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5 Tips
Showing posts with label hormones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hormones. Show all posts

Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Are There Over 20 Nasty Chemicals in Your Burgers?


The "bionic burger" that won't decompose even after 18 years?  Even mould and bacteria refuse to eat this...
by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers:  
The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

The story below may be a bit embellished to make the video more dramatic, and it's an actor in the video, but it's based on a real story of a man that kept fast food burgers in his basement to study them for breakdown.   I think we all know that there are some major issues with the sources of food in popular fast food chains, and the amount of pesticide residues, hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, and other nasty chemicals in typical fast food meals.  Check this story out, and feel free to send this page to your friends too:



Now I know that the story in that video may sound a bit embellished, and it is on purpose to get their point across, but it is based on a true story...I've also seen news stories of dozens of these types of informal experiments that random people have done over the years with popular fast food burgers that won't decompose even after years in their basement.
Seriously, if even mould refuses to consume these burgers and buns, is this really something that we (and our children) should be putting in our bodies?  What chemicals, preservatives, etc are in this fast food that is preventing even mould and bacteria from being able to consume this "food"?
And can we really consider this to be real "food" at all?
Here's another example of these types of experiments below... about half way through this video, you see some shocking examples that this woman kept from her own experiments:





I hope this gives you something to think about in terms of what we are putting inside our bodies if we choose to consume fast food.  Don't we deserve better?  Don't our children deserve better food?
I personally have not eaten a meal at any of the major fast food chains in years.  I will eat burgers sometimes, but only from restaurants that use higher quality ingredients.  And at home, I choose to only use grass-fed organic beef, as we've discussed the superior nutrition of grass-fed beef dozens of times in this newsletter previously.

Please share this article with your friends and family to help them avoid the nutritional disaster lurking in fast-food.


Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Can Timing Your Food The Right Way REALLY Help You BOOST Your Metabolism and Lose More Weight?

3 VERY Unusual Food Timing Tricks That STOP Fat Storage & KILL Belly Fat…

By Shaun and Karen Hadsall
Best Selling Nutrition Authors & Stubborn Fat Experts


Did you know that when you eat food at the wrong times, it can literally Shaun Hadsallmake
ALL the difference between losing fat or gaining fat?

In fact, if you don't understand proper meal timing, it can SLOW down your metabolism, destroy your energy levels, and STOP your body from using fat as fuel, which means the majority of calories you eat TODAY could easily be stored as belly fat making you fatter and fatter with every bite.
 
Simply put, if you eat food at the wrong times, you'll STORE fat, but if you eat food at the right times, you'll keep your body BURNING fat.

Did you also know that traditional food timing recommendations, like "don't skip breakfast"… or "don't eat late at night"…or "make sure to eat before exercise" are ALL complete myths?

Contrary to popular belief, you should intentionally BREAK all 3 of these traditional "diet rules" if your goals are to look younger, increase your fat loss, and boost energy levels.

As with most weight loss topics, the contradicting information is everywhere when it comes to the subject of food timing and losing unsightly belly fat.

However, if you understand these 3 VERY unusual food timing tricks below, you'll NEVER have to worry about storing the calories you eat as fat on your body.

All you have to do is follow these 3 simple steps to ensure that EVERY time you eat your favorite foods you'll speed up calorie burning, STOP your metabolism from slowing down, and keep your body's fat burning hormones at optimal levels day in and day out.
 
But please proceed with caution: these 3 tricks are NEVER talked about or recommended by dieticians or personal trainers, so they go completely against the grain and are often considered HIGHLY controversial.

The 3 controversial food timing tricks below reveal exactly how you can STOP FAT STORAGE and
REPROGRAM your body to STAY in
"fat burning mode" every time you eat or exercise…

Below, you'll find all 3 tricks, and you'll also discover how easy it can be to time your food intake to help BOOST your metabolism, increase your anti-aging hormones, while keeping your body in a fat burning environment 24/7.

Food Timing Trick #1:
SKIP Breakfast (it INCREASES your fat storing hormones)

Adaptive Response
Breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day - right?

Our culture has bought into the fact that if we don't eat breakfast our metabolism will slow down, we'll get intense cravings, lose energy, and it will be harder to lose weight and burn fat

But published scientific research is now proving otherwise. Here are 3 myths we've all been programmed to believe about eating breakfast for long term health and weight loss.

MYTH #1: Breakfast Increases Your Metabolism

The whole idea that not eating a big breakfast will somehow slow down your metabolism is simply not true.
In a recent paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition [1], researchers delved into dozens of studies to uncover the relationship between eating breakfast and increased metabolic rate.

The researchers divided 309 overweight and obese (but otherwise healthy adults) into two groups to specifically find out whether eating or not eating breakfast had any impact on weight loss. After 16 weeks, the researchers found absolutely NO difference in weight loss between the groups.

The researchers concluded that breakfast being the most important meal of the day is merely nothing but a shared belief. That's it. In other words, there is ZERO long term research indicating or proving that eating breakfast leads to lower body fat or increased metabolism.

MYTH #2: Eating Breakfast Helps Control Your Hunger

In fact, the exact opposite happens.

Typical breakfast foods like orange juice and wheat toast will spike insulin levels, sending your fat storage hormones soaring SKY high, making you go on a hunger binge—all while putting your body directly into a fat STORING environment.

MYTH #3: Breakfast Helps You Control Weight And Lose Fat

There are tons of studies out there that claim eating a big, well balanced breakfast helps promote weight loss. But in reality there are NO long term studies that show a direct correlation between eating breakfast and weight loss.
In fact, according to Time Magazine [3]….
 
"...contrary to popular belief, having breakfast every day was NOT tied to an improvement in metabolism. Prior thought—supported by research—has shown that eating early in the day can prevent people from overeating later out of hunger, and it boosts their metabolism early. The new study which examined causal links between breakfast habits and energy balance did NOT prove that."

Bottom Line: Eating Breakfast Does NOT Aid Weight Loss Efforts

In fact, SKIPPING breakfast altogether (a form of intermittent fasting) and eating your calories later in the day, say between 11am to 7pm or 12pm to 8pm, has been shown to increase anti-aging Growth Hormone [4], while BOOSTING your immune system [5] and regulating your hunger hormone (Ghrelin).

It also normalizes insulin sensitivity, balances leptin levels (i.e. your #1 fat burning hormone), and even reduces oxidative stress by decreasing free radicals, helping you LOOK younger.

Mounting evidence also confirms that when you skip breakfast and use some form of intermittent fasting, your body becomes adapted to burning FAT (instead of sugar) as its primary fuel, which can make you LEANER, while dramatically reducing your risk of chronic disease.

And for all you breakfast lovers out there? Feel free to have a "light" breakfast, but make sure you AVOID traditional high carb breakfast foods that spike your insulin like bagels, toast, and orange juice.
 
Stick with light protein sources, like farm fresh whole eggs, along with some low glycemic fruits (like berries or cherries). This will help keep your body in "fat burning mode" for the rest of the day.

Food Timing Trick #2:
NEVER Eat Food BEFORE You Exercise (it STOPS your body from burning fat)

STOP Avoiding Intensity Eating a balanced meal before exercise is often HIGHLY recommended and considered a "healthy" choice to help you lose weight, but in reality it can actually STOP your body from burning fat

Even when you eat healthy food before exercise you'll still raise insulin (your body's #1 STORAGE hormone), which BLOCKS your body's ability to burn fat.

Additionally, if you eat before exercise your body will be so busy digesting and burning off the food you just ate, which is great if you're a bodybuilder looking to gain muscle—but it makes it impossible for you use fat as a fuel source.

Instead, the BEST time to eat food is at LEAST 3 to 4 hours before you exercise. This will ensure there is enough time after you eat to allow insulin levels to stabilize, which will KEEP your body in a fat BURNING environment before, during, and after your workouts.

In fact, recent research suggests "fasting" before exercise may help you shed fat, which is exactly what my wife Karen and I do to stay lean and younger looking. This happens because your body's fat burning processes are controlled by your sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which is "activated" by two things: exercise and lack of food. The combination of fasting and exercising together increases the breakdown of fat and glycogen for energy.

Food Timing Trick #3:
Eat Late At Night (even BEFORE bed if you want!)

Are you paranoid or afraid of eating late at night from the fear of gaining unwanted weight?

Well, there is really only ONE reason not eating after 6pm will help you lose more weight. You automatically end up eating LESS, which creates more of a calorie deficit. It's really that simple. It has NOTHING to do with eating late at night.

As long as you fast for a few hours before bed to let blood sugar levels return to normal levels before going to bed, which helps you release more Growth Hormone while you sleep… you can feel free to eat your biggest meal of the day well after 6pm if you want.

Believe it or not, Karen and I intentionally eat our LARGEST meal of the day between 7pm and 9pm for a variety of reasons that contribute to our health and fat loss goals.

But unfortunately, most people have been misled so they'll continue to consume their food and meals at the WRONG times, wreaking havoc on their metabolisms, suppressing their fat-burning hormones, and STOPPING their body from using fat as fuel – WITHOUT even knowing it.


It's backed by scientific research, and it's one of the easiest and safest ways to visually SEE your belly get flatter in as little as 7 short days WITHOUT strict, complicated diets or the pain and suffering of traditional crash dieting.

It's safe for ANY man or woman of ANY age, it works incredibly FAST, and it's one of the quickest ways to get a flat, attractive belly  WITHOUT long, boring exercise sessions or worrying about WHEN you eat your food.

Want to find out what foods you should have in your kitchen cupboards, and what foods you should avoid at all costs if you want to lose body fat? CLICK HERE




1. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 4, 2014 [Epub ahead of print]
2. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 5, 2014 [Epub ahead of print] (PDF)
3. Time Magazine June 6, 2014
4. Eurekalert April 3, 2011
5. Daily Life June 6, 2014

Friday, 7 August 2015

Simple 30-second trick BOOSTS your metabolism (Do this daily for best results)

Do THIS daily to not only boost your metabolism, but also detox your body, balance your hormones, increase your immunity, and boost your energy
By Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Fitness Specialist &
Jeff Anderson - Weight Loss Coach
Authors of the best-seller: Do This, Burn Fat


  Did you know you actually have more than one type of fat in your body?  Sounds strange doesn't it?  Fat is fat, right?  If you look at yourself in the mirror and see something that jiggles... it's fat, right?
Well, the truth is that scienctists have actually discovered your body has more than one type of fat, and the really cool thing is that the amount of each "type" of fat actually changes as you age.
For the purposes of this article, we're only going to discuss 2 different types of body fat:
“White Fat” and “Brown Fat”
The White Fat tissue is what you usually think of as “fat” - the kind of fat that sits on your hips, butt, belly, and thighs.
It’s the fat most people are desperately trying to get rid of through diet and exercise.
Brown Fat Tissue, on the other hand, contains a much higher concentration of something called mitochondria, which are like “mini power stations” in your body and one of their roles is to literally burn fat to be used for energy…
When this happens, heat is generated from the cells and this is actually the primary reason brown fat is on your body in the first place.
You see, from the time you were a baby, Brown Fat has acted as a natural heating system for your body.
This is why babies have a higher ratio of active brown fat cells.  When they get cold, Brown Fat is “activated” to begin burning fatty tissue throughout the body.  Generating heat and warming them up from the inside
Now it was thought that brown fat only occurred in newborn babies, and was lost with age, but recent research has shown that this is NOT the case, but that in adults our Brown “baby” fat is simply lying dormant
Imagine if you could trigger your body’s natural stores of brown fat
to once again stoke the coals of your metabolism and begin
generating "internal heat" 
This would allow you to almost effortlessly melt away that extra layer of fat sitting on your stomach, butt, or thighs you’ve been trying so hard to lose for so long
You’d have a weight loss miracle on your hands, right?
That is why the pharmaceutical companies are working around the clock to create a pill that will use your body’s natural Brown Fat stores to active fat-burning
If they succeed, it will make them millions… probably BILLIONS!
Little do they know that the ancient yogis of India had already
discovered the secret to activating brown fat stores in an ancient
natural health technique that not only melts away unwanted body fat
But recent research has also shown to:
  • Decrease blood pressure
  • Detox your body
  • Increase your immunity
  • Supercharge your endocrine system to naturally balance your hormones…
… and I want to share this simple technique with you right NOW!
You see, you can accomplish this same amazing weight loss feat by simply standing under a cold shower for as little as about 30-seconds.
That’s it!!
Now hold on…
Before you click away vowing that this is much too extreme for you and you could NEVER take a cold shower, let me tell you WHY this works so incredibly well…
And then I’ll explain how you can easily make this a part of your daily routine and harness its powerful effects without feeling like a polar bear.
First, the why…
Brown Fat’s role is to act as a “rapid reaction force” that signals your body’s fat cells to generate heat when it feels cold, right?
That heat literally melts fat in its place
as it’s used for the energy you need to keep you warm
By standing under cold water, your Brown Fat cells are instantly called into action to tell the body you need to get warm and to start generating heat
This is why when you jump into a cold lake or pool you initially feel like you’re freezing, but in less than a minute or so you don’t even notice the cold at all.
It’s not that the lake or pool got warmer - Your body is simply responding by triggering the mitochondria of your fat cells to generate internal heat while your heart pumps that heat to your skin to warm you up.
As this happens your capillaries are expanded, and toxins are flushed out of your system allowing fresh, oxygenated blood to be circulated throughout your body, revitalizing your organs and invigorating the glands of your endocrine system
In essence, not only have you turbo charged
your body’s fat burning metabolism, but your
entire body gets an “instant tune up” that will
leave you feeling energized throughout the entire day!
Now, how to make this a super simple task that you won’t dread each day…
First, your body’s Brown Fat is for the most part located in your neck, upper chest, and back area so this is where you need to focus on primarily when in the shower.
Here’s all you need to do to ignite your Brown Fat…
First, start with a warm, but NOT hot, shower to begin your day, and then at the end of your shower, slowly begin to make the water cooler and cooler.
When the water is very cool, but not yet cold, simply turn off the hot water completely and allow the cold water to rain gently on your shoulders, chest and back - invigorating your body
It literally only takes about 30 seconds to benefit from this activity, but you’ll soon find it so refreshing that you’ll want to stay in the cold water for up to several minutes.
Step out of the shower to towel off and you’ll instantly feel the difference in your body!
Now, I’m not going to promise you that this is a ‘miracle weight loss cure,’ but it will absolutely help you burn more fat, while also revitalizing your entire body - both inside and out
And the best part is it really takes no extra effort on your part.
Easy enough, right?
Here’s what you should do next…
While so many men and women are out there depriving themselves with trendy diets, and exercising to the point of exhaustion there are actually several little things you can do right now that can have an even bigger impact on your weight loss efforts.
In fact, I’ve put together 101 more short, powerful, and downright sneaky fat-burning tricks just like this one, and all of these scientifically proven weight loss tricks are just as easy (and sometimes easier) to implement as this one, and will all help you to see dramatic results in the mirror in the shortest time possible.
I've been helping busy men and women just like you for well over a decade (over 500,000 busy men and women actually...) and the most dramatic, and long-lasting results are ALWAYS seen by those who make many small changes to their lifestyle (like the tricks I'm going to share with you on the next page) - not the ones who attempt to make huge, dramatic changes.
Simple strategies like…
Trick #44 - The inexpensive everyday kitchen item (that every home has) that will reverse your body’s fat-storing efforts by nearly 30%!
Trick #73 - The 45-second exercise you can even do while lying in bed that has the power to strip off an entire inch off your waist in the next 30 days!
Trick #99 - The candle (yes candle) that can help maximize your body’s own natural release of age-defying, fat-melting growth hormone and have less fat on your body within the next 8 hours!

All you have to do to discover those tricks, and so many more, is head to the bottom of the Next Page...
There will be a amazing surprise for you, so you can discover all of the above.

Saturday, 13 June 2015

7 "FATTY" Foods that Can Help You to Get a Flat Stomach (some of these will surprise you!)

These 7 shocking Fatty (but healthy) super-foods can actually help you to burn body fat faster!
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

At this point, the anti-fat propaganda has died and almost everybody understands by now that eating fat doesn't necessarily make you fat.  In fact, it's absolutely imperative to get enough healthy fats in your diet to keep your hormones balanced, blood sugar under control, and prevent cravings.  Here are 7 examples of "fatty" foods that can actually HELP you to get lean...

healthy chocolate1.  Super Dark Chocolate (at least 72% cacao content or higher)
It might not be a secret anymore, but yes, dark chocolate (NOT milk chocolate) can be a very healthy food, even though it is technically calorie dense.
However, I would contend that dark chocolate can actually HELP you to burn off more body fat if you're the type of person that has a sweet tooth and likes to eat a lot of desserts.  In this case, just 1 or 2 small squares of dark chocolate can many times satisfy your sweet tooth for only 30 or 40 calories as opposed to 500 calories for a piece of chocolate cake or a piece of pie.
Also some brands of dark chocolate that are in the mid 70's in % cacao content or higher, can have a fairly high ratio of fiber content (I've seen some brands have 5 grams of fiber out of 15 grams of total carbs per serving), and relatively low sugar content compared to the amount of healthy fats.  In fact, that's one of the "tricks" I use to select a good quality chocolate... I look for more total fat than total carbs (or about the same number of grams of each).
The importance of that fact is that it means many dark chocolates will not greatly affect your blood sugar and will have a fairly blunted blood sugar response compared to other "sweets".
In addition, dark chocolate is also very rich in healthful antioxidants, including a powerful compound called theobromine which has been shown to help lower blood pressure and have other health benefits.  The fat content in a good dark chocolate should come solely from the natural healthy fats occuring in cocoa butter and not from any other added fats.  Any chocolates with added fats or other additives will generally not be as healthy.
The reason I say to choose dark chocolates with at least 72% cacao content is that the higher the % of cacao, the lower the % of sugar.  However, this does mean that any chocolate over 80% cacao content will generally start to get a more bitter taste and have very little sweetness.  If you like this type of taste, then the higher % cocao, the better. Otherwise, a good 75% dark chocolate is in my opinion an almost perfect combination of lightly sweet with a rich chocolate taste.  Just remember to keep those daily quantities of chocolate small as it is calorie dense!
You can also reap the benefits of the antioxidants and fiber without all of the calories by using organic unsweetened cocoa powder in your smoothies or other recipes.

coconuts have healthy fats2.  Coconut milk, coconut flour, and coconut oil
Coconut milk and oil are great sources of a super healthy type of saturated fat called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), including a component called lauric acid, which is a powerful nutrient for your immune system, and is lacking in most western diets.  In addition, MCTs are readily used for energy by the body and less likely to be stored as bodyfat compared to other types of fats.
Along with coconut milk and coconut oil as healthy fat choices, we've also got coconut flour as a healthier flour option for baking. Coconut flour is an extremely high fiber flour alternative (almost ALL of the carbs in this flour are fiber and not starch!).  Coconut flour is also VERY high in protein compared to most flours and is also gluten free!
Just beware that if you're going to use coconut flour for baking, it absolutely NEEDS to be mixed with other flours as it sucks up moisture like crazy... I've made delicious baked goods by mixing coconut flour with almond flour and quinoa flour in equal parts, and adding slightly more liquid ingredients than the recipe calls for.

healthy fats in butter3.  Grass-fed (pasture-raised) butter
Yes, delicious smooth and rich BUTTER (real butter, not deadly margarine!)... It's delicious, contains loads of healthy nutritional factors, and does NOT have to be avoided in order to get lean.  In fact, I eat a couple pats of grass-fed butter daily and maintain single digit bodyfat most times of the year.
There's a lot of confusion about this topic... in fact, I just saw a TV show today that was talking about unhealthy foods and one of the first things they showed was butter.  It just shows that the majority of the population has zero idea that butter (grass-fed only!) can actually be a healthy part of your diet.
In fact, there's even ample evidence that REAL butter can even help you to lose body fat for a couple of main reasons:
   a.  Grass-fed butter is known to have high levels of a healthy fat called CLA, which has been shown to have anti-cancer properties, and also has been shown to help burn abdominal fat and build lean muscle.
   b.  Grass-fed butter also has an ideal balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids (unlike conventional grain-fed butter) which helps fight inflammation in your body, and can help balance hormones.
   c.  The healthy fats in grass-fed butter also contain MCTs, which help to boost your immune system and are readily burned by the body for energy.  The healthy fats in grass-fed butter also help to satisfy your appetite and control blood sugar levels, both of which help you to stay lean!
If you have a hard time finding a grass-fed butter at your grocery store, Kerrygold Irish butter is one of my favorites, and even though the label doesn't clearly state "grass-fed", the cows are 100% grass-fed on lush green pastures in Ireland. It's one of the richest butters in color that I've seen, which indicates high levels of carotenoids.

whole egg nutrition to burn body fat4.  Whole Eggs, including the yolk (not just egg whites)
Most people know that eggs are one of the highest quality sources of protein.  However, most people don't know that the egg yolks are the healthiest part of the egg... that's where almost all of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (such as lutein) are found in eggs.
In fact, the egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids.  Also, the protein of whole eggs is more bio-available than egg whites alone due to a more balanced amino acid profile that the yolks help to build.
Just make sure to choose free-range organic eggs instead of normal grocery store eggs.  Similar to the grass-fed beef scenerio, the nutrient content of the eggs and the balance between healthy omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (in excess) is controlled by the diet of the hens.
Chickens that are allowed to roam free outside and eat a more natural diet will give you healthier, more nutrient-rich eggs with a healthier fat balance compared with your typical grocery store eggs (that came from chickens fed nothing but soy and corn and crowded inside "egg factories" all day long).

grass-fed beef healthier than grain-fed beef5.  Grass-fed beef or bison (NOT the typical grain-fed grocery store beef!)
I know most people think that red meat is unhealthy for you, but that's because they do not understand how the health of the animal affects how healthy the meat is for consumption.  Keep this in mind -- "an unhealthy animal provides unhealthy meat, but a healthy animal provides healthy meat".
Typical beef or bison that you see at the grocery store is raised on grains, mainly corn (and to some extent, soybeans). Soy and corn are NOT the natural diet of cattle or bison, and therefore changes the chemical balance of fats and other nutrients in the beef or bison.  Grain-fed beef and bison is typically WAY too high in omega-6 fats and WAY too low in omega-3 fats.  In addition, the practice of feeding cattle corn and soy as the main portion of their diet upsets their digestive system and makes them sick... and it also increases the amount of dangerous e-coli in the meat.  This is not the case with grass-fed meat.
grass-fed steaks, healthy fat burning foodOn the other hand, grass-fed beef from cattle and buffalo (or bison) that were raised on the type of natural foods that they were meant to eat in nature (grass and other forage), have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fats and lower levels of inflammatory omega-6 fats (that most people already eat way too much of) compared to grain fed beef or bison.
Grass fed meats also typically contain up to 3 times the Vitamin E as in grain fed meats.
In addition, grass-fed meat from healthy cattle or bison also contain a special healthy fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in MUCH higher levels than grain-fed meat.  CLA has been proven in scientific studies in recent years to help in burning fat and building lean muscle (which can help you lose weight!).  These benefits are on top of the fact that grass-fed meats are some of the highest quality proteins that you can possibly eat... and this also aids in burning fat and building lean muscle.
Grass-fed meats are a little harder to find, but just ask your butcher or find a specialty grocery store and they usually have cuts available.

avocados - healthy fats and high nutrition6.  Avocados
Even though avocados are typically thought of as a "fatty food", they are chock full of healthy fats!  Not only is this fruit (yes, surprisingly, avocados are actually a fruit) super-high in monounsaturated fat, but also chock full of vitamins, minerals, micro-nutrients, and antioxidants.
Also, in my opinion, guacamole (mashed avocados with garlic, onion, tomato, pepper, etc) is one of the most delicious food toppings ever created, and you can be happy to know that it's also one of the healthiest toppings you can use on your foods.  Try sliced avocados or guacamole on sandwiches, burgers, eggs or omelets, on salads or with fish, or as a delicious side to just about any meal.
The quality dose of healthy fats, fiber, and micronutrients that you get from avocados helps your body to maintain proper levels of hormones that help with fat loss and muscle building.  Also, since avocados are an extremely satiating food, eating them helps to reduce your appetite in the hours after your meal.  Say goodbye to junk food cravings and bring on that fat burning!  I personally eat anywhere from a half to a full avocado DAILY and it only helps to keep me lean.

nuts - more healthy foods to burn fat7.  Nuts:  Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Macadamias, etc  
Yes, this is yet another "fatty food" that can actually help you burn belly fat!  Although nuts are generally between 75-90% fat in terms of a ratio of fat calories to total calories, this is another type of food that is all healthy fats, along with high levels of micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.  Nuts are also a good source of fiber and protein, which of course, you know helps to control blood sugar and can aid in fat loss.
Nuts also help to maintain good levels of fat burning hormones in your body (adequate healthy fat intake is vitally important to hormone balance) as well as helping to control appetite and cravings so that you essentially eat less calories overall, even though you're consuming a high-fat food.  My favorite healthy nuts are pecans, pistachios, almonds, macadamias, and walnuts, and by eating them in variety, you help to broaden the types of vitamins and minerals and also the balance of polyunsaturated to monounsaturated fats you obtain.
Try to find raw nuts instead of roasted nuts if you can, as it helps to maintain the quality and nutritional content of the healthy fats that you will eat.
Also, try to broaden your horizons beyond the typical peanut butter that most people eat, and try almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, or macadamia butter to add variety to your diet.
One of the little "tricks" that I've used with clients when trying to cut down body fat is to have them eat a handful of nuts such as almonds or pecans about 20 minutes before lunch and dinner.  This ends up being a perfect time to control your appetite before lunch or dinner and helps you to eat less overall calories on that meal.
I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the healthiest "fatty" fat-burning foods you can possibly eat.  I could list a ton more, but wanted to give you a few of my favorites for now.  Enjoy!

But BEWARE...
Although these "fatty" foods may be a super-healthy choice for achieving your lean, strong, and energetic body... I've discovered that there are at least 23 popular foods that most people falsely think are "healthy", but they actually HARM your metabolism and pack on belly fat.

Discover what these metabolism-harming foods are on the next page:

These 23 "healthy" foods HARM your metabolism & pack on belly fat (avoid these!)

Friday, 31 October 2014

Drink this 2 hours before bed to sleep better (plus 5 tips for insomnia)

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of the best seller: The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

I've noticed in my travels and with working with clients that a large majority of people in today's fast-paced stressful world are struggling at least part of the time with falling asleep at night.
Over the years, I've also struggled on occasion with insomnia because of the stress placed on me by running a large publishing business.  And I've researched and learned quite a few tips and tricks over the years to help fight insomnia and fall asleep faster.
Without diving into every single technique I've learned over the years, I'll just touch on a few really simple, but powerful tips, foods, drinks, etc that I think can help you to fall asleep easier and faster too!
Here goes:
1.  The most important sleep tip to start with:
This one isn't a specific food or drink, but rather probably THE most important tip I can give you... if you don't follow this one, your chances of being able to wind down at night and fall asleep fast are unlikely...
You NEED to eliminate use of devices, computers, emails, and any other work related to your job (or other stressful things) at least 3 hours before you plan to go to sleep. Using devices or computers for casual reading at night is fine, but don't do any work that gets your mind overly activated, such as anything dealing with work or other stressful things in life. Also, even for casual reading, it's best to turn off devices at least 1 hour before bed as keeping your eyes focused on the light from devices is one thing that some researchers are saying could interfere with getting quality sleep.
An overly active mind late at night is one of the BIGGEST things keeping many people from falling asleep. As a success-driven entrepreneur myself, I used to work really late at night and then I'd find that my mind was always too active to actually be able to fall asleep, so I'd lay there for hours sometimes until I could get my mind to slow down so I could fall asleep.
This may sound weird, but one trick that's worked for me is to grab a book while I lay in bed on something that I find sort of boring and try to read the book in bed.  Because the topic is "boring" to me personally, it keeps my mind away from things that I find more interesting, and it allows me to fall right to sleep. So for example, if you find health and fitness interesting (I hope you do!), but you find economics boring, try reading an economics book as you lay in bed.  I bet you'll get sleepy and fall asleep much faster than if you laid in bed letting all your thoughts about daily life race through your mind.

2.  No caffeine after mid-day:
You've probably heard this tip many times, so I'll keep this one short... It takes about 6 hours for caffeine to be fully processed and eliminated by your body, so make sure your last caffeinated drink of the day (coffee, black tea, mate, etc) is at LEAST 6 hours or more before your planned bedtime.  And if you've been showing any adrenal fatigue from lab hormone tests, you should also consider reducing your daily caffeine intake if you currently use it.

3.  Tart cherries or tart cherry juice:
Tart cherries (Montmorency) actually contain a natural form of melatonin that can help you to naturally get sleepy and more easily fall asleep.  I've found frozen tart cherries a few times in specialty grocery stores and I use them for a late night smoothie occasionally.
I've also found a tart cherry concentrate in Whole Foods and other health food stores that you can add to a drink or caffeine-free tea at night to help get you that low dose natural melatonin.  I use 1 spoonful of this tart cherry concentrate in a cup of chamomile or mint tea late at night.  This helps immensely for calming down and falling asleep at night.
A side benefit is that tart cherry also contains powerful antioxidants that fight joint pain, gout, and other inflammation related problems.

4.  DON'T overdose on melatonin supplements (most contain TOO MUCH)
Did you know that MOST people overdose on melatonin supplements.  Most melatonin supplements come in either 3 mg or even 5 mg doses.  However, according to some researchers, anything more than 1 mg might be too high of a dose, which can disrupt your sleep cycle the following day, making it hard to wake up in the morning, and harder to fall asleep the following night, disrupting your overall sleep cycle.
The proper dose seems to be something less than 1 mg from most experts on this topic (this was even discussed on the Dr Oz show too), which is why I choose to NEVER use melatonin supplements, and only get the small natural quantities found in tart cherries or tart cherry juice.

5.  Night time teas:
Try "night time teas" that have relaxing qualities such as chamomile tea, mint tea, lemongrass tea, or all of them mixed.  A side benefit of chamomile tea, and another reason that I try to include it in my weekly night tea repertoire is that chamomile tea contains unique phytonutrients that can help fight estrogenic overload from all of the xenoestrogens that we are exposed to from chemicals, pesticides, etc in today's chemical laden world.
Also remember that you can add a spoonful of the tart cherry concentrate and you'll get a double-whammy of sleep aid!  This works well about 1-2 hours before bedtime to help your body and mind relax.
One more tip...
If you still have troubles falling asleep even after implementing all of these tips, make sure to pay attention to fixing any hormonal issues you might have, including any possible adrenal fatigue, since being overly stressed out during the day can cause imbalances in your natural cortisol cycle which can make you more awake at night and more tired in the morning (obviously the opposite of what you want).
Eliminate any stressors from your life that you can, and also trying other relaxation techniques including meditation as a way to deal with stress if you still feel that you're too stressed out each day.
I hope today's topic gave you some immediately useful tips that you can use to start falling asleep easier and faster and feeling more rested and energetic when you wake up in the morning!
Make sure to pay attention to ALL of the tips above (especially #1) as they can all combine into a powerful regimen that relaxes you to sleep each night without any more insomnia, leaving you more energetic and ready to be productive when you wake up each day!
If you want to sleep better, balance your hormones, and fight against the aging process, don't miss the 'next page' below...
Go to the next page to see powerful natural remedies for:

  • Lowering high blood pressure
  • Controlling or reversing Type 2 Diabetes
  • Boosting your sluggish metabolism
  • Cutting off excess body fat
  • Improving your brain health and memory
  • Slowing down the aging of your skin, joints, and organs
  • Healing your digestion problems
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Please share with family and friends if you think they could benefit from these tips, thank you.