Chain mase optional
Japan is a land of great innovation but also steeped in tradition.
Here are some of the aspects the traditional Japanese lifestyle, including diet, exercise and in general a way of life that should be the model of healthy living for the rest of the world.
It’s been waaayyy too long! I hope to get some more regular blogging in once my schedule settles down a bit. Okay, it won’t and I’ll just have to MAKE more time for it!
In the meantime, I’ll link you to 5 things I think you should check out - some of them my Diet Blog articles and others are things that I think you’ll find informative/entertaining.
1. Gwyneth Paltrow has bones like “Mr. Glass”: Not eating and avoiding the sun gives you brittle bones! This one sparked quite a debate between yours truly and someone who thought a) I was mean, b) higher proteing intakes would make your kidneys spontaneously combust and c) ketosis is caused by high protein diets and is dangerous.
2. Insulin: An Undeserved Bad Reputation: Super-duper smart guy James Krieger pens this outstanding 2-part (so far) series of how insulin became the red-headed step-child of weight regulation and why this concept is largely a steaming heap of ostrich poop. You can also read part II here.
3. Fit Marker: Friend and colleague JCD and partner-in-unapologetic knowledge bombs FitJerk founded a revolutionary hub where you can access the best of the best of training, nutrition and health information.
4. The Truth about Alcohol, Fat Loss and Muscle Growth: Martin Berkhan: Swedish for common sense. Berkhan delves deep into the science and practicality of alcohol intake and its impact on fat loss and muscle.
5. Should Obese People be Given a Handicap Parking? Another pot-stirring piece courtesy of my fellow Diet-Blogger Ted Kallimer. A fascinating debate, indeed!
Hope you enjoy the bits!
Religion, politics and let’s throw in nutrition/exercise for good measure. Passions run strong when it comes to belief about the best nutritional or exercise approach.
In this 5 part series, I’ll detail some of the more hotly contested nutritional and exercise debates that I’ve seen in recent years. Some of them I’ve lurked on, others I’ve actually participated in.
Regardless of where you come out on these issues, there are always opportunities for learning. So grab some popcorn and prepare for some pot-stirring, panty-bunching debates.
Dr. Mike Eades vs. Anthony Colpo: MAD vs. Sane?
This is easily one of the most compelling nutritional debates of the past few years. With low fat dogma pretty much abolished, debates often now shift to varying opinion within the realm of low carb belief.
This particular debate features bestselling author of Protein Power Dr. Michael Eades and trainer and author of “The Great Cholesterol Con” and “The Fat Loss Bible” Anthony Colpo.
The gauntlet was dropped a couple of years ago in the form of an Anthony Colpo open letter to Dr. Eades about his insistence of the existence of a low carb “metabolic advantage”.
Colpo put together an entire e-book: “They’re all MAD”, detailing why he thinks Eades and his other low carb proponents (Gary Taubes, Fineman and Fine) are misguided in their metabolic advantage theory.
AC even went as far as issuing a $20,000 challenge to anyone who could provide credible evidence of metabolic advantage.
After a long period of silence from Dr. Eades, he re-emerged with a thorough counter-argument to Colpo’s “Fat Loss Bible” principles here. This post got quite a round of applause from Eades’ followers – all of whom unanimously hailed Dr. Eades’ as the “victor”.
But wait… AC wasn’t done – not by a long shot, here is an equally detailed retort: The Great Eades Smackdown 2010 part I.
Eades’ wasn’t ready to waive the white flag just yet, though – taking another crack at AC’s argument here.
In what could be a final argument, Colpo responds to Eades’ response, which (according to AC) lacked sufficient response… The great Eades Smackdown part II.
My Take
Although Eades’ has vowed no further response to this debate, this case is far from closed in the forum of nutritional scientists. My summary: If a metabolic advantage exists, it’s likely to be pretty insignificant and calories still matter the most. As it stands, the more neutral and even-handed scientific minds (read: those who do not profit by declaring the existence of a metabolic advantage) contend that there is no empirical evidence of such a phenomenon as per tightly controlled metabolic ward studies.
Eades and Colpo are stalwarts – both very bright, both steadfast in their beliefs.
The pro-Eades crowd will often cite Colpo’s ire as reason to dismiss his ideas, however if you look at the argument objectively, Colpo seems to have legitimately called Eades out on some of his sacred cows. Having read Eades’ blog for a while, I highly respect his intellect and his analytical acumen. The chink in Eades’ armour however is his glaring confirmation bias – a trait that his most ardent readership has appeared to have contracted.
On the flipside, AC has petulance to his diatribes that would be a bit off-putting by general standards. He does at times make it difficult to get behind his plight – especially on an issue that doesn’t carry a whole lot of significance in the “big picture”. That said, I think the industry needs people like Colpo. AC has the intellect to match his vitriol and doesn’t pull any punches. I do applaud people (however uncouth their language) who aren’t afraid to call people out on untenable claims. AC also gave Eades’ friend and fellow carbaphobe and slow thinking training advocate Fred Hahn a science smack-down.
I will also go out on a limb and contend that Dr. Eades is equally brash – he just executes his petulance in a more passive-aggressive manor. Dr. Eades has a proclivity for “taking the high road” when he paints himself into a corner with questionable claims. He pulled this stunt recently when a cerebral researcher with a particularly acute nose for BS - James Krieger, M.S., M.S. took Eades to task on an unsubstantiated claim that Eades made about meta-analyses on this thread (scroll about halfway down the page to see James’ contention). Eades did a fancy Irish jig around Krieger’s press - providing only an obfuscated response.
Final (sort of) word on Metabolic Advantage
While a metabolic advantage remains a physiological plausibility as well as a scientific possibility – to claim MA as a principle rather than a theory is intellectually dishonest. While many may not appreciate Anthony Colpo’s bombast - when the dust settles, I think the clear-thinking individuals will see a well-contructed and scientifically sound challenge.
Happy Easter Everyone!No better time to discuss one of nature’s best foods - eggs. I realize the kind of eggs we think about this weekend are of the chocolate and suspect-looking white and yellow sugary insides variety, but let’s talk real eggs. I’ll make this short and sweet.
In terms of protein quality, nutrient profile, caloric value and cost, you would be hard-pressed to find a better quality food than eggs.
Yolk - in or out? The question of cholesterol
Evidence is very conclusive now that under the majority of circumstances, cholesterol from eggs will not raise blood cholesterol. The link is quite weak between egg and cholesterol consumption and cholesterol levels. The link between cholesterol and heart disease is also suspect.
Bottom line: If you are having only 1-3 eggs at a time, leave the yolks in. This is more than sufficient to impart its nutritional benefit. If you eat 4 or more eggs at a time and your goal is fat loss, consider leaving out some of the yolks as they add unnecessary calories.
Enjoy your eggs - whether they are poached, scrambled, fried or omeletes!
With a few weeks into 2010 and the last decade fading in the rear-view mirror, let’s take a look at the nutrition, fitness and health trends that defined the 2000’s.
This is a guest post by Shannon Wills.
It’s a demon that all of us have to deal with, especially as we get older. Even though we eat healthy food and exercise on a regular basis, there are some parts of our body that cling on to fat and refuse to be separated from it no matter what we do. And in what can only be called an irony, stubborn fat is most often found where it looks the worst – under your arms, around your waist, in the area above your thighs and below your waist, and around your abdomen. For women, it’s the pear shape with extra flab that has them looking bad while men have to contend with looking like apples that are likely to topple over because of the extra fittings around their abdomen.
Spot reduction never works, so no amount of abdominal crunches and twists are going to be enough to help you get rid of that unseemly flab. But it is possible to get rid of it, so if you’re looking to achieve a toned body and lose stubborn pockets of fat, you must:
· Change your workout: If you find that you haven’t been able to lose weight even though you’ve been working out regularly, you probably need to change your workout routine. If you do the same thing every day for months together, your body begins to get used to the exercise and it hits a weight loss plateau. What you must do then is to is to trick your body into losing more weight by mixing it up and changing your workout so that it is confused into losing weight. So if you’re into jogging, start playing a sport or get into weight training, and vice versa and see difference it makes.
· Mix strength training with cardio: The best and most efficient way to lose weight is to build your muscle mass and tone your body with strength training and burn calories with cardio workouts. You could either combine both in a single 60 minute workout or do one each on alternate days. This combination of cardio and working with weights also keeps your body from adapting to a fixed routine and you avoid hitting weight loss plateaus.
· Take up interval training: Most people are not aware that interval training is probably the fastest way to lose stubborn fat. It burns the most calories in the shortest period of time, so if you know how to do it correctly, you could lose a whole lot of weight in no time at all. Interval training consists of alternating short, high intensity bursts of exercise for 30 to 90 seconds with brief recovery periods where you give yourself time to catch your breath. Exercising for just 20 minutes a day will do when you take to this form of working out.
· Persist with your plan: And finally, to achieve weight loss, you must be patient and persist with your plan instead of giving up because it is taking way too long. Plod away at your routine, mix it up, continue to find ways to motivate yourself, and you’re sure to be rewarded with a great body and good health.
By-line:
This post is contributed by Shannon Wills, who writes on the topic of x ray technician schools . She welcomes you comments at her email id: shannon1wills@radiffmail.com
In the wake of my TIME article rebuttal, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the creator of Bloggasm, Simon Owens. The article centers on the backlash of the ”Exercise won’t make you thin” article published last week in the prominent and supposedly “credible” periodical.
It was long overdue but I finally penned a review for Bigger, Stronger, Faster for diet blog. In short, it is a brilliantly made documentary that examines the cultural obsession of performance enhancement, aesthetics and the desire to either be or watch larger than life. The film circles around the lives of 3 brothers who started lifting weights so they could emulate their heroes such as; Hulk Hogan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Read my review here.
It is evident when someone puts their heart and soul into something. The Alan Aragon Research Review is one such example. I finally decided to give the subscription a shot after months of deliberating. I can honestly say that it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
There is a glaring deficiency of honest, evidence-based, and un-faddish information available to fitness and nutrition professionals and the public at large. Enter the AARR. Nowhere (and I mean NOWHERE) will you find such a winning combination of cutting edge research interspersed with perspicacious commentary and real-life application. I have yet to see anyone tackle the most controversial, divided and relevant health and performance issues with the same depth, scrutiny and objectivity as Alan.
I am involved in the fitness and health industry in various capacities; A writer for a popular blog site, a personal trainer and a lecturer. There is one common thread to all of these roles…helping people lead healthier lives. The AARR has become an indispensible resource for me to achieve just that. Since subscribing, I feel as though I have armed myself with an untapped dimension of knowledge.
The publication has sharpened my critical thinking skills and helped me to see a “bigger picture” on many issues. It has broadened my knowledge and in the process has humbled me - encouraging me to re-think what I had known to be “truths”. Alan has a true gift for breaking down giant swaths of information into a reader-friendly format that is as engaging as it is informative.
Be sure to check out the sample issue here. The best thing about the AARR is that it is risk free – no long term commitments.
If you are a trainer, coach, nutrition professionalor a seasoned health enthusiast, this may be the best investment you can make.
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