You Gotta Love Cilantro

We live in a very toxic world filled various poisons and chemicals. Some of these come from the air we breathe, dental fillings, foods such as wild caught fish (though good) that exposes us to potential mercury, cheese which has aluminum or even antiperspirants deodorants which also contain aluminum. These chemicals have been known to cause development problems in children such as autism, and Alzheimer’s in the elderly. As a result of this I encourage you to include the herb Cilantro as a part of your daily diet. Cilantro appears to be extremely effective at Chelation, which simply means it helps the body to remove chemicals and toxins from the blood stream. To consume Cilantro daily, you can simply blend it with your favorite smoothie, boil it as a tea for about 15 minutes, or put it in soups. FYI, cooking Cilantro does not diminish its effect. Stay fit and well family.

Naturally Boosting Testosterone

Testosterone is a hormone found in both males and females. As we age, testosterone production slows down and the body has a decrease in the amount of free testosterone that is available in the bloodstream. This can cause us to lose muscle mass, gain weight, have a lowered sex drive, clinical depression, and a host of other issues. However, do note that there are several ways to increase your testosterone levels naturally, which in turn can help you look and feel better as we you age. Below you can find 5 ways to naturally increase your testosterone levels.

1) Lift Heavy & Basic
Incorporate basic movements that involve several muscle groups in your training routine. Great compound movements are barbell squats, dead lifts, and military presses. These basic core exercises have been shown to play an important role in testosterone levels. Make sure to train with high intensity for short periods of time. Your overall weight training workout should not last longer than 60 minutes. Train hard and get out of the gym to let your muscles recuperate and grow!

2) Sleep Well
If you are not getting enough sleep the body is not recuperating well, which causes less testosterone and more corticosteroids to be released. FYI corticosteroids like cortisol are in fact catabolic hormones meaning they use up muscle tissue to provide the brain and the heart with energy. Sleep has a tremendous impact on testosterone levels. Your testosterone levels can plummet 40% down by having poor sleep quality. Focus on getting 8-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal rest and recuperation.

3) Watch The Alcohol
I know it is easier said than done. But did you know that alcohol has the property to inhibit your ability to remove estrogen from the blood stream by acting as a central nervous system depressant and also by decreasing zinc levels. Alcohol should be avoided when trying to increase testosterone levels. FYI healthy normal men, consuming reasonable amounts of alcoholic drink, experience a 20% drop in their serum levels of testosterone, in women its worse, since they already have higher levels of estrogen.

4) Eat More Fat
Fats are used by the body create cholesterol, which is one of the ingredients used to make hormones such as testosterone. Be sure to consume the right amount of polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 fish oil), saturated fats found in organic meats such as beef, chicken, turkey, and monounsaturated fats found in avocados, nuts seeds, olives and other plant sources.

5) Don't Over Train
Always allow your body to recuperate adequately between your workout sessions. If you don't, your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 PERCENT as was discovered by studies performed at the University of North Carolina. The symptoms of over training are easy to diagnose: irritability, insomnia, muscle shrinkage and an overall feeling of fatigue. To avoid over training, make sure you rest at least 48 hours between muscle groups and sleep a full 8-9 hours per night.

Stay fit and well family.

Peanuts Suck

Aflatoxin is a mold you have probably never heard of. It is considered to be a cancer causing substance by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). So what does aflatoxin have to do with you? Well most of us are currently getting it in our diets, because we consume peanuts in one form or another. Essentially peanut are easy targets for this mold because they grow underground. The mold is also invisible to the naked eye. Apparently no practical way exist to remove this mold, and usually “organic” or “natural” peanut butter will have the high aflatoxin concentration. Furthermore, the highest concentration of this mold can be found when you buy the peanuts at the store and they grind it into peanut butter for you. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) , and FDA do have rules regulating the amount of aflatoxin allowed to reach consumers. But the truth is, there is no real measure of it once it hit the stores. FYI the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes the aflatoxin threat seriously. So much so that OSHA requires any workers dealing with large quantities of peanut, to wear facial mask, so that they don’t breathe in the mold.

If you are looking for an alternation to peanut butter, try almond butter, or walnut butter which contains no aflatoxin. Also some studies have shown that peanut cooking oil has low levels of aflatoxin. So if you are currently using peanut oil, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Stay fit and well family.

Mentrual Cycle and Bloating

Ladies do you ever wonder why during your menstrual cycle you feel bloated and water logged? Well bloating during menstrual cycle is caused by the release of mineralocorticoids, a hormone which regulates levels in fluid electrolytes and sodium. Essentially, when your body releases mineralocorticoids, your sodium level go up, hence you start to retain water. Some women bloat more than others, particularly in the abdominal area.

So how can you combat this issue? Well the first thing I suggest is to get to know your body, to point where you can pinpoint when your cycle will occur. FYI, there are several sites such as http://www.pinkperiod.com/Home.asp, which can help you to actively track when your cycle will occur. By knowing when your cycle will happen, it will allow to take preemptive actions. For example, when you get close to your cycle, try eating smaller meals and avoiding salt, and water-retention levels can decrease. You can also supplement with herbal products such as dandelion root, which acts as a natural diuretic in the body. Vegetables such as Asparagus, contains asparigine - a chemical alkaloid that boosts kidney performance, thereby allowing the body release water more effectively. Also the fruit Black Currant has high potassium levels. Potassium counteracts the amount of sodium your body retains, which of course allows you to hold on to a little less water. Finally, if possibly be sure to continue to exercise. Naturally, when you exercise, you sweat which allows you to hold on to less water.

I hope you found this random tip useful :). Stay fit and well family

Organic, Antibiotic- and Hormone-Free Meat: Expensive, But You Better Buy It

Ever wonder why its important to eat organic, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat, even though it so much more expensive? For starters, antibiotics kill both bad and good bacteria, and a large number of good bacteria in your intestinal tract aid in food digestion. However, antibiotics are also helpful to humans as a useful treatment for illnesses such as Lymes disease and Staph infections. The key to correcting the bacterial imbalance after antibiotic treatment is to eat foods rich in probiotic cultures or take a probiotic supplement , in order to repopulate your intestinal tract with good bacteria.

So how do antibiotics compromise the quality of the meat we buy and our health? According to the Organic Consumers Association, approximately 70% of all antibiotics produced in the US are fed to healthy chickens, pigs, and cows for nontherapeutic purposes, like growth promotion. Essentially, antibiotics promote efficiency of feed use, better yet, growth is stimulated with less feed. Ultimately, this results in reduced costs for say cattle producers, which translates into lower prices for consumers.

Unfortunately, the rampant use of antibiotics in livestock production has been linked to the development of drug-resistant strains of bacteria, such as e coli and salmonella, which can be passed on to people who consume undercooked beef and poultry. In addition, there is some concern that the use of antibiotics in livestock production maybe contributing to the development of Methicillin Resistant Staph (MRSA). MRSA is a type of staph infection that is drug-resistant, and transmitted not by eating, but by handling tainted meat from animals that were given antibiotics.

How do hormones play into all this? Scientists believe about two-thirds of American cattle raised for slaughter today are injected with hormones to make them grow faster. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this is a safe practice. But hey, when are notoriously underfunded government agencies such as the USDA and FDA ever wrong?

Ironically, according to the European Union’s (EU) Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health, the use of six natural and artificial growth hormones in beef production poses a potential risk to human health. These six hormones include three that are naturally occurring—Oestradiol, Progesterone and Testosterone—and three that are synthetic—Zeranol, Trenbolone, and Melengestrol.

The EU’s Committee also questioned whether hormone residues in the meat of "growth-enhanced" animals can disrupt human hormone balance, which could cause developmental problems by interfering with the reproductive system, and even lead to the development of breast, prostate or colon cancers.

Children, pregnant women and the unborn are thought to be most susceptible to these negative health effects. For example, hormone residues in beef have been implicated in the early onset of puberty in girls, which could put them at greater risk of developing breast and other forms of cancer.

So, in a nutshell, by eating mass-produced meat, we are potentially exposing ourselves to hormonal imbalances and strains of harmful drug-resistant bacteria. The EU has long been alarmed by the health threats posed by US meat. It has banned the import of hormone and antibiotic treated beef from the the US since the late eighties.

So when your pocket screams at the cost of buying organic, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat, don't be dismayed. It will cost you more in the long run.

Knowing When To Take a Break

Are you that runner that keeps going despite the unbearable pain in your shins and hips? Are you that bodybuilder that keeps doing shoulder presses despite that annoying pain in your rotator cuff? Have you lost a bunch of weight and lately its coming to standstill, but yet you keep pushing harder than before? Has your mood drop lately even though you are training hard? Do you find yourself craving sugar and salt?

If you answer yes to most of the above questions, then there is a possibility that you are overtraining. Essentially, overtraining occurs when an individual trains extremely hard for a long period without sufficient rest, and the body is no longer able to adapt and restore homeostasis. This can occur in both strength or endurance sports

There are obvious physical outward signs of overtraining, such as joint pains that continue to get worse. However, its the hidden danger that most concerns me, which is the havoc it plays on the hormonal system. In a study conducted by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, they found that a group of soccer players who were considered overtrained, displayed altered hormone levels at rest and after training. Also on a mood profile test, the players scored significantly higher on anger, depression, and tension. "They had extremely low resting growth hormone (GH) levels, which means the anabolic environment in the body is impaired. It also indicates worsening physical fitness from training since GH increases when physical fitness is improving. Post-exercise GH levels were lower as well but this was not statistically significant."

The study also indicated that cortisol (the stress hormone) was reduced at rest and after training. There was also evidence of a decreased sensitivity to the Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which indicates that the player's adrenal functions were impaired. The post-exercise ACTH response was 43 percent lower than in control players in the study, indicating that the adrenal gland of the overtrained players were chronically fatigued. This occurs when the body is under too much physical stress for too long and it must continually produce excess cortisol, ultimately exhausting the adrenals and resulting in blunted levels of cortisol and ACTH along with an electrolyte imbalance. This can also cause us to crave sugar and salt. One can argue that endurance athletes like soccer players and marathon runners are at a great risk of overtraining. However, strength athletes and the average Joe can also be at risk.

According to world renowned trainer, Charles Poliquin, one should make a concerted effort to "monitor for overtraining by doing regular performance measurements that are related to your sport or training style and pay attention to training heart rate. Poor mood, feelings of anger and tension, and chronic exhaustion, especially in the morning when cortisol should be elevated, are easy markers to pay attention to. Additionally, a hormonal test for GH at rest and ACTH after exercise can provide a more definitive diagnosis for overtraining." I have used these markers in the past to convince an overtrained individual that they need to rest and recover, rather than training harder to counter drops in performance."

Another way to prevent overtraining is to feed the body with key nutrients that are known to help inhibit overtraining. According to Poliquin individuals engaging in endurance activities such as running should supplement with adequate carbohydrates and the vitamin C and E (both potent antioxidants), which can help replenish glycogen and avoid overtraining. If you are more into strength training, Poliquin encourages taking glutamine, branched-chain amino acids, and extra whole foods protein to further adaptations and anabolic hormone response.

Be Kind to the Resolutionaires

My fellow gym heads and general fitness nuts, I know this is the time of year that you all dread. Your precious gym is invaded by a species known as the resolutionaires. Much to your chagrin they scurry around looking at equipment as if they were foreign objects. But you know in a month or so they will be gone, and your precious gym will be all yours again bah hah hah.

But before you revel in the demise of the resolutionaires, remember you were once just like them. You needed help. Most gym heads, including myself, can remember that one individual that offered us advice and motivation when we first started. So I challenge you Mr. and Mrs. gym head, when you see a resolutionaire looking completely lost as they look at a machine, don't be afraid to offer your advice. You never know, you might be saving a life. Also to the resolutionaires, the big guy with all the muscles won't eat you, so don't be afraid to ask for his advice.