11 Reasons You Should Detox & 12 Ways to Make it a Habit

March 11 2013 | Cleansing/Detox | Digestive Health | Intestinal System
Death begins in the colon." Different sources attribute this quote to The Royal Society of Medicine of Great Britain, Dr. Bernard Jensen and to Elie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel Prize-winning biologist.
No matter who said or penned it first, it seems sensible that the organ that houses the body’s waste and toxins for elimination is the same place where adverse health conditions would originate, and, consequently, health should flourish when proper care of this organ is given.

Cleansing

Most of us wash our hands many times a day to remove dirt, food residue and potential bacteria. We soap and scrub our bodies regularly to remove dead skin cells, sweat, bacteria and dirt. It only makes sense to clean the inside of our bodies periodically to help remove unprocessed food material, fiber, environmental pollutants and other debris, and to expel these same items that may be stashed in cells throughout the body. This can be achieved using herbs and nutrients that strengthen the body’s regular cleansing processes and help remove or neutralize toxins. Go here to see a list of Nature's Sunshine cleanses and detox products.

Why Cleanse?

Just as cleaning your body’s exterior has many benefits (fresher looking skin, removing bacteria, improving your scent), cleansing and detoxifying the body on a consistent basis offers many health benefits. These include:

• Helps remove waste/debris and toxic chemicals (preservatives, artificial colors, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) from the colon and other body cells:
• Improves digestion (removal of putrid material associated with gas, body odor, etc.)
• Helps tune up the intestinal system, which has a tendency to get sluggish without proper fiber and water
• Typically increases energy levels and promotes a feeling of well-being
• May increase nutrient absorption
• May increase efficiency of body systems and functions

How Toxic is Your Little Corner of the World?

You don’t have to live in a concrete metropolis to be surrounded by pollutants. Consider these sources of toxic chemicals and fumes, and steer clear where you can.

• Household products, including cleansers, bleaches, ammonia cleaners, and “air fresheners” that contain powerful chemicals. 
• Personal care products often contain unsafe compounds. These include some lotions, make-up, nail polish, shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash, hair spray, etc.
  [Nature's Sunshine do a line of Personal Care products that are all natural]
• Your lawn. Putting pesticides or herbicides on your lawn can make it healthier and nicer-looking. But the treatments that kill bugs and weeds can harm your cells too. 
• Your work environment. This can include fumes from gasoline, diesel fuel, paint, thinners, industrial cleaners and such, along with seemingly harmless gases from new carpeting, furniture, etc. 
• Xenoestrogens. These chemicals mimic estrogen in the body and can throw hormone levels out of balance. They are found in plastic packaging, Styrofoam, some cleaning products and lawn treatments, cosmetics, meat, etc.

To Maintain a Toxin-Free Body, Try to Avoid These:

• Artificial chemicals, including colorings, flavorings and preservatives 
• Medicines such as hormones, acid blockers and antibiotics 
• Polluted environments (air, water, strong chemicals and fumes, etc.)

Did You Know? During active weight loss is an ideal time to cleanse and detoxify. As your body burns up fat, it releases more stored toxins, which need to be removed before they get back into your bloodstream.

The Do's and Dont's of "Detox" Eating

Research shows that certain foods, nutrients and habits can greatly aid the body’s normal detoxification processes. Consider adding the following to your grocery/supplement list and start some new, clean-eating habits.

• Fresh vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, kale, onions, garlic, tomatoes, celery, cilantro, artichokes and olives
   
• Fresh fruits, including pomegranate, papaya, berries, grapes, watermelon and cherries 
• Nuts and legumes 
• Whole grains (plenty of fiber in general) 
• Lean meats and eggs 
• Herbs and spices, including dandelion, burdock, green tea, rosemary, grape seeds, turmeric, licorice root, fenugreek, slippery elm and kelp. Note: mucilaginous herbs may help carry toxins out of the body.
  
• Probiotics. When waste sits in the colon too long, levels of bad bacteria can escalate. Bacteria continue to work on waste matter, creating toxins that may leak through the colon wall and into the bloodstream. Probiotics (friendly bacteria) help rebalance ratios of good bacteria to bad in the colon. They also support digestion and the assimilation of some minerals.
  
• Other nutrients: aloe, antioxidants and B vitamins&
  
• Plenty of water 

Cleansing/detoxifying your body two to four times a year should spell excellent news for your intestinal system and promote good health, energy and focus. Show your colon some love, and it will love you right back.

Sources: Detoxification 101 by Dr. Hugo Rodier, Sunshine Horizons, Jan. 2008. The Textbook of Functional Medicine 2005, 2006, The Institute for Functional Medicine

Healthy Starter Programme

This highly effective cleanse is designed to be taken alongside a normal healthy diet. Results will be enhanced if you omit red meat, caffeine and alcohol from your diet during the programme. Drink pleny of water whilst using the programme. The Healthy Starter Programme includes;                 

HEALTHY STARTER PACK+
A powerful and effective ten day course of five cleansing herbal products which collectively help cleanse the whole body of cellular waste.

LIQUID CHLOROPHYLL
A great tasting ‘minty drink’ you  can  enjoy throughout the day. Add Liquid Chlorophyll to water for a great tasting drink that leaves the breath minty fresh, and is a valued addition to your cleanse programme.

PROBIOTIC ELEVEN
A high potency, multi strain probiotic supplement which provides almost 12 billion bacteria per serving. The eleven strains of bacteria in Probiotic Eleven ensure you replenish your gut with a variety of beneficial flora, and each capsule contains a built-in prebiotic to nourish and spread the bacteria throughout the gut.

Is Your Belly Infested With Toxic Bugs?

Within your gut reside roughly 100 TRILLION living bacteria and maintaining the ideal ratio of “good bacteria” (known as probiotics) to “bad bacteria” is now gaining recognition as perhaps the single most important step you can take to protect your health and further along your fat loss goals.

With specific regard to fat loss, while the ideal healthy ratio of “good” to “bad” bacteria in your gut is 9 to 1, virtually every study performed on the obese population analyzing gut bacteria found higher instances of “bad” bacteria and lower levels of “good” bacteria within these individuals. That's a far cry from the ideal 9 to 1 ratio and you can bet it's DEFINITELY a big reason why these folks are overweight and struggling to lose their stubborn belly flab.

That said, correcting this imbalance can have an IMMEDIATE waist-slimming effect as a recent double-blind study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that test subjects who took active measures to re-balance their gut bacteria ratio were able to reduce their abdominal fat by nearly 5 percent, while the “control” group experienced no positive changes in body fat levels at all.

So what exactly CAN you do to re-balance your gut bacteria ratio and begin experiencing these belly-flattening benefits for yourself?

With research suggesting that probiotic supplementation is even more important to your health than taking a daily multi-vitamin, and the fact that inadequate probiotic levels have been linked through research to more than 170 different diseases and health issues, including obesity and weight gain, we truly believe that EVERYONE should be taking a probiotic daily, ongoing, to continually fight against the bacteria-imbalancing factors that we are constantly exposed to every single day.
We recommend Probiotic Eleven.
 
 
Q:  What specifically makes Probiotic Eleven the best probiotic supplement in the industry?
A: A high potency, multi strain probiotic supplement that provides almost 12 billion bacteria per serving. The eleven strains of bacteria in Probiotic Eleven ensure you replenish your gut with a variety of beneficial flora.  Each capsule contains a built-in prebiotic to nourish and spread the bacteria throughout the gut. Lactobacillus strains release unique enzymes which help to break down larger milk proteins for absorption.  Contain Bifidobacterium strains: longum, infantis and bifidum, which help to create B vitamins
With traditional probiotic products, 93% of the cells are DEAD and useless before ever reaching their final destination.
Simply put, dead probiotics don’t and can’t work, and as mentioned earlier, not only are these products a complete waste of your time and hard-earned money, but much more importantly they are robbing you of the critically important health benefits of probiotics while continuing to leave your body in an endangered state.
In addition to that, Probiotic Eleven:

• Is manufactured via a patented allergen-free process
• Is gluten-free and 100% All Natural
• Contains no artificial additives, colors, flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners

Q:  What are the ingredients and amounts used in the formula?

Q:  How do I use this product?
A:  Simply take one or two Probiotic Eleven capsules daily with meals, one capsule just prior to breakfast and one capsule before dinner.
Q:  Is it ok to take this supplement long term?
A:  Yes, absolutely, and that is what is recommended. As mentioned, research suggests that probiotic supplementation is even more important to your health than taking a daily multi-vitamin, and because inadequate probiotic levels have been linked through research to more than 170 different diseases and health issues, including obesity and weight gain, we truly believe that EVERYONE should be taking a probiotic daily, ongoing, to continually fight against the bacteria-imbalancing factors that we are constantly exposed to every single day.
Q:  If I have a medical condition, can I take this product?
A:  Probiotic Eleven is an all-natural formula that is considered safe and extremely effective for nearly everyone. However, if you take prescription medications or have a medical condition, we recommend that you show a bottle of Probiotic Eleven to your physician and/or pharmacist for proper approval.
Q:  How will this product be shipped to me and how quickly?
A:  We will ship your order directly to your home or office and you will have it within 1 to 3 business days.
Q:  Will anything else be sent to me, or billed to me, after I order?
A:  No. But if you want to make use of our auto-ship program, please indicate that when making your order.

Peer-Reviewed Research References

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture,  Office of Inspector General;  FSIS National Residue Program for Cattle, Audit Report 24601-08-KC, March 2010
2. W Kruis, G Forstmaier, C Scheurlen, F Stellaard. Effect of diets low and high in refined sugars on gut transit, bile acid metabolism, and bacterial fermentation; Gut, 1991, 32, 367-371
3. Steinhoff U (June 2005). "Who controls the crowd? New findings and old questions about the intestinal microflora". Immunol. Lett. 99 (1): 12–6.
4. Jean-Pierre Hugot. Inflammatory bowel disease: a complex group of genetic disorders; Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, Volume 18, Issue 3 , Pages 451-462, June 2004
5. A Venket Rao, Alison C Bested, Tracey M Beaulne, Martin A Katzman, Christina Iorio5, John M Berardi6 and Alan C Logan. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome; Gut Pathogens 2009, 1:6
6. Huey-Shi Lye, Chiu-Yin Kuan, Joo-Ann Ewe, Wai-Yee Fung and Min-Tze Liong. The Improvement of Hypertension by Probiotics: Effects on Cholesterol, Diabetes, Renin, and Phytoestrogens; Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2009, 10, 3755-3775.
7. Gregory J. Leyer, PhDa, Shuguang Li, MSb, Mohamed E. Mubasher, PhDc, Cheryl Reifer, PhDd, Arthur C. Ouwehand, PhDe. Probiotic Effects on Cold and Influenza-Like Symptom Incidence and Duration in Children; Pediatrics 2009;124;e172.
8. Silvia Wilson Gratz, Hannu Mykkanen, and Hani S El-Nezami. Probiotics and gut health: A special focus on liver diseases; World J Gastroenterol. 2010 January 28; 16(4): 403–410.
9. Whitney P Bowe, Alan C Logan.  Acne vulgaris, probiotics and the gut-brain-skin axis - back to the future? Gut Pathogens 2011, 3:1.
10. Åsa Sullivan, Carl E Nord and Birgitta Evengård. Effect of supplement with lactic-acid producing bacteria on fatigue and physical activity in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome; Nutrition Journal 2009, 8:4.
11. Majamaa H, Isolauri E. Probiotics: a novel approach in the management of food allergy; J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1997 Feb;99(2):179-85.
12. Cani PD, Delzenne NM. Involvement of the gut microbiota in the development of low grade inflammation associated with obesity: focus on this neglected partner; Acta Gastroenterol Belg. 2010 Apr-Jun;73(2):267-9.
13. DiBaise JK, Zhang H, Crowell MD, Krajmalnik-Brown R, Decker GA, Rittmann BE. Gut microbiota and its possible relationship with obesity. Mayo Clin Proc. 2008 Apr;83(4):460-9.
14. Abou-Donia MB, El-Masry EM, Abdel-Rahman AA, McLendon RE, Schiffman SS. Splenda alters gut microflora and increases intestinal p-glycoprotein and cytochrome p-450 in male rats. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2008;71(21):1415-29.
15. Kadooka Y, Sato M, Imaizumi K, Ogawa A, Ikuyama K, Akai Y, Okano M, Kagoshima M, Tsuchida T. Regulation of abdominal adiposity by probiotics (Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055) in adults with obese tendencies in a randomized controlled trial; Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jun;64(6):636-43.
16. Unpublished clinical study graphical data available upon request.
17. Del Piano M, Morelli L, Strozzi GP, Allesina S, Barba M, Deidda F, Lorenzini P, Ballaré M, Montino F, Orsello M, Sartori M, Garello E, Carmagnola S, Pagliarulo M, Capurso L. Probiotics: from research to consumer; Dig Liver Dis. 2006 Dec;38 Suppl 2:S248-55.
18. Islam, Mohammad Ariful, Cheol-Heui Yun, Yun-Jaie Choi, and Chong-Su Cho. Microencapsulation of Live Probiotic Bacteria; J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. (2010), 20(10), 1367–1377
19. Selvam R, Maheswari P, Kavitha P, Ravichandran M, Sas B, Ramchand CN. Effect of Bacillus subtilis PB6, a natural probiotic on colon mucosal inflammation and plasma cytokines levels in inflammatory bowel disease; Indian J Biochem Biophys. 2009 Feb;46(1):79-85.
20. Mayanagi G, Kimura M, Nakaya S, Hirata H, Sakamoto M, Benno Y, Shimauchi H. Probiotic effects of orally administered Lactobacillus salivarius WB21-containing tablets on periodontopathic bacteria: a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial; J Clin Periodontol. 2009 Jun;36(6):506-13. Epub 2009 Apr 22.
21. Iwamoto T, Suzuki N, Tanabe K, Takeshita T, Hirofuji T. Effects of probiotic Lactobacillus salivarius WB21 on halitosis and oral health: an open-label pilot trial; Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2010 Aug;110(2):201-8.
22. McFarland L, Bernasconi P (1993). Saccharomyces boulardii: a review of an innovative biotherapeutic agent;  Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease 6: 157–71.
23. Kotowska M, Albrecht P, Szajewska H (2005). Saccharomyces boulardii in the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in children: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 21 (5): 583-90.
24. Deters AM, Schröder KR, Hensel A. Kiwi fruit (Actinidia chinensis L.) polysaccharides exert stimulating effects on cell proliferation via enhanced growth factor receptors, energy production, and collagen synthesis of human keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and skin equivalents; J Cell Physiol. 2005 Mar;202(3):717-22.
25. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand, 2008, Volume 32, pages 20-25. Forty Second Annual Conference held in combination with the Australian Nutrition Society at Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland, New Zealand (December 2007).
26. Bolino CM, Bercik P. Pathogenic factors involved in the development of irritable bowel syndrome: focus on a microbial role; Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2010 Dec;24(4):961-75.
27. Forno E, Onderdonk AB, McCracken J, Litonjua AA, Laskey D, Delaney ML, Dubois AM, Gold DR, Ryan LM, Weiss ST, Celedón JC. Diversity of the gut microbiota and eczema in early life; Clin Mol Allergy. 2008 Sep 22;6:11.
28. Frazier TH, DiBaise JK, McClain CJ. Gut microbiota, intestinal permeability, obesity-induced inflammation, and liver injury; JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2011 Sep;35(5 Suppl):14S-20S.
29. Cani PD, Delzenne NM. The role of the gut microbiota in energy metabolism and metabolic disease; Curr Pharm Des. 2009;15(13):1546-58.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.

The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. You should not stop taking any medication without first consulting your physician.

19 Tips and Strategies to Get Super Lean

Source: http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/1120print.cfm

Winning the Burn the Fat 49-Day Challenge "Most Ripped" award was both an honor for me and the realization of a major personal goal. I got in the best shape of my life and I'm delighted to be able to share with you the secrets and strategies that I used for success.

MINDSET AND MOTIVATION
Mindset and motivation will either carry you through if it's strong or stop you in your tracks if it's weak.
1. Strong personal drive: Motivation is a fire from within, and not something someone else can ignite for you. I turned my initial "curiosity" into a "fire from within," and that translated into a burning desire to create a lean and sculpted physique.
That fire gave me the strength to never, ever throw in the towel.
2. Commitment: Before the 49-day challenge even began, I had booked an appointment with my photographer. I told my husband that I was going to win the most ripped award. He believed that I could, and supported everything that I did.
I sorted out issues I had with food choices, discipline and timing before the challenge began so that I could hit the ground running. Commitment was the glue that bonded me to my goals.
3. Teamwork and support: I joined a great team of ladies, who before the challenge, had never met. The support, encouragement, expectations and belief we shared for each other helped us where we may have otherwise failed.
The wider community of the Inner Circle was also a valuable part of my broader support network. It's a place where complete strangers from across the globe come together to help each other. In fact, my team, and the IC on a larger scale, are anachronisms for the word T E A M...Together Everyone Achieves More.
4. Retaining focus: I found inspirational images every day that were relevant to how I felt at that particular time and posted these onto my Challenge thread every day; which helped to remind me of my daily goals and helped to renew my focus. If I lost focus, it I ate too much or just missed a workout I simply got straight back on track. Strength comes not from falling down but from getting up after you have fallen down.
NUTRITION
"Great abs are made in the kitchen." It's soooo true. It was only by eating clean that I achieved great results. You simply can't "out-exercise" junk food and this is the reason that bodybuilders and fitness models pay such detailed attention to their nutrition.
I learned to not only eat "clean" but to use the following very effective nutrition strategies to "trick" my body into letting go of its beloved stores of fat while at the same time preserving and adding muscle.
1. I did the math: I've always loathed the idea of counting calories. It just wasn't for me. Worse still, counting macros was just plain OCD...right? WRONG! I learned that to achieve great results I needed to know EXACTLY what I was burning and what I was consuming AND I also needed to understand Macros.
For the first two weeks of the challenge I tracked everything that went in my mouth and at the end of the week I did the math. I knew exactly how many calories I'd eaten, my weekly weight change and that 3500 calories = 1 pound of weight. My mathematician alter ego figured out that I burn pretty much exactly 2300 calories in a normal a day.
2. I planned: "Failing to plan is planning to fail." Another great quote I love. I worked out three separate daily meal plans dividing up my nutrition into five or six meals with similar quantities of protein, carbohydrate and fat in each meal. (yikes! more math!!!) I used the menu templates in BFFM to create menu plans for HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW days and made sure that I had a minimum of 130g lean protein each day.
I divided my calories up into 35% protein, 50% carbohydrate, 15% fat (baseline plan) for high and medium days, and 40%P 40% C 20%F for low days. Each meal contained lean protein, starchy carbs, fibrous carbs and healthy fats although on "low" days one or two meals sometimes had little or no starchy carbs. I left as many carbs as possible around the pre and post workout meals.
3. I swung high and low: Cycling both calories and carbohydrates was a very important strategy in keeping my metabolism switched into overdrive. My "HIGH" days would go into SURPLUS calories to promote muscle growth, with the extra calories mostly coming from carbohydrates. My body got used to churning through a lot of calories on these days so that when I suddenly dropped both calories and carbs my body churned up fat very quickly.
At the beginning of the challenge, approximately half of my days were either at maintenance or surplus (about 2500 cals) and half were in deficit (about 1500-1800 cals). Towards the end of the challenge, I had more days in deficit. I also enjoyed one or two cheat meals a week on the HIGH days.
4. I cooked in bulk: "The more you value your time, the more value it brings." I was able to save an enormous amount of time cooking and cleaning the kitchen by simply cooking in bulk. That time was instead used for training and for quality "me" time. I cooked nutritious and tasty meals and stocked my freezer with meals that were exactly 300 calories each.
Then, each morning I would simply grab two or three freezer meals to heat later in the day. My non-freezer meals were mostly oats and non-cooked food such as nuts, non-fat yoghurt, wholemeal bread, whey, raw fruit and raw veggies.
5. I stayed well hydrated: Water would have to be the best kept fat burning secret around. If it didn't come out of the faucet for free someone would be making a fortune. I drank about a gallon (3.5 litres) of water every day including green tea. I got in the habit of having three glasses of water every time I went into the kitchen.

In the last week of the challenge I drank 8 litres of water every day. This, and a few glasses of wine over the festive season was all that I drank.


6. I relied on food: My only supplements are a daily multivitamin and Omega 3 supplement. I relied on clean eating to get the results I got. Typical day you ask? It went something like this:

• Breakfast: Protein porridge (i.e oatmeal , whey powder) orange, green tea
• Morning tea: Protein porridge, yogurt, raw veggies, almonds
• Lunch: Freezer meal (eg Red kidney bean curry: egg white, beans, veggies, brown rice), almonds
• Post workout snack: Banana, yogurt, whey powder
• Dinner: Freezer meal (eg: spinach and lentil curry: egg white, lentils, veggies, brown rice ), almonds, green tea
• Supper: "chocolate fix" (yogurt, cocoa and stevia mixed together),watermelon, almonds, green tea
• Anytime snacks: raw carrot, raw celery, raw tomatoes

On "HIGH" days, I would have a heap more carbs in the form of brown rice, bread, yam, potato, and fruit. On the low days, my menu would look similar to above but I would reduce the fruit portion sizes to reduce the carbs.
TRAINING




"Train hard and expect success!" Hmmm, where have we all heard that one! This is what coach Tom tells us, so I trained hard for months and months and I succeeded! I made my strength workouts aerobic and my cardio workouts anabolic (muscle building) using resistance based cardio workouts and volume based strength workouts.
In this way I reduced the amount of time spent training and enjoyed the benefits of both muscle building AND fat burning in every workout. I was very careful in my post workout nutrition to take in both protein and carbohydrates immediately following all workouts to refuel my muscles and to promote muscle growth.
1. STRENGTH: Getting ripped is a bit like digging for gold: You want to be able to find the gold (muscle), after you have dug (burned the fat); otherwise, you will not get "ripped," you will just get "skinny."
I used a 4-day split weight training routine as follows:

1. Shoulders and triceps
2. chest and biceps
3. legs
4. back & abs

I chose 3 to 5 different exercises for each body part and would do 8 sets of 8 reps per exercise with very short 15-30 second breaks in between reps and sets. Do the math and you will notice that I was doing up to 500 reps during each strength workout. I worked hard, but because I took very short breaks in between sets, my workouts only took me 35-45 minutes.
2. CARDIO: My cardio workouts were cycling and rowing, each of which worked in nicely with and enhanced my strength work. When possible, I would also do "fasted" cardio; especially first thing in the morning (before breakfast) to promote fat burning. My cardio sessions followed these very simple formats.
3. CYCLING: (Two minutes effort , one minute easy) x 10
4. ROWING: (Three minutes effort, one minute easy) x 8
At the beginning of the challenge I did only two cardio sessions a week but as the challenge progressed, I worked in more cardio in Week 6 peaking in intensity at two cardio sessions per day. I took one day of rest from training each week.
MY PERSONAL TIPS:
1. Use a visualization picture ("viz-pic"). This is a very powerful tool where you find a picture of a physique model that you would like to look like that has a similar height and basic build to you and then "photoshop" your head onto their body. By looking at your viz-pic daily, you gradually change the way you perceive yourself.
I don't delude myself about where I am but I do use my viz-pic to honestly identify the work I need to do. Try Pizap.com; it's a free website that is easy to use.
2. See yourself through a different pair of eyes. As your weight and shape changes it is useful to see yourself through someone else's eyes in order to continue moving forward. Having an objective evaluation from a fitness coach would be ideal.
And if friends and loved ones don't have the courage to offer you "the truth" about your progress, then find someone who will. Having honest, accurate and constructive criticism is extremely important.
3. Focus on your own goals and not on the (Maui) grand prize. We would all love to win the big trip to Maui. But if all you focus on is the trip, and you notice someone else is having a more spectacular challenge than you, you may lose heart and give up. If you develop your personal goals enough where the trip is not the only reason you are in the contest, then you are more likely to stick it out when the going gets tough.
4. Check into the Inner Circle daily. The Inner Circle is so much more than a place to post your weekly stats. It is a source of knowledge, camaraderie, and inspiration. Checking in daily helps to keep you cued in, focused and accountable.
5. Finish strong. There is no point running the whole race and falling over at the last minute. My final tip is simply to maintain your focus and finish strong.
In closing, I wanted to give a huge thank you to Tom, Kyle and the rest of the IC team for making these challenges possible. I also want to extend a personal thank you to coach Tom for designing such a wonderful program and for his very personal and genuine support on the Inner Circle forums.
All my best to everyone,
-Rowena Dalzell
Most Ripped Female, Season 7. Visit her challenge thread here.

YOU Could Be The Next Success Story!
The Burn the Fat Challenge is a twice-a-year event sponsored by Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) and hosted at the Burn the Fat Inner Circle.
There's nothing like a BIG GOAL and a CHALLENGE for ramping up your motivation (the chance to win a trip to a tropical island to show off your new body doesn't hurt either).... and when it's done inside a community like our Inner Circle, the support skyrockets your chances of success compared to trying to go at it alone.
Join us for the next challenge and join us in the Inner Circle to stay motivated and connected to positive people all year round. Your membership at the Inner Circle gets you free enrollment in all our challenge events and remember, it's never too early or too late to get started.

3 Golden Rules to Adopting Healthy Habits

3 Golden Rules to Adopting Healthy Habits

1.  Don't expect yourself to follow it at all times (allow yourself a day off, once in a while)
2.  Realise that adherence ebs and flows, don't give up because you broke your habit once.  Get 'back on the horse'.
3. Only try to adopt one new habit at a time.  ie. make small changes at a time.  Change one meal or one day or one component.  Once you do that regularly, take on another healthy habit

Trust the process

Fat Loss Supplement Guide

by John Berardi, Ph.D.

Choosing nutritional supplements can be tough. There’s so much information available, and much of it is published by people who are biased in one direction or another. That’s why we have 3 PhDs on staff — to make sense of the mountains of supplement information available, legitimate or otherwise.

We translate high quality research into simple recommendations our clients can use to lose body fat. So when it comes to supplements, we’ve reduced years of research into 4 simple supplement recommendations that you can use right away.
The following 4 supplements are the ones we recommend specifically to our fat loss clients.
These products can reliably help in a fat loss program, while still being safe to use regularly.

1. Fish Oil

You may have heard a lot about Omega-3’s. And fish oil is the key source. There’s a ton of very positive research on fish oil supplementation, it’s been shown to be great for fat loss, and it’s your fish oil.

Choose the right product

Not all omega 3-rich foods are created equal. So, even though flax seeds and flax seed oils are high in omega 3 fats, you can’t substitute these foods in place of fish oils. Further, not all fish oils are the same.
For example, liver oils (like cod liver oil) aren’t the kind you should be using. No, to get the benefits we discuss above, you’ll want to choose omega 3 rich fish oils from the brands recommended below.

Choose the right dose

Our clients start out by using 1 gram of fish oil per percent body fat they have. So, if they’re 10% body fat, they use 10 grams of fish oil. If they’re 20% body fat, they use 20 grams of fish oil.
And so on, up to a maximum dose of 30 grams per day. We follow this protocol for 14 days.
Then, we cut the dose in half. So, if a client starts out taking 10 grams for 2 weeks, they cut the dose down to 5 grams after that. If they start out taking 20 grams for 2 weeks, they cut the dose down to 10 grams after that. This latter dose (1/2 gram per percent body fat) can be followed indefinitely.

2. Multivitamins

As you’ve probably heard, the modern diet often leads to small deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals. These deficiencies can slow your metabolism and impair your ability to burn fat – among other things. And a good multivitamin can help fix that. Here are a few tips for choosing a good one for you.

Choose the right product

Like with most supplements on the market, choosing a multi-vitamin can be confusing. So many companies, so many products; it can be overwhelming. So, to keep it simple, here’s our advice.

Choose the right dose

It’s important not to overdose on vitamins as some of them (particularly the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K) can build up to toxic levels. That’s why you should stick with the recommendations on the label of the brand you choose.

3. Protein Powder

Protein powder’s not entirely necessary if you get enough protein from the foods you eat, like lean meats, chicken and fish. But since most people are crunched for time, they find themselves eating too little protein. That’s why adding some quick high-quality protein can be really, really helpful. So here are some tips for getting the most out of your protein supplementation.

Choose the right product

Protein powder has come a long way since the early days of chalky whey protein. Nowadays, protein powders are extracted from all types of food sources – dairy, eggs, soy, and a host of plant sources like hemp, pea kernels, certain seeds and more. Plus, many of these options actually taste good. So, whether you’re lactose intolerant, allergic to milk, or choose to follow a plant-based diet, you can pick the right product for your unique needs. The key, however, is to choose simple products, without too many additional ingredients.

Choose the right dose

As mentioned above, protein powders aren’t necessary as we can meet our daily protein powders from whole food sources. However, for those of us crunched for time, protein supplements cam come in handy.

The key is to not replace too much of those whole food sources with powders. That’s why we ask our clients to limit their protein powder to a maximum of 4 scoops (about 80 grams) per day.

4. Greens

If you get enough veggies, a greens supplement might not be entirely necessary. But most people simply don’t eat enough vegetables, and are missing out on the micronutrients they contain — many of which help you lose fat either directly or indirectly. And a greens supplement can come in handy here.

Choose the right product

Greens has been shown (in a handful of studies) to increase the antioxidant status of the body, improve pH, lower stress hormones, and more. We’ll, be honest. When we see that a product has been tested repeatedly in a research environment, we get excited. So we’re definitely excited about greens+ and its potential impact on fat loss as well as overall healthy.
So there you have it, our 4 supplements for long-term, sustainable fat loss. A lot of thought and lot of research have gone into these recommendations. These supplements are what I use personally. And they’re also what I have our clients use. Nothing more.So if you have a question about a supplement that we didn’t talk about in this guide, just know that we’ve been doing this a long time and have seen it all. If it’s not one of those 4 — fish oil, multivitamin, protein powder, greens supplement — then I don’t use it regularly, and neither do our clients. And we produce more dramatic fat loss stories than probably anyone else, anywhere else.

Source: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Supplements-For-Men.pdf

15-Year-Old Invents New Test for Early, Reliable Detection of Pancreatic Cancer

By Dr. Mercola

Pancreatic cancer is a devastatingly fatal form of cancer, and is typically regarded as the most deadly and universally rapid-killing form of cancer. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute,¹ an estimated 45,220 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, of which 38,460 are expected to die.
Part of the problem is that this cancer is usually diagnosed quite late, contributing to the abysmal five-year survival rate. It also shows you just how ineffective conventional detection methods and treatments are.
All of that may soon change however — all due to the persistence and dedication of a high school kid who decided there must be a better way to detect this lethal cancer sooner...
Yes, a 15-year-old boy named Jack Andraka has done what scientists with millions of dollars-worth of research grants at their disposal have failed to do. He invented a dipstick-type sensor to detect pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer that is:

• 168 times faster
• 26,000 times less expensive, and
• 400 times more sensitive than the current standard of detection

And he did it using Google and Wikipedia as his primary research tools — online resources that are available to virtually anyone on the planet with an internet connection. What’s more, the test costs three cents, takes five minutes, and has a 90 percent accuracy rate. Compare that to the current standard, which employs 60-year-old technology, costs about $800, and misses 30 percent of all pancreatic cancers.

How Could a High School Kid Make Such an Amazing Discovery?

You are in for a real treat. Please find the time to watch this awesomely inspiring video of a high school freshman who accomplished a major feat that most of us will never surpass in our lifetime. It is clearly one of the most inspiring videos I have ever seen. You are left with the impression if this high school freshman can do this, why can’t I achieve my goals?
Last year, Jack was awarded first place in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair for his invention.² To me the most impressive part of his story are the thousands of failures he went through that did not deter him in the pursuit of his goal. Absolutely magnificent story.
When Jack first began his research, he didn’t even know he had a pancreas, but when pancreatic cancer suddenly claimed the life of a close family friend who was like “an uncle” to him he got to thinking... and researching, using readily available online tools and freely available studies, he determined that the reason we haven’t done a better job at detecting pancreatic cancer is because we’re looking for a particular protein present in the blood, called mesothelin.
This protein is always present, but in ovarian, pancreatic, or lung cancer patients, this protein is elevated. The problem is, detecting elevated levels is like “finding a needle in a stack of identical needles.”
After determining the parameters for an ideal detection sensor — noninvasive, rapid, inexpensive, simple, sensitive, and selective — he set to work trying to figure out how to detect elevated levels of mesothelin. The idea for his dipstick sensor came during a high school biology class on the subject of antibodies, during which he was secretly reviewing a paper on analytical methods using the 21st century technology of carbon nanotubes. (His approach would be absolutely impossible when I was in high school as carbon nanotubes would not be discovered for many decades.)
Antibodies fit like a lock and key into an antigen binding site. In this case, that would be the mesothelin protein. His idea involved lacing the nanotubes with the antibody, which would subsequently only attract the mesothelin protein. The nanotube strip would then generate an electrical response large enough to detect with a simple ohm meter.
Once he had locked down his theory, he needed a lab space. He applied to 200 laboratories working with pancreatic cancer and promptly received 199 rejections. But there was one “maybe.” He “hunted down” the professor and eventually landed a meeting. And a place to work. Seven months later, after countless trials and errors, he had created his first paper sensor. The sensor has now been tested in blind studies on humans, and has been found to have a 90 percent accuracy rate. Another key is that this protein becomes elevated during the earliest stages of cancer, allowing for a greatly increased survival rate.

“Through the internet anything is possible,” Jack says.

I couldn’t agree more. Not only is this story amazing because of his youth, it’s also an incredible testament to the power of the internet. Anyone can now, quite literally, change the world by putting the available information to good use! That is really the primary reason why I am able to provide all these news stories for you in the newsletter. Virtually all of them are carefully researched on the internet. We supplement these stories with my 20-plus years of clinical experience treating 25,000 patients and interviews with some of the leading health experts in the world.

What Causes Pancreatic Cancer?

Three lifestyle issues keep popping up on the radar when you look at what’s contributing to pancreatic cancer:

• Sugar/fructose consumption
• Lack of physical exercise
• Vitamin D deficiency

Obesity and physical inactivity makes your body less sensitive to the glucose-lowering effects of insulin. Diminished sensitivity to insulin leads to higher blood levels of insulin, which in turn can increase your risk of pancreatic cancer. One previous study found that men and women with high Body Mass Index (BMI) faced a pancreatic cancer risk 1.5 to 2 times higher than those with low BMI. And for women who are both overweight and sedentary, your risk is 2.5 times higher. When they reduced their weight and exercised, they lowered their risk. In fact, the men who exercised strenuously at least 8 hours a month were found to have only 59% of the pancreatic cancer risk of men who exercised less. Insulin seems to be one of the main drivers for cancer in general, and for pancreatic cancer in particular.
Why?
Because insulin production is one of your pancreas' main functions, used by your body to process blood sugar, and, in the laboratory, insulin actually promotes the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. Researchers suspect that if your body maintains high levels of insulin, you increase the pancreatic cancer's ability to survive and grow. In fact, researchers now believe that up to a third of all cancers may be caused by diet and lifestyle. So if you want to prevent cancer, or want to treat cancer, it is imperative that you keep your insulin levels as low as possible. Furthermore, pancreatic tumor cells have been found to use fructose, specifically, to divide and proliferate — again attesting to the fact that there are significant metabolic differences between fructose and other sugars.
According to the authors:³

"Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different... These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation."

The study confirms the old adage that sugar feeds cancer because they found that tumor cells do thrive on sugar (glucose). However, the cells used fructose for cell division, speeding up the growth and spread of the cancer. If this difference isn't of major consequence, then I don't know what is, especially when you consider how quickly pancreatic cancer can kill you. As Jack stated in his talk, his friend was asymptomatic, and went from “healthy” to “a walking skeleton” in just three months.
It may surprise you, but the theory that sugar feeds cancer was born nearly 80 years ago. In 1931 the Nobel Prize was awarded to German researcher Dr. Otto Warburg, who first discovered that cancer cells have a fundamentally different energy metabolism compared to healthy cells. Yet most conventional cancer programs STILL do not adequately address diet and the need to avoid sugars.
Additionally, carbohydrates from glucose and sucrose significantly decreases the capacity of neutrophils to do their job. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that help cells to envelop and destroy invaders, such as cancer. In a nutshell, ALL forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer, but in slightly different ways, and to a different extent. Fructose, however, clearly seems to be one of the overall most harmful.

Fructose — Uric Acid — Cancer

The study above also mentions that fructose metabolism leads to increased uric acid production along with cancer cell proliferation. This is another gigantic clue that fructose is directly associated with cancer.
In my first interview with Dr. Johnson back in 2010 (the same year that study was published), he explained the detrimental impact fructose has on your uric acid level. Interestingly, ONLY fructose, NOT glucose, drives up uric acid as part of its normal metabolic pathways. The connection between fructose, uric acid, hypertension, insulin resistance/diabetes and kidney disease is so clear that your uric acid level can actually be used as a marker for toxicity from fructose -- meaning that if your levels are high, you're at increased risk of all the health hazards associated with fructose consumption and you really need to reduce your fructose intake.
Dr. Richard Johnson has authored two of the best books on the market on the health dangers of fructose. The first one, The Sugar Fix, explains how fructose causes high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and kidney disease. The second, The Fat Switch, explains how fructose triggers a specific 'switch' located in the powerhouse of each of your cells — the mitochondria — causing your body to activate enzymes that tell your cells to accumulate fat. This is an ancient adaptive mechanism found in a variety of animals that need to gain fat in anticipation of food scarcity or hibernation.
Now it's safe to say that cancer, at least pancreatic cancer, is also definitely on the list of diseases that are directly linked to excessive fructose consumption.
Reducing (or preferably eliminating) fructose and other added sugars, as well as limiting grain carbohydrates from your diet should be part of any comprehensive cancer treatment plan. By doing so, you’ll help stave off any potential cancer growth, and "starve" any tumors you currently have. It also bolsters your overall immune function, because sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately.
Unfortunately, few cancer patients undergoing conventional cancer care in the US are offered any scientifically guided nutrition therapy beyond being told to "just eat healthy foods." I believe many cancer patients would see major improvement in their outcome if they controlled the supply of cancer's preferred fuel, glucose, and stayed clear of fructose to significantly reduce tumor proliferation.

Top 13 Tips to Prevent Cancer

There’s a lot you can do to lower your chances of getting cancer -- you and your family CAN take control of your health. Don’t wait for diagnosis, take the reins and be a proactive participant in your own health care, before you end up in need for disease management. I believe you can virtually eliminate your risk of cancer and chronic disease, and radically improve your chances of recovering from cancer if you currently have it, by following these relatively simple risk reduction strategies.

1. Reduce or eliminate your processed food, sugar/fructose and grain carbohydrate intake. This applies to whole unprocessed organic grains as well, as they tend to rapidly break down and drive your insulin and leptin levels up, which is the last thing you need to have happening if you are seeking to resolve or prevent cancer.
2. Consider seriously reducing your protein levels. I believe most people consume twice as much protein as they need, and most of this protein is of the worst kind - CAFO beef and chicken loaded with hormones and antibiotics.  Look for Alaskan fish varieties, but avoid tuna as the bigger the fish the more toxins they accumulate.  It is hard to find, but do your best to locate natural grass fed beef and organic chickens.
3. Control your fasting insulin and leptin levels. This is the end result you’ll get when you remove sugars and grains from your diet and start to exercise regularly. Your levels can be easily monitored with the use of simple and relatively inexpensive blood tests.
4. Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by taking a high-quality krill oil and reducing your intake of most processed vegetable oils.
5. Get regular exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

The trick about exercise, though, is understanding how to use it as a precise tool. This ensures you are getting enough to achieve the benefit, not too much to cause injury, and the right variety to balance your entire physical structure and maintain strength and flexibility, and aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels.

1. Normalize your vitamin D levels by getting appropriate sun exposure, and consider careful supplementation when this is not possible. However, if you’re taking oral vitamin D, you also need to make sure you’re taking vitamin K2 as well, as K2 deficiency is actually what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of your arteries. To learn more, please see my previous article: What You Need to Know About Vitamin K2, D and Calcium. If you take oral vitamin D and have a cancer, it would be very prudent to monitor your vitamin D blood levels regularly.
2. Get regular, high quality sleep. Using a Zeo will help you objectively determine if your current sleeping strategy is providing you with the amount of deep and REM sleep that you need to heal and repair properly.
3. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
4. Limit your exposure and provide protection for yourself from radiation produced by cell phones, towers, base stations, and WiFi stations.
5. Avoid frying or charbroiling your food. Boil, poach or steam your foods instead.
6. Have a tool to permanently reprogram the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. My particular favorite tool for resolving emotional challenges, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).
7. Eat at least one-third of your food raw.
8. Consider adding cancer-fighting whole foods, herbs, spices and supplements to your diet, such as broccoli, curcumin and resveratrol. To learn more about how these anti-angiogenetic foods, and many others, work to fight cancer, please see my previous article: Dramatically Effective New Natural Way to Starve Cancer and Obesity.

Knowledge is Power

While most of us may lack the genius to invent a paradigm-breaking medical device while browsing the internet, all of us have the power to research matters relating to our own health, and more. Like Jack, I urge you to take full advantage of the internet, and even if your findings won’t change the world, rest assured it can change yours.
Jack’s story is an absolutely incredible testament to the power of applying yourself using common tools that are available to each and every one of us. He also reminds us of the importance of not letting failure and rejection deter you from your passion and purpose.
When it comes to your health, conventional medicine has precious little to offer. But that does not mean you have no options! On the contrary, there are many alternatives available, no matter what your health condition might be. Unfortunately, with pharmaceutical companies ruling the roost over medicine, you won’t get that information from your doctor. You have to find it on your own. My website can help you get started. I have literally tens of thousands of free articles available, covering countless health issues. Just use the search engine at the top of every page and enter a topic you would like to learn more about. You will typically find dozens if not hundreds of articles on any given subject.
Remember, good health rests on just a few basic principles, and if you get those right, the rest will be much easier. Your diet accounts for about 80 percent of all the health benefits you’ll reap from a healthy lifestyle, so start there. My free optimized nutrition plan can get you off on the right foot.

Avoid Most Energy Drinks For Best Performance & Body Composition

Charles Poliquin posted this article today....

Monday, March 04, 2013 6:01 AM
Avoid energy drinks in favor of strategic workout supplementation for best performance and body composition results. The problem with the typical energy drink is you don’t have enough control over the ingredients.

For example, caffeine can significantly enhance performance, but most energy drinks have other stuff added that you simply don’t want pre-workout or when your goal is to boost energy. This tip will tell you why you should avoid energy drinks in favor of smart peri-workout nutrition.

The most obvious problem with energy drink is that they often contain competing ingredients. For example, taurine is a calming amino acid that is found in Red Bull and it should be taken post-workout, because it enhances activity of the inhibitory brain transmitters. You don’t want to take it when your goal is to elevate energy for training.

Two studies show that when subjects drank Red Bull, which contains sugar and vitamins along with caffeine and taurine, they had significant increases in blood pressure and heart rate variability, both of which indicate poor homeostasis. In the long-term changes in blood pressure and heart rate indicate altered circadian rhythms, put you at greater risk of inflammation, and may cause adrenal fatigue. All around, combining taurine and caffeine is a bad choice!

Of course, studies also show that the caffeine in energy drinks can be used to improve endurance and anaerobic performance. For example, a review of studies showed that energy drinks significantly increased run time to exhaustion and increased pain tolerance. However, researchers suggest that instead of using energy drinks, a straight caffeine supplement will provide more control over the ergogenic effect, without increasing cardiovascular health risk.

A second problem with energy drinks is that many contain sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, both of which have been shown to significantly increase blood glucose levels. Energy drinks containing carbs (sugar) should be avoided because it can decrease insulin sensitivity over the long run and raise your diabetes risk. Plus, you want to completely avoid carbs pre-workout, saving them for after training if you are very lean. If your goal is fat loss, avoid carbs completely in favor of protein post-workout. Increasing insulin during workouts is also known to boost serotonin, which you do not want because it will make you feel tired and will sap your strength.

The third problem with energy drinks is they often have artificial ingredients that will only increase your toxic load and should be eliminated. Finally, you simply don’t have enough control over the quality of the nutrients in energy drinks for them to be reliable.
Instead of using energy drinks, keep your workout nutrition simple with the following strategies:

Boost pre-workout energy levels by taking anhydrous caffeine in supplement form because it is the most effective fat burner, freeing up fat to be used for energy. Pair it with the amino acid tyrosine, which will help you feel alert and ready to train because it raises levels of dopamine.

Take 2 to 10 grams of vitamin C post-workout to help clear the caffeine and lower cortisol.

Avoid carbohydrates (and sugar) pre-workout. If you are very lean and your goal is building muscle, use a high-quality blend of carbs after training to enhance protein synthesis.

Take whey protein, or amino acids if you are allergic to whey, after training to enhance protein synthesis. Use BCAAs during training to prevent muscle breakdown.

Take magnesium threonate post-workout. This provides magnesium and threonine, and the pair will calm the nervous system and raise the neurotransmitter GABA. This will enhance recovery and sleep.

References
Franks, A., Schmidt, J., et al. Comparison of the Effects of Energy Drink Versus Caffeine Supplementation on Indices of 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2012. 46, 192-199.

Steinke, L., Lanfear, D., et al. Effect of “Energy Drink” Consumption on Hemodynamic and Electrocardiographic Parameters in Healthy Young Adults. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2009. 43, 596-602.

Wolk, B., Ganetsky, M., et al. Toxicity of Energy Drinks. Current Opinion in Pediatrics. 2012. 24(2), 243-251.

A great solution is Solstic Energy by Nature's Sunshine.  It’s a fantastic alternative to Coffee, Tea, Fizzy drinks and other ‘energy’ drinks that provide a quick, sugar-fueled rush followed by an abrupt, vitality-sapping crash.  Helps energy release from carbohydrates, the main source of fuel for the body. Your body needs to constantly replenish water-soluble B vitamins to support energy levels and fight the draining effects of the day.


BENEFITS OF SOLSTIC ENERGY

• Yerba Maté, a powerful herb that has been used for thousands of years in the jungles of South America to increase endurance 
• Green tea extracts, rich in properties that help increase energy and vitality  
• Guarana seed contains a naturally occurring caffeine that promotes a gradual, sustained increase in alertness
• B Vitamins, the most important vitamins for helping release the energy you need to work all day
• Solstic Energy also includes sucralose, a sweetener created from natural sugar that has been proven safe through over twenty years of in depth scientific analysis
• Contains only 12 calories, no fat and only 3g of Carbohydrates.
• Low Glycaemic Index, and contains no pharmaceutical grade caffeine.

8 Health Benefits of Blackberries

Blackberries are a delicious little "aggregate fruit" that grow wild on thorny bushes and are cultivated on every temperate continent, including Africa and Asia. Composed of many individual drupelets, each like a small berry with one seed, each drupelet contributes extra skin, seeds and pectin with dietary fiber value to the nutritional content of blackberries, making them among the highest fiber content plants in the world.Blackberries can be eaten fresh, frozen and canned and are popularly made into jams, juices, desserts and even wine. Rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, blackberries are highly nutritious and rich in antioxidants. They are also low in calories, carbohydrates, and fat, making them one of the best fruits out there for a balanced diet.
Cancer Prevention
Anthocyanins, which give blackberries their dark color, are an antioxidant shown to reduce inflammation. As an antioxidant, they destroy free radicals in the body that harm cells and lead to cancer. Research has also shown that the ellagic acid in blackberries may have anti-cancer properties. One cup of blackberries contains half of the daily recommendation of the antioxidant vitamin C, which protects the immune system and may lower the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
Researchers have found that blackberries may reduce esophageal cancer by relieving the oxidative stress caused by Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition usually brought about by gastroesophageal reflux disease. Perhaps the greatest benefit from eating blackberries is their high level of phenolic acids which, besides having many other potential health benefits, are antioxidant compounds known as powerful anti-carcinogenic agents. Because of these compounds, blackberries have been given an ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of about 5350 per 100 grams, placing them near the top of ORAC fruits.
Cardiovascular Benefits
The anthocyanins that give blackberries their dark color are antioxidants shown to reduce inflammation by helping combat free radicals in the body that destroy cells and lead to heart disease. Vitamin C in blackberries acts as an antioxidant, and one cup of this delicious berry contains half of the daily recommendation of vitamin C. The immune system uses vitamin C to fight illness adequate vitamin C intake may lower the risk of developing heart disease. One cup of blackberries contains over thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber, promoting healthy digestion and reducing the risk of heart disease.
Skin Health

As are all berries, blackberries are a great source of ellagic acid, an antioxidant shown to protect the skin from damage from ultraviolet light. Studies have also shown that ellagic acid may also repair skin damaged by the sun. Vitamin C helps heal wounds, and studies also show vitamin C may even lessen the appearance of wrinkles. Studies of cyanidin-3-glucoside, a compound found in blackberries showed it prevents skin cancer by inhibiting tumors from growing and spreading.
Eye Health
Vitamin C functions as an antioxidant in blackberries and one cup contains half of the daily recommendation of vitamin C. The body uses vitamin C for protection from immune system deficiencies, and may reduce the chances of macular degeneration, a condition in which fine vision deteriorates, resulting in central vision loss and is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.
Women's Health
Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant estrogens found in blackberries that may help relieve the common symptoms of PMS like bloating, food cravings, and even menopausal symptoms including hot flashes.
Digestive Tract Health
Just one cup of blackberries contains over thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber, which promotes healthy digestion and aids in maintaining bowel regularity by bulking up the feces and reducing the time it takes matter to pass all the way through the intestines. Bowel regularity is commonly associated with a decreased risk for colon cancer.
Diabetes
Thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber is to be found in just one cup of blackberries. The steady movement of fiber through the digestive system allows for a measured breakdown of food into its component parts. This even breakdown of food helps to curtail extremes regarding simple sugar uptake from the digestive tract. An excess of simple sugar uptake all at once can produce an unwanted blood sugar spike. A lack of simple sugar uptake may produce a rapid blood sugar drop. Either extreme can upset blood sugar balance. The quantity of fiber in blackberries helps avoid both extremes.
Bone Health
Blackberries are a good source of vitamin K, offering 36% of the daily recommended amount of this nutrient used by the body for the clotting of blood and to aid the absorption of calcium.

Zambroza is a unique and powerful blend of juices that are naturally rich in vitamin C - a powerful antioxidant.  Not only will you feel revitalised but these antioxidants have a powerful effect on the health of the skin helping you to look great too. This is Nature’s Sunshine’s top selling product worldwide – a great tasting, synergistic blend that helps to increase vital energy and replenish the body.

BENEFITS OF ZAMBROZA

• Supply powerful nutrients that give the body energy and vitality
• Maintain a healthy immune system
• Neutralise free radicals throughout the body
  COMBATING FREE RADICALS
  • Antioxidants are natural substances that stabilise highly reactive molecules known as ‘free radicals’. 
  • Free radicals occur naturally in the body.  Pollution, chemical additives, stress, exercise, sunlight and other factors can increase free radical production.
  • Excess free radicals can have a damaging effect on the body’s cells.  A great deal of attention has been directed at the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E because of their function in protecting the cells from damage caused by natural body processes, lifestyles, and environmental and chemical pollutants.
  • These vitamins, along with the trace mineral selenium, help to prevent important molecules and structures within the cell from reacting with oxygen, which often injures the cell structure. This process is called oxidation.
  
  RICH IN POLYPHENOLS AND FLAVONOIDS
• Nature’s Sunshine has harvested the most healthful fruits and natural extracts from around the world and combined them into this unique delicious, nutritious juice that has been specially formulated to neutralise excess free radicals. 
• This unique juice blend not only tastes great but gives your body what it needs to enjoy maximum health and long lasting vitality - not only will you feel revitalised but these antioxidants have a powerful effect on the health of the skin helping you to look great too.
• Potency of antioxidants is measured by their ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity), which indicates their ability to neutralise and scavenge free radicals.  When tested by Brunswick Laboratories the results were astounding with Zambroza’s scoring more than twice that of the nearest competitor, demonstrating its superior protective properties.
• Rich in Polyphenols and Flavonoids Zambroza is proven to give unparalleled antioxidant protection.

Muscle Isn’t Everything: Other Protein Benefits

I lifted the below from an article by John Berardi, PhD CSCS, on how much protein you should eat at every meal....

"Beyond this very narrow view of protein intake (muscle protein synthesis vs. breakdown), there’s a much more important question at stake: why else do we eat protein?

You see, there are other benefits to eating protein beyond muscle building. There’s satiety, the thermogenic effects, the impact on the immune system, and more (see below). Plus, there are probably a few benefits science can’t measure yet. I say the last part because there’s so much experiential evidence suggesting that when you’re training hard and you up your protein intake, you do better. So maybe we just haven’t looked in the right places to notice the real benefits.

Other Protein Benefits

We shouldn’t look at the world through a straw (i.e. see one protein study on one isolated topic and make broad generalizations). So, to help us remember that, let’s review a list of benefits we get from eating extra protein.

Increased thermic effect of feeding – While all macronutrients require metabolic processing for digestion, absorption, and storage or oxidation, the thermic effect of protein is roughly double that of carbohydrates and fat. Therefore, eating protein is actually thermogenic and can lead to a higher metabolic rate. This means greater fat loss when dieting and less fat gain during overfeeding/muscle building.

Increased glucagon – Protein consumption increases plasma concentrations of the hormone glucagon. Glucagon is responsible for antagonizing the effects of insulin in adipose tissue, leading to greater fat mobilization. In addition, glucagon also decreases the amounts and activities of the enzymes responsible for making and storing fat in adipose and liver cells. Again, this leads to greater fat loss during dieting and less fat gain during overfeeding.

Metabolic pathway adjustment –When a higher protein (20-50% of intake) is followed, a host of metabolic adjustments occur. These include: a down-regulation of glycolysis, a reduction in fatty acid synthesis enzymes, and an increase in gluconeogenesis - a carbohydrate “draining” effect where carbons necessary for ridding the body of amino nitrogen is drawn from glucose.

Increased IGF-1 – Protein and amino-acid supplementation has been shown to increase the IGF-1 response to both exercise and feeding. Since IGF-1 is an anabolic hormone that’s related to muscle growth, another advantage associated with consuming more protein is more muscle growth when overfeeding and/or muscle sparing when dieting.

Reduction in cardiovascular risk – Several studies have shown that increasing the percentage of protein in the diet (from 11% to 23%) while decreasing the percentage of carbohydrate (from 63% to 48%) lowers LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations with concomitant increases in HDL cholesterol concentrations.

Improved weight loss profile – Research by Layman and colleagues has demonstrated that reducing the carbohydrate ratio from 3.5 – 1 to 1.4 – 1 increases body fat loss, spares muscle mass, reduces triglyceride concentrations, improves satiety, and improves blood glucose management

Increased protein turnover — All tissues of the body, including muscle, go through a regular program of turnover. Since the balance between protein breakdown and protein synthesis governs muscle protein turnover, you need to increase your protein turnover rates in order to best improve your muscle quality. A high protein diet does just this. By increasing both protein synthesis and protein breakdown, a high protein diet helps you get rid of the old muscle more quickly and build up new, more functional muscle to take its place.

Increased nitrogen status — A positive nitrogen status means that more protein is entering the body than is leaving the body. High protein diets cause a strong positive protein status and when this increased protein availability is coupled with an exercise program that increases the body’s anabolic efficiency, the growth process may be accelerated.

Increased provision of auxiliary nutrients — Although the benefits mentioned above have related specifically to protein and amino acids, it’s important to recognize that we don’t just eat protein and amino acids — we eat food. Therefore, high protein diets often provide auxiliary nutrients that could enhance performance and/or muscle growth. These nutrients include creatine, branched chain amino acids, conjugated linoleic acids, and/or additional nutrients that are important but remain to be discovered. And don’t forget the vitamins and minerals we get from protein rich foods.

(And lest anyone think I’m a shill for the protein powder industry, this last point clearly illustrates the need to get most of your protein from food, rather than supplements.)

Looking over this list of benefits, it’s hard to ignore the fact that we don’t just eat protein for its muscle synthetic effect. We eat protein for a bunch of other reasons too. Since a higher protein diet can lead to a better health profile, an increased metabolism, improved body composition, and an improved training response, why would anyone ever try to limit their protein intake to the bare minimum?

Take-home Message

It seems to me that whether someone’s on a hypoenergetic diet (low calorie) or a hyperenergetic diet (high calorie), the one macronutrient they would want to be sure to “overeat” (relatively speaking) would be protein.

But that’s not what people do, is it?

Instead, they look for the bare minimum of protein (whether it’s 20-30g/meal or 0.8g/kg/day), and then overeat carbohydrates and fats instead. That could prove to be a performance – and body composition – mistake.

So here’s my recommendation for men and women interested in losing fat, gaining lean muscle, and improving their health and performance:

Women – Eat 1 palm-sized portion of lean, complete protein (about 20-30g) with each meal, every few hours. If you eat less frequently, eat a bit more protein with each meal. If you eat more frequently, eat a bit less protein with each meal.

Men – Eat 2 palm-sized portions of lean, complete protein (about 40-60g) with each meal, every few hours. If you eat less frequently, eat a bit more protein with each meal. If you eat more frequently, eat a bit less protein with each meal.

This pattern of intake will make sure you’re getting enough protein to reap all the benefits that this amazing macronutrient has to offer.

Dr. John Berardi is the co-founder of Precision Nutrition and the co-creator of the Precision Nutrition Certification program."