HOW TO DETOX YOUR BODY

  We all may be guilty of consuming too much food and drink during the holidays – and with the New Year approaching, you may feel it’s time to detox your body.

  But is a detoxification diet really necessary?

“Our bodies (naturally) detox all the time,” Chris Kilham, the Medicine Hunter, told FoxNews.com. “If we didn’t, we’d die.”

Kilham explained that after the holidays – or whenever a person induldges in too much of a bad thing, like food or alcohol – it’s the liver and intestines that suffer the most. Some people even develop a fatty liver, he said.

“Eat more fruits, like apples, which have powerful antioxidants and pectin – and that cleanses the digestive system. Who doesn't like apples?"

- Chris Kilham, The Medicine Hunter

“When was the last time you heard someone say, ‘I ate too much salad over the holidays?’” he said. “We take in less fiber and more fatty foods.”

So, the New Year is an optimal time to get rid of the ‘junk’ residing in your liver and digestive tract. You can start cleansing your system by drinking more water, Kilham said.

“Water is our friend; we’re made up of more than 70 percent of water,” he added. “Drink plenty of pure, clean water.”

Kilham said another way to detox is to drink dandelion root tea.

“It’s one of those herbal things that works, and it tastes pleasant,” he said. “It helps the liver get rid of impurities and excess fats.”

And what about the detox diets you see advertised on TV – are they worth it?

Kilham said some of those diets, the ones with herbal cleansers and fiber, might be good for cleaning out your body once in a while; but he wouldn’t recommend it on a regular basis. As always, you should check with your doctor before starting any new health regimen.

“My opinion is that if you go lighter – say, you’ve had too much vodka, and you want to clean yourself out – drink more fruit and vegetable juices,” Kilham said. “Eat more fruits, like apples, which have powerful antioxidants and pectin – and that cleanses the digestive system. Who doesn’t like apples? Eat one or two a day; that’s a good way to cleanse.”

Sometimes people vow to start taking more vitamins in the New Year, which Kilham said is a resolution that usually fades by February – but small amounts of vitamin C can also help the body detoxify.

Kilham said if you stick to herbs and fiber for one to two weeks, you’ll likely feel lighter and more energetic. Then, you can go back to your regular diet. Just be sure to include more leafy greens.

Information above is taken from:
 http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/12/27/how-to-detox-your-body/#ixzz2GfD4yhac

4 Medicine Ball Exercises for Shredded Abs

Hit your abs from all angles with this intense medicine ball workout.

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By Mehmet Edip

To really sculpt your abs and get them rock solid you need to hit it from every single angle. And what better way than to use a medicine ball.

Originating from Persia over 3000 years ago and continued to be used in ancient Greece for injury rehabilitation, medicine ball work is one of the oldest forms of strength and conditioning training.

As well as helping with injuries, the medicine ball can help tone your core muscles, - the body’s center of power. Using a medicine ball to train the core is perfect because you can perform so many functional movements similar to those that you do in everyday life.

Here are my top 4 medicine ball exercises to help you sculpt some killer abs:

Kneeling Partner Twist

• Make sure you're are on your knees and back to back with a partner.
• Keep your abdominals contracted and maintain perfect posture.
• Slowly twist to one side and pass the ball off to your partner.
• Return to the other side to retrieve the ball.
•  Continue for 30–90 seconds, going one way. Repeat, going the other direction.

Tip: This can also be done while standing.

V-Sits and Pass to Partner           

• Sit on the floor about 1–2 feet away from your partner with your knees bent, it may help if you lock your feet together with your partner.
• Sit upright with perfect posture, and with your abdominals contracted tightly throughout the entire exercise.
• Start by holding the medicine ball into your chest.
• Now you and your partner recline back a few inches while maintaining perfect posture.
• Slowly start coming back up and once you’re upright, throw the ball to your partner.
• Your partner will catch it, and you’ll both repeat the exercise. Repeat for 30–90 seconds.

Medicine Ball Chest Pass

• Stand in front of a wall (approx 2-3 feet away) holding a medicine ball in front of your chest.
• Keep your feet at shoulder width apart and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
• Throw the ball with as much power as possible against the wall by pushing it outwards from your chest, then catching the ball as it bounces back, bringing it back to your chest before repeating.

Medicine Ball Stomach Hits (This one takes guts)

• Start with a medicine ball and a training partner standing in front of you.
• Holding the ball with both hands, throw it directly at your partner’s abdomen by pushing forward forcefully.
• As the ball is heading towards their stomach, your partner should NOT catch it or block it before it hits them.
• Your partner should catch the ball on the rebound and only after it has hit them, before repeating the exercise and throwing the ball back at you.

Tip: Be sure to start with a light ball and throw conservatively the first time you try this exercise, then slowly increase the weight of the medicine ball.

Information above is taken from: 
http://www.muscleandfitness.com/training/abs/4-medicine-ball-exercises-shredded-abs

Brazilian Style Chicken Pie

This is one of my favorites recipes and its worth a try, if you like chicken recipes you will LOVE this one!

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:

• 1 lb. skinless chicken breast
• 1/2 liter chicken stock
• 4 Tbsp oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, peeled and seeded, minced
• 1 cup of peas, salt and pepper to taste.

For the dough:

• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup of oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon baking powder and  1/2 cup grated cheese.

HOW TO PREPARE

Prepare the filling:

1. Cook the chicken breast in broth until tender
2. book 1 xi tea broth from cooking
3. Shred the chicken and remove any cartilage
4. Saute the ingredients
5. finally add the peas to filling. 
6. add the chicken broth and mix and cook until almost dry

Dough:

1. Beat the milk, oil and eggs in blender
2. On low speed, gradually add the flour, salt and finally add the yeast
3. Pour half the batter into a greased ovenproof dish add the filling 
4. Cover with the remaining dough mix and grated cheese on top
5. bake until golden brown

Glycemic Index and Intramuscular Lipids

The storage of glucose as glycogen in muscle is dependent upon the dose and form of carbohydrate, and also the timing of ingestion. Low-glycemic index diets can reduce many risk factors linked to heart disease, diabetes, triglyceride levels and LDL cholesterol.^1,2,3 A combination of carbohydrate (CHO) and protein (PRO) after exercise may enhance the anabolic effect, compared to protein alone.

It has been reported that ingesting CHO and CHO/PRO immediately following exercise promotes a greater increase in insulin concentration compared to consuming PRO only, or compared to control groups. Additionally, subjects ingesting a CHO/PRO supplement following exercise had a greater increase in growth hormone than control subjects and those ingesting PRO alone.⁴ Researchers suggest that this increase in insulin and growth hormone concentration may facilitate a more favorable environment for recovery than CHO alone.

Other research has concluded that ingesting CHO and PRO— 2 hours before exercise and immediately following, during three consecutive days of resistance training— increased blood glucose, insulin, growth hormone, and IGF-1 to a greater degree than a placebo. Consequently, there is considerable evidence to support recommendations that athletes ingest CHO and PRO following exercise to optimize glycogen resynthesis, promote an anabolic hormonal environment, and increase PRO synthesis.⁵ I have spoken to many bodybuilders during their pre-contest prep, and most of them start to eliminate carbohydrates from their post-workout drinks as the contest approaches.

Intramuscular Lipids and Glycemic Diets

Bodybuilders have a difficult decision as to when to spike insulin— that is, if they want to build muscle. Studies that used carbohydrate supplementation during exercise have shown that it inhibits adipose tissue lipolysis and reduces non-essential fatty acid availability. In this month’s American Journal of Physiology— Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers looked at different glycemic diets (high and low) and their effects on intramuscular lipids.

Unlike adipose tissue stored on your glutes or your stomach, intramuscular lipids (IMCL) are stored between muscle fibers. A high amount of intramuscular lipids are associated with metabolic alterations within muscle, such as changes in the cellular location of fatty acid transporter proteins, decreased mitochondrial enzyme activity, and defects in mitochondrial morphology— which likely contribute to obesity and insulin resistance. These defects are thought to play a role in the reduced skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation and increased intramuscular lipid accumulation that is apparent with obesity and other insulin-resistant states such as type 2 diabetes. Regardless, high intramuscular lipids are associated with a host of health-related issues.  

High-Glycemic Diets Increase Intramuscular Lipids

Researchers assigned young men to a high- or low-glycemic diet after exercise, and examined the effects on intramuscular lipid storage. Carbohydrates were provided at 8 g/kg body mass, and protein and fat content constituted 11 percent and 17 percent of energy, respectively. Researchers found that consuming a high-glycemic diet after exercise resulted in a trend toward higher-starting intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) in the high-GI trial.

Despite these observations, an increased storage of IMCL in the high-GI trial would seem likely, as previous research has shown that consuming a high-GI meal following 90 minutes of exercise reduces fatty acid availability, compared to consuming a low-GI meal.⁶ The observation of a trend toward a higher pre-exercise IMCL content following a high-GI diet warrants further investigation, using an appropriate study design.

It is possible that the higher insulin levels characterizing the high-GI diet could also affect other sources of lipids (such as liver lipid release), although this also requires further study.

Taken together, these observations suggest that high-GI diets produce sustained effects on nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) availability and intramuscular lipid oxidation during exercise, although the mechanism by which this happens remains to be studied. So if you are looking to burn more fat, switching to a low-glycemic diet may reduce the accumulation of intramuscular lipids and enhance fat oxidation.⁷

The study provides unique insight into the relationship between carbohydrate quality and lipid deposits during exercise. The data show that the amount of liver glycogen used during exercise is related to both the pre-exercise glycogen content and inversely related to the level of circulating fatty acids during exercise— the higher the starting level of glycogen and the lower the level of circulating fatty acids, the greater glycogen use during exercise.

References:

1. Pereira, MA, Swain, J, Goldfine, AB, Rifai, N, & Ludwig, DS. (2004). Effects of a low-glycemic load diet on resting energy expenditure and heart disease risk factors during weight loss. Journal of the American Medical Association, 24, 2482-2490.

2. Sloth, B, Krog-Mikkelsen, I, Flint, A, Tetens, I, Bjorck, I, Vinoy, S, Elmstahl, H, Astrup, A, Lang, V, & Raben, A. (2004). No difference in body weight decrease between a low-glycemic-index and a high-glycemic-index diet but reduced LDL cholesterol after 10-wk ad libitum intake of the low-glycemic-index diet. American Journal of Clinical Nurition, 80, 337-347.

3. Jimenez-Cruz, A, Bacardi-Gascon, M, Turnbull, WH, Rosales-Garay, P, & Severino-Lugo, I. (2003). A flexible, low-glycemic index mexican-style diet in overweight and obese subjects with type 2 diabetes improves metabolic parameters during a 6-week treatment period. Diabetes Care, 26, 1967-1970.

4. Chandler RM, Byrne HK, Patterson JG, Ivy JL. Dietary supplements affect the anabolic hormones after weight-training exercise. J Appl Physiol, 1994;76:839-845.

5. Conley MS, Stone MH. Carbohydrate ingestion/supplementation or resistance exercise and training. Sports Med, 1996;21:7-17.

6. Trenell MI, Stevenson E, Stockmann K, Brand-Miller J. Effect of high and low glycemic index recovery diets on intramuscular lipid oxidation during aerobic exercise. Br J Nutr, 99: 326-332, 2008.

7. Stevenson EJ, Thelwall PE, Thomas K, Smith F, Brand-Miller J, Trenell MI. Dietary glycemic index influences lipid oxidation but not muscle or liver glycogen oxidation during exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 2009.

Sidebar:

Fat Oxidation During Exercise and Satiety During Recovery Are Increased Following A Low-Glycemic Index Breakfast

Consuming low-glycemic index carbohydrates before exercise results in increased fat oxidation during exercise in trained men and women. It is not known if this phenomenon occurs during low-intensity exercise and in untrained participants. Researchers examined the effect of eating breakfasts containing high-GI (HGI) or low-GI (LGI) foods on substrate utilization during rest and walking exercise in sedentary adults. The metabolic and appetite response to a standard lunch consumed after exercise was also investigated.

On each occasion, participants were provided with a HGI or LGI breakfast 3 hours before walking for 60 minutes. After exercise, participants were provided with lunch and remained in the laboratory for an additional 2 hours. Plasma glucose and serum insulin responses were higher following the HGI breakfast, compared to after the LGI breakfast. During the 3-hour postprandial (occurring after a meal) period, fat oxidation was suppressed following both breakfasts, but remained higher in the LGI trial. During exercise, total fat oxidation was also greater in the LGI trial. There were no differences in the metabolic responses to lunch. Participants reported feeling fuller following lunch in the LGI trial.

Consuming a LGI breakfast increases fat oxidation during subsequent exercise and improves satiety during recovery in sedentary adults.

Reference:

Stevenson EJ, Astbury NM, Simpson EJ, Taylor MA, Macdonald IA. Fat oxidation during exercise and satiety during recovery are increased following a low-glycemic index breakfast in sedentary women. J Nutr, 2009 May;139(5):890-7.

Credits: The information above is a word by word excerpt from MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT.

Digestive Enzymes

  Digestive enzymes are substances that will help you in the digestion process, by breaking down polymeric macromolecules into their smaller building blocks, in order to facilitate their absorption by the body. 
  When we eat our food it sits in our stomach for while before making its way through the duodenum. This occurs due to the lack of enzyme in one's stomach which is caused by not ingesting raw foods which are the ones that contain enzymes. Enzymes are killed with the heating and processing of foods, which means that a lot of cooked and processed  food is not good for you. 

Follow are some of the benefits:

• Digest Proteins
• Assimilate fats
• Increase energy
• Reduce Bacteria
• Assimilate and eliminate Toxins
• Eliminate yeast
• Break up and dissolve Uric Acid Crystals
• Raise T-Cell activity and production
• Shatter Crystalline Deposits 
• Break up Cholesterol Deposits
• Increase the White Blood Cell size and activity
• Increase the surface area of the red blood cell, making it possible to carry more oxygen to all parts of the body

If you are not lacking in your consumption of vegetables, fruits an other types of raw food, digestive enzymes may be a good choice for you.

Stay connected for more!!!

EXERCISE TODAY

TRICEPS DIP

• Sit on a bench or chair.
• Begin with the hands next to or slightly under the hips.
• Lift up onto the hands and bring the hips forward.
• Bend the elbows (no lower than 90 degrees) and lower the hips down, keeping them very close to the chair. Keep the shoulders down away from ears.
• Push back up without locking the elbows 
• Keep your hips on the same line as your head and parallel to the bench or chair all the time
• With your feet on the floor the exercise will be easier, to make it more challenging walk your feet out or elevate.

Enjoy your exercise!!!

Do you know what is in your food?

Monosodium Glutamate known as MSG is a food additive used to enhance the taste of meat, canned food, soup, drinks and many other products found in grocery stores and restaurants. MSG has been used for many years, but nowadays it's use is exaggerated in almost all the products that we ingest, as a factor it is causing much harm to us and  I am almost sure you have at one time or other felt some of the symptoms listed below caused by ingesting MSG:

• Headache
• Flushing
• Sweating
• Facial pressure or tightness
• Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas
• Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• Weakness

You may not realize that almost all the things that you ingest contain MSG. Now that many people are more aware of this matter,  companies are using different ingredients that contain this chemical, Calcium caseinate,  Sodium caseinateYeast food, Yeast nutrient, Autolyzed yeast,Gelatin,Textured protein,Soy protein, soy protein concentrate,Soy protein isolate,Whey protein, whey protein concentrate and the list keep going on and on. MSG makes your pancreas increase the production of insulin, leading you to obesity,diabetes and hypertension, we are being slowly poisoned and we do not even know it. Kids are growing up predisposed to many diseases and  parents wonder why? 


I really appreciate the families who try to grow their own food, and avoid the maximum manufactured products. This is a movement that we all should support and if at all possible we should try to grow our own food or purchase our food from those who grow it organically.


Stay connected to Wellness Factor for more!!!

EATING TODAY

Tuna Melt

In this updated version of the tuna melt, we go light on the mayo and top it with fresh tomato slices and shredded sharp Cheddar, which allows us to use considerably less cheese while ensuring that there's great cheese flavor in each gooey bite.

4 servings

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces canned chunk light tuna, drained (see Note)
• 1 medium shallot, minced (2 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Dash of hot sauce
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

PREPARATION

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine tuna, shallot, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, salt, hot sauce and pepper in a medium bowl. Spread 1/4 cup of the tuna mixture on each slice of toast; top with tomato slices and 2 tablespoons cheese. Place sandwiches on a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

TIPS & NOTES

• Note: Chunk light tuna, which comes from the smaller skipjack or yellowfin, has less mercury than canned white albacore tuna. The FDA/EPA advises that women who are or might become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children consume no more than 6 ounces of albacore a week; up to 12 ounces of canned light tuna is considered safe.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 252 calories; 6 g fat ( 3 g sat , 0 g mono ); 66 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 31 g protein; 3 g fiber; 408 mg sodium; 242 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A & Vitamin C (20% daily value).
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 vegetable, 3 very lean meat, 1/2 high-fat meat

SETS AND REPETITIONS

Repetitions are the number of times you perform a movement from the start position to the final position.
Example: A biceps curl you start with your hands down,  flex your arm getting the dumbell close to your shoulder then go down to the starting position. This is an example of one repetition (rep).

Set is a group of repetitions performed consecutively.
Example: If you perform a biceps curl 10 times consecutively then put the dumbell down then rest and perfom again, you just did two sets of ten repetitions or 2 x10.

Resting time is your interval time between sets, during this time you allow your circulation to remove substances that cause fatigue from the muscles allowing you to perform the other sets .
Resting between sets is not necessary but I recommend.

Stay connected on Wellness Factor for more!

EXERCISE TODAY

Triceps Extension with Elastic Band

Nobody likes to have flabby arms. In looking forward to help you get  your Triceps in shape I chose an exercise that targets your triceps and is very easy to do.

Muscle target: Triceps

http://swim.isport.com/swimming-guides/resistance-band-exercises-for-swimming

1. Grab the elastic band on each end. 
2. Place one hand on the bottom of your spine(this hand will remain fixed, do not move)
3. Place the other hand behind your head
4. Extend your arm pointing to the sky stretching the elastic band
5. Slowly put your hand back behind your head and repeat the movement

 If you start to feel any type of pain which does not come from exhausting your triceps, you should stop. 

Enjoy this exercise!

EXERCISE TODAY

BICEPS CURL

This is an easy exercise to execute that will help you get your biceps in shape.
Muscle target: Biceps Brachii

• Stand with feet hips width apart
• Slightly bend your knees and keep you back straight 
• Hands in supinated position (facing upwards)
• Raise the weights until your palms face your shoulders
• Return to initial position

MULTI VITAMIN AND MINERAL COMPLEX

Everyone knows that our food is not as as it used to be many years ago. Fruits and vegetables and other types of food are losing their nutritional en route to the stores. Some products are in transit for long periods of time before arriving to the stores where they will be sold. Perishable products undergo certain treatments which will make their shelf life longer and by the time they arrive they have lost most of the properties that would make them beneficial when consuming. 

Burgers, pizzas, fast foods and prepackaged foods do not have the nutritional value that we should offer to bodies. The food industry has changed and added ingredients to the products that we buy at the stores in order to prolong the shelf life of foods in order to fill the demand without sacrificing their profit margins. Unless you have a true understanding of what your nutritional needs are you may not be eating the correct combination of foods that you should in order to offer your body all the vitamins and minerals to be healthy. One excellent way of learning how to eat the necessary foods is by consulting a nutritionist who will prepare a nutritional plan for you to follow.

Multi vitamin and mineral complex were created in order to assist you in giving your body what you may be lacking to give it through your nutritional intake. Vitamins and mineral supplements contain defined amounts in order to keep your levels where they should be.

SOFT DRINKS

Much money is spent on commercials aimed at instilling in people the desire to drink a soft drink. Soft drink companies produce commercials to sell their product by using celebrities and sports stars who captivate children's and young people's attention and whose image has a strong bearing of what they will drink. Many parents have lost their total power of influence over their kids.
Sixty dollars ($60) of sugary syrup brought in $4,800.00 worth of soda sales!
Read more: http://dherbs.com/articles/dangers-drinking-soda-127.html#ixzz1nnnDqLtX 


Soft drinks are beverage drinks that may contain sugar, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, aspartame,citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium poluphosphates, potassium sorbate, benzene and many other substances that are not good for humans. The substances that can be found in soft drinks do not offer nutritional value, they are substances which make cause addiction and are harmful to your health. Some of the health problems associated with drinking soft drinks are: Bone mass loss, diabetes,obesity, dental decay,hypokalemia, brain development, DNA damage and this list goes on and on. It is certain many people do not imagine how damaging it is for humans. We are killing ourselves.

Soda pop (regardless of the kind or brand) is 100% acid forming! It has a pH balance of 2. This is a very low pH number.

Our bodies were made to have a natural pH balance of 7.3, which is slightly alkaline. A pH of 6 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 7. A pH of 5 is 100 times more acidic than a pH of 7. A pH of 4 is 1,000 times more acidic than a pH of 7. A pH of 3 is 10,000 times more acidic than a pH of 7. And a pH of 2 is 100,000 times more acidic than a pH of 7.

Read more: http://dherbs.com/articles/dangers-drinking-soda-127.html#ixzz1nntx0iGe

One more topic bringing you into the reality of what we live.
Wellness Factor opening your eyes again!