Month: October 2012

Omega 3 Benefits outweigh Mercury Concerns

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Post date October 5, 2012
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Last week one study said that Omega 3 vitamin benefits were overstated. Today another university study says that Omega benefits outweigh mercury concerns.

Confusing? I agree. Lets look at studies but always do what long term we know that is right. Eat good healthy food.

A team of researchers has conducted a study which found that the health benefits of fish outweigh the negative impacts when consumers choose wisely.

Healthy Salmon Steak

The joint study out of Sweden and Finland aimed to create a risk-benefit model that would shed light on the risk of mercury consumption, versus the value of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked to everything from heart health to cognitive function and improved eyesight.

Published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study examined mercury levels and omega-3 concentrations in the hair and blood samples of 361 Swedish men and 211 men from Finland, all of whom had suffered from a heart attack.

Is there Much to Worry About?

While methyl mercury in fish may, indeed, pose a health risk, even a small change in fish consumption was found to prevent 7 percent of heart attacks in men, as long as mercury levels remained low.

Eat fish, but avoid large predatory species like pike and perch which contain a lot more mercury than smaller ones.

The Food and Drug Administration also offers a consumer’s guide to different types of fish,

Advising against the consumption of shark, swordfish, King mackerel and tilefish for their high mercury content.
Five of the most commonly eaten types of seafood low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish.
Eat up to 12 ounces (the equivalent of two average meals) a week of fish and shellfish that are low in mercury.
Opt for canned light tuna over albacore tuna, which contains more mercury.

Do you eat a lot of fish? I know that I do not but should really look at eating more. Fish is high in good fats like Omega 3‘s and more importantly it helps to diversify our diet and make it fuller and richer which is good for most people.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Fast Food Diet Study

I found this great study and article from the people at ABC News about a Fast Food Diet Study.

This study was purposely having people eat fast food to determine its affects on obesity

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are making an unusual offer: They are paying people to add fat to their own bodies by eating an extra 1,000-calorie fast food meal each day for three months.

Dr. Samuel Klein, the lead researcher in the study, wanted to do some basic research on why only some people who gain weight develop diabetes and hypertension, while others do not. It’s something he said he couldn’t research by feeding food pellets to lab animals.

Testing Moves from Animals to People

“What you learn in rodents does not always translate to people,” Klein said. “What you learn on flies and worms won’t translate to people.”

“[Fast food restaurants] have very regulated food content,” said Klein, the lead researcher of the study. “We know exactly the calories and macro-nutrient composition within fast food restaurants, so it’s a very inexpensive, easy and tasteful way to give people extra calories.”

There was also a cash incentive. Participants could earn up to $3,500, depending on how long it took them to reach the weight goal. They had to gain 5 percent to 6 percent of their body weight during the three-month span and then they could work to shed the pounds again. Researchers monitored their weight from week to week.

Who Volunteered for Fast Food Diet Study?

When the hospital put out an ad seeking participants, several people came forward.

Dawn Freeman, a 50-year-old nurse who has now finished the program, started out weighing 170 pounds. She said she gained 16 pounds over the course of eight weeks during the fast food diet study.

She was compensated a total of $2,650 for her effort, including $50 to lose all the weight again, which she did with diet and walking exercise to help her get down to 162.8 pounds. The hospital guides participants through the weight loss.

Freeman said gaining weight fast — with a doctor’s persmission — only sounds easy and even seemed easy with the first meal, a Big Mac and large fries from McDonalds.

“It was really good and you know the next night I went to Taco Bell and it was, it was wonderful,” she said. “This is after I have already eaten dinner.”

But Freeman eventually found out that gaining weight in a hurry was hard, something Klein predicted.

“This is not pleasant for them,” Klein said. “It’s not easy to stuff your face every day for a long period of time.”

Freeman said she started to feel awful after two weeks, “I could hardly breathe anymore.”

She is glad it’s over. But another participant, Dave Giocolo, was about to find out that this experiment was not a food lovers’ dream.

The 48-year-old bathroom design and supply salesman said when he heard the medical school’s ad on the radio while commuting to work, he called them right away.

The St. Louis native starting weight was 249.9 pounds, with a goal of adding about 15 pounds for the study. So Giocolo, who never went without his morning McDonalds breakfast burrito, started eating quarter pounders for the sake of science.

What do you think of the value of fast food diet study like this? I am glad I am not a test subject but anything like this will likely teach us more about how people react to processed foods and higher fat diets in a more controlled setting

Weight Loss Exercise

Quick Workout For Women

Who says getting flat belly and getting physically fit are only for men? Workout plan for women are also popular. Maybe back in 1950’s and the years before that where women weren’t really into physical fitness, but not anymore. More than ever, women are into working out.

Getting Fit

Today, women are into staying healthy and physically fit and this is evident by the number of women we see who devote some of their time going to the gym and other fitness center. This change is the result of the strong influence of the media. Women see those actresses and models show off their nice flat belly and strive to have that kind of body too. And that is where the problem starts.

Women start to ask around how they can lose weight, get rid of those excessive body parts and finally have those flat belly. They start searching online to find workout plans and other weight loss strategies that will help them with this dilemma. Luckily, after years and years of fitness training and studies, fitness experts have come up with workout plans that will suit the needs of women specifically.

Although women are very different from men, physically and mentally, the things that they have to consider when it comes to working out are not far from men. Men require having a proper diet while working out, so do women. Men need a good workout plan that can provide the required results, same is required in workouts for women. The only big difference women have when it comes to working out is the intensity of the workout plans that each group follows. I said that because while most men seem to have the endurance required to do heavy trainings such as the popular heavy weight lifting exercise, most women just don’t have that kind of endurance. I said most, not all, as there are women that are much stronger and are able to take more than your average man.

Quick Workout, Just A Few Minutes Per Day

The following are some exercises to include in your workout or you can just do these alone. Before you begin though, make sure you hydrate. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day will not only help you get toxins out of your body faster and help lose more fat but also will help you prevent bad breath by keeping your mouth moist. This is convenient because as you work out you tend to breath hard through the mouth and if there are people around you, it could turn into a social problem for you.

Lets get started.

1. The ab crunches.

The ab crunches are not some kind of snacks. It is in fact a form of exercise that is done by bending the knee, with your hand at the back of your head (or cross them in front of you if you prefer) not touching your head with your hand, slowly lifting your head and shoulders up and leaning forward until your shoulder are off the ground for a few inches, and then, slowly lowering yourself back down, but not letting your head touch the ground. Repeat the process as many times as you want. This exercise targets the fats in your abdominal muscles, legs, and makes the backbone and arms strong.

2. Do the Quadriceps.

To do the quadriceps you need a dumbbell. This type of exercise is performed by holding a dumbbell in the right hand next to the shoulder, with the arm bent. Stepping forward with your right leg, lower your body until your right knee is bent close to 90 degrees and your left knee almost touching the ground. Then push yourself back to the starting position. Repeat the steps from the beginning, but this time, use your left hand to hold the weight and your left leg to step forward. This kind of exercise benefits your hips and abs, help improve your body balance and help burn your excessive fats.

A Few Things to Remember

These exercises are ideal for every workout plan for women. Fitness experts believed these to be the most essential exercises that can produce fast results in the minimum amount be done alternately by every woman to get nice and flat belly. And the good thing about them is that they can be performed in the comfort of your home. But you should know that these great exercises won’t be effective without a proper diet. Thus your workout plan and a proper diet should always work together.

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