Your 12-week Jump Start To Regular Exercise!

 

• Regular physical activity can prevent and treat type 2 diabetes, improve glucose control, positively affect blood fat levels, blood pressure, improve cardiovascular disease and improve mortality.
  
  
• These improvements are because of the short and long term benefits of exercise on insulin activity.
  
  
• Most of these benefits are accomplished with a combination of aerobic and resistance exercises.
  
  
• The experts recommend at least 150 minutes of AEROBIC exercise each week, spread out over a minimum of 3 days, with no more than 2 consecutive days between physical activity.
  
  
• RESISTANCE TRAINING should  ALSO be done at least 2ce a week - ideally 3 x per week - every other day. See below for examples of resistance exercises that anyone can do..If you're just starting out, get a personal trainer to guide you to make sure you don't injure yourself, until you get the moves right.
  
  
• Using a pedometer regularly is a good idea as it helps you quantify your progress when you set a measurable goal eg to walk 10000 steps per day. Also, a study found that people who used a pedometer increased their physical activity by 27% over their baseline.
  
  
• You must exercise regularly to get the full benefits of it.
  
  
• Exercise improves your insulin activity for 2-72 hours after the exercise. It's got to be moderate to vigorous exercise to be of benefit.
  
  
• If you lead a sedentary life, you need a pre-exercise assessment if you plan to do exercise more than brisk walking. Visit your doctor and ask them to arrange this.
  
  
• If you are at high risk of cardiovascular disease (get your doctor to confirm this), and you have no symptoms, you may benefit from having an Exercise Stress ECG done before you commence your improved exercise program.
  
  
• Works best also if you're part of a support system of one or more people...

About Those Resistance Exercises...

Here's the link to a post I wrote, with pictures of 6 simple resistance training exercises you can do every other day...
Strength Training Blog Post

As For Aerobic Exercises...

Examples include:

• Walking
• Skipping Rope (great because it's both aerobic and resistance training...)
• Climbing up and down your stairs at home
• Cross trainer
• Treadmill
• Swimming
• Running
• Sports eg tennis, basketball, football, martial arts...

There are others of course. The point is you've got to pick one you enjoy and can stick to. Then do it for up to 150 minutes per week (break it down to say 30 minutes per day) - and add resistance training every other day to the mix. Feel free to vary your workout routine so you don't get bored.

Getting Started...First, choose your preferred aerobic activity or activities

• Break it down into baby steps.
  
  
• If you've been sedentary, don't expect to be able to easily exercise for 30 minutes each day from day 1.
  
  
• Start with 5 minutes of aerobic activity each day. This will get you into the habit of doing something each day. Setting aside a regular time to do it each day, works best for some people.
  
  
• When you've done 5 minutes exercise each day for 1 week, upgrade to 10 minutes each day.
   
• Do this for 2 weeks.
  
  
• Upgrade to 15 minutes each day
  
  
• Add in resistance training every other day: aim to go through the 6 exercises I mention in the article at least once every other day.
  
  
• Stick with 15 minutes aerobics daily and resistance training every other day - for 3 weeks
  
  
• After 3 weeks, upgrade your aerobics time to 20 minutes daily
  
  
• Stick with this for 4 weeks
  
  
• After 4 weeks, upgrade to 25 minutes of aerobic activity daily
  
  
• Do this for 2 weeks
  
  
• After 2 weeks, upgrade to 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily
  
  
• CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  You've just completed a 12-week jumpstart to a regular exercise program that has been proven to improve your blood sugar, blood pressure, reduce LDL cholesterol and improve quality of life overall!
  
  
• By now regular exercise should be a habit for you. You can't remember or imagine what your life was like without it.
  
  
• Now hook up that pedometer and let's see how many steps your 30 minutes get you. If you're not walking 10000 steps in your 30 minutes you'll need to gradually increase until you do.

A Better Way...High Intensity Interval Training

At this point you may be ready to try out a type of exercise that's more efficient especially timewise, than the regular aerobic you're used to doing. It's called 'High Intensity Interval Training' (HIIT): this is where you take your chosen aerobic activity and do it as hard and fast as you possibly can, for about a minute, then slow down for the next couple minutes, followed by another minute of high intensity workout.

Note that there are two ways to raise the intensity of your workout, so you can choose the method that suits you best:

a) You could increase your speed to the maximum you're able to do, and maintain that maximum speed for a minute then slow down for the next couple minutes, repeating the cycle for about 8 times.

b) You could increase the resistance against which you are moving, keeping the speed constant, to the highest level of resistance you're able to work against, maintaining this level of resistant work for a minute, then reducing it back to a regularly manageable level for a couple minutes. Again, aim for a cycle of about 8 minutes.

HIIT benefits you not only while you're working out, but also for at least 24hours AFTER such a session. And a complete total body resistance and aerobic workout (which is what you get from HIIT), lasts less than 30 minutes! You'd be adviced to do this every other day though - give your body time to recover in the in-between period.

Here's wishing you a fit, healthy and happy new year!

The Trouble With Fluoride

For years, fluoride has been touted as being good for your teeth. For this reason it's been included in your drinking water (anybody find anything wrong with the concept of being given a drug without your informed consent?...Whatever happened to freedom of choice in this matter? I say if you're going to include an industrial toxin in my drinking water at least let me know so I can choose an alternative source of drinking water!).

There is ample evidence to show that even at the low concentrations found in drinking water, fluoride is harmful to the body.

Here are some facts about fluoride, you need to be aware: ignorance can be deadly.

First, here's a quick video from the Fluoride Action Network (http://www.fluoridealert.org/).

• Fluoride is a poison (more acutely poisonous than lead), which is why your fluoride-containing toothpaste carries a warning that if you accidentally swallow it you must contact the Poisons Control Centre asap!
  
  
• Fluoride disrupts major hormones such as your thyroid hormone
  
  
• Fluoride suppresses thyroid function - up until just the 1970s it was used in Europe to treat over-active thyroids...could this be why there is a huge number of hypothyroid people today?...(FYI, symptoms of hypothyroidism include weight gain, lethargy/fatigue/tired all the time, depression, etc - if you have any of these symptoms get your doctor to send you for a blood test to make sure an underactive thyroid is not the cause...)
  
  
• Fluoride reduces cellular energy (Archives of Oral Biology vol 27, 1982)
  
  
• Fluoride in kids leads to enamel damage, the so-called 'dental fluorosis' (see the videos below)
  
  
• Fluoride accumulates in the Pineal gland, which secretes melatonin, and disrupts melatonin production. Melatonin influences the onset of puberty. Could this be the reason we're seeing more and more early puberty in this day and age? Altered melatonin has also been linked with increased risk of Alzeheimer's dementia, cancer and other diseases.
  
  
• Fluoride causes bone damage known as skeletal fluorosis which can mimic osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
  
  
• Fluoride decreases IQ. There have been at least 24 published studies showing the link between repeated fluoride exposure and reduced IQ. Yes folks your drinking water is making you dumber!
  
• China does not allow fluoridation of their water because of the dangers of fluoride.

From Australia:

Is there Any good about Fluoride?

Well, according to the Fluoride Action Network, the current consensus in dental research circles is that:

Fluoride's (possibly only) benefit comes from applying it directly to the teeth, not from ingesting it.

Yet, recent large scale studies have found little difference in tooth decay in communities with fluoridated water and those without...

From the UK CAF (Council Against Fluoride http://www.ukcaf.org/)




So What Do You Do About It?
If you wish to reduce the level of fluoride you ingest:
a) Use a fluoride-free toothpaste.
b) Filter your water with a Reverse Osmosis filter
c) Limit your intake of foods and drinks that contain fluoride eg teas (Black, green...)



But How Do You Then Keep Your Teeth Healthy?
By eliminating sugars and highly processed foods from your diet and brushing regularly with a fluoride free toothpaste!


You have been informed.


The choice is yours what you do with this information!

My First GREEN Smoothie :)

My first Green Smoothie! Yum!!
Packed full of nutrients and fiber as fresh as can be, and oh so filling!

Ingredients (all raw): 

• Broccoli 
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Apples
• Ginger
• Coconut milk

All you need is a good blender: chop the veggies and apples into small pieces (roughly the size of small ice cubes, put them all in the blender, add enough coconut milk to give the smoothie the degree of thickness you're comfortable with.

Play around with all sorts of raw veggie combinations, sweetening with some fruit, to make it more palatable.

Have fun with it, that's the main thing. Variety is also key, and keeps you from getting bored.

Now you have another way to pack in your '5-a day' in one glass! After this glass, any other veg or fruit you eat that day (eg the salad I had for lunch or the steamed veg i had with salmon for dinner) is just a bonus!

How about you? Have you tried any green smoothie combination? Do share your ideas below!

Top Ten Health Benefits of Whole Body Vibration...

Whole Body Vibration 
When I first saw a Power Plate in the gym... I was skeptical and wondered what this new fangled gizmo was all about, didn't think it could do anything - mind you I had no idea what it was or what it did, I had not done any due diligence to find out about it...my initial opinion was based purely on ignorance! Even after having a few goes on it as encouraged by my Personal Trainer (who didn't explain what the heck it was supposed to be doing for me...perhaps also due to ignorance?), I wasn't convinced.

However since I pride myself on being open minded, I decided to read up on it, see if there was any basis for its existence.

What I found impressed me so much, the evidence was so thoroughly convincing I had to get one of my own to use as I pleased, at home, as part of my exercise routine. My aim in writing this post, is to give you an overview of this piece of equipment so you can decide whether or not you'd like to use it next time you're at the gym or leisure centre.

WBV takes advantage of Newton's second law: Force = Mass x Acceleration.
It does it in such a way that you can achieve significant amount of fitness working out for just minutes a day. So if one of your excuses for not exercising is 'I don't have the time to exercise', read on cos after reading this article, you've got no more excuses buddy!

In conventional exercise, when you do weight training in order to improve your strength (Force), you challenge yourself by increasing the amount of weights you lift (ie you increase the mass you apply.) According to Newton's Law, if you increase the mass being applied, you get an increase in Force (Strength).

So that's all good. Whole Body Vibration, however, (WBV from now on), takes advantage of the 'Acceleration' side of the equation.  That's why it's also known as 'Acceleration Training'.  The machine you do this on is known as a Vibration Plate or a Power Plate, as made popular by the Power Plate brand. 

Before describing what this all means, here's how the machine looks:

My preferred brand (based on extensive research and comparison with other leading brands) is the JTX Pro-10, which looks like this:

WBV causes contraction of 95% or more of all your (individual) muscle fibres by vibrating at an accelerated rate. This is something you can't achieve by doing the regular strength training you'd do with weights. Having said this, I like to turbo charge my sessions by also doing weight training with weights while working on the plate (using the plate as the floor - this boosts each workout and gives me a much greater benefit per time...), however working out on the plate as is, gives you an enhanced and efficient workout, and you achieve in 10-20 minutes what you'd spend an hour in the gym (or on conventional exercise) trying to achieve.

There'll be more on how it works etc if you'd like me to write about it but for now let's cut to the chase and tell you what's in it for you - the true health benefits of WBV:

1. Increased bone density
2. Increased muscle mass and tone
3. Improved circulation - both blood and lymph
4. Weight management: you get to release excess fat as your metabolism is increased and more efficient...
5. Hormonal balance (decreases levels of stress hormone cortisol, increases levels of other hormones which help you look and feel good, fit and full of vitality (endorphins, serotonin, growth hormone, etc)
6. Decreases cellulite (likely due to its effect on improving circulation_
7. Improved physical performance 
8. Reduced pain and faster recovery after workouts, as well as for rehabilitation and recovery post-op
9. Improved balance and stability
10. Gives you a great massage too if you wish!

There are many more benefits, I just picked out my top 10. You can achieve these benefits by working out for just 10-20 minutes per day on your plate.

I'm particularly glad I got one because now that I'm recovering from major surgery and am not allowed to do my regular exercise just yet, I still get the full benefit with less strain on my body, by using my JTX Pro 10 plate. Then I round up my session with a massage. It's fantastic! Always ask your doctor though, if it's okay for you to use this machine, and if you've had any surgery, make sure you get the all-clear from your surgeon that you can do this.

Warning: Don't use the power plate if any of the following applies to you:

• pregnant
• pacemaker
• epilepsy
• metal or other implant eg in joints
• recent IUCD insertion
• severe heart failure or heart disease
• severe hypertension
• blood clots
• tumors which have chance of spreading
• recent surgery (less than 6 weeks) or wounds.

Otherwise it's a good way to get a whole body workout in a short time.

Pop into your local leisure centre and ask to be shown how to use one, see for yourself if the benefits listed above are things you wish to invest the time working for.

'Fat-free' or 'Low Fat' makes you FAT!

The 'Fat-free' Myth

The other day when I went grocery shopping, I decided to, for the fun of it, look through the labels of some 'fat-free' or 'low-fat' products at random, to reconfirm that what I teach and talk about is still the case. I was hoping things had changed, as information about true health is more available today than at any other time in our history...

Sure enough: every single one of those 'fat-free' or 'low fat' items had 'sugar' listed either as the first ingredient or the second one. (Remember that ingredients are listed in order of how much of each one is contained in a product - so if sugar is listed first, just know that your product is really just sugar with bits of other things added to it.)

I find it amazing that people still fall for this deception - they must still fall for it otherwise all these 'fat-free' and 'low-fat' things would not be on our shelves.

So here's the skinny on fat, folks - after today you cannot use ignorance as your excuse for continuing in this craziness.

Sugar makes you fat, not dietary fat.

(Bear in mind that trans-fats though, the sort found in margarine, and the sort of fat which vegetable oil turns into when it's heated...is dangerous for other health reasons such as cardiovascular disease...but it's not what makes you fat. Dietary saturated fats from healthy sources eg coconut oil, fat from grass-fed, hormone-free, antibiotic-free animals - actually serve numerous health functions, and can help you lose weight while you're at it...but that's for another post.)

 When you eat sugar, it triggers the release of insulin, a hormone which, among other functions, serves as a fat storage hormone; excess sugar gets converted to fat (the bad kind, including the so-called 'bad cholesterol'), which gets stored around your belly, and worse still - around your vital organs, not to mention the damage it causes your blood vessels.

Your sugar fix also suppresses the hormone glucagon, which among other functions, releases excess fat from your body.

So when you buy 'fat-free' or 'low-fat' products (you should always read the labels at the back to find out what you're really buying) - you're not really buying fat-free or low-fat. The sugar gets converted to fat which gets stored around your belly and is difficult to shift (not impossible, just more difficult). When you buy these products, you're actually buying 'unhealthy-fat' products. Nothing healthy about those products at all.

This is why your cholesterol levels reduce when you stop taking these products. It's also one reason why your healthy lifestyle efforts become more successful when you stop taking them.

Refuse to be fooled by slick marketing folks. The truth sets you free from being overweight and sick, so act on it today.

Your take home message today therefore is this: 'Fat-free', 'Diet products' or 'Low Fat' products, actually, make you FAT.

He who has ears to hear and eyes to read and a mind to understand, should do so.

Read The 8 Pillars of A Healthy Life to get an overview of what you should be doing, if true health is what you wish to enjoy. Details of the pillar will be available on this blog. To find out when this happens, sign up for the Health and Success Newsletter over at www.doctorkem.comhttp://doctorkem.com/.

PS: 
Don't be fooled by 'sugar-free' either: if it contains aspartame or other such sweeteners, your health is in danger from these toxins too. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on this blog.

Spice Up Your Life with this Wonder Ingredient!

Today I'd like to share with you some fascinating information - just an overview really - about the humble but oh-so-amazing spice, Turmeric.

Originating in India, where it was possibly originally used as a dye, over the past few centuries and decades, the health benefits of turmeric continue to be unravelled.

So let me cut to the chase and give you the low down already.

The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, and it's the substance that gives curry its yellow colour.

There is growing evidence that shows the health benefits of turmeric include the following:

• Powerful antioxidant effects - stronger than vitamin E, vitamin C, grape seed extract, pine bark extract, able to mop up one of the most reactive oxidants known to man, the hydroxyl radical.
• Promoting healthy blood and liver functions
• Immune system booster
• Skin health and healing
• Digestive system help, helps regulate intestinal flora so great to take if you've just had a course of antibiotics or a bout of candida infection...
• Shown to prevent breast cancer from spreading to lungs in mice: curcumin has antioestrogenic effects, and as many breast cancers are oestrogen dependent, this shows great promise in preventing or at least halting progression of the disease
• Arrests prostate cancer progression, prevents prostate cancer when used with cauliflower
• Antiseptic, antibacterial
• Natural anti-inflammatory and pain killer: great for arthritis type of pain too
• Is thermogenic (as many spices are), meaning it boosts your metabolism and helps you burn calories, which can be useful in weight management...
• Shows great promise in treating other cancers.
• Supports overall eye health
• Helps you maintain normal cholesterol levels
• Helps you maintain normal blood sugar levels

These are just a few of the health benefits of turmeric. To enjoy these benefits you should have some turmeric every day in some form or other.



Turmeric in the news:

• 2004: Research done in Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago suggests that turmeric may have a protective effect against Leukaemia, which would explain the low incidence of this cancer in children in asian countries
  
  
• 2011: Research done in Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles shows that drug derived from turmeric may help the body repair some of the damage caused by stroke, in the immediate aftermath, once they found a way to make the curcumin cross the blood-brain barrier. According to the Stroke Association, this is the 'first significant research' showing that curcumin could help stroke patients. Human trials needed, as this study was done on rabbits...still very encouraging though.
  
  
• 2009: 'Eating Curry at least twice a week could slow down or prevent dementia' - paper presented at the Annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, by Prof Murali Doraiswamy from North Carolina, citing the ability of curcumin to prevent spread of amyloid protein plaques in the brain (these plaques are implicated in dementia...)
  
  
• 2009: British Journal of Cancer - Turmeric kills off cancer cells in the gullet within 24 hours...
  
• 2007: Cancer Res 2007 Mar 1:67(5):1988: "Curcumin ...has emerged as one of the most powerful chemopreventative and anticancer agents. It's biological effects range from antioxidant and anti-inflammatory to inhibition of angiogenesis, and is shown to possess specific anti-tumoral activity."

Now that you have this information, what do you do with it? Here, let me help you out...

a) Where should you get your turmeric?
- Not necessarily in your local grocery store 'spice' rack, as this likely has the highly processed form of this spice, which is devoid of the health benefits listed above.

- Look for an organic source; if the one available to you cannot prove certified organic you may risk missing out on the health benefits of turmeric.

- Whenever possible, buy the actual root itself, ideally organically grown (this is available in some local grocery stores if you search carefully...otherwise health food shops may stock this.)

- If all else fails, find yourself a 'certified organically grown' turmeric supplement but please make sure it doesn't contain such chemicals and potential toxins as Magnesium Stearate, Dibasic Calcium Phosphate and other such substances with big sounding names.


b) How much turmeric per day, and how should you take it?
- You can take it in various ways, the principle to bear in mind is that you want to take it as close to its raw state as possible so if for instance you use it for cooking, add it to the meal when it's nearly ready to be eaten, rather than at the start of the cooking.

- So you can use it for cooking as described above: so many recipes are available to give you ideas on ways to use it. I use it to cook pretty much everything: chicken curries, egg salads, you name it.

- Or you can make a tea with the powder and drink it 2-3 times daily between meals. For this you'd need to use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of the powder in a cup/pot, pour boiling water over it, let it infuse for about 5 minutes and drink. You could use honey as a sweetener but if you need to avoid sweeteners you can use Stevia instead to give it some taste. You could also add ginger to the tea for that extra 'kick'.

- You could also make a great tea by boiling the root directly and drinking the brew from there. Yum!

- Or you could take it a as a supplement, in which case you should take 250-500mg three times a day.


c) Are there any contraindications to taking turmeric?
- Don't take this without your doctor's advice, if you suffer from gall stones or biliary obstruction

- If you are on blood thinning medication you shouldn't take turmeric without your doctor's advice, as it's got blood thinning properties itself, and slows down clotting of blood

- If you're pregnant, talk to your doctor before taking turmeric as it can stimulate your uterus...Having said this, turmeric has been taken for millenia by pregnant women with no untoward effect. However it's just good practice that you should consult your doctor before you introduce anything new to your lifestyle if you are pregnant or otherwise unwell.

- "Curcumin has an outstanding safety profile and a number of multi-functional actions ..." Phase I clinical trials, using massive doses of curcumin, or turmeric extract (up to 8 grams/day for four months) "did not result in discernable toxicities."

Source: Adv Exp Med Biol 2007;565:471




Questions, Comments?
If you have any comments, questions or recipe ideas to do with turmeric, do please share in the space provided, thanks!

Book Review: The Healthy Home...

Dave Wentz and his dad, Dr Myron Wentz have written a very important book for our times. "The Healthy Home", written in a pleasant, reader-friendly and easy to understand way, walks you through every room in your house, highlighting the hidden dangers there AND offering practical, realistic solutions to help you overcome those dangers.

I've just read through it but will read it again just to make sure I pick up even more points to act on.

Grab your copy from amazon today!

100% of the proceeds from sales of the book go to charity.