Stop the winter blues (aka SAD)…..

Today's post: Thursday, 12-27-2007

1. In an earlier post, I wrote that a surprisingly effective way to stop the winter blues or turn down the winter blues is to take as little as a 10 minute walk at lunch time – or near Solar Noon.

The physical cause is lack of sunlight. And, even though our eyes may make cloudy or rainy, overcast weather look like there’s very little sun since they adjust to the light levels, light meters show there is many times more light outside on such days than it looks like they could possibly have to offer.

One man the writer Dale Carnegie wrote about went on a cruise where it rained every day. He took a short lunchtime walk anyway every day he was on the cruise. Everyone else got depressed. He did NOT.

The readings on the light meter show why it worked for him.

Walking has also been shown to turn down depression & bad moods even in the summertime as well. So you get a double effect.

So, if it’s safe for you to take such a walk where you live, give it a try.

2. But if it’s so cold or icy on the pavement it wouldn’t be safe – or – for even stronger protection, there’s a newly known & astoundingly easy thing you can add !!

Simply taking enough vitamin D not only works better to turn off the winter blues than the light box therapy that doctors have been prescribing, it offers many other health benefits.

One study estimates that taking 2,000 to 5,000 iu a day of vitamin D3 will prevent
77 % of all cancers. And, the immune system boost that likely does that for you also makes it less likely you’ll get colds, cases of the flu, & pneumonia. Not bad !!

It also helps that 1,000 iu supplements of D3 are quite inexpensive. Each capsule will cost you less than 6 or 7 cents.

Here’s an article on the subject that I wanted to pass along to you.:

Here’s a direct quote.: “In clinical trials, vitamin D has been shown to relieve depression more effectively than broad-spectrum light exposure.”

“ Got the Winter Blues? The Sun Will Make You Shine!

By Jon Herring

Do you get a little sadder in the winter, when darkness falls early and the sun is hidden in the clouds? If so, you're not alone. Seasonal changes cause more than 25 percent of the population to get the "winter blues" - technically known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

The symptoms include increased cravings for sweets and carbohydrates, longer sleep patterns, lethargy, fatigue, irritability, weight gain, insomnia, lowered motivation, and decreased sociability. In some cases, the long dark winter can even bring on full-blown clinical depression.

But there are several ways to prevent and treat this common condition:

• The best way to conquer SAD is to spend time outside in bright, natural sunlight. It's especially good to go out and play in the snow. There is a lower incidence of SAD in regions that get regular amounts of snow, probably because the snow reflects light.

• Phototherapy can also help lift your spirits in the winter. It involves exposing yourself to a light box that approximates the spectrum of daylight for 30 minutes to two hours a day.

• Most important, be sure to take a vitamin D supplement during the winter months. In clinical trials, vitamin D has been shown to relieve depression more effectively than broad-spectrum light exposure. In fact, in one study that compared vitamin D supplementation with the daily use of a light box for two hours, the symptoms of depression in the vitamin D group were resolved completely. Meanwhile, the phototherapy group saw no significant improvement.

If you're not able to spend time in the sun during the winter, you will need a good bit more vitamin D than the government's recommended daily allowance of 400 IU. Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council suggests 5,000 IU per day for adults during the winter months, and 1,000 to 2,000 IU per day for children. I don't know of any multivitamins that contain this much vitamin D, but Carlson's makes a convenient 2,000 IU soft gel that you can find …”

“By being proactive, you can fight back against seasonal depression and enjoy winter... and the holidays... just like you did when you were young.

[Ed. Note: Jon Herring, a copywriter for Early to Rise, is co-author, with Dr. Al Sears, of the book Your Best Health Under the Sun. ….]”

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

“Fat Free” foods may NOT help you lose fat…..

Today's post: Friday, 12-21-2007

1. First, let’s start with the positive.

There IS a kind of fat free foods that DO help you lose weight.

Hint: They don’t come in boxes on store shelves.

Eating green & other nonstarchy vegetables WILL help you lose fat & fat weight.

They have fiber & water and they have an enormous amount of nutrition. They are good for your health to eat. If like most Americans, you eat very few vegetables other than French fries or baked potatoes, which are NOT in this category, you rarely eat such vegetables at all. And, if you are overfat or have fat you’d like to lose this approaches a certainty.

The trimmest & healthiest people eat several servings a day of green & other nonstarchy vegetables.

Not only do such vegetables contain no fat, they help you feel full; & Weight Watchers has found they are so low in calories you apparently burn that many calories just in digesting them. So they actually list such vegetables as having ZERO points.

Does it work to lose fat to simply eat more green & other nonstarchy vegetables?

You bet it does.

I lost 30 pounds of fat & have kept off 20 of them now almost entirely by adding a serving at lunch every day & a serving at dinner every day. Even better I wasn’t extra hungry.

I still eat protein & fats & oils that are OK for health like walnuts, pecans, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, guacamole, & wild caught salmon. I eat beans often. And, I eat eggs occasionally.

But by adding the vegetable servings, I no longer am hungry for seconds. I don’t eat second helpings any more. I had expected to lose 10 pounds. I did that. When I lost a second 10 pounds, I was pleased. And, since what I was doing wasn’t hard to do, I kept doing it & have kept doing it since. But when I lost the third 10 pounds, not only was I pleased, I was astounded.

(The only reason I gained back 10 pounds is I was forced temporarily by events to get a good bit less exercise.

But as long as I keep doing the exercise I do now & keep eating the vegetables, I’ll not gain back the other 20.

And when I add back the exercise, the 10 pounds will go back off also.)

Notice that although I do eat many foods with fats & oils each day, I still lost 20 pounds of fat that have stayed off.

2. Here’s the negative to avoid.

Would switching to foods labeled as “Fat Free” at the store helped me to lose fat too?

No. In fact the overfat people who do eat them tend to get fatter instead. Ouch !!

Here’s why.

The foods with those labels tend to be cookies & crackers. And, almost all of them are made with refined grains. These foods may taste good. But they have no fiber & very little nutrition so they don’t help turn off your hunger very well. Not having fat increases this effect besides. So this category of foods are NOT a promising food to eat to lose fat at all. It’s not much better or more effective to lose fat than drinking soft drinks which are even worse. They are fat free too !!

But there’s worse news. People who eat such foods are hungry for more of them and eat more each time & often do exactly that thinking they can as the foods are “Fat Free.” This usually results in fat GAIN.

But the worst news is next.

I’ve re-titled the article to make it a bit clearer than the original article’s title. But I not only give full credit to the author & the source I found it in, I feel fortunate to be able to include it here because the article itself is so well done.

Foods labeled as “Fat Free” will NOT help you lose fat

Here’s the article:

“By Shane Ellison

Food labels that scream "fat free" have been a goldmine for the food industry since 1993. They have also hoodwinked millions of unsuspecting victims. Overweight people seek out these labels in the hope of waking up skinny. It never happens. But that doesn't stop them from getting ensnared over and over again. I can hear their rationale: "I'm fat, so I should eat fat-free foods." Wrong.

After the fat is removed, sugar is added. Sugar is great if you're at a birthday party, but that's it. It is nothing more than fat fertilizer and a heart attack waiting to happen. Look for it listed as sucrose, dextrose or cane sugar on the labels of your favorite foods. Then buy something else -- like an all-natural food high in healthy fat.

Healthy fat, which you can find in grass-fed beef, seeds, nuts, avocados, and eggs, is essential for proper growth, development and the maintenance of good health. It provides your body with vital energy without causing you to gain weight. In sharp contrast to carbohydrates, sugar and trans-fats, healthy fats tell your body to burn fat and make you feel fuller quicker. Add them to your grocery list. And forget the fat-free labels.”

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison is known as "The People's Chemist." He holds a Master's degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand industry experience with drug research, design and synthesis. He is the author of Health Myths Exposed and The Hidden Truth About Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs…..]

"This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise's Total Health Breakthroughs , offering alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription,

visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com "

“Fat Free” foods may NOT help you lose fat…..

Today's post: Friday, 12-21-2007

1. First, let’s start with the positive.

There IS a kind of fat free foods that DO help you lose weight.

Hint: They don’t come in boxes on store shelves.

Eating green & other nonstarchy vegetables WILL help you lose fat & fat weight.

They have fiber & water and they have an enormous amount of nutrition. They are good for your health to eat. If like most Americans, you eat very few vegetables other than French fries or baked potatoes, which are NOT in this category, you rarely eat such vegetables at all. And, if you are overfat or have fat you’d like to lose this approaches a certainty.

The trimmest & healthiest people eat several servings a day of green & other nonstarchy vegetables.

Not only do such vegetables contain no fat, they help you feel full; & Weight Watchers has found they are so low in calories you apparently burn that many calories just in digesting them. So they actually list such vegetables as having ZERO points.

Does it work to lose fat to simply eat more green & other nonstarchy vegetables?

You bet it does.

I lost 30 pounds of fat & have kept off 20 of them now almost entirely by adding a serving at lunch every day & a serving at dinner every day. Even better I wasn’t extra hungry.

I still eat protein & fats & oils that are OK for health like walnuts, pecans, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, guacamole, & wild caught salmon. I eat beans often. And, I eat eggs occasionally.

But by adding the vegetable servings, I no longer am hungry for seconds. I don’t eat second helpings any more. I had expected to lose 10 pounds. I did that. When I lost a second 10 pounds, I was pleased. And, since what I was doing wasn’t hard to do, I kept doing it & have kept doing it since. But when I lost the third 10 pounds, not only was I pleased, I was astounded.

(The only reason I gained back 10 pounds is I was forced temporarily by events to get a good bit less exercise.

But as long as I keep doing the exercise I do now & keep eating the vegetables, I’ll not gain back the other 20.

And when I add back the exercise, the 10 pounds will go back off also.)

Notice that although I do eat many foods with fats & oils each day, I still lost 20 pounds of fat that have stayed off.

2. Here’s the negative to avoid.

Would switching to foods labeled as “Fat Free” at the store helped me to lose fat too?

No. In fact the overfat people who do eat them tend to get fatter instead. Ouch !!

Here’s why.

The foods with those labels tend to be cookies & crackers. And, almost all of them are made with refined grains. These foods may taste good. But they have no fiber & very little nutrition so they don’t help turn off your hunger very well. Not having fat increases this effect besides. So this category of foods are NOT a promising food to eat to lose fat at all. It’s not much better or more effective to lose fat than drinking soft drinks which are even worse. They are fat free too !!

But there’s worse news. People who eat such foods are hungry for more of them and eat more each time & often do exactly that thinking they can as the foods are “Fat Free.” This usually results in fat GAIN.

But the worst news is next.

I’ve re-titled the article to make it a bit clearer than the original article’s title. But I not only give full credit to the author & the source I found it in, I feel fortunate to be able to include it here because the article itself is so well done.

Foods labeled as “Fat Free” will NOT help you lose fat

Here’s the article:

“By Shane Ellison

Food labels that scream "fat free" have been a goldmine for the food industry since 1993. They have also hoodwinked millions of unsuspecting victims. Overweight people seek out these labels in the hope of waking up skinny. It never happens. But that doesn't stop them from getting ensnared over and over again. I can hear their rationale: "I'm fat, so I should eat fat-free foods." Wrong.

After the fat is removed, sugar is added. Sugar is great if you're at a birthday party, but that's it. It is nothing more than fat fertilizer and a heart attack waiting to happen. Look for it listed as sucrose, dextrose or cane sugar on the labels of your favorite foods. Then buy something else -- like an all-natural food high in healthy fat.

Healthy fat, which you can find in grass-fed beef, seeds, nuts, avocados, and eggs, is essential for proper growth, development and the maintenance of good health. It provides your body with vital energy without causing you to gain weight. In sharp contrast to carbohydrates, sugar and trans-fats, healthy fats tell your body to burn fat and make you feel fuller quicker. Add them to your grocery list. And forget the fat-free labels.”

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison is known as "The People's Chemist." He holds a Master's degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand industry experience with drug research, design and synthesis. He is the author of Health Myths Exposed and The Hidden Truth About Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs…..]

"This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise's Total Health Breakthroughs , offering alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription,

visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com "

Slash your pneumonia risk 6 ways….

Today's post: Thursday, 12-20-2007

1. Start by cutting your risk over 60 percent by getting by getting the pneumonia vaccine.

This one is the most important since, it cuts your risk so much. In addition, by adding the other five steps to getting the pneumonia vaccine, you begin to approach 100 percent protection.

If your body reacts properly to it, you actually get closer to 85 to 90 percent protection from the vaccine alone. But some of the people over 60 who need the protection most have less response to it.

The clear implication is that the younger you are when you get your first shot, the better your protection is likely to be.

So, if you haven’t gotten yours yet, our suggestion is to get it soon !!

If your holiday schedule gives you some extra time off, get it before the end of the year. And, if your holiday schedule is already over-filled, get it by mid-January for sure.

Since it takes 2 or 3 weeks after you get it to protect you, you want to have that protection BEFORE you get the flu or are exposed to pneumonia. So, again, soon is best.

2. You tend to get fewer infections of all kinds if you get enough vitamin C. It apparently acts as an immune system booster. So if you get between 500 mg & 2,000 mg a day, your pneumonia vaccine is more likely to work. And, your chances of getting a strain of pneumonia that the vaccine doesn’t cover, also drop.

Oranges, bananas, berries, kiwi fruit, & other fruits also have many other valuable micronutrients besides vitamin C, so eating many whole fruits or drinking some real fruit juice each week is protective. They also have fiber which has many other health benefits. Lastly, they taste good !!

I personally eat two or three servings of fruit a day & drink grape juice. AND I take 1,050 mg of vitamin C each day. (My vitamin C supplement has 500; my B Complex Plus C Stress Formula from Solgar has 500; & my multivitamin- mineral tablet has 50.)

Since my vitamin C from what I eat & drink is less than 500 mg a day, I think taking this extra vitamin C is important.

3. Take 2,000 iu a day of vitamin D. Recent studies show that getting enough vitamin D is even more effective at boosting your immune system than almost anything else you can do. There is even some evidence enough vitamin D boosts your immune system so well it prevents many cancers.

It’s also been shown to help prevent getting tuberculosis, another very nasty lung disease.

Because most of us no longer work outside all day; & it’s now winter time, very few of us get enough vitamin D from sun exposure this time of year. Many of us work inside all day even in the summer now as well.

So recent research has shown that taking this much vitamin D is quite important.

The even better news is that vitamin D in the 1,000 iu per capsule size is really
inexpensive.

Since I learned this, I’ve taken more than 2,000 iu a day of vitamin D myself.

So if you get take 2,000 iu of vitamin D a day, your pneumonia vaccine is much more likely to work. And, your chances of getting a strain of pneumonia that the vaccine doesn’t cover, also drop dramatically.

4. And, there’s even more protection from pneumonia available.

Thanks to an email from Dr Al Sears that I got today, I found out that people who take enough of the mineral zinc, about 30 to 50 mg a day total, are both much less likely to get pneumonia AND to recover from it easily if they do still get it.

To put it mildly, very few of the people who get enough zinc die from getting pneumonia. The data Dr Sears found had that info also.

Even better, taking that amount of zinc also tends to raise your blood level of the protective HDL cholesterol. Does it work? Yes, the data do show a lower rate of heart attack in people who get enough zinc.

This effect may also be in part because getting that much zinc each day helps your body process sugars properly instead of you getting type II diabetes which sharply increases your heart attack risk.

Because taking that much zinc tends to lower high blood pressure, that may also help create the heart attack protection it provides.

And, there’s even more benefits to taking that much zinc. It helps prevent prostate problems & prostate cancer. (I suspect it may also help prevent breast & ovarian cancers in women as well.)

Important Notes: Unless you react badly to copper, it’s important in order to not have too little to take 2 or 3 mg a day of copper when you take this much zinc. Also, more zinc is NOT better, taking much more than 50 mg a day for more than a couple of days tends to REVERSE the effect. So do NOT do that.

5 & 6. Pneumonia is often a secondary infection that you get after coming down with a bad cold or the flu.

So, # 5. is to always get your flu shot.

That way you don’t get cases of the flu that might have triggered pneumonia. And, if you do get the flu, the chances are it will be mild enough, it won’t be able to trigger pneumonia.

But what if you do get the flu or a bad cold anyway?

That’s where # 6. comes in to protect you.

6. If you do get the flu or a bad cold, eat spicy hot foods or add some red cayenne pepper to your chicken soup every day that you are sick. Studies show this prevents bronchitis & excessive chest congestion.

When you eat the Chinese dishes like, Mongolian Beef or Kung Pao Chicken or you eat a spicy hot Mexican food or salsa, you break into a bit of a sweat on your forehead & your nose runs slightly.

That effect also happens in your lungs so you don’t get the build up of excess mucus to get infected.

You feel better when you prevent that. But even better, since you prevent it, there’s often not enough build up for bacterial pneumonia to grow well. So you are much less likely to get it.

Drinking a few extra glasses of water each day you are sick also helps to do this. It’s one of the reasons doctors say to do that. But few doctors explain how incredibly important & protective it is to do that.

Bottom line, if you take all these 6 steps, your chances of getting pneumonia approach zero. And, your chances of dying from it drop even more.

Most of them are pretty easy. Why not do them all?

Weight training works really well for women too!....

Today's post: Wednesday, 12-19-2007

If you’ve been reading our posts for a while, you already have read here that exercise has incredible benefits for people.

Although it’s unfortunately less known, those benefits include a much improved sex life. And, that’s true for women as well as men.

Weight training or strength training also tends to make both men & women look better.

It’s a wonderful aid to fat loss, for example. This is because you not only burn calories while you do it, you burn even more for several hours after you do it, if you do it right. Even better, once you do it regularly for a while, you burn more calories all the time.

Unfortunately, many women are not comfortable with strength training or think it will somehow make them look too mannish. (Not true unless they also take anabolic steroids !! & then only if they work out very hard besides.)

So, I was delighted when I saw this article in my Total Health Breakthroughs email.:

"How Weight Training Gives Women a Lean Sexy Body

By Anthony Colpo

Weight training is an enormously beneficial activity for men and women alike. It burns fat, protects against osteoporosis, improves posture, prevents age-related loss of muscle, and helps maintain healthy blood sugar control. Unfortunately, many women are scared away from this extremely beneficial activity due to a number of highly misleading myths.

Ladies, today I'm going to blow these myths out of the water so you can go ahead and start lifting your way to a leaner, firmer, healthier, and sexier body!

Myth 1: Weight Training Makes Women Look Like Men

When women think of weight training, they typically conjure up images of professional female bodybuilders strutting masculine-looking physiques on a contest stage. Understandably, a lot of women simply do not consider bulging muscles, razor sharp definition, and a network of veins reminiscent of a road map as attractive and feminine traits.

Ladies, please know that if you do not intend to become a competitive bodybuilder, your chances of looking like this are somewhere between zilch and zero. Regardless of what bodybuilding magazines would have you believe, the vast majority of professional female bodybuilders are using anabolic steroids. In their natural state, even the most athletic women simply do not produce the amount of muscle-building testosterone that healthy males do. And without male-like levels of testosterone, it's nearly impossible to build a male-like body. Testosterone plays such a critical role in muscle growth that even men with deficient levels of testosterone have a hard time building large muscles!

The other thing to remember is that the pictures of female bodybuilders you see in magazines are typically taken at contest time. Since one of the judging criteria is muscle definition, these women have dieted down to extremely low body fat levels. By shedding so much fat, their physiques take on a hard, striated appearance that few women would consider feminine, even on someone with relatively small muscles.

However, this incredibly lean condition is maintained for only a very brief period. Bodybuilders slowly diet down to very low body fat percentages, strut their stuff on contest day, then promptly return to a more normal body fat level after the contest is over by increasing their caloric intake.

Most of the women I train and consult with do not want rock hard, super lean physiques. Nor do they want flabby physiques that bulge in all the wrong places. Instead, they want a body that resides somewhere between these two extremes: a body that looks firm, toned, shapely and healthy.

Guess what? The very best method for getting such a body is weight training. No other form of exercise can tone muscles so quickly. No other form of exercise allows you to shape and sculpt your body into a symmetrical masterpiece. For example, do you have wide hips, carrot-shaped thighs, and narrow shoulders? No problem -- start doing weight training exercises that emphasize your shoulders and lower thighs, and watch as your hips begin to "appear" smaller and smaller! Do you have a flat saggy butt that seems to have given up in the fight against gravity? Don't worry -- several weeks of dedicated squatting, lunging and dead lifting will quickly turn that problem around!

The bottom line is that your body contours can be dictated by either fat or muscle. Which would you rather have?

Myth 2: Muscle Turns Into Fat When You Stop Weight Training

This is the bit where even the most serious scientists can't help but burst out laughing. You simply cannot turn muscle into fat. It is as likely as transforming a block of cheese into a bar of gold. Muscle and fat are two entirely different entities with starkly different functions and structures. You simply cannot turn one into the other.

Despite the utter absurdity of this myth, it just refuses to die.

Here's what will happen if you stop weight training. First of all, your muscles will gradually lose their attractive toned look. An intelligently implemented weight training routine is a lifelong endeavor, not a quick fix. The benefits last only as long as you keep training.

Depending on your dietary habits, you may also gain some fat due to the reduced calorie expenditure that occurs after you stop training. Again, the answer is simple. Keep training and eating right! That way, you'll keep reaping the immense benefits that weight training has to offer.

Myth 3: Women Don't Need to Do Weights. They Get All the Benefits they Need from Walking, Jogging or Aerobic Classes

Aerobic activities cannot even begin to replicate the effects of weight training. As mentioned, weight training is unrivaled in its ability to build muscle and strength. Aerobic activities simply cannot provide the same level of progressively increasing resistance that tones and strengthens muscles. In fact, an excess of aerobic activity can cause loss of precious muscle tissue; compare the stringy, emaciated physique so typical of marathon runners with the far more attractive and athletic-looking physiques of sprinters.

Furthermore, most popular aerobic activities tend to work the lower body but place no meaningful stress on the upper body. Don't settle for an attractive set of legs but a flabby set of upper arms that jiggles in a most unflattering manner whenever you wear sleeveless outfits!

One very important benefit of weight training is its ability to fight off potentially debilitating loss of bone. Similar to muscle, bone loss worsens with age, and bone fractures are a common cause of debility and death in elderly citizens. Weight training has been shown to improve bone density in a manner that aerobic activities simply cannot hope to rival. The reason is that weight-bearing activities cause the tendons of your muscles to pull against bones during lifting. The body's response is to strengthen your bones, which enables them to more easily withstand future stresses of a similar nature. Further amplifying the bone-building advantage of weight training is the fact that most aerobic activities fail to impose any significant resistance upon the upper body.

An optimal fitness regimen includes both weight training and cardiovascular activities. Both have their unique benefits so don't neglect either of them!

Conclusion

Most women do not even begin to appreciate the huge advantages that weight training can bestow. An intelligently implemented weight routine is a key component in achieving a strong physique that radiates a healthy, toned appearance. So ladies, start hitting the gym and become the envy of all your friends who still believe the erroneous myths about women and weight training!

[Ed. Note: Anthony Colpo is an independent researcher, physical conditioning specialist and author. Learn more about Anthony's latest book, The Fat Loss Bible, by clicking here."

"This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise's Total Health Breakthroughs , offering alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription,

visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com "

Exercise prevents mental decline TWO ways…..

Today's post: Wednesday, 12-12-2007

1. You may have read the post here that I did when I first read of the studies that showed that exercise actually causes the growth of new neurons or nerves in your brain.

So it’s much harder for regular exercisers to get mental decline since their brains are essentially always adding new wiring to combat any problems !!

(It also helps that regular exercisers get better blood flow to their brains than nonexercisers do to keep their brain neurons getting plenty of food as glucose & oxygen. Just doing the exercise does that each time. And, exercise also boosts the protective HDL cholesterol to help keep their blood vessels to their brains & in their brains clear and open.)

2. And, like many of you, I’ve experienced that severe stress tends to short-circuit your short term memory. Dr Hans Selye & Dr Singh Khalsa also have written about how chronic, long term, unrelieved stress can make this permanent & cause mental decline in addition to making you sick.

So, as I did, you might really enjoy this article I got in my daily Early to Rise email.

It seems regular exercise not only grows new brain neurons, it also helps prevent this brain damage from chronic stress !!


“Strengthen Your Body and Supercharge Your Mind
By Dr. Jonny Bowden

Stress does more than make you prone to road rage - it also shrinks your brain. But by following a simple exercise program you may be able to undo some of the damage - or, better yet, prevent it from happening in the first place.

Exercise reduces levels of a brain-robbing stress hormone called cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol actually shrink an important part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and learning. Studies show that exercise may help prevent Alzheimer's or dementia - or, at the very least, significantly delay its onset.

Exercise also releases chemicals that ramp up production of an important brain compound called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) that has been called "Miracle Gro for the Brain." And recent research at the University of Illinois shows that healthy but sedentary folks (ages 60 to 80) who did moderate aerobic exercise for only 45 to 60 minutes three days a week actually grew bigger brains. Both the white matter and the grey matter increased in volume.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Jonny Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. He's a board certified nutritionist with a master's degree in psychology, and the author of the best-selling book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. For more information, go to www.jonnybowden.com. “

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine.

For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Prevent cancer with raw broccoli -- NOT cooked....

Today's post: Tuesday, 12-11-2007

Recently, I read a very important online news article that once again showed data that made it clear that eating broccoli & cauliflower and the other cruciferous vegetables DOES prevent cancer.

And, when you add to that the other information that eating broccoli or cauliflower even as little as once a week cuts the chances of developing the most dangerous form of prostate cancer about in half, you realize that these foods are unusually valuable in preventing the kinds of cancer you want very much to avoid.

(This effect is so strong, I suspect that it will be found to provide similar protection against breast, ovarian, & other forms of cancer.)

BUT, the news article went on to say that their findings of protection were ONLY true for RAW broccoli & cauliflower. The cooked versions did NOT show as preventing cancer.

So, since I’ve been eating cooked, frozen broccoli almost every day with my dinner, partly as a way to lose excess fat, WHICH IT DID DO SUCCESSFULLY, I had thought I was also getting broccoli’s famous cancer prevention.

This research suggests I have not been getting much cancer prevention, if any.

So, I have now started to add some raw broccoli & cauliflower florets to my cooked broccoli, since I very much want the cancer protection.

Since this is NOT widely known as far as I know, I thought it important to let you know about it right away.

Ways to prevent cancer....

Today's post: Monday, 12-10-2007

Mercifully, the list of things you can do to prevent cancer is LONG.

Here are just a few.

1. Don’t smoke. And, if you smoke now quit. Also, stay away from second hand smoke as completely as you possibly can.

This is the number one thing to do. Here’s why:

Half of all cancers are caused smoking from the evidence I’ve seen.

(Smoking is even WORSE for producing heart attacks, strokes, & other cardiovascular disease, by the way.

Some smokers don’t get cancer; but ALL smokers, even young ones, damage their blood vessels & start getting heart disease & extra plaque in their blood vessels. )

Doctors now can help with a drug, Varenicline, that has a very strong track record of helping smokers quit. And, the American Cancer Society or your doctor or health plan may be able to find you a good support group. For those who fail at quitting cold turkey on their own, both of these methods dramatically increase your chances of success.

My suggestion is to do BOTH if you have tried to quit on your own & failed. Why not hammer the deadly addiction to start with?

What if you still haven’t quit?

Believe it or not, you can get some protection against cancer, maybe as high as
50 %, possibly even more, by ALWAYS lighting up with a match. And, NEVER use a cigarette lighter. The much hotter flame of the lighter produces really frightening & harmful short lived compounds while the cooler flame of a match produces less of the different compounds & MUCH less of the ones it does produce.

2. Also, avoid herbicides, room fresheners, & most pesticides in your home, yard, & garden. There’s evidence that these are more carcinogenic than is generally known.

3. You can eat cabbage as coleslaw; cauliflower florets, &/or broccoli each week as these foods have so many & so much cancer preventers, they will cut your risk of cancer & even better, the more deadly forms of cancer about in half. (Other cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts, kale, & horse radish also work.)

Eating such vegetables also helps prevent fat gain & enable permanent fat loss if you do enough of it most days.

4. Get regular exercise. Doing so cuts your risk of dying from all causes by fifty percent or more. And, if you do enough exercise without overworking yourself, it apparently boosts your immune system & slows aging enough, it also helps prevent cancer.

5. Eat nuts; beans; nonfat & very low fat dairy foods; lightly cooked wild caught salmon & other health OK seafood; & eggs that have been boiled, poached, or lightly fried in extra virgin olive oil -- instead of fatty meats for 95 to 99 % of your protein.

Even though eating organic produce is really good for you as it has fewer herbicides & pesticides or none, or none AND it is more nutritious besides.

Did you know that following this step of minimizing excess animal fats is about ten times more powerful in reducing your exposure to herbicides & pesticides than eating only organic produce?

Here’s why? It’s actually quite simple. The animals bioconcentrate the herbicides & pesticides so much in their fat, that eating their fat is something you should limit to rare occasions due to the exposure it gives you to herbicides & pesticides.

It also helps prevent strokes, heart attacks & high blood pressure. Not bad.

6. Make meats with nitrates added very rare in your diet. Once a month total or less is what to aim for. In this group are hot dogs, bacon, sausage, & virtually all packaged ham & other packaged, sliced, lunch meats.

7. Make barbecued fatty meats very rare in your diet also. Cooking fatty meats at high temperatures does similar things to them that lighting cigarettes with a lighter does. You get a MUCH larger dose of carcinogenic compounds.

8. Take antioxidant supplements like vitamin C, natural vitamin E including other tocopherols besides the alpha form,* & selenium. (*Gamma tocopherol apparently helps prevent prostate cancer, for example.)

9. Eat plenty of orange & green vegetables high in carotenoids. This includes carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, & broccoli, in which the green color prevents you from seeing the orange of the carotenoids. Many kinds of salad greens are similarly high in carotenoids.

Do all these things & your chances of escaping cancer skyrocket.

Why not try some or all of them?

USATODAY.com - Fat and fit beats thin and soft

Friday, December 07, 2007
USATODAY.com - Fat and fit beats thin and soft
Wow. It turns out the post I just did is TWICE as important if you are a bit or a LOT too fat.

If you are read this:

USATODAY.com - Fat and fit beats thin and soft: "LONDON (AP) — Obese people who exercise have half the death rate of those who are trim but don't exercise, a leading expert said Tuesday."

That means it's twice as important for you to exercise if you are more fat than you should be. Why? As you get older as a fat person your risks will rise faster than people who aren't; but you get the SAME protection from exercise that they do. AND, you largely prevent that gradual additional risk besides!

The good news is that fat people who exercise are healthier even while they are still fat than skinny people who don't exercise.

For safety, begin very slowly & take rest breaks periodically even while you are exercising & when you feel your heart rate become more normal & you can again breathe without huffing & puffing start gently again before you go a bit faster.

Don't worry about doing super well at first. Just keep doing it. Within a couple of weeks you'll need fewer rest stops & you will recover faster during each rest stop.

The other good news is that you will gain some muscle & lose some fat even if it's not visible. And, if you also gradually do more & add strength training & eating right, you CAN lose a lot more fat & keep it off. The keys are keep exercising regularly

What if you are trim looking but don't exercise, are you off the hook?

Nope! Separate research has shown that people like you actually have slightly atrophied muscles & have hidden fat internally. That's why getting even some exercise will cut your risk of dying in half.

Today's post is short but the information can make a huge difference in how long you live & how health you are & your quality of life.

1. If you get no exercise now, if you begin exercising for even a few days a week for 15 minutes at a time even just walking, you can cut your chance of dying in the next few years IN HALF!

2. If you then go to:
a brief but good cardio exercise for three or four nonconsecutive days a week
& add a half an hour of strength training for three days a week or even two for 45 minutes with a day in between each session
AND you have parts of your cardio where you go a good bit faster & then back to a more relaxed pace & repeat that several times
AND in your strength training, you carefully add weight as soon as you can do 12 repititions easily & make an effort to improve over time,
that will put you in the top 20 % of people exercise wise.

That will cut your risk of dying in the next few years in IN HALF again to FOURTH of what you would have risked if you didn't exercise.

But the most important thing is the first easy step that anyone can do.

If you don't exercise now do yourself a favor & start now!
Get in some walking or go to a gym even twice a week for twenty minutes for strength training & get in two easy walks a week.

Your risk of dying will drop in HALF. Nice.