Suggested foods for diabetics: Top 10 list

by Aurora Geib 

(NaturalNews) If you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, your doctor has probably already advised you to limit simple sugars in your diet, avoid highly processed carbs and perhaps even increase your intake of whole grains, leafy greens and vegetables. These are your first steps toward better health. But, what if there were foods that had very targeted effects on blood sugar and type 2 diabetes? Here are 10 foods that lower blood sugar, support pancreatic health and may lessen your need for insulin.

1. Blueberries - Blueberries are not only yummy; they are packed with flavonoids and antioxidants. Their high fiber content and high levels of vitamin C and E make them the ideal blood-sugar-stabilizing food. You can enjoy blueberries fresh or frozen year round. Use them in fruit smoothies, on top of whole-grain cereal or even just plain. Blueberries are naturally sweet and need no condiments of any kind. You can even enjoy their benefits cooked in whole-grain pancakes or muffins. A study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, "Cooking Does Not Decrease the Hydrophilic Antioxidant Capacity of Wild Blueberries," showed that, whether blueberries where baked, steamed or even microwaved, their antioxidant activity was not reduced.
2. Garbanzo beans - Sometimes called chick peas, garbanzo beans are high in fiber and low in fat. Garbanzo beans are also high in protein and can replace animal proteins in your diet -- such as red meat, milk and cheese -- which are high in saturated fat. You can cook garbanzo beans at home or use them canned; just be sure to choose the low-salt variety. Garbanzo beans are great when chilled and added to a green salad. They can also be used in soups, as a meat substitute in spaghetti and chili, or pureed and mixed with olive oil to make hummus.
3. Apples - Apples are high in fiber, antioxidants and vitamin C. Apples are easy to add to your diet. They can be served up as apple sauce or sliced into a Cobb salad. Apples are easy to add to a brown-bag lunch, as well. Just wash one and drop it in. If you don't like the mild flavor of Red Delicious apples, try some of the newer varieties. Fuji and Gala apples have a wonderful, tangy, straight-from-the-tree flavor.
4. Broccoli - Broccoli is high in fiber and a good natural source of chromium. Both fiber and chromium have been proven to be beneficial in treating diabetes. Broccoli can be lightly steamed and served with a touch of olive oil and sea salt. It can also be added to salads and sandwiches.
5. Avocados - Most of us know that avocados are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats which can lower cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of stroke and heart disease. A 2008 study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2) has also shown that unsaturated vegetable fats can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You can add avocados to your diet as guacamole, diced in a salad or sliced onto a sandwich. Buy avocados that are firm and dark green, then let them ripen until they turn nearly black and develop their signature rich, nutty flavor.
6. Asparagus - One serving of asparagus has only 5 grams of carbohydrates and a mere 20 calories yet is high in fiber, antioxidants and folate. It also has glutathione, which has been shown to lower blood sugar and increase insulin production.
7. Almonds - Almonds are packed with protein, fiber and polyunsaturated fats. All of these are the ideal components of a healthy diet. Almonds have been shown to stabilize blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. The good fats in theses nuts slow digestion, stave off hunger and delay pancreatic fatigue. You can enjoy roasted almonds as a snack. They can also be added to salads and are good when thinly sliced and sprinkled over many Asian dishes.
8. Kale - Kale, according to The World's Healthiest Foods (3), is rich in fiber and in vitamins E, C and A, all of which have been shown to help stabilize blood glucose levels. While some people enjoy kale raw in salads, for the biggest nutritional punch and ideal flavor, steam it lightly for five minutes and then let it rest five minutes before serving. Don't add butter or salt, or you're negating many of kale's health benefits.
9. Cranberries - Many people think of these as a seasonal dish, but cranberries should be part of your year-round diet. They are high in phytonutrients such as anthocyanin which can help lower blood glucose levels.
10. Oats - Oats are high in soluble fiber. A diet high in fiber can, according to a document published by the Harvard School of Medicine (4), prevent constipation, lower cholesterol and control blood sugar levels. Because the fiber in foods is digested differently than other carbohydrates, it does not require insulin and passes through the digestive track intact. This has the benefit of helping you feel full without altering your blood sugar levels.

Source:

1) http://science.naturalnews.com

2) http://ajcn.nutrition.org

3) http://www.whfoods.com

4) http://huhs.harvard.edu

http://science.naturalnews.com

The Agricultural Holocaust explained: the 10 worst ways GMOs threaten humanity and our natural world

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor 

(NaturalNews) Why are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) a serious threat to humanity and the environment? The reasons span the realms of science, social justice, economics and the environment, and once you understand this, you'll readily understand why so many environmentalists, humanitarians, responsible scientists and social justice advocates are strongly opposed to GMOs.

Here are the top 10 ways GMOs threaten us all:

#1) Every grain of GM corn contains poison

GM corn is genetically engineered to develop a deadly pesticide in every grain of corn. When this corn is harvested and turned into Corn Flakes, corn tortillas, corn syrup or other corn-based foods, that same poison remains in the corn.

What is the effect of human children eating all the poisons grown in GM corn? Nobody knows for sure because the tests haven't been conducted on human consumption. That's why GMOs remain an untested experiment that exploits humans as guinea pigs.

See www.GMOevidence.com to learn more.

#2) GMOs have never been safety tested for human consumption

Although GMO advocates ridiculously claim GMOs have been "proven safe in thousands of studies," what they don't tell you is that those were all short-term studies on animals, not humans.

In fact, GMOs have never been shown to be safe for long-term human consumption. What happens when a child eats GMOs for two decades? Does it substantially increase their risk of cancer, diabetes, kidney failure or future Alzheimer's? Nobody knows, exactly, because the tests haven't been done.

As often happens with other chemicals, GMOs are simply let loose into the world with an attitude of "let's see what happens!"

See: www.GMOseralini.org to learn more.

#3) GMOs transform farming freedom into farming servitude

Because GMOs are sold with an intellectual property restriction that prevents farmers from saving their own seeds, they invoke "economic servitude" where farmers are forced to buy expensive new seeds each year from the GMO seed supplier.

As a result, farming practices (like seed saving) that have sustained humanity since the dawn of civilization are now being criminalized. And when GM crops fail, as they frequently do, the economic burden placed upon farmers is often too much to bear. That's why farmer suicides have skyrocketed in India among farmers who bought GMO seeds.

Reportedly, over 270,000 suicides have already happened in India due to crop failures, and more happen every day.

Learn more from the GMO Myths and Truths report.

#4) GMOs run the very real risk of runaway self-replicating genetic pollution and ecocide

Unlike isolated chemicals, GMOs self-replicate. This means there is an automatic risk of a runaway ecological holocaust caused by genetic pollution from GMOs.

Once scientist calls this risk "ecocide" and has calculated the risk of ecocide caused by GMOs will approach 100%. As I wrote in this March 2014 article:

As Taleb convincingly argues, genetically engineered crops are specifically designed to have a survival advantage over conventional crops, allowing them to better resist droughts or infestations of pests or weeds. This survival advantage -- if it's as real as seed manipulators claim -- means genetically engineered plants can out-compete non-GMO crops in open fields. The genetic pollution which is already underway across North America will only get worse, therefore, and there's no reversing it because all living systems -- even genetically engineered ones -- have a natural drive to spread, multiply and survive.

The result is that GMO crops will out-compete and thereby displace non-GMO crops over time. Why does this matter? Because the rise of GMOs is nearly synonymous with the collapse of genetic diversity in seeds and food crops.

#5) GMO agriculture is breeding a new generation of chemical-resistant superweeds

The rise of chemical-resistant superweeds is a horrible problem for modern farmers. In the same way that deadly superbugs have arisen from the abuse of antibiotics in hospitals, "Frankenweeds" have arisen from the continued growing of GMOs and the routine application of glyphosate to crop fields.

Glyphosate-resistant superweeds have become such a problem that the very industry which once claimed GMOs would require "fewer chemicals" to grow food is now recommending fields be treated with a triple or quadruple layer of multiple chemicals to attack the superweeds with different chemicals.

That's why agriculture experts are right now sounding the alarm over glyphosate, GMOs and superweeds, calling for an end to the unsustainable GMO farming practices that seriously threaten the sustainability of agriculture.

See www.naturalnews.com/superweeds.html

#6) GMOs may have long-term unintended consequences on the environment

What happens when genetically engineered plants cross-pollinate with non-GMO plants and are then subjected to the random mutations of plant evolution?

No one knows because it's never been tested in the open world. Or, I should say, it's being tested right now on us all, in the world's largest genetic experiment ever conducted (without our consent, no less).

The problem in all this is that Mother Nature has a way of bringing about unintended consequences, even from well-meaning scientists. Is it possible that an artificial, genetically engineered trait could dominate future plant generations but begin to show a completely unintended physiological trait that scientists never intended? You bet it is. From Thalidomide to Fukushima, the world is full of examples of catastrophic consequences that scientists once swore could never happen.

Famous last words: "What could possibly go wrong?"

#7) GMOs collapse biodiversity

In an effort to monopolize the global seed supply, GMO companies are buying up smaller seed companies and shutting them down, collapsing their seed supplies. The following chart shows some of the seed consolidation activity that's concentrating ownership over seeds into the hands of a very small number of powerful, unethical corporations:

(Click image to view full-sized chart.)


This consolidation of seed companies has caused an alarming collapse in seed diversity over the last decade, placing humanity at increased risk for catastrophic crop failures due to a loss of genetic diversity.

That's the problem with genetic conformity: it makes the crops far more susceptible to systemic diseases that can cause catastrophic crop failures. Precisely this scenario is happening right now with banana crops, as most commercial banana trees are genetically identical clones.

As a result, a fungus has attacked banana crops and is causing devastating destruction across the banana industry. The industry is responding by -- guess what? -- foolishly turning to genetically engineered bananas which will suffer from the exact same weakness of genetic conformity, practically guaranteeing a future disease epidemic.

#8) GMOs put control over the food supply into the hands of profit-driven corporations

Before corporate agriculture, food production used to be under the control of local farmers who cared for their families and communities. But now, food seeds are monopolized by greed-driven corporations that care nothing about families or communities (but worship profit at all costs).

It almost goes without saying that these corporations make decisions in the best interests of their shareholders, not the best interests of humanity or the environment.

Expecting corporations to place the long-term sustainability of life on Earth as a higher priority than their own quarterly profits is a form of insanity. Corporations only exist to maximize short-term profits, regardless of the long-term cost to humanity or the planet.

#9) GMOs may be harming pollinators

Although the evidence on this isn't yet conclusive, GMOs may be contributing to the harming of all-important pollinators, without which we would all starve from lack of food crops.

Honeybee pollinators are dying in record numbers across North America, and many scientists fear we may be witnessing a catastrophic collapse of pollinator populations. Evidence is already emerging that neonicotinoids -- a class of pesticide chemicals -- may be responsible for the collapse, but there's also evidence that GMOs may be worsening the population decline.

Were GMOs ever tested for their long-term impact on pollinators in the wild? Of course not. That would cost too much money, and the promotion of GMOs is all about making money; the environment be damned.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." - Albert Einstein

#10) The kind of scientists who collaborate with biotech companies are the most dishonest, corrupt and unethical scientists in our world

The world of science consists primarily of ethical, reasonable people who are doing their best to contribute to knowledge and progress for our world. But the darkest "fringe" fanatics of bad science are found in the realm of GMOs, where scientists routinely accept money from the biotech industry to lie to the public and attack "GMO skeptics" -- people who are skeptical about the false promises made by biotech corporations.

Biotech-linked scientists and journalists are the most nefarious and evil-minded of their kind, waging vicious smear campaigns against environmentalists while working desperately to block the public's right to know what they're eating. "Biotech shills" have been a key part of the defeat of GMO labeling laws in California and Oregon, for example, where their message has been, "Make sure the public NEVER knows they're eating GMOs!"

In every way imaginable, the scientists and journalist who blindly push GMOs are a great disservice to the scientific community and will only discredit science in the long run as the long-term harm caused by GMOs becomes undeniable.

REAL science allows for skeptical questions and embraces the precautionary principle, but quack "GMO science" abandons precaution while disparaging anyone who poses reasonable questions about playing God with nature.

The blind leading the blind

GMO shills, of course, dismiss all these concerns (or hope you don't notice them). Their foolish strategy is to cover their eyes, cover their ears and march humanity down this path of destruction, all while hoping to cash in on quarterly profit dividends in the mean time.

There is no rational justification for putting the entire world at risk with genetically engineered crops that have clearly failed to be subjected to responsible long-term scientific testing. As with most other chemicals -- aspartame, Agent Orange, Bisphenol-A and so on -- industry simply unleashes them onto the world and hopes nothing goes wrong.

But Murphy's Law tells us bad things can happen even when you don't want them to, and with GMOs, we're now playing with self-replicating organisms rather than mere chemicals. GMO-based agriculture is a Pandora's Box which can never be closed once opened.

While I do believe GMOs might one day be developed and deployed in a safe and cautious manner, today there is presently zero willingness on the part of biotech corporations to expend the kind of time, money and resources required to establish such safety. There is also zero willingness in the minds of GMO-fronting scientists to even consider the possibility that they might be wrong. One such GMO front man named Jon Entine has even written a book with one of the most disturbingly arrogant titles imaginable: "Let them Eat Precaution."

And so, in a very real sense, we are all playing Russian Roulette with our collective future, hoping against all odds that the shortcut scientists working for companies like Monsanto have already thought of everything.

History tells us such hope is deeply misplaced.

Learn more about GMOs:

www.ResponsibleTechnology.org
www.OrganicConsumers.org
www.GMwatch.org
http://gmomythsandtruths.earthopensource.org

Glutathione: The Mother of All Antioxidants

It's the most important molecule you need to stay healthy and prevent disease -- yet you've probably never heard of it. It's the secret to prevent aging, cancer, heart disease, dementiaand more, and necessary to treat everything from autism to Alzheimer's disease. There are more than 89,000 medical articles about it -- but your doctor doesn't know how address the epidemic deficiency of this critical life-giving molecule ...

What is it? I'm talking about the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier and maestro of the immune system: GLUTATHIONE (pronounced "gloota-thigh-own").

The good news is that your body produces its own glutathione. The bad news is that poor diet, pollution, toxins, medications, stress, trauma, aging, infections and radiation all deplete your glutathione.

This leaves you susceptible to unrestrained cell disintegration from oxidative stress, free radicals, infections and cancer. And your liver gets overloaded and damaged, making it unable to do its job of detoxification.

In treating chronically ill patients with Functional Medicine for more than 10 years, I have discovered that glutathione deficiency is found in nearly all very ill patients. These include people with chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, cancer, chronic infections,autoimmune disease, diabetes, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis,asthma, kidney problems, liver disease and more.

At first I thought that this was just a coincidental finding, but over the years I have come to realize that our ability to produce and maintain a high level of glutathione is critical to recovery from nearly all chronic illness -- and to preventing disease and maintaining optimal health and performance. The authors of those 76,000 medical articles on glutathione I mentioned earlier have found the same thing!

So in today's blog I want to explain what glutathione is, why it's important and give you 9 tips that will help you optimize your glutathione levels, improve your detoxification system and protect help yourself from chronic illness.

What is Glutathione?

Glutathione is a very simple molecule that is produced naturally all the time in your body. It is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids -- cysteine, glycine and glutamine.

The secret of its power is the sulfur (SH) chemical groups it contains. Sulfur is a sticky, smelly molecule. It acts like fly paper and all the bad things in the body stick onto it, including free radicals and toxins like mercury and other heavy metals.

Normally glutathione is recycled in the body -- except when the toxic load becomes too great. And that explains why we are in such trouble ...

In my practice, I test the genes involved in glutathione metabolism. These are the genes involved in producing enzymes that allow the body to create and recycle glutathione in the body. These genes have many names, such as GSTM1, GSTP1 and more.

These genes impaired in some people for a variety of important reasons. We humans evolved in a time before the 80,000 toxic industrial chemicals found in our environment today were introduced into our world, before electromagnetic radiation was everywhere and before we polluted our skies, lakes, rivers, oceans and teeth with mercury and lead.

That is why most people survived with the basic version of the genetic detoxification software encoded in our DNA, which is mediocre at ridding the body of toxins. At the time humans evolved we just didn't need more. Who knew we would be poisoning ourselves and eating a processed, nutrient-depleted diet thousands of years later?

Because most of us didn't require additional detoxification software, almost of half of the population now has a limited capacity to get rid of toxins. These people are missing GSTM1 function -- one of the most important genes needed in the process of creating and recycling glutathione in the body.

Nearly all my very sick patients are missing this function. The one-third of our population that suffers from chronic disease is missing this essential gene. That includes me. Twenty years ago I became mercury poisoned and suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome due to this very problem. My GSTM1 function was inadequate and I didn't produce enough glutathione as a result. Eventually, my body broke down and I became extremely ill ...

This is the same problem I see in so many of my patients. They are missing this critical gene and they descend into disease as a result. Let me explain how this happens ...

The Importance of Glutathione in Protecting Against Chronic Illness

Glutathione is critical for one simple reason: It recycles antioxidants. You see, dealing with free radicals is like handing off a hot potato. They get passed around from vitamin C to vitamin E to lipoic acid and then finally to glutathione which cools off the free radicals and recycles other antioxidants. After this happens, the body can "reduce" or regenerate another protective glutathione molecule and we are back in business.

However, problems occur when we are overwhelmed with too much oxidative stress or too many toxins. Then the glutathione becomes depleted and we can no longer protect ourselves against free radicals, infections, or cancer and we can't get rid of toxins. This leads to further sickness and soon we are in the downward spiral of chronic illness.

But that's not all. Glutathione is also critical in helping your immune system do its job of fighting infections and preventing cancer. That's why studies show that it can help in the treatment of AIDS.(i)

Glutathione is also the most critical and integral part of your detoxification system. All the toxins stick onto glutathione, which then carries them into the bile and the stool -- and out of your body.

And lastly, it also helps us reach peak mental and physical function. Research has shown that raised glutathione levels decrease muscle damage, reduce recovery time, increase strength and endurance and shift metabolism from fat production to muscle development.

If you are sick or old or are just not in peak shape, you likely have glutathione deficiency. 
In fact, the top British medical journal, the Lancet, found the highest glutathione levels in healthy young people, lower levels in healthy elderly, lower still in sick elderly and the lowest of all in the hospitalized elderly. (ii)

Keeping yourself healthy, boosting your performance, preventing disease and aging well depends on keeping your glutathione levels high. I'll say it again ... Glutathione is so important because it is responsible for keeping so many of the keys to UltraWellnessoptimized.

It is critical for immune function and controlling inflammation. It is the master detoxifier and the body's main antioxidant, protecting our cells and making our energy metabolism run well.

And the good news is that you can do many things to increase this natural and critical molecule in your body. You can eat glutathione-boosting foods. You can exercise. And you can take glutathione-boosting supplements. Let's review more specifics about each.

9 Tips to Optimize your Glutathione Levels

These 9 tips will help you improve your glutathione levels, improve your health, optimize your performance and live a long, healthy life.

Eat Foods that Support Glutathione Production

1. Consume sulfur-rich foods. The main ones in the diet are garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc.).

2. Try bioactive whey protein. This is great source of cysteine and the amino acid building blocks for glutathione synthesis. As you know, I am not a big fan of dairy. But this is an exception -- with a few warnings. The whey protein MUST be bioactive and made from non-denatured proteins ("denaturing" refers to the breakdown of the normal protein structure). Choose non-pasteurized and non-industrially produced milk that contains no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. Immunocal is a prescription bioactive non-denatured whey protein that is even listed in the Physician's Desk Reference.

Exercise for Your Way to More Glutathione

3. Exercise boosts your glutathione levels and thereby helps boost your immune system, improve detoxification and enhance your body's own antioxidant defenses. Start slow and build up to 30 minutes a day of vigorous aerobic exercise like walking or jogging, or play various sports. Strength training for 20 minutes 3 times a week is also helpful.

Take Glutathione Supporting Supplements

One would think it would be easy just to take glutathione as a pill, but the body digests protein -- so you wouldn't get the benefits if you did it this way. However, the production and recycling of glutathione in the body requires many different nutrients and you CAN take these. Here are the main supplements that need to be taken consistently to boost glutathione. Besides taking a multivitamin and fish oil, supporting my glutathione levels with these supplements is the most important thing I do every day for my personal health.

4. N-acetyl-cysteine. This has been used for years to help treat asthma and lung disease and to treat people with life-threatening liver failure from Tylenol overdose. In fact, I first learned about it in medical school while working in the emergency room. It is even given to prevent kidney damage from dyes used during x-ray studies.

5. Alpha lipoic acid. This is a close second to glutathione in importance in our cells and is involved in energy production, blood sugar control, brain health and detoxification. The body usually makes it, but given all the stresses we are under, we often become depleted.

6. Methylation nutrients (folate and vitamins B6 and B12). These are perhaps the most critical to keep the body producing glutathione. Methylation and the production and recycling of glutathione are the two most important biochemical functions in your body. Take folate (especially in the active form of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate), B6 (in active form of P5P) and B12 (in the active form of methylcobalamin).

7. Selenium. This important mineral helps the body recycle and produce more glutathione. 

8. A family of antioxidants including vitamins C and E (in the form of mixed tocopherols), work together to recycle glutathione.

9. Milk thistle (silymarin) has long been used in liver disease and helps boost glutathione levels.

So use these nine tips and see how they work to help you optimzie your glutathione levels. When you do, you will take one more step to lifelong vibrant health.

Now I'd like to hear from you...

Had you ever heard of this important nutrient before?

Have you tried any of the advice in this article?

What effects have you noticed on your health?

Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

References

(i) De Rosa SC, Zaretsky MD, Dubs JG, Roederer M, Anderson M, Green A, Mitra D, Watanabe N, Nakamura H, Tjioe I, Deresinski SC, Moore WA, Ela SW, Parks D, Herzenberg LA, Herzenberg LA. N-acetylcysteine replenishes glutathione in HIV infection. Eur J Clin Invest. 2000 Oct;30(10):915-29

(ii) Nuttall S, Martin U, Sinclair A, Kendall M. 1998. Glutathione: in sickness and in health. The Lancet 351(9103):645-646

Mark Hyman, M.D. practicing physician and founder of The UltraWellness Center is a pioneer in functional medicine. Dr. Hyman is now sharing the 7 ways to tap into your body's natural ability to heal itself. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him onLinkedIn, watch his videos on Youtube and become a fan on Facebook.

Sprints Burn 200 Calories for 2.5 Minutes Work

Joshua Wortman

People often blame their busy lives and schedule as the reason they do not exercise. However, there may be hope (or at least a lack of valid excuses) for those people. A new study shows that sprint interval training is very effective at burning calories in shorts amounts of time. This research will be presented at The Integrative Biology of Exercise VImeeting in October.



Researchers from Colorado State University had 5 volunteers participate in the study. Each volunteer maintained a diet that ensured they were not over- or undereating for three days.After those three days, the men stayed in a research facility for two days, where their room was completely enclosed, with air intake and exhaust regulated.There was equipment installed to analyze oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water content. The researchers were able determine how many calories the volunteers had burned while staying in these rooms.¹



Each volunteer continued to eat the prescribed diet for two days while living in this room, and remained quite sedentary. On one of the days, while still in their room, they completed a sprint interval workout that involved maximum effort on a stationary bicycle. They pedaled at a high resistance for five 30-second periods, each separated by a 4-minute recovery period where they pedaled slowly with light resistance.²



The results of the data from the room calorimeter system showed participants burned an average of an extra 200 calories on the sprint interval workout day.This was quite impressive considering that the volunteers only spent 2.5 minutes engaging in intense exercise.³



The United States government recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. However, after looking at this study, that much time may not be needed in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Kyle Sevits, a researcher on the study said, "Burning an extra 200 calories from these exercises a couple of times a week can help keep away that pound or two that many Americans gain each year."Sevits went on to explain, "Research shows that many people start an exercise program but just can't keep it up. The biggest factor people quote is that they don't have the time to fit in exercise. We hope if exercise can be fit into a smaller period of time, then they may give exercise a go and stick with it." Three times a week with the regimen in the study only equates to 7.5 minutes of intense exercise, and just a little over an hour of dedicated time. This is much more possible to commit to and achieve for those who live an extremely busy lifestyle.⁴

How to double athletic performance naturally

by Tony Isaacs 

(NaturalNews) Athletes and athletic teams are always looking for an edge to boost their performance beyond their competition. Some have looked to new training techniques, while others have succumbed to temptation and resorted to illegal steroids and other performance enhancers. Now, it appears that a combination of new technology, proven natural plant extracts and optimal nutrition may outperform the banned substances and do so legally and safely.

Body core cooling outperforms steroids

Researchers at Stanford University found that temperature is a primary limiting factor for performance because the longer muscle temperature is elevated, the more muscle energy shuts down to prevent cellular destruction from prolonged over-heating. The researchers developed a device known as the Core Cooling Glove which lowered body temperature and essentially reset the muscles' state of fatigue, thus enabling longer and more vigorous workouts which led to astounding athletic performance increases.

According to the researchers, use of the glove increases performance even more than steroids. In one early example, researchers had a confessed "gym rat" team member use the glove every other round while doing rounds of pull-ups. In the next six weeks, he went from doing 180 total pull-ups to over 620 - an unprecedented physical performance improvement.

Pineapple extract enables up to eight times faster healing

Bromelain is a general name for a family of proteolytic enzymes obtained from the pineapple plant, especially the pineapple stem. For athletes, bromelain reduces swelling and pain and greatly increases healing and recovery time.

In one study, 74 boxers with bruises on the face and hematomas of the orbits, lips, ears, chest and arms were given bromelain four times a day for four days or until all signs of bruising had disappeared. A control group of 72 boxers were given a placebo. In 58 of the boxers taking bromelain, all signs of bruising cleared completely in four days, with the remaining 16 requiring eight to 10 days for complete clearance. In the control group, only 10 had complete clearance within four days, with the remainder requiring up to 14 days for resolution.

The Russian olympic team's secret herbal weapon

The herbal plant suma (Pfaffia paniculata) is used in herbal medicine throughout the world and is considered a tonic and an adaptogen. It has been called "the Russian secret," since it has been taken by Russian olympic athletes for many years due to its ability to increase muscle-building and endurance without the side effects of illegal steroids. These benefits are evidently due to an anabolic-type phytochemical called beta-ecdysterone and three other novel ecdysteroid glycosides present in high amounts in suma.

Suma root contains 19 different amino acids, several electrolytes, iron, magnesium, zinc, trace minerals, vitamins A, B1, B2, E, K, and pantothenic acid. It acts as an oxygenator at the cellular level, likely due to its high germanium content. Its high iron content may account for its traditional use for anemia. In addition, novel phytochemicals including saponins, pfaffic acids, glycosides, and nortriterpenes are also contained in suma root.

Optimal performance needs optimal nutrition

Most are unaware of just how wide a variety of nutrients the body is designed to utilize as well as the optimal amounts needed for optimal health and performance. For example, the organic supplement IntraMax contains a whopping 415 different nutrients and the body utilizes every single one of them.

While optimal nutrient intake allows optimal performance, nutritional deficiencies rob performance - and unless we supplement well most of us are deficient in some nutrients. As an example, it is estimated that 70 to 95 percent of us are deficient in magnesium, the "master mineral" which is essential for 1300 body functions.

Sources for this article include:

http://news.stanford.edu

http://www.tbyil.com/bromelain.htm

http://www.rain-tree.com/suma.htm

http://drcarolyndean.com/2012/11/giving-thanks-for-magnesium/

Running Doesn't Suck

by Max Shank   

Here's what you need to know...

•  The anti-running movement has gone too far when it says that running is stupid or that it will eat up all of your muscle.

•  The weight-lifter-who-moves-like-garbage and bashes running is becoming a tiresome cliché.

•  Short distances like 10-40 meters, 40 to 100 meters, and 100 to 800 meters, in addition to hill sprints and shuttle runs, all have varying benefits ranging from increases in GH and Testosterone to increases in leg strength, coordination, and bone and soft tissue integrity.

•  If the endurance nutballs would start doing repeats of 400-800 meters at high effort, they might forget what a thruster is.

The fact that there's been a revolt against "jogging" as a fitness modality is terrific and I'm happy we're moving more towards the center. However, one thing that's gone too far is this whole idea of how running is stupid, or will somehow eat up all of your muscle. I've even heard trainers tell people that running is the worst thing you can do to stay in shape.

Now I'm all for the execution of "jogging" in general, but to make a blanket statement that all running is worthless is extreme. Running sucks? Really? Seriously? Humans are literally built for running. As far as the hierarchy of things you need to do for survival, running is right smack dab at the top of the list, next to keeping your heart beating at all times. Frankly, the weight-lifter-who-moves-like-garbage and bashes running is becoming a tiresome cliché.

Running offers several benefits including, but not limited to:

• Increase in growth hormone and Testosterone production
• Increase in leg strength
• Increase in coordination
• Increase in bone and soft tissue integrity
• Prevention of injuries

Now when I advocate that you run, it's not for 26 miles, but for varying distances up to 800 meters at a time. Here's a short list of the different modalities I use and their benefits:

Super Short (10-40m)

This distance is used primarily for increases in leg strength and power and hormone production. Repeat up to 10 times with full recovery in-between, twice per week.

Medium (40-100m)

This distance is an extension of super short distance, which can be used for repeats (conditioning) or for building leg strength-endurance. Repeat up to 8 times with near full recovery.

Long (100-800m)

This distance is an anaerobic nightmare. It'll challenge your mental toughness, your legs, and your guts to not spill out of you. If half of the endurance nutballs would start doing repeats of 400-800m at high effort, they might forget what a thruster is. It has similar benefits to the shorter distances listed above but it emphasizes conditioning and anaerobic endurance over power and strength. Repeating this distance 4 to 6 times is probably plenty for most of us.

Hill Sprints

Sprinting up a hill is one of the best, and most under-utilized training tactics around. You get all the excellent benefits of super-short distance running with the added benefit of more load and less stress on the deceleration phase (where most people pull muscles and get injured while running). I use hill sprints at least once a week in my training as a complement to my other lifting and sprinting.

Shuttle Runs

I believe one of the reasons we get so many knee and ankle injuries is that we don't practice simple athletic movements in a controlled environment before going full-bore into an athletic competition. Simply learning to change direction with speed and power in training can save lots of people from experiencing these injuries. Here are a couple of shuttle run mainstays:

1. Lateral Shuttle 2-Step

Rapid back-and forth shuttles with one step in between direction changes. In other words, you go 2 steps to the right, then 2 to the left. This really focuses on lateral change of direction and is a great way to improve coordination and leg strength/power while building structural integrity in the lower body. If done for higher repetitions, it can also scorch your quads and your lungs.

2. Standard Forward/Backward Shuttle

Set up a few cones 5-10-15-20 yards apart. Run forward to the first cone and then run backwards to the start. Then forward to second cone, backwards to the start, etc.

The different types of sprints can be done on a rest day, before a workout (short distances only), or after a workout. There's no reason for you not to include at least two days per week where you dedicate a small chunk of time to being a predator, as there are huge benefits to be gained from running that you're leaving on the table if you go along with the "running sucks" crowd.

Running is part of what makes us functional human beings and keeps us youthful as we get on in years. The deterioration of gait is one of the primary factors that can predict how long you will live, so owning your ability to run/walk is imperative for a long, healthy, life. Is being that guy who "once squatted 600" with a monolift worth being a barely functional human being that can't sprint or move around like an athlete? Get after it on some hill sprints and multidirectional shuttles and reap the benefits of being a more complete athlete.

By the way, jogging sucks.

How to Increase Your Pull-Up Power

by Dan John  

Here's what you need to know...

•  The pull-up has been beaten to death by lifters and athletes who try at all costs to get their rep total higher and higher. They should be adding load instead.

•  Simply hanging from the bar is an important form of loading. If you want to do 25 strict pull-ups, can you even hang from the bar long enough to do them?

•  The ab wheel mimics many of the keys to proper pull-ups.

•  Pavel's Russian Fighter Pull-up Program allows you to "sneak up" on a higher number of reps.

I pity the pull-up. In the past decade, this wonderful movement has been trashed and beaten by enthusiasts who try at all costs to up their rep total higher and higher. Sure, high reps have their place, but many of us need a smarter, more rational approach.

After a certain age, pull-ups start "bugging" people. For most of us, there's a pain in the elbow that only goes away when we avoid pull-ups. A few weeks or months later, it seems to cure itself and the only way we reinjure it is by doing more high-rep pull-ups and... we succeed! We have a name for this in my gym. We call it Middle Age Pull-Up Syndrome, or MAPS. "You too can help us cure this disease. Please send money now to..."

Improving your pull-up numbers, either with more reps or more load - which I tend to recommend over more reps - is going to be a study in balance. If you force the reps up with more and more volume, you might eventually hit your new personal record in the movement but never again throw a ball or comb your hair. You could keep your hair really short, or you could train the pull-up using a few contrarian ideas.

How Long Can You Hang?

I learned an interesting thing from Gray Cook. Gray and I do workshops together on work capacity and he recently told me something that changed my vision of training the pull-up: merely hanging from the bar is an important form of loading.

After I watched the famous video of the gibbon taunting the tiger cubs online, I learned the power of brachiation (essentially, swinging by one arm). I also know that we have mobile shoulders and opposable thumbs, and years ago I found that monkey bars, that wonderfully ignored piece of equipment, seemed to resurrect javelin throwers. Gray's insight about hanging from the bar being a great form of loading connected all those dots for me and I came up with a meaningful challenge:

How long can you hang?

Seriously, if you want to do 25 pull-ups, can you hang from the bar long enough to do them? Don't know? Test it. Simply hang from the bar as long as you can. Now double that number! How you go about doing this, I don't care, but if you can only hold onto the bar 30 seconds, doubling the time might give you the wiggle room to succeed on your pull-up goal. It's that simple. To make it more challenging, try to hold your chin over the bar for time. Later, progress to a one-arm hang. Just working the monkey bars alone might be enough to keep you going for a while.

It Sounds Weird, But it Works

In my gym, during our morning sessions, we rarely do more than five pull-ups in a row. Because of the size and age of some of our men, we prefer to mix in reps of the pull-up with the ab-wheel roll out because it mimics the keys to proper pull-ups: tight abs, hollow core, and an explosion over the top at the finish.

When I do pull-ups, I like to finish them with my thumbs in my armpits and then I attempt to drive my elbows back behind me. Working the ab wheel looks and feels like a proper attempt in the pull-up, hence the synergy. Moreover, the ab wheel, while hard on the abs, is very easy on the elbows and you can move back and forth between the two movements for a while.

With the mechanics of the ab wheel fresh in your mind and nervous system, do a pull-up with feet crossed and knees squeezed together and "ab wheel" yourself over the pull-up bar. It'll feel as if you're rolling over the bar, not pulling up. I've found that five ab wheel rollouts supersetted with a SINGLE excellent pull-up is repeatable and easy on the elbows. It does, obviously, get harder as you go on, so if you decide to do more than ten total sets of ab wheel rollout/pull-ups, do three reps of ab rollouts instead of five.

Pavel's Russian Fighter Program

My last bit of advice involves reps and loads. Years ago, Pavel introduced to the idea of the Russian Fighters' Pull-up Program. It's a multi-week program that involves "sneaking up" on reps in the pull-up. If your max is five real pull-ups, try this:

The 5RM Russian Pull-up Program

Day 1: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 2: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2
Day 3: 5, 4, 3, 3, 2
Day 4: 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
Day 5: 5, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 6: Off
Day 7: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 8: 6, 5, 4, 3, 3
Day 9: 6, 5, 4, 4, 3
Day 10: 6, 5, 5, 4, 3
Day 11: 6, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 12: Off
Day 13: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 14: 7, 6, 5, 4, 4
Day 15: 7, 6, 5, 5, 4
Day 16: 7, 6, 6, 5, 4
Day 17: 7, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 18: Off
Day 19: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 20: 8, 7, 6, 5, 5
Day 21: 8, 7, 6, 6, 5
Day 22: 8, 7, 7, 6, 5
Day 23: 8, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 24: Off
Day 25: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 26: 9, 8, 7, 6, 6
Day 27: 9, 8, 7, 7, 6
Day 28: 9, 8, 8, 7, 6
Day 29: 9, 9, 8, 7, 6
Day 30: Off

Rest a few days and test the new max number of pull-ups.

If, however, you can do more than five reasonable reps, I strongly recommend adding load. The test would be max reps for three, with load. So, if you can do three reps with, say, 15 pounds around your waist, follow the simple 12-day program below. Use the same load for the duration of the 12-days.

The 3RM Russian Pull-up Program

Day 1: 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 2: 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 3: 3, 2, 2, 1
Day 4: 3, 3, 2, 1
Day 5: 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 6: Off
Day 7: 4, 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 8: 4, 3, 2, 2, 1
Day 9: 4, 3, 3, 2, 1
Day 10: 4, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 11: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 12: Off

Rest a few days and test the next max number of pull-ups with load.

Rebuild your pull-up numbers with some very reasonable workouts. Try increasing your hang time and then get in that ab wheel work. Then, give yourself a few weeks on the pull-up bar with or without load and see if you can increase your numbers, pain free.