Archive for January, 2012

I’m sure you have all heard you shouldn’t count coffee, tea or soft drinks as part of your 8 glasses of water a day. Most of us have assumed this is a fact. In one of our recent articles, we discussed the theory that we need "8 glasses" of water per day. Here’s a reminder: health care professionals are now recommending you drink half your body weight in ounces and all the way up to one ounce per pound of body weight if you are an athlete or work out regularly, as well as for those who live in the desert.

The International Bottled Water Association has called coffee and soda pop "dehydrating beverages" and has warned consumers: "Don’t substitute caffeinated coffees, teas, and sodas for water." The Water Quality Association, which promotes the sale of home water filters, also cautions that "other beverages… don’t count towards your daily water consumption goal. "

Not true, say researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha. They ought to know. They put a dozen and a half men in their 20s and 30s on various fluid regimens: water only; equal amounts of water and caffeinated soda; or water, caffeinated soda, and coffee. Then they tested urine and blood to check their hydration status. The result: The volunteers remained in the same state of hydration no matter which beverages they drank!

Were these men protected by their relative youth? "I don’t think it is an age-related phenomenon," says study co-author Kristin J. Reimers, RD, MS. "All fluid counts—plain water, soft drinks, milk, juices—they’re all water sources for our bodies. My grandmother (age 83) drinks coffee all day, and her hydration status is just fine."

The only people for whom caffeine might cause an unusually high fluid output, Ms. Reimers comments, are those who don’t often drink caffeinated beverages. The body tends to adapt to caffeine over time.

Do keep in mind that for a study to be considered valid, it must have at least 40 or more participants, and this study only had 18. Just as with nutrition, our approach is more of a customized approach than a one-size-fits-all way of looking at things. Therefore, we recommend you conduct your own study and see how you feel by switching between these different fluids. We choose Kangen Water over any and all beverages. Although we still enjoy coffee in the morning and wine with dinner every now and then, Kangen Water is our daily fluid of consumption.

So why do we still choose water? For the simple fact that it is pure, without milk or cream, sugar content, and all the other chemicals present in our caffeinated drinks. There is so much more to health than hydration status.

But all water is not alike. Most people who are really concerned with health do not, of course, drink tap water, with its chlorine content, and its questionable purity. So, we buy tons of bottled water. Do you realize we are spending more per gallon on bottled water than we do on gasoline – isn’t that an eye-opener? Bottled water is well over $4.00 per gallon.

But bottled water is not guaranteed to be pure and healthy, either. A four-year study by the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that one third of the bottled water tested contains levels of contamination which exceed allowable limits. Bottled water can also be slightly acidic, which may affect your body’s pH balance. And of course, the environmental impact caused by the production and disposal of plastic bottles is harmful to our ecosystem.

For the best healthy water available, drink Kangen Water. With its incredible alkalizing, anti-oxidant, and super-hydrating properties, this water is cleansing the bodies of those who seek a healthier lifestyle. Because it creates smaller water molecule clusters, your system is able to become much more hydrated.

And it tastes great!

To find out more about this amazing water and download your FREE EBook "Acid/Alkaline Balancing" click HERE now!

© 2011 Lucho Crisalle, CEO, Exercise & Nutrition Works, Inc.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: "Lucho Crisalle, CEO of Exercise & Nutrition Works, Inc., internationally recognized expert in the field of nutrition and supplements is the creator of the Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist program! To learn more and get 20 FREE Videos and your copy of our FREE SPECIAL REPORT "Food for Thought & Money in The Bank" click HERE

1. Work on your fitness at least 3 days per week: Most important, build muscle strength, even modestly. Resistance training (weights, bands, machines, calisthenics, pushups, sit ups, pull ups) will help shift your metabolism into a fat-burning mode. Resistance training is the most efficient form of exercise for weight control, which affects all aspects of health and aging (heart, diabetes, hip-knee arthritis, cancer).

If your goal is fat-loss, then low intensity cardiovascular exercise (70% of your maximum heart rate) should be incorporated into your schedule. While you’re doing your cardio exercise, if you can hold a normal conversation, then you’re burning fat. If you can’t talk, that means you’re going at such a high intensity you can only burn sugar. Burning sugar isn’t bad. But humans are not plants, which means we don’t store a great deal of glucose or glycogen. We tend to run out of sugar rather quickly. If you stay at a high intensity level of cardiovascular exercise, once you run out of sugar, you start eating away your own muscle.  That’s called “gluconeogenesis,” or the new formation of glucose by breaking down muscle tissue.

We highly suggest you purchase, if you don’t already have one, a simple heart-rate monitor that you can wear during exercise so you always stay in your peak fat-burning range. The highest quality heart-rate monitors on the market that we can recommend made by Polar. CLICK HERE to access Polar products.

2. ALWAYS eat breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you must eat breakfast. Even if you don’t exercise at all, breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you’re trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner). A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with some protein powder mixed in, or an egg white omelet with some spinach and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a slice of whole wheat toast.

3. Include wild fish at least twice a week into your meal plan, and more if possible. Choose cold-water fatty fish (no more than once a week) such as salmon, which are higher in omega-3s and vitamin D. Choose lean, white fish (Sole, Halibut, Tilapia) at least once or twice a week to supplement. To find some of the freshest and best seafood that can be delivered right to your door, check out VitalChoice.com your premier source for Alaskan Salmon, other pure, wild seafood, and fine natural, organic, and kosher foods.

Martha Stewart has a great (easy) recipe for poached salmon that she eats for breakfast most every day with a piece of toast: Fill a saucepan wide enough to hold salmon with 2 1/2 inches cold water. Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice, then celery, parsley, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Add salmon, skin side down. Cover, and simmer until salmon is just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer salmon to a plate, and let cool 20 minutes. Discard poaching liquid. Flake salmon into large pieces. A great way to start the day!

4. Eat fat to lose fat – in moderation! Healthy fats are necessary to your body for many reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin. However, you must be aware of the difference between healthy "good" fats, and dangerous "bad" fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats such as olive, peanut and canola oil, avocados, all natural peanut butter and nuts, and omega-3 fats like salmon and mackerel. Bad fats are saturated fats, partially hydrogenated fats, and trans fats. The bottom line is that your body needs good fats, and will react if you attempt to abstain from them. And your body absolutely does not need bad fats. We have an article coming out next month entitled “The Truth and Consequences about Trans Fats” that will go into much greater detail.

5. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you’ve heard this over and over again. But there’s a good reason: it’s TRUE! The recommended amount is approximately eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water every day, but that is just to replenish the two liters we use up during the day through normal body functions.. When you are exercising, you need to drink even more; now experts recommend that you drink AT LEAST half your body weight in ounces and all the way up to one ounce per pound of body weight if you exercise regularly, or like us, live in the desert. Over 75% of your body is water (even bone is more than 20% water). When you don’t drink enough water, you dehydrate your body, your blood doesn’t flow properly and your digestive system doesn’t operate smoothly (among other problems). Even a small deficit of water can radically affect how your body and your brain performs. Drink up!

However, not all water is created equally. Tap water contains high levels of chlorine. Bottled water is often acidic, oxidizing, and contains plastic byproducts such as xenoestrogens, benzene, and many more (not to mention it contributes to mountains of plastic bottle waste). Finally, well-water can contain contaminants from run-off and pesticides.

Kangen water™ though, is changing the face of drinking water! It forms smaller water molecule clusters, which enables every nook and cranny of your body to become super-hydrated. You can literally taste the difference! No other type of water is capable of this level of hydration, and as a result, Kangen water™ best prepares the body for absorbing the important vitamins and nutrients it needs.

To find out more about this amazing water and download your FREE EBook “Acid/Alkaline Balancing” CLICK HERE now!

Now, that is just a start.  Keep making small changes and adjustments, and you may be surprised to find that you are feeling better and looking better before you know it.

© 2011 Lucho Crisalle, CEO, Exercise & Nutrition Works, Inc.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: “Lucho Crisalle, CEO of Exercise & Nutrition Works, Inc., internationally recognized expert in the field of nutrition and supplements is the creator of the Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist program! To learn more and get 20 FREE Videos and your copy of our FREE SPECIAL REPORT “Food for Thought & Money in The Bank“ click HERE