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December 2003 Vol. 7 No. 12
No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.
–Calvin Coolidge
Men occasionally stumble on the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.
–Winston Churchill
Table of Contents
Essential Fatty Acids and ADHD and ADD in Children
FYI: AFPA [American Fitness Professionals & Associates]
Women, Gall Stones and Vitamin C
Ginkgo and PMS Relief in Women
Herbal Diabetes Aids
AFPA and American Diabetes Association [TEAM DIABETES]
Nutrition, Fitness Questions and Answers
Essential Fatty Acids and ADHD and ADD in Children
Attention Deficit Disorders and Children is at the forefront of concern for parents and educators in the United States.
Millions of children are literally “drugged” to keep them calm in the classroom. These drugs come with a pricetag, including side-effects [headaches, insomnia,depression, anxiety, dry mouth, recurrent upper respiratory infections, and the psychological stigmatism that many children feel. There is an alternative to drugs. Essential Fatty Acids [EFA] have been found to balance a child’s brain chemistry, and help the child lead a normal healthy life.An excellent new book “The LCP Solution: The Remarkable Nutritional Treatment for Dyslexia and Dyspraxia”, Ballantine Books, 2000. Another excellent book on EFA’s and their role in neurological function is by Dr. Michael Schmidt, “Smart Fats”, Frogg Pub. 1999.
FYI: AFPA [American Fitness Professionals & Associates]
Did you know that AFPA is one of the largest fitness organizations in the world? With over 25,000 certifed members in all 50 states and 33 foreign countries.
AFPA now has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taipei, with new offices in Perth, Australia, Seoul, South Korea, Bombay, India and Barcelona, Spain.
AFPA is preparing to relaunch our website that will be available in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Portuguese. AFPA is the LARGEST fitness site on the net, with over 1,000 pages of information. [over 600 articles and 700 links-and growing]
Check out what we have to offer!!
Women, Gall Stones and Vitamin C
Gallstones are hardened masses of cholesterol that form in the gallbladder and can cause severe pain and blockage of the bile duct. Researchers have found that women who do not get at least 120 mgs. of vitamin C daily in their diet are more prone to develop Gallstones. When the lack of vitamin C in the diet is combined with a high fat diet, the risks of developing Gallstones increases dramatically. Vitamin C has been found to keep cholesterol from hardening, or in those individuals who are prone to developing or have developed Gallstones, the vitamin C turns the cholesterol mass into bile, which is then harmlessly excreted in the urine.[Archives of Internal Medicine, 2000, vol. 160]
Ginkgo and PMS Relief in Women
Ginkgo biloba [the herb commonly referred to as Ginkgo] has been touted for hundreds of years to assist in mental functioning. Several new studies have found of Ginkgo’s ability to increase the circulation of blood, while reducing the breast pain, moodiness and bloating that is typically associated with a women’s monthly menstrual cycle. [Rev Fr Gynecol Obstet 1993; 88: 447-57]
Herbal Diabetes Aids
Diabetes in America is has become a epidemic, with over 16 million diagnosed cases and millions more standing at the precipice of this disease. Amazingly, approximately 90 percent of all cases of Diabetes fall into the category of “Adult Onset” or “Type 2″, where the primary cause is poor diet, and lack of exercise. There have been several studies that have reported excellent results in Diabetics using herbs. American Ginseng [Panax Quinque-folius L.] has been found to lower post-meal blood sugar levels in individuals with and without Diabetes. [Arch Intern Med 2000; 160:1009-1013]. Bitter Melon [Momordica Charantia]: Has been used extensively during the past 200 years to control Diabetes by reducing glucose utilization. Gurmar [Gymnema Sylvestre]: An Ayurvedic [India] herb that has demonstrated an ability to decrease glucose absorption through the intestinal wall.
AFPA and American Diabetes Association [TEAM DIABETES]
AFPA [American Fitness Professionals & Associates and the American Diabetes Association [Team Diabetes] are proud to announce our involvement together. AFPA’s goal is to provide excellence in health and fitness education that is both practical and scientifically up to date for today’s health & fitness professionals & enthusiasts. AFPA provides informatin through conferences, seminars, newsletters and web-based information on many aspects of healthy living, running, nutrition, diabetes, and a host of other areas with over 600 articles and 700 links. TEAM DIABETES page at http://www.diabetes.org/teamdiabetes/team2000.
Question: I eat rice almost every meal. i also eat chicken pork and beef. i also eat ice cream sometimes. i dislike eating vegetables. My body is slim but my cheeks are really chubby. What can I do to lose my chubby cheeks?
Answer: Vegetables are the foundation for health and well-being. All colors, the more the better, raw over cooked whenever possible. Rice is a fair choice at best. White bleached rice is devoid of fiber, and virtually all vitamins/minerals. Eating to much rice in the absence of vegetables will cause you to be deficient in certain B-vitamins [primarily Thiamine]. There will also be a lack of sufficient iodine in your diet. This will lead to a under-active Thyroid gland and make you more prone to holding on to fat weight. Ice cream is pure fat-stored very nicely on your cheeks. You need variety in your diet, and to reduce fatty foods-ice cream, pork and beef [loaded with intra-muscular fat]. You need to increase your physical activity to include resistance training 4 days a week, and cardio-vascular exercise [30 minutes, 4-5 days weekly]. Only by doing this will you have smaller cheeks [not sure which set you are referring to] and have better health.
Gaining Muscular Body-weight
Gaining weight is only partially a result of eating, and eating correctly. There is too much emphasis placed on protein in the diet when trying to gain weight, as it only makes up a small percentage of muscle mass.[less than 25 percent of the total].
Concentrate on lower Glycemic Index carbohydrates [sweet potatoes, yams, green vegetables, beans, nuts and leagumes]. Your meals should be smaller and more frequent, spread throughout the day. The biggest hindrance to gaining weight is over-training. Your exercise sessions should be brief [less than one hour], training the large muscle groups 2 times weekly with 48-72 hours rest between. Work compound exercises [deadlift, squat, shoulder press, chin ups, dumbbell rows. Work push-pull [chest and back, shoulders], legs, arms, on the same days. To many sets and reps with too many exercises will keep you from growing.
Question: I have a question about fat loss. I believe i have that layering of fat and muscle in my stomach that I hear is horrible to have and impossilbe to lose. Is this true or can I lose it.??
Answer: Fat is fat. Our bodies like to hold on to it for insulation, protection for internal organs, and just in case we are dumb and forget to eat. You can burn off fat by simply increasing your physical activity level-through weight training, cardio-vascular exercise and generally moving around more. Park farther away when you go to the store. Use the stairs when you have a choice between the escalator and elevator. Stand instead of sitting when you have the choice. And remember-do not skip breakfast! Nor exercise on an empty stomach. Carbohydrates fuel the brain and preserve muscle mass, so the body may better utilize the fat stores.
Question: I wanted to get your feedback on body wraps. Until recently, I have heard claims that body wraps help a person to “lose inches”. This weekend I received literature stating that the body wrap does not reduce inches, but helps to flush toxins from adipose tissue, to be flushed from the body through the lymph system. I have always been skeptical about body wrap claims, but if the wraps do result in removing toxins from the body, I may have to reconsider.
Answer: Body wrapping is not new nor are the ridiculous claims made by those who are trying to make a buck off the unsuspecting. It is true that there can be a temporary reduction in the size of the limb, etc. through a combination of compression and dehydration when using body wrapping. There can be serious health consequences for those individuals who suffer from heart disease and hypertension. The herb soaked wraps claim to remove toxins from adipose tissue, which is untrue and unfounded. Fat is in adipose tissue, and the only way to release the fat from the adipose tissue is by having the body release the hormone HSL [Hormone Stimulating Lipase]. This occurs as a result of exercise, and proper diet. Toxins are not going to be released by fat cells when the herbs can only affect the tissue topically.
Question: I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me. I heard that after you have exercised your body continues to burn calories and so if you eat then you burn off that food at a faster rate. I also heard that if you have eaten and then exercise if you don’t wait for your food to digest then you burn fewer calories because your body can’t do both at once. Can you please let me know if these are true?
Answer: You can digest foods and exercise at the same time. [marathon runners/tri-athletes]-eat and drink oranges while running. Eating a heavy meal [meat, sauces, etc] then exercising can slow down transit time of foods and reduce your performance. You do not necessarily burn off foods at a faster rate by exercise. You can burn off sugars [carbohydrates] much quicker if you eat for example a rice cake and then exercise during the next 30-40 minutes. I am not sure exactly what you mean by healthy food. If you are eating a high percentage of raw foods, or high glycemic index foods your body may not be digesting and absorbing all the nutrients correctly. If you experience high stress you body may be producing high levels of the stress hormone cortisol [this will cause the body to store bodyfat, especially around the middle]-some researchers call this fat “toxic fat”. You did not mention either stress levels or coffee consumption [also depletes adrenalin, which is then replaced by cortisol]. Of course skipping meals further shuts down your metabolism, thereby holding on to fat stores, sacrificing lean body mass, and creating unstable blood sugar levels in the body. I would consider a digestive enzymes taken with food to assist in the digestive/absorbtion process.
Question: I’ve been fairly active my entire lifespending literally hours in the weight room years ago. Recently, I’ve been taking body sculpting classes three times a week/1 hr. each session; spinning twice a week/1 hr., and doing a body pump class generally once a week — all at our local YMCA. My problem is this: My joints — if I try to tax the muscle, the joints are sore, particularly the knees. Do you have any recommendations whatsoever that would be useful?
Answer: You may be taxing the knee joint excessively in your cardio-vascular quest to lose bodyfat. You may want to consider upper body workouts in the gym instead of body sculpting twice aweek. In your diet. To reduce the inflammation in the joints you will need to reduce inflammation causing foods [meat, dairy, chicken] and increase the intake of inflammation reducing foods [cold water fish-salmon, haddock, tuna], and vegetables that contain omega-3 fatty acids.