FOOD AND NUTRITION

7 Foods to Keep You Young - Secrets of long life from around the world

1. Olive oil
   Four decades ago, researchers from the Seven Countries Study concluded that the monounsaturated fats in olive oil were largely responsible for the low rates of heart disease and cancer on the Greek island of Crete. Now we know that olive oil also contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that may help prevent age-related diseases.
2. Yogurt
   In the 1970s, Soviet Georgia was rumored to have more centenarians per capita than any other country. Reports at the time claimed that the secret of their long lives was yogurt, a food ubiquitous in their diets. While the age-defying powers of yogurt never have been proved directly, yogurt is rich in calcium, which helps stave off osteoporosis and contains "good bacteria" that help maintain gut health and diminish the incidence of age-related intestinal illness.
3. Fish
   Thirty years ago, researchers began to study why the native Inuits of Alaska were remarkably free of heart disease. The reason, scientists now think, is the extraordinary amount of fish they consume. Fish is an abundant source of omega-3 fats, which help prevent cholesterol buildup in arteries and protect against abnormal heart rhythms.
4. Chocolate
   The Kuna people of the San Blas islands, off the coast of Panama, have a rate of heart disease that is nine times less than that of mainland Panamanians. The reason? The Kuna drink plenty of a beverage made with generous proportions of cocoa, which is unusually rich in flavanols that help preserve the healthy function of blood vessels. Maintaining youthful blood vessels lowers risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and dementia.
5. Nuts
   Studies of Seventh-Day Adventists (a religious denomination that emphasizes healthy living and a vegetarian diet) show that those who eat nuts gain, on average, an extra two and a half years. Nuts are rich sources of unsaturated fats, so they offer benefits similar to those associated with olive oil. They're also concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals, including antioxidants.
6. Wine
   Drinking alcohol in moderation protects against heart disease, diabetes and age-related memory loss. Any kind of alcoholic beverage seems to provide such benefits, but red wine has been the focus of much of the research. Red wine contains resveratrol, a compound that likely contributes to its benefits-and, according to animal studies, may activate genes that slow cellular aging.
7. Blueberries
   In a landmark study published in 1999, researchers at Tufts University's Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging fed rats blueberry extract for a period of time that in "rat lives" is equivalent to 10 human years. These rats outperformed rats fed regular chow on tests of balance and coordination when they reached old age. Compounds in blueberries (and other berries) mitigate inflammation and oxidative damage, which are associated with age-related deficits in memory and motor function. Just don't go crazy on the wine girls! Brian

Top 10 Ways to Jump-Start Your Weight Loss

1. Eat protein at every meal, including breakfast.
2. Eliminate wheat- and flour-based products for the time being. And yes, that definitely includes bread and pasta.
3. Eat unprocessed foods. Ninety percent of what you eat should be a combination of (in this order of importance) raw vegetables, steamed vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and maybe a few fruits if necessary.
4. Reduce starch to one portion a day, and don't eat that portion during your evening meal. Best choices are beans, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal.
5. Don't overdo fruit: one a day maximum, and only the low-sugar, high-fiber variety. Apples, pears, plums and berries all are good choices. For now, fruit should be eaten alone or with something light, like low fat nuts. Lose the fruit juice completely.
6. Reduce or eliminate dairy for the time being, especially cow's milk. Exceptions: reasonable amounts of low sugar, fat free yogurt.
7. Lose the booze. Despite what the "studies" say, you lose no health benefits by giving up alcohol (including wine). There is nothing essential in alcohol that you can't get in fruits and vegetables without all the bad side effects that go along with it.
8. Stop using vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower and corn. The supermarket kind is highly refined, and it oxidizes easily when heated, contributing to arterial plaque. Use olive oil instead, and apply it to food after the food is cooked when possible.
9. Watch which types of fat you're eating. The amount of fat you eat is probably less important than the kind of fat you eat. The worst are fried foods, margarine and foods that contain hydrogenized or partially hydrogenized oils. The best is omega-3, found in fish and flaxseed oil.
10. Obsessively drink water: At least 8 ounces for every 20 pounds of bodyweight you're now carrying around, each day. Every day. No excuses.

7 RULES TO FOLLOW FOR PROPER SUPPORTIVE EATING

Remember, the first rule of proper eating is to eat 6 meals a day. Breakfast/ snack/ lunch/ snack/ dinner/ snack. Each meal should include a lean protein, a complex carbohydrate (fruit or vegetable) and a good fat along with something to drink. The choices you make will either get you to your goal or cause you to plateau. We cannot always expect to be perfect 100% of the time nor do we need to be in order to reach optimal health and body composition. I would like you to think of being solid with the following rules 90% of the time. This will leave you a 10% buffer to play with if you feel you need to break the rules. So, if you are having 6 feeding a day, seven days a week that would be a total of 42 feedings in a week. Breaking the rules 10% would allow you 4 feedings to eat outside of the 7 rules each week. You may be asking, where are the starchy carbohydrates (potato, rice, pasta, bread etc.)? I am going to suggest that you only add a starchy carbohydrate to a meal if that meal follows a workout. This becomes extremely important if you want to get lean.

Every time you eat, ask yourself the following questions.

1. Where are the carbohydrates? Did I just workout?
2. Where are the complete Proteins? Looking for 30-60 grams for major meals, less for snacks.
3. Where are the veggies?
4. Where are the fats coming from? Remember we need a balance of Saturated, Monounsaturated, and Polyunsaturated fats. Meat, olive oil, avocado, nuts, flax.
5. Did I take my fish oil yet? Need fish oil at each feeding.
6. What am I about to drink? Water, Green Tea, Shake.
7. Am I breaking any of the rules above? If yes, that meal counts as part of your 10%.

The question always arises, What if I can’t cook or prepare a meal?

The SUPER SHAKE is a good solution as it meets all the above rules.

SUPER SHAKE
2 SCOOPS OF PROTEIN POWDER
1-1.5 CUPS OF WATER OR ICED GREEN TEA
1-2 TBPS ‘GREENS PLUS’ 2TBSP OF FLAX MEAL
3TBSP OFMIX NUTS
½ CUP OF FROZEN MIXED BERRIES
ICE CUBES, BLEND AND DRINK

Anti-Cellulite Quick Tips – 30 day Quick Start

• Drink 2-4 quarts of water daily. Water flushes toxins out of the body and improves circulation.
• Eat fibrous fruits and vegetables to generate daily bowel movements
• Don’t smoke. Smoking causes poor blood circulation and contributes to premature aging and sagging of the skin.
• NO alcohol for the first thirty days
• Limit Coffee to one cup per day
• Stop eating sugar and sugary snacks. Instead reach for fresh fruit and raw veggies.
• Stop eating all fried foods and those high in saturated and hydrogenated fats.
• Avoid canned foods and other foods high in salt. Salt increases water retention and makes cellulite worse
• Drink herbal teas
• Limit soda to one diet soda per day. NO regular soda, sugar is too high
• Eat five small meals four to five times per day.
• Take 1,000 milligrams daily of Vitamin C which has been recommended by cellulite researchers
• Maintain a normal, healthy body weight. Yo-yoing weight with diets make cellulite worse
• Boost your circulation by using a brush, loofah or a massage glove daily for at least 5 minutes.
• Massage your skin with almond oil. This may improve blood circulation and lymphatic drainage
• Do some sort of cardio for thirty minutes and Stretch daily
  
  And of course get into the gym and let us go to work on those troubled areas.

At Pro-Fitness Training, our mission is:

" to empower OUR clients with the education and tools needed to obtain a healthy lifestyle, within a safe, comfortable and encouraging environment."