Vitamin D
Supports bone health by promoting calcium absorption. Some animal and epidemiological trials show that vitamin D plays a role in preventing breast cancers.
Dose: 1000IU to 3000IU per day

Omega 3 Fats
Oily, cold water fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring and sardines have omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA that reduce the risk heart attack and heart disease, combat depression and reduce inflammation.
Dose: 1000mg of EPA and DHA per day

Calcium
Bone building peaks during childbearing years. A calcium supplement helps ensure there is enough bone mass to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Choosing a supplement with magnesium can improve the absorption of calcium.
Dose: 800mg per day

Probiotics
Numerous studies show that probiotics can help enhance immune health and improve digestion.
Dose: 30 billion CFU per day

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How often in real life are you pushing forward with your hands with your back braced off a flat surface? My guess would be, probably never. So, if that’s the case, why do so many people put so much emphasis on the bench press? In real life power is gathered from the ground, and is very rarely done straight out perpendicular to the body. Taking the example of an NFL lineman, when pressing with his arms, he’s doing it at an incline angle. Also, if he’s completely upright he’ll most likely end up on his back. He gathers power through his feet and transfers it through his body. Training should reflect this where the majority should be done standing, with seated or lying down being more secondary or supplemental options.

Jaime Gamache M.Ed., CSCS, is Owner and Head Strength Coach of The Way Human Performance Institute ( www.thewayhpi.com or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/The-Way-Human-Performance-Institute/117742824954659 )

Whether you believe in evolution or creationism, one fact remains: human beings were designed to move from the ground up.

In the health club/nautilus culture, machines were designed with the intention of working every major muscle group in an isolated way with the theory that fitness is achieved by the collective summation of the parts of the body. Functional training takes an oppositional stance of the body acting as a whole and disregarding the strength of a single muscle group over others.

The invention of these machines has led to a host of exercises where the feet are no longer in contact with the ground (ie. leg extensions and leg curls). Excessive use of these machines creates strength where the focus of that strength is not at the point of contact with the ground, but at a point around the ankle. This creates unnatural or unbalanced torque on the knee. Exercises of this type are called “open chain” because the direction of force is not at the farthest point of the lever arm (ie. hand or foot). ”Closed chain” exercises are by definition the opposite, and maintain the foot in contact with the ground. Squats, lunges and even leg curls on a stability or medicine ball are all examples of closed chain exercises.

Jaime Gamache M.Ed., CSCS, is Owner and Head Strength Coach of The Way Human Performance Institute ( www.thewayhpi.com and www.facebook.com/pages/The-Way-Human-Performance-Institute/117742824954659 )

We would like to introduce our newest contributor Jaime Gamache M.Ed., CSCS. He is Owner and Head Strength Coach of The Way Human Performance Institute www.thewayhpi.com located in Cranston RI.

“Toning” is a myth.

Repeat, it doesn’t exist.

Toning only happens in printers.

It’s a word made up by the fitness industry to trick uninformed women (which I’m sure there are none of reading this) into believing that strength training using the same methods as men will cause them harm or to blow up like bodybuilders (which is such and easy process, why wouldn’t everyone do it?)

Well, to put the cart before the horse, as most of you know, putting on quality muscle takes years and years of training. Professional bodybuilders spend most of their lives in the gym and female bodybuilders are no different. The average woman walking into the gym will never even change their muscular circumference, never mind adding bulk.

The reason for this is that when women strength train, at a muscular level they perform a process called “Enervation”. In simple terms, this means that women develop neural pathways that allow them to access and activate muscle cells they already have.

The average person only effectively uses about 30% of the muscle in their body, pro athletes have been found to use up to 50%. The theory for this is that while adrenaline allows women to lift cars off their children, repeated occurrences of that magnitude would have devastating effects on our bones and ligaments. Men and women are born with a certain number of muscle (and fat) cells. This number never changes, regardless of training. While women enervate, men’s muscle cells get thicker. The key ingredient in the difference is testosterone. Testosterone is what allows men to create more muscle mass and while women do have some testosterone in their bodies, most don’t have enough to allow for bulky muscle to develop.

In a practical sense, this means that while on the average, women will not generate the same force that men will. This is more true for upper body strength than lower body strength where it has been shown that women display proportionate strength to mass ratio in the lower body. But, from a tactical standpoint, women can generate considerable force and power when performing the same type of functional training as their male contemporaries.

Jaime Gamache M.Ed., CSCS, is Owner and Head Strength Coach of The Way Human Performance Institute ( www.thewayhpi.com and www.facebook.com/pages/The-Way-Human-Performance-Institute/117742824954659 )

ANS Melting Point is probably the most comprehensive of the non stimulant fat burning products on the market.  If you are serious about fat burning check out what this product has to offer.

In the battle against fat 7-oxo or 7-keto DHEA carries a lot of weight. Double blind placebo controlled studies have shown this ingredient to increase resting metabolic rate by as much as 5.4%. 7-oxo DHEA also works to stop reductions in metabolic rate when calories are restricted during dieting. 7-oxo DHEA achieves thermogenisis not by acting as a stimulant but by increasing the activity of fat burning enzymes. Weight lost while using 7-oxo DHEA tends to be fat as this ingredient has been shown to spare muscle tissue.

The active chemical in Coleus (forskolin) initiates a cascade of chemical reactions that cause fat cells to basically release their energy and melt away. In more technical terms, what happens is Coleus increases an enzyme called adenylate cyclase, which increases levels of another enzyme called cAMP (cyclic AMP), which is found in fat. cAMP then stimulates another enzyme, hormone sensitive lipase, to burn fat. Additionally, by a similar mechanism using cAMP, coleus increases thyroid hormone production and release, thereby increasing the bodies’ metabolism, to burn more calories.

The polyphenols in green tea appear to activate our bodies’ thermogenic activity, promoting the use of calories as energy and thus may assist our fat-fighting efforts.

Raspberry Ketones are aromatic compounds found in red raspberries that have been shown to aid fat loss without stimulating the central nervous system. The molecular structure in Raspberry Ketones are similar to capsaicin – the thermogenic (caloric burning process through heat) agent in chilies and red peppers, but are thought to be far more potent than capsaicin at lipolysis (fat cell destruction).

Due to the similarity in structure of Raspberry Ketones to capsaicin, scientific research to test the fat loss effects of Raspberry Ketones were conducted, and clearly showed that Raspberry Ketones prevented weight gain in mice even when the animals were on a high-fat diet.  Also, when rats were overfed fructose, Raspberry Ketones prevented fat synthesis.

Raspberry Ketones fat loss effects come from their ability to enhance norepinephrine-induced fat loss by promoting the relocation of HSL (hormone-sensitive lipase) to translocate to within the fat cell. HSL is the enzyme that, once inside the fat cell, slices apart fat molecules into various fatty acids in preparation for fat metabolism, which means that consuming Raspberry Ketones may lead to overall increase in fat being burned for energy without the use of harsh stimulants.

I really like this product as it ties together several ingredients that have compelling science backing their fat fighting potential. It also shows the dosing of each ingredient rather than hiding them in an under dosed blend.

Australian researchers published a long-term weight loss study in healthy adult overweight women (BMI initially ~32).

In this study, they followed 79 women for more than a year to see how protein influences weight loss and compliance to a dietary program.

Women who followed a high protein diet lost MORE weight and more fat than those that ate the high carb diet. Protein intake was inversely related to weight and fat loss such that for those that ate more protein lost an average of 14 lbs and 10 lbs of fat compared to those that ate less protein (and more carbs) who lost 7 lbs and 5 lbs of fat over the course of a year. Body composition was measured by DEXA, the gold standard for body comp assessment. After 64 weeks, body fat was higher in those that ate more carbohydrate and lower in those that ate more protein. The same was seen for belly fat – more belly fat in those that ate a higher carb diet compared to the higher protein diet.

Overweight women with insulin resistance lose more weight after three months on a lower-carbohydrate diet than on a traditional low-fat diet, according to a new study presented at The Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting on June 19.

“The typical diet that physicians recommend for weight loss is a low-fat diet,” said the study’s lead author, Raymond Plodkowski, MD, chief of endocrinology, nutrition and metabolism at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno. “However, as this study shows, not all people have the same response to diets.”

As reported by Nutrition Horizon, 45 obese women between the ages of 18 and 65 years—all insulin resistant—participated in the study. Researchers randomly assigned the women to a low-fat or lower-carb diet. The groups did not differ significantly in average body weight. On average, women in the low-fat diet group weighed 213 pounds, while women in the other group weighed 223 pounds.

The composition of the low-fat diet was 60 percent of calories from carbs, 20 percent from fat and 20 percent from protein. Although the lower-carb diet also had 20 percent of calories from protein, it had 45 percent from carbs and 35 percent from primarily unsaturated fats, such as nuts. Menus included a minimum of two fruits and three vegetable servings a day.

Use of prepared meals helped make the structured diets easier and more palatable for the dieters. “We wanted to make this study real-world—anyone could follow this plan by making moderate changes as part of a healthy menu,” Plodkowski said.

Both groups lost weight at each monthly weigh-in, but by 12 weeks, the insulin resistant group receiving the lower-carb diet lost significantly more weight, 19.6 pounds versus 16.2 pounds in the low-fat diet group—approximately 21 percent more on average.

Most protein users are aware of the recent consumer reports article regarding heavy metals present in some protein powders.  The brands with the largest amounts of metals where EAS Myoplex and Cytosport Muscle Milk. 

On a positive note the brands we have chosen to support at Performance Nutrition are free of these toxic metals.  You can continue to use Optimum Health Pro Complete 40 and Intek Evolution with confidence.  

Consumer Reports purchased 15 protein powders and drinks and tested multiple samples of each for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Levels in several of the products could, with just three servings a day, result in daily exposure to arsenic, cadmium, or lead exceeding USP limits.

Of the 15 protein drinks tested, three of them contained very worrisome levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead.

Which Protein Drinks Fared the Worst?

Three daily servings of the ready-to-drink liquid EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate Shake contained an average of:

·              16.9 µg (micrograms) of arsenic

·              5.1 µg of cadmium

The proposed United States Pharmacopoeia’s (USP) limits for these two toxins are 15 and 5 µg respectively.

The worst of the products tested was Muscle Milk Chocolate powder, which contained all four toxic metals; three of them at the highest levels of all products tested.

Muscle Milk’s Vanilla Crème contained slightly less lead, but still exceeded the USP lead limit of 10 µg.

A fourth product, Muscle Milk’s liquid Nutritional Shake Chocolate, also tested high in arsenic, providing you with an average of 14.3 µg of arsenic per day, which is very close to the USP limit.

Arsenic and cadmium appear to be the most problematic here, as the levels of these two compounds in some cases exceeded maximum “safe” limits. However it’s worth noting that, ideally, you don’t want to ingest these toxins at ANY level, as even low-dose exposure can contribute to lingering health problems.

Prevention is clearly your best defense when it comes to protecting yourself against heavy metals and other toxins.

Fortunately, preventing exposure to toxins like arsenic, cadmium and lead is possible by making sure you’re eating as much organic foods as possible, and using protein drinks that are free of heavy metals.  We recommend Intek Protein Evolution and Optimum Health Pro Complete 40 as two of the safest, high quality, great tasting protein products available.

While we cannot recommend any of the low quality, commercial protein shakes on the market, we strongly believe that whey protein powder is a very healthful supplement to your diet and an excellent source of protein.

Whey protein has been linked to a variety of health benefits, including:

·              Helping your pancreas-produced insulin work more effectively, which supports balanced blood sugar levels

·              Promoting healthy insulin secretion

·              Helping to promote your optimal intake of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals needed for your overall wellness

·              Supporting your immune system, as it contains immunoglobulin

·              Helping you preserve lean body tissue (particularly during exercise) as it delivers bioavailable amino acids and cysteine

·              Maintaining blood pressure levels that are already within the normal range

So keep in mind, protein drinks can be quite beneficial, whether you’re working out and want to increase muscle or using them to supplement an otherwise healthy diet, but quality is everything, and drinking something that’s contaminated with heavy metals won’t do you any good.

Making sure that the product you buy fulfills the healthy criteria mentioned in this article (Such as Pro Complete 40, or Intek Evolution) will ensure that you’re getting the safest, healthiest protein supplement possible.

If you shop for your supplements at discount stores you may be seriously shortchanging yourself because those products typically use cheap synthetic isolates.

Millions gorge themselves on synthetic vitamins, only to acquire and die from degenerative diseases.

You see, isolated vitamins are partial vitamins, combined with other chemicals. They’re a low-end alternative to whole, real complete food.  When you remove a part from the whole, you get ‘Synthetic,’ ‘Isolated,’ or ‘Fractionated’ pieces of the whole, but it’s simply not the same. 

There are four problems with synthetic vitamins…

1. Nature intended for you to consume food in WHOLE form because all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes are together in one package. They work synergistically to give your body the nutrition it requires for optimal health. 
2. Your body only absorbs a small percentage of an isolate form of vitamins and minerals – and it utilizes even less. You get the best bioavailability in whole food form.
3. Synthetic vitamins often give you massive quantities of some nutrients (usually the most inexpensive ones) and insufficient quantities of others, not balance.
4. You can experience side effects of synthetic isolates from the additives and the unnatural state of the synthetic supplement.

You’ve heard it before… Fast food and a sedentary lifestyle can be a disaster for your health.

Don’t let your multivitamin add to the collateral damage.  In fact, you want to be sure it makes a real and significant contribution to your health, especially if you’ve already adopted healthy lifestyle practices.

Check out ANS Natural Vita Greens for a good whole food based multivitamin.

Inflammation promotes blood vessel disease, heart attack and stroke. Researches found that a low-carbohydrate diet reduced markers or inflammation and blood fats better than a low-fat diet in people with MS. MS is a group of symptoms linked to poor metabolic health that include insulin resistance, abdominal fat deposition, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low HDL (the good cholesterol), inflammation, type 2 diabetes and blood-clotting abnormalities. Low-carb diets reduced inflammation and improved blood-clotting regulation better than low-fat diets in people with MS.