Exercise Helps Immune System Against Cancers

Exercise Helps Your Immune System Protect Against Future Cancers

By Dr. Mercola

If you are like most people, when you think of reducing your risk of cancer, exercise probably isn't at the top of your list. However, there is compelling evidence that exercise can not only help slash your risk of cancer, but can also help cancer patients get well sooner, and help prevent cancer recurrence.
Research has also shown it may help minimize the side effects of conventional cancer treatment.
A preliminary study presented at The Integrative Biology of Exercise VI meeting in mid-October¹ helps shed light on why exercise is so effective for decreasing the risk of secondary cancers in survivors, or why it can decrease your risk of getting cancer in the first place.

Exercise Improves Your Immune System's "Cancer Surveillance"

Sixteen cancer survivors who had just completed chemotherapy participated in the three-month long study. The fitness program, which was tailored to each individual, included:

• Strength training
• Endurance training
• Cardiovascular exercise
• Exercises for flexibility, balance and posture

The researchers examined the immune cells in the participants' blood before and after completion of the 12-week program, and the analysis showed that a large portion of the T cells were altered into a more effective disease-fighting form, called "naïve" T cells. As reported by Medical News Today:²

"[Lead researcher] Bilek explained, 'What we're suggesting is that with exercise, you might be getting rid of T cells that aren't helpful and making room for T cells that might be helpful.'

This research is important because it not only emphasizes the advantages of exercise for cancer patients and cancer survivors, but it also demonstrates how it can benefit healthy individuals. However, the increased 'cancer surveillance,' or the power of the immune system to stop emerging cancers, is particularly beneficial for those struggling with cancer, or who have just survived it.

Bilek concluded: 'There's a litany of positive benefits from exercise. If exercise indeed strengthens the immune system and potentially improves cancer surveillance, it's one more thing we should educate patients about as a reason they should schedule regular activity throughout their day and make it a priority in their lives.'"

Viewing Exercise as a Drug

Besides altering your immune cells into a more potent disease-fighting form and improving circulation of those immune cells in your blood, another primary way exercise lowers your risk for cancer is by reducing elevated insulin levels. This creates a low sugar environment that discourages the growth and spread of cancer cells. It's also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) is triggered by exercise, causing cancer cells to die.
The trick though, is understanding how to use exercise as a precise tool. I like to suggest viewing it as a "drug" that needs to be carefully prescribed to achieve its maximum benefit. This ensures you're getting enough to achieve the benefit, not too much to cause injury, and the right variety to balance your entire physical structure and maintain strength, flexibility, and aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels.
Ideally, doctors would prescribe exercise in specific "doses" and intervals. To do this properly, oncologists would be wise to develop relationships with personal trainers, and prescribe training sessions for their patients. If you have cancer, I would highly recommend discussing exercise with your oncologist, and/or work with a trained fitness professional who can help you devise a safe and effective regimen.
Unfortunately, many public health guidelines still focus only on the aerobic aspects of exercise, and this exclusive focus can lead to imbalances that may actually prevent optimal health.
It's important to include a large variety of techniques in your exercise routine, such as strength training, aerobics, core-building activities, and stretching. Most important of all, however, is to make sure you include high-intensity, burst-type exercise, once or twice a week, in which you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, and then you recover for 90 seconds. These exercises can increase your body's natural production of human growth hormone.

Compelling Evidence in Support of Exercise as Cancer Prophylactic

In the 1980s the notion that exercise may help prevent cancer started getting its due attention. According to a study published 12 years ago in the British Medical Journal,³ which explored the relationship between exercise and cancer, exercise affects several biological functions that may directly influence your cancer risk. These effects include changes in:

Cardiovascular capacity	Energy balance
Pulmonary capacity	Immune function
Bowel motility	Antioxidant defense
Hormone levels	DNA repair

In 2003, a paper in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise⁴ reported that "more than a hundred epidemiologic studies on the role of physical activity and cancer prevention have been published." The authors noted that:

"The data are clear in showing that physically active men and women have about a 30-40 percent reduction in the risk of developing colon cancer, compared with inactive persons … With regard to breast cancer, there is reasonably clear evidence that physically active women have about a 20-30 percent reduction in risk, compared with inactive women. It also appears that 30-60 min·d-1 of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity is needed to decrease the risk of breast cancer, and that there is likely a dose-response relation."

Cancer Groups Recommend Making Exercise Part of Standard Care

In recent years, a number of cancer groups have started taking exercise seriously. For example, a recent report issued by the British organization Macmillan Cancer Support⁵ argues that exercise really should be part of standard cancer care. It recommends that all patients getting cancer treatment should be told to engage in moderate-intensity exercise for two and a half hours every week, stating that the advice to rest and take it easy after treatment is an outdated view.
The organization offers loads of helpful information about the benefits of exercise for cancer patients on their website, and also has a number of videos on the subject, available on their YouTube channel.⁶

Professor Robert Thomas discusses the benefits of physical activity during after cancer treatment.
According to Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support:⁷

"Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long term health, in some cases reducing their chances of having to go through the grueling ordeal of treatment all over again..."

Indeed, the reduction in risk for recurrence is quite impressive. Previous research has shown that breast and colon cancer patients who exercise regularly have half the recurrence rate than non-exercisers.⁸ Macmillan Cancer Support also notes that exercise can help you to mitigate some of the common side effects of conventional cancer treatment, including:

Reduce fatigue and improve your energy levels	Manage stress, anxiety, low mood or depression	Improve bone health
Improve heart health (some chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy can cause heart problems later in life)	Build muscle strength, relieve pain and improve range of movement	Maintain a healthy weight
Sleep better	Improve your appetite	Prevent constipation

Exercise Tips for Cancer Patients

I would strongly recommend you read up on my Peak Fitness program, which includes high-intensity exercises that can reduce your exercise time while actually improving your benefits.
Now, if you have cancer or any other chronic disease, you will of course need to tailor your exercise routine to your individual circumstances, taking into account your fitness level and current health. Often, you will be able to take part in a regular exercise program -- one that involves a variety of exercises like strength training, core-building, stretching, aerobic and anaerobic -- with very little changes necessary. However, at times you may find you need to exercise at a lower intensity, or for shorter durations.
Always listen to your body and if you feel you need a break, take time to rest.
Just remember that exercising for just a few minutes a day is better than not exercising at all, and you'll likely find that your stamina increases and you're able to complete more challenging workouts with each passing day. In the event you are suffering from a very weakened immune system, you may want to exercise at home instead of visiting a public gym. But remember that exercise will ultimately help to boost your immune system, so it's very important to continue with your program, even if you suffer from chronic illness or cancer.
That said, if your body will not allow you to exercise, either due to pain or worsening of your underlying condition, then you have no practical option but to honor your body's signals and exercise less. Even though your body desperately needs the exercise to improve, you will only get worse if you violate your current limitations.

Protein Intake Also Crucial for Cancers

I recently interviewed Dr. Ron Rosedale for nearly fifteen hours and i hope to be able to start posting those articles very soon. He is one of the first physicians in the U.S. that started measuring leptin levels clinically and was far ahead of the curve on this one. In our interview, he helped me understand the major importance that excessive protein intake can have on cancer growth.
The mTOR pathway is short for mammalian target of rapamycin. This pathway is ancient but relatively recently appreciated and has only been known for less than 20 years. Odds are very high your doctor was never taught this is medical school and isn't even aware of it. Many new cancer drugs are actually being targeted to use this pathway. Drugs using this pathway have also been given to animals to radically extend their lifespan. But you don't have to use drugs to get this pathway to work for you.
You can biohack your body and merely restrict your protein intake and replace the decreased protein with healthy fats as this will provide virtually identical benefits as these dangerous and expensive drugs.
Eating excessive protein can be an additional synergistically powerful mechanism. Dr. Rosedale believes that when you consume protein in levels higher than one gram of protein per kilogram of LEAN body mass you can activate the mTOR pathway, which will radically increase your risk of cancers. It is very easy to consume excess protein and my guess is that most people reading this are. I know I was, and as a result of this new insight I have reduced my protein intake by about half.
To determine your lean body mass find out your percent body fat and subtract from 100. So if you are 20% body fat you would have 80% lean body mass. Just multiply that times your current weight to get lean body mass. For most people this means restricting protein intake from 35 to 75 grams. Pregnant women and those working out extensively need about 25% more protein though.
Of course when you reduce protein you need to replace it with other calories, so the key is to replace the lost calories with high-quality fats such as avocados, butter, coconut oil, olives, olive oil, nuts and eggs. It is also very helpful to avoid eating anything for three hours before going to bed as this allows you to have relatively low blood sugars while you are sleeping. This is another good trick to move your body to fat burning mode.
Nearly everyone is primarily in carb burning mode because of the amount of carbohydrate content that they consume. The beauty of shifting over to fat burning mode is that it virtually eliminates hunger. Intermittent fasting is one way to help achieve this, but radically cutting back on non-vegetable carbs is also very important. Coconut oil is particularly useful to use in making the transition to fat burning mode as it is primarily short and medium chain fats which break down very quickly and can be used as an energy source which is important for countering the decreased energy and other physical challenges that many encounter in the several weeks it typically takes to make the transition to fat burning mode .

Cancer Prevention Begins with Your Lifestyle Choices

While exercise is an important facet of cancer prevention and treatment, it's certainly not the only one. I believe the vast majority of all cancers could be prevented by strictly applying the healthy lifestyle recommendations below:

• Avoid sugar, especially fructose. All forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer. Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.
• Optimize your vitamin D. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your body and is one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). If you have cancer, your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I'm aware of, with no adverse effects. I suggest you try watching my one-hour free lecture on vitamin D to learn more.
• Limit your protein. Newer research has emphasized the importance of the mTOR pathways. When these are active, cancer growth is accelerated. The best way to quiet this pathway is by limiting your protein to one gram of protein per kilogram of lean body weight, or roughly a bit less than half a gram of protein per every pound of lean body weight. For most people this ranges between 40 and 70 grams of protein a day, which is about 2/3 to half of what they are currently eating.
• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.
• Improve your insulin and leptin receptor sensitivity. The best way to do this is by avoiding sugar and grains and restricting carbs to mostly fiber vegetables. Also making sure you are exercising, especially with Peak Fitness.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating right for your nutritional type and exercising. It's important to lose excess body fat because fat produces estrogen.
• Drink a pint to a quart of organic green vegetable juice daily. Please review my juicing instructions for more detailed information.
• Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.
• Curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations can be very useful adjunct in the treatment of cancer. For example, it has demonstrated major therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis.⁹ It's important to know that curcumin is generally not absorbed that well, so I've provided several absorption tips here.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least limit your alcoholic drinks to one per day.
• Avoid electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Even electric blankets can increase your cancer risk.
• Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy, especially if you have risk factors for breast cancer. Breast cancer is an estrogen-related cancer, and according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer rates for women dropped in tandem with decreased use of hormone replacement therapy. (There are similar risks for younger women who use oral contraceptives. Birth control pills, which are also comprised of synthetic hormones, have been linked to cervical and breast cancers.)
If you are experiencing excessive menopausal symptoms, you may want to consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy instead, which uses hormones that are molecularly identical to the ones your body produces and do not wreak havoc on your system. This is a much safer alternative.

• Avoid BPA, phthalates and other xenoestrogens. These are estrogen-like compounds that have been linked to increased breast cancer risk
• Make sure you're not iodine deficient, as there's compelling evidence linking iodine deficiency with certain forms of cancer. Dr. David Brownstein¹⁰, author of the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It, is a proponent of iodine for breast cancer. It actually has potent anticancer properties and has been shown to cause cell death in breast and thyroid cancer cells.
For more information, I recommend reading Dr. Brownstein's book. I have been researching iodine for some time ever since I interviewed Dr. Brownstein as I do believe that the bulk of what he states is spot on. However, I am not at all convinced that his dosage recommendations are correct. I believe they are too high.

• Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide—a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried—has been found to increase cancer risk as well.

90 Percent of Melanoma Surgeries are Unnecessary, Study Finds

A new report in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology¹ claims that 90 percent of melanoma patients may not only have had their skin lesions removed unnecessarily, but may also have actually increased their morbidity risk by doing so.
The study looked at 300,215 melanoma excision cases that occurred over 10 years at participating clinics and dermatopathology units in 13 countries.
As reported by The Tanning Blog:²

"The purpose of the survey was to investigate the relationship between necessary excision of malignant melanoma and unnecessary removals of benign lesions. In non-specialized clinics the number of unnecessary removals was as much as 30 times higher than the necessary excisions. In specialized clinics, the ratio sank to less than 10 times.
This means that in some dermatologists' clinics, 90 out of 100 'melanoma-victims' were misled to have a piece of their skin sliced away. When extrapolating the average figures in the survey to one million American victims, as many as 900,000 may have suffered needlessly."

The lead author of the report attributed the unnecessary excisions to an increased awareness of patients who see anti-sun promotions such as "melanoma awareness" campaigns and run into the clinics demanding treatment.
Unfortunately, what this means is that while the melanoma epidemic appears to be real, based on surgical statistics, it actually paints a misleading picture since about 90 percent of "melanoma cases" are not real melanoma. The report highlights the necessity to get a second, and perhaps even a third opinion from a specialized clinic before going under the scalpel.

UV Rays Not Effective in Creating Vitamin D, Dermatologists Say

The issue of tanning can be confusing to say the least, as there's no shortage of scare tactics employed. Information presented at American Academy of Dermatology's Summer Academy Meeting.³
Bruce A. Brod, MD, FAAD, clinical associate professor of dermatology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia gave an overview of which is posted on the American Academy of Dermatology site, makes the following bizarre claim:

"The tanning industry... touts UVA as a good source of vitamin D. However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a consent order prohibiting the Indoor Tanning Association from making false claims about the health benefits of indoor tanning, and dermatologists point out that UV rays are not very efficient in creating vitamin D in the skin.⁴
In addition, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends that the public obtain vitamin D safely from a healthy diet that includes food naturally rich in vitamin D, foods and beverages fortified with vitamin D, and/or dietary supplements, rather than by sun exposure or indoor tanning, which can cause skin cancer. " [Emphasis mine}

Say what?!
Who in their right mind would claim UV rays are ineffective at producing vitamin D in your skin? It is in fact the ONLY way to make your skin produce vitamin D! Oral supplementation does not make your skin produce it, and therefore may not provide identical health benefits as if it was produced by your own body in response to UV rays either from sunlight or a sun lamp. (On a side note, I'm not sure if the statement that UVA rays is touted as a good source of vitamin D by the tanning industry is a typo or not... It's actually the UVB rays in tanning lamps — although they produce both, just like natural sunlight — that are responsible for vitamin D production in your skin.)
This is such a shocking proclamation it deserves closer scrutiny, lest people start getting even more confused about the role of sun exposure for their health. Unfortunately, based on the references listed, the matter gets even more convoluted, because when you follow the reference for this claim, it leads to a Federal Trade Commission notice, dated January 26, 2010,⁵ detailing the charges against the Indoor Tanning Association for "making false health and safety claims about indoor tanning."
Reading through this FTC notice, there's no further trail leading to any information about the direct claim that UV rays are inefficient at creating vitamin D in your skin... However, an FTC Consumer Alert brochure,⁶ the link to which can be found on the FTC notice, does state:

"Myths and Reality — Here are some claims commonly made about indoor tanning – and the facts: 'Indoor tanning is a safe way to increase vitamin D levels.' Vitamin D has many roles in human health. For example, it is essential for promoting good bone health. While UVB radiation helps your body produce vitamin D, you don't need a tan to get that benefit. In fact, 10 to 15 minutes of unprotected natural sun exposure on your face and hands 2 to 3 times a week during the summer gives you a healthy dose of vitamin D. You also can get vitamin D from food: good sources include low-fat milk, salmon, tuna, and fortified orange juice."

Is this the source for that preposterous claim? In reading through the page-and-a-half brochure, it's the only statement that is relevant to the claim. In either case, the information published on the American Academy of Dermatology's site is grossly misleading, as it either:

1. does not provide a proper source for the remarkable statement that UV rays are "not very efficient in creating vitamin D in your skin," or
2. is in direct contradiction to the cited source, which clearly admits that UVB radiation helps your body produce vitamin D (you just don't need a tan to get the benefit)

Exposing Hands and Face to Sun Twice a Week is Nowhere Near Enough

It's also important to note that exposing just your face and hands for 10-15 minutes, twice or three times a week (as recommended in the FTC Consumer Alert on tanning), is NOT going to provide you with sufficient vitamin D to achieve the benefits that thousands of studies have now shown to be the case. Not even close!
First of all, it's important to realize that when it comes to vitamin D, it's your serum level that matters — not your dosage, whether you're measuring dosage as time spent in the sun, or the oral dose of a vitamin D supplement. So the most important message is that you need to get whatever dosage is required to obtain a therapeutic level of vitamin D in your blood. The optimal vitamin D level has recently been raised to 50-70 ng/ml, and when treating cancer or heart disease, as high as 70-100 ng/ml.

Carole Baggerly, the director and founder of an organization called GrassrootsHealth, which is primarily focused on creating awareness about the profound importance of vitamin D for optimal health, actually conducted tests to determine just how much sun exposure she needed in order to reach therapeutic levels of vitamin D.

"Even in San Diego where I live, when they measured my [vitamin D] level it was 18 ng/ml. When we did a scientific test of what it's going to take to get enough sun in San Diego... at my age – age is a factor in how much you absorb – we came to a test conclusion that it was going take 15 to 20 minutes a day in the prime time of UV, between 10 am and 2 pm, each and every day... with 40 percent of my body exposed," she says.

To learn more about vitamin D's impact on your health, especially as a way to prevent internal cancers, including breast cancer, please listen to this previous interview with Carole Baggerly.

Download Interview Transcript

Sun Exposure: Benefits Beyond D Production

While discussions about the health benefits from sun exposure typically center around vitamin D, which your skin produces in response to UVB rays, UVB exposure actually has a number of other health effects unrelated to vitamin D production — whether it's from the sun or a safe tanning bed.
Carole Baggerly agrees that sun exposure is ideal not just for raising your vitamin D levels, but also because it may provide other health benefits that we simply don't fully understand yet. It's quite possible however, that lack of regular sun exposure is at the heart of many of our current health issues. New evidence presented in the April-June issue of Dermato Endocrinology⁷ confirms that exposure to the sun in appropriate and measured timeframes has a number of health benefits unrelated to vitamin D production:

"Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been used since ancient times to treat various diseases. This has a scientific background in the fact that a large number of molecules (chrromophores) in different layers of the skin interacts with and absorbs UV," the report states.

Health benefits from sun exposure, besides vitamin D production, include:

Enhancing mood and energy through the release of endorphins	Protecting against and suppressing symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS)
Treating skin diseases, such as acne, psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and scleroderma. UV radiation also enhances skin barrier functions	Inducing nitric oxide (NO), which helps protect your skin against UV damage and offers cardiovascular protection, promotes wound healing through its antimicrobial effect, and has some anti-cancer activity
Melatonin regulation through the "third eye" of the pineal gland photoreceptors	Relieving fibromyalgia pain
Standard treatment for tuberculosis 100 years ago, long before the advent of antibiotics	Treating neonatal jaundice
Can be used to sterilize your armpits and eliminate the cause of most body odor.	Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Synchronizing important biorhythms through sunlight entering your eye and striking your retina	Regulating body temperature
Protecting against melanoma and decreasing mortality from it	May be effective in treating T Cell lymphoma

Why I Advise Using the Sun or Safe Tanning Bed

Another article written by Richard J. Wurtman,⁸ while over 40 years old, still contains loads of interesting information about the health benefits of sunlight. If you have any interest, I strongly recommend you download this classic, superbly written 11-page PDF from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This article reveals the benefits of sun exposure and not merely swallowing a vitamin D tablet or capsule.
I am beyond convinced that you are missing out big time if you strictly rely on vitamin D supplements, (or worse, fortified foods) rather than sunshine. If you are on the fence about this or don't believe me, please read Dr. Wurtman's classic article.
Just as an example, he points out the role of sunlight on synchronizing the hormonal rhythms of your body. Melatonin, for example, which is synthesized by your pineal gland, is profoundly affected by light and dark, and proper exposure to bright sun during the day is important for maintaining your internal rhythm. Melatonin, as you may recall, is also a potent antioxidant with cancer-fighting properties.

Sensible Sun Exposure May Be Protective Against Melanoma

While you're not likely to receive this information from dermatologists and cancer groups, there's evidence showing that exposure to UVB light is actually protective against melanoma. For example, indoor workers actually have a higher risk of melanoma than outdoor workers, as documented in The Lancet,⁹ suggesting that chronic sun exposure can indeed have a protective effect.
Another study in Medical Hypotheses¹⁰ suggested that indoor workers may have increased rates of melanoma because they're exposed to sunlight through windows, and only UVA light, unlike UVB, can pass through window glass. (While UVB light gives you that tanned look and causes your skin to produce vitamin D, UVA rays are the ones associated with skin damage and skin cancer.)
Since indoor workers, who get three to nine times less solar UV exposure than outdoor workers, are missing out on exposure to the beneficial UVB rays, they will have lower levels of vitamin D and therefore miss out on the "built-in" cancer protection offered by regular exposure to the sun, or a sun lamp.
The study even noted that indoor UV actually breaks down vitamin D3 formed after outdoor UVB exposure, which would therefore make vitamin D3 deficiency and melanoma risk even worse. A number of associations between regular sun exposure and decreased melanoma risk can be found in the medical literature. For example, an Italian study published in the European Journal of Cancer in 2008,¹¹ confirms and supports earlier studies showing improved survival rates in melanoma patients who were exposed to sunlight more frequently in the time before their melanoma was diagnosed.

Sensible Sun Exposure: How to Maximize Benefits While Minimizing Risks

While sun exposure is your best source for vitamin D, it's important to understand that not all sun exposure will allow for vitamin D production, and perhaps this is another possible explanation for the utterly bizarre statement that UV rays are inefficient at producing vitamin D in your skin... However, makinghis kind of generalization amounts to nothing short of scientific ignorance.
Here's how it works:
Sunlight is composed of about 1500 wavelengths, but the only wavelength that makes your body produce vitamin D are UVB-rays, when they hit exposed skin. Now, the UVB-rays from the sun must pass through the atmosphere in significant concentration and intensity to cause your skin to make vitamin D.
This obviously does not occur in the winter for most of us, but the sun's rays are also impeded during a fair amount of the year for people living in temperate climates. In fact for about half the US more than half the year the UVB concentration is not sufficient to generate vitamin D, no matter how much skin is exposed at the height of the sun level.
Due to the physics and wavelength of UVB rays, they will only penetrate the atmosphere when the sun is above an angle of about 50° from the horizon. When the sun is lower than 50°, the ozone layer reflects the UVB-rays but let through the longer UVA-rays.
So how do you know if you have entered into the summer season and into the time of year, for your location, where enough UVB can actually penetrate the atmosphere to allow for vitamin D production in your skin?
The first step is to determine the latitude and longitude of your location. You can easily do this on Google Earth, or if you are in the U.S. you can use the TravelMath Latitude Longitude Calculator to find your latitude and longitude. Once you have obtained that you can go to the U.S. Navy site to calculate a table to determine the times and days of the year that the sun is above 50 degrees from the horizon.
Translated to the date and time of some places on the globe, it means for example: In my hometown of Chicago, the UVB rays are not potentially present until March 25, and by September 16th it is not possible to produce any vitamin D from the sun in Chicago. Please understand it is still only theoretically possible to get UVB rays between those dates. If it happens to be cloudy or raining, the clouds will also block the UVB rays, preventing vitamin D production that particular day. For a more detailed understanding of this, please view the following video, and/or read through the corresponding article.

Old School Arm Training

Many bodybuilders in the today's professional ranks have arms that
measure 20, 21, 22 inches or more.  However, they also weigh 270,
280, even 300 plus pounds.  And they have a waist to prove it, with
many pushing the 40 inch range.  And in the off-season, some balloon
even bigger.

The bottom line – those arms aren't as an impressive achievement as
what someone like Arnold did.  He got the 22+ inches while weighing
just 235 pounds, with a 32 inch waist. Today’s stars often have 8
inches or more of a bigger belly than did the previous generation's
champs. And Arnold was by no means the only bodybuilder of his era
to build big biceps without having to expand his waistline by 8
additional sizes.  Most of the top champs of that era were able to
build big arms while maintaining a trim waist – some much trimmer
than Arnold’s 32 inches.  Sergio Olivia had a 28 inch waist, with
arms even bigger than Arnold's (23 inches).

Why does it matter?  Because a huge arm on a trim body looks much
better, both aesthetically and athletically, than does the same size
arm on a bloated belly.  And that’s not all.  The big belly look
also is often accompanied by a big glute area as well.

The real trick is to get those arms big while keeping the size of
your middle down.  Then the arms do look really impressive.  That is
something the old school bodybuilders were able to do across the
board.

How did they do it?  How did they build such big arms while keeping
the middle nice and tight?  Learning their secrets is key to being
able to build big arms yourself without the massive middle that
today’s professionals carry around.  If you learn the secrets of
the Old School stars, you will be able to get on the right path
to build massive arms – arms that truly look impressive.

Here are some Old School Arm Training tips:

Once a week is not going to cut it, if you want to build big arms
you have to train them 2 or 3 times a week like all the old School
bodybuilders did.

Spend some time "specializing" on your arms - this mean that you
for a short time, such as 4 to 6 weeks, do 25% to 50% more work
for your arms than for any other body part.

Work your arms first before other body parts when specializing.
This allows you to work your arms when you have the most strength
and energy - at the beginning of you workout.

Use both mass building and shaping exercises, for example for
biceps do the barbell curl for mass and the dumbbell concentration
curl for shape.

Use strict form and make sure to flex the muscles hard in the
fully contracted position.

Never rest no more than one minute between sets.

Eat lots of protein such as meat, eggs cheese and milk every 2
to 3 hours that you are awake.

Rest between workouts and sleep at least 8 hours a night -
9 hours is even better. Nap during the day if possible.

Be consistent - never miss a workout.

The Importance of Fruits and Vegetables

Did you know there are at least four great reasons to eat more fruits
and vegetables?

1) It is easy to do.

2) Almost all are low in calories and fat.

3) They are a good source of vitamins and minerals and provide fiber.

4) They may help reduce cancer risk.

Here are some actions to get you started and keep you going. Try two
or three actions now and try more later.

Buy many kinds of fruits and vegetables when you shop, so you have
plenty of choices, and you don't run out.

Use the salad bar to buy cut-up fruits/vegetables if you're in a
hurry.

Pack a piece of fruit or some cut-up vegetables in your briefcase
or backpack; carry moist towelettes for easy cleanup.

Keep a bowl of cut-up vegetables on the top shelf of the
refrigerator.

Add fruit to breakfast by or by having it on your cereal.

Add fruits and vegetables to lunch by having them in soup, salad,
or cut-up raw.

Add vegetables to dinner by steaming them.

Increase portions when you serve vegetables and fruits. Season
them the low-fat way with herbs, spices, and lemon juice. If sauce
is used, choose a nonfat or low-fat sauce.

Choose fruit for dessert. For a special dessert, try a fruit
parfait with low-fat yogurt or sherbet topped with berries.

Add extra varieties of vegetables when you prepare soups, sauces,
and casseroles (for example, grate carrot and zucchini into
spaghetti sauce.
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Decoding Foods Labels

Organic
According to Huffington Post’s contributor Robyn O’Brien, “the term ‘organic’ refers to foods grown and processed without chemical toxins, artificial ingredients, chemical preservatives or ionizing radiation.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates the guidelines for organic foods. For a food to be labeled “organic” it must be have at least 95 percent organic ingredients. Organic foods are made without harmful pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics or synthetic hormones.
According to O’Brien, a recent study found that organic foods can actually boost one’s immune system, improve sleeping habits and reduce the risk of cancers and heart disease. So what does this mean for your grocery cart? Purchasing organic milk or eggs means that the products came from animals that were not given antibiotics, drugs or synthetic growth hormones. Organic bread, cereal and grains were grown without the use of pesticides.
So, what does this mean for your wallet? Organic foods tend to be more expensive and can even cost up to 50 percent more than non-organic products. If the higher cost is keeping you from buying organic, consider the products that are most important to buy organic: apples, celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, spinach, nectarines, grapes, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries and potatoes.
Natural
The USDA regulates the term “natural” only in meat and poultry products. In this context, the label means these products contain no artificial substances or additives- excluding genetically modified organisms. “Natural” on other foods and products mean that it is free of added colors, artificial flavors and synthetic substances. However, the FDA does not have a set guideline for the term. Some companies use the term “natural additives” for high fructose corn syrup. The bottom line here is that something claimed to be “natural” isn’t necessarily good for it. The food can still be loaded with sugar, fat and calories. The only way to get around this trap set up by marketers is to read the ingredient list and nutrition facts carefully.
Whole
A “whole” food is a food that is in its pure and natural form with nothing added to it or taken from it. Think about a potato. A potato is a whole food. Mashed potatoes have been baked, pounded, and mixed with butter and sugar. You can’t find mashed potatoes in nature. Whole foods are the opposite of processed foods. Some examples of whole foods include fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds. It is important to include many whole foods into your everyday diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Raw
The raw food diet seems to the latest craze in the world of health foods. For a food to be considered “raw” it must not be heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. This means no foods are cooked. It is mostly a plant-based diet. The idea behind the raw food diet is that many nutrients and enzymes are destroyed from the heat of the cooking process. Many foods are in their most nutritious state when raw. However, this diet ignores the notion that some foods become more nutritious after they have been cooked. For example, biotin, a nutrient that gives us healthy hair, nails, skin and bones, is activated when eggs are cooked. Raw eggs don’t have the benefits of biotin. The raw food diet has recently been a topic of discussion; a study revealed that an all-raw food diet doesn’t provide enough energy to support the human brain. The bottom line here is to recognize the health benefits of eating raw foods, but like everything else, we shouldn’t get carried away with an exclusive fad.
Gluten-Free
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Products like bread, grains, cake, pasta, cookies, sauces and snack foods typically contain gluten. However many foods have hidden sources of gluten. Gluten can be found in many natural or artificial additives. Those diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity should follow a gluten-free diet, but should be done so under the supervision of a doctor.
The gluten-free diet has become a trend among celebrities who have not been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Some have tried the diet just to lose weight. The bottom line here is that some gluten-free foods are higher in calories than the originals. Many gluten-free products are packed with sugar and fat. Unless you are avoiding gluten for health reasons provided by your doctor, you’re better off sticking to a traditional, balanced diet. For more information about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet, visit www.celiac.org. Be sure to consult a doctor or nutritionist before beginning any new diet plan and before eliminating any major food group from your diet.

Seniors With Type 2 Diabetes who Eat Unhealthy Meals May Experience Memory Declines

There is already growing evidence linking diabetes to cognitive complications in humans. Adults with type 2 diabetes are especially vulnerable to acute meal-induced memory deficits after eating unhealthy foods, like fried foods and other foods containiong unhealthy fats.

A study published in the July 2008 issue of Nutrition Research, suggests that taking high doses of antioxidant vitamins C and E with the meal may help minimize meal-induced memory loss.

"Our bottom line is that consuming unhealthy meals for those with diabetes can temporarily further worsen already underlying memory problems associated with the diabetes," said lead author Michael Herman Chui, who conducted the research as a University of Toronto pathobiology undergraduate in the Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit (KLARU) at Baycrest. "We've shown that antioxidant vitamins can minimize oxidative stress from the meal and reduce those immediate memory deficits."

Type 2 diabetes is associated with chronic oxidative stress, a major contributor to cognitive decline and Alzheimer disease. Consuming unhealthy foods can induce this type of stress which is triggered by acute elevations of free radicals - unstable molecules that can damage tissue, including brain tissue. These destructive molecule reactions typically occur over a one-to-three hour period after food ingestion.

In the study, 16 adults (aged 50 years and older) with type 2 diabetes participated in an unblinded trial where they attended three weekly sessions that involved consuming a different test meal. One meal consisted of high fat products - a danish pastry, cheddar cheese and yogurt with added whipped cream; the second meal consisted of only water consumption; and the third test meal was the high-fat meal plus high doses of vitamins C (1000 mg) and E (800 IU) tablets.

Fifteen minutes after starting meal ingestion, participants completed a series of neuropsychological tests lasting 90 minutes that measured their recall abilities for words they had heard and paragraph information they had read. These cognitive skills are associated with the brain's memory centre - the hippocampus.

Researchers found that vitamin supplementation consistently improved recall scores relative to the meal alone. Participants who ate the high fat meal without vitamin supplements showed significantly more forgetfulness of words and paragraph information in immediate and time delay recall tests, relative to those who had the water meal or the meal with antioxidant vitamins. Those on water meal and meal with vitamins showed similar levels in cognitive performance.

Dr. Greenwood, senior author of the study and a nationally recognized expert in how diet impacts brain function,and medical student M.H. Chui emphasize that their findings require further replication in larger studies with more participants. Future studies will need to look at whether antioxidant vitamins are directly targeting oxidative stress reactions or triggering an independent memory-enhancing ability which is simply masking the detrimental effects. Greenwood cautioned that relying on antioxidant vitamins at meal time is not a quick fix. "While our study looked at the pill form of antioxidants, we would ultimately want individuals to consume healthier foods high in antioxidants, like fruits and vegetables," said Dr. Greenwood, a KLARU senior scientist at Baycrest.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, a low fat diet rich in antioxidants, and staying mentally active and socially engaged in a variety of activities, is the best medicine for optimizing cognitive health during the lifespan, said Greenwood.

alkalinity maintains a healthier life!

Acid/Alkaline Food Chart

How alkalinity rid the body of toxic waste and maintains a healthier life!

When asked what the number one cause of death is worldwide, most will likely answer; Heart disease, Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes or Obesity. Every one of these answers will be right. No matter what the name of the illness is, all human diseases originate from the same root cause – too much acid waste in the body!
With every action in the living body where energy is created or expended, in other words metabolic or physical, acid waste is formed and must be neutralized and/or eliminated as soon as possible, to avoid acid burns and damage to the vital organs and systems.   Too much acid in the body creates an environment, which favours the decomposition of living things, and weakens all body systems, allowing disease to thrive. In order to maintain a healthy body that can fight off disease and function optimally, we must maintain adequate alkaline reserves to neutralize excess acid accumulation in the body.
The acid/alkaline range is measured on the pH scale (parts Hydrogen), from 0 to 14 respectively. The human body’s pH is around 7.4 on the pH scale. To give you an idea of just how serious over acidity is for our health, every one-point drop on the pH scale increases the body’s acidity 10-fold. That’s a 100,000 increase in acidity from 7.0 – 2.0, which is about the difference between drinking purified water, and a carbonated soft (soda) drink.
If you can imagine acidic particles much like shrapnel, you can see the danger of having acidic pH levels, along with high cholesterol and other fatty substances within the blood. Hardening of the blood vessels occurs when sharp acidic particles cause scratches and bumps on the inside walls of the arteries and veins, which the fatty plaques are able to stick to, triggering the onset of atherosclerosis, a form of cardiovascular disease. Due to this build up, the arteries become narrowed and fatty plaques that ‘bandaged’ the tears and scratches created by the acidic particles, become detached from the walls, and potentially increase the risk of blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes.
With an estimated one third of all cancers being attributed to poor nutrition, and over half a million deaths a year preventable through a change of diet alone, how does over acidity threaten the onset of one of the main causes of death in both men and women? Well, the acidic waste thickens the blood to the point where it cannot carry the quantity of nutrients and oxygen the organs need to function efficiently. When the cell is deprived of oxygen and the amino acids that they require for repair and regeneration, they either die and turn into acidic waste, or due to ‘survival-of-the-fittest’, they adapt to their new, deprived environment by becoming cancerous, allowing it to survive by multiplying continually to grab the few available nutrients. Normal cells that become deprived of the nutrients by rapidly multiplying cancer cells stop dividing and die.
Eating good, clean food in the right quantities throughout the day, can keep your metabolism running high (think of your metabolism as your fat burning furnace), and your energy levels constant. However, eating foods with a high (alkaline) pH to ensure you maintain an alkaline balance is perhaps just as important. The efficiency that a cell carries out its metabolic activities is determined by the nourishment it receives. In comparison, a car engine will only perform as well as the grade of fuel that you put in it.
Cells not only die because of lack of nourishment and oxygen from thickened acidic blood, but also from being poisoned by chemical additives. Another reason to always try to eat organic and natural foods in their original source (not processed or modified by man).
 Nutrient Timing refers to the amount of nutrients needed by the body to function optimally, without leaving leftover waste, and overloading the body with excess calories  that are then stored as fat. During the day the body digests and absorbs food quickly, but in the evening and at night these processes slow down, causing blood to flow more slowly, meaning the fat particles are more likely to remain undigested and turn into acidic waste. These find their way into the blood and can block the transport of insulin from the pancreas. The lack of insulin in the blood, or insulin resistance, means that the blood sugar does not get processed properly. The blood sugar levels become elevated and produce diabetic symptoms.
Aside from water, there is much more fat in the body than any other substance, and I’m not just talking about the fatty tissue beneath our skin that so many of us struggle to lose year after year. The surrounding of each and every cell in our bodies is made up almost entirely of fatty acids. The combination of fatty acids and amino acids plays a vital role in energy production, forming a membrane around the red blood cells through which oxygen gains entry into the cell.

Fast food and high-sugared foods are not the only culprits in the fight against obesity!

Way before we had the ‘convenience’ or fast foods, and processed foods, there was another culprit to weight gain. Heat! Cooking destroys many of the enzymes in foods that prevent obesity, as without them there is nothing to prevent too many nutrients from being absorbed into the body.  So what the body doesn’t need, or can’t use at the time, is either stored in fat cells or turned into toxic acidic waste, which can be converted to cholesterol and lactic acid. Blood loaded with acidic waste circulates the body and clogs organ systems, slowing down metabolism, causing less food to be burned up. This manifest itself in the unexplained lethargy and general fatigue, so many people experience.
When it comes to change, even the most head strong people can still fall short, and not through lack of commitment, but more so due to lack of knowledge. We may not have much control over external or environmental causes of toxic waste, such as pollutants or even stress, but we do have absolute control over what we put into our bodies, and so it is that nutrition that will be your armoury in the fight against ridding your body of acidic waste.
Following, are the food categories, highlighting the most alkaline options to the most acidic options. You should limit the foods towards the acid side of the table, and increase consumption of the alkaline foods. It’s worth noting here that a food’s acidic or alkaline-forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself.

  Alkaline/Acid Food Chart

Food Category	Most Alkaline	Alkaline	Lowest Alkaline	Lowest Acid	Acid	Most Acid
Sweeteners	Stevia	Maple/Rice Syrup	Raw Honey	Processed Honey	White/brown sugar	Artificial Sweeteners
Fruits	Watermelon, Grapefruit, papayas, Lemons	Dates, Blueberries, Apples, Pears	Bananas, Cherries, Oranges, Avocados	Plums, Processed fruit juices	Rhubarb	Blackberries, Cranberries, Prunes
Vegetables	Asparagus, Raw Spinach, Onions	Green beans, okra, Celery	Carrots, Mushrooms, Tomatoes	String Beans, Cooked Spinach	Most Beans
Nuts & Seeds		Almonds	Chestnuts	Most Seeds	Pecans, Cashews	Peanuts, Walnuts
Oils & Spices	Olive Oil, Herbs	Flax Seed Oil, Cayenne Pepper	Canola Oil	Corn Oil
Gains & Cereals			Millet, Wild Rice, Quinoa	Sprouted  Wheat Bread, Spelt, Rice	White Rice, Corn, Oats, Rye	Wheat, White Flour, Pastries, Pasta
Meats				Venison, Cold Water Fish	Turkey, Chicken, Lamb	Beef, Pork, Shellfish
Dairy			Soy, Goat Milk, Whey	Eggs, Butter, Yoghurt, Cottage Cheese	Raw Milk	Cheese, Ice Cream
Beverages	Herb Teas, Lemon Water, Purified water	Green Tea	Ginger Tea	Tea	Coffee	Beer, Carbonated Drinks

Most people will think of citrus fruits such as lemons and grapefruits to be acidic.  However, the end-products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline, so lemons are alkaline-forming in the body. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion but as with most animal products, meat is very acid-forming, leaving an acidic residue in the body. It’s also worth noting here that the fresher the food the higher its alkalinity values. Cooking, freezing or canning foods increases their acid-forming potential.
Stay away from foods grown with chemicals, processed with preservatives or prepared with sugar, as these are all acid-forming also.

 Beneficial Food Types

Honey (Providing it’s the thick, raw, unfiltered honey that’s opaque in colour), contains high levels of the starch-digesting enzyme amylase, and is truly a super food, especially Royal Jelly, which the worker bee’s feed to the queen bee to extend her life span from a few weeks to as long as ten years.
 Fibre-rich foods help prevent many degenerative diseases by binding with the stomach’s acid so that it cannot damage the lining of the intestinal walls. Green, raw leafy vegetables are beneficial not only for their vitamin and mineral content, but also because they reduce the hyperacidity in all the organs of the body. Potatoes when cooked so as still slightly raw, act as an appetite suppressant, but also contains high levels of glue-like substances called mucilage, which helps the enzymes in the stomach break down the food mass.
The fact is that many vegetables are effective cleansers of the body’s acidic wastes, especially when juiced. The juice of carrots and beets, with their high percentage of acid-forming sulphur and phosphorus, effectively clean out the acidic wastes from the liver, kidneys, and bladder.
 Nuts – Cooking, smoking or roasting any nuts will increase their acid-forming properties, so always enjoy nuts and seeds in the raw, unbleached form.
 Cayenne Pepper - Stimulate good digestions, including the breakdown of fats. It’s also a good overall body tonic that can help reduce inflammation.
  All meats (including fish and fowl), rob the body of minerals that neutralize the acidity, with one of the places that it will take the minerals from being our bones.
 Liquids - To really put things into perspective when it comes to neutralizing acidic waste, it takes 32 x 300ml (10oz) glasses of alkaline water to neutralize the acid from one 375ml (12oz) can of carbonated soft drink. For each acid-forming beverage that you consume, your body uses its own buffers, stripping bones, tendons and muscles of calcium and other alkaline minerals, to raise the body’s alkalinity and to maintain a healthy blood pH level of 7.35 – 7.45.
Purified/Enriched Water - Public tap water, and even drinking water in our homes, have been shown to still be contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs, hormones, and bacteria – all acidifying and toxic.
Click here to learn what all the benefits of drinking enhanced water are.
Our bodies lose anywhere up to 2.5 litres (approx. 85 ounces) of water every day just through normal bodily functions. You lose water through urination, respiration, and perspiration. If you are physically active, you’ll require even more water. A sign of thirst is your body’s way of saying you’re already dehydrated.
Symptoms of mild-dehydration include chronic pains in joints and muscles, lower back pain, headaches, and constipation. A strong odour to your urine, along with a dark yellow colour is a clear sign than you’re not getting enough water. The higher the pH of water, the greater ability you have of hydrating your body. Alkalized water contains higher levels of ionic minerals such as calcium, and magnesium, allowing them to be absorbed quickly and easily by your body.
As I’m sure you’ve seen over the past few years, companies are fast catching on to the benefits of purified and reconstructed bottled water, with well-known soft drinks and sports drinks now all launching their own special, and ‘unique’ enriched water, each one seemingly better than the last, and whilst these may well help balance your bodies acid/alkaline levels, ridding your body of acidic toxic waste, you may soon see the cost of living acidic free to be an increasing stress, and emotional stress initiates intestinal infections and inflammatory disorders due to acidifying the blood.

Here are my 7 Simple steps to restoring pH balance in the body.

 Make sure you drink enough enriched water - To determine the very least amount of water that you need to drink, take your body weight in Kg and multiply that by 30. This is how many milliliters of water you need to drink each day. This excludes all other drinks such as Coffee and Tea. Should you prefer the Imperial system, you divide your body weight in pounds (Lbs.) by 2. This is how many ounces of water you need per day.
 Drink at regular Intervals –
Just a 1-2% drop in body water can impair your mental focus and physical performance, as well as slowing down your metabolism. Exercise causes you to lose vital electrolytes that are critical for nerve impulses and muscle contractions, so being able to quickly replenish these is essential for peak performance.
 Supplement – Take a multi-enzyme supplement with every meal along with at least 500ml of enhanced water.
 Add variety – Aim for including plenty of alkaline forming vegetables in your diet.
 The 80/20 rule –Disease and illness thrive in an acidic environment but can’t survive in an alkaline environment. 80% of your diet should come from alkaline promoting food groups.
 Breathe – Stress is one of the most significant causes of acidic conditions in your body. Put some time aside each day to breathe deeply.

Rest Pause for Maximum Muscle & Strength Gains

 Maximum Gains

Rest-pause is a training method that involves taking a short rest within a set. It has been shown to increase muscle strength, as well as muscle growth.

Jim Stoppani, Ph.D

HYPOTHESIS
Rest-pause is a training method that involves taking a short rest within a set. It has been shown to increase muscle strength, as well as muscle growth. When training for power with explosive exercises, rest-pause can also help to increase power.
RESEARCH
Appalachian State (Boone, North Carolina) researchers had 10 male weightlifters perform three sets of power cleans for six reps per set using 80% of their one-rep max, and resting three minutes between sets. In one trial, they completed all six reps in succession without any rest-pause between reps. In the second trial, they did a 20-second rest-pause between each rep. And in the third trial, they did a 40-second rest-pause between every rep.
FINDINGS
The scientists reported that power decreased by 15% from rep number one to rep number six when the subjects did not use rest-pause between reps. With the 20-second rest-pause between sets, power decreased by only 6% from rep number one to rep number six. And with the 40-second rest-pause between reps, power decreased by just 4% from rep number one to rep number six.
CONCLUSION
The results of the study show that when the subjects used rest-pause between reps they were better able to maintain power from rep number one to rep number six. This is important for maximizing gains in power. Although this study only tested the effects of rest-pause on power during power cleans, it should hold for other exercises.

APPLICATION
When training for power, regardless of the exercise you are doing, use the rest-pause technique. To
 do this, simply rack the weight between every rep and rest 20–40 seconds before performing the next rep.

7 Calorie Burning Tips

These are just a few habits you can embrace to start revving your metabolism right away. You may have heard stories about people who have lost dozens of pounds simply switching to diet soda or walking a few minutes each day. These are all small habits that contribute to a big difference and increase your metabolism over time.  You will make weight loss quicker and easier by increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories.

1) Move More

Sedentary people burn about one-third less calories per day.  By simply taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn in one day. Small movements will add up over time to lots of calories.  The trick is to keep moving throughout your day. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning extra calories:

Tap your feet

Swing your legs 

Stand up and stretch 

Move your head from side to side 

Change position 

Wriggle and fidget 

Pace up and down 

Use the restroom upstairs

Park in the furthest corner of the parking lot

Stand up when you’re on the phone and step from side to side

Clench and release your muscles

2) Eat Little and Often

Evidence suggests that eating small meals every 2-4 hours will keep your metabolism burning faster than larger, less frequent meals. When you eat small amounts often your body is constantly working to digest and absorb food which requires energy.  

3) Eat Fat

If you want feel good and keep the fat off you need to first put it in.  Fat not only tastes good our bodies need it to work efficiently.  By consuming several servings of ‘healthy’ fats every day you will actually increase your calorie burning potential.  Try incorporating fats like Flaxseed oil, hempseed oil, olive oil, avocados, salmon, albacore tuna, nuts and seeds into your diet daily.

4) Drink Cold Water

Evidence shows that your body might expend more calories trying to raise cold water to the temperature of your body then hot beverages. And overall being well hydrated will help your body’s metabolic processes burn quicker.

5) Exercise With Weights

Training with weights boosts your metabolism in a number of ways. By lifting weights you will build muscle tissue. And muscle tissue is metabolically active, so it requires calories even when at rest and so it helps to increase fat-burning enzymes in your body.

6) Spice up

Eating hot spices might speed up your metabolism.  Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help boost metabolism and keep blood sugar levels in check. Can’t stand the thought of cinnamon in your morning cup of coffee? Spice up with cayenne, crushed red pepper or wasabi.

7) Eat More Protein

Protein requires a more complex chemical breakdown by your body in order to be digested and used as fuel. For example, 100 calories of protein may take up to 30 calories to process.   Protein also takes longer to digest and helps to stabilize blood sugar for longer periods of time  and this can help you to not overeat later in the day.  Eat a portion of protein at every meal and as part of your snacks and you will increase the total number of calories you burn each day

Psychiatric Treatment:Exercise

Exercise Gains Momentum as Psychiatric Treatment

SAN DIEGO, California – The benefits of exercise in nearly every aspect of physical health are well known, but evidence in recent years suggests a unique effect on some psychiatric disorders, prompting mental health clinicians to rethink treatment strategies and to consider the possibility of exercise not just in therapy but as therapy.
"Above and beyond the standard benefits of exercise in healthy living and general well-being, there is strong evidence demonstrating the ability of exercise to in fact treat mental illness and have significant benefits on a neurotrophic, neurobiologic basis," Douglas Noordsy, MD, told delegates attending Psych Congress 2012: US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress.
Some of the strongest evidence is seen in depression, where psychiatric benefits from exercise have been shown in some cases to match those achieved with pharmacologic interventions and to persist to prevent remission in the long term.
Dr. Noordsy referenced a study from researchers at Duke University in which 156 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) were randomly assigned either to aerobic exercise, sertraline therapy (50 mg to 200 mg), or both for 4 months.
The difference in remission rates in the exercise and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) groups after 4 months were not significant – 60% and 69%, respectively, but at a 10-month follow-up, the exercise group showed a significantly lower relapse rate ( P = .01) ( Psychosom Med 2000;62:633-638).
"The patients who were independently exercising on their own after the treatment period had half the odds for meeting the depression criteria 6 months later compared to patients who didn't exercise after the 4-month study," said Dr. Noordsy, an associate professor and director of psychosis services at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire.
A similar study from the same group of researchers 10 years later in a larger sample involving 202 patients assigned to supervised exercise, sertraline therapy (50 mg to 200 mg) or placebo showed remission rates of 46% at 4 months and 66% at the 16-month follow-up across both treatment groups, with no significant greater improvement with SSRIs compared with exercise in predicting MDD remission at 1 year ( Psychosom Med 2011 Feb-Mar;73:127-33; epub 2010 Dec 10).
Other studies have shown equally impressive results in exercise for a variety of populations, including pregnant women with depression, who have a high interest in avoiding medications, people with HIV, and even patients with heart failure, who showed not only a significant reduction in depression related to exercise but also reduced mortality ( Am J Cardiol 2011;107:64-68).
Anxiety
The evidence in relation to anxiety, although not as strong, still suggests a benefit, and the rigors of a cardiovascular workout seem particularly suited to addressing the physiologic effects associated with anxiety, Dr. Noordsy said.
"We know that with anxiety, the heart rate goes up, you start breathing fast, and it kind of snowballs with more anxiety, and that can trigger a panic attack," he explained.
"So one of the important positive effects of physical exercise is it allows people to become conditioned to having their heart rate and respiratory rate increase when they're not associated with anxiety, thereby addressing the triggers."
Evidence is somewhat lacking in the area of bipolar disorder, but patients often have symptoms similar enough to depression to suggest a benefit, Dr. Noordsy said.
"The evidence on depression in bipolar disorder is strong enough that I certainly feel comfortable in talking about exercise as part of [bipolar patients'] management."
In terms of more serious psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, evidence is limited on benefits of exercise for the core symptoms of psychosis or cognition. However, several studies have shown improvement in comorbidities and metabolic issues related to antipsychotics that such patients commonly face.
One study of a jogging intervention among 80 inpatients with chronic schizophrenia, in which 40 patients jogged for 40 minutes 3 times a week, depression, anxiety, phobia, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors declined significantly compared with 40 inpatient control participants who were inactive and showed no improvement.
Dementia Prevention
The evidence on the benefits of exercise in cognitive function disorders, such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease, is much more extensive, with as many as 8 strong studies on dementia alone in the last 3 years showing improvements with activities such as walking and strength training on memory and executive function.
Dr. Noordsy noted one particularly remarkable study in which researchers compared patients with and without the ApoE gene, which is linked strongly to late-onset Alzheimer's disease.
In the study, patients who were ApoE-negative showed similarly low mean cortical binding potential, related to plaque buildup in the brain, regardless of whether they exercised or not.
But although ApoE-positive individuals (n = 39) had values that were substantially higher, the ApoE-positive patients who exercised (n = 13) had values similar to those who did not carry the gene ( Arch Neurol 2012;69:636-643).
"You could look at these results and rightfully say physical exercise neutralizes your risk for developing Alzheimer's disease if you're ApoE positive," Dr. Noordsy said.
How to Get Patients Moving
Perhaps the biggest caveat with all mental health conditions is how to motivate patients who are struggling with psychiatric disorders to exercise.
Dr. Noordsy offered some key suggestions:

• Start with an assessment: "I start with an assessment of lifetime history of activity and current activity in my baseline assessment template," Dr. Noordsy said. "I educate the patient on the potential effects of exercise on their disorder and how it fits on the menu of other treatment options."
  
• Make clear recommendations: "There is a lot of evidence in areas such as smoking cessation and in the addiction literature showing that a substantial subset of people will respond to very clear recommendations," he said.
  
• Offer motivational tools: A behavioral planner, for instance, that allows for goal setting, or connecting a patient with an exercise group can be helpful.
  
• Consider the patient's current activity capacity in recommending a regimen: "The general amount of exercise believed to result in a benefit is about 30 to 60 minutes per day, between 3 and 7 days per week." Some studies have shown strength training to be as beneficial as aerobic activity. For the latter, Dr. Noordsy suggested that one easy method often used in determining maximum heart rate, in general, for people without heart disease or other conditions is to simply subtract their age from 220.
  
• Help the patient find an activity that works best for them, rather than recommending anything specific, Dr. Noordsy suggested. "Have the patient choose the activity that is right for them."
  
• Help guide the patient to educational resources, such as information sources or books. "The book I've used the most with patients is John Ratey's Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," Dr. Noordsy recommended. "The book is very scientific and accessible to a lay audience," he said.
  

Importantly, discussing the role of exercise in the context of human evolution might be a more effective approach with patients than the standard recommendation to get some exercise.
"Instead of 'this is something you ought to be doing,' we might instead say, 'this is something humans are designed to do, and when we don't do it, our bodies and brains fall apart'."
Another important component in helping patients benefit from exercise is simply to improve awareness among clinicians, Dr. Noordsy added.
"We see evidence on the benefits of exercise for psychiatric conditions coming together, and there is a need to increase awareness of this among clinicians as well as reinforce the research community to be taking a more careful look at physical exercise," he said.
"This may not have as much of an industrial backing as some of the other interventions we use, but I think it's quite exciting."
Psych Congress 2012: US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress. Presented November 9, 2012.