depending upon the brand you buy, margarine may contain up to 45 percent trans-fats.

"The problem with trans fatty acids is that your body doesn't know what to do with them," said Brian Olshansky, M. D., University of Iowa Health Care professor of internal medicine.

Trans fatty acids (trans-fats) are linked to diabetes, high cholesterol, sudden cardiac death, obesity, and heart disease.

Expect to see a warning on the labels of food containing trans-fats in the near future. New labeling for foods is expected soon, and total trans-fats contained within a product serving, will be listed. Believe it or not, at least one trans-fat, CLA (conjugated linolenic acid), is considered beneficial, but that is another story.

Suffice to say, it would be wise to avoid margarine until all the research is in. At that point, the composition of margarine will probably change for the better.

Natural joint support products

Everyone old enough to walk appreciates the value of flexibility and ease of movement. Unfortunately many of us take such good things for granted. A famous folksinger sang, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone." That's certainly true for millions Americans who live with stiff and uncomfortable joints.

Fortunately there are a number of nutrients available that provide the vital components of healthy joint structure and function and ease of mobility. These nutrients are referred to as “chondroprotective agents,” and include glucosamine and chondroitin, which supply the raw material necessary to produce new cartilage, and may even help rebuild worn cartilage. Other chondroprotective nutrients and herbs, like Cetyl Myristoleate, MSM, and Boswellin, work synergistically with glucosamine and chondroitin and further support normal joint function.

To understand how chondroprotective agents work, one must first understand how joints work. The key element in human joints is articular cartilage, the shock-absorbing tissue that connects two bones together and allows pain-free movement. Articular cartilage is comprised of two different molecules, collagen and proteoglycans, with the remainder composed primarily of water (65-85%). Collagen, a protein that binds tissue together, provides elasticity. Proteoglycans, composed of sugars and protein, absorb water, which provides lubrication and resiliency, nature's shock absorber for your joints. Both compounds are produced by chondrocytes, caretaker cells responsible for the formation and maintenance of cartilage. A deficiency in any one of the above constituents will increase the likelihood of wear and tear on articular cartilage, which can eventually lead to compromised joint function. Glucosamine and chondroitin are safe, natural and effective nutrients that support healthy joint function by supplying the materials needed to produce collagen and proteoglycans.

Arnica Native to Europe and southern Russia, Arnica montana is a perennial plant with bright yellow, daisylike flowers. Some of its common names include leopard's bane, wolf's bane, and mountain tobacco. Arnica montana has a long history of use in herbal healing, as do other arnica species grown in the western part of North America. The dried flower heads and occasionally the underground stems and roots are the source of medicinal arnica.

• Muscle strains and sprains. Arnica is widely applied to ease the inflammation and pain of muscle strains and sprains caused by overuse or injury. Although results have been contradictory, some studies concluded that for a short period immediately following a marathon run, arnica reduced muscle soreness. The effect was only temporary, however.

• Arthritic joints. Inflamed and painful joints are said to benefit from arnica as well. Using the herb in a hot, moist compress may be helpful for arthritis pain, though it is not known whether it is simply the heat or the arnica that provides the relief.

• Psoriasis and eczema. Numerous herbal formulas for these persistent skin disorders contain extracts of arnica, which may help given its anti-inflammatory and numbing qualities.

• Insect bites. Because of its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects, topical arnica is believed to reduce the swelling and pain caused by insect bites. It may also help prevent infection.

Celadrin is a medically and clinically proven pain management compound developed through a proprietary process of esterifying oils. Celadrin is a novel, all natural ingredient which has been medically shown to reduce inflammation and pain with no side effects. Celadrin systematically enhances and lubricates cell membranes throughout the body providing youthful cell fluidity and elasticity. This includes the enhancement of fluids that cushions your bones and joints to maintain flexibility and mobility so that you can move with ease and pain free. Celadrin has been proven to provide cumulative (continuous and restorative) benefit. In a double blind clinical trial, oral Celadrin showed significant benefit beyond the arthritic medication the subjects were taking – with cumulative improvement shown throughout the study.

Chondroitin sulfate consists of repeating chains of molecules called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Chondroitin sulfate is a major constituent of cartilage, providing structure, holding water and nutrients, and allowing other molecules to move through cartilage—an important property, as there is no blood supply to cartilage. The only significant food source of chondroitin sulfate is animal cartilage.

Glucosamine is composed of glucose (a sugar) and glutamine (an amino acid). It is utilized by chondrocytes to form glycosaminoglycans (GSG) and proteoglycans (PG). Both of these constituents attract and bind water into cartilage, increasing resiliency. Research indicates that glucosamine may actually help your body repair damaged or eroded cartilage. A number of studies have been conducted on glucosamine sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride, with a preponderance of positive results. Glucosamine sulfate is considered the more effective of the two.

For a long time, glucosamine dominated the market among supplements used to ease joint pain. Now, many practitioners prefer to use a combination of both glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. Many have found this combination to be effective, particularly for runners, who tend to develop problems with their knees. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are well absorbed by the molecules that make up cartilage. They are not available from food. It is not uncommon to have to take these supplements indefinitely to continue to experience relief.

MSM Methyl-sulfonyl-methane is a naturally occurring sulfur compound found in our bodies as well as in many common beverages and foods, including milk, coffee, tea and green vegetables. In its purified chemical form, it is an odorless, essentially tasteless, white, water-soluble crystalline solid. It is one of the safest substances in biology, similar in toxicity to water.

Recent research has shown that the results of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis in the knee is no different than that of placebo. This gives people further reason to at least give supplements, such as chondroitin sulfate, a try before enduring more invasive, expensive approaches.

Benefits of Joint Support Formulas

• helps rebuild and repair worn cartilage

• support healthy joint function by supplying the materials needed to produce collagen and proteoglycans

• eases joint pain

Food companies fail to tackle diet crisis

The bigger you are the better you are - well not in this case. The world's 25 biggest food companies are failing to take the global crisis in diet seriously and often only change their practices when faced with adverse publicity that could damage their sales, a new study claims.

From Wal-Mart to McDonald's to Coca-Cola to Cadbury, the world leaders of the food industry are accused of a "pathetic" performance on meeting targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2004 to take basic action to improve diet that will in turn tackle obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The study judged each company on responsible marketing, in particular to children; reductions in fat, sugar and salt; portion size; and developing healthier new products. Just four of 25 said they were taking action to reduce the total fat content of their products. Only five said they were cutting sugar and 10 said they were reducing salt.

The comprehensive review of the policies and practices of the companies, including four British conglomerates, found that their global reach meant they were largely unaccountable for how they addressed the epidemic of diet-related disease. Researchers at City University in London said the only factor which seemed to produce action on issues such as salt and fat content was public discontent.

If the best way to get companies to take health seriously is to have critics give them a wake up call, do these companies care? Many don’t even have the correct policies in place to deal with the crisis.

This lack of commitment to health paints a poor overall picture. Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and obesity currently account for 60 per cent of global deaths - that figure is predicted to rise to 73 per cent by 2020. Does this epidemic have to rise to this level before these corporations accept some kind of accountability?